Outside, late morning

[bigarmy_strangepants]

Today, a very, very drunken Viking is roaring around the lake on a bright red motorbike of aggressive angles and sleek curves. He mostly follows the path, but he also jumps over rocks and cheerfully skids in the mud.

In the morning, waking up still drunk from all the rum and vodka and whiskey of the night before, Ragnar felt the need to do something fun to forget how horrid everything is, just for the moment; and apparently, all the alcohol had given him access to some part of his lizard brain that remembers motorbikes, and how to ride them, from his other self. He had wandered down to the garage and happened on Jay's workshop, and immediately fell in love with the two red Ducati Paningale; and as there seem to be enough of them, it's probably not so bad if he borrows one?

So, now he is racing around the lake, his long braid flapping behind him, recklessly making his way up towards the mountains, and back towards the bar, rinse, repeat.

Of course, that only works for so long. In the end, Ragnar hits a rather big rock all wrong, and flies right into the lake together with the bike, making a big splash.

After a bit, a wet Viking comes swimming to the shore, largely unscathed; but the poor Duc is drowned and lost. Ragnar wades out to the shore and then wanders towards the bar to dry up and replenish the alcohol in his bloodstream.


[[OOC: Incident was arranged with Jay-mun -- and you can catch Ragnar while still riding around the lake, or after he comes out dripping wet.]]

Comments

[sunbaked_baker]

Odd. Rae doesn't often hear engines at Milliways. The sound makes her pause in her training out in the woods, distracted for a moment from her fight against the animate figures of earth and stone. But her pause is only for a moment, before she is forced to dodge the next attack or get hit in the chest by a large fist of rock. She doesn't have much attention left over for idle curiosity.

The sound sometime later of the impact and the resulting splash, however, makes her dismiss the animate figures completely and hurry for the lake, herself. It's no longer idle curiosity, now. Someone might be hurt.

"Ragnar!" the sweaty and somewhat muddied baker calls out as she reaches the shore and sees who is wading out from the water. She's a little out of breath. "Are you all right?"

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"Nothing is broken," Ragnar says, rotating his arms. "But I drowned the bike."

[sunbaked_baker]

"I'll say you did," Rae says, eyeing the surface of the lake, which shows no sign of the lost bike.

Bike?

"...When did you get a bike?" she asks. Rae might vaguely remember a week of being the simultaneously more fortunate and less fortunate Raven Blaise, and who she met that week, but this isn't some other Ragnar.

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"The garage," Ragnar says. "It's red."

He rather smells of alcohol.

[sunbaked_baker]

Oh dear.

"Was," Rae murmurs, faintly wry.

"You should get inside and dry off," she says. And dry out, she doesn't add. "And get something hot to eat. It's chilly out here, and you smell like you've been soaking in something flammable rather than in water."

She may be sweaty and filthy, but he is sopping wet and smells like a sea raider from an entirely different part of the world than he's from. And Rae knows all that stuff about drinking alcohol to stay warm is absolute bunk - drinking alcohol in the cold actually makes it more difficult to keep your core body temperature where it should be.

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"I had some wine," Ragnar says. "And then I tried rum, and vodka, and whiskey which was good, and rosy wine with an English dish-washer."

He grabs his braid and tries to wring it out.

"And it's still red. Just ask the fish."

[sunbaked_baker]

"I haven't found out if Milliways' translation magic includes fish-ese," Rae says, wryly.

"You had all that? Dare I ask the occasion?"

It doesn't sound like a good occasion.

[bigarmy_strangepants]

Ragnar visibly deflates as he remembers the occasion.

"I came to find Sinric and Athelstan both gone, and a letter from each sounding hopeless and unhappy. Athelstan says he's not going to come back before I come to him in our world."

Pause.

"I think I need more rum."

[sunbaked_baker]

Sunshine winces in sympathy.

"I'm sorry. The situation you three are in is a hard one, and I don't know what could make it better except simply getting through it."

More rum may actually be needed - even a temporary answer is something.

"Will you come inside? I'll fetch you towels so you don't catch cold, and something to eat and drink while you dry off."

[runningred]

Jay's just coming out for a run when he hears the sound of an engine.

One of his engines. And yes, he can tell.

He runs towards the sound just in time to see his Duc and an unfamiliar figure go into the water.

