The Fossegrim is a water spirit from Norse Mythology who sits under waterfalls, playing the fiddle. He is the source of the music of nature itself, and is said to teach humans how to play if they secretly bring him a stolen piece of meat.
I think we can all agree that Romania is exactly the kind of guy to go wandering through the woods in search of such creatures.
This was drawn for Day Five of the Hetalia Rare Pair week 2017: Mythology!
I am really nervous bc the word childhood appears once in the story, but I think it counts? *nervous sweating*
I’m also very disappointed in myself for the ending
Idek anymore just read it
Fools
The magic community is huge. And that is an understatement. If one were to conduce a study on it, they would find out about two fifths of the global population are mages. Of course, nobody does it, because who believes in magic, right?
Lukas Bondevik lived in a tiny Norwegian town. He'd heard of famous sorcerers, but had never befriended a mage outside his family before.
Sometimes Lukas got to show off his magic to kids, who clapped and cheered, but their parents always took them away and told them ‘don't go near the strange boy’.
When Lukas was a teen, his family gathered enough money to move to England. Lukas made a small dance in the shower before their flight. They were going to live in London? Perfect! The whole plane ride, he played with strings he'd enchanted to change colour, to avoid looking out the window. He made them become various shapes, from a cat to a dragon. When they landed, he left them on the plane; someone could use them. The magic would wear off in a few days, though, and they'd become the dull grey they were before.
Everything about London was grand, even the airport. Lukas' family would have gotten lost if it weren't for the signs leading them outside. The tall ceilings giving off a spacious feeling, the chatter - or snoring, in some cases - of people, the smell of tea and coffee, it almost made him dizzy. Once they got out, he took deep, sweet breaths.
The hotel room had white walls, two bedrooms and one bathroom. Lukas and his younger brother slept in the same room. Emil fell asleep fast, but Lukas was jet-lagged and way too excited. He made little flames dance around the room, careful not to touch anything. He painted them different colours, like blue, green and purple. It was like a small show in his ceiling.
At last, he slept.
~=o=~
The sun brought light to their hotel room. Emil was up before everybody else. So, Lukas awoke not only from the aggressive sunlight, but because of his brother poking him everywhere.
“Emil. Emil, stop,” he grumbled, rolling to the other side and throwing Emil on the floor.
“The sun's already up, Lukas! Come on! You're a good wake-upper!" Shouted Emil, throwing his arms up. Lukas' hands tightened around his cover.
“Go away,” he growled.
“No! You always say it's good to wake up early and enjoy the day!”
Lukas groaned and sat up.
“All right, all right,” he sighed. “Go wake our parents.” He stood and opened the closet doors. Emil ran into their parents' room. How could someone be so energetic so early in the morning?
Oh divinities, not getting enough sleep was not worth it. Lukas chose the plainest clothes his eyes hit and put on flip-flops while brushing his hair. By the time he was ready, his parents were already up as well. Breakfast was decent, and they had a casual stroll around the city. They found a school for the kids and a good restaurant to eat in.
Emil and Lukas got into school a week later.
Nothing abnormal happened for months.
~=o=~
The lunch break bell rang. At last. Lukas put his case and notebooks into his bag and threw it over his shoulder. After waiting a few seconds for the most of people to get out, he walked out of the classroom. On the way to the cafeteria, he passed by the music room; there was Arthur, still practising on his cello, like every morning. He and Feliciano had teamed up to play a duet. Lukas stopped by and listened. It was a soft and cheerful tune, although short; fitted for the the end of summer.
Arthur's expression relaxed, and he smiled at Feliciano, who smiled right back. They put their instruments back in their cases, and talked about where they would meet next.
Someone tapped on Lukas' finger, and he turned around to see… no-one. The corridor was empty. He felt a pinch on his sides and almost yelped. Something encircled his waist and pulled him back. Lukas whirled around and hit the thing, which released him. This was an invisibility spell. Lukas spread his arm and sent fire in what he hoped was the thing's direction. A loud yelp echoed in the corridor – so the thing was afraid of fire. It also sounded human. Lukas spun around, shooting a circle of fire around himself.
By this point, Arthur and Feliciano were at the door, both shocked at the situation. Everyone was still for a second.
Arthur sighed.
“Vladimir, stop it,” he ordered. To Lukas' surprise, a voice responded.
“But- him and- the fire-”
“Vladimir.” Arthur's voice was much more stern. A groan.
“Fine.” And in the middle of the corridor, Vladimir appeared, dark red clothes, one fang showing, a tiny hat balanced on his head.
“Feliciano, are you okay?” Arthur placed a gentle hand on Feliciano's shoulder. Feliciano took deep breaths, then nodded.
