![](http://cobalt-company.wdfiles.com/local--resized-images/writing:2024-10-31-tides-in-the-blood/style="margin:/medium.jpg) |
| Details |
| Author: | inkie |
| Summary: | Reniya Hartrim comes to Fallon House to get the details on his secret investigation assignment from Siamus Fallon. And also to talk about the possibility he's a tidesage. And also to show Siamus his nautical means of transport. (Which wasn't a euphemism, but now maybe is.) |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
Arc: The Red String Game
Reniya Hartrim arrives at Fallon House by boat, as promised. He ties his cute little rowboat to the dock, spares a glance at the grey and gloomy late October sky, then proceeds up the beach, keeping a wary eye out for company of the undesired sort.
Today he is dressed in casual clothes, a brown long-sleeved shirt with black pants and boots, rather than his blue and gold Stormwind armor. He still keeps a dagger at his side, and at least one more is hidden elsewhere. Despite the chill, he is not wearing any sort of coat.
When he finally reaches the door of the house, he pauses, for a moment considering a pair of lockpicks. Seriously considering. With a sigh, he puts them away and knocks instead. Lightly. Without using the knocker.
The door opens immediately. Vane — 6'7" shave-headed former marine, present-day butler — may have been loitering just inside at a window, observing Reniya’s arrival with impassive interest in his decision-making skills.
He does not smile at Ren now, but he does not smile at anyone. "Mr. Hartrim," he says. "The Vice Admiral is in his office. This way, please." He gestures to usher Ren in.
"RENNNNN!" cries a voice as Penny Hartrim, who was probably lurking somewhere nearby, all but sprints down the stairs, sliding past Vane with a mumbled, "Excuse me Mister Vane," before throwing herself at her brother to hug him.
Reniya, for his part, tries to side-step her, but Penny is surprisingly persistent, and gets him in the end. "Oi, oi, quiet down, d'you want the whole house to hear you?" He glances cautiously towards the stairs as Penny clings to him.
"But it's been so long, and you always avoid me," Penny cries, refusing to let go.
Reniya smiles apologetically at Vane. "Y'might jus' lead the way anyhow," he says. "Don't think I'll be losin' the barnacle." He moves awkwardly inside, bringing Penny in with him.
Vane eyes the barnacle, nods once courteously, closes the door behind Reniya and leads both Ren and barnacle toward the stairs.
In the Vice Admiral's office, the wooden desk is vacant, the items on its surface — two stacked ledgers, two pens and an ink bottle, a stack of correspondence, a brass astrolabe — in precise and tidy order, arrayed in neat parallel with the desk's edges. The usual occupant of said desk is seated instead on one of the couches by the hearth, before the wall papered in maps and charts. The coffee table before the couch is also, at present, papered with charts, and these appear to be what Siamus Fallon is working on.
He is not dressed in either Vice Admiral or nobleman costume today, but something like an ordinary sailor in casual trousers and workboots, a shirt with its sleeves rolled and a pair of braces. He is bent intently over the coffee table and does not seem to be aware of anyone's arrival in the doorway.
Vane clears his throat diffidently; the noise seems to take a moment to register, as though it were being transmitted across a very long distance. Belatedly, Siamus lifts his head. "Ah," he says, and then the rest of the situation registers and he smiles and lays down his pencil, getting to his feet. "Hartrim. Good to see ye."
Reniya produces a notably more cheerful smile upon entering, though he does enter quickly and completely, ducking well out of sight of the doorway as soon as he can. Penny remains attached. This is normal, now. She, too, beams at Siamus.
"Hello, Mister Vice Admiral," she says in greeting.
"What've you got there?" Reniya asks, ignoring Penny and nodding to the charts.
Siamus smiles warmly at Penny. "Miss Hartrim," he greets her in return, and then drops his gaze to the charts on the table. "That's the Baradin Bay," he answers Ren. "The northern mouth of it; ye can see the very edge of Tol Barad there on the west, and that bit at the top is a piece of Gilneas. D'ye know charts?" He looks up again. "There've been changes in currents and soundings all along the coast since the Shattering; I'm pressed to make note of them all. But fine waters today, aye? Ye brought your…" There is a visible hesitation, during which he does not say nautical means of transport. "… boat?"
"Whatever you've heard, she's a proper boat," Reniya says almost defensively. He may have jumped to a certain conclusion about the reason for the hesitation. "She's not small, or made of paper, and I'm not makin' it up."
Siamus stares at him for a moment. "I — had no reason to think it? I was only… having an absent-minded moment. Struck by a conversation I had with Her Grace." It's technically true. "Will ye have a drink? Sit for a bit? I confess I'll be glad to see the boat, but no rush as ye just got here. Perhaps your sister would like a brief chat."
