Good....morning? (Rhi-Rhi of the McRhi clan)

[Anonymous]

Sariel groaned, leaning heavily against the footman's shoulders, unable to support himself. His distinctive hair was mussed, the golden comb that was holding part of it up was half falling out. The expensive clothes were wrinkled and there was what appeared to be a wine stain on his right sleeve.

But Sariel didn't care, nothing mattered but finding the nearest bed and sleeping forever. Who had made that damned sun so bright? The teenager winced, shutting his eyes against the harsh glare. He wondered what time it was, as he hadn't been to bed yet. His full lips quirked at that though. That wasn't true. He hadn't slept yet, he had very much been to bed. With twins. Elven twins at that. He hadn't actually been sure of their gender until the clothes came off. Made things more interesting that way.

"Sir?" Sariel winced at the footman's voice, waving one hand, his voice hissing, "Suuush. Good gods man there is no need to shout."

The footman sighed, adjusting his grip on the teenager, earning another groan, "Sir? We're at the door. Do you want me to take you to your room?"

"What? Oh...no." Damn. The harpy would be waiting. She always knew. Fat cow liked to ruin all this fun. Just because she was frumpy and unfun didn't mean he should have to be. Sariel wrinkled his nose, "I believe I smell. Take me to the baths." That should help, before he went to sleep. A lovely soak and maybe throw up a few times. Yes, that sounded like the best plan.

Careful of his baggage, the footman opened the door, carefully helping Sariel inside. He started toward the bathroom, praying Delith would arrive soon and she could deal with the spoiled brat. It was that moment that Sariel chose to suddenly gag and throw up all over the footman's shoes. It reeked and seemed to be made up mostly of alcohol, with some disturbing lumps that the footman was happier not knowing.

Sariel flopped onto the floor, exhausted and thirsty now, "....you." Gods, what was his name? No matter, they all looked a like anyway, "I want some water. Go fetch it." He draped an arm across his eyes, rolling onto his back, his long legs sprawled across the floor. Maybe he should skip the bath...no...he smelled like puke now. There was no way he was going to bed like this.

[Rhindeer]

Delith was waiting.

She always got up early--had to for her job, clean up the house and prepare breakfast for his royal hine-ass--and as she was preparing the kitchen she heard the sound of horses. Her lips twisted into a scowl. He was late, or rather early, and she hadn't gotten much sleep last night as a result. In addition to being hired on as a servant, the boy's father had also hired her to keep an eye on him. He was supposed to be back hours ago, and she had spent that time fretting over his whereabouts.

It was her job to do so.

She heard the door open and wiped her hands off on a towel. There it was, the sound of stumbling footsteps, dragging luggage, and--Delith's eyes widened and her stomach did a flip-flop. Was that retching? Oh, that was most definitely a splashing sound.

Just bloody wonderful!

With a loud sigh, Delith grabbed the towel and marched out of the kitchen.

Sure enough, there the brat was, flopped onto the floor like a drunkard with the poor footman standing there with his foot covered in...

Delith jerked her gaze up from the man's foot and locked her eyes on Sariel's face, eyebrows drawing together. "Oh, that's just lovely!" she snapped, knowing good and well that she would be the one cleaning up his reeking vomit. But not today! She was in a sour mood this morning and the arrogant prat deserved this.

Stomping around to Sariel's head, she took the towel and flung it at the boy's face. "You. Get up and clean up that mess. Don't just lay there like a pig rolling around in your own filth! Get up! You clean that up and then it's the tub for you. You smell like piss."

[Anonymous]

Argh. There was the fat harpy's wretched voice, piercing his throbbing skull as the maid went off on him. Sariel flinched as the towel smacked into his face and he yanked it off, narrowing blood shot green eyes at the woman, "I-" He winced and lowered his voice, "I most certainly will not." His voice was a low, whispering hiss, unable to go any louder without causing himself pain.

Through sheer force of will, Sariel managed to sit up and wipe his mouth clean of vomit, staining the towel, "It is your job to clean up after me." His eyes flicked back to the footman, who was still standing there, unsure what to do, "And you. I said to fetch me some water. Get on it."

Shooting Delith a sympathetic look, the footman raced for the door, wanting to get out of the line of fire and a chance to clean his shoes off. Sariel brushed a strand of his beautiful hair out of his face and tossing the towel back at Delith, "Though I agree with the bath comment. That oxen like build of yours should be useful for something. Now help me up."

[Rhindeer]

Rolling her eyes skyward and letting out a long-suffering sigh, Delith held the towel out away from her body by one corner, wanting to touch as little of it as possible. His comment on her "oxen-like" build earned him a piercing glare, but...ugh. What else could she expect from an ass like him? If the pay weren't so good, she would have packed her things and left a long time ago. That was the only reason she put up with the abuse now, and she certainly was not letting those comments get to her. She had thick skin, really she did, and a brat like him wasn't worth getting angry over.

