[IC] Goblin RP

[Aristocles]

@Pandalope

"I don't know. The idea is to get in and out of the Rockbiter village as fast as possible" Taurl explained. "If we catch them off-guard, there will be little fighting. If they respond quickly, we could be in for a very bloody fight. A male doesn't gain much reputation by doing safe things, you know. It's why so few of us stay home and farm. I suppose we could get lucky and hit their stores of supplies without much resistance, but they are likely to be as well-protected as ours are. I do know that the Rockbiter tribe doesn't have as many warriors as they used to. They've had some losses at the hands of human bandits recently. Not that it takes goblins long to replace our casualties. We're kinda relying on you to take care of that part, Nabi. It's why taking you along is a risk, but it is one I'm willing to take, since you want it."

[Jangel13]

@Pandalope

Olric was still using his chisel on the sword making sure the engraving was right just as Gabi came in asking about her sister. He blew some excess shavings before he answered "she was here but now he is with ty. The shovel is by the door repaired as promised. While she was here I offered her an apprenticeship with me in case you were interested. If you don't mind me working I can certainly talk?" He offered unsure if Gabi was open to talki g with olric unless it was business. After all he was usually here and making weapons and repairing tools was all he did. They talked once in a while when she needed tools but they never really conversed before.

[Pandalope]

Hearing about all of the potential danger that could take place on the raid probably should have made Nabi nervous, but it actually only made her more excited to be going. She wondered if she would get into a fight herself, and how she would fair if it ended up happening. She wanted to believe that she would do okay, but obviously it wasn't a good idea to be too overconfident when she had never even held a weapon of any kind before. Her cheeks flushed when Ty mentioned that the tribe was relying on her to help repopulate. She always knew that one day she would end up having younglings of her own, but it still made her uncomfortable to think about. She tried to picture herself with a big belly filled with younglings or holding a couple in her arms while nursing them and it made her stomach tighten.

Gabi groaned when she heard that Nabi had gone off with Ty. She should have known better than to trust Nabi to do even this one simple task. She sat down on a basket in the corner of the hut. "I don't get why she has to act that way," she said to Olric. "Why can't she behave herself like females are supposed to. Always trying to do things that she shouldn't be. And sure, I don't mind talking at all," she said to him with a smile.

[Aristocles]

@Pandalope

Ty knew better than to push too hard with a female. He couldn't get away with things that a proven veteran could. The few times he had overstepped his boundaries had ended in either him being dismissed or ignored. The times he managed to impress a female were few and far between, and it was usually one who couldn't find another male that day, so they had to settle for him. More importantly, he was starting to understand that females could want other things in life besides breeding children, even if it was vital for the tribe's survival. It was a critically important thing, but not the only thing.

Soon, they reached the temple. "The shaman might be inside, or she might be gathering herbs in the woods. Either way, I can leave the offering on the altar." Said altar was little more than a flat rock laid in front of a wooden idol with several faces carved into the surface. He set the rabbit head down before the rock and silently made a prayer for the raid to go well.

[Jangel13]

Olric smiled as she sat down nearby and started to ask why her sister was such an airhead and didn't have the same sense of duty. He turned and smiled at her as she said she didn't mind talking. It was sweet of her since he usually doesn't get to talk to anyone. That was part of the reason he sang to himself when he was forging. He then said "you should look at this as her getting it out of her system. I'm sure even you were rambunctious as a youngling just think of this as her getting her energy used." He said and once the sword was engraved he placed it on a table nearby ready for pick up.

Once that was done he grabbed some iron and got to work making a shield next. He got it into the fo4ge and started to melt down the ore. He then said "even if she doesn't get it out of her system I offered her a job as my apprentice so she could do something different then farm work. It's obvious she finds it boring but she seemed genuinely excited at the idea" he said with a smile

[Pandalope]

@Aristocles@Jangel13

Nabi nodded when Ty said that he would leave the rabbit head atop the alter. She stayed back a few paces and waited for him to finish his prayer. As she was waiting, she made sure to flex her fingers and her toes in preparation for the climbing and other nimble things she might have to do during the raid.

