[Rearing Stallion] Cleaning Up Somebody Else's Mess (open)

by **Archailist** on May 13th, 2015, 6:52 pm

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

He couldn't think of anything to retaliate with and all their miscommunication just drained his energy to keep fighting with the assistant cook. Better to just bury it all and start over; maybe a clean slate would provide a better footing. "Sounds like a fantastic idea." Besides, it was true; he was happy to at least have the experience so that next time he needed to clean up an inn, he'd know how to go about it. Well, hopefully at least. So far they'd done.. well, apparently not a terrible job, but not a great one either; all he'd learned was one of the many ways to get it done wrong.

It meant he could actually sit back and enjoy a few moments. There were plenty to spare. "Ha, figure of speech Orin.. I didn't mean a literal dog and a literal onion." He couldn't tell whether the cook was being serious or just messing around but it brought a fresh smile to the squirrel's face at least, listening him ramble over the scene. Enough so that when 'shortcomings' were mentioned, he only laughed harder. You could call them that. Then again, you ain't so tall yourself either, are yah'." A horrible observation since the only thing he had to compare Orin to was his patron.. and that Akalak had a bad habit of dwarfing a good portion of the other knights to the point that he would have several more comments about the weather than the average man... if not for the unintentional imposing aura he held.

And then came the rest. "Well, look, you're not an idiot if you don't do something right the first time you do it." Yes, he knew he was literally throwing the same words back at Orin, but he was actually doing it for a positive reason - not out of spite. "We've made the mistake, we're not going to do it again.. and I think that's going to be more payment than I could possibly ask for." If they were going to spend all their time throwing knife-words at each-other for every slight, intentional or not, they were both going to end up riddled with holes by the end of it. "Maybe after a bit more practice, they'll be pushing you out of the back-rooms to come and talk with the guests! I could make myself a regular here.. though I'm afraid I won't be ordering any food."

It couldn't be all smiles forever though. When it came to talking about what could and couldn't be done, the squirrel just had to stop Orin before he went any further. "Exploring is a no-go.. it takes me forever to get anywhere. Tiny legs, small stride. Squeezing into gaps, yeah.. climbing, no. Again, tiny body, can't move very fast or very far.. takes me chimes just to get to eye-level with you while you've still got both feet on the ground." He almost always had to rely on someone else to give him a lift, either hitchhiking on their shoulders or riding on the back of his own dog. "We're not, but physical limitations can carry over. It's hard for people to take you seriously or even want a conversation with you when you're a tiny lump of talking clay. I can be the most seductive Pycon around.. doesn't stop me being a Pycon though." His shoulders flexed and shrugged; it was something he'd become used to and accepted, to a degree, but that didn't mean he liked it.

His shortcomings paled in comparison to Orin's problems anyway. Something he really couldn't grasp about the situation. "But.. aren't goats and sheep smaller than you? A lot smaller?" Given his own height, that was about all he could think of.. as far as he was concerned, it shouldn't be trouble at all. But then, then there was the biggest blunder of all.. and he really had to hold in a giggle. "Like, just.. standing there, and.. wait, how did you lose? How.. oh dear. Well, I guess that's pretty bad." He was really struggling to keep in the snickers. "But, I guess these things happen, don't they. One moment you're just.. y'know, standing with some sheep or with a scythe. Unpredictable, y'know?"

by **Orin Fenix** on May 14th, 2015, 11:20 am

Orin breathed a sigh of relief at Archailist's words. Somehow the two of them had come to some sort of at least neutral ground, even if they weren’t exactly peaceful companions. Orin was well aware how fragile their interactions would be, even now. But at the very least Orin didn’t feel as if he had to tiptoe around the Pycon anymore. Not that tactful responses wouldn’t still be prudent, but Orin wouldn’t have to watch every single word that left his mouth with the same scrutiny he had been a few moments ago. His whole body relaxed at that revelation. There were muscles in Orin’s shoulders that the cook hadn’t even realized had bunched up until they eased. That in and of itself was encouraging. Orin’s body tended to betray his moods, since he hadn’t exactly trained it not to. Still, the movements were so slight, just a small lift in Orin’s shoulders out of the slump Orin had unconsciously fallen into, that hopefully the squire either wouldn’t notice, or he would choose not to comment. It was a bit unfair. Orin wasn’t an expert on body language, but he was almost certain that Arch had a much better grasp on human physiology than Orin did on anything Pycon related. So Orin would be at a disadvantage during their conversation unless Archailist deigned to actually answer any of Orin’s questions from earlier more fully. Orin obviously knew better than to pursue that particular line of dialogue again, though, especially just after he’d reached some sort of ceasefire with Arch.

