Stavanger Bay [m] ride of the valkyries

Movement down upon the beach had caught Brynhildr's attention, noticed out the corner of her eye. Gaze of turquoise, starbursted with caribbean ice turned then upon the shore below, body shifting upon her perch of massive rock to study the figure. From a distance it was hard to make out, but as the Queen of the Bay drew closer to the arching rock, Brynhilder recognized Ragnar's widow. Brynhildr had not known how she and her brothers would be received, though admittedly when she had envisioned it in her mind's eye it had been Ragnar that had greeted them, not his Queen bearing the heavy news of his death. Their meeting would have to be in Valhalla, when her time came, though Brynhildr doubted she would ever see the hall. She was not a warrior. This was not to claim that she could not hold her own — the Jarl's sons of Freya's Hollow had learned that lesson the hard way and could barely be considered men now for their arrogance. Brynhildr was not a slave and would never allow any man or woman to treat her as one.

For a moment, the valkyrja considered letting Thistle pass, to not draw attention to herself — though sooner or later someone would notice her upon the craggy outcropping of rock. The footholds had been hard for her to find as it began as a gentle slope covered in wildflowers and grasses but she was nothing if not persistent. Too easily she could misstep, even now, and fall to the waves below. If the collision with the water did not kill her, surely being beaten repeatedly against the rock by the rushing tide would do the trick. Yet, she was not afraid. After a few more seconds of debate, Brynhildr let out a soft bark, meant to alert Thistle to her presence above as the queen draped in platinum silver lounged elegantly across the rock, front paws stretching to hang off the uneven edge of it. Whether Thistle chose to engage her in conversation or ignore her presence was entirely up to the other woman, but at the very least she was aware of her presence and thus would not be startled if she happened to glance upwards.