› jack of all trades

Yrsa was training again, as usual. She thoroughly enjoyed fighting, especially when she was trying to challenge herself, or helping someone else challenge themselves. She tried to keep an eye on all the warriors-in-training, to see what they were good at and what they needed more help with. It was important to address skills that were lacking. Just because someone knew how to swing a sword, or land a punch, or fight against someone else of similar skill didn’t mean they’d survive in a real battle. And that’s what they were training for; Battle.

So when she saw the Earl’s son, Freyr, practicing with an axe, having noted recently that it wasn’t his preferred method of training, Yrsa had been impressed. Whether the praise belonged to the sixteen year old or his mentor, Yrsa wasn’t sure. But when she noticed him sitting alone on a bench after training that afternoon, she decided to approach him.

“Hello,” she greeted when she was still a bit away, not wanting to startle him by suddenly appearing right beside him. “I’m Yrsa, I don’t think we’ve really spoken before.” She couldn’t recall if she’d ever helped him train directly before, but was fairly certain they’d never held a conversation. “I saw you were training, and wanted to offer to train together sometime, if you’d like.” It wouldn’t be a good idea to be too presumptuous with the Earl’s son, but if he wanted to be a skilled fighter, he needed to practice against skilled fighters. And Yrsa was a skilled fighter.

It was so refreshing when people used their manners. She smiled at his introduction, though it was hardly necessary. Of course she knew who he was, but she wasn’t about to mention that. Noticing the somewhat surprised look on his face, Yrsa wondered why it was there. Surely other warriors had offered to help him train in the past? And it hardly seemed like he’d be weird with her because she was a woman when his mother had also been a shield maiden? But she shrugged it off.

And then he said he’d be honored and her grin widened. But then he said he wasn’t ready for that and she was even more perplexed than she’d been before.

What’s that the whole point? He wasn’t ready to fight someone like her, and the only way to become ready to fight someone like her was to fight someone like her? But she wouldn’t push the issue. That wouldn’t help her ultimate goal which was to make sure the people who were important, like him and his mother, knew that she was dedicated and willing to help.

“Oh, of course. That makes sense. But the offer stands, if you change your mind in the future. Or if you’re ever looking for tips or tricks or anything.” He seemed like nice, and Yrsa was glad they had men like him in their ranks. Her gaze slanted to a viking she could rather do without, but she wasn’t a normally negative person, and immediately smiled at Freyr once more. “It was nice to have a chance to speak to you, anyway,” she added, turning away to leave.

And then suddenly there was barking and coming from the direction behind Freyr and Yrsa immediately sighed heavily as she looked back to see her pair of unruly mutts headed in their direction. “I’m sorry,” she apologized ahead of time, but quickly enough the pair of puppies were dancing around her feet and sniffing at her and Freyr. “They’re friendly, just excited,” she told him quickly, not wanting him to worry or react poorly or anything. She needed to spend more time on their training, it seemed. They still hadn’t quite grasped the concept of staying at home when she told them to.

Yrsa had to admit she was a little disappointed Freyr didn’t want to spar with her at all. She loved to fight, and she loved to help other fighters improve. But she didn’t want to be pushy about it, even though most of the other vikings and shield maidens would have told her to be. You couldn’t really help someone learn if they weren’t ready, and that was a quick way to anger some people. Yrsa would rather make friends. And she was certain that when Freyr felt more confident in his abilities, he would seek her out.

When the puppies arrived, loudly, Yrsa was torn between laughing at their playful antics and being frustrated at their lack of training. It was embarrassing, to be perfectly honest. But when Freyr asked if they were hers, she nodded at him. “Yes, this one is Aksel, and this one is Aleksia,” she told him, pointing to the boy puppy and then the girl puppy. “Oh, yeah, of course you can! I found them in the streets not too long ago, and took them home with me. But they're very playful now.” She didn’t feel it was necessary to add that they’d been hurt and also underfed. They belonged to her now, and that wouldn’t be a problem for them again.

“They’re not very good at doing what they’re told yet,” she admitted with a sigh, since she’d told them quite plainly to stay at home, “but we’re working on it.” She laughed, squatting down to rub Aksel’s belly when he rolled over. “Do you like dogs?” she wondered next. There were always a couple strays wandering near the barns or the edge of the woods, stealing scraps. She was a big pushover when it came to animals and had tried to befriend most of them on more than one occasion. Honestly, she’d never met anyone, other than her mother, who didn’t like dogs and wasn’t at all sure how she’d respond if he said he didn’t. What sort of person didn’t like dogs?

