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 Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 10:37 pm
Okay...it was a new day. Adinas had spent the night watching over his brother, as he always tried to do. So when he knew the nursemaid would be returning, he had gently replaced his brother in his crib. He had lived through another night, and he would make damn well certain that he continued to. Because the staff always were up and moving before the rest of the noble family, Adinas crept using his invisibility over the walls and ceiling until he reached the kitchen. As usual he watched the frantic kitchen staff attempting to prepare some high quality meal for his mother that would please her. Adinas watched them cooking, and when he felt there was a opening, he snuck down to pilfer some of the sweet flatbreads prepared. There was plenty of time for them to make more, and Adinas liked practicing his sneakiness.
Of course looks were given. Voices became raised and of course blame was flung about. Actually the chaos made it all the easier for Adinas to steal more things. Like a bowl. Some stuffed mushrooms. A few boiled eggs, and a decanter of rothe milk. He figured this would be a good enough of a breakfast for the two of them. Grinning, he crept back to his room invisibly. The door opened....the door closed...and only then did he drop his spell of invisibility. Smiling proudly, he placed the bowl with it's stolen food upon the end table, just in case E'th was a startled kind of person upon waking. He didn't want to have to go back to the kitchen. Adinas turned and reached out to tap the sleeping lump. "E'th! Wake up please."
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Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 10:47 pm
The sleeping boy woke with a start, his eyes flew wide and he jumped back. It took him a moment of looking around before the memories seemed to remind him where he was and he settled down, blushing just a hint.
He righted himself and scratched the back of his head. "Oh, uh, s-sorry. I was out for a, um, pretty long while I think..." he mumbled, embarrassed that his new Master was the one that needed to wake him. His body ached from exertion from the prior day's running. His muscles throbbed when he moved them, his back prickled...but he was fairly certain that the fabric had stuck to the wounds and was most likely pulling a little. The bandages on his feet weren't bad, but the feet themselves were still sore. The swelling at least had gone down.
E'th caught a glimpse of his reflection off something, taken aback. He looked a right mess....this time from sleep however. He pulled his hair out of the ponytail (Half had been tugged out while he was sleeping anyway), and he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. At least with his hair down it was slightly better, he could retie it later as well.
When his eyes caught the bowl he quickly realized what it was and felt his stomach surge nervously. He really should've been the one awake first and certainly should've been the one to grab them both breakfast....but Adinas didn't really look angry about it...not even annoyed. E'th was confused. But he didn't ask, instead he stared silently at Adinas, waiting for some answers. Had he just wanted someone to play with or something?
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 12:09 am
Yup! Just like he had thought. E'th woke up startled and afraid. Adinas waited for the other boy to calm down before he moved to sit on the bed. He reached over to grab the bowl of food, and placed it down between himself and E'th while the other played with his hair.
"I wasn't sure what you liked to eat. So I got a couple of my favorites. The flat things are kinda like bread, but it's fried in the pan and super sweet." As he explained what they were, he picked out one for himself. Nibbling on it, he looked at his slave. "Did you sleep good? How are you feeling? Are you ready for today? I thought we could go see my little brother, his name is Xunrak and he's my responsibility too. I need to make sure he stays safe. That's why I don't sleep in my bed. I spend the night in his room watching over him." He conversed very easily without giving pause to wonder if maybe he was being just a -little- too chatty.
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 12:15 am
Why would Adinas bring his favorite food for E'th to eat? His prior Master would just feed him whatever. Honestly he'd thought if anything Adinas would give E'th the foods he didn't like eating or something. He was fairly childish and that certainly seemed like something someone like him would do. But, he curiously took a piece of bread and bit into it, pausing just a moment. It suddenly reminded him just how long it had been since he'd eaten food that tasted good....it reminded him the comfort of his old home. Sure he wasn't coddled, but he wasn't treated terribly.
He pushed those thoughts aside to return his attention to Adinas. Which question did he actually want answered? It seemed like most of those questions were maybe just his rambling. E'th smiled a little instead and simply nodded, answering the questions with a silent agreement.
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 12:51 am
Adinas paused his rambling to take a drink of the milk, it was then in the silence that he realized he had not given the other a moment to speak at all. Wiping his mouth, he handed the decanter in a offering gesture to E'th. He seemed to be so quiet right now...maybe because he was eating? Adin picked up one of the stuffed mushrooms and took a bite out of it. He just couldn't help himself. He finally had someone he was not afraid to talk to. When he talked to his mother he was overcome with desperation to get some acknowledgment from her that he had pleased her. His father terrified him. His uncles reminded him of berserking rothes. His little brother was...well...little. He now had someone to spend his free time with..and...and it was just wonderful!
