11/30 Instance: Valkyrie of Beetroot

[puppygirl]

Timeline - Current


The milkshake bar wasn't particularly packed - in fact, thanks to the unseasonally early and heavy snowfall that seemed to have come out of nowhere, there were only a couple of other people in. Ankka was happy about this, wearing nothing but a jumper and trousers while everyone else was bundled up to their necks. He'd missed snow, and had been hoping for it for days.

He slurped on his banoffee and smiled. "Is yours okay, Clarice?"

Clarice nodded from the depths of her scarf and bobble hat, "Uh-huh! This is really nice," she affirmed, slurping on the straw that vanished into her scarf, "I never thought of you as a milkshake kinda guy though."

"I like them." He grinned. "America has many more flavours than home though." He studied the pink girl, only just able to see her nose and wide green eyes. Kinda cute really. "You can't be that cold though, surely?"

"It's snowing!" Another slurp of her vanilla milkshake, "Snow is cold and I like being warm, I still don't get how you can be like ... not freezing!"

Ankka looked out of the window at the fat flakes, smiling. "This? This is...summer snow to me. It is barely minus ten out there, yes? I am used to sitting in the dark in minus forty for hours. And that's not including vind chill! You vant cold, try northern Finland in deep vinter, yes?" He grinned, taking another sip of his. "Still. How are you settling in?"

"Ewww, rather not," Clarice snuggled down into her winter gear, "I'm settling in fine, classes are okay, how about you? How's like ... the culture change and stuff?"

"I am missing things, but I have got used to daylight again." He chuckled. "It is good! Wery strange still, and...vell, some of the people frankly give me the creeps, but I suppose they vould be like that mutant or not." He tilted his head. "Not so different culture-vise. I am enjoying not having to vork on a farm though."

Clarice nodded, "You get creeps all over ... so what's it like working on a farm then? Sometimes I could get jobs picking fruit in the summer but I bet actual real farming is waaaaay more interesting!"

"Vell...it's not a traditional farm." Ankka nodded. "My family is Suomi - means they are the equivalent to Native Americans, only in Lapland. A few generations ago, they vere nomadic and followed the deer herds. Not so much now, ve raise the deer on our farm - much like beef farms over here, I think, only vith more snow." He grinned. "Not interesting, but definitely hard vork and long hours."

"How's looking after deer hard work?" Clarice asked, "Don't you just have to like ... check up on them and stuff?"

"Not really. Have to herd them to good feeding, vatch them vhile they vander...they might not migrate much now but they aren't penned." Ankka shrugged. "And in vinter, the volfs come. In srping and summer, it's bears. Ve alvays have to vatch them." He grinned. "But I didn't invite you out to talk about me. I vanted to thank you."

"Bears?" Clarice blinked, then blushed, "Oh ... thank me? Why?"

"Yes. Ve have bears and volfs that far north." He nodded. "For looking after Noriko. Vhen she grounded? She said you saved her."

Clarice blushed harder at that and sunk further into herself, "No I didn't ... I nearly made it worse," she mumbled.

"Really? But she says you risked your life to save her after putting her out vith the...lake, right?" Ankka looked confused. "I vanted to thank you for it."

"I dumped water on an eletrical fire," Clarice muttered, horribly embaressed, "I put out the fire but gave us both bad shocks," only her eyebrows were visible now as she sunk lower.

"Oh." He thought for a moment. "But you made it better!" He brightened. "And eweryone thinks that vater should put out fire." He nodded. "Including me. I vould have done the same thing, honest. And you fixed it, and nobody vas seriously hurt - in fact, the doctor thinks Noriko might even have a healing factor, and you started it! That's good, right?"

"... You really think so?" A pair of bright green eyes emerged.

"I know so." Ankka nodded enthusiastiacally. "And you didn't hurt her so bad. And you still tried to help her." He grinned widely again. "See, is not all bad, and vas an accident too. So still thank you."

Clarice poped out of the pile of warm like a jack-in-the-box, "Yay! You really think so!?" If Noriko's sorta boyfriend could say that, it must be true, "And once again the Astounding Blink saves the day!"

Ankka couldn't help the laugh at that. Clarice really was cute - if he wasn't interested in Nori and wasn't wary of her insane enthusiasm, he'd be going for her. "Yes! She does." He grinned, slurping more milkshake and nodding. "She speaks wery highly of you, and you look after her, yes? And I think that means another milkshake." He nodded.

Clarce nodded feverently and slurped up the last of her shake before holding up her glass to hime, "Strawberry please!"

Ankka finished up his, going to take her glass - and a blue-white spark jumped from him to her, followed by an odd jolt. "...Ow? Vhat vas that?" He withdrew his hand sharply, shaking it out.

"Eek!" Clarice yelped and jumped at the sudden spark, "Owchie! What was that?" She shook out her hand as well.

