» the calm before the storm

VALKYRIE She stood in the storm It was long after the hour of midnight. The Shieldmaiden and her young, weary company had departed the celebration by the light of The Pinnacle perhaps earlier than was polite, but it became quickly apparent to the white, winged mare, that the unwell child she’d arrived beside and remained with, was too exhausted to remain. Very slowly they’d followed an overgrown path towards the north, for though Halyven (the destination suggested by the luminous deer-goddess), lay rather more southeast, there was a region of tar in the area directly between that she felt the younger would be unable to navigate safely. Dutifully, along the way, she presented before the underfed filly an impressive selection of grasses and fruit, yet it seemed not to inspire an appetite like it did herself, and in the end, Valkyrie was the one who consumed the lot. She’d not come across the implantable wall of black that had prevented their movement beyond the monolith previously, so it came as no surprise that they should come across the land beyond - it allowed her to focus her effort into pushing the weakling waif along or insisting she rest briefly, so that they could move along faster. They were travelling the long road after all, and the Daughter of the Sunnmōre had no doubt that her companion would perish through the night without her… “I’m sure we haven’t long to go now…” Valkyrie lied blatantly through an impatient sigh, nudging the wasted thigh of the filly as it paused, again. It didn’t occur to the stronger woman that those twisted front legs, or atrophied muscles would impact their movement, quite the way it did; certainly the extent of emaciation wasn’t clearly visible beneath the woollen, shaggy mass of muddy, matted coat. Frustrated, she urged the mute creature forward. Eventually they came upon a change of terrain: a quite startling spread of real snow and bitter weather. The Shieldmaiden infant hailed from a home very similar and her pounding heart grew all the lighter (her duty more careless), as she pranced and paraded ahead through the slush. There were tracks, deep channels, that allowed them good passage and Valkyrie chose to lead at last, even while the slower began to lag; it seemed all at once, that the Rift had finer features on offer. The child never spoke, so it was too easy to forget her amid distraction and the Shieldmaiden arrived by the raging river long before her charge. There were many gathered on the shoreline, all inspecting the water like it were something more… than nothing. Her eyes rolled as she recalled the herd of green-thumbs: Vynter and his silly cohort, Zoeya and the other fusspots. Thank the Shield they were not present now. “Can’t any of you swim?” She blurted insolently, smiling, stepping between them as though to test the chill with one hoof extended. But that was not her intention (especially given the swollen nature), and she paused to examine it - half expecting that it might suddenly grow legs and flee. She wouldn’t get too close. At least, not yet. and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails.

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Valkyrie being herself - forgets about Eira and strides on through, 'pretending' she's going to go ahead and cross. She stops and inspects it at the last second though.