Finding Faeries

[mhire]

DATE & TIME: July 17, 10 PM
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Clear
CHARACTERS INVOLVED : Mhire, Ulrika, Grima
PREVIOUS THREADS? N/A

Mhire laid in his bed looking up at the ceiling, letting out a drawn out sigh. His back ached as he shifted himself into a sitting position, feeling stiff. He listened intently for anyone in the house stirring. After a moment of silence he grabbed his axe from the corner and strapping it to his back. He cracked open the door and peered out. The rest of the house was dark. He cracked a grin as he snuck out of his room and headed for the stairs. The boards creaked slightly under his weight, making him pause every few steps. He cursed his large height and weight making it harder for him to sneak around.

He finally made it down the stairs and out the front door, letting out a sigh of relief. He stood by the door for a moment as he let his eyes adjust to the oncoming darkness. He should have grabbed a torch or something to bring with him to light the way when it got dark, he didn't plan on going back for a while. After a few minutes of lingering he trudged on, the light bumping of his axe on his back reassuring Mhire. He didn't know where he was going, just that he couldn't sleep and didn't want to be in the house.

Mhire quickly reached the edge of Toothless' Forest, seeing it was much darker than the open village. He paused when he heard something moving behind him, slowly reaching to put a hand on his axe. "Who's there?"

[Ulrika]

Ulrika had decided that today she would hunt at night - no one argued with her decisions - mostly because no one really cared much. Except Caedence, but Ulrika had already proved that hunting at night was also beneficial. Also, it was a good opportunity to out-show Grima if they ever met in the woods.

She made final preparations as she was about to head out. She had changed her usual pale grey-brown furs for darker tones, to blend into her surroundings easier. She made sure her quiver was full and that all the arrowheads were secure and the flights were aligned and not prone to falling off. She slung the quiver to her belt. Finally, she retrieved her bow. The wood was smooth from handling. She pulled the string, testing it's strength - still taught. Satisfied, she slung the bow over her back and headed out.

She almost forgot her knife, so she quickly rushed to retrieve it. It wouldn't have been great if she had forgot it. One should never leave your weapons behind - one might need it. She began to take her familiar trek into the woods.

On the way, she saw a figure also walking towards the forest. Ulrika hid for a moment, wondering who it was. Was it Grima? It was the most likely answer. She peeked round the house again, but he had gone out of sight! She rushed and continued stalking the shadowy stranger. No.. it wasn't Grima. This guy was taller. And less poofy hair.

She continued stalking him until he reached the edge of the forest. He stopped, and so did she, but she stopped a tad later, her boots making noise in the gravel. The man picked the sound up, an arm reaching for his axe, which she didn't notice before. But she recognised the voice. It was Mhire!

She grinned sheepishly. He sounded menacing for no reason. "I'm not going to shoot you, Mhire! Calm down!" She said, walking up to Mhire, who towered over her. "Are you hunting too? You're going to need more than an axe! Where abouts are you going?"

[mhire]

Mhire sighed and eased his grip on his axe, turning to see Ulrika grinning sheepishly at him before trotting up to his side. "Damn it Ulrika don't sneak up on me like that. I could have killed you."[/b] He shook his head and grasped the space between his brows, groaning. "I'm just going for a walk. I don't feel like laying awake in my room for a few more hours so I'm going to explore."[/b] He rolled his eyes at the short blonde girl before stepping into the forest, knowing she would follow him.

He didn't talk much as he climbed over large rocks and fallen logs, not really in the mood for conversation. He didn't shoo Ulrika away either, a part of him glad for the company. Although the sun's last rays filtered through the spaces between the trees, Mhire didn't notice the loose rocks covered in slippery moss on the opposite side of the boulder he scaled. Out of reflex he yanked his axe away from his back when he felt his foot slip, sending it flying a few feet to his side. He landed on his back hard, cursing loudly. He grasped the back of his head in pain and slowly turned so he lay on his side, his cheek on the cold ground. "Ulrika... Is my back bleeding?"[/b] Mhire's tone held a hint of worry, although it was mostly frustration.

