middaeg | [Closed] What lies in our power to do

[Closed] What lies in our power to do

Who: Waver Welvet & Iskandar
When: Nouveril 8th
Where: All around the city
What: Iskandar is taking Waver on a small (or not) sightseeing tour.
Warnings:None.

It's late afternoon and before Waver can pack his things and leave the apothecary to head home a familiar scent reaches his senses. Sandalwood. Spices. Cedar.
Outside horse neighs. Impatient and slightly insulted. There's only one horse that sounds this way. The suspicion gets confirmed when the door flies open and Iskandar barges in. His eyes light up when he sees Waver and he grins.

"Come boy! You're spending too much time holed in this workshop of yours! You're not getting any sun at all! I'm taking you out! It's time for you to see more of this city!"

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It's a good thing Waver's nose is good enough to actually pick up on him and Bucephalus before Iskandar barges in, as he's already expecting the door to burst open like that, or it would have really startled him. As it is, the noise still makes his ears twitch, flicking back for a moment before they swivel forward again with his full attention on Iskandar.

"Eh? You can't just burst in here slamming doors and yelling about... s-spiriting me away?" Waver snaps back immediately, flustered. He's already looking around, hoping no one else heard. One of his coworkers, a willowy young woman who looks as though a slight breeze might knock over her slight frame, giggles but returns to putting items away for closing, knowing Waver well enough by now to be sure that teasing won't go over well.

"A-anyway, hang on... I'm almost done. What's the hurry?"

Iskandar blinks. He looks around, notices frail-looking lady and shoots a smile in her direction. She seems nice. It's good that Waver has nice coworkers. If he's going to spend whole days under a roof it's better he has friendly people as company.

"Why not? This is exactly what I am going to do."

If only he could be sure that the boy is not going to drop his belongings on the way he'd just lift him from the ground and carried him out.

"What's the hurry?" Iskandar asks then bursts into laughter. "The world awaits us and you ask such silly question!"

Maybe he should really pick him up?

Luckily, Waver's just got his satchel and he's wearing his apron, so it's attached to him -- no harm in picking him up? Not that he won't protest and whine about being embarrassed in front of his coworker, but maybe that's also part of the appeal!

"The world can wait ten more minutes. I'm working."

"You're clearly not. You've just said it yourself," Iskandar huffs as if offended. ~~No, he didn't. He said he was almost done.~~ It's in part for the dramatic effect but in some small part, he is irked that his generous offer has not been met with appropriate gratitude.

He shakes his head. Maybe he really should just pick him up.

"I have no patience for you, boy," he declares and proceeds to do exactly so lifting Waver from the ground and throwing him over his shoulder.

Not forgetting to deliver a polite bow to Waver's nice, but very discretely giggling coworker before he leaves with his precious, and very lively, cargo. He may have no patience for Waver being obstinate but it would be awful to be rude to the nice lady.

"Ehh? Waah?! Rider!"

Look, Waver's doing a bang-up job embarrassing himself with all his flailing and squealing all on his own, without even needing Iskandar's help to embarrass him!

He yelps, clinging to Iskandar's shoulder when he finds himself lifted up unceremoniously like a sack of floundering potatoes, his other hand clutching his satchel.

"Hey! Put- put me down! Rider!"

His coworker, beaming, waves goodbye to them and shouts after Waver that she can close on her own and to 'enjoy his date!'

He's beet red by the time they even make it outside.

Iskandar deposits Waver onto the saddle and then hops on the horse himself. He picks up the reigns with one hand, circling Waver's waist with his free arm and pulling him closer.
Bucephalus needs only a gentle nudge to start trotting ahead but not without a series of condemning snorts to the general tune of Took you long enough.

Iskandar laughs.

"Hear that, boy? Even Bucephalus thinks you were being impossibly sluggish."

