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"My Angel"
"Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up. It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, 'Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his maker?'"
Job 4:15-17, King James Bible
-28-
Peorth listened with half an ear as the muffled voices of Belldandy and Keiichi quieted into a gentle lull. Her ears strained for any hint of what might be happening in his room, but instead what came to her was a vision; one provided by some sixth, otherworldly sense that occasionally allowed her insight to the hearts and minds of mortals. She saw a couple embrace in her mind's eyes and smiled. "Finally," she breathed. "I feared Belldandy would never gain the courage to approach him."
It came to her as a relief. The goddess had tried everything she could think of short of actually sleeping with Keiichi to push Belldandy into action, and the knowledge that the strange couple were at last opening up to each other after Belldandy's trauma set her heart at ease. Some good had finally raised its head, and while it'd cost her a swollen cheek and unrestrained tension, Peorth was willing to view them as necessary sacrifices for Belldandy's sake.
Now she could get some actual rest. If only that blasted Valkyrie would cease her infernal whimpering. It was unnerving coming from the hardened warrior, and even if Belldandy had not gone to Keiichi that night, Peorth doubted she'd have gotten any rest. Lind sounded as though she was in near-unending pain, yet the Valkyrie's reputation for violence left Peorth reluctant to awaken her. She had no wish to invoke the Golden-Eyed Valkyrie's wrath. The goddess in question tossed and turned in her sleep, and a groan that Peorth could only label as 'terrified' arose from deep within her chest. Peorth's arms erupted in gooseflesh.
It matters not, Peorth reminded herself. One night of no sleep is meaningless in the grand scheme of things. I will return to Asgard tomorrow and label my task here as complete, and then I'll have all the time in the world to rest and recuperate. Lind's breathing became rapid and strained, like a woman fighting for breath. Peorth buried her head beneath her pillow and tried to drown it out. Unfortunately it appears that tonight shall be the longest night in all of my history, and the dawn is still six hours away. But such is life at times, and if these are the last six hours I must spend in this wretched country, then so be it. It is nothing in comparison to accusations against my honor, sucker punches by Belldandy, electrocutions when I had no honest intent to go to Keiichi's side, or attacks by resident spirits when I have done nothing to insult. The pillow helped a bit to block out Lind's noisy sleep disturbance, and with it Peorth could feel her eyes growing heavy with sleep. This is no land for gods, she thought to herself, right before drifting off...
And then once more awakening to a bang like a gunshot.
Peorth started in the bed, and next to her Lind awoke with a shriek more befitting a banshee. "The angels!" she wailed, and Peorth felt herself break into a cold sweat. The voice that emerged from the Valkyrie's throat almost didn't sound like her own. "No one is paying attention to the angels!"
From next door came a plethora of curses from Urd, and amidst Lind's outcries Peorth grew aware of a secondary set of screams, these ones coming from Skuld. "It's happening! Now! Move! It's happening right now, go go GO!" Footsteps pounded past Peorth's door in a sprint, and a moment later came another horrible bang- not a gunshot but a door being kicked open- and then Lind was on her feet and herself once more.
Alert, her eyes almost glowing an eerie yellow in the darkness, the Valkyrie rushed for the door and pulled it open, ripping the door off its hinges. She tossed it behind her without thought, and Peorth rolled out of the bed with a shout as the heavy wood collided with the headboard. "What is going-"
Lind was out the door before Peorth could finish her inquiry, and a few seconds later Urd was racing past as well, her eyes wide and frightened. Peorth felt her stomach tie itself into a knot, then rushed after the goddess, suddenly afraid. Afraid of the ominous words spoken by a Norn and a Valkyrie without reason. Afraid of the expression on the eldest Norn's face as Urd tore Lind out of the threshold of Keiichi's room and dove inside. Afraid of the embrace she'd seen in her mind's eye. Afraid of the silence that had settled in Keiichi's quarters. Afraid of the darkness that even now permeated the bedroom shared by a mortal and a Norn, one scarred, the other barely stable, and the sheer unknown held within its walls. And then an angel with a black wing, an accursed black wing appeared, and Peorth found herself with a whole new reason to be afraid.
XXX
Skuld was already inside the bedroom, and of everyone that night, was perhaps the only one who had a full account of what happened. What she saw shocked her, though she'd already been haunted by visions of its manifestation earlier that day. Her visions had been snippets; little warnings that something was going to happen, to prepare herself to act. But they did little to prepare her for the harsh reality the Norn of the Future had stumbled upon. Her eyes saw but her mind did not fully register the information passed on by her senses. She saw Keiichi pinned to the wall, his body limp, his face a sickly shade of blue. She saw Belldandy holding him by the throat with her right hand, its grip tight and vice like, and an ethereal, blue-white light forming in her other hand. Her eyes were aware of that glowing left hand pulling back to deliver a left hook, was aware of something emerging from Belldandy's back and grabbing hold of the Norn's left arm with all its might.
It's not enough, a voice whispered in her mind. It's not enough and you know it. She won't stop. She can't stop. Not without help. The voice was young but not without wisdom, a familiar stranger whose name danced on the tip of Skuld's tongue for reasons she could not explain. She needs more strength. More power. But unless she gets outside help-
It happened faster than her brain could process. There was no time for thought as the words that weren't her own flowed like water through her mind. There was only time for action. "Noble Scarlet, come forth!" She felt a presence, small and compact but filled with energy, with power, escape her back like a bright red star, and then another angel, this one only half the size of Holy Bell, was latched ahold of Belldandy and prying her away from Keiichi. Skuld ran to aid the two angels and felt the wild beat of Noble Scarlet's wings against her face. Her hands wrapped around Belldandy's right wrist and began to pry the fingers from around Keiichi's throat. Keiichi's head fell boneless and limp to one side.
"Urd!" Skuld released a shriek. "Urd, get in here! I need your help!"
Her summons were met at once with an explosion, one of such density and such tight control that Skuld wasn't even aware of it until the Norn of the Present was knocked to the floor and Skuld saw the charred hole near Belldandy's feet. With a wail, the Middle Norn lost her hold on Keiichi. The man dropped to the ground in a heap, and didn't move. The two angels at Belldandy's back, Holy Bell and Noble Scarlet, dragged her further away from him, and Skuld dropped to her knees and brought a pair of fingers to the SEAL's throat. She searched, but couldn't find a pulse. "Urd!" she screamed again, and now her sister was at her side, kneeling on the other side of Keiichi and pressing her ear to the man's chest.
