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 Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2019 5:48 pm
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Snorre was shocked to be returning from his first viking at all, never mind that he actually had loot with him. Somehow, the ratels they had been harassing warmed up to them and had come home with the band.. they even made a point of picking out him and Cad to follow, but he wasn't sure anybody else wanted an unpredictable and feisty furball for a thrall. The Captain certainly hadn't chosen to exercise his right to dibs, or whatever. So Snorre had added to his collection of thralls, and though there had been a fight for this one.. he wasn't going to play up that angle.
"I'm surprised she wasn't waiting for me," Snorre said, walking along towards home with Nanna hanging lazily over his back and Mbegu trailing along behind him, "I mean, we were gone a while and you don't know when someone's back until.. they're back.. but.."
Nanna smiled but Mbegu didn't seem to be paying attention.
"This pride is strange," the ratel said to nobody in particular, looking around as they walked along, "But I guess most lions are."
"Maybe," Snorre said, looking back, "But you might wanna keep that to yourself until you get more comfortable. Not everybody around here has a sense of humor like me."
"So.. like Mel?" Mbegu asked.
"Yeah," Snorre nodded and Inina laughed.
"Some are worse," Nanna added, "Especially to thralls, but thralls like us are different. They mostly leave us alone." |
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Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2019 6:02 pm
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Ylva had just left her visit with Haldor, grateful that her brother had continued to offer her lessons in fighting. She wasn't a complete bumbling idiot anymore, and had learned the best ways to at least protect herself from any serious blows. She may not have the skills to take down her won enemies, but she was feeling more confident in herself. She had always dutifully followed her mother's directions. Shoulders down, neck high, head level to the ground. Look proud, confident, deadly. But she felt it now, and it was like her own world had widened. Things felt more full of potential.
So she had begun her trek back to her parents' den, confidence keeping her mind from slipping. A lot had happened in her father's absence, and she only hoped that he had grown as well. The silver lioness hummed to herself quietly, step by step getting closer and closer....and could hear a voice. A very recognizable voice. Nanna. Which meant....
"Father?" Ylva gaped, quickly shutting her jaw shut and taking a deep breath. She had felt her eyes widen a bit too much, her form lose that edge of perfection. How...when... what? "Did.... did you just get home?" she asked, her voice dropping quieter as she trotted up towards her clearly successful father. Ylva tried to not stare at the strange little creature near Snorre and Nanna, but instead glanced around to see if he had run into her mother yet. |
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Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2019 6:15 pm
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Mbegu made a face. He wasn't sure he liked the term thrall, it was just a fancy word for slave.. and that didn't quite fit what he was, but he and his sister had been reassured that it was a technicality. They had come voluntarily and they all knew he and Menya could take them .. still, he didn't have to like it. Nanna's acceptance was one of the more reassuring things, though.
"Ylva?"
Snorre was only half-paying attention to where he was going, too busy laughing quietly as Nanna and Mbegu talked, but he couldn't miss his beautiful daughter coming out to greet him upon his return home from a successful raid. He was so starry-eyed about the situation, he didn't seem to realize that she was uneasy.
"Yes, I'm home!" he said, beaming at his daughter and puffing out his chest, "You wouldn't believe some of the things we ran into out there! But look, I brought home another thrall. A good one, too. I don't know if I've seen anybody else with a ratel around here."
Nanna and Mbegu both noticed Ylva looking shocked and worried and exchanged a look. As Snorre starting boasting, Nanna slithered over his shoulder and fell to the ground with a soft thump.. and moved a few feet away to give them space and to try to figure out what was happening. That left Mbegu between the lions and the snake, and he slowly inched back to stand by Nanna.
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Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2019 6:32 pm
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"I... I'm sorry that none of us were there to greet you upon your return!" She was desperately trying to not just shout at her father, but it was hard when he was as... simple minded as he could be. Snorre was clearly very proud of his accomplishments, and with due reason. Ylva would be lying if her mother and she believed that he would come back successful. They just originally wanted him to come back alive.
"I take it that you haven't seen Mother yet?" she asked, hoping that her concern was rather obvious. There were many things to fill him in on, and she didn't know how much time she had before her mother appeared. Creiddylad was skilled at being where she needed to be, and Ylva knew that they only had moments before she arrived. Ylva wanted desperately to warn her father, but his insistent pride in the...ratel? he caught was something she couldn't just brush aside. It may be how one handled a very proud cub, but she did love her father and his kind demeanor. "Y-yes, I don't think I've ever seen a ratel before," she echoed, her words a bit louder as she tried to smile with pride as she investigated the ratel. She didn't get too close, not knowing much about it, but hoped that her interest would satisfy her father.
