Mending and Adjusting (Humans Only)

Svadilfare laid on his back, staring up at the wood beams above him. His wife lay sleeping beside him. The cold wind howled outside, the moon was just starting to rise above the snow-covered peaks. It was the middle of the night and the Pride of Kyro was wide awake. It had only been two months since he returned home from avenging his first wife's death, resucing his five kidnapped children, and marrying Celestia. Svad turned his gaze away from the ceiling and to Cele. She was just beginning her third trimester. He reached over and gently ran his right hand through her hair, thanking whatever deity was responsible for bringing her into his life. And then he got out of bed, grabbing his Moonstone off the windowsill as he left the bedroom.

Aerouant was sleeping by the hearth. Not wanting to wake the young Dragon, who was already scared of him, Svad conjured a small ball of fire to replenish the dwindling flames. After placing another log on, he slipped outside. The snow crunched softly under his boots as he walked to the tree stump where he and Leo chopped wood. A couple yards away was a tree that Svadilfare liked to climb when he needed to think about things. He also used it as target practice--not that he needed to practice. Tonight he would use it to strengthen his hand. Svad climbed up to the lowest branch of the tree, eased out to the center of it, then dangled himself under it, holding on with both hands. The gripping capability of his right hand was only about 50%. He wanted to get it at least to 90%.

Svadilfare exhaled slowly the weight of his hanging body put a great strain on his hand. He pulled himself up until his chin touched the cold, rough bark of the branch. For a few moments he reamined in that position, letting his hand recover, then lowered himself back down. After only two minutes of pull ups, Svadilfare's right hand and upper arm shook with excruciating pain and he lost his grip, too suddenly to recover with his left hand, and fell to the ground with a muffled thud. Svad groaned as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head. He was glad for the new snowfall. He stood and brushed the snow off then climbed the tree again. A minute later he was doing pull ups again; two minutes later he was once again on his back in the snow.

Svadilfare went through this routine for the remainder of the night while rest of Kryo slept.

The morning was cold, and Súl hated the cold. He had draped his brown cloak over his shoulders, hoping for some extra insulation. He had traveled with a caravan as security, more thanks to monsters than marauders. At least the job payed good, and Lori agreed to watch El for him. ((Hope you don't mind Lori. ))

He continued to walk until he noticed something. It was a man, doing one armed pull ups. He just watched for a moment until the man fell on his rear end. The Marksman of Ammos then stepped towards the man, but decided to have some fun.

"Hey there, sir. What are you doing freezing your butt off?" This sentence was notably not in English, but in the language of the dragons. Súl's other title wasn't "Dragon's Tongue" for nothing, and he enjoyed spooking folks every now and then.

((Two arm pull ups, actually))

Svadilfare wasn't even aware of the change from night to day, so focused was he on his rehabilitation. Then again, it was still early; the sun had not yet risen. Only a few like Svad would be up now. But as he was about to climb the tree once more, he heard a voice behind him. It spoke in the languaage of the dragons. Because Svadilfare now lived with one--or two, technically--he was beginning to learn it. He was by no means an expert, but he could understand a few simple words, like 'what' and 'you'. But he knew the voice wasn't draconic. Dragons had a distinct, guttural sound to their voice. This was human.

Svadilfare thought the voice familiar, but he still conjured a fireball in his left hand before turning around. He was surprised to see the Marksman of Ammos. " SuI? What are you doing here?" He extinguished the flame.

Súl smiled when he realized it was Svadfire. He know the man lived the Kryo, but didn't expect to see him. It was actually nice to see anyone he recognized after almost a week of just strangers who weren't too chatty.

The archer then pulled the cloth from his face before he responded to the man with his Irish draw. "I had an escort job that brought me here. Nice to see a familiar face."

Súl then began to wonder why the Pride of Kryo would be out here doing pull-ups for who-knows-how-long. He gave the warrior a concerned look before speaking again. "So what are you doing up so early?"

Svadilfare nodded at SuI's response. "Yes, it is. Do you know who it was that hired you? Perhaps I know or have heard of them if they were traveling here." He walked over to the tree stump and brushed the snow off of it before sitting down. "I always wake before sunrise. I suppose there's no reason to ask why you are," he said with a chuckle, "but are you going to be staying long?"

