Laufey could tell how massive the man was, even without him standing up. Finally, she had her axe back, everything she needed to truly survive in this strange new land. With her lifeline back in her hands, Laufey began walking always from the dead man. Though she didn't get far without turning back around after a thought bubbled up in her mind.
She should at least search him over for supplies.
The way he was dressed made her feel sorry for him. Whoever killed him must have taken his clothing. All that was left on him was a skirt of what looks like loose belts tied together by a thick red cloth. They were all different lengths, the ones in the back seemed much longer. She hesitates while lifting them up looking for pouches he may have held his herbs or bottles. Once she saw he had wrapped his genitals in bandages she felt a little more comfortable manhandling the corpse.
She saw his shoes, they reminded her of the same style the little girl wore from long ago. They were more modest and only left his toes exposed to the air. They were made from thick leather that came up below his knees. "Oh, string!" She says out loud to herself. Carefully she slips them off his feet and cuts off the leather laces with her axe before tying the string up and shoves it into her pockets. Thinking about all the things she could do with the string she decides to cut off several of the longer belt straps that made up his strange little kilt. She could probably find a use for them as well. When she began pulling the leather straps off she tugged onto his red waistband a bit and saw that it wasn't a waistband at all. It was a loincloth that got tangled in his actual belt. She could use the cloth too. She reaches her hands to his hips, his wound looked different from this angle. Her eyes must have been playing tricks on her she thinks. His wound wasn't all the way through the body like she originally thought she saw. It stopped at his spinal cord. Though that didn't make it look any worse. It was massive and festering and still oozing blood when she put the slightest amount of pressure around the area. She made sure not to touch it. With her finger below his abdomen, she pulls the red cloth out slowly from behind the leather belt untangling it several times. She noticed the leather belt he wore, the design was beautiful and masterfully crafted. She was shocked whoever stole the rest of his clothing didn't take this as well. She stretched down then loincloth to its full length. It had beautiful golden detailing on it. The colors, the dyes, the angles of the pattern. She looked down to her own outfit. They were the exact same colors.
She stopped manhandling the body and stood up. A wave of guilt over how she was disrespecting this corpse washed over her. She would burn him back at her camp and send whoever he was off properly. With both arms wrapping under his armpits she begins dragging the massive man back to her campfire.
Once she got him close enough to the fire she sat him down and summoned her axe. Sure enough, it came to her this time, still not as fast as it usually does. Why was it fighting her so much? Did someone cast a spell on it that made it not remember who to return to? Pushing that thought from her mind she started making quick work of the corpse. She would use his red and gold cloth to hold his ashes. She should probably remove the bandage he had wrapped all around him first. They would work well as tinder for the fire. She stood over him and looked down upon the large ghostly looking man. He had a bizarre patch of facial hair only on his chin, a line connected it from below his lower lip. It looked rather ridiculous she thought, smiling weakly. Perhaps that was all his body would allow him to grow? She realizes some of the red on his face wasn't blood from the wound, it was a tattoo. She stepped to his left side to get a better look at the tattoo. She couldn't see properly with all the mud and blood all over him. She takes the bottom of her wet skirt in her hands and drags it along his tattoo. Down his face and body until she got to the wound. His wound wasn't as big she realized. Though this is the first time she really looked at it up close with the fire illuminating next to them. She continues cleaning off the dry mud and blood along the markings around his arm. She was confused, there wasn't anything written on the tattoo, no runes, no pictures, no indication of a name or religion. It was simply a red line he had drawn down his body with red ink.
Laufey wipes the rest of his face with the skirt of her dress. That was enough she thought to herself. The blood had finally stopped flowing out from his wound. She shifted next to him and lifted his arms to begin unwrapped the bandage. After several layers, she noticed he was still bleeding there. At last, she finally started to see his skin. He had scars along his arm. They were fresh burns. She held his arm out in both her hands and examined the blisters. His skin was hot. With one hand holding his bare arm she dragged her fingers lightly down the hot festering skin all the way to his wrists.
The hand opens and grabs her neck. Squeezing tightly. She gasps pulling at it, trying to breathe. The man opens dull yellow eyes and looks up at her. His face pulls back in a snarl. She struggles on her knees as consciousness slowly fails her. She lets go of his arm and summons her axe. It flies over to her but the man quickly intercepts it with his other hand while he sits up. His grip on her loosens as he brings both of them to their feet. She is able to sneak in a small breath while he drags her up violently with him. He is examining the Leviathan intensely. She uses the opportunity and lifts her leg up and, with all her strength, kicks him in his wounded gut.
