Thorgil came romping out of the woods, chased by some of her closest friends, Slasher, Wolf Bane, Hel Hag, and Shreddie. Laughing as the dogs barked, she tackled Slasher, and the other dogs piled on top.
Layne strolled over slowly, muttering under his breath. He was talking to the friend only he can see, a goddess by the name of Weth.
Thorgil looked up to see Layne strolling towards her. Her eyes narrowed, but she went back to roughhousing with her friends.
Layne came closer, finally noticing Thorgil as if she'd dropped from the sky. "Oh, hi."
Thorgil looked up into shadow. She momentarily panicked, then realized that Layne was blocking the sun. "Hey."
"What…what are you doing?" Layne asked.
"Um, how do I put this…?" Thorgil pretended to look for words. "I'm wrestling with my friends."
Layne snorted. "Wow, this may be the first time I've been glad not to be considered someone's friend."
Thorgil looked offended, but shrugged. "Sure, be that way."
"You know I didn't mean that," Layne said.
"Yeah, maybe." Thorgil cracked a grin. "So, who were you talking to? In accordance with the prophecy, of course."
Layne laughed at the inside joke the two of them had shared since Layne got here at age 10. "You know who," he said. "Weth, duh."
"Right." Thorgil mentally face palmed.
Layne saw the look in her eye when she was face palming, minus the actual physical movement.
Thorgil knew when he knew what she was thinking. Oh, we know each other too well…Thorgil chuckled and hefted her ax. "Let's go decapitate some dummies."
"Really?" Layne asked in mock surprise. "Boy, am I surprised. Well, the people up there need some more work to do. I think they're still sweeping up the ashes from what happened last time…" he teased.
"What?" Thorgil said defensively, rolling her eyes. "That was the dragon, not me. It's not my fault Bonecrusher wanted a snack. C'mon." Almost laughing, Thorgil walked up the hill to the training grounds, Layne and the boarhounds at her heels. She checked to see that Bonecrusher the dragon was not in the training arena, walked inside, bidding her large canine friends to stay outside. She then hefted her ax and chopped the nearest dummies into bite-sized chunks. Not that she was going to eat straw and cloth.
Layne grabbed his bow and nocked an arrow, expertly shooting a bullseye from roughly fifty yards. He grinned at Thorgil. This was a new trick he'd been working on. Thorgil grinned and nodded in respect of Layne's expert shooting. She then pulled her dagger out of her boot and threq it, hitting the bullseye right next to Layne's arrow. Thorgil raised her eyebrows at him, waiting for praise.
"Are you freaking serious?" Layne muttered, though his face didn't show anything more than bored indifference.
Thorgil huffed and stalked over to the target, miffed that she hadn't gotten the praise she was expecting. She yanked her dagger out of the bale of hay, also taking a second to grab Layne's arrow. She returned and dropped the arrow at Layne's feet.
Layne quickly reached down and picked it up, examining it. Whatever, he thought, putting it on the table for the smiths to sharpen. He wanted so badly to give Thorgil a hug like when they were younger, but he knew that it was different now. He settled for a pat on the back.
Thorgil waited for anything. Anything that would be taken as an apology. But nothing came. She found herself longing for it to be like when they were kids, mistakes so easily forgiven and nothing could come between them. Ugh. Not being a kid sucks. Thorgil accepted Layne's pat and moved over to a training dummy, proceeding to hack it to pieces. Thorgil stopped abruptly, the sound of wings beating in the air. She straightened up, an idea striking her. "C'mon." She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the training arena, out into the empty field. She gave a loud taxi-cab whistle and waited.
Layne, in the meantime, turned red, staring at his hand. He also sort of wondered what Thorgil was up to this time.
Thorgil didn't notice, then froze, cocking her head at the sound of massive wings. She looked up into the sky and let out a wind laugh at the sight of Bonecrusher, the camp dragon. Bonecrusher was red as rubies, despite the Montanna setting. Bonecrusher came straight from the Old Land itself, and Thorgil had become one of the few people that could handle circled them from above, drifting lower and lower, then landed with a jolt and stared at Layne with intense, firey eyes. He then turned his head to Thorgil, who rubbed his chin, keeping her grip on Layne like a vice. It was a good thing she was so strong, too, or Layne would've been out of there in a heartbeat.
"Hey Bonecrusher. How ya doin' boy?" Thorgil looked over Bonecrusher, especially pleased that his saddle was on. Layne couldn't ride without a saddle.Thorgil laughed, then pulled Layne onto the dragon's back behind her, then fastened the leg restraints so that they would not fly off mid-flight. Thorgil looked back and noticed his fearful expression. "Oh, c'mon Layne. Don't be such a baby." She leaned foreward and whispered to Bonecrusher, "Let's show him all we've got." Bonecrusher leaped into the air, snapping out his wings and thrusting up into the sky.
"I'm n-not a baby," Layne stammered, having quite the opposite effect.
Thorgil let out a wild laugh as they soared into the clear Montanna sky. She whooped and Bonecrusher began a series of airial (Sorry, forgot how to spell) acrobatics, looping and cork-screwing through the air. Bonecrusher soared to a high altitude and flew toward the ground, fast. Layne was almost scared by the evil laugh. He held on so tightly he thought his fingers were going to fall off. He was shaking harder than little old Frigg. Thorgil tapped Bonecrusher's side, then he pulled up as the ground neared, banking to the right. They glided over the mountains of Montanna, and Thorgil sighed in content. Layne relaxed a little, putting his hands on Thorgil's shoulders.
