Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Saga is still packing boxes in the old home and sorting out belongings from her and Logan, separating them from David’s.

It takes her whole body and mind to not scream in frustration right now. They still have two months before the house gets sold but wanting to be fully prepared to move out as soon as possible, she had started to pack already.

David is at work and her daughter is at school, leaving Saga alone in the gradually emptier house.

Her eye lands on the hearth’s mantel were multiple framed pictures are placed.

Most pictures are of Logan. As a baby, as a toddler, a child, a graduation from elementary and a family portrait taken two years ago.

Saga’s fingers hover over the frame before gently tracing the wooden border.

She takes a deep breath and when she exhales, she tries to blow away the memories of a happier time together.

She turns around and looks at the scattered boxes around the living. She idly fiddles with her silver pendant necklace.

 “You can do this. You’ve faced worse,” Saga tries to motivate herself in the face of adversity.

Just as she is starting to store some cushions away, the home phone rings.

Alerted, she runs to the hallway and picks up.

The school’s principal voice is heard on the other side of the line. Her daughter is in trouble.

 “Bit the other student?!” Saga exclaims in utter disbelief.

Logan wouldn’t do something like that.

 “I know it’s hard to believe, Miss Anderson, but I need you to come and collect her.”

The phone call ends quickly and Saga grabs her red raincoat, the keys and locks the flat apartment behind her.

She hurries down the staircase and enters the parking lot. When she sits behind her steering wheel, she clenches her fists around it and cries out.

 “What is going on with her?”

Fifteen minutes later, Saga is in the principal’s office while her daughter has to wait outside the room. As if she is still a kid and not 15 soon to be 16 years old.

What is being said, is only listened to with half an ear. Most words coming from the principal’s mouth are heard through a blur.

This isn’t real, Saga thinks. She nods and sheepishly smiles as the man in front of her accuses her daughter of having done terrible things.

Once she’s in the empty hallway, it really dawns on her: Logan is suspended for two weeks.

The girl is leaning against the wall, arms impatiently crossed, loudly chewing bubble gum.

 “Please, tell me that isn’t true,” Saga huffs.

“It’s true. I bit the fucker,” Logan retorts, pride staining her voice.

 “Language!” Saga says.

It’s met with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders and a bubble pop. Logan grits her teeth and Saga can see some blood on them. Clearly not from accidentally biting one’s inner lip or something.

Only when they’re in the locked car, does Saga face her daughter with visible anger.

 “What has gotten into you lately!? Since when is it okay to bite other people?!”

“Jeffrey was really mean! He’s been bothering me for weeks!” Logan defends her action.

Anger shifts to worry. “Did he… touch you inappropriately?”

 “If we would, I would’ve bitten his dick off,” Logan huffs with a smirk. “But no. He didn’t. He was very persistent in pursuing me though. But once he finally got the message, he began calling me names. I was done with it.”

Saga rests her palms on the wheel and stares out of the window. She takes a few deep breaths.

Violence isn’t the answer, she thinks, but as a woman who has to put up with a lot of shit from men in her life, she can no longer fully blame Logan.

Besides, the poor girl hasn’t had it easy the past few weeks, months. Maybe even longer.

Saga tries to recollect herself while her daughter is idly shifting in the passenger’s seat, unsure of what to say or do.

Her mom pinches the bridge of her nose before saying something.

 “I’m sorry, Logan.”

“What?” Logan raises a questioning eyebrow.

 “I’m sorry,” Saga repeats. “I think you are right for telling Jeffrey to fuck off.”

Logan’s surprised face turns into a smile at her mom suddenly cursing like that.

 “But really, why biting him? I just wanna know the why.”

Saga starts the car and slowly drives off the school’s parking. Silence follows as her daughter looks out of the window instead of providing an answer.

When they’re back at the flat and Saga is about to step out of the car, Logan speaks up.

 “It just happened. I just got so… so damn fed up with him, with Jeffrey and everything… you and dad… the divorce… grandma. So I snapped.”

Tears well at the edges of Logan’s dark eyes and Saga has to resist the urge to cry too. Instead, she gets back in her seat, leans over and embraces her daughter.

 “I know… I know, sweety. And I’m sorry. It’s not easy being you right now, hm?”

“I’m fine now… I’m-, mom, you’re holding me too tight,” Logan grunts, trying to push Saga off her.

 “I’m sorry,” Saga apologizes again.

In the apartment, Logan retreats to her room and Saga tries to refocus on storing items in boxes, labelling them and taping them shut.

The apartment isn’t big to begin with, still it’s a daunting and intimidating task. It makes the divorce and everything just feel more final and real.

Eventually, she finds the courage to take down the pictures on the mantel. She divides the photos evenly in a box for her and a box for David.

The family picture remains in her hands. Teardrops fall onto the glass.

 “Mom?” Logan’s sudden voice startles her.

Saga quickly wipes her face with the sleeve of her sweater and turns around.

Logan stands among the various piles and cardboard boxes. Her right hand wrapped around her left upper arm. Uneasy.

 “Is it bad?”

“What’s bad?”

 “Bad that I really wanted it. To bite him,” Logan mutters, barely audible.

Saga puts the framed photo down. She knits her eyebrows together and tries to think, try to place herself in her daughter’s shoes. Something she should do more often.

 “Well… If a boy would act like Jeffrey, I think at one point I’d scold and shove him too.”

“But bite?” Logan exclaims.

Saga tries to form words but she can’t. Her rational and logical mind tells her that it’s certainly not the first reflex that would come to her. Yet, deep, way down inside her, something stirs in her guts and tells her that it isn’t that odd. Wanting to bite someone.

However, her silence is deafening and Logan stiffens. Her breathing becomes ragged.

 “It felt… right. It felt… natural. I-, I’m… I’m scared, mom,” Logan snivels.

Saga gets up from the floor and makes quick work of covering the distance between them.

 “Oh baby, it’s okay… everything will be okay,” Saga whispers as she holds her daughter in her loving arms.

The hug is strong and warm and she hopes she can transfer all her love through this one hug.

Eventually, Logan’s posture relaxes a little. No new tears wet Saga’s shirt.

Quietly and soothingly, she brushes her fingers through Logan’s curly hair that she had been growing out the last few months.

 “I’ve got you,” Saga repeatedly whispers.

Eventually, she gives her daughter some room.

 “You know what? Now that you don’t have school for a while, how about we do something fun? Just the two of us?” Saga tries to rekindle their spirits.

Logan, however, is less swayed by the temptation and doubtfully looks at the mess of the living room.

“Really, now? I think it’s better if I just help you pack things up.”

Saga meekly smiles but nods. Somewhat distraught. “You’re right. We still have a lot to do.”

That same evening, when David returns from home, the two exchange a few words and during dinner, it’s mainly silent.

Saga had told Logan it would be better not to mention the school incident. However, Logan being the angsty teenager she is, eventually brings it up.

 “I got suspended,” she blurts out much to David’s surprise and Saga’s shock.

David immediately looks at Saga who grips her fork and knife tighter.

 “Anyone care to explain why?”

“I… got into a fight with another kid,” Logan confesses.

 “He kinda deserved it,” Saga mutters.

David does his best not to get angry but fails to suppress it. “Great, now we are promoting violence in this household! At least you’ll be able to help out with the household chores.”

 “I’ve always tried to help! But lately, I’ve got a lot of things on my plate!” Logan snaps.

David tries to counter but his daughter is quicker.

 “Like you and mom’s divorce. And now this whole place looks like shit. How am I supposed to focus on school while you two barely talk anymore?! You barely talk to me!”

 “That’s enough, Logan!” Saga says it before she can stop herself.

Logan angrily pushes her chair away from the table.

 “Logan,” David warns but their moody teenager already gets up and stomps to her room and slams the door shut.

It leaves the ex-couple in an awkward and tense silence.

In a semi concerned tone, David whispers: “You think you’ll be able to handle her on your own?”

 “You’re always at work. Of course I can,” Saga curtly says.

“To provide for us. Do you really think I don’t want to spend time with our own daughter?”

Saga opens her mouth but decides to quit before she says more things she regrets.

 “We should try to keep the peace for the two months we’re still together,” she mutters.

“For Logan,” David understands.

 “For Logan.”

With that, everything they could’ve said, is said. They finish their meal and David offers to do the dishes which Saga happily accepts.

She retreats to their bedroom where their two beds have been parted. Each now standing against one wall.

In the adjacent room of her daughter, loud music plays. Saga groans and rubs her temple, trying to drown out the noise on the other side and the one inside her head. With her other hand, she clutches her pendant.

It’s the necklace her mother had given her on her 16^th birthday. It was supposed to keep ‘evil spirits’ at bay.

While Saga didn’t believe in ghosts or evil possessions, she did like to think of it as a protective pendant nonetheless, so she barely ever takes it off. A lucky charm perhaps. A little piece of her mother to watch over her despite their rocky relationship.

And ever since Freya had passed away, she holds onto the necklace even more. Its weight, comfortable yet imposing in her hand. A very subtle burning sensation, only enhanced by her grief.

She opens her laptop to distract herself and look for a new apartment for her and Logan to live.

Due to the current events, she hadn’t always had the time or mental space to browse. David helps but it remains a difficult task.

Some untracked minutes later, there’s a gentle knock on the door.

 “Come in,” Saga says.

David opens the door and stands in its doorway, leaning against the post.

 “Hey,” he mutters.

“Hey.”

 “I’m sorry about dinner earlier. I know Logan is going through a difficult time right now. With her grandmother, us and now school.”

 “You should apologize to her instead,” Saga grunts. Then she quickly adds: “But yeah… She doesn’t have the easiest parents, huh.”

A weak grin flashes past David’s features before he nods and goes to his daughter’s room.

-

The month that follows isn’t easy for the fractured family. David concentrates harder on his job than ever before while also looking for new homes for himself and Saga and Logan.

Saga tries to keep them all together as much as it’s possible but it often feels like everyone’s walking on eggshells.

Logan sometimes is harder to handle than usual. Saga wonders if it’s mere puberty and if all parents have to eventually deal with rowdy teenagers like that.

Her appetite has significantly increased and even changed. For quite some time, Logan was a vegetarian, only keeping a pescatarian diet but suddenly she craves more red meat and chicken.

David doesn’t seem to mind since he is always happy when Saga puts beef on the menu.

Saga watches as her daughter chows done on the steak in front of her like a starved dog and asks if there’s a second piece.

 “You can have some of mine,” Saga suggests.

She’s not an average meat lover but because David is, they still often eat meat based meals.

 “Ffanks, mom,” Logan exclaims with her mouthful.

“Hey, what did your mother tell you about speaking with food in your mouth?” David points out.

Logan mutters something intelligible and continues focusing on her steak.

Her parents give each other a puzzled look.

David tries to ease the tension by joking: “Looks like our peaceful little vegetarian is becoming an adult.”

Saga chuckles a bit but doesn’t know what else to add.

Logan licks her lips clean and stares at her dad. “What? I thought I should finally give it a try. As a kid, I uses to eat more meat, right?”

Saga nods. As a child, Logan would eat almost anything they’d prepare for her. In her early teens, she had made the conscious choice to become vegetarian. A cruel documentary about animal harm, Saga assumed.

 “It’s alright. People’s taste buds can change over the years,” she smiles at her daughter.

Chapter Text

In the middle of the first month before they have to move out, Logan sits at her desk, trying to make her homework despite her suspension.

She’s not sure why she is still even trying. There’s a big chance they move out of this city and she’ll have to go to another school anyways.

Still, it gives her something to do and keeps her mind off the dire state of her current life.

But right now, she cannot concentrate. The clothes have become itchy.

Logan scratches at her back and reaches for the neck tag. But it’s no longer there. She had cut it off after her mom had washed her newly bought clothes two years ago.

 “Ugh, stupid top,” Logan groans.

With little finesse, she tugs the tank top with thin arm straps off her body. It’s a shame. It’s one of her favourite tops. She used to wear it all the time, to the point of Saga asking her if she shouldn’t buy a new one.

Logan gets up from her chair and rummages through her closet. Her day to day clothes are still in it while the rest are neatly boxed away.

She tries on another top but that one feels stuffy somehow. Another one is also scratchy against her skin. She curses when none of the tops she likes, seem to fit right.

Eventually, she settles down on an oversized band T-shirt. It’s from the band BON. Gifted to her by her dad who couldn’t go to the concert with them.

It’s old and worn but very much loved. The colours used to be bold but are now faded and washed out.

Logan pulls it over her head and plops her arms out of the short sleeves. For a moment she stops to look at her arms.

They’re reddened from all the scratching she’d done when trying out other clothes.

She can’t help but notice that the hairs on her arms seem to have darkened. She scratches her skin, wondering if it’s just dirt from the day but it isn’t.

Maybe it’s the lighting. It’s already late in the afternoon and the sun no longer shines on her window room.

Tired, she thuds down in her chair and closes her study and note book.

She deeply frowns at herself. She is changing. From an early age, Saga and David had taken her to the side to talk about the birds and the bees.

Saga had told her about puberty and all the changes it would bring.

She looks at her arms again and tries to pluck at the hairs. Is it normal for a girl to have arm hair like that?

The closer she gets to her time of the month, the more irritated she becomes. It doesn’t help that she can’t really go outside much either.

Not going to school and not being allowed to bring friends over now that their household is in their final stages of moving out, leaves her quite isolated.

At least, she can still reach them online and through her mobile phone. There had been one time where she could meet up with Becky, June and Li outside the local library.

But other than that, it’s just Logan all by herself in a house that’s falling apart from the inside out.

She is somewhat glad to go live with her mom, but there are moments where David is much chiller than her. Yet now, she feels like she no longer knows her own father.

He is tired and sad. Clearly, he wanted this relationship, this family to work. He cannot face his own daughter which makes Logan sad but mainly angry.

The same goes for her mom. Saga can be a great mom. But right now? She’s not so sure of that. Just like her dad, she gets evasive. Tiptoeing around the issues. And of course, she doesn’t mention Freya much. Logan’s grandmother.

Logan sees, feels how much Saga misses her but she cannot speak of her. Not in Logan’s presence.

The teen wishes she could help. Wishes she could actually mourn properly about a woman she barely knows other than by name.

Simply put, Logan is angry about many things.

So she puts on her music. Turns the volume up. She jams along, using her markers as makeshift drumsticks, her desk turning into a drumkit.

The lyrics are punchy, the melody dramatic and the beat just right.

Logan throws her head back and forth, let her curly hair whip along. She sings her lungs out until the door gets bursts open.

Her father stands in the door opening. Eyes wide with shock, frustration and… fear?

 “Turn that music down!” he shouts.

Logan gawks at him before quietly pausing the music altogether. She suddenly feels something wet at her lip.

A droplet of drool drips down it. Slightly embarrassed, she wipes it away with the back of her hand.

Her chest rises and falls rapidly, she tries to catch her breath.

For a few blissful seconds, she had lost herself completely in her music, fusing with it.

Chapter Text

As the Anderson family enter their final month together, the house is almost empty, save for all the boxes piled up in the living, bedrooms and bathroom.

Saga is almost at her end’s wit what she is going to do once they’re on the street. Out of habit, she goes down to collect any mail that’s left.

She opens the box and finds the usual: the final electricity bill, useless ads, some goodbye cards and… a letter addressed to her.

Alert, she looks around her but there is no one else in the entrance hall of the flat. Outside, an elderly couple walks past. A man is walking his dog. Nothing out of the ordinary.

She piles the post together and goes to the elevator.

Only once she is back inside the kitchen does she dare to look at the letter. Her name and the address are written in old school ink.

Somehow, the handwriting seems familiar. Saga turns the envelope around to see who the mysterious sender is.

The address is Watery, Washington. That’s the town adjacent to Bright Falls, the place where her mother is from.

Saga takes a few deep breaths before ripping open the envelope and reading its content.

Dear Saga,

This letter must come as a surprise to you but fright not.

My name is Tor Anderson and I am your grandfather.

I write to you after I have been informed about the passing of my daughter, your mother Freya.

So firstly, my condolences to you and your family for your loss.

Secondly, I know that Freya didn’t want me to contact you but here I am doing it anyway.

Especially now, I think it is important for us to finally meet each other.

Your mother may not have spoken to me much, but she did tell me you have a daughter.

I would love to meet her.

She must soon be 16 years old, right?

An exciting age for anyone, but more so for an Anderson! (you probably understand why)

That is why I am inviting you to come visit me and your granduncle, Odin in Watery.

Importantly, you must come a few days before Logan’s 16^th birthday!

In the envelope, you also find some money to cover the trip.

I hope it will suffice.

Best regards and see you soon,

Your grandfather, Tor Anderson

Saga idly fidgets with her necklace as she reads the words over and over again.

A painful pang in her chest erupts and tears fill her eyes. Her mysterious, suppressed past, the fresh wound of Freya’s passing and this sudden resurgence of one of her estranged family members are all too much.

But a part of her,  truly longs to meet this long lost member of the Anderson family tree.

Maybe then, things will be revealed about Freya. Maybe this is Saga’s way to find closure.

She abruptly pulls away from the kitchen table and goes to her laptop where she looks up the address.

 “America’s little Finland,” she reads out loud.

There aren’t many pictures of the town and most of them are old, dating from the early 00s.

