Title: Second in Command
Date: February 10, 2000

It is early morning, not even light just yet. It is quiet still in the rooming house's common room, and most of its denizens are still sleeping the deep sleep of the drunk. But not all.

Jehan strides into the room from the upper level. His appearance is as perfect as ever, and leads one to wonder if the man even slept. The world may never know... Either way, he is alone, for once - and loving it.

Geridan sits facing the window, watching the morning sky, his own eyes a perfect match of the misty blues and greys. He tilts his head and stares longingly through slited eyes, arms folded stifly over his chest and legs up on a nearby table. He sits alone, fondling the hilt of his blade and residing alone, deep in thought.

Jehan pauses at the foot of the stairs, glancing around the room. Eyebrows lift elegantly as he spies Geridan, and after a brief assessment, he begins to approach the man. His footfalls are not kept quiet; his approach is to be no secret.

Geridan's eyes stay distant, washes of pale greys and blues swirling over his eyes. He does not seem to move at all, or even to pay any mind. But taking a deep breath, his mouth opens his tone void of emotion, "Long time."

A grin tugs at the corner of Jehan's mouth as he takes a seat. "Indeed," he says, his voice calm and cold, betraying none of his amusement. "I am a busy man, you understand. I've many, many drunks to baby-sit on a regular basis, you know."

Geridan allows himself a small chuckle and a smile, "They'll grow up someday... if you're lucky. I see you managed to elude them for now." His eyes still do not move from the morning sky, a perfect mirror image.

Jehan sneers a bit. "Oh, they're sleeping it off, as is the pattern. They will be indisposed until late morning at the least." He chuckles. "Idiots. It's so hard to find good help these days, you know."

A small grin tugs at Geridan's face, a quick trail of aqua trailing over his eyes and fading in the morning blues, "So I've heard."

The wooden door creaks open on heavy hinges. The warm glow of the common room spills out into the street, and the previously muted sounds of the wind in the street instantly rise in volume--heat and cold changing place in a thrilling dance. And in the midst of this terpsichorean entropy stands a figure wrapped in a rough woolen blanket. This makeshift cloak shrouds features, though twin obsidian orbs reflect the firelight from deep within the crude hood.

Jehan shivers in the sudden, chilling cold. Suddenly, a roaring fire appears in the fireplace. "There," he says, with a satisfied smile. "Much better. Now, back to our conversation," he says with a grin. "As I was saying, it's ever so hard to find good help these days. That, Imphadi, is where you come in. How would you feel about working in close quarters with me? The two of us together could accomplish quite a bit..."

Geridan brings his hands up to his chin, scratching the small beard he's grown, not purposely, within the past few days. The blues and greys in his eyes beginning to churn and swirl slowly, "That we could. That we could." He stares for a moment in silence, letting the storm calm once more, "And I think I would like that very much."

A coarse voice echoes through the room. "Zhut th' /door/!" a drunk slumped lightly in the corner bellows. The figure in the door steps in and pushes the door shut with a solid *thud*. The form turns and loosens its hold on the heavy blanket; the hood falls. And, standing there is a handsome but rough Varati youth, his eyes hard and burning with both reflected and inner flame.

Jehan can't keep the smile from creeping over his face. "You do know, Imphadi, what that entails, don't you?" His smile wavers a bit. "And do you realize who I am?"

Geridan only nods slightly, his eyes narrowing even more so, but still never leaving the morning. Such peace and tranquility, such emotionless thoughtless peace. He chuckles, "You do little to keep yourself hidden." He pauses for a moment, "Aye, I know."

Jehan grins fully now, an effect which would make any other man look the idiot. Jehan, however, simply looks more menacing. Perhaps this is because his reputation almost always precedes him. He extends a hand for a firm handshake. "Then welcome to the cause, friend. Welcome to Resolution Eclipse."

The young Varati's eyes fall on Jehan and his companion and narrow slightly, as though in recognition. A moment passes, then he crosses the room to the bar. He slides a beaten coin across the bar. "Ale," he says, his smooth baritone cutting through the room with quiet acidity. As the rough cup of the swill is slid down to him, he smoothly catches and lifts it to his lips. He drinks and ignores the many impurities floating on top, quite used to the lack of convenience offered in Bordertown.

Geridan smiles, oddly enough, his smile is more frightening than his grin, and usually, more cause for worry. But he extends his gloved left hand, a gesture he rarely does. So guarded is it that only one other has touched it. He grasps your own tightly, shaking once, and then folding it again. "A beginning this is. One that rises with the dawn. As the sun shall shine anew, so shall this pact. A new day indeed." His little speach is said with perhaps a touch of emotion in his voice, though undecipherable. And his eyes, still a miror image of the sky, so beautiful, so blank.

Anagu takes a long drink from the cup before him. His eyes are focussed down, apparently lost in his own world. Yet, his ear always seem subtly cocked in the direction of the conversation....

FIN

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