[M-PRP] One More For the Road (Freds, Georgie, and Rosalie)

[~Lady Kanna~]

She hadn't hesitated in the least when the three of them had agreed to meet at the ball. It wasn't until after her final fitting with the costumer that Rosalie finally panicked. She wasn't used to wearing corsets. She certainly wasn't used to wearing makeup either. Even more so, skirts that were flared out and accented with jewels. The prior agreement to see the two brothers in Oldcastle just had her flustered, even with the prior events that morning.

About noon, she arrived within the party, Aelius at her side with gold strands hanging from his horns proudly. Custom fit bronze shoulder armor upon him, with a gold-embroidered crimson cloth hanging off of them followed behind him, the two matching rather spectacularly. Shuu remained rather plain, having refused even the slightest bit of glitz to his form. He was, however, knowing that the lovely lady would likely be there, holding a small few blossoms of lavender. He had insisted upon doing such, and was currently enjoying being upon the tip of Aelius' horns.

Not knowing how the Freds would be dressed was an interesting game, though at the very least she was sure she could spy Unwanted or Unwelcome, or perhaps the two would find her first. So began an interesting game of searching.

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[LoveByLetters]

As she makes her way across the grounds, she may indeed catch a glimpse of something familiar: not First's flashing eyes or Last's coy grin, but the brightly contrasted colors of Unwanted's girlish hide. The Guardian has grown some, in the days since she has seen him, but he is still quite small. Small enough that he is able to rocket through the crowd at just above knee level, his white and red hide a pinkish sort of blur save when he gathers himself on his haunches to leap over small obstacles in his path. Just in front of her and just underneath Aelius's nose, Unwanted stops short, but not so that he can greet them.

He does not, in fact, seem to notice them at all. The majority of his attention is on a small cloth sack, perhaps the size of Rosalie's fist, that has fallen at their feet. It looks rather careworn, even a touch gnawed, and it becomes plain why that is so when Unwanted catches it up in his teeth and then goes bolting off in the opposite direction.

It's easy to follow his path back through the crowd; one needs only mark the curses, yelps, and shouts of surprise as he careens into legs, ducks under skirts, and dodges drunks with carefree abandon. At least he doesn't go far; there's a small building that's been put up to house some of the chefs and this is where Unwanted goes. Up on one corner of the roof there is a man in what looks like a particularly fetching Royal Guardsman's uniform -- which is of course no uniform at all, but a fanciful costume more in line with something out of a play than something any self-respecting soldier would actually wear.

Unwanted presents the toy to a cook's apprentice, dancing with delight and anticipation, and the cook's boy reaches up and hands the toy to the false Guardsman on the roof. This time it gets thrown in another direction, and Unwanted once more goes tearing after it with every evidence of absolutely loving the game as a whole.  

[~Lady Kanna~]

The mere glimpse of the rear end of Unwanted is enough to catch her interest, though she doesn't even have to move to catch his attention, or so she thought. Aelius perks up a little at seeing the young buck, and is just about to go darting after him, and stops just short of running in to him. He huffs a little about the younger getting right under him a little, and is about to let it be known to all, when he goes off bolting again.

The glance at the sack is enough to make her sidestep a little, though she's quick to attempt to follow, gathering up the sides of her skirt so she can better dance through the crowd. As sound is enough to follow his trail, Shuu needs not take flight, though chooses to do so anyway, flower still in beak, and is the first to land on the roof, staring at the guardsman.

The smith feels like she's in some sort of daydream for a moment, though the entirety of the ball itself seems to be such, and finally emerges from the crowd. She watches the exchange, and watches the guardian dash off after it, laughing slightly. Aelius is the first to get envious, and goes over to nudge the cook's boy, pleading for a bit of fun as well. However, the smith is more carefully watching the guardsman, fairly sure it's one of the brothers, though which is beyond her at the moment. The guessing game has begun.

