Snow flakes spiraled gently out of pale gray sky. They danced and twirled gently down in the calm evening air, undisturbed by the lack of wind. Valdís was hard at work with her companions as she worked to create a special evening for her lover, Ásvor. She was nervous. Terribly nervous. Even if she'd fought in a hundred raids she doubted she'd ever feel quite this anxious. Tonight she was going to propose to her girlfriend. Embla had finished hanging rosemary and mistletoe above the entrance to the old barn to give it a festive and unique look. Inside Valdís had spread out a buffalo hide and next to it rested a freshly carved elk prime rib. She'd bought some mead off a raccoon that belonged to one of Abaven's hunters and she was given a few bowls from Álarr for good luck. In the back of the bar a small fire was going, the smoke drifting out through a hole in the ceiling. Tucked away was her gift, wrapped in rabbit hide. Everything was about as perfect as she could make it. Trotting back to the barn door she lifted her head and called for Ásvor. "Talk" "You" Think

Winter was here, and with it came an even deeper sense of calm. Though she had plenty to do in the future, namely a visit to Winterfell to take care of with Torrent, overall things had been relatively easy lately - and Ásvor wasn't about to complain about that. She had no idea how that fight would go, but she had no intentions of going against Tyrian's wishes. If anything it would prove to be an interesting task, one she was fully confident she could see through. Her mind was on these future endeavors, hearing Valdís call for her was enough to completely dislodge those thoughts from her mind. It wasn't an urgent call, but did sound a touch more nervous than she was used to, so Ásvor couldn't help but hurry to her call.

She was surprised to find that Valdís had called her from the barn. It wasn't one of their usual meeting spots, which struck her as odd, though it became rather quickly apparent that nothing was wrong. In fact... it looked like Valdís had decorated this place for her, which earned a private smile as she drew inside the old barn's entrance. The decorations weren't limited to the barn's exterior either. Inside a fire had been started, quite an impressive feat, and nearby was a prepared meal. Ásvor raised a brow as she drew toward Valdís, looking quite pleased. "What's the occasion?" She started, pressing her nose to Valdís's cheek in affectionate greeting. "Don't tell me I forgot my own birthday?"

Valdís felt her heart continue to race as Ásvor answered the call. The warrior took a deep breath. This was easily the scariest and most exciting thing she'd every done in her life and she could only hope it would turn out well. She returned Ásvor's nuzzle before padding over toward the elk and took her seat with a grin. She winked at Ásvor. "If you did I'd certainly make sure to remember, and no this is… well, this is for something else." Valdís gestured for Ásvor to take a seat. "Something really good I hope! You see, there's something I want to ask you." "Talk" "You" Think

It was quite unusual to see Valdís the least bit nervous, and her uneasy mood became more palpable by the second as she sauntered into the barn. At first her attention had been entirely on her surroundings, but now her gaze fell solely on her girlfriend. For a split second, she was worried something was wrong, despite how perfectly she'd laid things out, clearly for some kind of special occasion... though curiously that occasion was completely lost on her. Regardless her interest was piqued, and Valdís's grin eased her worries. Lazily she followed her, reclining to her haunches and facing her curiously.

"Something good," the Finnvi completed, raising an eyebrow curiously. As much as she wracked her brain, she was finding it difficult to come up with an answer. Apparently she'd have to wait for Valdís herself. "Hopefully I have an answer," she grinned lightly, tilting her head toward Valdís and reaching out to touch her shoulder lightly, hoping to ease whatever was causing her nervousness. It was hard to imagine what she could possibly be worried over, though she'd do her best to ease her worries regardless of what it was.

Valdís settled in, doing her best to ignore her heart fluttering away in her chest like a little bird. She focused on Ásvor. Nervous as she was her girlfriend had always been a grounding presence and they had such a bond that even if Ásvor said no Valdís tried to reassure herself that everything wouldn't just go up in flames. Ásvor reached out to touch her shoulder and Valdís reached down and gently licked at her girlfriend's paw. "I hope so too." She smiled softly and moved over toward the rabbit hide. She picked it up delicately in her jaws and set it in front of her. "Ásvor, you mean so much to me. You've given life a certain sweetness and made it far richer than I ever thought it could be." She assumed she'd just fight for whatever pack she was a part of until she died. She never thought there would be anything else, anything more. "Ásvor, I'd be honored to have you by my side til the end of my days. Would you marry me?" She unwrapped the rabbit hide to reveal a silver bracelet with serpentine weaving in the top and bottom. It was studded all around with large emeralds. "Talk" "You" Think

Valdis's nervousness was partially contagious. They'd been much younger when they'd confessed their feelings for one another, and though she remembered feeling uneasy - in an excited, expectant sort of way back then - it had been ages since she remembered facing uncertainty when it came to Valdis. Suddenly the feeling returned to her, though it was relatively dull, given the circumstances. The mood was light, and Valdis clearly wasn't displeased with her, but she still felt herself worrying over what she might have to say.. despite her more outwardly cool demeanor.

Her words earned a chuckle anyway. Slowly she reclined to her haunches as Valdis moved to get something, placing a rabbit hide in front of her. Her demeanor seemed to shift quickly, to something far more serious than she'd anticipated. For so long now Valdis had been her everything; Asvor had abandoned her hopes for a new Finnvi empire in the North to spend her life beside her, no matter where their paws took the both of them. Her life had seemed without purpose before she'd met her - now, all that aimless wandering and soul-searching made perfect sense. This was where she belonged, where her Gods intended her to be for now and until the end of time. She had no doubts that even death wouldn't sever their bond.