It doesn’t look much but it looks quiet. Completely different than the tumultuous life Saga and David lead in the city.

 “Huh… Maybe not that bad a place to live,” she mutters to herself.

Watery looks calm enough to retreat, take a break from everything hectic and maybe reconnect to some of her family.

Maybe it could also be the right getaway for her daughter.

Speaking of, she looks at the letter of Tor Anderson. He spoke of her 16^th birthday. The invitation almost felt like a command too.

Why would it be so important for them to meet her grand-grandfather before she turns?

What does Tor Anderson mean with those words between parentheses? What does all of it mean? Is there some kind of family tradition she is missing out on?

Then again, Freya tried to tell her as little as possible about her life in Bright Falls.

The pendant around her neck suddenly weighs heavily. Does she pass it on to Logan, as Freya did to her?

The letter leaves only extra questions. All the more reason to visit her grandfather in person as soon as possible.

During dinner, Logan is noticeably more agitated than usual. But Saga and David have decided to ignore her as much as possible, even if their daughter seems to want them to fight and argue.

Saga gives David a look when they’re alone at the table.

“Puberty, I guess,” he half heartedly jokes.

Saga manages to out a chuckle too. “I don’t remember mine being that wild.”

David points to his ex-wife’s collarbone.

 “You got it on your sixteenth birthday, right?” he asks.

The woman’s eyes turn down to the necklace and nods. “Yes. As protection, a lucky charm of sorts.”

David quietly nods along.

 “Maybe you can give to Logan. Although I’m not sure if she would want that now.”

He looks to the direction of the hallway where Logan had stormed off to her room.

 “Yeah, we’ll see.. David…”

“Hm?”

  “I’m thinking of moving to Washington with Logan.”

“What?” David seems surprised.

 Saga nods. “I got a letter. From my grandfather. He wanted to see us. Well, me and Logan specifically.”

David frowns and stares at his half empty plate. “Of course. He doesn’t know yet.”

 “Yeah… But-, if you would want to visit Logan for her birthday, I’ll send you the exact address.”

There’s a silence between the adults.

 “Okay,” David says. “I can’t promise anything but I’ll make sure to send her something. And text her.”

Saga smiles approvingly. David had always texted Logan when he was at work during her birthday. She hopes contact with her father won’t water down like hers with Freya did. She shouldn’t make the same mistakes as her mom.

The somewhat cooled down dinner table is thrown in disarray when suddenly loud banging noises are coming from Logan’s room.

Intuitively, Saga and David still lock eyes before running to their daughter’s room.

Saga tries to open the door but something seems to be blocking the way. With fearful eyes, she looks at David who then uses his strength to try force the door open.

 “Logan! Logan, can you hear us?” Saga exclaims.

“It’s us. Logan, please, open the door!” David shouts but there’s little anger to be found in his tone.

The music is being turned on and then the parents hear Logan move something heavy out of the way.

When Saga opens the door, the room is a mess. Some of the earlier packed boxes, have been thrown upside down. The chair, kicked into a corner, the bed sheets dangle off the mattress and Logan’s pillow lies on the floor.

The trash bin is also kicked over. Some menstrual pad wraps, empty soda cans and candy wrappers are scattered around it.

Amidst the chaos is their daughter in her oversized BON T-shirt. Her arms have scratch marks on them. Some of the scratches have drawn blood.

 “Logan!” Saga flies toward her daughter but Logan angrily pushes Saga away.

“We only want to help,” David exclaims. He looks around the room. “What’s going on, Logan dear?”

His voice sounds desperate. Saga can only say her daughter’s name.

Then Logan breaks down crying. “I don’t know… I just… I’m just so angry… At-, at everything…”

She hurls herself up on the floor, knees pushed against her chest, arms wrapped around her legs.

Outside, a storm breaks loose, scaring the entire family when a loud lightning bang is heard, lighting up the girl’s room for one, intense second.

 “Hey… baby, let’s go to the kitchen. I’ll make you something warm, okay?”

“I don’t know,” Logan leaves her curly hair hang in front of her snotty face so she doesn’t have to look at her parents.

 “Let’s go together. I think we still have some cake too.”

Saga looks at her ex who nods in understanding.

He chimes in. “Let’s go with your mother, dear. I will clean up here. Don’t you worry about it.”

Saga prepares some tea and slices off a thick piece of the chocolate cake which one of her colleagues had gifted two days ago because of her leaving work.

Logan has wiped away the tears and snot from her nose and cheeks with a paper tissue and awkwardly joins her mom at the kitchen table.

Through Saga’s mind run hundreds of questions but she asks none. Right now, she thinks it’s better to give her daughter some space.

Outside, the rain goes on but here they are warm and safe, at least.

“I just… I just don’t feel myself,” Logan eventually mutters, her lips still very much pressed against her mug.

Saga lowers her eyes and looks at the table. “Being a teenager… sucks. It’s true.”

Logan looks up, a hint of a smirk on her mouth because Saga uses ‘bad language’ again.

Saga smiles.

 “What? Sometimes your mom can be cool,” Saga jokes.

For a moment, mom and daughter sit in comfortable silence. In the background, they can hear David clean up the room.

 “Hey,” Saga subtly prods Logan’s hand with hers. When she looks up, she says: “Everything will be alright. We’ll get through this, together. I have plans, have been researching stuff.”

 “Oh? Like a place to live?” Logan seems to perk up.

Clearly, she no longer wants to stay in this apartment that’s getting colder with the day. Stripped of its Anderson personality.

Saga nods. “We might move to somewhere more reclusive. More in nature.”

Logan pricks her fork into the remaining cake crumbs on her plate. Pensive.

 “It might not be forever. But just… to get out of this place.”

“What about my friends?” Logan asks.

 “They can come visit if they want.”

The conversation is cut short when David returns.

 “Your room is back to its original look,” he smiles without judgement at his daughter.

“Thanks, dad. I think-, I think I’ll be trying to get some sleep then. I need it.”

Her parents leave her to it. David watches some show on his computer while Saga picks up a book.

A few hours later, the couple has gone to bed as well but Saga awakes in the middle of the night when another loud lightning bang rips her out of her sleep.

Sweat drops have formed on her forehead. The hair on her arms and neck have risen. Her heart is beating wildly in her chest. Somehow, she feels like something’s wrong. Logan!

As soon as her eyes are used to the dark, which they are surprisingly quickly, she tries to wake David up but he is fast asleep.

She rushes out of the bedroom and sees Logan’s door ajar. The lights are out but even in the darkness, she can see that Logan’s bed is empty. The sheets thrown aside.

The window is open, clashing loudly due to the storm outside. That’s unlike Logan to keep her window open like that, let alone during the middle of a thunderstorm.

Saga runs to the living and kitchen but there’s no sign of her daughter there either. She goes back to her and David’s bedroom to wake him up.

“David! David! Wake up!”

“W-what’s going on?” he mutters, his voice drowsy and tired.

 “Logan, she’s… she’s gone!” Saga’s on the verge of tears.

Those words are enough to make David sit up in bed. His eyes wide.

 “Gone?!”

Saga nods and then David jumps up, he goes to the hallway and grabs his raincoat. He fumbles with his shoes until they’re on his feet.

His ex-wife follows suite. She grabs the apartment keys and an umbrella and then the couple hurry outside.

Chapter Text

Logan returns to her room after she had a small conversation with her mom, ate some cake and drank some tea.

Her dad had lovingly yet also frantically cleaned up her room. She feels ashamed for the breakdown she had.

Her nails dig into her skin. What she told Saga is true: she doesn’t feel like herself anymore.

Being on her period had always made her moodier and sad, but this is… extreme, isn’t it?

Logan would often talk with June, Becky and Li about their menstruation and what they would do to feel better and normal again.

But none of their past advice had helped. She couldn’t go for a walk right now, although the cake was delicious, her cravings for understanding couldn’t be met, she couldn’t focus on school or a book or anything.

When she texted them, Becky was already asleep, June was still doing homework and Li was at a birthday sleepover with her younger sister she had to look after.

Logan had wanted to crawl out of her skin. The itches had come back. Her head had felt like exploding but even turning her room upside down and throwing stuff around had not helped calm her down.

Now, at least she is exhausted. In the other room, she can hear the dimmed sound of her dad watching something on his PC.

She closes her eyes and tries to listen to her heartbeat. It’s slower than before. It feels big. Her arms still ache from where she had scratched herself.

Logan hopes that when she wakes up tomorrow morning, everything is different and she is back her former self.

Maybe, she finally wakes up from this nightmare and everything is alright. Her parents are still happily married, she won’t have to move out of this apartment and say goodbye to her friends.

However, when Logan awakens, it’s not morning yet. Outside, the storm is raging on.

Loud rain clatters against her window.

When she opens her eyes, she can see perfectly in the dark. No seconds needed to adjust her vision. The ceiling fan is dusty. It slightly creaks. Did it always creak that loudly?

Outside, the wind is howling and somehow, Logan feels the need to go listen.

What is the wind saying? What’s hidden behind the dark grey clouds? When lightning strikes and lights up her room, it feels like an invitation.

The teenager kicks her bedsheet off her and gets up. Calmly and determined, she walks over to her desk and pulls away the curtains.

A black, wet void greets her. Logan. It seems to talk to her but she can’t fully hear what’s said so she opens the windows.

At full blast, the wind gushes inside together with the night rain. Logan stirs awake by the cold, wet drops hitting her face. She gawks at the dark, stormy sky.

Behind all those thick, impenetrable clouds is the moon. It wants to reveal itself to the girl.

Logan. Logan. Logan!

 “What do you want from me?” Logan whispers back.

Come outside, so I can tell you, the moon chuckles mysteriously.

 “Okay,” the girl mutters.

Now fully conscious and awake and calmer than she had been just a few hours ago, Logan steps away from the window and slowly makes her way to the front door.

Quietly, she opens it and lets the door fall shut behind her. She tiptoes down the staircase on bare feet.

The outside world is still begging her to reveal herself to it. Logan does not question it.

It’s natural for her body to follow. Just as it felt so damn natural to bite Jeffrey Willis in his ear when he didn’t stop bothering her.

Logan puts her entire weight against the front door of the flat building. It’s heavy but tonight, she feels more determined and strong.

As soon as she steps outside in the rain, her pyjamas and hair gets soaked but it doesn’t bother her.

Logan carefully steps onto the asphalt road. She looks up at the sky where turmoil reigns.

She closes her eyes and let’s the cold from the rain seep into her clothes, into her skin and into her bones. It cools her down for sure.

Logan, a voice calls.

When she opens her eyes, the moon has peeked out from behind those stormy clouds. A bright, silver moon.

 “Home,” Logan mutters as she stretches her hand out, trying to capture the celestial body.

In its light, she can see that her finger nails have become quite long. She should cut them next time she takes a shower.

Logan, come closer.

 “I can’t,” Logan replies.

Logan, Logan, Logan…

“Logan!” a female voice screams. Her mother’s voice.

Time seems to slow down. Logan turns around to look for her mother but is first met with the headlights of a late night car rushing toward her.

Brutally aware of her current position, Logan closes her eyes and hopes the pain will fade soon. She freezes. What she doesn’t see or feel, is a flash of dark red shoving her off the street and onto the sidewalk.

The car honks aggressively.

When Logan opens her eyes, she is held in her mother’s strong embrace. She can hear and feel Saga’s heartbeat inside her chest.

The scent of anxious sweat and rain fills her nostrils.

 “M-Mom?” she whispers.

“I’ve got you, baby… I’ve got you,” Saga jaggedly breathes.

 “Logan!” her dad joins them and wraps his arms around them.

“Saga! Are you okay?” David gasps.

The family slowly detaches and get back on their feet. The rude car driver had already raced off into the night.

Saga evaluates her damage. “I was just in time. Might got some scratches but I can walk.”

She then immediately turns to Logan.

 “What were you doing outside?”

Logan looks at the sky. The moon had disappeared behind the clouds again.

Confused, she mutters: “I don’t know… I just… wanted to go outside?”

 “Outside? In a storm?” David exclaims in disbelief. “Come on, girls. We should get inside.”

The trio goes back to their apartment. Saga urges Logan to take off her wet clothes and instead wraps her up in three thick towels.

 “Don’t ever do that again, Logan. That car almost hit you,” Saga grunts as she dabs her daughter’s hair clean.

 “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again,” Logan mutters back.

She doubts she can fully explain the strange urge she had to leave the house. By all means, it was, it is not normal for a person to want to go outside while a storm rolls over town.

 “I’m tired,” Logan whispers.

She pulls her mom off her and goes to her room, gets dressed in fresh clothes and closes her window and curtains.

 “Stupid moon,” she huffs.

That night, Saga insists Logan sleeps in her parents’ bed. Although Logan feels she’s too old to still sleep with them, she complies.

And with that strange sleepwalking, it might be for the best.

Tomorrow, everything will be normal, Logan wishes.

Chapter Text

The turmoil of the night still hangs in the air the next morning. Saga wakes up more exhausted than yesterday.

She turns her head and exhales in relief when she finds Logan lumped against her, her left leg swung over her mother’s abdomen.

The girl seems to be sleeping safe and sound. Serene, almost. A state which Saga had seen Logan in little the past few weeks.

Saga first snakes herself out from underneath her daughter and goes to the bathroom. She evaluates herself. Her hair is messy and uncombed. She carefully rolls up her sleeves. In her successful attempt to save Logan, she had crashed herself into the concrete sidewalk, breaking Logan’s fall and damaging herself in the process.

Yet, she no longer sees any scratches or bruises. Like it never happened. Despite her tiredness, sleep must’ve still done its job in healing other parts of her body.

David is already at the kitchen table by the time Saga clomps into the room.

 “Slept alright?” he asks.

The dark bags under her eyes say enough.

 “I’m spent. But seems our girl is having a better sleep.”

David chuckles and takes a sip from his coffee. “At least. She needed it.”

For a few minutes, there’s a heavy silence. Saga prepares herself some coffee and breakfast and when she joins David at the table, he asks.

 “What the hell happened yesterday night?! Don’t tell me that’s girl puberty too.”

Saga knits her eyebrows together as her hands wrap around her cereal bowl.

 “No, it’s definitely not a ‘girls’ thing. I-, I don’t know… David.”

“Should we stay up tonight?”

 “What? No, I hope not. Maybe letting her sleep a bit longer than usual will help.”

David eventually gets up and readies himself for work. They say their neutral goodbyes to each other. Saga stays at home. For once, glad she had already quit her job even if she will miss hear colleagues.

When she’s back in the bedroom to dress for the day, Logan is still sleeping, snoring even.

Saga smiles at the sight but in the back of her head, she thinks about her grandfather’s letter.

They are getting closer to Logan’s birthday and Saga still doesn’t know what Tor had meant with that urgency of time.

Some sort of change? A rite of passage happening? She only knows a few cultures and people celebrate certain milestones, like those Mexican quinceañeras when a girl turns 15.

But she can’t think of anything that’s a staple in their household. Then again, Freya had not shared much of her Swedish heritage with her, except those handknit sweaters but nothing else. Not in her childhood, teenage years or even in adult life.

She wonders if Tor Anderson is more of a traditionalist or would like to share his knowledge later on.

Once it’s noon, Logan finally comes out of her parents’ bedroom.

She looks fresh and vivid. Nothing of the wild girl Saga had witnessed at night is visible on Logan’s face, highlighted by the warm sun streaming into their apartment. She looks fuzzy in a good way.

 “Look who’s out and about,” Saga smiles. “Slept well, sweety?”

Logan nods and sits down at the kitchen.

 “Some sunny side ups??”

“Great,” Logan smiles. “With extra bacon. I could eat an entire horse!”

Saga raises a questioning eyebrow but doesn’t comment on it.

“I’ll see if we have any in the fridge. Maybe your dad ate all of it last time.”

“Else I’ll go to the grocery store,” Logan suggests but much to Saga’s relief, they have enough bacon left.

Soon, the kitchen is filled with a bit of smoke and the tasty scent of bacon sweating in the pan.

With finesse, Saga cracks five eggs into the skillet.

Meanwhile, Logan gets some slices of bread and puts them on their plates. She pours in a cup of orange juice for herself and some coffee for her mom.

 “Great, I’m starving,” she murmurs as Saga puts the eggs and bacon on her bread.

“Me too,” Saga laughs.

 “I’m already feeling a lot better,” Logan exclaims as she hastily piles some sliced bacon onto her bread and dips it into her runny yolk.

 “Glad to hear. And… you’re not feeling cold or anything?” Saga quietly asks.

She had somehow expected her kid to get the flu or catch a cold after that nightly escapade into the rain while wearing only her PJs.

Logan shakes her head and takes a quick sip from her glass. “Nothing.”

Saga frowns but then smiles. Maybe she shouldn’t be so worried about Logan’s health. She’s a strong girl. Besides, after they got her back inside, she had made sure she was warm and got new clothes on immediately.

Logan offers to do the dishes so Saga can focus on finding a new home to live in Watery.

So while her daughter is busy cleaning the dirty plates and glasses, Saga gets behind her laptop and looks at her last internet search.

There’s not much for sale or for rent in that town nor in Bright Falls. However, there is a rather cheap trailer park that shows up ninth in a list of irrelevant locations.

