Multifandom Desaster: The Fluff Zone

A few days after the feast, Sigurd took some men and Basim to travel to the Ragnarssons. But before he left, he told Dag to follow Eivors orders – much to the dismay of the subordinate. Then, he ordered Eivor to gather allies and ressources for the village before following him. The first house to be built should be the forge. All settlers were at the docks to send the Jarl off and after the people scattered, you saw Eivor rushing away for his own preparations. At first, you wanted to go after him to tell him your good wishes for the passing, but somehow you had the feeling that it would not be necessary.

And your feelings were right: you were currently trying to bribe the raven couple in the tree next to the longhouse when you heard a quiet whistle. When you turned your back you saw the blond man grinning at you and your heart jumped. First you laid a finger on your lips to show him to keep silent and then you waved him closer. „They start to trust me and I know that she will lay eggs soon.“, you explained very quietly and threw some nuts to the ground a few steps before the birds. They stared at the both of you very curiously. „You will leave today as well, right?“, you asked him. He stepped a bit closer and embraced your shoulder with one arm. „Yes, but I will not be far.“, he whispered to not startle the ravens. „Close to us is a village whose Jarlskona seems to need some help. I will go and hope she will be helping us in return if we need reinforcements one day. But before, I will take the men to raid some of their monasteries. We need to build Gunnars forge as soon as possible so he can aid the settlement with tools and weapons. After all that, we will come back for a short while and then I will take the men to meet with my brother.“ You nodded „When you come back from the christian temples, can you bring me something?“, you asked out of nothing. He lifted one eyebow. „Of course, my dear. What is it?“

You slowly backed away from the birds and he joined you. Then you grinned at him. „Nothing much, but I guess those.. monk people have chickens. I need eggs because ravens love them. But only if you find any. I mean.. It is probably uncommon to ask a Drengr for chicken eggs.“, you stuttered. For a second, he just watched you, then he chuckled. „I expected a nice necklace or any other jewelry, so I think chicken eggs are not much of a problem.“ He eyed you while you laughed. Something in him wanted to kiss you right here and there! But the thought did not feel right. Not yet. Eivor still was not able to take his glance away from your lips until he realised that the lovely tone of your laugh had stopped. You watched him now too. „Eivor..?“, you asked softly. „What is the matter?“ Your heart thumped at his intense stare. Then he realised his behaviour, cleared his voice and said: „I have to go now, my men are waiting.“ You nodded. „Take care and make the gods proud.“, was your answer. He took your hand and squeezed it. Then he bent down to you to kiss your cheek, smiled one last time and left to his ship.

Days after days came and went and you did your best to help Randvi and everyone who needed a helping hand. One day, you just stacked firewood on the side of the longhouse with some of the children, a horn was blown on the river.Randvi left the house so quickly, it seemed like she just materialised beside your little helpers. „That is Dags horn.“, she told you with a big grin. „Come with me, Sif, let us welcome our raiders.“

You went with her, but at the docks was no sight of Eivor, only his men were there to gather goods from the ship. Randvi watched your face become sad then she pated you on the back and went to talk with Dag. Yu wanted to turn back again to the house, then Bragi called out to you, then he rushed to you with a tiny wooden box. „Eivor told us to bring the goods from the first raids back while he gathers allies.“, the Skald explained. „So the forge can be built as soon as possible. He told me, this box here is for you and only you. What did you ask for?“ You opened the box and laughed out loud. Eggs! Bragi stared into the box, then to you, like he would ask for an explanation. „It is good for the birds, Bragi. With those, I hope I can give you warriors your messengers sooner.“, you answered to his unspoken question. He nodded. „Then I will help Eivor to bring you more.“, the man stated and went back to the ship.

The work went on after that visit and thanks to Eivor, you were able to tame the raven couple fully, even with not having that much time because you helped Gunnar often. You managed to convince them to nest in a cage you built on the side of the longhouse and you let the door of the cage open. You even slept beside the cage so they would not fear you nor other humans.

And that is how Eivor found you some days later. He returned right after sunrise, only Randvi and Gunnar were awake and talking in front of the new house. He greeted both of them, updated Randvi about their new ally and then he came looking for you. When he saw you from afar, sitting beside the cage asleep and protected by a thin blanket, he smiled. He went inside the house to get a plate full of fruit and bread and a pint of water, then he approached you slowly. Not slowly enough – one of the ravens croaked and you opened your eyes.

