Keeping You Company

"Keeping You Company" is an Act One thread written on June 25, 2019.
==Summary==
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==Full Text==
Kettil Ericson: Kettil was just kinda walking around, looking for something to keep his mind occupied. With everything with Rhenco going on he needed to or else he’d go mad. He walked by the arena and heard the sounds of someone training. He decided to poke his head in.
Iona Lindholm: Iona blinked the sweat out of her eyes as she attacked the poor dummy she set up as a target. With a final thrust, she stabbed it with her pike right in the centre of its chest, and left it there still quivering.
With an exhale, she straightened, and turned to grab a drink before spotting Kettil peeking in. She nodded a greeting, “Hello!”
Kettil Ericson: His heart flutters as he realizes that it’s Iona training. “Hi!” He called as he stepped in. “I was just about to say I think that one has had enough.” He grinned. He went over and grabbed a towel before handing it over to her so she could wipe the sweat from her body. He swallowed slightly and cleared his throat before he tried to speak. “So I take it you’re a warrior?”
Iona Lindholm: She accepted it gratefully, patting the back of her neck dry, “I suppose?” She responded a little doubtfully, “Aunty Akkey trained me since I was young, but Yrus… well, Yrus doesn’t really see a lot of action. I haven’t officially fought outside of the training grounds.”
Kettil Ericson: He swallowed again as he watched her wipe the sweat from her body. “W-well you’re probably still better than I am.” He said with a laugh. “If you want to keep training I can keep you company if you like, or I can show you around the island if you like.”
Iona Lindholm: Iona raised her eyebrows at him curiously, “Can you fight?”
Kettil Ericson: He kinda blushed and shook his head. “Ehh no, not really… I’m a lover not a fighter.” He said with a slight chuckle.
Iona Lindholm: She couldn’t help but laugh at that, “Fair. I’m done for today anyway. I could go for a bite.” She mused, not really reading the situation.
Kettil Ericson: He smiled brightly. “Sure, if you like we can head over to the great hall and I can cook something up for you.” He offered.
Iona Lindholm: “Ah, that would be appreciated,” she smiled at him, putting her weapons away.
Kettil Ericson: “Sure!” He said enthusiastically. He moved to help her out things back the way they were. He blushed and quickly pulled his hand away as their fingers brushed together. “S-sorry, I’m gonna go… Clean up over there.” He says as he moves away from her
Iona Lindholm: She had pulled hers away as well, feeling her ears warm up, “Ah, it’s alright.” She said quietly, putting away the last of the equipment. “Shall we?”
Kettil Ericson: “Yeah, let’s go.” He said with a smile. “After you.” He held the door for Iona.
Iona Lindholm: They came up to main hall, and smells of lunch wafted through the air. She salivated in her mouth a little; she didn’t realize how hungry she was. She quickened her pace.
Kettil Ericson: Seeing her pace quicken he grinned and sped up until he was a little in front of her and then broke into a sprint calling out. “Last one there’s a rotten egg!” As he rushed ahead.
Iona Lindholm: “Hey!” she found herself grinning and chasing after him. Both half rabbits sped through the streets, leaving other Haligan residents in a whirlwind of laughter. They came up the stone steps at the same time, a little out of breath and cheeks flushed.
Kettil Ericson: Kettil bent over, hands on his knees and gasping for breath. “I’m… Pretty sure… I won that.” He said between pants.
Iona Lindholm: Iona leaned her hands against her hips, inhaling deeply, heart still thudding from the extra run, “Definitely not. I absolutely won.” She grinned, pushing the massive doors open.
Kettil Ericson: “Oh whatever.” He said grinning as he nudged her following her in. “Any preferences on lunch?” He asked.
Iona Lindholm: “Nothing in particular,” she replied, “I can eat anything at this point. I’m starving.”
Kettil Ericson: He laughed. “I’ll make something quick but tasty.” He popped into the kitchen and a few minutes later came back out with two plates, a sandwich on each of them. “Here we go, two mutton, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches. I made sure the tomatoes were ripe and the mutton was lean, I find they taste best that way.”