Watery Lighthouse Trailer Park. Light, laughter and love will guide you home! That’s the slogan of the place.

She clicks on the website link. The site itself is reminiscent of mid 2010s web design with a  fat, blocky custom font taking up most of the space.

On both sides of the main page are ads of which some look like they were put together in PowerPoint. There’s advertisement for sauna, a workshop, a coffee themed amusement park and local beer.

There’s a phone number and an e-mail listed on the header: 45 19-720-322 Ilmo Koskela

The name sounds foreign so she assumes it must be Finnish because Watery’s main selling point is that it’s ‘America’s little Finland’.

Saga decides to prepare an e-mail first. Much to her surprise, only three hours later she gets a reply back from the trailer park owner.

She reads over the e-mail. In the final statement it says that Ilmo Koskela is happy to welcome them one week before they have to move out of their apartment.

Already? Saga thinks. That’s… really quick. She looks around the kitchen and living room. Everything is stored in boxes. It’s not that much, so she should be able to move everything to a trailer. Most of the furniture had to be sold to be able to save up some money for all parties involved.

It’s fast, but at the same time she feels relieved. Maybe for once, being more impulsive and deciding something last-minute isn’t so bad in their current situation.

Chapter Text

After her first breakout at night, Logan tries to sleep in her own bed again. When Saga tucks her, she feels like a scared kid again.

 “It will be alright,” Saga promises.

Logan only nods. Her mom wonders if she should kiss her goodnight, but decides against it in the last second for which Logan is strangely grateful.

She tries to sleep but feels restless. Her mother had told her about the trailer park. She had shown her pictures. It didn’t look fancy nor as modern as their apartment. However, the nature surrounding it looked fun and even alluring.

Previously Logan had deemed herself a true city girl. She has grown up here. She has spend so many hours with her friends hanging out at the mall and the local library, shopping and going to cosy cafes.

Not once had she really thought about moving to a smalltown in a large forest area. The city’s park is the closest she’s got to nature around here.

But now, these cold and empty walls in the apartment have begun to feel like a prison.

Logan twists and turns for two hours until she finally passes out. Her dreams are vivid.

She is running through the corridor of their apartment. The hall goes on and on forever and suddenly her feet begin sinking.

Logan looks beneath her and sees water has filled the floor. It gets higher and higher.

Her clothes become heavy and she has to use her arms and legs to move forward to the main door that keeps being stretched out in front of her.

Water reaches her chin. She grunts and yells, trying to stay afloat but to no avail.

Drenched in sweat but not water, Logan stirs awake. She sits straight up in her bed, catching her breath and trying to get as much air in her lungs as possible.

Next, she grasps at her shirt, her PJ pants, touches her face. There’s no water in a distorted version of her home. No water is trying to drown her, no door out of sight.

She looks around her room. There are boxes all around her. Her desk had been uninstalled and its bare components propped up against one wall.

The walls are dark and naked. Her BON posters alongside some other prints have been put in cylinder containers and stored into one of the many boxes.

She stares at her window. The curtains and windows are safely closed. Carefully, she steps outside her bed and walks up to the curtains.

She takes a deep breath, before pulling them apart. Outside, the sky is peaceful. Serene. No storms or leftovers from yesterday.

A starry sky with just a few clouds fill the sky. The moon looks dimmed but still its glimmer reflect in the girl’s dark, brown eyes.

 “What were you trying to tell me?” Logan mutters but as expected, she gets no answer.

The inexplicable pull she had yesterevening is gone but deep down inside her, she feels something is still simmering.

She tries to suppress it by abruptly closing the curtains shut and returning to her bed.

The following days, the restlessness at night remains. In the moments where she finally falls asleep, Logan eventually awakes again and looks out of the windows of their lonely apartment.

She is trying to unravel what the moon is saying and why it wants her to go outside.

Sometimes the magnetic power of the moon is stronger than Logan’s willpower to resist. Luckily, all these times David or Saga are there to stop her from recklessly running outside at night.

At one point, David had decided to hide the key from Logan.

The teenager finds it humiliating and childish but also understands her parents concerns.

That night, if it hadn’t been for her mom’s protective instincts, Logan could’ve been run over by that speeding car. She could’ve been heavily injured, or worse.

Logan doesn’t believe in God or anything, but that night something must’ve watched over her and her family.

With her changing behaviour and the need to be in nature, Saga had decided to visit the city park more often in the remaining time that they’re still here.

The walks do both mother and daughter some good but it doesn’t seem to be enough.

Logan continues to sleepwalk and be seduced by strange voices in her head.

Even her mom seems to be affected. Not just on motherly level and concern.

Her father is unsure what to do but tries to keep the family inside at night, keep them safe.

When it’s finally time for them to make the journey to Watery, Logan feels exhilarated, relieved even.

She could barely stand the empty walls of the apartment anymore. She might just have jumped out of her skin for real this time if she had to stay any longer in this building.

With more vigour than expected, her parents watch her help them move the boxes downstairs. Even the heavier ones that David insisted he should carry together.

 “You’re growing up and getting stronger faster than I expected,” he smiles before patting his daughter on her shoulder.

Logan smiles back with a mischievous grin. “I can handle myself, dad.”

Her friends are also present when the Andersons load up the car with Logan and Saga’s belongings.

 “Whoa, it all fits,” Li whispers.

“We have a big enough car,” Logan boasts.

 “What about you, Mister Anderson? Or should I call you Mister Woods now?” June asks.

David looks at the teen girl and offers her an assuring smile. “You can call me David, you know.”

 “Habit,” June tries to nonchalantly reply.

David chuckles. “I’ll be fine, June. I found a place not far from here. I can still use the bike to get to work and all.”

He and Saga exchanges meaningful looks. When Saga’s expression is subtly worried, David reiterates.

 “I’ll be fine. What about you, girls?”

Becky, June and Li look at each other. In unison they say: “We’re going to miss you, Logan.”

 “Keep in touch!” Becky exclaims, shaking her phone in her hand.

Logan grins. “I will… I’m sorry for not being that present the last couple of days… weeks.”

 “It’s okay,” Becky reassures her with a gentle hand on her shoulder.

June does the same. “Yeah, we understand. It’s not easy being you, right now.”

Unsubtly, she eyes at Logan’s parents.

 “But yeah, text us while on the road too!” Li says.

The four girls go in for one last group hug. David takes a picture of it and sends it to Logan.

After that, Logan turns to her dad.

 “So… We’ll see each other later, hm?”

David nods, emotion slowly getting the better of him. Before the tears can roll down his cheeks, Logan closes their distance and firmly hugs him.

These last months had been heavy on them all and only now, does Logan realize that they’re really parting ways for longer than just one or two weeks. She is going to miss him.

 “Bye, dad.”

“Have a safe journey, my dear. I’ll text you too. And Logan?”

Logan finally dares to look up. Both father and daughter now have teary eyes.

 “Look after your mother, okay?”

“Will do, dad.”

Slowly, she detaches herself, almost afraid to let go of him before slipping inside the passenger’s seat while Saga takes her place behind the wheel.

David makes a final trip around the car to make sure everything is inside and locked secure.

Li then taps on Logan’s window. Logan rolls it down.

Her friend fishes something out of her hand bag and offers it.

 “Here, a parting gift from us all.”

“Only open it once you’re on the road,” June presses.

 “Why?” Logan asks.

“I don’t wanna cry in front of your parents,” June mutters, barely audible, ash she rubs one shoe against the other.

Logan chuckles. “We’re already crying, but I understand. Thank you. I’m really going to miss you all.”

Saga looks at her daughter. “Ready to hit the road then?”

Logan nods.

 “Hit the road, Jack.”

“Have a safe trip,” David says to Saga explicitly.

 “Thank you, David. And… thank you for the last days.”

“Don’t mention it,” he nods.

Then, Saga rolls up the windows and takes off. Logan’s friends and David wave them goodbye until the car disappears behind the corner of the street.

A new life is starting now and Logan looks out of the window, hopefully.

Something tells her that this is a good decision. Maybe those restless nights and strange dreams will finally stop once they’re in a new environment.

Chapter Text

Slowly but surely, the familiar roads make way for unfamiliar ones. The concrete and density of the city are gradually replaced by long, stretched out roads and forests.

“How you like the change of scenery?” Saga asks.

She quickly side glances her daughter who is looking out of the window. The present on her lap, untouched.

 “Hey, dreamer,” Saga nudges.

Then, Logan looks up and looks at her mom with a slightly bedazzled face.

 “What were you saying?”

“I guess from your distracted face, you like the landscape,” Saga chuckles.

Logan nods. “It’s so much greener than what we got at our home.”

Our old home, Saga thinks but she doesn’t say it out loud. There’s still some mourning and sombre thoughts in her head despite the beautiful environment they now find themselves in.

Every two hours, Saga makes sure to take a break so they can stretch their legs and have a bathroom break or refill their tank.

Despite the sad undertones, Saga also enjoys this time with her daughter on the road. A little trip for them after spending many months in a dense household.

At one gas station, she buys some snacks for them to enjoy: a bag of paprika chips, chocolate bars and fruity ice cream to enjoy why they’re still resting.

 “We’re getting further away from society,” Logan remarks as she leans against the hood of the car.

Saga mirrors her and nods. “Seems like it, huh. Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll have enough WiFi connection.”

The latter is said with a wink, causing Logan to roll her eyes and focus on her popsicle instead.

The weather is nice. No rain was forecast and right now, the sun shines but some white clouds compensate with their coolness.

As they finally get ready to hit the road again, Saga inquires about the present.

 “Oh, you’re right. I kind of dozed off,” Logan sheepishly laughs.

They get in the car and as Saga starts driving, Logan looks at the gift.

 “So… What do you think it is?” Saga wonders.

“It’s not small. Kind of heavy. Rectangular…,” Logan shakes the gift. “Sturdy. I think it might be a book.”

 “You’re keeping me on edge. Go on, open it!”

The rustling and ripping of the wrapping paper is heard and then Saga hears the teen gasp.

 “It is a book. An illustration book about nature and the wildlife in the Pacific Northwest.”

For a moment, there’s some silence so Saga quietly pries. 

“You like it?”

Logan nods. “Yes! My friends truly know me.”

Saga smiles. The girls are good people. Thanks to them, Logan had been able to get through some rough times in high school.

She feels bad she didn’t allow them to come over these last weeks but the apartment had been such a mess, and so was her relationship with her family, Saga couldn’t face other people like that.

Once they are settled in Watery, Saga should tell Logan that her friends can come over for a weekend or so.

 “They also left a handwritten note inside the book,” Logan says with glee.

Hii bold she-wolf,

By the time you’re reading this, you’ll probably be miles away from us :(

But do not worry, we got you a little parting gift!

A guide for the local wildlife and nature that you’ll be living among soon!!!

It’s illustrated too so not too many boring words to read ;)

Please call or text us with updates! We’re suuper curious what you think of our little gift!

Yours forever,

xx LJB xx

PS: also tell us if there are cute boys or girls at your place <333

U r gonna rock their world! <3

Logan leaves out the PS note. Her mom doesn’t need to be a detective in her love life.

 “She-Wolf?” Saga remarks, raising a curious eyebrow.

Logan turns a bit red. “Yeah… I gained a bit of a reputation after the whole Jeffrey thing.”

She looks at her mom. Saga’s face is focused on the road but also turning into a frown as she tries to come up with a lecture or something. However, she also seems to try and hide a chuckle by clenching her fists around the wheel extra hard.

 “That’s not a bad nickname, is it?” Saga eventually says.

Logan shrugs her shoulders. “Could’ve been worse. And wolves are pretty cool. I think bears are also cool. There should be some in the area we’re going to live in as well.”

 “Then you better stay alert, Logan.”

“Mom, we’re not even there yet!” Logan groans as she puts the book aside.

Saga sighs and nods. “You’re right… We should try to start over.”

She lifts her hand from the gear stick and opens it to her daughter who takes it. She softly squeezes her hand.

 “To new beginnings then.”

“To new beginnings.”

-

The journey takes three long days and a half before they finally arrive at their destination.

They sleep at a motel but after the second one made Saga and Logan both feel uncomfortable, they decided to sleep in the car on the third night.

“I’m sorry we’re not staying at a fancy hotel or anything tonight,” Saga laments.

“It’s okay. I don’t wanna stay in a seedy motel like the previous one,” Logan snorts.

She shivers as she thinks back to the owner. A white man in his late 50s whose appearance just screamed sleazy and unsavoury.

She didn’t like how he asked them all kinds of personal questions and kept ogling her mom.

Saga always tries to teach her daughter not to judge a book by its cover, but in situations like these, she also trusts her gut and prioritizes her survival instincts.

Instincts that seem to have gotten sharper the past few days.

Saga had felt the pendant burn against her chest when they were talking to the motel guy. If she didn’t have any manners and wasn’t in a pretty white area, she would’ve dared to throw hands with the receptionist.

But she didn’t want to put her daughter in any shittier situation so she had sucked up the uncomfortable vibes.

She and Logan had partially laughed it off in their motel room but they also left as quickly as they could in the morning. 5 AM.

The backseats are packed with boxes but they can both dial their seats a little bit backward. It’s not ideal but it beats staying in an unsafe environment.

Saga gets some spare blankets out of the trunk of the car and gives one of them to Logan.

 “Tomorrow, we’ll finally get to sleep in our new home,” she promises.

“I know, mom. Thanks for looking after me,” Logan murmurs, already drowsy, eyes fluttering open and shut.

 “Good night.”

“G’night.”

Saga falls asleep earlier than expected. She dreams of the forest. She can hear wild wolves howl and there are flashes of their grey fur among the dark bark of the trees.

One of them stands out with its lighter grey, almost resembling a silver coat. Could he be the pack leader or something?

The moon is full and there’s a burning sensation in her chest. She looks around her and suddenly the forest is on fire.

Saga gasps awake and is greeted by the shy morning lighting. Her necklace feels specifically hot and heavy so she takes it off and puts it in the dashboard.

She then lets her environment come back into view. Logan is still sleeping, curled up in the passenger’s seat. Her blanket has fallen to the ground but the teenager seems unbothered.

Their car is safely parked off the road and the sun is peaking out from behind some soft clouds.

There is no fire and there are no wolves.

Saga sighs in relief. It was just a wild dream. Must be after their conversation about bears and wolves. She briefly gets out of the car to stretch her legs and arms before waking her daughter to do the same.

Then, they embark on the last miles of their journey.

Lucious, whirling roads lead them through the vivid green forests and mountains.

They take a final rest stop at Stucky’s Gas Station. Logan gets a fresh soda can from the fridge and Saga orders some coffee.

The owner, Mister Stucky, recommends mother and daughter to also stop by at the Oh Deer Diner if they want a fulfilling meal.

Logan’s stomach quickly reacts, making it an easy decision as where to go next. Saga thanks Mister Stucky and returns to the car.

 “What do you think?” Saga asks Logan.

“I think Mister Stucky was okay. Not weird or anything. Just boring normal I guess.”

Saga laughs and agrees. “Let’s hope most of the town folk will be like that. Just regular people.”

They drive into Bright Falls. It’s not a big town and the Diner is easily found as it lies on the primary road. Its sign outside is weathered and old but light still buzzes through it, albeit dimmed.

Saga parks the car behind the Diner and before she gets out, she puts on her necklace again.

Through the large windows in the front, Saga can see that this Diner must’ve looked like that for decades.

But it feels somewhat charming.

Logan is less interested in the design choices or aesthetics of the Diner and more in what’s on the menu.

A friendly waitress welcomes the duo and gives them a nice seat at the front window.

 “You must be from out of town,” the waitress deducts.

“Yes, we just arrived,” Saga nods.

The waitress is a young, white woman in her late 20s with her hair tied into a tight bun, hidden behind her waitress’ cap. She has a curious look in her eyes and for a brief moment, she seems to look at Saga’s jewellery.

 “It’s a gift from my mother,” Saga promptly comments.

The girl blinks and gasps. “Oh, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to stare like that, my apologies! Anyways, that’s… lovely! Here’s the menu card. Me or a colleague will come over in a few minutes to take your orders! Enjoy your stay!”

Saga smiles and focuses back on their spot. Logan is already browsing through the menu.

 “I know what I want,” the teenager quickly declares.

“Already?” Saga’s eyes quickly scan the card.

There are a few baked sweets, some hot drinks, breakfast and lunch items on the list.

 “The Famous Tripple D Burger cos it sounds meaty enough,” Logan taps her finger on the card.

“Hmm… Sounds fitting yeah… I think I’ll go with Rose’s Soup & Salad.”

As promised, another waitress comes over to take the Andersons’ order. Today, it’s not that packed.

Probably a few locals are having some late lunch too. The music comes from an old school jukebox in the corner of the Diner.

Not much later, their food is served. Logan immediately digs into her hamburger with both hands. The juices of the patty drip out and some slices of pickle and tomato drop onto her plate.

The soup is served in a simple, white bowl that has the Oh Deer Diner logo on it. There’s a piece of toasted brown bread next to it and the salad is served on a plate.

Saga takes a careful sip from her soup and decides it’s not a bad meal.

When they’re finished, the waitress from earlier comes back to clean up. As she professionally begins to pile the plates onto her hands and arms, she asks.

