Original: "Old Friends." Slash
Have no time to write and I have limited internet. Will update this message later in the week.
Summary: Tian doesn't think twice when old Priant asks him for a favor when he sets off for the Scarborough Faire.
“And where do you take your wares to, young Tian?”
Tian rolled his eyes as the shuffling sound of old man Priant came upon his cart. He jumped down from where he was loading it for market, wiping the sweat out of his eyes with a sleeve that was quickly losing its cleanliness. “To market, at the Scarborough Faire. I have already hired a boy there to help with the stall. If all goes well this year, I might expand in the next.”
Priant grunted as he looked over the wagon with a critical eye. “All of this will sell. You should cover it for the trip.” Tian refrained from rolling his eyes only through years of practice, but he couldn’t stifle a fond smile. Priant’s bark was far worse than his bite and he had always had a particular way of showing his concern. He’d tried to convince Tian to hold off on traveling to the bigger markets this year - out of some misplaced paternal instinct, no doubt - but he’d resigned himself to sending Tian off anyway. That didn’t mean, or course, that he’d accepted it gracefully.
Priant grumbled as he poked at the wagon’s contents, shifting things to make them more stable, before backing off with a grunt. “I suppose you ought to be off soon. Your cart is ready as it’ll ever be.”
Tian snorted. The old man was awful at farewells and had a tendency to get even gruffer. If the man hadn’t practically raised him, he’d probably think him merely grouchy like everyone else in town. He clapped a hand to Priant’s shoulder before climbing up onto the wagon’s bench and taking up the reins.
“Lad.” Tian looked down in surprise at the bony, liver-spotted hand that had wrapped around his wrist. “If you should have the opportunity while you are in Scarborough…I hoped to ask a favor of you.”
Tian lowered the reins, brows furrowed. “You have only to ask, Priant. A favor is the least that I owe you.”
“There is…there is a man there to whom I would like you to remember me. I - I haven’t seen him in many years, but he…that is, I - I…” Priant sighed, releasing Tian’s wrist to scrub a hand over his face. “He once was my true love.”
Tian could feel his brows shoot up to his hairline and his mouth was certainly hanging open. In a long list of things which he would never imagine Priant saying, that was probably somewhere near the top.
Priant promptly scowled at his expression, huffing as he swatted the air in Tian’s direction. “Direct that look elsewhere. I was once young. Certainly, I am allowed to have had a true love.”
Tian grinned, because he was going to use this to tease Priant mercilessly when he returned from market. “I shall carry your message to your bonnie lad gladly, Priant. Mayhap he shall have an answer for you.”
Priant sputtered in outrage while Tian laughed uproariously, giving the reins a slap, and setting off for market, Priant calling after him, “His name is Yasith.”
Yasith owned a tidy set of rooms that were clean and well-appointed and he’d invited Tian in when he explained he had come on behalf of one he thought to be an old friend of Yasith’s. He sank into a comfortable, carved wooden chair when Yasith offered and wrung his hands uncertainly as the old man bustled around fixing them tea, not seeming much encumbered by the cane he relied heavily on.
“Now, who is it you are remembering to me?” the man asked, settling slowly into a chair of his own, fixing Tian with a look of polite inquiry.
“My old master,” he explained. “He raised me after my parents were killed. He said he…knew you, long ago. His name, or at least the name that I have always called him, is Priant.”
Yasith was obviously taken by surprise by the name, his eyes widening and eyebrows ticking up. “Now that is not a name I have heard in many years.” His tea was left forgotten as he leaned back, folding his hands together. “Not to say that I have not been looking for it, though that had become harder as my ability to travel has lessened. But…I had not thought I would ever find him. We were…separated, first by the war and then by the plague after that. I…Is he well?”
Tian ignored the moist look in the man’s eyes. “He is as well as he can be at his age, I suppose? I know he was anxious for word of you.”
