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Who: Ivar, Rhys, Dodger, and others
What: Ivar gets a move on some personal projects
Where: A and B: one of the nature domes. All over the place for the others
When: Over the course of the week
Warnings: Body horror with morphing, mention of human sacrifice

A) Penance

Ivar's been quite subdued ever since talking to his sister. She'd put the fear of the gods into him and with good reason. Though he doesn't feel bad about the actions he took in sacrificing the woman he masqueraded as Lagertha, he now is afraid he's been cursed by the gods.

So he's in one of the nature domes, having selected a rock just a little bit smaller then a boulder in size. He's got a pick and a hammer, so anyone who happens upon him will find him deep in concentration as he carves Norse runes out onto the stone. Occasionally, he stops what he's doing, takes a step back, and looks over his work with a critical eye before he resumes again. Any offers of help will be sternly rebuffed. This is his task and his alone.

B) Practice

Other times, he can be found off in the treeline, having strung up a few targets all over the place. It's been a while since he practiced his skills and Ivar's hardly one to let himself get rusty. It had taken a very long time to get as good as he was and he'd just as soon die as let those skills wither away and die.

He's got his axes and knives out. With unerring aim, he throws them one at a time at the targets, hitting the middle nearly every time. When he hears someone coming up near him, he pauses for a moment before turning, and throwing the weapon right at the person walking towards him. Don't worry, he never actually hits anyone, but it's close enough to graze someone's skin. Just don't flinch or it might take off more then that.

C) Pierced

Shortly after the fight with Jack, there would be a rather conspicuous sight dragging itself to Dorm Dome 1. There was a large alien, reminiscent of a lion, bull, and hyena, but bigger then all three animals put together bleeding all over the place and limping badly as it made its way into the dome. Due to a combination of claws and hooves, it made a curious sound as it went along. Click-click-clop. Click-click-clop. Ivar had won the battle, but he'd hardly escaped unscathed. He'd been burned, stung, shot at, whacked with a wrench, and he wasn't sure what else with what had been up the sleeves of that prime annoyance's sweater.

When he was almost to the beds, his strength finally gave out, and he sank down, lying on his haunches. He needed to demorph before he passed out. Much as he liked this form, he wasn't fond enough of it to want to be stuck in it permanently, and he needed to heal from all these injuries. Before he did that, he was just going to lie here for a minute or two. Anyone who came upon him was going to see the badly-injured alien lying there, panting slowly while it got blood all over the floor.

D) Plod Away - For Rhys

After his fight with Jack, Ivar's leg braces had been snapped into so many pieces that there was no hope of ever repairing them. R.I.P. He was quite mad about that, but killing Jack had been worth the loss of mobility. He was back to using his wheelchair full time. Fortunately, there seemed to be someone here tech-savvy enough to create a new pair for him.

So he went off to talk to Rhys. When he found him in one of the domes, he didn't bother with any greeting or small talk. "You said you could make me a pair of braces. I hope for your sake that you are confident in your skills." With no people skills and an ominous sounding oblique threat in there, it was going to be a small wonder if Rhys decided to actually help him.

E) Puppy - For Dodger

This version of Dodger was different then the one Ivar had known. Just how much he wasn't yet sure of. He was starting over at the beginning with this idiot and wasn't that a galling thought? He'd have to spend a whole other year training him back to Ivar's standards. Such a waste.

But there was one thing that Ivar was sure hadn't changed about the man. If he didn't still like dogs, then he'd clearly changed for the absolute worse and Ivar would have to write that off entirely. The mutant's fondness for man's best friends was one of his only redeeming qualities. So Ivar morphed into his husky form and trotted off, following the scent of the man until he'd tracked him down in one of the domes. He doesn't approach him right away, instead letting the dog instincts follow interesting smells until it brought him close to the man.

Gods, but that chemical smell of the drugs coming off Dodger was awful. It was like breathing in the scent of something slowly dying. When he finally seems to notice Dodger, he goes up to him with a wagging tail and happy smile on his furry face, the epitome of a friendly dog that didn't have a human mind with devious thoughts inside. He fully expected a warm welcome.

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"Is that so?" Her voice was soft and kind as she watched him move. "Or is it that you want to know me?" It was difficult for her to read Ivar but she got the impression that he didn't want people to know anything about him. Which meant that he simply didn't trust her because he knew nothing about her. They were related but the reasons felt like they were separated by a thin barrier.

"I don't mind learning about you first." She liked to help people, at whatever the cost. It was just how she was.

"Or if you'd like to know about me."

