[PRP] Talk Among Freeborns (Brenning x Talathia)

[Kathryn Dragonna]

Talathia was happy with her life in the Stormborn. Other than the occasional p***k of an Old blood making comments about her smelling of flowers, there was very little trouble for her. She was a useful Freeborn, a crafter, and the fact that she had a Thrall and a litter of cubs, most of the others left her be. Tal was careful to make sure her cubs stayed out of trouble and her Thrall did not piss anyone off. It was just easier for all of them if they stayed out of trouble with the other pride members, since Tal did not have the benefit of a husband to thump every idiot that bothered her, and she did not like having to try to thump them herself.

The crafter was enjoying a nice, quiet day, working on her items rather than having her cubs under her paws. Having a Thrall had made having cubs a whole lot easier for Tal. She could set the Thrall in charge of the cubs and do her work without interruption, like right now. The black and white lioness was working on some claw necklaces for some of the Reavers. It was amazing what some of them brought back for her to work into items for them. Claws, teeth, pelts... sometimes they brought her a whole creatures and told her to keep what she didn't use on their stuff.

Tal looks up from her crafting as a shadow goes flitting across. Her work. she notices another lion walking by. She was sure she should know him, but she only knew a few so far. She nods to the male when he looks her way. She would let him speak first, if he wanted to greet her, or just nod and walk away. She had found that some of the males were not very friendly to females that spoke first.  

[Princess_Feylin]

Brenning was a lion on a mission, to put it much too dramatically. In truth, he was just out to find a crafter who could make something pretty for him to give his sister Canicah as a wedding present. It would be a much-belated gift, given that Canicah's wedding had taken place some time ago, but he had a valid excuse. He had expected to bring her something made with a kill from his first viking, or else something he captured on his first viking, something that would be meaningful, but he had yet to go viking. It was a source of some shame for the freeborn, but he had allowed it to delay his good manners for far too long.

"It is a good day to die," he greeted the outlander crafter his friend Kivi had told him about. Kivi said her name was Talaitha and some other things, too, but the important part for Bren had been that she was a crafter. Kivi's hyena brother, Miz, didn't think much of her, apparently, but that had nothing to do with her crafting skills, and Miz didn't really think much of anyone.

"Have you time to take on a commission?" he asked her.  

[Kathryn Dragonna]

Talathia returned the greeting with a smile. "It is always a good day to die." She wondered if the softness of her smile ever made anyone doubt her place here. Eh, she had earned her way in like any outlander, so they could bite her rump about her good manners and soft spoken nature. She was not going to change who she was, even if she did go out of her way not to openly conflict with the pride. She was glad at least this lion was coming to her for her crafting. She was making a good impression with her skills at least.

"I do have time to take another commission. I am just finishing these." Tal tied off a clawed strand with a talisman in the middle. Many of the lions would take such things to the priestesses to be blessed before bringing them to her, or after she was done with them. She wondered if the blessings really did help or not. Eh, that wasn't her place to know. Her place was to craft. "What would you like made?" She already had things flashing through her mind that the lion might want.

Cloaks, necklaces, bracers, helmets, tail strands, mane decorations... there were a lot of things that she could make, and it really would depend on if he wanted it for himself or someone else too. He could be coming to her for something for a female, and then she would normally be looking at making something more dainty. Of course if it were for a female REAVER that was a different story all together. Tal was quite eager to know what the male might wish made.  

[Princess_Feylin]

Bren shifted awkwardly. His paws hurt. They usually did. It was a side effect of being very heavy, but not particularly muscular. Which was Kivi's nice way of describing him without actually calling him what he was, which is fat. Kivi had always been nice to him, even when he started getting flabby. Especially when he started getting flabby.She was definitely his best friend. Maybe he should get something for her, too. Depending on what it would cost. Cani's gift had to come first.

"Well, my sister got married, um, kind of a while ago actually and I didn't get her anything because I kind of meant to bring something back from my first viking but, well, things happened and I still haven't been able to go viking what with one thing and another, so that idea's kind of out and so I was thinking maybe I could make up for being really late with her present by making it something she'll really like, that she couldn't get from someone like her husband, or something. She's married to a captain, so it has to be something she can be seen wearing and which will go with the quality of her other things."

