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 Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 6:48 am
 Some of Aesir's family had become thralls, but no one seemed able to say which ones had done that and which had gone into exile. Except, of course, for Burzum. Everyone knew about him, but it was next to impossible for Ru to talk to him because he was always around one of the warlord's daughters, guarding her or something. The hows and whys of that were beyond Ru, and unless he somehow managed to speak to Burz they would remain so. Until he figured out a way to do that, he would continue tracking down the other members of the family to see what he could learn.
In the meantime, Ru tried to do normal Stormborn things, like sparring, where he discovered that he had gotten too used to the members of his band. He had to work hard to win against many of the lions he fought. Today he had come away with a painful slash above his eye that kept oozing and trying to seal his eye shut with blood. It was an irritation that he decided to ignore for the time being. With his dark fur, he didn't figure the blood would be particularly noticeable.
After a third lion asked him if he was all right and suggested he see a healer to put a plaster on that wound he wondered if he had been incorrect in his assumption. So he turned toward his "blind" side and ran directly into somebody smaller, sparking a hissed, "Perkele!"
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 10:38 am
 Gyllene was on her way from Myka's with a new, fresh batch of healing herbs. These herbs in particular made for a great poultice that helped soothe fevers, and also aided in the pain of infection. Myka had dedicated a small corner of her garden to herbs for healers, and Gyllene always made sure to visit the lioness when she heard first word of the plants being ripe for picking. This meant that she plucked only the choicest bits from Myka's plants. Gyllene took great pride in her work, and to her very best meant that she required the very best reagents to work with. She had not been expecting to run into anyone, quite literally, and when the collision occurred Gyllene dropped the large leafen pouch she'd been carrying. The hissed curse was ignored, for now. Gyllene was more concerned with the pouch of herbs, and with a dismayed sound she snatched it back up with her teeth. Thankfully nothing had spilled out - she had little doubt that she'd have been heartbroken if she'd lost even an ounce of the precious herbs. After collecting herself, Gyllene turned to face the offending lion. Her eyes widened marginally at the sight of him. It wasn't because the lion was Captain Ruzanski. It was because the wound above his eye looked utterly painful, and any irritation caused by the collision was dispersed thanks to her healer's heart. Seeing another in pain was not something that Gyllene cherished. Securing the pouch of herbs carefully beneath her paw, Gyllene let out a soft, sympathetic sound. "Captain. You're wounded. Follow me, won't you?" She didn't wait for an answer, merely bent to take the pouch in her teeth once more before making her way back to her den - which, thankfully, was nearby.
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 10:45 am
"Sorry." Ru's apology was automatic. His mother would have scolded him for being rude anyway. It had taken him forever to learn to leave it at just sorry, and not add anything more formal or "flowery" as they would have called it here.
"Only a little," he protested, though that was the extent of his argument. It would have been difficult to hold a debate with someone who was determined to keep her mouth full. He'd only come across as childish in that sort of one-sided conversation. So he followed her back to her den in order to tell her that he was perfectly fine.
He did not offer to carry her pouch for her. It didn't occur to him.
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 10:51 am
Gyllene chuckled around the pouch in her mouth, but did not stop so that she could speak. If he had offered to carry the pouch and the delicate herbs within, Gyllene would likely paused to politely decline, so nothing was thought of the fact that he hadn't.
The herbs would likely not be necessary for soothing what ailed Ru, and so upon entering her den Gyllene set them aside. She immediately turned to Ruzanski and offered a slight smile.
"I do not make a habit of putting myself in the way, so I apologize if I caused you further discomfort when we ran into one another."
She did not place the blame on him. That was simply how Gyllene was.
"Let me have a better look. Please, sit down. I'll do my best to keep my touch light."
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 10:58 am
Ru cast an inquiring look at the lioness, who was apparently a healer. The expression pulled at the cut over his eye, starting yet another trickle of blood that he did his best to ignore while he spoke. It was a nuisance, but hardly life-threatening.
"I wouldn't say you caused me further discomfort," he replied, somewhat confused that she had thought herself capable of that. It wasn't like he'd walked into her face-first or anything. "Besides, it was my fault. I didn't see you. I turned the wrong way."
He did not sit down, or in any way move to make it easier for her to touch him, lightly or otherwise. "Really, I'm fine," he insisted.
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 11:16 am
Gyllene had heard that Captain Ru had completed his impossible quest, and the rumors that romanticized all of it was appealing to a small, tiny piece of Gyllene that had always dreamed of a great romance. It was difficult to reconcile that proud and determined Captain with the one who stood before her now, arguing over a slowly weeping gash above his eye. She narrowed her vibrant eyes at him, and finally spoke in a very matter-of-fact tone that, while soft, left no room for further argument. "You're bleeding again, so I can see that you are not fine. Should you fail to tend to your wound, it will become something more than a mere nuisance. That little scratch will bloom into an infection, which will fill your blood and you will fall ill. You may even lose that eye if you are not careful. So, please," she gestured with a petite paw, "sit so that I - Gyllene, a skilled healer - may tend to your wound, and then you are free to be on your way." That being said, Gyllene fell quiet, eyebrow quirked in a way that mirrored his own.
