For the third time within the past five minutes, Jasper stood behind the office door with his paw raised to knock. Before it fell back to his side with a despondent sigh through his nose. With how long he’d been standing there, raising and lowering his paw again and again, it was a miracle that no one else had passed by in the hallway to witness this awkward scene.
It was only a short handful of days since the Guild meeting. There was so much Jasper wanted to discuss further with Agnes and Silas. Strung across his shoulder was the same tattered satchel he had brought with him to the meeting—the one that he had just managed to grab from within the Forest of Stones. He gently fiddled with the strap as he shifted his weight on his feet.
The nightmarish sight of the Boundless nest, all those bundles of silk cocoons, permanently stained his memory of the first expedition. Knowing that the victims would be lost to that nightmare forever, identities unknown to them all, and all missing in the eyes of their families…it just didn’t sit right with Jasper at all. They deserved to be given some sort of memorial—some way to be remembered, and given peace. To his incredible relief, Agnes and Silas, even some of the Guild members, agreed to his proposal in the Guild meeting. So here Jasper was now—wanting to get the leaders’ opinions on some ideas he’s had.
And yet he couldn’t even bring himself to knock on their door.
The last time he had spoken to the two leaders one-on-one was almost two weeks ago; only a few days after they dragged the unconscious guild members all the way back to Greendoze hospital. And being unconscious led to a…conundrum, for Jasper. The thought made him clench his gloved wrists tightly. His heart pounded in his chest.
While tending to his injuries, the nurses had seen his curse. And, out of concern, they brought his affliction up to Agnes and Silas.
Silas was curious, especially with how Jasper had accidentally slipped that he “knew” about his curse. But ultimately was respectful of Jasper’s privacy. Agnes even more so. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t touched by what seemed like honest concern from her for his well being. But in that despondent state—sitting on the edge of that sterile hospital bed with his gloves finally returned to him, feeling like his very soul was torn from his body for all to gawk at—all he could do was slip on a pleasant mask, a friendly smile that barely met his eyes, and ask for more time to explain things to them. He’d been avoiding them since.
And so he stood behind their temporary office door, and hesitated to knock.
Jasper was afraid. What if they found his real reason for being here, and realized he’d been lying through his teeth on his application? Would they shun him, or worse, cast him out of the Guild? Now, when he’s closer than he’s ever been to finding his cure? He couldn’t risk telling them the whole truth. This was for him to solve, he had to take responsibility for his own mistakes.
Jasper glanced down at the barely held together satchel. His tensed gaze softened. The cats who died in the Forest of Stones deserved a proper ending to their story, too. It was the least any of them could do for them.
With a deep inhale and exhale, Jasper slipped into a well-practiced veneer: relaxed, curious, and amicable. The tremble in his paws ceased as he politely knocked on the old wooden door.
“Excuse me—it’s Jasper Brantley. May I come in?” Jasper said, his voice expertly smoothed. He opened the door, and gave the two leaders a friendly nod before entering the room. The space was surprisingly comfortable, he realized, and found his nerves calmed the slightest amount. He offered Agnes and Silas a smile before continuing.
“I don’t mean to take up too much of your time, especially with the next expedition coming so soon. Do you remember my question in the Guild meeting? About the cats who…were lost to the Boundless, within the Forest of Stones. I wanted to follow up with you on my proposal to honor those lives lost.” Jasper slipped off the broken satchel, and held it out to the two leaders.
“I wasn’t able to grab anything while inside the Boundless nest, besides this one item just outside of it. I wish I could've found more mementos, but, this belonged to one of the cats who passed. I think it should be a part of the memorial in some way.” He slipped into a habitual pose of his arms crossed behind his back. “I’d be willing to help however I can with this. I’m a skilled metalsmith—whatever ideas Greendoze has, I can help with it. I have my own ideas of crafting some monument of some kind, but it’s up to the families of those who were lost, of course.”
“And I…” A few words started to slip out, as his eyes flickered half-lidded to the floor. Behind his back, and his relaxed demeanor, a tip of a golden claw poked through his tightly clenched gloves.
