stormaktstiden | > Thorfinn

> Thorfinn

Babysitting.

Seriously.

Because that's what this is - being paired with a much younger student for this field trip's tasks. They said that their skills will be a good match, but she's pretty sure that that is bullshit. Really, who pairs her with a child?

She sits with her friends as long as she can and only finds him once they arrived at the museum and are sent out to ...do whatever their tasks say. She hasn't looked yet at the sheet that she was given upon leaving the bus and instead looks around to find the kid that was indicated to her ...there.

It takes her only a few steps to be close enough to have a conversation. "Let's go." No hello, no introductions. The faster they do this, the sooner she can go back to doing actually useful stuff.

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Anything else that their conversation included flies out of the window at his last comment and she looks at him, stares at him intensely for a moment and then declares: "You look nothing like my brother did."

...Okay, perhaps, "though he would have looked more like you at that age if we hadn't made him take a bath every so often." Yes, she just called Thorfinn filthy, why?

"I never said I had a sister." He retorts back. Though the moment he says it he regrets it, he'd not deny Ylfa, but this girl she couldn't be his sister. It's not possible. His sister was beautiful and probably a mother.

He makes a look like a cat shoved in water, sure he smells a little and may have some dirt in his hair but he's cleaner than he used to be. Though the old hoodie did him no favors. "Fuck you, I take baths! I never said I was your brother!" He turned and started stomping off again away from the ship wreak painting, his heart pounding in a way he wasn't used to. Something like fear. It wasn't possible.

She shoots back: "I didn't say that you were my brother, either, in case you were listening." And doesn't follow him.

She prefers working alone over group work anyway, you get more done. Especially if you partner is weird brat with issues.

"...And perhaps you should take baths more often than once a year, then!" This one is already said with a raised voice because he's some distance away already, and then she stomps off into the opposite direction.

Thorfinn didn't even look back he just stormed off. Going outside awhile, the outdoors always did help his moods, nothing like the sea but it was enough. He sat outside in the warmth of summer until it became to much, pushing up off the steps he went for a quick walk with an idea. He was getting that damned print.

Later he was sitting in the cafeteria, a bag sitting by his chair with a poster tube sticking out and a plate of food in front of him as he ate. His hood was pulled up to hide his face, but mostly to hide the bruise forming just under his right eye. He didn't care if he got in trouble, which was a lot of his problem, but he knew to keep his head low.

Ylva wanders into the cafeteria about an hour later, once she's done with the fieldwork. If asked, she'd quip that it was obvious that she would be faster if she did it alone, but if she's being honest a part of why she shows up here this quickly and doesn't look at other things - the shop, for something to send her mother, perhaps - before coming into the cafeteria is that brat.

Who's called Thorfinn, and is totally not her brother, but who has suspicious parallels. The way he's going about it she is 90% sure that he's not trying to impersonate her brother, but mostly because he doesn't seem bright enough for a plan that is that complicated.

"You look really shady and homeless when you have your hood over your head like that." She'll plop her butt down across the table from him and cross her arms over her chest, staring at him.

Thorfinn would have tried to help but temper of his was always his downfall. Aside from mugging some guy outside to get money for his poster and enough to buy himself some food he, had been eating and thinking about the things she had said. Aside from the bathing, he was clean enough, he bathed last week.

He peered up from under the hood, his half half covering his face, the forming bruise under his eye more visible when he did. "I do not look homeless." He didn't snap just responded matter-of-factly, but he did. the old hoodie had holes and stains on it. "What are you doing here? I assumed you would be leaving me alone until we get to leave."

"No, you look like you live in a garbage can."

The reply comes just as matter-of-factly as Thorfinn's statement.

"...What're your parents' names?"

Not that she is going to believe anything. But... he is the right age, and she can see similarities - more to her mother than to her brother, really, but that is also because she hasn't looked at a picture of him since leaving home and even before that she hasn't paid attention to one since the day when they did the memorial service. The name and proclaimed nationality fit too. And... there is a vague sense of duty towards her parents to figure it out.

"Fuck you." He grumbled as he returned to eating. He was a hungry growing boy so, he scarfed down not until she asked her question.

He thought about telling her to do a number a nasty things to herself in ultra colorful language, but he didn't. He just held the fork looking down into the bowl. Remembering Thors laughter and Helga's smile.

"Thors and Helga." He pushed his food away, for once he's lost his appetite.

...He could be pretending.

But at this point she has to admit that either he really is her brother, or he somehow pretends to be him while denying it. But there is a definite connection there. He's not just someone with the same first name.

"And you're from Bakkafjörður originally."

She sounds almost defeated. What the fuck.

He looked up at her. He had a annoyed look on his face. He didn't remember the name of the village. He sat back crossing his arms. "I don't remember, I was five when my father was killed." He might have known had he offered up his parents names but he didn't.

"Your her aren't you... You're Ylva." He just said what had been bouncing though his head. He didn't care that he had been rude. No he felt bad that he said his parents are dead and maybe just May be Helga wasn't.

"Ylva Thorsdottir."

She leans back, staring at him. Glaring almost. ...definitely glaring. The only thing that keeps her from picking him up again is the audience, really.

