The Selmy Residence

LIGHTY
Aurelia was making some bread for the following morning. Her brother was to be out all of the following day, not just his usual morning and afternoon patroling, and Aurelia figured she could make him some lunch. Because she was to dance in the square as the market opened up, the bread couldn't be made the day of. As she worked, Aurelia hummed a lively tune. She brushed floured hands over her forehead to push her hair away from her eyes.

DAWNY
Elric enjoyed his work, there was nothing else he would rather do, but it could still be tiring. A little pickpocket had decided to run. If he hadn't, Elric could simply have made him give them money back and give him a stern warning, but now the boy had to spend the night in jail. He had fough all the way back to the jail cells in the palace, he even tried to bite Elric. When Elric got home, he headed straight for the kitchen, still in uniform with his weapons strapped on his belt, to find something to eat. He hadn't expected Aurelia to be there. "Oh, hm," he said when he noticed her. "Hello. Is there any food?"

LIGHTY
"Huh?" Aurelia turned to see her brother. "You're late." She chided, but then bit her tongue. No, he wasn't late, she just didn't know his work hours or schedule well enough. Aurelia could have told their father off for being late for dinner, but Elric was different, because he was practically a stranger. Aurelia made her way over to their pantry and pulled out jars of jam; strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry. She took out some of the previous day's bread from the breadbox and put it on a plain dish with a butter knife. "Start with some bread and jam, and I'll reheat some chicken for you."

DAWNY
"Thanks." Elric took the plate and sat down at the table. He watched his little sister as he buttered his fist piece. When he had finished eating it, he waved at the dough she had been kneeding. "What are you making?"

LIGHTY
Aurelia wet some chicken with a little water and put it in a pan over the fire to reheat. She wandered over over to the bread, put it in a bowl, and covered it with a towel. "You like pepperoni, right?" Aurelia questioned as she took a seat near her brother. "I bought some at the marketplace today. I was going to put the pepperoni and some cheese into the dough and bake it." She didn't include that the pepperoni was a little pricey, and that she spent her own coin on it so she could impress Elric.

DAWNY
Elric tried to say yes before he remembered that he had food in his mouth and he almost choked. After he managed to swallow his bite of bread, he nodded. "Yeah, I like peperoni. That sounds good. Is the bread for tomorrow?"

LIGHTY
Aurelia smiled a bit. Typical boy, eating too quickly and choking. "Yes. You're leaving early tomorrow, right?" The blonde played with a gold bracelet around her wrist. "I'm going out early too, so I'll make both our breakfasts and put together our lunches. You have your choice of apply or orange to go along with tomorrow's lunch." Aurelia mothered. She had taken care of their father and now she was taking care of Elric. She fell into the role with ease, despite her awkwardness with the man in front of her.

DAWNY
"Orange, please," Elric said. The oranges would go bad quicker than the apples. "Thank you," he added. He wasn't used to his meals being made for him each day. When he was in Lytane, he had made his own, or bought it from the castle kitchens or from a vendor on his rounds.

LIGHTY
Aurelia stood, took her brother's plate, and made her way over to the fire after flashing him a wide smile. She dished the now hot chicken onto the plate, checked her rising bread, and got Elric some water from a nearby tap. She returned to the table and placed the plate and cup down. "Um, I don't believe I mentioned this last week when you first got, um, home, but, just to be clear, dishes are washed by the person who used them, or if guests use them, then the person who's guests they are wash those dishes." One of Elric's friends had come over a few nights prior with a bottle of wine and the two men had left their glasses on the kitchen counter. Aurelia wasn't picky, but she liked things to be neat and clean, and surely Elric wouldn't be too put off by this request?

DAWNY
"Right. Dishes." Elric poked at his chicken and took a bite, then nodded. Dishes, too, were new to him. When he had bought his meals, there had been no dishes, and when he made them himself, the dishes he used hadn't received washes as often as they probably should have . He took a sip of water and then glanced up at Aurelia. "Where are you going tomorrow morning?"

LIGHTY
"I'm going to the market with Gemma, she's going to be playing her viol and I'll be dancing. You know the large central square? In front of the fountain? I'm going to be there for most of the morning." Aurelia had a pleased look on her face. She was a wonderful dancer, and Gemma played well and they always split the coin they made. With this preformance, Aurelia was positive she could afford the new shawl she wanted.

