Legends

Chapter 56: The Followers of Thor

Consciousness was slow to return to Lafayette with wakefulness even slower. She became vaguely aware that she was lying on what felt like a bed of straw. There were soft sounds around her and at one point something fuzzy and wet nudged her face waking her up in a hurry.

Opening her eyes revealed it to be a sheep and the creature nuzzled her again. Lafayette found its administrations amusing and she stroked its head. But its presence didn't explain how she ended up in a barn.

"Luzow, move! Give her some space!" snapped a voice in fluent Norwegian. Well, that could answer Lafayette's silent question. The sheep gave an indignant bleat but cleared off at her owner's command. Lafayette managed to use her arms and push herself into a sitting position to greet her host. She was tall, almost as tall as she herself was and possessed the most blonde hair and bluest eyes she'd ever seen. She wore a long white overcoat with a red collar and black pants. Her snowshoes made the distinctive clack of attached crampons. "Good you're awake." She said as she knelt beside her, offering a bowl of something warm and delicious smelling. Lafayette barely remembered her manners enough to offer a thank you as she took it.

"The Abyssals!" She gasped, recalling the battle.

"Repelled for the moment." The woman replied, switching to English flawlessly albeit accented. "They've harassed us here before but we think they have a base in the Lofoten's. They'll come back eventually but for the moment, you and Prinz Eugen can rest easy Lafayette."

"You know who we are?" Lafayette asked, surprised.

"I know kanmusume when I see them." The women crossed her arms. Her tone was even but she almost appeared offended.

"Sorry but I don't know your name." Lafayette said.

"You may call me Thyra." She replied as she checked on Eugen. The cruiser was still unconscious and the bandages Thyra herself must have put on were stained slightly red.

Watching Thyra brush a cloth gently across Eugen's face, her touch almost motherly in its affection, Lafayette considered something. "It was you! You saved us!" She gasped.

Thyra didn't pause in her work. "You needed saving and I just so happened to be on hand." She replied. "You're lucky you were so close to the beach."

"You carried us here?" Lafayette hardly believed it.

Thyra smiled a little. "Once your rigging is dismissed, you don't weigh anything more than a human of comparable size." She explained. Eyeing the broadness of her shoulders and the sheer number of muscles in her arms, Lafayette was inclined to believe that this woman could carry both of them at once without breaking a sweat.

"What of the Abyssal planes?" Lafayette asked instead. They had still been swarming her and the village as she last recalled.

Thyra's smirk carried a bloodthirsty note to it. "I have methods to deal with a few pesky aircraft. Besides, did you really think the people here have survived this war for this long without some defense?" She asked. She finished with Eugen. "I've done what I can but she needs a repair ship." She sighed. "And you're not in much better shape either before you ask. Your rigging is in too bad of shape to support you. If you were to try going to sea you'd sink."

Great, she was stuck. Lafayette sighed but Thyra wasn't done. "I took the liberty of contacting Admiral Cunningham." She said. "There's a ferry in Tromsø that can take you back to Britain. It'll drop you off in Newcastle and transportation to Scapa Flow awaits you there."

"Seems simple enough." Lafayette concluded. "So what's the catch?"

"You don't miss much do you?" Thyra shot back, then sighed. "The catch is you're in Erstfjordbotn. That's on the other side of Kvaløya from our destination and the roads are not much use at the moment. That much the Abyssals were able to accomplish"

"So what? We walk?" Lafayette wasn't keen on the idea but she understood the necessity.

Thyra's snort contained no small amount of dry humor. Lafayette as beginning to get the sense that her host took pleasure out of her struggles. "Don't be ridiculous!" The tall Norwegian replied. She moved off to another part of the barn and returned carrying a set of poles and long narrow shoes. "You my French friend are going to learn how to ski."

Lafayette pursed her lips as she stared at the devices placed next to her. All kanmusu were blessed with good balance but it hadn't been tested how well that translated to land activities. She'd never even considered trying alpine activities and was presently regretting not using her shore leave more efficiently. "Nombreux." She said simply, her tone full of sarcasm and Thyra laughed again.

"I can makeshift a carrier for your friend." The Norwegian said before Lafayette could ask.

"Thank you." Lafayette sighed, accepting an offered hand up. She found that while her own injuries were sore, she had enough free range of movement to attempt a land journey. Although her chief engineer warned her not to push it. "So, I guess you get to teach me how to ski then." She said.

Thyra shrugged as she placed the skis next to Lafayette's feet so the carrier could step into them. "I guess so." She agreed.