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       #Post#: 1728--------------------------------------------------
       A new World
       By: Minyaagar Date: March 3, 2026, 12:13 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Over the last several years, Dragons had began to make a
       resurgence. Gone were the ideas that they were just stories
       pasted down form the elders. In fact, Jasper was convinced that
       the stories of dragon riders was entirely true. He became
       certain of this over the last few weeks.
       He had been helping gather some wayward sheep when he heard an
       enchanting song deep in the forest. The first few times he heard
       it, he mostly ignored it, but on the third day, he decided to
       sing back as he went about gathering wood for another villager.
       He found the source of the song the following day when he went
       out into the woods under the gize of hunting wolves and found a
       trapped death song. The viking was almost giddy at such a chance
       to get close to a dragon. He had spent the last two weeks
       gaining the dragon's trust by singing with it and bringing it
       fish. Yesterday, he had finally got the death song to let him
       close enough to free it's tail from the bolder that had landed
       on it and it seemed that act had completely won the dragon over.
       That night he had asked for the materials he would need to set
       the dragons tail to heal. He had asked Cadoc for some metal
       rods, dropping by the smithy that morning to collect them with
       his basket full of fish on his back. "You are a life saver,
       thanks!" He said, not answering any question before he left for
       the forest.
       Racket was as excited as a puppy when Jasper arrived, tackling
       the man and licking him all over. "Hey hey! Chill! I brought you
       plenty of fish!" He said laughing as he dumped the basket on the
       ground and the dragon went ham on the free meal. Jasper went
       around the back and began messing with the dragon's tail,
       setting the broken tail getting a displeased sound out of the
       dragon who quickly realized how much better it's tail felt now
       and made a purring noise at Jasper before going back to eating.
       Jasper let out the breath he had been holding at not being
       attacked.
       "Good boy Racket, eat up," he said patting the dragon's side.
       -----
       Cadoc had slipped his friend some rods when he was thanked-
       rather enthusiastically for them.”yeah no problem but….” He said
       before watching jasper run off. The man sighed deeply before the
       next person came in. “What are ya lookin for?” He asked as he
       was told a weapon to go and bring it back.
       Meanwhile Reika the one that was quiet one. Had taken notice of
       the man’s change and rather upbeat personality. The woman
       flipped her sketchbook closed and slid it in a pack that she
       slung on.  The girl tracked the man into the forest, keeping her
       distance before taking notice of a dragon.. and jasper up close.
       Her eyes went wide at what she saw to hide. She didn’t think
       she’d see one *this* close! Last time she watched a few fly in
       and take off with the neighbors sheep.
       Her head circled a bit to peek again her step snapping a branch,
       she flinched and tried to dart near a rock to peek over.
       ----
       Racket's head popped up from his fish as he let out a low
       grumbling growl. "What's wrong Racket?" Jasper asked, getting to
       his feet. The dragon's sudden tenseness clued him in that they
       weren't alone.
       He put his hand on the dragon's nose before he spoke. "You can
       come out now or I can let Racket find you and we won't be as
       nice as me," Jasper warned darkly. He had bonded with the
       creature and there was not a chance in hell anyone was going to
       hurt his new friend.
       -----
       Reika heard the grumble and shrunk a bit. She heard the threat
       and made a silent face. A sigh escaped her lips as she popped up
       and eyed Jasper. “How…did you manage to get close?”
       She clutched her bag a little in front as it was a shield,
       looking at Racket her eyes taking in how pretty he looked.   Her
       eyes went to jasper.”is this why you’ve been acting a lot more
       upbeat lately?”
       -----
       "Reika?" Jasper asked with a surprised look in his eyes. "Well,
       I found Racket trapped under that bolder over there... been
       gaining his trust the last few weeks and he even let me set his
       tail today. I don't think they are nearly as vicious as everyone
       makes them out to be." The man said looking the woman over.
       "Have I been acting different? I hadn't notice," he added with a
       chuckle. His light mood seeming to put the dragon at ease. "He
       likes to sing," he said was Racket flourished his wings in his
       threat display, though, Jasper scratched under the dragon's chin
       and the creature practically melted against his hand. "He is
       just a big Ole love bug." Jasper added.
       -----
       Reika blinked a bit to inch just a little closer seeing the
       wings come out and shrunk a bit at first. Her eyes slowly went
       wide from how the creature devolved into a pet like way her head
       cocking a bit.
       ”mmhmm.. everyone acts a certain way- you looked- or started to
       look bored routines do that.. deviate makes the mood better.”
       She said.
       Part of her wanted to touch the dragon. The girl clearly
       interested.”kind of looks like my great grandpa’s  books.. but
       not quite the same color.” She mumbled as the book that laid
       inside seemed to describe if anything; the threat level of the
       dragon and how you could die, along with what it might of looked
       like. “Nice to see death song so close..” she said as her smile
       brushed her face a little.
       -----
       "Is that was you are? A Death Song? Cute little buddy?" Jasper
       asked the dragon that had now laid on it's side as it's leg
       pawed at the air as it enjoy the attention Jasper was giving. "I
       call him Racket, because he likes to sing to lure critters up
       here. His song is how I found him." He explained as he loved on
       the creature. He soon pulled away, the now relaxed dragon
       returning to his food.
       "You aren't ganna try and tell no body about him right?" The
       viking asked as the fresh worry occurred to him. He bad a
       feeling the people of berk might not accept that the dragon
       could be anything but dangerous.
       ----
       Reika face a blink at the name and smiled.”it sings?” She said
       and pulled out her sketchbook to write it out.
       She wrote down more as it are her eyes flickering at it as she
       couldn’t help but draw the little guy- or a rough.
       “I won’t say anything.” She said and smirked just a little.”if
       you help me get a dragon too.” She said and smiled wider.
       She was clever, she’d never really breathe about Rachet’s
       existence.. but she figured if the Viking figured out how to get
       one.. maybe he could help her too.
       -----
       "Yeah, maybe I can get him to sing here where he finishes
       eating. I can help you befriend a dragon. Need to find one first
       though." Jasper said with a chuckle, realizing that he had a
       true comrade in his newest life venture.
       When the dragon finished eating it settled on the ground, much
       like a bird and looking at Jasper expectantly. The viking
       started to sing to the creature, his voice quite lovely and the
       dragon began to sing with him, mimicking the tone he used as the
       viking sang. It wasn't something Jasper ever did in the village,
       not wanting to look weak on front of the other warriors of the
       village.
       ----
       Reika smiled more and finally relaxed she found a spot to sit as
       she watched the creature just enjoying itself, her graphite
       stick moving as she listened and watched.
       "so they communicate by song! Bet you train with it enough it
       could help with a lot of things.” She said and chuckled.”and you
       sing quite well jasper… didn’t realize you did.” She said and
       smiled.
       ------
       Jasper's cheeks turned a bit red with a blush at the compliment.
       "Well thank you, I don't exactly advertise singing. Not exactly
       a manly thing to do." He said with chuckle as the dragon settled
       down for a nap now. Jasper gave the dragon a little more loving
       before he turned to Reika.
       "We should head back. I didn't exactly give an excuse for why I
       was coming out here today. I don't want anyone else coming look
       for me." He told the girl before he began to make his way back
       to Berk.
       ----
       “Let you in on a secret.” Said Reika.”singing doesn’t make you
       less manly.. it’s if you can’t throw a punch.” She said and
       chuckled. Her head tilted a bit before getting up, her dusting
       off her backside.”mmmm be careful about that- lucky it was just
       me following you.” She commented.
       “You sure racket won’t like… follow you into the village?” She
       asked as she walked by him. She closed her sketchbook to slide
       it in her pack. Her feet falled in step as she looked up. “Mean
       what would you do if someone finds racket?” She asked as she
       seemed to bounce a bit.
       #Post#: 1729--------------------------------------------------
       Re: A new World
       By: Minyaagar Date: March 3, 2026, 12:23 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Eivind moved slowly, taking care to not rustle or break anything
       on the forest floor, his sharp eyes searching for the doe that
       was trying to elude him. He'd been chasing her for a good half
       hour and had nearly hit her, when someone had started singing
       and spooked her.
       He was quite pleased when he spied her again, trying to hide
       among the trees and unleashed his arrow. It caught her straight
       in the neck.
       "Finally," he muttered and then gave chase as the deer got an
       adrenaline spike and tried running back the way she'd come from,
       straight towards Jasper and Reika.
       Eivind spied them from far enough away to shout out a warning.
       "Watch out! Doe on the death run!"
       Once he and the doe had gotten past the two, he unleashed his
       hatchet, catching the deer in the back and ending it's flight.
       He said a prayer to the gods and put the creature out of it's
       misery.
       "What are you two doing so far outside of Berk?" He couldn't
       help but ask, as he rested for a moment. Then he moved to cut
       down some branches to use to drag the deer back to his makeshift
       home.
       ----
       "Yeah, I'm going to have to figure out a better reason to give
       while I'm out here... I.... don't actually know if he would
       follow me. I only freed his tail yesterday... set it today...."
       Jasper said as worry began to fill him over the dragon. Before
       he could mention hunting down a better hiding spot for the
       dragon, the pair heard another voice calling out to them about a
       death run deer.
       Jasper quickly snatched Reika up into his arms before jumping up
       into a massive rock out of the way of the dying animal. He
       couldn't help but watch the man take out the animal, the
       Thorston setting the woman back on her feet once the danger had
       passed.
       "Looking for wolves." Jasper lied easily. It was the best one he
       had, and most people didn't question the simple minded man and
       his self imposed quests. "Hendrick had two more sheep go missing
       last night," he added, sprinkling in a little truth. "What are
       you doing out here?" He asked a moment later.
       -----
       Reika listened as she walked. She had a feeling the guy didn’t
       think to deeply. She heard the call and felt jasper snatch her
       up and clung  a bit to him.
       The moment she was on her feet she naturally got behind jasper.
       Almost as if hiding from the man in a way. She had seen him
       during her gathering times and let Jasper do the talking as she
       watched the man work.
       ----
       "Wolves again? Might have to do a hunt soon to get rid of them.
       They'll be much worse when winter comes," Eivind replied as he
       worked on getting his makeshift sleigh ready. "Just keep an eye
       out, I thought I heard a bear out this way the other day. I
       thought I saw claw marks when I was going through the woods.
       Hey, was that you singing earlier?" He asked looking straight at
       Jasper.
       Once his sleigh thing was ready, he moved it over to the deer
       and rolled it onto the sturdy branches and tied it down. "Maybe
       I'll see you both around later, the supply boat is due back this
       afternoon," he said giving them a friendly smile and wave,
       before lifting one end and then pulling his load off in a
       different direction than the town.
       ---
       Jasper's protective nature had him easily pick up on Reika's
       discomfort and made no fuss over the woman hiding behind him.
       His face was twelve shades of red when the guy asked if it had
       been Jasper singing.
       He wanted to say no, but he also didn't want the guy looking for
       Racket. "Yeah.... second person to catch me today," the warrior
       said with a nervous chuckle. Jasper's panic amplified ten fold
       when he saw the guy head in the direction that would bring the
       guy past where he had left the dragon.
       "You know! You should really see about moving into the village.
       I know I could probably use a room mate," he offered, making
       himself question his own words for a moment.
       -----
       Reika made a chuckle seeing jasper’s face. Her own making the ‘I
       was the first look.” It changed into a small panic look herself
       at the man going where Ratchet was and was listening to the
       talk. Her hand practically smacked jaspers arm to give the.”your
       going with that?” Look. Her eyes flashed to the man who was
       still dragging the kill.