 “I’m a bit curious, but are you planning to stay longer or just on a holiday?”

“We’re actually moving to the area,” Saga decides it doesn’t hurt to get to know the local folk a bit better and warm up to them.

 “Ooh! That’s great! We don’t get many new residents! I haven’t introduced myself yet, but as you can see on my tag,” the waitress nudges her chin to the name tag on the left side of her uniform, “My name is Rose Marigold. Pleased, to make your acquaintance at our charming little diner! The best and only one around and I hope your meal just spoke for itself!”

 “Thank you, Rose. The food was great. I’m Saga and this is my daughter, Logan Anderson.”

Rose’s eyes seem to light up. “Anderson?! You’re not by chance related to the Anderson brothers?”

 “The Anderson brothers?”

“You don’t know them? The Old Gods of Asgard? Well, they’re not really rockstars anymore, though they like to pretend they are,” Rose huffs with an air of shared familiarity but Saga doesn’t know much about her grandfather Tor.

Freya did mention he was in some kind of band, but she had stayed pretty vague about it.

 “They are kind of a big deal around these parts. So… you’re not related?”

“Actually, I am. But my mom didn’t talk much about him,” Saga mutters, not fully expecting to be confronted with her family’s past issues this early.

 “Oh, I’m sorry. Anyways, you’ll meet him soon enough. Usually, he and Odin are daily visitors but I guess today they’re busy with something else. Anyways, I’ll leave you be now. Have a great, great day!”

Saga thanks Rose for her service and welcome before paying at the counter. Now, they just have to drive to Watery. Their end destination.

Chapter Text

Watery is truly a small town. Even smaller than Bright Falls but that makes it also easier to find the way to the trailer park.

They drive over the main road. There’s a large, white – or it used to be bright white – painted building that has three signs hanging above the entrance: SUOMI HALL, KARAOKE and CAFÉ.

There are various fishing related buildings and in the distance looms a Ferris Wheel.

 “Is that Coffee World?” Logan asks.

“Must be,” Saga nods.

Quickly, the amusement park comes closer into view. It looks abandoned but not forgotten at this time of the day.

Saga briefly stops the car to look. There’s a large welcome banner. The mascot is a large coffee pot. It makes Saga think of old cartoon shows. The park is surrounded by green, much like the rest of the environment.

The visible attractions are still, like large construction machines awaiting its workers to return.

 “Pretty funny. Everything’s really coffee,” Logan states as she too looks at the park.

“Yeah. Maybe you should visit it with your friends,” Saga suggests.

Logan nods. “Let’s go to our new home now. I’m tired.”

Saga agrees. On the opposite side of Coffee World, there’s a small half paved road that leads to the trailer park.

A large fence is set up enclosing the park. Just outside, there’s a parking place for cars and motorcycles. Each spot has a license plate and it seems there’s already a spot reserved for Saga and Logan.

Saga parks the car in the designated spot. Logan follows her mom out of the car and they walk up to the gates of the fence.

Most people are still at work this late afternoon. An elderly woman is napping on her front porch in a typical rocking chair. Her small dog lies politely next to her feet, snoring away.

The trailer park is relatively quiet save for the sound of a few chirping birds and the breeze blowing through the leaves of the trees surrounding the park.

Behind the entrance of the gates, there’s a small rectangular building. Above the door hangs a wooden sign: RECEPTION/VASTAANOTTO

 “Let’s go inside then?” Saga states.

Logan nods and takes her mom’s hand. Before the duo can go inside, the door swings open from the other side.

A middle aged man in a unique outfit steps forward. His clothes are a mix of different hobbies and jobs at once: green fishing waders, underneath it a red, plaided flannel. On top of it all, the man is wearing two leather jackets, one clearly being a motorcycle vest. A trucker cap with an animal logo that says “AHMA” underneath it, finishes his odd look.

He has a friendly face and when he smiles, the crowfeet around his eyes deepen. He has a scruffy beard, peppered with strands of silvery hairs that catch Saga’s eye in surprise. She feels like she had recently seen that colour before, but where?

Before she can give it any more thought, the older man speaks up in a beamy voice.

 “Good afternoon, you two! You must be the new tenants I assume,” the man greets them.

This must be Mister Koskela.

He closes their distance and stretches out his hand. Saga takes it and they shake. Mister Koskela has a warm, firm handshake. The leather jacket gives him a distinct smell but there’s also something else on him that Saga can’t quite pinpoint. Something… wild?

Mister Koskela’s eyes are blue and they briefly focus on Saga’s necklace. It’s just a split second but it feels longer. There’s a micro muscle movement in his nose, making it curl in discomfort.

His grip subtly tightens around her but then he quickly loosens that grip to shift them both into an agreeable hug.

Again, the gesture is big and strong and Saga feels his nose subtly press against her shoulder.

However, it happens fast and before she knows it, they’re standing apart again like nothing weird happened.

She quickly glances at Logan who is now shaking Mister Koskela’s hand as well.

When the older man returns his look to Saga, a more genuine smile is plastered on his face.

 “I’m very happy to welcome another Anderson to this lovely trailer park! Please, I haven’t properly introduced myself. Ilmo Koskela, one half of the proud Koskela brothers, owner of Coffee World, the best beer around and the Kalevala Knights motorcycle club. I’m its president.”

He proudly taps the name tags on his black vest.

 “Nice to meet you, Mister Koskela.”

“Saga Anderson and Logan Anderson,” Mister Koskela nods acknowledging. He winks. “I remember names. And please, call me Ilmo. Here, everyone’s basically family!”

Ilmo’s way of speaking eases Saga into a sense of familiarity, safety even, which is unique considering she isn’t always immediately comfortable in a new surrounding.

His words and posture quickly make her forget the brief odd mannerisms he exuded mere seconds ago.

“Let’s get down to business then. I’ll show you to your new home! And if you need any help with unpacking, please let me know! Me and my brother are happy to help you out!”

Ilmo parades through the info desk to the park itself.

 “Here we are. Number 2.”

The owner gives Saga the key. It has a metal ring where a spare key and a mailbox key are attached.

Saga looks at her daughter and smiles. “Our new home, Logan.”

 “Go on, mom. Open it,” Logan huffs.

Ilmo sniggers. “It will be cozy.”

Saga takes a deep breath and then turns the key in the lock. The door opens smoothly.

Immediately upon entering, they are in the living room. Further to the right is a full kitchen with a table and a set of chairs.

Behind it, a washing machine and a dryer are installed with a cupboard on the wall above it and on the right a door leads to the bathroom. At the end of the right side of the trailer is a small bedroom reserved for Logan.

On the opposite side is Saga’s bedroom. The basic furniture is all there but the rest still needs some dressing and personalizing.

But Ilmo Koskela is correct. Despite its bare essences, the trailer feels cozy enough and with enough time, Saga can see herself living here comfortably with her teenage daughter.

“As said before, if you need help with moving stuff to the trailer, give me a call. This is the desk number and my personal number. If my brother is around, don’t be surprised you suddenly have an extra pair of hands helping you regardless!”

Ilmo swipes Saga a little business card. On one side, there’s a logo of a lighthouse, on the other side the contact information.

 “Thank you, Ilmo.”

“Oh, before I go…,” Ilmo suddenly reaches into his jacket and gets out his wallet. From the looks of it, he keeps a whole bunch of cash in there.

He scoops out some paper money and a cheque, scribbling something on it.

 “I forgot to give you a special discount,” Ilmo states as he puts the money on the kitchen table.

Saga stares at it in surprise. “A discount?”

There was nothing mentioned on the website nor in their e-mail correspondence.

Ilmo winks playfully. “It’s on the house, so to speak. We folks gotta look after one another, so don’t mention it.”

With that being said, their landlord leaves the trailer, leaving Saga quite baffled about the large surprise discount.

 “He is… special,” Logan mutters.

Saga has to blink her eyes to ground herself back to reality. “He is… But I don’t feel bad vibes about him.”

Logan shrugs her shoulders. “Let’s go unpack.”

They go back outside and walk up to their car. Ilmo Koskela is already back in the reception office.

When they walk past with a bunch of bags and boxes, Saga can see the Finnish-American is talking on the phone. As their eyes briefly meet, Ilmo smiles wholeheartedly at her and even waves. Out of politeness, Saga nods and smiles back.

The Andersons are almost half way unpacking the car when suddenly two teenagers and an older man approach them at the car.

The man wears a dark beanie, scruffy looking hair peeks out underneath it and a very, full, thick beard covers most of his face. His hands are tucked away in his dark, brown leather jacket and though his posture is a bit closed off, he genuinely smiles at the newcomers.

The teens accompanying him seem to be about the same age as Logan. One a boy, the other a girl.

 “Hello! You’re Logan and Saga, right?” the girl quickly steps forward and shakes hands.

She has straight, light brown hair reaching down to her shoulders. She is wearing a cap, similar to the one Ilmo Koskela was wearing. Besides that, her outfit consists of a zipped up hoodie and tight jeans with some old sneakers underneath.

The boy has a similar, casual outfit: an oversized T-shirt with a sleeveless plaid flannel atop and some cargo shorts with a camouflage pattern.

“I’m Charline Koskela. This here is my brother Charlie and that’s my dad, Jaakko. Uncle Ilmo told us to come over and ask if you needed any help carrying stuff to your new home,” the girl introduces her and the others.

 “Yup. Welcome to our humble Watery Lighthouse Trailer Park,” Jaakko Koskela nods. His intonation is somewhat monotone, but genuine nonetheless.

“Eh, welcome, I guess,” the boy huffs, avoiding some eye contact with the new tenants.

Saga looks at Logan. “We could use some help, right?”

Logan nods and then points at the boxes still left in the car. “Be careful, some are quite heavy.”

Jaakko suddenly grins and walks up to the car. With ease, he lifts two narrow but heavier boxes and swoops them with both arms out of the trunk.

 “Easy,” he says and  begins walking.

“Dad can be such a show-off in his own way,” Charline sighs at Logan.

Logan sniggers in amusement. She finds it quite relatable. Her mom can also be boastful at inconvenient and awkward moments, especially when Logan’s hanging out with her friends.

 “Thank you for helping,” Logan says to the girl as they go to the trailer.

“No problem! We love getting new people in town! Not many folk come here lately, so it got a bit boring,” Charline explains.

 “Well, maybe that’s a good opportunity for you and your brother to show the new girl around?” Charline’s father suggests as they put the luggage inside the trailer.

Charline and Charlie give each other a disapproving look as if they’re saying with my sibling?

 “Or just you girls,” Jaakko Koskela corrects himself.

“It’s fine either way,” Logan says, hoping it could ease some of the tension but honestly, she doesn’t hang out as much with boys as she’d like to.

Back in her class, most boys and girls stayed in separate groups.

 “Once you’re settled and rested, I can show you all the cool spots in Watery,” Charline promises the new girl with a twinkle in her eye.

Logan smiles approvingly. She would love to explore this place with a connoisseur.

Charline possibly being the same age, also helps a lot now that Logan’s friends are all the way back in the city. Besides, the guide book would probably not suffice on its own.

A few minutes pass as the group walk back and forth from car to trailer but their combined effort makes the car empty in no-time.

As the Koskela family makes their leave, Jaakko Koskela faces Logan’s mom.

 “Ehm.. If you’d like to, you’re welcome to join me and my family for dinner tonight. We figured you must be exhausted from such a long journey.”

 “That’s a generous offer, we’ll consider it,” Saga replies.

Saga and Logan only empty some boxes with the basic necessities and decide to call it a day for the rest of their belongings.

While Saga takes a break on the couch with a book, Logan starts vlogging their new home to her friends.

“You already put all the boxes in your home?!” Li exclaims.

 “Yes, we got some help from the owners of the trailer park.”

Becky chimes in: “Are they cool people?”

 “I don’t know, Beck… I didn’t talk that much with them. But they seem chill. Especially Charline, she’s willing to show me around.”

 “Oh, Charline, huh. Bet she’ll show you around,” June sniggers on the other side of the phone.

“Shh… Mom’s in the other room!” Logan hisses alerted as she’s standing in her new bedroom with the door open.

 “Miss Anderson, the new home looks great!” June yells.

“What’s that?” Saga shouts from the living room.

 “Nothing!” Logan shouts back with a reddened face.

“Great for you, Logan. Also, how did you like our gift?” Li inquires.

 “I already put it on my shelf,” Logan turns around and shows the girls the empty shelf, save for their gift and a comic book she got from her dad for her previous birthday.

 “This is going to be so exciting, Logan! A new place, a new life,” Becky says.

Logan sighs, her face turning to a frown. She thuds onto her new bed. The mattress feels different from her old one.

 “Yeah… a new life.”

“It will be alright,” LI reassures her. “Might take some time,  but I’m sure it will do you good.”

 “Old school sucked anyways,” Logan lets out an uncertain chuckle.

Jeffrey had been sooo annoying. She’s still proud that she literally bit back because it has earned her quite the reputation at school and all the annoying boys had left her alone while some girls who hadn’t approached her before, suddenly wanted to be her friends and sit with her and the trio during lunch.

 “You’re cool beans,” Becky reiterates. “You can handle it.”

“And hey, maybe the weird dreams and sleepwalking will also end now,” Li adds.

Logan had informed her friends about the strange changes. According to them, it had all to do with going through a rough period with her parents’ divorce, her mysterious grandmom’s passing and all. Although, Li was the one who considered mystical powers being involved which Logan had first brushed away as Li reading too many fantasy novels.

 “I hope so too,” Logan quietly sighs.

“Alright. I gotta go. The Wifi has to be properly booted up tomorrow so I’m still running on 4G.”

 “Oof, understandable. Talk to you later, Logan!” June waves.

“We miss you!” the girls say in unison before Logan has to hang up.

In the evening, the Andersons visit the Koskela family at Jaakko’s trailer.

Charlie opens the door. He is wearing a raggy flannel shirt with one hole in the left elbow. He throws mother and daughter an awkward smile before gesturing them to come inside. He leads the way, his hands in his pockets as he nonchalantly clomps to the kitchen.

Their trailer is slightly bigger but has a similar lay-out. Immediately, they are hit with the delicious smell of cooking.

Saga detects the distinct smell of salmon. She shouldn’t be surprised they’re preparing a fish dish, given all the fishery imagery in and around Watery.

In the kitchen, a large table is made for six people.

Charline is already seated. Her father is standing behind the oven, still wearing his work pants and blue plaid and a dark, green apron. Ilmo Koskela is standing  next to him, preparing another part of the dish.

He turns around with a tray of glasses.

 “Saga, Logan! Glad you made it. Just in time too, Jaakko is almost done with the lohikeitto! Please, have a seat!”

The family all join. Saga sits opposite of Logan. Next to her, sits Charlie Koskela while his sister sits next to her daughter. At each table end, sits one of the Koskela brothers.

 “This is salmon based soup with potatoes, leek and carrots. Peppered with some simple spices and dill. I hope you like it,” Jaakko introduces the dish to them.

“Traditional Finnish recipe,” Ilmo adds with a proud smile.

 “Yup. We like to keep our Finnish culture alive,” Jaakko nods.

Logan, at first, is a bit hesitant but she is hungry and she doesn’t want to be an ungrateful guest tonight. She is pleasantly surprised how the different textures and tastes come together as one.

Saga is also enjoying the soup.

Ilmo Koskela enthusiastically talks about the trailer park and the environment before his brother politely shuts him up so the guests can enjoy the main course.

As the dessert is being served, Ilmo speaks up again.

“If I might ask, Saga, what’s that necklace about?”

Jaakko Koskela gives him a subtle, prying look but the man in the cap seems to be unbothered by his grimace.

Saga wraps her fingers around the pendant, carefully tracing her thumb over the cool stone.

“It was my mother’s. A parting gift, meant to protect me.”

The whole Koskela family stares and Saga can’t help but feel their underlying disdain for it. She’s not sure why but it seems not to be a case of mere difference in taste. They almost seem to have a physical reaction to it. Appalled?

But it’s also not the same air as dealing with racist bigots either. She can’t pinpoint why this strange reaction though.

 “Forgive my nosy brother. We don’t often come across people wearing pure silver,” the older Koskela brother speaks up.

Suddenly, his son chimes in too with an awkward smile. “Yeah… yeah, indeed. And, eh, we’re sorta allergic to it.”

The latter comment incites a physical reaction from Charline who seems to push him underneath the table with one of her feet.

 “Ow!”

“Children!” Jaakko raises his voice.

For a few seconds, Logan and Saga tense up by the unexpected shift in atmosphere of the dinner.

 “Oh, I-, I didn’t know… I’m sorry. Next time, I won’t be wearing it,” Saga then profusely apologises.

That clearly explains their odd behaviour toward the pendant.

“No, don’t. Please. It’s not that bad as my nephew claims it to be,” Ilmo begins to backtrack, gesturing with his hands and all.

To change the subject, the man tells Saga that she can meet her grandfather tomorrow.

They had been at the Cauldron Lake Lodge, the doctor’s office of one Emil Hartman.

Slowly, the more pleasant mood returns until Saga and Logan say their goodbyes to the Koskela family.

As soon as they’re back in their own trailer, Saga plops down on the couch. Logan joins her.

“How are you feeling, sweety?”

