You blink at Macglynn.
You wave at Macglynn.
Mairèad says: ...hi Mr. MacGlynn.
Macglynn blinks and lifts a hand in greeting as well. "... Hello, there."
Mairèad says: Ha're you? Ent seen you 'round much lately.
Macglynn smiles, though his shoulders sag a little. "Drained. My-" Oliver pauses, deciding against mentioning his family at all. "Havin' trouble with cultists."
Mairèad says: Cultists suck. Shep's been fightin' 'em lots up in the 'ighlands, he says. 'Cept lately, 'e's been stayin' in the City 'cause the Elfie drained 'im.
Macglynn says: ... Drained 'im? Ah heard 'e got shot, didn' mention 'e were put through even more shit.
Mairèad closes the enormous tome on her lap and sets it aside, crossing her legs. "Yahar, when 'e went up to Silverpine t'fight Fersakin, I giss summun got 'urt an' the Elfie drained 'im to 'eal summun else."
Mairèad says: Like 'e were a batt'ry.
Macglynn says: ... Innerstin'. Was is a shad'uh priest? Sounds lahk th' kinna healin' they kin do. Calls it vamp'ric.
Macglynn says: ... Why'm Ah askin' you this?
Macglynn frowns.
Mairèad says: ...dunno. I jest saw y'walkin' by an' though' I'd say 'ello. An', um.
Mairèad adds in a really quiet, really fast voice, "Chad got squired'a summun."
Macglynn looks like it takes him a moment to process her statement because it was spoken so quietly, but when he finally does, his eyes widen. "He did?!" His smile broadens and is quite genuine. "D'you... know where- Hm."
Mairèad says: Redridge.
Mairèad says: 'e be trainin' in Redridge. Said the trainer thought 'e was 'orrible at fightin'...an' tha's true...but 'e were rill excited.
Mairèad smiles faintly, looking not quite as excited.
Macglynn says: Well that... that cheers me up t'hear. Thanks fer mentionin' it.
Mairèad 's smile is still pretty weak, but she nods anyway. "Don' menshun it. 'e always wan'ed t'be jest like you, y'know. Well. Minus the dead part. Good that 'e's gittin' a chance."
Macglynn says: Well na', Ah guess it's-
You raise your eyebrow inquisitively at Macglynn.
Macglynn ... doesn't say anything, ignoring the normal Cathedral Square nonsense. "Ah'm proud 'a him."
Mairèad says: I figger'd you would be. The way Aunt Addy talked 'boutchoo, the way Chad misses you, yer rill good, y'know? 'e's lucky to 'ave 'ad a Dad like you.
Macglynn smiles again. "Well maybe tell 'im fer me some tahm Ah'd actually enjoy seein' 'im."
Mairèad 's slight smile fades. "Don' fink that'll 'appen, Mr. MacGlynn. See...yer dead. An' Chadley finks you belong inna ground, y'know?" She doesn't say this rudely or cruelly, simply as a statement of fact.
Macglynn says: Ah don't think that changes th' fact any that Ah'm 'is father. If 'e'd still rather not talk t'me, Ah guess at least tell 'im Ah said hello.
Macglynn says: Would that be too much?
Mairèad frowns at this and shakes her head. "Not 'tall. When I see 'im...giss 'e'll be gone a while in Redridge..." She trails off and then, as if she can't believe she's saying it, asks, "D'you mind if I walk wiff you? Sittin's lonely t'night."
Macglynn blinks. "Ah- what? Don't have any problem with it m'self, but..."
Macglynn appears bemused.
Mairèad nods and collects the enormous tome beside her; it's about the same size as half of her and is obviously awkward for her to carry. She walks up to Mr. MacGlynn, though still standing a good piece away, and nods. " 'kay."
Macglynn turns, looking no less confused even as she's made it clear she's not kidding, and points off in the direction of the harbor. "Ah was jus' headed off in that way, uh. Lahk Ah always does. Yeah." He walks. Awkward.
Macglynn says: You, uh... studyin' there?
Mairèad , having a habit of creating awkward situations, is unphased and keeps at least six feet between her and Mr. MacGlynn at all times. "Yahar...tryin'a learn stuff so I kin be squired meself."
Macglynn says: Ain't found somebody? Why not ask th' feller what took Chadley? There was tahms Ah had more'n one.
Mairèad hugs her book more tightly to her chest. "Fink Chad wan's us to 'ave diff'rnt trainers."
Macglynn says: Diffrin' trainers! That jus' sounds lahk th' kinna bullshit excuse he'd give ta hog attention.
Mairèad shakes her head, frowning pensively. "I fink i's 'cause 'is trainer's gunna focus on fightin' an' 'e's always sucked at that. One time, 'e tried t'show me the stuff you used t'do, all the fancy moves an' shit, and 'e broke 'is ankle."
Mairèad says: An' me, well. I be a privateer. Ent got as close a connection to the Light's Chad does, but I kin use a sword.
Macglynn gives a dry wheezing sound beneath his quiet echoing laugh, obviously laughing both ways he can. "Did 'e ever try tellin' y'bout th' first tahm Ah gave 'im a sword?"
Mairèad looks as if she isn't sure whether she should laugh or not. "Not that I kin recall. What 'appened?"
Macglynn stops at the water's edge and his posture relaxes.
