Tutor Date [Fern]-[FINISHED]

[Jokul & Starkad]

Time and Date: January 8th [BEFORE the Two of a Kind Thread] - Early evening
Weather: Slight wind, cloudy
Previous Threads: None


(Let's just assume this happens after the next lesson... I'm mostly aiming for Fern/Starkad bonding going on here, but that can be changed, depending on what happens...)

---

Walking out of the training arena, Jokul felt like a total weakling. Why, you ask? Well, it might have something to do with getting beaten by Spitnose in a sparring match, and let's just say he is not happy about it.

Gods damn it all. The boy cradled his shoulder, hissing in pain every time he moved his hand in the slightest. That little brat better hope her body guard gets accustomed to the village, because I'm going to hit back one of these days. In a fit of silent rage, the grip on his arm tightened, only to make him wince and regret it after.

Trailing not too far behind him was his dragon, as per usual. She paid her rider little attention and popped her frill open and closed out of boredom, that is, until she saw his step falter. She might have the mental capacity of a 5 year old, but Jokul's wellbeing was still important to her.

Without saying anything, she scuttled around to his wounded side and prodded softly at his arm. "Don't, Stark. I'll be fine." He blew her off and kept walking, but she didn't give up that easily. This time, she licked his hand. "What the h-!" He jumped away from her. "Stark! No! I told you! It's just a bruise. Nothing to worry about." Despite the boy's reluctance to accept her concern, she continued to pester him.

Once the two reached the opening for the arena, he stopped around the corner of the entrance, leaning against the cold stone. Not only did he stop to get a better look at his shoulder, but since he was the first one out, he could wait and watch the others pass by him.

"Alright Starkad, you've got to be on your best behavior, got it?" The hobblegrunt perked up at her name. "Why?" She shifted her weight and brought her leg up to scratch her chin. "Because I'll be sure to tell Shade about that little fishing trip you decided to go on if you don't."

Immediately, the dragon whined, "You wouldn't!" Jokul smirked, knowing the blackmail had worked. "B-But I didn't do anything wrong!" She stuttered, pacing nervously around him, hoping to make him take pity on her begging. "Oh please. You and I both know how much Shade hates you anywhere near the ocean, never mind in it."

And with that, he turned the other way and searched for the blur of red he was looking for. Squinting his eyes to help focus a bit, he barely managed to identify Ulrika. However, the night fury following closely behind gave away who it was.

"I hope Fern didn't see anything with Spit..." He grumbled. In reality, the whole thing was an accident, but Jokul, being well... Jokul, couldn't help but pin the blame on the girl. After all, he still hasn't completely forgiven her for that first boat ride.

Thoughts of the younger girl vanished once he spotted the blotch of red in his vision. He had no doubt that she'd hug him. Whether she'd do it upon first sight or in private was yet to be determined though.

---

[ooc - that last paragraph was just Jokul's inner thoughts. She doesn't HAVE to hug him... I just guessed that you'd do that. So by all means, you could prove Jokul wrong if you wanted to  
Oh, and the thread is in the dragon stables because I thought that'd be a fun place to help her learn dragonese.]

[Fern & Nima]

Well that had gone great. Not. More or less that lesson had taught Fern two things; one, she couldn't trust most of the vikings, and two, most of the vikings could beat her in a one on one competition. She thought back briefly to Jokul's fight with Spit. She hadn't realized the girl had so much strength in her, and it had honestly surprised her that she had been able to beat Jokul like that. Then again, as she mulled it over, Jokul probably couldn't see her that well. It made a tinge of emotion go through her as she came into sight of Jokul, standing there squinting into the distance. She came up and instead of hugging him reached for his hand.

As her eyes lingered to his her usual smile met her lips. "Didn't forget, did you?" She teased softly. She left the tease open for interpretation; he could either interpret it as teasing about their new-found relationship, or the fact that they had planned a dragonese lesson for today. Either way, she smiled, and gave a sudden gutteral call. Wtihin moments, Nima landed beside her. "Been practicing." Came Fern's soft response as she moved to stroke Nima's scales. "Mainly just imitating the sound she makes when she calls her babies, but ya. It's my new call for her. She comes running." Fern said with a giggle, before looking over to see the familiar hobblegrunt.

