A/N: Set at some date in the 17th century. Based on a lot of my headcanons, which I tried to stick to the prompt with '.';; I kind of just took the idea and had fun with it, so it may or may not be what was expected. I also wanted the fic to be very casual, so there are a lot of notes at the end that I didn't want to explain in the story (you might want to skip ahead to the notes where each one is marked, so that the reference is understood). I'm very sorry if it's not entirely accurate.

"What are you doing?"

The question, though asked in innocent curiosity, caused the young man it was directed at to scramble to cover what he had been doing. "Do you need something, Danmark?"

Denmark moved his candle closer to the things Norway had shoved under his knees and legs in the darkness. "I was just asking what you were doing…" He grabbed onto a paper that was loose.

At the same moment, Norway grabbed onto the same paper, and it rent in two. He quickly discarded it in favor of snatching the other half from the elder. He successfully ripped away all but a small corner from his companion, who had been taken aback by the desperate efforts to conceal this from him.

"Norge- what…?"

"This is personal," the Norwegian glared with a hiss in his voice.

A flash of light, followed immediately by the loud clap of thunder caught both off-guard, eyes darting around the room before coming to lie on each other's startled expressions.

"I-" they both started after the chock wore a little, then paused to allow the other to speak.

"I'm fine on my own," Norway finished first, grabbing a blanket from nearby and wrapping himself in it, obstinately keeping his eyes averted. "Go back to bed, I'll be fine." He then abruptly bent over to lie his head on the floor, using the edges of the blanket to cover what he was hiding.

Denmark moved his candle again to his friend's face. Norway was expert at keeping his emotions unreadable, but his rapid blinking and curled, infrequently quivering lips didn't escape Denmark's notice. He hadn't needed those signs to tell Norway was afraid anyway.[1] "It's me, Norge…" he whined. "I don't want to be alone."

"Go bug someone else, I'm busy." He cast a momentary, sidelong glare at the young man hovering near him.

Denmark put on his most convincingly childish pout and settled himself on the floor as well. After a moment of stubborn silence, he remembered the small shred of paper left in his hand. He moved it into the light to see if it revealed anything. There was just one figure left and it had been torn, but it struck a familiar cord with Denmark. His brow furrowed and smile faltered as he racked his memory for something similar.

"Runes![2]" he suddenly exclaimed, a toothy grin showing.

"What?!" Norway shot back up and stared uncomfortably at the companion.

"Do you have a friend up in the mountains or something?"

"What?" Norway repeated, a little less shocked, a little less incredulous.

"I don't know why else you'd be writing in…ah…" His voice trailed off as recollection caught up with him. He stopped, glanced over his younger friend's paled face moving to the two halves of the paper scattered and peeking out from under the blanket. "I mean," he laughed in an attempt to lighten the air, "they still use runes in the rural places, where they don't have much contact with the outer world, right?"

His babbling went unanswered, Norway still almost seemed paralyzed. Denmark took the opportunity to snatch away a piece of the paper that he could see the shadows of ink on. Examining it, he chuckled. He had never bothered to learn these things before, so the symbols were cryptic to him. The small characters didn't make sense the way they were placed, but he could recall the arrangements he had watched over Norway's shoulder far in the past, which were similar. Thus his suspicion was confirmed and he dropped the paper back down to the floor and played like he didn't know anything.

Soon, Norway seemed to return to his senses, huffing under his breath as he wrapped the blanket tighter around himself and hunched over slightly. Another violent lightning strike a mere few seconds later drew a gasp and flinch from him. After some heavy breaths, he stared again at Denmark, silently hoping the man would leave.

"It's no big deal to me, you know?" Denmark broke the silence with an uncharacteristically quiet statement.

"What are you talking about?" Norway's return was equally defensive and feigning.

"The runes," Denmark explained. "It's fine. I won't say anything."

Norway nervously scratched at a made-up itch on his head. "Oh yeah?"

Denmark grinned. "For sure. Hey…just out of curiosity, why…?"

