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 Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 9:38 pm
"A woman shouldn't need to live alone and work like a man. Forgive me for saying this Master Lansing, but what my sister-in-law needs is a husband." He did't seem to be asking anything of Mal at all, rather he was making his point of view known.
The smile on Laura's face shriveled up and died after hearing Tomas's statement and was promptly replaced with a frown. "For your information, I don't need someone to tend me like I were a child. I am not my sister; I will work for my supper and am proud of it."
The giffin laughed at the idea. Tali eating the whole hare would mean a rolly-polly pompom when the chick finished. "You sure I can't have some?" Leolin had caught the hare after all, he just let Tali kill the little vermin.
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Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 9:02 pm
Laura wasn’t the only one who bristled. Surprisingly enough, Mal did his own share of frowning at Tomas’s statement. It was a mild little expression, as if someone had just told him that a dog crapped on his doorstep: something mildly unpleasant, but not overly important. Inwardly, he was seething. It didn’t make much sense to him, but in his experience, people who were… uncomfortable with ‘non-traditional gender roles’ were even more uncomfortable with… well… people like him.
“Unless you have spontaneously changed into Laura, Sir Tomas, I don’t think you’re qualified to say what she can and can’t do,” he said quietly. Quiet as it was, there was still a challenging tone to it.
Rem sighed. And here they were having such a nice chat… “Mal, I don’t need you sniping at anyone. I know you’re protective of… of Laura, but I don’t think Tomas is going to try to take her away from you.” Psh. As if… Mal would probably happily be rid of the girl, for just about any price, which is why it was so odd that he was defending her. Huh.
“Right now, Tomas, Laura makes her living as a maid. I take it that’s suitably feminine enough?” A shot of guilt went through his chest. He was lying. He was lying to a knight! This could be… be seriously bad. Not just for him, but for his family as well! And certainly for Laura…
But, somehow, he couldn’t imagine Laura telling her brother-in-law about her habit of running around in pants and calling herself Lucas.
Tali hesitated as he ate another strip. The truth was, he was already getting pretty full… and it was a little greedy to eat it all up. And Uncle Leolin was really nice and he really wanted Uncle Leolin to like him back, so…
“… I guess you can have some,” he said, with all the gallantry of a knight offering to let a peasant sup at the same table.
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Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 10:02 pm
After simultaneously making three people upset with him, Tomas fell rather quiet. "My appologies..." He murmured, standing. "I believe I've worn out my welcome."
Though she did feel guilty for making Tomas feel singled out, Laura folded her arms across her chest defiantly. Though with tension mounting, perhaps it would be best for Tomas to leave. "I'll show you to the door Tomas... Come on." She started towards the parlor door with the Knight following close behind.
"I hope the next we meet will be on better terms..." Tomas said tentitively from the doorway, bowing curtly to the pair before leaving the room and the house with Laura.
From outside, Laura spoke with Tomas at the gate, out of earshot of the pair inside. There was some things Laura couldn't stand about her sister's husband, but she knew he was trying to preserve what little respect aristocrats had for his name. They weren't exactly the most influential of nobles after all.
After a few minutes, Laura returned inside as Tomas walked down the street back towards the Inn he was staying at. She didn't seem to have the energy for dealing with whatever taunting would come from Mal or comforting words from Rem. Once the front door was shut, she leaned back on it with a deep sigh.
"That's very kind of you." He murmured pleasantly. The larger griffin crawled forward the couple inches it took to get a talon on the hare before pulling it appart with his beak. Mostly eating the bits the little griffin would find unappealing anyway; bone, fur, and the like.
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Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 11:35 pm
In all fairness, Rem wasn’t really mad at Tomas. If anything, he was mad at Mal for being a b*****d and speaking up. Well, not really a b*****d, exactly. Mal was just doing what he did best which was stand up for what he believed in, even if he knew that would lead to stupid confrontations that could be avoided. He started to stand up to show Tomas out, but it seemed Laura got to it first.
“I look forward to meeting you again, Sir Tomas,” Rem said with a nod of his head. Once Tomas was out of the room, he adopted a far more peevish tone. “Did you really have to do that, Mal? He is part of Laura’s family…” and a Knight as well. It was almost a certainty that Malcolm would come into contact with him again.
“Yes. Yes I did, Rem. I wasn’t raised to roll over,” Mal said simply. He didn’t say good-bye to Tomas but had instead given the Knight his very best haughty stare. For someone who wasn’t raised to give haughty stares, he was actually pretty good at that. In his mind, he was completely within his rights to be annoyed at everyone. Especially Laura, since she had sprung the whole ‘boyfriend’ thing on him.
