Festive
Bingelly
Badarby
mickilennial
Dyelli Beybi
Carlyle
Izurich
Qia
Master Crim
Interlude II - A Year in Passing
Silas didn’t think it possible, but the following semesters were busier than even his first; desert excursions to dragon battles notwithstanding. Ahora was stubbornly good on her word for tutoring, to the point where her visits were met with nearly as much dread as excitement. But progress was made, only for more more work found awaiting Silas on the opposite side of literacy. He was behind. Well behind, as most of his Zenos were more than happy to remind him on a daily basis, along with diatribes of his good fortune for admittance and continued enrollment at the academy at all. As though the victory he’d carried through the trials had meant nothing.
In truth there were multiple diversions that kept Silas from focusing on studies. His extra-curricular activities found a sharp increase, along with a sudden change of direction in the new year. Not that his old habits could be entirely shaken. Before Caldares had chance to arrive, Silas had freed many possessions from his classmates.
Yuliya and Desmond had both been hit within the same week, the former as pre-work for Nox Arcanum, and the latter as pay off for the distraction that came the night of.
It was early for Silas to be robbing a place as public as the merchant dorms. Dozens of students were still moving through the main doors and more waited in each of the hallways. But facing the entirely of them still seemed a better bet than waiting for Zarina or Yuiliya to return. It had taken days of small talk and following Ayla to determine when the three would be together again close to the night of Nox Arcanum. He did his best to blend in with the other student entering. It took some time to navigate his way towards Zarina's room; he was accustomed to reaching it from the outside. His attention was focused on the door next to it however, and after a final check to make sure no one was watching too closely, Silas took out his lockpicks and began to work.
Inside, what SIlas perceived was not exactly what he expected. In fact, it looked like somebody had already robbed the place. There were piles of various clothes on the floor, a desk cluttered with various books, a chest that seemed open and a couple of empty glass bottles lying on the floor. He did pick up an energy signature, a decently sized one that proved to be a grape dragon, although much fatter than others he's seen.
Silas did his best to move nimbly about the mess without making it worse. Most of his attention remained on the grape-dragon, ensuring it wasn't going to attack or alarm. He first searched the desk surrounding area for anything that might tempt the creature should it's demeanor suddenly change. He left the desk and its potentially trapped drawer in favour of the coats and hat stand. It seemed incomprehensible for one person to possess so much clothing. His original plan of not adding to the mess was quickly forgotten as he brushed most of them aside and onto the floor to inspect each of the hats.The very fat dragon rose from the nest of clothes he'd made for himself onto all fours, eyeing the newcomer suspiciously.
"Don't give me that look- Didn't come here for her underclothes." Silas pulled a face at the fat little dragon and returned to the desk. Kinetic magic pulled at the drawer, urging it to slide out while Silas himself remained a foot away, having well learned his lesson from meddling with Desmond's things.
As silas pulled on the drawer, it rattled and he felt something fall over inside. However, it remained shut as he noticed that it may have been locked. The dragon began to inch closer, seemingly agitated by the random person and no sight of its owner.
Silas glared at the desk then the dragon in turn. "Shoo. " He waved it towards the window. Patience and care exhausted, Silas yanked at the drawer with all his might and a blast of kinetic energy for good measure.
As he pulled kinetically on the drawer with the amplification from his kinetic pull, it came straight off the hinges and landed on the floor. The dragon was not pleased by the violence towards the furniture and began to breathe flame toward Silas, who clutched the drawer to his desk as he rolled away as fast as he could.
Not wanting to push his luck any further he books it for the window, taking the entire desk drawer with him on exit. The dragon attempted to bite his ankle as he leapt out of the window, not wanting to let this intruder leave. Silas could nearly taste freedom, but a sudden bolt of pain stopped him just as he began to lurch from the upper story window. The grape dragon was fat, but not quite large enough to support the small boy and both teetered dangerously as Silas wailed in pain, kicking wildly for his attacker's head.
He found purchase, and was free to plummet to the ground on a street-full of people. He landed on the bitten ankle and nearly cried out again- but already there were people staring at him. The drawer had cracked and splintered, its contents strewn around him. With no time to waste, he gathered what he could and sprinted for the backstreets, where he could lose anyone that might have tried to follow.