He smiled when he saw you with your sleepy glance. You had some moments before you realised who stood in front of you. „Eivor!“, you exclaimed and stood up as fast as possible. „Since when are you back?“ You hugged him so tightly he nearly lost the items on the platter. But he continued to laugh and urged you to sit to the next table. „Sit, my dear. And eat. Randvi told me you are with your ravens day and night, you need nutrients.“ He placed pint and platter in front of you and sat beside you. „I would say I am here for around half an hour and already met Gunnar and Randvi. Gunnars house looks good! But did Bragi bring the box?“ You nodded and tried to speak with a full mouth – again to your dismay and Eivors fun. He laid his hand on yur shoulder. „Eat, please without scattering it on the table my dear. I will be right back if you allow it, but I have to go and wash.“ He winked. „Or else I will scare away your birds, reeking of blood, sweat and grime.“ He laughed out loud as you blushed, because he used the same words you did when you teased him during the feast. He went back into the house and you finished eating, then yu saw him coming back out again. Minus his armor he had some items with him and you were able to watch him discarding his tunic by the fountain. Fully aware of your staring, he washed his upper body and hair, combed the latter and the beard and finally redid his braids while humming a song. You could simply not tear your eyes away from him.

The evening the longhouse was finished, Sigurd called for a feast. In his opening speech, he welcomed his people again in Anglia and decided, the name of the settlement should be Hræfnathorp, Ravensthorpe. The crowd cheered him on and the Jarl urged Bragi to start singing, so the festivities could begin. You were currently sitting with Randvi when the Jarl and his friends from the east sat themselves close to the two of you. "What say you, Sif, how long does it take you to train young ravens as messengers?", Sigurd asked you while pouring another mead for you and his wife. You thought about it for a second before you gave him an answer. "Sadly, my Jarl, it will need several moon cycles.", you admitted then. "One for finding the fitting birds, and at least three more for training. I will give my best to speed up the process, but I cannot guarantee anything. Please forgive me."

You felt bad. They took you with them because of the birds and now you could not even meet their expectations, but now you saw Sigurd shrugging and heard him laughing. "We will make it work. For now, enjoy the feast my friend!" Randvi nudged him and he smiled at her. "Yes, my love. Right.", he told her. Then he looked at you. "Randvi told me you do not have a tent of your own, only one for your birds. Is that true?", the Jarl asked. "Yes, it is true. My.. my parents always said we can sleep outside, but we have to treat the birds well or else they will fly away. I intend in keeping it that way." Your friend laughed and even Sigurds strange companions chuckled. "Have I not told you that she will not grasp your hint?", she told him. You stared at her for a moment, then asked very confused: "Is something not right?" "We finished the longhouse first so everyone without a tent can sleep in the hall.", Sigurd explained with a tone in his voice which said, he thought that fact would be obvious. "As long as we do not have any guests, you can  even use the spare bedroom. But anyways you can stay in this hall as long as needed. Also, as soon as you find some birds, I guess they will like the warmth of the house more than a windy tent."

Your eyes grew wide when you heard that, as well as your grin. "Thank you, Jarl Sigurd! I will gladly accept this offer.", you exclaimed. The bench beside you creaked. "Which offer?", you heard Eivors voice. He just did not wait for your answer, but took your hand to drag you to a free spot amongst the dancing people. "Eivor! What was that just now?", you asked him, laughing quietly. He smiled at you - there was his favorite sound again! "Care to dance with me?", he asked you then instead of answering, so you simply nodded. The two of you fully expected another cheerful song by the Skald, but Bragis next piece of music was a slow, quiet one about the beauty of the nature the gods created. The warrior before you asked first "May I?", before he gently laid his hands on your waist. You automatically placed yours on his shoulders and gods, it just felt so natural. Like you were made for embracing his strong form. Quickly, you hid those thoughts in the back of your head in favor of  swaying to the music and enjoying the beautiful tunes. After a few moments, Eivor whispered: "My brother has told you to reside in the house for the moment, right?" You grinned. "Yes! I am so happy, it will be great for the birds.", you explained, equally silent. Then a mischievous glint made its way to your eyes. You winked at him and added: "Also it will do wonders for you to see something as beautiful as me first in the morning." He had to hide a laugh. "For that, you would need to lie in the same bed as me or someone else could be faster than you, dear Sif." Although you tried to hold his gaze, you could not stop yourself from blushing. He smiled at your red face while you tried your best to come up with a good answer, but then you retorted: "Well, I fear my birds would not like me if I would reek of blood, sweat and grime. So I am sorry, my friend, but I will rather use the bed they offered me and let the Norns decide about the fate of your eyes every day."

