Chapter 2- a nasty girl and into Aventurine Woods
Later
After Lyra's lesson time in weaving with her mother Diamond it was time for dinner. Lyra sat at the dinner table while her mother Diamond and father Flint ate. The family of three lived in a simple house near a farm that had a large barn. This barn was not used much except for storing hay bales and other resources but it was freely used by the Delphinus family along with several other families that shared the farm. The barn was divided into sections each labelled with the families' names so the Delphinus family's section had 'Delphinus' written above their area of use for example. The Delphinus family also had a stable that housed a pure white mare named Snø; more on her later. Flint and Diamond were Lyra's parents as described by Lyra in the previous chapter. Like Lyra, Flint had black hair but his eyes were blue. He wore the typical Viking fisherman's outfit with a leather coat made from deer skin. He wore a leather belt around his waist and his trousers were also made from deer skin. His usual footwear was thick fisherman's boots; waterproof and nonslip which were important properties during fishing trips out to sea when the fishing boat decks got wet. Diamond, being mostly a stay-at-home mother except when she went to teach the children at the school, was dressed in a typical Viking wife's outfit. She often wore an apron when at home as she was a baker and weaver as Lyra mentioned in the previous chapter. She worked part time as a teacher in dracology and the Quartz Tribe's history with dragons at the village's school where the children of the tribe went, simply called Hav Av Stjerner School. Diamond was also an expert cook and often cooked some of the fish her husband brought back from his fishing trips, as well as other meats such as deer and wild boar, brought back by hunting groups who would venture to a woodland called Aventurine Woods and the grasslands called Emerald Grasslands to hunt for game. The meal Diamond had cooked for dinner today was smoked tuna, one of the fish species Flint had brought back from a previous fishing trip. Diamond had cooked three of these fish for the family. Served with each fish were vegetables and some potatoes and each fish itself was sprinkled with herbs, lemon juice and some butter to give it more flavour. As the small family ate their tuna dinner, Lyra sat in her seat, her head on her left hand. Her left arm's elbow rested on the table and with the right hand, Lyra held a fork and dabbed her fish with it as she looked on lost in thought.
"Lyra," Diamond told her, "Don't play with your food."
"Yes," added Flint, "It's for eating, not for prodding."
Lyra breathed a sigh, took up a knife in her left hand and began to eat properly. After eating a piece of the fish, she initiated a conversation in the area she had been thinking about.
"So, Mom and Dad, you know dragons?" she asked.
"Yes, what about them?" asked Diamond before she ate another piece of her fish.
"Well... you know our tribe used to host various species of them on our island in our past until that incident with Grimmel the Grisly and his group infiltrating it and...?" Lyra began but Flint cut her off. He found the Grimmel incident with the Night Furies UTTERLY disturbing and sensitive, the memories of the massacre burned into his mind as clear as a mark branded freshly onto a cow's rump with a hot branding iron.
"Oh, don't EVER mention that time when we found that small pack of Night Furies dead in that grassland, Lyra," he grunted in disgust and sadness, "It was UTTERLY heartbreaking."
"Flint," Diamond rebuked before turning to Lyra, "Yes we do know when we used to host a great number of dragons of various species on our island as a safe refuge, particularly those of the rare species including the Night Fury but unfortunately, we don't do that anymore."
"Yes, after the Grimmel incident, we have sent the rest of the dragons away for their safety," said Flint after recovering from his weave of sadness, "Those dragons had been frequent targets for dragon slayers and poachers, especially those of rare species such as the Jewel Sparklewings, the Glistening Rainbopteres and the Troublesome Tricolours but the pack that suffered most was that Night Fury pack lead by Shadow, the dominant male and his mate, the dominant female named Ebony. That VILE, bloodthirsty Grimmel guy completely decimated the ENTIRE pack, Tiny Tooths and all, and not left even ONE surviving while his underlings had captured many of the other dragons of the rare species for money, such as the Jewel Sparklewings and Glistening Rainbopteres because of their sparkling jewel-like hides. We also had a Golden Dragon, an EXTREMELY rare species of dragon in which the female only lays ONE egg once every hundred years of her life."
