Det ukjente | Asny

Subject: Det ukjente | Asny Sat Jun 10, 2017 5:32 pm

The sun was already starting to set when Kettil pushed open the wooden door from the log cabin. It made a creaking sound, echoing in the silence of the forest. With his free hand he took down some spider webs that were manifested in the doorway before he stepped inside. He walked upon the table in the middle of the cabin, completely covered in dust. He blew most of the particles away before he laid down the bag that he was carrying. He turned around, reached out for a shelve on the side of the room and opened it, only to see his own sketches laying there. Kettil took the papers, spread them on the table and looked at it with a certain spark in his eyes. The drawings were one of his greatest possessions, the paper he had bought with his own savings, the wolf sketches were from his own observations. He tapped on the unfinished drawing from two fighting wolves, which he hadn’t had the time to finish it last time. ’Light.’ he whispered to himself and reached out for the firestones that were in his bag. After some time he was able to light the fireplace inside of the cabin, together with some candle stumps that weren’t burned out entirely.

Kettil took place on a chair by the table and started to unpack the rest of his bag. Some charcoal, a knife, an old piece of fabric and some apples. After he had placed his teeth on the fruit, he started to sharp one of the charcoals using his knife. It didn’t took long before he had finished his apple and he had lost track of time while finishing the drawing of the fighting wolves. Outside it had already became dark. His attention was being drawn by the wind that bumped against the cabin and made the wood squeak. When he lifted his head to look outside through the window, he could swear that he saw something move. Something that wasn’t a branch or a tree. Kettil frowned his eyebrows and slowly reached out for the knife that was still laying on his table. He was far away from the wolf territory, and he would swear on his own life that the thing he had seen, was running on two legs instead of four. He didn’t know if he was supposed to be happy that it was probably a human instead of a wolf, since humans were often less predictable than the wild animals in the forest of Skagerrak. His heartbeat started to raise and he straightened his back, waiting for what was about to come.

Subject: Re: Det ukjente | Asny Wed Sep 06, 2017 2:57 pm

Some branches snapped under her feet as she kneeled down Brushing her hand over the earth as she was following the trail of a deer. She had been following it all day and it had brought her much further away then she usually would have gone wandering away from her own territory. She was determined to catch that deer one day and if it wasn’t today than it would be another. But the trail was pretty fresh and the thought of heading back now, only because she would be back to her home before night fall was a stupid thought in her mind. She wasn’t scared of the dark and she knew her way around. She wasn’t afraid of the wild animals here ether, if anything she considered herself as one. And it would be a real shame if she actually could get her prey today and that she would lose the chance by heading back now.
She let her eyes slide over the place between the trees, before she stood up and stated to run towards where the trail of prints let her. She sometimes stopped and knelt down to see if she was still following the right trail, or she hid behind a tree to see if the deer she dearly wanted to catch was in sight. She followed it deeper into the forest further away from her territory.
Till the moment she let herself fall down behind the trunks of a tree. Taking a deep breath before holding it as her heart started to race. Before her there stood the majestic beast she had been hunting for the past few days. Big and strong, with an amended big and strong. It was clear that the deer was one that had been around for a few years. And she could use that amend of his well. She swallowed lightly as she slowly reached out behind her to take her bow she had made herself from behind her back. Placing it carefully in front of her to then take one of the arrows she made. Her heart was beating strongly as she did not want to fuck this chance up. Her eyes never left the deer. Even if it was already dark, the light moon light made sure she could still see enough. That and the fact that she had gotten used to the dark of the night. She took a slow breath as she pulled back the string. Before she pointed it to the neck of the beast. But she froze as the deer his head moved up. For a moment she feared he had heard or smelled her. But then the wind was not coming from behind her but towards her and she had barely made a sound. Just as the deer was clearly going to run she quickly let the string down the arrow shooting away.

