riverviewlogs | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

who: Gyda and you
what: Catch all for June (with mingle prompts included)
when: June 1st-9th
where: various locations
warnings: TBD

bike shop: (OTA)
Since before her blindness, Gyda had been setting on the idea of learning how and owning a bicycle. She had seen them since her arrival, wondered how it was possible for them to stay up and not constantly fall over while riding. There was no way she could learn any of this while blind, but now she had her vision back and the need to see how it worked overcame just how anxious she felt.

.She entered the first bike shop she came across, looking to see what was on sale-atleast, that was her intention. Soon as she took a few steps, Gyda found herself wondered if this was even a good idea-just how in the name of Thor was she supposed to decide on which was a good selection?

Various side walks and bike paths: (OTA)
Learning to ride took longer then she first imagined. Five days of learning not to worry about moving, and then remembering that the way to keep up was to also keep riding. Her one bit of foresight did have her wearing trousers under her skirts, otherwise her legs would've been covered in scrapes.

She was more confident now and able to travel without falling or breaking too much. She had ridden horses before, but never something like this; a few more days and she could travel as fast as she'd be able to go. The streets outside of town were the best, because there were less people, but she did enjoy traveling around the streets as well.

Street parties: OTA
It wasn't in Gyda's nature to avoid parties or celebrations-at least not ones that she was allowed to attend. Seeing all of the booths and costumes had yet to wear off for her, but any sort of joy she felt was hampered for missing her family; she could imagine her father fully reveling in the celebrations, and Athelstan being funny and awkard however much he tried to enjoy himself.

She tried to get into the spirit of the festival, wearing a dress that reminded her of the beach. Someone informed her they gave free food and drink to those in colorful clothing, and she certainly wasn't against free items.

ooc: Will match format if action spam is preferred. If you wish for a different starter or private starter, send an PM to this journal or a Private plurk at

Rschwartz501

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Stan had decided to go to the bike shop to see if there were any accessories that he could add to his bike. His bike at home had been pretty simple but here there were options and well he rather liked his bike and all so it seemed a decent investment to make.

He saw Gyda and smiles briefly before waving at her after she came in and went to greet her.

"Hey."

The sight and smell of the bike parts and wheels were overwhelming, and she found herself wondering how anyone could make sense. Where some parts better or worse than others; and she still couldn't understand how anyone could sit one one of these and not constantly fall over.

These thoughts were so strong in her head, that she didn't entirely notice Stan until he was within her line of sight. She smiled at him and waved back. "Hi."

Her interaction with him had been scarce since her affliction, and then when father left, she hadn't really felt like meeting with anyone. Even so, it was nice to literally see him again. "How've you been?"

Stan hadn't really been talking to anyone for a little over a month. He hadn't wanted to deal with everything that was happening and all the things it was bringing up for him and so he had hidden inside the communal housing. He'd been homesick and all he really wanted was to see the Losers again.

But, they weren't here. And Gyda is a good friend. He should have been more proactive, but he's not good at that sort of thing. Maybe he's not a good friend.

"I've been fine. Have you? Are you getting a bike?"

She attempted a smile: between her father, Athelstan and then Galadriel, she was getting rather tired of people leaving. Keeping connected with people still remaining almost seemed a chore, even as she was glad to have any friends.

"I mean to." She answered. "But I don't know where to start, or what to look for." The last part was said with a slight look over her shoulder, taking in the various sized metal frames as well as wheels.

Stan looks around at the bikes. There's definitely a lot more options than back home but he knows in general what to look for. He waves her over and takes her to the frames that would be good for her height and are for girls and all.

"These are probably your best choices, but also where are you wanting to ride?"

She followed him towards the more brightly colored bikes, still unsure of herself. The bikes here weren't nearly as tall as some of the others, but the thought of balancing on them still made her hesitate.

"On the streets?" There were variations of wheels, she'd noticed that, but she didn't know why the variation made a difference. "And also the dirt paths?"

Just because she didn't live on the homestead didn't mean she stayed away. Painful as it was, she still enjoyed being in the area.

Stan gives a slight nod and he studies the bikes. He picks out a couple that would work for what she intended the best.

"These would probably suit you best. Do you know how to ride a bike?"

"No." Did a person have to know how to ride before owning one? That seemed to defeat the purpose to buying one in the first place. "Never really considered it till now, and.." She gave him a slight smile. "Didn't really have the chance to learn back in Norway."

For the good reason that bikes hadn't been invented then, but she didn't feel she had to tell that reason out loud. Likely he would already know that was the reason.

