Ren was being much sneakier than he usually was. He supposed that was for the best. It didn't matter quite so much when someone in the castle saw him; they'd attribute it to some whim or another, and doubtless keep it to themselves. If they saw him with Ren, though, then surely someone would mention it to Gareth. They'd ask him about it, at the very least, assuming he knew what it was they'd been up to. Then eight years of careful spying would be right down the drain. Unthinkable.
"You know," he murmured in her ear in the shadows, "you'd be a marvelous spy if they trusted you with fieldwork." Oh, Gareth would have a fit if they were sending her into foreign castles like this, but it seemed like she'd have fun. Not everyone hated going out and killing people as much as he did. Most people didn't. Unfortunate, that he was so good at it. He'd been too young for it, that was the trouble. If they'd only let him wait until he was older, he wouldn't be such a terrible homebody now.
He giggled as she climbed onto his back, feeling quite pleased with the whole endeavor. He kicked the door open, wood cracking into splinters and the metal of the locks all bending outward. He took long strides toward the outer wall, crouched, and then jumped. He caught the top of it one-handed, and pulled himself up before dropping down to the outside.
Easy!
Of course, this wasn't where he'd left Baby. He stuck two gloved fingers in his mouth, and let out an ear-splitting whistle like a chickadee the size of a house calling hey-sweetie. Then he waited, rocking on his heels.
They heard the bell clanging first, and then a shaggy white-haired bull trotted around the wall towards them. It was wearing a bell around its neck, and had wildflowers tied into its fur, pinks and blues and yellows. Its ears and nose were black, its eyes not visible through the hair hanging over its face, and its massive horns curled impressively toward the sky.
It was a comically large bull.
"Baby!" Avi said happily, throwing up his arms. The bull butted him gently in the chest, and he gave it noisy kisses before pulling himself up onto its back. He pulled Ren up into his lap so that he could hold her on, lest she go falling off the back of it when they hit full speed. "You might want to shut your eyes," he informed her, grabbing handfuls of fur. "Think of it as riding a train that runs on grass."
Gareth was finishing up the assembly of his trebuchet. They were all too large to be hauled in, and every year someone's ended up snapping or nearly taking their head off. Gareth's was always the largest, the advantage of being able to lift much heavier things than most. It helped that he was so painfully precise. He'd gladly rebuild the whole thing if he thought his ratios might be off.
The carved wooden gargoyles he'd added at the tops of the frame were totally pointless grandstanding, however.
He'd taken his shirt off over an hour ago, and probably wouldn't be putting it back on. Shirtlessness at the fair was almost traditional.
He climbed the legs of the empty trebuchet, and hung off the swing arm to test its motion along the fulcrum, making sure that it would move freely. Then he dropped to the ground.
"Launch me!" Caroline demanded, the elf attempting to climb onto the sling.
"You'd fucking die," he informed her, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder. "Climb on my shit again and I'm throwing you into the river."
"Throw me in the river!" she demanded. Instead he tossed her onto a haystack. She collapsed into giggles. He wandered past a cart full of bottles, and picked up a hard cider.
"Hey!" shouted Patrick from the top of a gentle slope. "Your deer's tryin' to gore my horse again." Gareth turned his head, and saw Nighthoof chasing after a worried looking pony, the pure black elk at least three times its size. The velvet had already fallen off his antlers, and Gareth had wrapped wreaths of phlox and heather around them.
"Give him a bucket of cider," Gareth called back with a dismissive wave, unconcerned. Nighthoof was, technically speaking, probably some kind of minor forest deity. Flowers stayed in bloom when he wore them, and the most poisonous ones had a troubling tendency to grow in his hoofprints. Why he agreed to take Gareth to work every day was a mystery. He could usually be plied with alcohol into calming down and taking a nap, but horses seemed to offend him.
