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 Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 9:05 pm
 A few days after his last viking and subsequent conversation with Tallskog, Bruten felt it necessary to speak with his sister. He wanted to see for himself if the thrall was trouble for his sister, and he would undoubtedly trust Naaja's word over that of her betrothed. If she lied, Bruten was fairly confident he would be able to tell, and that would make the thrall's punishment even worse. He liked to think Naaja wouldn't stick up for her thrall, but females were fickle at times, and his sister was especially kind-hearted. Approaching her den, Bruten kept an eye out for the white thrall. He had little doubt that the male would be underfoot, and Bruten would dismiss him immediately. This would be a private conversation between brother and sister, and Bruten would not tolerate disobedience in a thrall. "Naaja." Her name was spoken as a command, and his tone insinuated it was a command she'd be wise to immediately answer.
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Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 7:27 am
 Bruten. That was unexpected. Naaja wondered what had occasioned this visit. It wasn't as if he had ever come to see her in her den before. She looked around the den, making sure that everything was just as she liked it and appropriate for hosting visitors. Particularly familial visitors. It would do. Since Burzum certainly wasn't the type of thrall to clean and tidy, that task fell to her, and she wasn't as good at it as she would like.
"Oh well," she murmured, ignoring Burzum's smirk. He probably knew exactly what she was thinking. A feyblood talent, perhaps. "Tell him - no - ask him to come in, and then stand guard outside."
Given Burzum's gift for antagonizing people, she thought it would be best to take away his opportunity to do so. The correction in her command was a vital one. Naaja didn't want to think about how quickly things would go downhill if Burzum tried issuing an order to her brother. She would never get the blood off the walls.
She was only able to relax when she heard Burzum conveying her corrected message to her brother, at which point she smiled and waiting to see Bruten. It had been a while.
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Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 4:59 pm
Bruten did not speak to Burzum as he passed by the thrall, but he did size up the b*****d. Bruten was nearly certain that he could take the other lion should it come down to it, but he had little doubt that with Kjar's assistance they could both break the thrall. Power in numbers and all that. It needed doing, and Bruten wanted a part in it - or perhaps he could speak with Sjurd, knowing his friend's particular hunger. Once inside his sister's den, the black-pelted lion stopped a few feet away from her before offering her a small smile in greeting. He did not bump his head against hers, nor did he nuzzle her cheek or anything else that a brother might do to his sister. "Naaja. How are you? I hope all is well." He didn't want to jump right to the chase. Easing into the topic of Tallskog and her thrall would be best, for the both of them. Bruten was half-tempted to stalk right back out of the den so that he could rip the thrall's throat out. He would not tolerate disobedience or disrespect towards his family - especially that of a sister, the fairer sex. Females -- worthy females, Bruten corrected himself mentally, deserved protecting. "I apologize for my abrupt visit."
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Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 5:37 pm
Naaja had not expected any sort of act of familial intimacy from her brother, having grown up with him, and likewise she did not initiate one. She wasn't sure if he was averse to showing affection or didn't actually like her, but her ego demanded that she operate under the former assumption. There was nothing particularly dislikable about her, despite what Burzum opined, and she couldn't think of a valid reason for Bruten in particular to dislike her.
She dismissed his apology, as was expected of her, although she did appreciate it. So what if he had only made it for form's sake? "It's good to see you whenever you have the time, Bruten. I've heard that you are becoming quite the reaver."
Polite, meaningless conversation. She could do this all day, but she knew Bruten didn't have the patience for it. So she stopped talking and waited, letting him forgo the smalltalk and get right to the heart of the matter. Whatever it was, she hoped it was good. Or even indifferent. Perhaps he had come by to make known his opinion on her arranged marriage. Assuming that was still happening. She really had no idea at this point.
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Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 6:06 pm
Smalltalk was not something that he was very good at, and never had been. Bruten did not enjoy beating around the bush, and he did not enjoy mincing words. He certainly did not enjoy wasting time dealing with errant thralls that could not be handled by their mistresses, despite the fact that this particular thrall belonged to his sister.
His plans to ease in to the conversation were thrown by the wayside, and Bruten did not bother lowering his voice on the off-chance that Naaja's thrall was eavesdropping from his position outside of her den. Quite frankly, Bruten didn't give two shits about what the thrall thought of him - he only cared that his sister was not disrespected (not out of any familial obligations, but because their family was the most influential family in the pride).
After dipping his head in recognition of her comment, Bruten narrowed his oddly-colored eyes at Naaja.
"I've come to discuss your thrall," and then, to clarify: "I spoke with your betrothed."
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 5:42 am
Naaja's pleasant expression faltered. Maybe she should not have invited him to be quite so direct. This was not a conversation she felt like having with him or anybody else. Nevertheless, she was apparently going to have it whether she wanted to or not, so she met his eyes with her oddly colored eyes.
"I see. Tallskog and Burzum do not get along. The last time they saw one another Tallskog and I disagreed and when I decided to leave rather than continue a stupid argument Tallskog tried to follow which Burzum viewed as a potentially threatening act and warned him off it."
In the back of her mind Naaja knew that if she told Bruten the truth, rather than automatically editing things so that in her version it was just a case of mutual dislike and misunderstanding, she might be rid of Burzum, as she very often wished to be. The problem was that she couldn't bring herself to admit that she had absolutely no control over him whatsoever.
She ought to be able to control him, but the only thing that had any effect was threatening his family, and on the few instances she'd tried that he had been able to tell she wouldn't follow through, and he had only become more unpleasant and impossible.
