Moat Freija

Forbitrelse is an archipelago out of the governance of Aether. Residing here are the vikings of the North West. Nomads in search for places now and then, trading stocks from their neighbor kingdom and in excursion to discover more lands to harness its supply and expand their territory. Despite being secluded from the kingdom, their traditional symbol for themselves is the Kraken with the color of blue and gray for the stormy skies and open seas.

Located on the largest island of Forbitrelse is Moat Freija which serves as a home for the clan's Earl and his family, surrounded by the archipelago's most successful form of civilization.

The Earl was currently seated in a random chair and his feet on a table, with the invitation to the ball in one hand and a piece of bread in the other. He chewed absentmindedly on the bread, while looking over the invitation one more time. Although he had already gotten dressed and prepared for leaving, Trym was starting to second guess his decision to go to the ball. Those kinds of things could be pretty boring sometimes, and the fact that everyone else told him to go, made him want to not go. He was the earl for fucks, sake, he could do whatever he wanted to do, mostly. And he never followed orders from anyone but himself. And probably Odin, if he ever decided to contact him and ask him to do something, but Trym thought that was highly unlikely, since Odin was the most powerful god, so he could probably do whatever it was he wanted to have done on his own. Since Trym came to the conclusion that Odin would probably not ask for his help with anything ever, the only person he had to listen to was himself! And right now, he had no idea what exactly he wanted to do.

If he did go, it'd be an amazing opportunity to socialize, something he absolutely loved doing, unlike many of the other vikings, it seemed. The castle was really boring today anyway, so he had nothing better to do. And his hair was looking amazingly incredibly - even better than usual, which really meant it was amazing, because his hair was always amazing, at least Trym thought so-, and Trym was not one to miss an opportunity to show off the fact that he looked great. After all, it'd be a tragedy to deprive everyone else of the life changing experience of seeing him look so wonderful. No, Trym was definitely not narcissistic at all! And the only reason to not go was his childish stubbornness and opposition to listening to whatever people told him at all times.

Maybe going would be nice...

Lukas

The blonde didn't really hear the other's calls, but he saw Michelle look over at him, making him look down and meet the golden hues before seeing them go wide, turning his head away again. Ah.. "I guess we're here.." He mumbled to himself as he stirred the ship to dock, his own eyes meeting the high walls of their main island. Well..he had thought of visiting here first before Nordlys, but he thought home was more important at that time.

When the ship had finally stopped, Lukas briskly walked down to push the ramp again, hearing a loud thud of wood to wood before cuing the two to start climbing down. He thought that there were formal wear in their castle like building, but somehow he was a bit unsure. But still..they would find a way.

Michelle

"Wow, this is a very... big place." Still, they weren't even within the premises of the vikings' homes, but the land was quite large. She turned to Emil with a smile before waddling after Lukas down the ship's ramp. 'I wonder what we are doing in this place? Is this the place of the ball?' But she was sure she couldn't hear any sort of music or merriment around. Maybe it was withing those walls? Or one of the establishments? But perhaps it isn't the venue, either. "Where are we?" She asked yet again, holding on to her satchel. Her golden hues looked up at Lukas, and then to Emil. ".... And do I get new clothes, too?"

When their ship arrived to shore, Emil recognized this place with a bit of familiarity. Sometimes he would come here with whatever trading vessel he was with for the week as their navigator, but nethertheless the place still had an impressive aura.

When Michelle smiled at Emil he nodded once awkwardly in response. A faint redness blossomed on the tips of his ears as he recalled how non-chalently she had stated her state of dress. Or therefore lack of. He supposed clothing wouldn't have been such a deal to her considering she spent most of her life in the ocean without it, but being quite modest with even himself, Emil couldn't fathom what it would be like to not be embarrassed without clothing.

" A-ah yes, I'm sure this place has proper attire," He stuttered slightly while he tried to gain his composure.

