And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro]

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Thu Sep 13, 2012 11:19 pm

Atoro disagreed with that, there was something as caring too much; otherwise you would lose yourself so far in everyone else’s problems, that you would stop looking after yourself. And that, that was something nobody should do. But, it would not be a fact that anyone would accept willingly, and even less so in only one dose of persuasion.
He shrugged. “No matter, at least this problem is resolved. Do not take it as an insult, but there have been worse.” He did not mean that he did not care about their differences, rather that Evgenii had not made things so awful that they topped everything else. “Thankfully you rarely cause me unhappiness, bar the daily occurrence of breakfast, of course.”

Exhaling a cynical breath of air, a smirk twitching at the corner of his mouth, he said, “Sleep? I have not touched the list of work I have for yesterday. No, tonight I expect I will see the dawn. But you must be tired, if you did as you said and did report for archery yesterday.”

A rare enough event in itself.

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Thu Sep 13, 2012 11:26 pm

"I did indeed report for archery." And he was tired. He supposed it didn't help that his eyes were heavy and he'd stifled a yawn or two. "Atoro. About what I said... before about... you know. Women. You will keep that to yourself... won't you?" He knew his friend could be treacherous. People called him the snake. But, he didn't think that Atoro would so callously and carelessly divulge that small bit about Evgenii. While it wasn't explicitly against the law, it certainly wasn't acceptable... desiring men the way that Evgenii did. It was certainly unacceptable for a man in the army, bowman or not. The best he would get was ridicule, the worst was anywhere from being stripped of his braids to being flayed.

It was a disgrace to the army, after all.

Still, he took his risks with his numerous affairs, and he was certain they'd keep their mouths shut for having participated.

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Thu Sep 13, 2012 11:39 pm

Reporting for archery made Evgenii twice as productive as Atoro had been that day, then- he looked tired, too. Again, he had the passing thought that he had called by too late, but it had been for the best; a good result. Evgenii was smiling again.
“You have hidden my secrets. I will hide yours.” It was simple enough to say, without having to directly address Evgenii’s fears. The man had protected him from the inevitable rumours that would have spread like waves when the palace found out his Lahrukan. Evgenii was his friend, too, he did not want to hurt him like that; especially when he was Atoro’s only friend.

He still had trouble accepting it, but convincing over a few days would hopefully settle things for him. There was no other choice; he was not going to undermine his friend with any other option. Atoro did have some limits.
Shuffling against the wall and reverting to his normal folded-arms pose, he hazarded a slight smile, then straightened up a bit.
“I should go; you are tired, and I have a lot of work.” He was tired too, but he really did need to progress a little with at least a few of his tasks before collapsing into bed. “I am afraid I called rather late.”

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Thu Sep 13, 2012 11:47 pm

"At least you called." He laid down in his bed burrowing under the covers. "I would have waited til my bones crumbled to dust before confronting you about our argument." He was shy in that manner, that if he'd done something wrong he would avoid the person he'd wronged. Especially Atoro. "Goodnight Atoro." He shifted in his bed and closed his eyes. The way his body settled and his mind eased into rest meant he'd exhausted himself thoroughly. He didn't even lift his head to see if Atoro left.

The next morning, he was cheery as ever and reported to archery practice if only because Atoro would be more than a grouch this morning, what with his late night.

Instead, he visited him for lunch and stole a plate of raspberry tart for him to have special.

He said he would try to manage his feelings, but he couldn't and didn't try. He'd adored Atoro long before he was any tactician, simply a grim faced young man who was smarter than the rest.

He didn't knock, simply pushed the door open with his boot and slipped in with the tray. "Good afternoon Atoro, I thought breakfast was pushing it so I brought lunch instead. Am I welcome?"

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Fri Sep 14, 2012 12:04 am

Well, it looked like Atoro had made the right decision, coming to apologise, even if it had been awkward. He quickly excused himself as Evgenii climbed into bed, ducking his head and slipping out the door, closing it quietly behind him.
Work lay ahead. Oh, he really did not want to see the dawn again. This was getting to be a too-frequent habit.

