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Unlike some of his siblings, Odd was not a true seer, and so his dreams came true no more often than most lions' dreams. Even so, that did not mean that the warlord's vikingborn son could not interpret his own dreams and derive some meaning from them that could be applied to the waking world. It was the sort of thing his mother had encouraged him to do since his earliest days, and usually by this point in his life he could discern even while dreaming which dreams would bear remembering upon waking, and would need to be acted upon.

This dream had been one such dream, and so when he woke several hours before dawn the young freeborn set about collecting what supplies he would need to act as he felt his dream warranted. That included quickly fashioning a pouch and placing in it one of his personal treasures. It was for a good cause, he knew, but he still felt a pang when he made the decision to give it up.

Now all that remained was to find Ru and give it to him.

Ru had not expected to sleep that night. There was no reason he should have expected to do so. Kazul had spent the night with him, and that did not usually herald sleep for either one of them for some time. There were other things for two young, healthy lions about to be parted for an indefinite period of time.

They had done those things, but they had also talked. They had talked a lot. His friend Voldemaras would have laughed at him for spending so much time talking to a lioness, even the warlord's daughter, but Ru and Vol held different views about how women ought to be treated, and Ru did not allow his friend's opinions to stop him from doing as he pleased with regard to Kazul.

So all things considered, it was a surprise to Ru when he woke up some time before dawn. The cause of his wakefulness was no surprise: he always had to piss first thing in the morning. Waking up at all was a surprise because to do so means he must have been asleep at some point. As usual he remembered nothing of his dreams.

Odd knew well the route to Ru's den. It was not that he traversed it so often, but his half-sister did and when Ru had first claimed the place she had told him about it in the sort of excruciating detail that Odd had endured for her sake and been unable to erase from his memory ever since. This had taken place when he and Kazul were just barely adolescents.

A short distance from the den, but not yet within sight or earshot of it Odd paused and focused his attention on the captain, pulling together all his impressions, thoughts, feelings, and observations of him into a bundle that could safely be called Ru. Then he called him once, very softly: "Ru."

He was gratified moments later when the green-eyed lion emerged from the small den and moved a short distance away. Odd's nose and ears carried to him the information that Ru was relieving himself. That didn't matter so much to the fey creature as the fact that he had successfully summoned another lion, regardless of the form his summons had taken.

If asked, Ru would have said that the only call he felt waking him up and bringing him outside was the call of nature, but that was neither here nor there. He finished burying his business and turned around to see Kazul's half-brother standing a short distance down the path. Despite the hour and everything else, Ru could not conjure up any sort of startlement regarding this visitation.

"Odd," he greeted the freeborn. "Is this visit the result of a very late night or a very early morning?"

To continue the conversation he made his way silently away from his den and toward Odd. He was very aware that not too far behind him was his den and within his den Odd's favorite sibling slumbered after a night of activity and talk that Ru would prefer not to remind Odd of.

Though the Stormborn didn't seem to care too much about privacy for some carnal activities, that didn't mean someone like Odd would enjoy smelling the evidence that Ru was banging his sister. Or maybe it wouldn't bother him at all. It could be difficult to tell with Odd.

"The latter, I'm afraid," Odd replied with a tired half-smile as he took a few steps forward to meet Ru. He allowed Ru to close the rest of the distance, as he evidently did not want to have Odd come too close to his den.

"I'm sorry to have called you away from my sister. I am sure you would rather be with her right now than talking to me, but I had a very strong sense that I could be of help to you with this." He touched one paw to the satchel he had constructed and into which he had placed the object from his dreams.

Making the satchel had been considerably easier than getting it on or off, but he managed to get the thong over his head once more and present the satchel itself to Ru. Well. Actually it fell to the ground before he could catch it, but the idea was to give it to Ru. A lion couldn't be graceful all the time.

Ru said nothing about Odd claiming to have called him, just as he chose not to say anything about how Odd had known Kazul was in his den. It was certainly not worth getting into. As Odd had said, he would prefer to be with Kazul at the moment, given how few moments he was likely to have with her for the foreseeable future, and so he was not going to be sidetracked onto tangential conversations and questions.

However, he absolutely had to ask what was in the satchel and how Odd expected it to be helpful. Knowing Odd and the unusual things he and his family got up to, it would be better if Ru asked that question before he actually put the pouch around his neck. The fact that nothing had happened to Odd while he was wearing it did not necessarily mean that it was safe for Ru to put on and wear. Kazul's stories and Odd's remarkable instincts had given him a healthy respect for that family in all matters fey and freaky.

"Thank you, Odd. What is it?" Please don't let it be something smelly.

"It's a gift," he said, being deliberately unhelpful because it amused him. "In truth, I don't know if it will help you, but I had a very strong feeling that it might."

