Brother to Brother Who: Garrett Horsefeather and Bee When: November 5th Where: Grounds What: Garrett and Bee have a chat while their children play. Warnings: None Open or Closed: Closed Observable: Yes
Garrett sat by Thunder’s stable, taking care of his weapons. He had them spread out on a blanket and was cleaning them. He didn’t think it was too cold to do such a thing outside, and until the craziness of gender changing stopped, Garrett wasn’t sure he wanted to be inside.
Thunder was off eating--in sight, but a good distance from Garrett. The grass around his stable had been pretty closely cropped by now.
Bee spotted the big horse first and headed that way on principal. Cooter trotted along behind him, happy to be out, eagerly sniffing for rabbits as he went. Bee didn’t have any treats, but he plucked the taller tufts of grass as he went, and by the time he reached Thunder, he had a great handful of grass to offer to the horse.
“Hey there,” he told the best, gently, smiling.
Cooter darted forward eagerly to examine this new beast. A horse! He knew about horses! The hound’s white-tipped tail wagged eagerly, and he whined happily.
Thunder, without qualms, thrust his nose forward to sniff Bee’s offering. Finding it grass, Thunder promptly inhaled it, then chewed and stared from Bee to Cooter. When Bee didn’t immediately spawn a new handful of grass, Thunder dropped his nose and sniffed Cooter.
Garrett watched, unconcerned.
Cooter bounced up to sniff Thunder’s nose, then went on to sniff around his legs. Bee watched closely and reached out to stroke Thunder’s neck. “Cooter, be nice. If he kicks like Mimi does...” he warned, watching the dog move.
Thunder turned his head to look at Cooter, then lowered his head and went back to grazing, unconcerned.
Well, that was a relief. Bee sighed as Cooter sniffed up Thunder’s back leg. “Now what would you have done if he had kicked you, hmm? Not every horse you meet will be as nice,” Bee admonished the dog.
Cooter looked up at him, tail wagging, grinning cheerfully. Then he barked and went bounding across the grass. Bee turned and saw Garrett. He smiled and kicked into a trot, barefoot on the grass.
Garrett watched Thunder pick up his head and start slowly after the dog to see what was going on. He got bored easily. Garrett shook his head and gave Bee a wave before he went back to his work.
“You seem unaffected by the current insanity.” Garrett offered as a greeting.
“Well, personally, I suppose. Such things to affect everyone. Good afternoon, Garrett, and blessed be.” Bee smiled and snapped his fingers. Cooter returned to his side. He took in the array of weapons, and sank to a crouch. A swordsman, then, and Bee was not surprised. No, Garrett carried himself with that particular air experienced fighters had.
“A man of the sword. An honorable duty.”
“Thus I am living outside like a hermit,” Garrett grinned, rather pleased with his situation, actually. Thunder had come back to browse nearby. Garrett refrained from greeting the dog, as it might draw him nearer Garrett’s array of weaponry.
“I’m afraid I’m more a man of violence in general, but I prefer swords.” Garrett set his hand and a half sword down.
Cooter whined, examined the weapons, and collected himself. With a neat spring he lofted over the corner of the blanket and nearly landed in Garrett’s lap. Eagerly he thrust his nose up to the man’s shoulder, sniffing.
“Ack! Cooter! No, come here,” Bee cried, with some dismay.
Garrett knew what would happen the second Cooter had collected himself. Garrett carefully set his forearm against the dog’s chest to keep the dog from climbing all over him. It was nice not to be responsible for the overly friendly animal for once.
“He’s a very friendly dog,” Garrett observed, giving Bee a wry look.
“He’s a good judge of character, at least,” Bee sighed, padding around the blanket to retrieve the hound. “Cooter. Here.”
The dog came reluctantly, leaned against Bee’s thigh for a moment, then caught a whiff of something interest and moved off, scenting. Bee watched him go with a wry smile. “Though, really, life would be so boring without them.”
