Woman Talk Over Archery [Izzy x Eldar]

Lourna was still trying to wake up from the excitement and horror of last night, and stumbled down from her room in the attic. "I'm sorry I don't look my best, Siofra. Last night hit me like a ton of lumber." She wasn't very keen on mentioning that she'd had a visitor a short time after she returned home, but it would have to come out sometime. "Turns out I had another visitor last night, but he wanted nothing more than to see that nothing was amiss. Of course. . .That doesn't explain why he was upstairs when the sun came up. It's like a blurry dream." She hoped and prayed nothing went awry, otherwise she'd be in mountains of trouble.

"I don't believe he did anything to earn wrathful retribution, but he did stay till he knew I was alright." Yaya had risen with the dawn as well, and silently watched Lourna's visitor leave the bakery. She hadn't heard anything unusual, and therefor didn't believe that any disreputable behavior had taken place during the new boy's stay. "No bad sounds!" she piped as she jumped up on the counter to say hello. "No bad sounds up there, boy was. . .nice." She didn't really have a large vocabulary when it came to adjectives, but she'd soon be on her way. "R-. . .Respectful?" she questioned. It was obvious she meant to say that he was respectful to her human friend, but as of yet that was a huge word with a complicated meaning.

"He wanted something other than what he told me, certainly, but since nothing feels abnormal aside from lack of decent sleep I'd say nothing happened. I assume I fell asleep, and if he stayed any length of time after that I wouldn't know if he did anything disreputable; I sleep like a boulder. By the time he showed up I was sober, that much I remember. I complained of a headache and I was on the verge of passing out." On that note she opened the door to the back room and gestured to the table. "Since I don't think you're just passing through, care to have breakfast with me?" At the mention of that word, Yaya took off to claim a seat and waited patiently, her tail flicking back and forth.

"Foood!" she chirped happily. Lourna cracked a smile and waved her off. "You eat rats all night you can wait a few minutes for breakfast. How did the meeting go Siofra, as infuriating as it sounded last night?" The look etched into the elf's face told the story, but better to ask than assume. While waiting for an answer she began making food preparations. "Is there anything you would prefer not to eat? Any kind of sausage or fruit?" On the note of her visitor she turned and smiled. "If it turns out something went awry last night we can go harass him about it, and mother would likely have me marry him. You can beat him up if that comes to pass, and you'll be a godmother!"

"She's coming in later today after getting the family home all squared away for the next few days. That boy stuttered, fumbled, and tripped his way through the bakery. I invited him upstairs because that's essentially my house, so having him up there wasn't such a huge to-do until I started getting tired. He got a little nervous over all that and decided to cuddle up to me. That didn't last very long because I believe I passed out while he was holding me. After that I woke up intermittently over the following hours and he just sat beside me the whole time. Sometimes on the bed, sometimes in a chair but he was here till the sun started rising, then he kissed me and said goodbye." Mentioning that hazy kiss made her blush and she turned her attention to serving the food.

"I watched him leave, he didn't take anything on the way out. He did seem a little rattled, like something scared him." The dragon's input was followed by her snitching a bit of bread from the table and munching away at it. Lourna sat down by her friend and poured her a glass of fresh milk and gestured to the food. "Help yourself, I tried to make an assortment." She had jam and butter out in jars and dishes, different kinds of light rolls, and three sausage links. "And being a godmother doesn't exactly come with responsibilities, it's just a respectful title. Usually a close friend of the mother."

Something had changed in Lourna over the course of her time in Siofra's company. The upper-class would say the elf had corrupted her, while even her mother would later admit that her daughter was much better off after spending time with the older woman. "Mother is a bit hazy and upredictable at the moment, no telling what she'll say or do when she hears about any of this. For all I know she may do a handstand and spout poetry in the common language, which to my knowledge she hasn't been practicing of late." Her mother didn't even know about Sinyaya! She saw her mother that infrequently. "Mother has yet to meet my new tenant as well. Better to tell her all at once though, otherwise I'll never hear the end of how I keep secrets from her. Or gods forbid she hear about Yaya from someone else. Her getting any correct information about from someone other than me is almost never good."

