1218/Asgard Past: Coming Home

Asgard Past: Coming Home
Date of Scene:	18 April 2020
Location:	Vanaheim, Asgard
Synopsis:	Heidi and Sif finally return the missing box of memories to Einherjar Valdar, he most grateful for it. With the spirit laid to proper rest, life continues in glorious Asgard.
Cast of Characters:	Sif, Heidi Ingerdottir

Sif has posed:
Up from the depths of the room caught in a cross-stream of time-rivers came the small sentiment-box, held by Heidi while Sif led the wise retreat from the collapse of the entire quarters. Again, the passageway appeared to be filled with the blockage of boulders and, after speaking with Einherjar Agil, the two warrior-women of Asgard had travels to plan.

The books necessary for Loki's work are collected. All that falls is for their delivery to occur. Sif, at least, appears to think they can deal with two birds and one stone by firstly dropping off the box at the ancestral home of Einherjar Valdar. She stands in the Royal Stables and very gently rubs at the jeweled hummingbird-construct's skull with a fingernail. The bird beeps quietly from where it continues to snuggle close to her neck, little tongue flickering out and away just like that. The high collar of Sif's deep-red battle-leathers allow for shelter there; her silvery armor gleams and Brumeoalfold is faithfully at her hip.

"This will not take us long, I should think. Amusingly enough, in my research, I discovered that I am vaguely familiar with the grounds. It was indeed a childhood story." Sif glances over at Heidi. In her ice-blue eyes, a sense of muted loss. "Were you ever told his tale?" Nearby, Typhon in his stall fusses and chews at the stall door, anxious to get flying. He can tell something's up.

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
"No, most of the tales around me were ones I made up," Heidi sounds amused at herself for a moment. "Can't say my mother was fond of tales. She's a very stern woman." Which does beg the question as to how she ended up so bright and cheery in comparison to her mother. "I suppose his tale must be very heroic, sacrificing himself... usually childrens tales are exaggerated, though. Or made up, I am a little surprised to see one that has merit."

She reaches a hand up to pet Eira on the nose. "I imagine you can tell me it as we go?"

Sif has posed:
"Of course. I had to find it in a book of children's tales, but I remember it well enough now." With the hummingbird tucked against her pulse and Typon happy to be led out of his stall into the bright spring sunlight, Sif hop-mounts up behind the wing-joints of the pegasus stallion. She waits until Heidi too is ready to leave, box on her person, and then nudges Typhon into action. With a recognizable swats of flyings flapping in their run, both pegasi are airbourne and rapidly rising with a speedy agility always certain to make Sif's heart trip a few beats in delight.

Once they've reached their soaring altitude (yes, tray-tables can be let down again, thank you for turning off your laptops), Sif gently maneuvers her mount closer for Heidi to hear.

"Einherjar Valdar was a true presence in the fabric of Asgardian history, from what I learned. The tale is told that the Brunnmigi, well-dwellers who poisoned all water they touched, lived deep in the depths of Asgard and managed to infiltrate beneath the palace when it was newly built. Valdar's father not only alerted the All-Father's father of this, but showed him where the best place to halt the advance was to be. It was the room we have seen, a cavern before the room was built within it. Einherjar Hartvald was granted the honor of guarding the final gate while the Court-mages worked to counter the poison. He was slain defending it. Einherjar Valdar took up his post and successfully defended the access point. What we observed was the last Brunnmigi in a suicidal attempt. Both it and Valdar perished in the rockfall."

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
The transition from land to air is smooth, one they've both been familiar with for hundreds of years. So Heidi is at ease once they've settled into flight towards their destination and the time for tale-telling has come upon them. She listens with interest, her attention focused as she seems to think deeply about the situation. "How awful it must have been for his mother, to lose both husband and son to these monsters... but at the same time, she must have felt honored that they did such a deed. Still heartbreaking."

It's a story that feels all the more real with the box belonging to Valdar tucked safely in a bag settled behind her. "Valdar was very brave, wasn't he? If I were to have an ounce of that courage, knowing my death was surely at hand..."