Gabi shrugged. "Yes, I suppose that's true. Still, at her age she should be thinking about other things . . . not acting like a goblin half her age. Still, I'm actually a little relieved that you offered her a chance to be your apprentice. If she isn't willing to do farming, at least she get some work done by helping you out. Although I still think that the sooner she starts breeding like she's supposed to the better." It was nice to talk to Olric, since she didn't often get to talk to anyone but Nabi when she wasn't busy farming or tending to the animals.

[Aristocles]

@Pandalope

Taurl finished his prayers, although it took him some time to petition the ancestors, nature spirits, and gods of war. He saved most of the time for those last ones, given the nature of what he was about to attempt. One false move could easily be his last. Ty eventually went over to Nabi.

"You seem pretty flexible. Looks like you take good care of your legs and feet. I don't see any scars or callouses." It just hit him that this could be a problem. While she worked in the fields, Nabi was probably used to walking on soft dirt and grass, not the rougher terrain of the forest. Still, if the risk of sore feet was the worst thing that she faced, she would be rather fortunate.

[Pandalope]

@Aristocles

"Thanks," Nabi said with a grin as she continued her stretches. "So . . . what now? Do we gather up the other warriors for the raid? Sorry if I'm annoying you by the way." She shuffled her feet and linked her hands behind her back. "I don't mean to. I'm just excited, you know? I mean, most females don't get a chance to do anything like this."

[Jangel13]

@Pandalope

He smiled as she admitted that she hoped her sister would get it out of her system and was relieved when olric said he offered her an apprenticeship. He nodded as he waited for the ore to melt down. When she mentioned breeding her smirked and said "I know it may be hard but I'm sure your sister will find her place in the tribe somewhere. Blacksmithing isn't easy after all so I'm unsure if she has the aptitude for it but I'll do my best to help her. I have to say im glad I got the chance to talk to you, it's rare for me to get good conversations. It's usually just 'hand me a blade and I'll give you rations that's the best I usually get" He said with a laugh. Once the ore was melted he started to carefully pour it into the shield mold.

[Aristocles]

@Pandalope

"Well, there are reasons it is rare. I don't think we need to go over that. I've got a spare stone knife at home. Made it myself. You can use it if you like. After we swing by my hut we can gather up the others. Just... I don't mean to alarm you, Nabi, but if you get caught by the Rockbiters, you'll probably want to use that knife on yourself. Not all tribes are so merciful to their prisoners as we Green Bones are." Ty almost regretted telling her that much, but he felt that he had to warn her somehow. If he told her precisely what they were known to do, it might scare her away.

[Pandalope]

@Jangel13@Aristocles

Gabi smiled while she leaned forward and rested her chin in her palms and watched him work. "I hope you're right about that. And I'm sorry that you don't get to talk to anyone very often. I'll try to make sure that I make the time to visit more often. After all, I'll have another reason to now that my sister will be here often."

"Yeah, I know the reason that females don't go often," Nabi said. The mention of the Rockbiters not being as merciful to their prisoners made her stomach twist into a knot. "W-what do you mean? What will they do to me if they capture me?" she asked, not sure if she really even wanted to know the answer to the question.

[Aristocles]

@Pandalope

"You don't want to know" Taurl replied, very simply. The real answer was 'break her legs and pass her around to be abused by the males', but that was something he didn't want to consider, let alone talk about. It didn't take them long to reach his hut. He quickly entered and left again, carrying his spear in one hand and a flint dagger in the other. He handed it to Nabi. "If you have to use it for defense, just push it forward. It's no good for swinging. Stab, don't wave it around. In fact, take a few practice stabs on that tree over there. Please."

