[Jokul] It's Too Late To Apologize

[Fern & Nima]

Time and Date:: December 29th - Shortly after 2 pm
 Weather:: Snow everywhere, blizzard brewing with rain starting to fall
 Previous Threads?:: Good Impressions Are Never Easy To Make

CURRENT IC SEASON - DEVASTATING WINTER

Running; it was all that went through one girls mind as she darted through the forest. Bounding over trees and slapping branches out of her way as she ran blindly through the forest. Running far, far away, as fast as possible.Halfway through she fell over a root sticking out from the ground, causing her to fall and scrape up her knees and hands. Mud covering her now, she found the weather intensifying. A blizzard was brewing, and rain was mixed in. She found herself getting to her feet, running as the rain came down on her, drenching her clothes, the snow causing her clothes to freeze to her body, icicles quick to form in her hair. She came to her house and went inside, her parents taken aback by how grungy she looked.

They tried to speak to her but with a sob she ran up to her room, slamming herself on her bed and curling up in a ball as she brought the blanket over her head. Sniffling, she let the tears come as her shoulders shook, the blood fresh on her hands; not that she cared, really, but the pain did serve as a distraction from her emotional state. She carefully wrapped the blankets ends around her hands, tucking the lower part around her legs. Blood stained it rather quickly, her blanket all muddy. She sniffled, coughing lightly.

She knew she needed to warm up, and started a candle by her bed side, using an old rag to clean off the mud from her legs, desperately trying to get the mud and blood off of her clothes. This was one of her favorite outfits, after all.

[Jokul & Starkad]

"Dragon dung!" Jokul lost count of how many times he lost his footing in the snow. He probably looked stupid as Hel, stumbling about, already covered in mud, chasing the only thing he could see.

Despite her 'unhappy colors', Starkad's scales still stuck out like a sore thumb next to the mostly white and brown blurs in his vision. The teen could only hope she was still following Fern and not going home to find Shade. "Come on, come on!" He prayed under his breath.

Up ahead, Starkad kept her head low to the ground to avoid any other emotional torment. The only reason she didn't go home was because she'd honed in on Fern's signal, which was emanating sadness at the moment. The Red Girl might've been aggressive not more than five minutes ago, but the hobblegrunt would take depression next to hostility any day.

Coming up on the girl's house, Starkad made a mad dash for the door. Seeing it shut didn't deter her either. Instead, she nosed her way in without any second thoughts. Once inside, and after her eyes adjusted to the darker setting, she desperately swung her head around looking for Fern. Pitiful mewls came from her when she failed to spot the girl.

When an abrupt, small sob came from upstairs, Starkad bolted from her spot. Completely ignoring the two other vikings in the room, she scrambled up stairs. Again, the little dragon sniffed around for the Red Girl. Luckily, it didn't take her long once she allowed her frill to extend.

Her claws clicked on the wood below them as she entered Fern's room. At first, she didn't see anything amiss, but the faint smell of blood told her otherwise. Without another word, Starkad clambered up next to the teen and curled around her.

Back downstairs, Jokul had only just made it to the front door. Without having his dragon nearby, he could barely see anything inside. And with no bright colors to follow, he did some guess work. Disregarding Brutus, who he saw standing off the side, the teen stumbled around what looked like a chair, and a small table.

Momentarily forgetting where he was, his foot caught on the first step. For every step after the first, he hesitated. Usually, this was the part where Starkad helped him, but on his own, this was a lot harder than he thought'd be. A lot of the steps were misaligned, and some jutted out above the ones below it.

A sniffle from the second floor caught his attention. At this point, he didn't care if he looked stupid to Brutus. Resorting to basically crawling on all fours, he grabbed the higher stairs with his hands. Even with the precaution, he still had a few missteps here and there, which ended up with him having to stop and retake whatever step he'd missed.

