Ylgr ok Bjǫrn I

Posted on Fri Aug 26th, 2022 @ 10:39pm by Lieutenant Commander Lyra Cassiel & Lieutenant Commander Andrei Petrov

Mission: In-Between (S1:E3-S1:E4)
Location: Holodeck 2
Timeline: Mission Day 7 at 0130
3556 words - 7.1 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

Andrei had been applying himself to instruction in martial arts forms and short range combat and, despite his harrowing experience of recent weeks, he was actually stronger than he had ever been on the outside. On the inside, however, he was a changed man. His spark was still there, but it was no longer tempered by the same good-natured young man he had been. He had been seasoned by fire, and the exquisite suffering had taught him many lessons. Out with a real eye, in with a false one.

He arrived outside the holodeck. Again, he had asked for Madeline and the computer told him she was here again. He thought about ringing her, but instead he decided to simply go in and find her, to hell with inconveniences and pretenses. He was feeling less formal and more feral, but he had learned to withstand suffering, emotional and physical, as well. He opened the door and walked inside.

As Andrei entered the holodeck, the immediate blast of cold air hit and shocked the senses. As he stepped through the doors, he stepped back in time. Mountain met him in the distance, sunset hues painted behind them with the sun having just dipped below the tallest peaks. Immediately, he found himself standing on a muddy path, the smell of animals and fire filling the air only to be briefly swept away by a cold, ominous wind. Patches of mostly melted snow were on the ground with the occasional melted pile still hiding under the thatch grass awnings of the wooden buildings. None of them were particularly large in the immediate area he was standing, but he could see over the roofs of some there was a taller building off a little ways. Out from near where he was standing he saw dark blue, nearly black water with chunks of ice floating on it all surrounded by high cliffs and the mountains and the distance, but there did appear to be inlets leading out.

As he stood there, a couple of men dressed in tunics and leathers walked past, each sporting a thick fur necked cloak around their shoulders. They completely ignored Andrei as did the few other people milling about; it seemed that the computer program registered him as an observer, not part of the program. The characters were dressed in very similar attire that the men who had just walked past were, though some lacked the armor or had more on and many of the women wore long dresses that seemed to be made to be warm. Nearly all of them had long hair in varying styles, sporting braids and other decorations and several of the men he could see sported impressive beards.

Norse, Viking, would pop into Andrei’s head.

There was faint music in the air coming from the direction the largest of the buildings was located, but he didn’t immediately see Madeline. She was however nearby, given the computer wouldn’t have put him in a completely random place. As he stood there, he could hear the soft sound of moaning from one of the buildings nearby, but down near the water on one of the long docks, he could see there was someone sitting near the edge looking out to the water.

Andrei shivered slightly from the rush of cool wind. He was only wearing a grey short sleeve shirt and a pair of black pants. He was hardly prepared to be dropped into this scene. With his patch interface, he could see an array full with information about the setting, but it only screamed to him that he was seeing a simulation. Overwhelmed, as he was without enough practice, he was having a hard time making heads or tales of the situation. He changed the setting with a specific motion of the eye and specified it should simply process natural light and nothing more. From then on, he saw a view much like he got through his natural eye.

He heard the moaning, and that drew his attention, but he thought it was unlikely that it was Maddie. A few weeks ago he would have gone to look anyway, but now, not so much. He started out toward the docks, hoping that for in the distance was her.

As he drew closer to the dock and the water, the temperature began to drop even more. As he cleared the line of buildings proper, off to the left a ways away from the settlement he would see six traditional longships on the sand and rocks being finished. They didn't look like they were finished, but nearly there. The unmistakable sound of metal being sharpened hit his ears accompanied by a soft, pleasing humming of a woman's voice. As his feet finally hit the planks above the water and began to make noise, the figure turned and as he suspected it was Madeline sitting there looking at him. She turned back, sharpening the sword in her lap, but she did speak.

"Lovely to see you as always, Andrei." She greeted with her attention focused on the edge of the blade.

