Wulfred (![]() ![]() @ 2007-12-21 03:23:00 |
![]() |
|||
![]() |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
Entry tags: | feorcwen, khamul, wulfred |
Who: Wulfred and Feorcwen, and Khamul
What: Bathing!
When: Before this
Where: Eastfold
Rating: PG-13 for naked girls and scary wraith man. I guess XD
Wulfred, having managed to convince her younger brother that listening to their uncle's stories of great weapons and battles were more interesting that what she would be doing for the rest of the day, made her way to the bathing pool. She glanced around for Feorcwen. It was ritual for the pare of childhood friends to sneak away alone to bathe.
Feorcwen was already laying out the blankets and towels for them to dry with, and trying to keep ahold of the soap. She got tangled up in the hem of her dress, and fell flat on her arse, straw-coloured hair obscuring her face.
Wulfred chuckled and grinned, then jogged over to her friend and held out a hand to her. Her hair flashed like fire in the sunlight. "Come now, on your feet. Or shall I carry you into the water?"
Taking the girl's hand, she yanked hard, grinning as she did so.
Wulfred yelped in surprise and found herself sprawled on her belly beside her friend. Oh, Feorcwen was not getting away with that. She pulled the other girl down flat and pinned her, grinning down at her. "Tricky, are we?"
She struggled a bit, kicking her legs ineffectually, and then pouted haughtly, "This isn't very lady-like."
She chuckled. "Aye, min freond, but when has that ever stopped me, except when Mutter made me?" She got to her feet and dusted herself off. She held out her hand again, but this time braced incase her friend tried anything again.
She let herself be pulled up, and dusted at her dress, muttering, "Faeder will be upset if he saw min dress like this." Always. Always ended up dirty with Wulfred. UGH.
Wulfred's father had sometimes seemed to forget she was a daughter, not a son. But then, Garulf had not been known for his intelligence. For his strength and loyalty to his lord, yes, but not his brains. "We can wash it later if you like. Or beat the dust from it."
"Fine.." She nodded her head, then undid the laces of the first layer. Then the second. By the fourth, she once again wondered why her mother insisted on multiple layers like this. One or two were fine, blast it, she wasn't Gondorian!
Finally, she got down to her undergarments, and then those came off. She hugged her arms to herself, shivering in the cold, "canwegetinpleasenow?"
Through some reason unknown to them, this pool was always warm year round.
Wulfred chuckled and rolled her eyes. She slipped off her two simple layers of dress and her underthings. The chill was cold, but invigorating. "We can!" she said, then ran into the water.
"Thankbema," She chattered, following her friend into the water and submerging herself up to her neck with a sigh. She floated the soap and cloth over to Wulffred and giggled.
Wulfred laughed and soaped up the cloth. She washed her face and arms first. Then her chest and lower. She worked a lather into her hair, then floated the soap and cloth back to her friend.
She fumbled them at first, then started to work lathers at herself, "How is your maeder?"
"She is well. As are min aunt and onkle." She ducked under the water to rinse her hair. "And how are your maeder and faeder?"
"Faeder is making do..." As good as any man missing an arm could do. Her parents had been fighting lately - her mother didn't like the attitude her husband had taken since his injury. She shrugged one shoulder, and moved to wash Wulfred's back.
"Mmm. The war made onkle restless. Sometimes the longing in his eyes as the eored rides is too much to look at." Grimbrand would have been a rider, but an injury in early puberty had stunted the growth of one of his legs, and he could not ride.
She nodded her head, "My onkle still misses it. He rode with Eomund!" And she'd endured endless stories of the mark in those days, so much so that she rolled her eyes when she said the name.
Wulfred rinsed her back then turned to wash Feorcwen's. "Faeder remembered watching Eomund's eored. He was so proud to serve Eomer King, though he was not yet king then..." She fell quiet for a moment at the thought of her father. She had the feeling that had he not died earlier, he would have died at the Pelennor.
She nodded her head, then decided to change the subject, "Maeder is having a solstice dinner, and asked me to invite you and your family."
Wulfred grinned. "I am sure maeder and auntie will be delighted to come. And onkle as well, though he shall likely complain about being dragged from his forge."
"You'll complain." She stuck her tongue out, then dunked Wulfred under the water.
Wulfred's arms flailed about before she came up sputtering, hair plastered over her face. She dunked Feorcwen in return. Couldn't let her gat away with that, after all.
Squealing, the young woman tried to drag Wulfred down with her, wrapping her arms and legs around her and tugging hard!
Wulfred twirled them in the water, managing to wrap her arms around her friend's waist as they rolled. she popped up to the surface and shoot her hair out of her face, laughing.
Grinng, the other girl flailed for purchase. Wulfred was the strong of the two and she always ended up on top, but Feorcwen never minded. A part of her liked being pinned like that.
She laughed."You are so very easy to catch, min freond. You should be glad I am not a boy."
"Why should I be glad you're not a boy?" SHe replied, breathlessly, "What reason would I have?"
"You are too easy to catch." She raised an eyebrow.
Her hair dripped in her face, giving her a slightly hidden, shy look, and she peered at her friend from behind the hair, "That doesn't answer my question."
Wulfred huffed and glanced away. "A boy catching you this way might...take advantage of the situation..." And saying that made her cheeks redden slightly.
Her own cheeks reddened in response, "I'm not sure how you mean?" Has never even walked in on her parents!
Bema this was awkward. "Well...do you know how a woman gets a baby?"
"...Like a horse!" She blinked, then blinked again. Wait, that didn't make sense. Oh yeah, it did, faeder had talked to her about it, she'd just ignored most of the talk, "Why would a boy take advantage just to get a baby?"
