Caleb and Cal - Yorkland: Day 1
Nov. 27th, 2018 12:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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ax_mainCal gets back to Caleb's to split his take with him.
Cal was only a little singed as he walked back into town, not even enough to warrant seeing a cleric. He stopped by the guild to drop off the salamander parts he'd gathered with Jeanne, and get his coin, and then he was on his way. There was some soot on his face and leather armor, and some scorch marks had left a hole on the sleeve of his right arm, but he didn't think to check his reflection in a mirror. It was freezing cold, after all, especially after a battle that involved so much heat, so he was in a hurry to get where he was going.
When he got to the small hovel his friend called a home (even if it looked more like a library inside), he pounded heavily on the door. "Caleb, you in there?" Out of habit, his hand fell back to its natural resting place, on the hilt of his longsword.
Sound came from the inside, shuffling and the scrap of wood against wood, and then the door opened. Caleb stood on the other side dressed in his ever present ratty, brown duster. He gave Cal a once-over with a frown that made his eyebrows meet in a deep furrow. “You look like you got into a fight with a fireplace and lost.”
Caleb gestured for Cal to come inside with a hand, wrapped in bandages as it and the other always were, and turned away. “What was it this time?” he asked as he went inside.
The interior of the hovel was even more cramped than the exterior already implied. The books were probably to blame for that. They were everywhere, crammed into bookshelves, piled on tables and chairs… The small writing desk was loaded with them, and the bed tucked into the corner of the room bowed under their weight. It looked as if some semblance of order had once been attempted, but had long since been abandoned in favor of maximizing space. In short, it was a disaster. But, it was a disaster that Caleb understood.
"A couple of salamanders," Cal replied easily, closing the door behind himself in a hurry, to put a barrier between them and the cold. "That fire resistance scroll came in handy."
He was used to the disaster that was Caleb's home, and didn't mind. What he did mind was the implication that he looked like a glorified chimney sweep, and he headed for the basin of water in the corner to wash his face, at least.
Frumpkin appeared out of seemingly nowhere as Cal was cleaning himself up and he began winding around Cal’s ankles, meowing plaintively.
From where he was rummaging through a desk, Caleb made a sound of disagreement. “Not handy enough,” he said, looking at Cal critically. “The, ah, duration needs to be extended.”
Caleb produced a health potion from a drawer and brought it over to Cal. “Here. Drink this.”
Cal shook his head. "I'm good. It's nothing serious. It would've been, without the scroll, but I'll be fine. I just need some rest." He finished washing his face from the soot, then poked at the burn on his arm to make sure it wasn't bad enough to blow a health potion on. He would need a new sleeve for his armor, though.
“Take it anyway.” Caleb pushed it into Cal’s hands, then scooped up Frumpkin who was still yowling and rubbing against Cal’s ankles and deposited him on a table.
Frumpkin gave Caleb a reproachful look, but he ignored it and said, “Do you know what your next job is yet?”
"Keeping it for a rainy day," Cal answered, opening the top of his leather armor to slip the small vial into a pocket there. He stepped over to the table where Frumpkin stood and gave him, finally, the petting he'd been asking for. "Hey, you," he told the cat, before looking over at Caleb to answer his question. "I'll check in again in a couple of days. I think I've earned a rest. Speaking of."
He stopped petting Frumpkin to pull a bag of coins out of a leather pouch attacked to his belt, and threw it gently to Caleb. "Here you go.”
Caleb caught the pouch and pocketed it without checking its contents. He trusted Cal. “I don’t think anyone could disagree. You work too hard.”
Cal chuckled as he took up petting Frumpkin, and turned his head to smirk at his friend. "Working hard's a necessity, unless I want to get worse than a little singed." With a tilt of his head towards his slightly injured arm. It wasn't as if there was the option of being a lazy ass, once you were out there facing a monster. Not that that would've worked well for him, anyway.
Caleb gave Cal a flat look. He knew he was deflecting. “I meant before and after you go out chasing whatever monstrosity you’ve signed yourself up for. Probably something that farts acid.”
Still meowing, Frumpkin rubbed his face against Cal’s hand, then walked down to the end of the table and back again.
"I haven't done anything acidic in a while," Cal protested. He'd given it a wide berth, since that one time last year, when he'd nearly ended up taking a swim in a nice acidic pit. He waited until Frumpkin came back, then resumed petting him. "But chill, man. I'm taking a couple days off. I'm due some R&R. What are you up to today?”
