Note: A RP log from the Noblesse RP discord, coauthored by foggywizard. so much fluff, my lil heart can barely take it. Ignes is about 5 years old (in human years) here
Blood clung to his hands, and he decided that he should take a moment to wipe it off. He shouldn't look like he was the one who'd ripped open the man's throat. Not his usual modus operandi, getting involved himself, but this was an unusual situation altogether. Maduke left the corpse of the old man, a master alchemist, and turned towards the flight of winding stairs that would lead him to her. Ignes was what he'd call the most adorable puppy he's ever seen, if she were a werewolf. One that needed to be raised better than what was happening now. Even though he did knock against the door that was usually her bedroom when Lagus left her here with one of her teachers, he didn't wait for her invitation before coming in. "Ignes."
She looked at the man. He seemed familiar. And scary. Her brow furrowed. "Who are you?" She really didn't know, and that was frightening. She was supposed to, wasn't she? She'd get punished again for not knowing.
"I am Maduke." Of course she wouldn't remember him. Now that he was no longer her teacher... "I am a friend... And I'm here to help."
She shied. "Help with wha?"
She'd been sent here as punishment because she couldn't do what her teacher told her to. She couldn't do anything right. So she had to sit here and think about how badly she'd done.
"You're in danger. I'm here to bring you to safety."
"Danger!?" He'd succeeded in making the child scared, if that was his goal.
"Yes." He stepped closer. "You need to come with me. It's not safe here."
If it wasn't safe... she hesitantly reached a hand out to him. "I wan my father." He'd take her to him. Father would protect her.
He took the small hand offered to him. "Come. I'll carry you." If the pattern of everything held true, Lagus would not be back for another couple of days.
She reached up, letting the tall man pick her up. "Okay."
Lagus didn't want her getting picked up, or otherwise receiving affection. Well, damn him. He held her securely. "Will you need anything from here?"
She looked around. "Ummm. Tha." She pointed to a plant in the corner of the room. It was her favourite.
"Alright." He picked up the pot and handed it to her. Then... "We'll cover our tracks." He swept the remaining plants off their position. Then it would be less noticeable exactly one was missing.
"To keep the danger away?" Even now, her natural curiosity couldn't be quenched, it seemed.
"Yes. If your favourite plant is gone, they'll know you've been brought to safety."
Did that mean she should give up her agave? No! She hugged it even tighter. She loved it best! Almost as much as Claudia! "My plant is my plant!" It was one of very few things she was actually allowed to keep!
"Yes." He opened the window. Then she wouldn't see the dead teacher. "And when the others are broken, no one will notice you took it with you."
Hmm. That made sense. Still, she couldn't stifle the sniffles that had started. "Promise?"
"Promise." He smiled with a nod. "Would a mean person let you keep the plant?"
She hummed noncommittally. Lagus let her keep the plant. But he was supposed to be nice, right?
He turned around again and unleashed his aura enough to make a bit of a mess in the room. By the time Lagus would be here, its traces should be gone. "Hold your plant tight, we'll go fast."
"Okay." She tried to hunch over it a bit, to protect it. "Ready!" It was the same face she had when she was determined to get something right.
Oh, she was too adorable! Instead of going southeast, towards Lukedonia, he headed west, towards his own home. The sun set and started to rise again before he stopped for a break. Carefully, he set the girl down on the trunk of a fallen tree.
Ignes looked around, still holding tightly to her plant. "Where are we?" She didn't know directions, so as far as she knew they were still headed home. She yawned, tired. "Los?"
"No." He sat down next to her, needing a break too. "Your father and Lagus are very angry with you."
"Oh." Her heart broke. What did she do? Why were Father and Ser Lagus mad at her? Could she do nothing right? Tears started streaming down the small girl's cheeks. "Wha did I do wrong this time?"
Gently, Maduke placed his hand on her back, an invitation to lean against him. "They said mean things. You shouldn't have to hear those. They don't want you there anymore."
