His legs were the only thing he was in full control of. Everything else felt as if it were drowning in a sea of violent emotions.

He was mad. Mad at his father for hitting him. Mad at himself for saying those things about mother. Mad at mother for ultimately causing this whole thing in the first place. Both his parents lied to him. Has everyone in his life just been tricking him? Atreus kept running, following the tracks of Idunn in the snow. He had to be getting close to her. He knows it wasn't her who stabbed him, but that wasn't important now. She was all alone in the forest and whoever did stab him was still out there too.

He struggled to fight back tears. Not allowing a single one to fall from his eyes. Was it the pain from the mark on his face? Or the look on his father's face after he struck him? He didn't know which one was causing the sorrow in his heart. He bottled everything up in a small densely packed ball and swallowed it down in his mind.

He exits the forest and finds the foothills of the mountain they once climbed years ago. High above one of the rocky peaks sat the same golden fox. The animal sat tall and proud, back straight and tail wrapped around its paws tightly. The sun was setting behind the mountain, the glare peeking off the side of the rocks above him. He lifted his left hand and shielded the light from his eyes as he looked up at the fox. It had purple eyes. He had never seen a fox with purple eyes before. The sound of Idunn struggling with something catches his attention. His gaze drifts over towards her. Glancing back momentarily to the fox, it was gone.

Atreus ignored the beast to run after Idunn. She didn't sound hurt, but something was troubling her. Finally, he sees the goddess bent over an open coffin. Her rear end pointed out wiggling around as she groans annoyingly, searching the insides of the oddly familiar looking metal box. He wasn't sure why, but he enjoyed the sight in front of him. He chuckled slightly. "What are you doing?" He asks approaching her.

She shrieked and falls forward into the massive rectangular chest. She panicked, kicking her legs up for a second before pushing her face away from the treasures inside the coffin.

Atreus rushes over and helps pull her out of the bones and broken pottery. She stands up next to him and retreats quickly from his touch.

"It's okay, it's just me," Atreus says calmly. "I'm not going to hurt you."

She sighs and gently starts dusting the bone dust and dirt off her hair and dress. "Thank you." She says to him, before turning back to the coffin and smoothing her hair away from her face, looking through it again.

"What are you doing?" He says again next to her, looking inside.

"Searching for my apples. Here in Midgard, I left around 7 or 8 of them." She picks up a scrap of haze weave and examines it before tossing it aside. "Mortals never quite knew what to do with them so they usually passed them down from generation to generation." She exhales as she gave up her search. Dusting her hands off onto her dress. "Most humans died off a while ago. Someone told me that my apples may be in these sealed tombs."

Atreus pulled his lips into his mouth, biting the skin painfully.

Idunn continued. "I cannot grow the apples, but perhaps if I find one from these tombs I can extract the seeds and try from there."

Atreus kept quiet. He tried remembering how many his father ate. Nine? But were they all in Midgard?

"Would they be in other realms?" He asks. Idunn looks suspiciously at him for a moment. "I don't think so? Maybe the elves got some from Freyr a few decades ago. But I cannot leave Midgard and ask them."

What should he do? He knows his father, he turned over every rock and clay jar for valuables while they were on their journey. He was sure to have found every apple in this world.

Idunn leans forwards at him. "Will you help me look for them?" She was so close to him. He could almost see his reflection in her eyes. It felt as if he was being pulled down into their green fields. Could he drown in a field of grass? It felt that way right now.

"Of course." He says.

She wasn't very helpful in skirmishes. Whatever attacked them he had to fight off completely alone. He spent most of the battles protecting her instead of fighting off the foes. Sometimes the situations got too intense and them fleeing was the wisest decision. That's what they were doing right now. He was running ahead of her, holding her hand as she struggled to keep up. His bow held tightly in his other hand. The wulver was getting closer and closer to her. "Atreus!" She screamed as it seizes her other hand. He let's go of her and she falls down onto the ground. The wulver let go of her and begins to slash at her.

"Falki lio!" He screams, loosing an arrow at the beast. Several electrically charged falcons flew into the monster, paralyzing him in place. No sooner than Idunn gasped he pulled her up with both hands and ran, dragging her behind him as she struggled to keep up.

They found a small crack in the mountain's walls. "You go in first." He tells her. She lets go of his hand and squeezes herself between the rocks. He throws his bow around his body and follows her. It was tight, but it opened up a good deal the further they went inside. He could hear the sounds of the wolves approaching. He had to get further inside. There was enough space to squeeze in front of her. He did, weaving his body around her until they were tangled up next to each other. Idunn's hand was touching his chest. His left leg was sandwiched between her thighs. She started to murmur something but Atreus quickly shushed her. Not paying attention to their situation, only the monsters outside that mean to kill them.

"Atreus, can you move your." She started saying. He quickly pulls his hand up and covers her mouth. His eyes watching the shadows of the wulver passing right in front of the opening they were huddled inside of. He counted 2 more go past before he noticed the palm of his hand getting damp from covering her mouth. They were followed by 4 possessed wolves. Her breaths becoming more and more apparent, wait, was that another wolf who passed by? He turned to look at her, to look at them. He lowered his hand from her mouth, her breathing now being felt on his cheek and neck. The hand she had pressed up against his chest must have felt his heartbeat right now. Perhaps he thinks, it was beating faster than it was when they were being chased? He shuts his eyes for a moment. Something inside him was pooling up, it felt warm. It felt good. He pulls his lips into his mouth, remembering how much danger they're actually in right now. Shutting off the feeling that couldn't be used in the heat of combat.

