Private Tales When Mountains Crumble

[Hugi]

Maude

Hugi sat quietly in his home. The large but humble home that had once been lively and bustling with a family that he had stubbornly abandoned in search of something he had found here in the place of his people. That he had hoped to return in glory and joyous noise of success.

Instead he found it barren and lifeless.

The fire in the hearth was his only company besides the tankard that he swirled lazily at the table facing the blaze. It cast shadows across the room, his own large and menacing against the back wall as he looked to the mantle above. His sister's bow carefully mounted there as he paused mid drink to state at it for a long moment. His eyes stung, the site of brother and sister at the party coming to mind as he set the drink down. A barrel just beside him on the table was near gone, placing the mug down and sliding it beneath the spigot before rubbing his eyes.

Damned wind was getting inside somehow.

A heavy sigh came from him, memories of his own sister challenging him, pushing him to be better, simply being there when he failed. Her face appeared before him across the table, a smug look of satisfaction for some reason as he stared. The image of her leaned back into a chair that was there suddenly.

Haley opened her mouth, the smile never quite fading as the silence around him became something more profound. Anger and bitterness bubbled in him at the lack of words, his hand swiping the table and sending the mug and barrel to the floor.

"Even now I can't hear you? In this silence!? Why do you plague me!? Leave me be damn you!" He roared, rising out of the chair and tossing his seat backwards. Her image did not disappear, nor did the growing smile she wore on her ghostly visage. Rounding the table on the empty chair, his hand swiped towards her. Tears blurred his vision as he hit the back, cursing when his fingers stung against their unexpected assault.

Pacing in place, staring at the now empty chair, he rounded the table once more. Picking up the mug and barrel and not daring to look back. Refilling the cup, he took a large draw from it, trying to drown the feelings coming forward. Maude had noticed his incessant drinking, but it helped bury what he did not want, could not deal with.

A gasping breath after his drink had him looking back to the mantle with resignation, the bow reminding him as he stalked towards it after a moment of thought. Anger once more bristled as he took it from its place, hands moving to throw it into the fire before doubting the action. It felt fragile in his grasp. The dust on it smudging with his movements. He faltered, crouching before the hearth and clutching it tight to him, sliding to his knees and suddenly numb, staring once more at the fire.

 

[Maude]

There were some privileges that came with a crown, one of them being the questionable need to knock. Not being of particularly rude sort, Maude still often found such a simple gesture necessary in most cases. She'd been standing outside Hugi's home for several long minutes, peering at it with the look of a woman who seemed cross in more way than one.

Dithering was a disgusting offense. Assurance of purpose and intent had always been her modus operandi, even when more things than not were up for debate. Maude struggled on the edge of confronting a dear friend over his obvious problem and leaving him to deal with it as was expected. But like herself, Hugi was alone. He had his brothers and sisters in arms, but he no longer had his family. Maude knew this pain, knew the hollow it left in one's heart, knew the sleepless nights they left behind.

But she had a Kingdom to run and other people's problems to fix, she didn't have time to fix her own.

So as soon as Hugi started into his fit her decision was made. Maude covered the few strides between herself and the door and opened it without so much as a greeting. She watched the man in silence as he struggled at the fire, a bow in his hand that was most certainly not his own. It felt quiet in there, it stank of drink, and it absolutely sung of ghosts.

"Hugi," she stepped just inside the doorway, holding it open, "put the bow down. We're going for a walk."

 

[Hugi]

He hadn't noticed the entry until she spoke. The last person alive in the small world he called family. The only real reason he had returned to his homeland after finding out the news of his families demise. Not the only one likely to know the pain he felt, but the only one he knew he could even remotely allow himself to be seen by.

His hands held the bow carefully now, tear bright eyes looking to the one he called sister. It wasn't the look of a warrior that she beheld. Nor the typical smile he kept for appearances. The scar across his face did nothing to help the sorrow that he wore. The mounting shame at even thinking about tossing Haley's bow into the flames making his standing a process of itself.

"A walk would be a fine thing." He mustered enough of his raspy voice to answer as he turned to the chair. Gingerly setting the bow in the empty seat, his hand lingered on the back of the chair before a gusty sigh made him clear his throat.

