Brenna Geirdottir

Appears 28, but is 1215. Vampire. "I didn't know how to make a 'funny face' until I met Hollis Redford." -Brenna "Stoneface" Geirdottir

[sansaofwinterfel]

[elijahcoldwell]

[brennageirdottir]

To (Re)Build a House || Brenna & Hollis (closed)

[hollisredford]

Hollis’s jaw stiffened, his gaze breaking slightly from her own intense hues. In fact, he had only just realized what she was wearing — not that he had always had too keen of an eye on that sort of stuff. Coming from someone who didn’t have that large of a closet, she could have probably been wearing a rainbow parka over polka dot parachute pants and he didn’t think she would look any less beautiful.

He didn’t think he’d be any less angry, either. She was finally in front of him. After years, she was finally at arms length. Hollis could still run his hands down her arms and trace her skin in his sleep, but it all meant nothing now. At least, it felt like nothing. As his blue eyes met her hazel, he knew he would let her in long before he even spoke; long before she even finished asking. Maybe some things would never change, even after these three years. Maybe he’d even jump in front of a car right now if she asked him to; maybe his anger, his sadness, his frustration… maybe it would make it easier. Hollis shut his eyes as he let out a soft sigh, reaching both hands up to rub down his face, over the scratchy stubble before he finally stepped back and stepped aside, dropping his hands helplessly back to his side. “Fine. Come in.” He opened his eyes in time to watch her over the threshold, an almost pained expression making his way onto his face as his back turned to her to shut the front door behind her. Hollis never expected to see her again, let alone have her back in his home. He almost immediately regretted letting her in before his conscience finally managed to convince him that he did deserve the truth — whatever she managed to give him of it. Maybe he didn’t even need to talk. Maybe she could leave here after and leave him in whatever peace he’d found after she left. He turned to step into the living room, his hands digging deep into his pockets when he saw Piper sniffing happily at Brenna’s legs, almost wondering if she recognized the vampire. He knew she probably did. Unfortunately, Hollis didn’t have much time to want to sit and watch his traitorous dog wag her tail happily. “Piper,” he snapped his finger as he walked by, pointing to her bed beside the couch. “Lay down.” As Piper begrudgingly moved to sit, Hollis hesitated as he stood in the middle of his living room, watching her. “Have a seat.”

[brennageirdottir]

Brenna leaned down as Piper came up to her, letting her long fingers reach out to scratch under the dog's chin. But she was briskly reminded she was just an unwanted visitor when Hollis snapped for her to go lay down - away from said unwanted visitor. Brenna's jaw clenched as she stood, her long black dress swaying back against her legs. You are a Viking. You've faced war and mayhem. She had to remind herself of this, for right now, she felt like nothing but a speck of dirt on the floor.

Brenna turned and took a seat upon the couch. She brushed her long, dark hair back over her shoulders and crossed her legs, doing her best to be comfortable in this most uncomfortable of circumstances. "I hardly know where to start," she said, gazing down at her hands that were folded in her lap, "For I don't know what you do and don't want to hear." Her eyes turned up to meet his, "So... I'll just start at the beginning."

She then leaned back a bit and cleared her throat before starting, "I was born Brenna Geirdottir; and since the Revelation, I've resumed use of my birth name." She'd been Brenna Gavston three years ago. She'd been Brenna Gavston to him. "I was born one thousand, two hundred and fifteen years ago to a village in modern day Iceland. I was the only female warrior to ever represent my village, and one of only five to ever fight in any Viking war." She paused to glance down as she remembered all of these things, "My leader was gravely wounded and I was part of the force sent to take him home. We wouldn't make it before my maker found us. She turned my leader and I, and we all lived together for many centuries."

She supposed that about summed up her early life. She could move on to more... recent events. Her eyes turned back up to meet his as she said, "I know you have no reason to believe me, after all the deception I weaved. Trust me, if it were not required by vampire law, I would... I would never have lied as I did. Being what I am has made me have to become a liar. It is the one thing that I truly detest about what I am." Her hands wrung together and it showed in her demeanor how much the lies over the centuries had weighed on her.