“I am chill,” Caleb said as he went around a table to where he’d been working before Cal had knocked on his door. “Just research. I have a new book of arcane spells. I found it in a smutty bookstore of all places.”
"Did you find good smut, too?" Cal had to ask, scratching Frumpkin's jaw the way he liked it.
“No, I got distracted.” Caleb sat down in a chair. “I do not think the bookstore realized what it had.”
"Good stuff, then?" Cal asked, leaning back against the table to semi-sit, and keep petting Frumpkin.
Caleb made a sound of confirmation. “Time manipulation magic. Very illegal.” They could probably get in trouble for just talking about it.
"Shit," Cal let out, sounding impressed more than daunted. "Like, to fuck with time?”
The phrasing made a smile crack across Caleb’s serious mouth. “Yes, to fuck with time. Slow it down, speed it up, stop it, turn it back… Time is like anything else—Malleable, if you know how to work with it.”
"Fuck," Cal let out. "That sounds - turn back time? Really?”
“In theory.” Whatever language it was written in, however, was ancient, and Caleb was struggling to translate it. The runes weren’t like any he’d seen before. “I have only ever heard of it. I have never seen it in application.”
"No shit," Cal let out. "Would you even remember if you had?”
A dark look passed across Caleb’s features, but he kept his eyes fixed on the book. “Maybe not.”
Cal wasn't sure what that look was about, but he knew better than to push. Caleb would tell him if he wanted. "Are you gonna be poring over it tonight?”
“Later, probably.” Caleb closed the book over, and tucked it away in his book holster. This was not a book he’d leave lying around his hovel. “I have some errands I should probably run. The cupboard is getting a little bare.” And now that he had spare coin, it was time to do something about that.
"That can wait until tomorrow," Cal remarked, and smirked over at Caleb, "if we go out tonight."
Caleb looked confused. “Go out where?”
"Out," Cal oh so helpfully supplied. "Food and drinks. Mostly drinks. Come on, when's the last time we did that?"
It had been awhile... Caleb considered the money he’d gotten from Cal, and what little he still had stashed away. “The usual place?” he asked as an agreement.
Cal grinned, and nodded, giving Frumpkin one last jaw scratch. "Let's go!"
Cal was only a little singed as he walked back into town, not even enough to warrant seeing a cleric. He stopped by the guild to drop off the salamander parts he'd gathered with Jeanne, and get his coin, and then he was on his way. There was some soot on his face and leather armor, and some scorch marks had left a hole on the sleeve of his right arm, but he didn't think to check his reflection in a mirror. It was freezing cold, after all, especially after a battle that involved so much heat, so he was in a hurry to get where he was going.
When he got to the small hovel his friend called a home (even if it looked more like a library inside), he pounded heavily on the door. "Caleb, you in there?" Out of habit, his hand fell back to its natural resting place, on the hilt of his longsword.
Sound came from the inside, shuffling and the scrap of wood against wood, and then the door opened. Caleb stood on the other side dressed in his ever present ratty, brown duster. He gave Cal a once-over with a frown that made his eyebrows meet in a deep furrow. “You look like you got into a fight with a fireplace and lost.”
Caleb gestured for Cal to come inside with a hand, wrapped in bandages as it and the other always were, and turned away. “What was it this time?” he asked as he went inside.
The interior of the hovel was even more cramped than the exterior already implied. The books were probably to blame for that. They were everywhere, crammed into bookshelves, piled on tables and chairs… The small writing desk was loaded with them, and the bed tucked into the corner of the room bowed under their weight. It looked as if some semblance of order had once been attempted, but had long since been abandoned in favor of maximizing space. In short, it was a disaster. But, it was a disaster that Caleb understood.
"A couple of salamanders," Cal replied easily, closing the door behind himself in a hurry, to put a barrier between them and the cold. "That fire resistance scroll came in handy."
He was used to the disaster that was Caleb's home, and didn't mind. What he did mind was the implication that he looked like a glorified chimney sweep, and he headed for the basin of water in the corner to wash his face, at least.
Frumpkin appeared out of seemingly nowhere as Cal was cleaning himself up and he began winding around Cal’s ankles, meowing plaintively.
From where he was rummaging through a desk, Caleb made a sound of disagreement. “Not handy enough,” he said, looking at Cal critically. “The, ah, duration needs to be extended.”
