Berra — Short Briefing
1628, Sea Season, Fertility Week
Context
Sea Season, Fertility Week, very late on Windsday. [[[s03:session-6|Session 6]]]
Events
. o ( Phew. )
. o ( But also horror. )
. o ( Right. He was having fun. )
. o ( He doesn’t have that much in his life. )
. o ( This is like those times I let him be annoyed at me because he needs to be annoyed. )
. o ( And he can’t handle poetry about love. )
. o ( Like he couldn’t handle talking about Kallyr and sex. )
. o ( But he’s … what was that sword? )
. o ( He must have been talking to it by touch. )
. o ( Do High Swords train swords like I did with the new one? )
. o ( Is it going to be for someone else? )
. o ( He didn’t have his own. )
. o ( Unless that’s another he has. )
. o ( But I think he had to touch it to talk. )
. o ( If you sent a sword with a spirit in it to someone else, you could get it along a road easily. )
. o ( So I think that might be someone else’s. Sent to him. )
. o ( Or there’s a new Sword and he’s binding the spirit. )
. o ( I should ask D’Val. )
. o ( Lord D’Val. )
. o ( And get food. Next time I’m going to send a damned message. )
. o ( Was it wrong of me not to tell him it wasn’t Leika’s idea? )
. o ( Only if he gets the wrong idea about her. )
. o ( And he won’t. )
. o ( And I wasn’t worried about him being proud of me. )
. o ( I’m good enough for his Temple, and that’s good enough for me. )
. o ( So why am I thinking about ducklings? )
“Heya. Can you pass me some bread and something to eat with it, no vegetables. Couple of slices of sausage? Thanks.”
. o ( … )
. o ( Because I want D’Val to be proud of me. )
. o ( There’s the one I care about. )
. o ( Too much. )
As soon as she has finished with eating, Berra knocks on D’Val’s door.
“Yeth?”
Berra pads in, taking that as permission. “Lord?” She gets more formal when nervous. She sounds nervous now.
One feathered brow lifts, “Berra?”
“Uh, I did a thing. At least, advised it. D’you know what a River Egg is?”
“I’ve heard of it, but never seen one.”
“So… I hatched one.” She’s not boasting, she’s just getting it out there. “And it followed me.”
“I heard they do that. And I heard it did. Why Quackford?”
“Oh, right. Because that’s where they wanted it. And a lot of them… well, the priests we talked to couldn’t…” Berra frowns over something briefly. “… couldn’t speak for all the ducks, but it’ll be the main durulzgild from the Colymar. I’d like to thank you.” She bows formally. “You gave me the chance to think about that.”
“You did that for yourthelf.”
“Fine, but if I hadn’t been a duck I’m not sure I would have, so you pushed me towards it. But did you know about that bit, and were just wondering about why the place? Because I didn’t tell the High Sword everything and I wouldn’t want him to think it was because I didn’t dare.”
“I don’tt think he bothersz with why’s.” He considers, “You could have got other thingzs from other people.”
Berra shrugs. “Couldn’t think of anything better. Do you know why he’s got a sword that isn’t his, in his room? It’s a new one.”
“I do. But I can’t zspeak of it.”
There’s a tiny nod from Berra. “Um, and. You know you said about standing at the altar, and if I understood what I saw, I’d be ready?”
“Yeth?”
“I think I do. But not enough of it. Two sides in the same moment of separation. Which I think I can balance on. But then I dreamed I picked up the temple and I can’t work out how to put it down. There’s nowhere safe and no sheath for it.” She looks half worried, half like she is unsure how right she is.
“Always the way. There’s never a sheath. You have to control it yourthelf.”
Berra sighs, sags a bit. “I was hoping that wasn’t it. But… ugh. Oh, do you think the High Sword being bad at understanding love is a weakness?”
“No. He is zseparatedd. But perhapss a weaknessz at understantding othersz.”
Berra nods, taking that in. “The whys. He’s always looking to the next thing. But I’ll try to handle that for him. Alright. That was mostly it. Unless you happen to know anything about dragonbone. Is there anything I should do to look after it? We met some dragonewts.”
“Tsee if they want it back.”
“Oh, alright.”
“Why are there cabbage leaves outside Lord Eril’s door?”
“How do ducks dry scabbards when they get water in them?”
“If you run water from the Sky-River Titan on a flameblade, would it turn blue? Would it be blue next time you called on it?”
1) Sszomeone leavezz them there?
2) Warmth. Wool iss good for waterproofing the inscide.
3a) Don’t know. 3b) Try it.
“Alright. Do you have any idea where I can find some, Lord?”
1) A Sky River Titan.
O.o
O.x
“Have you ever met one? Or him?”
1) No.
====
Berra asks D’Val a few things, and gets stared at.
