Misery Loves Company

[kleineklementine]

@Draconian !



Astrid poked her head into the stable, the plain canvas satchel tucked under her arm. It was less suspicious, of course, having a maid bring the package, which containing jewelry and money and other valuable goods that would pay for the safe passage of runaway mages into Serendipity, out of Connlaoth. Astrid could always make up some other business for being here, and anyway it wasn't so uncommon or frowned upon for a maid to socialize with a stablehand. But it wasn't just that. The package, of course, came from Olive. And as much as the now duchess-to-be tried to convince herself, and Valerian, that their relationship - their friendship - was healthy and intact, she'd been giving him a fairly wide berth. Of course she didn't avoid him completely; she still went out of her way to visit him. But Olive was keeping it to something of a minimum. They both needed space, she told herself. As nice as the idea was that they could just transition straight back into being friends after their brief bout as lovers, the reality wasn't so simple.

So here was Astrid. Spotting Vale in the back with the horses, she stepped into the stable.

"Evening, Valerian," she greeted curtly, but not unkindly. In fact, Astrid liked Valerian, but she was wary of his moods. And her eyes studied him knowingly. Since her engagement, Grace had insisted upon Olive having a younger maid. After all, Grace had come to Wulfbauer Keep with Olive's mother when she'd been married at just eighteen, and Grace didn't want Olive to not have that same, constant companionship. 'My old bones won't be around forever,' she kept saying. So finally Olive asked Astrid. Astrid, of course, had no training as a lady's maid, but Grace had reluctantly agreed to train her. Which was all to say, Astrid was spending more time with Olive and more privy to her thoughts than she had been before.

"Fancy a trip to the pub?"

[Draconian]

There was a tiny bit of a headache.

Just a bit.

Valerian may have had too much to drink the night before. His leg ached and his head ached and his heart ached. It hurt. As much as he wanted to pretend it didn't hurt, it hurt far worse than he could have anticipated and her attempts at distance to help them heal only made him feel worse. Cast aside like... Like hired help. Valerian heaved a sigh and resumed brushing down one of the Duke's favourite horses, poor thing had been in the rain and as much as the horse probably enjoyed it someone had to brush out the mud.

The voice had him jerk his head up and he stared for a moment before recognizing Astrid. A look of pure confusion on his face before he spotted it. Oh. Right. "Evening, Astrid," He replied in turn, giving her a polite nod of his head before resuming work.

Olive had even given his secret little job away.

At least that's what he thought before Astrid spoke up again and he stared at her for a moment.

"I always fancy a trip to the pub," Valerian said dead pan, like the pub was no big deal and he went there all time. Which he didn't actually, mostly he got his drinks alone while he was at home. Hidden away in his room or after his father had gone to sleep.

Moving away from the horse, Valerian put down the brush and wandered his way over to Astrid, looking down at her for a moment. "Care to join me?" A sly, flirtatious smile before he leaned against a wall and rested a hand in his pocket.

[kleineklementine]

Astrid gave a dry laugh at that.

“If you had asked me a few months ago, maybe,” Astrid answered, giving an amused, skeptical look at his nonchalant flirtatious posture. Astrid liked Valerian, and she meant it; if he’d asked her - or ever so much as taken notice of her - before, she probably would have been chuffed. But as it was, she had her own friendship with Olive to mind, and she wasn’t about to flirt with the boy her new friend was still hurting for. More importantly, though, while Astrid might only be a maid, she was no man’s rebound.

“I thought maids were below your notice anyway,” she remarked, eyebrow raised. Her expression faltered just a little, though, realizing that that particular jab had, perhaps, too sharp of a barb on it. She looked momentarily apologetic, but just for a moment.

With a little huff that said, ’I don’t have time for all your nonsense’, she rolled her eyes. Astrid hesitated just a moment before handing over the satchel. After all, Vale might think of the deliveries as his secret job, but it was Valerian who came late into the scheme; when he’d found Astrid and Bairn alone in the stables. Pushing the satchel into Valerian’s hands, she gave him a look and quipped, “Well, wouldn’t want to make your father jealous, anyway."

Astrid made a ’tch’ sound with her tongue that might have been a, ‘You’re hopeless!’ conclusion, then turned around to head out. “You take care of yourself, Valerian,” she called over her shoulder, almost casually. “That bottle you’re hiding isn’t going to heal anything.”