We're trying so hard to get it all right [Sofie & Tóra]

After an interesting conversation with Hakon the other day about her sisters and what she was going to do to protect them and keep them off Halfdan’s radar, the pair of them had come up with an… interesting potential solution. And now Freyja needed a second opinion. Once again, she probably should have sought out her mother, but her mother wouldn’t be able to make any more of an informed decision than Freyja herself could, so instead she was seeking out… Sofie. Which seemed a bit odd, but she knew Sofie was actually fairly well acquainted with Henrik, who was a vital part of the plan, so she wanted her sister’s opinions on him and the whole idea.

Between Sofie’s time training with Haskell, now that she was his permanent shadow, and the rest of her time spent with Aleinn, she hadn’t had too much opportunity to chat with Sofie since she’d returned from Kattegat. It was even harder than normal to corner that particular sister on her own, but Freyja finally managed it. One afternoon, Sofie had come down to the docks when Aleinn was normally getting ready to go home, but Freyja had cut the thegn off before she reached her apprentice so they could have a moment to chat.

“Sofie, hey, I know you’re here to see Aleinn, but I need to talk to you about something,” she announced as soon as her sister was within earshot. Once they were face to face, Freyja smiled at her sister before pulling her into a quick hug. “How are you?” While that wasn’t actually what she wanted to talk to Sofie about, she wanted to catch up quickly and see how things were going with Sofie before she dove right into the real reason for the conversation. Especially after all the stress Sofie had been under late, Freyja just wanted to make sure everything was good with her.

After listening to Sofie’s reply, Freyja decided it was best to just get this over with. “I want to know how you feel about Henrik,” she began, checking back to where Aleinn was finishing up some work, making sure he couldn’t hear what they were saying. She didn’t want to make him uncomfortable if he knew they were discussing his brother. Hakon was waiting until Freyja got Sofie’s thoughts about all of this before approaching the viking and she didn’t want either brother to feel awkward around her. Well, any more awkward than they already did. The pair of them were a bit odd.

“Hakon mentioned Henrik and Tóra… are friendly? And I’ve been trying to come up with ideas for keeping Tóra and Visna… out of sight? A bit?” She sent Sofie a pointed look, assuming her sister would understand what she meant. She hadn’t actually told anyone yet about her own conversation with Halfdan, because she wasn’t too sure how she felt about it, and didn’t want to worry any of her sisters that the earl might be planning one on one conversations with all of them. She didn’t think that was likely to happen, but she honestly couldn’t say for sure.

“I want to know what you think of him, because I know you know him fairly well? You train with him, he’s Aleinn’s brother, so you certainly see him far more often than I do. If I were to suggest he and Tóra… get married, and they were both agreeable, how would you feel about it?” It was a very strange feeling, to know she was essentially arranging a marriage for her youngest sister. But she wouldn’t press it if Tóra said no, obviously. But it was a solution to a problem she was having, and she was willing to explore it. Given Sofie thought it wasn’t a terrible idea. Because if even Sofie thought it was a terrible idea, it was a terrible idea.

Sofie had been having a pretty busy time from the moment she got back from Kattegat. When she was not with her sisters, she was training with Haskell, and when she was not with him she was doing her best to spend as much time with Aleinn as she could. She wanted to get to know him more and more. So that they could get closer, and things could keep getting better for the two of them. Because of that she only saw her sisters for meals and bedtime. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but she had only caught up with Visna lately. The two of them trying to come up with more ways to come up with money to buy and free Muarr with. So far they had come up with her hunting and selling the furs, and her trying to sell more dresses. It was going to take a long time and a lot of work, but her sister cared about Muarr and that meant she was going to work hard so that she could be with him like she was being with Aleinn.

She had just slipped away from Haskell and was on her way to spend time with Aleinn when she saw her sister Freyja looking her way. The two of them hadn’t spoken much at all, and Sofie missed her, but she was not going to be the one who broke that weird busy silence they had going on. Sofie hears her words and smiles as she walks over toward her sister. Before she knows it she is pulled into a hug she had no idea she had needed so much until this moment. Hugging her sister back she smiles at her when she pulls away. “I’m okay, busy. I’m with Haskell and Aleinn more than I am at home.” she says to her with a smile, she was about to ask her how she had been, but Freyja speaks again. Getting right to the reason she had wanted her to come over to her. Why did she need to know what she thought about Henrik? That was such a random thing for her to ask, but she would tell her if she really wanted to know. Plus Sofie knew there had to be a reason. Before she could answer she watched as Freyja made sure Aleinn wasn’t going to hear.

