[hiatus]Siblings [closed]

[Dreadicon]

The boy moved through the narrow, maze-like street. He wore a coarse-knit over-sized shirt and rugged pants, both grayish-brown in color. his dirty-blond hair and mid-tone completion only added to him being completely uninteresting to the common passer-by; which was all the better. The less attention he draws the fewer Fistfighters he would have to deal with outside the ring. It had been another day of uneventful odd-jobs; he had been a messenger boy today, and made a little more than usual, but still nothing to shake your fist at.

Many of the other children would constantly get lost going through so many back-alleys and sub-districts, but this boy navigated the streets with ease. He was supposed to be in school, but there were no tests this week, so he didn't bother.

At last the buildings thinned, and he finally came to rather fancy house, complete with bright-green lawn. He ducked into one last side-street which led around inconspicuously to a side-wing of the manor, and he pulled a key from his pocket, unlocked & opened the door, and proceeded through without so much as breaking stride, closing it without more than a click. "Tisiphone! I'm back." he said without too much excitement. Excitement wasn't something he partook in often.

[gummiarms]

Tisphone smiled at her brother's voice. "Oh, Trae, you're early. You didn't get in trouble at school again did you?" She greeted him happily, but quickly went back to dressing herself up in her uniform. "I'm sorry I can't talk with you more right now but one of the cooks caught cold, so I have to fill in for him or we'll never get the Master's meal done in time."

Though she smiled, her thoughts were brooding. This dinner needed to go off without a hitch, or the staff would get in trouble, since the master had been complaining that the quality of the fare had been slipping lately. But then, she knew she needed to spend more time with her brother. She needed to provide a place where he knew he was welcome, and loved. But she needed money in order to do that, and the last thing she needed was a pay cut to her already meager wages.

A breif sigh escaped her lips, but she quickly stopped herself, hoping that Traephan hadn't heard her. There was no reason why he should have to worry about her.

[Dreadicon]

Traephen had noticed her sigh, but acted as if he hadn't. "School was really quite pointless today, I really wish that they would find teachers who still have things left to teach me." he sighed "Oh well, no one yelled at me today for sleeping in class." he said. It was true; in fact, he hadn't even gone to class.

He looked at the room, noticing it was slightly untidy, and if memory served, the book stacks in the corner were now a couple books higher. "You know, you really should return some of those..." he said, thinking out loud more than directing it at Tisiphone.

[gummiarms]

Tisiphone smiled sheepishly, and glanced at the stack of books. "Yes, you're right. I'm not setting a very good example for you..." She pulled her sandy blonde hair into as good of a bun as she could manage. Then she said sternly, "Trae, you shouldn't be sleeping in class. I know its boring and you'd rather be out fistfighting, but your education is important!"

It wasn't like they hadn't had that conversation before, so she didn't expand on it as she might have. She started putting the finishing touches on her outfit, so she would be able to pass inspection.

Before she left, she gave Traephan a big hug. "I'll try to save some of the leftovers for you, if I can." Then she hurried through the door toward the kitchen.

[Dreadicon]

Traephen watched, and as soon as she was out of sight, he took out the money he had in his pocket (which had taken a good bit of effort to keep from jingling when she hugged him), and fished out Tisiphone's money pouch from it's hiding place, deposited 4 or the 5 coins he had earned, and slipped it back into it's hiding place. "there, now to get on with my training..." he said to himself.

He checked to make sure no one was outside, and that the servants were gone as far as he could see down the hall before starting. Then, positioning himself in the center of the room, he began to practice his Fistfighting punches and technique. Then, moved onto his Magic, again checking the halls first. He had been practicing invoking magic without a word command for about a month, but it still wasn't yielding much in the way of results. Nonetheless, he continued for a while longer, waiting for Tisiphone to return, and keeping an ear out for other servants. Luckily, since it was Wind magic, it wouldn't be distinguishable from normal fighting moves.

[Treijim]

[Joining with Ignatius]

Down the hall, behind Traephen, a noble-looking man was walking briskly along. When he saw the boy, however, he stopped, his long robes not making a single noise. He simply stood and watched Traephen practice what appeared to be FistFighting maneuvers in the corridor. He checked behind him for any approaching servants but there were none, so he continued to watch the child with a slightly bemused look.

[Dreadicon]

Traephen caught the sight of fine robes out of the corner of his eye, and jumped slightly, but only broke composure for a second. He stopped, and turned calmly, kneeling and bowing low. "I apologize sir, I did not know anyone else was in the servant's wing." He said, he face slightly blushed, mostly with embarrassment at his own inability to sense the man's approach. Traephen could only assume it was one of the guests, presumably one of high stature.

[Treijim]

Ignatius waited at least half a minute in the silence to reply.

