into the unknown

Belinda beamed back at Freya’s response. Nodding as she continued, Billie could definitely relate to what her cousin was saying. “All the time,” she admitted. “While mom is constantly telling me not to compare myself and go out and live whatever life I’m meant to, I’m always thinking about how exciting things were for them. I wish there was a way we could sign up for adventures like theirs, you know?” Billie added with a chuckle.

“While I strongly agree with that statement, I have found myself researching topics that weren’t of my usual interests simply to gain more insight for something or other,” Dante admitted with a little motion of his hand. “Good to have a foot in every door or however the saying goes,” he added absent-mindedly, slightly losing interest in his own little metaphor whilst he was saying it. “Some things were naturally displayed through a biased glass,” he nodded, “So it is nice to see it from each side. That said, there seems to be a biased perspective of the Isle here too– it’s not all bad like some of the books in this very library claim.”

as freya spoke maren laid down on her back across freya’s lap, scribbling away on the paper.  “Nokk, yes, good idea,” she hummed, still scribbling, until freya asked why she’d need a bathing suit. she paused, looking at her sister like she was crazy. “for swimming… duh.” she tapped her chin with the pen. “do you think mom could teach me the dress thing? it would save money if i could just do it myself. but then it would have to be blue, right? or white. what if i want pink? how does that work?”

Freya smirked but let the topic of swimming go, she herself would rather ride the Nokk over the water than be in it itself, but she didn’t judge her sister’s preferences. “I’m sure she could, I’ve never tried it myself but I’d love to learn too. I always wondered if her magic replaced the clothes or just altered them...” she trailed off in thought. “I think mother’s only done blue and white, but I’m sure you could try for pink. I don’t know if it will work, but you could try. That would especially come in handy for formal events, I always want a sheer shimmering cape on my outfits.” 

@freyaiduna​

maren practically spun her way to where her sister was, holding a very long sheet of paper. “freeyyyyaaaaa,” she sang, twirling into her sister’s lap. “i need answers,” she demanded, dramatically holding up the paper in her hand and then pulling it to her face and reading off her list of questions. “when are we leaving? how long will we be staying? are we how are we getting there? do i need to ride a reindeer again because that really hurts my butt and i would prefer not to? will we be sleeping in the castle? do i need to bring a bathing suit?” she paused to take in a breath and tilted her head. ”actually, scratch that last one, i think mom can just-” she waved her free hand around spastically, “make me one if i need it. better yet, maybe i should leave all of my clothes here and mom can just teach me how she does-” she waved her hand again, “that.”

Freya hardly had time to register what was happening before her sister was sitting on her and putting a list in her face. She laughed, she was used to this of course, and tried to calm Maren down. “Woah, one at a time please. I suppose we leave when classes finish? And come back a day before they start again? I was hoping to spend as much time as possible with mom,” she pointed out. She took a second to try and remember the next questions. “Well, I could write mom and ask her to send the Nokk? It’s a bit more comfortable than a reindeer, and faster with the whole walking on water aspect...” Freya smiled and shook her head. “Maren, it’s winter, why would we need bathing suits? And as for the castle, probably for half the trip. Mom will want to have the whole family together, but I’d really like to go up north and see home too.”

Laveau had been hungrily pouring over tome after tome in the library, desperate and enthralled by all the knowledge she’d found. Ever since the barrier had come down, she was determined to help rewrite the history books going forward…and perhaps learning the history of her own folks wouldn’t hurt. She’d been so engrossed she hadn’t even noticed the girl who’d sat across from her. Looking up, a genuine smile graced the VK’s lips. “Why, I think that sounds mighty fine. That’s an Auradonian delicacy, is it not? I’ve been meaning to try it, but I’ve been too full shoveling other things down the hatch.” While most AKs immediately set her off, there was something about this one that seemed…okay. She didn’t carry the same layers of pretension as the others. “I’m Laveau, by the way. Laveau Facilier. It’s a pleasure, dear.”

“I mean I know– but I also don’t totally want to be up in your business all the time either,” she admitted sheepishly, never wanting to be a nuisance to the other. “I think it’s wonderful though. Aunt Elsa is good at what she does and I can only imagine how she feels when she looks at your designs. You show her your designs from time to time right?”

“Absolutely not,” he nodded. “Can it not be both?” was Dante’s response to the blonde’s question. “I enjoy my classes, so both would be my answer,” he settled, tapping the book’s title absentmindedly. “Auradon’s history is a lot more interesting than I would’ve expected.”

Marie had never really been a peoples person, it was one of the many things she inherited from her mother, but she figured, where’s the harm in trying? “That depends on what kind of ice cream you were going to get.”

Sabrina wasn’t sure if she was actually being productive, it was more like her just staring at the page and hoping the assignment would write itself, so when she heard someone speak up she couldn’t help but thank whatever was out there for the needed break that was basically being handed to her, “Do you even need to wait for an answer, of course I want ice cream. It makes everything so much better.”

Freya smiled and stood up, leading the other blonde out of the library. “You’re so right. I’ve never met a chocolate ice cream that didn’t fix all my problems at least temporarily,” she chuckled. “Is it just me or are they really piling on the assignments more than usual?”

Immersed in his reading, Dante wasn’t expecting anybody to address him but he set the book down slightly to look at who was speaking to him. “Ice cream?” he echoed as if in amusement, putting the book fully down with the appropriate page marked. “I don’t see any harm in saying yes. Besides, I’ve been sat here so long I feel my legs falling asleep,” Dante chuckled.

“I would love that,” Belinda replied at her cousin’s invitation. “I hadn’t been expecting that, but I won’t complain.” Shifting in her seat a little, she tried to peer at Freya’s work. “I’ve been meaning to ask what you’ve been working on all morning, but didn’t want to be a total snoop.”

Alex had now spent so long editing photographs that his eyes were becoming fuzzy. Long enough that it came as a shock to hear someone near him talk. His head snapped up to look at her, and was pleasantly surprised to find that he was the one she was addressing. Instantly, he flipped his laptop closed, excited for an excuse to take a break. “I have never been given a better offer,” he answered seriously.