The woman's expression was one of such open fear and rage that it frightened the younger Norn as Urd directed her gaze to Skuld. "Get Belldandy out of here." She ordered, taking control of the situation with such a level of command that Skuld almost wondered if she wasn't listening to her mother Ansuz. "Have World of Elegance guide you to one of the other bedrooms. Keep Lind and Peorth away from Belldandy until we know she's stable. Don't challenge Elegance."
"Don't what?" Skuld stared at her in confusion, yet her older sister had already moved her focus to Keiichi. Lightning in a harsh shade of violet danced at the woman's fingertips, and muttering a spell under her breath she brought them to the man's chest. Keiichi's body spasmed violently, and again Skuld recoiled, unnerved by the way the man's arms and legs seized and convulsed, smashing against the wood with audible thumps. She rose to her feet, wanting to see no more of the resuscitation, and looked around. World of Elegance was blocking the threshold of the door, her back turned to Skuld as her wings were splayed up and out in a hostile display. She could hear voices from the hallway as Lind and Peorth demanded entrance, to help, all of which were met in a stony silence.
Her gaze then switched to Belldandy, who was fighting against the grips of both her own angel and Skuld's with a ferocity that bordered on the terror of a mindless animal. Her expression was one of raw panic, a grimace on her face that spoke more of her time under Aoshima's thumb than any words that had been exchanged with Skuld since the Norn's freedom.
Skuld felt sick.
The Norn swallowed her nerves, fighting past her discomfort as she instead approached Belldandy. Though the woman's eyes were open, it was obvious Belldandy dreamed; her eyes were flat, dead, empty of emotion or of intellect, and when Skuld moved they did not follow her actions. "Big Sister, snap out of it!" She grabbed Belldandy's shoulders and shook her. "Come on, you've got to hear my voice, right? Wake up!"
Belldandy threw her off with a scream that rose into a name: "To-shi-yu-ki!" Skuld's shoulder slammed into the wood with enough force to be bruising, and if not for the two angels at Belldandy's back the woman would have tackled her younger sibling. Instead she was hauled back once more by Holy Bell and Noble Scarlet. The woman's face devolved into a bestial snarl, her cheeks flushing into a deep red that spread up her forehead and down her neckline as the scream rose into a howl of inarticulate rage. It was a sight so eerie and so alien that Skuld scarcely recognized the woman before her as the elder sister she'd grown up idolizing.
We need to calm her down or wake her up. Was that her thought or Noble Scarlet's? She couldn't tell in the chaos of the room. Skuld bit her lip. Her eyes met Noble Scarlet's. The angel nodded, sensing Skuld's intent, and then shifted her grip on Belldandy. Holy Bell stared at the smaller angel in confusion, and then alarm as the newly-born angel wrapped an arm around Belldandy's neck in a choke hold. For a moment Skuld feared Belldandy's angel would attack her own in defense of her host. She was shocked further when the angel instead looked to Skuld and nodded instead, as though giving Skuld the go ahead to knock Belldandy out.
It was a strange sight for a goddess who had never summoned an angel before, and as Noble Scarlet's grip grew firm and tight against the middle Norn, Skuld came to realize how little she understood of angels in general.
Belldandy's howl was cut off with her air, and she began to claw at the arm around her throat. Holy Bell was quick to grab her wrists, guiding them away from Noble Scarlet as the strength left the Norn's body. The goddess dropped to her knees, and the small angel leaned backwards, throwing her weight to the side to knock herself and Belldandy onto their backs. In a manner that perhaps mirrored Keiichi's of mere minutes earlier, the woman began choking, trying and failing to draw air. The fight left her person with her strength, and within seconds she was out cold. Noble Scarlet quickly released her and retreated to Skuld's side, leaving Belldandy to Holy Bell.
The young Norn flinched when a crackle of electricity rose from the door. A look to Elegance showed the angel was still keeping Lind and Peorth away, and had no qualms using magic to enforce her will. For Skuld's part, she was grateful. Neither of the goddesses needed to see the Norns in their current state, and she didn't want to stand around and see how either of the deities would react to Noble Scarlet's dwarfed appearance. And Holy Bell...
She shook her head, banishing the thoughts for later as she looked back to her angel. "Um, could you stay with Holy Bell?" Her heart was racing, her thoughts scattered as she tried to assess how to address her angel. "I-I need to check something." She paused and Noble Scarlet didn't move, perhaps sensing there was more Skuld wanted to say. "Um... I... don't know a whole lot about you," she confessed. It sounded almost like an apology. "But uh, if you can communicate with Holy Bell... do you think you could help her out?"
The angel nodded and drifted off to Holy Bell, who was wrapping one of Belldandy's arms around her shoulders. She tried to stand and stumbled, and Noble Scarlet moved to assist her. Satisfied her new angel would follow her requests, Skuld crawled to her feet and approached World of Elegance. It felt like her whole body was vibrating with unspent nervous energy. The angel released another spell that drove Lind and Peorth away from the threshold, then glanced back at Skuld as though sensing her approach.
Skuld steeled herself. Something about the angel's eyes was making her even more nervous than Belldandy had, and World of Elegance was supposed to be on her side. "We've got Belldandy under control," she said. "Urd said to let you know."
The angel's eyes darted further inside the room, then back to Skuld. Heterochromic eyes. Only one of them was blue, and it was a shade so dark it almost passed for a shade of violet like Urd's. The other was as black as her wing. The angel jerked her head towards the hallway, and while there were no words to display intent, Skuld had spent enough years around Urd to understand what the gesture meant. Follow me.
Skuld looked back over her shoulder. "Noble Scarlet, Holy Bell, are you ready?" The two angels, each with one of Belldandy's arms over their shoulders, nodded and stumbled forward. It was awkward; Noble Scarlet was tiny compared to Holy Bell, and was forced to fly while attempting to hold her half of Belldandy's weight. Holy Bell looked weak and sickly in comparison, and each step had a noticeable tremor to it. Yet the angel waved Skuld aside when the Norn tried to assist with the same stubborn will Skuld recognized in Belldandy, and biting her lip Skuld instead decided to help Elegance clear the hallway.
As she left the room she cast one final look back at Urd. The woman had stopped resuscitating Keiichi with her magic and had instead moved to attend the man's neck. Skuld wondered if the older woman even realized she was crying.
But then Elegance was on the move and Skuld had to rush to keep up. "Lind, Peorth, back off!" she announced.
Peorth had retreated back to Belldandy's room. Her own angel was out and tense, eyeing World of Elegance in open alarm. "Skuld, what's going on?" She demanded. "What happened to Belldandy and Keiichi?"
"I'll tell you later," Skuld said.