Cooter stuck the scent and belled, nose down, tail straight up and the darted across the grass. The sound made Bee smile wide - he heard it so often but the sound of a hound on the hunt never failed to gladden his heart. He watched as Cooter raced across the grass, baying, and darted into the woods.
“Wouldn’t it?” Garrett shook his head and watched as Thunder jerked his head up, then flagged his tail as he went trotting anxiously around, as if he couldn’t decide if the dog needed killing or helping.
“I’m flattered you think so well of me,” Garrett added as he rested his elbows on his knees and looked up at the young man.
“Well, I do trust Cooter. He’s warned me plenty of times.” Bee plunked down in the grass, all careless motion. He curled his bare toes in the grass; the toes were slightly red from the chill but Bee didn’t really mind. “And anyone an animal trusts so freely can’t be bad. Thunder told me that. And...it’s not hard to recognize a brother in the faith.”
Be smiled brightly, eagerly. “I was so surprised, at first, yet I shouldn’t have been. El Roi is not just a small god, He is God of all.”
“A brother in what faith?” Garrett asked. As far as he knew, he hadn’t told anyone about his faith, and he didn’t know the name Bee attached to his god. Garrett did follow a monotheistic theology. It was old and worn and abandoned by most of his island home.
“The faith of the One God. It has gone by many names, so I have found, but the truth cannot be hidden.” Bee nodded. “As it is written, one does not light a lamp and then hide it under a basket.” Bee propped his elbows on his knees and put his chin in his hands, carefree and easy with Garrett.
“Right, because your basket burns up.” Or the light smothered. Garrett looked out to watch Thunder roam around and follow imaginary scent trails.
“Do you think this place is part of your God’s plan for you?” Garrett asked.
“Yes,” Bee answered, simply, without hesitation or doubt.
“Even if he never sends you home?” Garrett wondered how long Bee’s actions would mimic his words.
“Yes.” Bee’s smile turned wry. “I may miss where I’m from, but it’s not as if I can get back on my own, or demand of the God of the universe that He bend to my will. It is not always a comfortable thing, to be in the hands of El Roi. But we are not promised a life of ease; we are promised the strength to endure.” He shrugged, and his grey eyes were distant, seeing something beyond Garrett.
“You’re very confident in that.” Faith, Garrett knew, could be terrible and wonderful. Faith in the wrong thing could ruin a man--ruin a world. Faith in the right things could save a man over and over again, but it became hard to tell what was real and what wasn’t.
Garrett nodded. “If you need someone to talk to, I suppose you know where to find me.” Garrett didn’t think he would ever move back inside. He liked it out here. He didn’t mind snow, and he doubted it would get as cold here as it did at home.
Bee blinked, then chuckled. “Sorry, here I am flapping my yap at you....please forgive my rudeness. It’s just...I don’t often get to talk to so many people. I suppose it’s gone to my head.” He offered Garrett a smile, feeling somewhat ashamed. He was so used to solitude, his own voice the only voice to be heard from weeks or months on end. Perhaps that was a good thing. “The same goes to you. If you need someone to speak to...or someone human to listen to you, I will not mind.”
“You make a good priest,” Garrett smiled slightly. “It’s fine. I’ve been travelling with a kid who might as well be mute as much as he talks. Not that I can blame him.” Micah had reasons for being silent and terrified of the world.
“Ah, thank you. You traveled often, then?” An opening for Garrett to talk about himself, a polite question with no pressure behind it. But Bee did want to know, because he was curious. He like learning people’s stories, listening to people. His curiosity had gotten him in trouble before, but.... He doubted it would be an issue here.
“For the past few years, yes.” Garret shrugged and watched as Thunder suddenly bucked and took off, tearing into the woods like a wild thing. “My world...wasn’t exactly at peace when I left. And I worked as a mapmaker, more to learn the terrain of places than an actual passion for it.” Garrett shook his head.
Bee chuckled as he watched Thunder race away. Such an amazing creature. He looked back to Garrett. “I see. So you were a...scout, during this time?”