Mhire pushed himself into a sitting position and sighed, wiping off bits of pine needles and dirt. When no pain came from his back he stood and retrieved his weapon with a sigh. "I guess we'll find out if I collapse during our walk huh?"[/b] He grinned and shifted, noticing his back feeling tight. That couldn't be good. He hoped he only pulled something and looked over at Ulrika, wondering if she would even be able to see if his back was messed up in the low light.

[Ulrika]

The keyword 'explore' set Ulrika off on a tangent, forgetting she was supposed to be hunting. "Cool! I'll come with you!" She said, ignorant whether Mhire actually wanted her there or not.

She followed Mhire into the woods like a little lost sheep, not really caring where he decided to go. She knew most of the outskirts of the forest because of her hunting trips, but that didn't mean she wouldn't occasionally get lost. Especially when she would lose her bearings after being chased by a dragon.

Ulrika also walked in silence, partly because she was half expecting Mhire to say something, and also because the night time drew all sorts of creatures, and Ulrika was always on alert in the forest. Who knew what could be hiding behind the next thicket of trees?

Being a lot nimbler and used to climbing around like some sort of spider, she had no difficulty passing the obstacles. She had almost overtook Mhire at some points, or taking a more difficult path.

She was at the summit when she head Mhire slip and fall. Her head snapped to the boulder below her, where Mhire was now on his back. She stifled a laugh, but her hand quickly slapped to her face - not meaning to be laughing. While watching people fall over and fail was funny for Ulrika, she couldn't laugh at Mhire, because first of all, he had a pretty nasty injury on his back as it was, and second, she tended to get some sort of painful consequence for laughing at him.

"Are... Are you okay?" She finally said, slipping down her rock to Mhire's side. He asked her if his back was okay. Under the cover of trees, it was a lot darker than outside in the village. She didn't know whether that was supposed to be blood or just grime he had collected from the floor. "I... don't know." It didn't occur to her to actually physically look to see whether he was actually bleeding or not. He was still able to move - that's all that really mattered, right?

Ulrika smiled when Mhire grinned. She took that as a good sign. She was glad he hadn't broken anything. It had been hammered into her head not to pester Ari from the early evening onwards, so if Mhire had broken anything it would have sucked. Also Ulrika wouldn't be able to carry him.

She walked a little way ahead of him. She looked into the inky darkness ahead of them. "D'you think we'll find something cool?"

[mhire]

Mhire glared at Ulrika when he heard her laugh, wondering if he should throw something at her. He looked ahead as Ulrika did, gripping his axe in his hand instead of strapping it to him. "Maybe. I guess we'll find out."[/b] He stepped ahead of her, knowing if they encountered a dragon it probably wouldn't be very happy with Ulrika stumbling into it first.

Mhire walked through the trees, beginning to notice that they were becoming a bit more sparse as they went on. He squinted his eyes in the low light and crouched next to a tree as they entered a clearing. He held up a hand for Ulrika to wait, scanning the area. Clearings usually meant dragons, and for more reasons than one being around both Ulrika and a wild dragon was usually not a good combination. "Looks clear to me."[/b] He stood and stepped into the clearing, still keeping a sharp eye out. His hand loosed on his axe as he waded into the tall grass of the clearing.

He sat in the middle, his head peaking over the tall yellow grass. "Hey Ulrika if you crouch you'll blend right in!"[/b] Mhire laughed at her before laying back, putting his hands behind his head and looking up at the darkening sky. He could hear Ulrika moving around in the grass around him, probably trying what he just said. Mhire rolled his eyes and grinned, plucking a long bit of grass and putting it between his teeth.

