Arvid Lykos

-

“Regret it yet?” Anders deadpanned, looking over at Arvid. He could smell the witch a mile away, but he’d been getting better with his urges to rip out every witch’s throat he came into contact with. He looked at his cousin, a frown on his face now, “Why have you not gone home yet, Arvid? Or are they sending as many of us as they can here, just in case?”

-

“I was meant to.” Arvid offered, “There’s nothing to be done now about Hakon, and you-” The witch simply shrugged. “there’s nothing to be done about you, either.” Though he doubted that he need to tell Anders as much, the truth was maybe harder to explain. Jerrik was only here for him and Arvid was only here because despite the city’s dangers it was still something new. Something different from the secluded life he’d known before. “This place changed me. I don’t want to go back.” 

They’d come all the way from Sweden to learn of what had happened to Anders and why the Lykos hadn’t returned with Hakon’s remains as he was intended to. And what Arvid found instead was that while Hakon now lived once more, Anders did not. The witch kept his distance from him even now, unsure of what the vampire might do if Arvid got too close. It would have been easy to write the man off, he was a monster now, wasn’t he? Technically dead, at least. The family would have a funeral for him, vampires had no place in their coven. “I always looked up to you, you know.” Arvid was younger, but the head family seemingly had everything. The prodigal daughter, the capable son, another witch as a spare. Arvid’s place was among the dead, just as his father’s had been before him. For so long he wanted what they had - power, position, authority. He’d have killed Hel herself to get it. Now he just felt sorry for them, Arvid was free, and in a way he supposed Anders was too. 

   “Oh, that’s tough.” Kiera frowned slightly as she let that information sink in. Someone who moved around a lot was of course someone who could leave Arvid hanging any moment. But with Maven she had learned that often open communication was the key to everything. “You know what – I would just ask him. I know that’s scary, but I would put the cards on the table. Tell him that you want to be with him, but that you want to know whether he plans to stay here longer, maybe even for you. That way at least you know what you’re up against, you know?”

-

“You’re right.” If this was how Arvid was feeling then he had to get it out there... If Jules didn’t feel the same, well, then he needed to know that too. “I’ll ask him at dinner, here. Thanks Kiera. I don’t have a lot of friends here, or anywhere. Really.” Arvid wasn’t exactly popular, even among his family. “I appreciate you helping me all this time, it means a lot.”

.

“You’d think Zeus has enough, but no, he’s as greedy as a piglet and needs to take my life savings too. There’s a story I once heard about a bumblebee who wanted to have all the pollen in a flower garden,” she leaned against the machine, speaking mostly now with her hands. “He went from one bloom to the next getting bloated and covered in yellow, and you know— it’s not very much at first, just a dusting on those fuzzy little legs, but everything accumulates and he gets heavier and heavier from all that pollen that sticks to him until eventually those tiny wings of his can barely keep him up and he plummeted down, earth-bound. That’s how the first beetle came to be, a miserable greedy little bee.” Kasey tapped at her lower lip before she offered the stranger a wide grin. “Maybe Zeus’ll do the same, and come crashing into Corinth with the weight of all of our spare change.” Her brows knit for a moment as she tried to consider if Arvid was a particularly common name— Julian had mentioned his coworker at the funeral home that he was starting to see with the very same name, before tossing out her own. “I’m Kasey. Do you know a boy with pink hair? Same shade as mine, we did it together.” The witch paused, “His might be brighter though, he’s better at following care instructions.”

-

The story of the first beetle was an amusing one, not one that Arvid could say he’d ever heard before but he imagined it was popular among children. “I suppose I should be grateful there isn’t a bumblebee game here then, just another place for me to lose all my pollen.” Arvid said with a sigh, appreciating the animated way in which they spoke with their hands. “Jules.” He answered with a smile, “So you’re Kasey, the hair should have been a dead giveaway.” Arvid said simply, “He’s told me a lot about you.” He’d made the big move recently in making things official between the two of them... While Arvid had been with different guys before, this was a first for him. 