He released her and stutters back, hunched over slightly. Laufey recalls the axe again and it slips out of his distracted hands. As soon as she grips it she charges at him and swings. She is inches away from landing a hit but he jolts his upper body back away from the blade. With a bunched up fist, he swings and hits her in the left cheek. The pain was transformative, she had never been hit this hard in her life. The entire left side of her face loses all function, sight, sound. All left and was replaced with only agony. The blow pushed her back and onto the hard ground. She felt a bicuspid detach from her jaw and struggle to remain in her mouth. She looked up from her hands and knees to quickly counter but he was already over top of her. He picked her up by her hair with his right hand and wrapped his left around her throat once again. He let go of her hair and left her hanging by her neck. He violently reached for her axe but she swung it and nicked his shoulder as it wobbled between their combating balance. He blew air out his nose and dropped the axe and punched her once again on the left side of her face. She lost feeling in her tongue and grunted out a howl of pain. Her jaw lets go of the tooth once and for all. She spat the tooth and blood at him as she attempted the same maneuver trying to kick him in his gut. He grabbed her leg and let go of her throat. She fell and hit the floor for an instant before he swung her by the leg over into a rock. He walked over to the axe and picked it back up.
Laufey's body was screaming, then finally her mouth joined it. She stood up, summoning the Leviathan from his hands into her own and charged at him. She swings and slices his face. It landed, his cheekbone seeping out exposed as the oozing flesh fell from his face. Yellow eyes widened and he yanked the axe from her hands. She wouldn't let go of it. Looking up at him growling through her bloody swollen mouth. She roars as she lunges in to headbutt him. He prevents her blown with the palm of his hand and grabbed her face. Squeezing so hard. His little finger pressing into her temple. She screamed and dropped the axe, but not before biting down as hard as she could into his hand. He pushes her down onto the ground and mounts her, using all his weight to keep her below him. The blood from his wound dripping down onto her. She pushes against his chest with her hands preventing him from crushing her ribs. She slides her hands down and grasps at his open wound, trying to rip his flesh away from his muscles. He yells furiously and with his elbow, pushes against her throat.
She can't move.
She can't breathe.
He is too strong.
She lifts her legs to kick but he easily holds them in place with the balls of his feet.
She hears his breathing, it isn't even staggered, she's not even close to wearing him down. She is almost dead and he isn't even phased.
She opens her hand inside his chest cavity and closes her eyes. The Leviathan roared towards them.
His yellow eyes roll up to the top of his head and he collapsed on top of her.
She could feel the sharp edge of the axe grazing against her skin from his open wound as it pierced completely through his back while returning to her.
She lay there for a moment, exhausted before rolling him off and sitting up. Adrenalin leaves her and pain takes the place of it. She cups the left side of her face and groans. She looks back at the man on his belly. He was so much stronger than anything she'd encountered on her journey. He was also the first sign of life she had met here. Were all of the inhabitants of this land this strong? She was breathing too fast she realizes. She needed to calm down. But the creeping thought that the goddess had tricked her and sent her to her death kept dancing in her mind.
She walked over to the dead man and pulled the Leviathan out from his back. She leans over and spits up a clot of blood forming around the empty tooth socket. She regrets doing so, now the blood flowing from the extraction site is mixing with her saliva, filling her mouth with thick strings of red spit. A hand grips her ankle and rips her down onto the ground. She gasps as she falls onto her side. She brings the axe down onto his arm. It misses and he reaches his foot up and kicks her in the chest as he stands up. She looks up at him and reaches for her axe. He snatches it away from her and looks at the runes on the blade closely. She smirks wickedly and bends her pointer finger, the axe wobbled in his hand and nicked his forehead with the blade. He pulls air through his teeth and holds it tightly with both hands. She stands up and charges at him. She hears him rumbling in irritation. He drops the axe and swings a fist at her. She doges below it and counters with a wadded up fist that plunged into his chest.
She was the one who screamed out in pain. It was as if she punched an anvil. It felt like she had shattered every bone in her hand. She didn't scream for long before he punches her in the gut and took his elbow and hit her in the back of her head as she leaned forward. She slumped down onto the ground. She rolled onto her back and with both feet together, brought her knees to her chest then kicked him in his groin as hard as she could.
He roared out in pain and hunched over. He swiped at her while bending over her but she slid away and summoned her axe while standing up. As it flew, in a swift flow of motions, she swings it high in the air and down at his exposed neck. Brok called this an executioner's axe, let's use it like one.
