Haakon

Early Dark Age - Strand Municipality, Old Norway

The howling persisted. The blizzard had returned.

He knew it would've come back at some point, but it'd been only a few days since he stumbled out of Stavanger. It's overt presence was literally blinding to him, he could barely see a few inches in front of him.

Elenya knew this detail, and kept close by leading the way. Though she was clearly wearing a mask, something in itself that made Haakon thoroughly annoyed. I need to get one of those.

As the snow further pelted his face, they came upon a steep hill much to his utter disdain. The snow up to his thighs already bothered him, but now they had to march up this hill.

Unfortunately, Elenya pointed up the hill, and waved for him to follow close behind.

He tried following her exact path, wondering how exactly she managed to find the right grip and footing. Nonetheless, he stayed behind her until they reached the top.

The hill was dangerously narrow, only providing a few feet of nearly flat ground to tread on. About fifteen feet below, the incline ramped back down into a small pit, and extended into a clearing.

Elenya patted his arm and pointed to the rocky cliffside to their right that was down in the clearing. Haakon could barely spot a dark opening through the snowstorm.

Then the woman pointed down at the clearing. Haakon nodded, sighing. He followed her as she cleared the snow off of a thick root, beginning her descent.

He latched onto the same root, and once again tried following her path, though it was much harder this time around as he tried finding the spots she'd put her feet. He dangled on the hillside.

The root gave way, snapping. Haakon tumbled down the hill, only able to brace himself and roll down, hitting his head against something hard on his way down.

He rolled into the pit, which luckily had softened the blow somewhat. A sharp pain ran up his back, and there was a dull throb in his head.

"Grrgh…" He groaned, gritting his teeth as he got back onto his feet. Son of a bitch…

"Just a few strained muscles in your lower back. Nothing too serious." Lyarra informed him.

By the time he was standing up again, he saw Elenya stop walking towards where he'd landed. Though he couldn't see her face, he could tell she was surprised judging by her sudden halt. The other Risen pointed to the cave behind her, and waved for him to follow.

Haakon felt the sharp sting almost reverberate again as he walked out of the pit. He knew it'd heal, but that didn't take away that it was annoying.

He walked into the cave after Elenya had, climbing through the manhole sized opening in the cliffside. As soon as he was inside, the howling blizzard was deafened, reduced to ambient noise.

The cave itself was literally a hole in the wall. It was about ten feet wide and stretched back a bit further. The walls were jagged and rough, but there were some smoother spots along it.

Haakon wasted no time. He let his pack fall to the floor and got to work on making a fire, placing it a few feet away from the entrance.

In only a few minutes he'd set up a ring of stones and piled on some wood that had managed to stay dry in the depths of his bag.

Elenya had scanned the rest of the cave, and crouched down to the firepit. Just before Haakon was going to strike sparks with his axe and stone, she literally snapped her fingers, producing a small flame.

Haakon watched as she simply touched the wood with the young flame, watching as the fire jumped to the small logs and began it's slow consumption.

He put his tools away and just put his hands out over the growing fire, glad that he could finally feel his fingers again.

Likewise, Elenya took off her helmet, revealing rosy cold cheeks and a red nose, then stripping off her gloves. She unceremoniously shoved them over the fire and wiggled them.

Neither of them said anything. Both just stared at the fire, though Haakon was wildly curious about that trick she had done. Can I do that too?

As the flames pierced higher into the air, a strange feeling came over him. He frowned at the foreign sense tingling in his mind, he glanced over at the woman across from him, who averted her eyes once he looked at her.

It hadn't even been five minutes since they entered the cave, and now it had just occurred to Haakon. What is this… awkwardness? He studied her further, watching her eyes twitch up at him, then hurriedly back down at the fire.

She isn't… Is she? The more he thought about it, the more he supposed it could be correct. She can't be socially inept, right? Is it that simple?

