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Post by Nikolai Korsmo on Dec 18, 2010 0:04:48 GMT -5
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick.
Blue eyes stared holes into the clock before them. Why was time moving so slowly all of a sudden. At this rate they would never get here.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick.
Pacing began. He was usually never this impatient but since the day before, Nikolai was anxious to get out of the country, already.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick.
That was it. The clock needed to stop with the echoing noise or something was going to be broken. Nikolai stepped out of the main room to regain his sanity, the threatening headache soothing away once that noise was finally inaudible. A sigh escaped his lips. The noble looked around, somehow ending up in the kitchen. Propping himself off the door, the young man walked over to a cupboard, reaching up and opening the small door and taking a look inside. That brother of his ate too much, sometimes...
A piece of licorice was plucked from a container, instantly popped into the hungry mouth and the cabinet door was quietly shut. Chewing on the treat, a trip was taken over to the ice box. There must not have been enough time to make something worth while. Turning around and leaning against a countertop, the Norwegian's icy gaze was taken outside the window, staring at the light snowfall. It wasn't enough to delay any form of transportation but if his bodyguards weren't used to Nordic weather, maybe it was that which caused a delay. Little did he know, there was no delay. The only order his commissioner gave out time wise was 'before dark'. Nikolai wished he knew what the time was. He'd been up since the peak of dawn already with his bag packed.
Speaking of...where was the bag? It was most likely back up in his room. No matter how much the boredom ached, the blond figured he could just wait till the mercenaries arrived to go up and retrieve it. It was a light bag anyway so it wouldn't take long to grab. The only things inside was enough money to suffice in this and the next country, five changes of clothes, two pairs of shoes, a couple books, and a pink stuffed rabbit.
He began to question slightly why the trip was necessary in truth. He could send anyone down to France in order to take care of business for him. It must have been something to do with image or else of the sort. His grandparents set the order themselves and saw it beneficial for finances to come in for the family. Yet another sigh was released, a common motion for the man. His eyes closed as he braced himself to make his way back into the other room, preparing for the echoing noise yet again.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick.
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Post by Mattias Andersen on Dec 18, 2010 1:03:32 GMT -5
Damn snow. Always a pain in the ass to walk in. Or in this case slog through as it was deep enough with the mud and all. He didn't like this time of year, it was always miserable and cold. It made him want to stay inside where it was warm and pretend the outside didn't exist, which was depressing just to think about.
But at least he had a job, and he'd get to be on a ship again. Some noble needed protection on his trip, so they had to meet him at his fancy home and escort him the whole way. They were sailing somewhere south, so maybe it would get warmer. Plus a job meant money, and if he was lucky someone to beat up. A bandit or two might be nice. Pirates would be too much trouble as someone might recognize him and he didn't want to get into the consequences of that.
Mattias glanced over at the shorter blond man wearing a light blue outfit and white cape with a long bag over his shoulder. His name was Tino and supposedly he was good with his guns, though he wasn't too sure about that. All he could see of weapons was some pistols on his belt, plus he was too innocent looking. What kind of man for hire could look that childish? More likely he was new at this and either told some story to get hired or someone owed him a favor. But as long as he didn't get in the way too much he could deal with it. Maybe teach him a thing or two.
He grinned over at Tino. "So, you happen to know anything about our new employer? I haven't been here long, and still feelin' my way around."
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Post by Tino Väinämöinen on Dec 18, 2010 15:56:16 GMT -5
To be perfectly honest, Tino didn't really mind all the sludge, or the fact that he wasn't alone. It would be better this way, he decided internally, than working alone. If he was alone, then it would only increase the chances of being captured by a rouge band of pirates...again. A little bit of a winter breeze was blowing, causing the Finn to shiver. He pulled the hood of his cape up and looked over at the other male as the question was asked. “Hmm? Uh no actually, I don't know the first thing about them, all I really know is that we're escorting a male.” He answered and gave the tall blonde a weak smile. Looking up through the trees, Tino wondered how much father they had to go. It felt like they'd been walking for a few hours now. Ah, but then he spotted the house. “...That must be it.” He pointed and then withdrew his hand from the cold, shivering lightly.
