Journey Home Once More ~ (Ulrika, Rilkar, Sven, Beorn)

[Rilkar Olden & Sindyr]

  Time and Date:: Approx. 3pm Sunday, April
Weather:: Light Spring rain, Mid 50's F* / Low Teens C*
Previous Threads:: None, iccbox rps

    To be brutally honest, the boat ride there was half the trip he had originally taken to Berk, it even featured a wild lack of bandit attacks.  The rather favorable weather and the help of their dragons had made the trip exceptionally easy compared to waiting to find favorable winds into the archipelago.  He was actually rather excited to make landfall on his home continent again.  The familiar wildlife filled his ears as the rowboat hit the sand and gravel beach of the small inlet.  He wanted to ensure they were well on their way before anything could possibly come up.  He knew from his map where they were, and they were approximately a day and a half from the nearest town by foot, maybe a few hours of they rode on the backs of dragons.  He stepped out of the boat and adjusted his cloak and pulled up his hood, making sure his sword was at his waist, his shield on his arm, helm at his hip, and his lance he decided to use as a walking stick.  The lush forest before them chirped wildly with life, various birds chirped loudly in response to each other and the sound of falling twigs and the remainder of the dead leaves hitting the ground so they can finally be replaced by the lush green of new life sounded about them.
  "Well, here we are." Rilkar says, turning to the group who made their way out of the row boat.  The dragons landed about them, each responding to the new environment in their own way.  "We're about a day's walk from the closest population center.  So long as we follow our map and compass we should be able to find the fastest way there.  And I'm going to say I recommend staying off our dragons, the population here tends to view them as beasts and not companions."
  He made sure to double check his pack to make sure he had food for the days ahead as well as a change of under clothes, socks and the like before turning his attention to the woods proper.  It had been a long while since he had to deal with the wilds.  He had gotten used to the trade routes between cities and towns that the woods had nearly become a nearly foreign thing.  He hunted less and traded more, but Berk had restored a bit of his forestry skills, though the forests around Berk weren't nearly as large as the forests on his mainland.  Things would be interesting in the days to come.  In the back of his mind he found himself thinking "I'm glad I got to train some on the way here, it should increase our chance of survival many times."

[Ulrika&Timber]

Since the sight of land, Ulrika had been excited to get her feet once again on solid ground. Timber was also pleased that she didn't have to help haul the boat. The two ambassador dragons weren't very pleasurable company.

As Rilkar left the rowboat, Ulrika hopped out as well, splooshing into the water to help haul the boat onto the land. Once that was done, she approached Rilkar's side and inspected what she saw.

She was met with a lush forest, well into spring time. On Berk, it was still frosty, and those brave plants that tried to grow early were killed off by snowstorms and frost. Here, it was raining, but it wasn't freezing. Heck, for Ulrika, so used to her frigid weather, it actually felt rather pleasant, despite the wetness. She up looked in awe at the forest - everything was so green, and there were many different types of trees, unlike the abdunance of spruce woods back at home.

Timber jumped in front of them, frolicking in the grasses and approaching the wood with little fear. Though she was built for flying, it was good to give her wings a rest, and exercise her legs instead. The new envrionment sparked her curiosity, as she tried to stick her nose down what looked like a rabbit hole.

"Oh, it's so pretty this forest, Rilkar! I haven't seen anything like it!" She walked forwards and reached to pluck a new leaf from a lower branch. "What a funny shape!" Timber bounded towards her and sniffed at the leaf as well. Ulrika grinned, that is, until the dragon burped in her face. "Ew, EW! Timber! No! That's gross!" She pushed at the dragon's head away with one hand, the other holding her nose.

Managing to waft the fish smell away, she looked back to Rilkar. She remembered she was on his terms, and she felt she probably wasn't being very serious. He was all suited up in his armour, sword by his side. He looked like he was ready for a big fight. The thought dampened her spirits. Rilkar had been training her on the boat for a reason, after all.

