Departure [OPEN]

[Ulrika&Timber]

Time and Date:: Afternoon, several days before snoggletog
Weather:: Sleeting, cold and miserable.

Ulrika hated Snoggletog, but the chief insisted that it was village effort to get everything set up. She had no interest in decoration, and every time she tried to sneak off Carrier would find her and bring her back. That had happened eight times already in the past five hours.

She was currently using Timber as a stepladder, with lots of nails in her lips as she had to hammer up some crude bunting in the plaza. Timber was content to help, Ulrika was short and perhaps standing on her back would help her balancing skills when in flight. She had been put in the plaza so there were more eyes on her.

Timber was absent-mindedly looking around the plaza. Everyone was busy doing one thing or another. Everyone's dragons were also helping, too! She had heard little of snoggletog, but it seemed like a rather nice time, despite the bitter cold. 'Maybe thats why they celebrated,' she thought. 'To distract them from the cold.'

Suddenly there was a shrill dragon roar. Timber's ears began to vibrate as she could hear the dragons tensing up. Some looked to the skies. The migration had begun. Her eyes turned to slits. It was time to leave.

Ulrika was busy hammering nails and failing to do so, a lot of them were bending the wrong way, which frustrated her. Suddenly Timber lurched and Ulrika almost lost her balance. "Timber, stay still! I'm trying to-" She could finish her sentence as Timber bounced away, making her tumble to the floor. Luckily the hammer didnt fall on her but she almost impaled herself on the nails in her mouth. She quickly spat them out and followed Timber. She ignored the other dragons beginning to leave.

"T-Timber? What are you doing? We're not finished-" Timber turned around, and her stare made her freeze to the spot. She hadn't seen the dragon's eyes so thin before, it was shocking. The Night Fury then took off - vertically into the air. As Ulrika followed the dragon with her eyes she was met with the hordes of dragons in the sky, all flying south east. "Timber!!" She yelled, her eyes welling up even though she was in the middle of the plaza.

Ulrika had a look of dread on her face. It was Snoggletog. The dragons always leave at Snoggletog. This would be Ulrika's first snoggletog with a dragon, and the way the dragon left terrified her. It was a normal thing, everyone else seemed fine, but Ulrika was distraught.

She felt eyes on her, and quickly ran away, descending to the lower parts of the village, to the dragon racing stands and looked out to the migrating dragons. She sniffed and rubbed her eyes. She didn't want Timber to leave. Not for Snoggletog. Ulrika hated Snoggletog.

[Sundra Svanhidlr]

    Snoggletog was an iffy holiday for Sundra. Part of her loved it while the other part of her hated it. She loved it just cause it was a time to screw around, do her own thing and just enjoy herself with friends. She hated it because she was FORCED to do work around the village to set up for the event of course. Then again everyone had to help out, but the point was still there of course.

    Sundra was around and about, really just dragging supplies around for people that needed them, though she didn't know why she took that job instead of just sitting back in one spot and doing the same thing over and over again, like nailing shields to the wooden tree in the plaza or to homes. At least she didn't have the chance of breaking her face with a hammer or something along those lines.

    She dropped a small crate down near a group of workers that were singing some sort of tune together, she didn't care enough to figure out what exactly but she smiled at them. "There's your nails and boards you wanted." She said with a wave of the hand to the crate before walking off, "Try not to loose a finger this year!" She called back as she headed towards the plaza.

    As she walked along her ear caught the sound of a dragons roar. She raised an eyebrow and looked about, "Hmm?" She mummbled to herself as she noticed dragons taking to the sky, "Oh.. That time already eh? " She gave a shrug of the shoulders as she stood on the edge of the plaza. But her attention was soon drawn by another sound, a familiar voice to her. She looked to where the voice came from and saw Ulrika standing there, and she looked curiously.

    "The hells wrong with her.." He muttered to herself before seeing Ulrika bolt off into the lower village. Sundra glanced around and started walking off in the direction the blonde went. For once maybe she was going to be nice to her, though its not like she hasn't been nice to Ulrika before, it was just hard half the time.

    Slowly moving in and out of small path ways, Sundra listened around as she was now away from the general public at this point. She looked around and heard a sniffle or two nearby by and she looked in the direction it came from. "Ulrika?" She questioned as she walked up the steps to the stands.

    There she saw Ulrika looking out to the sea, watching the fleeting dragons head south. Sundra didn't have a dragon yet so she wasn't exactly concerned with their leaving the island, but it was common knowledge that they would come back in a week or so. Sundra took a seat on one of the stands and glanced over her shoulder to Ulrika, "You know they leave every year. So why are you so upset about it?" She asked curiously.

[Valgard & Stump]

    Valgard had just brought back his seventh tree for the day, which was a new record for him, with his buddy Stump trailing behind him. Snoggletog was coming up, and Valgard loved Snoggletog because it was a time to do even more work than usual without feeling completely alone in doing it. He was on a roll. "Well Stump. It has been a fine day to work. The conditions couldn't be better." He let loose a short breath of cold air and smiled. It was that kind of day to him. The sleet and cold mixed into a perfect blend of the winter weather that Valgard loved. The pounding of the sleet on his forearms was a pleasant, almost blissful, experience. It chilled him to the point where he was wide awake, yet it put him in a state where he wanted to sleep a little bit more.

