Chapter Text
I put on my new clothes I bought, simply because my old clothes don’t fit me anymore but the new ones are now very tight. Which does make me sigh at the fact that I will still need to go out to get more. But the trade off with my new physique is beyond worth it. We have a little over a day to prepare for the upcoming festival tournament. The most important preparation is making sure we have a full team. Then gaining intel about our competition, specifically, Duma’s team. I grab Eikþyrnir’s hand and drag him to the missions board once more, to look for where Helbindi and Hrid could be around the castle, hoping that they haven’t been posted right after getting back. Finding both of their names, I breathe a sigh of relief to see that they should both be around the castle still.
“Come on Eikþyrnir, Helbindi is around here somewhere, same with Hrid. Let’s start with their rooms and then search places they tend to hang out. Helbindi’s should be easier, so let’s start with him.” I say, grabbing his wrist again.
“Alright, lead the way Kiran.” Eikþyrnir says with a chuckle, following along with the tug of his wrist.
We go down the halls and up a few flights before finding ourselves at Helbindi’s door. I knocked on it, “Helbindi are you in there? I have a favor to ask.”
“Coming here to after the stag yeah, you know I’d still like to see your ass— holy f*ck!” He exclaimed in shock, seeing my new form. His eyes flit from me to Eikþyrnir standing behind me. “I see you two made up. Get in here studs, what do you need from me?” He said, suspiciously eyeing Eikþyrnir.
“We want you to join our team in the upcoming Hoshidan Summer Festival Tournament.” I say excitedly.
“Your team? Since when do you participate, Kiran?” He says switching his gaze back to my tightly fitting clothes.
“Well since now, thanks to Eikþyrnir, I have the strength and the endurance to stand with you both on the battlefield now. I still might be a better ranged fighter than brawler. But with my new build”, I flex into a double bicep pose, “I can easily keep up now.”
“And you are okay with this,” Helbindi says, gesturing to all of me, “and being on the same team as me, stag man?”
“We talked about it, so yes, and Kiran’s body responded very well to my gift. It’s possible that he could grow to either of our respective sizes one day.” Eikþyrnir stated rather casually, given his previous apprehension to it before now.
“Well f*ck, congrats Kiran, you have the vessel for dick, thoughts, and muscle. Who’d have thought?” Helbindi teased. This causes me to blush a bit in embarrassment. “And stag man, I want to talk to you about what happened back then, but it can wait for now. I’m happy to kick some ass at the festival. Who’s the fourth you had in mind? You need four to a team to even participate, right?” Helbindi asked, trying to get a sense of what the tournament could entail.
“Eikþyrnir and I were thinking about inviting Hrid to join our team.” I responded.
“Perfect, the ice prince is a real tough customer, and the best part is, the brat and the other sisters have already decided to take it easy this year. Hrid told me himself at the beach mission.” Helbindi said with a smile.
“Amazing!” I said with glee. “Do you know where he is now so we can ask?”
“He’s likely at the training ground right now. If I had to guess.” Helbinid said, scratching his chin.
“Awesome, thank you Helbindi, let’s bring home the gold this year!” I exclaim.
“Kiran, you go on and find Hrid. See if you can convince him. I want to catch up with Helbindi before we proceed.” Eikþyrnir says very calmly, yet seriously.
Helbindi looked at Eikþyrnir, before looking at me, and then back at Eikþyrnir but said nothing.
“Alright, have fun you two, and I’ll see you both later I guess.” I say, excusing myself from the room.
I can very much picture the conversation going on right now. I imagine tears might be shed but hopefully a resolution can be obtained by the end of it. What matters right now, is that I persuade Hrid to join our team. If I recall, Hrid and Helbindi have been pairing on quite a few missions, so hopefully their friendship and Eikþyrnir helping him in the past will be enough to persuade him to join us. I make my way away from Helbindi’s room to find Hrid at the training ground. I pass a handful of heroes, seeing Gilliam and Ephriam heading off to train as well. I walk with them, mostly listening to their conversation of spear techniques and workout routines. Both of them had to do a slight double take when they first met up with me at my new, more muscly body. Gilliam offered to continue to hone my training and Ephriam wanted to spar to see what I was capable of. I declined them both as I had a task to do, but I appreciated the attention.
I looked at the various heroes, attending to or avoiding their training. My eyes scan the horizon looking for the Prince of Nifl himself. I found him taking his summer themed spear and his white stallion out for training against the dummies set up for cavaliers. He trained shirtless, having his chiseled torso on his hunkish form contort with each thrust. Sweat poured down his face and upper body. My assumption is he has been at this for quite a while. I called out to him after this round of exercises seemed to cease.