Fern stepped over, pulling a fish out of her pocket and holding it out for the hobblegrunt. "Hey there, girl." Fern said softly. She reached out to scratch behind the dragons frill. "Bet that's an itchy spot, yeah?" She said softly. She peered over at Jokul. "Another thing I learned. Dragons like nadders and hobblegrunts have a hard time itching their neck, just behind their horns.. or in this case, just behind her frill." She smiled at him, "So... did ya miss me?" She teased softly, walking over to him once more. She briefly moved to grab his vest so as to pull him closer. "I know I missed you." She whispered softly, her lips just inches from his.

-----

(OOC: You can have the Jokul kiss in the next post if you like. The one where he aims and hits her nose, then she kisses him. Or we can wait till later in the thread)

[Jokul & Starkad]

Jokul was glad she didn't go all out and hug him, because at least this way, she wouldn't hurt his shoulder. However, there was that little part of him that had been waiting for it. He just cast the slight empty feeling away, blaming it on nerves instead.

"Didn't forget, did you?"

"Course not." He interwove his fingers with hers. "What else do I ever have to look forward to?" In the back of his mind, he realized the statement, while said sarcastically, was pretty much true.

Even though her dragonese was unexpected, Jokul gave no reaction at hearing it. He switched between each language often enough, he barely batted an eyelash when someone else switched as well. But he had to admit, Fern's dragonese could still use a bit of work. Okay... a LOT of work. But that's why I'm teaching her, right?

He held back a snicker when he translated the call she'd used. While it didn't necessarily have a direct norse meaning, he knew he'd still be able to tell her exactly what it meant. Once the nadder landed, he held his free hand up into her vision, being careful not to strain his arm too much.

"Wanna know why she comes to you like that?" He ran his fingers down from the bottom of her eye to her nose, running his fingers over a few of her teeth in the process. "Because you're pretty much calling her by saying 'baby girl'. Except it's usually reserved for a mother to her hatchlings... but you get the point." Jokul turned back to her when he felt Fern's hand leave his.

Seeing his dragon's color light up, he could only guess she'd been given food. "It's a miracle you're not fat yet, Stark." He commented in dragonese.

The hobblegrunt barely listened to him, and instead, was far too busy savoring the taste of the fish she'd been offered. Just as she finished her snack, a set of fingers scratched at the base of her neck. "Bet that's an itchy spot, yeah?"

Starkad immediately shoved her head harder into Fern's hands, trying to get them to scratch harder. A small purr-like coo came from her at the same time her tail started wagging back and forth across the ground.

Jokul rolled his eyes at the younger dragon and blindly scratched Nima's chin without turning back around. "I think poor nadders have it worse. At least a hobblegrunt has arms." He motioned with his other hand as if he had clawed fingers. "Even if they are the smallest things on the face of the earth." He added just for his dragon to hear, whom didn't even seem to hear him.

"So... did ya miss me?"

It took him a second to realize she wasn't talking to Starkad. In fact, she'd already stopped scratching the hobblegrunt and stood in front of him. "U-um, yeah." The teen started stuttering when he grew aware of just how close she was getting.

Meanwhile, behind Fern, Starkad's euphoria wore off, only to be replaced by confusion. Why'd she stop? Her frill drew back, dulling her sixth sense, and crawled over to the two vikings. Being a dragon, and a very young one at that, she didn't have a clue as to why her brother and the Red Girl acted so strangely around one another. And without this knowledge, she couldn't have known interrupting them was a 'no-no'.

Jokul didn't exactly have any coherent control over his body as he leaned simultaneously towards her, but the moment he seemed to snap back to reality, a yellow and green blur pushed itself directly between them. "Stark-!" He growled before she cut him off.

"More scratches, please!" She whined miserably at Fern. "My arms won't reach it!"

For Starkad's sake, let's hope the girl isn't as ready to kill her as Jokul is.

