Birthday gifts for orphans

Life had... not been great for the Trygg family lately. With his mother's untimely demise and his father seeming to follow shortly behind her with his depression, the Viking pups had been left to raise themselves for the most part. It was fine; hardship proved to be the greatest tester of mettle and the strongest of steel was forged in the hottest of fire. Hallvarðr viewed it all as the will of the gods, though whether it was a punishment or a tribulation, he did not know. Either way, it left him and his siblings with the unfortunate circumstances of having to celebrate their first birthdays on their own without their parents—so Hal would take it upon himself to make their birthdays something worth smiling about. It was the least his brothers and sisters deserved.

He had heard of the Armada market time and time again, and now that he was old enough to venture off the mountain for extended periods on his own, the Viking boy headed down from Hemlock to see if he could find something worthy of birthday gifts. He strode through the natural stone gates of the Col, feeling very out of place amongst the hustle and bustle of the market. His discomfort showed on his face as he wandered through the market, checking out the stalls of merchants' wares with silent appraisal. Nothing stood out to him—until one thing did. A girl running a shop of her own. A girl he recognized from the Hallows bonfire. Wynter. Eyes of ice light up with recognition, but he hesitated back from approaching her. What if she didn't want to be bothered by some heathen boy from the mountains? Would she even remember him? She seemed busy... maybe he should just keep on going. But what if she had some ideas on what he could get his siblings for their birthdays?

Hal slowly approached her stall, lingering at a nearby one for a time to make it look like he was just perusing around before stopping at hers by happenstance. He peered down at her with a little smile feeling awkward on his face. "Hello Wynter," he greeted her, his voice in the in-between stages of deepening to lower baritone levels in his adolescence. "I would like to buy some things from you." Nice, good social skills there, heathen boy.

"Hallvarðr Trygg"