Thoth casts Tristan an odd look, as though questioning how anyone could possibly make him ‘tidy’ his room. For a start, nothing in the room is out of place, so anyone ordering him to tidy it must be referring to setting it back to the way it had been when he’d first moved in – which is impractical for Thoth’s needs. Secondly, he doesn’t do what people tell him to do if he doesn’t want to anyway. Since returning from his long adventure in the wilderness with Sneezewort’s herd, he doesn’t give Nimueh anywhere near the hard time he used to – but he still doesn’t take orders from her unless they coincide with what he wants.
His question hung in the air long enough that the awkward silence provided the only answer he needed – no. Other people never made Tris’s magic falter. Just him, then. Thoth rubs the towel slowly across the back of his neck, keeping his eyes on the puppies in case they forget the bedroom rules, but oddly doesn’t feel any worse than he did a minute ago. If there’s an exception in this case, it’s likely to be Tris, not him. Few people are going to mess with the prince – he, Thoth, knows that from the way they leave him alone when he’s with Tris. Safe in his bedroom, away from the other kids and surrounded by friends, it’s easier to dismiss Tarquin as a cock. That’s next to impossible when faced with him, though. Tris’s inference about confidence makes a great deal of sense: Thoth never feels more inadequate than when Tarquin is standing in front of him.
The prince’s suggestion reties the knot which had begun to loosen in his stomach. Having already shown himself up in front of his friend once today, he’s not keen to have to explain that he still trots with a death grip on the reins. “Junebell hurt her leg the other day,” he explains, relieved of that fact for the first time since it occurred and quietly hoping Tris doesn’t offer to lend him another horse. There’s a light scratching sound at the door which is probably Morveren, so he stands up and moves over to it. “I need to let her rest it… Morveren, no!”
The exclamation slips from his mouth as he opens the door and is confronted by his familiar, and… a rug. The rug, which is about five times the size of the vaporeon, is clutched between her teeth from one corner and, judging by the dust and dirt covering it, has probably been dragged from half way across the castle. Morv, looking immensely proud of herself, stands in the doorway with her tail thrashing so much that her entire body waggles. She’s larger since the last time Tris saw her – approximately the size of a small cat. Thoth feels a burst of pure joy that isn’t his as he reaches down to grab the rug from the other corner.
“How many times? No more rugs!” He told her, tugging at it. She growls playfully.
“No more rugs, Morv,” the scarlet macaw squawks from his perch, in English and an amusingly accurate imitation of Thoth’s accent.
“Redwing,” Thoth throws over his shoulder as he detaches Morv’s teeth from the rug and pushes her into the room with his foot. “Shut up.”
“Shut up, Redwing,” the bird agrees, flapping his wings cheerfully.
While Thoth hastily rolls the rug up and props it against the wall outside his room, Morveren bounds in and starts stalking the towel he’d dropped behind him. When it doesn’t run away, she pats it disappointedly with her paw and sits back on her haunches. One of the puppies yips, causing her to glance around and catch sight of them for the first time. She instantly leaps about three foot into the air, dashes across the room and climbs up Tristan’s leg before anyone has a chance to react. She doesn’t stop at his lap, but shimmies up his arm and onto his shoulders, where she attempts to climb onto his head but quickly realises she’s slightly too big now. She settles with one hind leg on each shoulder, her belly pressed against his neck and her forelegs on his head, with her face just peeping out over his hair at the puppies. Thoth shuts the door.
“I’ve got a better idea, anyway,” he continues as if there had been no interruption, and crouches down to rifle through one of his book cases. “Are you interested in going to Earth?”
|
|