Suddenly, Yasith stood up, as quickly as his cane would allow anyway, and started shuffling about the room. “Well, we have waited this long, and I have not the time to waste. Market is now over, so I should think you would be heading to your home soon. If it would not be a bother, I would like to secure a ride back with you. Our reunion has been a long time coming.” He stopped moving to look at Tian, waiting for his answer.
“Of course, I will carry you. I would like to see Priant happy, and I am sure he would be glad to see you again.” Tian stood to help, finding Yasith already prepared to leave. “Well, I suppose there is no time to waste then, eh?”
“Priant!” Tian called as they pulled up outside of the shop he had taken over Priant only a few years ago. He couldn’t keep the grin off of his face as he called, jumping down to help Yasith down.
He could hear Priant come out behind him and turned to find the old man looking shocked to his core. “Yasith?”
Yasith hobbled toward him, glowering unexpectedly. “How long have you known where I was, Priant?” he demanded, stopping a few steps away from the other man.
“A year or so,” Priant answered slowly, surprise turning to uncertainty.
Yasith scowled further. “If I did not require it to stay upright, I would beat you over the head with my cane. I have been looking for you,” he added bitterly.
Priant flushed, a little guiltily. “I…I was not sure you would still be looking for me,” he admitted softly, and Tian wondered what had happened to all the gruffness he had come to expect of Priant.
Yasith sputtered incoherently for several moments before moving to smack Priant, somewhat encumbered by his cane. “Do you have somewhere I can sit or are we to stand about talking and me leaning on this stick all day?”
Priant’s ever-present scowl returned in force. “There is a bench in front of the shop that is ideal for sitting,” he bit out crossly, gesturing toward a carved bench in front of Tian’s shop.
“More than two score years and you have only managed to acquire a bench? Perhaps I should not have held out for a man who cannot even -” Yasith berated even as he began shuffling his way toward the bench, before Yasith cut him off.
“I have more than that, you shrewish old beggar, but the sun it out and the bench is solid and…”
Tian lost track of what was being said as he began to unload his cart, but he didn’t miss the way the old men’s hands found each other, fingers intertwining as they sat on the bench outside the shop, still happily squabbling away.
Summary: Tian doesn't think twice when old Priant asks him for a favor when he sets off for the Scarborough Faire.
“And where do you take your wares to, young Tian?”
Tian rolled his eyes as the shuffling sound of old man Priant came upon his cart. He jumped down from where he was loading it for market, wiping the sweat out of his eyes with a sleeve that was quickly losing its cleanliness. “To market, at the Scarborough Faire. I have already hired a boy there to help with the stall. If all goes well this year, I might expand in the next.”
Priant grunted as he looked over the wagon with a critical eye. “All of this will sell. You should cover it for the trip.” Tian refrained from rolling his eyes only through years of practice, but he couldn’t stifle a fond smile. Priant’s bark was far worse than his bite and he had always had a particular way of showing his concern. He’d tried to convince Tian to hold off on traveling to the bigger markets this year - out of some misplaced paternal instinct, no doubt - but he’d resigned himself to sending Tian off anyway. That didn’t mean, or course, that he’d accepted it gracefully.
Priant grumbled as he poked at the wagon’s contents, shifting things to make them more stable, before backing off with a grunt. “I suppose you ought to be off soon. Your cart is ready as it’ll ever be.”
Tian snorted. The old man was awful at farewells and had a tendency to get even gruffer. If the man hadn’t practically raised him, he’d probably think him merely grouchy like everyone else in town. He clapped a hand to Priant’s shoulder before climbing up onto the wagon’s bench and taking up the reins.
“Lad.” Tian looked down in surprise at the bony, liver-spotted hand that had wrapped around his wrist. “If you should have the opportunity while you are in Scarborough…I hoped to ask a favor of you.”
Tian lowered the reins, brows furrowed. “You have only to ask, Priant. A favor is the least that I owe you.”
“There is…there is a man there to whom I would like you to remember me. I - I haven’t seen him in many years, but he…that is, I - I…” Priant sighed, releasing Tian’s wrist to scrub a hand over his face. “He once was my true love.”
