Author: BadMoonRising, Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2018 7:40 PM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

“I’ve never appreciated thievery more.” The food was astounding, certainly better than anything he’d thrown together on the road. He had simple tastes, but the spices in the meat were perfectly balanced. He grabbed another. “As long as I get it back,” he mused. “I got enough looks from the other women without walking around bare chested.”

Every little kiss brought a smile to his face, and he turned his head to catch her forehead as she placed a peck on his shoulder. “I did. I’m not usually this slow in the morning, so I must have slept rather deeply. Sorry if I smothered you.” A light chuckle.

After breakfast, they sorted out their clothes and dressed themselves. She was ready to go before him, mostly because he kept glancing up from what he was doing to look her over. He paid little attention to anyone else as they returned to the White Court to pick up the pups from Toya’s gracious care. Upon entering the foyer, he caught a whiff of booze, spotting the White Queen in an instant. He smirked. Good logic.

It appeared as though the Queen had gone ahead and sorted out lodgings for them. Basselina… Amidst the pile of names he’d learned in the past month, it took him a moment to pin that one. Bass had been the one to hire him. She paid him to protect her sisters, and now was providing them with a safe place to stay. And Toya was providing safe passage. He had been worried about the pups–Lofe would certainly struggle in the heat with his small size, and Shade with her dark coat. She would absorb heat like a sponge cast into the sea.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Olvar chimed in, not wanting to appear ungrateful.

The pups came loping into the room, Lofe immediately barreling toward Gaea. Forrest split toward Olvar, slamming against the man’s legs to demand affection. Shade trotted elegantly along behind them, tail waving gently. The shifter used a couple of leather straps from his backpack to fashion makeshift leashes for the two pups not being carried. Just enough to keep them from running through the streets of Sularia. Once they had made it to the stables, he nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Ojuk was whining excitedly upon hearing them approach, but as soon as the door opened to reveal a pup, he went silent. Olvar watched closely. The older warg had stiffened, ears twitching. Lofe flopped up to him, legs sprawling and tongue lolling from his mouth. As soon as the runt touched Ojuk, the big warg let out an offended howl. He looked to Olvar and Gaea, betrayed that she would bring such a thing back with her and betrayed that he would let her. When Shade and Forrest were untethered and allowed to run in, the cry repeated itself, descending into grumbles and growls. The pups swarmed Ojuk in a chaotic crowd of wiggles and wagging tails.

Once the four had calmed down, they walked back to Toya’s with Olvar firmly between Ojuk and the pups. It would take him some getting used to, but that had been expected. All things considered, the old beast had done well. “You know you’re still my favorite, right, bud?” Olvar murmured, rubbing his mount’s bristley mane. A low groan was his answer. The bulky beast stayed at his side, crowds parting around them at the sight of a seven foot high canine. The shifter patted his side as they arrived back at Toya’s mansion.

Author: Gaea Rose, Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2018 10:24 PM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

Gaea was certainly amused with how sluggish Olvar was. She hadn’t ever seen him move that slow before. “Good morning.” She leaned down and kissed his cheek before she sat down by him pulling the chair up to the bed for them to eat off of. “Aye, the cooks were making it downstairs for the siblings so I snagged some.” She repeated since she figured he hadn’t heard her because of how groggy he was. “It was no problem at all.”

Her pink eyes watched him look at her. She stared down at her herself for a moment and chuckled. “It was the closest thing to the bed this morning when I got up. I figured you wouldn’t care if I stole it for a few minutes.” It was baggy on her and long. It most certainly could have been a dress on the small nymph.

“I slept better than I have in a while,” it was a cliché thing to say she was sure but it was true. She leaned over and kissed his shoulder before she started to eat. “And yourself? You appear to have slept really well considering I didn’t wake you up when I got out of your stranglehold.” It was clear she was joking with him from the way she smirked.

After they ate she returned his shirt and got dressed. She pulled her hair up into a messy bun so she didn’t have to deal with it. Not that it mattered since most likely they would have to go through the desert again anyways. They were on the move as soon as Olvar was done. Slipping out of the house before anyone noticed was easy for her as they made their way back to the White Court. “Aunt Toya?” Gaea opened the door and looked around the big foyer.

“I’m here…” Toya was lounging with a bottle of whiskey as she almost chugged the damn thing.

“Aunt Toya… It’s morning.”

“It’s not alcoholism if it's before noon… It’s piracy.” The Queen tapped the side of her head. “Will take a lot more than this weak shit to get me drunk anyways. However, I was waiting for you… I went ahead and got a hold of Basselina.” Toya tossed Gaea a set of keys. “House is yours for however long you need it. Also, I’m taking the liberty of getting a mage over here to open a portal for you to go down to the highlands… the desert is nowhere safe enough for pups. You would lose one or two before you even got there. Just come back and tell me when you are ready to go.”

Gaea thanked her aunt before they retrieved all three pups. Lofe was in her arms almost immediately. He thought he was more a lap warg than an actual warg. “Yes, yes I love you too.” She laughed as he licked her face. She watched Olvar as he wrangled the other two. Finally, they were by the stables and Gaea looked at her lover. “Ready?” As if…

“Ojuk… I got something to show you… I don’t want you to be mad at me.” She opened the stable doors to where Ojuk was and let Lofe down.

Author: BadMoonRising, Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2018 10:08 PM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

“If you keep that up, I won’t want to leave,” he answered, arm tightening around her as she snuggled up against him. She felt so small pressed up to him like she was, as if holding her too tightly might break her. But at the same time, Gaea clearly had a strength to her. Maybe no in the traditional sense, but it was there. He could feel it.

Shifting a bit to ease her adjustment of the blanket, he snorted lightly at the thought of poor Ojuk, ambushed by pups from all sides. He’d be sour at Gaea for certain, and likely Olvar as well for allowing it to happen. The lycan was unsure of exactly how much experience the warg had with pups, what with his life up until about a year ago being largely a mystery. All that was certain was that he’d lived in the Highlands as an orcish mount.

Gaea was right though, and Olvar hummed happily as she nuzzled close. They had a long day tomorrow. His eyes slipped tredly shut. Despite the unusually plush bed beneath him, he was able to fall asleep with little trouble, arms wrapping tightly around the woman beside him.

When the next day came, it was the smell of cooked meat that woke him, albeit somewhat groggily. He didn’t immediately remember where he was, and with Gaea missing from his arms it was a smidge unnerving. Her voice was nearby though, and he cracked one eye open to spot her settling down a tray of various steaming breakfast foods. A wide yawn was his initial greeting, followed by a stretch. Only after that did he sit up, blanket falling from his chest. “Good morning,” he greeted sluggishly, rubbing the sleep from one eye.

“Breakfast?” Consider his interest captured. He leaned forward, sniffing at the various options on the tray before snagging some sort of spiced sausage from the pile. “Thank you, Gaea,” he yawned. It was unusual for him to wake this slowly, but perhaps his body found no need to rush. His gaze wandered up to his lover, amusement shining through them. “Quite a nice shirt you have on there,” he commented.

“How did you sleep?”

Author: Gaea Rose, Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2018 9:43 PM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

There was a smirk on the older twin’s face. “Ah… yeah, she comes off like that on everyone but out of the two of us… She is the more promiscuous of the two of us. The childish nature she has is just a front. She can be quite serious. She’s always been that way.”

When she was wrapped around him Gaea closed her eyes briefly as he caressed her knuckles. It was a nice light movement that sent butterflies into her stomach again. She really did think she was too old for such a thing but Olvar had a way of making it happen. The amusement she saw in his eyes caused her to chuckle a bit. “Very wise.”

A light breath left her lips as he kissed her forehead. She felt hot for a moment and she didn’t understand why. It was a simple action that he had done. Just another thing that only Olvar could bring out she supposed. “Trust me… You’ll be the first to know.” She chuckled almost too quietly as he moved them onto the short drop down onto the old bed.

