[Mechanical Marvels] Friendly Advice (Alistair)

[Dusk]

40th Day of Spring, 510AV - Evening Sir Tenner Nigriso had had worse days: days filled with more suffering and heartache, days when he'd left his office filled with despair, or hatred, or fury at the cruelty that some men would inflict on their fellows. Today was by no means as bad as those days... but he was still annoyed, and that didn't bode well for the target of his annoyance. He was known quite well throughout Syliras for his mild temper and his friendly demeanor, often the first face that many saw upon moving to the city and a kind one at that. But now there was a frown pulling at his lips as he waited in the shadow of a doorway for Ha'na to leave the gadgeteer's shop, a basket in hand as if she were going to market. Once she disappeared around a corner, he shoved out of his slouch and crossed the hallway, pushing open the door to the shop without bothering to knock. The ticking was a bit soothing, truth be told, and calmed the edges of his annoyance just a little, but it certainly didn't banish them. "Alistair?" he called out, voice pitched to carry even to the courtyard should it need to.

[Alistair deGrey]

The timing of events is often curious. Curious in that, though it is nearly impossible for them to be anything but coincidence, they seem to be predetermined. Perhaps I misjudge Lhex, but I believe his attentions are not concerned with the affairs of a lonely gadgeteer and a lovely Benshira. So though it must have been coincidence, I find it odd that Sir Negreso would enter my shop as soon as Ha'na left, to speak with me about Ha'na. The fire grasped at the beaker as Alistair removed it from the fireplace. A slightly burnt smell permeated the room, for he had left the beaker in the fire for too long. deGrey knew that Ha'na would dislike the stench, so every door was open. The liquid itself was a deep green, something that might be used to color clothing. Though Alistair hadn't the slightest as to how he would go about dying anything, at least he could philter colorings. He swirled the beaker in his leather gloved hand, trying in vain to dissolve some sediment on the bottom. Maybe he should not have changed the recipe. Nigriso's call reached Alistair in his living quarters, a summons breaking through the crackling of the fire and metronome of clocks. Keeping the hot beaker in his hand, the inventor padded to the front of the shop. He realized on his way he wasn't wearing shoes. Not the best of choices when mixing hot liquids. Up front, deGrey approached the counter and set his half failed creation on the counter. He appeared oblivious to Tenner's irritation. Alistair was not synced with many people's emotions, it was not exactly his talent. Instead his gloved finger pointed to the beaker, and he spoke to the knight in his characteristically calm voice. "I changed the recipe a bit. It originally called for whole stems, but I mashed them to get more pigment. I suppose that is why I got the sediment." Alistair rapped his fingers on the counter a few times, "though I suppose I could strain it and it may work. Actually, that is an excellent proposal. Thank you Sir Tenner." deGrey looked up at Sir Tenner, his mercury eyes roving about the knight's face. It seemed to the inventor, that this man might be displeased. Suddenly he was uncomfortable, and his hands slipped behind the counter, leaving the beaker of green dye unattended. Though most of his retraction was subconscious, he kept enough wits about him to maintain eye contact though it almost pained him. "Might I... Might I help you, Sir Nigroso?"

[Dusk]

The knight just sort of stared at Alistair as he went through his little "conversation" with him, and when the man finally seemed to realize that someone else was in the room, someone who might have their own motivations for being there, he just sighed and scratched idly at his jaw. It's as I told her, he thought. The man's just an idiot when it comes to women. "Hello, deGrey," he said, leaning an elbow on the counter and slouching a bit. "Just wanted to have a bit of a chat with you. I had an interesting conversation with Ha'na this morning when she came to turn in the keys to her suite." His displeasure was clear in his voice - there was something about that visit that bothered him enough to take the time out of his schedule and come down here personally, and that was likely not something he did very often.

[Alistair deGrey]

Inevitably, confusion is part of my life. I do not have the ability nor time to decipher the hidden meanings behind most people's speech. Though I would take an eternity to decode Ha'na. Though Alistair was not entirely sure where Tenner was aiming to take the conversation, he decided to run with the current. His eyes refocused at the mention of Ha'na and her task this morning. "Yes, I recall Ha'na leaving to collect her severance." deGrey almost continued, oh how dearly he wanted to ask what exactly this was about. Curiosity and anxiety burned a hole in deGrey's self control, "Umm, you are here for a reason, yes?" The inventor's voice would not have been audible had Tenner been any further away. A thought struck Alistair, his skin went a shade paler, "Nothing... Nothing happened to... To Ha'na?" He wracked his brain, pulling up his interaction with Ha'na right before she had left. Now that he thought about it, she had seemed worried, or upset. Alistair leaned forward, desperately trying to extract the meaning hidden behind his words. Damnation, damnation, damn it all! Just tell me what happened!" deGrey's hands gripped the counter, knuckles turning white. He had already lost one love, he would not, he refused to allow this one to slip through his fingers.

[Dusk]

Tenner saw the way deGrey suddenly paled and gripped the counter, and his eyes widened in surprise. "What? No! No, no, nothing's happened to her. Gods, deGrey, you go right to the worst possibility don't you?" he chuckled, shaking his head. But his eyes narrowed thoughtfully - for he'd seen, in that reaction, that Alistair loved Ha'na just as desperately as she loved him. They're both idiots, he though, and chuckled again. "Look, I just came to offer a bit of friendly advice," he said quickly, tapping a fingertip on the countertop. "She's a good girl, and I think you both care very much for each other. You want to keep her happy, you might want to make sure you two have words before Cheva. The Benshiran... well, in my experience they take marriage very seriously, and a woman once proposed to doesn't sleep well until she's got the Mark on her. If you understand what I mean?" he asked, unsure if Alistair would understand, or if his original plan of putting his foot up the man's ass would save them both some time.

