Joseph had left the city. He was getting sick of the place, honestly. Laying on a beach and drinking himself stupid only seemed like a good idea for so long. So he'd hitched up his mare and left the place. His wagon was a comfortable little travel arrangement. It was gaily colored in oranges, teals, greens and reds, which gave the wheels a dizzyingly rainbow effect. Inside there was a wool bed adorned in thick, comfortable pillows of all shapes and colors. He'd stolen them from the houses of his lovers. It was a bit of a role call, really. He remembered every silk pillow stolen from a lord, every cotton or drab linen thing from poorer lovers. Fluffy affairs adorned in goldcloth, and harsher pillows woven from horsehair. The blankets were of the best quality. He had stolen a comforter from someone along the way that felt like a cloud, and it made the cozy little nook of the wagon feel like home.
He had a small iron stove fed with wood, that steamed smoke out of the top of the wagon. He could cook and bake on it, and his cast iron pans rattled with the uneven soil of the grasslands. Joseph didnt even bother to drive with a broad, wide open expanse like that. He was laying in bed, nestled in his little nest of pillows. Content and happy to listen to the little tinklings of his belongings.
Then it stopped. Abruptly. Joseph yanked himself upright, glaring. "What the fucking hell, did you just get lazy?" he demanded of the horse, though the animal couldn't hear him. He yanked open the wooden shutters just above his bed. Oh gods. He glared and got up, opening the door to his wagon. There were fifteen of them, all circling him on their horses. His large eyes narrowed. "Fucking savages."
"Look you lot, I've got nothing to fucking steal." Joseph barked at them irritably. "Fuck off!"
Natias was a restless soul, or so he liked to think. No matter where he ended up, he was already eventually ready to go after a week or so. Though he would always refer to his birth island as home, he hadn't really been there since... well, it'd been some time.
He was returning to a small piece of property he owned from a small port city. He'd escorted a couple who wanted to go... exploring... on the ocean. It seemed a silly idea to him, but he didn't want to dash young love's hopes and dreams. The world would do that in time.
So there he was. In the warm afternoon, atop his lightly armored horse Tial, on his way to what he could call a second home. He'd dressed simply for the journey in the more constricting style of breeches and a loose weave top beneath oiled leather armor. His sword was strapped to his horse and his bow hung lazily off his shoulder. Really, Natias wasn't expecting any manner of trouble and, should it appear, he fully expected to hear it long before. His long, slender ears remained perked forward, listening to the play of the wind over the sea of grass, the animals calling, and... someone cursing up a storm.
He tugged back on the reigns and scouted the area. He'd been so content to just trot through the afternoon he hadn't really been
looking...
Pinpointing the direction of the sound, he adjusted his bow to a hand and provoked Tial in the direction he believed it should be. The trained horse easily responded and, within short order, the cause of the fuss immediately became apparent. Bandits, it seemed, around a lone wagon. Even at a far distance, and moving on a horse, Natias was a sure shot. He'd lived with a bow in his hands for his entire life.
He fired five arrows before he had to draw his sword on the approach.
Horse
Saving this here for ref for Tial (https://www.deviantart.com/benwootten/art/War-Horse-124919243), will add to his profile when I'm at my desktop and can crop appropriately.
"You've got a lockbox in there somewhere." One of the bandits accused. Joseph looked at him.
"You're tipping over a wagon for a tiny box of coins? Really? I think your horses eat more in coin than I've got. They'll have munched away your profits by dinnertime." he sneered.
"Mouthy little shit aren't you." Another growled back.
The only thing that saved the second bandit from an arrow thunking into his back was getting beaned in the face by a cast iron frying pan. The man tumbled to the ground, unconscious, and his horse whickered and fussed. Joseph had another, smaller implement in his hand, ready to hit the next man who thought it was funny to call him little. At first Joseph thought he'd made a critical error in judgement. He stared at the arrow shivering in the doorframe and thought the bandits might have some longer-range support.
By the confused looks on their faces, they definitely hadn't thought that far. "Friends of yours?" Joseph growled, advancing on his steps with the frypan. They didn't get to answer. Two more arrows took out a pair of the bandits, and another sunk deep into the foreleg of a horse. The animal tipped its rider and stumbled away, howling in pain. Joseph scrabbled for the reins of his own horse. No way the damn mare was losing her shit on him now.
He made a grab for the reins, missed, and his horse lurched forward. She'd clearly had enough of this nonsense. Joseph slammed back into his house as she built up speed, running over one of the bandits with a loud bump. Joseph's door slammed into his face from the wind, and he growled furiously.
Natias didn't want to kill people if he didn't have to, but he would. His horse wasn't shy about combat and certainly wasn't shy about running at other horses. Tial side swiped one of the bandits, which allowed Natias to slam the hilt of his sword into the man's shoulder and shove him off.
The horse took off and... so did the wagon. Natias' ears flicked back as he encouraged Tial after it. There were a couple bandits who hadn't given up the chase just yet. Natias swapped his sword for his bow and put a couple more discouraging arrows in the bandits, and their horses, to eventually steer them off the chase.
Now... Well, now it was just the matter of the wagon. Tial was able to keep pace and Natias let it run a ways. Better to put some distance between it and the remaining bandits. Hopefully they'd think twice before wishing to engage again. But... Natias also wasn't about to jump on a run away horse attached to a wagon. So he decided escorting was better than nothing. Luckily there was plains aplenty and the wagon wasn't in any danger of crashing into anything. The horse would, eventually, tire.
Joseph was, in a word, furious. He lunged up on his feet and fell to his knees with a loud cry of pain. His leg was speaking up, and it had quite a lot to say about being tumbled off his feet and then slammed onto rumbling planks. It made Joseph see red. Tears prickled at the corners of his eyes and he scrambled up, using the stove for purchase. He shouldered the door open and clambered over the driver's seat. His teeth were clenched so hard he was faintly afraid he'd chip one.
This time when he made a lunge for the reins, he grabbed them. He yanked backwards so hard he felt the horse stumble and scramble to get her footing. The yank on the bit was probably hurting her mouth, but it served her fucking right for what she'd done. Joseph kept the pressure even so she couldn't whip her head to one side and slam herself on her side. She fought the reins, crow-hopping until her chin was almost touching her chest.
Slowly, fitfully, Joseph stopped her. He was blind with rage and agony. He smeared tears onto his hand, rubbing them away angrily so he could see. He let go of the reins, stepped down off of the wagon, marched up to the horse, and socked her right in the nose. She squealed and side-stepped, and Joseph punched her again. "If you fucking do that again I will slit your throat right now and take my chances with the fucking bandits, you panicky glue-pot!" Joseph roared in her ear. The horse stood there, shivering, shaking off the strikes.
"Fucking..." he sat down sharply on his steps and ripped his brace off, flinging it irritably into the dirt. He rubbed his spasming muscles, groaning in pain.
Tial slowed as the wagon did, but with considerably less fuss. The trained combat horse took a couple of steps and then side stepped farther away from the wagon when an angry man rushed out. Now, Natias had seen a lot of reactions to a bandit attack. Tears, wailing, certainly anger, but he'd never seen anyone just out and out punch their horse.
That... Well, that was a first. He wasn't sure if he should be concerned for the horse or the driver... or both?
His ears lowered at he volume of the stranger's voice. It didn't really matter how long Natias might be around others, he always thought they talked too loud.