World of Elegance bared her teeth at Peorth's angel, who puffed up in alarm. She guarded Peorth closely, a whip made of plant fiber and thorns out and curled around her wrist in an open display of aggression. The message was clear: Peorth's angel viewed World of Elegance's actions as antagonistic enough to warrant action, and if the black-winged angel didn't back off, there was going to be a fight. Skuld had never seen angels fight before, had no desire to see such a thing now, and so grabbed World of Elegance by one tattooed hand and pulled her back. The angel looked back at her with a snarl. Skuld shook her head. "Not this room. Urd's room. Come on, leave them alone."
The angel regarded her with a look Skuld couldn't place, then wheeled around and spat a broad arc of fire back towards the hallway stairs. Two angels, each with only one wing, leapt forth from Lind as the Valkyrie retreated down the stairs. They intertwined their wings, and the flames bounced harmlessly off of their make-shift shield.
"Skuld, whatever you and Urd are trying to do, hurry!" Lind called from further down the stairs. "Urd's angel needs to calm down before she levels the whole house!"
"Then both of you stop trying to get involved and back off!" Skuld cried, her own distress making her voice rise and crack. "Please Lind, I'm trying the best I can, but World of Elegance is freaking out over both of you! Go downstairs until Urd and I have a chance to sort this all out!"
"What about Belldandy and Keiichi though?" Peorth pressed. "Skuld, what is going on?!"
"I don't know!" Skuld screamed. It was a lie, of course. Skuld had known what was happening before Belldandy had seen Aoshima's face instead of Keiichi's and pushed Keiichi into a wall and wrapped a hand around his throat. She'd known before Keiichi had realized something was wrong and had tried to escape. She'd realized what was going on before the SEAL had begun to struggle, before Belldandy had begun to tighten her grip around his throat, and before Keiichi's face began to turn blue as his lungs were deprived of oxygen. Yet Skuld was overwhelmed, almost as frenzied as her older sister tending to Keiichi's wounds, and didn't want to deal with Peorth's interrogation without Urd there to reassure her that everything was going to be okay. "All of you, just-back off!"
Elegance grabbed her by the shoulder and shoved her roughly towards Urd's bedroom. It wasn't Urd, but it was enough to spur her into action. With the angel keeping Peorth trapped in Belldandy's room and forcing the twins to protect Lind in the stairwell, Skuld proceeded to Urd's room with the two angels supporting Belldandy hot on her tail. As soon as the pair of angels and unconscious goddess made their way past Peorth, World of Elegance backed out, covering their movements. Skuld thought she saw Peorth's angel stalk after the black-winged angel. She didn't wait to find out.
As soon as Belldandy was placed onto Urd's bed, World of Elegance was back in the hallway. Skuld chased after her. "Wait! What are you doing?"
It was stupid to expect the angel to answer her, as instead the black winged angel wheeled on the two goddesses and three angels encroaching on the lone Norn in the hallway. Again lighting cackled around the angel's person, and her wings brought with it the sound of thunder so loud Skuld had to cover her ears. Bolts of violet lighting shot from the angel's person, yet none of them came close to striking either goddess; warning shots designed to force Lind and Peorth out of the hallway. World of Elegance advanced on them like an enraged eagle. The two goddesses backed up towards the staircase.
"Lind, don't attack her!" Skuld cried, and from behind her she sensed rather than saw Noble Scarlet and Holy Bell emerge from the bedroom, watching the scene with growing anxiety.
From between the gaps of Elegance's wings Skuld caught snippets of Lind's grimace. "I'm not," she assured, and her next words were directed towards World of Elegance herself. "You helped me, remember? Me and my girls?"
For a moment World of Elegance paused, regarding Lind with a haughty expression. Lind had her hands up, keeping them visible to the angel. She brought an arm up in front of Peorth, then pushed the goddess backwards towards the staircase. "I want to return the favor. I want to help you too." She took a step backwards, and with Peorth eyeing her both deities retreated from the angel. "We're going downstairs, okay?" Her voice was of a soft tone that Skuld had never heard before. "I'm going to make a phone call, all right?" she continued. "It's to a friend of mine." She paused, and from Skuld's perspective World of Elegance bristled, the muscles in her back tensing as though she were preparing to dive at the Valkyrie. Skuld considered the wisdom of tackling the angel and then thought better of it, instead listening to the Valkyrie's proposal.
"I know you were trying to protect them, but I saw them," Lind continued, and the angel jerked towards the goddess with a snarl. A burst of fire once more flew from her mouth, and sparks crackled and gleamed in the angel's jaw. This time Lind didn't move, and the fire fell short of her by a foot. "I understand. You saw my girls, remember? It's no different from them. My friend is the one who treats them both. He specializes in the health and well-being of angels. He can help, if you'll let him."
Peorth was watching Lind and World of Elegance with wide eyes. By the look on the Rose Goddess's face, she might as well have been watching Lind trying to talk a tiger down from mauling the both of them. "Lind, what are you-"
Lind hushed her, then turned back to Elegance. "Something's wrong with your sisters," she continued, her voice that same slow and steady pace as before. "I saw. One was too small and the other is..." She trailed off. "You want to know why, right?" she asked instead. Sparks prickled across World of Elegance's plumage. "My friend can tell you. If I bring him down here will you allow him to look them over?"
"Lind, shouldn't you be asking the Nor-" Peorth tried again and was hushed once more for her troubles.
"I understand where you're coming from and I want to help," Lind persisted. "Will you please allow me to help you as you and Urd helped me?"
The sparks faded from World of Elegance's wings. She stomped her foot, demanding.
Lind nodded. "Peorth and I will go downstairs and I'll make the call from there," she said. "None of us will come up- not even my friend- until we get word from you or one of the Norns, okay?"
The muscles that comprised the angel's wings flexed, causing the feathers to sigh against her person. Then the feathers began to smooth, and some of the tension melted as World of Elegance gave a single sharp nod.
"Downstairs Peorth." Lind's voice was almost inaudible. "Now," she ordered, and Skuld could hear the retreating steps of both Lind and Peorth as the angel before her breathed deep.
Skuld eyed her warily, even more uneasy now than when World of Elegance had first cast that dual-gaze on her person. "Hey." She couldn't raise her voice above a whisper. World of Elegance glanced down at her, and for the first time Skuld realized just how much larger World of Elegance was than any of the other angels she'd seen in the house. The only one who came close was Peorth's angel, and even she'd seemed dwarfed in light of Elegance's fury. Skuld swallowed, intimidated. "Let's go and check on Urd and Keiichi," she suggested, and wondered what she was trying to accomplish. World of Elegance was an extension of Urd, right? The angel was intimately connected with her host; she knew what Urd knew and felt what Urd felt. Her overall actions were an extension of Urd's own feelings and desires, so why make such a thoughtless suggestion?