As she brings it down she screams out as loud as she can. It smacks against the ground and cracks a crater into the stone. But there was no head that rolled away. He had backed away and stood to face her. She looked up glaring at him through ragged breaths, both hands gripping the pommel of the leviathan and blood dripping down both corners of her mouth. She looked at him with fury and rage in her swollen eyes, she could feel the mud mixing with her sweat dripping down her face. They both remained there for a moment that felt longer than it was. Instead of breathing through his nose he let one breath in through his mouth while glaring at her with evil yellow eyes. He scrunched his nose and approached her slowly. She stands straight up quickly. They look at each other for a moment longer before he throws the first punch. She swings the Leviathan to meet his hands. He opened his fist and grabbed the blade of the axe. It sliced through his palm, coming out the other side. He keeps looking at her, then with his vertically severed open hand, grabs the blade with bloody flopping fingers, taking control of the head of the axe. She gasps slightly in disgust. What is he? He brings the axe up to look at it. She summons it down to her, trying to slice his cheekbones once again. He knew it was coming and, with the pommel of the axe, bring it up and cracks it against her chin. She screams and kicks him in the groin again, she only nicked him with her toe. He snarls and stands up, reaching down for her neck, Laufey rolled away to her feet and starts running.
As fast as her legs could take her.
For once in her life, Laufey was thankful for lightning. It illuminates her path in the shallow wooded area. She could feel dead vines and tree branches brushing up against her, she ran through a swarm of bugs and gasped as they clung to her face and hair. She wishes her magic would return. Brok was right, she had relied on it too much. She holds out her hands and shouted "Falki lio!" Still, nothing. She jumps, the boots didn't work. All magic, except for the Leviathan, was severed from her in this land.
She didn't have time to dwell on it. She had to keep running. She could hear the sound of something following her. The footsteps were slow, but they terrified her none the less. What was he? He didn't look like anyone from her visions. He wasn't a god, she knew all of their faces, even the dead ones. He was tall like a troll or even one of her own people when their parents sire a child with a mortal. She reached for her dagger but realized she had left it at the camp with her food. She had no weapon, no magic, and he was closing in on her. She had to summon the axe, but feared it would lead him to her. She recalled it, but it didn't come to her. 'No' she thought, 'it was coming to her.' He was holding it, and now he followed where it led him. To her. She ran towards the edge of a cliff looking over the roaring waters below. She wasn't afraid of diving in and facing them instead of the man again. But had to get the axe back first.
Slowly he approached her with the Leviathan in his hand. She lifts her head high in the air and straightened her back. Ready for another fight. He looked down at the axe and then threw it off the cliff. It sailed far away. He didn't take his eyes off her. She held her arms up and recalled the weapon. It circled back around her and landed in her hands. His face didn't show any expression, and his stance wasn't a defensive one. An opening, she charges at him. Swinging the axe down onto him. He grabs the weapon right above her hands and pulls it. She doesn't let go. He grabs a hand full of her hair. She maneuvers the axe to her possession and slams the blade into his left abdomen. He doesn't make a sound, but his hand tightens around her hair. She looks at him with a scowl and pushes it in deeper. He yanks her head down and towers over her, peering down at her as his face drifts closer to her. Was he mocking her? She spits in his face. He blew air out of his nose in what almost seemed like amusement. He pushes her back and takes both hands and pulls the axe out of his chest. He closes his eyes and relaxes his shoulders. The wound begins closing up. She looks down, the hole in his abdomen is almost closed too. It now only appeared to be a large open stab wound.
He flips the axe's angle in his hand. Looking at her. She bends forwards, resting her hands on her knees. Catching her breath. Then stands back up. She summons the axe but he doesn't let go of it. It shakes violently in his hands. He steadies it and swings it at her. She ducks and rolls out of the way. He swings again. She keeps trying to recall the weapon every time he swings. It throws his aim and balance off and gives her an opportunity to parry. Finally, he throws the weapon at her and she catches it, caught slightly off guard. As she catches it he punches her in the chest and sweeps his foot behind her legs causing her to fall violently onto her back. He snatched the axe from her hands and steps one foot onto her chest. Pressing down hard. He won.
She looked up to him. The man who will kill her. And didn't cry, didn't tremble. She didn't fear death. He didn't realize he was about to kill a woman ready to die. She smiled bitterly.
