RP:Jubel
Part of the Vinabre Cosmetics Arc
Summary: Brennia runs into an old flame and he brings some bad news, but before that, he requests some cosmetic products for his sisters to try.
Scent of Night Blossoms
Fog clings lightly to this wide tunnel, drifting in from the misty cavern it's linked to and leaving dew upon all surfaces with its ghostly touch. Beneath the mist is a crawling lawn of hoar-frosted, dark green moss cleaved down its center by a delicately winding pathway of peculiar flat, black stones. Set at intervals along this path like eternal sentinels are a series of ancient statues, carved of the same basalt-like stone as the walkway and in the shape of various magical beasts, ranging from dragons to gryphons and many in-between, all untouched by the hands of time. The left half of the tunnel is also home to a wide-spread, natural garden overflowing with an impressive variety of nighttime and cave-dwelling flowers, many blossoms a silver or violet color, with the occasional midnight blue, deep gold, and coal black. There's even a gray-barked breed of cherry blossom tree present, with its flowers of a vibrant blood-red raining down upon the frosted moss underfoot. The scent of the many blossoms fills the tunnel much like the fog, offering something of a soothing feeling to visitors and almost seeming to lead souls onward along the pathway. Obeying the floral calling will bring one northward to what appears to be an expansive widening in the tunnel; otherwise, one can travel southward to the cerulean flowers of Frostmaw's mines.
Brennia has been inspired to spend her days off from teaching to researching plants and anything she can use to experiment with to expand upon the production for Vinabre Cosmetics. She has a satchel strung around her hips to store the many different plants she has been finding and a worn leather notebook in her hands as she is scribbling the details on what she is discovering within. No more pressure from campaigning for Schezerade (a second time no less), no more stressing about every student as the dean of the bard's college and no more building upon dead guilds. She is simply a professor two times a week because her surgeries had made it clear she was pushing herself way too far while spreading herself far too thin. Her curly hair is pulled up into a haphazard bun, but some unruly tendrils keep dangling across her solid teal eyes which are peering through large circular spectacles. At the moment she is jotting down the peculiar petal shape to one of the flowers and unique blend of colors before plucking it up for a smell. The avian has left her winter coverings and knee high snow boots under the gray-barked breed of cherry blossom tree present, whose flowers are that of a vibrant blood-red. Her bare feet squish on the mossy floor of the cave as she meanders along the natural garden side of the tunnel.
Niall thought at first that he’d seen a ghost. He was traveling light, only a large canvas bag tossed over his shoulder and a sword at his hip. He’d dressed for Frostmaw’s weather, thick pants and a dark flannel shirt underneath a long wool coat the color of Cenril’s sea when it rained, a deep blue that complimented the thunderstorm trapped in his eyes. He had a short brimmed hat on, his hair wild and pulled back in a messy knot at the nape of his neck underneath. Queenie had trotted along at his heels, content in the coldness of the weather. She’d noticed Brennia before he had. In fact, if the old dog hadn’t given several sharp, whining barks Niall might have kept traveling on. Instead, he’d found himself chasing his usually well mannered dog toward a cave in unfamiliar land. “Queenie!” The man called out, his voice harsh and twinged with worry. Anxiety furrowed the bold slash of his brows, teased out the wrinkles that lined the corners of his eyes. All of that fell away to pure shock when his eyes landed on Brennia. His mouth went dry for a moment. “You’ll catch your death out here without shoes.” He finally manages, a calloused hand floating up to rub the back of his neck as he speaks. There was a quick flash of emotion in his eyes, something nameless and gone too quickly to be examined.
Brennia can hear the barking due to her long tapered ears being able to hear so well and she pauses in her research a moment to allow her mind a moment to wonder. Those fond memories Raven has that now blend with her own and a smile flirts with the corners of her full lips. He must have been quite special and Brennia is curious where the man's travels have taken him lately. It is when she brushes some flower petals from her simple white tee shirt that the name being shouted is a familiar one and on instinct she turns while kneeling in order to properly greet canine royalty. A bright smile cracks across her whole face and pokes dimples in her cheeks as a soft raspy giggle escapes her, "greetings, Queenie." The warm and slightly raspy alto timbre greets the mastiff while she offers some ear scratches. She pulls her glasses off and sets them atop her head like a headband when Niall addresses her, "you think I'd be so lucky again?" It was an awfully dark joke, but if she doesn't laugh at the pain - she'd cry. Hopefully it wasn't in too bad of taste because she stands to approach the man with aims of an embrace. "It is wonderful to see the two of you," she squeezes him tight and if he decides to return the hug, he will find she is still quite thin. When the embrace ends, her gaze lingers on his face and she takes a mental note of his features as she is internally astounded by Vee's prediction. "How was your travels?" She asks Niall while searching around in her satchel to pull free a small container that has the leftovers from her lunch earlier so Queenie can pick through the meatless meal and munch on whatever her heart wants.
