literature

Children of Ragnarok

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With a firm but quiet closing of the door, the giant clad in black slumped against the frame, sighing tiredly to himself.  He'd had a long day of manual labor, and even after several weeks he still wasn't quite used to what the humans put themselves through day-to-day. Or maybe it was just the change in diet affecting him.  Or the stress.

That's probably what it was:  The stress of constantly looking over his shoulder.

Well, it didn't matter.  He'd finish the project he was contracted to, get paid, and move on, soon enough.  At some point, anyone after him had to lose track of him, right?

Wiping his cheeks, he looked down at his hands to see the black face paint had smeared from all of the sweat from the day.

"Right," he muttered to himself.  He shook his head and moved to the small washroom, disrobing along the way, and made quick work of rinsing himself off of the dirt and grime he'd accumulated.  Who'd want to sleep in that, after all?

By this time, Teagan had been at the small inn long enough to get a general feeling for the comings and goings of its temporary inhabitants.  How long had it been now?   Two weeks?   A month?   Perhaps she should've started carving nicks into the wooden rafter of the crevice she'd dubbed her room.  The tiny girl frowned absentmindedly.  As sad as it was.  Barely a collection of trinkets she'd managed to collect.  Of course she felt bad stealing from people but what choice did she have?  Her home had been stolen from her after all.  She made a mental list of all the rooms she wanted to visit tonight, sticking out her tongue in concentration and she climbed down the walls using handholds only visible to one of her size and using her imagination to cross off rooms with couples and children.  With a light whuff she pulled herself up to her peephole to see how things were coming with the occupant of the first room she'd decided to visit tonight.  Up until now, this guy seemed to fall asleep pretty fast and stay asleep pretty easily.  She didn't expect any problems, but better to take a look before she did anything brash.

She stretched out her legs, falling onto her back, and relaxed.  It was just a waiting game now as she watched the room's single occupant.

It was a good ten minutes before Haydn came out of the shower, the hot water barely making any impact on his weary muscles.  He'd have to take care of that himself once he was out.  He took his time about getting out and grabbing his towel, deciding to warm it up once it was damp enough and he was ready for bed.

Once dry, he stepped into his night clothes that he'd left on the bed, and turned out the lights, flopping onto the mattress and briefly bouncing with his weight.  For a long while he stared up at the ceiling, watching the reflections and shadows from outside dance and jerk here and there.

It's so blue here...

Even though she knew the enormous being on the other side of the wall would never know she was there, Teagan turned around as he began changing, doing her best to show some level of respect to her intended victim.  Once she was sure he was in bed she resumed her silent vigil.  Patience was a virtue she'd learned quickly in human lands.  Too quick on the draw and she could dart out into the path of a cat, dog, or even a bird.  And who knew how one of the taller folk would react.  They were just as unpredictable as the animals she'd practiced avoiding on her way to a safe haven.  Teagan had no desire to test her luck, so it was only after she truly believed the giant to be asleep that she crept out into the room.  Taking stock of her surroundings she quietly made her way towards his belongings.

Haydn turned his head towards the floor when he noticed a change in temperature in a particular spot.  It was small, but it was moving, and not the first time he'd noticed it.  This time; however, it wasn't in the wall or under the floor like before.

"Gettin' bold there, little mousey," he said softly.

Teagan froze as a voice addressed her from the bed.  Had she been spotted?  She checked herself.  No, that couldn't be.  It was dark and she was invisible.  Perhaps it was best if she turned around.  Yes, that was definitely for the best.  The hole leading into the room was right there.  Not far at all.

Intrigued by what he perceived to be a fleeing rodent, Haydn quickly flipped the light back on and looked for where he estimated the mouse to be... and saw nothing.

But he could still feel her...

Sneaky little elf!

"I don't need to see you to kill you," he said firmly, concentrating on Teagan's small heat signature and quickly raising her temperature to make her uncomfortable.

If she hadn't been scared before, the man's words certainly had her terrified now.  The quickened beating of her hummingbird heart thrummed in her ears as she raced across the flooring.  It wasn't even hardly seconds later that she felt the changes in her body as she grew warmer and warmer, hotter and hotter.  He clearly had the means to deliver on his threat.  She didn't want to die here.  Not like this.  Not alone in some foreign world.  This was too much after everything she'd been through so recently.  

Skidding to her knees mid-run, she shakily raised her hands above her head in a silent plea for mercy as hot tears ran down her cheeks and she became visible.  She was then snatched up by Haydn's large hand and brought to his face, her body temperature gradually being reduced to what it was before.  Teagan barely let out a choked shriek as she was whisked skyward.  She continued her frightened sniffling as her eyes darted across every inch of the broad expanse of his face.

