Sigrun stormed back into the vehicle, practically breathing fire in her monumental upset over her vacation being wrecked by a lack of food and getting saddled with some stupid civilian too idiotic to even stow himself away properly!
Her mood had not been improved by having to wait until Tuuri came back to operate the radio so that Sigrun could vent her spleen; in fact, it got bad enough that Sigrun went right back outside where there were things she could destroy without hindering their mission.
Now back inside the vehicle, Sigrun came to a sudden and surprised halt. “Where did Tuuri go?” she asked in bewilderment.
“Who’s this ‘Tuuri’ you guys keep talking about?” Reynir asked after Mikkel quietly translated for him.
As soon as the question left Reynir’s lips, the heavens outright roared in response. An instant later, a huge and radiant form appeared in the confines of the team’s suddenly somewhat cramped vehicle, even though this form was far too large to have fit. The form was like that of a huge man, though Reynir and Sigrun both knew at once that this was one of the Old Gods deigning to show himself to them.
Mikkel and Emil were stunned into silence at this positive refutation of their worldview, while Lalli eyed this weird foreign god with the same wariness that marked how he’d been watching Reynir.
Sigrun recognized the visiting deity first. “Loki,” she breathed in a dissonant combination of awe and dismay, and Reynir’s eyes grew wide at the name.
“I am indeed he,” the apparition intoned weightily, and all who heard him understood his speech, regardless of their native tongue. Then he looked at Reynir, grinned fondly, and waved. “Hey, Reynir!”
Far worthier mortals have been rendered speechless by less, so Reynir’s silence surprised no one, least of all the putative trickster god. He was not at all abashed by Reynir’s flummoxed inability to respond, but when he looked at the others, his face was grave again.
“I have made myself known before you that the questions you have, or shall soon have, may be answered.” The vision made a beckoning gesture at something that yet remained unseen, and a moment later, a similarly glowing juvenile fox-spirit bounded into view. “Explain yourself, Puppy-Fox.”
The new vision turned up its nose in disdain. “Why should I be bothered with explanations for these mortals who are all out of my purview?”
“They are all Lalli’s friends and colleagues, and helping them will help him,” the first replied. Then he smiled again, but a knowing, almost conspiratorial smile this time, and added, “Besides, aren’t you just bursting to let your cleverness be known and admired, even if only among these mortals?”
The fox-spirit grinned back. “You know me so well,” it almost purred. “So, where should I begin?”
“Begin with Ensi, naturally.”
The fox-spirit looked at the people silently watching it and said, “Ensi Hotakainen, grandmother to Onni, Tuuri and Lalli Hotakainen, was the first of the full-fledged mages to arise out of the forests and lakes of my Finland after what you call Year Zero; she was also my very first real mortal friend I had ever had. Therefore, I showed her and hers the full benefit of my favor, teaching her all she could learn of the magic humans had been granted. I watched her grow and blossom into the full flower of her fleeting life, but even I could not prevent that which had to be.
“Eleven years ago now, as mortals mark the flow of Time, Ensi and her progeny all died--with the exception of Lalli, her youngest grandchild and the one most like unto her in every possible way.”
The fox-spirit let that sink in for a moment before continuing, “Lalli was but eight years old, and he needed his cousins in order to survive the long journey to Keuruu and safety, so he re-created them, Onni and Tuuri both, in his mind.
“I helped him to re-create them in everyone else’s minds when he reached Keuruu.”
The fox-spirit looked directly at Sigrun and told her, “Tuuri Hotakainen has not existed in the flesh for over a decade; you have never truly seen her, and all of the things you thought she did, one or another of the rest of you actually did.”
Then the fox-spirit turned to address Lalli directly. “Lalli, I’m sorry that I could only bring you and you alone through the ordeal of Saimaa, and I have tried to aid you as best I can since then.”
Finally, the fox-spirit turned to its fellow apparition. “Okey-doke; happy now?”
“I won’t be happy until I see Thor’s face after I short-sheet him tonight,” Loki replied, “but I am satisfied.”
Then he turned to Reynir. “You can’t see ‘Tuuri’ because--SPOILER!--you’re a mage, favored by the Æsir! (And the Vanir),” he mumbled as an aside. “Now, if you really, really want to, and if you squint, you can see and hear her, but she’ll always be a phantom to you, while she’s indistinguishable from reality to the others.”
“Because I did my work well,” Puppy-Fox injected.
“But of course,” Loki said soothingly, “as I’m sure the mortals would agree.” He paused, discreetly signaling their audience to nod. “Anyway,” he continued, “Lalli believes, even now, that Tuuri and Onni are truly still alive, and talking him out of it won’t be easy in any way. If he gets too stressed out, though, or exerts himself too much, he won’t have enough power to keep ‘Tuuri’ around--and may go into a coma as well, so be ready for that. In any case, he and ‘Tuuri’ will act like this conversation never took place unless you force the issue, so be ready for that as well.
“That’s all the advice I can give you, by The Rules. See y’all later!”
As he turned and faded away, Puppy-Fox bounded after him, saying, “Hey, did you need any help short-sheeting Thor?”