Súl seemed to think for a moment before answering his friend. "There name's were John and Malkeen Karif, a husband-wife duo of traders. That's really all I got to know. Everyone sorta kept to themselves."

The archer then followed Svad's lead and sat down, moving as much snow as he could before sitting. He then gave a quizzical look as the warrior explained what he was doing, and asked how long the Marksman would be in Kryo. "I see,
keeping busy by training. As for how long I'll be here,
probably two or three days, just to see if there's a job on the way back to Amos."

It was only about ten minutes before sunrise. Leo woke to begin his chores. First he woke up his brothers, Xander and Aurelius. They had their baths then got dressed and woke their sisters. While Leo sharpened the wood chopping axe, Xander tended to the fire and Aurelius prepared breakfast. Ami gave Clementine a bath as she took her own. After they were dressed, Ami took food preparation over from Aurelius and Aurelius played kept Clementine occupied.

Leo put the whetstone up then looked at his siblings. He smiled a little. It was good to be back home with the family together again. "Don't let Clementine get too noisy, Aurelius. Celestia is still sleeping."

"Don't worry, I won't."

Leo nodded and went outside to chop a day's worth of wood. He was surprised to see his father outside. Usually he was already gone. And who was the man he was talking to? Leo had never seen him in Kryo before. "Good morning, Father." Leo said as he walked over to the tree stump. "Are you going to be staying home today?"

"John Karif... no, that name isn't overly familiar," Svadilfare was saying, "but that doesn't mean I haven't met them. Perhaps I shall pay them a visit and find out." Before Svad could say more, however, Leo came outside. He smiled and held out his arm to him. "Good morning, son. Yes, I'm staying home. For the next week three months, actually. Come, meet a friend. Leo, this is SuI. SuI, this is my oldest son, Leonardo."

"Hello, sir." Leo said.

Súl smiled as Savdfires introduced him to his oldest son, Leo, responding with "Hello and pleasure to meet ya, kid."

Somehow meet one of the Pride of Kryo's children made him think of his own daughter. He usually tried to get her something when he traveled, and he admittedly wanted to get Lori something as a thank you for watching the girl for him. Or at least that's what the Marksman of Amos was telling himself.

He turned the assassin with a curious look. "Hey, Svad? Are there any good markets nearby? I usually try to get something for my daughter when I travel."

Leo smiled and gave a light nod. "And you, sir." Svadilfare stood and walked over to the stack of 5ft logs at the right side of the house. He picked up one and carried it over to the tree stump. Leo thanked his father then began the process of chopping the log into smaller pieces for firewood.

Svadilfare, in the meantime, answered SuI's question. "Actually, I am going to the market soon. Come, there is always room for one more." He turned and walked back to the house. He went inside to find Xander and Ami playing with Clementine, with Aurelius was finishing up with the food. The four children ran up to their father, little Clementine waddling more than running.

"We thought you were gone, Father." Aurelius said.

"He did, but I knew you were sitll here." Ami corrected her younger brother.

"No you didn't." Xander said to his twin. Ami responded by sticking her tongue out at him.

Clementine simply reached up to her giant of a father, standing on her tiptoes, opening and closing her hands. "Papa!" she said with a huge smile.

Svadilfare grinned and picked up his youngest, covering her little cheek in kisses as she giggled. "Hello, Clementine! How's my favorite girl?" he asked before looking at Ami and smiling, to which she smiled back. Of course Svad didn't have a favorite.

Finally, the chlidren noticed SuI. "Father, who is that?" Aurelius asked.

"That is a friend. Go on and introduce yourselves."

"Hi, I'm Amelia Mr. Friend!" Ami said with a smile. "And this is my twin bro--"

"--I can introduce myself, Ami! I'm her twin brother, Alexander."

"I'm Aurelius, sir." Aurelius and his siblings then looked up at Clementine. The toddler was much too busy playing with Svadilfare's Moonstone to realize anything else was going on. "And that's Clementine." the boy said with a chuckle.

Súl watched as the warrior brought a log to the stump, and was given a thank you by his son. He was then happy to hear that Svad knew somewhere, and was willing to have the archer tag along.

Súl just smiled as the children introduced themselves, especially when he saw Svadfire and Clementine. He could not help but laugh at the sight of the warrior being so loving. He knew from experience kids could melt someone's heart, but it was still a sight to see. He then looked at all the kids. "It's nice to meet all of you, and call me Súl."