"It was vampire law that made me have to leave here," she said, eyes dropping again as shame and sadness overtook her, "I had overstayed my time here... Or, outgrown my age, as vampires call it. I was never supposed to stay as long as I did. People were beginning to notice that I didn't age, that I was never out in the sun..." She pressed her lips together for a moment before smiling a bit, "I just couldn't leave. I'd... finally found happiness. And I knew how truly rare it was to have found what I'd found in you... In us."

Her eyes slowly turned back up to meet his and she did her best to keep the tears that pooled in her eyes from spilling, "I am truly sorry that I couldn't tell you what was going on. If I had, I would have put your life at risk, and I..." I loved you too much for that. She couldn't say the words, she felt it would be too selfish of her. But their meaning hung in the air. "I took the punishment for what I had almost allowed to occur. But with the Revelation, I can at least tell you the truth."

There was a long pause now before she sat up a little, prepared for him to tell her to get out, "This was the truth. If you have any questions, I'll answer them gladly... Or you can simply rescind my invitation and I... I won't bother you again."

[mcrvelcomics-archive]

[oceanssapart]

[brennageirdottir]

To (Re)Build a House || Brenna & Hollis (closed)

[hollisredford]

"Well tell Toby that he’s an idiot — I know he knows how to fold socks, his mother taught him better than that," Hollis rolled his eyes into the phone, reaching down to pat Piper on the tummy from where he lay lazily upon the couch. He chuckled as he listened to Brett yell at Toby over the phone and Toby yell something back, but before he could think up another response, Piper was up on her feet, letting out a soft bark in the direction of the front door. Hollis frowned, narrowing his eyes at her. "Alright, I’ve gotta let the dog out. Have a good night," he hung up, sort of doubting Brett even heard his goodbye. She was probably still yelling. Hollis pocketed his phone before sitting up, still staring questioningly at Piper who had turned her gaze almost expectantly to him. 

"What?" he huffed at her, reaching to rub behind her ears — but Piper only dipped away from his touch. "Do you need to go back outside?" he asked, hoping that would trigger a reaction. Pregnant ladies peed a lot, right? Did that work the same way for dogs? He should have asked Brett. He stood, hoping she’d follow him to the back door, but he was save from the fruitless attempts of figuring out what was wrong by a knock on the door. "Ahhh," Hollis turned knowingly, making is way around the couch to answer the door, Piper in toe at his heels. Damn dog. Hollis didn’t think much as he opened the lock and turned the knob. Unexpected guests wasn’t really unusual when most of your friends were Belfronts, but no matter how expected the unexpected were, he would have never expected — "Brenna." To say she left him breathless was an understatement. She had left him with a note — a note of apology without even a followup call, text, email — hell he would have even taken a letter. She left him. God, she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. It had only confirmed his suspicions, of course. She was a vampire. She looked the exact same as the day he met her. She could have been hundreds of years old, thousands even, and here Hollis was. Aging. Growing old. There had been a time he thought they’d do that together. He hadn’t uttered her name since she left. Granted, Hollis never talked much anyway, but she had been something he’d kept most sacred. He thought about her a lot, though. It was hard not to. She might have left him clouded at first, but as soon as her storm cloud cleared and the vampire revelation came about, Hollis could piece the rest together for himself. Hollis was almost surprised that he hadn’t broken his door handle at this point. His gaze was locked on hers, the only expression on his face coming from his eyes; turning from shock, to confusion, and finally to something like anger. No — it was definitely anger. He took a breath and narrowed his gaze at her. “Been awhile, Bren. What do you want?”

[brennageirdottir]

She could see the changes in his face, could smell it in his blood. The anger... it hurt. She knew she deserved it; she deserved tenfold of it. But it was still like a stake to the gut, or silver to the throat. It wounded her, made it hard to think or see straight. Brenna wondered briefly if he'd figured out what she was, and if he had... She wondered if he understood how hard it was to make a vampire as old as herself as weak and vulnerable as he did.

She doubted he knew these things.