Iona Lindholm: She eyed the food hungrily before digging in. She glanced up at Kettil, eyebrows raised, “These are really good.” Iona had never cared to make fancier dishes. As long as it sustained her health and strength, she’d eat whatever she needed to.
Kettil Ericson: Kettil said a quick prayer to Hel to thank her for the food before digging in, himself. He blushed at the compliment. "Eh it wasn't a big deal, I just used what we had at hand since you were hungry."
“Well, it’s good. And I’m glad of the company.” she said simply, “Aria would love to have one of these, too.”
Kettil Ericson: He smiled as he continued to eat. “Sure, bring the little lady around and I’ll make one for her whenever. How is she by the way?
Iona Lindholm: “She’s fine. Excited. She went fishing with Katryn this morning. Could barely sleep last night.” she said thoughtfully, “I would’ve gone but Siri’s with them, so I stayed behind.”
Kettil Ericson: His smile brightens slightly. “Well good. I’m glad she’s having such a good time. You both seem to be enjoying Haligan quite a bit.” He said as he finished up the sandwich.
Iona Lindholm: She swallowed her last bite, dark eyes turning serious, “We are. It’s wonderful here. We should go soon, though.”
Kettil Ericson: “Or… You could… Stay.” He suggested cautiously. “I know it would be a lot safer than out on the road.”
Iona Lindholm: Iona looked at him, a hidden pain behind her eyes that he only barely saw, “It would. But… we need to go. My….” she shook her head, repeating herself firmly. “We need to go.”
Kettil Ericson: “Who are you looking for exactly?” He asked. “I don’t think you’ve ever actually told me.”
Iona Lindholm: She inhaled sharply, eyes darting between him and her hands. She contemplated telling him. Hesitatingly, she said, “Have you heard of… Pitch Black?”
Kettil Ericson: Kettil thought for a moment, rolling the name around in his mind. “Pitch Black… Oh that’s Akkey and Maya’s father right? So your grandfather. Is that who you’re looking for?
Iona Lindholm: She nodded, leaning her head on her hand, “We haven’t seen him in years, but we need him now. Last we heard of him he was in a village near Lake of Yale.”
Kettil Ericson: He nods. “Couldn’t Akkey have just portaled you there, or couldn’t you? I’ve heard the portal thing is a racial trait but that could just be misinformation.”
Iona Lindholm: “Aunty’s never been there. She needs to know what a place looks like to make a connection. And…” she paused, “Nobody on my side inherited the nix gene. We can’t open portals.”
Kettil Ericson: He nodded. “I see. Why do you need to see him? Just like a visit or something?”
Iona Lindholm: “Ah, no…” she shook her head, “We just really need to find him. We need his help.”
Kettil Ericson: “I see.” He said backing off the subject. “Well, let’s make the most of the time we have. Is there anywhere else you want to see or want to go?”
Iona Lindholm: She gave him a small smile, “You said you’re a veterinarian? I loved seeing the dragons the other day.”
Kettil Ericson: “Yeah, would you like to go visit them again?” He offered.
Iona Lindholm: “That’d be fun. I wanted to know more about your work and what you do, actually.”
Kettil Ericson: “Oh sure!” He said happily. “Here let me grab these plates and we can head off, okay?” He stood, taking their plates and taking them back to the kitchen before reemerging and coming back. “Ready to go?” He asked.
Iona Lindholm: She nodded, a little excited, “After you.”
Kettil Ericson: He walked her over to his clinic and showed her around. “So this is where I work. I actually have a few clinics like this around the country and we help various dragons who get sick and hurt and whatnot.” He noticed a piece of parchment sitting on his desk and he quickly but calmly grabbed it and put it in one of the drawers.
Iona Lindholm: She hovered by him curiously, standing taller by a few inches above him. She peered at the drawer he had hastily dropped the paper in, "Hmmm… That’s amazing. You own multiple clinics internationally and you’re only what, 17?”
Kettil Ericson: He laughed and blushed a little, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, yeah but I just really wanted to help people... And the dragons as well of course."