Niall doesn’t hesitate to step into her embrace. He fought a habit he’d thought long buried as his hands itched to weave themselves into her dark hair as the scent of peppermint and chocolate wreathed around him. Queenie had no such reservations. She’d greeted Brennia as a long lost friend, the entirety of her large, wrinkled body shaking in her excitement. He hadn’t laughed at her joke. Even now, his usually quick to smile mouth was pressed into a tight line. “It’s good to see you too, Raven.” The name slipped off of his tongue and he thought nothing of it. She’d felt thin and lines of worry formed between his brow again. “They’ve been well.” Niall answers stiffly, his eyes watching her face closely. It might have been a tense moment, but for the wet and sloppy sounds of Queenie devouring the food Brennia offered her. “How… How have you been then?” The slow draw of his voice nearly stumbled over the words. Niall was clever and skilled in many areas, hiding any emotion he was currently feeling had never been one of those areas. It was clear he struggled now. There were too many things to feel, not enough time for him to work through them. He’d never quite learned how to stand in front of someone he’d onced loved and pretend they’d never been so close. “You in Frostmaw often? I was going to join the tournament this year before Ma got sick…” He was usually better at small talk but his mind was too crowded with memories. Memories he’d thought he’d buried years ago.
Brennia doesn't have any emotions to hide. Her wings shift and preen while in his presence and of course she wishes she looked better, but it is what it is! She decides not to correct him and internally curses herself for telling such a risky joke. "That is great. I miss the days of going off on long adventures," the small talk is quite awkward, but it is a necessity at times to break the ice. "Me?" Where to start… The Flewminati is still out there, the surgeries, the lingering wish of death's sweet release, but she doesn't want to make him worry. So she says all the positive things as she does in the mirror every morning in order to make it through the day, "the students in my class are doing quite well and I have started a cosmetics line with a good friend of mine, Alvina. It will be called Vinabre Cosmetics." As she looks up at him, she can easily read his unease with whatever is between them. She would like to think she is treating him with more friendliness than what Raven ever showed him, but maybe that is what draws him in- a cold and guarded heart. Unfortunately that isn't Bre. "Not really. Alvina brought me some winter flowers from here somewhere and I just have been itching to come out this way myself to sample more flora for our skin care line," but his mention of his Ma grips her heart harder than expected and she places a hand on his elbow. "Oh? Is she alright?" There is genuine concern knitting her brow together. "You do know, I don't care whatever we have done to each other - I will always be there for you Niall," she holds her breath as she wishes he informs her that his Ma pulled through like the champ she is and is perfectly fine. Bre isn't sure what she would do if she saw the hurt on his face from something worse.
Niall , despite himself, smiles as Brennia fills him in on all the pieces of her life he’d missed. “Cosmetics, yeah?” His golden brows arch. “That’s exciting news. Let me know when you’ve got a few products ready, I’d love to take some back down to Kelay for my sisters.” He loops a thumb through the pocket of his coat. “You’re talented and clever, whatever you do I’m sure will take right off.” It was true enough that the Brennia of today was warmer around the edges that the Raven he knew of yesterday, but that didn’t stop him from twisting himself into knots over ancient history. That’s just the way Niall would always be. He’d never been good at letting anything go. He also wasn’t surprised to learn she was still teaching. No matter how she’d ever appeared to him, Brennia had always been the kind of person with a spark for nurturing those who carried an eagerness to learn. It was something he’d always admired about her. And he says as much, “Teaching, yeah? You’ve always had a talent with that.” His heart falters as the warmth of her hand reaches through the wool of his coat. His smile falls away. “Ma, she uh…” The man swallows hard, reaching up to scratch at the unruly hair on his cheek. “She’s been better.” He seems to struggle with it a bit, clenching his jaw as she offers him kindness that sends an ache straight through his chest. “Thanks for that,” He drawls, “I want you to know I’m here for you too. Whatever you need.” He waits a beat. “I don’t know how long she has left, the healers don’t really know what the truth of it is. She hasn’t been herself since the plague in Cenril took Pa and Cain.” He hated to give her the news that his father and oldest brother had passed in the way that it did. It hadn’t occurred to him that there might have been a kinder way, the words had just fallen out of his mouth.
