Ever since she'd first laid eyes on the ocean, Hillevi had been fascinated. What else could one expect, considering the family she comes from? It's been bred into them for generations, and she is no different. This time as she meanders curiously towards the shore, she doesn't get interrupted by anyone else. No silly shells and cubs to distract her.

The salty afternoon breeze whips through her fluffy cub fur as the babe prowls nearer to the water's edge. She doesn't get quite close enough for the seafoam to reach her toes, and something tells her that if she's not careful, the waves could reach out and grab her. She is not so ready to meet Vellen just yet, and so she waits just out of her reach, her tail swaying slowly behind her and wide eyes watching the turbulence of the waves.

@Voluspa

table by sentinel / lion + beach

voluspa watched from afar, at first, obsidian eyes settled heavily upon the small and wandering form of @Hillevi along the coastline. there was an expected guilt that bubbled within the yearling’s chest at the sight of her, at the sight of saga’s living children, able and breathing — and it made her mind go instantly to the pristine memory of gjöf, burned eternal in the forefront of her mind. it so easily could have been any of them sacrificed that day, and voluspa could not help but wonder if they would ever know of their brother and of his fate. the fate that had been condemned only because of voluspa, hrefna, and their wrongdoings. it was a burden that hung heavy and relentlessly across her shoulders, albeit the fact that it had been in the name of their god, but voluspa could only hope that his life had been enough to spare her own, or else she feared the wrath that may be coming for her.

after a few more contemplative moments, the sigrun moved slowly in the babe’s direction, jaw clenched, as a twisted sense of responsibility shifted within her breast. the least she could do, she supposed, was babysit the brood. "frændi*," (*cousin) the valkyrie rumbled, coming to stand alongside the swirled figure of charcoal and iron with a stern, inquiring tinge to her gaze. "are you already making friends with vellen?" though he is far from the friend-type, and voluspa knew that - but she did not seek to taint the mewling cub with her morbid stories. at least not yet.

table code by ferus

Hillevi is blissfully unaware of the dark thoughts that plague her elder cousin. She doesn't recall those first days -- doesn't recall her baptism or the fact that there had once been one more among them. In fact, she doesn't even know who the elder Sigrún is when she approaches, except for the fact that she is family of some sort.

"I dunno," she answers, squinting out at the waves. All she hears is the rush of water in her ears. The concept of a god is a rather abstract thing for a child so young to comprehend, after all. She leans back on her haunches, twisting her ears forward and peering up and backwards so that she can squint upside-down at @Voluspa's stern face. "Hver ertu?"^* she queries boldly, flaring her nostrils to draw in the older female's scent.

*Who are you?

table by sentinel / lion + beach

the yearling's gaze remained settled upon @Hillevi, careful and curious, as she watched every twist and turn of her jovial features. it was hard to imagine that she had once been so small and so malleable, like she was, with endless potential sprawled out like a pristine platter. voluspa knew nothing about the girl's father, of course, or even who he was -- but if the blood of the sigrun pumped through this cub's veins, that was more than enough for her. "voluspa, your cousin." she replied after a moment longer, haunches dropping, as the valkyrie looked to sprawl across the sands on her stomach, obsidian paws folding neatly atop one another in the process. "and your name?" she countered with the crane of her skull, peering down towards the babe as her ears pressed forward. voluspa had paid the price of her recluse habits as she realized, in that moment, that she was oblivious to the more intimidate details about her newest family members. if she was going to be damned for her failure, voluspa at least wanted to make sure that the rest of her family could find prosperity and dignity in the ways that she could not -- though hillevi would have to grow into those shoes, and did not need to worry about such things, nor about baring the weight of their family name anytime soon.

table code by ferus

Your cousin, she explains -- it's the same word that Ragnar had used, but @Voluspa is much bigger and older than him. She considers for a moment, and figures that Voluspa and Ragnar are like her and Ragna. The cub turns the rest of the way around, realigning her skull to an upright position and peering at her older kin with noticeable intrigue. "Hill-ev-i," she answers carefully, pronouncing each syllable slowly so that is is clear. She doesn't like it when anyone says her name wrong, so she's very particular about how she introduces herself, rather than stumbling through the pronunciation.

"Cousin, frændi," she repeats, confirming that the words mean the same thing with a slight tilt of her skull. "Like Ragnar?" Hillevi presses, seeking to mimic Voluspa's reclined position as she wriggles herself down into the sand, outstretching her tiny forepaws until they are both resting on the toes of one of the yearling's much larger feet.

table by sentinel / lion + beach

"hillevi." voluspa repeated, making sure to pronounce it just the way the little sigrun had, to ensure that she knew the older girl was taking her seriously. a more cruel joke would have been, perhaps, to pronounce it wrong on purpose -- but the valkyrie had little to gain from riling up her younger cousins without good reason, especially when she was already treading on thin, very breakable, ice. and so all those sorts of jovial games would need to be cast away in favor of responsibility, and duty, and maturity. at least for the time being.

her stomach scraped against the sand at she settled against the shoreline, eyes never travelling far from @Hillevi, nor the curious way in which she began to mirror her own movements. it took her a moment, but once those small, tiny paws found themselves settled atop voluspa's own, she could not help but feel a sort of tenderness wash over her, and another prick of pain as the thought of gjof crossed her mind. not that she would let either show, but they was there, nonetheless.

shaking the feeling from her chest the best that she could, the progeny would focus upon the babe's words, instead, ears pricking forward to catch them as they tumbled across the space between them. "mm, yes." she affirmed, a small trickle of satisfaction looming across the edges of her gaze. she was quick, wasn't she? though, she supposed she expected little else from saga's own brood. "ragnar is your cousin, and he is my brother; bróðir." she made a purposeful effort to enunciate the translation, tail giving a brief flicker across the sand and stirring up a small cloud of dirt and debris as it went.

table code by ferus