Berra — Blue Tree Clan Tattoo 01
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Context
Dormal and Berra are not the best of friends. Dormal is three sheets to Orlanth when Berra comes to talk to him about her clan. [[[s01:session-27|Session 27]]]
Events
After a few hours in the village, possibly while Dormal is still drunk, probably when he is not yet drunk, a shadow falls over him, and it’s Berra. She looks like she has something to say, and is working on how.
“Wstfgl?”
There is a sigh, and a question. “If you cannot talk, can you listen?”
Dormal gestures to the next bench, and the pitcher of perry.
She throws herself onto the bench and pours perry into a half-full cup. “You are about to join my Clan,” she says with some difficulty. Maybe she’s drunk too.
“I suppose so. If it makes it any easier I’m fine with letting someone else be here.”
“Well.., not that. There is a tattoo, and you should meet the Wyter, but if you do that…” She manages something like a smile, although she might be grimacing at the drink.
“I don’t know that that’s going to work. I’m already in a clan, you’ve met the wyter. Maybe I should give the land away or something.”
Berra shrugs. “If you want. Or I could probably buy it off you. Or you could just keep the tenants and not join. It would be wrong to push you away just because I am here.” That last part comes more confidently, like Berra has thought about it already.
It looks like Berra is trying to be nice about this. She’s drinking the perry and sitting awkwardly in a way that is non-threatening. She waits for Dormal to say the next thing, though.
Dormal stares intently just past Berra’s left ear, apparently thinking.
The rest of the happy crowd is loud. It’s a private conversation despite the loud atmosphere, or because of it. Berra waits for a bit. After a while she does peer at Dormal as if to check he is still conscious.
“Look. Let’s not pretend you want me here. And I’m not going to pretend I want to be here. And I don’t want to cause a scene by doing the wrong thing at some important ceremony. So if it’s Ok with everyone, I’ll just keep the tenants on, maybe appoint one of them head honcho in my absence. And stay out of everyone’s hair.”
“I’m not going to pretend that. But if you’re a member of my clan, we should not argue. That’s what I’m here to say. If you joined my community, you’d be part of it.” Berra does not like that, but she says it anyhow. “I don’t have to like you to accept that. You take up arms for your Clan.” Yes, she definitely hates saying that part.
Dormal waves a hand vaguely. “I can’t stick around anyway. If appointing someone in my absence doesn’t work… I’ll just give the land up to Varanis or Xenofos or someone.”
Berra gets up. “Fair enough. If you want to do that, remember that you’ll probably insult Kallyr less if you sell it and take the money, than just give it away.” She looks down at him, possibly in more ways than one, and then bows.
Dormal unsteadily watches Berra leave, and then staggers away out of sight behind a building.
Then Berra pauses, still not finished. “You know you don’t have to stick around, right? I’m a member of the clan and I’ll be leaving again, just with tenants here. There are plenty who would want to work on the same land every year.” Then she goes, and her face clears up as she leaves and it might be that Dormal is really drunk as he watches her go, or it might be that she’s genuinely dancing and skipping.