Michelle

She smiled a gleeful grin at the younger Nordic, though failing to notice his blush and his slight nervousness. "Alright, that's really good news for me, then!" Yes, once she has the clothes, she can freely enter the ball and blend in with the people, and fill her empty stomach... Oh, and this is such a nice chance to observe what the humans do! "Emil, Emil," Michelle said again, slowing down her pace so she could walk beside the silver-haired boy. "What do you do in these royal gatherings? I assume there would be socializing, music and eating, but what else?" The ocean kingdom held grand balls every time a member of the royal family of Neptune would celebrate, and that's all they do. Socialize, bask in the music, eat crustaceans and sea weed and maybe some rare human food and listen to the royal family's speech. Would it be similar here on this human land?

Emil brushed some of his hair out of his face, it getting a bit long, as he listened to Seychelles question and thought for a moment. " I'm not exactly sure, I've never been to any sort of celebration or gathering." He admitted. Socializing wasn't one of his strong points. " But from what I've heard their are drinks, food, music, dancing, and other sorts of entertainment. " His eyebroes furrowed in thought for a moment. " Can mermaid's dance?" He asked looking at Michelle.

Michelle

In response, the brunette blinked a number of times, golden hues blankly staring at his violet pair. "What is dancing?" Michelle finally asked. "Does it have to do with using legs...?" If yes, then she might have a problem with that. She's barely a day old as a human being! It took all day for her to walk on her own properly. The worry was obvious on her face as she turned away and looked ahead instead, a wistful sigh escaping her lips. As much as she'd want to ask help from the brothers, she fears that she might be asking too much now...

" Dancing does involve moving your legs," Emil confirmed and watched her turn away. An awkward moment filled the area and Emil bit his lip in an attempt to lessen the tension. With a small sigh he walked up to Michelle and looked away. "I would be fine teaching you. But I'm not great at it." He had been taught how to dance by one of the trading vessels he had been on. They were a lively bunch. Violet eyes found a stone extremely interesting. " That is if you want.. I'm sure someone else would be fine teaching you instead."

Michelle

Again, since it was a first that Michelle encountered someone like Emil, she did not detect easily his discomfort. "Really?" She squealed, tugging on his arm and her eyes almost sparkling out of eagerness. "Of course I'd want to learn! You and Lukas can teach me, that is, if your older brother isn't too busy later on," The belle looked ahead at the older Nordic, and then turned to Emil once more. "Whether you are good at it or not, at least you are better than a toddler like me." A small giggle left her lips with her last reply. Well, she is aware that she's some sort of baby human trapped inside the body of a nineteen year old female. "Ahhh, thank you so much, Emil! This should be fun! But what is dancing, exactly?"

It startled Emil when Michelle tugged at his sleeve and he glanced at her his eyes slightly widened being the only thing showing his slight discomfort. He struggled to think of what to say before settling on, " Well, I suppose that's true, but you will probably catch on quickly. I mean.." Violet eyes darted back and forth between Lukas and Michelle. " ..I mean. It's only been a day, maybe, and you can almost run." His voice trailed off and he let his hair fall away concealing his embarrassment.

Michelle

"That means a lot," The brunette bowed gratefully at the boy. "I'm happy that you and Lukas acknowledge that!" Truly, being recognized positively-- well, even just recognized itself-- and commended for something, were rare to happen to the mermaid. Now, she's more psyched up to learn about this dancing business. "But you haven't answered my question! What's dancing, and why does it happen on royal gatherings?"

"Well." Emil answered, " Dancing is a kind of special walking where you move to the beats of music. Usually singing or instruments.Some dances you use mainly your feet. But lots of them you use your arms and legs. Depending on the dance, you can dance with a partner." He paused and thought carefully, "It would be easier to show you then explain. You'll see lots of people dancing at the ball."

Emil wondered if he explained it well enough for her to understand and hoped he hadn't only confused her further.

" People dance at any kind of ceremony or gathering because its a custom, a tradition of sorts." He added looking at Michelle to see if she understood.

