Addicted To Adventure (Whim)

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"No."

"What!" whined Randal, giving his guardian his best attempt at puppydog eyes. "Come on, Taza, we have room for him on the couch, right?" he said. "You aren't really gonna make him live somewhere else, right?"

Taza rubbed the bridge of her nose, sighing. "Look... It's not that I don't want to help, I really do. It's just..." The woman lifted her hands to her chest, as if she were holding something they couldn't see. "I just don't think we physically have space for you."

This excuse was only partially true. Before Eckhart had left, he'd mentioned Ewan's supposed age- a fact that worried Taza. The slight possibility of the boy being a predator in disguise wasn't one she was willing to take at all, so there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell she was about to let him sleep in their apartment- at least not until she had a better sense of what Ewan's nature was.

Taza smiled gently, though her eyes were cold. "Why don't you ask Kauz? I'm sure he'd appreciate the company!"

[Whim]

The boy crossed his arms and emitted a long sigh at the prospect of meeting another of these strange criminals. A bath and a blanket was all he really wanted. A cupboard or out of the way corner would do fine. More than that was the look in Taza's eyes. Mostly Ewan was either babied or ordered about. He'd gotten used to that.

Then there were people who saw the putrid blood magic beneath the ginger boy's exterior. Big blue eyes and a button nose were unlikely to  change her mind. Ewan could see the unease in her eyes. After all there was enough floor space, and furniture, for him to stay a few days. "Fine. I'll go see this Kauz guy. I don't even mind a closet to stay in. But if I was really that scary, or horrible, I would've grown giant and thrown that dwarf into the sewer! Or made your shimmer lily sprout feet and stolen it! but I haven't done any of that.

"I-I just need a little help..." He narrowed an eye at Taza, crossed his arms in a huff. "Its not like I'm selling poison plants..."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"E-Ewan!" Randal whispered in a panic, shoulders going stiff. "You can't talk to adults that way! It's inappropriate!"

Taza sighed. Maybe she was being too harsh? It was a complicated feeling. "Ewan, calm down." she said, gaze softening a bit. "We're not going to make you sleep in a closet. You'll get a bed like everyone else here. Just... not in this room."

"What has he been through to make him consider sleeping a closet to be acceptable?" she thought worriedly. "That's not right."

Randal poked Ewan's shoulder. "Hey, hey, it's okay! Okay?" he said, he said hopefully. "Kauz isn't a bad guy at all! He, like, literally can't hurt you!"

[Whim]

Ewan bristled at Randal's scolding. Why should he need to stay with some dirty Connlaothian thug? It wasn't like he useless to have around. It was like they weren't even listening when he said he could make their noses not ugly and turn mice into dragons to ride and everything else! "But you've been awful kind and I shouldn't have gotten mad. Just tired is all. I'll stay where-ever you want, I don't want to make a fuss or nothing. I'll be the best little street-sweeper you ever had if it gets my wand replaced.

"But um, if you do got old clothes or hair dye it might be good. That slaver might be looking for me still," he smiled hopefully. They were kind of risking a lot keeping him around. Boys with fancy clothes and red hair weren't exactly growing on trees around here.

***

The dragon-man made a terrible keening noise as the soldiers frog-walked it forward. "Toad! This thing is pissin' me off. My boot on that little ass of yours if you don't work fast."

"Like someone isn't going to smack me anyway." Toad rolled his eyes, hopping down from a crate. The youth's eyes turned from purple to an inky black his his eyes met the Drakollis'. The creature wailed and whined as an alien presence wormed its way into its brain. "Easy. Easy. Just do what you do, beg for Fenshade, and watch that flower-boy. I'll be out of there soon!

"But you better wash those scales. Gosh, they feel gross. Ew!"

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Taza let out a bemused sigh. "...Right. Just tired." She smiled kindly. "You're fine. I'm not mad."

Randal relaxed his shoulders, relieved. "I bet I have clothes that would fit!" he exclaimed excitedly. The boy ran into the bedroom, and began to rummage through his drawers. "Wait there, okay?"

Taza watched him go, smiling. "He's never had a friend his age before." she told Ewan quietly. "You... had better live up to his expectations."