Stan smiles a little at that and he lifts a shoulder. "They have training wheels that can help you balance if you want them. It's kind of hard at first but once you learn you'll never forget."

The thought of training wheels made her frown, but if she could work with a training sword, she supposed it made sense. "That doesn't help with finding a bike in the first place. Either they look too large or too small."

Even she could point the bikes made for children younger than herself.

Stan doesn’t think that there’s anything wrong with training wheels. It’s better to avoid injury whenever you can. Then again he knows Vikings are kind of weird about such things.

Stan appraises Gydas height again and then nods toward a couple of the bikes that would be comfortable for her.

“these are your best bets.”

It’s kind of hard to shop for a bike when you don’t know how to ride and can’t really test fully.

“Why don’t you get on one and see how it feels. I can hold it steady for you.”

She looks at the ones on display where he directed her. The so-called training wheels looked flimsy, and she wasn't sure how they really expected to help-but it was better than no training.

Trying to find one about her height was easier now that she knew what to look for. Gyda had seen others ride them of course, and seeing Stan with his, she atleast had an idea of how to get onto one.

It still took a moment, especially trying to adjust her skirts. She had to stand a bit to make sure they didn't ride up, before taking a seat. Her feet did reach to the bottom, but it took her a moment to actually set herself on the peddles. "I..I think this feels alright?"

Stan smiles and he nods once she got settled and tilts his head as if he's making sure that it would. "You want to be careful your clothes don't get twisted up in the bike chain or anything."

It's not something he's ever had to worry about himself.

She stood up on the peddles of the bike, like she had seen others do when riding them. Thus far, keeping balance was her main concern, and along with what he said, she could imagine another reason why wearing pants under her skirts might be an idea.

"It's a shame they don't let you take these for a ride before riding one." The costs-while not great-were also nothing to laugh at. Buying one, only to realize it wasn't the right fit seemed a sad waste of money.

"They usually will -- at least they do at home. You could ask.." Stan said with a small smile.

She nodded. "I just might do that." Better to ask then wonder, and having some practice would make buying one easier. "If they agree, could you ride with me? I'll wait till you get your own bike."

“Yeah, of course,” Stan nods seriously. He’d probably make sure she had balancing on the bike down first like his dad had done when he was little and learning to ride though. But he didn’t say as much.

Alex herself was dressed brightly, in red, and she was wearing a rather large grin on her face. After spending so much time alone, she was glad to be out of the house and back among people. So, she'd been making rounds of the street parties, gathering up free food, and basically paying for things that she found interesting or that happened to be familiar. Currently, she was balancing one of those familiar things, something that seemed to be very much like fried oreos, even if the cookie tended to bear a different name than what it would have been back home. Still, there's two forks stuck in the tip of all that delightful dough and powder sugar mix, and Gyda just happens to be the next person that Alex saw.

Her voice is warm and excited as she offers the container to the girl. "Here. You've got to try these! They're so good."

Gyda found herself keeping to the edge of the crowd. More than once she found herself looking for her father, then quickly checking to remind herself he was no longer there. She tried to remind herself that her father wouldn't want her to be unhappy, especially here. Her family wouldn't want her to be unhappy during any festival-they'd want her to be able to enjoy herself.

She was eyeing one of the carts when she saw Alex (and remembered her name) come up to her with one of the paper containers everyone seemed to use. The food inside is only recognizable in that it was fried dough with sugar. She accepted one of the forks and stabbed it into the dough that turned to be harder in the center than implied.

"They fry cookies?" Of course, they seemed to fry everything here. Taking a bite of one did cause her to smile, just for how sweet it was. "These are good."

Now she also needed something to drink.

Alex nodded quickly with a grin before she speared one of the cookies with the plastic fork easily, and then took a bite of it, balancing the rest of the monstrosity on it. "Back home at pubs, they're like taverns, they tend to fry basically anything you can imagine. Pickles, eggs, candy bars..." Taking another bite of her cookie, finishing it off, Alex chewed thoroughly as she considered. Once she swallowed, Alex added, "they even fry coffee, but that's a bridge too far, even for me."

Following the words with a smile, she handed Gyda the cardboard for a moment, before she shifted her bag so that it was easier to dig through. Doing it one handed was one thing, but doing it with one hand and attempting to balance the powdered sugar mess that was her order of cookies was another.

After a few seconds, Alex pulled out her PNWS water bottle which was full, and there was still ice floating in it. Offering it to the girl and taking back the cardboard she asked: "need a drink?"

