I’ll make a man out of you

[Lillia St. James]

Lillia wasn’t one to ask for help. In fact it was a rare thing to her immediate family. Asking for help from the extended family was an anomaly in and of itself, and Cian DeGraff had the honor of being the cousin she chose to ask such a favor of.

Dunstan wouldn’t take her seriously, and he was smaller then what she needed, Rowan was too big so all that was left was Cian. The middle brother and closest in size to a one, Mr. Nicholas Cawdor.

Unlike the rest of the DeGraffs, Lillia was the black sheep. Choosing the Army for the sole purpose of making a name for herself without her adoptive fathers influence. Not to mention she thought the Gaurd had enough trouble as is, keeping all DeGraffs straight. They didn’t need another one. That didn’t however it was going to prevent her from visiting the guard division of the barracks, looking for the cousin in question.

It’d been a long day as it was, but Lillia refused to call it a day yet. Cawdor wanted to push her? Fine, she was going to push back and use her resources. The blonde gargoyle wasn’t going to know what hit him. She passed several guards on her search, some of them giving her strange looks as she was in an army uniform rather then a guard one. Training was rapping up and she was passing one of the smaller yards. “LIIIIIIIILLLLLLLYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!” She stopped in her tracks and visibly cringed as she heard Dunstan call out to her. She turned her head to see his dark head in the yard as he jogged over, that lopsided smile of his on her face. “Do you have to be so loud?” She grumbled at him, glaring. “Would you have preferred Lilly-bug?” He asked with an arched brow and his grin turned more mischievous. “OWE! Why you gotta hit me?!” Was his response to what she thought of Lilly-bug. “Where’s your brother?” She asked, getting straight to the point on her visit.

“Which one?” Dunstan asked, straightening his uniform and leaning against the railing of the fence. Lillia pursed her lips, having not wanted to run into any of her other cousins, but again… the guard was full of DeGraffs, she should have expected it. At least it wasn’t Lacey, but still….why’d it have to be Dunstan? She could already hear his laughter at finding out why she wanted to talk to Cian and it was already embarrassing enough. “Cian.” She gritted out. Dunstan looked at her in an assessing manner. She could see the curiosity in his eyes before he hopped the railing, and came up beside her. “He’s down that way somewhere I think,” he nodded with his head. “Why d’you wanna talk to him?” He asked.

Oh, oh this was gonna kill him. Lillia thought for a moment, and it brought a grin to her face as she reached up and patted Dunstan’s cheek. “Non of your business Dunny.” She said sweetly, as she turned and started to walk in the direction he’d pointed. “Oh C’mon Lillia!” Dunstan called, jogged up beside her. “Why are you over here anyways, don’t you have army stuff to do?” He asked. Out of everyone, Dunstan has surprisingly taken it the hardest when she didn’t join the Guard. Probably due to the fact he bled DeGraff amd took great pride in their families abilities as guards. “It’s none of your business why I’m over here. Don’t you[i/] have guard things to do?” She asked him. Glancing up at him. He narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m off the clock, the days done!” He said. “C’moooooooon Liiiiillyyyyyy tell meeeeeeee.” He began to whine. She rolled her eyes glared at him, they continued down the hall, Dunstan’s whining growing more and more obnoxious until he started guessing why she was there. It continued for two minutes, before his yelp of pain filled the corridor.

[Cian DeGraff]

Keeping busy was the only thing he knew how to do. So, when he wasn't training himself until every muscle in his body screamed in ache, he was cleaning and sharpening weapons that weren't even his. That was where he was currently, in the armory of the barracks and seated with a sword resting across his knee. Slowly and precisely, he dragged the sharpening stone along the blade to define its edges that had been dulled over years of being used for practice. His own had been sharpened numerous times already, and he had to force himself to stop.

The sound of voices barely broke through his thoughts, but when he heard the yelp of pain echoing down the corridor, those bright eyes blinked in confusion. Probably a couple of recruits fooling around when they know they shouldn't be. Normally, Cian wasn't much of a hard ass with things, but his mood these days has been a little different.