Her mother was actually on her way over at that very moment. She'd received a visit from the mother of Lourna's admirer, and was in quite a hurry to see how the Festival had gone. Thoughts whirled in her head of the possibilities surrounding this unheard-of circumstance. Her little Lori had never been interested in boys, men, or romance, now here she was with a rather enamored admirer! The woman who had come to see her was a lively woman just a hair younger than herself, with pink cheeks and a shining smile. It had come as a shock to hear that her husband and son were both scholars as well. The boy's name was Stefan, he'd always been the quietest of children, and among the shyest according to his dear mother.

"Lori! Lori my sweetest starling! Where are you?" she called as she walked through the shop. Lourna just about snorted her drink and wiped her mouth when she heard her mother calling her. "That would be her for certain. Time to face the madwoman of the Krishnev House." It was an affectionate thing she sometimes called Verunia, but anyone who wasn't permitted to use it with good humor was subsequently put to shame by Lourna's rarely-seen fury. "I'm in the back momma! You've missed far too much in your absence!" In gracious compliment to her generally amiable demeanor and overwhelming propensity to stay silent, Lourna possessed an insurmountably mellow and sweet temperament that could only be turned flamingly sour by the defamation of her mother's good name. "I have two friends for you to meet. This is Siofra, the Bowmaster's second in command, and Sinyaya. Now mother please don't panic over the idea of a dragon in the bakery, she earns her keep by keeping the rats out." It was just a matter of how to tip-toe around these subjects so that her mother would simply agree and warm up to the news.

Quite shockingly, her mother stayed silent and simply watched the little creature. "That's a dragon...? Doesn't look like any I've heard stories of." she remarked as she walked to the table to examine both elf and baby dragon. On cue Sinyaya carefully moved forward and purred as cutely as she could manage, it was soon accompanied by a squeak when Verunia looked hesitant to pet her. It didn't take long for the tiny dragon's charm to work its way past whatever misinformation the woman had on dragons. "I got a visit sometime this morning from a woman who claims you stole her son's heart at the Festival." the lady remarked. She hadn't ignored Siofra, and soon brought her into the conversation. "Seems my daughter finally got some common sense and made a friend! She was the most introverted child you'd ever see, always hiding behind my skirt when we'd go to market."

"Market?" Yaya chirped. Oh dear, thought Lourna, this is where the real trouble will come if mother has an episode. For the moment, it seemed like the chirping had gone right over her head as she spoke with the elf. "I've heard of you, Siofra. Then again the local gossip chain is a rather bad place to learn of someone, and I can see that jealousy is quite the issue." Her common was definitely fragmented, but at least it was coherent. "I think my mother means women are quite jealous of you, both for your looks and for your standing in the military." Lori translated. Her mother ventured to pick Yaya up and simply held her in her arms like anyone would hold a precious pet. "Yaya's charms have worked once again!" teased Lori.

"Now, I mentioned my visitor, yes? Well she claims that her son came home early this morning talking about you. Said you'd had a bit of trouble last night and he went to check on you. His name is Stefan and he's a scholar along with his father at the library here in the city." It was clear she was keeping the elf involved, and Lori had a vague idea as to why. "I'd like you to consider courting him." There was a blunt suggestion if one ever existed! Thankfully this could mean a more in-depth conversation around the table and perhaps something could be settled.

"She laughed several times at mentioning that he loves the rolls she makes. Judging from the look on her face I'd say Lori agrees." Indeed Lourna was now blushing a bright shade of red and picked up an apple from the bowl near the edge of the table. She then excused herself to do a little work behind the counter, as she was supposed to be working today. Her mother in turn gave her a slight smirk as she walked away and watched the tiny dragon follow her. "He's not the type to parade around to be stared at, he's rather practical about that sort of thing. Only thing that gets him away from a good book is even better food. He's come by here more than once in the middle of his studies from the way it sounds. I'm curious to hear what happened at the festival, I don't get much time to visit. Did she wear the dress I dropped off?" There was a hint in her tone that also wanted to know if that was part of the reason the boy was suddenly so open about speaking of her.

