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[b][center][color=#FFA319]SKÖLL[/color][/center][/b]
[/h1][/sup][/color][indent][sub][color=#FFA319][I]THE BALL (EVENTUALLY)[/I][/COLOR][/sub][/indent][indent][sup][right][color=#FFA319][b]MOOD: [I]WHOOPS...[/i][/b][/color][/right][/sup][/indent][hr]

Noise was what emitted from the narrow apartment block in downtown Seattle and what it was known for by the locals. Whether it be the cry of a newborn baby, the deep vibrating rhythm of bass cranked up too loud, or a screaming match between two neighbours. It was a constant for the inhabitants and one that most grew to at the very least tolerate, though it was certainly not a place for those who were apt to sleeping lightly. Luckily, Mr. Jenkins had a hearing aid he could handily turn down and he did so as he slid past the two figures stood in the hallway, muttering a half-hearted hello to the pair. The redhead who turned to wave back was as dumb as a sack of bricks but he was a strong pair of hands, and was always more than happy to help him carry his groceries up those damned stairs. So, despite his insistence in ignoring the rest of them, Mr Jenkins would always mumble some sort of greeting to the firefighter. 

[color=#FFA319]"Hi Mr. Jenkins! And thanks for this Cherry!"[/color] The wolf in question beamed as he stood outside his front door, watching eagerly whilst his landlady rifled through her amusingly large set of keys, searching impatiently for the right one. Shaking her head when she located it, she unlocked the door, before folding her arms against the brightly coloured shawl wrapped around her chest. "Sammy, I love you but you [I]really[/I] need to stop losing your keys!" Her teeth moved to press against her tongue, letting out a disapproving tut. At this a small frown knitted Skölls eyebrows together, the wolf trying and failing to remember where he'd left them. Things were just so hard to keep track of...he really wasn't sure how anyone else did it. 

[color=#FFA319]"Well, I remember I had them at work but then Gary told this really funny joke and I put them down, and then we had a call-out, and then I—"[/color] 

"Alright, I get it. I get it." The middle-aged woman sighed, handing him a spare key that she always had ready for precisely these scenarios. "Just try not to lose this one. I have better things to do than chase round after you y'know." Though her words were stern, she still offered him a warm smile, a motherly air radiating off her in spite of her best attempts to do otherwise. Sköll had lived in this apartment for the last four years and Cherry was the only landlady who would put up with his absentmindedness. Usually they grew fed up after he kept losing his keys...or broke something...or left the water running all day. She even brought him round food sometimes, which was great because he always came out of the grocery store with several packets of gummy worms and little else. Cherry had once pointed out the irony (whatever that word meant) of him being a firefighter, since he'd nearly set fire to the place at least half a dozen times. 

[color=#FFA319]"I promise! I definitely won't lo—"[/color] The wolfish grin dropped from his face as he looked down, only to see that his dirt-stained hands were empty once again. [color=#FFA319]"Where'd it go?!"[/color] His eyebrows furrowed together in confusion as he spun round, looking up and down as if some mysterious figure had just played a magic trick on him. 

"You dropped it." Cherry was unable to help the roll of her eyes as she picked it up, this time placing it firmly in his hand and closing his fingers about the cold metal. "I'm not letting you in again this evening. You'll have to sleep in the hallway if you get locked out." She chastised, jingling her set of keys to emphasis her point. The Seattle native would keep to her promise too, she'd done it once before when he'd returned home drunk at 2 in the morning. Sköll had lost a [I]lot[/I] that night, including both the pair of jeans and t-shirt he had been wearing...he vaguely remembered something about a bet with Mani.

[color=#FFA319]"Alright..."[/color] Sköll nodded sullenly, now doubley hoping that he'd be able to keep track of it. Maybe he should give a copy to Hati or something. Sleeping on the ground was no fun and his muscles were already aching from the 48 hour shift he'd just finished. Plus the chill he could feel wafting against his bare arms would be even worse at midnight. Seeing the downcast expression on his face, Cherry gave his hair a fond ruffle before turning to tromp down the hallway. "You're lucky you're cute!" She shouted over her shoulder, Sköll grinning at this reluctant compliment as he darted through the open door. 

Wandering into what could only be described as absolute chaos, Sköll flopped onto the well-worn couch, letting out a satisfied groan. Weariness threatened to overcome him, the temptation to have an extremely long nap pulling at his tired body, when his phone suddenly pinged. [color=#FFA319]"Huh?"[/color] Pulling it from his back pocket, Sköll sat up before, after several failed attempts at remembering his pin, he managed to unlock the device. Head cocked to one side at the familiar name that had popped on the screen. [color=#FFA319][sub]It was Hati![/sub][/color] Hati had told him to always always [i]always[/i] read his messages, so he did, tongue hanging out from the corner of his mouth in an expression of mild concentration. Deep brown eyes slowly widened as he read the message...and then read it again after he was distracted by a bird outside the first time. [color=#FFA319][sub]Oh, oh! The ball was today! Awesome![/sub][/color] 

Any thoughts of naps were instantly forgotten as he scrambled up, eyes darting around the apartment as he tried to figure out what to do first. His stomach rumbling reminded him that he hadn't eaten for several hours and after bolting down a quick meal of dry cereal and a bag of expired chips (he’d forgotten to go grocery shopping again), he’d hopped into the shower. One of Skölls favourite things in the world was blisteringly hot showers. Heat was not something he’d ever been afraid of, instead it was something he craved, particularly since the move to Seattle. Hard-earned muscles flexed in welcome of the downpour of warmth, hands reaching up to run through his messy mop of hair. He could've spent hours in there, much to the chagrin of Cherry, if not for another ping from his phone. Pouting at this disruption, he hopped out, wrapping a clean towel around his waist. The wolf paid little mind as he trapised water all over his bathroom floor, even shaking his soaking wet hair so that droplets littered nearly every surface.

