when Halfdan the Black finds love in an unexpected being, and when he goes against the odds of all his people. the gods are with him, just as they are with his brother, and with the power they give him- he won't let his life, or his love, go to wast...
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The light of the sun caused Halfdan to slowly stir awake, his arm trapped beneath something light as the other was draped over. It only took a mere second to remember who it was, and he eagerly pulled her closer to his warm body where they laid beneath the fur pelts and wool blankets.
Halfdan didn't know how to express his feelings, he never really showed any feelings other than the carnal desire to destroy villages and burn christians. But he also couldn't help the happiness radiating off of him, staining his skin like the scrollwork of the blue-black ink covering his body.
A voice sounding through the silent space stole him from his trance, recognising it to be hers as he zoned in and listened closely to hear what she was saying.
"I've longed for this," she whispered, burying her head further into his chest as he watched her listen intently to his steady heartbeat. "At first the dreams scared me, I didn't know what to do," she explained, piquing Halfdan's interest when she mentioned dreams of her own. His strong hand slipped through A'Tanasey's long hair, listening to her accented voice in silence and peace. "But then they kept coming and I found myself eager to go to sleep just to see you."
Halfdan couldn't hold himself back, he couldn't control his body or his actions, and he yanked her up to press his lips to hers. Gods, it was better than it was in the dream, it was better than anything he'd ever tasted, ever felt, ever had. Her lips were so soft and her power over him was enough to make him shudder, tightening his arms around her body because he was scared that any moment, he'd wake up and realise it was all just a dream.
Her touch sent shivers down the connected bones of his spine, and her warmth cradled him like a babe, his one hand tangled in her long hair as the other spread across the span of her back between her shoulder blades. With their tongues dancing between their lips, their bond grew stronger —it grew mightier. Halfdan had never felt something so alluring, not something with that power at least, and he would gladly give up anything to feel it all over, again and again.
"This is real, Halfdan," he heard her whisper to him, his skin tingling beneath her warm touch as he knocked their noses together. "This isn't a dream, not anymore."
He wasn't good with communication, he wasn't good with a lot of things —war, fighting, killing— that's what he was good at. He never had any practice when it came to loving someone, or caring for someone that wasn't his brother or his men. With them, they could be rough and rowdy as they pleased, but he knew A'Tanasey was delicate no matter how flawlessly she carried herself.
So he gave a soft grunt in return and pressed his lips back on hers, still trying to wrap his head around the miracle he was given by the gods. And though he had his questions, he had his desires, brushing his calloused fingers against her soft skin that was out on display. As they kissed, he could feel everything.
It was weird at first, it was different. But when he opened himself to feeling more, it was as if Vahalla had opened its gates far sooner than he implied. He could feel her feelings, he could feel the coolness lingering inside her warm body, he could feel her heartbeat. And with all of those, he could feel the sharpness of her teeth, the tips like canines that just barely cut through the surface of his tongue as he began to bleed.
It wasn't a lot, but it was enough for A'Tanasey to taste, which made her pull away. Halfdan was confused at first, confused as to why she tore their lips apart, but when he saw the fear in her eyes, he instantly became alert. His large hand cupped her small face, doing his best to cradle her in his lap as his other arm wrapped securely around her slim waist.
"A'Tanasey," he softly spoke, his voice raspy and low and quiet. He did his best to sound as gentle as he could, but he was still getting used to being a softer man around her. "A'Tanasey, what has caused this?" His voice held worry, it held traces of fear and guilt and regret, though for what, he did not know. The woman he held was someone he wanted protected and safe at any time, and seeing fear in her beautiful eyes was a sight he never wanted to see.
He watched as her gaze channeled through the space of the wooden home they were in, and he could hear her extraordinary heart rapidly beating as her cold blood pulsed through her veins, dipping his head down to leave a trail of soft, open kisses along the column of her neck. He could only hope that his attempts to calm her would work, and when he heard her heart slow down, he knew it was working.
"Breathe, my love," he whispered in her ear, trailing his nose below her sharp jawline until he swiftly tilted upwards and caught her lips once again. He felt her arms constrict around him, felt her bruising strength, but that didn't deter him from kissing her. He'd kiss her as he took his final breath and he'd die a happy man if his world was at its end, but he chased after her lips when she pulled away yet again.
"My people," she started, breathing deeply, "my kind, we're —we're different from yours." Halfdan saw as she attached her gaze to his exposed chest wear his tunic opened before it fleeted up to meet his. "The Avi' Na people are those of Wayitomoāne, a planet —a world far from this that is yours," she continued, uncomfortably shifting and rolling her shoulders as she involuntarily moved further into his arms. "There, we have our own, we have our lives as Avi' Na —all that we do, that we speak, that we know. I'm different from you because you hunt animals for their furs and their pelts —I protect the animals from being hunted," she explained.
Halfdan was intrigued by all that she was telling him, wanting to know more and more about her, her people, and her planet. The world she described was beautiful as she eventually revealed a deeper connection within the roots of their bond, allowing her to share her memories with him. It all took his breath away as different places appeared in his head, everything from her home in Ikralla and the large throne made of crystals and ice with two others on each side, to the other regions including Seythreydeas, Tsokcothra, Hreyktukitrey, and Bayouneke.
He saw the bonszhu of Bayouneke, leaping high and vast above the water, he saw a yhaquar and her young scouting the forests of Tsokcothra. He could hear her voice clearly as she spoke and taught about all of her kind, the people and the creatures, listening intently as she spoke to her goddess in Avi' Nehey, watching as Ewe' Yaweyna floated down from the bluish-purple sky far beyond his reach.
"Hnym pwarthru, byhelam phue," he heard her whisper quietly as she held her hand out to Ewe' Yaweyna, letting it land on her open awaiting palm. He watched as she embraced the small, magical creature before she gently set it off again, seeing her watch it drift silently away. When she turned to face him, he took in a sharp breath, seeing her milky skin glisten under the luminescent glow of Hreyktukitrey, her eyes a warm shade of amber instead of their normal icy blue.
"Tlyrothgwo nheym krarthuo," she murmured beneath her breath, his eyes seeing hers intently watching him as he noticed the soft glow surround and embody him. Ewe' Yaweyna brushed against his exposed chest before landing on his scrolled skin, another and another landing on his open hands.
"Wha—why," he whispered in question, gazing up to the sky after tearing his eyes away from A'Tanasey, seeing Ewe' Yaweyna descending down from the limbs of trees and places far beyond his knowledge until they landed all over him. "What is happening," he muttered, glancing back to A'Tanasey to see her with a small, gentle smile on her soft lips. He saw her eyes shine with a happiness he'd never seen before, watching as she slowly stalked her way around his standing form in the midst of their vision, just barely brushing her fingertips along the span of his back.
It made him shudder as he rolled his shoulders much like she'd done hours before, watching silently as Ewe' Yaweyna gracefully ascended back up to where she had once came from. It was then that he felt A'Tanasey approach him from behind, feeling her arms slither around his built torso as she kissed his spine.
The way she made him feel, the way she made him hear, the way she made him see —it awakened something rare in him.
He wanted to be better, he wanted to be responsible, and he wanted to be respectable, forher. Halfdan no longer craved for the honor and dignity he received from being heartless and cruel on the battlefield, because he had something to truly long for. Yes, he wanted his honor and his respect, but he didn't want it for him.
He wanted it for her, even if she already knew he had it.
