Out and About (Aurin)

[Torin Kilvin]

Frost 19 120

More than two weeks had passed since the apprentice had discovered the delights of the Velvet Cabaret. Torin had been more than busy learning under the firm hand of his new master. He could not longer deny that being sent to the city to continue his education had been the correct decision.

The city was bright with frost and icicles now hung from most of the eaves. Frost was the apprentice's favorite season without question. Partly because it made time spent near a raging forge fire significantly more pleasant but also because everything seemed cleaner, the smells of a bustling city were dulled and the sounds of its inhabitants muffled. Walking alone, late at night or early in the morning, one could pretend to be truly alone. Having grown up in a sleepy little town far from the city, Torin was used to having as much, or more, time alone as he wanted. The boisterous nature of being surrounded by other men his own age at all times of the day and night had taken, was still taking, him time to grow used to.

He could not say that he had had much time to miss his new, and consequently only, friend in the time since they had met. The orders were rushing in for his master from all over and the majority of his time had been spent building his stamina to match the muscle that now showed all over his growing form. He had been used to all-day sessions in his old apprenticeship but not every day for weeks on end. Endurance seemed to be a major skill as much as any other in his given profession. The only reason he was free then was because the forge he worked had developed a crack that could no longer be ignored. The runesmith had called in an emergency repair crew and was expecting to have the forge ready for use again in a day. Thankfully Torin hadn't been in the middle of any work that would be ruined by the wait. After his last major project, he'd mostly been set to intricate piece work, which was gratifying in its complexity and the trust it required from his master. There was little work in a forge that he wouldn't have found gratifying unless he was left to smelt raw ore for weeks on end or something equally banal.

He'd sent a note by runner to Aurin as soon as he'd realized he was to have the time off. It had been quite late and he hadn't received a note back, though it might have gotten lost or been given to another apprentice as sometimes happened. He figured he would walk down into the area and if the other man was unavailable he still had plenty to explore in the area. It was still early morning, so, if Aurin did have an evening too busy with work to have dinner with him, maybe an early lunch could be had.

His feet carried him quickly and easily down the streets that he was beginning to know. Since his encounter with the bouncer, if such could be applied to Aurin, he felt lighter. It might just be that he was settling into his new life at last, beginning to let go of his previous one, but the catalyst for doing so had definitely happened somewhere in that evening of exploration.

Arriving at the closed and shuttered Cabaret about an hour after dawn Torin made his way around the back through the little alley and then hesitate between Aurin's cottage and the back entrance to the main building. He would try the cottage first. If it's occupant was not within, someone in the servants' area would know where he was.

Knocking briskly on the study door with a mittened fist he called out a greeting cheerful enough to annoy the best-hearted of late risers.

[Aurin]

The delay in the door opening was not long, though the door didn't open wide. Hazel eyes gazed owlishly out of the gloom. Once his eyes could confirm what his ears had heard, a pale arm snaked out to place a key in Torin's mittened hand.

"Lock the door," he said, voice garbled by sleep. "Come to bed."

Then the crack of doorway was empty as Aurin returned to bed. If Torin was so bold as to follow, he would earn a sight of Aurin's bare ass. He would also earn the sight of a kunai held with deceptive relaxation in his hand. One was missing from the wall over the bed. Aurin crawled back into bed, the kunai disappearing under his pillow. He and the smith's apprentice lived on wildly different schedules. Part of this might be a dare. Most of it was that he wanted to dive deep back into slumber before he was too awake to return.

Even if Torin only came in and didn't see fit to keep Aurin warm, he might at least stoke the fire and brew some tea so when Aurin did wake up, he could lounge at ease. In any case, the cottage was almost exactly as Torin remembered it. Aurin didn't keep much that wasn't essential, a great deal of what was essential being borrowed from the Velvet Cabaret. Sometimes, he did his own laundry. Often, the laundry boy would do it for him, Aurin having made his life easier. The same went for the cooks and food. For all that he was a bad man, his relationships in the Cabaret were a series of virtuous circles. He took care of them. They took care of him.