He was babbling, he realized with chagrin. Ordinarily he was not nearly this loquacious. It was because he was uncomfortable. He had never been part of a transaction like this before and he didn't know what his role was supposed to be, really.

Did they settle on a price now, or once he saw her work was he supposed to decide what it was worth? Or was it something else? Did she need to see his sister? That would really spoil the surprise. His tail flopped unhappily on the ground.  

[Kathryn Dragonna]

Tal couldn't help feeling sorry for the male's situation. His sister being married and he being late to get her a gift was not a good thing at all. Hmm, she doubted he knew much about crafting and the like, so she would have to be find something of value to trade for what he wanted. First she had to get an idea of what to make for this female. A captain's wife would want the best, and that would take some of her reserved materials. Though, not nearly as much as if she would have been making something for Kazul.

Tal thought of Kazul as a friend and always kept back the best things for making little trinkets for Kazul, but she was not against using a few of those stashed things to make something special if one requested. "Hmm, well, I would think that perhaps necklaces, tail wraps or mane ornaments would be suitable gifts, or a cloak if you think she would like such a thing... I have one or two leopard hides around here that work rather nicely for that." She enjoyed making cloaks too.

Tal was not so worried about price. One traded for what they needed. If this male could not pay in the normal sense, she would make an arrangement for him to do something for her in return for this labor. It was not as if she had a husband to do any any "hard work" that most females would nag their husbands to do for them. There was little reason to worry about that part of things just now.  

[Princess_Feylin]

If Brenning had known how Tal felt about Kazul, he would have been a bit horrified. When Aesir lost his challenge and his family was exiled or enthralled, Brenning had been young, no older than a juvenile. He had grown up under Njal's rule, basically, and his father and mother seemed to approve of the way Njal led the pride, even though they were both outlanders, which made him a little less important in the eyes of the pride in general. He did not approve of people who still clung to the former warlord's ways and kin, and he felt it served those enthralled family members of his right. It was the only way to keep them in check.

Fortunately, he didn't know how Tal felt about Kazul.

"Not a cloak," Bren said firmly. "Her husband can bring her furs for that. It has to be something else. Something she can put on for herself, too, since I don't think she and her husband have settled on any thralls that they care for, so she won't have anyone to help her put on complicated things or ornament her mane."

He actually had put some thought into this already. Cani was a sweet lioness and he often wondered if she was happy in her arranged marriage. The captain she'd wed was kind of scary, the way he rarely spoke. He thought maybe something that would amuse his sister.

"Is there anything you can do with that kind of colored clear rock to make something that looks like eyes that she can wear as a tail ring, maybe?" His sister had visions. He thought it might amuse her to have a third eye that she could angle at people.  

[Kathryn Dragonna]

Tal listened to everything the male said and nodded at it all. She knew what she liked the way the male thought. It was best to go with something that could not be easily matched or one upped by the husband, especially when one was doing a late gift. The crafter really did not envy the male's position with his sister. Ah well, she was sure it would work out for him, and she would do her best to make sure the gift helped as much as it could to clear him of any ill thoughts about the oversight.

"Tail rings are not hard to do... and eyes... I think I have some stones that would work rather well to make eyes. You want two eyes on it, or just one?" If she positioned things right, Tal thought she could make a set of eyes, or just create one big one complete with what appeared to be pupil in the middle. She had lots of colored stones and clear ones. "Do you have any particular color you would like they eye? Match your sister's or perhaps her favorite color?" The crafter was already mapping it all out in her head.

Nobody could say Tal did not love her work. She did not take long to get her heart into any project she took, and this was no exception as her mind madly scrambled to thing of anything and everything that should go into the piece. "How large do you want this? The larger the heavier of course, but I do not want to make it too small if you have something big in mind. Do you want it for the bottom of the tail, middle top? I can make it adjustable if you are not sure."  

