A Series of Unfortunate Events

[Ulrika]

DATE & TIME : 4th July, Mid-Afternoon
WEATHER CONDITIONS : Slight breeze,
CHARACTERS INVOLVED : Ulrika, Grima, Nightrode
PREVIOUS THREADS ?N/A

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Ulrika was strolling along the cliffside, on her way to one of her favourite locations - a huge rock formation that jutted towards the vast sea. That place was the closest she could feel to flying, being high up, wind in her hair... Today she had her blonde hair tied in two long pigtails behind her.

She wasn't hunting, so she hadn't brought any gear with her, except for a knife, just in case. She was well aware that dragons were not at all pleased about her.

As she ambled dangerously close to the cliff's edge, she peered down to the jagged rocks below. There was a cave where the sea had bored it's way into the cliff face. Ulrika found that interesting and thought she would explore.

She had sat herself on the cliff's edge about to descend the rock when she noises something stirring in the frothy tidal waters. It revealed itself to be a Thunderdrum! Ulrika froze, a grin on her face. Unfortuneately, the beast had noticed her too. It began circling the waters below, before gaping its huge jaws.

Ulrika began to scale slowly down the cliff. That was when the Thunderdrum did what it was known for.

It let out a terrible, terrible scream, that reverberated the air, sea and rocks around it. Suddenly Ulrika lost her grip - she had held onto a loose clump of clay! She made a small yelp of shock as she began slipping down at an alarming rate - the Thunderdrum had planned this! Scrambling for a foothold, her fingers found a small hole that the salty sea air had eroded, her fingers locking in and stopping her from falling further.

Annoyed, the Thunderdrum bellowed out once more, trying to dislodge her again. Ears ringing, Ulrika scrambled up the cliff face as if it was natural. She always had to climb up to get to her favourite spot - this was no different.

Heaving herself back onto solid Earth, she twisted herself and lay on her back, panting, her heart racing and her ears almost deafened. Her legs dangled off the edge, taunting the dragon below, who had lost it's prey. It's cries of disappointment could be heard below.

Suddenly, her eyes flashed open. Her hand instinctively reached for her belt. Feeling around, she let out a sigh.

"Drat. Kenna's going to kill me."

Ulrika had lost the knife.

[Grima, Stahl & Flint]

Grima slammed the door behind him and strode away from his family’s house. He’d had another row with his parents and as always he had to leave the house, even though he wasn’t in the wrong. The just wanted this perfect child, something he could never be.

He wondered for a time, trying to keep himself calm, not rage, not cry. He finally stopped walking when he was on the cliff tops not far from where Ulrika was being stupid. A lot of him wanted to be with his dragon, the same amount of him despratly wanted not to be seen by her. He wanted the comfort and understanding he could get from Flint...he didn’t want to see Stahl.

He so wished that he was able to see one without the other...or at least that Stahl might...might accept him as a friend, rather than just a just a pathetic freeloader whose only useful because of his opposable thumbs. Though he didn’t consciously think it, he saw so much of his parents in Stahl and they both evoked in him a longing to belong...to be wanted.

He snapped out of his internal depression when he heard the screech. He looked in the direction of where it came from, A Thunderdrum’s attacking someone! he ran along the Cliffside until he came to the edge where he saw someone climbing up and collapsing. He smiled, Why am I not surprised. he thought to himself as he quietly walked up to the prone.

She then went for her belt and sighed, “Drat. Kenna's going to kill me.”[/color]

“Aww,” he said in a slightly mean tone, ruffling her hair, “You lost your knife again did you?”

He was in a bad mood, and when he was in a bad mood he’d usually do one thing if he could to perk him up again. Pick on Ulrika.

[nightrode]

Flying with the ocean breeze, the wild dragon had his wings spanned widely, allowing the warm currents to carry him as his head hung low, peering into the dark sea. He was hunting again, his hungry stomach already telling him to hurry up. Simply due to the nature of his race, he didn't have to eat often... but he'd better once the hunger arrives. Seeing a potential prey, Nightrode slowly lowered his front claws, ready to strike in with his maw and feet.

His concentration got abruptly broken as he heard the terrifying scream of a Thunderdrum! His eyes shooting to slits as he stared forwards, he saw the helpless girl and the gigantic dragon, trying to eat her. It was too dangerous to interfere, and he was too far away to get there in time. Besides, it was the circle of life, right? With a weakly relieved sigh he watched her from a far distance climb back up, saving herself. Growing bored of the scene, he stared back into the water...

