[Jokul] Dance With Me

[Fern & Nima]

Time and Date:: December 24th, mid-evening
Weather:: Lightly snowing, stars out and moon out, very cold
 Previous Threads?:: N/A

CURRENT IC SEASON - Winter

A soft whistle filled the room, "I'll swim and sail on savage seas... "

"Come on! Dance with me!" Fern said happily, offering her hand to Jokul. At his hesitation she laughed softly, "C'mon!" She said eagerly, before dragging him out onto the dance floor. All around her vikings were taking their lovers by the hand and starting to dance.

Fern tightened her grip on his hand, stopping in a secluded part of the dance floor, in a corner where they could have a more private dance. She turned towards Jokul and moved to wrap an arm around his waist, pulling herself closer to him; as she did so a shy smile came to her face, making her bite her lower lip nervously before starting to sway back and forth slowly.

"With ne'er a fear of drowning..."

She smiled, moving her arms to his neck. Her smile faded for a moment as she peered into his eyes, temporarily lost in them; for a brief, flickering moment she wondered what his lips felt like; rather then kissing him she tried to speak, her voice coming out in a tone barely above a whisper, "Jokul I-" She was fairly certain he could hear her, for the room had grown quiet in the spot they were at, as the crowd was gathered in the center of the hall and they were off in a corner. She met his eyes, her lips parting as she inhaled deeply,  "I have to tell you something."

[Jokul & Starkad]

Jokul wouldn't say it aloud, but he was relieved Fern led him away from most of the other dancers. He'd have enough to be embarrassed about when his mother finally got drunk, never mind what she'd say if she spotted him actually participating in the festivities.

Once he felt her touch on his side his breathing pattern sped up. By force of habit, he looked down at where her arm was, barely reacting otherwise. His hands hovered in midair, not knowing where to go. Dragon dung... How come mother's dance lessons made this look so easy?

"With ne'er a fear of drowning..."

As the song continued, Fern's hands repositioned themselves around his neck. A shiver rushed up his spine upon contact, sending his heart into a frenzy along the way. Gods, why does this keep happening? She's just like any other girl, right?

"Jokul I-"

A just like that, his jumbled thoughts vanished, as if her voice, albeit barely a whisper, became the only thing he could think about.

"I have to tell you something."

Because he was so focused on listening, he'd managed to trip over his own foot. At least he ws able to catch himself before losing his balance. "I told you I'm not good..." He gave an apologetic smile and swallowed up what little dignity he had to reposition his hands.

"What were you about to say?"

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[OC- I think The Feast should be listed for Previous Threads]

[Fern & Nima]

"And gladly ride the waves of life..."

Fern pulled herself slightly closer to Jokul, her veins tingled with electricity. She felt her heart skip a beat, only to pound in her ears, as if beating in time with his own heartbeat. She let her words fall softly from her lips, and as their eyes met she found herself lost in them for a moment. She tightened her grip around his neck, moving herself closer to him. "Jokul I-"

And just like that, he tripped, and she stumbled a little as well. The icebreaker made her breathe almost a sigh of relief, before hearing his words. "S'alright." She said softly, "I'm not that good either." Her eyes ran over his face, down from his eyes to his lips, where an apologetic smile met her gaze. The thought of kissing him crossed her mind again, and she felt her cheeks grow hot at the thought. Just then he asked what she had been about to say.

Heart pounding, she inhaled deeply, trying to gather enough courage to tell him how she felt. She ran it over several times in her mind in the matter of a few moments, before finally saying softly, "Jokul I..." She leaned forward, moving her lips to one side of his cheek, whispering softly in his ear, "I.. I like you..."

"If you will marry me..."

[Redkitebait]

Admin note: Moved to Snoggletog

[Jokul & Starkad]

Let's add this to a list of things I can't handle... Jokul's whole body seemed as though to be acting against him. Not only was he finding it difficult to focus on his moving feet, but it seemed harder to see, even with his already bad eyesight.

"S'alright. I'm not that good either."

His lips twitched into a near smile. "We can't really call it dancing then, can we?" Yup... that's it... try and play it off. Good work Jokul. He thought to himself sarcastically.

"Jokul I..."

He swallowed reflexively as se grew closer. What is she doing? She couldn't possibly-

"I.. I like you..."

...