       -----
       "you should sing more often, you have a good voice," Eivind
       replied. He knew that there was someone with the young guy, he'd
       seen her when he'd run past. He wondered idly if they'd been
       meeting secretly and if that was why she was hiding behind the
       man.
       He paused mid step and turned to shoot a surprised look at the
       offer. "You don't even know me or my name, and You're offering
       to let me live with you? That's a little strange. You needn't
       worry, I won't tell anyone you were meeting a girl out here. Not
       like anyone would believe me,"
       ---
       Jasper's face seemed to be competing for reddest tomato of the
       year with the color it had turned between the complement, being
       called strange, and then the comment about meeting the girl out
       here. He gave Reika a look of 'I don't know i don't have a
       better idea!!' As he hurried forward.
       "Course I know your name! Well, think I do. I've seen you
       hanging out around the forest, it's something like Eivor,
       Egor.... no no! Eivind!" He said, now kind of standing in that
       man's way, maybe making it a *little* obvious he didn't want to
       guy going that way.
       ----
       The man's reddening face made Eivind believe that the guy was
       trying to hide a secret girlfriend and not something else. He
       raised an eyebrow, inwardly chuckling at how the man moved to
       intercept him, insisting he knew his name.
       "Yes, Eivind Erikson, and you are Jasper, right? I can't say
       I've met your friend before," he added, glancing at the young
       woman a bit quizzically and tried to go around Jasper with his
       load.
       "I've got my rack set up outside my lean to shelter. It'll be a
       better place to skin and butcher the deer. I can meet you later,
       talk about the prospect of "rooming" together if you'd like,"
       ----
       Reika’s face gave away to a dark red, course her trying to keep
       somewhat behind jasper- wasn’t making things any better from the
       assumption.  She listened to Jasper run through the man’s names
       to silently put her hand over her own face.
       Reika blinked and looked a bit down.” Reika Ingerman. “ she said
       and took note of what he was doing. She took notice of a plant
       and took it as a reason to get in the man’s way in an effort to
       help jasper.”might wanna watch it.. there’s poison ivy over
       here,” she said her voice coming out more and gave another
       glance at Jasper, given the fact that actually worked had
       written all over her face.
       -----
       Jasper's worries and panicky deminer at the moment was only
       amplified when he saw Racket poking his head out from behind a
       bush at Jasper. The vikings eyes widened in shock before he
       scrambled over to the dragon and pushed it's head back into the
       bush.
       "Yeah yeah, sounds good. I'll probably be down by the docks
       later helping unload stuff," see you then!" He said, suddenly
       going from trying to keep the man from going in the direction of
       where he had left Racket, to now wishing the guy would hurry
       off.
       -----
       Eivind's attention was drawn to the blonde haired young woman,
       her soft look reminded him of his lost wife. Her mention of
       poison ivy had him chuckling a bit, reminded of how much his
       wife had hated how it never bothered him as much as it did her.
       "I'm kind of immune to the stuff, something my late wife, Freya
       found annoying."
       The thought of her and his deceased kids had his countenance
       fall a bit further. He gave Jasper a nod, shouldering his load
       and headed off too distracted to notice how strange the man was
       acting.
       Soon his mind was distracted by his work on the deer carcass. It
       was late afternoon when he finally finished and went to clean up
       in the nearby river. He stored away several good pieces of meat,
       wrapping up the rest to take to town to trade. He gathered up
       several furs and other items and headed into the town.
       -----
       Reika blinked at the man as her face twisted at the notion the
       man would be unbothered by poison ivy.
       ”I don’t get how but.. okay.” She said before noting the man’s
       boisterous attitude falling at the mention of his deceased wife.
       She watched the man walk off and let a breath out when he left
       to let a breath out once the man was gone.
       ”you got lucky- said he’d follow..” she said looking at
       jasper.”what are you gonna do now?” She asked as her mind was a
       bit on the man from the outskirts- made her wonder if that was
       why he kept his distance from Berk.
       -----
       Jasper nearly fell on his face when Racket pulled his head away
       from Jasper before licking the man. "Hey! Come on now!" He
       protested as he got back to his feet. The question of what he
       was going to do sending him into a whole new panic.
       Jasper's hands pressed against either side of his head as he
       tried to force an okay idea out. "I don't know what I'm ganna
       do! I didn't think he would try to follow me home!" The man
       complained as he dragon gave him a stick, wanting him to throw
       it. "I don't want to put a leash on him or trap him... but... I
       don't know how to convince him to not come home with me... I'm
       ganna have to move into the woods!" Jasper said, starting to
       spiral a bit in weirder and weirder ideas of what he might have
       to do.
       "Reika, ya gatta help me! You are good at the whole thinking
       bullshit..." He requested with a defeated look. "I don't want to
       live in the woods, I don't want to sleep in trees!" He
       protested.
       #Post#: 1730--------------------------------------------------
       Re: A new World
       By: Minyaagar Date: March 3, 2026, 12:31 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Reika watched the man trying to think and crossed her arms in
       thought as she listened to the man talk about traps and leashes.
       ”jasper chill.. “ she told him as she watched, amused at the
       dragon.”it means he trusts you, and well.. it’ll take some
       training.” Her eyes closed in thought when an idea formed.
       ”there is a cave that I remember seeing quite a ways out from
       one of my explorations.. maybe we can make it comfortable for
       ratchet...” She said clearly thinking.”I know you don’t like the
       idea of trapping- but maybe for now make a door like a cage
       door, maybe even train him to not follow?” She said in
       thought.”but only if your willing to do that- if not maybe
       living in the woods isn’t so bad since you wanna be roomies
       Eivind. He does live outside of Berk.” She said her hips
       shifting before placing a hand on it.
       -----
       "Maybe he can learn stay like a dog?" Jasper offered up at
       Reika's suggestion. As much as he didn't like the idea of
       trapping the dragon, he knew it would be far too dangerous to
       let the dragon follow him to town.
       While he didn't think the dragon would cause that much trouble,
       he knew the villagers wouldn't have the best reaction. "Let's go
       check out that cave." He said, realizing he couldn't go back
       home right now.
       ----
       “Most likely..” she said with a thoughtful expression. “At least
       it’ll keep Racket safe.” She said and thought a bit more.
       “Sounds good, just follow me.” She said as she began her trek,
       the girl despite appearances seemed to do well with climbing and
       squeezing past places. Thanks to this Reika was fully thinking
       on what they could do, if she had a dragon and he had one.. the
       cave may not be big enough. But for now for that to even happen
       she had to help jasper keep rachet safe.
       She found the cave and went inside to be sure it was still
       empty.. and sure enough there was no signs of other creatures be
       it human or not.”okay come in!” She told jasper as she looked
       around the small place.
       As she did so she felt a small giveaway and tumbled a little to
       a bigger area.. the place had fresh water coming in. Her eyes
       went a bit wide as her head turned at the new discovery. Being
       how she was she sat up to pull her notebook out and wrote it
       down before sliding it back in her pack.
       ----
       Jasper followed after Reika as they trekked through the forest,
       soon enough finding the cave she spoke of. "OH wow!" The man
       gasped when he walked inside, even more so when the wall tumbled
       away showing off an underground river.
       "This place is perfect! Can even keep whatever dragon you bond
       with here!" He said excitedly as he and Racket explored the
       cave.
       After *several* games of fetch with the beast, the dragon found
       itself a comfy spot and settled down for a nap. "If we sneak out
       now, we can worry about sealing off the entrance later." He
       whispered before the pair made their escape, thankfully not
       running into any further issues on their way back to the
       village.
       Jasper was quickly roped into unloaded the ships supplies. His
       physical prowess all anyone saw in the man. Not that he really
       minded all that much.
       ----
       “Okay..” said Reika though not fully convinced.
       The girl followed him into town till he was quickly whisked
       away for work. The girl sighed a bit to walk toward her home.
       She ran into Cadoc now done with his work as he was making his
       way towards the docks. More or less so to talk to a merchant
       that had also came in. He was looking forward to some parts that
       would go for a metal arm he was attempting to make. At least
       something to hold his work other than his foot.
       Of course much like the rest of the village he excused himself
       to go on as Reika simply sighed. Jasper was pretty much the
       select few to really talk to her. She never really knew why. She
       went to her home to pack a few things for the next little outing
       and noticed she needed more graphite sticks. She pulled out her
       notes and got her grandfathers book to flip to death song. She
       began to write what some observations of it.. that clearly
       showed signs of possible taming.
       -----
       The high seas being where Halvard was most at home, made the
       cheers of his fellows at the sight of Berk bittersweet for him.
       Still, he knew his family would be glad to have him back safe at
       home. Though he knew after a few hours at his parent's home, his
       mother would bring up him settling down with a nice girl again.
       His ever helpful sister would suggest all the single girls she
       knew: and his older married brothers would try to convince him
       married life was better.
       Which was the last thing he wanted. Particularly because he knew
       he'd never be able to settle on land, or for any woman. He was
       more interested in the sea, and men.
       "Enough day dreaming Hal, tie off the boat!" The captain of
       their vessel yelled, startling Hal out of his thoughts.
       "Yessir!" He called back, grabbing the huge rope, and making a
       running leap from the boat to the end of the dock. He tied off
       the rope expertly and then began helping unload the supplies
       they'd come back with.
       He spied one particular male, one he'd been crushing on for
       awhile helping unload one of the other returned ships. They
       usually took out 3 or 4 ships to bring back enough supplies for
       the whole town at once. So it'd take a few hours to get
       everything off, even with extra help.
       Once he'd finished helping with his ship, Hal went to help with
       the other one. "Hey Jasper, anything new happen while we were
       away?" He asked, deciding to strike up a conversation with the
       man as they worked. With the added men, they made a train to
       pass off the loaded boxes.
       -----
       Jasper grinned wide at Halvard, easily falling into the usual
       unloading routine. "Few new buildings up. Wolves are being a
       pain again. Hendrick is loosing sheep just about every night
       lately. You ganna be sticking around for a while this time
       round?" He asked as he caught a sack before tossing it off to
       the next person.
       "I might be getting a room mate too," he added with a chuckle,
       remembering he was meant to meet up with Eivind later on.
       ----
       Halvard let out a sigh, wishing there might be more exciting
       news. "Sounds like normal. We could team up to hunt down those
       wolves if you want, and split the reward." He suggested.
       "Probably until spring when a raiding or supply party heads out
       again," he added. "A roommate? Who's the lucky person? Anyone I
       know?"
       ----
       Once finished Reika flipped a few books closed and put them in
       her pack. She was too excited to stay in one place. The girl
       gave a soft breath out and went out. The girl didn’t mind being
       by herself terribly much. It was thanks to it she often found
       new things, and experimenting. This time she figured if she
       could see a dragon.. or at least another and not worry about
       being killed- be more than happy. She stopped long enough for a
       few rations to make her way to scout off.
       Her eyes took in the faces of the villagers as she made her way
       out. She figured maybe even check on racket to be safe since
       there was no door. She still felt an air of worry for that, as
       much as she liked jasper, she often felt he didn’t think things
       totally through sometimes- or got by with some luck.
       -----
       "Well... if ya think ya can keep a secret, might be able to show
       you something cool later," Jasper mentioned as they worked.
       The seagoing man being someone he considered a good friend. "Ya
       know that guy who's been living out in the woods? Told him he
       should consider moving in to town, figure my place is too big
       for a guy like myself. I haven't even filled a quarter of the
       space. Could probably take another good two roomies and a dragon
       and still have space. Thorston used to be a huge family." Jasper
       yammered.
