Trappers, Poachers & Missing Dragons? Oh My! [Ren/Fern]

[Jokul & Starkad]

Time and Date: February 2nd (I can easily change if needed)
Weather: Uneventful; dull; cloudy
Previous Threads: None

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"Starkad!" Jokul yelled into the forest. "We have some extra slimy fish with your name on it!"

He only found it a little peculiar that the little hobblegrunt didn't come running. Sighing into his hands, he stuck his head in the kitchen window where his mother was watching him. "Mom, I have to borrow Shade for a bit."

She waved him off. "Take all the time you need. I don't need you to do much today anyway. Just be sure to find her and keep her out of trouble, okay?"

Nodding in agreement, the boy pushed himself off the windowsill and spun around to find Shade already there. The hobblegrunt's feet shifted back to back restlessly, and her normal blue and purple scales were darker than usual. Jokul assumed it was because the dragon had been cooped up inside for the last few days. But Shade had an ominous feeling about today. Starkad might be one to get lost, but for her to venture out at night was unusual.

"Let's go find that pest." The viking grumbled. Because of her, I had to cancel my date with Fern. You didn't really need to be a hobblegrunt to almost see the aura of disdain radiating off of the teen. She'd better hope we find her quick. Otherwise I lock her out of my room tonight.

Following Shade wasn't that much harder than Starkad, since her size made up for her darker colors. That, and every step she took resulted in a 'thud' or a 'crack' from a broken stick.

"We're close, but I don't see her anywhere, Jokul." The slight whimper behind the dragon's voice set the teen on edge. The older hobblegrunt made it clear she was worried when her scales shifted to a pale teal.

"I'm sure she's just stuck somewhere in a tree or something. You know how much Stark likes to climb." He tried to reassure the reptile, but her colors remained the same. Before he could add more, Shade's frill popped open, signaling him that she'd found something.

"She was here. And not long ago, either." She rummaged through the undergrowth with her nose to get a better scent. "There were others too. Dragons and humans." Jokul put a hand on the hobblegrunt's shoulder, waiting in silence as she continued searching.

The dragon stood stock still when her nose came in contact with a metallic object. "Shade? What is it?"

"I'm not sure yet."

The boy craned his head over to try and catch a glimpse of whatever she'd found. He saw the silver and dark gray of metal, but he couldn't tell exactly what it was. Once the whole object was uncovered, he knelt down to inspect it, unaware that Shade had already figured it out.

"Can you tell what it-" He stopped short when he turned to find a bright blue and green blur. "Shade? What's wrong?"

The dragon's breathing sped up, eventually becoming whimpers and whines. "Shade!?" Without warning, the hobblegrunt began smelling the ground again, and took off further into the forest. "SHADE! Wait!" He barely even managed to follow her. The only reason he didn't lose her was because her colors stuck out like a sore thumb.

When he finally caught up to her at a sandy beach, he was surprised to see her wings spread and ready to take flight. "Hold on! What are you doing!?"

"It was a trap! My baby was in a dragon trap, and now she's been taken by some... some poachers!" She hissed at him, snapping her wings open again. The only thing Jokul had time to do before she took to the skies was gasp. She didn't even give him time to try and stop her.

The only thing after that that he can remember was imagining all the worst possible situations Starkad could be in. What has that little spitfire gotten herself into? Much like Shade's reaction, he found himself unable to control his breathing. So many emotions were running through him at lighting speed. He couldn't even decipher anger from disbelief.

Shade's going to need help. There was no way one hobblegrunt would be able to take down Odin knows how many poachers.

He ran as fast as he could back to Berk, ignoring every stumble he took until he got there. It was only once he got into town when he realized he didn't know who to go to for help. Without Shade, his mother wouldn't be able to go after them, and neither would his father.

He ended up navigating to the main square and wheezing out a "Help."