"And you still remember Mum and even so never bothered to get in touch and tell her that she maybe mourns you in vain?"

Thorfinn felt like the rug had been pulled from under him and all he could do was stare at the food he no longer wanted. Little made him lose his appitite but this did. After a second he pushed up from his seat.

"I need air." He left his rolled up poster beside his chair and started to walk for the door. Not really sure what to do, but he knew he needed outside.

"Oh for-"

Ylva considers staying here and grabbing him again later for a moment, but who knows about a kid like that.

If things don't go well (and she feels like that will generally be the case with such things for their family) he'll go away and get lost for another couple of years.

So she stomps after him.

He managed to get out the side door pretty quickly, Just sitting down on the grass under a tree just outside the doors. He pushed a hand into his hair just breathing a moment staring at his messy shoes.

When he saw her shoes approaching him he didn't know what to say, he hated talking about his situation. He just wanted to kill Askeladd then return home with the honor of saying he avenged his father. He never expected to see any of his family before then.

"What are you doing here?" He asked looking up after a second. Despite his face being unreadable those cold eyes of his opened the window of his emotional turmoil. "Shouldn't you be married with children by now? Or did you marry an American?"

"I'm 17."

Does she look that old? Well, kids can't tell ages and all that.

Seriously though. Nevermind that she did consider finding a guy to marry as little as a year ago. That had good reasons and most definitely would not have brought her here. After all she would only have married to get an additional pair of hands at the farm, this would have been counterproductive.

"And I'm only here because Mum sent me. And because we could find her someone to help with the farm instead of me."

"And?" He was kinda dumb when it came to some things, like marrying age. "Though... I thought you were in your twenties by now." He admitted before running his hand through his hair. He frowned a bit hearing that someone else was needed to deal with the farm. Askeladd's death was most important but... his father's farm was also important.

"I cant return home... the cops will know I lied." He admitted a little lower. "I have a reason for not coming home, I doubt it matters to you, but it matters to me. I have to finish something before I can face mother with any sense of pride."

"And the only good reason to get married would be to get a pair of useful hands, anyway."

Her frown deepens at his words and she crosses her arms over her chest.

"Well, nobody cares about your pride. It's obviously broken anyway if you abandon your frail mother that easily." Maybe she should just initiate a skype call here and now and damn the data. Give the kid less of a chance to run.

"Once I finish what I have to do I will return home, I will work the farm. I just need time to avenge out father." He spoke, looking to her then, though his hair. "The bastard that killed him is in prison, I will kill him when he gets out, then we can go home together to mother. My pride isn't broken, I can't go home and face her knowing his murderer is still breathing and shitting, Ylfa." He ran his hands through his hair.

"I can't face her till he's dead. Till I kill them all."

"...What the hell is your damage. That's no pride, that's childishness."

The words are out before she can think about them twice, but she doesn't really regret them after, either. As cool as songs of revenge are, they are cool because they're stories. They don't give you food and look after your family.

"What do you even mean by "murdered"? We always assumed you two had just drowned."

He glared at her through his hair after a second. "What would you know?" He knew he shouldn't have said it but he did. This was never how he envisioned reuniting with his family. It was supposed to be better, he was supposed to have already killed Askeladd.

"The bastard rammed the boat in that storm. Dad saw something he shouldn't have and they killed him for it. When they rammed the boat it knocked him overboard, he was unconscious before he hit the water Ylfa. They killed him." He slammed a hand down on his knee since it was the best he could do. "Tell me how Im supposed to face mother and tell her those people are still alive?"

Okay that's... something.

It doesn't change the basic truth that she is well aware of: That Helga won't care if those people are still alive or not. Helga never cared about things like revenge, she loathed the very concept of responding to violence with violence. Their parents had (not particularly successfully) tried to raise their children in that spirit, too.

"Through Skype. We'll just have to find WiFi, and you won't start by telling her about wanting to murder someone.

Tell you what though," she grins and slaps Thorfinn's back in what's probably supposed to be a friendly gesture, just with way too much force behind it, "once that guy is out of prison you'll get back to hunting him, and we'll go together."

Thorfinn took a breath, looking up and pushed his hair from his face, but only enough to be able to see. He let out a heavy sigh. "I'm not good at this shit, Ylva, feelings and the lot of it. Can't you just ... no thats a cowards way out." He growled then.

Then she 'patted' his back "Shit!" he yelled out flying forward down the steps and face first into the dirt sliding in a comical way. Opps.

...Whoops.

She was raised to watch her strength, but at times it still happens.

She'll run after him and crouch down next to him to see if he's okay. Hopefully she didn't break his nose or something - everything else aside that wouldn't make a good impression on their mother when they call her later.

When she crouched down to him he was already pushing himself up. Luckily nothing was broken, but he turned his head looking at her. He was more filthy than before. "Fuck... Ylfa, your strong." It was all he could think to say.

"Fairly sure I got that from Dad and his side of the family. Just that nobody ever called it a superpower until the guy from this school showed up. Just "be careful"." She shrugs and gets up when he does.

> Thorfinn

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