Chapter Ten
Laughter, good natured and boisterous, rang in echoed familiarity in her ears. Women with intricately braided hair in varying shades of pale blond to deep brunette flashed in and out of her vision. The soft rattle of beads and clink of keys kept time with their strides. Men with neatly trimmed beards, braided hair, and tunics in bright vibrant colors sat before her. Unable to look to the side of her, Katla could only see the woad dyed wool of a shirt sleeve. The cuff edged with a deep brown silk and delicate herringbone stitches in linen thread pale cream, deep green, and soft yellow.
From the corner of her eye she watched the arm lift, the broad hand wave in the air to emphasize some point being made. A broad hand that was calloused, scarred in places, and oddly clean. Katla knew that hand, remembered the weight of it, the sensation of those calloused palms along her soft skin. Mentally she screamed against her inability to turn her head, to speak the man's name. It burned on the tip of her tongue; aching to be uttered even as her mind could not put the sounds into a word.
Her attention turned to the clatter of metal trenchers striking the floor only raised the sound of merriment. Katla felt her lips pulling back in a grin as a sharp laugh escaped her. A thrall, female in a relatively new woolen dress, struggled to balance a stack of the empty beaten metal dishes. A large hound darting around her legs caused the woman to stumble and more of her burden clattered to the ground as the dogs pounced on the dishes, licking away the last traces of food.
'Katla' she turned, trying to focus on the man calling her name. Brown eyes with flecks of gold and green met hers. She was struck for a moment at how ridiculously thick and long his eyelashes were; how the tanned nature of his skin emphasized the fine lines around his eyes. 'Elskling',beloved; she knew that endearment and felt the warmth the man radiated as his hand caught her hand drawing it to his mouth. The soft press of his lips against the back of her hand earned another warm smile and yet she remained unable to speak.
"Katla" A hard shake pulled her from the dream as she woke with a startled gasp. Her hands lifted to push away her assailant before pausing as she recognized the worried face hovering over her. A groan escaped her as she allowed herself to fall back against her bedding. Dramatically she draped her right arm over her face and eyes as she slowly breathed to bring her heart rate back to something less likely to burst from her chest.
"Bjorn." His name fell from her lips as a statement. A reminder of fact rather than verification; this name would easily slip past her tongue and come into being while the name she so longed to remember remained ever distanced. Obstinate, she ignored the dampness along her cheeks as she drew her arm back to glare up at the man. Half dress, his chest exposed she could see the faint lines of old scars, a few deep inked runes that ran along his sides. Small details she ignored during the usual early morning dressing routine.
"Nightmares again?" His concern leached into her voice as she gave a grunted reply; neither confirming or denying his assumption. They were rarely nightmares but instead glimpses of a past she desperately wanted to know and couldn't remember. Just the faint hints of what her soul had embedded during her life that continued to haunt her with increasing frequency as each new bit of knowledge loosened the old memories from their hiding places.
"It's dark still." She mumbled while debating rolling over to feign sleep for a bit longer. His weight on the edge of the blanket didn't ease. Annoyed, she finally glared up at her housemate as a silent demand for him to get off her bed. The trace memories of her dream tempted her to go back to sleep, to chase where the vision had been leading; even as Bjorn seemed intent on waking her up.
"It's raining. Morning is already here." Bjorn paused letting only the sound of their breathing, the soft popping of the slow burning coals, and the tapping of raindrops against the thatch roof fill the air until Katla sighed and sat up. Extra sleep was forgotten in her annoyance at their explorations being delayed by the weather. "How are your ribs?" Bjorn continued as he rose off the bed and took a few steps back to sit on his own.
"Sore, but tolerable." Katla shifted enough to flex from side to side; feeling the pull of pain at the motion. Cautiously she lifted the edge of the leather shirt exposing the blotchy yellow of her skin. The vivid and angry purple of the day prior had faded away and was well through the healing process. "Despite everything else, healing rate is impressive." Katla paused and allowed the shirt to fall back down at Bjorn's grunt of approval.
Slowly she slid off the bed before staggered over to the fire to start their breakfast. "So, shall we have roast boar and berries, or roast deer and berries?" The lack of diversity in their meals had become a bit of a farce between them as they pretended over choices. With a forced grin she held up each wrapped piece of raw meat waiting for him to choose their first meal.