[Whim]

"Thanks!" Ewan watched Randal go and turned back to Taza with a hushed voice. The boy had suspicions but tried not to let it show. Randal had seemed oddly nervous before. Maybe he had a hard life? Maybe Taza had kept him on a tight leash so he wouldn't let secrets slip?  "He seems pretty fine. Zantaric ain't safe outside, or something?

"And I was pretty much the best Wyrdwood ever made. I surpass everyone's expectations! I've never ever lost a wizard duel. I've become immortal. I'll be Tiffany's best street-sweeper. And me and Randal will have lots of fun." He offered a cheeky grin, supremely confident.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Taza gave the boy a odd smile, a single eyebrow raised. "I'm sure!" she said enthuesiastically. "But you should still be careful. There's-"

"Here you go!"

Randal had returned, a bundle of clothes in his arms. He threw them onto the couch next to Taza, and began to rummage through them. "Okay, so, I've only been here a year and seven months now, so I don't have anything that will fit you exactly, but look!" He pulled a starch white robe out of the pile and held it up for Ewan to see. "It was my White Lily costume from Hildegarde's Midnight Harvest party last year, but I bet we could make it look all wizardy and stuff if we added sparkles to it!"

[Whim]

Ewan wasn't sure whether to fall over laughing or gently correct Randal's suggestion. He would stick out so easily in a white dress. Was it a joke? Weren't thieves and smugglers meant to be sneaky? And why did Randal choose to be some silly priestess from Connlaoth instead of a monster? But the little wizard had a plan. "Thanks so much! I guess I'll just take some underwear and a tunic too if that's okay for when I clean. But the robe is a great idea! We can, um, even do real sigils on it if you got aetherfern powder." Randal was so earnest Ewan couldn't possibly refuse. Though an afternoon spent smearing paste and gem dust onto a robe did was not what he needed right now. Just the same it might be possible to grub some spell reagents from Taza in the process. She was dancing around giving him stuff to rebuild his wand.

"-and just so you know I'm not that much smaller than you." Ewan rocked onto the balls of his feet to compare heights, wavering a palm between his and Randal's heads.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Randal- who was nearly half a foot taller than Ewan- gave an embarressed smile, ears flushing red. "Right, sorry!" he said sheepishly, pulling a small tunic and briefs out of the pile. "My eyes are, just, um, up high, I guess..."

The boy's eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh! There's a horseradish-y, like, three blocks away! We can get you a wizard hat too!"

Taza covered her mouth, giggling. "You mean a haberdashery?"

"Yeah! That!"

[Whim]

"Well, I guess you are a bit bigger." Ewan mumbled. Randal had conceded so easily when it was, well, weird. His little brother Careyn would fight you over whether or not fire was hot. It made him miss home a little bit. The little wizard had seen incredible things on the road. But he missed having a bed that was really his, eating roast lamb made for.him rather than his money, falling asleep in front of the fire with his sister and brother...

An impish grin split the boy's face at Randal's little mistake. "And we can get some horse-radish on the way to the hat-shop!

"But I guess I'd better get settled in. Um, do I get a key to the room or anything?" He took the bundle and glanced to the door. A ponderous look washed over him and he added, thinking he was sly. "Do ya got that aetherfern by the way?"

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"A key..."

Randal glanced at Taza, who gave him an uncomfortable smile. "Ah... we're gonna need to get a key from Kauz' himself." He'd walk towards the door, holding it open for his Friend. "Plants are gonna have to wait..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few minutes later, the two boys had returned to the first floor. Standing in front of Room 105, Randal gave Ewan an oddly serious look. "Okay." he whispered. "Don't make any sudden movements or noises, okay?" The young florist reached towards the door, then hesitated. After a moment, he knocked. "Kauz? It's Randal, can I come in?"

A few seconds passed silently, until finally the door opened a crack. A pair of lifeless blue eyes peered at them through the opening. "W-who is that?" came a small voice, eyes settling on Ewan. "I h-haven't seen h-him here before..."

