Latent Dream (Summervale) [Cramler] [M]

[GoblinFae]

His brows knit together in confusion. "You need a what?" He blinked in disbelief because surely he didn't say he needed a 'vag.'

Theodore shook his head and stepped out of the doorway. "Outside. She knows all and there will be no end.

"You will leave them alone?" He asked quieter his face showing all his vulnerability and worry. "Please?"

[Nightcrawler]

"A cigarette," Fletcher clarified, enunciating a little better this time. "Come on. Smoke first, then talk. I'm dying, here." He motioned for Pretty Boy to move out of the doorframe, then led the way outside, walking as quickly as he could without looking unprofessional or urgently ill. Once out the door, he swung around the side of the house until they were out of earshot of the other guards. He paused, popped the fag in, and lit it. "Fuck me," he mumbled. "She really going to make me do this outside if it rains?" The question was more rhetorical than anything. He knew the answer. Of course she was going to. Woman was so uptight it was a miracle she'd pushed out a child at all.

He resumed the walk but slowed his pace and faced the man as he spoke. "You're going to have to forgive me, sir, but I'm dropping the pleasantries. Was never good at that shite. Firstly: no. I'm not getting anyone fired. I'm not a monster. You've nothing to worry about there." He squinted at Pretty Boy, still unsure if he could entirely trust him. "Already told Olivier, so they all know by now. So you're going to keep that to yourself, yeah? Word gets to your mum that I'm soft on the staff, I'm out, and then you have someone else in a room right next to you who doesn't share your radical sentiments on classes." He paused and took a long drag, then continued. "And I know the I'kanans. Well...some of them. Good people. Maybe a little nutty. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, but I don't think we'll come to it at all. Which means my only job, really, is making sure you don't leave the grounds. And I do need this job. So I'm going to do what I need to do to keep it."

He sighed wearily again, took another drag, and looked Pretty Boy over. "Questions?"

[GoblinFae]

"Worse," he replied honestly. "She'll make you smoke on the furthest corner of the garden and likely still have a fit if she sees you. Her nerves can only endure so much."

A whoosh of air escaped his lungs in pure relief and it was only then as his vision speckled with stars that Theodore realized he had been holding his breath. His head felt fuzzy and he staggered slightly bumping into Fletcher's shoulder for a moment before being able to pull himself together. 

"Sorry," he apologized quietly while taking a few very necessary grounding breaths. 

"I'm not entirely convinced even you share my so-called radical ideals on classes. I do not know you sir beyond the fact you are now my keeper, and indeed very strong."

Catching his breath finally he shook his head as they reached the outer edges of the garden and placed his bandages hands on the fencing to stare off into the world beyond his front door. "I have not had the good fortune to meet an I'kanan but I know them to be incredible sea-farers. Their knowledge and intuition alone is worth its weight in gold. My mother is just a bigot and while yes a certain very sought after young noblewoman was stolen from her home by them, I am really nothing in comparison and my mother worries needlessly. All of this works in your favor though as you will most assuredly have job security as long as you desire it doing...nothing. Welcome to your new boredom," he sighed and shook his head.

[Nightcrawler]

Fletcher watched the man curiously as he stumbled, but said nothing. He wondered if he was ill, or simply weak. No wonder the baroness was worried for her son. He looked like a particularly strong gust of wind might blow him off his feet and away from the estate. At Pretty Boy's doubt of his character, however, he let loose a dark-sounding chuckle. Something about it had gotten under his skin just the slightest bit. It didn't help that, as he worked on the cigarette, his bracelet peeked out from under his coat sleeve: a mocking reminder of the man who'd made him that way in the first place. He slipped another step away from polite decency — though he did keep his voice calm and even. "You're welcome to that opinion, mate. We both know you've got enough on me for your mum to fire me on the spot. You really going to take that risk before you know for sure? Could make it worse for your friends if you do."

Fletcher looked out across the grounds. It was absurdly quiet out here. Peaceful, almost, except for Missus Archer's awful shrieking. He didn't like it quiet. It made him tense, and he didn't know why. But he wasn't about to give up on a private room and good food and steady income. So he turned to Pretty Boy, he shrugged, and he lied. "As for boring, well...I could use a good night's sleep for once."

[GoblinFae]

"Depends," he replied with a slight shrug, "why did you attack me? What great offense did I commit this time? Also if this is going to work between us I'd appreciate it if you didn't threaten the people in my life with every other sentence. I am allowed to feel wary towards the man that made me eat dirt and threatened to fire coworkers he's never met. Believe me or don't but I have no interest in making your life difficult. You should have many restful nights ahead here."

