RP between Rigby and Rook
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Rigby — 01/10/2021
Sometimes, one had to put aside the continuous, frantic search to stall the inevitable and instead simply live.
And that is what Marc wanted to do now, and he wanted to do it with Cienna. If their time was limited - in marriage and in life, then he was determined to share as much time with her as the pair wanted. And today, it was the park; Marc arriving at the Grimani house to pick her up like any gentleman caller and escort her there.
Where? Just got an answer of "out" - but to Cienna, he spoke of the park. Of flowers and creatures that weren't in either of their gardens. A picnic, a walk and a talk!
Jian, still quite runty but considerably fluffier, more vividly colored and stronger than his weak and malformed hatching would have led anyone to believe, rode along in a pack on the man's back (he'd not quite learned how to cling to Marc's shoulders for any extended amount of time - unless Marc wore armor. And his spasmodic elbow gripping usually proved too much of a shoulder-shift, as well!). Despite the evident effort to lay low, he did decide to poke his fluffy, orange, horned head out of the split at the top of the pack, beak hanging open in a tiny and valiant effort to smell and taste as much of this world as possible. He occasionally trilled tiny questions, mostly aimed at Cienna, quietly asking attention and scritchies.
Luckily, the tiny raptor was was standing on tightly wrapped provisions in order to do that. The snacks were spared from curious nibbles, for the time being!
Rook — 01/10/2021
Cienna would have brought some extra snacks, and a few things so they could brew a pot of tea in the garden. It would be a little difficult, but she was sure they'd be able to pull it off without ruining anything. Along the way, she'd give Jian those requested affections but would walk to match Marc's pace as well. "We still need to seek out an egg for my own."
It was an excited comment, but she did look forward to having a little pet of her own. The bonus of hiding it offered a certain amused thrill. Once they got closer to one of the gazebos, she'd quicken her pace and smiled back at Marc. "Do you want to settle in this spot? I imagine my father won't mind me late for dinner." And, if he did, well, she had ways around it.
"Have I missed anything interesting since our last outing?"
Rigby — 01/10/2021
"Yeah! He needs a friend. And you~" a little nudge "~need to be the latent creature-mother that's been struggling to emerge, of course!"
The runty raptor burbled in agreement - a burble that rose into a sharp squeaking chirp when Cienna propozed the gazebo, a sentiment echoed by his master.
"Let's do it!" He did spare a quick look around - but it was brisk and meaningless. If they were seen together, they were seen together. The idea of consequences and transactional weddings was purposefully shoved to easily ignored recesses of his mind for now!
"Not a whole lot, yet. Gardener's going through a few things. Dad's had some good days. No fae infiltrations and I'm still " And then a little conspiratorial smirk just for her as he perched and unfurled his own pack (setting Jian next to their picnic - he promptly skittered around both of their feet sniffling around and nibbling at the stray insects). "Enrica called me out immediately when I left. But...she kinda' did before we left on that trip, too." Too bad, his sister wasn't getting ANY juicy details!
"I've been looking! Asked the same supplier where I found your present." He flushed. "Sorry for, uh. Kinda' draining it. Didn't know I could. Talked to Moreno, but...I'm on the lookout on my hunting trips, too. I...know." There was a mild emphasis on that 'know' - it would mean just enough in the context of his own understanding of what was going on with him, and what he'd shared with her.
"What about you? What'd I miss?"
Rook — 01/10/2021
"I agree entirely, maybe I can snooping through the forests someday and see what I can find." She said in jest, even if part of her was strongly considering it. As for looks, she wasn't so concerned - they'd hung out a lot already, and were well enough away from home that there wouldn't be chances of her brother or father showing up unexpectedly.
"That's unfortunate, for the gardener. I hope he'll be alright." Maybe she'd get to talk to him soon, too. She sat down on one of the benches and took off her own satchel, digging through it for items to set up the brass burner and pot. Water would come from a jar, and once that was ready, she'd get the matches to light a little fire in said burner.
"It's alright, don't worry. We can find a way to maybe increase its magic source." Surely there were people around that could. "Let me know how the hunting trips go.." Though, she'd worry about them too. "Oh, nothing exciting. Lessons, working out how much I managed to get from buyers on Guildereim. Not so eager a port for random merchants.."
Rigby — 01/18/2021
He laughed. "Through the FORESTS! Well, Cienna di Grimani, I think that may qualify as part of my bodyguard...ing duties. Guardly duties. Guard. Guarding duties. So we're putting down the menagerie for later this week?"
But regarding the gardener, he did sigh and rub his temples. "Me too...it's just another one of those things I feel a little helpless about, you know?" Among the whole host of things that Marc just wanted to help, to fix. Maybe that's why Aiolfi always were the explorers and the mercenaries; it seemed far easier to move outward than look within and help others right the course. "It's nothing we can do...but if you want, we can see if he's up for a visit or something, work from there."
Jian seemed wholly fascinated by the brass burner and settled down near it, tucked his arms under himself and stared into it with his good eye with all of the fascination of a small child reflected in his expression. He chirped and the smoke leaped; he'd hum and it would draw into a curl, and would release at the end of his tiny, tiny notes. He remained, content to squeak at Cienna's things and exert his own budding influence until he nodded off.
"Wouldn't hurt to try again. Or reach out another direction, I figured out the gates that jump back there and to my mother's world the fastest." It had been part of those charting projects!
"Think maybe...someone here can help us out?" Discreetly.
Rook — 01/25/2021
"It certainly would!" Cienna agreed with a smirk, but her expression relaxed when he spoke of the Gardener and she quieted again. She was immediately sympathetic, and settled a hand on one of Marc's closest arms. "I think he would appreciate that, we could bring him tea." He seemed like someone who would enjoy tea!
When the teapot seemed ready, she'd get a couple of cups and teabags before readying a drink each for them. She was mindful of Jian, just to make sure he wouldn't burn himself or anything. Back down the teapot went, but off of the burner this time and she left the flames inside to die off on their own.
"Well, there's nothing stopping us from checking in. When do you want to try? I can get my things ready a week or so before, that gives me time to set up with my father and not have to worry about them getting overly concerned." Maybe they'd have to bring Tomm, but maybe also Enrica.
"I look forward to it, too."
Rigby — 01/30/2021
The raptor watched the flames for a while, occasionally coughing little green flames in its direction. At Cienna's behest, Jian waited patiently until the tea cooled to temperatures more suitable for tiny beaks and sensitive raptor tongues. He'd stare with his good eye, pupils pinning, occasionally looking up at her with questioning trills and tiny whistles - now?
Regarding their gardener, "That's a great idea! Think he'd appreciate anything he can get, right now. Jac gave him one of mother's plants. Tea's perfect." The smile was warm and sad, but Cienna always had pitch-perfect solutions to these sorts of things.
He nodded. "Soon. Just not...too soon. I don't want to leave my father again until I know he'll be fine for another stretch like that. Harpur's helping. And I want to search here, too. Richa might intercept you with her Viking and his raptors too...she's gonna' hate me for spoiling it, but -!" He shrugged lightly - the twins had likely been sabotaging each other's surprises for Cienna for ages!
"Speaking of...got a training session coming up this weekend. Want to accidentally show up?" He flicked both eyebrows, eyes smiling. "Nothing too strenuous, unless you're feeling it this time. Outside stuff!"
