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Earth - An Unexpected Meeting

Posted June 21, 2021, 3:23 p.m. by Civilian Ragna Idun McKenzie (Future Citizen) (Jennifer Ward)

Posted by Civilian Seamus McKenzie (Future Citizen) in Earth - An Unexpected Meeting

Posted by Civilian Ragna Idun McKenzie (Future Citizen) in Earth - An Unexpected Meeting

Posted by Civilian Seamus McKenzie (Future Citizen) in Earth - An Unexpected Meeting

(snip)

Tara looked at Oddvar and said “Just Tara, if you please. And no. At least not for a few days. So yes, if you don’t mind giving me a hand, we can get this mess sorted so when she steps out there are no small reminders of… of…” and her voice caught in her throat slightly, “… of that circumstance.” and she stepped forward and picked up a broom and started sweeping the walk.

Tara

The catch in her voice tugged at Oddvar. He reached out and wrapped his big arms around her and awkwardly patted her back. “It’s alright Tara.” And then he stepped away grabbing a garden hoe off the rack, and began clearing and smoothing the beds that had been trampled. “Ragna will be alright. She’s got your Seamus and he has all of us to make sure she gets better. And you have me…uh…and Cuyler and Helka. All of us to make sure some good comes of this.” He worked quietly then righting the soil. He was a blacksmith, but he had learned a few tricks from his late wife and soon had most of the damaged plants trimmed or splinted so they would survive.
Oddvar

The touch caused her to tense slightly and her breathe to catch… again. “Your presence here is a boon to Ragna I am sure.” Tara said with a wavering formality in her voice. “And some good simply must come of this, Mr. Edman… it has to. I will not allow that dear girl’s pain to be for nothing.” and she looked at him as he worked. “You are well versed in the care of the garden. I can see where Ragna’s attunement with the old ways comes from. Your family and Seamus will get along just fine I think.” and she chuckled. “Ragna said you are a smith? So is my granddaughter… Seamus’s sister. That hoe in your hand is her work.”

Tara

“I would hope our presence is a boon to everyone involved. And please call me Oddvar. Mr Edman was my uncle or my brother. He is the older one after all.” Oddvar straightened and smoothed the soil where the shoe prints of a very large man had stepped through and crushed and trampled the plants and soil. “Something good will come of it. I didn’t miss Seamus’ comment about Argyle being the same way in high school. Ragna won’t have either. She won’t stop now, not till she’s found ever person he’s ever harmed and makes him pay justice for it. It’s just her way. Ragna will take on a lot of punishment to help those that need it. ‘Wherever you know harm, regard that harm as your own, and give your foes no peace.’ (-Odin, Havamal 127). It’s part of the oath she took, and she’s very serious about it.”

“She’s a very serious woman.” Tara said with a tone of affection in her voice.

He looked at the garden and laughed, “Not as good as you may think. My late wife was the gardener and doctor. She grew all the plants and herbs she needed to make medicines. Made the tincture that Ragna uses for her headaches. Argued with the fancy doctors we took Ragna to see. Trine could argue with a brick wall and win. They didn’t like that she only used ‘modern’ ways as a last resort, but in the end she was right. Learned what I know from helping her.” He knelt down along one of the rows using thing twine he’d found near the tools to tie damaged stems to stronger ones, and using the knife in his boot to cut away damaged ones that couldn’t be saved. “Aye, learned from our grandfather on our mother’s side. He was a decent smith, made tools, cutlery, the like, and jewelry. He made beautiful jewelry. I make a little of everything. Whatever the clan needs.” He stood up and picked up the hoe again twirling it wrong side up to inspect the metal work with a knowing eye. “She’s got a good eye for it, the heat treat is superb. No warps that needed fixing right after. That’s hard to do when you have a 90 degree angle on something like this. I’d be happy to talk trade craft with her.” Having righted the garden he picked up the basket Ragna had thrown and the vegetables that were scattered about, and replaced the hoe on the tool rack. He looked around the homestead and shook his head. “Do you believe in fate, Tara? Because I never thought Ragna would find someone suited to her, but here he was, right across the sea, the whole time.”
Oddvar

“I do believe in fate… Oddvar… It’s one of the reasons I have dealt with my grandson Michael as I have. I know.. in my soul I know… that fate has a plan for him. I’m just holding his place in history till he comes to take it. And I’ll be damned to the Nine Hells before I let anyone take it from that boy. He and Seamus… they are the future of this clan. They and their brides.”

Tara

Oddvar chuckled. “I think these cousins won’t know what bit them. Your Michael is coming home, and he’s brining Revna with him, and Revna will bring Runa with her, and Ragna is already here. We have our ways,” and here he shrugs beginning to fold the quilts on the make shift bed Seamus had made. “And once the clans are truly joined your ways and our ways will be meshed and melded together. Revna will be at the head of that. She’s a peace keeper and she’ll smooth the way. For us you are already clan, distant perhaps, but clan and family, even without Mike and Revna’s marriage. It’s our way. Revna will walk that line very carefully, but it won’t change what’s in her heart.” He set the folded quilt on a chair and collected cups and food onto the tray before reaching for the second quilt. “I’m rambling like an old man. My point, I guess…Tara…is to trust Revna when it comes down to it. She might say things that will push them, but she knows what she’s doing. She won’t ruin your plan or risk Mike, not for anything, or she may do nothing at all, depending on what she sees. It’s Ragna I worry about. Not because she won’t understand and know what to do, but facing your attacker for the first time can make one irrational.”
Oddvar

“I’ve never met Revna, but if Michael loves her enough to marry her I know she is a singular individual. And as far as Ragna goes? Between her and Seamus, I know her to be more level-headed… even when dealing with that bastard grandson of mine. Seamus, though…” and Tara suddenly sat down heavily on the stack of hay and held her face in her hands. “He was going to kill him… he would have thrown his life away for that… that… waste.”

Tara

Oddvar looked at Tara, head in hands, obviously upset, and wasn’t quite sure what to do. He supposed the highborn Lady Tara wouldn’t appreciate him being overly familiar but it broke his heart to see her like that. He sat down next to her, put one arm around her shoulders and squeezed gently. “Aye he would have, and from a man’s point of view, I understand. I also know he wasn’t in his right mind at the time, either. I don’t think Seamus would see it the way you do though. I have a measure of your grandson and he would probably say he gave his life to protect his Ragna. The out come would be the same, but the effect on the man is different.” He squeezed her gently again and patted her arm. “There is no need for all these ‘what ifs’ though. Seamus stopped, the gods put you in place to make sure he didna go too far, and that’s all that matters. He gave Argyle the beating he’s been needing and Seamus was in place to stop that b@$!@rd from killing Ragna. Now we can only move forward. We can’t sit on what happened and hem and haw over it. So, come on,” he stood up taking her hand and pulling her to standing. “This hay and straw will go bad sitting out here, it’s got to be put back, before the next round of storms comes. And then in about an hour, Devlin and couple of the maidens will be here in the shuttle. Cuyler will call Revna and we’ll get an answer, and us men folk can watch you and Helka try to convince Ragna to go through with a very formal wedding.”

Oddvar


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