[PRP] Next generation (Torbjörn, Tassa)

[Annchen]

Torbjörn was watching the sea from the cliffs. The waves crashed against the rocks below in an unending motion. When one wave disappeared another soon took its place, slowly eating away the rock and grinding it down to sand.

"Isn't that how we all end," he said to himself. When his task on these rocks were done someone else would follow in his wake. With a bit of luck he'd help leave an impression for later generations. He might not yet have a wife, or cubs, but recently he'd helped teach young Freeborn about their laws and traditions. An apprentice couldn't replace a son or daughter, but he still felt a fatherly pride when they did well.

He would be proud when they were ready to join the family of Lawspeakers. That family was one he could be more proud of than his family by blood. Not that he was embarrassed by his parents. They both had iron in their blood. He shouldn't be embarrassed by his baby brother either. Being a bard was a honored tradition. He just wished that Bifrost would be... less reckless perhaps. There were rumors about his younger brother, and not all of them nice.

Talencia

 

[Talencia]

Tassa picked her way with extreme care along the cliff path. She hadn't breathed a word of protest when her mentor had told her to meet him up here, but knowing her own limitations, the meeting spot made her a little nervous. Her whole family was rather... well, clumsy was the best word for it. None of them were very agile, lithe, or showed much prowess physically. Perhaps some might think of it as a curse, others as an inconvenience. To Tassa, it simply was who she was and how she dealt with the world. That was why she hadn't done something foolish like aspire to be a Captain. Such an idea was laughable, truth be told. Perhaps she might have relatives that would strive for that, but she was content to accept her limitations and work within them.

That actually was part of why she liked the laws so much. Everyone had to work within them, and the patterns of history and tradition helped to mold the entire pride into an ever more mighty future. The laws simply made sense to her, and she wanted to make use of her one strength... her mind.

"Greetings, Master Torbjörn," she called as she came within easy speaking distance. Her attitude was always one of respect and dignity, not just towards her teacher but to others as well. As clumsy as she might be, she kept her spirits up and her head held high, since she considered the true grace to be that of the mind and heart. "What shall we work on today?" She settled herself gingerly to one side of him and back a little further from the cliff's edge. No sense in tempting fate, after all. "It is a good day to learn," she added contentedly. This was her life, and she loved every moment of it.  

[Annchen]

"It's a good day to die, Tassa," Torbjörn said in return "And a good day to learn too."

If Tassa kept making progress like this he'd soon be able to count her among his colleagues instead of his students.

"Did you decide on your assignment yet?"

He had asked her to pick a Stormborn family and trace it back as far as she could. It was an assignment he liked, because it said a lot about the student in addition to testing their skill in researching and memorizing. Some were very ambitious and picked the largest family tree they could think of. There were always the one that tried to find an easy path, while others picked what interested truly them regardless of how easy or hard it would be.

Talencia

 

[Talencia]

Though she wasn't fond of the saying itself, Tassa understood and accepted the significance of speaking of death in a greeting. It stole the power from the eventual event and made it commonplace, a thing not to be feared but to be embraced as a part of pride life. She nodded at her teacher's question, spreading her whiskers thoughtfully.

"A peer of mine headed out on her first viking the other day," she began, "and with her went an adolescent, also on her first viking." She had been a very intriguing looking female indeed. Deep red, but with bold, swirling, jagged markings. She had looked very distinct, but not like any of the main families she'd been familiar with, and it had made her curious, especially in light of her assignment.

"I thought it appropriate to trace the lineage of a new reaver, so I chose her family." She attempted to mask the disappointment that came with her research, presenting the information she'd uncovered in a straight-forward and calm manner. "She has six siblings, three of which are triplets. Her mother was once a thrall from outside the pride, but was raised to be a freeborn when she became pregnant. Her father is also from outside the pride, and has established himself as a reaver of good standing."

She paused to flick her ears back at the memory of attempting to speak to Damu'ajadi about his lineage. He hadn't been especially helpful or pleasant, but then she couldn't expect every reaver to understand the importance of such knowledge. That was, after all, why some of the pride were called to be lawspeakers in the first place. If everyone valued such things, there would be no need for those dedicated to it.

"He had little information to share about his family, however. He only knew his mother, his father was not part of the family. I can say he had three sisters, but he never saw them or his mother again after he left them as an adolescent." Her tone indicated no opinion on the matter, as she had none. It really wasn't their job to put their own feelings into what had happened in the past. Whether she approved of his actions previous to being in the pride was of no importance. "He may or may not have other children beyond the pride," she concluded without the exasperation she mildly felt inwardly. Males! Going about, spreading their genes and never bothering to check in!  

[Annchen]

Torbjörn listened as Tassa retold what she had found. He noted that she didn't seem entirely pleased, but didn't comment on that. It was hard for him to know what it was that bothered her, so unless she brought it up he'd let it slide. He thought he knew the family she was speaking of and nodded as she told him about her investigation.

"Now for the next part of your assignment," he said, "I'd like you to list the names and ranks of this family, starting at the oldest known ancestor. Don't worry about more than the names of the Outlanders in the family, if you know any. If they have iron in their blood they might find their way here and be added to our official records, but until then we will just use them for practice."

Some students would have already memorized this on their first run, while others had to go back and redo parts of the investigation. Torbjörn didn't berate or punish those that had to make further investigations. They'd soon learn what he wanted them to do, and that it was easier to give him what he asked for on the first try.

