Fish Bones [OPEN]

[Spitnose]

Fish Bones, in which Spitnose is the unfortunate victim of a dragon prank.

Time and Date:: Winter, late afternoon
Weather:: Sunny with a cold breeze
Previous Threads?:: N/A

When you grew up learning that fish where important, and the more fish you had the better off you where, the site that sat on the boat before the young Viking-to-be was horrifying. The mid-sized boat HAD been stocked with barrels of freshly caught fish. But now all she could find where a few fish-halves, some crunched bone mulch and a decent amount of fish guts. "Okay... so, I'm positive there were fish here." She brushed a chunk of hair out of her face. "Why aren't there fish there now?!" Her dad and lent her the boat for the day, and had made it quite clear she had to catch a boat full of fish to prove she deserved to use it. And not only had she done that, she had fish to spare! 

She had planned on sharing the spares with some of the dragons roaming around town, but apparently they had already helped themselves. Sitting down on one of the empty barrels she traced the scales of her skirt. "I'm never going to get the boat again." She groaned threw her head back, staring at the clouds. Who ever did it, made a quick getaway. She had only been gone a second to take her supplies off the boat, and never left sight of the boat either. But her back had been turned, and when she spun around the fish carnage greeted her eyes. And only a dragon could be that fast, or leave such a gross mess. "Or... I could go back out, and get more! But that means more fishing..." Her voice was low, and laced with disgust. She only went out fishing today, because it would allow her use of the boat in the future when she wanted to go exploring. Fishing on her own was certainly NOT a thing she did, it was simply too boring. "Yeah forget that." A large sigh escaped, and she threw herself forward. Landing with a thump she rocked the boat slightly and made her way to the side of the boat that was tied up to the dock. 

Leaning on the edge she stared down at the water. A few small bubbles floated to the surface, as if the fish were mocking her. "If I were a dragon, you would be doomed." One arm reached over the edge, and twirled a finger through the water. It was cold, but around here the water never got any warmer than being cold. But she didn't mind, the cold water made her feel truly alive. She considered diving in, but decided against it in the end. She didn't want to be soaked while explaining to her dad that the dragons ate her day work. 

"What a pain..."

[[OOC: My first RP post in, gosh, at least a year. I can't tell if I got worse or stayed the same, but I hope it's not too bad.
I made a new thread, because I just had to get this idea out, heheh. I hope every one else enjoys it!

[Jokul & Starkad]

There wasn't a chicken on Berk that Starkad hadn't terrorized. She was still working on the sheep, oxen, and terrible terrors though. They ran faster. I'll get 'em all eventually.

Today was one of those good days. The days when the livestock were to busy sunning themselves and not watching for her. At one particular sheep pen, the hobblegrunt nimbly scaled up the small shed to overlook the fuzzy animals. She couldn't help but swish her tail in anticipation. She only had one shot before they all scattered and the owner of the sheep came out yelling at her, not that they ever stopped her otherwise.

~Time Skip~

Let's just say that she ended up with the owner's dragon chasing her away. Thankfully, the hobblegrunt was much faster than the old fart of a flightmare. While in her perched spot right above the chief's hut, she could see all the way to the edge of the ocean, including some of the islands near by.

Sometimes she wishes she could just fly towards that edge until her wings hurt. Casting a sideways glance at her torn appendage, the hobblegrunt's colors faded just the smallest bit.

"Starkad!!"

Uh oh... She bolted down the main square and to one of the places she knew her rider wouldn't follow; the port. Normally, she wouldn't go here either, but it was either towards the water, or towards the ones who were screaming at the tops of their lungs. 

Hiding wasn't the easiest thing to do there though. The only objects there were barrels or the bustling adult vikings. Both of which were too small to hide her long enough. 

And that's when she saw it. The ship wasn't the biggest she'd seen, but it'd work for now. She didn't hesitate to hop onto it, and curl herself into the corner nearest to Berk. Luckily for her, her colors shifted from yellow, to dark purple, helping her blend in. 

What was even better, there were fish surrounding her. Well... One or two wouldn't hurt... right?

However, after finding the first few were freshly caught, she couldn't help herself. She didn't notice anything else going on around her and by the time she came to her senses, the whole barrel was just about empty and on it's side. 

She licked her jaws to taste the remnants of the fish, but she felt her curiosity peak when she saw the other empty barrels. I didn't all of them... did I?

Things got even worse when someone came onto the ship. With her escape route gone, Starkad pushed herself as far away as she could. The human was small, sure, but the dragon had no doubt she'd tattletale to the others. 