Julian thinks that Arvid is actually too sweet to be a person, but that’s a thought he was going to keep for himself at the risk of sounding far too sappy far too early on. The flowers, the kisses to the little rose inked across his hand, the close proximity, it’s all so new. He has had hookups, he has had flirtations, and they’d been fun, but Arvid was different, Arvid was endearing. He’d given him a bit of a warning before, they’d both told each other that they didn’t really do this, they didn’t really know how. “I know what you are and I don’t mind. I know magic is weird.” Or that it could be dangerous, unpredictable. “And I hate to tell you this,” He scoffs, grinning at the witch as he tries to think of what could be something comforting and lighten the mood. “But I wind up naked in the woods about once a week because if I go too long without shifting, I feel weird. So I am more worried about you thinking that’s too weird for you than I’m worried about you hurting me.”

-

“Good thing I’ve always had it in for the kinky fox boy trope.” Arvid joked, mostly anyways. The witch wasn’t sure what he had been expecting Julian’s response to his admission to be, but the shifter took it as he took everything, in strides. There was an ease about Julian that was comforting, it was like Arvid could tell him anything and there would never be any sort of judgement. The witch leaned in and pressed his lips against Julian’s, the faint taste of chocolate and weed butter still on his lips as he did. “Do you ever get lost out there?” 

The sound of ceramic sliding against stone nearly makes him jump and then he’s laughing lightly as he looks at Arvid’s red face. He doesn’t want to go back. He doesn’t want to go back and he wants to introduce him to someone as his boyfriend. This is potentially better than anything Julian had read on Wattpad. He steps away from Arvid and squeezes his hand before leading him a little ways further down the hall in hopes of not potentially breaking any priceless artifacts. He takes it a step further and ducks around one of the stone pillars so they’re borderline tucked in one of the museum’s many alcoves. “It’s okay if you don’t know what you’re doing.” He’s got his hands on the witch’s chest as he smiles softly at him. “I have not a damn clue what I’m doing, but I know it feels right. And I know you kind of make me stupidly happy.”

-

The sneaking around bit is kind of a turn on, if he’s being honest. Jules took his hand, pulled him away and led him to one of the museum’s hidden recesses. Arvid pressed himself against the other softly and drew the other’s hands to his lips so he could press a kiss to one of the many little tattoos that littered the shifter’s body. He didn’t know how telling his family was going to go over, if he was going to tell them at all. It wasn’t as if Arvid was expected home anytime soon, and at the moment he didn’t really care. “The last guy I was with- or liked I guess I should say.” Arvid shook his head, “It didn’t go well. When he found out I was a witch things got shitty, really shitty. I just... I don’t know, I lost it.” Arvid had hurt him, bad. Which wasn’t to say the guy didn’t deserve it to some degree, but maiming the man hadn’t been the witch’s intention, but a reaction. “I’d never hurt you, ever. It’s just my power sometimes things happen around me. Especially if I’m upset, I can’t always control it.” 

Surely the floaty feeling is the brownie, but Julian does spare a quick glance at his feet to make sure they are indeed on the ground. They’re in public, the kiss had been brief, he was being promised bread or pasta or anything he liked. He looks at that gorgeous face of the witch he’s become so enamored with and despite feeling surprised, his face feels almost stuck in a fond expression, his gaze and curve of his smile soft. He’d been learning Greek, he’d been learning English, he’d brought him flowers, he’d agree to go to some dumb house party out in the woods for him. For just a moment, he pretends they aren’t in public and takes the tiniest step forward and uses his free hand to cup the side of Arvid’s face and then he’s kissing him and it’s only when he’s breathless does he realize that it’s not an outright answer. “That is a yes. That is an explicit yes. I mean, if you want it to be?”

