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

[LoveByLetters]

Unwanted is a clever little fellow. Even at such a young age -- he is, at anyone's best guess, a few weeks old -- he has already learned about such things as "doors" and "windows." Windows he mostly can't get into from the outside if they're not already cracked open, but he has long since learned about balconies, and it's really quite amazing where a young thing can get to if he's fearless and agile. How exactly he will get into the smithy is not clear, but he will be there, stepping delicately across the floor on his neat little hooves. He is a handsome fellow, though were it not for the little knobs which will one day be antlers, many folk will (and have) mistaken him for a young doe. His beautiful speckled hide is just a bit feminine, with pale cream blending neatly into a rosy red, and there is something delicate about him, something elegant, even at this young an age.

He will regard the smith-shop with interest, ears perked forward and head held high; the strange smells of the place have drawn him, the sharp metallic scents of the forge itself. He does not know what the smells mean, and likely if the shop-keeper or her companions are present they will be a surprise to him: the stronger odors of metal will overwhelm any subtler scents. Until and unless they stop him, he will stick his head into barrows, lick finished products, and perhaps try to get his mouth around something small, to lift it out of a case.  

[~Lady Kanna~]

Unwanted seemed to have at least some luck on his side this very moment, as the lady of the residence was out. However, there was, to his knowledge, a very watchful rook that was in the rafters, gazing down at him in silence. Shuu had not seen this buck before. Clever boy to sneak into the shop whilst the mistress was away...But not so clever to be home whilst Aelius slept. Deciding to make his presence known, he fluttered down to the edge of the banister, glaring down at the unwelcome visitor.

He let out a quiet chirp, just to gain the attention of the young buck, in case the careful eyes of Unwanted hadn't met his already. The heat from the forge was less than it usually was, for no work was being done today, but a stew was being prepared, slow roasted in a pot above it. If Unwanted turned his gaze to the corner of the room, near the bottom of the cabinet was a hay pile, and in it dozed Aelius. He had not wanted to go to retrieve more items from the market this early, and did not, for once, accompany his chosen out the doors. He was not roused from his sleep at the moment, however.

LoveByLetters

 

[LoveByLetters]

It takes the chirp of the crow to alert Unwanted to the presence of another, and Shuu can see him start with surprise, ears swiveling in the direction of the sound. There is a sense of shock in his bearing, as if a crow's voice is not what he expected to hear in this place, and for a moment he stands in frozen stillness -- just like a startled deer. It is only short seconds before he recovers from his surprise, and after giving his little head a shake that sends his long ears flapping, he taps the ground with his front hooves one after another, as if to say, Hello, and who are you? He is not afraid of Shuu, or worried by him; he comes closer to the bird, intrigued by this strange fellow so alike in shape to the bird that he knows, but so different in coloration. What he wants to do, what he will try to do, is snuffle at Shuu's feather's, to see if he smells the same, though any abrupt action on the rook's part will cause the young Guardian to scramble backwards, peeping his distress.  

[~Lady Kanna~]

The rook eyes him even more suspiciously as he approaches, stiffening up the slightest bit. There might not be many rooks around at the moment, but this one has murder in his eyes. However, he hides it well enough, acting rather elegant for a rook. He answers Unwanted with another series of chirps, I am the great Shuu, and what are you doing here?. The sniffing makes him slightly uncomfortable, but he allows it....For the moment at least. This particular rook smells of iron and fire, a true resident of the forge. After Unwanted is quite done snuffling him, Shuu flutters, cackling over to the edge of the forge. It is dangerous here. The lady will be returning sooner or later, though probably later.

LoveByLetters

 

[LoveByLetters]

It is hard to tell whether the little fawn understands this and ignores it, or if he is simply too young to really understand what he is being told. He answers the chirps with a cheerful shake of his head, flapping his ears about his skull, and seemingly having satisfied himself on the point of their introductions, he goes back to exploring. He peeks into things, around things, behind things, under things -- eventually he will, unless he is chased away, come across the other Guardian fawn. This is particularly intriguing, since he has never yet seen another of his type, and he is hardly aware that that is what the other little fellow is. Shuu will be able to see his shock, his ears turned back against his skull and his whole little body rigid as he approaches the other Guardian with the utmost care and sniffs at him. Oh, my! Oh, my! What is he?!  

