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 Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 1:07 am
With the first heavy snow of the season laid out fresh on the ground, the Fox and Hounds Inn was, as it tended to be during the holidays, a flurry of activity. Travelers trudged in and out through the doors, the tavern was overcome with the low, cheerful murmur of friends sharing food and drink. There were even a few children scurrying about, always accompanied by the scolding voices of their parents as they refused to sit still and behave themselves. Why should they have to? The winter solstice was upon Sunderland, and there was excitement in the air, and snow on coating every surface. Everyone was getting into that familiar holiday spirit...for the most part.
For a certain mischievous someone around the inn, it was no exception. Noah Varick could not deny that seeing snow still filled him with a sort of nostalgic, childish glee. It was the time of year he sorely wished that the inn's location was different; it was hard to appreciate the snow in such a busy city, where the streets became a slushy mess after long. That was why he planned to take advantage of it while he could, as he pulled on his coat, and a scarf to keep warm. He'd risen early to get some of the day's work out of the way, and it was high time for a break, leaving his stable assistants to tend to less pressing matters.
As the younger Varick made for the front of the inn, he cheerfully greeted the familiar faces along the way, before a wonderfully hilarious idea popped into his head at the sight of one of them. Kozel. Bustling around as usual, always busier than a bee in summer. Noah often wondered where the Katchian got all his energy, and quickly slunk up behind his unsuspecting victim.
"Kozel, you look like you're about to go on your lunch break soon." He said, leaning down to speak right next to Kozel's ear.
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Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 3:53 am
Someone had to see to it that the travelers were attended to, that the tavern remained cheerful with that steady stream of food and drink that also needed to be prepared, and, of course, that the children were properly judged with a hard frown and a whispered comment to a coworker about how Katchian children wouldn't be so ill-mannered, goodness no. That was Kozel, by now well-acquainted with the holiday routine of the Fox and Hounds, and intent on wrangling it with gusto. Holiday spirit wasn't part of the equation, only the reason to work so tirelessly.
But, with the crowd he'd come to know, it was was only a matter of time until Kozel was so rudely torn from his comfy workaholism to something far more sinister -- leisure. What was surprising was who had approached him, and worse yet, the manner he had done so. Startled by the sudden voice, too-loud in his ear, Kozel jumped and answered back with a yelp as he whirled around to face the intruder. "M-Mister Varick!"
Straightening quickly, or more like tensing, he snapped before he could stop himself. "What if I had been holding something?! Do not startle me, sir, please!" Settling back down into that familiar cringe, Kozel eyed Noah cautiously. Of course he'd had no intention of taking a break. "...Now, yes, I was just on my way. To lunch." He shifted uncomfortably, unsure of why the jockey would ask something like that, but he had his hopes. "Is there something you need, sir? My break can certainly wait."
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Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 6:32 pm
Kozel's reactions were never disappointing. The way the poor man never failed to succumb to each and every one of his jump scares was what kept Noah in the habit of doing them, and he grinned mischievously as Kozel turned on him, trying to look innocent. "I made sure that you weren't! I wouldn't have done it if you had been, I'm not that cruel." He argued, his light brown eyes shining playfully. If that sort of look wasn't enough to show that he had something planned, then nothing would be. Knowing how gullible the foreigner could be, even after nearly two years in Sunderland, Noah still liked to push the limits of what he could get the Katchian to agree to.
"Yeah, actually, I need some help with something." He said quickly, wrapping his arm around the man's shoulders and steering him in the direction he'd been headed initially. "It snowed last night, as I'm sure you noticed, and we have a tradition to keep, here at the inn." He explained, cooking up a clever little fib in order to reel Kozel in. "Frank, the b*****d, is way too busy to help me out with it, so you're the only one I can rely on here."
Noah bit the inside of his lip as he tried not to smile too hard. By the time he'd finished the explanation, he had drug Kozel all the way to the front of the inn, and out the front door, into the snow that was already looking dirty and trampled on the street, with some intact patched closer to the building. They didn't have much time, Noah realized with vague disappointment.
"We gotta build a snow man, see, to welcome holiday visitors. I do it every year. You know how to make a snow man, right?" He asked the Katchian, as he bent down to begin to scoop up some of the snow. It was still crisp and fresh, and he smirked in a pleased way as he scraped it together and began to form a sphere. Any shame he had at playing in the snow at his age was lost on him, whether he had been drinking or not was a mystery.
