Off Duty

by awf

Chapter 43

Saul didn't say thank you. Now that Celestia knew something about his past she didn't mind so much. She still made sure that the house was cleaned up - somewhat, at least - and the dinner was cooked and served on the table. She should have gotten at least an acknowledgement or something! The complete disinterest was what stung the most. As if all her effort didn't even matter. If Silent Brook felt bad about his owner's manners, the stallion didn't say. He didn't thank her either, but the pony had at least helped her prepare everything. What they ended up having was vegetable stew. Not the most exciting stuff, but easy to make. Saul didn't show any appreciation, but he didn't complain either. The man simply came home from his job, walked right past the faintly smiling 'Supple Branch', saw the meal on the table and went to eat. After a few moments of stunned silence, Celestia joined him.

She had been waiting in the hallway for at least fifteen minutes to greet Saul home! Celestia couldn't help feeling just a tiny bit snubbed. At the same time Silent Brook heard, rather than saw, Saul enter, so he got up from the couch and came to the kitchen which also doubled up as the dining room.

As they ate she tried to break the silence a little. "So, I hope work was not too tiring, Mr. Saul?" Too late the alicorn remembered that Silent Brook had never told her the surname.

"Just Saul," the man replied, a tad gruffly. He didn't seem offended, but he also didn't answer her question.

Celestia decided not to push it. "I can make other things, if you would prefer, Saul. As a little thank you for letting me stay here."

Finally the human looked at her. He didn't seem neither pleased not annoyed about her presence.

The alicorn swallowed nervously. "We, uh. We also cleaned a little."

Finally he gave at least some response: "Thanks."

It made the mare smile. So he wasn't completely impolite! Even Silent Brook managed a weak grin. It was a very, very tiny victory, but Celestia took it and shut up. The rest of the meal passed in silence. Then she stacked the dishes into the sink - carefully so she wouldn't break them with hooves - and excused herself.

Silent Brook followed her upstairs. "Sorry about him. He doesn't talk much, especially with people he doesn't know," the stallion explained.

"I noticed."

"I'll, uh get you something to sleep on."

Hopefully cleaner than the mattress. It was too late in the day, but Celestia vowed to round up any cloth she could find in the house and take it to that Laundromat the first thing next morning! With her collar and with Silent Brook by her side, the humans shouldn't bother her. It was practically across the street, anyway. The stallion had gone to another room and she heard him rummaging around.

After a few minutes he came out and walked to the stairs. "Saul! Where's the camping stuff?!" he yelled down. His tone and the sheer volume made the alicorn wince.

The reply was just as impolite: "Storeroom! Where it always was!"

"It's not in the right box! Did you take it?!" Silent Brook insisted.

There was a thump and Celestia guessed the human had hit the armrest with his fist. "Why the fuck would I do that, horse!? No one goes up there except you!"

After a moment the pony sighed and turned around. Celestia joined him. "Have you considered talking with Saul a bit more politely?"

Silent Brook paused just long enough to glare. "You go down there and ask him politely. See if you get a better answer."

The mare shook her head and went to the storage room. It was full of boxes, most of them closed. There was also a layer of dust covering everything. The upper floor would be the next part of the house for her cleaning efforts, she decided. A couple of boxes were open and their contents spilled across the floor. There were papers in plastic binders. She also saw some old clothes, sized for men, and a pair of rubber boots.

Silent Brook followed her inside and looked around. Then he sighed. "It should be in one of these..." He dragged another box to himself, and awkwardly pulled the top open with his teeth.

The alicorn rolled her eyes and prodded him in the flank. "Let me." The first thing to do was change back to her alicorn shape. That allowed her to see over the stacked boxes. Then she levitated a few and easily opened them. "What am I looking for?"

Silent Brook tried to peer inside one, so she lowered it a little. "Looks like army camouflage - green and brown and yellow pattern. Sleeping bag and foam pad. Both should be rolled up," he explained.

"Why is it all packed in boxes?"

Silent Brook gave her a long look, as if deciding whether to trust telling her. "Saul just left it all in the car when he came from the military. Said he didn't wanna look at it. So April and me just packed it up and put it here. There was some stuff in boxes up here already, anyway." The stallion shook his head a little. "He never even asked about it. Except the gun. He kept that with him."

It was a dangerously dark trail of thought so Celestia changed it. "Tell me about April."

The mere mention was enough to get Silent Brook to smile again. "She is really something. The army doc in Afghanistan stitched me up after my escape-"

"You were injured?!"