    Stump was getting more and more uncontrollable as the week progressed, and Valgard took notes of how wild Stump was getting. One occasion Stump fired off all of his shots to light as many beards on fire as he could. Earlier that week Stump put Valgard into a status of "On watch" after Stump had lit a section of Valgard's home on fire. Just the day before, Stump jumped onto the back of the Chief and refused to let go until Valgard whipped him with an eel. Valgard had apologized with immense emotion and pretty much begged for forgiveness. Snoggletog was rough for Stump. It riled him up. It made him more unpredictable than ever. 

    Valgard was chatting away re-entering the forest, when suddenly Stump ran deep into the forest. Valgard, quickly reacting, ran after him to make sure that he didn't cause any trouble. After a half a mile sprint into the woods, he found Stump napping on an old tree stump. "Come on. You nearly had me worried half to death." He put his face into the palm of his hand. "When will I learn that you don't even understand me. I am going to need to teach you some hand signs one of these days." He smiled at his friend, and he picked him up to carry him back into the village. Suddenly, Stump kicked back out of Valgard's arms and stood defensively. "I remember the last time Snoggletog came around. Calm down. Relax." He approached Stump in a gentle, loving manner and picked him up again. "Let's get you down to the docks so you can get going, yes?"

    After the second time he was picked up, Stump relaxed a little, and even passed out for a minute. When he awoke, he was on the docks with Valgard. He knew it was time to go and cause a little ruckus in the middle of the night as quietly as he could. Stump loved Snoggletog, though he didn't know that it was called that. He murred and spread what wings he had and took off. 

    Valgard almost laughed as his dragon flew off. At least one week of not getting in trouble was coming up. Valgard chuckled quietly to himself. He started to head back, but decided to check if any races were going before the dragons all left. Instead of being greeted by excitement and cheers of racing, he was met with a girl crying. He decided to play low and not speak up because he saw another girl counseling her already. Besides, would his social awkwardness be welcome in such a delicate situation? He stood solemnly way off to the side. He didn't want to interfere with anything going on.

[Ulrika&Timber]

Ulrika heard the steps on wood as someone was approaching her. She did her best to avoid eye contact whatsoever, also meaning she didn't know who it was. It turned out to be Sundra, of all people. After Grima, Sundra was the next big bully.

"Go away." Ulrika said, but the headstrong Sundra wouldn't. But instead of jibing, she commented on the obvious - indeed, the dragons return every year, what did Ulrika have to worry about?

"I wanted Timber to stay... Snoggletog would be better if she was here. I hate Snoggletog! If she was here it would be a bit more bearable..." Ulrika ranted, her voice breaking slightly from the emotion.

She sensed someone else near by and turned to look, spotting another classmate. She groaned loudly. Ulrika also briefly glanced at Sundra behind her. "What, what is this? Some kind of special meeting or something? Leave me alone!"

It didn't occur to her that the whole point of her being upset was that she didn't want to be alone for Snoggletog, and now she was telling these two classmates to leave her alone. But Ulrika didn't want to come off as a wuss in front of her classmates.

[Sundra Svanhidlr]

    Sundra rolled her eyes in slight annoyance as Ulrika told her to go away. There wasn't a way in hell that was happening right now, Sundra was too busy trying to be nice during the festive season! She shook her head abit even though the blonde wasn't paying attention to her actions, but Sundra listened when Ulrika made comment about wanting her dragon to stay.

    When Sundra was about to make comment she noticed one of their other classmates nearby. She gave a slight wave of the hand and looked back to Ulrika, "Not important." She said as she walked over to Ulrika and took a seat down next to her.
    
    This was weird. Not the whole sitting beside Ulrika part, but the whole sitting beside Ulrika part and not immediately hitting her in the arm or something along the lines. Sundra looked out to the fleeting dragon flock in the distance and sighed abit, "Hey look." Sundra started as she pointed a finger to the flock, "There goes my asshole-ness, flap flap flap. Only to be back in a week." She smirked at her own comment and looked to Ulrika.

"    I dunno what to suggest.. I'm never in this situation where I try to help people.." Sundra said, "Maybe you should just focus on talking to other people, neighbours, friends, classmates, anyone really."

[Valgard & Stump]

    Valgard was unsure of how to respond. The two female classmates, both of which could probably beat him up he might add, that were standing in front of him were waving him off and telling him to go away. He felt slightly hurt, but at the same time he understood why. Snoggletog meant dragons leaving. To some, like him, it was a relief, and to others, like his classmate in front of him, it was like having a piece of you torn away from you forcefully. He stood for a minute before making up his mind on what he wanted to do.

