The familiar landscapes blurred and shifted as she raced past them in the darkness until they were unrecognizable, rimed in silver and star-dusted beneath her paws. She felt surrounded as she ran, felt the brush of fur against hers as others cavorted and leaped around her in silence, shining presences not hostile, but not entirely friendly. They were... waiting. Waiting for the grizzled one-eyed wolf to join her. Katja stopped suddenly and spun, pelt bristling as a jolt like static electrical discharge zinged beneath her skin. Blindly her eyes sought through the rainbow blackness for the one who followed her, the one the one-eyed had chosen. "Ég veit hvað þú vilt frá mér," she told the waiting, shining beings, the one-eyed, and the darkness, her masked head held low in respect. "ég er tilbúinn," "" ""

Dutifully Laufey followed along behind Katja. Having had a head start she was out of sight, although really, even if there hadn't been one he'd have been hard pressed to keep up. He was moving rather slowly; really taking his sweet time and enjoying the walk. Had the woods always been so pretty? Everything was so green and lovely and it all smelled so very nice, although he wasn't fond of the way the ground kept moving. Suddenly his uncle's words came back to him and the brute snapped out of his uncharacteristic reverie. Katja. He was supposed to be looking after her in case the stuff Kaprasius didn't sit well with her. Laufey kicked it up a notch and settled into an unsteady jog in the hopes of catching up to her. And he did. Quite suddenly she was standing in front of him and he had to slam on the brakes to avoid smacking into her. Her gaze was unfocused and seemingly settled on something that wasn't there - was it the gods? Did he dare interrupt?  "Is everything alright, Katja?"

The silence that tickled around her like broken glass was shattered by the booming of drums, a voice deeper and more timeless than all mountains, all oceans, overlaying the bassy rumble that had grown as familiar to her as Kapra's. "Ja," she answered distantly. "It is well. I understand what I must do. My purpose." Her eyes swallowed the moonlight as she stared back at the ever-shifting mass of light-rimed creatures who surrounded her and the one-eyed ancient. They were silent as they flowed over and under each other in a constant stomach-twisting tangle. She could not tell if they were wolves; she thought they might be, but they could have been anything. They seemed to be... waiting. Waiting for something. Waiting for her. Waiting for her to step upon the rainbow path that led ever onward. "I see your path. I see our line living on, ever and always, until Ragnorok ends this world. We are meant to thrive, to walk with the blood of the gods in us, we Finnvi. I see Loki within my cousins... and I see you." Eyes narrowed to silver crescents as they shifted to focus with a startling intensity on the male who was also Laufey. "I see you, Grímnir. I name you as Hrafnaguð, the Raven God, the Hanged One. Your strength and wisdom shall run as a torrent through the blood of the Finnvi and we will prosper." "" ""

Good. All was well. Laufey took Katja's word without question; she wouldn't lie to him, no way. So what if she was behaving oddly as a result of eating mind-altering plants. She said she everything was alright so it had to be. With a pleased expression Laufey nodded to himself. He had this watching thing down perfectly. Katja would be just fine. "I see your path." Immediately he sobered as much as a drunk could without actually achieving sobriety. His expression somber Laufey listened intently as Katja spoke. The gods were showing her his path; his purpose? What was she trying to tell him? He didn't understand! The brute did, however, grasp the seriousness of what was being told to him. Somehow he was important. Just knowing that made him feel good. It made him feel like he mattered. Like he was an important Finnvi. His breath caught with her final words. He was a god? He was that important? His strength and his wisdom in the blood of the Finnvi taking them all the way to the end of days. This he did - to an extent - understand. She wasn't talking about him wandering around giving blood to all of the Finnvi. He understood. "How, Katja? How will this happen?"

He prompted her gently to continue, and Katja inclined her head. Of course - he would want to be certain she understood what she was doing. Yes. The band of creatures seemed to tighten around them, still silent as they leaped and cavorted without moving their eyes from her. "Friður," she murmured to them. "Ég veit hvað þú vilt um mig." She sought to narrow her focus, to escape the staring star-bright, jewel-toned eyes of the shifting mass, to see only the ancient one. Laufey's form shone before her with more intensity than the sinuous creatures, the god-form within her cousin still flaring brightly in her vision as thought Laufey's fur was hollowed light, his eyes icy blue stars. He at times seemed to waver slightly into two separate forms, only to snap back together with a pulsing light. "The children, Asagrim. Children to carry on the Finnvi line. My oath is my sacrifice, to carry on my blood. To carry the blood of gods. Your blood." Her attention was wandering back into the paths of time, drawing her away from the present, but the surrounding creatures seemed to pulse menacingly and she blinked, the moonlight sharpening like ice around her. Her voice was still dreamlike, distant, the cool tone colored in awe and stardust. "The Finnvi fate lies within the children I will bear you." "" ""

He stared at her uncomprehendingly for a few beats as he tried to understand what she was telling him. His blood – he got that part – the blood of the gods – he got that part too – and her blood ...and there she lost him. There were some things in life that just didn't mix. Like Katja and pregnancy or Katja, Laufey and...relations. That kind of combination just seemed impossible so it didn't immediately come to mind as something that needed to be considered. However her final words made it all clear. He understood. And it puzzled him. ”Our children, Katja?” The blood of the gods. Somehow that made sense. Combining their shared blood would make it stronger, wouldn't it? Laufey nodded affirmingly to himself. He was a god. Together they would produce children the likes of which Alacritia had never seen. All would know the Finnvi name; a name that would last until Ragnorok. As he made up his mind Laufey nodded again. His gaze was firm and his expression clear of misgivings. He would do this. Katja was being shown things he couldn't fathom. This was the will of the gods – who was he to disagree? Through them the Finnvi would swell in numbers and rise up over the weak Alacritian wolves. ”Our line will prosper,” he agreed. His gaze left hers as he stepped closer and invaded Katja's personal space with impure intentions. -fade-

Katja felt a distant wave of relief as the ancient one confirmed what she'd said. It would have been... unpleasant to annoy a god with her foolish rambling if she had guessed his intentions incorrectly. And now, he was making his intentions plain, and she could allow him to take the lead in a dance that she knew the motions of, but could not feel the rhythm in her soul. She allowed him to press against her, and sought to press back against him as was expected. She hadn't the pleasure of it nor the interest, but when the Aesir commanded a viking obeyed... Fate awaited them both at the end of this journey.

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