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 Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 12:43 pm
[1/10]
Yngvara awkwardly approached the front of a very familiar building and turned her silver gaze toward the door. It wasn’t often that she dropped by and when she did it was always with Iriyana. The huntress preferred to spend her days in the wilds with a bow in one hand and the reigns of her chiavi in the other, but today…Today she’d braved a different kind of wild for a particular reason.
Ever since the incident all overnight visits and carefree afternoons had ceased. Her mother spent a fair amount of time doing what she could to ease the tension, but the children….Well, they could visit when supervised and only for a limited time. Just enough to see their cousin, see that he was still with them, and then leave.
There had been looks passed between the adults that churned Yngvara’s gut. She hadn’t spoken up – in fact, every time she went over she was stoically quiet – but the shadows under her Aunt and Uncle’s eyes…Well, she wasn’t content to leave them. So, with a little ‘shopping’ basket on her leather armored arm, Yngvara opened the door and stepped in. Super casually; just like anyone else. Except…Unlike everyone else in their appropriate attire she was still very much dressed like one would be to trek up the great mountains.
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 12:44 pm
[Corny via discord]
Though he was able to go back to work, Ergon was still keeping his hours to a minimum. There were other employees willing to pick up the extra work so that he could get himself back to full power as well as focus on his family. It was a rough balance that he was still working on. Especially when an ornery client wasn't willing to give any leeway.
He was on the receiving end of a seemingly endless lecture on the supposed value of a set of plates an older woman was trying to sell him, and they didn't like the numbers he gave. "I appreciate how fond you are of these, but I am not selling your sentimental value. Priceless to you is fifty-five to anyone else who might want it for themselves. I can't-"
The offended iceling slammed her hands on the counter. "Now you look here, Ergon! I knew your mother long before you were even born. What would she think if she heard you were treating me this way?"
Ergon's eye twitched. "Well, ma'am, she would probably think the same thing that she thinks every day anymore. There's no way her seven year old son could be involved in a business deal with you. Now, if you don't like this offer, I am willing to relinquish the sale to some other unlucky businessman willing to purchase your ashtrays." He was unfazed by the shocked expression on the woman's face. "And also, please leave my mother alone."
.
The woman raised her chin in irritation and swept her way to the door, grumbling under her breath the entire way. Her coat brushed against Yngvara and she shot a scathing look at the younger woman while her nose raised even higher. "Well, if this is the clientele he entertains..." she huffed as she passed by with a glare tossed back at Ergon. "I didn't realize this business was so lacking in refinement."
Ergon looked at Yngvara with surprise, but it quickly shifted into a sharper look at the older woman. 'Not again..' "No one asked you for your opinion, Delana," he shot out without thinking. The woman was agast, but Ergon kept his gaze firm around the wilting going on in his head. He was going to hear about this later...
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 12:53 pm
[2/10]
Yngvara certainly hadn’t expected to walk into such a heated customer interaction, but she wisely kept her mouth shut. It was impossible not to listen in on their conversation – after all, even if her Uncle had been quieter his client was not – and try as she might to ‘peruse’ Yngvara’s gaze kept flicking toward the two.
She’d been content hang around the doorway until the woman brushed against her. For a beat Yngvara’s silvery gaze widened out of surprise, but in that same moment they narrowed to a predatory curl. This was why she’d stopped visiting her relatives in the city. She didn’t mind going to their home, but what was the point in coming here if this is how she was going to be treated? Sylvirah would have had a knife to this woman’s throat and Zyphire would have flipped her words on her.
Instead, Yngvara took a step out of the way and let the door close behind her. She wanted to grab the back of her head and slam her jaw onto the ground, but it would only cause problems for Ergon. More problems at that. Still…she couldn’t help reaching for a dagger at her side as the woman passed, fingers clutching the hilt as anger boiled in her blood and only after she left did Yngvara let go of it.
“Hello Uncle.” Her voice, low as ever, still held a bite of anger. Not at him, of course, but spirits how she wanted to hit something…Taking a deep breath, Yngvara shook out her shoulders and came closer. “Have you eaten?”
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 12:55 pm
[Corny via Discord]
Once the front door was fully shut, Ergon let out a long, grumbling sigh and rubbed at his eyes. Some days, he really just wanted to smack people. It was happening so much more often lately, too; from just feeling the anger to outright snarling at others. He tried to push the irritation aside though as his niece came closer. He was quite curious about her presence, used to seeing her around the house rather than traversing the town.