Rook — 02/01/2021
Cienna had even ensure Jian would have a tiny cup, though he would certainly have to wait. "It won't take long to cool." She said, patting him gently on the head with a smile. Her own cup was held up after and she took a sip, looking thoughtful. "Perhaps a sunday afternoon, here in the park. Those are usually the best day for it." She noted that sad smile and she patted his arm, offering a gentle one of her own. "We will help him feel a little better."
She was in agreement about waiting a bit, though mention of raptors had her intrigued. "Vikings? And raptors? Bigger than Jian, or the same?" She asked curiously, smoothing out her silks. "I will pretend to be surprised, though, so she doesn't find out." Enrica likely would, anyway!
"Oh, absolutely. I do wander unexpectedly onto things on my afternoon strolls. Where will it be?"
Sometimes, one had to put aside the continuous, frantic search to stall the inevitable and instead simply live.
And that is what Marc wanted to do now, and he wanted to do it with Cienna. If their time was limited - in marriage and in life, then he was determined to share as much time with her as the pair wanted. And today, it was the park; Marc arriving at the Grimani house to pick her up like any gentleman caller and escort her there.
Where? Just got an answer of "out" - but to Cienna, he spoke of the park. Of flowers and creatures that weren't in either of their gardens. A picnic, a walk and a talk!
Jian, still quite runty but considerably fluffier, more vividly colored and stronger than his weak and malformed hatching would have led anyone to believe, rode along in a pack on the man's back (he'd not quite learned how to cling to Marc's shoulders for any extended amount of time - unless Marc wore armor. And his spasmodic elbow gripping usually proved too much of a shoulder-shift, as well!). Despite the evident effort to lay low, he did decide to poke his fluffy, orange, horned head out of the split at the top of the pack, beak hanging open in a tiny and valiant effort to smell and taste as much of this world as possible. He occasionally trilled tiny questions, mostly aimed at Cienna, quietly asking attention and scritchies.
Luckily, the tiny raptor was was standing on tightly wrapped provisions in order to do that. The snacks were spared from curious nibbles, for the time being!
Rook — 01/10/2021
Cienna would have brought some extra snacks, and a few things so they could brew a pot of tea in the garden. It would be a little difficult, but she was sure they'd be able to pull it off without ruining anything. Along the way, she'd give Jian those requested affections but would walk to match Marc's pace as well. "We still need to seek out an egg for my own."
It was an excited comment, but she did look forward to having a little pet of her own. The bonus of hiding it offered a certain amused thrill. Once they got closer to one of the gazebos, she'd quicken her pace and smiled back at Marc. "Do you want to settle in this spot? I imagine my father won't mind me late for dinner." And, if he did, well, she had ways around it.
"Have I missed anything interesting since our last outing?"
Rigby — 01/10/2021
"Yeah! He needs a friend. And you~" a little nudge "~need to be the latent creature-mother that's been struggling to emerge, of course!"
The runty raptor burbled in agreement - a burble that rose into a sharp squeaking chirp when Cienna propozed the gazebo, a sentiment echoed by his master.
"Let's do it!" He did spare a quick look around - but it was brisk and meaningless. If they were seen together, they were seen together. The idea of consequences and transactional weddings was purposefully shoved to easily ignored recesses of his mind for now!
"Not a whole lot, yet. Gardener's going through a few things. Dad's had some good days. No fae infiltrations and I'm still " And then a little conspiratorial smirk just for her as he perched and unfurled his own pack (setting Jian next to their picnic - he promptly skittered around both of their feet sniffling around and nibbling at the stray insects). "Enrica called me out immediately when I left. But...she kinda' did before we left on that trip, too." Too bad, his sister wasn't getting ANY juicy details!
"I've been looking! Asked the same supplier where I found your present." He flushed. "Sorry for, uh. Kinda' draining it. Didn't know I could. Talked to Moreno, but...I'm on the lookout on my hunting trips, too. I...know." There was a mild emphasis on that 'know' - it would mean just enough in the context of his own understanding of what was going on with him, and what he'd shared with her.
"What about you? What'd I miss?"
Rook — 01/10/2021
"I agree entirely, maybe I can snooping through the forests someday and see what I can find." She said in jest, even if part of her was strongly considering it. As for looks, she wasn't so concerned - they'd hung out a lot already, and were well enough away from home that there wouldn't be chances of her brother or father showing up unexpectedly.
"That's unfortunate, for the gardener. I hope he'll be alright." Maybe she'd get to talk to him soon, too. She sat down on one of the benches and took off her own satchel, digging through it for items to set up the brass burner and pot. Water would come from a jar, and once that was ready, she'd get the matches to light a little fire in said burner.
"It's alright, don't worry. We can find a way to maybe increase its magic source." Surely there were people around that could. "Let me know how the hunting trips go.." Though, she'd worry about them too. "Oh, nothing exciting. Lessons, working out how much I managed to get from buyers on Guildereim. Not so eager a port for random merchants.."
Rigby — 01/18/2021
He laughed. "Through the FORESTS! Well, Cienna di Grimani, I think that may qualify as part of my bodyguard...ing duties. Guardly duties. Guard. Guarding duties. So we're putting down the menagerie for later this week?"
But regarding the gardener, he did sigh and rub his temples. "Me too...it's just another one of those things I feel a little helpless about, you know?" Among the whole host of things that Marc just wanted to help, to fix. Maybe that's why Aiolfi always were the explorers and the mercenaries; it seemed far easier to move outward than look within and help others right the course. "It's nothing we can do...but if you want, we can see if he's up for a visit or something, work from there."
Jian seemed wholly fascinated by the brass burner and settled down near it, tucked his arms under himself and stared into it with his good eye with all of the fascination of a small child reflected in his expression. He chirped and the smoke leaped; he'd hum and it would draw into a curl, and would release at the end of his tiny, tiny notes. He remained, content to squeak at Cienna's things and exert his own budding influence until he nodded off.
"Wouldn't hurt to try again. Or reach out another direction, I figured out the gates that jump back there and to my mother's world the fastest." It had been part of those charting projects!
"Think maybe...someone here can help us out?" Discreetly.
Rook — 01/25/2021
"It certainly would!" Cienna agreed with a smirk, but her expression relaxed when he spoke of the Gardener and she quieted again. She was immediately sympathetic, and settled a hand on one of Marc's closest arms. "I think he would appreciate that, we could bring him tea." He seemed like someone who would enjoy tea!
When the teapot seemed ready, she'd get a couple of cups and teabags before readying a drink each for them. She was mindful of Jian, just to make sure he wouldn't burn himself or anything. Back down the teapot went, but off of the burner this time and she left the flames inside to die off on their own.
"Well, there's nothing stopping us from checking in. When do you want to try? I can get my things ready a week or so before, that gives me time to set up with my father and not have to worry about them getting overly concerned." Maybe they'd have to bring Tomm, but maybe also Enrica.
"I look forward to it, too."
Rigby — 01/30/2021
The raptor watched the flames for a while, occasionally coughing little green flames in its direction. At Cienna's behest, Jian waited patiently until the tea cooled to temperatures more suitable for tiny beaks and sensitive raptor tongues. He'd stare with his good eye, pupils pinning, occasionally looking up at her with questioning trills and tiny whistles - now?
