Colan VI
"So then," Da had that look on his face, as he thrust his arm forward, as though Steelbite was still in one piece, "I aimed it straight for the tiger's gut, and managed to just catch it," he then placed his other hand a bit behind the rest, and then pushed it forward, "And then I pushed, and pushed, and pushed," the bloodlust was clear on his face, "until finally, I thrust it directly through the thing's spine, and then," he raised both his hands into the air, "I raised up the damn thing, like a head on a pike!"
The looks of awe on the faces of the other men were, as Colan could almost imagine, how he had once looked while listening to his father's tales of conquest and victory. He remembered the story of the pit of Mantrys and the three-eyed tiger. He'd been too young to actually see it, only six and held with a friend while Da had been fighting through a small band of marauders. Still, it had been one of his favorite stories. As the thought of the massive beast filled him with pride in his Da's strength and ferocity.
"That's amazing ser," a slack jawed Nick Storm stared at his father like a fish on a deck, "A masterful tale. Truly incredible."
'Idiots,' Colan thought to himself, finding that the fawning of these older men made him ill humored, 'spoiled fools,' he leaned back, trying not to watch at the glee his Da had on his face at the elation on the other men's faces, 'Never had a real day of fear or hardship in their whole lives.'
"Oh, it was," Da smiled, as Colan looked away, "You should have seen the look on that fucker's face," he then took in a breath of air, expanding his cheeks quite widely, all the while doing his best to open his eyes as wide as possible. The entire crowd of young men laughed, a few raising coins into the air causing a few of the serving girls from the main counter to come up, tankards of ale in their hands. As more ale was in being drunk, Da spoke up again, "Well, I can tell you it didn't take long before we managed to reach an understanding," he then laughed, leaned backward, and smiled, "And then, well, I was out of Mantrys by the moment the sun rose."
"Wow," the middle one with the ship with an onion on its sail wondered, before turning to Colan with a too wide smile, "Your father managed such a feat?"
"Yes," Colan nodded, and the older boy turned back. He found the awe at Da to be…frustrating for some reason. He could not quite put his finger on it, but something about it, "Ser, how…how did it compare to the Battle of the Bells."
'Ah,' Colan noticed his Da's face soften, raising his eyes up to the ceiling, a mix of sadness yet fodness mixing on his face, 'that's why,' finally, after frowning slightly, his Da's smile got wider than before, and he let out a great laugh, 'Da's much kinder to these nobles than the other ones.'
Colan had been following his Da for long enough to have seen him meet and work with hundreds of different people. Many of them were rich, of noble blood and a mountain of gold. Men from all over Essos. And Da had treated all of them beneath him. He would do the work he was paid to, he had a reputation to keep, but Da would bow his head or kiss their feet. He spat in the face of the nobility, a kind of courage that Colan had found exciting.
But these nobles…he did not treat them with the barely hidden dislike as he did with the nobles of Essos. It was like…it was like he was one of them, instead of on the outside. But, he still seemed so different. Da was taller, broader, in his leather armor and with his scarred body, while these men were soft, none of the scars or cuts that defined his Da. These boys would still act as though they were better than all those around them, but instead of irritation, his father seemed to slip in and join in the arrogance.
"Well," Da said, a long off look in his eyes, "I would say it would depend on what you are asking about," he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Nights in places like Mantrys or Qaarth or New Ghis…they tend to be long, and dark, and with your eyes always open," Colan nodded to himself, remembering those very nights himself, "But, well nothing compares to a battle between armies," Da's eyes were far off, "death and terror all around, always at the front of the mind, and it continues for what seems forever."
"So that was what it was like at the Bells?"
"The Bells?" Da blinked for a moment.
"Of course," Lady Xuan suddenly drew all the eyes of the group to her, more drinks in her arms, as the keeper of the Black Bargeman. She placed all of them loudly down on the table, while everyone continued to stare at her, "Cu tells me so much of that battle."
"Right," Da answered, a look of relief on his face. Colan wondered what had been going through his mind, though he had seemed to have regained control.
'If only these ones could show some kind of control,' Colan inwardly growled, as many of the young men refused to take their eyes off Lady Xuan after she had returned. Those who had only had a few drinks did their best to quickly avert their eyes from her. Those who had had more were not so proper. Many of their eyes lingered upon her chest, the loose fitting robe only partially covering her, a set of linen bandages wrapped underneath. Colan really could not stand the red covering all the faces of these stupid fools thinking such rotten thoughts about Lady Xuan. She was far too beautiful and kind and gracious for the likes of these little boys.
"Yes," the man with the onion ship, having smartly already looked away from Lady Xuan with only the slightest blush, "well, is life easier now than it was then?"
"Eh," Da shrugged his shoulders, "I mean the battles tend to be smaller now," he then smirked, "But that doesn't mean being close to death ever becomes easy," he then smiled, and pointed at Lady Xuan, "Certainly it is not easier when you have a wife and child to look after," he laughed, and Colan felt something strange in his gut.
"Oh," Xuan lightly waved at Da, covering her mouth in a dainty manner, "dear," Colan felt a few fingers twitch, "You do not need to worry about Colan and I," she smiled, leaning up against Da, "You usually handle jobs on your own after all, ever since we first met," Da was smiling, and Colan could see a tinge of red along the top of his nose, "He was always so brave and strong, I've always know that Lord Cu will deal with any danger we meet along our journeys."
