Caught...talking in the Stables? [Neav]

[neav]

Neav had almost given up being surprised at what Kazira did and said. She seemed to act strangely every other second. But so long as the boy was expecting her to be strange, he found it was growing easier to deal with. Neav supposed it was because she was a witch.

So when Kazira began to laugh about Kingfisher being the King's favourite mount, he did nothing more than wait for her to finish, wait for an explanation. However, when the explanation did come, Neav found himself being surprised again. He had not given it up, after all.
"You mean you know the King?" he asked. In his mind, if Kazira could comment on the thoughts of the King then she must know him very well. And that was madness, for everyone knew how the King felt about magic!


((It is ok... I am running out of things to say also! We could start to bring this thread to an end, if you wanted....))

[†Kazira Astras†]

Kazira laughed softly and shook her head. "No I dont know him personally but I had a lovely little encounter with his knights a few years back." She smiled. She didnt let on anything was amiss with that little comment. Her tone didt suggest that the topic was still a sore spot but she liked to play it off and say that she used to be a thief and she stole something when people asked...well that's what she usually did.

"No if I knew the king personally I wouldnt be here. If not for me having magic, which he couldnt spot if his life had depended on it, but for the fact that I am a mouthy young woman who 'supposedly' doesnt know her place is to only be see nand bot heard." She laughed at the thought of the kings face if she were to say what she truly felt. She would surely be put in the dungeons for that reason alone and as an added punishment she would be ornery enough to use her magic and escape and that would just ger her executed publically. Though, she would admit the king did...somewhat... take care of his people but he was a tyrant to her people. He didnt care if the people he executed were innocent as long as the suspicion of them having magic was put to rest. She had a small frown mar her face at the thought. Yes she had seen many innocents die because they were accused of being witches among other things. Some of them were not the most savory people but they didnt deserve to die the way they did. They were still humans despite what the others thought. They still had red blood pumping through their veins. She shook her head free of those thoughts. No need to ger carried away.

[neav]

"If you do not know the King, you cannot truly comment on his thoughts," Neav said mildly, making a little braid in Chance's mane. It was not many people who could make such a statement without sounding disproving. But Neav's voice was so soft, so un-opinionated that his words seemed nothing more than a thought which had strayed from his mind.

He did not guess what line Kazira's thoughts were taking. Of course if he had taken a moment to consider it, he might have. Not so long ago he had warned Kazira of the King's magic-hating! But Neav was now comfortable enough with the girl's company not to worry about hidden meanings in her every word. Instead he glanced at her, giggling when she called herself "mouthy."

Suddenly a voice bellowed through the stables making the horses startle and stamp.
"NEAV! Just what do you think you are doing, boy?"

The laughter dried in Neav's throat, his face turned deathly pale. He remembered with sudden fear the tack he had been cleaning when he had sensed an intruder in the stables - the tack he had left unclean.
The head groom, Master William by name, stood at the far end of the stables with his hands on his hips. His thin brown hair fell rough-cut to is shoulders and his brown eyes blazed. He strode towards the boy and his horse, long legs quickly covering the ground.

Neav put a gentle hand against Chance.
"Hush," he told her, voice tight. "Don't do anything. I deserve..." He got no further. Master William had reached them and hauled Neav away from the mare by a handful of tunic. He give Kazira nothing more than a quizzical glance before rounding on his stable-boy.
"Well! Skirting your duties, hey? Playing pretty with a mare when when you should be working!"
On the last word he hit Neav across the face. The blow was hard and Neav staggered, head ringing. Chance pawed the ground anxiously, and every horse in the stables now had their heads out, watching. They did not like it when their boy was hurt.

"It that tack going to clean itself?" Master Williams demanded, pointing back down the stable. "Get back in there. I don't feed you so you can play about. My lady," he added, turning at last to Kazira. "I am apologise if the boy has inconvenienced you in anyway."


((I hope this is alright, to bring William in? If not, I can always change it. I just thought something different needed to happen...))

[†Kazira Astras†]

Kazira was shocked when a new man busted into the stables. He was yelling about something about Neav not cleaning some tack. But when he hit the poor boy that is what made her jump up off her rump. But when Master Wiliiam turned to her and made it sound like NEav was inconvienienceing her when it was the other way.

"what do you think that you are doing?" She said as she walked over to Neav bending down and gently probing his face. He had an angry red mark from the hit and it was sure to bruise later. This made her flinch. "Are you okay Neav?" she asked him qietly before rounding on the older man. "Why did you have to hit him? He did nothing wrong!" Her eyes blazed to life with anger. "Tack can be cleaned later. Its not like it wont get done! If anything I was the one bothering him not the other way around. I was looking at the horses and he came over to make sure that I wasnt a thief trying to steal the king's horse. I was just having a conversation with him about his bravery." She explained. its not like it wasnt true she embellished the story a little bit and left out the part where she was able to talk to the animals but he didnt need to know that. Kazira walked over to im and got in his face. It didnt occur to her that she was about a head shorter than him or that he was probably much stronger than her. She stared at him directly in the eyes and whispered lowly. "If I ever see you lay a hand on that boy again I will not be the only one you will have to watch out for."

