Taking Shelter [Nordics!]

[Timo Väinämöinen]

Panic was growing in the city and Timo didn’t like it. He couldn’t blame everyone, though. The storm had been predicted for a week and had been growing for days. The wind whipped around him as he made his way home, one hand on his beret to make sure it didn’t get snatched away. They’d been sent home from work early – everywhere was closing down, shutting up, trying to protect their businesses. As he passed the train station he was surprised to find a crowd around it, before he remembered what he’d read in the paper about the shelters. It was still surprising that so many people were taking up the offer, though, even with the offer of free train travel. Timo had just been planning to hide at home and hope for the best. Maybe all the panic was a result of the scare mongering.

A child’s cry distracted him as he walked past, and Timo started, before looking around. A little girl, no more than five or six was trying to get back into the crowd, a teddy bear hanging from one hand. Timo frowned when he saw there was no one with her, and quickly hurried over, crouching down so he could smile at her, one hand on her shoulder. “Hey! Where’re your parents?” He asked, gently, leaning in to softly brush tears from her cheeks.

Her eyes went wide to see a friendly face and she took hold of Timo’s hand. “I dropped teddy, then couldn’t find them.” She held up the ragged bear, and Timo tried not to frown. If they were somewhere in the crowd, finding them before the train came would be a task and a half.

He offered her his back anyway. “Climb on and we’ll go and find them!” He told her, cheerfully. A little nervously, she did, clinging onto his small shoulders as he lifted her up. “Right, what do they look like?” Timo asked as he began to squirm his way through the crowd, using his small stature to slip into tiny gaps. She gave him a vague, childish description and Timo nodded, though he was sure it would describe any number of couples in the crowd.

“And I have six brothers and sisters!” She added, making Timo chuckle. Well, that was more noticeable. And it was suddenly more understandable how she got lost in the first place. Oh well! They’d just have to do their best! Timo chatted her happily as they made their way through the busy collection of people, trying to keep her mind off her predicament. It worked, and soon she was happily kicking her feet. Suddenly she perked, pointing ahead. “There!” Sure enough, there was a harassed looking young woman, trying to keep her eyes on a gaggle of children. The girl’s father noticed them and rushed over to pick her up, cradling her in worriedly. Her mother came over too, thanking Timo.

He chatted for a while, making them feel better, and was just starting to make his way out of the crowd and home when there was a sudden rush, and suddenly the crowd started to move, sweeping him away with it. The train had arrived. Timo had no choice but to follow them all into the carriage, standing up rather than taking a seat that someone more needy could have. When the train reached the station, Timo patiently waited for everyone to clear the platform before going to look for someone to tell him when the train was going to return. But… there didn’t appear to be anyone around. Suddenly the train’s doors closed and off it went, and unusually for Timo, he swore.

Well then. Looked like he’d be spending the night up here after all.

Heading off in the direction everyone had been herded off to, Timo eyed the shelters when he reached them. He liked people. But wasn’t sure that he wanted to be trapped in a small shelter with lots of them while a storm raged. He hunted out the one that looked least busy and let himself in, glancing around in the doorway to look for somewhere to wait.

[Erik Olsen]

He couldn't believe it.

He could not believe it.

Lukas grumbled quietly to himself, carrying the few possessions he cared for in his hands. He had any smaller ones in the cases he carried. Besides that, he had been informed to leave his home as soon as he could. Apparently, the reason behind this was because 'For your safety, the owner of this home is asked to evacuate to a shelter.' Well, he always thought to be better safe than sorry, so he prepared himself to leave his home and probably not come back to it. The mostly likely reason of why he had to leave his home was because the home he had was close to the sea, since he liked the view. Of course, being close by the sea had its dangers when a storm came by, but the view of a stormy sea was a nice sight.

He made his way to the shelter, knowing he would probably be staying there for awhile. At the door, he chose a spot that would most likely be empty for most of the time and would be clear of people. He made his way to the farthest corner, sitting against the wall and setting his items around him. He took one of the smaller pillows he had and rested his head on the pillow. He looked about, seeing if there was anyone looking at him or perhaps maybe the chance of seeing someone he knew.

He soon gave that up as a child came up to him, staring at him and looking at him curiously. Lukas glared at the child, getting up and staring down at the child. "Is there anything you want?" he asked, pushing his items behind his legs. He knew what some people would do during these times. They would take from others for their own selfish reasons, and they'd scurry off if one knew how to handle them. The child looked surprised, backing off a bit before he watched the young boy run off to his mother. He huffed softly. Hopefully, that would not become a problem. Well, from where he was at that spot, he could hear the child and his mother talk with each other.

