Philotes had just finished a lovely visit with some of her friends over the Rainbow Bridge, and was on her way home. But the area was so darned cold, she'd found herself in need of warming up. How did people live in this place? Yes, she lived on a mountain that was snowy at least half the year, but at least it was pretty and bright. Here, everything was sort of a different shade of grey. It was depressing.
But a bit of warm mead, and a nice fire at an inn had perked her right up. Especially when the storyteller started talking about some of the old gods and the old ways. It had taken her a bit of time to figure out that the storyteller himself was divine. Was this Idun's husband? Bragi? The one she always talked about in such glowing terms? Hmm, maybe. It was a good story, but Lottie'd sort of expected more from the way Idun bragged about Bragi.
She also didn't expect Bragi to whistle at a serving girl like that. Lottie frowned. One of the things she'd liked about this area was that women had more freedoms and respect because they'd earned it. They'd helped defend against a Danish invasion, and they had a special name for women in the army: shield maidens. Or at least they had, until Christianity had started making inroads and women had been pushed back to a subservient role.
But hadn't this god just been talking about the old ways?
Quietly, into the pause that had fallen in the conversation, Lottie said quite deliberately, “You know, I've heard Odin used to walk among men. If he did that, who's to say that the goddesses didn't do that too. Maybe even the Valkyries...”
She trailed off speculatively, and every eye turned to the serving girl. Almost every eye. The girl herself, looked around bemused for a moment, then straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. With a regal flounce, she stalked back to the kitchen. Conversation resumed around the room, more than a few discussing the various attributes Valkyries were supposed to have. Lottie would have to mention that to Freyja the next time she saw her. In the mean time, she looked at the storytelling god, and arched a challenging brow.