"Stay here." He whispers to her. She nodded silently. When she did the tip of her nose brushed up against his skin. Her hair tickling his neck. He shimmied out from in front of her. Her lips exhaling her sweet smelling breath onto his skin one last time. He squeezes himself out of the crack and looks around for a few moments. They were alone again. He reaches his arm inside the wall and motions for her to come outside. With his other hand, he presses his finger to his mouth signaling to remain silent. She nodded at him and made her way out.

"Are they gone?" She whispers.

"Probably not, but we need to keep moving," Atreus says as he creeps forward ahead of her. She follows behind him. "Wait, I think there is another coffin around here. An apple may be inside it, I'm going to go check." She says running off higher up the mountain's path.

Atreus sighed, he knew that chest and there wasn't an apple inside it.

"Ugh, it smells disgusting in here," Idunn says looking around the dome like arena as Atreus held the iron gate open for her to enter. Atreus remains silent, the memories of this specific place replaying in his mind. He counted the skeletons on the ground to confirm his memory. He walked up to one off to the side of the room and stood over it. Balling his fist together at his side.

"It'll be too dangerous to sleep outside next to a fire. We'll be opening ourselves up for them to attack us. And it gets too cold at night to sleep without a fire. We'll freeze to death without..-."

She smiles at him, standing in her thin silk dress without any shoes on.

"Well, one of us will freeze to death." He says looking back down to the skeleton. "We'll sleep here for the night."

Idunn walked away from him and extended her hands out. A purple glow emitted from them as her green eyes rolled up into her head. From below the ground, two small apple trees began to sprout inside the room. The tips weaved together several times before exploding out into bushels of branches. Green apples forming along the leaves. The top of the tree that were twisted formed a sealed pocket. It wasn't quite a house, but a more secure form of shelter they could stay in.

"I'm sorry we didn't find any of your apples today," Atreus said biting into a green apple. His face scrunched from the tart sweetness invading his mouth. Idunn sat next to him, her knees almost touching his own.

"You apologize a lot," Idunn says with her face turned away from him. It was strange the way she said it. If she we not sitting next to him he wouldn't have recognized it was her who said it in the first place.

She quickly turns her head to face him. She was wearing a smile so brightly it was hard to believe it was real. "You're so kind, given how strong you are."

Atreus kept quiet as he continued eating her green fruit.

"The way you shoot your bow. It reminds me of my mother." She trails off suddenly. Atreus wipes his mouth and sets the apple down.

"I always wanted to learn how to use a bow. I remember how beautiful she looked while fighting with it."

"Why didn't she teach you?" He asks.

Idunn sat quietly in the branches of the tree. She folded her hands together on her lap and looks down at them. "She promised me she would teach me one day when I got a little older."

She didn't have to keep going, he had already pieced the next part together.

"My mother taught me how to use it. She died not too long ago." He picked up his bow in his hands. It hardly even looked like the bow his mother presented to him years ago. Brok and Sindri made so many enhancements to it. But in the end, it was still the same one she gave him on his birthday. He slides his fingers down the string, remembering that happy memory. She was right, he did grow into it. As Atreus remembered back to his loving mother, he saw another layer of branches and vines insolate their already densely packed walls. They braided together quickly, blocking out almost all the light shining from outside.

"Can you teach me?" She said, snapping him from his thoughts. It was then he noticed how close she was leaning into him, extremely close.

"Y-Yeah. He said looking at her, avoiding her eyes.

"Let's try it now!" She said standing up. She reaches her hand out to him to help him up. As soon as he stands she waved her glowing hands out in front of her. The walls of their little shelter made from the tree branches extended. Giving them more room to move around.

He looks at his bow for a moment, then offers it out to Idunn.

"Oh don't worry." She said. Her hand reaching out to touch one of the skinny branches. As she strokes the wood it arched into the shape of a bow. A skinny green vine wrapped itself around the edge. She reaches up and snaps the bow off the tree and shows it to him. "Ta-dah!"

He smiles, thoroughly impressed. He examined the weapon over, it was immaculate. How could she create such a fine weapon and not even know how to use it? But before he has too much time to think about it she reaches her hand past his ear. He freezes as she plucks an arrow from his quiver. She nocked the arrow perfectly at first, but then her form quickly fell apart. "Like this?" She asks him. "Am I doing it right?"

Atreus smiles softly. "Not too bad."

"I'm sure it's all wrong. Show me!" She says, arching her head back, motioning for him to come behind her.

He hesitated, but then set his own bow down and moved behind her. He tries remembering how mother used to show him. He reaches out from her armpit and grasps the bow in his hand and holds it up a little more. Then with his other hand reaching around her, he readjusts the hand holding the arrow. He retreated it for a moment and moved her braid off from her shoulder. That gave his room to rest his chin down onto her, now he can see better. He drifts his hand back up to help hold the arrow in place. "Aim up a little more like this." He says movingly the bow upwards. "And then push this down slightly." He says guiding her fingers holding the arrow downward.

"What are we aiming at?" He asks her. His chin presses down onto her silky shoulder, both arms wrapped around her. "Hmm?" She questions. Standing still, allowing him to conduct her every movement. "Well with some things you have to pull the string back a little more in order to get through thick hide or armor." He says.

She turned her face over to him, pressing her cheek into his own. Her sweet smelling breath exhaling from her thin lips. They pull into a smile as she caresses her cheek into his skin.

"A Giant."