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Post by Ladorak on Dec 12, 2009 1:34:56 GMT -5
Caden looked over at Jayd, not moving his head much to do so as he needed to still stay with the newborn's field of vision. "Um....well sure." He said a bit hoarsely, having felt that while all this was new, he would have to adjust as he had been doing to everything here. It was just part of his new life.
Moving over to Bryony, Ladorak asked her to take Thersander for the moment. "Dear, I'm going outside to try and find Vingo. I want to see how he's doing." the ermine told his mate. He would also be speaking to Vingo about certain things as well. There was much to determine, as the week for the marten's stay was a few days from concluding. "I'll be back in a few minutes." said, and said to Caden in passing, "Just sit tight. If something changes here come and get me. It's up to you to watch after this room now. You can be the jack of the house for a bit." Ladorak said with a wink at the albino as he went by.
Caden felt his pulse quicken a bit. The jack of the house? So he could be in charge of things for a bit? But now that the opportunity was presented him, Caden that usual anxiety come over him. Could he really do this? He had confidence in himself in a fight but...running a house? He'd just have to make Ladorak proud whenever he came back. He could do this.....and sure enough the twelve year old felt his chest puff out a bit as thoughts of him staving off problems and issues filled his head. He was brought back to reality by the soft bop on the tip of his snout by Nuori. What was it with Ladorak's kits and touching him? Smiling in spite of himself, Caden gave her a mischievous look to which she only giggled.
***********
Swishing past the blades of grass outside the house, Ladorak made his way to where Vingo was sitting, back against the large beech tree that Caden so often played in. It seemed as if the marten was just finishing up a song of his on the beautiful Lady Sonora.
Shoving his paws in his pockets, the ermine exhaled and then dropped down onto his rump beside Vingo, taking his paws out almost as soon as he'd put them into his coat and resting them on his knees. Looking out at the tranquil sea (normally it was choppy in this part) before him, the bespectacled musteld looked over at Caden's uncle out of the corner of his eye.
"I'm sorry for what you've been through. I could only imagine what it would be like in your situation. I...didn't mean to bring up that thing about Helandria and your sister. I didn't mean to paint your sister in a different light in that moment. Might I have a word with you Jal Sken, while the day is still young." he asked, picking up a few blades of grass and letting them go in the wind, watching them dancing and twirl and shoot off across the moor.
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Post by ealasaid on Dec 12, 2009 2:41:41 GMT -5
Vingo's sharp ears heard Ladorak approaching, but the marten continued to play, his eyes misty as he gazed past the horizon, not seeing what was in front of him. Rather, his mind was on the past, the years which he had spent wandering. He was lining up events in his life with the patchy story he had of his sister's last few years. The marten could guess with fair accuracy the very place that he was when she was killed. But where was he when her husband was killed? Where was his brotherly love and support when she had nowhere to turn but inside herself, driving her to the madness that some beasts said had overcome her?
Ladorak was speaking, though Vingo was barely listening. He finished the song he had been playing, for his paws were beginning to shake with grief and anger. The marten closed his eyes and leaned the back of his head against the trunk of the tree so that his snout pointed upwards. He took a deep breath of the salty sea air. They said that she died on the beach. The sea was probably the last thing she smelled...
He twitched an ear in Ladorak's direction. "I believe you've already had quite a few words with me, Fugate," the marten said, dispensing with the formality of using the local Jal for the time being. Though not usually the type to welcome conflict with another beast, the marten was feeling rather unlike himself at the moment, so lost he was in his emotions. He strummed out a dissonant chord on the lute without opening his eyes, then followed it with another dissonance.
"Ought'nt you be with your wife an' children? This isn't the time for you t'be tryin' t'console me or whatever it is you're wantin' t'do. Your family's more important than me."
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Post by Ladorak on Dec 12, 2009 13:45:16 GMT -5
"That may be so, but you're my guest after all. I can't simply ignore you because of the birth of my kits. I figured you would come back in when you were ready, but I wanted to preempt you if that's alright. It's something I've been wondering about this past week."
Taking his spectacles off the bridge of his snout, the ermine looked over at the marten, uttering another sigh that was lost in the wind. "Listen to me Vingo. You don't have to suffer through this alone. I know you've spent your life traveling the many lanes and thruways, but I was wondering if perhaps you wouldn't like to travel with me for a bit."
