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 Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 11:50 pm
Bell couldn't think of a time she'd been as happy as she was now. Perhaps that time she got to hang out with her old neighbors son, who was as sweet and charming as can be... or when she got to go to town for the first time and see all the glamour and glitz. It took a GREAT deal of self-control to keep from squealing in excitement... She had.. a deer. A deer! Just like the one Silas had! It seemed too good to be true! But beside the girl, there was the handsome, grand buck in all his glory. His creamy hide was spectacular! The markings gorgeous, and his personality was as sweet and gentle as a loyal dog. Having found him, she knew straight away who she had to show him off to. Silas!
The walk was long, as usual, and she had to get up before the rooster even crowed. But she didn't mind! The travel from Oldcastle to Palisades was pleasant, and with her new company it was all the better! Athos kept a very calm gait beside his chosen, and accepted the never ending affection adored on him. The cooing, the petting, he soaked it all up. Unfortunately, Bell couldn't go to town without having a reason... so there was a small pack situated onto the bucks back, containing some recent produce that'd ripened; mostly a few veggies, eggs, and milk, of various kinds. The stag could handle it all though, very well!
Once they entered the town, Bell tried to make herself a little more presentable in her lower-class garb, smoothing out her long dress, and gently letting her braid rest over a shoulder. Her pretty face smiled brightly, eyes twinkling too as she passed by others out and about, earning quite a bit of attention. She was young, lovely, and... held many attractive traits; her chest a big example... but it wasn't noticed by her. It was so common, she simply thought folks were all very friendly! Giving a few waves, she didn't stop anywhere quite yet, just too eager to see her good pal!
Finally, she arrived to his smithy. Smoothing back some of her golden fly-aways from her face, Bell knocked on the large door, before pushing it open to peek in, "Silas? Leifa? Are you home?" she called out, letting herself in. Athos stood outside a little while, staring curiously at the large door, his ears wavering this way and that, nose twitching to take in the aroma's of charcoal, fire, and the general burn in the air by the blacksmiths place.
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 2:33 pm
Leifa was already in distress when the two wandered into the building and startled him. He tensed with the knock at the door, his ears swiveling in every direction as his body rapidly prepared him for flight or fight. The sound of the familiar voice soothed him and he relaxed when he finally recognized Bell. It was clear by the cautious hoof step forward that he wanted to greet her, but he was distracted by the sight of the other buck. Suddenly apprehensive again, Leifa craned his head forward to flare his nostrils in an attempt to catch the other deer's scent.
Silas appeared in the doorway across the room. His skin was blackened with ash and sweat, and he was tightening a dirtied cloth around his palm with a pained grunt. Any sign of frustration vanished from his expression when he noticed the woman in his workspace.
"Ah, Bell! What a pleasant surprise!" Silas grinned, swiftly moving to snatch an old cloth from his tool table and smooth it across his face. As far as cleaning goes, it did more bad than good, but at least his forehead was no longer glittering with sweat. Silas carelessly tossed the cloth away, eager to return his attention to the woman. His rugged gait carried him closer, impatiently craving her delicate touch or flowery scent. Such softness was a heavenly contrast to the daily fire and iron of his profession, like cool water that soothes a burn.
Silas finally noticed the strange buck, he didn't know what to think of it but unwanted company that would surely distract Bell from him... Like Leifa already did. The man stopped in front of the two, his muscular arms folding across his chest as he gave Athos a confrontational stare. "You brought a friend." Silas's voice clearly expressed his apprehension. "Who's this?"
Leifa sensed his Chosen's aggressive suspicion, but the buck was much too overwhelmed with curiosity to manifest any similar feelings. He stood beside Silas, alert and watchful, his bright green eyes never leaving the other buck's form.
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 3:04 pm
The pretty face that Bell wore seemed to shine as Leifa showed himself, instantly drawn towards the buck, cooing sweetly to him in greeting. A hand extended to gently caress his soft cheek, lathering him in compliments, "Hello handsome boy~ have you been good for Silas, hm?" of course he was. Leifa was such a darling creature, that it amplified Bell's delight to getting a deer of her own like this! In hopes that it might be a little like the darling green stag before her.