He was quite pleased when Evgenii decided to pass on bringing him breakfast, because by then, he felt like taking all his lack of sleep out on the first person that came across him in a very loud argument. A servant who checked on him mid-morning was the receiver of a few sharp remarks, despite making no faults.

By lunchtime, he was dozing on his desk, having pushed his pen round on the tabletop for a bit, then giving in and shutting his eyes for a few minutes, tucking his head in the crook of his arm. He barely heard Evgenii come in, shooting upright as he heard him speak, then squinting at the bright light.
“I’m awake,” he said automatically, blinking rapidly, focussing on Evgenii, then relaxing a bit. Oh good, it wasn’t Andyr, or someone important who was going to give him a lecture. Although… Evgenii probably would as well. He rubbed his hands over his face. “Yes, come in, is it midday already?”

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Fri Sep 14, 2012 12:35 am

Evgenii's brows drew together and he had to resist cooing. Poor bastard, he'd had no sleep at all. "You look awful. Good thing I brought you a tart. Pastry not woman." He settled it in front of Atoro, putting the tray of lunch down on another table for him to peck at later. He pulled up a chair and sat next to him, patting his back. "You can slouch, Atoro, I can see the bags under your eyes weigh you down. Did you get much done?"

He poured the man some wine and filled his own goblet.

Evgenii always washed before he came to see Atoro, as archery practice was grueling stuff, for hours on end, all the grime and sweat, no... he would not see Atoro all filthy. Besides, the man would have something to say about it and he was not in the mood to hear Atoro's jibes on his looks.

"Do you need me to play courier, you know I can do that for you."

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Fri Sep 14, 2012 11:11 am

Atoro groaned at Evgenii’s words, and had to physically stop himself from keeling over onto the desk again. “That was really what I wanted to hear,” he said, deadpan, then rubbed his face again and sat up, trying to ignore that fact that he was exhausted. The sight of raspberry tart made him feel a little better- right then, pastry was much better than woman.
Blearily, he took the offered cup of wine and took a long drink, before slowly starting on the food. By the Willow Mother, he needed it.

“I got enough done, I think. It seemed like I worked through a lot.” He really hoped that he had gotten through enough (everything was a bit of a blur since about four in the morning), because of course, there was always the daily top-up of even more work.
Anyone who thought they were going to be a competitor for Atoro’s position as Tactician had a seriously high standard to beat. Luck wise however, pretty much anyone could probably score higher.

Yawning again (dammit, Evgenii was going to force him to sleep at this rate), he ruffled through a pile of papers on one corner of the desk, pulling out a packet he had tied with string.
“Can you take these over to Andyr? I really do not want to talk to him.” Especially if he looked as terrible as Evgenii made out. “I should take them, but…”
The sentence didn’t really need finishing. He was just going to dig himself into a pit if he went over to Andyr’s room and made some snarky comment because he was tired.

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Fri Sep 14, 2012 6:29 pm

Evgenii took the packet and tucked it under his arm. "I do hope the barbarian knows how to read." He patted Atoro's shoulder and leaned down to look him in the face. "You should take a nap. I'll tell the servants you do not want to be disturbed." He did look awful and Evgenii did feel a little bad that the reason he was like this was because he'd missed work because of their little fight. He knew now that he should have better control over himself. What happened with the Laruhkan woman was not Atoro's fault per se. The woman just took advantage of a man who needed a break and a warm woman. Under the circumstances, Atoro should have just killed her, but Evgenii wasn't going to touch that. He figured Atoro panicked and every man panicked over something. She would either have her use, or Evgenii would design a public punishment for her that suited Atoro.

He smiled and started for the door. "Remember, the bed is for sleeping, the desk is for working, try to get to the bed before you collapse."

