FORTUNE FORTUNE SMILING FATE
I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU MUCH OF LATE
NEED YOU NOW AND CANNOT WAIT
BUT WANNA LOOK, YOU'RE NOT AROUND

It had required a little white lie. Aquila didn't want company right now but he was sure that most of his friends and family would heavily frown on the injured lion taking to climbing the peak. It was stupid and dangerous but necessary. The cool thinning air felt like a knife to the back of his throat in the best way. A chilling wind danced through the hanging tresses of his mane that suspended down from his chest and belly. He was careful, testing steps for stability along the way as he climbed up a path that was slightly inclined.

The walking space below him was wide enough for two and a half lions and he stuck close to the wall as he moved. Overhead some clouds were lightly whirling around. The cover was dense enough to give the earth below a dull hazy, a single spot in the clouds seemed brighter than the rest suggesting the sun behind. He was breathing a little quick, a little heavy but something determined in his silver eyes kept him pressing on.

@Valhalla - writing this vague but kind of assuming *someone* has told him already

ART BY RABS , CODE BY LARS

Being newly dead but being brought back as something more than a mere spirit was something incredible all in itself. It had brought a surge of religious emotions the Viking had rarely ever felt before, knowing now more than ever that Maua did continue to care for the natives despite what Amaryllis may have turned into. If they were willing to bring back the colossal in order to still be apart of his offspring’s lives and to continue to be connected to those he felt dearly for, well then what room was there for him to deny or disbelieve?

It was all still new to him, being able to appear and disappear at will. It was an invigorating sensation, Valhalla still being able to feel the semblance of an adrenaline rush even beyond the grave. And he found it rather amusing that he could come and go at will at the blink of an eye. So when he had felt Aquila’s presence climbing up the mountains side he saw this is an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. Yellow eyes would watch the lion for several moments before pink body began to form, the light pink glow aura surrounding his frame. Paw steps would be silent as he followed behind the Valour, inky lips pulling into a coy grin. “What are you doing out this far?” Voice would boom out his question and the colossal would cease movement, his form nearly solid; one wouldn’t be able to tell unless they inspected him closely.

@Aquila



from the midnight sun where the hot springs flow

DEE / NOVI

FORTUNE FORTUNE SMILING FATE
I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU MUCH OF LATE
NEED YOU NOW AND CANNOT WAIT
BUT WANNA LOOK, YOU'RE NOT AROUND

On his next step the ground shifted, rattled and crunched below his feet. It gave Aquila pause while the sound echoed out into the distance. He lifted his head into the breeze, turning his nose to the vista beyond in the quiet until silence fell. It was then @Valhalla's voice rose up. And at first Aquila didn't quite realize what it was he was hearing from behind him. His ears turned quickly around to pinpoint to the sound but his head was slow to turn and look. Over his shoulder his large skull turned. What was there left him stunned.

"Val-?" He choked up, unwilling to believe what his eyes saw behind him as truth. A cruel joke from Maua seemed more appropriate, or he'd worn himself too far climbing up here. That voice was sweet in his ears, the sight before him grand even as he willed his brain to not believe it. Aquila prepared his heart for the worst as he took a step back the way he came, towards Val, and reached out with his muzzle attempting to touch the seemingly solid form...

ART BY RABS , CODE BY LARS

It was visible that @Aquila was shocked, and quite what he had expected. Valhalla still had a bit of a hard time remembering that he weren't alive, not able to go where he pleased or go see or do whatever he wanted. He was stuck on the Peaks and it's surrounding territories, and this realization was one that kept poking at raw wounds. "It's me, brother," the colossal would respond in a low, warm tone, and as he spoke would he feel the press of the Valour's muzzle against his own. The Viking would press his own onto the side of the lion's, up until he felt a slight give and his form shifted and instead went through Aquila's own muzzle. The sensation was odd, and to the other male would he feel a chilled breeze.

