Who: True and Giuli When: Late morning Where: Vallistaire Manor
True loved his days off. He took a lot of pleasure in putting his home to rights, getting his chores done and spending time with the boys. Those two days were the only days of the week that he had the time or the energy to go for a run. Agni and Skellen looked forward to those runs. He'd keep the leashes on them until he reached the far edge of the Manor's property and then he'd unclip them so that all three could really stretch their legs and sprint across the yard toward the house. As usual, he approached the building from the rear, he and the dogs bursting through the back door in a cacophany and panting breaths. He'd take down the bowls he kept in a small cupboard out of the way and water the wolfhounds while True sucked on a bottle of water. With barely a twitch of his lips, he issued a short, sharp whistle and both brindled dogs heeled, still licking the water off their chops. With them treading on his heels, he'd make his way up to the room he still kept at the house for a quick shower and change. His room was sparse, devoid of most of his furniture now. There were a couple of chairs but mostly, it was his armory. The main wall was hung with his family's weapons, the battle axe, sword and warhammer. Today, he passed them with barely a glance. On such a nice day it was hard for him to think about the weapons or their use. He left the bathroom door open so that the dogs wouldn't kick up a fuss and showered quickly. Once he was clean again and relatively dry, dressed and ready to go, he headed back down stairs, his canine shadows in place.
Giuliana was enjoying a rare morning to herself - she supposed Allie was still in the manor somewhere going through her morning routine, but so far Giuliana hadn't seen her. In lieu of opening the store, which Laz had well in hand, she had stayed in to finish an assignment for one of her classes that evening. She'd gotten it completed with her typical efficiency, and a glance at her watch told her that she had more than enough time to spend some of it entertaining herself. With that thought in mind, she fetched her violin from her bedroom and headed downstairs to what she'd deemed the music room - it wasn't a music room per se, merely a sitting room with particularly good acoustics in which she'd stashed a music stand, but it more than served its purpose.
The manor seemed deserted, or at least, few enough of the other inhabitants were showing their faces enough to give it that impression, so Giuliana didn't bother to close the door entirely when she entered, leaving the door resting gently against the jamb. A quick tune of the violin and a choosing of music - Bach's partita number 2 in d minor, the Ciaconna - and she was off. It was a difficult piece, but one of her most favorites. The combination of the music and the view of the manor's gardens out the window never failed to relax her.
In the kitchen, the boys were chowing down. Running flat out like that always made them hungry and True had no qualms what so ever about raiding the manor's fridge. He's made himself a PB&J sandwich (good little American born boy that he was) and finished it off with a banana from the fruit bowl on the counter. In the corner, the dogs crunched away happily at their kibble, every once in a while lifting their heads to either check that True was where they had left him or to eye the hallway for possible intruders and kibble thieves.
It was Agni who's head came up at the sound of the music drifting down the hall. He issued a very un-Agni-like yip, something that far understated his size and prowess, before turning on a dime and bolting down the hall. Skellen, thinking this was some sort of game, tore off after him. True dropped his banana peel and hoofed it after them, issuing the sharp order to heel. It went completely ignored. "Agni! Skellen!" It was no use. The two massive wolfhounds barreled through the partially closed door of the music room, attempting to skid to a halt on the hardwood floor now that they had discovered the source of the unusual sounds.
Giuliana was just getting to the really complicated part when the door burst open behind her, the sound of nails scrabbling on wood approaching much too quickly. Her song cutting off abruptly, Giuliana turned to see what the disturbance was, but moved too slowly. Two dogs - or were they ponies? - barreled into her, a sensation she compared to being hit by a car, or at least a fast-moving bicyclist. The dogs, low to the ground in an attempt to stop, nailed Giuliana smack behind the knees, knocking her feet right out from under her. "Shit!" she cursed as she went down, trying to protect the violin. It wasn't anything special, but it was the only one she had and replacements were expensive.
She managed to save the violin, but not her tailbone, back, or head, which hit the wooden floor with a painful 'crack.' She lay there for a moment, stunned, and was immediately overrun with two huge wolfhounds sticking their kibble-breath in her face. Friendly, certainly, but not the sort of attention she really wanted while she was trying to catch her breath. "Ow," she complained, trying to push the large dogs away and sit up at the same time. "Get off me, you beasts," she commanded. "Off! Sit! Play dead! Anything!"