It was only after the horse was stationary and the wagon driver had sat down that he slid off his own. He approached with slow, cautionary steps before asking, voice soft but only because that's just how Haevar spoke, "Are you alright?" Idly, one ear pricked up to see if he could hear anyone else approaching. He could still fight well on the ground if they thought to give chase but he didn't think they would. Most tended not to when a real fight was present.
Joseph ducked his head to his chest, his fingers working to try and get the muscles to relax. They were writhing violently under his skin, bucking against malformed bones and half-dead nerves that were making his leg fire off. He grunted, pushing his hands tightly down his calf to get his muscles relaxed. He sighed deeply as he regained control, tears streaming down his cheeks. It made the question that floated to his ears seem utterly idiotic. He looked up at the stranger, ready to tear him apart, but it had also occurred to him that this was the one who had fired the arrows. Especially since the ones in the quiver looked exactly like the ones pincushioning his doorway.
He wiped his eyes angrily and hopped down off the wagon on one foot, reaching down for his brace. "Do I look alright?" he asked sourly. "That horse is lucky I threw my good frying pan or she might be in it." Despite his anger he pushed his foot back into the brace gingerly. It cupped around his ankle and had iron supports to either side of his calf, with a longer tongue behind it. He strapped himself in, looking at the...rabbit? What in hell?
"So what the fuck are you then?"
Natias could tell something was wrong, but it didn't look like something recent. More to the point, he was definitely not a healer so unless it was something that could be rudimentarily stitched... then the poor man was out of luck. At least when it came to Natias being able to help.
He stood by patiently while the other sorted out what was going on with his leg. An old injury, most like.
The Haevar stood easily, weight mostly on one leg, though his ears fell back once more when the man addressed him. Tone and sound were not exactly welcoming, but he could understand. He had just been attacked. Everyone responded different and he had punched his horse. "Just asking if there was anything I could do," he clarified softly before smiling just a little. About the only thing that set Natius truly apart from humans were his clawed feet and ears – which frequently had him compared to a rabbit – but that was fine.
It was what people noticed right away. Hard to... not, given how long they were. Since his own people were rare... He shrugged a shoulder and answered with the simplest answer, "Not from around here. Telling you the name wouldn't really mean anything, would it?" Then, because he didn't want to sound like he was being dismissive, he added, "My name is Natias."
Tial stood near by and idly grazed. Since it seemed everything was all well, the horse had calmed considerably and was now just grabbing a bite to eat.
Joseph looked up at the other. Well, he was right. The rabbit telling him his race wouldn't ring any bells for Joseph. He sighed and put his arms over his chest. "There's nothing you can do for something I was born with. If that stupid glue-pot hadn't taken off like that it wouldn't hurt so fucking badly." he said venomously, with a hateful look toward the mare. She was uneasily grazing alongside the war horse, though wisely giving him his space.
"Joseph." Joseph grunted finally. "My name's Joseph. I would have had that under control, by the way. You didn't need to come and save me. I'm not helpless." He did need to think about his safety, however. If he was going to continue to travel the grasslands, apparently his mouth wasn't his strong suit. Unless the bandits wanted to form a line to get sucked off. He tapped a finger on his arm. "You wouldn't be available for hire, would you?" he asked. "Cash or ass, it's what I've got. And don't worry if you're not into men. I've got ways around that."
Natias had no idea what to do with the angry little human, but it was both amusing and a little concerning. It wasn't that the haevar didn't think he could take care of himself so much as he was a little worried about... well, everyone else he might come into contact with.
To hear that this person – Joseph – would've had fifteen bandits under control though seemed a boast. Not that Natias was going to call him out on it. He just wasn't that sort. He did smile just a little when Joseph said as much and shrugged a shoulder. Fine, fine.
Before he could even answer that he'd happily trail the wagon and the driver, the man's offer made him snort a laugh. "You are probably the oddest person I've met in such a long time," he said instead. Natias shook his head and perked his ears up. After a moment of studying him, he turned on one foot and made his way over to his horse. "At this rate, I should probably just go with you to keep others safe from that mouth of yours. I don't even know what 'ways around that' even means."
When Natias approached his horse, Tial lifted his head and shifted closer so he could mount up. Settled on the large animal, Natias asked, "Do you need any more help before we continue on or... do you wanna shout across the grasslands some more?" It probably wasn't the best idea to provoke someone who was already so loud, but it was also really hard not to.
Joseph smirked. He thought Natias would never ask. He stood up, and began to change. His features softened, lengthening a bit and becoming a little more elegant. His sharp cheekbones lost just a little bit of their edge, and his large brown eyes were framed by long, dark eyelashes. His ears furled and lengthened, becoming long, cream colored and cunicular. While he wasn't too informed on Natias' race, he was doing a fairly good imitation physically. He grinned and leaned on Natias' saddle, looking up at him and flicking one of his rabbit ears. "What do you think I meant by 'get around it'?" he purred. "I can be anything. Male. Female." his frame shifted slightly. His bone structure became finer still, breasts burgeoned under his shirt and his hips grew wider. "Or perhaps something in between?"
He patted Natias' leg and turned to go back to his wagon, slowly shedding the rabbit form. So that was what Natias meant by shouting. He spoke in a slightly softer voice this time. "So. We got a deal?" he asked. "Tie the horse to the back, and come in for a cup of tea. Least I can do."
Well. This... guy?... was going to never cease to be surprising. Natias stared down at him, expression blank with surprise while his ears remained upright and forward. He... didn't know what he was looking at now. He knew it wasn't one of his own, and the skin tone was still a bit off, but even so...
Natias' ears went back as the shock wore off and he watched the variations in Joseph. He really didn't know how to really process what he'd seen, but... being pleasant and calm were pretty much his default reaction to most things when he didn't know otherwise.
"Ah. Yeah. Sure. Tea." That was certainly a normal response to everything that had happened today. Natias did a quick scan of the surrounding plains, just in case, before he slid off of Tial. Didn't look like they were going anywhere so... He left the reigns draped over the saddle. No need to tie down the 'war' horse. He wouldn't go anywhere. "I don't mind helping out..." Was Natias' vague confirmation to whatever deal they were making.
Because he didn't know what to say otherwise. Maybe Joseph had been a little better off than he'd thought. Without thinking how the question might be taken, he asked, "What else can you change?"
Natias was a little off-kilter from Joseph's transformation, exactly how the other man liked to do business. Suddenly shifting gender and race at the drop of a hat tended to do that to most people. He lit the stove with a match and threw open most of the tiny windows, offering his bed as the only seat. After all, he could just rearrange his pillow collection to lean against the back of the wagon and he had a nice little windowseat instead of a bed. Joseph filled the kettle from a small water barrel in the corner of the kitchenette, and set it on the flames to warm up. Oh, then that question. Asked so many times, always in that semi-hesitant way.
"I can be whatever you want. I can change everything but the leg, and certain features. Big eyes, high cheekbones, you're stuck with those. My height I can only modify so much before the brace doesn't fit anymore. Anything else is fair game. Sex. Race. I can even be an animal if youre into that. No kids though. I got the height but it makes me feel fucking awful." Joseph shrugged. "Other than that, there are no lines. You make of this deal what you ask of me. You protect me, I pay you."
Natias climbed up into the wagon, more fascinated the longer he thought about someone who could just change things about themselves. Not that he would if he could, but it was still a neat ability. His ears lowered some and he settled on the only available place to sit. When Joseph explained the extent of it all, Natias could then understand the limitation. An animal might work for fighting, though.