It worked out better that way. He had a pair of small clothes that were pink not because he had bought them as such, but because he hadn't been paying attention and a red scarf ended up with whites—a novice mistake. He just didn't have what it took to cut it as a laundry boy himself.

But as for Torin, his presence was accepted without awkwardness or fanfare. He was allowed in, trusted with the key—for the time being at least, and treated with a view of Aurin's unprotected back. For all his talk of costs, he seemed awfully confident that Torin was no threat.

[Torin Kilvin]

Torin leaned into the room, eyes adjusting from the bright white of morning to the gloom inside in time to watch Aurin's bare form flop back into his bed in what might, almost, have been described as a pout. Recognizing that his day's companion was not yet ready to face the day he hesitated.

After a moment's thought, he did shut and lock the door, with himself on the outside. Dropping the key carefully into his mitten where he would be sure not to lose it he tramped off through the light dusting of snow covering the ground from the night before and off to the nearby market he had spent significant time in on his previous day in the area.

Perhaps half an hour, or a little more, later, he returned to the darkly curtained cottage with several bundles tucked under his arms and unlocked the door again. Having seen the weapon he wondered how wise it was to disturb Aurin's sleep for a second time that day before entering anyway. He wasn't trying to be silent, but nor was he attempting to make anything beyond the quiet domestic sounds one might expect and comfortably sleep through. He doffed his coat, mittens, and boots, the latter being considerably muddly and slushed from the long walk.

Proceeding to the hearth he did stoke the fire, adding several thick logs and sweet herbs once it was pleasantly roaring. Water was set to boil, some for tea and some for wash water so the other man wouldn't have to endure an icy trial of a morning cleansing. Once the tea was steeping and his other packages were laid out on the hearth he stood and looked down at the sleeping, or perhaps pretending to sleep man occupying the bed that could accommodate two people if they were willing to be close.

Torin was willing to be close. He saw no reason not to accept the offered warmth, as it had previously been accepted when offered by him in similar circumstances. Laying his thick belt over the tops of his boots so it wouldn't poke or pinch he slid in behind Aurin. A sigh of guileless contentment escaping him as he took the big spoon position and nuzzled his cold nose into the other man's neck. He was not sleepy, but the room was now delightfully warm, the touch of someone he trusted was reassuring and he was happy to just stay there for a while. This was already better than he had hoped for.

His hopes had extended to their reconnection not being awkward for how they had spent the evening wrapped around each other, to them sharing conversation that included more of Aurin understanding Torin's odd questions and knowing their answers. Also food, in possibly large quantities. Frost made the boy ravenous, but some of the packages he'd retrieved in his brief shopping jaunt would do the job of at least taking the edge off.

The arm he tried to slide under his bedmate's head, after realizing that laying on top of it himself was not comfortable, contacted metal. Blinking he carefully traced the object until he realized it was the weapon missing from the wall. Settling his arm into a pillowing position under the red head he wrapped hands that he hoped wouldn't feel too cold around the bare torso. He would remain happy to stay like this through the afternoon, or, at least until the protests of his stomach did the job of waking Aurin.

[Aurin]

When Torin disobeyed, Aurin was slightly upset, but he figured he could drowse, at least, and then go find his key when he was better rested. And so he slept, not deep enough to dream, nor deep enough for the deep healing a body required, but he had gotten his share of that before dawn, at least. He awoke at the key in the door, but he clocked Torin's silhouette through slitted eyes and when nobody else came in with him and he heard the door lock, he allowed himself to drift deeper into sleep, occasionally rising closer to the surface to doze, being aware enough to know that Torin was fixing things in the "kitchen."

He shivered at the chill Torin brought into his bed, but instead of pulling away, he huddled closer for the deeper warmth that would ease out through the surfaces eventually. He sighed, an exhalation of comfort rather than dismay. He was awake now, but content to lay there. The way he claimed the arms around him was still Aurin for all that their positions had been reversed. This bed was his kingdom and, for the time being, Torin belonged to him.