He hung his head as he passed her through the doorway, not concerned that he only wore his boots and breeches into the cold. His chest was bared for the world, a map of scars for victories and losses that meant nothing as he left his home for the cool night air.

He sucked in the cool wind, forcing his mind to clear of the image as he turned to look at Maude. The hollow look about him was there now that he wasn't surrounded by company. The facade of strength frail around her as he thought on what to say.

"I don't know what to do, sister." He finally admitted. Words heavy with his own thoughts as he looked to his hands. "I can only keep myself so busy. Before I come home my failures."

 

[Maude]

Maude had no expression of sympathy or compassion on her face as she watched the man relent, release the bow, and exit his home. The same look of the cold and unwithering mountain filtered across her own scar-addled features, turning into the biting chill of the night air to follow after him. Boots crunched across frost-covered cobble, pausing only as Hugi faced her.

The Queen blinked at the man she called brother - a term earned only for their camaraderie in adventures and arms and the history they shared. They were not related by blood but they had grown up together, in a way. Of him alone did she care for in such a sense. No one else claimed that connection to her; not Gunnar, not Arnor, not a host of others she'd come to know and trust over the last two years.

Out of them all, Hugi tugged at her heartstrings the most. It was insufferable in the best of times.

"Not here. Walk," she commanded him.

They walked. Through the streets alight by torch and moonlight, beyond the perimeter walls to the path that would take them down the side of the capital's mountain towards the lake at the bottom. Maude said nothing along the way until they were well beyond the ears of others with not but the night sky and a fresh snow to follow them.

She picked an outcropping that overlooked the frozen lake to stop, turning to the man and square her shoulders to him. Always forgot what a behemoth he was - his otherwise gentle nature made his presence strangely unassuming. Yet she'd seen him in battle, seen the strength that he wielded and the fury with which he brought down his enemy. The dichotomy of these two things was an odd one to realize.

"Alright," Maude placed her hands on her hips, eyeing him sternly, "let's hear it. Get everything off your chest."

 

[Hugi]

The command to walk earned her an honest smile. His eyes alight with a strange humor and cheer that had been absent even at the party. He had not forgotten her authority, but the reminder was strangely welcome and assuring. He followed behind her silently, his trust in her never failing.

They had fought to take back their home, and he had exercised every part of his vicious nature to make sure she had succeeded in the face of odds that should have seen them defeated. The cold air did not relent, but his body was warm regardless. Either that or he had finally become drunk enough to not notice.

When they reached the outcrop and she squared up to him, he listened before looking over the lake and searching for the words to get it out. To put to rest the ghosts that haunted him.

"I had a nephew waiting to see me." He managed, taking a steadying breath before continuing. He blinked back the feelings behind the words. "Haley's boy. Last good letter I had from here. From them. I didn't want to come back just yet. Put it off." He sighed before rubbing his face, his eyes stinging from the wind.

Always the damned wind.

"I should have come back. Not been so, foolish. Proud. I might've seen them. Been able to get them out. Helped somehow." He sucked air as the words poured out. Speaking without stopping. "I failed them. I was too gods forsaken proud and stupid to come home when they asked. When they just wanted to see me. And I just..." His hands trembled, feeling for once in his life as though he wasn't the great mountain of a man that everyone had to look up to. His vision blurred when he tried to look over the lake once more, to find some solace in the ice covered water before looking back to her.

"I let them down. I don't want to let you down too." He admitted finally, lancing something in his heart that had been festering for some time now.

 

[Maude]

Maude was silent as the mountain while she listened to his admissions. Hugi may have been one of the strongest of their generation, and for certain had proven both his ferocity and his mettle at her side on their perilous journey, but he was something else that many were not aware of.

Hugi was a bleeding heart.

Perhaps it was ironic that she should team up with him as she had. Hugi's kind nature and guided her away from the dark pits of vengeance and reminded her of her purpose when she'd felt at a loss. Of all the muscles in his body, his heart was by far the strongest and ... seemingly, the one easiest to break.