Now he could not hold himself back any longer, Eivor just had to laugh out loud. That loud and sudden, the Skald even stopped singing for a moment. As soon as the warrior regained his breath, he apologized for interrupting the singer and led you back to the table you were sitting before, tears of mirth still glistening in his eyes. You had to chuckle too, as proud as you were on your answer. "Another mead for you, my dear?", he asked you, but you declined. "No, thank you. If I take another cup of Teklas ungodly brews I fear I might not know where up and down is anymore.", you told him. He poured you another drink anyway and very eagerly so. "If I can drown your wit with Teklas help, so be it.", he chuckled. "Although I do like women with not only sharp axes but sharp minds and tongues alike, I might cut myself if I cannot dull all of your weapons." You laughed merrily and took your drink, but your answer, what kind of warrior would fear such tiny blades, led to a long and mead-soaked talk with the drengr. It became late, the hall emptied and you two still talked with each other, now indeed very drunk. The brew made your sight turn, but also it gave you the  confidence to place a tiny kiss on Eivors cheek when you wanted to go to bed. He wished you a good night and watched your every step when you left, until a merrily smiling Sigurd sat beside him.

"You are staring, brother.", he stated simply and stifled a laugh when Eivor started shifting around. The younger pouted. "You are imagining things. Since when does the alcohol not agree with you anymore?" Sigurd laid a hand on Eivors shoulder. "I know you all your life, brother. And I know  how you look at people you are fond of. If I were you, I would act on it. But if the fog if alcohol clouds your eyes so much that you cannot see the obvious, you should maybe go to sleep first. Maybe the light of day will bring you the clarity you need." The redheaded laughed quietly and left his brother  to the thoughts he stirred in him.

______

Sorry for the length. I only can do drabbles and essays, nothing in between.

He was never one to trust people easily, a fact Sigurds new friends from the east where the newest to learn. But in times where you talked to his raven, he still felt a wave of trust towards you washing over him.

After a few days, one of the sailors finally spotted land. The Jarl wanted to find the camp of the Ragnarssons while the other ships should wait.

"Can you take her with you?", Randvi asked Sigurd while pointing to you. "Like that, she could send her falcon to us as soon as we should follow and we do not need to wait until sunset." While you nodded to show your acceptance, Sigurd didn't like the idea of his wife. "We do not know what or who will greet us there, so I do not want to take someone with us who cannot defend themself.", he stated clearly.

You, the thought of finally having solid ground beneath your feet again easing your mind, raised your voice: "My lord, I am sorry to speak up but I am very much capable of fighting. Please take me with you, I will not be a nuisance."

Normally, you would never speak up against a decision of your leader, but your need to be on land was too big. Sigurd seemed to think about it, but then he nodded and let Eivor help you to the other ship.

During the next part of the journey, you found some weirdly looking buildings for which Sigurd explained they were monasteries, temples for the christian god. Dag lamented over raiding them, but the Jarl wanted to visit the camp first. It was not the only discovery the people on your ship made.

A bit more up the stream, the saxons blocked the water road with a long chain. Again, Dag wanted to fight, his blood seemingly boiling. He was met with disappointment, the Jarl only sent his brother.

The ship docked close to the building at the shore from where you were able to watch the fair-haired warrior do his work.

Naturally, it seemed, it didn't take long for the chain to be out of the way and Eivor returned. Your heart sang at the sight of him, blood splatters in his face and smiling at how Sigurd greeted him.

The ship continued its way upstream until you finally found the camp. Even as something didnt seem right, Sigurd still wanted all to land instead of just sending a few to scout.

Some saxon bandits greeted you there, but they were very easily being taken care of. Even you fightes some, except for you it was more of defending yourself instead of attacking the enemies.

From afar, you then spotted how the Jarl sent his best warrior into the longhouse, himself with Dag following shortly after.

Since the other warriors kept scouting the area for more enemies, you kept your axe in hand but started looking at close trees for birds. You spotted two raven couples and some songbirds, but before you even could do anything else your leader came back, followed by his two friends and two strangers. They were heading directly to you, so you straightened your back. "They were prisoners of the Saxons.", Sigurd explained. "Yanli, a merchant, and Rowan, a stable hand. I invited them to stay since I think we should use this abandoned camp as a base for our new settlement."

He looked over some partly destroyed tents standing close, then he asked you: "Can you send your bird to Randvi? There is a lot to do for all of us, the sooner we start, the sooner we can celebrate."

He did not even wait for you to answer but took Dag to help his men sweep the area.

You felt Eivor, who was still standing close, watch you whistling your falcon down to you. You stroked the feathers of the animal which landed on your arm, whispered some orders to him and send him off.