“He’s a bloody moron,” he added after a moment. “I make a habit of not rollin’ over for bloody morons. This actually includes a lot of people.”
“Just because someone doesn’t share your… your values, Mal, does not make them a moron.” Alright, so some part of Rem felt the same way, but he wouldn’t say it. Malcolm already called him a moron often enough. He didn’t need to hear it again. The Paralenian view was that women shouldn’t work or live alone. It put them at greater risk of rape or murder. Numbers didn’t lie.
Then again, the Cambrian had a point as well. Laura was in charge of her own life. She didn’t need someone telling her what she could or could not do. “Come on… I’m sure you’ve got things to do.”
Mal could recognize a dismissal when he heard one. His combative nature told him to stay and argue with Rem some more, but he knew when to fold even if he didn’t know when to roll over. “Yeah. I have to go check on Aeron. Been spendin’ lots of time with Sekhmet.”
Rem froze. “… really?” He looked curiously over at Mal, wondering if the other man had any idea of what was happening.
“Yep. ‘S good for him to have a friend. Why?”
For a moment, Rem simply blinked at his friend, wondering when he had become so… naive. It just didn’t suit him. Mal was supposed to be the one with the mind that jumped to sex every five minutes after all. “No reason. Just curious. It is good for him to have a friend.”
Why was Rem looking at him like that? Mal returned the stare blankly for a moment. “Riiiight… well, I best be leavin’… later, Rem.” He left the room and went to the front door only to discover that Laura was still leaning against it.
“Look, I know you’re eager to keep me here as an experiment for your evil feminine wiles and all, but I’ve got stuff to do. Move, unless you really want me to stay here.”
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Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2007 7:10 pm
"I didn't ask for that to happen." Laura murmured, frowning at the man. "And however 'evil' my wiles are they certainly don't hold a candle to yours." Unmoved by Mal's callous words, she was also unmoved from her spot. With so much to think about weighing on her mind, the woman masked her worry poorly behind a firm expression.
Tomas was left with a bad impression of her workplace and choice of 'companion', Emily was bound to show up to talk to her poor mislead sister, and all the while she was going to have to keep up this cherade if they asked about it. Not to mention-- oh no...
A sudden thought hit Laura and she inwardly winced at it. Tomas would tell her sister, and the story of the Heir of Rosalyen caring for a commoner was bound to spread like wild fire. For now, she supposed it would be best to be nice to Mal. He'd find out what would happen sooner or later...
"I'm sorry... that didn't come out right." She murmured, stepping away from the door. "Thank you for playing along Malcolm. I do appreciate it." Sincere words between strained relationships were few and far between, but Laura did seem to mean the appology. Perhaps for a bit more than Mal could anticipate for the time being.
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2007 10:47 am
Mal snorted a little, mildly annoyed that Laura didn’t move. He had hoped that his jibe about her wanting him to stay here would make her move. But, still… this was Laura. If he knew anything at all about her, it was that she was stubborn and she would go out of her way to make him miserable. The only thing he could do was not let it affect him. He could just move her out of the way, but he decided to use this moment to find more creative ways out of Rem’s home. Sidling towards a window, he inspected it critically, wondering if it opened or not.
The apology was most unexpected. He peered over his shoulder at Laura, taken slightly off-guard by this sudden show of kindness. She had something up her sleeve. He knew she did… but, for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what.
“No problem. I’m just glad it’s over.” Now that she was out of the way, Mal was able to safely leave, still feeling as if he had missed out on something important. Huh. No matter. He would get it sooner or later.
With a slight clatter of plates, Rem appeared at the hallway, carrying the plate and tea from the parlor. It wasn’t like it would see any more use today. “Well, that went well,” he said glumly, honestly a little disappointed with how the meeting had gone.
On the bright side, no one had gotten hurt. Physically, anyway. Not unless they had been unwise enough to try Laura’s raisin bread. Oh dear… hopefully, Rem wouldn’t get into more trouble for that. There was probably some sort of punishment for poisoning a knight. He really ought to speak to Laura about her baking sometime…
“I’m sorry about Mal; he just has no idea how to… to deal with civilized company. I hope he didn’t bother your brother-in-law too much…”
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2007 11:47 am
Reaching out, Laura opened the door for Mal before he could go out the window. Though, for all she knew he would go just to spite her. "Yeah..." Over? Heh, far from it. And Laura planned to be far from the rumor mill when the s**t hit the fan.