[Nightcrawler]

Fletcher drew a breath, held it, couldn't for the life of him come up with a good retort, and let it out again. Instead, his expression shifted. It was subtle, at first: the warning flash left his eye, and the tension in his arms slackened. He cocked his head and looked over Theodore Archer with something like respect. He'd been wrong: the man wasn't a pushover at all. "Hmm. Yeah. No. You're right. Though — wasn't a threat. At least, not this time. First time, it was, yeah...might have gotten a little rude when you threatened my livelihood right out the gate. But like I said, I'm not fucking over my own kind. Just reality: you replace me, that replacement may not be willing to drag you, a noble, out of the house for a smoke and some better understanding. You want one, by the way? Cigarette?"

He took a drag and paced a bit. Standing still in this quiet made him antsy. "And I wasn't attacking you. I was running. You were in the middle of the street. I yelled...tried to get you to move...you, er, obviously didn't hear that, and..." Fletcher shot him a sheepish glance. "I'm sorry. About your face. Wasn't my intent."

[GoblinFae]

He shook his head politely. "I don't smoke but go ahead. I won't tell." Theodore squinted as he tried to follow Fletcher's pacing. There was a delayed silence as he tried to process what he was seeing and piece it together into comprehensible sentences he could reply to. 

A shrug met his apology. "I'll heal. Or I won't." Theodore looked down at his hands though and flexed his fingers, grimacing slightly at the sting the action created.

"Do you have a first name Mr. Taw? Or do you prefer I keep to pleasantries with you?"

[Nightcrawler]

He cocked his head again. Every time Pretty Boy spoke, he was more of a riddle. He was certainly different than every other noble Fletch had ever met. Usually, they were the sort to brag at parties that they had their servants wipe their arses for them for a laugh. They loved their stupid, useless, frilly lives. This one looked like he was about to crack under it all.

"It's Jack. But you're the one that gets to decide that, aren't you?" he asked. "Not my place to tell you how to address m — oh, for fuck's sake, Aya! No!"

In the middle of his sentence, two massive paws and an inquisitive face appeared over the fence. The dog grinned her idiot grin like she found the idea of jeopardizing her own dinner amusing. "Go on," Fletcher hissed. "Not in broad fucking daylight." But as always, Aya played it off like she couldn't understand a word he said, and chose instead to inquisitively sniff the air in Pretty Boy's direction.

[GoblinFae]

"You have autonomy, Mr. Taw. You're a person and if you want me to call you by your first name you'll tell me and if you want to be called otherwise I have no doubt you'll tell me that too."

His head snapped to the side to see what was causing such ire only for his expression to melt. Theodore bobbed his head in respectful greeting to the dog before offering a hand palm up below chin level to her.

"Hello beautiful one," he intoned slipping into his native Serenian dialect easily. "Where did you come from? Does my jailer belong to you? Are you his keeper?" Theodore chuckled very softly as he allowed her to decide how their interaction would go, plenty amused at his own jokes.

[Nightcrawler]

Fletcher groaned as yet another unsuspecting victim fell prey to Aya's charms. "No, don't let her — she'll — " but his warning came too late, and Theo hadn't read what he'd said, and now the dog was halfway over the damned fence with her back legs kicking in the air for traction. Her target: Pretty Boy's hands, and when she reached his fingers, she began to lick his wounds. "Aya, no," Fletch insisted. "Shit. You'll need to wash those out again. I didn't think she'd be — Aya, no." Now the dog was fully over and onto the lawn, bent on going after the scrapes on his face. Fletcher shot a worried glance up at the house. If he wasn't careful, before long, she'd get him into trouble.

"Alright, that's enough. Enough." He stepped between the two of them and leaned into her with all his weight, shoving her away from the man he was supposed to be bodyguarding. She took a full step and a half backwards before digging her heels in like the obstinate hellion she was. "Aya, stop. Enough. You can't be here. You need to leave."

[GoblinFae]

Theo heard and saw none of Fletcher's words but Aya's antics did make him laugh. His face split in an ear to ear grin as he worked to pet her head and ears right until  his new bodyguard's body came between them. 

The laughter quickly quieted a he straightened, moving only enough around Fletcher to be able to see his face. 

"She is yours then? Mother won't let you keep her in the house but there's space in the stables where she can shelter so long as she gets along with other animals. You likely could insist in your contract that she's part of your new guard regime. She's certainly big enough to scare someone off even if she's all love no bite."

[Nightcrawler]

"No, not my dog," he grunted before remembering who he was talking to. He held up a finger. "One moment. Fuck's sake, Aya, back off." She finally relented and sat, though it was clear by her windmilling tail and bright eyes that her energy was barely contained. She huffed, resigned to watch Theo eagerly. Fletch turned so the man could read him again. "Not my dog," he repeated. "She just follows me around and empties my wallet. And she's part not-dog, too, so be careful. And...really? Missus will get on my case about smoking, but she'll let a fleabag on the grounds?" He shook his head, finished his smoke, tossed it in the grass, and tamped it out with his boot. "If she listened, maybe. But she doesn't. So she stays outside."

