Random 49

"'Turns out', or 'turns into'?"

"Oh, 'turns out'. It floated, that was for certain. It was a very cold world, mind," Sebastian said hunching his shoulders with a faint smile, just for the sake of being a little dramatic.

It earned him a short and rather badly faked smile. Sylvie looked into her cup for a moment, forcing herself not to rub her arms to get rid of the goosebumps. In an attempt to distract herself from the memories the conversation brought up, she asked, "And how did you get on firm ground again?"

Sebastian-Kai gave a nervous, involuntary grin. "I, er, found myself on a rather smaller iceberg with a whole lot of black and white birds. They tasted like chicken, and that gets old after about a week." He sipped his tea, musing over that faked smile of hers. He naturally pretended that he hadn't noticed. "I was picked up by a ship. I was put to work with the sails and the rigging." He paused. "I didn't know the language. Too bad I learned it from sailors. Some months later, I got into a whole dimension of trouble after I, hm, had paid for my passage and got off at a southern port. Much better climate there."

He was trying his best not to think of that payment, but had far more luck keeping his expression perfectly and utterly absent-minded.

Sylvie grinned at the 'Too bad I learned it from sailors', and answered, "I can imagine. I was lucky Nico and I came to this place here together; she seems to pick up languages very quickly."

"Some are talented in that way," he nodded. "Nico's quite helpful, isn't she? Along with that rascally way she seems to have. I don't know what to think of her at times." Too much like looking into one of those concave mirrors, Sebastian-Kai left out.

A nod at the question, and a slightly surprised look at the last statement. "Considering what alternatives?"

Finding the right words took him a moment, which he secured by taking a sip. "She seems more reckless than she is, I think. Or if she doesn't, then I'm honestly at a loss. There's no fault there. It's just that I rarely meet someone..." a pause. "Someone who seems to have the option of being as... oh, gods. As reckless as I can be."

Sylvie gave him a long look, resting her chin on her hand. Finally, "Thank you for being so reassuring, partner." She did not hide her smile entirely.

Sebastian-Kai made a show of twiddling his thumbs and beaming a smile of beatific air-headedness. "My pleasure, partner."

After a chuckle, Sylvie fell silent for a while and meditated on recklessness. It had certainly not been encouraged, but thinking back, and further back, she was pretty sure her life would have been different and less interesting if she had not decided to explore the spirit wood when she'd been a pint-sized "squirrel". The memories made her smile.

Seeing that it was a perfectly good smile, he didn't try to read into that and let Sylvie have her moment. Whatever it was, if it got her to smile, it was for the better. Sebastian-Kai had been processing all the clues in his head alongside the conversation, but found himself severely distracted now. It was such a bothersome little thing... well, not little, perhaps.

He leaned back and only then thought to look for Ayu-Asra.

The dragon still rested at the other end of the table. The right head had apparently decided they were not interesting enough and continued its nap, the left had watched and listened to them lazily. It cut a yawn short noticing Sebastian was looking at it, and coked to one side.

He said nothing to the dragon and turned his attention to Sylvie again. Mildly concerned about breaking her peace, Sebastian-Kai emptied his cup and set it on the table. Finally: "That cheered me up some. Maybe that'll carry me until the Green Grape."

Sylvie cultivated optimism, and smiled at him. "Well, then. Good hunting!"

It was well cultivated, by the looks of things. Sebastian-Kai replied with a smile and set off to fetch his outdoors clothes. The hat he left behind. "Thank you, Sylvie. Try to enjoy yourself with the mage and Auker, all right?"

"All right," she said amusedly. She refrained from wishing him good luck, and stood up as he left. Work before fun, eh? She decided to check on the state of the pots and tools, and clean up if neccessary.

Now that we're done with that, we might as well have some other kind of fun, hmm?

Sebastian-Kai glanced at the terribly grey sky and then down again at the ground. The streets were going to be swimming soon, if they already weren't where the elevation was lower. Heaving yet another sigh (it seemed that was becoming more common than errant smiles at errant thoughts), he began to make his way through the wet, wet streets. No matter which street he found himself on, there were miserable dogs and cats huddling in doorways (and the occasional drowned rat). He couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy; he was a soaked fox himself, but at least he had the means to do something about this.

More than once a passer-by gave him a startled look, though, reminding him that he was a stranger doing favours to strangers: that the world was dark grey and wet meant that his heritage was even more pronounced. In sunlight it was obvious, but not necessarily as foreboding as it was now.

Maybe there was reason to look grim, too, stalking the streets like a spectre with glowing eyes. If the Sabas turned out to be behind this -- and it was beginning to look like it --, he wasn't sure if just destroying them financially and socially was going to cut it.

Now, now. That's not the way you're to work, no matter which Lady you serve. Come now: broken bones heal. Infamy is harder to treat.

The severe frown that he had carried on his face for much of the trip to the Green Grapes faded away. Who was he, anyway, to do these things? Questioning these things was normal. It wasn't as if he had a choice in the matter, however, Kai reminded himself glumly and stepped toward the establishment.

He was glad to be inside, but it took a moment to meld in properly. He decided more tea and something alcoholic would go a long way to get rid of the dull ache of his palms.

"Which tea?" he was asked by the middle-aged woman, presumably the owner.

Sebastian-Kai smiled gingerly and slipped more than a few coins on the table. "Do you have mint?"

"We might," said the owner, glancing down at the money. "What else are you looking for?" she said at length.

"A stiff drink."

He settled for waiting -- and eavesdropping, for a time.

Sylvie wasn't a particularly good cook, but she could manage some things, and, more importantly, could improvise. This was vital, considering key ingredients for most recipes "at home" were not available here.

She settled for mixed vegetables in a spicy red sauce - frustrated with the mild peppers that were the only you could get here, she fell back on some serious trickery to help out there - and sweetened gruel with cream.

She had no idea if Montmore, or Auker, for that matter, would like it, but the princible was familiar to herself, and it was not a combination she'd encountered in a long while.

When Auker and Montmore returned, far after the poor errand boy had, it turned out Auker had already started softening Montmore up with the usual suspect (wine). The food, as it turned out, was to their liking: Rosz also indicated it was palatable, and even contributed to the conversation with some very suitable small talk. It wasn't difficult to notice Auker approved of this, especially with the kitchen and such so clean and lit by fresh candles.

The topic came to the weather twice. Montmore mercifully didn't ask about his books, but he did display some curiosity about how buildings were doing in the rain. The mage admitted that he was worried about his own estates as well, but that there were older houses and buildings that he thought had far more cultural value. "We were well-drenched," he sighed, "when we had to fix one of the storm drains at my house. I only shudder to think what this is doing to larger homes."

"Part of the inner yard of Old Ivy is turning into a rather dirty pond," Sylvie put in.

"Ah, Old Ivy? It's been a while since I visited Garren," Montmore said, perking up. "How is the old fox, anyway?"

Auker didn't cough or choke on her food, but she hunched her shoulders avec a very amused look.

Sylvie, on the other hand, hadn't internalised the fox-association that thoroughly, and just answered, "Bogged down in work. His plant encyclopaedia is progressing. He has enough material to work with, so the weather doesn't get in the way as much as with the business side."