Sif has posed:
"It is a thing to consider." So very solemnly, Sif agrees in this. Her face can be seen to turn profile and then away and beyond, towards the far purple-grey mountain ranges and the lake before them, all of this surrounded by green forest and golden rolling plains before the rise of trees.

"I believe that if the time should ever come, I shall meet my end with courage. I suspect the same of you." Her pale gaze returns to Heidi, solemn and yet somehow with a hint of a smile. "You are braver than you think, Heidi Ingerdottir, and Fate will show it well. I doubt it will be your end when your moment comes. We are both young yet."

And so was Valdar, though Fate plucked him from the Loom all the same to weave him instead into the tapestry of Valhalla.

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
"I should hope neither of us meet an end early, we have so very many battles to face together, do we not?" Heidi grins. "But I should hope that if the moment came I would face it with courage." There's an odd moment where she's quiet. "I suppose he wouldn't have been alone then in his last moments. We were technically close to him when it happened. Perhaps, then, it is good to know that he did not face things alone."

That thought seems to soothe her a bit. "I suppose I don't mind my own death so long as it doesn't go entirely unnoticed."

Sif has posed:
"If we are to face our last battle together, I can guarantee that neither of us will leave the worlds without it being known. Have you not heard my battle-cry?" Sif asks this in mild archness. It is a known, the Goddess of War's howl upon the field -- it took some practice too, something both Princes never forget to remind Sif about if given the opportunity. "Still, you are correct: in a way, Valdar did not pass alone. We are honored to have seen his sacrifice."

Below them, the vast plains of the land beyond Asgard's Golden City are beginning to shift to the shallow plateaus and rougher rock of Vanaheim. The border proper is now not far. Sig sighs to herself. "I read that his ancestral grounds were tucked to the border of the two realms, on the side of Vanaheim. I think we search for a monument heavily weathered yet. Perhaps we shall be able to see it better from on high. Keep watch for what was once habitation." In other words, ruins.

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
"I should think the enemy would be more scared of you dying than of you alive, should your battle cry /intensify/ at your last breath." Heidi is grinning at the thought, both in the comical image of Sif's battle cry and the realistic and much more impressive actual image of her howl. Impressive both, but in different ways. "I am glad that someone was able to see his last moments. Not all are fortunate."

The suggestion that they look for ruins is noted, her eyes scanning below them as they fly over. Her sharp vision does spot something, and she has Eira turn a tiny bit to take a bit of a closer look as to what it is. "Lady Sif, I believe there's something there," she offers, gesturing below them in hopes Sif will see what she does.

Sif has posed:
Typhon begins to drop into a broad circling sweep of the air, gracefully in counter to Heidi's Eira. Sif leans out to see beyond the span of his wings. Indeed, there seems to be the spread of what was once a manor-home, now low-rising outlines of layered rock peeking here and there between the broad spans of old, old trees.

"You've a good eye," Sif compliments Heidi as she glances over. "Indeed, that is what we were seeking. Let us descend with caution. There were tales in my childhood of this place hosting spirits yet."

Down and down, the descent, whirling lightly like a feather on a breeze, and Typhon comes to a smooth transitional gallop to a canter and then a light trot. Of course his tail lifts as does his head as he prances, hooves high -- check me out, baby.

Sif, in the meanwhile, has a hand rested at the pommel of her sword, her eyes rapidly scanning the perimeter of the long-empty property.

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
"If I didn't have a good eye, I'd have a lot of difficulty with archery." Heidi is more than happy to keep an eye on things, looking around as they lower towards the ground. Once they're on the ground her eyes scan for anything that looks out of place. She stops, putting a hand up as she notes the house and grounds.

"Lady Sif, there's certainly something here... are you sensing it as well?"