Logan leans against the couch and closes her eyes a little. “Tired. Full… The older brother really knows how to cook.”

Saga chuckles and agrees.

 “And what do you think of them?”

“I dunno. Maybe it’s a bit too early to judge?”

 “Clever girl,” Saga smiles.

“I’m going to bed,” Logan gets up.

 “Good night, sweety. I’m following soon.”

While Logan is in the bathroom, prepping for bed, Saga remains on the couch.

Now, in her hand lies her necklace. She didn’t know people could be allergic to silver. Then again, it wasn’t too unheard of people’s bodies reacting poorly to certain materials found in jewellery.

She knits her eyebrows together and frowns. Thoughts are trying to be formed in her head but the entire journey to Watery, all the new people she met and the new impressions, cause her brain to short circuit.

Tomorrow, she might find more answers when she finally gets to meet her grandfather, Tor Anderson and his brother Odin Anderson.

Chapter Text

Saga is up earlier than she had expected. During the night, it had been disorienting when she tried to find the bathroom but other than that, there had been no issues.

No missing daughter and even one night without vivid dreams. By the time she’s making herself some coffee, of course the little coffee machine had been unpacked as one of the essentials, she doesn’t even remember if she dreamt anything at all.

Today’s going to be a busy day, emptying more boxes and making this place feel a little bit more like home.

Still, she has to admit that sleeping in a two-person bed without partner, does feel foreign. Lonely even.

She sits down with her hot mug and turns on her phone. David had left a voice message for her.

 “Hey Saga. David here, ehm… I hope you have finally arrived in Watery and I hope things are going okay for you so far.

I have moved into my new apartment. It’s a lot smaller, of course, but it has all I need for now. Life’s going on as usual. Then again, I didn’t have to switch jobs or places like you two.

How’s Logan taking it so far? Did she have any… sleepwalking anymore?

If you find some time, feel free to update me through text, or voice message. Bye.”

Saga smiles a bit as she wraps her fingers around the mug. It’s somewhat of a relief to hear that her ex-husband has settled down.

As much as they could not stand each other the last couple of weeks, months even, there still was this bit of care for one another as friends or distant acquaintances.

She presses her thumb on the recording button but then cancels it. Instead she begins typing.

Hey David

Logan and I arrived safely in Watery and got a warm welcome from our landlord and his family.

It’s quiet here. Logan is still sleeping.

She didn’t have any nightly escapade urges anymore.

Maybe being closer to nature really did help.

Still have to unpack a lot of things, but we’ll get there.

Later today, I’m finally going to meet my grandfather Tor Anderson.

Good to hear you’ve moved in already.

-Saga

Saga looks outside the window. It looks out on some of the other trailers and between them, there’s a glimpse to the trailer park’s playground.

In the morning light, the place looks serene and peaceful. However, inside her, turmoil rears its confusing head.

Tor Anderson, what kind of man is he? And while her mom might not have mentioned him a lot, why didn’t he try to reach out to Saga earlier? Was it the distance between them? Was he not internet savvy enough to communicate through a mobile device? Did Freya omit any addresses to him? Did she intercept any possible mail, perhaps?

So many questions and so little answers and that’s just the tip of the Anderson iceberg.

Saga is still keen on uncovering what Logan’s 16^th birthday has to do with all these sudden changes.

Still, she is grateful that having a proper roof above her head is no longer a worry and that she can be done with this whole moving thing earlier than dreaded.

After some more scrolling on her phone, she eventually gets up to check on Logan.

Her daughter is still snuggled up in her blankets, not a care in the world and no visible distress on the teen’s face.

She could wake her up but she decides that Logan deserves some extra rest while she still can.

In a few weeks, she has to go to a new high school. That won’t be easy.

An hour later, Saga gets dressed to meet her long hidden family members. According to Ilmo Koskela, they should be back at the trailer park again.

Before she steps outside, she looks at herself in the bathroom mirror. She has her hair combed and donned in the usual ponytail, eyeliner and a subtle eye shadow, finished off with her favourite lipstick.

For this occasion, she decided to wear the last sweater Freya had knitted for her. Two years ago. It’s a red one with a white, Nordic pattern entwined. She also wears Freya’s necklace.

She checks on her daughter one last time before leaving. If Logan wakes up and checks her phone, she’ll see that her mom left her a text message entailing her whereabouts.

The walk to the other Anderson trailer is over quickly but standing in front of that door feels like an eternity.

Eventually, the door opens with a loud creaking noise and a tall, balding man with a remarkable eyepatch stands in the opening. He has a neutral sweater but wears a long, heavy leather coat over it with matching leather, fingerless gloves. The man doesn’t fit in this place and yet at the same time, it all makes sense.

 “Is that you Saga Anderson?” the old man wants to know.

Slightly ajar, Saga nods, speechless.

 “Brother! Come over, Saga’s here! Saga has finally arrived in Watery!” the old man exclaims.

Not long after, a smaller man walks to the door. He is bare chested save for a black vest, covered in different logos and patches.

He has a scruffy, silver almost white beard with two small braids at the end of his beard. The hair on his chest is as white as his facial hair.

He slightly tilts his head and squints his eyes as he observes the woman.

 “In the flesh, it is Saga Anderson!” Tor mutters.

“So you are my grandfather?” Saga stammers back in disbelief.

Her grandfather and granduncle look nothing like she had imagined them to be as a kid. Clad in black leather, clearly not having let go of their old stage personas she assumes.

“Kära Saga, yes I am your morfar,” Tor says with a genuine smile, the accent thick.

His brother, Odin Anderson, spreads his arms and exclaims: “It’s so good to finally see you, Saga. All grown up now too.”

Saga smiles a bit awkwardly, wondering if she should shake hands or go further than that.

But the Anderson brothers decide that for her as Tor steps closer, arms spread as well to welcome Saga into their home.

They hug but then Tor brusquely pulls away. He grimaces as his eyes dart over Saga until they land on the necklace.

 “What’s that?” he gasps.

Startled, Saga takes a step back too. “It’s… it was from my mom.”

 “Freya…,” Tor huffs. “You have to take it off, Saga. Pure silver like that is not good for an Anderson.”

“I’m sorry, sweetie pie, but my brother is right for once,” Odin chimes in.

Bewildered but not wanting to ruin her first meeting with her family, she takes off the pendant and Odin opens his gloved hand to take it from her.

He hangs it on one of the coat hangers before the two old men calm themselves down.

Their reaction had been even more intense than that of the Koskela family. More allergies, then.

“Now that the cursed pendant is out of the way, come inside,” Tor swings his arm to invite her into their trailer.

Saga’s heart is still beating loudly in her chest by the time she sits down on one of the couches.

There are beer bottles scattered across the living room. Bottles without a brand name on them. A guitar is hung and displayed on one of the walls.

 “I’m sorry for startling you like that… You-, you said that necklace was from Freya?” Tor wants to know, scratching his beard.

“Yes… I-, she gave it to me as a birthday gift, told me it had protective qualities… so I decided to wear everyday.”

Tor and Odin give each other meaningful looks that Saga can’t deduct what it means. They seem concerned.

Her grandfather scoffs. “Protective, hm…. I see… She was never proud of her heritage. But that’s beyond the point right now. I’ve also heard the news.”

He evades Saga’s eyes. He shakes his head in regret.

Odin also looks away and quietly nods. “Terrible news. Tor was devastated to hear that his little girl had passed away.”

The quick shift to Freya’s death, makes Saga distracted from Tor’s earlier confusing words with underlying messages she couldn’t decipher.

Instead, she is overcome with grief again for her mother whom she barely knew.

Despite being strangers, the familial cords connecting her to these old men, makes her feel shameless to cry. Tears turn her vision blurry. She is soon accompanied in tears and woeful lamenting.

She feels Tor Anderson thud down next to her and then a frail looking, yet powerful arm wraps around her like a comforting blanket.

 “I’m sorry for your loss, kära Saga. I should’ve been there, at her funeral,” Tor snivels.

Subconsciously, her hand reaches for Tor’s.

 “I-, I miss her… a lot,” Saga gasps through choky sobs.

“Me too… me too,” Tor mutters, his thumb caressing Saga’s hand.

For a few more minutes, the family sits there in the trailer, mourning and letting their tears speak for themselves.

Tor Anderson is the first to speak up again. His voice, still a bit shaky. “She was a wonderful woman. You must know that already.”

Saga stares at her lap where she rests her folded hands. “She was a mysterious woman. She didn’t… she didn’t always tell me much about you or her past.”

Tor frowns deeply. “I see… So, she really never told you anything about us? Or the Anderson bloodline?”

Saga wipes away her remaining tears and finally dares to look Tor in the eyes.

Sadness, regret, remorse… all at once.

 “Not really. I know you two used to live on a farm and were in a band,” Saga recalls.

It’s almost astounding how much she doesn’t know about her family.

 “B-but what is it about our lineage? And what about Logan’s upcoming birthday?” Saga blurts out in desperation for answers.

The two old men give each other another one of those telling looks.

 “Oh boy, bro. Freya didn’t make it easy for us,” Tor huffs.

Odin shakes his head in agreement and rubs his unshaven chin.

 “Has it… to do with my mother’s necklace?” Saga guesses. The pendant is still hanging on the coat hanger next to the entrance.

Tor nods. “Yes. See, Saga… how do we tell you this?”

Odin fills in for his brother. “Do you believe in mythological creatures or anything?”

The question seems to come out of nowhere and renders Saga speechless.

 “Many people are blissfully unaware of the reality of some creatures. But here, in Watery and in Bright Falls, some myths turn to truths. Some tales, aren’t mere legends,” Odin continues.

Although Saga had been fond of some fairy tales and mythical creatures as a child, as she grew up she realized that kind of magic didn’t exist in the real world, much to her inner child’s disappointment.

 “So you are saying that…,” she can’t fully grasp the generic pieces the Anderson brothers throw at her.

 “We are real shapeshifters, Saga. We’re wolves,” Tor finishes her guessing.

“Like… like actual wolves?” the woman whispers.

 “Like werewolves,” Odin specifies.

The strange truth hits her like a trainwreck: Freya’s necklace, the hidden family secrets, Logan’s recent odd behaviour, her strengthened survival instincts, the nature themed dreams and their calls to her…

It’s all connected through… lycanthropy?

Odin gets up from his seat and scratches the back of his head. “I think I’ll leave you two be. It’s a lot to take in. I need a drink anyway!”

Her granduncle hobbles over to the kitchen where he takes out another brandless bottle.

 “So we are werewolves,” Saga mutters, barely able to get the words out and believe them.

“We are, Saga. You, me, and your daughter. That’s why I wanted you to come over and celebrate her 16^th birthday here in Watery. In the safety of-”

 “So you’re telling me Logan will turn into a ferocious beast?!” Saga cuts him off. “And-, and… And I also have something like that dormant inside me?” Saga has jumped up from the couch.

Her body is tense and her senses slowly blur out the outside world, leaving only her with Tor Anderson. His scent, suddenly stronger than before.

 “Saga, I know it’s a lot of information but don’t worry about Logan. She’ll be fine,” Tor tries to calm her down but her protective instincts kick in.

 “You know nothing about me or my daughter!” she snaps.

Her eyes burn like embers. She can smell her own anger and frustration seep out of her pores.

 “It’s not a curse,” Odin re-enters her field of view.

“Apparently, my mom thought differently,” Saga bites back, now putting her hands on her hips as a disappointed mother who just found out her rebellious kid stole snacks from the cookie jar, except this is a real dire situation.

 “This is ridiculous. Werewolves?! Really? That’s the best thing you can come up? I’m only here for what? An hour?”

Tor and Odin exchange uncomfortable glances, not sure how to deal with this.

 “We only want to help, Saga,” Tor says.

“What am I supposed to tell Logan? That all the shit she’s experiencing, is because of her-, of some werewolf blood?”

Deep inside her, she knows that these weird, old men are telling the truth and that all the ‘symptoms’ of the last few weeks line up with her limited knowledge on werewolves.

She falls back onto the couch, her head in her hands, unable to look at the Anderson brothers.

Tor stands next to her, he wants to comfort her by laying a hand on her shoulder but decides it’s better to give his granddaughter some space.

Once Saga has regained a bit of her posture, she’s willing enough to listen to Tor Anderson again.

 “My brother is right. There’s nothing wrong with being a werewolf. It’s not entirely like the horror stories or whatever you’ve picked up from other sources. Honestly, we truly enjoy being werewolves,” Tor trails off, taken over by some nostalgic, wild youth that has both him and Odin chuckle before he gets back on track.

 “You don’t have to be scared. While it might… take some time to come to terms with, and grasp all of this, Logan can have a safe transformation here. That’s why I wrote my letter.”

 “Couldn’t you tell me this earlier?” Saga grunts, accusatory.

More regret is visible on the bearded man’s face. “I should. I should’ve known Freya wouldn’t want to discuss this matter with you. Clearly, she did not like being a werewolf. To think she’d take it as far as…”

“The necklace… it stopped me from changing, huh,” Saga whispers.

The Anderson brothers confirm with a silent nod. Clever girl, they think.

Saga lets her fingers entwine and stares at her now trembling hands. All this time, she’s been a creature of the night, of those dark fairy tales she read as a child.

Such an integral part of her, actively hidden and suppressed by Freya. It all comes back to her: fragments of her past that she kind of brushed aside as just her being a quirky kid and teenager.

Things fall in place yet also get tossed up and scattered into more pieces of questions.

 “I have to go home,” Saga nods, more to herself than to her granduncle and grandfather.

She gets up and walks over to the door. Hesitatingly, she grabs Freya’s necklace. The subtle heat from the pendant seeps into her and she shudders.

Not ‘just’ an allergic reaction, she now knows. Which makes her halt for a second, realizing that the Koskela family also had a physical repulsion toward silver. So, the Koskelas are werewolves too?

 “If there’s anything we can do… help, explain, support… you know where to find us,” Tor says as Saga’s hand rests on the door knob.

She looks behind her and forces a meek smile.

 “Thank you… I guess. I need to let it all sink.”

“We’ll be here for you when you’re ready,” Odin reassuringly smiles.

Saga nods and goes to her trailer. Her feet feel heavy. She has to tell Logan… but how?

She might think her mom has fully lost it since the divorce and the passing of her grandmother.

Saga takes a deep breath before entering their trailer.

 “Logan? I’m back home. You’re awake yet?”

When she hears no reply, she advances to the kitchen where a small piece of paper lies.

Charline Koskela just came by to show me around Watery.

Will be back before dinner.

Logan :)

Chapter Text

Logan is pretty excited when she steps outside the box cluttered trailer to go out with Charline Koskela.

She put on her maroon raincoat and her walking shoes that she barely needed in the city.

Charline is also wearing a raincoat and special hiking boots. They look much more used and beat down than Logan’s.

 “Hope you don’t mind my brother isn’t tagging along today,” the girl says.

“It’s okay,” Logan smiles.

Charline grins. “Great! Just a girls day out, then. I can’t show you everything but I can show you some cool things already.”

 “Like the forest?”

Charline chuckles. “If I had to show you the entire forest, then we’d be here for days!”

Logan grins back and gestures the other girl to lead the way. She isn’t sure what to say but luckily the Koskela girl starts the conversation.

 “So, you’re the new residents here at our trailer park. Uncle Ilmo didn’t tell us much but why did you come here? This tiny town isn’t exactly what I’d say is promo material, no matter how much Uncle Ilmo, or even our dad, tries to convince us.”

Logan looks at the soil where their shoes and boots make small imprints.

 “We’ve been going through some heavy… shit. We needed to get away from all of it.” It feels good to say the ‘bad’ words out loud without getting parental scolding for it.

“I’m-, I’m sorry to hear. Did you lose someone?” Charline asks softly.

Logan hesitates for a minute before answering. “Sort of. My grandma a few months ago. And I had to leave my dad behind because of the divorce.”

Silence dawns on the two teenagers before Charline considerately responds.

 “That’s some heavy shit indeed. I’m sorry for your losses. If you need to talk about it some more, you can come to me. Or we can not talk about it, if that’s what you want. I probably shouldn’t have pried in the first place. Dad always says not to ask people too much questions.”

Logan lets out a nervous, suppressed chuckle. “It’s okay. I know we don’t know each other yet, but it’s somewhat nice to be able to talk about it besides my friends.”

 “They’re back in the city too?” Charline guesses.

Logan nods.

 “Anyways, uh, what about your family situation?”

“My family is pretty chill. Also very vivid. My Uncle, Ilmo, he lives for two, basically. With the things he does, the stuff he runs. Together with my dad.”

 “No offence, but your Uncle looks… unique,” Logan says.

That makes the other girl laugh. “You’re right. Uncle Ilmo is special in many ways. He is the businessman of our town. He and my dad single handedly keep Watery afloat nowadays. Well, with the help of the rest of our little community, but my Uncle really is the initiator of it all.”

The teenagers stop at the playground. There are multiple wooden props and a sandbox with a few abandoned buckets and shovels stuck in the sand.

 “So he is a multitasker.”

“Yup. He’s the owner of this trailer park. Dad built this place. He may not look like it, but he’s good with kids. Loves to give the trailer kids a nice place to play.”

Logan inspects the wooden toys. Most paint has had seen better days but they seem to function well and there are no splinter risks.

