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[ragnarsson]

Wait, so I just speak? That's how it works?...Fine...This is Ivar Ragnarsson. Do what you will.

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[advanced]

Most baby girls do.

[At least he's going on what little he remembers of his family, and the way all three of his sisters had turned out as miniature copies of their mother. It was good, really, they could have done worse than turn out like Winifred Barnes.]

But she ain't her Ma, she'll do better things and you'll raise her up to be good.

[He didn't know Letha, but since his overwhelming experience with her has been of her hating her baby and then abandoning both baby and father to go to a world that's not even hers, he doesn't think she was particularly good.]

[ragnarsson]

I don't know about good.

[Ivar knows he's not a good person. He's excellent at being a good Viking, but here in this place, everything is so different, and most would consider what he does to be terribly bad. All these months later, he still finds it hard to acclimate to the new culture sometimes. To raise a child up, instill in her the values of the Viking culture, while teaching her how to blend into society with her strange powers, it's a daunting task.]

I'll try for good enough.

[Winter drops her lamb, making a small, soft squeak of distress at losing her favorite toy. Ivar leans over to the side and picks it back up, letting her grab a hold of it again. She seems to find comfort in the soft feeling of the stuffed animal against her own body.]

[advanced]

Pretty sure that's what all parents manage.

[There's no such thing as a perfect child, after all. Nobody ever grows up to get it all right and be good all the time, there are going to be mistakes and there's going to be bad things in their future.]

As long as you do the best you can, that's all you can offer her. Any mistakes she makes after that are her own to make.

[ragnarsson]

You know, for someone who doesn't have their shit together most of the time, sometimes you have good advice.

[He means that in the best way possible really. Winter's starting to squirm around, fussy in the way that babies get when they're tired, but are too stubborn to admit sleeping is a good idea. Ivar presses a kiss to the top of her head, gently holding her against his shoulder while he strokes her back to send her to sleep.]

I do get worried sometimes what might happen if someone decides to get to me by hurting her.

[If Bucky was worried about what might happen if the teen lost control now, he hadn't seen anything yet. Any harm to Winter, and Ivar would see the whole city burned down, and corpses strewn everywhere before his rampage was through.]

[advanced]

Maybe try not to make so many enemies, then.

[It's almost a tease, the hint of a smile at his lips as he stands up. He can see Winter giving him the out that he needs to get away again, out of a building so trapped in on all sides.]

Looks like your kid wants to take a nap, so maybe I should leave you to it.

[Because he's always the loudest person around...]

[ragnarsson]

[Solid advice, though Ivar won't take it. He's just born to be angry and subsequently piss people off. Winter starts to settle down, her breathing becoming light and easy. She'll be fast asleep in just a few moments.]

Why don't you stay for a few minutes? Have a beer and some sandwiches in the kitchen?

[You know, he a couple of normal people instead of being a crazy teenage Viking and an even crazier ex-assassin.]

[advanced]

No.

[A part of him feels a mild pang of regret for refusing, but he doesn't want to stay within four walls at a house he doesn't know and hasn't scouted out properly. So he takes a step back towards the door.]

Not this time.

[And then he's gone, abrupt and swift, just like that.]