Despite the gravity of the situation, Odd's smile was irrepressible. Ru's expression as he regarded the pouch Odd offered him was just priceless. He was suspicious, and perhaps rightly so, but at the same time he was reluctant to give offense by refusing the gift outright. Odd understood. He just thought it was funny that he had acquired such a reputation for giving odd gifts. Maybe it was his name. He and Kazul had always joked that his name gave fair warning.

"There's no rule saying you can't look inside, you know."

Ru smiled back at Kazul's unusual half-brother and then he carefully turned his claws to the task of opening the pouch, having acquired his permission to do so. The pouch was made an unusually narrow and elongated shape. It also seemed to have been hastily and inexpertly made, but Ru wasn't going to remark on that. Something told him Odd was responsible for its crafting. The bag was very lightweight, so whatever it held had to be fairly insubstantial. Once he'd gotten it open he continued to work with care and delicacy on shaking its contents out.

At first Ru thought it was some sort of unusual leaf, but then he looked more closely and realized that he was looking at a long green feather. Could it possibly be...?

"Odd, forgive my ignorance, but did this feather at one point belong to a god?"

"Good guess," Odd said. "But it actually was a goddess."

He supposed such a claim warranted some sort of explanation, and so he went on, "When I was young, before my mother brought my sibs and I to the pride, I met a goddess's daughter playing in the woods and her mother gave me one of her feathers."

He shrugged.

"I think there's some property that allows its bearer to call on that goddess's aid, if need be, though I can't remember the exact wording. It might only work for me, so maybe it won't be of any use to you, but I don't see how it could possibly hurt."

Ru stared at Odd in slack-jawed astonishment for several seconds, unconcerned that he must look like a complete moron. How could Odd possibly have known that this was one of the things his father had required of Ru?

"You weren't among the pride yesterday, were you?" he asked. "You didn't hear about the quest your father's laid upon me?"

While Ru did not doubt the existence of gods and spirits, he had always been justifiably skeptical of those who claimed to be able to understand them or have dealings with them. This suspicion extended to priestesses, including that messenger from the god of thunder, and even more wild and fey creatures like Odd and his family. Now he wondered.

Ru's astonishment was gratifying. Odd liked to be proven correct when he followed his hunches. They weren't always right, or even helpful, and so those times when they were always made him feel especially good.

"I was with my brother's family yesterday in the forest," he replied. "So I don't know anything about this quest of my father's. Would you mind telling me about it?"

Somehow he got the feeling that whatever the warlord had laid on Ru was nothing like the sort of assignment captains were usually given when the warlord wanted them to accomplish a specific task. If that were the case, Ru probably would not have been so very amazed to be gifted with a goddess's feather. Such things weren't all that rare.

And so Ru explained briefly to Odd what he had missed out on, all of which seemed to come as a surprise to the forest-dweller.

"So you see why this feather is such a great help to me," Ru concluded abruptly, to which Odd nodded distractedly.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

Actually, he realized he didn't particularly want to know what Odd thought was wrong, since the lion's expression and manner didn't seem like the sort of unhappiness and concern that came from Ru being basically banished. He seemed to be greatly agitated by the news, and had begun to fidget before Ru got very far along in his narration. That was sort of worrisome.

Odd nodded and then realized that he had nodded in the wrong place. Ru's tale explained a number of signs Odd and some of his family had recently observed and dreamed, or at least it could be made to fit with them. None of these portents had been received with delight or enthusiasm because it was obvious that they did not herald good things.

"Apologies. I've kept you from Kazul when you should not be. I am glad that I was able to help you with this ridiculous quest, since I have the feeling I will not be allowed to accompany you, even if I petition for permission. It would hardly demonstrate familial solidarity."

Mostly Odd got to avoid pride politics, but he knew his duty as his father's son as well as Kazul knew hers as the warlord's daughter and when it came down to it, he did what was required of him, no matter how he disagreed with what he was doing.

He decided not to tell Ru about the feeling of foreboding he had about this whole thing. What would be the point in that? It would only cause him needless worry.

Ru nodded and thanked Odd once more before watching him depart. He had put the feather back in its pouch as he told Odd about Aesir's assignment. Now he scooped the pouch up and carried it carefully in his mouth back to the den. He would put it on properly later, but for the time being, while he was with Kazul, he would not.

When he returned Kazul had woken and burrowed into the furs he rarely used to warm himself but kept around expressly so that Kazul could do as she was doing. She slipped out and over to rub against him, saying softly, "I thought you had gone."

"No," he told her, nuzzling her until she nipped him.

Before things could proceed too much further he told her an abridged version of Odd's visitation. Only after he had put the feather and its pouch in a safe place did he devote the entirety of his amorous attention to Kazul.

Both of them would bear marks from that later, but they fell asleep comfortably curled around each other, a little less concerned and upset than they had been before.