Blood and Salt

Chapter II: Gods from the Abyss

The first time Huw woke, it was to find a naked man leaning over him. Fine honed instincts drove him to strike out against this stranger, but his limbs had little strength in them. The stranger started away for a moment, then continued at his work, gently pushing Huw back down and continuing to tend to his wounds. Huw fumbled for his axe but could not find it, and fell back down into darkness.

The second time the Celt woke, it was in the light of a dim fire of driftwood. He still ached, but his head was a little clearer. He opened his eyes to find himself in a cave, not far from the sound of breaking waves. It was still dark outside. He was not alone. In the firelight he could make out his battle brother, Aelfric, lying a few feet away. The Saxon was partly raised up on his elbows, and another man moved slowly and rhythmically atop him. Impaled on the Saxons rod, the youth from the pirate vessel, whom Huw had thought lost in the waves. Aelfric and the lad glistened with sweat in the ruddy glow from the burning driftwood. It was clear that Aelfric was still weak, and that his partner was doing all the work, his eyes closed as he ground his arse agains Aelfrics crotch, lifting himself slightly with his legs as he rode the Saxons thick prick.

Huw felt his own member stir, but there was a lethargy on him and he could neither speak, nor move to touch himself. The sound of the waves and the quiet grunting of the two lovers merged together. As Aelfric fell back on the sand, he stroked the lads damp staff with his thumb, drawing a little of the honey there up to his partner's lips, then sliding the thumb into his own mouth and greedily sucking it. As he did his eyes fell on Huw, and he winked, reaching out toward him with one hand; but if he said anything the Welshman did not hear it, as he tumbled back into deep dreamless sleep.

The third time Huw awoke, the Saxon and his lover were sound asleep, both naked, both snoring loudly. Aelfric shifted as Huw sat up and moved the arm the Saxon had thrown over him in his sleep. He did not wake. Huw studied him -- bruised and battered, but his wounds tended to and dressed, his tanned body covered in a pelt of thick blond fur. He had his other arm protectively around the young man, holding him against his body. The lad in turn had one hand clutched at the Saxon's tangled crotch, cupping his soft member as if clinging to an anchor. The strange young man's body showed signs of recent abuse -- bruises and cuts that were faded and looked much older than the fresher wounds he must have received in the recent fight, or in the mad scrabble for survival after the ship went down.

Huw knew his blood brother, for all his violence when battle was joined, was not a man who mistreated his lovers, and furrowed his brow darkly as he remembered what Aelfric had said about Lodbrog the pirate taking first turn with all his captives.

The final time Huw woke, he and Aelfric were alone in the cave. The big Saxon had rolled over and thrown an arm and a leg over the smaller Celt. Huw wriggled free, and Aelfric rolled back over onto his back, still snoring. The Welshman sat up, and immediately had to close his eyes, head swimming, feeling nauseous. Huw stood up, a little unsteadily, and staggered out of the cave.

The broad white beach sloped gently from the water to a waving expanse of gigantic trees. There seemed no underbrush, but so close together were the huge boles the he could not see into the jungle. Here and there on the beach lay the stiff figures that had been washed ashore from the foundering pirate ship.

He took a few more steps down the beach, becoming more confident in his stride as he went, and stared down at one of the dead pirates. He still had a savage hook stuck in his neck, and Huw wondered briefly who had killed him. Then with a sudden snarl of satisfaction, he relieved himself on the corpse. For a few moments, his flow was bloody but it soon cleared. When he finished, he spat in the dead buccaneer's face, and looked around again.

A little way into the surf he saw his other companion. The lad was still ballock naked, up to his thighs in the sea, with a long piece of sharpened wood. He stood motionless, his back to Huw, and then thrust forward and down with a smooth jabbing motion that made the muscles of his shoulders dance, pulling up his makeshift spear with a wriggling fish on the end.

Huw watched him for a few moments more, then returned to the cave - the Celt had no patience for spear-fishing, and he doubted the lad had made more than one spear. He saw two deep furrows in the sand, where two heavy objects -- the Celt and the Saxon no doubt -- had been dragged into shelter. He was impressed despite himself. The lad had more strength than he had initially judged, if he was able to shift Aelfric in his full hauberk.

