Troublemakers

"Troublemakers" is a BOTGD 2 Act 1 thread written on July 29, 2019.
==Summary==
Aria and Katryn spend a happy afternoon playing pretend together in Haligan's forest before Aria and Iona continue on their way. Katryn has some complicated feelings she doesn't understand, so does Aria. They agree to ask their sisters later. The girls share a hug and Aria promises they will be able to play again. They don't actually make any trouble.
==Full Text==
Aria: Aria leaned halfway out of the window in Katryn's room, feeling the gentle breeze through her ears. The sun shone gently on her cheeks, warming them up. Her sister had gone somewhere with Kettil, and Siri was nowhere to be seen as well.
It was the perfect, lazy afternoon.
And Aria was bored.
"Katrynnnnn, let's do something!" she whined a little.
Katryn: Katryn smiled up at her friend from where she sat cross-legged on the floor, changing a doll into a different dress. "Like what?" She asked of Aria.
Katryn had learned that Aria was loud and bouncy and excitable, where she was quiet and content to be still. But she was really fun.
Aria: She crossed her arms in hard thought, much like her father, "Uuuuhhhh... What do you guys do for fun? Is there anything interesting on the island we can explore?" She gasped, "Like caves or tunnels or secret pathways!
Katryn: Katryn shrugged. "I usually play with my toys or read or draw." She finished up the buttons on the back of her dolls dress and turned it back over to straighten it out.
"But sometimes I go play in the woods."
Aria: Aria sat straight up in excitement, "The woods! Let's go!"
Katryn: Katryn giggled. She stood up and put her doll up on a shelf. "We have to go tell my mom first though."
Aria: She leapt to her feet, clicking her heels together and saluting, "Okay!"
Katryn: Katryn headed out towards the main room of the house, looking over her shoulder to make sure Aria was following her.
Once telling her mother where they were headed, Katryn lead Aria out of the house and towards the woods.
Aria: Aria was grinning and humming a tune her dad taught her, hopping from stone to log to boulder as she followed Katryn, "So what's interesting in the woods? Secret underground tunnels? Hidden tree village? A mysterious animal?"
Katryn: Katryn shook her head. "No, it's just the woods. I like the woods."
It was quiet in the woods usually. And she was free to use her imagination there, free from anyone else. She played pretend in the woods, which would be more fun with a friend, but she was worried Aria would think she was weird if she brought it up.
Aria: "Oh..." she couldn't help express her disappointment, but immediately perked up again, eyes shining at Katryn, "But if you like it then it must still be amazing!"
Katryn: Katryn felt heat rush to her cheeks and she started twisting her hair in her fingers as they walked on.
Aria was so nice to her.
And, Aria was hoping on logs. Maybe Aria would like to play the kind of games she liked. Katryn jumped up onto a log as well, and then onto another one with one leg.
"I hope so," she added.
Aria: Aria grabbed her hand as they came up on parallel logs, walking across it together, before letting go and jumping up on a particularly large, moss covered boulder, "So why do you like it? Do you go by yourself?"
Katryn: Katryn felt like her hand tingled where Aria had held it, which confused her, but she still hopped up on the boulder beside Aria.
"Usually I come by myself," Katryn confirmed. "I..." she bit her lip and hesitated for a moment, wondering if Aria would laugh at her. She doubted it, but she was still worried. She continued anyway, and in a soft voice said, "I like to play pretend."
Aria: “Hey, me too!” she replied with a grin, concentrating on an interesting flower she found at the base of a tree, “I don’t really hang out with other people in Yrus other than my sister, so when she’s at her training I pretend I have a dragon and I can fly away and have big adventures!” 
Aria plucked the plant from the ground and stretched it towards Katryn, giving it to her, “What do you like to pretend?”
Katryn: Katryn felt her cheeks flush again as Aria handed her the pretty flower. She didn't know why she was so blushy today.
"I like to pretend I have a dragon and travel like my sister sometimes," Katryn said, thrilled that Aria shared a similar interest. "Sometimes I pretend I'm a princess. Sometimes I pretend I'm a mommy. And sometimes I pretend I'm a chief like my Aunt Grey."