With a sigh, he set the sword aside and approached the open doorway, peering out and ready to berate the young guards...only to find his brother and cousin making their way down the hallway. It was normal for him to see Dunny running around here, but Lillia was a surprise. "You pestering her, Dun?" he lightly scolded his brother. "You know better." That actually garnered a faint grin from the elder DeGraff. By the look on Dunstan's face, their cousin had definitely done something to try and shut him up.

[Lillia St. James]

Lillia was glaring at her cousin, and Dunstan was glaring right back at her, rubbing his arm where she'd gone off and punched him. It was a force of habit really. She was unpredictable, but when it came to Dunstan you knew he'd end up punched at some point with her around. Despite being apart of the DeGraff family for the last seven years, Lillia still found it difficult to open up completely with her adopted family. Cami fit in more in her eyes, and accepted the adoption far more easily then Lillia ever had. If she was being honest, she was still afraid she'd wake up and find it was all a dream. That her and Cami were back on the streets, having to steal to survive. Despite all this however she was thankful for what Jareth and Maeve DeGraff had done for her and her sister, and in turn there was nothing she wouldn't do for them or the rest of the DeGraffs. Looking at Dunstan and Lillia now, you would never think the two of them had been family for only seven years, but for far longer with how they interacted. 

At the sound of a voice, Lillia turned her scowling face towards it to see the DeGraff she was looking for, and the scowl soon slipped away. "She's being meaaaaaaan Ci," Dunstan told his brother, glaring at Lillia as if Cian would come to his defense. "Only because you deserve it!" She fired back at him. Her annoyance and agitation growing. She really did not want Dunstan here. It was going to be bad enough asking Cian for help. "How did I deserve it! Look, I helped you find him! That's pretty darn nice of me Lil." Dunstan said giving her a pointed look as he put his hands on his hips, and looked at his brother. "She came all this way for you, and she won't tell me why." He informed him, looking over at Lillia. "I should be the offended one here." He said snootily. Lillia pursed her lips and stared hard at Dunstan for a moment, her nose twitched in irritation. "Thank you for your help Dun, but if would be so kind, I have business with Cian and Cian only." She gritted out. Dunstan raised his brows and leaned forward a bit. "Well Cians my brother, and any business with him, is also my business. I'm the youngest, it's my job to be nosy." He threw at her. "Right Cian?" Dunstan said, looking at his brother in hopes he'd help him out.  Lillia wasn't going to have any of it though, and she barely refrained from beating Dunstan away. 

Instead she glanced up at Cian with a silent plea of her own. It was clear she didn't want  to be there, and it was bad enough she had to get over her pride and ask for help. That damn competitive streak in her just wouldn't be silent. Her need to beat her harasser was just intensifying day by day and she finally had enough of it. She was willing to ask for help on her  terms, and those terms did not include nosy cousins like Dunstan DeGraff. 

[Cian DeGraff]

"With good reason, no doubt," Cian answered his brother almost immediately, where Lillia was quickly reiterating. Blue eyes continued to flicker between the two, the banter making him chuckle as he casually leaned against the wall in the corridor. He'd simply stand there silently until the children were done bickering and fighting with each other.

Hmm, that could be awhile, though.

'She came all this way for you, and she won't tell me why.' That piqued his interest again, and he was even more curious. If Lillia was seeking him out for something, it was probably serious...because she didn't really do this. It caused his brow to furrow lightly before he pushed off the wall to slowly walk towards them. Dunstan was claiming it was his business, as his brother, to know and to be there...and Cian was rolling his eyes. That was when he caught the strange, pleading look on Lillia's face.

"Wrong," he said to Dun. "Now, don't you have work or training to do? I'm technically your superior, so...get goin', Dunny." His tone of voice was a bit stern, so it was clear that he wasn't going to take no for an answer or let these shenanigans continue.

