Haera Keavaris's Story

Natilia smirked "Don't be surprised if it's me Savin yer pretty arse from some damned goblin trap lass"
Natilia gave a wink then pulled out a map laying it out on the table. "Now here we be..." Said Natilia as she pointed to the town on the map. "...and here be where we be goin." She said as she moved her finger over to a spot near the edge of the island. "Tis bout two days travel to get there so we be needin supplies and grub fore we set out."

Haera grinned then leaned over to see where the hell she pulled that map out from. When she started talking Haera looked up at th map. It was one of the nice maps that cost a pretty penny, but she followed her finger. "We can cut through here. She moved her finger, cutting through a section of land that she knew pretty well. No one inhabited that part, great of hunting, so she knew. "Cutting through will save us at least a day. Less time traveling and more time exploring. I know the land. Her eyes traveled the map. "I mean, if you aren't scared. I think I see you shaking in your seat." She smirked.

Luther brought Barynn back to her shop. She had things to do for her shop, though he did kiss her on the head and told her he would come back with a surprise before he left. Luther made his way back to his house where he took a much needed nap to clear his head.

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Haera decided to come back home. She had spent enough time away from her family. She knew Roshia had to have had her babies now and she knew that Nasir had the twins. Also Elwin's baby had to be born too. So she was excited to head back home and meet her new nieces or nephews. She had ridden with a dwarf man the whole way there and almost pushed him off the dragon when he kept acting like a baby about flying the thing up to the islands. When they had touched land she hopped off with no assistance and watched the man walk away. She followed for a bit since it was the way to her village. "Try not to cry when you get lost, kid!" She said as she passed him and waved a hand.

Barynn smiled when Luther kissed her on the head, relieved that he wasn't letting his annoyance with her affect their relationship. She'd been concerned. She always heard about couples who were mad at one another who acted as if they were no longer in love, and it had just been another reason she didn't want a relationship. Luther had made everything seem different, though. Once inside the shop, she locked the door, unleashed Longrus, and went to get the care package that Luther had left there with her. She took out the bag of food, turning it over in the hope that there would be some directions written on it somewhere, but there weren't. She frowned, looking down at the dragon. He looked excited, standing upright and watching her intently. "Can I trust you to just eat what you're supposed to?" she asked, opening the bag and setting it on the floor. Longrus didn't respond in any way, simply went straight to the bag, stuck his little face inside, and started to eat. Barynn smiled a bit and then headed into the back to get back to work on those tiny jewel cuts she'd been working on.

* * *

Istrain frowned as the woman behind him passed him by and spoke. She was an attractive enough blonde, but there was a harsh look in her eyes and an unpleasant demeanour about her speech. He preferred his women more gentle and demure. He'd not caught her name, but he didn't particularly care to find out, either. "Try to get home quickly," he said to her. "I'm pretty sure you need a nap. It must be exhausting going so far out of your way to be a bitch all the time. I'm too sober for this," he said, muttering the last part more to himself than to her.

Luther woke up some hours later and sat up before trying to realize what the hell he had to do before it popped up and he hurried out the door with Orra. He hurried to the bakery and got them two big slices of chocolate cake with chocolate icing and headed back to the shop. He knew he was harsh with Barynn, but what Nasir had told him made him rethink somethings and also put him back on track. Luther didn't want another Erorn and he didn't want to be that person he was with him. Getting to the shop, Luther did his knock, and waited.

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Haera stopped what she her walking and people around him started to murmur. Everyone who lived here and been here for a while knew of the Keavaris' and especially knew of Haera. She turned around and walked back. "I wouldn't be so cranky if I didn't have to hear your stupid CHILD like cries coming from behind me on the ride up here. And since when do children grow facial hair? You must be part monkey or something." She said and leaned down. "No scurry along and go find your mother." She said.

Barynn was hard at work when she heard the knock. She jumped slightly, setting her work aside and leaving the back room. Longrus, much to her relief, was just jumping off the futon when she came out. He hadn't eaten too much of the food - in fact, she thought, he'd eaten less than she probably would have given him if she'd been putting it in a food bowl, so apparently he knew how to regulate himself. He bounded to the door while Barynn followed him, opening it up and smiling up at Luther. "Welcome back," she said. "I fed Longrus!"

* * *

Istrain raised an eyebrow, adjusting the pack that hung from his back and looking up at the woman. He couldn't help smirking despite the situation. "I have to admit, I'm impressed," he said. "You're flexible enough to have your foot in your mouth and your head up your ass at the same time. I bet the men just love you." His hazel eyes flickered with amusement. He wasn't concerned. There was nothing this woman would do in the middle of a busy city. She had the appearance of a warrior, but she certainly didn't have the heart of one.