Silent Brook nodded. "Yeah, a bullet grazed me. Anyway, I had to go and have my stitches taken out so April came with me. At the time, humans didn't know too much about us ponies, so the vet..." His ears fell flat at the shame and the stallion looked away. He repeated, more firmly and angrily: "The vet. He didn't dare give me any painkiller. The one in Afghanistan didn't either, but at the time I was glad I was alive."

"Ouch."

The pony just ignored her comment. "So April took me by the ears and put her face right up to mine. Smiled and said we were going for ice cream after that, so what flavours would I like?"

Even Celestia was grinning now.

"Turns out, focusing on her face and smell and thinking about ice cream took my mind right off things. Didn't even sting when the vet poured alcohol or something on the wound."

"A sweet young lady. I wish to meet her."

Now his face fell and Silent Brook looked away. "She doesn't come around often. Sometimes I meet her in the park, but not as much lately."

"I'm sorry." Celestia kept opening box after box as they talked. She found a bit of the distinctive green and brown cloth in a few of them, but they were uniforms. Perhaps in this next one... "Do you think I could meet with the others, discreetly?"

The stallion leaned his head to the side, thinking hard. "You said the government is after you? Can you change into anypony else, or just Supple Branch?"

"It takes study. The spell is an alteration of Changeling magic, but it's a lot more difficult, even for an alicorn. I would need the book with the original form, then alter it over a course of a month to get a specific image."

Of course the earth pony didn't understand magic too well, but he nodded. "Well, if they can get to the laundromat, or the coffee shop down the street, I don't think anyone would bother you. We don't get a lot of police in this neighborhood."

It was promising. "Could you ask Glitter Dust to come one day?"

Silent Brook just shrugged a little. "Okay. I'll go there tomorrow morning, while you're waiting on the laundry. Maybe she'll come back with me."

It was good news. She could trust the pegasus with messages for Rawsthorne. They would have to be in some sort of code, but she knew her human well enough to come up with something.

"There! That's it!" the stallion exclaimed suddenly and pointed a hoof. Celestia looked at the box she was holding and brought out the roll. It was green foam, along with the sleeping bag itself. It was easily large enough to serve as a makeshift bed. Maybe not as soft as she was used to, but the alicorn didn't mind 'roughing' it for a while. At least she wouldn't have to sleep outside in the snow!

"Yes, this will do nicely! Thank you, Silent Brook!"

The stallion just grunted. "It's getting late. I'll turn in, if you don't mind, Princess."

"Just Celestia, please." She followed him back to his room. There were two more doors, but they seemed closed and the dust on the floor suggested they hadn't been open in a while. "What is in there?"

The pony glanced and shrugged a little. He seemed downcast and his ears drooped a little. "Left one is April's room. Right one is where Lena had her exercise equipment. She sent people to get it, so now it's just an empty room. We don't really use it."

Silent Brook settled himself down on his mattress and pulled a scrap of blanket around him. He didn't give her any extra instructions for her sleeping arrangements, so the alicorn decided for herself. She unrolled the foam and laid it down on the other side of the room. The sleeping bag would serve as a makeshift blanket.

"Thank you, Silent Brook. I will try to be in your dreams tonight, but I have not done this in a while so it may take some practice."

The stallion just grunted something noncommittal, so Celestia settled down. As she tucked herself in, the mare couldn't help inhaling deeply. There was a mixture of smells in the fabric, faded after being stored for so long, but still plain to her nose. An exotic mixture of spice, dry sand and sun-bleached stone. It reminded her of nothing else than the desert from her diplomatic visits to Saddle Arabia! She also smelled Saul in it, but it wasn't unpleasant. She just wished it was Rawsthorne instead.

"Good night, Silent Brook."

At least this time he answered more politely: "Good night, Celestia."

Comments

[PonyDragon]

What they ended up having was vegetable stew. Not the most exciting stuff, but easy to make. Saul didn't show any appreciation, but he didn't complain either. The man simply came home from his job, walked right past the faintly smiling 'Supple Branch', saw the meal on the table and went to eat.

Technically this is already progress.

Finally he gave at least some response: "Thanks."
It made the mare smile. So he wasn't completely impolite! Even Silent Brook managed a weak grin. It was a very, very tiny victory, but Celestia took it and shut up.

In Celestias head:

"Can you change into anypony else, or just Supple Branch?"
"It takes study. The spell is an alteration of Changeling magic, but it's a lot more difficult, even for an alicorn. I would need the book with the original form, then alter it over a course of a month to get a specific image."

In hindsight she should have prepared a number of alternate disguises before coming here in the first place.

[Kadigan]

10500514

In hindsight she should have prepared a number of alternate disguises before coming here in the first place.

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