Regarding their gardener, "That's a great idea! Think he'd appreciate anything he can get, right now. Jac gave him one of mother's plants. Tea's perfect." The smile was warm and sad, but Cienna always had pitch-perfect solutions to these sorts of things.
He nodded. "Soon. Just not...too soon. I don't want to leave my father again until I know he'll be fine for another stretch like that. Harpur's helping. And I want to search here, too. Richa might intercept you with her Viking and his raptors too...she's gonna' hate me for spoiling it, but -!" He shrugged lightly - the twins had likely been sabotaging each other's surprises for Cienna for ages!
"Speaking of...got a training session coming up this weekend. Want to accidentally show up?" He flicked both eyebrows, eyes smiling. "Nothing too strenuous, unless you're feeling it this time. Outside stuff!"
Rook — 02/01/2021
Cienna had even ensure Jian would have a tiny cup, though he would certainly have to wait. "It won't take long to cool." She said, patting him gently on the head with a smile. Her own cup was held up after and she took a sip, looking thoughtful. "Perhaps a sunday afternoon, here in the park. Those are usually the best day for it." She noted that sad smile and she patted his arm, offering a gentle one of her own. "We will help him feel a little better."
She was in agreement about waiting a bit, though mention of raptors had her intrigued. "Vikings? And raptors? Bigger than Jian, or the same?" She asked curiously, smoothing out her silks. "I will pretend to be surprised, though, so she doesn't find out." Enrica likely would, anyway!
"Oh, absolutely. I do wander unexpectedly onto things on my afternoon strolls. Where will it be?"
RP between Rigby, Rook and Degu
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Rook — 02/20/2021
The Vampire often avoided the Aiolfi household intentionally, for now, opting for finding the wayward children elsewhere. It was a little later in the evening and, just for the moment, he was dressed in more casual clothes. A day off, something he often used for moments in the woods rather than exploration of the City itself. Except for this current night. He wore a mixture of earthen colors, lacking weapons and even jewelry - intent on standing out no more than any other citizen.
Once he found Marc, Jack made his over to the younger man and nodded his greeting. "Good evening, Marcello. I trust you're well? Enjoying your own company this night?" He asked curiously, though his expression appeared its usual sleepy 'self. "I hope you're still interested in possible hunts, provided your family doesn't mind!"
Rigby — 02/20/2021
There were some guards Marc could feel before he could see, with a sense he'd yet to understand, never mind articulate. And Jack was among them.
No matter the way that the vampire had approached, no matter from which direction he came or whether he was even in eye or earshot, it evoked an instinctive straightening of the boy's back, a slightly canted head.
Jian was riding along in a sling, hidden only somewhat discreetly under his coat - but the little beak and bright, living eye poking out of its opening, as well as the very, very soft, tiny, quizzical trills, were a second herald.
"Not your hours, huh?" He relaxed slightly when he actually saw Jack. "Yeah. Just...needed to be out here for a while instead of in there." He went oddly quiet at the mention of his dad's approval, expression turned somewhwat inward.
"I'm always interested in hunts!" finally just...popped out. Not too quickly, yet something hurried about it all the same. It was true enough, and danced around a few things he wasn't really ready to confront head-on. "Were you thinking of one soon?"
Rook — 02/20/2021
Jack noticed that Marc tensed, but he would pretend otherwise and remain nonchalant the entire time. "Not tonight, no. Back to it tomorrow, though, we'll see how much free time I have after." He'd spent time messing around at a certain Guard job. "Makes sense." He would nod, coming to rest near one of the gazebos.
"Good, good. I am curious to see how you hunt." Jack confessed, tenting his fingers over his stomach. "When would be best for you? Would you like to bring anyone along?" He asked curiously, but continued to lounge there against the arched entrance of said gazebo. "The young lady you guard, does she hunt, too? I've never asked her, considered bringing Tommaso."
Degu — 02/20/2021
Harpur was a busy man but sometimes an evening walk after work was needed to center oneself. Dressed more simply, he obviously wasn't expecting to see anyone. This wasn't his week of night shifts either, so it was just time to himself. He passed through the park from the bridge towards the market. He moved slowly around square topiary, through the center of the little areas of concealed gazebos only to pause as he heard voices on the other side of the bushes.... Marc? and someone else. It sounded like they were in the other Gazebo area across the way.
He frowned. Perhaps it wasn't very honorable but he sat down in the gazebo across the way to listen. The fountain covered up the sound a little but it was a gentle thing. He felt concern swell, he was sure he'd caught the end of Marc talking about 'there'... was it really so bad when he wasn't there? This poor family.
Rigby — 02/21/2021
"How I hunt-!" was a small echo, tonally wrong as if he'd got caught sniping some snacks from the kitchens prematurely. It was fleeting and strange, stilled and recovered with no evident prompt at all - of course people hunted in different ways, how couldn't they. "Close range? Crossbow? That kind of thing? All sorts, really!"
"My sister hadn't been allowed at all until just before my...just a couple of years ago, and my father'd allow her ever since, she'd had a better head for it than me or Piero." He'd not caught himself this time but if permitted he would take a breath and run both hands down his face as a means to re-center - and avoid grabbing his own arms. Stumbling right out of talking about his mother only saw him land right into talking about his brother. Graceful, Marc, really noble of you. Damn it.
The way his eyes lit up with even the slightest mention of Cienna though was unmistakable. "She..." Difficult one to answer. What she did and had done with the Aiolfi children (and trainer) remained at Aiolfi. "It wouldn't hurt to ask her if she were interested!"
Rook — 02/21/2021
"Ah, very good. I prefer bows myself, or traps. Sometimes those are good when you don't have a lot of time." Like him and the sunrise, but that could likely also by meant for prey that weren't just animals....a fact he wouldn't bring up. While Jack had likely noticed Harpur, he kept his attention on Marc.
"Does your father worry about her more?" The vampire asked, but Marc led into mention of a Piero and he was immediately curious. "...Piero? If you don't mind me asking, of course. If it's a hard subject, I won't insist. If you need someone to talk about it, well." An offer to a seat.
What Harpur would hear, on account of Jack not wanting him to possibly butt in was 'Rough subject, I assume. Well, let's not get into that then...want to sit? Go over the hunt with some manner of comfort?'. All it took from Jack was focusing on Harpur's mind and twisting things around them, but he would continue to block out further talk of Piero being heard, if it was brought up.
If Marc chose to sit, he'd follow.
"If she does, we'll be mindful, yes? She's very small in comparison, so maybe we'll find something she can do that isn't very strenuous on her."
Degu — 02/21/2021
Harpur sagged, feeling his heavy heart ache as he heard about Piero. He longed to rush across there and throw his arms around Marc, and the thought of Marc ever dying like that on duty was a hard one. His wish to be on Faewatch wasn't all to do with work after all, it was because Marc was there as well. Part of the captain wanted to make sure he was safe even though he was a capable soul.
But then as he listened on and leaned into a pillar of the gazebo it seemed they moved on from that subject rather quickly. Was that Jack across the way? he'd mentioned Cienna too.
Rigby — 02/21/2021
It was the oddest reaction that twisted in Marc's throat, one that Jack had ended up evoking from the man. Enrica and Cienna had up until now shared in these worries, Harpur too - and even a little bit of Quinne and the Vaidya had some pieces of this picture. The past couple of years had been a tangle of worries and tragedy, twisting into feelings barely pent up, guards wearing down moment by moment - and now this guard, this ναмριⱤɆ was asking and it was the strangest mental contradiction in his life. It squeezed at the propriety and stoicism he'd desperately tried so hard to maintain.