His mind was in the realm of practical application right up until Joseph mentioned paying him again.
Only then did the haevar make the connection that Joseph was talking about paying him in quite literally whatever form he wanted. Natias' already tanned skin darkened some and a half smile crossed his face. "Oh. Ah. I... You don't have to..." Natias had been offered a lot in his time, and this wasn't the first someone had suggested sex as payment, but it was the first time someone had said they could be a lot of different things for said payment.
Natias wasn't a prude and certainly didn't think of himself as one, but he didn't want to take advantage of someone down and out either. He wasn't that sort of person.
Joseph prepared the little linen bags of tea, putting them in mugs and shrugging. He'd used his body to fight before. His favored forms were the panther and the dog; he felt special kinship to both of them. To be honest he preferred being on four legs. On two legs, one bad leg might as well have been a death sentence. Four legs? He still had three good ones. He could even run, to a certain extent. He looked back at Natias as recognition dawned on the man's face. "Oh for fuck's sake. Some men use coin. I use my body. You're not picking on the homeless here. I was being truthful when I told those bandits I had no coin. This..." he gestured up and down to himself. "...is about what I have as far as a trade. And I'm good at it."
Joseph poured hot water into the mugs and offered one to Natias, then went up front to click to the mare and get her moving again. "You're not taking advantage of shit. I'm offering a service most men go into hock to pay for." he said. He sat down next to Natias on the bed. "So where were you going that you just happened by me, eh?"
Natias smiled a little when he was given the mug and held it, letting it steep and cool just a little before he'd take a sip. He had the grace to look chagrined when Joseph ranted at him, smiling a little despite himself, before shaking his head. "I don't mean to come across as judgmental or anything. I just didn't want you to think you owed me anything for helping you. It's what any decent person would've... or should've... done." Which he most certainly meant.
He leaned back some, swaying a little as the wagon started to move. Naturally, Tial lazily followed. His companion was in the wagon so the horse would naturally follow.
Faintly playful, Natias replied, "I think it's the idea that most want to think they don't have to pay for it... But." He shrugged once more and watched Joseph a moment, sipping the tea. It was since to have something to drink other than water. "Is this how you prefer to look?"
"This is how I was born. There's a thing about shapeshifters; we don't like the idea of losing ourselves. Bouncing back and forth from form to form until we can't remember what we looked like anymore. Not exactly how I want to end up." Joseph pointed out. "And there are limitations. Don't you think my height and my leg were the first things I tried to change when I discovered my magic? Nope, doesn't work that way. You're born with a busted leg, you stay with a busted leg. No amount of magic changes that."
He took a sip of his tea and removed the bag, setting it on a plate. He could wash the little linen bags and use them later. He looked over at Natias. "Besides Id like to think that if my bodyguard is that good with a bow and sword, I'd like to keep him happy, right?" he pointed out. "It's convenient. If it helps you relax any more Ill pay you in coin when I get any. But most guys would think that having a shapeshifter around to cater to your every fantasy wouldn't be a bad thing."
Joseph took a big sip of his tea. "I want to hire you, not have you follow me around out of pity."
Natias pulled the tea bag out of his own, after it had steeped a little longer that was probably preferable to some. He liked bitter tea. He considered while looking at the colored water. "Well, seeing as how you're... either the first I've met, or the first to admit they're such, this is all news to me." He glanced at Joseph while taking a sip of his tea.
He did laugh some. "I suppose if you thought there was something wrong with your height..." Natius shrugged a shoulder. "Fine, fine. But my condition being that you don't change anything about yourself. Seems fake. Fantasy aside, which isn't much of my thing, if that's how you want to pay me then there's no need to go through all that. Frankly, I'm not sure what to do with a shapeshifter." He chuckled more so and finished the rest of his tea. "I also don't want you to do anything you don't want to. I am not that sort of person."
Natias understood not wanting to take hand outs and not wanting people to do anything out of pity. He wasn't, but that didn't change the other man's perception of it. If that's how he wanted to pay, and felt no way about doing it... well. He was already out and about. Natias wasn't in any rush to go anywhere and it wouldn't put him out to travel more so. "I don't have anywhere to be and I'm not in any rush, so that's fine." He stretched out his legs and flexed the claws at the end of his feet. He had been wanting a new adventure, now that the last one was done. This counted, he supposed.
"Where are we headed? And what is it you do when you're not being harassed by bandits?"
"Probably the first to admit it. I'm beyond shame." Joseph said with a stretch. He sipped his tea contentedly. This was the way to travel. Not bouncing around on some horse. Laying in a small pile of cushions drinking tea and watching the world go by. He smirked at Natias. "Changing nothing? Really? I didn't think you were in to gimps without any body fat and high cheekbones, but whatever floats your boat. People usually liken me to a skeleton or something. Don't feel like you have to ask for the original on my account. It's sweet of you to think so." he made himself a little more comfortable. "I also do assassination work. Looking exactly like the maid can get you into more places than you'd think. A little petty robbery here and there. I'm not too oriented with this damn plain. I have no idea where the next target is."
He turned to Natias and smirked at him. "Any promising rich lords you've served over the last few years you want revenge on? OR know of anyone with too much gold in his pockets?" he asked.
Natias leaned forward to place his empty cup next to the small plate with the tea bags on it. He shook his head a little, which made his ears sway. "You're not unattractive," he clarified, "And a physical handicap doesn't detract from that either. I tend to like people for who they are, not any one physical thing about them." He leaned back on a hand, chuckling a little. "Though seeing another with ears like mine for a moment did shock me. It's been a couple of months, almost a year, since I've seen another haevar. I get homesick, on occasion."
He glanced out the back of the wagon and continued to sway with the motions of it. Smooth and easy. Nothing too bad. Not quite like his horse, which he preferred if he were traveling. Getting to see everything around was always better than not. "Most larger towns have a target or two you could hit up," he said, before chuckling. "But I'm not going to point you in the direction of someone in specific to either kill or rob from. That's your work. I usually protect people. Though I won't begrudge you what you do." After a breath, he added with a small laugh. "You, Joseph, are an odd one."
He tilted his head while he considered a moment. "Nearest town is Lital. Trade town. Big on smiths, markets, and food. Nice homes too. Wouldn't be a bad place to stop, should you want."
"Mmhm." Joseph said disbelievingly. He didn't think for a moment he was attractive in his natural form. So many people seemed so eager for him to change for them. He couldn't actually remember the last time someone had hit on him without Joseph changing at least a little bit to suit them. It was always...something. Well, whatever. If this rabbit wanted to puff him up that wasn't any of his business. He really hoped the other would ask for something else. Another haevar, or something. Joseph made an attractive rabbit if he did say so.
"Lital. Merchants always make for good pickings. Their wives don't fuck them nearly enough and they always have stashes of coin hidden away. Good thinking. Mind steering us in that direction? Since you know where it is and all. You don't have to participate. All I'm asking is that you protect me, not those other poor bastards." Joseph said. "Besides I only steal from the nasty fuckers. The ones who ask that I transform into their daughter or something, or want to hurt an animal for a few hours."
Natias quirked a brow at Joseph's description of merchants. The haevar obviously didn't see them quite the same way, but he didn't particularly mind either. Live and let live, as they say. He wasn't about to tell someone else how to do what they do or figure out how to make a living. He'd certainly escorted all manner of people across the continent before so...
