Ari ♫ ♪ ♬ (gracenotes) wrote in emillion, @ 2013-08-19 10:22:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !log, arielle chiaro, drake liu, pyr min, sky min |
Trouble it will find you no matter where you go, no matter if you're fast, no matter if you're slow…
Who: Ari, Drake, Pyr, and Sky
What: The jig is up, kids!
Where: Bazar District
When: After 5 today
Rating: PG
Status: Complete~!
Their agreement to meet for ice cream after her return to Valendia had had to be pushed several times due to one circumstance or another, and the day prior had been... painfully difficult, to say the very least, so Ari had simply shown up at Bahamut Hall this afternoon, near the end of the day, and perched on Drake’s desk and stared at him until he put his papers away and agreed that if they didn’t get ice cream now, they probably never would. It had been a scorching day, typical of late Leo, and even now that the worst of the afternoon heat had faded, the chilled treat still tasted extraordinarily satisfying. They walked slowly in the direction of the Commoners’ District. Most of Drake’s injuries were healed, but he was still moving somewhat gingerly. Fortunately, a leisurely pace suited them fine, and Ari didn’t mind walking her friend home before continuing on her way. He was in the process of teasing her about Aspel - again, really, didn’t he grow weary of it? - when she spotted a familiar figure emerging from the bakery they were passing. She raised her hand to wave at the boy, called out, “Sky!” Pyr was having a great day. One of his afternoon classes had been cancelled due to some reason or other and Arwel had let Sky get away from the warehouse earlier than usual, so the twins had made their way to Mariela’s. Of course Baker’s Dozen was a lot better, but since that was still closed for repairs, the twins had had no option but to make do with a different bakery. The cookies they’d bought were actually pretty good, but Pyr thought Rene’s were much better. And on some level, he felt if he liked the baked goods from Mariela’s too much, that would be a little like betraying Rene. He hoped Rene’s would reopen soon. As the twins were heading for the door, Sky darted back to grab a couple more free sample cookies so Pyr went out into the street first. He was thinking about where they could go next when an all-too-familiar voice called out Sky's name behind him. Crap. Pyr turned around and sure enough, there was Ari waving at him. Worse yet - the man walking with her was Councilor Drake Liu. The day had been going so well. Too well, in fact. He looked into the bakery and willed his brother to stay inside until he could somehow get rid of those two, though how he was going to do it he had no idea. Ari had taken him for Sky, and Drake would recognise him for who he really was. And Sky was on his way out of the bakery now. There hadn’t been any way to dissuade Ari from her ice cream mission and so Drake had graciously obliged, even though he’d been spending most of the week staying late to catch up on things. Aspel hadn’t been kidding when she’d said he was stuck to his desk, and had made it a point to start checking in on him after his sparring session with Divina Tuesday. Which, given thought, hadn’t been the smartest move of his. But he had been feeling better, and ice cream sounded amazing, and it had been a while since he and Ari had gone and done anything, aside from dinner the night before his birthday. So he let her lead him out into the streets and to one of the ice cream parlours, where he’d bought her ice cream, and then accompanied her through the Bazaar. It still hurt to walk for long periods of time, but he needed to work through it, and he’d dealt with worse. He hadn’t seen Pyr at first, but as soon as Ari had called out to someone named Sky, Drake had turned his head to where she was looking. Outside of the nearby bakery stood Pyr, and Drake frowned. “I know him,” he said to Ari as they approached. “Why are you calling him Sky?” He turned to Pyr and narrowed his eyes. “Why is she calling you Sky, Pyr?” And that was when Pyr’s double walked out of the shop. Sky had a chipmunk face full of cookie when he saw Ari and -- crap, what was that guy’s name again? He had fought him before and had gotten thoroughly beat, but at least it was something to be expected unlike that one girl. But they were staring at both him and Pyr -- him and Pyr. Oh crap. Crap. Crap. He sewed his lips together mostly to keep the chunks of cookie from falling out of his mouth, and he racked his brain for a good and appropriate story to tell. Play dumb? Pretend like they were clones? Try to turn it around on the adults and say that maybe the heat was