——— blood & iron ———

WHO : Liv & open ( @nomadhqzstarters )

A king would wander into the viking camps this evening yes for what had the Swedes been before the word kingdom had been attached to their country? Sweden was still young in that regard but Jian was no fool to know this is what they had once been and many still were. Moving past dancers and mingling people the seat he found near the viking woman, he sighed shaking his head. "Christians are strange bedfellows. Blessings and maladictions but holidays are woven together from old rituals from the gods to bring the common people into their ways of thinking. That and too much ale makes any person free with themselves. Townspeople are what they are - are you enjoying yourself here, though? Great efforts have been made to make everyone comfortable here or at least make a show of showing togetherness when many of us remember other less lovely days. "

OPEN STARTER. who : finnr jorgensen where : the field beyond the castle wall. for: anyone

"It would certainly show another skill set entirely." Nilani smiled despite the small twinge of phantom pain watching the combatants collide and the cheer of the crowd, unwittingly reaching to protect her abdomen before breathing deeply again. A laugh came at the strangers implication that they would get into the frey and show them how it was done. Nilani was no warrior or a fighter truly. That being said, Nilani knew how to handle a blade, it was needed for survival and everyday tasks when assisting where one could. Dainty at time but no weak or wilting flower. "Me? Oh my - I would say only if you new friend would be there with me. My skills are more tailored towards dressing a fresh kill and the cutting of vegetables and fruits. Not the typical of noble women but where I live we all need to lend a hand even those declared noble. What is your name friend?"

if  he  was  unwelcome,  it  was  not  something  that  he  cared  about  enough  to  try  and  pick  up  on.  instead,  tadeas  made  a  point  of  leaning  back  in  his  seat,  stretching  his  legs  out  under  the  table  and  crossing  his  ankles. perhaps two moths to a debauchery flame could come together to spare the rest of the crowd of their contribution to it.  “what  with  your  cold  welcome  i’ll  admit,  i’m  hesitant  to  give  it  out  so  freely,”  he  claimed,  an  expression  of  feigned  thoughtfulness  adding  to  whatever  the  act  was  that  he  was  currently  putting  on was. smile still shining through the facade, though.  "i must say, had i known your lap would be made free so abruptly i would have aimed differently." he reached for his drink again. "now here i sit instead."

Lifting a sharp brow, hard like the edge of a blade and still perfectly maintained, could a man be even more intrigued than he was before? Septimus was a proud man, never willing to relinquish anything, let alone the idea that the human being across from him had momentarily stunned him in a few seconds. What a point of vexation who spoke boldly not even vaguely understanding who he was testing or tempting at the moment. "You call me cold - a hasty opinion for someone who hardly knows me. It seems we have come off the wrong foot. Allow me the opportunity to correct that" Septimus smiled into his wine without separating his gaze from the chiseled features or the temptation before him. Licking his lip softly as a hand set the glass down against the wooden table muscles shifted. Nearly mirroring the same movement the man before him made, a future emperor sat leaning into the back of his chair. Carefully pushing off the ground a bit, giving a soft flourish of open arms in an inviting manner to show there was a free space on his lap, unoccupied and welcome for the stranger to take up. "Scotland is cold enough and company is welcome to sit where they like but if the stranger would like I have a special place for them should my honored guest accept the invitation to come closer."

WHO : tadeas & open ( @nomadhqzstarters ) WHERE : the tavern

Perhaps a far quieter place would've been better to meet someone discreetly and explain reasons for distance and a sudden aversion to being seen too comfortably close to another human being one was not married or betrothed to. The father of one's unborn children had the right to know first before others did, or it became evident to the world the lady of york was pregnant. It was new enough there was no bump as of yet but it was certain. The smells the circled this tavern made their stomach upset but one could manage it. Anxiously Nilani did wait hoping her lady sent the message to the right person. Blinking rapidly, Nilani did not expect the smiling and mildly sloshed stranger to appear. The name she may remember in a moment, he did seem vaguely familiar, but nerves blocked rational thought and went for politeness. "Good evening, you seem to be enjoying it. How is your drink… forgive me your name fails me and i'm sure we've met before. My apologies, sir"

