[center][h3][color=C0392B]Rudolf Shilage[/color][/h3][/center]

[color=c0392b]"[i]Now[/i] look what you've done,"[/color] he groaned theatrically as Chisato took the bait, casting his gaze into the chandelier and pinching the bridge for show. [color=c0392b]"That day is why Halvor doesn't want me back on a boat— dis it you or Lene I should ask to talk him down from that ledge? Really..."[/color] As chuckles, additions to the story, and lightly made-and-countered corrections flew about the table, it seemed they were in the clear for the moment— successfully pivoting away from the worries that he might find his arrangement challenged by those not present— or, as it happened, that those that [i]were[/i] would try and sink it so deep he would be left with no recourse but to either abandon the party, or abandon the hard work of his host. [color=c0392b]"Yes, a Siren is [i]very[/i] troubling if you meet them in their territory, even if you're a steady hand with monsters— so, see when [i]I[/i] fell overboard, for all my gallantry, I got a fairly comprehensive reminder as to water's relationship with acoustics..."[/color]

Saying nothing of whatever wedge that might drive between the lot of them, given that the future Baron Cadon seemed to take little objection with the thought were all presenting a somewhat-united front towards the task of keeping Halvor from thinking he had pitched a complete dud, but if Esben [i]wanted[/i] to, he could have done much more to steer the conversation away from the path it had taken. And as for Lene, across from him...

She didn't seem to [i]hate[/i] the idea, which came to Rudolf as a bit of a shock. He wasn't the greatest at reading others, and had never quite learned what one of these arrangements looked like, even if he knew about them, but to his eyes it seemed that he was at least an "interesting curiosity" to the young lady. Even if she happily called out the discrepancy between whatever image of him had been foisted onto their family and the...

[i]Kinda fucked up looking dog?[/i]

The war-torn, rough-living, kind of fucked up looking dog[sup]1[/sup] that sat across from her in reality, even if he did clean up passably enough. The night had rolled on in earnest after he'd accepted taking his licks, but with continued courses and continued pairings of wine, Rudolf had found his parts swelling where hers slowly receded, until... 

Where Halvor sputtered, Rudolf too suppressed a small urge to flinch, surprising himself— even if it wasn't [i]him[/i] that had lead the charge on [i]this[/i] deception, he could feel it pulling at the seams, not too different from those nights in Osprey that seemed a year or more past by now. The ones where he could feel the others all waiting for their [i]explanation[/i], after he'd fed them ample evidence contrary to what he'd sold himself as. The Kirins had all very dutifully managed to either avoid or be redirected away from the mammoth in the room with them, and even he'd almost forgotten its tusks poking him in the back until then. 

[color=c0392b]The wine. [/color]

It had sanded off those edges where he worried about those things, those concerns existential and ethical, but now it had sanded away some of his reason— not enough to play court fool by any means, but enough, at least, to quietly pull down the careful wall he'd put up at the start of the dinner, holding back those acknowledgements that did him no good moment to moment. It left him wondering, wondering things he had no need to. What did he [i]want[/i] from this, when they got out of Halvor's hair? What did he have to offer somebody, beneath each lie, be it little and white or big and black, when they could both dispense with the mutual charade? When this all came down, would he be as lucky to get out unscathed as he had in Edren?

He didn't know. With how sudden it all was, he had no way of knowing. She was a nice girl, he'd learned that much— surely, something genuine was what she deserved, no?[sup]2[/sup]

It was with comparatively little theater that he sighed his relief, a small, quiet thing beneath the breath, as she answered his quiet contemplations with a reassuring smile for the party at large, and the moment of turmoil passed. Even knowing that her prospective betrothed wasn't exactly measuring up to the tall tales Cadmon had spun through Halvor, she was still willing to see where it all went, rather than drop the guillotine on their poor associate's head— and Rudolf's by extension. These things could be forgiven were it the right person, eh?

[color=c0392b]"Of course,"[/color] he replied, mustering a polite nod and a smile when her eyes met his for the final time that night. There was no trick in them, nor resentment. Just blue... and the smallest reflection of himself still seated, looking up into it. The light of the chandelier overhead seemed to soak into her blonde hair, framing her look of expectation. [color=c0392b]"I'll be there. We still have a lot to talk about while we can."[/color]
[hr]
[hider= Earlier That Morning]
The next morning after the dinner, Esben—awake and moving exceptionally earlier than he would otherwise have liked to be, given that they were at least put up in a decent location and not immediately at risk of any attack or otherwise—left his room, taking the few steps down the hall to the one that had been kept for Rudolf for much of the last half decade, evidently. Weekends spent with Halvor had always been surreal in some way, and the last couple days, whichever point of the week they were actually in, had proven to match such expectations with no trouble. He'd known of Kayliss's association with the Earl Demet and others of Edren's nobility, after all; and he'd known a bit that Halvor himself had some communication with the same. That all that should combine in some way to result in the younger man he'd been travelling with being put forth as a potential marriage option for [i]his[/i] younger sister, was...

