[Maketh feels herself smiling and turns back to the kitchen. At least he had one good dream along with the rest of the mess.] I don't know it. But it--it must have been good, to dream of that. Not all of it was nightmares.
[That makes Henry smile properly as he turns back to his own task.]
My father and uncle. My mother and stepmother. My younger brothers, Thomas, Ralph and Alan. My sister, Margaret, the youngest of my siblings.
[He comes from a big family, though two of those are dead.]
The wars in France have kept me from passing my birthday at Warkworth these years gone -- ah, Warkworth being my family's principal castle of residence. Vainglory, as the church would tell it, but we have ever celebrated them.
[There must be some comfort in that, isn't there? Having people bound to your side regardless of whatever events might befall you. Maketh retreats into the kitchen, going for the coffee maker. Thankfully she already had a pot brewing, so there's no waiting.
She adds some chocolate to the mugs, along with the cream. Something good. Why shouldn't they have good things every once and a while?
Hands full of steaming mugs, Maketh reemerges. She sets one down next to Henry and reclaims her seat.] How old are you, anyway?
Ah. I would have done something if I'd known. [Probably involving alcohol. Traditionally that's how such things are done on Lothal. She tips her head to the side and laughs suddenly, covering her mouth with her hand.] I will be thirty-five in December.
[Apparently she's the older of them. How...strange.]
[Henry cocks his head, hands pausing their careful work as he blinks at her, his brow furrowing slightly. Apparently she's not the only one who finds it strange that she's the elder of them.]
As did I. [For whatever reason. The truth is amusing, at any rate. Maketh lifts her mug, smiling still. It's been years since she's felt this easy camaraderie with anyone, and never with her own troops. Henry is something else entirely. She's pleased with that.] The first.
[Henry nods, smiling, and sets down both pairs of pliers so that he can pull out his phone. It seems that he's figured out how to work the in-built calendar, because he adds her birthday into it.
After putting his phone away, he closes his hands around his mug.]
Then you should not be offended when I say that I will continue to think of you as a little sister.
[Maketh smiles for him, drinking her coffee.] It seems fitting, doesn't it?
[Despite their years and tempers, Henry still seems the wiser of them. It's a strange thought. Maketh never had siblings. Never really wanted them. But it's happened nonetheless. For all the monstrosities it springs on them, Hadriel has given her some gifts as well. Maketh will never admit it to the gods, but she's found a family. She has a brother in Henry, someone she trusts implicitly at her side. Perhaps she even loves him. And for a time--
For a time, she had a son as well.]
I know it's late, but we should celebrate. You've survived another year. Drinks tonight?
I know it not. Regardless, 'tis a pleasant addition.
[Certainly it's enough to keep him drinking. Though he will never truly be a coffee convert -- he gets restless enough without the aid of a strong hit of caffeine.]
No? [Now that would be a proper gift. Maketh stands, heading back to the kitchen. She comes back with a bar of milk chocolate, tugging the wrapper off.] That ought to be corrected. Try some.
[Henry watches her leave and return with open curiosity. What she sets down doesn't look particularly impressive, but he's perfectly willing to give it a try.]
All right.
[Releasing his mug, he breaks off a piece of chocolate and pops it into his mouth. The taste surprises him in the best of ways and he savours it as it melts on his tongue, eyes falling shut.]
...Marvellous. [Comes his verdict, and he licks the last traces of flavour from his lips.] Truly marvellous. What named you this again?
[Unfortunately for him, his era is over a hundred years before cocoa arrives in Europe.]
[Maketh covers her smile with her hand. Yes, this is a good birthday gift. A first encounter with chocolate. She can't remember hers. Likely a gift as well, something that her parents saved up for when the off-world traders came to market.] Chocolate. Your world doesn't have it?
[One of Hadriel's smaller kindnesses is that chocolate - or at least something very much like chocolate - is easy enough to find. Maketh sips her coffee, smiling. It's easy to forget the small things.] True. The world is always larger than we think. And you only have the one planet, if I understand correctly?
[He says it with wry humour, because though his horizons have broadened considerably in Hadriel -- for all that he knows it exists and that it is genuinely possible -- he still cannot quite imagine space travel, let alone normalised space travel.]
That's kind of you. I'll remember that. [The way that Henry smiles when he speaks of his family warms her. It makes his face soften in ways he's probably not even aware of. Maketh rubs her thumb along the edge of her mug. The caffeine has settled into her belly. She feels calmer now. At ease with herself.] I'd offer to show you my parents' farm, but I doubt it would impress you. And it's no longer in my possession.
[It was sold years ago. Her superiors had suggested it.
Maketh tips her head to the side.] Have you ever been to a desert, Henry?
[He is, traditionally, a warden of the marches -- aside from the war in France, his place will always be at England's borders. He therefore does not expect to ever see one.
Raising his mug to his lips, he drinks as he listens.]
They're not as hot as people think. [Maketh leans back in her chair.] Sometimes it gets so cold that you see frost on the sand. Those are good nights. That means it could rain. Everything is sand and rocks. But you can see for miles. Sometimes the air shimmers with the heat. It can make you see things. But it's beautiful in its own way.
[Henry is, in fact, one of those people, so her words are of great interest. He tries to imagine what she describes, the fondness in her voice in mind. He sets down his mug.]
I hated it as a child. [Maketh shakes her head almost fondly at the memory.] Barely anything we grew ever survived, and we could go months without seeing anyone else. I read about all these planets that had oceans and green things, and each time I learned about a new one, I tried to convince my parents to go.
