|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 6:21 pm
Rem smiled at little Tali, thinking that the sight was absolutely adorable. He nudged the gryphon lightly with one foot and said quietly, “Go play with Leolin, Tali.” While the gryphon clearly didn’t understand a single word of it, he bounced off towards Leolin anyway, surprising Rem.
Ah well… he wasn’t going to complain.
“Yes, the parlor is just through here…” he led the way through the house, eventually coming to the parlor room. And there he got another surprise…
Mal was still sitting there quietly, apparently half asleep, resting his cheek in one hand. He brightened up immediately at Rem’s entrance and waved cheerfully at the man behind him.
“Mornin’!” He was sorely tempted to put in something dirty in his greeting, but he remembered Laura’s words: don’t hit on him. “Lovely day today, isn’t it?”
“Ah, Mal, this is Sir Tomas… Sir Tomas, this is Malcolm Lansing,” Rem explained, introducing the men to each other. “Laura is… where is Laura, Mal?”
“Off fixin’ the drinks, I ‘spect,” Mal said promptly, still eyeing this ‘Sir Tomas’ a tad warily.
Tali puffed up even bigger when Sir Tomas turned away. He had scared the man away! This prompted the tiny gryphon to go into a victory lap around a plant of some sort.
His eyes lit up at Leolin’s suggestion, prompting him to go into another hyperactive victory lap. He nodded eagerly, and danced in place. “Where do they come from? Do they have to ask angels too?”
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 7:36 pm
Well well, another surprise! "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Lansing."
Giving a proper bow to Malcolm, as surely no one in the past had, Tomas waited to be invited to sit. With a hand reaching behind him to grip his wrist, the stoic man almost seemed at attention as he surveyed the room. His training had been hammered into his head since the age of five, so it was very difficult for Tomas to act casual without trying to.
"The tea's on the fire, it should be ready in a few minutes." Said the feminine creature that entered carrying a tray of raisin bread she'd made that morning with a recipe one of Nyhali's cooks told her.
Hair pins keeping her hair from her eyes was a rare sight for anyone who had never seen her around her elivated family. As well as the dress that did make her look like a lady-- and Laura hated every minute of it.
"I hope everything's been going swimmingly?" She looked to Mal, expecting him not to have said anything out of line.
"Laura, you know this man?" Tomas asked with the faintest hint of an arched brow.
"Yes, of course!" Laura murmured with faint nervousness at the expression on Tomas's face. Maybe he was worried about another man being in Rem's house, maybe she was a bit late in stopping Mal from saying or doing something she would regret. "Malcolm Lansing. He... he's..." Something, think of something that made him insignificant to Tomas. Something that was less of a worry for her family.
"Yes?" Tomas was beginning to look fairly amused at her obvious and unfounded unease.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 8:12 pm
While it would have been wonderful just to sit back and watch Laura wallow in misery and confusion, Mal decided that, for now, she had enough stress. “I’m a friend of Remiel Quillan’s. We met several years ago and we recently met again.” No need to mention the war, prison, or anything else. The fact that the knight bowed to him was a little unnerving.
Mal hadn’t gotten used to people bowing at him all over the place yet. Thankfully, the news of his family hadn’t spread too far yet.
“Laura and I met through Rem.”
Cheeky leprechaun, was he? Well, he would show her how well-behaved he could be! He just had to resist making any sex jokes or anything for the next half hour.
…
How was he supposed to survive?
Rem’s eyes flicked between Mal and Laura several times, praying that they would put their stupid feud aside for just one moment and at least pretend to get along. Mal’s seemingly innocuous explanation of how he knew Laura seemed to hide something far more sinister. Rem found himself waiting for the other foot to drop.
But, Mal stayed quiet. That was odd… Rem had a horrible feeling that it meant Mal was just saving it all up for later.
“Sit down, please,” he said to Tomas, waving a hand vaguely at the cushy armchairs and small sofas in the room. He himself sat in one of the plushy armchairs. The fact that Tomas looked so amused at Laura’s stammering was… interesting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 8:32 pm
"Thank you Lord Quillan." With an easy three steps he'd found himself seated on a very comfortable couch. Once more turning to look at his sister-in-law, the knight's eyebrows raised in what seemed anticipation. "Forgive me, but what is this man to you Laura?"
Having refered to Rem, the knight had not made himself quite clear.