There is the teensiest emphasis on brief, perhaps out of sympathy with Reniya.
Penny pounces on the opportunity immediately. "Ren, you'll never believe it!" she says excitedly. "I have a date with the Peril Farrens."
Reniya glances at her. "You're right, I don't believe it," he says. His gaze travels to the doorway, as if he expects his mother to show up at any second. "I don't s'pose we could close the door? Maybe lock it?"
Siamus has been briefly transfixed by Penny's announcement, but at Ren's question he blinks back into focus. "Aye, of course. Here, come over and have a seat, the both of ye." He crosses the room to where they stand by the doorway and closes the door himself: possibly an unnecessary journey, but he is a gentlemanly host. His attention stays distractedly with Penny. "I didn't realize ye knew the man, Miss Hartrim."
"I met him yesterday," Penny admits, still firmly attached to Reniya as he heads for one of the couches to sit as he was told. "But I feel like I've known him forever. I am such a fan of his work. Oh, but he is much more daring and clever in person."
"Daring and clever?" Reniya asks. "Fireworks? I found 'im tryin' to barbecue a pack of wolves in the forest in the middle of the night. He almost ended up a meal for 'em. Daring, sure, but I dunno about clever."
Siamus has gone to the sideboard now that he happens to be in that half of the room; it's a proximity reflex. As he pours, he offers absently over his shoulder, "Man himself denies 'daring,' but he's got a fine determination about him, and I can see he shows a nerve now and again. I'd say less 'clever' than 'intelligent' — he's a good mind but there's a certain cunning he lacks."
Having offered these pronouncements that no one asked for, Siamus turns to bear back to the table — carefully — three glasses of whiskey. Yes, Penny, you are sitting at the big boys' table, you get whiskey.
"You didn't see how he spit his coffee on me so he could see through my shirt," Penny says.
Reniya laughs. "Oi, he spit on you? Way to go Fireworks. Aye, a real common practice, that. Spittin' coffee on lasses to win 'em."
Penny glares at him. "That's because he was being clever!" she insists.
Siamus stares, arrested in the act of setting glasses down on the table. He opens his mouth, closes it, looks at Ren. This is Ren's sister; perhaps she is Ren's situation to handle.
"Alright, alright, clever," Reniya says, raising his hands in surrender. Peril is Lathrik's brother. Maybe it can just be his problem. "Jus' sayin' though, if I spit on a lass, the best thing that happens is she leaves in a huff."
"That's because you don't have Mister Peril's charm. You probably don't even know what to do when someone licks you, other than smile and look pretty," Penny says.
Siamus' look on Reniya changes to a slow, sardonic smile, and he lifts an eyebrow. Does Reniya know what to do when someone licks him?
Reniya catches the other man's eyes on him as he claims his own glass and leans back, returning a smile that's really more of a dare. Lick him and find out.
"Aye, well, he's passably pretty, so that may suffice whether or no," Siamus assures Penny gravely, and settles on the couch across from them with one of the glasses. "I'll have to agree wi' the man, though, that spitting on a lady strikes me as — whether we concede it for a piece of cleverness or no — a touch…." He considers. "Well, I'd not like to call Farrens disrespectful, as I'm sure he isn't. Unpolished, perhaps."
"It was the furthest thing from unpolished," Penny argues. "He had a whole plan, and you should have seen how he held me after. He even lent me his coat so I wouldn't be cold on my way out, which I plan to return to him when we go on our date."
Reniya regards her dubiously. "Aye, well. Delusional sister aside, y'think my folks might be at risk from the Count? That's why they're here?"
Siamus considers the question, tipping his glass absently from side to side. "I think your mother certainly thinks it, and it's been a reassurance to her to be here. Where she took the notion, I can't say for certain. I can't say what Amerith knows at this point, or what shape his interest might take. He does seem to… collect novelties, but whether it's malice or whimsy…." He shrugs. "I do, as I said before, want to know myself what he knows and what the nature of his interest might be. I'm not keen to see mainlanders prying, let alone worse. The tidesage's craft is a sacred gift, not a circus act or commodity for exploitation.
"I've not pressed your mother on her past to know what's there that's frightened her, but I know she's badly frightened of her family's gift and what she thinks it might lead people to do. I couldn't tell ye why — unless either of ye knows?" He looks between the siblings mildly.
"Our grandfather… isn't a very nice person," Penny says, her grip on Reniya's arm tightening.
Reniya's eyes flick to her, but he keeps quiet, taking a drink instead.
