Silhouettes upon the sand [Ulrika - Gritspit]

[Deleted]

It felt too early, but then again it was the time of year when there was barely enough light of day to get much done so you had to start early. The nights had been growing longer, the moon stubbornly holding it's dominion over the sky long after the stars began their march from the east and the blanket of night unravelled with the brightening green of pre-dawn. Beneath the languid dance of the heavens the coast lay before the cliffs studded with surf-smoothed rocks spread like shadowy guardsmen along the sands, in their midst jutted a tall and broken silhouette of a ship.

It felt nothing moved saved for the continual motion of waves, their crests lit by the growing light on the horizon giving them an almost ethereal quality. It felt as those nothing should have the right to break that tranquil scene...until one of the rocks sneezed.

Gritspit was slumped up against a larger boulder as he remained hidden by it's brethren. He had stopped there to catch his breath after making the decent down the cliff. He had intended to fly Fidget the short journey from the cliff top but the dragon protested vehemently from where he had been snoozing across Gritspit's shoulders. Now the little dragon was beginning to rouse after all the hard work was over.

“You really are a pain, you know that?” whispered Gritspit as though speaking any louder might stir the sleeping stones around them. Fidget chirped unconcerned. In truth Gritspit was feeling uneasy as the sound of the waves, though soothing for some, were playing his nerves like the last chord of a violin string.

He slowly got back on his feet and hefted his pack across his shoulders. He raised a hand to his brow to try to block out the glare as the sun was just beginning to break, splitting the world in two with its omnipotent presence. He could just make out the mast and bow of the ship whose shape darkened a fragment of the sky.

“It's quite a good size...” He said, feeling the tingle of excitement growing in his stomach. “...and there isn't much growth on it yet. I bet it's not that old either.”

Nudging Fidget to follow he started to make his way in the direction of the wreck. Fidget, who would normally ride on Gritspit's shoulder was instead scuttling behind him. He  stopping now and then to pick a limpet off the rocks and suck the inhabitance out with an unceremonious slurp.

When Gritspit reached the ship he couldn't help himself from putting a hand against the smooth wooden hull and gazing towards the rails of the deck with an appreciative woooooooow.

“I bet she was a fast longboat before she run a-ground” He said, more to himself than to Fidget who did not show an ounce of interest, still concerning himself with his breakfast.

“C'mon, lets find a way in” Gritspit said, barely holding back the quiver of excitement in his voice.

[Ulrika&Timber]

It was early, but Halldor was going to start the winter hunting ban, so Ulrika wanted to relish once more in the hunt before she would be cooped up in a cold drafty house for three months. Unfortuneately things went awry as Timber disobeyed her and came with her into the forest. Ulrika wondered if the darkness arose some sort of spirit in her, since she was a Night Fury after all. She was being a bit playful today, but Ulrika didn't know that Timber had been asked by Halldor to not let Ulrika hunt today, since the ban started at midnight, and he was sure she would still go out regardless.

Catching Ulrika off guard, she pulled the bow out of her hands and ran off. "H-hey! What was that for!" Ulrika began to follow the dragon, at least she hoped so, she was following the movement of vegetation where she had passed, because finding a Night Fury in the forest undergrowth at night was ridiculous even for her. The Night Fury was faster than her, and the dragon lead her onto the beach, but by the time she had burst through the undergrowth, the Night Fury had plodded quite a way already, and began to dig a hole, to bury her weapon. She tried to stop the dragon but it was no use, but then she saw the eerie silhouette not too far away. Timber seemed to pick up on Ulrika's distraction and turned her head to see what Ulrika was seeing.

One thing that the rider and dragon had in common - it was their curisoity. The bow was left forgotten in the sand as they approached the vessel, a lot larger closer than when it was before. By standards it was a small boat, but out of the waters with it's belly revealed it was actually rather large anyway. They quietly approached the boat, unsure whether someone was still living in it or not. It was hard to tell the damage in this darkness. As Ulrika inspected the boat, Timber jumped up to the deck with ease, looking around. The light thud she made landing on the soft wood made a rat flee. The sudden small movement sparked something in the Night Fury, and the urge to chase was overwhelming. She chased after it, her wings and tail knocking stuff over, but it managed to escape into a hole in the deck before she could catch it. Disappointed, Timber looked to the other side of the ship. She hopped up to the crest and checked out the surroundings from her vantage point, spreading her wings slightly to catch the cool sea breeze. She had no idea that there was another human and rider just beneath her, and that her silhouette suddenly appearing might actually be frightening.