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Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 9:30 pm
Those oh-so-innocent eyes from Noah earned him a withering look right back, though Kozel once again jolted at the arm suddenly slung about his shoulders, the friendly gesture setting off alarm bells inside his head. Oh dear. It was completely possible the younger Varick was drunk, he realized. But seeing as this was employer, what else could the servant do but allow himself to be led? Eyes shifting nervously to Noah's face and hand and back again, his brow only furrowed more and more with each word. He even thought he heard Noah mumble something rather inappropriate then, prompting Kozel to cut in.
"Why have I not heard of this tradition before?" He tried to keep his tone un-accusing, but there was no hiding his distaste once he found himself outside. Outside, where things could not be managed, cleaned, but at least still judged. Kicking away some slurry he definitely did not want mucking up his trousers, Kozel pursed his lips, watching the other man scooping up snow. "A snow man, sir?" It immediately struck the Katchian as ridiculous, but Noah had always been the more childish of the Varicks. He probably should have been paying more attention when Noah was speaking, maybe he could have caught a whiff of alcohol on his breath.
"Of course I know how to make a snow man. Even I made a few as a child back home." Kozel stressed the word intentionally, not moving an inch to help. "That was some time ago, you see." And then he moved a bit, a little closer to the cleaner snow. "It snowed very often in Katchia, and you might see the children making snow men, or snow angels..." Self-consciously, not looking at Noah, Kozel began gathering up snow as well, voice dropping lower. "...I suppose some visitors might appreciate the nostalgic value..."
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Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 11:00 pm
"You're still new around here. Probably too busy too even remember. Yes, a snow man." Noah explained with a grin, hardly seeming to care about the man's skepticism. Despite the fact that his antics were often associated with inebriation, it didn't seem to be the case on this particular morning; his steps were taken with confidence, his eyes were focused, and his speech was clear and free of slurring. He knew what he was doing, and what he wanted was to just have a bit of fun before returning to managing the stables. Was it really so much to ask? He knew Frank would have frowned, and steering away his brother's most productive employee was the best joke he could think of.
Until he happened to glance up to the open window of his brother's office, anyway. It was then that a much funnier joke came to his wicked brain. Kozel's weak hints garnered a little sneer, as Noah continued to work up the base of their snow man. "Yeah, I played in it when I was a kid, too. We lived out on the countryside then. It's way prettier out there, where it doesn't get as dirty." He commented, pleased when Kozel finally started to pitch in.
"Y'know what else? We had snowball fights, too." Noah added on, standing up and taking a few steps back as he packed some snow beneath his hands. He was grinning wildly by that point, as he sized up the distance to the window. "Let's see if we can get 'ol Frankie in on the fun, yeah?" He asked, before reeling his arm back and lobbing the projectile up and through the air. It disappeared into the window, and Noah immediately lost it, laughing and waiting to see what would happen.
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Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2014 9:01 pm
Kozel was just starting to believe that maybe this wasn't so bad. Noah had acknowledged how busy he had always been, which was nice, and they were sharing a little bit more about their old homes, about themselves. He began working in earnest, shaping the next part of the snow man with a critical, perfectionist eye. After all, if this was meant to represent the Fox and Hounds, it should be the finest snow man this side of Palisade. He didn't notice, at first, that Noah began moving away, speaking in a vague and distracted manner.
"Ah, yes, the snowball fights. I did not enjoy them so much—" Realizing, abruptly, what Noah was getting at, Kozel broke off, looking up at him with a startled "what!" before ditching his building, springing to the other man's side. His voice rose to that well-known shrill pleading. "No, nonono, I really think we should leave your brother alone...!"
It was a futile effort. Once Noah started on something, there was no stopping him, and Kozel was left gaping as he watched the snowball sail through the air in what might have been, in any other situation, an admirable throw. So he wasn't drunk. This was plain stupidity. It would have been one thing if the projectile had smacked against the window, but to see it go inside the room Frank was no doubt working in...
Kozel was pretty sure he heard a crash, like something toppled over. And then Erasmus—he didn't have to use words to express how surprised he was as he came flapping out, croaking up a storm. And then Kozel heard Frank himself, only heard him because the servant ended up cowering behind Noah and cursing him for his foolishness, shouting down at them:
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?!"
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Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2014 11:00 pm
If the idea for his diabolical prank hadn't come to him, Noah would have found the quiet time enjoyable as well. Despite Kozel's uptight nature, the Katchian was hard working and respectable enough, though Noah could go a million years and not miss the man's habit of scolding. He was reliable at least, as he watched Kozel pack the snow of their snowman's middle. It was a shame they would have to wait until later to finish it.