-

Jules is kissing him and while Arvid was pretty sure that he was supposed to get an outright answer, it’s hard because his brain has suddenly stopped working. The witch’s hands are on the shifter’s sides, they curve around the delicate cant of the other’s neck, find their way to the back of Julian’s head and it isn’t until they nearly knock over one of the displays that they break for a moment. “It is- yeah,” Arvid affirmed, red faced and chuckling as he looks around and catches sight of an elderly couple gawking at them. “I don’t wanna go back to Haljesta, I don’t know. I don’t really know what I’m doing, I came here because-” why Arvid came to Corinth hardly seemed to matter anymore, “but I found you instead.” This meant that Julian would probably have to meet Jerrik, though that could wait. 

He wants to tell him that he thinks he will be great, that he already thinks he’s great but is that…They haven’t really ever talked a whole lot about what this is between them aside from the night at his place. Julian pressed those flowers before they could wither within the pages of one of his older sketchbooks, he looks to them sometimes in awe that anyone would bring him flowers. They’ve had fun together for months, they enjoy each other’s company, they are holding hands at present, they kiss. They do more than kiss at work, and yet they don’t have a word for this kind of thing, not yet. So instead, Julian cracks a grin that’s almost lazy, eyes going from twined fingers to those big blue eyes. “You brought me brownies and now you’re offering to take me somewhere where I can hopefully fill up on bread. Where have you been all my life?” He was going to fill up on bread regardless, and it feels a little bit bold, but he takes a little step closer and presses his lips to Arvid’s cheek. “I cleared all day for you. Figure whatever time we can get together that’s not at work is precious.”

-

“Wasting time with all the wrong people, I guess.” Arvid remarked simply, he’d never been anyone’s anything and instead had been so wrapped up in himself or his family that he never really thought about what life could look like. This one was nice, happy. Almost peaceful. The city is a treacherous place but there’s an ease about it, Arvid isn’t afraid of anything, and yet still somehow Jules makes him feel even more fearless. “Bread, pasta, you name it and Kiki’s will probably have it.” Kiera was cool like that, Arvid wouldn’t mention that the owner of the restaurant would be loudly shipping them from the kitchen. The witch leaned in a bit and pressed his lips softly against the other’s, short but public. A whisper of the growing intimacy between them. “The owner Kiera, she said she’d do something kind of special for us.” Arvid  breathed, “She’s been teaching me Greek and English. Trying to, anyways. She speaks Swedish too. Should I introduce you as my boyfriend or...?”

Hakon Lykos, he squirrels the name away for later, he chooses to bathe in the excitement of the moment. Arvid has always been interesting, charming, but this is something on a whole different level. The picture he paints of home is like something out of a book, and yet, Julian had wondered before if the witch had truly been happy there. When he’d explained his reasoning for being in Corinth before, he had sounded as if he was there for a noble cause, that he was taking on a responsibility to find his family members. It would appear with the reveal of his lineage that maybe the weight upon his shoulders is greater than he previously thought. He looks from the amphora to the witch, to their joined hands and he can’t help but give a shake of his head and grin. “Do you believe in fate, perchance? Bit funny I’m here looking for information about Fenrir and you’re descended from him, innit?”

Fate. It was a concept for his family, sure. Arvid put some stock in it, he’d be a fool not to. There were oracles and prophecies abound, most of them were little more than a string of flowery words pulled together to paint a pretty picture. It maybe didn’t need to be said that Arvid was a bit of a pessimist, but Jules was right that their meeting didn’t exactly feel entirely coincidental. “It’s said that the Norns predict our death the moment we’re born, and everything in between is what we make of it. I’ve always thought I’d make my own destiny, be more than what my family expected of me.” It sounded nice, but maybe Arvid was just stoned. His smile was uncharacteristically sheepish, “Do you have plans after this? For dinner, I mean. I’ll buy.”