But it missed it mark and pinned itself in a tree behind the deer as it jumped up and ran. Disappearing in the cover or night. ”SHIIT!” She shouted out frustrated as she got up and grabbed her bow putting it back on her back and walking over to the tree where her arrow stuck out from. Angry grabbing it and pulling it out. All day she had been running around, now she had her chance and it was taken from her. And now there was no point in going on as it was too dark now and even for her it could get to dangerous to wander to much further. She was frustrated… But then it dawned on her that something had made the deer look up and run away. She narrowed her eyes as she looked in the dark of the night. From between the trees she could see the faint flicker of a light. And the wind seemed to carry the smell of burned wood. She let out a hum and decided to explore. Walking closer she stayed close to the trees. Before she stopped as the log cabin came in her sight. The light was coming from inside. Another hum left her lips. She knew there were a few log cabins scattered around. But there weren’t many people who actually used them. And as she remembered she hadn’t actually see someone come to this one in a long time. So you could say her interest was triggered.

One she was curious who would be up and about here. Two she had wandered too far off to her liking and didn’t feel like returning to her home. So it would be good if she could stay the night here. But for that she first needed to see who was inside. She was tired and didn’t feel like having to deal with too much trouble. So she moved closer and tried to look through one of the windows from a distance. She could see one figure sitting there… To make sure she moved closer to the window and let her eyes move around the cabin. Papers were laid over the table and it seemed the person was indeed alone. ‘Good’ she thought. One she could handle at least. She frowned as he moved and walked off to the side. Looking for the door as she took a breath and slowly walked towards it. Before pushing the door open and stepping inside.

She narrowed her eyes a bit at the light of the fire as her eyes weren’t used at the sudden brightness. Before she moved her attention to the man. It didn’t escape her he had a knife in his hand. She stared at him for a while before she moved in and closed the door. ”You look like you have seen a ghost.” At the very least he was sitting up straight as a candle and with the knife in his hand… he kind of looked like a scared rabbit. She walked past the table not looking at him and went straight to the fire. Letting her bow fall to the ground together with the arrows and kneeling down, before holding out her hands and shivering at the warmth. Just now it dawned at her how cold it actually was outside and how welcome the warmth of the fire was. ”Put the knife away.” She said as she looked back at him. ”It wouldn’t do you much good.” he eyes moved to the papers, before she turned them back to the fire. Moving a little bit closer and slowly relaxing a bit. She knew who he was, a farmer. More like a stable boy, but it seemed he was well known. She knew a lot about most of the people living inside and out Skagerrak. Years of observation, even if she said it herself but she had good eyes. ”Do you like wolfs?” She suddenly said. Her eyes had travelled to the papers as she had walked by the table and she had seen the wolves on it. They weren’t bad drawings at all. Very.. lively. But why would someone come out all the way out here just to draw?

Subject: Re: Det ukjente | Asny Fri Sep 15, 2017 1:25 pm

For once he didn’t knew what to do. Kettil sat there, with a knife in his hands that he didn’t even knew how to use. His eyes were focused on the silhouette outside of the window. He saw it coming closer, but wasn’t able to move himself. His senses had never let him down, he always was aware of his surroundings. He was always able to adjust his behavior towards animals and get away in almost every situation. But people.. people were so unpredictable. Before he knew the door swung open, destroying the remaining spider webs that were hanging in the doorway. Kettil sat eye to eye to a girl. He knew that he had seen her before, but he didn’t remembered where and when. In fact he didn’t really knew her at all. When she closed the door she spoke to him, didn’t seemed frightened or surprised at all. ”You look like you have seen a ghost.” The calmness in her voice frightened him in some way. He frowned his dark eyebrows and straightened his back even more by raising up from his chair. Kettil was much taller than her, but yet she seemed to take more place in the room. He was kind of overthrown by her sudden, strange presence. Without saying any further word she walked upon the fire and started to warm her hands. Kettil stared at her back, still holding the knife in his hand. After a few seconds she looked over her shoulder. ”Put the knife away. It wouldn’t do you much good.” Kettil frowned his eyebrows even more. ”I know how to use a knife.” He said, slightly irritated. And too proud to admit that she was probably right. But she didn’t needed to know that.

