The new weapon- Hankon

The day had changed so greatly for Ylva in a matter of a few hours. At one moment she was trying to get away from her drunken father while he screamed at her, the next Freyja was offering to beat him up for her. It had been a shock for Ylva, that someone actually wanted to help her other than Ivar, but she was very grateful that Freyja had done what she had done for her today. Maybe if she was lucky, then things would be better now. Her father would stop beating her out of fear that more people would come and beat him up again. Ylva just hoped he was sober enough that he would remember the beating that he was given today. Then maybe he would have the slightest idea what she had lived over the last years of her life. The fear that someone else would come hurt him, instead of her living in fear of when he was going to hurt her next. Freyja had been even more kind to her, and had offered to take her to see Hankon as well. They had talked a little bit on the way, and it had been nice, to have a girl to talk to for once. Seeing as most of the people she talked to were men, even if not a single one of them wanted her as a wife. At least she had friends.

Just as they arrived at Hankon's shop, the smell that hit her nose reminded her of Ivar. He had smelled strongly of the forge, metal, and dirt. She was sure it was one of the things that she would remember about him for a long time. Ylva heard Freyja say “I don’t know why, but Ylva wanted to come see you. I tried to talk her out of it, but she’s stubborn. I’ve got to go find Haskell,” to Hankon before she squeezed her hand and left. Ylva made sure to say thank you to her just before she heard the door shut. Putting a big smile on her face she turned toward the sound of the fire, and where she opened Hankon was going to be. She knew she hadn't seen him since she left for the feast and came back, but she hoped he still viewed her as a friend like she viewed him as a friend.She also knew she had bruises all over her arms and other places. Hanson might ask about it, and then she would have to explain to him, or at least try to anyways."Hello Hankon!" she said to him first as she took a deep breath. She hoped he wasn't too busy and she wasn't bugging him too much by being here.

After her breath she knew she needed to go on."I hope I am not bugging you...." Ylva said next before shifting on her feet. "But I would like to buy a knife off you.." she told Hankon next. She knew he had given her one already, but she wanted one that was bigger, but not the size of a sword. "I still have the one that you gave me, I just want to learn how to use a bigger one, but one not as big as a sword...if that make sense?" she asked at the end. Being blind, she wasn't even sure that the type of weapon she was talking about was something that people even used. However in her mind, it sounded like the perfect thing for her. A mixture of a knife and sword. She could carry it on her hip or something like that, and have it to protect herself if she needed to.

Hakon is in the process of smearing a poultice over a stinging burn on his forearm, cursing his own clumsiness, when in walks an angry Freyja escorts a battered-looking Ylva through his door. He immediately drops the bowl on the counter and starts toward them, but before he can get out a single question Freyja is out the door, calling something about finding Haskell over her shoulder, and Hakon trusts her so he doesn't ask her what in the name of all the gods is going on. His hand is quick to go to Ylva's elbow, guiding her toward the chair before his worktable, and he's furious as he takes in the bruises covering her pale arms. He knows better than to ask, because after she didn't want him to meet her father, he started asking around. Hakon mostly kept to himself, but even he was appalled at how much he had ignored. He never should have brought her back to her father's house. In a way, these bruises were his own fault.

"I'll give you a knife, I have some you can choose from. But first I want to take care of these bruises, if that's alright." It's a statement, not a question, but he still is giving her the chance to refuse. Once she's settled in the chair he grabs the poultice and begins spreading it gently over the bruises. There's nothing that can help bruises heal faster, he knows this, but this is a poultice for dulling pain and so it will help her. It's cool and tingling on his fingers as he spreads it carefully along the bruises, the pressure of his fingers light and gentle. "You want a long saxe." He tells her after he listens to her description of the knife. "It's sort of like a short sword, but the point is shaped differently." He sets down the bowl and goes over to his weapons rack. He considers the selection of long saxes he already has made, and grabs one. The blade will be about the length of her forearm, with a smooth wooden handle.

He walks back over and sets the knife down in her lap so she can inspect it for herself, make sure it isn't too heavy or too clumsy for her to use, to see if he's right and this is what she wanted. "If this is what you want, it is yours. If not, I have others made, or I can make a new one for you if none of the ones I have are to your liking. And you are not buying it from me. It is a gift, and may whatever weapon you choose serve you well. I will ask the gods to favor it."