DAWNY
Elric nodded. "That's nice. I hope you have fun. I wish I would he able to see it, but I don't think I'll be back in time." Elric would much rather have been in the square, watching his sister dance. The job he had to do was much less pleasant and involved much less savory people.

LIGHTY
Aurelia hesitated, bit her lip, and then said, "You can always watch me next time. I usually dance weekly, alternating between the main square and in front of the palace." It was an offer that their father had only taken once, and they had never talked about it after. He was disappointed in her lack of a 'real' job and didn't see the beauty in her dancing. Now, for Aurelia to offer this to Elric, it was a big thing to her.

DAWNY
Elric nodded and took another bite of chicken before saying "I can come on my day off. When you're in front of the palace, I can walk by on my rounds, maybe. It's a little outside of our zone, but Gabriel won't mind." He shrugged.

LIGHTY
Aurelia smiled widely. "You won't regret it, I promise." She moved away from the table, back over to her bread, and decided it was time to roll the dough out. Aurelia stooped to get the rolling pin, her skirts trailing the floor, and she almost slipped as she pulled it out of the cabinet. Regaining her balance, Aurelia set about rolling the dough so she could place the sliced pepperoni and chesse on it.

DAWNY
"Mmmh," Elric mumbled with his mouth full. When she stumbled, he half rose out of her chair to help, but sat down again when she caught herself. As he watched her make the bread, he contemplated the unhappy task he faced the next day and decided that after he finished eating, he should check his weapons and then go to bed as soon as he could." I think I'm going to go to bed early," he told his sister.

LIGHTY
"Yeah, alright." Aurelia said. She brushed hair away from her eyes and turned to him. "Elric?" She said. "Please be safe tomorrow, ok?"

DAWNY
Elric smiled. "We always are. I'll be back by dinner time." He finished eating and took his plate over to the sink. Cumbsily, he scrubbed it off and put it away back in the cabinet.

LIGHTY
Aurelia smiled at her brother's attempt at the plate. It was good that he was trying. "Goodnight Elric. Sleep well."

DAWNY
"Thanks. Goodnight, Aurelia." Elric nodded at his sister and sidled towards the door. He glanced back at her and then disappeared upstairs to his room

LIGHTY
Aurelia stayed downstairs baking after her brother left the room. The bread was put into their little oven and Aurelia lit a candle to mark time. Humming, the teenager went to the main room to practice a her routine for the next day. The bread was done an hour later and Aurelia packaged it up to keep it fresh. She then turned and headed upstairs to her room in hopes of a full night's sleep.

LIGHTY
Aurelia was up as the sun rose. She dressed in one of her dancing outfits: soft shoes, a layered skirt, a cut-off top with capped sleeves, and a decorated scarf for her head. Aurelia put gold bracelets around her wrists and placed four thin gold chains chains around her waist. Aurelia's necklace was bold, definitely more than a simple chain, and Aurelia set about outlining her eyes in kohl and painting her lips a strong pink. When she had finished, the blonde went downstairs and fixed breakfast. "Elric?" Aurelia called up the stairs. "Breakfast..."

DAWNY
"Coming!"Elric yelled. He was almost finished washing and a few minutes later, he ran down the steps, pulling on a shirt, trying not to get it wet from his hair.

LIGHTY
Aurelia's went wide and she bit her lip to keep from laughing. Elric was almost like the older brother she had known when she was small. Obviously he had changed, they both had, but it helped her stay positive when she looked for traits like this... pulling the shirt over his head while coming downstairs. Aurelia dished their oatmeal and poured some milk. Aurelia hadn't considered any reaction that Elric would have to her bare shoulders and stomach, but now as she looked at him dressed in his uniform, Aurelia felt a bit underdressed.

DAWNY
Elric plopped into his chair at the table and pulled his bowl of oatmeal towards him. He took a spoonfull and sucked it clean as he studied Aurelia. He pulled the spoon out of his mouth and pointed it at his sister. "Are you going outside like that?"