Her distinct lack of eye contact had startled the realization, but as he poured over the last few days, he realized that they'd barely spoken to one another. Then again, they had kept their distance and had camped in open spaces.

Now though, they were cloistered together in a cave. He almost chuckled to himself as he realized this incredibly dangerous woman in front of him was completely anti-social.

"Can you blame her?" Lyarra asked. "It's got to be quite lonely out here, all by herself…"

And with her Ghost.

"Point taken."

He didn't really know if this social intuition of his was a skill from his former life, but he'd take what he could get at this point. Svidir was a talker, he must've chatted her up.

"Nice helmet." He nodded to the mask sitting on the ground by her leg. "What's it made out of?"

His suspicions were confirmed as the biggest look of relief dawned her face, her tense shoulders immediately relaxed, and she leaned back against the wall. "Animal bones." She answered with a smile.

He'd not really taken notice of it until now, but he did see bones set in patterns, lined up, in a sort of jagged elegance.

Elenya followed his gaze to her helmet. "A wolf's skull, a deer, and a few foxes." she picked it up in her hands. "My Ghost made the fabric though. It's not much, but it's mine."

"It looks nice." He nodded. I don't even have one of my own. "Could you make one for me? That blizzard was something else."

"Sure." She smiled. "Next buck I see is all yours."

Not literally, I hope. I wouldn't know what to do with it. Though her pledge raised another question in his mind. "What do you hunt with?"

He glanced at the long silver barrel on the outside of her thigh, glistening with melted snowflakes. "That's a bit too loud, no?"

"Hmmm." She drew the large pistol, and Haakon got an even better look than before. Carved ornately into the metal barrel were feathers. "Yeah, it is too loud."

"Where do they make guns like that?"

"Scotland." She grinned as she felt it up with her palm. "Old gun shop in Glasgow. Nobody was using it, so I took it."

Scotland? "How'd you come to Norway, then?"

"I had an old jump ship at the time." Elenya shook her head. "I was surprised at how long it lasted. It probably wouldn't have been able to survive a jump off world."

"What happened to it?" He asked.

Elenya's expression suddenly shifted into a sneer, and her grip on the pistol hardened. "Some bastard blew it up…" She spat to her right. "I was farther up north, so I guess you have him to thank for me being here."

"I see." Bitter reaction says it may have been a former friend… or lover. "I don't suppose we'll be meeting this bastard at some point, hmm? What happened to him?"

"He's very much alive…" She glared, her finger sliding up and down the trigger guard. "Unfortunately."

Haakon nodded. Former lover, then. He took that as a sign for him to change the subject. "Svidir said you were… dead, for a lack of a better word."

Elenya shook her head, a grateful look crossed her features. "I WAS dead. Right now though…" she couldn't help but give a playful grin. "It's complicated."

"I've got time." he motioned his hand around the cave.

She put the gun back in it's holster and sighed. "I woke up in Innsbruck, Austria. I don't know who I am, and I don't know why I'm there. I see desolate buildings, and skeletons all around me."

Haakon nodded. All of that sounded very familiar.

Elenya continued. "That was probably four years ago. I still don't know who I am, or rather, who I was. But… I've got a vague idea for why I'm here."

He'd already heard that speech from his own Ghost, but he couldn't very well tell her that. What are the chances this former lover was another Risen? I doubt she'd take kindly to another.

"And why are you here?" Haakon asked.

"My Ghost told me that I'm supposed to help Humanity… she could probably explain it better, though."

Haakon couldn't help but chuckle. "That's certainly vague."

"Sorry," She blushed. "It just feels weird talking about it, you know?"

He nodded. "I understand perfectly." Every time he wondered about his past life, he found himself thinking about something else. Nobody said death wasn't traumatic for the human mind.

He didn't follow up with another question, but it'd barely been a minute before Elenya piped up.

"What was the Golden Age like?" she asked, sitting forward.

