› hypnotic

he distant fear lingered in her head that her father might decide to actually get some work done today. He might check on the animals or want to feed them, which would require him to enter the stable. If he did, they would be caught red-handed. She wondered what he would even think when he saw her here with Svart. Obviously he would never believe that the man was actually here due to his cat, so that excuse wouldn't work, even though it was true. She assumed he would think the worst, which would not really end well for any of them. Her father seemed to grow more erratic by the day, so she couldn't even try to predict the things he would do. So that's why she greatly appreciated that Svart seemed to listen to her when she suggested they should be a little more silent in the future. She was someone who easily got talked over: she wasn't very assertive and the softness of her voice never helped either. It was nice to have someone that at least seemed to hear her out for once. The answer to her question amazed her even more. The cat seemed to have brought Svart in a giant scala of interesting events, so much that it hardly could be a coincidence anymore. "A few of them are expecting. I don't know if you would want to see it, though. It's quite horrifying to look at," she answered his question. When she decided she wasn't going to find the skogkatt in the long grass, she walked over to Svart to lay herself down next to him in the hay. It was more comfortable than she had expected. "I can only imagine the scenarios that cat has brought you in," she said, grinning. "I wish I had an interesting companion like that." She hardly ever saw something miraculous.

everal straws of hay were poking in her back, but she didn't mind too much. It was rather comfortable and only now she had noticed how tired her body was from all the work. She intertwined her fingers, letting her hand rest on her stomach and stretched out a little. She felt like she could fall asleep any moment now, but that wasn't exactly a good idea. Even though everything felt relaxed, she had to keep an eye out for her father, in case he'd come back. She side-eyed Svart for a bit, who seemed to be rather calm, regarding the situation they were in. Apparently his cat had received such a gift from the gods that it was worth it to stay around here and maybe get caught. She wondered if he ever was worried about anything, he didn't really seem like the type. On the contrary, she worried about every little thing that ever happened to her. They were so different, and somehow they seemed to be getting along. Taking risks scared her, made her feel uneasy and anxious. He seemed completely unphased. She wished she somehow could  absorp some of that characteristic. She snickered when he admitted to not really wanting a sheep to give birth. It wasn't exactly a fun thing to put yourself through. When he said he'd still help, she smiled. "That's noble of you," she said, twirling a strand of hay in between her fingers. Her eyes lightened up when Svart said the cat might visit her someday. She'd love that, obviously. His next suggestion, however, kind of blew her mind. "How would he even know about that?" she asked, puzzled. For some reason, she actually started to believe he could be right.

ecretly, she hoped that this wasn't going to be the last she would see of Svart. Besides being friendly and incredibly charming, he also seemed to be quite the storyteller. She felt like he had a wide array of stories to tell and she was eager to hear more of them. Too bad she didn't have that much time to just sit around and listen to him talk all day. Maybe she could find some excuses to visit him sometimes. He was a blacksmith after all, and as a farmer, her father needed to get some new tools made every now and then. It would only be kind of her to volunteer to pick them up, wouldn't it? It seemed like a good plan.

She smiled a little when Svart told her he didn't like to see others suffer. Maybe they weren't so different after all. "Neither do I," she agreed. She'd help any living soul, if they'd let her. She was a healer, not a fighter, and every inch of her being seemed to prove that. She was too tiny to even hold an axe, too scared to ever use it. She wasn't made for battle, although most of her people seemed to be. Even Svart, with his huge, intimidating physique. He was tall, incredibly tall, and muscular as well. It made her look like a child in comparison. Her answer had given her away. She was lonely, yes, but did everybody need to know it? She should watch her mouth more closely. She shrugged in response. "I mean, there's a lot to do here at the farm and the dressmaker. I don't have a lot of time to socialize," she argued. When he suggested to do something together tomorrow, she smiled again. "I'd love to!" she exclaimed, maybe a little too hard. Luckily, her voice wasn't that loud. "Where would we meet?" she asked then. Meeting here was off the table, that was for sure. She just didn't want to get in any trouble.

er entire life she had been told to watch out for men. They were taller, bigger, stronger than her and she wouldn't stand a chance against any of them. She only had to meet one man with wrong intentions and everything could go wrong. It was a scary thought, and it was a thought that she had almost every day. She was an anxious person herself, and the idea that her fears were not entirely irrational only made things worse. Sometimes she hated how weak she was, how scared of everything around her she appeared to be. But she liked her gentleness could be a strength as well. It was the very thing that made her sit here right now, talking to a stranger about cats and loneliness. And somehow he seemed to know that she indeed did feel alone. He nodded on her excuse and she wondered if this was a case of 'takes one to know one'. He wasn't from here, and the people of Kattegat were generally not very trusting towards outsiders. She wondered if he had any trouble with fitting in, however, she didn't have the courage to ask just yet. When he proposed another meeting tomorrow, her reaction seemed a little too enthusiastic. He suggested meeting at his shop, telling her he had a surprise for her. She lifted her eyebrow out of curiosity. "A surprise?" she repeated. She rolled over to her side to look at him. Obviously, she wouldn't ask what it was, that would ruin the entire meaning of a surprise. Although, she couldn't help but be curious. Just when she wanted to ask, she heard a familiar sound from outside. It startled her at first, but she recognized it as one of their sheep. She frowned, how in the gods' name could that cat know about this? She got up, motioning for Svart to come with her. Maybe he could help out after all. 

