This Here Is Not Singing I’m Just Screaming In Tune

"This Here Is Not Singing I'm Just Screaming In Tune" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread written on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
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==Full Text==
Verdandi walks across Haligan with Liam at her back. Since the raid, she’s been on-edge, but Liam’s presence helps. Getting away from the other rebels will probably help even more, which is why she’s leading him up to the old watchtower that’s become their spot. 
tree-the-cat
Liam awkwardly but supportingly twined his furred fingers around hers and clasped her hand close to his side as they began to climb the stairs leading up to their windy getaway from the rest of the island. The stairs creaked beneath them, and the clouds scudded overhead as they emerged on top, and he sat back up against the tower, sighing and lowering his shoulders. “Finally. This place is getting too full; I don’t like it. This is the only place we can be alone any more.”
aroleplayingcephalopod
“Short of barricading ourselves into our house, yeah.” She sits next to him and lays her head on his shoulder. “But this is better. We have a good view from up here.”
foresight-botgd
“Yeah. It’s really–”
They heard another slight creak from behind them, and a cautious voice. “Verdandi?”
“Son of a bitch,” Liam groaned, leaning his head back to thud against the tower and closing his eyes. “Two seconds? Can we get two fucking seconds? Please?”
aroleplayingcephalopod
“Apparently not,” Verdandi grumbles. She turns to look at Milae, not bothering to clamber to her feet.
“Yes?”
foresight-botgd
“Apologies, I…”
Milae lifted the harness that kept his staff on his back and lowered it to the wooden boards below, along with the heavy pack on his belt. His small frame was quite pronounced without either weapon or bag; only the heavy cloak blowing around his shoulders gave him any sense of stature. He looked down at Verdandi and offered her a hoof, his eyes a bit bright and wild. “I needed to speak with you; it is quite urgent.”
aroleplayingcephalopod
Verdandi looks into his face. She closes her eyes and sighs. “Yeah, okay,” she agrees wearily, allowing Milae to help her to her feet. “What is it?” she asks, repressing the urge to cross her arms and glower at him.
foresight-botgd
He kept a hold of her hand for a few seconds longer as they stood there, and Liam got to his feet, having no problem with making the goat feel like he wasn’t welcome. Milae took a breath and squeezed her hand, looking up into Verdandi’s golden eyes.
“Just trust me.”
The scars along his arms flared and pulsed with light, bright enough to make the pair of them blink, and underneath his shirt, a bright circle with dozens of runes also lit up, and suddenly, the runes rotated slightly in place like a wheel and shifted from bright teal to burning gold, and Liam stiffened as he saw the back of Verdandi’s neck glow the same color through her dark curls, but as he reached out to pull her back, there was a distorting pulse that beat through the air like a thick wave of sound, and the noise of the world died away to a very distant, hollow echo. A small flock of seagulls had been crossing overhead and their wings suddenly slowed like they were trapped in molasses, to the point of appearing not to move any longer. The ocean was frozen like a painting, and the colors of their surroundings drained and dulled to several shades of fawn and flaxen and platinum. 
Liam jumped in shock as he realized they weren’t quite standing on the platform any longer; they were hovering just above and slightly through it, as though some massive gravitational force was keeping them suspended. Like the tower didn’t exist any more, or anything else, for that matter. He grabbed Verdandi’s arm with his claws slightly extended, looking at Milae like he was insane. “What the hell?” he whispered.
The goat was quite calm; if anything, he looked intrigued and excited by the happenings around them. He lowered their hands between them without letting go, as both their seals slowly shifted and shimmered, and his cloak hovered around them like it was underwater. He tilted his head, his ears twitching.
“Do you feel her?” he asked.
aroleplayingcephalopod
The heavy, ancient power from back at Castaway Dungeon slams into Verdandi with the force of a hurricane. “Wh–” she tries, the breath having been knocked from her lungs. Her hair sways gently in the air, lifting up enough to display the golden seal on her neck – now glowing brightly.
“What’s happening?” she squeaks.
foresight-botgd
The hairs on the back of Liam’s neck prickled and he held her arm tighter, but his fingers were starting to sting like he was holding onto a hot pan. Milae was clearly doing something mystical and crazy, and he was afraid of disrupting it in case something bad happened, but he was at the end of his rope. His girlfriend was freaked out. If things escalated, that would be more than enough reason to get her away from the goat.
“I knew it,” Milae breathed, lowering the intensity of his own power a bit in order to make it bearable for her. “I had to be sure…Verðandi, my lady? Are you there?”
aroleplayingcephalopod
Her eyes flash pure gold, blocking out both the whites of her eyes and her pupils as her expression smooths. “Yes.” She regards Milae with a detached air, waiting for his next move.
foresight-botgd
“Loki’s asscheeks,” Liam spat under his breath, but he was less discontented. He was extremely used to possession and vessels. It didn’t make it any less weird when it happened, though.