"Oh, right." she said without prompt, as she went back to the boat and hauled out her own gear. Ulrika had few posessions, but because she was travelling light, she had to carry extra things instead, as well as her battle axe, which was probably the heaviest thing. She hoped Timber could help carry some weight as well eventually, but she wanted to see how she managed on her own. The other men were holding their own gear. Ulrika didn't want to be seen as a burden to them.

"A day's walking?" She replied to Rilkar's brief. "That's a long way..." Ulrika had done a day's walk, heck, even more sometimes as she explored her own island. But never was she burdened like she was now.

Well she wasn't exactly getting out of it now.

[Beornwyn Veen]

    The rainy weather came to no surprise for Beornwyn, but surely it was a lot better than the frigid northern waters that Berk seemed to call home. The weather was cool, but pleasant to the senses of touch and temperature for Beorn, it was nice to be somewhere decently mild again.


    Beornwyn listened to Rilkar as he explained that they were still about a days walk to the nearest town center. Eh, walking wasn't exactly the funnest thing to do, especially in rainy weather. But to be fair, after being trapped on a boat for weeks, it was going to be nice to walk without having to turn every ten steps. The comment of people viewing dragons as beasts rather than companions around here wasn't a shock from what Rilkar had told them prior to them arriving.


    "Try not to look aggressive then." He smirked as he looked over to Delemia who just tilted his head and clucked at him in annoyance.


    Beorn adjusted the cloak on his back as they started walking along, his boots crunching the ground beneath them as his feet constantly made contact with the ground. He was checking to make sure he had what he needed on him; the obvious such as his sword and dagger that were strapped into their places on his waist. Everything else he knew he had on down from his boots and up to his shoulders.


    "Gotta love not being on a frozen rock for the first time in ever eh Sven?" He looked over to the blonde who was trailing behind him ever so slightly.


    Ulrika seemed to be off to the side admiring the difference in foliage around them. It made Beorn smile as he took a look around them, the deciduous trees gave him a warm feeling on the inside. It would be obvious to someone who paid attention to the man that he was missing out on the warmer weather. Sure he liked being on Berk, and the people that were there with him made it even more so bearable, but nothing can beat out perfect weather. Though the rain wasn't exactly the definition of perfect at the moment.


    "If were a day out, the maybe we should start getting a move on Rilkar. You should know just as well as us that burning daylight needlessly makes for a little more cautious travelling when the sun starts to set."

[Sven Vellyn]

After the hard few months of snow, and ice, and goodness knows what was thrown at Berk, Sven welcomed gladly the somewhat warm spring rains that fell upon them. He was also glad for land after a few weeks cooped up on this boat. His sense of adventure was rekindled witht he sight of land. It had been a while since he had properly travelled now. He kind of missed it.

With a cluck Hermes landed beside her made, shaking her neck and stretching out, glad the ordeal was over. Ambassadors had great endurance for travelling, but he was certain those two had never had to pull anything before that, and he was most definitely sure that they had hated every minute of it. "Frankly, if I have to be a flying donkey one more time, I'm just going to desert you guys." Hermes rasped. The Night Fury didn't seem to mind, however. It almost looked as if the dragon was fuelled by Ulrika's enthusiasm, as they seemed to both be rather giddy by their new surroundings.

Sven supposed it was a new experience for Ulrika. He didn't know if she had ever left Berk before, but he knew his first travels were exciting and different. He didn't think he had got this excited though, but perhaps it was under different circumstances. Ulrika had no need to be paranoid about scouts searching for her.

Sven listened to Rilkar's brief, hanging back beside Beorn's side. He had already double checked everything he needed, and used to traveling by dragon, he was used to surviving on little supplies. But things were a little different now they were in a party, so he was carrying some extra load that benefited all of them.

The dragonologist also turned to his dragon. "You remember the drill, Hermes." The dragon clicked and kept her head high. They had been to places before that didn't welcome dragons, so they had a little system in place. "Come if I call you, and just stay away from groups of humans. If you can scout for us, make sure the coast is clear, find potential shelter, anything - let us know, ok?" He moved to unsaddle the dragon. It would be extra weight for him, but it could provide cover, shelter, armour, and of course not let people know that there are any dragon riders in the vicinity. He slung it onto his pack. For now, it would work fine as a water-repellant.

