Colin rubbed his hands together as he made his way up the path to the manor. It felt cold enough to snow. If it was this rough in September, he shuddered to think of what it would be like in the dead of winter. Warm light streamed through the windows, illuminating the dusk.
"Probably missed the evening meal, fuck it all," he grumbled as he let himself into the foyer. The lingering buttery, sea salty aroma of fish soup hung heavy in the air, accompanied by the sweet yeast of fresh bread. He walked through the sitting room into the dining room, spying Loki at the table, some number of small bowls arranged before him. He looked up as Colin entered the room.
"I was about to head for the longhouses to see what was keeping you," Loki gestured to the chair opposite him, "Do take a seat. Doubtless you did not dine at the encampment."
"Ah no I did not. Stark was taking his sweet time with the weekly report. You know how he gets on about things. You can't shut the man up fer nothing lately. I swear he's going mad!"
Loki craned his head around his chair to call into the kitchen, "Vesta! Bring Master Denehy a bowl of soup and some bread and cider."
"Oh, I don't want to trouble her none.." Colin started but Loki merely shook his head.
"You cannot expect to sleep on an empty stomach now can you? Besides I am curious as to your opinion...Miss Chapel made the soup tonight."

Colin heard the clink of pewter, the thunk of a ladle against the side of a kettle, "And what was yer opinion of it?"

Loki smiled, "Methinks she used Gretten's recipe. Still, 'twas quite good."

Vesta emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray upon which sat a wooden bowl, a pewter mug and a stack of sliced bread, placing the tray before Colin.

"Thank you," Colin nodded to her, spooning up a bit of the soup to cool it off. Across the table, Loki took some dried berries, dropping them into one of the small ceramic bowls. Then taking a small wooden pestle, he began to crush them with a slow grinding motion.

Colin tilted his head toward the bowls, "You mind telling me what yer up to there?"

Vesta behind one hand as Loki chuckled, "Two days hence, we shall watch my son become a man. To pay homage to the wonder which is the cycle of life, we will paint ourselves with the colors of nature, adding water to the crushed berries, ground leaves, clay..."

Colin took another spoonful of the soup. It was in fact quite good. From the corner of his eye, he saw Beth peering around the kitchen doorway watching him eat. He winked at her and she broke into a wide grin.

"Paint ourselves eh? Here's hoping it will hide a multitude of sins."

Loki arched an eyebrow as he added more berries, "Explain..,"

Colin sat back in the chair, curled his arms across his stomach and puffing out his chest, "This is me best pose. I've never been able to pack on much muscle or mass, always been a scrawny little git. If you'll forgive me, we've a phrase on Midgard which does not describe me in the slightest. The body of a god. Yer brother is a prime example," Colin waved the spoon at him, "And yerself as well. Come the night after next, all of yer kin will be standing there in the altogether looking like a page out of GQ's Best Bodies issue and right smack in the middle, painted in earthy tones sporting the physique of a wet rooster will be yers truly."

Loki clapped his hands together, roaring with laughter, "Colin, you are genuinely possessed of a fine wit. Do not fret. We gods, as your people call us, are not perfect. You will see.."

