A few weeks passed ever since Jörmun landed in the girls’ kitchen and they had no news or sight of the shapeshifter after that. Sometimes they were fact checking each other’s memories regarding that night, just to make sure that it wasn’t an odd dream which only one of them had.
Eloise fell rather quickly into a fever to revise everything she knew and even learn more about the Norse mythology. Her interest was rapidly shared by her flatmate, who despite not fully buying in the story yet, was still weirded out by the happenings; she was especially marked by the world going suddenly ginormous when she got transformed into a guinea pig.
It was one Friday evening when they finally caught sight of Jörmun once again. The girls were heading home after a dinner out with a few other classmates.
Maddie’s hand snatched the sleeve of Eloise’s jacket and slowed her down when she caught in sight the fiery hair; it looked bright even in the dim street lamps that accompanied the bench Jörmun was sat on.
“He’s back,” Maddie whispered as silently as a breeze. However, it was enough for her friend to figure who she was talking about.
Eloise scouted the surroundings immediately and caught glimpse of Jörmun’s silhouette, who was now standing and waving at them. She wondered how could her brother know that they would be there; he must’ve been spying on the two of them again. She should’ve kept an eye out for the infamous raven.
“Oh, there you are!” Jörmun opened his arms, welcoming the other two as they approached.
“I suppose you’re not aware of this, but stalking people is not exactly legal.”
“Well, forcefully disbanding a family is not exactly along the line one could call legal either, and here we are, willing to fix it!”
“But that’s- Oh, nevermind,” Maddie eventually gave up on trying to make sense of the comparison. Jörmun was not looking inclined to address his issues, such as invading people’s privacy.
“I’ve been reading again my notes from last year and I have revised some books,” Eloise started.
“We both did,” Maddie chimed in, even if neither of the supposedly siblings seem to be interested in what she had to say. It was only the third time they have ever encountered Jörmun, but she could already tell it was not to her liking how things were taking shape; she was feeling more and more like a third wheel.
“And?” Jörmun asked Eloise, encouraging her to continue. He was curious of her discovery.
“You were a snake. A very big one.”
“That’s true.”
“But you’re also a shapeshifter.”
“True, true,” he nodded as they all continued their stroll through the town.
“And our brother, Fenrir,” Eloise resumed her speech.
“Yes?”
“He’s a wolf.”
“Exactly.”
“Is he a shapeshifter too?”
“Well, I am afraid I am the one that inherited the most from our father,” Jörmun said proudly.
“Including a ridiculous sense of unjustified pride,” Maddie snapped from the side. “Loki is nothing but a scam. A liar.”
“A very good one.”
“That is not my point.”
“Well, your opinion was never requested,” Jörmun added sharply.
Maddie opened her mouth to argue, but only silence came out. It wasn’t the fault of a silly spell the junior trickster put on her, but she was completely at loss of words. She was fuming. How could one just step in their life and turn it upside down as fast?
“You two, stop it. I actually want to have a proper conversation about this,” Eloise frowned, irritated by the others’ bickering.
“Well, wish granted. I’m going home. See you later,” Maddie said on a salty tone and without a glance at either of the siblings, she picked up the pace and left the two behind.
“She’s not fond of me much, is she?” Jörmun asked as they watched the girl disappear in the distance.
“You’re being unnecessarily obnoxious. You should apologize,” Eloise’s eyes moved from the tiny shape of her friend to Jörmun. “If any of this is true, and we are who you claim us to be, then there is a lot for her to digest and I am not even expecting any understanding in return.”
“Your time here tempered your flame, Hel,” he smirked.
“Why do you say that?”
“You lowered yourself to humans’ level. We are Gods!” he mimicked an explosion with his hands, actually shooting sparkles from his palms.
“Demi-gods,” Eloise corrected him.
“Well, that’s but a tiny detail.”
“I don’t think being respectful makes me a lesser version of myself, human or not. You should try it out sometime.”
“I’ll see about that.”
“And here I thought you would leave me for the journey of your life, to find your true self,” Maddie said as soon as she caught glimpse of Eloise later in the evening. She was in front of her laptop when her flatmate arrived, surprisingly not accompanied by her brother any longer.
“I was considerate. I thought you might want to join,” Eloise said as she sat herself next to the other.
“Join what?” she snorted. “I’ll be honest with you. You’re my best friend and you know that. You have your small weird habits, I got my own; however, your brother or whoever this Jörmungandr is, exceeds both of our oddities combined. I still don’t understand how he did all of what he has done that evening.”
“You mean the shapeshifting?”
“Shapeshifting, silencing me, getting into our house? All of it!” she exclaimed, her chest bubbling with laughter in disbelief at her own words. “You know, for a moment it felt as if I was part of some silly children’s show, only that my body really went through those physical changes and it wasn’t just your average Tv special effect.”
“Funny when you put it that way,” Eloise chuckled. She was still split between being amused or not at that transformation. “Anyway, Maddie… I am willing to give Jörmun a chance.”
“But does he have any proof that whatever he’s talking about is true? You know… You being his sister and all.”