"Aelius, you have better manners than that." She sighs, taking her eyes off the roof for a moment to go save the boy. "Terribly sorry."

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[LoveByLetters]

~Lady Kanna~

There at the edge of the crowd, just to the side of the cookshop, the faux guardsman has paused to look rather more closely at Shuu -- for he seems to recognize the rook, the color and shape of him being somewhat familiar. "Well, hello, old chap. And where've you come from?" He doesn't seem to expect a real answer, as some might; the words are more in the nature of a puzzled statement than an actual query.

And then shortly after there is Aelius, large and bold and quite difficult to ignore, and the false guardsman regards him with what appears to be a growing delight -- for Shuu might have come here all on his own, seeking Unwelcome, but if Shuu is here, and Aelius is here, that can only mean ..

"Rosalie!" he calls, and by the pleasure in his voice, she may have her guess. It had been Last who had been so courtly to her, where First had only seemed amused by his brother's interest. "And look at you, fine as a painted picture! Why, I'da thought it were the Queen herself, were it not for your accompaniment." The last word is said very carefully, as if he has only just learnt it, which may indeed be the case.

The cooks boy does not quite know what to do, save that the smith's intervention prevents the lad from burying his face delightedly in Aelius's side -- which he had presumably been able to do with the younger Unwanted, but which might not have gone so well with the larger buck. In any case, the boy will look up at the Fred, who will glance down at him, and then lean over the edge to wiggle a similar toy towards Aelius. Once he has the Guardian's attention, he will throw it .. quite wisely in the opposite direction which he threw the toy for Unwanted.  

[~Lady Kanna~]

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Shuu continues to stare rather demandingly at him, eyes still sharp, before of course, his attention is taken to the buck he lives with. Deciding perhaps to stay out of sight for the moment, he lands on Last's shoulder, staying put rather firmly, though doesn't dare dig his claws in.

Thus the puzzle was solved, the smith taking a few steps over to get a better glance at him, though she manages to raise an eyebrow whilst trying to keep from turning red. "The Queen? Oh no no, I'm sure she has much prettier hands and a nicer dress than I do." She laughs, trying to disregard the compliment, "Though....Perhaps if I was I would need a slightly more convincing guardsmen, now wouldn't I?"

Aelius is absolutely mesmerized by the toy, and wiggles his tail a little before going dashing after it, bumping into quite a few people on the way, though none seemed to mind too terribly much, perhaps too drunk from the plethora of wine to notice.

"So is First here as well?" She glances around a little. "Shuu seemed rather eager to pick a flower for that rook of his. I would have sworn they were lovebirds if they weren't so large and lovely."  

[LoveByLetters]

~Lady Kanna~

Last gives the bird a sidelong look of warning. To be sure, he's had a few weeks yet to grow accustomed to Unwelcome's presence, and he and his twin sib have made a point of trading off their new companions to lend a further air of mystery to their own identities. But to have someone else's bird settle himself without so much as a by-your-leave? The only reason that Last allows it is that he figures it could be taken as a sign for how easy Rosalie is with him ..

"Reckon her dress might be different," Last allows, turning about to shinny his way down to the ground, taking care as he does so not to disturb the rook on his shoulder. "But can't imagine she'd be any prettier than you are now. Wouldn't be possible."

Once on the ground he gives her a bold grin, and will bow over her hand if she lets him, with what must pass as an elegant flourish in the lower quarters. When Unwanted comes careening back up with his ball, Last does not miss a beat, hardly taking his eyes off of the smith long enough to take it from him and send it flying out over the crowd once more.

"M'brother's out and about. Brought the littlest of our clan, all dolled up as a king, and damned if he didn't decide he ought to go and have a peek at the queen, see if he could get her to dance. He's a little terror, that one."  