getting to them and that there was only one of them and not two and they must be feeling pretty dizzy so they should go find some shade and lemonade? Or just slink back into the shop. Maybe they hadn’t noticed him? But even Sky knew that that was the dumbest idea ever. If only Audrey would teach him actual ninja skills, like that disappearing move she used on him the first time they met! They he could disappear to behind them and act like it was a blip of their imagination! Sky finally swallowed the chunks of cookie and said, “This-- we can explain this.” Though how was still eluding Sky, and he needed to think quicker. “Well,” Ari said. It took her only a few moments to realize what was going on, and then a huge grin nearly split her face. “This does explain some things, doesn’t it? Not bad,” she had to admit. “I had no idea.” It would come in so much handy. Imagine! The sorts of trouble she and Audrey could have gotten into at that age, if they could switch places... The identical guilty and panicked looks on their faces were absolutely priceless. “So, which one of you is... Brave Bard Sky, and which of you is Melvin, whom I saved from a fate worse than death?” Frantic to find a way out of the mess they were in, Pyr considered all the options available to them, and realized they were all crappy options. They couldn't very well run back into the bakery as if nothing had happened, Sky's new mentor had neglected to teach him vital ninja skills that may have helped, and he doubted putting on their best innocent looks would cut it. He briefly entertained the thought of asking them if they enjoyed literary fiction -- he had a few signed copies of his father's last book in his room at Lindwyrm, and maybe these two were fans -- but discarded the idea. Councilor Liu probably knew Peony, and if Pyr brought up Suoh Min Drake would no doubt make the connection, and maybe tell Peony that the twins had been switching places at training, and Pyr couldn't see how that would lead to anything but more trouble. So, resigned to his fate, he raised his hand and said, "I'm Melvin. I was at the beach, too," because what the heck, the jig was up and he might as well come out with it. He pointed at his brother and said, "This is Sky." He didn't miss the way Ari had censored the song title, which he was grateful for. And she seemed to be on their side, so maybe she was their ticket out of this tight spot. Pyr rummaged in his bag and fished out a bag with a couple of cookies inside. He'd been saving them for later, but it couldn't be helped. "Cookie?" He offered them the bag. "They're double chocolate chip." And if that didn't help, then nothing would. He had to blink a few times before he could trust that he really was seeing two Pyr Mins. A twin. Fantastic. Though it really explained so much about the fluctuations in the squire’s training and skill. He’d been wondering if maybe the kid wasn’t taking something because some days, he was at level and others? Well, Conan could probably beat him. Pyr held out the cookie and Drake shook his head. Now the kid was trying to bribe him. Great. “Sit, both of you,” he instructed them. At least it seemed like Ari hadn’t been aware of it, so he wasn’t the only one. Small mercies. “First things first. How many sessions have you switched?” That was going to determine punishment. Drake figured it was at least twice; if that was all, then Pyr would get off light. Kitchen duty or something. He was really going to have to find the kid a mentor soon. Drake really couldn’t keep up. Sky exchanged glances with Pyr, and when his brother nodded Sky sighed in resignation and took a seat at the nearby bench with him. This was not going to be fun. Crap. He didn’t know how to answer the man. Sky spent so many days counting and working with numbers that this was not something he thought to keep track of himself. Again, he glanced over at Pyr, and with a shrug, he tried, “I dunno. A couple? Maybe?” That was how many times he saw this guy, right? It was more if he didn’t count the times that he didn’t have to wind up fighting him, but that was definitely not a safe answer. Taking Pyr’s earlier cue, Sky decided to relinquish one of his free cookies. He wasn’t about to give up the ones he actually paid for. “Another cookie?” Ari had taken Pyr’s cookie when Drake turned it down - no reason to turn down free sweets, after all. “I know of at least two instances,” she said, amused. “And if Audrey’s quite lengthy rant at me last week about a sudden precipitous drop in skill is to be considered - this one,” she interrupted herself, gesturing at the boy who had been identified as Sky, “is Audrey’s apprentice - then that’s one more. Have