He slipped out of the door then, and grabbed a passing servant. He briefly informed them that the Tactician was not to be disturbed, then jogged off in the direction of the barbarian's room. Didn't knock, simply opened the door and dumped the packets on the desk with a quick and sloppy salute.

He went to archery practice, hoping Atoro got any form of sleep.

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Fri Sep 14, 2012 11:44 pm

Atoro sniffed his disapproval- perhaps Andyr could read, perhaps not, he had learnt to speak properly awfully quickly- but didn’t say anything to disprove Evgenii. The Swordsmaster was… not his favourite person.

As Evgenii looked at him closely, concernedly, he waved him away with one hand, keeping his gaze for a few seconds, before rolling his eyes and looking away. “I have work to do, it’s important. The servants should not disturb me in any case.” He got quite irritated when servants decided it was their place to tidy his room, or bring him meals, without his say so. He could look after himself. Setting the now-empty plate of tart aside, he pulled another set of scrolls towards him with a little less enthusiasm than usual.
“I was not sleeping,” he reiterated as Evgenni headed for the door. “I will not collapse either, I know my limits.”
But only when he would wake up with papers under his face as a pillow, and another pen nib broken, because he had dropped it on the floor. This time however, he did manage to make it to the bed before passing out, a couple of hours after Evgenii had left. He did have to finish some work, otherwise he would never sleep again.

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Fri Sep 14, 2012 11:59 pm

Evgenii returned and washed up, dressing informally. He asked if Atoro had taken his dinner, and when he was told no, immediately asked for a tray to be readied, with a dessert. It was some kind of pie, and he knew Atoro would like it. There was fruit oozing out of it, after all.

As usual, he didn't knock, but when he came in and spotted the man passed out on his bed, his smile turned tender and he closed the door gently. He set the tray down, putting the other by the door to take out when he left. A quick look around told him the place needed tidying and Atoro was much too busy to do it. If he let the servants bother with it, the place would be tidy all the time, but Atoro was proud and Evgenii understood his reluctance to allow native servants in his room at all times.

He went about the room, picking up clothing, paper, empty ink pots, discarded nibs and feathers, and scraps of vellum. Once he had all the rubbish sorted out, he organized Atoro's desk, making sure to leave his map table nice and disorganized, the way he liked it. The desk, however, had to be organized, and he spent about an hour on it. He messed with the papers as little as possible, as Atoro had a scattered way about working with things. When he was done, he set to shining Atoro's boots and brushing the lint from his uniform.

The last thing he did was cover the man. He didn't brush his hair out of his face because that was taking it too far. He was a friend doing the man a favor. The last thing he wanted to do was break that boundary and be banned. He headed for the door, picked up the tray and exited as quietly as he'd entered.

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Sat Sep 15, 2012 12:42 am

Atoro slept through the whole of the time Evgenii appeared in his room, cleared up his mess and then left again, sleeping much more heavily than usual because he was so exhausted. If he had realised his intended few minutes of rest had stretched so long, he would have immediately jumped back to work again, but as it was, he just slept on, only waking up the next morning with the birds, and the first few rays of sunshine. It was early (being summer, the sun came up at an hour most people would normally be asleep at), but when he rolled over and sat up, squinting at the light, all the residue of sleep fell right away.

Shit. He had just slept through the whole night, and the evening before too. He was going to be so behind.

Cursing under his breath, he scrambled out of bed, running his hands through his hair. What had happened? Surely he wouldn’t have slept through someone coming to tidy his room… but that was what had happened. They had even covered him with a blanket while he slept, crap, it was mortifying. Next thing he knew, there’d be rumours going round of how he was sleeping on the job, or had worked him so hard over the past week, he was not fit to continue.

Opening a window to let in a little fresh air, he hurried to his map table, fingers ruffling over the disorganised layout he had going there. Everything was still there, thank the Willow Mother- it should have been tidier than this, but he hadn’t had a chance. Everything else was how it should have been, however- even his boots shined.