The cheeky little leprechaun had it out for her, she just knew it. He was enjoying the anxiety that would be etching wrinkles into her delicate face years in advance. Taking a deep breath, Laura put on a false smile for her brother-in-law.
"He's my boyfriend."
Perhaps it was a preemptive strike, perhaps it was her mile-long vindictive streak, but Laura was sure she wouldn't let Mal get the better of her.
Taking a seat on the arm of Mal's chair, Laura smiled sweetly enough to intoxicate a honey bee.
This came to be a great shock to Tomas, who stared rather blankly at his sister for a moment. "The newest heir to the house of Rosalyen is your beloved?"
The woman snickered at the very idea of Mal in any high status. The very thought of Mal in the attire of a Lord got the better of her, as well as the idea of anyone considering him their "beloved". Rather quickly she began laughing outright. "Malcolm? Hardly!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 2:08 pm
It was a good thing that the tea wasn’t done yet. If it had been done, it probably would have been sprayed out of the mouths of both Rem and Mal at Laura’s pronouncement that Mal was her boyfriend. And then the other shoe dropped, stamping the entire delicate plan into the mud.
Resisting the urge to pinch her bottom or something similar---after all, he had made a promise to behave, and one of them had to be the ‘good one’--- Mal got up and grabbed Laura’s arm. Smiling politely at the knight, he said, “Excuse me… me and my beloved have to go talk something out… And get the tea.”
With that, he hauled her physically out of the room. Sure, he was small, but he had some muscle hiding under there. Once in the kitchen, he released her and leaned against the door to prevent anyone else from coming in.
“What the Hell? Just… what the Hellity Hell, Laura? You do realize that I am exclusively attracted to men, right? And that I know you’re not really a man? Mentally or physically or any other ‘ally’? Just what the Hell?”
Actually… now that he thought about it, having a beard would be good. So long as he claimed to be ‘in love’ with some woman, his family wouldn’t be able to set him up with a noblewoman… but, if he had to choose a woman from all the others in the world, he wouldn’t have chosen Laura! He would have chosen Aaralyn! At least she lived a country away, so he could have a somewhat legitimate reason to continually travel to Cambria and back.
There was a long silence back in the parlor room, quiet enough that it was possible to hear the chirps of Taliesin just outside.
“… I don’t think he’s gotten around to telling her that yet,” Rem said lamely. “Things have been… confusing of late, so…”
There was another long pause as Rem tried to think of a way to explain why Mal hadn’t told his supposed lover about his newfound family. “He’s very forgetful,” he said eventually, which was a complete and utter bald-faced lie. If Mal ever ‘forgot’ something, then Rem would eat his hat. And enjoy it. And not one of those little hats either, but one of those big giant wide-brimmed monstrosities that blocked out the sun for the wearer and anyone who stood nearby the wearer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 2:41 pm
Though she tolerated being roughly removed from the room, Laura stumbled before turning to face Mal with a scowl. "It's very simple, so you should be able to understand Malcolm." She said firmly, looking utterly serious. "You're a bloody liability to me if I didn't say such a thing. Unpredictable, infuriating, and dammit, if you ******** up here I'll have to leave! Not to mention there's no one here other than Rem and me under normal circumstances..."
Staying with Rem was truly the only way she would be able to continue racing Leolin. And if Mal had said something or done something to make Tomas think it wasn't proper for her to stay, she would be made to go to live with her family. Much like Mal, she wasn't fond of that idea in the slightest. That, and she was still rather taken with the noble she was staying with. But surely Laura wouldn't admit that aloud.
With her snappish reasoning put in, the woman went to the kettle whistling for her attention. "Besides, what was that rubbish about being from the-- what was it?-- House of Rosey-lin? You're not a noble, you're a bloody convict if ever I saw one!"
"I see..." Tomas murmured pensively before glancing to the doorway. "Her sister will be pleased to hear she's found a man at least."
Glancing at the raisin bread sliced for them on the coffee table, Tomas placed a cloth napkin on his lap before picking up one of the slices. It hadn't cooked quite right, and the raisins weren't quite raisins-- more grapes than anything else. Despite the unappetizing look of the bread, the knight took a bite without hesitation. Insulting Laura's cooking wouldn't yeild anything possitive.
Outside, the flapping of wings announced Leolin taking off after promising Tali he wouldn't be more than five minutes. "Just wait here, all right! I'll be right back!"
