Clove (bladeslinger) wrote in heretherebe_ic, @ 2011-07-15 03:19:00 |
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Since he was alone, he didn’t bother to go through the motions of wiping down tables or making sure there was enough ale and whiskey brought in to make it through the evening rush. That was a long way off anyway; the morning was still new. Instead, he leaned heavily against the front wall of the tavern, gazing out the window at a small group of folks who had gathered in front of one of the new postings Kent Fletcher was putting up. He liked Kent. The boy was a few years younger than him, fresh out of the Academy and into the army, and he had an easy, jovial manner that put most people at ease. He especially liked that Kent had managed to put a stop to a handful of fights before they really got going on rowdy nights in the tavern. But he didn’t like the news Kent brought, even if he’d already known it was coming. ”All right, Thomas?” “So far.” “It’s going to be an interesting day,” he went on as he handed Griffin a flier. When he suggested that Thomas hang it up inside the tavern, he laughed quietly at the look on the other man’s face and held up his hands. “Or burn it for all I care. Just suggesting what I’m told to suggest. “I’ll be about later, yeah? Try to bring in the pretty girls tonight.” “Wouldn’t you rather there be girls around who will actually talk to you?” “I don’t know why you insist on hurting me so, Tom,” Kent replied with a laugh before they parted ways. It wasn’t that he was against the Academy teaching magic once again, but this was bound to open up old wounds, to bring magic to the forefront of people’s minds. He certainly wouldn’t be advertising in the tavern; that was just asking for folks to brawl -- or worse -- over it, especially when tempers were influenced by alcohol. He sighed and forced his gaze away from the window, crumpling the parchment up between his hands as he did. It was going to be an interesting day, indeed. ______________ Lily was relatively indifferent to the whole grand return of magic thing. Oh, she understood well enough why people were taking issue with it, and she could relate a little to some of it -- but not most of it. Magic had been around for ages before they’d suddenly realized it could be bent toward ill. But honestly, so could everything in the wrong hands. She honestly thought leaving people with magic untrained was one of the stupider things that had been done, but what did she know? She was somewhat less than thrilled that she was going to be guarding the one of the groups sent out to spread the word to the outlying villages. She thought it said something that they were sending soldiers out with the messengers. It said that they expected trouble. Stepping into the tavern, she exhaled a sigh. She would be leaving in a day or so, but in the meantime she wanted to say hello (or farewell) to the people around town that she knew, and to see if someone would be around to share the good gossip with her when she came back. Peering out the window as well, her lips thinned into a line before she sighed. It was a shame more people couldn’t just accept this, but given how long it had been without magic, there was a whole generation with the mindset that all magic was bad. Acceptance wasn’t going to come easy, even to people who wanted to accept it. Peer pressure and stigmas alone would discourage open acceptance. “I anticipate the gossip-mills will be in full swing today?” She said as she turned away from the window, her hazel-green eyes lighting on the co-owner. ______________ He made a noise that was half agreement and half disapproval, but asking people not to gossip was like asking them not to breathe. Even he had to admit that gossip had its uses, even though he didn’t particularly like it. He also had an ear for it, whether he was out to hear it or not; being quiet often meant that people would just say things in front of him or sometimes to him, if he was tending the bar. “I hope you’re not here to bring me more fliers,” he murmured with a light smile, holding up the crumpled notice so she would have an idea what he was teasing about. He tossed the parchment towards the waste-bin, moderately pleased when he didn’t miss. “Are you on duty?” He added curiously, wondering if the military was expecting anything out of the ordinary due to the official announcement. He didn’t truly expect much uprising here; he was pretty sure most folks around Highlyn had heard the news from one source or another. Believing it may have been a different story, so perhaps people who had been in denial would be upset. Leaning back against the bar, he clasped his hands together, rubbing the thumb of one hand over the palm of the other, tracing his scar unconsciously. ______________ “I’m not bringing the fliers, no,” she assured him as she wandered over to settle onto one of the stools near the bar. “I’m escorting the flier carriers when they venture beyond Highlyn’s walls,” she elaborated as she tapped her short nails absently against the top of the bar. She shook her head to the question. “Not on duty, no. I came in to see if someone would make notes of the interesting gossip so I could hear it when I came back. Mostly so I know if I need to sleep with one eye open, or if Highlyn’s going to remain as safe as it should be.” Though she supposed that was something like circular logic -- Highlyn was safe because they made it so. “Have you heard anything interesting yet? One way or the other?” She reasoned that the hiring of magic users over the past year or so had been a slow build to this, and the more astute surely had seen the reopening coming. The only grumble she had about it was the fact they’d started to spread into the empty wing and now they had to withdraw back to their own quarters completely. ______________ He wasn’t surprised to hear that soldiers would be escorting the messengers. He didn’t know the King personally, but he’d never gotten the impression that the man was a fool. Some villages would take the news better than others and it could certainly be dangerous for a messenger on his own. Moving behind the bar, he let his forearms rest against the counter top as he leaned against it. He shook his head lightly; he hadn’t heard anything yet. Well, aside from people occasionally speculating about the castle’s hiring magic users, but that had been going on for a while now. “By