"I guess only light embraces are allowed in the afterlife." A joke to try to lighten the mood as he took a step back, golden eyes looking over Aquila. "You look good, despite all the wounds." A lump in his throat would form after he mentioned his appearance, front paws shifting and his ears pinning back slightly. He knew a serious talk would happen eventually, but he also wondered how long they could tiptoe around it before it was mentioned.



from the midnight sun where the hot springs flow

DEE / NOVI

@Valhalla's image spoke again, that sweet familiar sound that left a sad weight on Aquila's heart. A voice he thought he'd never get to hear again, he begged the wind to not carry it away so quickly so that he might hold onto it. And much to his surprise the 'touch' he attempted illicited a strange sensation along his muzzle. Slight enough Aquila thought it must just be a trick of his mind, that he wanted so badly to feel his brother's touch and warmth that he conjured it up for himself. The feeling was like a shimmer, like a feather over his face that caused a breath to hitch in his throat. Astonished, disbelieving and even more surprised as he pulled a bit away and looked at Val's face again. Lightly laughing at the joke but in a trembling, jittery leaf sort of way. As much confusion and discomfort as actual humor driving his brief chuckle.

I look better than I feel. The Hodari who had helped him were skilled, as skilled as any Valour lion Aquila had been raised around. They kept off the infection, they helped the worse of his wounds heal as neat as they could and their quick action had kept Aquila from bleeding out himself. But there were no herbs for the heart or the mind, not to heal anyways. Some to dull and some to numb perhaps but not heal. You... Gods Val why did it have to be you... He felt a strong emotion in his voice, a sorrowful rumble in his heart as he longed for and grieved for the days he'd never get to spend with his brother again. I'm sorry.

Valhalla could see the sadness in his eyes. It was something he would’ve been surprised to not see, honestly. The two had grown close within the last year, and even though fate had played a cruel and twisted game between the two of them, Valhalla wouldn’t have had it any other way. “Isn’t that how it always goes?” The Viking couldn’t recall a time where he had looked better than he felt in a very long time, him dying and coming back as an eternal being the exception.

And then the conversation he were hoping wouldn’t come until much, much later. The Valour would push out the statement and it would cause for his stomach to ball up into a knot, his nerves causing for a flush of adrenaline to curve through his ethereal figure that made him feel a bit nauseous. It was a bit funny, really, how alive he felt despite being obviously dead. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever really get used to it. “Don’t,” Valhalla would interrupt him once @Aquila apologized. “Don’t you ever say sorry for what I did. I would do it ten times over, Aquila, and I know you would’ve been there if the roles were reversed.” His voice was strong, forcing it to be steady. He needed to be strong for the both of them, because if the titan didn’t keep his composure he knew he would either fall to the ground in sorrow or he would evaporate into thin air from his emotions being too powerful. It had happened to him a couple of times when he were alone and it took him a little while to really understand why it kept happening.



from the midnight sun where the hot springs flow

DEE / NOVI

Don't apologize? How could Aquila not? He might not have pulled the trigger but he may as well have the way he'd hand delivered the gun. He bit his lower lip once, ready to refute and fight back against Valhalla's insistence that he shouldn't apologize. But the fire to argue left him. He did not want to spend this chance arguing with Valhalla. A waste of time. And he'd probably loose the argument anyways.

Without a second thought. If he could reverse their roles right now he'd do it. If the threads of time could be unwoven and reformed, bit by bit, he'd give his brother the chances that he deserved and the future he should have been destined to have in Maua's lands. But how are you here? He stumbled over his own confused words. While the shock of seeing Val and hearing the familiar, comforting, voice was beginning to fade away Aquila realized just how strange this was. He had not made it up into Maua's home just yet, into the place of final resting for so many of their family and where his ancestors would sometimes grace them with a reunion. The air was cold, the stone craggy below his feet. Maua had done a number of strange things lately but this might be the strangest of them all when you thought about it... I swear I could feel you still. Just for a flicker, a brief moment.