The lycanthrope turned up the level of rough quite a bit with her but it didn’t bother Gaea. If anything she rather liked it that way. He got no complaints from her and maybe even a bit more begging than perhaps he had expected from her.

Heavy breaths left her lips as she put her head into his chest. She could feel the sweat rolling off of him as she laid there. Her fingers gently danced across his side near his chest. The half nymph had come up just enough so he could kiss her cheek and now her shoulder. Closing her eyes she said her head down onto the pillow, once she had retrieved it from the ground. Kissing his ear as he put his nose in her hair she smirked a bit. “I would say it was just right.” It barely came out of her lips as she was still catching her breath but she had enough energy to laugh as she hugged herself to him now. “Keep that up and I’m not going to ever let you leave.” She teased him.

Gaea pulled the blanket up over them and she snuggled into him some more. “Tomorrow is going to be a long day.” As much as she hated saying they needed to rest. Her head was against him some more now as she nuzzled his neck softly. “We’ll need to rest so we can… show Ojuk what I did. He’s going to be so mad at me.” There was another laugh. Sliding her hands up she cupped his face and kissed him again this time slow and steady with meaning. It was almost a shame they had to sleep.

In the morning Gaea peeked her eyes open to not only see Olvar dead asleep but feel him around her. He was holding her quite tightly and she only had a bit of wiggle room. Her eyes slit just a bit as she wiggled herself free but in a way where she wouldn’t wake him up. She slipped on the first thing she could get her hands on which just happened to be his shirt and she slipped out of the room.

It took her a few minutes but she came back with a tray of hot food. “Olvar, wake up.” she set the tray down on the study chair as she knocked the books off. “I got us breakfast.” It was all sorts of different foods one would find in Arri. “I managed to thieve it from my siblings while it was being cooked.” There was a wink from her.

Author: BadMoonRising, Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2018 9:20 PM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

“I’m honored.” As he glanced over the books, he took a few moments on some of the titles he found, sounding them out in his head. His reading was still rough to say the least, but he was making progress. He could tell know that there was a book about poisonous herbs and their mimics, tricks to growing finicky flowers, basic ingredient preparation, and a handful of others that stuck out amongst the menagerie of topics. He watched her move to the book on the pedestal, eyeing it curiously before his gaze wandered again.

“Gemma?” he chuckled. “Really? She seems so… childish, I suppose. Not the type to lure men into her room.” Gaea moved behind him to close the door. He started to turn, but arms around his waist gave him pause. A gentle pressure settled against his back. The shifter placed a hand over one of Gaea’s, thumb stroking her knuckles lightly. As she guided him a few steps forward, he smirked, amusement flashing through hazel. “Probably a wise choice.”

Olvar gave her a small nod in reply, then leaned back just enough to kiss her forehead. “Let me know if I should slow down,” he rumbled, then took them the rest of the way onto the bed. At first he worried about someone else in the house barging in, but those worries were quickly dwarfed. As she’d requested, he was not as gentle as he’d been in the field of crystal flowers, but it would only take a word from her to slow their pace again.

As sweat rolled from his brow and Gaea caught her breath, he lay beside her on the narrow bed, one arm securely around her shoulders. He peppered gentle kisses along her shoulder and cheek, oddly affectionate with her. More so than he’d ever been with any of his long gone flings. This was something far more special. He finally nosed lightly at her hair, closing his eyes and sighing softly. “Was that too gentle?” he mused softly.

Author: Gaea Rose, Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2018 8:59 PM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

Gaea gently flicked his nose at his scoff and gave him a smile. Her fingers found his comfortably as she kept him close. Her glares were few and far between as she caught women staring at him. This city… It was exhausting. A sigh left her lips as she started to ignore them.

Once they got to her room she chuckled a bit more at him and shook her head. “I requested my room to be like this when I was a girl. If it was too big it could have distractions. It was just right. I’ve just… been hoarding books in here since I left so it's not as organized as it used to be. I don’t like to keep books in our treehouse because of the weather.”

She let her hands leave his as she flipped the pages of the book on the pedestal. “Advanced potion making when dealing with elements.” She said aloud to Olvar. “Tricky thing that is.” It was weird for her to have someone in this room. She froze a bit. “You are the first one I’ve ever brought here before.” Her pink eyes looked up at him as if her mind was stuck on something. “It wasn’t really private…” Finally, she smiled again and laughed. “Gemma hated sleeping alone so she was almost constantly in here if she hadn’t suckered one of the local boys into her bed.”

Gaea closed the door behind them and came up behind Olvar with her arms around his waist. Her forehead was against his back as she thought about everything that had happened before they arrived. The half nymph pressed her lips into his back for a moment before going around him and pulling towards the small bed. “I just didn’t want to get sand in places where it didn’t belong. Maybe next time we’ll bring a blanket.” She winked up at the lycan.

Just before the bed, her hands cupped his face as she brought him down to kiss her again. “You know… You don’t have to be gentle with me. I was frightened before and I’m not anymore.” She whispered to him as she put her forehead against his.

Author: BadMoonRising, Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2018 8:44 PM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

Each kiss she returned to him strengthened his smile. “I’d trust no other healer in the whole of the city,” he told her confidently, eyes alight with life. His heart was doing backflips against his ribs with such vigor that he was sure she would hear. Still he held her close, pressing a longer, tender kiss to her lips. With the sea’s wind at his back and the sun glowing gold above them, she truly looked like the daughter of a goddess. After one peck on the lips from her, she stepped back, pulling him back to the sands. He followed, of course.

At her sloppy amendment, he scoffed, but didn’t push. He wiped the sand off of his feet, then pulled his boots back on to trail after her through the city. The lycan laced their fingers as they walked, eyeing the passing Rosenites with a small amount of suspicion. Once or twice he caught a woman eyeing him up and down, but upon seeing his hand locked with Gaea’s they seemed to more or less dismiss him: a relief considering the way Gemma had gone on about the terrors of Ignis season.

As soon as they rounded the corner, the massive mansion caught his eye, standing out even amongst the luxury of the city around them. “Is that all yours?” No. “Is it Gemma’s?” No. “Gemma’s boy toy’s?” No. Her laugh rang clear and bright like crystal. Angela’s mansion. A place to return to. The man let out a gentle breath as they entered, Gaea confidently leading the way. His eyes went to the servants immediately, suddenly feeling out of place. It was like Chateau du Montefort all over again, but all of the noble furnishings were compacted into a smaller plot of land. Everything in here appeared to have a place, whereas Simon’s castle had seemed to have hallways stretching on with no discernable destination.

Olvar was dragged up an elegant staircase and down a hall, maybe two. He wasn’t paying much attention. He was too distracted by the interior of the mansion. The door they’d arrived at was relatively simple though, and almost more striking because of it. On the other side was a room that was packed with a bed and as many books as he’d ever seen in a bedroom. Filling the shelf, overflowing from the desk, and even taking up a portion of the chair tucked into the study area.

“I would expect this of a closet,” he answered, running his fingertips along the bookshelf. “But if this is your room, no, it’s not what I expected.” A brief chuckle followed the reply, and his gaze slid back to Gaea. “At least it’s your own private space.”

Author: Gaea Rose, Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 10:43 PM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

Gaea laughed a bit and nodded. “Closer to three hundred now. I can’t remember exactly how old I am but I know I am at least that old.” She couldn’t get over the look on his face as she laughed. “Most of us don’t look over twenty. That’s just the Rosenite race. We’re timeless. I’m still relatively a baby compared to how old we can get. Most of us die in battles when we are young. We are reckless individuals with guts of steel for the most part.”