Inside, what SIlas perceived was not exactly what he expected. In fact, it looked like somebody had already robbed the place. There were piles of various clothes on the floor, a desk cluttered with various books, a chest that seemed open and a couple of empty glass bottles lying on the floor. He did pick up an energy signature, a decently sized one that proved to be a grape dragon, although much fatter than others he's seen.
Silas did his best to move nimbly about the mess without making it worse. Most of his attention remained on the grape-dragon, ensuring it wasn't going to attack or alarm. He first searched the desk surrounding area for anything that might tempt the creature should it's demeanor suddenly change. He left the desk and its potentially trapped drawer in favour of the coats and hat stand. It seemed incomprehensible for one person to possess so much clothing. His original plan of not adding to the mess was quickly forgotten as he brushed most of them aside and onto the floor to inspect each of the hats.The very fat dragon rose from the nest of clothes he'd made for himself onto all fours, eyeing the newcomer suspiciously.
"Don't give me that look- Didn't come here for her underclothes." Silas pulled a face at the fat little dragon and returned to the desk. Kinetic magic pulled at the drawer, urging it to slide out while Silas himself remained a foot away, having well learned his lesson from meddling with Desmond's things.
As silas pulled on the drawer, it rattled and he felt something fall over inside. However, it remained shut as he noticed that it may have been locked. The dragon began to inch closer, seemingly agitated by the random person and no sight of its owner.
Silas glared at the desk then the dragon in turn. "Shoo. " He waved it towards the window. Patience and care exhausted, Silas yanked at the drawer with all his might and a blast of kinetic energy for good measure.
As he pulled kinetically on the drawer with the amplification from his kinetic pull, it came straight off the hinges and landed on the floor. The dragon was not pleased by the violence towards the furniture and began to breathe flame toward Silas, who clutched the drawer to his desk as he rolled away as fast as he could.
Not wanting to push his luck any further he books it for the window, taking the entire desk drawer with him on exit. The dragon attempted to bite his ankle as he leapt out of the window, not wanting to let this intruder leave. Silas could nearly taste freedom, but a sudden bolt of pain stopped him just as he began to lurch from the upper story window. The grape dragon was fat, but not quite large enough to support the small boy and both teetered dangerously as Silas wailed in pain, kicking wildly for his attacker's head.
He found purchase, and was free to plummet to the ground on a street-full of people. He landed on the bitten ankle and nearly cried out again- but already there were people staring at him. The drawer had cracked and splintered, its contents strewn around him. With no time to waste, he gathered what he could and sprinted for the backstreets, where he could lose anyone that might have tried to follow.
"I thought Desmond was your friend."
Ahrora stood at the entryway of Silas and Desmond's room, surveying the clutter and boy within as the latter worked to clear a path for her. They'd both lost the bulk of their finery form the Nox Arcanum party, left mostly in their underclothes, hidden by only their coats, and fled to the dorms without so much as a goodbye to the others.
"He is." Silas replied casually. "The clothes you came in are in here if you want 'em."
She moved towards the indicated pile. "Seems a bit odd you're stealing from the only friend you got."
Silas hesitated at the slight reprimand in her voice, and scowled. "Yer one to talk. Like I didn't notice three of my buttons missing tonight. Or you wanna tell me I lost 'em in the soup?"
She scowled in return. He could sense it even between her movements dressing herself.
"Not the same. He wouldn't go to all the trouble of hiding this if it wasn't something important"
"Let it be a lesson to him then; if you wanna keep something hidden don't make it so damn suspicious." He gestured to the cleared space beside him, in front of the locked cabinet in question. None of the three types of vision between the two could discern what was inside, or how to even go about opening it in the first place.
"Will be traps," Silas warned, and passed her the journal he'd found on Desmond's birthday. "See if there's anything helpful in there." The boy was nearly vibrating with excitement. Ahrora looked at him a long moment before swallowing the last of her miss-givings and turning her attention to the journal while her partner inspected the cabinet for signs of a lock.
The whole setup seemed to be simple, just a simple drawer on his desk. Yet they both knew something had to be in there. Silas knew some of Desmond's traps now, it could be a good time to put some of them to the test. For Ahrora, as she looked through the book, it was filled with...a strange writing she was not used to. She tried to flip through and found only dates on the top of the pages, and a few words that seemed to be shared with Avincian. It was a choppy translation yet she could understand it well enough.
