Birgitta was feeling very overwhelmed with all the noise and chatter in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, having come at Nesia's insistence to be part of the celebrations for the Triwizard Tournament. She felt like the noise was pressing in on her, not used to the loud chatter and environment. She was hovering nervously by the entrance to the Hall, fingers gripping her practice weapon almost convulsively. She kept herself looking calm and collected, but inside she was almost ready to scream, far too used to the more Military behaviour of Durmstrang School. This was beyond frightening for her, but she had to go through with it, especially since Nesia asked her to get some seats to have their meal.

Being a Jord should have kept her comfortable and solid, much like the earth, but the noise, it was too much! She looked and moved, with a steady pace, to sit next to some of her fellow Jords, taking comfort that they were there for her to relax next to. She was still saving a place for Nesia, but now she could take everything in, without feeling like she was about to have a panic attack. She already had a very bad feeling that her selective mutism was kicking in, which meant that English was most definitely not going to be the first language out of her mouth. Birgitta's eyes flickered over the Great Hall, taking in the chatting students, all wearing different clothes and styles of uniform.


Birgitta was fussing with her talisman, Thor's Hammer, which she had attached to her practice weapon. She was hoping that she could get confidence from Thor himself, though truthfully, she would rather have Loki's blessing at the moment. Being invisible might have it's perks, and Loki was a good enough liar, called Silver-Tongue for a reason, to be able to bluff his way to safety. Birgitta had none of those skills, and she had NO INTENTION of being part of the Tournament.

No, she was here to support Nesia and spend time with her, that was it. It didn't help that she was so far from home, especially since it was being held in Scotland. She knew that in most cases, Swedish and Scottish people got along well, but looking at the different people and the sounds of their voices; well, she doubted many were even Scottish to begin with. She was at least grateful that they were able to disappear into the Ship after the meals, it was a nice relief for her. Birgitta fidgeted with the Hammer once more, wearing her talismans under her shirt for comfort, and she was anxiously waiting for Nesia to arrive. Where was her friend?

The Durmstrang delegation entered the Hogwarts castle together. Or was, because Nesia suddenly needed to use the bathroom, one thing led to another and now she found herself acquainted with second year students of the snake dorm. Some of their parents planned to enroll them to Durmstrang before their Hogwarts letters came. Upon spotting her, they introduced themselves and soon she was bombarded with questions. 

"So, so, Miss Nesia, is that true you're allowed to ride a dragon around Durmstrang during summer?" an overly excited girl asked. None of them managed to say her last name without struggling, so Nesia let them address her by the first name. "What kind of dragon do you have?" 

"Well..." she observed their faces. Oh god, their eyes are sparkling. Now she couldn't disappoint them. "There is a dragon sanctuary nearby..." Nesia knew there was at least one in the country but she had no idea of its exact location. "We don't own them, you see..." her explanation was cut short by the arrival of an older female student wearing a P badge near her dorm insignia. The younger students scurried away from the bathroom in fear, and Nesia mouthed her thanks to her. 

The opening ceremony was about to begin when she arrived at the Great Hall. Without wasting time to admire its decor, she ducked to find their Huffpuff table quickly--thanks to the eye catching crimson robe of the Durmstrangs. Ignoring some students--both local and guest--who offered a space, Nesia located Birgitta and squeezed herself beside her. 

"Birgit," she called softly, tapping her shoulder. "Sorry I disappeared, had to use bathroom." Nesia then nodded and greeted the other Durmstrangs, some who laughed at her late appearance. She kept her voice volume low so as not to worsen her friend's anxiety. 

The plates along the tables were still empty as the welcoming speech continued. Nesia clapped along whenever the host students did, but barely pay any attention to their headmaster. A short list of menu was placed on her plate, and it fueled her appetite. Sighing, she turned her sight upwards. "Oh!" she exclaimed in a whisper. "They enchanted the ceiling like the starry sky outside. Even the stars too. Can you recognize the constellations?"

Birgitta relaxed minutely when Nesia came into view, her tight shoulders lowering just barely, but enough to make her posture and aura calm the hell down. She offered Nesia a tiny smile, a bare quirk of her lips, but that was all she truly needed to do. The Swedish woman felt better once she heard her nickname fall from Nesia's lips, head tilting slightly at the explanation, a sparkle of faint amusement echoing in her blue eyes. She shifted to make more room for Nesia, easily accommodating the smaller woman, and said in quiet Danish, " Det er i orden, det er en mærkelig slot efter alle. Beklager, kan det tage mig et stykke tid at komme tilbage til engelsk, det er for meget." Birgitta winced, knowing that Danish was hard to understand for even some native speakers, and she easily pulled out some paper and a pencil, writing down the translation to give to Nesia, eyes gentle with a wordless apology for her language switch. On the paper, it read out, ' It is alright, this is a strange castle after all. Sorry, it might take me a while to get back to English, it's too much.' Birgitta spread her hands slightly, her own way of making it clear that the noise and people were triggering her selective mutism.

Birgitta tilted her head again when the Headmaster of Hogwarts spoke, welcoming all the visiting students and speaking about the Tri-Wizard Cup, and the history behind it. The Swedish woman cast a glance at Nesia, a soft thrum of amusement sweeping through her at the fact that her more active friend was completely ignoring the man. Birgitta could give her the abridged version later, it wouldn't be hard, especially once they were back on the boat. Hopefully by that time, her language came back under her control, and she could communicate properly with Nesia. Birgit blinked a few times when the menu appeared before her, a soft sigh leaving her lips, which meant speaking to the plate, and in English. LOVELY... She huffed quietly, scanning the menu and she pursed her lips slightly, the look not really seen on her since this was forcing her to try and overcome her occasional handicap. She was planning her next words when Nesia mentioned the ceiling and she looked up, pausing and she took in the sight of the night sky above their heads, the stars soothing, though alien in this new sky. Thankfully, the view and Nesia's question allowed Birgit to focus on something other than her surroundings, and she let out a softly said, " Nej... Jeg kender ikke stjernerne. Tak for distraherende mig."

She reached over, gently curling her fingers around Nesia's wrist, doing a light and gentle squeeze in appreciation. Anything that was focused on nature was one of the ways she learnt to deal with her selective mutism, but it still took her some time to find her words once more. She reluctantly dropped her gaze from the ceiling, a little disappointed, but wrote out her response in English for Nesia, fully aware that this was actually common for them, since Birgit did have her disability to deal with. It reared it's head often enough that Birgit made it a point to teach Nesia the basics in all five languages she typically fell back on when her mutism came into play. She put down below the first explanation, ' I don't know the stars. Thank you for distracting me.' She really did occasionally hate her disability, but it was part of her, and did make her who she was. She looked back up, taking them in and a soft sigh left her, a slight wistfulness to be back under Swedish skies once more. Sure, this was all about unity and a peaceful, firendly competition of different Schools of Magic, but for Birgit, it was a chance to prove to herself that, irregardless of her shier nature, she could be around others without being overwhelmed. She lifted her hand and traced out one of the constellations, looking at Nesia as if to ask her what she thought it was.