Obviously Orin’s sense of humor was up to its old tricks again. In that, none of his conversation partners ever actually got his jokes. Orin debated the sense in trying to explain that he’d been kidding to the squire. It was probably worth at least a token attempt. ”No I know, I mean I got they were not real, a metaphor or whatever. I was just being silly I guess. Ignore me. They have yet to clear me to speak to others.” The last sentence Orin tried to put as much wry amusement into as he possibly could. Orin would master funny comments if it killed him. They seemed to be a staple of everyday conversation, yet Orin usually didn’t have the slightest idea how they worked, exactly. Sarcasm went completely over his head, most times, even though Orin objectively knew the meanings behind it. Still, considering where he’d been at the beginning of the Winter, Orin’s social skills had come a long way in just a season. And if sometimes Orin failed to understand a subtle nuance, at least now he was more often than not able to pick up on it eventually.

Regardless of whether or not Archailist understood Orin’s statements were humorous, the clay squirrel was laughing. Orin figured that was close enough to his original intention that it really didn’t matter. Orin broke out into a genuine smile. Maybe he wasn’t so bad with people as he thought he was. Not good by a long shot, but not terrible either. Now the Pycon seemed to be poking a bit of good-natured fun at Orin. Orin took it in stride. Probably this was also something normal people did in the course of an interaction, although it was still fairly new territory for Orin. And in retrospect Orin’s choice of word hadn’t been as circumspect as it might have been. Orin nodded his head, then hung it in mock shame. ”Aye, I’m tiny although in my case I’m afraid it’s more muscle mass than height. Still, seems to give me just as much trouble as being shorter would.” It was true. Orin had hardly any strength attached to his frame. Of course, for his chosen profession strength hardly ever came into play, except in the strange cases where Orin had to carry a particularly heavy platter or ingredient and then Orin was usually capable of wrestling it to the place it needed to go with sheer determination.

When Arch tried to cheer Orin up by throwing his own words back at him Orin gave the squire a sharp look. Orin’s eyes narrowed but there wasn’t really any fervor in them. If anything, Orin hoped there would be a hint of amusement dancing in his face. ”Well now, when you say it like that I kind of have to listen don’t I? Otherwise I’d just be making myself look even more foolish.” Orin grinned at Archailist, but sobered up quickly at the mention of Orin running the common room. It sounded almost like one of Orin’s nightmares, the ones where he was in front of a crowd of people and they were forcing him to make a speech but laughing, and Orin couldn’t figure out why until he glanced down and saw that he was completely unclothed. Of course, that wasn’t exactly a difficult dream to unpack. Orin had, and probably always would have a fear of public speaking.”Don’t say that even in jest. I’d just scare the regulars off, and even if I didn’t, they would scare me off! No thank you, back room is fine for me.” At the mention that the Pycon didn’t eat though, Orin frowned. He opened his mouth to ask about it but immediately closed it. Orin still definitely didn’t want a repeat of earlier and that seemed like exactly the line of inquiry that Archailist wouldn’t want to answer.

Orin finally gave up. However, unlike before, the slightly more cheerful banter that the two of them had been engaging in had lifted Orin’s spirits slightly so he didn’t slide deeper into depression. Throwing up his hands in exasperation Orin crouched down and wagged a finger in an obviously fake reprimand. ”Now you’re just being difficult and I bet you know it to. I bet you’re impossible to please.” Orin chuckled at how silly the two of them must’ve looked, lost in their own little worlds of self-pity. Orin sobered up quickly, and tried to look Archailist in the eyes. At least, Orin focused on where the eyes of the squirrel were, assuming that was the same place the Pycon used to see. ”Now, listen here my new friend. Even if you haven’t found what you’re good at, which I honestly find hard to believe seeing as you seem like a shining example of a squire, there’s no reason you won’t find it eventually. You just have to keep searching for it, promise me?” Orin didn’t actually need a promise, he just wanted Archailist to start thinking about it. Orin figured maybe sharing a bit of his own history would go over well. ”Now, it took me a long time to discover my passion, but I did. And if I can do it, so can you.” Orin firmly believed that. Maybe it was idealistic of him, but the world seemed to need a bit of optimism now and then. Letting a shy grin creep across his face Orin stood up, but kept looking at Archailist. ”And I for one, would be honored to help you find it, assuming you’d accept the help of one so lowly as myself.” Orin sketched out an overly gallant bow that nearly overtipped him, so he stumbled forward at the end for a few steps before catching his balance. Hopefully that would end Orin’s speech on a light enough note that Archailist wouldn’t take offense.