       ----
       Halvard brightened up, getting a curious look on what Jasper
       might show him. "I'm good at keeping secrets," he said winking
       at the man.
       Halvard had to think about who Jasper was talking about before
       the name came to him. "Oh yeah, the guy who brings the bear
       teeth, claws and furs to trade. I wonder if he'd consider taking
       a partner on, i still have a long way to go on savings funds for
       my own ship.  If you're looking for more roommates, maybe I
       could take you up on that. It would be nice to get some space
       from my family,"
       --------
       Aina had finally made her escape from the Weavers circle after
       being stuck there for over three hours with the excuse of
       needing fresh air. Before her mother could call her back, she
       raced off towards the cave on the outskirts of the town. She'd
       discovered it when she'd first been adopted and went there
       whenever she needed some time alone to think.
       She hadn't gotten that far when she spied another female heading
       in the same direction. Well...so she wasn't the only one to know
       about the cave. She'd suspected there had been someone else that
       liked to go there, but had never caught them before. She was the
       more careful type, always covering up signs  that she'd stayed
       in the cave.
       Aina was careful about where she stepped, not wanting to give
       herself away to the other female just yet. Her sharp eyes picked
       up a few things out of place and frowned as they got closer.
       ----
       #Post#: 1731--------------------------------------------------
       Re: A new World
       By: Minyaagar Date: March 9, 2026, 8:36 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Cadoc keeping his distance was chatting it up with a merchant.
       He figured once jasper started moving,  he could talk to him
       alone. The man had been asking for strange things to be made.
       And he wanted to know why. The man often looked bored before and
       now seemed more upbeat and happy. He just was curious if he
       found a lover, or something more.
       ——-
       Reika made it to the cave to look back carefully. She realized
       she got a bit too energetic about the whole thing and hoped she
       wasn’t followed. She dipped into the cave with the bit of fish
       she had to find a spot to see if racket would come out. She went
       to a spot to sit to give the dragon some space knowing full well
       to not encroach its space. She pulled her book out to write some
       things out and sketch while she waited.
       -----
       "The more the merrier, before long I'll have all the best
       looking bachlors under one roof." Jasper teased as they worked.
       In the combined effort, the men soon had all the ships unloaded,
       Jasper and Halvard offered up to carry the heavy items to the
       shops they belonged to.
       Once the pair were finally given leave for the day, Jasper
       bought a basket full to the brim with fish, and bandages before
       waiting to meet up with Eivind. "Once I meet up with Eivind we
       can head out to the forest." He told Halvard.
       -----
       Halvard felt his face heat up a bit at Jasper's teasing and
       ducked his head. He was sure the guy wouldn't want him living in
       the same house if he knew that Hal has feelings for him. A lot
       of the Vikings had pretty strong opinions of men taking male
       lovers.
       "I'll get back to you on that in a few days. Gotta take my time
       bringing up the idea to my mother. She's more old school, a son
       doesn't leave until he's married in her mind," he explained.
       Hal followed Jasper around, helping make deliveries and saying
       hello to the shop keepers. He was glad when the work was
       finished and nodded when Jasper mentioned meeting up with Eivind
       first.
       "Looks like he just finished trading with the captain," he said
       pointing to the man a few feet away.
       -----
       Eivind had made several good trades, gaining a sealskin and
       other items he needed from the sailors. He got into a discussion
       with the Captain about hunting down a deer for the man's family
       for a tool he would need. "I'll try and get you one in the next
       couple of days. Most of the deer have moved on, but there are a
       few stragglers,"
       "Sounds good, if you can't find a deer, I'd take a couple of
       wolf pelts,"
       Eivind shook the Captain's hand in agreement and then looked
       around for Jasper. It didn't take but a few moments to spy the
       man standing off to the side with a younger man.
       "Hey Jasper, think I could see your place before I decide?" He
       asked after walking up to the two. "Hello, I'm Eivind," he said
       offering his hand.
       "Nice to meet you, I'm Halvard. I'm going to go grab my pack
       from the ship Jasper. I'll be back in a bit," the other guy
       replied and turned to tell Jasper before heading back to the
       docked ships.
       -----
       ----
       Aina paused at the entrance to the cave, giving the other long
       enough to get inside before slipping in quietly. When she got
       close enough to see the other's face, Aina couldn't help but
       smile when she recognized the girl as Reika.
       She moved in to peer over the others shoulders to see what she
       was writing, her curiosity getting the better of her.
       Her nose wrinkled a bit, picking up the smell of fish. "Oh nice
       drawing, did you actually see this or is it from your
       imagination?" She asked in a low voice. "You got a pet you keep
       out here?"
       ----
       Reika was busy as she was peering for Racket. She had hoped to
       get even the smallest  glance when someone spoke causing the
       girl to jump out of her skin.her book shut and she automatically
       covered Aina’s mouth- more or less to not scare the
       dragon.”quiet.. and let’s get out slow…” her inner panic
       manifesting at what jasper would say to see someone else knowing
       his secret.”I..it’s a dragon.. just don’t wanna scare him off.”
       She said quietly.
       —————
       Red was in flight as he felt the feel of the wind. The wings of
       the dragon flapped his way as he barrel rolled to avoid some
       harpoons to look back.”greaaat..” sounded red.”they followed and
       we are a flying target.” He grumbled. He took notice of berk and
       a dense forest after it.”alright flare try to not let us get
       seen..” he told the dragon earning a sound from it. It took off
       like a shot in the air making its way to the dense forest,
       trying to avoid some shots from a nearby boat trying to take him
       and his dragon down.
       ----
       "Yeah, I'll meet you at the forest later," Jasper told Halvard
       before giving Eivind his full attention. "Yeah, of course ya
       can." Jasper said cheerfully before shouldering his basket of
       fish and rucksack of supplies before he headed up hill to just
       outside of the village to the massive complex that was his home.
       "Could honestly have a whole wing to yourself if you wanted."
       Jasper joked as they climbed the stairs up the the front
       entrance that opened up to a grand hall of sorts that could
       house a proper feast if he really wanted to. There were several
       stores to this common area that branched off into multiple
       connected huts.
       "Can pick whatever empty hut fancies you if you decide to move
       in. I know it seems a been brash, but I think it's about time
       someone showed you some hospitality in Berk. Besides I have the
       space, and you seem far from a freeloader." Jasper rambled.
       ¤¤¤
       Racket had woken when he heard the sound of someone enter the
       cave. He quickly hid himself and watched the girl from his perch
       on the roof. He bristled when a second louder human arrived.
       The dragon made a low hissing sound as he spat his sticky amber
       substance at them in warning.
       ☆☆☆
       Olaf had made an excellent catch and spent a good portion of his
       morning selling off the fish he had caught. Saving the best for
       himself and family. He had just finished up selling his catch
       when he spotted Halvard. "Hey! Hal! Good to see you back ashore!
       Anything interesting happen out at sea? Been the same old boring
       around here." He said as he caught up with the man.
       ----
       Aina went still when Reika's hand covered her mouth and spoke
       about leaving slowly. Her eyes widened a bit when the other told
       her it was a dragon in the cave.
       The sound of hissing from above, had her eyes darting to look
       up. She slowly pulled Reika's hand from her mouth. "Good idea,"
       she said backing away from the sticky amber stuff that had hit
       the ground in front of them.
       "Sorry, we'll be going now," she spoke to the dragon and very
       carefully and slowly inched back towards the entrance of the
       cave.
       -------
       Eivind was a bit relieved that Jasper didn't mind him checking
       out the place and followed after the man. If his own arms
       weren't full, he'd have offered to help carry the other man's
       things. It was a bit of a walk, but Eivind didn't really mind.
       It was a bit surprising that Jasper had such a big place.
       "I could, but I really don't need that much space." He replied
       honestly.
       The place was massive, and he could see a few things that could
       use fixing. Nothing major though. "This place is amazing. If I
       find things that need fixing, mind if I work on them?" He asked.
       It has been a long time since he'd worked on any carpentry work,
       but he the skills.  "I think I would like to move in.  I can
       even help you winterize the place if you'd like,"
       -------
       Halvard had collected his bag from the ship and took a few extra
       minutes to gaze longingly out to sea. His head snapped in the
       direction the voice had come from and he grinned seeing it was
       Olaf.
       "Thanks I think. I already miss it," he sighed and hoisted his
       bag over one shoulder and fell into step with the fisherman.
       "There was a bit of a fight with a small group of Finnish
       pirates, but they weren't up to the fight. And I thought I saw a
       mermaid one night. Other than that, not much to talk about."
       #Post#: 1732--------------------------------------------------
       Re: A new World
       By: Minyaagar Date: March 9, 2026, 8:45 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Reika heard the hiss and saw the warning, her eyes flickering at
       the dragon before backing out slow, showing the dragon her
       hands. Once she was out she kept at the entrance to keep between
       Aina and the cave.”what got you coming out here?” She asked the
       girl. Her eyes flickered in worry at the idea that she had just
       exposed jaspers friend. “Don’t tell anyone about him okay?…
       please.” She said her arm a bit in front.“He belongs to my
       friend.. “ she said as she seemed almost ready to cry.
       ----
       "OH yeah, that would be great. Just make sure ta make sure ya
       approve any major changes. I got some plans this afternoon, but
       I can help ya get moved in whenever you are ready." Jasper said
       with a wide smile as he finished showing the guy around.
       His attention pulled from the man when from out his window, he
       saw what he could have sworn was a guy riding a dragon. He had
       to shake his head in disbelief. "What a weird bird," he
       commented.
       ☆☆☆
       "I don't blame ya, might have to steal ya away for some fishing
       so ya don't get home sick," Olaf teased as they walked. "Pirates
       and mermaids, gosh you make me jealous ya get ta go outside of
       the bay." He complained.
       ¤¤¤
       Racket made a more grumbly sound as he dropped the the cave
       floor showing off his wings in his threat display to scare the
       girls off, calming enough not to attack them as they made their
       way out. The stressed dragon soon coating swaths of walls in the
       amber good that turned solid shortly after, soon enclosing
       himself into the cave with the rock hard substance.
       ----
       Aina got out of the cave without any trouble, feeling quite
       amazed to get a close up view of the dragon. She raised an
       eyebrow at Reika's question. "I've been coming to this cave for
       years to get away from the weaving group," she muttered and
       crossed her arms over her chest. "Soo a friend of yours hide a
       dragon? Interesting,"
       Her stance and manner changed when  it looked like Reika was
       close to tears.
       "Hey now, don't worry, I won't tell. But, I do want to see more
       of your drawings. You're very talented," she said moving to put
       a gentle hand on the other's shoulder.
       Seeing the amber stuff get spat at the entrance had her step
       back a bit more. "Seems like we upset the poor thing,"
       -------
       "Of course. You are the owner..I wouldn't dream of doing
       anything without your say so," Eivind agreed. "I'll probably see
       if I can trade something to borrow the blacksmith's wagon to
       move everything tomorrow. "
       Eivind glanced out the window belatedly but didn't see the bird
       that Jasper mentioned. "What did it look like?"
       After he'd gotten a quick tour of the place he had to leave
       before it got too late. He still needed to start a fire and cook
       dinner. "I'll see you tomorrow then Jasper," he told the guy
       with a grin and a wave as he left.
       ------
       "I wouldn't mind that, I might need a distraction soon enough.
       My mother's likely to bombard me with questions about my plans
       for my future family again. Not my idea of fun," he admitted.