"I have to make these two stay home or they'll follow me everywhere. Including right into the middle of training, and then they just bark and growl at whoever I'm trying to fight." She laughed about it now, because the two skinny puppies yipping at vikings was a rather humorous image. Not one that many other warriors approved of, but still very funny to her. "Maybe they'll follow me into battle one day," she joked, grinning at Freyr, just at the thought of it. Of course, she'd be devastated if anything ever happened to them, and would be unlikely to even allow them to accompany her on a raid to begin with.

She was smiling happily at the pair of pups as they attempted to make a new friend out of Freyr, when he mentioned hoping no one came to claim them later. Yrsa honestly hadn’t even considered such a possibility. She usually saw the best in everything and everyone. The thought that someone would even try it put her in a fighting mood. But when Freyr continued, telling her to go to him if anything like that happened, she immediately relaxed, and smiled at him over the puppies’s heads. “Thank you! That’s very kind of you. I’ll be sure to do that, if it ever happens.” She paused for a moment before adding, “Do you really think it’s likely?” She wasn’t about to let anyone take them from her, and was glad she’d decided to come over and chat with him.

Luckily they turned the conversation to something a bit more pleasant: Animals. Freyr mentioned he liked horses more than dogs and Yrsa nodded, understanding. She liked all animals, but she was certainly partial to dogs and horses. As she thought about it, she realized she’d seen him down at the stables on some of the occasions she’d wandered down there herself. “I like horses too. I visit the stables to say hello on occasion. I’m surprised Kettil hasn’t chased me away yet,” she told him with a grin.

“They are, aren’t they?” she replied with another grin, watching at the puppies’ antics. She was glad they were already protective of her, but wouldn’t mind if they were just a little less protective. She had things to do sometimes where unruly puppies couldn’t follow.

Freyr had picked up Aleksia and the puppy seemed quite pleased with this new development. Laughing out loud at his armour and helmet comment, Yrsa nodded in agreement. “We’ll probably have to wait a little while for that, but they’d be the fiercest fighters in the battle,” she remarked, scratching Aksel behind his ear.

As the young man spoke about horses in battle, Yrsa couldn’t help but nod in agreement. She too hated the idea of using any animals for fighting. They were innocent, and didn’t deserve to be mutilated or killed just to give someone a bit of an advantage in battle. Unfortunately, she knew most people wouldn’t think twice about it, which made it a common occurrence, and it broke her heart. “I’d rather fight face to face, with my feet on the ground,” she told him. “No need to drag any animals into it.” This was probably naive of her, but to Yrsa, she was choosing to fight. If she wasn’t good enough to win, that was her problem. No need to risk killing a horse to even the odds.

This conversation had turned far more serious than she’d intended, but Freyr was clearly an intelligent young man, and Yrsa was once again glad she’d decided to approach him. She could easily imagine herself getting into all kinds of trouble if anyone came after her puppies, and knowing he knew the situation was certainly comforting. She nodded at his advice, to keep an eye on them as they got bigger, and knew he had a point. A pair of well trained hunting dogs would be nice to come by. Granted, she needed them to become well trained before that could happen, but still, the advice was sound, and she appreciated it.

Yrsa laughed at the image of Kettil chasing someone off with a pitchfork. “Sounds like quite a scary sight, indeed,” she replied with a grin, having a hard time picturing the farmer as anything other than quiet and polite.

When he said he’d pity the man who had to fight her, Yrsa felt herself blush and knew that wasn’t exactly shield maiden-like behavior. She knew she was a good fighter, she’d been fighting almost her whole life. But having someone tell her right to her face was a fairly rare occurrence. She straightened her shoulders a bit and smiled. “Thank you. Yeah, I’ll feel much safer with these two guarding my back.” As she said this, she nudged Aleksia with her booted foot, and the little pup flopped over on her back, waving her paws in the air, begging for belly scratches. “She’s a born killer.” Obviously she bent down to scratch her belly. What kind of monster wouldn’t?

Yrsa was happy to hear that Freyr agreed with her, about horses in battle. She understood the advantage horses could give you, and the benefits of fighting on horseback, but she was such an utter bleeding heart when it came to animals, the whole idea of it made her stomach clench. “That’s true. They’re certainly advantageous when used correctly. It just makes me sad,” she admitted with a small smile and a shrug of her shoulders. She was a fairly simple person. Don’t hurt animals and don’t be a bully, and she’d be your best friend for life.

Looking around at the others who were training, Yrsa knew she should probably get back to it, and let him carry on with his day. “I’ll get these mutts away from you for now,” she told him with a grin. “But if you ever change your mind, come find me.” She pointed towards the training field, knowing he’d know what she meant.