Ylva felt Hankon's hands on her elbow shortly after she walked into his shop. He is walking her over to a seat, and because she trusted him so much after he helped her the first time, she lets him guide her around with no problem at all. He wouldn't hurt her, if he was going to hurt her, he would have done it the day he was treating the long cut on her leg. Ylva went through with asking him for the knife she was trying to describe to her when she heard him say "I'll give you a knife, I have some you can choose from. But first I want to take care of these bruises, if that's alright." Hankon said to her first, and she guessed there was no problem in letting him help her, they were a little bit painful at the moment anyways. For some reason her father had ben extra angry with her and that showed in the way he had grabbed at her arms and shook her. He seemed to be getting stronger lately, maybe he was training again? Ylva wasn't sure. "It's alright." she tells Hankon quietly.

Before she knows it, he is rubbing things into her arms, she will have to remember to ask what it is so she can make it herself too. She is already making mental notes of how everything smells in the paste he is putting onto her. This is another reason why she likes Hankon so much, he was a very kind person. Helping her and treating her injures like he was doing now, like he had done for her before. She found like she wished that they were related in away. That he was her brother, or something along the lines of that. It would be nice to have a constant person who cared about her in the way the Hankon showed the few times they had spoken to one another. "You want a long saxe." she heard him tell her when he was done rubbing the paste into her arms. "It's sort of like a short sword, but the point is shaped differently." Hankon says next and she nods her head at him. She has know idea what most of what he is saying means, but she trusts that he knows what he is talking about.

She hears him get up and start moving around, most likely to go and get the weapon in which he is talking about right now. So nice of him to offer something he already had made, Ylva was sure she was going to have to wait a few days to get the weapon. Before she knows it, she hears him walk back over and then place the weapon in her lap for her. He is so gentle about it, that she smiles before she picks it up and moves it around in her hands. It's a little heavy, but maybe its meant to be and she is just weak? "If this is what you want, it is yours. If not, I have others made, or I can make a new one for you if none of the ones I have are to your liking. And you are not buying it from me. It is a gift, and may whatever weapon you choose serve you well. I will ask the gods to favor it." she hears him say and she smiles brightly at him and his kindness. "I'm not sure how any of this works to be honest Hankon." she tells him first with a little shyness. "I think this is the shape I was talking about for sure, but its heavy. Maybe thats just because I am still very weak." she says next as she set the short sword back onto her lap."And I feel badly not paying, after you have been so kind to me twice now. Helping with my cut, and now my bruises. So at least let me do something for you if you won't let me pay." she tells him next with another smile on her face.

He's glad she doesn't refuse the treatment of the bruises, because if she had he wouldn't have smeared the paste on her arms no matter how badly he wants to. Hakon is so angry at the sight of the angry purple splotches against her pale skin because he feels like its his fault, in a way. She had sort of implied that her father was this way, but he had done nothing to intervene on her behalf. He had feared making things worse for her, but what could possibly be worse than this? Had she been living with this for years, the bruises and the violence, just a few doors down from his own house, and he'd known nothing about it? Hakon is ashamed and angry and he wants to make Ylva's father pay for this, but he tamps his anger down and focuses on Ylva. She's here and she needs her bruises tended, and his anger is useless in this sitation, anyway. He trusts Freyja to take care of it, even though he wishes she had stayed or at least explained what was going on before running off to find Haskell.

He makes a mental note to ask either Freyja or Haskell what had happened, he knows either one of his friends will tell him. He finishes tending her bruises, listens to her description of the knife she wants, and immediately knows what it is that she needs. He grabs one and sets it gently in her lap, watches her hands slowly explore the blade, testing its weight and balance, and when she says it's heavy, he nods even though she can't see him. "I have a lighter one, little wolf, and it's still long, only a little shorter than the now you hold now." He takes the blade from her and walks back over to the rack, biting the inside of his cheek as he considers the weapons before him. He grabs one, hefts it, humming in consideration, and puts it back. He's satisfied with the next one. It's a slightly shorter blade, which makes it a bit lighter, but still long enough for what she wants. He walks back over and sets it it softly in her lap so she can inspect it. "Try this one, little wolf. If it is still too heavy, I can forge you a new one, but that is the lightest one I have right now."