"I'm already learning much about you. I read people very well." Though Ivar was astoundingly blind to figuring how most people worked, he was good at getting inside other people's heads, whether that was on the battlefield or off of it. It had always been one of his greatest strengths. He looked at Angel very hard for a moment as if he was gazing at her thoughts right that very moment.

"If I end up liking you, then you'll get to know more about me." That's usually how it went. Ivar liked to keep people exactly as far back as he wanted them to, only allowing them beneath the surface to find out what made him tick when he wanted them to.

"Oh? That's a very useful skill." She was not very good at reading people but she was learning.

It was a process.

"I will wait until then." Her mouth settled in a soft kind smile as she sat and watched Ivar work. She didn't want to be in the way but she was determined to remain until the end and produced the blood she had offered him. She wasn't the kind of person to go back on her word. "I just... I'm not sure what to think about you."

"Most people make it very clear what they think about me from the moment they first meet me." Ivar's tone is full of bitterness when he says this. So many people considered him just a weak and pathetic cripple growing up that he's had trouble shaking this mindset off, even after being in two different worlds for the past three years.

He considers how he's going to carve out the rest of the message onto the boulder while he continues to give his legs a rest. "Your attitude is a refreshing one." He much prefers kindness as opposed to any cruelty, even if he knows little about what to do with the sentiment.

Her lips formed into a sweet smile. "I'm glad." It was a strange but easy conversation for her. She wasn't ever sure where she stood with people but with Ivar it all felt simple. She could say what came to mind and she trusted Ivar to do the same. He wasn't a nice person exactly but he wasn't a cruel one either. He followed what he knew and acted on his experiences. If he's truly been shown such little kindness in his life, then it wasn't all that surprising that he was reluctant to be kind in return.

Everyone can only act upon what they know and how they feel. She'd never ask for more or less than that though there would always be a part of her that wanted to understand.

"I take it that you don't get along with most people?" So far, there had only been one thing about Ivar that made her uncertain and that was the memory that brought them to carving messages and names into rocks.

His legs were still aching, but that was nothing new. Ivar's legs were always in some state of pain. He got back on his knees so that he could continue carving. There's just the sound of stone being chipped away for a moment before Angel asked her question. "What ever gave you that idea?" He said with sarcastic bite in his voice.

He went on to explain. "People so often show their true colors early on. It used to disappoint me. Now I simply expect it." That was the problem with being able to read people well: he saw their flaws as well as their good qualities.

"That was sarcasm!" She clapped her palms together while a bright smile encompassed her features. Jason had been teaching her about sarcasm though she was still trying to identify it in day-to-day conversation. "Oh. Sorry. I'm supposed to reply by..." Her voice trailed off, her eyebrows furrowed and she looked very focused.

After a short pause, she tried to roll her eyes which ended up in three jerky motions of her eyes moving left, up and then to the right.

"I think that's right." She was still learning. "But I do understand. I'm not very good at reading people or guessing what they're thinking. I always assume the best in people and more often than not that backfires in some way." It hasn't stopped her but she realizes that the odds aren't in her favor.

Ivar can't help by smile a little at Angel's attempt at rolling her eyes. Alright, that was pretty amusing. She's such an innocent little soul. It reminds him of Athelstan in a strange way. He misses the priest a lot, for he had been one of the few truly kind people Ivar had ever known in his life.

Ivar nods as he continues his work. "I suggest keeping on that way." It was better then ending up cynical and bitter like him.

"I will try." It wasn't all that difficult for her to see the best in people and situations. It was that trait that allowed her to keep going and never let her give up. As long as there was something to fight for, she was going to fight.

"I can sit quietly if you'd like to finish without distractions." She was going to stay to offer her blood to the process but she was also distracting him some and she realized that.

"Yes. Just sit there. I will talk to you when I need a break." See, he is capable of getting along with people...sometimes. He just needs proper motivation such as actually liking them. He goes back to carving out the letters slowly one at a time. He shall finish this at some point during the day. It is his penance and he will finish it to make amends to the gods.

It was easy for her to sit, patient and silent, and wait for Ivar to finish his work.

After a few minutes, her eyes closed and she slipped into something akin to meditation. Her thoughts calmed and her pulse slowed as she took even deep breaths. She felt the soft touch of wind brush against her cheeks while a strand of wheat blonde hair tickled the end of her nose. She could hear the songs around her and together they created a symphony of sounds that accented life. There was the scraping of metal on rock, the distant sound of a brother and sister playing, not animals or bugs but the leaves swayed and footsteps echoed in random patterns around them.

It was a very peaceful day.

She only opened her eyes when the scraping of metal on stone stopped. She'd lost track of time and she didn't know if Ivar was finished or taking a break. Watches weren't a theology that she believed in.

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