World of Elegance beheld her with an unreadable expression, then looked past Skuld to Urd's room. Skuld glanced behind her, finding Noble Scarlet floating in the hallway. In the threshold of the door, Holy Bell peeked out. It looked almost as though the angel was hiding. Skuld heard World of Elegance sigh, and, her attention torn between the two angels at her back and the larger angel before her, Skuld once more turned to Elegance. The anger had vanished. In its place was a look of such melancholy, as World of Elegance looked back at the two angels, that Skuld felt her heart wrench.
In that moment Skuld came to a new realization; a thought that had never occurred to her in her small and limited experience with angels. They're their own person. She thought. They aren't just extensions of ourselves. They're a whole different entity born from our souls. "I'm sorry," she blurted, and then wondered why she was apologizing.
World of Elegance started, the feathers of her wings bristling and then settling like a cat that had been spooked. She stared at Skuld, then back to Noble Scarlet and Holy Bell. The tattooed entity drew her wings together, tight against her back, and rested a hand on Skuld's head. Skuld waited for the angel to rustle her hair-like Urd did to get a rise out of her- and was proven wrong once more when instead a voice rose in her mind. It was feminine but filled with static, like a voice on a radio with a weak signal. N..o ap...log...s. Skuld started, and World of Elegance's hand fell away as the angel moved past her, gesturing to Keiichi's room as she approached the two remaining angels.
Skuld stared after the angel in stunned silence. I really know absolutely nothing about angels, do I? She watched as the black-winged angel gathered up the two of them-a choir. A group of angels is called a choir, she recalled-and moved from Urd's room and into Belldandy's room, World of Elegance using her wings to block Skuld's view of Holy Bell in a gesture of privacy.
For a moment she caught Noble Scarlet's gaze, and heard her angel's voice, still so new as to be strange and eerie to the Norn, rise in Skuld's mind. Holy Bell needs help, the angel whispered. It sounded like a child who had yet to reach puberty. It was a sound that chilled Skuld to the core. I want to help World of Elegance look out for her. Is that okay?
Skuld nodded wordlessly, and the tiny angel sent her a smile of the kind of unparalleled joy and relief that only a child could properly express. Like asking a parent to stay the night with her best friend, Skuld thought. The door that had been ripped off its hinges appeared, held up by one tattooed hand, and was laid to lean against the threshold to block the view from within. Skuld watched the black and white limb vanish from sight before moving to Keiichi's room. She felt drained for reasons she could not explain. Worse yet, she felt ill.
Why is Noble Scarlet so small? The thought revolved in her mind. Why isn't she like Peorth's angel, or even World of Elegance? Why is she... why is she a child?
Urd was placing Keiichi on top of his bed when Skuld entered the SEAL's bedroom once more. He looked fragile in the elder woman's arms. Young. Mortal. He's got a young soul, Skuld thought inanely. If he survives this it will age him by decades. Urd looked ancient in comparison; an old woman who'd seen and lived through wars and borne witness to unspeakable atrocities committed in the name of gods, demons, and men. Her face was set with deep worry lines, and there were heavy bags under her eyes that left the deity with a near-endless look of sadness and depression. She just looked so...so tired of it all. Skuld averted her gaze. She didn't want to see her sister in such pain. "How is he?"
"Alive," Urd murmured. "It's all any of us can ask for right now." Her voice was strained. "Belldandy?"
"Out cold," Skuld said. "Noble Scarlet knocked her out."
"Who?"
"Noble Scarlet," Skuld repeated, and she looked up at Urd. "...my angel." She felt her lower lip try to pull down in a frown and ignored it. Urd stared at her in silence. "She's... tough. Tough but tiny. And Holy Bell..," she swallowed. "Did you see her, Urd?"
"No," Urd confessed. "I... missed her in my rush to treat Keiichi. Is she..."
"She doesn't have any feathers." The words came out a whisper. "Not a single one, and she's... it's like looking at a skeleton, Urd!" She gritted her teeth and looked to the floor, ashamed when hot tears blurred her sight. "The muscle has withered away to nothing! She's nothing but skin and bone and-" She jumped when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her shoulders. "I can't..." She looked up at Urd, and now the tears flowed unobstructed down her face. "What's wrong with them, Urd? Noble Scarlet and Holy Bell. What's wrong with them?"
"I don't know," Urd murmured, and somehow that admission made it worse.
"I can't keep this up, Urd." The younger Norn turned into her sister's embrace and buried her face against the woman, sobbing into her chest. "I'm so sick of it! I'm so tired of being strong for her! I don't want to be an adult anymore! No one said anything about this stuff! What am I supposed to do?!"
Yet Urd said nothing. There was nothing she could say. Not in this moment where both of their nerves were frayed and the Norn of the Past lacked the proper words to reassure her sister.
Not when such similar thoughts danced at the forefront of her own mind.
XXX
There was a stranger in the house when Skuld went downstairs later that night.
It wasn't the Tic that was due to arrive.
But it was a Tic. A short man with curly hair and a large handlebar mustache whose smile was large and kind when he caught her gaze. "Hey Kyz, you must be Skuld eh?" He ambled over to her and thrust a hand out as Skuld stepped into the hallway. His grip was gentle, different from what Skuld was used to from her family or their various associates. Those handshakes were always tight and crushing, and whenever Skuld had to deal with one her hand would have bruises that would last for days. Not this one though. This one felt almost limp and weak in comparison. "I'm Nebo. Nice to meet ya." He didn't introduce himself by his full title, which was also strange for a god. It was in general considered proper to introduce oneself by their full title, especially amongst older gods, and so to hear such a casual greeting coming from the man further unbalanced the Norn. He didn't look a day over thirty, yes, but the aura that surrounded him was old; older than the old woman Skuld had spoken to who was assigned as Belldandy's Tic.
"Um... hi," Skuld said.
"Imma friend of Lind's. She asked me to come down and check up on your angels?" He didn't go further in depth, though Skuld had a sneaking suspicion Lind had informed him of everything she'd seen. The Norn looked over Nebo's shoulder to where Lind was watching the exchange in silence. The Valkyrie jutted her chin toward the staircase but made no other motion. Skuld was uncertain if she should be encouraged by the blue-haired deity or not.
"Something like that," Skuld mumbled. She looked back to Nebo, who was watching her closely. It made her uncomfortable. The man's gaze was unwavering and left her feeling open and exposed, as though he was looking right into her and reading all her secrets.