She was glad to have things in common with Olvar. It was hard to think they would be on the same thought pattern about certain things. They were different but there were many things that appeared to be the same for them. “I learned… that different medicines have different effects on different races. That some races needed more of one herb than another. It molded me. Made me think on my feet.”

Her forehead met his and she chuckled more when she saw that smile. “Maybe you would have.” Her lips returned the kiss just as lightly. She pushed her face into his hand almost on instinct now as she closed her eyes briefly before reciprocating the kiss. “I would have healed you without a thought in the world. Made you feel better… Made sure that you were comfortable. I would have taken care of you.”

Things were perhaps getting a bit handsy between them in the water as they stood there. She could barely breathe through the charged feeling she had while in his arms. Pushing herself up she kissed him once more and pulled him back to the shore. “I want you…” There was a blush on her face. “To come back home with me.” Obviously, a cover as she laughed it off. “Come on.” The beach was no place for them to pursue anything further at least… without a blanket.

She watched him put his shoes on and before long they were on their way. The walk to the Red Court Mansion was a long one as they rounded up to the big white mansion with gold design. Olvar had a ton of questions. “No.” “No.” “No.” She kept saying to him with laughs in between every guess. “This is my mother’s mansion. Built after there were plenty of us. It didn’t use to be so big but with so many of us… She made sure we had a place to return to.”

She pushed the door open and there were a few house servants floating about. “Don’t mind us.” They couldn’t even get a greeting out as she dragged him up the giant marble stairs and to the right. It was absolutely huge. However, when they got to the very end of the hall she turned the knob to a door. The space inside was small… sort of cramped. There was a small bed, desk full of papers with a book on a pedestal, and a bookshelf full of old literature.

“Probably not what you were expecting…” She laughed once more as she brought him in.

Author: BadMoonRising, Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 10:24 PM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

Warm all year round. That sounded nice. Whenever winter rolled in for the season, the lycan always found himself longing for warmer climates, but quite often he had to stay put, either for training or for a job. “I’ll have to visit sometime.” He watched her stone skip the water, smiling at each bounce. The smile faltered upon hearing her story continue. Thirty-two when she’d left? Over two centuries ago? He blinked stupidly at her, but let her finish her recollection before speaking. “You’re over two hundred years old?” When he heard it out loud it sounded almost rude, so he cleared his throat. “You don’t look a day over twenty,” he revised once he’d recovered from his surprise. She appeared in every way no older than himself.

As he’d gotten into the habit of doing, he gave her his hands when she took them. “I know what you mean. I learned plenty at home but only about keeping a farm. Once I was on my own, I had to learn everything else I’d been missing, one way or another.” Some lessons had come relatively easily, like camping on a rise to avoid pooling rainwater. Others were harder: his limits as a fighter, for example; the distance he needed to be from a town to avoid casualties on a new moon.

“It was good to leave home after everything that happened for me as well. I could start over, and my family was unwelcome there anyway.” He was tugged closer, and Olvar rested his forehead lightly against hers with a smile. “Probably not, no. But maybe I’d have come to Sularia,” he ventured, giving her a light kiss, “in need of healing.” One hand remained with hers, but the other slipped free to find her cheek, cupping her chin for a second kiss. “You’d have healed me, wouldn’t you?”

Author: Gaea Rose, Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 9:57 PM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

“Gemma was a prodigy with magic so she didn’t need to do anything with her life but show up,” Gaea smirked at him. “She also is shit at keeping things clean. When you become an apprentice for healers most of the time you have to keep their workspace clean. Discipline they call it.” She thought about her time with her mother. “It’s not the same thing when she is your teacher.” She grimaced a bit. “She is… hardcore when it comes to teaching.”

Gaea chuckled as they walked the beach briefly. “Dragons are only in the White Court and they are all owned and tamed by Toya Rose. People get into fist fights all the time though.” She smirked up at him as she watched him take his boots off and roll his pants. Thinking about her safe spot now she just gave him a smile. “Gemma and I have a pond we bathe in back at our house… We live in a mangrove inlet. It’s nice and warm all year round. Just us and our tree house. The sea does feel different though.”

She thought about the answer to his question. “To… be…” She thought about. “Useful.” She picked up a stone and tossed it just as good as he could. Her wave was a little bit smaller than his. “There are so many healers in Arri that I wanted to leave and Gemma wanted to come with me. We were thirty… two? So we left about two hundred and twenty three years ago if I'm remembering my age right. I was hardly getting any requests because of the large amount of healers. So we left home. Not the best reason but Ignis Season is really hard here too.” She chuckled. “Most of my siblings don’t live here.”

She reached out and took his hands in her own. “And if I hadn’t left… the lessons I’ve learned that are most important to me would never have been taught. While I learned a lot here… I learned a lot more on the outside. The outside is so much more different than Sularia is. It was just something I had to learn. On the outside, no one knew who I was. They didn’t know I was a princess nor that my mother was a goddess. I could just be Gaea, a nymph reject who went around healing people for a living.” She chuckled as she yanked him close to her. “And if I hadn’t left… well, you wouldn’t be in front of me now would you?”

Author: BadMoonRising, Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 9:08 PM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

As they talked, Olvar gave small nods here and there, but much of what he heard was a surprise to him. The way Simon had talked, education was a great thing, something to be treasured and taken full advantage of. But then again, he hadn’t very well enjoyed his own tutoring, and his mentor did have a tendency to exaggerate on the perks of nobility. “It sounds like you worked hard to get where you are, and your skill is incredible,” he complimented, thinking back to when she’d healed her leg, then to the ambush. “Gemma seems to admire you for it too.” The younger of the twins had only sealed his arrow wounds by luck and logic, something he was grateful for to be certain, but also a fine difference between the women. Gaea knew healing, and she knew it well. “And you were able to spend time with your mother as well,” he added as a positive note.

Once the suitor was dealt with, he watched curiously as the women of the city tossed him into the water with a barrage of harsh words. If he hadn’t come on to Gaea, he might have felt bad for the poor sap. It seemed his mistake had cost him any chance of getting laid in Sularia, if not all of Arri.

He gave Gaea his hand as she led him along, following wherever she led and taking in the city as they went. Crowds thinned the farther they walked, and it wasn’t long before the pair stood alone on quiet sands, the waves washing gently against the shore. The tang of salt in the air sent his mind back to the pirate city where he’d first started his new life, hiding from his roots and getting lost in crowds of missing people. Hungry days and cold nights. He gripped Gaea’s hand a little tighter. “I don’t blame you. It seems tense, what with the dragons running loose, and people being thrown into fountains.”

Hazel eyes wandered the sands as she described her hiding place, and the memories she’d made there. Horae was nowhere in sight, but he didn’t doubt the beauty of its light in the distant night, like a beacon of color. His gaze returned to Gaea as she tied her dress and left him for the water, a smile touching his face at the nickname. The shifter balanced on one leg at a time as he pulled his boots off of his feet, then rolled his pant legs to follow her. “We didn’t live near enough to the ocean to visit it when I was young, but we had a pond not far into the woods where we would swim. Seawater feels different though. Bigger, somehow.”

“When did you and Gemma decide to leave home?” he asked, searching out a smooth stone from the sand between his toes. Most of them were worn small by the ocean, but he found a decent-sized one to skip out over the water. It bounced twice before being swallowed by a small incoming wave.

Author: Gaea Rose, Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2018 10:29 PM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

“YES!” Tempest threw her arms up in the air. “I GOT A LIFETIME CUSTOMER I DID IT!” She did a hop, jump, and skip before she hugged her grandmother. The pup’s energy looks to drain on her grandmother just being around her but Toya patted her head again.

Gaea tilted her head and looked up at Olvar. “It wasn’t like that. At six I knew I was useless with my nymph craft. You must have noticed by now. I’m not strong like Gemma. My magical abilities are just about useless. I was seven when my father disowned me. I was eight when I took up my craft. Day in and day out. No rest. From reading the manuals to doing the actual medicine. To watching my mentor, to performing my first tasks. It wasn’t whenever I wanted. It was what I had to do. I was thirty when I finally mastered my craft.”

