((Role-Play that has been logged from the 7th February 2020))
Ljota meanders out of the back and pauses in the main hall.
Gelvira would've been in the main hall for quite sometime, as she had found a comfortable seat at her usual place at the table, accompanied with an empty mug and an almost empty jug of cider. She'd be pouring herself a mug, humming softly to herself, before she'd take a sip. She'd notice Ljota as her gaze wandered over the rim on the tankard, and she'd wave her free-hand to her.
Ljota eyes Gelvira a moment, then comes closer to the table. She nods to the empty jug. "You drink all that yourself?"
Gelvira blinks a few times, tilting her chin up slightly to look up to Ljota more directly. She'd pay a glance to the jug, shrugging her shoulders idly before she'd take a swig from the mug again.
Ljota blinks back at her, then frowns. "Are you alright?"
Gelvira finally lowers her mug, and places it on the table, having no issue with withdrawing herself from the contents for a moment or two. Upon closer inspection, Gelvira was not looking her best, and she had a few smudges of mud on her clothing, as if she'd been dragged through a bush; ''How was the spear training? I'll have to apologise to Hound-Friend for not making it.''
Ljota 's frown deepens. "The spear training was... fine; I'm sure he'll be happy to catch you up on what you missed."
Gelvira nods, her brows raised, clearly avoiding the question and Ljota's expression; ''Who was there?''
Ljota shakes her head. "Hound-Friend, Leohna, Jess, Em, uhh... a woman called Mar-something, and myself. Why won't you answer me?"
Gelvira nods again, a faint smile creeping onto her features for a moment; ''Is it bad I'm kinda glad I missed it? If there was only you and Hound-Friend from the Clan, that is..'' She'd then look to her mug briefly, but would resist, and instead looked back up to Ljota. She intended to continue to play dumb, and so wafted a hand dismissively; ''I am answering you. We're talking. Me talking to you is me answering you, surely?’’
Ljota frowns frustratedly. "You know what I meant!"
Gelvira exhales softly, giving in to her route of ignoring it; ''I know, I know..'' She'd then pause for a moment, looking to the mug and jug, before pushing both of them away from her; ''I'm alright. Just a little bit of my mind today, is all.''
Ljota takes a deep inhale through her nose, but then lets it back out and relaxes some, speaking in her usual quieter voice. "I can see that. You, uh... You look terrible. Where have you been?"
Gelvira scoffs; ''Well, that's certainly a way to make me feel better, Ljota..'' She'd then look down at herself, and then, nodded in agreement; ''Oh, right.. I suppose I do. I went for a walk with Alaric.''
Ljota stares a moment, then just blinks at her. "Were you... attacked by wolves on your walk? Or did you just fall in some mud?"
Gelvira shakes her head; ''Don't you think I'd be in a much worse state if I was attacked by wolves?'' She'd speak softly, with no aggressive or angered tone of voice, before she'd continue; ''I was in the woods all day, and the mud must've just.. Found me.''
Ljota frowns a little. "I wasn't being... never mind. Is there anything I can do for you? I'd offer to get you a drink, but... err, well..."
Gelvira shakes her head, pushing her mug away even further; ''I've had enough of that for one evening..'' She'd then simply smile to Ljota, shrugging her shoulders; ''There's not much you can do, so there's no need to worry about it.''
Ljota 's frown lingers, but it takes a sympathetic turn as she finally seats herself. "Well... alright. As for being glad you missed the training... well, if you'd been there, things would've been a bit more balanced. Four guests, and three of our clan instead of two..."
Gelvira shrugs her shoulders; ''I thought it was a.. /Clan/ only exercise, considering it is for our benefit. I hadn't even realised the guests were going to attend.''
Ljota knits her brows. "What, just you, me, and Hound-Friend? Our friends need to know what they're doing, too, if we want their help with the orcs."
Gelvira nods; ''Doesn't necessarily mean we have to supply their protection, does it?''’
Ljota blinks. "What? If anything, they're... protecting us. What's gotten into you?"
Gelvira huffs; ''They're protecting us, but.. We have to train them to do that?''
Ljota raises her brows a little. "Yes!"
Gelvira rolls her eyes; ''We're training people, some with absolutely /no/ experience with Orcs or even battle in general.. What happened to using the coin that I, and coin that Snow-Hair earnt, to pay for mercenaries?’’
Ljota shakes her head. "Well... I don't know; I'm not, err, in charge of our coin. I don't know how to fight; would you rather I sit around uselessly when the orcs come?"
Gelvira shrugs her shoulders; ''You're different, Ljota. You're actually a part of this Clan. They're not! How can we rely on.. /Just/ them against Orcs?''
Ljota rubs her temples. "I don't know! I don't know if they'll be enough, but... I don't see the hurt in helping them be as helpful as they can. We help each other; that's the whole point. And... anyway, they're not so bad. I trust Jess and Em, and... err, and Leohna, I suppose. Are you forgetting I wasn't part of the clan, either, to start?"
Gelvira folds her arms across her chest, simply just looking to her for a moment, contemplating her response; ''You weren't, but now, you are. What's that got to do with anything?''
Ljota frowns a little. "Well... I think both Jess and Leohna are staying with us now. If we get through this orc problem, who knows how things could end up?"
Gelvira narrows her eyes; ''The difference between you and them is that we all came here for the same purpose, Ljota. They wouldn't be anything but guests, or friends to some, but that's it.''
Ljota shakes her head. "We're standing together against the orcs for the same purpose, too."
Gelvira nods; ''I'm not saying that they shouldn't help us. I just don't think /we/ should be the ones who's teaching them, or just rely on them without other options, or the fact that people will start to think they're one of us.'' She'd huff, now reaching for her neglected mug again.
Ljota sighs briefly and plants her elbows on the table to cradle her head in her hands. "Alright, well... fine, you win. Let's, uh, leave our friends defenceless and just wait for the orcs to kill us. At least no one will accuse us of being trusting."
Gelvira huffs, clearly annoyed at Ljota's response, and she'd lift the mug to her lips to finish its contents. She'd then place it on the table, harder than she would have usually, yet nothing ridiculous; ''I never said that! When have I said that, hm?! I said, by all means, they can help but we've.. No, the rest of you, have chosen friends who have little, to /no/ experience! What use is that?’’
Ljota shakes her head. "Jess and Em do have experience. They were training us alongside Hound-Friend, not... not the other way around."
Gelvira shrugs her shoulders; ''So what, Ljota? My point still stands. You've all made friends, and there's nothing wrong with that, but we can't rely on them /alone/ to help us. Surely.. Surely that's obvious to you?''
Ljota takes a palm off her face to look at Gelvira. "Yes, but... I don't see why that should keep us from bettering what help we do have. And... umm, anyway, I don't see we should trust mercenaries we bribed into helping us over the people doing it by choice."
Gelvira shakes her head; ''It's practical though. We need people who actually know how to fight them, and knows how to fight them /properly!/'' She'd move the mug away from herself again, but she didn't seem to calm down as the disagreement carried on; ''We should look after ourselves before them. If they wanted to help, as well, they could do things themselves to help them, and in turn us!’’
Ljota frowns. "So... uh, what, they ought to just train themselves to use spears? We can... We can look after each other without taking less care of ourselves."
Gelvira has clearly become incredibly frustrated with the situation she's now in, and admittedly at Ljota; ''I don't care what they do. They're not my problem.'' She'd then bring herself to her feet, and as she stood, she'd slam her hands onto the edge of the table; ''If you want to pity them, then go ahead. But I'm not going to be /that/ stupid.'' With that, she'd march toward the exit.