“It seems like every time I see you, you’re working on something sharp.” He said, his eye moving over her lovely form in period furs. There was a moment during his capture when he thought he would die. And in that moment, his most poignant regret was that he would never see her face again. He stopped next to her, still standing, and gazed out at the sea. “It’s beautiful. Natural. Like you.”

“It was never something I’d really considered, but I stumbled on the program when I was wanting to learn more skills. Sometimes just doing form after form gets boring.” She inspected the blade once more and then shifted it, offering the hilt up to Andrei while she held the blade carefully. “What do you think?” Madeline looked up to him then, her expression neutral but she was glad to see him here. What had been done to him… she didn’t like to dwell on it. Even the thought pulled out a rage that was desperately hard to control.

She had to maintain control.

He wrapped his long fingers around the brown grip of the short sword. The silver pommel and guard were carved into a jagged design. He examined the blade, noting its thinness.

“Carolingian. Sharp and beautifully polished.” He said, turning the blade around in his hand, being careful not to do harm with the blade she was still holding. He looked into her eyes. “Too clean, I think. And far too dry.” He grinned, his patch interface covering his right eye, but small enough not to affect the shape and line of his face.

Madeline released the sword, leaving him holding it as she moved to stand. “I don’t know, Andrei. There is beauty in a clean sword.” She reached up and unclamped her cloak from around her neck and stepped closer to him so she could throw it around him and settle it around his shoulders. It was warm from the heat of her body and helped take the chill off of him immediately. Her hand then drifted down, her fingertips caressing the broadside of the blade. “They wait to be wielded like a brush to help create art on a canvas.”

“I’m partial to that art form, you know.” He said, though he hesitated in accepting the cloak. “You should have this. It’s cold out here.”

Immediately he took it off again, tempting the possibility that she would be annoyed by the gesture. He was more concerned, however, with making sure she wasn’t too cold. He stepped around her now and placed it back around her shoulders, wrapping his arms around her in the process and placing a hand on her stomach

“I should get my own. Unless you want to be alone?” He asked in a reasonable voice.

Madeline wasn’t annoyed by his return of the cloak, but there was a touch of amusement on her face when he did so. She had been wearing it for a while after all so could have spared the few moments of warmth. There was no use in arguing over it. When he wrapped his arms around her and his hand lingered, her own came up naturally to rest on top of it without her even thinking. Ever since their evening spent together in merriment tormenting Luca Romano, she found Andrei’s touch to be particularly electrifying.

“No.” She turned her head and looked up to him. “You’re more than welcome to stay, Andrei.” Her voice was surprisingly gentle and welcoming. It was not a tone she used often with anyone else. “Though perhaps you might enjoy trying a different kind of brush than what you are used to today.”

“What would you suggest?” He asked, looking out at the water over her hair. He cued up his interface and used it to measure the surface of the water to the point at which the program ended. There were fishes and other animals in the water, and he could see them dancing. His curiosity satisfied, he returned to the natural view.

Madeline could hear the soft mechanical sounds of his eye above her but she didn't let it bother her. It was simply something to get used to as a normal now. She pulled away from him and turned to face him; a smirk curled onto her lips as she regarded him. "Hmm... well I could see you dressed as a berserker in nothing but a bear hide and a couple of swords. Fun for me, cold for you."

“I’m just imagining you in a bearskin in the cold.” Andrei said honestly. “That sounds like it could be interesting. Any other ideas?”

"I prefer wolf skin, really." She wrapped one arm around herself while her other hand came up, her fingers resting on her lips. Madeline's eyes were focused and intent. She had never had company in this program before, but the prospect of sharing it was interesting. "I was actually going to be hunting animals today. Would you like to do that or are you in the mood for something more... direct?" Hunting would be a more subdued affair, but required more cunning and focus than an outright battle, the battle would be more thrilling and exhilarating. Her dark eyes looked into his, searching for what he needed right now.

