Prince fluffy whistled a happy tune as he ran a wet cloth over the windows of his cabin. It was his day off and there wasn't anything better to do. Now that spring was here it was looking more and more lovely outside the small building, and Fluff was looking forward to being able to see through the windows again. Next on his list was pulling the overgrowth from right around the front door. It wouldn't look completely groomed when he was finished, but it certainly would look like someone had paid some attention to it.
"HEY FLUFF!" Fluffy glanced up to see his younger brother Kamin lumbering down the path awkwardly. He smiled a little to see Kamin so mobile, and stood to greet the other man, but Kamin beat him to speaking. "Can't talk now, gotta get a move on it. Got a hot Uuthli waiting for me in the south tavern. You gonna wash my windows later?"
"no." Fluffy just smiled at his brother as he kept on going past without stopping.
"Well. We'll talk about it later then, just thought I'd check. Wish me luck." by then Kamin was well past the cabin and on his way down the path.
Fluff watched him go and called out after him. "You don't need luck. You've got it all." Sympathy vote included. He smiled as Kamin rounded a corner and was out of sight, then he turned back to his window washing.
"If not his, mine could use a once over, Captain." One slow stretch later and Cole tossed Fluff a friendly smirk in greeting, if you could call it that, as she caught the tail-end of the brotherly banter. She was in a good mood. The weather was amazing, now that summer was here, the sun warm on her shoulders, bared by the grey-blue dress she wore.
And she rather liked talking to Sargtlins. Particularly the stuffy sort, like Fluff and Joss. Kamin, of course, was a whole nother flavor. Another thing about the rank was that they were good for work. Colby herself didn't really like doing household tasks. She had an entirely different skill set.
"You look well." Or hot, whichever. It was hard to tell when Cole was in the middle of a task or not, as most of them simply involved speaking and walking from one place to the next. She could be passing by, or she could be around specifically to harass Fluff.
He smiled over at her in an honest manner, though people who didn't know Fluff would think that he was just being nice. He just had that kind of expression, and he honestly believed that everyone was doing what they needed to be doing.
"I am well, thank you for noticing." He pulled the cloth from the window and used it to wipe his own hands as he turned to talk to Cole. "And as you'll have noticed it's probably because I do my own yard work and spring cleaning. Besides, if Kamin, with his soft spot in my heart and all, can't get me to clean his windows, nobody will probably." He grinned at her. "And how are you?"
"Come, now, Captain, it doesn't take much to notice." A warm, throaty laugh. "Somehow I think your brother is quite capable of cleaning his own windows. I, however," A gloved hand went to her hip and she shrugged slim shoulders, "am a little short and willowy, plus I look foolish on a stool." And Josslyn was out on patrol, which Fluff probably already knew.
Colby was a lot of things, attractive, intelligent, cunning, vaguely good-hearted, but she wasn't a physical laborer. "Me? I'm doing splendidly. A bit thirsty perhaps."
Fluff grinned at her and turned to his open front door with a sweeping guesture. "may I offer you a drink then?" He took a few steps towards her to make the conversation a little less public. "I don't have all that much to offer... some water of course, lemonaide and I've a cask of something in the basement that Kamin left behind last summer... whatever it is I'm sure it's finished aging by now, and I'm even more sure that my brother has forgotten about it." He twirled a finger at the side of his head as a joke. "He's not always all there when it comes to remembering the more trivial things in life." And then he laughed.
"Ah, you are such a gentleman! I may be able to convince you of those windows, yet." Colby brushed past him into the house, pleased with his good mood, and let her blue-grey eyes roave around his home. "I'm sure you have something to satisfy me. Today is a fine day for a taste of adventure, don't you think?" Whatever was in the basement was probably a bit rougher than her usual fare, but she didn't exactly mind.
Another smirk at the mention of Kamin and her tone was casual, near distraction as she let gloved fingertips brush against his furniture. "The trivial things in life being those not concerning you, Captain, or women, I presume?"
He pulled out a tall chair at the countertop for her and then turned to the hatch door where the basement was located. As he went down the stairs her continued the conversation... getting harder to hear as he went down the stairs and louder as he came back up with a small cask chucked up on his shoulder. "No, I like women, I just haven't found the right one yet. I mean things like washing windows and getting food for your house... remembering where you left that cask of ale you were gifted by a pretty young woman." He arrived at the top of the stairs again.