       Halvard's footsteps slowed the closer they got to his parents
       home. "When I get my ship, you should come with me if you want.
       It's going to take time though. And I may not come back as
       regularly as the others do. Kind of wish I could live on the
       sea," he said in a wistful tone.
       "Want to meet up for an early morning tomorrow? I can help you
       catch your daily load and tell you other stories if you want,"
       Hal was also a collector of stories, making a point to get new
       ones from the people he met in other places and bringing them
       back to share with the Berk residents during their festivities
       during the winter months. Hal liked to practice telling them to
       individuals or small groups before telling them to large crowds.
       -----
       Reika’s face looked softly at the entrance and watched how the
       dragon coated the cave to let a breath off. Though it sealed
       racket inside, she knew jasper would be upset at this point.
       She felt the hand on her shoulder to move back a bit
       gently.“Honestly had it been me he’d be fine.. racket responded
       once there was more than one person.” She said with a serious
       tone.”it reacts like something that has been trapped or caged…
       it’s going to respond to that. Least it blocked the entrance
       enough.. but even then- sure could get its way through itself.”
       She said and opened her book to write down what she saw, her
       hand shifting for one of her colored sticks that allowed her to
       make it a color.
       ———-
       Flare made its way across the sky as red noted they were bit
       close for comfort for berk. He noticed one person actually
       looking a bit too closely as his hair drifted back. They made
       their way in-land toward the forest.  He made a decline to a
       place that looked like cover and no people to get off and check
       over Flare.”good they didn’t hit you.” He murmured. He sighed as
       he checked some of his gear.
       The man was tracking down a dragon that was taken. It was one of
       the few cross breeds that had taken and was considered highly
       dangerous at the same time. He took a drink of water from his
       pouch as he was in thought. “We will take a break Flare.. “ he
       said as he saw the village.”maybe even scout a bit of the area
       and find food.” He said in thought as he stroked his beard
       before feeling the shove of flare’s face against his shoulder.
       He laughed a bit to pet the dragons snout.”I’ll be careful.” He
       said with a chuckle.
       ----
       "See ya tomorrow!" Jasper called out as Eivind left. Even if it
       had been a panicked and rash decision, the warrior was actually
       kind of excited to have a room mate around. Once the guy was out
       of sight, Jasper gathered what he needed. His basket of fish,
       medical supplies, along with several other items to make a nice
       comfy bed for his dragon. By the time he was done, the man had
       to use a wheelbarrow to haul everything.
       He had almost forgotten about Halvard until he saw the man on
       his way to the forest, "come on, I want to get out there before
       dark and I need to pick up some lanterns from Cadoc." Jasper
       said as he passed. He stopped in at the smithy to grab his dozen
       lanterns and oil, claiming he needed them for a new hunting
       strategy, claiming he didn't want to explain it in case it ended
       up not working. It seemed a good enough answer for the smithy.
       The man having learned long ago the more questions you asked the
       less sense Jasper made. He was convinced it was a product of the
       Thorston blood in the man.
       Once he had everything. Jasper headed for the forest. "Keep an
       eye out, I really don't want to be followed. Once we are for
       sure alone, I can explain before we get the the cave.... but
       let's just say I have a new pet." Jasper said with am excited
       grin.
       ☆☆☆
       "Tell your family you are a Voyager and will meet a strapping
       man on the open ocean. Gets mine to shut up." Olaf said with a
       snicker. "Course I'll come with you! Can I be first mate? If
       your up for it, maybe I could help invest? Make that reality
       come in sooner rather than later?" He offered, loving the idea
       of being on the open ocean with the handsome voyager.
       "Every morning is an early morning for me. I am usually on the
       water before the sun is up. Early dragon catches the trout." He
       said with a laugh. "I suppose I could catch a nap and wait for
       you though. I know you just got back home." He commented before
       saying his goodbye and heading off into the village.
       At least, he had been until he saw the strangest thing in his
       life. Was that a man? On the back of a dragon? He the image
       didn't morph into a weird bird, Olaf decided he had to see this
       for himself. He rushed home, grabbed his bug out pack and headed
       into the woods, club in hand as he went looking for the dragon
       and it's rider.
       ----
       Hal couldn't help but chuckle a bit at Olaf's suggestion. "That
       would give my mother a heart attack. I'll figure something out.
       And that would be great! Though if you want to help me with
       getting the boat, you can be co-captain. " he proposed
       excitedly.
       Hal let out a yawn and nodded as Olaf talked about getting up
       before the sun. "I'll be there when I can. My family is likely
       to bombard me with all sorts of questions."
       They soon parted ways, with Hal remembering that he'd meant to
       meet Jasper. He stashed his bag in the family barn, deciding to
       delay his homecoming a bit later and started through the town to
       see if Jasper was at the forest entrance
       The two met not too far from the smithy,  Jasper mentioning
       needing some lamps from Cadoc. "Sounds good, I can help carry
       them," Hal offered.
       He stayed quiet through the exchange and followed Jasper out of
       the city gates. "A pet?" He asked, shooting a look at the mass
       amount of fish Jasper was hauling. He was starting to get
       suspicious of what thean was hiding.
       ------
       Aina lowered her hand and stepped back, realizing she was
       perhaps being too touchy. She was used to affectionate parents,
       and not everyone had that.
       "Hopefully this friend can calm the dragon down," Aina said
       softly, knowing the elders of the town might call in dragon
       hunters if they found out about the dragon being this close.
       She somehow wasn't scared of the dragon, though she felt the
       need to be cautious. Aina moved a little closer to watch Reika
       writing and then coloring her sketch. "You making a guide about
       the dragon? That's pretty cool."
       ----
       Cadoc continued to make his way following jasper. He watched the
       frazzled man gathering things. He took notice of halvard going
       with jasper to become a bit more curious.
       He hid a bit to avoid the smithy and work but kept close to
       heard jasper explanation to shake his head.
       He was no scout but the make could be quiet and sneaky if he
       needed to be. He had two to worry about now as he quietly snuck
       his way, he had to know what was up with jasper and the man
       avoiding his questions. And more so of the weird things he kept
       asking for.  The constant sneaking off, he wondered if hal was
       the one he was sneaking off with but shook his head, *couldn’t
       be* he thought given Hal was on the seas at the time to continue
       his walk.
       ———-
       “He should but- he might get upset.” She sighed a bit.  The girl
       was so focused on her work she didn’t notice aina getting all
       close again. The girl wasn’t use to the closeness given how she
       grew up. “Kind of… death songs are kind of cool- my friend
       managed to sing to it- so I think it’s a form of communication.”
       She said with a smile.
       The girl was wrapped in what she was doing. “I hope to have my
       own dragon too one day..” said reika. “Being able to have one
       tamed would be beneficial!” Said reika with a smile.
       ———
       Red was starting his trek on the island. He remembered the
       hunters  mentioning landing on the other side of the island.
       But he knew first they needed to eat and drink. Flare was behind
       him making her way to sniff a bit.
       Ever since he had gotten flare his life changed for the better.
       Having broken from slavery after watching the last few survivors
       die in captivity was his biggest thing. He’d never give up his
       freedom again so easily. “Maybe we can get some fish eh?” He
       told flare as he walked.
       ----
       "Ganna have to show you," Jasper said with a snicker as they
       made their way through the forest. His jolly mood was quickly
       quelled when he saw Reika with another person and the entrance
       of the cave sealed in amber. "What happened? Who? What?
       Whyyyyy?" The man asked in frustration as he went to the cave
       entrance.
       He only gave the woman a brief time to explain what happened
       before he went to knock on the amber until he got a response
       from the dragon. A melody.
       Jasper sang the melody back before singing his own. The two went
       back and forth like this for several minutes before the dragon
       finally melted it's amber, eating the stuff before attacking
       Jasper with love.
       "See everything is *fine*" He told the dragon. "Now, help me
       haul this inside for you! Ganna make this place a proper nest
       for ya!" Jasper announced, easily forgiving his friend and got
       to work on making a nice nest box and filling it with straw and
       other soft things like blankets and such.
       Once he was done and had the dragon eating, Jasper got to work
       on the dragon's tail. "He should be fine with you guys coming in
       now. If he sings at you, try and sing back as best you can.
       Makes him feel safe." Jasper explained.
       ☆☆☆
       Olaf's trek into the woods had not ended up in the way that he
       had expected. Sure, he had gone out looking for a dragon. He
       hadn't expected to end up in a dragon nest. What was worse, was
       that after keeping the eggs safe til their mom came back, caused
       Mama dragon to seemingly decide he was her new baby.
       The skrill crossbreed snuggled Olaf with her eggs and was not
       letting him out of her sight.
       -----
       Once he was back at his small camp, Eivind used his collected
       firewood to start up a small bonfire to cook up some of his
       saved deer meat and root vegetables for dinner. While that
       cooked, he collected his things and packed them up, leaving just
       his bedroll to collect in the morning.
       The prospect of having four walls and living in an actual home
       again was exciting. Plus there were tasks that he could do to
       make himself useful at Jasper's place. While he didn't know much
       about the guy, he felt as though he could trust Jasper to not
       pry. Of course living near the rest of the townfolk meant he'd
       more than likely have to interact with the more nosey ones. Like
       the Elder womenfolk.
       While he didn't want them trying to matchmake or set him up with
       another wife, he knew that was just their way. After losing his
       beloved Freya, he didn't feel like he could go through it all
       again.
       "Having comrades again would be nice though," he said softly to
       himself, remembering the brothers he'd lost from his old clan.
       He had no clue that he'd be getting into a great deal more, and
       expanding in ways he'd never thought possible.
       -----
       Halvard was a bit surprised to find the two women standing in
       front of the cave, and scratched his head unsure of why Jasper
       was so upset. Hearing the explanation from the older one had him
       blinking, looking rather stunned at there being an actual dragon
       on the other side.
       The younger, Aina gave an apology not seeming too surprised to
       see them. "If course it's Jasper," she said smiling a bit and
       then going silent as the man moved to knock on the amber.
       Hal stayed back, watching Jasper sing and then interact with the
       dragon like it wasn't a big deal at all.
       "You sure it's safe?" He asked a little doubtfully and then
       sighed as Aina fearlessly and slowly walked inside. If the girl
       had the courage then he really couldn't just stay outside.
       He cautiously moved to peer in, sucking in a breath at his first
       look at a living breathing dragon.
       "wow, it's beautiful,"
       #Post#: 1733--------------------------------------------------
       Re: A new World
       By: Minyaagar Date: March 9, 2026, 8:52 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Reika saw jasper and got sheepish.”well I was here.. didn’t
       realize that I had someone behind me.. it spooked Racket..” she
       said quietly.”sorry.” She said before watching him walk over and
       sing. She couldn’t help but write down what she saw and smiled
       some.
       She felt happier to give a hand with things. Her head tilted
       softly at the dragon that ate. “Looks plenty comfortable.” She
       said with a cheerful look. “This might make him stay. Hopefully
       the others don’t find this place.” She said with a
       sigh.”apparently Aina was using the cave as a quiet place- not
       that I blame her- a lot of family for sure.” She said to
       chuckle.
       ———
       Red was making his way to see Eivind to back himself and his
       dragon quietly. The man was trying to not leave evidence he was
       there.. least until his foot gave in a spot to tumble and hear
       his dragon make a worried sound. He ended up seeing a *man* in a
       nest with a skrill crossbreed, and *a lot* of eggs. “How did you
       end up in there?” He asked as he kept his voice steady as to not
       wake the dragon.
