The Cockerel

Seregil and Alec's favourite home.

It was the early hours of the morning by the time Seregil returned to The Cockerel, the sun barely glimmering on the horizon as he kicked off mucky boots before climbing the stairs to the living quarters.

Hair dank and wet, he looked and smelled like he’d spent the night crawling in the sewers, which of course, wasn’t all that far from the truth. As much as he had started the night looking an intentional mess for the sake of disguise, he hadn’t quite expected to end up chasing his lead through the sewers in the dark. Wily bastard he was, too. Needless to say, Seregil had caught up with him in the end; he wasn’t the sort to give up on a job so easily.

Stopping before the glyphs, he couldn’t help but check his pocket again. Slender fingers wrapped around an old piece of wax cord, pulling loose a small object which was barely identifiable in the low light. Seregil had gotten a better look at it as he plucked it from the cold dead hand of his lead, but even still, he was none the wiser as to what it was. It was clearly made of organic material, almost leathery in texture, but he’d need Nysander or Thero to take a closer look to really know what it was. Either way, all he knew was that he didn’t like it and it had given him a bad feeling from the start, but considering the state of the corpse.. Well, that was something else.

Placing the item back in his pocket, Seregil swiftly worked his way through the glyphs, shedding the top layers of his putrid clothes as he entered the main room.

Perched on their couch in their main living room, Ruetha curled up on his lap, Alec enjoyed the soft sounds of dawn and the early light coming in through the window. He bookmarked one of the many books he had been reading and laid back for a moment, eyes staring up at the ceiling as he went over the events of last night in his mind.

He had taken it upon himself to follow his own lead whilst Seregil went off to investigate his own business. He had a feeling his findings might connect with whatever the older man might have discovered. Fortunately for Alec, his own nightrunning hadn't taken long. With the skills he had developed and the general ease of the job, he had managed to get home just after two in the morning, returning with a few of the documents he had discovered within the home of one minor Noble of Rhiminee. This included letters surrounding suspicious links with Pleminar.

Stretching as he relaxed more into the cushions, he sighed softly, thoughts now returning to his older companion. He wondered if Seregil had been successful and hoped he would return soon. He had always found it difficult sleeping without the other man around, so he stayed up making fletching for his arrows and passed the rest of the time with some tea and a book. He knew the kitchen would be crowded as the innkeepers worked, and breakfast was nearing, but he found he could no longer keep his eyes open. Eyes fluttering shut, he slipped into a light doze.

Briefly hesitating, Seregil debated what to do with the clothes now in his arms, they had been useful for when he wanted to pass as a homeless man, but he wasn’t so sure ‘sewer rat’ was ever going to be called for in their line of work. It would be best to burn them, but between how damp they were and the smell they would give off, it wasn’t really an option.

Glancing around the room for a bag, Seregil only just noticed Alec and Ruetha curled up together on the sofa; they looked serene in the rising light of dawn. The urge to cover the younger man with a nearby blanket was soon quelled as he got a good whiff of his own aroma. He was sure Alec would rather not be woken up by the bog man. Turning his attention back to finding the ever elusive ‘bag of bags’ they always had floating around, Seregil tried to rummage around quietly, attempting to touch as little as he could until he’d had a bath. Finally spotting them, he leaned over the boxes in the way, tugging them closer, not realising the edge of one of the bags was caught under a pile of books as he did so. Unable to reach them, he watched helplessly at the stack toppled to the floor. Clearly he was more tired than he’d realised. If they were doing a nightrunning job, such clumsiness would surely have had them found out. Though… Most places weren’t usually this cluttered in his defence.

Turning to face Alec, he watched for movement. The younger man was a heavy sleeper, but that would have been loud enough even for him. With a grin, Seregil began stuffing the wretched clothing into one of the bags.

The younger man was sleeping peacefully by the time Seregil returned, occasionally shuffling to get comfortable. Ruetha had hopped off of the sofa as her master passed by, moving to greet him, she soon turned tail from his scent, scampering off into the bedroom to get away from the odor.

