[FIN] Unwanted Explores a Smithy {Freds & Co with Rosalie}

[LoveByLetters]

~Lady Kanna~

"That's the spirit!" Last agrees cheerfully, giving her a graceful little bow. There are those who'd laugh to see him now -- the Freds have a bad habit of trying their luck with unlikely ladies. Perhaps it's the pure challenge of seeing how far they can get before they're kicked back out onto the street, or chased off by a protective Guardian. "Can't always work too hard, right? Gotta have a little spot of fun every now and then."

First just chuckles, smoothing a hand down his coat as he trots back out the door. He doesn't even bother trying to collect his rook; from the looks of things it'd take a pry-bar and the better part of an hour to do so. Unwelcome seems pleased with this development, settled comfortably against her new paramour.

Though Rosalie won't notice her Guardian's distress, Last will give it a glance -- strangling a laugh at the sight of the older Guardian's expression. He doesn't know that he's ever seen a Guardian do anything of the sort! Before he says a word he reaches out and gives Unwanted's tail a tweak, causing the little one to squeak in surprise and rush out at his Chosen, where his tail gets tweaked again, resulting in a quick game where Unwanted tries to bite his own tail, hurrying round and round in a little circle after it.  

[~Lady Kanna~]

"Oh I suppose you're right. It would be...Awfully rude to reject such hospitality." There's a slight edge to her voice that could vaguely be considered flirting, though she's still not used to it. "How about I put some tea on? Tea and cakes go together well, don't they?" Rosalie moves to get the kettle, and also reaches for the iron rod to hang it over the crackling forge. "Do you often lose track of him? He seems to be rather good at running off to places he's not quite welcome in."

Shuu cackles slightly as First leaves. He has won! He has won his ladies wing for the moment~. He cooes at her again, continuing to preen the lovely lady's feathers. Such a beautiful princess~.

Aelius seems rather relieved when the young one gets out from under him, decisively sitting to avoid it happening again. Even he seems amused at Unwanted's antics with his tail, giving a snort to make it more obvious. This does, however, gain him a little attention from his own chosen, and he closes his eyes in bliss at the short period of patting. When it ends, he blinks, and keeps a sharp eye on Last and Unwanted.

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[LoveByLetters]

Last grins at her to show that he's heard that edge and is pleased by it; she may have a witch-deer and a bird, but she's a damned fine looking lass, and any gal that can run a smithy on her own is a prime catch! "Tea sounds grand. And yeah, he's a right bugger. Too damned clever for his own good, and he don't seem to get that there's places as he's not supposed to go. It all belongs to him, far as he's concerned -- got up in some gent's flat, other day, 'bout scared me witless."

After several seconds Unwanted seems to realize that he will not be able to catch his tail, and throws himself on the floor in a fit of pique, panting for breath and glaring at nothing in particular. When this does not elicit any particular sympathy from anyone, he gets back up again with a small wobble, stomping determinedly over to Aelius -- and then throwing himself down again, this time to tuck himself against the older Guadian's chest, sitting directly under his chin.  

[~Lady Kanna~]

To be honest, Last isn't terribly bad looking either, and is perhaps attractive to her eye. Well, she certainly wasn't actively looking for someone to perhaps try this 'courting' thing with, but considering the circumstances, perhaps it wouldn't be too rude.... "Is there a type you prefer? I have a few, not a large selection, but still something that covers a variety." She sways her hips just the slightest bit for a few steps before thinking she's making an absolute fool out of herself, and goes back to walking normally. "I think I have a chai, something nice and spiced to warm you up in the cold. Or, if you prefer a more delicate taste, I have a white tea....And then a breakfast black." She pulls out the chai for herself, and glances back curiously at her guest.

"Aaah, but soon he'll grow too large for that. I think it'll be easier to keep track of him, or at least I hope so for your sake. Does he have a name? And the rook?" She briefly glances up at the two lovebirds preening each other, then down at Unwanted as he manages to squirm his way under Aelius again. Well. Gets himself in to everything indeed.

Aelius doesn't seem too terribly pleased by this development either, having enjoyed watching the younger guardian exhaust himself in a game of impossibilities. He gives a grunt, glowering as far down as he can, trying to make his unpleasant situation known. But it doesn't seem his chosen will be of any help. Especially since she's acting....rather different than he expected.

