Fighting, Honour and Valhalla || Vikings x The Originals x TVD

The Return

A beautiful little doe walked through the winter forest, its hooves sank into the deep snow with each careful step that it took. It moved between the bare trees that stood close together, and its ears turned slightly as it listened to the quiet around it. The doe paused near a cluster of low bushes, and it lowered its head to sniff at the ground where some grass poked through the snow. A cold wind blew gently past the branches, and the doe lifted its head again while it turned its body in a circle.

Suddenly, it heard a faint sound from the trees, and its muscles tensed as its eyes widened. The doe turned quickly and it started to run, its legs pushed hard against the snow that flew up behind it. It leaped over a small fallen branch that lay in its path, its breath came out in rapid clouds that trailed after it. However, the doe did not get far before an arrow flew from the trees, and it struck the doe in the neck. Blood flowed from the wound and the doe stumbled forward a few more steps before it fell over into the snow, its body twitched a couple times before it finally lay still.

Thorfinn then stepped out from behind a thick tree trunk where he had waited in silence. He stood nearly six feet and five inches tall with a body that consisted of pure muscle that showed even through the thick woolen clothes that he wore. A heavy fur cloak covered his shoulders and back, and snow clung to the edges of his boots as he moved forward. His white hair was tied back with a simple leather cord, a few loose strands fell across his forehead while he walked through the deep snow.

Thorfinn trudged ahead and reached the doe where it lay on the ground. He knelt down beside the body and grasped the arrow shaft with one hand while he pulled it out of the neck. Blood dripped from the arrow tip onto the snow so he wiped the shaft clean with a quick swipe against his cloak. He grabbed the doe by one of its hind legs and lifted the entire animal with just that one hand. Thorfinn turned away from the spot, and he walked back through the forest toward the camp with his dinner.

The camp sat in a small clearing where the trees opened up enough to let some light reach the ground. A fire burned in the center on a ring of stones that the group had placed earlier. The Nubian sat close to the fire on a log that he had dragged near the flames. He was a large man with dark skin and a wide build, he wore a thick robe that wrapped around his body while he sat with his legs stretched out. He moved his feet and slapped the wood of the log as he let out a song, one from his homeland that was spoken in its tongue.

"Iro ai, iro ai,
Niló kin el-mar,
Anu safi, anu safi,
He lives, he walks, he returns."

He slapped the log again, feet shifting as the song carried into the trees.

Sophia sat on another log across from the Nubian, she faced the fire while she listened to the song. She clapped her hands in time with the beat of the song. She smiled as she clapped, her eyes staying on the Nubian while he sang with his hands gesturing to match the words.

Thorfinn entered the clearing and let out a deep sigh that showed in a cloud of breath as it left his mouth. He walked straight to the edge of the fire, and let the doe drop to the ground where it landed with a heavy thud that sent snow scattering around the body. Thorfinn knelt down beside the doe without a word, and pulled his knife from his belt. He began to skin the animal and carefully cut along the belly, he peeled the hide back and ripped it off.

Meanwhile The Nubian finished the last notes of his song, and looked up at Thorfinn with a wide smile that spread across his face. He stood up quickly from his log, and he spread his arms out wide while he walked around the fire toward the doe. "Look at what we have here," he said in a loud and joyful voice. "Our conquering hero has returned from the hunt and he brings a feast that will fill our bellies tonight." The Nubian stopped near the doe, and looked down at the body with approval in his eyes before he turned back to Thorfinn. He placed one hand on his own chest, and he raised the other hand high while he cleared his throat. "This moment calls for a poem," he said.