Da's smile grew, "Well, I'd hate to be the knight my lady needs," he laughed, and Lady Xuan brought her hand up to her lips, her own shoulder shaking in slight laughter. Colan snapped his head away, before looking at the other young men, who somehow seemed to be staring at Da with even more admiration than before, "Why, it would be down right unchivalrous not to."
Colan balled his fists together as he watched. However, his fists loosened when his Da's arm shot out, and grabbed him into a great embrace. Before long, more drinks were being passed around, and more cheers were going up.
And all Colan could think about was how much he wanted this stupid party to be over.
"So that's more or less what we did all day," Da finished, his feet up on the table as he looked directly over at Ritsuka. The younger man nodded, and Colan could see some level or relief cover his face. Colan hadn't been feeling that, brooding on the day he'd just had, but he could at least understand.
"At least your little trip didn't end too badly either."
Colan, his Da, and Lady Xuan had returned from their carouse with the lordlings of the Stormlands about twenty minutes earlier, a half hour or so after nightfall. Da had managed to explain that he had some business to attend to tonight, and that both "The boy and the wife" needed to get into sleep. Colan had resented being treated like that, though he knew it was mostly an excuse to finally get away from that group. Some of them would come back to the Outcast inn, they had rented the top room for a fortnight, though most would be returning to the ship they had sailed in on.
"Yeah," Da admitted, his face slightly red from the sheer amount of drink he had downed during the day, "They still want to meet up a few more times, though I think I managed to distract them with enough stories to mean they won't be as eager as usual."
"That's great," Ritsuka's answer came a bit too quickly for Colan to not notice. He seemed very happy. Colan understood that his goal had been a disaster earlier from what he'd told them when they'd gotten back earlier that evening and finally sat down with him. Colan had been shocked to hear how badly it had gone, with the other servant rejecting a call to join their group, "With you and Xuan free now, that mea-"
"Still not totally free," Da's words caused Ritsuka to nearly fall over and slam his head into the table they were sitting at. Da let out a sigh, before continuing, "Those kids aren't going to be seeking me out, but their bosses might," Da reached behind himself, and rubbed the back of his head, "The Lord of the Stormlands and the King's brother is not someone I want to ignore if he calls me, especially since we are heading to the Seven Kingdoms after this, and I'd rather not have any extra suspicion on us."
"...," Ritsuka slowly lifted his head, wrinkles under his eyes, and then said, "Fine, that's a good point," he grumbled.
"Xuan won't be necessary for these meetings, so at least you'll have her back for any of your plans," Colan felt the feeling in his stomach return when his father mentioned the monk's name, "You should have Mata and Emiya and Nitocris when they get back, not to mention Jeanne Alter," he then waved his hand at Colan, "And hell, Colan will be ready too."
"Yeah," Ritsuka laughed, looking over at Colan, "that's true. Honestly, Colan's been more dependable than you've been Cu."
"...okay, I can see how I deserved that," Da sighed, "Rotten brats who don't appreciate the wisdom of their elders, I tell ya," Ritsuka just smiled at Da, who pointed in the younger man's face, "Hey, stop it brat! After what I had today, I'm going to start needing more respect shown by little whelps like you!"
"Not on your life," Ritsuka crossed his arms, though his smile was still there, and seemed to have naturally returned to his face. After how miserable he'd seemed when Colan had first sat down, it was good to see him laughing like this. The whole party seemed to just work better when the young man was in brighter spirits. Ritsuka brought a finger up to his lips, and then asked, "So, you are going to meet his boss, what's he like?"
"Kind of a hardass," Da said, "I only know so much about him. During the war, he was left in charge of the Storm Lands main castle, and held it for almost a full year despite not having time to gather supplies," he raised his left hand, "The only reason he survived was because of a smuggler who brought in ships full of onions," the image of the young man with the distinctive sigil sprung to Colan's mind, "And then he cut off the finger tips of the smuggler who brought them in."
"Harsh."
"The law is the law," Da shrugged, "Also made the smuggler a knight after that, so as far as I've heard, it was a fair trade," he then crossed his arms, "His men seemed to sort of agree with my thoughts. He's taken a bunch of young noblemen and made them work extremely hard to get over here so he can try and get the Sealord to stop supporting piracy against his kingdom," Ritsuka was staring more intently at the mention of the Sealord and pirates, "Of course, he's letting them off to drink, but he's basically threatened them with a flogging if they gamble or go whoring," Da rolled his eyes, "So, only the bare minimum of fun for men that age, all things considered."
"Da!" Colan felt his cheeks brighten at the mention of whores. Da blinked before lightly hitting his forehead with the palm of his hand.
"Which is a folly of youth," he added, which caused Ritsuka to snort, and Colan could not help but feel that his father was still not quite the same man he'd been before Emiya had appeared outside his tent those many months ago. True, he'd begun to mellow and been responsible, but there were times where a wildness Colan had never known would sneak out and make everything seem worse. Da returned his eyes to Colan, and then continued by saying, "but yeah, the guys a hard ass. But he's a hard ass who knows I'm scary to most people, and wants to use our days as on the same side of the war as another chip in negotiations," Cu raised his hands, "It might mean I'll be out and about for a bit, but-"
"Let's try and get me on these meetings as well."
