He too seemed to stand out amongst all the bright yellow of the roses he was carefully watering. His dark and more neutral coloured clothing being the main contributor, but his larger stature not helping much either. Despite that... He almost felt a sort of companionship seeing the little flowers. He knew little of flower language and all the symbolism, but... One of the gardener’s told him bits and pieces of it once, as they admired the budding seeds and growing stems. They’d said that the yellow rose was fitting for him, that they symbolized joy he always seemed to be full of and friendship that he always offered. He’d been flattered by the comparison and from then on had discovered a newfound fondness for the flower.
“Really? Ah, my apologies. And uh, you can just call me Bane.” He’d always been one to willingly take blame for things, a trait that continued even after having becoming a hunter. Granted, he didn’t so readily admit to it unless to friends or other hunters who he believed he may have unintentionally screwed over with his mistake, but still. “A gamekeeper is, well...” He paused his watering for a moment to consider how to properly explain it. Taking into account what she’d said so that he could do so in a way which hopefully made sense to her. It may be best to start from the beginning... He only continued watering as he began to talk. “The baron owns this manor, but also the forest surrounding it, too. This means that alongside having maids and butlers who keep the manor in good condition he must have somebody keeping the forest in good condition. That is essentially the goal of the gamekeeper. Keeping track of what animals live within the forest, how many of what species and if there’s anything of threat to them. If one species is lacking more than it should or if there’s a possible threat to them or the forest as a whole, than it is my job to find a way to fix that. Likewise, if there is too much of a species... I can report to the Baron so he can take care of them. As this is his land, the animals technically belong to him too and thus only he can decide who is allowed to hunt them... It is generally left to the gamekeeper to decide when they’re ready to be hunted, though. Some may ignore what they say and hunt regardless, or some people may be too busy to hunt in which case they may enlist the gamekeeper to cull the herd or send a hunting team in their stead...” He paused for a moment, thoughtful and eyebrows furrowing. “Some people like to think that it’s the gamekeeper’s job to raise the animals for slaughter, to merely protect the ‘game’, that is, the animals, only so that they can later be hunted by whoever owns the land and whoever they invite to join them, if anybody at all. I suppose they aren’t wrong but... I like to think that all of us, gamekeeper, baron or whoever hunts in his stead, are just working together to achieve a simple balance within the forest. Well, most of us are, at least...”
A soft sigh escaped him as his thoughts drifted towards the poachers which threatened the game. “Those who attempt to hunt or take animals from these lands without permission are known as ‘poachers’. Since they’re not allowed to take any game and yet attempt to do so anyways. I... suppose one could think of them as thieves, really. Often hunting without any regard to whether they’re allowed to or if they even should...” They were criminals. They were people. Feelings conflicted, annoyance stirring but being quietened quickly. Still, his grip on his watering can tightened. “Because of this, they are deemed a threat to the animals and thus, it is my job to dispose of them should I ever see them on the property. Of course, some innocents may simply wander onto the property too, but... We’ve put some signs up to keep them away...” It seemed to be working, thankfully, with their being less tourists than before but still he found people wandering on nonetheless... “As for poachers, I make sure to patrol often when I can, dusk and dawn, sometimes during various times of the day or night too... Removing any traps they set and- uh, turning them in if I find them...”
That was what he was supposed to do, really, but... He never could find it within himself, even if he was seriously tempted to, at times... They were people, after all. People with their own lives and family and... Kindness grants the soul peace... It felt nicer to show them mercy, even if he felt anxious about being fired, but that had yet to happen, despite Burke knowing and despite... Sometimes it felt as though the Baron knew, yet he never did anything so... Whatever, it didn’t matter! He’d just have to convince the poachers to change their ways and then all would be well. It’d work eventually, he was sure. But would it? He just had to have a little faith in them... that was all. Some could argue he had far too much faith, that he was being naive and the poachers would never listen and he was a fool for thinking they would. The hunter by the same name and role had too little faith and trust in people, too quick to push people away and deem them dastardly, but this younger version had too much faith and trust, blindly trusting people to a fault. Just what could cause the leap from one end of the spectrum to the other? “The property is big, sure... but I can manage.” He’d done well enough so far, at least, and he was certain he could keep up the good work.
By the time he’d finished rambling he had done a decent chunk of the flowers. Ah, perhaps it would’ve been easier to simply say his job was to keep an eye on all the animal populations, report their numbers to the baron and take care of any threats without adding on all of those extra parts... Oh well, it wasn’t as though he could go back and change things and there had been no harm done... right? A hand came up to fidget with one of the leather straps on his outfit as he turned his head towards her just slightly. “Did you uh, get that? Sorry for the rambling, I could try and simplify it for you, if you want...?”