Sif has posed:
"I believe so..." Typhon is left to graze -- or make eyes at Eira, whichever he chooses to do -- and Sif joins Heidi on the ground. Her hand doesn't stray from her sword as she stands in a lingering moment of silence. The birds sing high in the trees and a breeze flutters through, setting the tufts of taller grass and leaves to breathing. "Sometimes, it is not great fear or anguish or death which leaves a mark. I have seen it be love as well. Family, a bond which reaches beyond the life lived. Einherjar Valdar knew family even as we do."

There comes a moment where the light of the falling sun hits that perfect angle along the horizon. Rarely, on land, its rays reach a point not ruddy or amber, but green -- mythical on Midgard. Before them, this occurs, even on the plains of solid earth rather than water beyond, and now in once was a grand arched doorway, there stands a familiar face.

Brown eyes more warm and filled with a sense of self linger on both Asgardian warriors. Valdar's double-crescent horned helm is held tucked at his hip, putting his dark hair on display. Still beardless, still dressed in his ancient regalia, he nods a deep, proper greeting to the women.

<> He's not transparent, but there's a sense of incomplete existence and his person is limned with a flickering reality almost like the heat rising off hot stone.

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
"His family seemed very important to him," Heidi agrees, her eyes scanning the area around them. It's the light, though, that catches her attention and she follows it to the visage of Valdar. She seems excited, barely managing to tug at Sif's proverbial sleeve as she looks over.

"Hail, Einherjar Valdar! We have come to help." Well, help as much as they could by delievering something. "It is good to know that you recognize us. We were much younger then." She flashes a broad smile. "We have, however, made sure to come back. Some things are important, even centuries later."

Sif has posed:
<<Yes, many things transcend time itself: ideas, memories, the incorporeal more than most, I have learned,>> the Einherjar agrees, his smile very mild and well-mannered despite the unequivocally ceremonial dress of his armor. Even in this, he's deadly, not to be underestimated. <<You say you have come to help me? How so?>> His voice travels from a far distance, it seems, and is yet so clear.

His brown eyes travel from Heidi to Sif. The latter walks forward, hand resting habitually on the pommel of her sword. "Last we met, Einherjar Valdar, we learned of your life and your death. There was some precious you left behind after your passing."

Valdar blinks and then looks to Heidi in particular.

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
Heidi looks back at Sif for a moment before she moves forward. The box is still clutched to her chest and she releases her grip on it before she moves forward to offer it, even if she's unsure if he can touch it. "We wanted to make sure that you were able to get your belongings returned to your family if they remained, or at least brought here in remembrance."

She beams. "These seemed important to you."

Sif has posed:
Valdar's brown eyes fall to the box itself. A flickering wash of emotions works through his face. It begins with astonishment and ends with a poignant crinkling of brow, his lips faintly parted.

Gloved hands reach for the box...and, perhaps shockingly, make contact with it, enough to lift it from Heidi's hands. Still limned in the flickering translucency, his form, as he looks up at her.

<<You were able to retrieve it from beneath my cot before the ceiling collapsed.>> He sounds a bit more hoarse now, as if he were speaking past a lump in his throat. Sif remains quiet, a silent and respectful somberness about her like fog on a river.

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
Heidi gently offers forth the box and she releases it once it seems like he's holding it well... she does hold it for an extra half-second because he's potentially /not there/. She does smile still, though his expression seems to be a little more emotional. She was expecting perhaps something there, but not that she'd really be able to see it.

"Ah, yes, I grabbed it. I admit I had peeked inside before and I saw things that held memories. It is something I would have wished my love ones be given should something had happened to me... it is only fitting."

Sif has posed:
<<Yes.>> Valdar agrees with the young Aesir very quietly, his eyes now downcast upon the box itself. Sif remains silent, her pale eyes slipping between the ghostly Einherjar and her friend, having little to add for the immediate moment.

<> he then adds, his laugh something sad and faint. <>

Oh man, those poems. Sif straight-faces this like a boss.