All he had to say, with a small smile was, "Try not to get us in too much trouble. I'm good with a sword and a great shot, but I'm still only one man." At that, he brushed a hand along Joseph's side before excusing himself. "I'll get us turned in the right direction and steer us through until evening. We'll park somewhere once the sun starts to set. It's a bit harder to tell where we're going, and if we're on track, at night." Before he could bounce out of the wagon, he glanced over his shoulder. "If that works for you." It didn't occur to Natias that Joseph would want company along for the ride – it was his wagon, after all.
Joseph knew his descriptions of merchants would quirk an eyebrow. It always did. But having a shapeshifter around seemed to bring out the darkest in people. A merchant might pick a prostitute that looked something similiar to a niece or the like...but the idea of having her without having her with Joseph were the type of dark thoughts he encouraged. Joseph didn't just offer sex. It was sex without shame. Fuck your brother, a goat, your dream man or a nightmare from the beyond, all without actually doing so. It was why he charged so damn much, depending on what someone wanted.
He got up and nodded to Natias. "Just grab the reins up front and steer her where you want her to go." he directed. "I'll sit next to you so you don't do something insane and get her caught up in her own traces or something...and if you want to sleep in a bed tonight, you're welcome to mine. You've got to take your payment sometime, right?" Honestly, Joseph liked company even if he was hostile.
Natias chuckled a little at the instruction, but mostly at the offer at the end. He was still getting a feel for Joseph. The shapeshifter had an extremely jaded view of the world that the haevar found both curious and oddly endearing. Not because he agreed with it, but because it was so different from his own. It wasn't like Natias thought the world was full of great people and there weren't darknesses in their hearts. Obviously Joseph had been exposed to some crazy shit, which honestly, just made Natias all the more curious... and determined not to contribute to it.
The haevar nodded a little, pressing his ears flat as he bounced out of the wagon and moved to the front of it. He didn't take the driver's seat though and simply moved to where the horse was leading. It took him a moment to orientate himself, based on where the sun was and the direction they were presently facing, before he got her steered in the right direction. He walked with her for a little, stretching his legs and enjoying the feel of the dirt beneath his feet and claws.
It wasn't home, but it was still nice.
Evening would fall soon and, with not much beyond grasslands and rolling hills around, he'd need to do a quick circuit just to make sure the bandits hadn't thought to come back in the night and bother them. That could wait though. When both the wagon and his own horse hit a steady rhythm, he finally climbed up into the seat to relax. He could've rode Tial, but it had seemed rude when it felt like Joseph was making an... effort?.. to be nice. Besides, it was easier to talk to him when they were close.
"It's been almost three weeks since I've actually slept in a bed," he idly remarked as he settled in the seat, glancing at Joseph. "Traveling around with one is quite a luxury. Where'd you end up getting... all of this?" He gestured vaguely to the wagon behind him.
Joseph was happy to busy himself while Natias was guiding them. The sun was setting, and Joseph lit a candle to read a little bit of a book by. With night came shadows, long and lean and stretching over the grasslands. Joseph soon gave up the effort to read, tucking the book under the seat cushion and extinguishing the candle. He looked over at the haevar when he asked about the wagon. Joseph smirked and looked down. "Not the best story but I suppose I could tell it." he said, settling back against the seat. "I was thirteen. Still discovering my powers. Promised a little too much to a travelling merchant and he tried to take a little too much. He had ideas to make me some sort of child bride. You can't get bored when you're a twisted fuck and you enslave a kid who can technically refuse to age. I killed him, made it look like he tangled with wild dogs. The rest is history. Gave me a line of work and a place to work it in. I prefer not to shit where I eat if at all possible; bed's clean." he smirked at Natias.
"Also acquainted me with a few friends I liberated from his stovepipe." Joseph smirked and stood up in the driver's seat, grabbing ahold of one of the painted railings that supported the awning of the handsome little wagon. "Ari! Oav!" he called.
What came running alongside the wagon was odd. Two small blackened figures, holding hands like children. They looked like children, but then again they didn't. Their skin was black as pitch, though their skulls had a strange cracked quality to them, out of which soft blue light emitted. The same light shone in pinpricks out of their eye sockets, and gave them obscenely wide smiles decorated with light. They looked at Natias, giving raspy little giggles and going to bother the war horse.
"Just spirits. Fucking rude spirits." Joseph called pointedly at the pair attempting to mount the warhorse, snickering. They sounded like jackals, if jackals were submerged underwater and down a marble hallway.
Tial was having none of whatever they were and moved away from them. The war horse might be a steady animal, but spirits and unnatural things were still unsettling to most animals. It wasn't so much that he was spooked, just that he didn't want them near and he was aggressive and assertive in making that very clear.
Natias tilted his head a little as Joseph explained the origins of the wagon, then made an unhappy sound when the two went to pester his horse. "Call them off, would ya? I would prefer not to lose my horse to the grasslands." It was said with some amusement as he looked at the interesting little things. The day was just getting weirder and weirder.
Eventually, whether they went away or not, Natias was going to stop them for the night. Without the sun to see or guide by, he wasn't going to have them wandering around in the dark. He also had an obligation to his horse to take off the barding, brush him down, and give him some oats for the trouble of the day.
The least he could do.
When it was all said and done, he returned to the wagon. Off handed, he remarked, "You don't seem to attract the nicest of people in the world, do you?" He didn't mean it flippant but it really did seem that Joseph just... ran into some of the worst that society had to offer.
"Get the fuck away from the damn horse! It's not half as funny as you two will look when I shove one head up another's asshole!" Joseph shouted at the spirits. They giggled, but let Tial alone. With a few fits and starts, puffs of brightened fog, they vanished. It was like watching a dying engine sputter out, until the pair were gone. "They're still here. Just probaby on the roof." Joseph muttered. He watched Natias stop the wagon and tended to his own mare. He staked her out, letting her graze on grasses as much as she wanted. He seemed to care more about the tack; he oiled it. Without the tack he was dead in the water. The horse, he theorized, could take care of herself and they seemed content to ignore one another.
Joseph looked up when Natias came back to him. "You including yourself in that estimation?" he asked. "Shit happens. You can let it flatten you or you can let it roll down your back. I don't let anyone fucking control how I feel." He set aside the tack and moved to take off his brace. It needed oiling as well to keep the padding intact and the metal in good condition. "I've got some dinner, if you want it." He offered when he finished and replaced it on his leg.
He'd made bread, fried in butter and topped with chopped vegetables and sausage. There were large chunks of onion and tomato, sprinkled heavily with parsley and smashed garlic, topped with a generous amount of roasted sausage. Joseph offered Natias the plate, and settled down with his own. He ate like a heathen, horking down his meal without anything but the idea of getting it down his gullet as quickly as possible.
Tial lingered close but seemed largely at peace now. Idly eating but occasionally looking around in the dark, listening as well. Alert, but only in waves.
Natias snorted a laugh when Joseph asked if he included himself. Touche. He obviously didn't, because Natias thought quite highly of himself, but it felt stupid to say that out loud. So he didn't. Instead, he settled on swath of grass and accepted the food graciously. He had his own rations and things he'd foraged along the way, but he wasn't going to turn down anything that had been made for him. While he wasn't the biggest fan of meat, he didn't complain and ate it without a word.
The rest of it was great.