Ulrika, afraid there was actually someone on the boat, called Timber down from the boat, but she didn't just yet. She winced at the commotion the dragon made and flattened herself to the side of the boat. It was moist from the recent tide as her fingers brushed against the surface. Sometimes she wondered about wood, since she spend a lot of time in the forest. She looked up again to see the dragon surveying her surroundings. Ulrika hissed at her again, and the flick of an ear meant she heard it, and Timber agreed. Ulrika paused for a moment, listening for signs of life in the boat with her hunter's ears, but heard none. She was curious, at least just to see what Timber had seen - why should she get all the fun!

Ulrika clambered on Timber's back, and as the dragon understood what she wanted, she lifted herself as high as she could so Ulrika could reach the top to haul herself in. Timber squinted as Ulrika ckimbed on her face too, grains of sand getting in her eyes. But then a piercing scream cut through the silence of the night, which made Ulrika freeze, and she quickly descended again, slight afraid. They were both confused though, they had never quite heard anything like it. Was it haunted, this boat? Maybe it did have an inhabitant after all. She was still curious though but now also slightly afraid.

Ulrika decided to check out the area, just in case... She was about to go to the other side of the ship when she picked up the sound of movment. She had to be careful. She put her hand up to keep Timber put, which she obeyed, tilting her head to the side slightly. Ulrika crept to the side of the ship, still hugging the wooden frame. She realised by this point that she was unarmed except for a small knife, but it didn't occur to her to draw it. Ulrika was near the bow of the ship now, and she was slightly nervous. But she didn't want to be the one that got jumped if there was a bad guy.

Taking a few breaths to compose herself, she stepped into sight, and almost jumped. She had heard someone but she didn't actually expect to be faced with the silhouette of a person. In reflex she lashed out with her left, hitting the guy in the face. It was only when he got lit by the light of the moon that she realised it was a classmate.

"Oh..."

[Deleted]

Gritspit was feeling along the edge of the ship to see if there was an opening so he could check if it was holding any cargo. It was not looking promising as the wood was quite firm and not showing any signs of rot yet. 'We're probably going to have to make an opening' he thought to himself, softly rapping on the wood. All of a sudden he heard a commotion up on deck and he took a step back and craned his neck this way and that to see if he could gaze over the lip of the rail. As he did so a strange form blotted out the light from the moon, it's shadow engulfing him and stretching along the length of the beech. In that faint eery light the shadow looked deformed and so freakish that Girtspit closed the gap to the ship again and flattered himself against the hull.

“pssst...Fidget...FIDGET!” Gritspit half whispered half growled to his dragon who had stumbled across a small turtle hidden in the sand and was ambitiously gnawing on it's shell.

“Get over here! I think there's something up there!” Fidget didn't move but instead gave Gritspit a chee-chee-chureep? sound which he had long ago identified as Fidget asking a question.

“How should I know what it is!” He hissed to his dragon “It could be a ghost or a pirate or a sea dragon or...no...no...NO!.” He instantly regretted his words for the moment he said 'dragon' Fidget flattened his ears, narrowed his eyes and made a mad dash for the deck of the ship. Gritspit snatch at Fidget's tail but the zippy little dragon was quickly out of his reach. Gritspit tried to make himself melt into the shadow of the boat as the little dragon flew over the edge of the rail and coiled himself around the mast.

There wasn't anything for Fidget to find on deck other than the few disturbed objects scattered about the floorboards. With a coy chittering sound the little dragon puffed up his chest, drew in a breath and let loose a loud shrill screech. The sound reverberated through the wooden hull and echoed off the cliff in quite a satisfying way. This pleased Fidget who turned around and headed back to Gritspit thinking to himself that that would make any sea dragon think twice before messing with them.