“I’m… going to pretend this didn’t happen,” he said, putting his backpack on. “Let’s go, Arthur!” He grabbed Arthur’s hand, smiling, and they rushed to the cafeteria.
Vladimir and Lukas exchanged looks.
“So, where in the heck are you from?” Vladimir knitted his brow and tilted his head.
“Norway,” answered Lukas.
“Ohhh, that explains your skills!” Vladimir straightened his spine, raising his head. “I’m Vladimir Popescu, the illusionist.” He winked. “Let’s get lunch!”
Lukas blinked. That was a first. He was a little wary, but… how bad could it be? He wouldn’t have only his thoughts as company. He agreed. Vladimir grinned, and off they went to get lunch.
~=o=~
That day, they shared two classes in the afternoon. As there were no assigned seats, Lukas and Vladimir sat next to each other. The teacher was speaking while taking notes on the board.
“Now, we’ll need an example to demonstrate,” said the teacher, turning to the class. His eyes scanned the students. “Vladimir, please step up.”
Vladimir stood and walked to the front of class. Lukas looked up from his notebook and saw letters floating in the air.
Set my hair on fire.
He looked around the class; everybody else was listening to the teacher. One of Vladimir’s illusions, then. He looked back at Vladimir, and the letters had changed.
Don’t actually burn me, just set me on fire.
He nodded, and Vladimir failed to hide a grin. As the teacher explained, he concentrated on a spot in Vladimir’s hair and set it on fire. He controlled the spread, so it was slow and didn’t get out of control.
The teacher noticed it and gasped. He looked for an inexistent fire extinguisher, while Vladimir remained calm, joining hands behind his back. Some students panicked together with the teacher, others laughed, and yet others packed their bags and ran to the door in case of major disaster. As the teacher ran out to look for a fire extinguisher, Lukas turned the fire into a little snake, climbing down Vladimir’s head to his shoulder, then going down his side onto the ground. It disappeared in a small hole in the floor just as the teacher ran back into the classroom with a fire extinguisher.
There was a moment of tension as they waited for the fire to come back, but as it never did, the students flowed back into the classroom. The teacher stood a little more in shock, then sighed.
“I can’t handle this,” he groaned. “Go home. The class is over,” he then announced, walking out of the classroom to put the fire extinguisher back in its place. The students’ cheer was loud enough to hear from the gym. Most of them packed their supplies in a hurry, except Vladimir and Lukas, who were calm about the whole thing. Vladimir was trying to suppress a grin, and failing.
When they were out of the school, Vladimir burst out laughing.
“That was amazing!” he breathed out, putting his hands on his knees. “Did you see their faces? Man, you are the best!” He had to stop walking to catch his breath. Lukas allowed himself a smile.
“The idea was yours,” he replied. Vladimir’s eyebrows scrunched together and his grin faded.
“What, you never did anything like that? Nothing, you know,” he shook his arms side to side a little, “rebellious?” Lukas shook his head, and Vladimir put his hands on his hips. “Your childhood must have been boring!”
“…It was,” chuckled Lukas.
Vladimir’s expression brightened.
“Well, your adolescence’s gonna be much better!” He grabbed Lukas’ wrist. “C’mon, I know a great ice cream shop!” He tugged Lukas along to a street not far from his house. Lukas blushed at the sudden contact and protested a little, but went along with it.
The ice cream was much better than what Lukas had in his hometown. His marine blue eyes sparkled, and Vladimir was still halfway through his when Lukas had finished.
“Guess you liked the ice cream!” Laughed Vladimir. “Do you want another?”
As Lukas nodded, Vladimir bought him a new ice cream, despite Lukas’ protests that he should pay for it.
“It’s called a date, I pay for stuff.” He grinned at Lukas’ blush and stammer, and patted his head, despite being a little shorter.
After the ice cream, they strolled around with no aim. It was nice to watch the sunset, with red-leaved trees to accompany the beginning of the autumn night. They passed by a used CDs and books store, where Lukas spotted a CD from one of his favourite singers. Vladimir noticed him staring at it, and smiled.
“I have a fun idea.” Lukas looked at him with interest. “Let’s buy each other a CD and a book we find good, and then we listen to that CD and read that book!” Lukas raised an eyebrow in question. Vladimir shrugged in response. “I think we’ll know each other better after that.”
Lukas agreed. He bought Vladimir a CD with songs that told tragic stories, and a book on mythology. Vladimir bought an instrumental CD mixing electronic and orchestral, and a police fiction book. They put their new CD and book into their backpacks and walked out of the shop.
“…Don’t you have to go home?” Questioned Lukas, knitting his brow at Vladimir.
“Yea, but I’ll walk with you to your hotel first.” Vladimir put his hands beside his head. “Don’t know what could happen.”
It was a little illogical, as Lukas was a mage as well, but he didn’t argue. The sun had already set, and a few stars twinkled in the sky. Others would soon follow, but the sky was still indigo and not all the way to black.
“Do you play chess?”
“What, chess?” Vladimir shook his head with a chuckle. “I’d be out in two moves. I know how it works, though.” He raised a finger. Lukas rolled his eyes, although smirking. “Arthur plays well, if you want an opponent,” he offered. Lukas nodded in acknowledgement, and they walked in silence for a while. It was comfortable.
“Uh… where do you come from?” Asked Lukas, noticing they were nearing his house. He wanted to at least get that from Vladimir.
“Oh, a huge city in the west of Romania,” responded Vladimir, looking up. “There were a lot of mages there. Nobody from my family, though.”
“Then how did you become such a great illusionist?” Lukas blinked. Vladimir shrugged.
“I was a big fan of magicians, you know, the ones with the card tricks.” Vladimir made a vague gesture. “So I put lots of effort into magic.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Thanks for the compliment, by the way.”
“Don’t you receive them often?” Lukas’ eyes widened a little.
“Nope. People usually get annoyed at my antics,” he chuckled. “You’re one of the first to go along with them.” He stopped. “Is this your hotel?”
It was. The tall, beige building, Lukas’ room on the third floor.
“Goodbye, then,” Sighed Vladimir. “I’ll see you tomorrow on class, unless one of us is sick!” He smiled and waved as he walked away. Lukas waved back.
It had been enjoyable.
~=o=~
“Checkmate.”
The class was silent for minutes. A checkmate in twenty moves, against the smartest kid of the class. Even the teacher had to admit it was impressive.
“Thank you for the match, it was great.” Lukas smiled as he put the pieces back in the box, and stood. He walked out of the school, in the last day of class, with Vladimir and Arthur following him.
“Great game you did there!” Vladimir joke-punched him on the back.
“There's a hand imprint with some obnoxious colour, isn't there?” Sighed Lukas. Vladimir nodded, grinning. “Clean it,” he demanded. Vladimir shrugged and made the green hand imprint disappear.
Arthur chuckled beside them.
“The year has been fun, hasn't it? Since we three befriended each other.” He smiled at them. The landscape was serene, the end of a spring day. The sky was a smooth, soft gradient from lapis to yellow to pastel pink. Vladimir took a deep breath, enjoying the air.
“True. That Alfred kid even got expelled. What a great world it is!” He spread his arms beside himself and smiled at the sky. Lukas glared at him.
“You really hated him, didn't you?”
“Yep!”
“The most fun thing,” continued Arthur, smirking, “was watching you two fall in love like fools.”
The two stopped dead in their tracks, and Arthur stopped too to observe. Lukas' eyes were wide and he blushed profusely, his hand covering his mouth. Vladimir's arms fell to his side as he blinked many times. Arthur grinned.
“Goodbye, Vladimir. Goodbye, Lukas.” He waved and walked away. “I'll see you two any time you decide to visit me!”
Vladimir blinked.
“Oh, God, Lukas, I think he's right.” Vladimir shook a little. “I am in love with you.”
“I-I-” Lukas removed his hand from his mouth and sighed. “I love you too,” he muttered, looking at the ground and blushing. Vladimir beamed and hugged him. Lukas hugged back, trying to hide his face on Vladimir's shoulder.
“Do you think we could go out?” Asked Vladimir, his voice soft. He felt Lukas nod and giggled. “I'll call you later, then.”
#FechaFIFA 🇳🇴 4 - 0 🇷🇴 Martin Ødegaard participó en la victoria ante Rumanía en la tercera jornada de la Liga de Naciones, jugó 69 minutos y dio dos asistencias. #RMCSITE #NORROM #NationsLeague #UEFANationsLeague (at Ullevaal Stadion) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGSdN9Mgd_K/?igshid=1l5n9uypbt55r
Joining the @romnor-week day 2 prompt! Because it’s already the 25th of October here in Norway! (I’d join the whole week, but I’m an adult with a job and responsibilities so yeah not happening)
--------------------------------
“Hey, I'll read your fortune in the cards if you read mine in runes,” Romania suggests to Norway, closing the book he's been reading with a loud clap.
“I prefer reading my own fortune in cards,” Norway mutters, tearing his gaze away from his book for just a split second.
“No but come on. It will be fun!” Romania whines slightly and rolls over on the floor to reach his bag. “I've got my own cards with me and everything!”
