Ragnarok Unwound: The Awakening

Chapter 10

It was a tense and icy silence that filled the gap between Tyra and Keir. Keir had told Freya and Skadi about a dream she had and the two were discussing it just on the other side of the door at the end of the wing. She watched as Keir paced back and forth, every few moments stopping and cringing in pain. Tyra cringed as well, shifting uncomfortably oh her spot on the chest in front of Keir's bed, thinking back to what had introduced them to the hospital wing,

" Did I burn you?" Tyra felt her stomach turn when she asked the question. Keir came to a halt, her gaze was hard, but quickly gave way to sympathy. She sighed and her rigid posture relaxed slightly.

"No," Keir's voice sounded understanding. "Ty, don't beat yourself up about it. You panicked and lost control, it happens. Learn from it."

Tyra's slightly pointed ears twitched at the nickname. A sudden weighted guilt pressed heavy on her chest. Tyra knew she was lying, she could hear it in her voice and she had seen the burns that marked her torso and arms. Tyra could feel hot tears stinging her eyes. Through her blurred vision she could see Keir stepping closer.

"I can't control it Keir, I'm scared!" She found herself confessing. "When you were asleep I would have moments where I would randomly lose control! When we trained, when I ate, when I slept! Eventually Freya convinced Skadi to let me stay in here. She said it would be good for me. But I can feel it Keir! I can feel the fire and the fear, just like I felt it when we met Loki! It never stops!"

Tyra wasn't sure where it all came from. The words exploded from her violently and she could feel her temperature begin to rise. She was scared. She was beyond scared, she was absolutely terrified. She had read so many books where girl's her age recieved strange powers and accepted them and controled them so easily. Serina was right, they were all bull shit!

Without hesitating Keir wrapped her arms around the girl. Tyra flinched as the ice cold skin made contact. After a moment steam began to rise from the two and Tyra could feel herself cooling down. She relaxed slightly and a sense of clarity and calmness filled her. Keir understands, I've been dealing with this for three weeks. She's dealt with it all of her life.

"My crying must seem stupid to you." Tyra found herself unable to speak above a whimper. She buried her face in the freshly cleaned green tunic that Keir wore. She could feel a cold hand running through her mess of fiery locks. Much to her surprise Keir let out a small and endearing laugh.

"You know, I used to say the same thing to Freya and Skadi. I was so frightened of myself and how people would react. The family that raised me before Skadi found me would lock me away in a small room without light. They would call me possessed and even called a priest. When that didn't work they called me a demon and beat me mercilessly. Heimdall appeared one night when they were sound asleep. He didn't cringe at the sight of me, instead he would regularly visit me and teach me the art of runes. One night he gave me one for protection, that night a serpent found itself in my home. That night Skadi saved me and took me away from that cruel place.

When she brought me to the school, I was afraid. I had not known a world outside of that room. Part of me believed that it would be just like a children's story. But that part had given away to the part that feared, and rightly so. Humans fear us, they think that we are all savage beasts, foul and cruel. When both Skadi and Freya would leave the school unattended, David and his men would take me down into the dungeons and beat me. They did not see me as a child, only as a monster. All I ever wanted was to be human, to be normal. I was so scared because I believed that the origin of my birth defined me. I was scared because I would be a monster because I obviously came from them. But that wasn't true, I didn't become monstrous because I was born as a "demon", I became monstrous because I created my own."