Her stony expression shifted, softening just enough to allow some sentiment of understanding and compassion through. Maude was not without a heart, but it had always been guarded and had hardened substantially over the last two years. She frowned, feeling no compelling words come to mind that she felt would or even could erase his regret or his grief. Maude wasn't good at heartfelt conversations, never had been, but her support had always been given in the way of simply being there to listen.

"Hugi..." her brow furrowed slightly as she stepped forward to the larger man and reached her good arm up around his shoulder and neck, tugging him down to her into an embrace, "come here." Her bad arm looped around his middle, incapable as it was to reach up to his height, and pulled him in.

"You have never let me down, my friend. For that I am eternally grateful. Without you I would not be where I am today."

 

[Hugi]

She hugged him and pulled him into a hug, and he fell into it. The snow crunched beneath him as arms went beneath her arms and hugged her. It was the only stone he had to hold onto, and she would hold as no one else could. Her words eased part of what he felt, erased a fear that had not come true without his knowing. He was stronger than this, he knew he was and yet could not stop the racking sobs.

All the pent up frustration, pain, and remorse came out in his tears. He was sad, but not alone. Maude was still here. Was still there for him. His hug was tight enough to not be escaped from, but not enough to hurt. He'd sob for a while, hair and beard thoroughly ruffled and windblown as he calmed down enough to not hiccup his breathing.

 

[Maude]

Part of her wished she had seen Haley and her new baby just to be able to tell Hugi about them, but Maude had spent as much time away from the Capital as he. The Ranger's returns to Nordengaard were only to report to her King before leaving on her next mission. It had been a long time since she'd seen any of Hugi's family - well before Borvenir's coup.

Maude had no words of comfort for him there. The man would live with his regrets and, perhaps, one day he would be strong enough to forgive himself.

"They are feasting in the Great Hall with Eogorath. Friends, yours and my family," when the man's sobbing began to subside she pulled back enough to look him in the eye, relieved not to have to deal with that insufferable helmet he always insisted on wearing. As if no one would know who he was with it on.

"She was a good person," Maude reminded him sternly, brow setting over her eyes, "an honorable warrior, a trustworthy friend, and a loyal subject of the King. You must remember her this way," a hand smoothed over each of his cheeks, pushing away the frozen lines of tears, "you must. She would not stand for you to be so embittered by your regret. Haley meant so much more to you than that."

 

[Hugi]

He was quieting slowly. The words of comfort pushing down the thoughts in a small way as he looked her in the eye. "If, there were anyone worthy, it was her." He snuffled, shaking his head a little with a small laugh. The words were not lost on him. Feasting in the Great Hall, an honor for anyone and something those that had fallen to the first coup had no doubt earned.

The touch of her hand made him smile, more reassurances. They didn't make the pain go away, but it did help in some small way. To be reminded of the good, of the others that had fallen, of their heritage. "Hah! Good? Aside from you the best." He teased her, eyes still wet but the sniffling subsiding slowly. A deep breath had him considering his next words. "I still regret, but those are my choices. All of them deserve better than that." Sitting silently for a moment, he took another deep breath.

"Thank you. For listenin' to me. Giant blubberin' idiot that I am." Hugi huffed again, gentling hugging her once more. "It, helps."

 

[Maude]

Maude smirked, returning the hug and stepping back from him with a nod, "Of course, my friend, I am always here for you. For all the things big and small, and everything in between."

Hugi had earned that much respect from her over the years and he was a good man she hated seeing so broken. It was a dismaying reflection of her own deep-seeded troubles she never spoke of, but having a purpose had helped eased her past the grief far more quickly. Motioning for them to continue their walk down the pathway towards the base of the mountain where the trail split off, she furrowed her brow in thought.

"Hugi ... I've had a thought."

She took several steps, concerning herself with phrasing of a passing notion she'd had some time ago.

"Now that we've some semblance of peace restored, barring any greater issues of the Blod'valhar, Aether has seen to strongly remind me of my legacy. That I should start considering what the Kingdom needs in the years to come. There are many things I would like to fix ... and change, some that will likely bring dissent but I feel are in the best interests of our continue prosperity. Our people have relied too long on our strength and courage to lead us onward, neither of which will stand the test of time as we begin to expand our reach beyond the tundra. The coming years will set the stage for great things and will require a leader with a strong heart."

"You have the biggest, strongest heart of any Norden I've ever met. It's a trait of yours I greatly admire and respect, and I could think of no better man to bring that trait into my legacy."

She blinked, thinking that perhaps she was making this to complicated. Hugi was a good man and not an idiot, but also not the most intelligent. Couldn't be perfect, after all, a big heart and a big brain could have spelled disaster years ago.

"What I'm saying is that I would like my first child and heir to be yours," she paused in her steps, looking over at him, "I'd like for you to join my Harem."

 

[Hugi]

He gave her a smile, and returned the nod. "And I for you, if you've need of it." It was an offer made in earnest. His tone was not accusatory, nor was it demanding. Just an offer made from one person that cared to another. The puffy red of his eyes slowly eased as they walked, his deep steadying breaths cutting off as she spoke. His brow rose in unspoken question for her to speak.

"Hmm?" The small grunt of acknowledgement was all he made before she went into her thought. He nodded when she made a point, gave a long look at her when she spoke of a leader with a strong heart. He could not think of anyone better for the position than her, but he listened regardless. Until she made the comment of bringing his heart into her legacy, and he was glad to be a teacher of her children.

He figured that would have been a given. Then she spoke again, and his eyes went wide. His mind blanked, even of the emotions he had just been saddled with. He stopped a few steps behind her, flabbergasted and grasping for words.

"I-you..." Hugi sputtered, feeling like a tree swaying in the wind for a time as he grasped at the straw slipping through his fingers. "I am honored that you would, ah, give me this...opportunity. I-I need. I need an evening, to clear my head of the drink. And after....that..." Hugi waved his hands in the air towards where they had been with his crying. Rubbing his forehead, he cleared his throat.

"I don't want to give you an answer tainted by everything that has weighed on me this eve, and I'll no' do you the dishonor of such a thing. Just..." He spoke clearly, eyes meeting hers. "Give me an evening, an' I will come to you with an answer. I would gladly jump now, but I fear it would only be with myself in mind, and not our people. And I will not be so selfish." The want to put an answer before her now and here, to agree without question was there on the tip of his tongue. That answer was tainted though of just wanting to feel better, to rid himself of thought if only for a moment of whim.

 

[Maude]

Amusement folded into Maude's expression, faintly plying a smirk across her lips. For all his bravado and strength, Hugi truly was a curiously gentle soul and so easily ruffled. Brows knitting upwards, she waited patiently for him to get his bluster out and find his vocal feet again. A pause, then after he fell quiet she nodded.

"Of course," a chuckle followed, "a night you will have. Longer, if you need."

She didn't know too many men that would put so much effort and thought into such a decision. Being in a King or Queen's Harem was a high mark of honor and notoriety, though rarely did it gain one any additional command or power. The greater honor was parenting their Kingdom's future heir and one day knowing they would introduce themselves as their progeny. Legacy and honor at such a height were hard to come by.

"Come," Maude gestured with a nod of her head to continue their walk, "tell me about your fondest memory of your sister."

 

[Hugi]

He let go of a breath he did not realize he had been holding until that moment. It was a high honor to be part of a harem, and while one might hold a high opinion of another, the acceptance of such a thing in his mind was not to be taken lightly. Nor with a foggy mind.

Even if he expected no answer from who he would silently ask for guidance in the night; He would still ask those laid to rest for wisdom and clarity.

A smile appeared as she asked about his fondest memory of Haley. "Oh I have one for ye'. So, this one time we were ice fishing on the lake. Starting to thaw but still right sturdy." He struggled to keep from laughing already.

"She tells me, the wicked one she was, that she had a big one stuck and needed help pulling it in. Young at the time and still more foolish then than now I believed her." He chuckled. He was still right foolish though with a touch of caution now. The south lands had taught him a little about sarcasm.

