A small interruption (FennWenn and Cards_of_Fate)

[redford]

There was a definite pleasantness to the end of a day's work, in John's opinion.

He mused to himself as his cigar lent a trail of smoke lazily upward, undisturbed by any wind. He watched the late afternoon sun as it played with the dust just inside the windows of his house, wondering why the beggar pleaded for coin when he had working legs on him. He reached with his other hand to touch the blade he'd finished engraving just before. How could you not enjoy this feeling? He traced the line, pleased with its edge. How is creation not addicting?

He stood, his muscles vaguely sore as he gathered up the sigil books he had been borrowing magical symbols from. Into a parchment-filled closet they went, with the engraving tools following soon after. His shirt, soot-covered and haphazardly sewn together, went into a basket in his bedroom, and he went back to his oversized chair, cocking his head to the side to watch the sunset as he sucked on the cigar.

How can you not enjoy this? John thought. He briefly wondered where Jamie was, thinking to himself that he might ask her to move in. She was a good woman, she deserved better than her profession, he thought. He smirked, tracing a finger along one of the burn scars that crossed his torso and arms. He imagined for a moment her, standing behind his chair, tracing one and commenting that he really shouldn't take any more mercenary work.

It was nice. This was a good evening, and though he was a little rambunctious at times, Vincent was coming over to chat and have some 'brewskies'.

Whatever that means, John thought as he watched the sun begin to disappear behind the trees.

[FennWenn]

Trekking through the forest was tiring work. Fenn stopped to catch his breath, which made puffs of cold air even in the summer. The golden sun sure did look pretty shining through the roof of the forest. He blinked up through the leaves, admiring the sky as it started to darken at the horizon.

Hey, wait a minute. A glance down, between the trees under the setting sun revealed something Fenn hadn’t noticed until now. Standing by a plot of farmland was a rather large house. There was a shed and a barn too, bathed gold in the setting sunlight. Fenn's curiosity piqued. He hadn’t expected to encounter something like this on the way to Radasanth. Was it worth exploring? Hell yes! When was something not worth exploring? He rubbed his hands together greedily and mentally sized up the house.

A hasty plan formed in his head. At a glance, he couldn’t be sure if anyone was home. Fenn inspected the house carefully from afar. Everything about it was big, or at least it was to him. Perhaps the windows were high enough to make it hard to catch sight of his tiny form? Creeping in was more than a little bit risky, but that was okay. Fenn could take some risk - it made the whole endeavor that much more exciting. Best to start out with the shed first, the Fae thought with a sneaky grin, and take a poke around the house afterward if it appeared safe. Maybe there’d be some food stored up in there. After half a day of walking, he could use a snack.

Fenn dashed through the undergrowth, leaping over roots and rocks with glee. Once on the property, he quickly skirted his way around the plowed farmland and to the shed. The door, it seemed, wasn’t even locked! How lucky!

Unaware of any eyes that might have been on him, Fenn cracked the door open and silently slipped into the shed, eager to see what it held.

[redford]

Though, it seems that all good things come to an end, John thought as he saw the child dart into his shed, a flash of tan skin and green clothes.

Truth be told, there wasn't anything of real value inside, save some of the larger ingots and some various tools. Every once in a while some kid from Radasanth proper would come up and snoop around the place. And though John knew that there wasn't anything the kid could really ruin, he didn't like people who came to his house uninvited.

With a sigh, he stood, opening his front door ducking under the opening as he tossed the cigar away. He heard a clatter from the shed as he approached, thinking of how he could confront the lad without him running off. Without really planning ahead, he grabbed the knob and pulled the door closed, sealing himself and the youth inside. He tried to think of something to say, but the only words that came to him were....

"You shouldn't be in here."

[FennWenn]

Ooh! Inside the shed was a mighty forge. That was unexpected. Honestly, Fenn had expected food and farming implements, not shelves of ingots. He took a moment to inspect the shiny shapes of metal. Shiny things were so fascinating - one could stare at their own skewed reflection in little shinies for hours, making faces and generally being goofy.

Unfortunately, Fenn wasn’t certain what kind of metal these ingots were composed of. It would be rather unwise to lay a hand on something that might well be iron. Just the memory of iron’s hot sting made him flinch and clasp his hands guardedly to his chest. Still, they were so tempting...

Before Fenn knew it, the door shut behind him. He thought for a moment that it might have closed of it’s own accord, but the voice that rang out said otherwise. Fenn jumped and turned to face the doorway. To his dismay, he found a giant of a man looming over him, a man with a blue squint almost as intimidating as his muscular build. Shit. Fenn’s silly grin faltered under the sharp gaze, and he suddenly became very interested in staring around the room intensely. Nope, he confirmed, no open windows or other gaps to squeeze out of. He was trapped, it seemed.

Having no obvious means of escape, it seemed wise to default to something a little more underhanded; looking vulnerable. Fenn hung his head sheepishly and looked up at the huge man with an almost saccharinely sweet smile. He shrugged his shoulders as innocently as could be managed. Gosh, what could he be doing in there? Whoopsie, his mistake!