Brennia still enjoys that draw of his with the timbre of his voice as it feels so familiar and relaxed. She nods quickly with an excited little smile on her lush lips, "yup!" Her blush comes easily as he compliments her intellect and slender shoulders shrug up as she says, "I try." The avian stays quiet as her wings settle into the sadness of the news. Her hand rubs over the cover of his coat and tears fill the waterline of her large eyes. "I am so sorry, Niall," she can feel her aching heart dropping down to the pits of her stomach. She can tell he's been strong for so long and understands quite deeply how exhausting it can be to burden yourself with such tasks, but she doesn't voice things like this out loud. The last thing someone wants to hear when they are grieving is 'oh I lost a brother and both of my parents, too' as if that is supposed to make anything better. "Oh… Niall," her little raspy voice cracks with emotion as she sinks into him for a warmer hug along with her dark as night wings following suit to wrap him in kindness laced with understanding and shielding him from the world. If only for a moment for peace. Brennia eventually lets go of him whenever the moment feels right and she uses the back of her hand to wipe her tears away while sniffling. "Promise me that if you need anything, please," she makes sure to connect their gaze in the seriousness of this request, "do not hesitate to ask."
Niall || It pained him to see his own heartbreak mirrored on her face. The ache was bone deep. For a man like Niall, family was everything. His entire world began and ended with the tight knit Kelyan clan that the Coins had become. He’d built his home, his business, his world with them. They’d shared blood and sweat and tears. Seen him at his highest and his lowest. He’d been working through it, shouldering it just as she’d known without him having to say. Now, so far away from his home and so close to the only woman he’d ever loved, the heartbreak he’d been hiding was felt so sharply it nearly took his breath. He wouldn’t cry. He’d been raised to believe men could only fall apart behind closed doors, but underneath Brennia’s wings and wrapped in the warmth of her embrace, Niall broke. He held her back, tightly. Delicately, ever treating her as if she were spun from the most fragile of glass, but he gripped her as if she were a lifeline in the storm that his life had become. When she let him go, he’d collected himself in a way he’d hoped made his father proud. He cleared his throat, scratching at his beard again. “Thank you for that. I didn’t know I’d needed it.” He laughs but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “I won’t. It’d do me good to see more of you. My ma wouldn’t mind a visit either if you ever get down our way. She still asks about you.” Queenie was demanding attention. She’d finished off the food Brennia had given her and was nosing at the woman’s hand, begging shamelessly for scratches. “I should head back…” It would be a chore to convince the dog to leave her though. “It was good seeing you.”
Brennia smiles at him through the tears and a near whisper of, "anytime." She nods with a short and soft chucke, "you better." Then she nods again at his suggestion of seeing his mother. "I will. I wouldn't miss seeing her for the world," but all too soon he is leaving her behind again and she simply nods for the third time while the news is still settling in her soul. "It was a breath of fresh air to see you two again," the begging is met with some more head pats before she kneels down to Queenie again. Looking far off into the beautiful creature's eyes, she gives the pup a kiss on the top of her head before giving her a task, "you take care of him my Queen… He needs us strong gals more than ever right now," for a small moment she rests her forehead on the dog's as she is slobbering all over her legging covered leg, but she's never minded. Maybe the dog understands or not, but Brennia likes to believe animals attached to people have this odd ability to sense unease and become a beacon of comfort. Since she cannot be that for Niall right now, she sure hopes it is Queenie.
Niall feels the knife that’s been lodged in his heart from the moment his eyes met hers again twist as she loves on his big goofy dog. She’d never even minded that she slobbered. It hurt in the way of wounds that were healing could. “You know you’re always welcome to the table.” He says, gently coaxing the big dog away from her. “My ma might like you more than me if I’m bein’ honest.” Queenie whined. “Oh come on, you know we gotta go.” Niall tossed his bag back over his shoulder and nudges the dog gently with his worn boot. When she eventually moves, with plenty of loud protest, he hooks a hand on his pocket and hesitates for just a moment. “I hope we can catch up like this more often. It felt good for me. And you really should put on something to keep warm.” With a final flash of his crooked smile, Niall and Queenie head off into the night.
Brennia sinks to the base of the tree and leans against it as her heart feels far too heavy to leave or even continue the work she started. Conflict buzzes around her mind, but she eventually gathers herself after writing down each of his sisters’ names and what they would probably like from the Vinabre Cosmetics line. The avian goes back to work even as the turmoil buzzes in the back of her mind.
A week later, gift bags arrive at Niall’s family home, one for each sister and thoughtfully put together. There are informational packets with each basket that informs the user that every product is made naturally and cruelty free, but meticulously formulated to be vibrant in color with a pleasantly subtle fragrance.