Watching his breath rise, and the house get closer, the man wondered who was inside. Was the client young, old? With a parent? Alone? Kind, cruel? The man guessed he'd find out soon enough. The closer the two got to the building, the more nervous Tino became. He wasn't so good at meeting other people, but he at least was willing to give this his all. What good would a mercenary be if they couldn't work with people? It would have been pointless. He glanced at the other man for a moment. Tall, wild looking. A big axe on one shoulder. Tangled, rough blonde locks of hair. If Tino wasn't working with the other man, he would most certainly be intimidated by him. He was a little intimidated to be truthful, but he couldn't show it. To have that out in the open would classify him as weak. And the man knew he wasn't weak. Who else could have stood up to Ivan, could have escaped from his ship? Who else could have...left Berwald all alone? Not someone who was weak, that was for sure. Yes, he looked innocent. But to judge him on his looks would be a bad idea. Never judge a book by its cover, right?
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Post by Mattias Andersen on Dec 21, 2010 19:06:41 GMT -5
Finally, there was the house. Now they were getting somewhere other than frozen and wet. Why'd this guy have to live out in the middle of nowhere anyways? It's like he wanted to be away from people. A rich old hermit. That was boring. People were fun, occasionally annoying, and sometimes he had to kick their asses, but that was just part of it all. Had to take the good with the bad or something like that. This guy just didn't know what he was missing.
"A guy huh? No wonder he needs protection, this place is huge." Always seemed that the more money they had, the more scared they were that someone would take it away. Nobles did make bigger targets, but that was because they had so much in the first place. They could stand to lose a little. And if they couldn't, they should have learned to protect themselves better. This was the kind of world where you had to fight for everything you had, 'cause the moment you didn't that was your end. As this guy made sure to hire two mercenaries, plus that one of them was him, made him pretty smart. Nothing was going to get past them.
They crossed over onto a gravel path that led up to the house which was less slippery due to being better taken care of. "Think he's gonna know when we arrive? Maybe we should just bang on the door." The sooner they got in the better. It was damn cold out here.
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Post by Tino Väinämöinen on Dec 24, 2010 15:47:32 GMT -5
“Yeah, it's huge...” Tino mumbled and stared as the two approached the door. “...Oh, I guess we probably should.” With that the Nordic rose his hand and lightly knocked on the door, listening for any signs of movement inside. Watching his breath rise into the air in the form of steam once more, Tino hoped they would be going somewhere that was relatively warm at this time of the year. Not that he wasn't used to the cold, it'd just be a nice change of pace. All the blonde had been told was that he was to escort this man to his destination. He was given the address and was told that he'd be working alongside someone. It was amazing how little information his employer had given out. Then again, Tino was a mercenary. He shouldn't be that surprised with his employer, a scene like this was fairly common. Rubbing his hands together for warmth as he waited, the blonde man wondered about the man they were escorting again.
But then, they'd find out in a moment's time, as soon as the Noble in question opened the door. Tino hoped it would be soon, it was pretty cold. He heard footsteps and stood a little straighter, making sure he looked alright and professional. This was a job after all, and Tino didn't want to seem ill-prepared. He pushed the hair out of his face and waited, heart beating a little faster in anxiety. He forced a soft smile onto his face and glanced at the other male. Hopefully, they'd be able to escort this man with little to no problems.
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Post by Nikolai Korsmo on Dec 25, 2010 19:29:09 GMT -5
Ah! There it was, the knock the man had been waiting for. He could barely hear it but with the small shadows peaking from the door's crack, it promised visitors. Hopefully, they were the visitors expected.
Stepping over the the door, Nikolai dusted the blue dress draped over his small frame and grimaced down as the petticoat beneath ruffled. It's too bad his two only pairs of pants were being cleaned or he would have been able to look presentable. Maybe for once, someone outside the family would have the common sense to keep their mouth shut about his attire. The closest thing to an inviting face resumed its place, stoic at best, as a dainty hand reached out to the handle and turned it, bracing himself for a cold breeze.
Half-lidded eyes took in the two before him. An odd pair, to say the least. A large, brute-seeming man stood at the farthest but was still the first for Nikolai to see. He looked like a fool. Golden spikes donned the top of his head and as for clothing-choice, it seemed promising enough. At least he looked strong. Eying in front of him, the noble took a step back, realising the smaller of the two was a bit too close for comfort. He seemed much more petite than the other mercenary, not even looking the part. At least they could relate in feminine looks. There was something more intriguing about this one, however. Upon closer inspection, a rifle of all things caught his eye. The blond's eyebrows furrowed a bit, not taking the discovery easy. He'd only seen one other of the weapon before in his life and the stories of damage were not good. This is why one cannot judge a book by their cover.
