「 Skill Point ― n/a 」
Bragi

The cold front had passed overnight and a rumble on the island had lead Tyr to investigate. It was not unusual for the mountains to moan, avalanches common in the area and for the most part, they were avoidable if you were smart. This time though, something drew Tyr to the location, only to find that the avalanche in question had revealed something more impressive. Gone were the hot springs left by Freya, and anew lay a field of warmth and... that noticeable eggy smell.

It was pungent, no doubt the sulfur burning his nose, but after a while he grew used to the scent. The area was made up of shallow pools, all somewhat interconnected by small streams. Beside them a spring flowed, the cold glacial water from the mountains running off and down the tree crowded hill. At least this area was clear, a viewpoint above the tree line that allowed you to look over the island and down to the sea.

A glorious sight that he couldn't not enjoy in that moment as he moved into the water, almost too warm to the touch. The minute his body was submerged as he lay at the edge, a sigh was released through slackened lips. Just the right thing for the stress that knotted in his muscles. Things were finally falling into place, it was only right that Tyr take a moment to breath too. The dawn light danced behind the mountains to the east, decorating the sky with pinks and oranges. It was almost a dream as the male releaxed. Nothing could spoil his day if it started like this.

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She tried not to think too much. Tried to stay present. She could feel the change on the air like a pulled taut rubber band and didn't want to be caught unaware again when it snapped.

It wouldn't do to go about her new life never knowing what the fuck was going on. It was confusing, disorienting. It made her head hurt and her skin prickle every time she opened her eyes and realized she had lost time. That her body had been going through the motions — learning, living, making connections — without her. She didn't recover well from them. She could sense the others growing worried. Or maybe suspicious.

Maybe Sverke had told, after all. Maybe they'd all just figured it out themselves. Maybe they were scheming behind her back. To kill her or throw her out or torture her until she told them what they wanted to hear. She couldn't tell, but she could feel their eyes.

She... didn't like it when they saw her.

So she tried to be normal. Tried to plaster on a smile or a frown wherever it seemed appropriate and hoped upon hope they couldn't tell.

She breathed out a soft sigh, catching the hint of... sulfur? when she breathed back in. Her paws were moving before she really even had a chance to register, carrying her to the newly formed hot springs and the wolf that called himself her father waiting within.

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「 Skill Point ― n/a 」

A scent accompanied the now dulling smell of sulphur, one he recognised but had noticed was becoming all the more elusive. Tyr remained where he was, watching, waiting for his daughter to grace him with her presence, if only once before she disappeared back into the shadows. He hoped she'd give him the time of day, though perhaps he'd have to intervene if not.

Bragi, he called softly, welcoming her to come to him, to acknoledge his attempt. The shadows, they did helped at times, but Tyr knew that staying within them for too long was also not wise. Too much of a good thing was unhealthy and often made matters worse.

He knew that all too well himself, but he'd yet to know what was ailing his daughters mind. Perhaps she was like Sverke and Asgeir, causing mischief wherever she went. He did not know, and he was ashamed to say so aloud.

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The scent was stronger, here. Almost too strong. Her nose wrinkled in discomfort as she cast her gaze about the hot springs. She'd never been, but she recognized it. Maybe it would be nice? Like a warm bath. She hadn't one of those since—

A voice called out, soft though it still sent the fur along her spine a'bristle. Huh? Her ears pricked forward, her eyes landing on the wolf partially submerged in the steaming water. He was the spitting image of the split-faced boy, the one who'd disappeared. She glanced sheepishly around, hoping that perhaps he'd called out to someone else, before she remembered. Oh. Right. Bragi was her.

She skimmed her memory for his name but couldn't find it. Well, this would be awkward. Her ears reclined tentatively back, head low and shoulders hunched, as she padded closer. Act normal, she chided herself. Don't do anything weird, don't say anything weird, do not arouse suspicion. Though, she had technically already failed in that regard.

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「 Skill Point ― n/a 」

This child was awkward, but to each their own. She neither reminded him of himself nor of Cupid in that regard but it didn't mean he loved her less. She was his, there was no doubt in his mind about that, even as approached.