So instead, she watched the girl as she plonked her butt onto a upturned barrel. "I'm never going to get this boat again." Emotions of guilt and fear rolled off of her. Being a hobblegrunt, her frill extended immediately to tune in to the girl's mind. 

Even when she moved over to the side of the boat, Starkad could feel her guilt turn to sadness "What a pain..." She stuck her fingers into the water. Did I make her sad? She wondered. With the girl's back turned, the hobblegrunt could easily get away in time, but for once, she didn't want to. It was as if the girl's guilt became her own. 

Slowly, but surely, Starkad crept out of her hiding spot. "D-don't be sad." She purred hopefully. 

[Spitnose]

Something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. This may or may not be because her finger was currently twirling the water, causing gentle ripples to spread around her. Maybe the wind shifted, or more salt was blowing through the air, but something had certainly changed.

She didn't let her thoughts dwell on it, instead standing up once more. Turning to unload the barrels of the remaining bits, she stopped dead and stared. "Dragon..." There was a dragon. On the boat, how did she not notice a stinking dragon on her boat?! She wasn't scared, or concerned, more just amazed at how stealthy this dragon obviously was, as it clearly had nothing to do with her not paying attention. Good news, if the dragon hadn't attacked her yet, it likely had no intentions of attacking at all. Usually.

'D-don't be sad.'

Blinking slowly, Spit tilted her head to the side. Had this dragon been here the whole time? Now she just felt dumb. But it's concern was, touching. But still.. a dragon on her boat, telling her not to be sad. It all clicked into place. "You did this." She tipped an empty barrel over slightly. "Didn't you?" If a voice could frown, hers would have been. Her expression was a bit on the blank side however. She wasn't angry with the magnificent creature, dragons do what they want when they want, but she couldn't help but feel dissapointed that one of them ruined her best chance at ultimately earning her fathers eternal trust. Maybe that was a bit of an exageration, but it was pretty close. "I... uh, look. I'm not sad." She brushed her bangs out of her eyes, glancing at her feet. "I don't think you would understand..." She didn't really feel like explaining the situation to a dragon. "Or maybe you would, I don't know." She grunted and tugged on her bangs. "I hated the fish any ways." A nervous laugh escaped her, she had finally cracked. For all she knew, this was a wild dragon. Just a wild dragon that cared about your emotions... no that was stupid. It had to be a tame dragon, and yet why was it down here seemingly all alone? The more she thought about it, the more she confused herself. Fingers began to knead her forehead, trying to sort out the facts.

Turning her attention back to the dragon, she grinned a bit. "You're a hobblegrunt aren't you?" Curiosity was setting in. "I've never seen one in person before!" She reached a hand out. "Uh... you don't mind, do you?" She motioned at the dragons frill. "I know it's sensitive.. but ... is it soft? Rigid, or somewhere in between..." This was probably a very bad idea, but she simply had to know.

"You're very pretty." Her eyes shimmered with the curiosity of a young child, perhaps not quite befiting of her true age. "Do you have a rider?" She was starting to forget she was talking to a dragon at all. The conversation just flowed out, and kept itself going.

[[OOC:: Still open! COME JOIN US :D SHE WILL NEVER EXPECT MORE THAN ONE DRAGON TOOK HER FISH. Hahaha.

[Jokul & Starkad]

The girl had been spooked a bit when she realized she wasn't alone, but she wasn't scared. Starkad took that as a sign to take a step closer, but when the girl began accusing her, she did the opposite.

"I-... I only ate one.... barrel." The hobblegrunt whimpered and curled her tail around her legs. She was quite used to being scolded, but the way this girl spoke with a straight face frightened her. If dragons had lips, Starkad would be giving the human the biggest, most pitiful pout she could.

But why doesn't the she feel angry too? The dragon wondered at the same time.
The girl's slight anger turned to disappointment, and Starkad's frill stretched forward to sense the next shift of emotions. "Not... sad?" She questioned aloud, not believing the young viking. "...Understand... what?"

She edged closer to try and catch the girl's eyes after she looked away. Curiosity kept emanating from her, which only seemed to give the hobblegrunt her own want to learn more about the stranger.

"Hate fish!?" She snorted. "Fishes are really good!" Starkad tried to stretch herself to stand taller, but only ended up getting to the girl's eye level. Why is she laughing about not liking fish? The hobblegrunt couldn't comprehend the concept. However, she could pick up the girl's confusion. Why does she keep changing? Can't she stay feeling the same for once?

"Stop changing..." She grumbled and rubbed her frill with her paws. "Hurts."
Once again, the girl shifted back to being curious. "You're a hobblegrunt aren't you? I've never seen one in person before!"