He exhaled sharply and straightened himself up again to give a wane smile. She looked as ready to attack the vile woman.. though she was much more likely to actually follow through! "Hello, Yngvara. ..My apologies for that.. that. To what do I owe the pleasure?" He paused a moment, seriously giving her question consideration now that he was able to focus on something other than his temper. "I have not I am well due for a meal." His head cocked the slightest bit. Was this an invitation? "...Are you hungry?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 12:56 pm
[3/10]
“I was asked to guard the merchant’s back to town and thought I’d stop by.” It was all a bold-faced lie, and Yngvara hoped it wouldn’t show. It did, of course; she didn’t have the silver tongue of her father and visibly shifted from foot to foot as she spoke. “I bought too much to bring home so…” Again, another lie, especially since her family kept expanding. When she raised the basket up onto the counter and pulled the woolen cloth covering its contents aside a bevy of food was on display.
Fresh bread from a bakery Ergon had taken her too, stew from a tavern she knew he liked, even a few strips of meat and some dried vegetables from home…There may have also been a little bottle of mead in the bottom.
“I thought if you were too busy to go somewhere and eat today then you might have time to eat while you worked.” Or rather, he wouldn’t have an excuse not to eat.
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 12:57 pm
[Corny via Discord]
Ergon watched his niece curiously. Though he didn't see her often, he was decent at reading people through his years of work. What was she lying about, and why? He didn't have the energy to point out what he could see, so he gave her a light nod of acceptance instead. It wasn't as though Sylvirah would send her daughter to spy on him. Right?
His brow rose with extra curiosity as the basket was opened. She'd... brought food for him? Oh, he knew that smell. Unbeknownst to him, a bit of warmth gave his features a subtle lift from the frustrated chill it'd been weighed under. "That's very kind of you. Thank you. I prefer to not eat in front of everyone, though." There was only one other customer, and they were being taken care of already. He got his coworker's attention and pointed to the basket and then the office door. With the all clear, he gave Yngvara a contemplative look. The idea of just taking the basket and running didn't settle with him as proper. "Will you join me then?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 12:59 pm
[4/10]
It wasn’t much, but just the little softening of his features softened Yngvara’s ire. Instead of vocalizing ‘You’re welcome’ Yngvara gave a nod of her head, fully preparing to leave him in peace to enjoy his meal, but then-
“Uhm, sure.” While she’d made sure to leave plenty in the basket, she hadn’t meant it for two. She’d just thought that maybe if he didn’t make it home that night or if he didn’t eat the next day, he would have something here. Still…well, she couldn’t just abandon him now. “Takk skal du ha.”
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 1:00 pm
[Corny via Discord]
He was honestly surprised when his niece agreed to follow. He wasn't disappointed though. On the contrary, he found himself feeling surprisingly pleased. Of that side of the family, Yngvara was one of the more tolerable to be around. One might dare to think.. pleasant even. He held the office door open for Yngvara to go through first, brow crinkling at the northern language. He'd heard Sylvirah say that before... what was the reply she's told him to say..? "Ve.. vebekonne." Was that right? Probably not... He sounded ridiculous! Why did he even bother?
Once they were inside, he quickly went to one of the less cluttered tables to clear it. He set the basket down and brought over a second chair. Finally, he briefly looked over to his niece and quickly dropped his gaze down to the chair he held out for her as a proper gentleman would. "We don't have much available here, but I can bring you some water to drink if you would like." Was she old enough for something stronger? Was that possible? She certainly wasn't a youngling anymore... but how was that even possible either?
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 1:01 pm
[5/10]
Furrowing her brow as she walked by, Yngvara gave her Uncle a passing look before moving into the office. “Hva var det?” And just in case he’d prefer the common tongue, she translated, “What was that? I didn’t catch it.” She kept her tone light because honestly she was more curious about his using the old words at all. When had he started? Or had Ergon always shown interest? She’d tried teaching her cousins whenever they visited, but Yngvara wasn’t proud to admit to using it for other things. Mainly to talk about them behind their backs when they frustrated the Ild’vann kids…
Looking down at the chair, Yngvara awkwardly moved forward and sat down. She’d never really been treated like a…lady before and it was a little weird. “Water would be nice.” Yngvara reached for the basket and started pulling different food stuffs out to get their impromptu table set up.