"I am impressed by you, Sif.", you heard Eivor admitting and he came closer. "You might have been the one caring for Sýnin when she hatched, but she hardly trusts anybody, even less when they have their own feathered friend. But I saw her with you nonetheless. And when I thought you cannot surprise me more, you do it with speaking up against a decision of my brother."

You gave him a faint smile. "Are you flattering or scolding me, Wolf-kissed? I do not wish to disobey our Jarl but the life on water is nothing for me. Amongst trees I feel at home, so I was just very keen to feel the earth under my soles as soon as possible." The man before you smiled at you, again it felt like a gift. A gift you would treasure.

"I am definitely not up to the latter, someone telling him off does sometimes wonders for my brothers image of himself. So do not worry." He seemed to want to add something, but was interrupted by the cry of his bird. Sýnin, though, did not land on his shoulder as expected, but on your arm.

"If we find time, can you teach me your way with the birds?", Eivor asked you then. "I would like to learn why they trust you so much." You lifted your eyebrow, a thought blooming in your mind. "What would you give me in return?"

He stepped closer to you and eyed you from top to bottom. Then he gently took the raven and placed her on his shoulder. "Well, there is something which came to my mind, dear Sif.", he answered you in a low, raspy tone which gave you chills. Then he suddenly started laughing. "I could teach you in fighting to improve your skills. You have a decend base, but our peiple need serious defenders for when the other fighters are gone with my brother or myself."

For a second you stared at him, dumbfounded. Then you laughed with him. "I would gladly show you if you teach me in return."

For him, the sound of your laugh sounded divine. Like bells, calling for a feast in Asgard. And at the same time comforting, like a hug from a family member. He definitely wanted to hear it again. You smiled at each other and watched, how Sýnin took flight and glided on the winds which caressed the blooming nature around you.

_______

You did not remember what your Pa answered back then, since you were too nervous. But you remember clearly how the king wanted to know if you brought the raven he asked for. Your father nudged you to show the raven chick you had hidden in your hood.

"Here it is, my lord..", you said quietly. Styrbjörm waved and a young, blond man came closer. "This is my adopted son, Eivor. The raven is for him, as a companion on his travels.", the king explained. You gently put the animal on Eivors hand while bright blueish-grey eyes watched you.

But all that was several winters ago. You never talked to Eivor again, it even seemed like the gods did not want you to. You changed, got better with the birds and your parents even trained you in the art of war. From what you heard, he changed aswell. He became stronger and the right hand of his brother Sigurd. But his eyes, they did not change. It still was the bright, sea foam blue that watched you right now.

Earlier, you got a message from your friend Randvi. Jarl Sigurds attack on Rygjafylke was successful and Kjötve dead. But there were also losses on Sigurds side. Your parents. After reading the message you were raging. You stormed into the forest to destroy your training targets until he stepped in and parried one of your unsteady axe swings.

"You are Sif, daughter of Arne. Right?", he asked you with a calm voice. You bit your lip and nodded. After this, something in Eivors glance changed. Was it pity? Understanding? "Your parents fought well.", he told you. "I know, that hardly will ease your mind right now, but I'm sure they found their way to the halls of the allfather. Together."

For a second, it seemed like he wanted to place a hand on your shoulder, but you flinched before he even tried. He sighed. "I'm sorry, I did not come here to bother you. In fact, I was sent by Randvi. Jarl Sigurd will leave the village tomorrow morning, with all who are willing to follow him. Together, we will sail to new shores in the west."

Eivor let the news sicker into your brain for a second, before he continued with his explanation: "Randvi thinks we could be in need of you and your birds in Anglia, but no one will force you to come with us. If you are willing, though, be at the landing stages at dawn."

He turned around to leave as your voice, raspy from your anger and grief, held him back: "How is Sýnin? Is she a good companion to you?" He turned back to you, surprised. "How do you know of her? I got her from Arne." Again, you bit your lip. "It might have been a gift from my father, but I was the one who placed her in your palm.", you told him. "That was the first hatch I raised myself back then. All her brothers and sisters became messengers, so I was never certain if she is fitting for war."

As Eivor spotted the worry and concern in your voice, he gifted you with a smile out of nowhere. "She is well and one of the fiercest warriors I have ever fought with."

With that, he left. You did not have to think long about the offer. Without a family, nothing kept you in those lands. You went home to pack your few belongings, set the birds free and headed straight to the shore.

When Eivor arrived at dawn, he saw you standing close to his longboat. He watched sou turning your head to a falcon sitting on a post, your reddish-brown hair shining like fire in the first rays of the day. He smiled again, but this time for himself.

________________

Also I know you can't train ravens that well but let me go with the flow okay. <3