Random 54

He blinked and stared, tilted his head. Eventually a smile smile appeared on his face and, not one to miss out on taking risks, raised his still moist fingers slowly to her cheek. "I don't think I shall." Then he looked down, nodded and turned his head -- waiting for the slap, that is, anticipating the best angle to deflect most of the sting.

"Good." Sylvie planted a quick kiss on his cheek.

As soon as her feet were flat on the ground again she asked in the tone of someone ready to tackle a not even unpleasant job, "So, do you know the general area where the body was found?"

"I think I --" And having said that, his brain went click. He had always been able to think about two or more things at the same time, but right now Sebastian-Kai's mental gears had found a bit of rust somewhere and slowed down. For a whopping one quarter of a second he was quiet and just stared before continuing. "-- would suspect near where I filched the letter."

Then he stared at Sylvie in the same way someone in his tenth year of life stares at something entirely new and exotic. His head tilted. Sideways and a bit closer, seemingly to inspect her more thoroughly and with something else on the side.

Still in the same tone she asked, "Anything I can help you with?", trying hard not to grin.

There was a click from the direction of the pots, pans, and dragon, but she ignored it.

There was one more lizard in the room as well, but it just happened to be his brain. "You?" he said hoarsely, looking utterly stunned almost the moment he said it. His poor head was not itself.

Her immediate reaction was raising her eyebrows. "That question could be taken the wrong way," she answered, chuckling despite herself, torn between the direction she wanted to take the conversation, and the need to get back on topic.

This wasn't entirely new to Sebastian-Kai, but the situation itself was. There were far too many odd factors about this particular scenario, so he leaned back and blinked. "I hope you don't, but I'd better be honest and inform you I would have liked to kiss you." Pause. "Unprofessional, I know." He, also, didn't know how to get back on topic.

Sylvie nodded and looked away, smile turning soft. "I hope we can get back to that when the weather's better."

And that, finally, broke the tension. He grinned. "I take your point and add it to the picnic we talked about." Still, Sebastian-Kai (or just Kai?) couldn't help touching Sylvie's hair. "Go get some rest? I promise I'll be a good boy and only look for information. I think I found some already here, but I'll act on that later if permitted." And he smiled, turning to look for his gloves.

He'd hit on just the wrong thing to say. After a deep breath to calm down, she answered entirely seriously, "Don't let me stop you. Just in case you were not kidding."

She caught herself moving to cross her arms and instead tucked her hair back behind her ears. She scanned the room for Ayu-Asra, but could not spot him.

And apparently he realized it. He twitched -- not only because he couldn't find his other glove. Sebastian-Kai sighed, finally spotting the glove. "You don't stop me." Then he thought for a moment whilst walking up to the dragon, only to find some adversity in retrieving his glove. The creature was presently in one of the pots they had just washed up, under the cover. He merely tut-tutted.

Regarding his feelings, his temper could have flared, not at the dragon, nor Sylvie, nor at Lady Luck, but at the situation -- but it only bubbled a little. "I want someone to hold, and I would like it to be you. I've bumped into you more than once, and I nearly think I'll go the distance if given the opportunity."

With that, and having found his raincloak and such, he turned and flashed a warm smile. "I have had that feeling ever since that branch and chicken incident."

Then, looking somewhat sad, he was going for the door. Brooding.

Sylvie had grabbed Ayu-Asra to keep him from going after Sebastian. Rather stunned, she only managed a whispered "take care" in answer.

Once Sebastian was gone, she slumped on the next seat. After a double-voiced squawk, the dragon settled down in her lap. She scratched the base of his wings and, falling into her mother tongue, told him, "I think he just said he thinks I'm cute because he'd been knocked silly when we first met. How charming." The joke fell flat, not only because the audience of more-or-less-one didn't understand it.

She rubbed her face as if that could speed up her sluggish thoughts into catching up with what just happened. Getting some rest sounded like a good idea.

The rain still poured and soured his mood, but had he heard the joke, the Fox -- no, Kai -- would have laughed. Presently, though, he felt annoyed through and through for reasons he didn't really care to consider; he knew them already, but analysis was no saviour this time. It was a fact that he hated the Sabas and Langoll for what he presumed was meddling with the weather at the expense of most everyone in the area. It was also a fact that he was such a klutz when he really, truly felt affection toward someone, Sylvie in this case.

As he walked in the rain toward his search grid, Kai wondered about it. Oh, sure. The branch, the chicken, Sylvie. That was the catalyst, that matter. Even so, her practicality, personality and physical charms had their merits. Enough to drive him crazy enough to risk professionalism and then, quite obviously, make a mess of things.

The whole matter kept him annoyed enough through two inns, public houses and one brothel (where he had to shake off a male employee, not that he wasn't experienced in that sort of thing). Annoyingly, nothing much cropped up. Not even a riding crop, he thought bitterly. Langoll had not been about in any of those places, but at least his suspicions concerning rumours had been valid.

He found the place where Langoll's body was found, but Kai was far too immersed in his thoughts and disappointments to be aware of his surroundings. This, Kai -- no, now Sebastian -- realised a moment after stopping to curse the spot where Langoll had been found. In the downpour, sound travelled somewhat strangely, and though his night vision was far superior to those of most people, Sebastian was startled to find that he'd been set up.

The crime scene wasn't all that spectacular. A load of manure was still waiting to be transported, but the rain had more or less turned it into slop which oozed along the muddy streets. Rotting, sodden cabbages and other vegetables lined the stables from whence Langoll had been found.

But a single person slipping in that oozing cesspool was the first bit to alert Sebastian to the fact that he had company and make him curse.

