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[devilsandangels]

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[devilsandangels]

It's a few days since they'd moved into together. There's all sorts of strange appliances and things to get used to in the apartment. The beds were comfortable enough and all but Alfred finds himself at a loss with things like refridgerators and the like.

In the living room there was a couch and he drops down onto one of the sides, looking toward Hvitserk's room and he bites his lip. He wants to talk, he doesn't know about what but he's found himself rather enjoying getting to know the Viking better.

"Are you hungry?" Alfred calls toward the other's room, as good of way as any to figure out if he's awake or not.

[middleborn]

As expected, Hvitsert hadn't been any help when it came to the appliances. He could barely cook in their own time, so throwing in a handful of modern 'conveniences' just further alienated him.

The house was comfortable enough, however. It was spacious and the furniture was comfortable if a little strange looking.

He'd been sort of half-dozing in the early morning light but perked up at the mention of food, his stomach gurgling at him enthusiastically. He didn't answer, but a moment later his door opened and he peeked out.

"Did you say something about breakfast?"

[devilsandangels]

Alfred smiled when Hvitserk finally did peek out of his room and he lifted a shoulder. "Not exactly but it is morning and I'm hungry," he said. He hasn't really figured out the whole appliance situation and he's contemplated asking someone who's been here longer to help.

They could figure out something to eat, they had been for a while now. The microwave wasn't so difficult after a few experiments.

[middleborn]

"More food showed up yesterday..." He said, making a face. He padded into the kitchen, stifling a yawn and rubbing the back of his hand over one of his eyes. He opened a cupboard, pulling out some bread and revealing some produce he'd been given as well. The cupboard might have seemed like an odd place to put the food, but the refrigerator just hadn't crossed his mind at all.

He frowned a bit, unsure what to really do with any of this to make it a proper meal. Honestly, he was ready to just eat it as is.

"No meat or anything."

[devilsandangels]

Alfred studies the food that Hvitserk brought out and he's not sure what to do with any of it either. His abilities to make food were still limited, although, he has been trying to learn to do so better.

"I heard someone complaining earlier that there is no meat," Alfred says and then frowns. It seems odd to him, there had been meat not so long before.

[middleborn]

Hvitserk looked from the food he'd pulled out of the cupboards over to Alfred, expression remarkably close to that of a dog who had just fetched something. His proud, hopeful expression immediately faltered when he met Alfred's gaze. The Saxon looked as lost as he did.

"That does not look like an 'excited and ready to prepare breakfast' face," He said with a frown of his own.

He glanced back at the assortment of food, "I guess we could eat it like it is... and then try to go hunting? I have not seen any animals though..."

[devilsandangels]

Alfred thinks that for now the others idea that they eat it as is would be the best option. Bread and produce doesn't seem to need to be cooked even in his experience but he thinks that they will have to learn how to make food for themselves if they are ever interested in having a hot meal while they are here.

"I have not seen any either but I think these are alright to eat as they are... We should learn how to make things here."

Alfred doesn't think that hvitserk has much more experience than he does in the matter.

[middleborn]

Hvitserk recognized some of the vegetables in front of him and promptly snagged a carrot and started munching on it.

"Are you very good at hunting?" He asked, mostly out of curiosity, "I think I remember someone mentioning gardens as well... But we are not really low on vegetables."

He frowned a little as he snagged a tugged a chunk of the bread loaf free. It was food and it would keep them alive, but that really didn't mean it was any good.

"Even some eggs. Or fish," He practically pouted.

[devilsandangels]

Alfred shook his head. There were some hunting parties in England of course but Alfred had never been seriously a part of one. "What would there be to even hunt here?" he frowns, he hadn't really noticed there being very many animals around. People mention monsters but they don't seem like they would be safe to eat and well... it's a bit gross to think about at least of the ones he has come across.

He eats one of the vegetables that he doesn't actually recognize. It's not very tasty but at least it would be nutrients. "Do you know how to fish?"

[middleborn]

"Well..." He started off confidently and then faltered a bit as he tried to remember seeing even one single animal. A bird. A rat. Anything. He worried his lip a moment before shrugging a little.

"I'm sure I'll be able to find something," He didn't sound sure of himself in the least bit.

"Sure, I can fish," He nodded, not sure they'd have much more success doing that.

[devilsandangels]

Alfred doesn't think that Hvitserk sounds very sure of it either but he doesn't say as much to the other to point it out. He wonders if there really is anything at all wouldn't others have mentioned it by now? The food problem seemed to not be limited to just the two of them after all.

"I don't know if there are any fish in the water around here... I think the water can be dangerous sometimes..."