Noah, of course, ignored Kozel's pleading. There was no stopping him either, because the snow was already airborne by the time Kozel reached his side. He was definitely sober! The clattering got Noah snickering, but as Era fluttered out, he burst into raucous laughter. He only managed to bite it back as his brother finally stuck his head out, which was exactly what Noah wanted him to do.
"Frankie, it's about time you showed your face, you old grump. Winter's finally here!!" Noah declared with a grin (even though it had already been so for weeks). With that, Noah lobbed another tightly packed snowball that was just as accurate as the last, sailing up, and over, to splat right into Frank's face. When Noah saw how flawlessly he'd hit his mark, he just about doubled over in laughter.
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Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 6:35 am
Frank had been hit a lot in his lifetime. A large part of that lifetime had been spent as a prizefighter, after all, and Noah knew that. Noah should have also known that, if Frank had become so notoriously good at dodging hits just as quick as he was to give them, it was because he specifically tried to avoid being hit in the face. The Fox was a vain fighter, when it came down to it, and he did not take getting caught off-guard very well, be it by fist or snow. In a way, snow was worse. There was nothing manly about taking that kind of a hit.
He barely had time to flinch as the snowball flew true—another throw that could have earned applause—only to explode against his cliff-face of a nose, sending a spray of ice across his eyes and single-handedly aging him by ten years as it frosted his hair and beard with white. Without missing a beat, Frank and Kozel both could say only one thing, though in vastly different manners:
"NOAH!
Frank's was a bellow, Kozel's more like a shriek. After that shared thought, the two men digressed further. The witch blustered, "you think this is funny?", tossing threats as he shook his fist at them. "You two are going to be sorry once I get down there!" Erasmus circled the scene from above and seemed to egg Frank on, not that he needed it, repeating the end of that phrase gleefully. "Get down there! Get down there!"
"What does he mean 'you two'?!" Kozel cried behind Noah, kicked up into a frenzy of his own. "Noah—Mister Varick, I did not want this!" And then he thought to try reasoning with the slighted man himself, shouting up at the window some desperate apologies and excuses, but the window was abandoned. Frank had left, already on his way down to make these two sorry, alright, and the Katchian could only throw his hands up to his head with a howl, about ready to tear his hair out when what he really wanted to do was tear into Noah. "Why would you do that?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 9:21 pm
In his own opinion (which no one would probably ask for), Noah couldn't have done anything to increase the level of hilarity the situation had reached. As the snowball splatted into Frank's face, he let out a howl of laughter, not seeming to care as his name was called out in simultaneous rage and horror. It was a familiar sort of sound to him, and by the time he had reached some level of calm, Frank had made his threats and was gone from the window. The younger Varick had to pause and wonder if Frank would really come all the way down to deal out vengeance.
"You two are so melodramatic. It was just a little snow." Noah grinned widely as Kozel flailed around, turning to face the man for a moment. With the way the katchian was acting one might have believed Noah had committed a murder or some other heinous act. They couldn't dally around, though. There would be no telling when Frank might come bursting out the front doors, and Noah wasn't keen on being punished for throwing a snowball. Not right away, at least. He reached to grip Kozel's shoulders, giving him a gentle shake to pull him from his panic.
"Settle down!" Noah quickly wrapped an arm around the servant's shoulders, as he had before, and forced them into a brisk walk. "Frank gets mad at every little thing...we gotta leave and let him cool off. I know just where we can go." He steered them off down the street, toward an open market that would provide plenty of cover. He could only hope that Kozel would humor him for a bit longer. Noah hadn't really meant for Kozel to get into trouble as well.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 12:43 am
It was as if the younger Varick wasn't even listening to himself. Just a little snow, indeed. And to then turn around and say in the same breath that the elder Varick became angry at every little thing...! Kozel should have jumped on that contradiction, but he seemed to take the suggestion to settle down, at least, quieting for the moment as he tried to still his heart and his running thoughts. However, nothing could keep his mouth from running.
"Mr. Varick, he will dismiss me if he thinks I had anything to do with your brazen act." The servant felt irked to be led away by Noah again, no doubt into some more mischief, but what else could he do? He certainly didn't want to face Frank alone. As much as it pained Kozel, he couldn't hide the pleading tone in his voice, though he kept enough dignity to break away from the jockey's grasp with a sullen glare.
"This position at the inn is all I have known since I arrived here, and I have worked to maintain an amiable working relationship with your brother all that time, you understand," Kozel explained as he kept up the pace with Noah, wringing his gloved hands and glancing back as though he expected, any time now, to see the man stalking after them with fire in his eyes. If only he had looked up, he might have noticed a quietly gliding rook in the sky.