There were four of them, and all of them had some sort of knives or daggers. What was worse, he recognised three of them from the establishments he'd gone to. Sebastian had even had a drink with one of them.

It was, at that point, that it all snapped. His anger, frustration, his feelings of incompetence and general annoyance at the state the entire city was in.

He didn't even wait for them to attack -- he knew they would, judging by their postures, bare blades and grins.

It didn't take long to offer a very smelly bath for four people, in retrospect. Sebastian, or that part of him that was Sebastian, had been through wars, bar fights and skirmishes galore. Though he didn't remember if this world in particular had even passable dentists or no dentists at all, he had shattered teeth, broken knees and collar bones with the sort of undaunted effectiveness that people used to casual or trained violence could.

Weft, he thought, would have been proud.

As it stood -- or lay -- only one of his victims was conscious. Wiping blood off his face (some of it his own -- heatbutts were not always such a good idea), he walked over and grabbed the disarmed man by his collar.

"My friend," Sebastian said, eyes reflecting the little light spared by the rain, "a question or two if you value the rest of your teeth?"

The stare he was given was enough.

"Who hired you to keep watch of those who would want to know of Langoll, and why? And please, do remember, I asked you of Langoll and asked these other gentlemen the same things in different places. You are no mere thugs... ah, no, I think we can call you lot that, but you are obviously hired help."

Then he smiled.

Three seconds passed before the answer came from the bearded, battered figure: "The Sabas. They... didn't want anyone asking questions. You know."

Sebastian paused for a while to regard the man. In his prime, fit, obviously on the poor side, hired help. "What is your name?"

"...uh, Orley."

"Well, Orley. Would you care to explain why you four were so keen to stab me in the kidneys?" There was no actual threat in the words, but his tone, though pleasant enough, carried some foreboding intent.

"...well, it's... just..."

Sebastian slapped him. Orley settled down, panic in his eyes. And then Sebastian patted Orley on the head. "A good try. Once you and your friends have visited the sawbones, do keep in mind that I may come back for you... if you tell the Sabas." He paused. "You would not happen to have anything else to tell me? A letter of sorts, anything?"

"Uh." The shocked hired help blinked a few times, licked his stained lips. For a moment Sebastian wondered if the smell of urine wasn't somehow more fresh than a moment before -- likely, as he was now playing with one of the stilettos he'd appropriated from one of the four.

Orley pointed at one of the others and said, after some swallowing: "Kaisre has... the orders in his pocket. The thin guy, like, the first one you..." He didn't say it, but meant 'the broke the nose of'. Orley still couldn't figure out how someone could go from a dance to a whirlwind of kicks.

Sebastian patted him on the cheek. "Good man. Also..."

"...uh?"

"Good night."

Smack.

Sylvie could not help wondering how much more seriously Sebastian might take their flirting than she did. Not being entirely sure about his turns of phrase did not help. Catching herself sitting around with thoughts going nowhere, she made an effort to distract herself by turning to immediate problems. Auker was, to put it politely, asleep, so it did not feel right to leave Ayu-Asra at the shrine to cause more destruction.

Getting some rest did seem like a good idea, so she headed back to Old Ivy. The raindrops again drumming on her hood did something to drown out thoughts not related to the weather. It did not seem like the rain had got any lighter. The problem having solved itself would have been too good.

Two figures advanced on Old Ivy. One of them was groggy, the other merely determined and rather distressed -- not in the way he felt, of course. It had taken Sebastian-Kai, with his hood down and his hair soaked and eyes tingling with rainwater, quite a while to put on a face that bespoke worry rather than murderous rage. Even so, as he slipped into a puddle and was drenched, he kept the other person off his back. If that damned thug got over his concussion, Sebastian-Kai wondered if he would have the strength to fight back. The man was heavy, muscled, strong and tough.

Sebastian-Kai on the other hand was feeling as though he had the flu. His head felt like it was submerged, but it wasn't even the flu or fever. It was simple anger, so strong as though to turn even the mildest of stews into a veritable southern explosion of pepper-infused death in one's mouth.

Still, even so, he fought on, grabbed the other person again and began to limp toward Old Ivy, not even bothering to look up at the windows. He was too busy figuring out excuses and keeping up his facade of worry. It was only hard because he was afraid he'd get hit with a broom once he told Sylvie what, exactly, he had done to this poor victim.

Sylvie had had a slow evening, helping with chores, clearing up some questions Garren still had about her material, and evading Riya's snooping. She was getting ready for bed. Ayu-Asra and the green orb sat on the windowsill, singing their lullaby. The shutters were open, on the off chance that some fresh air would find its way in. There still was no wind, and rain fell straight to the earth, unchanging as if there had never been any other weather.

The lullaby. Ah, thank goodness. Sebastian-Kai listened to it through the pouring rain for a moment. Then he dragged his victim under the tarpaulin and, having thought for a moment, began to whistle the lullaby. And then hum it in a vibrato. He hoped that was subtle enough.

Sylvie stood next to the window listening to make sure she wasn't imagining a third voice joining in. She wasn't sure what to think of it - they'd had to leave the gate to the inner yard open to let the water out, so anyone could walk in, and anyone without tin ears could imitate a melody -, but after short hesitation asked "who's there?" out of the window, in that awkward stage-whisper of not wanting to shout but having to be understood at a distance.

Ayu-Asre curled around the box with the orb, one head laid on his flank, the other watching Sylvie.

"It's your favourite albatross," Sebastian-Kai said, "with living evidence of sorts. Also, I was hit on the head again." Pause. "Really, would you come down?" Sebastian-Kai asked, "I have a wounded person here, and I would rather not wake up the family."