Twenty-four

Sebastian cracked a sympathetic smile and only glanced at Ayu-Asra, tempted to snap his fingers to see what would happen. "Oh. That really annoying brand of nervous, yes. What's behind it?" he asked, closing the book and placing it on the table.

The woman took the dragon's antics in good humour, so Sylvie turned back to Sebastian, smiling, yes, nervously.

"Trying to get started finding a way home. I'm out to see if a local mage can give me any help, or starting point to find it."

Sebastian nodded, as if understanding. He felt her pain. There were many things about which he felt the same way. "I hope it goes well for you," he said earnestly. "Maybe I shouldn't talk, but I've always felt even long shots worth trying. But then, I guess that goes without saying?"

Depends how many archers are on the other side waiting for you to leave cover... Oh, how optimistic we are today. Sylvie grinned.

"Long shots, yes. Long jumps are another question, but this step isn't one. Thank you."

She indicated the books. "May I ask what you are up to?"

He opened his mouth and took a deep breath as he looked at his dusty old book and the new book, which - according to its title - dealt with the city's history. It was Sebastian's turn to hesitate; once that was over, he opened his book of memories. "I'm trying to learn more about Canyet and compare it with what I remember. Maybe come up with something new to put into my travel diary... if you can call this something like that."

The page he had opened had coins, mainly brass pennies, a sketch of what appeared to be a statue. On the opposite page was a single pressed flower, yellow and green. His ungloved hand swept across the pennies. "So, nothing of dire importance, but of some private importance anyway."

"So you're going to stay awhile?" If he was looking into the history of the place...

She wasn't going to bring up that he hadn't been sure this was the town he'd been to before.

He looked up, eyes wide but face perfectly placid. Are you? Or will you stray about? Was that little... chat yesterday enough to make you reconsider? Oh lad, how amusing. "I - think so, but I don't know how long," he said, internally troubled by his sudden surge of control over his body language. Damn that Auker.

Oh, why blame her? You can scarcely run from yourself. Can you?

Sebastian smiled after a moment and looked up. "I take it you will, too, if you have a lot of work left," he said, looking to the side with unfocused eyes, then back at Sylvie.

She rested her elbows on the table and looked past Sebastian's shoulder. "How long is 'a while', anyway?" Then she immediately shook her head and went on, "It depends a lot on what kind of answer I get. If it's 'this person in that city surely can help you' I might want to leave tomorrow, but it'll take at least a couple of days to wrap up things." Or longer, if she kept taking those breaks...

"Though even then it'd be better to take some more time for planning. And if it's 'that's impossible'..." She shrugged, and looked back at Sebastian with a wry smile. "Then I can take as much time as I want figuring out where I might find someone who thinks it might be possible."

Her smile was met with a faint one on his behalf. Something about that smile... "I won't repeat myself, too much anyway. Hopefully they can help you. As for me..."

A pause. No, say it. Say it.

"I considered I'd leave when it stops raining, and I was anticipating it would be stopping today. But then it struck me that I don't know where to go from here, at least not yet. For a long time that's been a given. I could just choose any of the city gates and follow the road, as I've often been wont to." He smiled slightly. "I don't feel like it, though, to be honest."

Sylvie listened intently. The thought of usually having no aim in mind at all made her slightly uncomfortable.

Likewise smiling she said after a moment's consideration, "Leaving in any direction you feel like or just staying for the same reason doesn't seem like a big difference, does it?"

"No, it doesn't. I'll be equally optimistic about the near future no matter which way I go," he replied, feeling the dried flower with a fingertip. "Will you do me a favour and tell me how it goes with the mage?"

"Sure. Will you do me a favour and tell me if you suddenly feel like leaving, after all?"

Ayu-Asra for some reason or other decided to fly over to their table. While the left head took at short look at Sylvie and then turned to watch Sebastian, the right one took a closer look at the open book.

He slowly reached over to the dragon's left head and scratched its top. Sebastian never looked at it, however, and instead nodded at Sylvie and smiled. "Sure. I was intending to visit today and talk about that, but you saved me the trouble. If the weather had been better today, I would have just come over before leaving."

He stopped scratching the dragon and patted the history book. "Plans change."

"Yes." The thought that they might have switched places, considering who wanted to leave and who wanted to stay, made her grin for a moment.

"I guess I should go before the day's over."

"So soon?" he asked, one eyebrow raised. Then he shook his head and smiled. "Well, of course. You have work to do and a mage to meet. You know where to find me if you need to. Either here or discussing theology with sister Auker at the shrine..." He sounded a little uncertain about the latter part.

"Mhm, sorry.

>I'd love to listen in to such a discussion, though. I asked her a few questions about Fortuna, but..." she shrugged and reached for Ayu-Asra, who shrank back a little.

"But she undoubtedly gave you answers that touched only the surface," he nodded. "I'm fairly sure she wouldn't mind if you wanted to listen in on it... I certainly don't. I suspect her private persona is a wee bit different from her 'sister Auker' persona, though... I'm not sure."

While she tried to concentrate on the dragon, and part of her mind figured out that he'd probably know Auker's 'private persona' because they were parts of the same church, she talked without paying much attention to what she was saying.

"Nothing unusual there. Everyone is going at least a bit masked, depending on who they're talking to."

With a sudden move she scooped up the dragon, who made a startled noise, but didn't struggle much.

He smiled a little as he watched her take the dragon. "The masking is a bit more startling in clergy, at least to me. But perhaps I have a slightly skewed opinion, because Father Joachim was a simple man who had no two personas. It doesn't matter."

Sebastian leaned back in his chair a little. Everyone is going at least a bit masked, he echoed in his mind.

Sylvie stayed seated for a bit yet, to give the dragon in the crook of her arm time to calm down.

"It seems to me that usually people representing an organisation have a greater need for a solid public persona than most."