Beorn made a comment at him. "Haha, yeah. Bloody hell, it must be like... a year and a few months since I've been on Berk. Man, that's a long time..." It only just dawned on him. It had gone so quick. He had been so engrossed with his dragonolgist work, and then there was that battle, and winter...

Beorn once again spoke up, giving word of caution. Sven nodded in agreement, even though he had never really done much travelling on foot, nearly always by dragon. But he trusted Beorn's judgment. He knew Beorn had been travelling before he met his dragon, so he assumed he knew a little about this slower means of transportation.

"May I also reccoment we perhaps do a little foraging on the way? A little extra means less supplies we use up." Sven thought it was a good idea, but it might also slow them down. He looked towards Rilkar. He was pretty much the boss, so he decided to let him call the shots.
"Me and Beorn know a bit about edible plants and roots, and I'm sure if we have time Ulrika could hunt..." Even the outsider had seen and heard of Ulrika's renown for hunting. Then again he had been stuck on the bleak little island for over a year, so it made sense.

[Grima the Brash]

Grima had felt rather out of place on the trip. It was interesting to be away from berk and going somewhere other than Dragon Island, especially somewhere this south. But it had felt weird traveling with three adult men he only vaguely knew to different degrees and Ulrika. He was slowly getting to know Sven and Beorn, and he’d been around Rilkar for a while, but still.

As they reached shore Grima made sure he’d collected all of his things and was able to jump off the boat ready to go. He had his sword strapped to his side and a shield on his back tied to his bag of other important gear along with a quiver and his bow. Stahl and Flint followed behind Timber. Stahl was not happy at all about all of the work they had had to do throughout the trip or the physical constraints they had been in over this trip, or the fact that she couldn’t just leave the humans and sleep when she normally wanted to. Flint on the other hand was more interested in their new surroundings; they had not really left Berk that much other than for Snogtoggle, so she found this less harsh south interesting.

Ulrika commented on the forest in a weirdly girly way, sure she was a girl, but it didn’t really seem to fit her. He watched as the Viking-in-training looked at a leaf and chuckled at her reaction to her dragon’s flatulence. He got off the boat just as she ran back onto it to get her things. The young Viking glared at Beorn when he made the derogatory comment about Berk. He knew it wasn’t meant as that much of an insult, but still, locals are able to comment about how god awful berk is, not outsiders.

Grima smirked when Rilkar said they had a day’s walk to go. While he didn’t particularly like the weather, it wasn’t something he hadn’t travelled through before (in generally much worse conditions), he was dressed to survive it fine. Stahl grumbled at Rilkar’s comments about the locals’ views on dragons. more annoyances to deal with… she muttered to herself.

Grima rolled his eyes at Ulrika’s comment, “It’s not really that much more travelling that we end up doing while we’re hunting, you’ll be able to survive the distance.” Grima did know that this was different, but he had made sure the weight distribution of what he was carrying was alright, and so he didn’t worry too much about how that extra weight was going to affect his travelling abilities. The two dragon heads looked at each other, not particularly in the mood for walking with humans turned to the forest.

Flint then looked back to Grima, “Don’t worry, kid, we’ll make sure not to lose your scent.” Grima new exactly what that meant and started to get out a “No, wait!” but they pretty much immediately sprang and flew into the forest, off to hunt for a bit. The young Viking sighed, severely hoping that bringing his dragon hadn’t been a massive mistake.