Caleb produced a health potion from a drawer and brought it over to Cal. “Here. Drink this.”
Cal shook his head. "I'm good. It's nothing serious. It would've been, without the scroll, but I'll be fine. I just need some rest." He finished washing his face from the soot, then poked at the burn on his arm to make sure it wasn't bad enough to blow a health potion on. He would need a new sleeve for his armor, though.
“Take it anyway.” Caleb pushed it into Cal’s hands, then scooped up Frumpkin who was still yowling and rubbing against Cal’s ankles and deposited him on a table.
Frumpkin gave Caleb a reproachful look, but he ignored it and said, “Do you know what your next job is yet?”
"Keeping it for a rainy day," Cal answered, opening the top of his leather armor to slip the small vial into a pocket there. He stepped over to the table where Frumpkin stood and gave him, finally, the petting he'd been asking for. "Hey, you," he told the cat, before looking over at Caleb to answer his question. "I'll check in again in a couple of days. I think I've earned a rest. Speaking of."
He stopped petting Frumpkin to pull a bag of coins out of a leather pouch attacked to his belt, and threw it gently to Caleb. "Here you go.”
Caleb caught the pouch and pocketed it without checking its contents. He trusted Cal. “I don’t think anyone could disagree. You work too hard.”
Cal chuckled as he took up petting Frumpkin, and turned his head to smirk at his friend. "Working hard's a necessity, unless I want to get worse than a little singed." With a tilt of his head towards his slightly injured arm. It wasn't as if there was the option of being a lazy ass, once you were out there facing a monster. Not that that would've worked well for him, anyway.
Caleb gave Cal a flat look. He knew he was deflecting. “I meant before and after you go out chasing whatever monstrosity you’ve signed yourself up for. Probably something that farts acid.”
Still meowing, Frumpkin rubbed his face against Cal’s hand, then walked down to the end of the table and back again.
"I haven't done anything acidic in a while," Cal protested. He'd given it a wide berth, since that one time last year, when he'd nearly ended up taking a swim in a nice acidic pit. He waited until Frumpkin came back, then resumed petting him. "But chill, man. I'm taking a couple days off. I'm due some R&R. What are you up to today?”
“I am chill,” Caleb said as he went around a table to where he’d been working before Cal had knocked on his door. “Just research. I have a new book of arcane spells. I found it in a smutty bookstore of all places.”
"Did you find good smut, too?" Cal had to ask, scratching Frumpkin's jaw the way he liked it.
“No, I got distracted.” Caleb sat down in a chair. “I do not think the bookstore realized what it had.”
"Good stuff, then?" Cal asked, leaning back against the table to semi-sit, and keep petting Frumpkin.
Caleb made a sound of confirmation. “Time manipulation magic. Very illegal.” They could probably get in trouble for just talking about it.
"Shit," Cal let out, sounding impressed more than daunted. "Like, to fuck with time?”
The phrasing made a smile crack across Caleb’s serious mouth. “Yes, to fuck with time. Slow it down, speed it up, stop it, turn it back… Time is like anything else—Malleable, if you know how to work with it.”
"Fuck," Cal let out. "That sounds - turn back time? Really?”
“In theory.” Whatever language it was written in, however, was ancient, and Caleb was struggling to translate it. The runes weren’t like any he’d seen before. “I have only ever heard of it. I have never seen it in application.”
"No shit," Cal let out. "Would you even remember if you had?”
A dark look passed across Caleb’s features, but he kept his eyes fixed on the book. “Maybe not.”
Cal wasn't sure what that look was about, but he knew better than to push. Caleb would tell him if he wanted. "Are you gonna be poring over it tonight?”
“Later, probably.” Caleb closed the book over, and tucked it away in his book holster. This was not a book he’d leave lying around his hovel. “I have some errands I should probably run. The cupboard is getting a little bare.” And now that he had spare coin, it was time to do something about that.
"That can wait until tomorrow," Cal remarked, and smirked over at Caleb, "if we go out tonight."
Caleb looked confused. “Go out where?”
"Out," Cal oh so helpfully supplied. "Food and drinks. Mostly drinks. Come on, when's the last time we did that?"
It had been awhile... Caleb considered the money he’d gotten from Cal, and what little he still had stashed away. “The usual place?” he asked as an agreement.
Cal grinned, and nodded, giving Frumpkin one last jaw scratch. "Let's go!"