Shocking didn't quite seem adequate to describe it.

But as he'd figured during the dinner, and as he'd figured for quite some time before, Lene could think for herself, and make her own decisions. Obviously she was aware that there was something going on with Rudolf beyond the stories that Halvor and Cadmon had shared, and no doubt she was going to ask after them, and just what both her brother and provisional-husband-to-be were doing. He highly doubted he had to stress to Rudolf that, if there was any time for honesty, now would be it; he'd rather not drive a rift between them if they were to continue travelling together and relying on each other to stay alive, and something that could read as such an obvious lack of trust would be the perfect thing to put them at odds for the remainder of their journey.

He sighed once, and knocked thrice on the heavy wooden door to Rudolf's room. [color=#b3ccff]”You're awake, [i]ja?[/i] We have a bit more than an hour before breakfast, let's go talk with Lene and Anders.”[/color]

[color=c0392b]”Yeah,”[/color] a decidedly-groggy-at-the-edges voice sounded through the door, before it opened to reveal the provisional-husband-to-be in question, hair liberated from the slicking back of last night as he rubbed at his temples for a moment. [color=c0392b]”Yeah, let’s get into it.”[/color]

He stifled a yawn. Ideally, he’d have snagged a cup of coffee to nurse with breakfast after the wine through the dinner and his nightly routine thereafter, but getting the blood moving by marching down the hall would have to serve in its place at this hour. Luckily, he’d already gotten himself most of the way there… at least far enough to talk. He always did rouse quick.

He met Esben with a nod and a thumbs up, motioning for him to lead on, and they started down the way in earnest. Rudolf was dressed much more plainly today, in preparation for the road ahead—simple dark cloth, so much less golden trim.

The trip to the suite Lene had been put up in was a short one, steps Esben still knew well from multiple childhood trips to visit with Halvor. It was the same one that their entire family had often been put up in when they came to visit—indeed, he'd been a little surprised he wasn't put up in it to start with, though with Lene and Anders arriving that made a bit more sense—and he was half convinced he could still pick the lock if he wanted to, just to try and surprise his sister.

With Anders on the other side, though, that was probably a bad idea.

The elder swordsman had evidently been expecting them around that time as well, if not heard them walking down the hall, as he already stood ready with the door open as they rounded the corner. [color=#a34686]”Early for both of you, it looks like,”[/color] he remarked blandly. [color=#a34686]”We have some seats by the fireplace. Come in and get comfortable.”[/color]

[color=c0392b]“You got me. Morning.”[/color]

Esben grumbled some sort of half-inaudible reply for being made fun of, leading the way to the sitting room at the center of the suite. Lene was unsurprisingly already well awake, sitting by the fireplace with a glass of water and a book that she'd just closed. [color=#63ccff]”Good morning!”[/color] she greeted them cheerily.

Esben stared flatly.

[color=#63ccff]”You're supposed to say something back, Esben.”[/color]

[color=#b3ccff]”You know I hate waking up this early if I can help it.”[/color]

[color=c0392b]”Good morning, Lene.”[/color] Rudolf dutifully mustered from off to the side, raising a hand. He didn’t much like rising [i]this[/i] early if he wasn’t under the sun either, but he had less room to gripe than an elder brother did.

[color=#63ccff]”See, [i]he's[/i] a polite boy,”[/color] Lene chided her brother, with an approving nod in Rudolf's direction. Anders took a seat near her, and Esben settled into one of his own. [color=#b3ccff]”A dutiful sister wouldn't force her weary brother up at the crack of dawn,”[/color] he fired back, and the two shared a wry smile.

[color=#b3ccff]”You've questions, I'm sure, though we know about as much about all of this as you do. Probably less, even.”[/color]

As the siblings had their bit of banter, Anders peered over at Rudolf where he sat. Before they could keep going, though, he spoke up himself: [color=#a34686]”You look like you slept less even than Esben,”[/color] he observed bluntly. [color=#a34686]”And you have some dirt on your trousers. Been outside already?”[/color]

No reason to lie about it now, away from prying eyes.