"Pickles and eggs I could understand." They didn't really do 'deep frying' back home, as the fat used would be seen as wasteful, but she could understand pan cooking things. "How do you fry liquid?"

Perhaps they froze it first, but that would still cause the liquid to melt once it was in the fat.

She nodded at the offer and accepted the water bottle, but not before looking at the letters. "What do these stand for?"

"They turn it into a solid somehow I think. They use these weird chemical things to make it hard. I don't know, I only tried it once and it was pretty terrible." Alex had also tried fried booze and honestly it wasn't much better than that weird coffee thing.

But she focused on the question, and smiled a bit when she looked down at the stickers that she'd put on her water bottle. As she said each letter and what it meant, Alex found herself tracing them with her finger tip. "Pacific Northwest Stories." It's where I work back home. It's sort of a radio station, but they mostly do it on demand in the form of podcasts now. It's where my show was."

A show that seems quite far away now actually, given everything that had been going on lately. And of course Richard being here with her meant he didn't need to decide: Brazil or Geneva.

Gyda had taken some lessons in the sciences, so she had a rough idea on what 'chemicals' were and what they could do. "You mean like dry ice?"

That was the only thing she could think of that would freeze something that hard and allow it to be fried.

"That's where you tell your stories and shows from," She remembered their conversation that they had the first time. "I know of podcasts now, but it's strange think that people could get news and information off devices like this. It would make waiting back home a relief to know what's going on when the warriors and shieldmaidens are away."

"I think so. Or sometimes they use other things to turn it into a solid, there's a whole gastropub thing that really loves doing weird stuff like that back home. But dry ice is definitely cooler because it makes things smoke when you eat them sometimes." Not that Alex has done the thing where you go and eat something like dragon's breath with Nic or anything. At least not more than like five or six times in the last two months before she showed up here.

"Yeah, it is! We do a lot of different sorts of shows there actually on a lot of different subjects. Mine's just one of them. But yeah, I can bet it would be. I mean, I know I'm really lucky that I've got the internet at my fingers back home, and I can normally get any information or in touch with anyone I need to relatively quickly, between it and email."

She nearly asked why someone would bother do to that, but then these people didn't need to worry about storing food-and who wouldn't show off with smoke if they could.

"How do you know which is the true story and which is false?" People exaggerated and lied about stories all the time. Even she knew that it was possible to do the same on computers; perhaps even more so because no one had to face the people they were lying to.

The question made Alex smile, and she just considered for a moment before she answered it in the best way that she knew how: "Well, there's a lot of research involved first of all. We have to try and verify everything that a source tells us. Normally we try to get more than one of them if we can. Sometimes it's not possible." After all, there's only so many people who have expertise in Sacred Geometry and the like that they can reach out to.

"But more often than not, I tend to know I'm on the right track by a feeling in my gut. It's something that just sort of happens when you've been doing what I have for as long as I have been. It very rarely steers me wrong. Most of the time anyway." She can't deny that she's had her moments where it did, but when it comes down to it, Alex Reagan is going to trust her gut. It's led her some bad places, but even the bad places tend to work out alright in the end in one way or another.

With festival time beginning to descend, the streets were becoming more crowded, and a bit more difficult to travel for people on foot and on bicycle both. Breq had taken to trying to make her way around the city at odd hours to dodge the worst of the developing foot traffic, but she'd found that sometimes that wasn't always possible, especially with the time she needs to set out for the forest beyond the city walls. Today, she's coming back from the Perimeter Guard's facilities, a bag cast over her shoulder.

Breq was in no particular hurry, but others in the crowd clearly are-- there was someone shouldering through the crowd at a breakneck pace, who nearly elbowed Breq in the head as he dodged past her and out into the street proper. She shook her head as she looked after him, ready to move on, until she saw the path he was taking.

"Watch out!" She shouted, even as his path had him charging past a young child on a bicycle, nearly sideswiping her before dashing off without even an apology.

Riding along the the streets usually made her more nervous than not. Having to pay attention to the other people around her, while still being sure of where she was going. Learning to peddle and balance was easier than she thought, once she got the hang of it, but she was still wary of having to constantly slow, break or ride.

Doing so, she wasn't aware of anyone behind her until she heard the warning, and Gyda only had a split second to look over her shoulder before the man ran past her, causing her to wobble. She tried to move out of the way, but it was too fast-too jerky, and she cried out as she suddenly found herself crashing on the pavement.

