Just one of those nights ~ (single post/possible ulrika?))

[Rilkar Olden & Sindyr]

Time and Date: 2 am Friday - Post Snoggletog
  Weather: Cold, light snow, windy
Previous Threads: N/A

  Well, it was just one of those long nights.  He sat alone in the great hall, late at night, long after the last viking had fallen asleep.  Approximately 2 in the morning is when the last viking had finally left.  He sat alone staring into the fire at the center of the hall.  Instead of his usual flask he carried a whole bottle of liquor taking large gulps instead of his usual hoity toity sips from his flask, which ironically, he'd finished hours ago.  His blood shot eyes looked at the jumping flames as they danced to and fro in his vision.  He had a hard time standing but he honestly didn't care.  Anything at this point was better than reliving visions of the war.
  Though he knew he learned of the honest motivations of dragons, as both common animals bent on doing what is necessary for survival, but at the same time, being highly intelligent motivated creatures, each having motivations and goals to their own being.  He still couldn't help but feel that the dragons involved in the destruction of his homeland were merely doing what came naturally and simply ended up destroying his once beautiful home.  How had the cult managed to actually plant them right enough to do the damage they did?  Who was behind the cult's creation?  He'd figure the longer he stuck with the topic he'd figure it out eventually.  Perhaps not now, or next month, or the next year, but he swore to himself he would do it. 
  Of course, anything he swore to do now barely mattered as he swayed in his seat was hardly able to hold himself up.  Literally half a bottle was gone before he decided to cork the thing and put it down.  The hardest drink he'd had was now half gone and he could hardly speak or stand.  He'd figured that he was wearing enough to keep him warm around the fire, and considered passing out on the spot.  At the same time he thought of his bed at home where he could sleep under a blanket and be completely warm and comfortable for the night.  He thought for a moment of all of the memories surrounding him that awaited in his home.  Forever captured in ink in the various journals he stacked on shelves around his home.  He frowned.
  He pulled his cloak tighter to himself and huddled in closer to the fire, struggling with himself as he tried to keep himself from falling over.  The warmth was a welcome feeling.  he'd gotten used to the brutal cold of Berk in the mid winter as it had been.  He'd figured the geographical region in which he now lived and breathed was always cold, but this was particularly harsh.  The warmth of a large fire overcame his basic senses and he felt himself drifting.  It must be hard to be in his position.  So young, so scarred, so without an honest purpose outside of finding out what why everything he knew and loved had to vanish over the course of a couple days, leaving him completely adrift among feelings and harsh memories of the men and dragons he had killed in his past.  In easy terms, it sucked.  It sucked more than the late night prostitutes that took up their own weapons to please suitors in the late nights that followed both men and women getting off work late at night.  He thought of the aristocrats on high who figured themselves better than those below and had women or men lining up for their chance to marry or screw their way into the aristocracy of Heirah.  Everything was a blur now.  His past blended with the present and started to create odd mixtures of then and now and made thinking a hassle.  It was almost painful to think.
  Ulrika of these past few weeks had been the only thing keeping him sane.  She gave him a purpose, an honest to god purpose to try to continue his existence instead of just ending it.  At that thought he couldn't help but bring up previous nights in which he'd thought of taking his life to end the horrid nightmares that plagued him.  Of course he always found it was a sign of strength to carry on in the face of adversity or hardship.  He also figured of how Ulrika may feel knowing he'd offed himself without speaking a word to anyone.  They shared a common bond of experience, but he knew he loved her more than just that bond.  He could be the father he never had the chance to be.  He could raise a girl up from the very roots and teach her the meaning of fighting for loved ones, fighting to protect, and surviving to fight another day.  This night would be another example to himself of how it only takes a single other person to have faith in to change a life.  And so he got up from the fire, and turned to the exit.  He made ready to leave.

[Ulrika&Timber]

Ulrika jolted from her bed as if a skrill had touched it. She was all sweaty and breathing heavily - she had that nightmare again. She looked over in the vague darkness where her sister was - still asleep. Though she liked Caedence, when she tried to comfort her she did a terrible job of it. She just didn't know how she felt. Caedence avoided violence like one would avoid a diseased man - how could she know how Ulrika felt?