[Fern & Nima]

Fern looked to her dragon as she tilted her head. "You called?" Came her dragons voice. "I swear, she really needs to learn my name. I am not a hatchling." Nima huffed, shaking her head as her horns readjusted atop her skull. She perked up as Fern seemed to pay attention to the hobblegrunt. "Human... Human! what about me? Have you forgotten my fish?" A slight annoyance crossed Nima as she watched the obviously young hobblegrunt cozy up to her; which made for a short growl beneath her breathe. It was just then she felt contact, and tilted her head to peer at the boy, whose hand was running over her face. "Odd.... usually its the boy scratching that thing and my human scratching me." As the humans talked, he began to scratch her chin, and as the scratching continued, her nerves were eased.

Meanwhile Fern was busy scratching Stakards neck, before hearing Jokul's response. As she did, a tune of laughter came from her, "Well, oops." She said with a small laugh. "Don't worry girl, I'll learn more." She kept scratching Stakard as the dragon seemed to enjoy the contact, so Fern dug her fingers into her scales a little upon the dragons request. Stiil she listened to Jokul as he spoke. Upon hearing about the differences, she shrugged her shoulders, "Well, either way, its still hard for them. But I never thought of that. Honestly, Nima manages really well, even without arms... Still... I can't help but feel bad for her..." Her eyes drifted to her dragon, "Poor Nima." before her eyes were drawn to Jokul. Just then she approached him, her hands gripping his vest, as she closed her eyes, leaning in...

Her lips just barely made contact before... Wham! Fern was knocked to the ground, a thud and a short scream pierced the air as she fell. She blinked a few times, barely realizing what had happened. Her hand came up to her lip, and as she withdrew her hand she saw the crimson liquid on her fingers. Upon looking to Jokul, it was obvious that he was furious. Her first instinct was to comfort him, and she did just that, forgetting about herself and getting up quickly, a hand on his shoulder. The only problem was that she had also forgotten there was blood on that hand, and at the time she didn't realize or really know how Jokul would respond to her being hurt, however minor the injury. She looked to Stakard with a stern expression, not of anger but more of one a scolding mother would give a child, "Stakard, no. No scratches right now."

[Jokul & Starkad]

"Don't be jealous, Nima. 'The thing' isn't worth it... trust me." He said lowly to the dragon. "Besides, it's not like Fern'll replace you with 'it'." Jokul rolled his eyes at the happily cooing pair in front of him. The teen knew Starkad was probably in dragon heaven right now since only his mother and Spitnose really touched the hobblegrunt.

"Poor Nima."

He patted the nadder's neck. "I'm sure she'll survive, right girl?" Making sure to stay in Nima's vision, he reached his other hand up to the back of her neck to itch the spot Fern was talking about.

The moments after were a bit of a blur to him. First, he was about to kiss her and then, before he knew it, his idiot of a dragon had pushed them apart. His fists clenched at his sides, he made a move towards Starkad, but he was stopped before he even got a single step. The pain in his shoulder was far forgotten by now.

The young dragon had cowered away from them when the smell of blood hit her nose. She'd done it again. She'd pushed the Red Girl down just like last time. Jokul's never gonna give me the good fishies ever again! She whined and curled her tail around her legs at Fern's reprimanding tone and glare. Even the Red Girl is mad at me! The dragon tried to shrink herself down into the tightest ball she could, not daring to even look up at the the vikings.

Wow, Stark... way to look pitiful. Though the teen couldn't see her clearly, her cries and whimpers were enough to guess what she doing.

After he turned back to Fern, his anger didn't go away, that is, until he saw the spot of red on her face... other than her hair, of course. Raising his hand, he hovered over the cut, but was careful not to touch it. "Did you get hurt?" He breathed out, trying to remember if she'd been bleeding when she came out of the arena.

No... I think I would've remembered that. The teen swiveled his head to face the hobblegrunt behind him. After snapping out a few dragonese curses, he returned his attention to the girl still holding his shoulder.

"I am so sorry." He grabbed her hand and continued, "D-do you still want to have that d-date?" Jokul's nerves were getting to him again. Reflexively, he swallowed in an attempt to rid himself of the lump in his throat. He'd hoped she wouldn't say no to him.