Xander, Ami, and Aurelius looked up at their father when SuI said they could call him by his name. Svadilfare nodded lightly, "Yes, it's all right."

"Okay, SuI!" the children said in unison. And then they set about portioning the food for breakfast. Every plate had some deer meat, a few potatoes, and a hunk of bread. To the children's plates, Svad added a sweet. As his siblings sat down, Leo came back into the house with an armload of firewood. He set it down by the hearth then retrieved the axe and hung it on the wall by the door. He then joined his siblings at the table.

"Help yourself, SuI." Svad said as he got a few fish for Aerouant, who had long since gone to hide under his bed. While he was in the bedroom, he checked on Celestia, who still slept. When he returned, the older children sat patiently, their food untouched; only Clementine ate. Svadilfare took his place at the table and looked at them all. Ordinarily, they would already be eating, but since they had a guest, they waited. It wasn't so much out of respect for the guest--although that is the reason Leo waited--but that they wanted to know whether SuI liked the food they had cooked. Svad smiled lightly and joined Clementine, eating his food.

Súl smiled as the kids called him by his name, then when Svadilfare offered him some food. He got himself some of the food, his mouth watering at the smell. He didn’t often get to eat home cooking, so he appreciated the gesture.

The Marksman then noticed the children, other than Clementine, were waiting to eat. He got the idea that they probably cooked the breakfast, so they wanted to know what he thought about it. The man soon broke some of the deer meat off of the main piece, and placed it in his mouth.

A smile came to Súl’s face as his face relaxed a bit, clearly liking the taste. He then responded, some food still in his mouth, with ”Whoever made this is an excellent cook.”

As the meal continued, Súl couldn’t help but smile at Clementine. He looked over at Svad, a hint of jealousy on his face, and spoke to the warrior with an Irish draw.”Your lucky you know? I never got the pleasure to know El when she was that age.”

The younger children beamed with pride when their guest complimented the food. Sure, it was no better or worse than if someone else had cooked it, but it was always nice to be praised. Xander, Ami, and Aurelius then happily dug into their food while Leo mimicked Svad's slower approach. Somewhere they managed to work in a "thank you" between bites.

Svadilfare was giving Clementine a piece of bread when SuI spoke to him. The warrior looked round the table at his children and smiled lightly. "Yes, I am. I should wonder who is responsible for that... El. Sounds like she was a cute little one. Do you see her often?"

Súl smiled a bit when Svadfare asked him about his daughter. The marksmen loved her more than almost anyone else, and was happy someone wanted to know more about her. He looked up from his plate, thinking about how El and Lori were doing. "Yeah, she's a cute one. Feisty too. Makes me a bit worried for when she gets older. I'm also happy that I get to see her a good bit. My mentor, Barski, usually watches her, but another friend of mine, Lori, is keeping an eye on her right now."

((Bump))

"I'm sure she'll be fine, with you as her father. And it's good you have someone to watch over her while you are away. Kryo is relatively safe to leave one's child alone while traveling... But then we are warriors, bred to withstand hardships in whatever form they choose to take. Still, I do worry about them when I am gone." Svadilfare looked round the table at his children then back to Sul. "So you have a mentor," he continued on, changing the subject, "does that mean you are more than a marksmen? Or does this Barski help you refine your skills?"

Súl smiled at Svadilfare’s comment, noticing the warrior’s look at his own children. It was good to know he wasn’t the only sellsword who worried about his kids, and while the marksman wanted to mention his wish that Ammos was that safe, the Kryoian soon changed topics.

Svad asked about Súl‘s mentor, Barski, specifically what he mentored the man in. The Dragon’s Tongue let out a light chuckle as he thought back. “I was a good archer before meeting him, but he pushed me to be more of a marksman then before. The old man really taught me the ins an outs of being a mercenary, and how to knife-fight. Granted, you or Beowulf would flatten me, but I could hold my own in a tavern brawl.”

"Knife fighting is a good skill, even for a marksman." Svadilfare remarked. For a while he let a silence fall between them, deciding to finally eat some of his food before Clementine ate it for him. Soon, all the children were finished eating. They got up and bid farewell to their father and guest before leaving to visit their grandfather. Once they were gone, Svad spoke to SuI again, "I had a mentor for a brief time. He taught me how to be a good assassin. How to blend in with the world."