Fletcher jerked his head towards the house. "I need to get you back inside and find someone to change your bandages. Emperor knows where her mouth's been."

[GoblinFae]

Theodore shrugged. "She wouldn't let her in the house of course but a massive guard dog isn't something Father would necessarily say no to." The man looked down to the tamped out cigarette and then up to Fletcher, stubbornly keeping in place. "You can finish your smoking before we go back in. I will not come undone from being licked.

"As for your not dog--does she have a name? Allow me to show you where the stables are and we can see about having a den for her so she isn't running loose around the grounds or getting into the henhouse...would she get into the henhouse?"

[Nightcrawler]

Fletcher snorted and barely managed to conceal his laughter by pretending to cough into his sleeve. Even when he managed to compose himself, the tug at the corner of his mouth and the creases under his good eye gave him up. Pretty Boy seemed none the wiser for what he'd just said. Was it a language thing? Or was he just that sheltered? Fletch cleared his throat and forced the smirk away. "Well, I'm not going to eat the damned thing," he countered. "Surely she's not going to come all the way out here and fuss over one cigarette butt. The rain will melt it. As for the mutt..."

He sighed resignedly and looked down at her. He tapped his foot. There were many times when he wished she'd stop following him altogether. Then he wouldn't have to see her, or think about her, or answer all these questions when people inevitably fell in love with her. "Her name's Aya. Not my idea. She never was. But as long as she's well-fed, she won't hurt a fly. Actually..." He brightened up at the idea he'd just had and arched an eyebrow at Pretty Boy. "Think if she's considered a guard dog, they'd add feeding her to the contract?"

[GoblinFae]

"You have met my mother," he replied with a raised brow that clearly conveyed 'what do you think?' Still Theo sighed and bent down to pick up the discarded trash, keeping it in his hand as he nodded with his head towards the stables, patting his thigh hoping to beckon Aya to follow as well.

There was a quiet as he lead the way and thought deeply on Fletcher's question. "I think Mr. Taw if you can make enough of a case for it that she is necessary to," he grimaced "my safety then it could be added in. It might mean a smaller cut of suns for you as it is docked from your pay but even if I must out of my own allowance, I will ensure she is cared for. It's not her fault she exists.

He sighed heavily, shaking his head slightly as thoughts of his own self tried to invade and he did his best to mentally bat them away. The stables were not as grand as most nobles likely had but there was room enough for a few horses. The space was tidy and well kept albeit with worn and well-used equipment. Theodore approached one of the empty stalls and opened it revealing a clean space predominantly used for storage as well as a couple of sleepy barn cats that rushed to weave between his legs. These babies he bent to pet carefully with the back of his free hand before pulling down a horse blanket and setting it up on the floor and patting to try and summon Aya.

"Will this work for you, Contessa Aya?"

[Nightcrawler]

For a second, he looked mortified. "Fine. But give that back, would you? Somehow I think it would be even worse if she found out you were picking up after the staff." He held out his hand expectantly as they began to walk, waiting for Pretty Boy to cough up the godawful thing he'd just plucked from the grass. Aya wedged her way between the two of them like any of this was her business, favoring Theo and watching him expectantly. Fletcher scowled. "She thinks you're an easy target," he explained. "Thinks you'll give her something if she bats her eyes enough."

His face fell as they approached the stables. He'd suspected they'd dock his pay to feed her, but he hated to hear it. For a moment, he'd been excited about the idea of coin staying in his pocket and not going right down the drain — or down a gullet, as it were. At least here, he wasn't paying for a bed, or for three square meals. He had his own private room, and that was more than he could say for most of his life. But still...money was going to be tight. He'd have to stick around for a while, after all.

"No, don't bother," he replied. "I'll take care of it. If they'll dock my pay, it's more trouble than it's worth to mention. Damned dog thinks she's a princess," he added. They'd stopped in front of a stable, and before he could protest, Pretty Boy had set her up a bed. He spoke to her in that odd language again as he did. It struck such a familiar chord: someone quiet and gentle and lost in conversation with an animal that understood none of it at all. Fletcher's gaze hardened as he watched the two of them together. Aya was already enchanted. She'd seen the resemblance in his own charge before he had, and now she sat obediently on her new throne and ate up the man's attention.

He waited for Theo to meet his eye. "Should be getting back to the house, now, sir," he said.

[GoblinFae]

"You seem like a confidence man," Theo murmured back. "Ask for what you need and see what they say. My mother will do anything if she thinks it will keep me preserved in one piece and my father will do my mother's bidding. If not, as I said I will care for her as she is without owner."

