Sionnach (closed)

[heartofcourage]

It was a quiet and mild night, the only sounds were that of the boats in the harbor and the water lapping at the fjords. She never wanted Sam to let go of her, those moments with just the both of them so rare without the world trying to interfere.

 

[KieranSoares]

After a long while in the peace and quiet, Sam quietly moved them to a more secluded spot where there was softer sand, resting his back against a boulder with Fiona in his lap where he was content to sit til he dozed off much more easily than usual.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona was asleep in moments as Sam got them settled, the warmth of his body soothing her and the sounds around them lulling her into peace. He was the only person that she had ever found that kind of peace with.

 

[KieranSoares]

Come morning, the yellow house was quiet as Siobhan arrived and opened up windows to let the sun and air in. Sam was soon up too, having carried Fiona home late in the night, and he headed out to fire up his forge.

When Riley and Andre eventually woke, a note had been slipped under the door from Sam stating: 'Hope you enjoyed some time together. Bring those measurements when you wake up.'

 

[heartofcourage]

Riley was looking at the note as she looked up at Andre. "Breakfast first. Then you're going to the forge with me to face my Da."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Face him?" Andre chuckled. "Why, are you in trouble? It's not my fault you couldn't resist," he teased as he got dressed for the day.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Yes, face him. I'm not going in there alone." Riley said as she set about brushing out her fur before getting dressed in her normal tunic and trousers. "You distracted me last night. That's all."

 

[KieranSoares]

"We were gonna work together today anyway," Andre said with a shrug. As she finished dressing, he stepped up to steal a kiss and pressed his forehead to hers. "Hey... I love you," he reminded her softly.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I know. I love you too." She said softly as he pressed his head against her own. "And I know that you're exploring this new skill that you've found."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I think I'm starting to understand how I can use it," Andre offered with a grin. "I never want to make you do anything you don't want... but I think I know how I can use this to help us out. Maybe even avoid a few fights. I'm testing it out with the dragons, but I know I can use it with humans too. I can sort of... make people see things my way. Persuade them. I'll show you sometime in the market. Maybe I can even use it to talk your uncles out of killing me when they find out I asked you to marry me without their permission."

 

[heartofcourage]

“Do you really think it’s my uncles you need to worry about? My grandpa will have your hide.” Riley said with a small smile. “And then Durban and Boar will take care of the rest.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm fairly certain I can outrun most of them anyway," he chuckled with a shrug before heading toward the door.

Downstairs, everyone was gathering for breakfast. Soma was already at the table looking over a book and a map, and he cleared them away before setting the table. Sam would be the last to arrive, leaving his forge to heat up while he ate.

Seeing Riley and Andre there, Sam smiled lightly but said nothing as he sat down in his usual spot.

 

[heartofcourage]

"So, old man, what did you do with Ma?" Riley asked, noticing that her mother was absent. "Is she chained away somewhere to finally get some rest?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"Let 'er sleep in, so yeah," Sam chuckled, glancing to Fiona's empty seat "We went out on a walk last night an' fell asleep out there. Brought her back early this morning."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You are such a sap." Riley said, often teasing her Da about how much he cared about their Ma. "I thought highlanders and Vikings were supposed to be strong and stoic."

She reached for a bowl that Siobhan offered, placing it on the table as the cook settled the rest of the food around for everyone to reach. In the light of morning, the ring on her finger shown brightly, practically sparkling after Andre had put the work into it to make sure that it was in perfect condition for her.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Strong doesn' mean heartless," Sam reminded, glancing down at the ring as he noticed it catch the light. He pulled Riley in briefly to kiss her cheek but said nothing more.

 

[heartofcourage]

“Andre is coming to the forge today so that you can properly measure him yourself.” Riley said after Sam pulled her in and kissed her cheek. “He’s too much for me to handle.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"Too distracting, you mean." Sam patted her hand. He was among the first done and was soon headed back out to make sure his forge didn't overheat. Soma helped Siobhan clear everything away, and they left food for Fiona in the kitchen for whenever she woke.

Andre soon followed Sam, retrieving his own apron and gloves and bringing back the tailor's tape. Within a few minutes, Sam was retrieving planks of wood and marking out the circular pattern, gluing them together, and preparing to saw out the shape.

 

[heartofcourage]

Riley follow the both of them into the forge, taking up her own apron from the usual hook and working on her armor absently as Andre worked with her Da on the new shield. She glanced at them from time to time, making sure that they were both on their best behavior. She couldn't help but he incredibly protective of Andre, even if it was with her own family.