Occasionally one of his ears would twist to a sound, but they remained largely upright and forward. Listening to the only other person around him. "I hadn't meant it as an insult, more as an observation. Not often I come across someone who has... had so many experiences and is so open about all of it."
Natias leaned back on one of his hands to peer up at the sky, scattered with stars and clouds. "Not that I suppose you have a reason not to be," he remarked. It was just refreshing to talk to someone that just... laid it all out there. Joseph definitely wasn't going to be lying to him about anything. He'd already upfront admitted he was an assassin and thief. Most would play that close to the chest, at least.
But no. Natias suspected there wasn't much that Joseph did play close, and what he did... Well, the haevar couldn't begin to even imagine what that would be.
"You tell the truth and most people don't believe you. After all what moron would just put that out there? I tell people what I am, and who I am, and they can take it or leave it. Besides even with most people on their guard...I can still steal them blind." Joseph smirked. "Don't get nervous. You're in my employ. But to people I hate...I like making them lay awake at night thinking every mouse and every moth might be me waiting to put a knife in their spines."
He licked his fingers and took Natias' plate, going in to rub them off with a cloth. He'd wash them properly when they reached a water source, but wiping everything off but the grease kept rotten food from piling up on the plates. It wasn't the cleanest solution but it kept him from getting sick. "Being open about it gets me clientele. I've got a hundred names in a dozen cities. People fucking flock to mystery like that." Joseph pointed out as he came back out with a bottle of liquor and sat down next to Natias. "Why the fuck are we sitting on the ground when I've got a perfectly good bed?"
He poured a ceramic mug half-full of whiskey and offered it to Natias, preferring to drink from the bottle himself.
Natias watched Joseph when he answered. Not because he thought the shapeshifter might lie. That certainly wasn't going to be the case. Mostly because he was idly fascinated with someone that was so very crass and abrasive and perfectly content with their lot in life.
He'd certainly never met anyone like Joseph and he highly suspected he wouldn't in awhile. Granted, it wasn't every day one stumbled onto a shapeshifter.
The haevar thanked Joseph when he took the plate and shifted to leaning back on two hands. His ears drooped back some and he relaxed. The breeze, the chirp of insects in the warmth and the occasional play of night birds. This was the reason Natias couldn't really stay in a town for very long. He got restless and liked being outside.
Came from being raised in an open island environment, he supposed.
His ears perked back up when Joseph returned and he quirked a brow at the drink but didn't refuse it. "I like being outside. On the ground." As if to emphasize, he flexed his clawed feet while stretching out his legs. "You don't?' With a small, playful smile Natias took a sip. He didn't want to get too light in the head or impaired. If he was supposed to be some sort of escort or guard, it'd be poor form to be a drunk one. Idly, he asked, "What's been your favorite thing to turn into? Besides your base form, I suppose."
"Fuck no." Joseph snorted and stretched out his leg. "It makes my fucking leg hurt. I can't sit like this. There's a reason I pilfer pillows from fucking everyone." He smirked to show Natias he wasn't that put out. "Show me how you rabbits fuck tonight and Ill forgive you. As for the form...I make one hell of a cat." Joseph settled the bottle down and stood up. He did so in an odd, lurching way like he was planning to fall onto his hands. Instead, he changed. His limbs lengthened and coated with black fur. His head distorted into a much more elegant, feline shape and a long tail sprouted. True to form, the foot that he delicately picked out of the very-human-sized brace was twisted. However, he seemed to get along just fine on three.
Joseph curled his tail up and flicked his ears, giving Natias a look. It was full of self-confidence and arrogance. He knew he was beautiful in this form. The panther suited him like a glove. He butted his head against Natias, flicking his tail. He settled onto the ground, luminous yellow eyes half-lidded in pleasure. He got up and shifted back, smirking as he held onto Natias' shoulder and stood crane-legged without his brace.
"Or I've had a lot of people ask for.." he shifted again. This time into a large, black german shepherd. The form seemed to suit him as well, though there was more pressure on his foot than with the cat. He stepped ever so awkwardly with it, preferring to slowly amble.
Natias actually laughed when Joseph responded with the swearing about the ground. Right. The leg. He'd actually forgotten, as stupid as that was. "Right, right. Sort of makes me an ass." He didn't move, even sipping some of his drink, while he let Joseph show him.
A cat, though? Watching the actual shift was disturbing as fuck. Seeing someone meld into something else was... Well. That was weird. Once he was actually a cat, though, Joseph was correct. He made for a beautiful, sleek black cat. Natias sat more upright so he could run his hand along the smooth fur. It should've felt odd, stroking someone in such a way, but it... well, Joseph looked like a damn cat.
Until he didn't.
The transition made Natias crinkle his nose and smile just a little.
The large dog was equally as authentic, and lovely, as the cat. Natias resisted petting him this time before chuckling. "You make for a good animal. There's probably a reason for that." At that, Natias did stand up but he didn't move away. In case Joseph wanted to use him to stand for a moment again. Though he did feel the need to add, "What makes you think I fuck differently than other people?" At that, he did grin. "Of the two of us, I think you're the winner in the 'weird sex' category."
Joseph shifted again. This time back into a haevar. It was...significantly more refined this time. He'd gotten to study Natias and when he transformed, it was beautiful. Joseph's ears were long and bell shaped, tucked neatly against his back. His slender form already lent itself well to the rabbit, and he leaned on Natias for support. He looked at him with large, brown eyes and smirked. "Oh really? Want to back up your claims?" he said playfully, tapping Natias' nose with a clawed finger. He picked up his brace from the ground and gestured to his wagon. "Come on. I can't get this thing on like this." he snickered. "Cute though...I like the ears and what it does for my legs."
Joseph flicked his ears up, tilting them back and forth before letting them fall behind his back again. He leaned in and kissed Natias' cheek. "Come on. I can't think of you sleeping on the ground." he purred.
Natias still couldn't get over how odd it was to watch him change. He was expecting Joseph to shift back into, well, what he looked like every day, but he didn't. There was a small part of Natias' chest that constricted seeing something so familiar but not. He knew that Joseph wasn't one of his own but it was still... Natias might be a wanderer, but he hadn't left because he'd hated it there. The island had always felt too small when he knew the world was so big.
He made a face at Joseph and reflexively, but gently, ran a hand down one ear. "You're cheating," he murmured.
While Natias didn't mind the ground at all, he wouldn't begrudge a bed either. He wasn't much of a wagon driver and while the idea of having one around for some brief luxury sounded good, Natias also knew that taking care of one would eventually drive him mad.
That and Tial would be wasted pulling one. The war horse would likely rebel.
He walked Joseph the couple of steps back to the wagon and helped him up into it, following him in. It should've felt odd, sleeping with someone after having met them that day, but it didn't. Joseph was quick to lay out exactly who he was and apologize for none of it and Natias wasn't the sort to worry about such things. If they were going to fight, it would've happened already, and he hadn't done anything in his life that someone would have sent Joseph to kill him over.
At least, not that he could think of. And this would be an odd way of murdering him. Or a fun way. Whatever.
Joseph took advantage of the support to put his brace back on when he got inside of the wagon. There were clever little handholds here and there, clearly added after he'd obtained the wagon, that allowed him a firm grip while he replaced the brace on his foot. He flopped unceremoniously on the bed, grunting in irritation when he laid on his ears and had to take a few seconds to get them out from underneath him. He wasn't sticking to Natias' stipulation that he had to be himself...he was hoping the other wouldn't call him on it. Being what he was allowed him to escape a very deep hole of self-hatred. He didn't think he'd ever fucked or made love in his original form. It was always some change.