[color=c0392b]“I train late in the night. It’s an old habit from the days I spent in Sagramore. I focus better with the day behind me, and it’s time away from questioning.”[/color] He blinked, before continuing his explanation. [color=c0392b]“Not like this, I mean—more regarding the arms I carry. They see a sword you don’t use often, they bug you about why. That kind of thing. After the dinner drew to a close, you can imagine I had a lot on my mind— and a lot of wine in my blood, too.”[/color]

He pulled back, as if testing how the cushioned seat held him. Near the hearth like this, he almost worried he could fall asleep again if he wasn’t careful, almost. Unscrambling his own narration, so far, was proving engaging enough. At the foot of his seat, the two Crane Wings leaned against the coffee table. The armament in question, however, was absent. Too big to lug around for a chat.

[color=c0392b]“I’m the type that turns to movement to settle both, I suppose I’m getting at. Forgive me, I must have stayed out there later than I’d thought.”[/color]

[color=#63ccff]”Sagramore?”[/color]

[color=#b3ccff]”An Edreni town,”[/color] Esben explained. [color=#b3ccff]”Proud of their martial tradition. Many of them take up work as mercenaries or itinerant monster-hunters, at least for a time. A bit of a rivalry with the Dragoons, there, though they're less specialized.”[/color]

[color=#a34686]”Hardly the place for a sickly boy.”[/color]

[color=c0392b]”It is if you mean to strengthen him. Crucibles, and all.”[/color] Rudolf noted, not exactly challenging the man’s implication.

Lene turned to Anders with an irritated huff. Evidently, she wasn't quite getting what she expected out of their morning conversation, or at least it wasn't going quite how she’d wanted. [color=#63ccff]”What are you getting at?”[/color]

[color=#a34686]”Only that I have my own duties here,”[/color] he replied levelly. [color=#a34686]”Both to your family and beyond. Questioning all of this is both.”[/color]

Esben took a sip of water himself, as his sister, thoroughly chastised, leaned back in her seat. [color=#b3ccff]”Perhaps we sideline that for now,”[/color] he suggested in the silence. [color=#b3ccff]”What else were you hoping to talk about?”[/color]

[color=#63ccff]”What [i]have[/i] you been doing?”[/color] came Lene's second demanding question in the last minute.

[color=#b3ccff]”Ah.”[/color]

[color=#63ccff]”I haven't seen you since you [i]left[/i] for that so-called school, and you were always bad about writing back home anyways—but now, months without [i]anything,[/i] and then you randomly show up at Halvor's place where he's supposed to present me the match he's trying to make?!”[/color]

She pointed an accusatory finger at both him and Rudolf. [color=#63ccff]”One who supposedly never left Solitude, one who has supposedly been [i]here[/i] for a [i]long[/i] while, and then you start telling stories making it sound like you've been galavanting around half the continent! Meanwhile, we hear nothing from you, we reached out to the Garden and got nothing—”[/color]

Esben's eyes had started to slide over to watch Anders’ reaction. [color=#b3ccff]”Nothing?”[/color] he interrupted, with a small shrug from the old man.

[color=#a34686]”We were told not to worry, and that we'd be personally informed if anything should change.”[/color]

[color=#63ccff]”That's [i]nothing!”[/i][/color]

Unfortunate. He hated making his family worry so much. [color=#b3ccff]”Well, that's expected,”[/color] he muttered as Lene sat back again, now having thoroughly expressed her displeasure. [color=#b3ccff]”But as I said, without mother and father I would prefer [i]not[/i] to get into too much of this...”[/color]

He trailed off as he felt Anders’ stare on him. [color=#a34686]”In their absence, I am acting in lieu of your parents. [i]I[/i] am to veto all of this if I have any misgivings. Speak at whatever liberty you may, both of you.”[/color]

The silence that followed was broken this time by a sigh from the younger man across from them.

[color=c0392b]“Then I’ll cut to the meat of it for my part— Yes, you’re both right. I don’t know what [i]exactly[/i] Cadmon has sold me to you as through Halvor, but the story of my warding with him on account of poor constitution exists largely just to explain to public inquiry why I’m never off to the eastern plains of Edren, with the rest of the household. Disease [i]did[/i] nearly take me in the crib, I [i]am[/i] the weakest of my brothers by a fair margin, slow-learning and unsuited for the family craft,”[/color]

He took a deep breath, and for a moment, looked between the three seated around this little table. Esben in search of unspoken guidance, but between Anders and Lene it seemed to be an attempt to decide between them.

