francel de haillenarte (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
haillenarte) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
gurabad2018-02-17 11:15 pm
haillenarte) wrote in gurabad2018-02-17 11:15 pm
Entry tags:
044 » deep down i know it never works
(continued from here!)
[sure enough, by the time haurchefant arrives, francel is outside, freezing his little ears off (although he's really not as little as he used to be) as he waits by haldrath's march as promised.
is he dressed for their little excursion? it's impossible to tell, given that the young lord has wrapped himself in a long cloak of plain linen fabric to shield himself from the cold — but then he raises his arm in greeting, and he is, at the least, certainly not wearing his usual heavily-ornamented bliaud beneath. he waves and smiles.]
Haurchefant! There you are!
[sure enough, by the time haurchefant arrives, francel is outside, freezing his little ears off (although he's really not as little as he used to be) as he waits by haldrath's march as promised.
is he dressed for their little excursion? it's impossible to tell, given that the young lord has wrapped himself in a long cloak of plain linen fabric to shield himself from the cold — but then he raises his arm in greeting, and he is, at the least, certainly not wearing his usual heavily-ornamented bliaud beneath. he waves and smiles.]
Haurchefant! There you are!
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[ He's only teasing, just enough that he knows he can rile Francel up a bit and still bring him back down from the edge. The soft sign of friendship just makes him smile all the brighter and he makes no move to take his arm away, content and relaxed in the moment. ]
What exciting things do you seek in Gridania, then? Tell me all your plans.
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[obviously excited, francel rattles off his vacation bucket list with an intensity that suggests he has been planning this trip for a while. after a moment of gushing, however, he catches himself, eager to hear haurchefant's input. he is particularly happy that haurchefant has decided to keep his arm wrapped around his shoulder; he feels remarkably safe and warm.]
What about you, my friend? Hmm, let me guess... would you want to see the chocobos at Bentbranch Meadows?
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[ It sounds like a very enjoyable and wonderful set of plans. There's not much time for relaxing or enjoying yourself when you are a knight just as he is, and he considers how much they are going to be able to do before they're forced to return. Markets, food, a boat ride... It sounds like the most charming experience. ]
Of course I do! I would like to see how they compare to the ones that have been raised at home. You'll accompany me?
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[that almost sounds demeaning, but it's true! haurchefant is great fun when he's going on and on about good, strong birds. even if the rest of ishgard does not especially agree...]
And you know me — I'm always thinking about things. [francel smiles demurely, vaguely embarrassed.] Well — well, perhaps I have been planning this escape for a little while! But I'm ever so glad you are willing to go along with it.
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[ It's incredibly wistful; he knows, of course, that he has a job of great import that cannot often be ignored and he is proud of it. His ventures would be marvellous to continue all the same. ]
I've always been rather willing to go with your grand schemes. They're always far more interesting than anyone would imagine - I always knew you would be an incredible mastermind! Will you plan another for us?
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[laughing, francel rests his hand upon haurchefant's once more. yes, they are terribly busy men, and they have precious little time to spend like this — but perhaps, if francel plans well and covers their tracks, they can escape for yet another outing, travel someplace warm...]
Since you have flattered me so nicely, mayhap I shall plan another! And, hmm, perhaps I might be able to procure passage on an airship...
[it takes some time, but at last they do reach the north shroud, where francel draws his cloak back to reveal his simple attire beneath. the gridanian wood wailers take them for common travelers (though one does seem to stare at haurchefant a bit too closely — his reputation precedes him), and offer them directions to fallgourd float; upon seeing the waters of the town's magnificent lake, francel gasps in delight.]
Oh, look, Haurchefant — is it not beautiful? And the building in the center there — that must be the famed Bobbing Cork!
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[ It's nice, he thinks, to have a few moments to simply enjoy what it is to have a friend and bask in it; his duty ties him up more often than not and there are so many things for him to do and accomplish that 'breaks' are not necessarily part of his routine. Haurchefant fears that he is lucky to get an hour to himself, let alone any longer period.
The promise of an airship has his delight and he is quick to follow his friend though towards the Float. His own eyes widen and the look of sheer joy on his face is impossible to miss. ]
Is that our first port of call, then, my friend?
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[francel finds someone to ask soon enough — a pretty midlander lass who boasts something of a mannish air about her as she pulls a canoe closer to the dock's edge. expertly, she ties it to the pier. "the two of you want to take a boat out?" she asks, quirking a brow.
straightening herself to her full five-fulm height — even at her tallest, she fails to hold her head any higher than francel's chest — the woman gives haurchefant and francel a blatant once-over. "travelers, by the look of you, and ishgardian too, i reckon," she concludes. fortunately — gridanian though she may be — she holds no particular biases, and is kind at heart. "well, i don't see the harm in it, so long as you bring it back before the day is done. but are you quite sure you know how to work one of these boats, boy? i wasn't aware as you had lakes out there in freezing coerthas."]
Oh, I, er...
[she does have a point, at least in francel's case...]
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[ Of course, his enthusiastic and forward thinking friend is the one who goes and manages to find them a boat before Haurchefant has even considered where they ought to go. Francel is far more prepared than he had ever imagined and he's more than happy to follow after him, striding long and slow with a wide smile on his face.
The question makes him pause and his eyes widen, flicking to his friend before he laughs. ]
I am certain we can work it! I have utter faith in us, my friend.
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[though francel does not seem entirely certain of himself, the gridanian woman takes one look at haurchefant's confident demeanor, then shrugs and tosses him the length of rope she's been working with. "take care out there," she says. "i'm a strong lass, or so my father says, but even i can't haul two elezen men out of the water if the two of you capsize."
"ah, but don't you worry," she adds, chuckling. "the water's not that deep. i'm sure one of you could stand in it and still have your head poking out over the surface!"
jovially, the woman departs, leaving the two travelers to row their borrowed canoe.]
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[ Francel might be unsure but there's nothing stopping Haurchefant - he makes his way over to the boat without too much hesitation, looking it over with a critical eye. He's a knight, trained in many skills, surely this cannot be too difficult to work out? It is hardly dangerous, either - like the find lady said, the water is hardly too deep for them to manage.
Turning back to his friend, Haurchefant grins. ]
Do you want to get in first?
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[francel seems to balk at the idea of getting into the canoe — evidently, he is afraid of capsizing it, as the hyuran woman implied they might. he hesitates, standing awkwardly at the edge of the pier. sheepishly, francel scratches at his cheek.]
I-I believe it might be better if... if you were to get into the boat first, and then help me in...