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Post by Shinko on Aug 25, 2014 21:02:29 GMT -5
The old woman accepted Leif's hand and let him pull her back upright. "No worries, you know as well as I that I've had a great deal worse then that. Besides, I did start it. At least you're keeping your gryphon-fighting instincts limber. Who knows when you might need those again, eh sir Archmage?" She dusted the snow off the back of her skirt. "I daresay Sieg is capable of acquiring unnecessary wounds all on his own, Master Leif. Has he ever shown you what he looks like with his shirt off? Honestly I was shocked by how many scars he's acquired when I saw him in the infirmary after the coronation. Probably less to do with anything you did in particular and more to do with him being recklessly protective in general. He speaks very highly of you whenever the subject comes up." Morgaine listened with interest as Leif explained his errand, and her general air of amusement transformed into sympathy when he told her about his missing bird. "You know, I don't believe I've ever actually seen a snowy owl at all. Just tawny owls, barn owls and the occasional eagle owl. But if you like I can help you look? He sounds like a beautiful bird, and it's the least I can do after distracting you from your search." With an unrepentant smile she added, "Though I do admit, that was a good deal of fun." Morgaine mostly brushes off Leif's self depreciation, pointing out that she and Sieg are as much at fault for the various issues Leif brought up as he was. She denies knowing anything about the whereabouts of Forthwind, but offers to help find him both to apologize for unknowingly distracting Leif from finding his lost bird and because she's curious to see a kind of raptor that she's never seen before. And, though she doesn't say it explicitly, to give Leif some company.
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Post by Tiger on Aug 25, 2014 22:17:52 GMT -5
Leif smiled thinly. “Hopefully I won’t need to be fighting gryphons again anytime soon...although I’d almost enjoy seeing the Courdonian nobility come here in the middle of winter. You could lead a troop of snow warriors and knock them right off their gryphons, Madam Braham.” Morgaine brushed off Leif’s comments about Sieg as well, including a question about whether Leif had ever seen Sieg shirtless. Leif blinked at that, his brain fumbling for what sort of circumstance he would ever have been in that would separate the knight from his armor and tunic….then Morgaine mentioned the coronation, and Leif’s brain caught up. “Ah - well, the coronation is the only place where I’d have seen his scars...I didn’t really get a chance, if I wasn’t being run about triage, I was the one in need of it myself.” Grinning wryly, he added, “I do appreciate his protectiveness, reckless or no. Whatever he tells you about me, he saved my life more than once that day. I’m glad he doesn’t seem to regret that.” Despite the worry around the situation, Leif brightened at the mention of raptors and the opportunity to introduce someone to Forthwind. “I’d very much appreciate your help, if you don’t mind - though you do owe me now, fun or no.” Leif’s teeth flashed briefly in a teasing grin before his expression turned more genuine. “Two sets of eyes would be much better than one, and mine aren’t very good at picking things out in the snow just yet. And Forth’s very impressive, you won’t be disappointed.” Motioning toward the street and the direction he’d been heading, Leif said, “He was heading that way when I last saw him, but - owl, he could have changed directions easily. Unless you know of a place that might attract an owl, should we keep on in that direction?” Leif jokes back with Morgaine about knocking Courdonians off gryphons with snowballs, appreciates Sieg, and starts to nerd out because birds BD He also accepts Morgaine’s offer to help him find Forth, especially since his non-elven eyes see...very little in the snow. He asks Morgaine if they should keep going the way Leif heading earlier, or if there’s somewhere that an owl might be interested in.
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Post by Shinko on Aug 26, 2014 7:33:48 GMT -5
Morgaine grinned broadly at Leif's remark about the snow warriors, and chuckled when he spoke of Sieg again. "To be fair, you saved his life a few times too, to hear him tell it. I think he probably just subconsciously registered you as a comrade-in-arms rather then someone who needed protecting. One thing that might surprise you about soldiers who work together regularly is how tight-knit they are. When someone saves your life a few times it's rather hard not to at least respect them. And they've shared experiences most civilians can't really understand." Following his gesture, Morgaine frowned. "That way goes out to Lake Plume... Do owls fish? It's a bit cold for ducks or other water foul but winter here is never extreme enough for the lake to completely freeze over. Then again there's also water voles and muskrats out near the lake, which he probably would be interested in." She shrugged, grinning ruefully. "I'd be lying if I claimed to be an expert on raptors, so I'll defer to your judgement here. I suppose keeping on in that direction is as good an idea as not." As the old woman started off in that direction, a thought occurred to her. "You remember what I said about the lake not freezing? Well apparently in some places further north it does get cold enough for lakes and rivers to freeze over. Then people put bone or metal blades on the bottom of their boots, and glide over the ice. Rosalie's from Bern, she told me about it once. Yet another common winter game." Morgaine talks some more about Sieg, then tells Leif that the direction he's pointing goes out to Lake Plume. She starts down the road, telling him that while it doesn't get cold enough for that in Medieville, in other places further north people will skate on frozen ponds and lakes. Crazy stuff, amirite?
