chastity comes naturally. patience is learned.

[iwhinny4dragons]

Sybil sang scales. She arranged ridiculously ornate vases of flowers. She sat with Sam Whalebone (the first) and tried to probe the mysteries of where the inorganic things he ate went to- sometimes literally- and then she put out the fire and sent for a house-girl to clean up the char. She sat down daily and wrote someone from the list: von

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[sir_samuel]

Snouty wasn't exactly young, and he didn't see very well, but it didn't take seeing much to tell that the young lady who walked in was not the sort of young lady you got within a hundred feet of a watch house. He blinked away the sleep from his eyes and peered at her. "What can I do for you, missie?"

[iwhinny4dragons]

Sybil's brain was having difficulty fitting the man in front of her into the social subdivisions in her head. She made a new one for Watchmen and left it at that. She smiled.

"I need to see Lance Constable Vimes, please."

[sir_samuel]

Snouty peered at her some more. Being the jailer meant you got left out of some of the watch house's circle of gossip, and he had never been very good at listening in the first place. And so the request was understandably baffling.

"Vimesy?" he asked, confused. "And what're you be wantin' with him?"

"She's Vimesy's girl." The explanation came from Ned Coates, who had appeared almost silently behind the desk. He was leaning against it now, munching on an apple and watching Sybil, cold and scrutinizing. "Or was. He's not here," he told her. "An' I don't much think you should be either, miss."

[iwhinny4dragons]

Sybil looked to the other man, and had a sneaking feeling of familiarity. She made a conscious effort not to frown, and so only her eyebrows moved, drawing the slightest bit together.

She decided to let the 'Vimesey's girl' comment slide, if only because she actually sort of liked it. The 'was', not as much.

"I need to see him," she repeated, firmly. "I can wait."

[sir_samuel]

Ned took over. He had an annoying habit of doing that, Snouty noticed, and he didn't even have to try. Idiot troublemaking lad.

Coates' eyebrows rose, but other than that his expression stayed impassive. "Y'don't think you've caused enough trouble for him already? Get on back home, miss. It'll be better for everybody."

[iwhinny4dragons]

Sybil blinked, looking a bit off-center.

"What do you mean?" she asked, knowing this had to be Coates, now, but beyond that, not really knowing anything all.

[sir_samuel]

He smiled, humorlessly, and bit into the apple. "I mean I'm not the one who told whoever got told about the two of you, but someone did. An' it's more trouble for him, more trouble for us, than it is for you, so I'm askin' you a favor."

It was then that Sam came into the Watch House, though, brushing the rain off his jacket. It had started coming down just in the last block, and it was damn cold for early May, but it wasn't such a bad night. His jaw didn't hurt anymore, but the bruise was still a nice reminder of what had happened. He looked up, a greeting on his lips-

-and froze.

"Bloody hell."

[iwhinny4dragons]

Sybil was very still as Coates spoke, with the increasingly sinking feeling that something had happened she didn't know about. The one who told whoever got told...Oh gods, she thought, Daddy, what did you do.

And then then someone came in the door and S.W. launched himself gracelessly, wings sputtering, from under the shawl and ran to collide gently with Sam's legs and look expectantly up at him, as Sybil gave a sound of consternation and made a grab for the dragon, and turned-

and stopped.

That wasn't precisely the greeting she would have expected or preferred, but at least it was Sam's voice saying it. She noted the bruise. She hoped desperately it wasn't her fault.

"Hello," she said, straightening and absently rubbing at a scratch on her arm left by Sam Whalebone in his overzealousness.

[sir_samuel]

Snouty was smirking. Coates was looking distainful. Sam had enough time to take this in, and then the swamp dragon came flying at him.

"Oi!" he spluttered with surprise. "What-"

He looked up at Sybil, and then down again, to where S.W. was either trying to eat or nuzzling his boot. "What're you doing here?" he asked Sybil quietly.

[iwhinny4dragons]

Sybil felt very acutely that this was not how this should be going, but shoved that down and focused instead on the fact that it felt like she hadn't seen him in months.

"I just came to see you," she returned, as quiet.

[sir_samuel]

"You shouldn't have. It's dangerous, and..." He swallowed and glanced at the other two watchmen again. Coates just raised his eyebrows.

"Come on," he said quietly again, and beckoned Sybil to follow him out to the yard at the back of the watch house.

[iwhinny4dragons]

Sybil watched him start off, pulled a piece of coal from her pocket, and with a polite nod to Snouty and Coates- more Snouty than Coates, who she almost gave the cold shoulder- started after Sam. The dragon focused on the small black lump in her hand and followed after.

"I'm sorry if this is a bad time," she said earnestly, "but it was the only time I could get away."

[sir_samuel]

"That's not- you shouldn't be here, okay?"

It was still raining outside, and though they were able to stand under the roof's overhang and keep relatively dry, the cold still stung. After a moment Sam took off his coat and draped it around Sybil's shoulders.

[iwhinny4dragons]

Sybil nodded a little. Then he draped the coat around her and instinctively she reached out, fingers of her hand curling barely in the fabric of the shirt he wore under the armor. She swallowed.

"I know," she said. "I'm sorry. I miss you."

[sir_samuel]

"It's two in the morning, and it's wet, and you could get in lots of trouble-" But her words, and the touch, made him stop and he flushed, swallowed hard.

He didn't know what else to say, so he just looked down at his feet.

[iwhinny4dragons]

She let go of his sleeve but reached up, instead of dropping the hand, to gently touch the bruise.

"Is this my fault?"