"Okay I think I'm getting the hang of this. This page seems the easiest to figure out so I'll try to start here", she said, clearing her throat before reading, "I had the same dream last night, all I could think about was that time". Ahrora read as she mused to herself, "Hmm weird, maybe this is some kind of dream diary, I wonder if he had inspirations else where for the lock".
There was a beat of silence, while Ahrora shuffled through pages for another decipherable passage. "Oh! This might have it; "A lock that...closes like a...flower! And will lock...like a flower opening. Cute", she mews to herself as she read more. With a gentle tap and light charge against the drawer Silas could sense the ever slight difference of the metal plates in the shape of petals when told about it.
"Real cute," Silas scoffed, unamused at the impossible small inner workings of the lock. Hi's patience was already worn thin from waiting for the poor translation. "So I'll open if I close it. Doesn't seem complicated at all-"
"Wait!" But Silas had already begun pushing the petals of the flowers left so each overlaid with the one next until they could be collapsed inwards.
As Silas used his kinetic magic to move the pedals within the drawer, he noticed they moved smoothly. As once they were all moved in a counterclockwise motion, he sensed them interlaying with each other. And then, a slight shifting happened as it felt like the bud moved back as the drawer shifted forward showing it was open. Ahrora was stunned for a moment before she let out a sigh, afraid Silas may have set off one of the traps as she lightly jabbed him on the arm, "Scared me there". She tossed the little book off to the side and was now more curious what was hidden within this locked case.
"Why?" Silas laughed at Ahrora, nerves given way to giddy excitement all at once. "I'm a professional."
Silence fell between the pair as Ahrora attempted to look past the case with her enchanted eye, while Silas compared the lock to what was in his lock-pick set.
Ahrora could see nothing within, maybe because of certain materials made it difficult to see into. While energies within were inert inside, maybe it was special chemical and arcane magics to conceal and cancel out energy sensing and sight. Yet either way it was something that could easily get passed, Silas had met another lock he was slightly familiar with, the same friction lock pins that he had seen at Desmond's shop, yet he noticed something different, there was a few chemical signatures within, and even a few magnetic charges popping in and out.
Silas groaned. "Damn tricky magic." He complained to Ahrora, pointing out to her the chemical and magic parts of the case.
She looked between him and the box. "You're sure you want to do this?"
"The hells yah think we're doing here?"
Ahrora's one good eye rolled back, but she reached out in an attempt to dissolve the entire contraption with blood magic.
The contraption was destroyed, the locking mechanism and the possible traps disabled, it would be quie obvious they had been there. However it was open, as when pulled open the drawer revealed it was a space of normal size. Nothing like a large secret compartment, nothing magical otherwise, just a drawer. What it held within was yet less interesting. 500 magus in coins and precious materials, another small note book, an old wheel lock pistol that seems to be engraved by a moderately skilled hand, the engraved with flowers on branches with a word on the back near the top of the handle, Sakura. 3- A wooden box that is empty, but has many engravings on top, as it says 'Dream Box'. 4- Finally a small leather pouch holds within 3 old wooden coins with metal inlaid to make a slight design, each with a letter on it, and different number of small gashes seem to be put around the edges of the coins:
D- 22 gashes around the edge of the coin as it seemed multiple chips were put into the D.
S- 15 gashes around the edge of the coin. This one has an X put through the S and light carvings are put into the coin to make a flower.
L- 16 gashes around the edge of the coin. This one has a large gash put through the coin like it was stabbed through.
The excitement of freeing the box's contents was short lived, as the pair came to realize the poor worth of each item. The coins alone might have made the effort worth, had they truly come with the intention of robbing a friend blind. Silas passed her the second notebook. "See if it's got anything about debts in there. My name and stuff."
He himself focused on the wooden coins. Worthless, except for their novelty he supposed, careful to count each of the notches on the edges. He even managed to feel out the letters on their surface, much to Ahrora's approval. It didn't take long for the inspection to finish. In all the pair only forced Desmond to part with 80 Magus, and the wooden coin with the letter S.
