Ragnarök Unwound *Sample*

A Valkyrie Walks Into a Bar ✔

"Ives!" A petite girl popped up at Ives's elbow, wrapping slender fingers around her forearm. The newcomer stared at the Valkyrie with wide eyes. "I think it's time we get you home." The girl's stature might be small but her grip was iron, yanking Ives off the bar stool before she could insult the shield maiden further.

"I haven't paid my tab," Ives whined, leaning heavily on her companion.

"I took care of it," said the girl, wincing when Ives tripped over the half step at the entrance. "How many shots of rum did you tell Nick to put in there?"

"Three," said Ives, holding up four fingers. She giggled. Tall, blonde, and frosty watched as they stumbled off, tracing a finger along the rim of her tumbler. She didn't move to stop them, though she looked clearly unhappy about Ives's departure. Another insult Ives would no doubt pay for later when the Valkyrie caught up to her.

All she wanted from the evening was to drink away her good judgment while looking for a possible shag online to round out an abysmal pisser of a day. Instead, here she was, making her 'drunken' escape with a Valkyrie burning holes in her backside.

The two made it into the parking before Ives pressed her mouth to the girl's ear. "Are we in the clear, Jules?"

"Gigantor hasn't followed us yet, but her intentions are clear." Jules nibbled her lip, eyeing Ives from beneath a mop of glossy brown curls. "I know it makes you a bit woozy, but  we should take the express route home."

Ives's stomach flopped at the mention of it. That blonde was nothing but bad news. "Do it."

Jules wrapped her thin arms around Ives's waist. She felt a tug in her gut, straight up through her brain stem as the world wobbled at the edges. The next second, she blinked in her darkened apartment. Jules released her as reality caught up, squeezing her insides.

"Bugger!" Ives rushed for the bathroom, emptying the contents of her stomach. She paid good money for that Mai Tai too. Another grievance she could throw in the Valkyrie's face. With a groan, she straightened to find Jules waiting in the doorway with a fizzing glass of alka-seltzer. She took it with a grateful nod and drained its contents. The couch looked damned inviting but she was fooling herself if she thought the Valkyrie wouldn't track her here. Jules flit about the room, doing some nervous tidying. After her third circuit around the room rearranging the same stack of books, Ives came to a decision.

"We can't stay here tonight," said Ives, heading for her suitcase in the bedroom. "We'll head over to Dad's. He won't mind us crashing for the night."

Jules squealed, clapping her hands together. "He's sooo messy," she said, a dreamy look in her eyes.

Ives rolled her eyes. "You know you have an open invitation to stay at his house whenever the urge hits." She regretted opening her mouth when the girl's expression turned somber.

"You need me more," said Jules softly.

Ives flapped her hand at her spotless apartment. "Hogwash, this place is spotless."

"You know what I mean," said Jules, a sad smile lifting the corners of her mouth. Ives braced herself on the bed, her suitcase empty and waiting before her. She did know what Jules meant. It was why she'd stayed with Ives instead of returning to a 'normal' life. It was a mutual need. Jules had nowhere else to go. Ives had no other friends. 

Ives dumped a few random articles of clothing, gathering her toiletries while Jules secretly reorganized her bag with matching outfits. The girl's eye twitched when Ives dumped damp bottles of shampoo and conditioner on top of everything. She snapped her bag shut, throwing an arm around Jules shoulder as they exited their shared cottage.

"Just promise me, organize, no rearranging. The last time,  I thought he was going to have an aneurysm when you cleaned up the workshop," said Ives.

Jules pouted. "I simply put all his tools in their proper places."

"It took him a week to find his socket wrenches."

That made her companion giggle, though her expression swung back to worried. "What about the shield maiden?"

Ives could feel a headache spiking at the very thought of her. The Valkyrie would catch up to them sooner rather than later, and what she represented made Ives's skin crawl. I'm not ready to do this. The thought made her break out in a cold sweat. She forced a smile for her companion. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

***

The Valkyrie watched their departure from the comfort of a nearby high balcony. Hildr preferred high places, seeing the world from an aerial vantage point. She always felt she saw so much more than when she was on the ground. She pursed her lips as she watched the quite sober Ives and her fae companion clamber into a beat up jeep. It didn't start the first time, causing the young woman to shout and bang on it until it grudgingly rumbled to life. Hildr kept her ice blue eyes trained on them until the jeep's red brake lights were glowing dots zipping away into the night.

A crow landed on the balcony railing, dancing from foot to foot.

"Are we sure she is the one? She doesn't look like much," said Hildr. The crow tilted its sleek black head, cawing in a rather derisive tone for a carrion eater.

The Valkyrie made a face. "No need to be so rude about it."