Chapter Text
“What do you mean you have a story?” Sam asked, looking at him uncertainly
“Is how Thor meet Oskar.”
All of the ghosts in the room seemed intrigued, as in Trevor, Hetty, and Flower, who seemed lucid for that short time. Sam waited for Thor to continue.
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“Must you go?” asked Olga at the front of their house, Bjorn attached to her leg.
“Yes,” Thorfinn said, putting his shield on his back, “but I promise I will be back soon.”
Thorfinn looked at Bjorn, who held the knife that Thorfinn had given him as a departing gift. It was much too large for his minuscule hands, but he’d grow into it.
“Tell me,” Thor said, looking back at his wife, “If you were to have anything back from the new world, what would it be?”
Olga frowned, “The only thing I wish to return from the new world is you.” Tears threatened to well up in her eyes, but she managed to keep them from falling. She knew if she started, she’d form a river of tears that would be unstoppable. That's not what Thor needed… so she stayed strong.
Thorfinn gave one more hug to both of them before stepping away. Little did Thorfinn know it would be the last time he’d march away from his home.
As Thorfinn walked to the pier, families watched as he and other Vikings got into the ships. The onlookers watched and hoped that it might be them one day.
Thorfinn and his fellow warriors were made for this. Truthfully, an ‘accurate’ Viking was of slender build; however, previous generations had decided to mark off an amount of people wanting them to get larger and bulkier. They were designed to be warriors, and that's what they were.
As the ships departed, Thorfinn looked back, seeing his village fade away into ocean fog. Thorfinn looked up at the mast, hearing its creak as the men around him pushed and pulled their oars. She was flexible, maneuverable, and slender. She was more of a giant Canoe with a mast.
Most of the time, ships went from Greenland or Iceland to the New World, but this time was different. They would go straight from Norway to the New World. It was intentional.
About a week into the trip the Vikings decided to pull out the mead they had packed. Spirits were draining and some hoped this might make them rise once more.
Thorfinn and a few of the other Vikings got out some barrels of mead and poured some into horns. Once they were drunk and happy, they lay down on the dock.
One of Thorfinn’s shipmates who lay at the side of Thor turns to him planting a firm kiss onto Thorfinn’s lips which quickly escalates into something more heated.
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“Wait what?” Trevor asked, astonished “you kissed one of your shipmates?”
The other two as in Hetty and Sam looked slightly surprised as well. Not at the queer relations that Vikings had but that Thor admitted to it so openly.
Thorfinn nods slightly annoyed at Trevor’s question as if stating something like this was common and normal for Thor.
Flower was now once again in her own world not quite paying attention to the story.
Sam soon looked at the ghosts before speaking “can we move this conversation down stairs? I need to work on my memoir.”
Once down stairs the other ghosts had joined the group in the TV room.
Thorfinn sat on the middle cushion of the couch, Flower at his left and Trevor at his right. Hetty stood looking out the window.
The other ghosts who had joined: Sasappis, Alberta, Isaac, and Pete all spread around the room.
Sam sat at the recliner working on her laptop.
Thorfinn continued his story
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After about three and a half weeks of traveling through hurricanes and open storms, land was finally spotted.
The ships stopped short of the land, checking if they could spot any signs of life.
Silence
The ships were beached, and the Vikings got off.
As the days passed the Vikings formed a small camp to rest at. The Vikings often ventured out into the woods, discovering new animals and plants. Some of the plants looked familiar from afar, but when looked up close, their vines twisted in a way never seen before.
As the Vikings explored the area, they encountered a tribe of natives. It was decided to introduce themselves peacefully, so as not to make themselves an enemy. They were met outside the village by the chief of the tribe.
The Vikings were welcomed into the village, and even though they didnt speak the same language, it seemed like there was a mutual understanding that neither of the groups meant any harm.
The Vikings referred to the natives as Skrælings, which meant little men. ‘Skra’, meaning dry skin, refers to the animals' skins they wore. The Vikings had already encountered people who wore animal skins in Greenland, whom they called Skrælings as well. (Thorfinn now knows they are called the Thule people today. Thorfinn is very smart.)
Thor couldn't help but seem interested in the ways of these people. Thorfinn’s people believed in superiority in fighting, but it seemed these people were much more peaceful.
They still fought, and there were many warriors in the village that Thorfinn respected, but there also seemed to be an art appreciation. There were many woven baskets, many storytellers, and the women seemed to be treated with something like equality.
The Vikings traded with the natives for about a year before the chieftain of the Vikings and the leader of the Skrælings got into an argument. The Skrælings wanted Viking weapons, but the Vikings refused to trade with them.
The Skrælings forced the Vikings to leave. The Vikings resisted at first, but the Vikings only had about sixty men while the tribe and their allies in the area outnumbered them heavily. The Vikings fled to their boats as fast as they could.
Thorfinn had forgotten his pelt; he ran back into the forest, and when he came back, they had already departed. Thorfinn yelled for them to come back to no avail.
Thorfinn spent about a day waiting for them to come back. He was soon pushed out of the area by a few hunters who came to make sure they had left. Thorfinn fled into the woods. He now had to fend for himself. Thor walked for miles upon miles. He didn't know where he was going, but he knew he couldn't turn back.
With each step he took, the stems of bushes and grass brushed against his boots as if clawing against him, trying to hold him back, whispering for him to leave. Each step he planted firmly against the ground caused the resistance to fade away. He continued to walk… and walk… and walk.
After walking with little to no sleep, Thorfinn finally found a place to rest at now called ‘Hudson Valley’. Thorfinn lay in an open field and passed out from exhaustion and hunger.
Later that night, he woke up looking around. He wondered to himself why the goddess Nótt had laid her hands upon him before he heard his stomach rumble. “Hm… that's why…” he muttered to himself.
Thorfinn got up in an attempt to look for food. He looked for footprints, signs of struggle, berries, broken sticks, anything that could signify an animal was about.
Eventually, Thorfinn heard the rustling of bushes and quickly stooped down before creeping slowly over towards the sound. Before Thorfinn could get comfortably settled in a stance, the animal bolted out of the shrubs, but before it could get away, Thorfinn clutched it within his hands against the ground. A rabbit, it was a rabbit.
The smell of cooked meat wafted through the air as Thorfinn cooked the rabbit over a fire he had scrabbled to form. Thorfinn scarfed down the rabbit before putting the fire out and resting against a tree to sleep.
The next morning, Thorfinn looked down where the assumed rabbit bones were, but they were gone. Thorfinn had saved a morsel for himself in the morning, but now he was disappointed. Some scavenger had taken it from him right under his nose as he slept. Thorfinn was frustrated, so he got up and went down to a river to drink some water.
As Thorfinn got closer to the river, a foul smell aggravated his nose. It smelt rotten, maybe a cabbage… maybe eggs. Who knows?
“What is that…” Thorfinn muttered to himself, putting his hand over his nose to shelter it from the scent.
As he dipped his hands into the river, he was surprised by the warmth that he found in his hands. He looked up the river before standing up and following it.
Thorfinn soon got used to the smell and uncovered his nose as he continued to walk. He soon found a large body of water. “How could such a smell come from such a…” Thorfinn stopped himself,f looking out at the water, seeing a small rodent. Its little limbs are waving back and forth. A pathetic attempt at swimming.
Thorfinn watched as the small rodents' persistent movement got more and more unsettling as they got tired. Thorfinn realized it was drowning. Thorfinn didnt know why, but he felt a strange connection to the animal. He jumped into the warm water and picked the rodent up. Once out of the water, Thorfinn looked down at the animal. A juvenile squirrel.