Welcome to Gaia! ::

Adelheid's eyes were glued onto Vaskr. She hadn't stopped looking at him since their meeting (besides a couple of times when, doubting herself, she cast them down, but only briefly). Something about him was just... Spellbinding. Was it the way his orange-red markings writhed, as if they too lived with every movement he made, his muscles rippling under his pelt? His pale crystal-pink (or orange? or golden?) eyes that glinted in the moonlight as the ghostly orb reached the height of its circuit around the earth? Or his words?

What Vaskr spoke of was everything that Adelheid had been so desperate to uncover within herself. The lioness knew she had potential- and a lot of it, but it was locked away deep inside of her. It was maddening. So she listened to Vaskr, her breathing shallow and quiet so she wouldn't miss a word.

She had been padding alongside him for an unknown distance in an unknown direction for an unknown time. But what Adelheid hoped to gain- expected (even if it might have been foolish) perhaps, would be worth whatever struggle she might face when she returned to the Myrsky Syntynyt (although that was far from her mind). Now, she lay below him at the base of the rock, scooting closer to hear his every word.

Visions triggered by touching? Suddenly, she became aware of herself. Was that a flush she felt warm her cheeks and cross her face? The lioness scooted backwards, not defensive, but... shy?

Come on, Adelheid! Snap out of it! You're a viking!

"What triggers yours? Nothing? Are they just that abrupt? Like a bolt of lightening?" She furrowed her brows at him, relentless endless question after question for him.

Adelheid remained silent. The large black lioness left the words suspended in the now-frosty night air, the chill almost freezing them and making them tangible. She watched him descend, and held her breath as he drew near.

She was a statue, carved of onyx, rubies inlaid where her coat was brushed with blood. Her eyes, though their color was not vivid, were shiny and bright.

Vaskr was like a ghost before her. Not corporeal of flesh, but in some manner, still living and present. Where did the ephemeral wisps of breath end and the lion begin?

She stood as he breathed his words like a secret, only for her, without increasing the distance between them. Her eyes searched his face for more answers but found none. That wasn't good enough. She wanted concretes, attainable, reachable, achievable things. Codes and riddles were useless and maddening.

What if she never had a vision? How would she find the god who was her father without god-like powers to level the playing field? She felt any hope or optimism drain from her body, leaving her light headed. Her eyes flicked back and forth on the ground. What possibility did she have? What choice did she have?

"Vaskr..." Her voice was more hushed than his, breathy and beckoning.

"Have you heard of this ability being passed to or stronger in the offspring of two Seers?" Could he sense that this was possibly Adelheid's last hope?

Blood magic?

A shiver rippled through her body, her blood became hot and she felt her heart race to pump it through her body. Was she holding her breath now? She just couldn't tell anymore. She was so close to having what she wanted. If there was any chance she could have Seers without mating with a god, this had to be her best chance, right?

She moved her face even closer to his, the blackness of her fur seemingly absorbing the moonlight shining off of his pallor like a black hole, not reflecting, only consuming. She had to have it. His powers and abilities. She could almost grasp her father's identity in her paw now. There would be nothing to stop her and cause it to slip through her claws. There was no remorse in the thought of using him for her gain. This was bigger than whatever she might feel or ever come to feel about Vaskr. She would have sacrificed the lion right then and there if he had said his tie to Blood Magic could have brought Adelheid her father.

"My grandfather is a god. My father is a god. Your mother is a goddess..." The black lioness circled Vaskr, letting her tail brush him, making the first contact.

"Who better than us to try?"

Adelheid's instincts made her very afraid when he towered over her, but when her reason returned to her, the pounding of her heart in her ears was exhilarating rather than terrifying. So he had agreed to her contract. She wasn't sure how she felt about its (her) methods towards trying to achieve what she wanted most, but the lioness figured she would have plenty of time later to unpack and analyze them. But now...

She nodded, as silent as she was dark. She didn't even have time to think of how ironic it would be if she had a vision right then and there. Would Vaskr have taken the nulling of the plan anyway? She didn't worry that it would come to finding out about that, anyway.

She glanced around her, unsure of what she would have even been looking for. Oh s**t- she thought, what if Eikthyrnir was looking for her? Not that she wanted to rejoin him. Quite the contrary. She didn't want her brother interfering as they sealed their pact. Silently, she glided along Vaskr through the dark.

Adelheid awoke to find herself cold and alone, and very far from home. She managed to drag herself out of the cave to sap the heat from the sun to expedite the warming of her muscles. The black lioness looked over the plains. Had she expected Vaskr to be there when she woke up? Perhaps she thought they would have another few days together, just to be sure it had taken.

To her own musings, Adelheid shrugged. She heaved herself into a standing position, shook any lingering dust and dew from her coat, and headed back in towards the Stormborn. With the rising sun designating east, it was going to be a long walk, but not a remarkably arduous one. She would find some kind of trinket or token to take home as sign of a successful first viking, but Adelheid knew that the greatest boon would not be visible for several months to come (if at all- but she allowed herself to hope).

the end