Family Outing (Uncle Monty)

by **Minerva Agatha Zipporah** on June 10th, 2012, 4:05 pm

Tock waved a finger in Tiffan's face and said, "Oy, 'nuff o' 'at 'Miss' garbage, aye? I don't none take ta 'er. Don't go seein' me callin' ya Mister nothin' o' Sir, does ya mate?" She couldn't stand pointless formalities. "It's just 'Tock', and ya damn best remember it."

Then as Monty was dropping off the gold, Tock stepped up to Tiffan, feeling he needed another lecture. She slapped him on the arm and wagged an admonishing finger in his face, one hand planted on her hip. "Oy, I don't none never wanna 'ear 'what don't need fixin'' outta ya 'gain, y'ear? 'At's what's bloody wrong wit'n 'is 'ole damn city! Y'all think what as jus' cause somethin' ain't done broke all the way what means she don't need no fixin'! Well, lemme tell ya, yer gonna man up an' let 'er git done, else ya's gonna 'as ta deal wit' me, aye? I'll done rebuild ya 'ole damn 'ouse from the ground up, don'tcha think I won't!" she shook a fist at him so he'd know she was serious. One thing Tock could never stand was the whole notion that things could be good enough as they were. She knew from long and hard learned experience that there was always somethin' better.

She went over to start measuring the door, and banged her hand along the door jamb as well. "Ain't needin' ta worry 'bout no materials," Tock told Monty. "'Cept maybe 'inges. I don't gots me a 'uge load o' wood back home already. More'n 'nough ta cover 'is." She had over a thousand pounds of wood still, and a door wouldn't weigh more than ten or twenty. "Gonna need ta replace the 'ole frame 'ere, too," she said, looking the door frame over with a critical eye.

A quick glance around showed her that this wasn't the only thing that needed fixing either. She might not need to rebuild the whole house as she'd threatened, but there was a lot of work to be done. And Gods help Tiffan if he tried to stop her.

by **Montaine** on June 10th, 2012, 5:04 pm

‘You don’ take no for an answer, right? Whatever needs doin’, but-’ he frowned, ‘but be nice, okay? Me Da’s a good man, I know you an’ yours-well, I know, but me Da’s good, an’ I wouldn’ be here without him, an’ I don’t jus’ mean ‘cause he’s me Da an’ that’s the way it works. I’d’ve died a hundred times as a kid if weren’t for him nursin’ me back every time,’ the glassworker hitched his bag over his shoulder and ran a hand through his hair, ‘You come round mine when you’ve had a look round, an’ tell me what needs done and how much it’ll be, I’ve just got to go do this real quick,’

Montaine went through to the front room and hugged his father goodbye, leaving him with a stern warning against trying to return the money and a wary caution not to get on Tock’s wrong side and do whatever she suggested. He then made his way back up Kova Street, trailed by a string of toddling infants from the Caraway’s next door until he yelled at them to get back to the house or he’d tell their mother and off they scampered back the way they had come. It was a long walk to his final destination and no path for little children. He moved gradually through the city, treading familiar roads and feeling the cobbled streets beneath his thin soled shoes.

It had been a good day all in all. A good chunk of his idle savings had disappeared, Calbert might just get off his back about his clothing, and perhaps now, perhaps, he had someone he could talk to about the sailor. An ally. She hadn’t flickered when his father had let the truth slip out, hadn’t judged or accused or anything. The glassworker felt a smile forming on his lips, just ever so slightly.

It was a half way to the next bell before he finally managed to drag himself up the great hill towards the Maria Satterthwite Memorial Cemetery. He had to stop, more than once, to catch his breath on the hill. He passed a number of mourners, far more than ever made the pilgrimage before Her Ladyship’s speech. Once he reached the structure that held his target he allowed himself a longer rest and considered the magnitude of what he was about to do. He almost couldn’t believe he had made it thus far without losing out to fear and turning back.

He closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of the ocean, still strong, carried by the harbour winds to even the height of the hill, the smell of the sea, his smell. He went inside. The interior of the cemetery building was just as grandiose as it had been the last time he had visited, only far emptier now that it was devoid of Satterthwite’s entourage. Candles still glimmered in the pool as the fish flitted to and fro.

He tried to pick out his own, but couldn’t tell one from the other, ‘I was talkin’ ‘bout you today, to me friend Tock, an’ me Da. He still doesn’ like you, but I doubt that’d ever change, do you?’ he knelt down by the pool’s edge and waited for a silent response that never came, ‘I jus’ really wanted to come here today, I don’ know why, I guess Summer’s when you usually come home,’ he paused again, ‘I wanted to say somethin’, I-I wanted to do it before but, I don’ know, I guess I thought you’d hate me,’

Monty frowned and dipped his hand into the pool, watching the fish swim round and round.

Eventually he whispered.

‘I love you,’

Completed

by **Cascade** on June 28th, 2012, 12:12 pm

Adventurer's Loot

Minerva's Loot :

Montaine's Loot :

Awww, you guys. Fantastic thread, as per usual. Only a good thread can come out of such good writers. West Street sounds like a nice location. If you want, feel free to inquire from Paragon if it can be added as an official location in the city. Tiny detail: You guys mentioned that the shop where Tock brought the dress is highclass, so I would have thought that Tock would find something more than a peasant dress. This thread was mostly purely social, but I put points where I thought it was due. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to PM me!