The next things that came out of her sisters mouth shock her, and surprise her. She wanted to marry Tora to Henrik, and she wanted her option on it all. Taking a deep breath she looks to her lover to make sure he is still not listening before looking toward her sister again. “Henrik is a very good man.” she says to her first before smiling and going on. “He would be a good husband, he would take great care of her.Plus I respect him as a person. I know from our time together in Kattegat he is a great viking and man.” she says to her next before crossing her arms over her chest. “I would be happy for them if it was something they both wanted. However I would also be annoyed that she got married before me and to my boyfriends brother. Pushing those immature thoughts to the side, he is one of the best men in the village for the job. So I am good with this plan and support you in this decision.” she says to her before peeking at Aleinn once more. He was still finishing up, so they had more time to talk. “I would recommend not picking someone for Visna. She wouldn't want it and likes someone, but I told you nothing.” she says next before smirking at her.

Smiling as her sister returned her hug, Freyja listened to Sofie’s response, nodding at her words. She understood. Between her own time working and spending most of the rest of it with Hakon, she hadn’t exactly been available lately, either. “How are things with Haskell?” she wondered, knowing that whole situation wasn’t exactly ideal but it could have turned out a lot worse for her sister. Plus, Freyja was always the last to know anything, it seemed, and she wanted to try to fix that.

The shock was clear on Sofie’s face after Freyja explained her plan, and asked for her thoughts on the whole thing, but Sofie took a deep breath and gave her her honest opinions about Henrik. And everything she was saying was fairly similar to everything Hakon had to say about the man. Freyja knew him well enough to not dismiss the idea immediately, but had wanted multiple thoughts on the whole thing before bringing it to Henrik or Tóra’s attention. After all, there was a decent age gap between the two of them, and despite hearing that there was ‘something’ between them, basically arranging a marriage for her baby sister still felt awkward to her.

Honestly though, Freyja had not expected Sofie to have so many nice things to say about the man. What she knew of him, he was quiet and kept to himself. Clearly he had a decent sense of humor or she didn’t think he’d be as good friends with Hakon, but Sofie’s opinion of him definitely helped persuade her that the idea wasn’t the worst one she could’ve come up with. “I’m… surprised. That you seem to know him so well.” Like, she knew they knew each other. And she was a fighter, and she was with his brother. It made sense that she’d see him fairly often. “But I’m glad,” she added quickly, smiling. This was the sort of thing she’d been hoping for, after all.

When Sofie mentioned Visna, Freyja shook her head. She didn’t really have any thoughts about what to do for Visna yet, other than suggesting she go to stay with their mother at Johan’s for a while. But at Sofie’s statement, Freyja tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. “Wait, who does Visna like?”

This was what she meant when she said she was always the last to know everything. She hadn’t known Tóra even knew Henrik, she hadn’t known Sofie & Aleinn were together until after her sister had returned from Kattegat, and now Visna was interested in someone too? Why didn’t anyone tell her these things? “I was just going to suggest she goes to stay with Mother and Johan for a while. Honestly, it would probably be more convenient anyway, since they work together.” Plus, Visna wouldn’t be walking back and forth to the shop alone everyday. Freyja wasn’t even sure if being this overprotective was necessary, but she’d rather be safe than sorry. Especially when it came to her sisters.

Sofie just smiles at her sisters next question to her.“Things have been good, he is very hard on me, but I am getting stronger and better everyday.” she says to her smiling as she thinks about all the training and time they spent together. “He motivates me to be better, and do better. I want to make him proud for training me and taking me on this way.” she says to her next before peeking at Aleinn for a moment. He was still working away, and she was almost sure he didn't even know she was here yet. Which was good, it would give her a moment to talk to her sister about things and life. Soife realizes now that she should have made the effort sooner herself. So this wouldn't feel so awkward like it does right now. She was just about to ask her about herself when Freyja got down and into the reason she stopped her in the first place.

