Today was the day. He would set out on his first Viking. It was almost perfect. The only issue was that Merĸúnguaĸ was going as well. After their duel Mýlaugr did not really have any issues with his sister. However there was still the fact that around her he could not help but want to be competitive. He did not want to make of himself in front of his captain, but he could not let his sister one up him at any point.
She had already shown how dedicated she was by arriving early to the meeting spot. Mýlaugr had been the last to arrive. “So when are we heading out,” he whispered to his sister while the captain talked to other members of the band. She rolled her eyes.
“We were just waiting for one annoyingly late lion to show up. But now that he is here, we should be heading out shortly.” She responded with a sneer.
He nodded his head until he realized that she was talking about him. “Hey!”
Merĸúnguaĸ shushed him as the captain turned toward the rest of the band. There were a total of 7 of them, not including the captain. Mýlaugr and Merĸúnguaĸ were the youngest of the bunch. Kjall went over what they were going to do. Merĸúnguaĸ listened intently. When Kjall finished speaking, Mýlaugr was already impatiently tapping his toe. He had not absorbed any of the information that Kjall went over. He knew that he would be fine.
===
Zeruaran was focused not on his captain but the two newcomers to the group. Kjall had told them all that there would be new faces, but he was not expecting them to be young. And one of them was even female. It had been a while since he went out on a viking with a female reaver. In this band they did not last very long. He had been surprised that Kjall would even allow one to join.
He knew that Kjall had a soft spot of misfits though. These two were grandcubs of one of his friends, so it shouldn’t be that big of a surprise. It would just make getting rid of them that more difficult. Though the male one might be a worthwhile fit. The other one would have to go regardless.
Soon it was time to head off. Zeruaren had no family in the pride, no one to miss. Going out of the pride was the most satisfaction he ever got. He kept an eye on the two younger vikings, wondering what he should do about them.
===
During their travels, most of the other lions left the siblings alone. It was isolating for Mýlaugr who was used to chatting with everyone. The only one he had a conversation with was Merĸúnguaĸ who was occupied with her own thoughts.
“Do you think that we will find treasure? I hope so. I hope I get to keep some. Oh and maybe get in a big fight. I want to show Kjall and everyone else how badass I am.” Mýlaugr said happily. The two walked near the back of the group.
Merĸúnguaĸ’s eyes narrowed at one of the lions in front of them. He kept glancing back at them. “What is his deal,” she said with a slight growl, ignoring Mýlaugr’s questions. “He keeps looking back at us. I do not trust him.”
Mýlaugr looked at the lion. He did not look familiar to him. “Do you have a crush on him? If you do, you should just go talk to him.”
She shook her head. “No I am not juvenile like you. Crushes are meaningless. That lion is up to something. When we stop watch him. I can guarantee he will be staring at us.”
Her brother let out a laugh. “You are being a bit paranoid sis. Why would anyone pay attention to us? We haven’t done anything impressive yet.”
“I don’t know Mýlaugr. That is part of the problem. Other then your lateness we haven’t been drawing any attention to ourselves.” She replied.
===
They continued on, Mýlaugr more aware of the lion watching them. When they stopped to rest, they siblings sat away from the main group. “Do you think we should confront him? It could be nothing, just him being curious about us.”
“I get the feeling we are about to find out.” Merĸúnguaĸ said, nodding her head. Mýlaugr looked and saw the lion approach them. He was smaller then most lions, but still larger then Mýlaugr. Merĸúnguaĸ stood up straight and stared the lion in the eyes. “Is there something we can help you with?” There was zero pleasantries in her voice. She wanted him to know that she did not like him.
The lion’s eyes caught hers for a brief moment before he looked over at Mýlaugr. “You are new to the band. You do not need to keep yourself separated from the rest of the group. When we go out traveling we are no longer pride mates, but brothers and you should feel apart of it.”
Brothers, Merĸúnguaĸ thought, clenching her teeth. In other words she was not welcome.
Mýlaugr grinned widely. “Of course we would love to be closer to the group. We thought that we were annoying to the group.”
The other lion did a sideways glance at Merĸúnguaĸ before returning his gaze to Mýlaugr. “We did not get the chance to properly introduce ourselves. My name is Zeruaren.”
