for "mini_nanowrimo" hence no friends lock 26
17620 ♥ 18000 (97.89%)
i know how this ends. i've known for two days now. i've mulled it over but what i write makes no difference because the ending wrote itself two days ago.
enjoy.
PS: sorry for the watermark on the photo. i was too lazy to find a not watermarked one. but even if it is a stock, it is actually from the place i'm writing about.
Lonsoraefi, Iceland. Present Day: There is a wave of relief that floods through Nissa when they finally make it to shore. The land is rough, wild and mountainous. It is beautiful, with a cloudless, calming blue sky overhead and only the sound of nature all around. Nissa’s sea sickness is gone almost as soon as her feet touch the ground. It is soon enough that Odin and Nissa set off once more. The terrain is rough and there are no trails but Odin’s strides are steady and sure so Nissa jogs and skips along beside him. Nissa had no knowledge of the witches attack on the ship, but charmed as she was, she knew her Odin. The charm had bound her heart to him, making her a servant to her emotions as well as the All Father himself. The tip of his head, the way his silence implied he was listening, his steady movement and stoic features reviled nothing to any outsider. Nissa scouted ahead, although not too far, and saw no one else. They were truly alone.
“There is a cabin here. We will stay there tonight.”
“One bed or two?” Nissa blurted, bouncing on the soles of her flat feet. Odin’s sharp, one eyed look barely pierced her. In return she gave him her best toothy grin. There was a shift then, an unreadable expression clouded across Odin’s face.
“It won’t be long now,” Odin replied distantly. Whether his meaning was the in how far they had to travel or some foreshadowing of things to come, Nissa could not tell. “I have need to cast my runes.” Nissa said nothing to this, trouble as she was but instead ran ahead to scout once more.
They walked all day, stopping only once, before a wooden cabin loomed ahead. The mountains in the background gave it a very pretty look, and to Nissa is seemed huge. She quickly set about getting kindling and logs from a neatly laid stack that was out back. Odin sat on a wooden chair in one corner and observed his surroundings. From the small window to his left he could see Nissa outside. She kept busy cooking and singing to herself, but for once she was not even scolded.
When the moon was half and hung in the sky, the fire’s gentle and consistent crackle had lulled Nissa. Her head drooped and the last thing she felt before her deep sleep was a blanket covering her tiny form. In her dream she was choking and when she sat up and opened her eyes she let out a gasp. In the far corner Odin was standing with one arm held out to her, a gesture to be still and quiet. The entire roof above them both was aflame. Nissa lay down flat on her belly so stay out of the smoke. Nissa could not see but outside the window stood a half dozen witches watching their handiwork. Odin made a horrible noise that started deep within his chest and came out as a dangerous growl. The whole cabin was suffocating and on fire, the heat was unbearable and Nissa was having a hard time satying conscious. Odin strode to the front door and flung it open. Nissa peeked out and saw that now there was a dozen witches then and more coming down the clear sky. Odin was yelling to them and Nissa concentrated hard to hear him above the roar of the wild fire.
“. . .not alone! This chosen friendship has grown of organic feelings. You can do us no harm here,” His voice boomed out into the darkness and he raised his staff to the moon. Suddenly all the fire’s flame were sucked right off the roof and into the tip of his staff. There was no damage at all. Nissa stood and smelled the air, as she had excellent senses, and could not even tell there had been any trace of smoke. She walked over to her lord and stood at his side. The witches were complaining and uttering meaningless threats but none dared to move forward.
“This is a war, Old One!”
“Wodden, you will not win this. We can defeat you.”
“We will take from you.”
“We will steal your most beloved.”
“We will get there before you can stop us.”
“Not even eight legs can out run our vast numbers.”
Odin put his hand down, bending slightly to reach her, and laid it on Nissa’s shoulder. She beamed in the moonlight. He nodded to the witches and in a flash they had all vanished. Nissa shuttered.
“Stop now. It’s over. For tonight.”
“What is it they want?”
“Blood, death and sorrow.”