All Starkad could do was give a big, slow nod, hoping the young viking would settle on an emotion for longer than a few minutes. "Uh... you don't mind, do you?"
The dragon watched her hand stretch out towards her. She didn't even flinch away. She wasn't your everyday skittsh dragon. In fact, she loved touching things... mostly the things she wasn't supposed to touch though.

Her frill quivered as the hand neared it, but Starkad gently pressed her head into the girl's palm. Though the webbing is thin and fragile, she was sure the girl meant no harm. Most of the other vikings on Berk didn't either.

Starkad let out a soft hum when she complimented her. She always wanted to be pretty like her mother was. So whenever someone told her this, she immediately thanked them, whether it be Jokul, or a complete stranger, like now, for instance.

Dragons might not blush, but hobblegrunts are an exception. Starkad's dark purple scales faded gradiently from her tail, to head. A bright yellow replaced it as it traveled across her body. The light blue spots changed to pastel purple as well.  

"Rider?" The dragon tilted her head. She remembered some other person saying that word. What was it again?... She flicked her tail in annoyance at her bad memory. "Like... friend?... Or something?"

Oh! That's right! Something clicked in her head. "You mean my human? I only gots a brother. He's a viking like you!" She licked the top her jaw to rid herself of a nagging piece of fish left between her teeth. "Oh! And my name's Starkad. What's yours?"

[Spitnose]

"I-... I only ate one.... barrel."

Bring a hand below her bangs, Spit found herself kneading her temple. If this dragon only ate one barrel of the fish, that didn't explain where the rest where. "Okay, only one. But where's the rest then?" A mystery. Great, just what she always wanted. So many dragons, or vikings, that could have done it. Lowering her hand she looked at the barrels. If her 'friend' here could sneak past and eat one barrel something could have easily done the same with the others.

Very talkative for a dragon. "A moment where, you know you've lost a chance at something but ... don't actually seem bothered by it?" She found her speech a bit twisted, not quite sure of the words that were coming out. It all made ... some sort of sense, But she wasn't sure if it was a concept a dragon would really understand.

"Hate fish!?"

Looking at her again, Spit had almost forgot that fish were probably the most important things to dragons.

"Fishes are really good!"

"Love to eat them, hate to catch them." She slouched down to pick up a stray rib. She began to gnaw on the tip of it. "But you gotta catch it, if you want to eat it I guess." With a bit more gnawing, she heard a crack. Slowly pulling the bone out, she stared at it. Maybe it was time to stop.

"Stop changing... Hurts."

She had forgotten Hobblegrunts were sensitive to these sorts of things. She made a small mental note to try and stay with one emotion. It was a lot easier said than done.

A large smile spread across her face as she felt the dragon press into her hand. "Wow..." She ran her fingers over the magnificent creatures head and frill. She really had no other words for it, this was truly wonderful. No wonder so many vikings now had dragons. As the scales began to change colour, she let her hand down. Everything was so, wonderful and amazing! A colour changing dragon, she had finally seen it with her own eyes!

"Rider?"

She nodded a bit. Did the dragon not understand the word? They probably didn't think of it the same way the vikings did.

"Like... friend?... Or something?" Pausing, something seemed to click in the reptiles mind. As if coming to a sudden realization. "You mean my human? I only gots a brother. He's a viking like you!"

A brother, their bond was quite strong! "Oh yeah? Maybe I know him!" She probably didn't, since how could any one forget the rider of a Hobblegrunt? She also didn't really remember names or faces of people.

"Oh! And my name's Starkad. What's yours?"

"Pleasure to meet you Starkad! My name is... Spitnose." She wished it wasn't, but what can you do? Sliding down one edge of the boat, she sat down. From this angle, she noticed something. "Oh no, your wing..."

[Jokul & Starkad]

"But where's the rest of them"


The question clearly agitated Spit, but it didn't bother Starkad much. It was nagging in the back of her mind though. Either she went on a bloodthirsty fish dinner, or someone else had.

Spit's explaination was confusing as it was. Trying to explain it to a year old dragon? Even harder. Starkad tried her best to understand. She really did, but some things she'll never be able to understand. Instead of dwelling on figuring it out, she stayed quiet.

"Hate to catch them"

The dragon tilted her head. That explains all the fish. She thought. "You catch fish?!" The idea of a fisherman wasn't foreign to Starkad, it's just that she'd never really met many. Solvi was the only one she could recall. "You mean you can get all the fishies you want whenever you want?" The hobblegrunt shifted from foot to foot just imagining being able to do that herself. Usually she had to wait for Jokul or his mother to buy them from other vikings before she could eat them.

"Wow..."