To see the fish having escaped. Well, damn.

With a disapproving scowl, the slim dragon beat his wings again, slowly ascending away from the water. He was too tired from the hunting for now, he had to give these barking dogs a rest.

His tail hit the cliffside at the top as he ascended over the rock, causing a loud noise and some rocks to crumble. He had been too hasty to make it to the top, but he was clearly exhausted from the hours of flying above the ocean, WITHOUT a lunch. Completely ignoring the two humans, regarding them as completely harmless and not worthy to pay attention to, Nightrode landed quite a distance away from them, although in sight. Holding his maw open to gasp, the serpent slowly laid down on the ground, letting the few sunrays warm his body.

Although he kept one eye carefully open in case the humans would get curious.

[Ulrika]

A shadow drew over Ulrika, blocking the sun's rays. She scowled. She'd recognise that silhouette anywhere. Grima taunted her, crouching down to ruffle her hair, releasing golden strands bound by the hairbands.

"That's none..." She started, one hand darting to stop the hair-messing, holding Grima's wrist firmly away from her. The other hand instinctively threw itself upwards, the tightly held fist rocketing into Grima's lower jaw. Instant violence was always Ulrika's reaction to badmouthing either herself, her family or her homeland, Berk itself. "None of your business." She finished, gritting her teeth. This was going to get messy.

She was in a terribly feeble position - she was laying on her back, her legs dangling off the edge of the cliff by her knees. Grima, on the other hand, was above her, somewhat stronger and also had the advantage of smarts.

Suddenly a loud noise was heard, but not from the Thunderdrum. It was followed by the sound of crumbling rocks. Ulrika became alarmed, afraid the cliff was about to collapse, not realising it was further away. Her hand let go of Grima's wrist, scrabbling for the static earth beneath her. Realising she had misjudged the sound, her eyes furrowed, now that Grima had both arms free. She quickly scooted herself backwards, gaining at least one foot on the terrain.

She was not going to lose this time. She rolled away from underneath Grima, springing to her feet. Gaining her footing, foreign hands grabbed her furcoat, flinging her away from the cliff's edge. She staggered from the force, her sense of balance keeping her from toppling.

"I didn't like your tone!" She reasoned, "You were totally putting me down!"Twisting around, she charged at him. but he easily dodged her brash attack, holding onto her and giving her a nasty thump in the back. "You're lucky I left my knife... back home..." She lied,

“Right, left at home. What is that now? The third you’ve lost now?”

Ulrika swore, whipping back around, one hand reaching the spot that Grima had reached. She glared at Grima. "I didn't lose it! I know exactly where it is!" She darted forwards, feigning an attack towards the left, but coming with a suprise attack to his right, her fist finding his chest.

Unfortuneately Grima's fist also found Ulrika's stomach. She instantly doubled over, winded. The Viking-In-Training verified the knife's location, as she gasped for air. This argument wouldn't get her anywhere.

"Yeah," She started, gasping again. "And I saw you lose that deer the other day! Such an easy target!" She knew that her own hunting skills exceeded his, so if Grima was going to pick on her weaknesses, she was justified in doing the same.

She watched Grima, hoping to be ready for whatever he would thorw at her next. He grabbed her hair, and yanking it, making her seethe from the pain. Desperate, her hands came scrabbling at his arms to let go, all whilst her feet began to kick at his shins.

It worked! Grima lost his footing, falling to the floor. There was no time to lose! Ulrika jumped onto Grima's back, about to throw a final winning punch, when a flash of purple in the corner of her eye made her look up. It was another dragon! And it was pretty nearby too. Ulrika began to think of taming it after defeating Grima...

Unfortunately this distraction cost Ulrika dearly. Grima managed to throw off the girl and punch her in the stomach again. The pain was too much, she didn't notice that Grima had spat in her face at first. She writhed on the ground, desperately needing a breath of air.

Ulrika had lost. And the dragon had surely seen this failure. It would never want to be tamed by her now!

[Grima, Stahl & Flint]

(I shall do the actions between the two; you can put in where within the actions she responded, though I’m assuming that the ICBox was roughly right, though I’m slightly moding what Grima said)

He Jumped slightly when she grabbed him so quickly, to quickly for him to react to the push sent at him. He staggered back slightly, then grabbed the girl and threw her away from the edge, knowing fighting there was a bad idea for both of them.

“Don’t worry about what’s happening around you,” He muttered, wiping the single trickle of blood from his mouth caused by that first punch, “ and there was no need to react like that straight away.”