"'Why' what?" Norway was still playing on the safe side, on the off-chance that Denmark hadn't realized what he had been up to.

"Why runes? Why now? Obviously, you know it's risky, as evidenced by your reaction."

Norway ran his teeth over his lip. Clearly they were both being guarded about coming out and admitting that he had been dabbling with spells of his past when he could be punished if caught. "…Bored."

"So you mess with this stuff whenever you're bored?"

He was weighing a safe answer when a third strike flashed very close, brightening the whole room and the thunder rumbled for what seemed like hours. He stared out of the sole window, a series of small twitches running through his body as his eyes darted to try to find something out of place, and a few muttered swears slipped from his mouth in a near whimper.

"You're really still this afraid of thunder?" Denmark moved closer in an attempt to comfort Norway, only to be pushed away forcefully.

"No matter what, roots are still roots and we can't forget where we came from." He managed to keep his voice steady.

Denmark picked up the paper again and referred to it with a gesture. "So tell me, was this to protect you?" He smiled, trying to make the other comfortable enough to talk about the taboo subject. Norway was right, even if their states were Christian now, as individuals, they hadn't been raised that way. To fall back to their old ways was but natural. They should be able to speak freely with each other, especially now, when no one was around to mind or to rebuke them.

"Are you really broaching this subject?" Norway looked back up at his companion, after lighting a third candle to add a little more light.

"Why not? It's the middle of the night, no one's going to tell as what we can and can't do. You said it, roots are roots."

Norway's expression showed a lazy sort of facial shrug. "Then…yes and no. Some of it was just boredom. Nothing better to do when one isn't sleeping, thanks very much to the storm."

Denmark was a little shocked by how casually the subject seemed to be, while he had always remembered the people saying how dangerous magics were. "Have you kept up doing this in secret all this time?"

"Have you kept up doing this in secret all this time?"

"Would you think so?"

"I never know what you're doing, so…" The sudden mental image of a younger Norway floated into Denmark's mind, bringing with it the memories of their youth. Norway had been secretive even more so back then, especially in his magic practicing.[3] "Hey, Norge…"

Norway didn't look up from his staring emptily at the floor. "Yes?"

"Do you still believe in all of that?"

Norway frowned slightly. "Did I ever or was it all a bunch of inane stories and rituals?"

"Hey, I believed it!" Denmark was insulted by the seeming attack. He was questioning himself even on how much of the past he still held onto. They had simply been silenced on these subjects for so long, and he had never really thought about where he personally stood.

"Yes, and you're also an idiot." Norway smirked to see his friend's reaction from the corner of his eye. "No, it was more than that. The old custom[4] was what defined us, so you can't discount it. I suppose it made us who we are, even if we don't follow it today. To me, it has nothing to do with belief, but rather it's a way of life."

"So you have continued the rituals?"

"Yes and no. If it's convenient, harmless and there's nothing better to do, then why can't I?"

"So what do you do? You've never talked about magic with me…"

Norway looked up, acting as if he were confused. "Who said we were speaking of magic?"

"I'm not really stupid," Denmark smiled.

"Yeah, yeah, okay. To be honest though, I haven't touched much other magic in ages. It's far too taxing, not to mention obvious.[5]"

"What do you mean?"

Norway was now legitimately startled that Denmark didn't realize what he had meant. "Danmark, you grew up with me. Don't tell me you really don't know?"

"I… You never told us anything back then! How am I supposed to know?"

Norway simply rolled his eyes. "Dolt, you yourself even teased me. Remember? You called me a girl, on multiple occasions."

"And then you thoroughly cleaned my clock every time.[6] Man, was I an idiot who didn't learn quickly…"

"Still are," Norway muttered.

Denmark's brow furrowed. "But what are you talking about seiðr for?"

Patiently, Norway decided that he'd just have to explain it in simple terms. "Seiðr can easily use up all of one's strength. Don't you remember how weak I was at times?"

"Uh…" Denmark glanced about until the pieces came together in his mind, when he broke back into a wide grin. "Oh…! So that was all seiðr? I never connected them."

