Backpost: Finding Middle Ground

[Adin nó Alyssum]

Between the Royal Hunt and Beltane, in Queen Sabrina's first year of rule

It was a few days after the near disastrous meeting between Allisande, Fisher and I, and I was in the Generous Patron, waiting for Fisher's arrival. We needed to get this sorted out, for Alli's sake, for her unborn child's sake. Maybe we could even be friends. Though that was a stretch for the imagination right now. Jealousy reared between us like an ugly beast.

I hadn't dressed up for the occasion, though I could still feel eyes on me as I took my newly-acquired ale to a table set against the wall. It made my cheeks warm. Once a Servant, always a Servant, was the whisper of my mother's voice in my mind. She was right, anyone in the City knew me for an adept, just by the way I moved. I tried not to think to hard on it, taking a sip of ale to wash the thoughts away.

[Fisher nó Bryony]

I stepped through the doors of the Patron and glanced around, finding Adin sitting at a table near the wall. I took a deep breath and made my way over to join him.

“Well met, Adin,” I said as I took a seat across from him.

[Adin nó Alyssum]

"Well met to you as well," I said with a little smile. It was something that took effort, but I wanted to at least try to start this out on the right foot. "How have you been?"

[Fisher nó Bryony]

“Probably just about as well as you’ve been,” I said with a short chuckle.

[Adin nó Alyssum]

It got a wry a smile out of me. "Yes well... I hope you don't mind I got started without you. I needed something to fortify myself." I raised the glass before taking a sip.

[Fisher nó Bryony]

“I don’t mind, I don’t drink alcohol so I hope you don’t mind if I don’t join you. It’s nothing personal, I promise,” I replied.

[Adin nó Alyssum]

I could have made comment, but it wasn't in my nature to do so at any event, so I kept quiet. "I indulge occasionally," I admitted. "I can do up, see if they have tea or the like?"

[Fisher nó Bryony]

“I’m fine, really, but thank you.” I took another deep breath, seeking to keep calm flowing through my veins. “Did you go back and see her?”

[Adin nó Alyssum]

"I did," I replied simply before taking another sip, wondering what he wanted me to say.

[Fisher nó Bryony]

My eyebrows went up at his brief answer, and I sighed a little.

“Well, I was going to ask how she was, but it seems I’d better not,” I said, feeling my reserve being to splinter.

“This is pointless, isn’t it?”

[Adin nó Alyssum]

I shook my head. "No, it's not pointless. I just don't know you well enough, and was afraid expanding on the subject might go badly." I ran a hand over my face. "I'm not any good at this."

[Fisher nó Bryony]

“Neither am I,” I said, absently toying with the ring on my right ring finger. “I think the only thing we have in common may be Allisande, so I’m not sure we are going to arrive at anything more than civility between us.”

[Adin nó Alyssum]

"We are both about the same age, and both adepts. Surely that is something," I said. I was determined that I would give this an honest try, for Alli's sake. "Have you been Second very long?"

[Fisher nó Bryony]

“No, only a couple months. It’s different than I had expected, but I enjoy it very much,” I answered. “What of you, what are your plans?”

[Adin nó Alyssum]

"I have found a place at Alyssum," I replied, the comfort I found at my House seeping into my voice. "I might be free to go, but I've decided I don't really want to leave."

[Fisher nó Bryony]

“I know that feeling,” I said, smiling. “Bryony is home to me, I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

[Adin nó Alyssum]

"Were you House born?" I asked, propping an elbow up on the table.

[Fisher nó Bryony]

“No, I was born in Alba to d’Angeline parents. When I was five they died of illness on a ship bringing us to Terre d’Ange. I spent the next five years in the care of a harbor master in Azzalle and at ten came to Bryony,” I told him. “What of you, were you House born?”

[Adin nó Alyssum]

I didn't pity him, I simply listened. I doubted he would have taken pity from me.

"In a way. My father's line has been serving at Alyssum since it was established, but I grew up with my parents in the Doorstep until they sent me to foster."

[Fisher nó Bryony]

“Was it your desire to go to Alyssum or theirs?” I asked.

[Adin nó Alyssum]

"Theirs, until I set foot in Alyssum and felt the peace in the air," I said with a smile. It might have sounded silly, but it was the truth.

[Fisher nó Bryony]

“What do you think you would have done if you’d not gone to Alyssum?” I asked.

[Adin nó Alyssum]

"I probably would have ended up as a carpenter with a very well tended garden," I said with a bit of a grin. "Our neighbour is a carpenter, I would often watch him work as a child."

[Fisher nó Bryony]

“That’s good work,” I said, nodding slightly. “There’s something to be said for a person who doesn’t mind hard work.”

[Adin nó Alyssum]

I smiled, pleased he felt the same as I on the subject. But I didn't want to monopolize the conversation and make him feel excluded, so I turned it around. "What of you? Was there a possible future for you in Azzalle?"

[Fisher nó Bryony]

“I’d have become a sailor if I hadn’t been sent to Bryony,” I answered, grinning. “I love the sea. I miss it here.”

[Adin nó Alyssum]

"I've never set foot on a boat," I replied with a small, wry smile. "Though the ocean is a wonderful sight, I must agree."

[Fisher nó Bryony]

“When have you been to the ocean?” I asked interestedly.

[Adin nó Alyssum]

"My family went, just before I entered Alyssum," I said with a smile at the memories. "I can still remember it so well."

[Fisher nó Bryony]

“It’s incredible. The only regret I have about living in the City is being so far from the sea,” I said, sighing softly.