Orin could hear that Archailist wanted to laugh at the anecdotes Orin had shared. Orin probably should as well. Even if they hadn’t seemed funny at the time, in retrospect Orin had to be suffering from a special kind of idiocy to get into those kinds of scrapes. Luckily, Orin hoped he’d grown out of it mostly, although he still seemed to get into the most ridiculous kinds of situations. ”Go ahead, laugh, I know you want. My pride has already been wounded so a little chuckle won’t do much. If I even had a pride to be wounded, that was.” Orin giggled a little himself. Maybe that would set the Pycon of. Then Orin’s eyebrows rose and he put his hands on his hips in his best impression of Remi scolding someone. Orin’s impressions were terrible, but that was probably all to the better in this case. ”Now Master Archailist, I’m surprised at you. I feel like you, of all people, should know how dangerous something small could be.” Orin dissolved into a helpless laughter. It was probably a reaction to breaking free of the low state he’d been before. Whatever the reason, it felt good. Orin didn’t laugh all that often. When his chuckles finally died down, Orin glanced around the common room. He was about to suggest they get back to work, but bit his tongue. He wanted that decision to come from Archailist. It would probably help maintain the rapport Orin had been trying to build with the squire and the Pycon did seem to like taking charge, which Orin had no problems with, now that they had a solid plan in place to deal with the remainder of the cleaning efforts.

by **Archailist** on May 22nd, 2015, 8:42 pm

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

A crease formed over his brow as he struggled to understand what Orin was talking about. He'd pretended not to understand something? But.. why? He guessed it didn't matter if even Orin was trying to whitewash the whole thing but if anything, it just made the Pycon more eager to press on. Breaking apart the peace they'd found was too much to gamble away on something so elementary though. "Hah, well you're talking to me right now and you're... well, you're not doing too bad!" he joked genially. Not that Arch was actually doing any better.. they were likely just as terrible as each-other. Normally he didn't even have that much trouble when it came to idle conversation and understanding emotions.. but something about Orin just crumbled any competence he'd once had. The jokes didn't make sense and the hidden meanings in everything the cook said kept throwing Arch under a moving cart.

"Huh?" Like when he started mentioning strength and how much he lacked it. "Muscle mass? You have trouble with muscle mass?" Alright, maybe he didn't actually know a lot about muscles. Technically he knew next-to-nothing about the human body and it's components beside a few basics. "Don't you just have to do weight stuff to sort that out?" Weight-stuff he'd seen Iros performing far too much. Throwing around big chunks of metal in lots of different ways for different amounts of time. How heavy those things were he couldn't say for sure but they looked like pots or pans without the handle.. or the hole. "There's plenty of stuff you can use in the kitchen to work on that right?" He was completely serious.

Which vanished quickly as their conversation once more devolved into harmless ribbing. "Pfft, you make it sound like you've got a Kriital for a face." He'd never heard of someone's inability to talk emptying a room but it was even more incentive to come over more often - just to see if he could convince Orin out of the corner and watch all the other customers run out the door. He'd get quicker service if nobody else made any orders! "Besides, as long as you remember what happened today and how to get around it.. well, I'm pretty sure you'll have half the room on your every word by the end of the bell." Hai knew that their attempts at conversation could not have gone any worse. There was a limit to how bad things could get and they'd pretty much smacked it on the head.

Still, all he needed to do was look at where they were now, giving each-other advice and cheering up; it brought a warm glow to his nexus. "I'm not being difficult, I'm just being serious. It's just difficult to do a lot of things. But I'll keep looking.. even though it's what I've already done for the past five years or so." Might not sound like a lot to a human but throw in the fact that he could expect to live to about thirty if he was really lucky and suddenly he'd spent a quarter of his life searching. Maybe Orin could speed up the process, who knew? For now, he could hold his pessimism and keep it to himself.. the last thing to do was the spoil the beautiful moment. "I'd be more than honored to have your help though." Ignoring the near-tumble barring a small snicker, he returned the bow as well. Not nearly as graceful but still something.