"Mostly when they take advantage they don't do it for a baby. They do it for power over the woman. And because they can't keep it in their breeches. Babies usually happen though. But its the worst thing a boy could do, taking advantage," Wulfred said.
She blinked, looking mildly horrified. Stammering, she spit out, "Nay! By Bema if a boy tries to take advantage of me I'll..have you hit them with your hammer!"
"If he tries I'll kill him with my hammer." Which she would do. After breaking his hands, feet, arms, and legs first.
"I leof you," She declared, hugging her friend. "I don't know what I 'd do without you, Wulfred." Not wrestle naked?
"I leof you too, Feorcwen." Wulfred hugged her tightly. "I do not know what I would do if anything ever happened to you."
"Go on a rampage with a hammer and act like a boy?" She got this aghast look on her face and swam backwards, before pointing at her, saying in jest, "You would take advantage of me!"
That made her go very red in the face. "I would never do such a thing. You are dearer to me than a sister. I could not let you go unavenged if such a thing were to happen to you. That is all..."
She was still pointing and covering herself, teasing, "Nay! I see right through it! Bema, I should have seen it all along!" She put her hand to her forehead and mock fainted, falling back into the water.
Wulfred's face was close to matching her hair now. She shoved water at Feorcwen. "It's not something to joke about, 'Wen...and I would never, never ever hurt you...you know that..."
She popped up, giggling, and wrapped her arms around the other girl, "I'm sorry, Wulfred.....You're red as a beat."
Pouting slightly, she hugged her friend back. "I accept your apology."
She grinned, and tugged at the girl's hair, "I'm not looking forward to leaving the water." It was freezing everything that was above it.
"Mmm. Nor am I." She kissed her friend's forhead. And yes, she noticed the effects of the cold. Butshesowouldneveradmitit.
Snuggling into her arms, she didn't notice the sound of hooves, until they were right at the edge of the water! She turned, and there was a man there, on a black horse, wearing a black cloak. He was an easterling, and while the smile he gave them wasn't leering, it was still unnerving.
Wulfred pushed Feorcwen behind her, her jaw tightening. If he tried anything...She'd mark him at the very least. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"How sweet," He said. "Rains come from the west, it will not be a pleasant trip back for you." He dismounted. Khamul could be an ass and steal their clothing?
Wulfred would try to chase him down and steal his cloak if the bastard did it. "Begone from here!" she yelled at him.
Khamul smirked at them, "I have had a very bad day."
"Be. Gone," she gritted out. Oh what she would give to have her hammer right now.
He knelt besides the water, dipping a finger in, "Would you like to hear about my bad day?"
Feorcwen's heart thudded in her stomach, and she wrapped her arms around the other girl, clinging tightly to her back.
Bema that man was getting on her last nerve. She shivered as her friend embraced her. "Do not hold to me too tightly," she whispered. "I may have to fight him, and I will not have you injured..." To the man she said, "I do not want to hear about your day, damn you. Begone from here!"
"It started out so well," He said, standing and toeing their dresses. "Lured the Eored's away, and raided Edoras. But the rain stopped most of the fires, and then the Gondorians proved troublesome, and my lures failed and the Eored's returned." He shrugged, "Not a good day at all."
That's it. From now on, she'd bathe with a knife strapped to her leg. She started to swim toward him. "Begone, or I shall make you."
"Bemadamnit!" Feorcwen held tighter onto Wulfred, "What are you doing?! You're naked and unarmed!" Pause, "You'll have him at a disadvantage!"
The Easterling snorted, and moved back to his horse, "You can tell any who ask that the Shadow of the East spared you this day."
Wulfred struggled for a moment against Feorcwen's hold on her, then stilled and fumed. "Bastard," she hissed.
He mounted, and rode off, trampling their clothing in the process. Pray bema the horse didn't need to go to the bathroom just then. Feorcwen was still shaking, even minutes after he had gone. She sounded confused, "Why are we still alive?"
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "I do not know. But from now on, you carry a knife with you when you go out. And I shall strap one to my leg when we bathe, min freond. And I shall kill him if we meet again."
She nodded her head, edging closer, and starting at the cloud of dust that marked his path.
Wulfred swam to shore and held out a towel for her friend as she wrapped one around herself.
"My dress is ruined," She pounted, wrapping the towel around her and shivering, "Coldcoldcold."
"Take mine then, and I'll take yours. Your maeder shouldn't mind, and she can make me work for her to replace it if she feels too strongly about it." Wulfred shrugged.
"But it wasn't your fault!" She tilted her head up, looking cold and miserable and...a bit pissed off, actually.
"Aye, but I ruin more dresses than you ever will. I'll just have something different to work in."
She nodded her head, huddling close for warmth, " I like your dress better. It's...cheaper, but it's more comfortable."
Wulfred grinned and began dressing, bothering with only two layers of her friend's dress. The others could be used for rags or patching things. Or other work dresses.
Feorcwen watched for a moment, then shook her head to clear it when she realized she was staring. She quickly dressed, herself, wrapping up her hair, wishing they'd ridden their horses here.
Walking was going to be annoying, yes. Especially if the Easterling was right about the annoyance of rain. She sighed. "This was not as good a day as I had hoped."
"It was with..nevermind.' She blushed, and gathered the rest of their things. And right on schedule, the icy drizzle started to pour onto them.
Wulfred wrapped an arm around Feorcwen's shoulder and drapped the other two dresses over their heads to keep some of the rain off. "You are welcome to dry off with me when we return. Mother was making stew today, I think."
She nodded her head, and together, the two girls ran home!