"We used to ride some of those dragons too," said Diamond, "My my main dragon mount was a male Amber Jewel Sparklewing I have named Sunshine," she then dreamily drifted into nostalgic thought over those memories of flying through the air on the back of such a beautiful metallic orange-yellow reptile with wings resembling a hybrid of a bird and a bat, "And WHAT a feeling it was to fly on the back of him as well. I only wish I can do that with him again but sadly, he, like every other dragon, have been sent away and have been banned from returning here for their safety."
"And my main dragon mount was Shadow," put in Flint, "A Night Fury like Hiccup in the Hooligan Tribe... but not anymore."
"You rode a Night Fury?" asked Lyra in amazement. Flint with a proud smile on his face, nodded.
"Wow, wish I could ride a dragon like how you both did," said Lyra. However, Flint shook his head sadly.
"You would have had that opportunity to do just that had you been born years earlier," said her father, "but unfortunately, these days you're out of luck, I'm sorry to say. We don't intend to have dragons here anymore and you must learn to accept that."
"Yes," said Diamond in agreement, "It would have honestly been an awesome thing for you to do but it's out of the question."
"Indeed," continued Flint, "The last thing any one of us in our tribe wants is pesky dragon hunters and poachers posing as dragon conservationists infiltrating our island again and jeopardising the lives of any dragon that tries to live here. Now can you please return to eating your dinner? You're to be in bed early as you're up early tomorrow morning for a trip into the Aventurine Woods and Emerald Grasslands for a lesson on gathering wood with your uncle and my brother-in-law Iscan and his family and a number of the other kids, while some will also be going on a hunting trip with Norman's father Kleavor. Plus our mare Snø will need to be prepared for the trip as her help will be needed in pulling one of the carts too heavy for manpower to do alone."
"Oh, please, don't tell me that trio of IRRITATIN' toerags Hogun, Volstagg and Fandral are gonna come with us, are they!?" grumbled Lyra, "You know I cannot stand those three. Not to mention Plumeria as she is nasty."
"Lyra, do as your father says," Diamond commanded, "And without any further backtalk."
Lyra rolled her eyes sourly and obeyed. Then as soon as the family of three had finished their dinner, they got prepared for bed. Outside, night was drawing in and most of the Quartz Tribe also got prepared to retire for it. After all, it was a VERY busy tribe with its variety of jobs requiring much effort and attention.
Next morning and after breakfast
The majority of the kids of the Quartz Tribe were packing for the trip to Aventurine Woods and among them were Lyra, her five cousins Herbert, Wisteria and (to Lyra's UTMOST chagrin) Hogun, Volstagg and Fandral and also Norman and another girl named Plumeria who was around Norman and Lyra's age. Plumeria was one of the nastiest girls of the tribe with a nasty personality. She was not liked by many of the kids and teens including Norman on whom Plumeria had a strong crush. But because Norman had a crush on Lyra, Plumeria saw Lyra as competition and wanted to be the object of Norman's feelings instead of her. However, since Norman would not reciprocate, Plumeria was bitterly jealous and she despised Lyra. However, this was not the only reason she loathed Lyra but more on this nasty piece of work later. As the group of kids prepared for the Aventurine Woods trip, the adults accompanying them included Iscan, the father of Herbert and his siblings, a skilled archer and woodsman and widowed father of Norman named Kleavor and the main jokester of the Quartz Tribe named Bittergiggle the Joker. The group had set up horses and carts and had packed into the latter the appropriate equipment for the trip such as axes, knives and other blades designed for chopping wood, and also food for lunch and snacks. Hunting equipment like bows and arrows were also packed for Kleavor was going to take some of the kids, most of them boys including his own son Norman, out hunting for game as a lesson on hunting using bows and arrows.
As the group continued to pack the carts, Lyra who wore a satchel bag around her shoulder brought out her horse named Snø from her stable, leading her by the reins put on her head. Snø was a pure white mare horse and was Lyra's family's farm animal. She was truly a beautiful beast, her coat being pure white like snow from which she was named. Her name translated to 'Snow' from the native language spoken by most Viking tribes. Snø was used for a variety of heavy duty tasks like pulling carts, riding and transporting heavy loads like logs and also in ploughing fields for farming. As Lyra guided Snø to one of the carts, her irritating triplet brother cousins Hogun, Volstagg and Fandral came in, their minds aimed at one thing.
"Hey, Lyrie, what are you doin' with that horse?" asked the former. Lyra rolled her eyes in irritation to the blue clothes-dressed brother's stupid question.