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[LoveByLetters]

" .. breafus -- " Oh, it's far too late for her to walk normally. Last has already noticed. It is in fact difficult for him to coherently process thought for a moment, and he is just barely able to get his eyes properly upward before she glances back at him again. Why in the world did she stop that? That was --

" .. er. Whatever's fine." There's a very small crease between his brows, just below and to one side of the impressive scar on his forehead. It's the look of a man who has no idea what was just said to him and is nonetheless trying to pretend gallantly that he knows precisely what is going on. Wait, there are different types of tea? Since when? It's just .. tea, right? It sits there in the cup and you put sugar in it and then drink it. In another place and time, Last would perhaps wear the same expression if she tried patiently to explain the difference between ecru and eggshell.

"Yeah, they got names. Not very good ones, but it's .. like irony, you see, 'cause they aren't true." Last is rather pleased with this tactic, 'irony' being a word that he has only recently learned and will at some point obviously need to unlearn. "He's Unwanted," he offers, indicating the little fawn, so happily settled under Aelius's chin. "She's Unwelcome," he continues, with a nod toward the sweet little rook.  

[~Lady Kanna~]

Rosalie could feel those eyes on her. Oh what did she do. What was she thinking?! So shamelessly! What in the world made her feel compelled to do that. She had strutted. Why, she was being no better than the two rooks!

She can't help but notice the scar on his forehead as she pulls out the chai. Since he had no opinion on the matter, might as well keep him warm. And, if one was really looking, one could go to such lengths to say that the spicy chai was certainly a good match in personality to the mistress of the forge.... "Chai it is then." She hums the slightest bit, and decides perhaps maybe swaying her hips wasn't so bad, and swallowing all pride, does so just the slightest bit on her way back to the edge of the forge, three teacups laid out. She certainly wasn't going to do anything too obvious, just a little bit of subtlety worked wonders, she heard. Gossiping women, might as well try their advice...

"Well. That's rather ironic indeed." She laughs, looking at the two who certainly aren't unwanted or unwelcome. "I don't think we've exchanged names. I like to think myself better than having forgotten for quite this long." She brushed a stray hair that had fallen out of line behind her ear. "Rosalie Satre. And this is Aelius, and Shuu is rather happy preening away at the lovely lady." She glances to each of them in tow, before looking back to Last, crossing her arms with a tilt of her head. "And your brother and you..?" She asks with a curious smile.

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[LoveByLetters]

When she turns back about she may very well catch him -- but to do him credit he jerks his gaze politely upwards and there is a bit of red residing now beneath his freckles. Apparently it doesn't need to be obvious; all it takes is a little switch of her hips to turn off his ability to think!

The corner of his mouth twitches. He doesn't have the courage to tell her that when they first appeared, Unwanted was not welcome and Unwelcome certainly was not wanted .. but there's no sense in sharing that and darkening the day with past sorrows. The question of his name gives him no more trouble than it normally does, and in fact gives him the impetus to finally pull himself back together. He gives himself a little shake and gives his host a roguish grin.

"Friedrich Grimm, at your service, and me brother's name won't be hard to remember, on account of it also being Friedrich Grimm." His eyes glitter with good humor, for the pair of them are so much alike that if it weren't for their different reactions, they would be very hard to tell apart at all. Even the scar that Last has got, impressive as it is, is matched by one on First, one which is precisely the same size and shape.

"But for the ease of it, I'm Last, on account of I were born after him, and he's First, on account of he were in a hurry to be born, when it came time."  

[~Lady Kanna~]

Oh she saw it. Her own cheeks turned rather red, though the fact that he's so quick to put his eyes in the right place is enough to gain him some credit. Rosalie coughs, trying to calm her own cheeks down, but is more than quick to get back to preparing the tea. "S-So what kind of cakes do you think your brother will bring?" She quickly asks, trying to break the awkward silence.

Oh if only he knew looks could kill. The grin almost does her in, though this time she manages to keep an interested, but still polite smile on her face, still curious about the scar. "Oh, well that will be interesting, keeping you two apart. And how should I differentiate between you if I say....Find Unwanted again?" She raises an eyebrow, indeed so curious, though he's so quick to explain.

"So First and Last will do?" She turns again to retrieve the kettle, careful to strap on her gloves before handling the pole to fetch it. Carefully, she pours the steaming water into the three cups, measuring each one perfectly, a skill that comes with smelting ores and making casts. "Now just to let it brew, and hopefully it will be done by the time First comes back, hmm?"