Spit's small fingers ran across her head, the wonder and awe following not long after. Starkad loved both feelings. Jokul wasn't as soft whenever he touched her. Though, half of the time, it was because she was in trouble. And the way she made Spit happy in an instant, made her giddy with the sense of accomplishment.

"Maybe I know him!"

Starkad drew her head back in the slightest to look up at the girl. "He's not usually around the water." She glanced up at the cliffs, remembering why she'd come here in the first place. "Jokul doesn't like swimming." The hobblegrunt laughed to herself when she remembered when he'd fallen into the lake in the cove. It might've had something to do with Starkad sitting on him...

"Oh no, your wing..."

The dragon wasn't the least bit surprised. Everyone she's ever met noticed the injury. Usually they cast a sideways glance at it before avoiding it as if it were a sin to get a good look at it.

It was even rarer for someone to point it out. Starkad was actually the one who brought it up most of the time. "Momma says it's a battle scar." She stretched it out to its full length, showing off the ripped webbing. If someone didn't know any better, it looked like a tattered piece of clothing that had been a baby dragon's chew toy.

"I don't remember how I got it. I think Jokul does though." She folded the limb back to her side before sitting beside the girl.

[Spitnose]

"You catch fish?!"

Twirling the bone, Spit idly nodded. "Yeah, it's a family thing." She tossed it over the edge of the boat, returning her gaze to the dragon. Why was it all her meaningful conversations ended up with animals? Sure the livestock never spoke back, and dragons actually had intelligence, but she just seemed to goof off whenever other people were around.

"You mean you can get all the fishies you want whenever you want?"

Blinking slowly, she wrinkled her face up. "Yeah, I guess that's pretty accurate." Except she rarely fished because she wanted to. "Wait, you didn't know we fished?" A dragon, a creature that thrived on fish, was surprised by this.

"He's not usually around the water."

And Spit was always by the water. Made sense that they had never bumped shoulders before. Chances are, if they fished, lived near the port, or had a boat for any reason, she knew them. Maybe not knew them knew them, but enough to pick them out in a crowd.

"Jokul doesn't like swimming."

This statement seemed to catch her off gaurd. "Really?! I thought every one loved swimming..." In a perfect world, maybe. But then again a lot of these mega-muscle heads couldn't even float. She grinned at that thought, wondering if this Jokul was like that. The more she thought about it the more amused she grew. Derailing that train of thought was going to be difficult, until...

"Momma says it's a battle scar."

That... seemed way too cute consdering the subject matter. All amusment gone, she frowned. It looked quite horrible, and probably terribly painful at the time. She studied it closely, but didn't dare touch. She didn't want to aggrivate some memories around it. Old wounds tended to do that. She ought to know.

"I don't remember how I got it. I think Jokul does though."

Looking away from the tattered wing she smiled once more. "I'll ask him about it next we meet!" Would she every meet this mythical viking? Unless he figured out where his dragon went probably not. Not that she particularly cared. She would love to know more about his sibling like relationship with Starkad. How the wonderful dragon got such a horrible wound. Questions bubbled in her mind, like a cauldron ready to blow it's top.

"Now!" She sprung up far to quickly, the boat rocking beneath the shift in weight. Arms pinwheeling slightly, she straightened up. "I need more fish." She beamed brighter than the sun, but her over the grin lay quite a smug expression. "And you're going to help me!" Yes, recruiting the dragon.

This was going to end well.
NOT.

[Jokul & Starkad]

"It's a family thing."


The hobblegrunt tilted her head again at her words. So her own momma and papa catch fishies too? Lucky...

"You didn't know we fished?"

Starkad gave a quiet snort at the question. "I don't know a lot of vikings that catch fishies like you." She grumbled and fiddled with her claws. "Jokul doesn't like it when I play with em." In her defense, they were almost begging to be played with when they had loads of fish with them all the time.

"I'll ask him about it next time we meet!"

The girl joyfully told the dragon. Starkad's bright color faltered a bit before she stuttered, "H-he... he doesn't like talking about it..." She cast her eyes down. "He won't even tell me... And I was there."

The hobblegrunt didn't let the negative emotions get to her though, especially when Spit leapt to her feet and announced, "I need more fish!" Her frill perked up at the optimistic grin crossing her features. And yet, Starkad could detect something underneath the happy mood.

"And you're going to help me!"

There it was. The pompous-like feeling she hadn't managed to name. Except, Starkad was curious as to why Spit thought that'd be something to be smug about. The dragon was more than thrilled to help. After all, she'd wanted to know how fishermen caught fish since she learned what they were.

"I get's to catch fishies!!?"

There wasn't anything Starkad loved more than fish. Well... except for maybe her mother and Jokul... but that wasn't something she'd like saying aloud. Fish never made fun of her getting all mushy like that.