[Fern & Nima]

Fern had been patting Starkad, listening to Jokuls words about Nima. "Oh yeah, she's a tough girl. A lot tougher then me... actually..." But then a few things happened and she was about to have her first kiss with Jokul when... Bam! Smack! Boom! She was on the ground, blood on her lip, and Starkad cowering on the ground looking like a scolded puppy. For once Fern didn't care that Starkad was cowering; she had almost had the best moment of her young life, and that dragon had gone and messed it up for her. She had already risen up, however, to comfort Jokul, and as her eyes met his she could tell he was angry. Yet as their eyes met, however blind he may be, she knew he could clearly see the crimson on her lip, and in an instant, his anger had melted away. She let his hand hover over it, and put her hand atop his, her lip shivering at the close contact.

"I-I'm okay." She said softly. As he scolded Starkad her expression softened even more so, and she found her own anger had all but disappeared. As he turned back to her she smiled, "What, you think I'd stop liking you for that?" She said softly, a smirk forming on her bloody lip, which she wiped momentarily, "You'll have to try harder then that to get rid of me, I'm afraid." She teased, and suddenly rushed forward, moving to hug him.

She closed her eyes a moment, her tones becoming sincere once more, "Jokul.. I would like nothing more then to have that date.. and many, many more with you." She said softly. "And who knows, maybe Starkad can tag along too." She looked back to Jokul, her lips were just inches from his cheek. "What'd you have in mind?"

[Jokul & Starkad]

"What, you think I'd stop liking you for that?"

"Well, it isn't exactly the first time my dragon tackled you to the ground..." He grumbled, "And it probably won't be the last." The said dragon's color faded further.

"You'll have to try harder then that to get rid of me, I'm afraid."

Jokul released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Oh thank Thor. He didn't even try to say anything as she wrapped her arms around him. Like all the other times she'd done so, he tensed slightly, but it didn't last as long as it used to. He barely had the time to hug back before she pulled away.

Jokul was left speechless. You and me both, Fern. He shook his head free of the thought when she mentioned Starkad. "I think," He stressed out the word. "She should go home and bug mom."

The hobblegrunt easily got the hint and skittered away from him, her tail still wrapped around to her front. If he wasn't so angry at her, he'd have laughed at the comical way she ran. It was like seeing a child after getting caught stealing a cookie.

"What'd you have in mind?"

He tried not to be surprised at how close she'd gotten as he watched his dragon's form leave his line of sight. "Oh! Uh... I was hoping you'd be up for going to the dragon stables. I don't think they're be too many humans in there anyways." He rubbed his neck and smiled as he visualized the place in his head. "I go down there sometimes to get away from people."

He took a hold of her hand and started to lead her. "But I got to warn you about one thing. Some of the terrible terrors might try to eat your hair..."

[Fern & Nima]

As she hugged him, she felt his usual tensing up, but this time felt his arms meet her as she did so. The contact, however brief, was enough to send a chill down her spine. But Fern had been so busy comforting Jokul that she had almost completely forgotten about Nima, who stood glaring at Starkad as she scampered away. And although Nima looked back to her with concern, it seemed she knew better then to have a repeat of the mistake Starkad had made. Fern laughed a little, "Don't worry. I can take a few bruises here and there." She said softly.

At Jokul's sudden nervousness she giggled a bit, "Well then, what are we waiting for? Lets go!" She moved to take his hand and walked hand in hand with him to the dragon stables. As she got there, she looked around herself in awe. "I've never really taken time to come here..." She said quietly, admitting it more to herself then to him. "I always let Nima sleep in my room, so there's never been a need to come here." She looked back at him. "How often do you come here?" She asked softly. She sat down on a pile of hay, patting the spot next to her. Just then a loud rumble sounded, making Fern stand up, as Nima came rushing in. Nima took about a split second to look around the room before she spotted Fern and ran to her, pushing her horned nose up against her chest as a soft croon came from her. It was obvious her dragon was concerned for her, and for a moment Fern felt bad for having not paid more attention to her moments prior.

Eyes resting back to Jokul, she sighed, "Y'know.. Starkad is just a baby. She honestly... just doesn't know any better." She watched Nima as she sniffed Jokul, having obviously detected the blood on his clothes. Fern let her hand stroke over Nima's scales as her dragon nervously looked her over. Just then there was a commotion as three small nadders came tumbling in. Admittedly, Fern had never met Nima's first offspring. At first Fern was confused as to why Nima would suddenly turn away from her to hover over the three tiny nadders, her nose sniffing each one of them before running a tongue over them. Then it hit her, as her nadder regurgitated fish for her young; these were Nima's babies. "Oh Gods! I'd completely forgotten the entire purprose of Snoggletog... For the dragons, I mean..." A smile slowly twitched at the edge of her mouth, caught somewhere between shock and happiness, "My girl has.. babies..."