This is a familiar place for him. Since coming to the city, Waver hasn't had many occasions to ride alongside Iskandar on Bucephalus; the feeling is nostalgic, makes him remember many good and painful memories alike from that place so far away. It's a time that feels like a lifetime ago.

He leans back, one hand coming around to rest on Iskandar's keeping him close. The flailing, needlessly obstinate attitude has left him as it often does, just as quick to fade away as it is to show itself when he's startled or just grumpy.

"...yeah, yeah." Waver grumbles, but there's no bite to it. The sun is starting to set, though they have perhaps an hour of daylight left. The clouds are pink, with only a hint of rainy grey on the horizon.

"She can hold her horses." Is that a joke? It's a very bad joke.

"I'm here now, apparently. So..." He looks up, tipping his head back against Iskandar's shoulder.

"Where did you want to take me?"

Congratulation, Waver! You've just made the horse laugh.

...sort of... because Bucephalus did make a strange sound. Not far from a neigh but also, oh well, just odd. It's just hard to tell if she was really understanding them or she just reacted to the tone of Waver's voice. She is a smart horse after all.

Iskandar chuckles. He drops down to leave a quick kiss on the top of Waver's head.

"First food then we'll see."

It's a bit of an alarming noise... Waver jumps, eyeing the horse's neck warily like he's not entirely ready to trust she won't try to unsaddle him. Of course, with Iskandar at the reins there's no chance of that, but it's still a thought that crosses his mind.

Waver is distracted from it by the kiss.

"Ah... All right. What's the occasion? Did you just get bored?"

"Why there has to be an occasion, hm?"

They are heading out of the more well-to-do district and into the surroundings that start to acquire a certain level of a dishevelled feel. It's not entirely the slums, they are still on the inside of the Wall. Yet, it is certain that the residents inhabiting this part of the city belong to a... huh, not the most fortunate among Aefenglom's citizenship.

The ground floors of the building are majorly used for commerce with living quarters right above them. There are entrances to small shops and craftsmen workshops. Cobblers, tailors, shoemakers. The setting sun colours everything in sight and as the light dissolves in the setting fog making the neighbourhood look ethereal, almost dreamlike, and the wind carries the scent of the river.

Iskandar stops in front of one of the myriad similar-looking entrances. This one doesn't have a name over the door or a sign of its trade. Still, anyone peering in through the large windows could easily see that what's inside is a very small, incredibly crowded restaurant and people are constantly coming in and out through the door.

"Ha! We have finally arrived at our first stop!"

Ah. So he just got bored. Waver sighs, shaking his head a little, but he certainly doesn't look actually displeased. Even if he probably would have liked it better to have gotten a chance to change out of his work clothes and shower. No slowing down Iskandar, he supposes.

"Uh... Where are we going?" Waver is looking around in vaguely wary confusion as they go into the more theoretically dangerous parts of the city. It's not that he feels unsafe (how could he, with Iskandar at his back and riding a war horse?) but it's not quite what he expected.

"...a restaurant?"

He'll wait until Iskandar helps him down. Bucephalus is large and Waver is small, and he still hasn't gotten the hang of it.

"This is what you wanted to show me and why you dragged me off without a chance to put my stuff away?"

It looks like a dump, dude. But... a popular dump? Hm.

Iskandar takes Waver off the horse as if he weighs nothing. Waver could easily have jumped down on his own or with a little help but Iskandar likes doing it his way. He won't miss the occasion to have him in his arms even for a brief moment.

"You complain a lot, boy."

If he wanted to say anything else he gets mercilessly interrupted by a high-pitched squeal. It's source: a young girl, red face, eyes wide, barely over ten, in a simple dress and stained apron slams the door open and runs outside.

"WAAAAAH!!! ISKANDAR! THIS IS YOUR BONDED ?! HE'S SO CUTE IT'S UNFAIR!!!"

Iskandar grins.

"Waver, this is Aneke, she'd be running his place in no time." He turns to the girl with a warm smile. "Could you be so kind and find us a place to sit?"