A few elves had brought leather drums half their size, and when one started pounding another picked it up without much delay. An elf with a fiddle and another with a guitar joined, followed by a set of pipes, which was approximately when someone grabbed Gareth by the arm and pulled him toward the bit of field that was rapidly become a dance floor. It was Mary who hooked her arm in his first, and he picked up the steps quick enough, though they didn't have the same impact on soft grass that they did on a wooden floor. He supposed that was why they brought the war drums along.
He was still holding his cider, and took a quick swig, switching off hands as Anna grabbed his other arm to steal him away in a counter-rotation. He hadn't quite managed to finish his bottle before Kevin stole it as he passed with another elf he hadn't met. Declan broke good form by not just stealing him from Anna, but taking both his hands so they could dance a line through the middle. He was grinning wide under the force of a pleasant buzz, tossing Declan into the air briefly before Caroline cut in.
Baby ran with his head down like he was charging the sun, hooves digging trails in the ground as he covered more of it than the length of them allowed for. It wasn't quite as good as flying, in Avi's opinion, but it came close. He laughed delightedly, throwing out his hands for a moment before recalling that he was supposed to be holding onto Ren. He nuzzled at her hair, quite pleased with the distance they were covering as the landscape blurred past them.
It took an unbearably long time when flight would have had them there in ten minutes, of course, but so it went. A magical white bull could only do so much.
He stopped Baby short just as soon as the fair came into view in the distance, great towering contraptions and wagons and tents. And haystacks, of course. Always plenty of haystacks. If Gareth saw Baby, the whole game would be up, so of course he couldn't allow that. If Baby got close enough, he'd start trying to play with Nighthoof, besides. Baby's hooves dug into the dirt as he came to a stop, practically skidding.
"Go play in a field," he instructed the bull, sliding off his back. He pulled Ren down impatiently, forgetting that such a hard ride might have had an impact on her legs. "No playing with Nighty," he scolded Baby, before all but carrying Ren toward the fair in long strides.
"They're starting," he said with a touch of annoyance as he heard the first thump of a drum. He picked Ren up entirely, running outright to the edge of the gathering and jumping too high to land at the top of a haystack. He thumped both of them down into the top of it, sinking slightly into the scratchy hay. "Oh, good." He started clapping gleefully before doing so in time with the drums, lifting up his glasses to see better and ignoring his disguise. "I was worried we'd have to look for him, but of course he's right there."
"You know," he murmured in her ear in the shadows, "you'd be a marvelous spy if they trusted you with fieldwork." Oh, Gareth would have a fit if they were sending her into foreign castles like this, but it seemed like she'd have fun. Not everyone hated going out and killing people as much as he did. Most people didn't. Unfortunate, that he was so good at it. He'd been too young for it, that was the trouble. If they'd only let him wait until he was older, he wouldn't be such a terrible homebody now.
He giggled as she climbed onto his back, feeling quite pleased with the whole endeavor. He kicked the door open, wood cracking into splinters and the metal of the locks all bending outward. He took long strides toward the outer wall, crouched, and then jumped. He caught the top of it one-handed, and pulled himself up before dropping down to the outside.
Easy!
Of course, this wasn't where he'd left Baby. He stuck two gloved fingers in his mouth, and let out an ear-splitting whistle like a chickadee the size of a house calling hey-sweetie. Then he waited, rocking on his heels.
They heard the bell clanging first, and then a shaggy white-haired bull trotted around the wall towards them. It was wearing a bell around its neck, and had wildflowers tied into its fur, pinks and blues and yellows. Its ears and nose were black, its eyes not visible through the hair hanging over its face, and its massive horns curled impressively toward the sky.
It was a comically large bull.
"Baby!" Avi said happily, throwing up his arms. The bull butted him gently in the chest, and he gave it noisy kisses before pulling himself up onto its back. He pulled Ren up into his lap so that he could hold her on, lest she go falling off the back of it when they hit full speed. "You might want to shut your eyes," he informed her, grabbing handfuls of fur. "Think of it as riding a train that runs on grass."