"...what?" Da looked shocked, though Colan could see a sharper smile now on Ritsuka, "What did you say?"
"Look," Ritsuka said, "We need to be able to disrupt Drake's position here right?" he said, "So, if there is somebody trying to put her entire crew out of business, then we'd be fools to try and not exploit it."
"Listen, Master," Colan flinched, having not yet grown accustomed to the word that had once seemed so alien and wrong used by his father, "I don't think that's such a good idea," Ritsuka gave Da a look, so he continued, "I already told you he's a hardass, but you also have to remember," Da paused for a minute, trying to consider his next words carefully, "He and the rest of his crew are kind of…provincial," Colan blinked, "They…well, I don't think they are going to be open to being bossed around by a teenager from the far east."
"Firstly, you really have been hanging out with Xuanzang a lot more, if your vocabulary has expanded to use provincial," Da rolled his eyes, as Ritsuka continued, "But secondly, I wouldn't try to push myself to really debate him, that'd be too arrogant," he then rubbed the back of his head, "And I just got a demonstration about what happens when I let my head get puffed up too much earlier today."
"Yep," Da leaned back, resting himself against the back of the chair he was sitting in. He gave Ritsuka a smirk, and while Ritsuka flinched at the look he received, he sighed and nodded. Da snorted, before gesturing for Ritsuka to continue.
"I was thinking maybe I could try and find a way to offer him some advice," Ritsuka said, before placing his chin in his hand in a thinking position, "Though…I probably need to offer something to prove my worth, can't just rely only whatever good will you have, ya know?"
"What good will I have," Da seemed to think on it a moment, only to let out a loud groan.
"What?"
"I think I many have used up most of that goodwill a long time ago," Da said, "I was invited to his wedding, and I well," he shrugged his shoulders, and refused to look Ritsuka in the face. Ritsuka, in turn, leaned forward, his arms crossed like he was the older of the two. Da seemed to sweat under the younger man's gaze, only to look over at Colan. Colan's face must have looked quite similar to Ritsuka's, because Da began to sweat even more. Finally, he said, "I may have implied…very loudly I wanted to feel up his wife's breasts."
"Cu!""DA!"
"I was fifteen, and bedding is a long honored custom in the Seven Kingdoms," Cu waved his hands up, but he seemed to shrink under their gaze, "It wasn't what a hundred of his own damn men weren't actively wanting to do too!" as Colan did his best to show a deeper frown, Da sighed, held up his hands, and said, "Yeah, I was being a little shit. I know that now. I wouldn't try anything like that now," he then crossed his arms, "All I'm saying is you can't rely on me to get you in the good graces of Stannis Baratheon."
"Well, that's just great," Ritsuka sighed, "I'll, see if I can think of something to offer up to them. Maybe see if you can get one of his more trusted lieutenants to show up when I have something to offer, and I'll make offer it to him discreetly," Ritsuka rubbed his chin, looking over at the fire place, "You know, I had to pay for an extra couple of logs on the fire," he pointed his thumb back at the inn keeper, "You wouldn't believe how much it cost just to get two more logs for the night, but I think it gave me an idea of having something to sell…if I can get a couple of proofs."
"What are you thinking?" Da asked.
"That my deep concerns about this place's worldbuilding may honestly have an explanation."
Colan blinked at almost the same time as Da, both of them staring at Ritsuka. Colan had heard Ritsuka whining about some things about Braavos before, like "Where are the trees?" but he'd mostly ignored it. That had been something his Father and Emiya had both encouraged, both saying that Ritsuka could "Get hung up on details" too much for his own good.
"Don't you worry about it," Ritsuka waved his hand, his smile getting bigger, "Why don't you two go up. I'm going to wait for when Emiya and Nitocris get back," he turned his eyes out the window, to the stars sprinkled across the sky, "They are already kind of late."
"As long as your sure," Cu bowed his head, and then stood up, "Come on Colan, let's head up to the room, and get cleaned up."
"Yes Da!" Colan said. He gave a final wave to Ritsuka, who waved back, and then adjusted himself to sit so he was facing the door, an inner wall at his back. Colan felt a bit of worry as he looked at the exhausted form of the older boy, but he shook it off. Nitocris and Emiya would be fine, and they'd be back fairly soon.
PLISH
Colan enjoyed the cooling sensation of the wash he'd just splashed onto his face. The saucer of water had been just enough so he could wash away the grime he'd gotten from walking around the dirty streets of Braavos. He rubbed his finger over his cheeks, before opening his eyes, and staring intently into the small mirror that had been provided to the room. He bored down on his chin, then up along his cheeks, but sighed.
Still no beard.
'I wonder if Da ever has any problems with this,' Colan thought. His Da was unlike most men that Colan had met before they had met this team of Heroic Spirits. He had barely ever grown any sort of hair on his face, and unlike many of the milk men of Qaarth, he did not have to constantly bring a long razor over chin to keep the growth of that hair tamed. Da had some fuzz along his cheeks, but nothing approaching the massive beards of the men Colan'd seen from the Dothraki or even many of those from the Free Cities. He briefly wondered if Da had ever had those thoughts, before deciding, 'I should ask him.'
