The Gig, Saturday afternoon

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

Rosie was feeling very doubtful as she stood in the middle of the small stables. There were three horses peering at her, slightly worriedly, and one standing by her shoulder, and she wasn't sure, but she thought she might be in shock.

It was the only explanation for the fact that she felt like she was floating. Bold, the black horse at her shoulder, had been patiently explaining things to her for most of the day. Right now, she was stuck on the lights that came on when you touched part of the wall. And the lack of a pump or a well - water gushed out of a tap when you turned the handle.

Is she all right?
Give her time. This is all new to her.
Remember when you were a foal and you saw your first human.
Poor thing.

That snapped Rosie out of it, and she scowled, then nodded once firmly. She had responsibilities, the owner of this -- she struggled for a word -- establishment, whoever he might be, had entrusted it to her.

In a few hours, the horses were turned out, the stalls were clean, and there was a sign prominently displayed where it could be seen from the road.

The Gig

Horses for hire.

Horse-leech (vet) in residence.

Blacksmithing by appointment.

The word 'vet' had been added at Bold's insistence.

Satisfied, Rosie took a seat on an upturned barrel where she could watch the road and started carving a spindle end. The smooth slide of the knife through the wood was soothing and it meant she didn't have to think.

[Open, of course! You can see both Rosie and the sign from the road. The buildings have always been here, just no one noticed, and they're at the edge of the wooded area. If you want a job, Rosie might just give you one. Info about The Gig is here.]

Comments

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

After sleeping in as long as possible, Firekeeper and Blind Seer had gone out with the intention of exploring the wooded area they'd heard about.

Neither of them had expected to find a human already there. Firekeeper stopped short on the path, placing one hand on Blind Seer's back and peering warily at the young woman.

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

A girl with a wolf. That was unexpected. Even more unexpected than the lights and the water. Rosie set the knife down, slowly, watching them both with unconcealed curiosity.

"Good afternoon," she called to the girl, and Hello, she said to the wolf, adding, Please don't scare the horses. They've had a trying day..

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

Firekeeper couldn't help the yelp of surprise that escaped her at hearing a human speak in the manner of Beasts. "We won't scare them, unless they insist on behaving foolishly," she replied.

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

Rosie stared, knowing it was rude but no more unable to stop than she could have swum. They won't, she replied, stunned to hear a human talking in beast-speech. Who are you?

She stood as she spoke, taking a step forward. Are you a fairy? Following on that question was the whispering thought -- Had she been followed here? Only fairies possessed beast-speech; fairies and Rosie, but she was a special case.

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

"Fairy?" Firekeeper repeated the unfamiliar term. "No, I'm a wolf."

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

Eyes wide, Rosie gaped at the outlandish claim, looked between the girl and the wolf, then sat down with an oof. You don't look like a wolf, she grumbled, planting her chin in her hand.

But she did feel like one, almost, she was speaking beast-speech, and the wolf at her side was a strong arguement...

"I'm Rosie," she said. No one told me there would be human shaped wolves here.

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

"I don't," where once there might have been denial, now there was just straightforward acknowledgment. "But my heart is a wolf's. They call me Firekeeper," and then, in Pellish English: "Humans is calling me Blysse. Whichever is comfortable, you use." It generally wasn't a choice she offered humans at a first meeting, but Rosie knew Beast speech, which raised her above other humans in Firekeeper's opinion.

"I am Blind Seer," the blue-eyed wolf offered, kneeling in his approximation of a human-style bow.

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

Rosie put her face in her hands and laughed. Well, she thought, I wanted something to make me not think of home, and here it is, introducing itself.

Firekeeper, then, she decided, lifting her head. Beast-speech had always been simpler than human. Nice to meet you, and you, Blind Seer. There's no need to bow. I'm just Rosie.

Just Rosie, not a princess to whom people would be bowing. She was just Rosie. That was all.

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

Firekeeper snorted, because telling a wolf they didn't need to do something rarely worked as intended.

"I didn't expect to find a stable here," Firekeeper commented, trying- and failing- to decipher the lettering on the sign.

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

I didn't expect to find myself with a stable, Rosie replied, then shook her head. I only arrived yesterday, and it was all waiting for me. Apparently I'm in charge of it. She shrugged one shoulder. I'm a horse-leech by training, but I should be able to muddle through. The horses know how to be cared for, so they'll tell me if I get anything wrong.

She pushed a hand through her hair. Going to be a lot of work, though. It wasn't a complaint; if anything, it was said with relief.