Pressing a gentle kiss to the soft nose that Leifa had, her bright blue eyes flickered over to the masculine figure that now took to the room, smile curling even more, pretty whites glistening, "Silas, it's so nice to see you too! Oh." she gave a somewhat shocked expression, which contorted to one of apology, "I hope I'm not bothering your work.." she added on in a quieter tone, peeking around him, and then back along him for any evidence of such a thing... but then she just went back to her perky nature, fingers clutching to the sides of her dress to keep from fiddling them too much. "I wanted to show you something spectacular!" she finally chimed in a blissful tone, turning back towards the door to softly coax Athos to finally step in. The buck's glowing orange eyes looked down to the woman, ears swiveled forward at her sweet voice, before stepping in lightly, peering back at the two strangers with the same sort of curious and lax manner he had before. Once fully inside, he kept a respectful stance a little behind Bell, as she stroked his sleek neck,"This is Athos, I found him while I was out foraging. Isn't he lovely?" she hummed, looking back to Silas and Leifa for their reactions.. hoping for approval, "I thought that he might make a good playmate for Leifa! He's very kind, and gentle~" With a small gesture with her hand, Athos stepped forward again, now at her side, and sniffed towards the opposing pair, more focused on Leifa just as the other buck was on him. Blinking softly, he tilted his head just a touch, ears folding back, and head bowing faintly to show his means of no harm upon the others.
Simply tickled, the young girl bit her lip to keep from giggling too much, Bell looked between the two, before taking a few more casual steps towards Silas, to stand beside him, wanting Athos to act on his own accord, "Come say hello, Athos~" she encouraged, the buck flicking his ears up at her voice. But... he waited for Leifa. He didn't want to be disrespectful towards the other buck or his chosen's territory.
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Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 6:16 pm
Leifa succomed to the woman's affection, his eyes sliding closed to accept the tender touch and the kiss. He gently nuzzled into her neck, mindful of his antlers, to express his appreciation.
"Nonsense, Bell, you're always welcome here..." Silas hadn't even attempted to restrain the emphasis in his voice that would suggest she was the only one welcome here. He scanned the unfamiliar buck with growing uncertainty and a disproving gaze... until Bell suggested that he and Leifa could play together. Now that was a spectacular idea. Silas's unwelcoming posture quickly vanished as he warmed up to the thought. The two animals would be much too preoccupied with eachother to distract the woman's attention from himself. It was just a theory, but Silas was willing to make it work.
"Athos, eh? He's a lovely buck, indeed. What do you think, Leifa?" He glanced at the buck by his side, patting his back with a bit of force as if to encourage him to introduce himself to the welcome stranger.
With the approval of his Chosen, Bell's comforting affection, and the buck's considerate behavior, Leifa was nearly convinced that Athos was no harm at all. He craned his neck forward to investigate him in a much more personal fashion. His ears wavered with his naturally cautious disposition as he took in Athos's scent. Once the odd greeting was over, Leifa carefully stepped backwards, allowing and inviting Athos to explore the building as he pleased.
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Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 10:29 pm
Bell felt at ease with Silas' affirmation, a little tickle fluttering in her tummy from such a statement. He was always so nice and kind! A very respectable man in the young girls eyes. It was then that she suddenly became slightly more aware of her appearance. Working on a farm had a tendency to show on a lady, and her fingers were more strong than the common folk about town, or the noble types. And her hair wasn't slicked back like all of their's were, having fly-aways floating about like strands of stray cobwebs. She began to pick under her nails a little bit, and smooth back her hair to try and... look a bit more presentable, before resuming her stance prior, "You're so nice, Silas! Always letting me come at unannounced times. My mother would say it's bad manners to do as such.. but you're the first person I think about when something exciting like this happens!" Looking from him to Leifa and back to Athos to judge all of their reactions, her fingers lightly folded some of her dress lightly in subtle excitement, smile radiating her delight, "Now you can have a little deer friend, Leifa! Won't that be nice?"