She's not close enough to grab the girl or the bike before they both tip over, even with her quick reflexes. Instead, Breq steps forward into the path of the walkway, forcing the foot and other bicycle traffic to divert around her rather than stumbling into or over Gyda.

Once that's accomplished, she crouches down, extending a hand toward the child and tilting her head. "Are you hurt?" she asks, already looking for signs of injuries or blood.

In her training with Ivar, she had fallen and tripped many times, but she had swerved and pulled the breaks so hard that she only had enough time to twist and land on her back. The fall knocked the wind from her and she said a silent prayer to Freya that she had the good sense to wear a helmet. She wasn't sure people who died in bike accidents were considered able to enter into Valhalla.

For a moment, she couldn't move, shock leaving her paralyzed. She was aware of the person offering her hand, but it took a second and a matter of will for her to reach up and accept it. "I'm.." She felt her breath catch up to her. "I'm alright."

Her right arm and elbow stung, and a twist to look saw why. A bright red scrap covered her elbow, while several inches of her upper arm was bright pink with spots of blood. Nothing like a serious battle injury of course, and this wasn't the first time she'd been scraped up from falls, but this was the first nearly bad fall she's had while riding.

"If you might indulge me in a quick check anyway," Breq said. She glanced over the child, the scrapes beading along her forearm and elbow. Nothing Breq had a corrective for, unfortunately, but that kind of scrape should keep until the child got wherever she was going. There was no sign of odd angles to her elbow or rapid bruising, either, but Breq still kept her attention on it as the child accepted her hand up. "Wiggle your fingers?"

She took the fallen bicycle, beginning to prop it up so Gyda could sort herself out. "Where were you on your way to?" she asked, looking down the length of the street.

The woman reminded her of the healers at the clinic with her questions. Much as she knew at the times they were just doing their job, to be asked, but not there made her recall her attack, and she breathed a short huff as she wiggled her fingers. "Happy?"

Her arm stung and would need to be cleaned and bandaged up, but she could move her fingers and her arm, so that was the worst of it. "No where. I was just riding."

"I am," Breq said with a nod, still leaning the bicycle against her hip as she looked over the motions. It certainly didn't look like anything was hurting the child more than the scrapes would already bother her. Not bad, for a sudden fall like that. She stepped back to give Gyda some space. "Those scrapes ought to receive first aid." She gestures to one in particular, a corner store. "If you like, I can take care of the bicycle-- or retrieve them for you."

She looked at the bike, taking hold of it inspite of the pain in her arm. Loud and bad as the crash may have looked, nothing looked dinged up or bent, which was another relief as it meant not having to get it repaired.

"I can get the bandages myself, thank you." The person was only trying to help, so she tried not to sound as snappy as she felt. "But, you could help me clean my arm."

Doing so by herself would be tricky, and facing Ivar with such an arm (nevermind that it wasn't broken or anything more serious than bad scrapes) wouldn't be fun to deal with.

"I would gladly help," Breq agreed, before sparing another quick and evaluating look for the nearby buildings, spotting an open one. "Here, they should have running water," she notes, selecting a particular restaurant that didn't look particularly overwhelmed with customers. "You should be able to leave the bicycle out front."

Jack wasn't entirely certain what made him step into the bike shop. Willa was gone, so it wasn't as though he had a reason to go looking. He didn't want a bike himself. The last time he was in here had been for Willa, and that had been some time ago. Still, he stepped into the shop and ran the backs of his fingers along the tires of a few models hanging from the walls near the door. They spun slowly, one of them a little bit creaky.

His eyes took a few moments to adjust from the bright sunshine of the afternoon to the more muted lights of the shop's interior, and because of that he almost tripped over a small girl looking at the sale section. Near collision, and he barely caught himself and managed to side-step her quickly. "I'm sorry about that. I didn't see you there."

Usually, Gyda prided herself on being calm, and she could never call herself violent, even back home. There was certainly no reason for her to feel threatened either, but the shop was so overwhelming, that perhaps she was already on alert. Recent events and her recovering her sight probably also didn't help matters.

Such was why, when the man nearly bumped into her, her hand went to the knife at her side. She just stopped herself when she felt her hand on the hilt. "I'm sorry too."

Edited 2018-07-08 20:23 (UTC)

Small girl whose first instinct is to go for a knife. Good to know. Jack takes a deliberate half step back. Not afraid of her, as the unwavering smile hopefully makes clear. Just giving her her space. Young children so rarely slant toward violence as a first reaction without good reason. If she's been hurt, if someone of his size would make her uncomfortable, then he needs to be out of her personal space. The idea that she could just be from a particularly violent planet or point in history isn't lost on him, it's just not the first thing that springs to mind.