He drops his stuff, ready to dive in after Ragnar but pulls up short when he sees Ragnar surface and start to swim out.

Pissed off mercenary ex-superhero waiting on the beach.

[bigarmy_strangepants]

Ragnar comes trudging up to the beach, dripping wet and still smelling of alcohol.

"Hello?" he says to the stranger, who seems to be angry about something. "Did I accidentally mess up your art as well?"

[runningred]

"There are people who would call Ducati Panigale S series art." He nods to where bubbles are still rising as the bike sinks. "That's why I own a pair of them. Or did."

However calm his voice might be, Jay's body language radiates a desire to punch Ragnar's lights out. "Explain. And explain fast."

[bigarmy_strangepants]

Ooops.

"That was your bike?" Ragnar says. "I'm sorry. I'll pay for it."

That is, after all, how most matters of the law are settled among Vikings. Why not were-gilt for a motorbike?

[runningred]

"That's not an explanation." Jay says flatly. Money can be dealt with later. Jay needs a reason not to deck him.

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"Why do you need one, rather than money?" Ragnar says. "Can one try and fish it out again?"

[runningred]

"Because money isn't important, it's the principle of the thing. But without a very, very good reason, I'm going to punch you."

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"I don't think," the huge drunken Viking says, "you're allowed to do that. And I don't think it will make that much of an impact."

Pause.

"I felt the need to ride a motorbike very fast."

So, there.

and..couldn't help myself

[soldier_blade]

Sonya was burning off energy by swimming in the lake, just focusing on her laps and blocking out everything else. Things back home were coming to a head, she could feel it, but all they could do is wait for it to happen.

The splash and shouting breaks her out from her trance, pulling her out from the water. "What the fuck?!"

Treading water, she spots Ragnar swimming over to shore. It only takes a few strokes for her feet to touch the bottom of the lake, wading over to join him. The swimsuit she has on is a black and blue one piece, the water making her scarred shoulder, arm and back all the more obvious. "What just happened?"

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"I fell into the lake," Ragnar says. "With a motorbike. It drowned, I survived."

Scars are normal, where he comes from, on warriors both male and female.

[soldier_blade]

Vikings didn't own motorbikes. So either it was a gift or he borrowed one for a joyride. Sonya looked behind her, her look torn between horror and concern. "The bike yours or did you borrow it?"

Borrow, steal..at this point it didn't matter. There was no real way they were going to get it out of there.

She waded over to the shore, heading to where she put her towel and supplies. OUt of the water, a good portion of her left leg is covered in faded burn scars: the whole of which she pays no mind to, only looking out into the lake.

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"Borrowed," Ragnar says. "It was in the garage. Loud and flashy, really, and fast. It was fun while it lasted."

Yes, burn scars happen in raids and sieges as well. They just tell Ragnar that this is a shieldmaiden who has been places, done deeds, and survived.

[soldier_blade]

Loud, flashy and fast: Sonya would've automatically assumed the ride was fun while it lasted. "And it'll be a bitch to replace. Those sorts of bikes aren't cheap."

Even she knew that and her last bike was hardly anything with flash to it. There was also no accounting for if the bike had any sentimental value.

Sonya wrapped the towel around her waist and started wringing out her hair. "You're lucky to get out in one piece, could've easily knocked your head on something and drowned."

Such things have happened before in reports. Even if the blow to the head wasn't fatal, it could've easily knocked him out long enough for him to get water into his lungs.

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"It'll be expensive," Ragnar allows, "but I've go treasure. It's not a problem."

[soldier_blade]

"Here's hoping." She'd have to take his word for it, and pray that whatever he was able to give was enough to settle with the bike's owner. "Unfortunately, you're not so easy to replace."

She didn't want to consider the state of either Sinric or Athelstan if something happened to him. Both men loved him so much and if being away from him was painful-Sonya had a creeping feeling she'd have to set up a sort of suicide watch.

"Come on." She put on her shoes and collected her things. "We could both stand to dry off, get something hot to drink as well."

This was said mostly for his benefit than her own, but he would probably be more cooperative if she included herself. Plus, now that she was out of the water, it was starting to get a little chilly.

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"I don't have to be replaced," Ragnar says. "Weeds are hard to kill."

He looks back one last time to where the bike has drowned, then nods to her.

"Yes, let's go inside. I need a drink."