Ah. Evgenii. That man was turning into his guardian spirit.
Picking up the first task of the day (and feeling actually quite good about it, with a proper night’s sleep in him, for once), he read through it as he hailed a servant.
“Send breakfast to Bowman Adroa’s room; make sure there are pastry tarts. He will know who it is from.”

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Sat Sep 15, 2012 3:10 am

Evgenii awoke to a polite rap at his door and bid whoever it was to come in. He'd been expecting a servant with a missive from the Captain of his unit or a summons of some sort, but the platter of breakfast threw him off and he couldn't guess who it was from until he saw the tarts. He thanked the servant and bid her to leave. It was only when she was gone that a private, shy smile replaced his normal grin. He told himself it was a friend returning kindness, but oh if Atoro was aware of the meaning of courtship, this would be a fine way to start it.

"Idiot." Atoro was so dense, but it made the man rather endearing. He was so work focused he had no time for personal endeavors. It was both sad and inspiring. If Atoro was anything, he was a shining example of Surahnian work ethic. Evgenii started in on the breakfast, always famished. When he was quite full, he troubled a passing servant to take his tray back to the kitchens.

He dressed for the day's work, deciding to go about his in an effort to allow Atoro some time to get through his own work. He was characteristically cheerful and, as always, he had a reason to be.

He decided to visit Atoro in the evening and, as usual, he brought dinner. He, of course, made sure that the man wasn't busy or seeking much more tender companionship. Nothing was more embarrassing than walking in on lovers. Evgenii never knocked and the tray he brought was laden with food and they even had their pick of dessert.

"You know, I think the cooks are taking a shine to me."

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Sun Sep 16, 2012 2:24 pm

When Evgenii appeared at his room as normal, this time with an evening meal (always with a meal, the man seemed as though it were a requirement to bring food). Atoro was pacing up and down his room, his strides long and even as he read a missive some servant had brought him earlier in the day. With all his work, he felt as though he had been cooped up in his room for days, since he had spent that one out riding from early morning until late night. Of course, he always roamed the castle on a daily basis, going to his personal library, speaking with the other high-up officials, that sort of thing, but it wasn’t quite the same.

He turned from the window as Evgenii let himself in, half expecting it to be him. He never knocked, and he always arrived with food… most people were not foolish enough to just let themselves into Atoro’s room. Atoro was rather… volatile.

“I expect the cooks have given up on you. They have probably become resigned to the fact that you keep appearing at mealtimes,” he said by way of a greeting. He looked back down at his paper, reading a couple more lines, but the smell of food… it was too good to resist, really. Rolling up the thin sheet, he went to the table and cleared a space for the tray, which wasn’t too bad a job today- Evgenii’s tidy up the day before had been good, and things only started to pile up after a few days of hard work.

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:05 pm

Evgenii laughed and set the tray down in the cleared space. "As you can see, we have options for dessert." He gestured at the tart and the pie. "Whatever you won't have I'll gladly eat." He was already loading up a plate, as there was more than enough to feed the both of them. "Thank you for breakfast." He was pouring wine when he said it, and he didn't look up for fear of blushing like a fool. It was a nice gesture from a friend, and he had to keep reminding himself that. He knew that just because he felt a certain way about someone and did nice things for them did not mean they were obligated to return his feelings. And he wouldn't push it because he didn't want to lose Atoro as a friend.

He ate like a man starved, but always kept his elbows from the table and chewed with his mouth shut. He sat back, once he was done, and decided to let himself digest before he picked at the dessert.

"Looks like you've gotten through a lot of your work. That's good. We won't be pulling all-nighters." He grinned. "You looked bothered, there something with the missive you were reading, or do you always pace and scowl when you receive messages?"

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:33 pm

Shrugging, Atoro followed Evgenii’s lead and started to fill a plate, picking a little bit of everything. The cooks really were being good to Evgenii, there was a lot of food here. They probably liked the fact he smiled at everyone, friend or not. Perhaps they thought that giving him a good plateful of food would sweeten his temperament.
“You keep bringing me breakfast. I thought I was time I returned the favour.”