He chose the young lady as he leaned forward in his seat, elbows resting upon his knees and hands clasping one another. The one this concerned more than anyone else. He continued on, even-toned as he could manage, intent on leaving as little out as he could. Having already broken this dam once, he noticed how much more easily the words came this time. Still uncomfortable, still bitter, but he could look his audience in the eye.

[color=c0392b]“But the truth of it is…Internally, I’m in effect [i]persona no grata[/i]. My family and I had a severe falling out when my father and brother returned from the war with Osprey—the swordsman village is where I spent those five years I was [i]supposed[/i] to be here. I’ve not lived as the second son of [i]anyone[/i] in that time. Cadmon had told me that he was working behind the scenes on [i]something[/i] relating to what was to become of me in the wake of this informal exile, but I hardly expected it to be a [i]betrothal arrangement[/i]. It’s turned into a hell of a mess now— One you don’t deserve to get wrapped up in this way. Before [i]anything else[/i]: I’m really sorry for the deception.”[/color]

Lene looked to Anders, and then to Esben. Esben shrugged; that was truth enough, he figured. Little need yet to get into just [i]why[/i] the falling-out had happened. [color=#b3ccff]”We met when I was travelling north, to Osprey. Earl Demet had sent him along for much the same reason.”[/color]

[color=#a34686]”Explains the lady commander.”[/color]

[color=#63ccff]”Do you know [i]everybody[/i] from Solitude?”[/color] Lene cut in peevishly at Anders.

[color=#a34686]”Perhaps. Continue.”[/color]

[color=#b3ccff]”Simple enough from there. We fell in with the others of this group and have stuck with them since. None of what we told last night was an outright fabrication, other than having Rudolf continue with the story that he's been staying as Halvor's ward for significantly longer than actuality.”[/color]

So [i]that[/i] was how much they were going to relay of the king’s dispatch, then. He’d been avoiding the subject in part to focus on his story, but also to sort of kick the buck over to the older Kirin, whose operational security concerns were now the weightier of the two.

[color=c0392b]“I could tell you both caught how surprised we were as to the reason for our being here,”[/color] he admitted. [color=c0392b]“Until then, we were just trying to keep the Viscount from worrying his head off, I believe Cadmon put it to me. I hope he feels safe mentioning that he’s let me go off to Solitude, now that he’s got proof I didn’t go missing en route at fourteen and [i]die[/i] in the wilderness. The man needs a break.”[/color]

He frowned after that, before glancing sidelong towards Esben, unsure of what to say next. Everything so sparse and boilerplate as he’d left it… it’d hardly assuage worries.

[color=c0392b]“Is there nothing more we can give them? I understand information security, but…”[/color]

[color=#63ccff]”What were you doing in Osprey?”[/color]

Esben frowned. Clearly, he couldn't give [i]direct[/i] details of his original assignment, even to family. Ingratiating himself with the Kirins by giving the broad strokes was pushing it close enough. Anders may have been another SEED, likely still was, even if he was ostensibly ‘retired and only doing teaching sometimes,’ but that was still playing fast and loose with the rules. The amended assignment as of Drana Asnaeu, however...

[color=#b3ccff]”Valheim is invading. This is hardly news, nor that Osprey has fallen. They attacked Drana Asnaeu recently, which I'm sure has started to filter its way out here, but it was repelled. We've been busy stymieing some of their advance work, or trying to help begin a resistance, depending where you look.”[/color] Obviously, it was no secret to anybody in Skael with any semblance of an education just what the Garden and SEED got up to. The roving mercenary groups were just the most visible face of it all, especially beyond Skael's borders. All the same, Lene paled at the implications of just what her brother had been facing on a regular basis.

[color=#a34686]”As befits the son of a knightly family,”[/color] Anders observed, a similar statement to what he'd made the night before. [color=#a34686]”I believe that is enough on that front. Any noble family should understand secrets, yes?”[/color]

Esben had half a thought that Anders was making fun of the Cadons’ well-known penchant towards complete truthfulness. Lene squinted at him as well. Utterly unbothered by their looks, he continued: [color=#a34686]”You've grown hard, boy. Not the soft one you were the last time I saw you. Travel will do that. He looks tougher yet, even if he's a long way from matching that samurai.”[/color] His own impenetrable gaze fell on Rudolf for a long moment.