“No. Nothing is different at all. I’m just the same me.” Jerrik wanted to skim past this entire conversation as quickly as he could. He knew Arvid was ready to annoy him about the concept of seeing anyone. And he was not ready to have that conversation with his brother. He had never been the person that even remotely showed interest in anyone. Jazz was just a surprise to him that he considered a welcome one. “I’m not seeing anyone, no. What would make you think that?”

-

“Liar liar ass on fire.” Arvid teased. Jerrik was a terrible liar, but if there was someone - or anything - capable of making the shifter happy then the witch wanted to know about it. Especially because Arvid wanted to know how anyone could ever put up with his brother, but mostly because he was happy for him. “Come on, tell me. Who is she?” 

*

It seemed as if all August sought was distractions, something to distract from the buzzing in her head, the wolf within her bones and the family whose eyes she felt like she disappointed every time she looked into them. Things had changed, time had played a role and she was a fool to expect any differently. She wasn’t sure if she fit into the family mosaic anymore, if she ever did at all so today she played the slots, the bookstore had inherited with its own set of employees so with one running the shop, she set off on her own. Her cup of tokens was rapidly dwindling and the slot machine hadn’t payed off a single match yet. “They’re all rough. Are you winning son?”

-

“Not really.” Arvid said, sadly. It was beginning to look like cups of noodles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next week or so. At least until payday. The witch pressed the button for his last bet and watched with hopeful eyes as the dials spun round and round, lights flashed across the machine before the disappointing sound of another loss made Arvid’s smile faltered. “I should stop coming here.” He said sheepishly before he placed another bet.

    “Aw, look at your smile.” Kiera was grinning widely as she listened to Arvid talk about the guy he liked. It was the look on his face that really melted her heart though — it seemed like he really wanted to be with this guy, and she was in full support and cheerleader mode because of it. “Has he given you any hints that he doesn’t want that? Because if not, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Just ask him, because what can really go wrong? I’m sure if he has any taste he wants to be with you just as much.”

-

“I don’t know, he always says that he doesn’t really stick around in one place for too long.” Arvid admitted as the witch thought of what the shifter had relayed about his experiences. “He likes to move around a lot and isn’t sure how long he’s going to stay in the city. So, I don’t know. That makes it tough.” He knew that Julian liked him, obviously the feeling was mutual because the two men got on really well - but beyond that? It was hard to tell what the foxy-man wanted. If it was Arvid or... a life without any tethers. 

    “I guess so. It definitely took patience to get where we are now.” And now all those obstacles had definitely been worth it. Kiera wasn’t complaining – the path hadn’t been easy, it had been painful, but Maven’s love was worth every single second of it. “Oh, I’m happy. Really happy. I know it might not sound like that at first, but she means a lot to me and I can’t picture my life without her anymore. But some people just need more time, or show love differently, I guess. I don’t really advise it though – I hope that guy of yours is a bit easier.”

-

“Yeah Jules is...” Arvid smiled. “He’s great.” He was glad to hear that things had worked out for Kiera and her girlfriend, she had a point that everyone expressed love differently and it probably wasn’t his place to comment. Especially considering his own limited dating experience. “I’m kind of hoping that this date we, I don’t know- solidify things, maybe?” Arvid admitted. “We’ve been keeping things really casual and I think I want to make it official. Or, I don’t know, see if that’s what he wants.”

Arvid was asking too many questions and Jerrik was not a fan of it. Gods forbid he try to put on some damn cologne. He would never do it again now, but it was the thought that counted. Of course, now his brother’s full attention was on him and he couldn’t escape any of it. “Nothing. There’s nothing different about me.”

-

“No. Something is definitely different.” Arvid pointed out, his brow furrowed as he paced around his brother and did a quick once over. The four day scruff was a thing of the past too. “You seeing someone or something?” That was a joke punctuated by a sharp pull at the corners of his mouth as he quirked a brow at Jerrik. 