She bounced in place, rocking the somewhat small boat from side to side. She hadn't realized that her movements and noises caught someone else's attention... A certain rider to be exact.

From the cliffs on Berk, any normal person would be able to spot the bright hobblegrunt without even blinking, but Jokul, having impaired vision, couldn't. The rocking of the boat, however? Oh yeah. He could definitely see that. And he began the long journey down to the ports where his dragon was.

[Spitnose]

"I don't know a lot of vikings that catch fishies like you."

Nodding slowly, she scratched a spot behind her ear. Head tilting a bit so she could reach it better. "I guess if your ride-" She remembered what the dragon had called her rider earlier and corrected herself. "-Brother doesn't come down here much you wouldn't." She finised off with a stretch.

"Jokul doesn't like it when I play with em."

At this she giggled a bit. "That's because we're more fun." She stuck her tongue out. Honestly, she didn't quite believe that. A lot of the fishers were all work, and they were boring to the extreme.

"H-he... he doesn't like talking about it..."

Frowning, she looked concerned. "Oh, guess not that." She began to gather up her netting, shoving it to one side of the boat. She didn't seem to notice the tiny pair of greenish wings flapping in it. Apparently in their conversation a Terrible Terror had found it's way on board in hopes of a snack. And as usually, Spit hardly even realized there was now another dragon on her boat.

"He won't even tell me... And I was there."

"I'm sure he has a reason." She wanted to know, but clearly wasn't going to get any anwsers from the dragon or the rider. Instead she just busied herself with preping the boat to head out once more.

"I get's to catch fishies!!?"

Grinning wide, her missing tooth clearly visible. Or, more specifically not. Pulling her hair back out of her eyes. "So this should be all new for you huh?" Untying the ropes from the dock she went to the back of the boat. Laughing as the boat rocked from the dragons excitment. "Alright, here we go!" She put one boot on the dock and shoved them off. "I'll do the sailing, just get comfy okay?" She went to the center and unfurled the sail.

The wind had died down, but there was enough to lazily carry them out. "Later boys, I'll be back." She waved her hand as they passed some others. A few mumbled replies could be heard over the sloshing water, but she couldn't hear them any more. "So will this Jokul of yours mind?" She suddenly realized she was getting between a rider and their dragon and felt herself stiffen up slightly. She really hoped he wasn't the angry type. Or else this day might end badly for her. Or, even worse than it already was going to.

[[OOC: Inserting a terrible terror to cause some chaos~

[Jokul & Starkad]

"I'm sure he has a reason."

Spit's curiosity was getting the better of her, and this didn't get past Starkad. The dragon had wanted to know just as badly, but Starkad let it go. Jokul never did like it when she kept nagging him.

When Spit started walking back and forth across the boat's deck, Starkad followed. Obviously, she wouldn't be able to help much without opposable thumbs, but she still wanted to see what the girl was doing.

"So this should be all new for you huh?"

The hobblegrunt's tail started twitching back and forth in anticipation. She couldn't contain herself from getting excited about this. Jokul was never one for fun, or one for swimming, for that matter. So she'd never been on a boat while it's sailing.

"Alright, here we go!"

When the ship jerked forward at Spit's push, Starkad's legs almost fell out from under her. She wasn't the most graceful for a dragon, and a rocking boat wasn't axactly helping with her balance.

"I'll do the sailing, just get comfy, okay?"

Starkad had seen sails before, but not up close, really. When Spit lowered it to catch the wind, the dragon couldn't help but notice it was like the webbing of a wing. She even tilted her head sideways to see the wind curve it like a dragon's wing. Is that how these work? She thought. Do they fly on the water? The young dragon imagined the ship taking to the skies.

She ran to the port of the boat to look into the water between the hull of the ship and the dock. Upon having the ocean-water scatter droplets on her face, her scales lit up like a dragon egg hatching on Snoggletog. In a dramatic change, the shade shifted from a duller yellow-green, to an eye-burning maize.

"Later boys, I'll be back."

When there was no longer any dock in front of Starkad's face, she craned her neck out to try and lick the surface of the water. She didn't press her luck when she wasn't even close to it.

Instead of trying to touch it, she changed her mind, and decided she wanted to get the whole view. She climbed her way onto the bow of the ship, and dug her claws into the wood to keep her body steady. She looked down at the water, and Spit asked, "So will this Jokul of yours mind?"

On the other end of the dock, said Jokul was running towards the boat. When the hobblegrunt had stuck her head over the side of the ship, he zeroed in on the ocean vessel, determined to scold the dragon for chasing Agnes' sheep.

