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[X] Kare Sky-Dancer's Actions, Winter Year 2
-[X] Major Action: Accompany Anja Giantbone on her Lightning Punching adventure
-[X] Minor Action 1: Scout out the Oni's Quarry from as far away as possible while still getting a decent understanding of what's changing over there, flee immediately if discovered.
-[X] Minor Action 2: Take lumber from my uncleared plot of land and deliver it to Hulfr Hardwood, avoid clearing the entire area and leave some trees for next turn.
-[X] Minor Action 3: create a pair of compasses like Grid's, only using the Void Eagle feathers I found in the mountains instead of using skin with the modified wording being "Will point in the direction to the closest alive beast that is the same race as the beast's feather that is attached to this compass" giving 1 to the general public in case of another Void Eagle attack and keeping the other for myself.
-[X] Minor Action 4: Create a rune inscribed wooden amulet with the words "The wearer of this amulet can never have their emotions forcibly changed by external magic" and "Hostile Magic will not effect my wearer."
-[X] Minor Action 5: inscribe "Arrows shot from me will always strike exactly what Kare Sky-Dancer wants them to" and "Magic cannot turn aside my attacks or afflict others with them." on my bow.
-[X] Minor Action 6: inscribe "After this axe is thrown and hits a target the axe returns safely to the hand that threw it" on the axe of Stigg Drythroat @The Chilly One in exchange for a promise to teach Astrid (Kare's adopted daughter) about Axe fighting.
-[X] Minor Action 7: inscribe "Wearer has their normal speed and reflexes increased by half-again" on a wooden arm ring which I will keep for myself.

I have removed your rune carving commission as requested @Oshha
 
i mean, the bear hydra seems to be one of the apex if not the apex predator of the mountain range. judging by the tyrant lizard and void eagle skulls it had lying around its lair
 
A Meeting in the Land of his Promises (OneArmedYeti)
A Meeting in the Land of his Promises

((Shortly after the prayer depicted in Harald After Party 1, three people have IC knowledge of this conversation. @theknightofiron And @CoatRackRanger obviously, then one other person who's been told in PMs by Harald.))

After a brief stop to his field to say goodbye to the last friend he had ever had and to pray for the Lady's continued mercy, Harald accompanies Anja to the boundary between the lands held by the two of them.

It was the only place to have this conversation.

Harald walks, a pile of old linen and scraps in his hand and dreams in his eyes.

He suddenly realizes that Anja had hung back a few steps before, like she had said she would. Still in sight, still able to monitor for ambush or impropriety, but at a distance. He didn't care if she heard, he trusted her and trusted what he would do if she betrayed that trust, but the first part of this conversation was for them and the gods and the land.

Harald smiled, and looked around. If Anja had hung back then...

He saw the quickly put together fence his kinsman had thrown around their lands.

He saw the woman he wanted to watch rebuild that fence stand next to it

He walked over to her and smiled, looking at her eyes as he walked.

"It's good to see you. This will sound silly, it hasn't even been a day...but it's as true as the sky above us:

I missed you"

Anja sits kneeling. close enough that she can support both of them and ensure there's no issues. far enough that she's not looming. her deep steady breathing can be heard from where the two stand

Gefjosa straightens up front the fence as she sees Harald approach, nervously brushing a invisible splinters from her homespun dress. She smiles back at Harald but he knows her well enough to know there's something slightly reserved in it.

"H-hi Harald." She chuckles nervously and glances at Anja in the distance. "I-it doesn't sound silly. I've been nervous to talk to you all day."

She notices the thing that he carrying and snatches unsubtle glances but is too nervous to ask.

Harald sighs in obvious relief, tension evaporating from his shoulders.

"Me too"

He notices her looking at the pile of stitched together old linen.

"I've been thinking a lot today.

About how much I like and hate beer, about how happy I've been these last few weeks, but mostly about everything I've ever said to you.

Mostly about the one thing I regret saying."

He looks embarrassed for a second.

"I wanted to finish it before I told you but that's not gonna be until summer and I just couldn't wait to show you and..."

Harald stopped, any Gods or ancestors that may be witnessing proud to see him learning from his mistakes.

"Actually, I think I'm about to make you cry."

Harald smiles.

"Anything you want to talk about first?"