The woman couldn't really be considered old quite yet, but she was said to be past childbearing age. She hadn't aged quite so much as say Dekhovra or others in her age group. Her face dropped slightly from a smile to a neutral look and she hushed her voice. "I assume you've noticed how quiet her voice is, the plague that destroyed our homeland affected our people as well. I don't think she "has" it, but it did cause a permanent problem that none of our doctors know how to fix, or if it can be fixed at all. I'm afraid that might not go over well with his family, but in my personal opinion I think everything else she does regularly compensates for that paltry detail."

She thought long and hard over everything that'd been said in her earlier meeting and was now attempting to piece them together coherently. "He fancies himself a poet, and he isn't too fond of the idea of going to war. Poor lady nearly fainted when I mentioned that my starling's goal in life is to be Bowmaster. Her boy apparently has no idea either, and I doubt she's mentioned it to many people. If what you said earlier is true, and he does come by to see Lourna, we shall have insist they go out and spend the day together, perhaps at the square? I doubt either of them will try to make plans to see one another otherwise no matter how strongly they feel."

Initially she would've agreed that she knew better, but then shook her head. "A good deal of the time it is now my daughter who knows better than I. She is part of the generation that will more readily grasp the customs and culture of our new land, most those from my generation and further back see all this as blasphemy and evil magic." At her reassurances the woman cracked a smile. "It's usually the quiet ones you have to watch out for, and for good reason it seems. I wonder if Lourna sees you more as an older sister and friend than a superior. She certainly seems to, and I venture to wonder if your rank even matters to her anymore from how she's acting." The footsteps made her prick her ears and she turned to peek past the door to look at who had just walked in.

"That'd be him!" she whispered excitedly. Lourna looked up from her monthly figures and could have fainted on the spot. "H-Hello again." she greeted nervously. After him seeing her a wreck in completely unnatural clothing this morning she didn't count on seeing him again any time soon. "Wha-...I mean-...U-Uhm...How...Oh dear." she stuttered shyly. Her cheeks flushed red as cherry pie filling and she looked away from her visitor. "I-I'm sorry, my tongue's in a knot." She moved her papers back into the box she kept them in and tried to face him. "What brings you back here? I thought you'd be too busy to come all the way over just to see me..." Meanwhile her mother grinned and turned to the elf. "We may not have to intervene at all, just sit back and watch."

Her mother then wondered why Siofra, with all her beauty and intelligence, didn't at least have suitors. "How men stay away from you is beyond me. I suppose your fighting skills keep that sort of thing in check, hm?" That and if anything even SLIGHTLY suspect were going on everyone would be in an uproar over it simply because her gender combined with her rank and her race would make her a target for just about every offense chargeable. "Sort of glad to see a woman standing on her own two feet. Would be rather unfair to see you married and stuck under a man's thumb like a waistcoat button." She was also simply too strong for most men to handle her much less entertain her or keep her happy for any length of time.

"I agree! And they look to be a rather lovely couple." If only they'd discuss going out for the day. . .Verunia glanced around the room and spied a basket and some paper. The lady wrote a small note out and grabbed the basket. "Little one, I need you to get this to Lourna without the boy seeing you. Can you do that for me?" The little dragon purred and squeaked with an excited nod and pushed the thing past a few boxes before moving over next to Lori. She then nudged the girl and took off into the kitchen on silent giddy little paws to see her work pan out. The baker, meanwhile, glanced down and put it up on the counter. "Mother insists that I work too hard and need a day off..." she murmured. After reading and rereading the note, she set it aside and looked back to her visitor.

