The Drunken Walrus was loud and full of life when Lìfa entered with her companions and Finn. With half of the prize in her pouch, she ordered a round to her friends who quickly spread across the place, finding different activities for themselves. Soon their laughs and shouts enriched the already loud noise of the drunk sailors and merchants.

The two berserkers sat down with Sveinn to challenge the locals in arm wrestling, showing off their strength. They wanted to test the boy because they saw potential in him. Since Thorvald didn't have a family and Magni's wife refused to make more kids after four daughters, none of them had a son who could inherit their secrets and keep their traditions alive. They treated Sveinn like the son they never had and decided to train him to be the next berserk of Thornvik.

Ivar, Halfdan and Gunnar were playing tafl in the hope for winning a few pieces of silver or more mead, while not being caught for cheating. Bjarne, Vidar, and Olaf were after women as always, pretending like they didn't have wife and kids back home waiting for them. Carolus took his place beside the fireplace, performing his newest songs and poems for those who were interested. Only Egil and Frode avoided the searching gaze of people in a dark corner, whispering among themselves. Lìfa and Finn simply sat down to a small table with a drinking horn of the pub's finest mead in their hands.

"Isn't it strange, that an hour ago we were about to kill each other, and now we are sitting here?" Lìfa tilted her head to the side, looking at the boy sitting across the table.

"That was all business, you know. Nothing personal." Finn flashed a wide smile at her, leaning back at his chair, openly eyeing her up and down "We both were fighting for the money and didn't even know each other's name."

"True. Now tell me, how did you end up in that arena as a champion-" she couldn't finish because a commotion was forming nearby the fireplace. A few guests got tired of the skald's performance and wanted him to go.
Unfortunately, Carolus had no intentions to go and the angry crowd just made him more desperate for success. He bought as many beers as he could and he wanted to get everyone's attention for his final, big move.

As time passed by and more and more mead went down his throat, Carolus got more and more loud and conspicuous. His friends couldn't hold him back for long from telling his so-called epic stories, so he ended up in the middle of the room, on top of a table, barely standing, shouting and singing totally drunk. At first, people didn't pay attention to him, because this wasn't an unusual scene in the Drunken Walrus. But suddenly, a new idea struck into his mind, he started into a new ballad right on the spot and now every head turned into his direction.

"Let me tell you a story ab- *hic* about a girl, who is now sitting among us!" he pointed his greasy finger at Lìfa, who was now staring at him with a confused look on her face "This girl is special, skalds will sing about her in no time! Her fate was written up in Asgard, and she will achieve great things in life. This little wolf is favored by the god of lies, and mischief, *hic* Loki himself! Don't believe me? Just look at her! She is red-haired like the god himself, she wears his mark on her skin, and her eyes- *hic* those eyes are Chaos and Order at the same time!"

Now every head turned to Lìfa, who felt her face turning into a deep colour of red. She suddenly couldn't stand all those eyes looking at her and people whispering to each other, and somebody shouted incoherent things like witch, seird, and cursed. When the skald was about to continue his monologue Frode hit him hard in the head with his staff, making him stumble off the table.

"Shut your mouth, you nitwit! You caused enough damage for this night!" he hissed at Carolus. The drunk skald wanted to punch the old man for ruining his performance, but his movements were clumsy thanks to the alcohol and the godi was faster. He pushed him back with his staff, making him fall upon the tafl game of some other men, who immediately jumped up and pulled out their knives. They lunged at Carolus and Frode, but the other members of the group joined in to protect their friends. Soon almost every man in the place joined in just for the fun of fighting. The whole scene quickly escalated into one big fight, everyone beating and punching the ones around them, throwing chairs and tables, smashing the furniture and wrestling on the scattered pieces.

Lìfa used this moment of chaos to escape from the curious, staring eyes and ran out of the Drunken Walrus to get some fresh air. She wanted to get away from the rumors, the scared looks toward her and especially her friends, but she had nowhere to go or hide at Heilaholm since she barely knew the place.

"Hey, you wanna take a walk? I could show you the night festivities, maybe you might enjoy them." Finn appeared by her side, offering an arm to her. With a grateful smile, Lìfa took his arm. She was happy that the boy stayed with her and also the idea of getting away from all the trouble was quite appealing.