"Boar, I think." Bjorn played along with the pretend options as he paused over his choice before announcing it. His own tasks of repairing weapons and tools started as she tended to their meals. "So, plans for today? I don't think I can handle a day of just staring at the walls." He paused in creating another bundle of arrows as he focused on Katla. He watched as her back tightened before she dropped one right shoulder.
"We need a larger living space. Staying close will allow us to warm up as needed." The suggestion came causally as she eyed the scant distance between their two beds. Snug and warm the hut was also tight on space leaving them little room to for themselves. She eyed the boar before pulling it off the fire to offer Bjorn his share of the roast meat and slightly softened raspberries.
"Good idea. Give us time to plan for going back. We need more materials from there." Bjorn grunted as he took his food before leaning against the workbench to eat the simple rations. While eating he looked over the layout of the hut and mentally charted where the boar pen was in relation. They would need further room for the items to forge the ores they had found into tools, weapons, and armor.
Silently they ate their food before Katla rose, grabbing her stone axe from the chest along with the hammer used for building. She motioned at him to take the hoe, to start working a level area while she gathered the materials needed to add to the home. Their roles were assigned from habit and familiarity with the task. Bjorn would plan out the area and Katla would then work on the expansion.
A few hours later Katla had gathered enough wood and the basic shape for the addition had been leveled. The hut had been expanded out two meters on one side and another six on the other; giving enough room to reorganize the hut and build small partitions between their sleeping areas with chests in each for their personal belongings. The loft had been repurposed to hold both the chests and additional tools for the workbench.
Both huddled around the fire, sitting on a log bench resting over a deer hide rug. One area near the firepit was lined with shelves giving a place to store their food and cooking supplies. The addition of a couple more torches lit up the expanded area making it still somewhat cozy with just a little more room to breathe. Both of the sleeping chambers were on the six meter expansion side with the partition to divide them with some semblance of privacy.
Tired and shivering they waited for their clothing and hair to dry as they ate their lunch silently between the two of them. The sizzle of the occasional stray droplet of rain reaching the fire only emphasized the silence that stretched unspoken between the two of them. Katla engrossed in the faint hints of her memories wrapped in fleeting dreams, and Bjorn planning the next venture. The soft sound of rain tapered away and the interior of the home brightened enough to hint at the orange hue of approaching sunset.
Words unspoken rested on Bjorn's tongue. Emotions he wasn't certain how to express after the day prior's mishap. The fear he felt as she was struck by the skeleton's club; the guilt that still weighed on him despite how quickly she had healed. He wasn't certain if it was affection for the brisk woman or if it was simply fear of being alone in this hostile world. The idea of enduring without anyone sent a shudder of horror through him.
"Cold?" Katla looked up at his shiver, noticing his reaction as she rose to put away her axe and the carpenter's hammer. Out of habit she checked the condition of her bow and spear before checking her arrow inventory. His reply wasn't needed but she felt the need to fill the silence that yawned between them.
"Something like that." He hunched further forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. His long blond hair fell forward in carefully braided segments, hiding the sharp features of his face and obscuring her view of his expression. "Thinking about the forest. We need more of those cores; but they are underground and your arrows don't do much good there." He spoke carefully as he weighed each word not wanting to offend her.
"No, they don't. Your hammer and shield do well." She replied in kind, barely glancing up from her task as she sorted through the items to move to her personal chest. Other leftover materials from the day were placed into the chests lightening her pack even further. "I can use my spear, or axe.." She offered as an afterthought. The attack had unnerved her as well despite her unwillingness to admit it.
"That may work. We will need to be extra cautious is all." He sighed before rising to do the same. The sorting took only a brief moment before their sleeping areas were settled and the chests again mostly organized. "Tomorrow then? We will set out early."
"Tomorrow" The last words were exchanged before both retreated to bed, to enjoy for the first time, in what seemed an eternity, a sense of privacy. A luxury that suddenly felt rather lonely after so many nights spent laying in their beds staring across each other at the banked fire before sleep claimed them. It took Katla a long time and several tosses and turns before she was finally able to quiet her mind enough to find slumber.