Deadlines (Ari, Asther & Hysteria)

[PIME2]

Baldr smiled at the sun as it set under the island ahead of the boat. The darkened shapes, around which a halo of light shone, were of the village that they were sailing to.

Diplomacy, he thought to himself, What a foreign word to our way of life. Diplomacy.

He knew he was going to get nothing out of this. Even if his cousin was here, they wouldn’t give her to him. He knew why…Probably the only one to know why from his island. Well, only probably.

He looked at one of the other occupants of the boat. Theroputix, and two warriors, had come along with him, the latter for protection, and the former just in case Baldr did something stupid.

He wasn’t in the best of shapes; he could feel his madness on him. This was the real reason for his diplomacy. He didn’t want to fight with his madness on.

They were practically in the port now, slowly going towards the main landing platform, when they could see a delegation of about a dozen people, most were either his age or older. One wasn’t.

One was a young woman, probably not much younger than him, but enough for him to recognise the fact. She was different from the others and must therefore be the leader. Baldr stood up in the small boat as the two warriors rowed them towards there. He smiled and waved at the delegation, “Good evening, my sirs,” he said as the boat reached the landing point, “I see you were expecting us.”

[ABYSS]

The string of the bow in her grip vibrated the finely carved wood in her hands as the arrow was released from its nock and sailed straight for the target protected by twining tree branches. It hit the target, albeit not dead-center but close enough for Asther to decide her quick practice session was over. I’ve not done that in ages… she thought, glancing at Puff who lay behind her, his body curled up in a manner that made her wonder if he was cold. The green-blue unblinking eyes on his face stared at her until she approached him, swinging the bow over her shoulders above her quiver of arrows. ”What?” Puff was thinking, she knew it, but she couldn’t tell what for once in a long while.

”Look, sure shooting some arrows absently isn’t my first idea of how to prepare for a battle but as far as I know everybody is up to date and doing their own preparations...or should be soon. I placed it in the hands of others to bring the village up to speed. It’s not like I’ve had much time to shoot to kill recently.”

Her dragon snorted, a puff of smoke rising from his black nostrils as he rolled his eyes, standing up and giving his body a shake. ”Yeah I know…” she told him, running a hand through her bangs. ”…we’re not strangers to battle but I’d at least expect the decency of a declaration of war.” she mused to him quietly, a wry smirk pulling at the corners of her mouth.

Puff turned, the flaps on his head quivering. He’d heard something his rider had not. She looked up, eyes narrowed. Was it someone to be wary of? Or was it a villager that had sought her out, coming down to the training grounds to do so. ”…oh, Ari.” she said, slight surprise entering her expression when she recognized him. Striding forward, Puff hard on her heels, she got within speaking distance of him.

Clearly he had something to say.

I’ll just find out what.

---

After hearing Ari’s testament, Asther had gotten back to the main village faster than she previously thought possible just by walking. The Elders need to be alerted…as do the Council. She thought, biting her lip as her mind was flooded with the list of names of people she needed to contact. The Village Leader had already deployed two messengers to assist her in gathering the people she would need for this encounter at the port, and provided they were found within an ideal amount of time, they would be able to meet at once.

Fast actions are crucial, but I have to make sure they’re not rash.

---

Standing at the port, Asther had her arms crossed as she looked across the water at the approaching boat. Was this the declaration she had only recently mused about wishing for? My own desires being granted…feh. Karma biting my ass, rather… she silently grumped, cracking her knuckles against the leather palm of her gauntlet.

The air stirring with the mixed emotions and feelings of the villagers behind her made the atmosphere unsettling, and Puff shifted uncomfortably next to Asther, his black tail scraping against the wood of the dock with an unpleasant sound as his hard, ebony scales tore at the comparatively fragile wood. ”Don’t do anything unless I tell you to…” she reminded her dragon, who in practically all aspects was level-headed. There was no telling what an uncomfortable situation would drive him to do. The last thing she wanted was for fights to break out here and now.

Striding forward, Asther swept her hand straight by her side, drawing the invisible line that the villagers behind her were allowed to come up to, while she continued forward to the end of the dock as the boat loomed closer. I’ll greet our wonderful guests. she thought silently, curling her lip for a moment before forcing the expression to vanish when she halted, waiting for the boat to pull up to the side of the dock.

