{"id":13,"date":"2011-11-16T15:51:38","date_gmt":"2011-11-16T02:51:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/?p=13"},"modified":"2011-11-16T15:51:38","modified_gmt":"2011-11-16T02:51:38","slug":"meet-thorn-and-midnight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/2011\/11\/16\/meet-thorn-and-midnight\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Thorn and Midnight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here are two of my favourite characters so far, perhaps even as much as Bucket. I’m not sure how the hardass skycourier and the little feline shamus figure into the wider story yet, but they’re great to write. They bicker so beautifully, I could listen to them for hours.<\/em><\/p>\n

Thorn White was gritty and greasy inside her flying suit. Koskant’s subtropical climate meant that unless you were high up in the air, it was uncomfortably hot \u2013 but if you were<\/em> high up in the air, you wanted the suit, all right. Her traditional Montanusi vest, sheepskin with the wool on the inside, was worn backwards for flying, so the fastenings were where she couldn’t easily reach them while leading her skyhorse, The Zephyr, back to his stable. She paused, though, to unhook at least the top toggle. There was a wind, and it kept whipping the white scarf attached to the back of her helmet which protected her face while in flight. It bashed annoyingly against her hand as she fumbled with the fastening.<\/p>\n

The Zephyr whickered, and stretched out his nose towards a nearby shadow, and Thorn noticed a small black cat sitting neatly on its haunches in the shade cast by the corner of a wall.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello,\u201d replied the cat, and she started and almost dropped the reins.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou’re a talking<\/em> cat,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s very good,\u201d said the cat. \u201cI’m a cat, I’m talking \u2013 I must be a talking cat. You humans. No getting anything past you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSarcastic wee beastie,\u201d she muttered.<\/p>\n

\u201cI heard that. We have very good hearing,\u201d said the cat.<\/p>\n

Thorn had heard of the talking cats of Joria, but she had never expected to find one in Koskant. \u201cSo what’s your name?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cMidnight,\u201d the cat replied. \u201cSkyport Midnight, they call me. I know yours. You’re Thorn White.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I’m well-known in the talking cat community, am I?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow who’s being sarcastic? No, but you’re well-known at the skyport, and I make it my business to know what there is to know around here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, do you. Well, pleased as I am to meet you, Mister Cat, I have to get The Zephyr stabled and washed down and fed before he chills.\u201d She tugged on the reins to get the skyhorse moving again, and he stirred his now-folded white wings a little and followed meekly, glancing sideways at the cat. The white skyhorses of Montanus are incurably curious. Like cats<\/em>, thought Thorn.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ll come with you,\u201d remarked Midnight, uncurling his tail from around his feet, and stalked after them uninvited.<\/p>\n

He jumped up on the side of The Zephyr’s stall and watched owlishly while Thorn fed the horse, wiped him down and brushed his brilliant white coat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hear you were in a fight last night,\u201d Midnight remarked suddenly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou hear that, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd from whom might you have heard it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, just around and about,\u201d said the cat airily. \u201cI hear you won.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s one interpretation,\u201d muttered the sky-courier.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome now, all opponents down and not a mark on you? Sounds like winning,\u201d said the cat.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot having the fight in the first place would have been winning,\u201d she said. \u201cI don’t like to use my stun-beamer. I especially don’t like to use it in my favourite bar.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, but two out-of-control elves, what were you going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou’re remarkably well-informed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, well. I might have met those elves earlier in the evening.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMight you just.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, it was probably them. Tall one and a medium one, at least, medium for elves? Tall one had a dark tabard, couldn’t tell in the twilight if it was blue or green.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was blue. Where did you see them?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHere at the skyport. They were looking for a place to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI heard them harassing old Brook. Talking Elvish to him. Now, of course, Brook no more knows Elvish than he does higher mathematics, so they weren’t getting far.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ll bet. It can be slow going when you talk to him in Tenus.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s true. But he feeds me sometimes, and towards people who feed me I feel a certain…\u201d he paused, trying to find the right word.<\/p>\n

\u201cAffection?\u201d she suggested. He eyed her with a hint of contempt. \u201cLoyalty? Oh, silly me, you’re a cat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA certain interest<\/em>. So I wandered over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, and by this time they were talking pidgin House-Elvish, slowly and loudly. ‘We want eat. You boy show where?’ Didn’t make any difference, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou understood them?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of the talking cat spell. I understand everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow convenient. So what happened next?\u201d She was going over the skyhorse’s wings now, checking for loose primaries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, they started getting abusive, calling him a ‘stupid wog’, and I thought they might hit him, so I decided to play with them a little. I whispered to Brook in Tenus, ‘Back into the shadows a bit’. Didn’t want them to see his mouth wasn’t moving. And then I gave them directions to Thunder’s.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou<\/em> sent two aggressive elves into my favourite bar? Do you know about Thunder’s obsession?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole elves-sacrificed-my-ancestor thing? It seemed appropriate at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