“They are your cards,” Norway frowns and returns his attention to his own book. “They're charged with your energy, not mine.”
“But you can shuffle them!”
“Without first cleansing them?” Norway grimaces. “That's just asking for a muddled up fortune.”
“Yeah but...” Romania sighs. “Fine, what if you use your own cards, and then I'll read out from them?”
“Why?” Norway's voice is monotone and dry.
“So... I can practice reading them?” Romania smiles sheepishly.
“Read a book,” Norway scoffs and gestures to one of the numerous piles on the floor.
Romania sighs in frustration, gritting his teeth and trying not to grumble too loudly.
Norway doesn't seem to pay his frustration any mind, returning to his own studies.
Romania grabs a new book and pretends to read, absent-mindedly flipping the pages as he glares at the words without reading them.
Occasionally he stops and glances over at Norway before returning to the book.
“Stop that,” Norway warns.
“Stop what?”
“Staring,”
“I'm not staring,” Romania grumbles, a little embarrassed to have been caught.
“Sure,” Norway snorts and closes his book. “Clearly time for a coffee break.
Romania watches as Norway stands up and makes his way to the kitchen, Romania staring after him a little longer than he perhaps should have.
Norway returns ten minutes later with two mugs of coffee and a plate of cookies – Much to Romania's delight.
“Here,” he mutters as he hands Romania a mug. “Two sugars.”
“No alcohol? You disappoint me.” Romania winks.
“Alcohol and magic seldom make for a good combination,” Norway frowns.
“I know, I know!” Romania laughs and gently blows on his coffee, eyeing the cookies hungrily.
They drink the coffee in silence, Romania staring into his mug and trying to think of a way to get Norway to agree to let him read his fortune.
As the coffee depletes in his mug, Romania's eyes widen.
“So what does yours say?” Norway smirks at him as it dawns on Romania what Norway's done.
Coffee grounds.
Romania swirls the remainder liquid three times clockwise before covering the cup and swooshing the liquid away from the coffee grounds at he bottom, peering suspicious at the shapes they form.
“Hang on a moment!” Romania scrambles for his notebook, flipping through worn pages till he finds the one he needs.
He squints, frowning as he sees a very defined shape of a mountain.
“Uh,” he bites his lips and wonders if he should just lie.
“Anything good?” Norway asks.
“Not really,” Romania grimaces. “Mountain...” he mutters and Norway nods in understanding.
“Oh wait, shit,” he groans. “You're supposed to read mine...”
“Ah yes. I suppose so,” Norway shrugs. “But here,” he replies and hands Romania his own mug. “Why don't you read my fortune then?”
“What?” Romania blinks, taking a moment to process the information.
“Oh! Right! Yes!” he grabs the mug with glee and peers into it.
“Hm,” he mumbles as he tries to make sense of the shapes. “A telephone...” he whispers. “And a harp... So I think that means you might get a message regarding something good. Possibly...” he clears his throat and tries to force his own nervousness and blushing cheeks to go away. “Possibly a message about love.”
“All right, that sounds pretty nice.” Norway smiles and motions for Romania to give him his cup.
“Oh you're right about the mountain,” he laughs softly. “But I also spot a little envelope.”
“You do?” Romania's eyes widen.
“Mhm,” Norway nods. “And a door.”
“Oh,” Romania frowns. “Damn...”
“Don't say that,” Norway chuckles. “Not everything has to be a negative sign.”
“Well what do you think it means? Because a mountain means I'll encounter an obstacle. The door is something closing and the envelope means I'll get a message.” Romania sighs. “Not exactly sunshine, galloping horses and roses.”
“Obstacles don't necessarily mean misfortune,” Norway reminds him gently. “And a door can be a sign something is closing but also perhaps opening up to something new.”
“Yeah but... envelope...” Romania sighs.
“A good or a bad message. There are many ways to interpret a reading,” Norway hands him back the mug with a warm smile.
“I suppose...”
“That said, next time you want to try and hint that you and I go for a date or something, I'd suggest you just ask me out for coffee.” Norway smirked as Romania almost dropped the mug on the floor.
“Then again, most would consider this a date too,” he added and gestured around him.
“I...I...” Romania gaped. “How did you know?” he whispered hurriedly.
“Subtle isn't your biggest forte,” Norway hummed.
“Oh,” Romania swallowed nervously before clearing his throat. “So... Coffee next Tuesday then?” he asked.
“Sure,” Norway smiled.
Romania grinned from ear to ear, drumming his fingers happily against his mug as he once more peered down at the various shapes.
The little door in the bottom of his mug was definitively opening and not closing.
