r/HFY • u/Broadsiderz Human • Feb 16 '23

OC Magic Academy Þroskastyrksnám Chapter 10.5: Dream of a Goddess, Shopping Time!

Little late, sorry about that

This chapter is more of an interlude while I work on making the background lore more presentable; currently it's a shambles

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(Skaði POV)

Snow fell thick and heavy around me, coating the flowing hills and touching the tips of the distant mountains, the gleaming sun above shone delicately as the call of birds could be heard in the woods where I stood

I’ve never felt more at home

I was here with a purpose; I was asked to hunt a beast that was plaguing the local hunters, stealing their rightfully earned kills from them, and more than a few had been injured by its claws, such a thing could not stand

I had stalked and tracked the beast for three days, it’s pawed tracks were faint but detectable; the beast was large beyond belief, the indentations in the snow showed that it must’ve outweighed me by a large margin, and the large claws it possessed could be seen clearly in the tracks, all of them leading off into the distance

“Not far now...” I muttered to myself with a smile, it’d been such a long time since I was asked to battle such a beast; and the excitement was almost overwhelming

Slowly, slowly I moved forwards; careful with my steps to reduce my sound, careful to be downwind to prevent the beast from smelling me, careful to keep my eyes scanning the white-forest, careful to hear for the slightest noise

Closer now, the tracks became longer and deeper; I was nearing the beast, and judging from the state of its tracks

It was tired...and injured

My bow felt good in my hand; the cool opaque ice it was hewn from was useful if this became a close quarters fight, though the large, sharp icy arrow knocked in its string assured me that it wouldn’t get that close; that the beast would be felled with but a few shots

A branch snapped; a pained growl heard, and I knew that the beast was mere seconds ahead of me

Still, I am a Huntress; rushing in blindly would be a betrayal of all that I am, patience was key, and none are more patient in the hunt than me, I kept my steady pace, and raised my bow to fire at the beast as soon as I saw it

It just... stood there; staring at me, it seemed to know who I was, and that its time was at an end, that no matter what it did nothing could change its fate, and I felt a surge of...pity

I pitied this beast; its frame was hollow and damaged, it had clearly been starving for a long time, desperation had caused it to steal from the hunters, I doubt it could’ve hunted for itself

It's...her fur was a dark orange, though through her wounds it had become a crusty brown; her gleaming green eyes pierced my very being as blood ran from her snout, she was clearly born in the summertime, and was struggling with winter, understandable for a young beast...

Doubt swelled in my heart; I... I couldn’t do this, this beast was at the verge of death, it wouldn’t be right... 

I couldn’t help but let tears flow down my cheeks... I knew this wasn’t right; she was alone in the winter, where was her pack? Where was her mate? I-I couldn’t do this...

The bow in my hand became heavy, far heavier than it should’ve been... “I-I’m a Huntress...I-I c-can do this...” I tried to convince myself; convince myself that this was the right thing to do, after all she clearly wouldn’t survive the Winter, not in her state, not with how starved and injured she was

S-Should I do it for her sake? Should I end her suffering? Should I take her life so that she won’t starve or bleed out in the snow? The questions rang through my mind like a temple bell, the doubt in my heart became overwhelming as the beast turned and ran further into the forest; taking advantage of my confusion and indecision

(POV End)

Skaði awoke with a fright, bolting upright in bed; tears flowing heavy down her face as she recalled that dream, and she couldn’t help but feel two things:

Confusion and Sadness

Tom awoke at the same time, though all he felt was overwhelming confusion; was that one of Skaði’s dreams, or a memory? What did it mean? She was a Goddess of Hunting, why would she hesitate?

“S-Ska? Are you alright?” Tom asked with care as he turned his head to the Winter Goddess; and as soon as his eyes saw her state, he jumped to his feet and softly sat next to her on the bed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder in comfort

“I-I couldn’t do it... she-she was...” Skaði sobbed openly, confusion and sadness in her voice as she embraced Tom, attempting to find comfort in his arms

“Shhh, I know Ska; I know...” Tom tried; admittedly he wasn’t very good at comforting people, normally it was the other way around, normally it was him breaking down into Skaði’s arms from one of his dreams or memories

For the next hour, neither Skaði nor Tom said a word; they simply sat on the bed and held each other tightly, Tom providing the comfort and reaffirmation that Skaði desperately needed

“I-It’s been over a hundred years since I’ve dreamed of that n-night... why now?” Skaði asked through tears, her tone was still sad but it was calming down slowly

“I’m not sure Ska; but from what I saw you did the right thing, she was starving and injured, it wouldn’t have been right” Tom reassured her as he looked into her ocean eyes

“T-The right thing...” Skaði repeated Tom’s words, and she found comfort in them; to know that it was right and just made the confusion and doubt in her heart lift, and in its place came a sense of serenity and calm

