night shift ;; sebastian

[leila]

The world came and left Aiden's view slowly as his eyelids flickered open and shut in half unconsciousness. He sat slumped against the tall stone wall holding the gates to the outside world that he was once king of. He was in a standing position, or at least looked it, which was all he needed to keep his job. If any outlaws or ne'er do wells showed up, he was usually awakened by the shouts of his colleagues. When he was asleep, of course. He usually never fell asleep during the night shift, but tonight was different. It probably had something to do with those after-supper drinks after his normal after-supper drinks.

He was suddenly jolted very violently into complete consciousness as a squirrel dashed up a nearby tree and snapped a dry twig sharply in half. He lifted a hand to rub his aching head, but a frown creased his lips as his fingers hit nothing but the metal of his helmet. He had gotten much to used to this thing.

He took a step forward, but ended up wobbling on his feet and grasped the fence for support. Sighing, he turned to his supervisor on the far end of the gate, a burly, seasoned guy of nearly fifty who had worked at the castle most of his life and made it very obvious that Aiden was nothing more then a tick on the bottom of his foot. "Hey, Dicky?" He shouted through the nearly-midnight darkness. I'm going to go take a breather. I'll only be a few minutes." The man reluctantly grunted his acknowledgment, and he took the opportunity to turn on his heel and make his way slowly and steadily down the fence.

The fence in question switched from stone to pikes about every fifty yards, and his pale hand dragged across it slowly to ensure he kept a straight line in the nearly pitch darkness. The earth was bathed in yellow moonlight as far as the eye could see, but Aiden took no notice and instead stared at the ground as he attempted to regain his barrings. Finally, he stopped about halfway down the ridiculously long ground guard, at a piked zone that allowed him to see out past the castle grounds. His blue eyes with a hint of gray in them glittered in the natural golden light, the thoughtful gaze hiding his true thoughts.

I really want some alcohol about now...

{OMIFREAKINGGOD about halfway through this I realized that the pub would be a SO MUCH BETTER place for their meeting...but my hungover at midnight muse was too strong to abandon ^^}

[Sebastian Mannering]

Sebastian ambled out into the cool night air, relishing the feel of it on his skin, his cheeks tinted with a healthy glow that could only come from total satisfaction at the scandalously talented hands of a serving girl he'd stumbled across as his evening entertainment. His clothes and hair were, as usual, in impeccable condition but there was the slightest hint of a spring in his step and a smug grin gracing his lips. In short Sebastian was in a exceptionally good mood.

Things were looking up here in Nottingham. Vaysey was hospitable, he had new lands, endless serving girls to satisfy his needs and of course Daine. His smile, if possible, widened as he thought of her. Sebastian valued the thrill of the hunt above all else and with her there was never a moment that wasn't thrilling. It was a slight irritation that he had to be nice to the poor folk of Knighton all the time, but it was a small price to pay and there was always Guy to torment if he was feeling particularly vindictive. Besides soon enough there would be decidedly less poor folk in Knighton to bother him anyway.

Sebastian was in no hurry, his pace leisurely and the only sound was the soft scuff of his expensive boots on the stone flooring. He was heading in the general direction of the stables with the aim of waking one of the lads and having a horse readied for him. It did not occur to him that it was gone midnight and therefore probably unreasonable of him to ask this of either boy or horse, he wanted to head home and he had affairs to settle with Cumberland before he could sleep in any case.

Eventually his eyes fell upon the shadowy figure of a guard as he approached in the gloom. The gleam of light on his helmet, reflecting from one of the bracketed torches on the wall, was the only real illumination on the man and he had his back turned and so the only conclusion Sebastian could draw was that he was most definitely guard shaped. "Good evening." He said, voice a crisp baritone that rang clear in the night air. He really was in a good mood if he was exchanging pleasantries with the guards of all people.