Previous Brennan and Maia file.
Narrator:
It has been several days since Jhereg's Party. Sir Richard and Lady Tabytha have noticed Maia's and Brennan's absence, but haven't bothered to comment on it. They assume the two, uncomfortable with all of the pomp and circumstance, have headed off into the woods on some business of their own.
Besides, the Stanleys have been rather quiet of late, digesting the news and making plans for the future.
The only noteworthy events are six hangings. A band of men, armed and not peace bonded, were caught by Jhereg's patrols. They were declared outlaw - the seventh man in the band was killed in violent resistance - and hung under the new law.
Blackbird spends her time much as she had been. Days among the camp as an anchor, nights elsewhere.
Jhereg has a few more late night conversations and after two wretched days stops trying to sleep with the lights on.
In the meanwhile, Luther, is up and looking to fill his agenda for the day. People come and go without a notice of Luther. This by itself would be surprising. Usually, they are busy trying to stave off some recent acidic comment or otherwise trying to avoid him. But, on this morn, he seems in a less foul humor than usual.
Luther: [unspoken]
You know, maybe old Hesketh has a point. Maybe being a knightly sort of knight might not be a bad deal after all. Seemed like a good idea the other night.
[push]
Of course, then, getting the crap beat out of me by the Baron of Arundel seemed like a good idea.
[pop]
What can it hurt, eh? Let's give it a try. Just for a while. I don't think I want to be quite so stiff about it as Hesketh. But, who knows? Those two certainly do alright by it. Maybe it won't be so terrible.
[smells breakfast]
Yeah, just for a change. Let's see how it feels.
[smells breakfast again]
Of course, even Knightly Knights have to eat.
Narrator:
And with this, he ambles off toward his morning meal. With much effort (and just a little sadistic glee at the reactions he gets) Luther manages to be sufferable, even pleasant almost all the way across the camp.
Little does he know, however, that approaching from the other side of camp is.....
The assumptions about Brennan and Miai prove correct when, one morning Maia and Brennan appear back at the main camp soon after breakfast. Brennan is surrounded by dogs as usual, but anyone who bothers to count will notice that there are only three dogs, instead of the four that had previously accompanied him.
However, no one *does* bother to count Brennan's dogs, because their eyes are drawn to the animal walking close beside Maia. It's a calico cat - but its head comes to her shoulder! If it stood on its hind legs, it would be just about as tall as Brennan - and would tower over Maia.
Maia: [calling as she approaches]
Good morning! I need a hindquarter of a steer, preferably raw. Beauty here is getting rather hungry.
Narrator:
The retainers standing nearby stand gawking, then scatter as a rumbling growl erupts from the huge beast. Maia is pleased to see them reacting to her request so promptly, and doesn't realize that it was Beauty's purr that stimulated the action.
Brennan maintains a relaxed/reassuring pose while watching to ensure that there are no overly aggressive reactions to Maia's Beauty.
[subtle pun there, Bill. I almost missed it -GM]