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

"I didn't expect to find myself enrolled in a school. This place is strange that way," Firekeeper admitted. "Horse-leech... like a kidisdu?" it was strange, too, how easily the Liglimosh word fell from her lips.

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

She shook her head at the unfamiliar word. A horse-leech is an animal-healer, she explained, looking at Firekeeper curiously. There's a school here? What does it teach?

The only schools she knew of were the far away academies, where the magicians took magic and tamed it into words and books and signs.

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

"Kidisdu care for animals as well," Firekeeper nodded. "And the school teaches all kinds of things. Some more practical than others." She couldn't help but add that last bit.

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

If it teaches anything practical, she said tartly, I'd be amazed.

She'd grown up in a household of fairies; certain points of view were inevitable.

I'm sure it's got its own value, though, she added, belatedly realising that her words could be seen as a slight against Firekeeper.

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

"I like the hunting class, even if the things we hunt aren't the kind found where I'm from," Firekeeper admitted with a grin.

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

It does teach something practical! She didn't even try and hide her amazement, and she laughed at herself. I can see I've got some learning of my own to do.

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

"There's always learning to do," Blind Seer commented pointedly. Though his gaze was directed at Firekeeper as he said this.

She just kicked him gently in the ribs in reply.

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

Rosie covered her laugh with a cough. Very wise, she agreed. Learning never stops, not until you die.

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

"He-", Firekeeper sighed, "has been pestering me for the longest time to learn how to read human language. I finally relented, and he's been unbearably smug about this victory ever since."

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

I didn't want to learn to read, either. She smiled at the memory. It wasn't the reading I objected to, it was the wasting time indoors that I didn't like. Kat had to drag me in from outside long enough to learn.

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

Firekeeper grinned at Rosie. "Reading is not a skill wolves have much need of, but we are spending more and more time with humans, so," she shrugged. "It may well turn out useful."

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

I've found it to be, no matter how annoying it was to learn. She brushed some wood curls off her pants, then cocked her head. Would you and Blind Seer like a tour?

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

"We would!" Firekeeper nodded enthusiastically. "We'll take care not to frighten the horses." Well, not deliberately anyway. Some horses just lost all sense when they scented a wolf, especially a Royal Wolf like Blind Seer.

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

Rosie lifted her head, calling to the horses, There is a wolf, but he will not hurt you.

The horses trusted her, but she was only a human; there were limits. With an unconvinced snort, Bold gathered up the others and led them to the farthest end of the paddock, where he took up position as sentry.

We will stay here, and my hooves are sharp and my legs strong, Bold replied.

Rosie nodded, but she wasn't worried - the others all seemed unconcerned. They should be fine, she said to Firekeeper and Blind Seer, starting to walk towards the barn. Let me show you the stables, and my workroom.

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

The wolves followed along, Firekeeper giving an amused snort at Bold's statement. So different from the timid creatures Earl Kestrel kept!

[berserkerminsc.livejournal.com]

Out for a bit of a good-mood stroll with his hamster securely enjoying the walk from the pouch on his belt, Minsc gave a cordial nod of his head to the young lass on the barrel. "Afternoon, my lady," he greeted her.

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

"It's just Rosie," she corrected, nodding back as she worked on her spindle end. "Not my lady. I'm a horse-leech, not nobility."

Liar, came the voice at the back of her head. She ignored it. Here she was just Rosie.

She tempered her words with a smile as she sent a greeting to the small creature in the large man's pouch.

[berserkerminsc.livejournal.com]

"Ah," Minsc said with a cheerful sort of smile, "but there is nobility in the hearts of all who are good. So unless you are really quite the bad-doer, 'lady' is a just title be you as lowly as the dust beneath our feet or as high as the clouds above our heads!"

And while Minsc gave his flowery little speech, Boo just idly nibbled on the side of the pouch. It wasn't that he was intentionally ignoring the lady's greeting; it was just that his attention was too scattered to remember to greet her back when there was nice leather to nibble on.

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

Rosie was, entirely unusually for her, speechless at this outpouring of egalitarianism. The lack of response from the -- was it a mouse? Something similar -- didn't bother her. Animals often had their minds filled with other things.

The speechlessness didn't last.

"I see." She really didn't. "I'm not a bad-doer, but I'd prefer it," she added, with a slight emphasis on prefer and a bemused smile, "if you called me Rosie."

[berserkerminsc.livejournal.com]

"Then Rosie it shall be!" Minsc declared, wholeheartedly. "And you may call me Minsc! This is my companion and hamster, Boo! Say hello, Boo!"