Mairèad is still much more tense than she usually would be, though the smell of the sea seems to overwhelm the smell of dead next to her.
Macglynn rests his thumbs on his belt, grinning. "Boy got so exahted 'e picked it up an' immediately challenged me with it by stickin' me in th' thigh."
Mairèad now laughs without meaning to, though she hastily forces her face back into something closer to a deadpan. Her eyes are still twinkling though. "Tha' sounds 'bout right. Chad an' me used t'be the palerdin pals."
Macglynn says: We tried again once th' bleedin' stopped. Ah showed 'im a few stances an' 'e fancied hisself a perfessional. Impatient, that's whut 'e was!
Macglynn says: Such good pals, hardly fair th' two 'a yah's gotta be split up, ain't it?
Mairèad plops down on the ground, crossing her legs and holding the tome close still. "We been split up fer...Light, well nigh three years now. 'Til jest 'afore Winter Veil. Hadn' seen 'im since me sixteenth birfdee."
Macglynn walks to the dock and seats himself on its ledge, propping one leg out on the dirt. "Y'know, Ah'm suprahsed we never met. Ha' long y'said y'known 'im?"
Mairèad says: I giss most 'a me life. I don' remember when we met, 'cause 'e was two an' I was jest born, but me mam brought me back t'Corin's Crossin' to show off.
Macglynn says: Who'd y'say yer mother was?
Mairèad says: Lisa Fallon.
Mairèad says: Cap'n 'a the Star's Shadow.
Macglynn looks like a lightbulb's come on. "Oh! Yeah, yeah Ah knew Lisa-- Light, Ah didn' even know she had a daughter."
Macglynn says: Huh.
Mairèad shrugs sheepishly. "Surprise. Musta been one 'a them times you were off palerdinnin' when mam brought me by."
Macglynn says: ... Must'a been.
Mairèad suddenly looks apologetic. "I'm sorreh, Mr. MacGlynn. I ent the mos' tactful, an' I don' mean t'be 'urtful. Jest... 's'weird. Like talkin' to a ghost."
Macglynn says: Ah'm sorry Ah ain't as in'erstin' as y'must'a thought Ah'd be. Ah don't normally talk t'nobody when Ah'm out walkin'.
Macglynn says: An' Ah don't think ghosts stink, so it'd be a step up.
Mairèad says: ...not thatcher not inner'stin'. Jest...well, y'ever met summun y'knew lots 'bout, butchoo didn' akshully know 'em?
Macglynn says: An' all y'can really think is t'ask 'em 'bout whut'cha a'ready know?
Mairèad nods, looking more than a little embarrassed and embarrassed for looking embarrassed. Silly Mairèad, dead people don't have -feelings-.
Macglynn only smiles because the bloating makes it look that way. Trufax.
Macglynn says: Well. He's an honest kid. Ah'm sure ever'thin' y'heard about me is true.
Mairèad says: Wasn' jest from Chad, though. The way Aunt Addy talked 'boutchoo, was like you were Uther 'imself.
Macglynn adjusts himself a bit, causing a bit of dirt to crumble from under his foot into the water. "Well- hm, there we go- eh. Ah think there's a reason Uther never 'ad a fam'ly." He pauses a moment. "Was they okay? After leavin' t'Southshore? Ah hardly know..."
Mairèad says: Aunt Addy made a good life fer 'erself. Married Mr. Fairdale...Light, musta been sumfin' like...I don' e'en know. Me mam came inna port fer it. Chad looked like this the 'ole time.
Mairèad makes a trademark Chadley deadpan face.
Macglynn says: An' they had a home an' all that? Right away?
Macglynn really shouldn't be this concerned over something that happened nine years ago.
Mairèad says: Not right'way. The reason Aunt Addy married Mr. Fairdale was 'cause she stayed wiff 'im right after it 'appened. An', well.
Mairèad shrugs and states, not unkindly but bluntly. "They started bonin'."
Macglynn makes a face that clearly shows where Chadley gets his deadpan from. "Ah guess that's... that's good."
Mairèad says: ...ent 'cause she didn' love you. Mam said she didn' smile fer months an' months later an' e'en after she married Mr. Fairdale, she'd sometimes run off an' cry, like 'round Febeeary.
Macglynn says: ... Feby'ary's when m'birthday was... an' also when we was married.
Macglynn says: Mm.
Mairèad says: ...you still cry fer 'er?
Macglynn says: Ah never had a chance to.
Mairèad says: Ha'come?
Macglynn says: When we was free, first thing was findin' a place again. Ah learned real quick 'a where she was, an' Ah saw 'er one day. She was laughin'. If Ah cried fer anybody, think it'd 'a jus' been fer m'self.
Macglynn says: But no sense in that neither.
Mairèad says: ...I mean, now that she's d-- gone.
Macglynn says: ... No.
Mairèad says: Why not?
Macglynn says: Ah couldn't say why.
Mairèad frowns thoughtfully and hugs the book tightly to her chest again before eventually standing. "Should git back to me boat or mam'll wunner whar I been. It's...it's been nice talkin' t'you, Mr. MacGlynn." Even now, she sounds surprised to say this.
Macglynn says: Think Ah may stay here a while longer. Y'stay safe. Thanks fer talkin' with me.
Mairèad looks about to say something more but changes her mind. "...Light be wiff you." And then she hurries off.
Macglynn says: And you, missy.
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