Alec remained in his slumber, at least he had until he was awoken from the sounds of books crashing to the floor. He jumped up into a sitting position, hair falling messily out of his braid and shaping his soft features, his dark blue eyes opening wide from the shock. He reached for his dagger which was nearby. Once he realised who had awoken him, he sighed, dropping the weapon with a husky chuckle.

"Very smooth today, aren't we?", smiling, he stood slowly, noting Seregil's appearance. He frowned slightly as he caught a whiff of the unmistakable stench of the sewers. He walked over to the older man, grinning now. "What was it you said to me when we first met? Something along the line of 'Go and bathe, you stink'?"

“And there I was thinking I’d save having a bath for later.” Lifting an arm, Seregil sniffed at himself, feigning offense for added effect, almost immediately regretting it as he did so. “I don’t suppose you want to join me then?” He joked, his lopsided grin gracing his lips for a second time.

With the rancid coat and scarf in the bag, he dropped it to the floor, no longer able to keep his shirt on for any longer; it was making his skin crawl. Tugging the damp filthy fabric over his head as if it was on fire, he stuffed it in the bag with the rest of the clothes. “You won’t believe the night I’ve had… Turned out to be more eventful than I imagined.” Realising his choice of words and current state, he laughed. “I suppose that much is obvious, I don’t tend to roam the sewers for boredoms sake.”

Gathering up the bag, he turned back to Alec briefly. “I’ll tell you all about it after I’ve had a bath, I’m sure it’ll make for a better story when we’re not both retching.”

