Down that Way to Saintes (closed)

2 December 2021
11:34 am
On a Thursday
just outside of Kiojaleit, Prydania

"Rúrik, you need to..." Víf said, quieting as her husband put a finger up to get her to give him a minute as he was on the phone.

"Já Vali... mmhm...every weekend and Tuesday and Wednesday every other week?.... I can swing it.... Já especially with them! And they know the farm...ok...tell the boys and Missus I say high...umhm. Of course...dankie, dankie. You enjoy your Christmas too."

Víf watched with a sense of curiosity as Rúrik hung up.
"Vali says hi, hun," Rúrik said as he sat at his desk and quickly jotted down some numbers into a ledger.

"You got Askur and Stefnir for the spring?" she asked.

"Já every weekend and two days every other week. Them plus the regular farmhands we've signed on, we're good to go once the snows melt."

Víf grinned. The farm was growing. They were producing more. And thanks to the Cooperative they were selling more. All the meant more hands to hire. Which they were both happy to deal with thanks to the last harvest.

"You know, maybe I'll just be a house wife, what do you think?" Víf asked with a grin.

"Eh?" Rúrik asked more confused then anything as he looked up from his ledger.

"I mean look at you. Nose deep in the business side of things. I think it makes you look sexy. So much I may just leave all the business stuff to you from now on," she grinned.

"Only if you can add five more hours to my day," Rúrik chuckled.

"Well speaking of time...let's go. We have a flight to catch and you know how icy the roads can get."

"Já," Rúrik said with a nod as he stood up, grabbing his bag.
"Mamma has Týr?"

"She does! Let's go."

"Ok and...ah! Hang on!"

"What's wrong?" Víf asked, sounding concerned.

"I need to check with the Ministry."

"Have you heard anything?" Víf asked, anxiously.

"No, not yet. But I want to check up. I really want to have some good news when I see Uncle Kvasir."

Víf nodded as her husband called the agent assigned to their case for the Ministry of the Interior.

"Hello! Já, Rúrik Öxndal...umhm...nothing yet?"

He sighed.

"Thank you anyway...já of course. Merry Christmas to you too."
"Still nothing?" Víf asked sounding disappointed.

"They don't have a positive ID yet," Rúrik replied sounding a bit downtrodden.

"Don't worry about it honey," Víf insisted.
"With any luck it'll be any day now. It'll make the trip that much more special."

"Já, já, I can't obsess over it," Rúrik said with a nod.
"You two coming?" Júlíetta asked, poking her head into the small den. She was holding the one and a half year old Týr by the hand.

"Já Mamma we are. Just had to cross some ð's and dot some i's."

Rúrik took his and Víf's bags as she took her son from her mother-in-law, all of them making their way to the car.

"Everyone strap in," Rúrik called out as he finished loading the bags in the trunk. His wife, mother, and son all seated when he hopped into the driver's seat.

"Alright, let's head on out."

It would be a decent drive to Býkonsviði International Airport.

2 December 2021
12:07 am
On a Thursday
somewhere between Kiojaleit and Býkonsviði

Rúrik drove cautiously... it had been a habit of his since Týr had been born. And with his wife and their one year old in the back seat, on a winter road, he was going slow.

"You know," Víf said, "I appreciate you driving responsibly but you should maybe get out of the fast lane."

"Eh fast lane...whatever," Rúrik replied with a chuckle.
"It's midday. Nice winter drive."

"Just get out of the way if anyone tries to pass you," Júlíetta added. Rúrik looked over at his mother and smiled.

"Nothing to worry about. We're not in a rush either. We have plenty of time."

"Is this your first time leaving Prydania?" Júlíetta asked, looking back at her daughter-in-law.

"Já," Víf answered with a nod.

"Then we're all in the same boat," Júlíetta said, before smiling at her grandson.
"Týr's going to be the most worldly. Going to another country at one and a half."

"Plane!" Týr replied.

"That's right," Víf said with a chuckle, handing her son a toy plane they had brought with them.

"And not one of us knows much Santonian," Rúrik said with a chuckle.
"This will be fun."

"There's always Mercanti," Júlíetta suggested, switching to that language.

"Já," Rúrik said with a shrug.
"Eh, Markþór, Addý, Uncle Kvasir, and Aunt Odda will help."

"And the new ones," Víf added.

