Twenty One

Iza is not one to curse, not like the Vikings in her village when the meade has gotten to their heads and their voices grow into a loud chorus of jeers and grumbling. But when the unexpected does happen, she always finds herself calling to the first God that comes to her mind.

So, it is not surprising that when a dull pop and a thud sound through the night and a shadow falls before the fire she painstakingly, Iza's first reaction is to let out a low oath. "Odin's beard!"

Eko, who had curled her body around Iza's, rumbles in agreement. It is a distinctly threatening sound from a creature who is, by most standards, shockingly amicable.

Heart racing, Iza leans forward, sets her eyes on the surprise of her life, and tries to wrap her mind around this strange turn of events.

Edvard had appeared out of nowhere – literally out of nowhere, with nothing more than a puff of deep green and black smoke to speak of how he arrived. Iza immediately suspects magic and Eko confirms, sniffing out the seidr cloaked around Edvard's prone form with her keen nose.

Edvard is unconscious and it is not ideal. He is too close to the fire, at risk of being burned, and gone for the world. Whoever sent him here – and that list of possibilities is exceedingly short, considering how much power would be required to transport a body by magic – had not thought ahead to give him a comfortable landing. Knowing what she does of Edvard, she supposes that the pettiness might be well-deserved.

But still. She cannot allow him to burn himself.

When a deep sigh, Iza climbs to her feet and shuffles around, wary of the heat sinking so quickly into her skin as she hooks her hands beneath Edvard's armpits and tugs. And tugs again. And then, with a grunt and a twisted face, Iza pulls back as much as she possibly can, trying to move Edvard's body to a less risky place. She succeeds in only moving him a few scant inches and frowns at his unconscious form.

By the Norns, he is heavy.

Iza shoots a look at Eko. "Would you mind?"

Eko sighs as much as a dragon can and then stretches forward, carefully closing her teeth around his boot and towing him several feet from the fire.

Thanks, Iza says silently.

He smells funny, this human.

How do you mean?

He smells of not-human, Eko answers simply.

And Iza wonders.

After all, she has learned that dragons – Eko in particular – are wise in ways that people simply are not. And Eko is learning this wisdom each day she grows older and can tap into the ambient knowledge of the earth and sky. If Eko thinks something is strange about Edvard, then something is strange about Edvard. It is not as if Iza will disagree – by her estimation, a God had sent Edvard here.

From her own experience, the Gods do not simply interact with humans without a reason. Even as accidental as Thor's lightning had been, she cannot fully believe it was coincidental that the night of the storm culminated so perfectly.

Iza is, perhaps, growing a touch cynical.

With the sun already fully set, Iza does her best to assess Edvard's health as the night grows longer. She places her hand on his forehead, trying to feel for fever, and fights down her own blush as she concludes that he is reasonably healthy. Just unconscious. Deeply unconscious.

He must have hit his head when he…arrived.

Her conclusion is only supported when Edvard remains unconscious even after the run rises. With the sunlight, Iza can see well enough to observe his health. Teaching Carlisle how to translate Saxon medicine to Norse has had the byproduct of giving Iza a passing knowledge of what conditions might be harmful. From what she can tell, with no fever and no obvious signs of injury and no difficulty breathing, Edvard is perfectly fine.

But knowing this, Iza comes to a different dilemma. She needs to continue her search for the dragons, as Eko has indicated that they are getting closer, but she cannot leave an unconscious man unattended. Yet each day that passes with Iza away from the village is another day the village is in danger – and another day that the villagers grow restless, perhaps even violent upon her return.

Iza considers putting Edvard on Eko's back and flying like that. But while Eko is almost fully grown and capable of flying with Iza, there probably is not enough space for two riders without hampering Eko's ability to fully stretch her wings.

I could carry him, Eko suggests, alongside an idea of toting Edvard around in her mouth.

Iza shakes her head. "No," she mutters. "What if you had to use your flame?"

Iza tries hard to wake Edvard, but he does not respond, and she sits back on her haunches with an irritated huff, silently cursing whoever had transported Edvard here. Biting her lip, Iza runs through all the options available to her – and then sits back with a resigned sigh.

They will not be going anywhere until Edvard wakes up.

Whenever that is.