To say she was surprised by the reason would be an understatement. However with everything that was going on for them, Sofie understood. She was also glad her sister picked such a good man. She was well aware she may annoy Henrik sometimes, but that didn’t make him a bad person. It made him different, and he was different in a good way. So Sofie told her sister it was a good idea and that Henrik was a great person. For it was the truth. “Well we took a boat to and from kattegat together, and we spent time together there as well.” she says to her first before smiling and adding “And he is really just a good person. I trust him with my life,and there are very few people I trust that way. I know he is a good soul, and much different then most of the viking men here.” she says to her next thinking about how he had spoken to her after everything that had happened to her that day. Or how she had spent time with him drinking in Kattegat.

Sofie then opens her big mouth and tells her sister not to find a husband for Visna, that she liked someone. Of course Freyja now wanted to know who she liked. “She may not want me to repeat that, and I hate when people repeat my secrets” is what she says to her first before thinking for a moment. “I’ll give you a hint, and if you figure it out on your own...well then I didn’t tell you right?” she says to her next with a smile. “It's a man who helps you from time to time with no pay or choice.” she says to her. If her sister put some thought into it she was sure she was going to figure it out. If she didn’t well then she didn’t need to know then. Sofie felt that she made it rather obvious to her, but maybe not. It would all depend on her sisters answer.

Freyja goes on to share her idea on what she was going to do with Visna and she rolls her eyes. “Yeah I guess that is true. I hope she is the only one you plan to make stay there. For I’ll sleep on the floor of Haskell’s living room before I’ll do that.” she tells her jokingly before smirking and adding. “Or maybe I’ll sleep in Aleinn’s bed” to her next before letting out a laugh and shaking her head. Sofie was far from ready for that step yet, but she hoped her sister would give at least a little reaction to her words. “How are things with you and a certain someone by the way? Seeing as we now have that all figured out.” she says to her suddenly, she had wanted to ask this before. “And I love Rane by the way.She was one of the nicest surprises to come home to, and I know she is yours...but it was one of the nicest things you have ever done for me….so thank you.” Sofie adds in last a little awkwardly.

Sofie’s words about her training with Haskell were welcome, because while Freyja didn’t particularly care for the idea that one day Sofie could kick her ass, she wanted her sister to be as strong and skilled and independent as she possibly could be. And training with Haskell would certainly help her in that direction. “I’m glad it’s going well. And the more difficult it is now, the better you’ll be in the end.” It was times like these that Freyja truly missed fighting, and an idea came to her, but it was one she’d have to address at a later time.

When the conversation turned back to Henrik, Freyja nodded at Sofie’s point about their traveling together. Obviously she’d spent a good deal of time with the man recently, which was one of the reasons Freyja was seeking out her opinions in the first place. But she had to admit, Sofie ‘trusting him with her life’ was a lot more information on the viking than she’d anticipated. In a good way, of course. If Hakon and Sofie trusted him, Freyja figured she could do the same. “I know he basically raised Aleinn, so he can’t be all bad,” Freyja added with a grin, already well aware of her sister’s thoughts about her apprentice.

The cryptic hint thing Sofie was doing about who Visna had a crush on was not at all something Freyja was interested in, though. Sofie knew who their sister liked and there was no reason she couldn’t just say so. The blonde was even more confused for a moment, as she turned to survey the men working nearby. Someone who helped her from time to time could be almost anyone, and none of them seemed like they’d be Visna’s type. But when Sofie added the bit about ‘with no pay or choice’ it became painfully obvious who she was talking about. “She likes Maurr?” Freyja whispered at her sister, her eyes wide in surprise.

Sure, the young man was probably attractive if you were a teenager, but he was a thrall. Freyja liked him, and didn’t have any problem with the fact that her sisters were friends with him, but did they always have to be so difficult? Honestly, it’s like they went out of their way to make their own lives harder. “That’s…” she wanted to say something helpful or reassuring, but the only thing that came to mind was, “messy.”

It seemed Sofie approved of her plan to have Visna stay with their mother for a while, and she rolled her eyes at her sister’s comments about her lack of interest in staying there as well. “Don’t torture Haskell like that, you can stay at the house with the other two,” she began but quieted when she heard the rest of Sofie’s comment. Narrowing her eyes, Freyja put her hands on her hips. “Should I be talking to both brothers about marrying my sisters?”

