[Ger x Kagan] Opposite Alliances Make Good Friendships

The morning started off too early with Orran waking her rather rudely. After dragging herself out of bed it was off to work with a LONG to-do list of swords, flails, daggers, and various pieces of armor. Some of that armor was for DRAGONS as well; this was going to be an exhausting day of hellish proportions. While her oh so helpful dragon watched the counter, she stayed in the back and hammered away at what was going to be a broadsword in an hour or two. "Geronimo, set the armor aside and work on the daggers and swords. Pace yourself I can't move you if you pass out!" he called. "Yeah yeah fuzzball!" she retorted. "Just make sure nobody steals anything!" Honestly she was laughing as she said it, but the sentiment of making sure nobody stole from her was still there.

It didn't take long to get the individual orders done for things like blades and daggers, what was slowing her down was the mail shirts and the armor. She had a few orders for things like blown glass and wind chimes, but she was in the middle of a mail shirt and it needed to get done before she forgot her place and had to start over. "I need you to bring back those colored bottles Orran, I'll be starting glass orders next!" she called. The forge took up quite a bit of her concentration, and she wouldn't have noticed someone coming back to see her if they smacked her in the rear.

Thank the gods, land once again! He didn't even understand why creatures needed flight, when everything life needs is on land. You can't even sleep well up there, although all of those clouds look a lot like beds and pillows. But those were not his thoughts in the air, his aerial thoughts consisted mainly of" Get me down before I keel.” But he did. Several times. Lucky he had surprisingly good aim, and was able to get it over the side, instead of on, his companion, Rilos.

After having fled Racksom with his new partner, Rilos, the duo had to find somewhere to lay low and mend their wounds, Kagan being covered in scratches and cuts, and his companion being burned on an entire half of his body. Thinking quickly (in his nauseous state), Kagan told Rilos to head toward a town called Golam; His usual occupancy had Kagan moving around quite a lot, and he had made some friends there who could probably hold them for a while, at least until their wounds had healed. Well, his wounds at least. The dragon could take months with how battered he is. But at least he'd have an easier time moving around.

He had Rilos land a little ways away from the town, thinking that suddenly dropping in on a dragon would be a bit off-putting. He would make introductions on his own first. So, emptying his stomach in a little bush, then straightening his pants, Kagan strode off toward the town's blacksmith, knocking once before throwing the door open.

"Anyone home?"

Orran hopped down and looked at Kagan before making a strange face. "I'll see about tearing Geronimo away from the forge. Gotten lots of orders lately so the boss's been busy. OI GER! Someone here to see you! I think he's a goblin, can't be sure." Geronimo paused the making of the shirt and looked up. "Send the man back I can't be bothered to move back here! You know how it gets on days like this!" She went back to hammering out the links for a few moments before looking back up and trying to see the visitor for the light in the doorway.

"Provided you don't fall into the fire you can sit back here while I finish this shirt. You break anything and you're paying for it." Everything she made held a certain spark to it, and for it to break BEFORE she made money off it was not a good thing. "You got a name there stranger? Or are you perhaps not so strange? Goblins are a different kettle of fish from most other things, so that word doesn't necessarily apply." She looked back at her project and finally decided that she COULD be bothered to move if this was someone she knew. She waltzed to the front of the shop and just about screamed when she recognized the green man. "Kagan is that really you?!"

Crossing his arms and rolling his eyes, Kagan stood through the squabble of the dragon and the girl in the other room, twirling one of his fingers in the vain attempt that that might actually speed them up. C'mon, don't they even have time for me anymore? It must really be getting bad. He thought, pursing his lips. He doubted that they forgot about him, that little girl liked him too much. Maybe.... Oh, nope, wait, here she comes. Still loud as ever, I see. He thought, chuckling. I guess some things never change.

"No, just a wandering merchant. Who do ya think?" He said, grinning at her, putting an arm on his waist. "What, getting too busy to talk to an old friend now? You must be getting more important." He was, for the most part, joking with her; He tried to not ridicule people he knew well. He stayed there, sizing her up, though he knew she wuld go in for the attack any second now, despite his many cuts. "You've grown, haven't ye?"

In a moment of impulse she picked him up in her arms and hugged him. "You stayed gone way too long this time y'know. Mother used me for a dress manikin for years! Sad part is it never worked to her advantage because I'm flat as a board." When he mentioned getting too busy she vigorously shook her head. "No no no no no! Never too busy for you, Kagan!" In return for that teasing comment she gave him the wide-eyed puppy dog pout. "You don't think I'd forget one of my closest friends do you?" She didn't think it'd work on him at that moment, seeing as he was hurt and she certainly didn't have the looks for it.

Orran wandered over and looked up at Kagan cheerily. "Will you be staying longer than last time then?" he asked. "You look like you could use a long rest." He wanted desperately to tell the goblin just how much he'd been missed, but Ger would sooner kick him than let him speak that sort of thing. Ger wandered back to the forge and found a few spare bandages and some salve that she usually kept for burns. "If you like I'll try to patch you up as best I can here, then take you back to the house and finish up there? After you get a little rest I'll truly go mad and hug you to death." she warned.