afternoon the place should be full of people with opinions though. “Guess if I have to hear it, I can try to recall any important bits for you when you get back,” he offered. It wasn’t like it was ever a chore to talk to Lily. If he wasn’t so bent on making his life much more complicated than it needed to be, he might have attempted to pursue her. He imagined she wouldn’t have been interested, but that hardly mattered. He shook his thoughts away and stood up straighter, motioning vaguely. “Want anything? Bread and cheese? Cider?” The stronger stuff was always available as well, but it was a little early for that. ______________ “At least until you get to the point where you start tuning it all out?” She teased him lightly. She imagined that as with all things, the discussions would become circular as people visited and revisited the same points over and over again. At least until something happened to put a new spin on it or shed a different color light on it. Such was the cycle of life. “Whatever you’re tossing out for breakfast,” she replied to his offer. “Fruit would be good, but bread and cheese and cider if you haven’t got any.” She had eaten with the earlier risers, but that had been hours ago and lunch was still a couple of hours off so there was no harm in a snack. She tapped her fingernails briefly on the bar top before she fixed her eyes on him. “Do you think there will be a lot of people attending classes? At first, anyway? The going gossip is that everyone will swarm the place, or avoid it like the plague. Apparently there’s no middle ground in this.” She was a little amused, and would continue to be so until people were in their cups and the fights broke out. As they always did. ______________ He thought he’d have to make an exception for this sort of gossip and try to actually retain it. Well, at least at first; people would begin to say the same things over and over. He wondered if any fights would break out over this and hoped none of them happened within these walls if they were going to. With a nod, he fixed her a plate of various berries and grabbed an apple to begin slicing it onto the plate. He half smiled, a wry expression, as he considered her question. It wasn’t the first time he had thought about the topic, but he could see arguments for both ways and if there was anything he had learned over the years, it was that when people were involved, it was often impossible to predict their behavior. Sliding the plate over to her, he shook his head. “If I had to guess, I’d say somewhere between the middle ground and avoiding it like the plague. The mages that are a bit older probably had private schooling.” But he knew there were probably some who had never been taught, but he hoped those numbers weren’t very high. “If I had a child who needed to be taught, I’m not sure I would want him to be one of the first back to the school,” he admitted with a shrug and he didn’t think he’d be the only one thinking like that. He also had no desire to attend the school, especially since only a handful of people within the city even knew he could do magic. ______________ “No, I suppose not. I’m sure the more cautious sorts are going to wait to see how the first set of it goes before they trust in it. Or reveal themselves.” She sighed. “Still, I suppose in time it’ll be a good thing. The right thing. There was no sense in making magic users a target for the fearful. One jackass got an idea and had some power to get it started. It doesn’t mean everyone’s like that. Really, when you get right down to it, a shape-shifter can be just as bad, just … differently.” She had nothing against shifters, either, or selkies, though she had to admit dragon-shifters made her a little wary. In part because of what they could turn into, but mostly because they apparently didn’t age. That was the anomaly right there; everything died, so why didn’t they? She guessed it was too early to tell for sure that they lived forever, and in the end, so what if they did? Dragons lived forever, or near enough to it. Shaking out of her thoughts, Lily plucked one of the berries from the plate. “The best part of the summer months,” she murmured as she popped it between her lips. Here on the coast, the weather was mild, but oh how she adored the berry crops. ______________ “I do think it’s a good thing,” he admitted, in case he hadn’t given that impression. It was. Even if he had the sort of magic that would never be considered anything less than a potential for danger, he knew the world would be better if there wasn’t such a stigma. She did have a point, after all; everyone had the potential to do horrible things. It was just that some magic made those sorts of things much easier to achieve. He shook his head lightly, half shrugging more to his own thoughts than anything else. At this point they could only wait and see what people’s reactions were. His expression changed as a grin threatened to overtake his lips before he got control of it. Like maybe watching her eat the fruit was actually the best part of summer months. He reached over and snagged one of the berries for himself. “When do you leave?” He asked curiously before eating the fruit, brows arched in question. ______________ “Soon,” Lily replied to his question with a soft laugh. “I think we’re waiting on word from slightly higher up before we receive an official time to leave, but … we’re on call, such as it was. Supposed to be packed, ready to tack and go.” She rolled her shoulders in a shrug before she picked up a slice of the apple. Sliding it between her lips, she took a bite of it before withdrawing the remainder. After she’d swallowed, she nodded. “I think there was mention of increasing patrols around here as well, once … people start arriving. It’s one thing to know the magic users here. Another thing entirely to wonder who’s coming in and what sort of powers they’re bringing. There are bound to be a few heightened tempers once they get into drinking.” She had to admit, she was curious what sorts would be arriving, and how they’d be accepted by the current population, both magical and non. ______________ “If I didn’t think we’d go out of business, I’d stop selling alcohol for a few days,” he quipped with a light shake of his head. If only it were that easy to keep fights from breaking out. Sure, more fights broke out when folks were drunk, but with an issue like this, tempers would be on edge even