    "C-c-can I help... you?" He tried not to stutter, and he tried to be calm, but he stuttered anyway. He cursed himself in his head. "I... I am not very good at a lot of things, but I can try." He smiled slightly. He really wanted to help in anyway he could though, deep inside he knew he would likely be turned down. He tried to extend a helping hand anyway. It wouldn't be Snoggletog if he didn't, nor would it be himself if he didn't. 

    Valgard personally hated distress. He knew that he would try to stop it in anyway he can. He also hated sadness. Having been apart of both himself, he knew that it was never a walk in the park when it struck though, his sadness was small and petty. He smile again and patiently waited to see if he would even be noticed again to begin with. His thoughts swirled though. Here he was talking to classmates he hasn't even met yet, but he might just make a new friend, or a "Friend" at least would be nice. 

[Ulrika&Timber]

Ulrika budged to distance herself from Sundra as her classmate sat down beside her. Sundra made a remark about her attitude leaving for the holiday, but it flew over Ulrika's head, and she squinted at the flock to see if she could see something like that, but it wasn't to be.

"I don't trust you Sundra. You're up to one of your tricks again." She scowled and avoided eye contact. "I talk to people all the time, what's the difference at Snoggletog? Heck, it's harder to talk to people at Snoggletog 'cause they spend so much time in their families." Valguard piped up once again, and was very modest, and Ulrika only just registered it.

Not enjoying Sundra's space, she got up again and moved away, but this time towards Valguard. She didn't know him well since he spent so much time in the woods, but she could probably guess that he was nicer than Sundra would probably ever be, even if she tried.

"What are you good at, then?" She knew he had a dragon, though nothing like Timber. "Aren't you sad your dragon's gone? I don't know if my dragon will even come back. Everyone knows I'm not good with dragons. I bet she'd have been waiting for this time to go and not return."

[Sundra Svanhidlr]

"Excuse me Ulrika." Sundra commented annoyingly after Ulrika already accused her of being up to 'one of her tricks' again. "Maybe I am trying to be nice and helpful for one eh? This is a time to be happy and festive, not moppy and annoying."

She watched as Ulrika got up and moved to Valguard, she rolled her eyes and stood where she was, arms crossed as she looked over to the pair for a moment. Sundra always figured that Ulrika just had trust issues, not to mention who knows what else could be wrong with her in the head half the time. She looked out to the sea and saw nothing but the groups of ice floating about and the sea stacks that rose out of the water.

Sundra wasn't going to fight with Ulrika, she was most definitely not in the fighting kind of mood. If Ulrika wanted to be a little more mature for once and actually talk to her, fine then so be it, Sundra will talk to her. But until then Sundra wasn't going to waste her breath on arguing anymore. She took a seat on the edge of the platform and looked around, mindlessly listening to the conversation going on behind her.

[Valgard & Stump]

    Surprised at the sudden shift in attention from Sundra to himself, he smiled a little at the question. There was obvious tension between Ulrika and Sundra, but it didn't really phase him. He suddenly felt really confident and talkative. Stump was a pain in his side, but Stump was the only topic that he could openly and confidently talk about.  "I am quite glad my dragon is gone. Stump is a troublemaker always lighting beards on fire. He burned part of my house down earlier. He actually scratched me decently today before he left a bit ago." Valgard smiled again, but suddenly snapped out of his hypnotic state.

    Valgard looked over to Sundra and smiled. He noticed her attempt to be legitimately nice and motioned her to come sit by him. Maybe he could ease some tensions, or this would end disastrously. Her back was turned to him though, so she probably didn't see his motion.

    He turned then to Ulrika: "I guess I am... good at... thinking and... apologizing. But, you shouldn't really... er, worry about your dragon. They always come back... at least I am pretty sure. I've seen some bad owners... but the dragons came back. And look at me. I can barely control Stump. Once they put their nose into your palm, they are like a best friend. They come back." He smiled at his sudden surge of confidence at that point, but it died down.

    Valgard looked at Sundra. "Hey... can you maybe... come here please? I could use you for a second if you don't really... mind. Maybe we can solve... an issue or two..." He tried to maintain a very light and pleasant manner. 

[Ulrika&Timber]

Ulrika slumped her shoulders as the shier guy tried to be encouraging. He talked about how his own dragon was a pain. "Timber is like my bestest friend." Ulrika replied without thinking. She realised what she just said - since Grima turned on her, she hadn't actually had any proper friends - well, friends on the same level that Ulrika and Grima had. Timber really proved herself to be a wonderful companion.

"I kinda wish that she had stayed, though... You really think she'll come back?" She thought back to the time they finally became parnters, though it didn't seem like it. If Timber was her friend, why did she have to leave? Snoggletog was all about friendship and family, though Ulrika knew little of the latter.

Valguard assured her that her dragon would come back. She could feel herself welling up inside, but didn't dare show it. He seemed so certain! Maybe she'd just have to believe. She looked out to the ocean again. The last of the dragons were becoming specks in the sky.

Ulrika frowned again as Valguard called Sundra over. She glanced between them moodily. She didn't want anything to do with Sundra. Why'd he call her over?