The ravens that roosted in the trees were echoing happy refrains the morning Harv lead his family to Finn's house. It was a far friendlier sight to him now, bathed in the colors of the sunrise. The warmth that came with it gently coaxed the ice to glisten like the stars. There was an air of excitement about them as the brisk walk had chased away the fatigue from waking early.
Puck hopped up onto the bottom of the front gate, clinging to it like a prisoner with a laugh. The gate lurched, slowly the iron door opened with the little boy riding on it. Harv froze, his hand ready and on the bell pull. Finn always kept the gate locked. That shouldn't have been able to open like that. He slipped through the gate and pushed on the wood of the front door. It too opened with no resistance.
The inside entryway of the darkened castle was nothing but shadow and the cold. The bells that normally hung from the door frame lay on the stone floor. There was no light echoing from the sitting room like when he had left. He took a few steps inward. From the hall, he could see the yule log ashed over and dead in the hearth. Finn's black robe still draped on the couch where Harv left it.
"Finn?" Harv called up the stairs. He heard a dish shatter on the floor of the kitchen and echo throughout the house. Harv motioned for his family to linger outside a while so he could investigate.
"Like I'm listening to you, you're not my commanding officer here." Emet barged in past him. "Hello! Anyone home!?" For a while silence was their answer. Another crash echoed down the hall. Harv pulled in the lead with Emet in close pursuit.
Chairs had been turned over in the dining room to form an erratic obstacle course. The plush cushioning had been torn by something dull, yet pointed. Emet picked up a candlestick from the floor to use as a short-ranged weapon. It too had been scratched up. As they came closer to the kitchen, they could hear something scuffling on the other side. The sound of nails scraping against stone and a labored grunt that might have been breathing. Harv had his sword at the ready. He pulled the door toward him silently. As it opened, he saw little red streaks on the inner handle and his heart dropped into his stomach.
A wet, guttural sound came from the kitchen as a jar of potion ingredients shattered on the floor. Harv and Emet barged into the kitchen, weapons at the ready. Standing on the counter was a man with skin as white as snow. His legs and torso stretched like taffy as he used the potion shelf to support his weight. A long arm slithered up across the kitchen to the butcher knives and pots that dangled from the wire rack above the kitchen island. In the center of his forehead was a twisted horn and he looked at them with wild red eyes.
"Harv what the hell is that?" Emet clenched his weapon tighter.
"Who are you?" The intruder asked in an uncanny voice Harv had come to associate with the ravens. An animal trying to replicate human speech. The creature retracted its limbs to take on proper proportions, but sometimes an eye or a finger would drift out of place only to worm its way back. "You haven't happened to see a little loud thing, have you?" It smiled. Little red dots decorated his cheek and collar. "A bigger loud thing moved into its nest; I think it was hiding him." The red dots weren't moving like the rest of him, almost like they weren't a part of him.
"What did you do with Finn?" Harv asked, he could feel his blood begin to boil.
"Yes! That's the one!" Blood. It was wearing blood on its face. "You know what might help? If I could just," it reached for the hilt of Harv's sword, "have that-" Harv swung, and the thing melted into the shape of a tiny, furry unicorn. It whinnied at him and charged. Whatever this shapeshifter was, it was trying to trick them into letting their guard down. The two warriors were skilled enough to avoid injury, but every time they tried to take the offensive, it'd melt into different shapes or places.
"Let's just get it out of the house!" Emet roared and tried to coral the creature into the next room.
"We can't, the others!" Harv said. At the mention of other humans, the creature's eyes glimmered with hunger, and it ran toward the front door. They chased after him, unable to keep up with the galloping monster.
"Rhodri!" Emet gasped. "Brigandish, knee high!" Rhodri readied a slingshot, expecting a person, and instead shot a rock into the knee of a tiny horse. Roland grabbed it by the horn and tail and hoisted the creature in the air. It flailed and kicked only to melt back into the form of a human man. Roland threw him out into the snow on instinct.
"A demon!" Roland leaned up against the exterior of the house for comfort. The pink-haired man rolled over and inspected his horn for damage.
"Who are you people!?" It demanded. "There were only two huma- people here before!"
"I live here!" Harv pointed the blade at the shapeshifter and it scrambled backward in the snow and ran off towards the shelter of the trees. Harv immediately ran back into the house. "Finn!?" The sound of something heavy crashing to the ground echoed from down the stairs. "FINN!"
Harv ran up the stairs before anyone could stop him. Finn's door rattled but couldn't open all the way. Something was blocking it from inside.
"Harvey?" Finn called back. He was breathless, struggling to move something. "Harvey I'm in here."
"Get back from the door." Harv said. He rammed his shoulder against the door and pushed the door open enough to let Finn out. A dresser had been tipped over in front of the door, making it hard to get in or out. Harv hesitated, wondering for a moment if this was another shapeshifter.
The backs of Finn's hands had been cut up from a scuffle, with a stocking of some kind wrapped around one of the worst wounds. He had Harv's old tunic on over his clothes and it looked like he hadn't slept in a while. More importantly, he didn't give Harv a chance to speak before jumping him. Finn's arms were wrapped around his neck, his legs around his waist. Harv had to drop his sword just to support the bard and keep both of them from hitting the ground. Finn's mouth was on his and he clung so tight it nearly hurt.