"I was warned that one of 'em's a bit of a gudan." He winked at Skuld, who had no idea what a 'gudan' was but nodded regardless. The man had a strange accent to him that she'd only heard on a couple of rare occasions, and those usually amongst the older deities in her father's court. "Think she's gonna let me see the choir or she gonna wring my throat instead?" That penetrating look was gone, hidden now behind a pair of laughing eyes.
"I think she's liable to strangle the both of us," Skuld grumbled, but allowed a small, hesitant smile to crawl across her face. Unnerving as this strange little man was, she recognized his desire to help. "You know a lot about angels?"
"They're my specialty." Nebo smiled broadly. "Ain't nobody thinkin' 'bout the angels, but somebody got to, right? They special folks. You help the angel, you help the god."
"I never thought about it like that." Skuld said. "I...only recently called my angel for the first time."
"That so?" Nebo's bushy eyebrows shot up in surprise, and then he sent her another one of those large, toothy smiles. "Well ain't you in for a treat! Special time for you Kyz! She upstairs with the others?"
"Yeah."
"Want to introduce 'em to me then? Let the ol' gudan know I ain't about to eat her choir?"
Skuld sent him an uneasy stare, and Nebo waved her off. "Sorry, sorry, bad joke. We'll go up there together and I'll have a look at all of 'em, what do you say? Let you know how your angel's doing along with the gudan and the other one. Be good for 'em!"
The Norn smiled weakly, no longer comfortable with the idea of Nebo seeing her angel. Like all the times before, however, she swallowed her nerves and nodded. "Yeah, sure. Why not?" She looked past him once more in question to Lind, who still watched them in silence. Peorth poked her head out from the living room with a worried expression of her own on her face.
"We'll stay down here," Lind announced. "Come grab us if you or Urd need our help with Keiichi or Belldandy. We don't want to crowd the second floor. It could make World of Elegance anxious again."
Peorth sent the Valkyrie a flat look. "Speak for yourself," she muttered. "It does not feel right to sit here and do nothing when there are people suffering upstairs."
"No one's suffering right now," Skuld replied. "Keiichi's okay and Belldandy's resting."
"And what of you and Urd?" Peorth demanded. "You were not 'fine' when last I saw you upstairs."
Skuld didn't reply. She turned and headed up the stairs instead, and casting a look back to Lind, Nebo turned and followed her as well.
Urd was heading to her bedroom to check on Belldandy when they came to the second floor. She paused to watch them with tired eyes. "Who's your friend, Skuld?"
"Nebo," Skuld said. The man waved. "Lind called him. He's here to look at Holy Bell."
Urd paused and narrowed her eyes at the man. "A Tic?" she queried.
Nebo nodded. "Lind filled me in on what she knows. You're Urd, right? The one with the Black Wing mutation?"
The goddess bristled as though she'd been insulted. "What of it?" Urd snapped. She turned to face him more fully. There was a challenge in her step.
Nebo raised his hands, trying to defuse the situation before it could worsen. "Sorry! Ey, didn't mean anything by It Kyz. Lind told me you had a bit of a medical background as an acolyte is all. Would you mind helping me out if I called on you for aid?"
The tension eased from the woman's face. "Damn Valkyrie can't keep her mouth shut," she grumbled. "Yes, I'll help... if I'm not busy with Keiichi or Belldandy."
"Aw, come on, Kyz, don't be too hard on Lind," Nebo said. "She didn't mean nothing by it. I just noticed the potion you made for her angel and it just kind of slipped out. That stuff was pretty potent- I could use that kind of expertise if you ain't already predisposed."
Urd massaged her brow, and Skuld took the chance to glance once more at Nebo. As she'd expected, that scrutinizing look was back on his face once more. Urd didn't notice. "Fine."
"Think you can ask World of Elegance to let us in?" Skuld pointed to the Belldandy's room. The door was back on its hinges again. "She was getting pretty... testy with us."
Urd stared at the two of them, then at Belldandy's room. With a sigh she trudged over to the door and knocked on it. World of Elegance opened it after the first knock and stared at all three of them, unsurprised by the trio of deities. Urd gestured to Nebo and Skuld with an open palm, then turned and headed back towards her own room.
Skuld brought a hand to her brow. "Yggdrasil bless it Urd," she moaned.
World of Elegance looked at them with narrowed eyes, her arms crossed atop her chest and wings once more splayed to block the view of the room within. Nebo looked between the angel and her retreating host in interest. "...Huh," he grunted. "That's rare. Not often you see that kind of relationship between an angel and its host."
World of Elegance raised a brow, but Nebo didn't pursue his thoughts aloud. He stepped forward instead and introduced himself. His voice became softer, gentler than the tone he'd initially used to address Skuld. "Well aren't you a gorgeous one," he murmured. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Nebo, the Tic Lind visited after you helped her twins down here. Lind asked me to come by and see to you and your sisters."
Some of the haughty aloofness faded from the angel's demeanor as the man introduced himself, and World of Elegance looked him up and down with fresh scrutiny. The entity paused a moment and looked over her shoulder, and then after a moment returned her attention to Nebo. The angel pursed her lips, then backed out of the door's threshold, allowing Nebo to enter. Skuld followed after a moment's hesitation of her own, yet World of Elegance did not bar her path as she expected. Instead the Norn was allowed to enter as well, and World of Elegance shut the door behind her.
The overhead lights of the room were off, yet there was a warm and earthy glow that provided more than enough light to see by. Magical orbs of gentle hues of blue and green appeared to be the source. None larger than a baseball, they drifted at a lazy pace throughout the room. Skuld looked at them in open curiosity, having never seen such magic before, and then back at World of Elegance in question. The angel ignored her silent inquiry, and instead moved past both Skuld and Nebo and to Belldandy's bed, where both Noble Scarlet and Holy Bell rested curled up against each other.
The bed sheets and blankets were in disarray. They'd been pulled up from the mattress and tucked and folded into each other to form a nest around Holy Bell. Pillows were stacked around her to give the angel as much cushioning and support as possible, but as they approached Skuld could tell it wasn't enough. The angel's face was set in a grimace, one that only faded from outright pain to severe discomfort when World of Elegance returned to what must have been her own place in the makeshift nest. The angel rested against the bed's headboard and drew Holy Bell to her, and as she settled once more Noble Scarlet readjusted her own position to aid in the angel's comfort.