“That’s very admirable. I can’t imagine any of it to be easy,” she said seriously. She glanced towards the drawer again, “Is that part of your work?”
Kettil Ericson: He laughed a little. “Yeah it can be challenging, but it’s also very rewarding.” He said. He looked down at the drawer she was looking at. “Hm? Oh that? It er… Um… Confidential.” He said. Technically not lying, but definitely not the whole truth.
Iona Lindholm: “Ah,” she nodded, prying no further. It wasn’t her business, after all. Iona looked around the modest room, “Is it just you in the clinic here on Haligan?”
Kettil Ericson: He nodded but shrugged. “For the most part. I’ll grab one or two people if I need help and I leave a few in charge when I go check on the other clinics.”
Iona Lindholm: “Hmm,” Iona walked around, letting her fingers trace on table surfaces, “Our village is too small and too secluded to have a bigger system like this.”
Kettil Ericson: He nodded. “Yeah it was tough getting it started. I came to King Haddock with plan and asked for some money to get started and he help arrange them so they could be the most effective in the areas they needed to be.”
Iona Lindholm: Her ears perked up at the mention of the former monarch. She knew Aunty Akkey was close with him; when the news reached their village, it had hit the nix very hard. “Ah, that’s helpful of him. And now you run them very successfully.”
Kettil Ericson: He blushes. “I do my best.” He says modestly.
Iona Lindholm: She looked at him curiously, “Is it just you? I mean… I’ve met the Andersons and the Felmans, but I haven’t heard anything about your family.”
Kettil Ericson: He frowns a little bit at that. “Yeah um… I’ve got two sisters and my Mom. My father isn’t… Here… Anymore.” He said. “My oldest sister lives with us kinda, but she’s rarely on the island anymore, and my twin sister Jari usually hangs out in her lab, but I see her more often than Lila.” He looks kinda sad as he says this.
Iona Lindholm: “Ah… sorry,” she cleared her throat awkwardly, the air thick with silence for a few minutes. “I-I didn’t know you had a twin! She works in a lab?”
Kettil Ericson: “Uhm yeah.” He said. “She’s a scientist, she helped build the wind mill a few months ago. She’s always coming up with new ideas. Granted she has a hard time making the work sometimes.”
Iona Lindholm: “That’s impressive,” she mused, “Your family seems very smart. I’d love to meet her one day.”
Kettil Ericson: He smiled. “If you like we can go see her now if you like. She’s usually in her workshop all the time.”
Iona Lindholm: She would be lying if she said she wasn’t interested, “That would be lovely! If she isn’t busy.”
Kettil Ericson: “She’s probably just tinkering with something or another, it’ll be fine.” He said with a wave of his hand. “Shall we?” He said as he gestured towards the door.
Iona Lindholm: She followed him out the door and through the island, noting the strange faces they passed.
Kettil Ericson: They soon arrived at his sister’s workshop and Kettil opened the door. “Hey Jari, you in.” A begoggled half-pookan turned and smiled. “Oh hey Kettil.” She said as she turned, accidentally dropping a match on a line of black powder. “Oh crap.” She muttered as she dove to the ground. Kettil quickly followed the line with his eyes and saw it’s inevitable destination and it proximity. “Shit.” He cursed. He quickly tackled Iona out of the way as an explosion went off.
Iona Lindholm: The breath was knocked out of her, and they all coughed as the smoke cleared. She blinked rapidly for a few moments, sitting up with Kettil on top of her, “Wow.”
Kettil/Jari Ericson: Kettil blushed and quickly scurried away from her. “Are you okay?” He asked.
Meanwhile Jari stood up and whooped excitedly. “That was awesome!” She declared. She quickly grabbed a measuring tool and measured the size of a crater, next to several other craters, then she went over to a piece of parchment and wrote something down before pulling her goggles up. Her face was covered in dust and soot creating rings around her eyes where her goggles were. “Hey Kettil.” She called with a grin.
“Are you working with that black powder stuff again?” He asked.