Aria: “Ooh! I like to pretend I’m Chief too, like my mom!” she nodded in agreement, completely oblivious to Katryn blushing, “She does it different from Chief Grey though. We don’t have as many meetings, or raids, or dangerous stuff back home.”
Katryn: "Your... mom is a chief?" Katryn asked, tucking the flower from Aria into the belt she was wearing, her blush subsiding. Katryn flicked her eyes from her friend to the grass, looking for a flower to give to Aria in return. "My mom and dad say this many meetings isn't normal."
Aria: “Yeah! Something about my grandma, I’ve never met her, being the next in line but she died on my aunt’s birthday or something...” she hummed distractedly, “So my mom has to take over cus my grandpa can’t do it.”
“How many meetings is normal? I don’t really know.”
Katryn: Katryn frowned a bit at Aria's words, but a parch of wildflowers caught her eye and she made her way over to it.
"We usually have one meeting a month I think. Aunt Grey and Uncle Brandt and other people talk about visitors, birthdays, new babies, weddings, and betrothals." Katryn giggled at the last word. She thought it sounded funny.
"My daddy goes to more meetings though, because he's on the council. I don't know what they talk about in those." She shrugged and she kneeled near the flowers, she plucked a purple one and then a white o e and said, "Sit down, I want to show you something."
Aria: “Betrothal,” she giggled along with her, obliging and taking a seat in the grass, “So many meetings. I went to one once. They’re so boring. I like going with my dad’s work better than my mom’s. He goes and heals people!”
Katryn: Katryn smiled at Aria over the flowers she was twisting together. “That’s really cool! I think Kettil heals people and dragons sometimes.”
She plucked another flower from the ground and added it to the chain, pausing briefly to ask, “Can you heal people?”
Aria: She nodded, “Yeah! My dad taught me all his spells. I like it. He lets me help his patients sometimes, if they’re okay with it.”
Katryn: Katryn smiled brighter. “Wow! I wish I had powers. It’s awesome you get to help him!”
“My mom and dad look after kids that show up on the island with no place to go and sometimes, no one to love them. That’s why we’ve got that extra room. Mama lets me help her take care of them if they’re really little.” Sometimes, babies passed through with their moms who were younger than Siri and sometimes, little ones would get shuffled around until they found a permanent family. Katryn was the designated playmate usually.
Katryn studied the chain of flowers in her hand and then looked to Aria and decided to add one more. She selected a yellow one.
Aria: “Whoa,” Aria marveled at the story, “So it’s like you have a huge family! That’s amazing!” She grinned up at Katryn as she worked the delicate chain.
Katryn: Katryn giggled as she twisted the two ends of the chain together. “Kind of, we usually don’t get to see them again. But I like knowing that we helped them.”
Katryn rose to her feet and walked a few steps to Aria. She hesitated for a moment before placed the flower crown over Aria’s ears and onto her head. “This is for you,”
The pastel shades of the flowers looked particularly lovely on Aria and Katryn smiled.
Aria: She blinked, not noticing she had turned a very slight shade of pink. Her ear flicked underneath the flowers, shifting them a little so they slid sideways. She caught them before they fell, laughing. “Thank you! Does it look okay?”
Katryn: Katryn flushed in delight, glad that Aria liked the flower crown. She couldn’t summon words to reply, but she managed to nod. In her happiness, she missed Aria’s blush.
Suddenly feeling very shy, Katryn twisted her hands in front of her.
Aria: Aria hopped up to her feet, holding the crown steady on her head before grabbing Katryn’s hands in gratitude, “Thanks so much! I love it. I’ll wear it always.”
Katryn: Katryn still couldn’t say anything, she could only smile shyly. Especially once Aria took her hands. She didn’t know why she felt like this all of a sudden. It was all very confusing.
Katryn lightly squeezed Aria’s hands, hoping that would pass along her ‘you’re welcome’ that she couldn’t say.
Aria: She grinned at her, receiving the message loud and clear. She turned to look further in the forest, still keeping her hand on Katryn’s, “Where are we going now?”
Katryn: “I can show you where I usually play,” Katryn said softly. It was just a little further away. The trees made a nice shady covering there, there were logs and stumps to sit on.
