Eric's room, early evening

[onceaviking]

Eric got up a while ago and has spent some time in the bathroom. Showering.
Now he is seated at his desk with the laptop open, comfortably dressed (track suit, bare feet), with his wet hair combed back.

There's a small pile of bedding in one corner of the room. Bloody, stiff bedding. He will need to take care of that at some point.

But it can wait.

Comments

[onceaviking]

"That'd be an abdication," Eric says.
"That leaves two empty thrones to whomever wants them the most. And can back it up of course."

[lazy_but_loyal]

Pam nudges his knee with hers.

"You could take one," she says, teasingly.

She already knows what he thinks about that.

[onceaviking]

He snorts.
"As if. We've survived Sophie-Ann. We can survive her successor. Though if that pretentious Eastern European guy gets in, I might have to reconsider. If only to get rid of him."

[lazy_but_loyal]

That's what she admires about Eric. Ambitious, but only enough to be completely self-serving.

"Only you would consider becoming king just to knock off another guy who annoyed you."

[onceaviking]

He gives her a small grin.
"Really? It seems perfectly sensible to me."

[lazy_but_loyal]

"Of course it does," she agrees, still amused.

Eric always has his reasons for doing things.

Yes, even the stupid shit.

Her amusement fades a bit after a moment, and she looks at him in earnest. She then asks in a quiet tone that seems to also say that she's not going to ask him again if she gets a definite answer:

"Are you sure you don't want to kill Russell?"

[onceaviking]

He hesitates.

Then he says, equally quietly, "I want to tear him apart. But I want him to suffer more."

And he is not thinking about how he is both doing as the vision - as Godric - told him and yet is also doing the exact opposite.

[lazy_but_loyal]

It's actually a relief to hear him say that. He's taking into account what he'd seen (real or not), but he's twisting it to work for himself. She knows that Eric does this well.

And she nods.

"Okay."

[onceaviking]

"His whereabouts will be a secret. And even if anybody did find out - well," he smiles.
"It's not like he's got a huge amount of fans. Who'd be stupid enough to set him free?"

[lazy_but_loyal]

She shrugs and shakes her head.

"You never know. There could be some real lunatics out there. But if you're sure this is going to work, then I'm not worried."

[onceaviking]

"I am."

Self assured.
Back in control.

Ignoring that small tremble whenever he thinks about what he saw.
How the sun had felt.

[lazy_but_loyal]

She trusts Eric with her whole being. She'd almost lost him because she trusts him so much.

"I know. Just bury that piece of shit good and deep."

[onceaviking]

"Oh, he will be. Under a massive layer of concrete,"

He smiles.
It's the kind of smile that ought to have fangs.

[lazy_but_loyal]

And it's the kind of smile she likes to see on him. It suits him well.

"Good. Maybe we can all finally rest easy with him out of the way."

The way things are, there's always going to be one thing or another, but she can dream.

[onceaviking]

"Mm," he says, leaning back in his chair.
"Speaking of - met any interesting people here lately?"

[lazy_but_loyal]

"Oh, a few. There was this guy who could do magic tricks with liquids. He knew who I was because apparently you talked to him about me." She smirks at Eric. "He's a cocky little son of a bitch, so I literally put him in his place: I shoved him into a chair and had my breakfast.

"And then there was the Viking. The one who's besties with the ex-monk."

[onceaviking]

He purrs.

"That I would have liked to have seen," he says, and then, "Viking? Ah, Furrypants. You met him too?"

[lazy_but_loyal]

"Furrypants?" she chuckles. "I didn't get to see his pants, he was behind the bar, with the monk helping. They seem pretty...attached. They had the whole matching bracelet thing going on."

[onceaviking]

"I did. And they were disappointingly pedestrian. The stories I heard involved furs and mud. And a dragon."

As for the rest -

"Little Athelstan is smart enough to keep his hands and eyes to himself, I'd reckon. But if he suddenly stops showing up, we'll know he likely slid under the wrong sleep skin.'

As it were.

[lazy_but_loyal]

"Ragnar is in stories? So he's kind of a big deal or what?"

He was intriguing, to say the least.

"Athelstan surprises me. Just goes to show how much of an influence some people here can have on him."

[onceaviking]

"He was. Founded a line of kings and killed a dragon. Or so legend has it."

He smiles a little.

"You think?"

[lazy_but_loyal]

"A dragon," she says flatly. "Well, if he didn't deliver on the furry pants, then I wouldn't hold out too much hope for a dead dragon."

She then shrugs, smirking crookedly.

"Athelstan is probably partial to Norsemen anyway."

[onceaviking]

"Dragon, big snake, guy he didn't like. You know how things get better in the retelling."
An answering, crooked smile.
"He likely is. But as I said, smart enough to contain it at home. Probably."

[lazy_but_loyal]

"Mm, real life hardly ever measures up to bedtime stories."

Until they do. And then you have to recalibrate your entire belief system. Sort of like Athelstan.

"Anyway, have you met a vampire named Margolotta?"

[onceaviking]

"It seems to ring a bell. Something about - not drinking blood?"

And we can all guess how Eric Northman feels about those kind of suggestions.