Completed Porcupine Birthdays

[Pearl]

73 Summer, 515 AV
7th Bell, Morning

Garrison had been upset by Dravite’s leaving in the middle of the night so Pearl had brought him over to lay down between her and Belkaia so they could encourage him back into sleeping. Kyanite hadn’t been too far behind and soon he was stretched out between his mothers, too. Pearl woke to a gentle pat pat pat to her face. She opened her eyes to see Kyanite almost nose to nose with her, a smile on his face and his eyes wide opened. He let his hand rest on her cheek when he saw her eyes open and whispered, “Momma.” That one little word making Pearl smile. She looked over Kyanite to see that Belkaia and Garrison were still sleeping soundly; Garrison laying half on Belkaia, and Belkaia’s arm around him, holding him close.

With a finger then pressed to her own lips in a silent gesture over her smile, Pearl winked to Kyanite and began to get herself up out of bed. She brushed her hair back from her face, her nose all scrunched up at the effort of trying not to giggle as Kyanite began creeping his way out of bed. She scooped him up and kissed his cheek before settling him to her and stepped from the tent so as not to disturb Garrison and Belkaia; letting them sleep for longer if they could.

When she emerged from the tent dressed only in her undergarments, the scent of death was upon the air as well as cooking meat. Kyanite made a face and then began to squirm so that Pearl would put him down. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he was running towards his father and latching himself upon the man’s back with his arms around Dravite’s neck and his hands holding to his father’s face. “Morning!” the little one near shouted in Dravite’s ear as he noticed his Uncle Raven and Cole.

Pearl smiled and walked closer to Dravite and Raven, and now the latched on Kyanite, pressing a kiss to either of the man’s cheeks in greeting. “Good morning,” she spoke to them both, a smile offered then to Cole as he was heading back to his own camp, a piece of paper clutched in his hand. “Tell your father hello for me, please Cole? And if he’s still having trouble with that cough please let me know and I’ll get over to see him a bit later today.”
Cole nodded and lifted his hand to Pearl in acknowledgment before he stepped into his family’s tent.
“What is that smell?” she asked her husband while she plucked a piece of the meat out of the pan and into her mouth.
“I hope it’s not me you’re talking about,” spoke Trail from the edge of the camp, a light teasing in his voice, “Because I took a bath just before coming over here. Couldn’t be smelling like a dead bear on my little girl’s birth day, now could I?” The man held his arms open, waiting.
With a bit of an excited squeal, Pearl was up and in her father’s arms, a kiss pressed to his cheek. “Of course not,” she said before kissing his cheek again. “Please come over and try some of whatever this is that Dravite is cooking.” She began to lead her father over to the campfire, holding to his hand, obviously very pleased with his appearance so early on this day.

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[Dravite]

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“Morning!” Raven boomed which saw Kyanite giggle.

Dravite turned to smile up at Pearl before returning to his work, flipping the meat over in the pan so that it would cook evenly on both sides. He added a spoonful of honey, which never hurt to increase the flavour, and let a very contented Kyanite, lick the leftovers from spoon.

When Trail moved into camp with a big smile on his face, hand clutching that of his daughter’s, Dravite looked up from the cooking pan and grinned, “I can’t get rid of you,” he then laughed and Trail’s shoulder shook with his own silent laughter.
“Smells like you caught something on the way in,” the Watchman offered before introducing himself to Raven.
“Porcupine, uncle says it’s good to eat, you’re more than welcome to try some?”
Trail sat down with the men and helped himself, “Not surprising to find that your cooking is as bad as your fighting skills,” the man said in jest.
Raven’s laughter was loud and infectious, “We weren’t going to tell you, Dra, but I guess the secret is out now.”
Dravite just shook his head with an amused sneer, “That’s all right, I don’t mind it if you would prefer to starve while I grow fat on all this meat.”

After that they tucked in and there was little to no complaints. Dravite made room for Peal to sit between him and her father, but even after hearing mention that it was her birthday, said nothing. She could sweat for a while, thinking he had forgotten; it was impossible to work alongside a man like Trail and not learn a lot more than Pearl let on. Trail was an open book and when it came to his children, there was no shutting him up.

“What is that awful smell?” Belkaia complained as she emerged from the tent, dressed in a light night dress with her hair in a mess.
Dravite chuckled; he couldn’t blame her for wondering though, “Its Trail,” he teased before correcting himself, “Glassbeak bone, thought it might come in handy to keep you women in line.”
Belkaia smacked the man playfully as she passed him and sat down near Yuki who has also decided to join them for breakfast, “I’ll keep you in line!” She threatened and smiled across at Pearl.

With the meat done, Dravite removed the hot pan from the fire pit and set it aside so that his friends and family could take what they wanted. The horse lord often chose to eat last, most of the time surviving on the scraps to ensure that everyone else was well fed; his approach to leadership was that a healthy team made for a thriving pavilion.