WHO : tadeas & open ( @nomadhqzstarters ) WHERE : the tavern

Scotland was no shinning sparkling place, the city to be frankly honest while most countries owed Rome for their existence, advancement, and independence ( though given unwillingly but that too was a gift from rome ), Septimus could find a den of decadent debauchery like a dog trained for the hunt. Let his father dictate how the day was spent but the evenings belonged to the boy without a soul who wanted to feel something - to be alive or less dead whichever it was. With someone already strune across his lap, whispering sweet nothings, playing with a curl of his hair as he drank - the stranger's sudden appearance was an irritant for the moment forgetting the playful smile. Moving the random citizen on his lap aside, still sipping his wine the attention was on this new person. "By all means sit in a seat you weren't invited into but evening nonetheless. We'll see if it turns out to be a good one or not. Does the smiling interloper have a name or do i call you dimples?"

lachlan   had   been   blinded   by   the   light   of   gray   clouds   in   the   sky   enough   not   to   have   recognized   them   from   a   distance   .   now   though   ,   that   the   pair   of   women   approached   ,   the   prince   felt   that   usual   charming   smile   return   to   his   lips   .   “   while   i   had   expected   many   out   here   ,   it   would   not   have   been   you   .   “   the   scott   admits   and   makes   a   polite   gesture   with   his   head   .   it   does   not   last   .   the   duration   of   separation   of   the   two   old   friends   leads   him   to   share   an   embrace   with   the   shorter   one   before   baby   blue   hues   peak   into   the   basket   they   carry   .   “   successful   ,   i   see   .   perhaps   ,   berries   and   fish   should   be   shared   equally   .   if   you   will   so   ,   understand   this   as   an   invitation   to   dine   at   the   friesal   table   with   me   and   my   brothers   once   we   have   returned   to   the   city   safely   .   “

There is that short embrace Nilani squeezes back before a small chuckle escapes her lips. With a proud nod, the lady allows the feeling to flood their cheeks, glancing to the other beside them. The attendant mirrored her charge, copying the same jovial spirit before the lady of york spoke again. "An invitation to dine with my good friend and his family once we return? Gladly. I would be honored to have a place at your table especially if we share berries and fish. It'll be an interesting meal but one I would never miss because the company is rich and I have not had a good laugh. Lachlan, I would gladly dine with you even if the bounty wasn't so large. You look well, handsome as ever. We should start walking before the fish spoil"

perhaps it could have been scandalous or crude to bring up memories of the two of them to start a conversation, but hadn't their times together been exactly that? even more so when it happened just once, yet aksel remembered every one. the colour of her clothes did not go unnoticed, though the viking was not as familiar with such customs as the princesses. in many ways they were different, yet aksel still felt that pull to her, even if now he were in scotland he'd found distractions of his own. " i am sorry to hear about your husband, that is unfortunate. " it was news to him, he'd not known of her marriage and had he done would it have changed what had taken place between them? unlikely. if he'd been the distraction she required then he was happy to oblige, but he didn't dare ask.

There are words to speak into existence that could be said and should've all along. This life lived had not been by her own choice, not fully. Kings were just men and horrible people masquerading about as if their power was absolute and their word final. Decisions had been made for her, how to act, whom to marry, and her wifely duties. She was no heir, not that it would've mattered to Father if she were the first of his brood and not even the second. There existed a life unfulfilled, dull, and listless without her pure determination to be who she knew she was. Zosia taught and trained herself to fight and then when it could not be denied her talent in battle strategy and war a father had to concede some of his divine right that this child was blessed with a gift for fighting only after finding out she'd pretended to be a man. This woman had her own company, generals respected her knowledge and she was a warrior. Still, despite it all for peace or land or what have you relegated to wife to someone she did not love or care for. To hear someone say they were sorry to see her husband go, how unfortunate of a loss it was to the outside world - Zosia begged to laugh. To smile. To shed these awful clothes that placated a Christian world to show a dutiful wife's mourning when it meant truly that she was free. Free of the fool Englishman, free of the expectation her father placed upon her though he had been dead many years. Free to breathe in skin she had missed but in all that massive amount of independence, something was still barred from her.

open starter | @nomadhqzstarters

"Shouting at your king, telling your sovereign to shut up? How treasonous, sister" Jian smiles, unable to stifle the small bit of laughter. Mud caked his own boots as the rest of him looked a little soaked but regal never mind the fact they were not born to it. "What possessed you to go riding in this abysmal weather? You wouldn't take a guard with you not even for my own satisfaction and peace of mind as your sibling, not your ruler? Come on, take my hand"

WHO : adam & jian (@sangetfer) WHEN : early morning

How a king could linger in love, wrapped in the arms of his wife, to live for eternity sustained by her alone, full on her entirely. Jian had torn apart worlds for her, killed many men, and fought daily to see he created a kingdom worthy to have her as its queen. How he loved and loved her so thoroughly but today involved business. Scotland while undoubtedly full of leisurely things, and recreation to stimulate body and soul his time was demanded in running his country from afar and making in roads for them in other places to ensure its continued prosperity. Separating from her a man was off and had been for a small while. When he'd awoken, there was no sun but little flecks of light came through windows as he entered the dining area and with a book in hand, a report he'd gathered Jian did notice Adam for a moment.