Stalking to the bathroom, Seregil pushed the bathroom door closed, not something he made a habit of when having a bath, but he needed some time with his thoughts. Reaching into the trouser pocket, he pulled the strange little trinket free and held it up in front of his face… Although it was easier to see in the bathroom light, it still wasn’t easy to make out, but he had a sneaking suspicion it was living once.. Or part of something that was living once. Shiver running up his spine, he placed the item by the sink, before sliding the last of the rank clothing down over narrow hips. Scooping them up, he added it to the rest of the clothes in the bag he’d left by the door and tied a knot in it.

~~~~~~~~~~~

A short while later, Seregil returned to the living room with nothing but a towel wrapped around his hips and one draped over his shoulders. Slinging the bag of dirtied clothes towards the front door, he casually tossed the trinket to the younger man. “I found this on my lead.” Heading into their bedroom, he grabbed some fresh clothes, immediately stepping into the new trousers with a sigh of appreciation for the clean fabric against his skin. Still shirtless, he began to towel dry his hair as he approached the front room again, looking at Alec for reactions. “I think I want Nysander to take a look.”

Rolling his eyes, the younger man shuffled away, retrieving his book. "I think...I'll pass this time." He chuckled to himself as he watched the other man, cheeks reddening lightly as he watched Seregil pull off his damp clothing, turning to take a seat once more, he returned his attention to the book he was reading.

He soon got bored again. Placing the book down he headed downstairs to fetch some breakfast for them from the kitchen, running into Cilla and Luthas as he passed. He returned with some sausage and pastries for them.

He started eating one of the pastries just as the door to the bathroom opened, he watched the older man step out. Returning his attention to his friend, he smiled. Before he could say anything, Seregil tossed something towards him, he just managed to catch it. Inspecting it with keen interest, he nodded slightly to himself. "Interesting, you have a habit of picking up the strangest of things."

Taking a seat, he offered the oldest of the two some of their breakfast. "So come on then, out with it~"

“Strange is one way of putting it.” Leaving the towel draped back over his shoulders, Seregil let dark wavy locks drip down his slim torso. “What does it look like to you?” He questioned, still unable to identify it.

“As I said, I found it in the hand of my lead. He looked like he’d been dead for weeks or months. Sockets hollow, skin around hair and nails completely receded. The kind of stench that can knock you off your feet… You know how it is.” Seregil was completely aware of how uneventful this sounded as he approached the table picking up a sausage. “The only thing is, two minutes before I found him like that, I was chasing the damn son of a whore through the sewers and he was very much alive.” Taking a bite of food, he chewed slowly, not feeling all that hungry. “I’d spoken to the man a thousand times before, and he was fine. He had no reason to fear me, but he scarpered as soon as he saw me…. He was terrified of something…” He eyed the trinket warily. “I don’t like it, Alec.. I don’t like it at all..I want to know why he was clutching it and what it is.”

Taking another bite, Seregil admitted defeat and left the rest of the sausage. “I want to pay Nysander a visit. Are you coming?”

Alec turned the object in his hands, feeling the odd firm texture of it. It almost looked like a very old and past decayed part of some kind of animal skin, but something just didn't feel right about it. "To me? To me it...looks like...I'm not sure if I'm honest. It looks like maybe decayed remnants of something".

Taking another bite from his pastry, he listened to Seregil's explanation, shuddering from the thoughts that entered his mind. It all seemed very suspicious, and unfortunately a little familiar. "It doesn't sound good. Which reminds me...", cutting himself off for a moment, Alec retrieved the documents he had found on his own lead's desk. Handing them over to the older man, he sighed. "I found these in my guy's room, hidden away in his desk, though not hidden enough. He wasn't being as careful as he has been with everything else. It's proof that he's been discussing and sharing secret with some powerful Nobles in Plenimar."

Scratching the back of his neck, he stood. "Of course I am. This is important. Not to mention, it's been a while since we've visited him...."

"That's what I thought. Let's hope Nysander can shine some light on it." Seregil got closer as Alec spoke on, revealing the events of his own night. Taking the documents, grey eyes scanned over the information.. "Strange for someone usually so cautious to leave these in such an obvious place. I assume the drawer was locked?" Seregil couldn't help but be suspicious, it was what made him such a good nightrunner after all. It was always best to question everything and trust nothing.

"It always comes back to Plenimar, doesn't it.." The older man briefly joked as he read on. "This could end him... Bad news for him, good news for us. It also gives us a couple more leads to follow." He noted a couple of names, before handing the papers back. For now, he saw no relation between events, but if Plenimar was in involved, he wasn't ruling it out. Especially considering how his own lead had ended.

