RP:Stubborn as a Dragon-Mule
Part of the The Ice Plague Cometh Arc
Smithing Supplies
Hildegarde hated to sit idly by and waste away in bed, even though the bed she had been given was ever so fine and luxurious it only served to make her all the more uncomfortable. She couldn’t help but think that someone was more deserving of it, that she did not quite have the status, position, title or even worth of having such a fine place to rest in. So here she had limped and semi-stumbled to, staring at the various tools on offer that might allow someone to improve and hone their weapons and armour, or to craft one from scratch. That wasn’t a skill she possessed, certainly one she admired, but not one she was capable of. With a groan, she roached forward for a whetstone. Might as well sharpen her blades.
Satoshi arrives at the smithy neither to sharpen a weapon nor forge one, for she's incapable of the latter and the former is unnecessary when Asorial is your weapon of choice. Rather, the magus is paying this place a visit because she's heard a certain knight is being a poor patient, and has been pressed by the healers to get her back to rest. Shoulder propped against the entry wall to lean against, Satoshi clears her throat, a look fixed on Hildegarde. The expression is mixed, as if she wants to appear stern, but can't resist the amused smile that twitches her lips. "Sometimes," Satoshi's voice carries the same mixture of chiding and amusement, "I wonder if you're secretly part mule. The stubborn streak is impressive, really~."
Hildegarde did not yet turn to meet Satoshi’s gaze, replying as she reached and grasped for the whetstone, “Sometimes,” she grunted as she grasped the whetstone, “I wonder if kits really do land on their feet,” she said, finally turning to look at the Queen with a hint of a grin. The knight was known to make awkward jokes here and there, to try and dispel certain moods and auras. “You fall with such style and grace, it is truly impressive,” she said, mirroring Satoshi for the sake of humour. “But one must be stubborn in this role, wouldn’t you agree? Especially, when serving one who is also incredibly stubborn.”
Satoshi shrugs, conceding. "Everyone is always falling, we might as well make it look good while we're doing it. Besides," with a groan, the magus shoves herself off the wall. She may look intact, but Satoshi hasn't fully recovered from the battle either. Her only advantage is that external wounds heal swiftly. "it's easy for a lady to land on her feet, when there's a knight there to catch her when she stumble." Taking a seat on the bench beside Hildegarde, Satoshi expels a sigh, heavy, weary, and unhappy. "Just don't get too stubborn, Mithril. You would not like what I'd do, if the finest knight in these lands fell defending me." Amber blazes in the kit's eyes, something feral and predatory lurking beneath the surface.
Hildegarde ’s face appeared to twitch, briefly conveying worry, anger and pain at hearing her Queen – and her friend – groan as she did. She waits a few moments before joining Satoshi on the bench she had been standing next to, sighing as she did. The bench itself creaked slightly as her weight sat on it, for she was much heavier than Satoshi was. “And yet, that is my duty,” she said gently, “to fall in your stead. My life is yours, even off the battlefield. You have seen me kneel before you, willing to lose my head at your whim,” she replied softly, as if it might somehow reassure Satoshi or make her feel less inclined to act violently in the event of her death.
Satoshi's eyes are on her hands, where the palms glow visibly despite the gloves. Hildegarde knows the marks etched in the magus' flesh. She was there, when they'd all been branded. "There is a reason these read Ice and Death, Mithril. They are the two inevitables that surround me. Although, I do not look on either negatively. Ice is my life, my soul, my song, everything. Death is... death is what I feared for so long that I never lived. Then I met Kasyr, and I realized I no longer feared death, I feared life without him. I can count on a single hand the number of souls I've invested similar emotion in. You, my knight, are one of them. You ask nothing of me while in turn giving endlessly. While you may consider it your task to give your life for mine, know that it is my task in return to ensure such a thing only happen if unavoidable. I will not toss away your life as if it cost nothing, which is why I ask that you allow yourself rest and time to heal. The healers are not trying to stop you from doing your job, they are trying to do -their- job, so that you can continue onward." Satoshi looks up then, her face unreadable save for that same wrathful gleam. "I do not fear death. Because I -am- death. If you fall, they will learn that."