Andrei didn't have to think about it for a second. He could still hear the screams of the Kazon, still see their life draining from their bodies. Vengeance, pure and as bitter as it was sweet. He had a taste for blood and more anger than an animal could help him with.

"I want to feel the heat of battle; sword, and axe, and spear. Man against man....or woman." He gave her a grin, but it was far less cheeky than it would have been before. It was obvious to anyone who knew him that he was fighting a depression that had settled in his soul which the killing hadn't cleared. He handed her back her sword with a wink.

"Computer, give me a Norse berserker uniform made of the fur of a black bear with green fabrics." he commanded, and the computer complied. An array of garments and pieces appeared on the dock surrounding them. He stripped off his grey shirt, increasing the coolness of the breeze. His time in intense training the past few weeks had made an obvious change in him; where he had been muscular before, he was cut now, and his abs had transformed into a machinelike array of sculpted muscle. He evaluated the furs and fabrics, seeing the angry face of the bear which would serve as his helm. He shook his head. "Computer, replace the right eye of the bear with an emerald, crudely cut."

The eye transformed and he saw there an image of an animal that, in some ways, represented him. A wolf turned into a bear, it felt. He reached up and pulled off the smart interface which looked like an eyepatch revealing his bionic eye. It was emerald green like that of the bear. With the patch being removed, his natural sight in that eye was gone, and instead he saw light in the ultraviolet and infrared bands and telescopic capabilities. He stared into the bear's eyes for several long moments, saying nothing. Then he reached for the bear claw necklace hooked to a black leather string with silver rings, and slipped it over his head, pulling his long hair through. He stripped off his hands then and pulled on the pants armor made of a combination of black and green fabrics and black leather and covered by belts of the fur of the same black bear. He kicked off his shoes and put on the large bear fur boots. Finally, he pulled on the torso armor, a huge black bear fur reinforced for fighting, which draped down his back and was fitted around his arms and shoulders. His stomach and chest were left bare. The teeth of the bear head came as low as his forehead and framed his own black mane.

He turned to face Maddie then, his scowl matching the look of his outfit. Menacing. Unyielding. He gave her a small curious smile.

"What do you think?"

Madeline had been quiet as Andrei had changed in front of her but made absolutely no secret she was watching him as he changed, appreciating his body in a less than chaste way. She could see that clinging depression around Andrei; she understood it, but she hated seeing that spark sunk so low in him.

Perhaps enough blood would make it float back to the top.

When he turned to face her her eyes were approving in more ways than one. "Almost ready, just a few finishing touches. Computer, set Andrei Petrov to 'participant'. Provide weapons for Cassiel." She paused and looked at Andrei's face, then added. "And paint." There was a small delay, and then everything appeared on the dock next to them. First, she turned to the weapons rack that had been made manifest and considered the implements displayed to her. Axes, swords, spears. She touched her lips, naturally reaching for one of the spears but seeming hesitant on what else she wanted to take.

Andrei smiled at her approval, but didn't linger there too long. As the weapons rack appeared, he was distracted again. He stood next to Maddie looking over his options. He grabbed a short blade similar to the one she had, but with a black leather grip but with a broad v-shaped silver guard and a silver pommel with a rough-cut emerald in the center. It seemed the computer's predictive features were working fine. He grabbed that and attached the scabbard at his side. He then grabbed two matching axes with a head engraved with runes. He attached those to silver rings on either side of his hips. When done, he watched her as she thought.

"The berserkers, or berserkir," the foreign word rolled off her tongue with ease, "were warriors known for their ferocity. They were often feared by their fellow warriors, but just as equally respected. Once the battle began, they would often work themselves into a frenzy, howling and roaring in rage as they lay waste to the field of battle." She spoke of his role, figuring he might enjoy knowing more about it. Eventually, she decided on a second sword both it and her first sword were placed at her hips. A smaller but no less deadly looking axe which she put into its sheath before attaching it to her lower back. "Legend had it that some could even change their form completely into their cult's animal." The spear was the last to be picked up, though instead of attaching it to her body, she leaned it against one of the pylons on the dock.

