Zion: Light of the New Moon, Ch 5.3 Myrh
Zion - Light of the New Moon Chapter 5.3 Myrh Eye of the Storm
It seems that Artemisia will manage find and converse with Brother Johann... maybe she'll even manage to get some more information out of him. For now, however, we will shift focus and move to another part of the group, checking in on Beo and Jerard. The Myrhean Caravan has confirmed +1 Favor and +1 Luck thus far with their two current votes.
"I hate this." Beo scowled, pointing half-way up the great-hall's 40' right wall. He spoke a single, two-syllable word and a torch perched on the stone caught fire, "I haven't done chores since I was a pup." he turned around to glance at his work partner.
On the other side of the hall Jerard held a hand up, fingers splayed apart, and intoned the same word, putting a little more emphasis on the second syllable. Four torches on the left wall flared with light as they all caught. The human glanced back at Beo, whose scowl deepened, "I was apprenticed a few years ago... chores have been a way of life." Jerard noted flatly, a self-confident smirk on his lips.
"Show-off." Beo announced. He held up two paws, spreading his fingers wide as he shouted out three syllables; an enormous fan of flame shot out of his spread fingers, setting fire to the torches from one end of the hall to the other, "Twenty three torches... one spell." he grinned back at the human.
"Nothing like the spirit of competition to get you to work faster." Jerard noted.
"I think this means I won." Beo noted confidently.
"It only counts if you don't burn down the building." the human explained, pointing to the ceiling, which was starting to smolder.
"Oh, for the love of--" Beo noted, and he held his paws out fingers curled into claws. He spoke slowly, closing his paws the rest of the way, snuffing the cinders before the roof caught fire. He let out a breath, dusting his paws off on his trousers. He glanced back at Jerard, "Alright... I'm done, what about y--" and he froze in place when Jerard snapped his fingers and every last torch on the left wall sprouted its own flame.
"I'm done." the human acknowledged.
"You're also an ass." Beo stated dejectedly, but his tail wagged nonetheless.
"Oh, don't be like that, squirt." Jerard noted, heading toward the far end of the hall, "I have far more practice lighting torches... apprenticeship, remember?"
"Some of us don't have the luxury of being apprenticed." Beo stated, walking beside Jerard.
"Being an apprentice isn't exactly what I'd call a luxury." the human countered.
"You just lit 20 torches with a snap of your fingers!" the husky announced, "That's COOL!"
Jerard let out a single, emotionless "ha!", and turned to regard Beo, "Such a useful talent... so many different ways that could come in handy."
The husky paused for a moment then shrugged, "Well it's still a cool trick... I mean... you can impress people with it."
"I'm not interested in impressing people." Jerard noted.
"Well... you impressed me!" Beo explained.
"You can impress people just fine... becoming an apprentice so you can learn the best way to get chores done quickly is a waste of time." the human countered, opening the door at the end of the hall. He waited for Beo to enter before going through himself.
"You just held the door open for me." Beo giggled, ears reddening a little as his tail picked up speed, "You're such a gentleman."
"Apprentices always go first." Jerard stated, "That way, if there's an assassin waiting it's the apprentice that takes the blow."
"Does this mean I'm your apprentice?" Beo asked, eyes going wide, ears up as his tail began wagging clockwise in a rapid, circular motion.
The human sighed in response, closing the door as he walked after the husky, "You just missed the entire point I was trying to make."
"I'll learn to light torches... and I can sweep and mop..." Beo announced enthusiastically.
"I don't really want an apprentice." Jerard argued.
"Well, I bet you NEED one!" the husky countered, "I mean... your robes are never pressed so I can tell you don't do much ironing, you carry around way too much equipment so you obviously need an extra pair of paws, you're way too skinny for a successful magus so there's no doubt that you need someone to cook for you, I have never once heard a single person announce you before you entered a room and..." Beo sniffed tentatively, "and... and you obviously don't bathe nearly enough."
Jerard went to object several times during the husky's monologue, but didn't succeed until the very end, and at that point his objection changed, "Apprentices don't help their masters bathe."
"Well, I'll be an overachiever then... that's just another fine service I offer." Beo's wag picked up speed.
"You don't have to be my apprentice, Beo." Jerard noted, continuing down the hall with the prancing husky in pursuit.
"How else are you going to teach me the wonders of magic that I never had a chance to learn scholastically.... Master?" Beo inquired, pausing only a moment before adding the honorific title.
"I'm not your Master and you're not my apprentice." Jerard stated with certainty.
"But I'd do such a great job 'serving under you'." the husky noted, licking his muzzle.
"Oh, there's no way I can possibly catch the hidden meaning there." the human stated with blasse sarcasm.
"Would you like me to spell it out for you, Master?" Beo grinned.
"You don't have to explain it... I get it, Beo..." Jerard noted, continuing down the hall with a faint scowl, "and I'm not your master."
"So what are we going to do about me learning the book-smarts side of magic?" the husky pressed, falling into step with the human.
"You don't need to know how to learn about magic if you already know how to DO magic." the albino magus pointed out.
"But maybe I want to... you know... see how everyone else goes about it." Beo noted.
"You mean without spontaneously detonating a non-elven stave?" Jerard inquired with a smirk.
