Funerary Rites 27: Company

[aldersprig]

🔑

It would have been nice to sit there with Erramun for a while — perhaps forever, and certainly at least for a few minutes.  Senga knew she was feeling a little raw about the whole mess and she imagined that Erramun was not feeling particularly better.  The way he kept on reaching up to touch his neck, the way that he would look sidelong at her as if expecting something — what, she hadn’t figured out yet.  Orders? Complaints? — the way he’d reacted when she’d shown him his room…

She couldn’t afford to baby him any more than she could afford to be afraid of him.  But still… She waited until he had dropped his hand again and then brushed her fingertips over the marks around his neck.  “I think it goes well with you. It looks like you looked the first time I met you—”

read on…

Comments

[kelkyag]

Dear Senga: It does sound like scaring off or otherwise firmly discouraging people who are not welcome has very much been part of Candavish's job for a long time, and without you present to explain what's up, he (and the rest of the staff) would have no reason to know that Chitter, Ezer, and Allayne were new and welcome residents. Giving either of them grief about their reactions to the situation seems incorrect.

(BTW, "Enzer and Allayne" has a spare "n" in the former name.)

I definitely want to hear what the staff's been up to and what they know about the status of the place and the family. ETA: and what they want to go going forward, though I suspect this place is home for a fair number of them.

<waits mostly patiently>

[aldersprig]

Pssssst

POSTING SCHEDULE
Monday: Hidden Mall
Tuesday: Edally/Misc.
Wednesday: Funerary Rights
Thursday: Edally/Misc.
Friday: Bear Empire
Saturday: Haunted House
Sunday: -day off-

Shhhhhh it’s a secret.

I have SUCH trouble with Ezer’s name. I have no idea why I named him that.

And re. Senga, she just wants to cuddle up with Erramun, and well… SHE doesn’t think butlers are scary.

[kelkyag]

Knowing there's a schedule may mean less squarking, but doesn't actually cancel out impatience and curiosity. :)

Ezer is a fine name. He and Allayne deserve more character development. That'll help!

Senga clearly does know Candavish can be scary, and she has a huge class/exposure advantage over her crew in interacting with household staff in general, as well as her familiarity with this place and these people. Even more so over Chitter, whose skills are tuned for neither physical nor social encounters. (And sure, this is not what Senga wants to be dealing with right now, but no rest for the wicked or their heirs or something like that.)

[aldersprig]

*grins* Well, you know it’ll be a week until the next one.

Senga is not reacting well, no. It’s just gonna get worse~~

[kelkyag]

Err. I hope that means that not having as much time as she'd like for snuggles will be getting worse, not that Senga being a jerk will be getting worse ...

[aldersprig]

Hunh, I wouldn’t read her behavior as jerkish. Remember, Chitter is one of her close friends and they have a teasing relationship.

[kelkyag]

Fair. That was me over-reading "Senga is not reacting well, no. It’s just gonna get worse" and not being sure what it was about, rather than actually about the story segment.

[aldersprig]

Gotcha!

Oh, there’s just going to be more things revealed.

Also, it will be several chapters before she has a chance to be alone with Erramun again. :-)

[kelkyag]

Woohoo, more plot time! :-P

[sauergeek]

I hope after the initial introduction that Erramun and Candavish (which I will want to spell "Cavendish" for the foreseeable future) can get along and actually cooperate on proper security for the manor and its residents.

Senga, I realize you were busy, and distracted, but telling your cohort about the staff — and, if possible, telling the staff about your cohort — would've been a much better idea than what actually happened. At least it hadn't escalated to anyone actually trying to throw out someone else.

That Senga didn't know they were there is interesting. Did she merely forget, or is there a more exotic explanation?

[aldersprig]

Since I keep wanting to spell him Candevish, we may have to retcon his name to something else.

Or start calling him by his first name.

Senga was 5 or so when she left the house and her parents had just been murdered in front of her. I think she can be forgiven not really knowing how things went. :-)

[kelkyag]

Noooooo, calling the butler by his first name is all wrong. He's too proper for that. :)

[aldersprig]

I’m prone to agree with you~~