"F- father said mean things?" She began wailing in earnest. She'd always, always been afraid that one day he'd decide he didn't want her anymore. And now he had. She had no reason not to believe the man. He'd come to rescue her, after all. She froze where she was, invitation or not, she was in no state to accept.
Lagus really did nothing but ruin her and Roctis didn't even notice. He hadn't anticipated Ignes could possibly believe him that easily. But she did. Soothingly, he pulled the child in his arms and just let her cry. And when she was done and realized what it meant...
Eventually she quieted down to sniffles. "So… So I can'd go home anymore?" The loss was clear in her voice.
"No. Never." He ran a hand over her hair. "But you can come with me, if you want. There's lots of space."
Ignes thought about that for a while. "But..." What if he just threw her away too? Ser Lagus and Father already had. And they were supposed to like her best.
He waited patiently for her to finish her sentence.
"Why?" He had no reason to take her anywhere. Now that she thought of it, he had no reason to save her. Why was he being nice when even the people who liked her best didn't?
"I know Lagus made you forget, but I was one of your teachers too. Until he decided that I'm too nice."
"Oh." Hmm. "He doesn make me forge things. 'M jus not good at remembering." Anything. Ever. "I... I can try to live on my own. You don' hafta take me to your house."
"My. Are you going to live in the woods like a little squirrel?" He didn't have doubts she'd probably get by, somehow. Nobles were strange like that. But a werewolf pup couldn't be left alone like that. "Won't your plant prefer having a nice place to grow?"
"Umm... yes." To both questions. "Or a lake. A lake is bedder. I could jus become a shark."
He chuckled. "Where I'm from, there's beautiful lakes. And waterfalls. It's too bad you don't want to come and see them."
"There are?" She was enthused by that, but then her face dropped again. "But..." Then she'd be around, and he'd eventually decide he didn't want her either.
"And there's forests, too, if you decide you still want to be a squirrel shark living in the woods."
Oh, she could be both? But... "...Are you sure you wan me around?" Father didn't anymore. Ser Lagus didn't anymore.
Maduke nodded. "Would I come all the way here to save you if I didn't?"
Her gaze shifted around, unsure. "I dunno."
"No. I would not." He ran a hand over her hair again. "I want to help you."
His hand felt nice. "Okay."
"Let's go. We're halfway."
"Okay!" More enthusiastic that time. She'd have a new home with pretty lakes according to the scary nice person.
"Hold your plant tight."
She nodded and did so, just as before. Her agave would stay big and strong.
They reached the werewolf lands in the afternoon. Ah, finally. He lived a bit apart from the nearest town, in a house everyone agreed to be too big for a werewolf who lived alone. "Are you good with plants, Ignes?", He asked as he approached the front door.
"Dunno. Maybe? I like this one."
"There's lots of space if you want to make your own garden." He entered. The interior was spacious, more on the minimalistic side. He didn't like having too much clutter. "This is home. There's a room you can use upstairs."
A garden? Like the pretty one Lagus let Claudia take care of and Ignes sometimes helped? She could do that, maybe. She walked upstairs, she needed to go put her plant somewhere nice. "Um... which one?" There were... at least three doors. Maybe five.
"That one. The one closest to the stairs." It was furnished quite simple, given that he didn't know what she would want specifically. But the furniture was good and solid. "It still needs to be made pretty. Maybe paint the walls or different curtains."
"I can paind!" She liked making things. It was fun! She opened the door and very carefully chose where she wanted to put her plant.
He watched her attentively. "Come, we can have a look around your new home."
"Okay." She joined him shortly, reaching her hand up to hold his. It was big. She didn't want to get lost.
Maduke took the little hand in his. "This, at the end of the corridor, is my room." That was uninteresting to her. On this floor, he also had his office that doubles as library, as well as two spare guest rooms. "Upstairs is just the attic. It's empty at the moment."