Madeline turned to him then and picked up the period-accurate jar of paint that had been provided. "Close your eyes." She commanded softly.

Andrei listened to the information she was giving him with full attention, not fidgeting or looking about. His eyes were on her. When she turned to him, the natural eye softened, but the bionic one said nothing. There was a change. Nevertheless, he did as she bid him and closed his eyes.

"I've been known to whip myself into a frenzy on occasion." he said jokingly, though it's clear his heart wasn't in it. He was going through the motions, but refused to give way to this sorrow. He also refused to burden her or anyone else with it. He would remain the same.

His heart was heavy. He was withdrawing. Andrei was a proud man and rightfully so, but admit it or not he had been laid low by the Kazon and their brutality toward him. Something like that would have an effect on anyone. She wasn't about to let him slip away. When he closed his eyes, she dipped three fingers in the paint and then brought them up to slide them down Andrie's face, one over each eye and the middle over his nose. The paint was wet and cold and mildly unpleasant, but also dried instantly against his skin so the feeling didn't linger. She lifted her middle finger to skip his lips but resumed on his chin and down his neck until the paint ran out.

Trying to get him to talk to her would get her nowhere, she knew that, and she also knew it likely wouldn't be effective for Andrei. Her fingers dipped into the paint again and she began to draw runes on his chest. Her offer was a simple one - her presence. Solid, stable, someone who saw his darkness and not only didn't turn from it, but embraced it with a smile. He could cling to her for what his - what their sense of normalcy was until he weathered his storm.

"There you go." She said and stepped back.

"Now, is it my turn to draw on you, Mad Maddie?" he asked, this time turning his lips up further than before. She did make him quite happy in this moment, and if he just looked at her, he could almost forget what had happened to him. When she was around, he almost didn't smell those sickly smells which had come from him. He blinked quickly, placing a hand on her cheek.

Her head tilted just slightly as she pressed her warm cheek into his hand. “Yes, actually.” She replied with an easy, teasing smirk and lifted the pot full of black paint up to him to see if he would actually do so.

He reached three fingers into the paint and moved all three over her right eye, waiting for her to close it before he did so. Two lines over her eye and one alongside it close to her hairline. He stopped at her cheek. He did the same thing to her other eye. Then, when that was finished, he drew a single line from the bottom of her lip to the top of her armor. He locked eyes with her, his faze unfalteringly placed on her. He reached for the paint and closed it, leaving the can in her hand.

Madeline again showed no doubt in Andrei’s intentions and she simply closed her eyes. When he touched her, she didn’t flinch. When he was done, her eyes met and held his with that steady, inviting darkness that was now familiar to him. “I play with the ouchie settings on high.” She finally broke the silence between them, a wicked little smirk forming on her face. “No death, because I’m not about to be one of those fools who dies on the holodeck.” She flipped her braided hair back over her shoulder. “Widen your stance and don’t lock your knees.”

"What's the fun if there's at least no chance of pain?" he asked rhetorically, approving of her choice. He spread his legs as she asked and made sure his knees were sufficiently flexible. He wasn't sure what she was after, but he wasn't afraid either. He wasn't really afraid of anything anymore. Not even humiliation.

“Computer, assign role status jarl to Cassiel.” Andrei would watch as a silver circlet shimmered into existence on Madeline’s forehead, a solid band with an inlaid braid design and a single ruby set in the middle. “Load scenario raid of Bywell Monastery and begin.” The reason for Madeline’s instructions became immediately apparent as the solid dock under them shifted suddenly to the deck of the longboat in a violently bucking sea. What had been sunset had now become an inky black night pierced by the light of the stars and crescent moon overhead. Madeline turned from Andrei and moved to the prow of the ship, pulling herself up on it to look out to the sea. “Róðr!” She commanded in the native tongue, a deep, guttural sound made in unison as the men sitting on the benches holding their oars did as she commanded.

Row.


TBC