Freyja rolled her eyes when Sofie not-so-subtly hinted at things with her and Hakon, and sent her what she hoped was interpreted as a very sarcastic agreement. “Mhmm! Things are great, thanks for asking. And you’re welcome,” she added when the teenager mentioned Rane. Freyja liked animals, and when she’d decided to try to cheer Sofie up after the rough time she had before leaving for Kattegat, a puppy had seemed like her best option. They’d never had pets growing up, because their parents didn’t really like them, but now that their mother didn’t live with them anymore, those rules no longer applied. “I’m glad you like her. Just don’t spoil her too much, we still need to make sure she’s well trained so she’s not running away, or chasing after the wrong people.”

Scanning the area nearby, Freyja noticed Aleinn had spotted Sofie and decided she’d held her sister up for long enough. “Okay, well thanks. I’ll probably go find Henrik soon, I think, and get this taken care of. I’ll uh, let you know how it goes?” Leaning in for another quick hug, Freyja smiled at her sister and headed back towards the ship she’d been working on, to let everyone wrap up for the day. She had another awkward conversation she needed to have now.

She found herself smiling at her sisters words“I’m glad it’s going well. And the more difficult it is now, the better you’ll be in the end.”, it was nice to hear Freyja's options on her training as well. Plus she knew her sister was right. Haskell was the Thane, if he was training her, she was going to be one of the strongest women in the village. Not to mention she was making sure to train on her own still as well. So she was getting twice the training, and twice the ass kicking. However she could already see and feel the difference in her fighting. People she had trouble fighting before, she was able to beat now. So if she kept that up, and she kept getting better like this, Sofie was sure she would be one of the greatest in no time at all. Something that pleased her and worried her at the same time. If she got too good, would Halfdan want to use her in more ways, and make her get even closer to him? She was sure she didn't even want to know the answer to that question. It wasn't going to please her no matter what. As she wanted to be as far away from that man as she possible could be. Nonetheless, Sofie also knew she was going to have to be around Halfdan even if she really didn't want to. He was always around Haskell and she was going to be around Haskell a lot too.

They spoke more about Henrik, and Sofie told Freyja that she trusted Henrik with her life. Which might be something a little extreme to say to her sister right now, but it was true. She trusted him, Hakon, Haskell, and Aleinn with her life. “I know he basically raised Aleinn, so he can’t be all bad,” Freyja says to her in return. Sofie smiles at her and nods her head. “Yeah, Aleinn is the best guy in the whole world. So thats is a good point too!" she tells her with another smile. She didn't just say it to make her sister uncomfortable as well, this was something she fully believed. Aleinn, in her eyes was the best man in the entire world. He was good to her, and he put up with her crazy ass, so she was sure that gave him some bonus points as a man too. Sofie knew she wasn't the easiest person to deal with from day to day. But he did it and acted like it wasn't a big deal at all.

Freyja asks who Visna likes, and being the best sister she is, she makes her sister figure it out with a riddle instead of flat out saying it. Then Visna can't be mad, because her sister figured it out on her own and she didn't go around spilling her business. Sofie watches her older sister look around before her face was taken over by shock. “She likes Maurr?” Freyja asks and Sofie simply nods her head at her. “That’s…” Freyja said to her next before adding “messy.” to her next. Sofie could see where her sister was coming from with this, as it was a little but messy right now. However it wasn't going to stay that way, they were going to free him. “It's messy right now, but we plan to free him. So it wont be forever!" she tells her sister with an excited face as a smile takes over her as well. Sofie had faith in her and Visna's plan. It was just one that was going to take some time, and not was not the most fun thing in the world.

Sofie laughs at her sisters next words “Don’t torture Haskell like that, you can stay at the house with the other two,” she heard her say. Shaking her head and rolling her eyes she was about to speak when Freyja added “Should I be talking to both brothers about marrying my sisters?” to her. This made Sofie narrow her eyes at her. “Only if I get to talk to Hakon about marrying you." she says to her before placing her hand on her hip and looking her sister up and down. “Besides, we haven't even slept together yet. If Aleinn wants to marry me he will ask to I'm sure." Sofie adds in next. Seeing as they were talking about Hakon Sofie decided to ask how things were going. “Mhmm! Things are great, thanks for asking. And you’re welcome,” she hears her sister say and Sofie just gives her a smirk for now. Wanting to tell her she was right, however she needed to plan that out. Get her and Hakon at once, telling them both she was right. “I’m glad you like her. Just don’t spoil her too much, we still need to make sure she’s well trained so she’s not running away, or chasing after the wrong people.” Freyja says next about Rane the adorable puppy.

