Stay and rest a while [Jaakko & Veeti]
Aug. 25th, 2017 02:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
roesslyngTitle: Stay and rest a while
Fandom: Year in Hereafter
Characters: Jaakko & Veeti
Rating: 0+
Length: 2.1k
Summary: Someone's awake, and Jaakko is stuck with him.
Other: Includes some references to Small Trolls/Tistow, of the "soulmates across universes" variety. This was meant to be a lot longer than it is, and I was originally going to incorporate that more deeply, but I ran out of steam. It was also supposed to be finished before we got the rest of Ch05, but, well, see previous sentence. Started before page 244 onward was posted, so obviously not canon-compliant now, oh well. :D
Stay and rest a while
Softness under his feet. There was a forest around him, scented fresh and green and bright. Running in bare feet, but wouldn't you know it, there wasn't a single bit of sharpness there, no nasty briars, no jagged stones, no poking twigs. Only moss and soft grasses, springy and cool on his toes.
There was a voice calling out to him – "Jáhko, wait!" and as for himself, well, he just laughed.
"Keep up, won't ya? Come on!"
And all around him, bright points of light, glittering, like animals made up of stars.
His heart was filled up with a joy that he couldn't keep down.
"Jáhko!"
That voice calling him again. And he grinned, and turned around. "Come on! Don't lag behind like a lump."
Bending, he offered a hand to his friend. He'd fallen again, and was looking up at him with wide blue eyes and hair pale gold as the spring sun. And all around them, those spirits were playing....
Jaakko opened his eyes and frowned up at the ceiling.
Sleeping on a bedroll instead of his favourite spot hadn't been a pleasure. He'd woken up with a crick in his neck – again. Not to mention the grogginess. And all the rest.
That dream, though. He'd had it before, now and then. But this was the second night in a row, and that was weird.
It's because that dead guy stole your bed, Jaakko thought. That's what it is. Disturbed your sleep and all. So that's what you get on account of it. Weird dreams. That's all.
He rose painfully. Rolled his head a little to work the pinch out. Then he went to the fireplace.
The warmth had died down during the night. He stirred the ashes and coals. Fed them a little, gave the embers something to gnaw on. Then he straightened and pulled himself up high enough to look at the man sleeping there.
Was he sleeping? Was he alive at all? Didn't look it.
Jaakko held his hand above the stranger's nose. The barest trickle of breath grazed against his palm.
Not dead yet, then.
"Oi. Hey, you. Wake up." Jaakko nudged at the pale man's shoulder gently. What was his name again? Veeti. That was it. "Hey. Veeti. Can ya hear me in there?"
Nothing. Not even a flicker of the eyelids. The guy was out cold, and had been ever since Sakari dragged him here.
Well, damn.
Jaakko rested his head against one hand and frowned. Sakari had thought he'd be all right. Had said not to worry. But it couldn't be good for a body to go so long asleep like that, could it?
Not that it mattered. It wasn't his responsibility if this ass who'd stolen his place didn't wake. Was it?
Not one bit.
...But that didn't mean he wouldn't feel bad about it.
Carefully, Jaakko touched the sleeping man's face. Turned it a little so he could see him better. There was something familiar in those sharp features, as if he'd seen him before –
"Must be family resemblance," he muttered. The guy was Sakari's brother, after all. It made sense.
"Now, you listen here. You're going to have to wake up eventually, yeah? You ain't allowed to die when it's just me here. Sakari'd never forgive it." He watched for something. Recognition, maybe, at the sound of the name.
Nothing.
Fine.
"Jus'... Don't wake up when I'm not here. Remember that, okay?" It wouldn't do if there wasn't someone around to explain, Jaakko thought. Better if it'd happen when he was around, even if he didn't want to deal with Sakari's weird relative. Especially not if he was going to be as whiny about it as the other one.
But this one didn't look like a whiner. Not that it was easy to tell, Jaakko knew, but this one didn't look it.
"Take care. Okay?" Jaakko mumbled.
This is ridiculous, he thought as he lowered himself back down to the floor. The guy's out cold. Bet he didn't hear a word of that.
Then again, you never could tell.
That guy - Veeti - was as asleep in the morning as he had been the night before. Jaakko gave him a few experimental prods, and when nothing came of that, decided to leave well enough alone.
After thinking it over for a bit, he left a note tucked against one of Veeti's hands, telling him that if he woke up and nobody was there, he should stay where he was.
Just in case.