And Jack wasn't even touching the weird business he was trying to handle. At least, not knowingly.
Marc did sit, just for a moment, perching on the very edge of a bench.
"He's not...been well. My father, I mean. But when he is, he worries. He doesn't say why when it comes to Enrica, but...'mean. It's only been a little more than a year since they found Piero while he was out on his watch." He didn't say who they were but one hand briefly lifted to rub disquieted at his throat while he'd described 'finding' him, before both hands finally slipped to his elbows to clasp tightly. He would not cry in front of this guard, that would be weird and incorrect. The gesture helped.
"He worries about Cienna, too, but I figure that's always been...what you said, being mindful of her." There wasn't more there, it seemed, but his eyes were slightly more guarded now. She was tiny, after all! "She goes wherever I go. That was another thing our fathers sometimes disagreed on! Should've heard how Grimani was about Enrica going on hunts!"
But on to matters of the hunt...which still somehow managed to be about his brother, anyway. "Could never do traps. Piero couldn't, either." There was a story that simmered there, too. "I could never the kind of shot he was with anything - a bow, a crossbow, his luck was just..." A vague lift of both hands, a gesture outward. Guess his luck was excellent! Except for the part about getting killed. "We'd go out, sometimes with the dogs, and compete - but he was FAST. Every single time, he'd come home with far more animals than I ever could manage. Was thinking if I could win just once...or get to some fey-wild creature before he did. Someone was...just faster, is all."
Rook — 02/21/2021
Jack watched as Marc considered it, ready to twist things further. He wasn't sure how well Harpur knew this family, afterall, or if he was included on any mention of Marc's deceased brother. Jack allowed the bit about Enrica and his father to slip, simply because the first mention came without interference. The rest was twisted to sound about other things that might concern his father, such as the girl being a more wayward sort.
Afterall, wandering alone would concern anyone, lost sibling or not, right?
"A father tends to assume their daughters need further protection, while their sons need little more than guidance. I assume that might be the case here." He added with 'With your friend, Cienna', which he happily cut out from Harpur hearing. Simply about Enrica, yep. The bit that was actually about Cienna wasn't masked. "Like I said, we'll be careful of her. She seems to get a cough from time to time, do you think we should bundle her up too?" It was a gentle attempt at prying, but then came more of Piero.
Everything that followed after 'Piero couldn't, either' was absolute silence. Jack knew it was easier than twisting words, and he'd moved again, so he could stand next to Marc. An attempt to cut off any possibility of someone seeing him talk and realizing nothing was coming out.
"Faster...? A someone? You don't think it was an animal?" Jack asked gently, moving a cold hand to Marc's shoulder. "Were you there that day?"
Degu — 02/21/2021
Harpur felt dishonest sat here trying to listen in, but he was worried about that family and if that vampire was hanging around, he was even more worried. Surely that wasn't him over there right now though, right? but they were talking about hunts and hunts had been the thing that Jack was supposedly doing with the 'kids'. Marc knew better than to consort with a vampire and wander off into the damn forest with him, right? especially after Piero.
Piero. Poor Piero.
What if it happened again? what if this Jack fellow was luring them off to their deaths. He couldn't hear them anymore, maybe they were whispering at a volume lower than the fountain's trickling. The Captain stood up abruptly and ran a hand through his hair and stood up. Well he could solve both of his problems, he didn't have to feel dishonest sitting here and he didn't have to stay out of it, right? This Jack fellow was dangerous as far as he was concerned and he didn't feel right leaving, even if he could tell Marc needed this conversation.
What a dilemma.
He sighed and turned to head around the fountain. The large man appeared past the hedges right near to them "I thought I heard a familiar voice." he said simply. He had intended to smile at Marc, but the ex-slayers stare instead fell straight on Jack. His steady stare was a warning "Private Jack, is it?"
Rigby — 02/21/2021
Marc pulled gloves back on at Jack's touch; it seemed simple enough, but it was cover for something else. The contact tugged at something else, that yawning void that was everywhere and difficult to place all at once.
It also gave his hands something to do in lieu of his usual nervous tics; the shimmer of something across one eye only brief.
"A someone. He was stabbed. Neck and chest...said he was strangled too, dunno how they'd know that, I don't believe it, he wouldn't've let that happen." This Piero was quick, and that seemed to stick with Marc.
"I wasn't there, but I remember when they'd found him and brought him back." The restraint forced it into something almost rote and mechanical. He didn't need to say any more. "I don't want to see...anyone else like that, again. Not that way, not before you should." Like his mom.
And like Cienna.
He could've said more, might indeed have broken further despite his own restraint - and then Harpur arrived. Jack may have felt some tension release, transform, in Marc's shoulder.
"Harpur!" He'd almost greeted with the any formalized faewatch-to-guard gestures, but this entire meeting seemed pretty casual - and Jian wriggled back down into Marc's bag. "Glad seeing you out here, what brings you around?"
Rook — 02/21/2021
Jack's hand squeezed at his shoulder again as he mentioned the injuries, and he was quiet a moment, as if to process it all. If he'd notice that glimmer, he seemed oblivious to it. "I'm sorry, I can only imagine how hard and jarring that must have been for you. Especially at your age. If you ever need anything, I'm also here." As well as the rest of his family, and Cienna, but he was sure Marc already knew that.
He'd notice the change in tension, and moved his hand away, allowing the young nobleman greet the Captain without silence cutting out any further comment from either of them. However, the man's eyes were on him and the warning was met with something akin to blissful unawareness. Perhaps an annoying response, as if Harpur's greeting was considered welcoming.
"Good evening, Captain. Are you off this evening, too? Wonderful, truly. It's a good night for it." A smile followed those words, offering an innocent display of unnaturally curved canines. He moved a hand up, brushing the gloved palm against the corner of one of his eyes. "Apologizes, weird sting." What blood settled was brushed and blinked away, gone before it became a point of interest.
Degu — 02/21/2021
Did that bag wriggle?
Harpur was immediately distracted by everything else. Jack seemed polite enough and it was disarming, but more so when he brushed at his eyes. Given he'd heard the mention of Piero before they'd supposedly started whispering, he realized that he might have walked in on an emotional moment. It seemed to him like Jack was brushing away tears rather than blood.
"Ah-" he suddenly felt awkward and a bit embarrassed at the realization.
"I'm sorry if this was a bad time. I can be on my way shortly" It was more for Marc than anything, the captain looked at him and offered a genuine smile, however subtle. "Ah you know, Just taking a brief break from my paperwork. I let it pile up this week" it worked as an answer to both of their questions. It was rare for the captain to ever let paperwork pile up with how damn married to his job he was though, so that might have struck as odd too.
"Well..." he cleared his throat and patted his hands stiffly at his side. He was clearly feeling awkward "You boys alright?" he said in the daddest way possible, the corners of his lips quirking with a stiff grimace. Matters of emotion were difficult and damn intimidating to the brute.
Rigby — 02/21/2021
He dipped his head somewhat. "Thank you. Yeah. It's...a lot, and out here - or hunting, or with Cie or training...it helps. It's not in there." His stomach was in knots. He could've kept speaking, relieved to hear that someone else...anyone outside of the family's circle would listen, that they weren't keeping all of this grief and innumerable secrets and fears contained and unsaid. That something was in fact very very wrong and Marc really wasn't so stoic that he couldn't bend and break from the weight of it all.
