A Horse is a Horse of Course of Course - open

[anansi]

And He's Oh So Fine

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It was still quite early in the morning, so what he was doing at a school of all places, God only knew. But then, he wasn't doing anything studious. Of course not. Instead, he was frolicking about in a stable, ignoring any chores he should probably be doing at home. He wouldn't admit it, because it would probably sound a little strange, but he really liked the smell of the stables. It smelled like woodchips and animal, but he liked it. The stable was kept rather clean, so he didn't have to watch his step. A good thing for someone as oblivious as himself.

Anansi really didn't belong here. He didn't know anything about horses. If they weren't massive and muscular animals with the ability to crush him like an ant, it wouldn't matter. However, that was exactly what they were. The boy felt somewhat safe being in the stable though, all the horses were cooped up in stalls. Surely they couldn't harm him from the other side of their wooden barriers. Besides, he admired them for their strength. He liked walking down the aisles and looking at them, wondering what was going on in their horsey heads.

He placed his hand delicately against the stall wall and dragged it across the wood as he walked, like a little boy dragging a stick across a fence. He whistled to himself softly, enjoying the calming effect of the stable. Anansi tilted his head upwards to look at the roof of the stable, happy to be alive at that particular moment. Ah, life was beautiful. It was a thing to be treasured and-

Anansi was abruptly smacked in the face. A large horse head had popped out of the stall, right where he had taken his next step. The horse greeted him with a loud snorfling neigh, but Anansi was too busy falling on his rear to notice it. "Fuu-"[/color] The boy landed with a crash onto the earthy floor, staring up into the eyes of his attacker. "Hi,"[/color] he offered weakly.

And He's Oh So Healthy In His Body and His Mind

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[itachan2]

Horses had never really been his thing, but he figured he would need at least some skills about him concerning such creatures, especially if his lady was to take an interest in them herself. Mercutio flicked a bit of lint off his hat - reasonably new, though he had ben riding on and off before. It wasn't a passion as it was for the ladies who indulged in it and for the occasional butler who rode every day anyway - he was sure this academy had a fe of those fanatics - but Mercutio could be pleased to say it wasn't a sport he failed at. He had a quiet seat and tended to ride the daintier of the horses, rather than the strapping horses as tall as sky scrapers that he'd seen some butlers charging around on in the outside ring. He disliked the equestrian day, with its earlier start and late finish, rushed mealtimes as you looked over the animals that could be the bane of your existence.

Never the less, he was down he reasonably early - trying to skip the morning rush as horses were being tacked up, warmed up and taken out to ride by the esteemed ladies of this institute. Mercutio had avoided the main crowd by skipping breakfast - he'd eaten reasonably later anyway, and didn't feel the need - and had let his feet take him down here. He wasn't exactly intending to mount up yet, he'd let the horses digest their feed before he tried anything of course, but he wanted somewhere reasonably quiet. And now that they had been fed and the grooms had retreated to the feedroom or the little - if probably quite plush - staffroom they had to themselves, the barns were pretty much silent, albeit the munching of their occupants. Hands back in his pockets, Mercutio's walk would have remained uninterrupted, had it not been for the boy up ahead.

The first thing Mercutio did was sigh and roll his eyes. Not a first class reaction as the younger butler - obviously a butler, he didn't look dirty enough yet to be a stablehand - hit the floor. He stepped around the horse and tapped one hand in an irritable fashion on the horse's muzzle, it startled itself and retracted its head back into its box, snorting a little. Mercutio's eyes left it and looked down at the boy on the floor, own hands in their pockets again. It was half amusing, half shameful the way a butler of this academy could be shoved to the floor in such a fashion by a mere horse, no matter how big that horse was - a quick mental calcution and a flick with the eyess told him it was bordering on one hundred and seventy centimetres at the withers. No titch, them. Mercutio supposed he coulfn't blame the boy.

"Much as the floor must smell lovely," Mercutio's tone was bemused, "I doubt it would do your reputation any good if, lord forbid, a lady saw you there." He bent down and offered the boy a hand, the corner of his mouth flicked up in a half-arsed smile. "Want a hand up then?"

template: by moi
lyrics: give me novacaine - green day
muse: the joker - fat boy slim
notes: don't ask 'bout word count, i dun do them xD

[anansi]

We're Gonna Come Around at Twelve

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It was a handsome horse, he supposed. It looked large from his angle, but then, he had the viewpoint of a gnome at the moment. It had a broad chocolate head and soft dark eyes. Too bad it's skull wasn't so soft. He tilted his head to avoid staring up the animal's nostrils. Most people would have gotten up by this point, but his head was throbbing with pain. When he heard footsteps behind him, he panicked momentarily at the thought that he might just be hearing things. Had his head been hit knocked hard enough to imagine things? Oh well, he didn't really mind all that much anyway. He didn't mind talking to imaginary people.

Anansi leaned up onto his elbows as he watched the not-so-very-imaginary human approach him. The male's very presence froze Anansi. He seemed important. He had never met the guy, but he walked with a stride. He hadn't ever met anyone that had a genuine stride. Anansi was enamored with the stranger in the same way he had been enamored with Power Rangers when he was a kid. He had always been fascinated with them, how tough they always seemed, even in their spandex. And now he had another sort of superhero, with considerably less of a flamboyant vibe about him.