She looked up at the city for a moment. “I didn’t get to play outside with the other kids. If I wanted to be better than Gemma I would have to train that much harder. It wasn’t easy and it took a ton of discipline. Most of the time I was in a stuffy little room with a mortar and pestle wondering where I went wrong.” She chuckled a bit and shrugged. “And training under my mother wasn’t any better. She was a hundred times harder on me. I learned to value life.”

Once the suitor had startled Gaea there were, even more, looks their way from other females. Gaea was unsure what they would do. She was almost glad when Olvar blocked the man but his words brought a blush across her cheeks. Those were big words.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about that jackass,” it was one of the women. Some more women crowded and grabbed him. “You are lucky you lost… There are laws against being so pushy.” They picked him up and threw him into the water fountain in the center of the garden. “Better find some humans because that’s about it for who would mate with a weak moron like you.” It stung a bit as Gaea winced. This was how Arri was. Even if he was a rare Rosenite male… He was weak. He would give bad offspring.

Gaea took Olvar’s hand and pulled him into the Yellow Court. She wanted to get out of there and so she took him to the last place she thought there would be a lot of people. The sun was setting and she found herself standing on the beach with Olvar. She could hear the gulls. The smell of salt water was somewhat comforting for her. “We’ll need to get a hold of Basse before we do anything… but I’ll send a bird her way and we can get started on that. I would prefer not to stay in Sularia long this time of year.”

Her toes felt the sand beneath her and she appeared pleased with it as she watched the waves roll. “It’s nice out here… You know this is my favorite spot in all of Sularia? Because people rarely come here this time of day. I would get out of class… or whatever I was doing and I would come to the beach to hide out for a while. Gemma was a lot busier by herself back when we were younger.” She chuckled at the memory. “And on clear nights in Glaciem… You can see the auroras from Horae Island.” She pointed off in the direction of the island even though she couldn’t see it.

She pulled up her dress and tied it up as she moved into the water. She looked at Olvar with a smile. “Take off your shoes and roll up your pants farm boy.”

Author: BadMoonRising, Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2018 10:09 PM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

A cottage in the highlands… Isolated, plenty of space to run, and with all of its distractions it would be a good place to begin training with the pups once they were old enough. It was a good idea to be sure. “Sounds like a plan. Fewer people out in the highlands as well. It’ll keep them from getting into too much trouble.” Moving in with Gaea would certainly be interesting, but it would be best for the pups. He hadn’t shared proper quarters with anyone since he was around Tempest’s age. Already he could feel a squabble brewing.

“Watching and doing is the best way to learn,” he agreed, giving the young half-lycan another appreciative nod. “I’ll come here when I end up needing repairs again.” It was bound to happen. It always did.

With Toya watching the pups, an offer that caught Olvar off guard, he was able to go and enjoy the city with Gaea. She held his arm as they walked, the shifter taking in the sweeping architecture and grandiose streets. Everything about this city seemed refined, with Gaea’s childhood home coming in at the top of the list. “You grew up there?” One room of the mansion was likely large enough to fit his entire childhood home inside, but land had been his family’s strong point. For a horse ranch, plenty was need. Still, nothing they’d had could even compare to that. “What was it like growing up in the city? Going to school whenever you wanted?”

Their conversations carried them lazily through the district, Olvar standing a little taller every time someone glanced their way. It wasn’t long before one approached, apparently prepared with gifts and lines to pitch. Blunt lines to boot. The lycan frowned, tilting his head slightly as the man pushed, flower bouquet once again thrust out toward Gaea. “You want what?” he asked, stepping forward to half block the suitor from the princess. The man blinked, as if he genuinely hadn’t seen Olvar standing there.

“Gaea’s mate? … Please?”

“You’re speaking to him,” Olvar answered with a growl, forcing the man back a step by taking another one towards him. “Take a walk while you still can.”

He blinked again, then took a steadying breath and shifted forward to meet Olvar’s posturing. “I demand to speak with–” The noble yelped, stumbling back and falling on his arse. The bristling shifter had knocked a single strong fist against the pompous prat’s nose, hard enough to make a very clear point.

Olvar stood over him as he snatched up his fallen flowers, scooting back a few feet before he rose. The noble was clearly flustered, but he retreated without further fuss. With a slow breath, the young knight relaxed, shoulders easing back to where they had been before the interruption.

A half-amused huff. “I hope the whole of the city has a bit more to them, otherwise your army is doomed.”

Author: Gaea Rose, Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2018 9:24 PM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

“Lofe, Forrest, and Shade?” Gaea smiled a bit as she pet all three pups. “The names fit you all so well. I’m sure Ojuk will only hate me for a little while.” She sat there thinking for a bit on Toya’s advice and looked up. “There’s a cottage in the highlands that Basselina was living in… Since she moved in with Lokir it’s been sitting empty… I could try and see if she would allow us to stay there until the pups were ready to travel?” It was just a thought on her end, of course, she was hardly expecting Olvar to agree to live with her even after everything.

“Thank you Olvar!” Tempest bounced excitedly. “I’ve been working really hard and watching all the masters! Each one has their own style so I wanted to make my own. I watched how they smelted things to how they hammered… EVERYTHING!” She bounced more. “And Mama made me the sigil for our work. Both my twin brother and I put it on all of our crafts.”

Toya rubbed Tempest’s head and looked up at Olvar and Gaea. “Go enjoy Arri… I’ll watch the pups.” The queen sighed a bit. “I’ll stick them in a room they can tear up or something… Like the enclosed courtyard. Tempest could play with them while you are gone.”

“You would do that?” Gaea tilted her head a bit as she looked up at Olvar to get an approving glance. With the arrangements made she took his arm and led him out the door. “I want to show you the district I am from.” They walked for a long while before they got to a bridge that went over a river of glistening water. “This water is brought up from the lakes underground.” She pointed to the water towers of the castle. “The water is pulled with magic up the towers and they waterfall out into the passages.”

Across the bridge, the pathway design changed and she pointed to it out to him. “See this is how you know you are in my district now.” She pulled him along to a tall building along a stretch of clinics. “This is where I learned how to do medicine. My teacher before me lives in one of these houses… Or used to. It’s been a long time since I was a student in the Red Court District. I could become a mentor myself if I wanted.” She blushed a bit and looked away. “I don’t think I’m a good teacher though.” She pointed to a large white mansion with gold design. “That is home for me. I grew up in that house with Ma whenever she was here. I attended school at the Academy like all healers but I also did field work with my mother whenever she went out.”

They were walking through one of the many rose gardens when a scrawny looking noble walked up to her. Obviously disregarding her arm around Olvar’s the man held out a bunch of flowers. “Princess Gaea, I would like to ask you to be mine for this Ignis season!” It was… cheesy to say the least. Gaea caught off guard had no words as she shook her head and looked up at Olvar.

“Just give me the time of day I’m sure you could be happy.” Again… cheesy. It was catching her off guard. This was why she didn’t come home during this time of the year.

Author: BadMoonRising, Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2018 9:05 PM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

“I’d hate for them to have ended up in a fight ring,” he confessed, the brindled warg leaning against him and panting happily. Every now and then he champed his teeth before going back to an excited canine grin. The dark female was more refined in her mannerisms, still leaning against his other side, but with little more than a lifted chin as Olvar rubbed her nape. “I think those are fitting names,” he agreed, then looked again to the brindle. He had a gleam in his eye that made him seem just a bit off, but it reminded him of a sellsword he’d worked with during his first few years of mercenary work. A lanky lad by the name of Forrest, who had just enough crazy in a glance to make you wonder if he’d turn on you. “Forrest for you then,” he told the pup, rubbing his ears.

