“Why does the so-called ‘easy way’ always involved me getting slugged?” Emil asked with a hint of justifiable petulance. Waking up with your head still ringing from being knocked out tends to annoy even the most affable.
“Your whining attracts too much trouble,” Lalli opined in his garbled Swedish. It had been a priority for the little band of survivors to start learning each others’ languages as they made their way towards Keuruu, but so far Lalli was only making progress in Swedish, Icelandic still eluding him. This put him ahead of the other monoglots, though; Reynir more or less only knew his name, while Emil could write (but not speak--he never managed more than one syllable before his mind went blank) basic Finnish sentences.
Sometimes, whether intentionally or not, someone will find the exact worst possible thing to say and say it. Lalli would later swear that he saw something break behind Emil’s eyes.
The Swede stiffened and quietly told Sigrun, “That will not be a problem henceforth.” Then, and without another word to anyone, he walked around behind their vehicle to check on the horses.
They had found some horses still alive in the debris of the camp, which had posed a bit of a quandary until Emil rather reluctantly let it be known that he was quite experienced in farriery and other equine care, and that the vehicle was slow enough that the horses would do just fine hitched to its rear bumper. Every so often, either Sigrun or more often Emil would unhitch one and gallop ahead and back until it tired, at which point the other would have its turn for exercising.
Unease filled Lalli, though he wasn’t quite sure why.
*
Two days later, Emil had not spoken one word unless directly addressed, and even then, he gave the briefest possible response. Mostly, he spent his time looking after the horses, letting Lalli and Sigrun take the patrols he’d formerly requested so eagerly.
Lalli knew that this had everything to do with what he’d seen in Emil’s eyes, and no one had to tell him what he had to to next; it being his fault, it necessarily fell to him to fix it.
So it was that on the third morning, once the decontamination was done and the report given, Lalli staved off the ravening fangs of the sleep-monster and circled around the vehicle to find Emil already checking over the horses before tying them to the rear bumper.
Lalli knew the moment Emil realized he was there, but the sparkly-haired Swede just kept working. “Emil...”
Without turning his head, Emil told Lalli pointedly, “You had best leave before the trouble my whining attracts comes down on you, too.”
“It was a joke,” Lalli protested feebly. Suddenly, he wasn’t sleepy anymore.
“You don’t make jokes. You say true but hurtful things and laugh at the hurt they cause.” Emil paused. “So laugh already.”
“I did not think that my words you would be hurting this many.” Something about Emil’s obvious pain clawed at Lalli.
“Do you know why I’m so good with horses?” Emil asked, as though Lalli hadn’t spoken. “That’s all they ever let me do, back in Sweden, outside of training. ‘Västerström, stay in camp with the horses! Maybe that way you’ll have time to get better at field-stripping your weapons!’” He paused. “I am very good at taking care of horses.” Another pause. “So, when they asked for volunteers to go to Finland, I thought that I’d finally have a chance to prove that I could be useful; that I could do something other than... take care of the horses.”
“You make good burn in last fight,” Lalli said. “You were very useful.”
Emil scoffed. “So useful you needed to club me.” He turned to face Lalli; his face was wreathed in gloom.
“Not my idea; not my doing. I just tried stupid joke; wish I hadn’t. Emil, I’m sorry.”
“It was me,” Sigrun said, making both boys jump. “You were so caught up in flaming the grosslings that I couldn’t get you to disengage and join the retreat, so I slugged you.” She scratched the back of her head. “I’ll try something different next time.” With an unwontedly solemn expression, she concluded, “You have the trust and respect of your captain when in battle, Emil. Never doubt that.”
“Mine also.” Lalli tried to put in his tone all the things he couldn’t find the words to say.
Ever so slowly, the gloom retreated from Emil’s countenance...
