7th of Saun, Arc 718
Continued from here.
Devin awoke to the sunlight shining on his face and the sound of birds chirping outside the window. For a moment he simply lay there, groaning softly, because the birds were loud and getting on his nerves, and his head felt as if somebody had hit it with a hammer, and then he opened his eyes - only to realize that he was not in his own bedroom!
“Good morning!” he could hear a gentle and somewhat amused voice from his left. He turned his head and found himself looking at a young man with curly black hair and chocolate brown eyes that was next him, regarding him, supporting himself on his elbow. “Did you sleep well?”
Devin just stared for him at the moment as he tried to remember what had happened the evening before, and then he murmured, “Umm …”
“I see!” the man who he had apparently spent the night with remarked and laughed. “You need a cup of coffee in order to fully wake up and regain the ability to think clearly. I’ll make some for you!” he informed him and kissed him on the cheek before he climbed out of the bed and padded across the room which allowed Devin to take a good look at his backside.
While the young man got dressed and eventually disappeared through the door, Devin sat up in bed only to abruptly grab his head that was hurting worse now that he’d begun to move and talk. The memories were coming back, slowly. He had been playing the lute at Cally’s, just like every evening, when he'd noticed the man smiling at him. He'd flirted right back before the man had disappeared abruptly. After his shift had ended, he'd found him waiting outside the restaurant though.
The young man who he now remembered was called Aidan had offered to accompany him home, but apparently, they had changed their mind on the way there and gone somewhere else and partied for a few breaks instead before they had ended up at his place – which was fine with Devin since always waking up in your own bed was boring anyway.
With that thought in mind, he slowly lowered his feet onto the floor, grabbed his clothes that were lying in a heap next to the bed, put them on and made his way through the door.
“Your place looks really nice!” he remarked as he took a look around the living room and finally stopped in front of the fireplace in order to examine the random knick-knacks on the mantelpiece. A ring with a large blue stone that was lying in a crystal bowl, among a few other pieces of jewelry, caught his attention. He was just about to take it and look at it more closely when Aidan returned from the kitchen, carrying a pot of steaming, hot coffee in his hand.
“One of my grandmother’s old rings”, the young man remarked. “She said that it allows you to return from the dead, but since she had a stroke and didn’t come back, it probably doesn’t work. You can have it if you want. It’s too gaudy for my taste, and the stone looks fake to me! Now come and sit with me. The coffee’s ready!”
Devin beamed at him and slipped the ring onto his finger as he rather liked gaudy things before he sat down at the large white table that stood in the center of the living room. He put his hands around the cup and took a few gulps of the delicious drink, nearly burning his tongue, before he set it down again and regarded the young man thoughtfully.
“How come you don’t have a hangover?” he wanted to know.
“I got a hangover cure from Peytr, the alchemist. I offered you a vial, but you got really mad at me for some reason and wanted to punch me!” Aidan told him and shook his head amusedly.
“Peytr and I have a history”, Devin informed him, but he didn’t say more than that as talking about the fact that he had volunteered as a test subject and that Peytr’s potions had made him cough up hairballs and grow disgusting boils on his head, among other things, wasn’t particularly romantic.
“I see!” Aidan remarked and slid a plate with a few rolls as well as jam and a bit of butter across the table to Devin who immediately grabbed the food and started to devour it. Partying as well as engaging in other activities for breaks on end had made him hungry!
~~~
“Anyway”, Aidan said after they had finished eating breakfast. “I need to be at university in a break or so. Did I tell you what I’m studying yesterday?” he wanted to know and scratched his head. “I’ll just tell you again, I suppose. I’m getting my Diploma in Linguistics because I want to become a professor. In my case that basically means that I’m learning a lot of languages that nobody in Scalvoris really speaks. It sounds boring, but it’s really a lot of fun! When somebody talks to me, but I don’t want to talk to them, I just say something in the Ancient Language so that they believe that I’m a tourist and don’t understand them!”
