Hayden Windborn

Malcolm, smirked as he looked a the other lord. He could tell someone was a bit prickly at the moment whether it was personality or just a momentary thing from him almost running into him. He stepped away as he let go of his hand. “It’s my pleasure to meet you, Lord Hayden.” He bowed slightly to him. “What are you doing up so lat?”

“Wandering,  I’m not particularly tired and the walls started to feel confining, so the easiest way to deal with that is taking a stroll” Hayden lifted his shoulders in a small shrug. His defensive stance lessened slightly, the tension from his shoulders eased a little, he was still on guard, but there was a part of Hayden that was just naturally inclined to be wary around others. 

Samir at first had not recognized the ring in the floor in front of him. Then, he saw the crest of it and recognized the falcon in it. A Windborn ring. He could’ve send one of the servants to deliver it. But there was really nothing more interesting to do. So there he was, going to Windborn Manor and asking for a servant to point it in the direction of one of the lords there.

To be quite honest, Hayden hadn’t even realized his ring was missing yet. Maybe it was the exhaustion leaking in from the constant having to be on his best behavior. Not to mention he was so eager to get away from the event that he probably wouldn’t have known anything was missing, let alone his ring, despite its importance. So, it was surprise to find the Scorchplains’ lord on the other side of his door, and he couldn’t come up with any reason why he might be until he held up the ring. 

Vahaelon could admit, if only to himself, that he was rather lazy. The easiest way to do something was the way he choose, unless there was a very good reason not to. If there was a ladder, he wasn’t going to climb the shelves, neither up or down. Then again, he probably wouldn’t be allowed to climb anything without someone standing bellow looking close to panic. Reaching upwards, he grabbed the book from the other, glancing at the cover with a thoughtful hum. “Would it be too much for me to ask for one from there too then? I’ve only read Witchmoor poetry.”

“No, hang on, I thought I saw one of my favorites” Hayden leaned back up scanning the spines of the books, before reaching up to tilt one away from the others. It was almost nostalgic looking at the cover. It was a beautiful match to the one that his mother owned and had read to him, the illustrations were hand drawn. The Windborn Lord and Lady may be politically motivated enough to deny their son what he wanted and send him off to court to seek an appropriate marriage, there had been a time when they were all children. “Try this one” He hummed, handing it down. 

Malcolm, looked at him with a curious look on his handsome face. He smirked to himself as he looked at him, he liked an attitude and this man seemed to be giving it to him, perfect for him honestly or at least perfect for him to fuck with for the time being. “I know, I didn’t expect to run into anyone. I am very sorry for almost knocking you over.” He offered his hand out ot the other man, he nodded his head as he looked at him. “I’m, Lord Malcolm Ironthorn.”

When the smirk appeared on the man’s face, Hayden didn’t know whether to scowl or relax, but the scowl was his first instinct. His lips turned down at the corners as he looked up at the other man, he was ridiculously pretty, the lords at court probably loved him. The change in demeanor had him shifting on his feet, unsure. “You’re forgiven” He grumbled, but reached out to shake Malcom’s hand, “Lord Hayden Windborn”

Hands crossed behind his back, Calden’s attention caught momentarily elsewhere before the door opened. Cool blue eyes caught with surprise when the other man opened the door, he’d expected him to be at least clothed.

Calden wasn’t exactly who Hayden was expecting to be on the other side of the door. But then again, he wasn’t sure who he had been expecting, but seeing the other’s reaction was causing a little smirk to pull at the corner’s of his lips. The Wintervein didn’t look the type to be flustered so easily, but here he was starting at his feet rather than Hayden’s bare chest. 

Malcolm, yawned as he looked around the hall of the castle. He had just arrived in court at night, he smirked slightly as he walked towards his family’s private house he really didn’t want to see anyone knowing the way that most people looked at him and his family after the murder of his parents. He of course wasn’t that lucky as turned the corner, he nearly ran into someone. “You should really be careful where you are working, not everyone is as agile as I am.”

Hayden was wandering, there really wasn’t another word for it. It had started to feel cramped in the area that the Windborn’s had been given. That was a family trait, his mother used to tell them stories about how the Windborn’s had the spirit of the falcon. James certainly did, with the way he’d traveled. But with Hayden, there was just this urge to get out of confined places, he didn’t necessarily need to go far, back home he usually took that as a sign he should go climbing. But here, all he could do was pace the halls, or roam the gardens. This late, he wasn’t expecting to run into anyone, but coming to a corner he nearly collided with someone else. “You’re the one who went around a corner without looking” The Windborn huffed. 

Alaric liked to think he was stealthier than he was. When it came to impersonal issues, he could sneak around and get the information he sought, no problem. But this has to do with one of his brothers, and that made it hard for him not to be a little obvious. Besides, his cover for speaking to the lord was poor. Any other knight would have waited until a servant appeared to ask where to go, never daring to bother a lord with their problems. He was only hoping that this particular lord wouldn’t be so stuck up as to leave him wandering the halls.

It didn’t occur that the other might have waited until a servant came along, to him it made sense to ask whoever was near. But then again, he’d never had the sense of superiority that some of the lords here seemed to have picked up, which made them insufferable to talk to. Turning, Hayden started a stroll toward the kitchens, hoping that the other would follow along behind him, “Honestly, you don’t need to keep up with the whole ‘my lord’ thing, Hayden will do just fine, or Lord Windborn if you really must, but then things could get confusing if you ever meet my brothers.”

Warren’s expecting attitude, is prepared for the scathing remarks or the over the top apologies. What he gets instead is an impressively delivered glare and snarky retort about how he’s ruined a perfectly good plan. He bites back a grin at that, surprisingly amused by the other lord’s candor. He’s still gripping the man, which is why it’s so easy to tug him closer, making distance between them nearly nonexistent. There’s a crinkle in his eye, carefully masked behind false anger. To everyone else, Warren appears just as disgruntled – downright angry, even. Only the man in front of him is close enough to see the amused tilt of his mouth. 

Perhaps he was meant to feel intimidated, being reeled in close. The man was a head taller than him, and certainly more broad. But the Windborn continued to glare, eyes steely, though they flicked across the man’s face. Older than he was, though not by that much, probably closer to James in age, making it more likely for him to be a first son. He was handsome, in a way Hayden couldn’t help but appreciate. There was humor in his eyes, though the fact that he was only barely showing it made Hayden suspect that he didn’t want anyone else to know. Which immediately had him believing that this ‘accident’ hadn’t been one. 

So there was a ladder in here after all. At least the caretakers were of the responsible sort, rather than more of those who climbed the shelves. Vahaelon had a couple of things to say about that, but kept them to himself for now. He could always voice them later if he needed an outlet for any pent up anger, which was more often than he would prefer. Looking up at the other scanning the titles, Vahaelon grudgingly allowed himself to admit a sense of admiration for the way the other hadn’t even hesitated before going for a shelf. “Thank you. