10/8/2025, 11:56 PM
another pagan. seutonius did not feel scornful this time, be it the pain or the poppy or the peerless stars above. the dead, she said. a lifetime ago he might have rebuked her forwardness; tonight the roman found himself discomfitted and desperate at the same time. aivar had helped him; solulfur had allowed him to lean against her. paws and pelts of strangers had knit seutonius until it seemed he would keep his limbs and heal in full.
a strange thing, to be touched. she was warm beside him, and the natural instinct of their kind bit beneath the military guard, pulling down the defenses of the ailing man.
never all of them.
silence reigned, as if he were listening. pondering. as if his own ears had reached up for what the stars might offer.
and silence prevailed. they did not speak to suetonius, and he was left to ruefully ponder why he had even considered it.
valhalla.
a strange thing, to be touched. she was warm beside him, and the natural instinct of their kind bit beneath the military guard, pulling down the defenses of the ailing man.
never all of them.
silence reigned, as if he were listening. pondering. as if his own ears had reached up for what the stars might offer.
and silence prevailed. they did not speak to suetonius, and he was left to ruefully ponder why he had even considered it.
valhalla.
you are a northerner?he asked, wanting to press on from this failure, to center the stranger where he had become less.