"Anyone looks an ox next to a bony waif like you," she said with a scowl, folding the towel up so the soiled part was on the inside and tossing it onto a table to get to later. "Now come on. You got yourself into this mess, you can get yourself out of it. Use your legs!" she demanded, reaching down and grasping both of his hands. "You're gonna have to walk, you know. I'm not carrying you."

She couldn't, anyway. She may have been a strong woman from years of physical labor, he may think her an oxen, but he was a bloody man-child and she didn't have the strength for that.

[Anonymous]

The motion of Delith grabbing his hands and jerking was too much for Sariel's stomach. His head turned to the side and he started to heave. There wasn't much left in his him, so most of it was just dry heaving as he clung to Delith's arms.

It drained him enough that when he had finished retching, he didn't even have the energy to make a snarky reply to Delith's comment. He just collapsed against her, pressing his face into her skirts, "I don't feel good."

The buzz had long sense worn off and he was left with the unfun after effects of his over indulgence. He was shaking as he tried to stand up, leaning heavily on Delith's shoulders, unable to support himself, "Hurry up. I want out of these clothes and to not smell like vomit and smoke."

Gods, why did his father have to hire such a sharp tongued bitch? Why couldn't she have been slender, with a pretty face, a delicate touch and pleasant attitude? Instead he had this....dwarf.

He shut his eyes, groaning again, pressing his face against her head to try and shut the light out, "Why is it so damn bright?"

[Anonymous]

Delith's nose wrinkled and lip curled when he wiped his face on her skirts! With a hiss of disgust she stepped away and jerked her dress out of his grip. Disgusting! She'd have to wash it as soon as she was done with him. "You're vile, you know that?!" she snapped. "And I don't pity you one bit. You did this to yourself and now you're dealing with the consequences--not that I expect you to learn from this."

Still, as he struggled to stand she huffed in agitation and reached out to help support him. Turning him as best as she could--which was tricky to do, with him all shaky and pulling the wet noodle act--she looped an arm around his middle and started to walk with him, slowly, toward the bathing room. "It's bright because it's morning. Maybe it wouldn't hurt you if you didn't drink yourself to stupidity. Stop that!" she added, jerking her head away. "And walk. I can't do it for you. Believe it or not, you're pretty heavy."

In fact, it was only through sheer determination that she managed to lead him to the bathing room--because she wanted to get this done and get him off to bed as soon as she could so he was out of her hair and out of her sight. She turned him toward a small stool. "Sit. I'll fetch the water. Use the bucket if you have to vomit again."


"And you are a bitch." Sariel managed to sound both snippy and sick at the same time, "With fat legs. Don't be jealous that I had a good time last night and you got to spend it alone with some fattening dessert I'm sure."

With some effort, Sariel managed to support most of his own weight, though he was still leaning heavily against the smaller, darker woman. She was just so bitter, wasn't his fault. She might have a social life if she knew how to be pleasant. Instead all she did was nag. Really. He was a noble's son, what good was that if he couldn't go party all night.

It was a relief to sink to the stool, his hands going up to fumble with the fastenings of his clothes. He was a little clumsy, but he managed to start stripping without much problem. His pale skin was covered in red scratch marks and dark hickies. Damn. That girl had worked him over. He touched a mark on his belly and made a face. So not attractive. He had told her not to leave too many marks.

[Rhindeer]

"At least I got to enjoy my dessert and not vomit it all up because I'm some foppish, clay-brained pig that don't know how to hold his liquor! Now you shut your mouth and stay here!" Delith snapped back and then, without giving him a chance to retort, she spun on her heel and stormed out of the room.

Today, he got cold water. She was not going to bother going through the trouble of heating it now, and besides, it would be good for him. Sober him up. If nothing else, it would make her feel good.

Snarling curses all the way, Delith returned some time later with two buckets of cold well water, one in each hand. She nudged the door open with her hip, spared the naked (or mostly naked) Sariel one scathing look, and then marched over to the tub and dumped the water in. "Get in," she snapped, jabbing a finger at the tub before turning to stare at him, hands planted on her hips. He looked even worse with his clothes off, all dark marks and scratches. It looked positively trashy. "Quickly, before I shove you in! Time to wash that whore-stench off of you; I can't bear to smell it any longer."