He pulled his shirt over his head (minding the ears), and slid his pants down over his hips. His underclothes were clearly made for women; they were nice, black lacy things that revealed all too damn much and yet not enough. He stretched out on his bed, looking at Natias and flicking his ears up. Welcoming him over.
Natias didn't immediately enter the wagon, allowing Joseph some space to get settled while he idly watched. It was damned enticing to have him keep the ears. To remain as he was, but it'd nag at Natias if he didn't say something. Especially when that'd been one of his things.
There had to be a reason for it and part of the haevar wondered if Joseph was testing him. Waiting to see if Natias would say something or if he'd fall into line like everyone else. So, he lingered in the doorway of the wagon and smiled a little. "As lovely and enticing as that is," which he definitely meant, he said, "Not exactly what we agreed to, is it?" The haevar was a rather relaxed individual, but he definitely did not want to fall into any category close to what Joseph thought of other people.
So he remained where he was and waited. Like a good boy.
Joseph didn't have any reservations about removing his clothing. It was part of the job. It wasn't a protective layer like his transformations were. He sat up a bit and frowned when Natias called him on it. He had agreed to be in his original form but...he was starting to regret agreeing to that. He had thought convincingly imitating another of the haevar's kind would have gotten him a pass. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, changing back. He didn't regret losing the ears; they were damned inconvenient in such a confined space. What he did keep was....little things. He smoothed out his features a bit, made himself slightly less...bony. Tamped down how high his cheekbones were and made his lips a little fuller. Natias almost had him as he was born but...Joseph was representing himself as a more idealized image of what he looked like normally.
He had to keep some of his protective armor on, after all, couldn't he? He hoped that it would pass. He tried to look a little more confident than he was. "Better?" he asked. Part of his wondered if Natias would call him out on this too. It wasn't what they agreed upon. Close...but not there yet.
It was an interesting phenomenon, really. Watching a shapeshifter be so reluctant to take on their own form when he'd so carelessly offered sex as payment. Natias felt like that should mean something, that there was definitely a depth there, but he just couldn't see it. Wasn't smart enough to grasp what it really meant.
As much as his chest tightened to see someone like him, it still bothered him on a different level, in an inexplainable way, that he wouldn't go back on what he'd asked for originally. That was important, and it seemed more so now. He just didn't know why.
Natias watched him a long moment, ears lowered some because of the wagon and because he was focused. He looked like before, but not? Similar but different. Natias didn't know Joseph well enough to say otherwise and they'd not been around one another long enough for him to point out what it might be. So, instead, Natias settled more so in the doorway and said, "I already told you, you don't have to do anything you don't want. I really don't mind sleeping outside. I've been doing it for a week before I met you." His tone was casual, easy, like they were talking about the sky or the weather and Joseph was fully dressed.
Natias might enjoy sex – there were a lot of people who did – but there was no way he was about to get in bed with someone who was reluctant about... well, any of it.
The casual tone seemed to irk Joseph even more. He sat up, shedding the last of his glamours. He was sitting in front of Natias exactly the way he'd been born, scars and all. He folded his arms over his chest and rubbed his arm. Now it was a point of pride. He had been wearing his transformations like armor. Now Natias had him truly naked. He lifted his chin up. It was a war against his own poor self-confidence and his pride in keeping up his half of the deal. "I'm fine." he said venomously. He hated that Natias had seen through it. He slid under the covers and looked at the rabbit. He nodded to the bed, trying to regain some of his former confidence. He looked...nervous. Not unwilling, but nervous.
Natias frowned a little when Joseph sat up and said something that, when said, generally meant the opposite. I'm fine almost certainly meant, when said in such a way, that it was not fine. At this point, the haevar knew when he was out of his depth and far out classed when it came to both a mental and emotional confrontation. He had no idea what was going on with Joseph, but he understood that what he'd asked was difficult.
Maybe too difficult.
He considered that while he watched Joseph and actually shook his head. "Ah. Not tonight, hm? I'm not in the mood." He said it with a smile, meant to smooth over whatever tension or anger might be directed his way. Before Joseph could argue the point, though, Natias turned and bounced out of the doorway. Whatever was going on, he felt like taking a step back was... probably what was best.
He certainly didn't know Joseph well enough to get involved in a mess right off the bat and he was trying, very hard, to be a good person. Because, at base, he was. Natias didn't want anyone uncomfortable around him, especially because of something he might do. The payment had been Joseph's idea to begin with and there was no reason for Natias to collect now. Instead, he made his way toward Tial, if only for something to do.
At first Joseph felt...relieved. He wouldn't have to go through the charade of pretending he was comfortable in his own skin. He laid down, back toward the door. Then he started thinking. He had laid himself bare for Natias, something he'd done very few times in his life and because he was afraid of the same reaction. Confronted with the ugly reality, Natias had said 'no thank you' and waltzed out the door. White hot rage began to slowly boil deep in Joseph's chest. Who the hell was he, demanding a thing like that and then turning it down? Insisting Joseph strip himself until he was showing every scar and flaw...then denying him? Having the fucking gall to deny him.
He had never been asked to appear as himself. It never occurred to most men when the idea of anything they desired dangled in front of them. Joseph getting shut down after having it requested hurt. It hurt, and hurt turned to embarassment to anger so quickly it might as well have been oil in a pan catching fire. He sat up sharply and yanked his shirt on, struggling into his pants.
When he shifted angrily, it tended to show. A perceptive man might be able to catch on to his emotional state and how he was feeling by how his forms looked...similar to a chameleon changing colors to communicate. When Joseph shifted into the panther this time, it wasn't graceful or beautiful. It was monstrous, with sabre fangs and quills growing out of its fur. He burst out of the wagon and roared to catch Natias' attention. He was on the verge of losing his temper, and it showed.
Natias was in the process of trying to relax. Had only made it so far as to strip out of his leather armor top and shirt. Feel the cool air on his skin while he idly brushed down Tial. Or rather, that was going to be his plan for a portion of the evening. A calming brush down of his war horse, stretch out in the grass, then...
But no.
Tial stomped once and squared off with something behind him, which gave Natias the indication he should turn. Just as Joseph, or what he assumed was Joseph, roared at him. He wanted to reflexively shoot the damn thing, but that wasn't going to really smooth things over, was it? So, instead, he remained where he was while reaching back to make 'shushing' motion to Tial. The war horse didn't always need verbal orders and understood the gesture well enough, but the horse didn't like it.
So. His attempt at a less than shitty exit hadn't worked. Obviously. Natias ran a hand through his hair and over one ear. "You're either going to attack me, and it's going to be bad for both of us, or you can shift back and we can talk." Those were pretty much the options. Natias' sword was but a quick crouch away, which he could certainly do if Joseph leapt at him. Friendliness aside, the haevar wasn't about to become wounded over all this or let a giant, fuck off cat-thing pounce on him without defending himself.
So they could either talk, or fight, but Natias thought it only fair to make it clear he would certainly fight back.
Joseph didn't want to fight. He really didn't. Even though he looked intimidating...he hadn't the faintest clue how to fight as a cat. His leg was still tucked up behind him, barely touching the ground enough to give him balance. He hissed as the horse squared off with him. Bring it, show pony. He wasn't afraid of any fleabitten donkey. He didn't want to attack Natias it was just....his anger usually manifested in a change, the same way people's anger manifested in throwing things.