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 9:57 am
Bruten moved closer to his sister, the ridge of hair along his spine spiking with his displeasure. He wasn't sure what had been the train of thought in allowing Naaja to take Aesir's b*****d-born grandson as a thrall, but it was not his place to question his father, no matter how he might want to. "I will take your thrall so that I might teach him some manners, Naaja. With the help of Kjar, I doubt that you will have any... issues," Bruten didn't fight the little smirk that curled his lips, "in keeping your thrall under control." He leaned in to Naaja, mere inches away now, and lowered his voice so that it would be impossible for anyone aside from Naaja to hear. "You are the Warlord's daughter. You are now betrothed. You cannot allow your thrall to be seen getting the best of you in public. Others will think that they are free to do the same. We cannot allow that, especially with rumors that Breytast Vindar draws near." Bruten leaned back on his haunches and watched Naaja. "It will only be a week or so, I think, before Kjar and I are finished with him."
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 10:53 am
Behind her lips Naaja gritted her teeth. She very nearly growled at the obvious implication of incompetence behind Bruten's words, though it was only marginally more infuriating than his assumption that he could issue those sorts of orders to her. Still, she had not been raised to be confrontational, and so she did not growl or snap at her brother.
"No, I'm afraid you won't, Bruten," Naaja said with a blandly polite smile. "He is my thrall and it is up to me to see him punished or not, as I see fit."
She raised her chin and continued, "What others do you mean, Bruten? I honestly can't imagine that with breytast vindar approaching, I would be any safer with my guard as injured as a week with Kjar would leave him."
For that matter, Naaja believed firmly that any attempts to break Burzum would prove to be an exercise in futility which might leave the white lion permanently damaged in body, but nastier in spirit. The only way to effectively stop him from being the way he was, she felt, would be to kill him, and she would no more permit that now than she would as a cub.
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 11:06 am
"Any others. Any who might think to cause dissent among members of the pride. You know how they talk, Naaja. And he can be replaced, at any rate. I do not know why you are so attached to him." There was a sudden and almost surprising urge to lash out at his sister, to strike her and force her compliance. That would not go over well with his father was the thought that soon followed, and Bruten forced himself to take a calming breath before continuing. He was irritated, though, that she dared to tell him that he wouldn't, especially when it was so obvious she was incapable of handling her own misbehaving thrall. "There is also a rumor," Bruten murmured, his voice a harsh rasp, "that you are <********> your pale thrall, Naaja." Honestly, it wasn't a rumor just yet - but Bruten would not hesitate in planting that vicious little seed, and he would tend to it so that it grew and grew and finally reached the ear of their father. That thought brought a twisted little smile to his muzzle, and Bruten watched his sister with a close eye, just to see how she might react. "I wonder what father would think of that."
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 1:17 pm
Naaja heaved a deep sigh internally. When she was younger and she got angry, she used to get so frustrated that she could hardly speak. She would trip over her own tongue and mix up words. Eventually she had taught herself to hold her peace and plan what she wanted to say before speaking, which was what she was doing at present. She held her tongue while Bruten reminded her that people talked (as if she was unaware of that), and then while he fumed over her refusal to allow him to beat Burzum.
It was clear that he was furious, although Naaja did not realize how strongly he wanted to hit her, and she ought to have taken that into consideration when he trotted out the rumour that had given particular offense. Instead she burst out laughing, the sort of helpless laughter that leaves a person limp and breathless, which is how she ended up when the last peals faded away and she realized Bruten was still looking at her and threatening her with telling their father.
"Nobody who has ever seen him with me would get that impression, Bruten. Although you're right, Father would be irate if someone told him that. Probably he'd be angry at the person who told him, though. Everyone knows the best way to deal with that sort of foul gossip is to ignore it or distract people with something juicier."
She was a lot more concerned than she let on, but with Bruten, as with Burzum, actually, it was better not to let him know he'd touched a nerve.
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 4:08 pm
It was a disgusting feeling, wanting to beat your own sister into absolute submission. Naaja's laughter incited anger deep inside of Bruten's chest, where it burned with a black, rancid heat. That anger slugged through his veins, a vitriolic ichor that had him feeling on edge. His breath quickened, and he took a step towards her. His claws were unsheathed, teeth bared, but Bruten did not strike. Oh, how he wanted to. He dearly wanted to feel the give of her skin beneath his angry claws, or hear her cry of pain as she caved.
He didn't.
Her words bounced off of him, the blackness edging in on his vision and clogging his ears making everything seem muffled and distant. His own heartbeat thundered in his ears, and as much as Bruten wanted to appear unaffected, he could not. His anger, sudden and harsh, was beyond his control.
"Fine. If you want to continue to appear as a weak-willed, submissive flower-blooded b***h who cannot control her own thrall, I will leave you to it. But I will have father's ear on this, and I will speak to him of Tallskog's concern. If father will not listen, I will take this matter to Thorgrim."
He hated the fact that she seemed so unaffected by his words. He hated the fact that he felt so out of control and she seemed so perfectly sane.
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Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 12:26 pm
All at once it sank in that her brother really wanted to hurt her. Maybe because she'd laughed at him, which had probably been ill-advised, but quite likely over Burzum as well. She had not expected that, and she was not entirely sure how to react.
"I think it's time for you to go," she said as firmly as she was able. Her voice still quivered, but it was nowhere near as shaky as her insides felt when she saw the thunderous rage behind her brother's eyes. "You may say what you wish to Father, or Thorgrim, if you prefer, but I will not be insulted in my own home."
Stupidly and irrationally, she almost wished that she could summon Burzum to protect her. Whatever other horrible things might be said of him, she knew he would do it. Not because he gave a fig for her, but he would welcome an excuse to fight any member of her family. Any excuse at all. She couldn't give him that, of course, and wouldn't ever, but she would have felt safer with him there.
"Do not die in bed."
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