Talencia

 

[Talencia]

She bowed her head in submission to his next assignment. This meant her braid fell awkwardly across her face and actually got caught in her teeth. She gave a soft sigh as she straightened and reached a paw to disentangle the strands from her teeth. To her further exasperation, her braid promptly tangled in her claws and wedged hairs between her toes. She didn't get flustered and angry, as she'd learned this often only meant the situation would get worse. Instead, she stilled her movements, concentrating on using her other forepaw to carefully remove the hair from one toe at a time. When her paw was finally free, her braid was a scraggly mess, but she left it that way. To further mess with it while so close to this cliff was to entice disaster. In fact, she quietly scooted back another length.

"I believe I know the information you have asked of me," she answered him finally, deeply grateful that he'd given her the space to deal with her little clumsy situation. Of course, to be her teacher he'd have to get used to such things happening randomly. There seemed no reason for why it tended to happen to her, to her family, but she simply accepted it, dealt with it, and moved on, like now. "However, if you would allow me, I'd like time to verify my information before presenting it to you."

It wasn't really that she had any serious doubts about her memory, but she took her job seriously, and refused to let over-confidence or a lax work ethic compromise the integrity of the information.  

[Annchen]

Torbjörn patiently waited as Tassa managed to get stuck in her own mane and then proceeded to try to untangle herself. If he'd try to hurry her, the mess would surely get worse, so he said nothing and tactfully studied the waves below. He enjoyed the roll of the sea, and often went up here to collect his thoughts and relax. It was one of the reasons he often picked this place for lessons, and it hadn't occurred to him that it might make some of his students nervous.

"Of course," he said. "We'll pick another memory exercise for now. Just an easy one. Please recite the Warlords, starting with Gunne."

It was one of his more common requests, and when his students were ready to take a place among the Lawspeakers they better be able to recite them in their sleep.

Talencia

 

[Talencia]

Tassa allowed her tailtip to flick in amusement. Torbjorn often would randomly throw this demand in with other tasks he had appointed to anyone he was tutoring. Clumsy she might be, but her memory was quite good, thus part of why she had chosen to undertake this task. Where memory might fail, determination and repetition did the trick for making sure she was ready whenever he asked for it.

"During the time of Warlord Gunne's rule, an Outlander became captain and challenged him for leadership. Gunne, however, met his end suddenly, leaving Aesir to rise in power as Warlord. A captain named Njal finally chose to challenge Aesir during a breytast vindar, thus winning the right to be Warlord and returning the pride to old ways that had been standard before Aesir, limiting what females could do. He, in turn, was defeated later by our current Warlord, who was known previously as Ruzanski but changed his name to Ruzski, and who is our Warlord to this day. Warlord Ruzaki has relaxed the constraints on female roles within the pride once more."

She had chosen not just to list the names, which would have been a simple recitation. It wasn't just the names that were important, but the roles they had played in the pride's development and history, and how that impacted today's society as well as what would become of the pride in the future.  

[Annchen]

Torbjörn nodded as Tassa breezed through the assignment. Next time she might be ready to step it up a notch and list the descendants of Aesir. Not an easy task since the former warlord had been quite prolific, but someone had to keep those large family lines in their heads. It was old knowledge that those marrying too close kin would end up weakened for it. Torbjörn had never seen it happen, and the tales were old and fuzzy enough to be better fit for bards than for Lawspeakers. Still, he felt it was their duty to inform pride members about to make a match that was a bit too closely related.

"Good," he said as she finished, "I'll hear about your other assignment next time."

He didn't expect any trouble, and he hoped she'd be excited for what they were going to do next. In a few days time he'd be next in the rotation of Lawspeakers taking care of new members.

"You know where the Lawspeakers usually gather?" he asked, "I'll be in charge of greeting Outlanders joining us, and I think you are ready to help me. How about you meet me there the day of the new moon?"

It was a very important task, but he was sure she was ready to learn it.

Talencia

 

[Talencia]

Her teacher wasn't the sort to be terribly demonstrative. His nod and pronouncement of her performance as "good" was indication of a great deal of approval, or so she'd learned. He just wasn't the sort to make a big fuss or heap anyone with praise. It didn't trouble Tassa much. As long as she knew she'd done it correctly and that he was pleased, that was all she needed.

When he asked her about her knowledge of where to gather, she bobbed her head carefully, swinging her loose braid away from her face as she did it. No sense in giving a repeat performance for so basic a question. However, his next words had her riveted on his face, eyes widening with interest and no little excitement. This was a big next step in her training! Her foreclaws flexed in pleasure at the idea of learning this task and helping her teacher.

"I will meet you there," she agreed with more aplomb than she felt. This was to be a new adventure, of the sort she preferred. Not for her the drawing of blood and the taking of treasure. No, this was much more her style! New things, new lessons, new people. This was going to be a treat, but one she took quite seriously. "You can count on me, master Torbjorn."  

[Annchen]

Torbjörn nodded yet again, and he smiled kindly at his eager pupil. She might not bounce up and down, but he knew excitement when he saw it.

"I know I can count on you Tassa," he said, "Don't die in bed."

And with that he turned back to the sea, and to his thinking. Marking very effectively that the lesson was over.

Talencia

-fin-