He shifted back, angry, flushed. "Fuck you for doing that to me." he snarled. "You realize I've never offered that to anyone? Me? As I am? And you took one look at me, the real me, and decided I wasn't worth it. That you'd rather sleep on the ground. Well fuck you, rabbit." His jaw was tight, and he was practically shaking with rage.
Natias really had no idea what was going on. He'd half a mind ready to fight what was clearly one very upset shapeshifter. He could've guessed, but he was only going to be in the area of what it might be that was upsetting Joseph. Not what was really going on in the shapeshifter's head.
When he turned back, Natias' ears went from laid back, ready to fight, to pricked forward. Listening to what he had to say. Instantly, he realized exactly how that must have looked and winced like he'd been struck. That... was not what he'd intended at all.
This was exactly what he'd been trying to avoid. Getting caught up in emotional things he clearly did not understand. Natias ran another hand through his hair, over one ear, and let out a long breath. "Joseph, that's... not... what I meant by that at all..." He was picking his words mindfully, not wanting to make the same mistake again. "I just... don't want to have sex with someone who is clearly uncomfortable. That.. You can understand that, right?"
He chanced a glance up from the ground to the shapeshifter, wondering if he was making it worse. Probably worse. Maybe he should be holding his sword. "I also don't really want to be associated with... all those people you'd been talking about earlier in the day. So." This he murmured to himself. In his attempt to not be an ass, he'd just made a shit pile of the entire situation. That was clearly better.
Joseph chewed his lip and glared at Natias. "Oh of course." he sneered. "You don't have to spare my feelings, I can take it. Just be fucking honest about what you want next time, because it's clearly not what you asked for. Can't blame you, honestly." Joseph strode over and picked up his whiskey bottle out of the grass. "What you were doing..." his voice was softer. "...it wasn't virtuous. It hurt." He uncorked the bottle and turned to head back to his wagon, drinking deeply out of the bottle. Joseph shut the door behind him and curled up in bed, sighing and nursing the whiskey as he fell asleep.
Despite the drinking, he actually woke up fairly early. Breakfast consisted of more whiskey, and a cigarette. He puffed on the tobacco in the chilly morning air, pausing to take small sips of the liquor in his cup. He let the horse free to graze and roll around in the grass for a little bit. He didn't mind not staking her out...they both knew he only needed three legs and an imagination to catch her.
Well. So much for all that. Natias didn't offer much of a response since Joseph didn't seem either in a state to hear it, or he didn't want to. Understandable, that, too. So he didn't say anything more and let him go. Once Joseph was in the wagon he let out a long breath and glanced back at his horse. "This. This very reason is why I travel alone," he grumbled before stooping to pick up the brush and pick up where he left off.
Natias needed something mundane and normal to settle him before he could even begin to go to sleep. Eventually, he mounded his back up and stretched out on the grass. True to his word, he liked it out beneath the sky and was able to doze off. Though it was hardly restful, and not because he was on the ground.
As the sky began to lighten, Tial woke Natias by running his nose over the haevar's face. A common occurrence. He waved the horse off and proceeded to collect his things. Quickly brush down the war horse before getting his barding on. Packing up some of his loose things and redressing in his shirt and armor. Natias was on the fence about whether or not he should stay. On the one hand, he said he would. On the other, he doubted very much Joseph would want him to. So he loitered around, looking busy but not especially so. Tending to Tial and eventually sitting near his horse to have a breakfast of celery.
Joseph smoked, and watched Natias desperately try and make himself look busy. Joseph wanted the company. He did. It was just...embarassing. He rubbed his hand over his opposite arm and sighed, shaking his head and finishing off his whiskey. He didn't want Natias to hang around out of some misguided sense of pity, but nor did he want to chase away his new bodyguard. He could use Natias where they were going. He stood up and walked over to him, offering him his sword. "I understand if you want to go." he said quietly. "I don't want you to, but I understand if you want to. I'm not in the business of making people do things they don't want to do either."
Natias' ears wilted some, reflexively, when Joseph approached. Honestly expecting the man to yell at him again. He was fully aware he'd made things awful between them in his attempt to do just the opposite, but he had no idea how to fix that either. Natias was a very uncomplicated person and Joseph was... well, quite the opposite. A mess of complications.
What he had to say, though, had the haevar's ears perk up a little and he shifted, considering. "It's not that I want to go... Ah.. I just feel like there was a really big misunderstanding... For that, I am sorry." He took his sword and lingered near Joseph. "I like you. You're crass and quite honest, but you're also a bit complicated. I'm not." Natias studied Joseph, looking him over. "I don't want you to think... that I really thought any of those awful things you said..." If that were true, Natias wouldn't be able to stay. That, more than anything, bothered him the most.
Joseph sighed. "Honestly? I don't know you well enough to make a declaration. It's just the awful sort of lies that people I come into contact with traffick in. It's like telling a fat girl you love her or taking home a girl just to find out it wasn't a girl at all. I was expecting that same look on your face. The same look every asshole gives when he's just found out he asked for something he didn't want. But I didn't get it....so...I don't know. You still ran." Joseph ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep drag off of his cigarette. "So I don't know. My heart says no."
Joseph looked at Natias. "Shall we?" he asked.
Natias didn't... understand some of his examples because they were inconceivable to him. Things he supposed were drastic examples but things people didn't really do. Certainly not the people Natias put himself around. His ears lowered a little and he watched Joseph a moment before leaning forward and placing a quick kiss on his forehead. "You're a bit rough on yourself, hm?" he said before nodding, sheathing his sword and turning to his horse. "I'll ride on Tial for a bit, then we can have lunch together if you're up for it."
He wanted to give Joseph some space. Let him sort it all out if he wanted. And, really, he could use a nice, easy ride up until lunch. Then they could see where they were at.
It took a moment for the haevar to orientate himself, adjust their course, then start to lead them. If nothing else, traveling with the shapeshifter was proving to be an adventure already.
Joseph actually enjoyed the slow ride across the plains. He made his tea, read a book, wrote in his journal, napped. It was easy when his mare was happy enough to follow Tial's lead, and happy that her master was for the moment in a decent mood. There was one other creature she could trust in this whole mess, and that was the other horse. She stuck close to Tial, which was coincidentally exactly what her master wanted.
Joseph lazily napped inside, curled up in his bed with a cup of tea and a book. He was still smoothing out his rumpled feelings, and it felt better to be in the skin of another. He'd crafted a favourite of his clients': a young, muscular, blonde creature with piercing green eyes and a perfectly symmetrical face. It was the very picture of ethereal beauty, sprawled out on the cushions with a book. It was some of Joseph's best armor, and of all his forms this, and the female version of this, he'd put the most effort into. Try as he might he couldn't change his leg, but if he flicked a blanket over his bad leg, and just...laid there, he felt better. The hands gripping the book weren't slender and feminine but strong and masculine. His chest was broad, and he'd spent hours on getting the craftsmanship on his abdominal muscles and adonis' belt just right.
He made cucumber sandwiches for lunch. After their first meal he'd figured Natias for a vegetarian. It made sense, being a rabbit and all. He didn't shed the form, however. It was a wall, and one he was comfortable behind.