       ----
       "It's a dragon, much like a blade, they aren't *supposed* to be
       safe. You have to learn to interact with them safely." Jasper
       said. Shockingly wise words from the daredevil. It was the
       montra of a warrior for sure. He was raised on the idea that
       safety was an illusion and Loki would let what was meant to
       happen, happen. It was how he met Racket. At least that was hoe
       it happened in his own mind.
       "His name is Racket, he likes to make a lot of it after all.
       Figure if I make this place comfy enough he might not try to
       follow me home... I am worried about his tail. I'm pretty sure
       it is broken." Jasper said as he tended to the wound.
       ☆☆☆
       "I.... I don't exactly know... I tripped while trying to find
       this dragon carrying a person into the woods... and ended up
       down here... ended up accidently chasing off some speed stingers
       that wanted the eggs... Mama showed up seeing be save the eggs I
       guess... now..... she won't let me leave..." Olaf explained with
       a exasperated sigh, a man clearly at his wits end.
       -----
       Eivind's head went up at the sound of rustling and what sounded
       like a thump from a yard or two away. His ears had always been
       sensitive, and picked up more than most. It was the next sound,
       a very odd animal noise, that caught his attention. "What was
       that?" He muttered and grabbed a stick and turned it into a
       torch before heading out to see what was going on.
       He was soon over the pit, the light of his torch showing him a
       very odd sight. Two men in a huge nest of eggs, and a dragon
       seemingly slumbering very close to them.
       He didn't speak, freezing when he spied a second dragon standing
       just a few feet away, the flame from his torch mirrored in its
       huge eyes.
       Had his luck just run out? Was he about to get eaten by the
       dragons? And who were these two men that needed help?
       -------
       Halvard looked a bit amused by Jasper sounding so smart all of a
       sudden. "Nice to meet you Racket, " he said softly and moved
       into the cave a little bit more. He glanced at the tail with a
       look of concern.
       "Could grab Ludvik and get him to look at it and help fix it,"
       Aina suggested, moving to sit down, not looking the least bit
       afraid of the dragon. "Hello Racket, you are quite gorgeous, and
       it's lovely to meet you," Aina said in a more musical tone,
       hoping it might relax the dragon more.
       ----
       Reika gave Jasper an incredulous look.”says the one that takes
       the dumb risks and have it work in his favor- “ she said to
       stick her tongue out.
       Reika heard the man’s name.”I don’t know about that- he has a
       strong hatred of dragons.” She told her with a small look. “We
       do that we better bring racket to a well known place and then
       hide racket back here..” she said thoughtfully. She watched as
       Halvard was trying to communicate to observe its reaction more.
       ——-
       Flare looked at  Eivind and just flat out ignored the man as it
       made more worried noises at her rider. Red heard the noises.”I’m
       alright flare..he noticed Eivind and seemed to think.”hey you..
       think you can get something to distract the mama? We don’t want
       to aggravate her but we need to help this man from his
       predicament! That’s my dragon flare- she’s a good girl. Flare
       help the nice man okay?” He said as he watched the stressed
       dragon ready to come down.”Nono don’t! Stay… till I call
       okay..?” He said trying to take in the situation.
       ----
       "I follow the will of Loki, I cant help that high risk means
       High reward," Jasper said with a slightly unhinged laugh.
       Racket responded mostly neutral to the humans, singing back a
       little or trying to when Aina made melodic sounds. With Jasper
       around it seemed the dragon fed off the vikings mood. "Well, we
       will have to make him help us... but also like... keep him from
       telling everyone about me and my boy," he said getting nuzzles
       from Racket before the dragon made a grumbly noise at the humans
       as if blaming them for Jasper's mood, at least until the man
       reassured the dragon with a little music.
       ☆☆☆
       Olaf's eyes went wide. "Wait!! You were that person on a dragon!
       Um... my name is Olaf," he whispered as they waited for the
       other man to return with maybe a way out.
       As cool as this was, he wanted to sleep in his own bed tonight.
       He would kiss this guy if he managed to get him out of this.
       ----
       Aina couldn't help but smile, quite pleased that the dragon sang
       back at her. "I wish I knew what you were saying," she said with
       a wistful look on her face.
       She made a thoughtful look at Reika's mention of Ludvik hatred
       of dragons. "I might know something that we could...blackmail
       him with. Keep him from telling anyone about Racket," she said,
       a bit of a sly look on her face.
       Halvard couldn't help but chuckle at Reika's jab at Jasper.
       "Let's not get him involved. If Racket will let you touch him
       Jas, you should be able to tell the difference between broken
       bones. Just be gentle about it. I've had some first aid
       experience that I can use. We'll need to splint his tail so it
       doesn't heal wrong," he spoke up, giving his own opinion. "It's
       pretty much the only thing to do. Might need to feed him too,
       keep him from moving too much," he added thoughtfully.
       -----
       Eivind relaxed a bit, relief flooding him that the red dragon
       seemed more worried over the men in the pit.
       He nodded at the red haired man's question, not wanting to draw
       the attention of the other dragon to him. He disappeared from
       sight, taking the torch with him. It was a good 15 minutes later
       that he got back, a coiled rope over one shoulder and a huge
       hunk of deer hanging down his back. He set the torch down,
       making sure it was propped up and moved to drop the hind
       quarters in an empty spot near the nest for the dragon. Then he
       pulled the rope off, tied one end around his waist and lowered
       the other end down to the other two.
       "Not sure how long that will last her, so hurry up," he told
       them in a whispered voice.
       -----
       Reika noticed how death song responded and listened. “If you
       know then it’ll be easier.” She said thoughtfully.  Hearing her
       friend she just gave a flat look.”then one shouldn’t be telling
       others to be careful when he does not.” She said.
       She noted a few more things taking note how it seemed to pick up
       on his rider her eyes softening. “Well if we are gonna do this
       might as well get started.” She said and went thoughtful. “I can
       get some food, Aina try to do your bribery.. jasper take a good
       look at his tail.. we got this..” said Reika with a smile that
       graced her face in a way. The girl hadn’t smiled this much in a
       long time. She figured if they got started then maybe- they
       could heal up the dragon quicker.. maybe even start looking for
       one for herself once Racket was good.
       ————
       Red nodded.”yeah that’s me- name's Rune but most call me red. “
       he said as soon as Eivind  came back with the deer he went
       slowly to extract Olaf.”now try to keep quiet.” He started to
       hear an egg hatching. His face went worried but realized this
       was a good time to get out, he quickly tied Olaf around the
       waist and gave a swift yank to give The man a good signal and
       waited quietly till he could do the same.  Once out he told the
       men.”let’s back away.. maybe get some distance… come to free a
       dragon from a bunch of hunters and end up freeing a man from a
       mothering dragon.” He said and chuckled.
       ----
       "Just because I don't follow my own advice doesn't make it *bad*
       advice." Jasper protested. "Know for sure it is broken, it was
       crushed under a bolder. I think it could be infected though....
       I set it with some metal rods and some other stuff I got Cadoc
       to make me. So it's stabilized. I'm just worried about it making
       him really sick, or worse losing the tail and not being able to
       fly." Jasper worried as he hugged the dragons face. "I was
       hoping to get to ride on his back one day, can't do that if he
       is grounded permanently... besides. I would hate for such an
       important part of his life to be stolen away..." He worried.
       ☆☆☆
       Olaf was quiet as a mouse and didn't dare make a sound until
       they were far enough away. He hugged Red and Eivind around the
       neck, kissing Red's cheek before he could stop himself. "Thank
       you guys soooo much for saving me! I owe you two my life!" He
       praised in joy.
       #Post#: 1734--------------------------------------------------
       Re: A new World
       By: Minyaagar Date: March 9, 2026, 9:00 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       It was rather amusing listening to Jasper and Reika bantering,
       though Halvards amusement fell when Jasper explained that the
       tail had been crushed and he was afraid of it being infected.
       "Crushed limbs are usually amputated cause the bones can't
       repair," he mentioned, looking a bit worried. "I don't think
       even Ludvik could fix a crushed tail."
       Aina looked between the others and then at the dragon, mulling
       over what to do. "Well..I'm going to go get some healing herbs
       just in case it can help Racket keep from getting sick. I'll
       probably have to leave it at your place Jasper. My parents won't
       want me to be out too late. By Racket, I hope you feel better
       soon," she half sang to the dragon as she got up and then slowly
       left the cave and headed to the witches hut where Ludvik lived.
       Halvard let out a sigh watching as the younger girl left. "I'll
       help however I can Jasper. I should probably go too. My sister
       Maja will come looking for me if I don't show soon. The less
       people keeping this secret the better,"
       -----
       Eivind worked quickly, pulling first Olaf out and then Red. The
       bigger man took a bit more effort. He nodded rolling up the rope
       before he was suddenly hugged by Olaf. He went still, the sudden
       affection something of a shock to him.
       "Just return the favor to someone else in the future," he said a
       bit gruffly and then headed back to his camp.
       "I've got a fire to put out. If we want distance, I may want to
       move camp closer to the town. Or just move into Jasper's place
       early. I doubt he'd mind that much if you both want to join me,"
       ----
       Reika made a worried look at the idea of amputation.”let’s hope
       that doesn’t happen..dragons have a need to fly.. “ she said
       quietly.”if they can’t it means death.” She said in a serious
       tone.”we can get it fixed just needs a lot of care.. I can help
       with things too. Make sure he doesn’t move too much and fed
       consistently.. if they see you gone too much Jasper the village
       will question.” She said quietly.
       Once the two had left, the girl had her hand in front of her
       mouth.”maybe I can consult ludvic on some herbs that would help
       disease.. mean.. been learning about it so won’t be out of the
       normal.” She said blinking. As the girl spoke cadoc who waited
       for the two to leave came in to see Reika and Jasper…. And the
       dragon.”what the hell!” Slid out causing Reika to jump and turn.
       She saw the man looking a bit miffed.
       ——
       Red felt the hug and felt the kiss to his cheek. The man blushed
       hard at first.”my what a way to thank a man.” He told him to
       chuckle. “Let’s get it put out and well a new campsite.. can’t
       have flare seen by anyone- she’s a good girl but I know most
       don’t take to dragons that well.” He said feeling lucky he
       didn’t drop in with the worst kind of people.
       ----
       The thought of amputation made Jasper's stomach sink. The
       thought of the dragon never being able to fly again broke his
       heart. He didn't pay much attention to the others as they lett,
       but nearly jumped out of his skin at Cadoc's sudden voice.
       Racket reacted almost instantly as he hissed and presented his
       threat display, getting the toe of Cadoc's boot before it
       hardened and stuck the guy in place. "Whoah woah woah!" Jasper
       started before starting to sing to calm to dragon down. "Why
       does everyone have to sneak up on me today!!" Jasper complained.
       "It's okay bud, he won't hurt you," he said giving Cadoc a look
       that very much told the man that Jasper would make sure that was
       a certainty.
       ☆☆☆
       "Yeah, sorry, couldn't help it... kind of... this grateful
       compulsion? I dont know a better way to explain myself...." Olaf
       apologized with a dark blush.
       He was more than willing to follow after Eivind to help with the
       fire and pay the man back as best he could since the guy aided
       in saving him.
       -----
       Eivind nodded, understanding Red's wanting to protect his dragon
       from others that wouldn't understand and try and kill her at
       first sight.
       "I was taught to leave dragons alone unless they got aggressive,
       others aren't like that," Eivind said softly. "I'm more passive
       than most though."