[Rilkar Olden & Sindyr]

  "Right then.  There's no use in mucking about. Los Los." He checked his compass quickly and pointed in the direction they were headed.  The trees around them rustled loudly and the first twigs snapped under his steel boots as he set the group's Twenty minute mile pace.  They'd keep this pace for a good time and rest every few miles to give Ulrika her more than likely blistered feet a rest for a few minutes before continuing.  He had everything planned out.  The rain picked up to a heavier pace as a nearby sea bound storm rumbled straight towards them.    It still wasn't much, as long as they kept spare clothes dry, they would be fine.  They were vikings afterall, well, he wasn't exactly sure of Sven or Beorn, he always did kind of feel a bit off about them.  Something about how they held themselves seemed familiar though he couldn't quite stab it with a finger.  Thoughts of seeing how things have changed kept his pace a bit faster than intended.  He didn't quite realize it at first, but he caught himself and slowed down.
  He had missed four months or so of changes.  He was nervous too.  The cult hadn't been entirely defeated, they were routed.  Worst come to worse, the cult would have agents or soldiers in the towns he planned on stopping in.  The dragons would be a prime target for their gear or to be captured and used.  A chill ran down his spine.  Thinking back to the trade roads through the countryside, they had the occasional checkpoint or wandering scouts a few years after the war.  He had to recreate his entire personality.  His armor remained hidden save for the most required parts that fit under the usual cloak.  Blending in and learning not to fight them and how to avoid them as a trader had become his routine, instead of fighting them.  It was necessary though.  He let go of everything he knew and everything he had loved to continue living.  Things were going to change though.  He had a feeling that things were going to change.  Heirah's mountain range was their  goal, and they had two major population centers to sneak through on the road to reach it.  The cliffside that the old city had sat upon was long destroyed and more than likely eroded.  The battlefields were more than likely run down with whatever rusted gear hadn't been stolen or looted.  The journey home promised to be a sombre one, but a necessary one.  He'd learn to tame the dragons that once proved to be a formidable variable that plagued trade and picked at caravans.  He'd prove both to himself and to everyone else that the fall of Heirah wasn't the fault of dragons, and that the dragons were not animals to be hunted.  It may take years for the second part to actually sink in, but for now, the only thing that mattered was proving to himself that his hypothesis was correct.
 
  He knew he'd find out soon enough.

[Beornwyn Veen]

    Beornwyn looked off to Delemia and clapped his hands at the Ambassador before he got a tilt of the head and a cluck from the dragon asking him what he wanted. "Go along with Hermes. Make sure she doesn't get herself caught." Beorn said with a smirk, he knew that Hermes would just about take a snap of the jaws at him for his comment. But Beorn wasn't too fearful of the Ambassador.

    Delemia heeded his words and went off with Hermes, getting out of sight. Beorn grinned when he looked over at Sven who had a saddle on his shoulders, " That's going to become a massive pain in the neck, both figuratively and literally." He laughed a little at his comment before throwing his hood over his head and continuing to walk with the others.

    The others that had accompanied Rilkar were Grima, someone who Beornwyn had rarely came into contact with prior to being stuck on a boat with him for weeks on end. And the other was Ulrika who Beorn had talked to a small handful of times prior to the journey. He still didn't know much about the know, for that fact he still didn't know a whole lot about Rilkar either, but that didn't matter too much. He would figure a way to get to know them, besides, even if he cant manage talks out of the other three he could just go back to pestering Sven again like usual.

    Beornwyn was very much intrigued like he always was to be able to travel around, especially through new towns. Even if the populations were very much so not welcoming of dragons, as long as the dragons stayed out of sight, they were out of mind.

    "So Rilkar, anything were going to have to deal with? Angry farmers, crazy rich people, guards that will track you down for weeks straight?" He looked over at Sven when he made the obvious reference to the Red Rock scouts.

[Ulrika&Timber]

"I know," Ulrika replied to Grima as she readjusted the weight on her back. "But it's not like I go around hunting like a overladen yak, do I?" She couldn't help but laugh, however, as Grima protested at his dragons leaving.

Where as the other dragons left to do their own thing, Timber stayed rooted to the spot beside Ulrika. Honestly, the Night Fury didn't trust herself in a land full of dragon-killers. Seeing how she had so easily got herself into trouble last time, she would rather stay in the company of humans that could help her if she got stuck again, and also help defend Ulrika if she got into a tight spot. Timber was certain that Ulrika wasn't keen on getting into any fights soon.