Ulrika charged at him, he just dodged, turned, grabbed her and punched her in the back of her shoulder. He laughed at her comment, “Right, left at home. What is that now? The third you’ve lost now?”

She rushed at him, swinging at him. He easily dodged it, not realising it was a feint until it was too late. He staggers slightly before punching her in the stomach, causing her to bend over and gasp in pain, “Yeah, in the sea!”

He laughed at her comment about his failure a few days ago, it was true, but a stupid shot, “You’re one to talk about easy fails, Should I mention yesterday? Or last week?” While he probably made as many mistakes as Ulrika, he did it all at night time so no one knew he was doing anything so no one knew.

He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back again. She growled as he did that and kicked him in the shin, making him lose his footing and fall flat on his face. He swore as Ulrika moved over him and went to do the final strike...He’d lost...

But he hadn’t, Grima realised she’d gotten distracted and used it as his chance. He pushed her to the ground as he got back up and punched her hard in the stomach again. He spat some of the blood he now got in his mouth on her for good measure before getting up and walking over to something to lean on. He’d won this time...but only just.

[nightrode]

Slowly stopping to pant heavily, Nightrode could finally concentrate on the grunting, screeching and talking that was happening nearby. With his open eye focused on the two children, he watched them curiously wrestle. How strange. What reason would these two have to bicker? Although he attempted to listen to what they were saying, his understanding of the human language is more limited then he had hoped. For a moment he toyed with the thought to interfere - afterall, they couldn't say no if a DRAGON went there to ease the tension - but the fight was too quickly over for him to finish his thoughts. With the girl lieing on the ground, and the boy resting himself, Nightrode got lightly worried if the poor, fragile and frankly cute thing was hurt. Lifting his slim body up, although still tired, the serpent turned his head towards them in a curious manner. With his fangs retreated into his maw, and with his eyes deluded (for his standards) Nightrode tried his best not to look threatening. Afterall, he wanted to check if either of them were alright, then just go away and rest again. Keeping his wings close to his body, and lowering his head halfway, although not enough to be touched, the dragon did a few steps towards them and waited their reaction. Would they react scared on his approach, or even threatening? No matter how small humans are, they usually held weapons that could severly injure a dragon, so he kept his distance.

[Ulrika]

Ulrika rolled on the floor in a foetal position, arms wrapped around where Grima had struck her somewhat forcefully.She was desperate for a breath of air. She had lost! Damn it! the young Viking girl wasn't at all happy about it either.

Flitting her eyes open, she noticed the purple serpentine dragon, a lot closer than before. It was as if it was curious. Ulrika rolled onto all fours, still gasping for air.

"You..." She started. "You made ME LOSE!" She spluttered, ending in a shout. The deafening effects of the Thunderdrum had made her not able to hear normally, including her own voice. Shouting didn't help recuperate her respiration either.

"I ... HAD ALMOST... WON HAD I... NOT SEEN YOU!" She spluttered at the dragon. The Viking-In-Training was now kneeling slightly, one arm still around her belly, the other pointing at the dragon accusingly.

Something struck Ulrika - she remembered she was never good with dragons, and she had better get ready to run, winded or not. She staggered to her feet, staring at the beast. Still struggling to breath normally, she began to take a few steps back to retreat... Just in case.

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OOC: I don't know whether Nighty's actually going to chase Ulrika or not so for now Ulrika's just 'preparing' herself :3 Sorry it's short

[Grima, Stahl & Flint]

Grima turned when she started shouting. There was a dragon! A dragon! He’d won because of that dragon. He felt annoyed himself, his victory was hollow now. He would have lost but for this thing turning up and destracting her. His only solace was that, even though he hadn’t won, neither had she.

Grima’s mind then realised the problem. She was shouting at the dragon, shouting straight after he’d just winded her. And she was shouting at a dragon! As she started to splutter he started to walk forwards slightly and said in dragonese.

“I’m sorry for Ulrika’s rash words. She’s always been fascinated by dragons and has always wanted to train one. She normally fails, due to her saying something stupid, so she gets excited when she gets a new chance. It meant that when she saw you she got distracted meaning I beat her in the fight. If she offended you in anyway way and I hope she has not angered you.”[/i]

While he didn’t like Ulrika, he knew that he couldn’t let her inadvertently kill herself while she was still recovering from their fight…it would be his fault if she dies. And subconsciously he couldn’t go with that.

