~Mature for themes of drug use!

The bundle of herbs wrapped firmly in a thick hide hung limply from her maw as she stalked through the woods, ears almost flattened back against her skull at the radiating pain in her jaws from having to carry something in her mouth. After her cousin had so kindly offered up food to her she had resigned herself to doing something kind in turn, but gifts weren't exactly her specialty, and if she was being honest she was not quite sure what Róta would like. Food was too easy, and her clumsy paws weren't nimble enough to make something nice from scratch, and there was no telling if her cousin would even like that. And then her mind settled on something that she knew none of the other Trygg wolves could give: a brief escape from the harshness of reality.

In the bundle she had enough cannabis, fly agaric, and even a touch of jimson weed she had found unexpectedly for the both of them to partake in. Or if Róta wished she could just drop it off with the rust red woman and leave her be, but she figured it was worth spending some quality time with her, seeing as only she knew the very specifics that troubled the younger Trygg woman. If this wasn't good enough of a gift then Iðunn didn't know what would be.

She made it back to the edge of camp, lips pulled back in a pained expression as her icy blue eyes searched for the familiar red form. The darkening sky made it a bit difficult to see too far beyond, but surely Róta would be nearby. This was something that was best done in more private circumstances rather than right in the middle of camp, so once she spotted her cousin Iðunn wanted to beckon her away further into the woods before revealing her gift.

Róta had been sprawled on her back in the sun, chocolate belly up and limbs sprawled indelicately wherever they might fall. The top of her skull was against the cool earth and her dark throat exposed. It was a measure of how much she trusted the members of their little band. Her eyes were closed, but her ears still worked just fine.

It was the sound of movement that had her emerald eyes cracking. She rolled to her stomach and lifted her head, narrow eyes silently questioning her cousin. The tip of her head was all the prompting she needed. If it wasn’t something for the rest of them to be aware of, then she wasn’t going to miss out. She followed the older wolf with a half smile. She knew Idunn had the goods so to speak, and if she was going to offer them up without putting her to work stealing it, well, she wasn’t going pass up an easy high.

“Speech”

lightning struck and I found my thunder

It took a few moments of looking, but she eventually spotted her cousin laying belly up with seemingly no care in the world, or at least that was the vibe she was trying to give off. With a simple motion of her head, slightly jangling the bundle hanging from her jaws, Róta was up and heading her way. She silently guided her cousin away from the main camp, through the trees a small ways off to a more secluded area where they would still be able to see the sky once night fell. If they stayed together long enough, perhaps looking up at the stars would be a fun... bonding activity.

Iðunn stopped at the base of the large tree, carefully setting down the bundle and nosing it open to reveal the contents hidden inside. "For you... or if you also want to share." She wasn't very good at this 'emotional' stuff, but it was the thought that counted, right? This was her attempt at saying thanks, as in her opinion simply saying it wasn't proof enough. To her actions spoke louder than words, and so here she was, trying to bridge the gap between her and Róta in one of the few ways she hoped would work.

Róta lifted an appreciative brow as she side eyed the bundle her cousin laid out. “Are you trying to kill me? You might succeed if I don’t share.” she teased Idunn, reaching for a red capped toadstool greedily, and dipping her head to invite her to help herself. It was a good clearing to choose, nice view of the oranging sky, soon the stars would make their presence known. At least if she was going to search the skies for two distance dots cradled together, she could be baked out of her brain while doing it tonight.

It did raise a question she had been too afraid to ask though, as she sprawled out and made herself comfortable. “So what happens to the ones that don’t die in battle? The young and the old that die in their bed? They aren’t invited to the feast to await the final battle. What do your gods do with those ones?”

“Speech”

lightning struck and I found my thunder

A wry grin crossed her face, part humourous and part irksome, at the fact that Róta would even consider she would try and kill anyone by making them overdose on psychedelics mushrooms and pain medications, but she could see it was in jest and so wasn't completely offended. "If I was you'd know." If she was going to kill anyone it would be by her own paw, with lots of blood. Whether it was a quick and painless death or a slow and agonising process would be up to her mood that day.

Iðunn let her cousin pick her poison first, and then on her turn carefully wrapped a few cannabis leaves around one of the larger fly agaric mushrooms. A few tender chews and it was swallowed without too much fuss. She settled alongside Róta, their heads closer as she angled the rest of her body away, rolling over onto her back so she could look up at the orange-hued sky. Sunset was close, and if she squinted hard enough she could almost make out a glittering star where hints of indigo streaked up ahead.

The question posed had her humming softly under her breath in thought, tipping her head back to look at the upside down form of the younger Trygg woman. She had a feeling she knew why it was being asked, but didn't want to probe unless her cousin seemed more open to a deeper and likely painful discussion. But the answer was already on the tip of her tongue, not needing any time to think about how to word it in a way Róta could understand given her lack of faith.

"Those not slain in battle find themselves in Helheim," she said simply. "It becomes attuned to how one lives their life. Someone who is kind and good will find themselves in their own version of paradise, but if someone was cruel and and liar it becomes a place that can be best described as their own personal form of torment." Majority of those alive found themselves in Hel, even a brave warrior who did not get their chance to be valiantly slain in an honourable battle, and she was mildly surprised the knowledge of it was not more widely known among those not in the smaller priestess and priest circles.

The thought made her wonder if the rest of her cousins even knew of Hel.

-TW for mentions of child loss-

Honestly, it was probably a lesson she had been given as a child, but the valkyrie had always planned to die in battle, so hadn’t paid much mind to what might happen if she didn’t, but she wasn’t asking for herself.

Her children had come too early, and there were complications. They hadn’t even had fur. There was no question of them surviving, between the cleft palate and the injuries caused to the other when the cow elk collected her stomach. They hadn’t been planned, and their father was never in the picture. She had just come to terms with breaking the news to her siblings and raising them on her own when it happened. Idunn had found her then, she didn’t have to explain herself to the priestess.

She reached for more some canabis and jimsonweed, lingering in her own thoughts for a moment longer before the bonelessness started to wash over her. “Good for them,” she finally settled on with a smirk, knowing that her own hel wouldn’t be nearly so restful as some. “So what you’re saying is I’ll have to make sure I die the right way, eh?” She finished the question with a chuckle. She had every intention of doing so anyway.

“Speech”

lightning struck and I found my thunder