"You ready Timber?" Ulrika asked her dragon, patting her neck. Timber made a noise in reply, ears perking up. She began to follow Rilkar into the woods. She couldn't help but grin in excitement. Here they go, on an adventure! She had no idea what would befall them, but she hoped it wouldn't be too tragic. She didn't like how Rilkar had prepared her for the worst during the trip, but for now the wonders around her and the trip ahead made her forget about that. Besides, she had Timber by her side, right?

After a moment walking, she looked to her dragon that slunk beside their party. "But, uh," She said, directed at Timber. The dragon's ear twitched to show she was listening. "Timber, if you hear anything you should like hide or fly away. I don't want you to get in trouble again. And if they don't like dragons... I don't want to get us in trouble, either." Timber gruffed in reply.

[Sven Vellyn]

Hermes squawked and made her leave with little prompt, whipping up a small breeze as she took off to the skies. After flying for so long Sven was still amazed at Ambassador's enduance abilties, but he was sure the dragons would take it easy. He watched the dragons fly off, hoping they'd stay safe. They usually did but who knows what would happen.

He was brought back to earth as Beorn made a comment about him hauling his saddle. He shrugged as much as he could with his pack weighing his shoulders. "Could be useful." Sven said simply. He adjusted the weight on his shoulders slightly. "Besides, I know you." He knew Beornwyn would eventually jump to carry some of his load when it would look like he was struggling. They weren't "officially" together anymore but he knew Beorn cared about Sven's wellbeing.

Sven couldn't help but smile as Grima's reaction to his dragon's departure. At least he wasn't the only one who had a dragon with a terrible persona. He wondered how on earth he could control a Zippleback properly by himself, until he remembered the Dragon had just bolted off into the woods without even saying goodbye or when they would return...

The trip quickly commenced, and after a moment of walking, Beorn piped up a useful question. He glanced at Sven due to his last comment, to which Sven didn't say anything, but merely responded with a frantic expression, as if to say "Please don't say that". It was like he was tempting fate. As far as he knew, the Articul was still looking for deserters.

[ooc: boringpost is boring]

[Grima the Brash]

He glared at Ulrika as she laughed at his failure to keep his dragon under control. He'd always known having a Zippleback was a troublesome choice, they are supposed to have two owners after all and Grima was never going to find a second, but it still annoyed him how little affect he had on them. He looked at Timber as they walked. He had gotten to like Timber over the half year she had been Ulrika's dragon, she had started to learn not to outright follow her owner into anymore of her insane ideas. He was jealous of his birth neighbour, to have a dragon whose main drive seemed to be to protect and their owner. He wished he actually had that.

They started walking, Grima kept up with Rilkar's pace fine, he did notice the knight's pace was slowly increasing over time and it probably would start to tire him out in a while, but for now he was able to keep up. Fortunately Rilkar seemed to notice himself and slowed down. The whole point of this trip was for Rilkar to find a dragon for himself. He respected the Knight’s optimism (not really the right word but good enough) that he would be able to aim for a specific place and then just be able to get a dragon to like him. It didn’t really matter to Grima how successful Rilkar was, he’d tagged along partly cause it meant he could actually see the world to some degree and also he didn’t feel that comfortable with Ulrika just going off with outsiders to far off lands.

Grima perked up at Beorn's question. His last example sounded too specific to be some random problem he just thought up. Grima looked at the outsider and his friend, the expression on Sven's face told him that whatever Beorn was refferencing was something the two of them had actually gone though. But who would want to chase the weedy dragonologist, and why?