 “And he owns the beer brand, Ahma,” Charline tips her cap, the same one Ilmo Koskela wore the other day.

“That’s a lot to keep track of,” Logan huffs.

She can't imagine how hard it must be to run not only one but two businesses like that. She already has trouble doing her homework and multiple projects for various classes.

 “That’s not all. You should see the Kalevala Knights workshop and Coffee World. Also projects of the Koskelas,” when Charline says the latter, she imitates Ilmo Koskela’s voice and varied gestures.

It makes Logan laugh.

 “Can we go to Coffee World?”

Charline shakes her head. “Sadly not today. But I can show you the workshop. That’s where a lot of props and rides are being made and repaired!”

 “Lead the way then.”

The Kalevala Knights workshop is basically on the opposite side of the road, separating it from the Lighthouse trailer park. Thus, the walk is short but Logan enjoys the scenery nonetheless.

Ever since she’s been on the road with her mom, the significant change of scenery has eased her mind and heart.

The workshop itself is a large, metal barrack surrounded by trees upon trees upon trees. There are two portable toilet stalls outside. Logan can almost smell their stench from a distance.

A few motorcycles are propped up on the other side.

Right above the main entrance of sliding doors, is a huge banner that says: HALL OF THE KALEVALA KNIGHTS.

On each side of the banner hangs a flag: an American one and a Finnish one.

 “Impressive,” Logan says as she gawks above.

When she turns her head and looks at the girl, she reads pride off her features.

 “You should see the inside. Come on!”

Charline walks up to the gates. Inside, machinery and low chattering is heard. With the teens’ combined effort, the gates slide open swiftly.

Immediately, Logan’s met with the smell of motor oil, woodwork, metal, cigarettes and something wild. It’s definitely an experience to all her senses.

She doesn’t know where to look. Everywhere, there’s something being made or waiting to be fixed. Be it motorcycles, other vehicles or some large props for Coffee World or something.

 “Really impressive,” the new girl repeats.

The people working in the workshop stop what they’re doing and in unison, turn their collective eyes on her and Charline, making the former halt in her tracks.

 “This is the new girl in town. The one dad and my uncle told you about earlier,” Charline exclaims proudly.

Logan nervously cracks a smile, waves and introduces herself as Logan Anderson, daughter of Saga Anderson.

 “Hi, Logan,” everyone says at the same time, like a well oiled machine in perfect synch with itself.

“So, these are the Knights. Not all of them. Some of them work here as legit mechanics,” Charline casually explains as they walk deeper into the workshop.

 “That’s Fred and Marv. They’re always bickering but they love each other.”

Fred is a lanky and tall looking white guy with a ring beard and a bit of a gut. Marv is a smaller, but sturdier looking black guy, wearing an Ahma cap. Both men wear flannel and dark blue jumpsuits.

 “Charline,” Fred snorts, giving Marv a look.

Marv only laughs and then greets Logan with a firm handshake.

 “Good morning, little lady. Marvin Williams at your service.”

Then, the tour continues and Logan is introduced to two female Knights, Jamie and Carla, and another man named Bill.

They’re not the types Logan usually interacted with much in the city, but they are clearly friendly folk who want to make her feel more than welcome.

Carla even tells Logan that if she wants, she can always get a student job at the Kalevala Knights.

In the small kitchen area Charline pours herself some coffee.

 “You want some too?”

“Nah, I’m fine. But, eh, do you have some orange juice or soda?”

 “Of course! Hope Bill hasn’t drunk our last batch of cola, though,” Charline grunts as she rummages through the fridge.

Most of it is filled with Ahma beer, some lunchboxes, various sandwich spreads and butter.

 “There you go!” Charline throws a can Logan’s way and with quick reflexes, Logan catches the can mid-air.

The two girls sit down on the foldable chair and share a toast.

 “The people are cool here,” Logan says with a broad smile.

“They are. We’re one big pack, basically,” Charline smiles back.

A pack. Logan likes the sound of it. It sounds more than just limited to direct family. It sounds like a whole community that looks out for one another.

As the girls leave and walk into the woods behind Coffee World, Logan wonders out loud.

“I think I can see this place become my home. But do you think I belong here?”

It’s a big question but Charline doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, she’s pretty quick to respond.

 “Dad and Uncle say you’re one of us now. So yeah, you belong, Logan.”

“But I just got there?!” Logan stops in her tracks.

She can hear the wind whistle through the leaves, the crunching of dry and dead leaves and twigs beneath their shoes, the distant chirping of a bird. Somewhere, a fox crawls back into its hideout.

Charline gives the other teen a determined look. “You’ve always been one of us, actually. Our wolf blood is what bonds us.”

Logan frowns and raises a curious, confused eyebrow. Is that meant to be a metaphorical statement? Charline can read the questions off Logan’s face.

 “Yeah, our wolf blood. Wait, did your mom not tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

 “About your heritage. Dad already told me and my brother when we were like, 6 years old,” Charline says as if this is a normal conversation.

 “No, she never told me anything,” Logan huffs, squinting her eyes and looking to the side, clenching her fist as a wave of anger toward her mother washes over her.

 “She really never told you about being a werewolf?” Charline whispers.

Just for a second, the air becomes heavier and the sound of nature turns still. everything is holding its breath, waiting for Logan’s response.

Logan’s mind is doing overtime. The gears in her head are spinning relentlessly, trying to make sense of it all.

 “No, she didn’t,” is all she can come up with. “I didn’t know…”

For a moment, the silence remains as the two girls stare at one another. Both in disbelief.

 “Are you for real?” Logan finally dares to speak up.

Charline nods in all seriousness. “Yes. Our whole family are werewolves. And so are most Kalevala Knights. You great-grandpa is too.”

Logan slowly looks at her hands. She quickly tugs at the sleeves of her coat and shirt beneath to reveal her arms.

She shows them to the other girl.

Charline smiles and mirrors her actions to reveal a similar hair growth on her arms.

 “It’s normal for us. Everyone, no matter your gender, goes through something similar. The closer you get to your first transformation, the more the body shows it too. After that, it will get easier.”

 “So it’s not just some puberty thing?” Logan doesn’t remember this significant amounts of hair growth to be part of it.

The other teen confirms. “It’s a werewolf thing. But damn, your mom really never told you anything.”

 “She didn’t tell me many things,” Logan huffs.

She rolls her sleeves back down and sighs. Slowly, she tries to piece the puzzle together.

 “So… I’ve also had very strange dreams. Nightmares even. The moon tried to call me, I know… sounds pretty lame.”

 “No, no, it’s not,” Charline firmly reassures. “It’s all part of the metamorphosis. But I guess that those unprepared, or those who suppress their nature, experience more intense dreams.”

  “You’ve also had those dreams then?”

“Sort of,” Charline looks up to the sky. Soft, grey clouds drift by, hiding a part of the sun. “The moon comforts me and tells me things will be alright. And I know I will: my dad will be there. And so will Uncle Ilmo and the rest of the pack.”

 “The Kalevala Knights,” Logan mutters.

“Yup.”

 “And what about me? Will I-, will I also turn into a beast?” Logan wears a deep frown.

She can’t wrap her head around the idea of fully turning into an animal. It makes her shudder, both with fear and certain anticipation.

 “I bet your great-grandpa invited you to celebrate your first turning here in Watery!” Charline looks excited.

A pang of jealousy spreads through Logan’s gut. Charline Koskela seems to have most of this whole werewolf thing perfectly figured out. With full support of her family and close ones.

Meanwhile, Logan is fully new to this with limited support of her mom in that regard who must’ve kept this werewolf identity a secret.

Yet at the same time, her mother seemed equally confused and clueless about Logan’s sudden shift in behaviour a few months ago.

 “Guess I should go and have a talk with him then,” Logan huffs.

With this new bombastic info thrown at Logan, they decide to return to the trailer park. The walk back is relatively quiet until Logan whispers.

 “Is the transformation going to be painful?”

“A little bit. Dad says we can take painkillers beforehand if we feel like it. But he also says it’s best to let nature do its thing and not fight it to have a smoother transformation.”

Logan stops in the middle of the forest path. Charline stops too and gestures with her hands for the other girl to put her hands in them.

Logan hesitatingly does so and feels comforted when Charline gently squeezes her hands.

 “It will be alright. You’re welcome to visit me any time and then I can tell you more about this whole werewolf business!”

Charline’s enthusiasm is addictive and Logan finds herself smiling.

 “Great. Will do then.”

“I know it’s scary at first. Still, even I am a bit nervous but Watery is the perfect place for us werewolves! We’ve lived here for centuries!”

Charline and Logan hug before they finish their walk to the park

Logan looks at her phone, it’s only 1PM when they stand in front of the Koskela trailer.

 “Oh, by the way, Charline… Am I allowed to talk about this to my friends?”

For a moment, the other girl is pensive. “If you really, really trust them. I mean, here it’s more or less a given, but the outside world? I’m not so sure. Dad always warns us to never just tell random people…”

Logan nods and quietly considers. “Thanks, Charline. It was fun. I’ll be going back before mom gets too worried.”

 “No problem, see you soon, Logan!”

Chapter Text

The teen returns to a messy trailer. Saga is rummaging through different boxes, unpacking some of them and leaving others untouched.

Right now, she is frantically putting kitchen utensils and plates into the cupboards.

 “Back home,” Logan casually raises her voice.

Saga is visibly alerted and puts down some bowls harder than expected, causing both of them to jolt at the loud clang of the ceramic.

 “Logan! Great you’re back.”

“I wanted to tell you something,” Logan says.

 “I need to tell you something,” Saga says at the same time.

She nervously laughs and waves her hand. “No, you go ahead. I hope you had a nice walk with that Koskela girl.”

 “Oh yes, she, eh, showed me around. Watery somehow feels pretty big despite being a small town.”

 “Must be the wide open spaces,” Saga leans against the kitchen sink. She is visibly tense. “Anything else?”

 “Well, eh… Charline told me something I didn’t know so-”

“I talked to my grandfather and he got some bad news,” Saga blurts out.

Logan quickly shuts up and gives her mom a puzzled and shocked look.

 “W-what did he say?”

Saga crosses her arms, her face turns into a deep, pensive frown. She pouts her lips a few time, internally juggling to find the right words.

 “He told me we’re supposedly descendants from a clan of werewolves.”

Logan gawks at her mom but before she can say something, Saga adds with an airy laugh: “Ridiculous, right?”

 “Well…”

“Maybe that’s the reason my mom didn’t wanna talk to her dad anymore!” Saga throws her hands up in the air at the absurd situation and news.

 “It does kinda make sense, though. Charline told me as well,” Logan quietly says.

Her mother’s arms snap back to the sides of her body. “She told you what?”

“She said that I’m a werewolf and that I’ll turn on my 16^th birthday.”

For a few seconds that feel longer than a few seconds, Saga remains silent.

 “This whole town is crazy,” she huffs eventually.

“I think Charline was serious. And-, and if you think about it… it does line up with all the past things that happened to me,” Logan counters.

Saga leans back against the kitchen counter and crosses her arms tightly against her body. She nods along but mutters something incomprehensible.

 “How do you feel about it?” she asks through pursed lips. Clearly, she already has her own opinion on the matter, but still wants input of her daughter.

Logan tries to nonchalantly shrug her shoulders. “I think it’s pretty cool. Jeffrey had all valid reasons to be afraid of me.”

 “Logan!” Saga snaps before she can help herself.

“You’re clearly not enthusiast,” Logan dares to divert the focus to her mom.

 “No. No, of course I’m not! Freya kept this super big thing a secret from me her whole life! How am I supposed to do this? That necklace had been some kind of barrier to the supernatural all this time!”

Saga and Logan sit down in the living room on their new couch. The cushions from their old home offer a bit of comfort now.

 “I know… I know I want to be strong for you, sweetie… but I’ll be honest: I’m scared to the bone. When your great-grandfather told me, I couldn’t, didn’t want to believe him. But he was right, of course.”

Saga’s eyes move to Freya’s pendant that lies on the coffee table. Both mother and daughter sense its oppressing nature.

 “Charline said I could come to her if I had any questions relating to the whole werewolf thing,” Logan mutters quietly.

Saga nervously chuckles and nods. “Of course… Of course the landlord and his family are werewolves too! Tor Anderson also said I could confide in him.”

Her fingers entwine and she tries to still her trembling. It gets interrupted by her daughter suddenly leaning against her, pressing her entire weight against her mother.

 “It will be alright, mom,” Logan carefully swings her arm around Saga’s shoulder to pull her closer.

Saga meekly smiles and lets her fingers comb through her girl’s curly hair in a soothing manner.

 “I really hope so.”

Chapter Text

The following day, Saga and Logan visit the Andersons for a proper reunion.

One night’s sleep had helped Saga calm down a little after the wild truth had been revealed to her, only one day into their new life in Watery.

 “You ready to meet you great-grandpa?” Saga asks as they stand on the front porch of the Anderson trailer.

Logan nods. “Ready when you are.”

Saga rings the doorbell two times and not long after, Tor Anderson opens the door. He looks somewhat surprised to see Saga back after her angry walk-out the other day.

Then his eyes come to rest on his great-granddaughter. His face softens and he slightly tilts his head to look at her better.

 “Kära Logan,” he mutters. “I’m Tor Anderson.”

Logan, slightly unaffected about her mom and great-grandfather’s rocky first meeting, smiles and shakes hands with the old man.

 “Nice to meet you finally, great-grandpa,” she says.

“Please, welcome. Come inside.”

Both Anderson brothers are wearing casual clothing today. None of that rock regalia from yesterday. Odin Anderson has an over-sized black t-shirt and Tor wears a grey tank top.

 “Logan, dear. It’s so good to finally meet you as well!” Odin exclaims.

He spreads his arms and Logan accepts the offer for a hug. Despite the family turmoil the other day, Saga can’t help but smile at the endearing sight of her daughter quickly getting along with the male relatives.

Odin invites the family to sit down on the couches while he gets them something to drink.

 “You are Logan Anderson then… my sonsonsdotter,” Tor states as he observes the girl a bit longer.

“Yeah. So you are my great-grandfather. Dope,” Logan nods and looks around the trailer.

Her eyes quickly rest on the guitar hanging on the wall. She points at it.

 “Is it yours?”

“No, no… that one’s from our dear, old friend ‘Fat’ Bob Balder,” Tor sighs.

Odin swallows emotionally and confirms.

 “You were real rockstars, then?” Logan says.

The Anderson brothers give each other a cheeky look.

 “Show her, bro,” Tor  nudges Odin who then goes to another room.

A few seconds later, he returns with a large, heavy looking box and thuds it down with a slam on the table.

 “Go on, dear. Open up the past,” Odin smiles at Logan.

Eager and excited, Logan shifts from her seat on the cage and lifts the lid of the box. Inside, there are multiple items, filling the box to the brim.

On top of it all, lays a photo album: Old Gods of Asgard – Ragnarock ’75. Logan takes the album and sits back down next to her mom.

 “Those were the good old days,” Tor mutters, his voice filled with nostalgia.

“Sure was. Take a look what your great-grand family was up to in their glory years!” Odin nudges.

It’s an album filled with memories of their Ragnarock tour. There are multiple pictures of the band’s travels on the road with their small, black bus.

Various moments of the tour life captured forever: fishing at a river, barbecuing just off the road, Bob sleeping in the back of the van, Tor and Odin arguing backstage, big crowds or small but intimate venue locations, fans getting their albums signed.

Saga looks through the photos too, speechless. Nostalgia that isn’t hers hits her nonetheless.

Logan takes out some old band merch.

 “That Alone at My Own Wake shirt is the only surviving shirt of that era,” Odin hums.

“You could sell this at high prices,” Logan chuckles.

 “Never, dear!” Odin exclaims and quickly rips the shirt from the teenager’s hands.

Tor laughs. “He gets a bit senile about that album.”

To which Odin rolls his eye and snorts.

There are LPs, more merch, old set lists and some tech gadgets inside that delve the female Andersons into a whole (old) new world.

But the box full of hidden trinkets from the past take a more personal turn when Logan fishes out another photo album.

 “Summer ‘64,” she reads out loud.

Saga looks as her daughter swipes through the photos. To her surprise, these are old photos of her mom and Tor. Pictures of her at some lake. Tor is holding her hand while she is at the shore, with her knees deep into the water. Both father and daughter are smiling into the camera.

On one photo, Freya is cradled in Odin’s arms and next to him stand another young man with blondish hair.

 “Who’s that?” Saga asks out loud.

“That’s Balder. Good old Fat Bob,” Tor sighs with a smile.

 “Why’s he called fat?” Logan points out at how skinny the guy is.

Odin and Tor both laugh at the same time. “A silly nickname that stuck.”

 “He had a fat heart full of love,” Odin hums.

“Stop getting too sentimental, bro,” Tor huffs, playfully poking his brother and to distract them from possible tears.

 “Mom looks happy here,” Saga whispers, barely audible.

Tor scratches his beard and mutters back. “Little children are easier to handle, believe it or not…”

 “True,” Logan adds with a chuckle, nudging her mom’s leg with her knee.

Saga can’t help but grin at the comment.

 “So… she wasn’t changing yet, hm?”

“No, only when you turn 16 that happens. However, those who are aware, might notice changes earlier on,” Tor informs.

