It's been awhile, has it not? I've finished Slaves of Socorro, and I'm in a Brotherband mood now (it honestly comes and goes).
…
They had no real competition today, so Hal was taking the time to get the other Herons introduced to their boat, also called the Heron. Igvar hovered near the back of the crowd, squinting at the boat. Wulf and Ulf were shoving each other back and forth, bickering quietly. Only Edvin, Stephan, Jesper, and Stig remained quiet as Hal gave the tour. Sighing inwardly, he climbed into the steering platform.
"QUIET!" he bellowed, and instantly all noise died down. Stig gave Hal an amused look. "If you don't keep quiet, I'm having Igvar throw you in the water." Ulf and Wulf exchanged a look. Obviously, that was meant for them. Stephan and Jesper also looked mildly amused. "Ulf, Wulf, stand ready at the mast. Stephan, Stig, get ready to raise the sail. Edvin and Igvar, cast us off. Jes, come with me." Jesper curiously followed Hal up to the steering platform. Hal rested his hands lightly on the tiller as Igvar and Edvin cast off.
"Did you need me for something in particular Hal?" Jesper asked. The young skirl looked sideways at him and grinned.
"Not really," he admitted. "I just wanted to see Stephan squirm a bit." Sure enough, Stephan was giving Hal and Jes sour looks from time to time while he waited for Hal to give him the word. "Though when we're out, I want you to keep lookout," the skirl added. "Even if we're not too far out. You never know what you could spot." The former thief nodded. It was logical. Plus, he had to admit, it was interesting to watch Stephan give them looks. Jesper knew for a fact Hal didn't like him. Whenever he called him, he was normally distracted.
"Hal?" he asked, and the young skirl looked at him.
"Push us off Igvar!" he called to the big youth. Igvar, with the help with Edvin, shoved the boat into the water. When they were safely afloat, Hal turned to Jesper, waiting patiently beside him. "What is it Jes?" he asked.
"I was just wondering, the person you like…" Hal held up his hand, his stomach heaving. Jesper may very well guess who it really was, and if he did, Hal wasn't sure he could lie to Jesper. He may be comfortable with who he was, but he wasn't comfortable with everyone knowing who he liked. "Can I guess?" Jes asked.
"If you must," Hal replied distractedly. "Stig, Stephan, hoist the starboard sail!" Stig and Stephan began raising the sail, with Wulf and Ulf ready to sheet it home when necessary. Hal didn't want them to yet. He wanted Stig and Stephan to raise and lower the alternating sails. "Lower the starboard sail!" Hal called to Stig and Stephan.
"Hal?" The young skirl turned to find Jesper staring at him. He sighed.
"By Gorlog's teeth and nails, what do you want Jes?" he asked, more than a little irritable. But he was a little fearful.
"Your crush," Jesper insisted. He wasn't backing down. He figured Hal wouldn't tell Stig because it was Stig himself he liked. He'd gotten the inkling after their first fight and Hal wouldn't talk to him. He knew his skirl felt too prideful to admit he was in the wrong sometimes. And he was definitely too prideful, and embarrassed, to admit he liked Stig, and that's why he was reluctant to tell him. "It's Stig, isn't it?" he asked. Hal's eyes widened and he looked around. He clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Stig, take the tiller!" he called. He moved with Jesper farther back, away from the steering board. Stig hopped up and grabbed the tiller, making it so the boat didn't sway back and forth with the waves. "Jes, you must listen to me, or I will throw you to Tursgud." Now it was Jesper's turn to widen his eyes. "Yes, it's Stig," Hal hissed. "But you must tell no one, do you understand? If I hear one word from you, you're as good as wolf's meat." Calmly, Jesper pried his skirl's fingers from his vest. He knew Hal was only acting out of fear and maybe a little shame. Like it was any way shameful to have a crush on someone.
"Hal, I swear on my mam's grave I won't tell anyone," Jesper promised. "You're secret's safe with me." Hal eyed him warily. Stig was trying to listen in, and he'd caught scattered parts of their conversation. If he had to guess, he's say Jesper put two and two together and came up with the right answer. "Stig, what are you doing?" Jes snapped, because Hal was clearly out of it. "Steph and Edvin are awaiting orders from you." Stig flushed and turned back to Stephan and Edvin, positioned near the sails and rigging. Jesper felt a hand on his shoulder, and when he looked back, it was Hal.