"I..." she started, her voice soft as if it were to break any second. What was she here for? She was here to see him. But she doubted that was an answer he wanted to hear. She was here to apologize, but she doubted he wanted to hear that either. After all, what were apologies but empty words? She'd left him with two words on a paper. Nothing would ever make up for the agony she'd surely caused him. Not even the torture and pain she'd gone through would suffice.

"I came to..." she started, taking a breath to steel herself, "I came to tell you the truth." That seemed a good place to start. The truth would encompass it all. It would reveal the white lies she'd told, it would reveal why she'd had to go, and why she'd not been able to return until now. But also, it was all she'd ever known how to do. Truth was Brenna's guiding light in life. And of all the people she'd ever known, she wanted Hollis to have every bit of her truth. She'd tell him every detail of her miserable thousand years if he wanted. She believed - even to this very second - that she was made a vampire simply to be alive long enough to meet him. To know him, to love him.

Brenna believed with her whole heart that the man in front of her was her soulmate. And for a woman who was a cynic at best, that was a big thing for her to admit.

"If you'll listen, I'll tell you everything," she told him, her eyes never once leaving his, "And then... You can tell me to go. Whatever you want, it's your choice... But you deserve - at the very least - the truth."

Please, Hollis, please. Let me tell you the truth.

[feministimpala]

Visit Original Link

There is a house built out of stone Wooden floors, walls and window sills Tables and chairs worn by all of the dust This is a place where I don’t feel alone This is a place where I feel at home 'Cause, I built a home For you For me Until it disappeared From me From you And now, it’s time to leave and turn to dust Out in the garden where we planted the seeds There is a tree as old as me Branches were sewn by the color of green Ground had arose and passed it’s knees By the cracks of the skin I climbed to the top I climbed the tree to see the world When the gusts came around to blow me down I held on as tightly as you held onto me I held on as tightly as you held onto me And, I built a home For you For me Until it disappeared From me From you And now, it’s time to leave and turn to dust

[brennageirdottir]

To (Re)Build a House || Brenna & Hollis (closed)

Brenna felt like she couldn't breathe. Not that she needed to. But she was also a woman who'd literally been buried alive, and thrown into water with weights tied to her ankles; she'd never panicked in those situations. However, today... As she stood before a mirror, she was having to give herself her very first pep talk. She knew that this wasn't going to end well for her. She had never been one to believe in fairytales. She knew that people didn't just forgive and forget. And 99% of the time, honest explanations weren't enough.

She had to face the facts: She was probably never going to get Hollis back.

As she stepped out of her front door, she remembered easily the way her maker's arms had wrapped around her. The way her arms had been pinned to her body so she couldn't resist. The way Kol looked at her with such pity as she kicked and screamed for them all to stop, for them not to do this to her. Blood red tears had streamed down her face, dripped onto the ground. Brenna had never cried as a vampire; not once... Until that day. Hollis had been the man to show her how to make silly faces; and the first to cause her to cry real tears.

With each step forward, she thought of the past three years she'd lived in hell. Even though she'd never told Hollis of what she was; she'd endangered their kind by staying past her age in one place. The Authority had deemed that an offense worth punishment. But as she stepped up to Hollis' front door, she felt that familiar swell of hope in her chest. She could smell him, hear his heartbeat, hear his breathing and his voice.

For a moment, Brenna leaned against the door, just soaking in those familiar things about him. She nearly cried again just standing there as her hand flattened against the door. She'd missed him so. But she wasn't here to cry on his doorstep, she was here to see him again. And so, she pressed herself up from his door and ran a hand down the long, elegant black dress she'd picked for this occasion. Just because she had to come to terms with the fact that she couldn't have Hollis back didn't mean she couldn't look nice, right?

And so, she raised a hand and knocked on his door, listening as his feet shuffled across the floor (followed by the pads of his dog's feet). And once he had opened the door and stood before her, she felt that familiar sting of tears again. "Hollis," she whispered, it sounding as if his name was a fresh glass of water to someone who had been stranded in the desert. She wanted to touch him, to wrap her arms around him and weep and beg his forgiveness. But... This wasn't the time for that.