[Rilkar Olden & Sindyr]

~~ Time Skip: Later that night, about 10 pm, seven hours of walking later. ~~
  His feet ached.  It had been a good long time since he walked that kind of distance.  They had finally settled next to a small clearing with a large rock in the middle.  The progress they made though would actually allow them to arrive early the next day, if they woke up at a decent hour.  They had a good amount of time yet to honestly set up camp, and it shouldn't be too difficult, though it was still raining outside, even if it was a lighter rain.
  "Right then.  We've made great time.  I hope everyone is holding up alright.  Check your feet and make sure they're alright.  Try to keep off of them for tonight.  Eat something small."
  He then turned his attention to his pack, which he had set up on a tree nearby and unpacked some rope and a hide tent and set up a quick tent between two trees before setting up his bedroll underneath it.  It wasn't too fancy, but it was enough to keep the rain from falling on him all night.  Not that that night would be very long, as he planned on waking everyone up early in order to reach the nearest population center.  From there they can hit the roads for the most part to Heirah.  There were a few checkpoint towns between point A and point B, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.  He's done it before, and he can do it again.
  Well Rilkar, here we are.  Hours into the journey proper.  Nothing like leading a group into danger and not knowing what's going to happen.  Just like old times, before you found Berk.  Many a days spent your horse down the roads, cart in toe with goods.  Should be just as easy, so long as the the cult hasn't militarized the roads.  Their scouts always were a pain.  He thought maybe he should tell them, but part of him told himself that he shouldn't worry about it.
  "Right.  If anyone needs help setting up a tent to sleep in, I can assist.  This is more directed at the kids.  Use your pack as a pillow so it doesn't soak through to your dry clothes.  We wake up early and we can reach our first actual stop of our journey."

[Ulrika&Timber]

As soon as it was annouced that they had finished trekking, Ulrika rid of her burden almost immediately, witha large groan. It had felt like the walking would never end. She was used to walking all day, but the stuff she was carrying had made everything worse. The rain had hammered against them without cease. She was soaked to the bone. As it grew darker, with cold fatigue and her burden she had stumbled a few times on hidden roots.

"If I have to walk any more I'd bet my legs would fall off." Ulrika complained. Watching Rilkar and the others she mimicked them and looked for her own supplies to build a shelter. She found her own.

Ulrika didn't like Rilkar referring to her as a 'kid', but she was too miserable to argue. As she tried to set up the tent by herself, she fumbled with the rope as she tried to knot around the first tree. Now she had stopped moving so actively she could feel herself getting a lot colder.

Grima approached to help, but she made to shoulder him away, essentially blocking him from coming to help her. She was too tired to make a fuss but she certainly didn't need his help. She finally managed to make a knot, but as she had finished and marvelled at her handiwork, the rope came up the otherside and the tension loosened the knot to a point where it was pretty much undone.

"Don't you have a tent of your own?" Ulrika asked bitterly. "I don't need help." Frowning, she picked up the rope and tried again.

"There are only three tents," Grima muttered in responce, "Either we share or one of us shares with Rilkar."

"I'm not sharing with Rilkar. I'm fed up of him." She still had the training on her mind, and the arduous walking they had to endure didn't put her party leader in a good light. The weather might have played a big factor though.

Ulrika was still struggling to tie hers. She knew the knot, but the hammering rain, cold and fatigue were all playing against her. And the longer she took, the longer she would have to stay out in the rain. But she was too proud to ask for help.

Thinking about the sleeping arrangments, she realised she was at a disadvantage anyway. She was the only girl in the whole group, so any sort of privacy would be hard to get. She weighed her options as much as she could. She knew Grima the most out of everyone.

"...Fine, I'll stay with you." She grumbled.

[Beornwyn Veen]

    By the time they reached their resting place, the sun had already been settled, far past the horizon with the darkness of the night surrounding them but the glinting of stars in the heavens comforting those who walked under them, granted they appeared through the break in the cloud cover. Beorn had always found the stars interesting, he never understood them far past the idea of them just being little dots of lights poked with a pin into the canvas that is the night sky. He had a habit of staring up too long and not paying attention infront of him, but that's why he kept a hand on Sven, at least the dragonologist was paying attention to the road ahead.