Ahrora began to read, looking for Silas' name, yet another name beginning with S caught her eye. The same one on the but of the pistol, "Hmm, Sakura. That's Nikanese? Have you ever heard Desmond speak about knowing Nikanese or talking about knowing someone from Nikan?" Ahrora continued to read, "This is weird Silas. It's like he made this seems off. Like this isn't some kind of record book". She began to flip through the pages as she is now looking for names with S, none of them being Silas, Sakura seems to show up much more.
She looked through it more and more as there were pages going all the way back to, "This entry was from 4 years ago; Saki and I were sent to take out a mage who was causing the war line to be pushed on our side. Loui was sent to wreak havoc near the main line, typical. It should be a quick in and out, nothing more". Ahrora continued to read, she felt strange like something strange must have happened, as she looked at the coins, it felt like it was trying to tell her something. "Saki and I celebrated my Birfday away from everyone because we are out on watch. It was calm. Nearly 2 decades, and this is okay. Saki and I are still out looking for this mage, we haven't heard anything on Loui either"
Ahrora went silent a moment while she looked at the book and said, "Uhm, hey Silas, maybe you should leave the coin. It seems like it is important, you know, real important". She put the book down, as she seemed to have read something she shouldn't have.
"You want me to go without a souvenir?" Silas whined, but his curiosity was again piqued. "There was a Yasoi, around his birthday. Whats so special about it?" He asked, leaning over her shoulder to trace what little of the illegible scribbles he could make out.
"I'm unsure about the Yasoi thing, I haven't seen anything on that, however I think that coin might be of someone important to Desmond" Ahrora said while lightly guiding Silas' finger over the name Sakura as she spelled the name out for him. Ahrora continued, "I read a bit in the little book, about them, they seemed close".
“I can not get their faces out of my head. Why was it Loui? Why did he do it? She died and I couldn't do a thing. So much Blood. I have to kill him. He killed her. I can not let him get away with it. He killed Suki-" as the pen seemed to have scratched the page, like it was written in frustration.
Silas took the notebook from her only to place both it and the coin back inside the desk drawer without a word, unspoken agreement they may have gone too far. While it was impossible to undo the destruction the intrusion had caused, they at least left things in an orderly enough manner and re-locked the flower on the desk before moving to leave.
"Don't much like the idea of being here when he comes back to find this mess." Silas grumbled, still rather disappointed with their discoveries. Ahrora was much more relaxed and cheerful now the deed was done and they hadn't been discovered or destroyed anything in the process.
"Don't be so glum. I've been wanting to revisit that barn loft down in Miller's Hook." She grasped his hand and whispered in his ear until Silas forgot entirely what had made him quite so peeved by the time they exited by the room's window.
Ahrora stood at the entryway of Silas and Desmond's room, surveying the clutter and boy within as the latter worked to clear a path for her. They'd both lost the bulk of their finery form the Nox Arcanum party, left mostly in their underclothes, hidden by only their coats, and fled to the dorms without so much as a goodbye to the others.
"He is." Silas replied casually. "The clothes you came in are in here if you want 'em."
She moved towards the indicated pile. "Seems a bit odd you're stealing from the only friend you got."
Silas hesitated at the slight reprimand in her voice, and scowled. "Yer one to talk. Like I didn't notice three of my buttons missing tonight. Or you wanna tell me I lost 'em in the soup?"
She scowled in return. He could sense it even between her movements dressing herself.
"Not the same. He wouldn't go to all the trouble of hiding this if it wasn't something important"
"Let it be a lesson to him then; if you wanna keep something hidden don't make it so damn suspicious." He gestured to the cleared space beside him, in front of the locked cabinet in question. None of the three types of vision between the two could discern what was inside, or how to even go about opening it in the first place.
"Will be traps," Silas warned, and passed her the journal he'd found on Desmond's birthday. "See if there's anything helpful in there." The boy was nearly vibrating with excitement. Ahrora looked at him a long moment before swallowing the last of her miss-givings and turning her attention to the journal while her partner inspected the cabinet for signs of a lock.
The whole setup seemed to be simple, just a simple drawer on his desk. Yet they both knew something had to be in there. Silas knew some of Desmond's traps now, it could be a good time to put some of them to the test. For Ahrora, as she looked through the book, it was filled with...a strange writing she was not used to. She tried to flip through and found only dates on the top of the pages, and a few words that seemed to be shared with Avincian. It was a choppy translation yet she could understand it well enough.