When it did, she stepped forward to the edge, putting as little distance between herself and the anticipated arrival as possible.

Her expression did not betray the animosity she felt. ”Evening.” she said coolly, returning his greeting. ”You saw correctly. However, I’m sure we’re both incredibly interested to know why we were expecting you.”

She would leave that as his cue.

[PIME2]

(OOC: I’m going to assume quite a few answers, since they’re the most likely answers for your character.)

“Well, both know you saw us coming days ago and have been keeping tabs on us ever since, we’re good at noticing dragons,” he smiled at the woman in front of him. He jumped onto the pier and gave a single to the others on the boat to stay on. He didn’t want trouble…they’d only come with him in case there was.

“My name is Baldr Bjorg, nephew to Hrothgar the Head case, our leader. I am acting in his place as he is currently on his deathbed, you?” (Give reply) “We would be preparing for getting the next leader but the heir has been missing for five years now.” It was a mixed blessing. It meant he could become leader…but he did miss her.

“We’ve now proved that our island doesn’t hold her, so we’re expanding our search to the other islands, and Berk’s our first stop.” He paused for a moment. “How long have you been leader?” he smiled at the answer, she’s new then, may as well check, “met anyone from my island since you became leader? We’ve had a few men going around the islands, being adventurers and the such.” (The answer to that one is no, it’s basically so he knows Furgus and co [from ‘Holding the fort’] haven’t been found.)

“Good to know,” he looked around at the area, “Berk does look lovely I must admit,” he turned and looked out to sea, “There are some even more beautiful spots on Hysteria, but this place does still look amazing at this time, Don’t you agree?”

Baldr turned back to her and looked at her in confusion. Why didn’t she reply, “Don’t you agree?” she finally responded She’s deaf. shot thought his mind, Interesting.

“So, two questions then. Do you have our heir and if so will you return?”

(OOC: sorry for imidiatly replying and basicly going ‘new reply please’. I’ll have Baldr leave after your reply and then all the background stuff’ll be done [even though we’ve now got through quite a bit of the main story segs])

[ABYSS]

Asther stepped back once or twice when she noticed his body tense prior to the jump. The idea of being too close to him did not sit well in her mind, and the brief thought was only expressed through a slight narrow of her eyes. She didn’t blink as he spoke, her eyes not once leaving his face. Their current Leader was on his deathbed? Not exactly something you want to tell anyone of, not exactly allies, Asther mused silently, chewing the inside of her lip. ”Asther.” she responded quietly, feeling disinclined to give her full name in return. If he considers it rude, then so be it. The feeling is mutual regarding his arrival.

…Heir has been missing for five years now.

That small bit of his speech stuck out in Asther’s mind in particular. I’ve got a good idea who. Their target had proven herself numerous times to the village and its residents, beyond the incident some time back that had granted Asther’s trust to be placed in her. A hard thing to gain and something easy to lose, but to the Leader’s knowledge, nothing had put the young girl on the line of losing her trust. ”My share of years.” she answered his question quietly. Although she knew he had been looking for a more specific number to measure time, her answer was true enough.

Most likely maddening, though, if he is absolutely desperate for a direct answer.

”I’ve wish I could say I’ve met my share.” she told him coolly, only a slight ring of sarcasm in her voice. She had no traits of xenophobia within her, though she did not take kindly to outsiders. ”Indeed.” she murmured. A compliment to the land? Sadly that had no bearing in Asther’s opinion of Baldr. Her eyes widened slightly when she turned around and her lip curled in frustration. She didn’t move to attempt to show any desperation to understand him, though she knew he had spoken because of Puff. The black dragon had nosed her leg roughly.

There was a pause before he turned back around. Her expression vanished instantly before he faced her once again, the confusion evident in his gaze. Damn my genetics to Hœnir. she thought mutinously, cursing the first god she could think of - none other than the silent god of silence, whom her father had always joked was behind the lack of sound in their worlds. She watched his lips move and hesitated for a moment before answering. Agree to what? The last thing she’d understood would be her best shot.

”Yes. I agree.” she murmured, pausing once again before answering, having chosen her words to respond. ”However, I’m afraid your search party will leave our shores empty-handed, for there are no intentions on our side to cooperate with you, unfortunate as that is. We hold no animosity in regards to you as you are, and if you depart quickly. I cannot promise otherwise, though.”