Rosalie takes the chance to sit down at the edge of the forge, knowing it well enough to not fall in or get burnt. She crosses her legs at the ankle, looking over Last's face curiously. "Now forgive me if I'm rude, but every scar has a story...."

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[LoveByLetters]

~Lady Kanna~

"Aye, it will do well enough," he reassures her with a smile, amused to see that she worries more about how they feel about this naming than whether she herself will be able to see the difference in them. "It's as we've always been called, so it's no mind to us." He watches with interest as she retrieves the kettle, then pours the water; it's such a deliberate, careful process that it makes it easy for him to picture her at her real work. He wants to see it, suddenly: see her working with something that can scorch flesh all the way to the bone, see her twisting metal and shaping it to her desires, see her master the element that makes gods out of men --

He blinks back to himself, lost briefly in his thoughts of her, and flashes her another one of those grins. "Oh, this little number?" He taps his forehead, where the scar rests, apparently proud of the mark."Me brother and I came across some lads who don't very much fancy us; we sorted them out in short order, and sent them running." This is of course not the full truth of it; for one, the fight came very close to being disastrous, and the twins were able to survive only thanks to the involvement of a guardsman. Two, Last did not receive his scar during the fight .. but rather afterward, when for the sake of making certain that they continued to match, he gave himself a cut patterned after one his brother had received.  

[~Lady Kanna~]

She gives a little bit more of a smile at his reassurance, though perhaps it also grew a little from seeing his own. With a slight sigh, she stretches her arms above her head, obviously trying to relieve either a nagging ache or an exhaustion. "Is it hard having a twin brother? Or is it more fun? I never had any siblings, so it was always me and my dad. Until he passed. And then...From there, I got two resident housemates." Rosalie asks, obviously curious what it was like to have a brother. Was he always nagging last? Or did they go off on curious escapades? Though at his explanation of the scar, she can tell what sort of business they get themselves in to.

"Ooh, got yourself into some trouble, did you? It didn't hurt too much did it?" She seems to be slightly worried about it, though crosses her arms the slightest bit. It's not like she hasn't gotten herself in trouble before, especially one particular noble she happened to insult... "Though I'd be lying if I said I didn't occasionally have a run in or two. I don't like a certain type of...customer."

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[LoveByLetters]

"No sibs? Y'want some've mine? Got five, last count. Only us Freds and our littlest, that's Georgie, here in the city, though. Rest've 'em I only see if there's trouble." He chuckles at the thought of a life without the other Grimms -- he cannot even picture it, what it would be like to have privacy, to have quiet, to not know that his family would be there for him, come what may ..

Talk of trouble makes him frown for her, having shaken his head at the thought of his own pain; aye, of course it'd hurt, like blazes, but he ain't going to tell no pretty lass that! Instead he tries not to scowl, folding his arms across his chest and leaning back against a bare bit of wall.

"Well, if ever you get trouble from now on, you send word down to Two Beers -- that's our tavern -- and we'll sort it out for you straightaway." There's a faint edge to his voice which she may and may not catch, particularly if she has not often had contact with the lower classes of the city. There's iron there, the faintest touch of anger: she may wish to be careful about contacting them, unless she wants someone dealt with in a decidedly final fashion ..

But then he shakes his head and he smiles at her, with that same devil-may-care grin, as if there'd not been darkness in his gaze at all. "Can't imagine who'd be fool enough to dare the temper of a blacksmith, leastaways," he says genially. "I don't care too much for upsetting them as can play with fire, myself."  

[~Lady Kanna~]

"None at all. She didn't.....My mother didn't really live long enough for any more to be born." Rosalie shrugged it off, not too terribly bothered by it. "But I wouldn't mind being visited. Adopting a new brother? Not so much. While it gets lonely when we get snowed in, I have my two to keep me company." It was quite evident this was a very rare occurrence, since the pure heat of the shop kept it from getting completely iced over.

"Not somewhere I'd like to visit, I take it?" She replied, picking up on it. "I wouldn't want to make such a kind man do any more for me, after the generosity of you and your brother with the cakes..." There was the slight flutter of eyelashes at the end, obviously gracious for such kindness.

