Into the fire

Honestly he had no good reason to make this trip to Mother’s Heart. They were actually on their way to Falkraeth, to trade food and spices. The North needed to be supplied because of the harsh weather. They just couldn’t grow all of this by themselves, and more exotic fruit was impossible to grow in the frozen ground. His crew had anchored in the Bay of Fire and now he and some loyal members were on their way to the capital by horse. To be fair, he only wanted to see this strange lands with his own eyes now he had the chance. He had also heard there were a lot of bears and wolves around here, so maybe he could trade some fur to take with him to Skorravir afterwards. It was another valuable item, he figured, since it would protect the Northmen against the cold.

After a few days of riding, they finally arrived at the gates. They had to pay a small fee to enter, which he did reluctantly. What did they even need these coins for? Weren’t they known for their barter instead of paying real money? The small group entered the small city, although he would dare to describe it more as a camp. The buildings were made out of wood instead of stone, which was fitting whereas the environment. Houses made of stone would just be weird at this point. Romeo dismounted the horse and left him in the care of his companions. He walked over to what seemed to be a market, curious about what he would find in such a remote place like this.

&Lexa

The villagers were staring intensely when he walked by. It was obvious he wasn’t welcome here but instead of feeling intimidated he thought this was all very amusing. He could barely keep a straight face, so his signature smirk was permanently visible around his lips. The confidence he had owned over the years was almost radiating off of him, like an aura keeping potential enemies at a distance. For now. His intention was simply looking around, maybe trade some stuff. That didn’t mean he would let someone surprise or overpower him though. As any smart foreigner he was armed, yet he kept his aggressive demeanour at bay. He wouldn’t provoke, but if anyone tried to hurt him he would react accordingly. So would his companions. They were instructed to stay neutral but defend their lives if they had to. As they had travelled through animal territory, they were all armed, just like he was. It would sure be a shame if he lost any of his crew members to these savage looking folk.

Suddenly one of them had found the courage to approach him. He had seen her coming from the corner of his eyes, but only turned towards her when she spoke up. His amber eyes were now fixated on her face, taking in the strange decoration that was covering half of it. By the way it was blurred, he could see it was nothing permanent. Which he could understand. Only slightly crazy people tattooed their faces. “Can I help you?” She had asked, and he doubted it was out of politeness. She obviously wanted to know what this stranger was doing here. Romeo pulled up the corner of his mouth in a more amused smile. ”I heard you lot sometimes kill bears or wolves, yeah?” He answered her question with another one. He would only ask about the furs if she answered positively. He didn’t want too appear too interested, as it might double the price. Buyers that showed they were eager to buy often left with an empty purse.

The fact that these people were looking at him like he was some kind of outcast, didn’t bother him because that observation was spot on. Ever since he was young he had received these kinds of glances. No one ever really trusted him and in return he didn’t trust anyone either. As a child he had adjusted himself and learned how to live this way. He didn’t know any better. But it had made him stronger, and he had stopped caring. About other people’s opinions and judgements. So no, he wasn’t impressed. Neither by the semi-cold way the raccoon lady was talking to him. She had this authoritative way of speaking, as if she was used to demanding strangers about their intentions. From his point of view, it was a weird experience. So he kind of avoided answering her question in a subtle way, by asking her another one. “We hunt for ourselves. Enough prey to find around these places,” She replied, and he nodded lightly.

Before he could react verbally, she asked her previous question but now in a way he couldn’t avoid answering it. “I assume you didn’t come here for leisure,” She now said. ”I’m here for business”, He replied, still being quite vague. Romeo looked around for a second. While she was talking to him, he still kept an eye on the environment. She could just talk to him to distract him while others were trying to sneak up to him to stab him in the back. He was very cautious person, maybe on the edge of paranoia. ”Say, you wouldn’t know of any hunting party that’s leaving soon? We are not familiar enough with the surroundings to hunt for ourselves but we sure can kill a bear if we found one”, He asked with his signature smirk again. Now he had set his mind on getting a fur, he would not leave without at least one. Even if it meant he would need to get his hands dirty.

Again his words were visibly doubted. Did she know she had expressive eyebrows? It gave away what she was thinking. “As long as you don’t plan to cause any trouble,” She decided to say out loud, with a sigh. Well, that was clear. He chuckled slightly amused. ”Trouble? Me? Why’d you think that”, The man said, looking all innocent. He knew better than to cause trouble in a place like this. They were on land, in their disadvantage. They didn’t know anything about their surroundings, where to run or where to find high ground. He wouldn’t feel comfortable if a fight broke loose here. There were also only three of them, against a whole village of skilled warriors. At sea it was different. He was way more confident at the helm of his own ship. He wouldn’t even hesitate to attack bigger ships with more men, knowing the Drowned God was on his side. But they were far from the ocean right now, so he would just be smart and lay low for a while.

That didn’t mean he would leave without at least one pelt. So he asked her about any possible hunting parties leaving soon. It seemed to amuse her. “How about we make a fair deal?” She said, and he looked at her with a curious glance. “I was just about to leave for the woods and get some meat for my people. We can share the meat and you guys can have the pelt,” She then suggested. He had almost commented on her choice of words, but he decided it would be better to ask her later. “You and me.” She continued. Okay hold up. Romeo tipped his head a notch. ”How do I know this is not a set-up?” He asked her. He didn’t fear for his own life that much. He could probably handle her in a fight, or at least wound her enough so he could make a run for it. ”I wouldn’t want to come back to find my friends killed”, He continued, insinuating he wasn’t afraid of her.