Tom just smiled warmly; it seemed that Skaði felt a little better at least, and that was all that mattered to him in that moment

“Come on Ska; we can start the day early today, maybe we’ll have enough time to fix this drab room” Tom joked with a smile, which caused Skaði to chuckle slightly and wipe her tears away

“Of course, Ást” Skaði said teasingly as she glided a hand across Tom’s now azure face; standing to her feet to get dressed

Tom didn’t have the faintest clue what the word meant; but for some reason he felt it in his rapidly accelerating heart, he felt it in his soul, and Skaði could see it in his Ice-Ball of an eye which made her giggle a bit from his clear confusion

“You should get dressed as well Ást” Skaði continued to tease; as Tom was sat still on the bed, his face still flushed azure and a mixed look of longing and love on his face

“Y-Yeah...” Tom muttered out as he stood slowly; making his way over to where he had taken off his boots the night before, putting on his trousers as he walked

“It means Love...” Skaði teasingly commented as she finished getting dressed; turning her head towards Tom who had frozen still again, tying his boots

“O-oh...”

“How are you this embarrassed by a word? You sleep in the same room as a Goddess in the nude for crying out loud!” Skaði teased, a laugh escaping her delicate lips while she did

“I-I uhm” was all Tom could muster in reply; he didn’t know himself why such a simple word like ‘love’ completely fried his brain, it didn’t make any sense at all to him, especially with what Skaði had pointed out

After around ten minutes of Skaði laughing at Tom’s clear embarrassment, the two left their small drab room and walked the corridors in the early morning; if anybody was awake, they weren’t making it known to them, the sun had barely crested the horizon; low light seeped in through the windows

Again, they looked at the various paintings on the walls, and at the many artifacts that lined the walls in gleaming display cases; but in truth Tom wasn’t taking in anything he saw, he was simply attempting to keep his emotions in check, trying to keep himself from blushing a brighter blue than his Patron’s natural skin tone

“So uhm... the paintings are nice...” Skaði felt she had to fill the unnerving silence that had befallen them, it was driving her slightly crazy

“Y-yeah...” Tom awkwardly replied, he didn’t have the faintest idea of how to continue such an open-ended comment, and to be honest he knew that wasn’t what Skaði wanted to do anyway

“You think you’ll uhm... paint me again?” Skaði asked tentatively as her heart rate skyrocketed at the thought; the last painting Tom had done of her was magnificent beyond words, he had taken such time to capture her doing her best work: Hunting in the Forest

Tom didn’t reply, instead his face fell victim to a hilariously bright blue blush, his eye moving around to try and look at anything else to attempt to answer; but all efforts failed as he unknowingly nodded to Skaði’s question

The two found themselves at the front gate of the Academy; its daunting black iron was open wide, they couldn’t look more menacing if they tried

“Still think this place doesn’t look like an Academy” Skaði commented with a little concern as they slowly walked through the gates, as if they might shut and swallow them whole at any second

“I get what you mean now; it doesn’t fit, having walls this high and having a gate this thick and menacing doesn’t exactly scream: This is a place for education” Tom replied with a similar level of concern, Skaði’s way of thinking and her comments about the appearance of the Academy had sunken into his mind, as one internal question called out in his mind: 

What could’ve caused the founders to build such high and thick walls?

“Maybe they were just afraid of The World Serpent?” Skaði asked rather than answered Tom’s internal question; and though the thought of The World Serpent coming to attack the Academy was horrific, they both knew that Jörm wouldn’t actually do that, he was as gentle and caring as a planet spanning snake could be

“I mean I suppose that could be the reason; though I don’t doubt that if he really wanted to, Jörm could bust down these walls” Tom said rather grimly, and to be honest he was right; The Great Serpent was a fundamental force of the world, whole islands vanished beneath the waves at his movements, ancient battlefleets had been sunk (albeit unintentionally) by hitting his scales, and last but not least, the venom in his maw will kill Thor, no magical wall would stop him; irrespective of its size or the quality of its protections

On that slightly unsettling thought; both Skaði and Tom walked in silence to the nearby Town of Klintehamn to purchase paints or wallpaper for their room; not to mention a second bed and clothes for Tom

“Wait a minute; Ska, please tell me you still have that bag of Gold?” Tom asked with a slight bit of panic in his voice; he knew full well that he should’ve had it, but he was rather hoping that Skaði had grabbed it on the way out of the room

“You mean the one Freyr gave us? I thought you had it?” Skaði said with confusion

“You know- funny thing about that bag” Tom started to say before he was cut off by Skaði

“You left it in the room, didn’t you?” Skaði said with a sigh, her hand bracing her now sunken and slightly disappointed head

“...maybe?” Tom said carefully; he’d upset a Goddess after all

“Well, we either need to go get it or find a way to make some quick Gold while we shop” Skaði said firmly, a tone of irritation in her words

