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Yrsa set her axe down onto the wood, turning to look at Halig and Clapa's reluctant forms. Uhtred had tasked them with cutting off the heads of the Danes, which Yrsa had gladly volunteered her services for, and looking after the prisoner.
She had grown antsy with the lack of blood and not being able to have use of her weapons, so this opportunity was one that she was going to take great pleasure in.
"Are you sure?" Halig asked, as Clapa placed the last of the dead bodies down. "Yrsa, you don't have to."
"I want to," She grinned, as Halig narrowed his eyes at her. "It is not my first time. When I was..."
"I do not want to know this gruesome tale," Halig replied, turning away and back towards the prisoner, who still had an arrow shaft sticking out of his arm. It was nothing too major, and it would not hinder him that much, but it would hurt and leave a scar and that was Yrsa's aim.
"I would like to speak to Lord Uhtred," His voice was not deep, nor high, but it was strong and steady and held the familiar lilting accent of the Danes that Yrsa had not heard from others in a while. Despite him being a prisoner, the accent brought her some comfort.
It reminded her of her home and her family.
"You cannot," Halig replied, drinking his ale as Yrsa picked her axe up and checked the sharpness of the blade. If it was too blunt, then it wouldn't do much and she'd have to resort to hacking the heads off, which was never a good thing.
"I would like to serve him," Yrsa tilted her head at his words, wondering why the sudden change in heart.
"You cannot!" Halig growled, before stalking over to the teenager. "Now, shut your mouth before I fill it, with my boot!"
The Dane did, miraculously, as Hild came wandering over to the trio, clearing her throat.
"When do you plan to begin?" Halig shrugged at her questioning, looking over at the auburn haired teen who was holding the axe.
"Now, I suppose," Yrsa picked a whet stone up, sitting on the tree stump as she started to sharpen her axe. "The men are too scared to do it when they are not drunk, so I shall get it done before the flies come and pester us. It should take me an hour, maybe more, maybe less."
"I see," Hild licked her lips, before looking at the small girl. "Have you done this before?"
"Once or twice," Yrsa grinned like a wolf, her eyes flashing dangerously in the firelight, with a warning to not ask questions that the adult Saxons would not like the answer to.
Hild nodded cautiously, before pulling Halig away as Yrsa continued to sharpen her axe, grinning as she tested the blade on a log of wood. It was sharp enough. Yrsa watched as Hild brushed past her, a knife in hand.
"Lady. Might you use my axe?" Yrsa asked, but Hild ignored her, cutting into the flesh of the leader slowly and with a grunt. The two men looked away, but Yrsa watched her do it with a raised eyebrow. It must have been the lady's first head, because she came out straight afterwards and spewed her guts all over the floor. "Right. I'll get the rest done then."
It did not take Yrsa long, her axe humming with each stroke as one by one the heads came off of the bodies, eyes unseeing.
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"It is done," Yrsa called, lodging her axe in the wood as she grabbed water from the bucket to clean her hands and face of Danish blood. "You can take them to Uhtred now."
"Thank you, Yrsa," Halig gagged, seemingly drunk, as he and Clapa dealt with the bodies and Yrsa turned towards the prisoner, who was wincing at the arrow in arm.
"I'll take it out if you want?" He looked up with wide eyes, lined with dark kohl that hid the bags beneath them. "Promise I'll just pull. I won't twist."
He paused, stumbling over his words for a moment, before reluctantly nodding.
"Do anything stupid, and I'll stab you again with the same fucking arrow. I mean it," She warned as she crouched in front of the man. He nodded.
"I don't doubt it, Lady," Yrsa grinned at that, before placing a hand on the man's shoulder and another on the arrow. His skin was warm beneath her touch, the furs beneath his armour ticking the palm of her hand.
"Three...Two..." She pulled before she got to zero, the man grunting in pain and trying to curl in on himself as Yrsa retrieved her arrow. "All done."
"Thank you, Lady," He replied, after taking a moment to recover his strength. Yrsa shrugged, before grabbing another bucket of water and wiping the blood away from the Dane's arm.
"Yrsa, what are you doing?" Halig called, sounding disgusted as the teenager rolled her eyes. "Away from him."
"Relax, Halig, I am merely binding his wound and retrieving my arrow," Halig's eyes narrowed, but Yrsa shrugged and bound the Dane's wound quickly, having some experience with how to do such things. She'd accidentally shot people a few times when she was learning, and her father had always made her patch the wound up. "He won't try anything whilst I still have the arrow with me. He knows better now."
"I doubt..."
"Halig. It will be fine. Trust me on this." Yrsa rolled her eyes, tying off the cloth as the prisoner watched her with the same wide eyes. "Over protective."
"Only because Hild would have my head if something happened,"
"Hild would have your head regardless," Yrsa smirked, as Halig threw his arms in the air and walked off with the heads in a bag, flies buzzing around it. "All done."
"Thank you, again," He murmured, as Yrsa smiled at the lilting accent in his tone, finding it comforting. "For binding it."
"I was merely retrieving my arrow," Yrsa grinned at him, before cleaning her arrow free of the Dane's blood and returning it to her quiver, picking her axe up. "I would rest. We ride in the morning, and I doubt you will get a horse."
"Good night, Lady," He replied, nodding at her, as Yrsa smiled in return and headed off to Hild's side once more.
Yrsa found the nun trying on armour and a sword, causing the younger teenager to whistle.
"It suits you, Lady," The nun looked up, her eyes wide. "We shall make a Shield Maiden of you yet."
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Hiya,
Yrsa is just a lot of fun and she just enjoys insulting the other men, which I love for her, but her and Sihtric are sweethearts already. I really enjoy writing for them, tbh. Halig is the overprotective older brother and Hild is more than ready to adopt Yrsa at this point in time.