“I am Mýlaugr and this is my sister Merĸúnguaĸ who is a bit of a grump. This is our first Viking.” He explained.
Zeruaren nodded. “Well I am sure that you will enjoy this outing. Kjall has a tendency to target merchants. There is bound to be treasure. You probably will not be given anything too grand, since you are new, but I am sure that you will be given something for your treasure. The others have interesting stories that will make you ready for blood shed.”
“Ya!”
Zeruaren looked toward Merĸúnguaĸ, his expression altering. “We are running out of meat. It is your turn to go hunting. We will need quite a bit. You should get going before it gets too late.” He told her.
“I guess you will hear the stories when you get back?” Mýlaugr said with a shrug. He knew that his sister was a good huntress so she would surely be back sooner. If he tagged along he would only be a nuisance.
She glared at Zeruaren, knowing that he was purposely excluding her. This was not going to be the end of it. There would be a moment where she could prove herself to the entire band and then they would all have to respect her.
“I will make it quick.” She said dryly before taking off.
===
Zeruaren and Mýlaugr took off toward the rest of the group.
“How long have you been in Kjall’s band?” Mýlaugr asked curiously. Now that he was becoming part of the group, it was important to get to know everyone, especially the lion that had taken an interest in him and his sister.
“I met him a little after I joined the pride. He saw potential in me and soon we became close as brothers.” Zeruaren explained.
They sat with the rest of the group. Everyone went around and shared stories for Mýlaugr. Zeruaren watched the young lion with amusement. When he first saw the siblings, he felt a kinship toward the lion. He was smaller then his sibling. In a pride where strength and skills were valued, it would not be surprising if his sibling was favorite over him.
Growing up Zeruaren was not the favorite son. He was instead ignored by his mother who saw his brother as perfection. To make things worse, his cousin, the young king, was given priority over any of her offspring. He was often an after thought. Myrsky Syntynyt had been a more pleasant experience though.
He enjoyed the company of Mýlaugr and the rest of the band. When he saw the lioness in the group, he was worried that she would throw off the dynamic that Kjall, himself and the others had built. But now that her brother found his place, he was certain that she would feel out of place and leave sooner then later.
===
Merĸúnguaĸ, true to her word, returned from her hunting quickly, dragging a wildebeest. She had waited for the perfect moment to go after her prey. For now, it should feed the hungry reavers. When Kjall saw her, he cheered loudly and went to help her drag it.
“This is a taste catch. Your grandfather was not kidding about your abilities was he?” He said after the two of them dragged it back to the others. She stood proudly next to her catch.
“He was not. I take everything I do seriously. I will not disappoint you.” She responded.
Then the group dug in.
“Ah you missed all the stories Merĸúnguaĸ! I can catch you up though.” Mýlaugr said between bites. It was just him and Merĸúnguaĸ sitting near the group. Zeruaren was sitting right next to Kjall. She decided that she would make it a priority to get closer to the band even if Zeruaren did not want her there. “They all have stories like gramps, though they don’t go soft on the details. It is great.”
“I am sure it is brother. Before you get into that though, did Zeruaren talk about me at all? I still get the feeling he is up to something.” She had hardly stopped looking at the older lion since she got back. His actions and her gut instinct made her question his motives. He did not want her there, she was sure of it.
He tilted his head. “No. Not that I remember. He is not nearly as bad as you thought he was. He was actually a little encouraging.”
She nodded her head. “Of course he was. Your company is welcome in his presence. I have a suspicion that he is not so approving of me.”
“Ya but that is because you keep trying to impress Kjall. If you just acted normal like the rest of us I am sure Zeru would like you more.” Mýlaugr replied. He did not understand why his sister was so determined to make Zeruaren the villain. So far he had been helpful to him.
That would not help, she thought. Kjall saw potential in her, but she feared that Zeruaren would just ruin things for her. For now she would try to ‘act normal’ and see if it helped things. “I am going to call it a night. Tomorrow we are heading out extra early.”
“Rest well sister. I will head off to bed as well soon.” He hoped that tomorrow would be a better day for his sister. Worrying about Zeruaren or any of the others would not help her. He wanted to impress Kjall as much as she did, but he was not going to get paranoid about it.
After finishing up eating, he volunteered to take the first watch.
WC: 1,850