Waves of Ice

5 - Idun

Viveka held on to Idun a moment after she had regained her balance. When she let go, it was with a jolt, as if Idun had burned her.

"Thank you," was the only thing Idun could say through the shock of Viveka helping her.

Viveka looked away. "It was pure reflex. I'll probably regret it soon." She took a few steps towards the forest, wrapped the bear fur around her, and stared at the spruces heavy with snow.

"Can you find your way home?" Idun asked hesitantly.

"Of course," Viveka snapped. She turned to Idun and continued with a thoughtful tone. "But I need to weigh my options first."

Idun raised her eyebrows. "Really? What options?" She walked away from the cape and stomped around in the high snow that had been blown up over the spruces' low branches.

"If I go home, I can warn my family and friends. I'm not sure what I'd warn them for, but it's better than if we were to be completely surprised."

Idun shrugged.

"But if I were to find Torbyorn I could eli- I mean stop him from becoming a threat in the first place."

Idun crossed her arms but chose to look past Viveka's hostility. "How would you find him?" She hadn't a clue and could use some ideas. Blindly going west wouldn't be enough for long.

Viveka opened and closed her mouth, leaving her brow furrowed. "He leaves tracks in the snow, doesn't he? And then you said something about following a ley line. How hard can that be?"

"He's pretty good at hiding his tracks, but we could try." To not let her inexperience of what she said next show, Idun raised her mental wall. "You use inner senses to follow ley lines. It's easier if you have several, but it should work with just one."

"I guess you only have one then?"

"Yeah, smell."

"So what do we do?"

"We?" Idun must've misheard.

"Yes, you still want to find your brother, don't you?"

"Of course!" Idun fumbled for the thoughts that went through her head. "Back up one step though. You hardly have clothes for a winter journey."

Viveka frowned. "True. But, listen now, even if it sounds crazy. If we go back to Garda-"

Before Idun had time to protest, Viveka had raised her hand and the speed of her words.

"-we can pack properly. Food, weapons for hunting, and clothes, of course. I can see my father and assure him I'm okay. Otherwise, believe me, if he's okay but doesn't know I am, he'll attack Heathers Bay to get me back. Then this wheel of shit will continue to turn."

Viveka stopped to catch her breath and Idun took her chance.

"If we turn back, Torbyorn will only get further away. You should go home and I'll follow him myself. I don't need you."

"Yeah, right," Viveka snickered. "It's carved all over your face that you don't have a plan." She stood silent for a moment. "We can take Brunte!"

"Who?"

"My horse. Sure, we'll lose a day, but if we ride west we'll catch up eventually." Viveka pulled the fur tighter around her neck. It matched her eyes. They even looked as soft.

Idun clenched her jaw. Hard. Why couldn't she come up with a counter-argument? She tore her eyes away from Viveka and sighed. "Fine."

On the lake, Mist Dancer had turned and were heading east. Idun plowed through the spruces, Viveka only steps behind, and followed the ship's example. The pines' crowns had caught much of the snow, which eased their hike.