He grunted in agreement with Toya. “We’ll figure something out.” He gave each of the wargs a rub on the neck before standing, fingers naturally fanning when at rest should one of the pups push their head under his hand for attention. As Tempest worked, he watched, keeping a curious eye on the forming blade as it was crafted. Her skill was obvious, as well as her passion for the work. At this pace, she could surpass even a master smith in just a few years. The girl had a few tricks of her own too apparently. Olvar startled back a step at the sudden breath of flame, Lofe falling over in the process and going to hide behind Gaea. He let out a tiny bark.

With the blade properly tempered, he waited eagerly as it was sharpened, and finally declared finished. It hadn’t taken as long as expected, but the wait was still difficult to bear. The lycan accepted the newly forged blade with an appreciative smirk. It was simple and sturdy with a new hidden perk, perfectly balanced, yet the shape and size of the blade was almost identical to it predecessor. An easy transition. A few test swings turned his smirk into a smile. “Beautiful work,” he complimented.

His attention shifted once again as Toya spoke to him. Wyvern bone? He’d heard of weapons made from the coveted commodity, but he’d never expected to see one, let alone have it handed to him free of charge. He sheathed his improved shortsword, then gingerly accepted the bone sword.

The blade was perfection in almost every way. Solid and strong, with a clean edge and ambitious elegance. His eyes traveled the length of the weapon, then back, admiring the detail worked into it, from the maker’s signature to the gemstones expertly laid into the hilt. “Amazing, Tempest,” he appraised honestly. “I’ll wield it proudly. And should it be admired, I’ll send them your way.”

Author: Gaea Rose, Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 10:47 PM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

Tempest seemed pleased when Olvar opened up to her. Her eyes got a bit big with his story. “Rosenites were made by Hedgewitches.” After a while, she thought about it. “We’re born for as many generations back as Grandpa has told me about. I’m sure that wasn’t always the case but the Wintercrests were a royal family. Cousin Jordas is the king now for the Wintercrest tribe but Uncle Krystopher is our alpha. We listen to him…. And Cousin Liz is his mate. She’s the only non-Wintercrest in our pack.”

Gaea gave Olvar the best smile she could as he got his answer. The crème colored warg in her arms seemed happy with her affection. “I… couldn’t help myself. I was originally just going to get Lofe but then the others… I was going to walk away but then they started to cry. Olvar I hate it when babies cry it makes me sad… so I had to get all three of them. They were going to use Lofe as bait because he is so small. I couldn’t let them do it.”

“Lofe? Like… a loaf of bread?” Tempest was confused.

“I know it is weird… I KNOW! But he looks like a Lofe.” Gaea put him down and Lofe ran up to Olvar and got up on him as well.

“Well, the black one looks like a Shade to me. So you should name her Shade.” Tempest came over and pet the wargs. “They are all so cute!”

Gaea was happy to see Olvar’s smile as she laughed. “I’ll sweeten Ojuk up don’t worry about it. I’ve been thinking about how I’m going to make this up to him.”

Toya tilted her head. “Tempest the forge… Also, you can’t travel with pups… You’ll have to figure something out until they get bigger.”

Tempest got the steel from Gaea and started the forge up. She smelted the ingot down into the lacriamium before stirring it. She easily created a cast for the blade so it was similar and moved from there to make the blade. This was a long process and Gaea watched with interest as they spent time with the pups. Each one of them was lovable and were in love with Gaea.

After the blade was set Tempest let out a large flame from her lips. The heat from the fire breath sent the temperature in the room up. The flame was white the hottest flame in existence besides the gods. She hammered, and hammered, and hammered. Getting a stamp she pressed it into the blade. She had periodically put it in water to check it out. Once she was satisfied with it she moved over to sharpen it after pulling her goggles back up. “It’s done.” The blade was now tinted a blue as she offered it up to Olvar.

“Since Gaea got you warg puppies I want to gift you something I’ve been working on too. Give me a few seconds to finish it.” She grabbed what looked to be a bone blade off the water and scurried over to the forge. She shot it with hot fire so she could imprint her signature on it. Insetting jewels into the hilt. Her work was detailed and she was getting only faster it showing how long she had been practicing alongside her grandfather.

“It’s made of wyvern bone. I brought it home to her from Horae. She’s been working on that for five years now since she decided she was going to become a blacksmith… You must be something special if she is giving it to you.” Grabbing it after it cooled Tempest brought it over to Olvar and held it out for him.

“I want this to be my very best apprentice weapon! So I need you to show it off for me and get people to come see me!” Tempest bounced a bit with excitement. “It is my very best work even better than your short sword.”

Author: BadMoonRising, Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 10:24 PM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

At first, Olvar was hesitant at the idea of anything but a steel blade. It had served him so well for years after all, but the more Tempest described the perks of a blade with Lacriamium, the more he considered. She certainly seemed to know her craft, far better than the smith he’d bought the sword from. His curiosity went from Tempest’s appraisal to Toya at her knowledge of MoonCrest. Had she been to DaeLuin? Or had she only heard? The shifter was reluctant to ask, and dropped his gaze again to avoid staring. Challenging her was not something he wanted to do again, even accidentally.

As Tempest remarked on the balance he gave a small nod, having noticed the weapon sitting slightly differently in his hand. After so long feeling the same weight, it became startling easy to tell when something was off, even slightly.

With Gaea out to fetch steel, he was left alone with her family. Luckily, though Toya intimidated him, Tempest seemed all too friendly, and she was quick to jump into conversation. “You didn’t offend me,” he assured her. “It was made not far from my home town. I’ve had it for nearly a decade, so it’s more sentimental than anything.”

The next question gave him pause, but only for the length of a breath. “Made,” he answered simply, content to leave it at that. Her natural curiosity though… It was only a few seconds before he gave up more information. “My family was cursed. When I was about your age. A witch’s last desperate act.” As he answered, he watched her move about the forge, collecting a metal that shone like a gemstone and dropping it into a pot. At her call, a miniature dragon arrived, going about a job that it seemed all too familiar with. What a strange place this was. “What about you? Are you and your family born lycanthropes?”

When Gaea finally returned from the marketplace, he turned at her call, eyes widening slightly. He immediately recognized the creature in her arms, but was having a hard time believing it. “Gaea…” The pup in her arms was male, with gangly legs and a long lolling tongue, with blue eyes ringed thinly in black. On the other side of the door, he picked up the sounds of scrabbling claws and tiny whimpers. Two sets. “Gaea, what did you do?” he asked, but already he’d dropped politely to one knee. The other two raced in, jumping up on their savior before Olvar distracted them.

One was a female, with a dark, if not black coat, and eyes like emeralds. The other was another male, brindled with amber eyes. They looked close enough to be littermates, but the runt was either a half-sibling or from another pair altogether. Olvar sighed as he rubbed the ears of the jumpy, larger male. “You’re not allowed to go to the market by yourself anymore,” he decided, but couldn’t hide his smile as a huge tongue swiped under his chin. “Ojuk is going to be bitter at you for days.”

Author: Gaea Rose, Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 9:45 PM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

Tempest took the blade into her hand and she tilted her head as she let go. Her blue eyes looked all over it. “The metal in this blade is blended too much. It’s a novice mistake.” There was more musing from her. “I will reforge the blade and mix it with Lacriamium for strength. The blade shouldn’t break for another fifty years if I do it that way… And you won’t have to sharpen it as much. Then there is the question of the how the steel was made.” She ran her fingers along the sharp enough it cut her skin but it quickly healed from her wolven blood. She turned it around until she found the blacksmith mark. “It’s a moon… Grandma is this from Adeluna?”

Toya took a look. “No, it is from a place called Mooncrest. The mark for Adeluna is different.” Tempest made a confused face as she spun the blade in her hand more.