No one seemed to notice, so he yelled more loudly, "Someone! Help!" When he was sure people had turned to pay attention he added, "I-I need to find Starkad! She's gone! She was... t-taken." Looking around wildly, he tried to find at least one person who understood. "By dragon trappers! Please! Anybody!"

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[OOC - I have no idea if this is actually a good setup. I WAS going to keep Shade by Jokul, but then I realized she probably wouldn't sit by idly while she knew Starkad was in danger] 

[Ren Vikarson]

The path back to Berk was getting easier to remember. Trying to furnish even a small home by yourself meant a few trips back and forth and now it was finally finished he could start working again. Hefting a thick load of tanned hide and antlers over his shoulder Ren continued to hike up the trail back to the village, after the help Kenna had given him fixing up his home he figured dropping off the leather would be a good way to thank her as well as show his skills as a tanner.

Living on Berk still felt a little weird, all the grass and thick forest opposed to the rocky outcrops and barrens of Outcast Island. Even the people seemed to contrast, Berkians seemed laxer and acted with less purpose. Outcasts probably seemed determined and single minded by contrast but it was what he was use to. Weirdly it was not being the laziest and least motivated of vikings that made things feel strange at first, back home Ren had always been the lazy one but here he seemed almost active.  

As he finally reached the edge of the village the outcast smirked to himself, now he just had to drop the load off and then he could relax for the rest of the day, something he'd been starting to need between the tiring work of building his own home and starting to hunt again. Breaking out of his half sleeping state as someone rushed into the square shouting Ren groaned a little still too tired to handle all the noise. "Hey kid, calm down." Taking a second to roll his head and try to wake himself up Ren set his bundle down and folded his arms. "Alright. Try making a little more sense this time." Stifling a yawn Ren leaned back against one of the oversized torches Berk used to illuminate night attacks. Whatever was wrong it had to be at least a little important for someone to be running around shouting about it.

[Fern & Nima]

It was a peaceful morning; peaceful, that is, until Nima throwing tail spikes at the wall abruptly awoke Fern. "For Thor's sake, Nima!" Fern half screamed, but then saw the look in her dragons eyes. She quickly arose and stroked her dragons chin to calm her. "Sssh, sssh..."

After a moment Nima quieted, but Fern couldn't help but notice that the morning seemed oddly... quiet... She just didn't know why yet. Nima looked around quickly, sniffing the air and ground rapidly. "Nima, what is it?" Fern questioned, but she needn't wonder for long... For moments later she heard a frantic voice and saw Jokul running around trying to get... help?

Her heart lurched into her throat as she bolted into a run, straight for Jokul. Nima followed her, "Fern- poachers-" Nima sqwauked. Fern stopped dead in her tracks. Jokul was saying something about Starkard... and it did seem quiet...

"Oh no..."

"Jokul!" She ran over to him, attempting to embrace him. "W-What happened?" She stuttered, yet at his frantic tone she realized he hadn't a clue. She looked to Ren. "Listen to him, would ya!" She turned to Jokul. "Alright, breathe, breathe... what happened Jokul? Where's Starkard?" She inhaled sharply as Nima growled, "Poachers.." She could only hope to Thor that Nima was wrong.

[Jokul & Starkad]

Jokul barely even registered who had responded to his plea for help. All he thought about was how relieved he was that someone actually heard him. "Help." The boy squeaked out again.

"Jokul!" Her voice at least made him look up, but he couldn't find it in him to actually react when the red-head held his shoulders. He clutched his head desperately in an attempt to calm himself down. It failed when Nima's growl reached his ears. Instead, he tried to force out as much information as he could before his voice went too hoarse.

"I-I... Stark is... she was in a trap. S-Shade went after them and I couldn't go with her and n-now she's probably going to get caught and it's all going to be my f-fault because I couldn't stop her and-" He was brought to a halt when his vision started blacking out around the edges.

But he refused to stop there. "I can't-" Another gasp of air. "-let anything happen to them!" Once again, he had to stop when all the heavy breathing finally caught up to him. With his throat so dry, he couldn't speak without hurting himself.

