Morten was clinging to his morning fruit juice, staring into space.
He'd been trying to think of something, anything to say.
They had been told, just now, they were supposed to give a gift to one of the five.
He wasn't good with girls and the way Agnus had addressed him yesterday,
had he been extremely violent?
Had he already made himself look like an absolute dunderhead?
He wasn't violent, he wasn't even sure how he'd done what he'd done.
He remembered deciding on doing the same as Agnus had done, use Roran's own velocity against him. He had just, done it. If you'd ask him to repeat it now he wouldn't have the faintest clue where to start.
Teddy had been sitting with him for the last 10 minutes, knowing he had not been noticed,
just looking curiously at Morten while eating his fruits.
A plate clattered loudly on the table, full of food even the frozen wouldn't fit into the concept of breakfast.
Agnus sat down. Looked from Teddy to Morten, who hadn't even flinched.
"What's up with him?" He said, eying Morten.
Teddy shrugged, "he's been like that since I got here."
Agnus squinted at Morten, then looked around to see what he was staring at.
Concluding there was nothing there he snapped his fingers in front of Morten.
"Oh, sorry, Agnus.." Morten blinked, almost dropping his cup.
"I'm all in. I mean, I'm... "
Agnus waved a hand, "oh stop it. What's going on with you?"
"I, I am. Ready to.. well no." Morten seemed to search for the right words,
"I don't know how to court to save my life! I can't let Roran win because he can!"
Agnus just stared at him for a moment, Teddy frowned too, slowly bending into Mortens vision.
Teddy didn't have a clue what this was about exactly.
"I like how you absolutely buried a guy yesterday, in front of a crowd.
Today you are having a mental breakdown over giving a girl a gift? "
He snorted and shook his head.
Agnus turned to Teddy, sticking some meat on his fork.
"Tell me Teddy, what's your plan?"
Teddy smiled at being asked, "I plan to court someone in my brother's stead.
So I'm going to try and pick the right one, give her a gift and tell her it's from him. "
Agnus had stopped chewing halfway through and just stared at Teddy.
Morten couldn't believe his ears either.
It wasn't that he thought it was a ridiculous notion but, Teddy sounded about half his age saying it.
He was so incredibly endearing.
"Well that's it.." said Agnus, turning to look at Morten, "whomever he tells that story is taken."
Morten smirked at that, he was right.
There was no way any of the girls could withstand such a story from this .. man child and not decide to adopt him.
"I won't pick the one with the wolf!" Teddy started, looking worried at Agnus.
Agnus sat up straighter at this, "you better not!" He barked.
"I'm practically married to her already, I will take your head off!"
Morten frowned, "How are you... practically married to her?"
"I? Have been playing my cards right!" Said Agnus, sitting up straight.
Morten raised an eyebrow, "You don't have a clue, do you?"
He hadn't seen Agnus look doubtful before, but here he was obviously unsure but trying to play it off as if he was fine.
"Agnus, you do know you're the one to beat?" Morten suggested.
Agnus looked at him stiffly, stuffing more food in his face.
He chewed, swallowed and spoke,
"Even if that's somehow true, it doesn't really explain the situation I have found myself in.
But, I will tell you sometime. "
A clatter, both of them looked at Teddy.
Teddy had been listening so intensely at their little exchange that a piece of mango had fallen out of his mouth onto his plate.
Teddy looked shocked at the sudden attention on him.
Morten decided to help him by asking a question he was hurting to ask,
" What you all have as gifts? "
Teddy had just stuffed more food in an attempt to seem normal and now found himself trying to chew quickly.
Morten directed his eyes at Agnus.
Agnus frowned.
" Not sure yet, I have options. " He said thoughtfully.
Teddy had managed to swallow,
" Black pearl" he said gulping.
" Jewelry? " Asked Morten.
Teddy nodded.
Agnus shrugged.
" Girls mostly like jewelry, especially if it's rare! " Teddy said.