"Okay I think I'm getting the hang of this. This page seems the easiest to figure out so I'll try to start here", she said, clearing her throat before reading, "I had the same dream last night, all I could think about was that time". Ahrora read as she mused to herself, "Hmm weird, maybe this is some kind of dream diary, I wonder if he had inspirations else where for the lock".
There was a beat of silence, while Ahrora shuffled through pages for another decipherable passage. "Oh! This might have it; "A lock that...closes like a...flower! And will lock...like a flower opening. Cute", she mews to herself as she read more. With a gentle tap and light charge against the drawer Silas could sense the ever slight difference of the metal plates in the shape of petals when told about it.
"Real cute," Silas scoffed, unamused at the impossible small inner workings of the lock. Hi's patience was already worn thin from waiting for the poor translation. "So I'll open if I close it. Doesn't seem complicated at all-"
"Wait!" But Silas had already begun pushing the petals of the flowers left so each overlaid with the one next until they could be collapsed inwards.
As Silas used his kinetic magic to move the pedals within the drawer, he noticed they moved smoothly. As once they were all moved in a counterclockwise motion, he sensed them interlaying with each other. And then, a slight shifting happened as it felt like the bud moved back as the drawer shifted forward showing it was open. Ahrora was stunned for a moment before she let out a sigh, afraid Silas may have set off one of the traps as she lightly jabbed him on the arm, "Scared me there". She tossed the little book off to the side and was now more curious what was hidden within this locked case.
"Why?" Silas laughed at Ahrora, nerves given way to giddy excitement all at once. "I'm a professional."
Silence fell between the pair as Ahrora attempted to look past the case with her enchanted eye, while Silas compared the lock to what was in his lock-pick set.
Ahrora could see nothing within, maybe because of certain materials made it difficult to see into. While energies within were inert inside, maybe it was special chemical and arcane magics to conceal and cancel out energy sensing and sight. Yet either way it was something that could easily get passed, Silas had met another lock he was slightly familiar with, the same friction lock pins that he had seen at Desmond's shop, yet he noticed something different, there was a few chemical signatures within, and even a few magnetic charges popping in and out.
Silas groaned. "Damn tricky magic." He complained to Ahrora, pointing out to her the chemical and magic parts of the case.
She looked between him and the box. "You're sure you want to do this?"
"The hells yah think we're doing here?"
Ahrora's one good eye rolled back, but she reached out in an attempt to dissolve the entire contraption with blood magic.
The contraption was destroyed, the locking mechanism and the possible traps disabled, it would be quie obvious they had been there. However it was open, as when pulled open the drawer revealed it was a space of normal size. Nothing like a large secret compartment, nothing magical otherwise, just a drawer. What it held within was yet less interesting. 500 magus in coins and precious materials, another small note book, an old wheel lock pistol that seems to be engraved by a moderately skilled hand, the engraved with flowers on branches with a word on the back near the top of the handle, Sakura. 3- A wooden box that is empty, but has many engravings on top, as it says 'Dream Box'. 4- Finally a small leather pouch holds within 3 old wooden coins with metal inlaid to make a slight design, each with a letter on it, and different number of small gashes seem to be put around the edges of the coins:
D- 22 gashes around the edge of the coin as it seemed multiple chips were put into the D.
S- 15 gashes around the edge of the coin. This one has an X put through the S and light carvings are put into the coin to make a flower.
L- 16 gashes around the edge of the coin. This one has a large gash put through the coin like it was stabbed through.
The excitement of freeing the box's contents was short lived, as the pair came to realize the poor worth of each item. The coins alone might have made the effort worth, had they truly come with the intention of robbing a friend blind. Silas passed her the second notebook. "See if it's got anything about debts in there. My name and stuff."
He himself focused on the wooden coins. Worthless, except for their novelty he supposed, careful to count each of the notches on the edges. He even managed to feel out the letters on their surface, much to Ahrora's approval. It didn't take long for the inspection to finish. In all the pair only forced Desmond to part with 80 Magus, and the wooden coin with the letter S.
Ahrora began to read, looking for Silas' name, yet another name beginning with S caught her eye. The same one on the but of the pistol, "Hmm, Sakura. That's Nikanese? Have you ever heard Desmond speak about knowing Nikanese or talking about knowing someone from Nikan?" Ahrora continued to read, "This is weird Silas. It's like he made this seems off. Like this isn't some kind of record book". She began to flip through the pages as she is now looking for names with S, none of them being Silas, Sakura seems to show up much more.