It wasn’t long before Raven, who was famous for being long-winded, and garrulous, started telling one of his stories everyone had heard at least three times already; though Trail seemed enthralled, the rest of them rolled their eyes good humouredly and went along as if it were the first time they had heard it. Dravite watched his loved ones, his gaze settling on Garrison who moved from Belkaia’s lap to that of his grandfathers, before finally looking at Pearl. The horse lord leaned forward and kissed the woman’s bare shoulder; a quiet promise to make a fuss of her later.

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[Pearl]

The porcupine meat was different than anything she’d tried so far, though she didn’t shy away from it, she certainly wasn’t a fan of the taste of the meat. The next piece she pulled from the pan she blew gently on so as to cool it for Garrison. He was now content to sit on his grandfather’s lap as Trail bounced his leg up and down while listening to Raven’s story. Pearl smiled to Raven, then to Belkaia and Yuki as she tore the now cooled piece of meat in half and offered half to Garrison and half to Kyanite.

Garison wrapped chubby little fingers around his half of the meat and had to try several times to get the piece into his mouth to chew on it as he was still bouncing on Trail’s knee. Kyanite was older and more coordinated and traded Pearl the now clean honey spoon for his piece of mean. Thank you, Pearl signed to him before winking and smiling at the young boy she was growing to love so dearly.

When Star had learned it was her birthday, she had gone to the other assistants and forged a pact with them to ensure that Pearl wasn’t bothered on this day. It wasn’t often that she had time to sit and enjoy mornings like this, and she found that she was rather relaxed; work related thoughts having buried themselves in the background as Raven’s story continued. Tt was a beautiful morning, despite the aroma at the camp.

Pearl took another small piece of the meat from the pan and began to blow gently over the meat again, just as she had before. When Dravite leaned in to kiss her shoulder, she offered him the bite from her fingers, a smile given to him as his moment of tenderness with her. She knew he had likely been up all night, as he had been summoned away in the early portion of the night, and must be tired and hungry. So often she had seen him eat only after every else had. He was still her patient, and she meant to care for him properly. She let her gaze and her thoughts linger upon him for a tick longer before she looked away, her attention drawn to Yuki and Belkaia across the fire.

“Pearl, that sounds like the time that Rave talked you into climbing that cherry tree, right up to the very top. So high that you were afraid to climb back down,” Trail’s laughter echoed. “Do you remember that?”
Pearl’s face heated at the memory and she tried to duck her head away so no one would see. “Aye,” she muttered.
“Willow let out a scream that would wake the dead when she saw Rave standing below the tree, arms open wide,” he continued, “and Pearl flying through the air like a bird straight for him. Not an ounce of fear on the girls face, mind you. She would do anything her brother told her to do, without question.”
“He caught her, aye?” Raven asked.
“Oh aye, he caught her. Both of their faces smeared with cherry juice, and off they ran, away from their mother,” Trail laughed harder, “That woman was so mad she could have chewed up rocks and spit gravel, I tell you!”
Pearl hand came up to her nose in a small attempt to hide her face from the stories her father was telling on her; however, her smile and the redness of her cheeks shown around the gesture.
“Didn’t come home until Syna’s light had begun faded. Figured they’d give their mother time to cool down. She did, after a bell or two, when she found the small bucket of cherries they had left by the trunk of the tree. Made some nice tarts with those, she did.”
“Tarts?!” Pearl blinked and lowered her hand, “I didn’t know she made tarts.”
“Of course you didn’t. How do you think she got into a better mood after you frightened the daylights out of her? She ate them all! Only letting me have one!”
“Pearl, you missed out, dear girl!” Raven’s laughter boomed through the camp, Pearl couldn’t help but to laugh too.


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[Dravite]

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Pearl said so much with silence, those forever blue eyes fixed on him as she offered up the meat which the horse lord slowly leaned in to take. Their relationship was blossoming and Dravite found himself rather relaxed in the woman's company, as if he had known her far longer than was fact. The meat was terrible, gamey, and of course his cooking skills did little to improve it, but coming from Pearl, he would have accepted anything, be it gold or poison in a cup; those eyes said so much while her tongue remained still.

Trail, fond of the stories Raven had told and keen to share a few of his own, spoke up about a rather warm memory that had the whole pavilion laughing and talking, comparing their upbringings and making their guest feel more than welcome; in fact, Trail seemed right at home. Listening to some of the Watchman's tales made Dravite almost envious as he couldn't wait to build his own with his new wife.

When the dogs came sniffing around for leftovers, Dravite made Kavu sit before sneaking him a small piece of the porcupine meat. Meka soon caught on that she would need to show some level of obedience to be rewarded with the same treatment and sidled up to the horse lord, wedging her cold nose under his arm to try and get the man's attention, "sit," he commanded and the hunting dog looked at him, perplexed, "sit," Dravite repeated himself and held the titbit in front of her nose, tugging it away each time she tried to snatch it from his fingers. When she finally got the message and went down on her hind legs, Dravite rewarded her instantly, letting her go as far as to lick his hand clean.