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Post by Tiger on Aug 26, 2014 12:18:01 GMT -5
“Knights being tightly-knit makes sense, but I don’t know where Sieg got that idea from in regards to me; I’m not a knight or war-mage by any stretch of the imagination.” Leif shook his head, not so much in denial but in resigned confusion. “To be fair right back, most of the time the opportunity to save his life came up, it was only because he’d endangered it saving my fool neck. I’m not sure that counts. “Although I do know arguing with either of you about it is going to lead nowhere. I don’t suppose you’ve heard from Sieg recently, while we’re on the subject?” Morgaine explained that the path Leif had been taking led to the lake. That sounded about right, and Leif was glad to hear he’d been correct. Sometimes the snow made all the familiar streets and landmarks impossible to navigate. “Forth will eat about anything,” Leif said, “I don’t think he knows how to fish, but voles and muskrats would definitely be to his taste.” He considered a moment. “Those evergreens around the lake would probably look nice to him, too, good shelter for hunting. Let’s see if he’s there.” The two set off toward the lake, Leif keeping an eye out for suspiciously moving white shapes and overhangs under which Forthwind might be hiding, or talonprints on the roof, or signs of a scuffle between raptor and prey. He was still able to listen as Morgaine shared another odd winter sport from the north. Leif appreciated that she shared this one less literally than she’d shared snowball fights. “That seems dangerous,” Leif remarked, probably surprising exactly no one with his pessimism. “What if the ice breaks, or they cut through it with the blades? Water that cold could kill you, couldn’t it? Not to mention if you were exposed to air like this immediately after…” Leif supposed the northerners had a way around it, otherwise the game wouldn’t be very popular, but he wasn’t sure what that might be. ”I didn’t realize Rosalie was from Bern - how long has she lived here?” Leif makes one last ditch effort to put the coronation heroism on Sieg before admitting he knows arguing with Morgaine and Sieg is pointless, and asks if Morgaine’s heard from him. Morgaine’s information about the wildlife at Lake Plume makes Leif suspect Forthwind might indeed be there looking for food, and agrees they should check it out. Leif knows very little about ice or ice skates, and asks how long Rosalie’s been in Bern, hopefully not forcing Shinko to bug Maddy for an answer =P
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Post by Shinko on Aug 26, 2014 13:45:13 GMT -5
Morgaine tilted her head, lifting an eyebrow sardonically. "Not going to lead anywhere, hm? I can't believe I'm hearing that from the man who saved me from bleeding to death, a circumstance you cannot possibly take any personal blame for, and insists on kicking himself incessantly over the fact that I lost an eye." She shrugged, a thin smile on her face. "You're right, it's probably not possible to convince Sieg that what he did was heroic. But you are not so different from my son, sir Archmage. Honestly, I've been thinking lately that maybe that's the difference between idiot glory seekers and real heroes. Those who seek glory will regal you with tales of all the lives they saved. Heroes will demure that they only did what was right, and wish they could have done still more." "Speaking of, yes, I got a letter from him about two weeks ago. He seemed in high spirits, though somewhat exhausted still from his adventures with Orrin in Bern. And he's glad to be back in Corvus where he's just Sieg Braham, the human hybrid son of Belial Braham, and not one half of a celebrity duo who's names were all over the Bernian mountains. From what I understand his Grace found that extremely amusing." Leif's opinion on the idea of skating didn't really surprise Morgaine, and she shook her head with amusement. "I'll admit, it does concern me that if someone slipped and their feet flew up, they effectively have knives on the bottom of their shoes. Imagine if two people crashed into each other and they went down in a pile! But the ice has to be a certain thickness before people will play on it, specifically so it won't break." "As for Rosalie... goodness me, has it been that long already?" The woman laughed, putting a hand to her face. "Woo I feel old. She was fourteen when she first stared working with me, and I can't imagine she'd left home too much before that. She's eighteen now, so that means she's been in Medieville about four years." Morgaine points out Leif is being just a tiny bit of a hypocrite where she and Sieg's philosophies on what constitutes heroism are concerned. Then she confirms she has indeed gotten a letter from him, referencing some lulz that we joked about in skype chat for your entertainment. Finally, she answers the question of how long Rosalie has been in Medieville, which I did not in fact have to bug Maddy about because we already discussed it a while back~
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Post by Tiger on Aug 26, 2014 20:30:49 GMT -5