[Grima, Stahl & Flint]

Stahl hated the summer. Zipplebacks were nocturnal dragons, which meant they loved the night. Something that was serverely lacking in the summer when you were this north. The sun rose early and set late, but then there was the twilight. That was what she hatted the most. It meant that there were literally only two hours of complete darkness!

Flint found it annoying, though not as much as her twin. To counteract this they spent as much time as they could in the darkest sections of the forest, though Grima stopped them from doing this too often purely so he could see what he was doing. Grima lay on the dragons body as it quietly prowled the forest, as awesomely sneaky as always.

They reached the edge of a clearing and looked in to see the two Vikings in training there, Mhire sitting in the centre, Ulrika crouching in the grass, trying to be stealthy, with her hear just lightly too high for it to work. Grima smiled as he saw this and rubbed his dragon’s back to signal what he wanted to do. They’d been teaching each other silent methods of communicated so that they could keep the element of surprise.

Grima quietly stood up on the dragon as the two head turned sideways so that there was only clear neck visible. And then Grima ran along their necks and jumped. It was something they’d had mixed feeling about practising, though Stahl did know it was a good manoeuvre when executed well, like this time.

Ulrika didn’t know what hit her until he did.

[Ulrika]

Ulrika blindly followed Mhire. She was supposed to be hunting, the quiver jangling at her waist reminding her so. It couldn't hurt to explore for a while, though? When Mhire decides to go back to the village to sleep, she could hunt then. It was no big issue for Ulrika. Her parents never really cared when she came home, as long as she provided food.

Mhire lead her to a clearing. It was full of long grass. "Oh cool!" She said, bounding forwards, but she was quickly blocked by Mhire's arm. She frowned as he scanned the area, taking a few steps forwards.

He finally let her through, but this time not as eager. She liked to be first! She watched as Mhire settled himself down in the middle of the clearing. She could still see him in this low light, but his dark tunic made him almost invisible from the neck down. She was also glad she was wearing darker furs tonight, because Mhire told her she could also become invisible.

With a giddy grin, she dropped immediately. She stopped herself from giggling, she had an idea. She'd 'warm up' for hunting later, by first stalking Mhire silently, and making him jump! It's be perfect! She began to make her way to the other side of the older Viking-In-Training. What she didn't realise, what the the hunter had quickly become the hunted.

Had she been in a serious hunting mood, and not distracted by exploring with Mhire, she would have picked up the slightest sound that would reveal game and potential food. And of course, be very aware of imminent dragon attacks. Here, having fun, none of this was happening. It made her oblivious to a writhing shadow just out of view in the trees.

Ulrika briefly looked up, to get her bearings of Mhire's location. She was about to return to crawl once more, when suddenly a huge weight made her lose all supports in her hands and knees, flattening her to the floor. She made a whelping noise as air was knocked out of her. Her face landed right into the soft earth.

The first thought came to mind was 'Dragon!' Her arms and legs began to flail madly, trying to get away. She finally dared to lift her head out the mud, her face uncomfortable with grime. But she'd had worse than a dirty face before. She struggled more, whilst trying to spit out horrible dirt that had got into her mouth.

[mhire]

Mhire rolled his eyes as he laid in the grass, chewing on the end of the grass listening to Ulrika move around. It was oddly quiet. For a little while that was. He instantly shot up to his feet and grabbed his axe when he heard a rather sudden thud and scrambling. He turned a few times before he spotted the fight not too far off, rushing over and raising his axe high over his head. It wasn't until he was about to swing that he realized what, or rather who, had attacked Ulrika. Mhire sighed and lowered his weapon. He quickly slung it across his back and grabbed Grima roughly by the back of his shirt and lifted him off of Ulrika.

"Grima are you insane?! I nearly lopped your head off!"[/b] Mhire growled and released his grip on Grima. He rubbed the space between his eyes and let out a drawn out sigh. Why him? Mhire looked over at the forest, noticing Grima's zippleback. "Can't you two interact like normal freaking people?"[/b] He looked down at Ulrika, who was still on the ground. He readied himself to get between the two younger vits, knowing that once she stood she would probably throw some insults and try to retaliate.

