[Open] Through Sorrows and Delights

[Gunnar the Gullible]

Time and Date:: December 31rst, Mid-afternoon

Weather:: Drop dead cold, snowing heavily, heavy fog

Previous Threads?::  None

CURRENT IC SEASON - Winter

"Aye, I'll never find it." Muttered a voice from the mist. It was a damp, dismal day in Berk, as per usual in the winter time. The snow had accumulated several feet in most areas, going up to most Berkians knees. Most fortunately, the boy who happened to be trekking through the forest was quite tall, taller then most. He was not your typical viking; he was not big and bulky, not heavy in weight nor even like smaller, short and tiny vikings. No, he was tall, skinny, and lanky. He was the most un-viking like boy you could ever hope to meet; or at least, for the next hundred years or so. He was trekking through the snow, the snow only going up to his shins, eyeing a map he had made. Slowly he was mapping out places in Berk, exploring new places every day. Today he hoped to track down the cove; where the infamous story of how Berk came to be today started; where every Viking child dreamed of seeing that one night fury still romping around; where imaginations could take wing, and one could almost feel the ominous feeling that they were being watched.

It was for this thrill that the boy came out of his hut that morning to journey out. He had been wandering aimlessly for several hours, carrying a knapsack on his shoulder, a dagger in his back pocket, and a map in his hands. As he was wandering, he quite suddenly came to a cliff. "What the...?" He said, reaching out his hands to touch the stone wall; for he could barely see a few feet in front of him, let alone if there was a way around it. Searching for some other way to go through, he was quite surprised when, as he leaned against the wall walking sideways, he fell forward and smack onto his face. Surprised, he found that he was in a small passageway.. Looking out before him, he could see the fog hovering over the ground, seeming to float like a cloud. Step by step, he started to climb downwards, until at last he felt solid ground beneath him. Walking along, he could make out various things as he searched; a frozen lake, rock formations, and various plant life. Yet as he wandered around, he gasped, "No way..." For he had realized that he was in a valley of sorts. Could it be.. Could he have found.. the cove...?

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"When the cold winds are a-calling
And the sky is clear and bright,
Misty mountains sing and beckon,
Lead me out into the light...

I will ride, I will fly,
Chase the wind and touch the sky,
I will fly,
Chase the wind and touch the sky..."

Verdandi sang as she and Skysong headed out of her home, Skysong crooning along with her. The crooning noise stopped as Verdandi trekked out into the freezing wet snow. Skysong let out an annoyed sound and Verdandi turned around. "I know you hate the wet, but its been like this for months now, you should be used to it," Verdandi scolded lightly. Skysong tentatively stepped out into the snow, making a hissing noise. Verdandi rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, you only do this because you love me, I know. The things you must do for a loved on are tasking," she replied sarcastically. With a huff, Skysong pushed Verdandi into the snow. Something akin to a laugh exited the dragons beak-like mouth as Verdandi struggled to stand up. Giving her dragon the stink eye, she threw a snowball at Skysong. Letting out an indignant sound, this led to a chase between the two that brought them to the edge of the forest.

Verdandi paused to catch her breath, and Skysong snuffled around the snow a few feet away from her. After she caught her breath, Verdandi went over to see what had caused such excitement in her dragon; footprints. Leading right into the forest. Curious, Verdandi signaled  Skysong to hush, and the two quickly followed the fading footprints. Soon they had to rely on Skysong to follow the trail, as the falling snow made the tracks disappear.

"Skysong, can you keep tracking this?" They had come quite far into the woods, and Skysong shook her head, letting out a sad noise. Verdandi looked around with narrowed eyes and let out a triumphant noise when she spotted a broken branch. "This way Skysong. I hope we don't have to travel much farther..." That was when through the silence she heard muted footsteps. She hurried in that direction, bumping into a wall and falling comically on her behind. Skysong let out another laugh, but helped Verdandi stand up again. Following the wall, she felt the wall curve in; there was a passage, and Verdandi stepped in only to find the footprints again, brief, but there. Skysong trilled and shoved past Verdandi into the passage, the dragons curiosity at a high. Verdandi followed the dragon until they looked down into a small valley, where Verdandi was surprised to see a figure in the fog. "Hello?" she called out.

[Gunnar the Gullible]

The cove. Really, of all places to have stumbled on; could he have really happened upon the very place he had been searching for since... since his childhood?! Eagerly he stepped around the cove, finding that it all added up according to legends of old. There was the valley surrounded by walls, the lake the dragon had made futile attempts to feed out of, and other old rotted trees. As he looked around, he could smell a rotting odor. He realized, as he stepped in the snow, he heard a cracking sound. "That's.. odd..." He said to himself.



He lifted his foot, stepping elsewhere, but was greeted with the crunch of snow. Digging for a few moments, he finally saw them; there they were, clear as day... Very, very old fish-bones on the ground. It appeared the fish was half eaten, and completely rotted to the bone to the point it didn't even look like a fish any more; rather a few broken up bones. Yet he could make out the tail of the fish, indicating it was indeed a rotted away piece of fish meat. The stench was near unbearable, and he plugged his nose, backing away.


Suddenly he felt as though he were being watched. "Oh Thor.. The legends really are true..." He said quietly, a shiver running down his spine. In his mind he could only imagine the spirit of the night fury and the boy watching him, just like in the legends of old. So imagine his surprise when a voice rang out; offering a kind hello. Despite the kindness, the voice echoing through the cove made him screech in terror. "OH MY GODS!" He turned, pivoting on his heel, heaving in breathe after breathe, to see a figure standing in the passageway.