Adinas pushed the bowl a little closer to E'th and he crossed his leg's up onto the bed. "Do you...have any kinda questions E'th?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 1:13 am
"Um, I don't know," he said a little sheepishly. "I guess, uh, I still haven't really gotten my, um, head around it..." he mumbled. He had only just seemed to have run away from his prior Master, everything seemed to be going extra fast. He couldn't help but feel a bit confused by it.
He paused after a moments consideration. "I guess.....um," he paused, "what kind of, uh, tasks do you want me to do?" Well, that certainly was one thing he needed to know. If only so he could be prepared. Plus it would certainly help to know what areas he should be familiar with. He frequently walked into things if he was in unfamiliar places, but somewhere he knew where things were he was usually okay. He'd even gotten better about not walking into door frames! It really was quite the problem for the first week or two after he lost the use of his eye.
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 1:51 am
Tasks... Oh yeah! Adinas glanced around the room. "Well. If you make sure my room is clean I can tell the servants to stay out. I don't trust any of them. They know I watch them, and I'm sure they blame me whenever they get caught doing something or get punished and they can't figure out who to blame. I'd rather they were not in here at all. That's why I steal the food I want to eat too. I don't like trusting them to make me food." He explains to E'th with a firm nod of his head. "So yeah. I can show you where the servants get the cleaning stuff...Oh! That reminds me!"
Now here he had to be really really serious. Adinas looked at E'th with a small wrinkling to his nose. "There's a special room in the dungeon your not ever ever allowed to go into. It's Mothers private room. Also, there is a male drow. he's got black here like mine, and his eyes are all black." He explained with a small nod of his head. "He's the Patron, his name is Nuumia, and he's really really scary. You must stay away from him, kay? Cause I just know he'd take you away if he finds you."
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 2:05 am
He nodded quietly. Just cleaning a room sounded....well....easy to say the least. It seemed like a very small task, but maybe Adinas just needed to mull over what he wanted the other to do? Not that E'th would argue with that. If he only had to clean one room he was perfectly fine with that....and hell, the more places he didn't go the less likely he would be to walk into things or break something. The Matron seemed intimidating....he'd met more woman that scared him more, but she was the closest at the moment and thus the only concern.
"Um, okay," he agreed. "Uh, you also mentioned I should avoid your father and uncles..." he paused a moment to looked thoughtful, "should I just....uh, try to avoid everyone?" He smiled slightly, trying to make for slight humour. Actually...trying to avoid the entire house might be a good idea. Well, he would just work hard at his sneaking abilities.
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 7:49 pm
He was dreaming again. It didn't matter to little Xunrak that he would forget this dream as soon as he awoke, being too small to remember them for long. Right now he was dreaming that his crib had grown to enormous size, the bars receding into the distance, until it seemed as though he was on a flat plane. He saw a pair of glowing red eyes and his father, towering as tall as he always perceived his ceiling to be, grinning evilly and brandishing his hand, the one his father had used so often to strike him whenever he cried. He didn't cry now, but whimpered in fright as the hand grew long, needled fingers, and with a shuddering step, the huge drow began to chase him, laughing gutterally and swiping at him with his steely fingers. Xunrak turned to run, but couldn't lift his feet, and he looked down to see the floor covered in dark red blood, getting thick like gruel as it held his feet down. He finally let loose a sob as he felt a sudden, sharp sting in his flailing arm.
With a little cry, Xunrak opened his eyes and blinked as he saw the bars of his own familiar crib, and beyond that the dark, featureless walls of his tiny room. He moved his little body a bit and discovered that as he had been sleeping, his small arm had gotten under him at a strange angle. Now he had trouble wiggling his fingers, and it felt as though someone mean was sticking him with tiny little needles. Sniffling piteously, Xunrak pulled himself up and huddled in the corner of the crib, hugging his arm to him and wishing he could see a friendly face.
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Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 2:12 am
E'th seemed happy enough with his chore. That was good! Adinas did not want to waste his time making him unhappy. He didn't see a point to it. E'th was going to be the one person he would be able to have all sorts of wonderful fun with he was sure! His little heart was beating more quickly then usual as he watched his slave eating. Slave...friend..slave...friend? Which was it? Adinas knew what others expected him to say, but inwardly he found himself thinking and hoping for the latter.
