Virago - Ivar The Boneless

Meeting Sigurd

Bjorn accompanied his younger sister to the river banks where they found Sigurd. She noted how his eyes moved much more rapidly than Ubbe's, then when she was standing in front of him, and he made eye contact with her, she saw it. His right eye had a black mark, as Bjorn had warned her, a snake in the eye. 

"Sigurd," Bjorn spoke as he snapped his fingers to get the attention of the lad who was staring at his sister. 

Sigurd tore his eyes from the girl and looked at the man who had spoken, "She stares too much."

"Your eye-" Iona started to say but stopped when saw Bjorn's disapproving look. 

Bjorn waved his hand in front of her before he continued to speak with his brother. "She will be staying here for some time. Maybe you could show her around."

Sigurd looked back at the young blonde, she stood strangely. All her weight was shifted on her right as she looked around, almost like she was waiting for danger to approach her. The blade she carried looked heavy against her small frame. Her clothes looked somewhat out of place in Kattegat. She wore a large black fur cloak, which let you just see what was underneath. She wore similar clothing to the shield maidens, tight-fitting trousers, a tunic with a light steel amour over the top. He noticed she looked like she was playing dress-up but from the way she stood and held her self, he knew different. 

 "Can you actually use that thing?" Sigurd asked her as he pointed to the blade on her back.

Iona reached for it, a smirk on her face as she brought it in front of her and Sigurd, Bjorn rolled his eyes before walking away. He figured that Iona would get along fine with Sigurd, although he wasn't the youngest of the Ragnarsson's, he knew he would look after her. 

She licked her lips as she ran her right fingertips along the sharp edge, her eyes flashing happily before she looked up at the blonde lad. "Do you want to try it?" She pushed it towards him, waiting for him to take it. 

He looked at the sword before he made eye contact with the young girl, "Sure." Reaching across, Sigurd took it from her. 

Iona watched him as he examined it in his hands. She stared at the way he felt the blade, the way he moved it and the metal glistened in the light. "Tell me, Sigurd," she stepped closer to him before she put her hand on the sharp edge of her sword. "Have you ever fought a girl before?" 

Sigurd's eyes widened as she took her blade back, "What about you-"

"Little Bear," she told him her name as she leaned against the nearest tree and smiled at him.

"Well, Little Bear, have you ever fought a man before?"

Behind her, she heard a rustling in the bushes. Her head jerked around quickly, she scanned the nearby surroundings not seeing anyone or anything that would indicate there was any danger before looking back at Sigurd. "I'm done here," she spoke, letting him know she was done. "Maybe I'll see you later."

"Where are you going to go?" He asked her quickly as she started to walk away. 

Iona laughed as she looked back at him, "No idea." She shrugged her shoulders as she skipped off, all Sigurd could do was watch her, a little shake of his head as he grinned widely. 

Little Bear didn't know where she was going to go, she'd let Bjorn go off without her, but after hearing the rustling in the trees, she didn't want to hang around by the river any longer. Something about Kattegat made her feel on edge, something wasn't right here, and it played on the mind of the young girl. 

As she walked along, she felt a presence beside her. Turning her head, she found Aslaug at her side, "Hello, child."

Iona stared up at the woman as they walked side by side. She wasn't sure what she wanted, something about her scared her in. Maybe she'd listened to her mother's stories of this woman too much, perhaps she carried the hate her mother did for Aslaug. No matter how much she'd done for Bjorn, Lagertha would always clash with the woman who stole her husband away. Little Bear didn't bare that hate, she did wonder what life would have been like with a father though. Ragnar was not her father, but she had listened to stories from Bjorn about the times when they were younger, and he would have that time with his dad. 

"How long do you intend to stay?" She asked as she smiled sweetly at the young girl who looked a little lost. 

"I do not know how long my mother will be away," Iona was honest with this woman who was a mother. She hoped that Aslaug would take pity on her in a way, Little Bear knew that it wouldn't be long before Bjorn moved on leaving her behind and she didn't want to be alone, not right now. "I hope you will allow me to stay until I can return home."

Aslaug was surprised at how grown up this girl was acting. She was civil with her even though she had no reason to try to be, yet she had every reason given who her mother was to hate her. Yet, Aslaug was wary of the blonde. Like her mother, she was beautiful, like Aslaug's own son, she was somewhat unique. She reached out and caught the nearest hand of the young girl, "You are welcome to stay as long as you need. If you are to be staying, we are going to need to find you somewhere to stay, and someone to help show you around."

"Thank you," Iona squeezed the hand of the wife of Ragnar. She hoped that while she was here, she might learn something new, yet with every move she made, she felt like someone was watching her. Every time she looked around, there seemed to be no one watching, perhaps it was just her imagination working overtime.