Shaking her head Sofie smiles at her and says “Yeah, yeah. You saw how well that worked for the horse. This dog will be treated like the queen of dogs." she ends with another laugh. “ But yeah I'll make sure she doesn't get killed for messing with the wrong person." Sofie adds in next as her face darkens and she thinks of what happened that day, flashes of Halfdan killing that women, and the blood that had hit her face. Sofie just took a deep breath and smiled when she heard Freyja say “Okay, well thanks. I’ll probably go find Henrik soon, I think, and get this taken care of. I’ll uh, let you know how it goes?” to her next. Nodding her head, she looked to the side to see that Aleinn was done working. All the bad thoughts that had been in her head were gone the moment she lay eyes on his face. “Yeah, keep me up to date I guess." she says to her sister before reaching forward giving her a fast hug, and then turning toward Aleinn. After a few minutes of helping him get his things together, the two of them walked off to go hang out at his house. Sofie made sure to wave to her sister. She was looking forward to hearing how this all went down.

After an interesting discussion with Hakon, a strange discussion with Sofie, and an incredibly uncomfortable discussion with Henrik, Freyja was on her way to talk to Tóra. It had been a very quick process, spanning literally four days from start to finish, but Freyja wasn't the sort of person who liked to sit around and see how things turned out. She'd made a plan, and she was almost finished seeing it through. Everything now just depended on Tóra, and how mad she was going to be at Freyja for running around with all of this behind her back.

She located her sister at the farm she liked to hang around occasionally, and smiled while approaching her. Taking a seat near her, but not directly beside her, so that she could actually look at her when they were talking, Freyja smiled again before realizing she hadn’t even said a word yet but might already be coming on too strong. “Hey, Tóra,” she began, slightly surprised at her own hesitance. But her last serious discussion with this particular sister had been rather uncomfortable and Freyja was hoping this would be the last time. She much preferred approaching Tóra with a grin and a joke and just having fun.

“So, I need to talk to you about some things,” she continued, not wanting to just spring this idea on her sister and have her thinking she didn’t have a say in the matter. Freyja wasn’t the sort of person who’d try to force her sisters to do something they didn’t want to do. She could encourage them, and strongly state her opinion and her reasons for having that opinion, but if they said no, she’d leave it alone.

“After everything that’s happened with Sofie and Halfdan, I’ve been trying to figure out a way to… keep you and Visna from having to get involved. In any way.” Working around to what she was trying to say was taking longer than she’d like, but it wasn’t the sort of thing you rushed into. “I was talking to Hakon and… we might’ve thought of a solution. For you, anyway. I’m still working on Visna.” Which was true. Hakon had no more viking friends with a crush on Visna, so she had to think a bit harder about that one. Plus, apparently Visna had a crush of her own, but not one Freyja could really do much with.

“You know Aleinn’s brother, Henrik? He’s a friend of Hakon’s? I was told you’ve met him,” she added with a tilt of her head. She’d heard a bit about their interactions from Hakon but didn’t want to tell on him and also would prefer that Tóra told her about that kind of thing herself. “How would you feel if I suggested that you… um… marry him?”

Freyja scrunched her face up a little bit, expecting a somewhat negative reaction from her sister, because if anyone ever thought they could tell her who to marry, she’d set them straight real fast. But Hakon seemed confident that the two of them liked each other, and Henrik had agreed to it, and while she knew he was a good man, she’d still threatened to maim him severely if he ever did anything to upset her sister. And he’d still agreed to it after that. “You don’t have to, of course. If you don’t want to. It’s up to you. It’s just… as the wife of a viking, you’d be safe.”

» Everything has changed [Tóra]
» Tora Stafnsdóttir
» Sofie Stafnsdóttir
» Hear the ocean’s roar [Tóra]
» The boatbuilder & the child. [Sofie]