Stone Circle Valhalla Calling

@Gunnar here's our thread! Apologies for the wait ;w;  


The Protector knew of Gunnar's decline in health. 
One day he was at least okay, but by the time Fadir returned to the Heim, his health was declining so quickly...Ulfhild could swear she smelled Gunnar's death on the horizon. 
Whether this was truth or not, the Shieldmaiden couldn't know for certain.

But she made her way to Gunnar all the same, and upon getting closer to where she assumed he would be dying, in a comfortable den that spoke to his receding health, the Norsemaiden let out a soft, concerned croon from somewhere near the mouth of the den. 

She would not intrude into the space further than that.
Not yet at the very least.

Protect the Weak, Purge the Evil

no apology necessary. Thank you for starting

There was nothing to be done. Gunnar had overdone it and he had known it. He would have declined regardless, but he couldn't help the small stab of guilt. But he would think of his life and soothe it, because he knew. He knew, it was foolish to feel guilt for thr natural order of things.


The shieldmaiden roused him from a sleep of light and he shifted. He pushed himself to a standing postion and shuffled towards the door of the den. It was slow and painful, but he wanted to speak with her in the open air. Not where it was dry and cozy and spoke of his imminent demise. No.

A soft smile for another daugher of Kvarsheim. Hello Ulfhild.

The Protector of the Heim's gaze was grim as she watched Gunnar pull himself on aged bones to the mouth of his den...
Of the place where he would soon die. 

Sooner than felt right, but as all things do, even the Fadir's life must come to a close when the Gods called him to them.

"Fadir...I smell death on the horizon." The Shieldmaiden said with an uncharismatic tremble to her thick voice. 
She was fighting herself, to be strong for Gunnar, to be the shield of Kvarsheim she had vowed to be. 

Your death. 

Though Ulfhild didn't say that part, the inclination of it was heavy like smog in the otherwise crisp, clean air.

Gunnar offered their protector a smile. She was such a careful presence, but she offered safety and concern. Perhaps she was stoic and quiet. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing and Gunnar was one that could talk a blue streak if he must.

A soft noise in his throat as he settled and he nodded, calmly, gently. Yes indeed. I feel it in my own bones. It's coming. The allfather is coming soon enough for me.

He sighed. I overdid it a bit, but it was inevitable.

Though a smile then. I lived well, Ulfhild. I truly did.

He hummed quietly under his breath. You are okay my girl?

She did not like what she heard from Gunnar's mouth.

Not one bit, 

not at all.

But she knew it to be the truth, as agonizing as it was.
Ulfhild shook her head softly at Gunnar's question.
If she was okay.

"No." She responded in a tearful whisper.
"But I will be, for everyone else...we will all grieve you." She stated, even as the goodbyes left unsaid manifested in the tears forming in her bright golden eyes.
She smiled a bittersweet little smile as the tears began to roll down her cheeks. 
"I will make sure we also celebrate you." 

He saw the pain there in her yellowed gaze. The sharpness of what was coming and the truth that she knew was inevitable, but she railed against anyway. They all did, for they were Vikings you fought even death. IT was what you did. Do not go gently into the night. However, Gunnar knew he had enough of his mother in him, that he would probably meet it with grace, and perhaps that would be the difference. Maybe he would not go to Valhalla but onward to Freya. Who really knew, he didn't. 

It is important darling girl that you do not press your emotions aside. Do not be strong for everyone at the expense of yourself. That can cause more unrest for you than anyone, and I wouldn't like that.

A soft smile, his own eyes a little misty. I think I would like that. It pains me that I leave the little ones behind. They will not understand fully.

We can fade here if you'd like, Danni! <3

Ulfhild listened to his words, even though they sounded so far away at the moment.
She would dearly miss Gunnar...oh, how it hurt. 

The Protector stepped forward to gently embrace the Fadir of Kvarsheim in a soft hug, a physical goodbye, perhaps the last one she would be able to give him while he still breathed...

Only the future would see how messily she fell apart.