Bo, who had been on the phone with Trick for the past half hour trying to find a way to get to Lauren, finally came back into the apartment and threw herself down onto the couch. Dyson was still on the phone with Hale, hoping that his resources as The Ash would point him in the right direction – unfortunately, much like Trick, he had no idea where to even begin. As he hung up the cellphone and pocketed it, he let out a defeated sigh.
"Hale doesn't know anything. He's going to try to get in touch with the Elders in hopes that they know something but-"
"But", Tamsin finishes for him, "Odin doesn't exactly have to play by the rules. Light or Dark, Ash or not, he doesn't exactly have to answer to anyone."
Bo looked over the back of the couch at Dyson for confirmation; he nodded, earning a groan from the woman.
"What are we supposed to do now? Just sit around while Lauren is who knows where? Hurt? We have to go-"
"No, Bo. You're no better than Tamsin – we can't go into this blind. We need a plan. Or at least a destination."
Two sets of concerned eyes find their way to the valkyrie, still nursing her jaw. Her eyes were closed but she was listening to both of them try to get information from their respective sources. She sighs as she tips her head up and opens her eyes to meet both of their gazes.
"We have to go to Valhalla", she says sternly. "And we have to do it fast."
The intensity in Tamsin's voice sent Dyson into another flurry of phone calls, trying to gather any information he can on how to get the group to Valhalla without having to actually die heroically in battle. Bo walked over to Tamsin, still leaning against the wall the succubus was choking her against not too long ago. Sighing, she slides down next to the blonde.
"If you're here to tell me how I fucked up I'd rather you just punch me in the face again and go away."
Bo's first reaction is to be angry at the valkyrie for acting so crass, especially given the circumstances, but she can relate to how the other woman is probably feeling right now - who knows how many times Bo herself had put Lauren's life in danger. And all she had to do to risk the doctor's life was let her very new-found control slip a little when having sex with her.
"I'm not going to punch you Tamsin. I just want to understand how all of this happened."
Tamsin sighs, discarding the now completely thawed out bag of peas. The large bruise on jaw is a bright purple already, and Bo cringes when she catches sight of it.
"Sorry by the way."
The valkyrie simply smiles sadly in reply before speaking.
"I don't understand it. I don't understand any of it. I don't get how someone like Lauren could love someone like me - I just figured she would eventually get sick of me and leave me to be miserable without her. At least then we could have avoided... this."
Bo raises an eyebrow at her as the valkyrie sweeps her arm over the expanse of her apartment to emphasize her point, and opens her mouth to speak before closing it again. She knew Lauren and her wouldn't work out; there was no possible way for their relationship to end without Lauren ending up broken. Or dead. And Bo couldn't stand that. But that doesn't mean that she was ready to Lauren to love someone else – and yes, maybe that's selfish. Maybe it's childish. But together or not, Lauren will always hold a very important part of the succubus' heart. Knowing that she found love again should fill her with joy (that is what she wanted for her, after all) but instead it leaves a lump in her throat and a bad taste in her mouth. Especially given the circumstances surrounding the person she chose to fall for.
"Do you love her, Tamsin?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I do." Tamsin says without hesitation, laughing bitterly. "Wow, I never thought I would be able to say that out loud. I love Lauren."
She laughs again, and Bo smiles at her sadly. She, as much as she hates to admit it, misses that feeling - loving Lauren is an amazing feeling. She feels bad for Tamsin, realizing the severity of the situation for them both. Now that Bo can control her feeding, she can have a happy and healthy relationship without fear of killing the other person - hell, she had a relationship with Lauren, a human, for quite a while. And those that didn't work out, they at least had the chance to give it a fighting shot. Tamsin can't control this. There is nothing Tamsin, or Lauren, or Bo or Dyson or Trick or anyone could do to control this.
"We'll get her back, Tamsin. Trick just has to find the right incantation and then...", Bo trails off. All she knows is that she has to get Lauren back – at this point everything else is just details. Very very muddled and typically confusing fae details.
Tamsin sighs, hanging her heavy (and throbbing) head into her lap.
"We don't need the incantation, Bo."
"What do you mean we don't need it...? How else are we going to get to wherever the hell this place is?"
Looking up at the brunette, Tamsin raises an eyebrow at her with an almost threatening smile replacing her previously morose features.
"We get summoned."
The trio burst into the clubhouse, Bo and Tamsin almost getting along as they chattered about fighting tactics while Dyson totes the heavy chest the valkyrie refused to leave her apartment without. Kenzi, who had been asleep (despite the fact that it was almost 2 in the afternoon) on the couch with a video game controller still clutched in her hand, immediately jumped up at all the noise. She reached for the dagger next to her on the coffee table, but stopped midway when she realized it was just the three of them and not yet another unwelcomed intruder.
"Whoa, BoBo. What's with the cavalry?"