"Okay." So she'd know where to find him if she needed to talk to him, she guessed. But she wouldn't need to. She was growing up so she could do things on her own.
The office led out to a spacious balcony overseeing the garden that was just grass and some wild flowers as of now. Pretty standard. His people did not garden much. Not like humans. Back downstairs. The parlour, the kitchen and pantry, another room where he kept his daggers, a few 'hunting trophies' and gift items he received from human contacts.. nothing extraordinary. He even had a dining room, even though he rarely had guests. "And there is also a basement. It's just a wine cellar, so there is nothing interesting to see there."
"I think my old house had one too." But it was on a higher floor. Since the lower levels were flooded for fun.
"Are you hungry?" He was. He absolutely was.
"What's 'hungry'?"
"Ah. Right. Nobles do not eat food. I forgot."
"Oh. Ead. Sometimes Ser Lagus gave me candy." But very rarely. Less than Claudia got any.
"Well, I am going to have something now." He should see what he had. With how much time he spent outside of his homeland, he had access to ingredients many werewolves did not get their hands on, such as specific spices or alcohols. He took her back to the kitchen.
She watched attentively. She'd never seen anyone making food. It was interesting.
He disappeared into the pantry, returning with a large piece of dried venison as well as some different root vegetables stacked on top. A bottle of red wine still sat on a shelf from last time. "Ignes, put a few logs of wood from the basket over there on the fireplace." Children needed tasks.
She did so easily. A human child might struggle a bit, but nobles and werewolves were stronger than that.
Using his aura, he ignited one of the logs. Let the fire burn. "Have you met humans before?" Humans other than the human teacher he had murdered.
"Um. I dunno. The mister who was teaching me abou mixing plants was one, but..." She looked kind of sad. "I don' remember lots of things." Father was always getting onto her about that. Maybe that's why he didn't want her anymore?
"Humans have a lot of different food," he explained as he picked up a large knife. Ah, it sat beautifully in the hand. He started chopping the meat into pieces before he moved on to chopping the vegetables as well. "I travel often because I work for the Lord."
"Is id fun?" She mostly went where Father and Ser Lagus wanted her to. Usually she just wanted to be in a lake or in the gardens with Claudia though.
"Sometimes." He tossed everything into a large iron pot which he hung up over the fire he'd set. "I talk to the humans and the nobles. That's how I met Ser Lagus. I also take care of affairs in our lands."
"What kind of a-fares do you take care of?" Was she saying that right? What was an affair? She didn't know, but maybe he'd tell her.
"I make sure everything is quiet. I settle arguments, make sure the crafters have what they need. Essentially, I take care of small problems before they turn into big problems."
Makes sure everything was quiet. "So no yelling, just like back home?"
"Just no arguing. Werewolves are loud people."
Oh! Father normally got mad when she got loud! That was much better! "Can I be a werewolf?" If being a shark doesn't work out, anyway.
He chuckled as he picked up a wooden spoon to stir the meat in the searing hot pan. Good enough. Now... he picked up the bottle of wine and just poured the remaining contents in the pot. "Well, you don't have a tail, but I think you could make a fine werewolf anyway."
"You need a tail?"
"Children have a tail. But it gets smaller and smaller until it disappears when children grow up.'
"Oh." She didn't have anything to add to that. It answered her question just fine.
So now that the meat was cooking... "My name is Maduke." Since he didn't get around to telling her, and since Lagus made sure she would not remember her teachers all too well.
"M... Merduck?"
Oh no that was too cute. "Maduke," he corrected her.
"Mahduck."
"almost... Madu is alright. My niece says that too."
"Madu." Okay, she could do that one.
"She's a bit younger than you. You can meet her maybe tomorrow."
Oh! A new friend maybe? "Okay!"
"... Ignes... there is something very important we need to talk about first,though." He put the knife away.
"Something im-por-tan?"