He watched as the pale figure sent a swift spank to the animal's nose. Anansi flinched, although he knew the horse wasn't being harmed. His eyes fluttered and looked away when the boy tried to make eye contact. He didn't normally respond to people in such a girlish fashion, but he felt nervous around someone that seemed so...proper. A joke? That was unexpected. It was true that there was an underlying truth to it that proved how truly idiotic Anansi was, but he decided to focus on the humorous aspect. A hand was offered, palm-up. He lifted his own hand off of the ground, but wasn't pleased with its appearance. Dirt didn't exactly help his looks. He brushed it off quickly against his jeans before grasping the boy's hand.

He got up onto his feet and anxiously did his best to flick off any specks of dirt that clung to the rest of him. Anansi was perfectly content to march around all day looking like a dirt clod, but now that he had company he wanted to look half-decent. "Thanks." He would have liked to defend himself and explain how he normally looked more graceful, but that would have been a lie. The boy grinned at the thought of a lady finding him sprawled on the ground. "To be quite honest, I've given up on saving my reputation. It's a lost cause."[/color] It sounded a little snotty, as if he was trying to look tough, but that wasn't it at all. Of course he would have loved to look tough, but he had already ruined that chance.

With Some Puerto Rican Girls That're Just Dyin' to Meet You

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[itachan2]

Now that the boy was standing up, Mercutio could get a proper look at him. He was dressed in the simple, casual fashion that could be observed in the younger of his generation at present. It wasn't a style that he himself remembered being into, beyond the wearing of hoodies and comfortable black jeans for the most part. He also didn't recall ever getting that dirty but he supposed it couldn't be helped - the boy had ended up on the floor. Mercutio hooked his riding hat onto the bar in front of the stable, where the rugs usually hung. It wasn't going anywhere fast - and the horse inside wasn't likely to steal it. It had forgotten what it was scared of and had gone back to its activity prior to headbutting this unfortunate boy into the floor, which had been snuffling around in the shavings on the lookout for any food left over. Had he not had company, Mercutio might have marvelled at the efficiency in which it executed this task.

"Well, you're not exactly improving it down there, regardless," the corners of his mouth piqued up a little more for a split second, before returning to its former bemused expression. "And it's no problem, people can't be expected to simply walk past someone in need as if he wasn't there." Mercutio shrugged and put his hands back in his jacket pockets, running a practiced eye over the younger butler. Almost as if a memory of himself was standing there - he was sure a horse had done such a thing to him before, but he had been a lot slighter back when he was an A level. That felt ages ago. The C and A level classes seemed so very different. So much had happened in between for him. So much happened in between for everyone, it seemed. Mercutio tilted his head to one side, yellow-green eyes looking into the smaller boy's own pair.

"Anyway, I surmise you have a reason for being down here," his voice was a bit softer - the amsued edge still there but he softened the blow. He had a way with words, even if he had nothing else. "And I doubt it's to ride the horses. Oh, and I do believe I never caught your name," he added, the last point an opener for the boy to supply his own name. Mercutio swept a strand of hair out of his face with one hand, tucking back into the black mess he was forced to call a haircut - for the most part it resisted comb and hairspray, not to mention gel and any combination of the aforemented threesome. He didn't like getting it cut though - the length it was currently was his prefference. Enough said, Mercutio's eyes returned to the younger buter's face, piercing gaze focusing on his eyes. They do say the eyes are the gateway to the soul, after all.

template: by moi
lyrics: give me novacaine - green day
muse: map of the problematique - muse
notes: owo lol god!mercy

[anansi]

My Sweater Is On Backwards and Inside Out

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It sickened him to think that he now officially had a "knight in shining armor". What kind of a butler needed to be saved? Wasn't that the whole point of the butler system anyway? To help people? He was supposed to be the helper, not the one in need of assistance. He couldn't be mad at the black-haired boy though, now that he had gotten himself into the situation he'd simply have to put up with the consequences: being a damsel in distress.

As his new stable companion rested his hat on a hook, there was a fleeting moment of brain activity for Anansi. Was the removal of his riding hat a sort of subconscious "dumbing down" to Anansi's level? After all, the guy was far more formal and sleek in dress compared to his own sloppy clothes. Perhaps it was an unconscious attempt to even the playing field. "What the hell are you talking about?" he questioned himself mentally. And with that, any future in psychology disappeared as he turned to more important things.

It was true what the boy said, it was rather difficult to move up in the world if your bum is laying in sawdust. He thought of what a lady might think if they saw him sprawled on the ground. She probably wouldn't like that. Then again- Ah, no. He shouldn't think of that. They were called "ladies" for a reason. It was nice of him to say that anyone would have helped had they been in that situation. It wasn't true though. "You'd be surprised." he said with a chuckle. Anansi wasn't normally so pessimistic, but he knew from experience that not everyone was so chivalrous.