“It’s slightly off balance… Just slightly though probably from the fall.” Tempest caught herself muttering now as she looked it over more. “I can fix it. It will take a little bit. I’ll have to make new steel since I’m not sure how yours was made. Mixing steel types would make it worse than better… so I’ll forge a new blade.” Tempest looked up to Gaea. “Hey, Gaea?”

“Yes, Tempest?” Gaea tilted her head.

“Can you run into the marketplace and get me some steel? There’s a guy there that makes it and is damn good at his job. I want his steel. It’s the best in Arri. Tell him I’ll owe him if he does it.” Tempest was good at bartering for what she wanted. “I got Lacriamium here… I’ll melt the steel and mix in the Lacriamium.”

Gaea nodded and ran out the door to go fetch it. Toya was sitting in the corner just listening now but it was Tempest who spoke up. “I didn’t mean to offend you if you made this… Or if you got it as a gift. It’s my job to make things better.” Tempest really liked Olvar for some reason. “So… Are you a born Lycanthrope or a made one?” Her eyes squinted a bit as she observed the man for a moment.

In the marketplace, Gaea picked up what she needed to but on her way back she found them… Her eyes got big. She felt an impulse.

Tempest took an ingot of solid diamond-like metal and dropped it into a smelting pot. She didn’t put it into the fire though. “Hey, Kaa come here for a moment and heat this up to temperature.” A small dragon came in and shot fire at it and kept going until the liquid was melted. “Now stay put and keep doing it every so often so it doesn’t harden in there. We forge by dragonfire here. I’ll use my own fire for the blade work though.”

It was many moments later when Gaea came back with a crème colored warg pup in her arms. He was the size of a small cattle dog. “Olvar… I… did something.” The door was closed behind her but there was scratching on the door.

Toya got up. “What the hell did you do?” The queen opened the door two more wargs much bigger than the one in her arms ran in and were jumping on Gaea's legs.

“I couldn’t just leave them! They were going to sell them to people who were going to make them fight…” Gaea hugged the smallest warg to her as she looked up at Olvar. “So… I got all three.”

Author: BadMoonRising, Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 9:21 PM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

Olvar relaxed some when Toya agreed to bring them back with her, and when she appeared satisfied with his answer. He was less likely to be abused again, and if her family was as good as Gaea made them sound, then he would most certainly have his shortsword back to full strength soon enough.

He caught scent of the other lycan before catching sight of him, and his stance shifted once again with his nerves. While he knew that the other wolf was most likely allied to Gaea in someway, and therefore indirectly to him, there was still a natural distrust for other shifters ingrained into him after years of conflict. This one came across as being quite polite, however, unlike his wife. Olvar brushed off being called a knucklehead, instead answering the older wolf. “No real harm done.” Just a dull ache in his back. To avoid offending a second time, he let Gaea explain their situation, and hid the small smirk that crept up at Toya’s offered lesson.

“Both of you have my thanks.” Being able to draw two weapons was something he’d been worried about during travel. If they had been attacked, he was fairly confident in his ability to keep them safe, especially with help from Ojuk, but fighting with only one blade always left him feeling exposed on one side.

As they walked through the district, Olvar took the opportunity to learn what he could from Gaea about her homeland. He’d learned very early in his training that information on an area could result in dramatic differences for the better when there. The dragons were unexpected, and unnerving at first, but once they proved more interested in lounging than eating, he relaxed. Instead, he listened carefully as he was told about the seven districts, the five queens, and most surprisingly about Gaea’s title. “You’re…?” His question trailed off, and Toya took over speaking quite bitterly about her position and how someone would get there.

Naturally giving Gaea his arm when she held it, he walked onward after Toya and Blaine. The city and people living within it were sounding more impressive with every new fact he heard, and it became increasingly clear how such a prosperous city had come to exist in the middle of a desert.

The inside of the mansion reminded him of Chateau du Montefort, where he had received his earliest formal training. Less extravagant, but with the same sort of atmosphere inside. The owners of this place were people of authority, not to be challenged lightly. The younger lycan almost felt out of place. He startled once at Toya’s booming voice, watching the exchange curiously until the order was given to move. Following after the Queen, he kept pace with Gaea, overcoat billowing behind him as he ran.

Hot air from the forge clouded in his face as soon as they entered, the smell of burning fuel hanging around him. His eyes wandered the room while Toya rescued a young girl from her plight with a barrel. There was a weapon everywhere he looked, either in the process of being made, or in the process of being refined. It was clearly a space used often, and he couldn’t help the quirk at the corner of his mouth. It reminded him of the smithy back home, though the weapons there had been of far inferior quality. It took little refinement to make farmers’ tools, but the man had always been working on some project or another.

Olvar was immediately brought back to the present as young hands grabbed his arm, and excited blue eyes stared up at him. The girl smelled lycanthrope, but not as strongly as Blaine had. Perhaps only half, he thought to himself as the girl spewed admiration at him. It brought back his half-smile, even as Toya pulled the girl back from him. He’d never met anyone who was excited about his lycanthropy before.

“They said you were the one for the job.” He pulled his shortsword from its sheath and offered her the hilt. It was a simple weapon, but one that had been with him since the very beginning, back in DaeLuin. “The blade was cracked during an ambush when I was forced to drop it,” he explained. A shiver ran down his spine at the memory of the silver arrows that had weakened his hand. “Can you fix it?”

Author: Gaea Rose, Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 1:28 PM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

“Don’t joke like that… I would take Ojuk and run them all over and kidnap you back.” Was it really kidnapping if she took him back though? She took his arm and kept him close to her as they walked. “They will take good care of them Olvar. I promise. I’ve known them for about two hundred years or so.” She could tell he was getting grouchy with her as she gripped his hand lightly and tried to smile towards him. “Nope, most of my siblings don’t live in Arri. So mostly everyone in this city isn’t related to me. I have a big family but they don’t tend to stay home.” Soon though the drake was running past them.

–

Toya stopped making excuses for herself but didn’t let on that it honestly had come to mind that it was a bad idea. “Oi, Angela is a bitch. An old hag. Her age has gone to her head and so did her pregnancy with those twins…”

Gaea winced a bit. “Glad to see you and mom are getting along as good as always.” Toya started to mutter and Gaea chuckled up at her now that everything seemed to be fine.

“I think she should… Tempest needs a real challenge. She is already leagues ahead of most apprentice blacksmiths. She and her brother are very talented. Even if their father was a jackoff.” There appeared to be bad blood but Toya waved her hand at her husband after she apologized. “Don’t expect another apology from me for another thirty years.”

After the introductions were done the five of them, that included Sparrow, made their way up to a huge house in the corner of the district. There were larger dragons lounging around in an open grass spot and Toya pat their bellies as she walked back. They opened their eyes saw it was her and went back to sleep. Gaea leaned over to Olvar as they walked. “Sularia has seven districts. The castle district which is under the rule of the Empress… The five Rose court districts, like we’re in now, that are ruled by the five queens, and the Oracle District. My mother is the Queen of the Red Court and Toya is the Queen of the White court.” She pointed down. “You can tell the districts by their pathways. Each pathway is different for each district… Each district specializes in something else. For the Red Court, we special in healing and gardens.”

When she thought about it more she blushed. “I… guess that would make me a princess in that regards…”

“But being a princess in Arri doesn’t mean jack shit unless the caverns want you.” Toya peered back. “They wanted me and here I am. I don’t even want this damn job. I would much rather live in a forest with my small family and do what we did before this circus.” Toya was still salty about it. “To be considered Queen in Arri you must pass the trials of your element. Passing their challenge will grant you the right to rule. Anyone can rule as long as they can pass it but the current holder of the title must be dead before it can be passed on. Meaning we have no idea who will take over until then. We can name our heir but it doesn’t matter until the day we die. Gaea’s brother Lucian is heir to the Red Court for example.”