True was through the door right on their heels and almost managed to catch Giuliana to break her fall. Not quite though. He cringed pretty hard when she went down and as soon as the dogs swept in to check out her face, he issued another sharp whistle and pointed to the corner of the room, giving them both scathing glares. They were exceedingly well trained dogs, he didn't need to tell them that they'd been bad for them to hang their heads in shame. Once both of their fuzzy butts were planted in the corner, the crouched down next to Giuli. "Anything broken, Giuli?" He offered to take the violin from her before picking her up.
"I prefer Giuliana," she said with a bit of a glare, ignoring True's offer of help as she picked herself up off the ground. She made it upright but immediately took a seat on the couch, setting the violin down beside her. She didn't allow the familiarity of a nickname with anyone but Allie or Laz. "And no, nothing is broken, but I imagine it could very well have been my neck. Don't you ever leash those beasts? They look like they could accidentally swallow a small child with their morning kibble." She probed the bump forming on the back of her head with a wince, a little dizzy. She knew she was being unfair to the dogs; if memory served her correctly, they were still young and True generally did have them trained, as was evident from the way they were seated quietly in the corner of the room. Normally she was quite the animal lover, but she was allowed at least a few more minutes of disgruntlement.
"Aww c'mon." He grinned, seeing her get up just fine on her own. "That's only happened the once and truthfully? It was the kid's fault, not theirs." Agni issued a pathetic whimper and dropped his chin down onto his paws. "See? He's all torn up about it." Chuckling, True stood again and looked at her dubiously. "Do you think you need ice?" He debated the pros and cons of leaving her with the dogs verses trying to get her to the kitchen. He had to admit to himself though, the youngest Fierro certainly was pretty when she was haughty and distant.
"You're the doctor," Giuliana groused, grimacing. She made herself stop poking at the bump, knowing it likely wasn't doing anything to help. She rubbed at the sore spot on her back instead, generally making sure everything was in working order. "You tell me." She tried to avoid looking at the dogs, because it was rather adorably pathetic the way they looked ashamed of themselves. "Those are not dogs," she informed him. "They're small horses. Buy some farmland and put them to work." She'd never realized how big they were until she'd fallen all over them.
He chuckled. "Yeah. They're not small. They kick me out of bed at night." Boy and his dogs. Touching, really. "Ok, sit tight, I'll grab some ice for your head." He turned a sharp icy blue eye on the two gods. He gestured to Giuliana and gave a one word command. "Guard." The two dogs instantly got to their feet and lopped over to stretch out in front of the couch. If she was sick or passed out, they would let him know. Moving quickly, he made his way back to the kitchen and dumped a few ice cubes into a ziplock bag and then wrapped it in a tea towel before returning to her. He handed over the little bundle and pulled out his keys, on which there was a pen light. "Look at me?" he asked as he bent close, fingers touching her lightly under the chin to get her to look up at him. He flashed her quickly with the pen light and checked the dilation of her pupils. "Seems fine, just a painful knock."
Giuliana took the towel with a slightly reluctant 'thank you' and laid it gingerly against her head, submitting to his examination with barely-concealed impatience, just a little bit uncomfortable with his proximity. He was good-looking, but she was protective of her privacy and her personal space, and he was currently violating the latter. "I'll be fine," she said, pulling her head back once he was done blinding her. She hadn't really been serious with that doctor quip, but apparently he took his duties seriously. "If we're done playing doctor now?" This was not exactly the relaxing morning she'd envisioned for herself.
He knew that she wasn't his patient officially but for the moment, she was. He'd satisfied himself quickly that she was just fine, if a little bruised, and therefore backed off to respectable distance. He gave her a mildly annoyed look at her piqueish comment. "Just making sure you weren't concussed. And I'm sorry that my dogs ran you over. They are normally very well behaved." She knew that, though. He reminded himself that Giuliana was just abrasive naturally. At least, she always had been to him.
Giuliana was pleased both that he'd backed off and that he looked a little irritated; it was fair, in her estimation, that he get at least a little grief to make up for the pounding headache she could feel building. "I would say they more ran me under," she commented, standing carefully. She steadied herself on the arm of the couch as a slight dizziness came and went, then began to straighten the sheet music that had been scattered when she fell. "What in God's name possessed them to go running through the manor at full tilt?"