Likely as graceful as Orin had to be when losing to a scythe. When he couldn't even perform a decent bow without nearly tripping over his feet, the story sounded even more believable than before. Scary. "... Yeah, I really do want to." His snickers came out a little louder than before but he still kept them down almost unconsciously. It really didn't make sense.. until Orin suddenly came out with the line that scattered all assumptions into the wind and let loose a string of guffaws from deep in his chest. "Hahaa.. well, I guess.. I guess you've got a point there." He couldn't even stop himself to comment, so his breathless answer was nearly buried under his laughter as it rung itself out for a few chimes. Eventually it petered off with a small sigh. Sweet Sylir, how did Orin survive when telling people he wasn't very good in company?

It was almost sad when he caught Orin glancing about the room and suddenly realized that their talk had overgrown responsibilities to clean up the room. "Oh.. guess we sort-of forgot about all this, huh?" he asked sheepishly with one hand rubbing the back of his head. He'd be sad to get back to work now, no doubt about it. But.. it had to be done, he guessed. Hopefully not like before. "Right, uhm.. guess we should get back to it.."

by **Orin Fenix** on June 2nd, 2015, 10:03 pm

Orin could actually see the clay moving on Archailist’s face for a moment before the expression made any sense. The Pycon was furrowing his brow, apparently. However, the motion which seemed natural for humans seemed anything but on the face of a squirrel. After all, animals weren’t exactly designed to mimic human faces. So, Arch’s face didn’t exactly inspire confidence in Orin. Especially since one Orin got over the shock of seeing such an expression cross Archalisit’s face, the import of it finally became clear to Orin. The squire was clearly confused about Orin’s comments and Orin honestly couldn’t blame him. Still, at least the Pycon decided to simply ignore Orin’s weirdness for which Orin was infinitely grateful. However Arch went too far in the opposite direction. "I think we both know that's not true. This conversation has hardly gone well and it’s mostly on my end." No one would ever call Orin a good conversationalist. And Orin was well aware that his inane chatter could wear down the most patient of people and bother his closest friends. That is, if Orin really had friends that he could consider close. Most of the people Orin ran into were either people who also worked in The Rearing Stallion or people Orin randomly ran into either in the tavern or more rarely, in The Fighter’s Pits. Actually, Orin could probably count the number of people he’d actually had more than a passing interaction with since coming to Syliras on the fingers of one hand. Orin wasn’t social, and there hadn’t exactly been any events where Orin could go introduce himself to others. And even if there had been, Orin hardly would’ve attended. He just didn’t like putting himself out there in that way for a variety of reasons. So while it was kind of Archailist to try and soothe Orin’s feelings Orin knew the truth.

Orin stared at the squire uncomprehending. He quickly ran through his statement and couldn’t see exactly how the Pycon could misinterpret it. However, miscommunication seemed to be the order of the day. So Orin rubbed his eyes, then tried to clarify his statement. ”You’re absolutely right that I can lift weights or something to improve my strength.” Orin held out his hands helpless, then gestured one up and down along his body. ”All I was saying was that I am small compared to other’s but actually I’m thin and tall, not short. If that makes any sense. Like, my body is lean but if I stood next to someone you’d see that I’m actually pretty tall.” Orin shrugged and hoped that he’d explained it to Archailist well enough. Orin decided against getting into the fact that it was difficult for Orin to actually put on muscle, not that Orin had ever really tried. Orin was honestly a bit afraid to try. He’d likely just injure himself. Besides, compared to those who made a living off of their weapons, Orin would never win in a contest of strength. That meant Orin would have to rely on his speed and his wits. That was fine with Orin, since he had no intention of ever actually being in a real fight if he could help it. And the chances of that happening again were slim to none. Still, it was better to be prepared and even if Orin wasn’t lifting weights he was working on his skills with blade and fist. Hopefully that would be enough. However, when Archailist mentioned that there were plenty of objects Orin could use in the kitchen to work out with and use as makeshift weights Orin’s jaw nearly dropped. ”Not so much, actually. We just use that stuff to...cook.” While Orin could potentially use some of the heavier objects, he was pretty sure that Rondo, Remi, or Kevith would disapprove, severely. And besides, there were probably better options in The Fighter’s Pits anyway, if that was something Orin was at all interested in.

