Thorfinn's brother (Vinland Saga)

Karlsefni

The old man stumble forward in a hurry. "Wait! Pardon me, stop!" He yelled to the twins. "Are you boys from Iceland? Bo and Thorfinn, son of Thors?"

'Who the fuck is this dude, and how does he know that?' Bo thought to himself, scouring his memory for any recollection of this man. Then, like the strike of lighting, he remembered. "Mister Leif?" He asked. Thorfinn's face went from confusion to shock, finally recognizing the person in front of them.

Bo never thought he'd see Leif again, and apparently neither did the older man, because he lunged forward and wrapped an arm around both boys neck, hugging them.

Bo's eyes widened, he could hardly remember the last time he was hugged. But it felt oddly nice. Leif shed tears of happiness, tightening his grip. "YOU'RE BOTH ALIVE! OH THANK GOD!"

After their knives were returned to the brothers, everyone cleared out until it was just Bo, Thorfinn, and Leif. "Where have you been all these years?" Leif asked, whipping the tears in his eyes.

"We've been following Askeladd to avenge our father." Bo said sitting down with his brother, legs dangling off the dock. The older man nodded. "I see. So you've been seeking vengeance."

Thorfinn gripped his knife tighter. "Yes. We're going to be the ones to kill him. With father's short swords. We'll keep trying until we've regained our honor." Bo nodded.

Although his mind started to drift elsewhere. A place far across the see, somewhere not here. Bo wondered what was going on, was it still just as peaceful from the stories all those years ago?

"Mister Leif, what is happening now in Vinland?" Bo asked, pulling his knees to his chest and resting his head on them. "Our father wanted to go there. Sometimes I see it in my dreams." He looked up at Leif. "Have you already built a village there?"

Bo could see his brother out of the corner of his eye, the topic of Vinland peeking his interest. Leif quirked a brow, face shifting into confusion. "Why do you not ask me about the mother and sister you left behind?"

Neither brother said anything, just fixing their gaze on the water below. Leif continued. "After you three left, Helga's condition grew much worse. She can do nothing but sleep and wake, day after day. Show her your faces, Bo, Thorfinn. That is all the healing she needs." Leif tried to convince them, his voice getting louder with enthusiasm.

But Bo didn't want to know about his home. He didn't want to know about his mother, or how her health only continued to deteriorate. Bo would never say it out loud, but hearing about his mother broke his heart.

It made him sad that his mother might die before he or his brother could make it home. Die before she could hear the news of her husband being avenged.

These thoughts made his chest tighten, making it feel like someone was squeezing his heart painfully. He didn't want to feel this anymore, so he let anger take over this sadness, change the subject so his mind could let go of thought of his mother.

"I asked you about Vinland." Bo said, keeping his head down. But Leif talked more about Bo's home. "Ylva is a mother now. You've got three little nephews and nieces." Bo yelled as he stood up. "SHUT UP ALREADY! I didn't ask you about that!" If the old man wouldn't give him the minformation he wanted, what was the point in talking to him?

Thorfinn started to walk away, Bo right behind him. "Hey. Where are you two going?" Leif asked following them. Thorfinn spoke up. "We're in the prince's personal guard. That's our job, for some reason." He spoke the last part with more bite.

"Come back home with me, Bo, Thorfinn." Leif stopped walking. "You've done enough! Come with me!"

Both boys stopped walking. Enough. Enough? Bo finally had something that could fully take his mind off his mother and sister. "What would you know?" Bo snapped. "What the hell do you know about what we've been through?!"

Thorfinn's face turned venomous, eyes lit with a fire, teeth bared. "As long as Askeladd lives, breathes, eats, and shits... WE HAVEN'T DONE ENOUGH!" He yelled. "It's not enough!" Bo yelled, getting the point across.

Tears welled in Leif's eyes again as the brothers turned away, the older man not following this time. "I will stay in this town until you change your minds!" He called out. "Come back to Iceland with me! Thorfinn! Bo! Come home."

