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Aedinfell was as barren as Odin had described it. Thick blankets of snow, glowing in different shades of red, that were cast by the black void in the sky. Frozen animal carcasses, giant, dying trees with purple needles. High cliffs and deep canyons, holding freezing rivers and waterfalls of ice. Everything was dark and dim, depressing and sad.
The great manor of the Arrow family was a monument of former glory. Walls of lavender stone, frozen over and pointed roofs covered in dark purple tiles, bearing massive amounts of snow.
After the ship of Ava and her friends had landed they were right away greeted by a few servants and the twins Raven and Crow. The girls appeared mostly mannered today, but couldn't hold back a few teasing comments towards their older brother: “So you actually managed to achieve something, huh?”, “Guess you’re not a total waste of space after all, Brother.”
These comments gave the newcomers a bad first impression right away. Maggie frowned and wrinkled her nose, Gil was unsure if he should like Odin being ridiculed or not and Ava growled in anger, having to control herself, before magma would drip from her jaws again.
But Odin’s cold demeanor and the hand he put on Ava’s arm, made her calm down. They were led to the great auditorium where they got their first gaze at Olai. He rested upon a great throne, made of dark wood and cushioned with dark red velvet. He appeared only a few TITAN years older than Odin, despite the wide and puffy, feathery, black coat it was clear that his stature was narrow and slender, with limbs that seemed too long, almost devoid of muscles. His black hair was shoulder long and shaggy. His eyes had a cold, light shade of purple, almost as lavender as the sky, with rectangular whitish-blue pupils. He was clean-shaven, but looked a bit malnourished. His clothes were pompous, a lot of silver jewelry hanging around his neck and waist and each finger held a ring with a colorful gem. The silver crown on his head appeared too big for him and sat tilted to one side. And in midst it all was a giant, mischievous grin.
“Look who came home, the lost dog,” were Olai’s first words.
“H-hello, O-o-o-o-”
“Shut up!” Olai interrupted his brother, annoyed and yet emotionless. “You should be glad you actually managed to find three Vessels. For real this time.”
Embarrassed, Odin let his head sink down. But as he noticed Ava tense up, he placed a hand on her arm again. Once again she growled, clenching her fists but calming down.
“So, Vessels, welcome to Aedinfell,” Olai said with a wide gesture. “I believe all of you will be quite helpful to us.”
“What do you mean helpful?!” Ava barked and she didn’t even care about Odin squeezing her arm.
“I would also like to know that,” Maggie said loud and snarky. “Why did you send that creep to kidnap me?”
“Can we just – for the record – state that I really don’t want to be here. At all!” Gil threw in as well.
“Yeah. Me neither,” Maggie agreed and pointed at Odin. “He just manipulated the route of our ship and got us here.”
Olai seemed clearly annoyed by all the people talking and none of the others noticed how Odin just wanted everyone to be quiet.
“Our planet is dying,” Olai said in a low voice, making everyone shut up and listen closely. “Vessels with the powers of gods, might be able to help our dying planet. Our population shrunk from over 500 million people to barely two million in only one and a half seasons. That would be… like 7 years for you, I believe.”
“This is not my problem!” Maggie replied snappy. “My planet got destroyed too, only a few days ago. Am I crying about it?”
“Maggie, you’re actually the worst!” Ava hissed and turned to Olai, “Listen! We can’t stay here! Actually, I don’t know about them,” she pointed at Gil and Maggie, “but I have places to be. I need to find the other hosts and one other demon in particular!”
“And which would that be?” Olai asked threateningly.
“None. Of. Your. Business!” Ava replied growling.
Olai looked enraged for a second and Odin even flinched just by the sight of it. But then he relaxed and snickered.
“Oh wow… fiery spirit,” he said. “We can need someone like you here.” Olai rose from his throne, showing off how tall and slender he actually was. “Stay. At least for a little while. And I’m sure we can make a deal that suits both of us.”
He stopped right in front of the four. Maggie and Gil both made a step back, and Gil didn’t even push her away, when she was clinging to him. Odin stayed still, his gaze still towards the ground and his hand on Ava’s arm. And Ava, she was the only one facing Olai, anger and determination burning in her eyes.
“What do you think, Odin?” Olai suddenly addressed his brother by name, which even made him flinch.
“I-I-I-I-”
“Whole sentences!” Olai hissed at him, with a stare that could shatter a mountain.