"Eh..." Ankka frowned at his hand. "I think being zapped by Noriko so many times is starting to affect me. It doesn't hurt, but I keep zapping things and people, like I have too much static. Ah vell...maybe I should getmyself one of those anti-static things for cars, yes?" He smiled, picking up her glass. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah ... I'm okay," she said, rubbing her hand as the sting went down, "And I dunno, never heard of them Ankka, what are they?"

"It's..." He searched for the English. "It's hung off cars to ground them, to stop static shocks. Maybe I just need grounding...after all, my sort-of girlfriend is a valking static generator, yes?" He smiled. "Strawberry, yes?"

"Oooh, wouldn't that get annoying to carry around all the time though?" Clarice asked, then nodded, "Yep, as pink as me!"

"I'm sure Noriko could make it into a necklace for me or something." He winked at her, before disappearing up to the counter, returning with two more milkshakes. "You're right, it really is. You pink because you drink so much milkshake?" He smiled to show it wasn't an insult.

Clarice giggled and shook her head, "No-ooooooooh, 'cos I eat so much pickled beetroot!" She took it off him and started happily slurping again, "I'm sure she could, she's so clever and stuff!"

Ankka grinned at that. "Then vhat are the green bits from? Pickled gherkins?" He took a mouthful of his. "Yes...and wery...bouncy. All the time. Sometimes I vonder if I can keep up vith her." He shook his head. "At least she seems happier now, yes? Though vhat vith the school being so cramped, I'm glad she hasn't had any other accidents..."

"Yes, totally, I loooooove pickled anything! And how is the schoo cramped ... it's like, the huuuuuuuugest building I've ever been in!" Clarice asked, holding out her hands in demonstration.

"Vell, vith all the refugees, yes? They are eweryvhere. I am lucky because our room already has three, but I know some students are having to share rooms vith them..." Ankka tilted his head.

"Oh that ... but didn't you hear? My uncle has got them a new island to live on! We'll be moving them out soon and then everyone can have nice space and stuff!"

"Really? That's vonderful!" Ankka grinned. "No, I didn't hear...but I have been taking extra lessons to help vith my English, so I haven't been around much." He nodded as he took another drink. "That's really nice of him - does this mean you have found your family again?"

Clarice smiled and nodded happily, "Yep yep!" She wriggled in her seat in delight, "they have a house nearby so I can see them whenever I want! And I think your english is really improving and stuff! You sound like .. so mch better at it!"

"I know - and it means I don't accidently insult people or...hear the wrong thing too." He nodded - damnit her enthusiasm was catching. "And that is awesome! I miss my parents, but I don't think I could imagine not knowing them for years, yes? Your uncle really is a kind man."

"It was horrible ... but it's in the past now and can't hurt me," she slurped her milkshake, "and Uncle En Sabah really is, he's like ... such a charitable man it's so nice to see that there are people like him in the world."

"That's true." Ankka nodded. "And it is! He must have a...a lot of sisu to be able to simply give people he's never met an island to live on, yes? And to simply...help out like this."

"... Sisu?"

"Doesn't have a direct translation...unless you are talking about the drink...but it means..." He hunted for the words. "Someone who has courage, determination against odds, kindness beyond the usual...to say someone has sisu is to say that they are the embodiment of Finland, yes?"

"... I thought you just meant money," Clarice giggled softly, "that's a pretty big concept to get around but I think you're right, uncle has TONS of sisi!"

Ankka laughed. "Si-su." He corrected her. "Sisi is something else entirely."

"That's what I said isn't it?" Clarice stuck her tounge out at him.

Ankka opened his mouth and then just grinned, shaking his head and sticking his tongue out back. "Of course you did." He took a slurp of his milkshake, looking outside again where it was getting darker and the snow wasn't showing any signs of letting up. It made him feel better, that was for sure. "So...vant to go shopping after we finish this?"

Clarice stopped mid-slurp and while it was impossible to see where she was really looking she gave the impression of rolling her eyes up to him, "... You're willingly volunteering yourself to go shopping with me when I have a new and shiney credit card?"

"Vhy not? You have someone who can carry the bags." He winked. "I have super-strength, remember? And I need to get more sveets for Noriko and me...and a few things for Halloween too, yes? Pay me in hot chocolate."

Clarice clapped, "I can do that, come on then!" She finished her milkshake and bounced to her feet and continued bouncing to the doorway, one eld of her scarf trailing after her like the tail of a happy comet.

Ankka just shook his head with a smile, shrugging his army jacket on and zipping it up as he followed her. "Vhy do I get the feeling I'm going to regret being a nice guy...?" He grinned. "After you, Walkyrie of Beetroot."

[Edited on 12/4/2011 by tears~fall~like~glass]