He took a moment to breathe, absolutely floored by the presence before him. He also remembered that they had never properly met before. “Verðandi, I…I am Yun Milae, I am the seiðkonur of both Urðr and Skuld…” He looked around, expecting to see them here to welcome their sister, but there was only the supernatural silence of the valkyrie’s abilities. “You have been…gone quite a long time. We though you dead after Ragnarok struck the earth.”
aroleplayingcephalopod
“I was,” she says, her voice thrumming with power. “Until I was brought back. I am unsure how,” she admits, a frown crossing her face before her expression clears once more. “I have been… dormant for some years.”
foresight-botgd
“You certainly were,” Milae said, mostly to himself. “I…” He was still awed beyond words at his apparent success. 
“Okay,” Liam interrupted. “This is cool and all, but does someone wanna tell me what in Helheim is going on?” His fingers were burning now, but he still refused to let go of her hand, afraid that she’d get away from him somehow. “Is she actually a valkyrie? She’s been one this whole time?”
“She is carrying one.” He finally broke his gaze on the girl in front of him to look at Liam. 
“Cool, so can we turn this off now? This is too much for her.”
“It doesn’t just ‘turn off,’ Liam. You may as well try to shut down Nalaagura while she is possessing you.”
He curled his fingers into a fist. “I let Nala do that. I don’t know what this is, but she doesn’t want it. So cut it out before I make you.”
aroleplayingcephalopod
She turns her head to look at Liam, expression still blank. “She is a part of me, as I am a part of her,” she says. “She drew on me to save your life, though she did not realize that.” Turning back to Milae, she says, “I would know of my sisters. Where are they?”
foresight-botgd
“They are…they have been gone from me. I was hoping your arrival would summon their attention, but…” He tried to brighten up a bit. “Verðandi, you are alive. Time will stabilize, and your sisters will stop their quarreling.”
“Verthandi?” Liam spoke up over Milae. “Whatever you are, you need to let your host go. It’s not healthy for her.” He looked quite serious; he knew what type of situation he was dealing with now. “If you care about her…”
aroleplayingcephalopod
“No harm will come to her through me,” Verthandi says, once again turning to Liam. “Like it or not, she and I are bound to each other. Names have power. One demon-touched such as yourself ought to know that by now.” She looks at him with that same flat expression. “I cannot harm her, and she cannot harm me.”
tree-the-cat
“Yeah, I’m not an idiot, okay?” He balled up his fists again. “Can you leave her alone for a few minutes, so we can talk?”
aroleplayingcephalopod
A brief, thoughtful silence passes. “Very well.” She looks back to Milae. “Afterwards, you will tell me what my sisters are quarreling over.” Her tone leaves no room for argument – not that Milae could argue if he wanted to, as moments later, the glow fades from her eyes, though the seal on her neck remains bright.
Verdandi gasps, looking around wildly. “Wh– what the fuck?!” she exclaims.
tree-the-cat
As soon as Verthandi’s power faded away, the glow dissipated from around them, and as the world slowly rolled back into motion, they dropped lightly to the tower floor again. Milae’s cloak immediately began snapping in the chill autumn wind again, and he picked up his things again, looking extremely satisfied with himself.
Liam instantly turned and held Verdandi’s arms, looking her in the eye. “Hey, you okay? You awake now?”
aroleplayingcephalopod
“Y-yeah,” Verdandi whispers, grabbing onto Liam’s arms in turn. She shivers, though not from the cold. “What was that?” she demands, looking over at Milae.
"That," Milae said, straightening, "is apparently your friendly local valkyrie that has awakened inside you. I would prefer you were not so entwined, however, as that makes your relationship with her, and her duties, difficult..."
"No shit." Liam's face was straight, and quite serious.
aroleplayingcephalopod
“What duties?” Verdandi asks, gripping Liam’s arms more tightly.
foresight-botgd
“Well,” Milae said, patiently, if a little pedantic, “a Norn has several jurisdictions and responsibilities, not to mention familial relationships that need mending, and she may be hindered if she is tied to a mortal. I do not enjoy the situation any more than you do, but we must make the most of it.”
aroleplayingcephalopod
Verdandi bristles with indignation. “After all of -- the nightmares, the visions -- after all of that, and the m-magic I can do,” why is it still so hard to say the word ‘magic’? “you expect me to just... drop my entire life to help do things I don’t even understand?”
foresight-botgd
“Listen--” Liam bristled, but Milae was already running over him.
“Good gods, no. I would prefer the two of you are separate.”
aroleplayingcephalopod
“And how would we do that?” Verdandi bites out. With every word he says, storming off and ignoring him for the rest of eternity looks more and more tempting.
foresight-botgd
“Verdandi.” Milae was now scowling, as best as a goat could. “I am trying to help you. If you would rather I not bother with your troubles, I can certainly do that. But this will only get worse without an experienced hand.”
