[Stone Gardens] The Squire in the Fountain (Kendall)

[Lucas Arias]

Spring 80, 511 AV It was evening, and that meant that Lucas finally had some time for himself after a day of hard training. He’d managed not to fall off his horse or drop his shield and fall over it in the process, and he’d even won a spar or two against his fellow squires, so it had been a good day, but still, he was glad that it was over. Playing the part of the noble, honorable knight to be was hard work, and despite what the common population believed, being a squire wasn’t particularly exciting. In fact it was exactly the opposite of a great adventure, and it didn’t exactly foster your creativity either. So the young man took care of that – his desire to be creative – when he wasn’t busy practicing. His knighthood – and the fullfillment of his parents‘ lifelong wish – was just another year away, so he had less and less free time, but there were always a few minutes around sunset where he could just be himself and dream about the things he’d do if he didn’t come from a family of knights. Instead of a longsword and a big shield he was armed with pencils and papers, and instead of armor he wore very normal looking clothes. His destination this evening was the courtyard that contained Kova’s Well and the Stone Gardens. Being a native of Syliras he was used to being inside a lot and always having a roof over his head, but part of him still enjoyed seeing the sky. The very air seemed to smell different when you weren’t surrounded by stone. Ken would find him there, in the Stone Garden, a big grin on his face. The ginger haired squire was not standing or sitting on the ground, no, he was sitting on the stone in the middle of the fountain. There was no law against sitting there, not as far as he knew at least, and he had the best view of the stone gardens from there. A piece of paper was in his lap, and he was obviously busy drawing something. Instead of making fun of his fellow squires he’d decided to do something a little more serious this evening and try and make a drawing of the stone gardens. Maybe he’d even show it to his knight when he was done. While very few appreciated his caricatures, drawings about knightly topics were always welcome.

[Kendall Saarinen]

He did not know why but lately Kendall had been going to the Stone Garden more and more. The only reason why he could think he was drawn to the place was because it was quiet. He much prefered the quiet stillness of the garden to the loud bustle of the city. He walked slowly to the garden, quietly singing to himself. It helped him to calm his nerves. He was not sure why he was nervous. It seemed to just be coming regularly lately. As he walked he tried to clear his mind. He was not great at meditating but every little bit of practice would help. He thought of the waves off the shore of Zeltiva. They were his favorite thing in the world. Little bits of Syliras kept creeping into his mind. The knights, Kova's well, but mostly all of the things that had happened since arriving in the city. He looked down at his hands as he tried to bring forth his shielding. He focused on his djed, letting it pool in his palms. There was not a real reason to create a shield, he just needed the practice. He smiled a bit when he saw the shield start to form around his hands. It would not protect his life but at least it was something. There was a strange sight in the garden. A man sat poised on the stone in the center of it's fountain. Although the more important question would be why is a man sitting in the middle of a fountain the first thought that came to Kendall's mind was how did he get into the center of the fountain without getting wet? Maybe he was a hydromancer. From what he knew about reimancy people could pull their element in with their Res. Reguardless, the sight was a bit odd to say the least. "Hey, what are you doing in the middle of the fountain? It seems like a strange place to casually sit."

[Lucas Arias]

„Hello!“ Lucas said as he heard Kendall’s voice and looked up from his drawing. The tone of his voice was friendly, and there was even a small smile on his face. „I was just making a drawing, and this seemed to be the best place for it.“ He said that as if it were the most normal thing in the world, as if people sat in fountains every day. He glanced at his drawing, decided that one part of it didn’t look quite right yet and quickly added a few lines with his pencil. The shading still needed a lot of work! Having that done, he faced Kendall again, tilting his head a little to the side and regarding him. Kendall was older than him by a few years. If Lucas had been a girl or gay (which he wasn’t), he’d likely found him handsome, and since he was dressed in casual clothes he was most likely a commoner (or a knight that was off duty and didn’t act like a knight at all). But the most important thing was that he didn’t resemble his favourite enemies at all. Lucas wasn’t in the mood for an argument or a beating this evening. He just wanted to do one of the things he liked best. He wondered what he should say next for a few moments, then he shrugged his shoulders and gestured for Kendall to come closer. „Why don’t you come over to me?“ he asked and patted the stone besides him. „I could use your opinion. There’s more than enough room for two here. Of course you should take your shoes off first and roll up your pants so that they don’t get wet – unless you actually want to get wet and catch a cold in the process.“ He paused and thought about that statement, furrowing his brow as he did so, as if something irritated him. „I’m sure that there are people that love being ill, but I hope you are not one of them. I couldn’t understand such an attitude. I prefer being healthy.“