"Yes. That means that... " Huh. How did you explain 'important'? "... We need to talk about it, and I need you to listen well."
"I know wha im-por-tan means!" She blew her cheeks out at that. She was asking what he wanted to discuss!
He chuckled and almost reached out to pinch her cheeks. Ah, she really was unbearably adorable. How could Lagus hurt a child like that? "You will need to keep a secret who you really are. To make sure no one finds you here. It's safer that way."
Oh. "Oh... Okay." She became saddened again at his words. "If Ser Lagus and Father don wan me anymore... I don think anyone will look for me."
"I want to make sure you're safe. You shouldn't tell anyone that your name is Ignes Kravei." She might blab, and then someone else might, and then... He did need to make sure.
"All righ."
"You'll need a new one. One that you like "
"Um. Hmm. Zosterae has a nice name."
"Don't you want a name no one else has?"
Her brow furrowed. "I dunno any."
"What about..." He tried to think of names he'd heard and liked. "Inaya? Vaidehi? Siha? Aurora?"
"Um. Vaidehi? I dun like the 'A's on the others."
A smile. "This is a very pretty name." He remembered Neith mentioning a friend of hers named like that.
"Ah!" She blushed and giggled. So she'd picked a good one?!
"Then you are Vaidehi, and I found you in the forest, sitting on a tree like a squirrel. Good plan?"
"Um, okay!" Hmm. "But wha if I wanna be a fish?"
"Fish do not live on trees, though."
She gave a deep sigh. "Fi-innnne."
Oh sweet child. "Alright, Vaidehi. Then keep your real name a good secret, yes? You mustn't tell anyone."
"Okay!" She would be Ignes Kravei no more. That was fine. Her new name was pretty cool.
"Tomorrow, I will show you around. You will meet a few people." Mostly his mother.
She nodded, and then yawned. Lots of things had happened today.
"Are you tired?"
"Yeah." She rubbed her eyes a bit. It was around when she normally went to sleep, wasn't it?
"Well, how about we have something to eat and go to bed?"
"Mmn." A hum of confirmation. It sounded good.
"Do you want some too?", he asked as he grabbed one of the painted clay bowls he kept on a shelf.
She could? "Umm. Okay." She didn't eat things much. Maybe there was a reason people did?
There would be no harm in letting her try. A few spoonfuls of the makeshift soup so she could try. "There you go. Careful, it's hot "
She wasn't careful, but it didn't matter. Temperature didn't mean much to nobles, after all. She hummed. It gave a nice warm feeling in her stomach! But she didn't know what to think about it otherwise. "Id feels warm!"
"It's just right for when it's cold outside," he agreed with a nod, sitting down with his bowl.
"Is id cold?" She didn't know. What was the measure of comparison there?
"A bit. It's autumn, so it will get colder soon. But it's alright. Almost all rooms are heated in this house." A luxury he had insisted on.
She was pretty sure she'd be fine regardless. Though it sounded nice that she'd be able to stay warm. It was a pleasant feeling.
They finished eating and he placed the lid on top of the pot. There was still plenty. Then, the fire needed to be extinguished. an easy task. "Are you ready to go to bed, Vaidehi?"
She gave another yawn. "Yeah." She was tired.
"Then let's go." He offered to pick her up
She reached out and let him. Getting to be carried was always a treat.
He picked her up and carried her upstairs. A moment of thought. "You can sleep in my bed, if you want." They let werewolf children do that all the time, after all.
'Vaidehi' did not respond. She'd already fallen asleep on the man's shoulder.
Ah that was too cute. Carefully, he set her down on the bed and changed into more comfortable clothes for the rest of the evening and night. Being an adult, he did not need anywhere as much sleep as the small child and found himself awake long before sunrise. Still, he did not move, listening to the regular breaths of the small noble next to him. He really was insane for doing this - but it was already too late anyway. This was one of those things one could not back out of. Oh well. He still should be able to raise her better than Roctis would, oblivious as he was.