"So I go to help her. I don't know how, but dad had slipped in at some point and when I reached in, he popped up and grabbed me from the hole we had cut." He hissed a laugh, trying to get the words out before he cut to laughing.

"Old sod was shivering when he got out but I think he warmed just fine from laughing." Hugi chuckled. "Fond one for me now, not then obviously. Was a touch sour 'bout that one."

 

[Maude]

There, that was better now, wasn't it? Brows lifted as the story unraveled, every word a puff of fog from the Norden's lips in the frigid evening air. The humor of innocence and sentiment somewhat lost on her, Maude let a short laugh linger in the air just long enough to show she appreciated the memory for what it was. She'd not grown up with true siblings, as such, and seemed to have missed out on some curious opportunities for the loss. Her father had died early in her youth and she'd spent a great deal of time seeking to bring honor to his bloodline.

Her mother had been a stoic type and fed those needs of her daughter with due diligence. There hadn't been much humor in her childhood, and just as little warmth. Maude remembered Hugi and Haley from those years, a pair of siblings constantly at odds with one another but curiously warm. Their kindness knew no limits in those days and for that she'd be ever eternally grateful. Their fount of warmth kept her heart from hardening completely through.

Helped her appreciate little things.

And family.

"Haley made me a bracelet with little gold and silver beads as a gift when I returned from Taking the Path," she smiled, brow knitting upwards at the thought of it, "after Borvenir's coup he sent his royal guard after Iordahn's direct bloodline. I didn't have time to gather anything to take with me when I fled but I had that bracelet. It helped me pay my way through the Summerlands much as I hated to part with it. Almost like she knew..."

 

[Hugi]

She laughed at the story, and he knew enough to not try to make her laugh more than she had. Speaking of Haley made her remember a detail, and his own interest was piqued. A bracelet his sister had made the queen, and though she was loathe to sell it. It had secured her passage, and Haley would have been far more keen for the woman to have used a gift to secure her safety than have died with a keepsake.

"Haley always had a strange air about her with such things. I was always certain she could read minds. Either that or she just...knew things." He didn't have the words to describe it better than that. His eyes fell back to her however with a smile. "She would be happy that she made something that kept you safe. Would have been far more upset to be having a drink with you for holding on to such a thing."

He took a deep breath and looked over the lake, feeling much lighter, and far cleaner of soul after having spent some time with Maude.

"Thank you. For listening. You need to get some rest, and I need to clean up. I'll have an answer for you at some point before morning though if you've nothing else." The words were not short or angry, rather the final chance for anything else that she had thought of. His mind was clearing, and guilt was beginning to waver over it's control of his heart and mind. Even this little bit of talking and proximity had brought a light back to his eyes.

 

[Maude]

A raised brow, a shallow nod. The smile lingered a few moments longer before the Queen's expression sobered.

"You can find me by the lake then," she replied, having fully intended to spend the evening at the edge of the frozen waters beneath the cover of the trees sprawled in her rare svalen form. Nights were quiet there and far more comfortable than the hard edges of the Frozen Halls or the confines of her private home. Hugi could join her if he liked, but she didn't expect him to. The man had a lot to think about and a great deal of emotional turmoil to work through now that he was calmed.

With a final nod, Maude turned to continue her progress down the path toward the lake at the bottom, not to return to the capital proper until the early hints of morning.

 

[Hugi]

"And I shall. Until then." He smiled to her with a nod, leaving out the typical call of sister in his parting words. He did not want that word lingering on his tongue with the decision to come.

He had parted ways from Maude, taking the time offered to make his choice. It wasn’t something he had ever actually thought would be extended to him. Being part of a harem for any leader was both a great honor, and a weighty mantle. In one sense, the leader of one’s people has decided that you are of favorable temper, build, and so on for future lines to stem from. A number of things could go into the decision of bringing a member into their harem.

All of them entirely to the discretion of that leader.

Maude had been straightforward in her choice, mentioning his compassion and temper of all things. He could admit that he was a far softer Norden male than was usual. Prone to thinking about others than simply wondering where his next fight was to come from or where the mug of ale had gone.