[~Lady Kanna~]

The one that catches Unwanted's interest is no longer a fawn, but much larger. Aelius has his horns, while Unwanted is still growing his. Though even at the sniffing, the buck fails to wake, dreaming quietly of things yet unknown. However, Shuu does not stop him, though, fluffing himself up by the forge, before waddling into the pan of water by it. It is bathtime for the rook, and perhaps naptime for the guest. There's more than enough room beside the guardian, even if he is rather large. There's also a blanket nearby that smells much like this larger kin of Unwanted's, if he wishes to grab it to cuddle in, as if he's not warm enough.

Shuu does however answer the fawn's curiosity. That is Aelius. Guardian to the lady. He, however, is quick to returning to his bath, singing in thanks for the warm water.

LoveByLetters

 

[LoveByLetters]

The horns get sniffed, the head gets sniffed, the patterns on Aelius's coat undergo a serious examination -- and then Unwanted pauses again, as he regards the bird's actions in something like shock. Did he just get into water willingly? Is the bird crazed? Something is wrong with it, surely ..

.. and yet, after a minute or two more exploring, Unwanted returns to the other Guardian. Again, it is not particularly clear whether or not he understands Shuu, but at least he is not bothered by the noise. He is warm and inside and this big thing that looks like him makes him feel warm and safe in a way that even Unwelcome doesn't. So ignoring Shuu's absolute silliness with the water (who would want a bath?!), he curls up just beside Aelius, with his head tucked over the larger Guardian's back. He will watch the rook for a little while, but his eyelids get heavier and heavier, and eventually he will go to sleep.  

[~Lady Kanna~]

Shuu seems rather fine with Unwanted doing as he will. He is far too preoccupied with cleaning up at the moment, since he seems to have soot in his feathers, a hazard of living in the forge. The rook doesn't seem to mind even as Unwanted curls up with Aelius to sleep. If he gets caught, it's his own problem.

Meanwhile, the lady of the forge is making her way back home, this week's food and necessities in hand. She doesn't pay much attention to those around her, simply focused on getting home on her own. Is she going to come home to someone trying to break in? Or break someone out?

LoveByLetters

((Freds are more than welcome to show up, or not. It's all you~))

 

[LoveByLetters]

~Lady Kanna~

(( x3 Yup, it's good timing for them to arrive .. ))

Unwanted likes this place. It is warm and there are other "people" in here, and there are so many strange smells and odd things to investigate. He dreams of another world, as he sleeps, and carries into the dreams a warm ball of heat --

-- and outside, snow has begun to fall and First curses every flake, pinching the bridge of his nose in a vain attempt to stop a headache. He paces slowly down the street where the forge lies, having traced Unwanted's progress this far, though he does not know which of these buildings that the fawn has managed to get into. His brother is on another street over, and in fact Rosalie may pass Last wandering down the street, looking worriedly at the buildings .. only to cross First's path a block later, so alike that she may wonder how it was that the man can be in two places at once.

First walks more slowly than his brother, since he is following Unwelcome; the cream-colored rook is going from building to building, stopping to hang upside down in front of the windows, turning his head from side to side to look inside and see if he can find the fawn. The young man is so preoccupied with watching his rook that he may very well bump into Rosalie, for he is not watching his own path very well, but he will recover easily enough, turning quickly to either catch her or her packages, should his clumsiness have knocked them out of her hands.  

[~Lady Kanna~]

Rosalie doesn't seem to notice Last as she continues on her way home, arms full of purchases from her day out. But it's when she stumbles upon First that she becomes confused. Indeed, she doesn't know a man who can move so quickly, and so unnoticed, and her bags almost tumble to the ground, only to be caught by the man.