Theodore gave her head and ears a tender love before quietly introducing her to Gin and Tonic the ginger and tabby cats checking her out curiously. He refused to look at Fletcher as long as he could manage, already knowing his temporary flight would be over when he did and the leash would drag him back into his gilded cage. A bucket was carefully filled with water and though it took more strength from him than he cared to admit and both arms to cart it back without spilling it he still placed it down for Aya with one final pat. A nod to his keeper and he was exiting the stables with a wistful glance to the sky before bypassing the side entrance he should have been using and instead heading for the back servant's entrance into the kitchens.

The smell of hearty cooking assailed his senses but it was the small body of Aneisha the scullery maid attacking him from the side in a sudden hug that sent the nobleman staggering slightly back into his new guard as he caught her and lightly patted her back.

"Are you in lots of trouble, Teddy? I promise I didn't tell anyone!" she said looking up at him with wide, concerned eyes. He patted her head with a smile that did not reach his eyes and shook his head. "All is well Aneisha. Don't worry. You're not in trouble. I know you wouldn't. Would you help me with my hands, please? I got the bandages dirty while out for a walk."

"You're so clumsy!" The young girl beamed up at him as she ushered him to sit, startling slightly to see Fletcher behind him and waving shyly with a bright red face before scooting off quickly to get the necessary supplies. Theo meanwhile sat back in the rickety chair completely uncaring for the mess around him and relaxed as he waited for her return. When she did come back, Aneisha kept casting curious glances over at the other man before gesturing her hands to Theo in conversation who gestured back with whatever free hand he had while she worked, smirking softly as he also glanced at Fletcher from the corner of his eye and nodded.

[Nightcrawler]

He bit back a retort. Not your dog, either. He'd warned Pretty Boy plenty, and now, in typical uppercrust fashion, the man was going to do what he was going to do, and damn the consequences of keeping a disobedient wolf. Aya seemed to understand that this was her place, now — much to Fletcher's chagrin. She watched Theo fetch her water. She whined at the cats, ears perked and eyes alert, but seemed to know better than to run up and sniff them. As the two of them departed, Fletch saw her circle a few times, dig at the horse blanket, and then flop down contentedly. Somehow, it made him even moodier. "Don't you have a stablehand to do these things?" he muttered, not caring whether Pretty Boy read it.

Finally, they headed back to the house...and past the main entrance. It took Fletch a moment to grasp where they were going. "This your escape hatch?" he asked as they approached the servant's entrance and stepped up into the scullery. But before Theo had a chance to answer, they were ambushed.

The girl seemed sweet. Genuine. It was clear by their familiarity that the two of them had a rapport. Fletcher found a spot in the corner and sat, still preoccupied by that sudden and jarring reminder of a thing that, like Aya, shadowed him wherever he went. He was so deep in thought that the cigarette was halfway out of his pocket before he remembered where he was, and back it went again. That little jolt of anxious guilt snapped him back to the present, though, and now he watched Pretty Boy and the girl as they waved their hands through the air. He squinted. What were they...?

It came to him suddenly: that silent language he'd seen used south of here. A few of the "words" were similar, in fact — though most weren't familiar at all. He had a sneaking suspicion that they were gossiping about him, and Pretty Boy's expression confirmed it. Still, it was hard to be particularly bothered about it, especially when the maid was already so nervous with him there. He leaned forward a little. "Could at least have the decency to talk shit out of earshot, you know," he chuckled.

[GoblinFae]

Aneisha squeaked as if slapped, shrinking down further beside Theo as she finished off his bandages before gently being waved off back to her work with a quiet thanks. "You understand?" he asked signing the words as he spoke. "Then you would know she is curious about you. She thinks you're a pirate." Amusement played across the nobleman's features as sunlight streaked through the cracks in the wooden window slats and warmed his face. He did not want to leave and go back to the reality that was upstairs.

"Have you eaten, Mr. Taw?"

[Nightcrawler]

It was Fletcher's turn to look embarrassed. Try as he might, he picked up on very little that Pretty Boy had just signed. Although...was one of the words...pirate? He frowned, perplexed. He supposed he had told Olivier as much. The man must have gossiped already. "Erm...it's been ages since I sailed, truthfully — oh. You mean the eye?" he asked the girl as he tapped the eyepatch. He flashed a disarming grin to soften how frightening he knew he must look. "Different story entirely. Though, maybe one for later. Little too gorey for kitchen talk."

Pretty Boy seemed to find it all funny. He was still such a puzzle. His mannerisms and looks and posture were a dead giveaway of status, but Fletch had only seen the weight lift with Aya and here in the kitchen. One thing was for certain, though: he did actually care for the staff. He was honest about that from the start, and now Fletcher could see it for himself in the warmth between him and the girl.

"Have you eaten, Mr. Taw?" he asked.

"No," Fletch replied. "Not since breakfast. I thought, erm...Olivier said your cook would go after me with a cleaver if I nicked anything between meals. Not that it'd be the first time I've run from a woman with a knife, but...that's a first impression I'd rather avoid if it's all the same."