not so unbothered

It deserved to be said: Alison was in a good mood. Which wasn't a rare occurrence per se, but with everything that she had going on she didn't always have time to actually enjoy a good day. But today was different. It had started with her favourite pastry for breakfast, followed by a lovely ride with Ivy and topped by the fact that her hair still looked amazing afterwards. She was just on her way back to her quarters to wash up and get changed when she noticed a familiar figure lounging as if she had just come back from a long day of work. As if, of course.

"Maybel! Hello." she greeted her cheerfully. Her cousin was a bit eccentric in the way she sometimes dealt with things, but she couldn't blame her, really. The way they had grown up had been anything but ordinary and they all had their own way of figuring out how to navigate this world. Unfortunately, one of Maybel's many talents that she had learned in her 21 years on this earth was the impeccable ability to ruin someone's day within seconds. For some, that happened as soon as they saw her face. For Alison, it happened the moment she mentioned her current least favourite person. A grimace appeared on her face, any cheer she previously had disappearing as snow on a hot day. "Ugh, must you remind me?" she groaned, sitting down on a couch opposite her cousin. "I truly do not understand why my father hired him. Honestly, I think you would do a better job." Maybel might be small, but she was vicious. And scary.

She couldn't help a chuckle escaping from her lips as Maybel tried to act like a proper guard. "Maybel, with all due respect, I don't think I've seen you be at service to anyone, ever." she said, one brow pulled up at the ridiculousness of it all. Not that she should have to, of course, but a "hey Alison, do you need anything from the market?" could be nice from time to time. As the conversation went back to the imp that was her guard, she heaved a heavy sigh, throwing back her upper body against the couch to dramatically look up to the ceiling. This way, she did not see Maybel's face, but she could practically hear the grin in her voice so that might be for the best anyway.

"Yes, but I'm not pocket-size!" she groaned. "What if someone throws something at my head?" It was a genuine concern of hers. She wasn't too afraid of something like that happening, but the whole reason they all had guards was that it could. "He talks too much, he lacks manners and he doesn't know how to ride. I feel like a babysitter more than anything." she said sulkily. Of course there were bigger issues in the world, but this was someone that was constantly with her, so it did have quite an impact on her life. She turned her head, shifting her gaze from the ceiling to the cousin as an idea popped into her head. "Can we trade? Please?" she begged her cousin, complete with puppy dog eyes on her face. Maybel's guards were no Garrett, but it would be better than Nyx.