"Take care on your journey. Rem told me you were going to say goodbye to a friend." Best to be civil to see him off. After all, there was going to be one hell of a welcoming party for him when he got back.
At Rem's comments, Laura glanced over to him with a sheepish smile. Bothered? No, probably not. Though the knight was bound to keep more to himself the next he was in the same room as Malcolm. "Perhaps next time you see Tomas Mal won't be here. Things would probably go much smoother."
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 4:19 pm
Again, Laura’s actions took Mal slightly off-guard. He looked at her suspiciously, as if waiting for her to continue. Clearly, any comment that came from her lips had to be followed up by some sort of barb. “Yeah. Somethin’ like that… See you two in a few weeks.” Apparently, he was ignoring Rem’s mild rebuke about his behavior.
Or maybe it was simply because Mal didn’t regret a damned thing. In the end, Mal left using the door, still feeling as if he had missed something important. Ah well. Off to Albion! After a few more last-minute stops, of course, including at least one at the Penguin. He would miss that bar quite a bit…
Rem waved goodbye to Mal quickly, mostly because he needed to keep both hands on the plates he was carrying. “Well, if Mal’s not there, just about anything would go much more smoothly,” he pointed out. Even if Mal was a friend, Rem couldn’t ignore the fact that the man fought against just about anything. Even the most simplistic of things became more complicated.
Suspiciously, he poked one of the raisin rolls that Laura had made. “Umm… Laura? What did you use in these?” Aha. This was a nice change of topic. And it was also a way to delicately point out that Laura should not, under any circumstances, be allowed near a bakery oven. “I think you need some more practice…”
ooc| Anyway... I think that's it to wrap up this rp. :3
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Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:44 am
Closing the door behind Mal, Laura watched through the window to see him actually leave. She didn't seem to hear Rem's statement that would normally have the woman straining to contain some snappish remark. No, this time she'd gotten in over her head.
"Matti and Marta told me Nyhali liked it, so I thought you might too." Laura murmured distractedly as she watched Mal close the gates to the courtyard and finally leave. Turning to face Rem, Laura couldn't seem to really meet his eyes and fidgeted with the hem of her apron. "Is he really the newest heir of Rosalyen?" Frowning slightly at the idea of what this ment, Laura sighed. "The thing is... if Tomas tells my sister about this little incident, nobles from Albion are going to know about it."
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 1:44 pm
Rem sighed, wishing that he had told Laura about the whole heir thing earlier. He couldn’t quite figure out why he hadn’t… maybe it was simply because everything lately seemed to be revolving around Mal. It was nice, for once, to have just one person who didn’t know anything about the situation.
“Yes, it appears to be true… from what I understand, Mal fabricated some lie about him being the son of a… a less-noticeable house. Something went wrong and, after a bit of digging into some records, it seems that he’s actually a son of Rosaylen. Well, half son anyway. There will be trouble over it, but…” he shrugged a little. “Mal deserves a little trouble for himself after all the messes he tracks in for others.”
He actually barked out a laugh at Laura’s worries before he stifled it. “Yes, well… again, Mal deserves some trouble. If people think he’s in love with you, well, then that’ll just be trouble for him.” Well, and some trouble for Laura. Rem chose not to think of it, though, figuring that most of the attention would be on Mal.
Again.
“That reminds me… umm… I forgot to mention this to you. In a week or two, I have a cousin coming over. He’ll be staying with us for a short time.”
There was another long pause as Rem’s brain finally digested what Laura had just said. Nyhali liked those things? Suddenly, the man had the urge to learn how to bake… maybe one of these days he could make a small picnic. Or something like that… shaking himself out of his reverie. “Wait… who’s Matti and Marta?”
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 3:24 pm
Frowning at the harsh laughter, Laura frowned. She knew all too well that it was going to come back to bite her in the a**. That wasn't a nice way to react when she was obviously worried!
"Matti and Marta are Nyhali's cooks." She answered, though the frown subsided when she heard about Rem's cousin. Another Lord in the manor? Well, things would certainly be interesting. "I see... I'll be sure to have Leolin on his best behavior." As if she needed worry about the griffin normally awol at Nyhali's stables. Making no promises of her own behavior, Laura departed the doorway to go start dinner.
~*~*~*~
After a week or two in a constricting half-corset and a skirt, Laura was beginning to believe it was a form of torture somewhere to put up with this sort of thing. The outfit wasn't anything remotely fashionable, nor was it made to try to look the part. Work was work, and if Rem's family saw her walking about in her prefered attire it would reflect badly on the visiting Lord's host. And as the host's maid, Laura had to do her best to make Remiel look good.