"He is not a forgiving man, and I want nothing to do with this anymore, sir, please. You must reason with him." Of course, it wasn't lost on Kozel that he was the one pulling a contradiction, now, but he hated himself more for that familiar fear that haunted him. Why was he always getting mixed up with crazy bastards?
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 8:23 pm
"Why would he think that? Just relax! I'll take the fall completely...you act as if I'm going to spin around and blame you for it." Noah grinned as he hustled them down the street, and when Kozel pulled away from him, he buried his hands in his pockets and kept close, shoulder to shoulder with the man.
"Besides, he'd never fire you. You're one of the hardest working employees that old dump has ever had." Noah snorted, tossing a glance over his shoulder every so often. It was still impossible to tell whether his brother was still coming, but it certainly wouldn't do to take any chances. Spying something brightly colored for sale in one of the market stands, he darted over to negotiate, before returning, and wrapping a scarf around Kozel's head, before he could say anything, and then quickly donned his own. "There, now he'll have a harder time finding us if he does catch up." Noah beamed at his solution, not seeming to care that they both looked like idiots.
It was then that another bright idea struck the younger Varick, and he laughed, stopping abruptly. He seemed not to hear Kozel's pleas at all as he glanced about. "Oh, that's perfect...Kozel, I know the perfect place for us to hide, and wait out Frankie's temper tantrum. This way!" He pushed Kozel ahead of himself, not wanting to risk the man putting his foot down. He didn't know why he hadn't thought of it before, but Noah knew they were nearing his neighborhood; they would just pay the old butcher a visit, maybe even give him a little business. Heavens knew he needed it anyway, Noah thought with a sneer.
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Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2015 12:55 am
As Kozel's arguments continued being brushed off and his fear steadily gave way to frustration, he was beginning to see why Frank was so short with his brother, to put it kindly. Normally, the servant enjoyed any compliment paid to him, and that might even have been enough to assuage him for the moment -- but his mind settled instead on Noah's irreverence to the very inn Kozel was working so hard at.
"A dump! Is that any way to refer to your..." Ah, but his self-righteous rant never had a chance to fall upon the jockey's ears, as the squirrely man darted off to, apparently, purchase something in the market they had found themselves in. How very much like a child, distracted by some colorful trifle. The Katchian only gritted his teeth, rooted stubbornly to where Noah had left him. If that man thought he'd have a shopping spree with Kozel present to carry his goods like a house servant, when he was an inn servant, thank you, then he'd just have to think twice.
Except, Noah came back with only scarves in tow, and one of them was suddenly being thrown about Kozel's face. "Sir, w-what is—" He spluttered, anger forgotten for a moment as he pulled at the scarf, and he could only deflate as it dawned on him. "This will not work."
Fear, frustration, now it was despair that was overtaking Kozel as he allowed himself to be yet again pushed along by the far more enthusiastic man, who was babbling about the perfect spot to hide that would probably more likely end up their tombs. The area was familiar to them both and no doubt to Frank, though it didn't occur to him exactly where they were headed until they were just about at the door. Kozel flipped out.
"No, sir! This will not help us at all, no!" It was that damn butcher's shop, the unpleasant foreign fellow inextricably linked with bad omens in Kozel's mind because of that first fateful meet. If only it had been the last. While he didn't quite put up a fight against Noah, still obedient enough as a servant, he sure didn't make it easy for the other man to drag him in.
The commotion had Ferdinand coming in from the other room, though he paused once he saw exactly who had entered. The disgusted sneer said it all, really, though he still saw fit to put words to the sentiment: "Gentlemen. I hope you don't mean to rob me, with those shoddy disguises."
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Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2015 10:27 pm
Noah could only laugh at what he had done. He understood the absurdness of it, but he didn't care, too giddy still over the fact that he was out and about, and dragging the poor innservant along with him. "How do you know? It'll confused him, at the very least. I think the coast is clear for now, though..." He observed, not at all surprised at Kozel's doubt. He was more surprised that Kozel was even sticking around, wondering if the Katchian thought that he had any personal power over what he did and didn't do. The people working inside the Fox and Hounds certainly weren't under Noah's jurisdiction, but he was willing to allow Kozel to go on believing it, if it helped to elongate the game. He fixed his own brilliant blue and gold scarf around his hat and head.
