Chapter Text
“What’s the sign say anyways?” Calliope asked with a furrowed brow and a scowl on her face, trying desperately to read the runes just outside the entrance to the Forge.
“Says ‘Forge Ahead’, Di.” Lúnda replied, smugly.
“Is that supposed to be a pun?”
“I’d imagine so.”
“Huh. So those runes each represent a letter?”
“Yea. Or meanings.”
Calliope took a deep breath, tracing her hand over the etched markings into the wood. They were faded. For some reason, she felt strong traces of magic that had been long since gone. She wasn’t all that good with reading languages outside of Greek and Roman, but the runic alphabet seemed easy enough. After a moment of pause, she spoke again, turning to Lúnda with a bright grin.
“I want to learn the runes.”
“The Runes? I’d be more than happy to teach ya! Though, maybe we should head back to camp first. Been a long day for you.”
“I suppose you’re right, we should probably head back.”
—---
As the two arrived back at camp, Calliope immediately noticed that the place was busier than it had been when they had left that morning. The usual group she’d grown accustomed to at Camp were all crowded around the campfire, laughing and joking. Her gaze filtered across their faces, noticing a handful of strangers gathered on the far corner of Freyr’s Camp.
She recognized one of the people as Hildisvíni, Freya’s advisor. She had only met him once before, not long after she had initially recovered. He seemed nice enough, but she hadn’t known him well enough to make a judgment about his personality. If Freya trusted him, then so did Callie.
Sitting across from Hildisvíni was a tall blonde woman in a blue dress with hair that was longer than Calliope had ever seen anyone have, tied into an intricate braid. She radiated a godlike energy, that felt distinctly different from Freya’s. Beside her was a wild haired woman, who looked about Calliope’s age, with a few orange-red streaks in her bangs and fiery hair. She was pretty. Really pretty.
Ducking her head subconsciously, Calliope fidgeted with Thyella’s wooden surface. She kept quiet for several moments, following Lúnda back into the main area. Curiosity got the best of her, though.
“Who are those people?” She asked bluntly. Calliope didn’t mean to be rude, but she was very anxious right now. When she was anxious, or overwhelmed like she was in this moment, she often came off as cold.
“Ah, that’s Lady Sif an’ her daughter, Thrúd! Ain’t Sif a pretty one?”
“Yea, I mean… she is pretty, but so is Thrúd… uh. Did I pronounce that right?”
“Close as you could get, ya did.” Lúnda chuckled, smacking Calliope’s back with a laugh. “Didn’t take ya for a girl kisser.”
“I’d kiss anyone. Mostly girls though.” Calliope responded with a sheepish smile. She wasn’t exactly ashamed of that fact. It was a source of pride for her since her youth. In her homeland, it was commonplace.
“She’s the goddess of Thunder. Inherited Mjolnir and is a killer fighter too!” Lúnda emphasized with a smirk. It was if she understood that Calliope was, despite her very timid facade, a fan of fighting. Admittedly, she was a fan of sparring with worthy opponents. Back when she lived in the Hart of the Forest, with the other Huntresses, sparring had been the best pass time.
“She is? That’s good to know.”
“But ye got a crush on her, don’tcha?” Lúnda smirked at her.
Calliope stammered, a little baffled by Lúnda’s forwardness. It wasn't that surprising. Lúnda constantly flirted with Freya and the others at camp. She just hadn’t expected her to call her out like this.
“I don’t even know her yet!! She’s objectively pretty, Lúnda don’t get me wrong. Objectively speaking, yes, she’s hot. But hell, I don’t even know if she even likes girls-“
“Who likes girls?” Calliope nearly jumped out of her skin at the comment, swiveling around to see Thrúd standing their with her eyebrow cocked.
“Ah nobody! I mean you! I mean—” Her face felt like it was on fire, and her ears burned. She averted her gaze, trying to focus on anything else. Her hands instinctively came up to cover her mouth. Fuck, was she about to embarrass herself in front of another redhead. Come to think of it, Thrúd reminded her a lot of Urania.
“Me? Huh. You’re pretty cute too, Antlers.”
Calliope let out a muffled scream into her hand. She took a deep breath, recentering herself. Her ears twitched anxiously with embarrassment. She could distract from making a fool of herself one way and one way only. She met Thrúd’s electric blue gaze, her eyes filled with challenge.
“I mean- wanna spar?”
A frown played on her lips and Calliope second guessed herself, until she saw the way the other goddess’ lips tugged into a toothy grin. Thrúd’s eyes seemed to brighten with a fervor of what Calliope could only assume was determination.