[Jokul & Starkad]

Trying to follow Fern's enthusiasm, Jokul let her lead. She walked faster than he usually did, not that he minded, it just meant he was more likely to trip over something. It was against his instinct to trust someone else to be his eyes, but he kept reminding himself that even if he ran into something she'd never do it on purpose.

"I've never really taken time to come here..."

Jokul couldn't hide the smile hearing her awe and wonder about the place. He faintly remembered his own curiosity when he first came in here, but he was barely out of his toddler stages then. And just like his sight, most of it's out of focus.

"I used to visit this place at least once every few days." He plopped down next to her in her hay cushion. "But ever since the annoying little addition to the family, I can barely manage once a week... and she always follows me, so it's not exactly peace and quiet."

The sound of a concerned nadder reached his ears not a moment after he'd finished talking. He smirked to himself. The two of them hadn't even noticed Nima's disappearance on their little trek through the village. She must've had to go around the long way. He decided.

The teen didn't exactly expect the dragon to suddenly turn her attention to him. "Um... thanks, Nima... I'm okay." He leaned away from the dragon before her nose knocked him over, but when he took notice that Fern was speaking, he stopped to listen.

"I know that... I just can't stand her most of the time." Jokul reclined his head back into the hay pile, still trying to calm himself from the incident earlier. He agreed wholeheartingly with Fern, but the hobblegrunt's niavety this time was almost inexcusable.

His head perked up when the nadder shuffled away from them and towards what sounded like baby dragons. Just as he thought, he saw the smaller shapes at Nima's feet, cooing and making high-pitch roars at their mother. Oh man... Jokul shuddered, knowing exactly what the older dragon would do.

The retching sound sent a cold shudder through him. As much as he loved being around the reptiles, hearing them throw up isn't really something he can get used to. Luckily for him, Fern distracted him.

"Well, yeah. How did you forget?" He teased. "My girl has.. babies..."

Jokul's breath hitched at her realization. Of course he was happy for her and her dragon's first clutch of hatchlings, but nonetheless, a pang of jealousy still stung him. Well... that's something I'll never be able to see. The only hope he had for Starkad's future family was his imagination.

Before he could visualize the scene, he stretched his arm out and hung it limply near the little nadders. He didn't hover closer until he asked, "Nima... can I?"

[Fern & Nima]

Fern looked around herself, sighing with contentment as Jokul spoke about his personal experiences with the place. For a moment, she could imagine a younger Jokul running around and playing kid-like games in this very cavern; the idea of the scenario playing before her eyes brought a smile to her face, before she snapped back to reality as he continued that after Starkad it hadn't been the same.

"You didn't ask for this... did you..." She said quietly, "Starkad, I mean." She corrected herself quickly, before continuing, "It's almost like she views you as a father... but honestly what kid our age wants that responsibility!" She said with a small, nervous laugh. "But the bond you two share is undeniable. I can only hope me and Nima will have that one day..."

Before she could continue her dragon rushed in, nudging against her before sniffing Jokul. Momentarily the hatchlings bombarded the caverns and Nima was busy feeding them. As the realization hit Fern she found herself lost for a moment just watching them. It wasn't until she caught the expression on Jokul's face that she found herself snapped out of the moment.

It didn't take a mad scientist to determine that Jokul was jealous. Fern could sense the tension that had suddenly built, and it was slightly un-nerving. "Jokul..." She started, but her words caught in her throat. She honestly didn't know what to say, for no medicine could restore the sight he had lost and there was no way she could understand. So, instead of speaking, she knelt beside him as he reached out to the hatchlings.

