Transition's our profession and we don't work nine to five...

[asliceofchaos]

The night of the full moon is unusually warm after the recent winter weather, and those who follow the sound of music floating through the woods, the path lined by fairy lights, will find that it only grows warmer the further they go. By the time they reach the Carnival, there's no snow on the ground at all - only lush, newly-grown grass and

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[The Bar]

[asliceofchaos]

The bar has everything you could possibly want as far as food and drink is concerned, so if there's something you've been craving, get it now, because you don't know when it'll be here again.

Just stay away from the house specials. No matter what the smiling barmaid tells you, you don't want the White Lotus or a shot of Eros or any of the other token drinks. They'll only bring you trouble.

[The Bar]

[itchafes]

Neal is at the bar, turning a glass of deep red wine incrementally without taking a drink. It smells glorious, particularly after the stink of the cabin they ended up abandoning. Cold weather or no, some smells linger.

He shudders, hunching over the bar and the glass just a bit. Much as he might fake it, he doesn't do drunkenness. That kind of lack of control isn't appealing and never has been. But sometimes, he really wishes he could let his guard down far enough to get well and truly smashed.

[The Bar]

[im_apimp]

Alec is sitting not too far down from him, nursing a glass of scotch. It is good scotch. Alec isn't the drink-to-get-drunk type either, mostly because his metabolism doesn't allow it. But he loves the flavor of a good drink, and he'll drink to be social.

Right now ... he's drinking because he's tempted to go and find Kitsune, and he knows that's a bad idea. Tipping the status quo in any direction is never a good idea, and for right now, he's at a pretty safe place. Finding Kitsune was only going to make things worse for him, and for right now, he is leaving things as they are.

He glances down at the bar, and seeing Neal there can't help but raise an eyebrow. "Aren't you and the g-man usually joined at the hip?" Well ... maybe not joined at the hip, but close enough that Peter gets major worry lines over Neal's well-being.

[itchafes]

Neal startles, and then privately scolds himself for it. If nothing else, he should have at least noticed Alec was there. "Separation surgery," Neal says, falsely bright, and takes a mouthful of wine to buy himself a half-second to gather his thoughts and shore himself up for the potential tap dance of this conversation. "How's life with her Royal Highness?"

[im_apimp]

"Not bad," he says with a bit of a smirk. "She's pretty hands on, mechanics wise. It's actually pretty awesome."

Never let it be said that Alec isn't a kid who loves to get his hands dirty. Plus, the physical aspect of figuring out how to build something that his familiar with from scratch with unfamiliar materials is a challenge that keeps him from getting too bored.

Really, in the end it's a win-win.

[itchafes]

"...Really." The note of interest in his voice isn't faked - he hardly realizes he's making a mental note to tell Peter later. The problem being, of course, he's still avoiding Peter. "What kind of things is she building?"

He shifts, turning so he's facing Alec, and swills the wine in his glass gently.

[im_apimp]

"Right now? A gun." He makes a bit of a face at that. "It's at the request of a resident who I don't think needs a hand canon to do something stupid with, but she's obliging. And it's kind of cool to watch her reinvent the Berretta."

Then he shrugs. "I don't think it's the first thing she's built though. She seems pretty hands on."

[itchafes]

Neal grimaces. "Why would she want to oblige that kind of request?"

Guns. Always guns. Even in the middle of a fairy wood there's no getting away from them, apparently. "And I think you're right. About the building. At least if Peter's mechanical escort is anything to go by."

[im_apimp]

"She knows things we don't?" He's quiet for a moment, turning over the things she showed him in her head again, before shaking them away. "Or maybe it's just part of the challenge. I dunno -- I don't think the gun'll do him much good unless it's against the animals, but we'll see."

His eyebrows go up a bit when Neal mentions the giant cat -- so freaking cool -- and his head tips to the side when he says that the Princess had a hand in it. "She was the one who built that?"

[itchafes]

"Does she." Neal's eyebrows inch upward. It's both a question and a statement at once. "Who asked for it?"

He starts to grimace at the question and then smoothes the expression away. He brought the unpleasantness on himself. Besides, if Alec doesn't know all the details, he might be able to add to the pile of people telling Peter he made the wrong choice. If enough people do, maybe Peter will find a way to make a different one. Better still, Alec might know more about all of this knighthood business. "I'm surprised she hasn't built you one yet," Neal says. "You're living there. She hasn't made you the employment offer?"

[im_apimp]

"Guy named Sark." He shrugs. "Bit of a jackass, actually. But human, so advantage there."

Well, for him. He isn't sure how well Neal would do against a highly trained operative with a gun. Probably not well. Neal didn't seem like the violent type.

Alec straightens a bit at that. And it's not in a good way. His brain works faster than a lot of other people's, but he didn't put this together. He is feeling a little stupid and it doesn't happen often. "What did Peter do?"

[itchafes]

"Told her he would be her knight," Neal says, and even manages to keep most of the bitterness out of it. "Apparently it comes with a company car and sword."

He drains half his glass and inspects what's left critically. "Not bad, but it doesn't have a lot of body."

[im_apimp]

Alec isn't sure what to say. In fact, he's downright speechless, which is a feat. There are so many thoughts running through his head right now, but he knows for a fact that this sudden knighthood didn't come without strings.

Thick ones.

"And he thinks I make poor life choices," he mutters, fingers tightening around the glass in front of him again.

[itchafes]

Neal laughs, rich and humorless. "Tell me about it. Pretty sure I've never done anything that bad."

Or that permanent. He glances at Alec. "Don't suppose you'd be able to find out more about what the gig entails."

[im_apimp]

He gives a bit of a shrug, before nodding. "Probably. I'll go sniffing around, see what I can find out." He's also pretty sure he was almost offered this gig, but he's not going to tell Neal that. It doesn't really matter.

If it entails what he thinks it entails? He would have passed anyway.

"But from what I know about knights from home? It's not a job you want to take lightly."

[itchafes]

He relaxes, fractionally, giving Alec a nod of thanks. "What, you mean the whole obedience to your overlord, service in war, shield to the weak and champion of whatever the boss says is the cause of the hour?"

Neal signals the woman behind the bar to refill his glass. "He didn't. Take it lightly. He took it because he didn't think he'd be coming back to the barracks."

He raises an eyebrow at Alec, expecting the other man to pick up on the subtext.