Gefjosa sniffs. Harald is absolutely right. The tears are... coming soon... but aren't there yet. "I... uh... I don't know what you want to talk about so I don't know if I need to talk about something else first?" It's not a question but it comes out like one. "Uh... I... uh... I guess maybe... I wanna s-say that, I l-like you too but a-all this is moving r-really fast and..." She gulps and no more words make it out.

Harald starts walking closer

"Shh

I'm sorry it all ended up in front of everybody like that. I didn't want that. I know you weren't ready for that. I'm sorry.

I would have been perfectly happy falling asleep to the sunrise after a long night talking about frogs and farming instead of wondering if I had fucked up the only good thing that's happened to me in a year."

The moment before he reaches her, his mind catches up to his ears and he realizes the thing she said in the middle about liking him.

He blushes, and looks at the hills he had claimed.

*Don't ask her where she wants the house Harald, listen to her, its moving too fast, she'll freak out, don't ask her where she wants the house*

Looking back at her, he smiles.

"I liked hearing you say that almost as much as I like you too. Thank you for that. I know it wasn't easy.

If that's all you're ready for right now, that's all I'm asking for right now.

I've told you before, Lady Freya as my witness, I will never ask you for anything I think you'll need to say no to."

Harald touched his chest for a moment.

"If you haven't made up your mind yet, that's fi..."

Harald chokes on the lie...it wasn't fine

"...I won't take offense. There's a lot of guys here and we're young, it's not fair for me to expect you to have.

You'd take me years to get over Gefji, but the whole time I'd still be better off than I was a few months ago, all thanks to you."

Harald looks off in the direction of his field on Ragnarr's land, uncertain.

"Harald." Anja's voice is calm but there's just a hint of warning in it. "Let her say her piece. Just wait."

Harald looks at Anja, then looks back at Gefjosa, a panicked and sheepish look in his eyes.

"So..sor"

Harald shuts up.



Anja's calm voice can be heard "breathe. hold. release. the words will come in their own time."

Gefjosa smiles, slowly and tentatively but fully. She didn't think he'd understand but... maybe he did? Maybe things weren't going to blow up and be horrible?

"I d-do like you. B-but everything right now... is more than I'm okay with... I'm not ready to be married or betrothed or even courting right now... I'm still... really messed up and I don't think I can fix myself and... and... be with anyone at the same time."

She knows what she's about to say will hurt Harald.

"I... I haven't made up my mind. I like you. A lot."

She giggles.

"You're nice and smell good and work really hard and I think we want... the same things.

B-but this is what I meant when I said I wasn't ready... I... I need the space to figure myself out. C-can we just be friends? Please? For a while?"

She sniffs.

"I think what I really need right now is friends."

"Gefjosa" Anja's voice is supportive. "its not fair to ask him to wait forever. give him a deadline for you to make your decision. it can be one year, two, five. but he needs to know there will be a definite yes or no in the future."

Acting like he didn't hear Anja while thanking Freya for the wisdom that he had asked her to stay for their talk, Harald smiles, and raises his voice to echo through the hills around them.

"Gefjosa Aslaugsdottir, you are my friend, and you shall remain so until you tell me otherwise or act against me and mine beyond the scope of drengskapr.

Should you ambush me on the road tomorrow, when I wake I will tell Seeress and Kin that a good friend is angry with me and I need to make it up with her."

He starts laughing, and grinning, and returns to normal speaking volume.

"Was that all?!"

He looks at Anja for a moment.

"Thank you, everything I said to you last night was true, and yet somehow I was completely wrong..."

He bends, just a hair, so his eyes are level with Gefjosa's, still talking to and facing Anja.

"I knew exactly how she felt. I'm so happy to learn I was right about that.

...but she didn't know I knew."

He turns to Gefjosa, and smiles, wider than she's ever seen.

"You already told me that, sorry i got drunk and happy and forgot every worry in the world."

Stone shines behind his eyes.

"I'll make it up to you."

She sniffs, at first a little betrayed that Anja wasn't totally and completely on her side, then common sense reasserts itself.

"H-harald, I don't want you to wait for me! I want you to be certain I'm the one you want! In two years, maybe I'll be a different person and you won't want to be with me anymore!"

Harald's smile tightens, and his brows narrow.

*Nonsense*

Tears start to trickle out of her eyes slow. "I can't... I can't tell you when I'll be better but... two years... two years I'll give you my answer. Until then... lets be" she glances over at Anja and smiles a little through the tears which are coming faster now, "second best friends."

