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As was common that time of year, Palisade's streets were filled to bursting with masses of people out on errands urgent or idle. Some were clearly moving with a purpose whereas others seemed to be out simply to enjoy the weather or take in the atmosphere. It was a controlled sort of chaos. There were patterns if one knew where to look - and Jack always knew where to look.

Today, his part in the tableau was a little bit of both. Though he may appear an idle wanderer, walking along the street with his Guardian close at hand, he was half at work. It was not really an official patrol, but the captain liked to keep an eye on his city when he was there. Any shifts in its patterns could be most telling, but thus far they had proved fairly normal. Though there were still uneasy undercurrents leftover from both the wolf attacks in the north and the spirit's dramatic appearance at the groundbreaking ceremony of the new Warden grounds, Palisade's citizens were a resilient lot. Or perhaps just stubborn. Their lives were moving ever on and little had changed in the day-to-day. Just as well. Panic would get them nowhere.

A ripple in the flow of people diverted his attention from his musings. Alert, Jack shifted to follow that ripple to its source.

What he found was not entirely unsurprising, though it was enough to raise his ire. A group of delinquents who clearly had too much free time on their hands seemed to be backing a lone man into an alley. Any who might have thought to intervene on the man's behalf - if indeed any would have - were put off by the size of the group and instead steered clear of the scene entirely. Jack was not daunted. With Aster close behind, he made for the group as the last of the aggressors disappeared into the alley.

"What, got nothing to say, ghost eyes?" jeered one man - a rather lanky thing with dull brown hair and a crooked tooth. "No use denying you were lookin' at Gee's girl." Whether this was the truth or not, it mattered little to the men. They were looking for trouble and had decided that this pale-eyed stranger was it.

"Bet you don't see much with those ghost eyes, eh? Bet you can't pay a girl to look at you, neither. That's why you were lookin' at Gee's girl, wasn't it?" The lanky man advanced on him, heedless of any potential danger, ready for a fight himself. "Wasn't it?"

The other, less vocal members of the group crowded forward, jeering a bit, egging their leaders on, spoiling for some bloodshed.

Jack finally made it to the mouth of the alley and proceeded to shove his way through the crowd, intent on getting between the aggressors and their intended target. Aster lingered by the entrance. It would be a rather uncomfortable squeeze to fit him and all those people in the narrow space. But he was not above stepping on a few feet or knocking a few heads if it came to that.

Jack was just getting ready to open his mouth and break up the mess when he was blindsided by a fierce fist to the jaw. He grunted and stumbled back a few steps, unable to do much more than blink in surprise for a good long moment. He was aware of the men fleeing the scene, but did not protest when Aster let them pass without any trouble. Better they were gone.

He brought up a hand to rub gently at his jaw, wincing at the contact, then let his eyes drift over to the clearly terrified boy who had done the deed. As quickly as his ire had been raised at the sight of bullying, it was gone, turned from surprise to wry amusement. "You've a mean arm on you. Maybe I shouldn't have been so worried on your behalf."

A dark head poked over his shoulder, sniffing at him in concern. Jack patted the buck's cheek absently while he considered the boy before him. "Though I think you could use a few lessons for technique lest you end up punching the wrong person again."

"No need," he said, dismissing the notion without a second thought. The Captain rarely made arrests. He certainly didn't make the effort for young men who were simply trying to defend themselves, however bad their aim may be.

"There's a world of difference between barnyard brawling and martial skill," he clarified, warming to the notion the more he thought about it. "You, my friend, could definitely use a little technique."

Noticing the boy's attention on him, Aster wagged his fluffy tail like an overgrown puppy and squeezed in next to Jack to get a better look at him. He stretched out his neck to sniff at the stranger and perhaps earn a few pets, as well.

Jack laughed. "Astrophel has no master, save perhaps mischief," he said. "But I am pleased to call myself his partner." The buck in question snorted softly into Rory's hand and stepped a little closer to him so that he might have better access from which to pet him.

"Did you not?" the captain mused. It seemed odd to him that anyone could any longer doubt the existence of Guardians, what with more and more of them running about every day and especially after Her Majesty's ceremony for the groundbreaking of the Warden Grounds. But then, this boy's accent clearly marked him as foreign. Perhaps he had not been in the country very long. "Well, as you can see, they're as real as you and I." He gave Aster's side a gentle thump for emphasis.

"It's always worthwhile to know how to defend yourself," he said, as though any thoughts to the contrary were very odd indeed. "And what if you find yourself in the position of defending someone else? A man should be able to look after his own." To Jack, it was a basic necessity. A skill that every man should have. Reading, writing, etiquette, maths, riding, combat - it was all part of the basic curriculum for a well-rounded man.

Jack nodded. That all made sense. "I think you'll find Sunderland has a market for just about anything." Though Jack didn't necessarily pay close mind to such things, it was good to see that trade was still thriving despite recent events. At the least, Kit should be pleased to hear it. Honestly. That brother of his spent far too much time tracking every little detail. It would bore Jack to pieces if he had ever been stuck with such a task. Just as well that it fell to his brother, then. The Captain much preferred a life on the move.

Aster wasn't one for an inflated ego, so the boy's praise did not affect him much one way or the other, but that didn't mean he wasn't pleased at the compliment. He wagged his fluffy tail briefly and closed his eyes in bliss as a particularly itchy spot was scratched.

Young Rory's words continued to puzzle Jack, however. He sounded rather like Jordun, who really was hopeless at most things physical. But while he loved his friend dearly, he just couldn't understand the viewpoint. What wasn't there to love about riding and fighting and protecting the peace? About seeing justice be met? Yet as Rory added his tentative agreement, Jack positively beamed.

"Excellent!" he exclaimed, seemingly missing the part about Rory being unable to pay entirely. In truth, the very idea that the boy should pay for lessons was ridiculous to him. He had made the offer, hadn't he? Why should he be paid for it? What did he need the money for, anyway? He was a far cry from destitute. A far cry, indeed.

"How long will you be in town? Best know what kind of time we have to work with."

"An excellent idea," he said, as though that settled everything. There were proper practice grounds at the Royal Cavalry Complex, of course, but he suspected that the boy would be more at ease in his own surrounds. One could hardly focus on learning when one was jumping at every new sight and sound. Jack was strong-willed, not blind.

He patted Aster's neck and urged him to back out of the alley so that they could reach the street, proper. The Guardian obliged, though he was reluctant to give up the attention.

"Lead the way, young mister..." his voice trailed off, realizing that he did not, in fact, know the lad's name. "My manners have been remiss. Captain Jack Blackthorn, at your service. And you would be?"

If the idea of others not taking to him instantly bothered Jack at all, he did not let on. True, he was a friendly man, accustomed to forming friendships quickly wherever he went, but that was not to say that he had never faced exclusion before. Perhaps it had not been the overt variety - not many would knowingly snub the son of a nobleman - but he understood the feeling and was not daunted. After all, it only meant that he had to try a little harder to prove his worth. Nothing he hadn't done before while earning his place among his men. There was a difference between having a place in the Cavalry and earning it, after all.

"I would love to have a look at your horses," he said, and genuinely meant it. Long before he had ever found Aster, he had been riding horses, after all. They were in many ways his first love. Even though he rarely sat a horse anymore, he still loved the beasts. They were fine, noble creatures.