He doesn’t know if the floaty feeling is the beginning of the edible reminding him that he’d taken it or if it has to do with the fact that he had indirect proof of rare shifters being right there in Corinth. Hell, there could be a phoenix right there in the museum, anything seemed possible. But Julian tries to push that excitement away, the important thing is that Kasey is alright. Without thinking much on it, he offers Arvid a smile before reaching for his hand and gently tugging him along down the hall lined with a vast amount of amphora’s in different shapes and sizes. Nothing about pottery thrills him, but the idea that vases of all things had been the canvas the Greeks had chosen to paint their stories was interesting. “How do you know all this anyways?” His eyes go from images of what look to be several women in long dresses beside a river to the witch at his side. “Do your parents teach you or does the whole coven?”

-

“I have Fenrir’s last name.” Arvid offered, “Hakon Lykos.” The witch reminded, it was supposed to mean something. At least, it meant something to the Haljesta. more and more Arvid found himself questioning his place in the coven back home. He was among the dead most of his life, preparing funerary rites, watching over stone cairns. “My coven is fond of saying they’re the oldest in the world  but I think they all say that, they’re very connected to their history. It was my bloodline that created the curse of the werewolves, Hel used our ritual to tether them to us.” Arvid furthered, “Fenrir and the fabled stories of his siblings, it’s what I was raised on.” 

     Arvid’s words made Kiera laugh. She couldn’t help it — it was kind of nice to hear that someone thought she had it all together. Which wasn’t completely right, but good enough. “I think I do have it all together. But my girlfriend… not so much.” It wasn’t meant as an insult, it was simply a matter of fact. “She’s very—“ Kiera stopped to think of the right word, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. “Emotional commitment scares her. We take one step forward and three steps back. After we first kissed she wouldn’t talk about it for months. When I first told her I love her, she yelled at me that I’m stupid. Which… doesn’t sound good out loud, I realize. But she just doesn’t think she’s deserving, and that makes it complicated, you know? And some bad things happened to her in the past year that didn’t exactly make it easier.”

-

“You must have a lot of patience.” Arvid commented, he’d have to add patience of a saint onto Kiera’s long list of positive attributes. Her girlfriend sounded... Well she sounded awful. Arvid couldn’t imagine being with someone who treated him so horribly, neither could he imagine treating someone he cared about so poorly. Jerrik got the worst of it but even then Arvid was only joking, he loved his brother enough to remind him how dense he was at any given point. “Are you two, you know. Happy together?” Arvid had to ask, almost asking to blink twice if she needed to be rescued. 

.

She tucked her feet under her chair, crossing them at the ankle as she peered at the machine as colourful wheels whirred by and stopped to another disappointing result. No fanfare, no music. Kasey let out a breath that blew a few stray strands of pink hair away from her face and was about to put more cash in when a voice made her turn her head. “I won earlier, but now—” She held up her coin purse, shaking it to show that there were only a few coins left inside. “I’ve lost it all and then some.” Curious blue eyes peered over at the other machine, looking at the witch beside her. “Are you winning? Hey, do you think that if you’d won the jackpot you’d spare me enough to cover what I wasted today?” A sparkle lit up in her gaze, rent was coming up and she and Julian had been grifters before they had been honest workers. “I might be a good luck charm, you never know.”

-

“Always goes that way doesn’t it. Zeus over there took all my money last weekend.” The witch said as he pointed to one colorfully lit slot machine titled the power of Zeus. The bonus round there was his favourite though he figured out very quickly that you either won a lot on it or you burned through everything in your pocket in a matter of ten minutes. “I’m not having much luck today though.” His own wallet was feeling the weight of his failure, but he still had a few euros left. Maybe that would change. Arvid plugged another bill into the machine and hit the middle-bet. “If I win big I owe my brother an arm and a leg.” The witch smiled at his own joke, though this person wouldn’t get it. He tossed her a smile, “I’m Arvid, by the way.”