The cold wind brushed his face in a quiet caress that for once made him twitch as a chill shot like lightning up his spine. Like an errant bolt cast from the clouds above to remind him of his intended goal. Trudging through the snow with relative ease, his fingertips stung finally as he stepped up to the front door of his home.

His family's home. Now empty and silent save for his presence when he had managed to make it back stumbling drunk. She had fetched him from one such fit, and the cold air and time to speak had done him well as the door announced to the ghosts inside his return. Not that any lingered here.

If they had, the lot of them had done little to aggravate the self-inflicted torment that had ridden him for some time upon achieving the quiet peace that Maude had wanted to reign into this land. Of which she had managed to do, even if there were some parties that did not wish for her to succeed. The door latched behind him, the snap of the simple latch echoing off the vaulted ceiling of the main room that greeted him now.

Darkness had taken hold while he had been out. The slivers of firelight that had kept him company whilst drinking his sorrow now only existed in memory as his eyes passed over the chair which held Haley’s bow. His hands had been moving to throw it in the flames when Maude had found him. Had nearly removed one of the few things that assured him that his sister had truly existed in the world.

Was proof that at one point he had not been alone.That someone had indeed been a driving force in his life, and had not been fanciful ideas in his head.

The roaring fire had died to little more than a wisp of smoke as he passed a hand over the handworked bow one last time, fingers feeling the small indents where years of handling had slowly worn down. In his mind's eye, he could still see the smug smile she had worn after taking down a bull moose with a damned fine shot. It was bittersweet to remember such things, but he needed to do so. If only to steel himself for what was to come.

While the bow was in no way brittle or in danger of breaking, his grip was soft as thought handling a cub or babe. He was a large man and there was no way to deny it. A fact he had come to terms with it after half a decade south trying to enter the seemingly standardized buildings they had that way. It had not angered him, as he was the outsider in their land and was daft for expecting such a lithe yet slothful people to make anything larger than themselves to enter their homes.

The wood was still supple in his hands, the string still taut and willing to sing for those that had the strength and tenacity to draw it. While he was more than physically capable of doing such a trivial act, this last piece he had of his sister was too precious for him to risk damaging in any way. Placing it back on the stand above the fire, his gaze fell.

He stared at the embers that dotted the ashes before him. The soft warmth of a hearth still radiating from the stone as he drew a deep breath. His father would have skinned him for leaving a fire going whilst he left. Even with the entire thing being made of stone, the old man always cautioned against such poor caution against a simple thing.

He could hear the man’s voice in his mind, Jos’ cause’ it is stone, dunnot mean it will keep the pops and crackles in. Allit takes ta ‘estroy an‘ome is a single spark an a lazy boy. Too many times he had placed something near the fire that could readily burn, and each time he had heard that line spoken from experience while being swatted.

His father’s home had burned after Hugi’s grandfather left clothing to dry by the fire. An ember jumped in the night, landing and catching before the family could stir to stop it. They had risen to choking smoke and a roaring blaze, stumbling and coughing their way out as the house was engulfed.

His hand reached out, taking the fire poker and gently rustling the ashes to reveal the embers before walking to the other side of the room and fetching a bundle of wood and a bit of kindling. The clatter of flame fuel hitting the floor brought its own memory, watching his mother make a fire everyday without fail. Wood that was wet, old, green, did not seem to matter under his mother's careful hand.

It had always amazed him how she had a sense for what to be done with a fire. Something he had never fully grasped in stark comparison to the woman who had nurtured three children and did her best to prepare them for the world. Snapping off different pieces and slowly feeding the dying fire gave him time to wonder on other things.

Other memories floated up, fun and hard times in equal measure. Memories of his own travels, nursing losses and victories while being frustrated about his Svalen form failing to appear.

That frustration growing silently with passing year and making him stubbornly refuse to come till he had acheived his pride filled goal.

His thoughts fell to Haley once more. The talk of her with Maude having loosened fond memories and forcing him to think on easier times. In his silent pondering, a fire had sprung forth, warning him of his proximity with blazing heat as he shook himself and blinked.