a cookie, Drake,” she suggested, polishing hers off. “They’re good.” But really, she had had a Fighters’ Guild squire picking pockets? Poorly, yes, but she was equal parts apprehensive and impressed about it. Fortunately, he didn’t seem in any hurry to expound upon his activities with her, either, so she supposed having a thief for a brother helped one learn to keep one’s mouth shut, even at such an unreliable age as fifteen. "Two instances," Pyr corrected. In truth, it had been quite a few more than the three Ari had listed, but he wasn't stupid; he knew he'd be in big trouble if he admitted the truth. "Not fair to count the beach. I didn't participate in Sky's training that time." Better keep his wording vague. "So it's two, not three." Ari was in the same guild as Sky; surely she could appreciate haggling. And if she backed them up in front of Drake, it would be easier for the twins to get off light. "I attended Sky's training to cover for him on the two days he attended my classes." For some value of cover. He'd almost been brought before the EKP once, and had had to endure Audrey's displeasure for messing up simple tasks a few times. At least she hadn't made him climb down the wall of the brothel like she made Sky do on occasion. Climbing trees was one thing, but scaling buildings was on a different level. "We are extremely sorry and regret what we have done from the bottom of our hearts," Pyr said, putting on his best remorseful expression for Drake's benefit. For now they needed to get him to forgive their mischief. And they would have to be a lot more careful in the future. Drake didn’t believe that apology for a second. “Right,” he said skeptically. If they thought that was going to let them off the hook, they had another thing coming. He’d probably have to talk to Lea; if Ari knew Sky, then it was a good bet the kid was Bard’s Guild. Of course, he couldn’t entirely blame them. If he’d had a twin, he’d have probably done the same thing. But then, Drake would have taken great pains to never be caught. Traipsing through town and eating cookies together would have blown their cover even if Drake hadn’t come across them. Sighing, he shook his head. He was going to have to talk to Aspel about punishments. Also best to hold off on talking to Lea until after he’d talked to Aspel. Great. More work. “For now,” he started, looking at Pyr and ignoring the cookie Sky was holding out to them, “kitchen duty. Two weeks.” Which also meant he’d have to talk to Theo; just one more reason to contact the other man. He hoped Theo saw the benefit of having an extra hand rather than it being a nuisance. Drake knew little about the type of cooking Theo did except that it was tasty. Plus, he reasoned, it was just a head’s up. It wasn’t like Theo cooked there every day. Sky hated to be punished, and the times he’d had to endure it from both Audrey and Arwel were horrible enough. But he wasn’t about to let his brother take the full fall from this, either. He made another covert glance at him, silently promising that he’d take on some of that punishment. It was only fair. Besides, what worse things could Audrey and Arwel possibly do to him? That didn’t mean he wasn’t about to try to get his big brother of a few minutes out of this. “Please, sir,” he said with his best doe-eyed expression. “Don’t punish my brother. It was all my idea, see. I wanted to learn more about fighting and-- and stuff.” It was worth a shot, anyway. Ari laughed. “Unlikely,” she said. “Fighters are all about discipline, after all. You, Mel - no, that’s right, you’re Melvin, let’s see, what shall I call you when you misbehave... Herbert,” she decided on the spot. “So, you, Herbert, I will leave in Audrey’s tender, loving care.” She looked at Drake, added, “She will make him regret living for awhile, I assure you. Learn more about fighting, indeed.” The pitiful expressions were good, she had to grant them that - angelic faces, as she’d said - but she didn’t think Drake would be swayed by such transparent pleas. Compared to Herbert, Melvin was almost starting to sound like an okay name. Almost. Since Ari wasn't buying what Sky was selling, Pyr said, "I've always wanted to learn to sing." Well, Sky's guild was called the Bards' Guild after all, and Pyr doubted Ari was going to correct him this time. "That's why we did it." He wished he could say you're supposed to be on our side to Ari, because she wasn't doing them any favors as it was. She seemed more interested in being entertained at their expense than in helping them out. Still, kitchen duty didn't sound that bad. He could think of worse punishments than being in a position to get to the food before everyone else for