       The walk back to his campsite didn't take long. He collected the
       now partially burnt meat and collected his things, making some
       torches before putting the fire out.
       "There's a good area due north east of here that most people
       avoid. Would be a good spot to set up," he said as he pulled his
       pack onto his back and took one of the torches from Olaf. "Think
       there was talk of some odd hive over there,"
       The sound of wolves howling had him moving a bit faster. At
       least they had a dragon to help keep them safe for the night if
       the wolves were desperate enough to try and attack them.
       -----
       “Sounds good, “ said red as he began his walk with the men. The
       wolves not bothering him in the least, his hand rested on the
       dragons side as she seemed more than better to have red back at
       her side.”that’s good.. but there are ways to calm an agressive
       dragon down without the need of force.” Said red as they walked.
       The trio made it to the spot as he got his stuff settled.”bit of
       rest then I need to work.. there was some hunters that managed
       to capture a hybrid.. it’s dangerous to be in captivity..
       hopefully maybe lead it off the island as well.” He said
       thoughtfully. “Last I remember they would be in the unpopulated
       area of the island…”
       ———
       Cadoc saw racket and then saw his trapped foot.”dangit!” He said
       as he moved his foot.”maybe you just need to be observant-
       especially with the ingerman on your heels… “ he said his eyes
       flashing Reika’s way who had become quiet again. “Not hurt?He’s
       the one that shot at me!” He said motioning to his foot.”I was
       wondering what was up with you. You’ve asked for stuff and
       things that not normal people ask for! I wanted to know why.” He
       said his eyes shifting to the dragon and his tail. He noted his
       work that was being used like a brace.”didn’t know you were the
       type to have a pet dragon.” He said his one arm folding over to
       sigh and opt for a hip.”but you couldn’t tell me? Heck the most
       cowardly one in the village knows.. god knows she might crack at
       the first moment they ask her…” he started to shut up.”look we
       are friends and I’m hurt ya didn’t tell me!” He said.
       Reika who flinched just a bit at the words some sighed.”I’ll get
       some herbs- might ease  rackets pain a little till you can
       figure out what to do.” She said leaving. Giving the two space
       to work it out.
       ----
       "A dragon bit off your arm, I didn't exactly think you would be
       accepting of me having a pet one! Besides! The only person I
       told on purpose was Hal! Everyone else is apparently stalking
       me!" Jasper complained.
       His frown deepening as Reika excused herself and left him alone
       with his angry friend. He finished settling the dragon that was
       reacting to the heightened emotions. He got the dragon focused
       on eating before he walked over to Cadoc.
       He put his hands on the man's sholders, looking into his eyes.
       "I didn't mean to hurt you, I'm sorry. I haven't told anyone
       until today, and really only told Hal because Reika followed me
       out here this morning.... I've never been very good at keeping a
       secret." He admitted.
       ☆☆☆
       "Maybe... I can help you with getting that dragon free..." Olaf
       offered, not liking the idea of a dangerous dragon being
       trapped. The dragon was maybe misunderstood. The idea of being
       so close to a dragon like Red was seemed like maybe it was
       possible watching the man.
       As they made their way towards the new camp sight, the sound of
       wings could be heard as an angry Mama came diving at the group,
       snatching Olaf before flying off again. "Ahhhhh!!!!!" Was all he
       could manage to yell before he was out of ear shot.
       ----
       "I wouldn't mind learning how to calm an aggressive dragon down,
       it could come in handy," Eivind said softly, sneaking a few
       looks at Red's dragon companion.
       It took him a few moments to get his pack off and on the ground
       and his brow wrinkled hearing that Red had a dragon that he was
       needing to rescue. "Hybrids are a thing with dragons?" He asked,
       a bit curiously. All this talk about dragons was new to him, and
       he wanted to know more.
       "The south west part is uninhabited by humans, though there
       could be others there," Eivind said thoughtfully.
       He wasn't too surprised by Olaf's volunteering to help rescue
       the dragon Red was looking for. The sound of the wings overhead,
       had him ducking instinctively. He let out a curse when Olaf was
       snatched and carried off.
       "Guess the mama dragon wasn't ready to let him go," he
       commented. "Should we go try and get him back again?"
       ----
       “And?” Said cadoc.”obviously this one loves you so clearly seems
       okay…” he looked at his foot.”except for that.” He said and
       yanked a bit to sigh.
       He listened to his friend talk and side eyed him.”better get
       better about that.. sounds like you ended up with several people
       knowing.” He said.
       “Well to make it up your gonna hold the work you want done..
       tired of using my foot..” he said as he finally got his foot out
       of his boot.”so much for my boot.” He said flatly.
       ———
       “I don’t know you might get snatched again for helping.” He said
       to joke not knowing that his words would ring true shortly.,red
       watched Olaf get snatched and the biggest sigh escaped his lips.
       “I can teach you for sure.. seems this would be good training.”
       He told Eivind.”yeah it’s a cross between a whispering death and
       a boneknapper. Be an issue if it’s still here.. given the
       people.. heard like ages ago of a Viking that had a key bone on
       his belt and was actively being stalked..” he said and
       laughed.”believe it gave it its voice back.”
       “Hope you don’t mind helping or that man will be eating raw fish
       too much.. hopefully when she has her babies may just help him
       train her so he can actually move around.” He said laughing.
       ————
       Meanwhile- Reika who had gotten just far enough was looking at
       plants when she swore she heard a man yelling. Her head turned
       left and right. Her frown deepened a little to look up and see
       nothing. The girl shrugged and went back to looking at some
       plants to determine it’s safe to consume and if it had what she
       hoped for jasper’s dragon.
       -----
       "I think Racket can dissolve that stuff... don't know how to get
       him to do it on command though.... and you got it, I'll be your
       extra set of arms for anything I need Racket related," he
       assured with a laugh.
       "I do need to get better at sneaking round. I'm not good at this
       whole sneaky buisness." He added as he coaxed the dragon over
       and eventually got it to get the amber off the boot. "Here ya
       go" He said with a grin.
       ----
       "I'm not all that familiar with dragon races, you'll have to
       tell me more about them some other time," Eivind said
       thoughtfully.
       After watching Olaf being carried off, he went to retrieve his
       rope, more deer meat and another torch. "I don't mind at all,
       I'm betting she's getting tired of fish too. Might be smart to
       just make camp near the mama. If she sees us as none threatening
       she might not mind us being there." He added as they started
       back towards the nest.
       #Post#: 1735--------------------------------------------------
       Re: A new World
       By: Minyaagar Date: March 9, 2026, 9:09 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Cadoc gave a sigh.”you better.. though thanks to you been really
       working to make an arm… “ he said blinking.”some of the parts
       are delicate but if I can do it- might bring hope to those with
       lost limbs..” he said as he rubbed his nub where the arm was
       gone..
       He took the boot to slide it back on.”okay.. now tell me about
       this racket fellow..” he said.”and just how trained is he?” He
       asked as he settled for what would be a while.
       Reika returned long enough to hear the two talking and smiled.
       She went in to set the plants by the man to let him know he
       could use it for racket and it was safe to head out a bit after.
       The girl was getting hungry after all, and the rations she had
       didn’t fill her up. She figured some light hunting and a few
       rabbits would get her what she wanted.
       ———-
       Red smiled.”I don’t mind doing that.. be suprised how many can
       interbreed..like the night fury and light fury.. call them night
       lights.” He said to chuckle. “Not a bad idea.. probably the best
       course of action so Olaf can at least move around. He said.
       It wasn’t long till they were back at the same hole and red
       making camp near by. He dropped in the hole to be sure Olaf was
       okay, and managing to get him back up with Eivind's help, but
       this time staying close so the mama wouldn’t just snatch him.
       ----
       "A metal arm would look so awesome!" Jasper said with a grin.
       "Maybe your little shop gremlin can help you," Jasper teased
       before going into how he met Racket and how it was only the past
       few days that the Dragon's personality seemed to change a little
       as the creature had fully accepted him as trustworthy.
       "I wouldn't say he is any kind of trained, I can like... coax
       him into doing a few things. Think it would be amazing to be
       able to ride him one day but... he might end up needing his tail
       amputated.... it was crushed under a bolder. Most of the stuff I
       asked you to make was to help get him out without getting close
       to him.... they all failed but I didn't manage to get his tail
       out. It just looks real bad after being under that rock for
       almost two weeks..." He explained to his friend.
       At Reika's return, Jasper gave her a warm smile. "Thanks Reika.
       Try not to get eaten by a wolf," he teased as she left once
       more.
       Jasper dangled a fish in front of the dragon's face before
       tossing it and getting the dragon to chase if and turn away from
       Jasper, exposing it's tail to him.
       The dragon wasn't exactly happy about the human messing with his
       tail, but trusted Jasper enough not to just yank his tail away.
       Jasper got it unwrapped and one could see just how discolored
       and damaged the tail was. The flesh turning a black dead color.
       The tail was definitely dying. The worried Viking quickly
       applied the herbs as well as he could before wrapping the tail
       back up before getting several licks from Racket.
       ☆☆☆
       Olaf clung to Red when the man saved his life once more from the
       dragon den, kissing the guy square on the lips for rescuing him
       this time before apologizing.
       This was going to become a regular routine, Mama stealing him,
       and Red saving him. "There has be a way to get her to not try
       and kidnap me back to the nest..." the man complained. "I have
       to go out to sea in the morning!" He protested.
       ----
       Eivind was starting to wonder if rescuing Olaf was going to be a
       common occurrence if the mother dragon wouldn't let him out of
       her sight. Once the man was out again, he adverted his gaze when
       Olaf kissed Red on the mouth.
       The sight had odd feelings go through him, ones he wasn't yet
       ready to talk about. He'd long ago pushed them down to focus on
       his soon to get bride and then his family.
       He got to thinking over Olaf's complaint about being kidnapped
       and an idea started to form.
       "What do you know about this race of dragon Red? Is their sense
       of smell better than their eyesight? Maybe we could distract her
       with an Olaf scarecrow/ dummy. Put your clothes on it so she
       believes it's you. Then you can  have a little more freedom
       until you figure it out a way around her "kidnapping" habit,"
       -----
       Cadoc watched Reika head out and saw how Jasper acted toward the
       female. His brow raised given he knew how the ingerman were
       looked at and shoved that to the back of his mind at the sound
       of the Vikings worry.  Reika smiled  at her friend.”don’t worry
       they won’t get me.” She said to chuckle as she had left.
       He saw how the tail was and made a small gentle look.”if it has
       to happen could make a replacement tail.” Said cadoc.”mean my
       arm can be on the back burner for a bit since he needs his to
       fly and he only got one.” He said with a gentle look.
       ——-
       Red felt the kiss to his mouth and laughed a bit. After a few
       times saving him he heard the man complain.
       “Well being the fact this is a hybrid.. depending on her power
       can paralyze herself with her own poison the weakness of the
       gripper.. and on top of that water is the weakness of the
       skrill.. Olaf being on the ocean can easily jump in and she
       won’t go after.. course he could coax her to use her venom..
       it’s not dangerous it’s more of a paralysis venom.. but even
       then with a scarecrow she will eventually catch on.. she’s an
       intelligent girl given she picked Olaf every time.” He said
       thoughtfully.
       ----
       Once the tail was wrapped back up, Jasper's attention turned
       back to Cadoc. "Better yet, why don't we get that arm of yours
       finished? Be a while before I would be willing to just give up
       on him..." Jasper said with a hand on the man's shoulder.