Michelle

"Oh, oh..." Michelle nodded, carefully listening to what the other was explaining. It seemed fun, actually! So there are other things after all to express yourself musically aside from playing instruments, creating new tunes and singing... This dancing business was quite exciting, but, "...It sounds sort of hard." Just the mere fact that she has to use both her arms and legs to execute it worried her.

Then again, "But you'll help me, right?" A brilliant smile lit up her face again. "It seems difficult to use my legs in the aspect, but it seems fun as well! I would still love to try it. Will you be my practice partner? Oh, and maybe my partner at the ball too, if not Lukas!"

Lukas

He hadn't really paid any attention to the two who were talking behind him, but he caught a few things, mostly the basic ones. Dancing, music, food. He didn't think much of it since he most definitely will not dance nor will he sing. So he thought Emil would take care of Michelle for the whole duration of the Ball. Honestly he didn't want to go. These kinds of social gatherings didn't really appeal to the blonde, but he was sure their Earl would want to go..

Lukas sighed and finally they'd gotten into the massive walls that surrounded their area and we're now headed to their castle like main building. They could see it from where they were walking at and it was already fairly close.

Trym had finished his food a while ago, and was currently sleeping, still with his feet on the table, because this man has no manners. But honestly, vikings weren't known for being polite and friendly, they were known for having amazing ships and violently attacking and/or murdering people, so did it really matter? And even if it did matter, no one would tell him to get his feet the fuck off the table. The perks of being in charge, yo.

When he was going to wake up, he would probably let a few bad words slip out, because he hadn't exactly planned to have a nap, it just kinda happened. And now he would probably be late for the ball. But for now, he was in deep sleep, so he'd cross that bridge when he got to it.

Lukas

The three had soon arrived to the somewhat large castle-building, making their way in quietly since their movements seemed to echo throughout the building. Their steps clacked as Lukas let them to a room where he'd recided before when he was sent here for a few days before starting their long journey. He was sure that there were different kinds of clothes in the somewhat large closet doors that were in the room. Since it wasn't only his room, and it was also a room to many others befor who had lived in this castle.

"I think the Earl is home." Lukas thought aloud as he looked back at the two who seemed to still be chatting with each other. Said Earl was probably in the dining room again, but Lukas knew that their steps still somewhat echoed to the place, and could be heard by the people who had a keen sense of hearing.

Michelle

Their chat was soon cut when they arrived at a large house-- it wasn't nearly as majestic as she'd expected. Was this supposed to be a castle of some sort? The large walls' premises comprised a number of vast houses, and they entered the largest one there was. They walked past a few open rooms until they settled in a particular space, where there were... doors? When Lukas cracked open one of them, there seemed to be a number of fabrics. The doors were somehow a passage to this container. A closet, maybe?

"Earl?" She repeated after Lukas. "What is an earl? And this is its home...?"

Lukas

Taking out some clothes and inspecting them, Lukas walked over to the bread and sprawled some dresses over it, hoping for Michelle to pick on on her own as he then started to rummage again to pick out one for himself, instructing Emil to look one for his and pointing at another closet that was a few closet doors away from his.

Lukas hoped this Ball was actually worth it. He had hoped to spend time with his brother and stay on Nordlys island for a while, but since the people from the Capitol seemed to actually invite them over, he thought that they didn't really have a choice but just go.

Michelle

She frowned. "Why are you ignoring my questions?" The brunette said, question directed at Lukas since he was the one who led them all the way here. Arms folded, she tailed after the older Nordic like a little spoiled kid demanding something from his elders. "What is an earl, and where are-- Oooooh!"

This sudden shift from grumpiness to giddiness was caused by Lukas laying out a number of lovely and elegant dresses on the bunkers. "Clothes! Clothes for me?" She looked up at him with hopeful, golden eyes. They seemed so pretty! One, in particular, caught her eye. The belle picked up a simple, long and flowing dress in a beautiful shade of dark blue and pressed it against her body. For obvious reasons, she picked it because of the color. The upper part of the dress had modest swirls for design and the hem of the sleeves trailed as long as the skirt, hugging her arms until her wrists were the fabric fell loose and emphasizing elegance and smoothness. Michelle giggled as she eyed the dress again, and took along with it a cloak of fur possessing streaks of white, gray and black. "I... can wear these?"

