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Oh great. As if a boy with antlers wasn't enough to be getting along with, now goats were getting involved.
"Shoo!" Elina told it, flapping her hands in its general direction. She didn't like goats. They had an awful habit of eating anything that wasn't nailed down. If it was nailed down, they'd eat it anyway, you just needed to give them a few minutes to give the nails a good chew. There was hard eating on an iron nail, even if you were a goat.
Elina was less sure how it worked if you were a fainting goat.
"Ótrúligr!" she sighed, just as it sprang back to life again. And then turned into a horse.
"I give up," she told the trees, and the wider universe if it was listening. Somewhere, the three sisters were cackling their heads off at her. Was this her punishment for cheating death? Was she now doomed to a life of insanity with antler boys and fainting goats which turned into horses? Elina gave the horse a good glare, just to make sure it knew exactly what she thought of its nonsense.
Thank Odin! Antler-boy was awake!
"Oi! You!" Elina said, pushing the horse's head out of the way and crossing round to Valkyrie's left hand side. She pointed a finger at the goat-horse. "I take it this monstrosity belongs to you?" He didn't reply. He just started looking around like he was lost. "Someone gave your bell a good ringing, didn't they?" she said, putting her hand on her hip. Then she rolled her eyes. "What do you mean how did you get here? You were in a fucking forest, and now you're still in a fucking forest? Where do you think here is, Valhalla?" Shaking her head she pushed the goat-horse away from her pockets again. She'd only packed treats for Valkyrie and her food of choice was rat guts. Goats might eat rat guts but she knew horses didn't. The jury was still out on goat-horses.
"Don't be such a baby," she told antler-boy, "I've seen worse." She put her bag down on the ground and pulled out a cloth. Handing it to him she nodded pointedly to biggest wound on his chest. "Apply pressure," she told him firmly, "I wasn't going to do it for you, but whilst you're awake you might as well make yourself useful." Elina narrowed her eyes. Was she imagining it, or had he started to saw again?
No. No. No.
She darted forwards, closing the gap between them again. Elina slapped the side of his face insistently."Stay with me antler-boy," she said, taking hold of his chin with her other hand to make him look at her. "Sisters...sisters are good. Where are you sisters? How do I find them?" As his eyes drifted out of focus she delivered a particularly hard slap. "Where. do. you. live?"
She hoped to Freya it wasn't far.
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