He moved to help her gather some of the more far flung papers. "I think it was the violin. Don't think they've ever heard one before." In truth, Skellen had his nose up on the couch, sniffing at the instrument in question. "Skellen," he said commandingly and the big dog dropped his head back down to the floor. Wolfhounds tended to stay puppy-like for the first two years of their life, so his boys were just starting to grow out of the wild and energetic behavior. They also liked to chew on things, so he kept a careful eye on them, especially when at the manor. His own house was sparsely furnished. He liked to say that he was just waiting until he had the available cash to really but some nice stuff but in truth, he was waiting until he was confident he'd broken the dogs of their bad habits.
"Well," Giuliana said, "it sounds as if you're skimping on their cultural education. Honestly, how are they ever to get ahead in the world if they go gallivanting around like canine drug addicts at the sound of a musical instrument?" It was impossible to tell by the look on her face if she was joking or serious. The girl had a poker face to rival the professionals, when she wanted to. She gave Skellen a rather quelling glance, picking up the violin and setting it in its case for safekeeping. "That's the end of practice for today, I suppose," she murmured to herself. Unless she went back to her bedroom, but she didn't think it likely she would. A nap, maybe, before going into the bookstore and class.
True offered her a wry grin. "Well don't stop on our account. We can appreciate the fine arts, can't we boys?" He asked the dogs, who's heads both came up, ears alert. They looked between True and Giuliana expectantly as their master handed her back all of the papers that he'd collected, their tails swishing uncertainly against the hardwood. All joking aside, True went to settle down on the couch again. "So how's your family? Everything well?" He hadn't been able to stop in and visit with Lazzaro as of yet, but he'd make a point of it someday soon.
"I'm not much for public performances," Giuliana said dryly, taking the music he handed back with a nod of thanks. She set everything on a neat pile on the music stand so she could collect it easily again when it was time to leave. "Allegra and Lazzaro are well, thank you." For some reason, she never used her siblings' nicknames when discussing them with others, holding her siblings to the same formality she reserved for herself. She took a seat on the couch a healthy distance away, though not so far as to look like she was deliberately avoiding him. "And your family?" she asked in return. She wasn't close with any of them, but pleasantries were pleasantries and she wasn't on poor terms with them by a long shot.
He nodded. "They're all well. Bryn's just won a new scholarship for graduate school to specialize her degree further." Bryn, the oldest of his two younger sister, was his toughest competition and probably the one he had the most pride in. "She hasn't decided if she's going to do it yet, or go in another direction." She would have made an incredible medical doctor but she'd been drawn in by the complexities of the human mind and thusly, was just about finished her degree in psychology." He smiled and shrugged. "They're all doing well." There was no hiding the fact that he was pleased and happy for his family. Nothing at all seemed to mar Trueman Sieger's view of the world.
"You'll have to pass along my congratulations for her scholarship," Giuliana said politely. It was a good accomplishment, and had the added bonus of providing a bit of a challenge for Giuliana - additional incentive to work for scholarships of her own for graduate school. "And how have you been?" she continued. "Were you here to meet anyone, or just dropping by?" She knew he still kept a room here, though he rarely used it. He had a residence elsewhere, if memory served her correctly. The ice seemed to be melting and not doing much good anymore, so Giuliana took it away from her head and set it on the table beside her, fluffing out her hair where it'd been matted down by the icepack.
"Great!" he smiled, pleased that she'd asked. "I'm almost finished my residency, then it's on to life as a real doctor." Something he looked forward to but also filled him with jitters. It was nothing he could talk about though, not to Giuliana. "Naw, my runs on my days off usually end up here." Even if he never saw anyone himself. "I didn't plan on seeing anyone in particular." With a mild shrug and a smile, he continued. "Sometimes it's good to just see where things go." He couldn't shake the good mood he'd woken up to on his day off. He had hoped to run into any of the family heads while here, though. So far, Giuli was the only signs of life.
"I imagine it's difficult to get anything done when you're so caught up in the flow," Giuliana drawled. The thought of just 'seeing where things went' was so outside her philosophy, she couldn't really conceive of it. This was a woman with a plan, who knew precisely what she was going to be doing nearly 100% of the day. She was working on a five-year plan, for the sake of everything holy. Spontaneity was not one of her talents, for all that she was creative in her own right.