[Whim]

Ewan gave Randal a panicked look, edging backwards. The sallow face and soft voice looked like they belonged to some degenerate necromancer or something worse. Were they really making him stay with whatever Kauz was? His mind wandered back to that look Taza had first given him. In some ways Ewan liked to think he was still dangerous. With the right spell it would be easy to turn into some big dragon and snort fire over Zantaric. Though if he was stuck as this small scrawny thing, and had to pick, he'd rather be seen adoringly than as some monster.

"Um, hi." A tiny hand was offered to shake. It was possible this pathetic looking man was harmless by that assessment. And he was Ewan ap Rhys and could fight or think or magic his way out of anything anyway. "I'm Ewan. Tiffany says I'm supposed to clean the streets. Taza said there's a spare room in here..." Blue eyes darted past Kauz to inspect the room.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Kauzlauric flinched at the boy's outstretched hand, inhaling sharply. Who was this person? His best Friend's name got him to relax slightly, but he remained tense. He slowly reached out his hand, fingers trembling. He was about an inch away when he hesitated. How did he know it wasn't a trap? There was a monster in the woods that turned into people, right? Kauzlauric swallowed, a bead of sweat rolling down the back of his neck. What if the boy had a power like Randal's, and need to touch him in order to...

"*ahem*"

Randal coughed, shooting the man an impatient look. Taking a deep breath, Kauz finally took Ewans hand, shaking it weakly. "My name is Kauzlauric... you can call me Kauz though, I guess..." he murmured. He opened his door fully, allowing the two boys to enter his brightly lit room. "T-Tiffany's okay with you then? I guess you could stay, if he is..."

[Whim]

"Well you would be stuck with me. Is it, um, okay? I won't make much trouble." Ewan forced a smile. Kauz was distasteful no matter which way he looked at it. Either he was a man with no say over who moved into his spare room, or acting shy so Ewan would let his guard down.

The boy tried to peer past Kauz and into what might be his new home. He could make out the shapes of very cruel-looking contraptions scattered about the room. Was this man some kind of deranged inventor? His eyes flickered to Randal, full of uncertainty.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"O-okay..." Kauzlauric murmured. "I-If Tiff can trust you, I suppose..."

"Come on Ewan!" Randal said in a cheery voice, secretly hoping his attitude would rub off on the older man. "There's nothing to worry about, Kauz is harm..." He trailed off as he stepped inside the room, ears flushed red. Calling Kauzlauric "harmless" would have been really rude, given the man's unfortunate circumstances. "Really nice!" he finished. "Kauz is really nice!"

The room was furnished with stiff looking chairs and tables, none of which appeared very comfortable. Horrific looking torture devices lined the walls, each more deadly than tbe last. All of them looked to be gathering dust, as if they'd never actually seen any use. "Um... make youself at home..." Kauz said quietly. "Did you, um, need extra pillows? G-Griselda might have some at her room if you did..."

[Whim]

The boy was in no position to argue. Whatever Kauz was, which was something between a very frightened young man or a complete lunatic, this was the safest place in Zantaric. He toddled after Kauz while Randal scurried off to fetch linens.

The purple-orange of a setting sun filtered through the shutters of his new bedroom. It was bare, but for a tiny cot and an old trunk. A mirror and wash basin had been brought in to make things liveable, and perhaps as a suggestion he'd needed a bath.

The sun had barely set when fell asleep, curled amidst layers of woolen blankets...

***

Ewan passed a mirror as Tiffany lead him outside. The boy looking back was hard to recognize. His wild red hair had been chopped off, and the ancient spells inked into his skin wiped clean. A master wizard should not be wearing a hand-me-down tunic and underpants from Randal.

But really, there was no one to be embarrassed in front of. If you thought about it like play-acting being a sweeper wasn't so bad. Ewan forced a smile, hefted his broom, and followed Tiffany out the door. The sun had barely risen, though Hildegarde wanted her neighborhood waking to clean streets.

"So I just, uh, sweet up this block is clean?" A few broken bottles. Some food scraps. Horse shit. It was gross but not that bad. Maybe an hour tops?

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"And how long ago was this?"