But the girl didn’t seemed impressed by him, the knife or his presence at all. She stood up from the fire and walked upon the table where Kettil had been drawing before she disturbed him. ”Do you like wolves?” Kettil felt more confused than he had ever been. She had stormed in in the middle of the night like it was the most normal thing to do for a girl of her size. And now she was asking if he liked wolves? Kettil shook his head from left to right and raised an eyebrow. But even though he found her bursting in very strange, he decided to have this conversation with her and indeed, put away his knife. ”I don’t like wolves.” He said and picked up the piece of charcoal, studied it with his eyes. ”If I would like them, I would be wearing one as a cloak.” Kettil pulled his drawing closer, afraid that she might do something to it. ”But I do appreciate them. They intrigue me, have thought me more than any man has ever done.” He watched the girl closely, with a frown on his forehead. ”And you, do you like wandering alone through the woods at night? Aren’t you afraid of the wolves?”

@Asny Asvardóttir

Subject: Re: Det ukjente | Asny Fri Sep 15, 2017 6:28 pm

She had not reacted to him when he told her he knew how to use a knife. Though it took some will power to keep in the comment she wanted to make. That he would have to be really stupid if he didn’t know how to use a simple knife. The smallest child knew how to use a knife. The fact that he was looking at her with kind of a surprised but frowning look did not help ether. He kind off did look like he could warp his head around the situation, the fact that she walked in here and now was standing in front of him with only the table with the drawings on it between them. But she had to admit that she at least was a little bit surprised to see him here. At the middle of the night, the stable boy. But seemed this stable boy had a special little talent of his own. Drawing… but the fact that he was here alone… Did that mean that he rather not have people know that he could draw like that? Because the drawings of the wolves were good. She let her eyes move to his as she waited for an answer on her question. Though he seemed even more confused at it. Had he not understood her right? Before he shook his head. Left to right… She wasn’t sure if that was his answer or if he was shaking his head to clear his own mind. In response to his action her brow moved up slightly and her grey blue eyes did not leave his figure.

”I don’t like wolves.” He said. What made her brow go up again just as his had been. Why would he be drawing wolves is he did not like them? She frowned and looked back at the drawings, her eyes moving over them as she just let out a light hum. ”If I would like them, I would be wearing one as a cloak.” She was just about to take one of the drawings to get a better look at it. But he was faster in pulling them closer. What made her smile a bit. Was he afraid that she might do something to them? She was not interested in some paper, pretty to look at. But that was it. ”But I do appreciate them. They intrigue me, have thought me more than any man has ever done.” Those words made her look at him again and she narrowed her eyes a bit. ”Interesting.” She said, before she turned back around and walked back to the fire. Staring into it again as well as letting the warmth come back up to her.

”And you, do you like wandering alone through the woods at night? Aren’t you afraid of the wolves?” She closed her eyes when he spoke again, a small smile appearing on her lips, before she let out a light chuckle. Turning on her heal so she was facing him again and putting her hands behind her back. ”Yes and no.” She said as she gave him another ‘smile.’ Before she walked back to the table and sat down on it looking at him. ”I was hunting down a deer, before.. your.. fire scared it away.” She said, holding a light pose before and after the ‘your’ just to make sure that he knew that she was kind of blaming him for it. ”And there’s nothing to be afraid of in these woods.” She said and turned a bit more to him. ”Not even the pretty little wolves you don’t like but admire.” His words still were strange to her. Why would you wear something if you liked them? Wouldn’t you rather keep that what you loved alive? Maybe she had been living too far away from people for too long, so maybe she could not understand his way of thinking.

She nodded with her head to the drawings. ”They’re pretty.” At least to her they were, as she did love wolves. Well more than just love, she considered herself to be one. A wolf in human form. ”Why are you hiding them?” She asked and looked back into his eyes. If he was, but to her it did look like he was hiding them here. ”You could sell them for a pretty price.” Some people would surely pay for it. She would if she was a normal girl.