"Indeed. Why don't you take your games outside on the lawn, though?" He nodded towards the kitchen door, as there was an exit through that room. "Though I'm curious... What business does a common child have in this manor, hmm? Perhaps you are jumpy because you're not supposed to be in here."

[Dreadicon]

Traephen was now beginning to worry, most of the nobles just scolded him and told him to get out of sight, this one seemed to be getting at something. He didn't see any way to avoid it, so he decided to tell the truth, whatever may come of it. "I am truly sorry sir, my sister works here, and I live with her. We are orphans, and have nowhere else to go. The master was kind enough to allow me to share my sister's quarters in exchange for her work as a cook. I try to stay out of the way as much as I can."

[gummiarms]

Making preparations for dinner was every bit as hectic and exhausting as Tisiphone had feared, but finally she was allowed to retire until the meal got underway, since some of the food was cooking. She decided to round up her younger brother so he wouldn't show up looking improper or late. She was going to head straight for her room, but managed almost literally to stumble across her brother on the way back. She'd been daydreaming, of course, with her head down and lost in thought, and didn't see him until she was right on top of him.

"Oh, Trae, here you are. I was just..." She trailed off when she realized that he was talking to someone, and a noble from the look of it. Was he a guest of the master?

Tisiphone bowed to the stranger, and apologized, "Oh, I am sorry. I did not see you there, sir. I um... Dinner will be ready soon sir, if you would like to retire to the dining room." She scooted off to the side to allow the nobleman to pass by, bowing her head in deference.

[Treijim]

Ignatius didn't respond at first. His pearl-white eyes drifted to Traephen, and then to what he assumed to be his sister, and then back to Trae. He nodded but still said nothing. Walking a few steps past Tisiphone, he slowed to a halt again and looked over his shoulder, pulling his maroon robe around.

"I am not dining here," he said sternly. "My business lies elsewhere. I advise you keep your little brother under control, though. It's illegal to practice offensive magic within the confines of someone else's home."

As his eyes were plain white, it was difficult to tell which way he was looking, but it was apparent he was staring at Traephen because he was facing the boy directly. Finally, he turned back and walked away.

[gummiarms]

Tisiphone's jaw dropped, and she fought the urge to slap Traephan on the back of the head. She bowed low and said, "I apologize, sir. I didn't realize he was... into such things."

Once Ignatius was gone, Tisiphone turned to Traephan, shocked and a not a little worried. "Trae! What were you thinking?! Do you want us to get kicked out of the Manor?! What if the master should find out?"

She started pacing frantically. "Oh my... oh my... I hope this doesn't reach his ears..."

[Dreadicon]

Traephen remained as he was untill he was sure the man was gone. Few times he could recall someone embarasing him twice in the same conversation. 'How could he have known!?' Traephen thought to himself. He was barely creating more air disturbance than a normal punch would have made on it's own, much less a visible or audible breeze. His sister's exhasperated tone drew him sharply out of his brooding and fret, and he rose from where he had been kneeling.

He took a few moments to breath and calm his mind, then turned to his sister. "Don't worry Tisaphone, he said his business was elsewhere, right?" He made a walk through the hall, looking in the doors, then back to her. "There's no one else here, and that man wasn't your average nobleman. I was just doing some fistfighting training, and trying to add a little silent wind to it. I'm just using my talents to gain an edge." he finished, though he was still not fully recovered from the man's uncanny ability to not only sneak up on him, but to somehow notice his invisible magic.

[gummiarms]

Tisiphone sighed... forcing herself to relax. "Yes, I suppose you're right. What's done is done. My he certainly was a strange fellow, wasn't he? Did you see his eyes? gives me the creeps." she shuddered.

"Anyways, Dinner will be served soon, so you'd better wash up and change into some decent clothes for once." Tisiphone hugged her brother once again before heading toward the kitchen to help put everything on platters and bring it out to the dining room. "Please, don't worry me like this Trae. I don't know what I would do if something were to happen to you."

[Dreadicon]

Traephen shook his head "Don't worry about me; I can take care of myself too, you know."

With that, he proceeded to quickly wash himself and fished out his better cloths. In them, he was definitely reasonably dressed, but he specifically had chosen a dull turquoise and off-white outfit with some navy blue when he had first come to the manor. While tasteful and formal, he was still about as noticeable in a fine room as a wall tapestry.

Once he had finished running a brush through his hair to at least make it look groomed, he made his way to the servant's dinning area for dinner. A fair few were missing, probably still at the Formal Dinner. None the less, he got himself some food and proceeded to eat quietly while waiting for Tisiphone. As he had intended and predicted, none of the other servants paid any attention to him, allowing him to go over the events a few more times in his mind without interruption.