[Lillia St. James]

Lillia watched as Cian slowly walked towards them, seeing as he had caught her eye, she hoped he understood she though this was serious.  Dunstan didn't like the answer his brother gave him, and his glare at his brother was clear before he leveled his dark eyes on Lillia, and Hmmphed. He couldn't very well argue with Cian here, and they all knew it. Here, the fact they were family meant nothing. It was the order of pecking order that mattered, and the older DeGraff was in charge. 

Lillia raised a hand and made shooing motion towards the younger DeGraff. "I see how it is..." He grumbled. She knew what he was trying to do, which was make her feel bad, but he forgot which St. James twin he was dealing with. It might have worked on Cami, but not Lillia. "Have fun Dunny! I think I saw the Captain on my way here too, wouldn't want him to catch you doddling now would we?" She asked.  Dunstan stared at her for a moment, his face relaxing for a second as the slight worry suddenly spread across his face. If there was one person Dunstan would listen too it was Sebastian Arcturis. The entire family knew how he felt about the Captain, and Lillia's little fib was going to work well in her favor. "Right, I'll be goin." He hooked a thumb over his shoulder before he narrowed his eyes at the two of them and then headed off.

Lillia watched him the entire time and once he was out of sight, she turned walked into the room Cian had come out of. She was already starting to pace, as she didn't know how to exactly word this. Her jaw clenched and she finally decided to just spit it out, so she stopped her pacing and took a deep breath, before her dark eyes landed on Cian. "I need help." She said quietly. 

[Cian DeGraff]

Cian's steady gaze didn't leave Dunstan until he was walking away; Lillia's little lie seeming to work on his brother like a charm. He nearly laughed over it, but simply shook his head with a small grin. Dunny would do anything to look good in Arcturis' eyes, even if it was desperate.

When the younger man was gone, Cian was about to ask Lillia what was going on before she was already moving past him to walk into the room he had emerged from. A turn on his heel, he followed immediately with a slight look of concern. This was very out of character for her, and it wasn't often that she came to him for anything major. And something told him this was big.

'I need help.' That halted him the second she said it, confusing now washing over his features. "With what? Has something happened?" Lips parted, prepared to ask a million other questions but he refrained and simply waited for her to explain.

[Lillia St. James]

Lillia was unable to resist the urge to pace, so she started pacing again, her hands clenched at her sides while she thought about how to word this. Ultimately, she decided to just the embarrassment over with. "There's a boy," She started. "An aggravating, annoying, impossible, idiot of man!" She started to rant. She started to talk with her hands as she started to describe Nick.

She paused in her pausing long enough to look at Cian. "And he keeps beating me at sparring when it comes to staffs." She explained. She placed her hands on her hips and chewed on her bottom lip. Clearly unhappy by the fact she was about to ask this. "You're about his build, I was...wondering if you could help me practice." She admitted. "And not tell anyone else about it. Please." She asked him. The last thing she needed was for Dunstan of all people to know she was having issues with a boy, even if it was that sort of issue. Still, she was dreaming of winning at least one spar with Gargoyle, and to prove that she was in fact imporving.

[Cian DeGraff]

'There's a boy.'

Oh?

'An aggravating, annoying, impossible, idiot of a man!'

Oh, indeed. Cian was immediately smirking as he stood there quietly; transferring his weight to one leg and folding his arms across his chest as Lillia continued to vent.

Well, this was certainly interesting, and he could see why she wouldn't want Dunny to be around to hear this. He'd never shut up.

Canting his head, he almost looked as though he was going to laugh at her request, but of course he didn't. Cian could see that this bothered her tremendously, and he was understanding.

"Well, I'm not the greatest with staves," he admitted, and his mind briefly wandered to a woman who was, with her dual-bladed spear. Blue eyes blinked before he drew in a slow breath and shrugged. "But, sure...I'll help you beat this boy-" He paused for affect, a small smirk curling his mouth. "Since you clearly fancy him."

That would be the extent of his teasing, though, but he had to get a quick jab in there. Still, it was rather obvious to him.