“Yes,” Odin replied. “W-we sh-should stay. F-for a bit. This sounds like a good idea.”
Olai smiled and looked at Ava again, “You agree?”
She growled, baring her teeth, before crossing her arms and turning away from him, “Fine… a few days.”
“Good,” Olai said. “I’ll make sure you three have the greatest accommodation.”
“I don’t need no special treatment!” Ava hissed. “Be glad I don’t burn this place to the ground!”
“I take care of her!” Odin quickly threw in, pushing himself in between Ava and his brother. “And the others too!”
“Great, but I take the greatest accommodation please!” Maggie noted from the back, her smug nature seemingly upfront again.
“I would actually-” Gil said, but went quiet when he met Olai’s gaze, “I take a nice room too. Please. Thank you.”
Ava rolled her eyes in disbelief, but actually she hadn’t expected anything else from those two. Well she would have expected a little different from Gil, but certainly not from Maggie. From the corner of her eye she saw how Odin was fiddling for his pipe in his pocket, but he didn’t pull it out right now.
“Great, then it’s settled,” Olai said sweetly sick. “Raven and Crow will show you two your room and Odin, make sure your little demon doesn’t burn down the house.”
“Y-yes,” Odin replied.
Olai now turned around and left the auditorium and with him an overwhelming threat disappeared.
The twin girls strolled over to the visitors from the door they had stayed at the entire time and stopped by their brother's side.
“You caused yourself trouble again,” one of them said.
“Sooo much trouble,” the other joked. “Be glad Olai is in a good mood today.”
“Di-di-didn’t f-feel like it,” Odin replied.
The girls just shrugged and turned to Maggie and Gil, “You come with us!” they said in unison and walked away.
Maggie threw her hair back and made a comment about hoping they’d had a shower here, but Gil looked worriedly back at Ava and Odin, before he followed the girls.
Once they were alone Odin sighed loud, pulled out his pipe, lit it and took a deep breath.
“Feeling better?” Ava asked.
“A bit,” he replied. “C-come on. M-mm-my room is that way.”
They left through a different door than Olai and the twins and walked for quite a while through high, deserted hallways. Heavy, dark purple carpets swallowed their steps. Tall windows let in daylight and no matter where Ava looked outside, she only saw snow covered landscapes.
Odin noted that his brother had removed quite a few items from this part of the manor. But nothing prepared him for his room.
It was big, empty and cold. Entering it for the first time was very interesting for Ava. She tried to take in everything she could to figure out who exactly Odin was underneath his stuttering, stoic shell.
As stated the room was big and mostly empty. An enormous bed occupying the space near the great window, which was partly covered with heavy, blood-red curtains. The bed was sad looking. From books and pictures Ava knew such beds, covered in dozens of pillows and heavy blankets, maybe furs and with curtains and a pretty heaven. But this one… it had the opulent wooden framework to accommodate everything mentioned, but it only held three or four small pillows and a single rather light looking blanket.
“G-great… Olai t-took my st-st-stuff again,” Odin complained.
The room held a few bookshelves, they were mostly empty and Ava couldn't read the runes written on their backs. There was a desk too, but it had no chair and looked as empty as everything else here. The big closet was the only thing filled almost to the brim. It held countless black and other dark-colored shirts and jackets, pants and underwear.
She was able to see all of that, when Odin opened it, to pick a replacement shirt for the ripped one he was wearing for days now.
“I-I-I c-can offer you s-something t-t-t-to change, if you want,” he said, holding a black shirt in his hand.
Ava looked down on herself. She was still wearing the weird, white bandage-dress Wrathia had created for her. Something more normal would be nice, but when she would explode into another rage-fit, would normal clothes withstand the heat? Well she wasn’t planning on going up in flames in the near future, so it should be okay, right?
“Thanks,” she said and stepped a bit closer.
Odin went through his dresser and after a while handed her a pair of trousers and a t-shirt. Both had a very dark purple, which she originally mistook as black, but in the light she noticed the real color.
“So… er…” she muttered and had another look around the room, that didn’t hold any other options to sleep on than the bed and maybe the fur-rug in front of it. “How… are we gonna… sleep? Is it okay for me to sleep in the bed with you?”
Odin was still staring into the closet and Ava wasn’t able to see how his face flushed bright red, she did hear though how he gulped.
“S-sure…” he answered. “I-I just gonna get m-m-more blankets.”
“Is Olai always taking your stuff away?” Ava asked curiously. “And is he ever not an ass?”
