The young man instantly flushed at his mistake, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. 

[b]"Ah...my apologies. You look close enough to my age that I assumed...never mind."[/b] He cut himself off before digging that particular hole any deeper, instead choosing to focus on what he'd been told. 

[b]"So you know my brother? We were supposed to meet in town for drinks in the evening, but the knight I serve let me off early enough today that I thought I'd seek Renar out first. Besides, I'd always wanted to see Candaeln from the inside."[/b] A pause, as he realized something. 

[b]"Right, I'd forgotten. Elias Brias. And you, Dame Knight?"[/b]

___

[center][h1][color=ff5000][b]Renar Hagen[/b][/color][/h1][/center]

Well, that had been productive. At long last, the keep smith's queue finally got around to him, and Renar had finally gotten the runes he'd discussed with Serenity inscribed onto his poleaxe. After a brief lecture regarding not depending on the runecraft, which Renar hadn't intended on in the first place, the crusty dwarf let him go, and Renar started proceeding out of the smithy's interior, out into open air. Only to hear a familiar voice. 

[b]"And you, Dame Knight?"[/b]

He blinked. Still with his poleaxe leaned vertically against his shoulder, Renar strode outside to see who else but his younger brother conversing with Serenity of all people. Huh. She must have arrived after he'd went inside to see the smith. 

[color=ff5000][b]"Eli? What are you doing here?"[/b][/color] A genuine smile crossed Renar's face for once, and he headed over to grasp his little brother by the forearm in greeting. [color=ff5000][b]"I thought we weren't meeting until tonight. To say nothing of how you managed to get past the gate guard."[/b][/color]

[b]"Brother,"[/b] Elias smiled back, returning the warrior's greeting. [b]"I pretended to be a messenger of our house. Said I was delivering family news to you."[/b]

Renar's smile tightened slightly at the reminder of the [i]rest[/i] of their shared family. 

[color=ff5000][b]"Lying is unbecoming of an anointed knight, little brother. Good work."[/b][/color] They released their grip, and Renar turned to Serenity. [color=ff5000][b]"I hope he wasn't interrupting anything. The runework is done, anyhow."[/b][/color] A brief shift of the axe head resting flat on his shoulder. [color=ff5000][b]"My thanks again for the suggestions. Are we in the way?"[/b][/color]

[@ERode]