Hunger pangs at Iza's stomach, and with a task that she can complete newly in her mind, she and Eko take turns passing through the forest around their camp in search for food. Eko is craftier than Iza, managing to catch a rabbit, while Iza makes-do with some berries she has determined are not poisonous and a load of apples that had fallen from a tree. She is glad for the juicy fruit, as there is no river or stream of water nearby and she has grown parched. Iza makes sure to set aside a few apples for Edvard for when he wakes up.

After eating, Iza wastes her time as the sun continues to rise in the sky and Eko dozens with half-closed eyes. Iza cleans mud from her boots. She checks the fletching on her arrows, not that they need checking since they continue to just magically replace themselves in perfect condition, no matter how many she pulls from the quiver. She gives a token effort to checking the string on her bow, but it shows no signs of fraying or other stress that might indicate in needs replacement. By the time impatience has taken to the restless bounce of her feet, Iza has braided her hair into a dozen crisscrossing sections off her neck, stacked a pile of rocks around last nights firewood, and even collected more berries just for the sake of something to do. She is seriously considering leaving Edvard, or at least kicking him until he wakes up, when he finally shows signs of life.

Edvard blinks up at the near noon-day sun with a look of utter bafflement. If Iza were not so irritated that his unexpected presence has significantly slowed down her quest, she might have thought it was endearing. All the same, when those green eyes land on her and widen with surprise, Iza levels him with an unimpressed look.

"It is about time you woke up," she says uncharitably.

Edvard seems to ignore her attitude and turns his attention to taking a survey of himself. He pats at his chest, which is only covered in leather, and at the empty belt around his waist. Edvard's jaw clenches, the muscle jumping rapidly in irritation. "I do not have my sword," he says, clearly vexed.

"I have a knife," Iza offers. She pulls it from her boot, knowing full well that if either of them should have a blade, it should probably be the one with a fearsome reputation as a warrior and not the one who can barely bring herself to take down life prey. She hands it over, hilt first, and says, "Better than nothing."

Edvard does not look like he agrees, but he takes the knife anyway. Armed, he stands up on stable legs and dusts himself off, visibly disgruntled.

"How did you get here?" Iza asks, although she's already taken her guesses. From where she lounges beneath a tree, Eko turns a lazy eye to their conversation, ears perked forward in attention.

Edvard looks reluctant to answer, but he does eventually heave out an agitated sigh. "Loki."

Iza figured as much. Still, she raises her brows and crosses her arms over her chest. "And why would Loki see fit to send you here?"

Edvard hesitates. Hesitation from someone who seldom hesitates is extremely visible, which is why Iza isn't keen on believing the next words that Edvard utters. "Must be another one of his tricks," he says, but all Iza can hear is the lie.

Loki might play tricks, but from what she knows after meeting him personally, there is little Loki does without having a reason.

So what reason would Loki have to send Edvard to her? Obviously, for protection. Loki knows something that Iza does not about where she is heading and what she will encounter. Fine, she can accept that. If anything, it's good to have confirmation that she's edging toward dangerous territory.

But having figured that out, Iza cannot fathom why Edvard would be lying. It is obvious why he was sent to her, so why does Edvard say that it is for a trick? The only explanation is that Edvard is hiding something and using Loki as deflection. Iza has no doubts that Loki did send Edvard to her – he has perhaps the strongest seider of all the Gods and the only one who regularly involves himself in mortal matters – but Iza does have doubts about Edvard's strange response.

But when faced with a trickster and with a liar, what is Iza supposed to do?

Perhaps the only thing she can do – continue with her mission. Find the dragons. Figure out who is controlling the dragons. Get back home, hopefully with more dragons in tow to show the villagers that the dragons do not have to be feared.

Iza sighs and eyes Edvard. "Well, now that you are here, we might as well keep going." Following Edvard's eye toward Eko, she ends up shaking her head. "We both cannot fly with her. She is still too young," Iza says. "Eko will fly overhead to scout. You and I will walk."

Edvard nods his head once, sharply, likely seeing the sense in Iza's plan, not that she is in any way seeking his approval. "Lead the way," he says, and Iza suppresses a scoff.

As if Iza would do anything less.

A/N: Like, who needs a man harshing our mellows when we're in a groove? I feel you, Iza, I really do.

No Norse stuff for this chapter!

As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.

~Rae