"Wow, you're seriously tiny," he marveled, his natural baritone softening for the sake of Teagan's tiny ears.  "What in Helheim are you doing on my room, though?" he demanded.

A blush of embarrassment crept into her cheeks as Teagan started wiping at her eyes.  She'd been caught red-handed.  Well, admitedly she hadn't taken anything.  Yet.  But she seriously doubted fibbing would be of any help to her in this situation.  She lifted a hand to her brow and pantomimed a searching motion for him before pinching some of the fabric from her outfit and rubbing her arms briskly.  Fall was already upon them and winter would be coming soon after.  The elf had been hoping to find fabrics for blankets or, if she was lucky, odds and ends to help her in her continued efforts to survive outside of her homeland.

"What, you're cold?" Haydn asked.

She nodded emphatically in reply and rubbed her arms again.  It did get drafty in the walls.

Haydn sat back down on the bed, slowly.  "You want to stow away or something?  I won't be staying here for too much longer."

The little woman blinked uncertainly.  Stow away?  She'd finally found some place to settle down and wait out the winter.  If he carried her someplace new then she'd have to start all over again.  And just as alone and without help.  Gingerly, she pointed down at the blankets on the bed he'd carried her over to.  This was what she'd come looking for she tried to signal to her captor.  Blankets.

The giant of a man stared blankly as he followed her gesture, but then it hit him.  "Oh!  You're looking for a blanket or something?"

Teagan smiled and nodded with a little clap of her hands, happy that she'd been understood.

Grunting in thought, Haydn gently set Teagan down on the bed after getting up.  "I know I have something…"  He began to rummage through his knapsack, pulling out an assortment of black fabrics and other travel-ready items.  Muttering to himself, he finally emerged from his bag and held up a small wad of tissue paper.

"Ah-hah!  Thought so."  He proudly presented the wad to her.  "I promise, they're brand new."

Teagan watched him curiously as he dug through the huge pit-like sack before coming back and showing her a wad of unusually supple paper.  Tentatively she took the offering from him and the broke out into a big smile, presenting him with a curtsy in return; momentarily forgetting that he still had her trapped amidst her genuine appreciation of the small act of kindness.

"It's not conventional but it'll keep the cold out, I think," he offered sheepishly.  "Is that all you were looking for?"

Teagan thought hard, tapping a petite finger against her lips.  Well, really she'd come looking for anything of use but it wouldn't be polite to ask for more.  She nodded an affirmative.

"Okie dokie."  With that, Haydn scooped her up into his cupped hands, using one to block the draft as he moved.  "Where's the hole you crawled out of?  I'll put you back there."

Teagan let out a startled squeak as she found herself unexpectedly scooped back up into a large palm.  Taking a moment to regain her bearings from so high up, she eventually pointed to the mouse hole she'd found and used to sneak into the giant's room.

"You got it."  Smiling, Haydn stepped over to the wall and knelt down, setting his hand on the floor and letting her step off as she liked.

Teagan hopped off the fleshy platform before turning to look back at the giant man and afford him with a tiny wave.  As soon as she walked through into the safety of the mouse hole, she felt her knees turn to jelly.  She couldn't believe she'd just walked out of that unscathed after his initial reaction to her presence.  He'd been so intense only to seemingly change his demeanor completely once he figured out why she was there.  The little woman sat down hard.  She'd managed to walk a few more paces further in, and stared at her gift of crumpled tissues.

Once she was out of sight, the redhead stood up straight and watched the hole a moment, pondering what to do with the information he'd just acquired.  Finally he turned around and flopped back onto the bed, turning the light off and staring up at the shadows on the ceiling again, this time with a smile on his face.

As the last bit of adrenaline left her system, the little elf began the trek home through the walls pondering what had just happened.  He wasn't so bad, she decided.  When she reached her barren home she felt exhausted. Maybe she wouldn't visit those other rooms tonight after all.  Making a small nest out of her newly acquired tissues, she curled up into a ball much akin to the mouse he'd originally thought she was.  Nice even, she thought to herself as she fell asleep feeling just a little warmer that night.
So I realize I haven't really posted anything GT-centric for a while.  OTL

:iconrivetspoon: was kind enough to give me permission to post this scene from an RP we've been working on, on and off for a while.

Teagan belongs to moi.
Haydn belongs to rivetspoon

EDIT: Thanks to all your positive feedback, we've decided to go ahead and post the next part of this RP as well.  ^^
Next part: abusedprivilege.deviantart.com…

Verse: Ragnarok
Canon: No
© 2016 - 2024 AbusedPrivilege
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Silencc10113's avatar
I adored this <3
Was just the perfect story to read as it grows cold outside~