"It's been a long time since we were in Kul Tiras," Penny continues, "but I remember he didn't approve of our father. Just before we left, there were these two robed people who kept coming by to look at Ren and me. They came every day for a week… maybe two. And then grandfather came when Ren and father were out. He took mother into her room and locked the door. There was a lot of yelling, and he kept saying it was our father's fault, and that she should marry someone else. That night, when father got home, we packed up and left for the mainland."
Penny takes in and lets out a breath, her expression lightening. "But I think we've been okay since. Just don't mention grandfather to mother. She gets jittery."
"Y'never told me about the fight," Reniya says at last.
Penny smiles. "Of course not. You're my younger brother. There was no need for you to carry that burden."
"Ah," says Siamus, his gaze hooded. He drinks, then gestures vaguely with the glass. "We have more in common than ye'd expect, then. Only in our case — Ta's and mine — the overbearing grandfather won out, and we came to the mainland without my mother." He pauses. "She didn't have the sage blood, though; that was my father. She was just too good for him." His tone is light and dry, an effort at sardonicism, but there is a barely-perceptible undercurrent of genuine bitterness in it.
He has another drink.
"I'm sorry your family was split up like that," Penny says, a mix of sadness and concern in her eyes. "The only way our grandfather would have gotten what he wanted was over our father's corpse, which… I get the feeling our grandfather would have found a way to make that happen."
Reniya's expression has turned to a thoughtful frown; he may be reassessing some things in his head.
"My father's side — that's where our bloodlines lie, for the gift — weren't far better about it. They were furious he'd married outside. And they made my sister's life a hell. But it was my mother's family put an end to it finally. Wi' no deaths on either side." Siamus pauses, tilts his head. "Excepting mine, I suppose."
Reniya sits up straighter. "Oi, you've died?" he asks.
"What? Really?" Penny peers at him as if expecting him to turn transparent.
Siamus nods and has another drink. "I was ten," he says. "It was during the war. At the Battle of Crestfall. One of my uncles brought me back — clearly — but as I said, my mother's family weren't sages nor sailors, and they were appalled I'd gone into the navy in the first place. When they — and my mother — found out afterwards I'd died, evidently it was hell to pay." Siamus shrugs wearily. Some people are sensitive about children in the military; who knew?
"Oh, wow, I can imagine," Penny says. "Ren almost died at around that age, and you've seen how our mother is about the whole thing."
"But y'came back though, that's uncommon t'hear Pennings tell it, aye?" Reniya says. "And ol' Lathrik'll tell you he hasn't had much luck bringin' 'em back either."
"It is uncommon, in my experience. I've been told it's even less common for a child, as they don't tend to be tied as strongly body and soul yet. But I don't mean to give my own character any particular credit; I think it was the sea's decision." Siamus smiles wryly. "Your mother was none too impressed when I told her I'd been drowned as a child and none the worse for wear."
"Jus' be glad she ain't got the authority to keep you housebound," Reniya says, smiling, though with a hint of bitterness. "I don't know anyone in the guard who's died an' made it back. I haven't, and neither Lathrik nor Elle has either. Not real eager to find out one way or another, y'know? Figure we're all jus' average lads, doing our heroics on a smaller stage."
"I hope on your behalf that none of ye ever does find out one way or the other, aye? But I'd call none of ye average lads. Your choice of service to the kingdom and capital speaks to your character, especially in view of the past year." Siamus salutes Reniya with his drink. "I'm in the process of introducing a budget item in the House for a pay increase to the Guard. I can't guarantee anything as yet, what with Lescovar and his cronies dead set against anything I and mine back, but we'll do our best by ye."
Reniya gives him a lopsided grin. "Ol' Lathrik's living conditions get to you?" He shrugs. "Sure, we serve the kingdom, but we're hardly the front lines. Our risk of death is a fair amount lower, barring Scourge invasions, plagues, and occasional world-ending dragon attacks, aye?"
"What he means to say is, thank you for considering them, and for your valiant efforts in the House," Penny says, frowning at her brother.
Siamus flashes Penny a roguish smile, and then shrugs an amiable shoulder at Ren, still smiling. "Ah, but Dinnsfield's living conditions will change regardless, aye? He's come into some money already."
"Aye, and if it weren't for 'is Swallowtail, he'd've never let you do it," Reniya says. "'Tis why you've gotta be clever about any business with 'im. But y'strike me as clever, mate, an' it's why I confided what I did."
"If it weren't for him, Miss Kensington-Whit would never have let me do it. So it seems to me they're a match to my advantage, in that regard." Siamus has another drink, his dark eyes glinting with humor. "And I've been told I'm passable clever, but I'll also confess that's a controversial opinion. I do appreciate your confidence."
