Petulant ✔︎

4

Gorm grimaced as he picked another horn and put it in the made bag. The smell still didn't fade, and they had left the door open the whole night even though it was freezing. They kept the fire lit, not that it helped much. For the entire night, he couldn't close his eyes since his teeth were chattering. His whole body covered in goosebumps, and the furs didn't help at all.

In the middle of the night, Gunnar crawled onto the floor with him. And no matter how he wanted to bash the man's head, he caved, letting him cuddle into him to share some warmth. He swung the bag over his shoulder before letting it fall on the ground outside the cabin. He huffed at his own self. The bag fell onto the snow, but he mostly ignored it. He would leave it outside for a few minutes so the smell could evaporate in the cold. Gorm didn't want to think about what those clothes in the bag had been through.

He walked towards the water, even though it was freezing the night before, the water close to the pier wasn't frozen. His hands cupped some of the water, and he splashed it on his face. Trondheim was much more colder in this part of the year, he sighed. Even though the water was hotter, the weather was anything but warm. He reached for the bowl and filled it with water. Then he reached for the second one and did the same and then for third. He carried them back to the hut one by one and placed them above the fire.

Gunnar was gone in the morning, and it wouldn't surprise him if he was drinking somewhere. He knew that Gorm would throw him out either way. He let out another exasperated sigh before pouring the hot water into the wooden tub. Then he retreated the wrapped clothes from outside and threw them into the hot water. Not feeling like standing around while the water was still burning, he walked with the horns to the lake. Keeping them wrapped in the cloth, he lowered them into the water.

He shook the cloth a few times for the water to seep better through it. Then he heard it. For anyone else, it might've been unheard, but he wasn't just anyone. Gorm knew that with his skills, he could easily measure with Ronja, and she was one hell of a warrior. He knew someone was trying to sneak up on him. His fingers twitched around the heavy cloth bag. Odin knew how he itched to fight.

The snow crunched behind him, and he waited. He pretended to be oblivious as he listened. The attacker was close now, much closer, than he should've. Gorm struck, not being able to hold any longer. His hand holding the bag with horns twisted. It hit the attacker straight to his gut, and Gorm smirked once he saw the long dirty blonde hair. Not today Prince, he thought to himself.

He charged while Gunnar was still confused. Wrapping his hand around Gunnar's wrist, he pulled him towards himself before pushing onto his shoulder and sending him to the ground, still tightly capturing his wrist. Gunnar grunted as he fell into the snow and onto his side.

"You fight worse than your sister," anyone who knew Irvina knew this was very much an insult. The woman wouldn't survive a fight if he wasn't behind her like a shadow. Thor knows how many arrows he pulled from his back because he was covering her from behind. Gunnar grunted again and went lax in his hold.

He scoffed once Gorm let him go, "My sister is not that bad." The prince rubbed at his wrist, glaring at him. Gorm raised a brow. Was that longing he heard in his voice? Did the man before him care for his sister more than he thought? Gorm shook his head, he had no idea what he was talking about. This little prince hadn't seen his sister fight for years. He had no idea how good, or in this case bad, she was.

He grabbed the bag and threw it onto the laying man. Gunnar grunted as the wet clothed bag made contact with his face. Gorm gave him a threatening stare, "Wash the horns, or you will find yourself in the lake in the middle of the night!"

Gunnar wiped his mouth before giving him a lustful glare, "Of course, my King." Gorm rolled his eyes at his sarcastic tone before going around him to the hut. It was time to wash the clothes, mainly pants, clean. He shuddered in disgust.