Disclaimer: I don't own anythin' t' do with Tortal, that'd all be Tamora Pierce's world. I do, however, own Aris.
"Tobais Boon!"
"Oh, no." Turning away from the tack that he was cleaning, Tobais Boon glared at the fast-approaching girl, utter dislike etched upon his face. "What do you want?" Typically, Tobe, as he was most-often called, was friendly with most Two-leggers, but Irnai, the town's Seer, was the exception. The love-hate relationship that the pair shared had been leaning more towards 'hate' in the past few weeks.
"What do you mean, 'what do I want?'" The Seer was pissed. And Tobe had a pretty good feeling as to why. "You, mister "I can talk to horses," so kindly 'suggested' to Hopeless Mage that it would be a wonderful 'present' for her to trash my room!"
"Don' know what you're talking about, Irnai." With that, and a courteous nod towards the enraged girl, Tobe picked up his tools and tack, and headed for Headquarters.
Too bad she doesn't know. Thoughts ran through the scrawny boy's mind as he hauled his tack towards the town's Headquarters. Too bad. Behind his harsh, and uncaring front, Tobais actually liked the Seer. Of course, he wouldn't let on to that. It would, undoubtedly, boost her ego even more. Shifting the tangle of bridles so that they hung more comfortably on his tunic-clad shoulders, he carefully opened the door to the large, solid wood building that was his home.
"Tobe…" There was an admonishing note in Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan's voice as she led the boy into her office. "Irnai was just here." Tobe hid his surprise, thinking How did she get here before me? "Apparently, Hopeless demolished her chambers. Do you know anything of this?" His shame must have shown on his face, because Kel continued, "Must we continue with this? Every week, one of you has harmed/annoyed/terrorized the other."
"Yes, m' Lady." Though he was ashamed, Tobe's face showed no hint of his emotions, the benefits of the many Yamani ladies who visited New Hope. Any show of emotion was considered rude among the Yamanis, and so, in order to maintain his dignity among them, Tobe had learned how to hide his emotions. He was near as good at it as those born knowing that public emotions were unmannerly. He was good at it as his Lady, Kel, was.
"Tobe…" Keladry was cut off by a rapid succession of knocks on the oaken door to her office. "Yes?"
The door swung open as a tall, handsome man walked strode into the office. The dark green of his tunic set off the same shades in his troubled eyes. His brown hair, haphazardly swept back from a widows peak, look windswept. Sir Nealan of Queenscove, one of Kel's year-mates and friends, scanned the room quickly, and, sighting Kel and her former servant, walked briskly towards them.
"Kel," Neal spoke with great care, even when in a hurry, "Have you seen Aris, by any chance? Yuki and I can't find her anywhere."
He was speaking of his three year-old daughter. The child had an amazing knack for getting into trouble. Deceptively innocent, the child was a war-mage, a mage skilled in battle magic. Unlike her father, a powerful healer, she had been born with all of the skills of a War-mage. Still unlearned, Aris tended to lose control of her powers, especially whenever she got mad. Having her loose was dangerous, not only to those around her, but also to Aris herself.
"I haven't. Have you checked Irnai's place? You know how Aris likes it there." When Neal shook his head, the tall, brown-haired woman turned to Tobe. "Tobe…"
Before his friend could finish the question, Tobe shook his head. "No, Lady. Haven't seen her since breakfast. And I don't think that she's with Irnai, either. Seeing as she and I were just talking."
"Neal, find Merric. Tell him to send out a squad. As for you, Tobe, we'll finish our conversation later." With a nod, Neal set out to find his friend, the captain of the guard.