Morten's sister in law had packed jewelry,
because the frozen had tons of rare stones and unique materials found nowhere else
and only in very secluded little spots even in their lands.
But, it seemed... stupid?
Morten looked at Agnus, "Are you giving jewelry?"
Agnus grunted, "I'm trying to close a pretty solid deal.
I have not yet concluded what be the gift to do so.."
"But," Morten was getting annoyed," Is jewelry among the options?"
Agnus shook his head.
Morten screamed internally, this wasn't getting him anywhere!
Agnus noticed his upset and put up his hand in the same gesture he had thrown up yesterday evening.
" Calm down Morten,
go with something simple and neutral.
I have information on the girl I am giving the gift to, that changes everything."
Morten's brain crackled at this, how did he know?
Hooow?
Had he missed something?
Teddy, not having been terrified by Agnus the day before, asked it though.
" How do you know? Because she has your pup? "
He had apparently tried to figure it out as well.
Agnus smiled a crooked smile,
" Yes kid, I can talk to wolves, it comes to visit me at night and tells me about her. "
Teddy just blinked at him, seemingly unsure if he was serious or joking.
Agnus shook his head seeing Teddy's expression of bewilderment.
" You.. " he pointed at Morten," pick an unusual bit of jewelry and give it to the girl with the least gifts. "
He slightly turned,
" you, " he said, nodding at Teddy,
" Pick whichever five you like, but use your head, not your balls."
Morten choked on his juice he had finally put to his lips.
~
"You think they're nude like us?" Asked a violently blushing Teddy.
The handsome sand snorted, "I don't think the council would do such a thing."
They were standing in the same area they had been given underpants with butt strings.
Morten couldn't help but be sure all of them had secretly considered Teddy's question.
The red headed screamer stepped through the curtains, waving lazily.
" You! " She barked.
All of them felt addressed and that seemed to have been her purpose.
"Get your heads on straight and behave!"
Teddy winced at his own nerves.
She then pointed at him,
"And of course they're not nude! " She snapped and flew back out the curtains.
Teddy opened his mouth to say something, probably ask why they had been but her voice screamed from beyond the curtains..
"Well, what are you waiting for?!"
They had been giving their own things a few days back,
but many of them had stuck to the tunics and pants provided.
It was simply easier, more pleasant in this heat.
Especially the injured sand somehow getting a sunburn through his clothes spending some time on his balcony reading had discouraged the wearing of none provided clothes.
But today all the regional cultural show pieces had been dragged out.
The handsome sand looked especially impressive,
flowy fabrics, bare chest, scars in purposely drawn patterns like Morten's tattoo's.
He had golden jewelry unlike Morten had ever seen that looked amazing on his skin.
He had was in,
this guy was in,
looking at Agnus?
He knew it too.
The Ashes looked downright tropical and colorful, shiny too.
Apparently they usually went around covered in oils and both of them smelled heavily of coconut.
Roran looked rather disappointing, with his arm tattoos and Mozer in his neck, he was showing them off as prized possession.
But he had skipped his furs due to the heat and looked like a pale plucked chicken to Morten,
knowing what he lacked.
Morten had not had many issues with the heat thus far, to his own surprise.
He had wrapped his arms in leathers up to the shoulders, something he did more often to keep the cold out.
He had skipped the furs due to the gashes on his shoulders and upper body from that cat, which were still quite sensitive.
So he too felt nude,
but unlike Roran, who had put on some really confused trousers to be less warm, Mortan had simply stuck himself in his leathers and strapped his waist gear on.
He had asked Agnus if he had looked weird, if he should wear a shirt which would cover his culture's tattoos... and marks from his collection of animal attacks.
Agnus had told him he looked strange but good, which he'd consider exactly right for this situation.
Agnus himself looked like a beast, a strange red toned and pasty beast, like always.
He had braided his hair out of the way and up.
which suddenly betrayed that he and the other plains were certain the same people.
His features looked less round and cheery.
The other plains had all his muscle out,
Morten wondered if his trousers could get any lower.