Harpur's arrival was reprieve, relief, and a muddle of other feelings Marc could not quite pick apart.
"It's not a bad time, no." The incline of his head as a question for Jack - was he all right? - might've come across a little more feral than he'd intended. Or more feral than he was aware at all.
Jack may have had space to answer Harpur first, as Marc took a deep breath, dragged his hand down his face once again, looked up at the larger man with a startling show of vulnerability...before finally going with a "Working on it." Harpur did know, or at least...know enough. Sandro's deterioration would've looked a lot different, though similarly horrifying, to the eyes of people who weren't his children.
Rook — 02/21/2021
"You're alright, just trying to set up a hunt. We considered bringing others, just need to think of what some can do." Jack replied, since he was keen on not bringing up mention of Piero or what he had telepathically hid from the Captain. "Cienna's not a hunter, would rather not strain her with anything."
The incline of the head was met with a slight tilt of his, though he found something Harpur said to be curious. "Did you? I guess I can understand, who wants to settle behind a desk for that when one could be watching the streets, right? Perhaps you could get an assistant." He suggested to the 'older' man, leaning into the gazebo as he had done before, but in a spot where he wouldn't be blocking Marc.
At Marc's response to the man, the vampire watched him a moment. "Take your time."
Degu — 02/21/2021
Harpur's own tension seemed to fade as he was told he hadn't come at a bad time. He made his way across to Marc and reached out to gently put a hand on his shoulder before patting his back. It wasn't much but Harpur knew the value of a good squeeze on the shoulder in hard times. "Cienna's more capable than many give her credit for." he said it more secretively, because he knew it wasn't a sentiment her father would have approved of.
"She simply needs the room to grow..." not that he wanted her going off with this Jack fellow but perhaps if she AND Marc were there. Talk of Piero had him feeling raw enough, though...the thought of anyone going out into the woods with a vampire made him uncomfortable but he bit it down. The mention of an assistant made him sneer "One unwanted tag-along is enough for me, thanks." rumors had spread fast about his new partner, people seemed to be very amused by it. He could tell.
Not that he wasn't thinking about it, an assistant would be nice but he was too much of a perfectionist and task master that it would be hard for him to share his paperwork with someone else.
He didn't sit down but leaned against one of the pillars of the gazebo from the outside, pressing a shoulder into it. He wanted to breach the subject he'd walked in on...it'd ended when he'd arrived of course. "How is everything at home?" If Marc was here, then he was probably avoiding his father. As if to give Marc a way of answering that without getting into it the Captain continued "If you'd like, I can drop by the estate on the way home" in other words, check in on Sandro while Marc stayed out.
Rigby — 02/24/2021
"We're planning a hunt!" wasn't an echo so much as it had erupted unintentionally and simultaneous with Jack, and he bit down on that impulse and flushed. Talk of the desk-work and the politics behind Harpur's new partner guard business than Faewatch, and this did not seem a place to voice his own complicated feelings about it all. Perhaps -
Marc stiffened at that shoulder touch, but it was blessedly brief; aside from that point of contact, he'd relaxed into it. Harpur was becoming welcomed and good. This was something that was okay...and needed, in a way as unlike how he'd needed Jack as how he'd needed him, too.
"Cienna is," was as soft as it was warm, genuine. "...so capable." And it ached, strangely, though the lapse was carefully tempered shortly after.
He was more ready for the question after his home life; he did make eye contact with a look that spoke volumes more than he could properly articulate in the moment, and lifted his head in a half nod. "I think my father would like that. Enrica n'Jac, too."
Rook — 02/24/2021
"Cienna also seems a little, ah, sick?" Jack looked to Marc to confirm whether or not she just dealt with common colds more than most. "Well, we'll find something to help her grow, yes?" He asked the young nobleman more than he did Harpur, even going as far as to pat him on the shoulder. "I'll take your word for it, though." He smiled when Marc's tone changed, but turned back to Harpur finally.
"No? Well, something to consider. It'd give you more time to sleep. Can you imagine being over-tired if someone's causing trouble? I can't." It was meant to be overconfidence, as if to jab at Harpur's inability to keep up with a supe.
"When would you like to go hunting, Marcello?"
Degu — 02/24/2021
Harpur felt a rare warmth in his heart when Marc relaxed for him, it was acceptance to the older man. He smiled too when Marc spoke of Cienna, seeming to be of the same mind but when Jack had the audacity to suggest he needed more time to sleep, he was able to read between the lines and felt himself bristle. It had been a statement that could have been genuine but Harpur was SURE it wasn't, but again he could prove nothing. The captain narrowed his eyes and smiled tightly "I hardly think it's necessary... I've managed all this time."
He worked his jaw before turning to look at Marc and smiling warmly again "I'll head over there now, I'll take them something tasty hm? Stay out as long as you need, i'll keep an eye on them for you" it wasn't his place to tell Marc whether he could stay out all night or not but Harpur certainly intended to mean he needn't feel obligated to come home to check everyone is alright so soon. In fact Harpur pulled a ring of keys from his belt and did something rather unexpected, he placed a key in Marc's palm.
"Let yourself in if you need somewhere to rest. I might stay at yours tonight if I'm needed, so you may as well. There's food, a few beers too." he rumbled fondly and stood up, taking a step away from the gazebo as he set the ring of keys back on his belt. He cleared his throat, trying to shake off the fond expression he realized he'd worn in front of Jack (of all people) "Good luck planning your hunt, boys. Just be careful." it might have sounded a bit like a warning. If not stopped, he'd nod to each of them and turn to continue his walk in the direction of the Aiolfi estate.
Rigby — 02/25/2021
It was Marc's weakness, this intersection of troubles after troubles of people he'd loved, never mind his own very strange personal stressor; Jack calling out Cienna's illness did see the young man slump slightly, in spite of himself...and then rub his temples with a thumb and forefinger on his own realization that he'd just done that. "Anything to help her," was a murmur, small and time-wounded, as much of an admission that something was very wrong as anything. He was running out of options, and while neither had vocalized it, they both knew they were running out of time.
It also lent the other two men the benefit of their own subsequent jabs at each other being momentarily unnoticed by the third.
And saw Marc genuinely get choked up by Harpur's key. He wouldn't cry in front of either; oddly it gave him enough resolve to give Harpur a little bow, one that scraped at formality and failed and instead ended as Marc looking up to the big man, eyes shining and full to the brim of emotion upon emotion, an ever-increasing pile he was having a tough time containing.
And to Jack, "Tonight's too soon? I can do tonight if I can get my things. Or how about tomorrow?"
Rook — 02/25/2021
"Just a suggestion." Jack said, as it was that and nothing more. He even held his hands up, as if to hint the whole comment was innocent. When Marc slumped, he leaned in a bit, inclining his head. "Do you have any idea what might?" Perhaps he'd have more idea this illness, the vampire assumed. If not, well, there were things to consider to make it less of an issue.
Harpur handed over keys and Marc got choked, albeit not enough to actually start sobbing. Jack didn't stop the Captain from leaving, but although going to Harpur's was mighty tempting (if only to learn more), Marc's emotional state was probably not good for a hunt.
"Tomorrow is good. We'll be able to plan better and get the others. Do you want me to walk with you to Harpur's?"
