Private Tales When hell freezes over

[Míriel Fëanorna]

The Ranger had not looked at all happy when he had been handed the head of the Necromancer. In fact, he had looked positively sick. But with the job done everyone had gone their separate ways. Miriel's primary concern was to wash the blood of that foul golem off of her skin and out of her hair. Since they had left the cave it was all she could really smell. Miriel led Valthar a little further south away from the path they had taken to get here to the a thicket of trees they had been able to see in the distance from the advantage of the caves height.

The warrior didn't bother to hold onto Thorlion's reigns, the black stallion trailed the pair at a fair distance, stopping every so often to graze or explore but coming back all the same.

"It's just a little further," she pushed a branch out of their way and let it fall once they had past. It wasn't the jungles of her home but she did feel more at ease amongst the trees there. Another few minutes of seemingly random meandering and then the trees suddenly stopped. Flat stones suddenly appeared and then came the pool itself. It was a beautiful bluey green colour and steam rose off it indicating its warmth. Miriel wasted no time in kicking off her boots and sliding the harness her swords rested in from her back.

"I hope you can stand the heat."

 

[Baise]

"I would take a fire itself if it could cleanse this stench," he chuckled. He didn't laugh too hard. Not just because it was his own joke; His ribs hurt a great deal.

As he slowly peeled off his shirt he revealed the blossoming rainbow of bruises. By the end of the week they would be a sight. Valthar had to peel the tunic from his side. He had a shallow, but long gash along his side. There was no corresponding cut in the tunic because it had been done to his Svalen.

Despite the frenetic bubbles across the surface of the water it was still serene to his eyes. The steam like the mists off his shores. It was a little oasis of perfection after the horrors of the cave.

"Should I try and shift, you think?" he asked as he unlaced his boots. He was glad he wasn't carrying the Necromancer's head any more. Even turned the other way, it would have made him feel uncomfortable.

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

The shoulder protection and vanbraces came next, thrown into the pile, quickly followed by her belt and then her leggings. She was itching to get into the warm spring and rub the grime from her body and her hair. Her hair most definitely in particular. As she ran her fingers through it another bit of flesh came away and she threw it into the forest in disgust.

"It is the first time I have thought about burning my uniform I'm not going to lie," Miri grimaced and began to tug off the leather armour. When he mentioned his Svalen she paused, her fingers itching to remove her shirt, the last layer between her and the springs.

"I think... it might be best to check," Miriel nodded, more to herself than to him. "If there is a problem it would be good to know whilst we're still close to the Caves, the answer will most likely be in there if there is one." Then she took off the shirt and dived into the spring.

 

[Baise]

Valthar turned towards the woods and looked for an empty patch of ground. Then he shook his head slowly.

"It is there, I know it," he replied. "I will run alongside you on the way back. Though perhaps not with your horse..." Valthar stopped musing to watch her run and dive into the water.

He was much more tentative. The heat did not agree with him. By the time he had waded to his knees he was coated in a sheen of sweat. Then another few steps and he was submerged. He pulled the braid from his hair, tossing the bind to the bank and shaking it out below the surface.

His side was acutely painful in the water, so he gently swarm to the bank and leaned back against it. A lot of tension was quickly wicked away by the warmth of the water.

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

Miriel swam a little bit before finding an outcrop of rock beneath the surface that would work as a perch and settled herself on it with a blissful sigh. Her hands reached up to undo her braids and let her hair fall loose, running her hands through the thick dark locks to get more of the blood out.

"Thorlion might like you more if we are racing, he has quite the ego," an amusing thought. She wondered what the guards would think seeing that from the tops of the city walls. She dunked her head under the water for a brief moment to get more of the dirt out of her hair before sitting back on the ledge submerged beneath the water. "Are you sure you're ok?" Concern was written clear as day across her face as she eyed the beginnings of the bruises over his body. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you more."

 

[Baise]

"I'm alive," Valthar said. He leaned his head back and looked up at the sky. The sting in his side was ebbing away second by second. The water probably was not good for it, but he needed it.

