"Look! Seagulls, we're near land!" Bellowed one of the Vikings, they finally reached the land on the west side of the sea! Sigrdrifa felt relief, no longer did she have to row, and excitement she finally got to see the rich lands Ragnar Lod'brok and his men told of them. The shield-maiden felt the anxiousness that always comes at the start of every raid, and she was already craving the blood her sword and axe will draw. She smiled-internally, her father gifted her with a fine-steel sword and axe for the trip, the sword she coveted since she was a little girl, Ulfbehrt.
As they neared the beach, she saw little silhouettes of men on the beach, likely soldiers. The other Vikings noticed them to, she heard the excited quiet talking at the prospect of battle when they landed. She too, was excited for her new blade's maiden battle. They were almost on the shore when she saw the armored men lower their spears, and when they shored up, Ragnar leapt off the ship and she heard the men on the beach speak, words she did not know; but as the rest leapt out of the ships, she noticed the leader's men fidgeting. They were far smaller than the men of her home, some being smaller than herself. Their leader tried speaking again, but Ragnar just smiled and bellowed. "Attack!"
They fight was short, the leader of the men rode off and escaped as his men were slaughtered, Sigrdrifa smiled at the blood on her blade and axe, her bloodlust satisfied for now. "They were tiny, who decided these were suitable men for warriors?" The shield-maiden turned to see her friend Leif approach her, "They will have to do better than this, they didn't even scratch my shield." "They were pathetic, but I am sated for now." Leif grinned slyly, "Oh? You don't have any other needs that need sated?" Sigrdrifa scoffed playfully at her married friend, "And what would your wife say? You're a horrible liar and she asks if you had me every time we go back."
Leif rolled his eyes as he grabbed a sack of furs and handed the shield-maiden the crate of dried salted meats. "And I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I said I had. You know, I've caught her pleasuring herself while moaning out your name." He replied cheekily. "Ha! It sounds like she'd rather have me herself!
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She lost track of how much she ran, and how much time past. It must've been three days, since she first ran into the Predator. It looked like a woman, a beautiful one at that; even when compared to herself, who many thought her beauty made Freyja herself jealous. Whatever the Predator truly was, it was horrible. The red eyes, cold thick skin; she thought the creature was Jotun, but this creature feasted on blood. She watched in horror when the creature drained her life-long friend Leif.
She was covered in thick layers of mud and leaves, hundreds of twigs decorated her braids; because she quickly learned the creature was toying with her, and tracked by scent. The earthly smells throw it off, but if it's close enough it'll just listen for her heart. When she was caught, the creature just laughed and let her run again. Oh, how the mighty has fallen. Here, a legendary shield-maiden, sprinting like a mad-woman through the thick of the woods.
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The Vikings set their camp just before the forest-lining outside the English town, Ragnar told them they were attacking mid-day the morrow, when the bells wrung. "Why do you think we're waiting? Their warriors will be a passing distraction at best, why not attack now?" Sigrdrifa shook her head at her impatient friend. "We do what Ragnar says, because we all chose to follow him. I do not like it myself, but there is nothing we should do about it. He is a skilled warrior and intelligent strategist." Leif sprawled out on his back and scoffed, "And we know they're weak and tiny." The shield-maiden sprawled out on her back next to her friend, they finished their camp less than an hour ago and they heard the quiet merriment of their shield-brothers. "If you have a point Leif, please get to it. I may not know Ragnar well, but he doesn't strike me as a man who does things needlessly. We shall know what he has planned on the morrow."
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She heard the chilling laugh of her predator, and stopped in her tracks. She knew she was caught, but she was tired of the humiliation. Tired of the running. She drew her axe from her belt below her ruined fur and chain tunic, and turned to the smirking predator, "I will not run from you anymore, if I die here I will dine with the gods and fight for glory with my shield-brothers in the Halls of Valhalla." Her predator stopped smirking and showed her blindingly white teeth. With a roar of pure fury, she charged her hunter; she knew it was futile, her opponent had superior strength and speed, and nigh-impenetrable skin. But she was a warrior-maiden, and she refused to die a coward. Her opponent caught the axe casually, but with surprising strength and tact, the warrior immediately tackled the monster to the ground, and bashed its head against the stones below them when it paused in confusion. None ever fought back, they just ran. She wasn't confused for long before she ended up wrestling with her prey, confounded by the strength and speed the warrior possessed. The predator was obviously not experienced in fighting, almost completely relying on her prey's instincts to run for her game. The warrior slammed her opponent into a tree, where the monster pushed back with its strength. Sigrdrifa landed on her back, and the blood-drinker pounced and pinned the warrior to the ground. She refused to accept her fate, and grabbed the nearest decent sized rock and tried bashing its head in, but it proved to be futile.