Or was that just going to give him an excuse to visit with even more meals? The day when the man appeared with each meal, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, would definitely set off some warning signals.

Toying over chicken, he glanced at the pile of work on his desk- it wasn’t bad, most of it he had managed to distribute over the day to its respective owners. Thankfully!
“I have, I am finally clearing my backlog. That does not mean that tomorrow, I will be spared from a pile of work twice as large, because I have completed all this.” Please let that not be the case. He did want to do something other than work, every now and then. “It was not a bad message. But I am frustrated with being kept in the palace every day due to my work.” What else was there to do but scowl at things like that? Evgenii did not have this problem; being part of the archery division, he was out training or patrolling nearly every day- unless he decided to skip on practise.

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:42 pm

He sipped the wine and furrowed his brows. "Yeah it must really be stifling to be confined to the palace. Even the barbarian gets out to train his mouth-breathing morons." Zartear, he figured, didn't mind not getting some air. Had something to do with being paranoid and liking the safety of four walls. "Well, maybe you can figure out a way to get out. Perhaps there are some missives you can courier yourself... the excuse can be that you wanted to make sure they went where they were supposed to go... you know and do that scowl that means you are accusing the previous courier of being an absolute failure at life."

He laughed and smiled against the rim of the goblet before he calmed down enough for a sip.

"You do know you can keep me here to help you with this pile of papers you call work. Wouldn't it look better on you if you managed to clear all your work before the next day? Be the only official on top of his duties?"

Any opportunity to make Atoro look better than the others was one that Evgenii liked to seize.

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Sun Sep 16, 2012 10:08 pm

Even though Atoro was not supposed to agree with Evgenii’s assessment of Andyr, he could not help but smirk at it. It was frustrating that the barbarian had such allowance to leave and be free to do what he liked outside, however. Atoro would like to see him try and work at a desk all day. He wouldn’t last an hour.
“Unfortunately the couriers are too efficient at their work. I may have the chance to ride into the city tomorrow, however, I need to assess what state the west quarter is in.” If it was wrecked, then he would need to plan more defensive structures than he had already assigned to being built. It was still work, but at least he would not be stuck in his room any longer.

“You do not even think what I do is work, Evgenii. How are you supposed to assist with that view?” He gave a snort of laughter. He was almost on top of everything, however, it was not as bad as it looked, with paper everywhere. He might even get a chance to get out and do a little training in one of the gardens, too, the next day. He knew it wouldn’t last though. As for pulling all-nighters… well, there was always going to be another one of those on the horizon.

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Sun Sep 16, 2012 10:37 pm

The younger man shrugged his shoulders and gestured at his plate. "How about you do more eating and less assessing. Before we know it, you'll vanish if you don't start eating like a grown man." And quickly too, how ever would Atoro survive in a regular cohort for long? He'd survived back in Old Surahnia, but he'd looked terrible almost all the time. Now, well, he had a much healthier glow to his skin and his cheeks were not so hollow. He'd even packed on some muscle since then. Such broad shoulders and-- No. Wait, he was looking at him like that. Evgenii closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose. It did not do to ogle one's best friend. "Pick a dessert so I can have mine."

He sipped his wine and crossed his feet at the ankle. "Seriously, Atoro, I would assist you if you asked it of me."

And he'd do it with his trademark smile, dimples and all. He only wanted Atoro to be happy, and he knew that the man's ambition and his happiness often were in conflict. But wouldn't it be grand if he could have what he wanted and be happy?

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Tue Sep 18, 2012 1:02 pm

“I will not vanish. You fuss like a woman,” said Atoro, but ate a little more all the same. The man was right, he did need to eat more. He didn’t want to admit the difference it made to his concentration on the days when he did have three meals, but he knew there was one.
It would still be a long time before he did actually order breakfast for himself, however.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he caught Evgenii staring, then he pushed the plate of tart towards him with a slightly sharper-than-normal gesture. He still enjoyed tarts, he could eat them every day and not get bored of them, but he wanted to know if the palace cooks were just as good at cooking pie as they were tarts.