<<It is bringing back memories even now.>> He pauses to swallow, looking back up at Heidi solemnly. <<Thank you, young Heidi.>>

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
Heidi is trying very hard to follow Sif's inspirational straight-facing. She is, however, not as practiced and she cracks a tiny smile. "It is good that they meant something to you. I find it harder to have things with meaning that I hold onto. Objects are rarely something I try and possess a vast bit of. I prefer people." She pauses, shaking her head. "Not /possessing/ people, holding onto ones that mean something to me." The clarification is absolutely necessary.

"Einherjar Valdar, there is no need to thank me for this. I felt it was the least that could be done having seen what happened to you and understanding the stories. It was what was right. Lady Sif and I knew we had to see this to completion."

Sif has posed:
BUT THOSE POEMS.

Sif's mouth twitches the teeniest bit at one corner because she can't help but remember the lavish romanticism and poorly-hidden innuendos in them.

Valdar misses this entirely, too focused on Heidi. <<Still, I am grateful for your efforts -- the both of you.>> He now includes Sif in the scope of his thanks and she inclines her head again wordlessly, her pale eyes returning to rest on him with her cool, somber air about her still.

<<This would never have been returned to me without your aid. I am aware that my family has long since passed, my lover too. I am only briefly returned from Valhalla for...I believe the reason of this box,>> he realizes, looking down at it. His brown eyes, warm and dark, rise to them both again. <<How can I repay you for your kindness?>>

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
She remembers that bad poetry well. While Heidi may be a poet herself, she is certainly not /that/ kind of poet. She is pleased, however, that he is treasuring the return of his box rather than being mortified. She offers him a very warm smile. "I am only glad that this could be done for you. I know it felt wrong, and I am certain Lady Sif will agree, that we somehow leave you to die without doing something. This was all I could think of to do. If we could not save you, sharing your memory felt important."

She looks around. "I suppose hoping that your family would be alive was a long stretch, but I am grateful at least that you were allowed to return for this." She shakes her head. "But this is not done for any personal gain. I ask nothing. This kindness is just a kindness for kindness sake."

Sif has posed:
<<Then you are a rare being, Lady Heidi. So many engage in kindness only for the reward itself.>> Valdar brings the box away to tuck beneath his arms, against his ribs. <>

Behind him, the sunlight is beginning to totally fade into the gloaming of evening. He's becoming more transparent by the second, only outlined by the glimmering haze.

<>

Sif frowns even as she smiles, as if uncertain that the latter is appropriate.

<<Be well, ladies fair, and again, ever are you welcome here. I will bring tales of you to Valhalla that will span the centuries.>>

And, just like that, on the trill of a night-bird, the Einherjar's spirit vanishes, gone back to Valhalla.

A sigh leaves the Valkyrie next to Heidi. "We have done well, I think," she murmurs.

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
"Thank you, we will certainly remember this place," Heidi says, but it's mention of telling tales of them in Valhalla that gets her attention. When he fades away, she turns her attention back to Sif. "He's going to /tell Valhalla/ about us. Lady Sif, this is certainly a great honor. Imagine who he could be telling." She's certainly pleased by all of that, glancing back at Sif with her excitement. "Thank you for this journey, Lady Sif, I am glad we could do this together."

Sif has posed:
Sif smiles despite herself, the expression softening away any chill and sobriety in her face. It even brings a faint twinkling to her glacier-pale eyes.

"To think, it started so very long ago too, this journey. I would not have wished to travel it with any other friend, Lady Heidi. I think, for now, our part in it is done. Let us return to the city and celebrate. There is much to drink to, both small and large."

Very gently placing a hand on Heidi's shoulder, she then turns to see...Typhon prancing about like an utter hooligan in an attempt to impress Eira...as usual. The Goddess sighs.

"Typhon!" The pegasus pauses in mid-high step, his dark eye sliding to her. "We are going home." Fluttering his feathers back into place, the pegasus-stallion then trots over, content to spend his affection on his rider...for now.

Home. Home again, to the Golden City, for a quieter night unsettled by ghosts of the past...for these are now settled, content to be remembered and hold precious memories alike.

1218/Asgard Past: Coming Home

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