Arrival

"[THREAD TITLE]" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread written on [IRL DATE].
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Amma Hope: She’d left that strange family(?) gathering behind. Being the odd one out in a large reunion hadn’t suited her. One-on-one interactions she could tolerate, but not being the one stranger amongst old acquaintances. And besides, she’d gotten what she needed - some rest and tea.
Now it seemed like her journey was coming to an end. She’d be able to see what the latest uprising was about.
What the heavens are you doing, Gróa? she asked herself, even as she caught sight to what had to be her final destination.
I thought I was done acting on whims like this.
She stepped toward the nearest stranger who seemed to know what they were doing. “Hello? Excuse me?” she said. “There’s rebelling going on here, yeah? Can you show me where the main base of hotheads is?”
Kettil Ericson: The young human turned looking surprised and somewhat nervous. “Rebelling? There’s no…” After looking the old woman over though he realized she wasn’t going to buy his lie. He sighed resigned and gestures to follow him.
Furi: Furi was perched on a tree nearby, and had been watching for a while before deciding to approach behind them. It had taken her a while to actually locate this rebel base, and she had sat outside watching for a while, unsure.
There was no way a Night Fury could enter unnoticed, but she wanted to investigate. She decided to make her move. She hopped from the tree and crept forward as stealthily as possible, making almost no sound as she followed behind them towards this rebel base. He told me west, and west I went.
Grey Bergman: Not long after Grey and Sven met Faysal and paid their respects to those who perished in the Battle of the Grounded Dungeon, the Chief and her Heir flew back to Haligan Island. Shadow crooned when the island came into view on the horizon.
“Do you think Lila has everything all set?” Sven asked as Pyro flew closer to Shadow. 
“I hope so,” Grey replied. “I’m going to meet with her and Dad once we land. You go with your sisters.”
“Are you sure I can’t help with this?” 
“Sven, I’m sure. If I need an extra pair of hands, I will be sure to let you know.”
“But if I’m going to be Chief someday, shouldn’t I be more involved in this?”
“We’ll talk about it later,” Grey said raising an eyebrow at her eldest son. “Right now, I need you to be there for your sisters and your grandmother. Dad and I will be overseeing the preparations.”
Sven growled as the Monstrous Nightmare and his mother’s Night Fury made their final descent onto Haligan Island. 
Amma Hope: Amma Hope followed the young man. As she walked behind him and looked around the location, she gave her free opinion.
“Really? You thought you could try to lie to me? You’re in the middle of a giant revolt that people know about from kilometers away. And you want new recruits. And you’ve got the place looking like this. There’s no hiding any of that. Why the devil would you think that trying to lie to someone would be a good idea?”
She studied the people moving around her. She peered over at the sky, noticing what she thought were a few dragon-like shapes. She paused, thinking about that talking Night Fury she’d met.
What a fool she was. It’d just been because of that one conversation she’d decided to come here.
Well, maybe that and…
And…
Best not to think of the latter reason.
She wondered if that Fury had ever made it here. Guess she’d find out soon.
Kettil: Kettil sighed. “You can never be too careful, which is why we have things set up the way they are.”
Kettil led her into a building, it seemed to be a library. Inside sat a small man with a pair of bifocals on, orange hair and a moustache.
“Nigel, I have another one for you to look at please.” The man looked up from his book and grinned. “Oohhh smashing!” He said as he hopped off his stool. “Now miss I need to poke into your mind a bit. I just need to make sure you aren’t a central spy or anything of the sort. Try not to fight it or it will be quite painful.” With that he began to push his way into her mind.
Amma Hope: “Whoa, hold up. Excuse me.” She pushed the man back, hand to his chest. She glared him in the eye. “You should at least ask ‘Is that okay with you?’ and ‘Can I start now?’ before you do something that personal. If not, I’m leaving right now. I don’t need to be here, and I most certainly can’t trust you to be the ‘good guys’ if you’re going around with ethical standards like that. Maybe I don’t want you to ‘poke in my mind’ at all, you think of that, right?”
Furi: Furi crept in the doorway and peeked in, looking around with eyes wide and curious. She then walked in, glancing at the people around her, waiting for them to notice her in the background.
Grey: Brandt Felman, second-in-command to his wife, Chief Grey was walking through the village toward the small library. One of the villagers informed him that his nephew Kettil was in there with Nigel and an old woman. However, he stopped in his tracks when he saw a black figure walking in through the doorway of the library. Was that Shadow?
Brandt looked around for any signs of his wife, but so far, she did not seem to be anywhere in the village. 
“Brandt, the Chief and your son have returned!” another villager, Hofferson said pointing to the sky. 
He looked up just in time to see Shadow and Pyro landing on the shorelines allowing Grey and Sven to dismount. Brandt couldn’t help but smile seeing his wife and son and ran over to them. “Welcome home, guys!” he said.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Grey said with a warm smile and kissing her husband on the lips.
“Hey, Dad!” Sven said hugging his father. 
“Hey, buddy, why don’t you go find your sisters?” Brandt asked. “I need to talk to Mom real quick."