"Yeah. I think we're due a visit." Regardless of the situation and how tired he was, the idea of seeing Nysander, and oddly enough even Thero, put a bright smile on his face. And as an added bonus, it would be breakfast time for the old wizard, perhaps a short walk would bring his appetite back.

Heading back to their bedroom, Seregil dropped the towel to the floor and slipped on a slim fitting dark green shirt before heading back into the living room. "I'm ready if you are."

"Hopefully...I'm beginning to think we're stuck in a bit of a vicious cycle with all of this", running fingers through his unruly hair, he pulled the tie out, letting his soft blonde locks fall across his shoulders. Scooping it up, he casually began re-braiding his hair, watching the older man read through the information. He nodded to Seregil, stepping to stand in front of him. "Yes. It wasn't a very difficult lock."

Releasing the now fresh braid, Alec rolled his eyes in amusement. "Always. Like a stinky trail that never leaves us be. Not even for a moment", he muttered in exasperation. This was beginning to get banal in Alec's mind, every link they made, every single job they would take on recently, seemed to link back to Plenimar.

"Good, it's been a fair bit, I think seeing Nysander and Thero will help give us some perspective." Alec smiled softly as he watched the older man walk into their bedroom, moments later he came out wearing a well fitting shirt. He didn't think he could ever go back to seeing his friend as nothing more than a friend. Pulling on his boots and cloak, he nodded to Seregil. "Lets go."

"I hope you're right." Grabbing his favourite boots, Seregil slipped them on before putting on his coat and placing the newly found trinket securely in one of the inside pockets. There was no way he was taking any risks, the only safer place to keep it would have been around his neck, but considering past experiences, he thought better of it.

Once ready, the older man headed for their front door, grabbing the bag of dirty clothes on the way past. Today he chose to avoid any of the other residents and left the back way, throwing the filthy bag in with the rest of the inn's waste.

On the way back to The Cockerel, Seregil had remained mostly quiet, knowing anything he had to say needed to be said in private. What they had just learnt left little space for small talk in his mind, but he didn't look nearly as concerned now. If anything, he now looked determined and in his element.

Once again inside their front room with security of knowing no one could hear them, the older man finally spoke. "Now that was an interesting change of events." Immediately Seregil started preparing, his back to Alec as he did so. "I'll go back down the sewers, you should check out the nearby charnel houses and talk to the gate runners. We'll look into the documents later, if we need to know more about his dealings, no doubt it'll be at night. Right now, it's imperative we find this body... " The thoughts he had earlier came back to him. "IF we can find it."

Suddenly Seregil halted, realising how much of an ass he'd just been. Turning, the older man approached Alec with a guilty look. "Sorry tali, I got so caught up, I didn't ask how you're doing?" Gently he placed a reassuring hand on the top of the blonde's arm, knowing the hell his friend had been through at the hands of the last dyrmagnos and necromancer they had had a run in with.

Nothing much was said between the two nightrunners on their journey back home. Mostly due to the surroundings, but also Alec would guess they were both so deep in their own thoughts, conjuring up ideas and plans that they simply couldn't find the words yet.

As soon as they were alone in their part of the Inn, Alec noted how keen Seregil sounded, he couldn't hold back the smile spreading across his face. It was of terrible irony that they'd stumbled across such similar happenings to those which had occurred not so long ago. None the less, the younger man knew watcher business was just what they needed, too long had they gone on being restless, longing for a new job. Alec had grown used to the quiet nights, watching Seregil pace and switch between tasks out of boredom, whilst he would relax on the sofa, Ruetha on his lap and a book in his hand.

Nodding his agreement with the older faie's every word, his attention faltered a little as he tried to figure out how he wanted to plan things, a small shudder passed him again as he thought back to what the strange...remains were. He forced the feeling away, determined to keep his thoughts towards their goals.

It was now that he realised he must have given something away in his expression, because as soon as he met Seregil's eyes he saw a flicker of guilt, then concern. Hearing the older man sound so gentle as he spoke, brought a small flush of red to his cheeks. Smiling, he leaned into Seregil's touch, moving to take the man's other hand in his own. "It's okay, I'd rather get on with things as quickly as possible. I'm okay, don't worry. I've been itching for work as much as you, and now we have something big to work on."

Stepping ever closer, Seregil pulled Alec in, wrapping his arms around his talimenios’ waist as he planted a tender kiss on his forehead. He already knew the younger man was strong and determined, but as each day went by his amazement at the sheer level of strength he showed never ceased. “In truth, I’m glad. The sooner we can get out there, the sooner we can catch this son of a whore who decided it was a good idea to put dyrmagnos on the menu.” It was hard to hide the shudder of revulsion as he envisioned the scrap of desiccated flesh.

“As I was saying.” Still holding Alec in his arms, he went on. “If you could check out the Charnal houses, I’ll take the sewers…” With a comical frown, he added. “..Again… At this rate, we may as well just keep the bath full.”