Orin shook his head. He didn’t exactly know what a Kriital is beyond a monstrous bird of some kind but from the context he could infer they were ugly creatures. ”One, it is that bad. I’m pretty sure that my babbling could be weaponized, somehow. I could talk opponents to death. Secondly, what exactly is a Kriital. I’ve heard rumors of them but nothing specific.” Despite Orin’s words, though, Archailist didn’t seem to be dissuaded. The squire spoke blithely as if the lessons he learned today about how to speak to strangers were easily remembered and something that Orin could just do with no problem. Orin sighed. He didn’t really mind that he couldn’t talk to other people without issue. But Orin couldn’t help the pang of jealousy he felt when he saw people who apparently had no issue charming those around them. In a slightly foul mood, Orin muttered his sour reply. ”They’ll be hanging something alright. Probably me, from the gallows.” Orin didn’t really want to continue this discussion. He knew he’d messed up and that he couldn’t be trusted in public. It was why he did his best to keep his head down and stay in the back room as much as he did. Nothing ever good ever happened when Orin ventured outside the few places he was comfortable with. It was probably best for everyone if Orin just stayed out of sight, tucked away in some corner where he could cook without interfering directly with anyone else’s life.

Orin did seem to have made a small difference in Archailist’s demeanor. However, the squire’s words still betrayed severe doubts and Orin was getting a bit fed up. As a squire Arch’s possibilities in Syliras were practically endless. Compared to Orin, who, although he loved it, had to work day in and day out in the same job, Archailist had so many opportunities. Orin was going to have to phrase this very carefully. ”I don’t mean to sound...rude. But if you’ve been spending five years on this, it might be time to look harder. And I mean that in the kindest way possible.” Orin took a breath, trying to figure out whether this was a good idea or not. But he’d already begun and it’s too late now. ”But, you have access to places and things that I could only dream of. I mean, as a squire you can go to the Archives and there are probably books on every subject under the sun. And, I don’t know, doesn’t the Knighthood need administrators and scholars and lawyers and diplomats and investigators and artists and everything you could imagine along with warriors? Maybe even cooks?” That Orin accompanied with a shy wink, before plunging ahead. So, even if you’re still looking, I just think you should know it is out there, somewhere. As to what that is, I can’t tell you. That’s something you’ll have to discover all on your own.” Orin tried to soften his words with a smile. He really hadn’t meant any offense and hopefully Arch would take the spirit of the message rather than the specifics. Whatever else Orin might feel about the Knigthood, they took care of their own, and Orin was sure that if Archailist expressed interest in any subject under the sun the Order would fall all over itself to accommodate the Pycon.

Whatever other reaction Archailist might have to Orin’s previous statements, at least Orin had given the squire a funny image to consider whenever he thought of Orin. That was fine with Orin. He was well used to being the butt of other people’s jokes. And this time, if it would be for a good cause, then Orin absolutely could and would stomach it. And it was different when Orin was the one to tease himself. Inviting Archalist to have a laugh at Orin’s expense was far different from the cold and mean-spirited bullying Orin was used to. Orin managed to get out one more completely silly comment before he collapsed into uncontrolled chuckles. ”You want to know what else had a point? The scythe.” It felt good to laugh along with the Pycon. Orin didn’t laugh often and it released some tension deep inside Orin hadn’t even realized existed. Still, it had to come to an end eventually, as Archailist noticed Orin’s examination of the remaining mess. Sobering quickly, Orin nodded. ”Yes, we really should I suppose.” However, at that point Orin realized that with all the talking and worrying about his conversation partners reactions Orin had forgotten exactly what they decided on as the next step in the process. ”Ah, forgive me, but reminded my how we divided the tasks again?”

by **Archailist** on July 1st, 2015, 9:40 pm

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

Truth be told, whatever they'd done over the past bells was utterly terrible - barely constituting for an actual conversation at all. That said, what he'd said was true. "It could be worse." Well actually it couldn't but that was beside the point! "Besides, I don't think there's any point in pointing fingers. We both made a mess in different ways." The fact that Orin kept trying to shift blame straight back onto himself was starting to really grate on the squirrel's nerves, even more than earlier, but he buried it deep until he couldn't even remember why his fists were clenching again. Better than turning back the watchtowers and starting everything from scratch. The only scratching he'd be doing would be scratching out his own non-existent eyeballs.