“You can stay here for a while while I’m at university and rest some more if you want to. Just hide the key in the flowerpot next to the door when you leave”, he offered which made Devin smile. Aidan didn’t have any idea that the bard that he had met was also a thief – and quite a good one, at that. Once the young man was gone, he decided, he would search the entire house for valuables. Maybe he’d find something else besides his grandmother’s ring. His eyes briefly went back to the bowl that was filled with jewelry again.
“Do you think that we could see each other again, by the way?” Aidan asked hopefully, and Devin turned to face him again, thinking. He wasn’t particularly interested in dating or similarly conventional activities, but there were a few advantages to associating with him some more, he decided, especially if he was really going to become a professor.
It would be good to know somebody at the university that was favorably inclined towards him!
“Sure!” he replied. “I’ll be playing at Cally’s again tonight. I’ll reserve a table for you!” he offered and pulled him close for a kiss before he allowed him to grab his stuff and walk out of the door. Once he was alone, he decided to inspect all the shelves and opened all the cupboards. There was a golden candelabra that looked especially promising. He reached for it, about to grab it, his eyes shimmering with greed - but he couldn’t bring himself to actually stealing it!
If he robbed Aidan, he realized, the man might betray him to the authorities, and then he’d spend his next vacation in Slags Deep. He didn’t want to go to Slags Deep. It was probably all kinds of terrible, the people that lived there were probably ugly and wore ugly clothes, and they’d make him look ugly too!
For that reason, he simply grabbed some more food, went out of the door, dumped the key into the flowerpot as he had been told to and strolled down the street, occasionally admiring his new ring. Aidan had said that the stone looked fake, but Devin was pretty sure that it wasn’t. He had been a jewel thief for quite a few arcs now. He knew such things!
Eventually, his walk took him to the town square and the noticeboard that provided him with an endless stream of new victims. He wouldn’t steal Aidan’s candelabra, even though he really wanted to, because it was simply too dangerous, but he would definitely take something from the people that had posted their ads there – no, he would make them hand over all their money voluntarily!
Devin awoke to the sunlight shining on his face and the sound of birds chirping outside the window. For a moment he simply lay there, groaning softly, because the birds were loud and getting on his nerves, and his head felt as if somebody had hit it with a hammer, and then he opened his eyes - only to realize that he was not in his own bedroom!
“Good morning!” he could hear a gentle and somewhat amused voice from his left. He turned his head and found himself looking at a young man with curly black hair and chocolate brown eyes that was next him, regarding him, supporting himself on his elbow. “Did you sleep well?”
Devin just stared for him at the moment as he tried to remember what had happened the evening before, and then he murmured, “Umm …”
“I see!” the man who he had apparently spent the night with remarked and laughed. “You need a cup of coffee in order to fully wake up and regain the ability to think clearly. I’ll make some for you!” he informed him and kissed him on the cheek before he climbed out of the bed and padded across the room which allowed Devin to take a good look at his backside.
While the young man got dressed and eventually disappeared through the door, Devin sat up in bed only to abruptly grab his head that was hurting worse now that he’d begun to move and talk. The memories were coming back, slowly. He had been playing the lute at Cally’s, just like every evening, when he'd noticed the man smiling at him. He'd flirted right back before the man had disappeared abruptly. After his shift had ended, he'd found him waiting outside the restaurant though.
The young man who he now remembered was called Aidan had offered to accompany him home, but apparently, they had changed their mind on the way there and gone somewhere else and partied for a few breaks instead before they had ended up at his place – which was fine with Devin since always waking up in your own bed was boring anyway.
With that thought in mind, he slowly lowered his feet onto the floor, grabbed his clothes that were lying in a heap next to the bed, put them on and made his way through the door.
“Your place looks really nice!” he remarked as he took a look around the living room and finally stopped in front of the fireplace in order to examine the random knick-knacks on the mantelpiece. A ring with a large blue stone that was lying in a crystal bowl, among a few other pieces of jewelry, caught his attention. He was just about to take it and look at it more closely when Aidan returned from the kitchen, carrying a pot of steaming, hot coffee in his hand.