“Yes, of a kind, though few people know there’s a war coming...” Garrett shook his head. “I am worried that I’ll return to a smouldering world but...” Garrett opened his hands in a helpless gesture. “I cannot ignore what’s happening here.”
“From speaking with a Scientists, they seem to be saying they can send you back to the exact point you were taken from. Whether or not this is true, I cannot say.” Bee shrugged. “It is an interesting fact to think about, however.”
“If you feel like having your head hurt.” Garrett liked to keep things practical. “How are things in your world? Is there magic?”
“Well, of a sort. Not as the fairytale kind of magic, such as shaping the earth, but a more sinister kind, the kind that calls on demons and perverts men’s souls.” Bee shook his head a little. “After the great wars, I’m afraid there is very little of interest in my world. It is a sick and dying land, the time of the end of days.”
He looked up at the bright cheerful young sun, so different from his own. “I take it you have magic in your world?”
“In some parts. In other parts it’s been wiped out. So they think.” Garrett smirked. Wipe out magic? Better chance of wiping our grass. He was sure, given enough time, they could hide it even better than they had now, but it had started awakening.
“You know differently?” Bee queried, with all the attention of an appropriate listener. If Garrett would tell a story, Bee would listen.
“I live in a place...we follow old teachings and have been left behind by the rest of the world.” Garrett smiled. “But, it’s all a very complicated, bloody, and boring story about stupidity. You said that your world had reached its end days? And there are still people living there?”
Bee chuckled. “A friend of mine once said that all of history can be summed up as such: boring and bloody stupid. Our teacher did not find it amusing and he spent the rest of the day cleaning the pig-pens.”
Bee curled his toes in the grass, plucked a few stems. “There are people, but they are few. Sickness and death are common. We dwindle and grow, but ultimately wane overall.”
Garrett grinned. He could think of a little boy who would give an answer like that. He wouldn’t have been sent to clean pig pens, which he might have enjoyed. He would have been sent to write lines and recite poetry to the court ladies.
“Was it a war that ended your world?” Garrett asked.
“In a sense, yes. Everything mortal comes to an end. The war was the means of the end, or at least the start of it The final end is yet to come.” Bee nodded. He shifted, and pressed his palms flat in the grass. “It is nice to be able to walk outside and not be armed,” he confessed, a little sheepishly. “And not have to worry about what might be trying to eat you, or your dog.”
“I’ve been assuming you were a traveller, but you don’t look like a warrior.” Garret wasn’t sure if Bee had said something, or if Garrett has assumed something by the boy’s nature. “And your dog is a hunter, not a fighting dog. I’m sure he would be brave, but not very helpful.”
“Traveling is very dangerous, in my world. Animals have become sick, and many escaped from the zoos and naturalized, including some very large predators.” Bee shrugged. “I travel alone, often, and one man, his horse, and his dog often look like a tempting meal.”
He shook his head, long braid swishing, and added, “My fellow man is not always happy to see me, either. I am not a warrior. I fight when I have no other choice.”
Garrett nodded. “There’s nothing quite like a quick horse for getting you out of danger. Are you participating in these Games?” It seemed like a way for Bee to get hurt, and Garrett wouldn’t like to see that.
“No. Not by choice, at least. My talents are better placed here, or in the medic’s bay.” Bee spread his hands and shrugged.
“If you find yourself ever dragged into one...” Garrett tipped his head towards the treeline where Thunder had vanished. “Let me know. You’ll fare better with an experienced fighter on your side, and I’m sure you could keep up with him.”
Bee blinked, then flushed a little, touched by the offer. His freckles stood out against the pink. “You are kind. I am honored. Thank you.” He smiled, a little shyly now, and curled his toes tightly. It was true, he was no fighter, and Garrett was extending a great boon to someone he barely knew.
“You should thank Thunder. He suggested it,” Garrett shrugged, the silly lie barely registering as a buzz. Teasing--lies you weren’t supposed to believe didn’t bother him much.