Valthar reached below the water to find a stone with a rough surface to try and scrub away the grime.

"I can't keep up with a horse," he replied. The slightest curl of his lips was as far as he went to reveal that it was humurous. "I also note that your horse has wings..."

He turned towards Miriel and raised one eyebrow. He wasn't quite convinced the horse wouldn't kick him in the face.

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

Miri conceded the point; there were men and women who had gone into that cave who had not been so lucky. Her eyes were closed as she enjoyed the warm water lapping against her skin. The doll had taken the most of the cuts but the bruising would probably hang around for a while. The worst along her spine where she had hit the wall when the golem had swatted her off his shoulders.

"I didn't mention Thorlion was a winged horse?" she feigned innocence but when she opened her eyes to look at him there was a sly humour in them. "It is a right of passage to find your own mount when you join the Cavalry," she sat up, twisted slightly so she could face him better. "I had heard of these horses in The Spine who had wings, but that they could hide them. There's a slit along their sides that they can fold them into. It sounded like a challenge so I went in search of them. Thorlion was only a few days old when I stumbled on his herd. It took weeks, and even then it was only because of a storm that I was even able to get close - he got struck by a bolt of lightning. His Dam let me nurse his wounds and after that the herd seemed to accept my presence. I stayed with them for a few years before he decided to come home with me."

 

[Baise]

The sound of her voice telling the story was a soothing melody. There was a soft bubbling from the centre of the springs and the leaves whispered their secrets to the wind. It couldn't have been further from the dank cave of death.

It made him realise that he would need to think of how to phrase his stories before he was home. Many would have questions, his sister probably first among them, and he would need to give his story some justice. He was not used to talking about himself.

"Are they different from horses in any other ways?" he asked. Valthar sat upright, the water coming to just below his naval, and looked towards Miri.

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

"Mmm.." Miri rested her arm across the ledge and then leaned her cheek on it. It appeared she was in the deeper section of the water for it came up to her chest. "Not in any obvious way I would say - all horse breeds are slightly different from one another in some way. Some are sprinters, some are designed for bigger weights... Thorlion is just a very good stamp of a horse for a battle - enough speed and power. The Winged Horses tend to be a bit more violent and sentient than others as well I have found - I think it is due to living in such a dangerous area. His mother gave me such a horrible kick I thought she had broken my chest," a soft laugh and she played her fingers through the water.

"I promise, he won't hurt you though," she glanced up at him. "I guess you do not need horses as much in the North, you guys just travel in your Bear form?"

 

[Baise]

Valthar yawned, mouth opening wide and conjuring just a hint of the visage of his svalen.

"We have a breed of pony that can stand the tundra winds and the smell of Nordenfiir. They're not for riding, they're pack animals."

He rolled his shoulders backwards, drew a breath in through his nose and expelled it as a sigh. Beads of sweat might have been rolling from his brow but he was more glad of this reprieve than he could describe.

"It is a novelty," he explained, "to even be submerged in water and not be freezing to death." It was an exaggeration. The waters of the ocean were frigid, but tolerable for a brief swim.

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

"See, I just start wanting to visit your home and then you say things like that that remind me why the South is so much better," Miri's lips quirked up at the corners before turning and sinking back below the water so she was submerged to her chin, rubbing at her skin with some of the natural weeds that grew in the bottom of the pool to try and rid herself of any tough bits of blood.

"So what family waits you back home? Any adorable little fluffy cubs?" He had mentioned the Nordenfiir were not the type to stay fixed in one location with one partner so she imagined there would likely be cubs dotted around if there were any.

 

[Baise]

"Perhaps my uncle, definitely my mother and sister," Valthar explained. "No cubs of my own," he admitted softly. He imagined Miriel being more fur than elf and still shivering in the icy wind. "You?"