Colin heard footsteps in the sitting room behind him. A moment later, Eidra appeared at his side, gliding around the table until she was standing behind Loki. She put her arms around his neck, resting her chin upon his shoulder. Loki closed his eyes, the picture of complete contentment leaving Colin to feel a bit like a voyeur at witnessing such a private moment.
"It has been well over three seasons since Fen has asked me to read to him before bed. I thought he was asleep when I checked on him but he was sitting on his bed holding one of his wooden animals, the elephant I believe."
Loki turned his head, planted a tender kiss on her cheek, "He is of a mind he will lose all the privileges of being a child after his passage. He will no longer have his mother's tender bosom to lay his head upon."
Eidra stood up straight, her hands at his arms, "Nonsense, if e'er he needs a mother's love he shall have it...," she kissed the top of Loki's head, "you shall simply have to share me."
Loki gave her a mock pout as she rolled her eyes, "And you already receive a goodly portion."
"I am most covetous of your attention. You must forgive me, my heart."
At this she leaned down to whisper in his ear, bringing a lopsided smile to his face. She then stood and nodded to Colin, "I see you have made quick work of the soup. We missed you at the evening meal."
Colin sat back in the chair, "Ah, work kept me overlong. Beth is a fine cook."
"Indeed," Eidra dropped her hands from Loki's arms, "I am going to retire, my love. Will you be along soon?"
Loki took another handful of berries, sprinkling them in the bowl, "Yes, I must be up early for I am expected at the palace. The King wishes to discuss the upcoming feast for Mabon though I hardly know why. He keeps most everything the same season after season."
Eidra nodded, "And still you will humor him."
Loki said nothing though his eyes stole to hers.
"I bid you good evening, Colin."
"Milady," Colin nodded in return.
Eidra waved at him as she passed by and was soon swallowed up by the darkness of the sitting room.
Colin looked across at Loki to see the ghost of a smile upon his lips.
"You two have something special, don't you." Feeling a sudden urge, Colin pushed the tray away from him and reached down beside his chair, retrieving his tablet from the depths of his pack. As Loki spoke, Colin began to draw the scene before him.
"I was given the gift of a second chance, to redeem myself with the love of my life. Second chances are exceedingly rare. The bond between us runs deeper than our very souls. Without her," he paused, gazing about the room, " without all this, my family, friends, my life would be forfeit. I would sacrifice all to protect them."
He had paused in his task, the strength of his conviction written clearly upon his face. Now he tapped the pestle upon the rim of the bowl to shake the powder loose, "love is the most powerful spell there is. It has the ability to overcome an army, give courage to the weak, bring the mightiest warrior to his knees. It transcends death itself. When you have been blessed, " here he grinned, "or cursed thus such as the case may be, you will see."
Colin held up his hands, "I told you, my career is my mistress. I've not the time for such serious pursuits."
"That you have!" Loki replied softly, "perhaps someday you shall find that one woman which shall blind you to all others."
The front door opened, shutting with a dull click as they exchanged glances. At the creak of footsteps ascending the stairs, Loki called out, "Brenna..."

The footsteps paused and at first Colin expected them to continue on up to the second floor but a moment later, Brenna appeared in the dining room archway.

"I did not think anyone would be awake."

"Hoped is a more accurate word," Loki stood, taking a couple of bowls in his hands, " 'Tis past dark and more. Your mother called for you at the evening meal. You are fortunate she is not as strict as I am. Had it been up to me, I would have been out looking for you."

Brenna's face was crimson by now and Colin knew exactly where she'd been, felt a twinge of jealousy again as she frowned, "Papa, I am nearly twenty-one seasons. Mama was pregnant with me at my age. Can I not come and go as I please?"

Loki walked to a tall cabinet tucked into one corner of the dining room and opened the doors, setting the bowls inside on a shelf, "You still live here under my roof do you not? That you are old enough to handle your own...affairs...I have no doubt but can you not have a measure of respect for your mother? If you are not home by nightfall, she worries incessantly."

Before she could answer, he continued on, "And you are correct. You are old enough to come and go as you may but I will not tolerate you worrying your mother so. If you intend to be out past a certain hour, you will tell us where you shall be and you will give us a time you expect to return."

"Truly?"

Colin shook his head, turned to look at her and she seemed to pale a bit, "Very well, Papa. I am sorry. I shall tell Mama I am home."

She whirled about, ready to walk out of the room.

"Brenna," Loki called to her, his tone softened a bit, as she paused, "I realize I have kept you from visiting your friends on Midgard for far longer than you wished. I know this vexes you. Would you be more tractable were I to tell you that you might leave three days hence?"