"Ah, it's mostly the nobles. The men. The women know that I do good work, and can keep their mouths shut about a 'delicate poor thing' running this beast. The men, however, make it clear I'm nothing more than a temptress, and should be in my place, raising a family." The sarcasm ran deep as she mimicked burning her poor finger, or being so delicate or shy to be unable to do anything. "I landed myself in jail for a week. Hit a man over the head with the poker when he kept on saying I wasn't strong enough to lift it." The slight satisfied smile showed it was well worth it. "Would have landed myself in far worse, but he was only a minor noble, and a few friends bailed me out. And I made sure to hit him just hard enough to let him know I meant business. Bruised pretty badly at the worst."

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[LoveByLetters]

~Lady Kanna~

It is all he can do to hold in his laughter when she refers to him as a 'kind man;' what would some of his friends say, if they heard him being called that? Why, if it weren't for the fact that the one saying it is a fetching lass, it'd blacken his reputation, it would! Er .. lighten his reputation, maybe? Either way he finds the very idea to be a rather funny one, and that just sets him up for being wholly incapable of holding back laughter when she describes the story of her misfortune. He simply can't help himself; he takes one look at her and completely loses it, first sputtering a giggle, then laughing out loud, with an occasional gasped exclamation.

" .. with a poker?" He wheezes, and also, " .. thought you couldn't -- thought -- .. "

He laughs so hard that little Unwanted rises up to come over and look at him, sniffing at his pant leg. After a moment, Last's laughter will leave him breathless and wobbly-legged, so he slumps down to sit on the floor, gasping for breath, and Unwanted is so concerned that not only does he sniff his Chosen's face, he snuffles at the inside of his open mouth.

"Brilliant!" Gasps Last finally, waving his hands excitedly. "That is just brilliant! I wish I had been there! To see his face! Telling a smith she couldn't lift a poker -- oh gods, that is just brilliant .."

"What's brilliant?" This is First, nudging the door back open carefully with his elbow; he is carrying a hefty pair of parcels wrapped in brown paper, and a heavenly scent follows him into the smithy. Across the way, Unwelcome croons a wordless greeting, but does not move away from Shuu.  

[~Lady Kanna~]

"Oh I know, right? Who did he think I was? It's not like I was just pretending to be a smith. But apparently, no sweet young innocent flower should be that strong. Though I'm still puzzled why a regular girl couldn't pick up a poker either. They're not that terribly heavy."

She brightens up at watching him laugh, and fails to stifle her own laughter at the antics of the younger guardian, especially when he all but sticks his head inside Last's mouth, and continues to nod enthusiastically, covering her mouth slightly in an attempt to keep from making too much nose.

"Oh you should have! He was dead serious and I couldn't stand it! I doubt it will ever happen again, since my reputation got quite the stain because of it, but it was worth it, don't you think?" Aelius was happy to get the young one out from under him, trying to flatten himself down even more, legs tucked neatly under him this time as he inched closer to the ground. He didn't want any more of this happening. Silly fawn...

"Oh, just the time I hit someone over the head with a poker." She grinned, though it softened into a blissful sigh at the wafting sweetness of whatever he chose to pick up from the store. "Oooh, I might have to get the name of that place from you...It smells absolutely delightful."

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[LoveByLetters]

"Anyone looking for a sweet young innocent flower in a smithy needs to take another gander at where he's standing," First offers; his mouth twitches at the very thought, though he does not lose himself as thoroughly as his brother. This has the way of being a high compliment from the Freds, who do not much fancy their flowers sweet or innocent. Stepping farther into the shop, he offers one of the parcels to Rosalie to open, then one to his brother; without further ado he shall huddle over one of the cups of tea that she's left out to steep, cupping his hands over the steaming warmth. "Ahhh."

"It was just the place down the way, wasn't it?" This is Last, as he unties the string; on the first layer of both parcels will be several substantial pastries with meat and cheese inside, enough for a hearty lunch. Beneath that are the sweeter varieties, enough to make all of them, Guardians included, quite happily sick on the golden treats. "Tom's, I think it's called."

"Yeah," First answers, with a distracted nod.

Last chuckles, tipping his head toward Rosalie. "You should pop on over there sometime. There's this bloody huge Aireland bloke that lives above the shop, you see him there sometimes. Unwanted took it upon himself to climb into his window once, 'bout frightened the life out of us."