Bee laughed, a bright high clear sound, careless like a child’s. He grinned at Garrett, pleased with the notion. “Is that so? I’ll have to bring him another apple, then.”
Garrett sighed. “Between you and the brats here, my horse is going to be as round as an apple come winter. Lazy too.”
In mockery of Garrett’s words, Thunder came suddenly bursting from the bushes, kicking and leaping and cavorting away across the green.
“Perhaps,” Bee chuckled, watching the horse.
Cooter came racing from the underbrush and leaped along after the horse, barking loudly. Obviously it was playtime!
Thunder wheeled and struck out, nowhere near the dog’s head, then turned and took off again, head high and legs reaching more up instead of out. Garrett watched with silent admiration and no little bit of pride. Utter vanity. He hadn’t made Thunder’s gaits or taught him to walk.
“If you’d like to trust your life to that hooligan.” Garrett shrugged and began packing his blades away.
“He seems to have a great deal more sense than my mare. She’s a flighty woman, Mimi is.” Bee smiled a little sadly. He missed his horse, but she would be fine. She was a resourceful mare, and where he’d last camped there was good shelter from predators.
“He does know his job,” Garrett admitted. “He also knows when he’s not working, and he saves up all his silliness.” As worrisome as having Thunder here might be, Garrett did like having a companion of any kind at his back. Thunder would be an asset in any fight, and as Garrett had no magical powers, he would need any edge he could get in a fight.
“A wise beast indeed. I’m afraid my own can get very silly...but she was not bred for wisdom or fighting. She was bred to be fast and to cover great distances without tiring easily.” And all that led to a rather hot-blooded mare to whom everything was a grand production. Bee chuckled a little. He whistled for the dog, still bounding after the horse.
Cooter checked up, turned to look then went right back after Thunder. Bee grimaced. Hunting dogs.
Garrett put his cupped hands to his lips and whistled. Thunder immediately turned himself inside out and came charging.
“Thunder is my arm and my brother when my own cannot be at my back. We were both raised to fight, not run when it is wise.” Garrett shrugged and stood, slipping his hand and a half sword back into it sheath. “We all have our purpose in life.”
“Indeed, we all have our place in the world,” Bee agreed, and hopped to his feet. He darted at the dog, who bounced around him eagerly, then the two tumbled to the ground in a move that would not have been odd for a pair of puppies. They wrassled and Bee sat up, pulling most of the hound into his lap and holding him. Cooter did his best to lick all of Bee’s face.
Garrett began to lean more towards male as he watched Bee. He also aged the boy as a young teen, though it was hard to tell with such an androgynous face. It was nice to be around such a happy person.
Bee looked up and Garrett and grinned. “I think I’m going to walk around the grounds with Cooter. We’re both used to a lot of travelling, you see. Thank you for indulging my company - I’ve enjoyed talking with you.” His voice was sincere: he had enjoyed the conversation. He liked Garrett, and the man’s horse. He hoped they would get to know one-another better in the days to come.
“Meeting someone of such a pleasant disposition is always a rare treat.” Garrett bowed his head to Bee.
“Mind yourself,” Garrett reminded the boy, though Bee seemed like he could take care of himself in most situations. Garrett sheathed a small dagger. “And let me know if you should need assistance.”
Bee smiled brightly, delighted. He pushed Cooter out of his lap and hopped to his feet. The hound bounced around him eagerly. “Thank you. I will, and do not hesitate to ask me the same. A good day to you, Garrett.”
Garrett nodded, knowing better than to turn down any offer of help. Things could twist and warp drastically. You never knew how things would go or what you would need at the end of the day. “May your god keep you safe.”
Bee smiled and raised his hands, palms up. “And may He bless you,” he intoned, solemnly.
Cooter jumped and barked. Bee lowered his hands, bounced on his toes, looking at the dog. On a signal unseen they both turned and bolted away, long legs flashing, tail and braid whipping behind them. Mingled barking and laughter trailed away as they raced off into the forest, running for the sheer pleasure of it.