Harald's smile returns, wider than it's been since she said she hadn't made up her mind.

"You... you don't need to apologize for anything, Harald" but she was glad he did, "but if you have to give me something, can we maybe do it not in front of everyone? Like I did with the coral... sorry..."

*Does she think me a fool? The first day I give her a gift in front of a crowd will be our wedding feast. I have met her, after all*

Harald smiles

"Ok, If not at a party with half the town, how about in front of your two best friends?"

Not waiting for a response, he starts to fuss with the bundle in his hands.

"Like I said, I've been thinking a lot about what I said to you, and while I didn't lie, I was wrong to say one thing"

Harald looks down between the bundle in his hands and Gefjosa.

Boy, lying to yoursel...

*I know, dad. I've got this*

"I... my father once told me that lying to yourself is the first step on many paths to Niddheart. As a friend, I have done you wrong by endangering your word-glory, and I owe you recompense.

I meant what I said at first when we talked week before last. You can hide from me. For as long as you need to.

But you shouldn't hide from yourself. I never should have said that.

That's why I fixed Anja's stickfigure drawing and tried to make it look like you."

Harald blushes, remembering some of the embellishments he had added.

"I...it was easy for me to draw, because I had been thinking so much about your shoulde.."

*Harald stop digging and show it to her before she draws bad conclusions*

Harald opens his hands, and a shadow of his gift drapes from them.

It was...different.

"This is just a mockup that I made from an some old scraps I ripped at your place digging and you don't have to put it on or anything and i know that you probably aren't ready and probably won't be for a while but..."

*...I think you would look beautiful in this*, he wanted to say, with every single bit of him except his brain.

"...I think this sort of thing really fits you.

The real one should be ready summer."

Harald looked nervous, looking down.

"Sorry if it's wei..." He trails off

Gefjosa hugs Harald, sobbing happily. "It's perfect!"

The moment Gefjosa's chest touches Harald's, his arms are unhesitatingly set firmly against her back, merciful ancestors preventing him from noticing that Anja had just left.

He wanted to scream, Ordstirr filling his lungs so that the whole land could hear, that Lady Freyja was faithful.

He wanted to point to the three places he had thought of building the house, all within view of the place he had chosen to talk, and ask her which view was her favorite.

He wanted to twist bonemeal and Soil together to imitate silver and brass as he did for her gift that pressed between their chests: to show her the torcs he would wrap around her upper arms on the first day of their feast.

He wanted to tell her about the second gift he had ordered for after Summer, and the many colors that it would have, and how he dreamed she would wear it standing in that same place years hence.

But more than he wanted any of those things, he wanted her to feel safe.

Holding her against him, unyielding unless she makes the slightest motion to leave, he talks quietly, his breath brushing right behind her ear.

"There are some more things I have to ask you, more things I have to tell you, but not today..."

His mother wasn't a liar after all.

"...we have time."

He expected the words to hurt as he said them, but all he felt in his heart was her.

Unnoticed by all, a red bird perched on a nearby tree chirps happily and flies away.
 
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Braveblood's Bloody Beasties (fearsome hill)
Braveblood's Bloody Beasties

English Version:
-----------------------
Dearth of deaths tire
Lack of slaughter lames

Bear[1], Breaker[2], Brave's blood[3]
Venture winter's way[4]

Bring battle 'pon blights
Brawl beasts for burnished parts

Return rightly rewarded
Wearing wealth once worn
------------------------
Finnish Version:
-------------------------
Monta miestä messään meni
Väki vielä veräst vieri

Kolme kalman käessä
Väkivanhan väestä

Suurta sutta suuttumahan
hukkaa huimaa hirttämähän

Tuovat turman tanterille
murhaa monta manterille
-------------------------
[1]: Bjorn duh
[2]: Axe as in Njall Redaxe
[3]: Tyr is often seen as brave. Sigmund is of Tyr's blood.
[4]: North
 
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Does anyone other than Ivor have stuff they want me to make once the smeltery and forge are up and running?
 
Does anyone other than Ivor have stuff they want me to make once the smeltery and forge are up and running?

I am absolutely interested once actions are resolved and I have a better idea what the budget is going to be.

Harald wants nails and farm tools, will likely have Linen at end of winter and will likely have Flax at the end of next summer.
 
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