Baldr’s reaction weighed on those words.

[PIME2]

Baldr laughed, she was interesting. “True, I weren’t expecting anything else. I only asked those questions because I was told to, I didn’t expect positive answers. So…looks like I’d better go for the plan b negotiating talk.” He then took a step forward and changed his stance, “If the heir is still alive, the most likely location outside of Hysteria is here. Even if you aren’t holding the heir, she’ll could be anywhere on this island. As a gesture of good faith, we’ll give you four days to find her. After that we have a look for ourselves…I mean I know it doesn’t really sound that fair, but like I said, not my rules.”

It was true, all this was such flawed logic that it was really ridiculous. When he was leader he wouldn’t make such stupid ultimatums. “Oh, just so you know, since I did want to survive until then, if I don’t get to the ships by the time they land in Black Heart Bay tomorrow, they’ll take it as a dec of war. I really hope you find our heir is here, I don’t have anything against you guys either.”

“Like I said, if you want to talk to us, we’ll be by Black Heart Bay and I bid you a due,” He bowed, looked up at her and clearly mouthed, “Oh, and sorry for making your deafness noticeable just then.” He knew that his positioning meant that the others couldn’t see him. Only she could read what he was saying.

He stepped backwards until he was back in the boat, and waved as they sailed off. They wouldn’t give the girl back even if they knew where she was…If she was even there. He had such conflicting thoughts right now; a part of him hoped that he would…so much oh him wanted her to have disappeared forever. She would never have a good life in Hysteria, not someone like her...and I shouldn't meet her like I am now.

[Asther & Puff]

A laugh? She only heard the absolute loudest points of the sound coming from his mouth. Otherwise she was left with silence while watching his expression and actions to interpret what he was expression. Asther felt her body tense with his words, and his changed stance - it made her immediately more wary than she had been. Based on his words so far, he didn't seem like he would suddenly attack her. Even if he did, she found it would be foolish on his part considering she had her dragon and other members of Berk a short ways off behind her.

He did not strike her as a fool.

Her eyes narrowed as she interpreted his words, and she kept her thoughts to herself. That did not sound like any sort of negotiation if she'd ever seen one. That was a threat looming over their heads. Normally, she would have a decent mind to perhaps allow them to search the island for themselves with a strong escort-guard, but when they assumed the role of barging onto the island anyway, her attitude towards them turned sour.

Berk's Leader said nothing to the rest of his words, her only reaction being portrayed by the curling of her mouth into a near-snarl of an expression and her eyes reflecting the displeasure and anger she was feeling, particularly when he emphasized the words he spoke. The muscles of her abdomen clenched as she fought her impulse to move, keeping her body rooted to the spot. Somebody from an enemy group knew of her greatest weakness and ultimately held it at the end of his arm to do with it as he pleased. It was anything but good.

She only gave him a nod as he waved as departing before she spun around, walking quickly back towards the other village residents she'd gathered earlier. Her expression probably bordered on mutinous. They would know there wasn't anything good to come of her words, and she sure as hell had things to tell them.

[Ari]

Stood there and watched as the two people talked to each other at the dock. Ari was the youngest elder by a fair few years, and he also still had quite good facleties for those years. While the others had dodgey hearing that meant they could barely hear what they were saying, Ari could just about hear everything.

He seemed much more…eloquent than their last few leaders, though he quickly found out why. He was Hrothgar’s Nephew. He’d meet this guy’s dad years ago, and this guy felt like what his son should be like.

As he listened, he heard about why they were coming here. The heir was missing? I guess that makes sense, I do remember the fact that the current pulls people form Hysteria to berk. and then two words stuck in his head. Five years. What does that stick?

He noticed Asther’s pause and Baldr asking the question again…The look that Ari saw on Baldr’s face told him all he needed to know. Baldr knew about Asther’s hearing.

As the convosation progressed Baldr started to take the more Hysterian approach. Give us what we want or we’ll come and get it. It had seemed weird that he hadn’t already gone into that from step one, and he kept apologising for it…very unHysterian.

Blackheart bay hey? Good choice to be fair, an alright place to defend if we were to attack first and they could pull of and effective quick getaway if they needed to.

Once the two finished talking and Baldr left, Asther walked up to them and started to tell the group of elders everything. But as she talked he noticed something. She didn’t mention the 5 years….