At least, one could read it that way.

Eventually, when Torin had warmed up, Aurin twisted around within the circle of his arms to rest his head against the younger man's chest, a conscious reenactment of another night shared.

"Well," he said, voice low and phlegmy from sleep, "I suppose you're obedient in the end, if not quick about it."

But his fingers found Torin's ribs, so if he couldn't hear the indulgent smile in his voice, he would feel Aurin's hands. He didn't know if he was ticklish, but he would soon.

[Torin Kilvin]

Torin watched Aurin turn and rest his head on his chest. He wasn't sure how he should feel about it. He'd never felt supportive before. It felt nice but very new, which seemed to be the way of things with the man laying in his arms.

There was a man lying in his arms and it was okay. More than okay, it was good. His next breath was shakey but he didn't break the eye contact they shared. He smiled a little at what he assumed was teasing.

"I never said I learned fast. You'll only ever have to teach me once but you gotta let me practice after." It was an honest assessment of his learning patterns. His old master had realized fairly quickly that he didn't need to re-instruct the boy after the first telling, just leave him be to work through it on his own.

Then he felt warm hands over his chest and was confused for just a moment before he gasped.
"No! You can get one of your friends from the Cab to beat me for it, if you don't want to deal with me yourself!" He teased back, trying to make it sound a little pouty but laughing helplessly. He wasn't sure he would have gotten it right anyway, he'd never pouted before to his knowledge. Grabbing for Aurin's hands did him no good despite his strength; the man was an escape artists and no hold he landed earned him more than a moment's respite

His body was reacting to the warmth and shuffling as one might expect a very young man's too but he didn't spare it a thought. Bodily function had already been dealt with between them without discomfort or awkwardness. When he was allowed to draw a deep breath he pantingly said,

"Maybe you'll forgive me when you find hot wash water, dark brewed tea, and breakfast awaiting your rise?" His brows raised as part of the question; an offering to hopefully appease the angry red beast.

[Aurin]

People could react violently to tickling, and so he didn't lean into it too far, though Torin seemed a good sport about it. In fact, there were people who paid courtesans to be tied down and tickled until they lost control of their bodies, and that was fine, too. But that wasn't what Aurin meant by it.

After Torin reported his efforts, the which Aurin was already mostly aware of, he stretched, straightening against the younger man, and kissed him. It caught mostly his cheek, but also the corner of his mouth.

"You'll make somebody a good husband someday if you choose," he observed, and then crawled out of bed. The room was warm enough now that the change in temperatures wasn't too, too shocking. He caught the kettle with a hook and pulled it out from the hearth, then let it sit for a while as he walked over to give himself a whore's bath and put on a clean set of clothes.

"Today is supper, no?" he asked, nonchalant, entirely comfortable in his surroundings. He spent hours training in here, preparing to protect himself because he couldn't rely upon anyone else to do so. If someone appeared with ill intent, they would just replace the spectres in his mind's eye who meant the same when he was training. "Not that I'm complaining." He owned a few sets of clothes. All of them were sufficient for work, or sufficient for training, whether that was weapons forms or running on the banks of Lake Udori or whatever else. But with his hair damp from several wet swipes of his hands, he looked somewhat more relaxed, less on than he was when he was across the alley, in the Cabaret proper, holding court some would say.

Once he was clothed and presentable—Torin had had his chance to play for more—he went and poured the tea, bringing a mug to Torin and sitting on the edge of the bed next to him. He offered him the drink, figuring he would leave the foodstuffs to him rather than play host. There was a strange intimacy to their burgeoning friendship, and he played at Kalzasi mores anyway.

"If anyone asks, you could only hold out this long before you were driven mad by desire and had to return for more, yes? You suspect witchcraft. You can't control yourself around me."

He winked and sipped his tea.