Degu — 02/25/2021
Harpur had met those eyes and his own had softened considerably. He wanted to make it all better and that much was clear, all he could do was smile and squeeze Marc's shoulder more tightly before he left.
Rigby — 02/27/2021
Harpur, too, got a parting bow that manifested as a half-dip of his head.
Jack, however, did get a little more details - still vague, but revealing in what was unsaid. "Nothing...normal. Try talking to her father about...alternate-healing." It was bitter, and the delivery was clear - Marc believed this would lead nowhere.
When Jack asked after the hunt, he did straighten up after a long, deep breath. He resisted gripping his elbows, instead bringing his fingers together, folded and clasped in his lap.
"Tomorrow. Meet up outside the house?"
The Vampire often avoided the Aiolfi household intentionally, for now, opting for finding the wayward children elsewhere. It was a little later in the evening and, just for the moment, he was dressed in more casual clothes. A day off, something he often used for moments in the woods rather than exploration of the City itself. Except for this current night. He wore a mixture of earthen colors, lacking weapons and even jewelry - intent on standing out no more than any other citizen.
Once he found Marc, Jack made his over to the younger man and nodded his greeting. "Good evening, Marcello. I trust you're well? Enjoying your own company this night?" He asked curiously, though his expression appeared its usual sleepy 'self. "I hope you're still interested in possible hunts, provided your family doesn't mind!"
Rigby — 02/20/2021
There were some guards Marc could feel before he could see, with a sense he'd yet to understand, never mind articulate. And Jack was among them.
No matter the way that the vampire had approached, no matter from which direction he came or whether he was even in eye or earshot, it evoked an instinctive straightening of the boy's back, a slightly canted head.
Jian was riding along in a sling, hidden only somewhat discreetly under his coat - but the little beak and bright, living eye poking out of its opening, as well as the very, very soft, tiny, quizzical trills, were a second herald.
"Not your hours, huh?" He relaxed slightly when he actually saw Jack. "Yeah. Just...needed to be out here for a while instead of in there." He went oddly quiet at the mention of his dad's approval, expression turned somewhwat inward.
"I'm always interested in hunts!" finally just...popped out. Not too quickly, yet something hurried about it all the same. It was true enough, and danced around a few things he wasn't really ready to confront head-on. "Were you thinking of one soon?"
Rook — 02/20/2021
Jack noticed that Marc tensed, but he would pretend otherwise and remain nonchalant the entire time. "Not tonight, no. Back to it tomorrow, though, we'll see how much free time I have after." He'd spent time messing around at a certain Guard job. "Makes sense." He would nod, coming to rest near one of the gazebos.
"Good, good. I am curious to see how you hunt." Jack confessed, tenting his fingers over his stomach. "When would be best for you? Would you like to bring anyone along?" He asked curiously, but continued to lounge there against the arched entrance of said gazebo. "The young lady you guard, does she hunt, too? I've never asked her, considered bringing Tommaso."
Degu — 02/20/2021
Harpur was a busy man but sometimes an evening walk after work was needed to center oneself. Dressed more simply, he obviously wasn't expecting to see anyone. This wasn't his week of night shifts either, so it was just time to himself. He passed through the park from the bridge towards the market. He moved slowly around square topiary, through the center of the little areas of concealed gazebos only to pause as he heard voices on the other side of the bushes.... Marc? and someone else. It sounded like they were in the other Gazebo area across the way.
He frowned. Perhaps it wasn't very honorable but he sat down in the gazebo across the way to listen. The fountain covered up the sound a little but it was a gentle thing. He felt concern swell, he was sure he'd caught the end of Marc talking about 'there'... was it really so bad when he wasn't there? This poor family.
Rigby — 02/21/2021
"How I hunt-!" was a small echo, tonally wrong as if he'd got caught sniping some snacks from the kitchens prematurely. It was fleeting and strange, stilled and recovered with no evident prompt at all - of course people hunted in different ways, how couldn't they. "Close range? Crossbow? That kind of thing? All sorts, really!"
"My sister hadn't been allowed at all until just before my...just a couple of years ago, and my father'd allow her ever since, she'd had a better head for it than me or Piero." He'd not caught himself this time but if permitted he would take a breath and run both hands down his face as a means to re-center - and avoid grabbing his own arms. Stumbling right out of talking about his mother only saw him land right into talking about his brother. Graceful, Marc, really noble of you. Damn it.
The way his eyes lit up with even the slightest mention of Cienna though was unmistakable. "She..." Difficult one to answer. What she did and had done with the Aiolfi children (and trainer) remained at Aiolfi. "It wouldn't hurt to ask her if she were interested!"
Rook — 02/21/2021
"Ah, very good. I prefer bows myself, or traps. Sometimes those are good when you don't have a lot of time." Like him and the sunrise, but that could likely also by meant for prey that weren't just animals....a fact he wouldn't bring up. While Jack had likely noticed Harpur, he kept his attention on Marc.
"Does your father worry about her more?" The vampire asked, but Marc led into mention of a Piero and he was immediately curious. "...Piero? If you don't mind me asking, of course. If it's a hard subject, I won't insist. If you need someone to talk about it, well." An offer to a seat.
What Harpur would hear, on account of Jack not wanting him to possibly butt in was 'Rough subject, I assume. Well, let's not get into that then...want to sit? Go over the hunt with some manner of comfort?'. All it took from Jack was focusing on Harpur's mind and twisting things around them, but he would continue to block out further talk of Piero being heard, if it was brought up.
If Marc chose to sit, he'd follow.
"If she does, we'll be mindful, yes? She's very small in comparison, so maybe we'll find something she can do that isn't very strenuous on her."
Degu — 02/21/2021
Harpur sagged, feeling his heavy heart ache as he heard about Piero. He longed to rush across there and throw his arms around Marc, and the thought of Marc ever dying like that on duty was a hard one. His wish to be on Faewatch wasn't all to do with work after all, it was because Marc was there as well. Part of the captain wanted to make sure he was safe even though he was a capable soul.
But then as he listened on and leaned into a pillar of the gazebo it seemed they moved on from that subject rather quickly. Was that Jack across the way? he'd mentioned Cienna too.
Rigby — 02/21/2021
It was the oddest reaction that twisted in Marc's throat, one that Jack had ended up evoking from the man. Enrica and Cienna had up until now shared in these worries, Harpur too - and even a little bit of Quinne and the Vaidya had some pieces of this picture. The past couple of years had been a tangle of worries and tragedy, twisting into feelings barely pent up, guards wearing down moment by moment - and now this guard, this ναмριⱤɆ was asking and it was the strangest mental contradiction in his life. It squeezed at the propriety and stoicism he'd desperately tried so hard to maintain.
And Jack wasn't even touching the weird business he was trying to handle. At least, not knowingly.
Marc did sit, just for a moment, perching on the very edge of a bench.
"He's not...been well. My father, I mean. But when he is, he worries. He doesn't say why when it comes to Enrica, but...'mean. It's only been a little more than a year since they found Piero while he was out on his watch." He didn't say who they were but one hand briefly lifted to rub disquieted at his throat while he'd described 'finding' him, before both hands finally slipped to his elbows to clasp tightly. He would not cry in front of this guard, that would be weird and incorrect. The gesture helped.