[Jangel13]

@Pandalope

He smiled and nodded to her as she hoped her sister will find her place and will come by more often "I'm looking forward to it. I appreciate your willingness to talk to me normally. As I said I'll do my best with your sister. I will admit I find your maturity very appealing" he said with a slight bow as he went to work on the shield. He then started to bang the hard iron and make it form into a circular shield. Once he started to use his hammer he once again began singing the song from before about goblins and each day keeping the rhythm as he hammered out the iron.

[Pandalope]

@Aristocles@Jangel13

"Okay," Nabi said, trying to keep the nervousness in her voice hidden. She didn't want him to know that she was worried now. She wanted to retain the illusion that she was filled with nothing but excitement and no second thoughts. She worried that if he knew otherwise, he might change his mind about allowing her to accompany him. When they arrived at his hut, she accepted the knife from him and then went over to the tree to do a few quick practice stabs as she was instructed to. She was starting to feel better already now that she at least had a weapon to defend herself with.

"I appreciate that," Gabi said. "At least one of us twin sisters is mature, huh?" She laughed softly. As much as it was refreshing for her to be here with him, she really should be returning to her hut to finish with her work for the day. There was still plenty that needed to be done. "I do have to be going," Gabi told him as she stood up and planted her hands on her hips. "But when you're finished with your work, you should come back to my hut and I'll make you something to eat to repay you for the shovel. If you want anyway."

[Aristocles]

@Pandalope

"Great! Now, is there anything else you'd like to do or have to ask? If not, we should go find the others" Taurl told Nabi. "Oh, and before I forget, we'll have to decide how the loot is divvied up. I don't think the others will want to part with anything, so if you want something from the raid, I'll share a bit of it with you."

[Jangel13]

@Pandalope

He smiled as he kept working and stopped singing when she talked and he would have turned back but he needed to focus on not causing any dents in the shield. As she offered to feed him he nodded and said "I'll be sure to take you up on it. I would bow and say goodbye but if I stop hammering for even a moment it could cause dents in the shield. I'll come by later before sunset if that's okay?" He said liking the idea of actually eating with someone for a change.

[Pandalope]

@Aristocles@Jangel13

Nabi thought for a moment and then shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Anything that you think we should do first?" Then when he brought up loot, she said, "That's fine with me. I don't care much about loot, I just want to go on the raid for some excitement. I really want to have one good adventure that the other females don't have before I, you know, do my duty . . ." She trailed off and looked down at her feet, blushing again.

Gabi smiled at him. "Good, I'm glad to hear that. It will be nice to have you for company." With that said, she went to the wall and grabbed the shovel and then left the hut, again walking with a distinct waddle with one hand on her hip as she made her way through the village and back towards her home.

[Aristocles]

@Pandalope

"Oh, don't think of it like that. Duty. It's the greatest pleasure a goblin can feel, followed by the greatest love a goblin can have. Plus, you will get to actually know your children. I won't be so lucky. Plus, younglings grow up very fast, and you won't look 'big' for more than a month per litter. It won't interfere with your life as much as you fear. We're not like humans, you know" Ty explained, as he noticed that she was looking down at her feet. "As for something else to do... maybe I could have a look at your feet? I don't want you getting sore feet or a cramp in a fight. I'm not going to be able to carry you to safety. Really. We'd both be killed if we're slowed down like that."

[Pandalope]

The way that Ty explained it to her, it actually did make Nabi feel a little better about the idea of having children. Still, she was nervous about it. But she supposed that was only natural. Even if her sister never seemed to be nervous at all about it. "I guess maybe you're right," she admitted. "Maybe it won't be so bad after all." Then when he said he should look at her feet, she nodded and said, "Oh, okay. Sure." She sat down so that he could get a look at them easier.

[Aristocles]

@Pandalope

Ty checked out her right foot first, checking her four toes, their claws, and then moving on to the sole. As he saw, there weren't any callouses.

"They look healthy, but very soft. The muscles are well-developed for someone only... 3 years old, right?"