Faded dream
He and Lalli had found a few intact sleeping bags. Emil could guess they weren't what Mikkel had in mind, but they were probably better than no sleeping bags at all. There were only five of them, but none of them was big enough for Mikkel anyway. The other problem was that they were all decorated, none of them in a way that would let them fade in the background. Fortunately, only their outsides were decorated, and the insides were of more neutral tones. Emil really wanted to claim the one with flames on it for himself, but feared it would make him look childish. He had an idea, and realized it was the perfect opportunity to try taking Lalli's mind of everything else for just a few moments:
-Soo… is there one you like better than the others? You can pick yours now, if you want.
-Don't care.
He picked the one sleeping bag among the selection that Lalli would either love or hate. He hoped it would make him feel a tiny bit better in the former case, and motivate him to pick the one he really wanted in the latter. He gave it to Lalli, who looked at it, then rolled it up under his arm.
-So you like the cat one after all.
-It's a lynx.
-Okay… how about that one for Sigrun?
The one Emil was now holding up showed a figure in clothing he couldn't quite identify, wielding a sword. Lalli didn't react, so he held up the one that was decorated with several identical grazing sheep:
-Reynir, I guess?
-No, Tuuri. There were sheep at home.
That left the one with the strange plant Emil couldn't identify for Reynir.
Considering he had ended up with the one nobody else wanted, Reynir thought that it didn't look too bad. The only downside was that he had no idea what it was supposed to be a drawing of. He decided to leave it flat on Tuuri's bunk, and wait for Mikkel to come bring him dinner to ask him what it was, in case he knew. It would have been a welcome change to the room if it weren't for the fact that it also meant the coming night would be their last one in it before sleeping outside for a few nights. He somehow ended up so focused on the picture that he didn't notice Mikkel coming in until he spoke:
-Nice palm tree.