While she was saying it, Bragi didn't hear it. Bragi listened to all the words as they were said, but none of them registered because she'd freed his hands. She'd let go of them, and now Bragi could go. He didn't have to get trampled. He could go. Bragi looked at the ground. He started counting the steps to the door. Then she finished. She stopped talking. And in that second of silence, every word hit him at once. Pounded. But not like a horse. It was like he'd burst out of the surface of the water, after he'd been under so long he'd forgotten how far up the surface was, and had given up on reaching it before his lungs gave out. Bragi inhaled. Sharply. Bragi suddenly looked up. And in that split second, he grabbed back the hand she'd dropped.
He stared right into her green earnest eyes, and saw sincerity. Sincerity in its purest form, and then Bragi heard all those words again. His fingers curled around hers. His heart began beating at its regular slightly quicker pace, and Bragi could hear it. He could actually hear it. Bragi could hear beats again. He hadn't heard any beats in a very long time, and now he could hear them again.
The tavern was filled with noises. The buzz of chatter. Banging. Stomping. Pouring. Shouting. Pounding. Squeaking. But Bragi didn't just hear the noises anymore. He heard the sounds. The sounds, the pulses, the beats, and what he'd get if he put some of them together in just the right way. Bragi let out a short relieved laugh, and shook his head, incredulous. Across the room, a skald teetered over to the corner, found his lute and picked it up.
Bragi watched this for a second, then he looked back at Idun. He didn't have any words for her in that moment. She'd used up all of the pretty ones. Bragi was still wet from when he'd been drowning. His lungs still burned, and he was still in shock because he didn't know he'd been drowning. That couldn't be erased immediately. But now he had hope. The beats were back, and Bragi was in a place where he could breath. He dropped Idun's hand, and embraced her. He buried his head in her shoulder and held on like she was a life raft. His chest shook, and for a few moments Bragi cried. He'd killed someone. But she'd come back. He couldn't be stone any longer.
When he released her, Bragi took a breath. He shook it all away with his head. "You never can find a good messenger besides Hermod these days" he said.