Re: • Thunder and Rain •

[Benevolence]

To the woman's words about her statement being truth, that she would have used a cross rather than a cane, Benevolence slowly closed his eyes and narrowed them slightly. Harsh words came to mind and remained unspoken.

When Rodry began poking him in the side, he slowly rose to his feet. As he was doing so, she was stating that he could just stay there and she was leaving. Then she paused to inform them that he could have work if he wanted to stay. "Thank you, but I will be on my way again after I have rested with that drink and the company of Mr. Rodry here." Even if he wasn't dry by then.

He made his way over to where the towel had been sitting since she had placed it there. He picked it up and dried off his hair, then patted his clothes a little. He saw the puddle from where he had been knelt and he leaned down to dry it with the towel to the best of his ability. Then he laid the wet towel over the back of a chair to dry.

He moved over to the bar and took a seat, picking up his drink as he did so. One sip was taken before he spoke. "On to more pleasant subject's? I think to speak of her any more might cause more issue than either of us is in the mood for." He was addressing Rodry of course. Nothing wrong with a little pleasant conversation while they enjoyed their refreshments and dried off a bit. Unless Rodry had other plans or simply did not wish to speak to Nevol at the moment.

[Rodry Pol]

"You will have to remind me to ask you what your issue with the parasitic undead is sometime."

She spoke as if she had some deep-seated reason beyond the simple and natural rivalry between lycanthropes and vampires to have caused such ... animosity. Rodry might have been imagining it, but the tone she used seemed more like the type one reserved for blanket statements on a race, rather than any particular dislike for the one the words were meant for. Again, perhaps these were merely the assumptions of a strange old man.

Benevolences slow rise was helpful, while he would have certainly given it his best try, he wasn't particularly in the mood to be manhandling a vampire. The night was going so well it seemed a bit silly to chance ruining it by starting a fight! His amusement with the mans abasement had been short lived, mainly because he didn't see the need for it. If he was trying to woo De'Ryanna he could understand, but he felt that the vampire would have to do a bit more than kneel and apologize to get past the bad blood that had apparently sprung up between the two of them!

"It was good to have seen you. As usual, it was a pleasure De'Ryanna."

A bit of playful sarcasm tossed in there? After all, the first time they had met she had stabbed him and now she was leaving him alone with a vampire that she had apparently felt the need to try and emasculate by refusing his apology. Why was it that he seemed to always find some way to be in the middle of something like this? The old man just couldn't seem to get a lick of peace now a days, least of all because of his choice to come here at his children's encouragement!

"If you cannot sleep, I am feeling quite awake and will likely be here for a few more hours."

This said to Ryanna as she made her way out, he would likely stay up for breakfast before retiring for a bit of sleep. Though obviously he would be remaining here, would it be simply to keep an eye upon Benevolence however? Considering he had seemingly appointed himself custodian of the inn's safety for whatever reason, perhaps it was the reasoning.

"De'Ryanna isn't bad once you get to know her a little better. I would even say she likes you, she stabbed me when we first met."

Okay, maybe the word 'like' was being generous, but Benevolence was whole and unharmed, so he wasn't doing too bad. Rodry was easing onto a stool and unlike Benevolence, he hadn't removed his outer clothing. Curious fellow that Rodry was.

"Perhaps you could tell me of your journey, you said you were searching for your brother?"

Rodry could only assume that the relationship was not literal, for he had described his brother as being quite swarthy, where as Benevolence ... was far from such descriptors.

[Benevolence]

((Ryan - mun has asked me to go ahead and post to keep this moving as she is away from the boards at the moment due to personal things. Best wishes Ryan - mun, we wish you a happy and speedy return.))

Parasitic undead? Eh, Benevolence had been called worse over the years. Even at his very young age. He waited for Rodry to finish speaking with the lady while he sipped from his cup of blood. And once Rodry had his say to the woman, quite pleasant words even if they did have a hint of sarcasm to them, his attention was turned to Nevol once again.

He was being questioned about his brother. Now Nevol was faced with trying to figure out what to say. If he said too much, then word could get to the wrong people, if he said too little, Rodry might figure out that he was hiding something and become too suspicious to let him leave. What to say, what to say?

A swallow of blood was taken while he weighed his answer. As a passing thought he felt a moment of melancholy. He did not usually partake of bottled beverage as it did not maintain temperature. She who had created him, and his brother for that matter, had a way of warming the liquid. Though, it was not too long after she acquired that gift that she left them.

Drink was swallowed and his mouth was cleared of blood before he chose to speak. "My brothers and I were sent here as a scouting party. We were sent in pairs. Sacher and I split up to cover more ground around the New Haven area. Our master has lost something very valuable and he wishes us to find it." That wasn't too much of an over share, was it?

Another drink taken and mouth cleared. "Sacher is supposed to check in once a week, as am I. We are supposed to be together at all times, and my last three check in's have been with Sacher absent. I am running out of excuses, and I have not even heard from him in that three weeks. So now, rather than looking for that item my master lost, I am having to look for him. This Inn was in his section of this region." Several blinks as a thought occurred to him.