[Alistair deGrey]

Idiocy. Why do fundamental things constantly slip through my net? Alistair was not sure if the relief that flooded through him should be washing away the anxiety, but it did not. The nervousness lingered like pools of darkness before the dawn, eddying in crevices and copses of trees. deGrey relaxed his grip, and allowed his hands to fall back below the counter. He was reassured that Ha'na was safe, for the word of a knight usually rang of truth. However, the prospect of marriage was daunting to say the least. Not confusion, per say, but helplessness came across Alistair. When in Zeltiva, the topic of marriage had never even come up between him and Magnolia. Yet with Ha'na it had been proposed the same night they had first met. Ha'na moved with breakneck speed, and Alistair was trying his best to hold on. It looked as if, however, that it was his turn to lead the way. "I, of course I want to exchange vows with Ha'na." Alistair was not sure he was answering Tenner's question, he was simultaneously walking in the world of his confused thoughts and that of the conversation. Was there even a question posed? "I just... I don't even know... Know where to begin. I know nothing of Benshiran weddings." Alistair added a helpless shrug, an accent to the plea he insinuated. "I do not think I should simply tell her either. She needs something special." The inventor paused for a few seconds before proceeding, "But yes, I will begin the proceedings at once." He would have to learn on the run.

[Dusk]

Tenner chuckled as he saw how flustered Alistair became, and offered him a friendly smile and a shrug. "I don't mean to pry, and it's not something I'd usually make my business, but... well, Ha'na has a way of making allies of the most unlikely sort," he laughed. "If it's a question of traditions, well, why don't you ask her? Find out what she's used to. And that'll serve the dual purpose of letting her know you're still actually planning on going through with it," he added with a raise of his eyebrows. "Which you say you are. And which I hope is true - because if it comes to my attention that you've convinced her to sell her accommodations and move her business here, and you were to collect fees and wages for her without fulfilling what promises you've made to her," he said, his voice growing serious and the smile slipping away, "I imagine you would find yourself in a very... unfortunate situation yourself. Do I make myself clear?" he murmured, watching deGrey very carefully. Not usually the purview of the knights, no, but then they'd an overflow of widows and unmarried women in Syliras, and it wouldn't do to have men coming to town simply to take advantage of them. Not that deGrey seemed the type to even be able to take advantage of a woman, but his own ignorance wasn't much of an excuse in this.

[Alistair deGrey]

Some people know how to press the buttons of even the most socially oblivious people. Sir Tenner Nigroso is one of those people. In under ten minutes he threw me all across the emotional spectrum. Alistair did not not being threatened, especially over something so completely incredulous. The thought that Tenner believed Alistair would cheat Ha'na stung and angered him. deGrey had love ripped from him once before, and he was at a loss as to how this man could even insinuate that he would abuse Ha'na. It was insulting. The inventor narrowed his eyes, his voice low and dangerous "My good sir Tenner, you might do well to regulate your insinuations to something legitimately possible. Certain things will never come to pass." A few blinks, a slick sheen of lucidity fell over his anger. Alistair was a little shocked by his defensiveness. He knew that his threat was hollow, for deGrey took great pains to cause harm to nobody. However, Tenner had opened a vent in the earth, roiling magma and heat escaping its maw as the inventor tried to repair the damage. Alistair was being illogical, and he lucidly recognized this. But such insult! Regardless, deGrey tried to maintain an air of civility, "Good sir Tenner, I apologise for my outburst. Have you any... Any other words?"

[Dusk]

The knight heard the implied threat and the roiling anger beneath Alistair's words, the deep insult he took from Tenner's own threat, and it actually sparked a grin across his lips. He gave a rusty laugh as Alistair seemed to remember himself and backtracked to more civilized words. "No apology necessary, deGrey," he chuckled, straightening up and scratching at the stubble on his jaw once more. "Better that you take insult at my words. It means you care for your honor, and hers. You want a few more words? Marry the poor girl before she frets herself to death waiting for you to break her heart," he said, touching a fingertip to his temple in a quiet salute. "Too many men hesitate because they do not wish to fulfill their promises - and too many women bear the scars of such ill-mannered abuse. Don't wait too long, lest her fears outweigh the hope she's placed in you, hmm?"

[Alistair deGrey]

Damnation, this man and his hidden intentions. Why do people not just be upfront with themselves? One chime I am the subject of a threat, the next he is cordial as a clam. deGrey might have been thoroughly confused by the man's sudden change in direction, but the bemusement seemed to vanish before the approach of dawn. While he had realized that Tenner had come to talk about his encounter with Ha'na, he had not caught on to Tenner's ulterior motive. While the knight was indeed ensuring deGrey's devotion to Ha'na, he had also pushed the concept of marriage to the fore. In fact, so far forward was the idea thrust that Alistair had already commenced planning in his head. Of course, he would need Ha'na's input in most of this, but first he must think of a way to propose. Thought wrapped itself around Alistair for a while, an opaque curtain to block out the world. He was not the most romantic sort, though he sometimes tried to play the part. These things did not come naturally to the man. Alistair began to tap his lip with an index finger. He spoke to Tenner, breaching the security of his mind, "What do you think would be a good way to officially propose?" The question begged an answer, and soon. There were plans to be made.