Subject: Re: Det ukjente | Asny Tue Oct 03, 2017 9:12 pm

”Interesting.’ The little girl said, and Kettil raised an eyebrow. It was a game of confusion, he could see that she did not understand a single thing about him, and the other way around it was exactely the same. The entire situation was just.. not very common. The girl walked upon the fire for a second time, trying to warm her body up. Kettil wondered how long she had been out there. So he just asked her, which made a smile appear on her face. Kettil pulles his drawings even closer to him. ”Yes and no.” She said with an amusing undertone in her voice. Was she talking in riddles? She took place on the chair that he had been sitting on before. The girl was claiming the cabin for herself, and it was working. Kettil still felt threathened by her, in a strange way. ”I was hunting down a deer, before.. your.. fire scared it away.” Kettil frowned his eyebrows and took a step forward, trying to make clear that she was not in the right position to accuse him for something he hadn’t done on purpose. But before he could open his mouth to defend himself, she talked on. ”And there’s nothing to be afraid of in these woods. Not even the pretty little wolves you don’t like but admire.” Kettil placed his drawings on another table and turned his head towards the girl again. His dark eyes stared at her, merciless. ”If you are not afraid of the wolves, then you just have not gotten close enough.” He took a breath. ”Only a fool would say that he is not afraid of wolves.”

But the girl didn’t payed much attention to his words, it seemed like she didn’t had any interest in him at all. Even his drawings caught her eyes more than he did. ”They’re pretty.” And that was the first time since she had stepped in the cabin that the words that came out of her mouth were friendly in some kind of way. ”Why are you hiding them?” Kettil rolled his eyes in their sockets and turned around. ”I am not hiding them. But I am not showing them either. They are just mine.” When he looked back at her he saw that she stared him straight into the eyes. ”You could sell them for a pretty price.” And those words made Kettil chuckle. ”Sell them?” He looked at the drawings and shook his head from left to right. ”No, the people would only laugh. I am born to take care for horses, not to sell drawings.” He took another deep breath. A drawing stable boy.. He could imagine the look on the people’s faces. ”What are you born for?”

@Asny Asvardóttir

Subject: Re: Det ukjente | Asny Wed Nov 01, 2017 10:27 am

A sly smile played on her lips as she listened to his words. What he said might have been true. But she had gotten close enough to the wolves. Closer than any man ever would. Pathetic little beings those men. Big mouths that was all that they had most of the time. But if you played them right they were easy to break. From inside and out. But of course farmers boy here didn’t know anything about that. He didn’t need to and maybe he would never know a thing about her. So she didn’t really pay attention to his words as they were quite useless to her. Though he might have been right that only a fool would not be afraid. Maybe that was all she was a fool. She did sometimes feel like she was. That she had taken the wrong path. That maybe her life could have been so much better if she had done things just a little bit differently. Not that she was complaining about her life. No she was quite happy with it. Satisfied with what she had now. What was not much but at least that way she couldn’t lose much if it would one day be taken from her. It would be easy to start over of she lost that what she had now and she would not have to lose one tear over it. But then she did know what she was missing out on, what she could have. Maybe a fool for not getting that again. Maybe a fool for being afraid that if she got that again, that she would lose it again… And still somewhere she was looking for it.

She let her eyes move back to the fire as he rolled his eye to what she had said. To her somewhat a weird reaction, because she could not see why it would have been a stupid. After all it did seem like he was hiding the drawings. ”I am not hiding them. But I am not showing them either. They are just mine.” Her blue eyes moved back to him as she stared at him in silence. Crossing her arms as the smile that had been playing on her lips disappeared. He was a weird one to her. If you were not showing it was that not the same as hiding it? And they were just his… Also a weird saying as to her nothing in this world truly belonged to anyone. Her eyes narrowed a bit to what he said next. Her eyes not moving from him as if she was a hunter that did not want to lose track of her prey. ”No, the people would only laugh. I am born to take care for horses, not to sell drawings.” She let out a light ‘huh’ after those words. Not looking away from him. Before he asked that one question. ”What are you born for?” Again such a strange question. But one that did hit deep. Her eyes got a bit colder as if they lost some of their life. She slowly looked away back to the fire as she had to think about that for a second.

