It took until you start wandering around Asvir for it to really drive home how crowded it is here.
If you combined all the people living on the farms scattered across the valley, the number of people would probably add up to around fifty.
Asvir alone dwarfs that number by half. By the Gods there sure are a lot of people here!
'There are towns with hundreds of people living in it. Asvir, though substantial, isn't much compared to the cities I've seen in my travels.'
"You're not helping, Blackhand." You mutter as you pass by yet another crowd of people living their lives. For a girl raised in wide-open fields and sweeping hills, the constant press of people is an unavoidable pressure on your mind. It's like your breath can't escape your mouth thanks to the sheer number of people.
Hammers strike against iron, sending sparks and ringing echoes into the air. Sheep baa, cows moo, people talk.
It's almost too much for you to bear. But you gulp, grit your teeth, and push through towards precious tranquility.
Eventually, you wind up in a small, seemingly depopulated clearing behind a house at the edge of the village. For once, the taste of air is fresh and devoid of the constant press of people. You gulp it down greedily, savoring the cool wind on your face.
If you never had to deal with that many people again, you'd be quite the lucky girl!
Movement at the corner of your eye draws your gaze and you turn to find a small child, a young girl, staring at you.
She seems oddly familiar to you. Maybe it's her gray eyes or the deep red of her hair as it falls around her shoulders in wild, untamable layers. Maybe it's the way she looks at you with an intensity only seen in Steinarr or Eric's gaze.
"You look like Papa. Why?" She asks with a bluntness only possessed by the very young.
"And you look like little Sterki." The wry grin falls from your face as it hits you. That's why she seems familiar. She reminds you of your little brother!
Well, how he'll look when he gets a little bit older, anyways. At the moment, he's just a little lump of fat with a pair of curious eyes. You thought he looked weird and promptly said so upon seeing him for the first time. Asva laughed and said that you looked just like him when you were little and, to your eternal horror, Steinarr confirmed it!
The little girl's face twists into the most adorable scowl as she folds her arms. "I'm not Sterki," She spits, "My name is Drifa, Drifa Stensdottir! Remember the name or I'll ram it down your throat!" Drifa roars as she raises her tiny fists above her head, a ferocious snarl on her face.
There's no doubt about it. She's imitating someone right now.
"You're adorable." You don't even try to stifle your laughter as her mouth flies open and an aghast look crosses her face.
"I'm not adorable, I'm awesome! I'm a warrior!" Drifa roars a wordless battle-cry as she leaps into a lunge. A fresh round of laughter escapes you as you casually dodge her clumsy attacks.
"An adorable little hellion is what you are." You taunt as you deftly hop over an attempted leg-grab.
"Grah!" Drifa cries in anger, "Cheater! Stop running away and fight me like a warrior!"
"Ah, but a real warrior doesn't demand the enemy fight fairly, they find a way to make it fair." But just as Drifa tries to respond, a presence appears at your shoulder.
"Drifa, stop pestering the nice woman." Drifa scowls as her presumed father scolds her. "I'm sorry for my daughter, she's worked up from being on a ship for... a... week."
He trails off as you turn and meet his steel gray eyes with a pair of your own.
For a heartbeat, it's Steinarr who's speaking with you.
And then you blink and the spell is ruined.
His hair is grittier than Steinarr's, for one, and he's generally thicker in arm and shoulder than your father. He's stockier than Steinarr and stands at about your height. His beard is little more than shaped stubble and he lacks the silver in his hair.
He looks like he was forged from iron and his gaze is far sterner than Steinarr's.
"Sorry," you say, "but do I know you from somewhere?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing." He holds his hand out. "Sten Iskearauta."
"Halla Steinarsdottir." You reply, grasping his hand with your own. His grip feels like iron.
'Iskearauta? That's... Finnish.' Blackhand mutters something about 'the land of the Finns'.
"Steinarsdottir?" Sten blinks, recognition flashing in his eyes. Realization dawns and you go to speak, but your eldest brother beats you to it. "It's been ten years and I expected you to somehow look the same. What a fool I was."
You share a laugh before catching your brother in a tight embrace. Drifa looks between the two of you, not really getting what's going on.
After a few moments, you separate and quickly find yourself being introduced to Sten's wife and daughter.
"This is my wife, Minna." It's rather hard to believe that someone as petite and demure as Minna could produce such a rowdy child as Drifa, but it's clear that Sten keeps no concubines. "And you've already met Drifa, our daughter."
Drifa sticks her tongue out as you're introduced as her Aunt and Minna's Sister-in-law. It's a little weird to be an 'aunt', but you suppose that it's something that you're going to have to get used to, given that Eric's married and Minna's pregnancy is rather obvious.
The realization that in probably less than a decade, you're going to be a mother yourself stops you cold. You gulp, deciding to ignore that realization for now.
With introductions out of the way, you're left with a decision.
Your long-lost brother is finally home, with a wife and child no less! But there's something off about him. He seems rather cagey whenever you ask him about Finland and Minna looks worried. The high-quality sword on his waist is well-maintained, but you can still smell the iron scent of blood, subdued it may be.
On the other hand, you just know that Steinarr's going to be utterly ecstatic to learn that he's a grandfather. To keep that from him seems cruel.
What do you do?
[ ] Try to get more information out of Sten (Hard Hugr + Silver-Tongue)
[ ] Introduce Sten and his family to Steinarr
(Sten's Relations revealed! He stands at 7/10)
(Minna's Relations added! She stands at a 5/10)
(Drifa's Relations added! She stands at a 2/10)
0~0~0
AN: I had an absolute blast writing Drifa, which is probably why I got this out so quickly lmao.
No moratorium and a short voting period (around 3 or 4 hours) as I'd like to get another update out today.