“It’s not that fucking hard, is it?” Liam blurted. “She’s got some kind of contract, and now we can talk with the thing that made it. I’ve got the exact same thing, just with a demon. What are the terms we need to check off?”
“This isn’t the same thing, Liam,” Milae said, still cross.
aroleplayingcephalopod
Verdandi throws her hands up in the air in frustration. “Then how is it different? If you’d stop being so cryptic and just speak plainly for once, maybe this would be easier!”
foresight-botgd
“You had no consent in this binding,” Milae said a bit louder to match her tone, also frustrated. “I do not know what this is, but it does not seem to have an ending, as demon contracts do. There are no guidelines, you simply exist together. You can ignore this, and ignore me, or we can work through it together, and I can restore my patronage, while you regain your humanity.” He placed his staff firmly down by his side. “If you don’t want my help...”
aroleplayingcephalopod
She stiffens at his words. “’Regain my humanity’?” she repeats. An angry blush rises on her cheeks. “I don’t -- I don’t even know what to say to you. Does having this... bond make me less of a person than if I didn’t have it?”
foresight-botgd
There was a terse silence, and Milae’s fist tightened around his staff as he stared at Verdandi. Then he turned aside and looked at the ocean, his nostrils flaring briefly as he drew in a deep breath.
“Clearly,” he said quietly, “this isn’t going well.”
“Yeah, I was just about to ask you to leave, actually,” Liam said loudly, in contrast. “Go bother someone else while we figure this out, timelord.”
Milae looked back at Verdandi, and she saw a rare emotion in his eyes. Regret.
“Please let me know if something goes wrong.” Then he was gone, and Liam snorted in his direction.
“Asshole.” 
aroleplayingcephalopod
Verdandi lets out a harsh breath. “Agreed.” The brand remains glowing for a few moments longer before -- almost sullenly -- it fades back to normal.
“So much for our peaceful break.”
tree-the-cat
“Gods, no kidding. You okay?” He cradled her forearms and checked her over, even though she didn’t seem outwardly hurt.
aroleplayingcephalopod
She manages a half-hearted smile. “I... guess. I don’t know what to think. I thought all the valkyries died during Ragnarok. Even the Norns. Being a host for one is... strange.”
tree-the-cat
“It’s just kinda fucked?” Liam cupped her face to look at her eyes again. “Demons still have rules, even though they’re wild. Valkyries are...” He shook his head slightly. “I’ve never dealt with them. I’ve met three different demons but not one valkyrie. I don’t know what game they have to play by.” His soft look soured. “And I don’t wanna have to go through goat dick to figure out what that is.”
aroleplayingcephalopod
Verdandi lets out a helpless giggle. “I don’t either,” she admits. “Maybe we can just figure it out on our own. She hasn’t tried to hurt me, I don’t think.”
tree-the-cat
The pads of his fingers caught on her skin as he pulled his hand away, and he hissed in pain and pulled his paws into his body, trying to play it off. “Yeah, for--for sure. Um, I just think that, maybe...”
He uncurled his hand, and Verdandi saw several raw blisters and burns across the rough pads of Liam’s palm. He had refused to let go of her arm while she had been inhabited by the valkyrie, and he had paid the price. “We should...be careful,” he finished lamely, avoiding her eyes. “Cause of demon and Valhalla things, I think.”
aroleplayingcephalopod
She flinches at the sight of Liam’s hand. “Gods, Liam, I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I didn’t realize that she would... do that.” Verdandi reaches out, gently taking Liam’s hand in hers. She closes her eyes, concentrating, and his hand begins to heal over. “I won’t let her do that, if she’s going to be sharing my body.”
tree-the-cat
“Shit,” Liam breathed quietly, grabbing her other arm and squeezing as the pain increased tenfold before it started to ebb away. He pressed his forehead to the top of her head as she healed him, and he didn’t move away when it was over. “Like I said, I don’t know if it was her fault. I think we’re just interacting really weirdly.” A shadow passed over his claws and dripped away to exemplify what he meant.
aroleplayingcephalopod
Verdandi frowns thoughtfully. “We’ll make it work,” she says, looking up at Liam.
tree-the-cat
“We’d better,” he murmured into her curls. “I’m not leaving you because of some stupid angel.”
aroleplayingcephalopod
“She’s not allowed to ruin this,” Verdandi agrees. She wraps her arms around Liam’s waist and rests her head against his chest. Everything else can wait. At least for a little while.
Category:BOTGD 2
Category:Events
Category:Act I
Category:Liam Arnason
Category:Verdandi Østergård
Category:Yun Milae