She glared at him. \u201cI wanted a quiet drink.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou got free drinks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can pay for my drinks. I like them quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can’t help your preferences,\u201d the cat said unconcernedly. \u201cThey had it coming to them, in my opinion. And thanks to you, they ended up with well-deserved headaches, no permanent damage, and Thunder didn’t kill anyone with that club of his that he keeps behind the bar.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWere you watching?\u201d she accused.<\/p>\n

\u201cI may have strolled in that direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy pure coincidence, of course. Do you know how scathing the portmaster was to me this morning? You nearly caused a diplomatic incident.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, the elves nearly caused a diplomatic incident. You averted one. I was just an interested bystander.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWretched little beast,\u201d she said, but without much real heat. It sounded like the elves had had it coming, after all. She hadn’t understood their demands to be served, of course, and nor had Thunder, but he’d picked up on the tone. She fingered her stunbeamer, a dwarfmade device of brass and crystal with a handle and trigger at one end and a polished opal at the other, which amplified her relatively minor magical talent of Domination and enabled her to knock out anyone who tried to interfere with her courier duties. She wasn’t supposed to use it off-duty in a bar fight.<\/p>\n

The little cat had made a lot of trouble for her, and was obviously unrepentant, but in the larger picture it was probably the best outcome there was going to be in a scenario that started with two elves with a bad attitude coming off their skyship and wandering intoGulfport.<\/p>\n

The skyship had moved on this morning, anyway, headed south, so that was all right.<\/p>\n

Midnight started washing himself and purring. She wouldn’t ever tell him, of course, but he was a cute wee beastie and she couldn’t stay angry with him.<\/p>\n

She noticed how sleek he was, and the roundness of his belly as he washed it. \u201cSo, it looks like the talking cat hustle is going pretty well, Mr Fat Cat. Must be your charming personality. A lot of people feed you besides old Brook, do they?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cActually,\u201d said the cat with dignity, \u201cI\u2019m self-supporting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thorn laughed out loud. \u201cDoing what?\u201d<\/p>\n

He stopped washing and looked her in the eye. \u201cI play the harp in a street band,\u201d he said, straight-faced.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou support yourself with your comedy act?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, in all seriousness, I\u2019m a private inquiry agent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re a cat<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich makes me ideally suited to be a private inquiry agent. Especially,\u201d he pointed out, \u201cat night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWait on though. How do you handle money?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t. I have an arrangement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat kind of an arrangement?\u201d<\/p>\n

The cat sighed. \u201cThere\u2019s an honest fishmonger two streets away, all right? He runs an account for me. My clients pay into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou charge in fish?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI charge in silver, same as you. But I get<\/em> fish. Since fish is what I want, everyone\u2019s happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIncluding your clients?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially my clients. I have an enviable reputation. Internationally,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cMeaning you used to run the same scam in Joria?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo scam. But yes, I did. Came here on a case, actually, and decided to stay after it was wrapped up. See, in Joria everyone expects a cat to talk, so they watch what they say around you. Here, it\u2019s easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you\u2019re all in favour of easier, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course. I\u2019m a cat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thorn had to admit \u2013 to herself \u2013 that it made sense. The little cat was about ten inches tall at the shoulder, jet black all over and had silent feet, which were pretty good qualifications for a stealthy investigator. He could understand what anyone said, too, which had to help.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you working on anything at the moment?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy clients expect, and receive, confidential service.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve practiced that one, haven\u2019t you? Hey, am I under investigation?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d hardly tell you if you were.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a brief moment of paranoid introspection, Thorn decided that the cat was just messing with her.<\/p>\n

\u201cDangerous business to interfere with a Montanusi courier captain,\u201d she said. Two could play at that game.<\/p>\n

Midnight just stared at her briefly and expressionlessly, and went back to washing his paw.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are two of my favourite characters so far, perhaps even as much as Bucket. I’m not sure how the hardass skycourier and the little feline shamus figure into the wider story yet, but they’re great to write. They bicker … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14,"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13\/revisions\/14"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}