Now she was just being obnoxious. Or did she have issues with her respiratory system? The amount of sighs was worrying him. Oh wait, right, he didn’t really care about anyone but himself. It wouldn’t matter if she dropped dead on the spot, honestly. He would get his furs another way. “I wonder why,” She said, and he took it as judgement about his tattoos. "Says the one with paint all over her face", He therefore reacted. That sure was a sign of peace and goodwill, walking around with obvious war paint smeared all over your face. At least he didn’t judge her for it. “If I wanted your people dead, they would’ve been dead by now.” Raccoon replied to his questions. Did she do this on purpose? Probably. Was he intimidated now? Not even a little.

“No matter how skilled you might be, you’re in unknown territory and the people here wouldn’t hesitate,” She pointed out. Thank you Captain Obvious. ”That’s why I wouldn’t cause any trouble. I’m not stupid, you know”, He shrugged lightly. “They’re free to look around and rest, while the two of us get something done. Unless, of course, you’d like to leave with empty hands.” Raccoon then said. Romeo straightened his back. Did she expect him to give up? Because she would need to try harder, if she wanted to achieve that. ”Let me get my gear”, He simply said, after which he turned around and walked back to his horse. The harpoon they normally used to hunt big fish, was strapped to his saddle. It wasn’t really made for hunting mammals, but it sure would do a lot of damage. The barbed head would clamp itself into the flesh of the prey, making it bleed even harder when it tried to break free.

Over time he had gotten used to judgement. Especially considering his tattoos and overall appearance. But coming from the Raccoon, it was different. She painted her face as well, so why would she think he was a troublemaker because his face was inked? Or he was thinking too much right now. For all he knew it didn’t even have anything to do with his ink. His comment was just out of his mouth before he could think twice. “What?” She reacted, and he kept down a sigh. ”It’s not because I have a lot of tattoos I’m a troublemaker”, He explained himself. Strange. He never felt the need to justify himself. Then why did he do it now? He decided not to think about it too much. Just go on that hunt and get back as soon as possible.

Romeo walked over to his horse, checked if his weapon was still attached to the saddle. He turned the horse around and then mounted it. With a little encouragement from his heels it stepped forwards, towards the gate where she was waiting. For a few minutes he followed her in silence. When the village was out of sight he looked at her sideways. ”Why did you refer to them as your people?” He then asked, out of the blue. It had occupied his thoughts and he was used to getting an answer if he had a question. Even if it meant he had to bluntly ask for a response.

“Your tattoos have little to do with it,” She quickly replied after he had sort of accused her for being judgemental. Romeo turned his head towards her, a little bit confused. If it weren’t his tattoos, then what was her problem? As far as he knew he hadn’t mentioned anything she could possibly disagree with. Often his religion was frowned upon by non-believers. But she couldn’t know he was an Ironman, since he hadn’t talked about his God. When visiting foreign countries he always made sure to be lowkey. People who tried to preach their faith stood out from a crowd. And his tattoos were drawing enough attention already, so he tried to avoid the topic all together. “It’s because you’re a man.” She then stated, finally giving him some kind of explanation. The young man couldn’t help but laughing. He softly shook his head. ”I first thought you were weird, but now I think you’re just crazy”, He huffed, with an amusing smirk around his lips.

Because he didn’t take it as an insult. He didn’t feel like she had a problem with him personally, so it didn’t hurt him in any way. He still wanted to go on this hunt, so they left without further delay. When the village was out of sight, he asked her about her choice of words. “Because they are MY people,” She replied. “Lexa. Commander of Vanaheim,” She then introduced herself. Out of experience he was able to not act all too surprised. "Commander huh?" He echoed her words. There were a million things he wanted to say, make some jokes, tease her a bit. But he didn't. "Then why do you go out hunting? Don't you have servants to do that for you?" He asked, against his own expectations. "I'm Romeo, captain of the White Shark", He then introduced himself. This turned out to be even more entertaining than he had hoped.

Being crazy wasn’t really a bad thing. It were the crazy ones who took risks. Maybe in an impulsive and slightly harmful way, but still. If someone called him crazy, he wouldn’t deny. He was batshit crazy. At least it got him somewhere. If he hadn’t been who he was, he wouldn’t be captain right now. When he was plotting his mutiny, some of the crew members he wanted to recruit had called him insane. Successfully carrying out his plans would be impossible, and he was a lunatic for trying. But in the end, it had turned out great. Her way of thinking was crazy as well. But he didn’t doubt it also had resulted in her having the position she occupied now.

Even though he had tried not to say anything harmful, he still got a lecture on how things worked around here. It was indeed new information, so he listened carefully. Knowing things was always an advantage, in any situation. ”I was just assuming a Commander had better things to do then go out on a hunting trip”, He shrugged. He didn’t mean to insult her, but the cultural differences were hard to overcome. So he decided to keep his questions to himself from now on, until he learned more about this place.

Romeo introduced himself, politely after she had initiated it. “A captain, hmm,” She replied with a soft smile. “Well nice to meet you,” She continued. His signature smirk popped up again. ”My pleasure”, He replied. It sure was an interesting meeting. For a while they were riding in silence. ”I am on my way to Skorravir. So we better hunt down something big. Warm pelts will earn me lots of gold”, He commented, his amber eyes almost lighting up with the thought of his ship’s hold being filled with chests of gold.