[redford]

The kid looked up, brightness in his eyes for a moment, but the glint quickly turned soft as he realized he was caught. He dipped his head, sheepishly, and stared at the ground.

The more John stared at the boy, though, the less and less he looked like one of the usual hooligans that snooped around. He looked....greener...somehow. It was a moment before he saw the pointed ears.

He's not human, John thought. Must be lost in the forest or something.

John bent his legs, wishing he'd had a shirt on so he looked a little less imposing. He planted a knee on the ground, reaching out to the boy.

"You lost, boy?"

He noticed the bag a moment later, and the gleam of something inside.

[FennWenn]

“You lost, boy?”

Fenn posed demurely before the giant of a man, holding back the silent giggles bubbling in his chest. Lost? Preposterous. He was never lost. Still, he had to admit that it made for a good excuse. The Fae nodded along in agreement. It wasn’t too hard to fake a look of pitiful confusion. However, his gaze couldn’t help but flicker over to the ingots once more before settling on the man again. He had to try to distract himself from the urge to check out (and perhaps pilfer from) the shiny metals. Luckily, he had an idea.

Maybe he could swindle a free hot meal, if stealing wasn’t the way to go this time - as always, he was still pretty hungry. The man had lowered himself to Fenn's level, crouching gingerly in a way that suggested that he might be the sympathetic sort. That would be someone easy to fool. Fenn opened his mouth wide, pointing to it before rubbing his stomach. Pouting, he clasped his hands together pleadingly. The exaggerated movement set the things in his bag clinking softly against each other.

Would the man would be either dumb or kind enough to understand and try to “help” him? Fenn held his breath hopefully, crossing his toes together in anticipation.

[redford]

John cocked his head to the side as the boy mimed his want of food. Though John set his mind on the fact that anybody could feed themselves if they tried, he had admittedly had a soft spot for kids, especially those displaced.

Hopefully a little food would let him know that he wasn't a threat.

He jerked his head at the door, offering his hand to the boy.

"Right, let's get you some food."

[FennWenn]

On the inside, Fenn was practically dancing with glee. So the man was du- well, on second thought, kind enough to take the bait. Or maybe both kind and dumb. The two went well together, in his experience. Either way, food ahoy!

The only thing to cause him hesitation was the offered hand and the scars criss-crossing the man. Fennik stared at the hand in uncertainty for a lingering moment. The thick, gnarly scars were a little unnerving. On top of that, Fenn caught glimpse of a strange tattoo on the man's back when he turned around. It was like a fist adorned with spikes, punching at the sky, which didn't help with the man's already intimidating appearance.

With a jerky hesitation, Fenn reached forward and slipped his own small, bony hand in the man’s. He took a deep breath and wondered if his touch would be unnerving in turn. Fenn's skin was perfectly icy, as if he had been out in the snow all day with no clothes on. He gave an apologetic smile back.

He breathed a sigh of relief as the door opened. Not being trapped anymore made him feel more at ease. Able to breath freely and relax, Fenn followed the man forward with good cheer.

[redford]

The boy's hand, tiny and cold, found his eventually and he opened the shed. He led the boy, making sure to keep a slow pace, toward his house. They entered, and he set about preparing a modest bit of food.

The boy found a chair, sized for normal folk, and John found a loaf of bread and a cheese wedge, as well as some jerky for the lad. He returned, pulling up a larger chair for himself as he slid a hunk of cheese toward him. The bag, still around his shoulder, intrigued him.

"What you got in there?"

[FennWenn]

Even in a normal-sized chair, Fenn’s feet barely touched the ground. He fidgeted in place and watched eagerly as the man prepared the food. It wasn't exactly a hot meal, but food was food. As soon as it was brought before him, Fennik grinned over at the man and began wolfing it down voraciously, starting with the jerky and rapidly moving on to the bread.

When attention was called to his bag, he almost choked on all the food he had stuffed in his mouth. After taking the time to cough and swallow, Fenn set down his bread and bit his lip, deep in thought. He didn't normally get the chance to show anyone his collection. Unless they suspected that he had stolen something, most people didn't take an interest in his stuff.

Fenn cradled his bag, looking between it and the man. Well, he supposed it wouldn't hurt to show off his hoard. After all, he had been fed by the man. Besides, he liked pouring through the congregation of things he had collected over the years.

The Fae hefted the bag onto the table and opened the top flap. He tipped it over carefully. Little objects trickled out, bit by bit.

The clutter consisted of a variety of things that most people would consider useless at best, and outright trash at the worst. There were shiny smooth stones, bottle corks, cracked snail shells, candy wrappers, buttons, and even a few carefully folded pieces of scrap paper. Some things were more suspect. Cheap jewelry, empty coin pouches, rusty brass and copper pins. Whenever those tumbled out, Fenn quietly flustered and shoved them hastily back in. He gestured to the rest of the pile and began pawing through it himself, delighting in all the tiny “treasures” that were his to play with.