Quiet Night [Eitan]

[Stefan Dornkirk]

Ash 5th, 121

The Nachtherr's maiden voyage was going as well as Stefan could have hoped. Everyone seemed pleased and comfortable with the accommodations. This wasn't surprising, considering most of them were soldiers and he had designed the first stealth ship to be part warship and part luxury yacht, combining all the best of the two things commissioned from the Windworks.

They had flown through the day and were now docked at the place where they would be descending into the earth the next morning. Stefan did not expect any issues to trouble them considering they were both hundreds of feet off the ground and he intended to leave the Verborgenheit Engine running throughout. The only time he intended it to be off during the entirety of the rest of the journey was when the Expedition part departed, and when it returned. No reason to expose anyone to the effects of the field the engine generated unnecessarily.

The soldiers, magical and otherwise were bunking in a barracks room that was more comfortable than what they were used to but still a common sleeping area. Orator Beeman, Dr. Stechpalme, and Commander Angevin had been afforded small but very comfortable rooms of their own. Stefan and Brenner would be sharing the Captain's cabin, because there wasn't another private room and because, at the time that the decision had been made, it had been a thoughtlessly obvious choice for Stefan, and Brenner had readily agreed.

Everyone had retired, wanting a good night's sleep, perhaps the last one they'd get for a while. Stefan had made the excuse of wanting to make a final check on the engine's energy output to ensure that hovering in the air for weeks at a time wouldn't drain them. In truth, he wanted to walk for a little while, and there was one more last errand that tugged at his heart. A comfortable walk around the outer deck with the collar of his greatcoat raised worked out the last of the nerves he'd been feeling in little waves since dawn. It really did feel like being in the ZADC again. A tiny smile at his own silliness crossed his lips; he'd never missed being in the service before, as he made his way back below decks.

He passed the door to the Captain's cabin but did not enter, or even slow, making his way on practiced feet to another cabin. Knocking on the door quietly he said,

"Eitan? May I come in? I have something I would like to give you."

[Eitan Angevin]

The flight from Zaichaer to the landing zone had been exciting for what the near future held, but uneventful otherwise. Even his own hours at the conn hadn't taken them off course, which afforded him a bit of pride as he hadn't truly piloted a vessel since his days of training except for the odd emergency—such as the regular helmsman needing to use the privy. He had a house of his own to go back to now. Soon he would have to think about marriage and children, but he also knew the head of the Dornkirk Windworks and thought he might eventually have a small pleasure craft of his own. It would behoove him to brush up his navigation and piloting skills so he and the brothers Dornkirk could take their wives and children out to feel the wind in their hair.

His berth on the Nachtherr was of a similar size as the XO's quarters on the Noble Gambit, though quite a bit more luxurious. It was a shame they would only have the one night aboard, and then perhaps another night aboard before flying home. But again — he knew the man in charge of the Windworks. Perhaps he could even get on the shortlist to help try out new designs and models. While not the best pilot, they ought to have a commander on board to keep the experimental skeleton crews in order.

But for now...

Eitan answered the door himself. It was only a few steps away, after all.

He beamed at his brother-in-law. It was good to have that added attachment with his friends, even if he and Brenner didn't have to use the term. Some people were finicky about such things.

"Stef, come in, come in. Join me for a nightcap?" He indicated his flask. With no intention of getting drunk the night before the big adventure, he did want a little something to ease him into slumber when he was so excited.

[Stefan Dornkirk]

Eitan smiled when he saw Stefan, and that was a lot. Stefan returned the smile, if his was a quieter expression it still to reason; he was a quieter man.

"Good evening." Stepping inside the small room he glanced around, his mind again marveling at having something that he had drawn from stardust and imagination now fully realized. He'd designed lots of ships, but rarely did he get to spend time on them after they were built. It still felt surreal, like stepping into the land of make-believe.

The offer was considered but he shook his head to the proffered flask. Brenner would want to share something with him when he found his way back to their cabin and Stefan didn't want a muzzy head at any point when in the Warrens. "Thank you, but no. I just wanted to come say good night, and wish you many happy returns for your birthday, before it runs out. I know I said something at breakfast but, well, you're my brother now and I wanted to get you something."

Stefan had made a plan for the duel birthday of his two brothers months before the event and was now armed with what he hoped might please.

Pulling a small box, about the size of his large palm, from his pocket, he held it out to Eitan. It was square and about two inches thick, made of brown leather with gold embossing and a hinge at one end. It wasn't wrapped, Stefan wasn't giving a gift to a child, but to a man.

"I thought it might be useful, in our current endeavor, and after as well." It was practical, but at times Stefan worried it was also too sentimental, so it was with a little knot in his stomach that he watched the other man take it and open the box.