The warmth of the forge was welcome, even if it was the same as always; another day when the work wasn't anything complex, one more day when he was tasked with nothing but trinkets.
"Has that corpse roused itself yet?" Sulo asked him.
"Nah," Jaakko replied. After all, he'd given Veeti a good poke that morning. No response whatsoever. "Ain't dead, though. I guess." He remembered the tickle of warm breath against his palm.
"Ain't dead yet. A sleep like that isn't natural."
"You don't gotta' tell me. It's creepy."
Even just thinking about it made him sweat. Not that he was feeling all that great to begin with. So, he tried not to think about it.
Jaakko returned. He slipped in, exhausted, and glanced up at the space above the stove.
A curse tumbled from his mouth.
The corpse was awake.
The pale man - Veeti - turned his head to look down at Jaakko. He had the note clutched in one hand, the one Jaakko had left him, telling him not to leave if he did wake up. Just in case. By the look of it, that had hardly been necessary; there was a tired cast to Veeti's droopy eyes, something about the way his long hair hung limply in his face, which hinted that he might have only eased awake a moment before Jaakko got there.
Veeti glanced at the note, then back at Jaakko. His eyes narrowed. "Yours?" he asked.
"Uh. Yeah." Jaakko paused. There was something about the set of his eyes.... "You look like shit. Are you all right?"
The guy had to think about it. Like it was hard to be sure, like it wasn't a yes-or-no question. "No," he said, after a moment.
Jaakko looked at him for a bit, then decided.
He knew just what he needed.
A warm blanket, and hot drinks, and some food. That was what was in order. Did a body good, that sort of thing.
Jaakko glanced toward Veeti. By the look of him, it had been the right decision.
When Jaakko had first seen him, looking tiredly down at him from the top of the fireplace, the guy had still looked half-dead. Now, at least, he had some colour in his cheeks, even if he still had that corpse-like cast to his face.
Veeti must have felt Jaakko looking at him. He turned his head to do the same, staring at him for a long moment.
It was kind of creepy.
Jaakko looked away. You don't know this guy, he told himself. He'd hardly said a word since he'd come down from the spot over the stove. Could be that he was too tired to ask questions. But he didn't seem as stunned as the kid had been, and didn't seem surprised about where he was, either.
Maybe it's a wizard thing, Jaakko told himself. If he was what Sakari said he was.
It wasn't until after Jaakko had put the kettle on for another round that Veeti said anything.
"There was someone with me," he said. He had his hands cupped around his mug, like he needed something to hold on to, and was staring down into it, his eyes slightly narrowed and still a little tired-looking. "Where is he?"
"What? Oh. Y'mean the whiny kid?"
There was a long pause. "His name is Mikael." Another pause, but thoughtful this time. "But I guess he is a little whiny."
"Right. Anyhow, he's gone off with Sakari, and -"
Jaakko stopped talking. At the mention of his brother, Veeti looked up sharply, staring at him with an unnerving expression on his face, those tired, sunken eyes boring right through him.
"What did you just say?" Veeti asked slowly.
"...Uh." This guy looks like he could eat me alive, Jaakko thought. "I said he went with Sakari."
"That's what I thought." Veeti looked at him for a long moment. "And what did you say your name was?"
"Jaakko. Jaakko Ilmarinen." There was a flicker in the strange guy's eyes, and Jaakko didn't know where to place it. More importantly, he looked like he could do with a drink a lot stiffer than tea.
"Hold on for a minute," Jaakko said, rising as the kettle whistled. He said nothing else as he went to attend to it, his mind racing as he quickly tried to sort through how to explain everything. There was no way to put it without it sounding bloody weird. But, maybe the simplest way would be easiest.
"I'm only goin' to say this once," Jaakko said, as he filled Veeti's mug again. "So you better listen close. Now...."
Later, when the candles were low, Jaakko thought back to that little talk. Veeti had listened, letting him go on, his eyebrows raising every now and then. His expression was hard to read - or what Jaakko could read of it, he couldn't understand.
Whatever was going on between those brothers, he decided, was something he'd have to wait to ask Sakari about. Later. When they got back.
Maybe it was a wizard thing.
"You're saying it won't be long before he comes back?"
"As far as I know, anyhow. You're going to stay here until then." It wasn't a question.
"...Thank you."
Veeti had looked tired, but he hadn't complained. And that was all Jaakko could ask for.
