Awkward Company

Kade Lazarus was gone for… a while. Ava really didn’t know how long because he had not know how long he would be gone. That was not a problem for Ava. He had requested she look after his garden. Her first impulse had been to cringe at the idea of manula labor. Her second impulse had been to think of how lovely it would be to be surrounded by those flowers each day. Her third impulse was a reminder that his “garden” included a fledgling orchard, and a vegetable garden. Not just the flowers. Ava had swallowed her pride, or at least her refusal to do work, and agreed to the task. Then he’d surprised her by saying he would find her a helper.

A helper? Curious indeed. Ava pulled out, begrudgingly, her one pair of pants. No, absolutely no. She simply would not. She put them away hastily and found a simple dress. It was a sun dress that went down half way past her knees. She put on cute, but simple sandals, and pulled her hair back with a ribbon. The simple straps of her dress, and the lilac and gray colors looked more plain than usual. She was without the lace, the fluff, or the general price tag of her other dresses. It would do for gardening, and she did like the dress… but it wasn’t the same. Ava headed out to the garden, finding the hutch that Kade had constructed to keep his gardening tools.

Making friends was absolutely one of Amie’s hobbies. He’s been making friends with a really confusing guy lately, and also looking for his sister. That was the main quest in Ambrose Wilder’s life, find Mariana. In the meantime he got seriously injured, attacked by some bandits, met a really weird girl, and got told that his new friend was also looking for someone. Or he was now. Amie was a busy guy. Still, he always came home sometime, which included now. He was anxious about getting injured, so instead of being a sitting duck for more attacks, he was laying in his bedroom at Lamia Scale. “I’m. So. Bored.”

Well that didn’t last long. He got up, slowly, making sure he didn’t injure himself any worse. He had on a pair of tan slacks and a short sleeved white t-shirt. He preferred to dress up, and he preferred sleeves. A few of his scars were showing. In particular one on his arm, going all the way down to his hand. Oh well, he’d agreed to do a favor for a friend, so as long as he didn’t need to be around a ton of people, wearing short sleeves would suit him. Besides, it was summer, and that made it hot outside. Getting sweaty wasn’t his thing, unless he was training, and gardening did not equal training. He didn’t know anything about gardening except in how it pertained to his pet rabbits, but he knew it wasn’t the same as training.

As he walked, forcing himself not to limp, out to the garden, he spotted the adorable little blond girl. Ava Brooks… “Hey Brooks! How’re you today?” he asked cheerfully. He’d bought her a present the day he met that strange woman. He also tended to be the one she asked for random maintenance in her bedroom. She was a bit stuck up, and very proud, and very short, but they were friends. He smiled and walked over to her, patting her on the head, “I like the bow.”

Yes, they were friends. Of course they were. He was her fix-it man, and Ava appreciated that. Sure, it implied she treated him like the help, but that really wasn’t it. She was improving. He was a competent, independent man who could reach high up things. She respected that about him. If she didn’t respect him, she would never ask him for help. She preferred to be independent, especially now that there weren’t servants paid to tend to her every need.

Her shoulders raised up as her head shrunk down slightly at being patted. “Ambrose, if you keep squishing down my head, it will mess up my hair. The humidity is already attempting this,” she informed him. She didn’t know he had bought her any presents. She didn’t know he was fighting off a limp. Really, all she knew was that he had been gone for a while, and now he was back, and it appeared he was the help.

“Did Kade ask you to help me? If so, I appreciate the help. If not… I’d appreciate the help,” she told him simply, smiling politely. She noticed the scar down his arm and persed her lips. “Ambrose… what happened to your arm?” she asked. She’d noticed the cut on his face before, and never asked, but she’d never seen any others. Now she was worried about him, although she tried to keep that from her tone.

“Mmmmmmhm,” Amie said with a big grin. Okay, so it wasn’t exactly saying anything, but it involved some noise, so he was going to consider it a proper answer to her question. It made up for not responding to her comment before then. He should do that now. “Ava, don’t worry. No amount of humidity could make you anything less than a beautiful young lady.” And that was why people thought he flirted with girls. Because he said things like that. It wasn’t flirting, like at all, because he didn’t like girls, but it was him being nice.
 

“But anyway, yeah, he asked me to help,” and there ended the pleasantries. Ava looked upset for a moment and then asked about his arm. He instinctively pulled his arm back, putting a hand over where he knew the scar rested. “It, um… its nothing Ava,” he said with a shrug, forcing himself to act calm and natural again. “Its just some silly injury I got years ago from… bad people. So, tell me, what are we doing first? Trimming things? Watering things? I’m no expert on gardening, but I am really good at manual labor,” he reminded her, winking. He did enough of it for her he was sure she’d get what he was saying. He didn’t want to talk about his scar though. The whip mark he’d gotten forever ago.

Ava didn’t exactly believe Amie, but what could she do. He said it was nothing. Of course it was something, he always gave some sort of a story. He loved to talk, and this was a chance to talk. The absence of him rambling on happily proved that it was something. It made her suspicious, but there was little she could do about it.

Unfortunately he kepton with his happiness a moment later and it would have been rude to inquire back. They wasted no time before getting to work. Ava did more directing than actual work, but Amie seemed to be a happy workhorse. She appreciated his energy, even if it was clear they were polar opposites in education. When they finished the work she suggested he come to tea with her and he agreed. She really did want to bring up the scar, but she had enough social tact to leave it be. She didn’t like that he had some secret. He was normally so completely open with things. She was used to it, and this worried her. If it had been her keeping a secret she would understand. Unfortunately she had to leave it alone and simply returned to her room to think once they had finished their tea.