Cluttered Magic, Part Three
Ouch, it has been a while, hasn't it? With school and everything, though, I have had no real time for writing. Saaaaad. But yes. Part three has been sitting, nearly done, in Google Docs for at least two weeks, and I finally sat down and finished it tonight.
One of the reasons it hadn't been going up was because I'M WRITING SOMETHING SUPER SPECIAL for jessofthebugs. Yaaaay!
That's almost done (sort of) too.
Matthias found Jordan hurriedly moving stacks of books and papers off the table and to any available flat surface, though the floor was the most abundant of the somewhat pitiful options. He straightened up when he saw Matthias, taking a sheepish moment to look around the cluttered kitchen.
"Sorry about the mess," he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. 'Mess' was not necessarily the word Matthias would use. A miscellany, perhaps? It was less of a mess and more a large collection of seemingly unrelated items. Odds and ends sat in arbitrary stacks, littering chairs, lamp tables and, even the carpet with papers, receipts, and old charms, as well as a battered fountain pen and an abacus.
"Oh, it's fine," Matthias muttered, looking around in awe. There was writing on the walls, things like runes and half-written recipes as well as a large reminder on the wall above the stove declaring 'Two parts water, one part mercury'. Jordan followed his gaze.
"That's one of the bases for all charms. When I was just starting out I would sometimes get the ratio wrong with disastrous results. One of my first charms exploded on activation. I've got a nasty scar from it on my brow," he said, touching a finger to his forehead. Matthias searched his face for it, but saw nothing. "Oh!" Jordan exclaimed hurriedly, "I suppose you can't see it." He scrambled to pull off a chain from his neck, digging under his collar to do so. When he removed the wooden disc he temporarily went out of focus and Matthias had to blink a few times before his image cleared. Without the charm Jordan looked older, his face more flawed, the circles under his eyes more prominent. He had a scar above his right eye and his complexion was darker and less smooth, though his grin was the same. "You can use magic for a lot of things, you know," he said around a smirk.
Jordan did a poor job of holding in his glee while Matthias gaped like a fish, though he did put the charm back on and finished up with breakfast. He set down the two plates on what was available real estate on the table and sat down. Matthias followed suit, trying to make the best of an awkward situation. He was hungry, however, and though nothing fancy, the two eggs and toast certainly looked appetizing.
They were a little over halfway done when Matthias cleared his throat, returning Jordan's focus from his plate to his guest. "So," he started hesitantly, "About this job you're offering me, uh, sir. What does it entail, exactly?"
"Oh, uhm," Jordan set down his fork, obviously scrambling to gather his thoughts. "Well, when I said valet I'm afraid I misled you a little. I suppose, technically, what I need is an errand runner." He seemed a little embarrassed and quickly added, "Someone to run messages across town, work in the shop when I'm busy, fetch ingredients, do a little cleaning here and there, maybe laundry." He bit his lip. "Cooking every once in a while, if you think you can manage it. And someone to wake me up some mornings. I've got a charm that does it, but it's kind of unpleasant. I suppose you'd have to have one too, in that case." Here he started tapping his hand on the rough wood of the table, checking through what Matthias imagined was a mental list. "Picking up some ingredients, every once in a while. I think that's about it."
"Hm. Sounds like a handful." Matthias was fairly certain he'd already made up his mind, but he wasn't sure he was really quite ready for commitment as of yet.
"Oh, it's not like you'll be doing all at once. And I'm sure it'd be easier than any hard labor or that sort of thing that's on the market right now." Jordan leaned back in his chair, his expression shifting from overeager to casual dismissal.
Matthias rolled his lips, staring down at his plate in consternation. It seemed like a good offer- in fact, it seemed excellent, but he still was having trouble bringing himself to take it. It could be easily be interpreted as suspicious, and growing up in the rougher side of town had taught him to watch his own back. Still, Jordan seemed nice enough. "And the pay's good?" he asked, eyes barely flickering up from his fork, suddenly so fascinating and rich with detail.
"Well," Jordan squirmed in his seat. "It's decent enough, but I'll cover room and board, and you'd have the Holy days off. I'm also required by law to give you insurance to cover any Temple fees regarding magic-related injuries, so there's that too."