"See? That's a great case in point!" the husky agreed enthusiastically, "You can only have so many of those hands-on learning moments before you run out of paws."
"True, I suppose..." the human acknowledged, "but think of it this way: you learned magic on your own so you know the way that works best for you. Learning how magic works for others won't get you any farther."
"Maybe... but it'd help me if I ever have to light two dozen torches." Beo wagged.
"Now you're just being silly." Jerard stated, coming to a halt at a set of double doors. He reached for them, but Beo stopped him.
"If you're not going to let me be your apprentice, then I'm opening this one." the husky opened the door, "and, for the record..." he stepped aside to let Jerard go through, "I've always been silly, so it shouldn't be anything new."
"Hmm... is that so?" Jerard inquired, walking through the open door. He convulsed the moment he stepped into the next room, an arrow appearing out of his chest. The human fell backward, gripping at the shaft as blood pooled around the entry wound.
"OH GODDESS!" Beo exclaimed at the top of his lungs, grabbing hold of Jerard and pulling him back under cover, "Oh Goddess! Jared? Jared? Oh Goddess... there's so much--" and he paused as his paw brushed across the blood-soaked cloth, but his paw came away dry, "...blood?"
Jared grinned, opening his hand as the illusion of the arrow dissolved away like a puff of smoke on the wind, "See? THAT is why I never minded going first."
"You asshole." Beo gnashed, punching the human on the shoulder.
"Being an apprentice is horrible, Beo." Jerard noted, standing up, "You find your laughing moments when you can get em... almost gave my old master a heart attack the frist time I did that."
"You have a few bad bones in you, don't you?" the husky cocked his head to the side.
"I think we all do." Jerard brushed himself off and went through the door, "Does that thought bother you?"
"Oh hell no..." Beo noted, wagging as he followed after the human, "Heck... you could probably stand to gain a few extra 'evil points' and I'd like you even more."
"I have plenty already, thank you." Jerard answered flatly, the levity leaving him.
"Nah... you're way too pasty white to be dark." Beo noted, giving the human's hair a tussle.
"Well you're entirely too dark to be as pleasant and outgoing as you are." Jerard countered.
"And that's why we're so perfect for each other..." Beo wagged, "See? We're like the Half-Moon symbol... black and white connected together to make a whole."
"How poetic." the human countered dryly.
"Poetic... right!" Beo agreed, "So, if you want, you came come to my room tonight and help fill my 'whole' with some of your white."
"I..." Jerard came to a complete halt, "...I don't even know how to begin to answer that."
"With a 'Yes, I'd love to', of course." Beo noted, wiggling his ears.
"I swear to the Goddess, Beo Kyr, you are one eager pup." the human shook his head, continuing down the hall.
"There are very few things you could possibly say to make me any less eager." the husky acknowledged with confidence.
Jerard continued on in silence for several steps before speaking, "What if I've told you that one of the reasons I don't like the idea of a master and apprentice relationship is because one reason my old Master accepted me as an apprentice is because he was into sword-rutting?"
Beo came to a halt, shuddering. He lowered his head, ears flattening against his skull as he let out a strangled cough.
"Disgusted?" Jerard asked.
"No..." Beo whined faintly, "I... just..." his ears blushed, "need to clean up."
The human turned to regard him, "I didn't hear you vomi--" and he paused, watching as the husky pulled at the front of his damp britches. Jerard blinked, "...oh." and continued walking.
Beo jogged forward to catch up, "I didn't mean to... it's--" he paused, keeping pace with the human, "Honest! I just... it's..." he fumbled for the right words, "I've heard about it before, but I've never met anyone who..." he pulled at the front of his pants again, "So... was it any good?"
Jerard huffed, snorting as he increased his pace, "Leave me alone."
"Hold on!" Beo noted, going to a jog to follow after him, "I didn't mean to--"
"Go to bed, Beo. I want to be alone." and, with that, the human broke into a run, leaping forward with his arms outstretched. As he hurtled through the air, Jerard's body underwent its change, and he landed on all fours in his Moon Blessed form and disappeared down the hall, far too fast for the husky to keep pace.
"...sorry." Beo murmured, coming to a stop. Head lowered, the black furred magus about-faced and made his way back toward his room, tail no longer wagging.
* * * * * *
Rounding out the third of four character-focused posts, this one focuses on Beo Kyr and Jerard, who have been tasked with a fairly straight-forward chore on behalf of the Cathedral... of course, the way they handle the chore leaves some room for discussion.
Beyond that, Beo presses Jerard for a favor, and offers 'quite a bit' in return. Keep watching and keep waiting folks... there's more to come, and it's going to happen quickly!
For this week's vote, Contributing Readers may select one of the following options:
1) Thera has an intimate discussion with Kell, who reveals far more than he ever thought he could.
2) Ryan Farstrider falls into a romantic interlude with Brother Johann!
3) Artemisia has a chance to talk with Ephram alone, and finds out something... surprising.
4) Jerard is able to settle things with Beo and there are no negative feelings.
Contributing readers have until Friday the 9th (yep! Friday again!) at midnight to cast their vote.
I would consider the rating on this "Mature" due to Beo's pandering and lewd comments.