"I'm gonna rein Snø to our cart ready for our trip," she replied before commanding Snø to continue following her and gently pulling on the reins. Then Volstagg eyed the satchel around Lyra's shoulder. As soon as Lyra guided Snø to the front of the cart with two sticks pointing forward where a horse was to be positioned and was about to rein Snø to it, Volstagg crept in, seized the satchel and pulled it off Lyra! Lyra shot the yellow-dressed boy and his two brothers as they made off with her satchel, giggles escaping their mouths and began to give chase.
"Oi, Volstagg, Hogun and Fandral, you GIVE MY SATCHEL BACK THIS MINUTE!" she yelled. However, the three immature triplets continued uttering giggles and ran off like a trio of hoodlums. Lyra tore after them, a FURIOUS glare on her face at the triplets' stupidity.
"If you want ya satchel back, Lyrie," Volstagg taunted and with that, the waved Lyra's satchel to the irate girl, "You'd better come an' get it!" and with that, he darted off with his brothers once again, Lyra in hot pursuit. Then when they came to a clearing, the three triplets began to play a game of catch with Lyra's satchel, forcing Lyra to run after it and whenever she was near the brother who had her satchel, that brother tossed the satchel to the next brother and soon, Lyra was running in a triangle set up by her irritating triplet cousins as they continued to pass the satchel from one to the next. From her cart, Snø looked on, her ears twitching as Hogun yelled, "We could do this all day!" and giggled.
Lyra ran at Hogun but he tossed the satchel to Volstagg. Lyra ran to Volstagg but he tossed the satchel to Fandral and Fandral tossed the bag back to Hogun as Lyra ran toward him to repeat the cycle. This continued until finally, someone intervened.
"OI, HOGUN, VOLSTAGG AND FANDRAL, you STOP THAT STUPID ACT this MINUTE and GIVE LYRA HER SATCHEL BACK, NOW!"
Volstagg, Hogun and Fandral looked up and saw a red haired teen girl dressed in deer skin, a metallic skirt around her waist and black leather boots come in, her face plastered with thunder as it looked at the triplets. This girl's eye colour was brown like the triplets and she was slim. When the triplets saw the teen, their sister, come in with that glare, they froze instantly. Volstagg, Hogun and Fandral may be immature but they daren't mess with their older sister Wisteria or their older brother Herbert but the family member they feared most was their strict father, Iscan. Then the girl, Wisteria, added, "Do you want Dad to come and give you a SEVERE telling off for being silly?"
The triplets remained silent. Seeing that they weren't going to answer, Wisteria reached out a hand and demanded they give Lyra's satchel to her. Hogun, the one who had it, nervously did so. This done, Wisteria barked, "Now GO back to work or I WILL bring Dad here. And boy he will NOT be pleased when he hears how you've been treating his niece and our cousin there."
The triplets immediately darted off for one of the carts to continue their work. Lyra came in and Wisteria handed her satchel back to her.
"Thanks, Wisteria," the black haired girl said with relief as she took the satchel and placed it back around her shoulders, "I just cannot believe that those three can be SO irritating. They're the sons of our tribe leader, aren't they?"
"Indeed they are," replied Wisteria, "They're quite mischievous nonetheless, often getting into trouble and mischief but Dad and Mom (Hollyhair) have them covered. They're gonna have to grow up sooner or later like our older brother Herbert did," she nodded to another lad, a tall teen young man who had brown hair and also brown eyes as he helped a hulking man dressed in an outfit of leather and fur coat and wearing a typical Viking's hat complete with horns to pack another cart to be pulled by two brown stallions.
"You see," Wisteria continued, "When Dad retires and Herbert takes over the leadership role as he is the eldest son of our tribe leader, I and our triplet brothers will be assisting him as part of his inner circle for we are his siblings. That is why Dad and Mom want Volstagg, Hogun and Fandral to stop being silly and to start aiming on growing up. After all, they cannot stay like that forever, especially now that they are 13 years old and have entered the teen numbers."
Lyra looked on as the triplets then began to help Norman and his father Kleavor to load another cart. Nearby, Plumeria helped her father to attach another horse to another cart via the reins.
"I'd better get my mare Snø ready," Lyra said, "We'll be off shortly once our carts are loaded."