Agnus?
Was covered, he was wearing the white tunic Morten gave him,
that flapped around him.
He too was wearing classic leather gear around his waist.
Where else were you going to leave all your stuff?
With quite simple thick woven pants that seem to have extra fabrics to cover his inner legs for riding and bare feet, because your bare feet on the stone floors were the most effective way of cooling down.
Teddy? Was simply Teddy.
He was wearing an oversized net like braided thing with long tight pants under it, Morten could imagine this all being good for swimming.
There were shells everywhere though and he looked a bit duck footed,
literally a fish out of water.
They stepped out,
Teddy, the sand and Ashes making quite a lot of noise due to their jewelry and decorations.
The five were on the plateaus they had been on.
Definitely not nude, they were sitting in dresses.
For a moment Morten thought they were quite covered like before until his eyes fell on one of them sitting in a rather sexy way,
she had pulled her dress up to reveal her legs and showing off a properly busted chest.
They were linen, partly braided toga dresses.
His brain for a moment going back to those old times he had been taught about as a boy of which the buildings reminded him. They had dresses like this? Didn't they?
They were wearing different fits and colors, making him wonder if they been given a choice.
The man had all stopped to look at the five, but Agnus.
Who simply kept walking, to everyone's confusion.
Morten looked around at Teddy who gave him a surprised shrug back.
Agnus pulled a big dagger out of his clothing, sheet and all and walked straight at the last plateau. Where a girl sat hugging her knees in a light blue toned dress.
He stopped in front of her plateau and offered .. the dagger.
Roran snorted loudly and actually called after Agnus.
"Really? You think that's a gift suited for a girl from the five?"
All the girls looked around at him, they had been following Agnus's progression.
Agnus ignored him, the girl carefully unfolded and took the dagger from him.
Morten two frowned at Roran, daggers were a traditional gift in the frozen, did he not know that?
Agnus then spoke in a dark and annoyed tone, " So you may protect yourself from any man from now on."
She nodded and pulled the dagger to her.
The girl next to her leaned over, quietly asking to see it.
While Roran was laughing with the injured sand about Agnus's mistake Teddy stepped forward. This seemed to make the other man nervous.
Morten amused himself for a moment by playing a guessing game.
Who would Teddy go for?
One of the girls had been really short, she had freckles and was actually the one now looking at the dagger the girl next to her had been given.
That one! He thought. But boy was he wrong.
Teddy stepped right up to the girl that had gestured to Morten to off Roran.
She had a hard case of resting bitch face and was sitting with her legs crossed in a black dress.
Seeing her now, without layers and layers of fabric she looked quite muscled, slim but muscled.
Her skin was somewhat paler than the others.
She looked at Teddy as if a dirty little mutt had ran up to her asking for food.
Which, was exactly how Teddy looked compared to her.
A little mutt.
The Ash that was now next to Morten tried to stifle a laugh.
Teddy's whole body moved like that of an enthusiastic boy of maybe 5? Pulling his gift from a pocket in such a youthful way it made the girl sitting on the next plateau smile.
Ah yes, Morten thought, endearing.
He offered her the black pearl, his hand open, the pearl on it, smiling.
She looked from the pearl to him.
"You the blue?" She said in an ungirly voice.
He nodded, smiling,
" I'd like to court you in my brothers stead!" He said.
"Can he do that?" Said Roran, sounding surprised.
The two Ashes were laughing quietly at the whole thing.
"Stop laughing guys, he's 17." Said the handsome sand.
One of the ashes stifled his laugh,
"It's just, really adorable and absolutely... what is this kid even doing here?"
"He was here to support his brother, but the other frozen beat his brother to a pulp."
Said Morten without conveying any emotion, staring at the scene.
The girl took the pearl and studied Teddy.
Morten was sure, really sure, she was the blue among them.
"Well!" Said the Handsome sand, scooting over the sticky moment,
"I'm going in before all the good ones are gone!"