They stopped for lunch when the sun settled directly above them and Natias thought it'd be a good time to let the horses rest. Tial could go for the entire day, but there was no reason to ask that of his horse if he didn't have to. He gave his horse a quick brush down, only taking a couple of minutes, before allowing Tial to graze as he liked.
He gave the mare that pulled the wagon the same quick, gentle treatment. Brushing her down and making sure the harness wasn't rubbing in any bad places. He glanced at Joseph when he came out and offered the other a small smile. He wasn't sure if it was for the best to act as though things were just fine or... well, he had no idea. Natias was a smile haevar with a pretty simple life.
Or had.
Either way, he did perk up when he saw what they were having for lunch. Fresh vegetables would always beat the rations he had with him. Content to sit in the grass, he let Joseph pick where he wanted to sit before, casually asking, "You have a nice ride this morning?" He did want to make sure that Joseph was okay...
Joseph saw the way Natias perked up at the sandwiches. So like any good rabbit, fresh vegetables were the way to his heart. Good. He staked out his own horse, letting her graze and roll the sweat away in the grass while they ate. He settled down, getting his leg carefully set in the grass so it didn't put pressure anywhere strange. 'You could have just told me you didn't like meat." he pointed out, sighing and looking out over the grass. "I'll cook something meatless for dinner."
He looked at Natias. "I'm sorry about this morning." he muttered. "I'll get some coin to pay you when we hit the next town." Natias had made it clear. It was embarrassing, but Joseph could realize when he wasn't wanted. He sighed and ran his hand through his blonde hair. "What about you?"
Natias waved a hand dismissively but accepted the sandwich with a small smile. "You don't have to cater to me and I understand that others enjoy meat. It'd be silly to expect such." He took a big bite, chewing happily before adding, "And it's not that I don't like meat, it's just... Ah. The only meat I do like is fish." He chuckled a little and shrugged a shoulder. "Island life and all that."
He leaned back on one hand and watched Joseph warily when he mentioned the morning. He didn't know if he was being baited or if it was a trap. His ears lowered a little and he took another bite, watching his horse graze a short distance away. "It's whatever you want to do, Joseph. I'm just here to escort you around, hm?"
Which was really the heart of the matter, wasn't it? Just to be a guard. Just to be protection. He didn't need to try and be anything more... Especially if that meant he was going to muck it all up and further upset Joseph.
Well that was something they could agree on at least. Joseph hadn't cooked a lot of fish but he could try. He ate quietly, and got up when the food was finished. "You don't have to feel badly about it." Joseph shrugged. He couldn't expect Natias to put any work in. He knew he wasn't worth it. He was determined to be a bitter husk, hiding behind images he made in his own head. Maybe some day he'd forget what he looked like, and maybe he'd be stuck in something better. He took a deep breath and headed back toward the wagon. Maybe he'd put a little whiskey in his tea this time. Something to dull the pain.
He sat in the driver's seat this time and gestured to Natias to continue leading them. He was quiet. He hated being alone with his own thoughts. Drinking would get that gone. Drinking, and whoring himself while he was drinking, along with whatever he could snort or get down his throat. His bodyguard had no idea how long, deep and miserable that cut ran.
Natias smiled just a little. "You should let me cook for you, if we find some fish hm?" He wasn't the best, of course, but there were some things that he'd learned from his family. His father had been a fisher so he liked to think that he knew how to cook it. At least how he liked to eat it.
The haevar could be as dense as mud but he knew that there was something bothering Joseph. Especially when he seemed so quiet and reserved. He just wasn't sure what he could do about it. Some things were really so ingrained in people that there wasn't much to be done about it.
So they continued on through out the evening, making pretty good time. From what he remembered, they might be a day or so out. If they made good time.
Natias didn't have them stop until the sun was well below the horizon and it would've been foolish to walk the horses in no light. So, he slid off his own and went about the nightly ritual of prepping Tial for the night. Taking off his barding. Brushing him down. Natias took his time. Letting Joseph do as he would and giving the other man some space. He was still unsure what he should be doing and where he fit in all of this.
"Sure. There are always fishmongers in towns." Joseph pointed out. He was grateful when they stopped for the night; he'd spent the time making a tagine. It was crushed tomatoes and roasted yams poured over basmati rice. Filling and tasty given the spice rack he had above the oven. He didn't know how he would live were it just him and the horse. He was in a better mood come dinner and handed Natias a big steaming bowl of rice topped with the concoction. It was thick and hearty, with flavors of cardamum, cinnamon and a slight touch of anise.
Joseph settled down next to Natias. "I may be an asshole, but Im an asshole who can cook. When we get to the city Ill buy you a bath and a decent meal." he told him. "At the very least I have an infinite amount of the world's most universal currency."
With both horses taken care of, Natias shrugged out of his own armor and shirt. It was nice, being able to relax out in the open. There were a lot of days that he just missed the easy, casual clothes of his people. A nice wrap around his waist and he could just... go wherever. But such a thing generally drew attention to him that he didn't want.
Wasn't like his ears didn't already draw looks. The stylized tattoo up his left side, chest, and arm would likely draw just as many looks. He was decidedly a foreigner.
By the time Joseph came out with dinner, Natias had stretched out and propped himself up on Tial's saddle. He did sit up when he saw the other man and offered him a smile in the steadily darkening evening. "You really can," he confirmed, quite delighted with what he was presented.
He did glance at Joseph when he made mention of a bath and meal, shaking his head some. "You don't need to do that, especially..." Natias cut himself off, deciding that broaching such a thing was probably not where he wanted to go then and there. He just didn't want Joseph to literally have to put himself out to do anything for him.
Natias' ears lowered some as he continued to eat. "You could probably work as a cook too. This is great," he offered instead.
"Ah yes, working on my feet in some sweaty kitchen with men bustling around me and stepping on me sounds like the life's dream. I can cook for myself and for others. I don't think I could deal with the chef's life." Joseph pointed out with his cheek full of food. He looked at the tattoo. Natias wasn't a badly cut figure, but the tattoo must have taken a long time. He gestured at it with his fork. "So what's that." he asked. "And trust me a hot bath is the best thing this earth ever made. I need to make an attachment to the wagon so I can haul a washtub around. It's the best feeling in the world....sinking down into hot water. No pain, no discomfort at all. Everything washed away and soothed. Your skin, hell your bones feel better."
Joseph gestured at the wagon. "You take the bed tonight. Ill sleep out here."
Natias chuckled a little. "I don't mean in a kitchen. You do know larger caravans higher chefs, yeah? You could travel, get paid to cook, and it'd just... that easy." He smiled a little while he took another big bite, turning his attention to the lightly clouded sky overhead. They'd been blessed with sunny, beautiful weather thus far and it looked like it'd hold up.
Rain would really put a damper on things.
An ear turned Joseph's way before the haevar actually looked at him. "Ah. It's... it's a bunny thing, I guess. We all get them as we come of age." He looked down, sitting up so he could free his hand to trace the stylized waves. "To honor home. Family. The things that are always important." He glanced up at Joseph and smiled a little. Talking about home always made him a little home sick.
Never enough to go back. Natias was a wanderer at heart. He'd just become restless after a time and leave all over again. That didn't mean he hadn't loved it there or the family he'd left behind.
"I suppose. I won't say it's bad. I like water in general, no matter the temperature." Though he shook his head and continued to eat. He didn't want to argue with Joseph who was sleeping where, so he'd deal with that when the time actually came to it. Even if it meant he had to carry Joseph into his damned wagon.