"Mummy? Why is that scary man here? He seems like one of those monsters in the stories you tell me, and he seems really mean... I only wanted to play with him, but he got angry at me."
"Shh, son, you have to be quiet about that. Other people can hear, and one of them can be that man. Listen, I don't think any adult in this shelter wants to play with you, hun. They're busy with the stuff they need to do. You should play with other kids, not adults. Now, if you're going to go find someone to play with, don't go out of my sight and stay close. Oh, and stay away from those people who tell you that the world is ending."
"Okay, mum. Maybe I can ask him later, and maybe he'll play with me, right?"
"No, son... I think you would be bothering him at that time."
"Aw, fine... I'll go find other people. I don't see too many though..."

... Was that what people really thought of him? Scary? Mean? It wasn't too new to Lukas, but that was the first he had ever heard from a child. He huffed, shaking his head and frowning to himself. 'No, I shouldn't think like that. It's childish, and their opinion doesn't matter,' he thought to himself, still hoping that others would leave him in peace. That way, he could rest, and he could relax without having the constant knowing of having some person going up to the Norwegian man to speak with him.

A sign was shoved in his face, and it was followed by a shrill voice speaking and calling.
"Beware, mortals! This is the end! We will all perish and drown because of the storm! Say your last good-byes to your loved ones before time runs out! We are doomed! Doomed! Oh, doom to us all!"
He shoved the sign out of his face, opening his mouth to say something to the old woman but shutting it as she walked away. As she walked, she called "Doom! Doom to us all!"

He rolled his eyes, sitting back down on the floor and opening one of his cases. He took out a comfortably blanket, laying it over himself and his items. He curled up to the cases, using them as a sort of pillow and cuddling the small pillow in his arms. 'These days will be rough... Hopefully they pass by quickly,' he thought, sighing softly and almost wanting to bash his head against the wall. That woman had gotten on his nerves.

[Timo Väinämöinen]

Glancing around, Timo was struck by just how full the place was. He wasn’t claustrophobic, and it was just as well in the heaving mess of bodies that filled the bunker. He remembered what his school teachers had told him about air raid shelters in WWII and wondered if this was what it was like. Cautiously, weary of stepping on anyone, e headed back to see if he could find space to sit. It didn’t take him long to notice that he was the only one without a bag of some description. People had brought pillows, blankets, food, even precious items that they wanted to protect from the storm, but Timo was stuck with just his (fortunately warm) jumper. Well… as long as it didn’t get any colder as the night drew in.

Making his way back, Timo was a little relieved to find that it was less crowded and noisy, though it was also a bit colder. He drew his arms around himself and picked a spot. He was just about to start trying to make himself comfortable when movement distracted. Well well! Even if he hadn’t recognised that stern expression there couldn’t be too many people with such beautiful silver hair, and Timo headed over to greet Lukas.

“Hey! I didn’t expect to see you here!” Timo said, beaming. How’re you? How’ve you been?” It was as though they were meeting on the street rather than stuck in such a strange place, but Timo seemed happy and honest as ever. Sitting down next to Lukas so he wasn’t leaning over him, Timo sat cross-legged, comfortable like that.

“How long have you been up here?” He asked. Lukas seemed pretty settled, at least, so Timo thought he must have at least been on the train before he got.

((I dunno if Berwald told you, but she asked us to continue amongst ourselves for a bit until she has less work and can jump in. <3 ))

[Erik Olsen]

[[ Argh, sorry for putting this in so late. >n> I've been busy. Familybegstoomuchformyattention. ]]

Lukas took a look of the shelter from his corner, inspecting each person and taking a good look at some of them. He knew how quickly a person could become bored, and he watched those who held conversations with another, interested on how lively one of them was. The person was using their hands to speak for them, and he had always found that interesting. The other's hands flowed as easily as the words did, but he heard nothing. It was as if the person was not speaking words at all. It was better for him to not eavesdrop anyways, but her actions probably spoke more than her words did.

He would never know though; it wasn't like he wanted to listen in on the conversation anyways. It was probably boring. He wouldn't want to listen in on a boring conversation. Those never ended well.

He let go of the pillow that he was cuddling, moving it to rest against his face and closing his eyes slightly. No, he did not plan on falling asleep. That would be the worst idea. Everyone was awake, and anyone could easily take his things. He was not going to let that happen, especially now of all times. He heard someone approach him, opening one of his eyes to look up at the possible stranger and huffing.

Oh-- it was just Timo.

The Norwegian sat up, watching the Finn settle down on the spot next to him. At least it was someone he knew and not just some random stranger. "Ah, I was not expecting to see you here either, but it's nice to see a familiar face," he said, shifting slightly. "I'm okay. It would be better if I would have been able to stay home, but this is fine. I don't mind being here. How have you been?" he replied to the Finnish man.

"... I haven't been here for too long," he spoke, pausing slightly and continuing. "Are you cold? I don't mind sharing my items."