Shit. Should've known she'd ask that question… "Honestly, I was really focused on my work." he found the words coming out effortlessly. "Making new weapons for both the public and private sectors takes quite the toll on your social life, as it turns out."

He barely paid attention to Elenya's disappointed frown. He was completely baffled at how easily he'd just lied to the woman. I didn't even think about it…

"But… there had to have been something, right?" Elenya prodded further, hope in her voice. "Something you did every once in a while."

Haakon shook his head. "Clovis Bray kept me pretty busy. I was off-world most of the time."

"Really? Where?" The woman seemed interested again, wrapped in attention like a child listening to a story.

Now nothing had come to him. The longer he paused, the longer it took his mind to find a suitable lie.

"Mars." Lyarra said suddenly.

What?

"Mars. Clovis Bray practically owned the city of Freehold." Lyarra explained. "It's such a simple answer that even her Ghost would know that."

Haakon got right to it. "Mars. Freehold."

Elenya frowned briefly, but then nodded in understanding. "Ah, ok. My Ghost just told me…" she blushed again in embarrassment. "She talks to me in my head… sometimes."

"That sounds… strange." Haakon immediately jumped on that topic, opting to get out of the hole he'd dug himself into. "I imagine hearing another voice inside your head would be… surreal."

"That's actually more accurate than you think." Elenya chuckled lightly.

Maybe I ought to not mention that…

"Yeah… that's probably for the best." His Ghost agreed with him. "It'd be a shame if she found out that you're actually a Risen too, huh?"

You're my accomplice now, Lyarra. No point in excluding yourself.

His Ghost didn't get to answer. "Svidir also mentioned you had these… abilities? Could you elaborate on those?"

"Of course he goes flapping his gums…" Elenya shook her head, folding her arms. "Yeah, he's right. No, I won't show you."

"I was just curious." Haakon added. "I am a scientist. It is literally my job to be curious about this stuff."

Elenya's eyes hardened. "I'm tired." she answered. "And besides, I think the scientific community might be out of it's depth on this one."

"Wouldn't be the first time." He quipped with a grin.

"It's hard for some people to accept that things just happen on their own." Elenya added on. "If you get what I mean."

"I certainly do." Lyarra agreed inside his head.

Shut up.

"Okay." He accepted the loss. I'll get it out of her later. "I just assume that this Light that Svidir told me about… well, I suspect it's a sort of… muscle."

Much to his delight, the woman bought it. "I wouldn't say that… I would say it's more like walking, running, jumping. Stuff like that."

"We don't think about doing those things." He commented. Just like me with lying. "We've got to learn those things when we're growing up, though."

Elenya nodded. "Exactly. I was the same way. Eventually I managed to begin using the Light, and over time, I got better at it. Just like any other skill. Now, I don't have to think about using it, I just do."

Fascinating… If only I had something to write with. "I see. Thank you, Elenya. I appreciate it."

Her eyes lightened, and she seemed… surprised. "Oh… You're welcome, Haakon." She blushed again, but this time it wasn't in embarrassment.

Haakon, too, found himself exhausted. Both by the day's events, and the information he'd just gathered. He didn't say anything as he stared right into the fire.

"I'm… going to go find us dinner, alright?" Elenya got to her feet, and picked up her helmet. "Uh… stay here." She said tentatively.

He nodded. Though just as she was about to leave again through the manhole, another question sprung to mind. "Wait…"

She stopped, and turned back around. "What?"

"How did you start using this Light?" Haakon asked finally.

"Curious…" Elenya snickered, and slid her helmet back on. "I used my imagination."

With that, she nimbly ducked out through the hole in the wall in one swift motion, diving right back into the storm.

Her words replayed again and again in his head. Seriously? She used her imagination? Was she being sarcastic? What puzzled him was that she had sounded quite genuine, in fact.

He tossed a loose stone against the wall where Elenya had been sitting earlier out of frustration.

I still don't know what she hunts with.