Put It On Me

Aslatiel said she’d gladly be his knight and he chuckled. Oh, he was sure she would. She struck him as the noble type despite her disagreement with titles, only cemented by her offering to kill his uncle for him. It had been a nice gesture, the willingness to right the wrong for him because of his obligation to not continue through with his plans, but at the end of the day it was his burden to bear and no one else’s. He was the one that had made the blunder. He didn’t regret trying to kill his uncle, he’d deserved it, but he did regret losing his head and not doing it the proper way.

He watched as the petite woman looked around, complimenting it before taking a seat. He grinned proudly at his find, his bobbed tail giving a little wiggle behind his frame. It wasn’t much yet, to be sure, but the image he had in his mind would certainly be worthy of her praise. “Thank you. It’ll be awhile before it’s up to snuff, but when I’m done it should be reminiscent of the more pleasant memories of home,” he said. “I’ll make you some tea to warm your bones,” the man offered before moving to pick up a heavy metal kettle set to the side. He pulled the lid off and moved to the back of the building where the flooring rose and there was a water pump that drew water up from a well beneath the house. He set the kettle down beneath the spigot and pressed down on the pump, giving it a few good pumps before water began to run. He filled the kettle mostly full before going to back to the fire place. Setting the kettle down, he picked up a block of wood to the side and tossed it in, using a fire poker to excite the flamed before setting hanging the kettle on a swivel hanger, pushing it over the fire to boil.

As he was doing so, his auds swiveled to catch Asla’s words, offering him a tour of the Armada lands and an apparently large stone structure created by her aunt. He gave her an appreciative nod and a deep, rumbling hum of approval. “I’d love to. I’m certainly a fan of architecture, I’m sure it’s beautiful.” He bustled about, pulling out two wooden cups, putting some sugar in a small bowl, and grabbing a small container of sencha leaves before placing them on a tray before barking at a monkey, who picked it up and carried it over to set it in front of the lady. Once that was done, he sat down on the other side of the tray to wait for the water to boil.

“I suppose a tour is in order, though it’s not much. This will be the living quarters. I plan on acquiring plenty of warm pelts for seating and a table or two for hosting gatherings. I’ve made myself a bed as best I can here by the fire, there’s a room for storage in the back and a place for preparing food. Over in that corner I’ll make a shrine for my brother. There’s a guest house, a building that I plan on making into a dojo, and a shed I plan on making a smokehouse for meats and other food, but those won’t be done for another year,” he rambled, pointing with his maw in the direction of each of the areas he mentioned.