Thorgil spotted something of importance below, but did not alert Layne that anything was wrong. She merely tensed her shoulders, calculating her next move. Layne felt the tension in her shoulders and quickly took his hands off, wondering if he'd done something wrong. Thorgil looked back at Layne and apoligetically smiled, then tapped Bonecrusher's spine twice. Bonecrusher descended slowly, gliding downward. He landed with a small jolt, and Thorgil undid Layne's leg straps. Layne felt himself tensing for a fight. He knew one was coming-he had seen that almost indiscernible tightening around Thorgil's eyes-but he didn't say anything. Thorgil undid her own leg straps and slid off, motioning Layne to do the same.
He slid off as well, thought considerably not as gracefully as Thorgil, ripping a pant leg on a dragon scale. "You think people will notice the dragon?" Layne whispered.
"Yeah, but not for long." Thorgil said, swiftly mounting Bonecrusher again. "Til hemmelige oppgaven, oh mektige en kamerat." I go to a secret task, oh mighty a friend. Bonecrusher launched, then soared out of sight over the mountains.
"Selvfolgelig er du det," Layne replied, shaking his head. Of course you are.
Thorgil and Bonecrusher returned to the spot they had last seen the object of importance. The object had been a giant harp, and ever since she had first seen it, it kept moving around the woods, disappearing at one point then coming back at another. Thorgil jumped off Bonecrusher's back and walked up to the harp, settling into a curve in the frame. Then she began to play. Her sweet voice warbled out into the wilderness, and the birds fell silent. The only sound was that of the harp and Thorgil's voice. Even Bonecrusher had fallen silent. Tough as Thorgil was, she also had a softer side, but not that she let anyone see her like this. This was hertime, and not even Layne was allowed.
Layne always knew what she did during that time. When he was little and was a lot more curious about her, and a lot less afraid of what she could do to him, he would follow her here, and watch.
But now it was different. He stuck his hands in his pockets and strolled around, listening to the stillness and the almost-not-even-there sound of Thorgil's harp.
Bonecrusher snorted, breaking into Thorgil's thoughts. She jumped up, noticing the low position of the sun, scrambling back onto Bonecrusher's saddle. I played too long...oh gods...They rocketed back to camp, and Thorgil jumped off before Bonecrusher even touched the ground, rolling upon impact and coming up on one knee. She found Layne walking around and ran up to him. "Sorry I'm late. Has dinner started yet?"
"Over five minutes ago," Layne said. "Don't worry, we can make the Andhrimnir kids give us something."
Thorgil face-palmed. "Alright. Sorry I spent so long-" Thorgil broke off, not wanting to reveal her "secret" pasttime. She looked up, a crazy grin on her face. "Let's go make the Andhrimnir kids give us a feast." She sprinted up the hill and dashed into the kitchen.
It didn't take long for either of them to get food fast. It never did. Lots of laughs and inside jokes were shared. "Hey, Thorne of Fire," Layne teased as they walked away from the kitchen.
Thorgil let out a wild laugh. "Oh, don't remind me." she teased back.
Layne grinned. She was so beautiful when she laughed. "Origami is for paper only..."
"That was all you, Layne." Thorgil pointed a finger at him then clutched her side, the pains of laughter getting to her. "I can't breathe... Hahaha."
He started laughing. "I know it was me."
"I will not touch, smell, or taste the chairs." she said, trying in vain to keep her face straight.
He busted over laughing, holding his side.
"I'm smarter than Petra," Thorgil said with a grin, "what about you?"
Layne's smile dropped. "Yeah. Petra. Smarter."
Thorgil sobered, instantly knowing that she'd struck a nerve. "Layne, I'm sorry." Thorgil hugged Layne, trying to comfort him.
Layne tried to regain his composure. "It's okay." He stiffened at her touch, patting her back uncomfortably. "Remember when I went on that quest a few years back? And how we said Petra had gone missing?" Layne began. "She hadn't. Skoll freaking mauled her." His eyes began to itch, but he swore to himself that he would not show weakness, especially in front of Thorgil.
Thorgil remembered, and did something that probably surprised Layne: she teared up. "I-I'm sorry, Layne. I hadn't known." Thorgil buried her head in Layne's chest, not wanting him to see her tears. Thorgil sighed. This is how it should be. Thorgil closed her eyes, feeling a warm bliss creep through her. "Layne?" she muttered.
"Shh," he whispered. "What is it?"
Thorgil blushed, not knowing how to put what she was feeling into words. "I-um, I like you. Er, um, yeah."
He smiled a little, watching the tears in her eyes sparkle like diamonds. "Me...me too."
Thorgil smiled, looking at the alternate side of Layne's words. "You like you too?" she joked, grinning at her "cleverness".
He smiled gently. "No," he told her softly. He leaned in closer. Thorgil blushed, then kissed Layne. Thorgil blushed even deeper when she resurfaced. But she was happy, truly happy, for the first time in years.
Thorgil wanted to stay that way forever, but the sun had set and she was getting tired. Andshe still had to do her chores. With a sigh, Thorgil gently released herself from Layne's embrace, then walked to the stables to feed the creatures there. Once Thorgil was finished with her chores she went to her cabin and collapsed on her bed, falling asleep nearly instantly. She was blessed with dreams, but those dreams soon turned to nightmares. Twice Thorgil had waken up in a cold sweat to fall asleep again and have another dream turned against her.
And Layne- Layne had the dream that Petra was back-Petra, who had died! Petra, who he had seen and known she couldn't have survived. She was telling him about some weird Greek goddesses and a quest to find them. He really didn't care.