"Já," Rúrik said..."Saxi and Luta..."

"I can't believe that Kvasir and Odda adopted..." Júlíetta said, sounding a bit amazed at the prospect still. Between her time in the camps and the War and everything else...it felt like a lifetime ago since their family- everyone- was all together. But she still thought of Kvasir and Odda like a brother and sister. And the news that they had adopted Prydanian war orphans was shocking.

"Saxi and Luta Torvik," Víf said with a nod.
"Your new cousins," she added with a smile looking at Rúrik. He smiled back at his wife and nodded.

"I've seen pictures," he said. "Markþór and Addý have told me about them, but this will be the first I've spoken to them."

"Poor things," Víf said softly.
"Losing your parents and ending up in a different country..."

Rúrik wasn't sure what to say... he and his mother had their own struggles. Really, he was worried how he'd relate. The two teenagers his aunt and uncle had adopted had likely gone through hell.

"I'm glad Aunt Odda and Uncle Kvasir were there for them," he said with a nod.
"Because..." he shivered.
"War does bad things to children." Rúrik smiled as his wife, sensing his discomfort, leaned over his shoulder to kiss his cheek.

"On other news," Júlíetta said, "we'll finally see Addý with Thorbjörn Höjsleth."

"I haven't seen Thorbjörn since..."

"Fifteen years," Júlíetta remarked to her son.
"Back then, we'd all watch each other's children. He and you, you'd stay over at each others' place."

"Shame their place isn't around anymore," Rúrik said with a sigh.

"They sold it, if I remember correctly?" Víf said.
"When they were re-compensated. They sold it."

"To the Fagerlands," Rúrik added with a nod.
"I get it, but I get nostalgic from time to time."

"So," Víf said curiously as she tended to Týr.
"What will that be like? Seeing Thorbjörn Höjsleth again?"
Like most Prydanians she knew who Thorbjörn Höjsleth was. But unlike her husband, she never actually knew him.

"I last saw Thorbjörn when we were ten," Rúrik said with a shrug.
"We might as well be meeting for the first time."

"Still, there must be something you're curious about? Or want to say?" Víf asked.

"Oh já, I want to say 'hi' and wish him well with Addý," Rúrik said.
"He seems like a nice guy, and Addý likes him. I hope they work out. But like... if I'm honest... I doubt he even remembers me."

"Well either way, I remember him," Júlíetta replied.
"And seeing him alive after all these years, with Addý no less..." she smiled.

Rúrik said nothing as he drove, just nodding to what his mother said. He was excited to go on this trip, but he often felt himself torn between nostalgia for a past that he felt was taken from him, and embracing a future he was building for his family.
But that was fine because truth be told... it meant he had a past worth remembering and a future worth looking forward to.

2 December 2021
5:07 pm, Saintes time
On a Thursday
Saintes-Torcy Airport, just outside of Saintes, Saintonge

Markthór waved politely at someone who had recognized him. Basketball was probably Saintonge's third or fourth most popular sport. He wasn't a rock star like the football guys, but people recognized him somewhat regularly.

Nicole smiled up at her husband and held his hand as she leaned against him. The board had listed the 1 pm flight from Býkonsviði as having just landed.

"You're excited," she teased him, seeing Markthór's giddy smile.

"I can't wait," he said with an admitting nod.
"I'm going to show Rúrik the time of his life."

Nicole nodded. She'd sensed a change in her husband. She met him when he had no idea what had become of his family back in Prydania. Finding out that they were, mostly, alive and seeing them reconnect had been a journey for Markthór, Addý, Kvasir, and Odda. And with the previous trip to Prydania showing that they were finally safe, something changed. Nicole saw a new side of her husband. The side that was giddy and excited that his cousin and best friend was alive, safe, and sound. It was lifted a weight off of Markthór's shoulders that had been there for so long she didn't even see it as a weight. He was just... happier. Less angsty. And she could tell that while the trip the previous year had been about re-connection, her husband wanted to make this one about making up for lost time.

"Just make sure you give them time to catch their breath," she chuckled.
"You'll have plenty of time to run your cousin ragged."

Markthór chuckled, going over what he had planned in his head and nodded to his wife. His cousin and his family had to go through customs first so it would be some time.