Brenna turned about to stare at Loki as Colin tapped his chin. Loki was no different than any parent trying to please his children that they be pleased with him in kind.

"For how long?"

Loki shrugged, "Would four days suffice? You could be home for Mabon."

" 'Tis a deal!" She cried, running to him and wrapping her arms around his neck, "Thank you, Papa. I promise I shall tell Mama where I am off to next time!"

She rushed from the room, her footsteps pounding up the stairs.

Loki stared at the archway for a long time until Colin tapped his fingers on the table, "And you think it'll keep her from her goal?"

Loki's eyes glided to his though he seemed to be in another world, "I am no fool. I merely hope to stay her hand for as long as possible. Perhaps she will visit her friend, find she misses that unbearably brutal realm and decide to continue her schooling as she has planned," He picked up the remaining few bowls from the table, "Or I shall have to find another course of action."

"As long as it doesn't involve murdering the poor lad, we're all good." Colin stood up, stretched, "I don't envy you yer dilemma, my friend."

Loki gave him a wry smile, "And well you should not." He set the bowls into the cabinet and closed the doors. "All this time you have spent with us I have sought to convince you of the merits of finding a good woman. Perhaps you are the wiser remaining single for you do not suffer a half of the tribulations."

Colin pushed in his chair, "Now I never said I'd not the need for a woman or the yearn for a family..I am committed to my work at the present..,"

Loki walked to his chair, set his hands upon the backrest, "Do not let time run away from you, my friend."

Colin shrugged, "Some of us are not meant to to be blessed as yerself..,"

Brenna heard footsteps coming through the sitting room and continued swiftly, silently up the stairs. She didn't need to overhear her father's conversation with Colin to know he was only allowing her to finally visit Sophie because he knew where she had been stealing away to these last few evenings. Still it was a bit disconcerting to realize as quiet and stealthy as she thought she'd been, her father was ever more vigilant. She ducked into her bedchamber as her father's foot hit the bottom stair. She listened as the two men passed her door, chatting in hushed tones, heard first one door, then the other click shut. With a groan, she flopped back across her bed to stare at the light patterns thrown upon the ceiling by the lantern on her dressing table.

The first night she'd slipped away to the encampment to talk to Chase, she'd been sure she wouldn't be missed even though she'd encountered Hal on his way to his own cottage when she'd returned later that evening. The second night, she'd been able to come and go without being caught. She'd excused herself from the evening meal claiming she was going to retire to her bedchamber to read. Tonight, however, she'd taken off with not the least concern about being found out, damn Chase. As much as she hated to admit it, he was managing to do exactly what he'd told her he'd set out to do. He was weaseling his way back into her heart, her mind...not that she wasn't making it easy for him. As soon as she'd seen him walk down that ramp in the longhouse, a flood of old memories had overtaken her, making her pulse to race, even as mad as she'd been and when he'd begged her to come see him at the encampment before they'd parted ways, she knew she was going to do just as he asked despite the fact she'd laughed in his face at the time. She missed her friend Sophie terribly and so she would most definitely visit her as she'd promised. She would fill out the paperwork to start her secondary education on Midgard come spring as well. Beyond this, however, with Chase now back in her life, she felt, once again, as if she were walking a tightrope, unsure as to where she would land if she fell.

"ERIS!"

Even at full volume, Bard's voice barely cut through the din of the raucous crowd filling the Hammer and Serpent this evening. Eris pushed a stray hank of hair back from her face, filling with ale the third stein in a line set before her on the back wall, wondering for the hundredth time in the past two weeks, where she would head next when she finally decided to tell Bard to stick his head up his ass.

"Give me a minute!" she shouted over her shoulder, "Christ!"

"ERIS!"

She set the steins before the men standing at the bar, whirled about to glare at Bard standing at the opposite end , hands at his hips, "WHAT?"

Bard cocked two fingers, gesturing her to him. She set her jaw, trudging down the length of the bar past other patrons yelling out their orders until she reached Bard, "What in the hell do you want? I've got thirsty customers!"