“Most people I would not even contemplate an offer of help from,” he said as he continued to pick through dinner. “Much of the work I have is of such importance, it is not to be seen by any but the highest officials. But, I expect that it will go over your head; there will be no worry of you spreading rumours of important events.”
Humour for Atoro mostly came by way of lighthearted insult.
“No doubt you can help with a couple of smaller tasks, however. My map of Jiluria is unreliable, apparently.” According to a source he had rather he had not become acquainted to. “It would be useful to find another. Perhaps if I have time tomorrow.”
Evgenii probably knew Racksom better than Atoro by actually navigating the streets, rather than studying maps- the city’s layout had become quite familiar to the Tactician. He would be useful to find reliable stores of knowledge, if they had a chance.

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Tue Sep 18, 2012 1:24 pm

Evgenii was happily stuffing his face with tart when Atoro delivered his little joke. The archer swallowed and sipped his wine to get it down. "You should be more worried that I'll do your job better than you, you mean." Grinned at him because they both knew he had no interest in being a tactician and didn't really care so much for maps as Atoro did. Still, that didn't stop him from finding vellum, leaf and inks for the man. "On my rounds tomorrow, I'll see if I can find a reliable map of Jiluria. Racksom had several shops, one among them must have been a cartographer, or at least sold maps for travelers." He'd start his search at the shop he'd found the vellum and inks. There was always a good chance that there was a map where vellum and inks were to be found.

He finished the tart in short order and was filling himself with wine as per usual. Let the silence grow between them comfortably as the other man ate. He didn't like to chat Atoro up while he was trying to eat. Often times he'd let his food get cold, then leave it for later (which meant he wouldn't eat it) if he was allowed enough distraction. He crossed his legs at the ankles, his own boots polished, and rested his lips against the edge of the goblet.

So soon after their fight, he didn't want to bring up the Laruhkan woman, but he was genuinely concerned. Perhaps he would leave it to another day. Evgenii tilted the goblet up and sipped, an arm crossed over his chest, the elbow of his other arm resting upon it.

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Tue Sep 18, 2012 1:43 pm

Snorting at the thought of Evgenii doing Atoro’s job better than he did , Atoro shook his head. That was never going to be the case. Evgenni was much better of being a bowman, and sticking to what he was good at- shirking duties.
“Thank you. I thought the one I have already was reliable, but apparently not.” Unless Rintho was just trying to put the wind up him, but he didn’t think that was the case. Rintho seemed to enjoy slightly less underhand manipulation tactics- and he wasn’t one for undermining knowledge. “I have not had much chance to leave the palace, and when I did without specific need or knowledge of where I wanted to go, the commoners saw fit to try and waylay me.”
These sorts of things came with being the Tactician. It was not something Atoro liked, not being able to get places just because so many people wanted to see him, or talk to him.

Being able to get to dessert was an unusual occurrence; normally Evgenii would chatter the whole way through a meal. Last time this had happened, Evgenii had suddenly blown up in his face, and look what had happened.
“You are quiet tonight. I hope this is not the prologue to you exploding with anger again.”
Better off to just tackle the subject firsthand.

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Tue Sep 18, 2012 1:49 pm

Evgenii sighed. "No, I am just thinking, and giving you time to eat." He was worried about Atoro, and what the captive Laruhkan woman would mean. Surely Atoro didn't care about her... he just wasn't as cruel as Zartear or other Surahnians might be. He had a soft heart, and while Evgenii adored that about the tactician, he certainly didn't count it as one of the man's strengths. Granted, his soft-heartedness was rare, but when he had a bout of emotions, it just so happened to be at the wrong time with the wrong person. The Laruhkan woman should have been dead.

He sighed. "I'm worried about you, moreso than usual." He gestured at Atoro's food. "Eat first, we'll talk when you're done." He rose, taking the jug of wine with him and padded around Atoro's room. It was bigger than his own, by leagues, and one could be in the same room and yet very far from their guest.