Sven nodded before running off with his dragon toward their house to find Dagny and Kari. 
“Any updates?” Grey asked as they began walking toward the libraries. 
“So far so good,” Brandt said. “Kettil’s in the library, so I was going to see what he was up to because it looked like he brought someone in there.”
“And where’s Lila?” 
“Not back yet.”
Grey sighed. “Alright, let’s go see what Kettil is up to. Come, Shadow.”
Kettil: Nigel landed with an “Oof.” Kettil stepped forwards. “Forgive our methods but when Central spies try to infiltrate we don’t have the luxury of asking. Last time we asked our last mage lost his his head.” The man said as his arms crossed. He failed to notice the dragon as Nigel rubbed his neck unconsciously.
Amma Hope: “Right. You people think that as soon as you’re in a dangerous situation, you can throw morals out the window. Because the enemy is ‘worse’ and you’re the ‘good guys’ or something? I’m not doing this. I’ve had enough people inside my head for literally three lifetimes. If you don’t want to trust an old woman who doesn’t have the strength to sock you in the face - as much as I’d love to still have the strength to punch you - then fine. Maybe it was a mistake for me to come here.”
She began to turn and walk the other way.
Furi: Furi saw Amma turn around and begin to leave… and then watched the woman startle to see her there by the door and gave her a happy gummy smile. Hi again.
Furi didn’t move however, deciding to stay put as the people would notice her now, surely.
lbigreyhound13
“Brandt…?” Grey asked studying the black dragon’s body from behind.
“Yes, Grey?” Brandt replied.
“Since when is our nephew a black dragon?” 
Shadow crooned and tilted her head in curiosity. Her eyes immediately widened, and she turned to Grey crooning and jumping around excitedly.
“Whoa, whoa, Shadow, what is it?” Grey asked.
Shadow simply responded by turning around and showing Grey her backside and pointing her head toward the figure in the doorway. Thankfully, it was a second before Grey realized what she was trying to say. The Chief gasped as she turned her attention back to the dragon.
“What is she going on about?” Brandt asked.
“I think it might be a Night Fury,” Grey whispered to her husband. She turned her attention back to the library. “Uh…Kettil?” 
Kettil: Kettil raised an eyebrow at the dragon. “Shadow what are you doing here?” He asked, then he heard his aunt call for him. “We’re in here Aunt Grey.”
Furi: Furi blinked in confusion. Shadow? She sniffed and tilted her head to one side.
“I’m just here to figure out this rebel situation.” She said aloud. “And I’m very confused now. Who is who here and what us happening? What is central? And why are you planning to fight it?” Furi asked them.
Amma Hope: Hope walked past all the others as she left the library to go outdoors. She recognized the Night Fury she’d met earlier, and caught part of the conversation. She didn’t stop to talk, but piped up, “Might want to rethink what you’re doing here,” to the dragon.
She went outside. She was taller than most of the people who walked around her. For a while, she watched the proceedings, mulling over the fact that she’d traveled all this way, just to get blocked by this.
I did him a favor, she thought to herself. I don’t know what’d happen if he had access to all… that. Her mind trembled for a moment, tempted to surge back in time, but she kept her thoughts in the present. She was standing outside, she was irritated, and that was all there was.
Linnea: Linnea peered through her hiding bush, her mother’s dragon curling around her neck. It had been a long time since she’d seen an adult, let alone one as old as the woman she saw in front of her. Despite everything, she felt that this one might be safe. She hadn’t been sure about any of the other people or dragons she’d seen in the area, but…
“Surely she’s okay?” Linnea whispered. The dragon’s scales turned a pale green in response, but not as pale as they’d ever been. Linnea knew they would be fine. She took as deep a breath as she could, her little chest rattling a bit, and pushed open the branches a little wider.
Hope: Amma Hope frowned. Her hearing wasn’t as good as it used to be, but she thought she’d heard something in the bushes. She turned her head, glancing in the direction where she thought she’d heard something.
Linnea: Linnea’s heart pounded. She knows I’m here. No turning back now. She slipped out of the bush, revealing her copper skin, tangled brown hair, and tattered clothes to the old woman. “Psst!”
Hope: Hope noticed the kid with the tangled hair. “Psst,” she said back to the kid, but in a relaxed, welcoming, almost teasing way. She gave a wink. “What might you be doing there?”
Linnea: Linnea froze. Even this friendly human was scary. “C-C’mere,” she blurted out. Then she turned and ran back into the forest, letting the bush fall closed behind her.
Hope: Amma Hope stood there for a moment. She frowned, not exactly interested in running into forest. At the same time, since she didn’t appreciate that the rebels were into mind reading madness, she had nothing else to do right now. Why not? She followed the child.
Slowly, Hope stooped beneath a branch, pushing the limb away, and stepped into a world of thicker foliage.
“I’m not going to go far into here,” Hope said. “Talk to me, child. I’m not here to go on a fetching quest.”