Standing a bit out of the way, Nikolai held his arm out for the two, pointing the opposite way into his home. "Come in. The heat is getting out." He spoke with an almost whispery voice. The Norwegian was never one to speak loudly.
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Post by Mattias Andersen on Dec 27, 2010 1:33:58 GMT -5
Some girl opened the door. The noble's sister, daughter maybe? She was too pretty to be a wife, so he really hoped she wasn't. Really pretty, the kind you didn't see everyday. It was kind of hard to take his eyes off of her. She had short, pale blond hair that tucked around her head neatly except for one errant curl that stuck out on the left side. Her bangs were long and swept across her face to the same side, secured by a barrette. Her blue dress made her eyes stand out more and damn he really hoped she wasn't a wife.
Women were particular on alot of things (unless they were drunk or getting paid to ignore them, but that was a different story) so it would be good not to offend her before they got inside and got warm. He did need his job after all. Ooh, maybe she was coming along. By the sound of her voice she was a delicate type so he'd have to be especially nice to her. That was okay, he liked to charm them when he had a chance. "Hey, thanks for letting us in it was getting real cold out there. Not that I couldn't stand it or anything, but it's nicer to be inside on a night like this ya know?"
Yeah, friendly. That was the key. Gotta be friendly to them so they know you're an okay person. Even if you look dangerous and are hired to kill. He wasn't the type to hurt a woman anyways, unless they started it first. There are a few female pirates out there that were utterly ruthless, worse than the men. Those ones could take care of themselves so it didn't matter as much if you got into a fight with 'em and 'sides they'd gut you for treating them nicely. But girls like this were a different sort, all pretty and delicate, they needed to be protected.
Once inside Mattias shook off his chill, rubbing his hands together. His axe leaned against him, the blade hanging over his shoulder. "So uh, we're supposed to escort the lord of this house on a boat somewhere. Who else is coming with us?"
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Post by Tino Väinämöinen on Dec 28, 2010 16:53:50 GMT -5
Oh thank goodness, the door was open. Tino blinked upon seeing the other person in the doorway, but his instincts told him that this was the man they were to escort. Shaking the snow off his boots before walking inside, Tino gratefully let out a little sigh. “Thank you for showing us in, it was really cold out there.” A soft smile. He looked about the room, staring at all the intricate patterns and the overall wealth of the place. It was a very nice house, and for a moment, the Nordic wondered if this man was alone. He didn't hear any other signs of life in the house, so with that his violet eyes focused back on the man, the one in the blue dress. He was a bit taken back by the man's eyes, they were vivid and cold all at the same time. That powerful gaze made the blonde look away.
Looking over his weapons for a moment, he turned his attention back to the Dane. What was he staring at—oh no. Oh god, he was. He was staring at their escort. Tino cringed a little, no doubt that the other thought that he was a she. What a surprise he'd be in for in that case, and hopefully that surprise wouldn't come with any er, physical injury, such as a big palm print across his face. This was certainly going to be..interesting, to put it simply. Now, Tino had to wait for his next orders, so he turned his gaze back to Nikolai and held himself at attention. Patience always was one of Tino's strong points.
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Post by Nikolai Korsmo on Dec 28, 2010 17:42:50 GMT -5
The man simply nodded as the two walked in, completely ignoring the Dane's attempts to brag about himself. Closing the door, the host turned to eye his hired help a second time, impression not changing a bit. For some reason this time, the larger couldn't take his eyes of him and the smaller was averting his gaze. The blue orbs snapped down to the axe which one of them was leaning on. "Don't scratch the floor." He sighed out, not caring for the idea of his grandmother barking at him for being careless. looking back up, the Nordic took notice of the question.
"I am the one you will be escorting to France. My brother is the only other one here and he will not be joining us." Nikolai spoke a bit louder that time, not staring at the two mercenaries but through them. "Will we be leaving now?" The Norwegian stepped around here the others were standing and over to a set of stairs. He planned to go or his bags if the reply was yes and to go get another piece of that licorice if it was a no. His brother would probably throw a fit if he knew the older was eating his best licorice but there was no silver-headed man to stop him, now was there?
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Post by Mattias Andersen on Dec 29, 2010 22:52:24 GMT -5
They were escorting her? But their employer was supposed to be a man. Mattias blinked in confusion and took a closer look at the Lord. Was that really supposed to be a man? But he was so pretty... He looked over at Tino, wondering if he knew. Tino was looking away from the Lord, like he was bothered by his gaze. It was kind of direct and emotionless, but if the guy (in a dress?!) was a hermit and didn't talk to people much, no wonder he was odd. Maybe that also explained the dress, although...it did look good on him.
