[center][h2][color=#008b8b]Fionn MacKerracher[/color] & [color=orange]Lein[/color][/h2][/center] [hider=] Lein rarely had a routine to his day. There were simply too many moving parts - at times he’d be delivering alcohol and serving as a barfly to keep the patrons company. Others, he’d be writing letters, forging letters, shifting letters near the city gates. He weft meeting the contacts that kept with him between the training sessions he never attended and the training sessions he was forced to attend. Yet Lein juggled between his commitments nonetheless, drifting back and forth between the greater city of Aimlenn and the castle, his well-kept ears always on the ground for new trouble and fresher opportunities. If there was one commitment that he made sure to keep, however, was the cleanliness of the winding streets down near the grubbier parts of the city. It was a cobble street that shouldered many shaded alleyways, well accompanied with prowling eyes and eager lookouts that listened for the unsuspecting stranger or patron. Failing those, these would-be beneficiaries could always rely on tithing from the regular shipment of supplies to the orphanage that sat squat at the end of the street, a building that miraculously kept its wattle walls patched up and candles steady through the night. It was the lone building that kept defense of a small courtyard towards its back against the encroachment of the fern-like growth of nearby buildings. Lein raised an eyebrow as he turned the corner of a roof to find that the street was mostly empty of its usual occupants. It was rich ground to root out arrogant upstarts, but today? Nothing. Instead, the bustle of the street was underpinned by the forceful yell and an accompanying thwack. It wasn’t a beat-down, Lein could be assured of that. It was regular. Young. Composed. So… Training? Lein jumped down from his perch atop a cramped terrace and back into the fray and the flock. Deftly squeezing through the crowd, he gained purchase of a view of this interloper in the courtyard as he passed by. [color=#008b8b]”Now, could you try [i]not[/i] hitting each other?”[/color] Fionn glared down at a pair of the kids within the courtyard of the orphanage, although the grin on his face surely lessened the effect. [color=#008b8b]”And to think you were asking why I’m not letting you have these without my supervision. Now you know.”[/color] Neither of the kids who’d immediately taken to trying to hit each other were actually hurt—a little bruised, maybe, but nothing more than the roughhousing they already got up to would’ve left them feeling—and neither was particularly unhappy or angry at the other either, leaving Fionn little to worry about for the two of them. [color=#008b8b]”Alright. Spread out, all of you, make sure you’re all able to see me, but out of the reach of each other’s staffs. I don’t want you hitting each other again, definitely not accidentally when you’re swinging these things around as hard as you can.”[/color] Fionn? Here? Yes, training had long since ended, and Lein had simply assumed that Fionn would follow through with working on that cider mill of his. The downtown sprawl, especially here, was far from the gaze of Candeln - and even most of Aimlenn. He wasn’t that surprised, Lein had always considered Fionn the most wide-footed - but paired with what their previous exchange ended with, Lein was not so keen to engage with the Veltian just yet. As he turned to leave, he heard an irregular yelp before a blur was flung toward him. The Hundi reacted without calculation, lunging forth and intercepting the stick out of the air before it could hit a passerby squarely in the head, nearly tripping over the low courtyard walls in the process. The source was obvious enough, a nun running toward him and stumbling over her own words before noticing the ears twitching with annoyance and a smirk that hid it. Evidently, she was too timid to partake in Fionn’s training too openly. “Terribly sorry! I didn’t know, my grip was too loose - Lein?” [color=orange]“No harm done, Sister. Though if you wanna practice, you should do it alongside. Ain’t none judging you.”[/color] Though there was barely a chance to say much else; the Hundi was soon crowded by kids, both from Fionn’s disciplined formation and the rest that had watched on from the sides, chirping about pearls and vying for Lein’s attention. [color=orange]“Yeah yeah! I’ll look at them in a sec, go back to - what do I say - hands off the tail!”[/color] He hissed, snatching it out of the enthusiastic tugging from the crowd and trying a futile attempt to wade out of the situation. Curse his luck. Should’ve just let it fly, instead of making more of a mess. Lein looked rather sheepishly at Fionn, who no doubt had noticed the Hundi by now. [color=orange]“Err - Fionn.”