Athos gave a cant of his head again, ears swiveled forward as he watched and observed Leifa's behavior. The two seemed to hold the same sort of energy towards one another, which left the already easygoing buck at a very comfortable disposition. With the go-ahead given by the offending stag's chosen, as well as the stag Leifa himself, Athos righted his head, and gave his ears a twitch to full attention. Once the green coated male was close enough, his nose twitched ceaselessly, inhaling the new aroma's, gaining the normal information that animals did when meeting one another. Taking a step closer he gently tipped his head to travel down Leifa's neck, following to a shoulder, taking a few more sniffs, before softly snorting in confirmation. Letting his head raise up again, he accepted the given invite, and took a few steps closer, carefully, aware of the packs on his back, letting his glowing eyes travel about the enclosure. Following Leifa, as he was a guide now, Athos wrinkled his nose a few times as the scent of soot and fire and ash found its way to his sensitive nub. Quite an interesting aroma... But he wasn't put off by it. Further entering the home, he now took interest to a few of the tools about, and then the cloth that had been discarded upon Silas' joining to the room. Lowering his head, he curiously sniffed at it, snorting again at the cocktail of smells laced on the crumpled thing.
Admiring the two deer interacting, Bell gave a wistful sigh, hands clasping, and tucking under her chin, "They're so cute already~" she hummed contently.
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 12:03 am
"I'm glad I was the first to come to your mind." Silas slyly placed himself between Bell and the two bucks in an attempt to block them from her sight. "Congratulations on your new companion, Bell. Maybe we should celebrate..." Silas's grin widened with the idea as his eyes locked with hers, just to make sure he had her full attention. Even with the frazzled appearance of a farm girl, Bell was a gorgeous bachelorette. Silas might as well be a eunuch if he didn't claim her before one of her other (doubtlessly numerous) suitors snagged her first.
"A celebration would be perfect, don't you agree?" Silas paused, briefly wondering if he should confront the woman's father, just to let him know that he was in pursuit of his daughter. As was obligated by customs and manners. "So, what about a dinner? Just the two of us, or perhaps you could invite your parents as well." Silas leaned closer, reluctant to touch her without permission, indirect or not. He wasn't worried he would repel her with his stench, or overall disgusting appearance. He was confident that not even the grimiest, most putrid slime could mask the masculine glory that was Silas Trent the blacksmith.
Leifa was too distracted with his new acquaintance to recognize what his chosen was up to. The dainty buck would carefully lead Athos further into the building, slightly cringing whenever it looked as if he might knock something over. To his relief, that never happened, but Leifa was on edge, regardless. He took a moment, while Athos was distracted, to investigate the bags on his back. They were full of a variety of foods and many things the buck was unused to seeing. They smelled crisp and clean, like the air of the forest after a rain. Leifa's ears drooped, worried that perhaps, the air thick with soot and debris would taint the pure produce that his acquaintance was carrying.
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 5:40 pm
Silas instantly had all of Bell's attention once her view was blocked of the two socializing bucks. Smiling up at the manly figure, her arms folded behind her, chest puffing up a little with pride, "Thank you, Silas!" she chimed merrily. She had to show off Athos to Eluf too! He'd be just as happy! But with talk of celebration, her expression beamed brightly, mouth opening into a delighted smile, "Oh yes! I love celebrations!" she exclaimed, hands quickly moving so as her hands could clasp together in front of her, in a sort of pleading position, "Oh please can we, Silas? This is such a special occasion, after all!" celebrations were the best! sometimes even made into party's! With good food, music, dancing, chatting, socializing. All of that good stuff! Ah, how a farm girl like her wished for more of those. Working hard everyday with hardly any time to play~
With the invitation of her parents, the blonde gave a somewhat surprised expression, but tipped her head, and pursed her lips in thought, "Hmmm.. I can see if mama and papa can join us! Surely they can spare a little time from the farm, right?" she giggled. "Where shall we have it at then?" again, she perked up, an idea clearly clicking in her mind, "Maybe you could come over! I'd love for my parents to finally meet you." another giggle bubbled up from the little beauty, mouth lifting to cover her mouth some, "I think they get annoyed of me always talking about you." she whispered playfully, leaning closer to him with a hand cupped around her mouth, as if this were some terrriiibbbllleee secret. And being around pigs, cows, and mud all day... not much could repulse Bell; smell or looks otherwise.