He gets up and goes into the bedroom where Odin pulled out the first box. He returns with another one. This time, he turns to Saga to open the box.

 “Stuff from your mother. You should have them.”

Saga gulps and nods, taking the cardboard box in her hands and putting it in front of her feet.  Carefully, she removes the lid. The box has some baby clothes stored at the bottom together with some children drawings and an old passport where Freya is still a 8 year old child. There are also some booklets and photo albums.

There are several pictures that Saga remembers from the few albums her mom kept at their house. But there are many more photos she never saw before.

Especially the ones where Tor and Odin are present. Right now, Saga looks at her mom standing in front of the Laughing Näkki with her dad. She holds up a big fish while Tor grins stupidly. Behind them, stands a couple which she assumes must be the previous owners of the fish store.

The Laughing Näkki, back when the colours on the front hadn’t faded yet.

Saga’s finger traces over an image of Freya when she must’ve been a teenager. She can’t help but notice how Logan bears quite a few resemblances to her mom.

Freya looks into the camera, slightly bewildered while she is eating a piece of creamy cake.

 “That picture was taken by one of her friends on Freya’s fifteenth birthday,” Tor adds.

One year before she too would turn into a beast, Saga thinks.

When Saga skims through the box a small a strip of multiple small photos fall out one of the albums.

She and Logan look closer and see that the pictures must’ve been taken at night. They are somewhat blurry and of poor quality.

However, two pairs of glowing eyes stand out from the otherwise dark blobs.

“Is that your werewolf forms?” Logan is the first to dare to make a guess at what they’re looking at.

 “Spot on, kiddo!” Tor exclaims prideful.

When Saga side-eyes her daughter, she notices a hyped up glimmer in her eyes.

 “That’s me and your great-grandfather,” Odin nods. He taps on the left werewolf. “That’s me. Back, when I still had both eyes.”

Saga doesn’t dare ask why her grand-uncle lost one of them.

 “But you don’t look like full on wolves,” Logan squints her eyes at the blurry photos.

“Most werewolves keep an anthropomorphic shape. It’s slightly less limiting than shifting into a full ‘normal’ wolf,” Tor casually explains. He then throws his brother a cheeky smirk. “Also, not all people are capable of turning into full wolves.”

Odin chuckles and it’s not clear if he winks or blinks but he adds: “Only the really cool ones are able to do that.”

 “Whoa… That’s really sick,” Logan gawks.

Before Saga can add her thoughts or comment on her daughter’s language, Odin rummages through the box too and finds another photo album that is pretty thin and hasn’t most of its pages filled.

 “This is Freya on her first night as a werewolf.”

Saga and Logan stare at the photo without saying anything.

The teenager is in awe, already trying to visualize her upcoming birthday.

The grown-up daughter feels conflicted. Freya looks both powerful and vulnerable in her werewolf shape. Her eyes, almost reflecting a sadness.

 “Was it painful?” she whispers.

The Anderson brothers mutter something before Odin answers.

 “It was for her. I won’t lie, that the first time can be pretty painful and scary. Though this was many years ago… Things change, and so does our werewolf transformation. It becomes easier for newer generations.”

 “And-, and there are painkillers, if wanted,” Tor adds even if he doesn’t sound like he’d prefer the usage of medicine.

For a few minutes, the Anderson family sits in silence together. Multiple photo albums lie open on the table. A few loose pictures scattered across the couch and on Logan and Saga’s lap.

“Are you… okay?” Logan asks softly, trying to make eye contact with her mother.

Quiet tears had sneaked their way into Saga’s eyes. She only notices them when they drip onto the plastic protecting the photos. She quickly wipes them away with her sleeve.

 “I dunno… All this history…”

“It’s a lot of information, huh,” Logan mutters.

Her mother nods. “Yeah. A lot. I wish… guess… I wish Freya had told me earlier about all this…”

 “It’s part our fault too,” Tor suddenly speaks up.

The white haired man has a conflicted grimace on his face.

 “I’ve not always been the best father, despite some good memories,” he tilts his head toward the photo albums.

 “Young and wild and reckless we were. Still are, I guess,” Odin says with a light yet shameful chuckle. His eye drifts to some of the beer bottles standing on the kitchen counter.

 “So… what happened?” Saga whispers.

The Anderson brothers look at each other, unsure how to tell the truth or whether they should hide some of it.

However, now that the werewolf truth is in the open and their only remaining family members are finally here in Watery, it would be useless to lie or still hide things. Especially considering Tor’s daughter had kept the truth from her own daughter.

 “We’d often get drunk as upcoming rockstars. The werewolf part definitely didn’t help so when your mother met this charming guy and got you, it was easy for her to decide. We were too bad an influence, so she left and didn’t come back.”

Saga stares at the box with Freya’s items. She knits her eyebrows together.

 “Did you try to stop her?”

Silence.

 “I’ve tried… but-, but maybe I didn’t try enough…,” Tor blows out a defeated sigh.

Odin quietly adds: “Also her husband… We didn’t see eye to eye with him.”

Speaking of, Saga never knew who her father was. Freya had cut out all photos with him on it.

 “I don’t know if he knew about the werewolf part of my daughter,” Tor murmurs.

Saga feels her stomach twist. David doesn’t know about this either. They’re ex-partners but she still wants to keep an amicable as possible bond, for Logan. She still deserves to see her dad from time to time and stay with him too.

Every few months, that’s what had been decided on the formal legal papers.

But this werewolf thing… it makes things more complicated.

She frowns and begins to haphazardly collect all the photos, shoving them back into their respective albums.

 “You’re proud to be werewolves but you don’t tell everyone?”

“No, no, of course not! See, here in Watery we’re one community. But outsiders we are cautious of!” Tor exclaims. His voice tinted with a troubled past.

 “We did joke about it for our band, but fans don’t expect members to be actual mythical creatures,” Odin adds.

 “So I have to be careful too, whom to tell,” Logan now speaks up.

She has considered telling her friends. Her earlier conversation with the Koskela girl also made her wonder if she could tell.

But here, she has her two great-grand family members with different experiences. They must be more world wary.

 “You gotta, kiddo. But also don’t let these old guys dictate it for you,” Odin grins.

Saga closes the box of secrets from her mother’s past and sits down again. She lets out a puff.

 “Logan is gonna turn in two weeks. What should we do?” she genuinely asks.

Although she has a lot of worries, fears and even a tang of resentment, she also tries to hold it together for her daughter and make her safety a priority amid the chaos.

 “Let it happen. Let nature do its thing,” Tor nods steadfast as he crosses his arms.

His brother joins. “Go with the flow and a new world will open for you both.”

 “Both?” Saga blinks.

“Keeping that wolf locked inside for that long… it won’t work,” Odin points out.

Cold sweat breaks out on Saga’s skin. Her heart beats louder than before. It’s going to be a full moon too, she realises. So, she’ll have to turn as well?

 “Look… We may not be the best people to go about this whole… first transformation thing. Different generations and such and, eh, our disconnected past,” Tor mumbles.

He scratches his beard.

 “The Koskela brothers! They might be able to help out!” Odin exclaims.

Saga and Logan look at the Andersons who give each other an approving look.

 “Yeah, bro. They’re maybe more fit to deal with it. Especially since Jaakko has children that are the same age as you,” Tor nods at Logan.

The girl looks at her mother. “Charline seemed happy to teach me more. Maybe they’ll help you too.”

Saga chuckles nervously and nods. “Maybe. We’ll ask them soon then.”

She gets up and carries the box in her hands, hinting at leaving. Her grandparents understand and Odin opens the door for her and Logan.

 “Eh… Thank you for giving me this. I might look through them again on my own,” Saga nods, not wanting to fully disregard the Anderson brothers’ attempt at reconnecting with her.

 “Of course. It’s the least we can do. You’re still welcome here,” Odin smiles.

Tor agrees with a quiet nod.

 “Thank you. It was nice meeting you finally,” Logan smiles at the old men before following her mother back to their trailer.

“Are you really going to ask the Koskela men?” she asks when they’re inside.

Saga puts the box next to another box that holds some family photos of her and Logan and David.

 “I have no choice, I guess. Your birthday is coming up quicker than expected.”

“Will you tell dad?” Logan carefully asks.

She had considered it very briefly, but just like her friends, she isn’t so sure anymore after her great-grandfather’s cautious words.

Saga frowns and mumbles something before coming up with a reply. “Maybe not yet. Until we have properly figured this all out. By the way, what did you think of all those memories?”

Logan looks at the closed box. She shrugs her shoulders.

 “Pretty neat, to be honest. Mom looked a lot like me when she was a similar age. And like you.”

Saga manages to smile and nod. “You’re right.”

 “I’d try to cherish those photos,” the teen murmurs. “My friends and I all have digital memories, but there’s something special about these old school things.”

The comment surprises Saga. Usually, her teen daughter isn’t big on the past, maybe because it’s tied to her and then it’s uncool to like the things your mom finds cool and fun.

She throws a look at the box too.

“You’re smart for your age, you know that?”

Logan grins and rolls her eyes. “Of course I know that.”

It incites some genuine laughter from both mother and daughter, shaking off some of the tension they’d been carrying since they visited the other Anderson trailer.

Chapter Text

The next two days, Saga and Logan try to make quick work of unpacking the remaining boxes so that the new place might feel like home for real.

Charline Koskela had come over to help her daughter decorate her bedroom. It’s nice to see Logan quickly befriending another girl in town.

When the toilet seemed to break during noon, she had called Ilmo Koskela and half an hour later or so, his brother showed up at the front door.

She and Jaakko Koskela exchanged few words, but Jaakko seemed to be genuinely happy and motivated to help the new residents with their bathroom issue. Only an hour was needed for him to fix it.

 “Hope you’re getting used to this place,” he had said before heading out.

“Kinda,” Saga had replied and before he could leave she quickly added: “I actually would like to talk to your brother about something. In private.”

 “Sure.” And the following day, Saga has made her way to the Kalevala Knights Workshop.

The entrance gates are open and wide, giving her an immediate look into the hall. Life is busy with multiple Knights working on different machineries and vehicles.

Ilmo Koskela is found in the office. He is hunched over his computer, an old boxy one, where he is typing away, finishing an e-mail or something. The keyboard may be old, but it makes a satisfying sound.

 “Ilmo Koskela?” Saga carefully tries.

The man continues typing, even quicker than before, and then hits enter. He spins around on his chair, kicking it off with his boots to get closer to the woman.

 “Saga Anderson! Glad to see you here! Jaakko told me you’d come!” Ilmo smiles.

“Yes… Well, here I am. Could I talk for you for a second?” Saga asks, still a bit uneasy in the new environment.

Ilmo sniffs the air and nods. “Of course. Let’s go outside then. It’s a bit stuffy in here, hm?”

Saga automatically smells the room too and has to agree. Tuned in, she can actually distinguish multiple scents at once: coffee grounds in an abandoned mug on the other desk, freshly printed paper resting on Ilmo’s table, the overall stuffy air, the biker’s leather and the gasoline from the workshop.

It’s almost dizzying so she quickly blinks and tries to subtly snort away all the new information.

The older man jumps out of his office chair, quickly closes some windows on his computer before gesturing to Saga to follow him outside.

As they walk past some Kalevala Knights, he gives them a few commands.

 “Fred! I expect you to keep an eye on the engine of Miss Jones’ scooter. Jamie, can I trust you with the new supplies coming in over about… thirty minutes? Great! Bill, you’re in charge for now until I or Jaakko return earlier! Keep it going, people! Thank you!”

The man has flair and confidence written all over his body. Saga finds it quite admirable.

Ilmo leads them outside the workshop and walks her down a small side trail. It’s cooler than the past few days, so he puts his hands in his brown, leather jacket.

Saga subconsciously mirrors him and puts her hands in her red coat.

“Let’s have a refreshing walk. Away from the intoxicating smells of gasoline and woodwork or stuffy offices,” Ilmo chuckles.

Saga quietly nods. As they head deeper into the forest, the trailer park owner speaks up.

 “So… My brother said you wanted to talk?”

“Yeah, I… I don’t know where to begin, honestly,” Saga mutters as she keeps her eyes fixed on the leafy road ahead.

Should she talk about Logan’s birthday and the inevitable transformation her daughter will have to go through? The hidden history of Freya? Or perhaps she should inquire more information about the whole werewolf thing in general?

 “It’s about the werewolf thing, isn’t it?” Ilmo guesses, his voice quieter and more compassionate than his peppier voice earlier when he instructed his team.

 “Yes. I talked to my family members. Tor and Odin.”

“What’d you think of them?”

 “An odd duo, to be honest. Not too surprised my mom never mentioned them but at the same time, I wish she would.”

She quickly side glances Ilmo Koskela. He frowns and nods.

 “It’s not easy to have family secrets,” he mutters.

“Do you have them?” Saga carefully asks but is met with a genuine response.

 “We try to be open to our kids. I mean, Jaakko’s kids. But he basically raised them together with me. We’ve been transparent about our heritage as werewolves of Watery from the get go.

We are carefree people, Saga. But we’re cautious and know when to be on edge too. Our lycan instincts help a lot with that.”

In the past, Saga has had her gut tell and warn her from potential threats, even if they may not be life-threatening. She wondered if it had been motherly instincts, her cautiousness because of her race or a combination of it all. Now, she can add ‘werewolf instincts’ to that list as well.

 “I see…”

“But I gather that you didn’t know anything about your blood?” Ilmo guesses. “With the necklace, and all that.”

For a second, Saga reaches for the pendant but it’s no longer around her neck. She had put it in the box with Freya’s other belongings and stored in the closet in her bedroom.

 “Yes, my mother never told me about it. And the necklace was a gift from her. Didn’t know it prevented me from… changing.”

Ilmo snorts and grimaces quickly.  He pulls his jacket tighter around him as the wind takes up.

 “Not easy to digest this then, I reckon.”

Saga only shakes her head. They walk quietly before the trailer owner continues.

 “I didn’t say anything, because I sort of assumed you knew. But I guess the pendant was a hint for me and the others.”

 “So, you’re all werewolves?” Saga asks, more silently.

Ilmo nods and grins. “Most people in Watery are. Our lineage goes way back centuries! The Koskela family are distant cousins from the Huotari clan, one of the first werewolf clans to settle in this place and Bright Falls.”

 “Your niece already befriended Logan,” Saga begins.

“So I’ve heard. Charline’s very sociable and outgoing. Like me,” Ilmo chuckles.

 “She kind of spoiled the secret to my daughter,” Saga huffs but with a hint of humour and good-faith.

 “Most werewolves that arrive later in life, know they’re werewolves and actively seek others out. Guess Charline assumed Logan would know too. How did she handle the news?”

Saga stops for a moment. She pulls her hands out of her pocket and rubs them to get warmer.

“She handles it better than her mother,” she confesses.

Ilmo stops and mirrors the woman’s motions. “Teens are often more open-minded, huh.”

 “It’s not that I’m not open-minded!” Saga quickly defends herself. “It’s just… I don’t know… I don’t know how to feel about it. We came here to get away from all the chaos in our old home and-, and now…”

She rambles on until her words come out mumbly and jumbly. When she finally realizes, she quickly shuts up and apologizes.

 “Hey, hey now… Saga, it’s alright. You’re allowed to be confused, scared even,” Ilmo tries to soothe her but since they’re still strangers, he keeps his distance but he clearly wants to physically comfort her as well.

Saga lets her shoulders sag a little and avoids the man’s empathetic gaze.

“You know what? Come by tomorrow at our trailer. I have something you might like to read. Do you like reading?”

 “I can enjoy a good, fantasy book,” Saga nods and makes eye contact again.

Ilmo smiles and grins. “This will be a fantastic book, but it will be non-fictional as well.”

For a few minutes, they walk in silence again. Despite her struggles with her newfound identity and past, Saga finds herself breathing easier in nature.

The gentle rustling of the leaves around them, the scent of old green turning brown, the damp soil beneath their boots… It isn’t as overwhelming as the more artificial smells of the workshop.

 “A whole new world will open for you when you use all your senses to the fullest,” Ilmo whispers as if he caught Saga tuning in on the forest. “In the end, humans are animals too. And we werewolves stand a little bit closer to some of our furry friends.”

Saga nods along, ingesting what the older man is telling her, trying to tell her. When she gets home, she’ll have to let his words sink in some more.

Ilmo suddenly stops and turns to her. “Being a werewolf can be pretty awesome, Saga.”

 “So it isn’t really like some of the horror movies depict?” Saga can’t help but use those films as a her only point of reference.

 “To outsiders, it might. We might look like monsters, but we don’t really behave in monstrous ways. At least not the werewolves of Watery.”

Saga plucks at the hem of her jacket’s sleeve. “And the transformation? I’m hearing mixed reviews.”

 “I’ll be honest with you: it can get painful first time. Especially if you change, much later in life than usual.”

Ilmo Koskela sticks out his hand with open palm. Not seeing why he would hurt or deceive her, Saga reaches out and puts her hand in his.

Carefully, he closes their hands in a reassuring motion.

 “But I’ll make sure to be there for you and your little girl. Make it go as smooth as possible.”

Saga takes in a raspy breath, as if she’s about to cry but she manages to fight back some tears. Ilmo’s grasp tightens to ground her back to the world around them.