"Thank you," he said simply. Jesper shrugged. Anything to help his skirl.
…
Hal leaned back on his hands after the meal, quite content. He had a mug of coffee next to him, a real rarity around the brotherbands. Edvin sure knew how to cook. The rest of the Herons were talking and joking and nudging each other. Or just generally being boys. When Hal and Jesper finished talking, Hal resumed control of the tiller, and they practiced raising and lowering the sails, and Ulf and Wulf got to practice trimming and sheeting. But there was a major difference. Stephan and Jesper were in charge of the sails, and Stig moved up with Hal as helmsman. They all figured it would be Jesper, which admittedly made Stig a little jealous.
"We did good today, didn't we Hal?" Stig asked, sitting beside the young skirl. Hal glanced over at his best friend. Like Hal, Stig was leaning back on his hands, letting the last of the rare sun soak into his skin. Since it was so rainy in Skandia, all the Skandians were fair-skinned, with light features. Stig would get sunburn if he sat there much longer, but since the sun was setting, it hardly mattered.
"We really felt like a brotherband today," Hal observed quietly. "A team." He noticed Steph and Jes sitting side by side, looking happier than he'd seen either of them look in days. They really like each other, he mused to himself. "Look at that," he told Stig, motioning to the two boys. Stig narrowed his eyes as he observed them, but then he smiled.
"They sure look happy," he said. "With you keeping Jes occupied, Steph wasn't too happy. If you'd kept him to yourself much longer, we'd have two angry people on our hands."
"Two?" Hal questioned.
"Yes, two," Stig responded. "First we'd have Steph, because you kept Jes to yourself. And then there'd be me, because you kept Jes to yourself." Hal started when Stig said that, but he tried to cover it up with a cough. Stig glanced away, feigning innocence. He figured Hal wouldn't want him to call out his little bluff. That could make for an unhappy skirl and irritable Skandian. And you did not want to be on the wrong end of an irritable Skandian. It was bad for your health.
"Alright Herons," Hal said, heaving himself up from his comfortable position. "Early bedtime tonight." There were a few grumbles, but after the eventful day with the Heron, the members of the brotherband were generally too tired to properly complain. A few ducked inside the shelter, and Hal smiled when Jesper barked at Ulf to move (or quite possibly Wulf, you were never sure about those two). That was the second time Ulf was ordered to move. With much grumbling, the unfortunately twin switched spots again, moving to the spot second behind the door. Hal had the middle, and Stig was to his right. Hal was comfortable with the arrangement, and it made sense for him to be in the middle. Not only was he the skirl, he was the only one able to keep the peace. "Walk with me Stig," Hal ordered, marching off without waiting for an actual reply. Stig hurried to follow the young skirl into the short stretch of woods. Together, they sat against the bole of a tree and stared up at the sky, overcast now that night had begun to fall.
"What's this all about?" Stig asked, closing his eyes. He didn't need to look at Hal to communicate with him. And since when were Skandians big on formalities. Hal shrugged, then realized Stig wouldn't be able to see such an action.
"No reason other than to get some quiet," he replied. "And now we're out of earshot, unless Jes decides to come spy on us." The sides of Stig's mouth lifted a little at that. He knew Jes wouldn't come looking for them, because it would mean the end of a very nice set of teeth for him.
"Speaking of Jes," Stig said, cracking one eye open. He noticed the way Hal's muscles tensed involuntarily when he mentioned the former thief. "What did you two talk about? It looked very serious." Hal covered up his momentary panic with a shrug.
"Nothing too important," he replied, feeling the usual twist in his gut as he said it. Of course it was important. It was Stig they were discussing. But the young skirl couldn't come right out and say that. That would definitely look bad. "Just the best tactics for when we sail." Stig frowned thoughtfully.
"Shouldn't you discuss those with me?" he asked. Hal nodded.
"That's what he told me!" he said with forced enthusiasm, but it seemed to work. Stig chuckled and settled back more comfortably. Hal glanced sideways at his best (and for a long time his only) friend. And even referring to Stig as his friend in his thoughts caused his heart pain. He didn't want Stig to be his best friend anymore. He wanted him as a partner.
…
I have no idea if this was longer or shorter. All my stories got deleted from my computer when it crashed, and obviously they disappeared from my doc files some time back.