At this moment, the older faie was having mixed feelings over the situation; this type of work is what he lived for, it exhilarated him, but he was concerned for his friends. They all seemed to be taking it in their stride, just as he’d expected, but this was just the beginning and Micum hadn’t even found out yet. Perhaps it would be best he didn’t for now. ‘Let him enjoy being with Kari and the kids, they deserve it without me tearing him away again.’ He thought to himself, his smile faltering slightly.

The younger of the two couldn't hide the flush of red that tinged his cheeks. Feeling the older man so close was a comfort he had taken far more advantage of ever since they had became lovers and talimenios. Smiling softly to Seregil, Alec hummed his agreement. "I agree, I don't understand what could possess someone to do that...and I don't think I want to find out. The sooner we catch whoever this is the better."

Leaning against the older man now, he nodded as he listened to the plan. "No problem." Chuckling at Seregil's fussing, the younger of the two couldn't help but tease him. "Perhaps, it's a good idea, I wouldn't like to smell you coming in this time round."

Wrapping an arm around Seregil's neck, fingers threading into long brunette hair, Alec closed his eyes for a moment, basking in the feel of the other man's touch. Opening his eyes once more, he stared into the other's grey eyes, shining with the curiosity it always had, and more as of late. He also noted the worry he could see in his friend's face. He knew this was difficult for the older man, even if he didn't say as much. It would be difficult for all of them, and they would need to stick together if they were going to get through more trouble with the likes of necromancers and dyrmagnos'. Tilting his head Alec pressed a soft kiss to Seregil's lips. He wanted his talimenios to count on him, they would fight this battle together as they always did.

“I think even Ruetha objects.” The older of the two forced a smile, as he tried to push aside the feelings of guilt, which were soon soothed by the softness of Alec’s lips against his own. Cupping the other’s cheek, Seregil returned the kiss as tenderly as it was given.

“Oh tali, how I wish I could take you into the other room.” As much as he enjoyed and had been longing to get out on Watcher’s business, nothing compared to holding Alec in his arms as they rolled in the sheets giving into their needs. Just as the thoughts crossed his mind, he let go of his friend, now lover; if he didn’t, the temptation would be too much.

“Now to find some more clothes to ruin.” With that, he entered their bedroom and rummaged through a chest with some tattered pieces of clothes and quickly changed. Pulling his hair back into a ponytail, he tucked it into the collar of his jacket and pulled the hood up to see the effect in a nearby mirror, before pulling it back down again. He didn’t need a full disguise, just enough to move about freely in the poorer end of town.

“I suggest you do the same. The less attention you bring whilst questioning the gaterunners, all the better.” Back in the living room, Seregil grabbed his poniard, ready to hide in his grotty boots downstairs. Hopefully he wouldn’t need it, but the faie didn’t want to take any chances.

"And I can see why...", humming into the soft kiss, the younger man smiled at the tenderness of his talimenious, feeling the older man caress his cheek gently. He was just as restless as the oldest of the two, but that said, he would have given anything just to be together like this for a moment longer. To share the comfort of the touch and press of eachother's bodies.

"Perhaps another time, when we finally get through with this business", moving a step back as Seregil let go, Alec smiled reassuringly, eyes bright. This was difficult on everyone involved, the younger man knew they would all get through this, they always did.

Watching the older faie rummage through his chest for more clothes, the younger man turned away for a moment going through what he would take with him. That done, he walked into their bedroom, chuckling at Seregil's none too pleased sounding words. "I'm sure you can afford it tali~." Pausing, he nodded."Of course." Moving to change into some simpler clothes, Alec also assessed his appearance afterwards. Going for a poorer but not homeless look. Picking up a more tattered cloak, he wrapped it around his shoulders.

Following the older man out, Alec picked up his dagger and tools set Seregil had given him. He glanced at his sword for a moment, before picking it up also.

Seregil headed down the stairs with an almost energetic skip to his steps, he already seemed in a bit of a brighter mood. Stopping at the bottom, he sat on a step and pulled on the old manky boots he’d left there this morning before slipping the poniard securely inside. Wriggling his ankle, he made sure it was comfortable enough. “Oh, and tali, let’s meet back at the Oreska. Might as well not waste any time.” Jumping up, he planted a hasty kiss on the blonde’s lips, barely giving him any time to react before the older faie turned on his heel and headed off in his own direction.

Slipping his own old boots on, Alec smiled at Seregil's eagerness. He tucked his braid into his coat and his dagger inside, along with his tools. Turning to nod his agreement, he was caught off guard by the older man suddenly jumping into action. He felt the press of soft lips against his own briefly, then watched as the other man turned swiftly on his heel and stalked off before he could utter a word. Luck to you, tali, in the shadows and the light.