Bo didn't look back, he just kept walking. But Leif got him thinking, what was his home like now? But he shook his head, hoping to shake the thoughts with it. Finding rage to cover the wound that was his family. "Until we change our minds? He'll be there a while." Bo said, walking through the town to meet up with Askeladd.

"We don't need to hear the shit. Trying to take us away from honoring father, who the hell does he think he is?" Thorfinn glared, walking shoulder to shoulder with his brother.

Bo huffed. "He thinks he knows us, knows what we've been through, but he doesn't know anything. So he should just kind his own an damn business." Thorfinn nodded in agreement as they met up with their enemy and the prince.

As night fell, Askeladd gave the twins orders to follow Gunnar after their secret meeting. Askeladd had a hunch that Gunnar was a spy, and after a decade together Bo knew that Askeladd's hunches were almost always right.

Hiding behind trees, Bo and Thorfinn followed the cone head, watching as he whispered to another man in a cloak and shooed him off.

Shifting focus, the brothers followed this mysterious hooded man all the way until the royal hall, where the king resided.

Askeladd was right, Gunnar was a spy. A dirty rat telling all the secrets to the king. It was all so ridiculous, everyone's so wrapped up in who they pledge their allegiance to, a stupid game really. Was this really what leaders of warriors do? How tiresome.

"Creepy house." Thorfinn shivered, starting the short walk to barn the brothers took residency in. "Creepy house for creepy people." Bo joked, his brother giving a small, rare, chuckle. "Seriously." Bo continued. "How many teeth do you think the king was missing?" The older brother teased with a smile, a sight he reserved for Thorfinn, and Thorfinn alone.

The younger lifted a hand to cover the bottom half of his face, to hide his smile. "Too many to be taken seriously. I don't think I could look Askeladd in the face without laughing if he had that many teeth gone." Thorfinn joined in. Bo laughed slightly, the mental image of his enemy with only a few teeth visible was hilarious.

"Askeladd's old enough, he might start loosing teeth if he's not careful." The older quipped. Turning the corner the barn was only a few feet away. Bo yawned, breaking the fun atmosphere around them. "Time for bed little brother." Bo yawned again, sleep making his eyes feel heavy.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Thorfinn said, Bo could tell his brother was tired, fatigue starting to fill his voice. Plopping down on a hay stack, Bo took his cloak off, planning to share it so his brother got extra warmth. Thorfinn followed, laying next to his brother, he shook his head at Bo trying to throw his cloak over him. "Keep it, you'll freeze your ass off and die if you don't." Thorfinn curled into himself and hugged his cloak around him.

"But if you freeze..." Bo trailed off, Thorfinn immediately shaking his head. "I'm fine." He said harshly. "Keep your damn cloak Bo, if you freeze and die, I'll go to hell and kill you again myself for being an idiot." Thorfinn sounded on the brink of falling asleep now. The older just sighed, no use in arguing with his brother.

"Fine, you win." Bo wrapped the article of clothing around him again and closed his eyes. "Goodnight Bo." Thorfinn slurred right before his soft breaths were heard. Bo was too tired to say it back, opting to just let himself fall into the realm of sleep.

If Bo knew what the next day held, he would have never closed his eyes. He would have spent the whole night talking with his brother, even if it annoyed him. Bo would have put his cloak over his brother and taken the risk of getting cold if it ment he got one last warm sleep. He would have hugged his brother and never let go. Hug him for the first time in years.

Bo would have potentially taken Leif's offer and gone to see his mother, sister, nieces and nephews. Bo would have gone home seen his family. But most importantly he would have said goodnight back, he would have told his brother he loved him. Would have said that he was his best friend and he wouldn't want anyone else by his side all theses years.

But he couldn't. Because it was impossible to tell the future. So instead Bo kept his response in his head. 'Goodnight Thorfinn, I love you Thorfinn.'