"Yeah, I suppose that's something I shouldn't waste breath hoping for. "He replied, feigning a long, heavy sigh. In truth, it was a great thing to make friends wherever he could, because friends meant connections. And boy, did he love connections. They meant he was bringing money back to his home and, in turn, to his money pouch. Who knows, maybe he'd be able to snag a few stray coins while he was here.

"Well, I don't believe I'll be leaving until these cuts are gone." He replied to the dragon, spreading his arms to showcase the many lacerations on his skin, which would have been bright red if not for what scabbing and filth had accumulated during the flight. "And my, ah, associate probably shouldn't be moving around too much, though I did a damn good job patching him up. And uh, yeah, perhaps I should get these cleaned a bit." He poked at one softly, wincing as a small bolt of pain ran through his arm. Yeah, getting infected would be the last thing he'd want. maybe he should start bathing more, so that cuts aren't so contaminated when he gets them....

... Nah.

"Well if it's a bath you need my home is yours for as long as you like. Where is this associate of yours?" As an aside she turned to Orran and nodded to the door. "Go tell mother's maid to get some hot water ready I've a guest coming by. You know the whole bit, and if you can, find Kagan's friend and see what you can do about him." Orran scurried out of the shop and took to the wing in an eye-blink. "Silly dragon's been so serious ever since I brought him home. It'll be good for him to not have to worry over everything." Her personal home wasn't too far down the road, but for the sake of space and general hospitality she'd be putting him up in her family's home.

"Was this the last place you thought to visit after all that's apparently happened?" Honestly she hadn't expected to see him back this soon, it'd been several years already, but when he last came through it had been longer than this since he'd last been in the city. "You know that shy little dark haired girl who used to follow be about like a shadow? She's all grown up now and has the sharpest tongue of any woman you'll ever meet. Last I saw she was running about with a circus, ever seen it?" The current maid that her mother had working had never seen this short green man before, and was a bit unnerved to see such happiness in Geronimo over him. "I brought some bandages, and the water's at boiling if you'd like me to bring the kettle?" the girl squeaked. Truthfully this girl thought Ger was another of the ginger sons her mistress had mentioned and had developed a bit of a crush on her. "Yes, yes, the kettle and bandages please dear girl." With that the amazon sat back and ruffled her hair. "What've you been up to all this time?"

Watching Orran speed away from where they were, Kagan gave Geronimo a dismissive wave and a shrug. "Well, not th'last. S'pose it was mostly a... force a habit, ya could say." After he got over the initial jolt of pain from touching his wounds, Kagan set about plucking bits of grit from the sensitive flesh, wincing whenever something sharp grazed his cuts. "Wish I could say it was a tactical retreat, but you know me. Man of truth." He gave a qink to the maid as she stood there, watching him. It had been a long time since he had gotten over the looks of shock most people gave goblins, seeing as their race was very secluded and not prone to wandering.

"Circus, ya say? My, sounds fancy. Might have seen her then, I've dealt with 'em once'r twice. Nice bunch." Kagan eyed the bandages the maid had brought, pursing his lips. Would that be enough? "As fer what I've been up to, same as usual I s'pose. Traveled, made some new associates, witnessed the fall of Racksom... but that's not a very exciting story. 'Same ol' same ol',' as they say. You really think your friend'll find mine? He's probably hidden away well." Leaning back against the wall, Kagan reached for his pouch when, realizing that smoking would be impossible without his pipe, he cursed and crossed his arms gruffly, pushing his lower jaw out and grinding his teeth. This was going to be a long trip.

"If Orran can track me halfway across the island without knowing where I've gone, he can find your friend wherever he's decided to hide out, especially if he's conspicuous. If I know you, which I'm sure by now I do, you don't exactly hang out with the wall-flower type." She finally noticed the look the maid had been giving her and smirked as she scurried off to the kitchen again. "Most of that look wasn't really directed at you. Mother claims the girl's sweet on me, but there's nothing I can really do about it. If I come out with the truth the whole city will know in a matter of hours and I can't have that. Believe it or not girls actually swoon over me now and then, they used to tease me as a child for not wearing dresses."

She took a handkerchief and dipped it in the hot water before running it over some of the less gravelly scrapes. "I've really missed you y'know." she mumbled so the eavesdropping maid couldn't hear. "Mother's finally coming to the conclusion that I won't be getting married any time soon. Her only little girl and she'll never get to make her a wedding dress." She reached up and dabbed the cloth against his cheek as gently as she could before realizing he was missing his pipe. "You know my father keeps a collection of pipes, I'm sure he wouldn't mind you borrowing one for the time being." That is if her mother didn't make him get rid of it in her absence from the house. "Maudie! Would you bring me that pipe father gave me last winter?" she called, sending the maid into a bit of a frenzy as she dropped a pot before hurrying off and bringing her the pipe. Somewhere deep in Ger's heart she got a little amusement from sending the poor girl running like that. "Ah maids, so fun to rile them up and watch them go, hm?"