Da had just left the room a few minutes ago. He'd gone out to pick up RItsuka, since it had been a couple of hours since they'd come up, and no one else had come up in that time. Colan had been allowed to use the saucer and the mirror to clean up before bed while Da went to go pick up his…master.
'Still so strange,' he thought, before pushing away from the mirror. The title of Master…it was one of those strange twists that had cut into Colan's guts ever since his father had returned to being a Heroic Spirit. He did not resent Ritsuka now nearly as much as he had when he'd first met the young man, but the title and the arrangement still felt wrong to him.
"Master," he was again struck by how wrong it sounded when he heard his father say it from the other side of the door, "What the hell am I going to do with you?"
Colan, wanting to see what was going on, walked over and looked out the cracked door. He could see his Da walking over to the end of the hall. And slung over his shoulder was Ritsuka. Ritsuka, for what it was worth, was still awake, but his eyes were barely open, and he was only sluggishly managing to try and fight off the much larger man carrying him.
"Put me down," he whined, "I ne-" he yawned, "need to be down there for Emiya to tell me what happened at that," he paused, his face caught in a thinking position, "at that temple he went to."
"I swear," Da then knocked on Ritsuka and Baelon's room. The dark skinned boy opened the door, and looked up at Ritsuka. Da then pointed over his shoulder at Ritsuka, and an audible sigh came from the younger of the two men, "Help this idiot into bed," he slipped Ritsuka off his shoulder, and pushed, "The kid just doesn't understand his limits. I swear, you would think he doesn't remember he's been stabbed in both his lungs."
"You are the one who makes me go running after all that," Ritsuka pointed at Da's face, but when Da didn't move at the motion, he then added, "What about Emiya and Nitocris. They still haven't co-"
"I'll keep watch," Da declared, before pushing again on the younger man's back, nearly causing him to fall over, "Go get some sleep. You won't be of any use to anyone if you don't get your legs under you."
Ritsuka gave Da one last look, before nodding, and yawning. He walked past Baelon, who allowed Ritsuka to get inside the room. The other young man gave Da a quick nod, and quickly closed the door behind Ritsuka. Da visibly shook his head, before turning around. He raised a hand up, and walked up to the door. He grinned, and placed an hand on Colan's shoulder.
"Looks like I have watch duty tonight," he smiled, and then quickly added, "And no, you can't come," Colan suddenly felt a wave of embarrassment hit him, and he felt himself frown, "Ritsuka has to sleep because he is our battery. You have to sleep because you still have to grow," Colan nodded at that, "Now get in there."
Colan didn't need to say a word. He simply nodded, and began to close the door. He was…really tired after today, and he was ready to allow the whole time he'd spent with those lordlings to remain behind him. Just as the door nearly came to a full close, however, he heard the another door open.
"Cu," it was Lady Xuan's voice. Unlike earlier, when she'd been playing the dutiful wife, it was more subdued, more placid. More as she really was, than what they had decided the crowd would expect to see in the wife of the legendary hound. Still, Colan could hear a bit of worry, and so he leaned up against the nearly closed door, "Nito and Emiya still ahven't come back yet?"
"Not that I've seen," Da admitted, "It's been at least three hours since sun down, and they are still gone."
"That is concerning," she said, "Nitocris is a very cautious sort, and would almost certainly have returned if she was able to," Colan could imagine the look of concern on her face, "If…if something has gone wrong, they could both be in danger."
"My thoughts exactly," Da said, "I said I was going to watch the downstairs, we are down to four servants after all," Colan could hear the smirk under his breath, "But if you want to go on a bit of a scouting mission to that temple to see if we can find what's going on, that might be good."
"I'll be right there," Colan heard the other door close. She then heard two pairs of feet walk towards the stairs. He leaned out of the door, and saw his Da look down at Xuan with a large grin, as the two descended the staircase.
'They…,' Colan thought, watching as their backs descended the stairs, 'They'll be fine,' he was sure of it, 'Da and Lady Xuan are both really strong,' he imagined the two of them, walking out into the dark, 'Together, as long as they don't run into anything like that magic in New Ghis, they should be fine,' he imagined the two, walking together, alone, down the dark streets of Braavos, 'Just the two of them,' the image of his Da placing a coat, one that Colan personally had never seen but somehow had given to his father in his mind, over Lady Xuan's shoulders, suddenly filled his mind, 'Though, it's not like they couldn't use some help.'
And so, making one last look around, Colan pulled his own cloak on, and slipped out of the room.
He had to be cautious, first so as not to wake any of the remainder of their team currently sleeping along their floor, and second, so as not to catch up and get caught by Da or Xuan. However, as he crawled down the stairs, he kept at least two stories up from the two, vaguely hearing the two talking to one another.
"Central Lagoon," he thought he heard from his Da, most likely meaning that was where Emiya and Nitocris had gone for their mission this evening. He then heard, "Faceless," and that was enough to cause Colan's hair to stand on end. He remembered the man in their room, who had looked just as Emiya had, and how he had removed that face and become someone else. Then the sight of a long black blade sticking out the Faceless Man's gut caused Colan's stomach to quiet a bit.
'They can be killed,' he reminded himself, 'Emiya did it well enough, and Da and Xuan will be strong enough,' he then slipped down, and saw the two exit the almost completely empty first floor of the inn, 'You are just following them to make sure no strange spells capture them again.'