[Kendall Saarinen]

How could the man be so nonchalant about sitting in the middle of a fountain? It seemed so strange. The fact that the man was so calm about it made Kendall curious though. He acted as if it was completly normal. It almost made Kendall want to join him in the fountain. "I suppose you could say that?" Although Kendall was a bit of a strange person he tended to have a hard time comprehending strange things. He was brought up in such a primped and perfect family that at times he found it a little strange to see people acting outside of the norm. It surprised Kendall a bit to see the boy inviting him to sit with him in the fountain. He looked at him skeptically before sitting on the edge of the fountain. He began to pull his shoes off but the only thought going through his mind was "Why in the earth am I doing this?" Maybe it was due to spending so much time with so many interesting people. The longer he was away from home the more he was starting to see that his family was holding him back. He decided to see the situation in a positive light. He could make a new friend here. He just had to be friendly and open. He could do that right? Once his shoes and socks were off he rolled up the legs of his pants. He shot a nervous look at the boy in the fountain as he dipped one of his feet into the water. He shivered at the coldness against his skin. He really hated to show his legs to people. As one with a female mentality, he hated the fact that he had leg hair. On the other hand, his leg hair was platinum blond so more often than not, he appeared to not have much leg hair at all. It only caused him to look more feminine which could be seen as either a blessing or a curse. He wadded through the water to the boy and smiled at him awkwardly. "No, I'm not a huge fan of being sick. I get too antsy when I am stuck in bed all day." He thought about the idea of being sick. Maybe it would not be as bad now that he was away from home. His father and mother did not let him stay in very much when he was sick. They always encouraged him to never miss his classes at the university. He always had time to be sick after his classes. Perhaps it would not be as bad now. He imagined Hadrian taking care of him while he was bed ridden. He felt a small smile play on his lips but hid it away before it caused him to look like an insane person smiling at absolutely nothing. Once he reached the stones in the center of the fountain he took a seat next to Lucas. He smiled awkwardly at him as he looked at the garden around them. "I'm Ken by the way. What is your name?" He felt like he should introduce himself if he was going to be sitting in the center of some fountain with the boy. "Do you do this often?" More importantly, was it legal? He would have been embarassed to be carted off by knights for doing something as simple as sitting somewhere where he shouldn't. He knew he shouldn't peek but he stole a glance over to the boy's drawing. "What are you drawing?" He always loved art but he was not very good at it. "I wish I was an artist. I suppose I am in a way. I write well. I've been working on drawing better though."

[Lucas Arias]

