Business as Usual?

[Killian Gregor]

Killian had been concerned when both the king and queen opted to travel to Tresteria for Edward's burial; a fledgling kingdom barely recovered from their last war, and now both their leaders were off on a treacherous sea voyage to bury a man neither of them even lined--and no heirs to speak of if something should happen? They were practically begging for trouble. He had no right to complain, of course, he was just a guard, and not even a nobleman at that, but that didn't stop him from having an opinion. He knew better than to voice it, however; he had simply cleaned his sword and kept it and his full armor ready near the door in case it was needed. So far, it hadn't been.

In fact, things had been nearly peaceful in Aralore as the winter trailed slowly to an end. People went about their business as normal, and the only trouble he'd run into was a fist fight at the tavern that had recently opened. The fight had been sorted out by one of the owners, a man named Roman, before Killian had even shown up, meaning even that had been an easy night's work. He'd simply whacked both drunks in the back of the head and sent them stumbling home to sleep it off.

Finally, though, something of interest had cropped up. Not trouble, exactly, but he had a hunch it would catch the interest of Orin Evans, the head of the Queen's Guard, and the one running things at the moment. Some farmers were gathering together to try and work out a system of some kind to ensure everyone's land got the attention it needed, so that they could all prosper together. He knew the brothers who'd started the whole thing, and he trusted that their intentions were decent. Actually, Killian thought it sounded like a decent plan, despite the rake that had come up with it, but the more people got involved, the more tangled things were sure to get. And more than that, it would likely be wise to have someone with some authority around to see that things got settled fairly for all who joined.

Besides that, he just liked Orin, although he hadn't actually said so to the man. He appreciated Orin's dedication to his sister and to Aralore, and thought he was a decent boss to have. With time they could be good friends, but Killian didn't like to overstep rank if he could help it, and he wasn't exactly a social butterfly either. It would simply be up to chance if things fell into place or not. 

So, Killian had headed back to the military building after his morning patrols, hoping to find Orin Evans there.

"Sir," he greeted him with a salute, "I heard some news I think you might be interested in. You have time to talk?"

[Orin Evans]

Orin was just as concerned, if not more when he had heard Alexandria and Aric were leaving to go to Tresteria. He understood why, but still. Everything had quickly spiraled out of control once the Tresterian king arrived in Aralore. It was like the man had brought a dark storm cloud with him and everything he touched, turned to hell. Even with his death, they were still paying consequences. Had Alexandria not gone with Aric, she not only would have looked back to her husband and to Tresteria, but it could have harmed their alliance. So Orin understood the need. He just didn't like it.

After he and Eoin had tortured and questioned the Saelisian prisoner, he had gotten information needed and sent word to Aric. If the prisoner had been telling the truth, they had a little time to plan things out, and hopefully, enough time after Aric and Alexandria returned.

Things had been quiet enough since their departure, which Orin was grateful for. He felt he was a poor choice for running Aralore in their queen's absence, but he'd do his best and not let his sister down. There was a lot of work to be done, too. And Orin would not waste any time with preparing for a war that evidently was coming.

He heard a voice behind him and quickly turned to find Killian. His brows furrowed in curiosity and he nodded. "Sure. What have you heard?" The man lacked tone in his voice, and his expression was unwavering. It was hard to tell if the man was capable of displaying or feeling any emotion, but those who knew him knew it was just the way he was.

[Killian Gregor]

Killian crossed his arms over his chest and found a more comfortable position out of habit once he'd been acknowledged, rather than stay at attention. A good soldier he may be, but he also wasn't much interested in formalities once the bare minimum was out of the way.

"Farmers down my way, Kieran and Liam Donnelly, are planning a meeting of all the farmers. They're hoping to get all of them working together in rotation, to be sure all the fields get worked even with our lowered numbers. S'not a bad plan, but it's growing fast, and might need some kind of regulation." He shrugged. "Your call."

