I Spy With My Little Eye... (Gwaine)

[Brynn Reade]

In her head Brynn was already envisioning a talk with her parents, anticipating every argument they might have against it and trying to find a good answer. Her father would not say much but he would be the hardest to sway. He did not believe that commoners and nobles should mingle too much. Each to his own, he often said. He would lay his life down for any of the knights in a heartbeat, but that was his profession, not something born out of friendship. And that Gyrth would have the time of his life might not be convincing either. For John Reade, an eight year old by should slowly learn to abandon his dreams and focus on his grown up future…
And just that very same thought sparked an idea in Brynn that made her grin rather mischievously. “Well, I will have to run it by my parents first and that might take a little, though now I think I have the perfect tactic…” her grin just widened. “So let’s say, maybe a week from now? I’ll come back to you on that!”

It seemed like her and Gwaine truly were on the same wavelength concerning knights. Brynn might have thought her opinions a little rebellious and had shied away from voicing them, but the risk had been worth it. Not that she would lose any more words on the matter, she was not one for rebellious talk after all. That she would leave for men and women with sharper tongues and wiser minds. When it came down to it, she really didn’t care for much more than her own and especially her family’s safety. She was no one to want to change the world. If changes happened and they did not collide with her ground beliefs – like for example that the right Pendragons were to rule Camelot and no one else, not even Lady Morgana who had been a Pendragon by blood – she accepted them and tried to make the best of it all.
”Glad we agree there, Gwaine”, she replied with a little thoughtful smile. “I already feared I was going out on a limb with this.”

Gwaine only confirmed her rather spiteful remark and seemed to find not the least bit wrong with it. Brynn was not made for a life such as this, she couldn’t even quite grasp the concept. Yes, you ought to have fun once in a while, she would never want to miss out on the rare nights she spent dancing with Alex, but make it a lifetime of just drinking around? And she was sure a rather big lot of flirting with various girls of any status and kind belonged to this kind of pastime as well.
But then again, if Gwaine spent his nights like that and still managed to put on a very good show fighting in the morning, who was she to reprimand him? Apart from the moral grounds her accusations bared of all substance.
”You’ll be an old man at the age of thirty-three”, she predicted though with a mockingly raised forefinger. “Mark my words, Sir Gwaine.”
She nodded curtly when he told her he would not harm her geese unless they would harm him first. “That’s only right, and I am here to prevent that anyway.”

Brynn still kept a firm eye on Martin and also on the other geese, as some were now approaching as well, but rather out of curiosity than malice, and so the little gesture Gwaine made escaped her. The gander was still nervous and slightly on edge, but even as Gwaine was now standing beside her, he made no further aggressive move.
”What makes all men cranky?” Brynn retorted matter-of-factly. “When women show their own minds. He’s got a favourite mate, Queenie – the tall geese with the slightly ragged feathers – and they can be like cat and dog on some days. Nothing serious though, when it comes down to it, they love each other.”

[thegwaine]

Gwaine had a pretty open schedule as far as training and aiding the community went. Sometimes Gwaine thought that the knights never planned too far ahead in case Arthur needed them for some task, or if they came under attack or something like that. However, Gwaine could see no issue with agreeing to teach Brynn’s younger brother a bit of sword practice a week from now. However obviously he could only agree to it conditionally, as he could not pledge his time unconditionally to anyone but Arthur. If his friend needed him to fight by his side for whatever reason then he would of course be there. However, Camelot seemed to be in a relative era of peace, and he could only hope that would continue. “A week from now it is then.” He held his finger up for a moment, breaking up his words, “So long as I am not needed by the Prince.” It was important for her to know that if he was occupied then she should not take it personally. After all he was a knight of Camelot, and he had to perform certain duties to live up to the title.

Brynn might have thought she was alone in her opinions about Knights, but honestly it now seemed quite the opposite. Although there were some that still turned their noses up at the new knights, he supposed it would be a different story when they were fighting to defend Camelot. Some of them needed reminding sometimes that it had been them who had liberated Camelot from Morgana’s rule. However, that was neither here nor there for Gwaine really. The stuck up nobles could continue in their own way, Gwaine didn’t fight for them; he fought for Arthur. “Well I share your opinion, even if others do not.”

Did Gwaine really care the state he would be in when he was in his thirties? Not really. The life of ale and barmaids had served him right so far; he could still fight and defend himself better than most men. He had had to cut down on the amount of ale he was consuming anyway; he was growing rather tired of practically getting beaten up by the other knights who found it fun to gang up on him in his hangover state. Honestly, he wouldn’t do the same to them! Well now he thought about it... he probably would do. He shrugged at Brynn’s words and put a hand through his hair, “And I will have lived a good life.” A good life; one on his terms and no one elses. Yes, Gwaine would be content with that; he had a good life after all.

Gwaine let out a loud hearty laugh at Brynn’s explanation of why the gander was in such a bad mood. Well, it turned out it didn’t matter if you were man or goose; when you were refused by a woman the wound still cut deep. Gwaine had only encountered this problem a few times in his rather charming career; and most of his failures seemed to have occurred in Camelot. It was like he had a reputation or something... “He might get somewhere if he calmed down a bit.” Gwaine mused and let out another chuckle. Although he could not personally see what Brynn found so fascinating about the beasts, it did not mean he couldn’t be amused with them for a while.