[mcrvelcomics-archive]

[leroichevalier]

[brennageirdottir]

[thebloodofoxford]

Brenna Geirdottir || Appears 28, but is 1215 || Vampire || FC: Jaimie Alexander

Traits

(+) Loyal, Fearless, Powerful (-) Withdrawn, Distant, Sad

Personality

Brenna is one of the most forthright and honest people you will probably ever meet in your entire life. Whether her opinion makes any logical sense or not, she will tell you. Whether it contradicts something she’s said or thought in the past, she’ll still tell you. Being a vampire made that very difficult for her. Being a vampire (up until three years ago) meant secrets and lies and false identities; it has and always will be the only thing she truly hates about being a vampire. For, as a human, she was doted upon and even viewed as a goddess for her strength and ferocity in battle. As a vampire, those two things were amplified tenfold, and she does her best to keep her prowess on point at all times. 

For the most part of her undead life, Brenna was exactly what you would expect of her. She was cold, distant, and cynical. She looked for the worst in everyone, and very often found it. That is, until a few years ago when one human changed her. He brought out a side of her that Brenna hadn’t known since she was a child. A side that knew how to laugh and smile and find happiness in every day (or night, for her). In that time, Brenna learned how to make silly faces, and how to understand jokes and even how to tell a few. But when she was ripped away from him, so was that side of her. And she desperately wants both back.

Biography

Brenna was the second born to Geir and Eira, born after her older brother. Brenna was supposed to be her mother’s helper. That’s what all daughters in her time were supposed to be, at least when raised in a village who still believed in the proper ways to have a successful “society”. However, Geir and Eira had taken up their residence a little outside the village, which meant that Brenna and her four siblings had more room than most to do as they pleased. And for Brenna, homemaking was never pleasing to her. While, yes, she could see the benefit of her mother and what her mother did for the family, it was just something that she couldn’t settle into.

From the time she was able to walk without falling over, Brenna had a weapon. Her father was proud to see his little girl grow to be strong and ferocious. She had a thirst for battle that some young men didn’t have. And she earned every bit of the reputation she was known for. And when she was eighteen, she was greatly accepted into the ranks of Kol Svansson’s “army”. Brenna was the only female to ever be accepted into that group of warriors; and it was in these battles that she came to be renown across the country as a goddess of war.

But her fate befell her the same night that Kol’s did, and by the same woman. Kol would become her blood brother, and they would embark on a new journey: one of the undead. And one that would last far beyond anything she could ever have imagined for herself (including becoming an almost-wife to Dante Lambarde).

Despite all she conquered and accomplished in her human life, if you were to ask her what her one crowning moment in life has been, it would be: Meeting and loving Hollis Redford. 

If you lined up a group of men to pick which one a woman like Brenna would fall for, Hollis would probably be the last pick. He is - essentially - everything she wasn’t. Kind, jovial, humble, gentle. And maybe the old saying is true and opposites do attract, because there is little other explanation for the pairing that was Brenna and Hollis. But she fell for him almost instantly, and he for her. But as a vampire unable to tell him of what she was, their relationship was doomed from the start. And maybe it was selfish of her to cling on to him as long as she did; but she simply couldn’t let him go.

Her plan was to never go, to never leave him. However, The Authority - and yes, even Kol - had to disagree. Kol had recently become Sheriff of and moved into Oxford as well; and with him and her being in the same place again, it meant their maker inevitably would come to see them. And initially, Brenna was glad to see them - even going so far as to ask them to meet Hollis, the love of her life. They, however, had different plans.

Brenna had outgrown herself and this town. People were beginning to ask questions, gaze at her strangely. She was already a recluse who only came out at night, and then they noticed she never aged. Her maker had been sent to Oxford to peel her away from the town and man she’d come to love so much. By force. Only given time to write a note with a lousy "I’m sorry" scribbled across it, Brenna was dragged - quite literally - kicking and screaming away from the only place she’d ever found love.

It’s been three years since the day she was ripped from the arms of her one true love. And as she returns to Oxford nearly three years after the Revelation, she wonders what the love of her life will think of her now.

Brenna Geirdottir is TAKEN