Tiny specks of dust floated, captured in thin rays of daylight and reflecting like stars before they finally found respite atop the button nose of the omega who lay, bundled deep beneath a mountain of furs. Multicolored eyelids twitched, chasing after dreams.
Although the barn loft was quiet – the sound of soft, sleepy breaths and the occasional huff of the horses below the only indication that it bore any semblance of life – the rumble and clang of faraway movement gradually roused Vali from the pacifying depths of slumber.
Mismatched eyelashes fluttered, full lips stretching into a small oval as he yawned, squirming back to life beneath the warm furs.
His dreams had been licorice sweet, filled with flickerings of delight as the sky morphed into a tapestry of Tofa's bright, blue eyes, pinched up in the corners with joy. Vali had held his arms out in that dream, soaking himself head-to-toe in the immortal light that dripped from his friend's eyelashes like tears. Tears like mercy. Tears like forgiveness.
It was with a heavy heart that Vali eventually managed to tear himself from the abstract farewell and crack his own eyes open, blinking a few times to clear the weary fuzziness that had settled over them throughout the fitful night.
His face was still tight with the remnants of salty tears when late morning trickled through the hay loft, hazy lines of light crisscrossing the floor from the places where the wallboards bowed away from one another.
The meager space was still filled with the same few knickknacks and necessities he'd spied the previous night, although it didn't take more than a moment for his senses to pick up on the fact that a particular something... Better yet, a particular someone, was absolutely nowhere to be found among them.
Pushing up onto his arms, Vali shivered when the furs fell, pooling around his waist and exposing his skin to the nip of chilled air. The Omega drew in a deep, calculating breath through his nostrils.
The scent of Alpha was caked into each strand of the soft bedding surrounding him, as if the large man had remained there, beside him, for the entirety of the night. But it was somewhat stale now, muted and dull as it swirled through his sinus cavities.
Where could he have gone? Vali found himself contemplating, puzzlement only deepening once mismatched eyes settled on the rusty hook from which the man's giant bearskin still hung. Certainly, its presence meant that he must not be far... right?
The call of an impatient bladder interrupted his diffident musings.
Vali scurried his way out of the tangle of furs, yanking at his britches as he made a beeline for the chamber pot, the wooden pail still tucked away in the same corner it'd been the night before. With a sigh of relief, he quickly handled his business and tied himself back up before turning around to ascertain a better view of the room, now with the assistance of intermittent daylight that trickled in.
Someone less perceptive would certainly have overlooked it, but on a spot high up on the wall – far exceeding what Vali's short form could possibly reach on his own – a loose wallboard tapped against the ones around it, wind jostling it around in its spot. The Omega immediately took interest.
It took almost all of his might to tow the heavy, dusty old trunk that had somehow escaped last night's survey of the loft to the perfect spot. But he was immediately rewarded for his efforts when he hopped atop it with a small grunt, pushed up onto his tiptoes, and slid his fingers up against the loose spot.
It slid up with a quiet creak, hinging on the nail that still attached it to the other wallboards on one side, and Vali craned his neck, peeking through the slim crack as if it were a portal to the outside world.
Billows of gray smoke rose on the horizon, and although the village was a few minutes walk from where he currently resided, Vali could still distinctly make out the milling of bodies around what looked to be a town square, laboring diligently at whatever tasks they were busied with. Multiple structures littered the giant clearing, some clearly more well-kept than others. But one in particular caught the Omega's eye more than any of the rest.
It was a gigantic abode, almost larger than life itself as it towered over the clearing like a tombstone, shrouding much of the ground around it in shadow. Intricate designs were carved into almost every inch of the wood that made up its sturdy walls, and the roof was a beautifully manicured thatch, trimmed into impeccable, harsh corners that looked sharp enough to cut. Vali could clearly make out the rune carved deep into the front door, one so large that even an inexperienced reader such as he could make it out as the letter 'G.'
His eyes widened from behind the opening in the wallboard.
The structure was beautiful, a display so grandiose that Vali could barely even comprehend that what he was witnessing was actually real. In fact, as he allowed his eyes to drink in more of its hyper-symmetrical magnificence, the sight seemed to evolve into one that seemed a little too perfect, so much so that it left an ice chip sliding down his back, injecting an unsettling tingle at the base of his arched spine.
Vali sunk back down onto flat feet with a harrowing breath, allowing the wallboard to slide back into place and resume its endless tap, tap, tapping at the boards adjacent.
Eager to shake the confusing and undeniably troubling sensation that he'd come awash with during his mini-expedition, Vali carefully slipped down off of the trunk and instead turned his attention toward the very first thing that his eye caught next – the leafy drawings that obscured the floorboards where they lay underneath the hand-drawn map he'd noticed the night before.
Vali couldn't help but feel as if he were intruding into the Alpha's personal thoughts, like he was about to break into the man's private diary as he approached the spot. But a profound wave of curiosity drove him onward, sinking to his knees as one brown and one milky white eye scanned the items before him.