sober. “Do you know how many others will be making the trip with you?” Griffin asked curiously. He’d considered joining the military at some point, but more because he found it interesting than it being something he would be good at or enjoy. He was perfectly content with the tavern, actually. ______________ “With me personally, seven others besides the messenger,” Lily replied. “Group size is varied per the size of the town. The largest one we have going out is twenty mounted soldiers, I believe.” She saw no harm in reporting that; it wasn’t like he wouldn’t be able to see them all leaving town. It was somewhat disturbing to think that they anticipated one messenger needing twenty guards, and she shook her head slightly. All she could do was hope they all made it back alive. She picked up a strawberry from the plate, closing her lips around it before biting the tip of it off. “What about watering down the alcohol?” she asked after a moment, a teasing grin creeping across her lips. That, she reasoned, would be even worse than not selling it at all, especially if he was doing it on the sly without informing the customers. Rolling her shoulders slightly, Lily took a second bite of her strawberry, her eyes focusing on Griffin while they talked. ______________ Griffin blew out a low whistle when she confided that there would be a group of twenty. He wasn’t really surprised though and he thought it was better to send more soldiers than needed than for a messenger to get killed because they had overestimated how rational groups of people could be. He shook his head lightly, feeling a little worn out just thinking about all the possible reactions folks could have. “They’d notice,” he murmured with some amusement. Well, he was sure there were a few people he could pull that on, especially after they’d already had a few. His gaze was drawn down to her lips as she ate the strawberry, but he did manage to shift his eyes back up to meet hers before too long. “Then they’d gang up on me; not much of an improvement, in my opinion,” he shook his head with a light smile. ______________ She nodded slightly in response to his whistle. There’d been a similar sort of reaction among the soldiers when they’d heard. “Better safe than sorry though,” she murmured. “And sometimes it’s enough to just have a visible wall of arms there. It only takes one asshole in a mob to start a riot, and sometimes … it’s enough to just stop that one.” Lily grinned lightly when he said they’d notice. “No doubt,” she agreed. She thought she’d notice the difference between a straight whiskey and one that had been watered down. While she wasn’t completely oblivious to the direction of his gaze, she didn’t read much into it. She’d had enough people tell her she was attractive to assume it to be a truth, and she never minded them looking. It was only when the inappropriate touching started that she put her foot down. “I imagine not. Especially if they manage to time it between patrols.” She sighed and her lips twisted briefly before she shrugged. She’d rather be patrolling here; she knew the people here and how to handle them. In other villages … who could say? She had made a point to get to know who was accompanying her, and she knew who she’d be sticking close to. If something did start, she wanted someone whose fighting style she was familiar with at her back. ______________ He made a noise of agreement, nodding lightly. He didn’t imagine there would be many messengers willing to deliver such news all by their lonesome, especially to some of the more wild-card villages. “I’m hoping this is a case of expecting the worst and being surprised when it all goes fine,” he murmured, but he didn’t think it would actually turn out that way. Perhaps it wouldn’t be as bad as all that, but he would be shocked if there weren’t a few violent incidents in response to the news. Though perhaps things would remain calm until magic users from other villages started to show up. Shaking his head lightly, he shrugged. He was glad this was happening, but at the same time, he was lucky enough to live a relatively quiet life where he wasn’t persecuted for having magic and this seemed like it might shake that up. ______________ Lily laughed softly, but not unkindly, to his statement. “Well, we can hope,” she agreed, though she didn’t think it would go completely smooth. There would be bumps, differences of opinions, bad decisions, and people who just couldn’t handle things well. There would be show-offs and people who went further underground. It was going to be a transition, and no transition ever went well. She was too young to recall the events surrounding the ban, but she’d heard stories. Stories of what had prompted it, and stories of how it had been taken by the population. Things had been relatively calm for the past couple of decades, and now they were going to be stirred up again. “It’ll be interesting, either way,” she replied as she plucked another bit of fruit from the plate. Snagging the bunch of grapes, she cocked her head toward the door. “I should probably go keep an ear on things out there,” she reflected. She was part of the army and she did have a job, after all, even if she wasn’t technically on shift. ______________ He wasn’t surprised or insulted when she laughed. A light grin touched his lips in response and while he did hope that it went that way, he didn’t believe for a second that it would. He didn’t even really want to consider it as a possibility since the odds seemed so low. He would just continue to assume that it was going to be a horrible adjustment period and go from there. “That it will,” he agreed, a nod dipping his chin when she said she should be on her way. “Be safe in case I don’t see you again before you leave and I’ll keep my ears open for you,” he promised, offering her a little smile. ______________ “Thank you,” she replied as she tipped her head back to suck one of the grapes off the bunch she was holding. “Here’s to hearing good things and everything going smoothly,” she replied before she slid off the stool to stand. She arched her back and stretched before she started toward the door. “You be safe too,” she said as she glanced back to him. She didn’t think things would be as rough in Highlyn, but people were, if nothing else, unpredictable. With a wave of her free hand, Lily let herself out of the tavern to wander the streets and see what she could hear. |