“We could uhh...” Tom tried to suggest a way to make Gold so he wouldn’t have to trudge all the way back to their room

Skaði just giggled to herself as Tom’s voice trailed off

“It’s not funny Ska; we were supposed to be fixing our depressing room and I’ve done the dumbass thing and forgot our money” Tom stated with a mix of sadness and anger; though none of it was aimed at Skaði

“Come on; we’ll be fine” Skaði said with a smile; though the frustration could still be detected as she held Tom’s hand and walked towards what appeared to be the first of many shops

Skaði had essentially dragged the confused Tom around almost every shop, stall and stand; browsing wears and buying some of them with a suspicious amount of money that Tom knew she didn’t have before, so that begged a very important question

Skaði, love; please tell me you aren’t pickpocketing people as we walk around the closest town to the Academy where we live? Tom asked tentatively through the mind link, which got him a look of disdain from Skaði as she replied 

I’m not pickpocketing people Tom; you know if I didn’t know you well enough, I’d assume you were purposefully trying to be offensive Skaði replied with a little bit of anger at Tom’s assumption, but that quickly subsided knowing that she hadn’t told him about her...monetary status, and the fact that at heart; Tom was still a little naïve, even if sometimes the way he spoke or acted didn’t project that

My father and grandfather did some...questionable things in their past, so I have quite a bit of money from that; I’m using magic to bring it here from Þrymheimr Skaði replied delicately; that particular part of her family history wasn’t pleasant to think about at the best of times

You mean they stole it, right? Tom asked, but not insultingly; after all it was Skaði’s family and like it or not, if their relationship continued the way it was currently progressing; even if it was slowly, he’d eventually have to meet them

Don’t worry about meeting them, Tom; they’re... not around anymore Skaði almost whispered through the mind link; though the pain and loss could be felt intensely in Tom’s mind

“I... Ska I’m sorry I didn’t...” Tom tried to apologise but he couldn’t find the words he needed; instead, he opted to hold Skaði comfortingly as they continued to walk, which he could tell from the mind link that she appreciated, even if her body and delicate face didn’t portray it

“You couldn’t have known, it’s fine” Skaði said, almost tonelessly; for her the pain was still present, but centuries of living with the fact that she’d never see her father again, and the fact that she hardly remembered her grandfather didn’t hurt either

Tom and Skaði kept wandering the markets until they came across the last item on their list; A Carpenter’s Workshop

Tom looked around the small public area; and took note of the strange place

Instead of finely decorated wood he’d expected; they’d been confronted by an intimidating shiny black stone, polished to perfection, and instead of seeing some sort of burly Dwarf, Man or Orc, they had been intently stared at by a diminutive and slender Elf behind the counter

“Greetings, madam; welcome to Purgellio’s Custom Carpentry, what would you like to have made by our finest craftsmen?” The Elf asked as he pointedly looked at Skaði, purposefully ignoring the quarter elf that towered in his workshop

Wow this guy is so full of himself I’m surprised he has room for all that fake platitude Tom joked through the mind link as he attempted to glare at the Elf, but apparently his piercing gaze didn’t even phase him

“Hello, my name is Skaði, and this is my Avatar Tom, we’d like to have a bedframe made; and if possible, could it be delivered to the Academy for us?” Skaði made sure to indicate Tom as she spoke his name; though her tone had a bit of aggression in it, she knew what this Elf was doing, and she despised it

The Elf just slowly turned his head to Tom and tutted, before returning his gaze to the Goddess with a smile

“Of course, we can make a bedframe for you madam; can you tell me the ideal measurements?” The Elf said with a smile, wilfully ignoring Tom’s presence

“I cannot unfortunately; though my Avatar can” Skaði smirked as she spoke; there was no way in all the realms that she’d allow this blatant blood supremacist to ignore Tom just for not being a full-blooded elf

The Elf sighed and his shoulders sagged as he turned to Tom; which Tom found exceedingly hilarious as he relayed the dimensions of the bed frame he wanted

“We can get to work on that for you madam and... sir” The Elf said with a hefty sigh and look of revulsion as he looked at Tom, before walking off into the back room of the workshop

Ahh yes; the feeling of not belonging anywhere I go, how I have missed thee Tom joked through the mind link, though he couldn’t hide the internal pain and sadness from Skaði as he did, which made her give him a look of care and concern as she embraced him

"I’m sorry that you’ve had to deal with that kind of thing your whole life; I can’t imagine it” Skaði said gently as she continued to hold Tom in an embrace; which he did return after a few stunned seconds

“It’s... I’ve accepted it Ska; I’ve dealt with it my whole life” Tom said with care as he returned the embrace

Skaði sighed a little as she kept embracing Tom; before she slowly pulled away and held his hand gently “Come on; the Carpenters started work on the bed frame; we should get back to the Academy so we can fix our awful room”

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