Untamed Chroma

Chapter 21 - Returning to Gullinbursti

Their legs ached from the long car ride. A seven hour road trip isn't really a piece of cake, and they weren't even half way there. It was draining. The four of them took shifts, each driving for half an hour before switching to take turns. The road was exceptionally dark. Almost unusually, but it's not like they had the mental capacity to notice anything different. Nothing but the rows of trees on either side of the highway, illuminated by their headlights, their car being the only one for miles around.

Njörd was driving for now, his eyes barely able to keep up. Gefjon was sitting beside him in the passenger seat, reading her book again, meanwhile in the back seat, Thor was looking out the window with his head resting on the glass, while Sól was asleep, napping with her head on his lap. Eventually, the glow of a familiar gas station finally appeared in the distance. Over time with their constant visits to the village, they would stop by the gas station each time. So much so that the owner, a wholesome old man, got to know them and welcome their arrival each time.

"Ok potty break I literally can't wait any more I will shit myself" Njörd suddenly said

"Don't you dare poop in my car" Gefjon replied as he pulled into the gas station, parking as they all also intended to go in to stretch their legs, and get some drinks and snacks. Sól groggily woke up as each of them groaned from hopping out the car. Of course, they nearly froze to death. It must of been around 2 am by now, and the Scandinavian country side is not a merciful place when it came to weather, so they quickly made their way inside.

Thor and Gefjon smiled seeing the old man wearing his reading glasses as he sat on the chair at the front desk reading a news paper, before looking up, seeing the four of them enter

"Oh! Look who it is! Welcome welcome!" He said enthusiastically

"Hello Mr. Mikael" Gef said with a smile

"Going home are you? I've never seen you all head to the village this late" He said

"Well... we didn't manage to have any sleep last night, so it took us a while to pack our bags all day and we left later than needed thanks to Njörd" Sól said

"Speaking of, where is he?" He asked

"He went to the bathroom, he'll be back soon" she replied

"Well you all know you're always welcome here" He replied wholesomely before going back to his paper as they all began browsing for some snacks. Eventually, Njörd made it back, and began looking for some crackers he liked, ones that he would only find in this store, when eventually he was tapped on the shoulder "

Excuse me?" A man asked beside him

"Yeah?" He asked as he noticed the man. He was shorter than him, to be fair, Njörd was quite tall anyway. He had a scar on his cheek which Njörd took notice of. His hair was messy, his eyes quite wide and veiny, his shirt ragged and torn, Njörd thought he was homeless

"Mind handing me the bread on the top shelf? I can't reach it..." he replied, a bit embarrassed but also smiling

"Oh sure! Here you go" Njörd said as he handed him the bread "Are you also on a road trip? We rarely see other people this far out of the city" he asked

"Oh, hehe, no no I actually live here"

"Oh wow, in one of the villages?"

"No no, in a bungalow or in the woods."

"Thats quite cool actually, don't you get creeped out? Do you live alone?" Njörd curiously asked

"I don't know, I have four siblings, two brothers and two sisters, and every single one of them is in love with the cities, they indulge in the busy life meanwhile I can't stand being in the midst of cars and streets. I prefer the serenity and loneliness of the woods" He explained