 

[KieranSoares]

Once the basic wooden form of the shield was ready, Sam and Andre set the shield aside and began flattening out the ingots into long, thin, uniform strips once that was done, Sam punched holes in them to nail them down later, and they reheated the metal. Andre held the shield standing up on it's side as Sam pounded the hot metal onto the form, the wood burning and scorching and smoking. After each section was finished, quenching oil was poured over and a cloud of steam and smoke went up. It took an hour to get everything hammered in before Sam set the nails, and then cut out the center to add the shield boss, handle, and straps. By the end of three hours and a lot of close teamwork and teaching Andre each step, Sam laid the completed shield on his anvil with a content sigh.

"Paint and keep it well-sealed, an' she'll serve you well," Sam told Andre. "Won' last forever, but wood can be replaced."

Andre ran a hand across the smooth wood grain surface with clear appreciation, admiring the hammered metal edges and the gleaming, hammered boss in the center. "It's gorgeous, Sam."

"Good, you should be proud of it," Sam turned the compliment around and clapped Andre on the shoulder. "You worked hard on it." Andre chuckled as Sam walked away, only to come back with a box full of small paint pots. "Whenever you decide what to paint, these're free t'use."

"I already know," Andre muttered excitedly, hefting the medium shield onto his back and taking the box before jogging out into the sunlight and fresh air to work.

Sam smiled to himself lightly and glanced to Riley. "Good choice, little kit," he murmured, before turning back to his other protects. Among them was taking the reinforcement out of Fiona's leg guards as she'd asked.

 

[heartofcourage]

“Why Gran’s ring?” Riley asked as her Da quietly praised her choice in mate. “It means a lot to you and I thought you might give it to Tati or Soma. Someone who wouldn’t be so rough on it.”

She watched as he methodically worked on her Ma’s armor, curious as to why he was taking out the reinforcement that he had only recently installed.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Because you are th'one closest to her among th'three of you," Sam explained it as though it was obvious. "You're my firstborn, an' you an' your mother an' my Ma were there for me when my Gran couldn't be anymore. You've always had her steadfast spirit an' yer Ma's. I chose you because you're a powerful woman, an' you're a continuation of the tradition Katherine of Skye began."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Ma is the reason why I am here and why you are here. She should be the one that has this ring." Riley said as she looked up at her Da.

"Do you remember when I was little and I refused to eat vegetables? Ma always told me that sometimes we had to do things that we didn't want to do because it would make us better?" Riley asked, remember how she used to howl and scream at dinner time when Fiona had insisted that she eat what was on her plate. "Well, sometimes what we don't know won't hurt us. I know that you used to hide them in my potatoes. I just never said anything about it."

She reached out and stopped him from his task, pointing at certain points in the armor. "She would never know if there were a few subtle changes that helped her in the end."

Riley took the tools from her Da and reached for his charcoal pencil, circling certain points around the hip of her mother's armor. "If you added support to these places, I don't think she would ever notice. Most importantly, I don't think an enemy would notice."

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam smiled lightly to himself, leaning lightly on Riley as she pointed out her ideas. He took his notebook out and began drawing a diagram, finding places were he could sneakily double up a strap and make it look normal, or reinforce a piece with another layer between steel and leather.

"You're always scheming against her," Sam murmured with a little chuckle. "Even when you're trying to help." Retrieving some scrap plates, Sam cut reinforcements out of them and shaped them, thin but effective, to fit into the pieces where they'd be hidden, and let Riley handle the straps as she knew what she was doing.

After another half-hour, Soma came in from running the drakes and he trotted up on Kennah's back. "Hey, Da?"

"Yeah?"

Soma walked in, knowing Kennah wouldn't wander off. "Can I get a new strap for Kennah's chest harness? The one on the right is wearing out."

"Ask your sister, she's th' master of leather today," Sam said with a grin, turning back to his forge to heat another piece. Soma wandered up to Riley's work table. When he was small, he'd hop up on a stool to see what she was doing. Now, he was so tall that he could just about look over her head.

"What are you guys doing, anyway? Is that Ma's?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"Not scheming against her. I just know that you'll support me." Riley said with a shrug, knowing that her Da had a soft spot for her that could never be matched. "Besides, you'd send me to Grandpa if you really had concerns."

She got to work on the new leather for the armor, pausing when Soma came in with the drakes. She glanced over at her Da as he sent Soma her way. She quickly grabbed thick leather for the drakes, getting to work on the form and shape of it as Soma looked over her shoulder.

"We're working on Ma's armor and if you tell her what you saw here, I'll personally pummel you." Riley commented to her little brother. "We don't need a little mite snooping around."

Roman sniffed around the doorway of the shop, hoping for Fiona to appear or for a sweet that Soma carried in his pocket on runs. He never entered the shop as Sam had scolded him on many occasions, but it didn't mean that he couldn't cause mischief at the door.