"You have them quite well trained," Trail admitted.
"They are slowly getting there," Dravite agreed, "I try to do small things every day to keep up their training."
"Are they any good at hunting?"
"Aye, I took Pearl out for a trip some time ago and Kavu did very well."
Trail smiled, "I've been thinking of getting myself a dog for hunting and a bit of companionship."
"What you need is a woman," Raven smiled and hugged his wife Yuki hard against his side.
Trail smiled slowly, "a bit too long in the tooth for that."
Dravite smirked, "never too old," he encouraged, "but if a dog is what you want, I'll go with you to buy one."
"Thank you," Trail nodded, "then when I find her ripping my boots to bits I'll know who to kick."
They all laughed; Dravite the loudest.

After breakfast Dravite slipped away to wash up and change into a pair of pants that weren't covered in blood and muck. He went to the blanket chest and lifted some of the extra blankets in search of the gift he had picked up for Pearl. He found it just where he had left it and held the small gift in his palm for a moment before Kyanite stumbled into the tent with a big, infectious grin on his face; that little frog smile never failed to make Dravite smile in turn.
"Da!" The boy chimed, running into his father's arms.
"My little lion," the horse lord grinned, "what are you doing here, where is your brother?"
"Are you hiding?" Kyanite asked, "Look!" He pointed at the silver locket in Dravite's hand.
"It's for Pearl," he admitted to his son.
"Ma!"
"Yes, Ma; will you give it to her for me?"
The boy smiled from ear to ear, "yes!"
"Be gentle," the man encouraged, handing the locket to the boy.

Dravite followed Kyanite from the tent and watched from the mouth of their home as his heir paced across the campgrounds towards the fire pit where the family still sat talking. This horse lord smiled as Kyanite leaned against Pearl's left side and presented the silver locket to the woman; the delicate chain wrapped about his fat little fingers, "look, Ma," he said simply, birthday, he then signed before letting the woman steal the gift away from his possession.

LedgerSilver Locket -25 SM

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[Pearl]

The morning was moving too quickly for Pearl’s tastes. She would have rather it lasted longer, but alas, the day would demand their attentions, regardless of her desires. For now, she was enjoying her family. Having her father close again was beginning to weigh heavily upon her mind, especially when he began to talk of wanting a dog for companionship. She laced her arm through his while he held Garrison in his lap and let her head rest to his shoulder. The thought of him being alone hit her hard; guilt revealed itself within those blue eyes as she looked up to him. As if he knew what she was feeling, Trail leaned down and kissed her brow and shushed her.

Those same eyes followed her husband when he made his excuses and went into the tent. She thought for a moment to follow him, check on his wound and make sure he was alright, but it was Yuki that drew her attention away. “Pearl?” the woman asked, “If you still wished to learn to cook, I’d be happy to teach you.”
“Oh Yuki, yes,” Pearl smiled, “I would. I’ve something that I have a recipe for that I could use some help with, and maybe we could put several,” she stopped herself and laughed. “I’m sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I?”
Raven boomed with laughter, which earned him a playful swat on the arm from his wife.
“You be as enthusiastic as you want and I’ll help you as much as I am able.”
“It’s just that, well, it will be fall soon, and then winter before we realize it, and I don’t have anything for coughs made up yet. It would really be helpful if we could get that made up and set aside.”
“Then we shall,” Yuki proclaimed.
“You’re always working,” Belkaia chimed in, which brought on another round of teasing laughter from the family. All of it warming Pearl’s heart.

When Kyanite sidled up to her side, Pearl wrapped an arm around him and leaned down to kiss his head. Garrison immediately reached for his brother and hugged the young boy around his neck. It was endearing the way the two boys got along. The thought brought a smile to Pearl’s face. Their family was growing, and bonding, in ways that Pearl had only dared to hope. She looked over Kyanite’s head to Belkaia and smiled, signing, family, precious, close.

Pearl blinked several times, being caught off guard as Kyanite held up a silver locket to her. “Oh, my little man, look what you’ve done,” she cooed at the boy before leaning in to pepper his face with kisses. Kyanite squirmed at the attentions and fought to do the same back to her at the encouragement of his grandfather and great uncle. Pearl held the locket up, admiring it and showing it off to the others in the same action.
“Let me put it on you?” Belkaia said while reaching for the locket.
Pearl nodded and relinquished her hold on the locket to her, then reached behind her to lift her hair from her shoulders and hold it out of the way. Bluest eyes looked to her husband; a loving smile held upon her face just for him.


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[Ssezzkero]

PEARL
Observation +2
Socialization +2
Childcare +1
Philosophy +1

Kyanite: Called you 'Momma'
Porcupine: Not the tastiest meat
Your father loves to tell stories
Gift: Silver Locket from Dravite
Trail: Lonely

+Silver locket from Dravite


DRAVITE
Cooking +1
Rhetoric +1
Animal Husbandry +1
Teaching +1

Trail: An open book about his children
Pearl's Birthday: 73rd of Summer
Self: Has officially fallen for Pearl
Teaching Meka the command for sit

-2 gm, 5 sm for silver locket