[Torin Kilvin]

Torin tried really hard not to groan as their bodies were pressed close together, not to squirm. He froze altogether when the lips that a part of his brain would always know the shape of by feel pressed to his face. Very quickly his mind scooped up all the possible reactions and stuffed them into a box that it promptly sat upon. This was another affectionate gesture that should be accepted simply. So, he did.

Staying where he was for a moment after Aurin departed he stretched one of his all-encompassing, full-body-shuddering stretches. "I thought it was wives that were supposed to make the breakfast and obey the orders?"
He knew this wasn't true in every culture, not even every culture in the city but he had no other quick reply to the oddly sincere seeming compliment. He watched the other man perform the same sort of wash he himself had the last time he'd been in the single-room cottage. Not ashamed of his examination of Aurin's body, nor thinking anything particularly about it beyond base observations. The man was in excellent shape, was lean and well-muscled as one could expect from one not of a profession like Torin's.

Sitting up from the bed as he was rejoined he took the mug and sipped humming happily. He laughed aloud at the suggested mention of Aurin's prowess.

"Maybe I do suspect sorcery. Though you're too pretty to be any witch from the tales I've heard." Handing the mug back he hoisted himself up and moved to sit cross-legged before the health. He began pulling apart the wrapped packages while his host looked on. "Supper, yes, if you've the time. Thought, I hope you'll allow me breakfast and lunch before then too."

The first package contained a set of rolls, still warm from their baking, stuffed with spicy northern sausages and sticky white cheese. Another, identical, package contained equally sticky, sweet, spiraled spice rolls covered in chopped nuts and honey glaze. He put both sets nearer to the fire to regain their melty heat while he poured the now very dark tea into the second of the two mugs the cottage boasted. Licking sweet from one of his fingers he scooted back to wait, patiently impatient for their breakfast.

"These were the first ones out of the oven at the baker's stall at the market down the way. I didn't eat any of them, even though you were layabout in your linens." He vaguely suspected he'd receive some form of additional affectionate 'punishment' for his cheek and looked forward to it.

When the food was starting to steam again and Aurin had joined him the boy took a savory roll first, managing to finish it, and thoroughly burn his tongue, in two bites. He chased it with tea to aid in the fact that chewing wasn't a major priority at that time. There were two of each kind for each of them, and Torin had finished all four of his in a matter of minutes that wouldn't have required bold his hands to hold. With a contented sigh that Aurin might be growing to recognize he leaned back on his palms behind him, slim stomach showing the meal he'd just inhaled.

"Where would you go today? The city is open before us and you have a grateful, country-raised benefactor to corrupt and take advantage of the generosity of." He knew the limits of his purse and wasn't foolish enough to offer to, or be persuaded to, go beyond it'd bottom, but he did want to show Aurin a good time. A sentiment that was not a little tainted by the fact that he knew he would have a good time as well. He'd been working his hands raw over the fortnight and he wanted to enjoy the fruits of that labor beyond the meager limits of his own knowledge of Kalzasi.

[Aurin]

"Mmhmm," was all he said to Torin's teasing. He wasn't on the clock now; he wasn't being paid to be entertaining. But he was smiling. Torin knew that he had gone to bed much later and so needed to sleep much later to maintain his health. He didn't feel attacked anyway. His own breakfast was slower. There had been times between here and where he had been born and raised when he had been a starving man and so had bolted down his food fast as anything. Now, though, he was back to his discipline, where he took his time so his stomach had time to realize it was full and let his mind know so he wouldn't overeat. In the end, he still ate all that was offered, but at least he didn't burn his tongue.

Aurin had intended to train today before their supper, but Torin had come quite, quite early. He didn't mind, though. He could spare a day.

He laughed at the lad's puppy-like eagerness.

"To corrupt and take advantage of, eh?" he asked over his tea, hazel eyes looking him up and down, turning him upside down and inside out as if he could see everything. There was a hint of what made him dangerous in that, but he didn't push too hard. If Torin wanted the corruption he hinted at, he could ask for it plainly.