Gareth was finishing up the assembly of his trebuchet. They were all too large to be hauled in, and every year someone's ended up snapping or nearly taking their head off. Gareth's was always the largest, the advantage of being able to lift much heavier things than most. It helped that he was so painfully precise. He'd gladly rebuild the whole thing if he thought his ratios might be off.
The carved wooden gargoyles he'd added at the tops of the frame were totally pointless grandstanding, however.
He'd taken his shirt off over an hour ago, and probably wouldn't be putting it back on. Shirtlessness at the fair was almost traditional.
He climbed the legs of the empty trebuchet, and hung off the swing arm to test its motion along the fulcrum, making sure that it would move freely. Then he dropped to the ground.
"Launch me!" Caroline demanded, the elf attempting to climb onto the sling.
"You'd fucking die," he informed her, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder. "Climb on my shit again and I'm throwing you into the river."
"Throw me in the river!" she demanded. Instead he tossed her onto a haystack. She collapsed into giggles. He wandered past a cart full of bottles, and picked up a hard cider.
"Hey!" shouted Patrick from the top of a gentle slope. "Your deer's tryin' to gore my horse again." Gareth turned his head, and saw Nighthoof chasing after a worried looking pony, the pure black elk at least three times its size. The velvet had already fallen off his antlers, and Gareth had wrapped wreaths of phlox and heather around them.
"Give him a bucket of cider," Gareth called back with a dismissive wave, unconcerned. Nighthoof was, technically speaking, probably some kind of minor forest deity. Flowers stayed in bloom when he wore them, and the most poisonous ones had a troubling tendency to grow in his hoofprints. Why he agreed to take Gareth to work every day was a mystery. He could usually be plied with alcohol into calming down and taking a nap, but horses seemed to offend him.
A few elves had brought leather drums half their size, and when one started pounding another picked it up without much delay. An elf with a fiddle and another with a guitar joined, followed by a set of pipes, which was approximately when someone grabbed Gareth by the arm and pulled him toward the bit of field that was rapidly become a dance floor. It was Mary who hooked her arm in his first, and he picked up the steps quick enough, though they didn't have the same impact on soft grass that they did on a wooden floor. He supposed that was why they brought the war drums along.
He was still holding his cider, and took a quick swig, switching off hands as Anna grabbed his other arm to steal him away in a counter-rotation. He hadn't quite managed to finish his bottle before Kevin stole it as he passed with another elf he hadn't met. Declan broke good form by not just stealing him from Anna, but taking both his hands so they could dance a line through the middle. He was grinning wide under the force of a pleasant buzz, tossing Declan into the air briefly before Caroline cut in.
Baby ran with his head down like he was charging the sun, hooves digging trails in the ground as he covered more of it than the length of them allowed for. It wasn't quite as good as flying, in Avi's opinion, but it came close. He laughed delightedly, throwing out his hands for a moment before recalling that he was supposed to be holding onto Ren. He nuzzled at her hair, quite pleased with the distance they were covering as the landscape blurred past them.
It took an unbearably long time when flight would have had them there in ten minutes, of course, but so it went. A magical white bull could only do so much.
He stopped Baby short just as soon as the fair came into view in the distance, great towering contraptions and wagons and tents. And haystacks, of course. Always plenty of haystacks. If Gareth saw Baby, the whole game would be up, so of course he couldn't allow that. If Baby got close enough, he'd start trying to play with Nighthoof, besides. Baby's hooves dug into the dirt as he came to a stop, practically skidding.
"Go play in a field," he instructed the bull, sliding off his back. He pulled Ren down impatiently, forgetting that such a hard ride might have had an impact on her legs. "No playing with Nighty," he scolded Baby, before all but carrying Ren toward the fair in long strides.
"They're starting," he said with a touch of annoyance as he heard the first thump of a drum. He picked Ren up entirely, running outright to the edge of the gathering and jumping too high to land at the top of a haystack. He thumped both of them down into the top of it, sinking slightly into the scratchy hay. "Oh, good." He started clapping gleefully before doing so in time with the drums, lifting up his glasses to see better and ignoring his disguise. "I was worried we'd have to look for him, but of course he's right there."
