Random 72

Sebastian considered this at length, eyes wandering but making few observations. Finally: "We should," he said a low voice, sounding slightly hesitant at first, but less so soon, "you're right, but maybe just not immediately." Strangely enough, he couldn't bring himself to say anything more related to that without sounding stupid -- or his words sounding like an act. That realisation, at least, cheered him up a bit. He didn't even feel the need to and didn't feel uncomfortable about it. Absent-mindedly staring at the street as he was, Sebastian didn't even notice the smile on his face; it didn't suggest anything crafty. Only comfort. Then he snapped out of it and looked at Sylvie.

"They might have our heads... mess up the floor, stink up the house, again. Get you more beat up..." She pushed herself off the wall and reached for Sebastian's arm.

He offered it readily, more than glad to help her. He suspected the adrenaline rush was about to come to a stop, and thus kept a close eye on her balance. "Well, I'd delay them until you could run off for safety -- on another continent," Sebastian said by way of a weary joke. "But the sooner I apologise and explain things, the better," he sighed.

All she had to say to that joke was "mhrrrrrp", but she held on to him tighter. No running away. She made to walk down the street in direction towards Old Ivy.

The rain couldn't spoil his mood anymore, and so he only smiled weakly and considered the direction they were going. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and went with that decision. Yes, Old Ivy. They walked.

A while later, Riya, busy carrying another bucketful of dirty water from her mopping endeavours and cursing like a sailor, opened the door. The girl was just about ready to start shouting profanities at the weather, and already had a finger pointed at the sky and enough air in her lungs to repeat her earlier words; unfortunately, her eyes caught a sight moving toward Old Ivy. Two people leading each other toward the door, one with a certain distinctive feature.

Riya looked on for a second, glanced at her bucket, then at the two and covered her face with a palm, moaning.

"Sorry," Sylvie said weakly. She was wet, cold, tired, and nervous about coming clean about lying the last few days, but at least she had not collapsed. "Maybe we'd better leave the cloaks in the yard, for airing?" As they approached and entered the light spilling from the door to the shop, their state became more apparent.

Riya's eyes went wide. "What the fuck have you two been doing!" she bursted out, ignoring Sylvie's comment until they were close enough to smell. The girl twitched, swallowed and covered her nose.

"I'll explain later," Sebastian said, equally cold and tired, eliciting a dirty look from Riya that once again turned wide. He only smiled apologetically.

That was enough for Riya to close her eyes and growl quietly. Then it hit her: he didn't look like a timid, sort of slow-witted pilgrim anymore. "You've gotten yourself hurt again and I've mopped the floors and... fuck this," she said dejectedly and turned to shout over her shoulder. "Mother!"

Sebastian, busy helping Sylvie take off her cloak while ushering her toward the door, winced.

The first thing Gemma said when she saw them was, "What have you two been up to?" Upset, too, but more worried than Riya.

Sylvie answered automatically, "Walking through the city, and an old tannery," first holding up one finger, than two.

"I'd like to add that there's a good reason for that," Sebastian said calmly, decidedly not speaking and behaving in the way Gemma was used to seeing, "and I'll gladly explain if you just get Sylvie here warm. She's been hard at work." He stared right at Gemma, a small polite smile on his face.

She gestured for both of them to come into the shop and reached for Sylvie. With a suspicious look at "Kai" she said, "Yes, I'd like to know what you dragged her into."

Sylvie drew herself up and raised her voice indignantly. "I volunteered."

"Right," Gemma sighed. "Whole story later. Riya, put more water on the stove. Sylvie, washroom. I'll take care of the fire in a moment. You need to get out of these clothes, wash that stink off, and get into something dry." When she saw how close Sylvie stayed to Sebastian, she rolled her eyes. "Take your friend with you if you like, he damn well needs the same."

"Whole story later, I promise," he said, glancing at Sylvie with worry for her, then looked Gemma again. "Thank you," he said quietly, hoping Sylvie would indicate the way. No question about it, he was going with her.

Riya snapped to attention and stomped off to do as told, but not without staring at the two of their guests in a bewildered manner before muttering something and walking off.

Sylvie took deep breaths, attempting to steady herself with the same discipline as she had used before disarming the traps.

Meanwhile Gemma gave Sebastian a grudging nod. She handed Sylvie a lamp, making sure the younger woman could hold it before letting go, and watching her closely. Sylvie showed no sign of wanting to get away from Kai; Gemma dearly hoped Sylvie had made the right decision there.