Boo did not say hello; again, this was not out of rudeness, but merely out of the fact that he had just tuned Minsc out a long, long time ago.

"It is verah nice to meet you, my la-- ahh," he tried to roll out the gaffe as if it didn't happen, stretching his arms up with the sound. Completely natural. Really. "Rosie."

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

The grin was entirely beyond her control. He reminded her of Rolf's puppy, or Zogdob or Throstle, all enthusiasm and friendliness. "And it's very nice to meet you, Minsc and Boo. Welcome to The Gig."

She waved a hand at the stables and small outbuilding behind her, the pasture with its horses stretching back into the trees.

[berserkerminsc.livejournal.com]

"Thank you!" Minsc found the welcome to be very kind and responded with hearty appreciation.

And then there was a pause.

"And what," he said, with much less enthusiasm and something more akin to embarrassment, "is the Gig?"

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

"This collection of buildings is The Gig." Rosie stood, stretching, because she wasn't used to sitting for such a long time.

"It hires horses for those who want to ride them," her tone was doubtful, because she'd never been able to shake the feeling that riding horses was rude, even if they said they didn't mind, "and it's also home to the island's newest horse-leech and her forge. That's me," she added, in case it wasn't clear.

After a slight pause, she added, "The Gig is also where I come from."

[berserkerminsc.livejournal.com]

Since Minsc was of a rather similar opinion of riding horses as Rosie, at least when it came to him and all his bulk, there was only one bit of that that even remotely caught his attention, although he was thinking of coming and visiting with the horses on occasion.

"A forge, you say?" he asked, clearly intrigued. If it wasn't evident in his tone, it would be by the stroking of his chin between his fingers.

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

"Only a small one," she said. "I was apprenticed as a horse-leech to a smith, and he taught me some things." The stab of homesickness, the longing for home and family, was so strong, she drew in a sharp breath.

She covered it by walking towards the small outbuilding that held the forge. "I can show it to you if you want."

[berserkerminsc.livejournal.com]

"That would be verah nice," Minsc nodded, and followed Rosie. "Thank you! I am not knowledgeable of the forge myself, but a warrior is always in need of a good smith to help keep the dents and rust from his babies."

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

Rosie smiled over her shoulder as she led the way to the forge. "That's something I can do," she said. "Fancy ironwork is beyond me, but I can hammer out a dent with the best of them."

[berserkerminsc.livejournal.com]

Minsc laughed hardily to hear that. "Ah, good! Because I'm probably even better at denting things than you are hammering them out! And trust me, that is by no means a criticism on your work!"

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

"I"m not sure I've ever met a warrior before." Rosie didn't know if Ikor counted. "Is there much call for you here?" she asked as she opened the door to the forge.

The light switch was just there, but she hesitated before turning it on. When she did, light flooded the room. There was a small forge with a chimney, set into the wall so the heat would vent outside, tools neatly shelved, and a long workbench, with yet more tools.

[berserkerminsc.livejournal.com]

"Not here, no," Minsc shook his head. "Not beyond just a general, light stretch of the old gusto! I'm here on my retirement, actually..."

He trailed off slightly, into the sort of pause that betrayed his usually boisterous demeanor. He shook his head, though, and it was gone, and he looked around the area.

"This," he declared, opening his arms to the space, "is a wonderful work area indeed!"

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

It was with a proprietorial air that Rosie put her hands on her hips and surveyed it. "It is," she agreed. "I've never had so much space to myself. There's another workroom off the stables, I've set that up for working with sick animals." She let her fingers trail over a large hammer. "So much space and it's all mine."

[berserkerminsc.livejournal.com]

"If Boo ever gets sick," Minsc commented with a light smile, as he noticed the lass reveling a little in her newfound space. "I will remember to go to you immediately, Lad--." He coughed; old habits were hard to break. "Rosie. Although I do not think that shall happen, as he never get sick. It just does happen for a giant miniature space hamster."

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

Rosie slowly turned and stared at Minsc. "Giant miniature space hamster?"

[berserkerminsc.livejournal.com]

"Oh, yes!" Minsc beamed proudly, patting the head poking out of the pouch lightly. "A very rare and powerful species! I am very lucky to have him, even if he is a horrible hand at poker."

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

She looked at Boo. She looked at Minsc. "A horrible hand at--"

No, she decided, she wasn't going to ask. She wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"I'm sure he's a fine companion, despite that. He's the first of his kind that I've met."

Even Rosie wasn't sure which of them she was talking about.