They walked away from the loud noises of the fight in the pub and Finn led them to an open field with a huge bonfire in the middle, with people dancing around it to the music's rhythm that filled the night air. A bit further huge tables were set up with different kinds of roasted meat and of course beer. Many people sat around them chatting and feasting happily.

"Is this your first time at Heilaholm?" he looked down at Lìfa.

"Yes. But you seem like someone who knows this place very well."

"Yeah, I used to come here a lot with my family. They are merchants, so they often visit Heilaholm. But enough of this, we are now here to cheer you up! What would you like to do first?" as he was looking at Lìfa expectantly, the orange light of the bonfire highlighted his beautiful jawline, high cheekbones and other details of his face and Lìfa caught herself staring at him. She quickly shook it off before he could notice anything and answered:

"How about a dance? They all look so happy and carefree, it would be a good distraction from all those morons back at the Walrus."

"As you wish." with a small bow Finn reached his hand out to Lìfa, who took it with a laugh, and they joined the dance around the fire.

They swayed and swirled with the others to the rhythm of the music, never letting each other's hand go. The two of them made a few rounds around the fire, jumping, and dancing, laughing at their own silly moves. Lìfa enjoyed the dance with Finn, and felt like her problems and the world outside melted away with the spinning and dancing crowd around her. It was only her and Finn. When they finally ran out of breath, they sat down in the tall grass, where many people took place already. They managed to find a spot near the edge of the cliff, where they could be a bit alone, far from the others.

"Thank you for taking me here. Also, thank you for the dance, you got some good moves." Lìfa smiled at the boy, still panting from the heat of the dance.

"Thanks! But won't your husband mind your little getaway with me?" Finn arched an eyebrow at her with a playful smirk on his thin lips.

"What? I don't have a husband." Lìfa blushed, and pure confusion sat out on her face.

"And what about that blonde giant always keeping an eye on you? I thought he might be your man." Finn tilted his head to the side questioningly.

"Oh, you're talking about Sveinn!" she let out a small laugh "No, no, he's not my husband, more like my brother and best friend. I'm not married." Finn's green eyes suddenly lit up hearing the answer. At least Lìfa thought so, but she wasn't sure if she saw right in the dim light.

"Oh, I see. And how come a girl like you is not married? And what brought you to Heilaholm?"

"Ugh. It's a long story." Lìfa let out a painful sigh as memories came back to her from that terrible day of losing her home and father "Long story short, my hometown was attacked and burned down, my father got killed, and now we are here to gear up, and take revenge. I don't plan to have a husband or anyone during this journey, it's easier that way."

"I'm sorry for your loss. I didn't know it would be a hurtful topic to you, I'm sorry. But I think, now I understand why you're alone. Are you afraid that you might not be coming back from that fight?"

"I have no doubt I'll come back. I do not fear the fight. I'll make those bastards pay for everything, and I will enjoy every moment of it. It's just... I just don't want to lose anyone else during the way." Lìfa didn't know why she suddenly told all these things to the raven-haired boy next to him.
Somehow she felt comfortable beside him, and words just came out easily and naturally. Like she always knew him.

"And how about you? Are you here with your parents again? Or you just escaped from your wife to take a break?" it was now Lìfa's turn to ask the questions.

"I guess we sit in the very same boat. Or at least they are similar. I'm here because my jarl took everyone who was able to fight to a war that's so important to him. It didn't matter if we wanted to go or not. But at least I am single as you, so I don't have to worry about what will happen to my wife or kids if I die," he laid back into the grass, avoiding Lìfa's searching gaze. Talking about this war and leaving his home was clearly hard for him too.

Lìfa laid back too, only a few inches from him. She turned her head to Finn, who was now staring at the night sky and the stars above, and she reassuringly took his hand.

"Hey, I'm sure you'll come back in one piece. You gave me hell of a time on the battleground today, you'll make it through that war too."

"Thanks." Finn turned his face to Lìfa with a small, grateful smile "You are a pretty good fighter too. By the way, is that true what your skald said back at the Walrus? Does Loki really keep an eye on you? Is it your secret of fighting like a wolf, and that's why you're so confident you would return?"