His back was not up against the trunk, and thus Ladorak was unable to lean back to relax, so he scooted off to the side a bit, so that he was almost perpendicular with Vingo, though still probably at a seventy degree angle or so, and rested his backside against the beech.
"I have the suspicion that I might very well be called upon soon to serve my country, depending on how things go with Rosferia. If that happens, I plan to take Caden to see with me, give him a good education while on board and teach him the lessons of life if I can. I.....will confide in you that never before in my life have a looked forward to a single point in time more than when I would be heading back out to sea. The prospect of guiding Caden, and walking him through life....it just fills me with such joy I could not even describe it to you. Thus...I would ask too that his uncle might accompany us as well.....if only because I think it good for you to not be alone for awhile, at least until you have come to terms with some things....I am concerned for you....and about what impact the events of your family's history have had on you."
He too looked up, into the empty branches of the old tree. Empty because winter was fast approaching. "If at any time you grow tired of it and feel the road calling to you again, you could get off at whatever port we're closest to. I'm not sure where I'll be deployed, but chances are we'll put you ashore on the mainland. You wouldn't even have to enlist if you didn't want to, you could just be aboard as a guest." Closing his eyes now, the ermine still held his glasses in his paws and inhaled deeply. The smell of the sea never being far from the mustelid....it put him at peace and made him feel less like confronting Vingo about this and more like offering instead.
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Post by ealasaid on Dec 12, 2009 15:58:41 GMT -5
Alone. Vingo had never really thought of himself as being alone. There had always been someplace to go, a home that was a fallback if anything went awry, family to return to if he felt so inclined. He opened his eyes and looked down at the lute in his paws. Now, he realized, he really was alone.
He began to play another song, a melancholy tune with sorrowful words that fit well with the minor chord progression. Vingo did not sing, however. Instead he responded to Ladorak.
"I don't doubt that with you is the best place for Caden. You've proven yourself well enough t'me that you'd raise him t'be a fine beast. An' he's certainly enthusiastic 'bout goin' t'sea, so I wouldn't take that away from him. Just like his mother in that way. As for me..." He trailed off, thinking. After a few moments of gazing in the distance and playing the Lady Sonora, the marten continued.
"I feel more lost than I ever have in my life, which is sayin' a lot for a wanderin' beast who doesn't often know what the next turn in the road will bring or where my next meal will come from. At least then all I had t' think 'bout was me. Now Caden's in the picture, an' I feel like I played some part in the fault of his mother's death by bein' absent during the times when she really needed somebeast alongside her. I don't want the same thing happenin' t'her son. I know you'll be there but...I feel responsible for him since he's the only kin I have left. He's the only connection I have now. Everybeast else that I've ever been close to, family an' friends alike, are gone."
He sighed and stopped playing. "But I'm not a fightin' beast by trade, nor am I inclined t' take orders or pledge my allegiance t'any sort o'country. It seems the only option I'd have in that case is t'come as a guest, as you've suggested. Though I can't much say, aside from wantin' t'watch over Caden, I'd ever be inclined t'confine myself aboard a ship surrounded by fathomless depths that hold who knows what sort o'monsters." Vingo suppressed a shudder at the thought.
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Post by Ladorak on Dec 13, 2009 1:52:13 GMT -5
Ladorak did indeed feel his heart shatter all over again. He had suspected as much would happen when he pictured himself in Vingo's shoes. A sad, wandering marten who had lost most of his family. Caden was one of the few if only surviving members left, and he could understand this one uncle's desire to be near to his nephew.
At the same time though did feel joy swell his breast at having been named a suitable guardian to young Caden. Hearing that from an actual surviving relative of Caden was a blessing indeed. Ladorak felt as if he could proceed now without that hanging over his head. Caden could stay...as part of the family. A Sken under Fugate care. He would have to live up to what he could only imagine were Nuori's expectations wherever she was right now.
Vingo's last statement caused him to grin. "Nothing but fish and whales in the ocean mate, nothing but fish and whales. Some have superstitions about mythical creatures but as of right now none of it has been confirmed. I have to be a bit superstitious being a sailor and all, but I can assure you we'll be docking quite a lot as well. A wooden ship can only stay at sea for so long after all, even if it's bottom is copper sheathed."