He paused, then added, "Every man within ten miles likely wants Kiernan tarred and feathered, so calling them all to his house is probably a shit idea." He didn't roll his eyes, but his dry tone carried the distaste on its own. "But that's his problem."

[Orin Evans]

Orin had been in the middle of cleaning up after a training session with several guards, so as Killian started speaking, Orin went back to fixing one of the practice dummies that had been picked apart. He was listening though as Killian explained what was going on with the farmers. They were holding a meeting? He stopped what he was doing and glanced back at him with a questioning glance.

With the war, he had no doubt that the farms were suffering too. A lot of the army consisted of farmers as well, so he could believe that they were all short-handed. The whole island was short-handed and despite a year having passed since the war ended, there was still a lot of work to be done.

Orin sighed and nodded, chewing on his upper lip briefly as he pondered if he should attend himself or send another guard to scope out the meeting and report back to him.

At his comment about Kiernan and the men wanting to tar and feather him, he raised a brow but said nothing. "When is this meeting happening?"

[Killian Gregor]

Killian wasn't concerned when Orin walked away; in fact once he saw what the other man was working on, he moved to help. He wasn't going to just stand around and let Orin do the work on his own, after all. Honestly, he liked this plan better than just standing around and talking. Better to be useful, when you could. Now that the long story was over, too, he could save himself the trouble of rambling on. His answers were short and to the point.

"Saturday morning. At the Donnelly's farm." He didn't stop picking up as he spoke, nor did he look up at Orin again. There wasn't any need, so he didn't bother.

"Asked a few neighbors, too. Most seem interested. Could be a crowd." He added before he stuck the head of a dummy back on its body with a grunt. No point in throwing away something he could fix, either. He stood the dummy back up where it belonged, and frowned at the rest of the mess. "Broom?"

[Orin Evans]

It would probably just be easier for Orin to go himself, rather than to send someone else for him. He would be able to see how things were going down first hand, rather than have to hear from someone else. He nodded in response to the date and place and that quite a bit of people were interested in attending.

Orin finally turned to look at the man again and he gave him a curious glance. "Are you planning on attending, yourself?" He knew Killian resided down in that part of Aralore.

He was suggesting a broom and Orin glanced around at the mess and sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. "I suppose..."

[Killian Gregor]

Killian grunted in affirmation--he was planning to attend, although he doubted his family would have much involvement with any agreements forged. He simply liked being aware of what was going on in the land around him, seeing as he was more involved with the way of things here than he had ever been anywhere else. He'd like his home to be well maintained, and crops were an integral part of everyone's lives.

When Orin agreed about the broom, Killian gave him a sharp nod and vanished from the room for a moment, returning with a broom and a dustpan. Without even a warning he tossed the dustpan underhand to Orin. He didn't wait to see if the man would catch it, he simply started sweeping the loose straw and clods of dirt up into a pile. He made quick work of the mess, then looked expectantly at Orin, waiting for him to bring the dustpan over so he could sweep it in.

"Meeting should be interesting. Can't hurt to be there," he remarked, returning to their earlier conversation. "More interesting than training dummies, anyway."

[Orin Evans]

Orin caught the dustpan and waited for Killian to finish sweeping up all the dirt and straw. Once it was all swept into a pile, Orin set the dustpan down for him and held it with his foot so it could all be swept into it. He crouched down to pick it up and dumped it into a nearby bucket.

"Alright. Thanks for letting me know." Orin said simply. "I suppose it should be more interesting than these training dummies..." He breathed a small and subtle laugh out his nose. "Was there anything else I could do for you?"

[Killian Gregor]

The corner of Ian's mouth twitched but he didn't give the man a full smile even though he was pleased that Orin had caught his minor joke. Instead, he just shook his head. "Nah, that's all."

He took the dustpan from Orin and returned it and the broom to the closet where they belonged. Before leaving the building, he leaned back into the room and called, "Saturday. I'll see you there."