"If you haven't, I do have something to-"
"Snorre!" Creiddylad materialized seemingly out of no where, rushing up to her husband to welcome him home. The adoration was a bit over the top, but she had half-feared that he would have died out there. As lazy as her husband could be, she did not want to deal with the fallout of being a widow. The brown lioness glanced downwards, having not realized that she had nearly tripped on the little purple creature that was oddly close to Nanna. "I see you found Nanna a companion...you make me proud!"
Ylva winced, disappointed that she didn't have the opportunity to warn her father. Oh well, he would find out in a moment.
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Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2019 6:47 pm
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"Not yet," Snorre confirmed, happily distracted from wondering why his dear wife wasn't immediately at his side when he made it home safe and sound now that Ylva was here. He was on the verge of picking up on her anxiety when she kindly remarked on his new friend and pushed his attention away.
"His name is Mbegu, he has a- Creid!"
And then suddenly Creiddylad appeared, nearly tripping over Mbegu and sending Nanna slithering another few feet away. Mbegu looked nervously on and stayed close to the snake as he watched this little reunion unfold before him. The first lioness was so clearly Snorre's child, she had his eyes and his color.. and when Creid appeared, it was obvious who she was, too.
More important than who they were, though, was how Snorre seemed to lose his sense in the excitement. It was almost cute but it made Mbegu wonder what he had signed himself up for now. It didn't help that now Nanna was looking nervous, too.
"Creid, I'm home," he said brightly, "I brought home a ratel. He's a good one, bit one of my friends on the tail. You should have seen it!"
Mbegu made a face and muttered an inaudible correction about how it was Menya that bit Cadwgan, guessing it was to avoid confessing that he'd also been attacked.. or maybe he really hadn't noticed how he and Menya had chosen their 'masters'.
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Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2019 7:08 pm
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Ylva watched her parents closely, wondering if there was a way for her to somehow warn her father without her mother knowing. But her mother was a master of the game, and would know that something would be up before Ylva would even be able to finish her sentence. She sighed internally, keeping a soft smile on her face as she observed them both.
"Oh, how lovely! I am impressed, dear husband." Creid inspected the ratel, more closely than Ylva had just moments ago. Truth be told, Creid knew enough about ratels, and was trying to see just how fast it may snap at a master. It seemed smart enough, and for that Creid was grateful. "You know, with their strength....the best thing he can do is just keep watch over the den, chase away anyone who has no business bothering us." And Creid had a good reason as to why that may happen more in the future.
"Did it all go well, Father? I'm sure you'll have lots of stories to share," Ylva threw out there, hoping to break up her parents current closeness. She glanced down towards Nanna, wondering if somehow she could tell the snake...but that seemed rather invasive, and rude to attempt right in front of her mothers. This was most frustrating.
"Oh? Did the group get along well enough? It must have if you were able to bring home such a prize," Creid purred.
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Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2019 7:26 pm
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Mbegu quickly put a neutral expression back on his face but it was a poor disguise for his confusion and distrust.. the important thing was that he didn't flinch at having a strange lioness who was his so-called master try to push his limits. His concern was balanced with some curiosity.. if he had to guess, Menya was having a much easier time with the blond dummy but it had to be way less interesting.
While Creid inspected Mbegu, Nanna noticed Ylva's glance and took the moment of distraction to slither around the others and settle at the lioness's feet. They couldn't exactly talk but they were closer this way. Something was up, and at least she liked Ylva enough that saying hi after being away was enough of an excuse to get this close.
Snorre was beaming at the attention he was getting.
"Yeah, it was a great group," he said, happily launching into rambling half-answers, "Some Aesir blood, not sure how but he had the face, around our age actually, he was kind of cranky.. mostly a bunch of youngsters but it was fine. One of them, Cad, he has Mbegu's sister."
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Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2019 8:28 pm
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"Hmmm, Aesir, huh." Creid was trying to figure out which ones it could be. There was still a good amoutn of active blood of his, though many of them didn't recover from the fall of their bloodlines' rank. "Well, their bloodline is well enough now with Ushindi in power, I suppose."
Ylva could see the gears turning in her mother's mind, though she didn't know why. Things were already starting to fall in place for her, them, the whole family. Perhaps Creid could finally find a use for some of Ylva's siblings, those that were not as ambitious but may soon find themselves with more eyes on them than before. She glanced down at Nanna, upset that she couldn't talk to the snake. She let her ears swivel backwards, giving the snake a slight, sorrowful shake of her head before painting on that pleasant look she normally wore.
"Should we show Father back to the den, with the new thrall?" Ylva attempted, trying to see if she could get everyone distracted enough to finally warn her father of his impending doom.
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Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2019 8:53 pm
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"Oh yeah."