Quickly, Bo filled Kenzi in while Tamsin helped Dyson carry the case up to Bo's bedroom. After the two women downstairs had caught up, and Kenzi had been filled in on the situation with Lauren, they made their way up to join them.
"So", Bo starts as they cross the threshold, "what is in this case that was so important it had to come with us? Is this how we're going to get summoned?"
Tamsin smiles broadly at Bo, and in turn Dyson and Kenzi, not at all bothered at this point by the large bruise on her jaw. She walks up to the chest that they had set down in the middle of the room and runs her fingertips along the soft wood of the lid.
"No. But this is is the first step."
The group came in closer to Tamsin and the case, all three anxious to see what this would hold for them. The valkyrie knelt down, drumming her fingers nervously on the side before taking a deep breath and pulling the key to the chest from her pocket. She turned it slowly, only hesitating for a second when she heard the familiar click on the locking mechanism coming undone.
"Holy ball sauce, Tamsin."
The valkyrie smirks at Kenzi's shocked response as she lifted the chest's heavy lid open. Inside of it, still as shiny and magnificent as the day it was made hundreds and hundreds of years ago, was her sacred valkyrie armor. Dyson and Bo both gasp as Tamsin pulled the sword, still sheathed, from the top of the chest - she gave it a small practice swing, a huge smile on her face as the familiar weight settled in her hand. The valkyrie looked at Bo, smile still on her face but a fire in her eyes that Bo could recognize from miles away - she nodded at the blonde, knowing that the fire meant it was time. It was time to fight. For Lauren.
"Well", Bo said as she lead Dyson and Kenzi (who was still muttering under her breath about her cool the armor was) out of the room and down the stairs to get themselves ready. "Suit up Tamsin. We've got some gettin' summoned to do."
Tamsin sat down on the edge of Bo's bed after the trio left, gingerly running her fingers over the hilt of the still sheathed blade. She reluctantly set it down behind her and started to remove the heavy pieces of armor one by one from the chest - the breastplate and shoulder pieces first, followed by the gauntlets and tasset, the greaves, the plackart, the boots, several pieces of beautiful flowing cloth and, lastly, a hand-carved wooden box from the bottom with an ornate 'T' on the lid. All the other pieces placed carefully next to her on the bed, Tamsin pulls the box onto her lap. She takes a deep steadying breath in before opening it, and exhales as she slowly lifts the lid - inside is her winged helmet, in all its glory. Because of her great success in the battlefield, her helmet is far more intricate than any of the one's the other valkyries wore; her's was detailed with five thin golden vines, wrapping their way around the headband and to the just as detailed silver wings that adorned either side of the helmet. Back in her day, before being a mercenary or a bounty hunter, before she boxed her armor up for what she assumed was for good, the other woman she fought along side would offer her almost anything in an exchange for this very head piece. But, it was something she had worked hard to earn, and she could not even bare the thought of parting with it.
Tamsin undressed, fighting to steady her hands as she carefully folded her dirty clothes and laid them to the side, and put on the heavy armor piece by piece. It was heavier than she remembered, but still comfortable. Her chest and shoulders covered in the heavy pieces made her feel safe, though her arms and hands not used to the feeling of the slick metal that now covered them from the elbow down. Her lasset covered maybe to mid thigh (she must have somehow gotten taller since she'd worn this last, she thinks, as she doesn't remember her thighs being this exposed) and her boots and greaves came up to just under her knees. Bo came into the room just as Tamsin was fastening the flowing blue and gold cloth to her belt.
"Wow", the succubus breathed out from the door way, "You look incredible."
And she did – Bo wasn't expecting how... well, how badass Tamsin looked. Bo had read about valkyries in high school (Mythology ironically being one of the few classes she actually enjoyed) but even after she had discovered the fae she never imagined she would get to see one, in full armor, standing right in front of her.
Tamsin smirks at her, laughing at Bo's slack-jawed expression as she reaches for the sword still on the bed. She tightens the strap to the sheath around her waist and pulls out her blade for a once over - it is longer than a normal sword, Bo notes, and somehow thinner and more sturdy looking at the same time. The blonde studies her reflection in the still sharp blade for a second before quickly having to sheath it again. This sword has seen her through many battles, but the death that emanated from it was honestly nauseating. Best to save this for the battle, she thought to herself as the hilt made a satisfying clink into the sheath.
"Just wait until you see me in action, succubus." She took a step towards Bo, doing the final adjustments to the various straps on the armor. "Are you ready for this?""
"I've never been more ready for anything."
Bo and Tamsin share a determined look; they didn't need to speak to know what the other was thinking. Bo decked out in her usual leather, sword in hand and dagger on her thigh, and Tamsin fully armored, her helmet tucked protectively under her arm, there was only one thing that either of them needed to know.
As far as they were concerned, this is war.