He took up the black oil pastel again and carefully etched a hatch pattern onto one of the marble towers to represent the shadow cast by the fading daylight. His little notepad of doodles would never amount to anything, but Osric took pleasure in the simpler pastimes of life, even when there was no practical application to be found in them. He was horridly shite when it came to faces, but landscapes and structures... aye, those lines he could manage just fine.
The midlander sighed as he looked back up at the glimmering vista of ocean and the city of Limsa Lominsa what rode those waters. Lymlaen was working up a pleasant breeze this evening, one which merited compliments, but his mind was elsewhere.
"So y'came back. Why?"
"Tried a moon in the Shroud. Hated it. Made me uneasy." The young Hyur lad sitting beside him shrugged as he leaned forward to pluck a small smooth stone from the grass at his feet. "I'm not like you. You might find the sands comforting, but the trees were suffocating me. So once I made sure Ma and them were all settled-like, I snuck aboard some sod's timbers."
There was a moment of silence as the boy juggled the pebble. He turned a smirk on Osric.Â
"Besides, you still need someone here. Someone you can trust."
"Not badly enough t'risk you," Osric scoffed as he shifted on the boulder to face his little brother. "Never badly enough t'risk you. Go home, Tom."
Thomys Melkire rolled his eyes as he leaned to one side and pitched his stone out over the cliff and into the ocean. "I am home. Grew up in those gutters. Born in them. Not like you, 'gutterborn'. Never had what you had, and I've Da to thank for that. So let it go, Ossy. I'm happiest here."
The elder son reluctantly returned to his doodling for some time. The cries of seagulls drifted to them from the rocks below. At last, he ceased his agitated scratching, dropping his pastel on his lap and throwing his hands up into the air.
"Fine, fine! Stay. Like I'm givin' a rat's arse whether y'do or don't. The twins are out, and so's Ma. You're old enough t'risk your own hide, so... fair enough."
His brother smiled. "Fair enough."
Osric sighed again as he reached up and rubbed at his temples. "That out o' the way... better y'tell me now who you're runnin' with, Tom, so I don't wet m'breeches later. The Colibri? The Ziz? Please tell me y'ain't runnin' with the Skites...."
Thomys all but giggled. "Hardly. I'm with Jacke."
The former problemsolver's face fell, utter disbelief painted across his features. "Jacke? As in Jacke o' the Dutiful Sisters o' the Edelweiss? That scrag?"
"Cove," muttered Thomys absentmindedly as he lifted a stick and starting drawing in the dirt, smile still on his face.
"Oh, Matron's teats, it's the Rogues' Cant for Tiny Tom. After all that talk o' hatin' Thieves' Cant--"
"--grammatically and syntactically moronic--"
"--as if I know what y'mean by that, and why in the seven hells didn't you sign on with the Jackals?"
"What, the crew you ran with? Done in by the jacks four cycles ago."
"...oh."
They went back to the relative silence of scratches for a time, as one drew on paper and the other drew on earth. There came the tolling of the bells from Limsa, and the dull crack of distant musket fire. The wind died down for an instant, then picked up again, the sea breeze carrying the scent of fresh fish. Â
"So," murmured the lad as he plucked a green linkpearl from his ear and held it up, "what did you call me for?"
Osric huffed a breath. "Information. I need t'have words with every fence 'n' runner I can get m'hands on, and I needed t'have those words three suns ago."
Thomys shook his head. "Impossible, you are. What happened to that Keeper you were keen on? Â The way you went on about her, folks would've figured you were fawning over some pet that had done you proud."
"Kink and I had a... falling out. Besides, in your last letter y'said she'd disappeared. That still the case?"
"Right off the edge of the map, aye." He tossed the stick aside, clapped his hands and rubbed his palms together. "Alright, fences and streetrunners it is. Might take me longer than usual, most folks have clammed up on me since I joined the guild."
"Piss, I wonder why," Osric said wryly.