Humming a made-up tune to himself, Sköll wandered into his equally chaotic bedroom. The fourth-floor apartment was tiny and cramped, even by big city standards, but the disorder that seemed to follow the norse deity around as stubbornly as his shadow had only served to compound it ten-fold. Sitting next to a mountain of clothes that had been haphazardly dumped on the floor, Sköll began to toss them aside until he found his one and only suit. A quick precursory sniff of the black wool confirmed that it was at least clean. The getting dressed part was easy but when he reached the bowtie, the wolf found himself completely and utterly stumped. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get it to do the knot thingy and after several minutes of fumbling around with it, he gave up, letting out a frustrated whine. It was lucky, or maybe unlucky that no-one else was there to see the wolf, who despite his best attempts, looked like he was ending the night, not starting it. His red hair was a tousled mess, he'd missed a smear of dirt on his cheek, and his bowtie was now hanging limply about his collar. None of this seemed to concern the young deity though, who was unceremoniously stuffing a final cookie into his mouth before heading out the door.

[color=#FFA319][centre]ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ[/centre][/color]

The ball was in full-swing, the outside teaming with reporters to grill those hailed as celebrities and the interior filled to the brim with mortals. Sköll had only gotten himself lost [i]two[/i] times before he’d found the venue and in his excitement he had bounded inside, nearly bowling over a waiter who had been precariously balancing a platter full of champagne flutes. After grinning apologetically at him and grabbing himself a drink — Dom, Dom Pe...something fancy — he'd found his enthusiasm trailing away when he noticed the stifled atmosphere. He'd thought it'd be like a party, with dancing and laughter, but everyone was just stood around all boring and stuff. Deep brown eyes darted about the room, a small pout gracing his features when he didn’t spot Hati. [color=#FFA319][sub]Where was he?[/sub][/color] Wandering over to the bar, he plopped himself down in one of the chairs, before cradling his chin in the palm of one of his hands. After asking the bartender for some more of the tasty champagne, he looked around, hoping he'd be able to spot someone fun to hang out with. Maybe Sunna or Mani or Hel or...  

"I recognise your face!" 

Sköll sat upright at the sudden arrival of another body in the stool next to his, the mortal in question moving so close that their faces were barely inches apart.[color=#FFA319]"[I]My[/I] face?"[/color] He tilted his head, unperturbed by the sudden invasion of his personal space by this complete stranger. [color=#FFA319]"Really?!"[/color] Sköll thought celebrities were super cool but he knew that he definitely wasn't one. Apart from that one old lady who always gave him fruit cake when he rescued her cat and who acted like he was the most famous person in the world. 

"Totes! Though I dunno where from..." Hands reach up to clasp his face between them, a look of concentration passing over the woman's face as she stared at his wolfish features. Sköll stared dumbly back, a confused bark of a laugh escaping his lips as he watched the mortal. She was a pretty blonde and from the slight smudging of her makeup it looked like she'd already had more than a few glasses of the champagne. "July! That's it!" She clapped excitedly, nearly toppling off her stool in her sudden burst of excitement. "The calendar! You're a firefighter right? My boyfriend got [I]sooooooo[/I] annoyed when I refused to take that thing down." The girl rolled her eyes at this, hands still wrapped firmly against his cheeks. 

[color=#FFA319]"Oh! Yep that's me! They always give me July cause of my hair."[/color] He grinned pointing to his own messy locks, which he'd somehow managed to tame a little since leaving the house. The calendar was always fun to do but he'd never been recognised because of it before. This was great! 

Her blue eyes widened in a gesture of admiration, before moving round to focus on the abysmally empty dancefloor. “So cool..." Despite the classical music that was gently filling the spacious room, a small group of what looked to be influencers were dancing to their own beat, unaware or uncaring to the haughty glances that were ever more frequently being tossed their way. "Wanna dance with us?!” The girl raised her eyebrows, grabbing his hand before he had a chance to refuse. Not that he would. Sköll loved playing with mortals. It reminded him of when he'd been a pup — before the bad times — and he'd run off from his father so that he could go roll around with the small humans. He didn't know why but mortals had always felt at ease with him, so he rarely questioned it when they were so outwardly friendly. 

After the pair had bounded over to the dancefloor, the wolf had been exchanging a series of somewhat repetitive greetings with the heavily inebriated mortals, when suddenly he felt something painful dig into one of his shoulders. The wool and linen of his suit provided little in the way of cushioning and he found himself abruptly shoved aside, forced to face the cause of the new pain in his already aching muscle. Dumbfounded, Sköll could only blink in confusion at the giant of a man who was stood in front of him. Even by the lofty standards of the gods he was tall. Ever the one to misjudge a situation, the wolf was about to chirp hello when the the collar of his shirt was twisted in the tight grip of this mortal, Sköll wincing a little as the material dug uncomfortably into his neck. 

[I]Oh no...[/I]

[sub][right][b]Mentions:[/b] [color=#295751]Hati[/color] [@KZOMBI3][/right][/sub]