Inside was what looked like an unusually large pocket watch, only hinged on both sides, of a dark silvery metal. If the catch on the top was pressed one of the panels would open, if it was held down the second would. Under one was, indeed, a watch, beautifully made, with hands for hour, minute, second, and a place where the date was kept.
The date read: "5th Ash" In two separate but connected little panels that would spin to the next day, or the next season, as time passed.

Behind the second panel was an elaborate compass, with a barometer built-in. There was a small thermometer on one side and the entire piece was crafted with beauty in mind, but also hardy enough for hard use. Eitan was an officer, the tools were ones he could use almost every day, and Stefan hadn't wanted to give him something that would break the moment he dropped it or someone stepped on it. As his friend looked the gift over Stefan explained some of its less obvious features, but kept his hands to himself.

"It's ash steel and thrice-tough glass. You can stomp on it in your boots and it won't even knick. I know, I made the craftsman prove it. The insides of the panels are silver, shined to reflect light from even faint sources and, for those moments when there isn't even faint light." He pointed to the little gear at the top, "If you turn it one way it will wind the watch, if you turn it the other..."

He left the sentence, allowing Eitan to try it for himself, when he did a soft light began to emit from the watch, enough to easily read either face, as it was turned farther, until it reached its limit, the light grew brighter until it was the equivalent of a small hand lantern.

"It's Illumite, I thought, if you ever suspected illusions, or just needed to find your way to the privy in the dark, it might be useful." The shard was also supposed to be able to counter the effects of Dread Mists, and it comforted Stefan to think that Eitan would have it in case anything ever went horribly wrong with Private Albrecht. He did not say this aloud, only went on to show Eitan how to pull up the little mechanism at the top if he ever needed to change the time or date. He also said nothing about the inscription, which was on the inside of the watch panel. It said:

To My Brother,

So That You May Always Find Your Way Home

- Stefan Dornkirk

[Eitan Angevin]

"Please yourself, then," he said with an impish smile. He took a small sip and closed the door behind Stefan. He didn't think there was anything classified that needed clarifying tonight, and their team was in the loop when it came to most of the information, anyway. Still, old habits died hard and leaders spoke behind closed doors.

"Stef..." It sounded a fond protest, but then he tucked his drink into his pocket so he could explore the gift with both hands. In some ways, it was the sort of gift he would have wished from his father, but the exigencies of Admiral Angevin left little room for warmth between them.

Eitan was touched, but rather than let his emotions well up in some unmanly fashion, he paid close attention to Stefan's explanations as he made it light up and do all manner of things. It was beautiful, but also useful in the manner of a pocketknife multi-utility tool. Of course, Stefan, who was such a devoted brother to Brenner, would remember his birthday as it coincided with his brother's. Having brothers-in-law was a fine thing, especially when one's half-sister married a man one had already befriended.

Things were starting to fall into place: a house; brothers; the expedition. It seemed almost as though he had tuned his life to work like the efficient clockwork in his hands. Carefully shifting it over to one hand even though he knew it was sturdy, he reached out to pull Stefan into a hug, then pulled back to hold their foreheads together.

"My home is your home, brother," he said quietly, responding in part to the inscription. And he was speaking truth: at least until they found a place of their own, Delia and Stefan would be staying with him at White Knight Manor. It only seemed right to cede the master suite to the married couple since it would be a temporary arrangement. He was glad to spare Delia an overbearing mother-in-law, to give Stefan a chance to live out from under his father's eye, and to offer Brenner a place to party and crash or whatever else they got up to without parental supervision.

[Stefan Dornkirk]

"I'd rather you do it." He murmured, under his breath as though he didn't intend it to be a part of the conversation but couldn't stop it from coming out.

Emotion between them was a subtle thing, as it should be, and Stefan was growing to recognize when Eitan was feeling something strongly, if not always precisely what. In this case, it was not hard to guess, and his own shy smile appreciated the gratitude without asking for more. He leaned into the hug, wrapped both arms around his new brother, and held him close for a long moment before pulling back to find their brows pressed together. He could smell Eitan this close and allowed himself one indulgent filling of his lungs, savoring the scent that reminded him of home, his new home, and his old one.

"Indeed, I want you back in it, safe and sound, as often as duty allows." The barometer and thermometer would be useful on an airship as they would be underground, and while timing was not as important on a ship that road the clouds as it was one that road the waves, it could still prove useful. Stefan himself remembered the head gunner on the ship he'd served on using a pocket watch to train his cannoneers to ever greater feats of speed. There was the desire to lean forward and taste what his olfactory nerves were already experiencing, but he refrained, maintained control of himself. His hand did come up and cup the dark mass of hair pressing them together more tightly for a moment before letting the closeness ebb.