Snorre had forgotten about Ushindi, sort of. Forgot that he was Aesir blood, too, anyway. He was so dressed up that one time he really got a good look at him and Mel was, strangely, his strongest mental association with it now. Reminded of the connection, he wondered if that was why Melkofur had been spurred to finally go viking, too. Gotta be hard when you're brother-cousin-uncle-or-something was suddenly the Warlord.. especially one that was so young.
Wasn't he saying something about wanting to get married, too?
"The others were much more interesting," he went on, not taking Ylva's bait and instead turning the conversation in the exact wrong direction, "In fact, I found the perfect husband for Ylva."
If he had his way, Snorre would pick Cadwgan and Nanna knew it- which explained why she had a horrified look on her face at his declaration. The Reaver had a feeling that Ivar would be his wife's pick between the two, though, so he thought he was being smart and mentally picked him out. He hadn't even spoken to either of them about it, he just knew it was right.
Mbegu's expression changed to one of poorly concealed amusement. He didn't know much about them personally but he had a good sense of what was about to happen. He had finally noticed the daughter's uneasy attempts to control the situation and that didn't bode well, especially when Nanna wasn't even trying to keep a straight face.
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Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2019 9:06 pm
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Oh..... oh no. Ylva's shoulder sank as the one phrase she wished he hadn't said was thrown out into the air. "I'm sorry Father," she said quietly. So quiet that only the thralls would hear it.
"You? Found Ylva a husband?" Creid laughed at that, the edge of a blade cutting through it. "You know that Ylva deserves more than a male who has gone out once." If any of those males were promoted to Reavers, it didn't wipe off the dew from behind their ears, Snorre's included. She was thrilled he had a rank now, but she wanted more.
Creiddylad paced around her husband, inspecting his form carefully as she spoke. "No my dear husband, while you were away I secured our future. Your promotion is most timely." She paused, poking an area that seemed a little soft. She was ensuring that her freshly returned husband was in peak fighting form. No time to lose.
"I must ask though, who do you think is deserving of our golden goose?" she purred in his ear, taking a step back to sit down next to Ylva. Her fur bristled a bit, irritation flashing in her eyes as she felt insulted that her husband was daring to think he could help with her selection for Ylva's paw.
Ylva kept her eyes low, only glancing up at her father once before she glanced back down to her toes. She just hoped that her mother wouldn't still all the wind in his sails from his grand return.
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Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2019 9:17 pm
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Creid's laugh finally burst the happy bubble Snorre had come home in and he finally, finally realized something was going on. Nanna, who was already a couple steps ahead, was finally piecing it all together and looked up at Ylva with curious surprise. Mbegu, who was meeting this family for the first time, stared with wide eyes as he tried to absorb what was unfolding before him - he was somewhere between Snorre and Nanna on having figured things out.
Snorre nearly opened his mouth to argue that just because he was a newbie didn't mean all his friends were too, but he shut it. Now alert to the situation and coming back down from the high of independence, he was remembering how things worked at home.
It didn't help that his friends were all newbies. But she didn't need to know that.
Wisely, he took his time, and when she sat down to ask who he dared to imagine was suitable for Ylva (while Ylva refused to look at him, he noticed) he didn't answer her question. He realized that he had some of his own.
"What did you do?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2019 9:27 pm
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Creid would be preening herself were she a bird. Instead, she grinned wickedly, her chest puffed out as she glanced over at Ylva. The silver lioness released a very slight sigh, doing her best to not show too much sympathy to her father, not in this moment.
"Mother has found someone who would like to marry me," she replied, her voice clear and true. "To do so, however.... he would like to duel you for that honor." She looked straight into her father's face, their matching eyes locking for a moment. "And an honor it will be, for it will elevate us beyond expectations."
Creiddylad, still smirking, nodded. "It is what you are imagining, my dearest husband," she breathed, and that was all she said.
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Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2019 9:56 pm
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 11:26 am
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Ylva's ears pinned themselves against her skull, rather in shock with how much emotion her father suddenly displayed. It would be on par for many of the other males in the pride, but not her father. She had so desperately wished to warn him before it unfolded the way it had.
"No," Creid replied confidently, rather impressed with her husband's firm stance. For once, he was sticking up for himself. She liked that. Clearly the viking had lit some sort of fire within him. "It is merely a ceremonial display," she added on. "He knows I would be most displeased if any true harm came to your head."
Ylva's ears were still flat against her skull, but she dared a glance back over to her father. She felt rather repentant, but almost hopeful. This was not a match she had ever thought possible, and did not want to share her own inner turmoil with what it may mean about their family suddenly being the new center of attention. She just hoped she could tell Haldor before Father did, but she was beginning to realize that would not happen.
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 11:46 am
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