Welcome to Gaia! ::

There are days that stretch on and on, Voiboi mused, and this was looking to be one of them. He had begun the day thinking that he would be preparing to go off on a viking, but then he'd been informed that the viking he was supposed to be taking part in had been pushed back by several days for...some reason.

He hadn't asked for one and the captain hadn't offered, but if he had to guess, Voiboi would have said that it had something to do with the sudden breaking of the captain's betrothal. That was certainly a hot piece of news, and if Voiboi had been more prone to gossip, he might have taken a good deal more interest in it, but as it was, the whole matter just seemed kind of sad, in a terribly practical way.

In any event, the viking had been pushed back and Voiboi was at loose ends. It was annoying.

Aagen was actually secretly relieved that Tallskog's viking had been moved back. It would be his first viking and there was much for him to do beforehand. He was not experienced, and so things which wouldn't require any thought on the part of most reavers kept coming to mind and sending him off in a new flurry of activity. He suspected that some of this would be made easier if he had a mate to share the responsibility of preparation with, but then he might also have more preparations to make.

What he really wanted was to find someone who had been viking before, preferably with Tallskog as his captain, and press him for information about what to expect from the viking. He, too, had heard the rumour that the delay had something to do with a broken betrothal, but he didn't know too much about it beyond that. It seemed to him that if he'd had his marriage called off, he'd want to be gone from the pride as soon as possible, but that was just him.

Voivoi was gnawing on a bone he'd dragged away from the rest of the thralls' spoils to enjoy in solitude and at his leisure. It was always a good idea to eat well before a viking, since food could be difficult to come by in the rogue lands. He wouldn't have looked up from his meal, which he was trying to eat as slowly as possible in an attempt to make time seem to pass more quickly, but for the fact he heard footsteps approaching at a good clip.

"One day I will kill you," he warned the other lion before he could run into him. It was a younger lion, but familiar looking.

He couldn't have said who the lion reminded him of though. Maybe Aesir? The markings bore some resemblance to the former warlord, and his family had been invited to return to the pride, but something about his guess seemed off. Not Aesir's family, then, but some other extensive line. Definitely outlander blood though, judging by his size.

"Not today," Aagen said firmly. It still tickled him to use these traditional greetings, making him feel at home in a way he never had before joining the Stormborn.

"Wait. You're one of the reavers who's supposed to be going a-viking with Captain Tallskog, aren't you?"

It might have just maybe been true that Aagen had memorized the names of all the reavers he could find out and then gone to some lengths to figure out who was who so that he could recognize them on sight, even though he had never actually met any of them. His cousin Fast had laughed at him for that, but Fast had grown up in the pride, despite being vikingborn like Aagen, and he knew the people and the pride better than Aagen. At least for now, anyway. Maybe he should ask Fast about Tallskog. They were about the same age.

Voiboi looked the dark lion up and down, taking in not only his smaller outlander build but also his outlander accent and the way he only used the common tongue rather than Old Myrsky. He had known the captain was taking an inexperienced freeborn on the viking so that he could earn his reaver status. This was probably that freeborn. The fact that he was an outlander was surprising.

"I am," he admitted. "Does that change anything?"

There was no moment of panic in which Voiboi tried to recall the freeborn's name. It didn't strike him as being terribly important. Unless things had changed radically, he'd be called some variation of nya killen, or "new kid," for the duration of the viking. It was tradition, although not everyone adopted it, Voiboi supposed. He intended to call the freeborn that, at any rate.

Aagen frowned. He was very aware of the pale lion's scrutiny and wondered if he was being measured, and if so, by what standard. He was vikingborn, but that wasn't a terrible thing in and of itself, particularly since he knew the name of the lion who had sired him. Apparently his father had actually been a comrade of the current warlord when he went on an epic quest. It was during that quest Aagen's parents had met, actually.

"No, it doesn't change anything. It's just providential. I was hoping that I would have the opportunity to speak with one of the band before we left, and now here you are."

It crossed his mind that Voiboi might no appreciate being assailed during his dinner, but the time to strike is when the opportunity presents itself, as the saying went. It was a Stomborn saying. Aagen liked it. More to the point, the opportunity was presenting itself, and Aagen was striking.

"How fortuitous," Voiboi said dryly.

In fact, he supposed he didn't mind having an inexperienced lion coming up to him to ask him about an upcoming viking, it was just sort of unusual. He had never really thought of himself as being particularly authoritative, although to an outlander he might seem so. He had enjoyed the benefit of growing up in the pride, after all, and that could certainly make a difference.

"What was it you wanted to speak to me about? I can't really tell you what to expect, since every viking is different, but I can assure you that it probably won't be glorious battle for the most part. Captain Tallskog is a good thrall taker, but part of that lies in picking the right targets. Targets that aren't inclined to fight back."

He looked at Aagen expectantly, waiting for him to supply another avenue of inquiry.

Aagen smiled, pleased that Voiboi seemed willing to answer his questions, but now that he was here, actually talking to him, Aagen found he couldn't really come up with anything. So he just felt sort of stupid and awkward. Great. Just great. He smiled wider.

"Thanks. I hadn't really expected it to be all thrills and glory. But thrall taking is respectable. Useful, too. Is there anything I should know about it, other than the importance of picking the right mark?"

He wanted to know if there were codes or signals or something that he should have known and memorized, but he wasn't sure how to articulate that in the form of a question, or at all, really. He also wanted to know if there were any rules the captain had for his reavers, other than what Tallskog had told him about doing as he was told, when he was told to do it.

Voiboi considered the question before deciding that the simplest answer would be the best, and so he gave Aagen that, rather than a more in-depth response.

"Do what you're told to do, when you're told to do it. Stick to the plan. It was drawn up by someone with more experience than you, and he'll know what he's about better than you."

He considered some more before adding, "Oh, and don't get attached to the thralls once they're captured. It's actually much harder keeping them than capturing them, since they have to be watched constantly once they're caught, even if they're hurt. Don't let them make you feel sorry for them. Don't let them seduce you."

"Anything else you want to know?"

There was a lot more Aagen wanted to know now. It hadn't occurred to him that the thralls could be bothersome once they were captured, but he supposed it ought to have. He had no intention of letting them go just because they were pathetic though. Even if one did try to seduce him.

Since he still couldn't figure out a good way to ask the questions he wanted to ask though, he just shook his head in response to Voiboi's question. "No, I guess that's it. Thanks."

He stood there for another moment or two, waiting for Voiboi to add anything, but the butter-coated lion went back to gnawing on his bone, apparently having put Aagen completely from his mind.

"Okay, well. I guess I'll see you once the viking gets started. Don't die in bed in the meantime," he said awkwardly before heading off. Maybe Fast could answer some of his questions.