Gritspit had not moved from his place in the shadow of the boat. He had been holding his breath after Fidget disappeared out of view and nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard his little dragon's screech. He risked a glance up at the lip of the ship and felt a wave of relief when he saw Fidget's head poke through the rail and look down at him.

“Don't scare me like that!” He whispered back to his dragon as the little Glider scrabbled down the side of the ship and hopped neatly onto his shoulders.

“Did you see anything?” He asked Fidget curiously who was just opening his jaws to give Gritspit a dismissive chirp when they heard movement from the other side of the boat. Fidget's mouth snapped shut and they both look at each other with wide eyes...whatever it was, it was still there.

Gritspit swallowed hard, slapped a determined look on his face and started to inch his way to the bow of the ship. Fidget, who before was smugly certain he had scared off whatever it was, was now feeling very uncertain and hiding himself behind Gritspit's back, eyes peering over his shoulder. Gritspit stopped just before turning the corner to close his eyes and take a deep calming breath. But before he even got the chance to movehowever,  there was a flash of gold, a hot searing pain in his face and stars dancing in front of his eyes.

He crumpled to his knees, clutching at his face and mumbling curses through his hands with Fidget fluttered overhead squawking in confusion. Eventually his nose stopped smarting long enough for him to look up through blurry, watery eyes at the person that sucker-punched him. To his dismay it was a little girl.


“Wha!? Your from class! Have you been taking lessons from my brothers!? Oh man I think my nose is broken! What are you doing sneaking around punching people!?” He blurted out while peeling his hands away from his face and looking down at the bright red, swollen lump that use to be his nose.

His day just took a turn for the worse. How is he going to explain to his father and brothers that a girl broke his nose? He quickly grabbed the short, blonde haired girl by the shoulders.

“If anyone asks you, you are a three hundred pound man!” He said to in a surprisingly serious tone.

[Ulrika&Timber]

As the figure fell to the floor, she realised the stranger was smaller than she realised. Then a familiar voice sounded - it was Gritspit! She could see him now. "What in helheim man, you scared me!" At first she raised her hands, expecting him to lash back, but instead he started to whine and complain in pain. Ulrika watched for a moment before starting to laugh. It started quiet, but it quickly erupted into something full blown, almost doubling over. So many other guys her age tried to take on a manly attitude like the grown-ups, but seeing this guy rolling on the ground was a stark contrast. "Wow, you're so bad!"

He asked her a request. She got over laughing with a sigh, before looking at Grit, grinning. "Whatever." As she said that, Timber stepped up behind her, wondering was was going on. She looked at the boy on the ground, before looking at Ulrika, surprised she managed to hurt the man. She made a warbling noise in surprise. Hearing the dragon she looked and patted her on the side of the head. "Hah, I was afraid Timber had woken up people in the boat!" She felt she had to help him out, so she held out her hand to pull him up. She then looked at the looming boat above them. "What's with this then? It looks recent." She said. "How do we even get up there? I don't see anyway in."

Timber then gave a confused look. "Uhm, Hello? Dragon here?" Timber replied sarcastically, knowing Ulrika didn't understand her. If the other boy knew dragonese, then bonus points. Timber came behind Ulrika and threw her onto her back before leaping up onto the deck, resulting in a surprised yell from Ulrika. She dumped her onto the deck, before craning her head around to see Ulrika's classmate, making a noise and swishing her tail playfully, which hung over the side. Did he need a leg up too? She saw Fidget but didn't know whether the dragon could pull him up here.

[Deleted]

Gritspit continued to fuss as the girl examined the boat, he didn't know what hurt more, his nose or his pride. He hoped the girl wasn't a blabber-mouth otherwise he was never going to live this down with his father. If she did, Slabface would probably make him the hallway 'pillar' to toughen him up again. The pillar was a part of the house that is supported by a pillar that was mostly made up of random tree-stumps sat one on top of the other. But if one of Slabface's son had behaved particularly disgracefully he would remove the stumps and demand the boy hold up the house instead. By the end Gritspits could have sworn his arms were permanently stuck above his head. His father may not be the smartest man in the world but he sure had imagination.