“One of my grandmother’s old rings”, the young man remarked. “She said that it allows you to return from the dead, but since she had a stroke and didn’t come back, it probably doesn’t work. You can have it if you want. It’s too gaudy for my taste, and the stone looks fake to me! Now come and sit with me. The coffee’s ready!”
Devin beamed at him and slipped the ring onto his finger as he rather liked gaudy things before he sat down at the large white table that stood in the center of the living room. He put his hands around the cup and took a few gulps of the delicious drink, nearly burning his tongue, before he set it down again and regarded the young man thoughtfully.
“How come you don’t have a hangover?” he wanted to know.
“I got a hangover cure from Peytr, the alchemist. I offered you a vial, but you got really mad at me for some reason and wanted to punch me!” Aidan told him and shook his head amusedly.
“Peytr and I have a history”, Devin informed him, but he didn’t say more than that as talking about the fact that he had volunteered as a test subject and that Peytr’s potions had made him cough up hairballs and grow disgusting boils on his head, among other things, wasn’t particularly romantic.
“I see!” Aidan remarked and slid a plate with a few rolls as well as jam and a bit of butter across the table to Devin who immediately grabbed the food and started to devour it. Partying as well as engaging in other activities for breaks on end had made him hungry!
~~~
“Anyway”, Aidan said after they had finished eating breakfast. “I need to be at university in a break or so. Did I tell you what I’m studying yesterday?” he wanted to know and scratched his head. “I’ll just tell you again, I suppose. I’m getting my Diploma in Linguistics because I want to become a professor. In my case that basically means that I’m learning a lot of languages that nobody in Scalvoris really speaks. It sounds boring, but it’s really a lot of fun! When somebody talks to me, but I don’t want to talk to them, I just say something in the Ancient Language so that they believe that I’m a tourist and don’t understand them!”
“You can stay here for a while while I’m at university and rest some more if you want to. Just hide the key in the flowerpot next to the door when you leave”, he offered which made Devin smile. Aidan didn’t have any idea that the bard that he had met was also a thief – and quite a good one, at that. Once the young man was gone, he decided, he would search the entire house for valuables. Maybe he’d find something else besides his grandmother’s ring. His eyes briefly went back to the bowl that was filled with jewelry again.
“Do you think that we could see each other again, by the way?” Aidan asked hopefully, and Devin turned to face him again, thinking. He wasn’t particularly interested in dating or similarly conventional activities, but there were a few advantages to associating with him some more, he decided, especially if he was really going to become a professor.
It would be good to know somebody at the university that was favorably inclined towards him!
“Sure!” he replied. “I’ll be playing at Cally’s again tonight. I’ll reserve a table for you!” he offered and pulled him close for a kiss before he allowed him to grab his stuff and walk out of the door. Once he was alone, he decided to inspect all the shelves and opened all the cupboards. There was a golden candelabra that looked especially promising. He reached for it, about to grab it, his eyes shimmering with greed - but he couldn’t bring himself to actually stealing it!
If he robbed Aidan, he realized, the man might betray him to the authorities, and then he’d spend his next vacation in Slags Deep. He didn’t want to go to Slags Deep. It was probably all kinds of terrible, the people that lived there were probably ugly and wore ugly clothes, and they’d make him look ugly too!
For that reason, he simply grabbed some more food, went out of the door, dumped the key into the flowerpot as he had been told to and strolled down the street, occasionally admiring his new ring. Aidan had said that the stone looked fake, but Devin was pretty sure that it wasn’t. He had been a jewel thief for quite a few arcs now. He knew such things!
Eventually, his walk took him to the town square and the noticeboard that provided him with an endless stream of new victims. He wouldn’t steal Aidan’s candelabra, even though he really wanted to, because it was simply too dangerous, but he would definitely take something from the people that had posted their ads there – no, he would make them hand over all their money voluntarily!