Athos was a very respectful guest in his tour, lifting his head from sniffing the cloth, to sniffing towards the backroom that held an even stronger odor. But that was as much as he'd do towards that direction, before peeking at Leifa as his bags were inspected. Ears perking, he watched the other buck curiously, staying nice and still so the packs could be inspected.
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 8:29 pm
Silas grinned with Bell's enthusiasm for his idea. He shifted his weight as he tugged at the cloth around his palm, tightening it further. There was an unmistakable smugness in his expression, at a glance it might look as if he'd just struck gold and the celebration was in honor of his own triumph. The smile faded as Bell continued to speak, one distracting detail that Silas had missed chasing his thoughts of premature victory away. He dwelled on the detail a moment, the smile vanishing and replaced with a grim thoughtful expression.
The bubbly excitement of the woman before him would go unnoticed, but Bell snagged his attention again when she leaned in to whisper the 'terrible secret.' Silas's smile returned. It was different this time, more warmth and fondness rather than conceit. "It's about time I met them, then, isn't it?" Silas straightened his posture in preparation to tackle the issue that had just come to his attention. "You should invite your boyfriend, too. I think it's only proper." Silas's expression was stern as he awaited a response to his subtle inquisition. Whether it was the response he expected or not, the blacksmith was determined to get what he wanted.
Leifa offered Athos a concerned expression as he glanced from the other buck to the fresh produce. It was obvious the supplies in the bag were precious, it'd be a terrible accident if they were somehow spoiled here. Many things were dirtied or spoiled in this building, Leifa himself was all too familiar with the floating ashes that would cling to his fur and blacken his creamy white coat. Just as the thought crossed his mind, Leifa noticed a smudge of indistinguishable blackness on his acquaintance's face. Out of habit and frustration towards the dirty stains, the buck smeared his tongue across the smudge in an attempt to clean it away.
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 8:51 pm
Bell's mind was going a mile a minute... mostly trying to think of a day and/or a way to get her parents to take a break from the non-stop toils of farmwork to enjoy an evening with her good buddy the blacksmith! Though... her gaze flickered to the man's injured hand, feminine brows drawing together with concern, "Oh Silas, did you hurt yourself?" she asked, stepping closer and gently taking the wrapped hand into her own smaller ones. She drew it close for inspection, a single finger gingerly running along the palm, "What happened? Do you need to see a medic?" There were plenty of accidents on the farm.. and she knew well that they weren't to be taken lightly. It must be just as bad for a blacksmith whose hands were his greatest tool.
Exchanging looks from the mans eyes to his hand, she smiled more gently, nodding in agreement, "Yes, it's been far too long. I think papa visited you once, but... he has such terrible memory sometimes." she giggled. Her eyes lowered to the hand she cradled so tenderly, inspecting the strong fingers and the general weathered look of the hands... much like her own. They were a workers hands! the best kind of hands! but his final proclamation had her looking up with surprise, eyes blinking in a dumbfounded sort of way. "Boyfrie-..." she couldn't even finish the word as she fell into a little fit of giggles, head shaking so her braid bounced around, "No, no, no! I don't have a boyfriend, Silas! Sheesh!" she gave a wave of her hand as if to dismiss the thought, letting it return to run along the strip of tied cloth again, "What about you? Shouldn't your girlfriend come then?" she asked in a teasing fashion, eyeing him playfully suspiciously.