Luther looked down when she opened the door and laughed when she said she fed Longrus. "Well damn... look at you being all grown up and stiff." He said before walking in and letting Orra go at it with Longrus. He turned to her and opened the box to reveal two big slices of cake. "And here is my surprise... though... I forgot that we have to eat real food. So after our walk we can go eat at a dragon friendly diner." He chuckled.

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People around them gasped and Haera laugh. It looked like she had taken it as a joke, but that was far from how Haera was feeling right now. She swung her fist and made contact with his jaw. "You talk a lot of shit of such a short ass man child. Go back to sucking daddy's dick and get the fuck out my city." She growled.

Barynn giggled at his comment as he walked in. She shut the door behind him, smiling when she saw Orra rush straight to Longrus. They were just the cutest pair. She watched Luther open the box and her hazel eyes went wide, lighting up with delight. "Luther!" she exclaimed, grinning up at him. "Have I told you that you're the best? Because you're absolutely the best," she said. This was definitely a surprise worth waiting for.

* * *

Istrain was still smirking even after Haera took a swing at him. The contact was hard, and he lifted a hand to gently rub the spot where she'd made contact. He pulled his hand back, glancing at it to be sure that there was no blood, and then he looked back up at her. "You've got a good swing," he said. "You'd be a lot more likable if not for that hole in your face that all the noise comes out of." With that, he took a step forward and threw an uppercut towards Haera's jaw, making his own satisfying contact. He hadn't been looking for a fight, but apparently she had been, so what kind of gentleman would he be not to oblige?

Luther chuckled, "well who am I to deny a woman her chocolate cake addiction? Hm?" He asked before handing her a fork and a piece on a throw away plate before getting his and sitting down. "So... I went home and had a nap, because I like to be productive." He smiled before taking a bite, chewing, and swallowing. "What about you? How is your piece doing?" He asked.

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Meanwhile in the streets of the city Haera and Istrain had being fight in the streets. She spit blood at him after they were broke up by Uncle Q. "You hit like the child you are." She said before walking off to her parents place before she got past Uncle Q and killed the man. Haera could have killed him, but he wasn't warranted for death. Just a few more punches to the face. She smirked though, the fact that he hit her back meant he was either stupid as fuck or he didn't take shit from anyone.

Barynn giggled softly, taking the fork and the cake eagerly. She sat down with him, taking a bite while he told her about his nap. She giggled. "Very productive," she said. "But you brought cake, so you definitely accomplished something," she added teasingly, giggling a bit. "The piece is coming along well. It's almost done. I've cut and shaped all the little parts, I just have to do the metalwork and then set all the stones. That's the easy part, though. It should be done soon." She smiled somewhat dreamily. She was excited about this piece, and she knew it was going to look great when she finished. Longrus, meanwhile, wandered over to the still-open food bag and stuck his face in, starting to eat as well.

* * *

Istrain scowled as he watched Haera leave, rolling his eyes. He straightened off, lifting a hand and wiping the blood from his face on the back of it. An unexpected road bump, but he had places to be and people to surprise. Besides, Barynn would probably have something to clean up his face when he found her. She wouldn't be surprised to see him like this. He glanced around at the people who had been watching before he started to walk off, figuring he'd best get to work on finding Barynn's shop.

When morning came, though Barynn wanted to head to Penelo's, Istrain insisted on stopping at the nearest hotel and getting a room first. "You don't have a shower in your shop," he reminded her, and she reluctantly went along with him. Luckily, Istrain was easily able to afford the room. They took turns showering, and Barynn felt much better afterwards. She examined the red mark on her shoulder for a few minutes in the bathroom before deciding to wear a blouse that would cover it. Penelo was observant and perceptive, and she knew the older woman would spot it immediately. Part of her was half-convinced that Penelo would figure out what had happened on her own, even if Barynn didn't say anything.

Once they'd finished cleaning up, Barynn and her brother headed for Keavaris Village. Along the way, Barynn updated Istrain on everything that had transpired since she'd come here. He told her about meeting Luther, about him buying the shop for her and introducing her to Penelo, and about all the work she'd been getting done to prepare for the shop's opening. It pained her to talk about Luther, but he could see it and he didn't push her.