As Lucas noticed that Kendall was a bit skeptical, he smiled a little, extended his hand and gestured for him to come closer. Of course the fact that he was holding his papers and his pens with only one hand now meant that they nearly landed in the fountain. He grinned sheepishly, adjusted their position in his lap somewhat and went back to watching Kendall again. To his joy the blonde man had decided to take his shoes off and step into the fountain. Lucas immediately moved a little to the side so that Kendall could comfortably sit next to him. „The water’s a bit cold, isn’t it?“ he asked, as if that was the thing that bothered him the most – and not the fact that he was sitting in a rather strange place. „Don’t worry, it will get better soon.“ As Kendall admitted that he wasn’t a big fan of being sick, he nodded. „Neither am I. I can’t stand being in bed for longer than a couple of hours at a time. Actually I hate it if I’m stuck in any place for a longer amount of time.“ Here he made a face for a moment. He hated to the fact that in order to become a knight you had to be a squire first and be stuck in Syliras and train all day long. Of course Syliras was nice and safe, but it was also boring, and there were so many other interesting places. „I’m Lucas“, he introduced himself as Kendall had finally sat down next to him. He was all cheerful again. „And yes, I do this often. I like this place. But sometimes I also sit on the edge of Kova’s Well or in front of Ethereal Notions – don’t you find ghosts fascinating as well?“ He noticed that Ken had asked him what he was drawing and stopped to show the young man what he had been working on. „Nothing original“, he explained. „I was just trying to draw the Stone Garden. I usually prefer to draw people or even things that aren’t real, but a real artist should be able to draw everything.“ „Writers are artists as well“, he told Ken.“I can tell great stories, but I have a hard time writing them down. They never sound right. What do you write? Songs? Poems? Adventure stories? Anyway, in my opinion the only way to get better at drawing is to practice.“ That was only true for drawing though. No matter how hard he tried, he just didn’t seem to be able to get better at fighting with a shield. He could use a sword alright, and he’d finally learned not to fall off his horse, but that damn shield was still getting in his way rather than being a useful tool in combat. And of course there was unarmed combat, but that was an entirely different and even more unpleasant matter. It just seemed to be so much easier to improve in things that didn’t involve physical labour. "If you want to, I can help you with that, practicing, that is - if you tell me what you think of my drawing."

[Kendall Saarinen]

An awkward smile came to Kendall's face as he walked through the water and finally reached the stone in the middle of the fountain. He nodded as he got himself situated next to the squire. "Yes, but it is refreshing I suppose." The words were a bit more positive than the blond usually was. He chalked it up to the fact that he wanted to be friendly. He was tired to locking himself up and feeling depressed. Did this mean he would stop feeling sorry for himself and what had happened to him? Not in the slightest. He wanted to keep moving forward though. He wanted to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Even if it was not the exact light he was looking for. "Nice to meet you Lucas." Kendall smiled lightly as he thumbed through his bag in hopes of finding his notebook. He felt a bit awkward sitting next to the boy if he did not have his own notebook to focus some of his attention on. When Lucas spoke of Kova's Well a sweet smile appeared on the blond's lips. "I love Kova's Well. It is very beautiful. One of my favorite memories of this city happened there." He felt his spirits lighten a bit as he thought of Hadrian and their first real meeting. The pair had known each other, at least in a sense prior to Kendall's accident. They never spoke though. Instead, the would steal looks at one another in the library or in the halls of the University in Zeltiva. "As for ghosts, I suppose I am happy to say I've never had a run in with one. From what I hear they are not a joy to deal with though." The thought of the ethereal beings chilled Kendall a bit. He had heard about their ability to possess and control people and that was enough to spook him. "I'm sure you are a good artist. In my opinion, if you have the heart and the will do try art, you are a brilliant artist." Kendall might have sounded a bit hypocritical since he had just said that he was not a good artist but he did mean what he said. "I write mostly poems. I also write a bit of prose. I would like to write stories but the right character has not come to me yet." There was nothing Kendall wanted more than to be an author, except being his right gender again. He loved writing and creating through his words. A small part of him hoped that if he could create something wonderful through his writing maybe his mother would like it. Then at least she would approve of part of him. Kendall smiled at Lucas and nodded. "I'd like that. I might as well since I am sitting here with an artist." His mismatched eyes looked over at the boy's drawing pad. He was much more skilled than Kendall expected. "It looks really nice. You clearly have a gift for drawing. Is it hard to draw large places like this?" Kendall imagined it would be. He wouldn't even know where to start! "How did you get started in drawing, if I may ask?"

[Lucas Arias]