Eckhart squirmed uncomfortably in his seat, eying his sister nervously. She'd invited him over for "a quick chat", but it felt more like an interrogation than anything. "U-um..." he stammered, trying very hard to meet Hildegarde's gaze. "Maybe, uh, lare spring? Early summer?" The boy glanced at his feet. "Why? What's it matter?"

Hildegarde crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. "Because, Eckhart, you have a target on your back. Remember?" She blew a stray hair out of her eyes. "You don't think it's just a little strange that two weeks after you get here, another person who says they know you just shows up at our doorstep?"

Eckhart's nose wrinkled. "Well... I mean, I guess..." he mumbled. "But Bella knows him too! She can vouch for him, just ask!"

"Yeah right she will. Bella will throw him under the bus for being annoying, just wait."

His sister sighed, relaxing her shoulders. "Well, I guess I'll need to talk to Fluffopotomus then." She ran her fingers through her hair, frowning at the grim expression on her brothers face. "Look, you know I'm not giving you a hard time for the sake of it. I just need to be sure you're safe."

The boy's eyes closed as he took a deep breath. "Yeah. I know."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Yep!"

Tiffany beamed, his skin and hair sparkling as the sunlight washed over them. The pastel young man stuck out so much against the drab greys and browns of the city that it almost hurt to look at him. "We gotta get nice and clean so folks don't think we're messy. Then we gotta get the next block, and the one after that." He looked back at Ewan, smiling. "Then we gotta wash the windows, and start putting a fresh coat of paint on those fences over there!"

His eyes suddenly widened. "Oh! And if you see any bodies, let me know! We clean those up too."

[Whim]

"Where'd I miss a spot? Aw that? Really?" Sweeping dung and debris into the sewers wasn't hard work, but an exercise in patience. Tiffany's obsession with keeping the streets tidy down to the last apple-core was grating, but Ewan couldn't bring himself to complain or bristle. The young man was so enthusiastic about it all it seemed mean to take it away. That, and the little wizard had sworn he would be the best streetsweaper the friends ever had. For the sake of spiting Taza he was going to do it, and so he worked hard. "Okay, I've finished!" he glanced up at Tiffany, big blue eyes searching for approval as they rounded the final block.

"So I've been wondering. What do you do when you find a corpse? You actually touch it? You just- do you don't seem the type. Not for corpses and not for thieves' guilds and all that."

***

Darkhun's day wasn't really all that different from any other. Sometimes he got hit. Sometimes he did the hitting. Darkhun was big so he mostly did the hitting. The wretched dragon-man was supposed to beg at the flower-shop today. It was called the blue-orchid and sometimes he would beg for the lady and boy there to give him fenshade. That was until the big one with the little wings hit him a lot. Darkhun never went back since. Now he had to or the dwarf-man would hurt him! But he was just going to sit in an alley, yes? Sit and ask for coins like another day. And so he did.

The creature squatted in a little alley across from the sign with the blue flower, underneath the canopy of a closed corner-store. He wined and hissed at passersby, of course, or the boy would know! He just had to watch. Watch the boy with the black hair whose friend had the red hair. Human children were soft and stupid and ran about together always squawking and screaming. Where there was one there was many. (Oh how loud they screamed! It made him want cover his ears and shriek!)

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Randal had found an energetic one, that was for sure!

Tiffany beamed down at Ewan, scrubbing a dirty window with the palm of his hand. The dust and grime seemed to vanish as his hand moved over it- an oddly cathartic sight to watch. "Great!" he said happily. "With you here we got it all done before lunch, too! Normally it takes me until four!"

"And that's a silly question to ask!" Tiffany reached into his pocket, pulling out what looked like a small coin purse. "I just put them in here! Out of sight, out of mind!" His eyes narrowed slightly, though the rest of his expression remained unchanged. "Did you find a body, Ewan?"

[Whim]

There was something of an eager-to-please child in Ewan that made him blush with pride at the young man's complement. "No one dead. And don't be tricky! I mean about you, not dead bodies. You don't seem the type for all this!" He gave Tiffany the stink-eye. Just as quickly the boy's interest flickered to the little sack.

"Oh! A transdimensional bag!" he scampered forward to inspect it, grabbing at it to see for himself. "What do you do in there? Is it just full of graveworms or you just pile 'em up?"