When they reached Penelo's house, Barynn lifted a hand and knocked. Istrain looked presentable enough, with his hair combed and his face cleaned up. The cut on his cheek had closed up, though it still looked pretty nasty. "I can't wait to meet this Penelo you keep talking about," he told her after she knocked, sliding an arm around her waist and pulling her towards him. "She sound absolutely wonderful. I'm glad you found her."

"Me too," Barynn agreed. "And she is wonderful. I'm glad I found her...I'm less glad that you found her daughter, though."

Haera had gone to her mother's early to talk to her father when her mother made her stay after saying she had business with her. Though she didn't know what. When there was a knock at the door Penelo went and got the door. "Hello! You must be Barynn's brother. Come in." She said.

"I swear to god, mother, if you are setting me up with another guy." Haera said and walked in to see the man child she got in a fight with. "...what is the manchild doing here?" She asked.

Penelo turned around and pointed at her, "You are going to apologize is what YOU are going to do." She said and let them in before going to the kitchen.

"Can I say sorry with my fist to his face?" She asked over her shoulder.

"Swear on my mother's life, child!" She yelled from the kitchen. Penelo was making a certain tea because she saw the way Barynn was standing and it was clear something had happened last night to the poor girl.

Haera sighed, "If I say sorry THEN can I beat him?" She asked, a small smirk on her face to make it clear she was joking. Penelo walked out. "Haera... you will be the death of me." She sighed. "Take a seat. I am making tea. I am Penelo, sorry for this horrid introduction. This is Haera, my second to oldest daughter and third out of the eight of my children." She smiled.

Istrain grinned when he saw Penelo answer the door. She definitely seemed like a kind woman just from his first look at her, and paired with what Barynn had told him, he had the notion that she was definitely good. He gently ushered his sister inside when Penelo invited them, smiling. "Yes, I'm Barynn's brother," he told her. "The name is Istrain." He looked up when he saw Haera enter and he smirked slightly, fighting back a snicker when Penelo told her that she had to apologize to him. So this was why Barynn had been so insistent on bringing him here. It wasn't to meet Penelo so much as it was to see the blonde, and to have her apologize. Lovely. "It's good to see you too, beautiful," he said to Haera with a quick wink after Penelo introduced her.

Barynn and her brother followed Penelo to sit down and Barynn frowned slightly as she listened to the interaction between Penelo and her daughter. This was definitely not what she had expected. She offered the blonde woman a tentative smile, though, and stuck out her hand. "Hi," she said softly. She wasn't one for small talk, but she also didn't want to get on this girl's bad side after seeing the state her brother had been in when he'd arrived the night before. "My name's Barynn. I'm the new jeweler in town." She stuck out her hand somewhat warily.

Haera eyed Istrain but looked over at his sister and gave a different expression, something much softer and kind. She gently took Barynn's hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, I like your name... very fitting." She said and Penelo shook her head. "Now don't you have something to say to Istrain?" She asked. Haera's done expression slipped back on as she let go of Barynn's hand and looked over at Istrain. "I am sorry you are a manchild. There, can I go? No?" She sighed when her mother slipped out the wooden spoon from her pocket.

"Okay okay... sorry I beat the shit out of you in the middle of the street and wasn't considerate that such a small man could be so nervous of riding a dragon. Shows weakness, but whatever..." She said and looked at her mother. "What?" She asked her. "But at least you fought back, which means you don't take shit... so I guess that is a good thing." She said when she looked back at him. "And you have a very womanly complexion which is nice." She said and looked at her mother. "Look I complimented him TWICE..."

Penelo shook her head, that was the best apology Istrain was going to get. She got up and went fix the tea before returning with it and small cookies.

Barynn smiled, relieved when Haera seemed to soften for her and shook her hand gently. She sat back down, watching the exchange between Haera and her mother as Penelo tried to get Haera to apologize to Istrain. She was annoyed that the blonde kept referring to him as a manchild, but Istrain didn't seem concerned. In fact, she noticed, there was an amused smirk on his lips, almost as if he enjoyed her abuse. She never would understand her big brother.

Istrain listened patiently to Haera's drawn-out mess of an apology, the edges of his lips curled into an amused smirk the whole time. He could tell that she was finished and that he probably wasn't going to get any more out of her, so he stood up and offered a hand. "I've been called worse by better," he said calmly. "Maybe we should go again some time - some time when you're not tired, or hungry, or whatever it was that had you so sloppy yesterday," he added with a snicker.

Penelo listened to the too and the way he egged her on at the end made her mentally groan. It was like he got a kick out of being beaten and then raised her eyebrows at the thought. Some people's kids She thought and then hung her head when she thought of Haera. It was clear she got a high off of being hit.