He slipped down the stairs, and then pushed himself upward, and rushed toward the side of the front door. As he did so, he stuck his head out slightly, and saw that the two were just standing out in the street. He tried to get a better look, but when he lightly touched the door, there was a slight creak. Colan snapped back, and waited for a second, to hear if either of them was coming back. After a minute of waiting, he looked out again. Lady Xuan had either not noticed, or had moved on. Da, on the other hand, was on alert. Like Colan, his hair was now standing on end…more than usual, and his head was moving lightly, trying to give him more views of the streets around him.
"Let's just walk this one," Cu said, pointing towards the central lagoon, "we'll need to save our strength, with Master being so tired, in case we run into anything."
"That seems wise," Xuan nodded, and Colan was glad to see that she did not have a long cloak over her shoulders, or that his Da had a long cloak to put over them, as again Colan had never know his father to wear one. Part of him felt like kicking himself, but he shook his head, and slipped through the doorway, into the street, and then slunk up to the corner of the building. As he did so, he watched as the two were walking down the street. There weren't many people, but there were still a few, so they Da did not have Gae Bolg out. If one simply looked at them, they were just a man and a woman out on an evening stroll. There was a short pause, then she spoke up, "You seemed to like those boys today," her let out a little giggle, "I don't think I've seen you ever be that gregarious with ordinary men in all the time we've known each other."
"Known each other?" Da laughed back, as Colan made sure to try and keep a good distance, "What, a year if you count us "Knowing" each other in Chaldea?"
"Six months of wandering these lands together is plenty for me to see how you normally react to those around them," Lady Xuan's face did not falter, her head kept straight forward instead of turning to look at her companion. Colan could imagine the calm upon her face.
"Yeah, well," Da turned his head to the side, looking away from Lady Xuan's poise, "What would you expect? Westeros is my home, I was always going to be nicer to my people than I am to a bunch of jackasses from out east," the words he said hung in the air, before he added "No offense."
"None taken," Lady Xuan's voice did not change a bit, which allowed Da to let out a sigh of relief, before Lady then asked, "So…Westros feels like home?"
"Yes," Colan shot forward while his father was talking, finding a small little burrow in the side of the next house to squeeze into, "Westeros, or the North at least, it feels," Colan again locked his eyes on his Da, who was staring up at the moon above their heads, while Lady Xuan looked at him, "It feels like a place where I belong. It's a place…a place I'm going to be glad to be heading back to, at least for a while."
"How then, does it compare to Ulster?"
'Where Da was from before,' Colan didn't really understand everything, all he knew that in a life before this one, the one where Ritsuka and Emiya and all the rest had met and known his father, he had been from a place called Ireland, and a small kingdom inside called Ulster. He'd made a few questions about the place, but his father had never been too willing to give him the details. There were memories there that seemed to hurt him, and if Colan could remember that first fight between Da and Emiya, and how it ended, he felt it was better if he did not know why his…his brother met his end that way.
"I suppose, for all the problems I've had here, it feels like I was…I suppose I just have a preference for this this life while in this body," Colan pushed out of the little dent in the wall, running over to a small alley, and watching as the two adults crossed over the bridge, "Even though, I know that Fergus is my foster father, and Ferdiad is my-," Colan couldn't hear much more, as the two crested the top, and Colan had to hurry to get to the side of the bridge. He hurried up, making it to the top, when he began to hear his father again, "but, this body…this mind…it still knows that the man who declared himself my brother is Eddard Stark. That man, that lord…"
"He seems as though he is a good man," Xuan said, as they continued along the street. Colan slid along the railing, until he arrived at the bottom, and then quickly hop behind another building, "That is not good."
"Yeah, you figured it out too, huh?" Da answered, and Colan wondered what that meant. For the next minute, the two remained quiet, and Colan tried to figure out why that was bad, but was cut off when Da said, "Well, that's a bridge we'll have to cross eventually," and when Lady Xuan nodded, Colan though he caught a small smile on Da's face, as his father turned to look at the monk, his head fully toward her.
And then Colan threw his head back behind the wall of this little street. He took in a deep breath, hoping that Da hadn't managed to spot him. For a moment, he just waited, listening intently as the seconds passed.
"But no need to worry about how we are going to cross it at this moment," Da's voice finally broke the silence, and Colan sighed in relief, "Right now, we have to worry about us getting our team back together in the first place."
"Yes," with Lady Xuan's agreement being slightly farther away, Colan stuck his head out, and saw that the two had advanced another block down the way. He silently cursed himself, and took to his feet, hurrying to try and catch up while they talked. He soon was back to his original distance, with the two servants only having a two block lead. Lady Xuan then added, "I do hope that we can get our team back together."
"Don't worry about them," Da rested his arms behind his head, "Emiya has a stick up his ass, but he should be abel to handle whatever they run into," he reached his left hand forward, and scratched his cheek, "At least, as long as Nitocris is able to keep him out of too much trouble."
"That's not who I was talking about."
"Man, so you are really also on the whole pickup Drake thing huh?" Colan continued to inch along as the two servants spoke, this time making sure to step over some broken glass in the street, "Ritsuka I understand. That idiot is desperate for friends, and he isn't about to lose one, even when it's that friend saying they want it to be over," he then let out a sigh, "Personally, I can take her or leave her," a new edge was added to his voice, "Specially now that I know she's old Bess, the bitch," Colan blinked at the anger there.