Mathias sat in thought.
"I'm a good cook," Jordan tacked on weakly. Matthias tried not to grin.
"Well," he said cautiously, deliberately drawing out his answer as Jordan squirmed in his seat once more, "I suppose that it's better than a slap in the belly with a wet fish."
Jordan blinked at him. "A what?"
"It's better than spending the last of your final paycheck in a bar when your landlady has given you two days to get rid of your stuff," Matthias amended.
"Ah." Jordan wrinkled up his nose and Matthias was reminded of one of the fine ladies in the market, skirting around a particularly vile puddle on Soren Way. Jordan folded his hands neatly on the table and, having regained his composure, started up again. "So you'll take it, then?"
Matthias nodded.
A smile spread across Jordan's face, languid and self-assured. "Good, good. That's excellent." He got up quickly, apparently deciding that he was done, and grabbed his plate before taking it to the sink. "And don't worry about calling me sir or anything like that. I'm hiring you as much to be my friend as much as anything." He hesitated, "Living on your own gets a little old after awhile, you know?"
Matthias's mouth quirked into a smile, amusement showing in the simplest of ways. "Oh, speaking of which, uhh, Jordan, I need to go by my old apartment to grab my stuff sometime today, if you don't mind, elsewise my landlady's gonna throw it to the curb."
"That's not a problem." Distracted, Jordan crossed the room to one of the precarious stacks of paper. "We can stop by after your haircut."
"Pardon?"
"Oh, no need to thank me," he babbled happily, sifting through the pile. "I mean, it's probably been several months since you've gotten one and Melissa owes me a favor anyway.Hardly a big deal at all."
"I don't need a haircut." Matthias winced at the defensive, sullen edge in his voice but he was determined to stand his ground. Jordan straightened up and gave him a once-over, doubt crystal clear on his face.
"Matthias," Jordan started, using a tone Matthias was sure was meant to be soothing, "You look like a ruffian. It'll look nice short, I assure you. Very professional, even!" Matthias furrowed his brow in consternation.
"But I like it long. It makes me look...rugged."
Jordan snorted, barely containing his laughter. "You're getting a haircut." This time there was something under the joviality, more forceful. Matthias knew an order when he saw one.
Haircut it was.
One of the reasons it hadn't been going up was because I'M WRITING SOMETHING SUPER SPECIAL for jessofthebugs. Yaaaay!
That's almost done (sort of) too.
Matthias found Jordan hurriedly moving stacks of books and papers off the table and to any available flat surface, though the floor was the most abundant of the somewhat pitiful options. He straightened up when he saw Matthias, taking a sheepish moment to look around the cluttered kitchen.
"Sorry about the mess," he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. 'Mess' was not necessarily the word Matthias would use. A miscellany, perhaps? It was less of a mess and more a large collection of seemingly unrelated items. Odds and ends sat in arbitrary stacks, littering chairs, lamp tables and, even the carpet with papers, receipts, and old charms, as well as a battered fountain pen and an abacus.
"Oh, it's fine," Matthias muttered, looking around in awe. There was writing on the walls, things like runes and half-written recipes as well as a large reminder on the wall above the stove declaring 'Two parts water, one part mercury'. Jordan followed his gaze.
"That's one of the bases for all charms. When I was just starting out I would sometimes get the ratio wrong with disastrous results. One of my first charms exploded on activation. I've got a nasty scar from it on my brow," he said, touching a finger to his forehead. Matthias searched his face for it, but saw nothing. "Oh!" Jordan exclaimed hurriedly, "I suppose you can't see it." He scrambled to pull off a chain from his neck, digging under his collar to do so. When he removed the wooden disc he temporarily went out of focus and Matthias had to blink a few times before his image cleared. Without the charm Jordan looked older, his face more flawed, the circles under his eyes more prominent. He had a scar above his right eye and his complexion was darker and less smooth, though his grin was the same. "You can use magic for a lot of things, you know," he said around a smirk.
Jordan did a poor job of holding in his glee while Matthias gaped like a fish, though he did put the charm back on and finished up with breakfast. He set down the two plates on what was available real estate on the table and sat down. Matthias followed suit, trying to make the best of an awkward situation. He was hungry, however, and though nothing fancy, the two eggs and toast certainly looked appetizing.