Odin snickered quickly and replied, “R-Raven told me that O-Olai had kicked me out after w-what happened at the HQ. T-that's probably why.”
“Oh…” she mused, “And… Why did he allow you back then?”
Again he just shrugged, slowly walking past her, over to the door, “I brought you, Maggie and Gil… You heard what he said. W-wh-what he thinks.”
Ava frowned and pulled the clothes up to her chest, watching him as he stepped through the room, “But I’m not here for him, you know that, right? If I could, I would want to help your planet. But… I… I still have Wrathia’s quest. She won’t allow me to stray.”
“I-I know,” he replied, stopping by the door and giving her a light smile, before stepping outside, leaving Ava alone in the big, empty room.
The girl stared at the door for a while, before looking down at the clothes in her hands and wondered if they would fit even remotely. She remembered having worn Odin’s jacket after they had first met and that had been so big, she had more or less worn it as a dress. A bit of guilt bubbled up in her, as she recalled how she had incinerated said jacket. Exhaling loudly, she stepped over to the bed and dropped herself onto the mattress. It was incredibly soft and a loud exhausted gasp escaped her as she dropped back. This was so much better than the brick-hard mattress she had had at school or the floor of some space craft. ‘Screw the cold,’ she thought, this bed alone would give her the best sleep of her life.
She quickly sat back up and checked how she could remove this darn dress. First she pulled out the drawer. It still felt a bit weird whenever she did it, but it had become a lot easier since they had first done it a few days ago. Then she pulled on the dress’s sleeves, which luckily came off as a whole and not separated bandages. She forced the dress over her head, for a moment having it stuck on one of her horns. Yeah… she still wasn't used to those. By now Odin liked to tease her by gently pulling on them, mostly when he disagreed with something she was saying. It didn't really bother her, though it was a bit annoying at times. Especially when he did it in front of Maggie and Gil. Maggie always got this catty grin whenever she saw it and Ava really didn't know what it meant.
Sitting on the bed shirtless, she stared at the drawer beside her. For a moment she considered putting it back in, but she really wanted to sleep comfortably this night and with this damned piece of wood that was nearly impossible.
Careful, she placed the drawer on the nightstand and then finally put on Odin’s shirt. It was way too big for her, as she had thought it would be, but for sleeping it seemed perfect. She replaced the tights with the wide pants Odin had given her and just as she tied them shut in front of her stomach the door opened and Odin came back, a pile of blankets and pillows on his arm.
“I-I-I got some bl-blankets,” he said and as he saw Ava quickly lifted them a bit higher to hide his face.
What good was it to be a good actor when he couldn't hide his embarrassment?
“Great,” she replied cheerfully and moved her dress and tights from the bed to the desk.
He noticed her drawer on the nightstand next to the bed, but decided not to comment on it. He dropped the blankets onto the bed and spaced them out, telling Ava she could sleep on the right side, and could have the thick blanket, for he was used to the cold. Ava just nodded and watched him work, before she, a little embarrassed, asked him where she could find a bathroom. He pointed to the door next to the dresser and she was honestly surprised that he didn't have to share it with anyone.
“Well, t-this is still a-a manor,” he just answered.
“Of course. How could I forget? Excuse me, your majesty,” she replied jokingly, doing a halfhearted bow even lifting the shirt, before bouncing away to the bathroom with a chuckle.
Odin took advantage of this opportunity and quickly changed. Taking off the ripped shirt felt almost freeing. He knew that normality was nothing that would come back to him anytime soon, and the thought that this had just been the start almost scared him.
As he pulled down his shirt he looked right at Pedri’s three-eyed face, jerking back with a gasp.
“This promises to be an interesting night, don't you think?” the Vengess said.
Odin had a wary look towards the bathroom.
They were still alone, so he actually answered him, “I-interesting? Why t-that?”
“I know my wife well,” he said ominously.
Odin frowned, “W-what’s that supposed to mean?”
“She’s been with the kid all her life. Don’t you think she influenced her like I did you?” Pedri asked.
Odin frowned even more, “T-the only w-w-w-way you i-influenced me, is that I g-got a bad s-smoking habit. And anxiety.”
A small smile appeared on Pedri’s fanged face, “You could have just killed yourself when I asked you to.”
“W-where is my pipe?” Odin muttered and checked his pockets and the furniture around him.
“You can’t always ignore me!” Pedri barked, leaning forward, getting up and towering over Odin.
