Desolate survivor

"Should we wake him up?" Skadi asked, placing a few logs in the fire. It was noon. Two days since the half elf came to their house which, by all means, should have been concealed from Midgardians. They took great precautions to secure that it would look and act as a snow-capped hill with a stream of water running beside it. They thought maybe it was an accident but the area has been charmed to make any human turn away or go around.

His coming shouldn't have happened but it did, although in all honesty, they didn't mind it that much. It was kind of lonely having to hide themselves from everyone. Ever since Thyre took upon the role of the Guardian, she didn't know anything which was happening on Midgard. She missed her friend, Skuli and even though she took upon the soul of Yrsa, pleasant memories of her recent life would surface from time to time and she missed it. She had found joy in the simplicity of her mundane life and this life - this incredible life - was as exciting as it was terrifying and sometimes it wasn't a good thing. Each wonderful thing carried something just as unpleasant with it but such was life and there was no other way, not in the lives of the gods, at least.

"What if he freaks out?" Yrsa replied, running a hand above him, using her healing magic to check for any irregularities. His frostbite wounds were gone, thanks to a simple spell, but Yrsa duly noted that he had many other wounds. Broken bones that hadn't healed completely, cuts that were messily stitched, scars... She couldn't believe how such a young man could have so many marks but she could take a solid guess why.

The boy, who she felt strange calling a boy as he was no older than her, was simply not one of the humans. One of his parents was a dark elf, that she was sure of and the genes prevailed, making him seem as much a dark elf as any of them. Except for the eyes, which she saw just a glimpse of when he opened them, still asleep, and adjusted his position yesterday.

When the dwarves and dark elves waged war over who would live on Svartálfaheim, many of the elves escaped and sought refuge in other realms. A good thousand of them came to Midgard with an elf called Fandórr leading them. They settled in the mountains and lived peacefully. When the war was over and the dark elves won, many of them returned but some stayed and built their own villages. They soon resorted to conquering human villages because they thought lesser of the latter races. Thus, hate was born among the two and it caused some awful prejudices to arise.

But a flicker of hope still remained as some dark elves left and lived with the humans. They learned the language, customs and traditions, and most importantly, they shared their own knowledge. Things such as lodestone compasses, the sunstone, jewel crafting techniques and they taught them how to make better bows. Soon, they became friends rather than fiends. Still, their appearance was quite strange and many of the humans, especially from smaller, isolated villages remained distrustful and poor Dáinn ended up in such a village. Not to mention the fact that some dark elf villages, hidden deep in the mountains, still remained a small but constant threat.

"He won't freak out, trust me. We aren't the worst he's seen out there," Skadi replied, standing next to Yrsa.

Yrsa sighed and placed her hand over his head and as light glowed from her palm, Dáinn fluttered his eyes open and twitched seeing the unfamiliar place.

"Where am I?" He croaked with dry lips. Skadi offered him Yrsa's brewed tea made from plants found only in Vanaheim. It was a rich, purple liquid that smelled close to elderberries and lilac. He accepted it and took a large gulp.

"You're in our home and far away from yours, my friend," Skadi said, smiling. "You were lucky. Your mare brought you here just in time. It would seem you got lost," Yrsa added.

"Thank you for saving me, I owe you my life," he said, "and... what is this? I've never tasted anything like it..." he asked, looking at the tea.

"That's because the ingredients are not from this realm, it's ellrifyst and dagrhylli mixed with mead and a little magic," Yrsa smiled, proud of her concoction.

"Not... from this realm?" he asked, confused.

"It's from Vanaheim, home of the Vanir" Skadi said and tensed, expecting his reaction.

"Who are you two? Surely you aren't Midgardians, they don't know portal magic. Or any magic at all, except for prophecies" he said, frowning.

"I'm Skadi and she is Yrsa, although you probably haven't heard of her. Unfortunate accident. Basically, she's the guardian and goddess of forests and I'm-"

"The goddess of... winter?" he finished. She smiled and her eyes flashed an icy blue.

"Oh... should I bow or something?" he asked, stunned. In all his life the thought of meeting not only one, but two goddesses, had never crossed his mind. Yrsa smiled and waved her hand, "We don't do that here. Consider us your equals for the time being, give or take a few thousand years..."

"Feel free to stay as long as you want. Under one condition though, you can't tell anyone who we are or where we live" she said and he vigurously nodded.

"Well, since he seems fine I'll go out for a while, I'll see you later" Skadi said, casually opening a portal and going to, as usual, some cold and high place, where she felt most comfortable and in her element.

Yrsa smiled at his reaction - wide green eyes and an open mouth.

"And who are you, by the way?" she asked, realising she didn't even ask for his name yet.

"Oh right, I'm Dáinn, son of Cydriel and Floki, half elf, as you can see, and a good hunter, if I do say so myself" he smiled and they clasped their lowers arms, as per tradition. His mother was an elf then, she noted and couldn't help but notice the look that flashed in his eyes for a moment when he said their names. She didn't want to press on further.

"Your mare, wherever you got her from, is quite the horse. She's in the stable out front if you wish to see her" Yrsa pointed towards the door and Dáinn thanked her for the tea, which seems to have served it's purpose as the bruise he had on his arm disappeared, and he went outside. She also noticed the small smile he had on his face when going out, although she couldn't pinpoint the exact reason why.