A lump formed in Skuld's throat at the sight. Now that the chaos of the late evening had settled down with Keiichi cared for and Belldandy next door, the Norn had a chance to see Holy Bell with all her injuries on display. The angel was thin enough that Skuld could easily count her ribs, her pelvic bone protruding against skin of an unnatural, sickly yellow. She could see the joints of her elbows, knees, and ankles clearly, and there were patches on the skin that looked scaled and dry; scar tissue from past crystal infections that had come and gone with the many seasons trapped under Aoshima's roof. Her hair was matted into a single clump of filth, and her wings drooped at her back, little more than skin and bone; it looked like she hadn't seen feathers in ages. The angel rested curled up against both World of Elegance and Noble Scarlet, tearing pages out of a large paperback book and tearing the paper into tiny shreds. It seemed to soothe her, yet somehow made her seem smaller and more vulnerable than Skuld's angel, who was not even half her size.
The Norn bit her lip, fighting the desire to look away. Noble Scarlet was watching her closely, and she didn't want the tiny angel to think her so weak. See? That child-like voice rang once more in her head. I can help too. World of Elegance and Holy Bell both said so. World of Elegance let me build a nest for Holy Bell, and she said I did really good! In a softer voice she added, Holy Bell is still hurting though... World of Elegance said there's nothing I can do about that. But I'm still helping and I'm gonna keep helping until she gets better!
Yeah, you're helping all right. Skuld thought. She tried to smile but it came out flat. Her stomach twisted into a knot. You're doing good, Noble Scarlet...Real good. Can you do me a favor and follow Nebo's directions? He wants to take a look at Holy Bell and help her out.
The angel looked at the man in question, then nodded to Skuld. Nebo was wearing another gentle smile again, and for that Skuld envied the man. How he managed to display any kind of positive emotion in the face of such a tragic sight was beyond her understanding; beyond anything the Norn could even hope to accomplish in that moment. If he was at all bothered or unnerved by Holy Bell's state of being he hid it well. "Hello." The words were whispered now. "I'm here to help."
Skuld watched in silence as the deity went about examining Holy Bell, his actions slow, deliberate, and above all gentle in consideration of the angel's deteriorated state. Most of what he spoke he whispered, and sensing the need to give them privacy Skuld moved back to the door and well out of range of hearing. His words became a soft murmur, and on occasion he would hold Holy Bell's arms and examine the patches of dry, tough skin, would rotate a limb to test for mobility and pain, would ask the angel to perform some action and then have her stop when she displayed signs of visible pain.
And he would joke. He would tell nonsensical stories as he went about his examination, loud enough even for the Norn across the room to hear. Skuld watched as all three angels listened with rapt attention until he came to the end of one story after another, where Noble Scarlet would smile in delight and Holy Bell would grace him with a small smile. He told knock-knock jokes and Noble Scarlet would mime 'who's there', and each one would end in a scenario more ridiculous than the last until even World of Elegance cracked a grin, and Nebo would call her on it before she had a chance to hide it.
By the time he was half-way through his examination, the deity had placed all three of the angels in a state of such ease that even the somber atmosphere of the room had lightened somewhat. And all this before Nebo's final act, which both shocked and delighted not just the angels, but Skuld as well. Nebo knew how to sign.
So too did all the angels.
It was a technique inherent in all angels from the moment they were born, or so Skuld had heard. An ability that had been implanted as part of the magical creature's development to allow an ease in communication should the host be unavailable. Skuld had never seen an angel sign before, much less a god, and it left the young Norn wondering if she needed to have her eyes checked once, then checked twice, when first Noble Scarlet, then Holy Bell signed back.
"Can you tell me what else is bothering you?" Nebo spoke the words aloud as his hands signaled his intent, and at a slower pace Skuld watched Holy Bell reply, the gestures meaningless and obscure to the Norn's untrained eye. Nebo asked another question that Holy Bell responded to, then another. With each answer she gave, she grew bolder as an honest, shy smile encroached upon the angel's face.
So absorbed was she with the scene, Skuld didn't even notice her own smile at the sight, nor how relieved she was that Lind had made a simple phone call to a friend.
XXX
There was a moan from the bed. Urd started at the sound, then was on her feet from where she'd been resting against a wall and at Keiichi's side before his eyes even opened. The man's face pulled back in a grimace, and he brought an arm across his face to block out the light of the room. His eyes fluttered, and making a face the man grunted before one eye cracked open. "Beeeeell?" The word came long and drawn out, almost as though the man was drunk. After the amount of magic and the number of repairs to his body the Norn had made, this didn't surprise Urd in the slightest.
The other eye cracked open, and the man blinked at the goddess. "Urrrd...h-hey Urrrrrd," he drawled. "Did'ja seeeee it?"
Urd stared at him. Of all the things she'd expected him to say or do upon awakening, this was not one of them. Scream maybe. Declare his undying love for her perhaps. Maybe even take one look at her and start howling like a raving lunatic. Nothing that would have confused her like... this. This was... unprecedented. "See what, Keiichi?"
"The liiiiiiight," Keiichi slurred. "It was reeeeeeal briiiiiiiiight." He blinked at her again, and Urd scrunched her brows together, trying to examine his eyes for any sign that something in his brain was out of whack. Dilated or perhaps uneven pupils. Maybe blood from a popped vessel. Yet the man's eyes expanded and contracted with the light in equal amounts, and Urd had triple-checked his skull and brain for any signs of internal injury before the man had awakened. As far as Urd could tell, it was just a side effect of the amount of magic she'd used on him. "Ah reeeal briiight liiiiiiiight," Keiichi moaned in a singsong voice. "Staaaaaar light, staaaaaar bright...first star I seee toniiiiiight..."
Urd sighed and rubbed her temple with one hand. At least he was alive. "There was no light, Keiichi."
"But I saaaaaw iiiiiit," the man protested. "It was soooooo briiiiiiiiiiiiight. Sooooo puuuurty." He sighed, almost wistful.
Urd made a face. "You must have dreamt it, Jank," she said. "Do us all a favor and go back to sleep." In a lower voice she added, "At this rate you'll be seeing juggling bears in tutus..."
"Ooooh-kaaaay..." Keiichi sighed. "But I saaaw it, Urrrrrd. I knooooow I diiid."
"Jank... please."
"Ooooh-kaaay..." The man trailed off. "Sleeeeepy-time for Jaaaaankyyyy..." And before she could think to say more, he was asleep once again.
Urd stared at the dozing man with a grimace. "And to think Urd, all this could have been yours had you stayed on the path of a Tic. Day after day of nothing but loopy patients of both varieties: the mad and the silly." She shook her head before moving into the hallway outside. "What the fuck was the younger me thinking back then?" Her shoulders sagged as she moved away from the bed. "At least he didn't ask about Belldandy," she grumbled.
The door to Belldandy's room popped open and Skuld stuck her head out, looking both ways before she discovered Urd. "Hey."
"Hey."