Standing, still close but no longer touching he said,

"I tried to think of anything you might need with that. Designed it myself, actually, though had to send out to have it made. A bit small and fiddly for the Windworks. At least now you'll never be lost in the dark down there." The thought did not make Stefan comfortable at all, for Eitan or anyone else. "Have you been?"

It surprised him to realize he'd never asked before. What training a Reconciliator received was far outside the older man's ken. Who knew what the men and women who accepted a taint to their souls were required to do to earn their sacrifice?

[Eitan Angevin]

"It's brilliant, Stef," he said, beaming. "Just as you are... never had someone design a thing for me..."

Eitan continued to poke and prod at it, making sure he remembered how everything worked. The utility of the gift was making his mind race even as he admired its aesthetic and the comforting weight of it, surely from internal clockwork. But he looked up at the question, scanning Stefan for fear or concern. Fear would keep them alive in the right context so he wouldn't tell someone not to listen to their fear. Concern was also wise, given they were going into a dangerous situation with many unknown variables. But worry would only keep them up at night and then they wouldn't sleep, which would make them more vulnerable on the morrow and all the days and nights they might spend below ground.

"Have been, aye," he assured him. "A couple of weeks ago with Albrecht was the last time. Wanted to make sure he wouldn't crack under that sort of pressure, you see? And he didn't." Eitan himself hadn't cracked, exactly, but he had gotten distracted and the rage wraith had slithered into his mind. He didn't need to share that; it had galvanized him to learn to shield against such manipulations. At least, he hoped he could now.

"It'll likely be strange with some danger, but I highly doubt we will be slogging through violence and horror without surcease." He winked, held up his birthday present. "My light in dark places."

He hoped he wasn't laying it on too thick. When his boyish mind had grasped on some level that he could never do anything that would achieve his father's approval and love, the next best thing had been thoughts of joining the Dornkirk family. Brenner had been his only real friend, even when that got rocky. Now Stefan and Delia were finally wed, he could consider Brenner more as a brother than just a friend. And over the past season, he had begun to include Stefan in that desire. He had wanted one brother and now he had two, but it felt so strange to articulate it and so he just smiled.

Turning off one of the lights, he set the prize down and turned its lights on to see just how bright it was.

"Ah, yes," he said, beginning to loosen his cravat. "Definitely bright enough to keep the monsters at bay." His smile, at least, was sincere.

[Stefan Dornkirk]

Stefan was beaming, inside. Outwardly he was giving little signs of his pleasure at how well his gift was being taken. Not wanting Eitan to realize later that there was another, very similar to his gift and be hurt he admitted,

"It's one of a pair, matching set only opposite in design, so the features are on the other sides, and the inscriptions are different. I gave Brynn his last night, but I design them with both of you in mind. It was after..." He cleared his throat, "After that day we practiced boxing at my club and I wanted you to know I think of you the same way. Sort of, uhm, a way to show my two brothers that I care for them while also giving them a reminder that they are also brothers. If that makes sense?" The last sentence was a repetition of the phrase that Eitan himself used so often and had slipped into Stefan's vocabulary.

"Hmm," Stefan's brow creased with consideration, as the conversation shifted to the Warrens, "Mayhaps I should have taken advantage of the time and actually gone down instead of spending all my free hours reading about it."

It was hard to remember to apply things practically when so much of what he did was theoretical. Even when he designed ships he rarely got to see them in action, even the pleasure yachts he designed for the few who could afford them. By the time they were finished and launched he had long moved on to other projects. It startled him to realize that this was the first time he'd been out on a ship of his own design for more than testing purposes.

Watching Eitan tinker with his new toy like a boy with a new year's gift Stefan began to let his nerves calm.

"The illusory ones, at least." He answered the playful jest.

Stepping forward he pushed Eitan's hands away and untied the cravat himself, pulling it smoothly from the collar and setting it aside before starting on Eitan's vest buttons. He was very proper about it, no lingering touches or standing too close, he just wanted to help. It was something he told himself sometimes, but, in this case, it was true. He was of no mind for anything more than assisting with the more fiddly aspects of undressing from a formal outfit, but the act of assisting did more to calm him into a place where, in due course, he might be able to sleep.

"I certainly hope we are able to keep things light and tight, alerting as few denizens of the deep to our presence as possible. As much fun as it is to imagine this becoming an annual expedition, returning, again and again, seeking our quarry, I think that would become prohibitively expensive. Not to mention it would make Brenner into a positive bear each time we had to return to the surface with our tails between our legs." His eyes smiled, wanting to share the playful attitude.