LIGHTY
"Ah, yes?" Aurelia blushed a bit. Hopefully Elric's reaction wasn't as bad as their father's had been. She looked away from her brother. Yes, she was dressed immodestly. Yes, this clothing was frowned upon. But it was this sort of outfit that allowed her to show off. It was this sort of outfit that gathered tips. Aurelia was used to the stares from men and boys and their jealous girls. They didn't bother her anymore and if she wasn't bothered by her clothes then why should it matter?

DAWNY
Elric snorted. "If you get in trouble or catch pnumonia, I don't know who you are," he said, and took another bite of his oatmeal.

LIGHTY
Aurelia paused, wondering if she should say something, but she didn't. She moved back to the kitchen to get her bowl and she sat down at the table with Elric silently. She ate quietly from a bowl smaller then Elric's and drank water instead of milk. What Elric had just said, about not knowing her if she got sick, was something so like what their father would have said. Aurelia had been forced to buy her own medicine no less then five times because of their father's attitude. Aurelia ate another few bites.

DAWNY
Elric finished eating as fast as he could and hurried to scrub his dishes and put them in the cabinet. He gathered his weapons, sticking all of his knives in his belt and tucking a few extras in his boots. "This shouldn't take all day, but if something goes wrong, I might be late." He was heading towards the door, when there was a knock. Elric opened the door to see a puffing messanger who handed him a letter sealed with bronze wax. He saluted Elric than ran on without saying anything.

LIGHTY
"Is it very important?" Aurelia asked from her seat. She knew different colored wax seals were of different importances, but bronze wasn't one Aurelia was familiar with. Bronze was more for legal documents and soldier assignments, or at least that was what Aurelia had guessed at from what she had seen.

LIGHTY
Gabriel appeared at the door almost immediately after the messenger had gone. "Elric." Gabriel greeted. "You ready to go?"

DAWNY
"Its from the Guardian." Elric waved the letter at Gabriel when he entered. "Did you get one?" He asked before ripping the envelope open to read the message inside. Once he was finished, he handed the paper to his friend. "They changed the assignments. Swallow was injured yesterday. Yonwoods on point now and we're his back-up." Over the past few weeks, they had been constructing their plan to bust a drug ring, but Sparrow had been head of the assignment.

LIGHTY
Gabriel's eyes flashed and he nodded. "Yeah. According to Ember, Swallow got into...." Gabriel caught sight of the girl seated at the table and quickly turned back to Elric. "Let's go. We can talk on the road." It wasn't that he didn't trust Elric's sister, it was the fact that with assignment changes they had to move quicker, and questions would only slow them down.

LIGHTY
Aurelia listened with interest for a minute before going to wash her dishes. She was to meet up with her friend soon and so she decided she'd grab her bag and go. Aurelia headed upstairs to fetch her things.

DAWNY
"Bye." Elric waved a hand at Aurelia and shooed Gabriel out onto the street, closing the door being him. "Why was Swallow working the streets last night? He should have gotten off early like the rest of us."

Elric was holding a wad of linen bandages to a long shallow cut above his eye. The nurse at the office had given it to him after they'd brought in the drug dealers. She had cleaned it and told him to bandage it but he didn't like bandages so he just held it to his head so the blood didn't get into his eye. It got into his eye anyways. When he finally reached his door, he flopped against it, expecting it to open. It didn't. He dug around in his pockets and cussed a lot and pounded on the door. "Reli, can you open the door. I don't have my key," he called.

"What? No, it's not bad," Elric grinned lazily at his sister. He took the wad of bandages away from his head. "See? It's pretty shallow, it doesn't even need any stitches or the nurse would have held me down and given them to me. The guy who gave it to me is going to serve a double sentience for injuring an officer of the law. On top of attacking and officer of the law and selling illegal drugs and being a slimy skeesball and probably other things too. Is there any food? How was your dance?"

Elric bobbed his head. "Good, good." He didn't really know what usual was but she didn't sound unhappy so he expect it was good. "I'm gonna go..." he motioned towards his cut and then towards the bathroom and stumbling out of the kitchen. He washed the blood off of his face and stuck a cotton pad on the cut and tied it to his head with a bandana. It looked a lot less funny than a bandage. When he was satisfied with it, he came back into the kitchen. "Did you say you're making soup?"