Gaea held onto Olvar’s arm as she watched him. She was well aware that the world outside of Sularia was vastly different. “Each child of the noble courts is required to take on a trade. Whatever that trade is should be to the benefit of Sularia. No one is allowed to just sit on their butts all day unless they try for a trade. We do have the delicate types but even they study diplomacy of some sort. Everyone pulls their weight here. This is a desert and not a place where we can have lazy people.” Gaea explained as they got to the huge mansion. “That’s why Toya’s Tempest is a blacksmith apprentice.” Inside of the house, it looked like any other family mansion. There were portraits, bookcases, weapons, and armor about. All of it told a story.

Toya tilted her head as she saw her husband go upstairs to take care of Sparrow. “This way.” Toya led them through the lower levels of the house until stopped dead in her tracks. “AURORA ROSE-WINTERCREST YOUR ASS WAS TO STAY WITH YOUR NIECE.”

“Don’t worry Ma she isn’t going anywhere. I made sure of it.” Aurora bounded up the stairs and Toya looked back at the others in distress.

“Follow me quickly!” They ran through the house until Toya opened up a room to the forge that was off the mansion with a slam. “Tempest?!” There was a large barrel on the other side of the room. Two short legs were wobbling back and forth.

“GRANDMA HELP ME I’M STUCK!” There was a cry as Toya came over and grabbed her from the barrel. “Grandma, Auntie Aurora put me in the barrel.” Her eyes were full of tears. She had long brown hair that was a mess from the heat of the forge. She had goggles resting in her hair and her face had soot on it from the barrel. She looked to be around four feet and ten inches tall, still very much growing for a girl her age. Her eyes were a bright blue as she spotted Olvar. “Whoa.” Her distress turned to amazement as she ran over to Olvar. “YOU ARE A LYCANTHROPE TOO!” The young girl no older than fourteen immediately had his arm as she looked him over. “This is so cool! YOU ARE SO COOL!”

Toya got a grumpy look on her face as she took Tempest by the collar of her shirt and pulled her back to give Olvar some room. “This is Olvar… and he’s commissioning you to fix his sword.”

“OH! GIMME, GIMME!” She held out her hands for his sword as she flailed in her grandmother's arms. "I've never met a Lycanthrope that wasn't family before!"

Author: Blaine Wintercrest, Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 11:44 AM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

“She’s your daughter, Toya…what do you think?”, Blaine said sternly. They both knew that Aurora told him what happened, likely as payback for having to be stuck watching Tempest. “I have faith in you doing your job, what I question is how safe would he had been if they weren’t here to watch him”, he spoke, pointing at the couple. “That drake has been a pain in the ass, but a minute or two of dropping Sparrow off wouldn’t have caused even more vital damage.” He cupped his face with his free hand. Her excuse of how the man treated her would have made his eyes rolled.

“The pot calling the kettle black…haven’t you learn from all the times you “mouthed” off to her mother?” He referred to Gaea as she would have known the stupid rivalry between her mother and aunt.

When Gaea pleaded for them to cease, Toya kept on going and he did his best to ignore his wife. Even her vulgar comment didn’t phase him so much as he bounced the happy little boy in his arms as he sat in his father’s grasp. “You think Tempest should repair that then?” His mood changed slightly and his expression softened with her embrace. She was damn good at getting him fired up as well as cooling him down. Damn, lovable woman.

“Is the sky supposed to fall?”, he jested over the rare incident that was her apologizing. “Anyway, I’m Blaine, Toya’s husband. The sword should be an easy fix. Tempest can handle it and I’ll merely make sure that she gets it right.”

Author: Toya, Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 10:39 AM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

Good, there was a look of respect in the man’s eyes as Toya stared up at him. She may have been a small lady but she knew how to run her district. It was nothing for her to deal with the rampant drake. “Fine, I can take you home I suppose.”

That was until he showed up. “Blaine…” Toya’s eyes moved to her husband as she backed up just a bit with the baby. “Sparrow is fine. He is fine and I had him at a safe distance with this knucklehead.” Toya pointed at Olvar. “Besides I was running out of babysitters in the house. Aurora was to stay with Tempest in the forge… Did she nark on me?” Toya glared a bit in the house's direction. “Anyways I already had Sparrow in hand when the call came in to come get the drake. I didn’t have time to drop him off. I wish you had faith in me… You know your wife of thirty-some years.”

Toya put a hands on her hip as she stared at Sparrow in Blaine’s arms for a moment. “For your information… He deserved it. He had an attitude problem and I corrected it.” She spoke with her hands now as she looked at the damages to the city. “In any case, I’m going to have to get the Red Court to clean up… This is more their specialty. Destruction is mine.”

Gaea held up her hands. “Please… Stop fighting for a moment. This is Olvar like I was saying before you threw him, Aunt Toya… His shortsword is broken and we would like it repaired and we were wondering if Uncle Blaine or someone could fix it.”

Toya got a look on her face. “Don’t you know you don’t interrupt a married couple’s fight? It makes the sex better the more you keep it going.” There was a groan from Gaea now. “After thirty years and seven kids we need the spark, trust me.” She was teasing now as she waved her hand. “This will be good for Tempest actually.” The mighty White Queen took a sigh as she cupped Blaine’s face and kissed him. “I… apologize that I brought Sparrow into a dangerous situation.” It looked like she almost gagged saying it.

Author: Blaine Wintercrest, Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 10:11 AM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

Blaine knew of the drake going berserk all over the district, or more so being a pain in Toya’s rear end. But this was a situation she was best suited for and he would have left her be if not for the fact that Aurora had told him that she had taken Sparrow into this chaos. And ever since leaving the house, he had been swearing in his mind over it as he looked for that bonehead of a wife and his poor child. The path itself wasn’t too hard to follow- one just needed to look for the damages this chase had brought into the area. Toya wasn’t about to reason her way out of this one, no way in hell would he accept any reason why she took their youngest when he and the rest of their children were at the house.

When he smelled their scents being close, he growled beneath his breath and rushed pass the now fleeing drake. It looked rough for the wear, meaning she had already found it, but Blaine didn’t care at the moment about that. When he reached her, she already had an audience with her, but his eyes instantly sought out Sparrow, who was babbling wolfspeak, or trying to. In any other situation, he would have been joyous and attempt to correct him, but soon the larger came over and snatched him away from his demented mother. “Toya…” The tone certainly showing how pleased he was with her letting him being so close to the danger, even if he was just a few feet away, it didn’t matter. It wouldn’t be very hard to spot that the child was his since they practically looked alike aside from the obvious size and age difference. Once scooped up, Sparrow happily growled at him. “You knucklehead, what ails you? Sparrow could have been harmed by that drake. I don’t care if you want to chase it since it's your specialty, but at least let the boy grow up some before dragging him to your hunts.”

Looking at the young man and woman, he sighed. The girl was one of Angela’s sets of twins, though he wasn’t too sure which twin she was.“Did you rough him too? Don’t mind her, she just has a temper problem. It’s nothing against you.” His eyes then cut to Toya, “Ain’t that right, dear?”

Author: BadMoonRising, Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 8:54 AM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

With Gemma confident in her abilities to get to Mamlak safely, Olvar and Gaea packed the necessities for their trip north. He kept it light, bringing along only what was absolutely needed. Any extra weight would just be more of a burden for Ojuk when they inevitably crossed Harena, and he wanted to make the trip as seamless as possible. After wishing Gemma luck and safety, they headed on their way, Olvar walking alongside his mount to save his energy.