[color=#a34686]”Your family. This falling out...last night, you were surprised at the implication your father may have agreed to any of this. In spite of that, it seems.”[/color]

[color=c0392b]“I am of the belief that, beyond whatever responses he has to the Earl’s updates, he has washed his hands of me completely. From the sounds of things, age has seen him grow no less stubborn now as he was when he threw me out.”[/color] Rudolf responded, dead-eyed in his stare as he met that implacable look of the old man’s. [color=c0392b]“After sleeping on it, maybe he may have agreed to the whole thing enough for Cadmon to send it… but to express this as blunt as he would, that agreement most likely would have been ‘Sure, whatever’.”[/color]

[color=#63ccff]”Isn't his family a merchant one as well?”[/color] Lene asked, frowning. [color=#63ccff]”The Demets. Noble, certainly, but from what you told me, Anders, of what father told you, of what [i]Halvor[/i] told [i]him,[/i] he's...”[/color]

She was obviously fishing for the right way to say what she was meaning.

[color=#b3ccff]”Shrewd? A hard bargainer?”[/color]

[color=c0392b]“A two faced piece of shit?”[/color]

[color=#63ccff][i]”Rudolf.”[/i][/color] Her disapproval was clear by the glare shot his way.

[color=c0392b]”You’ll understand when you meet him. He likes twisting his own words around so much you can hardly see straight, let alone those of the people he keeps contact with. I love him, but I might be the only person in the world he spares laconia on.”[/color]

[color=#b3ccff]”No wonder Kayliss likes him,”[/color] Esben murmured. [color=#b3ccff]”I think.”[/color]

[color=#63ccff]”Is he unfair, though? Would you, knowing him [i]personally,[/i] call him unfair?”[/color]

There was a beat that hung in the air.

[color=c0392b]”Yeah? Not in the way it [i]sounds like[/i] you mean, but… yes, often, to his face.”[/color]

[color=#63ccff]”...”[/color] Lene blinked, once, twice. [color=#63ccff][i]”Hva?”[/i][/color]

Esben coughed. [color=#b3ccff]”Ah, Rudolf, I think what she means to ask is...Does he mean well? Halvor certainly seems to think so, if he decided to play this game. And it certainly seems like Izayoi expects you to make good on this and to contribute, if need be, and [i]I[/i] don't think she'd do so if she didn't see something to trust in it, no?”[/color]

…

His eyes fell, studying the carpet.

[color=c0392b]“He took me in when he had no cause to, in that small way, after everything had happened. My actions had harmed his household as well as my own, but he still pointed me towards a place within his domain I could lay my head, collect myself, and further some kind of learning. He’s kept written correspondence with me as if I never ceased my squiredom beneath him, for no benefit of his own, just guiding me from afar.”[/color]

A rueful look graced the carpet, but not a cold one.

[color=c0392b]“The King’s call to arms was doubtless meant for Cadmon’s firstborn, Wulfric… but he sent it to me, instead. If nothing else, I’ve grown more thanks to that than I ever would have staying there. I probably wouldn’t be here to discuss this arrangement at all.”[/color]

His face rose, and he nodded. [color=c0392b]“He has [i]always[/i] meant well. Even if we gripe at each other for kicks.”[/color]

[color=#a34686]”You trust him?”[/color] Anders asked, as Lene fell silent after Rudolf's slow response. Esben nodded once, decisively. [color=#b3ccff]”With my life, and multiple times over. Galahad and Izayoi weren't lying when they said we can ill afford to lose him. He may not always make the best decisions, but he's still a work in progress.”[/color]

Anders raised an eyebrow, before looking out the window. A window with a great view, unsurprisingly, of where Rudolf had been training the night before. [color=#a34686]”We'll hold you to that, then,”[/color] he stated, before looking at Rudolf. [color=#a34686]”You—that oversized sword you have. You know what it's used [i]for,[/i] or is it just something you have to practice with?”[/color]

[color=c0392b]“Protection,”[/color] Rudolf replied as though by reflex, sure of it as anything. Anders gave a single nod of approval. [color=c0392b]“Montantes in particular are favored among bodyguards, for their ability to fend off multiple attackers at once, denying a large space around the wielder or their charge. In formation, mercenary companies in Edren have seen ample use of them both in supplementation and as a counter to pike formations, but I’m rustier when it comes to unit tactics.”[/color]

He thought he had imagined it, the feeling of eyes upon him that night—that it was just his nerves, acting up as they always did. 