[/color] The Veltan knight stood stoically, the light filtering between the buildings outlining his features, highlighting the fleeting look of noble despair that passed across his face as his students broke rank and ran for their newest visitor. Many of them vying for the Hundi’s attention with outstretched hands, various objects found in them—mostly shiny [i]rocks,[/i] though some carried things worth far more than the odd piece of agate, opal, or peridot. Curious, though unsurprising. Part of his purpose here was to help fill their time with things [i]other[/i] than petty thievery and scavenging, though given what he could make out of their yammering it didn’t seem like many knew what it was they had; their ignorance, with most others that might try and gather them up like this, could have painful consequences. Still, despite how duplicitous Lein might normally act, Fionn had trouble believing he’d [i]really[/i] treat the children so poorly. Children who were quickly spooked into a moment of silence as Fionn rapped his short staff hard against the side of the orphanage, the loud crack getting their attention quickly. [color=#008b8b]”Didn’t he [i]just[/i] say hands off his tail?”[/color] he asked, his mock-glare landing on one of the kids in particular—who quickly released the appendage in question. The quick compliance earned a grin in return, before he started to gesture them all forward. [color=#008b8b]”Come on, come on, let Lein come up to the front and you all can take [i]turns[/i] showing what you’ve got him.”[/color] Lein freed himself from the dispersing children, though not before some thought themselves cheeky enough to give the Hundi some unsolicited pets on the head before running away with a bout of laughter. He had a terse smile, signalling that he would have very much rathered Fionn to have simply dismissed the kids outright instead and all too miserable to enjoy Fionn's despair. Still, seeing as Fionn had good command of the kids, it was best for him to leave Fionn to take overwatch. Fionn's overbearing nature was instead an advantage here. Just a couple checks first. [color=orange]“Nah, just dropping in, checking to see you rascals -”[/color] he gave a growl that was both a grimace and a smile, [color=orange]“aren’t giving the Sisters too much grief. I’ll be off -”[/color] Though as soon as he began to turn, the protests began rolling in. “No fair! You said you’ll be back in a week!” “Yeah! No fair!” “Look! Look! Lein! I found a key! Look!” [color=orange]“Alright alright, settle down now. Lo, hold ‘em up.”[/color] A forest of grubby hands sprouted before him, holding out all ranges of shiny rocks and trinkets. Lein hopped up on the courtyard wall and pretended to take a careful look over each one, most of them just as useless as the other but nonetheless held with the confidence that [i]theirs[/i] was surely the best. He’ll have to check in with some of them, doubtless that they’ve been drifting too far. He watched Fionn’s reaction in the corner of his eye, hoping that the most egregious offences (Was that an entire pouch? And what’s this about a key?) were flying under the Veltian’s watch. [color=orange]“Alrighty, Finch, Sanny, Rooch - feh, you lot have been real busy, non? Fine, tell Sis Alianna, double portions for all of you! - on one condition, show me all you’ve been learning from my man here? Been seein’ some fancy swings all the way from the stacks!”[/color] Lein said, tossing the attention straight back at Fionn. And muttering under breath so only Fionn could hear, [color=orange]"And you're keeping them out of trouble, I hope."[/color] It was a message not as accusatory as it was proactive. Fionn withheld comment as some of the children showed Lein the various items they’d collected, up until the attention was thrown back his way. [color=#008b8b]”You heard him!”[/color] he called out, gesturing with his own baton. [color=#008b8b]”Back in your spots! First drill!”[/color] As the kids rapidly moved back to where they’d been standing before they were distracted, he turned back to the Hundi sitting atop the courtyard’s short wall. If Lein had hoped he didn’t notice any of what was shown off, that hope was in vain—although for the moment, it went without any accusatory comment. [color=#008b8b]”Trying, at least.”[/color] He turned back to the kids, nodding at their progress. [color=#008b8b]”They trying to swindle you, or did you manage to convince Aurik that milky quartz like that is a precious stone?”