flashback w/ @danteragnulf. Location: Tana, Norway. April, 2005. Notes: Anders tells 10 year old Dante a story.
It was a weekly thing – Anders, either reading Dante something from one of the old books of the coven, or one of the old tales of their gods. He could see his younger brother, now ten, making room for the lycan to sit on his bed beside him. The young lycan’s eyes were shining with curiosity, like he wanted to hear something new, and not anything from the old books they had lying around. “Okay, okay. I have a good one for you.” Sitting back against the headboard, he lifted his arm as Dante moved to sit right against him. His younger brother had been sick as of late, but Anders – ever the sympathizer – had let the dogs into the room once more. Their father would be upset, but the seventeen year old would simply deal with that later.
“This one takes place right after the last one I told you. Remember Idun? And how they just rescued her? Well, there was a great feast – and a stranger entered the Aesir’s halls unannounced, and unplanned. It was Skadi – a giantess, armed with the finest weapons, finest armor, and she was fucking – I mean – freaking pissed.” Dante’s snort was enough to make Anders grin once more, taking a pause before he continued the story. “She wanted revenge for the death of her father, Thjazi, the giant who stole Idun from them. But the gods were excellent negotiators, so they had her agree that there would be three trials to make amends for the killing of her father.”
Glancing at Dante, Anders winked at him, “First, Odin took her slain father’s eyes.” He brushed his fingers over Dante’s, making his younger brother shut them momentarily. “And he threw them into the sky, creating two new stars. Second, the gods needed to make her laugh, and it was Loki who succeeded. And lastly, she got to pick a god of her choosing to marry, but only by the sight of his legs. She thought she chose Baldur, but instead, she got the sea-god, Njord.” Dante made a noise of disgust at the mention of marriage, and Anders squeezed his brother’s shoulder playfully. Anders had to pause for a moment, listening to the sound of their mother outside the room, muttering something about Anders forgetting his coffee mug in some random place. That was a first.
Looking down at the messy bedhead of his younger brother, Anders pushed it from his mind and continued. Dante’s wide eyes were fixed on his, so he couldn’t let him down. His theatrics would continue for as long as Dante wished to hear a story.
“So, after their great wedding, they had to decide where to live. Njord lived at Noatun, the place of ships, on a warm, sunny beach. While Skadi lived in Thrymheim, thunder-home, the highest dark peak of a mountain where the snow never melted. They started off in Thrymheim – nine nights there, where Njord complained that the songs of the wolves were so displeasing, that he couldn’t bear to live without the songs of his swans back at his home. So, they spent nine nights in Noatun instead. And on the tenth day, Skadi was so pissed off about all the damn seabirds, she couldn’t get any sleep. So they ended their marriage and went back to their respective homes. The end. Go to sleep.”
Anders moved to get up, but Dante’s hand curled around his shirt to stop him from moving, “Wait! Wait, you didn’t tell me what the joke was. What did Loki do to make her laugh?”
The lycan glanced over his shoulder, leaning down to whisper, “Well…Loki tied a rope around a goat’s neck, then tied the other end to his ball–”
“Anders Ragnulf, do not finish that sentence!” Their mother’s harsh voice stopped Anders’ words, and he pushed Dante lightly as the little boy laughed, his older brother finally leaving the room.