“Hrid, Hrid! Can I borrow you for a second?!” I yell over to him.
Hrid brings his stunning white horse over and hops off with great speed. He really does look like a prince out of a fairy tale, given his build, fair skin, and faery colored hair. “Ho, Kiran! Wow, your training has been giving you amazing results. Perhaps you might share that secret with the rest of us.” He says, his eyes growing a bit big at the sight of my new size.
“I wish I could but for now, that’ll have to stay a secret.” I handed him a towel I could quickly find to help him wipe off the sweat. “But I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Pray tell my friend, after all you have done for me and my siblings and country, what do you need?” He asked with a charming smile.
“If you haven’t joined a team yet, I would like you to join me and my team for the Hoshidan summer festival tournament.” I say, trying not to stare at his bare rippling torso.
“Done! I’d be happy to join you, I was hoping to participate this year. Gunnthra, Fjorm, and Ylgr didn’t wish to join me this year, and you saved me from asking Nifl herself to gauge interest. If I may ask, do we need more teammates or who else is on the team?” He asked earnestly.
“I don’t know if you know him yet, Eikþyrnir, he is the Divine Messenger of Strength from Yggdrasil, and the other you definitely know, Helbindi is also on the team. I make up the third and you now complete the squad!” I say rather happily at the success of recruiting Hrid.
Hrid blushed, “oh Helbindi is also joining, how great, his strength will help us succeed. And you are right, I’m not sure if I have met Eikþyrnir.” He said a bit flustered and then regained his composure. Something I very much note to myself to ask Helbindi about later.
“You’re right, I’ll have to introduce you two so you can meet officially.”
“I think an ideal way to meet might also be a training session. Given that you are only allowed one weapon at the tournament, getting a sense of what everyone will wield and how we work together should help us succeed.” Hrid states.
“Honestly, I think that is a great idea, and I also want to thank you for not being overly surprised that I want to participate this year.” I respond sincerely.
“Of course, Kiran, you have proven your battlefield tactics again and again, so now trying your hand at it personally is a wonderful next step to gain experience. Furthermore, you’ve clearly been training, so now you want to see the fruits of your efforts. And finally, a festival is a fun and low risk way to test the new abilities and form you have accomplished. I see no reason to ridicule you or question your motives for wanting to participate.” Hrid says, putting his arm on my shoulder, in the same way an older brother might comfort a younger sibling.
I think over his words, his logic and reasoning all make sense given the context he is lacking. Either way, it does make me feel good despite him being completely wrong, outside of the last part which I completely agree with. “Wow, thank you, I will try to set up the training session and report in so you are aware. Look forward to the training tomorrow.”
“Wonderful, if you don’t mind then, I’m going to get back to my training for the day.” He says, squeezing my shoulder and then waving goodbye before getting back on his horse to reset his training course.
Wonderful indeed, I think to myself. I make my way over to the training schedule to pencil us in for one of the open terrains to train battlefield tactics, feeling in my own name here feels odd, but right. I’m actually getting pretty pumped for the festival tournament. I bet we’ll beat Duma with this team. Wait as second, his team, who is on his team? I race through the training schedule. I scan my eyes for any groups that include Duma’s name. I eventually do spot it, Duma is grouped with … Walhart, Berkut, and Lyon. Lyon’s name caught me off guard, as with just his name, he is the most unpredictable opponent. Everyone else on his team feels honest with their tactics for the most part.
I head back to find out where I last left Eikþyrnir and Helbindi. I head back to Helbindi’s room. I knock on the door, “Come in Kiran”, I hear Helbindi call from the other side of the door.
Entering into the room, I see both Eikþyrnir and Helbindi sitting on the edge of the bed, both of them looking like they have something important to say.
“So Kiran, did ya get princecicle to join us?” Helbindi asks, avoiding whatever was lingering on their tongues.
“Yeah, Hrid said he would join us, and I set up training for the four of us tomorrow, for discussing weapons and battle strategies.” I say co*cking my eyebrow at the two of them. “You two look like you have something to say, so say it.” I say confrontationally.
“Helbindi and I made up, and we are friends again. But we also talked a lot about you. About our mutual attraction to you.” Eikþyrnir said, trying to gauge the air.
“What stag man is trying to say is, would you be interested in a threesome between you, me, and the stag?” Helbindi said, already tired of Eikþyrnir’s dancing around the topic. I see both of their dicks jump in anticipation.