[Anonymous]

Wincing, Sariel glared at Delith's retreating frame. Fat cow didn't have to shout so much. It was making his head throb painfully. Once his clothes were fully shed and left in a crumpled heap, Sariel cradled his head in his hands, trying to suppress the urge to puke again. Maybe he had over done it a little last night. No. No, next time he just needed to make sure he got some sleep. That was his problem. He hadn't slept enough. Next time he was sleeping with the twins. He had just had the urge to sleep in his own bed.

The teenager jolted, lifting his head with a soft hiss as Delith returned, dumping water into the tub. Blinking, the boy's green eyes focused on the water, "It's cold!" This was just not acceptable. The harpy was trying to kill him!

Reaching a hand out, the other hand holding his pounding head, Sariel started chanting. He wasn't much of a fire mage, but even he could manage to heat a bath up. Steam rose from the water and he gave the servant a smirk.

He was less then graceful sliding into the water, though it did do wonders. He felt just a little more human. Tilting his head back to look at Delith, he lifted on golden eyebrow, "Whore-stink? Jealous Delith. I had no idea you fancied me like that."

[Rhindeer]

When Sariel exclaimed that the water was cold, Delith only gave a light shrug, neither denying nor admitting to anything--even if she was snickering on the inside. It was a bit of a killjoy when the bloody mage heated the water, however; she hadn't thought he'd be able to manage that one sloshed, and she returned his smirk with a steely frown.

She still maintained the cold would have been beneficial to him.

...Nah. It would have benefited her far more than it did him. For all that she had put up with so far--and it was still early morning, so this did not bode well for the rest of the day--it would have been nice to subtly punish him like that. Oh well. From the looks of his grimacing and wincing and whining, he was punishing himself well enough.

Delith laid a plush towel beside the tub to kneel on and grabbed a wash cloth before dropping down beside the tub and snatching up the soap. She arched an eyebrow at her charge as she lathered the cloth up. "Me? Fancy used goods? I think not," she said, taking hold of his wrist so she could start soaping him up, lifting his arm so she could scrub his stinking pits. She did it a little more vigorously than she probably should have, forgetting he wasn't a shirt she was trying to scrape the filth out of.

"Why would I wanna eat a peach that's already had a bite taken out of it and no telling who's mouth's been there?"

[Anonymous]

Sariel gave a pleased sigh at the warm water. The magic that had pulsed through him actually eased some of his headache. Magic was almost as good as a drug, though it took far to much work to master.

"Don't be afraid to admit that I'm gorgeou-Ow!" Sariel winced, giving Delith a dark look, "Be careful! Damn woman. I am delicate! Unlike your rough, abused skin, treat mine gently. I actually have a shot at being pretty, unlike you."

Stupid cow. With another dark look, he settled back against the tub, huffing a little. Like she could ever hope to do better, "Don't be so upset that I get action and you don't. I bet you're dying to get some. You've probably never kissed anyone half as pretty as I am."

[Rhindeer]

Delith gave a jerk as though slapped, then narrowed her eyes at Sariel in a malevolent glower.

"That is none of your business," she snapped, finishing up his other arm (more gently than the first) before picking up the pitcher by the tub and filling it with bath water. "But if you must know, I like men. I don't like girls, not like that. That includes men who look like girls."

Without warning, she emptied the pitcher over Sariel's head, getting his hair and back good and wet and not caring how much water fell into his face. He could choke on it, for all she cared! She planted a hand between his shoulder blades and shoved him forward so she could get at his back, which she started to scrub. "Kissing someone like you'd be like kissing another woman. 'Fraid that just doesn't do it for me."

[Anonymous]

Sariel managed to feel smug for all of two seconds. The dig that he looked like a girl had the teenager glaring straight ahead. The potted plant he had fixed his glare on started to steam slightly, his magic starting to boil the water inside it before he was suddenly drenched in water.

Sputtering, Sariel managed to inhale some of the liquid, which caused him to start coughing.

Like kissing a woman?! That comment made Sariel see red, even as he coughed out the last of the water. He twisted in the bath, his long hair flattened and clinging to him, and gave her another dark look, his voice a low hiss, "What?"

He lifted himself out of the bath by his arms, leaning close to Delith, his face almost pressed against hers, his voice softer now, his best seductive voice, "Really? You think kissing me would be like kissing a girl? Why don't you give it a try?"

[Rhindeer]

Delith squeaked in surprise when Sariel twisted and lifted himself out of the bath, taking her completely off guard, and her brown eyes went wide when she found his face inches from hers. Her cheeks darkened at the intensity of his expression, unable to look away. That...was not anger, there. She knew that look, and her heart started to beat wildly from a strange mixture of fear and some weird, fluttery emotion she couldn't place. And when he spoke, his voice low and seductive, for one brief moment she actually saw him.

