guess i'll follow, follow, follow my feet Who: Jareth & Pyr What: Pyr decides to tag along on patrol. Jareth gives the kid ice-cream Where: The Bazaar When: This afternoon Rating: PG (Jare has some uncharitable thoughts) Status: Complete!
More than once, Pyr had been told by other squires he'd had tough luck to be assigned such a strict mentor, and while he might have agreed in the very beginning, the more time that passed the more convinced he was he'd hit the jackpot. It was true that Felicity had been much happier to indulge his mischief, and while the lack of chocobo adventures in the Outlands seemed like something to miss now that the memory of having to hide in trees was beginning to fade into fondness, he had made more progress following Jareth's training menu than he had in the three years before coming to Emillion.
Maybe other squires would have been complimented all the time for making the kind of progress that he had, but Pyr liked to think of it as a challenge — catching glimpses of smiles when Jareth thought he wasn't paying attention, learning to see praise in the smallest signs of acknowledgement from Jareth.
He might once have been unenthusiastic to meet his mentor in the street, but Jareth had for some time been categorized as another friend in Pyr's head, so when Pyr saw him heading down the street of Baker's Dozen as he left the bakery, Pyr waved at once and jogged up to him.
"Hi! Are you on patrol today?"
Jareth looked down and managed to hold back his sigh. Of course his squire was fucking around when he wasn’t being trained to death. “Yes,” he said curtly, not bothering to stop. As glad as he was about Pyr’s progress — the kid’s stamina had dramatically increased in the last month, and now Jareth was trying to think of a ways to improve the kid’s aim and evasion skills (monks needed that shit, right?) — Pyr was still a kid and he had never made a habit of shooting the breeze with them.
When it was clear that Pyr was just going to follow along, Jareth shook his head. “Don’t you have something you could be doing?”
Pyr grinned. "I'm doing something. I'm exploring future career options. Sorting case files is boring, but maybe patrolling will be more fun."
In truth, Pyr had never harbored any ambition to become an EKP officer. From what he saw every week at headquarters, where he sorted folder after folder into neatly arranged and labeled piles, most Peacekeepers were so busy with their jobs they never seemed to have much time to themselves, especially now the department was understaffed. But more than that, he never wanted to be in a position where he might be forced to take in his own brother, or admit to anyone what he knew of the Bards' Guild secret side. Sky was sworn to secrecy, and as far as Pyr was concerned, that oath extended to him too, for his brother's sake.
He had never mentioned any of that to Jareth, though, and he had no intention of doing so. Pretending to explore future career options was as good an excuse as any for a renewed attempt at bonding with his mentor.
“Future career options, huh?” Jareth rolled his eyes. “Skipped over your class exam straight into work. Figured you’d play the kid card a bit longer.” He ruffled the boy’s hair - fuck, he was getting tall - and shrugged. “I won’t stop you if you want to play junior detective, but something goes down, you get the fuck out of dodge, you got it?”
There wasn’t any real harm in letting Pyr walk around with him - most of the shit that really needed Jareth’s attention happened at night and he only found out about it later. He doubted that a murderer or cultist was going to jump out at them, necessitating action. No, Pyr could follow him around and see exactly how fucking boring being EKP was on a regular day. (That regular days were fewer and far between was still something he wasn’t happy about.)
“Did you do your laps this morning?”
"Yup. And I got in some practice with claws too." He looked around the street, almost expecting some trouble to start now that Jareth had mentioned it, but the Commoners' District looked as peaceful as it always did (and no monster invasions either). "Do you usually run into anything bad on your patrols?"
He shrugged. “Sometimes there’s a drunk,” Jareth said helpfully. “Otherwise, patrol is as boring as the fucking paperwork.” He didn’t say that he was proud of the kid for getting in some extra practice. Pyr had definitely stepped up his dedication. The idea that he should reward him for it had come and gone throughout the last few months, and Jareth decided now was as good a time as any.
“Want ice cream?” Kids liked ice cream, right? Actually, he was pretty sure he could give Pyr straight sugar and the kid would be happy.
Pyr stared at Jareth, then broke into a grin. "Yes! I always want icecream."
He had just been trying out some of René's new creations, but refusing sweets (especially icecream in summer) went against his principles. And Jareth had never taken him for icecream before, or any kind of meal, so the offer reinforced Pyr's belief that Jareth was secretly really proud of him.
That’s shocking, the fell knight thought sarcastically, but shook his head in amusement. There was something about the kid that made him a little softer - sometimes, he thought that if Liam had been alive, he might be a bit like Pyr. Just without the sugar addiction; Liana had been a fan of meat and vegetables. Jareth had had to sneak his own sweets on the rare occasion he wanted them.
“Let’s go,” he said. “I’ll get you some today and when you pass your class exam.”
"I'll want an extra large helping of ice cream when I pass, since I'm going to make class on my first try," Pyr announced cheekily. Maybe saying that would earn him a harsher training regime to make extra sure his words came true, but at that moment, he couldn't bring himself to worry about that.