"There's nothing I want more than to be by your side, until the end of time," Ásvor was more serious than anything as she spoke, though a faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She was flooded with a joy that went soul-deep, though she wanted to make sure Valdis knew just how serious she was. Words always came more easily to her when it came to Valdis, but she wasn't necessarily always the best at being forthcoming with her feelings... so many things between them went unsaid. "Being your wife is all I've ever wanted. I'd be honored." This was exactly where she belonged, she knew it with every fiber of her being. She felt her heart flood with love all again as she saw the gift Valdis unwrapped for her. "I love you, Valdís Thyre. More than life itself." How had she gotten here? A younger version of herself wouldn't have recognized the kind of wolf she'd become, one so fiercely in love that even she couldn't sometimes believe it - but she felt no regret, not when she was so overjoyed and brimming with devotion for her soon-to-be wife.

Beating heart and rushing blood. That was all she could hear for a few moments as her words spun in the air, echoing in her head. 'Spirits above,'she told herself, 'just breathe!'. Her eyes locked onto Ásvor's and she felt herself suddenly grounded, lost in the world she wanted to stay in forever. "There's nothing I want more than to be by your side, until the end of time, Breath left her in a rushing sigh of relief and a great inhale of excitement. She couldn't remember ever being this happy. There was no wolf on this earth more breath-taking than Ásvor and to hear that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Valdís brought the green-eyed woman nearly to tears. "I love you to, Ásvor. More than I can say with words!" Valdís bounded forward, seeking to wrap her arms around her lover's neck, her head moving in close as she sought to lick at the corner of Ásvor's sweet mouth. "Talk" "You" Think

Ásvor had never known fear like she had when she'd had to decide between staying with Valdís and returning to the north to live out her days in solitude. Even back then she'd known that Valdís was fated, was exactly where she belonged - and who was she to argue fate? Some things in life were simply meant to be predestined, and she had no doubt now that Valdís was one of those things; their paths had crossed for a reason and she believed with all her heart that they would continue to be intertwined, even long after death.

Seeing Valdís so overwhelmed was enough to nearly bring tears to her own eyes. "As do I. With you, my life is complete." Though rarely a wolf of many words, and certainly not one to give much thought to feelings or emotion... when it came to Valdís she was quite different. Her excitement was palpable and contagious, and she returned the enthusiasm, moving to nuzzle her face into the fur of the other woman's neck. "You planned this so beautifully.." For a moment she let herself take in her surroundings a bit more, now that she herself wasn't entirely focused on the reason all this had been put together. "Let's eat and drink first, then let me show you just how much you mean to me," she purred suggestively, as she lifted her head to nip at Valdís's ear.

Valdís grinned at the suggestive purr, leaning into Ásvor's frame just a little more. "Oohh, I like the sound of that. I hope I can survive the anticipation." She winked and pulled away moving back toward the carcass. Picking one side of the ribs she started to dig in. Licking the blood off her lips as she went and pausing only for a moment to speak. "I have to be honest, I don't know much about weddings. I assume we should tell Tyrian. Did you want to do any sort of ceremony?" She was really good with anything. She pledged herself to Ásvor and she was happy to make that pledge just between them or in front of every pack in Boreas. "Talk" "You" Think

Concentrating on their meal might prove to be difficult, though Ásvor recognized the care she'd put into the evening. It wouldn't do her any good to proceed for the rest of the night on an empty stomach anyway, not with what she had just implied. She tried to untangle herself from her lover and focus on her food, moving to the other side of the elk and beginning to tear into the ribs opposite Valdís. The meal was a delicious one and she made no effort to hide the fact that she was enjoying it, licking her lips and pausing as Valdís began to speak.

"Nor do I," she admitted without hesitation. Once she'd been afraid to admit - both herself and to others - just how out of touch she was with the culture she'd been brought up in. "I'm happy with just a small gathering, with the rest of Fireside. Maybe some mead. I don't need anything too fancy." Simply making it official before her gods felt important, and the rest of their packmates. If only her family could be here to enjoy the day with them - but alas, she was still thrilled beyond what she could've ever expected. "What were you thinking?"

Valdís nimbly peeled back more of the flesh. She tore off a chunk and worked on her meal as Ásvor spoke. She nodded, swallowing her food swiftly to speak. "That's kind of what I was thinking. I'd like to let the rest of the pack know our intent, but I don't want to make a big, exhausting ordeal over it. I'd like to have some energy left for… other activities." She winked at Ásvor. She looked forward to rolling in her lover's arms after they made their union official. She wasn't sure if it would really make any difference but she was eager to find out. Outside the snow continued to fall as the sun set lower in the sky. It reflected the light from the fire, lit with golds and ambers as it danced to the ground. "Talk" "You" Think

So it was decided then. That hadn't been a terribly difficult conversation, even as nervous as Valdís had been. Committing one's self to another for all of eternity was a big deal, though for Ásvor at this point in her life... it felt like there was no other conclusion. Valdís was her forever. That was even more clear as she looked across their meal at her, meeting her gaze with a smile that was about as genuine as they came. "That sounds.. beyong perfect," she agreed easily and chuckled at her words. She'd never been a terribly showy wolf and she was glad Valdís felt the same about having a small gathering versus a large, more elaborate one. Making things official before the gods was far more important than some grand celebration to her.

Regardless of the logistics of the celebration she was beyond thrilled. There was nothing more in life she needed - and though settling down in Fireside wasn't something she'd really planned, she was growing used to life here and truly could think of nothing greater than this. Breathing a content sigh she returned to the meal that Valdís had prepared for them, certain today that she wouldn't be taking these blessings for granted anytime soon.