Just when he thought he was clear of the stairs, he was propelled forward. His forearms took the brunt of the landing, but he still groaned out a low, "Ow." He didn't have to see to know his arms were probably scratched up by the wood.

Another sobbed hiccup reached his ears, urging him to continue. Ignoring the dull throb of pain that got sent up his arm when he pushed himself up, he staggered to where he remembered Fern's room was.

With what little light there was in the room, Jokul navigated towards her bed, where he finally saw her curled up into an upright fetal postion. Upon hearing her rider's footsteps, Starkad shifted to Fern's other side, allowing Jokul to sit beside the girl.

Hesitantly, he hovered his hand over her other shoulder, wondering if he should ask permission. His resolve crumbled when Starkad wrapped her tail around Fern's waist. Between Jokul and the hobblegrunt, they pretty much sandwiched the girl.

There wasn't much the teen could think to do. He wasn't one to go around and comfort crying people... nevermind girls.

"Was it something I-I did?"

[Fern & Nima]

The moment Fern burst through the door, Brutus and Olivia knew something was wrong. Her usual happy demeanor was anything but; furthermore, when a dragon nudged open the door it made them exchange glances; even in the dark they recognized the tiny dragon as Starkard. Before they could say anything, the dragon had clambered up the stairs. The couple went to follow but before they got far another figure burst through the doorway, scrambling to the stairwell. Brutus shielded his wife from the clumsiness that was Jokul, for he knew she was pregnant and couldn't be bumped into. Thus he guided her to a chair and soothed her, watching as the boy who was courting his daughter went up the stairs. In the back of his mind he was ready to break the boys neck should he have broken his daughters heart, but he couldn't let his emotions be seen to his wife, who simply shook her head.

Meanwhile Fern was upstairs, whimpering in a ball of tears before she felt a slight nudge; she hadn't even heard the little dragon come up the stairs, and as she wrapped herself around her she tried to grab the dragon in an attempt to hold her like a child would hold a precious toy. It was only when she heard footsteps that she buried her nose deeper in her pillow, whimpering and sniffling. Even the crashes that followed weren't enough to get her to look up, that is until she heard his voice.

It was enough to break her heart; even the shattered pieces that remained shattered once more. She squeezed the little dragon, burying her face in her scales, "Don't act like you don't know!" She managed; she didn't know what made her react this way, but in her emotions she hardly felt like talking like a civil person.

"You.. and her..." She said, holding back a sob. "How long did you think you could keep it from me? And her... all over you like.. like some dragon in heat!"

A sob shook her and she buried her head in the pillow, pulling the blanket over her. She curled up in the fetal position. "Go on.. Go be with your new girlfriend... I'll be alright. She's prettier anyway." She bit her lip beneath the covers, "Like a prettier, fancier, one up version of me.."

[Jokul & Starkad]

Starkad didn't even begin to protest at Fern's death-hold. She even returned the favor and coiled her body more tightly around the girl. The poor little dragon merely shut her eyes tight and could only hope that everything would be okay after all this.

"Don't act like you don't know!"

Jokul's hand flinched away from her shoulder at her outburst. Unable to say anything, he just listened as she continued. "But I wasn't-!" He was cut short when he noticed she'd retreated under the blanket.

"Go on... Go be with your new girlfriend... I'll be alright. She's prettier anyway."

Wait, what? He couldn't see how Fern could've possibly come to that conclusion. Before he could retort back, she tacked on one more statement. One that, in his mind, wasn't true at all.

Starkad's head popped up at the new wave of emotion coming from him. Frustration. Not liking where this was going, the dragon shifted and got ready to bolt, if need be.

"Like a prettier, fancier, one up version of me..."

"Shut up!" He growled before he could think of anything else. "You can say anything you want about me, and how stupid I am, but the moment you start thinking there's someone better than you, you're wrong."

Confusion only heightened his anger. From his point of view, nothing of this situation made any sense. So he kept spewing whatever nonsense he could to get her to understand his side of the story. "You have absolutely zero reason to get all..." He had to rack his thoughts to come up with a word. "...get jealous over someone who wouldn't stand a chance!"