While contemplating that less than pleasant fate he only noticed at the last minute the girl get swept up by her dragon onto the desk of the ship. He was also too late to stop Fidget who was more interested in following the Night Fury from leaving him behind on the sand. He mumbled under his breath about how nice it would be to have a more helpful dragon as he began to unbuckle his boots. Once both boots were off he attached the buckles of the boots together and slung them over his shoulder. He then proceeded to climb up the side of the ship using his bare feet for grip. His mother had often commented that watching Gritspit climb was like watching a gecko on the ceiling.

Fidget, as could be guessed, was not paying any attention to Gritspit what-so-ever, he was too busy watching the female Night Fury. He took a moment to preen himself, straightening scales and cleaning away unsightly sand. Once he believed himself pristine he swaggered up to the Night Fury and sat himself down as close to her as he dared, puffing out his chest and arching his neck in what he deemed an alluring way.

“Hello there...” He crooned. “...what is a pretty little raven scaled marvel such as yourself doing all the way out here?”

As he was talking he did not noticed Gritspit heft himself over the edge of the ship. After he hastily pulled on his boots he nabbed his dragon by the scruff of the neck and hawled him over to a cabin door whose lock took no more than a glance he see it was rusted tight by salt water.

“Come on Fidget, lets get this open and check it out!” the boy said, the excitement returning now. “My named Gritspit by the way. I've seen you around class but I never caught your name.” He called back over his shoulder to his class mate while Fidget begrudgingly began to cut the lock with his torch. Once Lock and hinges were cut the door simple fell open unleashing a smell of old kelp and rotting fish from the cabin beyond.

[Ulrika&Timber]

Ulrika hopped off Timber's back, looking around the deck quickly before turning back to her dragon. "What in the gods name, Timber! Warn me or something before you do that!" She said loudly. But Timber ignored her, wonderig if she needed to give Grima a lift.

She watched in curiosity as the boy's dragon abandoned him on the beach below and fluttered up to the ship's deck. She glanced between the two, before she was then distracted by Gritspit beginning to climb up the side of the boat barefooted, like a changewing on a cliff face.

“Hello there...” She heard all of a sudden, her head snapped in the direction of the little dragon, who during her distraction has scuttled up beside her. She backed up and made a surprised confused noise.

He caught her off guard. "Erm..." Was he hitting on her? They weren't even the same kind of dragon! "Did you just call me... little?" She said unsheathing her teeth and extending her wings slightly to make herself look bigger towards the little dragon. Timber was already taken though, so she decided to mess with him a bit, it could be entertaining.

Meanwhile Ulrika heard a noise and saw Gritspit haul himeself over the barrier. Without a word he yanked at his dragon's neck, which made Timber hide her teeth and hoot a little laughter. Ulrika laughed too slightly, but she went to look over the side of the boat, and saw how high it was.

"Wow, you're strong." Ulrika said, before skipping to his side. He introduced himself as Gritspit, but Ulrika knew that. She might not pick up on the lessons, but knew her classmates. "I'm Ulrika." She watched as the small dragon easily cut through the door. "You know we could've probably blasted the door open with a plasma blast, y'know. It looks so cool. We'll have to do that on the next locked door."

Timber made a disconcerted grunt behind them. She knew she'd be a bit big to enter the boat, so she began to inspect a bit more of the deck. She then smelt some fish in one of the barrels, and knocked it over. They were a bit off after being in the somewhat open for a while, but that didn't bother the dragon. But when Ulrika turned after hearing the clatter the smell quickly came with it.

"Phwwoorrr, Timber! Gross! That stinks! You're gonna get a belly ache!" She didn't know that dragons had a decent digestive system, but to humans it really stunk quite a bit. Timber's pupils were large as she gulped down some more fish. She watched to see what Fidget the little dragon would do.

Ulrika knew she couldn't really control the dragon properly, so she quickly shoved Gritspit. "Quick, let's get inside before we like, suffocate or something. Dear Loki I'd rather breathe in Zippleback Gas that that, eww!"