“I’ve kept some things from you, but absolutely nothing that could bring any kind of danger to anyone within the Guild.” He looked directly to Silas. “You told me back in the meeting, ‘What we do is so that many more don’t have to experience what we had to go through.’ And I couldn’t agree more. I want to help the Guild however I can, and whoever else we'll come across in our travels, if you’ll have me.”
Agnes and Silas both greet Jasper with smiles, Silas stopping in his path of pacing around the room while holding… a very funny mug. Regardless, they welcome him, Agnes even shouting “Hello Jasper!” to let him know he was very much allowed in.
Agnes is eager to speak when Jasper reminds them of the idea when it’s first brought up, “Oh! Of course! I begun to look around Greendoze for help- right now we’re able to get stone for any memorials, from the miners, and maybe some woodworks-”
She looks down, to the torn bag that Jasper now offers. She’s gentle to take it from his paws, observing it with soft sadness. Once done with turning it around, looking for any sign of any identification, Agnes faces Jasper again, something wavering in her voice, “You’re a kind soul, Jasper. A really kind soul. Do you know that? Not even a face or a name to these folks lost to that place and… here you are. Caring for them.”
Agnes makes a distant gaze outside the window, “There’s no way from the stars and back, I'd let anybody go down to the Stone Forest…but maybe sometime, when this is all over we can find more remnants. For now. I think this is something already.” She hands back the satchel, “If you’ve got some metalworks in mind already, I wouldn’t mind if I were to get you all the resources you need around here.”
Silas, gravely quiet and letting Agnes speak, only nods until Jasper passively addresses him. He raises his head a little more, trying to match himself to the determined tone that was now taken up. After Jasper’s declaration, Silas seems to… untense. There’s relief in the smile.
“I am glad you understand,” There’s a sigh in his words, “We don’t take what happened in the expedition lightly… but I’d say that it’s a sign of hope, that everyone came out unharmed and with things we’ve never seen since Aspel and Peter’s time. Agnes is right. Your kindness is a great value, and is something I’d like to continue to see within the Guild.”
RainingMountains
For the third time within the past five minutes, Jasper stood behind the office door with his paw raised to knock. Before it fell back to his side with a despondent sigh through his nose. With how long he’d been standing there, raising and lowering his paw again and again, it was a miracle that no one else had passed by in the hallway to witness this awkward scene.
It was only a short handful of days since the Guild meeting. There was so much Jasper wanted to discuss further with Agnes and Silas. Strung across his shoulder was the same tattered satchel he had brought with him to the meeting—the one that he had just managed to grab from within the Forest of Stones. He gently fiddled with the strap as he shifted his weight on his feet.
The nightmarish sight of the Boundless nest, all those bundles of silk cocoons, permanently stained his memory of the first expedition. Knowing that the victims would be lost to that nightmare forever, identities unknown to them all, and all missing in the eyes of their families…it just didn’t sit right with Jasper at all. They deserved to be given some sort of memorial—some way to be remembered, and given peace. To his incredible relief, Agnes and Silas, even some of the Guild members, agreed to his proposal in the Guild meeting. So here Jasper was now—wanting to get the leaders’ opinions on some ideas he’s had.
And yet he couldn’t even bring himself to knock on their door.
The last time he had spoken to the two leaders one-on-one was almost two weeks ago; only a few days after they dragged the unconscious guild members all the way back to Greendoze hospital. And being unconscious led to a…conundrum, for Jasper. The thought made him clench his gloved wrists tightly. His heart pounded in his chest.
While tending to his injuries, the nurses had seen his curse. And, out of concern, they brought his affliction up to Agnes and Silas.
Silas was curious, especially with how Jasper had accidentally slipped that he “knew” about his curse. But ultimately was respectful of Jasper’s privacy. Agnes even more so. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t touched by what seemed like honest concern from her for his well being. But in that despondent state—sitting on the edge of that sterile hospital bed with his gloves finally returned to him, feeling like his very soul was torn from his body for all to gawk at—all he could do was slip on a pleasant mask, a friendly smile that barely met his eyes, and ask for more time to explain things to them. He’d been avoiding them since.
And so he stood behind their temporary office door, and hesitated to knock.
