Virago - Ivar The Boneless

Iona Lagerthadottir

No matter the time that passed nor the distance, Iona found herself thinking of only him. 

The time she'd spent with him had led her to have an unhealthy obsession with Ivar. She had fallen so hard for him, she didn't want to face that fact but it was true. He was her only down fall and still now, if he asked her to put her life on the line for him, she would. 

She had traveled the lands, she had no idea where she was heading but the time alone had helped Iona start to find herself. Survival had been easy, she'd found herself sources of water to drink from, she'd also found many ways to hunt, to find meat to keep her alive. 

Snow covered the lands where she had ventured too. Little Bear had quickly learnt that the snow left tracks, she needed to be careful, she did not want to be followed. Still she was not careful enough when she found her next meal, a small deer in the tree line. Her eyes focused in on the free animal, it was slowly walking in the open and looking at it, she was sure it was alone with no parent. Raising her arm, she held the axe high in the air as she stared at it. Squinting her eyes, she took a deep breath as she focused her mind. In one swift moment, she pulled back before throwing the weapon at the helpless, waiting deer. 

The axe hit the animal with such a ferocity that t he animal instantly slumped to the ground. A smirk crossed the lips of the young blonde before she crossed the snow towards the bloody carcass on the ground. Kneeling in the snow, she ignored the cold and wet that seeped through her as she ripped the axe from the dead animal, bringing the axe close to her face, she licked the warm blood from the sharp edge of the blade. She smiled as the salty taste tingled on her tongue. Grabbing at the deer, she pulled it to her mouth, sinking her teeth into the open wound and taking a jagged bite from the bloody, fleshy part. 

Behind her a sound caught her attention, turning with wide eyes and blood dripping from her mouth, Little Bear saw a person approaching them. She chewed the meat before licking her lips, she didn't flinch or try to move as the person came closer. Holding her kill tightly in one hand and her axe in the other, Iona pulled herself to her feet. She had a curious look on her face as she stared at the stranger, she tilted her head to the side before the man came to stand in front of her. 

"You are not from here," the man spoke to her, she noted he had a strange accent. "The food here is for everyone." He looked at the kill she held close to her, the blood seeping into the furs she had wrapped around her. 

Iona didn't let his words effect her, instead she brought the deer back to her lips and took another bite into it, ripping it the carcass from her mouth, leaving blood covering her lower half of her face. Getting to her feet, she offered her meal to the man opposite her, a smirk on her lips as she awaited his decision.   

The man looked her up and down, his eyes widened as he realised she was not scared like other women. He noticed she was wrapped warmly but her clothes were dirty and not just from her new blood stains. Her blonde hair was tinged red in places, matted as it fell around her face. "Who are you?" He asked her as he stepped back ignoring her offering. 

She dropped the deer, she took a step towards the man but he continued to step back from her. Little Bear did not follow him, instead she watched from her new spot as the man turned started to run in the snow. Tilting her head to the side, she wondered if he would return with help, if there would be more men to contend with but it did not worry her. Iona had been in many dark and perilous situations, she'd learnt to overcome those situations, choosing to embrace the darkness into her life. 

Licking her lips, she knelt back down to retrieve her kill, she held it close to her as she closed her eyes. Iona knew she was far from home, far from anyone she loved and people that loved her. She did not know how far she had traveled, but she knew it would never be far enough to escape the feelings deep inside of her soul.