”Aren’t we all just born to die?” She said after being silent for a while. She slowly looked back at him. ”At first I was born to become a shield maiden and fight for this rotten village and my family.” She spoke on the same calm tone she had been speaking on all this time. Though fire as burning in her eyes as she thought off all that had happened. ”Then I was born to avenge my family.” What she had successful done. ”Now it seems I’m born to wander the rest of my life alone, looking for that one place I belong.” She took a slow breath and throw her head back. ”We’re born to live as the gods have placed us on this world. Given each of us some gifts to get through life. Then we will die as they want us to die.” She strongly believed that. She looked back at him with a more serious look.

”What we choose to do in between that is up to us. We can choose to use the gifts they have given us, or choose to walk a whole different path. If the gods want to have something happen it will not matter what we do, some day fate will come catching us.” She looked back at him slowly and stared into his eyes. ”Do you really think you were just born to be a farm boy?” She chuckled a bit. [color:9454=006600]”If the gods did not want you to be drawing those pretty things, then they wouldn’t have gifted you with the skills to do so.” She gave him a light smile.

”And why care what other people might think? It’s your life isn’t it, you should do as you like. After all we have just one.”

Subject: Re: Det ukjente | Asny Sun Nov 19, 2017 8:13 pm

”Aren’t we all just born to die?” Kettil looked at the girl again and frowned his eyebrows. The confusion was still very present, but as more as the girl talked, he understood she was making some sense. In a strange way, because she was a strange girl with a strange behavior. But people also often said that about him, so who was he to judge? Born to be a shield maiden, born to avenge her family, born to wander. Kettil listened to her very carefully and could hear some kind of emotion in her voice, even though her facial expressions did not change much. How old was she? 15? 16? Maybe a little bit older? But Kettil could clearly see that she had been through some serious business. In a strange way he felt sorry for her, he wanted to show her empathy and ask her more about her life. But who was he to do so? Why would he saddle himself up with the problems from a stranger, when he had enough problems of his own? So as she spoke he just stood there in silence, his eyes pointed to the floor. ”We’re born to live as the gods have placed us on this world. Given each of us some gifts to get through life. Then we will die as they want us to die.” That last sentence kept going through his mind as the silence in the cabin returned. Kettil had two ways he wanted to die: Happy and old in his sleep, next to the woman he loved. Or fierce and strong on the battlefield with an axe in his hand. But either way seemed impossible. All because of his brother. Kettil knew he would never be allowed to choose his own wife, neither as he would be allowed to learn how to use a weapon of any kind. A deep sigh left his throat as he walked upon the fire and threw another block of wood on the fire.

”What we choose to do in between that is up to us.” Kettil laughed, a soft laugh full of misery. No, it wasn’t up to him. It was up to Gerolf. If his brother would know he was here, drawing in an abandoned cabin in the middle of the night.. His stomach turned only by thinking of it. ”Do you really think you were just born to be a farm boy?” Kettil’s eyes went back up to the girl and he tried to raise the corner of his mouth, but failed badly. ”If the gods did not want you to be drawing those pretty things, then they wouldn’t have gifted you with the skills to do so.” Kettil looked back at his drawings. ”And why care what other people might think? It’s your life isn’t it, you should do as you like. After all we have just one.” Those words hit him like the smack of a hamer. He swallowed away a lump in his throat and in his eyes there had appeared a sparkle, a sad one, but it was a sparkle. ”You are right.” He said and smiled right back at her. ”Things are not as easy done as the words you have just spoken, but I do have come to a realization that was not there before.” Kettil made a fist from his hand, and hesitated to reach out for his drawing. But then he just made the switch and picked up the piece of paper. Slowly he reached it out to her. ”Thank you.” He said and offered her the drawing. ”Take it.”

@Asny Asvardóttir

Subject: Re: Det ukjente | Asny Mon Nov 27, 2017 6:24 pm

The small smile she had given him changed in a light smirk when she heard his voice. She was right. And she was somewhere happy this man agreed with her so easily. She knew well enough that a lot of things she said… did not fall well with a lot of people. For either they did not want to hear the truth or they did not want to listen to what a ‘brat’ had to say. If only they knew how much she knew. If only they had seen the world through her eyes. But she accepted the fact that people were different, though most of the time she just thought they all were idiots… Drunk idiots most of the time.