"To die fully in the dark like everyone else. Not knowing anything. Thank you. I couldn't have asked for a better outcome."
The man's foot lifted slightly. Confusion appears onto his face.
"Τι είναι αυτό?"
She couldn't understand him. He lifted his foot away and looked down to her for a moment. Then, he simply walked away. She lay there for several moments hearing his footsteps begin to fade away. Her breathing staggered. It was over.
Suddenly, the storm clouds disappeared. Tornadoes vanished, and the sun begins shining down onto her. She squints her eyes from the light and his footsteps stop. She leans herself into her elbows to look around. The man storms back over to her.
He yells something in his language while pointing to the sky. She doesn't understand him.
"What?" She says. Scrambling to her feet.
He pointed her and began yelling again. She couldn't understand any of his words.
She pointed to the sky and tilted her head. With what felt like broken fingers, she flicked them back and forth while holding her hand up high. Trying to imitate rain.
He nodded his head slowly and did the same gesture, he then suddenly stopped the "rain" and pointed at her. Was he asking if she stopped the rain?
She pointed to herself and shook her head no. She did the same thing and pointed to him. He did not respond, only returning his gaze at the sky.
She walked over to a rock and sat down, leaning her axe against it. He was looking in her direction again. But not at her, at her axe.
She hesitates, she didn't trust him. Then again, he could have killed her just now but he didn't. She pointed to her axe with one hand, then with her other, she pointed to her eye. "Look?" She says slowly. Then pointed at him. Laufey hoped she wouldn't regret this.
He looked away from the weapon and back to her. She accidentally dribbled out a mouthful of blood when she spoke to him. She mimics the gesture again. Pointed to him, then the axe, then her eyes. He nodded once and approached her. He snatches the weapon from the rock she was sitting on. She did her best to not show her inching fear.
His face finally softened from its what felt like a permanent snarl. Casually, he touched the runes on the head of the Leviathan. His calloused fingers make a grating noise as they pass over the lines. He moved the weapon side to side feelings its balance. He then swapped it from his left to right hand, then swings it at the air. Laufey audibly gasps when he strikes, not ready for it.
He lowers the weapon after her gasp and leans the pommel against his elbow and bends his arm to his chest, offering the weapon back to her on his elbow. She takes it with both hands. He exhales and looks down to his bare feet. She smirks while blowing air out her nose. "Sorry."
He looks up at her. She forgot he can't understand her. She stands up and takes some string from her pouch and offers it to him. He looks at it with no expression and doesn't take it. She looks at the wounds on his arms, she pointed at the one she took the bandages off. It got a reaction out of him. He glared at her angrily. She held her hands up in apology, not meaning to pry. He yells something at her sharply. He made no hand gestures, she couldn't understand any of it. She tilted her head. He grumbles. She pointed to his other wrist with bandages on it. "I saved it if that's what you're looking for?" She said. She made a gesture to follow her. She walks back towards her little camp. The sunlight made it much easier to tell where she was going.
Back at the camp, she looks through the pile of supplies she gathered and pulls out the bloody bandages she'd removed from his arms. He storms over to her and rips them from her hands, as well as his shoes sitting next to them. She holds her hands up in surrender and lets him at it. She tosses the leather string at him. She remembers her food, she runs over to it and finds her dagger. She picked the carcass up and looks it over. It was surprisingly still halfway decent looking. She peeled her hairband off of it and returned to skewering chunks of meat and finally resting them against the fire. He finishes putting his shoes on and laces them up loosely with his arms both fully bound up. Walking over to her with a vile look on his face at what she was doing. He begins to tell her something, but it sounded like he didn't finish his sentence. He sat down by the fire and looked at it. They sat there for several minutes in complete silence. Until the smell of her food finally started awakening her senses.
"Oh!" She says. "You may know."
She stands up and runs to gather the round green fruits from her bag. They were still attached to some of the vegetation that they grew on. She pointed at the man to get his attention. Then she showed him the fruits and opened her mouth to point at it. Hopefully trying to come across as asking if she can eat them.
He lifted his right eyebrow up as she held the vine of fruits out to him with her mouth open wide and pointing at it. He looked down to his lap, then off to the distance and after a few moments, nodded his head slowly while slightly leaning back.
She could eat them! She crams one into her mouth and almost melted when she began to chew. Ignoring the pain from her left side. It wasn't at all what she expected. It was sweet and sour and juicy all at the same time. Her voice mulled slightly at the sheer fact she was finally eating something.
She was too busy with her joy to see his bewildered expression.