Upon his hand reaching out Nima seemed to whip around, on high alert as he drew closer. It seemed that no matter how much she trusted Jokul, some deeper instinct took over and she suddenly charged forward, and had it not been for Fern moving to push Jokul out of the way, the Nadder might have very well attacked. Instead, the nadder stopped short, a confused growl coming from her. Fern could feel her hot breathe on her face, for she was that close. Fern couldn't know that, for her eyes had sealed shut tight. The nadder seemed torn between her protective instinct for her young and chasing away Fern as well. Tense moments passed before Nima nudged her young off into a corner, growling under her breathe. Fern finally opened her eyes. "What.. in Thor's name.. just happened...."

[Jokul & Starkad]

Jokul made sure to keep from sounding cruel. "No. Last year, my mom and I were so surprised Shade actually had a daughter. At the time, I thought , 'What the Hel, might as well' and we took her in..." His fists clenched at the memory that wasn't that long ago. "And it's not a father-thing going on with her. It's more like a brother-sister one. I know for a fact that's what she calls me behind my back when she thinks I'm not listening."

He shook his head fondly at Fern as she continued. "We're constantly bickering siblings is what we are." The teen sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "But yeah... I admit, that sack of scales can't be replaced."

He was faintly aware of Fern's presence when he hovered his hand harmlessly closer to the infant dragons. Having been so focused on Starkad, he'd forgotten just how protective a mother, and a new one at that, could be. He barely had enough time to draw his hand back when he saw her whip around. 

Okay, worst comes to worst... I run for it, but maybe calling for Shade is a better option. As he debated his escape plan, he was thrown into the dirt from his side. "Ow..." He grunted at the impact. However small it'd been, he still managed to land directly on his bruised shoulder.

The teen stayed down until he was sure Nima had calmed down. He couldn't see what Fern was doing, but after hearing the nadder's noises grow smaller, he assumed she'd stopped her from gettging too violent.

"What.. in Thor's name.. just happened...."

Jokul started dusting himself off half-heartedly, not really caring what he looked like. "It's my fault... I wasn't... paying attention." He went back to his ball-like form in the hay, and crossed his arms across his knees. "I should've... known better than to do something stupid like that."

Wow... talk about a bad day. He thought bitterly. "L-let's just... forget about this and get on with that lesson I promised you."

---

[ooc- You can decide if Fern let's the topic go or not. I'm honestly stuck at 50/50 here. I'm fine either way]

[Fern & Nima]

As Fern listened to him she laughed a little, "Well, I'd have to say me and Nima are more like mother and daughter rather then siblings." She said softly, yet her joy soon turned to angst as her own dragon nearly attacked him. And, having pushed him out of the way, she saw that he landed on his sore shoulder. A tinge of emotion coursed through her veins as he got up and sat on the hay pile. Fern followed, sitting next to him.

"Jokul..." She said softly. "It's not your fault." She moved to wrap her arms around him, moving to kiss his good shoulder gently. She took a moment to just sit there next to him, before her hands went to his sore shoulder, fumbling her fingers into a gentle massage. "Everyone has their bad days, Jokul. But I'm not going to let you be upset about it. Not by yourself, anyway." She said softly.

For she had an idea that usually, when these types of days happened, Jokul was used to bottling it up and being by himself. It was just a guess, but the thought alone made her sad. Just then a smaller, green little nadder scrambled over, jumping at the hay. His beak aimed to clamp down on Jokul's sleeve of his leg, as he tried to climb his way up, flapping his tiny wings in an over-eager manner. Fern couldn't help but smile at this and helped the little nadder to come up, which, after he had jumped up on the hay, the nadder moved to jump into Jokul's lap, sniffing and making soft cooing sounds.

Fern couldn't help but laugh a little, "Looks like this little one can't stand to see you sad, either." She said softly, before noticing Nima coming over. However, this time her wings were folded and her horns laid back, and she had her head bent down rather shamefully. She came over, her other two babies following with soft clicking sounds, as she nudged up against first Fern before turning to peer at Jokul. Just then, she gave a soft, sad croon at him, as if to apologize to him. Fern looked to Jokul and moved to wrap her arms around him, scooting to be closer to him. For some reason, all she wanted in that moment was to hold him and be held.

[Jokul & Starkad]

Jokul barely acknowledged the redhead next to him, being far too busy scolding himself to notice her. He knew better than most of the consequences of approaching a dragon without warning. His scarred face only proved it.