 “Take it easy. I know it’s less than two weeks away but you’ll get through this.”

Their walk leads them to Watery’s main road where they finally part ways. Ilmo reminds her to drop by at his trailer tomorrow.

 “Everything will be alright,” the Finnish-American says with his usual peppy demeanour.

“Everything will be alright,” Saga repeats to herself as she walks back to her trailer.

Chapter Text

Ilmo Koskela is surprisingly not home, but his nephew opens the door instead. Charlie Koskela is a somewhat lanky guy. He is wearing a weathered, loose plaid shirt with rolled up sleeves. Underneath it, there are casual joggings. He isn’t particularly dressed to  leave the trailer today.

 “Miss Anderson? My Uncle told me you’d drop by. Wait a second.”

The youngster doesn’t look very enthusiastic to have the new tenant on their doorstep but then again, Ilmo Koskela’s energy seems to be at odds with most of his family who are more subtle and calm.

The teenager returns with a booklet and gives it to her. Saga thanks him and throws a glance at the booklet.

It’s clearly handmade and DIY together. The cover has a black, thick, almost sand papery texture to it. In white crayon, yanky handwriting it says: Ilmo Koskela’s Werewolf Guide 101.

“Uncle Ilmo worked on it all night long,” Charlie huffs as he watches the woman observe the little zine.

 “Oh, well… If you see him today, tell him I appreciate the effort,” Saga cracks a smile.

Charlie nods and then quietly closes the door.

Saga returns home. Her daughter is in Bright Falls with Charline Koskela. They were going to bike to the neighbouring town. At first, Saga had been hesitant but ironically, the fact that her teenager is a werewolf and so is her new friend, made Saga feel more secure in their safety.

She’s glad to see Logan open up quicker to the environment and the hand that had been dealt to her.

Saga takes off her coat and sits down on the couch with a cup of Coffee World coffee. It’s basically the coffee from the Oh Deer Diner but it’s not bad.

She puts the guide on her lap and opens it to the first page where there’s a small index in a typewriter font.

1. Introduction
2. What is/makes a ‘werewolf’?
3. Puberty in teen wolves
4. The first transformation
5. Transformation for adults
6. Control & protection
7. The pack

The zine has a combination of printed articles, some werewolf sources from mainstream media, photos and a lot of extra handwritten notes.

Werewolves come of age at 16 officially, but some have been reported to transform earlier. Also, throughout a werewolf’s entire life, their traits of a werewolf can be apparent.

Unless your mother actively hides your werewolf blood from and you disregards all possible traits as basic instinct or a children’s fantasy gone too far, Saga thinks bitterly.

When she looks at the list of physical traits, she carefully pulls up her sleeves to inspect her arms. She gasps a little and abruptly pulls the sleeves back down when she’s sure she spotted thicker arm hair.

Both her older family members as the Koskelas have implied that change will eventually come, whether she wants to or not.

Saga takes a few deep breaths as she continues reading. Better eyesight and the strengthened senses in general are something she had begun to experience already.

More distinct scents and sounds. Sometimes she has to actively tune out her hearing or smell before it gets too overwhelming.

Every now and then, she actually has to laugh out loud. Ilmo Koskela is a witty writer that keeps her engaged through word play and some very funny puns.

It almost takes her back to a time in her childhood where she was quite interested in mythological creatures. Of course, Freya had told her not to stray too far and not think those stories were real.

But apparently, some of them are.

Reading the section about puberty, Saga sees a lot of the strange behaviour Logan has, can be led back to the werewolf part of their family. She even recognises some traits in herself as well.

Several photos and illustrations on the transformation makes her stomach twist and her heart beats a little off.

Her finger nails idly press into her skin through her sleeves. It’s still hard to imagine and wrap her head around the fact that both she and her daughter will turn into these creatures. Only a few days away.

However, Saga gets some relief when she reads about the rituals and the strong sense of ‘the pack’.

When Ilmo told her she was basically family now, he truly meant it in more than just a metaphorical sense.

And even her grandfather and his brother are part of the Watery pack. Their bond might be shaky, but the Andersons had been genuine in their own way to try support Saga and her daughter through this new life.

After all, it had been Tor Anderson who invited them to come over to the town.

She wipes away some tears she’d been subconsciously accumulating in the corner of her eyes.

 “Maybe I should talk to the twins’ father,” she mutters to herself as she turns the pages back to the chapter on werewolf puberty.

Jaakko Koskela has gone through some of the motions already. And with his entire werewolf pack behind them, he must’ve been an active member during other teens’ coming of age as well.

Chapter Text

Logan waves her mom goodbye at the front door before returning inside where her friend Charline is patiently waiting on the couch.

 “See you in a few hours,” Saga smiles.

“It will be okay,” Logan tries to reassure her.

Her mother chuckles and nods. “I know, baby.”

Logan goes to the kitchen and offers Charline some soda and an XL bag of ham & cheese chips.

 “It really feels cozy now,” the Koskela girl smiles as she looks around the living room.

There are some family pictures of the Andersons on the wall. There’s also a small, framed picture of Freya among them.

Logan nods. “Thanks with your help too.”

Charline blushes a little but nonchalantly waves off the compliment. Then, she gets back to business.

 “So about the werewolf stuff…”

“About the werewolf stuff,” Logan repeats.

 “Are you more spooked out now?” Charline genuinely asks with a frown, half hidden by the beanie she is wearing.

Logan shrugs her shoulders. “Mom kinda is. That’s why she arranged a meeting with your dad. Personally, I’m still pretty excited. Even after mom showed me the guide Ilmo made for her.”

Charline chuckles. “That’s our Uncle Ilmo, alright! Hope the guide could already offer some insights.”

Logan grins. “It did. Your uncle is pretty cool. Kinda eccentric, but I guess most people here are.” Minus the werewolf thing, she thinks.

Charline nods with a broad grin and then it’s time for a “Q&A” with her. Logan can shoot a bunch of questions about the werewolf identity and everything surrounding it and Charline will try to answer as much as possible.

“It’s going to be a whole ritual then?”

 “Yes. There will be a big campfire with lots of food too!”

“A lot of food?”

 “Before and after the transformation. It will burn up a lot of calories, regardless your human built. I once saw dad devour a whole Thanksgiving turkey after a particular long shift.”

The Koskela girl’s face is devoid of any humour or jest. Still, it incites a chuckle from Logan.

Only a few months ago, she had noticed her own increase in hunger. Especially, the need for meat. Something that hadn’t really been a thing since she read some social media posts about the animal cruelty behind the whole industry.

Merely thinking of it, makes her stomach churn a little.

 “Are all werewolves carnivores?”

“Basically, we’re all omnivores but if you wonder if some of us ‘converted’ to eating meat, then yes. I’m afraid that’s an inescapable werewolf feature.”

Logan frowns. Guess she’ll have to count that as one of the downsides of being a werewolf. But if she can help it, she’ll try to keep an ethical acquired resource.

 “And you… hunt for your food? Mom said there was a little section hinting at ‘The Hunt’.”

Charline seems excited in answering. “Yes! We probably have our own Hunt too when we change for the first time. Though Dad said not to expect catching any prey on our first try. Most of the pack has scheduled hunts together in smaller groups and different areas.”

Logan nods and scribbles things down whenever she learns something new that wasn’t mentioned or elaborated on in the guide Saga got.

Eventually, Logan’s most urgent question which had been burning on the tip of her tongue, almost as soon as she learned of her werewolf status, finally is dropped.

“Can I tell my friends about this? I-, I know we briefly discussed it before, but my great-grandpa seemed hesitant. But I kinda really wanna tell them!”

Logan almost tells them everything. And with this new chaotic life in an otherwise rural, quiet environment, she hasn’t really had much time to have long talks with them like she used to.

The distance also adds up to their decrease in quality time.

Now that there’s some quiet, even if it’s the quiet before the storm, she’s become strongly aware of the absence of the trio.

 “You have to trust them to not tell others,” Charline says with urgency in her voice.

The two girls make eye contact.

 “I know… I know. But I think I’d trust them with my life, and thus this secret too. Besides, they didn’t even flinch when I told them I bit a boy.”

Charline’s eyes go big, pupils small. “You did what? Here?!”

Logan quickly shakes her head. “No, no, no. Back at my old school. I guess that’s when I should’ve known something was off about me.”

Charline squints her eyes and huffs. “I don’t recall the urge to bite someone, though.”

 “It was a classmate. He tried seducing me for weeks, not ever getting the hint I wasn’t interested in his pathetic ass,” Logan explains.

The frustration and annoyance she had felt, all whirl back in her voice. Same as the satisfaction when she repeats the fact that she told Jeffrey off by biting him in his ear, first chance she got when he tried to get close to her again.

Charline sits there, dumbfounded on her part of the couch, the bag of chips untouched.

 “Wow… I dunno how I would’ve reacted. Something like that never occurred to me but… honestly, sounds fair.”

Logan wonders if that means Charline never had any boys interested in her or not or if she just means an annoying boy pestering her. If it’s the former, she can’t wrap her head around it. Charline Koskela is a really cool person, a werewolf and also pretty.

 “So yeah, anyway,” Logan quickly re-rails the topic at hand: “My friends thought it was justified as well. Didn’t even question why I did that, out of all possible ways to tell Jeffrey to shove it.”

Charline fidgets with the bag between her fingers before replying.

 “Do your friends believe in werewolves? Mythical creatures and stuff?”

Logan gets pensive.

 “Li sorta does. She also has been the most spiritual of my friend group. Now that you ask, I remember that she thought there could’ve been a mystical explanation for the things I experienced the last past months.”

 “You told them about some of your werewolf traits?”

Logan nods and shrugs her shoulders. “Didn’t see the connection to werewolfism yet. But I did tell them about my sudden change in appetite and the strange dreams about nature and such. Which is why Li thought it could have some supernatural source.”

Charline slowly chews on her chips as to not interrupt her friend too much. Then she speaks up.

 “And how did the others react to those fantastical theories?”

“Personally, I brushed it off. Didn’t think too much of it. Beck and June also weren’t fully onboard.”

The other girl knits her eyebrows together and mutters.

 “But it wasn’t like they ridiculed Li or anything!”

Charline wipes her hands off on one of the paper kitchen towel Logan had put on the coffee table.

 “Well, you’re the best at reading your friends. If you feel good about it, you can tell them. And if you want, I can be there to back you up. Just in case.”

Logan smiles. “I’d love that.”

LOGAN: Hey guys, I have something important to tell you.

LOGAN: Could you come online for a videocall plz?

LI: OMG, Logan are you okay?!!

LI: @June @Becky

BECKY: Hiii! Logan, you’re online again! Of course!

JUNE: what’s going on? And yeah, sure

JUNE: gimme a minute, getting some tea

LOGAN: For real? :P

JUNE: yes! I’ll need all my attention, and tea helps with that :P

A few minutes later, Logan’s phone screen lights up as her friends come into view, one by one.

June is wearing her autumn onesie while cradling her comfy mug of tea.

Li’s sitting at her laptop, behind her is her famous wall full of posters of bands and anime. Becky is seated on her bed which she had recently turned into a pillow fort as days are getting colder.

 “You’re all alone, right?” Logan presses.

“Of course. I felt it was only right to get some privacy,” Becky huffs.

The other girls agree too. Then, they notice their friend isn’t alone in the living room.

 “Is that Charline?” June’s the first to ask.

Logan nods and gives her phone to Charline to introduce herself.

 “Hey! I’m Charline Koskela. Logan’s new friend. I’m glad to finally meet you!”

The three girls welcome her in unison.

 “I’m June!”

“Hey, I’m Becky! Friends call me Beck, you may also call me Beck!”

 “And I’m Li. It’s so cool to finally see you animated.”

After the initial introductions are over, Logan gets to the important point. She feels her hands have gone clammy and her heartbeat went up.

Honestly, she had never had secrets from her friends. She had always confided in them when things were tough or when she needed people who could relate to her.

Charline notices the change in atmosphere and quietly offers one hand to her to take.

 “I have something very serious to disclose. That’s why I wanted to do this videocall,” Logan starts.

Li, Becky and June have gone quiet, understanding the seriousness of the situation.

Logan takes a deep breath before looking straight into the camera.

 “As you already knew, I visited my great-grandpa. And also thanks to my talk with Charline here, I’ve come to realise something about myself. Something that was hidden from me and my mom for a long, long time.”

The tension could be cut with a knife.

 “Something… something to do with your dad?” June asks.

“What? No, no…. luckily not. Dad is fine. But, I’m not sure if I should tell him yet. Anyway, it’s about those dreams I’ve had. My… changed behaviour.”

Out of nervosity but also a way to reassure their friend, Li interrupts. “You know, whatever happened or will happen, we’ll be here for you, Logan.”

“Yeah, indeed. Honestly, you didn’t change that much,” Becky joins in.

Logan takes a shaky breath and chuckles. “Thank you. And that’s why I wanted to tell you guys… Know that it’s the right thing to do. Point is, is that I’m…”

A silence washes over her before she can say the word out loud. Her hand around Charline squeezes harder than before.

June quietly asks if their connection broke or something.

 “I’m a werewolf,” Logan blurts out in one long breath.

She can hear her heart drum in her ears. She can feel the fuzzy static from her phone and smell the emptied bag of cheese & ham chips laying abandoned on the coffee table.

 “No way…,” Becky whispers through the screen but not in a malicious way.

“Like the actual werewolf from the myths?” Li asks.

June remains quiet but her face is one of surprise and shock.

 “Yes, the actual werewolf thing,” Charline  steps in as Logan’s lost her words. “Logan’s a werewolf. Like me and my family.”

 “You’re a werewolf too?!” and variations on that question are exclaimed at the same time by all three of them.

Charline casually nods before Logan finds her voice again and rejoins the conversation.

 “It’s true. But-, but you don’t need to be afraid. Everything will be fine!”

June, Becky and Li turn silent and glare at the screen with the less than ideal quality image of their friend who’s miles separated from them.

 “So you’ll turn into a big, furry monster?” Li is the first to dare speak up again.

Logan nods. “More or less… Wait, stay on the phone. I’m getting a photo.”

She leaves the phone to Charline who now awkwardly is alone with the other girls.

 “You knew about Logan’s werewolf, eh, identity?” Becky whispers.

“Yup. We could smell it from the moment they set foot in Watery. But Logan didn’t know it herself.”

 “How didn’t she know? And her mom neither?” June wonders out loud.

Before Charline can reply, Logan sits down next to her, the box of memories in her lap. She has taken out an old polaroid picture of her great-grandpa and great-granduncle in werewolf form and flashes the image in front of the camera, hoping modern technology is able to capture it properly.

 “Whoa… So werewolves are real,” Li gasps, a hint of excitement in her voice. “I knew some forest spirits had to be real but werewolves? Couldn’t believe it.”

 “Those aren’t costumes or, just really big wolves?” Becky mutters. She has put her face further from the screen, doubtful expression on her grimace.

 “I know it’s hard to believe… but if you remember my ‘changes’ that I mentioned before…”

There’s a brief silence of pondering.

 “Then it all makes sense,” June whispers. “Doesn’t it?”

Becky, June and Li take turns asking more questions and gradually, they’re convinced that their dear friend is truly a werewolf but that it isn’t a bad thing.

“But Logan’s going to be safe in Watery, right?” Becky presses first.

The trio now all look at the local girl, Charline Koskela for more answers who reassures them.

 “Watery might be the safest place for werewolves. Else Logan’s great-grandfather wouldn’t have messaged her mom. And people here, truly look after one another.”

 “Logan, do you need us to come over at your sixteenth birthday? Like, as emotional support?” li then asks the logical next question.

Logan exchanges a few glances with Charline, but the Koskela girl leaves that decision up to Logan.

 “Well… I’m really, really grateful that you accept me and… reacted pretty well to this big news. But I think it’s better for me to do this alone. I mean, with the people here. I’m not sure how I’ll react to the transformation and afterward… I don’t want to potentially endanger you guys.”

 “We understand, Logan,” Becky smiles.

June nods. “Yeah. Just know, that if you change your mind, I’ll happily pressure my dad to fly me over in a sec!”

Logan tears up at the unconditional support and love of her friends. She might have only three best friends, but they’re best friends for a darn good reason.

 “Thank you so much. I’m so grateful to have you as my friends,” Logan snivels.

Charline quietly offers her a paper tissue to dry her tears. The others girls also burst out in tears.

“But please tell us how it went once you have your energy back!” Li exclaims.

Logan nods. “Will, will do. Keep you up to date. And maybe afterward, I can actually invite you over.”

 “We’d love to!” it sounds in unison.

“Love you, Logan!” June says.

 “Love you, girl! We’ll keep in touch for sure. And Charline? Look after our friend,” Li adds.

“You can do this, Logan. You’re the strongest of us all,” Becky nods.

 “I couldn’t do this without your support,” Logan grins.

Finally, the videocall ends. It feels surreal. Logan didn’t lose her friends. Instead, she feels their bond has strengthened more.

She turns to Charline with a broad smile. “That went pretty well, I’d say.”

 “That went amazing! I’m very happy for you, Logan. Now you can turn 16 without feeling you had to hide something from them."

Logan nods and smiles with relief.