Other than his erratic breathing and heartbeat, he didn't move. He'd even stopped dancing, making the duo stand awkwardly still. I guess that explains why she's been so... clingy. He tried to form the right words, stopping himself before a sound came out.

"You like... me?" He strained his eyes harder than ever before to focus on her. "I-I..." His eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Mom's always teasing me about it... but what if she's actually right? Maybe that's why I can't think straight with her... Jokul made a subtle shake of his head to himself, and let the grin grow from ear to ear.

"It might be mutual. But I'm not really sure. I'm kinda an outsider when it comes to this stuff."

[Fern & Nima]

As Jokul seemed to recover from the slip of the foot, Fern smiled a little, biting her lip nervously. Scarcely hearing his words, she found herself rather focused on the words that were trying to form on her lips. Her stomach was entirely in knots, and as she tried speak a lump formed in her throat. Her breathing hitched for just a moment before she gave her confession. In that moment it felt as though her heart would pound right out of her chest. The moments that ticked by seemed endless, and she met his scarred eyes for a long moment as he seemed to try and meet her own gaze.

Words fumbled from his lips, and she bit her lip a bit harder, before she saw it; a grin. And it was steadily growing. She found herself starting to smile, too as his words came from him. "Then let me be an outsider with you." She said softly. Her eyes met his as she smiled, saying softly, "Lets.. Lets go slow..." She said softly, tightening her arms around him, moving closer. She could resist no more; she let her lips brush over his cheek. She pulled back slowly, "Is.. Is that slow enough?"

[Jokul & Starkad]

"Then let me be an outsider with you."

Jokul's heart thundered in his ears. I didn't even know it could get that loud! He tried to slow his breathing to rein the stupid organ in, but it only ended up getting worse when Fern spoke.

"Lets.. Lets go slow..."

There wasn't much he could do as she hovered closer. And even if he managed to speak, Jokul didn't think he'd say anything to stop her. The contact was short, but it was a kiss nonetheless. And though she moved away, his cheeks remained warm, as if her lips burnt him.

"Is.. Is that slow enough?"

A pregnant pause echoed after her question. Wait... where did that traitorous heart beat go? He faintly wondered. The focul point, however, of his attention was on what Fern was implying. Another shiver went through him when he'd barely even grazed the thought of her lips on his mouth instead of his cheek.

"I-if that was slow for you..." He took a breath to steady himself. "... I'm scared to know what fast is." Against his inner termoil, he managed to crack a smile. Jokul might've been scared, but that didn't mean he couldn't joke about it. He shifted to stand shoulder to shoulder with her. "But, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious to see where this goes... metaphorically of course." Jokul brought one of his hands up to brush hers, hesitating to actually grab it. "Besides... I'm sure Starkad will enjoy having a new playmate. Gods knows how many times I've been jumped on by that dragon."

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[OOC- If you're up to it Fern, go ahead and reply, but if you think it's good here, then you can end it too ]

[Fern & Nima]

Words fumbled from her mouth, yet she could barely hear them as they parted from her lips. Her own eyes were tracing over him, the passion building in her veins. Her cheeks betrayed her, for they shown red in the dim light. She wondered briefly if he could tell she was blushing, or if this fact was hidden from him. Yet moments later all thoughts seemed to float aside, as she prepared for what was next. It took lots of moments of courage and thought, before she suddenly just found herself just leaning forward, her lips against his cheek for a moment. She pulled back, asking if that was slow enough.

Her heart pounded, and as his humorous response met her ears, she smiled a little and laughed despite herself. "Can't say you didn't like it, though." She teased back, the icebreaker having relieved some of the tension in the air. At his next words her breathing hitched, and as he reached for her hand she found her own hand clasping around his. "Jokul..." She managed breathlessly. Words fumbled in her mind, before finally she got a hold of herself and said softly, "Suppose this makes us a.. erm.. couple.. now? I mean, not if you don't want us to be, of course, but..." She trailed off, laughing a little, "Mom will never let me live this down, I swear. Oh dear Thor what will everyone say..." She sighed, looking into his blinded eyes, "Jokul.. if you didn't want to tell anyone yet.. I'd understand. We could keep it a secret for now.. our own little secret... I just..." She grasped his hand a little tighter. "I.. I don't want to rush you."

[Jokul & Starkad]

"Can't say you didn't like it, though."

He found himself nodding, "Well, I'm pretty certain I didn't hate it." The moment his hand found hers he was sure she was blushing. He didn't have to see to know that. I'm already getting to know her quirks... perfect. That fact alone was enough to bring a tinge to his own cheeks.