"Oh, thank you sir!" She quickly apologizes for her misstep, taking the bags gently from him. "I'm terribly sorry. The weather is a bit worrisome, and I wasn't watching..." She notices the stray rook that he seems to be watching, and curiously notes it. "Have you lost something?" Rosalie knows of hedgewitches, though hasn't met any personally. While her own rook is not a familiar to her, she suspects this one might be his. Or to a friend, at the least.

LoveByLetters

 

[LoveByLetters]

" .. no, no, it was prolly me, I weren't watchin' neither." He juggles her packages, grateful to return them to her once more, although now that she has spoken he has taken better note of her -- from the way he stands suddenly straighter and looks more closely at her, it's unlikely that he'd have apologized if she weren't a young woman. Certainly he is much more interested in her question because of it!

"Uh, sort've. Pet of my brother's." He has the grace to look a bit embarrassed, even as Unwelcome gives over her search and comes over to examine Rosalie herself, vaguely suspicious at the presence of another female too close to her man. "It got loose," First explains, "and he knows he's not supposed to be out, so he just kind of finds a place to go in, doesn't matter that it's not his house."  

[~Lady Kanna~]

"Everyone's a little distracted at the moment, no worries." She replied. Ah yes, the impending doom from the North that so many were caught up in. The smith wasn't too worried though. Things would come eventually.

"A pet?" She watched Unwelcome flutter to his shoulder, and gives a slight smile at the rook. "Not this lovely rook I suppose? I have one myself, though he's not nearly as bright as this one." Shuu was far more toned to natural colors, but this one had the purest feathers.... "Gets into all sorts of places? You sure he's around here?" There was the slightest suspicion that something might have gotten in to her shop, though she wasn't sure still. "Just how big is he?"

LoveByLetters

 

[LoveByLetters]

~Lady Kanna~

That compliment saves the smith from being the subject of Unwelcome's displeasure; the rook seems to know she is being complimented, and preens her soft breast-feathers, spreading out her wings just a little so that she can be further admired. First gives a bit of a snort at this vain display, putting one hand on her head and pushing it down a little, just to tease her. "Naw, she's been helpin' me look, when she ain't sticking her beak where it don't belong. And pretty sure. She thinks she saw him go down this street, but then we lost 'im." The question of size gives him a moment's pause, and he chews his lower lip as he thinks, finally holding out his hands to give her some idea. "'bout .. so big. Size've a small dog. He's a little deer, and he ain't near as smart as my little lass here."

He is very cautious using the word 'deer' -- especially in light of that 'impending doom!' Neither he nor his twin sib want people mistaking them for the heroes of tales of old.  

[~Lady Kanna~]

Rosalie watched the rook preen, obviously very much so enamored with her beautiful feathers...Now if only she could get the metal so thin as to make her own feathers.....She does, however, listen closely to First's description. A deer, huh? "Oh, a deer?" That's interesting, perhaps.... "Would he happen to be a guardian then?" But by the gestures of how big he was, he couldn't be too terribly old. She barely remembered when Aelius was that small.

Impending doom and all that, pah. There weren't any heroes of old she knew of at the current time, all the guardians she had met were still unawakened. Though...She had heard perhaps there were some....

LoveByLetters

 

[LoveByLetters]

He flushes red at that single word -- even now, following a scalding lecture on the subject by a close friend, he does not want to think overmuch about that word. Guardian. But where a deer would run and hide, shaking with terror from a single stranger, a Guardian might be so bold as to walk down a crowded market street. They are as different from deer as whippets are from wolves.

" .. er. Yeah. 'Suppose you could call him that, if you're of a mind to." The words are an embarrassed mumble, as if she's caught him with an embarrassing purchase in the market, and not as someone associated with an animal that rumor is quickly painting to be a marvelous creature. "He's m'brother's. White and reddish brown, kind of dumb but pretty determined. You seen anything like past hour or so?"