He only snorts when she talks about doing something for her, and shakes his head. "There is nothing I need, little wolf. Unless you wanted to take my dog Fenrir walking with you sometimes. He likes to play in the waves." He returns her smile with one of his own, perching on the edge of the workbench, about a foot away from the chair where she sat. "How was Kattegat? You went to the harvest feast there, didn't you?" Hakon isn't very good at idle conversation, but he's curious about Kattegat. He's traveling there soon with Haskell and Henrik, and he wants to have some type of idea what to expect.

Ylva smiled at Hankon when he was so quite to say "I have a lighter one, little wolf, and it's still long, only a little shorter than the now you hold now." to her after she told him the first one he gave her was heavy. She also heard him use the same nickname he had used for her when they had became friends and he helped her with her cut. It made the smile on her face even bigger. Hankon was the only person in her life that had ever used the meaning of her name this way, and to ever give her a nickname too. Ylva liked it a lot, it made the feeling of wanting a sibling or someone in her life that was a constant kind person stronger. She feels as he takes the blade from her and listens to him walk around in his shop. Ylva can hear him make a little sound here and there, and she thinks its kind of cute. Before she knows it he is back over to her and placing a new one on her lap gently."Try this one, little wolf. If it is still too heavy, I can forge you a new one, but that is the lightest one I have right now." He tells her, and Ylva nods before picking it up in her hands.

This one felt perfect in her hold. It was still longer then a knife like she wanted, and it felt a lot lighter too. "I think this one is perfect! Its not too heavy at all. I'll just need to learn how to use it now. she says with a small giggle on the end of her words. She is happy that he has been so helpful to her. However he says he won't let her pay, so she offers to at least do something for him. "There is nothing I need, little wolf. Unless you wanted to take my dog Fenrir walking with you sometimes. He likes to play in the waves." Hankon says and Ylva's face lights up. "Yes! I'll take him with me a few times a week. I go down everyday, so I can even take him with everyday if you want." she tells him with lots of excitement. Finally after all his helping she will be able to give him something back, besides she loves animals too. So the nice doggy would benefit from it all as well. "Hankon you are so nice to me, it makes me wish you were my big bother...or something like that...not to be inappropriate or anything." she tells him shyly and with a blush.

Hanson changes the subject "How was Kattegat? You went to the harvest feast there, didn't you?" he asks her and Ylva smiles more. "It was fun, but I should have known father didn't take me for my own benefit. He tired to marry me off while we were gone. But no one wanted the blind girl." she said, shrugging at the end to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal to her, when it did make her feel bad a bit. "But the environment is so different and so are the people. I made a friend there too! His name is Ivar, and I really like him. Even if he said I talk to much, and he was a little sarcastic." she said to him next with another giggle."I accidentally kissed him too, I was trying to kiss his cheek, but somehow got his lips instead." Ylva added in before biting her lip."Sorry maybe I do talk to much." she scratched her head awkwardly. "What did you do while I was gone? Anything fun?" she said to try and change the subject.

Hakon watches her inspecting this second blade, and a wide breaks out over his face when she tells him that it's perfect, long like she wanted and light enough for her to handle easily. He's been raiding before and he still trains simply to keep his skills sharp, but he isn't very good at teaching. Besides, he's a bit worried about her bruises, and thinks maybe she should rest a bit before she learns how to use it, but he tilts his head, arms crossed over his chest, as he considers her. "I can teach you a few things, little wolf, but I'm not a very good teacher. I have friends who are better teachers than I am." He offers, hoping that she hasn't heard the story about him chasing his only apprentice out of his shop with a hammer.

He nods, smiling at the way her face lights up, when she says she'll take Fenrir walking with her sometimes. "Probably not every day because he's very old, but I think he would like the chance to go down to the shore a bit more than I can take him. He's very friendly." There's open affection in Hakon's voice, and it's a change from how he normally is. He isn't monotone, exactly, he just isn't a very expressive person most of the time. But he's had Fenrir for nearly fifteen years, and the old dog has been one of the few constants in his life for a very long time. He loves him, old and tired as he is now. He chuckles gently when Ylva says she wishes he was like her big brother, and he isn't exactly sure how to respond. Hakon isn't exactly great with emotions most of the time, but Ylva is a sweet little girl and he knows she's being sincere, and that makes it a bit easier for him to respond. "Well then I can be your big brother, little wolf."