It took a while for him to notice, but when he realized the boat was moving, he didn't think twice. There was no way he was letting Starkad get on a boat. Not only could she cause trouble in such a small area, she couldn't swim. Not with her torn wing. If she fell out, she wouldn't be able to get back in.

"Hold that boat!"

He wasn't about to let his dragon drown on his watch, so he jumped, even if the hull of the ship was what he would slam into. He stretched his hands out to grab the gunwale, but the impact his body caused, jostled his fingers free as soon as they wrapped around it.

"Dragon dung!" He managed to get out before getting drenched in the water below.

Starkad had seen him coming, and the effect was immediate. Her colors faded. Does he actually enjoy ruining my fun?

[Spitnose]

As the boat slid out proper, she grinned wide. The fresh ocean air already filling her chest And best of all, her dragon companion seemed to be enoying the ride even more than she was. "Just stay steady!" Once the wind had caught the sails she didn't really have to do much. "You like the view huh?" Had she had better hearing, or perhaps her head turned a different direction, she might have heard some one yelling at her. But unfortunatly for him her focus was dead ahead.

While she certainly didn't hear anything coming, she sure as hell fit the impact as her boat was jostled. "What did we hit?" She left her spot at the helm and looked over the edge. Blinking, she was extremely confused when she saw a person in the water. She wasn't sure what she expected it, but another viking was not even on the list. "You know, generally if you want on a boat you don't hit the side of it." She commented idly, arms resting on the edge as she stared down at him.

"Normally I would leave some one to swim, but I think since you hit my boat and all, you mightn't want to be in the water right now." She turned away from him for a moment, grabbing some spare lines. "Let me guess." She tied one end around the mast, knotting it tightly. "You're Jokul. Am I right?" Coming back to the edge she tossed the line over. Resting her elbows on the edge once more, she then put her chin in her hand. "I can get in there if you need help." She lifted a brow, brushing her bangs aside.

She never did get a response from the dragon on if her rider would be okay with this, but guess the fact he had charged down her boat that he was not happy with this situation. Suddenly she wasn't really wanting to be between the two. Frowning a bit, she realized if anything happened it was probably her fault at this point.

Whilst all this was going on, the small Terror found itself confused as to why they were now moving. Chirping slightly it nibbled on some fish remains, and burried itself into another barrel. It paid the other dragon no heed, why should it? They were far to busy at the moment. And all the big fish were gone anyways.

[Jokul & Starkad]

Having her brother join in on her adventure wasn't part of the plan. Starkad just wanted to shoo him back to the village, but with Spit offering her help, there wasn't much she could do. Spit was already her friend, at least, to Starkad, she was.

"You know, generally if you want on a boat you don't hit the side of it."

Jokul couldn't see. Not due to his injury, but because of the saltwater in his eyes. At first, he was confused as to where the voice came from. It wasn't Starkad's, but he knew it was coming from the boat above him. He tried to wipe the water away, but only succeeded in making them sting more. 

"And generally, people ask before taking another person's dragon on a boat trip!!" He didn't mean to put it so harshly, but the stinging in his eyes was getting to him. Well that, and the fact he felt like an idiot jumping onto a ship that's sailing away.

"Normally, I'd leave someone to swim, but I think since you hit my boat and all, you mightn't want to be in the water right now."

He grumbled and continued to keep himself afloat. "Really?" The sarcastic comment was out of his mouth before he could think.

"Let me guess... You're Jokul, right?"

The boy didn't want to know what Starkad had said about him, knowing she was the reason this person knew his name. He heard something land in the water with a small splash. His eyes strained to open without burning, but he picked out what looked like a rope.

Instead of answering the question, he reached for the object that had been thrown in the water. "I can get in there if you need help."

Though the rope was slippery and hard to hold onto, Jokul hoisted himself out of the water. "I'm fine!" He retorted. Not a second after he said that, his feet lost traction on the boat's hull. Thankfully, his arms didn't lose grip, but with nothing to shield his face, he slammed into the side of the ship once again. "Just... give me a minute."

Back at the bow of the vessel, Starkad curled her tail around her legs. Jokul wasn't going to be happy when he finally got up on the deck, namely at her. After this whole thing was done, she'd be lucky if he didn't tell her mother about what happened.

It took time, and a few grunts, but Jokul got himself up to the gunwale. His toes couldn't quite give him enough leverage through his boots, and left his lower half hanging over the sea. The climb up had left him exhausted, and by the looks of it, he wasn't going to be able to go the rest of the way.

Starkad's color dimmed when Jokul's glare was directed at her. "What in the Hel do you think you're you doing?!" He clawed into the wood of the ship in a last ditch effort to get up. When it didn't work, he sighed angrily, and went limp.

