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(( Fluff and Cait :: April 07 09 ))

Captain Prince Fluffy seriously considered cuffing the kid that was sorting the practice swords. He didn't hit the kid, of course, that would solve nothing... but that didn't stop him from glaring at the way the youngster was just chucking them here and there, probably causing as many dings as practice did. He sighed. It was late, and there was probably even less energy in the kid as there was in Fluff himself.

He ran his hands through his short hair and turned away from the kid. Fluff thought that maybe, if he didn't look at him it would make it easier to not discipline him, but within minutes Fluff had soundly told the boy that if he couldn't handle practice swords with some care then he'd never get a real sword, and had walked away. It had been a long day really, and he was sporting a cut across the back of his left arm that he'd need to see an Afya about later... The somewhat decent amount of blood chilling his long white sleeve was an accidental reminder to make sure he didn't walk too close to an unsteady young blade during sparing again.

As he left the arena, into the darkening sreet, he laughed as he recalled the look on the face of the kid who had accidentally sliced him.... pure shock. But that was to be expected really... the new recruits had all heard horror stories about how Fluff had mentally tortured students that were misbehaved. It wasn't true, but Fluff didn't mind... it made for a great start to the younger set's lessons.

"You laugh?" There was a distinct note of astonishment in her voice as Caitrione swept up beside the Sargtlin, looping her arm in his uninjured one without so much as a by-your-leave. Where she had come from was debatable; it was quite possible she had just left one of the nearby shops and happened to see him on the street, or she might have been waiting and watching at the practice ring as he berated the poor child. She didn't offer an explanation. What was more important was that she had caught him.

"And here I thought you were vying with Aleda for the coveted title of 'Solid Rock'. But you aren't, then, are you?" she added thoughtfully, noticing for the first time the blood dripping down his opposite sleeve. "Who did you chop up this time?"

He stiffened momentarily before he realized who it was, and then he relaxed again. "New recruits. They make good salads cause they're green." It usually took him a while to warm up to people enough to be able to joke around them... and apparently he wasn't all that good at joking really so they weren't missing much. It was somthing that Kamin berated him for all the time - his stiffness in everything he did, especially humour.

He tucked his right hand into his belt, making it easier for her to keep her arm looped in his, but not traping her there. "They cut back though, I think that's all mine." He glanced at the bloodstain and smiled slightly. "It was a really pretty swing though, even if it was out of her control... she'll get there though."

And then he realized that she probabaly wasn't interested in work. As Kamin always told him, 'ask the girls questions about themselves, it's all they really want to talk about anyway'... so he did. "I haven't seen you in a while... keeping busy?" But while there were many things that made Kamin and Fluff part of a set, there were also several things that made them very different jivvins. In the current situation, the deciding factor was that when fluff asked a woman about her daily life, he really was interested..... kamin was not.

His joke was awful, but she had come to expect that, and laughed--genuinely enough. She liked the tall, strapping, comedically-challenged Captain a great deal. He was a nice change of pace from most of her crowd, people like his broth, Kamin. He listened when she spoke. She could tolerate his poor jokes in return.

Again she affected astonishment as he explained away the wound, but peered around him to get a better view of the long cut. "A baby cut you? And actually broke skin? You must be getting old, dear Prince."

"Oh, busy enough," she went on, deciding Fluff had been injured often enough to know if a wound were serious or not, and that he wouldn't waste time dallying with her if it was. "Now that the snow's mostly passed, we've begun clearing for the spring crop. My hands." She sighed, flipping her palms upward to exhibit the sorry state--which really wasn't much to look at. Cait did her fair share around the family's vineyard, but she also made a point of wearing gloves while doing it. "I'm lucky to have gotten them clean at all."

Fluff smiled at her genuinely. "dirty hands, knees and shoes are signs of a good worker." He said it almost like a mantra, like he'd said it to himself a hundred times in a mirror. "It means that you work hard and aren't afraid to let the dirt make it's mark on you. It's dirty shirts and faces that make jivvins look like they don't care anything for... anything." He smiled over at her again. "clean and well kept with a worked look... that's what I try and tell the babies, as you so delicately put it."