A small snort had him standing and moving slowly back to the table. His hand idly taking the mug once more as he watched the tongues of fire snap and dance in their chaotic dance of life.

Hours passed, slowly drinking from the mug rather than drowning himself in the loneliness he had felt before. Prayers both spoken and silent sent to ancestors and those recently passed for guidance and wisdom that while unanswered by anyone called forward memories of discussions held before his self imposed exile.

His father's stern voice calling for him, warning him of haste and thoughtless actions. His mother's kind but heavy words wishing nothing more than for him to be the best that he could be, and happy with his decisions. His younger brother's headstrong and unyielding belief in their people and their way of life.

Haley's teasing but heartfelt words of wisdom after returning from the rangers of always being assured in oneself. The fire had settled into embers once more when he stood. A final draw of the mug on his lips beckoning the last few drops of courage to him as he made up his mind.

Slipping into a long shirt this time, he left home after settling the fire to burn out on its own in case of a long discussion. While Maude had confidence in him, and had wanted the traits he had for her own heir, he felt he could be a better friend than a sire.

It took a village to raise a norden child, but his continued presence could do more to achieve that goal than giving her an heir. He kept thinking on this as he walked, the cold air steeling him in his decision before he came to his destination, looking over the lake a long moment.

He opened his mouth to speak before one last memory from Haley silenced the thought. Her last words had been carried in a letter he had not thought to look over before coming here. Words that had him staring in wonder for a moment at the woman that was queen of his people.

That had asked for his help in creating a better future for his people. He could hear her words even if she had never actually spoken them.

Being sure of oneself should never come in the way of wanting, or being happy, Hugi. While we all can think we know how best to do things...sometimes we have to let go and find out where the road leads. If we all planned and dithered on the outcome, I am sure mom and dad would nay have had more than me.

In all your letters home, you have been frustrated and angry. Perhaps it is time for you to return, and try to find some comfort here. Reconnect with our people and see where the roads of fate lead you here at home.

Your svalen will come in time. Your chance to enjoy a family is passing.

Let go little brother, and come home.

"I have made a decision, my queen." He finally spoke, the earth beneath him still as it had ever been, even if it felt as though it was trying to send him to his knees. "I know you offered, but I will ask. Will you allow me to join your harem and be a part of this future you seek?"

She was in her Svalen form, but he waited patiently. All good things to those who wait was something his mother had told him.

 

[Maude]

It had snowed overnight as it was want to do most any time of the year in Eretejva. Maude had nestled herself back under the great aged trees surrounding the lake and slept soundly to the tune of tundra quiet throughout the evening. She did not dwell on memories, nor did she muddle in emotions of concern over Hugi's decision. Maude had always been a believer in practicality, pragmatism. However the path turned ahead she would take it in stride as she always had.

The hours whiled by and the Queen slept undisturbed. Not until the first hints of morning touched the eastern sky did the steps of approach wake the slumbering svalen. Green eyes peered out from within a pelt of paling russet. At one point she'd been a bear of rich umber brown, a reddened chrome under the light of the sun. Now time was infringing upon her soul and showing in the smattering of white across her muzzle and along the slope of her shoulders. Eventually it would claim her pelt entirely and she couldn't help but wonder if Eogorath's gifts were to blame for the early onset.

Iordahn's hair had turned prematurely white at the young age of 35, but he'd lived well into his 80s. Might have lived far longer had his life not been cut short.

Silence as she watched her friend, the svalen made no effort to move yet. Hugi's introspective moment was given as much patience as it needed but his words did draw her from her bed of snow and forest undergrowth. Soft flakes drifted freely from her fur as she pushed to stand from the makeshift den, stepping out to look down upon the man from her unnatural, gargantuan stature. Hugi had been witness to her power and might before, but rare as it was to see her in this form it might've served as a unsettling reminder just what being the Queen of Nordengaard meant.

Plumes of breath spilled from the svalen's maw, nearly large enough to swallow him whole, parting in a flash of incisors the size of his head.

"Yes Hugi," Maude replied, the rumble of her svalen's voice echoing across the lake like a distant clap of thunder, somber green eyes soft in their gaze, "yes I will."