"I don't have a curriculum planned for you," he admitted. "Do you want to make our way to Cloudhaven to see the icewing eagles flying around the Aviary? Do you want to peek into the Yawning Chasm and imagine what dangers lurk below in the Warrens? Do you want to see the Astralarium? It's better at night. Bet on a little bloodsport at the Proving Grounds? Shopping for curiosities or necessities here among the Jeweled Arches? Cheap drinks in the Low-City? Hiking beyond the city walls?"

There was a wide world beyond Kalzasi, but the city-state held quite a bit within its walls or nearby, as well. Torin might not care much for the news from on high and from beyond, but Aurin liked to keep his ear to the ground and his fingers on the pulse of the city. High walls and flocks of winged warriors strengthened the illusion of safety, but they were not surefire protection. Knowledge was power.

[Torin Kilvin]

Torin tried and failed not to flush,

"The generosity of." He corrected, also failing at any semblance of primness in the correction.

He listened with consideration to each of the offered options, sipping his tea. All of them seemed interesting -if possibly frightening-, though watching men kill each other for no reason brought a frown to his face, and the last suggestion, hiking outside the city, lit him up with artless enthusiasm.

"I have so missed being able to see the woods and open sky!" He spoke without thinking; then, as soon as he did, tried to curb the desire quickly since it wouldn't fulfill any of his offers of generosity if they just wandered through the wilderness all day.

"I'm sort of not great in high places." He admitted, going back through the other ideas in his mind, "Or deep ones. Would it be alright if we got a lunch to take with us and you showed me somewhere nice outside the city for the afternoon? We can come back for dinner and the Astralarium?"

He very much resembled a puppy, trying to hold its tail still while it waited to hear whether it would be allowed out for a walk. Torin hadn't been outside the city since he'd arrived and for a lad raised entirely in villages surrounded by woods and fields, with mountains as the only thing to put any boundaries on the sky, it had been a shock to be confined to rooms and streets all the time. The idea of fresh air and openness, even a fortnight into Frost, was a prospect that made him ache almost to whining about it.

Torin was like this about most things, not realizing how badly he wanted them until they were held out and shown to him.

"Please?" He begged, sounding more a boy than ever. Bounding up from where he sat, not realizing that he had as much choice in what they did as the other man did, he stomped into his boots, re-belted himself, and shrugged into his thick coat. Shoving his hands into his mittens he found Aurin's key there and pulled it out to proffer back to its master.

"Oh, here, sorry."

[Aurin]

"Thank you," he said, accepting the key and pocketing it. When Torin had started girding his loins for the cold, Aurin did the same. He banked the fire, of course, before the quit his cottage. They talked as they walked from there to the Skyharbor. They talked as they flew on one of the regular local airship routes, marveling at the view of the city from on high, and its environs. They talked as they walked the short distance from the dropoff point to the trailhead. They talked as they hiked to the base of the stone pillar that was crowned by the Circle of Wandering.

Torin asked a lot of questions. Aurin answered a lot of questions. Every once in a while, he asked Torin a question, colored by the patterns of his own questioning. Sometimes his questions stopped Torin in his tracks, made him blush, made him consider, but regardless, they were getting to know one another, sober and following the whims of their minds, tangents leading to unexpected revelations about each other.

When they stopped, Aurin looked up.

"From what I understand, at the top of this pillar is a largely intact ruin, possibly from the Age of Wonders. Apparently, the veil between the Material Plane of Acillon and the Outer Realms is thin up there. Wizards will go there for more auspicious initiations and various magical quest type things. I don't know if that's true. Occasionally there's an airship that'll land up there, but it's probably mostly on the schedule of the powers that be at the Circle of Spells or the Sky Guard.

"But we're here. Ever gone climbing? We don't have to make it to the top, but we could get to know the bottom... Maybe someday we'll have the skill to scale it ourselves."

It was as close as Aurin had come to offering a long-term thing. It was tenuous, perhaps, but it was there. Something to work toward together, even if it was just a skill that would earn them a nice view someday. It was an offer. He glanced at his young friend, curious how he would respond.