Súl looked at Svadilfare, giving him a nod at the knife-fighting comment. After he finished eating, and watched Svad’s children leave, before hearing the assassin speak of his own mentor. It was interesting to hear what the other man’s mentor had taught him, though he noticed Svadilfare said the person was his mentor for a short time.

”Is your old mentor lucky enough to still be around?” Súl said this with more seriousness than he had been speaking, knowing good and well this could be a touchy subject.

SuI's question didn't surprise Svadilfare as much as his tone. But then, what other tone could one use when speaking of assassins? Svadilfare stood and walked to the hearth. He moved the wood pile and lifted a loose board. Beneath it was a bottle of ale. He poured a little into his own cup and offered some to SuI. "If he had, I would not be here. One becomes a full-fledged assassin by killing their mentor. It is the only way to know you have what it takes. It is easy enough to kill some innocent or a drunkard. The real test is taking on another of your trade, particularly the one who trainied you. If you succeed, you can honor their death by not dying yourself... at least not until you've passed on their knowledge. If you fail... well, typically those wanting to be an assassin don't have the burden of having someone who'll miss them."

By now, Svad had sat back down and finished two cups of ale. "In the end he was quite ill, so I didn't feel so badly.. though back then I didn't have much of a conscience to begin with. But he was a good man."

Súl sighed at hearing the story, almost wishing he hadn’t even asked. Despite occasional taking assassin work, and he was very picky on such jobs, he never knew how assassin training worked. The archer refused the drink, but he did followed the assassin. He decided to keep his thoughts to himself, but wonder what it would be like for him to train anyone, if he ever did. Svadilfare had kids, and Súl assumed he had a wife as well. He couldn’t really imagine what it ws like.

Svadilfare heard the sigh and felt bad. Standing once more, he found his swords and hung them on his back. "Let's go to the market now." Svad went to his bedroom for a brief moment and checked on Celestia. Still sleeping. He wouldn't bother with a messege; he expected to be back before she woke. Coming back out to the main room, he exited the house. Normally Svadilfare rode his horse to the village center just for the sake of riding. Today, however, he decided to walk. "Are you only looking for a gift for your daughter?"

Súl looked at the assassin, noticing a familiar look on his face. It honestly made the marksman feel a bit bad, but Svad seemed to quickly change the subject by saying they should head to the market. The “Ammossian” got up, putting his hood and facecloth back in place, and waited for Svadilfare to exit. Once he came out, the man lead the Dragon Tongue towards the center of Kryo.

As they continued, the assassin asked the marksman if he was only getting a gift for El. Súl was glad the face covering hide his cheeks, and the slight blush that came to them. Granted, it could hide anything in his voice.

”Well.... I may... possibly... be looking for something for Lori too. As a thank you for watching El.” While this is what Súl said, his voice said it all. He loved her, but didn’t necessarily want to say it.

The warrior-assassin laughed at Sul's answer. What he said, how he said it, and the tone of his voice revealed everything the marksman had clearly wanted to hide. Svadilfare decided to spare the man any further embarrassment and didn't say what he had planned to. "Well that's nice. I'm sure you'll be able to find something for both of them."

The walk to the village took twenty minutes. The training/sparring area in the center of the village was already in use. The warriors of Kryo were expecting to be called upon soon to aid an ally. Children were watching or playing or running through the market. Svad directed Sul to the market square while he stopped at the training ground for a moment.

Súl had to admit that, much to his surprise, Svad’s laughter didn’t bother him that much. His face did get redder, but he wasn’t as embarrassed as he could be. At least the assassin didn’t bring up how the marksman sounded. He only told Súl he couldn’t find something at the market.

After the long walk, the pair finally made it too the village. He looked over to see the warriors of Kryo training, which was quite impressive to watch. He noticed Svadilfare had stopped to watch, and the assassin pointed him towards the markets. Súl gave him a nod and walked towards the market.

He looked around until he finally found a place to find what he was looking for first: another dragon figurine for her collection. He walked over to the small stand he found and looked at the owner.

”I was wondering if you have any sort of dragon figurines. Something more on the realistic side.”