"Oh, there is still some Irish in you Cu," the monk stated matter of factly.
"Never said there wasn't," Da continued, "But what surprises me, is the way you are reacting," Colan could see Lady Xuan twist her head to look at his Da, "I would have thought that of everyone, you would be the angriest at her."
"I…am furious with Drake," Xuanxang admitted, "Her actions are selfish. I began to look for some way back to Chaldea almost as soon as I woke back up," she took in a breath, "and yet, I understand. Her life here is one that suits her, legend and all," she then, reflexively, reached out a hand, and twisted her fingers, "The life I led in Yi Ti, was not one that suited me at any point, and one that rejected my legend."
The two made a turn, and Colan had to pick up his pace to remain close to them. As he made it to the turn, he was about to rush out, but he decided not to. Hewould wait a few seconds, before waiting as the sound of the two's steps began to grow fainter. Once he guessed they were far enough, he twisted around the corner-
"-as his daughter, I was to be married to a lord," this caused Colan to nearly fall over, the admission by Lady Xuan causing him to lose his balance. Colan had to reach out his hands to catch himself, but he seethed slightly, and had to scramble back behind the corner, "I was always more into discussions of the so-Cu, what are you looking at?"
"...nothing," Colan heard his father say.
"Do you think we are being followed?" Colan grit his teeth.
"We've probably been followed since we got to this city," Da said, but Colan heard something, "If they know better, they wouldn't be following us, but…" Colan then heard Da take a step, and then say, "Come on, only a bit further."
"Of course," Lady Xuan said calmly, though there was a hint of a question in her voice.
'Should,' Colan considered, taking a look back down the path he'd come, 'Should I go back,' so far, nothing seemed to be too wrong. Lady Xuan and Da were simply talking to one another. There was no…he could feel heat flash over his face, and he shook his head furiously, before putting his hand on his face, 'Nothing to worry about,' he pushed himself back toward the corner, and looked out to see that along this road were several large barrels and crates that seemed to lead to an even larger bridge than before, 'I can still help them if they need me.'
"So," Da said, as Colan slid behind a small crate, "Thanks for being willing to play the role this evening," he rubbed the back of his head as they walked, "I know it isn't something you are really used to, and it can be a bit…," he seemed to be looking for the right word, "Strange, for you to have to do that. Especially when marriage was something you were trying to escape from."
"Oh, it wasn't that difficult," Lady Xuan chuckled, not giggled like she had during her time in front of the Lordlings, "I had to put on a few such acts during my journey," there was a pause, before she laughed a bit louder, "You make a far more…even keeled "Husband" than Sun ever did."
"Oh, against the Monkey King," Da was laughing a bit more loudly, "Not sure whether that's a compliment. Or if it is, I should even take it like one," before he could actually begin laughing, though, he seemed to force himself to calm down, and then continued, "But, again, I just wanted to say thank you for putting up with being a "fake" wife."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that I've never had any temptation for such a life."
"Really?" Da asked, and Colan pushed his head out, to try and get a good look at Lady Xuan. This was useless, she was facing away, but still, at least he could see the rest of the street, and he looked over and saw a small alley way halfway between his crate and his Da. That would be where he would go next, after they moved a bit on.
"I did not always walk this path," Lady Xuan continued, "While it is true that I spent most of my life striving to honor the Buddha, there was a time before I took that path, that I might have actually sought such things," she then nodded, "I can still see the attraction to such a life, even now."
"Then why di-"
"Because the son of a lord I was to marry was a spoiled child at the age of thirty," Lady Xuan explained. There was a small bite to her voice, causing her to say, "Sorry," before continuing to explain, "The thought of devoting myself and my life to a man like that, for a man who would not devote himself to me…I spent so much time in contemplation, that I realized I had to leave. It took some wandering in the wilderness after that for me to truly figure everything out, but well…"
"You are here now," Da said, and he was far enough away, almost to the bridge over to some islands with massive buildings on them, for Colan to rush to the next alley. Colan nearly slammed into the wall of the building, but caught himself, at then remained motionless, waiting for Da to continue his conversation, "But, well, then, if it was about the husband," he asked, "What sort of man would you find acceptable. Is it Maste-"
"SNERT," and for the first time, Colan heard a very unladylike snort come from the monk, "Oh, goodness, no," she answered, "I have not ever been attracted to my disciple in such a manner, thank you very much," at the finality of those words, Coaln let loose a sigh. As he did so, he looked over, and nearly jumped out of his skin.
There, laying up against the wall, was a figure laying against the wall. He could see some frayed cloth around them, red and blue, still covered by a long red hood. He pushed himself up and away from the figure, watching for them to react. Instead, after a moment, he realized that the figure's breathing was going far too slowly for the beggar to actually be awake, so he sighed, and returned his attention to Lady Xuan and Da.
"-what bout Jalter?" his father's words came in.
"I was worried that she would be a bad influence on him," Lady Xuan seemed to have a genuine hurt in her voice, as she added, "And it seems that concern was not entirely without merit," she then sighed, "Though, considering everything that happened to her on this plane, my concern of her actively seeking to malign my disciple is much lower than it had been," Colan watched as the figure next to him fell to the side, likely trying to get some more sleep, "That does not mean I do not still worry, but no, I have no romantic attachment to Ritsuka Fujimaru."