She jumped back and gave a smile that made her look both innocent and evil at the same time. It was a look that she used a lot when people harmed those who couldnt really help themselves. She looked at Moros and was shocked to see his hair was standing on end. Though he was probably just reacting to her wild emotions as he does sometimes. Moros didnt like it when humans decided that they would hurt others for idiotic reasons such as not finishing something that may always be finished later. It reminded him of his own childhood when he would get beaten in villages if he passed through.

[that's fine ]

[neav]

Neav was about to obediently return to the tack-room, but suddenly Kazira was crouched beside him, checking the mark on his face. He pulled back from her, eyes wide.
"It is nothing..." he whispered. But it did not stop her from rounding on Master William with anger burning in her eyes. Neav chewed his lips. He wished Kazira would not make a fuss! It was his fault he had abandoned his duties and her attacking Master William with angry words could only make things worse.

As if to prove his thoughts, the head groom folded his muscled arms across his chest.
"Indeed?" he asked, staring down at Kazira. Neav could not see it, but the man's eyes had gone from anger to mild amusement. "Well, my lady, I apologise if my actions have... upset you." And his voice was heavily patronizing. "But I would point out that the boy is mine, not yours. Obviously you have never been carer of any boy or you would know they need discipline." Master William did honestly feel he was right within his actions. It was only how any master might treat a servant-boy. Kazira's threats did nothing more than amuse him, and he turned once again to Neav.

"Well, boy. As the lady was complimenting you on your bravery - though I doubt it -" he added with a twist of his mouth. "We say no more about this matter. If you go to your work now!"
Neav knew better than to disobey that voice. With a glance back at Kazira, he ran off to the tack-room. He knew that he had not heard the last of the matter, that he could expect some teasing about his lady-friend protector and that the story would spread through all the grooms. He gave a small sigh, touched his face gently. Kazira just did not understand what was right and what was not.

[†Kazira Astras†]

Kazira watched as Neav ran off and couldnt help but let a scowl ruin her face. She glanced at 'Master" William and her glare intesified. She absolutely hated the fact that he was patronizing her. Keeping her eye on him she walked back over to her weapons and began stapping them back on. "Do not ever patronize me. I dont care if you think you are as powerful as the gods or even the king. I will warn you once more dont ever lay a hand on that boy again. I may not be the scariest thing but I know many things that make grown men like you turn tail and run." She pulled out her dagger contemplating on throwing it through his head. She was just that angry. "This is why I hate humans; All we do is destroy whether it be the land or others."

She sheathed her dagger and walked over to kingfisher giving him a loving pat even though he snorted at her and she walked over to Chance. "Would you like me to check on your boy?" She mumbled before smiling. "I could let you out and you could hurt him? Or I could just stab him and no one would know the difference." she muttered the last part in a barely audible voice."But I dont think that Neav would appreciate that...I think he might be mad at me..I should apologize I acted before thinking." She was being honest about killing him if they wouldnt say anything to Neav she could get rid of him and no one would know who did it but she had doubts that she would be able to walk away without any blood on her clothes. So she sighed and walked towards the exit giving Chance a few gentle pats on her neck. She glared at the man and walked past Moros. An idea pooped into her head.
"You know my companion isnt to happy at the moment." she stated looking pointedly at Moros whose hackles were still raised she nodded to William before walking out the room. "I wouldnt mention this to anyone if i were you." With that she walked out of the stables and went to find Neav. Moros understanding that he was just supposed to scare the man jumped on him and let his jaws clamp down on the man's arm for several moments till he just barely broke the skin and drew some blood. He jumped off and trotted out of the stables His unusual golden eyes glaring at the man. He didnt seriously injure him but he wished he did but Kazira didnt want him to.

Kazira had wandered around the stable area for a while before she found Neav cleaning the tack. She took a silent seat next to her mindful of her weapons. She glanced at him and saw the red mark on his face. "I'm sorry...If i stepped over my boundries back there but I let my emotions take over. I didnt mean to make everything worse.." She trailed off not looking at him, she was not used to apologizing to people especially for things like this. She thought about her threat to Master William, she wasnt lieing he may have thought her to be a weak lady but she was being honest she may not be the scariest thing but she knew plenty more and theyr werent all magical...A lot of them were quite normal and human. In the short time she met him Neav reminded her of her little sister. No, she didnt mean that he acted like a girl but he was so young and he held an innocence that needed protecting at least in her mind.