"He worries about Cienna, too, but I figure that's always been...what you said, being mindful of her." There wasn't more there, it seemed, but his eyes were slightly more guarded now. She was tiny, after all! "She goes wherever I go. That was another thing our fathers sometimes disagreed on! Should've heard how Grimani was about Enrica going on hunts!"
But on to matters of the hunt...which still somehow managed to be about his brother, anyway. "Could never do traps. Piero couldn't, either." There was a story that simmered there, too. "I could never the kind of shot he was with anything - a bow, a crossbow, his luck was just..." A vague lift of both hands, a gesture outward. Guess his luck was excellent! Except for the part about getting killed. "We'd go out, sometimes with the dogs, and compete - but he was FAST. Every single time, he'd come home with far more animals than I ever could manage. Was thinking if I could win just once...or get to some fey-wild creature before he did. Someone was...just faster, is all."
Rook — 02/21/2021
Jack watched as Marc considered it, ready to twist things further. He wasn't sure how well Harpur knew this family, afterall, or if he was included on any mention of Marc's deceased brother. Jack allowed the bit about Enrica and his father to slip, simply because the first mention came without interference. The rest was twisted to sound about other things that might concern his father, such as the girl being a more wayward sort.
Afterall, wandering alone would concern anyone, lost sibling or not, right?
"A father tends to assume their daughters need further protection, while their sons need little more than guidance. I assume that might be the case here." He added with 'With your friend, Cienna', which he happily cut out from Harpur hearing. Simply about Enrica, yep. The bit that was actually about Cienna wasn't masked. "Like I said, we'll be careful of her. She seems to get a cough from time to time, do you think we should bundle her up too?" It was a gentle attempt at prying, but then came more of Piero.
Everything that followed after 'Piero couldn't, either' was absolute silence. Jack knew it was easier than twisting words, and he'd moved again, so he could stand next to Marc. An attempt to cut off any possibility of someone seeing him talk and realizing nothing was coming out.
"Faster...? A someone? You don't think it was an animal?" Jack asked gently, moving a cold hand to Marc's shoulder. "Were you there that day?"
Degu — 02/21/2021
Harpur felt dishonest sat here trying to listen in, but he was worried about that family and if that vampire was hanging around, he was even more worried. Surely that wasn't him over there right now though, right? but they were talking about hunts and hunts had been the thing that Jack was supposedly doing with the 'kids'. Marc knew better than to consort with a vampire and wander off into the damn forest with him, right? especially after Piero.
Piero. Poor Piero.
What if it happened again? what if this Jack fellow was luring them off to their deaths. He couldn't hear them anymore, maybe they were whispering at a volume lower than the fountain's trickling. The Captain stood up abruptly and ran a hand through his hair and stood up. Well he could solve both of his problems, he didn't have to feel dishonest sitting here and he didn't have to stay out of it, right? This Jack fellow was dangerous as far as he was concerned and he didn't feel right leaving, even if he could tell Marc needed this conversation.
What a dilemma.
He sighed and turned to head around the fountain. The large man appeared past the hedges right near to them "I thought I heard a familiar voice." he said simply. He had intended to smile at Marc, but the ex-slayers stare instead fell straight on Jack. His steady stare was a warning "Private Jack, is it?"
Rigby — 02/21/2021
Marc pulled gloves back on at Jack's touch; it seemed simple enough, but it was cover for something else. The contact tugged at something else, that yawning void that was everywhere and difficult to place all at once.
It also gave his hands something to do in lieu of his usual nervous tics; the shimmer of something across one eye only brief.
"A someone. He was stabbed. Neck and chest...said he was strangled too, dunno how they'd know that, I don't believe it, he wouldn't've let that happen." This Piero was quick, and that seemed to stick with Marc.
"I wasn't there, but I remember when they'd found him and brought him back." The restraint forced it into something almost rote and mechanical. He didn't need to say any more. "I don't want to see...anyone else like that, again. Not that way, not before you should." Like his mom.
And like Cienna.
He could've said more, might indeed have broken further despite his own restraint - and then Harpur arrived. Jack may have felt some tension release, transform, in Marc's shoulder.
"Harpur!" He'd almost greeted with the any formalized faewatch-to-guard gestures, but this entire meeting seemed pretty casual - and Jian wriggled back down into Marc's bag. "Glad seeing you out here, what brings you around?"
Rook — 02/21/2021
Jack's hand squeezed at his shoulder again as he mentioned the injuries, and he was quiet a moment, as if to process it all. If he'd notice that glimmer, he seemed oblivious to it. "I'm sorry, I can only imagine how hard and jarring that must have been for you. Especially at your age. If you ever need anything, I'm also here." As well as the rest of his family, and Cienna, but he was sure Marc already knew that.
He'd notice the change in tension, and moved his hand away, allowing the young nobleman greet the Captain without silence cutting out any further comment from either of them. However, the man's eyes were on him and the warning was met with something akin to blissful unawareness. Perhaps an annoying response, as if Harpur's greeting was considered welcoming.
"Good evening, Captain. Are you off this evening, too? Wonderful, truly. It's a good night for it." A smile followed those words, offering an innocent display of unnaturally curved canines. He moved a hand up, brushing the gloved palm against the corner of one of his eyes. "Apologizes, weird sting." What blood settled was brushed and blinked away, gone before it became a point of interest.
Degu — 02/21/2021
Did that bag wriggle?
Harpur was immediately distracted by everything else. Jack seemed polite enough and it was disarming, but more so when he brushed at his eyes. Given he'd heard the mention of Piero before they'd supposedly started whispering, he realized that he might have walked in on an emotional moment. It seemed to him like Jack was brushing away tears rather than blood.
"Ah-" he suddenly felt awkward and a bit embarrassed at the realization.
"I'm sorry if this was a bad time. I can be on my way shortly" It was more for Marc than anything, the captain looked at him and offered a genuine smile, however subtle. "Ah you know, Just taking a brief break from my paperwork. I let it pile up this week" it worked as an answer to both of their questions. It was rare for the captain to ever let paperwork pile up with how damn married to his job he was though, so that might have struck as odd too.
"Well..." he cleared his throat and patted his hands stiffly at his side. He was clearly feeling awkward "You boys alright?" he said in the daddest way possible, the corners of his lips quirking with a stiff grimace. Matters of emotion were difficult and damn intimidating to the brute.
Rigby — 02/21/2021
He dipped his head somewhat. "Thank you. Yeah. It's...a lot, and out here - or hunting, or with Cie or training...it helps. It's not in there." His stomach was in knots. He could've kept speaking, relieved to hear that someone else...anyone outside of the family's circle would listen, that they weren't keeping all of this grief and innumerable secrets and fears contained and unsaid. That something was in fact very very wrong and Marc really wasn't so stoic that he couldn't bend and break from the weight of it all.
Harpur's arrival was reprieve, relief, and a muddle of other feelings Marc could not quite pick apart.
"It's not a bad time, no." The incline of his head as a question for Jack - was he all right? - might've come across a little more feral than he'd intended. Or more feral than he was aware at all.
Jack may have had space to answer Harpur first, as Marc took a deep breath, dragged his hand down his face once again, looked up at the larger man with a startling show of vulnerability...before finally going with a "Working on it." Harpur did know, or at least...know enough. Sandro's deterioration would've looked a lot different, though similarly horrifying, to the eyes of people who weren't his children.
