The day following the flight with Dragon and Jane, Gunther was in decently high spirits despite his lack of sleep. Everything had went better than expected when it came to rekindling his friendship with the giant lizard. Granted, befriending Dragon was the easiest thing on his, ever growing, list of things he needed to do. The beast may be over a hundred years old but he was incredibly naïve and easy to manipulate. He just had to go about it in a more careful manner than last time, and not allow his father to pressure him into anything hasty. On the bright side, a friendship with Dragon wasn't something he was necessarily against. He had disliked the clumsy frog mainly because of the unfair advantage he gave Jane. She was a goddamn dragon tamer, who could beat that? The King was definitely impressed, and his opinion was the only one that mattered at the end of the day. However, when separated from Jane, Dragon was quite fun to be around. He was lighthearted and sometimes very funny. Above all else, Dragon didn't seem capable of ulterior motivations, nor did he treat Gunther differently due to opinions others had about the Breech name. "Short-life problems," or whatever it was he said all the time. This allowed Gunther to feel comfortable being himself around him. Although, he had already picked up on the fact Dragon could not be trusted with a secret. This both played in his favor and detriment. He was able to get information from Dragon about Jane easily but had to be careful what he gave away in return. Every social interaction was a balancing game. It was just a matter of figuring out how far to tip the scales.
Speaking of which, today he hoped to infiltrate the social circle of a more difficult crowd: Jane's human friends. Unlike Dragon, Jane's other friends already had negative thoughts and opinions of him. Most likely fueled by the red-head in question. So playing "nice-guy" might make them uneasy. Gunther was currently in his hiding nook above the barn as he contemplated how best to approach each individual. He jotted down notes regarding the group and what he knew about them. Pepper and Rake would be easy enough. Pepper seemed to like everybody, and was even the one to begin the rumor of Jane and he courting in the past. She seemed excited by the entire situation, which meant she could be a potential alley in all this. Rake was just Rake. He went along with the crowd but was generally courteous and nice. If Pepper was on his side, Rake would soon follow. Smithy was a puzzling person, mainly because he was so quiet and thus it was hard to tell what went on in his head. Gunther had decent interactions with him, although they were few and far between. Smithy was honest to a fault and gave off the impression of someone not to be messed. He felt like befriending him wouldn't be the hardest thing in the world but he'd have to take caution. Lastly, but certainly not least, was Jester. It was ironic the court fool was likely to give him the most trouble. Things had been strained between them for a while now. It didn't take long to piece together that Jester was intimidated by him. It wasn't for the obvious reason of him being a court jester and Gunther a knight in training. No, it all looped back to Jane. Jester saw Gunther as a romantic adversary in his battle to win Jane's heart. This fact would be made more awkward once Jester learned of the circumstances Gunther now found himself in. Jane and Jester were very close friends and had known each other since childhood, from his understanding. Gunther knew Jane held the bumbling fool's opinion in high regard. However, as Gunther had recently learned, Jane also seemed to hold his opinion in regard as well. Keeping things civil with the blue pest probably wouldn't last long. Gunther decided he'd play it by ear for now, but knew that plans to drive a wedge between Jane and Jester may have to be made.
He groaned as he put that on the "to-do" list, although he'd have to deal with it another day. The afternoon sun hung low and he knew the group in question would soon gather for supper. He rarely ever sat with them for the evening meal. He could count on one hand the amount of times he had done so. He usually sat in his hideout or under a tree to eat. After taking a few moments to mentally prepare himself, he climbed down from his safe haven and made his way to the garden where their small table resided. He heard Jane's snort of laughter before he rounded the corner. She was sitting with Rake and Jester, the former wore the grin of someone who'd just told a joke to get his crush to laugh. The table fell quiet as Gunther passed by and headed into the kitchen. This was a standard reaction that he was used to although, he had to admit, it bugged him sometimes. The kitchen was slow at this time, with all the chiefs either cleaning their stations or had already left for the day. Pepper was one of the few left and was currently putting the finishing touches on the leftover soup she would soon share with her friends. There was always a bowel for him too and he had no idea why. As he approached, Pepper greeted him in that sickly sweet voice she had and he suddenly grew nervous. He felt like he should say something more to her than just his typical, "evening." However, now that he was in the moment, his mind went blank. He didn't realize how tense he was about trying to force his way into Jane's friend group until now. Rejection and shunning were things Gunther had become accustom to since he was a child. It never hurt any less, though, and he was about to throw himself freely to the wolves. "Is everything alright, Gunther?" Pepper interrupted his thoughts. He snapped to attention, embarrassed to have been standing there longer than usual in silence. "Oh, um, yes, thank you for the soup," he turned on his heel to leave, fully ready to abandon the mission and go back to strategizing. Luckily, Pepper stopped him, "Before you leave, why don't you stay and join us for dinner tonight? It's been a while since you last did so." Gunther wasn't sure if he heard mischief in her voice or if it was just his imagination. Nevertheless, it gave Gunther the excuse he needed. She grabbed her own bowel and skipped past him, "come, come," she called behind her and he reluctantly followed.