ost men in their community were different. They were agressive, loud and intimidating. They liked to brag about their conquests, in battle and with women. Usually, no details were spared in their exuberant tales and Eydís hated listening to them. As much as she had resented her mother, at least her father had respected her. They had truly been in love with each other and they were equals, which was more than could be said for most men. Sometimes she saw them look at her. As if they were starving men and she was a piece of meat to be eaten. When she backed off out of fear, they seemed to even crave her more. It scared the living daylights out of her, but right now, she felt safe. Svart was as tall, strong and intimidating as any other man that walked around in Kattegat, however, he did not scare her. He was kind and calm. He smiled instead of grinning and he talked instead of roaring at her. It was a nice change for once. So she decided for herself that it was okay for her to come by his shop tomorrow. "I'll be up all night wondering," she said, grinning. It was no lie, either. She loved the anticipation, so in her mind she told herself not to ask.

The bleating that grabbed her attention was a piercing sound that made her get up immediately. Even though it was her father's farm, she felt an incredible amount of responsibility of keeping everything in check, so her first instinct was to go outside and look. So she did, brining Svart along with her. She even forgot to think of her father, who might come out of the house at any given moment. They made their way towards one of the sheep that was crying out in distress. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted the skogkatt. She nodded on Svart's question. "She's premature, but I think she might make it," she said, stroking the animal's fur softly. The water bag was already coming out, which meant the lamb was not going to be long after. Meanwhile, the ewe was trying to get up again. She looked at Svart again. "I need you to lift her up, take her to the shed and put her over a bale of hay. Two legs in the front, two to the back, so she can't walk away," she quickly said. The idiot animals tended to not stand still during their birth, which only made matters even worse. Once placed there, they would be able to pull the lamb out.

OOC: I looked up a sheep giving birth for this and it was disgusting c':

t least she could tell her father that the blacksmith just so happened to be here when the sheep started screaming and he was kind enough to respond to it and help her out. He would believe that, right? Well, the excuse she would make up for her father was the least of her worries right now. The sheep was giving birth and she couldn't really afford to lose more cattle this year. She explained the situation to Svart and he told her they would help the ewe pull through. She smiled for a fraction of a second. His presence made her feel more secure. He seemed to radiate some kind of confidence, which she cheerfully picked up. As soon as the words had left her mouth, Svart picked the sheep up as if it was nothing. Gods, only now she imagined how much easier this job would be if she were just that much stronger. Eydís walked towards the shed and held the door open for Svart to walk in. He placed the sheep on one of the bales of hay, which caused her to be unable to move. Just as they needed her to be. She let out a sigh after the blacksmith's question. "We help her get it out," she said, looking at Svart for a second. She walked to the sheep's behind and looked. "She's already crowning, when she's far enough, we can grab the lamb and pull," she said, waiting for the first signs of the small creature coming out.

ell, this was certainly an adventure that had taken various turns and twists. An unknown man had been sitting in her pasture and he appeared to have some kind of divine cat as a pet that could, for some reason, tell when sheep were giving birth. And here they were, together, helping an ewe put her new-born lamb on the face of the earth. It was truly a strange day. However, she wasn’t complaining. Actually, she wouldn’t have it any other way. Life at the farm and the dressmaker had gotten kind of dull over time and this was a refreshing, albeit bloody, change of pace. Now, the ewe was screaming bloody murder. It was a piercing sound and Eydís had to resist the urge to use her hands to cover her ears. Honestly, she had no idea why her father hadn’t shown up yet to check what was going on. Oh well, she’d rather have Svart with her at this moment anyway. The guy was stronger than her father, which was definitely more helpful when having to pull out the lamb, and he was incredibly good at lightening up the general mood of the place. A trait that was absolutely never a bad thing.

It was probably the first time for Svart to do this kind of thing, which could be kind of frightening. Actually, Eydís had done it a few times, and it still kind of scared her. Especially when she thought of the fact that she was going to have to bear children of her own someday. It looked painful and horrifying and she quickly tried to push away the thought. Svared joked around a bit, which made the grin on her face come back, too. Then he suggested she help out the lamb first, which was fine by her. She winced when she fastened her hands around the lamb’s head with a firm grip and pulled as hard as she could. The ewe continued blaring and Eydís’ hands were covered in blood and amniotic fluid. Still, she pulled, until most of the upper body had come out. “Alright, there it is,” she said, almost out of breath. “Could you get the last part?” The pulling was incredibly tiring and she wasn’t sure if she was strong enough to get the entire animal out of there. Gods, she needed to wipe her hands on something.