Richard meets Artemis

The pleasant warmth of summer was slowly
vanishing. Cold winds were beginning to ebb at the borders of the Society, but
the cloudy skies cast little more than chilling breezes upon the building. It
wasn't an overly unpleasant day, merely drab, plain.
In this season, a person might gaze out of
their window longingly, and to the one who had observed, it was easy to notice
a regular visitor that never made it past the doors. He'd been coming and
leaving for a few days by now, and the routine was strange, if nothing else:
the man would go as far as the doorsteps, but as soon as he would bring his
hand to knock upon the doors, his confidence - and his fixed smile - would
vanish. Hastily, he would turn on his heels and make his way back down the
streets. He'd be back the next day. He always was.
And he was here now; he stared up at the
imposing building with a hopeful smile, stray curls drifting in and out of his
view. Slowly, he stepped forth, a beat passing before he gingerly applies a
knock against the door.
Tairais: Stifling yet another yawn, Richard popped his neck
as his boots tapped out a meandering rhythm through the halls of the Society.
Lost in his thoughts as he was, he almost didn't hear the syncopation of
someone knocking on the door. Pivoting on his his heel, he faced the door and
tilted his head in a gesture more animal than human, then frowned slightly, as
if to ask 'Now why would you do that?'
He straightened his posture after a moment lingering over the feeling of déjà
vu before adopting a slight limp to silence the slight 'tink' of his metallic
footsteps. He chided himself for leaving his apron and cane upstairs: the
former of which hid the slight bump where metal met flesh above his knee, the
latter of which made it easier to walk 'normally'.Mentally shrugging off as
much of his trepidation, he crossed the room and opened the door after
fastening his scarf more securely around his neck.
He vaguely recognized the man that stood before him and stifled a smile and a
dry comment about courage, instead standing straight and infusing slight warmth
into his voice. He did his best to ignore the slightly raspy quality of it;
That was likely due to last night's dreams.
"Labądien, signore. M-may I b-be of assistance?" Lacking the usual
security of his cane, his clasped his hands behind his back somewhat tensely
and tried to enjoy the pleasant day.
Decipherer:  The
man's smile only brightens at Richard, never pausing to consider that someone
might recognize his face's faint similarity to Elias'. He folds his hands
politely and starts with a cheerful tone of voice, "Hi there!
I was wondering if a mister Elias Castellanos was staying here? The help is
really appreciated, sir."
Tairais:  Something
about the man seemed familiar, but his skills lay in the recognizing details of
his surroundings and machinery, less so people. When he mentioned Elias' name,
a faint, fond smile curled the corners of his eyes.
"I had the p-pleasure of m-meeting him.. I b-believe it was earlier t-this
w-week, t-though my p-perception of t-time is skewed a-at the best of times.
T-to answer y-your question, h-he is indeed." It didn't occur to him to
invite the other man inside, nor to ask his business with Elias. He'd blame
that on the lack of tea in his system later.
Decipherer:  A
small titter passes his lips, almost sharing in the fondness. His voice seems
to increase in speed as he talks, "If it's not too much trouble, could you
perhaps notify him that Artemis is here? Or if you could direct me to him. I do
hope I'm not interrupting anything!"
Tairais:  Richard
held up a hand in a placating gesture, the smile in the corners of his eyes
deepening with amusement. "All is w-well, you are i-interrupting nothing
as f-far as I know.. H-however, I m-must confess I d-do not know w-where in the
building h-he is currently l-located." For a single heartbeat, he let his
gaze turn distant and cold as he calculated the odds of this newcomer causing
too terrible an amount of trouble, and the chances of any sort of shady
business. He would be a poor friend indeed if he didn't do his part to keep the
few he had safe.
Finding the odds satisfactory, he smiled once more and stepped aside, gesturing
towards the interior of the building. "I-if y-you would l-like, we can
l-look for him t-together Signore...?" Perhaps not the most graceful way
of asking a name, but he'd done worse. At least this time he didn't punch the
man he was asking the name of. He had a feeling that would be terribly rude,
and that simply wouldn't do.
Decipherer:  The
man offers a wide, pleasant grin, nodding to Richard with a small laugh as he
steps forward. "Artemis Geovanni, sir! That would be delightful! I'm here
to deliver a message, you see, simply fami-- ...fam..."
His voice dies out as he lays his eyes upon the magnificent foyer, and he looks
around with a blissful smile. "Oh... oh, my goodness gracious."
(( Notable Thing Doodle Forgot To Mention #618: Arty's accent is hard to place
as well, but it's a lot less thick. It's got more English than Greek, unlike his
brother's. ))
Tairais:  "R-richard
P-prince." He chuckled softly at the look on Artemis' face.
"'G-goodness gracious d-does seem t-to be t-the appropriate r-response,
d-does it n-not?"
Richard's mind was partly occupied with the unfinished 'family' in that
sentence, thoughts darting and leaping like so many stained-glass-butterflies
and sparks of intuition. Hopefully nothing unfortunate had happened, and
hopefully he was not about to start some sort of dramatic sequence of events.
There were all too many similarities in this situation- Hell, he was wearing
the same clothes in some of those memories.
He waited for a minute or so before clearing his throat gently. "I-I
suppose t-the kitchen w-would be as g-good a place t-to start as any, yes? I-if
you will f-follow me.." Trusting Artemis wouldn't want to get lost in an
unfamiliar building and follow him, he began to walk/limp towards one of his
favorite rooms in the Society.
Decipherer:  Artemis
does indeed follow after him, clearing his throat after a moment. "Right!