Back in the cave it was obvious that there were clothes, blankets and pieces of wood spread around the fire to dry them. He nodded in approval; the lad was clearly responsible, as neither he nor Aelfric had been in any state to arrange anything. The recent exertion had tired him greatly, and he slumped down on a broad flat rock near the cave mouth, resting his head on the cold cave wall, the chill stone causing him to shift his position a few times before his arse warmed it a little.

A few minutes later, Huw opened his eyes as a shadow fell on him. The lad stepped into the mouth of the cave, with three fish impaled on his spear. As soon as he noticed Huw a worried expression spread across his face. Huw watched him in silence as he crossed the cave to the fire and started arranging the fish for cooking, expertly gutting and cleaning them. He kept glancing over at Huw as he worked, squatting naked on the far side of the fire.

"Is there ... water?" rasped the Celt, his mouth and throat raw. The lad nodded. He stood up, moving slowly, cautiously, as if approaching a wild animal, bearing Aelfric's helmet which Huw soon saw was half-full of water.

The lad offered it to him, his eyes downcast, and said nothing. Huw quenched his thirst, sparingly -- he had no idea how much water they had between them.

He held the helmet for a moment, sizing the lad up. He was about the same size as Huw, but broader in the shoulder. On the ship he had thought the lad in his early twenties, but now upped his estimate a year or two. He had a tawny dusting of fur on his shins and forearms, thickening on his thighs and upper arms, thickening further to a dense forest at this crotch and a tangle of curls across his chest. He was unshaven, the hair on his face part-way between stubble and a beard. He had a shock of dark hair, and several blue-and-green tattoos on his bicep and shoulder.

"Do you want to take me now?" asked the lad, still not looking up. He made as if to kneel, and Huw caught him by the shoulder.

"What?" Huw growled.

"I don't ... I don't mind if you want to take me now." The lad still hadn't looked up. Huw held his shoulder for a moment, his expression hardening. Then he sighed. He shifted his grip to the lads chin and forced his face up to meet his gaze. The lad looked scared but resigned, although Huw could see the suggestion of tears in dark brown eyes which made him look lost and alone.

"What is your name lad?" asked Huw, roughly.

"Beric, master." He said, his voice thick.

"I'm not your master, lad." Growled Huw. "I am no mans master, nor would I be. I am Huw, and you should call me that. How old are you?"

"We celebrated my coming of age five years back ma... Huw. But I do not know for sure."

Huw let his arm fall. Beric looked away. "You are weak, Huw. I know how to ... how to pleasure ... how to please you without tiring you."

Huw ground his teeth, and Beric looked up at him again, worried, as if he expected to be struck. "Lad. Beric. Did you drag me and that fat Saxon from the waves, into this cave?"

Beric nodded, unsure what was going on.

"Did you set a fire, tend to our wounds, find bracken and clothes and set them to dry? Collect water? Hunt for food?"

Beric nodded a second time.

"Did you take my axe?"

Beric screwed up his eyes and flinched as if he expected to be hit. But he nodded a third time.

"I ... I'm sorry, master. I needed ... something to cut the wood ... to sharpen ... " he trailed off.

Huw considered a moment, then leant forward and placed both arms on the lads forearms.

"Son ... never apologise for doing what needs doing. You have done well, and should never be ashamed of that."

Beric opened his eyes, looking confused but he didn't try to shake free.

"It should be me offering myself to you, lad. I owe you my life and that is not a debt to take lightly. Had I not sworn to my battle-brother to guard you, I would swear to do so now."

The Celts tanned face darkened. He took a firmer grip on the lad, despite his aching muscles.

"But never come come to me like a whore again. You demean both of us, aye and my blood-brother who has been your lover. Have you no father, to tell you these things?"

Beric looked confused again.

"I ... he died when I was young, on the boats."

Huw nodded and spoke quietly, sincerely, relaxing his grip a little.

"When I came of age my father took me with him into the wilds, to live under the stars and to talk and learn what it meant to be a man. He told me many things then, some of them wise and some of them foolish, as is the talk of men. Yet let me tell you this, and remember it as if I was your father.

"No matter what you do with your lover, no matter what you desire, always start as equals. Look your lover in the eye and say 'Will you lie with me?' and if they look back and say 'aye, I will lie with you' then all is well. If you go to your lover with your eyes downcast, if you offer yourself up to be used like a slave, then you make yourself less, and you make your lover less. Do you understand?"

