Astien's sobs quieted into sniffles as he listened to Cormac play. As the sang played on, he wiped his eyes and fell into a more relaxed condition. A small smile played on his lips. "I think you're going to do fine as my assistant."
Cormac lightly finished the tune. "Glad to here it."
Astien wiped his eyes once more and extended his hand to Cormac. "Help me up. It's getting dark out, and I'd like to be inside the carriage before it gets too cold." With a wave of Astien's other hand, the fire froze over, and it's light and warmth were no more.
Cormac hoisted the man to his feet.
Astien led the two men into his carriage and made for his dresser. He pulled out his sleepwear, which consisted of a large shirt and loose fitting pants. Or rather, what used to be a large shirt and loose pants. The pants fit him well enough, though they were trapped beneath his large belly, but the shirt was even worse. Astien did his best to pull the shirt over his tummy, but it would go no further than about half an inch below his popped-out belly button. Even then, the shirt seemed insistent on riding up to sit atop his prodigious belly. Astien seemed unglazed by this, however. It was only sleepwear. Astien turned to Cormac. "How do I look?" He asked sarcastically.
Astien just laughed. "The breeze either feels nice or it's incredibly annoying. There's almost no in between." He gave the shirt another tug, and sat at the table with some papers, a book, and a quill and inkwell. A candle sat on the kitchenette counter. Sifting through the papers and flipping through the book, Astien began writing various things. Without looking up, he addressed Cormac. "Tomorrow, we start your first real day of work as my assistant. I recommend getting a good night's sleep."
"Can't wait." Cormac sat at the small table and unwrapped the leather strips from his split shoes. The leather strips were tied together in places that had worn thin. He dusted them off and tucked the strips inside of them before hoisting himself up to the top bunk.
"Those shoes must be very old, to be so worn. When was the last time you had proper shoes?" He asked with a somewhat concerned look.
"Eh.....Never. Mum couldn't afford 'em. I picked those out of a shallow grave a few years ago."
Astien was aghast. "Why that... That's just terrible! Okay then, tomorrow morning, before we start working, we get you some proper shoes. And pants, and... Well, I suppose new clothes altogether." Astien flipped over one of his note pages and began jotting down some figures. "Yes, yes. Shoes, shirts, pants, and what else... Are you proficient with any particular sort of weaponry?"
"Knives I guess. Pretty good with throwing heavy sticks too. They're really handy for killin' rabbits. I used to fight with sticks and pretend they were swords."
"Well, swords are certainly different from swords, but daggers we can do. Okay, so clothes and daggers, versatile shoes, that should come to about..." Astien wrote down a few more numbers. "Hm... Well, I'm sure the academy will reimburse me." He turned to Cormac. I'm actually meeting an, ah... Acquaintance tomorrow, in the marketplace. He's an expert with daggers, I'm sure he can tell where to get a decent pair."
"Sounds fun." Cormac undid his ponytail and shook out his frizzy hair.
"Fun indeed." He chuckled. "I myself don't really like trying on new clothes these days, but I'm sure you'll look better than I would." Astien placed a hand on his belly and was quiet for a moment, thinking. "If you're interested in swordplay, I may know someone how can train you. He probably wouldn't even charge us, I'm certain he'd do it gratis. Where's a clean sheet of paper? I can write him a letter."
Cormac hopped off the top bunk and got a piece out of the desk and handed it to his employer. "'ere."
Astien nodded in thanks as he began writing. "Oh yes. Tomorrow will be a busy day indeed." After a moment of writing, he paused. "I've a question, if you don't min my asking. How old are you?"
Cormac raised an eyebrow as he thought. "Erm...Old enough I suppose? Never kept track. Lost track over the years."
Astien looked confused. "You've... Never celebrated a birthday? Never... Had a party, or, or.... You don't keep track?"
"Not really." Cormac shrugged. "Mum just put up with me. Not that we had the money to celebrate. Is it really all that big a deal?"