[color=#a34686]”A bookish answer.”[/color]

[color=#b3ccff]”That nod was as much as I ever got, and faster, too,”[/color] Esben half-complained. Mostly a joke, but he had to express a [i]bit[/i] of annoyance at Anders for it.

Lene kicked him once, turning back to Anders. [color=#63ccff]”What's that about? He seems honest enough to me, and beyond that, we trust Halvor, Halvor trusts the Earl Demet, and [i]he[/i] trusts the earl too. There are complications, certainly, but now that we know what's going on...”[/color] She turned to Rudolf once, putting on her sternest expression. [color=#63ccff]”No new scars like that one, understood? And don't let my brother get any more either.”[/color]

[color=c0392b][i]Cute.[/i][/color]

[color=#a34686]”A moment, if you would. I won't refuse this just yet, that I [i]will[/i] leave to your parents, but I have my own stipulations to place on this if I am to give them any recommendation.”[/color] Without waiting for any actual permission from them, he stood, walking to his own room, where he began to rummage with something.

Esben listened for a moment, before turning back to Lene. [color=#b3ccff]”How much did you two bring?”[/color] She rolled her eyes. [color=#63ccff]”You know how he is, nothing is ever good enough. He refuses to go anywhere with just his bags.”[/color]

[color=c0392b]“He reminds me of Balder,”[/color] Rudolf murmured, finally allowing himself to sit back a little. [color=c0392b]“Unflappable no matter what you throw at him. Balder, and maybe one of the older knights that serve Cadmon through the Marches.”[/color]

Anders stepped back in at that moment, something long and tightly wrapped in a silken bag resting in his hands. At least five feet long, something far larger than what Esben or Lene had ever actually seen him working with. [color=#a34686]”Don’t get the wrong idea of this. I will leave it to the earl or his son to determine when your squiring is done,”[/color] he cautioned, undoing the tie that held the bag closed and pulling its contents out.

A sword, wooden grip partially wrapped with wire, easily a third or more the length of the blade itself. Quillons curved upwards towards the point, a faceted pommel opposite them at the other end of the grip. As he pulled off the sheathe, a long ricasso and an awl-like edged section revealed themselves of the blade, firelight dancing along the polished length.

Rudolf rose in his seat.

[color=#a34686]”It's likely heavier than the one you have already, unless you're stronger than I'd guess. But Halvor mentioned something of that one to me, as well, when I woke him last night.”[/color] He glanced at the two Cadon heirs seated next to the fireplace. [color=#a34686]”Esben says he trusts you with his life. One of my duties to this family is to watch over their children, and when they are so separate, clearly I cannot do that. Lene seems willing to put aside her reservations in return for your telling of things this morning. If I am to do the same, I need you to promise me one thing in return.”[/color]

Lene moved to protest, but Esben reached out a hand, pulling her back into her chair and shushing her immediately. [color=#b3ccff][i]”It'll be important to Rudi,”[/i][/color] he whispered. [color=#b3ccff][i]”Don't interrupt.”[/i][/color]

Rudolf, sure enough, was unaware of their interplay, all but lost in the steel. Anders was right, he could tell it would be heavier in his grip than the cross he bore at a glance alone, but beyond [i]that[/i]…

[color=c0392b]“That… Words fail me, Sir. Name your demand, I don’t think I could believe this as a gift alone.”[/color]

[color=#a34686]”Because it is no gift at all,”[/color] Anders interrupted Rudolf. [color=#a34686]”I expect as long as you carry this sword you'll remember what I'm telling you today. I can't ask that you defend Esben with your [i]life,[/i] though from the way you carry yourself I've little doubt that you would. But in return for my good word to Matthias and Ada, I need you to swear that you will defend him up to that point, and should it prove necessary, that you be willing to sacrifice your own honor to guarantee his and your safe passage from any hopeless combat. Moreover, should this arrangement stand after you meet with them—I need your word that if our places are ever reversed, or should we stand shoulder to shoulder, you will do the same and more. What say you?”[/color]

Rudolf’s jaw worked, wide eyed and dumbfounded.

