"Serra's dead. Great!"

❝And whether you're an honest man, or whether you're a thief, depends on whose solicitor has given me my brief.❞ [rp blog associated with outrealmgates!]

[hekutoru]

Let Your Silence Sing || Hector and Matthew

[hekutoru]

Hector about flinched as her name was spoken. Of course… How insensitive could he get? Normally he wouldn’t care, but… “Leila…” He mumbled, his eyes shifting to the floor to avoid eye contact as well. 

They remained in that uncomfortable silence for a while, with Hector suspecting that neither were quite sure how to continue from there. He thought about how Matthew must have been feeling. It was a feeling Hector himself knew very well. Hell, it was a feeling many of them knew. They had all been in his spot.

Clearing his throat of all but his sound of uncertain awkwardness, Hector spoke again. “You know… Sometimes… I feel like talking with Uther helps me get through my harder times as well. But you didn’t hear that from me, alright?”

[serrasdeadgreat]

His lord's confession makes his eyes widen. Not once did Matthew expect Hector to ever bring something so personal up in a conversation. In his opinion, it didn't seem like - from what he saw - that Hector was a sentimental person to that extent.

But then again, he did care a lot about his older brother.

Turning to Hector, Matthew's expression softened. A somewhat playful smile is on his face as he pressed his index finger to his own lips. "Your secret shall be guarded by me, Milord." Chuckling, he lowers his finger. "...But, it does help, doesn't it? To think that they're out there, listening.." His voice grows a bit quieter and his eyes are half closed. 

[hekutoru]

Let Your Silence Sing || Hector and Matthew

[hekutoru]

Oh. He thought I meant I’d listen if he wanted me to… It seemed it was a good thing that Matthew didn’t start spilling his troubles to the lord. It wasn’t until he thought about it that he figured it’d be the nice thing to do to listen to his friend.

No matter how much Hector doubted his ability to help him, that is.

"Who cares if it’s late?" Hector scoffed, his eyes shifting away. "I’ll rest when I feel I need it. Tell me what’s going on with you and I’ll consider it."

[serrasdeadgreat]

"As persistent as ever, are we Milord?"

Spotting a pebble nearby, he kicked it away with his foot. Matthew was trying to take the time to come up with an acceptable reply to give to the marquess. Having served under him for some time, he knew that Hector wasn't the best with...subjects such as this.

"...I was merely trying to put myself at ease again, trying to talk...to Leila.." He replied slowly, averting his gaze from the bluenette. Matthew tugged at the red muffler around his neck, trying to relieve himself of any awkwardness. 

[serrasdeadgreat]

Two Sides of the Same Coin /\ [Gaius & Matthew]

[candiedthief-deactivated2014072]

"You learn something new every day," Gaius replied in a nonchalant manner as he took out a piece of chocolate from seemingly out of nowhere. He tossed it in his mouth and started to use his chewing as an excuse to think.

‘Gotta think about this, Gaius,’ he thought to himself. 'Blue won't be so pleased if I told him that I was trading information.' After another second, he swallowed the chocolate and slyly slipped a piece of candy in-between his fingers. 

"It’s a nice place, yeah," Gaius started, deciding that he would lay low on the subject. He placed the pink candy in his mouth. "Got a couple fancy places to hang out and snatch from. Lots of kind people, but trouble south the border. You know, the usual. Political disputes and all of those shenanigans." 

[serrasdeadgreat]

"Ah? Not one to involve yourself in those types of things if you're passing them off as shenanigans, eh?"

Matthew's eyes flickered towards the piece of confectionery in his hand. "Do you have a sweet tooth?" He gestured towards the piece of chocolate. He didn't know many people who did, actually. Until now, that is.

[hekutoru]

Let Your Silence Sing || Hector and Matthew

[hekutoru]

A look of uncertainty remained on Hector’s face, and after a few seconds of silence he ducked down and moved further into Matthew’s tent without invitation. Before long he was kneeled down beside his spy.

"If you needed to get something off your chest don’t you think it’d be better to talk to someone else about it? You already know your problems. Talking to yourself wont solve anything…”

Classic Hector; he had no idea what Matthew meant.

[serrasdeadgreat]

Matthew scanned Hector's face. He could see that his lord didn't quite understand what he was talking about. Instead of getting angry about it, he chose to laugh a little.

"Thank you, young master. But I'm sure you've got other things to worry about rather than having to listen to my petty problems." He crossed his arms over his chest, his lips curled upward in a smile. "Say, isn't it quite late? You should get your rest, milord. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." 

[serrasdeadgreat]

Two Sides of the Same Coin /\ [Gaius & Matthew]

[candiedthief-deactivated2014072]

Gaius had expected as much. That is, regarding Matthew’s unfamiliarity with Ylisse. They were, after all, wearing two different types of the traditional ‘thief uniform’. He would let it pass, since he himself figured that he would not know about where Matthew had originated himself.

Although his mind dotted the term ‘interesting’ for a while, Gaius’ focus was placed more on the other man’s name. Matthew. A bit too normal for his tastes, but to each man his own. He didn’t speak of it, as he thought that nothing beneficial would exactly come from any statements. “Right back at you.”