Funny they should talk about how much arguing they could have done - since immediately afterwards, they launched right into the next one. "Yeah, I don't think I'd notice. Sorry. You all just look really tall to me." A little disheartening to have to clarify that he was small enough that he could never actually notice, nor take into account the minute differences in heights between any of the 'taller' races.. which basically meant all of the other races. Occasionally when an Akalak towered some two feet above a human, he could recognize the change.. but literally looking up their bodies from the perspective of their ankles made it impossible to reliably compare. "As for muscle mass.. I guess there's just no point talking about that either. Sorry." Unfortunately, lacking muscles, the Pycon had no understanding of body-building. He thought lifting anything and everything helped with muscle mass...

"Eh? Probably." Unfortunately he could see Orin literally talking someone until they just stabbed themselves to escape the ordeal. Or cutting off their own ears. Some form of self-mutilation. "Oh, yeah. Kriital are these.. well, they're really big birds and I don't think they have any skin on their heads." Disgusting things. "Boney heads. Ugly. And they smell terrible." Maybe it was a mistake making them sound so bad, considering just a few chimes ago, he'd compared one to Orin. "Hey, don't be silly. You don't smell that bad.." Besides, if they were going to hang him, they'd just make the smell even worse. He couldn't resist a few jokes at Orin's expense, if the boy was so focused on making himself look bad.

Better Orin making himself look terrible than turning it back on the Pycon. He had a real sudden, immediate, powerful urge to punch Orin then and there just for even saying such a thing. At least the explanation softened the blow a little but it was still a blow that hit deep in Arch's nexus. "Five years. I know you're trying not to sound rude..." and the squirrel was trying very hard to keep his calm... "but five years is a really long time. It's long enough to travel all over this region, to every city. I mean, there really isn't any way to look harder than that." If there was, Arch wasn't even sure if he'd be able to live with himself knowing how long he'd spent trying so hard to achieve nothing at all. "I'm looking in the knighthood but.. well, I'm still a squire. Waiting for knighthood before I even dream of looking at any of those things. Maybe one day. Not now though."

Now, they could focus on other, important things. Like the laughs.. which only kept coming with Orin's surprising good sense of humor. He kept saying how terrible he was at conversations yet he could definitely pull the laughs when he wanted to. "Haha.. yeah, I bet it did." If only they could have so much fun.. and remember how they were supposed to be doing the job. "Oh.. right. I think we were going to both wipe down the tables, then push all the stuff out the front door?" He hoped that was right. Oh well, they could work on it as they went.

by **Orin Fenix** on July 19th, 2015, 5:54 pm

Orin would never say it to the Pycon, who he still handled as if he were holding glass, but apart from Orin’s first actions, most of the fault Orin felt could be contributed to the squire. Of course, Orin had made a spectacular fool of himself, but there was no need for Archailist to be so volatile. If anything, considering that not only was the squire part of the reason they were in this situation in the first place, but also that he was encroaching on Orin’s territory, Arch should be repentant and apologetic. But the Knights, and by extension the squires, had an unfortunate tendency to act as if they owned everything. Of course, technically they did and the citizens were just renting it from them. So, Orin grudgingly admitted to himself they may be justified in their attitude. But still, it rankled. They should at least give the populace the illusion of privacy. He seriously doubted the Knights themselves would tolerate someone else coming into their personal space. But no one had ever accused them of being fair in that sense. So that was just one more black mark against the Order. Still, none of this would ever leave his lips, Orin had learned that much at least. Nobody in Syliras dared to criticize the Knighthood publically. So perhaps some of Orin’s resentment and fear and attempts to lay the blame on himself were out of a misguided belief that the Order could do no wrong. Or maybe Orin was just tired and trying everything in his power to get this whole scenario to end. It didn’t really matter, because Archailist was still here and their work wasn’t getting done at this particular moment in time. ”I’ll agree with you on that. At least the mess is only between us and not on the floor in this case. Now that would’ve made our job a lot harder, wouldn’t you agree.” The joke was feeble, even to Orin’s ears as he gestured at the still remaining clutter. But it was all that sprang to mind as he tried to diffuse at least some of the tension between them. In hindsight It probably wasn’t a good idea to point out the disaster which was more than partially attributed to the Pycon. But he couldn’t take his words back now so he’d just have to power on through and hope the reaction wasn’t too bad.