Leif protested, “I blame that ‘Pit-spawned Courdonian plenty. I just wish I’d been able to get there sooner and stopped him from hurting you at all. Or at the very least, that magic worked better on eyes.” Leif scowled at his glove as he wrung the snowmelt from it. “It’s such a stupid restriction. And there’s no reason for it.” He didn’t voice the feeling, knowing Morgaine would argue, but Leif almost felt he should have been able to force his way past that usual barrier. He was an Archmage for ‘Woo’s sake. He smirked at Morgaine’s distinction between glory-seekers and heroes. “Maybe I should bore you with stories of my incredible deeds more often - or does trying to prove I’m not a hero simply slot me into your definition? This is why I try not to argue with you, when I’m clear-headed enough to remember.” It was a surprise to hear that Sieg was finally home. Leif knew - vaguely - that knightly campaigns could take a while, and that there was quite a bit of distance between Bern and Nid’aigle, but nearly two years was a long time to be gone; Leif had sort of gotten used to the idea of Sieg being ‘up north’. Moragine’s comment about Alain made Leif chuckle. “The Grand Duke would enjoy that. I’d wager coin he helped encourage some of the stories himself.” After a bemused shake of his head, Leif said, “It’s good to hear Sieg is well. Hopefully he can make his way back to Medieville in the near future. I’d be interested to hear what sort of creatures he and Sir Orrin found up there.” The idea of a pile-up of knife-footed people made Leif wince. “I hadn’t thought of that - I suppose if they wait for thick enough ice, that would be the real danger.” He still found it difficult to picture ice thick enough to support a person’s entire weight; the closest Leif had come to seeing such a thing was when learning the Glacius spell, and there had been no real reason to make any of the ice he created that thick. “Four years? Well - she adjusted to Medieville quickly. Although,” Leif added, “Rosalie seems quick to adjust to just about anything.” They’d reached the end of the merchant’s district, and Leif took a careful step off the path and into the largely untouched snow. The border between town and forest was sharp, and already Leif realized just how many trees there were for Forthwind to hide in. Drawing a chunk of meat from the pouch on his belt, Leif said, “Well...hopefully Forth’s ready to come home at this point.” Much talk, very conversation. Leif is still disappointed he couldn’t do more to help Morgaine, glad that Sieg is home and well, and not fond of the mental image of people shanking each other with skates BD He and Morgaine arrive at the forest where there are a lot of trees, and Leif pulls out a chunk of meat in the hopes of attracting the owl.
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Post by Shinko on Aug 27, 2014 10:47:36 GMT -5
Morgaine titled her head, an oddly sad expression on her face. "You talk like you want me to be angry that you couldn't save my sight. I'll be honest, I could have been. Being bitter and resentful towards you would have been an easy outlet for the frustration. But in the end, what would it accomplish? My eye would still be gone, and you would just feel even more guilty over it. I like you better as a friend then an emotional punching bag." She laughed again, but the sound was a humorless one. "I spent a very long time once wallowing in self-pity over a loss far harder then this one. And you know what? It wasn't worth it. It didn't make me feel any better about the situation, and it cost me a lot of very important relationships." She shrugged. "All I'm trying to say by this is that it doesn't matter if you're a merchant, knight, noble, or even an Archmage. Everyone has limits and everyone fails sometimes. Maybe you aren't a hero, and maybe you've screwed up and gotten people hurt, but you know what? If those you feel you've wronged want to forgive you for it, let them. Forgiveness is the most sacred tenant of Lord Woo for a reason; it isn't easy, but it's the first step towards healing." When Leif mentioned hoping to see Sieg, Morgaine sighed. "It may be a while, since he was away from his duties in Corvus for so long already. But he'll probably be able to get off for the Midwinter Solstice- it's an important cultural event among the elves, though generally a much more somber one then our Midsummer festivals. If you'd like I can tell you about it sometime. At any rate, I'll let Sieg know you were asking after him when I finish penning my reply." She watched as he pulled the meat out, grinning. "And hopefully Forthwind has not stuffed his crop with so much rodent meat that he doesn't take your bait. Imagine trying to find a white bird in the white snow amidst all these trees!" Morgaine is a little confused and sad that Leif seems so bound and determined to be annoyed at her for not heaping blame on him, and says as much. She explains why she just doesn't approach life that way, and appeals to Leif's religiousness to make her point. Then she talks a bit about Sieg, hinting at an elf festival that Leif may or may not be interested in learning more about. Finally, she watches him try to get Forthwind's attention, but I didn't actually write the owl coming because he's not my character. ='D
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Post by Tiger on Aug 27, 2014 14:41:59 GMT -5
