As Trey entered the carriage and sat next to Kate, she explained everything to him. He tried to remember the five daggers, boots, vest, coat, and sword that he felt comfortable with. He had never held a sword before. In fact before his archery and rifle training on the boat, he had never held a weapon before. It was all so new to him, to inflict pain on others. He wasn't sure how he felt about it. He wanted to be Kate's protector, but he wasn't sure if he could take another's life, or injure them. He wasn't sure how he would react if he found himself, or worse Kate, in danger.<br/><br/>She kissed his cheek. He loved it when she did that. She was so close to him, closer than anyone had been with him. He wasn't someone that knew about relationships, like mating or marriage. He had heard of them in passing, but didn't much know about them. He knew he had been with many that had a mate or spouse already, but he didn't know what they meant. As far as he knew it was supposed to mean they could mate only with one person, but his midnight sessions disproved that theory. However if given a choice of only one person to mate with, Corrin was sure he would be happy with Kate. Of course he was a slave, and slaves weren't allowed to mate.<br/><br/>Winterfest struck a chord of curiosity in him. He wasn't sure what it was, but from the sounds of it there was a lot of eating and sliding on frozen lakes. He wasn't sure why they wanted to slide on a frozen lake, what the fun of it was, but it made him want to try. He wanted things now. After some time to heal, he could feel a desire to want, to crave, to seek out what brings him happiness. He still felt uneasy about it all, but he wasn't so frightened. Except this town was very different from a ship. There were so many more people, so many more experiences. He was taught by Kate to not show weakness in front of other people, but to let it all out in the privacy of his chambers, preferably with her by his side. This, at the very least, he could look forward to. Any excuse to be near her...<br/><br/>He suppressed his fears with his body shaking at the thought of needing to purchase items and tasting new things. He simply smiled at her as she explained more about what he needed to to. However she reassured him she would be by his side the whole time. He was happy for this. He liked the idea of tasting the baked goods, and decided to work on one decision at a time. If he thought about all 10 at once, he'd surely break down in the store.<br/><br/>He loved fruit, and went to the baked fruit cakes. He tasted it and loved the sweetness of it and asked for one of those. Now onto the next decision. He saw a fruit filled pastry. He tried it, and instantly knew he needed to have it. He tried a cheese donut, an almond paste cherry turnover, and several other items, wanting almost everything he tried. He stopped at ten though, as requested by Kate. He was proud of himself because he was able to break things up into smaller pieces and make some decisions. Though it started to get difficult as his final few decisions made him fear some unknown punishment. He knew Kate would never punish him but something in his bones didn't feel good. Regardless, he let it pass.<br/><br/>As they walked in the streets he could swear the townsfolk were staring at him. Kate was right that they rarely saw elves. A discomforting feeling passed through him. He knew they kept their distance thanks to Kate's presence, but he wondered how they would act if he were alone. Did they hate elves for some reason? Nymphs perhaps? Or what about slaves? Why?<br/><br/>They finally reached the sword smith. Trey carefully chose the daggers, making sure they had a home in a classy bandolier sheath that wrapped around his shoulder with designs on it. He liked the designs as they reminded him of flowers and smoke moving in the air. He chose a pair of ankle boots that looked simple, but the smith re-assured him they were tough and very practical. He was starting to feel a bit uneasy, but calmed himself again.<span style="font-style: italic">Later,</span>he reminded himself.<span style="font-style: italic">Leave it for later.</span>He chose a nice brown vest and simple jacket with a thick material that felt right to him. The jacket had a high collar which he popped up to cover his slave collar.<br/><br/>Then came the sword. He grabbed Kate's hand, feeling the softness of it, as he gazed at the various swords. The sword smith looked at him closely. "I see you as a rapier man," the smith told Trey. "You are strong, but you are not made of muscles, so long swords are out of the question. I assume you want speed over strength?"<br/><br/>Trey had never thought about it before, but it made sense to him and he nodded. He wasn't sure he'd be able to wield a large heavy sword, so a light weapon would make sense. He was handed a Rapier sword and he felt the weight of it in his hands. It was well balanced and felt light as he swung it around, pretending to stab. Clearly his form was off, but it felt good.<br/><br/>Trey then noticed a curved sword similar to his. "What about that one?" Trey asked.<br/><br/>"Ah, my Klanier Scimitar," the smith explained. "It is a rare sword made by the mages of the old mountain, forged over the period of years, until it turned hard as diamond, and stays as sharp as a talon."<br/><br/>The Smith handed the curved sword over to him. He felt it in his hands and it was even better. He swung twice, and he knew this was more of a slashing weapon than a thrust one. It felt good, right even. It was as if the sword spoke to him as he spun it over his hand. Trey looked at Kate, "would it be alright if I bought this sword?" He wasn't sure why he was asking her, but felt he needed approval for something so specific and valuable.