Now Lìfa was the one who was staring at the sky, avoiding to look into the boy's emerald eyes. She also tried to pull her hand away, but Finn gently squeezed it and kept it in his warm palm. This was the last thing she wanted to talk about. This whole story about her being found in the forest and the rumors about the least preferred god were too much for her. She wanted to hide from all this, but she couldn't. It was on her skin, and anyone who looked into her unmatched eyes could see the truth. She just had to accept it somehow.

"Lìfa, you don't have to tell me, if you don't want to. I was just curious because you really seem to be special." Finn broke the silence, snapping Lìfa out of her dark thoughts. She didn't really know why, but she started to talk. With Finn, it went so easy, easier than ever with Sveinn.

"I don't know. Father always told me, that I'm favored by a god, though he never said by which one. I found the truth out just a few days ago, and I don't know what to think. When people hear that I might be connected to Loki, I can see fear on their faces, and I hear them whisper behind my back. They think I'm cursed, and they are afraid of me."

"Hey, that's not so bad! Maybe it's something you can turn to your advantage. Your enemies will fear you, and who would dare to cross your way, if Loki himself protects you? He is a dangerous god after all, and also a clever one."

"Not so bad? Are you saying that everyone staring at me because of my freakin' eyes, and avoiding me because they are afraid of me is not so bad?" Lìfa sat up as anger started to boil inside her. She wanted to jump up and march away, but something held her back. She couldn't run from it forever. To recompose and calm herself she took a deep breath and she turned to Finn, who sat up too.

"Look, I'm sorry, I just..." she couldn't finish, because the raven-haired boy pulled her into a tight, comforting hug. After a few seconds of surprise, she returned the hug. Somehow it was good to be this close to Finn, to feel his scent, and again it was like the world outside just melted away.

"I'm not afraid of you. And for one, I think your eyes are beautiful," said Finn hesitantly, as he finally pulled away from the hug.

He looked like he wanted to say something else, or wanted to do something, but in the end, he didn't. His words made Lìfa blush and now she was staring down at her shoes, avoiding Finn's green eyes, playing with a small leaf between her fingers. She wanted to say something too, but the small ball forming in her throat didn't let her. Suddenly, from the corner of her eyes, she saw Finn pulling out a small knife. She immediately moved away, ready to defend herself, but Finn just sat there laughing at her reaction. He reached up and cut down a long lock from his hair.

"What are you doing?" Lìfa was now all confused. A moment ago it was like something might be happening between them, and now he was cutting down a piece of his hair. It just didn't make any sense to her.

"You'll see. I just thought I'd give you something that reminds you of me, so you wouldn't feel alone when our ways part." with this, he gently pulled Lìfa's hair from behind her ear and braided his black lock into her red ones.

"How do you like it?" he flashed at her his signature smile, making Lìfa's stomach jump.

Instead of answering, she confidently took the knife from his hand, and cut down a lock from her own hair too and braided it into Finn's. Her hair looked like a small fire lighting up the dark of the night among the jet-black locks of the boy.

"Now you won't be alone either. When you're at the war, just think about this and our fight. Maybe this will help you come back in one piece. Also, it's like a secret alliance only we know about!"

"I'm sure it will. By the way, we definitely need to rematch one day. It's a shame that we might never meet again though." Finn's smile slowly faded away, and the happy light disappeared from his eyes, as the thought of the upcoming war crawled into his mind again. He moved away a bit, staring at the night sky again with a big sigh.

"Hey, if nowhere else, promise to meet me at Valhalla!" Lìfa sat closer to him, searching for his gaze. Her amber eye was full of playful, yet fierce light, while the other one had a soft, loving shine.

"I promise." With this, he finally did what Lìfa was secretly waiting for the whole night, and pulled her into a kiss. Lìfa immediately returned the kiss and wrapped her arms around Finn's neck, pulling him closer, while his fingers tangled into her hair, stroking, and playing with it. It was like they both were waiting for this to happen all night, and now they enjoyed every second of it. Lìfa had some boys back in Thornvik before, but she never felt this happy with any of them. Finn was different, there was something about him she couldn't describe.

When they pulled away, they rested their foreheads against each other, both grinning ear to ear. They both knew that they had only one night, and none of them wanted to return to their crew. They wanted to stay together as long as they could, before parting probably forever. They spent the night together laying in the tall grass with the starry sky above them, hiding from their problems and fate under Finn's wolfskin coat.