Wisteria nodded and with that, the two cousins left to return to work, Lyra glad that she had her satchel back.
Then as soon as the carts were packed, the group was ready to leave the village, down the hill and on the way to Aventurine Woods and the Emerald Grasslands. However, before they could do that, a safety talk must be made. The burly Iscan, his hair brown like his son Herbert, then climbed onto a large and flat rock and clapped his large hands to get everyone's attention. Lyra, after checking that Snø was properly reined to her cart, turned her gaze to her muscular uncle standing atop the rock.
"Can I have your attention please?" the man shouted. His voice sounded like thunder and was as fierce as he looked. Lyra actually flinched as Iscan's vocals passed through her like an earthquake. No wonder Volstagg, Hogun and Fandral feared him so much but Iscan telling them off for silly behaviour has happened before. Then once everyone had fixed their eyes on him including the triplets, Iscan continued.
"Right, before we leave here for the woods and the grasslands which will be quite a trek, we must go through some safety points. First, absolutely NO wandering off. Aventurine Woods can be very dangerous and we sometimes can get vicious beasts like bears and mountain lions roaming the trees looking the food. The last thing I want is any of you getting lost and worse, falling into the deadly claws and jaws of those beasts and we have lost people to them in the past..."
Lyra flinched. She had seen a bear in the woods before when Flint took her for a hike there when she was younger and Flint had told her how dangerous they were. However, the bear was sometimes hunted by the hunters in the Quartz Tribe for their fur. Iscan mentioned this.
"But the archers will be going hunting for a bear as a lesson on how to get clothes from them," said he, "And Kleavor will be in charge of that."
Lyra turned and eyed another man who was also tall and well-built. Like his son, Kleavor had brown hair but he had blue eyes. His face sported a beard that matched his hair in colour. He was well-muscled though not as muscled as Iscan but still, he was a force to be reckoned with. Norman once told Lyra that Kleavor had managed to actually kill a bear with his bare hands when Norman got lost in the woods at night as a young boy during a camping trip. He had foolishly wandered into the woods and ended up getting cornered by the beast but was saved just in time by his father. Not only was Kleavor a skilled archer and woodsman, but a beast wrestler as well though he had ABSOLUTELY no intentions of being a competitive beast wrestler due to how dangerous wrestling massive beasts armed with razor-sharp teeth and claws, such as bears can be. Kleavor only killed vicious beasts with his bare hands whenever it was necessary and Norman had also noted to Lyra that Kleavor had a set of scars on his belly where a puma had once clawed him. Kleavor certainly was a fierce warrior indeed and Lyra could not imagine her father Flint being like him. After all, Flint was not woodland hunter material, preferring to be a fisherman instead.
"The next safety rule," Iscan continued, "is the safe handling of the tools and weapons. The axes we will be using to cut down trees, for example, are VERY sharp and must NEVER be mishandled. Serious injury can result if you mess around with an axe or any other tool with a sharp blade," he then eyed Volstagg, Hogun and Fandral to ensure these three got that point. The triplets, flinching at the glare of their father, nodded. Immature though they were they knew ABSOLUTELY well that bladed tools were NOT toys and around a year ago, Iscan had taught the three a VERY important and SEVERE lesson when they messed around with a kitchen knife and they hadn't forgotten it. After all, ANY blade was NOT a toy and for GOOD reason. Iscan continued, "We'll talk further about blade safety once we get to Aventurine Woods and we are ready to cut down a tree in our wood sourcing lesson."
Iscan continued to give the safety talk and included tree safety and environmental safety such as not touching any poisonous mushrooms for there were mushrooms growing in Aventurine Woods. Then as soon as he was done, the group was finally ready to get moving and they did. Leading their horses with a few of the members riding on the backs of them as they pulled their carts, Iscan and company left Hav Av Stjerner with some villagers including Diamond, Lyra's mother, looking on and hoping that they will stay safe and with the group as per Iscan's safety rules. Then after leaving the village, the group carefully descended the hill, being careful that the carts did not roll into the horses. Lyra had Herbert and another strong lad to help keep her cart pulled by Snø steady on the way down and it was indeed a tall hill. Though being on top of such a hill had its advantages such as having an excellent view of the stars on a clear dark night (hence why Hav Av Stjerner was the village's name; it's name in English means 'Sea of Stars'), there were also disadvantages and one of them was descending and ascending the slope which can be very dangerous and risky, especially with carts. One of these risks was stumbling and tumbling down the hill like a rock which can lead to nasty injuries. The group continued their careful descent toward the foot of the hill and as soon as they got to the bottom to leveller ground, they began to pick up their pace and continue their journey.