~*~*~*~
True enough to his word, the griffin had in his talon a terrified rabbit upon return. A plump jack rabbit fit for a young griffin had had one of it's hind legs mangled from being stepped on and bitten.
Circling 'round the little griffin in the yard, the older griffin started towards the ground carefully. The large jack rabbit was dropped from his talon a foot or so from the ground, and it still tried to get away on it's three working legs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 3:08 pm
“For the record, I’ve only been in prison once,” Mal pointed out. Although, there were many times when he had almost ended up in jail… but, that didn’t count because it was only an ‘almost’.
“Anyway, if you need a man, why not claim Rem? You like him anyway!” Even as he said this, he realized that was exactly why that wouldn’t work out. Things would get too… confusing for everyone involved. Scrubbing a hand through his hair, he waved his free hand in the motion for ‘forget that idea; it sucks’.
His eyes slipped to the kitchen door as if he was considering simply making a run for it while he could before things got even more confusing. “I figured Rem would’ve filled you in on that by now. ‘S a funny story, actually. The thing is… the thing is, I found these old letters in my mom old house and I brought them around here. They were… love letters, of sorts. Turns out that my dear old mother had an affair with whathisface, the Lord of House Rosaylen. So, that makes me a half-blood noble.” He sounded less than delighted with the entire thing.
He started pacing anxiously, still looking over at the door occasionally. It was so close… “Now I just have to think of a reason why you, lover, don’t know about my new family… s**t, I’ll just say that I didn’t want to tell you because I want to make sure you love me for me. That sounds suitably corny, right?” It sounded like it was stolen directly from a fairy tale, actually. Anyone with a trace of romance in their soul would believe it, which is exactly why Mal didn’t believe it.
Rem blinked, not quite believing what he was hearing. Anyone who knew Mal wouldn’t say something like that. More likely, they would do everything in their power to prevent Mal from ever having contact with their sister-in-law ever again. After all, the man was sneaky, manipulative, unpredictable, and… well… Mal. The last part was reason enough.
“Indeed,” Rem said enigmatically, grabbing a raisin bread. Unlike Tomas, he didn’t instantly take a bite out of it. They didn’t look quite done.
“Mal is a good man. He’s just a little… eccentric,” Rem went on graciously.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Tali waited excitedly in the garden for Leolin to return. He was going to hunt! Hunt for real! The little gryphon danced from side to side as Leolin came back into his sight. Hunthunthunt!
The rabbit was a lot bigger than Tali had been expecting… but, he wasn’t worried. He bounded towards it instantly, his wings flapping ineffectually, creating an odd loping effect. He batted at the rabbit playfully, completely unaware of any harm he was causing the creature. Like a cat with a mouse, he would let it run away a little bit before darting towards it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 3:26 pm
Laura scoffed as she stirred the tea leaves. "That's the sorriest sob story I've ever heard; it's perfect."
Taking down tea cups for the others in the parlor, Laura shook her head as she thought about it. "Your mum had liesans with a noble? Aren't you the lucky beggar. You shouldn't sound so dismal about the whole thing."
"It's about time she had someone to support her. Emily swore she would go mad if Laura had become a spinster." Or worse, for that matter. Tomas finished the slice of bread calmly. Inwardly he was beginning to wonder what was keeping the pair in the kitchen but inwardly shook the thought from his head.
"I would like to come to know Mister Lansing better in the future, as well as yourself Lord Quillan." The knight changed the topic in hopes of finding out just what was happening at Rem's home. "I believe I've heard that name before... Do you hail from Paralene, My Lord?"
~*~*~*~*~*~
With a chuckle, Leolin lay down to watch Tali play with the litle rabbit. He was rather glad to provide the chick with a learning experiance. Hell, that was easy! Maybe being a father wouldn't be so hard after all...
"There ya go!" Shouting praise to the playful chick, Leolin felt what seemed to be pride at his quick grasp of hunting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 3:46 pm
Mal snorted and went back to lean against the kitchen door once more. It wasn’t easy to explain… most people would have jumped at the chance of being a noble, especially one so closely connected to a royal family. And, quite frankly, Mal didn’t feel like explaining any of it to Laura either, since he didn’t feel it was any of her damn business. That, and it was too confusing to explain with ease.
