[DDC]{Trickett Party} We're gonna stomp all night now (Erika)

The party was in full swing and Frida didn't show any signs of slowing down. Esja had somehow found her again after leaving her a while and now Frida was chatting away to her aunts and uncles who kept teasing her about her lack of boyfriend whilst balancing her niece on her hip and champagne in her hand. The excitable Trickett didn't mind the topic of conversation at all, the charismatic woman was always ready to talk to anyone about anything, but Fri couldn't help but be grateful as Otto pulled her (and inadvertently Esja) away from the gaggle of witches and wizards trying to find out about her love life (or lack thereof) and over to the drinks stand. "My hero," she teased lightly as her brother topped up their glasses.

It was, at this point, that Ragna came along to relieve her youngest sister of the squirming object on the Ministry employee's hip and take her away. The sunny woman took the opportunity to wink at her niece whisper in her ear, "Quick! Run to your next adventure! Your mum'll never know!" Esja, clearly as gullible as her aunt, giggled and made to run off and Ragna tried to stop the girl but she soon disappeared into the crowd of Tricketts. The former Hufflepuff snorted in amusement as her sister turned to her with her hands on her hips and a glare to top it off. "That might work on Esja, but that hasn't worked on me in years." Frida poked her sister's arm playfully before pushing her towards her brother and exclaiming, "go! You two have some fun!"

Left semi-alone at the drinks stand, the Trickett took the time to really look around the room both to appreciate the venue and to see if there was anyone with whom she hadn't conserved yet. A flash of familiar blonde hair poked its way out between the bobble of moving heads and the cheerful woman made it her mission to reach the other Trickett woman. @Erika Trickett was great company in Frida's opinion, especially as Erika got to go on so many adventures as part of her jobs. Waving at the blonde witch with as much gusto as ever, the Ministry employee made to hug her family member tightly.

"Hi Erika! I haven't seen you in a while! How are you? How is Gringotts? Any more adventures? Any news?" The impulsive witch took a few seconds as a breather in between her mini interrogation to take a sip of her drink, before continuing in a rapid and cheerful tone with "I hear you've taken on Freya! I didn't know Gringotts was becoming a family business!" Frida giggled, amused by her own joke as she beamed up at the blonde. Merlin, Fri loved her family so much.

Dash's date was a dolt.

Erika had been watching him for a while. She was watching him now through narrowed eyes as she stood still, one hand folded across her chest as she chomped her way through a carrot stick dipped in hummus like a bunny with a bad attitude. Though not family, Dash was as good as and she was disappointed that she'd shown up with such a twonk. The girls had been introduced but they didn't know one another that well but no girl needed to kiss as many frogs as she had to find her prince.

She didn't like him, she decided. Erika had gone over to introduce herself brightly but he spent the entire time with his eyes glued to her chest. Thank Merlin Murphy hadn't seen him because that Alaric man would be dangling by his toes over the edge of the closest rope bridge.

Fresh back from Egypt, the Middle Eastern sun had turned her skin golden and luminous, her pale blonde hair bleached by the warm climate. Dressed in a pale blue romper, she looked the picture of health and every inch like the Norse goddess she was named for. Despite Alaric's presence which loomed in the doorway, ready to piss on everyone's bonfire, she was actually having a pretty good time. She was here with Murphy and his daughter, Ava. Like a duck to water, the little girl had adapted beautifully as she wreaked havoc with the other little ones, like only a maniacal five year old could.

"Hi beautiful!" Erika said suddenly as she waved back at Frida, her mood instantly changing as she hugged her cousin affectionately, flinging her half eaten carrot stick aside unceremoniously. She was briefly concerned that she might accidentally suffocate the other woman. Erika's hair fell in loose beachy waves that were thick and full, which was problematic as she hadn't used any Sleekeazy's Hair Potion on her barnet that morning. Why? Because she'd spent until midday rolling around her boyfriend's bed and she had no desire to leave it.

Blinking, she laughed. "I'm well," she told Frida brightly, holding her at arm's length. "You?" She grinned. "Gringotts is fine. Goblins are still working me hard. I just got back from Egypt last week so my brain's a little addled. I adopted a dog?" Erika managed to say in between Frida's rapid fire questions before she just laughed, looping an arm around the other woman's shoulders and squeezing her to her in a sideways cuddle.

