Who Needs a Feather Bed? (Kada!)

[JackieCat]

That was somewhat reassuring.

"Very well," Flordia said.  She slid the coin that she had placed on the table over to Burton.  "Since we're talking, who was after you, and why?"

Technically that was two questions, but he could only choose to answer one, if he wanted.  And Flordia didn't even know if he'd accept the coin to answer either one of the questions.  When he mentioned the person who had been after him, the young elf had gotten the sense that it had been quite personal.  She wondered if any of his scars were attributed to that.

[Kadakism]

Burton stared down at the coin, his one good eye dilating to focus on it while the other didn't respond at all. He clicked his tongue and drummed his fingers on the table. If he took the coin, he couldn't lie. But he also didn't have to tell her everything. Just like she wasn't telling him everything.

He put his hand over the coin and slid it off the table, keeping it closed in his fist for the time being. He chewed on a bite of food, carefully considering his words before washing it down with more wine.

"My old man, because he's a selfish cunt."

Not at all helpful, he knew. But he had no intention of letting anyone actually know who he was. The last thing he needed was his father to hear about him fucking around and deciding that he wanted to resume the chase. And besides, it was a good lesson for her.

[JackieCat]

His own father.

Flordia's own parents were looking for her, and while she didn't have the best relationship with either one of them, she didn't exactly hate them.  She knew they had just been doing what they had been taught to do.

But how Burton had looked when he mentioned is father made Flordia think there was definitely a lot more anger there.

There were now so many questions she wanted to ask him, but his answer had been quite blunt.  Flordia didn't think he was going to give her very much information.

The young elf knew that they both knew the other was hiding something, and this small admission by Burton gave Flordia reason to assume there was a lot more to his story than he was letting on, as there was for hers.

Flordia had started to eat, but she paused to turn back to Burton and pulled another coin out of her pocket. "Why do you do the work that you do?"

She supposed it was a valid question, and one that might give her some insight on his character if Burton chose to answer it.

[Kadakism]

He thought he could see it just behind her eyes, and it made Burton broil in anger under the surface. His casual grin fell and he leaned in close to her face, the smell of the wine on his breath close to her.

"Don't pity me. I don't need your pity and I don't want it."

Once he was sure his point was made, he sat back and cracked one of the bones from the meat he'd eaten to dig out the marrow to eat.

"Because anything I do I do because I think it'll be interesting and the pay is good. The more interesting the work, the less money I need. Price goes up the less interested I am. If I just don't give a shit, you couldn't give me a kingdom to do it. You couldn't hold a sword to my throat and make me do it. I'd drink poison first."

[JackieCat]

She had been, to some degree, correct.  She had definitely learned something by asking that question.  However, Flordia had been taken aback by this relatively intense display of emotion.  Up until now Burton had seemed completely calm and collected.

Once he sat back in his chair, Flordia's first instinct was to not say anything at all in response, then she remembered she was no longer a princess, and no longer needed to shut her mouth all the time simply to be polite.  So, she was going to snap back at him. . . when she suddenly decided not to.

Instead she composed herself and looked the man in the eye, something that was a lot harder to do than the young elf had anticipated.

"I only asked a simple question," she said, her voice calm. "And I asked it to know the answer, not to make an insinuation."

[Kadakism]

"Right," was all Burton said at first, the disbelief apparent in his voice. Then after a beat he mused, "You shouldn't have censored yourself. You can say whatever you want now. No one to tell you you're being unladylike. I prefer people to be honest with themselves."

He had grown bored of the dining room though, and Burton slid his chair back to stand up despite not being done with his food. "Come on, or don't. I want some fresh air. This place is too stuffy." He slipped a piece of bread into his hand as he headed for the door, slowing down just enough to blow a kiss at the nobleman and his wife much to the revulsion of the others they were sitting with. Pompous, worthless little shits, every one of them.

Out on the deck, Burton started crumbling up the bread that he had taken, tossing the pieces into the water at random intervals. He counted as he walked the length of the deck, committing the number of steps to memory in case he needed it later.

[JackieCat]

 :O  It's been over a week since I replied!  I'm so sorry!
_________________________________________________________

He didn't seem to believe her, but his words about censoring herself made the young elf feel a little more sure of herself.

Flordia considered following Burton right away as he left, bu then she looked back at the food on her plate, and she remembered she was still hungry.  She quickly ate the rest of her food before running back above decks.

Burton was at the rail, tossing bread into the water.  Flordia walked up beside him, peering over the edge.

"Why the bread?" she asked as she saw the little crumbs floating on the water below.  "Will they attract fish?"

[Kadakism]

[[You're fine. I've been behind for a bit too. No worries~]]

Burton glanced sideways at Flordia as she joined him on deck, continuing to toss the bread out into the water. "Nah. Most fish out here aren't that close to the surface. Might get a few, but little scraps of bread won't attract many."

He flashed a small grin and looked skyward for a second. "I'm gauging how far we are from land. Birds will come for the bread if we're close enough. If I can see birds diving to get the crumbs, then I know we're close enough that I could get to land without too much effort. Under an hour if we're willing to get a little wet in the process."

He turned his gaze back to his new employer, giving her a knowing smile and a wink. "You never know when you might need to make a quick escape. Better safe than sorry."

[JackieCat]

Flordia's eyes widened, and she turned her head to the sky to look for any birds that may be coming for the bread.

"How do you do it?" she asked, amazed. "What's your magic?"

She assumed it had to do with his teleportation skills that he had demonstrated when they had first met, but, while she had been to on edge to ask many questions about his magic then, she really wanted to know.  At least some magic was inherent to most Corrian elves, but many elves-like Flordia- did not have much, and the young elf was interested to know exactly what sort of powers Burton had.  Though she wasn't sure he would tell her.

[Kadakism]

Burton chewed on the inside of his cheek as they made their way away from the railing of the ship. He kept a mental tally of where the crewmen were above deck, so that he didn't speak too loudly and risk them overhearing him. "I'm only telling you this because it will be useful for you to know what I am capable of, for when we end up knee deep in some shit."

Not if, but when. Burton knew himself too well and had inklings about the nature of this job to lie to her about whether or not they were going to get themselves in trouble.

"I can reposition myself anywhere I can see in the time it takes a cat to twitch his whiskers, and I can turn myself as small as a mouse and back again. Both useful things for keeping you safe and keeping a low profile when we need to."

"What about you though," he asked, quirking an eyebrow over at her. "Magic something you're pretty familiar with, yeah?"

[JackieCat]

"To some degree," Flordia responded. "I know about nature magic, mostly, but a little bit about other kinds.  I have some magic as well." She decided to tell him, since he had told her of his abilities.  "I don't really have anything that would help in an emergency, but I can aid plants in growing, as well as be able to almost immediately identify the properties of a plant.  I'm a Corrian Elf, and most of us have some sort of affinity for magic."

Flordia looked out over the water, and realized just how far she was from home.

"We can sometimes sense magic, if it's very strong or of a certain type." She looked back over at Burton. "I was born with it, though some training has helped me know how to use it.  Were you born with your magic?"