The smile disappeared back to her natural more stern look as she stared the man down. She still had not asked for his name, nor had he asked hers. She was good with that as she actually knew who he was, and who his brother was… Her eyes stared into his as a light sparkle seemed to appear in his eyes. Had her words hit a certain nerve? She wasn’t sure about it, for she had only spoken how she thought about the world. The truth from her mouth. But seemed she… had opened something for him and the words he spoke made that clear. ” ”Things are not as easy done as the words you have just spoken, but I do have come to a realization that was not there before.” His words surprised her lightly, but she did not show it. A grown man that would actually listen to what she had to say. There weren’t many around that would do that. And more that he even said he came to a realization because of it… did it mean she had actually helped him in some way without noticing? Without even meaning to. It was strange to think about it that way, but not unpleasant as… she did ‘like’ him in a certain way. He was… amusing.

Her eyes slowly slid back to the fire, her eyes softening for a sec. It had been a long time since she really helped anyone without meaning to, or without the goal of reaching something of her own. Without wanting something in return. And his words of thanks after… meant something to her, truly. Her eyes flashed back to him at the slow movement. The paper in his hand… One of his drawings coming into view first. Before his words reached her ears. ” Take it.” She stared into his eyes for a while. Before she looked back at the drawing. She had not asked for it. At least not directly. She could also not pay for it and he had not asked for it. In fact she was surprised that he would even offer it to her. For she could not give anything in return for it. Even her cold expression changed into a slight confused one. Her mind telling her to reject it, make a snappy comment about her not wanting it. But… she did find them pretty and she would in fact have bought one if he was selling them.
She slowly reached out to it and took it as she stared at it. Before she looked back at him, staying silent as she wasn’t sure what to say. Before she smiled and looked back down at the drawing. It really was beautiful… but now… She kind of wanted to repay him. Also maybe let him see that he should not be afraid of that what he loved…

”Come tomorrow to before sundown to the edge of the forest.”
That was all she said to him as she then looked back at him, her eyes having a certain life in them that they did not show a lot. She smirk smiled at her idea. ”And if I were you, I would take some charcoal and some paper with you.” She would not say more, after all there was no need for it. ”You don’t need to know what for, you will see if you come.” She would not tell, as he might not come if she did. In fact he might not come at all. It would be his loss however if he didn’t show up. She had offered and he could take it and… Live a little or.. lose it.

”Keep in mind that you only got one chance.” For she would not offer it again. He had one chance to come, just like he had one life to live.

Subject: Re: Det ukjente | Asny Fri Dec 01, 2017 8:10 pm

The girl seemed just as surprised as Kettil was himself when he handed her over the drawing. He had never thought that he would be handing over his drawings voluntary to a stranger. His drawings were one of his most precious possessions. He’d always kept them hidden from everybody, including Gerolf. And now he had given one of them away? What was happening to him? It looked like his mind was changing, and he couldn’t decide yet if it was positive or negative.

There was a long silence between the both of them. And for some time the crackling of the firewood was the only thing audible. But then the girl started to talk again. ”Come tomorrow before sundown to the edge of the forest?” Immediately he frowned his forehead. The sparkle in her eyes, the enthusiasm in her voice.. he hadn’t heard that before. And yet again it made him some kind of unsure. Was she to be trusted? ”And if I were you, I would take some charcoal and some paper with you.” When she spoke those words, his doubt almost immediately faded away as snow for the sun. She added that there was no need for him to know in advance what they were about to do. But there had appeared an enjoyable feeling in his stomach, so at the moment, standing there he had already decided that he would show up. He knew that meant he had to get up extra early to take care of the horses first, but he didn’t mind. This little rebellion against the earl, against his brother gave him a rush of adrenaline he couldn’t say no to.

”Keep in mind that you only got one chance.” Kettil didn’t answer to that. The only thing he did was nodding softly. And as he had done that, he felt their conversation was over, so he quietly started to pack his things. When he placed his hand on the door handle, he looked over his shoulder to the girl one more. ”Tomorrow.” He whispered, and disappeared as a ghost in the night.

@Asny Asvardóttir

Subject: Re: Det ukjente | Asny

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