She greeted the table, which now also had Smithy present, by first making sure everyone had everything they needed for the meal. Gunther gripped the edge of his bowel a little tighter as everyone stared at him, "Just need to make it through one blasted meal. This isn't hard!" He rounded the table and sat himself in the empty seat next to Jane and simply nodded a hello, unable to form words. Jane seemed surprised that he decided to join them but she didn't look upset. He decided to count that as a "win." Soon everyone was seated. He found himself on the outer corner next to Jane, who was seated next to Smithy. On the opposite side, near the kitchen door, was Pepper, Rake, and Jester. Gunther stifled a groan noticing he was stuck directly in front of the jingle-boy, who seemed equally unhappy to see him. Pepper broke the tension by raising a question, "Gunther, do tell us how it was to fly! Dragon told me earlier that Jane is teaching you to do so!" All eyes turned his way in a mixture of shock and confusion. Ah... that was the reason she wanted him to sit... gossip. Gunther opened his mouth to respond but Jane beat him to it, "I-it's nothing official. It was a spur of the moment thing and Dragon was being a pain about it. You know how he is." She spoke her words in a jumbled mess which indicated to him that she was flustered. Her friends didn't seem to think twice, though. Smithy spoke next, "that is exciting. It will be useful to have more than one knight who can ride Dragon, no?" Gunther cleared his throat to keep Jane from answering first, "indeed, Smithy. It's about time Jane stopped hogging Dragon all to herself." He wanted to play things safe and teasing Jane was something everyone would expect. Jane flashed him a dangerous look, " I do not hog Dragon! He and I are friends and it is something we do together, as friends!" Before things got heated, Jester pipped in, "I can't image anything worse than being a third-wheel with a hundred feet between me and the ground." It was said to sound like a joke but he knew it was supposed to be a jab at him. Gunther responded in his usual snarky tone, "For your information, Dragon and I had a great time. If anyone was the third-wheel, it was Jane." "Hey!" She yelled, "I was just too busy playing babysitter for the two of you!" Jane seemed actually offended he would even suggest she was replaceable with Dragon. He chuckled remembering how jealous she got in the past regarding his friendship with the beast. The others also laughed at Jane's outburst, causing her cheeks to turn a bright red. "okay, fine... maybe I third-wheeled a little bit, but only because I had already met all of Dragon's cows!" She huffed, as if what she said was such an incredible "end-all." "Dragon has cows?" Poor Rake asked genuinely. Jester seized the moment, "He has some cave-chickens as well from my understanding." Jane giggled at what must be an inside joke as the rest of the table looked on in confused.
Ideal chatter continued throughout the evening as they finished their dinner. Most of it related to things only a group of friends would understand or care about. Because of this, Gunther remained oddly quiet but if anyone noticed, they didn't comment. In the past when Gunther had sat at their table he usually grew bored before long and would wonder off. Today was different, though, and even if he was bored out of his mind, he wanted to stay until the end of the meal. Everyone had been polite if not a bit tense. Like they weren't sure why he was still around, a conundrum he also contemplated as Rake brought up some oddly shaped vegetables for the second time in one evening. Overall, the conversations had been about very boring and "safe" topics, and he couldn't help but think his presence effected that. They engaged with him a few times and he responded in equal politeness, but it all felt fake, if not a bit familiar. The few times Gunther was able to poke fun at Jane were when things felt most genuine. He bit his tongue often to make sure things didn't get out of hand. Although he couldn't help but notice anytime he had a moment with Jane, Jester would immediately follow it up with his own tidbit or joke. Gunther was about to comment on it when Smithy stood up as the first person who wanted to call it a night. Gunther gulp knowing he needed to come up with a reason to join them again the following evening that wouldn't rouse suspicion. So he also stood and nodded to the group, "well this has been a rousing night. Upon Pepper's request, I'll come back with a more interesting tale regarding my flights with Dragon." "Oh yes, please do!" the chief eagerly responded. He was thankful that he was right about Pepper being an unknowing alley. However, Jester couldn't let a good thing rest, "aw, and here I was excited for more cow stories." Luckily, Gunther thought of something equally witty to respond with, "If every patrol entails meeting a dozen cows, I understand why Jane fell asleep on the way back." Pepper let out a tiny gasp, "Are you not getting enough sleep, petal? How did you not fall off?" Even in the dimming light, Gunther saw her cheeks turn red again. "It had just been a long day and I was tired. There is no need to worry, and Dragon would never let me fall," was her innocent answer, failing to mention him holding her hand the during the flight.