As the group walked along, Norman began to tell Lyra a little more about the Quartz Tribe's history with dragons.
"I don't know if your parents have told you this already but our parents used to be dragon riders as well as carers and conservationists," said he, before nodding to Kleavor nearby, "Including my father Kleavor there who once rode a Gronkle he had named Rocky. They used to ride on dragons to fly to areas of our island further away from our village to gather firewood and food from them, including from the areas in the southern half of our island, over the Asgard Mountains," he nodded to the mountain range reaching for the skies. The tallest, Mount Odin was clearly visible. Lyra gazed at the mountain range and resumed listening to Norman as he continued, "But now that our parents and their parents before them don't ride dragons anymore, we rarely visit the southern parts of the Isle of Máni due to how treacherous that mountain range is. The only method of getting to the southern regions is by boat but it takes FAR longer than by air on a dragon."
"So the only places we can visit on foot are the areas confined to this northern region, where we live?" asked Lyra.
"Yes, by that and by horseback," said Norman. He then checked his quiver of arrows and his bow to make sure that they were in good condition.
"Like you, I have always dreamed of riding a dragon and visiting the southern regions of the Isle," he continued, "But as I've said and as our parents told us, dragon taming and riding have become things of the past because of poaching and slayer risks and we now have to manage with what we've got today."
Lyra gazed in disappointment at the archer. Riding a dragon was indeed one of her greatest dreams but it seemed as out of reach as the peak of Mount Odin. Sadly, she continued walking with her horse Snø and her cart.
The group continued their trek to Aventurine Woods through more grasslands and rocky terrain. The Isle of Máni indeed had a diverse range of environments. It had grasslands, woodlands and rocky areas, as well as the obvious mountain range, the Asgard Mountains which bisected the island into its two halves of the Northern and Southern regions. The Asgard Mountains also had their own set of environments such as tundra and icy habitats, especially at higher elevations. Mount Odin's peak was tipped in white due to it being so high. However, the Asgard Mountains also had a desert patch situated within them in a crater where the mountain peaks dropped. The Quartzians called this desert Surtur's Bowl as it was arid, dry and hot. Along the edges or its coasts, Máni had a few beaches with one of them in the southern half having a lagoon and a coral reef, called Aquamarine Lagoon and Beach by the Quartzians. The island also had an underground cave system, accessible only via a few large cave mouths. It was this diversity of environments the Quartz Tribe used to their advantage in hosting a wide variety of dragon species including those of the Tidal Class, the Aquamarine Lagoon being an excellent area for them. Lyra continued to gaze at the towering Asgard Mountains in the distance, hoping that one day she will visit the southern half of Máni. However, she was currently too young for travel of that level and so far from the village at the moment and she had a LOT to learn still about the different environments of the Quartz Tribe's home island. Perhaps one day, Lyra will be able to travel to the southern half of the Isle via boat and maybe even visit the Asgard Mountains themselves.
Then after walking for several hours such that the young members including Lyra were exhausted, the group finally arrived at the outskirts of Aventurine Woods. Aventurine Woods resembled regular woodland existing in a temperate environment. It was not a tropical rainforest for the Isle of Máni was not in the tropics. It was just a simple wood inhabited by fauna of species one would expect of common woodland, such as deer, squirrels, owls and voles as well as more dangerous animals like bears and at times pumas or mountain lions. A river ran through the wood and flowed down a shallow rocky area outside the entrance nearby the group as they sat down to take a rest and have some snacks from the long walk. As Lyra ate a vegetable sandwich made for her by her mother Diamond before her journey, she took in the countryside. Her aunt Hollyhair came in while her triplet sons Volstagg, Hogun and Fandral also sat nearby and had their sandwiches, moans and complaints escaping their mouths about the long journey to the annoyance of the other kids including Herbert and Norman nearby and they told the three to shut up.
"This area was subject to pollution from that wicked Night Fury slayer Grimmel the Grisly when he and his cronies paid us that 'visit' to kill the Night Fury pack we were caring for around here," the red-haired aunt of Lyra explained, "It took us ages to clean up the mess and restore this area to its initial pristine state after they had left."
