OOM - part two

[gods_that_haunt_me]

[Part One]

Early in the morning, Helga wakes up and carefully slips out of bed, not wanting to disturb Floki. She cooks breakfast for the both of them, porridge, as it's the only thing Floki can eat at the moment. Gently waking him, she helps him sit up, and she spoonfeeds him, sharing the porridge out of the same bowl.

Later, with the assistance of a servant, Helga changes Floki's bandages and applies a fresh healing paste to his wounds. The gouges in his side still ooze blood, but they don't seem infected. Helga only worries that they're too deep to close up properly.

For Floki, sitting up to have the bandages removed and the clean ones wrapped around him is painful, as his ribs still feel as if they're stabbing his lungs with every breath he takes. But he is determined to do some things on his own. Like standing. With the help of a wooden staff, of course. But not for too long because the bed is really quite comfortable and lying down is good.

Sometimes, with a silent plea to the gods, he tries to move the fingers of his right hand. And tries not to panic when he finds that he can't.

He would truly go out of his mind if not for Helga. And this idea of Athelstan's is the next best thing to divine intervention.

Comments

[gods_that_haunt_me]

Floki continues to flex his fingers, getting the sensation back into them, when he looks over at Guppy.

"How can I repay you?"

It's not a suggestion. Floki will repay him.

[guppy_sandhu]

"No charge." Guppy says. "If you like you can make a donation to the infirmary."

[gods_that_haunt_me]

He tilts his head.

Guppy probably means those gold and silver coins that some people tend to favor as forms of payment.

And then he bobs his head in a nod.

"Consider it done," he says agreeably, and with gratitude.

He then turns to Athelstan.

"Home, priest! But I am not going back in that chair."

[athelstanthescribe]

"I'll get a better one", Athelstan says with deceptive meekness, and mutters as he turns away, "For a stork."

[gods_that_haunt_me]

"What did you say?" Floki crows. "My arm was broken, not my hearing!"

With his left hand (following doctor's orders), he grabs his staff leaning against the bed and eases himself up.

"And don't bother! I'm going to walk."

[athelstanthescribe]

Athelstan turns back again, giving him a dubious look.

"Are you sure?"

[gods_that_haunt_me]

"Don't give me that look with your face, of course I'm sure!"

Without having to worry about his arm now, though it's still kept wrapped in a sling, his other injuries take priority. So he gets to his feet, braced heavily against his staff. Yes, things still hurt, but the pain is somehow easier to bear as he slowly shuffles toward toward the door.

[athelstanthescribe]

'That look with your face' would make him laugh in Floki's face, but now isn't the time for that.

"All right, then. Just don't fall on your arm."

[gods_that_haunt_me]

"I'm not going to fall on my arm," he growls insistently.

It takes a lot of effort, but he finds the determination to make it through the door and into the hall. One length of the journey down.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to come face-to-face with Rollo in battle, priest?"

The question is posed conversationally, if a little breathlessly.

"It's like encountering a mad bear, where you have nowhere to turn. And you have no choice but to fight, because if you turn away, he will kill you anyway."

[athelstanthescribe]

"I've been face to face with Rollo", he says quietly. "You could hardly have called it a battle, but I know what it's like to know he'd kill you without a second thought if he could - and only Ragnar prevented him."

[gods_that_haunt_me]

Floki glances at him, an eyebrow raised.

Then turns back to concentrating on his walking.

click, step, step. click, step, step.

"Ragnar," he murmurs after some silence. "Always Ragnar."

He's sure that Rollo would have finished him in the fight. Jarl Borg would certainly have wanted him to.

But through the madness Floki heard Ragnar call his name, and the gods saw to it that it was not his time.

[athelstanthescribe]

"Always Ragnar", he echoes. "Luck was with me that he found me first."

[gods_that_haunt_me]

Floki is not going to allow this to turn into a bonding moment.

But he is not going to say that Rollo should have killed Athelstan either.

"Luck? Luck has nothing to do with anything. Do you not thank your Christ god for sparing you?"

[athelstanthescribe]

"I can't say which god it was, any more." He shrugs, and his voice is neutral. "I haven't felt the presence of mine since Lindisfarne - so perhaps it was His plan, but perhaps it wasn't."

[gods_that_haunt_me]

"You doubt your own god," he says, "and you doubt ours as well."

The Uppsala incident made that clear enough.

"Careful, priest. Should you suddenly die, you won't find yourself in either Heaven or Helheim."

That wasn't ominous at all!

[athelstanthescribe]

"I know", he says softly. "But I can't change what's in my heart. I can't make myself believe."

[gods_that_haunt_me]

click, step, step. click, step, step.

"The true gods will prevail. And then you will see how foolish you were to believe in anything else."

They reach the door.

"You see, priest? I didn't fall!"

(Except now after all this activity he just wants to fall into bed and sleep.)

[athelstanthescribe]

"You didn't", Athelstan agrees. "Very good. Now to get you back in bed before Helga returns."

[gods_that_haunt_me]

"You go first and make sure that no one is around," he says, leaning heavily on the staff.

[athelstanthescribe]

Athelstan nods and slips through the door.

A minute later, he's back, keeping it open, to report "All clear."

[gods_that_haunt_me]

Floki hobbles through as quick as he can, heading straight for the bed. Once there, he leaves the staff against the wall within reach and throws off his cloak, before slowly sitting down with and exhausted groan.

"Well, that was an adventure."

[athelstanthescribe]

"A successful one", Athelstan says, satisfied. "And now you can rest with that worry taken away."

[gods_that_haunt_me]

"I can indeed," he says as he eases himself back to lie down.

"I must only remember to not use my right hand to scratch my nose when Helga is around."

[athelstanthescribe]

Athelstan chuckles.

"Hopefully the sling will remind you."

[gods_that_haunt_me]

"It will have to work."

He closes his eyes and sighs, lightly drumming his right hand's fingers against his chest.

"I can feel the restlessness creeping in. I would sleep, but my body wants to run about and do things that it cannot possibly do yet."