"Could you at least help me, you dumb lump of scales?"

By the looks of it, the hobblegrunt wasn't even going to move from her spot. So Jokul turned his head to search for other means of hauling himself up. He barely managed to spot the terror among the barrels, but it wasn't exactly going to help him. When he found the girl that'd thrown the rope, the first thing he noted was she was taller than expected. The voice he'd heard came from what sounded like a 10 year old, and leaning on the ship next to him was someone about the same height as himself.

Besides that, he wasn't really able to see specific details. Is that dirt on her face? He questioned mentally.

"Think you could give guy a hand?"

[Spitnose]

Lifting a brow, she watched him in the water. He wasn't drowning, so she didn't feel an immediate urge to jump in and rescue him. His attempts at clearing his vision made her want to laugh, but she held it back. Maybe now wasn't quite the right time.

"And generally, people ask before taking another person's dragon on a boat trip!!"

She snorted a bit, looking like she had been wounded. "Excuuuuuuuse me! She wanted to come." She folded her arms and huffed a bit. "Not my fault your dragon snuck onto my boat anyways." She muttered mostly to herself, but not quite inaudible to those around her. Maybe getting permission from a dragon wasn't exactly 'proper' permission, but still. Spit hadn't known who he was until literally a few seconds ago, how was she suppose to know who to ask? It all made sense, to her. "Besides! Look what your dragon did to my fish supplies!"

He didn't seem to be wanting to talk. And in fact looked quite cross. She just grinned, watching him take the rope. This was going to be interesting. She could easily hoist herself back into the boat via a rope, but she knew it wasn't as easy as that for most. In fact a lot of people had trouble with it. She was hoping maybe he would fall back in. Might be fun.

"I'm fine!"

"Oh yeah, okay. Sure." She mocked, before laughing. And sure enough, he seemed to go for a bit of a tumble. Still holding on, surprisingly, she was actually a little bit impressed. So he was quite resilient, good to know.

"Just... give me a minute."

"I'll give you two." Her grin went quite smug for a moment, apparently quite pleased with herself. After quite enough struggling he was at least perched upon the boat.

"What in the Hel do you think you're you doing?!"

She lifted a brow at the exchange, the dragon upon her boat did not response so naturally she stepped in. "Having a bit of fun is what." She stuck her tongue out a bit, before folding her arms. Jeez, he kind of was a major stick in the mud. And if he hadn't already figured it out, likely knew she could at least understand Dragonese.

"Could you at least help me, you dumb lump of scales?"

Looking casually back over at her new found dragon buddy, she snorted slightly. She wasn't going anywhere, and that was obvious. So she stepped forward, legs spread slightly and hands on her hips. She had a really weird look that she intended to imply she could help, but she just looked kind of awkward.

"Think you could give guy a hand?"

She let out a whoop of joy. "Thought you'd never ask." She cracked her knuckles, sporting a grin as wide as her face. "I've never helped another person out of the water before." Yes, she had specifically waited till that moment to tell him. Leaning over the side a bit she grabbed the back of his clothes, pulling him up from the water. "If you can keep pulling yourself up with the rope, that will help a lot!" Her feet were firmly on the side of the boat, using pretty much all her strength in an attempt to hoist the soaked viking into her boat.

She was full aware that when he pulled on the rope, their combined efforts would knock her right over, and chances are him as well. She hoped it didn't, but the truth was as plain as day now. Even she could see it.

What she couldn't see, was the small terror creeping up on the other dragon upon the boat. It scuttled between empty barrels, sniffing here and there. Blinking it's eyes, one at a time, it stared up at the other dragon. "Who are you? I've never seen you around before." It's tiny tail lashed. "This is our fish!" It let out a small hiccough of fire, as if attempting to be threatening.

[Jokul & Starkad]

Being laughed at wasn't on Jokul's list of things to do today. In fact, the only thing that was, was giving Starkad an earfull. Her usual antics had caused two of Agnes' sheep to jump over the fence and escape into the woods.

"Having a bit of fun is what."

Starkad bobbed her head a bit at the statement, but it went unnoticed by her rider. "Fun? Oh yes, because when I'm bored, I go hang around a bunch of stinky, slimy, fish." He grumbled.

Leaning over the side of the ship was taking its toll on the boy's ribs. He was starting to get light-headed when he heard, "I've never helped someone out of the water before."

Oh great... "Then it'll be a learning experience for the both of us." He groaned out as the girl tried to heft his upper body onto the deck. "Ow." He said plainly.

"If you can keep pulling yourself up with the rope, that will help a lot."

