Alistair was bored. And that was no good. The problem with his job was that he once he finished his morning chores, he had a break until the next batch. Or until he got yelled at. Whichever happened first. Boredom was not a good thing for Alistair. He needed to be busy. He was used to it and it kept him from stealing. Not that there was much to take from here anyway. The castle, now that was a jackpot. Unfortunately, it was what had got him into this mess as well. Well, he didn’t consider himself fully at fault. Not even mostly. It was Anor’s fault more than his. The stupid bird was supposed to keep him from getting caught. That was what familiars did right? Helped their fairy? His seemed pretty useless to him. The damn bird hadn’t even spoken to him since the incident (though this was more due to Alistair ignoring him and the bird’s refusal to speak in public). He hovered near his fairy occasionally, watching over him when he felt like it. Most of the time he was off taking small, shiny items and bringing them back to his nest. Today, however, he had found his fairy alone, back against an empty stall and bouncing a rubber ball against the opposite wall. His eyes had glazed over and he seemed to be unaware of the throwing at catching action he was performing. He didn’t even seem aware of the bird who had landed a few feet away until Anor pecked his shin.
“Ow!” he moved his hand, allowing the ball to bounce on the wall he was leaned against, and swatted at his familiar before pulling up his pants leg and rubbing the area that had received a peck. “The HELL was that for?” He glared at the magpie. “You don’t usually look like this. Do something.” Anor said, speaking aloud for the first time in a while. Alistair ran a hand through his spiked, dark hair. “I’ve got nothing to do. Chores are done, the others are off doing something else.” It was odd for him to have nothing to do. Back hom-- well, the Glade-- he’d been running all day and working on the maps when he came home. There was no time to be bored. You get lazy, you get sad. Start giving up. Those words had been ingrained in his mind since the day he’d arrived. Never had they been more true. For once his familiar didn’t have a snappy comeback or plan. Anor almost suggested going on a run, but the last time Alistair had done that he’d been yelled at for being gone so long, so that was out of the question. The two sat (or in Anor’s case, stood) in silence, neither being able to come up with any idea. That was when laughter erupted from outside. Alistair lifted his head, brows raised. “No. Oh no, no no.” The magpie flew to meet the young man’s face as he stood up, putting one hand on the stall wall and hopping over it. “Bad idea. Very bad idea. You remember last time?” The boy did, but chose to ignore it, striding out towards the laughs. “Oh slim it, Anor. Get a good look at what’s happening would ya?” Realizing he wasn’t going to get a word in, the magpie did so, albeit a bit begrudgingly.
Turned out the bird’s eye view wasn’t needed. A little distance off, a group of younger boys, maybe 12 at most, were having a good time kicking something. Their whoops had reached the attention of the older boys in the stables who had gathered around to watch. Their own snickers and laughs were quieter, lest those shirking work were caught. Alistair didn’t need to push through the crowd to see what was happening, though it took him a moment to see what they were lashing out at. A mangy dog who’s whimpering and yelping was all but drowned out by the raucous laughter. He could see Anor perched nearby, but not daring to intervene. No telling what they’d do if they caught him. The snickers grew louder at the arrival of a tiny, limping girl. She yelled something the group couldn’t quite make out. An exchange between her and one of the boys begins, but it doesn’t seem good. A ripple ran through the men in front of Alistair and he could feel Anor’s worry and him wanting to do something. One of the few who hadn’t been laughing, Sam, sidled over to Alistair. “Do something.” He hissed. Why was it always up to him? The tall boy pushed his way through the crowd until he was at the front. “Alright, nothing to see. Back to work, the lot of ya.” He was far from having a higher ranking job than almost any of them, but he was big and he had a commanding presence. People didn’t like picking fights with him. A few grumbles rose up, but the majority of the men walked away, shooting looks behind them. Only a few dared stay, and those crossed their arms. “I said back. To. Work.” His voice was quieter, and more dangerous. Finally the remainder left. And he could focus his attention on the situation unraveling. He jogged closer, seeing more details with every step. The young man stopped in an alcove near the girl and the group. From his vantage point he could hear the exchanges of the girl and the boys.
“Yeah, but you’re getting pretty irritating.” One of the boys (the ringleader perhaps) said, stepping forward. Now he understood Anor’s worry: the boy held a rock in his hand and acted as though he was to throw it at the girl. She couldn’t have been older than 7 and was tiny even for her age. Anger boiled up inside him. But before he could do anything, a creature emerged from the shadows and crouched by the child’s side, hissing and exposing its teeth. The fools just stood there, not moving an inch until the beast lunged and swept at one in warning. Only then did they run. And Alistair ran after them, catching up in no time at all. He grabbed the ringleader with his good arm, slamming him against the wall by the shirt collar. His other hand pulled out a knife and held it a few inches away from the younger boy’s throat. “What is your fucking problem?” he snarled. “I hope you’re bloody proud of yourself, making to throw a rock at a little girl half your size. You’re sick in the head. You and your little gang. If I ever catch you again, I won’t control my temper so much.” he released the boy, sheathing his blade, eyes blazing. The children looked at him fearfully before sprinting off as fast as they could.
Alistair didn’t run back to the girl. There was no need now that the danger was gone. He took a moment to calm himself down, anger melting from his eyes and flushed face returning to normal. He didn’t know what he was going to do when he reached her. What did one do when a small child was rescued by her familiar? At the very least he could get her name. She was a tough little thing, that much he could tell. Rounding the corner, he saw her stroking the dog and saying something to it. The odd creature of a familiar was close, watching over her fairy. Alistair was surprised and confused, at first, to find that his familiar (who loved being near the action) had not moved from his perch on the castle wall. Of course, he’s afraid of the cat. Alistair laughed inwardly. Anor usually strutted near the castle’s cats, teasing them since he was too big for them to eat. This was the first one they’d come across that was big enough to actually eat him. The magpie, having caught sight of his fairy’s head, flew down and perched on it, taking full advantage of the six foot seven perch that was Alistair. No way the jaguar-thing was getting him now. Alistair put his palms up at the familiar, showing he was no threat. Still, he was careful not to get too close to the girl. She had the dog’s head in her lap and cooed softly to it. The boy’s face softened and a smile (something not seen too often) appeared on his face. He squatted near the child, earning a squack from the no longer safe Anor. “Hello.” Chatting with strangers had never been his strong suit and he had no knowledge about how to talk to children. This seemed as good of a way as any.
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