She looked through it more and more as there were pages going all the way back to, "This entry was from 4 years ago; Saki and I were sent to take out a mage who was causing the war line to be pushed on our side. Loui was sent to wreak havoc near the main line, typical. It should be a quick in and out, nothing more". Ahrora continued to read, she felt strange like something strange must have happened, as she looked at the coins, it felt like it was trying to tell her something. "Saki and I celebrated my Birfday away from everyone because we are out on watch. It was calm. Nearly 2 decades, and this is okay. Saki and I are still out looking for this mage, we haven't heard anything on Loui either"
Ahrora went silent a moment while she looked at the book and said, "Uhm, hey Silas, maybe you should leave the coin. It seems like it is important, you know, real important". She put the book down, as she seemed to have read something she shouldn't have.
"You want me to go without a souvenir?" Silas whined, but his curiosity was again piqued. "There was a Yasoi, around his birthday. Whats so special about it?" He asked, leaning over her shoulder to trace what little of the illegible scribbles he could make out.
"I'm unsure about the Yasoi thing, I haven't seen anything on that, however I think that coin might be of someone important to Desmond" Ahrora said while lightly guiding Silas' finger over the name Sakura as she spelled the name out for him. Ahrora continued, "I read a bit in the little book, about them, they seemed close".
“I can not get their faces out of my head. Why was it Loui? Why did he do it? She died and I couldn't do a thing. So much Blood. I have to kill him. He killed her. I can not let him get away with it. He killed Suki-" as the pen seemed to have scratched the page, like it was written in frustration.
Silas took the notebook from her only to place both it and the coin back inside the desk drawer without a word, unspoken agreement they may have gone too far. While it was impossible to undo the destruction the intrusion had caused, they at least left things in an orderly enough manner and re-locked the flower on the desk before moving to leave.
"Don't much like the idea of being here when he comes back to find this mess." Silas grumbled, still rather disappointed with their discoveries. Ahrora was much more relaxed and cheerful now the deed was done and they hadn't been discovered or destroyed anything in the process.
"Don't be so glum. I've been wanting to revisit that barn loft down in Miller's Hook." She grasped his hand and whispered in his ear until Silas forgot entirely what had made him quite so peeved by the time they exited by the room's window.
There weren’t many students left inside Ersand’Enise when Calderes rolled around. Most had retired to their homes; even most the Darhanic students had taken the time for travel and adventure. So it was left to the small number of students who had nowhere else to go to fill the city's streets. Not that it needed much help, the lack of students was more than made up for by the increase of trade that came along with Upta’s new policies. The end of year-celebration held at the Vermillion Swirl was packed so the crowd was nearly spilling out to the snow-dusted grounds surrounding the Silk Gate.
Silas and Desmond were one of the lucky few with seats at the bar inside, allowed in through the back by their employed friends. Whether it was the wine, music, or spirit of the season Silas felt oddly mirthful and close to the older boy, enough so to let a question that had bothered him for some weeks slip out.
“Who is Loui?”
Desmond had taken a drink of his wine as he seemed lost in thought for a time, long enough to forget somethings, yet when he heard Silas’ voice, his eyes sharpened, ”I don’t know who you’re talking about”. Desmond took another sip of his drink as if being done with the conversation, maybe trying to dodge the question, either way it seemed Desmond got his own information, who broke into his locked drawer.
The quick dismissal only piqued the thief's interest more. "Saki then?" He tried, sipping from his own mug.
Desmond’s hand tighten onto his glass when he heard Silas speak once more. Desmond had lighty grinded his teeth together before he set his glass down as he seemed to try and dodge it once more, “Not sure”.
Silas frowned and shifted his weight. Desmond had gone silent and cold and it made him fidget with discomfort, until his booted feet tucked onto the seat of his chair so his free hand could pry at the frayed laces.
"I-" The apology got caught on Silas' throat. He hadn't really done anything wrong after all. Even left everything behind, good as he found it. Or near as such. "You can tell me y'know. I could be helpful."
