Liv & Kuolema

VIII

Once upon a time, in a bright coastal city a world away, there once lived a man who felt a great loneliness in his heart. His two friends helped to ease this dreadful loneliness, sure, but it wasn't until a mysterious runaway came to town that the monotony had been truly broken. One of those friends had played a major part in putting that loneliness to bay, and shortly thereafter, that lonely man had disappeared. 

Nothing unfortunate had happened to him, no, quite the opposite. His curse had been as good as lifted. He had been freed, and he was able to see the world with those he cared about most. He was given a new chance at life. Not only was he able to live his life without fear of plaguing others with his curse, he was able to savour every moment of it with the man of his dreams as well as his closest friends.

Berwald and Timo hadn't spent an awfully long time sailing with Matthias and Lukas; they'd spent just over three years together before going their separate ways. Apparently the Finnish coastal town they'd ended up at was about as far north as the town Berwald was originally from, and during the winters especially, he could believe it. It was a nice little place, though, and a good part of the town knew at least some Swedish. Over the years he'd tried to pick up some Finnish, but even with practice he remained better at listening than speaking. 

Not that becoming fluent had ever been the top priority. Since arriving in Finland, Berwald and Timo had been quite busy. A supposed friend of Lukas' had asked them to find a good home for a little boy he'd taken in in exchange for a place to stay after Matthias' ship had taken damage during a storm somewhere in the North Sea, close to the British coast. 

Timo especially had taken a liking to the boy, so he and Berwald decided to be that good home for him. It wasn't long after getting settled in Finland that they agreed to take in another boy, one that had been in a predicament much like Berwald was in as a child, so he could have a brother. It was rarely quiet in the household, a welcome change from Berwald's life before Timo.

It was a beautiful day. All the days in Finland were nice, even the stormy ones in the dead of winter. They were filled with children's laughter and what became fond memories, and the nights were full of whispers of shared dreams he and Timo had. Everything one could expect from a normal, happy life. Everything, thanks to a soft spoken mage and an endearing fugitive, and, indirectly, to a rowdy merchant. 

Today the house was louder than usual, not that Berwald could complain about that. He had spent the morning outside, working on a new project while Timo was in the kitchen cooking up a storm. As for the boys, they were running back and forth between the two, shouting and laughing as they went. Or… one was laughing. The other was yelling and creating a large fuss, but at least they seemed to be having a good time. No reason why he couldn't join them, just for a moment.

Just as they were making their rounds again, Berwald snatched up the one in front, Peter, and held him up high where his adopted brother couldn't get to him. 

"Now stop that. You know what your uncles will say when they see you like this?" He said as sternly as he could; he had such a soft spot for the boys that he could barely manage the act. 

Peter laughed and squirmed, shaking his head. "Put me down, Papa! I'm only playing a game," he whined, though his whining morphed into giggling before long.

By this point, the other boy, Erland, had made it outside, and his normally proud behaviour dissolved into a fit of laughter. "Serves you right for stealing the piece of cake that Dad was letting me try!"

So this was the cause of all the ruckus. "Mm, don't let your Uncle Mads find out what you did," Berwald threatened, his soft voice bringing the two boys closer to him.