"That's a bit of a relief," Da admitted, "I thought the reason you were so up in arms about her was because you thought she was trying to take your man."
"Cu," Colan watched Lady Xuan place her hands on her hips, and say, "Not everything has to revolve around such manners."
"You are being a bit -"
Colan jumped when he nearly stepped on a figure lying up against the wall of the alley, a bottle laying next to them. He cursed under his breath, before twisting around, and slamming his back against the wall. For a second, he looked down at them, before shaking his head, glad to see that they were too drunk to make any noise. It was too dark to see anything specific, and Colan was only giving the figure a cursory glance, when he was pulled back by his Da's voice.
"So then," Colan snapped back to the main street, where Da was inching closer to the monk at his side, "If Master's out," Colan watched as Da rested his elbow on Lady Xuan's shoulder, and it took everything for Colan to keep quiet, "Then maybe you would be more interested in-"
"Don't even think about it," Lady Xuan side stepped, and Da was left hanging…though he somehow did not fall over despite his weird stance, "Cu, I admire many things about you, as a heroic spirit and…well frankly, I admire many more things about you now than I did in Chaldea," Colan could feel a massive bit of relief from her frankness, "But, well, I don't mind saying that I would never see you in such a manner."
"You can fool me when you get all domestic."
"Oh, that's just a part," the monk answered, waving her hand slightly, "I don't deny there are things about you that are attractive. In another life, maybe you and I would have crossed paths, and I would have found you appealing," she stopped, and seemed to shudder, "Certainly more than the man I was supposed to marry," but then she regained her composure, and straightened again, "But, again, I am beyond finding you tempting."
Colan felt like a weight had fallen from him. The anger and worry that had been sitting in his gut for the whole evening was gone.
"So then what about Colan?"
And immediately, every hair on Colan's body stood on end. As he watched, he saw his Da's eyes flick backward, where they met his own, 'He's known I've been following them,' he thought, but almost immediately, his eyes were drawn to the woman next to his father.
"Why would you ask that?" Lady Xuan said. Colan wanted to call out, to tell her he was there.
"You know why," Da answered, his crimson eye on Colan. Lady Xuan did not seem to notice, as she sighed, and began to rub her head. When it took a few moments for her to answer, Da spoke up again, "You kno-"
"Of course I know," the monk admitted, rubbing her temples, "Your son certainly inherited your lack of social subtlety. But," she sighed, "I know he has feelings for me."
"Likely started when he smashed his face into your chest when you first met him," Colan wanted to strike his father, for asking this question, for reminding him of that moment, and…and because Colan felt a bit of fear that it might be true.
"Oh hush, I blame you for not letting him get to know women better," Lady Xuan sniped, her head turned toward her companion, "Was I the first woman who treated him with anything approaching tenderness?" When Da didn't answer, Lady Xuan grumbled, "Well, what did you expect to happen. That Colan wouldn't get a bit of a crush on me?"
"No, I saw it by the time we got off that boat," Da answered back, resting his head against his arms, "But I honestly thought that we'd be beyond that by now. It's been nearly half a year since you two met, but the kid still looks at you like the most precious jewel the world's ever seen," he then pointed directly into Lady Xuan's face, "And you've done nothing to stop it. My kid's now following you around like a puppy, and yet you are stringing him along."
"Stringing him along?" Xuan asked, "I've done nothing to try and get him to look at me like that."
"But you haven't told him no," Da said, and Colan wished he could move his legs, "People like Colan, like me," there was a scowl developing on his face, "We are the sorts of people who need to have it shoved in front of our faces when something isn't going to happen. And since you are refusing to do so, that boy's going to spend the rest of his childhood pining after you."
"Well what am I supposed to say," Lady Xuan threw up her hands, "Should I tell Colan that his feelings are misguided. That I'll never love him like he wants me too? That even were I not a heroic spirit and much older, my path in life means a worldly connection like he wants is out of the question?"
"Yes," Da then turned his head back fully, "I think that's what Colan needed."
"Wa-," and then Lady Xuan turned, and their eyes met, "Oh…oh no."
Colan didn't know what was happening. He wasn't hiding anymore. He wasn't out in the middle of the street, but he was fully out from the alley. Lady Xuan seemed slightly shocked, while Da…wasn't smiling, but he did look forward with determination. He let out a sigh, before waving his hand up at Colan.
"Colan, come on over," Colan couldn't feel his feet though, as he stared at the two, "Come on, we'll need to-"
And then, Colan bolted down the alleyway. In a second he was past the beggar, and was already a block down the street. He could hear noises behind him, so he dove right, toward the Western Harbour, and then continued running. He ran, and ran, and ran. Every so often, he'd turn down a street. Changing direction.
Alley after alley, he would shoot down, always looking for a place where he could hide. He could now feel tears pouring down his face, and part of him wondered how he was able to breathe between the running and the crying. More than once his body screamed for him to stop, to sit, to rest. But the rest of him screamed to keep running. To run, to run far, to just run until his legs fell off. There was nowhere he wanted to run to, only that he had to keep running.