Right now she all elf and no furs at all. A fact that he was slowly warming up to. sorrynotsorry

He ached, but he had come to learn that he would keep on an arduous path if the destination was worth it. He pushed himself odd the rocks and swam slowly though the deepest part of the springs towards her. Where his feet dipped he could feel the rising heat.

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

"Children?" a raise of the brow. "None. I doubt it is my calling though I will be expected to produce at least one for the tribe I would imagine at some point," she watched him as he swam over to her side of the pool and scooted a bit so there was room for him next to her on the ledge she had found. "And my tribe is basically one big family really. My mother is also the General of the army so it is a bit of an odd relationship," a shrug. "I miss my sisters more than her - er - sisters in arms not blood. Though..." she pondered, thinking whether any might have the same Sire as her. It hadn't been a thought she had really given much consideration too.

She rested her elbows on either side of the ledge behind her, straightening out her back as she did so. Most of the grime had gone now at least and she could instead focus on the more pressing matter of the man swimming towards her.

"You know, if you would like to learn some more advanced fighting techniques I would be more than happy to teach you a bit before you go."

 

[Baise]

"Yes you could teach me had to stand on my hands and kick a wraith in the face and then catch my axe again..." he mused as he swam. He reached out under the water to find what she had come to rest on. He turned himself around and drew himself up alongside Miriel.

"Perhaps slightly more advanced fighting techniques," he grunted. "Though if we're doing that tomorrow, I may need to stay one more night which ow." Valthar winced as he settled down. He still didn't wish that he had taken the creepy doll bond.

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

"You know... it is pretty easy to do with the correct stretching," Miriel lowered herself a bit further into the water till it lapped at her chin and lips, helping to hide the smile and keep up the pretences of her solemn tone. It also allowed her to have another go at scrubbing at her hair. She just couldn't shift the feeling of the lumps of flesh that had crawled in it after slaughtering the flesh Golem. A shiver ran down her spine despite the warmth of the spring.

Having convinced herself there were no more lumps she sat back up properly and shifted her legs so they crossed over his lap, her feet flat on the ledge on the other side of his hip so they were bent at the knee.

"You're welcome to stay as long as you want Valthar, I just do not want to delay you when you want to get home. I know how important this trip is to you. But... if you think it would be of value to tune up your fighting skills I would be more than happy to have you as a student."

 

[Baise]

"I am not doing stretching tomorrow," he laughed. Valthar placed a hand on her shin under the water, just above her ankle. He should probably have tried to wash out his hair again, but he couldn't being himself to do anything but laze in the warm waters for now.

He had heard a tale of somewhere like this at Eratejva. A collection of bubbling pools that did not freeze over, even in the winter, hidden in a cloud of steam.

"Perhaps I should stay a few days for such an offer," he replied, mulling it over. "Could I stay with you?" he asked.

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

"Excuse me, but in my training arena you do what you're told," her own laughter joined his then she picked up some of the moss off the bottom of the pool and began washing some of the last streaks of blood and grime from his chest. It was only half a joke, Miri was known to be a task master when training.

"You're more than welcome to stay with me, it's nice having someone in the house," the elf was enjoying the simple pleasure of rubbing the moss over his chest and shoulders, squeezing water from it so it dripped onto the parts of his body that were above the water, then rubbing the dirt from it. "Maybe you can even stay in the bed this time."

 

[Baise]

Valthar laughed, but it died abruptly as she started to clean him. It was a pleasant distraction from the pain. He was at the stage where he suspected his body would always hurt this much and that he shouldn't have gotten involved. Even knowing that many would have died if he hadn't there, if he hadn't invited Miriel. He would not have met her at all.

"I was hoping we would make our way there this time," he replied, letting his eyelids fall. "Though I shall be taking the stairs slowly."

The furs had been comfortable enough last night, but they would not be this time. Valthar opened his eyes slowly, offering a soft smile. He shifted his weight backwards and reached for the moss.

"Sit here so I can do your back," he offered.