A tiny light out of the corner of his eye distracted him though, making him turn in confusion. At the opposite side of the clearing, a tiny light flitted through the trees and into the opening. Moments later another appeared, then another. His eyes widened as the small colorful lights came closer.

"Look."[/b] He realized that neither Ulrika or Grima had noticed the lights yet, motioning towards them. A pale blue light danced by his face, making him pull his head back. He reached out and cupped it in his hands, surprised to find that it wasn't his imagination or just some bug. "They're dragons!"[/b] Mhire gasped in astonishment at the tiny creature in his hand. It couldn't be any bigger than his thumb. The dragon itself was rather plain, it didn't seem to have any frills or horns that he could see, and its body was a solid black. It's wings reminded him of a butterfly though, bright blue and red decorating the wings. He glanced up. There had to be over 100 of them!

[Grima, Stahl & Flint]

Grima landed on the sneaking girl and pushed her head into the ground and pushed her face into the dirt she laughed as she tried to shout as she flailed about. He so enjoyed pulling something on Ulrika, and he doubted she even knew it was him yet. In his peripheral vision he saw Mhire rush to her aid, pulling his axe out. He was already in a position to jump out the way if the other boy was to attack him, but Mhire recognised him in time.

He grabbed the trolling boy by his shirt and pulled him off the girl. Grima laughed as Mhire growled at him, “don’t worry, I would have dodged. It wasn’t like I didn’t see you coming at me.” He looked at the girl as she was starting to get up. “Sorry about that, I would have finished off your beauty treatment, but someone decided to stop me.” He smiled back at Mhire, “You want to continue it?” In the background he hear his dragon’s heads laughing, looking forward to the normal sparks.

“Why would I act normal for her?” Grima asked, turning back to the muddy girl, “Not like she is normal.” He laughed at her statement, “Yeah, normally stupid!” The girl started to come at him, so he just flicked her on the nose. That really annoyed her, she went to punch him, but called for their attention and it the punch faltered enough for Grima to get out of the way of it. He turned to see what the other teenager was looking at. A lot of lights.

[Ulrika]

Ulrika gasped as the weight suddenly disappeared from above her. She scrambled, but slowed at she heard Mhire scolding Grima. So it was Grima... Her teeth gritted as she rose to her feet, spitting globs of muck that got into her mouth.

"Bleargh." She moaned, wiping her face with one of her furred armguards. Grima made a comment whilst she did so. "You don't know ANYTHING about being pretty, Grima!" She would have continued, if Mhire hadn't of interrupted, asking if they could act like normal people.

Ulrika glared at Mhire, then to Grima who claimed she wasn't normal either. "I'm always normal!" She protested.

“Yeah, normally stupid!”

Ulrika growled, advancing to start on him, to which he got in range to flick her on the nose tauntingly. That pulled the trigger.

She was about to throw a punch square in the middle of Grima's face, when Mhire distracted her, calling upon them to look. Her punch faltered and dropped mid-throw, easily missing Grima. She saw plenty of strange lights overhead.

Something clicked in her mind - something in the back of her mind. That's it! Stories! She had heard plenty of stories, that focused on these lights. Mhire's confirmation that they were dragons only made Ulrika extra-certain. Words spilled out of her mouth before she even realised.

"They're Faerie Whisps! I heard about them in stories! They're rumoured to have magical powers... or something." She said, quickly gaining control of her tongue. Usually it was someone else who'd remark about a certain type of dragon they'd encounter. She came closer to Mhire as one of the dragons had settled on his palm. Something bugged her about it though.

She stepped back again and folded her arms. "They sounded so much cooler in the stories. You can't even ride these!" She had to admit though, they were pretty, and she was still intrigued by them nontheless, their bioluminescent tails enticing her.