"I-I hope I don't seem too forward, b-but would you care to spend the day with me, Stefan?" The basket was empty as of that moment, but it certainly wouldn't remain that way for long. Lori was still a complete mess and she was afraid he would tell her no, then she'd feel even worse. "If your answer is yes, I might be a moment or two in packing us something to eat while we're out." Her mother grinned and stifled a giggle. "Yes! They're going out!" She moved away from the door and sat back at the table trying to think of something she could do to get them a little closer together. "Hmm. . .I know a lady who holds rather extravagant parties about twice a month, perhaps if you aren't busy you'd like to stop by with me later, Siofra?"

Back at the counter Lourna was looking awkward and anxious, and the minute she tried to move something her hands shook enough that she dropped the container. "I'm so sorry, I promise I'm not always this clumsy." Her little mishap brought a deeper blush to her face and she put a hand to her cheek as she turned her gaze to the counter. "I'm terribly sorry, really I am." Yaya meanwhile still sat at the door wondering why Lori was so nervous with this boy now when she wasn't this morning. It was all very strange and confusing!

Verunia could see the uncertainty in her fellow conspirator's eyes and smiled. "I'd just love to have your help in planning an event. I also get a bit lonely with my only child working so hard all the time. If you can't go because of your duties I understand, but it would mean quite a bit if you would come with me." Truthfully she was hoping to get her daughter to be a little more social, she was already decent at keeping out of the gossip chain, but a little time in public was usually a help more than a hindrance. "I'm going to try to get Lourna more involved with society, since she is eager to have such a high position in the army. I know that she and her new object of affection aren't comfortable being watched, but as a couple it's something they'll need to get used to. Being a soldier is one of the most lucrative careers you can have, and I suppose we're upper middle-class in the grand scheme of it. We're not much noticed at high class gatherings, but we're tolerated."

Meanwhile, feeling much less nervous now that she knew she wasn't being an idiot, Lori finished packing the basket and looked at her clothes, having become a bit too accustomed to trousers to realize she would need to change if she were going out. "I-I. . .I hate to have to make you wait, but let me close up the shop and change into something more suitable and we can spend the afternoon out and about? I shouldn't be but a minute or two, and I'd hate to embarrass you by parading around in my work attire." A quick dash upstairs to slip into a fresh shirt and a clean ruby red skirt, and she flew back downstairs to tie up any pending transactions before locking everything up and grabbing the basket and a blanket she knew she wouldn't mind putting on the ground.

"I don't get out very much and I don't know where too many places are, care to surprise me with where we go?" With her genuine best smile she moved to the front door and held it open. She could only hope this didn't end in a disaster.

Verunia nodded. "I quite understand. I'll head out the back door so I don't make anyone suspicious. There's a house about a mile down the road at the corner of a florist and a dress shop, that's where I'll be." She watched as Siofra finished getting the youngsters out of the shop and grinned. "I haven't had this much fun in ages!" she squealed as she hurried out of the shop to get to work. Lourna smiled and placed her hand on his arm. "Lead the way." Soon enough they passed the Square, and then they were out of the city. Everything looked so...beautiful. "Can't believe I've never left the city before. It's so quiet." She could actually hear herself when she was away from the hustle and hurry of Racksom! Though after thinking over how she sounded, she thought she sounded like a perfect imbecile. Nonetheless Stefan didn't seem to mind, or he wouldn't have taken the time to acknowledge her. Though now it was really a shame she'd chosen a skirt, in her mind's eye at least.

Now she wanted to simply take off running and roll in the grass, but then she'd look like a total lunatic. The fresh afternoon breeze flew past her and she pulled the braiding from her hair with a smile. She detested pulling her hair back, it just annoyed the daylights out of her! "I don't mean to pry, but do you have any ambitions or goals in life? Not to say I don't think you have them, but I'm curious." She'd grown accustomed to being so close to him by now, and was tempted to hold his hand, but she wasn't sure if that was moving too fast for her admirer. He seemed a bit nervous with her to start with, after this morning's events she wasn't very surprised, and she didn't want him to be uncomfortable. She wandered underneath a tree and quickly relaxed against the trunk. She was used to activity, but somehow she felt breathless, like she couldn't get air into her lungs. Yet, somehow...it made her so happy she began laughing. Nature did some very amusing things!