They were a little over halfway done when Matthias cleared his throat, returning Jordan's focus from his plate to his guest. "So," he started hesitantly, "About this job you're offering me, uh, sir. What does it entail, exactly?"
"Oh, uhm," Jordan set down his fork, obviously scrambling to gather his thoughts. "Well, when I said valet I'm afraid I misled you a little. I suppose, technically, what I need is an errand runner." He seemed a little embarrassed and quickly added, "Someone to run messages across town, work in the shop when I'm busy, fetch ingredients, do a little cleaning here and there, maybe laundry." He bit his lip. "Cooking every once in a while, if you think you can manage it. And someone to wake me up some mornings. I've got a charm that does it, but it's kind of unpleasant. I suppose you'd have to have one too, in that case." Here he started tapping his hand on the rough wood of the table, checking through what Matthias imagined was a mental list. "Picking up some ingredients, every once in a while. I think that's about it."
"Hm. Sounds like a handful." Matthias was fairly certain he'd already made up his mind, but he wasn't sure he was really quite ready for commitment as of yet.
"Oh, it's not like you'll be doing all at once. And I'm sure it'd be easier than any hard labor or that sort of thing that's on the market right now." Jordan leaned back in his chair, his expression shifting from overeager to casual dismissal.
Matthias rolled his lips, staring down at his plate in consternation. It seemed like a good offer- in fact, it seemed excellent, but he still was having trouble bringing himself to take it. It could be easily be interpreted as suspicious, and growing up in the rougher side of town had taught him to watch his own back. Still, Jordan seemed nice enough. "And the pay's good?" he asked, eyes barely flickering up from his fork, suddenly so fascinating and rich with detail.
"Well," Jordan squirmed in his seat. "It's decent enough, but I'll cover room and board, and you'd have the Holy days off. I'm also required by law to give you insurance to cover any Temple fees regarding magic-related injuries, so there's that too."
Mathias sat in thought.
"I'm a good cook," Jordan tacked on weakly. Matthias tried not to grin.
"Well," he said cautiously, deliberately drawing out his answer as Jordan squirmed in his seat once more, "I suppose that it's better than a slap in the belly with a wet fish."
Jordan blinked at him. "A what?"
"It's better than spending the last of your final paycheck in a bar when your landlady has given you two days to get rid of your stuff," Matthias amended.
"Ah." Jordan wrinkled up his nose and Matthias was reminded of one of the fine ladies in the market, skirting around a particularly vile puddle on Soren Way. Jordan folded his hands neatly on the table and, having regained his composure, started up again. "So you'll take it, then?"
Matthias nodded.
A smile spread across Jordan's face, languid and self-assured. "Good, good. That's excellent." He got up quickly, apparently deciding that he was done, and grabbed his plate before taking it to the sink. "And don't worry about calling me sir or anything like that. I'm hiring you as much to be my friend as much as anything." He hesitated, "Living on your own gets a little old after awhile, you know?"
Matthias's mouth quirked into a smile, amusement showing in the simplest of ways. "Oh, speaking of which, uhh, Jordan, I need to go by my old apartment to grab my stuff sometime today, if you don't mind, elsewise my landlady's gonna throw it to the curb."
"That's not a problem." Distracted, Jordan crossed the room to one of the precarious stacks of paper. "We can stop by after your haircut."
"Pardon?"
"Oh, no need to thank me," he babbled happily, sifting through the pile. "I mean, it's probably been several months since you've gotten one and Melissa owes me a favor anyway.Hardly a big deal at all."
"I don't need a haircut." Matthias winced at the defensive, sullen edge in his voice but he was determined to stand his ground. Jordan straightened up and gave him a once-over, doubt crystal clear on his face.
"Matthias," Jordan started, using a tone Matthias was sure was meant to be soothing, "You look like a ruffian. It'll look nice short, I assure you. Very professional, even!" Matthias furrowed his brow in consternation.
"But I like it long. It makes me look...rugged."
Jordan snorted, barely containing his laughter. "You're getting a haircut." This time there was something under the joviality, more forceful. Matthias knew an order when he saw one.
Haircut it was.