[Eitan Angevin]

"Ah, well... that makes sense." He smiled. "I hope Brynn wasn't too bothered that they're a matched set." In fact, that made it all the more special, knowing in what high regard Stefan held Brenner. It was another thing falling into place, creating family out of the dysfunctional bits their actual families had left them.

"Thanks," he said simply, and allowed Stefan to help. He had been surprised to hear Eitan didn't have a valet of his own, and by now Dienerin was probably vetting prospectives for him at Stefan's behest. It was all part of the tightrope walk for a bastard, even a legitimized one. Had he been asked, he might have admitted this was calming some of his nerves, as well. Stefan had been Brenner's bigger elder brother when they were growing up and Brenner himself had been bigger and older than Eitan, so there was an element of safety in Stefan's presence even now they had grown up and into their respective roles.

"I've spoken to Lightborn on several occasions," he began, moving to make Stefan's job easier. "We are of the same mind. Caution. Precision. Speed. We will avoid what dangers we can and eliminate quickly those we cannot. We will certainly aim for a triumph, hope for success, and make do with what our efforts earn us. Who knows... even if we are successful, the military and the Order might want to establish a scientific mission here. Then Stefan Dornkirk, leading expert in the new field, will have reason to fly Zaichaer and dive into the Warrens. Albeit with better intelligence and more resources."

He smiled again, liking the idea of Stefan getting to spread his wings.

"Of course, Delia forbade me to let you die, so you will return home to your wife if I have to wrap you up in silk like you're made of glass and carry you."

[Stefan Dornkirk]

Stefan hadn't told Brenner that it was a matched set. It wasn't that he had purposefully avoided it, it was more than the interaction had been a rocky one for the older brother, and it had slipped his mind. He didn't tell Eitan this, figuring he'd inform Brenner soon enough and not wanting to make his new brother think he was ashamed of their connection.

Stefan could feel Eitan relaxing, sense it, somehow, likely due to their long familiarity's recent intensification. It had the same effect on him, letting his nerves calm themselves, releasing the excitement and stress of the day both. The little movements to accommodate his assistance were all he needed to know that he was welcome to help.

As Eitan began speaking of the mission, absorbing his words without answering, Stefan pulled the vest off and set it aside too. Dropping to one knee he began unlacing the tight, military boots, which he knew personally could be a pain to remove alone. Eitan was an old hand at it, certainly, but it might be nice not to have to pick at the knots for once. When he stood again both boots were set neatly under the bunk.

A slight smile turned the corners of his mouth up at the ideas being presented. "While the scientist at my heart loves the idea of establishing a base for research down in the Warrens, I doubt that between my work and my family I would be able to spend any time there."

Reading about discoveries in the latest journals would be interesting, but would likely only put unwanted longing into a life that could otherwise be very fulfilling. Stefan's life had been a study in managing expectations and desires, matching them to reality where he could and letting them go where he couldn't.

A wider smile, that would have been a laugh in another man answered the threat to coddle him.

"Oh, did she? She forbade me to let you die. So, I suppose we'll have to stick close to one another if we want to keep our promises and the lady of the house happy, eh?" He stepped a bit closer as he said this, and made an odd little motion with his head that might imitate nuzzling. Opening his arms a little he tilted his head, asking if Eitan wanted an embrace before Stef left him to his rest.

[Eitan Angevin]

"I'll be certain to ask Delia's permission to let you come out to play, then," he said, laughing affectionately. He was starting to understand how tone of voice could leaven his teasing such that Stefan appreciated it. And I suppose I might be a step closer to having a ball and chain of my own... Of course, I couldn't tell Lucrece where I was going, so I told her I was going on a hunting trip with you and Brynn... At least she bid me be careful. So it's quite possible she cares?"

Eitan laughed, wriggling his toes in his stockings now that they were free. The hand that had rested on Stefan's shoulder for balance remained there.

"I know our parents drove the both of you mad when they were pushing for a marriage or backing off depending on the phases of the moons, but going it alone is also a challenge. Do you suppose I should tell Brynn about her? I mean, nothing's for certes yet but I don't want him to feel uninformed. And we're on an important expedition, of course. Well, perhaps there will be a spare moment where it's appropriate to bring up. At least so he will know not to flirt too outrageously with her if he runs into her when we return. Don't want him proving himself the better man at my expense, eh?"

But he was smiling. He could see Brenner having feelings with his brother quickly getting married and his friend who was younger than him making progress toward one, but usually, it seemed as though he needed a little time to work things out in his mind and then he was right as rain.