"Sure, Freja. But what did you do?" Eirik was confused. This wasn't like Freja at all. What had happened?

"I... I read a message sent to your datapad. From Ulla. And... I also replied to it..." Freja stammered her way through the words while wringing her hands in nervousness.

"... Okay... That is a breach of trust I did not expect from you, Freja... But fair enough. What did she write and what did you reply?" Eirik had not expected this. Out of all the people that weren't his family, Freja was the last person he expected to invade his privacy.

"...It's better if you... If you read it yourself." Freja said and handed him his datapad.

Eirik opened the message tab and found the newest message.

Dear Eirik, I wanted to apologize for not replying to the messages you have sent every month. Thank you for keeping your promise. I have been busy getting into the swing of things with the Terran government and the smuggling operations they need me to run for them. The pay is better than I expected and the hours are great. I have been thinking about the last time we saw each other. I understand that you cannot give me what I want from you, but you cannot blame a girl for hoping. I am willing to settle for whatever you can give me, even if it's just your friendship.

Love, Ulla.

There was a tab underneath the message indicating an answer had been sent, and he began reading

Friendship is the ONLY thing you will get from MY Eirik and that is a promise!! If you even LOOK at him the wrong way they won't be able to identify the chunks once I am done with you. He is quite happy as he is and he does not need unsolicited love declarations as long as he and I are together!

I dare you to try and take him from me!!

Freja.

Eirik pinched the bridge of his nose while sighing heavily. This was a garbage fire he did NOT want to put out. But Freja had forced his hand.

"Freja. What you did was not okay. But I forgive you, as long as you promise me to never do something like that again. You know Ulla and you know she has had a thing for me since forever. You also know I have no interest in pursuing it. So where did this come from?" Eirik was genuinely curious. He had never seen Freja be jealous. She knew he loved her, and only her.

"I don't know!" Freja exclaimed forcefully. "It just popped into my head that you might finally have given in to her advances and I could not get the thought out. So I replied." Freja was almost in tears at this point and Eirik reached a hand out to put on top of both of hers, causing her to stop wringing them together.

"Freja." Eirik said, "You know you are the only one for me. And you know what you did was very wrong. Now, I am going to send a message to Ulla, explaining everything, and then you and I are going to put this behind us. Okay, love?"

"YES!! er, I mean, okay." Freja was still emotional and stumbling over her own words, but her nervousness was gone. Eirik was understanding.

Eirik opened Ulla's message and started typing a new reply.

Hello Ulla. First of all, I apologize on behalf of Freja. I have no idea what made her react like this, but I talked with her and she should be fully accepting of our friendship at this point. If you have the time, I will be on Terra for the next week, maybe 2. You could swing by and maybe reconnect with Freja? I know it would put me at ease if the 2 of you could, maybe not be friends, but at least be friendly in each other's company.

Peace and good growth. Eirik.

"There. Situation remedied. Mind you Freja, she might swing by this place before we get back into the void. If she does, I want an honest attempt at being cordial if she does. Can you do that for me? " Eirik looked deeply into Freja's eyes. It was a dirty trick, he knew, but she had never refused him before when he did this.

"Yes, Eirik. I will try my best" She answered him, not breaking eye contact. He smiled, kissed her forehead, and put an arm around her waist.

"Good!" he stated with a grin, "That's all I can ask of you. Now, come meet the living dead I call my brothers!"

"HEY!! WE RESENT THAT STATEMENT!! WE ARE GHOULS AT MOST!" Peter yelled at him, while the rest of the brothers were laughing to their heart's content while their mother and father were standing behind them with smiles on their faces.

Eirik lead Freja over to them, Called Las'Tai and Trasti over and the rest of the day was spent relaxing and generally having a great time. Eirik lit a bonfire when the darkness began to fall and the evening was spent telling stories.

_________________________

on the morning of the second day after Freja's arrival, Eirik woke Trasti and Las'Tai earlier than usual.

"Come, we need to get started as soon as possible." He whispered so as not to wake everyone else.

Once outside, Las'Tai spoke, "What do we need to do this time?" The early mornings had taken their toll on her, and the cold in the early morning air did not improve her mood.

"We are going to get some wood from an ash tree for Mads to make proper handles for your new blades. Sure, I am a decent woodworker, but Mads is a god's damned savant when it comes to working with wood." Eirik explained.

"Why does it have to be wood from that specific kind of tree?" Trasti asked curiously. The young Kloxna seeking more knowledge at every turn.

"Because the ash tree is heavy and dense. It will make excellent handles that will not break or get chipped easily. Furthermore, Yggdrasil, the world tree, is in the shape of an ash tree, meaning it most likely IS an ash tree."

"The trees on Terra differ in weight and density?" Las'Tai chimed in

"Yes, very much so. Birch is light, both in weight and density. Same with Spruce. Oak is extremely dense and heavy. It would be too heavy for the blades as the handles would make them unbalanced if we used oak. That's why we use ash trees. It is also good for bows, though I would prefer Alder wood for that. More flexible." Eirik pointed at the different trees as he spoke and he could see the understanding spread on their faces as he explained.

"So where do we find an ash tree?" Trasti asked, "You did not point that one out for us"

"That's because it does not grow here. We are too far from the good places. But I know where there is an underwater spring that emerges. Along its path, we should be able to find all the Ash trees we want. Let's go" He picked up a large axe and chainsaw and started moving with long steps.