Even though he knew the answer it still felt good to hear that the Valour would’ve done the same thing Valhalla had done himself. No matter how frightening the circumstance, he was taught to never back down, and that was what he obeyed until the very end. Ears would flicker as @Aquila asked how he were still present even though he had passed, his lips pulling into a thin line before he began to explain the best that he could about what had transpired. “From what I’ve gathered my body was brought back to Vermeda and Talisa held a ritual of sorts. It caused for Maua to appear and they… I’m not exactly sure what they did. But all I remember was darkness and then waking up back on earth.” It was a sensation that he couldn’t put into words, one that was odd and unusual. “It was… weird.”

Valhalla wasn’t sure himself about the physical boundaries of what he was now. He knew that he did feel Aquila’s touch, but once he tried to press harder than a light touch that was when he turned transparent and he had felt himself go through the lion. “I think as long as it’s not deep pressure that you’ll still be able to feel me.” Brows would furrow as he would lift up his right front paw, gaze shifting to stare at it briefly before deciding to test his theory. He would attempt to place his paw atop of his brethren’s own right one, a soft press upon the top. “Do you feel that?” Yellow eyes would glance back at Aquila with a curious stare.



from the midnight sun where the hot springs flow

DEE / NOVI

I wish I was there. It was a new guilt, one he did not expect but enjoyed as little as the rest. He had not had the choice yes but that did not stifle the remorse building that he'd lost his brother and had not been there to walk through to the other side into Maua's arms. Whatever Talisa had done was a strange miracle. If she'd had any real hand at all or just helped welcome Maua into Valhalla's passing. Nymeria told me about the tree where they buried you. It's a beautiful spot. If any of his family came calling to this land Aquila hoped they'd too find their Valhalla's final resting place to be a satisfactory one.

He tensed up as Val positioned his paw close to his own for this experiment. He held his breath, tempted to look away but fairly sure he'd miss it all if he didn't see it to know it was happening. And there again, a glimmering sensation in his paw. A tingle as if he'd slept too long on the paw only to quickly fade away. Yes. It's... different though . This was no living creature touching him. The subtleness and gentle warmth in that veiled shimmering touch was unlike the contact Aquila expected from Valhalla. This gift from Maua must seem so great but Aquila then mourned just how restrictive it was, wondering if nothing was better than this taunting temptation. He lifted his paw, craving the greater contact, and ended up forcing it right through the Guardian's apperance to his dismay. Aquila deeply frowned and slid his ears down against his mane and skull, looking away from his brother with disappointment and shame. It's like feeling water without getting wet. Water that moved, was manipulated away from any pressure but at the end there was nare any proof you'd touched at all unlike water which left a slick sheen and chilling dampness.

He would grin at the mention of where he had been buried. "I was able to see it before I was brought here. It is beautiful indeed." A spot under a tree that overlooked the water within Vermeda was a spot he didn't know he would enjoy until he had passed on and was buried. He could hear the pangs of grief as @Aquila spoke, causing for his lips to curl in a subtle frown. He hated seeing his friend like this and he knew there wasn't anything he could do about it.

His experiment he would conclude a success of kinds, knowing that his touch could be felt but it was much different than when a living lion would touch another. And as Aquila would attempt to have his paw press onto the Viking would he both see and feel how it went straight through him. It was a rather odd sensation, as if a soft and cold breeze had lingered on him for a bit too long. And where the Valour had tried to touch him but it seem to blur in soft pink light before his body went back to 'normal.' "And that was weird," he would comment with a soft chuff of laughter.

Yellow eyes would shift from glancing down to where the lion had tried to touch him back to Aquila's face, letting the silence linger before he decided to ask the question that was burning on his mind. "I have to ask... Why did you go to Firnen when you knew a death match was going to happen?" His words were deep yet soft, his gaze holding the look of wonder. "Was... Was that what you wanted to happen?"



from the midnight sun where the hot springs flow

DEE / NOVI