Penny has almost a visible question mark in her expression.
"They're moving," Reniya informs her.
"What?!" she cries. "Where? Ren, you have to get me their new address! I don't want to go all the way to Elwynn to bother Hana and Elle whenever I need to know what you're up to!"
Reniya stares at her. "You what?"
"Just promise you'll get it for me," she says, shaking his shoulder.
"Alright, alright," he says, brushing her off and taking a drink, his attention returned to Siamus. "So y'think I might be a tidesage?"
Siamus' expression grows serious, and he studies Ren for a moment. "I think it's a strong possibility, aye. Your mother certainly thinks so. Your sister tells me ye had a… queer reaction to nearly drowning, when ye were small. I'm told the Ravendusk lass calls ye 'the Salt Man.' And Miss Kensington-Whit, with her worgen's sense, tells me that you and I have a scent in common. Like salt in the blood." He raises an eyebrow. "D'ye have a knack for the weather?"
"What, like tellin' it? Aye, my mates in the guard are always coming to me t'ask if it'll rain. I've never been wrong." Reniya sits up a little straighter. "You mean that's part of it?"
"Can be, aye. Not always; some people just have a good sense of it. But tell me how ye know it, yourself." Siamus watches Ren with his brows drawn down intently.
"Hmm…" Reniya leans forward, brow furrowing in thought. "I'll try to explain it, but when I told Elle, he didn't get it any more than I got his 'time is a song,' explanation. It's like… a feelin' in the wind. She's not talkin', but it's something close. I just… know. What she's bringin' us."
Penny's grip tightens on Reniya's arm, but she doesn't say anything.
"Ah," says Siamus softly. He swirls his glass idly a moment, his gaze never leaving Ren's face. "And if I asked ye what's the mood of the sea, d'ye know what I mean by it? Would ye be able to tell me?"
"Aye," Reniya says, though there is something pained in his expression. "Something had 'er real riled for a time. She's calmer now, but I wouldn't go as far as sayin' she's back t'normal." He offers a weak smile. "But you'd know all that."
"Aye," says Siamus, and now his gaze leaves Reniya; it goes distant, black and bleak.
He shakes it off, a physical shudder, and focuses again. "Have ye ever tried to get a favor of her? Asked her to do a thing?" The question is casual, but his eyes are not.
"Once," Reniya says, a little sheepishly. "The drowning incident you mentioned. I wanted to visit her depths. Don't think I really understood what I was askin'. I jus' wanted it."
Penny squeezes Reniya's arm even harder, until he starts to look uncomfortable.
"Oi, Penny, could y'loosen up a bit?" he asks, wiggling his arm in an effort to free himself.
"Oh!" Penny relaxes her grip, but refuses to let go entirely. "Sorry."
Siamus sets his drink down on the table. "One moment," he says, and rises to his feet. He crosses the room to the window behind his desk and opens it, setting the casement a few inches ajar. A sharp-toothed wintry draft slithers in.
"I'll be right back," says Siamus, and leaves the room.
Reniya watches him leave, but is soon distracted by the window. He remains seated only because Penny is still attached to his arm.
"We didn't scare him off, did we?" Penny asks.
"Scare? Him? Naw, it'd take more'n… whatever we did," Reniya says. "He's probably gone to fetch something."
"You're not… going to tell him?" Penny asks quietly, gazing up at him.
Reniya meets her with a serious expression of his own. "I remember the promise. The fewer that know…"
Penny tugs at his sleeve. "But you'll still — if he teaches you anything, you'll still show me?"
"Aye," says Reniya. "But it won't be for some time yet. I've got a secret job t'see through first, so I'll need some time alone with the Vice Admiral here in a while, to discuss it."
"A secret… job." Penny blushes a little. "Well."
The door opens again and the Vice Admiral returns. He is not alone: This time he is carrying a round-cheeked toddler in a blue-striped romper. Her hair is a wild halo of white-blonde curls, but when she turns her head to survey the Hartrims suspiciously, her gaze is an exact duplicate of her father's black-eyed intensity.
"Obah," she says sternly, and turns back to her father to lift an open hand and smack-pat him on the cheek.
He smiles down at her. "Aye, my thought exactly," he tells her. The baby bounces in his arms, her legs working impatiently.
Siamus moves halfway across the room toward the couches and then pauses. "My daughter," he tells Ren. "Ery." He stoops to set her seated on the floor.
"OBOBAH," she says to the guests, and smacks both hands vehemently against the carpet.