The house had been scrubbed clean from top to bottom, and with lunch already made, Laura was enjoying her time relaxing with Leolin in the yard. The griffin had been a bit anxious not being able to go flying with Laura but with the woman half asleep against the griffin's sideand the pair partially sheltered under a large tree's shade they both looked to be at peace. With a glazed look in the woman's eyes, Laura stared skyward to study the clouds lazily on the warm afternoon.
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 4:08 pm
If anything, Rem was even more anxious about his cousin’s visit than the knight’s. And that was really saying something. Maybe it was simply because he had more time to stress as this visit had been planned and not sprung on him. He tried to keep himself from bothering Laura too often about inane details, but still got the distinct feeling that the woman was annoyed at him for pestering her all the time. Byron had always been his favorite cousin; they weren’t exactly alike in terms of personality, but they were closer in age than Rem and Bevil.
“I’m not sure how he’s getting here,” he said, looking out from the gates for the hundredth time that day. “I… I think he’s rented a carriage or something…” that made sense, at least. Rem was wearing his very best work clothes in cream and brown. It made him look rather like a coffee, actually. “I hope he gets here alright… do you think he’s run into any trouble?”
Nervously, he moved around the front yard once more, stopping to scratch Tali behind the ears. Heh. He hadn’t told Byron about the gryphons. Well, that would be a nice surprise for his cousin, now wouldn’t it? When a shadow passed overhead, he ignored it, thinking it was just a bird. That is, until it went over the house again.
Right as Laura watched the sky, a gryphon flew directly overhead. Even from below, it was difficult to mistake the creature for anything else. Not many other things had four legs and could fly. The creature---since it was directly in the sun, it was difficult to make out any details---flew over the estate a few times before starting its slow circling descent.
As it came closer, more details became clear, clear enough to make out the golden creature and the hints of a rider on its back. Four legs elegantly landed on the ground and the gryphon tucked his wings back gracefully, holding his head up high. His rider slid easily from the back----it wasn’t a very long slide---- and brushed himself off. The man----boy, really, since he was barely older than Laura---was dressed practically, but stylishly, in reds and blues. Eye-catching colors, really.
But not as eye-catching as the boy himself. It was clear that he was related to Rem; they both had the same shade of hair, although the boy had allowed his to grow out a little. Finer-boned than his soldier cousin, Byron had picked up books rather than swords. He still had that slightly lanky look of one who had recently gone through a growth spurt. He caught sight of Laura and grinned widely, waving one hand wildly. Without waiting, he rushed forward and seized her in a hug.
“Why, hello, Rem! You’ve changed quite a bit!” he said cheerfully, his green eyes winking in humor.
Rem, on the other hand, paled slightly and rushed forward. He still had very, very vibrant memories of what had happened the last time Byron hugged a maid. The woman had quit a few months later, trying to claim that her baby was the boy’s! Clearly, it couldn’t have been, but… well, Rem still wondered, occasionally…
“Byron! I was starting to get worried!” He moved forward, putting a hand on his cousin’s shoulder. The gryphon was… interesting… but, for now, he just had to say hello.
Byron quickly transferred the hug to his cousin instead, enjoying the fact that he was now a few inches taller than the other male.
“Aww, Remmy! I didn’t know you had a woman in your life now! You didn’t say anything about her in your letters. Actually… you haven’t sent any letters at all, now that I think about it…” he paused for a moment there, releasing his cousin from the hug, still smiling broadly. “It’s good to see you again, Rem.”
Hell, it was impossible to stay mad at Byron for long. It was like staying mad at a puppy! Or Mal. Rem smiled too eventually. “Good to see you too… ah, this is Laura. She’s my maid. Laura, this is Byron Rynders, my cousin.”
After that awkward introduction, Rem looked over his shoulder at the golden gryphon who was still patiently standing there, regally observing the yard as a king would a kingdom. “And who’s this?”
“That’s Leander. He’s Bevil’s, but Bevil said he ought to meet more gryphons, so he let me borrow him…” By now, Byron had noticed the other two gryphons and was looking at them with interest. “You didn’t mention them in your non-existent letters either.”
Leander yawned and stretched out, catlike in his movements as the humans watched. The mane around his neck was a little ruffled from the flight, but a few moments of grooming quickly smoothed that out. For a gryphon who looked so much like a lion, he certainly was small… not that he seemed to notice it.