Anansi fidgeted uncomfortably when asked what he was doing there. No, he hadn't even been asked. It had been more of a statement. "I uh-" Crap. Couldn't he at least lie and say he was doing something terribly important? "Was...investigating this woodwork. Marvelous job, don't you think?" he said, quickly turning toward a wall and leaning against it as casually as he could manage. "And um...I didn't have much else to do. I like the company of animals, I suppose. When it doesn't involve violence, anyway." he admitted, taking a quick glance at the closest stall. Good. King Kong there was busy munching on...the ground? Well, each to his own.

"I'm Anansi Reznikov. You?" He didn't ask for the guy's name nearly as eloquently as he had been asked himself, but it worked. Taking another look at the rider's helmet dangling from its hook, Anansi had a fairly intelligent guess that the other boy had better reason to be here.

and You Say 'How Appropriate'

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[itachan2]

Mercutio's lip curled. He amused him, it was fair to say. It was a good thing to find someone with a sense of humour - however dark, twisted or satirical it was. He detected a slight hint of lightheartedness under the pessimism, or maybe it was just him getting hopeful. He merely nodded in reply, that thread of the conversation was dead for the second. He was more interested in the younger butler's name and whether he had been assigned yet or not - that tended to pique anyone's interest. However, there was a certain satisfaction - however sadistic it might seem to the casual passerby to his thoughts - to see the boy squirm when he asked what he was doing there. Mercutio leant against the dusty wall, one eyebrow raised as the youth spouted a load of rubbish about wood. Children came up with the silliest reasons, sometimes, but it was amusing in the least.

"That's a fair reason," he kept his voice level, tilting his head to one side, green eyes watching the younger butler intently. Hands still in pockets, the only indication that he had once been a carefree youth who dressed down every day, didn't give a toss about anything really - much like this one here. The habit of stuffing his otherwise unoccupied hands into the fabric abyss of his pockets was something he had never really escaped, nor could he remember a time when he had not done it. "You honestly don't have to make up a reason about the texture of wood and how well it has been put together - I'm not a fool." He allowed himself a little chuckle, before continuing in the same smooth voice, "I'm not going to believe you're here to study wood. And there wouldn't be any violence if you watched yourself." He half smiled.

"Mercutio Cagliostro," Mercutio replied, ignoring the shorthand way of speaking Anansi used. Unusual name, Anansi - not tha he could comment with his Shakespearean inspired name. His parents had always been rather large fans of the English poet and playwright, and had decided to name him after one of their favourite characters from Romeo and Juliet - though we he had read it himself, Mercutio had long envisaged the role of Mercutio as a blonde man. He had little idea why, but he had never really enjoyed the play anyway, despite being a sucker for tragedies and wartime stories. Any wartime. But, back to the present - the amount of books he had read in his spare time didn't bear thinking about. "Pleasure to meet you, Anansi," he let the name roll around his mouth like a richly flavoured sweet, "and I suppose you've already guessd my reason for being here, yes?"

template: by moi
lyrics: give me novacaine - green day
muse: blah blah - lady sovereign
notes: postflop lD

[anansi]

Now Touch Me Baby

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He knew full well that he was making himself look like a moron. The boy still seemed fairly relaxed though. Anansi could tell he was amusing the guy, which didn't bother him all that much, he was used to that. He was just happy he wasn't annoying him yet. His eyes met the boy's chartreuse pair for the first time, finally not too embarrassed to do so. It was obvious he was aware Anansi was bullshitting him. Which, he supposed, was probably a good thing. If the guy honestly believed his little wood inspection story, it would have been a pretty good sign that he was not a safe person to talk to.

Anansi couldn't help but laugh a little at his response. His remark on the fact that it was his own damn fault he got knocked over by a horse head was true. That didn't mean that's what he wanted to hear though. "Couldn't you have just lied and blamed the horse?" he said with soft sigh. He wasn't really serious, but then, it was impossible to tell when he was anyway.

He had to be a butler. There was no way this guy wasn't a butler. Even the way he said his name was butler-esque. Mercutio Cagliostro sounded fancy, it was like he was specifically bred for the task of being a butler. Anansi was nothing like him. He didn't know why he was being so nice to him, if Anansi were that cool, would he even bother to talk to lowly A-levels? Well, he probably would, but that was just because he didn't have any sense. Bah! He was even polite enough to say "pleasure to meet you" even though Anansi hadn't really contributed anything to the conversation so far except comic relief. He nodded and smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you too." There, that sounded butler-y, didn't it? "Especially because you rescued me from that dastardly horse." He narrowed his eyes and looked once again at the beast, who was perfectly content rummaging around in hay. Argh. Why was it that even when he tried to be a proper butler he ruined it by talking?

Anansi nodded slowly in reply to Mercutio's question. "Yes. I'm hoping you were planning on riding one of these, because otherwise that's a very stupid looking hat." He tilted his head to look at the hat again. At least, he was certainly hoping he was going to ride. He looked at the horse again and smiled a little. "I uh...I don't suppose you'd mind if I joined you?" he asked. Not like he knew how to ride, but he'd love to play cowboy too.

Can't You See That I Am Not Afraid?

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