[~Lady Kanna~]

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In his opinion, Last was welcome to do as he pleased, and Shuu wouldn't have to punish him, unless he managed to shoo him away, as horrible as that pun was. He didn't seem to care much about the flirting between the two, much more focused on keeping clean, so that the lovely Unwelcome would gladly accept his flower, and found the shoulder rather comfortable to sit on. Plus he thought it might make Last look more dignified.

The compliments were taking their toll on the smith, though she was trying rather hard to keep from turning red from them. It wasn't like such talk was unwelcome after all, it was rather flattering. "She probably has the best seamstresses in the land though...Probably has something far more elegant and...flattering than this." She shifted slightly uneasily, still not used to wearing something like a dress. Especially not one so tight in the top, yet more loose in the bottom.

The bow didn't help her situation any, and she did indeed let him take her hand. He had seen them before, and hadn't seemed to have minded much from the scars, though today they were covered in silk. However, he does manage to impress her further with his rather elegant passing of the ball, a tiny laugh finally escaping as she watches. Aelius should be on his way back as well, if he didn't lose sight of the toy.

"Oh, the littlest? I don't think I've met him." She answered, "So two royal guards for a king? Unless for once you two decided to not match for once." Rosalie highly doubted they would pass up the opportunity, though she could be wrong. However, she gets a little more amused at the mention of dancing with the queen, glancing back towards where she would be. "Now that would be an honor. Though I must admit I would be a little envious. But if your brother is anything like his charming older brother, he should have all the luck."  

[LoveByLetters]

"Tsk, tsk, din't say it had anything to do with the dress, now did I?" Before she can reclaim her hand he tucks it gallantly into the crook of his arm. " 'Sides, I don't know much about clothing for ladyfolk, but the way I think on it, it stands to reason that you don't need the best tailor in the land if you're already pretty." With her hand tucked into the crook of his arm, he begins to walk leisurely forward, pulling her gently along with him -- a jaunty young guardsman out to tour the festival with his lady. He walks in the direction that he'd sent Aelius running so that they do not lose the older buck; Unwanted, who had gone in the other direction, he does not worry about. The little buck will find him soon enough.

"Naw, what kinda king would Georgie be if there weren't a set of matching guards to go with the crown?" Last snickers, not at least disturbed by the implication that he and his brother are -- just perhaps! -- in a rut. Bad enough that he got himself Chosen, worse that First got that damn witch-bird .. that's more than enough for either of them to handle at the moment. "What have you been up to of late? Any interestin' works come through the shop?"  

[~Lady Kanna~]

There was even more of a smile on her face the moment he took her at his side, though it grew even more at the mention of not caring about the dress, and of something perhaps a little more than she expected. "I''m not usually one for dresses....Though I suppose I'll put up with it for tonight, especially since I've got such a handsome guard." She glances briefly at him, getting a mischievous glint in her eyes for a moment, before catching sight of her own buck, regally prancing towards them with the ball in his mouth. He didn't, however, urge Last to throw it, instead carrying it, close at the smith's side. Perhaps he'd lost it for quite a while and didn't feel like experiencing humiliation again...

"Well I do hope that he does get that dance. I wouldn't mind one either...perhaps a little later." There was another glance, perhaps a flutter of the eyelashes, though the grin gave her away before anything. "Nothing interesting. Ever since the tales of wolves came to town, it's been all swords and daggers. Maybe a few rings here or there for those who wanted to at least be married before 'meeting their demise'. I did take a trip out to the Wardwood though, less for offerings, more for inspiration. Doing the same thing over and over again with no flair gets boring. I half considered taking a bit out of my funds to make the both of you something, but then I got sick."

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[LoveByLetters]

Last opens his mouth to inform her that if she doesn't like the dress he'd be delighted to help her take it off -- but then Aelius prances back into sight, and he hesitates just long enough to realize what a terrible mistake that might have been. Lovely Rosalie isn't Rajani; with all her blushing she might not take such a crude joke well! So he just tosses her a grin, looking amused at her Guardian's smug pleasure and pleased by the idea that they might get to dance.