    When Rilkar commented they were going to stay where they were for the night, Beorn was both relieved yet a little annoyed. He could remember back in the days when he worked as a mercenary for caravans and they would almost never stop aside from letting the horses rest, aside from that people took turns sleeping in the back of the wagons the horses pulled.


    The air was cold, although it was springtime on the mainland, it seemed to only be in the early months of it. Day were cool if not mild, the nights were cold, if not frozen depending on where you were. Beorn looked around the area they had settled and dropped what supplies he had been carrying on him on the ground next to the large rock. He grabbed the supplies to put up the tent and got to work in a suitable spot nearby. He was tired from the walking, but he knew how to put up a tent easily so it wouldn't take very long.


    He was busy tying a knot in the rope when he noticed Sven out the corner of his eye. He glanced over and smiled at the blonde before continuing to finish up with the tent. "Look at that shocker. You have to sleep with me tonight. Don't worry, were both too tired, so I wont try anything." Beorn said in an amusing tone of voice and a smirk at the end. He listened to Svens comments and his little bit of talking and by the time Sven finished up, Beorn had finished with the tent.


    "Bout as good as it'll get." He remarked as he grabbed his stuff and tucked it away into the tent.

[Sven Vellyn]

Sven was tired. He was used to travelling for a long time, but that was on the back of a dragon. Though that was also tiring, walking for the best part of the afternoon and into the night was different. It didn't help when it got dark that Beornwyn latched onto his bag to guide him when it got dark. "Keep your eyes on the road, Bee." Sven groaned. "If you fall and take me with you I'm not getting up again."

They finally reached their stopping place. Beorn quickly began to set up camp. It was a no-brainer that they were going to sleep together. But Sven hoped that Beorn didn't have any ideas. "I bloody hope so." Sven muttered.

In the meantime he got the beds ready and brought out a few slips of dried venison for him and bee. They would have to eat light. They have done it before, and they would certainly do it again. Rilkar may have a plan, but from experience Sven knew that things could crop up which meant being away from civilisation for longer than expected.

Sven was glad to be out of the rain. He rumaged in his pack to replace his wet outer clothes with some drier, warmer ones. He didn't want to catch a cold in the middle of the night, or worse. It would spell disaster for the whole trip.

He handed some of the dried food to Beornwyn. "Eat up. Nothing fancy tonight. Just like old times."

[Grima the Brash]

Grima was glad when Rilkar finally said it was time to stop. He had expected they would have stopped when the sun started setting and had gotten slightly pissed when it had gone into night time, especially with the continued rain.

He couldn’t help but smile when Ulrika dropped her pack and groaned with relief. Being a minor irradiance to her had been one of the few things that had kept him from showing his discomfort outwardly. “How much you?” Grima muttered when she said her legs would fall off. The Viking-in-training grimised when Rilkar offered to help the ‘kids’. While he wanted to collapse and have help setting things up, he had far too much pride to accept it.

He looked at the tents being constructed. There were only three tents and he wasn’t going to sleep with any of the stranger...that would mean being in Ulrika’s tent. To be honest he didn’t care about that that much. He walked over to her, seeing she was having trouble. She must be freezing, he thought.

She noticed him and shouldered him away. He sighed and looked to the other side. Ulrika might not let him help, but he could speed things up. Keeping an eye on Rilkar to get an idea on what he needed to do and moved over to the other tree and started tying the rope in place. Ulrika complained at him for helping her.

“There are only three tents” Grima muttered in responce, “Either we share or one of us shares with Rilkar.” He grinned at Ulrika’s complained about her trainer, as tactless as always.

He finished his side and looked back at hers. He knew she was decent a knots and her slowness was actually kind of surprising. The day must have really gotten to her. Having said that Grima didn’t particularly care, he wanted her finished quickly so they could get under the tent. She finally agreed for him to stay with her, “Good, you’re taking too long.” He said flatly, pushing Ulrika out of the way and grabbing the rope before its knot fell apart again, “put the tarp on.” He quickly finished off the knot and tightening it before Ulrika had time to react to him.