Nevol took a deep, unnecessary, breath and held it for a moment. "It's usually a woman, sometimes even a man, who distracts him from his work. Though I doubt he has stopped looking all together. But I think he has found himself a playmate who shares his affinity for certain ways of pleasure, or who can at least handle them with little to no injury. They would have him distracted enough to miss checking in." And come to think of it, the lady De'Ryanna seemed just Sacher's type. But Nevol would never speak of such.

Another drink was taken as he waited to see what, if anything, Rodry had to say about all that information. It wasn't too much of an over share in Nevol's opinion. Just casual conversation between two men. Nevol did take a moment to breathe in the scent of the steeping tea. She who had created them had an affinity for tea, and she passed that along to almost all of her children, Nevol included. But he would not have passed up human blood being offered to partake of tea.

[Rodry Pol]

Benevolence would have to excuse Rodry's less than glorifying terminology. He too had his own feelings towards vampires, varied and set in a case by case basis, but he had met many in his experiences that had left far from pleasant memories. However, those hardly seemed up for discussion unless Benevolence was one of those few vampires gifted with an unusual acuity when it came to the mental pondering of another ...

Those piercing blue eyes of his, gem-like in their glinting hue, refused to waver after settling upon the vampire. He had perched upon his stool, comfortable as he could ever be, in order to wait for what was so important to have even the undead out in such wonderful weather as this evenings! Again, perhaps Benevolence would pick up on that subtle mixture of scents, the faintly nose pricking scent of the storm and beneath it a certain musky oily scent that was hard for one to put their finger upon. Rodry was indeed an interesting fellow, almost unnaturally so, in most regards.

A scouting party ... the fellow speaks as if he is part of a greater group. Though most wouldn't mention scouting, a search party perhaps ...

Perhaps Benevolence was right to think better on how he phrased things around this cagey old human. One hand hung down to rest atop his leather covered knee, while the other sat near the mug of tea her had prepared. Showing no interest in it just yet. Mainly because he was far more keen on listening to Nevol's tale.

"Have you or your Master perhaps considered the value of hiring a mage to perform a bit of scrying? Unless the valuable for which you search is magically guarded against such ... it can be quite an effective tool."

An obvious thing to try, of course, but Rodry was trying to figure out just what it was they were searching for. An innocent curiosity, mostly. He couldn't deny the covetous greedy part of his nature that had been quick to perk up at the mention of 'lost valuables'. The consideration of just what had distracted Sacher was of little interest, at least until the entirety of Nevols words had gotten free of the mans mouth. Rodry's mouth tightened momentarily at the thought that had occurred to him, but he remained silent upon it. Instead hiding the low thrum in his throat behind a thoughtful hum.

"While I have met many of the inn's inhabitants, here or in other places during my travels ... I can hardly claim to know of the particulars of their leisure and peculiarities. Especially when it comes to things beyond what may be strictly appropriate."

It was probably safe to say, that most were on their best behavior, or at least behaving as innocuously as possible around Rodry. Benevolence had probably picked up on the fact that he seemed to take propriety seriously enough. It was likely that such beliefs also extended further into his personal life.

"Though, surely you could report your 'brothers' incompetence to your commander. It is not your place to play nursemaid to a man who has likely had several life times in which to learn responsibility. Don't you think?"

Rodry was curious as to whether Benevolence would unknowingly trip over the verbal 'trap' he had laid. After all, surely the servants of some Master and Lord would not use the word commander to describe their higher ups ... the word was far more militaristic in tone and use than other more common monikers for those of rank. Even in the house of a slave owner or holder of serfs.

Besides. Benevolence hardly conducted himself as a slave or Serf would.

[Benevolence]

There would have been nothing for Benevolence to excuse. Rodry had used a rather mild term in comparison. And perhaps Rodry would forgive Nevol's lack of eye contact. He knew the man had set those sapphire orbs upon him. But he would not meet them with his own pools of blue. Instead, glances were divided between the nose and the forehead.

A question was poised and Nevol gave it some thought before answering. "Oh, the valuable is most definitely magically protected. Though, I am not sure if the protection guards against scrying. I hadn't given it much thought, and I'm not sure if the master has. But even if he has, perhaps it would be something to try from here. When you consider proximity, it might work." Eyebrows raised and a soft nod was given as the thought was pondered.

Nevol couldn't help but grin as Rodry reported to him how others behaved around him. It would seem a common way for others to act given his apparent age. After all, he did have that fatherly look to him. Perhaps they saw the same and chose to behave as they would in the presence of their own fathers.

But then he spoke of reporting Sacher to his ... Commander? Did Rodry know something that Nevol hadn't told him? Commander is a military term. Nevol hadn't mentioned being in an Army. It was definitely time to tread lightly. "I would not report him to our master. The punishment would be just as bad for me as it would be for him. Fairness is not exactly his forte." Truer words had never been spoken.

Nevol thought about it for a moment. "If she were here ... I mean, still in charge anyway. I wonder how she would have handled this situation." Rhetorical question of course. For how would Rodry know how she would handle a situation when he most likely had never even met her? Nevol was more thinking out loud than anything else. "Let me ask you. If you were in my position, and trying to avoid unfair punishment, how would you handle things?" He was open to ideas.

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