[/color] Lein shrugged innocently. [color=orange]“Looks precious enough to me. Won’t see that kinda cut anywhere else. Must’ve taken real work to fish that outta the bank.”[/color] He sat watching the orphans (plus one still-timid nun) step through their stances with awkward comprehension. Most did seem to take the exercise seriously, even if some of them had clearly forgotten and were miming the others’ movements. Lein recognized the drills as the very exercises taught to him at his youngest ages; light, cyclic motions with light staves that could take advantage of what the orphans would be best at - scrappy fights without proper blades. A pertinent choice. Lein nodded to some of the spare sticks leaning up against the wall, fresh with hand-made grooves. [color=orange]“Carve all of ‘em out yourself? A real hero, you are.”[/color] [color=#008b8b][i]’Looks precious enough to me.’ Aye, sure, like I’m meant to believe that.[/i][/color] Another topic to be put away for later. [color=#008b8b]”Aye,”[/color] he replied, casting a watchful eye over the group as some of those who had a better grasp of [i]what[/i] he was teaching started to try and help the others with small corrections. [color=#008b8b]”No point paying for them to be made when I grew up always making similar. Most help I had was Serenity helping smooth them out a couple days ago.”[/color] And seeming thoroughly unconvinced as to why he was spending time with the orphanage rather than in the training yard, though for reasons he couldn’t figure out. Unless all nobles were that inherently suspicious? [color=#008b8b]”Almost a surprise I haven’t run into you down here before. Seems like they all know you.”[/color] [color=orange]“Entertain me, would ya? We’re walking the same lane, and I ain’t shooting questions at why you’re raising an army down here.”[/color] Lein replied. [color=orange]“Besides, I could say the same to you - haven’t seen Aurik give a damn about much till you started barking at him.”[/color] And Serenity? Really? He would have sooner pinned a hen as a bird-of-paradise than suspect that the prideful Arcedeen would bother herself to end up down here. [color=orange]“Better that you’re tiring them out than have ‘em in my hair all the time, though! So cheers to you - ”[/color] Lein contemplated whether Fionn had, like Lein, omitted his status. Certainly, the attitude surrounding them both suggested as much. [color=orange]“- Mister Commander.”[/color] [color=#008b8b]”Now, I don’t bark at them [i]nearly[/i] enough to be called their commander!”[/color] Perish the thought. [color=#008b8b]”Just trying to keep them together, and off the streets. It’s my wee charity.”[/color] He raised his staff, pointing out at the kid they were just talking about. [color=#008b8b]”He doesn’t know it yet, but Aurik’s dad was in the same company as me during the rebellion. Sent most of what he earned back to his family every week. I heard later on that his wife didn’t last long after the news came back that he’d been gutted in the field.”[/color] The staff shifted, pointing to a small group that stayed close to each other. [color=#008b8b]”Those three? Siblings, and both of their parents fought for the Cazt’s side. Similar stories all around. Some who lost their parents to the poor harvest after the war, or who were given up because of it. The population of all these orphanages exploded recently, and I figure [i]I[/i] might as well do something to try and keep the kids occupied in a mostly-safe way, rather than letting them run loose when the sisters can’t rein them all in.”[/color] He set his staff back down, looking back at Lein. [color=#008b8b]”Entertaining enough to get a firmer answer out of you, or do you want to keep up the craic a bit longer first? Not like I’ve anywhere else to be.”[/color] [color=orange]“You’re far less charitable at getting your answers, you know? Though really, I’d given ‘em all out already. Now I don’t have your talents, much less patience to whittle sticks or listen to Miss Lioness. But I do know that there’s a little creek that was a hawking ground for a bit, has a nice shade with the elms too. A bunch of hidey places for them to run around and pick up some interesting stuff. And I just run a few gigs at The Wisp that throws away one too many loaves for my taste. It’s a decent trade - I get them well away from these streets, and they get to have a full belly in return.”[/color] Lein picked up the staff that Fionn put down, holding it straight up like an unmade bow. [color=orange]“Real easy for these rats to get picked off by dolts round these parts, and I don’t reckon we can clean these streets for good. But at least they’ll get to have fun for a bit while I’m around.”