"It's not your fault."

But it is. He bit his tongue to keep from saying anything aloud. Everything is... Fern's hug would've normally gotten him to at least freeze up, but this time, he sat idly and kept his head down. He was about to turn away to keep his emotions in check when the girl beside him took a hold of his arm and started rubbing it softly.

Jokul'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it. He wasn't exactly used to the gentle contact Fern always gave him, but he was easily, and quickly warming up to it.

While his mother and father loved him, for the past year, the only physical contact he usually got was a rough pat on back here and there. It was like the accident made him breakable to his parents, not that he really minded. The teen didn't want pity. He wanted to act as if nothing had happened. Good chance of that. The sarcastic thought came bitterly.

"Everyone has their bad days, Jokul. But I'm not going to let you be upset about it. Not by yourself, anyway."

"Thanks." He blurted out. Not much time past before a new realization dawned upon the teen. "Here I am acting like the girl..." All this mushy talk was starting to get to him, so he thought it best to bring humor into it. "I thought that'd be your job." He gestured to Fern with a smile.

The rustling of hay next to him made him jump a bit, but once he saw the baby dragon, he relaxed. Knowing Nima was nearby somewhere, he dared not move. He just watched the little nadder unsuccessfully try to climb up his legs. Its claws hurt, but not nearly as much as Starkad's.

Once it decided it wanted to get on his lap, Jokul straightened his legs to free up space. With the curious gurgles coming from the infant, the teen couldn't resist reaching out to touch him. He glanced around for the older nadder, but didn't find any sign of her, which both scared, and comforted him when he was scratching her baby's chin.

"Looks like this little one can't stand to see you sad, either."

Jokul debated over his next move, but he didn't hesitate once he decided. He rested his free arm on Fern's leg without looking over at her. "Really... thank you." When the small dragon crawled closer to Jokul's chest, he added, "And you too, little guy."

At the first sign of Nima coming, Jokul drew his hand back and froze up, not wanting the same reaction from her earlier. The baby dragon on his lap playfully snapped at his fingers when he stopped scratching. The older nadder showed no hostility at least, which set Jokul at ease.

After Nima gave him a low, sorry-filled coo, he returned a short nod back at her as if to say it was okay. While he was focused on its mother, the baby in his lap had gotten impatient, and started nibbling on his furry vest. "That's not a chew toy ya know." The teen tried to pull his clothing away from it, but the moment it had moved, the hatchling squeaked and refused to let go.

"Okay, you little-" As he persisted, the little nadder dug its claws into his leg and tugged the vest away. It didn't take long before Jokul gave up. He'd dealt with Starkad enough to know he wasn't going to win.

"Fine. You can have it." Just as he was about to relax, Fern surprised him with a hug. He probably would've tried to hug back, but he happened to have an obstacle in the way. As if knowing this, the little green demon chirped and bounced up and down enthusiastically.

"Nima... your son is almost as annoying and Starkad. I hope you know that." He grunted at the weight of the baby every time it landed back on him.

[Fern & Nima]

As she reached out to hold him, she didn't feel his usual tense up or anything of the like; and yet, she didn't think twice about it. All she knew was that he needed her right now, and that's what a partner was supposed to do right? They were supposed to be there for each other when the going got rough, which Fern was more then happy to do. Yet the one thing others had failed to tell her was how painful it could be to see a loved one hurting; for as she sat there, holding Jokul, she glimpsed his pale face, his head bowed and not seeming to want to acknowledge her. Yet just then Ferns fingers fumbled to massage him, and she started to hum a song her parents had sang her as a baby. She had never known the words, just the soft tune of it. Her humming paused as he blurted out a thank you, and she smiled just a little.

"For what? That's what friends are for, right?" She said softly. But before the sappy moment could continue, he initiated a joke and she laughed a little, "Well I always thought myself to be rather strapping and muscular." She said in a sarcastically teasing way, and to add to the pun she flexed one puny arm before him, before laughter took over her lungs.

Yet just then a noise interrupted them, as a baby nadder interrupted them. The little nadder found its way up into Jokul's lap, and at Fern's sincere compliment she felt Jokul's hand move to her leg. Her heart lurched into her throat in that moment, as she scarcely breathed. She merely looked at him, lifting a hand up to his face to hold it tenderly, "Jokul..." But before she could get out what she wanted to say a familiar figure meandered over, pressing her nose up against Fern.

