Halla smelled like ash and fresh cut wood. It was a distinct smell, the kind of smell that sticks out in a crowd. The kind of smell that grabbed you by the scruff of the neck and never let go.
It was a good smell, one he wished he could smell more often.
Snow crunched beneath his boots, sending sparkles of ice-smelling joy into the air as he moved deeper into the woods. But it wasn't just his feet drawing ice into the air, no, there was a second set behind him. A set belonging to someone who thought they were being sneaky.
Someone who smelled of ash and fresh-cut wood.
A smile curled up Abjorn Vidsson's face as he curled his fingers into fists. He'd forgotten the axe, but why use an axe when you can impress someone with your hands?
Approaching the biggest tree he could find — it smelled of pine and wisdom — he placed his hand on the bark and waited, tasting the air for his follower's presence. When the time was right, when the air told him that she was watching, he struck.
Calling upon his orthstirr, the well of power within his soul, he drew his arm back, curled his hand into a fist radiating with power, and threw it forward, body and soul behind the punch. Knuckles met wood and shattered through to the other side.
The tree groaned and cracks raced up the bark as it staggered to the side. Abjorn turned with it, eyes darting to the left. He had to see her face, to see her reaction.
For a moment, he forgot all about the tree. About impressing her.
All he saw was Halla, the woman he was sworn to protect with all his heart and soul. He breathed deeply, swallowing a lungful of air. It tasted of ash, fresh-cut wood, and fear.
He frowned. Fear?
The tree cracked as it lurched forward and down with blistering speed. It sped through the air, falling towards Halla. Towards her.
No.
No it wouldn't.
It nearly killed him. It nearly broke him in two. But he caught it.
And what happened after made it all worth it.
Halla smelled like ash and fresh-cut wood, but her breath tasted like mutton.
0~0~0
AN: And now I begin work on the absolute chonker of an interlude; Steinarr and Sten's Very Fun Trip