[color=c0392b]“Aye. I’ve always held honor as the refuge of the strong… I can scuttle it if it means seeing us home.”[/color] He breathed, fighting his urge to kneel— the man had just told him he had no bearing on his squiredom… and if his suspicions were correct, that was not said out of inability. [color=c0392b]“Esben is already a brother to me, in all but blood. By the fire Himstus sparks within me, I will protect him as such.”[/color]

[color=#a34686]”And the rest?”[/color]

Putting aside the matter of how little he knew, when you got right down to it, of how on board he was with [i]this arrangement[/i] so soon… 

When he thought of it, he thought of if he could say the same of Suzume, had she survived. Of the Laruelle family, who he time and again had wished he wasn’t keeping Elly from. Of even Robin’s ‘father’, who had broken rank and stolen away the very night of the plague that had fallen upon him.

[color=c0392b]“Of course. Whether they approve of Lene and I in the end or not… Esben’s family would be safe as I could keep them.”[/color]

Anders nodded, and held the sword to him, hilt first. [color=#a34686]”Then, in the name of the Mother and her House, I charge you with this blade and the duty it represents. Keep your vow and return the blade to me, or [i]have[/i] it returned to me if elsewise is unavoidable, or else hide your face from the world and abandon any hope of knighthood yourself. Swear it.”[/color]

Rudolf’s eyes narrowed, filling with steel. His scar caught the heat of the fireplace, feeling alight again. He reached forward, gingerly, but surely.

[color=c0392b]”I’m sick of hiding. I swear it.”[/color]

Anders released the blade, allowing Rudolf to take it in his hands. [color=#a34686]”Good.”[/color] He looked to the pair still seated. [color=#a34686]”That settles this conversation, then. Breakfast will begin before long and all three of you need to get cleaned up a bit.”[/color]

[color=#63ccff]”I am [i]hardly—”[/i][/color] Esben pulled her down again, and she shot a sullen look his way. [color=#b3ccff]”Your hair is still a little messy, and I know you wouldn't let yourself get caught at the table without fixing it,”[/color] he observed.

Honestly, as always. [color=#b3ccff]”And none of us want you fretting over it and rushing yourself. We'll find time to come see you after we’re done with what we need to do here in Skael, I hope. Rudolf, shall we?”[/color]

[color=c0392b]“A moment,”[/color] he negotiated, finally freeing himself from the urge to test the caliber of his new recruit— as much as one could in the confines of a room. [color=c0392b]“Admittedly, after accepting the task I just have, this feels like it rings hollow. But…”[/color]

He reached down, the greatsword resting in its sheath, and produced his two companions picked up in Drana Asnaeu, holding them up for Anders and Lene to see. [color=c0392b]“When I heard that we were likely due at least one more meeting, I got it in my head that I should promise I would return for it with more than just words.”[/color] 

Ah, dammit, it [i]did[/i] feel embarrassing, following that up with this half-baked idea.

But… in for a gil, in for the goose… he’d already started it up.

[color=c0392b]“I picked these up in Drana Asnaeu. They served me well in that time. A local style of blade, suited well for the brush, and as it happened, the Valheimr we faced there. They’re called Crane’s Wings, if either of you are familiar..?”[/color]

[color=#a34686]”More than you likely know.”[/color]

A thick sigh of relief, letting out more tension than it may have looked he had

[color=c0392b]“Oh, thank Imir, that makes this easier.”[/color] he breathed, before thrusting the rightward blade forth, towards his provisional fiancée. [color=c0392b]“The legend attached to them states they must always be paired, returning to each other swiftly when parted. They bring good fortune when they are.”[/color]

[color=#63ccff]”Huuuuh?”[/color] Lene seemed clearly at a loss for words with what was being presented to her. [color=#b3ccff]”Take it, Lene,”[/color] Esben prodded. She reached up, gingerly taking it in hand. Unlike everybody else in the room, it was clear she had never even handled a sword, and seemed to expect it to be much heavier than it actually was. [color=#63ccff]”Safekeeping, then...Be quick about it, will you? The longer you're both away, now I'll have [i]two[/i] people I have to worry about for not hearing from them.”[/color]

Rudolf had managed to stop quietly looking like he wanted to crawl under something and [i]die[/i] by the time she met his eyes again, once she put the pieces together. The laughter in his head was all but deafening.

Instead he smirked, nudging Esben with his elbow.