Rook — 02/21/2021
"You're alright, just trying to set up a hunt. We considered bringing others, just need to think of what some can do." Jack replied, since he was keen on not bringing up mention of Piero or what he had telepathically hid from the Captain. "Cienna's not a hunter, would rather not strain her with anything."
The incline of the head was met with a slight tilt of his, though he found something Harpur said to be curious. "Did you? I guess I can understand, who wants to settle behind a desk for that when one could be watching the streets, right? Perhaps you could get an assistant." He suggested to the 'older' man, leaning into the gazebo as he had done before, but in a spot where he wouldn't be blocking Marc.
At Marc's response to the man, the vampire watched him a moment. "Take your time."
Degu — 02/21/2021
Harpur's own tension seemed to fade as he was told he hadn't come at a bad time. He made his way across to Marc and reached out to gently put a hand on his shoulder before patting his back. It wasn't much but Harpur knew the value of a good squeeze on the shoulder in hard times. "Cienna's more capable than many give her credit for." he said it more secretively, because he knew it wasn't a sentiment her father would have approved of.
"She simply needs the room to grow..." not that he wanted her going off with this Jack fellow but perhaps if she AND Marc were there. Talk of Piero had him feeling raw enough, though...the thought of anyone going out into the woods with a vampire made him uncomfortable but he bit it down. The mention of an assistant made him sneer "One unwanted tag-along is enough for me, thanks." rumors had spread fast about his new partner, people seemed to be very amused by it. He could tell.
Not that he wasn't thinking about it, an assistant would be nice but he was too much of a perfectionist and task master that it would be hard for him to share his paperwork with someone else.
He didn't sit down but leaned against one of the pillars of the gazebo from the outside, pressing a shoulder into it. He wanted to breach the subject he'd walked in on...it'd ended when he'd arrived of course. "How is everything at home?" If Marc was here, then he was probably avoiding his father. As if to give Marc a way of answering that without getting into it the Captain continued "If you'd like, I can drop by the estate on the way home" in other words, check in on Sandro while Marc stayed out.
Rigby — 02/24/2021
"We're planning a hunt!" wasn't an echo so much as it had erupted unintentionally and simultaneous with Jack, and he bit down on that impulse and flushed. Talk of the desk-work and the politics behind Harpur's new partner guard business than Faewatch, and this did not seem a place to voice his own complicated feelings about it all. Perhaps -
Marc stiffened at that shoulder touch, but it was blessedly brief; aside from that point of contact, he'd relaxed into it. Harpur was becoming welcomed and good. This was something that was okay...and needed, in a way as unlike how he'd needed Jack as how he'd needed him, too.
"Cienna is," was as soft as it was warm, genuine. "...so capable." And it ached, strangely, though the lapse was carefully tempered shortly after.
He was more ready for the question after his home life; he did make eye contact with a look that spoke volumes more than he could properly articulate in the moment, and lifted his head in a half nod. "I think my father would like that. Enrica n'Jac, too."
Rook — 02/24/2021
"Cienna also seems a little, ah, sick?" Jack looked to Marc to confirm whether or not she just dealt with common colds more than most. "Well, we'll find something to help her grow, yes?" He asked the young nobleman more than he did Harpur, even going as far as to pat him on the shoulder. "I'll take your word for it, though." He smiled when Marc's tone changed, but turned back to Harpur finally.
"No? Well, something to consider. It'd give you more time to sleep. Can you imagine being over-tired if someone's causing trouble? I can't." It was meant to be overconfidence, as if to jab at Harpur's inability to keep up with a supe.
"When would you like to go hunting, Marcello?"
Degu — 02/24/2021
Harpur felt a rare warmth in his heart when Marc relaxed for him, it was acceptance to the older man. He smiled too when Marc spoke of Cienna, seeming to be of the same mind but when Jack had the audacity to suggest he needed more time to sleep, he was able to read between the lines and felt himself bristle. It had been a statement that could have been genuine but Harpur was SURE it wasn't, but again he could prove nothing. The captain narrowed his eyes and smiled tightly "I hardly think it's necessary... I've managed all this time."
He worked his jaw before turning to look at Marc and smiling warmly again "I'll head over there now, I'll take them something tasty hm? Stay out as long as you need, i'll keep an eye on them for you" it wasn't his place to tell Marc whether he could stay out all night or not but Harpur certainly intended to mean he needn't feel obligated to come home to check everyone is alright so soon. In fact Harpur pulled a ring of keys from his belt and did something rather unexpected, he placed a key in Marc's palm.
"Let yourself in if you need somewhere to rest. I might stay at yours tonight if I'm needed, so you may as well. There's food, a few beers too." he rumbled fondly and stood up, taking a step away from the gazebo as he set the ring of keys back on his belt. He cleared his throat, trying to shake off the fond expression he realized he'd worn in front of Jack (of all people) "Good luck planning your hunt, boys. Just be careful." it might have sounded a bit like a warning. If not stopped, he'd nod to each of them and turn to continue his walk in the direction of the Aiolfi estate.
Rigby — 02/25/2021
It was Marc's weakness, this intersection of troubles after troubles of people he'd loved, never mind his own very strange personal stressor; Jack calling out Cienna's illness did see the young man slump slightly, in spite of himself...and then rub his temples with a thumb and forefinger on his own realization that he'd just done that. "Anything to help her," was a murmur, small and time-wounded, as much of an admission that something was very wrong as anything. He was running out of options, and while neither had vocalized it, they both knew they were running out of time.
It also lent the other two men the benefit of their own subsequent jabs at each other being momentarily unnoticed by the third.
And saw Marc genuinely get choked up by Harpur's key. He wouldn't cry in front of either; oddly it gave him enough resolve to give Harpur a little bow, one that scraped at formality and failed and instead ended as Marc looking up to the big man, eyes shining and full to the brim of emotion upon emotion, an ever-increasing pile he was having a tough time containing.
And to Jack, "Tonight's too soon? I can do tonight if I can get my things. Or how about tomorrow?"
Rook — 02/25/2021
"Just a suggestion." Jack said, as it was that and nothing more. He even held his hands up, as if to hint the whole comment was innocent. When Marc slumped, he leaned in a bit, inclining his head. "Do you have any idea what might?" Perhaps he'd have more idea this illness, the vampire assumed. If not, well, there were things to consider to make it less of an issue.
Harpur handed over keys and Marc got choked, albeit not enough to actually start sobbing. Jack didn't stop the Captain from leaving, but although going to Harpur's was mighty tempting (if only to learn more), Marc's emotional state was probably not good for a hunt.
"Tomorrow is good. We'll be able to plan better and get the others. Do you want me to walk with you to Harpur's?"
Degu — 02/25/2021
Harpur had met those eyes and his own had softened considerably. He wanted to make it all better and that much was clear, all he could do was smile and squeeze Marc's shoulder more tightly before he left.
Rigby — 02/27/2021
Harpur, too, got a parting bow that manifested as a half-dip of his head.
Jack, however, did get a little more details - still vague, but revealing in what was unsaid. "Nothing...normal. Try talking to her father about...alternate-healing." It was bitter, and the delivery was clear - Marc believed this would lead nowhere.
When Jack asked after the hunt, he did straighten up after a long, deep breath. He resisted gripping his elbows, instead bringing his fingers together, folded and clasped in his lap.
"Tomorrow. Meet up outside the house?"
