It was time. Sören knew it was time, had known for a while. Though he had told others of trance, had said that he would be doing it himself, he had also found several reasons to not do it. As if somehow, the act of trance itself would be that final step in admitting that it had happened. That the Isles were truly gone for good. That his homeland was destroyed. That Astridr was really dead, not merely dissipated. Sören was ready to acknowledge that. A small breeze picked up, blowing the air from a small tent to him, sending a familiar scent wafting past him. There were others there, others that had also waited, but Medea was still there. Still offering the opportunity. To remember. To preserve. He nodded wordlessly and sat down, already knowing what to do. A deep breath and then…

-----------------------

He reached out, hands closing around her braid, and yanked back. ”Tag!” he shouted triumphantly even as she let out a shriek in pain, can clutching at her hair. ”Sören!” she shrieked, turning to face him and sticking out her tongue as he scuttled backwards. ”That isn’t how you tag someone and you know it!”

”Indeed it is not.” The voice was cool, and one that every child in the area knew. Immediately all play stopped, ”this is no time for playing children. Ástríđr, you should be studying. Sören, I believe they will be looking for you at the training grounds.”

-----------------------

Æsa got up briskly and began getting dressed. With a groan he sat up, blinking at her blearily. ”Why’re you up so early,” he complained with a yawn. This was exactly why it was better to just leave during the night, so he could get decent sleep. ”It’s promotion day Sören, get your a** out of bed.” With that, color draining from his face, he jumped up, all but bowling past her shove on enough clothing to be somewhat decent so he could run to his room. There was no way he could show up to a promotion day, a day where there was going to be at least one priestess showing up looking to see if one of the soldiers would work as her personal guardian, without at least looking somewhat decent.

By Secretariat’s hooves, he had forgotten to get his hair cut again! He dressed as quickly as possible in clean garments in his room, splashing a bit of water on his face, dragging a brush through his hair (and yanking out more than he would have liked in his haste. Hair tie in his mouth he began braiding the first lock of his hair so it would not fly in his face during the exhibition, he was completely focused on actually wrapping the tie around the end of the braid when he just…walked straight into someone. Someone too short for him to notice, as distracted as he was with his hair (not that that had ever happened before). ”War Admiral!” he swore. ”I’m sorry, I just…Ástríđr?” It only took him a second to recognize her. They had grown up together, he had seen first hand the change from child to young adult. But he had missed the transformation of her into a woman.

”Sören, I should have known” she replied, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. ”Would you care to take me to the training grounds? I’m supposed to be picking out my guardian today.” Yeah, he hadn’t messed this one up at all.

-----------------------

”I don’t get it,” he blurted out. ”Why me?”

”Why not?”

-----------------------

She was doing it again. He stalked back to her room, bag of…under things…in his hand. There was absolutely no reason she needed this many, not all at once. ”ÁSTRIĐR!” his voice boomed as his fist pounded on the door, demanding that she open it. ”ÁSTRIĐR!” He was about to knock again when the door opened, and there she was, looking at him innocently, pale blue eyes wide as they looked up at him. ”You…these…” he spluttered as he gestured to the bag in his hand, not even able to form the words needed to fully go off on her.

”Oh thank you Sören,” she said with a smile, reaching up to…pull him down? And then she was brushing her lips over his cheek before taking the bag from him.

Maybe he didn’t mind picking those up after all.

-----------------------

Sören opened his eyes, and Ástríđr’s eyes sparkled back at him, almost as if they were hiding something from him that he did not know, did not understand. Whatever it was, she knew it, and she was going to keep it a secret from him. Let her keep her secrets, he decided, instead reaching up to twine his fingers into her hair and pull her back down to him. He could still get the supplies if he left within the hour.

Wait a minute, there was something he was supposed to be doing today. Heaving a sigh he pushed her away gently, trying to ignore the hurt expression that flickered across her face. He really was not sure what to say really, so before she could leave he just wrapped his hand around her wrist, holding her in place as he set up and reached over to his discarded clothing. Now he had her interest. He fished out a small bag and offered it to her on palm of her hand. She gave him a questioning look as she took it, opening it to reveal…a ring. The symbol of eternity, this one in a complex twist of dual colored metals, small gemstones set in with various properties stored within them. Whatever look of hurt had been on her face was long erased, replaced by a look of pure awe. This had been costly, but it was more than worth it.

-----------------------

”You have to go,” she insisted, fingers reaching up to trace the scars on his face, a gesture that she had made so many times since he had gotten them. She still felt responsible; he could tell each time she did this to his face, despite how many times that he had told her she could not have known when she approved the mission. So each time he tilted his face into her palm, trying to remind her that he truly did not mind. He was the one that had dreamed of hunting a tiger. She merely found an excuse for him to do so, and a rare one at that. A white, stripeless tiger? He still had no idea how she had managed that. But it had been a fearsome warrior, and he wore its pelt proudly.

”I’ll be back for you,” he swore. Just a quick jaunt out to help the little scarelings from Halloween, that for some reason his priestess liked, and then he would be back. He double checked everything. His customary bag of tokens in case he needed to trade for something tucked in his belt, his armor all secured away.

”Wait! Your ring!” he glanced down, and almost sheepishly and pulled it off and took out the small chain from his belt. She took them both from him, threading the ring on the chain and slipping it around his neck before tucking it into his shirt. ”Be safe,” she murmured before pressing a kiss to his lips. He nodded and turned, summoning his Percheron easily and mounting. There was no reason to look back, he’d make sure to return safely to her.

-----------------------

Soren opened his eyes, not caring that his cheeks were wet. He stood and bowed to Medea before walking out, heading into the forest to just be alone for a while. Ástríđr. She was gone, and he would never see her again. Never hear her laugh, never feel her fingers tracing over his scars. And he could stand around, undergo Trance, and live with her constantly at the forefront of his mind because he would always be able to remember her.

He could almost hear her berating him now. About being a waste, that he needed to take care of himself and move on. And that was true, that would be what she desired. For him to move on and take care of himself. Take care of others. He could not allow himself to just keep going through the motions. He was not sure what he could do with himself, or what he should do. He seemed to be able to do a bit of everything, but nothing that well. No specialty other than guarding, but with no one to guard. Maybe there was something that could be done with that though, it was worth considering at least. Resolve strengthening his very stride began to change, moving through the forest with more purpose for the time being. It was time to put the past behind him. He would not forget it, and he could not completely put it behind him. Could not put her completely behind him. Whatever he did, his life, would be dedicated to her memory. But it was going to be his life. And he was going to do something with it.