"No," Bard growled, leaning in close, "I have thirsty customers, YOU have a date with the kitchen. Go help Fish with the dishes, that wench Bernette never showed. I'll take care of th' patrons..."

Bard put a hand to her back, shoving her through the doorway at her right into the kitchen where Fish raced back and forth before the fireplace, stirring the contents of a kettle a couple times, turning to a pan, adding a handful of something, a pinch of another, grabbing a knife from a hanger on the wall.

"Just you and I is it?" Fish called to her, "Get your hands wet then," he tilted his head to a couple of wooden tubs set atop a heavy stone ledge running along the wall. At one end were piled wooden chargers, pots, pans, a row of steins.

"Go'n now, them patrons ain't bout to wait long," Fish took a sip from a spoon, tapped the rest back into the kettle, "Or does Milady wish to save her hands for other chores?"

"Go fuck yourself," Eris sneered as Fish made a grab at his crotch.

"Mebbe later," Fish chuckled, "I've got me own work to do."

She rolled up the sleeves of her peasant blouse, wrinkled her nose as she shoved her hands into the hot water of the first tub, "I didn't sign on for this shit."

Fish threw out a hand, flopping it forward at the wrist, "Gods, no. You were made for better things weren't ya?"

She gritted her teeth, searched for the linen cloth in the soapy water, goddamn right I was.

Fish put a finger atop his head turning an obscene pirouette, "You was gonna be a dancer, eh?"

"I AM a dancer, you little cocksucker!" She spat, "And a whole lot more. Not that you'll ever find out...ahhhh!"

Fish had flung the stew covered spoon at her back. It struck her square between the shoulderblades, the hot stew taking her breath away.

"I ain't no cocksucker...just like you ain't no dancer!" Fish screeched as she spun about to face him just in time to see Bard's hamfist bounce off the back of Fish's head.

"I gots patrons out there waiting for a bowl a stew and you're back here prancing about? Get on with it!" Bard pointed then as he strode toward her, "And you...!"

It took an instant for the scene to pass through her head. Earlier that evening, she'd opened the back door of the tavern to throw out the old dish water and found an icy steady rain had commenced falling, fog rolling from the stream that ran behind the tavern. The last thing she wanted to find was herself outside in those conditions with nowhere to go and so when Bard grabbed a hank of her hair and drew her face close to his, she kept the image in her head as a barrier against her reaction.

"I din't send you back here to get in a row with 'im. Now do what you were asked and shut your great hole! I got bigger things to worry about than the two a you!"

He shoved her toward the tubs, turned to head back out into the tavern proper, "Now put a lid on it, the both of ya."

She sniffled, rubbed her nose with the back of her hand, a useless gesture as it only made her face wetter but the tears running down her face weren't tears of sadness, rather they were rage, hatred, frustration. She'd traded one useless existence for another. Nothing had changed, not yet. She thought of the marker in the front pocket of her dress. All she had to do was press it, return home and face the consequences of her actions. Resign herself to a life of obscurity, being preyed upon by dirty old men unhappy with their lonely little lives as they stuffed dollar bills down her thong every night, clawing at her tits at three in the morning, hoping for a free blow job. Treating her no better than dog shit, always pulling the ladder out of reach, keeping her at level with the winos, the common whores standing on the corners in their maxi mini skirts and mesh shirts propositioning every car that slowed to take a longer look, the addicts, the child abusers...

"FISH!" Bard bellowed from the doorway, "C'mere. I need a word with ya."

She hated to admit she hadn't planned on what to do once she'd arrived here in fairy tale land but there it was. Should she try to make a go of it, look for a rich customer who would transport her out of this roadside hell hole? If she couldn't showcase her talents, how could she expect to climb out of the gutter? How could she set herself on the path to easy living if her steps always led to this goddamn kitchen or the back of the long bar?

"ERIS!" Bard called to her.

