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It might look as if Bifrost was just loitering in the area where the thralls brought in fresh kills, but he was actually working. It was part of his job to stay updated with the latest gossip, and thralls were an excellent source of the latest news. He searched the crowd for Udongo, one of his better sources, but apparently she'd been claimed by a freeborn and didn't come here as often anymore. Bifrost had heard that a female freeborn had claimed her, but the other thralls hadn't been able to give much more information than that. Some said that the other female was related to Udongo while others had more imaginative theories as to why she'd been claimed. It was a pity, whatever the reason... He'd need to find a new reliable source of gossip eventually.

He hummed a tune, going over the song he had prepared for the next homecoming. It was a pretty generic song about the brave Warlord and his dutiful wife. He needed to figure out a way to make it sound better. Many of the bards would sing Njal's praise, and he wanted his song to stand out. Unfortunately he did better with rude and disrespectful songs... But now was not the time to test the Warlord's sense of humor.

Bifrost kept humming his tune, trying to see if he could make the music more interesting. The words in the song wouldn't be, at this rate. Perhaps he should sing about the fight when the Warlord won his title again. It had been a while since last Breytast Vindar, so he couldn't decide if it would be refreshing to bring it up again, or if it would sound as if he was running out of ideas. He ended his humming with a little huff and looked around for Udongo again. She wasn't there, but a new thrall was tidying up in the area.

"You there," he called, "Blue eyed thrall. Get over here for a while."

Newly joined freeborn were sometimes confused about the concept of thralls and how to tell them from other freeborn, but Bifrost had never understood that confusion. It was so easy to tell! A thrall looked like a thrall, period. The defiant ones looked like cocky thralls, and not like freeborn. And even the shyest freeborn looked like a freeborn to him. Perhaps he was just way better than average at reading people, but he had never heard other born-in Stormborn complain about being confused either.

"I don't think I've met you before," he said, "What's your name, thrall?"

Bifrost took pride in knowing many names, and despite the somewhat disposable nature of thralls he'd never regretted learning ones name. It wasn't very taxing for him to remember one more name, and it could build trust and open up unforeseen opportunities. A good memory was a valuable asset to a bard, and a nosy disposition even more so. The blue pelted bard was genuinely curious and liked talking to others, thralls included, but some Stormborn would never understand that...

"Uchafu," he said, "Does it have any special meaning?"

It was interesting to hear the strange meanings foreign names could have. There were so many different languages and dialects out there... Bifrost had a good grasp on the old Stormborn language, obviously, and he took pride in speaking common well too. Words were tools and weapons to be used, and he loved to add to his arsenal.

"You're helping me right now," he said and smiled, "I need a muse to talk to from time to time, to keep my mind sharp..."

She must have met some of the more heavy pawed Stormborn recently, or she might just be naturally timid. Many thralls were, after all. If they had been strong and assertive they would not have been taken. And if someone, somehow was taken as a thrall despite decent warrior instincts there were always the Breytast Vindar. Worthy ones could always be freed.

"I'm Bifrost the bard," he added as an afterthought, "I'm named for the bridge in the sky."

"Interesting," he said, "In old Stormborn you might have been named Jord like my great grandmother."

She might also have been named "Smuts", since the common word dirt could actually be translated to several different words. But why not go for the more poetic version? Bifrost saw no need to keep a personal thrall, but if he ever decided to get one he'd name it something nice. Unless it already had a pleasant sounding name of course. No need to fix something that wasn't broken.

"It's the bridge the Gods use for traveling to the mortal realm," he explained, "You can see it shimmering among the stars on clear nights, and sometimes after rain."

It had always been one of his favorite tales, the one about his name and the bridge in the sky. He wouldn't say it was the only reason he decided to become a bard, but it was certainly one of the puzzle pieces.

"Good," he said and smiled at her, "You see, thralls see and hear other things than freeborn lions do. The change of perspective is refreshing."

Bifrost liked what he was hearing. He'd most likely get better gossip from a thrall that knew to keep her head down. Freeborn knew not to blab around the rebellious and bothersome thralls, but they tended to relax around the meeker ones. The shy respectful ones, now those were the ones that would be forgotten when discussing juicy details.

"Let's just talk for now," he said and sprawled on the space she had so thoughtfully cleaned for him. Bifrost appreciated it since he really disliked getting dirt and twigs stuck to his fur. "Get to know each other."

He smiled at the female. It didn't hurt that she wasn't bad looking, for a thrall anyway. He'd enjoy getting to know her and gaining her trust. Sooner or later he was sure it would pay off. You never knew where inspiration could come from.