Yes, of course!"
He continues his babbling, "Anyway, um, so -- yes! I do need to pass on
some information to him, but it's a dull little thing, really."
Tairais:  Richard
smiled and chuckled again. "I s-somehow f-feel t-that a message t-that
took s-so m-many attempts j-just to arrive at t-the door, n-never mind t-the
fact w-we have y-yet to find Elias, i-is a 'dull l-little thing,' as you
said." He coughed sheepishly, backpedaling slightly. "N-not t-to be
rude, of c-course. M-merely an observation."
Decipherer:  Artemis'
eyes widen, and he lets out another small chuckle, his cheeks slowly pinking.
"Oh, right, that!" He hardly seems shaken, though, and smiles through
this fact. "Oh no, you're really fine! I suppose it was just a nervous
thing, after all. It's been years, heh."
Tairais:  Richard
hummed softly. "Still. A-at any r-rate, I am s-sure all w-will be
well." As they turned the corner to the kitchen, he slowed to walk beside
Artemis rather than in front, as he had been, not entirely sure what possessed
him to do so. He nodded at the doorway to the kitchen to distinguish it from
the many other entrances in the hallway.
Decipherer:  Artemis
pokes his head inside the doorway, scanning the area.
Elias isn't there.
He looks back towards Richard, but his smile remains fixed, though perhaps
slightly less eager. "I'm afraid he's not in the kitchen."
Tairais:  Richard
nods. "V-very well. My apologies, t-the kitchen w-was simply closer. I
b-believe his room w-was... this way." He hoped his memory was working
well; Numbers and names were fond of swapping at times. He was relieved, then,
when he didn't get the pair of them lost in the hallways of the Society.
He stopped a few paces from Elias' door, nodding to it in turn. "T-this
one, I b-believe. If h-he's not in there.. well, I h-have a f-few more
ideas." Hopefully he was, though. The more rooms he wandered to, the
greater his chance of getting lost, and that wouldn't be fun for either of
them.
Decipherer:  Artemis
briefly smiles at him in a warm way. "Thank you so much, Mister
Prince!" He turns to face the door after this, and very cautiously knocks
against the surface. There is no noise behind the door.
...
As soon as Artemis moves to knock again, annoyed and bitter grumbling sounds
from within the room, as well as a few choice swear words. The door swings open
a mere heartbeat later, to reveal a very sleepy and disheveled Elias, his
unbothered hair even more unkempt than usual, several buttons on his undershirt
done improperly. "I'm very busy, would you come back later-- "
He freezes up as his words escape him, his face paling at the sight of the two
men. "A-- Arty? What-- how did you..." His throat
closes and he slowly looks towards Richard. "Did you bring
him? I don't underst-"
He is abruptly cut off as Artemis pulls Elias into a tight hug, small, happy
giggles leaving his lips. "I absolutely knew it! I knew you'd be
here!"
Tairais:  Richard
very carefully kept his emotions from showing on his face despite the flashes
of nervousness threatening to poke through at the conflict of emotions between
the two brothers. In response to Elias, he merely nodded and retreated a few
more steps, so as to not impose. He wasn't entirely sure if he should leave,
stay, apologize for being a disturbance or some combination thereof.
It was easier to see they were related now that they were together, he thought.
He was also fully aware his mind was trying to think of anything but the
current situation.
Decipherer:  Elias,
too, lets out a small laugh, and though reluctantly at first, he accepts and
returns the hug. Artemis twists to observe Richard, and suddenly grabs his
hand, pulling him towards the embrace with a bright smile. "Thank
you."
Tairais:  Richard
froze for several moments as he fought off the waves ofNonononono and
feelings of centipedes crawling through his skin that came with the sensation
of an uninvited and unprepared-for touch. Eventually, though, he relaxed, and
even allowed a small chuckle to escape. "A-ah. Y-you are w-welcome, o-of
c-course."
Decipherer:  Elias
pokes his head out from the embrace and pulls away slowly, looking towards both
Richard and Artemis. "How did you find me?" He fixes his gaze onto
Richard, but it's unclear as to if he's addressing him or Artemis. "Did
you know him or something?"
Tairais:  "H-he
k-knocked. I answered. I d-did n-not know him u-until now." Richard
gingerly stepped back and wrapped his arms around himself for half a second,
trying to chase off the worst of the feeling. His hand twitched slightly, and
he frowned in irritation. "Must you..?" He muttered.
Decipherer:  Elias
considers the answer, before being seemingly satisfied. "Oh, uh...
right."
Artemis grins eagerly. "Can I come in?"
Elias nods, opening the door wider and gesturing inside the room, but both men
pause and look towards Richard. Elias offers somewhat hesitantly, "Would
you like to join us, Richard?"
Tairais:  Richard
shifted on his feet uncertainly, eyes darting away nervously, as they often
did. "I-I.. What a-are t-the words.. It i-is a f-familial m-matter, I am
n-not s-so certain, nor d-do I wish t-to intrude." He took a slight step
backwards, wringing his hands behind his back. He reached a decision after
another moment's thought and smiled softly. "I-I will l-leave y-you t-two
to g-get.. r-reacquainted." With that, he turned on his heel and began to
walk quickly down the hall, this time forgetting to hide the quiet thuds of his
leg.
Decipherer:  Both
brothers look rather guiltily upon Richard as he makes his leave.
== Obtained From ==
Gray Skies and Purple Guys
Category:Side Story
Category:Introduction Stories
Category:Haunting Pasts