Oh finally, she says something helpful. Jokul did as she suggested, but with his ribs compressed against the gunwale, his breath was labored and short. "If I get bruised ribs from this, Starkad, I swear..." He wheezed angrilly.

The hobblegrunt across the boat kept her eyes down guiltily, but while doing so, a small terror slithered into her vision, and soon more joined them. At first, the sudden appearance of the small dragons startled Starkad enough to make her scales flash red and yellow as a warning, but they returned to their usual green and yellow after identifying the threat.

[Osvald, Gummy, & Terrible Co.]

[ooc] I'm now taking control of the NPC Terrors >:3

---

Zippy had been exploring the boat for a while after having her fill of fish. It was interesting to the purple Terror, while it had the familiar wooden smell like the other human structures, it also had a variety of other smells that were different. Most notably was the strong smell of fish that seemed to be embedded into the wood, and the salt from the ocean water that splashed aboard. Then there was the smell of another dragon... wait, another dragon?

She began following her nose, weaving through the mostly empty fish barrels, following the scent of the other dragon with difficulty. The smell of fish was everywhere of course, so that made things a bit challenging. As she was slinking about, the smell got stronger and stronger until she found what she was looking for. While expecting it, she was still surprised to come face to face with the larger dragon.

Her first instinct was attempt to make the other dragon back off, blasting a quick flame for added effect. If this dragon was to show even a blink of hostility she wouldn't hesitate to go for the face, this fish was for her family!

The commotion didn't go completely unnoticed to the rest though. At the sound of possible conflict, three of her children poked out from where they were before, be it exploring the deck or lying in a fish barrel. First to show up was Ghost from inside a barrel he was sleeping in, and just as quickly vanished to play dead at the sight of the colour changing dragon.

Zippy was first to realize that the Hobblegrunt was harmless, she had enough encounters with the dragons to know that if it wasn't red then all was good, and the dragon was no longer the colour. The other two younger dragons had yet to have this embedded in their knowledge however.

While Tailless was still weary even after seeing her mother calm down, Target continued the aggression. If anyone didn't know what each colour meant on these dragons, it would be her. She'd forget her own wings if they weren't attached to her back. «YEAH! This fish is ours!» She hissed as she arched her back, wings flapping menacingly.

As Tailless looked back between her mother, sister, and the larger dragon in front, she decided to say something. «They don't look that scary.»

«And how can you be so sure?» Target wasn't so convinced since the flash of colour obviously meant something bad. Her question triggered a sudden action in her sister however.

«Well they're not a Rumblehorn for one.» And then the green dragon leaped to grab the Hobblegrunt's face, which to be honest, she wasn't sure what she'd do after landing.

Meanwhile at the higher points of the boat, two male Terrors were more content to watch what was going around them. While Boot Licker was taking in everything while lazily gnawing a fish he dragged up, Bug Breath was taking an interest in what the humans were doing. The purple Terror was thoroughly amused by the clumsy display of one human attempting to drag the other on the boat. Just then he realized there was something familiar about one of the humans and he swooped in, landing on the part of the gunwale just next to the humans.

Sure enough, when the brightly coloured Terror landed, he recognized one of them. The one being pulled up he remembered seeing a few times whenever he was chatting with other Terrors in the village. A bit strange but it didn't bother Bug Breath in the slightest. Then he realized the girl was also familiar, he often saw her refilling the dragon troughs with fish. Of course, being familiar faces didn't mean he wouldn't have a bit of fun with them.

He started to bob his head enthusiastically as his brain began storming up ideas on what to do. «Human! You're all wet! Trying to find fishies were ya?» He then climbed onto the back of the soaked viking and began to nibble at his sea-flavoured hair. Then found something of interest, there was something tying it together! «What's this?» He chewed it experimentally before deciding to start yanking it. «It's mine now!»

Boot Licker watched as his son pestered the humans, finishing the last of the fish in front of him. He dropped the remains below as he glided his way towards where his pack was interacting with the Hobblegrunt. He wanted more fish, and there was probably a few scraps left in a barrel.

There was one Terror of the pack though that was missing from all the current boat happenings. Cabbage Face was still stuck in the netting that the human girl moved earlier. Sleeping in it seemed like a good idea at the time, this she now realized was a mistake. The blue and green Terror had been trying for a while to untangle herself for a while but just kept getting more and more stuck. She didn't know how, but the ropes were now slowly constricting her breathing.

«Help! Can someone hear me?» Her cries were mangled by the net, and only getting worse in her panic. Each second made her squirm more, which also made things worse. Fear overtook her, she didn't want to die here! She then began releasing flames as a last ditch effort to escape. While damp, the net wasn't wet enough to withstand some of the flames, and if enough time passed, it would certainly grow bigger and faster.