He listens, tilting his head, as she talks about Kattegat. He rolls his eyes toward the ceiling when she mentions that she accidentally kissed Ivar, and something about that name sticks in his head. Ivar. One of the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok is called Ivar, if he's remembering right. He would have to ask Henrik, he would probably know, or maybe Haskell, or maybe he would find out for himself when he was in Kattegat. "My first official act as your older brother is to tell you that I'm glad you're back." He reaches one hand over and tousles her hair, much like an older brother actually would, and he hopes she doesn't mind. "I'm glad you had fun in Kattegat, though. And do not listen to any man who says you talk too much. Instead, use your new blade on him." He's kidding, of course. Mostly. He rewards her with one of his rare laughs when she apologizes for talking too much and asks him what he did while she was gone. His laugh is warm and rich, but his voice is very serious when he answers her. "I gave a bunch of knives to women so they won't be bothered in the streets like you were."

Ylva feels the excitement building up inside her as she thinks about learning how to use this new weapon Hankon has given to her. "I can teach you a few things, little wolf, but I'm not a very good teacher. I have friends who are better teachers than I am." those words, they only seem to make her more excited. She trusted Hankon a lot, more then most people. He was kind and a good friend, she liked to to be around him a lot."Oh! I would love to learn some things from you!" she tells him first with a bright smile. "I bet you are a great teacher though, and now I am very excited." Ylva tells him next. If a bunch of people were helping her to get stronger, and better, she was going to be able to fight pretty well.Well, the best she could as a blind person. She wanted to be strong, so that when she did leave home again, and she did get back to Ivar like she promised him she would, she would be someone he would be proud to call his friend, and maybe even more.

They started to talk about how she could repay him and now she was going to take his sweet dog down to the ocean with her when she went down. She offered to take him everyday, but Hankon said "Probably not every day because he's very old, but I think he would like the chance to go down to the shore a bit more than I can take him. He's very friendly." to her in return. Ylva nodded her head at him. She wouldn't take the dog everyday, but she would take him with her at least a few times a week. Then she was brave and told him what she had been thinking for sometime now. She told him she wished that he was her big brother, and was shocked by his answer."Well then I can be your big brother, little wolf." he told her. Ylva just smiled so wide and bright. She had always wanted one, and here Hankon was, agreeing like it was nothing at all. "That makes me very happy Hankon." she tells him shyly

Hanson asked about her trip and she started to tell him all about it, even over shared and told him she kissed Ivar. Something she was sure he didn't want to know, but she was excited about it, and had no-one else to tell. "My first official act as your older brother is to tell you that I'm glad you're back." he said to her first before roughing up her hair. Making A small giggle fall out of her mouth at the action. "I'm glad you had fun in Kattegat, though. And do not listen to any man who says you talk too much. Instead, use your new blade on him." he tells her next and another giggle falls out and she shakes her head at him. She knows from his tone and the way he is talking he is joking."I need to know how to use it fist!" she reminds him with a smile. "Then I can use it on all the mean people!" she added next to him. Making a joke herself this time.

Ylva changes the subject to ask him what he had been up to while she was gone, and if he did anything fun at all. "I gave a bunch of knives to women so they won't be bothered in the streets like you were." Hankon told her and she nodded her head as she thought back to that day. The day she was thrown to the ground like she was trash. How Hankon had come out of nowhere to help her. She was glad he was helping other girls, but she prayed to the gods that no one else had the same thing happen to them as she had happen to her. "That is very kind of you, you are a great person Hankon. I hope you know that....big bother..." she told him truthfully. She thought nothing but good things about him. She face was a light shade of pink still at actually calling him big brother that way.