Beric nodded. Huw leant closer. Over Beric's shoulder he could see Aelfric had roused, and sat himself up, watching them carefully.

"Now if you will look me in the eye and say 'Huw! I want to lie with you' and tell me you want me to mount you like a horse, or that you want to mount me in turn, then I will lie with you. If you don't, if you are asking because you are beaten and afraid and desperate to keep me beside you, then look away and do not ask me again."

Beric held his breath for a moment then let it out, and smiled -- the first time Huw had seen such an expression on the lads face. It transformed it, made him seem less a lad and more a man - and at the same time more handsome.

"Huw, I want to lie with you. But not now, because I can smell our supper burning."

The youth turned away, and Huw laughed explosively and slapped him on the rump, leaving a clear red handprint on his arse cheek as he went to crouch by the fire and turn the fish on their makeshift spits.

Golden-furred Aelfric stood carefully, lumbered to the door and paused by Huw. "That was well done, Celt" he said quietly. "The lad has been badly used, and it helps none of us if his spirit remains broken."

He glanced down at Huw's lap. "Especially as I can see how ready you were to spit the lad on your spear like one of those fish."

He winked at the Celt, and Huw suppressed a smirk and instead frowned at the big Saxon as he went outside to relieve himself.

***

The three men ate the fish, and talked a little. Neither Aelfric nor Huw had much strength, but Beric had energy enough for both of them. The two warriors had slept a day and a night, while Beric watched over them and made plans. They did not speak of the time on Logbrod's pirate vessel. Rather they made plans -- a fish apiece and some fruit was insufficient to victual fighting men, and they would need real food and drink soon enough.

"I have seen wild pigs," said Beric as they sat around the fire. Aelfric shook his head. "A boar is not something for us to hunt in this weakened state. Thor's stinking pits, I am weak as a babe!" Beric disagreed - it seemed Huw's earlier words had helped to stiffen the lads spine. "These are not like boars, Aelfric. They are more like suckling pigs. I wager they are succulent and their meat sweet, for they feed on a bounty of fruit. I have a spear, and you your sword and Huw his axe. Now that we have some meat inside us, we should hunt bigger game!"

Aelfric laughed, then growled. "I can think of other meat you can put inside you lad!"

Huw smiled to see Beric blush, but spoke up before the banter could go any further.

"Let us hunt a pig, then, and eat like men. The beach outside is rich with carrion, but I do not think I want to stay here until the haunch of one of those filthy pirates begins to seem appetising. Let us hunt, my stomach thinks that my throat has been cut, and growls worse than this fat Saxon does when he sleeps!"

Aelfric spluttered, and Beric laughed again, and the three men prepared themselves for a hunt. They dressed and readied themselves in silence, saving their strength for the hunt. Armed and armoured, they ventured out onto the beach. Twilight had gathered while they ate and planned, but the moon was full and the stars bright. Aelfric studied the sky for a few minutes while Beric emptied his bladder, and frowned.

"I think we are very far south, further than I have ever been." He said in a quiet voice to Huw. He was clearly worried. "We have been gone very far off course, I think, and it is possible we are the first men to tread these shores. I do not know how we will get back to civilisation."

Huw spat. "Civillisation? Pah! If these pigs are as sweet as the lad claims, and we can find enough fruit to ferment something to drink, I could live out my life here without grieving for a 'civilisation' that breeds men such as that raddled whore's-cunt Lodbrog!"

Their eyes adjusting to the deepening darkness, the three men made their way up the beach away from the rotting corpses of the pirates. Huw and Aelfric were experienced hunters, who had tracked game together before. They communicated by grunts and hand-gestures as much as by words, but it was clear Beric was not wise in woodcraft. He stumbled when they moved into the trees, swearing as he tripped over roots and entangled himself in branches.

"At this rate we will announce our presence to every animal on the island!" growled Aelfric, frustrated. Beric was no less frustrated, but then the big Saxon squeezed his shoulder and laughed and said "Ah, lad, we'll make a woodsman of you yet. Watch how I do it!"

It took the better part of an hour, but they came upon a pack of pigs rooting and snorting as they gorged themselves on fallen fruit. Without a bow or a good throwing spear, the men were forced to sneak as close to the animals as possible and then rush in, striking with sword and axe. The pigs scattered, squealing and fleeing in all directions, but when the fight was over two of the animals were dead. The hunters, victorious, took them back to the beach to clean them.