„One time I almost fell into Kova’s Well“, Lucas confided in Kendall, and his cheeks turned bright red for a moment, as if he had a fire inside of him and had been marked by Ivak as well „I was just sitting there, drawing, and along came this gorgeous, six armed Eypharian – or did she have eight arms?“ He scratched his head with his pen as he tried to think of it. „Anyway, I was so distracted that half of me was already in the well!“ He grinned. Lucas had very little problems with spreading all the embarrassing details of his life out in front of strangers. „What was your favourite memory?“ he then wanted to know. „Did you meet somebody at the well as well?“ As Kendall said that ghosts were not a joy to deal with in his opinion, the redhead shrugged his shoulders. „I like them“, he murmurred. „Of course some ghosts aren’t very nice, but they are still fascinating. Some of them are quite old! Besides that, I’ve always wondered what it’s like to have a ghost inside of you.“ Would the ghost make him do embarrassing things? He doubted that whatever the ghost did while it was possessing him would be any worse than what he did voluntarily! „Thank you“, Lucas said and grinned as Kendall made a compliment about his drawing, and then he looked at the drawing in question critically and erased a part. „Drawing places like the Stone Gardens or buildings is actually quite easy“, he said. „Drawing people is much harder. I still have a hard time getting the proportions right. I don’t really remember how I started. I’ve always been drawing. When I was little, I used to cover the walls of my parents‘ home with drawings, and I used my mother’s makeup for paintings. My parents weren’t pleased.“ He shrugged his shoulders. „I’ve never had a proper teacher. I wanted to go to Zeltiva to study once, but they thought if I became an artist, I’d just starve.“ He shrugged again. And then he remembered that Kendall had said something about writing poems. „Do you have one of your poems here?“ he wanted to know. „I’d love to hear one!“ As he waited for Kendall’s answer, he studied the older man’s face for a moment. Those mismatched eyes were really quite interesting. He had never seen somebody with eyes like that before. Maybe he’d do a portrait of Kendall when he was done with his drawing of the Stone Gardens!

[Kendall Saarinen]

Kendall chuckled slightly at Lucas' story. "Sorry, I shouldn't laugh." He smiled as a few more chuckles escaped his lips. He tried his hardest to keep his more feminine laugh under wraps. "I'm sure it was an interesting experience though. I can only imagine what it would be like if one fell into the well. I bet Kova would be a bit confused." A small blush crept across Kendall's cheeks. "I reunited with a someone I had attended school with. It was just nice to see him again." It was so much more than that but Lucas did not need to know everything. He smiled awkwardly when Lucas spoke about ghosts. The thought of a ghost possessing him was a bit scary. He did not think that he would like someone else controlling his actions. "I have no idea. I imagine it would be scary though." He shivered at the thought. Ghosts were not something he wanted to deal with. "Wow, that is really interesting. I was sort of like that too, only with my writing." Kendall smiled as he thought back to his time at home. "I would always be writing stories and characters and my family would have to listen to them. They were really kind to put up with all of my writing." He wished he would have been more of a visual artist like Lucas but everyone had their different talents. "I'm sure your mother liked the art though, right?" He shrugged lightly at Lucas' words about Zeltiva. "I think that if it is what you truly wanted then you would have found a way to succeed." He chewed idly on his lip as he thought about how he had turned out in comparison to his parents' wishes. "My parents wanted me to be some writer that never left Zeltiva and now I am in Syliras, of course on a road leading to other cities." He knew his parents would not have liked what he had been doing lately. Magic was something his parents hated more than anything, or his father did to be precise. Kendall was surprised to hear that Lucas wanted to hear one of his poems. He looked down nervously when he saw the boy looking at his eyes. "Yeah, let me find my notebook." Kendall rummaged through his bag until he found his notebook and began to flip though the pages until he stopped at a poem, seeming to be satisfied enough with the writing to repeat it to Lucas. "Never is there peace like the moment a war subsides When account is taken of the casualties of both sides When dust clears and weapons fall like shining metallic rain The moment all warriors and knights know they can breathe again The castle is safe, the country secure by clashing weapons of might Knowing I can see tomorrow because I'll live through the night All soldiers knew when dawn broke and they could see the sun New life could now blossom for peace had just begun Though dictators stand on thrones of blood, steel, and broken men If we do not back down in fear we will see the sun again Who knew who were the first to fight like dogs other than dogs themselves? Giving into canine tendencies to put trophies on our shelves We must learn that not all dogs were born to fight Sometimes hounds must learn to bark before they start to bite It is not human nature to turn tail and avoid on coming war But if we destroy everything on Mizahar what is worth fighting for?" Hesitantly, Kendall looked up at Lucas. He was not sure it the poem was his best, but he was proud of it.