The goddess slipped out into the hallway with a slip of paper in her hand. "Nebo wanted me to give this to you. He said he wants a couple of potions made for Holy Bell." The Norn paused as Urd took the parchment from her sister. "Holy Bell's in rough shape, Urd. She's hurting in a bad way."
Urd read through the tiny scrawl, written in careful, large text that at times trailed off into an almost unreadable chicken scratch. A list of potions and their intended effects were listed out to her, along with ingredients and recipes for several obscure ones that Urd wasn't familiar with. "What did he tell you?" She folded the paper and stuffed it into a pocket, then looked back at Skuld.
The young woman shrugged. "Nothing yet," she said. "It's... all based off of conjecture. He won't speak on Holy Bell's condition until he's had a chance to speak with Belldandy."
"Patient confidentiality," Urd muttered.
Skuld nodded, distracted. "I need to grab some towels," she said. "And...Do you mind if I steal the blankets and pillows from your room?"
"Knock yourself out," Urd said. "Do me a favor and check on Belldandy for me too. I'm going to head downstairs and put the two mooks below to work."
"Got it."
The two sisters departed from there, Skuld to first the bathroom and then to Urd's room and Urd downstairs to meet with Lind and Peorth. She found the latter pacing up and down the first floor hallway like a caged lion, the former watching her. The rose goddess froze mid-step when she caught sight of Urd. "Well?!" she snapped, and raced to the Norn, almost forcing Urd back up the staircase. "What happened? Is Belldandy okay?" Her voice wavered. "Why was your angel so distressed? What happened to Belldandy's angel? Is Keiichi alright? What can I do to help?"
Urd leaned away from the goddess, taken aback by the assault of questions. Peorth looked close to tears, and judging by how red and puffy her eyes were, it wouldn't have been the first time she'd broken down that night. The woman looked to Lind in question, yet the Valkyrie did nothing aside from cast a level gaze at the Norn, as though expecting Urd to answer all of Peorth's questions.
The goddess sighed, recognizing that she owed at least some answers to the inquires she was being pelted with. Fuck, I don't want to deal with this right now. The thought made her feel guilty at once. Peorth's concern was honest, and Lind's fast thinking had brought the arrival of a Tic whose specialty allowed him to descend immediately. And though she hid it well, Lind looked worried too. Like she wanted to help. They both did. "Right," she grumbled. "Slow down, OK? One thing at a time."
Peorth made a noise in her throat but backed up, allowing Urd to breathe a bit easier. "Keiichi's fine now and Belldandy's resting," she said. "I can't say for certain but... it looked like Bell had a flashback when they were..." She trailed off and tried again. "She ended up attacking Keiichi. Skuld was able to knock her out while I tended to Keiichi."
"Dou mær," Peorth breathed. It didn't sound like French. Maybe some kind of off-brand dialect, but not the French she'd been speaking since arriving. "Sitoplé non." She shook her head in disbelief, and took a step away from the Norn. "Oh...oh Yggdrasil. Oh Urd..." The silver-haired woman was taken aback by the woman's honest shock. "He is well? Keiichi and Belldandy both?" The Rose Goddess's voice began to rise in earnest.
Urd nodded. "For now," she said. "Keiichi's alive and recovering, and Belldandy's still... out."
"Then what are you doing down here?!" Peorth demanded. "Should you not be upstairs tending to your sister? Should we not all be upstairs ensuring they are both well?" Her lips pulled back in an anxious grimace. "You would dare let us sit here and do nothing while the sister who suffers so rests unconscious upstairs and the man you love is not fully recovered?" She cried.
Lind went rigid and looked at the two with large blue eyes.
Urd grimaced. Of all the things to bring up now, and in front of Lind of all people. She bared her teeth in frustration. "Damn it, Peorth, don't fucking star-"
"And the angels?" Peorth never slowed down. The questions, the demands, kept coming. "Why was your angel so anxious that she would hold me hostage in a bedroom? She caused my Gorgeous Rose enough anxiety to manifest without my consent! For Lind's angels to manifest without consent, and she with two where we all have but one! Whose angels were Lind speaking of? Urd, to pitin, what about the angels?!"
The Norn's eyes flashed with anger, the limits of her temper reached, and it was only then that Lind inserted herself into the conversation. "That's enough, Peorth." There was steel in her voice, enough to make even the Norn, angered though she was, pause before retaliation. "We're all stressed and we're all worried, but throwing accusations and demands around isn't going to solve anything."
The goddess wheeled on the Valkyrie. "You would-"
"I would," Lind said, cutting her off. "And I will. Go into the dining room. Please." There was no request in the Valkyrie's voice.
Peorth stared at the woman for a long moment, her gaze challenging. Yet Lind's was even more unwavering. There must have been something quite unnerving in that steady look as well, for the goddess turned and marched down the hallway into the dining room. Lind watched her go, and did not turn her eyes away from the woman until Peorth took a seat at the table, her back to the two goddesses. In the one lone light that illuminated the dining room, the rose goddess looked alone, scared, and like the rest of them, stressed.
Lind looked back to Urd. The Norn was trembling with the last bit of self-control she had. "Come on," she murmured. "Let's sit for a moment." She rested a hesitant hand on Urd's shoulder, and the woman flinched.
"Can't," Urd grunted. "Need to-"
"Take a moment," Lind said, interrupting her. "Not long. Just a couple minutes at the most." She guided the Norn into the living room and onto the couch. Urd didn't resist. "Just enough to gain your bearings."
Urd fell onto the Ugly Beast with a grunt. Lind sat next to her, watching her in silence. The Norn leaned forward and propped her elbows on her knees, cradling her head in her hands. She sucked in first one ragged breath, then another, and the whole of her body shuddered as she fought to rein in her temper. Lind watched her for a moment before resting a hand on the woman's shoulder, and the small gesture of camaraderie was almost too much for Urd to bear in that moment. One minute became two. She gritted her teeth and the breaths came faster as she began to hyperventilate. Two minutes became five. Her fingers curled into rigid talons whose nails dug into her skin. Five minutes became ten, and Lind leaned into the woman, prying Urd's fingers away from her forehead with a firm grip. "Deep breaths, Urd," she murmured, and again Urd sucked in a sharp ragged breath.
"Fuck," the woman ground out. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" she seethed. She moved to stand and was pulled back into the couch by Lind. "I need to-"
"No you don't," Lind said. "Not until you calm down."
Urd turned on her with a snarl, and in the poor light of the living room it almost seemed as if her eyes were cast in red. For a moment, and only for a moment, Lind found herself back in Hell, and the woman she stared at was not Urd but the Daimakaicho, observing her from the other side of a long row of steel bars. The Valkyrie recoiled as though she'd been slapped, and was not blind to the hurt that washed over the Norn's face. The strange glow faded from the Norn's eyes as Urd tore her gaze away from the woman. "What was that," the Norn queried.