Harea gave him a look. "Sloppy?" She laughed and looked at her mother who gave her a warningful look. "I highly doubt your beauty of a sister would want me to put her sister.... shit I mean brother, in the ground. I like my women smiling, not crying." She said and winked at her before glaring back at him. Haera took his hand and firmly shook it. "Kinda cute how you have to stand to meet my eye level to shake my hand."

Penelo hook her head and looked at Barynn. "I need you to come with me to my shop real quick, okay? Those two WILL be have." She said more as a command before gently leading her to the back and sitting her down. "Are you okay?" She asked as she got some pieces for her.

Barynn's cheeks went pink when Haera winked at her and a slight frown came to her lips. As her brother shook Haera's hand, Penelo asked her to come with her, and Barynn nodded. Whatever was going on between Istrain and Haera was weird and she wasn't sure she wanted to be around to see where it was going. She stood up, following Penelo quietly and sitting down. The moment Penelo asked whether she was okay, tears began to fill Barynn's hazel eyes and she shook her head quickly. "No," she said, her voice small, but she said nothing else.

Istrain was pleased with Haera's firm handshake and he sat back down afterwards. "She sure is beautiful. Finally, something we can agree on," he said, glancing curiously after Barynn as she and Penelo left. "So, what, you have something against dwarves? Because I don't know if you'd noticed or not, but your mother's shorter than my sister and I are. I sure hope you don't call her names," he said, shaking his head. He paused, and then reached into his pocket, fumbling around a moment before pulling out a medium-sized pendant and tossing it towards her. "Here. Consider it a peace offering. The guy who gave it to me said it was cursed. I was going to give it to Barynn to break down for the materials, but I figure you're more deserving of a curse than any of her unsuspecting customers. Plus, it'll bring out those pretty eyes of yours," he added with another wink.

Penelo put the pieces down and held Barynn. "I am sorry, dear." She said softly. "If you want to talk about it, you know I am always here to listen." She said softly before giving her the pieces with with rare stone. "I thought you might want to put these in your shop. I don't want any money for them. They all go to you, okay?" She said softly and mentally sighed. She knew they did the do last night and by the way she was walking it was her first time. Penelo was a bit pissed at Luther, he should have known better, but she was going to talk to him in due time.

Haera laughed, "I love my mother to death. I just don't like the rest of the dwarves... mostly my mother's side. They are complete cunttarts." She said and took out a small flask and poured some of its contents in her tea before downing it. "You sister seems like a sweetheart... and like she went through some shit. So I have no beef with her." She said before catching the pendant. "Ohh how sweet of you. How did you know I love curses?" She asked and placed it in her pocket. "Such a gentlyman aren't ya, cutie?" She said before rolling her pretty eyes and looked back over at her mother's shop and wondered what those two were going on about.

Barynn delicately lifted one of the pieces that Penelo brought out, examining it closely. Penelo's handiwork would never cease to amaze her. Everything was so perfect, so precise. "I hope I'm as good as you one day," she murmured, shaking her head and setting the piece down so she could wipe away the tears that were welling up in her eyes. "I just...it's nothing. I went to talk to Luther but it didn't go well. He was still mad, we got in a fight, and he wanted me out. So I got my things and left..." Barynn's voice trailed off and she hung her head slightly, thick waves of dark hair falling in her face. "So, you know...that's over as fast as it started, I guess."

Istrain chuckled when he heard her words, shaking his head. "I'd hoped you'd like curses, considering you are one yourself," he replied, eyeing her empty teacup curiously and wondering what was in the flask. "Care to share? I could make it worth your while," he said, the smirk dancing once again upon his lips. He'd never been one for tea, anyways.

Penelo smiled, "Practice dear... you will get there." She said softly. She knew she left something out but she wasn't going to push her on that... though if she hadn't wanted it and Luther did so anyway there was going to be a big problem. Penelo swayed as she swayed if she should ask, and she decided it was a must, though she could hardly believe he would do such a thing. "Did... did he force himself on you?" She asked. It was being a bit bold, but still.

Haera turned her attention back on Istrain, "You know a fool who lets his tongue wiggle gets it cut off, where the wise knows when to bite down." She said and watched him looked at her empty cup and then at him. "You mean you will leave?" She smiled. "I would happily pour you my good stuff if ya did." She said before pouring some in his tea. "Worth my while... as if..." Haera huffed and screwed the top back on her flask and putting it back where it came from.