       ☆☆☆
       Olaf thought to himself for several long moments. It sounded
       like he would have to move out to sea to avoid this dragon. It
       wasn't the worst idea in his mind. "Maybe you can help me
       convince her I will come back?" He suggested, his heart strings
       tugging when he heart the upset cry of mama dragon as she
       realized he wasn't in her nest once more.
       -----
       Eivind stroked his jaw as he listened to Red as he explained
       more about the hybrid dragon and her weaknesses. "Too bad you
       couldn't communicate with her. Is there anyone that might be
       able to? Would come in really handy right about now." He
       commented and then moved to turn his deer meat on the new fire.
       "If she's intelligent, maybe she would understand you. It
       wouldn't hurt trying to talk to her."
       -----
       Cadoc chuckled.”be nice to, but if it comes to it- it’ll have to
       happen. “ he told the man. “Just gonna take a lot to
       Convince —- to suck it up and keep our secret if we need his
       expertise.” He told the man. “ he said turning toward
       Jasper.”seems things are in for a change hm?” He sounded.
       ——
       Red blinked and chuckled.”we can try but we don’t speak their
       language, if anything we can convey by touch and bonding.. Olaf
       afraid that’s what your gonna do with the mama, try to get her
       to treat you more like a secondary parent- you’d be kidnapped
       way less, probably when she wants you to watch the nest and
       needs to eat.” He said to laugh.
       ——
       Time passed in their world, and red had managed to get Olaf to
       bond with the dragon, and as well had freed the hybrid dragon
       from its restraints, it flew off in a direction he didn’t know,
       little did anyone know who’d find and tame the very dragon. He
       never expected to make good friends with the men- though Olaf
       was starting to become more than that with each kiss given every
       time he went to ‘save’ the man.
       As he hoped with their help were able to track down his aim for
       the whispering boneknapper freeing the hybrid from the abuse of
       the hunters. The man didn’t come out unscathed as he wore a scar
       down his right arm from a man’s ax that tried to take it out.
       Despite it his efforts had paid off to see the thing fly off,
       and in exchange saw himself saved from a brutal man before it
       took off for good toward the sky- sure that he wouldn’t see it
       again.
       Little did he know just how injured from was. It ended up crash
       landing in a clearing, the scars evident on its skin, the sturdy
       bones thankfully not being an issue in helping it when it was
       found by Reika. Seeing the creature and hearing it growl… never
       seen such a creature before. The chill down her spine at how it
       looked, and sounded left her in chills.
       She remembered how she held her breath as she approached slowly.
       Her soothing voice sliding out, as she worked her way to getting
       close to the fearful looking dragon. The growls had slowly
       diminished over the days with coaxing of food and her daring to
       get closer to give it. She knew the moment she had it when one
       day… she got a bit too close.
       She came with the basket of fish as she always had, having fed
       racket for Jasper a few times when he couldn’t get away. The
       girl seeing she had a follower managed to ditch the person by
       going a different direction. She made a sound to let the dragon
       know she was there and made her way to start getting closer but
       when she went to take the basket closer tripped over a root she
       couldn’t see and the fish cascading out, her body way too close.
       She could hear it sounding like it was gonna attack her hands
       going up- what she didn’t expect was to feel a nose on her hand.
       It was the strangest feeling knowing she won grim over and
       smiled as she bonded with the dragon, and continued to help it
       regain its strength.
       
       She even took time to redirect other Vikings so they wouldn’t
       find him as he was far to big too move. Due to it was as if the
       village were convinced she finally ran off like the rest of the
       Ingermans only to be found by one of the few that called her
       friend.
       Reika had lost so much track of time that she didn’t realize she
       was missed by the few. Once found out got a bit lectured on
       letting people know where she was. But thanks to her time
       discovered important things and let the others know what the
       dragons couldn’t have.
       The hardest part though was when the death song racket had lost
       his tail. She felt for the man- but thanks to Cadoc was able to
       give the little guy the ability to fly back, and gave
       maintenance regularly, while teaching jasper how to do the basic
       ones if he couldn’t get away from his work.
       The woman grown to love her dragon and was able to sneak off.
       Due to the rejection of most of the Vikings allowed her to go
       unhindered.
       Her first time flying was more than she expected. How she
       decided to try was thanks to watching the Vikings ride their
       horses. She ended up falling for the beauty of the sky and urge
       her onto learning more, even helping others with Jasper to gain
       their dragons in their own ways.
       Cadoc being one of them that scared them all thinking he died in
       the rock slide. Reality was the man taken off to see a dragon
       caught and saved it and in turn saved him.  It was scary
       watching the one arm man, practically moving as the others
       screamed at him.
       His hands prying at the rock that pinned the blue gronkle to the
       ground. If it hadn’t been for risky Jasper helping, the three
       would have died, the gronkle managing to grab the man. It felt
       strange flying for him but he enjoyed it.. on top of it Terra
       was becoming a fast friend for him. It was hard though given his
       line of work to get away. So he relied on the others to feed his
       dragon when he couldn’t get away.
       What time he could get, he’d enjoy thoroughly. Often calling her
       sweet girl, his sky and many little pet names. She also seemed
       to be a big help with projects that he had started at the cave.
       Thanks to it had him craving for his own place. He also grown to
       accept Reika after hearing some stories and realizing the rumors
       surrounding the small woman was baseless as he started seeing
       her face a lot of her own fears, and slowly not hiding behind
       her friend Jasper.
       A bond between the friends formed. One that of secrets and more.
       The group that loved the dragons with all their hearts.
       ----
       It was another typical day for Reika, she  was on the beach, her
       soft blonde hair being a pain as she shoved it back to write
       down her latest finding, and preparing for a flight.
       The once timid woman becoming more determined and less fearful
       with each attempt. Though she swore grim loved to make her
       scream every stinking time. And it didn’t help that she swore
       she kept hearing a man every so often screaming himself, never
       noticing poor Olaf when the female dragon needed him to watch
       her nest to hunt.
       She climbed on her soft eyes taking in what felt like family to
       her now. She blushed now ready to go.”now grim please take it
       easy…” she asked her eyes filled with a bit of begging at her
       dragon. She got a small huff in turn and then the take off. She
       squeeled lightly as it shot straight up and her clinging to the
       harness that Cadoc took his time making at her request.
       Much like a roller coaster once he gotten high enough Reika
       realized.”Grim no.” She said as the dragons eyes flickered
       up.”grim please.” She said her head going back to see the tail
       readjusting.”grim…” she pleaded before the immediate plummet.
       “bad dragon bad bad dragon!” Came out as he leveled at the water
       this time and let his rider take a solid breath.”that’s not
       funny!” She said as she heard a dragon like noise she swore was
       like a laugh.  Her brows furrowed at the back of the dragons
       head before drifting to what looked like debris of a ship her
       back straightening up.”grim…” she said before noticing a man, on
       a barrel struggling to stay awake. Her hands clung to the
       reigns.
       Reika against her better judgement slid off Grim as she slid off
       to hit the cold water. Not noticing a dragon in the water. The
       head watching the pale haired woman swimming down to what would
       have been its snack to take his hand. She pulled up her head
       bobbing up pulling the man’s head out of the water.
       “grim we gotta get to shore.” she sputtered  her hand going up
       for the harness she had thrown over that was on her dragon in a
       special way to allow immediate grabbing in situations like this.
       before the creature rose its head out her head turning in
       suprise.”oh no…” she sounded.  Grim’s pupils shrunk as he let a
       growl out, and got one in turn as the dragon didn’t seem the
       type to let the two go. Reika watched as grim fought blasting
       the thing with sound making it reel back.
       She began to think to get to the barrel and man in tow to
       struggle to get him up. Seeing her dragon fight so viciously and
       for her sake knowing well her life was on the line. Once the
       fight was over grim heard her call, and got close enough as she
       used a rope she saw in the water. She tied it to his leg and the
       barrel, she used another she found to secure the man to the
       thing and got grim to drag them to shore.
       Reika huffed soaked at the shoreline, her frizzy soft hair
       slicked from the water. The goosebumps from the cold apparent.
       Fall was nearing its end and winter was on the horizon. She
       struggled up to crawl to the Viking that was on the barrel
       freeing him and got him on his back, his long hair undone and
       plastered to his pale face.
       She didn’t think twice to listen to him.. she didn’t hear
       breathing and panicked. She began cpr, “come on… don’t die…” she
       pleaded a little to the man before hearing the cough to shove
       his body to the side as it reacted to expel the ocean water. She
       got him back and listened to hear breath- but he was still very
       knocked out.
       Reika knew it was short on time and she couldn’t drag the man
       back- but the people would freak with grim. So she began to work
       making a fire right away closer. She then went to her dragon
       that held a large bag. She opened it to yank out furs and got it
       spread enough to the fire and went to get the man, with grims
       help she was able to get him to the fire and stripped him of his
       clothes and of her own, not thinking twice of her naked form.
       She pulled the few extra close to them and got close to him, her
       wet damp hair sliding over her shoulders as she shivered against
       the man trying to make them both get warmer, grim seeing her
       struggling curled up on the other side of them. She felt a heat
       from her dear friend as she smiled.. she fought it at first but
       thanks to all of today couldn’t help but drift slowly into
       sleep. She was exhausted from swimming and the work to save this
       man’s life. The warmth and sound of the ocean.. and crackle of
       the fire in the quiet was hard to not fall asleep.
       After some time.. and drying enough did the woman slowly woke
       from the start to a panicked man who found himself with a woman
       in a naked state. She was beginning to wonder if most the world
       was perverted like this as she checked their clothing to see
       them dry. Once dressed she began to think what to do with the
       man- and finding him a beserker caused a lot more issues than
       she thought. He was seen as the enemy of berk.
       She learned of Astrid and his story, the man still looking
       fairly weak. The name felt very familiar to her. She was the one
       that came back with her grandfather shortly after the news of
       Astrid’s family being lost. She told the man she’d help him tame
       his dragon- but he had to recover first.
       For some time she’d take her share of rations, given she could
       hunt was able to feed the man more- if she didn’t succeed she
       didn’t eat as much for his sake. She knew if she took more from
       the storage it would be too suspicious. Grim kept an eye on the
       man, as she forced him to take it easy.
       He’d eventually find splits, but due to his health could only
       walk to and from. Building up what he could. His emotional state
       was another reason why his health was struggling as he was
       wanting to find his lover asap.
       He saw Reika come up with food and begin cooking. While she was
       no Astrid he couldn’t help but feel this woman’s nurturing side.
       It made him feel like he gained a sister.
       He noticed as of late a few bruises and cuts in places most
       would see if you weren’t observant outside of her dragon
       training.
       #Post#: 1736--------------------------------------------------
       Re: A new World
       By: Minyaagar Date: March 9, 2026, 9:14 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Sometimes, no matter how positive you try to be, the worst still
       happened. Racket had to get his tail amputated and now the
       dragon could never live on his own. It as a huge win in Jasper’s
       mind when he was able to help the dragon fly and ride him, the
       pair bonding even deeper.
       He was honestly thrilled when Reika found her own dragon, though
       it seemed Rekia was now gaining a habit of finding dangerous
       things as she found a berserker as well. He helped where he
       could with the man, even bonding with him on a rather deep level
       given he was quite an impulsive man and the doctrine of the
       berserkers really sounded like his cup of tea.
       Today had started off feeling off to Jasper, he figured out what
       the gods were trying to tell him when he found out that Rekia
       was suspected of stealing rations. In truth, it was Olaf who had
       been taking extra rations when he didn’t catch enough to help
       feed the man.