[neav]

William did not appreciate being threatened, least of all by a young girl with a big opinion of herself. He returned her glare with one every bit as intense. He watched as she reclaimed the weapons that he had not noticed before. Well, they did explain some things, he thought. He could guess now that this girl was not from Camelot. Probably they had different ways of treating children where she was from. For Master William was not a cruel man at heart. He hit Neav because the boy had done wrong, and that was how everyone he knew treated boys. It was how he had been treated himself when he was young.

William watched, still silent as she moved between the stallion Kingfisher and Chance, waiting for her to leave. He did not hear what she said to the horses and he did not care. He did not guess that Chance was and the stranger might actually be talking.

Our boy would not like it if you were to kill the loud man, Chance told Kazira. Nor would he like it if I were to attack. This is the way things are between them, you know. I cannot change it, even if I do not like it.
She watched Kazira with liquid brown eyes as she turned back to Master William.

William was not the kind of man to scare easily, but when the great dog jumped at him, he gave a grunt of surprise. The only thing worse than a girl with big opinions was when those opinions were backed up by a fierce dog.
"All right," he growled, irritated by the blood-marks left on his shoulder. "I will tell no one." Which was the truth. No grown man would want to admit to being bullied by a girl.

*

Neav glanced up from the bridle he was cleaning, met Kazira's eyes and quickly looked back down. He did not stop in his work. He was not angry with her; it took more than that to rouse Neav's icy temper, but that did not mean he was happy. No one had ever tried to interfere with his life before, and now he realised that he did not like it at all. Besides that, he was worried he would be in worse trouble later.
After Kazira's apology, Neav was silent a while. He placed down the bridle and picked up the next.
"It's... alright," he said a last, still looking down at his work. "Guess you just don't know how boys are supposed to be treated when they have no family and no real name, when they work for their place and then do the work wrong."

[†Kazira Astras†]

"It's... alright," he said a last, still looking down at his work. "Guess you just don't know how boys are supposed to be treated when they have no family and no real name, when they work for their place and then do the work wrong."

Kazira sighed. He was right. She honestly didnt know how people treated young boys. She's usually traveling or working so she doesnt notice. But she was used to treating the children with firmness not brutality. They were the ones who shape the world that we live in. They take care of everything without knowing how much the lands depend on them. "You're right," she stated honestly looking at the ground. "I dont know how they are supposed to be treated but I do know that they shouldnt be hit." She stated calmly not letting he inner turmoil show. "I really wanted to throw something at that man though. "She laughed quietly. "Just to make him stop yelling." She heard moros pad up to them and sit next to her no sign of the small attack.

She looked at Neav before picking up a bridal and a cloth and rubbing the metal parts gently. "Just because you dont have a proper name or a family doesnt mean that you should be treated with anyless respect than any other person." She said softly. "Besides I think that it will all get better sometime. You're too nice for it not to." She smiled when she said that and glanced at neav through the corner of her eyes still rubing the bridal clean. "And you know you do have a fmily just not a normal one." She stated with a small laugh. She honestly menat that he did have a family. Those horses cared for him and took into consideration his feelings and how he would take things. They were a family weather he knew it or not.

Moros got up and went over to Neav and layed his head in his lap carefully so as to not scare the boy. The boy, Neav, had a good scent and he had a feeling that with this boy had agentle soul and had hidden secrets that always seem to hide behind a invisible wall. Kazira gave Neav a playful bump with her shoulder and let another smile grace her face. "So what's there to do in this place? Do you ever do anything fun?" She asked with a cute tilt of her head.

[neav]

A smile twitched the corner of Neav's mouth. He could just imagine the strange, wild Kazira throwing something at Master William. But that Kazira still thought boys should not be hit... she did not understand. Neav suddenly decided he was quite glad she had not thrown things at Master William. It would have ended very badly.
"He only shouts because he wants people to listen to him," Neav said peacefully. "I do not mind. I only mind when he shouts at the horses."

He careful removed the bit from the bridle so as to clean it better. It was never nice to have grass-stains and spit stuck in there. But when Kazira said he was no less of a person because he had no family, he actually stopped cleaning and looked at her properly. He did not believe her.
Neav stared silently a long time. She could not just tell him that. It was not true. His whole life he had known that, as a foundling, he counted for less than everyone else. Because if the head groom had not brought Neav to Camelot then he would probably be dead. He owed his life to the stable people. He had no true family to vouch for him. Most of the time, Neav did not mind because he had the horses, because he understood he was different, less of a person. How could Kazira say he deserved no less respect? She was all wrong.
At last he went back to cleaning, murmuring something that could have been agreement. Neav would not contradict her. He was not like that.

Then Kazira asked what was fun and Neav gave a real thing.
"The very, very best thing," he said as though he were sharing a secret, "is to take out the Prince's four chargers for exercise. We go out so early when there is still dew on the grass and mist in the air and we run and run so fast we are almost flying."
And his icy eyes shone as though he were remembering a wonderful dream.