46A Finnish nickname roughly translating to “Little Avery.”
47Finnish colloquialism: A humorless person. Directly translated “true person.”
48Finnish: “Home beer,” or simply beer made at home which is weak enough that it’s not illegal to make and even children may consume it. It is traditionally had at Christmas meals.
49Finnish colloquialism: Cheers.
However, locals enjoy telling the tourists the word for cheers is “hölökyn kölökyn!”—which is meaningless and harmless but sounds very fun to say. You will rarely hear a native Finn speak it, however.
50Finnish colloquialism: A mild swear equivalent to “oh my God.” Literally translates to “God, Help.”
51Haruspex: An oracle who practices divination through haruspicy.
It is uncommon to find a haruspex in the Mundane realm in the modern day, as the pure nature of their work creates a rather unpleasant stench that, unlike certain characters depicted in fiction, cannot be covered by the promising scent of questionable meat pies.
52Finnish: Odd, strange, peculiar.
53The literal translation of the Finnish colloquialism “Ottaa keittoa,” which is used to mean to drink alcohol. I will not explain further. Neither will the Finns.
Chapter 18
Saga
On an unseasonably chilly Monday morning, even for London, Saga puttered around her apartment in fuzzy house boots, a jumper, casual shorts, and semiopaque patterned black tights. Despite her and Leigh agreeing that it was far too soon for either of them to return to the café, it felt strange being home. She’d woken at 4:00, found Riddle curled up at her shoulder, cuddled closer, and managed to sleep in until 7:00 a.m. before anxious energy forced her to rise.
Naturally, with so much buzzing around inside her, Saga did the one thing she knew that would be both productive and calming: she cooked.