“Well, have you ever been transformed into a guinea pig before?” she watched Maddie shake her head, looking confused on where the question was going to lead. “I am thinking that whatever is up with him, could indeed be something out of this world. And if that’s true, then maybe the side related to myself is also plausible.”
“Let’s say we agree with whatever he’s taking us on-board with. What would be the next step?”
“He claims that there is a cave, up north, in one of the scandinavian countries. It’s buried deep and hidden for a long time; bound by magic. That’s where we should be finding the missing brother.”
“The wolf.”
“Fenrir, yes.”
“You still believe that you are somehow related to a wolf?” the girl’s eyebrows raised slowly.
“Well, I can’t tell, Maddie. It sounds unbelievable, I know!” she sank deeper into the sofa, knowing how ridiculously impossible all was. In myths it was perfectly fine to accept such a thing, but transferred into the realm of reality, it felt least to say strange.
Maddie sighed and pat the hand of her friend in a comforting gesture. “I think I know what’s up.”
“You do?” Eloise frowned, finally raising her eyes from her lap to look at her flatmate.
“You and Jörmun are just playing a scene. You’re actually a couple, but for some reason you’re hiding it from me and you agreed with him to frame yourselves as siblings, to eliminate suspicion.”
Eloise stared at Maddie for a long moment, while only the fan of the laptop filled the room with noise.
“You can’t possibly mean that.”
“I do.”
Eloise took a deep breath, wondering if this was yet another spell of Jörmun’s, causing a terrible confusion in her friend’s mind. However, it didn’t connect well with their chat, just moments before the latest statement. Maddie appeared to be aware of everything that happened, but suddenly chose to deny and frame it all as a staged lie.
“It’s easier to believe a trickery like this than the fact that you could potentially be the daughter of Loki,” Maddie explained, uneasy with the silence that fell between them. She wondered what Eloise truly thought of the whole situation. She seemed enchanted ever since Jörmun showed up; completely distracted and more lively than her usual moody self.
It was the agreement Eloise made with Jörmun that ten days after their talk, they would meet again and decide the path forward. There had been no mention of a rendezvous point, nor about the time. She presumed that he would show up in his usual manner, in the right spot, at the right moment. And so it was.
Draped in his dark grey clothes, Jörmun waited for the girls at one of the cafeteria tables. Needless to be mentioned that a large part of the room had their ears pricked with attention; they wanted every detail of whatever was being discussed at their table.
“You chose yourself the worst place to come and talk,” Maddie said in a whisper, conscious that they were being watched and listened to.
“Do crowds make you nervous?” he asked, studying her intensively. There was a gleam in his eyes that spoke of satisfaction. It was as if he took pleasure in causing trouble for others.
“Crowds, no. People that mind our talk, yes. But I’m not nervous.; only annoyed,” she frowned.
“Well then I suppose we should clear the area and have our discussion in peace,” he stood up and with a mischievous grin he waved his hands around in a particular gesture; shortly after that, chaos erupted. Everyone in the large room started to either stare at each other in fascination, or scream and run.
Jörmun sat back at the table, looking pleased with his accomplishment.
“What did you do?” Eloise hissed at him, her eyes narrowed as thin as a line.
“Nothing much. I only made it so that they could see each other… Naked!” he chuckled to himself, while grabbing Maddie’s bottle of juice for a sip. “Oh, this is terribly sweet,” he made a disgusted face as he returned the drink.
“Good. It means you won’t touch it again without permission,” Maddie cut him short. She glanced around at the now empty space and wondered whether Jörmun was telling the truth or not. If she was going to consider him the son of Loki and his apparent pride regarding that fact, then she should’ve also taken into account the lies that may follow. A pure inheritance from his father.
“You could’ve waited for us outside. Or home. It wouldn’t be the first time you invited yourself in,” Eloise suggested.
“Maddie here, didn’t seem pleased. I thought I shouldn’t repeat that.”
“And since when do you actually care about what I think? You didn’t seem to be as mindful when you turned me into a rodent,” her lips pursed tightly just at the thought. How come he was suddenly invested in whatever she was thinking of his acts?
“Since Hel advised me that I should be nicer to you.”
“Oh, I doubted it would naturally come from you.”
“Well, it does in a way, doesn’t it?” he laid back in his chair, watching Maddie roll her eyes and start to chew on a potato chip. “So, have you two decided? Are you coming along?” he looked at them in turns.
“Only if we will be back for the end of the term. Neither of us want to throw out the window half of a study year.”
“You can consider this a field study. And let’s be serious, if we do get to find Fenrir, none of it will matter anymore.”
“And why’s that? Will your brother magically give us grades to pass the year?” Maddie arched an eyebrow, wondering where did all his confidence come from.
“You’ll have to wait and see,” he winked and grabbed his sister’s drink. His face contorted after a sip. “So sour! Do humans really have no proper drinks? Or is it just the two of you having awful tastes?”
“Or maybe it’s just you, Jörmun,” Eloise shrugged, while letting her mind wander at what could her brother’s words mean.
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