[/color] A scheme revealed. Lein didn’t plan to run it for much longer, anyhow. Fionn shook his head slightly. [color=#008b8b]”Maybe I’m biased, but that sort of fun seems more worrisome to me than a lot of other choices. I know the sorts that like to use those sorts of scavenging and selling grounds to recruit kids who have a good eye and fast hands. So long as you make sure they know to [i]avoid[/i] those sorts, then sure, but...well, you were a kid once. Good decision making and youth don’t always go together.”[/color] Gerard being a prime example. Fionn himself, as well, though he hadn’t signed on to an actual company and gotten involved in anything large until he was older than Gerard was when [i]he’d[/i] first been thrown into the deep end of mercenary work. [color=#008b8b]”If you wanted to try and clean up the streets a bit, though—beyond just making sure these kids don’t get pulled into anything major while they’re still all impressionable—I’d be happy to help with that. There’s only so much that staff-fighting and finding them trades can really do to keep them out of trouble.”[/color] [color=orange]“You’re speaking from memory with this one? Made my fair share of bad hands,”[/color] Lein lifted his prosthetic, [color=orange]“I get it. But they’re a lot more shrewd than you give them credit. You pick up fast what to share bones with when you’re facing strangers on the regular, so long as they’re not hungry. Besides,”[/color] the edges of Lein’s lip curled. [color=orange]“I’m sure Big Brother Fionn would be coming in flying if they’re getting too chummy with the unsavoury ones.”[/color] Trust Lein to take it less seriously than he might have preferred. [color=#008b8b]”I’d have to know about it, first, and I don’t have nearly the ear to the ground that [i]some[/i] do. By the time I heard about it at all it might be too late to try and get the kid out of trouble. Not a fun ending to consider, that.”[/color] His frown only deepened as his thoughts continued, looking back to the children in the yard before them. [color=#008b8b]”Where’s this thoughtfulness towards them come from, anyways? You’ll have to forgive me, but given how often you try to [i]avoid[/i] the rest of us and what we do, the care here seems hard to reconcile.”[/color] [color=orange]“Must one have a reason to be charitable? I’ve given my excuse, so you can start with yours.”[/color] Lein’s voice remained in its carefree cadence, but there was a subtle chill to it now. He’d seen it coming a long way, Fionn was well known for it by now. Fionn’s flat stare should’ve been answer enough, but in case it wasn’t...[color=#008b8b]”We’re called to render aid to those less fortunate, and not just in the field of battle. And that’s [i]before[/i] my personal convictions come into play about it all. I’d think it should be an expectation that we’d all go out and do things like this, but evidently not; Serenity could barely believe that I was just here because I chose to be. She seemed to think I must have been an orphan lying about his background and that was the only reason I was doing this. I can only imagine what sort of guess Renar might come up with.”[/color] No matter what it was, he doubted it would be anything inherently [i]good.[/i] More likely Renar showing some similar noble paranoia to Serenity. [color=#008b8b]”I don’t doubt that you’re genuine, Lein, if a little misguided. But there’s a lot about you that still doesn’t fit together, and it’s the missing pieces that worry me. Same as I’d worry about most of [i]them[/i] if they started lying to me and the sisters, or telling us half-truths and trying to hide everything they were up to.”[/color] He turned back, watching the kids that by now had started working in on the latest drill Fionn had shown them, struggling through the still-unfamiliar movements. [color=#008b8b]”It’s bad enough having the three to worry about that I’m around the most, before adding all the rest of you in, you know. Noble or commoner, sometimes it seems the lot of you are worse off than these children.”[/color] [color=orange]“The answer to your worries is simple enough, good friend. Don’t. Bundle of troubles, we are. Yeah, I’m not much sense to folk. Most people aren’t to anyone, I’ve found.” [/color] Lein climbed up on top of the wall and surveyed the people passing through the alleyways, mottled shades of greys and browns shuffling past each other. [color=orange] “You say I keep secrets, but really, I’m just the worst at being dishonest. Folk think I hide my hands far more than others because I show I’m hiding them. Sometimes you don’t have to ‘figure’ people out, Fionn. Sometimes you let them through and toss a coin or sing a tune together for good luck. Easy enough that others think you’re a little crooked yourself.”