His friend's slow reaction was golden amusement. "How long have you known me?"

"But you do believe it, right?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I believe something I've seen with my own eyes, felt with my own body?"

The low rumbles of distant thunders were still rolling outside, but more unnoticed than before. "So do you believe that that's Thor out there, hunting for his enemies…the jötnar?" Denmark motioned toward the window with his head.

Norway involuntarily shuddered slightly. After swallowing a lump in his throat, he responded quieter than normal. "Why should I? I react simply because I was raised to react. Roots are roots, after all."

"Do you think the gods are real?" Denmark took on a nostalgic smile, staring at the flickering flames as if he was fondly recalling the days past. "The church has wanted us to think otherwise, but then where did the stories come from?"

Norway thought over it quietly, glancing between his friend's daydreaming expression and the flames he was watching. "I don't know. Something exists, that's all I know. I don't think we can understand what is and isn't real."

Denmark picked up a blanket for himself and, lying it out on the floor, stretched out on it, resting his chin on his forearms. "I haven't thought about it for so long…" He was still smiling softly, enjoying the recollection. "But I can remember when everything was so alive. Those days were all so long ago, we were just kids. How can you be so sure that it's real?"

Norway spoke nonchalantly while restacking his things inside a bag. "How can you be sure anything's real?"

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe it's just me, but I know what's there. I know vættir[7], no one can tell me that they're not there."

"I'll believe you, Norge."

Norway's face momentarily lit up, but quickly returned to his ordinary neutral expression. Following Denmark's lead, he lay down on his back on the floor beside him.

"Are you still friends with the vættir and all?"

"Sure. There are elves by the water, dwarves under the trees, myself and Island have personal guardians, and that's just within a few minutes' walking distance. People have become unaware of what is all around them, and it is quite a shame for everyone."

Another pause hung in the air. Both of the young men had entrenched themselves so far into pleasant recollection that they nearly forgot the world around them.

"Remember when I first met you and I freaked out because I thought you were an elf?[8]" Denmark jestingly nudged Norway with his elbow.

"Sverige did the same, though I have to say you were far more dramatic. It was funny when you'd watch me cautiously at night. I'd bet the actual elves gave you nightmares just because it'd be funny to see you blame me."

"I'm still not ready to believe you…are you sure you're not really some mischievous spirit?" Denmark giggled.

"You're right, I am," Norway deadpanned in response.

"The other thing is when you were younger and scarier…I really, really hoped all of the time that you didn't suddenly die and become a draug[9], that'd be terrifying."

"Well, that's one very nice reason to hope someone doesn't die."

"Well, sorry, but you've gotta know you were kinda freaky."

"Mhm, I'm aware."

"You were involved in Odin's worship[10], right?"

"Mm…yes."

"What did you guys do?"

"I'm not telling you. I'll never tell anyone. Regardless of what might or not exist, secrecy will be a secret to the end."

"What if…one day, someone is actually interested enough in the old custom? Can you imagine a time where no one cares what you believe, and people actually want to know what our lives were?"

Norway only shrugged.

"Do you think, hypothetically speaking, that the money would be good to be an expert? I mean, we'd count as first hand witnesses of our own traditions. Would you give away the secrets for money?"

"That's betrayal. I may have been into dangerous things, things that used to be persecuted, but I am and always will be loyal."

"Aw, and I was hoping you might tell me…you know, your best friend…"

"Sorry, Danmark. If you had secrets you wanted me to keep, I'd be as protective of them too."

"Why is it a secret anyway?"

Norway smirked. "The time is long gone for anyone to know. Drop the subject."

Denmark frowned at the complete refusal to give even hints. He had always thought that those of Odin's cult involved themselves in things that were illegal, disreputable and/or downright bad. He was still inclined to believe that, though he didn't want to imply that his friend wasn't of good character.

Being able to tell that Denmark's mind ruminated over the secrecy, Norway found something else to busy his mind with. "Hey, do you know that it's no just me? Island refuses to give up the old custom too, but he just doesn't talk about it.[11]"

"Really? And he's the youngest…I would have though the most adaptable."