[They'd always humored her. Perhaps they'd regretted it she finally decided to leave without them.]
It's strange. I miss it sometimes. Not--all of it. But the sky at night. You could see the stars so clearly. I miss that.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2016-06-10 02:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-06-10 09:36 am (UTC)My father and uncle. My mother and stepmother. My younger brothers, Thomas, Ralph and Alan. My sister, Margaret, the youngest of my siblings.
[He comes from a big family, though two of those are dead.]
The wars in France have kept me from passing my birthday at Warkworth these years gone -- ah, Warkworth being my family's principal castle of residence. Vainglory, as the church would tell it, but we have ever celebrated them.
[He exhales a short laugh.]
'Twas indeed good.
no subject
Date: 2016-06-10 01:46 pm (UTC)[There must be some comfort in that, isn't there? Having people bound to your side regardless of whatever events might befall you. Maketh retreats into the kitchen, going for the coffee maker. Thankfully she already had a pot brewing, so there's no waiting.
She adds some chocolate to the mugs, along with the cream. Something good. Why shouldn't they have good things every once and a while?
Hands full of steaming mugs, Maketh reemerges. She sets one down next to Henry and reclaims her seat.] How old are you, anyway?
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Date: 2016-06-10 03:20 pm (UTC)[Henry says as Maketh sets the coffee down. He glances at her.]
Recently thirty. On the twentieth of May. What of thee?
[He is ready to take a mental note -- as far as he is concerned, it shall fall to him to see that her birthday is celebrated appropriately.]
no subject
Date: 2016-06-10 03:25 pm (UTC)[Apparently she's the older of them. How...strange.]
no subject
Date: 2016-06-10 04:03 pm (UTC)I thought you younger, in truth. On which day?
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Date: 2016-06-10 05:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-06-11 05:03 pm (UTC)After putting his phone away, he closes his hands around his mug.]
Then you should not be offended when I say that I will continue to think of you as a little sister.
no subject
Date: 2016-06-11 05:23 pm (UTC)[Despite their years and tempers, Henry still seems the wiser of them. It's a strange thought. Maketh never had siblings. Never really wanted them. But it's happened nonetheless. For all the monstrosities it springs on them, Hadriel has given her some gifts as well. Maketh will never admit it to the gods, but she's found a family. She has a brother in Henry, someone she trusts implicitly at her side. Perhaps she even loves him. And for a time--
For a time, she had a son as well.]
I know it's late, but we should celebrate. You've survived another year. Drinks tonight?
no subject
Date: 2016-06-12 02:01 am (UTC)Drinks tonight.
[Henry echoes decisively. He is glad to be alive, to have survived another year and have yet more ahead. Tonight he will not be haunted the cost.
Henry sips his coffee.]
Hmm... not too dreadful.
[By which he means it's good, as his tone and expression suggest. In fact, he swears it tastes much better than last time.]
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Date: 2016-06-12 02:47 am (UTC)[Not that she minds. And why shouldn't they celebrate? They're still standing. So many are not.] I added chocolate. Not so bitter now.
no subject
Date: 2016-06-12 10:11 am (UTC)I know it not. Regardless, 'tis a pleasant addition.
[Certainly it's enough to keep him drinking. Though he will never truly be a coffee convert -- he gets restless enough without the aid of a strong hit of caffeine.]
no subject
Date: 2016-06-12 02:07 pm (UTC)[She sets the bar down by his arm.]
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Date: 2016-06-12 03:07 pm (UTC)All right.
[Releasing his mug, he breaks off a piece of chocolate and pops it into his mouth. The taste surprises him in the best of ways and he savours it as it melts on his tongue, eyes falling shut.]
...Marvellous. [Comes his verdict, and he licks the last traces of flavour from his lips.] Truly marvellous. What named you this again?
[Unfortunately for him, his era is over a hundred years before cocoa arrives in Europe.]
no subject
Date: 2016-06-12 03:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-06-12 04:47 pm (UTC)[He'll just help himself to more.]
There are places yet undiscovered, however.
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Date: 2016-06-12 04:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-06-12 05:20 pm (UTC)[He says it with wry humour, because though his horizons have broadened considerably in Hadriel -- for all that he knows it exists and that it is genuinely possible -- he still cannot quite imagine space travel, let alone normalised space travel.]
no subject
Date: 2016-06-12 05:30 pm (UTC)[The Empire wouldn't, she's certain of that. But there are other places in the galaxy.]
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Date: 2016-06-12 07:13 pm (UTC)[Henry dips his head, then tilts it as he shoots her a sideways glance, tapping his fingers against his mug.]
Nonetheless, were such travels to become possible, I would encourage it. Ever shall you be a welcome guest in my home.
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Date: 2016-06-12 07:22 pm (UTC)[It was sold years ago. Her superiors had suggested it.
Maketh tips her head to the side.] Have you ever been to a desert, Henry?
no subject
Date: 2016-06-12 08:28 pm (UTC)I have not.
[He is, traditionally, a warden of the marches -- aside from the war in France, his place will always be at England's borders. He therefore does not expect to ever see one.
Raising his mug to his lips, he drinks as he listens.]
no subject
Date: 2016-06-12 08:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-06-13 03:23 pm (UTC)It sounds to be.
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Date: 2016-06-13 09:02 pm (UTC)[They'd always humored her. Perhaps they'd regretted it she finally decided to leave without them.]
It's strange. I miss it sometimes. Not--all of it. But the sky at night. You could see the stars so clearly. I miss that.
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