clouds rolling in

for one, perfect moment, victory seems within his grasp. she’s right there for the taking, and he allows himself the notion that the stars have aligned for this, plants have shifted and changed course to bring such an event into being, entire universes have splintered apart and come back together to bring them both to this very point. mine. the shape of the word is poised on his tongue, silently mouthed as her fur brushes against a claw tip.

and then, impossibly, she moves.

Styrmir makes a furious sound, a howl of rage, but it’s drowned out by the sudden clap of thunder overhead. lightning follows quickly afterward, splintering across the sky and throwing his silhouette into sharp relief. Thor himself is angered by this denial, this loss of what Styrmir knows to be a divine right. “you’ve not yet seen even an eighth of what i’m capable,” he spits, the fur bristling along his spine in taut spikes. here they are, engaged in a tremulous dance, and still she mocks him. “and when you’re squirming beneath me, begging for mercy…” his eyes meet hers in silent challenge, savouring the vicious glint cutting through that quicksilver stare, “i will deny you.”

she lunges for him, then, and her teeth find his throat and gain purchase. pain shoots through him like a whip crack, and he shudders; every point of her teeth feels like a point of lightning, electrifying him on the spot. the momentum of her attack sends him stumbling backward, and he trips. instinctively, he brings his forepaws up and once again attempts to sling them around her shoulders, to bring her down with him - and as his back hits the earth, he twists and aims to flip them over, to pull her beneath him even as she grips his throat.

"Styrmir Trygg"