The buck watched his host curiously, eyeing the bags once more as they were gestured to in such a nervous manner... but he took it to be that Leifa was simply wanting to indulge in the delicious treats, freshly baked or picked. An amused expression shifted on his features, and he snorted softly in a means of understanding, ears flicking forward from the stroke of a tongue to his cheek. Remaining still, unaware of the reasoning for it, he returned the action right back, before shifting himself so his packs were facing Leifa again. Craning his neck, he nosed open one of them, and rooted about inside it, pulling out a ripe red apple. It was a rich red, dark, and shiny, with the stem and leaf still there. Turning his head, he presented it to Leifa, offering it, with a slight nod of his head.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 1:06 am
The blacksmith allowed Bell to take his hand, grateful for her tender touch. "It's just a burn. As long as it doesn't get infected, I will be fine." Silas flexed his fingers as if to prove there was nothing seriously wrong. It would be difficult for him to admit that the wound was the result of a clumsy accident, so he would go on to pretend that the embers attacked him and he survived due to his incomparable valiance. "It's a dangerous job. Can't expect to die scar-free when you're always surrounded by fire and steel." Silas nodded thoughtfully, briefly remembering the accident that permanently ended his father's career as a blacksmith. "I bet I'd have lost a finger by now if it wasn't for you always comin' down and checking on me."
Silas grinned with the woman's flustered confirmation that there wasn't a third member he would need to get rid of. Nothing standing in the way. Silas might have appreciated the challenge, but this way worked just as well. "What? No boyfriend?" He feigned shock. "Your father must have some fairly intimidating weaponry to chase away all your suitors like that. Has he needed to kill any, yet?" Silas smirked even as Bell turned the conversation on him. "Nah, no girlfriend. No surprise there, though." Silas teased before tilting his head to address a slightly more serious question. "So will it just be the four of us, then? You, me, and your parents?"
Leifa paused, bewildered at the feeling of a tongue against his cheek. The buck assumed he must have had a smudge on his face as well. It wouldn't be a surprise, no matter how careful the stag was, he always managed to stain his own fur in this building. Leifa's ears wavered as if to express his thanks, but the guest surprised him once more with the bright red offering. After a moment of hesitation, the buck gratefully retrieved the apple, crunching into it to taste the sweet juices. In just a few bites, the entire apple was gone. Leifa's tail wiggled in delight as he snorted at Athos happily, wondering how he should return the kind gesture.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 10:07 am
Even with the dismissal of the wound, Bell was still rather concerned. She wanted to take a look at it... see what the damage was like... But the cloth seemed to be needed in helping the injury not get worse. So instead she nodded in understanding, and hugged the poor hand to her pursed, plump bosom, as if that might help the healing process. Sometimes hugs helped! "Well if it doesn't get better, you have to promise you'll go to a doctor, ok?" she instructed with evident worry in her tone... but she tried to keep it playful. With his final word on the matter, she giggled softly, smile brightening on her pretty face, "Well I'll just have to come and check on you more often then!" she declared. "Then you'll never get hurt!"
The giggles only seemed to continue with the surprise the blacksmith had for her response to his question, head shaking some more, "You're so silly, Silas!" in fact... she was quite oblivious to a handful of men that had approached her father for his daughter's hand... and a few that would flirt with her in town; to whom she just gave a pleasant smile to, and went on her way... leaving them a little stunned and confused. Silas and Eluf were the only interesting ones in town that she came to see! But she had to gasp softly, and wear a look of shock when Silas replied back, "Really? But you're so handsome, and nice, Silas! I'd think lots of women would be flocking to you like chickens to corn!" surely that had to be the case!
On the matter of the dinner... she nodded in confirmation, patting his hand gently, "Yep, I guess so then!" another few giggles bubbled up, "When shall we have it?" oh goodness was she getting excited!
Happy to see the other buck enjoy the snack provided, he gave a soft snort in response, leaning forward to gently groom the others muzzle of the extra juices and bits that had missed his mouth. Licking his own lips once he was finished, he walked on over to the wall just nearby, and slowly lowered himself down to lay comfortably. The packs weren't heavy, but they were still a bit uncomfortable, since he wasn't yet used to having something on his back.
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