"She's doing really well!" Erika gushed, speaking of Freya fondly. "She's smart and she's capable and she'd eager to learn. I think she's handling everything wonderfully." It was true. Her cousin perhaps wasn't really qualified for the position but everyone needed a chance and Erika was more than willing to stick her neck on the line. Erika had no reason to think that the younger blonde would ever let her down. When she was Freya's age, she wanted nothing more than independence and to be taken seriously, like any teenager would.

"She's a dream," she told Frida honestly. "She came with me to Egypt, actually," she mused. "Don't worry," she said, touching her cousin's arm to reassure her. "She didn't come into the pyramid with me. I made her wait outside with a bottle of water and a thousand year old sword that can control the weather but no one died so I guess it was fine~"

The Trickett smiled happily, pleased with the returned hug she was receiving, sneakily blowing some of Erika's impressive waves of hair out of her face. Frida was always happy to know her family members were well and her younger cousin was no exception, and the Ministry employee let out a relieved puff of air as the blonde witch confirmed she was alright. "Good," Frida breathed lightly, her facial features relaxing momentarily until Erika redirected the question back to herself. How was she? "Never been better!" Fri exclaimed, laughing slightly.

Giggling cheerfully, the childish Hufflepuff alumna had always thought that goblins were extremely cute creatures and they were very funny when she ever had to visit them for business at Gringotts. She liked them a lot. "Aww," Frida crooned, brushing her hair behind her shoulders, "I'm sure they don't mean anything by it. It's just the way goblins are." At the mention of a place that definitely wasn't in the United Kingdom, Frida's eyes sparkled in recognition, her head jerked up to meet Erika's eye level and she bounced on the balls of her feet. The sunny witch's excitable adventure mode had officially been triggered and switched on. "Egypt! Wow," she exclaimed, clapping her hands together rapidly, "I'm so amazed that you get to go on all these wicked adventures!"

Grabbing the other Trickett's hand and clasping it in a firm grip, Fri hadn't held it for more than a few seconds before speaking again, waving her arms about in crazy directions (as was her usual custom). "Tell me all about Egypt. I wanna hear it all!" She paused, surprise evident on her face as if she had forgotten something important. "I want to hear about this dog, too," Fri blurted out, apparently deciding to re-evaluate her priorities. Furry friends would always top exotic adventures, even if only by a fraction. "What breed is it? He or she? Can I see it sometime?" The excitable woman bounced a few times, her hand slipping around Erika's waist, affectionately returning her side-hug, whilst in her mind praying that it was a golden retriever. Whatever breed it turned out to be, the Trickett was sure the dog was super cute.

Fri was a hundred percent sure that her family was the very best family ever. "Aww, bless her," the Ministry worker exclaimed, pride for her much younger cousin shining brightly from her visage as she tilted her head. Freya deserved the very best. Her whole family did, but Frida was slightly more partial to the newly graduated Gryffindor. "Though," Frida began, beamed widely as she tacked on an afterthought, "I wouldn't expect anything less from one of Alberich's children." The sunny witch scanned the room that they were standing in, trying to determine through all the chaos whether Freya was there or not. Alas, she was not immediately visible, but Fri supposed there was time to compliment the younger blonde girl to her face later. "I'm glad she's doing well," she added.

The older of the two Trickett witches gasped loudly as she was told Freya got to go with Erika to Egypt, she was so lucky! Frida felt like she never got to go on any foreign adventures with her career choice... Oh well. "I bet she was disappointed not to go in with you," Frida jested, tilting her head as she knew in her heart that she would have been disappointed if she'd been denied such an adventure. "I would totally want to go in with you!" It was probably for the best though, after all, Freya was still young. Still, it seemed her younger cousin's little trip wasn't all a bore, she got to hold a sword! "She got to hold a sword?!" Frida gasped, eyes widening in amazement, bouncing on her toes again, "I wanna hold a sword!" The Cornish witch was positive she'd never got to hold a sword before! "Best I've got is a Firebolt that a muggle somehow obtained," Fri muttered, with a charismatic tone betraying how she really felt about that Firebolt. It had made her day, really. It was one of the very first editions and so shiny! Not as shiny as a sword, but Frida appreciated the shine on the wood all the same.

The sunny woman wished she had some kind of crazy, exotic adventure to tell her cousin but ala-.... Hang on. I did have an adventure! Frida continued bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, her speaking speed increasing tenfold as she waved her arms about animatedly. "Ooo!" Fri squealed, eager to tell her cousin something exciting, "did I tell you that I went to Russia a few months ago?" She turned to face the younger Trickett, smiling brightly at Erika before tacking on with an enthusatic nod, "with a skeleton!"