Trying to be silent, using her hunting skills, she crept from the room, and slowly creaked the door open to leave. As soon as she left, she slumped on the steps to the door and bawled her eyes out.

She got interrupted as something pushed itself against her. Looking up through her bleary eyes, she only saw a big pair of cat-like eyes. "T-Timber-" She managed to say, before leaning her forehead on the dragon's. It was Timber's fault she had the nightmares now, that she had this weight on her conscience. But she couldn't be mad at her. She knew it was the right thing, but she couldn't believe it would hurt this bad. Halldor had told her that risking your own life for your dragon was the ultimate trust exercise someone could do for their dragon. Though Ulrika hadn't noticed it, Timber was a lot more lenient about Ulrika - shoving her around less (unless she was in trouble) and being more of a companion, even a friend - rather than just a partner. After all, Timber killed a dragon to save Ulrika too. They were even.

With Timber, she managed to calm down, but she was distraught and she knew she wasn't going to get back to sleep anytime soon, so she decided to go to the Great Hall to grab a drink. She figured numbing her mind a bit would help her sleep. Timber offered her a ride, but she refused. She was shivering a bit- the wind was biting. But it quickly disappeared as she began the ascent to the hall.

The last thing she was expecting was the great hall door to open by itself as she touched it - but on the otherside she saw a familiar silhouette. She froze. Noticing he was swaying slightly, and he reeked of drink. "You're drunk." She gulped, realising how much her voice had broken from the burst of emotion. She wiped her nose and hoped it was dark and that he was drunk enough to not see that she had been crying.

There was an awkward pause. She didn't really know what to say. Had the gods answered her by making her bump into the apparently only person on Berk that seemed to know how she felt? She looked down back where she came. It had been a tricky ascent, the steps were getting icy.

"You can't go down there as you are, you'll fall. Everyone knows people have died from trying to go down those steps when drunk." She managed to say, internally scolding herself for letting her voice be weird after crying. But she spoke truth, in a way. If he killed himself on these steps, she'd have no one left to talk to about her problems. Rilkar was the only person, except Timber maybe, who she felt she could be more like herself around. She didn't feel like she had to put up a Viking bravado around those two, and it was good. Unlike the proud Vikings of Berk, he too had found that taking a life was rattling.

It was getting clear that Rilkar was clearly drunk off his rocker. Ulrika was wary of drunks, for the most part, because Vikings tended to be violent drunks. But there seemed to be something more somber about Rilkar tonight. She edged past him into the dying warmth of the hall, but it was warmer than outside. Though he was drunk, she kind of wanted his company, if he was here. It would be something, at least.

"Uhm... Can you stay with me?" She said, and hoped he wouldn't do something stupid outside. The hall was pretty much empty, apart from the odd drunken vikings that had drunk themselves into a deep sleep.

"... I.. I couldn't sleep." She said, vaguely. Her voice was a tad less broken now. She wiped her nose on her sleeve again. Timber waited at the door, not wanting to shove the drunken Rilkar out of the way to get in.

---

OOC: I counter-feels you! Also Timestamp plux, before or after snoggletog?

[Rilkar Olden & Sindyr]

  He was too drunk to deal with half the junk running through his head.  Ulrika stood in the doorway and explained that he was too drunk to make his way down the stairs.  It almost upset him that she thought he would attempt to walk down the stairs.  Last time, he had fallen, but quickly learned after waking up at the bottom with a massive bruise on his hip arm and back that he would crawl his way down the stairs and take his time. 
  Though his heart couldn't take the thoughts running through his mind.  He could tell why she wanted to stay up, she was thinking about that event in her past.  He could see it in her eyes, the way her eyes sagged with emotion and concern was evident, he'd seen it in his own features.  He turned to lead her inside and sit her down.  There wasn't too much left of his drink but he offered it to her.  It was strong enough to get people either talking, or enough to knock them on their butts.  He'd hoped she'd be willing to talk about what was bothering her, and offering her an honest opportunity to talk about it.  Something he never really had.  Nights like this was like shattering a dam.  He couldn't help what he says as he just kind of outpoured his emotions into what he did.  Its why he normally did this kind of drinking far later into the night.  He didn't like running into people. 
  "Sure...I Suppose I can uhm.. help you out a bit..  I guess I can stay.." 
  He stumbled back inside, closing the door behind them and taking his seat and gesturing to the seat across from him.