Jaakko told him everything he knew. Showed him a map of where Sakari had gone. Veeti didn't look pleased about any of it. But then again, he probably wouldn't have looked pleased about anything at all. Mostly he just looked dead tired. Those dark-circled, empty eyes were weird, but somehow, he couldn't avoid catching the guy's gaze. How about that.
"You should get yourself some sleep," Jaakko said eventually. Veeti had been looking toward the fireplace, his tired eyes half-focused, his hair hanging in his face again.
"...Yes. You're right."
Well. At least he didn't argue. Jaakko watched him take in a long, deep breath. Then Veeti wrapped the blanket tightly around him, and stood.
He was unsteady on his feet, swaying a bit. Looked like he could fall over at any second, in fact. No way he's getting up there by himself, Jaakko thought. And then he suppressed a groan as he realized exactly who would have to help him.
"Here," he said, standing. "I'll help ya get up there."
It was a good thing he got up when he did, because as soon as he spoke, the guy practically fell forward. Jaakko reached out to catch him, hands at his shoulders, holding him steady.
Veeti's looked up at him, dazed, like he hadn't realized he was going to fall. There was a stubborn set to his lips, and for a second he looked like he might dislike the thought of needing help as much as Jaakko disliked the thought of offering. They stared at each other for a second - and then Veeti deflated, shoulders sagging.
"Okay," he said softly. "Thanks."
And that was the end of that.
Jaakko went through and pinched the candles out after he got Veeti back up on the ledge, leaving only one lantern lit to see by. It was enough.
He looked over toward the fireplace. No sign of life from up there, but now, at least, he knew that the guy wasn't dead.
Not that it made things much easier. A corpse, well, it didn't need much tending. And a body that wouldn't wake up, well, that wasn't all that different. But someone that needed looking after - that was another thing altogether.
Stuck babysitting, and without one bit of choice in the matter. Wasn't that something.
But as he looked up at the shadows above the fireplace, he decided it could be worse. Maybe this one wouldn't be a bother. Not if he could hardly get around on his own.
He remembered the silent thanks in that weirdly familiar face, the tired set to Veeti's eyes as he helped him get up to where he was again. The guy wouldn't be moving from there any time soon.
You'd better make this trip quick, Sakari, Jaakko thought, turning the lamp down low, down to nearly nothing. Then he'll be your problem, and that will be the end of this.
He took one last look toward the firelace, then slipped from the room, stepping as quietly as he could in the dim light.
Fandom: Year in Hereafter
Characters: Jaakko & Veeti
Rating: 0+
Length: 2.1k
Summary: Someone's awake, and Jaakko is stuck with him.
Other: Includes some references to Small Trolls/Tistow, of the "soulmates across universes" variety. This was meant to be a lot longer than it is, and I was originally going to incorporate that more deeply, but I ran out of steam. It was also supposed to be finished before we got the rest of Ch05, but, well, see previous sentence. Started before page 244 onward was posted, so obviously not canon-compliant now, oh well. :D
Stay and rest a while
Softness under his feet. There was a forest around him, scented fresh and green and bright. Running in bare feet, but wouldn't you know it, there wasn't a single bit of sharpness there, no nasty briars, no jagged stones, no poking twigs. Only moss and soft grasses, springy and cool on his toes.
There was a voice calling out to him – "Jáhko, wait!" and as for himself, well, he just laughed.
"Keep up, won't ya? Come on!"
And all around him, bright points of light, glittering, like animals made up of stars.
His heart was filled up with a joy that he couldn't keep down.
"Jáhko!"
That voice calling him again. And he grinned, and turned around. "Come on! Don't lag behind like a lump."
Bending, he offered a hand to his friend. He'd fallen again, and was looking up at him with wide blue eyes and hair pale gold as the spring sun. And all around them, those spirits were playing....
Jaakko opened his eyes and frowned up at the ceiling.
Sleeping on a bedroll instead of his favourite spot hadn't been a pleasure. He'd woken up with a crick in his neck – again. Not to mention the grogginess. And all the rest.
That dream, though. He'd had it before, now and then. But this was the second night in a row, and that was weird.
It's because that dead guy stole your bed, Jaakko thought. That's what it is. Disturbed your sleep and all. So that's what you get on account of it. Weird dreams. That's all.
He rose painfully. Rolled his head a little to work the pinch out. Then he went to the fireplace.
The warmth had died down during the night. He stirred the ashes and coals. Fed them a little, gave the embers something to gnaw on. Then he straightened and pulled himself up high enough to look at the man sleeping there.
Was he sleeping? Was he alive at all? Didn't look it.