Leif fiddled with the fingers of his glove, looking at the pull and wrinkle of the cloth rather than Morgaine’s all-too-serious and sad expression. “I know you could be angry at me - and I’m grateful you aren’t. I like you better as a friend, too. It’s just - that’s part of it, too - and it’s not that - “ Leif huffed and took a moment to gather his thoughts. More slowly, he continued, “It’s not that I want you to be angry at me. And I guess it’s not that I’m trying to be angry at myself, I just...the anger or guilt or whatever you’d like to call it is just there. However I’m supposed to feel about it, the fact is...you’re my friend, and I couldn’t save your vision.” When Leif had found out he was an Archmage, part of him that thought that was that - he had the power and would receive the training and he would never be helpless again. He could fix anything that needed fixing, whether it was himself or a bird or something or someone in the outside world….Logically, of course, he’d known magic had a limit. Everything had a limit, just as Morgaine said. Leif had just been so caught up in relief that he might have let his emotions get the better of him. Well, it’s been seven years - maybe it’s time you stopped reasoning like a child and in absolutes, and reined that part of yourself in.Leif sighed heavily, shoulders drooping and fingers trailing up to the feather pendant around his neck. The metal was bitingly cold but Leif traced the shapes of the feather veins anyway, feeling a touch of calmness in the familiar motion. The mage looked to Morgaine, wondering if the loss she mentioned was the same death Sieg had spoken of when trying to explain to Leif why he refused magical healing. “But I don’t want to drive people away, either. ...I could see getting tired of constantly soothing someone else’s feelings, when you keep telling them they don’t have to feel that way.” It sounded so simple and logical when spoken aloud. It didn’t feel simple when Leif tried to put his own guilt to that line of reasoning. He bit his lip when Morgaine brought Lord ‘Woo into it. ...She was right, of course, and honestly, being a former priest, that should have occurred to Leif much sooner. Then again...he’d never really twisted the situation around that way. Leif had seen his own failure plain as day...he hadn’t really comprehended that Morgaine forgave him for it. “It is the most sacred,” he agreed. “I always assumed it was just doing the forgiving that was difficult. You see why I wouldn’t have made a good priest.” Leif smiled thinly. “I’ll work on it,” he promised. “...I don’t think I ever even prayed on it properly - my part in the situation, I mean.” He’d certainly prayed plenty for Morgaine’s health and recovery. “There was just so much else to worry about after the coronation…” Leif shook his head. “Anyhow. ...Thank you.” Glad for the shift to the less-emotional topic of the elves and their festivals, Leif replied, “I’ve heard that about elven celebrations. I’ve also heard they do nothing by halves; even if it’s gloomy, I’d be interested to hear how they take the Solstice when there’s time.” Leif did not see Forthwind among the nearest trees. Morgaine’s hope echoed Leif’s own. “I hope it doesn’t come to that, but raptors do enjoy hide-and-seek.” If worse came to worse, Leif could probably use a spell to drive Forthwind into flight, wherever he was, but he would rather not stress the elderly owl. “Hrm. We might have to go a bit deeper in. Forth’s not like a dog, he won’t be able to smell the meat. Though,” he said, raising his voice slightly, “his hearing is very keen and I don’t doubt he could hear us.” When nothing had happened after a moment, Leif took a few steps into the trees - and then spotted movement between the branches. “Oh - waited until you knew you were in trouble, I see.” Despite his scolding words, the relief at finding Forthwind was evident in Leif’s tone. With peculiar silence, Forthwind swooped between a gap in two evergreen branches and landed on Leif’s raised glove. He wasn’t a colossal animal - females were always the largest of the species among raptors - but it was more than size that made a bird impressive. Male snowy owls were generally pure white or close to it, but Forthwind maintained a handsome barring of black markings on his chest and the tops of his wings. His talons and hooked beak, which quickly snatched up the offered meat, were the same black - or at least, usually they were. “Oh, Forthwind, you charmer,” Leif said with dry sarcasm, taking in the owl’s bloodied talons. Forthwind ignored him, turning his head what those unfamiliar with owls would find an uncomfortable amount of degrees to survey Morgaine with his amber eyes. “Come on, clean yourself up,” Leif chided, shifting his arm a little so Forthwind returned his attention to balancing. It didn’t take the owl long to raise a talon, lower his beak, and return to preening the feathers, as he’d probably been doing before Leif had arrived. “Good deduction, Mrs. Braham,” Leif remarked. “It looks like he’s helped himself to the water voles.” At least Morgaine wasn’t the sort of person to be easily disturbed by blood. emotions are hard, especially when you’re a Leif :C
Forthwind shows up, complete with bloody talons because he’s been hunting. That’s no way to behave in front of guests, Forthwind!
