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The Eagle Bearer has not rested in a very long time. The Eagle Bearer has not been called the Eagle Bearer in a long time.
She has learned of many cultures, collected many artifacts, and seen many people; traveling the world for the greater good of humanity. But the Eagle Bearer has not rested in a very long time.
She has outlived all of her friends and family, she has seen the rise and fall of many communities, of many cultures, and she is tired.
But the artifact hunt has led her to London, and it has only been five years since she met Eivor, and perhaps taking a rest is okay, for once.
What’s the harm in seeing a friend, when Eivor is the only living one she has?
So she arrives at Ravensthorpe, the settlement now a town, one with Eivor at the helm. Aletheia’s robotic voice, though annoyed at the Keeper’s attachment to Eivor, would update her on the progress of Ravensthorpe and Eivor herself when asked.
She wonders where Eivor could be, and, not for the first time, wishes Ikaros was still alive to help guide her. But Ikaros has passed, long ago, just another one of her loved ones who passed long before her, so instead she starts with the longhouse. It is where she sees most activity occurring in England, and she assumes that will be the case here in Ravensthorpe.
“Hello,” she manages to say, and an axe flies close to her, slipping past her face to embed in the log of the door. Her throat tightens, flashes of a brown-haired rebel doing the same with a knife in front of her eyes. Kyra. Though it is a name she has not thought of for many years, the ache of outliving her burns all the same.
“State your business,” is snarled, and she straightens. The speaker, oddly reminiscent of herself, has a stone-cold face, adding on to the tally of features that remind her of Kyra.
“My name is Kassandra,” she says, and she sees a flash of recognition in the woman’s eyes, “And I am here to see Eivor Wolf-Kissed.”
“Kassandra, apologies.” the woman says, and approaches the misthios, though it is a word she has not used to describe herself in a long time. “I am Randvi, and Eivor is currently in Norway. You are welcome to stay for a while.”
Kassandra’s shoulders are very, very heavy. The Eagle Bearer has not rested in a very long time.
“I would like that,” Kassandra says softly, smiling at the shorter woman, watching with something akin to fondness when Randvi yanks the axe out of the wood. “I am grateful for the offer.”
There are less suspicious looks, Kassandra notes, as she follows Randvi to the guest barracks, and children even approach the pair, ogling at Kassandra’s armor. One attempts to grab onto her forearm, squealing when Kassandra kneels and allows her to get closer, and begins tracing the largest scar on her bicep.
“What happened?” the girl asks, wonder so clear in her eyes.
“I was attacked by a bear,” Kassandra twists her arm so the children can see, one of them even beginning to climb her like a tree.
The Eagle Bearer has not been around children in a very long time. The children remind her of Phoibe, so curious and unaware of the pain in the world that echoes the pain in her heart.
“Did you survive?”
The question is so incredibly innocent, the children so ignorant to what death means, and she hopes in the deepest depth of her heart that they will never need to understand what death means, but even she knows that every single one of them will have to come to terms with what death means.
“I did,” Kassandra says, and stands, smiling when the child hanging from her arm squeals in delight and continues to just hang. “You are already very strong, little one.”
The child drops, then, puffing out their chest with a big grin. “I’m going to be like my father someday. He’s fighting with Eivor!”
“Did you know I fought with Eivor once, too?” Kassandra smiles, settling into the dirt and watches as the townspeople gather around behind the children. “It began with a fight between Eivor and I.”