The teen had to lean against the girl next to him to keep from losing mind (well... more than he had already). "Please." The rasp in his voice was so bad, it wasn't hard to imagine it coming from an elderly sick man.

[Ren Vikarson]

The viking didn't seem like he was going to make any better sense than that, but it seemed like it was going to have to do. Dropping the bundle Ren drew his fingers over his brow, it was a little exacerbating trying to make any sense of this and the kid didn't seem any closer to calming down but poachers was at least something to go on. "Alright, so poachers. If they're out catching dragons then they'd need a ship. And if they're travelling by ship then the currents mean their fastest way to put distance between them and Berk is to sail around the island and head out towards the sea stacks and north east out of local waters." Turning towards the docks he folded his arms. "A small and quick ship going straight east should cut them off before they can reach the stacks." 

If that was going to work, and assuming the assumptions were right, they'd need to push off right now. Of course they'd need a ship first, but luckily the dock is full of them, and no one would miss one if they were quick. Locking his fingers together and pushing them out until the joints cracked he nodded. "Well, are you going to stand around shouting gibberish or are you going to get your dragon back?"

This seemed like it'd be pretty important, more so than dragging hides around, besides the quiet was getting pretty boring. Setting off at a run towards the port Ren looked over the vessels docked in the harbour. Rushing over to the first long boat he began untying it and starting to push it adrift, whether the others ended up coming or not was their choice but poachers in Berk waters, that needed addressing, and one Outcast marauder may have to be enough even if it wasn't smart. 

[Fern & Nima]

Fern felt a shiver go down her spine at Nima's growl. She had never heard Nima react so harshly before, with such anger and fear in her. She kissed Jokul's forehead and felt him start to lean against her. "Ssh.. breathe..." She whispered as she heard his breathing become hoarse. She could only wrap her arms around him, rubbing his back in hopes to reassure him. "Sshh, don't worry. We'll find her."

She suddenly became aware of the other man speaking and realized he seemed to have a plan in the works. "Look at me, Jokul. Go with this man, sail on the ship and wait for my signal. I'll take Nima up and I can find them twice as fast. Then we can cut tehm off and get our dragons back."

Giving Jokul a brief kiss, she smiled and said softly, "I'll see you soon." She looked to the man, "Just bring them home." She managed, before mounting Nima and taking to the skies. It wasn't long before she spotted the ship, but before she could give the signal, they had spotted her. Suddenly a weighted net was coming at her. Nima swiftly dodged it, but just then a chain sprang out and hit Nima's claw. It cut into her flesh, causing Nima to shriek her horror and pain at the attack. Nima struggled to escape, but just when she was almost free a poison dart hit her and a net encircled them both. Just as swiftly as it had begun it was over, and the two were brought to the ship. Fern landed in a heap next to Nima, and once they realized she was alive they hit her with a poison dart... by the time she woke up she was in a dark chamber with only a few bars letting in light. She felt weak and dizzy. The poison wasn't fatal, but it made her very sick and weak. The only thing she could manage to whisper was, "Jokul..."

[Your Humble GM]

Not far off of Berk’s coast, a rowing boat made its way towards a ship moored in waiting. “Hurry up Erik,” the Viking woman on board the ship called out as it approached, “we need to get moving.” Erik continued to row until he reached the ship. The woman threw down the ends of some ropes, “tether the dragon so we can pull it up.”

“No problem, sis,” He grabbed the rope and turned back to his cargo. The Hobblegrunt which their trap had captured was still struggling somewhat despite Erik having effectively tied him up. He put the new ropes around the dragon and then leaned down to make eye contact with the dragon, “Don’t move while we pull you up, if you fall in the water you’ll definitely drown as you are.” He winked at the dragon as it seemed to growl, though it’s mouth was securely fastened shut so it couldn’t say anything, not that either of them would have understood her anyway.

Erick quickly climbed up the side of the ship and grabbed his sister’s hand as he got to the top, “What took you so long?” She asked, slightly annoyed, “I’ve been waiting out here for at least an hour.”