It shouldn’t really surprise Orin that the squire had such trouble determining the height of humans in comparison to others, or at least the larger races in general. But somehow it did. Presumably Archailist had spent quite a bit of time hanging around people who weren’t Pycons. Presumably those people varied in height in a noticeable sense, especially when it was something like the difference between Orin and Arch’s Akalak patron. If the Pycon really cared about other people then he’d probably be able to tell them apart more easily. But based off everything Orin had learned the squire really didn’t seem to want to interact with the general populace. And it was worrisome, and just one more sign of the Knighthood’s lack of concern for the conditions of the citizens under their protection. Never mind that they wouldn’t have a city without those non-combatants and never mind that it was hard to have peace with discontent. The Syliran Order had more often than not proven their first and only goal was the advancement of the Syliran Order. Somehow the Knights didn’t seem to think anyone not a member of their organization couldn’t make a lasting and important contribution to the city. He gritted his teeth, but tried to keep most of his irritation from showing on his face. Even Orin knew this entire encounter was unusually tense and he and Archailist were most likely just annoying each other to no end. If the squire hadn’t been ordered to stay Orin would’ve politely bowed out or tried to get the Pycon to leave long ago.

Still, he had to maintain as much of an even keel as he could. And small talk was, under most circumstances, expected even when Orin was certain that it was just a useless exercise designed to make himself look foolish. ”No no, that’s absoutely fine. There’s no reason for you to be able to tell us apart with that much accuracy.” The words came out half-heartedly at best but Orin had to say something. ”And it’s not like I can tell Pycons apart or know, well, anything about them physically.” Before the rest of his words could come spilling out, Orin had to actually bite his lip. After all, he’d made an effort to get to know more about Pycons and Archailist had shut him down so thoroughly that now Orin was terrified to broach the subject to him again. While learning about the clay people would have been fascinating and Orin would have been more than happy to impart any knowledge Archailist might have wanted about humans, that particular discussion had been firmly closed.

The description of the Kriital made Orin shudder. His first coherent thought, though, was to whether they could be cooked. Based on their smell though, he seriously doubted it, nor would he think anyone would want to eat them anyway. And besides, they sounded dangerous, and not at all worth the work. However Orin made a note to avoid any areas which Kriital might potentially be found. ”They sound frankly disgusting. The Knights haven’t wiped them out?” It was a legitimate question, since the Knights tended to take out any potential threats with extreme force. Or at least, they did in theory. Orin had never really been around one of the Syliran Knighthood’s operations, nor did he ever think he would be. However at Archailist’s backtracking and the statement that Orin smelled fine, he had to raise an eyebrow at the Pycon. I assure you that I smell quite a bit better than most of the humans you periodically hang out with.” After all, Arch likely spent most of his time with other Knights and squires and traipsing about all day in plate armor didn’t exactly lead to the most pleasant of body odors. ”In fact, cleanliness is necessity for my profession.” It wasn’t that Orin was actually offended, nor did the comparison to a Kriital make Orin draw the same conclusions. He just rarely got an opportunity to actually talk about his work in a way that wouldn’t come across as boring. ”If you aren’t clean, it’ll get into your food, and nobody wants to eat food that has dirt or worse in it. Beyond the taste considerations, there’s a real chance of disease spreading.” Crossing his arms against his chest, Orin regarded Archailist with as probing a look as he could manage. ”Aren’t these the sorts of things the Order worries about? Pandemics and such?” It seemed a rather large gap in Archailist’s education if indeed they did have to worry about illness. Although it might not be the squires fault per se, but the fault of his patron. After all, Orin didn’t even know if Pycons could get sick.

At Archailist’s response to Orin’s admittedly rather damaging comments, Orin’s temper abruptly flared over. He knew better than almost anyone that a lot could happen in five years and didn’t have all that much sympathy for the Pycon, who seemed to be wallowing in self pity. ”So you’ve been all over Sylira? And been working towards the Knighthood how long? And yet you’re still dissatisfied?” As always when Orin got really made his voice got almost cold and his words came out clipped and precise, each one striking like a whip. He didn’t have the time or patience for fools and his natural shyness and reticence, as well as his general rambling tone fell away. ”You say that there’s no way to look harder, but I’m pretty sure that only works if you actually want to find something instead of whining and moaning about how difficult it all is.” Orin had to take a deep breath, wavering for a moment as he decided whether he wanted to actually explain his past to Archailist. But the squire seemed to need a wake up call and while Orin didn’t know him well, at all, no one else had obviously stepped up to deliver one. ”Five years. Let’s see, what happened to me five years ago. Oh, that’s right, I lost my home and the only family I ever knew. And it crushed me, and I thought I would never recover, but here I am, standing in the tavern where I work, doing the job I love. And you want to know why? It’s because I wanted something, had something I was passionate about, and pursued that dream till it took me here, dragging me out of the hole I found myself in. Despite all the hardship I went through I’m standing tall because I had a dream.” Turning away from Archailist, Orin picked up a cloth and dunked it in a bucket hard, channeling some of his restless energy. ”So don’t tell me that you’ve done everything you can. Because if the Knighthood isn’t giving you what you need, then you should either change it to suit your goals, find a new path in the Order, or leave altogether.” His anger made him a bit careless, to criticize the Knighthood in even such a roundabout manner. But Arch had gotten under his skin. Orin had gone from having nothing but an abusive childhood to a fulfilling job in the city. As he pressed the cloth onto the nearest table, not in the mood to act humorously around the squire anymore, even with the last joke behind him, he reflected bitterly that Archailist could surely overcome whatever boredom or frustration was bothering him.