"Clever starfish," Siamus tells her, and takes a cloth baby bonnet from his pocket. He shakes it out and then crouches to arrange it carefully on her head. "Chilly in here," he informs her. Ery screeches indignantly.
Siamus rises to his feet and crosses back to the couch to collect his drink again.
Reniya's eyes fixate on Ery, and there is a tiny flash of panic, before he pushes it away with a smile. "Pleasure t'meet you, lass," he says. "I see you're set to compete with your parents for loveliness."
Penny beams at Ery. "I can't wait to have a little one of my own with Mister Peril," she says.
"With — oi, oi, oi, hold on, back up," Reniya says. "You've not even gone on that date with him ye —"
"She's named for Ery like in the story," Penny interrupts smoothly. "Do you remember it? You were pretty young, and mother stopped telling it when we moved."
"I — maybe?" Reniya frowns, thrown by the sudden question.
Siamus smiles and inclines his head at Penny. To Ren he says, "Ery from the first days of Boralus, the sage who held off a hurricane for five days while the mermaids built the sea-wall."
(It maybe makes more sense in the longer version.)
Ery herself, meanwhile, shrieks again in outrage. She is being subjected to bonnet. How dare.
The casement window suddenly snaps hard against its hinges where Siamus had secured it, and a gust of wind howls into the room in echo of Ery's shriek of protest. It swirls around the office and snatches the bonnet from the baby's head, then whisks it out the open window. The wind snuffs out.
Siamus stretches one arm along the back of the couch and gazes at his daughter. "She does hate a bloody bonnet," he says fondly.
Ery blows a raspberry.
Penny and Reniya have both fallen silent; Penny stares at Ery, while Reniya stares at the window.
"I didn't know she could do that," Penny finally says. "It can start that young?"
"It's perishing rare," Siamus says. The pride in his voice is audible; he doesn't stop gazing at his daughter. She glares stubbornly back at him and holds up both arms, stretching toward him with her hands spread in chubby starfish entreaty. He rises from the couch to collect her. "The stronger the gift, the sooner it comes on, to my knowledge. I didn't show mine until nine or ten months — the age she is now — and was thought a prodigy for it. Ery was barely four months old when she called the water to her."
He lifts her from the floor and brings her back to the couch with him; he sits and sets her on his knee. His hands at her waist, he jogs his knee lightly to bounce her. Ery waves her arms delightedly. "It's not my place to speak with her on it, but ye might ask your mother yourself when she saw signs in ye."
"Oi, an' start 'er wailin' about it? I'd rather we didn't," Reniya says. "'Sides, odds are good she tried not t'see any signs."
"We have… kind of an agreement with our father not to ask about that, if we can help it," Penny adds. "But, I mean, I'm pretty sure I heard her say that our line is weak, so it can't have been that early for us."
Siamus nods equably. "Aye, she said the same to me. But she insisted for a time before that that neither of ye was one, so I can't tell ye if she's keeping more from ye. I don't mean to accuse the lady of lying, mind ye; I realize she understood herself to be protecting her children. To my mind, ye might have been better protected if ye'd learned what ye were and how to use it." He shrugs. "If ye've a mind to learn it now, I've four good sages in my fleet, any one of whom would be glad to help ye."
"I'll probably take you up on it, mate, only… after that other thing we were set to discuss," Reniya says.
"Oh!" Penny pops — almost nervously — to her feet. "Secret job! Right. Okay. Ren, um… don't avoid me anymore? You promised."
"Aye, aye," Renia nods, waving her off. "I'll visit when I'm done with my job."
Penny eyes him suspiciously. "The secret one," she says. "Not the other one. I'm not waiting until you retire."
"Yes, the secret one," Reniya clarifies. He pours Penny's glass into his own and settles back to drink it.
"Good. Then, it was nice talking to you again, Vice Admiral," she says, smiling.
He smiles at her and rises courteously to his feet; Ery makes a disgruntled noise as she gets lifted with him and the knee-bouncing ends. "A pleasure as always, Miss Hartrim," he tells her, and waits for her to depart before he settles back down. Ery kicks vehemently until the bouncing resumes.
There's a brief silence and then Siamus says, "She's a sweet lass, but a bit… sheltered, is it?"
"Spent 'er life at our mother's whims, how could she be anything but?" Reniya says, shrugging. "But she let it happen. Even after adulthood."
Siamus nods thoughtfully. He bounces Ery in silence for a few moments — well, he is silent, Ery is not — and then asks, "Has she got a gift as well? When I met your mother the first time, she told me she wouldn't be selling me your sister. Your father put in then that you'd be the gifted one of the pair of ye, but it seemed an odd leap for your mother to make." He pauses again and then adds, "For several reasons."