"I can say we'd be at sea for weeks yes, but have time in ports as well. Need to restock on provisions, get the ship overhauled, just general upkeep really. If at any point you feel you've had enough you can step ashore at our next destination and head from there I suppose. But you would be welcome aboard all the same. I'm glad too....glad that you do wish to be close to your nephew. Oh and...."
He pointed his snout up towards the devoid canopy of the tree. Just scraggly branches and empty limbs above, but it wasn't unpleasant to look at. Ladorak did like plants but knew there was a time when the earth was cold, and almost lifeless at times under banks of snow. That at least was sometimes worth getting away from by putting to sea.
"Thank you...for trusting me enough with your nephew." he finally finished, smiling now in just a general way, perhaps to himself or perhaps at Vingo's kind words or perhaps at the sky itself. Whatever it was he smiled.
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Post by ealasaid on Dec 13, 2009 23:18:05 GMT -5
Vingo turned his gaze to Ladorak, then looked down at the browning grass. He was glad to have made the stoat happy, but the marten could not find it in himself to express any sort of happiness.
What lay ahead of him now was the unknown. Though he had faced the unknown before, it was never in the context of doing such a thing for another. Now he was responsible for his sister's child, a responsibility which scared him. He wished to flee from this feeling of emptiness, but knew that running from the situation would only result in an increase in the size of the gaping loneliness that had filled him ever since returning to what used to be his home.
He nodded and continued playing. "Aye. Haven't got much choice, do I?" Vingo managed a wry sort of smile at Ladorak to show the stoat that he was joking. "You'd better get back inside. I'll be back in when I've sufficiently lost feelin' in my paws..."
Without waiting for an answer from Ladorak, Vingo began singing.
"Pilgrim, how you journey On the road you chose To find out why the winds die And where the stories go.
All days come from one day That much you must know, You cannot change what's over But only where you go...."
((There's more to the song, just didn't feel like posting the whole thing...))
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Post by Ladorak on Dec 14, 2009 11:40:52 GMT -5
"Hm-hm, alright, I'll let you alone out here till you need to regain that feeling in those paws of yours." He reached around the trunk, holding Vingo's shoulder for a second or two and patting it firmly before standing back up.
"Take Master Sken. I'll be inside, getting my household in order for the holidays, so I hope to speak with you shortly." Ladorak began heading back to his house, trotting down the hill and entering through the back door. Oh to only be at sea again...so that he could afford things for Caden, his wife and their new kits. He really needed to start making his earnings again, lest he be unable to support the weight of his growing family.
Heading back upstairs, Ladorak reentered the room with his mate, and saw that Caden was being bopped on the snout again by Nuori. The albino kept twitching his nose, trying to prevent himself from sneezing. The constant aggravation on the nostrils though made it almost irresistible, and it took all he had to hold back a sneeze.
"Hahah, how is everything here then? How are you feeling Jayd?" Ladorak asked, walking over to her bedside now.
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Post by jaydjasmyn on Dec 14, 2009 12:48:56 GMT -5
~Jayd
It felt as though Ladorak was gone forever. She wondered if he'd forgotten about her and the fact that they just had their kits today. It didn't take much to entertain Caden. Well Nuori did all of that for Jayd as she fussed with Thersander and Bryony fussed with her, trying to keep her in tip-top shape.
Ladorak then entered the room and stood by her bedside. Jayd looked up at him and smiled slightly. There was a heaviness in her eyes. She was tired. "Will you hold our son for me. I'm so very tired. I just need to rest for a few minutes. They were just fed so they should be fine for a while." Jayd didn't have the strength to hold Thersander our for him to take. She was hoping that he'd pick him up on his own.
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Post by Ladorak on Dec 15, 2009 14:54:48 GMT -5
"Of course dear." Ladorak said, reaching down and taking Thersander once again in his arms and bringing the small kit up to his chest. "Why don't you just rest then? I'll see about getting both of these newborns off to bed, as they both seem pretty tired themselves. Nuori had stopped bopping Caden and was relaxing in his arms now, looking to be on the verge of falling asleep.