The bandit started to spin his sword around with one of his hands, looking up towards the sky to think for a moment. “Off to the…west from here. Real close and all, yeah. It’ll take a day or two to get over there by ship. Valm here is right next to Ylisse.”

[serrasdeadgreat]

"Hmm..," Matthew hummed, a curious glint in his eyes. He hadn't expected Ylisse to be that close to Elibe. "I'm surprised. I'd have thought I knew that such a country such a distance away."

The brunette eyed the other for a moment longer, thinking."...Your attire certainly differs from Elibian clothing. Say, Gaius...if you tell me more about your country, then I'll be happy to return the favor with anything you'd want to ask me about my own."

He couldn't help but feel a bit curious. If he could pick up any information that would serve useful to the Ostia House and Hector, then he'd certainly continue to question Gaius until he felt satisfied. 

[serrasdeadgreat]

Two Sides of the Same Coin /\ [Gaius & Matthew]

[candiedthief-deactivated2014072]

So his suspicions were correct. Then again, it looked as if both of their assumptions were correct. The mutual thoughts made Gaius amused, so he decided to stay for a while longer than he had planned. “You like it? You can get one yourself around these places. This one that I have here is courtesy of the Ylissean army. They supply their soldiers pretty well for a couple of busy-body-blue-bloods.”

"And the name’s Gaius," he rolled one of his shoulders back as he spoke, keeping that grin on his countenance. "Nice to know that not every guy who shares the same job description as I do wants to kill me. Your name?"

[serrasdeadgreat]

"The Ylissean army? Can't say I've ever heard of them." Matthew had to restrain himself from snorting at his comment. After all, he did serve a 'blue-blood'. One that he was quite fond of, actually.

"Interesting name." He couldn't help but chuckle now. Gaius certainly had a refreshing sense of humor. It was hard to find others like that lately. "My name's Matthew. It's a pleasure. Where is this Ylisse that you mentioned?"

[serrasdeadgreat]

Two Sides of the Same Coin /\ [Gaius & Matthew]

candiedthief:

Gaius let out a questioning hum as he stared at the man before him. He, after putting on a smirk and swallowing the chocolate that he had been eating, responded with his usual cool tone. “Why ask when you probably already know, eh?” With that, Gaius took a hold of the hilt of his sword, resting it’s shining blade in his opposite palm as he gently made it bounce.

Matthew's eyebrows rose in surprise. Oh, he liked him already. "Simple curiosity, I suppose." He shrugged his shoulders, his hand resting on his hip where his own blade was strung. "Though, it is quite the nice sword. Now, what's your name, stranger?" 

[hekutoru]

Let Your Silence Sing || Hector and Matthew

The way Hector saw it, his servants were nothing if not capable. Capable and very annoying. The number of times that Matthew was pestering him in one day was outrageous and called for in the lord’s eyes. He had long grown tired of being treated like a child by someone who was five years older than him at most!

As time passed though, Matthew pestered Hector less and less. What started as an assumption that the spy recognized his young master as a responsible adult would eventually fade to a certain realization. With the loss of Leila, Matthew lost a lot of who he was with her. She was the greatest joy in his life, and now she was gone.

Hector thought about this as he walked through camp after a hard day of training. He passed through tents, eventually coming to a stop outside of one as he heard that all too familiar voice talking. But to whom? 

Hector turned to listen, standing inconspicuously along the side of the tent. Matthew spoke so quietly, though, and Hector couldn’t hear whoever it was in there with him. Was he talking to himself? Without much of a second thought the lord moved around and opened the flap of the tent’s entrance. He looked inside at the spy curiously.

"Hey, Matthew…" he glanced around, confirming that it was in fact just the two of them. "Why are you talking to yourself? That’s a little weird."

[serrasdeadgreat]

Since Leila's passing, Matthew had made it a habit to go to bed late. He used the time he spent awake to converse with her, in a way, by speaking quietly and out loud to himself. It would've seemed odd to a anyone else, but to the thief, it provided a form of comfort and closure for him. A lot of the time, it felt like she was listening to him, despite having already departed into another world.

"...I hope you're watching Leila. I'm doing my best to take care of things here..." He murmured quietly. 

He slowly slid his eyes shut, his hands clasped together as he leaned forward to rest his forehead against them. His silence was soon broken by a familar voice.

Upon hearing Hector's voice, he slowly turned towards the direction that the marquess came from, a smile smile on his lips.

"Good evening, young master. What brings you here?" Hector's question made him a feel just a bit bashful. With anyone else, Matthew would've casually brushed aside the question as if it were nothing. But, having been around Hector for so long, he felt comfortable enough to tell him anything that was on his mind.

"Ah,..I was simply trying to get some things off my chest, milord. It helps me relieve stress, I suppose." 

[serrasdeadgreat]

"Ah, Matthew! Good to see you again," he said with a smile. "How fare you?"

"Ah, hello there Lord Eliwood." Matthew cracked his own smile as he nodded at the red head. "I’m doing alright. How’re things going for you?" 

[serrasdeadgreat]

ROBOTS OR DINOSAURS?

"Ha, neither. But you can get both with money.”