milliways_bar | (no subject)

"When has Ragnar Loðbrók ever done what he should?" Sinric smiles teasingly. "Rather than what he wished. Come, my beloved. Let it go."

"It is an entire life in possibilities," Ragnar says. "Not easy to let go."

"Let the possibilities unfold." Sinric urges. "Let the boy grow. And carve for himself whatever place he can."

"Trust the gods?"

"In the gods, in yourself. In the strength of your bloodline."

Ragnar nods. "In the future, and in fate."

Sinric leans in to kiss Ragnar's brow. "If you wish, I will go into the tree for you?"

"Yes," Ragnar says. "I would like that. For the sake of Ivar."

"At dawn then. Will you stay the night, to wait for me?"

"Oh yes," Ragnar says. "And I will stay the night with you, if you have a use for me."

"Ragnar." Sinric chides sweetly. "I always want your company. I have missed you deeply."

"How long since we left?"

"More than half a year." Sinric answers honestly.

"Not that long for me," Ragnar says. "We are still getting ready to leave for England."

"So, you and Athelstan are still parted? I'm sorry, beloved. I hoped you might have found each other by now. But time is a strange thing."

"We are," Ragnar says, "and I miss him terribly. I so wanted his advice when -- but of course, he would have said Ivar should live. He'd promise to take care of him himself, as I know him. Unless sadness has completely overtaken him."

"I will look for him also, when I go into the tree. But I will be be weak when I come out. For all my skills have improved, it still leaves me shaken."

"I will gladly give you anything you need to restore you," Ragnar says. "But if there is a choice, look for Ivar first."

"Your company, beloved. That will restore me And your pleasure, should you wish to share it. But only if you desire to."

"Of course I do," Ragnar says. "With you, always."

He kisses the corner of Ragnar's lips. "I know your heart is with Athelstan. And I would never ask you to be otherwise."

"If my heart was whole, it would be," Ragnar says. "But it isn't, so one of the bits is definitely yours."

"Then we shall sooth the parts of each other's hearts we can." He smiles and kisses Ragnar properly, if only to hide the sadness he knows is lingering in his own eyes. "Are you hungry? We have a few hours before dawn."

"Always," Ragnar says. "Hungry, thirsty, greedy for the world. But I learned patience."

Sinric laughs and orders stew and mead and bread. "Where was I, when last we saw each other? I can't remember."