Aria: Aria ran to the middle and twirled, her dress flaring out as she felt a nice breeze rustle through the trees, “It’s so nice here!”
Katryn: Katryn giggled and twirled as well, her dress also fanning out. “It’s my favorite place in the whole world. Not even my sister or mom knows about it.”
Aria: “Nobody?” she turned around, wide eyed, “But why’d you show it to me? It seems like it’s a super important secret!”
Katryn: “Because you’re my friend,” Katryn replied. There weren’t a lot of kids her age on Haligan, and those that were her age didn’t like the same things she did. Aria was different. She liked that.
Aria: Aria froze in her spot, dropping her arms as the sunlight filtered through the leaves, cast a golden glow behind her head. Nobody had called her a friend before. Her sister, mommy, daddy, aunty, and all the old misters and misses in the council were all she needed, she thought. She didn’t know what to say.
The half breed didn’t notice that her cheeks were wet.
Katryn: Katryn grew flustered when she saw the tears on Aria’s face. Had she done something wrong? She walked towards Aria, concern etched all over her face.
“Are you okay?” she asked softly.
Aria: She tilted her head to the side in confusion, cheeks still wet, “Yes. Why? Are you okay?”
Katryn: “You’re… crying.” Katryn said softly, tucking her hair behind her ear. She reached out for Aria’s hand.
Aria: She let her take it, touching her cheek with the other. She raised her brows in surprise, “Oh, you’re right!” She glanced up at Katryn, “I don’t know why I was crying. That’s weird!”
Katryn: “Are you sad?” Katryn asked, still holding Aria’s hand.
She bit her tongue and then continued. “Did I make you sad?”
Aria: “No!” Aria said, a little too loudly, “You didn’t! I’m not sad! I’m happy, I’m spending time with you!” She truly wondered why she was crying. She couldn’t quite place the emotion she was feeling; it confused her. She squeezed Katryn’s hand reassuringly, wiping her tears away, “I’m okay, really! Sorry, that must’ve been really weird…”
Katryn: Katryn still didn’t look quite convinced, but she squeezed Aria’s hand back. It was definitely a little weird.
“Do you still want to play?” Katryn asked.
Aria: She grinned, the odd moment forgotten, “Yeah!” She glanced up, still marveling at Katryn’s secret hiding place. It was like their own little world, surrounded in lush green and soft light, the grass tickling their ankles as they walked through.
Katryn: Katryn hopped up onto a rock and then back down on the other side, startling a squirrel she didn’t notice.
“I’m sorry!” she called after the squirrel as it darted up a tree.
She turned to Aria and gestured to the little makeshift shelter she had made, which was behind her. “This is my house when I play.”
Truthfully, the shelter was just branches leaning against trees and was just about big enough for two little girls to fit under at the most, but she was proud of it.
The sunlight filtered in through the trees above and the breeze rustled gently.
Aria: Aria sat underneath its shade, eyes wide with wonder, “Cool! I want to play! What should I do?”
Katryn: Katryn sat beside her. “Whatever you want. We can play anything.”
Katryn frowned then, wishing she had brought her doll along to be a baby if they needed one. Although, they could always pretend.
The little blonde looked at her friend. “What do you want to play?”
Aria: “Uhh, I don’t know. I pretend with dragons, or ninjas! Aunty Akkey said she knew this really cool ninja girl back during the Rebellion days.”
Katryn: Katryn tilted her head to the side and pulled her knees up to her chest. She usually played house or something. But she was willing to try anything for Aria. “What’s a ninja?”
Aria: “They’re like soldiers, but super sneaky soldiers. They were dark clothes, like black or navy blue. They’re really good at swords! And they can throw stars! Isn’t that amazing?! I want to hold a star! And they have pet cats!” Aria bounced excitedly, “And they can make amazing tea!”
Katryn: “They throw real stars?” Katryn asked, wide-eyed. “And have cats? And make tea?” How had she never heard of ninjas before? They sounded great.
“I want a pet,” Katryn added after a moment.
Aria: She nodded in agreement, “Me too. Like a dragon!”