Hildegarde had made it a habit of not looking at her hands often, for fear of what memories and thoughts those runes might stir once again. It was still so difficult to sleep at night without thinking of Elenor, of her brother, of all they had lost and had done. “Death comes to all,” she said knowingly, “it is an unavoidable part of life. People…” she frowned, “people try to run away from it as if it is the worst thing in the world, but that is just a fear of the unknown. Those who walk with death, walk with it like a friend and respect the power of it, they are the ones who will go peacefully and may live their life contentedly. I understand that one day death will come to me, I know not when nor how, but it will come eventually. I accept that and that is why I face battle and my duty with acceptance, pride and honour. It is not something to shun or hide away from,” she said, voice growing more quiet as she spoke her innermost feelings and thoughts on the matter of death. “I do not enjoy bringing death to people. But I am not afraid of death coming to me,” she said. “And if you fall?” she asked, giving Satoshi a look that was a mix of misery and annoyance, as if annoyed and saddened all at once by the mere prospect of Satoshi falling in combat. “My oath contains the line: ‘to be foremost in battle’, my lady. Should you fall, our enemies will see how foremost I can be.”
Hildegarde had made it a habit of not looking at her hands often, for fear of what memories and thoughts those runes might stir once again. It was still so difficult to sleep at night without thinking of Elenor, of her brother, of all they had lost and had done. “Death comes to all,” she said knowingly, “it is an unavoidable part of life. People…” she frowned, “people try to run away from it as if it is the worst thing in the world, but that is just a fear of the unknown. Those who walk with death, walk with it like a friend and respect the power of it, they are the ones who will go peacefully and may live their life contentedly. I understand that one day death will come to me, I know not when nor how, but it will come eventually. I accept that and that is why I face battle and my duty with acceptance, pride and honour. It is not something to shun or hide away from,” she said, voice growing more quiet as she spoke her innermost feelings and thoughts on the matter of death. “I do not enjoy bringing death to people. But I am not afraid of death coming to me,” she said. “And if you fall?” she asked, giving Satoshi a look that was a mix of misery and annoyance, as if annoyed and saddened all at once by the mere prospect of Satoshi falling in combat. “My oath contains the line: ‘to be foremost in battle’, my lady. Should you fall, our enemies will see how foremost I can be.”
Satoshi clasps her hands together, combining Ice and Death just as they're combined as one in her small form. And yet, the look Hildegarde is fixed with is the polar opposite, fiery and lively. How the magus can be such contrasting things at once is a mystery. "For the sake of our unfortunate foes, we'll just have to both avoid dying this time, dear knight, else they'll be begging for Hell."
Hildegarde grinned and gave a nod of agreement, “That they will,” she said. “You know, they have me resting in the east hall there? In quarters used by ambassadors and the like,” she said, as if perhaps it were a mistake; that she had been given something she was unworthy of. A clerical error or something of the sort.
Satoshi looks apologetic, although it's difficult to tell if it's to tease Hildegarde's humility, or genuine. "A thousand pardons for that. The beds are rather full with the wounded, and we've had to reserve the finest for the mounts, as they're too large for anything but a giant's bed. So we were forced to put you there, although the Captain of the Queensguard should be in finer surroundings. There isn't much in the way of such luxury in Frostmaw, despite its progress~."
Hildegarde ’s cheeks flushed a deep red at the apologetic looks and words! “N-No,” she began hurriedly, threatening to jumble up all her words in her panic, “that is not what I mean! Such a room is just too fine for me, m’lady,” she tried to say, “surely, someone else is more deserving?”
Satoshi bounces to her feet with almost childlike glee. Considering the impish grin curling her whiskers, the magus obviously enjoys teasing Hildegarde. Her answer is simple as it comes out in a sing-song, "Nope~." The word is repeated into a melody as Satoshi practically skips out of the smithy, spirits so clearly lifted from her brief chat with the knight. Wounds and weariness be damned, there is still a modest dragon to fluster! Life is perfect!