There were probably around fifty large leaves scattered around the area, most of which were filled with charcoal drawings ranging from fearsome animals to one which Vali immediately recognized as an excruciatingly detailed depiction of the same village he'd glimpsed through his peephole.
But by the time he got around to the last few drawings, Vali's eyes were shining with delight, head twisting this way and that as he excitedly drank in the sheer beauty that the Alpha had managed to capture on his leafy canvases. A giggle lifted from his lungs when he spied an adorable bunny drawn onto the second to last leaf that he held in his palm, the drawing so detailed that for a moment, the Omega even considered that it may jump right off of the page and into his waiting arms.
Eventually, once he finally managed to tear his gaze from the adorable little creature, Vali carefully set the leaf aside, only for his breath to catch once his gaze shifted to the lone leaf left in his palm.
Fingertips stained with dark charcoal traced the familiarly unfamiliar image, lungs locking up, pulse thudding louder than a drum in his ears.
The distinct softness of his sleeping features were captured in an unmistakable parallel to life itself; curls wavy, nose arched, and lips just as full as he knew them to be whenever he had an opportunity to glimpse his own reflection in the freshwater creek back home. It was as if the Alpha had managed to seize a single moment in time and paste it onto the leaf with remarkable accuracy, giant hands nimble as he manipulated the charcoal so delicately.
And somehow – by seeing himself through the Alpha's eyes – for the very first time in his life, dare he say... Vali felt... pretty.
A shaky smile spread across dark red lips as he continued to caress the found treasure, fingertips stuck there as if they'd been glued to it. But sooner than should ever be allowed, the distinct creaking of straining wood demanded his attention.
Einar's head ascended above the floorboards just as Vali's swiveled toward the source of the new sound. The Alpha had already pushed aside the deerskin blocking the landing, yet another wooden bowl held in a wide palm.
For a moment, neither did anything as they simply indulged in the sight of one another, barely noticing the lapse in time that would have otherwise been considered awkward.
Einar's hair was down from its usual bun, spilling out onto taut, broad shoulders that led up to the same handsome, chiseled face that made something strange flutter to life, resonating like a scream within the cavernous pits of Vali's restless stomach. A few unruly plaits weaved through the Alpha's dirty blonde tresses, and the Omega's fingers itched to work their magic against his scalp, to weave those neglected strands back into a new glory.
Meanwhile, Vali's own curly hair was effortlessly tousled from his night of tearful sleep, forming such a celestial halo around his face that it made Einar burn with the desire to fall to his knees in worship. The Alpha's free hand gripped the side of the ladder enough to splinter the wood, forcing back the desire to tangle his fingers into those waves, just to see how downy the white and black strands surely must surely feel against his own, war-torn skin.
Vali's eyes shifted back to the final leaf that he held in his palm, and Einar's blue-eyed gaze followed closely behind.
"Your drawings are lovely." Vali's voice was but a temperate whisper, still unable to drive his lungs to cooperate from where they remained, in recovery from the lightning-like shock of discovering his portrait.
Although Einar's expression remained neutral, Vali immediately noticed the flare of pink that infiltrated his sculpted cheekbones.
There was another beat of silence, and something in the Alpha's eyes blazed as he shifted them back up to his Omega's face. Then, his lips were moving with the first very thought that graced them.
"They are only as lovely as the subject that inspires them."
It was Vali's turn to blush now, and Einar nearly lost his footing on the ladder as he witnessed the ruby-red color infiltrate the right side of his Omega's face. The Alpha chose that moment to ascend the rest of the way up the ladder, knowing all too well the punishment that would certainly await if he were to injure himself from such a careless accident.
Noticing the Alpha's swift advance into the loft, Vali was quick to set down the leaf and push up to standing, only to be momentarily taken aback when the Alpha stretched to his full height.
Even though this wasn't the first time he'd bore witness to the man's impressive stature, it was the first time he'd done so without the distraction of imminent death or the shroud of night muddying his view. And now, as the man stood before him with nothing but a pair of loose britches tied low on his hips and worn, brown boots concealing giant feet, he seemed to swallow up the small space, sucking all of the oxygen from the room like a fire without an outlet.
And dear Odin, Vali could practically hear the crackles as he smoldered in his shadow.
Einar moved a few paces closer, presenting the bowl that still rested in his palm. The wooden thing looked almost miniature compared to the vast extremity. Vali's eyes wandered, briefly pausing on a muscular forearm that was crisscrossed with prominent veins before he shook his head, clasping his hands behind his body.
"I don't want it." Vali immediately protested, ignoring the way his stomach lurched with hunger when the scent of hearty stew – beef, this time – swirled into his nostrils. "You eat it instead."
Einar chewed at the thin skin of his cheek when a pang of insecurity lashed at him with an intensity similar to Guiscard's barbed whip.
How dare he consider himself anything close to an Alpha when he could barely even provide enough food for his fated to comfortably do something as simple as eat?
Part 2 in Next Episode
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