Kagan shook his head and chuckled softly at Geronimo's belief. "Nah, too easy. Ye want fun, make an alley rat choke on 'is own tongue." He chewed the insides of his cheek, inspecting the home they were in with half interest. "You never really were the one for flowers, were ya? Not that it makes a difference, isn't like there are many normal things in our home anymore. Always changin'." Taking the cloth from her hand, Kagan wiped down his face quickly, ignoring the stings his rough treatment gave him, then went about washing his arms. "Won't be usin' your pipe for long anyways, suppose. A matter o'pride for me, gotta earn a new pipe to use it fer long."

Now, what interested the goblin more was Ger's complete disregard for his offer of a story. It almost brought a tear to his eye, she used to be such a fan of his stories. "So anyways, about Racksom. Ya wouldn't believe the things what went down there. Explosions, fires, the whole kit'n'kaboodle! Why, yer lookin' at the goblin who single-handedly rescued our own sweet prince from the hands of them dastardly fiends, the Surnoonians." That was what they were called, right? If he were being honest, he wasn't really paying attention to what the invaders were being called. He was too busy, uh, 'enjoying' his flight.

She could feel her heart strings twisting into knots and she stared holes into the floor as she listened. "They're a strange lot to be sure. I've made friends with one of their number recently he's a real nice fellow. They have an odd set of beliefs, and they don't understand that trying to take over this island is likely going to be their downfall. There's just too much going against them in the long-run." All her memories of Kagan came back and she tried her best to smile. "I'm sorry, lately my life's been turned upside down and inside out. I've lost my faith in leaders and what they say they'll do. I might pull away from being a fighter and focus more on my work at the forge, because I now have friends on both sides and to choose one or the other would probably kill me."

When the maid appeared again she sent her off to the other end of the house and said she and Kagan were not to be disturbed. Of course this sent the girl off rather sadly, but she'd never learn otherwise. "I know that's the very last thing you want to hear from me, that I've a friend who's Surahnian, but I honestly don't fit in with them, and I don't fit in with the rest of the island either, certainly wouldn't fit in with your people. Never did like flowers much, no, and I'm certainly not one to cry but Spirit of the Forge life has just gone straight to Hades as of late." Perhaps she was only just now hitting puberty or some ridiculous nonsense but living her life walking the line between genders, and now between countries essentially, was slowly but surely tearing her heart in half. "Please, just don't stop coming to visit me Kagan."

Raising an eyebrow, Kagan stared at the girl with an utterly confused face. "Ya sayin' they've been 'round here? What brought 'em here?" Moreover, why was 'here' still a thing? If Racksom was anything to go by, the town should have been a smoking pile of rubble. But, with a shrug, he would accept it. "Suppose there's nothin' for it, eh? Friends're friends. But ya mind telling me thee how n'the why? Surely ain't a choice befittin' a native." The pipe not going forgotten, Kagan quickly took a pinch of the plant he kept in his sack, packing it into the bowl of the cigar and lighting it quickly at the fire, taking a deep breath through it and blowing the smoke out at the flames. Ah yes, there we go.

Turning back to her, pipe held in the corner of his mouth, he continued. "As I were sayin', there en't much of Racksom anymore. They're bringin' trouble to the island. Yer okay with friends like those? Even if yer included in whatever new world they got, is it worth the loss?" Not that it really affected him, he supposed. His clan was nestled into an out-of-the-way crag in the mountains, far from the prying eyes of any invaders. And the nature of his home kept them safe enough anyways.

"I don't know what it is I want. Moreover besides you, my forge, and my own life, what have I really got to lose?" Despite coming from money and having just about anything she could want, nearly all of it wasn't of interest. She couldn't have acceptance from any part of society as a whole, and thus acceptance was only gained on an individual basis. Everything was fleeting and subject to be here one minute and gone the next. "Here today gone tomorrow is a very apt description of the objects people involved in my life. You're too tough and too sneaky to die, so I don't worry about losing you, and my own life is forfeit at some point anyway, and my forge is just an object that will be used by someone else or torn down when I'm no longer around to keep up with it. I will never fit in with them, or with my fellow natives as a whole. No matter how honestly I pledge my loyalty to any faction I'm just an outcast. From that perspective I guess I don't see an issue with having friends on either side of the fence, that and based on how long I've been friends with you I don't think I can be labeled as judgmental or discriminatory." A moment of honesty hit her and she dropped her head. "First, no they weren't here, I went to Racksom, second off he knows I'm a woman, and third if I lost you and/or Sildred my life would be over, you're the only real friends I've got. No it's not worth the loss to join them in their cause if it means losing my oldest friend, but it's also not worth the loss to turn my back on one friend in favor of the other. Betrayal is not a word I'm keen on getting used to and you have your opinions set in stone so there's no point in persuading you otherwise."

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