“There’s no reason to threat, Laufrey,” he said, chuckling slightly as he moved over to one of the ropes, “I went and bought a couple of supplies before checking the traps to find this guy.”

“You mean you decided to flirt with that smith again,” Laufrey commented snidely as the two started to pull Starkard up. Her brother just laughed at that, “You do know she was just hitting you to so you’d pay her more right?”

“Sounds to me you’re just jealous you didn’t get the same customer service.” She just rolled her eyes at that; there was no point in mentioning she had. By this point the two had pulled the Hobblegrunt up onto deck. “Anyway, it’s a shame we have to go, it’s a alright village and there’s so many dragons that can be poached.”

The two dragged Starkard towards the hold, “We’ve been testing our luck staying as long as we have, we should have just left after we caught that Singetail.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Erik waved dismissively, “The chances of getting caught in the act are tiny; they aren’t vigilant at all. But I guess there’s no point taking any more risks this time.” They finally dragged the young Hobblegrunt into the hold and lay it next to two other dragons (also lightly bond); a windstriker and a Singetail.

Once this was done, Laufrey went to unfurl the sails while Erik pulled anchor, “If we’re lucky with the wind and currents, we should get to harbour within a couple of weeks.” The shieldmaiden commented to her brother as the two got ready to follow the north east current until they were out of Berk’s waters and head back south to a settlement owned by Red Rock who they had an arrangement with.

[Jokul & Starkad]

With his world still off-kilter, Jokul forced himself to listen to Ren's voice. He managed to catch most of it, but with his loud gasps of air, there were gaps. What stood out to him was the fact that the man was helping him. "W-what?"

He turned to Fern to confirm what he'd heard, but he was met with a kiss instead. Fortunately, the contact at least made his pessimistic, panicked-crazed thoughts slow down. "I'll see you soon." The teen watched as the girl hopped onto her nadder. "Find her." He swallowed and bit his lower lip. "Just..." Glancing down at his boots, he added in dragonese, "Be s-safe."

And with that, the dragon flew into the clouds above. She was out of sight by the time Ren spoke again, "Well, are you going to stand around shouting gibberish or are you going to get your dragon back?"

The boy couldn't even get a word in before the man took off. Not risking in losing sight of him, Jokul stayed not 5 steps behind him. It wasn't until they reached the docks that the teen realized Ren was serious about this. He stayed silent while the man was readying the nearest ship, and hopped on when he saw the boat start to shift away from the dock.

"Are you sure it's the best idea to just... s-steal someone's ship?" Jokul cursed himself for the stutter. He'd meant it to be sarcastic, but his unsteady voice threw it off.

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[OOC - Hmm... I sense a pinch of Ren-Jokul friendship or at least an understanding of one another coming... :3]

[Ren Vikarson]

Hauling down the sail Ren glanced back at the Berkian. "Who's gonna complain that we're saving a dragon and dealing with poachers? Aren't Berkians meant to be all communal? Always doing their best to help each other." Hauling on the main line as the wind caught the sails he kept the sails taught and let the wind haul them west at a sudden pace. It didn't take long at all for them to be racing away from Berk and in the most likely direction that the poachers could be heading. The number of ports where you could sell dragons were pretty low these days with so many riders, most were much further north but Red Rock was always an option and then there was Hysteria for the worst of poachers. Either way if they wanted to get out of the reach of Berk they'd have to be heading west towards open ocean. If they wanted to go north they'd be skirting by Outcast Island too, so the possibilities were down to two very concerning options. 

Exhaling out the difficulty of the situation he turned back to look at the other viking. "Two options, either they're gonna head for Red Rock and your dragon will be muzzled and put to work, or Hysteria where it'll be...." Trailing off a little he turned back to looking ahead of them. It didn't matter either way, at this speed they'd head them off and they'd get that dragon back before they had any chance to exchange it, provided they weren't meeting another ship.