Fern didn't respond in her usual way, instead she grabbed hold of her nadders horn gently, hoping to keep her away from Jokul. Yet it didn't seem necassary, for the nadder seemed sorry enough just standing there echoing that sad croon. Fern couldn't understand dragonese, but she could have sworn the dragon had said something of an apology. What else could that sad croon mean?

And while the humans were busy with her offspring, Nima found herself torn between the two. Her real offspring, or her human offspring. Which should come first? But if she kept allowing her human to bring this human, who knows how many other humans she would bring to visit her babies? Yet just then Nima heard Jokul's comment, and at his comment she tilted her head. "Is that a compliment, human, or a snide remark?" She asked, moving to grab her baby by the back and lift it off of him. The baby merely scrambled back, jumping this time at Fern's leg before jumping back to Jokuls. "His name Kruno. I am afraid I must ask something of you, human."

Fern looked to her nadder, who seemed to be nuzzling up against that one particular green nadder with utmost love and adoration. Nima finally turned back to Jokul. "I'm afraid I must ask you to help raise him. His father is not here. He is so much unlike either of us, he doesn't have anyone to role model. The other two are females, they can learn from me just fine. But being male, he'll need a male figure in his life as his father is..." She didn't finish, obviously pained at the thought of their father. She brought the young hatchling into her beak and settled him on his lap. "I have one request. Fern remains his human. Being younger, he'll be around much longer then I will be. He stays at my humans cave but will be taught to be a dragon by you and your... creature.. you call Starkad. She is the only dragon I can see that is most like him. Despite their closeness in age, I believe it will do him good to befriend her. To know somebody like him, as so few take on his personality." Nima took a moment to turn an eye to Jokul, pupils slits, "Promise me, young human, you'll teach him your ways?"

[Jokul & Starkad]

The tune she'd started singing wasn't familiar to Jokul, but nonetheless, it soothed him further.

"For what? That's what friends are for, right?" He found himself nodding in agreement with her. "Yeah... friends..." He trailed off since he couldn't think of anything else else to say.

Luckily his joke diffused any tension or depression around them. "You kidding? I don't even think the chief would stand a chance against you!" Fern's laughter was contagious, and before he knew it, he was cackling along with her in the hay.

Once the two settled down and Jokul thanked her, he wasn't expecting the girl's warm hand to cup his cheek. Though... it was something he should've seen coming. For a split second, his body and brain weren't on the same page and he ended up leaning a fraction of an inch towards her.

If it weren't for Nima, he wasn't sure he would've been able to snap out of it. He wasn't sure whether to be glad, or disappointed at the dragon's appearance. Considering the anger bubbling up inside him slowly, it was probably the later.

Giving the baby nadder another scratch, Jokul answered Nima's question. "I'd take it as a compliment. Having as much energy as her is bound to be a talent." After she'd moved the hatchling, he made a move to bring his knees back up, but apparently the baby had plans of his own. "Well someone's persistent." The teen grumbled.

"His name Kruno. I am afraid I must ask something of you, human."

"Kruno, huh?" At the sound of his name, the little nadder cooed back at him. While Nima continued to explain what she wanted, Jokul kept his eyes on Kruno. Starkad I can handle... but having two of the pests? The teen sighed quietly before she was even done speaking. "So... let me get this straight. You want me," He gestured to himself. "To be like a surrogate dad?"

"I know I'm pretty much the only guy you know, or trust for that matter, but isn't that kind of a sudden thing to ask?" Turning to look at Fern, he switched to Norse and said simply, "I think Kruno just became Starkad's nephew..." Okay... bad explanation. He tried again, "Nima wants me to help teach him dragon stuff..."

"Promise me, young human, you'll teach him your ways?"

How did I all of a sudden become a teacher? He thought grumpily. By now, Kruno had latched his claws into his vest and climbed clumsily up to the teen's shoulder. The infant flapped his wings to steady himself every so often, emitting high-pitch growls every time he slipped.

"I'm not the best teacher, but I might as well since I'm already tutoring Fern."