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Post by Shinko on Aug 29, 2014 7:22:34 GMT -5
Leif seemed to take what Morgaine was saying to heart, even if he was still obviously feeling guilty over the issue. As she'd gotten to know Leif better she'd learned that he was one who wasn't exactly experienced with emotions or the sorts of considerations and allowances you had to make when dealing with other people. This was a two edged sword, because while it meant he could occasionally get impatient with people, it also meant he had very little patience for his own mistakes and limitations. He held himself to a very high standard, and it seemed to simply not occur to him that other people could accept that a mistake was a mistake, and move on. Morgaine was inclined to let it go at that point- there was no reason to drag the conversation through the mud after all, that would only serve to depress them both unnecessarily. He was listening, albeit reluctantly. What he decided to do with what she'd told him was ultimately up to him. She watched with keen interest as Leif tried to get his bird to come out of hiding. At first she didn't notice the movement in the trees, and wondered what Leif was talking about when he mentioned Forthwind waiting until he was in trouble. Then, a huge white bird swooped towards them seemingly out of nowhere, and Morgaine's eyes widened with surprise until she looked rather owlish herself. "Well he certainly knows how to make an entrance, charmer or no," she remarked with a laugh. "It could be worse; he could have tried to bring the voles home and dropped them on your pillow. Rust likes to do that with mice- she always looks at me afterwards like she's expecting to be thanked for providing a meal for the poor fangless human." She watched with interest as the bird preened, not unlike her cats would do after they'd made a kill. "You know, people always say that wild animals are dirty, but they aren't, are they? Sometimes I think they care more about hygiene then some humans do." She chuckled. "He is a very beautiful bird, blood or no. Thank you for letting me see him. I suppose you'll be taking him home now?" Morgaine reflects on what Leif said to her about forgiveness, but doesn't comment on it since he's agreed to think about what she said. Instead she talks about Forthwind, appreciating the pretty owl despite his less then savory recent doings. XD Then she segues into what I assume is probably the beginning of a wrap up for this thread, unless Tiger has something else she wants to happen (which I'm game for if so.)
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Post by Tiger on Aug 30, 2014 13:19:15 GMT -5
Leif pulled Forthwind’s jesses out of his pocket as Morgaine spoke of her cat’s...unpleasant habits. “Right on your pillow? That must be unpleasant to wake up to...I thought it was bad when Hadrian spent half of last spring dropping rats onto my desk to try and impress Ayleth - Hadrian’s the male kite I had sent from Solis. At least he wasn’t expecting me to be grateful for it.” Hadrian had, in fact, clawed at Leif the one time he’d tried to remove a rat from a very rare copy of Studies of Ayr-Chained Rune Magic in the Eastern Provinces - it was a dry read (and outright wrong in a few places, Ayr had be chained to Dris in the spell on page one-seventy-four or the structure wouldn’t have held up against that fire), but Leif didn’t think it deserved to be stained by rat-blood. Or the speckles of human blood by the time Hadrian had had his say. Leif kept the desk clear of books and notes for a while after that. Leif all but beamed at Morgaine’s compliments toward Forthwind. The raptors were magnificent without Leif’s help, of course, but he’d found it was hugely satisfying to be the one who could show them off to other people. The fact that Morgaine had seen as many owls as she’d said was impressive; most of the people Leif had met had never seen more than a glimpse of an owl, let alone the beautiful northern snowy. “He is beautiful, and he’s going to use that shamelessly,” Leif said. Determining that at least one of Forth’s legs was clean enough for jesses, Leif started jessing it while the owl turned to preening his other leg. As Leif had said, Forthwind was very tame. “Though yes, he probably ought to go back to the mews now that he’s good and fed. I’m sure he’ll be back this way again, though, now that he’s found a nice spot to hunt.” Leif bowed his head gratefully to Morgain. “Thank you for your help, Ms. Braham. I’d probably have stomped right by the lake without thinking, on my own. Although maybe next time...a warning before you throw a snowball down the back of my neck?” YAY BIRD! Leif commiserates with Morgaine over the antics of their pets, and thanks Morgaine for her help. I'm good with this an an ending point if Shinko it ^_^
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