Pure shock overwhelmed him, followed by fear; in the fog he couldn't make out whether the figure was boy nor girl, lady or man; or more importantly... Friend or foe? It made a panic rise in him, as he quickly realized this person must have followed him here or something crazy like that? How else would they have known he was here? So, from his shaky position in the cove, he tried to get a better view as he took a step back from the figure, finally managing the courage to speak, "W-Who are ye...? What do ya want?" He called back shakily, taking a few steps back. "W-Why'd ya follow me?"

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Verdandi snorted as she realized who was in the little valley in front of her. Signaling to Skysong, she got on the dragons back, and the dragon maneuvered them down to the bottom of what Verdandi realized was a beautiful old cove... A small gasp left her throat when she realized where she was. Could this be the cove of legend... where the first bond between dragon and human was created? Skysong seemed to realize she was somewhere special as well. She peered around sniffing the air, and let out a soft noise to let Verdandi know they were safe.

"Gunnar? Is that you? It's Verdandi and Skysong..." Skysong stepped in the direction of the other viking-in-training. "We followed your steps, then tracked you through the fog..." Verdandi got off of Skysong's back, the two walking closer to Gunnar.

"This place is amazing! How did you find it?" Verdandi asked in silent awe. Skysong was slowly walking around, sniffing the ground. She moved around the perimeter of the cove, while Verdandi stood next to Gunnar. A happy trill came from her dragon, as she dug into the snow to pick up something small in the snow. Jogging over to Verdandi, the dragon nudged her rider until the dark haired viking in training turned to her dragon and held out her hand.

The dragon promptly dropped a ragged, matte black scale into her hand. Verdandi stared at the scale in awe. She suddenly gasped, and poked Gunnar hard in the arm. "Look what Skysong dug up! Do you think it's old or new? If it's old..." She trailed off, hoping maybe Gunnar would catch her line of thought.

[Gunnar the Gullible]

Narrowing his eyes, he squinted to try and get a better look at the person standing before him. It wasn't until he heard a rustling that he realized the figure was approaching. Backing up, he heard a reptilian sound; Oh thor! What if this was a dragon ready to attack him. Quickly, he shielded his face before a voice made him peer out. It was feminine, and calling his name. He tried to figure out who it was, but he needn't wait long; for momentarily she told him her name and her dragons. Breathing a sigh of relief, quickly straightened, "Aye, it's me alright." He called back. "Just me..."



At her explanation of following him, he stared at her puzzled, "Well yes I get that ya followed me, but why.. Why did ye have to follow me? Did you need me for something, or..." He trailed off, awkwardly shifting in place. This girl was a few years older then him, and being around her made him antsy, though he hadn't the faintest clue why.


Just then she voiced her amazement at the place, and he gave a small, barely noticeable smile, "Aye, it is." He said quietly, before stuffing his hands in his pockets. He suddenly caught himself staring into the distance, lost in thought, before her voice brought him back to reality. "Oh Thor.. That's a scale.. and not just any scale..." He moved to grab the scale, to look it over. "That's.. That's a night fury scale..." He shivered at the mere thought of a night fury lingering nearby, but pushed the thought from his mind. Staring at the scale, he frowned, "Wouldn't be something if it were that old dragons scales?" He said wistfully, his voice thoughtful as he over turned it.



His gaze went to the skies, "Just imagine.. A dragon.. Given the ability to fly again.. by a viking just like your or me... and what's more, it was back when dragons were at war with em. I wonder how in Thor's name the boy pulled it off..." He was talking more to himself then to her and when he realized his thoughts had been voiced aloud he turned pale. Momentarily though he moved to hand her back the scale, "This one's fresh, though... See, there's fresh blood on it. Looks like the bugger got into a scrap." He looked around, shivering a little at the thought of a night fury being around here. What if the beast was watching them? What if the beast was still around... just waiting to strike?

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Eira grunted as she tripped and nearly fell face-first into the snow. She picked herself up and attempted to brush her clothes off before continuing onward. She had planned on spending the day working on her tracking, and two of her fellow Vikings-in-training gave her the perfect opportunity. Gunnar didn’t strike her as the most interesting Viking to follow around, so she wasn’t sure about it at first. Then Verdandi came strolling along after him on her Sprinter. “No way…” Eira said out loud. She had a clue as to where Gunnar was headed. He was looking for the cove.

She jumped forward, following after the two young Vikings. It wasn’t hard to track them down, since the Sprinter had left footprints and the snow hadn’t completely covered them yet. She could faintly hear the voices of the two now talking, and she stopped right before bumping into the wall as Verdandi had. She reached her hand out, carefully following it along with her fingertips, until she reached the dip in the wall where the passage began. She couldn’t see a thing, but she could hear the other voices now. She listened to the awkward greeting exchanged between the two, deciding it best not to jump in just yet.

Then she heard something that really caught her attention. Did they just find… a dragon scale? In here? she thought to herself. She stepped forward and leaned in as close as she could without being seen so that she could listen. At Gunnar’s next words she stumbled forward, right in front of the other two. “A night fury scale?” she asked excitedly. She cleared her throat and rubbed her hands on her coat, realizing her sudden outburst must have caught them off guard. “Can I see it?” she asked somewhat sheepishly.