Sylvie led Sebastian by the hand, down the corridor past the kitchen, further into the back of the house. She moved stiffly and pretended she didn't notice Garren standing on the stairs watching, afraid she might snap and snarl.

The washroom had been used, evidenced by sheets and clothes hung to dry on the right side of the room, leaving only little space between damp cloth and the table, stove, and vats on the left. The floor was tiled and slightly sloping towards a drain; the air was just as moist at it had been around the artifacts, but by now felt less warm. Sylvie set down the lamp on a ledge on the near wall and let go of Sebastian's hand to go close the window that let in a draft, a very small one set high in the wall.

Gemma's nod received another in return before he supported Sylvie down the corridor. Sebastian did acknowledge Garren's presence with a nod and a twitch of a smile, but continued on into the washroom himself, too. He examined the room thoughtfully, really too happy to breathe in the warm vapours for a moment. Without saying a word he looked for something to sit on, deciding to plant Sylvie down first. He suspected he was less tired for certain reasons.

There was a pair of stools under the table, but Sylvie was not exactly cooperating. She stayed at the far side of the room, pulled the sticks out of her hair and laid them on the sill of he normal (and shuttered) windows. Trying to comb hair hair with har fingers, she scowled at the floor, belatedly realising they had dragged dirt through the whole house. She was mostly irritated, without being able to put a finger on why. It was not a good mindset to talk to Gemma and the others, but Sylvie preferred it to breaking out in tears, which might be following. Calm. Calm.

Some warnings bells chimed inside Sebastian's head. Having deliberated the matter, he decided to take the other stool and began to take off at least his coat, shirt and gloves, otherwise waiting until Sylvie was going to do something. All told, he felt physically more or less exhausted, and his mental reserves were somewhat taxed as well -- and the last of those he had decided to invest in Sylvie and the Old Ivy family.

He just sat down and looked at her quietly, occasionally glancing at his injured hand. If she wasn't going to co-operate when he tried to help, she'd do it when she wanted to.

While Sylvie got out of her boots and socks, using the wall for support, Gemma pushed open the door with an elbow. In a metal bushel wrapped with a towel she carried some burning coals from the kitchen stove, and in a simple basket more firewood.

"Here, let me through," she muttered, already pushing past Kai. She knelt in front of the stove and built up a fire again. "That'll need a bit. I'll leave the water in the kitchen while I look for something dry for you, the fire's going better there already. That barrel there's rainwater. You can see if you can rinse out some of your clothes and leave them in a vat for tomorrow." After a longer look at Sylvie, she asked, "Are you all right?"

Stretching her arms above her head, she said, keeping most of her irritation out of her voice and leaving mostly tiredness, "I'll feel better when I'm not wet and stinking anymore. Thank you."

"All right." She got up and headed out, adding, "And try not to splash anything on the clean laundry."

Unpertrubed, no matter how much of his selection of scars and skin he was showing, Sebastian thanked Gemma quietly, and assured her that they'd try. He waited for her to leave and then looked at Sylvie, likewise taking off his boots and socks. Again, he gave her some time and instead took a bucket and said: "I won't repeat Gemma's question, but I'll ask you this. What is it?"

She checked an impulse to snap with another deep breath, and actually considered the question for a moment. "Nerves." Belatedly she noticed she had her arms crossed and shoulders pulled up, and forced herself to relax a little. Shaking her head and taking a few small steps towards Sebastian, she added quietly, "Anticipation, not in a good way. I think I'll be better once we're talking."

Once again, he stood his ground and tilted his head a little, smiling faintly and offering his undamaged hand toward her. But didn't touch her if she gave sign not to. "I know how you feel," he murmured, quickly reading her facial expression and making conclusions. "Just want to bathe quietly, hm? Or we can talk, if that's better."

She took his hand for a moment, clasping it loosely, closed her eyes and smiled. It got through to her that he was trying to put her at ease, and that alone relaxed her. "Sorry. This was my idea, I shouldn't be coming apart now."

Sebastian rubbed the side of her palm with a thumb and shook his head a little. "Silly," he said, imitating her way of saying it, with warmth, lips still curved into a tiny smile. "You've every right to feel emotions, hm?"

Her breath caught in her throat when she tried to answer, and her muscles tensed. Once again she turned to deep, calming breaths. Slowly she said, "I can't fall apart right now."