Beric, it turned out, was skilled at preparing the pig-meat. He grinned a little sheepishly as he expertly cut and dressed the meat, admitting that he had been apprenticed to a butcher for a time, before he decided to go to sea. His smile slipped slightly as he thought of the sea and of what had happened, and Aelfric changed the subject, taking up with a bawdy song about a butcher's son. Huw joined in at the chorus, and the moment passed.

Later, they lay under the stars, bellies full, tired but contented. Aelfric had shrugged off his hauberk, and lay with his back to the trunk of a tree, sucking his fingers clean with an audible smacking of lips, his beard and thick pelt of chest hair glistening with pig fat. Beric busied himself preparing the rest of the pig, setting it to cook slowly, to be eaten tomorrow and the remainder carried with them. Huw sat quietly, watching.

His cooking done, Beric threw himself down on the grassy sand beside his two companions.

"Do you think we are safe out here, under the open sky?" He asked.

Huw shrugged. "I saw no sign of any large predator when we hunted the woods. I think we are as safe here as back in the cave."

The Saxon grunted and stopped licking his fingers long enough to say "And I for one will be damned before I will stumble back to the cave when I can lie here with my companions and enjoy the smell of cooking pig flesh!"

He rubbed his furry belly contentedly. Then his eyes slid sideways to Beric, and a thoughtful expression came over his face.

"You are still a little bloody, lad, from your butchery."

Beric had stripped to his breeches, and had made an effort to clean himself after gutting the animals, but was still spattered here and there with dark dry pig blood. It was matted in the hair on his arms and chest. He stood up quickly.

"I had better wash again," he said, worried.

"You should not be so quick, son, to jump up when Aelfric speaks," said Huw. "Don't be so eager to please - bathe again in the morning, lad, if you want. It is too late for splashing around in the dark."

The big Saxon grinned then. "I remember a time when neither he nor I washed any part of ourselves, save with beer for three months when we fought King Eiger's men. The stink of us was enough to strike a Viking dead at ten paces!"

Alefric laughed at the memory. Beric looked a little uncertain, still uncertain, worried the older men were making sport of him. Without realising, he rubbed at his side where a yellowed bruise spoke of some recent abuse. He sat back down again a little distance away, nearer the fire, across from his two companions.

"I remember that after the siege, the horses would not let us ride them, we stank so badly," mused Huw. "The river turned black where we bathed, and after half a day in the water we merely smelled very bad indeed."

Aelfric winked over at the Celt. "I think that was part to do with the way that whenever we got a little clean, we went to work on another good sweat, undoing all our good work washing."

"It was a bad siege." said Huw shortly, and the Saxon nodded.

"I have never been in a siege," said Beric, poking the fire with a stick.

"Nor should you want to be," said Aelfric a little moodily. "We lost good friends, and both of us did things that were not worthy of us."

The mood round the fire became darker, gloomy, and the darkness seemed to press in against them. Aelfric shook himself.

"And then we fucked for a day and a half. Fucked to fuck away the memories, fucked for our dead friends who could fuck no more. We did a good job, I think, of honouring their memory by that river."

Huw laughed despite himself. "Aye, and in the lodge in the mountains later. I thought I would not walk again. Or drink again, after we finished those barrels we took from the King's cellar."

The Saxon and the Celt shared the memory. Huw felt a stirring in his loins. He slid his eyes sideways to the lad by the fire for a moment, then back to Aelfric.

"I truly thought I had met my end on that boat," he said in a quiet voice, trying to pitch it so Beric did not hear. "Tied to a barrel as the plaything of a fat slug and his bastards, then back to torture and slow, painful death."

The Saxon shook his head and made a gesture of negation. "Think of it no more. Lodbrog and his scum feed the gulls, and we laze on the beach with bellies full of pig flesh."

"Aye," said Huw. "Aye."

He met the Saxon's gaze and said, softly "Will you lie with me, Aelfric? Like that time by the river?"

The Saxon relied equally softly. "Ah, Huw, we are neither of us as young as we were and I lack the strength to lie with you the way we did by the river ..."

Then he grinned and licked some more pigfat from his moustache and guffawed.

"But by Thor's swollen thews I would like to give it a good try!"