"My father is the Patron, but he spends a lot of time looking into the matters of the House. I think he does it so Mother does not have to bother herself with it." He found himself explaining. I think that until you get the hang of the House, you should avoid everyone. Once people know your mine they may fear you are spying on them for me. See...uhm..." He paused and smiled uneasily. "I am a spy, I am Mothers Spy." He paused and glanced towards the door. Adinas slipped off the bed and waved for E'th to follow him. "Come on! I'll introduce you to my brother! He's a safe one to be around, he's little!"
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Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 2:26 am
"Well that's fine. If other servants will think suspiciously of me I don't need or want to be friendly with them." He was fine with just Adinas. The other seemed to want him more as company than anything else, maybe the other drow was simply lonely and wanted a friend...he couldn't complain with that. Actually he couldn't help but sort of like the idea of being possible friends with him....he was nice and gentle....and occasionally looked worried for E'th. It was a look he hadn't seen in a long time.
When Adinas stood E'th popped the last bite in his mouth, he followed Adinas to his feet and nodded. "I'm, uh, glad to get to meet him then....you seem like you really love him," he said softly. Heh.....drows and love didn't typically go together.....but Adinas seemed....oddly gentle for their kind. He seemed like he may honestly be.....kind. It was unexpected to say the least. Everything about his body language said he was sincere about his kindness.....it was a little disorienting.
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Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:09 pm
One of the greatest benefits to being so hard to find, was the fact no one had picked up on many of Adinas's glowing faults. E'th was perhaps the only one who had spent this much time with him. Of course, Adinas was not fighting to keep himself under any sort of control. When he met with his mother he was typically very conscious of the danger he was in. The danger of being a disappointment that is. He craved her approval as badly as a starving man did food.
Adinas waited for E'th to rise and swallow his food before moving to the door. He stopped and blinked at E'th though with a clearly confused expression. "L-love? Oh..n-no...no no..." He quickly corrected the other, but he did not offer any excuse beyond the denial. Adinas cracked the door, then reached back to grab E'th by the sleeve so he could lead him to his brothers room.
He could not go invisible or crawl over the ceiling like he normally did. So he had to show a bit more caution while walking the halls. It was not until he reached the door to his brothers room did he relax a bit. Exhaling softly, he pushed the door open and entered the young boy's room. "Xuuuuuuunny." He whispered softly
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Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:15 pm
Xunrak was just about ready to nod off again even as he sat huddled in the corner of his crib like a frightened rat caught in a trap, when the sudden familiar whisper caused him to raise his head with a jolt. Finally; a friendly sound! And surely a friendly face to follow! Smiling in spite of the still-prickly sensation in his arm, Xunrak feebly crawled over to the other side of his crib, where he pulled himself up with his non-tingly arm and waved the other tentatively at Adin. "Adin! Adin!" His voice was loud enough in the tiny room to startle him, and he sat down with a bump, tears pooling in his eyes. His father must surely have heard him, and now he will be punished for making noise.
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Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:31 pm
E'th smiled faintly. No, love. Of course not. It wasn't something fond often in the Underdark. It was more....people were used for convenience or benefit. "Hm, well....whatever you want to call it," he mumbled, more to himself. He kind of liked seeing what it looked like to care for someone so honestly...he was so used to seeing the greatest care for someone being saddened to loose someone that protected someone else or was a good tool.
It further reminded him how....undrow-like the other seemed. He was far too....gentle, too.....happy. That was it, he seemed almost....content with his lot in life. It seemed rather odd....he had no aspiration for more power....hell, even E'th didn't want to be a slave. He wanted something more....he simply knew his place well enough to hold a contented facade. He would much rather not loose his tongue for such impudent words.
He followed Adinas into the child's room, eyes wandering the walls before he caught himself. It was rude to let his eyes wander so, but finally they landed on the crib as he followed Adinas.
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Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 10:33 pm
Adinas crept into the room and gestured for E'th to follow him. He heard the happy voice of his brother, and it made him smile. It made him feel so good to hear that note in his brothers voice. If there was at least one person thus far that he had not disappointed, he was grateful it was Xunrak. Adin waited for E'th to enter the room before closing the door firmly behind him. He turned back just in time to hear his brother fall back on his butt. Blinking, he did not take the time to explain anything to E'th before darting over to the crib.
Standing at the edge, he curled his fingers over the top and peered down. In the darkness he could clearly see the wetness on his brothers face and eyes. Instinctively he reached in to snatch the little boy out and into his embrace. Adin did not know why Xunrak had been crying, but he did not care to see him looking so vulnerable. :I am here Xunrak." He whispered to his brother gently. "I brought someone to meet you..come say hello E'th." He called to his new friend. He just knew that they were going to get along fine, why wouldn't they?
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