"So Grimmel didn't just kill your Night Fury friends and poach some of the other dragons that lived here, Auntie Hollyhair?" asked Lyra.
"No, they just treated our island with UTMOST disrespect and nothing more than a dumping ground," Hollyhair angrily replied, "Unlike the Hooligan Tribe when they visited us a short while ago from their island of New Berk 100 miles north of ours to check on us."
"The Hooligan Tribe also used to ride dragons as well didn't they?" asked Lyra.
"They did around a year ago but they have since released their dragons so that they can live somewhere safe," said Hollyhair, "It seems that they have been having the same problem with dragon poachers and slayers targeting their dragon friends, especially Hiccup with his Night Fury friend Toothless (who is possibly the last Night Fury alive) and so for their safety, the Hooligan Tribe had sent them away to this safe place."
"Where did the Hooligan Tribe's dragons go?" asked Lyra.
"That's a closely guarded Berkian secret," said Hollyhair, "But enough on the subject of dragons for now. It's time to enter Aventurine Woods once break time's over."
Lyra gazed at her aunt as she then stood up and went over to her husband and Lyra's uncle Iscan as he checked the equipment in one of the carts. As she did this, a tall girl came in, a rather intimidating look on her face. She was tall and slim for she was older than Lyra and she had blonde hair and green eyes. She wore a fur coat made from puma skin and leather trousers and black fur boots. This was Plumeria, the nasty girl I briefly mentioned before. As also stated before, she saw Lyra as competition for Norman's affections but Plumeria disliked the only daughter of Flint and Diamond for a number of other reasons as well. Plumeria thought herself as being better than the other girls in the tribe and had the personality of a queen bee, having formed a clique of 'cool girls'. She was extremely prideful and condescending and one of her worst personality traits was that she was disrespectful to any kid in the tribe that had disabilities. However, any kid she saw as 'nerds' and bookworms were also her targets for bullying and Lyra was one of them. Two of Plumeria's closest friends were named Veruca and Viola and they were just as nasty as their leader.
"You sure have an obsession with dragons, don't you, dragon-brain?" she said in a low, unkind voice.
"What do you want, Plumeria?" Lyra asked angrily. A nasty smirk formed on Plumeria's face and she stepped close to Lyra in an intimidating manner, making her flinch. Invading someone's personal space like this was NOT a kind and polite thing to do as it made someone feel very uncomfortable but this was what Plumeria wanted to make Lyra feel.
"I've seen you sitting in your little corner in our library back in our village, reading that stupid book on those winged reptiles, dragon-face," Plumeria spoke in a nastier voice, her face shoved into Lyra's, making the girl, feeling scared, lean back such that she stumble onto her backside.
"Look, it's nothing to do with you, Plumeria," said she, "Now please leave me alone. You're making me feel threatened."
Plumeria, glad to hear this, widened her smirk.
"Please leave me alone, you're making me feel threatened," she mockingly and squeakily echoed Lyra's demand and shoved her face into Lyra's once again, "No, dragon girl."
Lyra flinched again and then Plumeria did something really nasty. Seeing the vegetable sandwich in Lyra's hands, Plumeria smirked more, raised a hand and seized the sandwich from Lyra's hands. Then at Lyra's demands that she give her sandwich back, Plumeria greedily stuffed it into her mouth. She shoved the entire remains of the sandwich such that her cheeks bulged out like a chipmunk. Then when she tasted what was in the sandwich, she immediately spat the chewed up pieces down into the grass and stomped her feet onto them.
"Ugh, what TACKY filling," she grunted distastefully, "What has your mother stuffed into this pathetic excuse for a sarnie!?"
Lyra gazed tearfully at the remains of her sandwich after Plumeria took a step back, now inedible since they had been shoved into the mud of the grass and then gazed timidly at the horrible girl.
