Cuthbert blinked at her, snorting laughter. "And my opinion of your taste in men has changed not one jot," he commented wryly, and stuck his tongue out. "But thankee, nonetheless. Though while I won't deny that I am very pretty, nice eyes aren't generally considered a foundation block of heroism."
He laughed, lying back in the grass. For all that he'd come out here intending to shoot, he had to admit that this had its benefits, too. The fact that he didn't feel like his emotions were quite so raw and open was a big part of it.
"All right. Harrowing and endearing highlights. Where to start?" Cracking his knuckles dramatically, he squinted up at her. "Well, I guess the beginning's usually a good bet. And this one really is Roland's story, so I'll cut it short; he let himself be baited into taking his test of manhood when he was fourteen. Al and I told Ro' he was going to die, but you've probably figured out by now that trying to tell Ro' some things is like trying to knock down a brick wall with your head." He pulled a face, lacing his hands behind his head. "So he made the challenge, and by some miracle he didn't die or get sent west. Only that left us all with the tricky problem of the person who wanted him to lose, and that, my dear sai Kaine, is how we all ended up getting packed off to Mejis to count cattle."
That part, frankly, was the easy part to tell tongue-in-cheek. Parts of what had happened in Hambry - like their confrontation with the Big Coffin Hunters, or Mayor Thorin in general - were easy to put a light spin on. At other parts, notably most of those involving Susan, he got rather more morose. A few things - not least the whole existence of Maerlyn's Grapefruit - he excised as completely as he could.
After explaining how Susan had helped them escape from the jail, he sat up abruptly, hands still behind his head. "And then there was a rather bracing battle where we drove an entire army into the thinny, and then we went home. And they all lived happily ever after, the end." Because even Bert had limits in what he could talk cheerfully about, and the memory of everything after the battle was enough to make him shiver. Besides, Susan's death and Roland's grief belonged to them. They weren't his to share. That memory of brittle, greasy char and the hollowness in Roland's eyes was one that would stay between him and Alain, and that only because they couldn't be rid of it.
For a moment, that shadow passed across his face, and he looked rather lost. Then he pulled a face, scraping his fingers through his hair. "Okay. Your turn."
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2015-02-19 04:00 am (UTC)He laughed, lying back in the grass. For all that he'd come out here intending to shoot, he had to admit that this had its benefits, too. The fact that he didn't feel like his emotions were quite so raw and open was a big part of it.
"All right. Harrowing and endearing highlights. Where to start?" Cracking his knuckles dramatically, he squinted up at her. "Well, I guess the beginning's usually a good bet. And this one really is Roland's story, so I'll cut it short; he let himself be baited into taking his test of manhood when he was fourteen. Al and I told Ro' he was going to die, but you've probably figured out by now that trying to tell Ro' some things is like trying to knock down a brick wall with your head." He pulled a face, lacing his hands behind his head. "So he made the challenge, and by some miracle he didn't die or get sent west. Only that left us all with the tricky problem of the person who wanted him to lose, and that, my dear sai Kaine, is how we all ended up getting packed off to Mejis to count cattle."
That part, frankly, was the easy part to tell tongue-in-cheek. Parts of what had happened in Hambry - like their confrontation with the Big Coffin Hunters, or Mayor Thorin in general - were easy to put a light spin on. At other parts, notably most of those involving Susan, he got rather more morose. A few things - not least the whole existence of Maerlyn's Grapefruit - he excised as completely as he could.
After explaining how Susan had helped them escape from the jail, he sat up abruptly, hands still behind his head. "And then there was a rather bracing battle where we drove an entire army into the thinny, and then we went home. And they all lived happily ever after, the end." Because even Bert had limits in what he could talk cheerfully about, and the memory of everything after the battle was enough to make him shiver. Besides, Susan's death and Roland's grief belonged to them. They weren't his to share. That memory of brittle, greasy char and the hollowness in Roland's eyes was one that would stay between him and Alain, and that only because they couldn't be rid of it.
For a moment, that shadow passed across his face, and he looked rather lost. Then he pulled a face, scraping his fingers through his hair. "Okay. Your turn."