Not just some drunken, puke-spewing brat who she cleaned after like a child, but him, a full-grown naked man. His smooth, fair skin, his lean chest and flat stomach and...

She jerked her eyes back up, for a moment looking much like a rabbit staring at a hungry wolf, but then her brows drew together, her eyes cleared, and she planted a hand on his forehead and shoved him back into the tub.

"You idiot! You're still drunk and your breath smells like vomit!" she snapped and threw the wash rag at his face. "But you're apparently sober enough to finish this yourself!"

[Anonymous]

There was a long moment of staring into Delith's eyes that seemed to go on forever. Her eyes were really beautiful, something he had noticed before and tried to ignore. And she smelled wonderful, some scent he couldn't place that was just simple...her.

He leaned a little closer, closing the distance just a little more without even realizing he had. Then he was suddenly getting shoved back into the tub, pain racing down his head and he winced. Water sloshed out of the tub and Sariel grabbed his head, glaring at Delith, hissing, "Cow! You didn't have to be so rough. Like I was going to actually kiss you."

The fact he had an erection between his legs made that statement a bit of a lie. A light flush stained his cheeks. There was no way he had been attracted to Delith. She was an...an...ox! It was just...morning wood or something.

Sariel did his best to hide it with his arms, trying to act like he was hunching over to give her better access to his back, "And you can't go yet. You have to wash my hair." His thick, long hair was far to much for him to easily handle on his own and the main reason Delith had to help him.

[Rhindeer]

Delith threw up her hands with a frustrated noise. "You're ridiculous!" she spat, wanting nothing more than to just get out of that room and retreat to her own quarters for a time. She was tired and could feel a headache coming on and just wasn't in the mood to deal with him, especially not after that.

But she also feared that if she left him like this, he may drown in the bath.

With a loud sigh to try and collect herself, she drew herself back up and took up the pitcher again, filling it and pouring it over his head to wet his hair again. "Fine. But no more nonsense, you hear?" she grumbled, still a little flustered, and picked up the soap, lathered up her hands, and grabbed him by the hair to start working the soap in. "Sit up. Stop slouching," she snapped.

[Anonymous]

"You're ridiculous!" Sariel flushed a little, realizing how childish that sounded, but he was feeling rather flustered. He was thrown off by that strange reaction to that almost kiss and he didn't like it. That was Delith! Gross! There was no way he was attracted to her.

Sariel closed his eyes as she wet his hair again, the warm water feeling good on his sore body. This wasn't too bad and he actually really liked when she washed his hair. Then he froze and struggled to keep his face from getting redder, "What? I have a stomachache. Leave me alone!"

If he straightened up now, he had now way of explaining what that was doing there.

[Rhindeer]

"I don't care! You have to sit up and lean back or the soap's gonna go right in your eyes and I won't be having any whining when it does!" Delith shot back, and gave his hair a gentle tug in an effort to draw him upright.

"Now stop being a baby and just do it. It ain't my fault you drank yourself stupid and are suffering the consequences. Be a man and sit. Up!"

[Anonymous]

"Oooow! Don't pull!" Sariel winced as the tug ripped though his poor, abused skull. At least that was helping get rid of his erection. Think disgusting thoughts!

As frantically as Sariel tried to think of ugly people and kittens, it wasn't helping fast enough. He still couldn't believe he had gotten hard from almost kissing Delith. That was gross! She was fat and her features were so plain!

Carefully straightening, Sariel couldn't believe he was actually blushing, though he struggled to keep his face composed, hoping his hands were in crossed in front of his crouch in a casual, not at all on purpose manner.

He gave her a dark look, "I am a man thank you! And it's not like you're my mother. What do you care if I get smashed? It's really none of your concern."

[Rhindeer]

Delith rolled her eyes, but otherwise ignored Sariel's protests and complaints. Gods above, why was he insisting on being so stubborn? And about the most ridiculous things, too! Did he want soap in his eyes? Finally, though, he straightened and Delith was surprised to notice that his cheeks were unusually flushed. She raised an eyebrow at that and dipped a hand into the water. It was warm, but not hot, certainly not enough to affect his temperature like that.

She continued scrubbing his long hair and scalp, working the soap through the strands. "I care because it's me that has to clean up your messes! And what's wrong with you, anyhow? You catching cold or something? You're all red."

[Anonymous]

"And my father pays you far more money then you're worth." Sariel snorted, doing his best to look calm. The erection was starting to fade, which was good. As long as Delith didn't do anything else all....weird it should be fine.

"And there is nothing wrong with my face. Just the heat." Damn meddling woman. Though it was hard to stay irritated with her hands scrubbing his scalp like that. Sariel started to melt into the touch, eyes closed and a small, contented sound escaping him.