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 1:25 pm
Ru narrowed his eyes back at the healer, unimpressed by her show of authority, but quickly abandoned the expression when he realized that it made it easier for blood to transfer from his brow to his eyelids, making the fur there tacky and his eye more difficult to open and close. Annoying. He went back to looking sceptical.
"Stormlords," he muttered. "You are bossy, aren't you?"
He still wasn't sitting. At this point it had become a matter of pride, or something similarly idiotic and masculine. Ru certainly wasn't concerned about contracting an infection, but he was enjoying irritating the healer. He had forgotten how much fun it could be to be contrary. When he was out viking he couldn't afford to do that, but he was home now, and even though things were not the same, there was nothing preventing him from having a little fun.
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 2:21 pm
"Itsepäinen muuli," Gyllene muttered under her breath, narrowing her eyes at him. His stubborn attitude only made her want to fix his brow even more, which was starting to make her feel rather ridiculous. If he didn't want her to stop the bleeding, well, she should just send him off to deal with the consequences.
...except that that might reflect upon her skills as a healer, and Gyllene did not want to even think about that, not when she took such pride in her work.
"And you are the most stubborn lion I have ever met, standing there as you are with blood oozing from the wound on your face."
She lifted her head, chin rising - and for a moment, she looked the proper freeborn lady that she was.
Suddenly a cold pawful of goop was mashed into Ru's face, and Gyllene was left looking completely satisfied.
And then nervous, as she came to realize what she'd done.
"A healing salve," she stuttered quietly, and it was difficult to tell if she was trying not to laugh or if there was actual fear in her voice.
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 3:53 pm
Ru shot Gyllene a look. His grasp of the old Stormborn tongue was better than many outlanders', but it was by no means perfect. Even so, he could recognize an insult when he heard one. Particularly the word for "stubborn." He had heard that before. Besides, she went on to call him stubborn in a language he definitely understood, which only succeeded in making him smirk.
He was completely unprepared to be slapped in the face with cold goop, and for half a moment he stood stock still and gaped at Gyllene - she had introduced herself as Gyllene - then he was in motion, moving into an attack without thinking about it. It only took a moment for him to consider what he was doing, but in that moment he barely had time to stop himself mid-lunge. His claws were sheathed, but it still might have gone badly if he made contact. He might have knocked her over and made a mess.
"A...healing salve," he repeated slowly as her words sank in and he backed off. "Gods. Sorry. Again."
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 4:00 pm
Any mirth that might have been lingering was instantly replaced with very real, very cold fear. Gyllene hadn't been expecting that response, and it had been foolish of her not to. He was a Captain, recently home from a very long and nearly impossible quest, and she'd toed a line that she hadn't meant to.
"Do not apologize. I should be the one apologizing." She sounded contrite, horridly so, and despite the Captain's sudden movement and the fear it had evoked, concern still lingered.
Gyllene paused, and the need to explain her childish actions was overpowering.
"I am sorry. I take my duties quite seriously, Captain, and should you have come into my den for healing and left looking untouched, well. I could not stand for that. I should like for you to keep both of your eyes, after all."
She offered him a small smile.
"You are horribly stubborn, though, Captain."
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 4:13 pm
"It was a reflexive reaction, but I shouldn't have given in to it. You really don't represent enough of a threat to me that I should feel the need to react to a bitty smack like that." Ru shook his head, thoughtlessly sending a few glorps of salve plopping onto the ground around his paws.
At last he sat down and attempted to wrap his tail around his paws, but it wouldn't stay put. He was bothered by how close he had come to striking a noncombatant. No doubt it was stress, but that wasn't an excuse. Still, he had made an apology and so had she, so he supposed it was water under the bridge.
"So the slapping. Is that how you usually deal with wounded patients, or just the stubborn ones?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 4:19 pm
"Just the stubborn ones," Gyllene assured him, moving closer to wipe excess salve from his brow. The fear that had constricted her throat was all but gone. She was fairly certain he wouldn't strike her for tending to him, and he really was making a mess on her floor.
The cut wasn't anything serious, which was a relief to Gyllene, and she hadn't seemed to cause him more discomfort with her more... alternative method to applying salve.
"Are you usually so stubborn when someone is trying to help you, or just to healers?"
There was a humor in her voice, rich and soft.
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 4:26 pm
Ru shrugged and put one paw over his tail to keep it from lashing with agitation. It had been a very long time since anyone touched him without trying to draw his blood. He hadn't even had any sort of healing done since he first left the pride, as none among his band possessed much more knowledge in that area than he did. He got by, but he hadn't expected it to feel so alien to have someone not trying to injure him.
"Oh, well, it depends on who you talk to, I suppose. I think you'll find most healers like me. I'm very easy to get along with. Providing, of course, I'm actually seeking to be healed." He ducked his head so that he could give her his best accusing glare. "This isn't a ploy to get me to pay you for unasked for services, is it?"
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