True Sieger didn't really possess too much creativity. Granted, he was fully capable and exemplary of spontaneity on his days off but the rest of the time, he had to keep to the program. The regimented life of an resident in a busy emergency room consisted of the ability to sleep anywhere, for any amount of time, to eat on the move, study between rounds and most of all, demonstrate a competent (or, when dealing with True's high personal standards, superb) medical advice and aid. It was a busy life, which left him with one or two days to himself and sometimes one whole day or two on shift, but he was pleased with what he'd chosen. "Not at all," he flashed her a smile. "I can get an awful lot done when I have to."
"How very reassuring," Giuliana commented with a faint smile in return. "I'm sure we'd all hate for you to fall behind." She fell quiet then, her natural tendencies towards introversion taking over. There wasn't much she supposed she and True could discuss; they'd met previously but mostly at inter-family functions. She didn't really know of anything going on in his life, and pleasantries could really only take one so far. Not that she ever really minded silence; she was a girl who could spend all day with her own thoughts.
True's only response was an easy grin and only a slight tightness in the corners of his eyes betrayed more irritation. Something about this girl just about leaked condescension and he wasn't sure he liked it. He cleared his throat and then gave her a curious look. "Hey listen, I'm going to have a look around and see if anyone else is about. Could I ask you to do me a massive favor? Only if you have the time, of course." He glanced at the dogs, the two of them falling into a comfortable dose now that nothing was going on.
Giuliana glanced at her watch, checking the time. "I'll need to be getting to the store soon," she said, "so I can get in a few hours before classes this evening, but I've got an hour, hour and half or so. What do you need?" She caught his glance at the dogs and wished she hadn't just agreed; she had a feeling she knew what he was going to ask and she didn't exactly relish trying to control the two huge dogs if that's what he'd planned on requesting. If they went crazy again, she'd have no way of stopping them. Her magic was in illusion; not particularly useful in the situations she was envisioning.
Chuckling, True nodded. "I just need someone to watch them for a little while. Here, let me give you these." He pulled a baggy out of his pocket and two sets of ears perked up, two pairs of eyes followed his hand. "If you really need to persuade them of anything, just shake this bag at them. They'd follow you back and forth over hot coals for these. Trust me, it'll curb the worst behavior." He could hear Agni and Skellen licking their chops without even looking at them. He'd found these all natural chicken strips on the internet. They were chewy and tough enough to give the guys something to work on for five minutes and were also pretty good for them. They must taste decent as well, judging by how much they seemed to covet them. The treats had been invaluable when it came to training the dogs.
"How long is 'a little while'?" Giuliana asked, taking the bag of treats and setting them aside as she looked at the two big dogs. She doubted they'd be the sort to lie quietly for two hours while she read a book. She wondered if she could sucker Allie into helping out, assuming her sister hadn't yet left. Sure, they looked adorable and sweet, but she was just a little skittish considering they'd managed to bowl her completely over in less than ten seconds - she'd have the bruises tomorrow to prove it. "I can watch them for now, but I really can't be late." It would drive her insane.
True beamed. "Oh thanks! If I find my sister, I'll send her down to get them. I promise it won't be too long." He stood up. The dogs also stood up. With just a gesture, he had them settling down on the ground again. "Stay with Giuliana," he ordered them, his tone making himself perfectly clear to the dogs. "Ok," he looked up at her again. "They should be well behaved and as I said, I'll be quick. Thanks a million, I owe you for it." He tried to imagine what he could do to really make up for it and sort of fell short. He didn't know much about her. He couldn't exactly offer her money like his paid dog walker.
"No problem," Giuliana said, staying seated as he got up. She pointed a stern finger at the dogs. "If you knock me over again," she warned, though it was obvious she wasn't serious - mostly, "I'll make you two think you're kittens." Surely there had to be an illusion spell for that somewhere. If not, she'd make one up. Maybe. "So if they're purring and trying to crawl into your lap when you return," she told True, "that's what happened." She smiled slightly.
"Ha!" he said as he made his way for the door. "Have a little mercy," he flashed her grin. "Each one of them has to weigh the same as you." With a little parting wave, he ducked through the door. She was a bit cold, he thought, but she was alright. It was nice of her to take them on, despite having been knocked over by them earlier. He would make a point of knocking on his sister's door first though. Bryn was a bit more of a cat person but she was familiar with his dogs and could take the same commanding tone, something both Agni and Skellen instantly obeyed. Feeling as though he was on a bit of a mission, he set off deeper into the house.