Jaakko held his hand above the stranger's nose. The barest trickle of breath grazed against his palm.
Not dead yet, then.
"Oi. Hey, you. Wake up." Jaakko nudged at the pale man's shoulder gently. What was his name again? Veeti. That was it. "Hey. Veeti. Can ya hear me in there?"
Nothing. Not even a flicker of the eyelids. The guy was out cold, and had been ever since Sakari dragged him here.
Well, damn.
Jaakko rested his head against one hand and frowned. Sakari had thought he'd be all right. Had said not to worry. But it couldn't be good for a body to go so long asleep like that, could it?
Not that it mattered. It wasn't his responsibility if this ass who'd stolen his place didn't wake. Was it?
Not one bit.
...But that didn't mean he wouldn't feel bad about it.
Carefully, Jaakko touched the sleeping man's face. Turned it a little so he could see him better. There was something familiar in those sharp features, as if he'd seen him before –
"Must be family resemblance," he muttered. The guy was Sakari's brother, after all. It made sense.
"Now, you listen here. You're going to have to wake up eventually, yeah? You ain't allowed to die when it's just me here. Sakari'd never forgive it." He watched for something. Recognition, maybe, at the sound of the name.
Nothing.
Fine.
"Jus'... Don't wake up when I'm not here. Remember that, okay?" It wouldn't do if there wasn't someone around to explain, Jaakko thought. Better if it'd happen when he was around, even if he didn't want to deal with Sakari's weird relative. Especially not if he was going to be as whiny about it as the other one.
But this one didn't look like a whiner. Not that it was easy to tell, Jaakko knew, but this one didn't look it.
"Take care. Okay?" Jaakko mumbled.
This is ridiculous, he thought as he lowered himself back down to the floor. The guy's out cold. Bet he didn't hear a word of that.
Then again, you never could tell.
That guy - Veeti - was as asleep in the morning as he had been the night before. Jaakko gave him a few experimental prods, and when nothing came of that, decided to leave well enough alone.
After thinking it over for a bit, he left a note tucked against one of Veeti's hands, telling him that if he woke up and nobody was there, he should stay where he was.
Just in case.
The warmth of the forge was welcome, even if it was the same as always; another day when the work wasn't anything complex, one more day when he was tasked with nothing but trinkets.
"Has that corpse roused itself yet?" Sulo asked him.
"Nah," Jaakko replied. After all, he'd given Veeti a good poke that morning. No response whatsoever. "Ain't dead, though. I guess." He remembered the tickle of warm breath against his palm.
"Ain't dead yet. A sleep like that isn't natural."
"You don't gotta' tell me. It's creepy."
Even just thinking about it made him sweat. Not that he was feeling all that great to begin with. So, he tried not to think about it.
Jaakko returned. He slipped in, exhausted, and glanced up at the space above the stove.
A curse tumbled from his mouth.
The corpse was awake.
The pale man - Veeti - turned his head to look down at Jaakko. He had the note clutched in one hand, the one Jaakko had left him, telling him not to leave if he did wake up. Just in case. By the look of it, that had hardly been necessary; there was a tired cast to Veeti's droopy eyes, something about the way his long hair hung limply in his face, which hinted that he might have only eased awake a moment before Jaakko got there.
Veeti glanced at the note, then back at Jaakko. His eyes narrowed. "Yours?" he asked.
"Uh. Yeah." Jaakko paused. There was something about the set of his eyes.... "You look like shit. Are you all right?"
The guy had to think about it. Like it was hard to be sure, like it wasn't a yes-or-no question. "No," he said, after a moment.
Jaakko looked at him for a bit, then decided.
He knew just what he needed.
A warm blanket, and hot drinks, and some food. That was what was in order. Did a body good, that sort of thing.
Jaakko glanced toward Veeti. By the look of him, it had been the right decision.
When Jaakko had first seen him, looking tiredly down at him from the top of the fireplace, the guy had still looked half-dead. Now, at least, he had some colour in his cheeks, even if he still had that corpse-like cast to his face.
Veeti must have felt Jaakko looking at him. He turned his head to do the same, staring at him for a long moment.
It was kind of creepy.
Jaakko looked away. You don't know this guy, he told himself. He'd hardly said a word since he'd come down from the spot over the stove. Could be that he was too tired to ask questions. But he didn't seem as stunned as the kid had been, and didn't seem surprised about where he was, either.
Maybe it's a wizard thing, Jaakko told himself. If he was what Sakari said he was.