"Sure it will! I'm pals with the owner." Noah contradicted, Kozel's nay-saying still failing to put a damper on his spirited outlook on the situation. He gently pressed Kozel into the shop, eyes darting around the familiar setting as he tried to locate the proprietor. Was he gone? It would have been a shame if that had been the case, but it wouldn't be like the Hesperian to leave his doors open and the shop unattended. When the man wandered in from the other room, his grin sharpened considerably.
"There you are...good 'ol Dirty Ferdy." Noah almost cooed the nickname, an especially mischievous look shining in his eyes. He removed himself from Kozel and swaggered up to the counter to lean on it, knowing that the older man was going to be pissed. "How are you doing today? Thought I'd drop by and get a bit of shopping done." He explained offhandedly, before glancing back at Kozel, who was looking more perturbed than he had been before. "This is my friend, Kozel. Kozel, Ferdinand~"
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Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 4:23 pm
'Irreverent' was probably the first word, of many possible words, that Kozel might use to describe Noah, and the scene they found themselves in was the perfect illustration of that trait. Scandalized by Noah's bold... coyness towards the far, far older man, he fell silent, shifting awkwardly as he hung back. This is why the younger Varick was always getting into trouble, always making enemies of strangers, of family, and everyone in-between. The atmosphere of the small butcher shop wasn't helping Kozel's nerves. The smell of blood hanging in the air was unmistakable, and everywhere his eyes darted around, there was some fresh gore. He was not usually squeamish about these things, cook that he was, but that Hesperian fellow was sinister.
Ferdinand was oblivious to the servant's unsavory thoughts. Of course he was, being far too pre-occupied himself with staring Noah down. 'Dirty Ferdy,' really. His sneer only grew into that trademark lip-curl of disgust, like the snarl of a wolf ready to snap, though he only spat out words brimming with contempt. "My day was wonderful until you two showed up. Get it over with." The needless introduction only served to further annoy him, green eyes flicking over only to give Kozel a cursory, dismissive glance, a look the Katchian did not miss as he turned his attention back onto them. "Yes, yes, I've already met that one. However, the scarf is an improvement."
That did it. It was one thing to be rude to a potential customer—he had to wonder why Noah apparently gave him any business with an attitude like that—but Kozel could not endure such personal disrespect. "Excuse me, sir," the Katchian spoke up, what parts of his face uncovered by the garment visibly reddening. "I suggest you watch your tongue." Though he did not come any closer, wary as ever, Kozel bristled like a grimalkin at the smirk that earned him from the Hesperian cur. If Noah had expected an easy alliance, it was clearly not going well.
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Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 12:16 am
Noah would never have thought of it as making enemies. If anything, the people he generally surrounded himself with could benefit from a little bit of light heartedness in their lives. Did everything really have to be all doom and gloom, day in and day out? Thankfully the general atmosphere of the inn didn't reflect his brother's seriousness, or the disciplined, orderly manner of its head servant. Its customers breathed life into the place, and that was the part Noah clung to the most. He disregarded the fact that his actions were probably seen as childish at best (and absolutely ridiculous at worst), and went on his merry little way of doing things, unwilling to be brought down by anyone, unless it was by force.
As Ferdinand's ire increased, so did Noah's playful petulance. The foreigner was still something of a fascination to the younger Varick, who had gleaned bits and pieces of the man's past from previous interactions, but still didn't have the entire picture. Like his brother, the man also gained a delightfully nasty disposition when he was teased or pestered, and Noah snorted at the face he made over the nickname that had been bestowed upon him. It did make him feel a tad guilty; it couldn't be easy to be living in a foreign place, removed from their familiar cultures, but he reassured himself with the thought that it was all in good fun. These were men he could see himself working alongside, and perhaps, fighting alongside. He tried not to let his playfulness get too out of hand.
"Just one steak, if you would, please. Nice and fresh, the kind that you can put on a bruise." He was grinning as he said it, and glanced back at Kozel to see if he would get the joke. If Frank did catch up to them, Noah knew he would be needing something for the swelling. After the introductions were made, Noah's eyebrows shot up, and he looked quite surprised.
"Oh, you two have met, how delightful!" Noah had to bite the inside of his lip as Kozel piped up to snap at the Hesperian, and he found it hard to contain himself. Of course they would be at one another's throats. What would big city life be without the constant struggle for understanding that no one could ever seem to reach? The way Ferdinand was sneering made him absolutely giddy. "And you're already getting along so well! We should all go out riding sometime, I know Kozel needs a bit more practice. How is Rocin doing anyway, Ferdy?" Noah asked, resting his chin in his hands as he continued to lean on the counter, happy enough to continue being a nuisance until his order was filled.
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