“Let’s just get that damned tea to them and get this over with. The sooner our sordid affair is over, the sooner we’ll both by happy.” After a quick search of the nearby cabinets, Mal managed to find a tea tray with little floral patterns around it. He snorted again derisively, but decided it would do the job. The teapot was placed on the tray, and he waited for Laura to place the teacups on it as well.
Again, Tomas had to use the words ‘a man at least’, which just made Rem look at him funny. When Tomas brought up a different topic, Rem jumped on it gratefully.
“Yes, I was born and raised in Estesona.” It was a little surprising that Tomas had heard of his family. A middle-upper class noble family, the Quillans weren’t part of the Chambers. Although, they were next in line. If one of the families left---or was demoted by the Emperor--- it was possible for them to achieve some power.
That would explain it. A knight probably had to keep tabs on those sorts of things.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Tali’s butt went up in the air as he stalked the wounded rabbit. By now, his claws were covered with blood and there were even a few speckles on his silvery feathers and fur. Clumps of rabbit hair littered the lawn. After a few minutes, though, Tali wasn’t quite sure what he was supposed to do. The rabbit was still moving. Barely, but moving.
Usually, by this point in the game, whatever he was hunting was normally dead. Clearly, a rabbit required a slightly different method than merely clawing at it. He jumped at the rabbit again, this time bringing his beak into action, snapping at whatever he could get.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 4:04 pm
"Sordid affair?" Laura couldn't help a quiet laugh at the very idea. "I'll be glad to see this day over with, and you and Tomas out of this house."
Placing the cups and saucers on the tray, Laura took it carefully and made her way towards the door. She had a little difficulty with balancing the heavy tea pot on the tray, and the little cups chattered as they wibble-wobbled every so slightly on their saucers. Riding a griffin had one sort of poise, being a lady called for something different all together.
"I've never had the pleasure of seeing it." The knight mused, imagining what such a vast country could look like. He had wanted to see Paralene one day but had yet to get the chance.
"What brings you this far south, if I am not intruding?"
~*~*~*~*~
"Just behind the neck Tali and you can eat 'im." Despite the instruction, Leolin half expected Tali to dive right in if he got hungry whether it was properly dead or not.
"Maybe this one was a bit too big..." Leolin mused to himself, watching the little chick trying to kill the rabbit nearly Tali's size. Oh well, there would be plenty for the chick to eat for later.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 4:27 pm
“What do you have a better word for it? Of course it’s sordid!” Mal muttered, opening the door for Laura like the gentleman he was supposed to be. “What else would you call it when the heir of a noble house canoodles with a maid?” And not just any maid, but a maid who regularly pretended to be a male in order to participate illegally in gryphon races? This was one screwed up relationship…
Well, at least it only had to last an hour until Tomas was thrown out of the house. Mal could probably get rid of him faster by introducing Naked Time, but, alas, he was supposed to be nice to the stupid knight.
“It’s a beautiful country,” Rem put in, thinking back to Paralene. “In the spring, anyway with splashes of colors on the hills everywhere. Even in the winter, the pristine snow has its own beauty. I moved here because…” he paused for a moment, trying to think of a good way to explain this.
The truth was that he simply wanted to get away from his family. They had been oh-so-proud of their war-hero son, dragging him endlessly from party to party. They just couldn’t understand his views: he wasn’t a hero. The only thing he had done was survive. That wasn’t being a hero. All he had wanted to do after the war was rest and forget all about it, but with those constant reminders…
Luckily, at that moment, Mal opened up the door to let Laura through with the tea tray. Thank God for good entrances.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Tali tilted his head to one side at Leolin’s advice. It sounded funny… but, Leolin would know. He was older, after all. Once again, he stalked closer to the quivering rabbit, clacking his beak excitedly.
The rabbit, although mortally injured, made a mad dash anyway. Tali bolted after it, easily overtaking the wounded bunny. He jumped at the creature and sunk his beak into the vulnerable back. He didn’t quite hit the neck. But, the bite did the job. Tali held on tight until the rabbit stopped moving.
Puffed up with pride, the gryphon ran around the dead rabbit enthusiastically, screeching his triumph to the world.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 4:50 pm
Honestly doubting Mal's preferance for men would be any less a 'sordid affair' than she made. Whatever 'sordid' was supposed to mean...
Keeping her mouth shut, the woman made no comment of this as she brought the tea down beside the barely touched raisin bread. Feeling self-conscious about her own skills, she didn't dare ask what Rem and Tomas (mostly Rem of course) thought of it.
