shooting for stars is like darts in the dark; lagertha

[magnus]

— find what you love and let it kill you —

Her story both eases his discomfort and adds another sense of ease. He continues to look at her, to study her, with gold-flecked eyes, mouth pressing together with unveiled concern. There was a toughness of her that reminded him of his mother who was not a beauty either. But she was smart, and wicked, and a true leader. He had loved her fiercely and come to respect women with the same traits. Those like Lagertha.

“I am truly sorry to hear that, Lagertha,” he offered in whiskey tones before giving her a somewhat roguish grin, ears flicking atop his head. “Although I am sure that you have the monsters hell.” He looked away from her to the rest of the land spreading around them, unfolding in curves both familiar and alien. “As for the rest, well, I can’t say that I fully understand it all yet, but I suppose that doesn't matter much as we are all forced to live with it.” He shrugs his scarred shoulders and then glances back toward her.

At her next question, he swallowed hard. He hadn’t ever really explained the story to anyone. It was difficult to find the words to explain something he himself did not understand. But she had asked, and he was not one to hide truths, so he shifted slightly and then caught her gaze. “I-I am not really sure, still. It was like falling asleep or dying—but not as painful as the first time.” His lips quirked in the corner. “I woke up and I was alone somewhere. I still don’t know where. There were…whispers. They told me that they had taken me—taken others—and were keeping us there until the threat passed. They said it was for the good of the bloodline to keep us safe.” He shook his head. “I still don’t know what  that means, but the harder I fought, the tougher the chains. Eventually, they stopped answering when I screamed.”

It was difficult to try and encapsulate the months of solitude into words—the loneliness, the guilt, the fear for who he had left behind. “One day, they told me the threat had passed and they spit me back into Beqanna.” It had been difficult to face the world again when he had simply disappeared, left no trace. Left people he cared about in a lurch. “I let you all down.” The simple truth of it hung in the air between them and he finally broke eye contact to glance down. “I am not sure I’ll ever be able to make that up to you.”

magnus

@[Sarah]