They entered inside but there was no lights. Ulrika complained loudly, stumbling in the darkness. "I can't see a thing! This sucks. Where's a torch?"

[Deleted]

Gritspit watched the night fury as it gobbled down the remains of the rotted fish, surprised that the dragon would find such a thing appealing. He knew Fidget wouldn't eat anything unless it was fresh (and quite often still moving) but that might be because his little dragon was picky and more than a little spoilt. He noticed Fidget drifting off back to the night fury and was going to call him back when Ulrika shoved him through the door and into the dark cabin.

“Whoa whoa, wait a minute. I think I have a light in here...” He said and rifling through his pack. He pulled out his hornless helmet with the reflecting mirror and candle and then deftly lit it with a flint. The concave dish redirected the light into a beam of light that highlighted the dank cabin. Strewn across the floor was many decaying maps and several books whose pages had long since clumped together to form a single sodden mass.

In the centre of a cabin was a heavy wooden desk which, compared to the rest of the content of the room was holding up quite well and in relatively good shape. However it was the object sitting on top of the desk that drew Gritspit's attention. As he walked up to it his light reflected off it's smooth domed shape. The object was about as big as a bashy ball and was mounted on a pedestal. As he looked closely at it he could see markings painted on it's surfaces and when he touched it it span on a slightly lop-sided axes. He gave a snort of disdain at the object and called out “Hey look at this! Someone wrapped a map of the world around a ball.” He said giving the globe an emphatic spin. “Well there's a dumb idea if ever I saw one, now you can't see where the sea falls off the edge of the world.” He huffed over the designers obvious oversight.

Gritspit gave Ulrika time to look as the inadequate object while he pulled out a folded burlap sack from his pack before picked up the globe-map and shoving it inside. He gave a shrug to Ulrika, “It might be worth something....you know any treasure we find, how about we split it 50/50?” He said.

Outside Fidget was sidling over to Timber again, the pungent smell of fish not the slightest big perturbing to him. “Why don't you and I leave kids to play in the man-thing while you come back to my nest?” Fidget said, trying to coax the night fury away from her bucket and to follow him. “If you do I will show you my collection of shinies, I might even let you keep one.” He said in what he believe a seductive voice.

[Ulrika&Timber]

Ulrika could hear him fumbling for something. She turned to where she could hear him. There was a couple of clicks and suddenly a small light illuminated around them. Ulrika had never seen anything like it. Some sort of small dish reflected all the light and brightened the room. She squinted a little as the beam briefly came in contact with her eyes.

"Whoa, that's really weird." She approached as Gritspit put it on his head. "Did you make it? You could have like, put horns on it or something, though. Or spikes. Horns and spikes are cool."

Soon enough they began to explore the cabin. Ulrika was sure to follow Gritspit, or stay near the light so she wouldn't get lost or trip over some unseen object. She followed him to the desk where there was a strange device on the top. She laughed in amusement as he made the ball spin, and Ulrika took to spinning it when he was done. She didn't know it was a map until Gritspit said so, though. She had seen maps in the great hall, but it meant little to her.

"That is weird." Ulrika replied. "I thought the world was like, on a tree or something. From what the stories say. I don't see any tree here. And like, the gods live at the top or something." She ran her finger along the wood that kept the globe together. Ulrika was fond of the stories she was told, and though it wasn't exact, the basis was down well enough.

But then Gritspit swiped the globe into his bag. He suggested to split what they find in half. "Uhm, okay." Ulrika's trade meant she had a lot to trade with, but sometimes, not everyone wanted fur or meat.

Timber had her fill of fish, which wasn't much, because she had already been fed that evening around dinner time. The little dragon was once again trying to seduce her. It was really confusing. She gave him a quizzical expression. "Erm..." Well, they might as well do something to pass the time while they explore, and she was curious about a nest. She hadn't met any dragons that needed a nest before. A shallow pit in the ground was usually all that was needed. And even then - a male having a nest? "Okay...? But don't get me wrong, I'm just curious about a dragonkin making a nest, you mean like a bird?"