"Yeah, you cry like the baby you are, Lyra leech and dragon nerd," Plumeria nastily scoffed. She then stood up, seized Lyra by the shirt and yanked her face towards hers to issue her a NASTY parting shot, her mood changing from mocking to a far more threatening one, her REAL colours, "And one last thing, dragon girl. Stay away from Norman as he's mine. If I EVER find you with him again, things are gonna get nasty and I do mean NASTY, GOT IT!?" she snarled the last words like a dog snarling and threatening to bite. Lyra, by now frightened with and rivulets of tears streaming down her cheeks, nodded and then Plumeria forcefully threw her back down onto the ground and returned to her group, among them Viola and Veruca, looking on and sniggering. The wicked girls then began to talk nastily about Lyra only to cast aside their nasty nature when Plumeria's father showed up with Kleavor to ask them if they got ready, unaware that Plumeria had been to bully Lyra. Poor Lyra. Shivering from the nasty girl's threats, she looked on tearfully as Viola then gave her a NASTY finger gesture while Plumeria's father and Kleavor weren't looking. Then Wisteria and Herbert turned up.
"Are you ready to enter the wood, cousin?" asked the former until she saw the mess covering Lyra, "Why are you trembling and weeping?"
Lyra, sobs escaping her mouth and tears running down her cheeks then began to tell Wisteria and Herbert what happened. Immediately, Herbert went over to Kleavor and Plumeria's father to pass on what Plumeria did to Lyra while Wisteria helped her cousin to her feet. Like a number of sensible girls, Wisteria DESPISED Plumeria because of her vile attitude.
"That Plumeria is a SERIOUS problem, she is as well as her group," she grunted, a glare at the rotten girl as she acted innocently around her father and Kleavor along with Viola and Veruca. Then when Kleavor shot an angry glare at Plumeria, her father stepped in and demanded he leave and that Plumeria did nothing wrong to the shock of Wisteria and also Herbert.
"Her parents Sharkfin and Maleficent are just as bad," grunted the only daughter of Iscan and Hollyhair, "They NEVER discipline their kids, especially their older daughter."
"You were bullied by her too, weren't you?" asked Lyra.
"So many times," said Wisteria, "One time she shredded my homework and got me into trouble for not doing my homework while she got off as free as a nasty dragon. Dad had warned Sharkfin and Maleficent to do something about their daughter and their other children and their behaviour but they refused to obey. You see, in our tribe, we are to respect each other and work together, not put each other down and cause each other trouble. And if Sharkfin and his family won't change their ways, they will be exiled and they will be forced to leave the island and settle somewhere else."
"I wonder if your irritating triplet brothers Volstagg, Fandral and Hogun like her for her attitude," Lyra said, her glare on the triplets as they helped another adult member of the group check on the horses. Wisteria gazed at the three identical triplets.
"They avoid Plumeria actually," said she, "They are afraid of her. Annoying, immature and at times dumb and stupid though they are but they are NOT stupid enough to get involved with Plumeria and her nasty clique knowing how Dad would react if they did."
"At least Volstagg, Fandral and Hogun have some sense," said Lyra to which Wisteria gladly nodded in agreement. Then as soon as break time was over, it was time to enter the woods and that's what the group did.
The group travelled some distance into the woods until finally, Iscan stopped them and commanded that the wood cutting tools like the axes be unloaded from the carts. Kleavor also commanded that the hunting tools like bows and arrows be unloaded as well as a hunting lesson will take place while the rest of the kids learn about sourcing the forest for firewood and building materials for objects made from wood. Lyra and the other kids proceeded to help the adults unload the appropriate materials, Lyra and some of the other kids keeping their distance from Plumeria as she continued to glare nastily at some of them, especially Lyra and Wisteria as she helped Sharkfin, her father, to carry an axe and lay it down on the floor in a safe spot so that no-one would accidently stumble over the dangerous bladed tool and injure themselves. Then as soon as the appropriate tools were out of the carts and the horses stood safely aside, Iscan opened up the lesson of cutting wood while Kleavor took some of the boys, among them his son Norman, and Herbert, into the woods, the group armed with their bows and arrows. These boys were older boys and they already knew the basics of cutting down trees for wood. As the group left, Volstagg went to follow but Wisteria stopped him.
"But I wanna go with them to hunt," grumbled the yellow-dressed boy. Hogun and Fandral, however, didn't seem as bothered. Though the three were identical in appearance with their attire colours to distinguish them, they were not identical in their personality trait ranges.
"When you are older," Wisteria replied, "Now please return to the rest of the group. Dad is about to start the lesson."
Volstagg sourly obeyed and reluctantly did as his older sister said, and joined his brothers Hogun and Fandral who weren't as bothered about hunting.