Thersander was the same way, yawning more and staring up at his father with curious albeit tired eyes. "It's alright if you need to rest, Caden and I should be fine, and Vingo might offer a paw too if needs be. So you go ahead and rest. I'll be close by if you need anything." he said encouragingly, and smiled down at his wife, reaching with some difficulty down with his paws to stroke her cheek.
A knock was heard on the door from down below though, and Ladorak sighed. "I'll get it. You going to be OK here on your own? I suggest just getting some rest, I won't be gone too long." he said.
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Post by Ladorak on Dec 19, 2009 15:05:37 GMT -5
"Jis Bludd, if you wouldn't mind helping Caden put Nuori to bed, I'll deal with Thersander." Walking the small kit over to one of two cribs that the ermine had fastened together for the newborns over the past few weeks or so. It had been a project he'd done in his spare time, which was a lot admittedly due to the fact that he wasn't working...but that would soon change.
Laying the almost snoozing male down, Ladorak smiled down at the kit. Innocent little guy. Bryony lay Nuori down in the crib next to Thersander, and Ladorak silently motioned with his paw to Caden. "Come on Caden, let's answer the door." he whispered.
Tipclawing out of the room, Ladorak quickly padded down the stairs, the albino following close behind. Just a minute, just a minute, he silently pleaded as the knock came again. Just not too loud...and there we were.
Finally reaching the foyer, Ladorak pulled the door back. It couldn't be Vingo....Ladorak didn't think he'd locked his doors after all. But no, it seemed to be another messenger from the Admiralty, but not the same one who had visited him earlier. "Begging your pardon Commander Fugate." the mouse said, removing his hat and standing considerably shorter than the ermine.
"Yes? What may I assist you with?" the mustelid could once again feel his heart begin to quicken it's pace, pounding away with his ribcage.
"Well sir, it turns out that with the reactivation of the Navy, many commanders are being called off shore leave. You sir, are one of them." the pounding had turned into hammer blows now, smashing against his breast, causing it to feel as if it would burst out in pure excitement. "I've been instructed to tell you to expect command of a 64 gun warship, with probably a 74 following in a bit, depending on how things go." A....a 64 gunner!? A 64 gunner!? HIM? REALLY?
Caden's pink eyes lit up as well, and his mouth hung open, a look of glee on his face. 64 gunners were by far not the heaviest hitters in the fleet, but they were swift and fast, able to keep up with frigates and still hold their own against larger vessels.
"Which....which one!?" Ladorak asked eagerly, barely able to contain himself, his paws wringing and his face full of hope. He and Caden exchanged ecstatic glances, like two young kits opening presents on Christmas.
"We're not sure yet, but we'll fix you for one by next month at the latest." The official said.
"And this is positive?" The ermine almost choked out.
"Yes sir. It is. Has to be after all. It looks as if the Rosferians may execute their King, and that would change things quite a bit...that and their invasion of Mordenz. Be expected to receive your commission by next month. Well then....happy new year and have a good holiday week." the mouse said, sniffling a bit in the cold air.
"Oh I will! I will! Tell the Admiralty thank you! And that I shall not disappoint!" he said emphatically. Nodding, the mouse stepped off the porch and made his way to his carriage in the distance. "HA!" the ermine exclaimed, shoving his fists in the air and nearly falling backwards in relief. "It's finally happened Caden! It's finally happened! A 64 gunner! I'm getting a 64 gunner!" Turning, he picked the glowing kit up and promptly squeezed him tight in his arms, to which Caden could only freeze in shock, only to find himself enjoying that warm embrace, and he found his own arms moving of their own accord, and hugging Ladorak right back.
"After all this waiting!" he set the marten back down, careful not to speak too loudly. "Here go outside and tell your uncle, I'll go and tell Jayd." he said very softly now, but as giddy as a kit Caden's age. Nodding, Caden ran through the living room, past the dining room, nearly bashed his head on the edge of the table but skirted it at the last minute, and was out the back door, charging up the hill to where his uncle was sitting.
Ladorak walked softly upstairs, and poked his head into the room, a large, almost overly showy smile on his face. Was his mate asleep?
****************
Caden huffed his way towards the older marten. "Uncle Vin! Uncle Vin! Guess what? Guess what?!" he hopped up in down in front of the adult, his bushy tail splaying out behind him and his ears flopping up and down. "Ladorak got a ship! Ladorak got a ship!"
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