Katryn: “I want a dragon,” Katryn replied. “But I also want a cat I think…”
Katryn lightly touched the petals of the flower Aria had given her, still tucked away in her belt for safe keeping. No one had ever given her a flower before.
She turned and looked over the expanse of the forest. This was the place she could be anything she wanted. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, lost in thought.
Aria: “A cat would be great, too. Like those white cats ninjas have. Maybe we can find one!” Aria nodded vigorously in agreement, glancing at Katryn. She had gone quiet, “What’s wrong?”
Katryn: Katryn shrugged. She felt different, funny in a sense. Sitting next to Aria made her feel all kinds of things she didn’t know how to explain, didn’t know what it meant.
She shook her head. “I don’t know… nothing I guess. Sorry.”
She stood up suddenly. “What do you want to play?”
Aria: Her eyes followed her friend as she stood abruptly. She didn’t seem as upbeat as she was a few minutes ago, and she wanted to make her feel better, “I want to play what you want to play!”
Katryn: “Let’s pretend we have dragons and we’re going on an adventure.” Katryn suggested after thinking for a moment. “If that’s okay?”
Aria: “Yes!” she hopped on her feet, then tilted her head in thought, “I only know about Deadly Nadders though… That’s Aunty Akkey had.”
Katryn: “Siri has a Deadly Nadder! We can both have Deadly Nadders!” Katryn replied enthusiastically, weird emotions subsiding. “Mine is going to be yellow and pink! What about yours?”
Aria: She gasped in delight, “My Nadder’s going to be green and black! Like my daddy and Aunty Akkey’s eyes! And I’m gonna call her… Riko!” she nodded, as if satisfied with her decisions. “What’s yours called?”
Katryn: “Starshine!” Katryn replied enthusiastically. “Like my mommy’s dragon Moonbeam!”
Katryn giggled and twirled again, fanning her pale yellow dress out once more. “She matches my dress!”
Aria: “That’s a pretty name!” Aria flared out her arms and pretended to fly like a dragon, running around the space, “Where should we go?”
Katryn: “Wherever you want,” Katryn replied, running after Aria, arms wide.
Aria: She hopped up on a log, balancing herself upon its mossy surface. She paused in thought, “Have you ever heard the grown ups talk about Hel’s Bunker?”
Katryn: Katryn nodded and hopped up on a neighboring rock. “That’s where my sister was born.”
Katryn had overheard a conversation between her mom and sister about that bunker, and of course had asked what it was and how they knew about it. They had answered, they always answered her questions.
“Why?”
Aria: Aria dropped her arms for a moment, “I don’t know… I only heard about that place maybe like once or twice. Aunty Akkey doesn’t like talking about it… She gets scared when she does,” She brought her arms up again, “I thought we could go there!”
Katryn: “I don’t think we should. Mama doesn’t like talking about it either.” Katryn frowned. “It makes her sad. She always pulls Sissy closer to her when they talk about it. If it makes our grown ups sad, maybe we should go somewhere else.”
Aria: She wrinkled her nose in disappointment. She was always curious about the place that her parents had spoken of in hushed voices, that cast a shadow on her Aunty’s face that the grown ups thought she didn’t notice. But she understood Katryn’s reasoning, “Okay, you’re right…”
Katryn: “We should go somewhere nice and fun!” Katryn said after a moment. “Somewhere with lots of nice dragons!”
Aria: “Yeah! Wait… where’s that?” Aria didn’t know anywhere else other than Yrus and Haligan.
Katryn: Katryn shrugged. “I don’t know. Let’s make up a place!”
Katryn had never been off of Haligan. Not even to visit her Nana. Nana, her daddy’s mom, came to visit them.
Aria: “Okay!” Aria thought hard, “Let’s go to a place called, uuhh… The Hidden World! Where thousands and thousands of dragons live! And the king of the dragons stays there with his family!”
Katryn: “Okay!” Katryn said, clapping her hands together excitedly. “Let’s go!”
She hopped off the rock and ran in a lopsided circle with her arms spread wide.