"Sick?" That makes him frown, and he holds her hand just a bit tighter, as if illness is something that he can fight off or chase away on her behalf. "I hope y'weren't for long. I know a damn good sawbones."  

[~Lady Kanna~]

If he had even dared she wouldn't have hesitated to slap him across the cheek, huff around a bit, and then perhaps offer a handkerchief to tend to the area with some cold water. It had been hard enough to put on, and she certainly wasn't going to strip down in public. Perhaps if he offered after the ball, it wouldn't be so poorly received, though there was surely to be a bit of hesitation, though it depended on how the night went. Though it was already quite magnificent in her opinion.

"I was careless, I'll admit. I spent about a week in bed, but a good friend of mine came down to help out, and was kind enough to medicate me. He might actually be here tonight, but I don't think I wrote him asking." Rosalie mentioned, frowning in return. "And I hope you've been well since then? Hopefully not too serious troubles have come about?"

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[LoveByLetters]

Unwanted comes trotting up behind them, and now finally the smaller Guardian -- who has grown bigger by now -- notices Aelius. He is quite pleased to discover the other Guardian also has a toy, and trots up to Aelius to show off his own, stretching his neck up to display it proudly. See? See? See, I found one too!

Last does not even seem to notice his return, because he is trying very hard not to frown at this mention of a good friend. Competition! Especially if she is calling this unknown fellow over to help her when she is ill. He'll have to do better to compete with this other man in Rosalie's life -- it certainly won't do to lose even before he's begun! He shakes off his frown, hopefully before she notices it, and drags his thoughts back to what she's actually saying.

"Oh, to be sure," he tells her amiably, giving her another smile. "Only trouble's been with our littlest sib. Usually he's off with the family, but they've sent him down to the city to be 'pprenticed." He scratches the back of his head with his free hand, giving her a wry grin; she can only imagine how much trouble the youngest Grimm must be, considering what she's seen thus far of the twins. "We're hoping it'll settle him down some."  

[~Lady Kanna~]

Aelius isn't exactly sure what to think of the younger, though is proud to see he's grown....and not trying to get under his feet at the moment. The lack of it makes him far happier, and he greets the other with a nuzzle, showing off his own toy afterwards. Yes good! Though Unwanted is probably better at the game than he is.

"What sort of apprenticeship is he interested in, or has he found something already?" She was interested, obviously thinking it over quietly, "I haven't ever taken one on, most of the young lads get sent off to the other smith down the street, since he's well....male. Most families aren't too keen on sending them to me, and I suppose one day I'll need someone to take over the shop...Though I think I'd prefer them being kin, of which I have none. For the moment at least...."

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[LoveByLetters]

~Lady Kanna~

"If Georgie weren't the littlest of our lot -- if there were still one've my clan young enough for it, we'd send 'em off to you." He flashes her another grin; the Grimms have never really had difficulty with the peculiar idea of gender equality. "Could always use a good smith, and none've us've picked it up. Got a sailor, a brewer, a miner, and a man in government. Georgie's got it in his head to be a sawbones, y'know, a doctor." He shrugs, as if he's not entirely sure of the wisdom of this particular path, but his indulgent expression suggests that little Georgie does whatever little Georgie wants.

"Ain't so bad not having family," he continues, trying to reassure her. "Nobody to make a fool of theyself complaining about your trade. Nobody to tell you who you gotta get hitched with, neither."  

[~Lady Kanna~]

"The thought is appreciated greatly, even if it can't be done. But it sounds like you've got quite the assortment of occupations. Any one of those could use a good doctor, might do him well." She smiled, "But I suppose there's no reason your family couldn't come to me if you're in need of a smith. I might even be convinced to lower the price a little."

"I get enough of that from some of my....less appreciative customers. Especially the single young men. Though I'd never consider any of them." She squeezes his hand slightly, laughing lightly. "Though if any of them are far too forceful, and I don't feel like lifting up the poker, I know who to call on, right?"

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