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 1:04 pm
[Corny via Discord]
Ergon winced slightly. If she was expecting him to keep a conversation in that strange talk, she was going to be sorely disappointed! He sighed with relief when Ygnvara returned to the common tongue, though an embarassed heat kept prickling the back of his neck. Not that he would ever say it out loud, but he had started looking into the language his sister and her family often slipped into. It was one small step closer to understanding them; and more than literally. "Well.. I was attempting to say something along the lines of 'you're welcome,' but I can guess that I did not exactly say that."
He walked to the other side of the office to grab the water pitcher and brought it back to the table with a couple glasses. With their respective glasses filled, he sat down and first reached for the soup and bread. Dang, that did smell good. Maybe he would actually eat a full meal's worth today?
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 1:05 pm
[6/10]
“Close. Værsågod.” Yngvara smiled. “You’re learning the old tongue? Mor will be happy.” There were words that Sylvirah struggled with translating to common and vice versa so she knew that even if Ergon never became fluent just the effort would please her greatly.
“I’ll be in the area tomorrow as well, to sell hides to the tanner,” Yngvara said passively while reaching for her soup spoon. “If you aren’t busy we should have lunch again.” The teenager pinched off a piece of bread, dipped it into the broth and looked up at her Uncle. She hated the idea of coming back into the city, but it wasn’t too unlikely.
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 1:06 pm
[Corny via Discord]
Værsågod. Ergon repeated it a couple times in his head, It was likely that he would never use it anywhere outside of that part of the family... With his eyes on the soup, he gave a casually dismissive shrug. "'Learning' might be a little strong, but I have figured out a handful of words." He glanced at Yngvara briefly, his expression cool but a bit of play managed to come through his eyes. "It will be good to know when your mother is trying to secretly be tart with me." Sylvirah had plenty of spunk and sass, and had undoubtedly used his ignorance of the language to her advantage over the years. It certainly wasn't his main goal, but it was a note in the back of his mind.
He pinched off pieces of bread and dropped the chunks on top of the soup to let them soak of the flavors. The first bite actually earned a soft sigh of contentment. He'd been hungrier than he'd thought! At Yngvara's suggestion, he paused with his next spoonful hovering over the bowl. He sat silently for a moment, wondering at the offer... About as unexpected as her initial appearance here was. Finally, he cocked a nod at her and raised the spoon to his mouth. "I don't believe there is anything scheduled that would keep me from having lunch available tomorrow."
It was so much more pleasant than his last few lunches there. So much easier than being alone with nothing to think about except what he saw as his failures...
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 1:07 pm
[7/10]
Yngvara couldn’t help the way her features instantly picked up a devilish tint to them. She casually kept dabbing the bread into her soup, but the way her eyes lit up was a clear indicator that he’d caught onto something. There had been a few times that she’d caught her mother saying something nasty about Ergon behind his back and played it off as a sneeze or some other kind of bodily expulsion. Sylvirah would be both proud and freaked out if he caught her in the act which was exactly why Yngvara was going to stay silent on the matter.
“Good. I’ll come by the same time tomorrow, then.” She’d thought briefly about bringing him out somewhere for a meal, but having to keep up appearances around others might make him less likely to eat. Like a sermal who was constantly on edge, waiting for the next predator to strike, so in the end Yngvara knew she’d need to come up with another dish or two. Something dense, to keep him fed even if she missed a day or two.
“Eat up. It tastes better while it’s warm. And don’t slouch, you’ll hurt your neck.”
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Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2023 8:26 am
The silence was telling enough. Ergon had half expected at least a snort of amusement or sound of denial. Apparently, he was going to have to delve a bit deeper into the language now. It was actually difficult to keep his lips from twitching from his own surprising amusement. Sylvirah had been a huge help at the house the past weeks since the incident, but still, going back to seeing her as that sassy menace rather than caregiver was actually a comfort. He nodded again in reply to the lunch offer. Again tomorrow. Interesting. Well, at least it was Yngvara and not one of the other kids. She was the most tolerable of the bunch, in his opinion. ....She was usually the most tolerable. His brow cocked incredulously at the advice. Ergon did not slouch! At least, not when anyone was looking. The audacity. ..When had she grown up? "That is good to remind yourself every so often," he responded pointedly, hiding a smirk behind another bite of bread.
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Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2023 11:59 am
"Better to keep your head up so you can look down on your more flavorful clientele." Yngvara may have still been stewing on the earlier interaction. She coolly speared a piece of meat in her stew, tapped the edge of the bowl to be rid of the excess broth and brought it up for a bite. Yngvara was a patient person; not a forgiving one. "Are all your customers usually so aggressive?" She didn't ask what she really wanted to, but it was there. Were they all as prejudiced?
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