Desmond’s head flicked to Silas, ”In what? Breaking into more of my things? It was the one fucking rule I had, it was the only thing I asked. How could I trust you when you do that?” Desmond seemed absolutely upset, as in his voice, it can be round, he is hurt.
Silas kept his chin on his knees as he silently took Desmond's reprimand, the darkening of his face the only sign he was listening at all. The rest of the noisy party felt oddly distant. "Thought it might be a game- some kind of trap you set for me." It sounded stupid, so much so that even as the words left his mouth Silas's face reached a final flush so red he had to drink to cool himself.
"Shouldn't have done it- knew that soon as it was done. Put everything back as well as I could. Haven't told a soul neither- wouldn't." He stopped as the barmaid came to refill their cups and give him a thorough glare for getting his boots on the furniture.
"I'm sorry Desmond. He finally said. "But sorrys and regrets are worth 'bout as much as shit in Mudville, so let me make it up- let me earn your trust."
Desmond was holding his glass as it nearly broke, his teeth were clenched in anger, yet as he listened to Silas, he felt himself slightly waning in anger. ’he’s just a kid in the end’. Desmond let out a sigh as he took a drink of his wine and ran his hand through his hair. Sweeping it back for a moment before it came back down.
When Desmond turned to Silas he could see on his face, it was resolve, as Desmond let out one more sigh as he finally spoke again, ”Okay,”. Desmond drank the rest of his wine as he continued, ”-I have some ideas”. Desmond called over for another glass of wine, as he then continued, ”I’ve been having some need of help. I always do”.
Desmond took a drink as he then spoke, ”I need information, lots of it. I have plans and ideas, but none will work if I don’t know who I’m dealing with. So I need someone who is connected enough into more underworld trades here to steal information”. Desmond took another drink as now leaving room for Silas to respond.
The blind boy nodded eagerly. "I can do that. Been working on my reading and everything." He felt himself relax enough to let his feet drop back to the ground, or near as much as they could reach, and sip his replenished drink. "Got a name?"
Desmond nodded slightly, ”We’ll start with something we both care about, Pelova Fascino & their emporium, as well as their owner, Yuliya Vasilieva”. Desmond took another drink as he continued, ”She and her shop is backed by quite a bit of capital and power that I can’t fight, I need to know what their aim is. I have a bad feeling things are going to get very messy in Mudville and I feel left in the dark. I need you to help ease that for me”.
Desmond then turned to Silas, asking him the ultimate question, ”Can you do that for me?”
While his nodding continued, Silas hesitated in his ready agreement. Yuliya was dangerous, and if he were to get any closer to what was alreadying going on in Mudville…
"I can get you info." He finally decided. "Already been doin' what I can with some friends to keep the Pelova a 'work in progress' if you catch the drift." He smiled widely, feeling almost comfortable in Desmond's company again.
"Good to know I’m not the only one on this side of the fight." It was more an absent thought than a comment, and said so quietly as to barely be audible over the rest of the celebrations around them. He turned to face Desmond and asked, louder; "How many more of those does it take to get you drunk?" and nodded at the other boy’s glass.
”Too many”.
Silas and Desmond were one of the lucky few with seats at the bar inside, allowed in through the back by their employed friends. Whether it was the wine, music, or spirit of the season Silas felt oddly mirthful and close to the older boy, enough so to let a question that had bothered him for some weeks slip out.
“Who is Loui?”
Desmond had taken a drink of his wine as he seemed lost in thought for a time, long enough to forget somethings, yet when he heard Silas’ voice, his eyes sharpened, ”I don’t know who you’re talking about”. Desmond took another sip of his drink as if being done with the conversation, maybe trying to dodge the question, either way it seemed Desmond got his own information, who broke into his locked drawer.
The quick dismissal only piqued the thief's interest more. "Saki then?" He tried, sipping from his own mug.
Desmond’s hand tighten onto his glass when he heard Silas speak once more. Desmond had lighty grinded his teeth together before he set his glass down as he seemed to try and dodge it once more, “Not sure”.
Silas frowned and shifted his weight. Desmond had gone silent and cold and it made him fidget with discomfort, until his booted feet tucked onto the seat of his chair so his free hand could pry at the frayed laces.
"I-" The apology got caught on Silas' throat. He hadn't really done anything wrong after all. Even left everything behind, good as he found it. Or near as such. "You can tell me y'know. I could be helpful."