"Need I remind you, I can't exactly judge based on appearance. It would take a lot more than a look-a-like for me to even think about-" He stopped himself and tried not to let his irritation get to him. Jokul could only pray the girl's parents hadn't heard him.

Without unwrapping her tail from around Fern, Starkad wedged herself between the two teens, whining and nudging them as a quiet plea to make them stop yelling.

[Fern & Nima]

Hiding underneath the blankets, Fern tried to hide the sobs that threated to escape her. Even though it was a silly concept, she didn't want Jokul to see her cry, or realize how much pain she was in; rather she didn't want him to realize the pain he had put her in. Silence fell between them; she had snapped at him. Snapped at him with hardly any reason, or so it seemed. To her there were plenty of reasons, but none good enough to use that tone with him. None could justify hurting her only love like that.

She didn't know what to think, honestly. What had she expected, that he would come over and comfort her? Perhaps in her broken state of mind she had hoped for that; longed for him to come over, wrap his arms around her, and tell her everything was okay... but somehow she didn't know how to ask him to. Instead, her words had been harsh, her tears unrelenting.

After a long moment of silence she mumbled for him to go away, expressing her jealousy of the other girl; but halfway through a harsh word, words he had never spoken to her and never in such a tone... escaped, or rather screamed, from Jokul's lips.

One thing that made her sit up though, was not his tone of voice, but the words he said. The way he spoke to her, the anger in his voice, made her choke up as she tried to stifle her tears. "Jokul..." She reached out a hand, stopping just short of touching his cheek, "I-I'm sorry..." And at long last, she could stifle her tears no more, as she sprung forward, her arms wrapping around him as she buried her face in his neck. She couldn't stop the tears, choking up as she whispered, "I'm so sorry..."

[Jokul & Starkad]

Starkad winced internally just as Fern did. Though Jokul wasn't yelling at her, the dragon felt every emotion she could have had like he was. Every verbal blow he gave, she felt herself. "S-stop."

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Jokul tried to calm himself down. After his outburst, he realized it might've only made the situation worse. She was already feeling bad, and having him go in and get mad at her... probably wasn't the best choice.

"Jokul...I-I'm sorry..."

At first, he thought it was Starkad, but when he spotted a hand reaching out, he did a double-take. A moment of silence passed, before he was suddenly engulfed in a hug. The teen had to readjust himself in order to return the embrace, and when he did, a small reptilian squeak came from between them. The movement had forced the small dragon to move away.

"I'm so sorry..."

Whether she apologizing for her own behavior, or pitying him, he didn't care. He rubbed circles on her back, murmuring softly back to her, "Me too." He still couldn't quite grasp what had happened, but he could ask after.

"Just... don't talk about yourself like that." He tightened his hold on her, hiding his face in her red curls. "You're better than that." After another breath, he added, "I wouldn't have said yes to being your boyfriend if I thought otherwise."

[Fern & Nima]

Fern buried her head in his neck, not even noticing Starkard as she scrambled to get out of the way. Blinded by her own tears and emotions, she wrapped her ams tightly around Jokul, the tears overpowering her. She heard his soft murmer of, "Me too," and sniffled a bit. "No, no I am... You didn't deserve that... I.. I should have known-... I should have known you'd n-never do that..."

"I doubted you, accused you of doing something horrible without even taking time to see if it were true..." It took a few sharp inhales to get her breathing regulated and soon her sobs turned to sniffles. All the while the tears shook her, until she felt a hand rub her back. Jokul's touch was welcome, it helped soothe her. Jokul's hand rubbing her back soothed her beyond belief. With his tender touch she couldn't bring herself to cry a single tear more.

She finally steadied herself, realizing Jokul's face was in her neck, as was hers in his. She wiped her tears, her arms still around Jokul. At his next words she nodded, "'I know..." She whispered sadly, quietly. "It's just... hard to believe it myself sometimes."

