delightful

Damn, stupid bulls. One of the bastards had had his horns caught in the fence, which meant that he first had to free the damn animal, and then he had to fix what he broke. Thiago had some nails in his mouth, a hammer in a gloved hand, and with the other he tipped his hat down against the shimmering glare of the sun. He continuously cursed through his teeth, while he yanked the old nails out of the broken plank and ripped it of the post.

He threw the broken piece aside and strapped the hammer between his belt, as bend over to grab a new plank. He caught a glimpse of the bull in question, sweeping his tail lazily from left to right, munching on some dry grass like he owned the place. He might as well, having him running around fixing his mess. Sometimes Thiago wondered why he didn't sell the place, pack his backs and go live in.. well.. Nah, whatever. He knelt down, lined up the new plank, and began hammering away. He didn't notice someone approaching, before his bull did.  

Thiago's brain often went completely empty during this kind of work. He was a simple man, just focused on one task at the time. And at this moment it was not to hit his own fingers when he hammered the nails in the planks with practices precision. The "new" plank was barely better than the one the bull had destroyed, but it was the best he could find at the moment. So when the bull looked at something over his shoulder, he didn't notice, not until he heard a voice.

Thiago stopped immediately. It wasn't rare for him to have visitors. He didn't live far away from Silverstone, and sometimes people just looked for a job. Or very desperate merchants came snooping, looking for some cheap wares to buy. But the boy that came to visit, was one he hadn't ever expected to be back.  ‘‘Nyx!’’ he said in surprise. He removed the nails out of his mouth and placed them on top of the fence post. Nyx commented about the bull and he gave him a rare smile. He looked over his shoulder to the beast and shrugged. ‘‘Nah, he is not mean, just stupid.’’ But Thiago noticed that he stayed back a bit. He remembered Nyx usually stayed out of the way of the animals, and only approached them if he really had to. He had been a good hand: hardworking and strong. But the animals never were his favourite.

Thiago decided to walk towards him and smiled again. ‘‘Didn't expect you to come back.’’ He stopped in front of him, his hands rested on his belt when he quickly looked Nyx up and down. He always had been a very small boy. He had been a bit hesitant to hire him, afraid he wouldn't be strong enough, that he would be slow and lagging behind. But Thiago always had a soft heart for the less fortunate and gave him a chance. One he didn't regret. The only regret was that he had moved on. ‘‘Can I help you with something?’’ Because, why else would Nyx had come back?

The smile on his face lingered for a moment longer as the boy said he couldn't afford to be impaled. Well, could they afford that? He looked towards his bull for a moment longer. ‘‘I bet he can delay that, if you ask him nicely,’’ he joked. They came together with a sturdy handshake. He grabbed Nyx by his forearm. ‘‘Good to see you too.’’

He missed people like him around here. But to be honest, he could barely afford it anymore. He couldn't spare the change anymore. He needed  some backup money if something broke, and well, things broke often around here. And everything just seemed to get more expensive and upper class people demanded more for less. He had to lower his prices to be able to compete on the market. And Elliot wanted to live like a king. Sometimes he could help a kid for a few weeks, to get him back on his feet and send him on his way in exchange for work. But often it was just him.

Nyx started to explain why he was here. A story of some sorts. He furrowed his brows for a moment. A story and a drink, it sounded like a blessing. But, he offered some help on the fence. ‘‘Actually,’’ he started. ‘‘If you could just raise the plank for a me, then I'll be done in a second.’’ He grabbed the hammer in his right hand again while he turned towards the broken fence. ‘‘And then I can't wait to hear that great story of yours. It must be grand if you came all the way up here.’’

Nyx helped him and in a matter of seconds, Thiago hammered two nails in the plank. It was a small job, just a few seconds out of Nyx his day, but it spared him a few frustrated moments if he had to fiddle with the plank all by himself. It was nice to have some help every now and then. He knew Elliot wasn't worth much most of the day. But he couldn't afford much boys like Nyx anymore. So when the fence was fixed, he leaned against it contently, smiling at Nyx. ‘‘Thank you,’’ he said as a habit. When Nyx joked about the bull again, and he chuckled softly. ‘‘Now, now. You don't give him enough credit.’’ If the lumbering idiot wanted to, he could probably smash the whole fence to pieces. But he was lucky he was an idiot. The bull reminded him of Elliot.

The conversation changed back to that drink. He laughed again. ‘‘Oh, it's changed a lot,’’ he said sarcastically. They both knew all the attention went to the farm. The house was used to sleep and eat. He rarely spend time inside. So it was probably dirty and shabby, especially with only two outgrown boys living there. But is was home, he supposed. Thiago nodded with his head and he started to walk home. ‘‘You are making me very curious about your story. Coming all the way down here again,’’ Thiago started to talk again. He hoped Nyx wasn't in any trouble. But he looked at ease, so he didn't suspect it. Maybe he just wanted to catch up. He was happy the world still turned for some people. For him, it sometimes looked time stood still, trapped in this dull routine.

He stepped inside his house. It wasn't much, really. Wooden walls, wooden floors, wooden furniture. It smelled like some of his leather projects he had brought inside. And of course, like cows. He removed his hat and threw it on the table, and then went over to the kitchen. It was all one big room really, with in the center the big table. ‘‘Take place, and I'll go looking for that drink.’’ Elliot must have something somewhere. He usually did. So when Thiago rummaged through the cabinets he found two cups and a bottle of strong smelling liquor, that burned his nostrils only taking a whiff of it. Jeez, Elliot really started having issues. He poured Nyx a cup first, and then set down across her and poured himself a cup. ‘‘Now, tell me all about that big story of yours.’’