“Fuck yes!”
—---
The two made their way to a small training arena just outside of camp. Freya had set it up not long after the end of the War, or at least that’s what Calliope had been told. The young goddess walked with a certain confidence, one that really only was on display when approaching combat. While she often denied any compliments given to her about her skillsets as a warrior, it was obvious that she enjoyed a good spar.
So, it really didn’t surprise Calliope that Thrúd was the same way. At least, it seemed that way given the way the other goddess was walking with equal confidence, if not a fiery excitement.
As the two got on separate ends of the arena, Calliope couldn’t help but admire the way electricity seemed to flicker across Thrúd’s features. She was really pretty. Even so, she did not let her thoughts show on her face. Calliope was adamant in her abilities to not showcase any signs of her emotions. Not when there was a spar to be had.
Before she could even call a begin to the fight, Thrúd charged towards her, feet lifting off the ground as she did so. Her stormy eyes burning so electric blue that it was clear what her intentions were. Gripping Thyella in her hands, the flute transformed into its spear form just as the Thunder Goddess got in close with her hammer. Calliope spun the spear around in a swift moment, blocking the attack just in time.
As she prepared a counter strike, Thrúd jumped out of the way. She couldn’t have predicted Calliope’s attack patterns, but it was clear she had fought against similar fighting techniques before.
“Is that all you got, Antlers?” The Thunder Goddess jeered, completely unfazed by the attempt. “Thought you’d be stronger!”
“Oh I’m just getting started, Blue!” She shot back. She knew that Thrúd was only jesting, but the point made Calliope want to fight harder. Her body flickered with a blue-purple hue as she channeled her rage. It was an old trick she’d inherited from her Father. Teeth bared in a snarl, she leapt forward, sliding Thyella under Thrúd’s feet in an attempt to knock her down.
Even Calliope knew that she was just trying to win a battle of endurance, rather than winning a fight. But she’d be damned if she lost here because she wasn’t trying hard enough.
Their gazes met as Thrúd dodged again, just out of reach. Momentarily, Calliope found herself distracted by how bright blue her eyes were. Beautiful.
The distraction proved to be a mistake. Mjolnir slammed into Calliope’s chest, throwing her backwards several feet. Dust kicked up beneath where her hooves skidded against the earth. Enough to cause a cloud of dust to cover the battlefield.
Her mismatched eyes blazed with a sense of sheer grit, and she found herself shutting them for a moment. Her deerlike ears twitched, listening for any movements.
Footsteps, and the crackling of electricity a few feet behind her were sound enough for her to realize it had been Thrúd’s plan all along. To distract her long enough to cause damage. Even so, the young goddess wasn’t going to go down without a fight.
Calliope quickly dodged the oncoming onslaught of attacks as Mjolnir flung towards her, just barely wizzing past her left ear. Thrúd was rather impressive of a fighter, she had to admit. The grace and skill the Thunder Goddess possessed while wielding the hammer was admirable. Going into the fight, Calliope had a feeling that this would be an even match, and she was swiftly proven correct.
Swiveling on her heel, Calliope turned to face the other goddess. She slammed Thyella down onto the ground, the impact unleashing a loud sound wave. It was almost deafening. Its force was strong enough to knock Thrúd down to the ground.
For a moment, Calliope was certain that she’d won. Her chest heaved as she gripped Thyella tightly in both hands, mismatched eyes boring into the Thunder Goddess’ own as she stood overtop her. Sweat trickled down Calliope’s forehead, creating a very unpleasant sensory experience. Thrúd looked no better, her own chest sounding like she was breathing heavily, too.
Suddenly, she felt her legs wobble as Mjolnir whizzed by, back into the Thunder Goddess’ hand. A sharp deer like barking noise escaped her startled form. Using Thyella to catch herself, Callie held the spear so tightly that she was scared the wood would splinter. Once she was balanced, Thyella shrunk down into its dormant flute form.
Overcoming her momentary clumsiness, Calliope offered Thrúd a hand to get back up on her feet. The eagerness in which the Thunder Goddess took her hand was palpable. Thrúd grinned brightly at her.
“I haven’t been knocked down like that in ages! You fight like a natural!”
It wasn’t the compliment that Calliope off guard, but rather the realization that Thrúd had yet to let go of her hand. The young Muse allowed herself to just relish in that warmth it brought her. Her own lips tugged into a sheepish grin.
“Thank you, you do as well! To be honest, I haven’t sparred in ages. This was fun!”
—---