She quieted her laughing and nearly blurted out her life's main goal, but then rethought her answer and tried to approach the idea carefully. "Well, mine's a bit silly compared to yours. Your goals in life are feasible, not easy by any stretch, but they can be achieved. Mine...W-Well my toughest goal to achieve would be becoming Bowmaster. I have my doubts about ever getting close to achieving it, but I've set my mind to it and I won't stop until it becomes impossible." She didn't want to say that she'd pursue it on her deathbed, that would've sounded terrible, but hopefully he'd get the idea. "Mother will soon have to take over the bakery in my place, since she can't re-assume her place in the archery unit." Suddenly she felt very awkward having just said all that to him and bit her lip. "I've said too much, I'm sorry. I never really expected anyone to take interest in me, I'm not quite like other girls my age." After suppressing a blush she smiled at him and pushed an unruly lock of hair behind her ear.

"I sincerely hope you achieve your dream of having a library, I should be glad to visit it one day." She has aspirations of having a family of her own, like most did apparently, and instead of adding to her answer, she gazed at the clouds and exhaled quietly. "You will achieve your goals long before I get close to achieving mine, I am sure of it. Perhaps instead of Bowmaster I'll set my sights on baking for the king himself." This was an idea she'd long contemplated, since it seemed that it would be a man overseeing the unit instead of woman. It was a very twisted idea in her opinion, but then again her opinion didn't matter. She pulled a creme filled pastry from the basket and looked at her scholar with a spark in her eye. "The way you compliment my baking skills I may have to ask mother to retake her position after all. Might even venture to say you've inspired me."

She dared to reach down and put her hand over his, and quickly pulled it away, fearing her actions too bold. "If I make you uncomfortable, please tell me." she whispered. On the far end of the city, Lourna's mother was busy setting up a grand party that was almost strictly a social gathering, with the prospect of furthering her daughter's business and reputation. Her little starling also needed interaction amongst her peers if she were to ever hope to gain her aspired title of Bowmaster. "Let's see the baked goods and sweets will come from Lori's shop, decorations will come from there. . .Hmmm. . .Where to find good musicians. . .?" she muttered as she went over a checklist. "Sergei has produce covered, I'm sure I can find someone to do meat." So consumed by her list was she that she eventually stopped midstep and sighed, this would be a task and a half!

She was at a loss for words, utterly and completely. All he had just said to her had taken away her ability to speak and each time she tried to say something in return, she could only close her mouth and feel stupid. Finally she tried to form sentences in her head, and even that didn't work for what seemed like forever. "I...I don't know what to say..." she squeaked. "I'm not deserving of such praise, especially from someone like yourself." She was still going to go after her dreams, nothing would stop her from trying, but she did have more realistic goals that she would focus on. "Stefan, nobody's ever made me nearly so happy as you do. And I will still go after the title of Bowmaster, but perhaps not so strongly in favor of putting more into the bakery." It was an insane thing to ask of him, but nothing ventured, nothing gained!

"This might sound strange, but would you like an assistant's job working with me? It would mean you could learn about it firsthand, and maybe write a book about it. A lot goes into running that shop, would your father be too terribly displeased if you decided to research one?" It was partly an excuse to spend more time with him, and partly an idea that would benefit him in the long run. Her face had turned the brightest shade it could, and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze hoping he'd agree. "Please say you will! It's a great deal of fun once you get used to it!" She waited a short time for an answer and her smile diminished a fraction. "Perhaps you need a little time to think it over, if so I understand." He was still holding her hand, and that seemed like a momentous gesture in and of itself.

"I could scarcely expect a swift answer for such a drastic request." Why did she have to ask? Why?! Now it felt awkward to look up at him, for all his charm and good looks it was tough NOT to look, but now it was nigh impossible. "I've lost my senses it seems and said the strangest things to you over the course of the afternoon. I have one last question, did you ever play tag as a child?" This time there was a method with her madness, and she couldn't sit still any longer or she'd start to fidget. "Would you care to play a round of tag with me?"