[Ulrika&Timber]

As they moved away from the door Timber could finally let herself in. With the warmth of the Great Hall, it made her excited and she couldn't help but frolick in the open space. Ulrika moved near the fire to warm up. Though the climb was decent exercise, it was still horribly cold outside. She rubbed her bare upper arms.

She was going to get a drink from the barrels that laid in the hall, but Rilkar instead offered his own. "Uhm, thanks." She hoped it would warm up her blood a bit, but she sniffed it first, wary, just in case it was wine. It wasn't. It was the strong stuff, a bit like what the vikings had here, but a little different. A foreign drink, she supposed. Ulrika took a swig and winced at the initial tickling, but burning sensation that she could feel running all the way down her throat.

She inspected the bottle. "Did you drink all this? Wow..." She sat down and Rilkar sat opposite her. "I don't know if I can finish this - it's kinda strong... But I guess I can try." She attempted another glug. The sensation happened again, but it wasn't as bad as the first one. Ulrika was certain the drink was going to affect her quickly as she was beginning to feel warmer - mostly from the fire, but also the drink now in her stomach.

Timber accidentally knocked over a bench as she frolicked, but the sharp noise quickly brought the dragon to her senses. She felt Ulrika's eyes on her, so slunk nearby and lay down, keeping an eye on them - both of them. Timber didn't know anything about intoxication, but she could tell there was something a little off about Rilkar.

Ulrika took another mouthful. "I hope this will make me sleep. I don't wanna go to bed and have that nightmare again..." Thinking about it upset her, but she didn't want to cry in front of Rilkar. She wasn't drunk yet, so she still had a strong dose of pride, even if it was very early in the morning.

[Rilkar Olden & Sindyr]

  He knew exactly what she meant by a dream.  They plagued his mind too from time to time.  Though they weren't the faces of the men he had killed, nor of the dragon that slew his fellow knights, but rather, the faces of the men he fought alongside who had fallen in combat.  The men and women who were cut down defending their once beloved homes.  Faces frozen in shock or fear, agony and pain, he remembered the deaths of those who fought at his side particularly.  One recent nightmare he had was of the young soldier who had arrived at his door to rouse him from his sleep.  The knights were gathering on the outskirts of town and the boy lost his life when a dragon he now knew as a Whispering Death came bulleting out of a fresh hole and accidentally impaled the young man.  Though his duty was done, the man died so he may fight.  He let the alcohol fuzz the memories until he couldn't distinguish faces or events.  Once time was in a blur, was the only time he could fall asleep once more that night.
  He tried desperately to maintain his ability to speak fluently in viking, but he slipped some of his native german into his words.  "Sheise... I understand what you mean.  Ich finde das it helps.... to sprechen about es."  he knew it made no sense to either language the way he was speaking, but the words were close enough that he supposed she could figure out what he said.  She was a young chap, the few swigs left in that bottle was easily more than six shots of 80 proof whiskey.  It burned like fire but it numbed the mind easy enough, she'd be either toast by the end of that or at least very very tipsy if she drank it all.  She'd have no trouble sleeping after that.
  "Perhaps... Ich can tell you was plagues Mich..."

[Ulrika&Timber]

Ulrika watched in confusion as Rilkar started blurting out words that she didn't know. But they sounded similar to words she did know, and wondered whether it was just drunk speak. She wasn't aware that he was speaking words of his mother tongue. She didn't really know how to respond, since it made little sense. She decided to concentrate on her drink.

She could feel the warmth spreading through her body and it was nice. She briefly closed her eyes to bask in the feeling and feel the warmth of the fire on her face. Rilkar spoke up again, and she opened her eyes. She still wasn't too sure what he was talking about... well she did but not really. It sounded like he was offering something.

"Uhm, okay." She said, accepting to hear his story, though she didn't know that was what he meant. Urika felt like they were too far apart to have a proper talk, so she staggered from the bench she was sat on, almost tripping and she left the seat. The alchohol had got to her quicker than she had realised, but she was still standing. She hobbled over to sit next to Rilkar, and took another drink. After all, it was what the drinking that made the nice feeling.