(no subject)

[thewidewideworld]

{From here}

Sinric walks calmly till he is away from the bar and then runs. Something about Eric terrified him. Or thrilled him. Neither of which was good.

He ran till he came to a familiar door, Athelstan's. Having no place of his own and feeling that he owed Athelstan for interceding with Eric, he let himself in, meaning to wait for Athelstan's return to thank him.

He finds himself drawn to the window, sitting on the sill with his feet drawn up under him. He rests his head on his knee as he looks out over the lake, singing the elven song he learn this morning. The sound of it is soothing and he eases himself into a half doze.

Comments

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"That was the only deal I ever made with that monster, and I'm not going to make another as he doesn't keep his word even for an hour. Of course I went behind your back; you wouldn't have accepted, because you love me as much as I love you and wouldn't let me feed monsters with my own blood because I don't want them to have yours, unless you seek them out."

Pause.

"And you're changing the subject just as much: - this is about Sinric, it started with Sinric. I hope you didn't let on to Eric just how important he is. If he starts threatening Sinric to get back at you and feed more, we must go to the measly lawspeakers they have here!"

No, Ragnar hasn't noticed Sinric, either; he's too flustered at Athelstan's recriminations, and far too angry about Eric's treachery.

Eric knows about Athelstan and Ragnar, and he doesn't keep his word. Perhaps holmgang after all, using magic weapons or some such thing? By this rate, they are going to need Eric dead.

[thewidewideworld]

"And how important am I?" Sinric's voice is quiet but sharp as he steps to them. "You say I have freedom and yet you speak of me as a thing to be hoarded."

[athelstanthescribe]

"Well, perhaps if I'd known you'd struck a deal with him concerning me", Athelstan is as close to shouting as he ever gets, "I would have known he was more likely to try something like that to get around it. He asked why I interfered, so yes, I told him Sinric is important, but not why, how or when."

And then Sinric speaks, and the rage vanishes in an instant, replaced with something like guilt as he turns to the youth.

"Not a thing to be hoarded", he says quietly. "You can do as you choose, with whom you choose. But we do have an interest in protecting you."

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"You are quite important," Ragnar says, turning to Sinric.

Secretly, he loves seeing him speak up for himself, step out from his demure posture.

"We are going to have met -- in your future and my past. That's how I knew your name, and why I cared about you from the very first moment: because I knew you and cared about you already! Athelstan, lovely soul that he is, took to you even before I told him."

Pause.

"Would you have known, Athelstan, that Eric would break any deal the moment I tried to strike one? I think I must start finding out what weapons ..."

And then he makes that face, with that grin, and scratches his beard.

[thewidewideworld]

The air goes out of him in a huff and he steps back, hand on the table to steady himself. "You already knew who I was? You're protecting me because of who I will be?"

He crumbles a little, knees buckling. It's not that Ragnar cares, or that they want to protect him that shocks him. It's that he has a future. "Where? Where do we meet?" He needs to know if he escapes the palace.

[athelstanthescribe]

"Eric will do what suits Eric best", Athelstan says dryly. "He keeps within the rules of this place because it's convenient, which includes taking care of his donors, and also because he doesn't want us to die on him. Ragnar, I don't think you ever told me where you two first met?"

[bigarmy_strangepants]

Ragnar goes to Sinric and takes him in his arms.

"Ribe", he says, in answer to both of them. "I was on a trading journey, and you are going to be a wanderer who'd travelled the wide, wide world and knows even more languages than Athelstan, if that is possible. We knew each other just for a few days, but I wouldn't be who I am without them. I'm protecting you because of who you are, the whole Sinric, future and past and whatever else the gods may want for us."

Pause.

"We must make sure that messing with us won't suit Eric again, Athelstan. And perhaps we should make those plans together."

Yes, he is offering a kind of surrender on that point.

[thewidewideworld]

"Ribe." He repeats, tasting the world. His knees barely support him now. He has a future and it is to be a wanderer, and explorer. To see beyond the golden cage. He clings to Ragnar, his breathing quick.

Them talk more of Eric but he hears none of it. What could the silver tongued snake matter to him now he knows what is to come.

[athelstanthescribe]

Athelstan makes his way over to help support Sinric.

"Yes, we can make those plans", he agrees. "But no more talk of weapons, that isn't the way and he'd turn it against you. Sinric, I also wouldn't be who I am today without you."

[bigarmy_strangepants]

Ragnar puts an arm around Athelstan, the other still holding Sinric upright.

He hugs them both closely, burying his face in both the dark hair and the blond.

"We wouldn't have found each other without you."

Plans about Eric can come later. Now, only Sinric matters.

"Sinric," he says again, softly.

They can still call him Oriens in public, if he prefers. Or even in private, at that.

[thewidewideworld]

What starts as a sigh comes out as a sob. "I like... the way my name sounds when you say it."

[athelstanthescribe]

"Then to us", Athelstan says softly, "you shall be Sinric. But if you prefer Oriens to the rest of the world..."

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"Whatever you prefer," Ragnar says. "Sinric."

He bends his head to kiss each of them in turn.

[thewidewideworld]

He nods minutely. Having his name with them is a powerful secret. A secret he only knows himself because he stole a look at the Slave Master's records.

The kiss makes him warm and he clings tight to Ragnar and Athelstan for a moment. "I brought you food. You should eat." He tries to shift the attention away from himself and this overwhelming knowledge.

[athelstanthescribe]

"Yes", Athelstan says with a smile. "We should all eat, and looking at that, there's plenty."

[bigarmy_strangepants]

Ragnar turns to look at the table.

"We should," he says. "You brought those chocolate things!"

He doesn't let go, yet, and kisses both of them again.

"To anybody else, including Eric, you're Oriens."

[thewidewideworld]

"To Eric, I am nothing." Sinric's voice is sharp and certainly. "If I am a weapon he can use against either of you, then I am as beyond his reach as the stars. I will not speak to him or allow him to be near me."

His posture becomes confidence as he pours them drinks and serves the food. He has a future and that future requires planning.

[athelstanthescribe]

"I don't know for sure that he means to", Athelstan says fairly. "But I certainly wouldn't put it past him."

He smiles to see Sinric's confidence growing by the minute.

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"He's likely to act curious," Ragnar says, "but can't get at you in public if you tell him no. If he ever catches you alone, call for help at once. Security has people with superhuman powers."

He sits.

"That food smells very good, if unfamiliar. What is it?"

[athelstanthescribe]

"He also", Athelstan puts in, "can't enter any private space uninvited, including these rooms."

[thewidewideworld]

"I will remember that." He lays out the dishes. "Spicy soup to make you feel stronger, lamb and rice." He pours a warm milky drink. "And what we call lion's milk." The drink is spiced with nutmeg and cinnamon but with a distinctly alcoholic after taste.

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"That will do you good," Ragnar says, to Athelstan. "It smells very roar-inducing, with spices and everything."

[athelstanthescribe]

Athelstan chuckles.

"Very warming. And lamb, my favourite."

[thewidewideworld]

"I wasn't sure what you might prefer. As far as I can tell, the Varangians eat and drink anything."

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"They do," Ragnar says. "Especially Floki."