He didn't say much as she started rambling off, trying to decide how to answer. While he didn't have a clue as to how to maintain a girlfriend, he wasn't one to argue. Jokul was pretty much certain that this might very well be his only chance at getting a girl.

"A couple, eh?" He sighed, circling his thumb across her knuckles. "I suppose I could try... but I'm not guaranteeing anything. For all we know, this could go downhill fast." The teen swallowed at the thought. He didn't even really know the girl too much, but he was sure he wouldn't want to push her away. If things went south, he hoped she could at least be his friend, considering he still doesn't have much.

"Y-you know... I think my mom's going to have a field day with this too. At least she won't know until after the mead's out of her system." He craned his neck back to spot his already drunken mother dancing with his father. Poor dad... I feel sorry for him right now.

"And another thing." Jokul turned to face her. "Once she knows, it'll only be a matter of time before everyone knows, so we might as well not try to hide it. It'll only make it worse for the long run."

"So..." Just when he thought he'd mustered up enough bravery, he lost it all in the blink of an eye. He started shifting from foot to foot, trying to find the words. "I-if we're o-official then... How about we meet up after our next dragon training lesson. I m-mean... if that's okay?"

[Fern & Nima]

For a moment she found her breathing steadying, and just when she thought she had control of her emotions she found she didn't. For just then his voice met her ears, sending her stomach in flutters all over again. All the while she smiled, merely biting her lip as he told her in his own way that he had liked the kiss. Just then, however, her eyes met his and she found, much to her surprise, that his cheeks had turned red. Her mind and seemingly entire body froze for a long moment; the only thing she could manage was a few blinks, as if to make sure she was seeing clearly. Was he... blushing? Her mind ran over the fact before she realized his hand was still clasping hers. She found herself looking down at his hand, as his thumb moved over it.

At his words she smiled a little, and even his words of warning could not stop her smile from growing. "We're.. a couple.. We're a couple!" She said happily. She reached forward in an attempt to hug him, before pulling back, dancing in place for a moment. However she noticed his eyes seemed almost... sad... as she followed his gaze to his mother. "You're not the only one. My parents will likely be over the moon, too. It's a parent thing, I guess."

Before she could worry much more about parents, he turned back to her, telling her they couldn't hide it. She nodded, "Right. I wouldn't want to hide it, anyway. The whole secret thing is a bit of over-rated, anyway." She looked to him, silence falling between them. She found he was shuffling from foot to foot, and just then his words fumbled to her, as he asked her to hang out after their next lesson. "Yes!" She cried happily, lurching forward in an attempt to hug him. She pulled back quickly, covering her smile and excitement with a cough, "I mean, umm... yeah... sure." She said more softly, but even to the drunken ones, there was no denying her smile.

[Jokul & Starkad]

Jokul knew he should've expected her to freak out, but nonetheless, he still tensed a bit out of instinct when she moved forward. This is going to take some getting used to. Especially considering Fern has a tendency to reach out and touch things, him, in particular.

"You're not the only one. My parents will likely be over the moon, too. It's a parent thing, I guess."

Jokul scoffed at the idea. "Yeah right... They're just glad that there's a chance of kicking their kids out at some point." His own mother's motives were probably nowhere near that, but it wasn't like he was about to ask her.

"Right. I wouldn't want to hide it, anyway. The whole secret thing is a bit of over-rated, anyway."

"Well... some secrets are better off being kept than others." He gestured to his eyes vaguely. "Wouldn't want others to know you can't..." The teen swallowed at how casually her was referring to his poor eyesight. "...s-see." He finished in a lower tone to avoid any passerbys eavesdropping.

"Yes!"

This time, Jokul braced himself ahead of time, knowing exactly what she'd do. As predicted, her arms wrapped around his middle. He didn't even have a chance to react before she'd already pulled away and tried to act nonchalant about her actions.

"G-great! Now, I don't know about you, but... I think I've had enough, uh... 'fun' tonight, so..." He held a hand out to her in an invitation. "Until the next lesson, then." It wasn't that Jokul didn't want to stay longer, but he knew very well that his mother wouldn't leave the hall without a scene. He thought it better be far away from the embarrassment before that happened.

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[ooc- I think it's fine here. If my muse is still active later, I might end up writing the next Jokern thread...]