Desmond’s head flicked to Silas, ”In what? Breaking into more of my things? It was the one fucking rule I had, it was the only thing I asked. How could I trust you when you do that?” Desmond seemed absolutely upset, as in his voice, it can be round, he is hurt.
Silas kept his chin on his knees as he silently took Desmond's reprimand, the darkening of his face the only sign he was listening at all. The rest of the noisy party felt oddly distant. "Thought it might be a game- some kind of trap you set for me." It sounded stupid, so much so that even as the words left his mouth Silas's face reached a final flush so red he had to drink to cool himself.
"Shouldn't have done it- knew that soon as it was done. Put everything back as well as I could. Haven't told a soul neither- wouldn't." He stopped as the barmaid came to refill their cups and give him a thorough glare for getting his boots on the furniture.
"I'm sorry Desmond. He finally said. "But sorrys and regrets are worth 'bout as much as shit in Mudville, so let me make it up- let me earn your trust."
Desmond was holding his glass as it nearly broke, his teeth were clenched in anger, yet as he listened to Silas, he felt himself slightly waning in anger. ’he’s just a kid in the end’. Desmond let out a sigh as he took a drink of his wine and ran his hand through his hair. Sweeping it back for a moment before it came back down.
When Desmond turned to Silas he could see on his face, it was resolve, as Desmond let out one more sigh as he finally spoke again, ”Okay,”. Desmond drank the rest of his wine as he continued, ”-I have some ideas”. Desmond called over for another glass of wine, as he then continued, ”I’ve been having some need of help. I always do”.
Desmond took a drink as he then spoke, ”I need information, lots of it. I have plans and ideas, but none will work if I don’t know who I’m dealing with. So I need someone who is connected enough into more underworld trades here to steal information”. Desmond took another drink as now leaving room for Silas to respond.
The blind boy nodded eagerly. "I can do that. Been working on my reading and everything." He felt himself relax enough to let his feet drop back to the ground, or near as much as they could reach, and sip his replenished drink. "Got a name?"
Desmond nodded slightly, ”We’ll start with something we both care about, Pelova Fascino & their emporium, as well as their owner, Yuliya Vasilieva”. Desmond took another drink as he continued, ”She and her shop is backed by quite a bit of capital and power that I can’t fight, I need to know what their aim is. I have a bad feeling things are going to get very messy in Mudville and I feel left in the dark. I need you to help ease that for me”.
Desmond then turned to Silas, asking him the ultimate question, ”Can you do that for me?”
While his nodding continued, Silas hesitated in his ready agreement. Yuliya was dangerous, and if he were to get any closer to what was alreadying going on in Mudville…
"I can get you info." He finally decided. "Already been doin' what I can with some friends to keep the Pelova a 'work in progress' if you catch the drift." He smiled widely, feeling almost comfortable in Desmond's company again.
"Good to know I’m not the only one on this side of the fight." It was more an absent thought than a comment, and said so quietly as to barely be audible over the rest of the celebrations around them. He turned to face Desmond and asked, louder; "How many more of those does it take to get you drunk?" and nodded at the other boy’s glass.
”Too many”.
The empty plot that had held Moli’s for so many years was bought up by some wealthy noble who had sought to buy up and push out a third of Mudville. His ill-gone visit with Bianca had taught Silas that his home had already been lost to him once; when he’d run and not looked back. But too lose it again, have it reformed to serve the aristocratic class that had stepped on them for too long proved too much to bear. The Mud Rats hadn’t started as a movement, or even real group. First it had just been Silas, reunited with Ishto and a few other old friends, bitter and angry about the injustice done to them by the city, Moli, and just about anyone else who wasn’t them. They spent nights camping out the Mudville docks, relieving ships of construction supply deliveries as soon as they made it ashore. The deal struck with Desmond showed the first real increase in their efforts, but as the weeks went on, and more of the citizens of Mudville found themselves pushed or priced out of the only home they’d ever known, the rag-tag group’s numbers grew. Eventually it became rare for a night to pass where more work wasn’t undone than had been completed the day before on the newly funded-projects.
He may have been burning the candle at more ends than he had to light, but nodding off in class wasn’t such a problem when the teachers weren't expecting to see your eyes anyways.