He thought about the girl who had sliced him accidentally, and smiled at the thought. She was a young lady with a desire to learn anything and everything. She hadn't meant to swing at him of course, and right after the incident he'd swaped her practice weapon out with a smaller one... something about her reminded him of Moni, which made him both sad and happy at the same time. The result was plain old normal Fluff, and only someone who knew him would be able to see the memories play out in his head with the expressions on his face. "You shouldn't be so derisive about them Cait, they're the future really. Every new child born into the village is someone who might be working beside you or me in 30 years..."

She bore out his serious words, for she knew he meant them approvingly of her. Certainly no one could accuse of wearing her work on her shirt, and nor could they deny that she actually did it! Caitrione was a very proud woman, but among that was the pride of managing a full day's labor...from time to time. She had many other activities vying for her precious time, after all.

If she noticed the sadness, she made no remark; he wouldn't have expected or wanted one, she decided. The Captain's history wasn't exactly a secret around the village, after all, and connecting a young student to the girl he had lost wasn't a long stretch. "Oh, I'm not, really," she assured him with a little shake of her head. "I've seen enough dramatic changes in the past few years alone to underestimate any up-and-comers. Since the creation of that "Center", we've had surprises left and right, haven't we?" She ticked off the names on her fingers. "Jack, that possessed white Daewl--his son's living here now too, you know. And now even the Sargtlin's wife! It's like something out of a children's book."

A pause. "A rather morbid children's book, but you see my point?"

"Satou might be from the center, but she was also here for the creation of the village..." He could remember Satou back from the days when he was still in training himself... "She's also very well engrained in the village now, and not only is married to the sargtlin and having children with him, she's friends with many jivvins including the Daewl." He nodded. "I hear that the son of the White Daewl is being watched by her brother, who is admitedly from the center." He thought that over a moment and didn't quite know what to think... it was one thing to trust a person's brother if you trusted the person themselves, but when it came to center jivvins, the people they called siblings were never actually related to them it seemed..... he shook his head.

"I don't know what to think of the center, really... I think we've had both good and bad from that direction." He didn't have a high opinion of Jack because he saw what Jack had unwittingly done to the sargtlin... even now that Lysius wasn't as hard on Jack, it was still hard for Fluff to forgive him. Killing or kidnapping a loved one was one of the worst things that a person could do in the captain's mind. He also didn't have very good opinions of Gus or Spawn, but he also didn't really know anything about them.... in reality the subject of the center made him quite upset in general... mostly because he didn't know how to deal with it... it wasn't in his current arsenal of 'how to solve' equations in his head.... so he changed the subject.

"On that note of the Sargtlin and his wife, I heard that Satou had her eggs.... two. Those new recruits will all have to work their butts off if any of them are going to beat those kids to Sargtlin someday... what with parentage like theirs and all."

"I didn't mean any harm," she replied curtly, slightly miffed by his quick defense of the Sargtlin pair. "You of all people should know how highly I think of the Sargtlins. I'm very happy for them both. I was more commenting on the circumstance... She vanishes from the face of the earth to reappear centuries later, in a time that she's technically only been born to a few years earlier." Cait shrugged. "I'm sorry if that strikes me as far-fetched, if rather romantic in its own way."

"But two eggs, you said?" she continued, eagerly grasping the new subject. "How good for them! I wonder how long they'll be in hatching." She paused briefly, tilting her head to glance up at him. "I'd heard a rumor that Lysius was considering stepping down as Sargtlin, retiring. I suppose he'll hold off now, until he can train up those two. Though I don't know how quick the ranks would be to accept someone so young to the position, as opposed to, say, you."

Fluff laughed. "I'm not Sargtlin material... I know how to fight and command, I can swing a sword at a Ssan and hit him, I can recite to you these woods off the top of my head since I've patrolled every last inch of them it seems..." He sighed. "But there are many soldiers out there better suited to it than me. I'm the guy you go to when you need something done... not the guy who actually needs anything done." He grinned at her. "It leaves me more open to help Kamin overcome his shortcomings, and to spend time with people like you." He tightened his grip on her arm a little as if that showed that he apreciated her, and then continued his process of thought. "Anyway, I'm too dedicated to the job. I have this need to make each and every Sargtlin beneath me into a soldier that could win aginst me in a fight with his eyes closed."

(( fluff and cole :: Jun 20 2009 ))

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."