"Twenty marks? Are you so desperate to lose your coin?" Kázmér let out a chuckle, shaking his head. "Ah that's where you're wrong. It matters little how scrappy he is if he can scarce hold both shield and sword." The prince had spent enough time on the training grounds- he could hold his own in a fight. Had done so on numerous occasions. He knew well enough that Zosia had as well. "Where is the rascal then?" he asked, speaking of his eldest nephew. "That might prove to be a real show. Though, I am not sure how inclined I am to see my kin in the dirt."

"Did I stutter, brother? Twenty. If you are brave enough or bold enough to stomach the amount. As a woman who has survived the battle and continues on in motherhood, I can say I can handle twenty marks" Zosia smiled, eyes alight with mischief like in the days they were much younger. Despite how annoyed a younger sibling could be with an older one and how Zosia imagined giving him what for - for multiple reasons this was not the time. Push it further he might be pushed. "Andras? Surprised he's not following after you with his wooden sword but most likely taking his duty as eldest brother seriously watching over Tomas and Maria."

Open Starter! @nomadhqzstarters

it   wasn’t   that   the   prince   needed   to   ride   out   to   the   lochs   to   go   fishing   .   sending   a   servant   ,   sending   staff   ,   it   would   have   been   most   appropriate   and   would   likely   have   been   questioned   less   than   the   journey   he   had   decided   to   make   merely   to   catch   dinner   for   the   friesal   family   .   however   ,   it   was   the   rewarding   feeling   of   being   able   to   provide   that   he   chased   .   the   pat   on   the   back   from   father   he   hoped   for   –   approval   ,   finally   .   after   all   those   years   .   a   few   fishes   perhaps   would   not   be   enough   .   but   proving   his   worth   ,   one   day   ,   maybe   they   would   be   able   to   stop   fighting   .   

Hardly looking remotely lady-like and more like their lady-in-waiting who walked beside them Nilani's skirts were covered with mud from the walking and baskets of bilberries hung on arms. Sure they were guests but the lady of york did not sit idle, they believed in doing their part. How could they exist let alone thrive if each person did not contribute doing their part? Nilani thought there could be a way to coexist with people who had different ideas and ways of living. Balancing the heavy basket on their hip, turning to the ladies with them Nilani called out. "Aye, we are - I promise on my honor that we will not take your fish and we will share in the berries we've found. They are perfectly edible if not a little tart. Not too sweet "Do you expect me not to recognize an old friend? I would be honored to travel with you and your own"

CLOSED STARTER - aksel & zosia @sangetfer

Ears nearly perked up at the sound of a familiar voice as a head inclined softly towards where it emanated from. Breathing in the air there was a tender electricity there like the way the world felt before lightning struck to split ancient trees in some primordial forest. Could the world blame the hungarian for finding him magnetic? Well there would be a comment later on that at least three times he'd been too much to resist and in a moment of deep-seated need or was it weakness they had collided. He made the few years tethered to another bearable. It was not that the man was ever aware of that fact, that she was married or more accurately widowed, cloaked in black fabrics and dark leathers with fur lining the edge of a collar. It was not that the man was aware that the children that were royal rascals running around were his either but theirs had never been a relationship to share everything or ask the other to be a permanent fixture in a life that at any minute could be forfeit. Zosia, finally glancing at him opened deep blue eyes holding the viking in her gaze and even in the subtle bow of her head in acknowledgment to the massive man there was a small ghost of a smile.

@sangetfer | kaz & zo

Zosia crossed arms one over the other across her chest and breathed in and out, jaw clenching momentarily at the slight nudge from an older brother. It was a mild annoyance she loved family dearly. It may not look it outwardly too often to anyone else but this was their routine to bother the other habitually. "Ten marks, how conservative of you, brother. With your tone of voice, I would think you'd be just a little braver than that and say maybe twenty." Zosia smirked. Turning to a brother in her black dress, leathers hidden beneath in case the urge became real to fight, spoke again. "Are you so certain? I would think the red. Scrappier looking, there is a hunger in those moves to prove a point. You may be wrong. Andras is only five and I am sure my eldest could knock them both back"