"It's nothing," Lind replied. A heavy silence descended on the two. "You're stressed," said the blue haired goddess finally. "You've got more reasons to be stressed than all of us, and it's starting to take its toll." She paused for a moment. "I know it's hard, but hang in there a bit longer."
Urd said nothing.
Lind pursed her lips. "Try and focus on some good. Keiichi's alive, right? That counts for something, doesn't it?"
The Norn ran her fingers through her hair but nodded regardless. "Nebo needs potions." She sighed.
Lind nodded, hoping she was encouraging. "Let's see what we can do to help out then. One thing at a time. What do you need from us? Peorth and me? We both want to help as well, but we need some direction if we're going to take the burden off your shoulders."
Urd looked at her sharply, then relaxed, seeing the sincerity in the Valkyrie's eyes. "I need ingredients. Asgard ingredients. Stuff that I can't get in my current state." She dug into her pocket and retrieved the slip of paper Skuld had passed her. "I have most of them, but there are some rarer ones in here that I don't normally keep on hand."
"I'm on it," Lind said, and after a moment's consideration asked, "Do you want me to take Peorth with me?"
For a moment Urd brightened, and just as quickly the light faded from her face. "She can't leave on the grounds of Keiichi being her current client."
"That's not a problem," Lind said. "I have special permission to remove specific deities from the surrounding area."
Urd frowned. "There's a catch," she said. "That's a power granted to law enforcement branches like the Eumenides under Justice Athena. Valkyries aren't granted that kind of power unless they're placed in a special duty position that calls for continued overwatch of a deity in relation to their standard operating procedures."
Lind looked impressed. "You're right," she said. "I... wasn't expecting you to know that."
"I've had my fair share of run-ins with the law," Urd grumbled. "It pays to know your rights. And don't try and change the subject. What's the catch?"
"I wasn't trying to change the subject," Lind replied. "I'm allowed to remove a deity from an area to approximately five hundred nautical miles on the grounds of possible conflict between yourself and the deity in question. My job watching you includes ensuring you don't draw unwarranted attention to yourself with the local population by assault on other deities, and while I can't force you to leave the area, I can force the other deity to leave under the grounds of reckless self-endangerment of a hostile entity."
"So you'd be 'rescuing' Peorth from me." Urd said flatly.
"Yes," Lind sighed. "It's not optimal, but at this rate it looks like it'd be safer to remove the problem at its source."
"At the cost of slandering my own name," Urd retorted. "No thanks."
The Valkyrie stared at the woman in surprise. "Are you certain?" She asked. In a lower voice she said, "I know that Peorth's presence here is undesired. This would put an end to her business down here at once."
"At the cost of my name," Urd repeated. "And they'd send someone else who'd be equally unqualified to fulfill Keiichi's wish the moment Peorth returns." She pursed her lips. "No, I don't have much pride when it comes to my heritage, Lind... but I'll be damned before I let rumors start to surface of me attacking another god. Demons? Sure, let me at them. Men? Why the fuck not. Spirits? We'll go for a round or two. But another god? When my name is already soiled as it is? When a Valkyrie flinches away from me while I fight to control my temper?" She shook her head. "No. Peorth stays. If she wants to help so badly I'll put her to work mixing potions. But I will not force her out of this house under the grounds that I am some wilder goddess that will attack anyone she works with. No. I have more self-respect and more pride in my place as a deity than that."
The blue-haired Valkyrie looked at her in silence for a long moment. Urd held her gaze, unwavering. It was Lind who looked away first. "Forgive me," she said. "I misinterpreted what you held of value." The woman inclined her head in a curt apology. "I won't make the offer again."
"See that you don't." Urd glowered at the woman, and then frowned, puzzled, when Lind shot a smirk at her. "Damn it all, what now. Was this some other Valkyrie trick, Lind?" she demanded.
"Not in the slightest," Lind replied. "You never cease to surprise me, is all." She paused and looked to first the dining room and then the staircase before dropping her voice to a low whisper. "And between you and me... had it been me in your place, I would have taken it."
Urd looked at the woman with a start, her eyebrows shooting so high up her forehead they almost disappeared against her hairline. "Are you serious?" she whispered hotly.
"Damn straight," Lind replied. "I don't give a fuck. That shit don't mean anything from where I hail from." Urd continued to stare at her in disbelief. "Worst they'd ever do is deport me. Now let me go so I can get these ingredients you so desperately need before the house erupts into chaos again. Someone needs to protect Nebo from your special brand of madness, Urd."
"Deport... you...?" The Norn continued to stare at the woman. Lind had to grab her by the arm and snatch the list of ingredients and recipes from her hand.
"Go put Peorth to work. Slave labor isn't recognized on the third dimension so you might as well get your money's worth out of her."
"Lind-"
"Go make your potions, Urd. I'm trying to make a joke and you're sucking harder than Aphrodite after Hephaestus learned she was getting it in the ass from Ares."
Urd's jaw dropped as she stared at the Valkyrie with wide eyes. She sputtered, and then, for the first time since being awakened that night, threw her head back and laughed with such force that the only sound that emerged was a strange clicking from her throat. She cackled until she was red in the face, and Lind allowed a small smile of her own to flit across her lips. "O-out!" cried Urd. "O-out! Go now!" She laughed some more and leaned against the wall, clutching her sides as though they pained her. "L-leave before I reconsider your offer!"
Lind smiled before heading out the front door. A moment later and she was gone in a flash of light. Urd watched her go, trying to catch her breath as she dabbed at her eyes. Maybe things were falling apart around her ears. Maybe her sister had just attacked the man they both admittedly loved. Maybe the angels were suffering and maybe Peorth was still around.
And maybe she had a bit of an asshole for a friend who might help make the whole thing a bit more bearable.
At least until Belldandy woke up. Then they would be up to their ears in shit once again.
A/N: I want to give a shout out and a hearty Thank You to Imaginos1892, who we have asked to be an additional set of eyes for Nena and myself on the spelling/grammar front. It's actually amazing how many errors that you just don't see after reading and re-reading the same thing over and over again. He has also been going through and proof-reading the previous chapters as well. Since nothing really changes the story, I will be going back and implementing a lot of the changes he suggested. Anyway, if you like Vandread, he has a couple of stories that he has written over in that fandom, if you are so inclined. One of them has turned into a reboot of an older, abandoned story.
Comments of a Madwoman: No one ever thinks of the ones who never speak, nor the ones who are never seen...