He wondered how Atoro made such a mess of it when he practically lived under his map-table.

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Thu Sep 20, 2012 3:58 am

“You should not worry about me. The last thing you should worry about is me,” said Atoro, brushing off Evgenii’s comment. There were much more distressing things to think about than him, even if it did seem like Atoro was cursed with bad luck for every day. Even he didn’t worry about himself, not when there were so many more pressing matters to think about. But then again, Atoro did not find himself thinking about much else than work these days, in any case.

He finished dinner, pulling dessert eagerly towards himself and taking no time to savour the smell. It had already been taunting him since Evgenii had brought it in, and he wasn’t waiting any longer. Apple, delicious. “We can talk now. Do not think you can distract me from dessert so much than I will not eat it.”
Unless they had another enormous argument. But hopefully that would not be the case. If it was, then he would regret eating so much sweet food anyway.
“What is it today; the fact that you caught me sleeping the other day, or that once again, Andyr is being a barbaric fool towards me?” Evgenii was like a wolf, going after anything that aggravated Atoro, and sometimes things that did not as well. “It is not something trivial, I can tell; otherwise you would have mentioned it. Is it concerning that Lahrukan?”

((5AM OMG AND I HAVE BEEN UP SINCE 3.30AM WHAT THE FECK IS WRONG WITH ME
I'VE ONLY HAD LIKE
TWO AND A HALF HOURS' SLEEP
ASDFGHJKL I do not even understand why I am so awake right now. Going to crash so hard tomorrow. Like Atoro-style on the desk, and all there will be through the CB is faceplant typing))

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Fri Sep 21, 2012 3:47 pm

Atoro knew that Evgenii would rather find him sleeping than anything else, and he also knew that Andyr was always a fool. His guesses were just filler for what he knew was the real problem: The Laruhkan woman. The bowman turned and walked back to where Atoro was sitting, perching on the edge of the man's bed. "Atoro... you should have killed her. Preferably by drowning her." She obviously had magical talent, if she was able to masquerade as a Surahnian for all this time. "She is a free Laruhkan Agent. Who knows what she could do, what kinds of magic she can wield?" All he could think of was another ten year plague and he shuddered. "Why... why keep her alive? You know if the King finds out you're keeping her, he'll either demand her head, yours, or both." And he couldn't see Atoro lose his head over a woman, Laruhkan at that. "You've come so far. I don't want to see it all end because of some stupid Laruhkan." He worried at the bedding as he spoke, clearly upset by the idea of Atoro losing his life and livelihood.

Subject: Re: And Who Am I To Judge You? [Atoro] Sat Sep 22, 2012 11:03 pm

Atoro slowly put down his fork on his plate, looking away from his pudding. Pudding did not mix well with talking about such serious matters, and talking about Yuzan was still like mentioning a noticable wound.
“And I am sure you would have done just that,” he said, measuring his words carefully. Mostly to avoid saying something that might later be used against him; partially to save himself from Evgenii’s explosive temper a second time. “But I will not. She may be Lahrukan, a magic user, but she has not shown exceptional magic.” Otherwise Atoro probably would have been dead, enchanted, or some other equally grim fate. He did not like to dwell on it. He did not like to dwell on anything that concerned Lahrukans, and magic.

He tapped his fingers along the desk slowly, one after another. “The King will not discover her. I will make sure of that. She will not jeopardise anything; nothing that I have achieved here.” He had already put into place more careful measures- nobody would enter or leave his library, the quarters she was in, without his prior permission. It was a lot of work, too much work, for just one woman.

» Atoro Reimeghan- .:A lucky name:. (Human)
» Atoro [These things we do for power] Rintho
» [Atoro] The Definition of a Surahnian [Rette}
» [Yuzan] Lahrukans aren't that easy to spot after all [Atoro]
» Evgenii Adroa || The flower to Atoro's cactus || Human