[kingforboth]

Kelson longed from greenery. He'd been to someone's garden before, beautifully green and well kept, until he got to the plants that moved toward you with seemingly malicious intent and he wasn't sure he wanted to go back there again. Still, the partially burned orchards weren't exactly the gardens in Rhemuth castle either, but for the moment it was what he had. And it hadn't tried to kill him either. He'd wandered before, hoping to find some remains of a church, but all he found were temples to malicious criminals and he hadn't been able to bring himself to step into one.

He reached up to grab some fruit, thankfully something he actually recognized and bit into it, thankful for food he knew as food and not canned or packaged. Seeing someone else in the orchards, Kelson went over to him, crown and court silks still.

"I don't mean to intrude. Is this yours?"

[devilsandangels]

Alfred had quite early on ditched his ceremonial garb and the crown -- hidden away in the apartment that he shared with Hvitserk and Ivar. He'd changed to more practical pants and tunic, a leather vest at times but not today. He looked up when Kelson came over, surprised by the question.

"The orchard?" he questions. He shakes his head shortly after. "I don't think it really belongs to anyone," he smiles. He notes the other's crown curiously.

"Might I be so bold as to ask who you are?"

[kingforboth]

Kelson was still a little....shall we say unsure about the people here. Having met Tucker upon coming through the Door, when he was stealing all the boxes of girl scout cookies to sell back to the residents at a later date, well, it left Kelson a little uneasy. And with the lack of materials in the area, he didn't put it past someone to rifle through his things and melt down his crown for something more 'useful'. When he got the ward cubes he'd asked Curufin to make for him, perhaps he'd switch out of his more traditional garb. Once he was sure it was safe.

The idea of land not belong to someone was definitely something Kelson was having to get used too. It was really rather odd, like everything else about this place.

Another thing he was having to get used to. People not knowing who he was. "King Kelson of Gwynedd. And you?"

[devilsandangels]

In all truth, Alfred might have been half relieved if someone would melt down his crown -- though it's really a quite simple one and perhaps it wouldn't actually prove to make anything all that useful or valuable. It was just a piece of metal after all and here it meant nothing and at home it was heavy with the weight of what wearing it meant.

He supposes one of the gods probably own this place but he hasn't particularly had time to really look into who has what. He'd been occupied figuring out how to live in this new environment with new technologies and well.. everything.

There's a moment that Alfred is very tempted not to disclose his real identity. It's already brought him an experience of someone who is from after his lifetime but had known of him because of what he supposes he is destined to accomplish. But in the end, he opts for honesty.

"King Alfred of Wessex." It might or might not mean anything. That's out of his control.

[kingforboth]

King Alfred of Wessex meant little to Kelson, fortunately. Coincidentally, there was an Alfred who was born around the same time as the Alfred in front of him, however he went into holy orders and eventually became Archbishop. As Kelson's world mirrors his in some respects, Alfred never accomplished what he was destined too. Kelson's accent is actually similar to Alfred's in many respects, but Kelson has a bit Welsh in there as well. He's still in his silk court robes, the golden lion rampant guardian of Gwynedd showing on crimson.

It was nice to meet another king here. Kelson nodded his head in acknowledge of him and the other man's rank. As for melting down the crown, that was the difference between the two wasn't it? Kelson had been king for four years by now, he had a definite sense of what he wanted to accomplish and what kind of king he was and wanted to be. Alfred was still in the beginning throes. Kelson was tired of wearing it too, but taking it off didn't take off the responsibilities, as much as he had tried. He'd still feel the weight.

"I'm not familiar with Wessex. It's a pleasure to meet it's king nonetheless."

[devilsandangels]

Alfred had a clear idea of what kind of King he would be. It was not necessarily that he had ever had his own vision of it but he had been groomed by his grandfather to be a different kind of king. He was not going to be a warrior king like his half brother would have been. Alfred is a decent warrior but his mind for strategy and his ability to empathize and be compassionate to people and strive for peace and unity would be the difference. It's hard to say if perhaps it's his father's influence on him -- despite never meeting him that he ended up rather like him, though less humble -- or his grandfather's guiding hand that had made him the way he is.

All the same, the weight of how he had become king is heavy and being away from his kingdom and his mother makes it harder to see the path that has been laid out for him to walk.

"It is an honor," Alfred offers a friendly smile.

"I still feel like a Prince, though."

The last thing he remembers from home, literally, is his coronation.

[kingforboth]

The weight of that crown is heavy, even if it's the lightest coronet. Kelson, when he was first crowned, wanted nothing more than to fill his fathers shoes, to be half the king he was. As he grew, Kelson realized he wanted to take the good parts of what made Brion a good king, and discard the others, like the part of Brion that made him less than comfortable with his own inherent abilities. Kelson was not going to be afraid of himself. On the other hand he'd also spent his entire reign trying to make sure his subjects weren't afraid of him. It was a balancing act he hadn't quite managed yet, and had a tendency to hide who he was in order to please his kingdom. Maybe they could help each other.