Tian could feel his brows shoot up to his hairline and his mouth was certainly hanging open. In a long list of things which he would never imagine Priant saying, that was probably somewhere near the top.
Priant promptly scowled at his expression, huffing as he swatted the air in Tian’s direction. “Direct that look elsewhere. I was once young. Certainly, I am allowed to have had a true love.”
Tian grinned, because he was going to use this to tease Priant mercilessly when he returned from market. “I shall carry your message to your bonnie lad gladly, Priant. Mayhap he shall have an answer for you.”
Priant sputtered in outrage while Tian laughed uproariously, giving the reins a slap, and setting off for market, Priant calling after him, “His name is Yasith.”
Yasith owned a tidy set of rooms that were clean and well-appointed and he’d invited Tian in when he explained he had come on behalf of one he thought to be an old friend of Yasith’s. He sank into a comfortable, carved wooden chair when Yasith offered and wrung his hands uncertainly as the old man bustled around fixing them tea, not seeming much encumbered by the cane he relied heavily on.
“Now, who is it you are remembering to me?” the man asked, settling slowly into a chair of his own, fixing Tian with a look of polite inquiry.
“My old master,” he explained. “He raised me after my parents were killed. He said he…knew you, long ago. His name, or at least the name that I have always called him, is Priant.”
Yasith was obviously taken by surprise by the name, his eyes widening and eyebrows ticking up. “Now that is not a name I have heard in many years.” His tea was left forgotten as he leaned back, folding his hands together. “Not to say that I have not been looking for it, though that had become harder as my ability to travel has lessened. But…I had not thought I would ever find him. We were…separated, first by the war and then by the plague after that. I…Is he well?”
Tian ignored the moist look in the man’s eyes. “He is as well as he can be at his age, I suppose? I know he was anxious for word of you.”
Suddenly, Yasith stood up, as quickly as his cane would allow anyway, and started shuffling about the room. “Well, we have waited this long, and I have not the time to waste. Market is now over, so I should think you would be heading to your home soon. If it would not be a bother, I would like to secure a ride back with you. Our reunion has been a long time coming.” He stopped moving to look at Tian, waiting for his answer.
“Of course, I will carry you. I would like to see Priant happy, and I am sure he would be glad to see you again.” Tian stood to help, finding Yasith already prepared to leave. “Well, I suppose there is no time to waste then, eh?”
“Priant!” Tian called as they pulled up outside of the shop he had taken over Priant only a few years ago. He couldn’t keep the grin off of his face as he called, jumping down to help Yasith down.
He could hear Priant come out behind him and turned to find the old man looking shocked to his core. “Yasith?”
Yasith hobbled toward him, glowering unexpectedly. “How long have you known where I was, Priant?” he demanded, stopping a few steps away from the other man.
“A year or so,” Priant answered slowly, surprise turning to uncertainty.
Yasith scowled further. “If I did not require it to stay upright, I would beat you over the head with my cane. I have been looking for you,” he added bitterly.
Priant flushed, a little guiltily. “I…I was not sure you would still be looking for me,” he admitted softly, and Tian wondered what had happened to all the gruffness he had come to expect of Priant.
Yasith sputtered incoherently for several moments before moving to smack Priant, somewhat encumbered by his cane. “Do you have somewhere I can sit or are we to stand about talking and me leaning on this stick all day?”
Priant’s ever-present scowl returned in force. “There is a bench in front of the shop that is ideal for sitting,” he bit out crossly, gesturing toward a carved bench in front of Tian’s shop.
“More than two score years and you have only managed to acquire a bench? Perhaps I should not have held out for a man who cannot even -” Yasith berated even as he began shuffling his way toward the bench, before Yasith cut him off.
“I have more than that, you shrewish old beggar, but the sun it out and the bench is solid and…”
Tian lost track of what was being said as he began to unload his cart, but he didn’t miss the way the old men’s hands found each other, fingers intertwining as they sat on the bench outside the shop, still happily squabbling away.