Trym

Finally, the earl woke up. He rubbed his eyes and blinked a couple of times looking around the room, he felt pretty disoriented. What time was it? The light outside suggested that he'd been asleep for a couple of hours, probably not more than three, but three hours was a pretty long time when he had things to do. Suddenly, he noticed the footsteps. Who was this? Maybe it was Solveig, one of the maids.

"Solveig? S'that you?" He called out, before getting up and heading towards the footsteps. "What time's it? Do you know if Luke's been here? Did he leave? Did the ship leave? I swear if the ship left without anyone bothering to wake me up, holy shit, I will stab someone- Not you, of course, I like you, you're a good worke- OH! Hi Lukaaas!" He exclaimed, when he entered the room and saw who it was. That was way better than it being Solveig, because even though the maid was pretty awesome, he liked Lukas a lot better. And then he noticed the girl, and his face lit up even more. "Ah! You brought a friend! How nice!! Nice to meet ya!"

Lukas

The blonde glanced over his shoulder and onto the bed that held the dresses when he heard the girl speak, excitement in her voice as she did so, and immediately, Lukas knew that she was able to pick a dress. "Yes. You can wear that." he said with a nod and a small smile before hearing the rather familiar voice that called out through the halls. It didnt seem like he needed to go on details about the Earl to Michelle, she can just meet him right now.

Right on Lukas' countdown the tall and loud blonde walked into the room with his usual grin. Lukas let out a small sigh, "Hello, Trym." he greeted as he closed the big closet doors, clothes with the color of navy blue already at hand as he faced the Earl. "Yes, her name is Michelle. She's a friend of mine." the blonde said with his monotone voice, careful to not reveal Michelle's secret this time. Then he pointed to Emil, "And this is Emil. He's my brother." he said. The descriptions will have to suffice for now since they were somewhat in a hurry. But someone didn't seem to be.

Trym

"Nice to meet ya Michelle!!" Trym said with a friendly smile. " 's that your dress? It'll look good on you, I think!"He nodded enthusiastically and gave her thumbs up. "What're you-" He began, as he turned to face Lukas, before pausing with a confused look on his face. "Brother? I didn't even know you had a brother!? Whoa have you ever mentioned him before? Shit, man, I need to pay attention more!!" He extended his hand to the guy who was apparently Lukas brother. It was always nice to greet someone properly.Especially when they were a relative of your best friend.

"'s so nice to meet you! I'm Trym and I'm your brothers beeeest friend ever!" Technically, Trym had no proof to back up this claim, other than the fact that he liked to hang out with Lukas. And technically Lukas had to be around him, because it was his job, but whatever. Trym would still continue to insist that they were best friends, despite any evidence that suggested otherwise. Friends were nice, so there was nothing wrong with that, right?

Lukas

He rolled his eyes at his self proclaimed 'best friend' as he walked over to the door to hopefully find someone to help Michelle get dressed. He was happy that Trym seemed to be socializing with his brother, although he wasn't sure if Emil like people who was as loud as this fellow over there. He let out a small sigh, calling up a maid to help with Michelle.

"I've mentioned him to you, but you were too busy babbling about some things afterwards." Lukas replied as he walked back it to wait for the maids. He honestly remembered a time where he'd told Trym about his brother in one of the voyages, but as said, the Earl didn't seem to want to listen at that time. "So, yes, you should pay more attention." not that Lukas expected him to do so after this.

Trym

Obviously, Lukas' brother would like him, because everyone liked Trym, because Trym was awesome. At least that's what Trym thought.

"Really? Aww, that sucks... I'm the worst best friend ever, I have to make it up to you!!" Trym actually seemed genuinely distressed about this, because he actually did care a lot about other people than himself, despite what some people seemed to believe. And because he believed Lukas and himself to be best friends, and you couldn't just not listen to your best friend like that. "I promise I'll pay more attention! I'm sorryyyyyyyyy!"