two whole weeks. “Doesn’t matter whose idea it was,” Drake told them, shaking his head. If it was that easy to get out of trouble, Drake would never have been punished. He looked over at Ari, who seemed quite amused by the whole thing. “Audrey is the kid’s mentor?” Drake shook his head again. How on Faram’s green earth did Sky get stuck with Audrey? Which, really, was probably unfair of him since he didn’t know her that well, and she had been really useful the first time they’d met. Did that mean Sky was trying to go into Ninja class? Drake thought he was going to get a headache from all of this. “All right, Pyr,” Drake said, pulling himself from his thoughts, “I’m taking you back to the training halls. Ari, can you drop Sky off for me?” He didn’t know where Audrey lived, and just dropping the kid off at the Bard’s Guild hall probably wouldn’t do much good. Sky didn’t know which was worse: getting the promise that Audrey would punish him or being called Herbert. He decided that Herbert was worse; what more could Audrey do to him that she hadn’t done already? “It’s not like anyone got killed or anything,” he muttered, resigning himself to his fate. Really, he was more worried about Pyr. The Fighters’ Guild was far more rigid than the Bards’ Guild, and if it wasn’t for Arwel lecturing him about the importance of doing whatever this Duke Reinholdt told him to do Sky would’ve been certain that his guild wasn’t even real. But whatever, it wasn’t like that duke guy was going to care to do anything to him for this anyway. With a sigh, he stood, throwing an apologetic glance over at Pyr. “You won’t tell anyone else, will you?” he asked of both adults. “Just Audrey?” Because it was inevitable, no matter how Sky might plead otherwise. Then at least he might get out of a double whammy punishment with Arwel. “I don’t intend to ruin your fun,” Ari said with a bemused look. “But do try to keep the fun out of training sessions, hmm? Being a bard is rather hard work; you wouldn’t wish to fall behind on your studies.” She made no promises for Audrey, of course. What Audrey did was entirely up to her. “Don’t worry, Drake. I’ll take him to - ” she almost said the Red Light District, them amended it to simply “Audrey. Don’t be too hard on Melvin,” she added, offering the squire a rather sympathetic smile. His guild was rather too disciplined in her opinion. “I’m certain he didn’t intend any harm, did you? And it’s true - it seems no one got hurt.” Pyr shrugged and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He didn’t think it was that serious an infraction, either. Nothing had happened! But it was clear Drake wouldn’t be swayed, so Pyr went ahead and split the last of the cookies in half. If double chocolate chip goodness wasn’t going to get them out of trouble, well, at least it could lift their spirits a little. Pyr gave one half to his brother and shoved the other half in his mouth. Then, he stood from the bench and brushed the crumbs off his clothes. “Let’s go, then,” he said to Drake. If there was no way out of this situation, might as well get it over with soon. He nodded at Sky as if to say, it’ll be okay. He was more worried about his brother, really; Audrey seemed like the kind who’d give him a lot of unpleasant tasks to do as punishment. Well, maybe he could help Sky do some of the work too. “Talk later,” Pyr told Sky with a grin. The moment Drake dropped him off at the hall, he’d take out his communicator and message his brother, see how things had gone for him. No way Pyr wasn’t going to help out his brother if he got into trouble with Audrey because of this! Drake’s hand dropped onto Pyr’s shoulder. “Come on,” he grumbled. He had a funny feeling that Ari was going to count this as an interruption - which it was - and drag him out again - which he didn’t mind. Still. He had been enjoying his time out with her. And now he was going to have to deal with Pyr. “You know,” Drake said conversationally as they headed towards Lyndwyrm, “if you’re going to do things like this, at least think about ways to not get caught.” As Ari led Sky away, he cast one more look over his shoulder at his brother and grinned to acknowledge the promise of communication later. This was all very stupid, but maybe if Ari was with him, Audrey wouldn’t even be that bad on him anyway, so his punishment was likely to be something even better than his usual training regime. A win for him, but he hoped to be able help with Pyr’s punishment somehow to make it less bad on him. They’d figure something out; they always did. Sky had no idea just how wrong he was about Audrey’s form of punishment, and by the end of it all, he was glad to have promised nothing. |