"How are we doing?" She asked with a slightly forced smile. "Is there anything I can get for either of you?"
Attention diverted when Laura entered, the man shook his head at the question. "No, thank you." He murmured politely, watching her curiously when she began pouring tea to pass out. The knight was handed his first, then Rem, followed finally by Mal.
Turning back to look at Rem, the knight seemed to be awaiting the man finish his sentance.
~*~*~*~*~
The bigger griffin cheered Tali on with squawks of his own. "You really are a little hunter!" Between the pair of them, they were making quite a lot of noise in celebration. Given they weren't too far from the parlor window, it was only a matter of time before someone spotted what they were up to.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 12:41 pm
Thank God they were here… Maybe Tomas would be distracted by Mal’s eccentricities. No, scratch that; he would definitely be distracted by that. Anyone would. Hopefully, Mal would forget his promise to behave like a normal human being and do something insane, like propose that Shirtless o’Clock be moved to an earlier hour or something.
“Just a moment…” he excused himself from the conversation momentarily to see what all the noise outside was about. It sounded like a flock of birds had just landed in the front yard, but that couldn’t be it… He stuck his head out the window and did a double-take at all the fur, blood, and other various things that now littered his once-clean lawn. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened… “Laura? Did Leolin sneak one of the rabbits from the kitchen?”
Not that he was accusing anyone, of course; he was merely curious as to how rabbit bits came to decorate his lawn.
Curious as ever, Mal came over and peeked through a space between Rem and the window. “Ohhh… that’s gruesome. Best not look outside, Laura.” Putting on his best lordly voice, he turned to her gravely and dramatically said, “It would be too much for your heart.”
Pfft… as if. The woman had probably seen much worse things than a mutilated bunny. “Ah well… the gryphons’ll clean it up.” He patted Rem on the shoulder before, once again, lounging in one of the chairs. “What brings a knight here?” he asked, honestly wondering.
Hmm… he hadn’t done anything bad yet. At least, not anything that warranted a knight being sent after him. Alright, so he had organized a drug route, but that wasn’t that bad.
Putting his forelegs on what remained of the rabbit, Tali gleefully pulled off the first strip of meat. It felt monumental. It was the first rabbit he had ever killed by himself. That was special! And Leolin thought he was a good hunter! Uncle Aeron hadn’t told him that yet! The little chick was so proud of himself that he didn’t even notice the onlookers from the parlor window.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:20 pm
"No... Leolin can barely fit his head in the kitchen window." Laura looked over to Mal and scoffed at his comment. Too much for her heart? Did he really think even Tomas would buy that?
Stepping over towards the window, she looked towards the little griffin ripping the hare appart -- oddly enough -- adoringly. "How sweet, Tali's learning to hunt!"
Tomas stared at Laura a long moment before shaking his head and turning to face Mal. Well, she had helped raise Leolin...
"I came to see how Laura was fairing in the city." He said honestly. "Her sister, my wife, worries about her."
With a chuckle, the bigger griffin would make sure to find some much smaller hares in the future to hide about the manor. Obviously he didn't know how unfortunate it would be for Rem.
"Well done Tali." He praised before laying down. "Think you could eat all that?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 1:09 pm
“Oh, hunting… good.” At least, Rem supposed it was good for a gryphon to know how to hunt, so long as he only hunted rabbits, deer, and other animals. If he started hunting cats or dogs… well, the other gryphons didn’t seem to do that. Most likely, he would hunt what he was taught to hunt by the older gryphons.
Eventually, he sat back down in his chair, still anxious about this whole meeting. Why did Laura have to spring things like this?! Would it kill her to let him know before someone traipsed in?
Mal blinked, clearly surprised by Tomas’s answer. “Why would she be worried?” Maybe it was just his lack of family connections---until recently, anyway---- but he didn’t understand why anyone would worry about Laura. She had a job, she was doing well, and she was a strong person. What was there to worry about?
“I’m gonna eat it all!” Tali said proudly, holding his head up high. With his little chest puffed out, he looked even more like a puffball than he usually did. Inwardly, he wasn’t sure if he could actually eat every bit of meat on the hare… but, whatever he didn’t eat, he could bury for later or something. He had seen the dogs do it before. In fact, he was in the habit of digging up whatever the dogs had buried.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