Hakon isn't being anything more than a slightly decent person, at least in his own mind, and he's shocked by how happy his words and actions make Ylva. What kind of life has she led, that even his simple kindness can cause such bright grins? Hakon grew up on the streets, he knew better than most people how cruel others could be, and yet to see the proof of it before him in Ylva's reactions still shocked him. It wasn't outright cruelty that caused the most problems, he mused. It was indifference. Indifference to a too-skinny orphan boy with a dirty face and matted hair, indifference to the bruises darkening the pale skin of a blind girl. He can't change the hearts and minds of other people but still it sickens him, and he supposes that the best he can do is to not be indifferent. And he's fortunate in that, because the gods have sent him people to remind him of that. They've sent him Ylva with her bruises and her bright smile, they've sent him Freyja with her fierce passion and her laughing blue eyes, Sofie and her pranks, Haskell and his kindness, Henrik with his stoic face and rare smile, and his dog Fenrir who's always been at his side.

Hakon knows he's a fortunate man now, and although the indifference of others sculpted him into the man he is now, he tries his hardest to be better than that. To be kinder, to be more open to people around him, and he's fortunate he has so many people to remind him of that. He chuckles when she says he's a great teacher, and his eyes are glinting with amusement. "So you haven't heard of my habit of chasing apprentices with hammers?" He knows he won't have a reason to chase her with a hammer though, because she actually wants to learn. He shakes his head when she says that him agreeing to be her big brother makes her happy. "I'm not sure because I don't have any little sisters, but I think you're supposed to hate me. I must not be doing this right." He sighs dramatically, then chuckles as she reminds him that she needs to know how to use it first.

"I suppose you do." He drops down to his knees before her as she sits in the chair. He can show her a few basic things. "You should know how to hold it properly, at least." He waits for her to grip the weapon in a way that she thinks is right, so he can adjust her grip if necessary. He only snorts, rolling his eyes, when she says he's a great person. "The great person is the one who brought you here today." He sighs again. "Pity she left before I had a chance to find something to tease her over."

Ylva smiles at Hankon and tilts her head to the side in confusion. "So you haven't heard of my habit of chasing apprentices with hammers?" he said after she had told him he was a good teacher, and she shakes her head no at him. Had he really done something like that to someone before? Well if he did she was sure that there was a really good reason for it. That Hankon wouldn't chase someone away for nothing at all. The person he had been trying to teach must have been a very hard person to teach, or they weren't a good person at all. That was the only thing that could make sense to her in the situation, because Hankon was great. She really liked him as a person, and he was just so nice to her. When you live in a world filled with so much hate and indifference as she did, you tended to cling to the people who were kind, and loving toward you. Like she was getting from Hankon. "I'm not sure because I don't have any little sisters, but I think you're supposed to hate me. I must not be doing this right." Ylva hears Hankon say next before signing and then laughing. Hearing his laugh makes her laugh too. his laugh sounds nice and light.

Taking a deep breath and calming down her own laughs she says. "I don't think I could ever hate you! You're too nice to me. Besides I only really hate one person, and thats not you...thats my father." she tells him before frowning a bit. She really did hate her own father. It was something she had grown to realize after meeting with Ivar and talking to him. That she hated Halvor so much, and how he had treated her. How he had made her live her life all these years. They start to talk about the knife, and how she doesn't know how to use it yet, and that she needs to before she can use it on someone. "I suppose you do." is what Hankon says to her in return. Ylva listens to him as he moves around, and sits, or kneels in front of her. "You should know how to hold it properly, at least." he says to her next and Ylva just nods her head at him before slowly picking it up and gipping it in the way she thinks she should be holding it. "like this?" she asks him with a small smile hoping that she is holding it at least close to correctly.

Ylva tells him that he is great and Hankon snorts and tells her that "The great person is the one who brought you here today." to her. Ylva just smiles and let out a laugh when he says "Pity she left before I had a chance to find something to tease her over." next to her. "Freyja is really nice. She beat up my dad this morning!" she tells him first with a even bigger smile on her face when she says the words to someone else. "And she said if he hits me again, that she will get someone else to beat him up next time too." Ylva tells him next. however she realizes that maybe she shouldn't have told him that and gets nervous really quickly. "But don't tell anyone, I don't want Freyja to get in trouble." she tells him quickly. "No one has ever made him stop before, and I don't want the person who did to get in trouble because I told someone...then maybe he will start to hit me again, and it will go back to no one helping.." she tells him next biting her lip.