After more drawn out goodnights, Gunther was finally free from the social prison he had put himself in. He was exhausted by the interaction and desperately needed to recharge. He had shipment duty in the morning, which meant he needed to had back to the village to sleep. However, he didn't feel like getting lectured by his father for returning home late. He wished he could sleep in his nook, but it would be too long of a walk from the castle to the harbor if he did so. Nevertheless, he decided to stay out a little longer so he would get at least a little time to himself. The sun had set as he found himself in the training yard with a wooden staff in hand. Late night training wasn't something he did regularly but he needed to clear his head. He went through a few standard sword routines before he was forced to pause as someone approached. He had hoped it might be Jane because a late night sparring session would do him some good. Unfortunately, it was none other than the court jester who now stood in front of him. Jester stood tall, obviously doing his best to appear brave, but Gunther could see the slight shake in his knees. "What are you doing here?" Gunther asked dryly. He no longer had the energy to feign pleasantries. "Straight to the point, I see," Jester's pitch was high and he cleared his throat. "Just get on with it," Gunther thumbed the end of his staff to the ground causing Jester to jump. He righted himself quickly and cleared his throat again before responding, "I want to know what you're up to." Gunther rolled his eyes, "elaborate?" He knew exactly what Jester was referring to but wanted to hear it straight from him. Jester sighed, "flying on dragon, sitting with us today at the table... we both know that isn't like you." Gunther clenched his jaw. He really hated the fool. Jester wasn't as annoying as Jane but he somehow agitated Gunther more. The role of a court jester was to fuck around without consequence. This made the idiot far more daring than what was wise. His attachment and over protectiveness of Jane was the only reason they butted heads in the first place. He knew playing nice wouldn't work on Jester. What he needed was to get him out of the way, for good.
"Is it a crime to try and make friends?" Gunther shot back at him. Jester now looked equally agitated, "Stop playing dense, you know what I am referring to." Gunther closed the distance between them and Jester shrunk in his shadow, "yes I do. You don't like me being close to Jane." He smirked as Jester flustered at his forwardness, "I-it's not exactly like that. I just know you usually have alterity motivations. I don't want Jane hurt!" He was finally able to meet Gunther's gaze as he finished his sentence. Gunther backed off a little, satisfied he had the court fool squirming already. "Although I'm sure Jane is appreciative of you constantly butting into her business, I assure you Jane is happy." Jester looked slightly puzzled, "how do you know she's happy?" Gunther chuckled, Jester had fallen right into his trap, "Because that's what she said last night as I carried her to bed and kissed her goodnight." All the color drained from Jesters face, "k-kissed? Like on the lips?" Gunther rolled his eyes, "what are you, a child?" Jester responded with another question, "and what do you mean 'carried her to bed,' you didn't do anything did you?" Gunther's heart skipped a beat, having not fully thought through what he was saying or implying. However, he had to commit to the bit if Jester was to leave him alone. "I didn't do anything Jane didn't want me to do, if that eases your tiny obsessed brain." Jester seemed all out of witty remarks as he glanced toward the way of Jane's tower. Gunther took this as an opportunity to leave and he tossed his staff in the general direction of the rack on his way out.
Luckily, when he arrived home, his father was already asleep, so Gunther was able to slip into his bedroom unnoticed. As he lay awake in his bed, he cringed with worry at what transpired. He wanted Jester out of his hair but he got carried away in his annoyance. Jester loved Jane too much to question her decisions in happiness, right? That was the impression he got during the original courting rumor. Nevertheless, if word got back to Jane of his lie tonight, his plans may fall apart. It wasn't a total lie, for Gunther was courting her. She just... didn't know about it. Gunther did his best to steady his breathing. He could save this. Tomorrow was shipment day and he already had an idea on how to get on her father's good side. After that, he may need to come up with something more bold in order to gage Jane's current feelings. He had to be the one to mention the marriage to her before someone else did. He was on a finite time limit without the knowledge of the deadline. He just prayed that Jane already had feelings for him, which would help the process of getting her to fall in love with him before things inevitably went to shit.