"Sod off. You're running out of light."
"I know, I know."
The once-thief-turned-soldier returned to his drawing.
The midlander sighed as he looked back up at the glimmering vista of ocean and the city of Limsa Lominsa what rode those waters. Lymlaen was working up a pleasant breeze this evening, one which merited compliments, but his mind was elsewhere.
"So y'came back. Why?"
"Tried a moon in the Shroud. Hated it. Made me uneasy." The young Hyur lad sitting beside him shrugged as he leaned forward to pluck a small smooth stone from the grass at his feet. "I'm not like you. You might find the sands comforting, but the trees were suffocating me. So once I made sure Ma and them were all settled-like, I snuck aboard some sod's timbers."
There was a moment of silence as the boy juggled the pebble. He turned a smirk on Osric.Â
"Besides, you still need someone here. Someone you can trust."
"Not badly enough t'risk you," Osric scoffed as he shifted on the boulder to face his little brother. "Never badly enough t'risk you. Go home, Tom."
Thomys Melkire rolled his eyes as he leaned to one side and pitched his stone out over the cliff and into the ocean. "I am home. Grew up in those gutters. Born in them. Not like you, 'gutterborn'. Never had what you had, and I've Da to thank for that. So let it go, Ossy. I'm happiest here."
The elder son reluctantly returned to his doodling for some time. The cries of seagulls drifted to them from the rocks below. At last, he ceased his agitated scratching, dropping his pastel on his lap and throwing his hands up into the air.
"Fine, fine! Stay. Like I'm givin' a rat's arse whether y'do or don't. The twins are out, and so's Ma. You're old enough t'risk your own hide, so... fair enough."
His brother smiled. "Fair enough."
Osric sighed again as he reached up and rubbed at his temples. "That out o' the way... better y'tell me now who you're runnin' with, Tom, so I don't wet m'breeches later. The Colibri? The Ziz? Please tell me y'ain't runnin' with the Skites...."
Thomys all but giggled. "Hardly. I'm with Jacke."
The former problemsolver's face fell, utter disbelief painted across his features. "Jacke? As in Jacke o' the Dutiful Sisters o' the Edelweiss? That scrag?"
"Cove," muttered Thomys absentmindedly as he lifted a stick and starting drawing in the dirt, smile still on his face.
"Oh, Matron's teats, it's the Rogues' Cant for Tiny Tom. After all that talk o' hatin' Thieves' Cant--"
"--grammatically and syntactically moronic--"
"--as if I know what y'mean by that, and why in the seven hells didn't you sign on with the Jackals?"
"What, the crew you ran with? Done in by the jacks four cycles ago."
"...oh."
They went back to the relative silence of scratches for a time, as one drew on paper and the other drew on earth. There came the tolling of the bells from Limsa, and the dull crack of distant musket fire. The wind died down for an instant, then picked up again, the sea breeze carrying the scent of fresh fish. Â
"So," murmured the lad as he plucked a green linkpearl from his ear and held it up, "what did you call me for?"
Osric huffed a breath. "Information. I need t'have words with every fence 'n' runner I can get m'hands on, and I needed t'have those words three suns ago."
Thomys shook his head. "Impossible, you are. What happened to that Keeper you were keen on? Â The way you went on about her, folks would've figured you were fawning over some pet that had done you proud."
"Kink and I had a... falling out. Besides, in your last letter y'said she'd disappeared. That still the case?"
"Right off the edge of the map, aye." He tossed the stick aside, clapped his hands and rubbed his palms together. "Alright, fences and streetrunners it is. Might take me longer than usual, most folks have clammed up on me since I joined the guild."
"Piss, I wonder why," Osric said wryly.
"Sod off. You're running out of light."
"I know, I know."
The once-thief-turned-soldier returned to his drawing.
![[Image: 1qVSsTp.png]](http://i.imgur.com/1qVSsTp.png)