"At least I think it's ale." He set the cask down on the countertop and deftly pounded a spigot into the corked bottom with a small hammer. Moments later he was pouring a thick dark brown liquid with tart smell into a clear mug. Setting it on the table he gave her a wry grin. "You still interested?"
That hadn't been exactly what she'd meant, but it was definitely good to know. She was, after all, quite a woman. A gloved hand deftly, habitually, brushed off the seat before she settled, crossing her legs at the knee.
Cool eyes watched him disappear and return, quiet in his space until the sargtlin opened up the cask. A slight smile lingered on her full, wide mouth despite her raised brows. "I don't scare easy, Captain. I'll let you know when I stop being interested."
Nothing like a heavy drink with a handsome man on a beautiful afternoon.
Fluff shrugged. "Suit yourself." He passed the mug that was already poured across the counter to her and then grabbed himself another mug. Had it been Kamin's house the mugs would have been less clean, but this was not kamin's house and the mugs were more than a little clean. He poured a second glass and held it out as if to toast her, and waited for her to clink her glass to his.
Thank goodness it was Fluff's home. Colby had a healthy sense of adventure, but she also had a healthy sense of hygeine. The mug was lifted, glasses were clinked, and a grin was shared before she took a hearty swallow.
Not a bad draught, to be sure. A little bitter, a bit thick, but perfectly acceptable. "I applaud you on your clean glasses, Captain." A lift of the mug, now in salute to him. "I do believe you're right. A bit rough around the edges, but definitely an ale."
Most Jivvins knew their way around liquor, it seemed. Particularly Olplyns and Sargtlins. One of those few things in common? Then again, that was what Colby was for, wasn't it? Joss, too, though the gruff girl seemed to forget it.
"And I was worried I wouldn't meet my 'Sargtlin Captain' drinking partner quota for the day.... Tch."
Fluff suddenly grinned from ear to ear. "I'm good at that... making quotas that is." The man was a stickler for rules and needs and such... it was his 'thing' really. And whether she knew it or not, Cole couldn't have given him a better compliment than to tell him he'd been a help in fulfilling a rule/quota of some kind.
He had taken a drink of his own mug as she took a drink of hers, and now he was battling the aftertaste of the liquid. "it's a little harsh really... I don't think the brewer was completely competent yet, but I bet with a little more practice I'll bet that they'd get pretty damn good at it." he took another drink. "no, that's not entirely good is it?" He took yet another swig, a good sized one. "I'd go so far as to say that it's downright awful." He laughed.
"Can I offer you something else?"
"As am I, Captain." A matching grin as she set down the mug, "Perhaps we're more alike than we appear to be." She could be talking about themselves as individuals, or their rank as a whole, really. The redhead pushed her mug back toward Fluff with one slim, gloved finger, her smile turning wry.
"I would love something else, thank you." At least they were both willing to admit the beverage was slightly less than delectable. "Anything else, really."
He turned to the cooler and rooted through the food on the shelves. His eyes stopped on a pitcher of juice, which he pulled from the shelf with one hand while his other hand found a new glass for Cole. Kicking the door shut with his foot, he poured the juice for her and set it down, then reached for another glass. "We;ll start with ambiguous juice to take the edge off, and then move to water if need be."
With a grin he poured the remainder of both mugs into the sink and set them aside. "You know, I can't for the life of me remember where Kamin got that Cask. I'll have to remember to ask him next time I see him, though I doubt he even knows it's still here, let alone where it came from."
The ambiguous juice turned out to be a simple, pleasing blend that was borderline fermented, possibly due to be stored in the back of the icebox. A sip or two had Cole raising her brows, amusment warming her voice.
"Perhaps going through the contents of your various containers should be the next task on your cleaning to-do list." Still, it tasted fine and cooled her immensely. Calculating eyes roaved over the taller Jivvin and her tone slowly became a bit preoccupied, thoughtful.
"If find yourself with a free evening in the next few weeks, Captain, you should venture a bit further into the village, to my home. I'm going to be entertaining soon, and you'd be a... Pleasing addition to the guest list." A wry sort of smile. "I don't think you'll find the company distasteful."