“W-w-watch me,” the young man hissed, avoiding the demon’s gaze and ignoring his screaming, when he finally found his pipe on the shelf by the closet. He lit it and silence settled in his mind and he could take a calm breath again.
“You’re smoking again?” he heard Ava ask, caring instead of accusatory.
Startled, he turned around, seeing her as she quietly closed the bathroom door behind her. Pedri’s shouting had dulled all his other senses, he hadn’t even noticed her.
“S-sorry… I was stressed…” he muttered, took another deep breath and hesitated to put it away.
He knew that Pedri would come back within mere minutes if he stopped smoking and the demon seemed very adamant of fucking with him today. Slowly he strolled back to the bed, sitting down on it and Ava tailed him.
“Would you rather… if we slept separately after all?” she asked.
“N-no!” he quickly replied. “I-I mean… i-it’s not because of that.”
“Pedri?” she asked, caring.
She knew about the Vengess. She had seen him a while ago. Yet it still felt weird talking about him with anybody. Therefore, he just lightly nodded.
“I could have needed such a pipe when I was younger,” she muttered and dropped onto the bed next to him, letting out a loud sigh as she dropped back, “Maybe my life would have been nicer…”
“Y-you’re 15,” he replied, “You shouldn’t s-smoke at all.”
“You’re like 17, neither should you,” she said, sitting back up, “When TITAN’s stupid school did anything, it’s that we’ve learned how to be healthy. Like, don’t smoke.”
He laughed lightly and considered handing her the pipe, but didn’t. Instead, he finally extinguished it and put it onto the nightstand, next to Ava’s drawer.
“Is it addictive?” she asked, seemingly very curious, leaning closer.
“N-not really,” he answered. “When P-Pedri leaves me alone f-for a while, I don’t need it. It… just clouds my mind enough to… h-h-have him gone.”
“I see,” she muttered, yawned and stretched.
“Sh-should we sleep?” he asked.
She lightly nodded and climbed over the bed, cuddling into the pillow. A silent purr came from her as she made herself comfortable. He excused himself for a moment, to finish changing and freshen up a little before sleeping. When he came back she lied peacefully under one of the blankets.
He carefully sat down on the mattress, scooted a bit towards the middle, because he preferred sleeping there and looked at Ava. She was snuggled in, but not under the thickest blanket he had brought. He reached for the one that still lay at the bottom of the bed and put it over Ava, before lying down and pulling a way thinner blanket up to his nose.
He hoped he’d be able to overcome the cold for at least this one night. As he turned around he found himself shockingly close to Ava. She was glowing and giving out so much warmth, as if she was a campfire.
“A-aren’t you unc-c-comfortable with the horns on t-the side?” he asked, not really knowing where to look.
Her eyes were too intimate, her nose seemed rude, her lips were the absolute wrong place and would probably just give her the wrong idea. After his eyes zig-zagged over her face for a second, he settled on looking at her eyebrows. It was almost like holding eye-contact, but a lot less awkward for him.
“Not really,” she replied. “The drawer is a lot more uncomfortable. That’s why I put it out. And I’m not cold, either.” The last part she said with a big grin and it wasn’t apparent if her face was red because of embarrassment or her demon’s influence.
“U-u-u-understand-able…” he muttered.
A shiver ran through his body as the cold slowly settled into his bones. She noticed right away, when the mattress trembled and asked him if he was cold.
“I-I’m f-fine,” he said, pulling the blanket closer around him and rolling onto his back.
Ava didn’t believe him and considering he was the first person to treat her kindly since her friendship with Maggie had ended, she wanted him to feel good. She scooted closer and threw the heavy blanket he had just put on her, over him, as she slid under the thin one that covered him.
She gently leaned her forehead against his shoulder and her eyelids grew heavy, “There… now neither of us will get cold.”
Odin became incredibly self-aware the second she touched him. His body stiffened and he didn’t even dare to breathe. But the warmth radiating from her was so nice and comforting, that after a while he turned back to her.
Half asleep already she gazed up at him and he took all his courage to ask, “C-can I t-t-t-t-touch you? N-not in a creepy w-way… ju-just ho-hold you,” he clarified right away.
“Of course,” she replied with a little smile, having been shy about touching herself.
Warily, he put his arms around her and pulled her close, his head dropping down onto hers and while she was still snaking her arms around him, he fell asleep, feeling warm and comfortable, secure and good.
This was the warmest and best sleep he had had in this room in a long long while.