"Stubborn child he is. He tells me that it was never outlawed in his land, they only officially adopted Christianity to get my king off their backs." Norway snorted a chuckle. "Sassy kid too. It's been so long now that most of the people there have grown up Christian just like ours, so aside from traditions that were never banned[12], he might as well have lost the old custom too."

"So…since he's kinda your kid, does he get into magic too?"

"He's good with runes. He doesn't talk much about it, and for good reason. Most of what he seems to be concerned with is keeping the respect for the vættir[13], but he won't admit it. Somehow I have the feeling that just believing in an invisible spirit world helps him to stay strong." Norway finished with a proud smirk.

"…You aren't telling me something, are you?"

"About Island? No, that's all I know. He doesn't talk about it."

After a few moments, Denmark rolled over into the same roof-facing position as Norway. "So…?"

Norway had impassively rolled his head to watch his friend. "What?"

"How much longer do you think the storm will be?"

"Who knows."

1 - (headcanon) Because of his connection to the jötnar (trolls/frost giants), imo it's very easy to imagine Norway with astraphobia as they were the enemies of the Aesir, notably Thor.

2 - Runic magic. From what I've read so far, it's way too complex for me to understand XD The story is working on the supposition that magic was illegal still in the seventeenth century or at least very taboo. I know it had been outlawed in Scandinavia as they became Christian and I can't see a reason why the law still carried over to that time, or at least was extremely taboo because of the centuries in which it was illegal.

3 - From what I've read, Norse magics were mostly practiced solitary (other than assistants) and simply not spoken about much. Even more so for a man, because (aside from runes) magic was considered a woman's art.

4 - The Norse religion was called 'the old custom' when Christianity was introduced.

5 - This is referring to seiðr, which I have the headcanon that Norway was most skilled in pre-Christian era. It was said to drain the energy out of those practicing it, it was hard on the mind, and the connections to spirits might have had a part in sucking the life out of a person. Also, men who practiced seiðr were stigmatized as being effeminate. My personal opinion is that there was a definite crossover between seiðr and the berserks (the shapeshifting, energy draining, spirit possession, altered mental states…they just seem too similar to be unrelated), and I also have a headcanon that Norway had gone berserk when he was younger (hey, I even wrote a whole fic about it). This is Denmark's confusion a few lines down, he doesn't see the connection between the berserk and the magic.

6 - (headcanon) When Norway was younger, he was indiscriminately violent to anyone who irritated him or posed themselves as a threat in his eyes. It's related to the berserk headcanon I stated above.

7 - Vættir are basically any spirits, including elves, dwarves, even the gods.

8 - Okay, I saw this description of light elves (I don't remember where or what the wording was), and it just really reminded me of chibi!Norway. It was something like…small, beautiful and dainty, dressed in white…or something like that. Anyway, there's plenty that elves were blamed for, including nightmares.

9 - Draugar…they're basically Norse zombies. I could explain it in more words, but that's the simple way. XD

10 - Odin's cult were especially quiet about their rituals…from what I've read. Berserks were called Odin's warriors, oh yeah, another link between seiðr and the berserks. This really only makes sense to me for Norway to be involved. I just realized that I'm getting very lazy about writing out these notes, please excuse me.

11 - Facts, it has been said that the Icelanders survived all of the crap that they went through partially due to continuing to believe in the spirit world. Actually, paganism was never banned in Iceland when they adopted Christianity (which they only did really to keep Norway's king from cutting off their trade). And this has carried over to today in that the nation, for the most part, refuses to deny the existence of spiritual beings. Yay Iceland! (excuse my excessive Icelandophilia uwu)

12 - The eating of horse meat and infanticide, the first because they needed something to eat up there in frozen barren land, the second because of a belief that the island can only support a certain population.

13 - You know the modern Icelanders' protectiveness over fairy rocks and such comes from somewhere… It's been like that for all of their history. They had laws forbidding boats sailing to Iceland to come close to the shore with frightening faces so that they wouldn't scare the landvættir.