Gavriil’s tone was defensive when he mentioned that he may have mentioned mateship and then followed it up with that he was nervous. Ragnar let out a groan and shook his head at Gavriil and leveled a stare at the other male that was a strange mix of pity and bemusement. Ragnar muttered to himself in ancient Norse about what he was going to do with Gavriil — who obviously needed more experience with women — under his breath. He inhaled deeply and let it out on a short, brutish breath. “I told you not to mention mateship,” Slipped from betwixt Ragnar’s lips if only because he wanted to take the chance of saying ‘I Told You So’; but of course from a man to man perspective he did feel pity and it was odd because it wasn’t something Ragnar was akin to feeling and for a moment he was relatively sure that he hated the feeling because it meant that he was fond of the other male in a strictly platonic way. It wasn’t entirely unexpected seeing as Ragnar spent most of his time surrounded by the women of the pack and Kennedy was more or less a hermit to the Viking so Gavriil was the only man that Ragnar had to accompany him until the recent arrivals. Sometimes it was nice just to have a man to man conversation.
It was painfully clear to the silver Viking that his subordinate, no, his friend, had a lot to learn about the fairer sex. In a way, it was kind of a strange thing for Ragnar who had assumed that Gavriil would have women swooning over him like flies because their ideal man for women seemed to be opposite of one another’s ideas. Ragnar was confident women wanted a man like Gavriil who knew how to be sensitive and romantic and spouted poetic things and whispered loving nothings in ears — in hindsight the direct opposite of Ragnar himself; while it seemed that Gavriil was confident women wanted men like Ragnar. Harsh, ruthless, the kind of man that a rock was more romantic then (which was more or less true in Ragnar’s case); the heathen of the North. “Every woman is different Gavriil and it is trial and error. I knew Pump would be difficult but you don’t have to give up on her. If you really love her and really want her then wait her out. Get her to open up to you more. Be her friend and subordinate. Make her see that she was wrong and that you are worth her attentions.”
“There is nothing wrong with that,” Ragnar contradicted more sharply than he had intended and in a rare bought of guilt (gasp!) he bumped his nose against his subordinate’s cheek in a manner that was similar to an encouraging slap on the back. “Some women like that! There is no shame in being good with children,” As it was Ragnar loved children. Did that mean he was good with them? Hell no, but he liked them all the same. “It doesn’t seem like Pump and you are compatible yet but things change. You just have to be patient, Gavriil. It is hard and long sometimes, yes, but it will pay off. It is like a raid. It is always better to wait until you can catch them off guard, or wait to see what they will do. You do not go charging in risking the lives of all your men recklessly. Stupidly.” Women were like a battle, from Ragnar’s experience. “She will open up to you, eventually.” On that Ragnar was confident. After all if any creature was able to be open (at least Ragnar assumed Pump was open to him) to Ragnar they should have no problem opening up to Gavriil.
“You know I always thought you and Thistle would get together,” It was a rare admittance, a peek into the Viking’s mind as bizarre as it sounded coming from his lips. However, Ragnar kind of ruined the mood when he shot the other man a look of ‘Don’t Get Any Ideas’. “Not anymore; but it had made me jealous at first thinking about it.” Ragnar had fancied Thistle as a potential wife from the time he had woken up in his first delirium fever after the landslide and had more or less tried to get her to be intimate with him, back when he was posing at his brother and had nearly blown his cover. To Ragnar, Thistle and Gavriil seemed well matched. “I do not know what she sees in me,” The Viking laughed and then shrugged. “Like I said take it slow, be her friend and see if she begins to come around.” Which is what Gavriil should have done in the first place but it was a mistake to live and learn from. “Pump isn’t going anywhere and she isn’t taking a husband any time soon so just …don’t rush.” Admittedly, Pump, out of all the females Gavriil could have picked was probably the most difficult which made the Viking feel for him.
