a gift from the heavens

*Ragnar* · July 05, 2014, 05:32 PM

For Danni and her @Thistle Cloud also no need to match the length. I was five words away from writing 1000. lol. xD

Ragnar had fallen asleep. Except, he hadn’t even realized he had fallen asleep until his body jerked him awake with a violent lurch that left the scarred Northman glimpsing around him in a state that was neither asleep nor awake but in some sort of purgatory between that border lined severe disorientation. The smooth fur between his eyes along the bridge of his muzzle furrowed with his perplexity as his body shifted ungracefully on the bracken that covered the floor of the ancient forest Stavanger Bay wolves called home, blinking furiously as the leaves and grasses rustled beneath him as he shifted, glimpsing over his shoulder, scarred and unscarred ears twitching as he tried to ascertain where in the ancient forest he had chosen to fall asleep without consciously having made the decision to do so. In the far off distance he could hear the gentle lulling roar of the ocean, closer still he could hear the gentle rushing of one of their fresh water sources. Unconsciously he licked his lip, his tongue feeling like sand paper as it slid over his fur. His mind was sluggish though he was able to at least determine that he wasn’t near the den he shared with his wife and their children since said children were not climbing and clambering all over him. The nights he spent playing sentry to the Bay’s captives he did not allow himself to sleep and tried to fit power naps in between patrolling, tending to governing duties expected of him, back to guarding the prisoners making sure they were doing what the Bay members asked of them, and teaching his children — this also happened to include the Loðbrók’s ward Junior who was eager to become a shield maiden much to the Viking’s immense pride; too easily for Ragnar being loped into ‘his children’ as well which he had a feeling would probably serve to bite him in the ass eventually. For now she was orphaned and she was theirs but for how long? He had tried not to feel affection for the girl but it was proving harder and harder by the day.

Slowly, as his bearings leveled out the scarred Northman rose to his paws, stretched and padded towards the fresh water source he was the nearest too, pausing at the bank to lap eagerly and deeply at the cool rushing waters that whispered over the rocks of the stream bottom. Pebbles of multi-colors, others more earthen in their coloration. It was crisp and sweet and refreshing and he lapped at it as fast as he could without making himself sick. The tight, pressed for time schedule Ragnar was running himself on left too little time for Thistle and him though he did make efforts to spend time with her. Not for the first time did he consider asking her to step up so that they might be able to spend more time with one another as husband and wife but as co-leaders but remembered her words that she didn’t want to lead back when they had first became mates, and he feared that it might take her away from the children and between him and them they were definitely the most important. Ragnar made sure to cut time for each of them individually in a day and if he couldn’t manage individually then he made time for them in a group. Speaking of children, Ragnar thought as his head rose from the water, droplets soaking his chin and dripping free to splash upon his paws; Thistle and him really needed to talk privately about what to do with Junior. She had given a name or rather something resembling of a name Ragnar assumed when he had asked her but she had been too excited by his promise to teach her to be a shield maiden to really go into details and though he had the name ‘Hotguy’ to go off of, which he was skeptical of as it was, it really hadn’t helped him any in solving the mystery of who she belonged too.

His selfish and knee-jerk reaction was to keep her because as far as either of them were aware she was an orphan and Thistle and him were more than capable of taking care of her, of giving her what she needed in life and capable of loving her, too, after all Junior wouldn’t be Ragnar’s first trip around the ‘inherently loving adopted children with your entire being block’. He had been there and done that ~~five~~ four times over now. There was no sense in denying the embers of affection that were beginning to burn and take hold in Ragnar for Junior but he kept trying to kill them because in the face of stark reality until proven or decided otherwise: she wasn’t theirs. She probably had a family out their worried sick about her. Never mind that the Norn’s had decided they would find her probably long before Ragnar himself had even been born (since he’s the eldest of their little growing family) and Odinn himself had brought him to the girl (it was believed by him that Frigg had brought Thistle to Junior) and that she was possibly a gift from the connubial Gods but still. She was healing, well enough to train with him and take part in playing with their children, exploring the Bay freely and partaking in lessons and they needed to discuss something, come to some sort of conclusion even if it was only temporary given if Junior wanted to go back …or if she even had a home to go back too.

Realizing he’d been staring at his blurry reflection in the water he turned his eyes away from it, breaking his wandering train of thoughts before heading out to seek his wife figuring it was better to talk about something when it was at the forefront of his mind then continue putting it off.