"Hmpf! Of course, I can." She blurts, tiny arms crossed over her chest, tapping her foot. "I may even forgive you, you don't want to marry me now that I know your Bonded is so cute."

Iskandar laughs.

"You're most gracious, my lady. I am honored," he says with a slight bow still laughing.

The girl rushes inside. Iskandar turns back to Waver.

"See, boy. You spend your whole days locked inside. You don't even know how this city really looks like. I wanted to show you how it does to me and what kind of people I meet during my day."

He noticed that not every customer is friendly or even polite to Waver. Some seem to take offense in the fact that the establishment's owner has the guts to have a Monster is working at the front desk and not hidden in the back as he, in their opinion, should. Iskandar sincerely wishes they'd die of some disfiguring and painful disease.

So far he had more luck himself. Him being a Witch is probably one reason. Still, he wanted for some time now to show Waver a better side of this city. It has its share of good and kind people. They just tend to live in the places Waver would probably be afraid to visit by himself. With Iskandar to accompany him, he has nothing to worry about.

Waver opens his mouth to protest without meaning any of it, but he's immediately cut off by that shriek. The volume of it surprises him, ears pinning back momentarily and fingers grabbing at Iskandar's sleeve before he's set down. As soon as the source is clear though, any alarm passes and immediately devolves into annoyance. He scowls a little, but considering she's literally a child, even Waver isn't petty enough to make a fuss about a little girl being excited. Even if it is kind of annoying. Especially being called cute like that. He flushes, lingering near Iskandar awkwardly.

...But it is also kind of cute seeing Iskandar interact with her, though. Waver can't help but be charmed by the bow.

"Nice to meet you, Aneke," he manages before she runs off.

"I don't spend all day inside," he protests as he follows Iskandar further into the restaurant.

It's crowded and rowdy with people enjoying themselves, the atmosphere full of laughter and a rough sort of carefree attitude from the snippets of conversations he can catch. It's a more mixed affair too, Monsters and Witches and regular humans sitting around the same tables, though the number of Monsters here outnumber that of humans in a way that Waver probably wouldn't have noticed if not for the fact that the 'nicer' parts of the city tended to be more evened out, or more in favor of Witches. They're louder too. Freer. Discrimination in Aefenglom is nowhere near how it had been in Dorchacht, but since coming back, Waver's been a little more sensitive to it. Here, he doesn't see any of that.

Maybe that's what Rider means. Waver doesn't spend all day indoors, technically, but he rarely wanders from the well-kept, well-off districts of the city. This place has an entirely different feel.

"...but thanks," he continues sheepishly, sliding his hand through one of Iskandar's to give it a squeeze.

"For showing me."

“My pleasure, boy” Iskandar reaches across the table to caress Waver’s cheek.

“I noticed not everyone who comes to your place of work knows how to behave properly. I cannot strike them down for this insult without some really inconvenient consequences. Besides, we are guests in this city.” More like prisoners. Even if the city authorities are not their captors they can’t exactly leave. “It would be quite rude of me to go around killing people just because they lack manners.”
It would be a great deterrent for other idiots but it could also complicate both of their lives significantly.

“If we really have to tolerate such behaviour, I wanted to give you another perspective.”
The nobles here sometimes remind him of Waver’s teacher, that cowardly rat Waver took Iskandar’s catalyst from. They deem themselves better than less fortunate folk, as he did, by no virtue other than being born into wealth and position. Similarly, they are deluded. Accepting the privilege that comes with it but not the responsibility.

“The people here“ he starts making a gesture that encompasses not only customers of the inn but whole of the district. “know how to conduct themselves. They don’t always act on that knowledge, few men do, but they have not forgotten it. They might be poor and miserable often, one bad winter away from starvation, but they are decent.”

A king is nothing without his subjects, a general without his army. A single man is capable of great things but even he needs others to follow. A city that does not understand this has sentenced itself for ruin.

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[Closed] What lies in our power to do

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