Sniffling, she wiped her nose on her sleeve and managed a small laugh at his next words, 'I'm surprised you even said yes. I can be quite the handful. Then again..." She pulled back, holding him at arms length, "I did put up quite the chase to get you. I wouldn't dare let you go so easily." She said, smirking until laughter came from her. "By Thor, I still can't believe we are together," The next words were a secret long held, one she had never told Jokul, "I always liked you, but I never dreamed of being your girl!"

[Jokul & Starkad]

"...I should have known you'd n-never do that..."

What? Go behind your back and cuddle up to any old red head? No way I'd risk that. He thought to himself. "I'm already lucky enough as is..." Sure, he was referring to relationship, but behind that, he meant it as a whole. Surviving the accident with as little injury as he did, was lucky enough. Jokul recalled the momentary blindness he'd suffered the days following. Though, that was due to the bandages that had been placed there, and luckily not his own eyesight.

He tightened his hold when he remembered how hard those few days were. "...I don't want to go and mess everything up." The teen's eyes may have begun getting wet, but he refused to let the tears fall. It helped when Fern started to calm in his hold.

"It's just... hard to believe it myself sometimes."

Instead of agreeing verbally, he just pressed his face further into the side of her neck, hoping it would calm her even more. Despite her sniffles, her demeanor changed for the better.

Starkad seemed to notice as well, because she'd begun encircling the two vikings. Her tail just barely completing the circle by the time she started settling down. Somehow, she'd even managed to nose her snout onto Jokul's lap after Fern separated them a bit.

"I think I can handle it. Starkad's a bigger burden than you by a long shot. I'm just happy we've gotten this far without a full out disaster."

"By Thor, I still can't believe we are together."

For some reason or another, Jokul found the use of the term 'we' more heartwarming than he thought possible. Better get used to it. He told himself. It's not like you're breaking up with her anytime soon. To hide a possible blush, the teen tipped his chin down, allowing his hair to cover his eyes.

"I always liked you, but I never would have dreamed of being your girl!"

Wait-what?! He snapped his head back up. Always?... Even, before this all happened? Wow, Jokul, way to be oblivious. Pushing aside his thoughts on how he'd missed the signs, he focused on responding to her confession. "My girl, huh? I'm still getting used to that."

With a small smile, he lifted a hand to tilt her chin up. Not only to get her to look at him, but to help guide him as he leaned closer. It'd be the first kiss he initiated, but Odin, was it worth the wait.

[Fern & Nima]

Fern was slowly easing out of the tears, and although she was calming down she could feel Jokul clenching her tighter, and could have sworn her neck was damp now. Was he... Was he crying? It took her a moment, but she realized she had never witnessed Jokul crying before. Instinctively, a hand went to massage his shoulder blade, as she kissed his neck gently. As she admitted it was hard to believe in herself, she felt him bury his face in her neck. She wrapped her arms more tightly around him, melting into his embrace.

At his remark about Starkard, she managed a small laugh. "Well, with all do respect Starkard is a little much for anyone to handle... but completely lovable." She said softly, her eyes drifting to the tiny dragon sitting on his lap. Then she closed her eyes, savoring the moment. Before the words left her lips, the words she had long since kept to herself, that she had secretly liked Jokul this whole time. That she had crushed on him, liked him, long before he had a clue who she was.

Just then she noticed his head snapped up, and she looked down, fidgiting a moment. She had just made a big reveal, and wasn't sure how he would take it. Yet at his words she pulled back just enough to look him in the eyes as he tilted her head up to meet his, her hand going to his cheek. Just then, he leaned in. And she did, too.

Her lips met his in an explosion of emotions as her eyes fell shut. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her hands venturing to his chest. A sudden desire was blossoming inside her, one she couldn't hold back easily. She wondered if he felt it, too.