Aria: She ran with her, laughing out loud and feeling the breeze in her ears and on her cheeks. She saw clear skies and puffy clouds, colourful dragons surrounding them, dipping below them and swooping over rocks and cliffs. The roar of the king of dragons echoed in her ears, and she could have sworn she saw him out of the corner of her eye, playing with his three dragon children.
Aria hopped on a log, then jumped off, going airborne. “Yeah!”
Katryn: Katryn squealed in delight as she jumped over a fallen log, arms wide, catching up to Aria.
She swore she could feel the mist off a thundering waterfall, and see brilliant colors beneath her. Thousands of dragons of every species kindly made way for the two of them.
“This is fun!”
Aria: She giggled, and grabbed Katryn’s hands, twirling them around in the green space, their hair fluttering behind them as they spun faster, until they fell over, out of breath and laughing uncontrollably.
Katryn: Katryn beamed at Aria as they spun together and laughed hysterically when they toppled to the ground onto the grass. She looked up at the sky and she caught her breath. This was a perfect day. She was happy here and happy with Aria.
She turned her head to look at Aria, who still had the flower crown on her head and her face was flushed from playing and laughing.
“You’re pretty when you laugh,”
Katryn flushed immediately and bit her tongue when she realized she had said that out loud.
Aria: She turned her head to meet Katryn’s eyes, smiling but still very serious, “So are you!”
Katryn: Katryn flushed and looked away. She really didn’t mean to say that out loud. And she certainly didn’t know how to respond to Aria.
Throughout the course of the day, Katryn had realized something- Aria was pretty always.
She really didn’t think she was supposed to say that out loud and kept her tongue between her teeth to prevent herself from speaking.
Aria: She furrowed her brows worriedly, and tightened her grip around her hand, “Are you okay? Did I say something wrong?”
Katryn: Katryn shook her head. “It’s… no, you’re okay. Sorry… I…” her blush only darkened. She really didn’t know how to communicate to Aria this, well, whatever this was. She hardly could figure it out herself.
Maybe if she was older, she would know what on Earth was happening.
Her mind grew fuzzy when she realized Aria was still holding her hand.
Aria: She blinked at her, watching her carefully, then turned to look up at the sky through the trees. Still she kept their hands together, “That’s okay. I didn’t know why I was crying either, but I know it wasn’t you. Maybe we can ask our sisters later.”
Katryn: “Yeah,” Katryn replied in a voice just above a whisper, looking up at the sky herself. “Big sisters know a lot.”
Aria: “Yeah…” Silence filled the forest as they enjoyed each other’s company. The sun crept across the sky, casting longer and longer shadows around them. A lazy wind blew through the leaves, tickling their rosy, youthful cheeks, “Should we go back?”
Katryn: Part of Katryn wanted to stay in the woods with Aria forever. They could stay there and do whatever they wanted, always. They could always hold hands and be happy.
But the other part, the lart that was afraid of the dark and always listened to rules won out. She nodded slowly.
Aria and her sister were leaving soon. Katryn didn’t know when, or if, she would see Aria again. Tears stung her eyes as the thought crossed her mind.
If only they were older and things made sense and they could do what they wanted.
If Katryn had her say, they would stay there forever.
Aria: She sat up and looked down at Katryn with a gentle, kind smile. In that moment, where the sun’s rays hit her hair in a soft halo of orange light, glowing on the flower crown that she had given her, she seemed just a little bit more calm and mature.
“Don’t worry, we’ll come back and play again! I promise.”
Katryn: Without allowing herself to think much about it, Katryn sat up and reached out for Aria, pulling the older girl into a hug.
She didn’t do this kind of thing, didn’t hug people outside of her family much. But Aria was different.
And somehow, it felt right.
Aria: She easily returned the embrace, wrapping her arms around Katryn and giving her a tight squeeze, “Next time we’ll play house!”
Katryn: Katryn smiled a bit at that. She loved playing house. “Okay,”
She pulled back from Aria a moment later and pushed herself to her feet. “Let’s go back now,”
Aria: “Okay!” she didn’t let her hand go as the sky darkened and they went back home.
Category:BOTGD
Category:Act I
Category:Events
Category:Katryn Haralson
Category:Aria Lindholm