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

"I'm not sure my back could take another night on the floor either, I have to admit. I'm getting old," a soft theatrical sigh. Though there was a little truth to it, 60 years ago she probably would have been able to handle such a fight then go on for a further three days before needing a rest. Though perhaps it was more a matter of no longer being as fit as she once had been when fighting was her sole focus. She was enjoying seeing him relax though, her own eyelids half closing as she rested her chin in her hand, propped up by the elbow that leaned against the ledge of the baths. Carefully she ran the moss around the back of his neck and round to the hollow of his throat.

She was about to do the same to the other side when he shifted his position, making room for her to sit on the ledge in front of him. Her lips tugged slightly at the corner but she went without hesitation, turning and sitting between his thighs so he could get the grime from her back. She pulled her hair round in front of her so that it was out of his way.

"Do you have springs like this back home?" At the moment, her vision of his home was just pure white snow for miles and then the sea with his little boat on it.

 

[Baise]

"I have heard of one," Valthar said as he took the moss. He sat upright so that his shoulders were just above the level of the water.

The nordenfiir placed one hand on her shoulder and gentle massaged it whilst the other swept up and down her back with the moss. At times he forgot that he was quite a large man in the summer lands, being around average in Eratejva. She had a powerful build and her shoulder still looked quite delicate in his hand.

"They are well known. Inland pools that do not entirely freeze in the winter."

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

Miriel sighed soft at his gentle hands upon her back, leaning gladly into the touch. Whilst the doll had taken the worst hits there were the clear beginnings of bruising down her shoulders and spine where she had hit the wall hard and her times on the floor with the Wraiths. She would feel them all anew tomorrow but for now the warm waters were easing such a problem. Perhaps they would just start their training with the basics tomorrow.

"Mmmm... So head to the pools if I visit to feel some semblance of warmth, got it," she tilted her head slightly as his hand worked on one shoulder.

 

[Baise]

"I can manage a semblance of warmth where I live too," Valthar chuckled. He instantly regretted it and grimaced. Stupid skeletal giant pet. He had learned a lesson in shifting between forms to avoid a much larger enemy. It was one that he hoped he wouldn't need to use again.

He swapped hands. Finger and thumb worked her shoulder and worked in towards her neck slowly.

"A fire is more romantic when it's snowing anyway. Have you even see proper snow?"

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

Miriel's eyes were completely shut now, her breathing soft and slow. With the massage and the warm water she could easily have fallen asleep. When she felt him tense after laughing she slowly ran her hands down his thigh muscles, returning the gentle circle movement of a massage there in the hopes of easing the pain a little from a part of his body.

"I don't think I have seen the type of snow you would consider 'proper' - sometimes it can get thick on the mountains in The Spine but that's only on the tops and it is quite hardly pact from the animals using it a lot. It did snow in Alliria about thirty years ago but it turned to sludge pretty quickly in the city streets. It was more a nuisance than romantic," her voice was a hum, the pleasure from the massage made her whole body limp and lazy, including her voice. After a moment she added:

"I have some pain relief in my satchel if you would like something to take the edge off."

 

[Baise]

"Thirty years..." he mused, still not used to the notion of such long lives. She was nearly three hundred years old, accomplished in many ways. It gave weight to her opinions on him and his own capabilities. No matter how stern she was, he couldnt pass up the opportunity to train. There was a lot of ground to cover to make it home and a lot of danger.

"It's peaceful," he sighed, lending forwards. The moss was abandoned to float way and he placed a hand on her waist. He kissed at the shoulder he wasn't massaging. "It muffled sound, covers everything in pure white."

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

"Mmm... you paint a pretty picture," Miri's head instinctively tilted to allow his lips more freedom to the skin on her neck and shoulder. It was one of the few areas of the world she hadn't covered during her travels. She wasn't entirely confidence on the seas, preferred to travel when she could have a horse under her or her feet on solid ground. She would fly but Thorlion would freeze in those kinds of climates. Another thing to consider.

Any further questions and thoughts were slipping from her mind quickly.

"You are convincing me slowly to seek you and your fire out before the springs when I visit," her smile was in her words.