(Yes, I know, Grima trying to save her. It’s what he would have done in the context, even if it does mean that the chase probably won’t happen yet…though hopefully Ulrika will mess up again, which will get things back in gear )

[nightrode]

As the girl slowly recovered, he heard her suddenly shouting! Intensely loud aswell! His sensitive ears rang as the young viking yelled as hard as she could, making him take a whole step back in absolute surprise. What was her problem? As she yelled, and pointed towards him, Nightrode actually realised that HE was meant. Afterall, his understanding of the human language was scarce. His expression immediately turned like the tide, making him growl and go into a more aggressive position. His eyes already turned to slits before he heard the boy speak up, actually in a language he FULLY understood. Stopping to growl just to listen to his relatively quiet voice, the serpent slowly calmed down, although still felt highly aggravated.

"So, you two breakfast's were stuck in a fight? And she called me out, blaming me for her loss? The nerve! I don't care that she gets all excited over a dragon! We aren't PETS, you know? She's a clear EMBARRASSMENT to your race! But no matter..." The dragon angrily vented, giving his voice volume, not trying to hide his aggression.

Shifting his view to the girl once more, he gave her a huff of hot air through his nos trills, before slowly allowing his eyes to delude and his body position to relax. The nerve. The way she was acting, it was NO WONDER that no dragon dared going near her... or willing to pay their trust to her.

And Night rode was one of those dragons.

"Go ahead. Continue that USELESS bicker you two are having. Maybe you'll attract a hungry dragon that'd looooove to bind with you!... You as its food, that is. You're fortunate enough that I don't eat human."

With his stomach growling, he got reminded what he tried to do just previously. He hadn't gotten enough rest yet to hunt, causing him to grimace. Taking a few steps backwards, the slim dragon laid down, giving them no real attention anymore.

Afterall, he was sure that the girl had learned her lesson, and that the boy would not provoke anything anymore.

[Ulrika]

Ulrika was ready to turn on her heels and sprint for her life, as she always did, before Grima stepped in, speaking some sort of gobbledygook. At first she raised an eyebrow, before realising he was speaking Dragonese. Of course! It wasn't the first time he'd used the language of the dragons in front of her. In fact, he often used it against her.

This wasn't good. Ulrika didn't understand Dragonese. For all she knew, and seeing the dragon's reaction to Grima's words, he was egging the dragon on.

The beast looked at Ulrika, huffing angrily. The girl tensed, unsure what to do. She was the only one out of the circle, due to the language barrier. She didn't know what was going on, and it was unlikely that Grima would translate for her.

It almost looked as if Grima had stopped the dragon from making any sort of violent action, to either of them. Ulrika frowned.

"YOU KNOW I WAS TOTALLY FINE. IT'S NOT THE FIRST TIME I BEEN CHASED BY DRAGONS." She bellowed, before being harshly told by Grima to keep her voice down. "I'M TALKING FINE, IT'S YOU WHO'S MUMBLING AND WHISPERING!" She didn't realise that the Thunderdrum had deafened her.

She looked at the Dragon, that was now taking steps away, obviously wanting to be left alone. Ulrika wasn't going to let up an opportunity to train a dragon.

"YOU ALREADY HAVE A DRAGON, YOU DIDN'T NEED TO HALF TAME THIS ONE TOO." She said, bravely advancing forwards, though slightly cautious. She had never seen this type of dragon before. It laid itself on the grass. That tended to be a good sign.

She approached further, though aware she might actually have to run away for real this time. "HELLO DRAGON!" She greeted. "YOU LOOK SO AWESOME AND STUFF."

[Grima, Stahl & Flint]

Grima gulped as the dragon made the point about how they should be glad he wasn’t a human eater. Grima really was right now. Cause he knew the two of them would be in big trouble by looking at him.

Then Ulrika started shouting at him. “Quiet, please!” why was she shouting like the? he thought to himself. She didn’t seem to realise she was. “Listen, I just stoped that dragon from attacking us because of your stupid outburst,” he started, but before he finished she shouted at him for ‘taming’ this dragon. Something he defiantly hadn’t done.

She started walking towards the dragon, “No you idiot girl!” Grima shouted at her, “You’re going to get us both killed!” But he knew it was too late for stopping her and he watched in fear as she started shouting at the dragon, wondering if he should run now or run with Ulrika when she decided to.

He knew the girl would be able to get away…but could she? He doubted that she’d recovered yet from the fight yet, he hadn’t fully and he hadn’t been as hurt as she had been. As much as he hated the thought he knew he had to keep an eye on her…it was him that put her in her current state.