"Oh Harvey," Finn said between kisses, "I heard everything. You don't know how scared I was." Harv tried to gently urge Finn to at least stand on his own, or let him speak, but his mouth and hands were busy.
"Eeeeewww." Puck scowled from the top of the stairs, having been the first to make it up the steps. Finn pulled back slowly and slipped back onto his feet.
"Harv, there's a gremlin in my home." Finn eyed the child like he'd never seen one before. Puck stuck out his tongue and ran down the stairs shouting for his parents.
"Relax Finn, that's my brother." Harv sighed. "He does the same thing with my parents." Finn looked up at him.
"Yes, but why is he here?" Finn pushed Harv away and hit him in the face. "And how dare you leave the front door unlocked! Were you raised in a barn?"
"...yes..." Harv pouted a little as he nursed his stinging cheek. "I didn't leave through the front door."
"You're the last one who opened it, remember? When the blizzard hit." Finn had his hands on his hips. "You didn't lock it after you checked how high the snow got. That's how that thing got in! It's still out there too, so in the future..." He tried to hide how his lip trembled as his anger caved to something else. "You said you lived here. Does that mean, you're really here to stay?"
"Clearly, there's still some things we need to talk about." Harv said and gently cupped Finn's face.
"HE WHAT!?" Harv flinched at the sound of his father's voice thundering from the dining room.
"But... I think it'd be nice..." Harv pulled Finn in for another hug. "You should probably put something else on to meet my family... I- We had this whole plan to do things in stages, but..." Harv's sigh sounded more like a hiss. "That ship's passed it seems."
"Just how many people did you bring into my home?" Finn hadn't been around large groups of people in a long time. He gripped Harv's shirt a little tighter when he saw the man look up to do mental math. "Harvey..."
"Seven, including the baby." He could see Finn start to sweat a little. "I know, I'm sorry, I just- I love them and I want them to love you too. Besides, isn't it kinda our home now?" He kissed each cut on Finn's hands. "I'll make it up to you, I swear."
"I'll need time to think about it." Finn rolled his eyes. "You did save my life after all, but if they're mean..."
"They won't be mean," Harv pulled him back in to mutter against his neck, "I won't let them, I promise."
"Okay, I'll get changed."
There was only one chance at a first impression and Finn didn't know much about peasants' sensibilities outside of Harv. Usually when people had dared try to visit, he did his best to seem untouchably domineering. It was harder for the common man to threaten someone who was wearing ten times their life savings on a single finger than not. Inspiring fear that way was easy.
But no number of jewels or fabric could make a person love you. Finn had learned that the hard way. Still, there wasn't much else he could do to show he was trying to make a good impression. He ascended the stairs in a rich purple velvet tunic with black fur trim, it was the plainest thing he owned.
Harv's family had come together to tidy up the disaster the creature had left in its wake. The hearth was alight once more, and Clover's cake had been sliced up and plated for everyone to have a bite. Finn hesitated halfway down the stairs at the sound of laughter that came from the dining room. At least no one sounded upset anymore.
"I see you've made yourselves at home." Finn did his best to seem proper, but the children stopped in their tracks at the sight of him like they were in trouble. "I trust you've done well since the storm?" He caught sight of Emet snickering at him to Rhodri. "What is so funny about proper manners? I'd like to see how you'd fare in my shoes." He sighed. "It's nice to meet you all, I'm Finnegan, Harv's..." He glanced at Harv to judge his reaction before continuing. "Inamorato for lack of a better word." He sat next to Harv, greatly disliking how much he felt like he was being observed.
"What is that exactly?" Roland asked as Clover handed Finn a piece of cake.
"Italian." Finn said and held Harv's hand under the table. "We get along and it seems Harv has accepted my offer to stay for a little longer." They hadn't had time to discuss things further than that, but Finn was happy to have someone to brag about it to.
"It's not too far, so I can still help with the farm." Harv added. "It'll just be a bit of a commute."
"What's gotten into you boy?" Roland shook his head. "You're an adult, you don't need our approval to move out." He eyed the blond bard with a hint of suspicion. "Or on who to associate with."
Harv grinned at Finn, who just looked back a little perplexed, but he supposed that was a good sign. The last thing he wanted was some angry man banging on his front door in the middle of the night asking for his son.
"Can I touch your coat?" Big asked.
"It's not a coat." Finn said, equally apprehensive. "But, sure." He offered one of the draping sleeves to the child and the boy eagerly grabbed onto the fur. His eyes lit up as he squished the black fur trim.
"It's got stuffing in it!" Big grinned.
"Big's wanting to go into tailoring." Harv whispered as he leaned close to Finn. The blond perked up, fashion was one topic he was quite versed in.
"Well, I have quite the collection if you ever want to take a look." Finn said. The young boy ran around the table to pull on his mother's apron and whisper in her ear.
"Yes, I heard." Clover said with a laugh and ruffled his hair. "We can talk about it more when we get home."
"That reminds me." Finn said. "Harvey, what do you plan to wear for your knighting ceremony?" All eyes in the room were on Harv. "...Did you not tell them?"
"I... kind of forgot..." Harv still hadn't fully accepted Finn's story at face value. He hadn't even reported to the castle yet to let them know he was back within city limits. The room exploded into a chorus of overlapping questions and excited speculation. With his whole family, both old and new, eagerly chatting in candlelight about the future, Harv felt like a weight lifted off his shoulders.
He was finally home.