by **Archailist** on September 3rd, 2015, 10:30 pm

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

OOCSorry this took ridiculously long to send out - should we end it there?
If only Arch could possibly know what Orin thought at that moment. He'd never thought of himself as pretentious, but then again, he had a completely different view of the knighthood. Many knights were spent dreaming of their heroic acts, selfless nature; being sucked into their ideology and the generalisation of the entire knighthood under the 'perfect' image. The mere idea that a knight could be so supercilious ran contrary to everything he thought he knew; more than that. It was a slap in the face to everything that the knights were supposed to be. Good thing he could only see the fake smile and hear the weak jokes, and know no better. "Hah! You're telling me. It'd take less time and effort to take down the entire building and remake it from scratch than to try and clean it up again, if that was the case.." He sighed quietly, with images of the White Swan suddenly flashing through his nexus. Take down the entire building. Better choose words more carefully. He sounded as bad as Orin.

Good thing they were moving back to more 'safe' subjects. Nowhere near what could be considered a normal conversation given the record-breaking awkwardness between every sentence they spoke, but compared to everything else, it was amazing they'd reached the milestone. "Actually there is a reason, which is why I always feel terrible to admit that I still can't tell the difference." He wasn't silly. Spending so much time around the larger races, given how many there were and how far they spread across the world, without learning these differences was something the squirrel was rather ashamed to admit. "Glad to know you understand things like these, though. It's something I really need to work on.. but not everyone likes being measured by little clay squirrels." He wasn't going to go as far as to claim it was their faults for not giving him a chance to learn such subtle nuances in their bodies because they refused to let him learn.. but there was still a small, nagging feeling in the back of his nexus that told the squirrel that he couldn't accept full responsibility. He'd do it for humans, if they ever asked. They never did, of course. They refused to look through his eyes, like he could look through theirs, that was the problem. "Well.. yeah, I don't blame you." See? He understood.

At Orin's disgust, the squirrel had to take serious effort to control his small laughter. "Yes, they are disgusting.. and big.. and dangerous. Trying to wipe them all out is too risky and takes too much time and effort." He had no idea where their nests were.. and if any were known, they were probably gone now. "Hmm? Oh yes, I'm quite certain.. cleanliness must be so important to you that instead of cleaning this place we're stood about chatting about giant bone-faced vultures." He just had to make the jab, Orin had practically set up the punch-line for him. Apparently it wasn't taken too well though, since one way or another, the chef was looming with arms folded and a critical eye staring down from on high. "If the Order didn't worry about these things, they wouldn't have sent me here to deal with them." he quickly retorted, bobbing his head as he spoke. "Although really, medicine and disease is something for the field medics to worry about." Which Archailist wasn't and had no intention of being, either. "So.. there are people working on that stuff. Just not me."

Speaking of people not working. "Been all around Sylira.. came back about Fall and started working since then." What was that then, two, three seasons? Nothing to sniff at, thought he.. though Orin broke what little sense of accomplishment he'd felt at his efforts in but a few sentences. Arch had never lost his home, or his family.. he'd left them both behind, willingly, in favour of the big wide world. Not even in his strangest dreams could he imagine it stolen away before he was ready. Yet, apparently, Orin had not only lived through it but come out infinitely more successful from it. And he was the one standing, listening to the naggings of a squirrel. When Orin had finished his talk and turned his back, Archailist couldn't think of anything else to say.. no response, no comeback, no smart-mouth retort. Several ticks of petrified silence later, he picked up one of the cloths and set to work on the next table. Apparently, he had a lot to think about when they finished.

by **Nivel** on November 30th, 2015, 4:23 am

Orin :

Archalist :

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