The monster laughed in triumph, it defeated the prey; but stopped and thought for a moment, the shield-maiden was ferocious, and strong-willed. Even in defeat, its prey scowled in defiance, not begging for her life. The monster understood one thing about its prey, she was going to fight, and die fighting for Valhalla. It smiled chillingly, and decided to humiliate the Shield-maiden one more time…. By denying her Valhalla. With that thought, it bit the young woman, infecting her with its disease. Vampirism.
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The raid went perfectly for them, they snuck in when the bells wrung; and everyone was in the center building worshipping their God. They ended up just disarming the warriors, and raided all the plunder. "This is what Ragnar waited for. Next time I question him, just hit me." Leif mumbled to his friend, who was smirking at his grumbling.
That night, they celebrated after moving their camp. Leif and Sigrdrifa stood watch, ensuring nothing happened on their camp. "This is boring." "And necessary." "Doesn't mean I like it." "No one said you had to." "Shut up." "Make me." "I'm married, remember?" "If you don't shut your mouth you'll never please your wife again."
Leif started crackling, trying to keep it in, but it just made Sigrdrifa laugh at him. That's when a woman stepped out of the shadows, like a ghost and beckoned Leif. "I'll be right back… I think I saw something, Sigrdrifa shrugged, she was facing the other way and didn't see anything; nor was she interested in whatever Leif saw.
Well, that was up until he gone for several hours. "Hey, someone take watch. Leif wondered off." She quickly got up with her torch and followed the clumsy footsteps in the soft, wet soil.
After roughly an hour, she found the end of his tracks. They led to a small clearing next to a clean pond, where she saw an eerily pale woman sucking her friends cock, and was about to interrupt when she saw him pull her off and came all over face. She stood up, and at first she thought the woman was going to kiss him, but she saw the thing bite into his neck and drained him of his blood….
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When the shield-maiden woke from the burning agony, she was alone. And thirsty. The thirst… it quickly dominated her every thought. Her thirst dominated every instinct, every action, and every desire was overruled by her need for blood. That's when she realized she could hear the blood rushing and heart pumping of something near-by. Running to it with great speed, she quickly found the source. A young doe, with it's wide-eyes and narrow ears, it stopped in its track of its soon-to-be predator. Its thoughts turned to running, knowing what it saw would be its predator. Its instincts however…. Knew it was futile, and they screamed at the young creature when the predator pounced on it.
Sigrdrifa was confused, she knew she never drank blood before. She knew it was wrong. She knew something was very wrong. The burning in her throat is still bad, and foreign. She squinted in frustration as she tried to focus, but everything is clouded. Her thirst is still predominant; the doe barely took the edge off. She punched a tree in frustration, and the tree splintered. Something… something isn't right…
Her thirst came back quickly when she smelled something that got too close. It didn't smell like the doe. It smelled far better, it jogged muddled memories of a drink she used to enjoy. It smelled like distinctly like honey, making her mouth water. She stalked the scent until she heard the heartbeat of the creature, with her speed she quickly found the source. It was man, probably a hunter. She saw every detail with perfect clarity, the fair skin, the light stubble from when he shaved the night before, the rough callouses on his hands, and his rough and course hair from long-days hunting in the forest. Without thinking, she pounced and tore into his throat. This blood tastes far better than the doe. It quenched the burning quickly, and she finished it very quickly.
The shield-maiden was sated; the burning was gone. She knew it would be back, but she could think with far more clarity. She sat down, covered in blood from her victims. She remembered a few things… Her arrival here, with her friend. What was his name? Her memory showed him, a tall man with a thick well-cared for beard and friendly green eyes. Then more memories jogged back, the battle on the beach, her sword carving destruction through the warriors protecting their home, setting up camp with other warriors, most as big or bigger than her friend. The raid on the small time, and the nighttime merriment at the relocated camp, the treasure they plundered was bountiful. She remembered the watch with the green-eyed man, and him going missing. She sat there, thinking back on the memories as they slowly came to clarity, when she finally recalled the friends name…. Leif.