Their days at the beach were over. Valkyrie had picked a new land that while not quite the opposite of a beach was pretty damn far from it. There were no beautiful sunsets here. No warm sand crunching under her paws. There was, however, a silver lining. She had parked Hjarrandi's rump - so to speak - squarely between two packs lest Boreas forget about the band while they waited for Winterfell to do its job. And what better place to be than between her second best customer and her retirement sugar baby? Maybe she'd park the band next to Winterfell next season. See how things were fairing for the northerners.

At any rate there wasn't much left for her to do today. Her band mates were off doing their own thing - just like she liked it - which meant her duties were slim. Valkyrie had seen to their stores and the equipment they used to haul their belongings, and she'd made a loop around the place to check for nosy wolves. Now, with nothing pressing to attend to, she'd taken up watch atop a massive fallen log and lay with her paws crossed and her head resting upon them. She was mapping out Hjarrandi's next play. It was time for another raid and another market.

Valkyrie lifted her head and stretched out a clawed paw to examine its nails. Her expression was brooding. This time she would need to be more careful. She'd let her ego get the best of her and neglected the spiritual side of things. This time, when she felt moved to raid again, she would take the necessary steps to ensure she was right. She would consult Alfrun; she'd learned her lesson.

Alfrun was preoccupied, throwing knucklebones and reading the runes over and over again. Something didn't feel quite right, didn't feel like everything was quite right in the world. Tanken was silent, staring over her shoulder at the bones as well, though the big black bird didn't make any comment. He did peck at one, tossing it back up into the air, and they both leaned closer as it fell the same way it had when she'd tossed it. "Well, my sweet boy," she murmured dreamily to Tanken. "There's nothing for it, is there. We shall see what our dear Valkyrie sees in this tangle, shall we?" With a caw, the carrion-eater took off, leaving a black feather drifting, trailing red to her Other Sight. She absently plucked it up off the ground and wander off in search of her brother's daughter.

When she found her, a brooding dark red aura around the clawed earthen female, but she didn't hesitate a moment before settling beside her and letting the feather drift to the ground at Valkyrie's paws. "Something troubles you, sister's daughter?"

As if on cue Alfrun was suddenly at her side. The intuitiveness of her aunt's arrival was a touch disquieting, but Valkyrie tended to find anything she couldn't sink her claws into or see with the naked eye a little unsettling. There was no fighting the unseen forces and it was that fact, perhaps, that didn't sit well with her. Alfrun may not have been able to best Valkyrie in a fight unaided, but the Drottin had no doubt the gaunt woman could pick her apart in less seemly ways.

She frowned thoughtfully down at the inky black feather that Alfrun had brought with her before shooting a speculative glance at Alfrun. By and large ravens were messengers. They could bring anything from an omen of death to the promise of raids and any number of things in between. Valkyrie reached out to grab the feather and wound it absently between her toes. "The future, föðursystir, and my place in it."

Valkyrie pressed the feather's shaft between the pads of both forepaws and began to roll it back and forth slowly. "I have a hunger nothing satisfies. I allowed it to make me impulsive and..." She stopped rolling the feather. "I am afraid of what the future holds." Valkyrie set the feather down and turned to face Alfrun. "Tell me, have you seen something?"