Jasper was afraid. What if they found his real reason for being here, and realized he’d been lying through his teeth on his application? Would they shun him, or worse, cast him out of the Guild? Now, when he’s closer than he’s ever been to finding his cure? He couldn’t risk telling them the whole truth. This was for him to solve, he had to take responsibility for his own mistakes.
Jasper glanced down at the barely held together satchel. His tensed gaze softened. The cats who died in the Forest of Stones deserved a proper ending to their story, too. It was the least any of them could do for them.
With a deep inhale and exhale, Jasper slipped into a well-practiced veneer: relaxed, curious, and amicable. The tremble in his paws ceased as he politely knocked on the old wooden door.
“Excuse me—it’s Jasper Brantley. May I come in?” Jasper said, his voice expertly smoothed. He opened the door, and gave the two leaders a friendly nod before entering the room. The space was surprisingly comfortable, he realized, and found his nerves calmed the slightest amount. He offered Agnes and Silas a smile before continuing.
“I don’t mean to take up too much of your time, especially with the next expedition coming so soon. Do you remember my question in the Guild meeting? About the cats who…were lost to the Boundless, within the Forest of Stones. I wanted to follow up with you on my proposal to honor those lives lost.” Jasper slipped off the broken satchel, and held it out to the two leaders.
“I wasn’t able to grab anything while inside the Boundless nest, besides this one item just outside of it. I wish I could've found more mementos, but, this belonged to one of the cats who passed. I think it should be a part of the memorial in some way.” He slipped into a habitual pose of his arms crossed behind his back. “I’d be willing to help however I can with this. I’m a skilled metalsmith—whatever ideas Greendoze has, I can help with it. I have my own ideas of crafting some monument of some kind, but it’s up to the families of those who were lost, of course.”
“And I…” A few words started to slip out, as his eyes flickered half-lidded to the floor. Behind his back, and his relaxed demeanor, a tip of a golden claw poked through his tightly clenched gloves.
“I’ve kept some things from you, but absolutely nothing that could bring any kind of danger to anyone within the Guild.” He looked directly to Silas. “You told me back in the meeting, ‘What we do is so that many more don’t have to experience what we had to go through.’ And I couldn’t agree more. I want to help the Guild however I can, and whoever else we'll come across in our travels, if you’ll have me.”
2023-02-14 18:28:41 (Edited 2023-02-14 22:38:54)
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Admin Staff Member
Agnes and Silas both greet Jasper with smiles, Silas stopping in his path of pacing around the room while holding… a very funny mug. Regardless, they welcome him, Agnes even shouting “Hello Jasper!” to let him know he was very much allowed in.
Agnes is eager to speak when Jasper reminds them of the idea when it’s first brought up, “Oh! Of course! I begun to look around Greendoze for help- right now we’re able to get stone for any memorials, from the miners, and maybe some woodworks-”
She looks down, to the torn bag that Jasper now offers. She’s gentle to take it from his paws, observing it with soft sadness. Once done with turning it around, looking for any sign of any identification, Agnes faces Jasper again, something wavering in her voice, “You’re a kind soul, Jasper. A really kind soul. Do you know that? Not even a face or a name to these folks lost to that place and… here you are. Caring for them.”
Agnes makes a distant gaze outside the window, “There’s no way from the stars and back, I'd let anybody go down to the Stone Forest…but maybe sometime, when this is all over we can find more remnants. For now. I think this is something already.” She hands back the satchel, “If you’ve got some metalworks in mind already, I wouldn’t mind if I were to get you all the resources you need around here.”
Silas, gravely quiet and letting Agnes speak, only nods until Jasper passively addresses him. He raises his head a little more, trying to match himself to the determined tone that was now taken up. After Jasper’s declaration, Silas seems to… untense. There’s relief in the smile.
“I am glad you understand,” There’s a sigh in his words, “We don’t take what happened in the expedition lightly… but I’d say that it’s a sign of hope, that everyone came out unharmed and with things we’ve never seen since Aspel and Peter’s time. Agnes is right. Your kindness is a great value, and is something I’d like to continue to see within the Guild.”
2023-02-23 08:20:37
Feature Comment