[color=c0392b]“Don’t worry. Push comes to shove, I’m better about writing in than it sounds like this guy is.”[/color]

Esben rolled his eyes. Lene glared at him, before turning back to Rudolf, meeting his smirk with a gentle smile. [color=#63ccff]”Well, you'll just have to make up for where he lacks, won't you? Consider that my addition to everything Herr Anders put on you today.”[/color]

Rudolf chuckled, before playing along with an Edreni salute and a half bow. [color=c0392b]“I solemnly swear it, Milady. I just hope you like sketches to go with.”[/color]

She raised an eyebrow. [color=#63ccff]”I'll have to hope you're good,”[/color] she replied with a nod. Esben stood up, patting his sister on the shoulder. [color=#b3ccff]”I'll make sure he knows where to send everything, at least,”[/color] he promised, Lene sticking her tongue out at him in return. [color=#b3ccff]”Now, shall we?”[/color]

[color=c0392b]”Let’s. If I had any more of these lined up I don’t think I’d make it through them.”[/color] Rudolf joked. Esben nodded, and with the four of them saying their (very temporary) farewells, led the way as he and Rudolf left the suite, Anders shutting the door behind them.

Once they were safely beyond earshot, though, he turned, whispering conspiratorially at the shorter man: [color=#b3ccff][i]”Giving her a sword to seal the vow? Didn't you tell me once that that's basically a Sagramori proposal?”[/i][/color]

Rudolf kept walking, silent as the crypt, but paled about four shades as the realization hit him in turn.

[color=#b3ccff][i]”I thought this[/i] wasn't [i]supposed to be at the official-contracts stage, yet.”[/i][/color]

[color=c0392b][i]“Shut up shut up shut up [/i]neither[i] of you chuckleheads stopped me shut up I wasn’t thinking of it shut [b]up[/b][/i]”[/color]
[/hider]
[hr]

He was adjusting, more or less, to the newfound distribution of weight on his person— lighter at the hip, as one of his wings now roosted with the young lady calling upon him— a promise beyond flowered words of sure return. Heavier at the back, where her loyal retainer had parted with one of his family's finest, to empower him as he set forth. [i]Finally[/i], a sword most suited to the training he had favored since boyhood that [i]bore no curse[/i]. Even if it wouldn't do to completely show it, part of him was just about over the moon.

[color=c0392b]"I don't know, milady,"[/color] he hedged in good humor, glancing back over his shoulder to eye the long hilt, the hefty pommel. Despite not quite matching the infuriatingly clear exemplar of swordsmithing that it replaced, it was a handsome sword nonetheless, and its surer weight and fuller response had felt a hard-earned relief in his hands, for the few practice swings he had been allowed. It fought him a little, compared to the ghost of a blade wrapped up in Goug's cart— but taming it meant it would cut sure and true. [color=c0392b]"I may come to like it so much they'll have to fight me to get it back to him."[/color]

Anders, of course, wasn't going to budge even if he mistook that for provocation— just calmly keeping an eye, all the while, on the errant vagrant that his charge had been matched with. He probably would have gotten on well with Balder— both old hands at handling cheeky upstarts with unruffled feathers. The words the two had exchanged earlier that morning were all too solemn for anything else. Whatever it was he had seen, beneath the shell Rudolf was so cognizant of... he had found worthy enough. 

He allowed himself a brief chuckle. [color=c0392b]"We can handle it when we next meet. Keeping safe's the plan until then.[/color][sup]3[/sup] [color=c0392b]Always is— We'll all be keeping an eye on eachother. And Halvor!"[/color]

He called across the way, a little closer to the gate— where the haggard blonde lord stood quietly by, content to let the two lovebirds jaw at eachother now that he'd done what he could for them. Rudolf shifted the weight of the sword's harness on his shoulder, before favoring him with an apologetic, but altogether warm grin. One of relent, just as he'd worn in the man's study two nights back.

[color=c0392b]"I've given you a lot of grief these past five years running off all the time, haven't I? Wayward, distant, impossible to keep up with. Acting like I don't even know myself, right?"[/color] he intoned guilelessly, before bowing his head. Like a weight had lifted off of his shoulders— and would soon lift off the older man's. [color=c0392b]"I'm sorry to always cause you trouble like this. Thank you for putting up with me."[/color][sup]4[/sup] 

[hr][hr]
[list]
[*][sub]1. Damn, I didn't think he'd actually use it. You know how ironic this is, coming from me?[/sub]
[*][sub]2. No, you're to supposed to say it's [i]you[/i] that wants the  G E N U I N E . You're fucking this quote up; just pull back on the reins, this is a tragedy waiting to happen and I no longer find it funny. I'm blaring Izayoi telling you to "lock in" in the back of your head until you get the idea.[/sub]
[*][sub]3. Famous last words.[/sub]
[*][sub]4. Raise so many flags we can't knock them all down quick enough, sure.[/sub]
[/list]