"It should be an odd leap for her to make," Reniya says, frowning. "Did she… seem certain, or just cautiously protective?" He rubs his forehead. "Sorry mate, I know it's a tough question to answer when y'barely know 'er."
"I do barely know her, aye, which is why I ask ye. I'd given no particular reason for the visit, only said who I was, and she leapt straight to the matter of buying and selling and how Miss Hartrim was old enough to choose for herself but —" Siamus shrugs and then bends his head to kiss one of Ery's fat cheeks. She squeals and bats at him with both hands, but when he starts to sit up again she attempts to clutch at his beard (which is sadly too trim for chubby toddler fingers to find purchase). He obligingly smooches her again.
It is not very Vice-Admiral-like.
Siamus does not seem self-conscious about it; instead, he sings to her in a clear and lilting voice,
Idir ann is idir as
Idir thuaidh is idir theas
Idir thiar is idir thoir
Idir am is idir áit.
Ery quiets and puts her fingers in her mouth, her eyes round. Siamus glances up at Ren with a faint smile. "I'll give her back to the nanny, and we can talk business." He rises to his feet and props his daughter against his shoulder. She tips her head to rest it on him.
"She shouldn't know anything, if we've done it right," Reniya says, shaking his head. "Might be a mother's sense. Let Penny answer your question 'erself, when she's ready to. Until then, she's as ordinary as she says she is." He offers Ery a little wave (with his hand) and a smile.
"Ah," says Siamus, and nods once at Ren. "As ye say. And I'll be right back."
Ery watches Ren from where she is snuggled against her father's shoulder; her black gaze is still intent but it's solemn now rather than suspicious. Siamus carries her out of the office.
He returns only a few moments later, sans baby, and closes the door behind him before crossing back to the couch. "Now," he says. "As to the business —"
"'Fore we get into what you know about our mage friend, I've got a question or several," Reniya says. "I caught up with our resident street rat, Alysson, and asked him some things about 'is aunt, jus' t'be safe. He said he went with 'er and his Ma on a heroic mission to cure some lass's arms. Ralaea Westwind is the ward you took on but recently, aye? You know anything about that?"
"I do, aye," says Siamus mildly, and volunteers nothing further. He reaches for his drink, settles back comfortably on the couch, and waits.
Reniya studies him for a moment, before continuing. "He doesn't know what became of all that, as he parted ways with his mother when his aunt doubled back and found someone followin' 'er. That happened to be a 'miss 'meiria' as he put it, who's his sister 'Randy's mother. His aunt didn't take kindly to being followed, and attacked, so he intervened and got hurt, and some other death knight drove his aunt off. But he was reluctant to think of her as a bad person. I'm not sayin' he's right; I know the lad tends towards the… gullible and optimistic. But if they did cure your lass's arms — and I won't pry there — I'm left wonderin' why, is all."
"I couldn't tell ye," says Siamus, still mildly. He has a sip of his drink. "I can't pretend to fathom the mind of a Scourge knight."
He tips his glass back and forth idly again and watches the dregs of his drink. "Ralaea had… a complicated relationship with the woman, which is not my place to get into. I will say that while she lived, Ralaea viewed her with something more than hero worship. The injury to Ralaea's arms was part and parcel wi'the tragedy of Mondragon's death; it was… a subsequent consequence. After the woman was raised and began her hunt for Ralaea and all her former unit, despite the atrocities she committed, I believe Ralaea's own feelings for the woman remained confused, and Mondragon played on that in an effort to lure her."
Reniya frowns. "Aye? Then I wonder if Mondragon wasn't also at times confused." He shrugs. "Anyhow, I mean to talk to Ralaea as well at some point. Now, what've you got on the mage?"
"Have a care with Ralaea," Siamus warns mildly. "She's a wary lass, and no wonder after all that's happened to her."
He leans forward to set his near-empty glass on the table and lifts one of the charts spread there to draw out an envelope from beneath it. "This is what my previous source knows; I met with him last week and wrote it all out for ye myself."
Reniya claims the envelope and scans through its contents. "Lathrik's told me a thing or two," he says. "Tabby Cat's told me a different thing or two. I'm sure I can handle 'er."
He pauses and looks up from his reading. "Kirin Tor? This looks like it'll be fair interesting, mate. Can't say as I've ever investigated such a prestigious sort." He grins.
Siamus smiles faintly. "I expect ye can handle it. I'm almost sorry to point ye at Dalaran, though. Never could stand to do more than pass through the place myself. Still, it's a novelty the first time, at least.
"I'm going to write ye a cheque to cover your per diem expenses. It'll be enough for a fortnight, a daily rate of —" He names an amount close to Ren's weekly salary. "If ye sort the thing out sooner, or ye don't spend it all there, ye can keep the balance. If ye need more — either because the investigation runs longer or your expenses are higher — contact me straightaway and I'll make a direct bank transfer."
"That good? I'll have to finish up quickly then," Reniya says. He finishes his drink. "You're plannin' on payin' me? Joke's on you, I'd've done it for free. Lathrik's my mate, so anything that'll help 'im out, I'm good for, money or no. 'Course I'll never object to extra funds."
Siamus' smile widens. "If I can offer ye another piece of advice, it would be: Never agree to work for free if ye can find anyone willing to pay ye for it. Don't forget I know what you lads make in a year, now."
"Aye, that's some good advice, mate," Reniya says, smiling back. "Almost like you're tellin' me to work smarter, not harder. Speakin' of work though…"
He pulls a notebook from his back pocket and begins copying the information from Roper, although what he's writing is not readily obvious. It looks more like a random jumble of letters and numbers. "S'pose I should leave you a copy of my cipher, seein' as I'll be writing my reports to you in it."
Siamus's eyes light up and he leans forward again. "I do like a man with a private cipher," he tells Ren. It is unclear whether or not he's joking.
"Been refining it since I was young," Reniya says, focused on his work. "I developed it so I could complain about my parents in writing without 'em knowing. Turns out it's been useful for more'n that. Lathrik and Elle know it too, so if you happen to forget or misplace the key, the lads can help you out."
"I'll learn it," says Siamus, with all the confidence of a man with a head full of both private and military codes. "Obliged to ye. How often d'ye anticipate reporting in?"
"Once every three days," Reniya says. "If it goes any longer'n that and you haven't heard from me, assume the worst. Not that I expect it'll come to that, but if it does, if I get in over my head somehow, assume I'm dead and prioritize your own safety if you go lookin' for answers. I won't have it said I took anyone else down with me."
Siamus studies him for a long moment. "I appreciate that, Hartrim," he says. "I don't expect I'd be as much at risk as you are, considering —" He sits up and waves a hand at their surroundings. "I won't pretend that money and rank don't offer a certain… insulation." His tone is dry.
When he looks back at Ren, though, his gaze is serious. "I do appreciate it. Both the thought and that ye've undertaken to investigate. I'd rather ye not put yourself at unnecessary risk either, aye?"
Reniya smiles. "Aye, you'n Lathrik'n Elle'n the rest of 'em," he says. "I'll be fine. Worst case, I end up startin' a new life as a sheep someplace." His blue-green eyes sparkle with humor.
"Ye make a better man than a mutton, I'd wager," Siamus tells him. "And ye have good friends. Now — will ye show me this boat of yours?"
Reniya just about springs to his feet, starting towards the door. "Ain't brought 'er here for nothin', mate," he says with a grin.
Siamus does not spring to his feet — he rises like a gentleman — but his smile almost matches Ren's. "Not a bad journey, is it? Down the coast from the city? Ye made good time?"
"Well she's got a motor on 'er, so long as I'm not picky about the direction," Reniya says, beginning to navigate his way out of the house. The moment they step out of the room, his voice becomes noticeably quieter.
"Sorry," Siamus says after a slightly perplexed pause. "How does that work, exactly? A motor? So long as you're not picky about direction?"
"She'll go straight," Reniya says, gesturing with his hand. "But if y'need to turn, you've either gotta fight 'er, or shut off the motor. Elle was sayin' that to get the steering put in he'd need to take 'er apart. Problem is, I doubt he could put 'er together again."
Siamus knits his brow. "I shouldn't think ye'd need an elaborate steering system; ye'd really only need a hand-operated rudder, aye? Just as on an ordinary sailboat. Ye could likely rig one out of — an ordinary oar, or the like. No? And why's it got a motor?"
"Aye," Reniya says, something wistful in his expression. "The motor was a gift from Elle. It was… to make me feel better. But the truth of it is, he's not a boat lad and he broke the rudder she had while setting it up. He meant well, so I haven't… told 'im."
"Aye, well, I don't expect we have to," says Siamus sympathetically. "Let's have a look at her and see what we can sort ourselves. I make no claim to be a proper engineer, but my sister is and I've an amateur enthusiasm. Besides, I know boats." He glances sidelong at Ren as they jog down the stairs. "To make ye feel better from what?"
"Used t'have a proper sailboat," Reniya says. "Called 'er the Fancy. Saved up a number of years to afford 'er aye? Beautiful lass. And then the… tidal wave took 'er. 'Twas a rough day for all. You lose any? Men? Ships?"
Siamus seems to lose a shade of color beneath his tan. The corner of his tensed jaw is sharp.
He waits until they've crossed the foyer and passed through the front door that Vane holds open for them. Out in the open air, he says, "Aye, ships and men and more. Ships in Fallon Harbor. The lighthouse-keeper who'd worked for my father before me. The townhouse in Stormwind and everyone in it. Half our coastline here." He makes a sharp gesture at the sea-cliffs that edge close to the house. "Nearly the whole thing, the house itself and all the family."
Reniya follows his gesture, staring solemnly in the direction of the sea. "Aye," he says after a moment's silence. "We lost a share of brothers in the guard as well. Our station — Lathrik, Elle and mine — covers mostly the Trade District and Old Town. We were far from it. Lucky, I s'pose. The dragon did the most damage where we were at. I'm sorry t'hear it. Sounds like you lost some good people."
Siamus puts his hands in his pockets and gazes straight ahead. "The lighthouse keeper and our butler — our former butler — had been with the family since I was a lad. Barbour, the butler, he'd been the Admiral's bosun through the Second War. He was the one who pulled me from the water when I drowned, as I understand it. And there were a brother and sister, footman and maid, who'd come to us refugees from Lordaeron's fall, and two of Her Grace's household that had survived the fall with her as well. All lost."
He's silent for a moment and then adds, "I'm sorry for the Guard's losses. I understand they were heavy. I think too many in the city see ye standing on streetcorners or walking patrols and don't think about what ye're prepared to do for them, or what might be required of ye someday."
Reniya shares in his silence, until the guard is mentioned. "Aye, good lads an' lasses lost," he says, then he pats Siamus firmly on the shoulder, a smile returning to his face. "Mate, I'm glad the civilians don't think about what we do. Ain't our job to remind 'em of sacrifice. What we're out there every day to do is give 'em a sense of safety and normalcy, aye? Way I figure it, our job's to smile an' help 'em out with daily life, t'be there as a steady, welcoming presence so they don't go thinkin' about what happens if the Horde attack, or when the next dragon's gonna spring from a lair at 'em. The worryin'? Leave that to us. That's our job."
Siamus smiles faintly at that and glances at Ren. "Oh, aye, 'safety and normalcy' — a nice way to put it, and a fine job ye do. It's not worrying I'd want for the public, only that I'd prefer to see more of the respect due. From your politicians as well as your public."
"I've got a politician right here who's doing just fine on the matter of respect," Reniya says with a wink. "He may be respecting my personal space a little too well, though."
Siamus feigns affronted astonishment. "Is he, now? Bloody criminal waste of a lovely lad, that is." Still walking — and with his other hand still casually in his pocket — he wraps a hand around the back of Ren's neck and squeezes roughly, then slides his fingers up into the younger man's hair. His fingertips are a firm, soothing pressure against the nape of Reniya's neck and up the back of his skull, and then Siamus closes his hand on a fistful of hair and tugs sharply, playfully. "Were ye hoping to have your space disrespected?"
There is a pause before Reniya answers, a shred of desire passing through his expression before being tucked away behind a light smile. “Aye, well, with all the hints you’ve been dropping, a lad could get his hopes up.” Without disrupting their stride, Reniya’s hand returns to Siamus’s shoulder, a lingering touch more than a pat of camaraderie this time.
"I've never been accused of subtlety," Siamus says, and continues to twine his fingers idly in Ren's hair. "I'd invite ye back up to the office for a drink after this — and that's not subtlety, by the way, I'm sure we can have a drink to go wi' the fucking. But I don't know whether the presence of your family in the house would make that awkward."
“Long as they’re not watching,” Reniya teases. “I’ve never let ‘em stand in the way of what I want. Not gonna start now.” His grip tightens on Siamus’s shoulder in emphasis.
Siamus laughs. "I expect we can manage that much privacy." The tilt of his smile is wicked. "Though if ye'd like, I can clarify for your sister later whether ye know what to do when someone licks you." His grip on Ren's hair tightens hard and he uses it to check the man’s stride so that for a moment there is a brief, measured pause in their walk. Siamus leans over and traces the edge of Ren's ear with his tongue, and then bites it.
And then he lets go of him entirely and puts his hands back in his pockets and resumes walking.
Reniya shivers, watching Siamus continue on with a hungry look, as if undressing him with his eyes. And then his words finally get through.
“Oi. Maybe not to my sister?” he calls after him. “Don’t need her gettin’ any ideas.”
He runs to catch up.
Ahead, the adorable rowboat awaits her guests, cheerful despite the grey of the sky.