[/color] [color=#008b8b]”Aye, lad, you’re bad at being dishonest. The ones who are good at it at least make you think they’re honest. No need to be that way, though.”[/color] He waved a hand at one of the sisters, sending them to gather up the staffs and take the kids in for dinner. [color=#008b8b]”What gets me is how scared you seem to be of actually getting to know anybody, or them getting to know you. That you’d rather conceal what’s actually going on in that head of yours and keep us at arm’s length, or worse yet, act like you’re about to run away, rather than have some faith in this group you’ve decided to fall in with.”[/color] As the kids filtered out of the courtyard, he turned fully, stepping back from the wall and staring up at Lein’s eyes. [color=#008b8b]”Maybe, if I wasn’t trusting my life to you and the others, I wouldn’t let myself care so much. Maybe if [i]I[/i] wasn’t also responsible for protecting all of yours, I wouldn’t let myself care so much. But that’s not who I am—I’d rather see Renar finally let himself out of his dad’s shadow, see Gerard recognize that he’s got some value outside of his ability to be another sword in the ranks, see Fanilly and Serenity get the chance just to be themselves rather than whoever or whatever they’re [i]expected[/i] to be, than let them all pass through my life like the drunken, spendthrift, whoring, utterly-self-interested mercenaries I left behind. I couldn’t bring myself to care too much extra about them, just because they didn’t care about anything other than themselves and their wallets. I know [i]all[/i] of you are different, even if you don’t all want to admit to it.”[/color] Lein crouched down a little to meet Fionn’s eye level. This, even all the pointed inquiry, ragged analysis of Lein’s life, he had long since heard many times before. The insistence that there simply HAD to be something wrong with everyone and they needed fixing. The hammering of all jutted points into a smooth sterile shape. Lein had met many, many people who had ‘concerns’, just asking, just really, really worried at ‘people under their care’. Then invariably, when their plans had crumbled and the ‘fixed’ people were still miserable, still bickering, they’d run. All of them. Of all this, the good intent was not in question. It was worse that Lein knew very well where all of this was coming from. It was sickening. That wasn’t what Lein showed, however. The Hundi gave quite the opposite response. Lein smiled. [color=orange]“But of course. And I don’t doubt you’re not wafting out from nonsense either. But I’m all I’m asking, Fionn, is just a bit of trust. Renar - he’s a slimy whoreson, but a smart whoreson too. All of ‘em, Serenity, Fanilly, Gerard - they may not be as perfe—”[/color] [color=#008b8b]”How many of us do you really know, Lein?”[/color] [color=orange]“How many do you, really?”[/color] [color=#008b8b]”Just this once, don’t push back. Give me your honest answer. No cards hidden, nothing up your sleeve—think about how many you really know, rather than the image you have of them. How many you’ve [i]tried[/i] to know.”[/color] [color=orange]“One.”[/color] Lein replied matter-of-factly, and stood back up. This wasn’t going anywhere. Lein had thought he was jumpy. But there were a lot more ghosts following Fionn. Or rather, Fionn was the one chasing them. [color=orange]“My question is my answer, Fionn. It’s not an answer to your question, but it’s the most honest answer I’m giving you. No tricks.”[/color] [color=#008b8b]”It’s a sorry answer,”[/color] Fionn replied. [color=#008b8b]”Hopefully your one can help you realize that not everybody always has a hand to hide.”[/color] Shaking his head, he stepped away, gathering up his things and giving Lein a wave. [color=#008b8b]”I’m heading back to Candaeln. You know where to find us if you want us. Try not to disappear for most of a week again.”[/color] Lein grinned.[color=orange]“And miss all the fun? Never again.”[/color] Though as Fionn disappeared back toward the road to Candaeln, the Hundi sending the knight with a wave, his laidback smile slacked into a more stoic look. Or perhaps a relieved one. He ran his prosthetic hand across the grooves of the staff, then his gaze across the outline of the buildings that formed the hodge-podge skyline of the orphanage. [color=orange]“Never did answer the question, huh.”[/color] Lein murmured, before setting the staff down with the rest and melted the conversation into the back of his mind. [/hider]