She set a rinsed charger on the stone shelving, picked up another one and set it in the water, "What?"

"Get over here!" Bard was waving at her from the doorway.

"Okay, you sent me in here to do dishes because your hired help didn't show. I can't only do one thing at a time." Eris set her hands at the rim of the tub.

"You want to make a few extra coin tonight, you'll forget the dishes and get your arse out here."

Eris turned to see Fish angrily handing his fiddle to a short stout balding gentleman with no teeth. The man bowed to Fish, winked at Eris as he slipped away back into the tavern.

"We've a few nobles out there just come in from the storm. They asked to be entertained and they're willing ta pay. I told 'em I'd a dancer but she'd not be cheap so..." Bard cocked a thumb at the room behind him, "You do that routine ya showed me when you first came here. We'll see if the patrons like what they see. If they don't, back ya go behind the bar. How's that for incentive?"

Eris already had her apron from around her waist, her bitterness at her former position in life forgotten as the performer in her began to go through one of the routines in her head. She wasn't going to pass up an opportunity for some extra cash. If she did indeed want to take off down the road, she'd need something to take off with. She undid her dark hair from the leather thong she'd tied it up with, bent over to tousle it a bit, trotted over to Bard, flipping a brooding Fish the bird, snatching the tall broom on her way out of the kitchen, as Bard followed her with a wide grin.

Clink, clink, clink...wait for it...clink! Eris sat atop the bar, grinning from ear to ear, the shouts and catcalls of the men still ringing in her ears, a small pile of gold coins cradled in her apron. When Mort, the stout fiddle player, had started up a lively tune, she had danced about the room, turning every trick she knew to arouse the mostly male audience who were watching, rapt, clapping in time to the music as she rode the broom, twisting about it, sliding it between her legs, her breasts, sitting on more than a few laps, finding plenty of wooden handles besides the one in her hand. She'd stretched herself backward over the laps of the three nobles, the older handsome man in the middle lining three gold coins in her cleavage. She danced for what felt like half the evening and when she finished, out of breath, slick with sweat, the tavern had erupted with shouts of "More! More!" Bard stood behind the bar, chest puffed out, hands on his hips and a grin on his face. She knew then that she'd made a breakthrough. This was confirmed when Bard walked over to her, sitting at one of the empty chairs next to her scanning the now nearly empty tavern, most of the men having gone up to their lodgings, or been tossed out into the night to sleep off their overindulgence of ale.

Eris stared hard at Bard until he chuckled, finally breaking out into a full bellied laugh, "Raimon wasn't far wrong. You've a talent for working the men into a lather," Bard slapped the rough hewn wood of the bar, "More than one a them hadda stop for a little relief on the way home, I'll wager."

"More than one probably had a little relief while I was still dancing," Eris quipped as Bard roared even harder. She smiled to herself. She hadn't heard him laugh this hard since she'd started working at the Hammer and Serpent.

"You do a dance a night and we will put the Hammer and Serpent on every traveler's list." Bard reached for his stein.

"No. Too often and the men get bored," Eris waggled a finger, "Two evenings a week until they beg for more, then we raise it to three...I get half of what I take in."

"Half? HA! A quarter share...you forget ya get room and board here."

Eris looked up to the ceiling. Two floors above was a small room with an old cot covered by a ratty coverlet and a chamber pot shoved beneath the bed. She'd almost pissed herself the first night before she could bear to squat in the cold darkness and relieve herself.

"Room. It's a shithole. Half a take or no dance."

Bard frowned slightly though his heavy brows knit a moment, "A third share and if ya won't take it, hang yourself and return to the kitchen for all I care."

A third share. Gold coins were still gold coins.

"A third it is and I'll count it myself."

Bard's frown deepened further but suddenly, like a damn bursting, he let out a bray of laughter, "You, wench, are going to make me some coin."

Eris nodded. A month or so of this and then she would be down the road with nothing but dust to show she'd ever been there.