Private Tales A Price for Honor

[Gunnar Bergstrom]

Full, stuffed, and plenty of other words to describe his current state, between the two of them there was little left of the boar to save but he was sated. "That's good stuff." He murmured to himself as he sat back against a tree, opposite of Maude.

She was either tired or simply absent minded but it took her a while before she opened her mouth to form words, and they came with a burdened question. Did he miss his family, of course he did but that wasn't really her business was it. Things would have probably been very different if his parents had not died like that, he would not be where he is now.

"Doesn't matter, my family is dead, the last remaining member just doesn't know it yet." He said, obviously referring to Borvenir, it was ironic that he had left Nordengaard because of death in his family and he was coming back to Nordengaard to bring death to his remaining family.

"We all miss things, but the past is the past, it's like asking if it's hot in the summerlands when you know it bloody well is." Still the asshole, hard to talk to about deeper emotional matters, though one could argue that what he had said thus far was him opening up.

"But I'm not here to talk about my feelings, I'm joining you to kill my brother, and if you have a better plan than mine I'd definitely care to know." She hadn't responded to his plan after all.

He pushed his head back against the tree to rest, he couldn't sleep because that's what she was supposed to be doing but instead she got him in to a conversation.

"Either way, perhaps just get some sleep, we got a long way to go regardless of what we do."

 

[Maude]

She wasn't sure if his deflective malcontent was endearing or disparaging. Conversation was as good a way to distract the mind from the many things flooding through, but it was made abundantly clear that he wanted no part in discussion. Be it the nature of the man or the sting of the subject she couldn't tell. Still, there was something to see between the short, terse responses and the defensive tone.

The proverbial reading between the lines.

Perhaps just get some sleep...

Easier said than done.

Momentum pushed her to sit up with a strange suddenness, motivating her to her feet to step around the fire. Deliberate movements brought the woman to straddle the man where he sat against the tree to take up residence across his lap. "It does matter," she insisted quietly, flatly, a hand lifting to grip the leather holdings that crossed his chest with that same overwhelming strength from before. Maude leaned forward, face brushing past his own to the side of his head where she slowly inhaled his scent, "now stop telling me to sleep. I don't want to sleep right now."

 

[Gunnar Bergstrom]

He rolled his eyes, this woman was as stubborn as you could find them, she was obviously tired and exhausted and yet she refused to sleep. He gave a sigh as got up, though his expression changed as she moved over to straddle him, a light grin conjured on his lips, looking up at her. It wasn't often that the giant Gunnar had to look up to someone but with her current position it felt like she was above him. Her strength was a decisive factor in the sensation as she pulled at the leather holdings.

"Then I'll exhaust you until you do." He had a mischevous glint in his eyes, he wouldn't say no to a little violence as he would call it, he couldn't imagine any actions between the two of them being borne of love and tenderness. His hands gripped her waist and pulled her close, his actions spoke for themselves as he gripped her clothing. His hands then slipped to her biceps and with one fluid motion he'd push her on to her back, the giant Nordenfiir hovering over her, his long braid falling past his right shoulder.

He kissed her, violently, there was passion and desire hidden in his kiss but it was a greedy one that had singular purpose, a forceful one. The other actions all led to something more, removing what little armor he wore and doing the same to her depending on what the powerful woman allowed.

 

[Maude]

A shocking jolt of pain radiated from her injured shoulder as her back smacked against the ground, causing a growl to sound over what wanted to be a yelp. Nordenfiir were conditioned to pain, though some tolerated it far more stoically than others. For Maude it was a fuel for focus, given the proper target, enemy, or destination to set it upon. Tonight it was for simply the oblivion that often accompanied the throes of lust.

She wanted to forget. Needed to, if she were being truthful. There was no rest to be had with the images locked within her mind and the emotions running rampant like rabid, savage beasts. In this way it made Gunnar the perfect outlet. His rough and greedy kisses were welcome and his roaming, grabbing hands unhindered. It wasn't until he became a bit too hasty with her tunic, resulting in a fresh surge of pain in her shoulder, that she shoved the man away in a moment of anger. Maude sat up, seething as fire seared through her nerves down her arm and into her neck.

Wasn't the first time either. In her efforts to fend off the mercenaries from before she'd come to learn through agonizing trial and error that she could no longer lift her sword with that arm high enough to block incoming attacks. Maude forcefully shook the thoughts from her head, releasing a snarling breath before turning a heated gaze back upon Gunnar.

His braid was in her good hand, tugging him back to her, bringing them to another collision of greed and desire. One of several that continued well into the night until the mind was as exhausted as the body and sleep could finally manifest.

 

[Gunnar Bergstrom]

Part pain, part pleasure and all of it wanted, it was incredible to consider her strength despite her state, she was something else even for a Nordenfiir, that much was certain.

Passion, greed, desire, all of them selfish in want as they ravished one another that night, at the very least it would help her sleep, or so Gunnar considered in hindsight. He found himself sitting against a tree, naked as the day he was born with Maude sleeping against him, he had to stay awake to keep watch but there had been nothing of note apart from their shared experience.

As day broke and dawn slowly came, he could not help but consider letting her sleep a while longer until she found herself ready to move, she probably hadn’t slept in ages and the town they were going towards would still be there even if they waited a few extra hours.

He decided to leave it at that, he took some of their discarded clothes and covered up the more intimate parts of their form, that way if someone came by they wouldn’t be confronted by full frontal nudity.

If she had still been sleeping when it came closer to noon, he would have finally woken her with a few words. “It’s time we left, we have another day’s journey ahead of us and probably a year’s worth beyond that.” He chuckled.

 

[Maude]

She could have slept for a week uninterrupted, and she might have if Gunnar hadn't the notion to wake her himself. Anyone who knew of Nordenfiir knew what a danger it could be to wake them from a deep slumber, but Maude was swept into contentment from an evening of fresh food and good sex. Awakening to the scent of her own kind was remarkably welcome, too. It had been a long time since that had happened.

The woman did not move immediately, making no great effort to slough the sleep that still heavily weighed on her mind. She was comfortable resting against tattooed skin, wallowing in his scent, but she was also aware that he was more than right. Their journey couldn't wait forever and she had things needing taking care of back in Southill. Maude sighed deeply, heavily, and released it in a long, slow breath through her nostrils. With a pace that spoke of no hurry, she pushed herself up and began to collect her things and dress.

There was no shame in the bareness of her figure in broad daylight of the world. This wasn't some fairy tale where a restful evening left her wide awake, recharged and ready to face the day. She hadn't encountered a vision in her dreams that told her where to go or what to do. There were no easy answers. The truth of the matter was far less impressive: Maude was still quite tired, her body still dealt with the orc poison, she still couldn't lift her injured arm any higher than her shoulder, she had no idea what her next move was, there was no great plan devised in her mind, and she'd never been so physically miserable from heat and allergies in her life.

Maude sniffed, leaned to pull a pant leg over her foot and momentarily startled at the wheaten-gold braids that fell over her shoulders in the process. This change of hair color was really not sitting well with her. She summarily glared at the swinging tendrils and yanked on her trousers then reached for her tunic.

This sucked.

But, at the very least, her company was easy on the eyes.

"Hugi is waiting at Southill," she fussed and struggled with her tunic, trying to pull it on without straining her injury. The woman gave a grunt as she finally managed to get the shirt in place, "we'll join a merchant caravan heading north to Elbion from Alliria, make some extra coin on the way."

Then, with luck, her Uncle will have made some headway with the Merchant Council in Elbion.