“I was just testing the effectiveness of it in larger quantities.” She said. “More powder in higher concentrations makes for a bigger boom.”
Iona Lindholm: “I’m fine! Are you?” she stood carefully, dusting herself off. Iona watched Jari tinker with her experiments, highly interested and curious. She reminded her of Aria for some reason.
“Hello, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Iona,” she gave a small smile, wondering if she should shake the scientist’s hand.
Kettil/Jari Ericson: Jari smiled widely. “Pleasure. I’m Jari, Kettil’s older sister.”
“Bye ten minutes!” Kettil complained.
“That’s old enough.” She teased. “So what brings you to my little shop of horrors today?” She asked.
As you look around you can see various objects, some are seem half finished, others seem like they were put together at one point but are now being tinkered with and a few that are actually put together.
Iona Lindholm: “Curiosity,” she grinned, amused, looking around the space, “Kettil has kept me company this morning while my sister is spending some time with Katryn.”
“This is incredible!” she surveyed her surroundings before settling on what had just exploded, “What is it you’re making?”
Kettil/Jari Ericson: “Hm?” She followed her eyes to the craters and laughed. “Oh that.” It’s not really what I making its what I’ve already made.“ She takes a bit of black powder. “This is black powder. I won’t go into the exact composition of it, but it is very explosive when in large quantities and when mixed with fire. I’m basically testing the limits of it. Size of the blast and all that and of course recording the results.” She looked away from the two of them for a moment and said, “Remember kids, the only difference between screwing around and science is writing it down.” She started giggling to herself after that.
Iona Lindholm: I feel like Aria would love her.
“Interesting. What would you use it for?” Her mind was already turning.
Kettil/Jari Ericson: “Well, personally I’d use it for mining and perhaps other avenues I haven’t thought of yet.” She says. Then her demeanor kind of shifts she seems frustrated. “But my sister would rather me use it for siege weapons.” She says, her voice full of distain.
Iona Lindholm: Iona tilted head, “What’s wrong with using them for weapons?”
Kettil/Jari Ericson: Kettil sighed slightly and then Jari sighed. “On its own nothing, but when it’s all she cares about that’s when it becomes a problem. With everything I make it either, ‘How can we use this to fight Central’, or, ‘Stoo wasting your time on that and find more ways to fight Central’. Every time, not exaggerating.”
Iona Lindholm: "Hmmm… but isn’t High Central the enemy? It sems like she’s working hard to bring them down.”
Kettil/Jari Ericson: Jari was getting frustrated now. "She is, and I want to do my part. But I'm not a weaponsmith, I'm a scientist. I want to understand how the world works. I want to make cool shit, not just things that kill people."
“Ah,” she nodded, beginning to understand. She was also sensing she was getting into sensitive territory, “I see.”
Kettil/Jari Ericson: Jari sighs. “Sorry for getting agitated I just get into the same exact argument with my sister every time she comes home… Anyways, is there anything you guys want to see.”
Iona Lindholm: She shook her head, “No, it’s alright. I apologize for my forwardness. I just wanted to meet more people of the island, and upon finding out Kettil had a twin sister I thought it would be a good start.”
She extended her arm, “It was a pleasure to meet you.”
Kettil/Jari Ericson: She takes her hand and shakes it though she’s starting to feel bad. “You guys don’t have to go. I mean, you’ve barely looked at any of my cool shit.”
Iona Lindholm: “It would be interesting to see more of your creations,” she admitted, looking around, “But I’m afraid I have to go back. Aria would have returned by now.” She smiled softly, “Perhaps you could show me the next time?”
Kettil/Jari Ericson: Jar nods eagerly and smiles. “Definitely, it’s a date.” She says with a smile.
“Would you like me to walk you back?” He asked, knowing she could get lost, but not wanting to say so.
Iona Lindholm: “Yes please,” her cheeks tinged pink a little in embarrassment. She waved a goodbye to Jari, and followed Kettil out.
Category:BOTGD 2
Category:Events
Category:Act I
Category:Iona Lindholm
Category:Kettil Ericson
Category:Jari Ericson