[Princess_Feylin]

"Oh, just one," Bren said. She thought she could do it! That was very exciting, at least to him. Not that he bounced around and chirrupped with glee or anything like that. He may not have been a reaver, but he was still a freeborn of the pride and he was not going to make a fool of himself any more than he had to.

Matching her eye color would be a good idea, but that meant Bren would have to try to remember what color Cani's eyes were. He was fairly certain they were a dark yellow, and that both his sisters had eyes that color, but he wasn't positive. Maybe it would be better to get a color he knew her eyes weren't and claim to have done it on purpose. He decided to leave that question for now.

"Something that can go closer to the end of her tail. I think she will be amused by being able to point an eye at people by swishing her tail around, so she'll have the most flexibility by putting it at the end of her tail. Also it will mean people won't be staring at her behind when they look at it." That was important to him. She was a married lioness and had a reputation to be mindful of.  

[Kathryn Dragonna]

Tal nodded at each piece of information she got out of the male as she made mental notes of what she planned to do. "I do not see any problem with making it, it seems like something I should be able to do. I will start working on something, and once you see what I can do, you can decide on just how large or small you'd like it, and what color. I can always paint if I do not have a stone the color you like." She was going to have so much fun making the rough piece. Of course the rough piece, she would have just as much fun tearing it back apart later. She enjoyed her crafting quite a lot and it kept her out of the way of Reavers.

"So a stone eye that can be tied to the end of one's tail. I will try to make it fairly shiny when I get to the final piece that way it catches the light. And I certainly understand not wanting anyone to stare at a lioness' behind. It doesn't take much encouragement for a pretty lioness to get those kinds of stares, best not to help it along." Tal didn't have that much of an issue with that herself, not in the pride anyway. She had cubs, and for the most part that kept her safe from the looks. Most males were not looking for a lioness that already had a litter. Ah, the safety of having cubs around.

Princess_Feylin

sorry about how long this took, for some reason my SB muse wasn't cooperating

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Brenning grinned, absolutely relieved to have finished this transaction with a minimum of stupidity on his part. For whatever reason he had a much harder time interacting with adults now that he was one than he had when he was younger. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he really ought to be a reaver now that he, too, was an adult. If he were to become a reaver, that would probably make all his problems go away. He just had to get onto someone's viking.

"So, I guess that's everything, right?" he asked, barely managing not to wince at his own awkwardness. But seriously. How did a person go about telling another freeborn what to do? It was just an awkward interaction all around. He felt like he was treating Talaitha like a talented thrall by saying he wanted something done for him without immediate recompense.

"If you come up with something you would like for payment, let me know and I'll do my very best to see that you get it," he told her to alleviate his bothered conscience. "Thanks."

He lingered, basically waiting to be told that it was all right to leave. Gods. What he wouldn't give to be a jerk like his brothers.

Kathryn Dragonna

No worries. Stuff happens.

 

[Kathryn Dragonna]

Tal nodded to the male as he asked his question. He might have been a bit awkward, but that did not bother her any. "I will let you know what I would like when I think of it." She was pretty sure it was likely going to be asking him to get something for her either from a Reaver or from his own Viking if he went on one. Not that she couldn't get just about anything from her one Reaver friend, but it wasn't nice to keep bothering him for everything. He had duties to attend to and such.

The Freeborn crafter started gathering things to start and smiled at Brenning. "You can stick around if you like, but I will not keep you from your day further if you do not wish." It was a polite and clear dismissal so he could wander away if he wanted. Tal was quite occupied with her work again, and so she would not be very good company. She was quite aware of that. Besides, she had to get her work done a few hours before it got dark. She didn't need her cubs driving her Thrall up the den wall.

Princess_Feylin

I think we can call it done whenever you like

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Bren nodded and turned around. He had already expressed his thanks and he assumed that when she was done with the work she would find a way to let him know.

There was a little bounce in his step as he went home. He felt good. This was going to go well. Cani would like the gift. He knew it.

Kathryn Dragonna

I'm fine with calling it done. Thanks for the RP!