He barely kept his head up while he ran. More than once, he had only barely missed some crate or barrel or beggar laying in the street. But every time he'd come close to hitting one of them, he would cut past or around them. Every time he even caught a thought of the two catching up to him, he'd turn down another alley, each one darker, and more cluttered than the last.
Finally, his legs could not run no more. He let out a hacking wheeze, but he finally really looked around in the alley he was in, found a crate, and threw himself behind it. He laid there, back against the rotting wood, and allowed himself to breathe. As he sat there, twice he let out awful hacks from the bottom of his chest, and once he felt himself nearly lose control of his whole body and faint. He couldn't stop weeping, and it was only his lack of breath that kept any of his sobs from making a sound.
After one particularly awful cough, he brought his head down into his hands, and just held it there for a moment. The snot and tears mixed in his palms, and the mixture began to stick all over his face. He had to fight to keep himself from vomiting, but then, finally, with his stomach calming, he stopped, and looked back up.
And on the barrel opposite of him, was a bird.
Looking directly at him.
With one pale blue eye.
It took Colan a moment to recognize that the bird was not merely black because of the shadows and the night sky, but rather that it was natural. A crow, or a raven perhaps. The bird twisted its head at him, and Colan wondered if this scavenger perhaps thought he was about to expire. He could still not bring himself to talk, but he made to swipe away at the thing. But the bird did not move. Colan reached out, and grabbed a piece of wood laying in the middle of the alley, and readied to swat the bird away-
"COLAN!"
Colan nearly dropped the wood when he heard Lady Xuan's voice. He tried his best to meld into the wood he was sitting against, while the bird never removed it's one eye from him.
"Colan!" the monk continued to call, "Colan please, come out!"
"Colan!" Colan nearly jumped again when he heard his Da's voice, "Come out! This isn't something to run away abou-YEOW!"
Colan couldn't help himself, turning to gaze over the box, doing his best to remain hidden. He saw both of them standing tall, their eyes scanning around the alleys and the streets. Lady Xuan's face was not the usual placid lake, her frown large and eyes scanning back and forth. His Da-
"You know," Da grumbled, rubbing his hand over a massive welt around his eye, already starting to bruise, "You didn't have to-"
"Quiet or I will break one of your ribs," Lady Xuan stated curtly, and Da shut his mouth, "Colan! I am so sorry you heard that!" Colan felt his muscles loosen slightly, "I know…I know at your age, it's hard, and I'm sorry about this, and not talking to you sooner!" she then shot a glance over to Da, and growled, "Apologize!"
"Damnit," Colan's eyes then went back to his father, "I'm sorry about making you hear that. I should have just called out to you and sent you home. It wasn't right of me to spring that on you!" Some of the twisting in Colan's stomach began to calm, "Colan, we need to get you home! Please, come on, and we can talk about this!"
'I…I shouldn't have even been here,' Colan's mind began to snap back into place, 'I shouldn't have been sneaking about…and I shouldn't…I shouldn't have run away,' he reached his arm up, and wiped away some more of his tears, 'I shouldn't act like a child like this. Acting like this is why La…why Xuanzang never thought she could be honest with me,' he shook his head, preparing to stand to his feet, 'I need to get up and go ba-'
"Say a word and I will cut out your tongue."
Colan paused, feeling the presence of a blade now up against his throat. Once again, his world came to a freezing halt, but this time…this time it was far worse. As he sat crumpled up, he watched as his Da and Xuanzang walked by, slowly disappearing toward the harbor. Colan gulped, as he felt a free hand grab his shirt on his shoulder, and lift him up. He stood up, not wanting to cause the blade to break his skin.
"Good boy," the man said, "Now…we are going to be going back toward the temple," Colan could only nod, and there came a cruel chuckle from behind him, "Excellent, such manners. Your father and his Yi whore would be so proud," Colan clenched his teeth to keep from saying anything, "Oh, and you held your tongue even then. My, what fortitude."
Slowly, Colan was marched from the alley, into the main street. Any hope he felt was gone when he saw that both Da and Xuanzang were nowhere on the street. He could only sigh, and follow the pull on his shoulder.
"You know boy," the figure with the blade laughed, "I must say, that was some race you went on," Colan could only look down in shame, "If I were a mere man, I would not have been able to follow you, and my foolish partner would not have you for his plan," Colan could only guess at the man this one was working for, "But gods, had I know that accepting his deal would do this to me, I would have declared myself a servant long ago."
'Servant?' Colan asked himself, but doing his best to keep his mouth shut and tongue inside it. Finally, out in the lantern lights of one of the main streets, he was able to look back, and see the man behind him.
"Well, I suppose, since you shall be our guest for now," the man was tall, with long, shiny black hair and a neat trimmed black beard that pointed down like a beak. The black hair framed a face, handsome even though it had a black cloth slung around the head to cover up his left eye, "I suppose you would like to know my name," but it was the visible right eye that gave Colan chills. After all, it was the same pale blue as the eye of the crow that had been staring at him from the barrel in the alley way, "Well, to mortal men, I am Euron Greyjoy," but the smile on the man's face was not merely wicked, but twisted in a shape that Colan could not describe, twisting and mashing in on itself. The man leaned down, and whispered in words that Colan knew would haunt him as long as he was in this man's presence.
"But you, may call me Foreigner."