Arrival in the desert was harder than expected to pinpoint exactly, since the farther north they went the more barren the land actually became. It was unclear when exactly the scrub brush clinging to life on the outskirts gave way to only blowing sands, but one thing was for certain: “I should have brought something lighter,” he told Gaea, holding his coat above his head like a tent as Ojuk took a break at a steady walk. The lycan was still beginning to burn on his ears and shoulders, despite his makeshift protection. After two long weeks with carefully controlled water and food, he was relieved to hear that they had arrived. Almost as relieved as Ojuk, who had been carrying his fur coat with his the entire way, as well as his naturally thick hide. “Let’s get you cooled off,” Olvar mumbled, rubbing the warg’s ears.

His attention returned to Gaea, although a bit amused at her concern. “If I’m kidnapped by Rosenite women, make sure you bathe Ojuk every few weeks. He gets ripe,” he advised. For now, the warg was brought to a private stable and boarding comfortably. Olvar promised to return, then hurried off with the woman he escorted.

The city felt bigger than he’d expected. It felt like it had settled into where it was over a long period of time, becoming one with the harsh desert around it like an oasis. Looking across the elegant buildings and vast crowds of people–mostly women, as the twins had told him–he kept a hand on Ojuk’s shoulder. He was out of his element in cities, and while his training with Simon had taken them through a great number, none of them had been like this one. He was reluctant to leave his warg anywhere. “He’d better be well cared for,” he grumbled, but was set at ease by the multiple buckets of water offered to his mount. Ojuk settled in quite quickly, drinking down two them right away.

“Is everyone in this city related to you?” he asked with a sigh, a bit grouchy from the desert heat. An arm smacked against his chest, halting both the conversation and forward progress. A winged lizard the size of a horse came crashing through the city. People scattered, Olvar went for the blade at his back, but before he could draw it a commanding voice boomed after the reckless creature. It hardly seemed to match the woman it came from, and Olvar frowned when the stranger ordered him to babysit. “Do I look like a nanny to you?”

He barely had time to glance at Gaea before an astonishingly strong hand snatched his arm, swinging him to one side like he weighed nothing. His back found a hard wall, and he grunted painfully. A fist came flying toward his face, and he flinched, arms raised in a pathetic attempt at defense. He wasn’t struck, but the wall behind him now had quite a scar to its structure. Wide hazel eyes watched for a second blow, but all he got was a warning and a child dropped into his arms. As the woman turned away, the boy made a few small woofing sounds. He smelled vaguely of wolf.

For now he ignored the toddler in his arms, instead watching the woman who he belonged to throw the drake around like a ragdoll. The beast was quick to submit, scampering off in fear once released. Olvar hadn’t even been in this city for a day… What was with this place?

He was quick to return the child once his mother returned, and a step closer to Gaea gave him a bit more comfort in being around the angry blonde. Uncle? A curious glance was sent his companion’s way. Then again, she had called the woman “aunt” before. Dear gods, this woman was part of Gaea’s family. His attention quickly jumped back to Toya as she spoke, her tone leaving no room for his usual attitude. With the hole in the wall behind him, he didn’t care to misspeak anyway, despite being called “asswipe”.

“Yes, ma’am,” he answered, pulling the blade from its scabbard just far enough to show the crack in the steel. He dare not say more unless spoken to, lest his words betray him.

Author: Gaea Rose, Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 9:48 PM, Post Subject: Anvil Sparks & Respect [P/R]

When he took her hand she smirked up at him and held his hand tightly. Her fingers weaved his as they walked back to Gemma. It just seemed right to her. Gemma had, of course, noticed it. They separated so that the girls could pick the flowers they needed to but it always seemed like Gaea would glance back once in a while towards Olvar. It was new for her.

Once they discovered the crack in his shortsword the talks of Arri began. “Yes, we would go to the capital of Rosenites… Sularia.” Gaea gave him a smile but it was Gemma as usual who was causing the fuss.

“Hold on tight to Olvar when you get there… You know how the Ignis season is there.” Gemma’s words brought a look of fear on Gaea’s face for a moment.

“I’ll punch anyone who dares to try.” Gaea’s eyes slit for a moment as she glared towards her sister. “They can find their own mates.” Not that Olvar was that just yet but there was a promise that it could happen. “The Rosenite race is terrible in that aspect but it’s not common for them to try and steal taken mates… Though there are some desperate enough in Ignis season. It’s a popular time to get pregnant in Arri.”

Gemma took her sister’s bag and stared at Olvar for a minute. “If we want to get technical you were hired to protect Gaea. I can get to Mamlak just fine and take the airship to Adeluna with Hamon. You and Gaea do whatever you two need to do. As far as I’m concerned as long as you are both together you are doing what Basselina hired you for.”

–

The trek through the desert was the most interesting part of everything. It was hot but lucky for them it was a dry heat. Gaea had worn a long cloak to keep the sun off of her in an attempt to keep shaded. The last thing she wanted was to be sunburnt or worse. Every once in a while they would stop by a cactus to get the water out of it. The trek through the desert took at most two weeks with Ojuk going full speed in the sun. “We’re in Arri now.” Gaea pointed down to the sand as it shifted from the white sand of the Harena to the red sands of Arri.

“Red like blood.” There were tales of how the sand became such a color but Gaea wasn’t sure if any of them were true. It took another day past that point see the tree lines. They arrived at the edge of Sularia’s oasis midmorning. She pat Ojuk’s head. “You can slow down now. Take a nice break.” It had to have been hard for him to get through. Gaea took off the cloak and held it in her arms as she watched the city gates coming up.

“Remember what Gemma warned us about. She was being serious. Ingis a good season for men to be around Sularia… Though pretty bad for men with women.” There was a smile on her face as they passed by the female guards. “This is the castle district… We’re going to want to go left Ojuk.” The roads were crowded but Gaea found them an alleyway to go up. “We should board Ojuk in a stable and let him rest. I happen to know some people who can help.”

Gaea got Ojuk set up in a fancy stable all of his own with lots of water. Gaea rubbed his head and smirked up at Olvar. “We’re in the White Court district which is good. There is a talented house that has blacksmiths in it. Family actually.” They set out to walk the less crowded roads now that they were on their way to Toya’s. Well sorta.

Gaea held out her arm as a young drake came crashing through the city. People were screaming and Gaea even jumped a bit as the fire got set off.

“What the fuck do you think you are doing?!” The voice hollered. Gaea looked up and she smirked. The woman was taller than she was about five feet five inches with long brown curls. There was a toddler on her hip with messy blonde curls and blue eyes. It was obvious she was talking to the drake. She walked past Olvar and Gaea for a moment before turning around. “I need you to take my kid for a moment.”

A mouthy comment from Olvar and Gaea threw up her hands. “Aunt Toya please this is Olvar and he–”

“I don’t give a fuck who he is.” Toya grabbed his arm and tossed him into the nearest wall before she threw her fist right through the bricks next to his head. “Words of the wise Wolf Boy… This is my district.” She took Olvar’s arms and put Sparrow into them. The boy looked up at him with a grin as he started to make wolf-like noises as if he was practicing. He smelled half lycanthrope.

“Now you! You little ass nugget of a drake. How many times do I have to remind you.” She walked right up to the drake while he was snapping at her. At one point she had his tongue on her hand and she pulling on it as it squealed. Toya took his leg and started and smash him on the ground back and forth. “I AM THE MASTER AND YOU ARE THE PET.” Back and forth over and over and over. That was until there was a defeated noise from the drake. Toya dropped the drake and put her hands on her hips. “You do this again… and you’ll end up a god damn tapestry on my wall. Do we have an understanding?” The drake cried towards her. “Now get out of my sight.” The drake scampered of scared.

Toya meandered back over and plucked Sparrow from Olvar. “Now why on earth are you here?” Toya looked at Gaea.

“Olvar’s shortsword has a crack in it and I was hoping Uncle Blaine could take a look at it.” Gaea held her breath for a moment.

“Is that true Asswipe?” Toya turned her attention to Olvar now she looked less than thrilled.