"I know that feeling well. Just because you've been crowned and consecrated, it doesn't mean you know what to do with it or in any way make you ready. It does get easier. Especially if you have good people behind you."

And if those good people aren't constantly after you to take a wife. But that was Kelson's problem. And he was not ready.

[devilsandangels]

Alfred tries to smile but he's not sure that he has good people behind him. His brother is likely angry and perhaps he would want a way to take the crown that should have been his and his mother...she was driven and he is not sure she always has his best interests at heart, at least how he would prefer. He ends up shrugging.

"Perhaps," Alfred says simply, his worries about how to create a navy, how to completely shift the way that Wessex and the rest of England is and unite the different kingdoms is a chess game that he has yet to figure out where all the pieces even are and here he feels so far removed that it is a constant hum of anxiety in his mind but it feels far out of his ability to plan for.

"Do you have an army?"

[kingforboth]

Kelson would have understood, at least a little. He was not exactly on the best of terms with his own mother, and the church did try to have him excommunicated. His own coronation sparked an ecclesiastical schism, one holy war, one civil war and two invasions. Getting crowned was easy, holding it was a different issue altogether.

The young king smiles softly, as his counterpart asks the very question. "Yes, I have an army. Royal Haldane Lancers and Archers and knights, dedicated ecclesiastical troops and men serving each duchy and earldom. Are you having a problem?" Kelson asks quietly.

Uniting different kingdoms was not something Kelson ever had to deal with, keeping his kingdom united was however. Gwynedd had conquered a fair amount of land and other kingdoms, which...was one way of doing things. Kelson was now trying to deal with an underage king he was holding from a rival kingdom he had assumed control over as suzerain, in a desperate attempt to keep the poor boy alive until he could assume his own throne. And hope his family didn't stab him in the back after.

[devilsandangels]

Alfred smiles slightly as the other answered his question. The question that followed draws a sigh from Alfred. He feels that this problem could have so easily been avoided. He'd tried to fight for peace when it had been offered but his adopted father and a Bishop had had other plans, dishonoring England by breaking a parlay. It'd make peace with the Vikings near impossible in the future. They had no reason to trust the Saxons again.

"Problems are many and solutions are too few," Alfred answers, the smile tired already. "I believe we must build a Navy to fight invaders before they get to our land but it requires more than my own resources to do so. There is little I can do from here but I cannot seem to forget the problems."

[kingforboth]

That was quite a problem, breaking a parlay was not only dishonorable but showed how much respect and control Alfred had over others and how much they respected his wishes and opinions. It would make peace impossible, but it was also possible Alfred was facing issues on two fronts as well, internal as well as external. It was a problem Kelson knew well. He hoped Alfred didn't have to kill every one of them.

But the problem Alfred voiced was one Kelson never had. Kelson had inherited an established kingdom, with abundant resources, even if all those resources wouldn't always play nicely together.

"It sounds as though you need allies who can lend either resources or support of their own. Invaders may not stop if they conquer your kingdom. If Gwynedd was conquered, I am sure the Connait or Howicce and Llannedd would be next. And they are not anywhere near the size of Gwynnedd. They'd be overrun. I don't know much about the geography of your kingdom, but surely there are others who realize their prosperity is dependent upon it's neighbors?

[devilsandangels]

Alfred smiles a bit sadly.

"Our neighbors do not have much reason to trust us. My grandfather was able to take over another Kingdom already and his ambitions weren't unknown to others," Alfred says, the ambitions for one kingdom instead of the many that made up England.

"Even aside from that, most people do not believe in anything but the brute force of an army."

[kingforboth]

"Some of my subjects might have said the same thing about me. Some of them did. You have to give them a reason to trust you, to prove that you are not your grandfather, and that your ambitions are not his own. Some you will not be able to persuade. That is unfortunate, but not your goal. Give them a reason to look up to you. A king who cannot defend his people and his crown does not deserve to keep it. You have to find a way."

Kelson smiled sadly back at the other king. "Besides, if trust fails, there are other options." Sometimes brute force was necessary. Or gaining access to the right hostage. Kelson had forced peace because of that very same problem. No one trusted.

[devilsandangels]

Alfred smiles briefly. "Well, that is it, my ambitions are the same. I want a united England as my grandfather had dreamed of. We are weak when we are splintered," Alfred explains. It is not that he is hungry for the power but the need for a united front against powerful enemies, advancements would be easier to gain in other fields as well if everyone were loyal to one instead of different kings.

"I am sure that is where my Kingdom is heading," Alfred says, a sigh escaping him. Whether it is with the other Saxon kingdoms or the North men he would be at war and he could only hope that he wouldn't be fighting two wars at once.