The following 1 user Likes Tindome's post: SolitareLee
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Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-05-2019, 06:20 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-05-2019, 06:41 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-05-2019, 07:11 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-05-2019, 07:37 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-05-2019, 07:59 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-06-2019, 03:30 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-06-2019, 04:36 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-06-2019, 07:10 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-06-2019, 08:24 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-06-2019, 09:27 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-06-2019, 09:58 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-06-2019, 10:42 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-06-2019, 11:19 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-06-2019, 12:00 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-06-2019, 12:39 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-06-2019, 01:37 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-06-2019, 02:31 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-06-2019, 03:32 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-06-2019, 04:13 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-06-2019, 11:22 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-07-2019, 05:25 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-07-2019, 08:51 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-07-2019, 09:48 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-07-2019, 12:11 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-07-2019, 01:03 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-08-2019, 02:11 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-08-2019, 03:29 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-08-2019, 04:52 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-08-2019, 05:21 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-09-2019, 03:53 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-09-2019, 04:29 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-10-2019, 11:08 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-10-2019, 11:32 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-10-2019, 04:34 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-10-2019, 05:19 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-11-2019, 01:09 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-11-2019, 03:49 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-11-2019, 06:07 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-11-2019, 07:35 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-11-2019, 10:08 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-11-2019, 11:03 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-11-2019, 04:17 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-11-2019, 04:56 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-12-2019, 04:23 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-12-2019, 06:42 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-12-2019, 11:02 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-12-2019, 11:42 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-22-2019, 02:14 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-22-2019, 03:07 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-22-2019, 10:42 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-22-2019, 11:50 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-22-2019, 02:16 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-22-2019, 02:52 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-22-2019, 03:59 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-22-2019, 05:02 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-23-2019, 01:59 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-23-2019, 02:37 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-23-2019, 03:42 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-23-2019, 05:47 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-23-2019, 10:50 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-23-2019, 11:42 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-23-2019, 01:37 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-23-2019, 02:09 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-23-2019, 03:02 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-23-2019, 03:24 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-23-2019, 04:58 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-23-2019, 05:31 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-24-2019, 11:10 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-24-2019, 11:59 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-24-2019, 01:44 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-24-2019, 02:26 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-24-2019, 11:39 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-25-2019, 12:24 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-25-2019, 09:09 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-25-2019, 09:41 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-25-2019, 12:02 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-25-2019, 12:33 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-25-2019, 03:11 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-25-2019, 03:39 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-25-2019, 11:43 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-26-2019, 06:35 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-26-2019, 01:02 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-26-2019, 01:50 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-26-2019, 03:39 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-26-2019, 04:09 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-27-2019, 04:17 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-27-2019, 07:50 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-27-2019, 03:40 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-27-2019, 04:27 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-28-2019, 10:20 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-28-2019, 10:57 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-28-2019, 01:45 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-28-2019, 02:20 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-29-2019, 06:33 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-29-2019, 07:42 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-29-2019, 08:30 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-29-2019, 08:41 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-29-2019, 09:54 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-29-2019, 10:38 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-29-2019, 12:01 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-29-2019, 12:21 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-29-2019, 01:10 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-29-2019, 01:29 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-29-2019, 01:47 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-29-2019, 02:17 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-29-2019, 02:35 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-29-2019, 02:54 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-29-2019, 04:07 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-29-2019, 04:33 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-29-2019, 04:59 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-29-2019, 05:14 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-29-2019, 11:46 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-30-2019, 12:19 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-30-2019, 04:25 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-30-2019, 05:05 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-30-2019, 09:59 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-30-2019, 10:12 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-30-2019, 10:29 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-30-2019, 10:54 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 12-01-2019, 06:15 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 12-01-2019, 06:47 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 12-01-2019, 08:10 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 12-01-2019, 08:27 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 12-01-2019, 09:11 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 12-01-2019, 09:25 AM