2 December 2021
5:26 pm
On a Thursday
Saintes-Torcy Airport, just outside of Saintes, Saintonge

Rúrik rolled his neck as the line moved at a pace that could be described as "consistent," the electronic signage flashing Bienvenue à Saintonge/Welcome to Saintonge, cycling into Velkomin til Santonnlands occassionally. He held the passports for Víf, Júlíetta, and Týr. The little guy's ears had popped on the plane, but he seemed better now that his mamma was holding him.

Rúrik put his arm around his mother. Because, well, because he knew what she was feeling. The experience of taking a plane was new to all of them, but that had been different and interesting. Though it had made him curse himself for not springing for nicer seats. Even then though, it was fun.

But this was something different. In a regimented line. One at a time. It reminded him of his time in the camp. It wasn't anything like it really. It was clean, and bright, and there weren't any menacing guards. But still... the regimentation called those feelings to mind. And if he was feeling them then she was too.

Júlíetta leaned into her son's embrace as the line moved forward. She felt her heart racing a bit, but the calmness of it all certainly helped. No guards, no crying in the distance. Nice and bright. She focused on those things and managed. Though when the uniformed customs official called them forward she purposefully stayed back and let her son take the lead.

"Bienvenue à Saintonge," the official said with a smile. Rúrik looked around and nervously said "Hallo. Talar þú Prydanski?"

"Já," the guard said with a nod.
"Velkomin til Santonnlands. What is the purpose of your visit?"

Rúrik nodded. He spoke Mercanti, but Prydanian was his first choice. And the guard's Santonian accent wasn't bad at all. This gate must be handling a lot of Prydanian flights?

"We're here to visit family for two weeks," he said.
"My wife, my son, and my mother."

"Who are you visiting?"

"My cousin. He lives in Saintes."

The official nodded and looked over the Prydanian passports. He noticed the last name. Öxndal. He raised an eyebrow has he went through them.

"Markthór Öxndal?" he asked. He'd dealt with a lot of Prydanians visiting family through here. And the name wasn't one he'd seen. So...

"Já," Rúrik nodded, a bit confused. Did they correlate his ticket with his cousin or...

"Oh! I'm an ARS Saintes fan," the customs official said with a smile.
"Your cousin plays for my favourite basketball team."

"Oh..." Rúrik said, a bit surprised. He knew that Mark played basketball but he still wasn't used to the idea that he'd be famous here.
"That's nice," he added, with a bit of relief. If the customs guy was predisposed to liking them...

"What address are you're staying at?" the official asked.
"I promise I'm not being a crazy fan," he added with a chuckle.

"Oh," Rúrik replied, going though his phone and pulling up a note. He copied his Uncle Kvasir and Aunt Odda's address onto the form.

1448 Rue de Plaqueminier

The official looked over the form.

"It says you've been to a farm?" he asked.

"Já," Rúrik nodded.
"I'm a farmer. We live on one," he said with a smile.

The official nodded.
"Any fruits, vegetables, or meats?"

"No. Just some gifts for family."

"Ok," the official said.
"I'm going to have to ask you all to stand over in that side room. Everything checks out," he said stamping the forms and passports, "but we need to make sure you're not accidentally carrying any contaminates. It's standard procedure for anyone who's been to a farm within two weeks of entering Saintonge."

Rúrik held his tongue, fighting the urge to insist that he ran a pretty damn good operation and didn't have anything like that on him, but if this is what they had to do... then fine.

"Rúrik, what's going on?" Júlíetta asked, but he just smiled.

"It's ok Mamma, they need to make sure we didn't track anything back from the farm," he said before collecting his paperwork and passports from the official.

"Takk fyrir," he said to the official before leading his family to the room.

The process itself was not very intensive. They merely ran some swaps over a few parts of their luggage and their clothes and hands, running them through a machine for analysis.

"You and your family are good to go Monsieur Öxndal," a new official said when the machine dinged with a green light when the last swab was tested.
"Please allow me to be the first to welcome you to Saintonge."

---

"Well he was pleasant," Víf remarked as they made their way down the hallway.

Rúrik shrugged.
"People gotta do what they gotta do, I guess," he said, just letting what had to happen happen, but his slightly annoyed was turned on its head when the sliding glass doors leading to the air port proper opened.
"Markþór!"

"Rúrik!" Markthór exclaimed back as the embraced, hugging tight.

"Nicole!" Rúrik said, giving her a hug too. He was practically a brother to his cousin, which made her very much his sister-in-law.