Linnea: Linnea took a deep breath–calm down, she’s alright, she’s just sensible–and looked around a tree trunk into the woman’s face. Instinctively she shrunk back, the proximity overwhelming. “Uh–are you going to hurt me?”
Hope: “See this enormous muscle I have right here?” Amma pushed up her sleeve and pointed to a flabby, wrinkled, and think pale arm. She flexed jokingly. “I used to be able to beat up any idiot who tried to insult me. And believe me, I always won.
“But anymore, I think I’d lose a fight with a chair arm. You’re fine. Anything the matter?”
Linnea: Linnea took another step back, the dragon “I–” Her brain flashed through all of her questions and settled on the one that was most pertinent. “I’m really hungry. I don’t want to steal anything. Do you have food?”
Hope: “Not steal huh? Well that makes you more honorable than most people I know.”
Amma Hope sat down on a nearby rock, groaning in pain as she did so. The rock was uncomfortable, and her joints and bones and muscles hated the act of seating herself besides. She patted the other half of the unoccupied rock, inviting Linnea to sit. 
“Nothing much, but I might have a snack or two in my pack.”
Linnea: Linnea hesitated and eyed the rock. It was too close, but the pangs in her stomach were convincing. She scrambled up beside the woman, her dragon companion curling into a copper ball in her lap.
Hope: “Wonderful. Now let’s see what I’ve got.”
Hope slowly pulled the pack from her back - in part because her body was tired from today’s travel, in part to not scare the kid - and opened it up. “Hey look, think I’ve got some muffins in here. Do you like muffins? I baked them myself hmmmm…” she tried to remember when. “Oh, doesn’t matter. They’re still good. Muffin?”
Linnea: The dragon bolted upright. Linnea barely resisted the urge to snatch it from her. “Yes please.”
Hope: Hope smiled, a bit of a smirk, a bit of a fond reaction. “Here you go. I’ve got some water to wash it down with, too.” She started to hand the flask to the child, paused, opened it up first and sniffed to make sure this one was the water, and then handed it over.
“So what’s a little runt like you doing out in a place like this?” she asked.
Linnea: Linnea cradled the muffin like it was gold. The moment broke when her dragon snapped at it, breaking off a chunk. Linnea scrambled to eat the rest of it, feeding her dragon little pieces here and there. She shared the water with the dragon as well.
“My mom made me leave my village,” she told the woman when the food was gone. “She said really bad things were coming and it wasn’t safe. She said a big word….Ragnarok?” Linnea shrugged. “She told me to take her dragon and run away with the other kids. I lost them, though.”
Hope: “Ah. I see.” Hope was silent for a moment. “Well, you’re safe right now, sweetie. Bad things happen a lot. There can be some scary times. But it’s a circle and things go away. Scary times are temporary.”
Linnea: “Are you sure?” Linnea blinked large brown eyes. “Will you help me?”
Hope: “What else am I going to do with my life? Water plants, fart a lot, and learn how to sculpt? My schedule’s not booked. So why not. At least for the moment.”
She looked at the child and said, “But I’ll have you know. I’m used to being alone.”
Linnea: Linnea curled into herself a bit. “I just want to sleep in a bed.”
Hope: Hope had been traveling and of course didn’t have a home to take the girl to tonight. But she nevertheless nodded and said, “Absolutely. I can arrange that.
“Now.” She pointed to herself. She was very tall, wiry, and thin. Her hair was long, grey, and kept up in a loose bun. Her eyes were a faded green. Beside her left eye, to the side, was a raised scar about an inch and a half long. “You can call me Amma. Amma Hope.” No use introducing the child by the name no one called her anymore, the name she barely recognized as her own anymore. “I’m a grumpy old hermit who likes painting terrible pictures with my fingers and taking care of vegetable gardens, dogs, cats, lizards, or any other random living thing that comes around. Even worms! Cute little buggers. I’m good at cooking, I’m bad at diplomacy, and everyone has this weird idea that I’m old. Do I look old to you? Why would anyone call me old?” She said the last part jokingly, in hope of making the kid feel at ease, and maybe feel comfortable enough to introduce themselves to her.
Linnea: “I like all those things.” She swung her legs, her heels hitting the rock. “I’m Linnea. My mom’s dragon is named Skysilk. I don’t do a lot.”
Hope: “Linnea. Skysilk. I believe I can remember that.
“Well then.” Amma hoisted herself off the rock, groaning as she did so. “What do you say we find a place to sleep? We will need to go to a place with other people. Can you do that for me?”
Linnea: “Uh-huh.” Linnea hopped off as well. Skysilk wrapped itself into a gentle pink scarf around the girl’s shoulders. “Are you hurt? You sound like you’re hurting.”
Hope: “That’s normal. Nothing to worry about.”
Slowly, Hope began plodding back the way they came. Hopefully the skittish kid wouldn’t be too nervous to re-enter that human civilization.
“Coming?”
Hope: Linnea hurried to her side. “As long as you are.”
Category:Events
Category:BOTGD 2
Category:Amma Hope
Category:Kettil Ericson
Category:Furi
Category:Grey Bergman
Category:Brandt Felman
Category:Act I