How are you today? he quizzed tentatively, watching her expression carefully in hopes something would be given away. The quiet ones were often hard to read, but he wanted to do his best to understand her, whoever she wanted to be now that Freya had resumed her position in the heavens.

Bragi would not be treated like a bastard anyone, nor would Trygve, Tove or Sindri.

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OH GOD. He was already asking questions. That was so great for her. She could feel his eyes, though her gaze flickered down to her paws and stayed there, watching the steam wisp around them. Her stomach churned, her skin prickled like thousands of biting ants under her fur and it was a Herculean effort to keep her expression under control as he watched her.

Fine, she murmured softly, hoping her voice didn't waver, that he couldn't hear the lie, that he wouldn't see all truths hidden behind it. It was easier with the other one, she quickly realized. Cupid, like the cherub. He couldn't see the way her expressions rippled or how she averted her gaze to protect herself. He was soft and grieving and more liable to miss the things she didn't want him to see.

Her tail swished once, back and forth, at her heels, in what she hoped was levity. It moved on its own, usually. She still wasn't used to controlling it. Had she done it weird? Could he tell? She screamed internally and quirked the corner of her mouth in a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

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「 Skill Point ― Orator 」

A simple on word answer from a whisper of a voice. Tyr smiled softly in return but didn't press for more, instead he welcomed her into the water with a slight beckon of his paw.

Come, the water is good for your body. he hummed, averting his gaze to the world below them. Tyr didn't often feel stumped, he usually had an answer for everything but this? He didn't know to get through to his quieter daughter. So, if that meant just simply being in each others presence, that would be it.

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He invited her into the pool and she had a single, horrifying moment of uncertainty as her heart leapt into her throat and she considered the ramifications of pitching herself into the ocean instead, but ultimately she obeyed. Dutifully, she dipped a paw in, an involuntary shiver working its way down her spine at the warmth and sensation of wet fur. Maybe it would feel nice the further in she waded, but for the moment, at least, she didn't press. Instead she glanced at him, saw that his eyes were no longer focused on her, and the tension between her shoulder blades began to ease.

She was still extremely Aware of his presence, though it was significantly easier without his eyes boring into her soul. She lifted her gaze ever so slightly to look out across the hot springs and wrack her brain for something to ask that wouldn't give too much away. Conversation was agonizing but the thought of just sitting in silence was even more so. What is this place? She asked, pitching her voice up a bit in her best approximation of childlike curiosity. It felt... weird.

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「 Skill Point ― Orator 」

While hesitant, Tyr heard his daughter enter the spring. She did not venture in like himself, but it was a baby step he supposed from his shivelled ear as he listened. The warm was relaxing him but he knew he'd have to make a move soon, Much to do and so little time in the day to do it.

For now though, he sighed, resting his chin on the stone slabs just outside of the water. When her voice drew his attention again, he was in a state of quiet. No thoughts, nothing. This place? What was it? Tyr smiled softly, did he dumb it down or tell her? He decided on the latter, it was better to just know than not.

A hot spring, the water is warmed by magma deep within the ground before it breaks the surface. he tilted his head slightly and looked up to the child, already so large and yet childlike in her physique. They grew too quickly it seemed.

A gift from my brethren in Asgard it seems,

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A calmer, more confident creature might've wondered how a wolf, however odd in its appearance, knew how a hot spring got its temperature or what magma was. Bragi, however, was neither. Playing the innocent, well-adjusted, perfectly normal child demanded 110% of her concentration at present, as she gazed with carefully widened eyes across the steaming water. His eyes were on her again, and she mustn't falter.

Then she immediately faltered.

Her expression rippled and fell as his words tickled at something at the back of her mind. Asgard? She echoed quietly to herself, her brow furrowed in thought. Like the Nordic realm of the gods? She turned to meet his gaze, then, the slow dawning realization of her mistake settling over her like a shroud.

Oh. She did it again.

She averted her gaze, quickly, horrified. She stared hard into the water as she worked her expression back into place, but the damage had already been done.

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