"Oh it's nice to see you all!" Nicole said as everyone made their rounds hugging and greeting.
"I do hope the trip was nice?"

"I'm calling the airline tomorrow," Rúrik said with a chuckle.
"I should have spent for the nicer seats."

"That's a different airport, bro. Gentilly I think," Markthór said with a smile.

"Whatever, my legs are too cramped," Rúrik said with a laugh, hugging his cousin again.

Markthór nodded with a smile before he saw his nephew.
"Týr! Buddy!" he said, switching from Mercanti to Prydanian. Probably the only language the one year old knew.

"Frændi! Frænku!" Týr said, giggling as he said the words for aunt and uncle.

"Oh he's even cuter," Nicole added, causing Markthór to tense up just a bit. The kid conversation...it was coming. But for now...now he could have some fun. He opened a plastic bag he'd been holding, and produced a small hat for a toddler, an ARS Saintes Basketball cap, and put it on his nephew's head.

"That's your uncle's team!" he said proudly, before taking Júlíetta's bag.
"Aunt Júlíetta, let me," he said as she embraced her nephew.

"Thank you Mark," she said as Rúrik took his and Víf's bags.

"You know, the customs official is was a fan of yours," Víf said to Markthór as they all began to walk to the airport's parking lot.

"Oh? Someone else recognized me when we were waiting for you," Markthór replied.
"Two in one day. Ties the personal record," he said with a chuckle as Nicole rolled her eyes at his self-deprication.

"Didn't stop us from having to be swabbed down because they were looking for whatever it was they were looking for," Rúrik added.

"Oh that. The farm thing," Nicole replied.
"We had to do it too, when we came back from Prydania last year."

"What type of operation do they think I run?" Rúrik asked rhetorically as he and Markthór loaded their bags into 's car.Markthór

"Eh, don't take it personally. Prydania has the same thing I think. Everyone just wants to keep their agriculture safe. Good thing you're not going to any farms here, or they'll want to do it to you when you go home too."

"So I don't get to take it personally even if customs people on both sides of the Meterran sea want to swab me for chemicals?" Rúrik asked, assuming Markthór's bit about not going to any farms was a joke.

"Huh? You're going to a farm here?" Markthór asked as they all got into the car.

"Uncle Kvasir didn't tell you?"

"No, Pabbi didn't say anything."

"Oh..." Rúrik said with a shrug.
"It'll only be a day, but on Saturday Uncle Kvasir's bringing me to one of the farms he works with outside of Saintes. He wants to show me some nuclear powered systems that allow for some winter crop growth. We're getting nuclear plants back home and I'm curious about them. I'd like to see how they work in person first though, so Uncle Kvasir said he'd show me one."

Markthór started the car up. It was just one day.... the stuff he planned for him and his cousin could be re-arranged. But...
"If you start farming in the winter," he said, remembering that, before he and his family had to come to Saintonge that winter was always the slow time on the farm, "then you won't have time to visit us."

Rúrik smiled. His cousin sounded so...not hurt. But... it clearly was something that hit him. And so he smiled.
"Bro, us coming here or you coming there, family makes the time."

Markthór nodded and began to pull the car out, feeling better about that. Not that he doubted it but... well... he was just happy to have his cousin back in his life.

"But we're growing. And if we can plant even limited crops in the winter well," Rúrik said, "more money to spend on visits," he said with a grin.

"Heh," Markthór said with a nod as they pulled out.
"Well... try not let Pabbi bore you to death when you're trapped with him out in the country."

Rúrik chuckled along but he was excited. He hadn't seen his uncle since... well... since his aunt, uncle, and cousins had to flee.

"Addý wishes she could be here, but her and Thorbjörn send their best. We'll see them at dinner," Nicole added.
"And you get to meet Saxi and Luta!"

Víf nodded as the car pulled into traffic.
"I hope they're doing alright."

"As good as they can be," Markthór said.
"But they're excited to meet you guys."

"Us?" Rúrik asked.

"They went through some stuff..." Markthór said softly, trying not to trigger his cousin or aunt's own memories.
"But they're family now. And they want to meet family."

Rúrik nodded, grinning with a subtle smile. He'd caught glimpses of Saintes as they'd approached, but he'd finally get to see it properly for the first time.

And contemplate his new cousins.