       When Olaf found out about Rekia being blamed he panicked, not
       knowing what to do, went and found Red. “Red! I think I *really*
       messed up!” He expressed as he got the man’s attention. “So… I…
       well…. I’ll just come out with it, I’ve been sneaking extra
       rations for you… and… someone else in the village is being
       blamed for the theft. I know I have to turn myself in…” He
       explained, his expression more stressed the more he spoke.
       Monsoon was quick to smell Olaf’s stress and was instantly out
       of her nest hovering over him and checking him over like a
       worried mom.
       Back in town at the smithy, it appeared Godric had finally lost
       this game his charge had decided to play with him. It was his
       own fault for encouraging it. He was caught. Snared in an
       elaborate trap that ultimately was his foot caught in a noose,
       dangling him from the ground. He had been focused on the
       painfully obvious trap only a few feet away that he hadn’t
       considered Cadoc would pull *double* traps.
       ----
       Eivind spent the next couple of weeks fixing up things around
       Jasper's home, and picked a room to move into. Even as busy as
       he was winterwizing the place, he made sure to run things by
       with Jasper before he worked on them. There were rare moments
       when they got to spend time getting to know one another, what
       with Jasper running off so much.
       For awhile he wondered where the man was going, and finally
       asked the man if he'd found a wolf that he was trying to
       befriend. The man talked about them often enough, and it
       wouldn't be that big of a stretch. It was quite evident that
       Jasper was a lover of animals.
       It wasn't until Eivind spied Jasper going into a cave one day
       and went to check it out. The sight of the dragon inside made
       all of Jasper's evasive answers add up.
       "Poor guy lost his tail? That's too bad. You'll need help
       getting him enough food if he can't hunt on his own. He'll be
       healing for awhile," Eivind mentioned.
       He brushed off Jasper's evident surprise at his lack of shock
       and chuckled, explaining how he'd met a dragon rider, and
       another dragon that kept kidnapping a fellow villager.
       "I'm beginning to think at some point, I'll be getting my own
       dragon," He added in amusement.
       It didn't take long after that for him to find out about a few
       of the others that had suddenly been "matched" with dragons. He
       started doing more hunting trips to keep the dragons fed enough.
       Not to mention having enough for the villagers as well.
       Though he'd heard about the rations going missing, he didn't
       think that anyone he knew was behind it. Not wanting to bear
       witness to the punishment, he decided to go out hunting to
       replace what had gone missing. It just so happened that this was
       his day to find his own dragon.
       Eivind was following the death flight of a huge buck when he
       heard the sound of a very small creature in distress. He paused
       for a moment, thinking over what to do, when he heard what
       sounded like a cry of pain.
       Eivind made his way to the sound; pushing his way deeper into
       the forest. The sound got stronger the further he went inside,
       and then he saw that a huge tree had fallen over and a nest had
       been crushed under it.
       He moved in, breaking the branches away to get to the nest.
       "Well..you poor thing, did you get left behind?" Eivind couldn't
       help but say, to a tiny dragonlet that had been trapped
       underneath. He gently looked the creature over before settling
       it inside his shirt where it would be comfortable. "Let's see if
       we can find your mother little one," He said and started looking
       for signs of dragons.
       He didn't go all that far before he was found by the very large
       mother dragon, who pinned him to the ground, growling a bit.
       Eivind didn't move; not really knowing what to do next. That was
       when the baby stuck it's head out of his shirt and let out a
       happy sound and launched itself at the mother.
       After the two had reunited, the mother dragon nudged Eivind's
       face and then gently grabbed his leg in her maw and dragged him
       to where she'd started a new nest. It was almost as if, she was
       trusting him with the secret.
       "You're probably in need of food too," Eivind said watching the
       little dragons swarm around the mother.
       He managed to convince the mother to let him go long enough to
       bring the deer back to her and the little ones and watched as
       they feasted on the creature, gorging themselves and then
       falling into a small pile to sleep. "I'll be back," He told the
       mother dragon, getting the idea that she understood him somehow.
       Eivind went back to hunting, managing to get a few more deer to
       bring back to the village when he returned a few hours later.
       After leaving the meat with those that dried it, he went to find
       Jasper to tell him about his encounter. He didn't realize until
       later that the baby he'd rescued had hidden away in his pack.
       -------------------
       Halvard's time at home with his family had gone pretty well,
       though it didn't take lone for his mother to start up on harping
       on him getting married to a nice girl and settling down for
       good.
       He'd lasted a half an hour after dinner before announcing that
       he was planning on moving in with Jasper and some other
       bachelors. This news seemed to stun and shock both his parents
       and his younger sister Maja the most. His married brothers
       exchanged looks, but didn't let on that they knew more than the
       others did.
       He was given a little bit of space after that, leaving him to
       relax somewhat. He should have realized that it wouldn't be
       lasting for long.
       Days passed by; Halvard moved in with Jasper, and surprisingly
       Eivind; a new guy that had been living outside Berk for months.
       He helped where he could, but was soon called back to work the
       ships in the river along with Olaf. There were several times
       when he was shocked by Olaf being suddenly grabbed and kidnapped
       by a dragon. The man finally explaine that the female dragon had
       somehow grown attached to him and kept taking him back when she
       grew lonely.
       Hal was quite happy to get called up to go on an ocean voyage a
       few weeks later and said his goodbyes before leaving before the
       sun came up the next morning. This trip was much unlike what
       he'd encountered before.  A massive storm blew up suddenly and
       overtook them.
       Halvard was swept off the boat and pulled down into an
       undercurrent. He passed out, the last thing he saw was some sort
       of sea creature swimming towards him.
       He woke the next morning on the far side of Berk on a rocky
       beach, groaning from a massive headach and blinking in the late
       morning sun. "What the hell happened?" He groaned out rubbing
       his head.
       HE nearly screamed when a head rose out of the water and two
       gold eyes stared up at him. He gulped it back when the head came
       up and his "sea Monster" revealed itself to be a sea dragon.
       THat was when his memory of the creature swimming towards him
       clicked.
       "You..you saved me from drowning," He stuttered out, feeling a
       bit shocked and amazed. "But why? I thought dragons ate humans."
       The creature shook it's head and then leaned down to breath in
       his face before nudging him gently. Halvard blinked for a
       moment, then reached out to touch the scaley nose.
       "Thank you. Uh..maybe you could help me get to the other side of
       the island? Do you fly too?" He asked, not sure why he was
       talking to a dragon.
       Could it actually understand him.
       The dragon let out a strange sound and turned, offering it's
       back to him. Halvard decided to take the chance that the
       creature wasn't going to hurt him and moved into the water and
       onto it's back.
       THe trip back underwater was quick and fast, and Halvard felt
       even more alive than ever before when they came out on the other
       side of the island. They were a good distance from the shore, so
       no one could see them at the moment.
       "Thank you..again. I'll..repay you someway. I have to go home
       now, but I'll be back soon," He promised the sea dragon before
       making his way back to the island.
       His arrival proved a small distraction, making the village
       rejoice and swarm him; delaying the punishment that was to be
       doled out on Reika for the stores of food that had gone missing.
       Halvard frowned a bit, not believing that she was the one
       responsible. There had to be a better explanation.
       "My son lives! Thank the gods!" Halvard's mother exclaimed
       happily, still hugging him tightly around the neck.
       #Post#: 1737--------------------------------------------------
       Re: A new World
       By: Minyaagar Date: March 9, 2026, 9:19 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Reika during the accusation was being dragged off when she
       noticed Cadoc dancing like a mad man, causing the trio to stop
       and looked. Cadoc froze and his eyes slowly went to the confused
       trio.”I caught a gnome.” He said to point at his hand that
       seemingly held nothing. The three looked at each other briefly
       to shrug and continue to drag Reika off as she went back to
       insisting she didn’t take the rations. When she saw Jasper and
       was tossed in holding managed to tell him he man to keep grim in
       his spot. She felt there was no getting out of this to accept
       what was going on. After all she was an ingerman and seemed they
       used her to blame what had happened than really look into
       anything.
       When it came time or seemed like it, the girl was half dragged
       to a place cadocs father was careful in shifting Reika’s hair
       from her back, and made sure she still was shielded from the
       others when the top came off as to allow access to the back.
       “Please thorin..” she pleaded to the elder.”I didn’t do this.. “
       he could see the tears and sighed.”it’s already been decided..
       after you’ll be coming to my home, and I’ll doctor you up..” she
       heard to watch her face turn away after seeing nothing but hurt.
       Of course thanks to halvard coming back did things pause
       bringing mix of  relief, and dread.. granted being ignored, back
       turned toward the crowd that was happy briefly for a missing
       man. All she could do was just wait for what felt agonizing now
       just ready for it to be all done.
       ——
       Back at a small camp.. just a bit ways out did red find out and
       let a shaky breath out. He knew what it meant.”we better go, and
       I’ll be with you.. maybe it’ll soften the punishment.. no
       promises though.” He told Olaf to take his hand. By the time the
       men rushed back did a female cry reach Red’s ears, his eyes went
       wide at the three red marks on a rather pale looking woman. He
       could hear thorin counting off a number.”3.”
       He let go of olafs hand to rush forward seeing Ivar readying for
       another hit, shoving through the crowd,he got between him and
       Reika- letting his arm take the blow. “Stop! This woman didn’t
       take the food!” Said Red, he looked back hearing the sobs of the
       woman her feet shifting to keep braced. He could see her eye
       peering at him- seemingly hopeful look in that eye.
       Ivar disgruntled at the punishment being stopped made a
       glare.”and how do you know stranger?” He asked.”you are not to
       meddle in Berk’s affairs now move.” He said in a gruff voice his
       hand tightened on the whip he had.
       Red didn’t dare move and said.”I’m the one that ate those extra
       rations..” he said to the man’s face.”names red.. and I use to
       *be* from berk.” He said with a cool tone, not daring to move
       from his spot.
       Thorin who stood by Reika and calmly instructing what he could
       to make things go smoothly looked closer.. “red… is that you…?
       You’ve grown quite a bit.. “ he said as the man turned to see
       Thorin.”by odin’s beard have you gotten old dear friend.” He
       said.”please stop what’s going on- what I say is the truth.” He
       said.
       -----
       Red's display of protection toward Reika emboldened Olaf. He had
       been terrified of coming out with being the thief but seeing the
       brave dragon rider doing what was right spurred him forward.
       "I was the one who stole the rations... I felt compelled to help
       Red when he saved me in the forest...." Olaf said as the crowd
       parted for him as shocked gasps left the people gathered around
       them. He pulled his armor and shirt off, draping them over a
       post before going forward to untie Reika.
       "Reika had nothing to do with the rations and it is
       heartbreaking she would even be suspected! I am so sorry this
       happened Reika..." He said softly to her. "I will gladly take my
       punishment, but Rekia deserves better treatment than this!" He
       said feeling, angry? The idea of someone bearing any sort of
       punishment for him was infuriating.
       -----
       "I know you didn't do this... but I'll make sure Grim and the
       other dragons were staying put, being found by Ervind not long
       after. His eyes grew wide when he saw a little dragon peaking
       out of the man's backpack.
       "You got a little friend their Eivind?" He questioned pointing
       at the infant creature.
       ---
       Godric stayed silent as the human was holding the gnome by the
       tail and dancing around outside making such a scene that someone
       being arrested and the people arresting her stopped to stare at
       Cadoc, the look of disbelief of the other humans faces was
       comical to say the least.
       ----
       *****************************************************