His fierce eyes fixed on the other gryphons and he let out a whistle of greeting. “Good afternoon.”
His voice wasn’t exactly… stuffy. But, there was something very cultured about it.
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 4:42 pm
With the flash of light as the sun was blocked and reignited, Laura stared in shock at incoming visitor. Climbing to her feet, she stared transfixed at the descending griffin and rider before grinning broadly. What a regal pair!
Then, suddenly-- glomp! -- Laura found herself pressed firmly to soft fabric Laura couldn't afford on a year's salary. A faint blush remained on her face when she was released, and the woman managed a weak smile at the introduction. Managing to murmur something elequant at the introduction to the effect of 'hullo', Laura gave an unpolished curtsy after grasping a corner of her dress in hand.
The griffin had been mellow when the new arrival appeared, being perfectly calm around new griffins. Hell, if he could put up with someone like Aeron he should be able to put up with anything....
Nearly anything.
A loud hiss came from the griffin when Byron promptly enveloped his petite partner in his arms. What was he doing?! Tail flicking irritatedly beside him, Leolin kept his seat when he saw Laura released quickly. Well... she seemed all right afterward... He supposed he could let it go.
With Leander's greeting, Leolin's attention shifted to the noble's beast. "How goes, friend?" He said politely, not about to start things with a stand-off.
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 5:02 pm
Byron grinned at Laura’s reaction to the hug, delighting in her blush. There was just something adorable about that! Clearly, Rem didn’t give her many hugs… then again, the man had gotten a bit of a soldier’s heart after the war, or so Byron understood. All twitchy and disliking company… Rem had practically become a recluse when he came back home!
Ah well. More for Byron! With a sweeping bow, he took one of Laura’s hands in his own and kissed it gently. “It’s wonderful to meet you,” he said, only letting her hand go after holding it just a second too long.
He had no idea just how much that could piss off an overprotective gryphon. He returned his attention to his cousin once more. “And the gryphons? I didn’t know you had any at all…”
Hm. Well, it seemed that Rem would have to warn Laura a little of Byron’s ways. Later though. “Ah… Leolin---the big tawny one---is Laura’s. Taliesin is mine. He’s the little silver chick.”
Either that, or he would have to have another quiet talk with Byron later. There was no guarantee that he would listen, but Rem could at least try to talk with him.
A spark of recognition went off in Byron’s eyes. “Taliesin?”
Rem merely nodded. “He was a gift from a Cambrian friend of mine. It felt appropriate. Anyway… come in! You’ve had a long journey. I’ll help you with your bags.” Not that there was much. Leander couldn’t carry much. Rem approached the small gryphon carefully, making it clear that he didn’t mean any harm as he carefully removed the packages from its back.
Leander yawned, making Rem back away sharply. “Is he always like this?” he asked Leolin, referring to Rem’s cautious behavior. For now, he seemed to be ignoring the fact that Leolin had hissed at his rider not too long ago. Either that, or he simply didn’t care. Or he knew that there was little threat from Leolin anyway.
“I’m doing well. It was a long flight here. And this one is particularly noisy.” ‘This one’ referred to Byron, who was indeed more talkative than Leander’s actual owner, Bevil. “Is that your chick?” he asked, nodding towards Tali.
Tali peeked out from around Leolin. As soon as the unfamiliar gryphon had landed, the little chick darted to hide behind the older tawny colored one. Just because… but, now, he peered around at Leander.
Wow! He had never imagined a creature like that… it was so fluffy!
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 5:20 pm
Having never experianced such a greeting, Laura was struck speachless for the time being. Awkwardly, she smiled, not knowing what to say. "Yes...?" Well, that came out well.... At least she didn't stumble over her own tongue.
Not quite the best way to get to know a person right off the bat, the woman looked away in embaressment when Rem mentioned Leolin was hers. He wasn't much of a beast like Leander was; he was as much a country bumpkin as she was. He at least knew how to do something well, and as far as Laura was concern, cleaning wasn't really a skill.
When she saw that Rem was attending Byron's bags, she seemed to lapse back to her senses. "Your room! I-I'll make sure everything is ready for you, Lord Byron." She gave a curt little bow before leaving into the house at a quick pace. Lifting her hands to her face, Laura was surprised at just how warm they were. How badly was she blushing?!
"Tali?" Leolin grinned at the little chick peering out from beside him and lifted a talon to set over the chick in a playful manner. "If only... Mine are with their mother right now. Three beautiful chicks, just like their mother." His chest puffed with pride, and looked quite happy with bragging.
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