He lifted his axe as he was told not to scratch the floor. "Sure, yeah we can leave now. No point in delaying it any." He wasn't looking forward to going back out into the cold like that, but the sooner they left the sooner they got to the ship. And maybe the Lord would warm up the longer they were together.
Speaking of which... Mattias turned around as the the Lord headed for the stairs. "They didn't give us your name, so what are we supposed to refer to you by? My name's Mattias by the way."
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Post by Nikolai Korsmo on Dec 30, 2010 18:48:06 GMT -5
Nikolai nodded slightly, finding the other man staring so intently at him unnerving. "I'll need to put on a change of clothes then. I don't want to freeze in this gown." The blank stare was moved down to eye the outfit draped over his thin body. The gaze was only turned upward once more before heading upstairs once he heard the taller man named Mattias speak again. "Familiarity isn't really needed. My name is Nikolai." He'd think that the person who'd hired the two mercenaries for him would have told them that much.
And with that, a turn of the heel was made, barely making a noise on the carpet covered stairway, and the young lord took the stroll to his room. Reaching the rather large doors, the entrance was pushed open lightly and the Norwegian made his way in. The first thing noticed was the luggage he'd packed for the trip, strategically placed right next to the door. Instead of grabbing and running, the blond shut and locked the door behind him. Making the way toward the wardrobe parallel to his bed, a drawer was thrown open and a long-sleeved, white button-up was taken out, minor ruffles on the front getting crumpled as the man threw the piece of clothing carelessly to the floor. The drawer was shut with another quickly opened, this time a jet black vest being removed and soon joining the shirt on the floor. A fuzz-trimmed cowl was taken from an upper compartment, obviously meant to be some sort of foe fur considering the Noble's nature, and was thrown onto a chair nearby, the wardrobe's doors being shut directly after. There was a coat hanger downstairs so he needn't worry about that for a bit.
The blue gown was soon thrown off, exposing his bare chest until the first layer was on, followed by the vest. Looking down, the man grimaced a bit. This was appropriate dress for a lord, right? Since the only pants he'd owned were in the wash, the thick white stockings were what he'd have to bare with. It wasn't anything he'd likely freeze in, anyways.
Grabbing his trunk, the young man tottered away paying no heed to the gown discarded on the floor behind him. Time to get this trip over and done with. Slowly stepping down the stairs but by bit, Nikolai made it down soon enough and dropped the trunk to the wooden flooring, heading for the coat rack. A jet black jacket was picked off the top, fitting around his figure nicely once buttoned and the cowl from before was kept tucked beneath his arm, not seeing use for it at the moment.
The last thing picked off the rack was a small, black hat. It fit nicely with the rest of the attire and almost made him seem like a British gentleman. He'd always taken a liking to the fashion over on that island. Turning to view his body guards, another slight nod was given to show he was ready. At least he seemed more man-like at the moment then before. Saved him the trouble of packing his scepter.
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Post by Tino Väinämöinen on Jan 21, 2011 15:08:13 GMT -5
Ah, time to leave. Tino stood up straight again and waited patiently, motioning for Nikolai to go first. He’d take the back position, just in case there was some danger of an ambush. “Oh, um, I’m Tino by the way.” He added in a sort of awkward half-mutter, smiling weakly. “Now that all this is settled, are you ready to go, sir?” He asked, ever the air of obedience. He knew the other’s name now too, Mattias. A name as wild as his appearance. Both of them knew his name now too. This gave them a teeny bit of leverage over the other, and now if there was an emergency, persay, an attack, he could tell Nikolai to duck and Mattias to help him. It made this job a bit easier, being on a name-basis. His eyes lingered on Nikolai for a moment or so; the man was just so…different. He was stoic and beautiful, his clothes regal and an air of knowledge about him. It was rude to stare though, so Tino adjusted the bag again. He heard the metal clank and increased his grip on it.
Internally, he hoped not to use the rifle—it was for emergencies more than anything. It was a long range weapon, and the revolvers were more of the close –range. In actuality, he hoped he wouldn’t have to use either weapon. Though he was a mercenary, he didn’t like fighting. Funny how that worked out, he thought and smiled sadly. Almost out of pattern, he touched the iron cross hanging beneath his clothes. France…he hoped it would be warm there. It’d be a nice change of pace rather than all this snow and wind and utter cold. Sunlight, the Finn could certainly get more of that.
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