It wasn't until after Jaakko had put the kettle on for another round that Veeti said anything.
"There was someone with me," he said. He had his hands cupped around his mug, like he needed something to hold on to, and was staring down into it, his eyes slightly narrowed and still a little tired-looking. "Where is he?"
"What? Oh. Y'mean the whiny kid?"
There was a long pause. "His name is Mikael." Another pause, but thoughtful this time. "But I guess he is a little whiny."
"Right. Anyhow, he's gone off with Sakari, and -"
Jaakko stopped talking. At the mention of his brother, Veeti looked up sharply, staring at him with an unnerving expression on his face, those tired, sunken eyes boring right through him.
"What did you just say?" Veeti asked slowly.
"...Uh." This guy looks like he could eat me alive, Jaakko thought. "I said he went with Sakari."
"That's what I thought." Veeti looked at him for a long moment. "And what did you say your name was?"
"Jaakko. Jaakko Ilmarinen." There was a flicker in the strange guy's eyes, and Jaakko didn't know where to place it. More importantly, he looked like he could do with a drink a lot stiffer than tea.
"Hold on for a minute," Jaakko said, rising as the kettle whistled. He said nothing else as he went to attend to it, his mind racing as he quickly tried to sort through how to explain everything. There was no way to put it without it sounding bloody weird. But, maybe the simplest way would be easiest.
"I'm only goin' to say this once," Jaakko said, as he filled Veeti's mug again. "So you better listen close. Now...."
Later, when the candles were low, Jaakko thought back to that little talk. Veeti had listened, letting him go on, his eyebrows raising every now and then. His expression was hard to read - or what Jaakko could read of it, he couldn't understand.
Whatever was going on between those brothers, he decided, was something he'd have to wait to ask Sakari about. Later. When they got back.
Maybe it was a wizard thing.
"You're saying it won't be long before he comes back?"
"As far as I know, anyhow. You're going to stay here until then." It wasn't a question.
"...Thank you."
Veeti had looked tired, but he hadn't complained. And that was all Jaakko could ask for.
Jaakko told him everything he knew. Showed him a map of where Sakari had gone. Veeti didn't look pleased about any of it. But then again, he probably wouldn't have looked pleased about anything at all. Mostly he just looked dead tired. Those dark-circled, empty eyes were weird, but somehow, he couldn't avoid catching the guy's gaze. How about that.
"You should get yourself some sleep," Jaakko said eventually. Veeti had been looking toward the fireplace, his tired eyes half-focused, his hair hanging in his face again.
"...Yes. You're right."
Well. At least he didn't argue. Jaakko watched him take in a long, deep breath. Then Veeti wrapped the blanket tightly around him, and stood.
He was unsteady on his feet, swaying a bit. Looked like he could fall over at any second, in fact. No way he's getting up there by himself, Jaakko thought. And then he suppressed a groan as he realized exactly who would have to help him.
"Here," he said, standing. "I'll help ya get up there."
It was a good thing he got up when he did, because as soon as he spoke, the guy practically fell forward. Jaakko reached out to catch him, hands at his shoulders, holding him steady.
Veeti's looked up at him, dazed, like he hadn't realized he was going to fall. There was a stubborn set to his lips, and for a second he looked like he might dislike the thought of needing help as much as Jaakko disliked the thought of offering. They stared at each other for a second - and then Veeti deflated, shoulders sagging.
"Okay," he said softly. "Thanks."
And that was the end of that.
Jaakko went through and pinched the candles out after he got Veeti back up on the ledge, leaving only one lantern lit to see by. It was enough.
He looked over toward the fireplace. No sign of life from up there, but now, at least, he knew that the guy wasn't dead.
Not that it made things much easier. A corpse, well, it didn't need much tending. And a body that wouldn't wake up, well, that wasn't all that different. But someone that needed looking after - that was another thing altogether.
Stuck babysitting, and without one bit of choice in the matter. Wasn't that something.
But as he looked up at the shadows above the fireplace, he decided it could be worse. Maybe this one wouldn't be a bother. Not if he could hardly get around on his own.
He remembered the silent thanks in that weirdly familiar face, the tired set to Veeti's eyes as he helped him get up to where he was again. The guy wouldn't be moving from there any time soon.
You'd better make this trip quick, Sakari, Jaakko thought, turning the lamp down low, down to nearly nothing. Then he'll be your problem, and that will be the end of this.
He took one last look toward the firelace, then slipped from the room, stepping as quietly as he could in the dim light.
