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athelstan

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{from here}

Sinric carries his bundle upstairs, side by side with Athelstan. They slip through the new invisible door into the solar, it's lighthouse like windows looking out onto the bar's forest and grounds.

The Bar has read their minds and set the room up accordingly - with a long low padded bench for Athelstan to lay on while Sinric massages him. The lights are low, the glass tinted to give the room a warm, protective feel.

And a basket in the corner for Athelstan's dog and his bone.

Sinric sets up the incense the bar gave him - an eastern blend that Sinric has always found deeply soothing. He plugs his little music player into the speakers and sets it to play the soft chanting music of the Buddhist temple in the Sinese Empire.

He holds a hand out to Athelstan and draws him close, offering him a warm hug if he wants it before gesturing for him to undress.

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Athelstan lets his eyes close.

"Wake me when the sun comes up", he murmurs, "and I'll watch it with you."

"We have many hours before that bit I promise I will." At least they will have no reason to leave their nest to enjoy it.

"Oh, yes." He peers fuzzily at the sky. "Well, I'll probably sleep on and off anyway."

He usually does now.

"Don't fear to wake me if you need me." He begs. "I sleep lightly anyway but I am here for you."

"That may happen whether I like it or not", Athelstan says ruefully. "If you sleep lightly."

He leans up to kiss Athelstan again and settles down beside him. He sings softly, the Northumbrian lullaby he sung just for Athelstan.

"Thank you", he murmurs. "The dreams... they haven't always been so violent lately. More of being watched."

He nods. "Tonight you are watched over." He glances to the sleeping hound. "By people who love you."

He nods, follows Sinric's gaze and whistles to the dog to join them. "The good kind of watching. He can help to keep us warm too."

Sinric chuckles as they're joined in the bed. "I'm not use to having a hound in the bed. Cats yes, but not dogs." Not that he minds at all.

"He's always been good company when my bed would have been empty without him", Athelstan says with a shrug. "And I take care to rid him of fleas."

Usually by taking the dog swimming and making sure at least a few seconds are entirely underwater.

"Good company indeed, especially if he doesn't bring other company with him."

"I promise. They make special lotions for that in the future, too."

The dog doesn't seem like he's going anywhere now, curling comfortably between their feet.

"Oh I trust that he's clean and groomed. I'm just remembering the palace cats of my youth."

"Getting cats to keep still long enough to be groomed would be a dangerous and difficult job", he says seriously.

"It was easy with the kittens but not so with the big kitchen cats. They were hunters and very hard to catch or hold if they didn't wish to be held."

Athelstan nods. "And they aren't afraid to make their displeasure very much felt."

"I still have a very faint scar on my arm from learning that lesson as a small child." Sinric chuckles sleepily.

Athelstan snuggles up to him.

"You must have learned it well to only have one."

"It was a lesson one does not easily forget. And the scolding I got from the cook was almost as bad."

{ooc: off to work. See you after.}

"I bet. Was she the one who took care of the scratches?"

He nods against Athelstan's chest. "But then I had to tell Constantine why my arm was bandaged. Which was almost worse."

"What did he say?" Athelstan asks.

"It wasn't his words." Sinric's voice goes soft and quiet with memory. "It was the expression on his face. Disappointment mixed with worry."

"I hated that look. It made me afraid he regretted choosing me as one of his birds. I remember bursting into tears and begging him not to send me away."

He huffs a little laugh. "He picked me up and rocked me till I ran out of tears. That's who he was - a father to us first."

"He was a good man", Athelstan says quietly. "And I'm sure his disappointment can't have been great - it was a small offence, and one every child has committed."