Challenging Vikings *Ivar The Boneless Love Story*

Friends with Boneless

Ivar was impressed, she could fight. Even if it was a rather odd way of fighting. Taking on vikings as a small woman was no small victory.

He could tell she was tired, but she refused to stop moving, helping her friend, and sister. Boiling water, pouring alcohol on wounds, correcting the healers from what she claimed was (unsanitary), telling them to rest while she continued to slave over them.

Ivar wondered what she knew about Vikings, what she knew about healing, fighting, cooking. After all she was from the future.

"So, you can run." Ivar said taking a seat by the fire place in the infirmary.

"Is that a statement or a question?"

"Both." He said " You can run very fast, even with an injury."

"Yes. I am one of the fastest in my country."

"Tell me, how does a little woman, become a fast runner?"

"Leg day is leg week." She said laughing

Ivar tilted his head and she stopped. "I practice extensively. I get up early and run a mile and then I work up my strength by lifting heavy metal, and then I have practice after school."

"What is school?" He asks

"School is a place where children and young adults go to learn about supposed things you'll need to know. No one has ever really needed to know the square root of 27 on top of their head though." The last part mumbling.

"That is, an interesting idea."

"Sure is." she looked into the fire "I wonder how we are even speaking."

"I know english." Ivar said confidently. Maeve got up and started to pace

"Technically speaking, I shouldn't understand your english at all. My dialect, my tongue, is vastly different from anything you should ever hear, I have a feeling if I meet an Englishman, I would understand them, but I shouldn't."

"Well, you still speak the same language, just sound different." he said in his thick Norwegain like accent.

"How do I put this." she squatted down to his eye level. "I am from, one thousand, two hundred, and some, summers from now. Or if this makes more sense One thousand- two hundred 12 moon cycles." she put her face in her hands, and slicked back her already greasy hair. "I need a beer... or ale I guess."

Ivar sat in shock. That was a long time from now to say the least. His mother said she was from the future, by this, he believed her. The only answer he could come up with was the gods.

"Maybe the gods have granted you this gift."

"I don't believe in your gods, or any gods for that matter, but after these past two days, I might start." she sat down once more.

Ivar felt anger rise but quickly leave, at the very least, she wasn't christian. Ivar felt since her arrival, that he believed in the gods more. She had to be blessed by them, a woman of knowledge, strength, beauty, she was far from perfect, but she was the closest thing he could see towards it. She seemed to handle her own, and most importantly, and confusingly, she did see him as a cripple.

"You knew off me, in the forest, how" Ivar said remembering her saying 'Ivar the (fucking) boneless' and knowing his family.

"You are famous, very famous in history. I've decided not to tell you why, but fortune is to become you." Ivar frowned

"I don't believe you, I am just a cripple." she made a confused face

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I cannot walk."

"I can't eat honeydew melon." she knew that his condition was more serious, yes, but she wanted to make it seem as if not walking, wasn't a big deal. He was a person, not a cripple, at least in her eye. No one should feel as if their disability defines them. " What I'm trying to say, Ivar, is that I don't give a fuck if you can't walk, just don't be an ass-hat, and we'll be cool"

Ivar understood none of the last sentence.

She rolled her eyes slightly and refreshed " I don't care if you can't walk, as long as you're not mean, we can be friends."

Friends? Her? Other than Floki, he really didn't have friends.

"I'm so tired" she stated.

"Then sleep."

"No, I have to watch them."

"We are friends, no, I will watch them." She looked at him surprised, but with a small smile.

"Wake me up if anything happens."

Ivar did as he promised he watched over all three. Valeria had woken up and asked for water, and went back to sleep shortly after. Lin had stirred but had never woken up, she had been asleep the whole he had seen her, but movement was a promising sign. Maeve, well Maeve was drooling on herself, with a mild open-mouthed snoring.

~Two Days later -*Challenging Vikings*~

Lin had woken up, Valeria was able to get up and move around, but not too long before exhaustion hit. Once both were soundly awake and listening, Maeve began to explain that they where no longer in 2019. She was laughed at, yelled at, and then cried at. Lin, who had survived a head injury, thought she was in a coma dream, and went back to sleep; Valeria ran out in nothing but a nightgown into a town of viking men. she had run into a very handsome viking named Hvitserk, who kindly guided her back after she had gone into shock.

After Maeve learned she could trust the servants to tend to her family, she began to explore the land, picking roots and plants she could use for her sisters wounds and to eat. As she wandered down the shore line for shellfish, she came across a place with half made boats. She looked around at them, studying how they looked, she had never really seen a viking boat in person. Just as she began to reach out and touch the boat, a very tall and crazy looking bald man, made a sound between a growl and a shout.

"Fuck! You scared the shit out of me! Oh, sorry. Do you speak any english?"

"No" he said in perfect english. She scrunched her eyebrows and looked at the man up and down. Then a light popped in her head.

"OH, You must me Floki! I'm Maeve, Ivar's friend. Nice to meet you" she held out her hand for him to shake. Floki gingerly groped on finger and shook only one finger. "I'm sorry, I don't know the greeting custom."

"That is fine. You must be the girl Ivar and my wife talk about when they think I can't hear."

"Oh. Um, do you know how to get back to town, I got lost looking for clams and shit, want one?" she said getting one out of a bag and holding it out to him.

Floki then had a look of 'Ooo' and took it and ate it right then and there.

Weird...

"I guess I will take you back" Is all he said before walking in the direction of town.

This new life would be interesting.