DIVINE CHAMPIONS 6: A FINAL CONFLICT

AIR-WATER: DON'T PLUCK

When Aitri next opened her eyes, she was sitting by a tree. Her other senses returned soon, and she realized that the pain on her arm was gone. It had been covered by a white bandage, and around her, she had company. And things came back to her.

Beside her, her healer was speaking to Rishi, and saying, "I don't want him to go easy, you know. I know he awaits to be with me, but I mentally prepare myself for the worst. This thing, in all thousands of timeless years, is very new to me. I want him to give his all in this war. If that means losing him forever..."

"Stop, stop." Rishi said, affectionately, "We are here to protect the whole world, but we can't do that if we don't protect each other."

"But what if we lose him at the war?"

"We won't."

"You don't know that." Eir said, "Look, don't worry about us. Ishaan and I weren't supposed to meet at all. We weren't supposed to know each other. Do you realize that he is perhaps the only one who was perhaps the only one of you who had no previous contact with anything Norse before being chosen?"

"Is he?"

Aitri heard it, and calculated. Eir was right. Rick and Rishi had gone to the Temple of Edda. Aitri was always so close to Rishi, plus the touch of the magic book of Rick. Even Meghna had touched the magic book. Mikael and Maja were related to the gods by blood. Only Ishaan was the one who had no contact with the world. He didn't even know this world existed. "You two met," Aitri said, in a slightly weaker tone than she intended to bring out, "because you two were meant to meet. The fact that you are scared and thinking negatively is because you are here, helping the injured and are unable to help Ishaan. You are anxious."

"Hey, stay seated." Rishi came rushing towards her, putting her head back on the tree trunk, "You are injured."

"I feel fine." Aitri said, "My wound is gone."

"Yes." Rishi said, "The dwarf blade is made of some magic that normally paralyzes your healing ability. Eir removed that magic from your wound, and it healed."

"Thanks." Aitri said, taking Eir's hand.

"It was an honor." Eir said, "Listen, what you said was right. I am being anxious. Maybe I should worry a little less, and think positively. I should do this if I am to go live a human life."

Aitri got up, and felt her strength return. Eir gave Rishi directions of Angrboda's den, and handed him a sledge pulled by dogs. "Here." she said, "These two took Ishaan to you guys. These two will take you two to Angrboda. She ain't far from here. And believe me. She is no threat in terms of fighting you." Then, she added, handing a little box to Aitri, "Gifr and Geri sometimes get tired. Though the journey ain't long, still, for emergency." Aitri opened it and found that there was boiled chicken inside.

The two sat on the sledge, and the dogs started running at full speed. Rishi laughed as he looked at the dogs. When asked, he replied, "Once the great and fierce guard dogs of Fjolsvid, now barely sledge pullers." To that, the dogs stopped, turned, bared their fangs, turned back and started again. "Nope, still very much the fierce guard dogs of Fjolsvid."

Rishi caressed Aitri's injured arm, and asked, "You feel okay, right?"

"Yes."

"Listen, take a break from fighting, yeah? You need rest."

"Rish, I am fine. I'll be okay. Anyway, wanna tell me what you and Eir discussed?"

"She said that you were good, so we didn't need to take you to Lyfjaberg. I asked her why she was outside Lyfjaberg at that time. She said that she was out to collect a few local herbs, and felt your injury, so she came to see. Rest of it was mostly about Ishaan. She asked how he was, how his family was. Then, you woke up."