Plus, if that is the case, no harm at all in making sure she doesn't feel crowded.

"Are you shopping for a bike, or do you already have one?" Apart from selling new (and not so new) bicycles, the shop also has accessories and a section dedicated to repairs and modifications. She might just be wandering around while she waits.

The man looked charming, but the smile didn't entirely get her to relax; Floki and some of the other warriors smiled even in battle, that was no indication of intentions. She didn't really mean to attack him, but she still felt a little better when he pulled away.

"I'm shopping for one." She answered. There were many accessories and parts for bikes, she could see that. It also meant she was even more confused where to to start from.

Jack didn't take it personally, depending on the world and time a person came from, someone who looked like him looming over them, that could be pretty damn intimidating. He had no frame of reference for her specifically but he did know that the last thing he wanted to do was frighten a child, however mildly and unintentionally. So, after a moment, he crouched down a little to out himself closer to her eye level.

"Do you want me to take something down for you?" He nodded his head at the line of bikes on brackets on the wall. He didn't work in the shop, but he'd seen people shopping, helping themselves, testing out the seats and the feel of the bikes while inside the shop. The employees all seemed to be busy, and he doubted anyone would mind him giving her a hand. It wasn't as though she'd be able to reach any of it on her own.

Edited 2018-07-31 04:57 (UTC)

Continued from this thread

"He did," At first she wondered why he would agree to fight with the Norsemen. Athelstan fought with them after having lived for several years-she knew very well this wasn't the case for the Bishop. Then again, she did-and didn't wish to-recall who they were fighting against. "He spoke of why you agreed, and..and who you were fighting against."

Her mother. No matter which side one in that battle, she would never be happy with the result. Gyda only hoped that whoever was killed could go swiftly into Valhala.

"Lagertha is my mother." She said, just keeping her voice steady. "I made him swear that if she were to arrive through the door, that he would hold his revenge until they got back home-even if he could only do that by avoiding her. I told him that if his mother were to arrive here, I would be civil with her if it came to it."

What happened between them all was wrong, she couldn't deny that, and it made her sick to admit it. Yet, in this strange place, where people could come and go in such random times, they couldn't afford to infight. Even if none of them got along, Gyda hoped that they could atleast keep civil.

Edited 2018-07-10 02:31 (UTC)

Heahmund had not yet met Lagertha (which is probably for the better in this case) but he had seen the venom which Ivar feels for the woman. It had made him vaguely curious about her but it is merely passing thoughts in all honesty.

"I see," Heahmund says and then tilts his head. "Do you think he is actually trustworthy to keep his word, though?"

Heahmund isn't particularly apt to trusting Ivar very much, their truce is tenuous at best.

He wouldn't have been wrong to inquire. Gyda knew her brother to be tricky and twisting words and half truths wouldn't be below him. "He will keep his word, for my sake if nothing else. He hates my mother, but we share the same father and that makes us family, and in this place, when people can disappear so suddenly, family is important."

For Ivar's sake, she refrained from telling him that her brother felt he owed her a debt. Even after her vision was restored, he felt guilty about it-and took it out in their training together. Besides, Headmund had no reason to know this anyway. Neither did he have to know that she was one of the few members of their family he didn't hold a grudge against.

Heahmund still doesn’t find that there is much cause to think that Ivar wouldn’t turn on his half sister for one reason or another... after all, wasn’t Ivar at war with two of his brothers?

“perhaps,” heahmund says, although, he can’t relate to family being important at all.

She may have not had the same experiences as Ivar or her father, but Gyda was observant enough to read a person's expression, and what they weren't saying. She also knew her brother and perhaps Headmond knew him well enough as well. "I am also the only in the family not to put him down for being a cripple."

Even less so since she lost her sight. Indeed, just having an idea for how he's had to adapt has given her an amount of respect for him-more so infact. "We had a priest...a brother..living with us for some time. Father brought him over from the place called Lindisfarn. His name was Athelstan, and sometimes, if he was able to, he taught me your letters, as well as how to spell some words. We used ash from the firepit or even flour if I was baking."

There was some pride in that, in being the only person in her family to be able to read. His lessons also allowed her some leverage with her tutors, so she wasn't a complete dunce either.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

(no subject)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Street parties.

Re: Street parties.

Re: Street parties.

Re: Street parties.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

bike shop

Re: bike shop

no subject

no subject

no subject

Closed to Headmond

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject