Marna's - Afternoon - Light Rain
Eryk Nero
Eryk pursed his lips together, nearly cursing at himself when he'd almost hammered his thumb. His mind had been elsewhere as he helped Aidan and Kasimir patch a hole in Marna's roof. They'd noticed it a few days ago, and since they were heading into the rainy season, they had convinced Marna to let them help her fix it. Ryk knew a little about fixing things; one of his many skills he had, but he wasn't quite as good at it as Aidan seemed to be. But then again, he wasn't ever really good at a lot of things. He just knew how to fix things to the point that they wouldn't break again, or would last a long while.
“I think that should be good enough," he stated, leaning back to inspect the work.
Aidan shifted over to check it, tugging a few times at where they'd laid the boards to be sure they were in solidly, then nodded. "Really she needs to get the whole roof re-shingled but that's probably too expensive at the moment," he murmured. "And she's not the kind to accept that kind of thing on charity." He shook his head. "At least it won't leak. Rheinallt, did you finish checking the rest?"
"Yeah boss," Kas called back. "There's a couple spots over here that are looking a little worn, but everything's watertight for the moment. No use doing a big repair job until after storm season anyway, or some tree branch could ruin the whole thing at random."
"Fair point."
“If you boys are done up there I've got dinner for you inside," Marna called, lifting a hand to shield her eyes against the slight rainfall as she peered up at them. “And drinks on the house for your help."
Eryk pursed his lips, feeling a little uncomfortable about the free drinks. He'd just have to make sure to leave a generous tip; maybe enough to get her started on a savings for the new roof. “Thank you, Marna," he stated, glancing towards the others. He made his way towards the ladder they'd used to get on the roof, and climbed down. Once they were all settled inside, he used a couple of paper towels to dry off his arms and face, tossing them into the trash before taking a seat at the table Marna had set up for them.
Once everyone had settled, and Marna made her way back towards the counter area, Eryk pushed a soft sigh through his nose. “Do you think she'd let us help her with the repairs if we offered it to her in a way that suggested that it wasn't charity?" he asked. Marna's had, oddly, grown on him. He enjoyed his time here whenever Kas, Aidan, and himself visited. It was quiet, tucked away, and didn't have a lot of customers.
He'd wondered about that, though. Marna had a good selection of drinks, and had some good food. It wasn't as if it were unaffordable, either. She had fair prices for everything.
Aidan hummed, running his hand through his damp hair to pull it out of his face. "I doubt it. She's got a lot of pride. I think our best chance is probably getting her to do something for us and passing the roof off as payment for it."
Kas's eyes lit up. "Funny you should mention that—I have an idea." As had become rather traditional, Marna had prepared orders for all of them that were eminently shareable, so they didn't really have to split anything. Kas pulled a couple of cheese fries off a stack of them and chewed before he explained. "So uh, I dunno how much attention you were paying to Ana's file, Ryk, but her birthday's in like... four more days. Why don't we ask Marna to help us with a last-minute surprise birthday party? She can do the food and rent us the space."
The space was never particularly full anyway, but if they rented the whole thing out, they could probably deem that kind of expensive.
Aidan looked thoughtful. "So part of it for the space, part of it for the food, and part of it for 'putting her out on short notice'?"
"Yeah, basically. Plus if we invited the girls and Drake, it'd be an eight-person party, so that's a fair amount of food. We could pay her whatever she asks for it, which is going to be way too low, and then say we felt guilty about it later, and surprise her with roof tiles and an installation after storm season's blown through."
That wasn't a bad idea, actually. “I wasn't aware it was her birthday so soon," Eryk replied, furrowing his brows slightly. He knew Anastasia's birthday was in September, just not when, exactly. “We can ask and see," he continued. He knew that Cyrilla and Solomon wouldn't say no to doing something for Anastasia. They were as fond of her as Eryk was, and that wasn't a good thing. He'd tried not to, but Anastasia had a way of making him feel at ease.
“What... exactly do we do for someone's birthday?" he asked hesitantly. Eryk never celebrated birthdays, before. He hated his birthday for various reasons, but that didn't mean everyone else did. He'd never had a cause to celebrate someone else's birthday; not even Cyrilla seemed inclined to celebrate hers very often. When she did, it was usually somewhere else.
"Don't look at me," Aidan said with a shrug. "I've never done that either. This one's all Rheinallt."
"I mean..." Kas shrugged, taking a swig from his beer. "It doesn't have to be anything complicated. Usually some people just hang out together in the name of the occasion. Sometimes it gets a little more elaborate, like with a proper party, and some people buy gifts, though I sort of feel like Ana would be uncomfortable with that idea." He set the beer back down on its coaster. "We could probably do something really simple and she'd be happy. You know, gather here, have some food and drinks and music. Maybe a few games or something. It doesn't have to be some big production."
Ryk supposed that would make Anastasia happy. He knew anything loud or large would definitely make her uncomfortable. In that sense, she was a lot like himself. They both didn't like being around large crowds, or a lot of people.
“I can see how she'll feel about it. I'm under the impression that she's also the type to not like surprises," but he could be wrong about that. Maybe she did? Maybe he shouldn't tell her about the party, then. He didn't want to ruin it for her, after all, especially if the people who were going to attend were people she considered her friends.
“But I suppose we should ask Marna first, to see about renting the space."
Aidan nodded. "We can take care of it before we leave." Dipping a pita wedge in what appeared to be smooth hummus, he bit into it and hummed. "Any updates on the situation with your old lady?" he asked, tilting his head slightly at Eryk.
Eryk pursed his lips together and furrowed his brows. “Yeah," he spoke, taking a bite from his nachos. He'd almost forgotten about his mother's email. “You remember yesterday? About all the rumors? It was only a matter of time before they reached her, too," he stated, tasting something bitter and sour in his mouth. It wasn't the nachos, he knew that. It was just the feeling he got every time his mother was involved.
“She's trying to use that as leverage to annul the engagement, again. I'll have to talk to Cyrilla about it. She'll have to... stop certain activities if we don't want anything else getting back to her. At least if they don't pertain to a mission," he continued. If Marah found out that Cyrilla was casually sleeping around, she would have more leverage to use against them. And that was to say nothing of what Cyrilla's own parents would do if they found out.
They had worked hard to get the engagement to Eryk; he knew they'd fight tooth and nail against his mother to get it, even if it meant doing some unsavory things. Not that they wouldn't, that was just how low most people would go within the family. He glanced at Aidan for a moment.
“I don't think it has anything to pertain to Gregorovich's current mission, but..." he paused to push a soft breath through his nose, “Katia will be here next month. I don't know when, exactly, but she'll be here on the family's orders. Just thought you'd like to know." As far as Ryk knew, Katia being here was only because his mother insisted on it. She was, after all, doing other things for them, and whatever Gregorovich was having her do.
The previous three beasts might not be active, but that didn't mean they weren't still being used to do other things. He didn't know what the third member of their group was doing; Dodds had only been mentioned in files.
Aidan made a face, one that looked like he'd tasted something rotten. "Ugh, fuck me," he grumbled. "I don't know what I did to make that woman decide I was the one she talked to about all her 'problems,' but I'm not looking forward to it again."
Kas snorted, his lips pulling into a broad smile. "You must just have one of those faces," he said, laughing when Aidan scowled at him in a rather unfriendly manner. "Orrrrr she's a masochist, who knows? I'm kind of interested to meet her, though I'm sure it's going to suck for you guys."
"Him especially," Aidan said, pointing at Eryk with another pita wedge before he dipped it into the hummus. "I just get talked at—she doesn't want to marry me, thank arceus."
“She doesn't want to marry me; she needs to, according to her," Eryk stated, feeling his lips pull back a bit. “Like I've said before, it's stuck in her head that if she marries me, she gets the family. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that she and my mother were planning to have me removed if the marriage had gone through," it was a rather humorously dark thing to say, but Eryk did have a nagging suspicion that it might have been true.
Why else would Katia be so obsessed with marrying him?
“And at least I warned you ahead of time. You could always just... find a way to avoid her when she's here. It's not like you have to be around her; you're here for something else that doesn't require your other members."
"I don't think you quite understand," Aidan replied with a sigh. "If I'm not around, she'll find me. Surely you're familiar with how stubborn she is that way." He shrugged. "If I sit around listening to her for a few hours, she'll probably spill her plans eventually anyhow, so... guess I'm taking one for the team."
"Heh." Kas shook his head. "I guess that makes us a team somehow?"
"Guess it does."
Eryk felt that strange quirk of his lips on his face again as he huffed lightly. “I suppose it's only right for the leader of the team to take one for the team," Ryk stated, rolling his eyes softly as he took a drink of his lemonade. It was still strange to hear: Team.
It was stranger still to consider these two, friends... but Eryk didn't mind.
“I think that should be good enough," he stated, leaning back to inspect the work.
Aidan shifted over to check it, tugging a few times at where they'd laid the boards to be sure they were in solidly, then nodded. "Really she needs to get the whole roof re-shingled but that's probably too expensive at the moment," he murmured. "And she's not the kind to accept that kind of thing on charity." He shook his head. "At least it won't leak. Rheinallt, did you finish checking the rest?"
"Yeah boss," Kas called back. "There's a couple spots over here that are looking a little worn, but everything's watertight for the moment. No use doing a big repair job until after storm season anyway, or some tree branch could ruin the whole thing at random."
"Fair point."
“If you boys are done up there I've got dinner for you inside," Marna called, lifting a hand to shield her eyes against the slight rainfall as she peered up at them. “And drinks on the house for your help."
Eryk pursed his lips, feeling a little uncomfortable about the free drinks. He'd just have to make sure to leave a generous tip; maybe enough to get her started on a savings for the new roof. “Thank you, Marna," he stated, glancing towards the others. He made his way towards the ladder they'd used to get on the roof, and climbed down. Once they were all settled inside, he used a couple of paper towels to dry off his arms and face, tossing them into the trash before taking a seat at the table Marna had set up for them.
Once everyone had settled, and Marna made her way back towards the counter area, Eryk pushed a soft sigh through his nose. “Do you think she'd let us help her with the repairs if we offered it to her in a way that suggested that it wasn't charity?" he asked. Marna's had, oddly, grown on him. He enjoyed his time here whenever Kas, Aidan, and himself visited. It was quiet, tucked away, and didn't have a lot of customers.
He'd wondered about that, though. Marna had a good selection of drinks, and had some good food. It wasn't as if it were unaffordable, either. She had fair prices for everything.
Aidan hummed, running his hand through his damp hair to pull it out of his face. "I doubt it. She's got a lot of pride. I think our best chance is probably getting her to do something for us and passing the roof off as payment for it."
Kas's eyes lit up. "Funny you should mention that—I have an idea." As had become rather traditional, Marna had prepared orders for all of them that were eminently shareable, so they didn't really have to split anything. Kas pulled a couple of cheese fries off a stack of them and chewed before he explained. "So uh, I dunno how much attention you were paying to Ana's file, Ryk, but her birthday's in like... four more days. Why don't we ask Marna to help us with a last-minute surprise birthday party? She can do the food and rent us the space."
The space was never particularly full anyway, but if they rented the whole thing out, they could probably deem that kind of expensive.
Aidan looked thoughtful. "So part of it for the space, part of it for the food, and part of it for 'putting her out on short notice'?"
"Yeah, basically. Plus if we invited the girls and Drake, it'd be an eight-person party, so that's a fair amount of food. We could pay her whatever she asks for it, which is going to be way too low, and then say we felt guilty about it later, and surprise her with roof tiles and an installation after storm season's blown through."
That wasn't a bad idea, actually. “I wasn't aware it was her birthday so soon," Eryk replied, furrowing his brows slightly. He knew Anastasia's birthday was in September, just not when, exactly. “We can ask and see," he continued. He knew that Cyrilla and Solomon wouldn't say no to doing something for Anastasia. They were as fond of her as Eryk was, and that wasn't a good thing. He'd tried not to, but Anastasia had a way of making him feel at ease.
“What... exactly do we do for someone's birthday?" he asked hesitantly. Eryk never celebrated birthdays, before. He hated his birthday for various reasons, but that didn't mean everyone else did. He'd never had a cause to celebrate someone else's birthday; not even Cyrilla seemed inclined to celebrate hers very often. When she did, it was usually somewhere else.
"Don't look at me," Aidan said with a shrug. "I've never done that either. This one's all Rheinallt."
"I mean..." Kas shrugged, taking a swig from his beer. "It doesn't have to be anything complicated. Usually some people just hang out together in the name of the occasion. Sometimes it gets a little more elaborate, like with a proper party, and some people buy gifts, though I sort of feel like Ana would be uncomfortable with that idea." He set the beer back down on its coaster. "We could probably do something really simple and she'd be happy. You know, gather here, have some food and drinks and music. Maybe a few games or something. It doesn't have to be some big production."
Ryk supposed that would make Anastasia happy. He knew anything loud or large would definitely make her uncomfortable. In that sense, she was a lot like himself. They both didn't like being around large crowds, or a lot of people.
“I can see how she'll feel about it. I'm under the impression that she's also the type to not like surprises," but he could be wrong about that. Maybe she did? Maybe he shouldn't tell her about the party, then. He didn't want to ruin it for her, after all, especially if the people who were going to attend were people she considered her friends.
“But I suppose we should ask Marna first, to see about renting the space."
Aidan nodded. "We can take care of it before we leave." Dipping a pita wedge in what appeared to be smooth hummus, he bit into it and hummed. "Any updates on the situation with your old lady?" he asked, tilting his head slightly at Eryk.
Eryk pursed his lips together and furrowed his brows. “Yeah," he spoke, taking a bite from his nachos. He'd almost forgotten about his mother's email. “You remember yesterday? About all the rumors? It was only a matter of time before they reached her, too," he stated, tasting something bitter and sour in his mouth. It wasn't the nachos, he knew that. It was just the feeling he got every time his mother was involved.
“She's trying to use that as leverage to annul the engagement, again. I'll have to talk to Cyrilla about it. She'll have to... stop certain activities if we don't want anything else getting back to her. At least if they don't pertain to a mission," he continued. If Marah found out that Cyrilla was casually sleeping around, she would have more leverage to use against them. And that was to say nothing of what Cyrilla's own parents would do if they found out.
They had worked hard to get the engagement to Eryk; he knew they'd fight tooth and nail against his mother to get it, even if it meant doing some unsavory things. Not that they wouldn't, that was just how low most people would go within the family. He glanced at Aidan for a moment.
“I don't think it has anything to pertain to Gregorovich's current mission, but..." he paused to push a soft breath through his nose, “Katia will be here next month. I don't know when, exactly, but she'll be here on the family's orders. Just thought you'd like to know." As far as Ryk knew, Katia being here was only because his mother insisted on it. She was, after all, doing other things for them, and whatever Gregorovich was having her do.
The previous three beasts might not be active, but that didn't mean they weren't still being used to do other things. He didn't know what the third member of their group was doing; Dodds had only been mentioned in files.
Aidan made a face, one that looked like he'd tasted something rotten. "Ugh, fuck me," he grumbled. "I don't know what I did to make that woman decide I was the one she talked to about all her 'problems,' but I'm not looking forward to it again."
Kas snorted, his lips pulling into a broad smile. "You must just have one of those faces," he said, laughing when Aidan scowled at him in a rather unfriendly manner. "Orrrrr she's a masochist, who knows? I'm kind of interested to meet her, though I'm sure it's going to suck for you guys."
"Him especially," Aidan said, pointing at Eryk with another pita wedge before he dipped it into the hummus. "I just get talked at—she doesn't want to marry me, thank arceus."
“She doesn't want to marry me; she needs to, according to her," Eryk stated, feeling his lips pull back a bit. “Like I've said before, it's stuck in her head that if she marries me, she gets the family. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that she and my mother were planning to have me removed if the marriage had gone through," it was a rather humorously dark thing to say, but Eryk did have a nagging suspicion that it might have been true.
Why else would Katia be so obsessed with marrying him?
“And at least I warned you ahead of time. You could always just... find a way to avoid her when she's here. It's not like you have to be around her; you're here for something else that doesn't require your other members."
"I don't think you quite understand," Aidan replied with a sigh. "If I'm not around, she'll find me. Surely you're familiar with how stubborn she is that way." He shrugged. "If I sit around listening to her for a few hours, she'll probably spill her plans eventually anyhow, so... guess I'm taking one for the team."
"Heh." Kas shook his head. "I guess that makes us a team somehow?"
"Guess it does."
Eryk felt that strange quirk of his lips on his face again as he huffed lightly. “I suppose it's only right for the leader of the team to take one for the team," Ryk stated, rolling his eyes softly as he took a drink of his lemonade. It was still strange to hear: Team.
It was stranger still to consider these two, friends... but Eryk didn't mind.