Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 6)

"Some same, some different," he said with a shrug. "My name not like most tribe names, I remember that. My mama birth me....under tree. Name not same in your tongue, I think, but I not remember."
Gaius immediately began sorting through different words for 'tree's in contemporary Nortung in his mind.

Ky nodded. "I've been trying to think of guesses, but I don't know many Nortung names..." She was going to sound stupid. "Rungnir? Runolfr? Rumfari?"

The Marrow Man gave a throaty chuckle. "No. Short name, like Ky."
"Rolf," Gaius suggested, then shook his head. "You were named after a tree, right? I know of very few trees that start with r in Nortung."

Ky smiled sheepishly. Still. That helped. "Raum?"

The Marrow Man shook his head. "Not right. Mama say it have little red berries..."
"Røni?" That was the only tree with red berries Gaius could think of that started with r. "It translates to Rowan in Upper Tongue. The Marrow Man stared at him.
"Rönn," he said softly. "Old Nortung say tree called 'rönn.'"

"Rönn?" Ky repeated, perking up. "That's your name?"

"Rönn," the Marrow Man repeated. "I think....yes." He let out a breath and said his name again. "Rönn...and two other name too..."
Gaius grinned, delighted that he'd guessed right.
"Rönn höfuðskífari--Head-scraper." The Marrow Man wiped at his eyes. "I so tall, friends call me that. And I also scrape heads of enemies on stones." He chuckled tearily. "My first two names."

Ky let out a happy little squee and danced in place, grinning broadly. It’d take her a while to be able to pronounce the second, but she could do Rönn. “I’m so glad you remembered!”

"Yes!" Rönn looked to Gaius, then strode forward and pulled the smaller man into a tight hug. Gaius inhaled sharply as his bones cracked, then instantly regretted it as the overwhelming scent of dried blood, body odor, and mildew hit his nose. He coughed involuntarily, eyes watering.
"Thank you," Rönn said to him, giving him another hefty squeeze. Gaius was off the ground at this point.
"It's an honor," he wheezed, still having trouble wanting the air that he was pulling in. "Please let me go."

(hahaha)

Ky laughed despite herself. She knew this was supposed to be a serious moment. But here Rönn was picking Gaius up like a little child. She was fairly certain he was the singular creature alive who could get away with treating Gaius like that. It was wholesome.

Rönn put him down quickly and brushed some loose hairs off Gaius's clothes. "Sorry, sorry. Thank you."
Gaius took a couple steps back, trying his best to inhale the fresh air subtly.
"Certainly," he replied when he had regained his composure. "I'm glad we found it."

It occurred to her that that was probably the first hug Rönn had in as long as it'd been since he'd gotten a gift. Which was sad. But she wasn't sure that she quite had the balls to give him one herself. She'd very much felt like she wasn't meant to be touching him at all even when she was bandaging up his feet, much less giving him a hug.

Still.

The thought of going six hundred years and only getting one non-consensual hug was sad. So she might get over herself.

"Can you say it again?" Ky asked, trying to make her brain keep track of which syllables went where.

"Rönn höfuðskífari," he repeated slowly. "And other name somewhere, too. Father name, like tradition."
"The name translates to Rowan Headscraper," Gaius added.

Ky nodded and slowly, painfully, stumbled over the name. She tried a second time, and it didn't go well that time, either. She cringed, blushing as she remembered Ivar's impatience at her attempts. "I'm sorry. I'm very bad at Nortung, I know I am."

"And I bad at Upper Tongue. You do better with time," he assured her. "Find good teacher or listen careful, you pick it up."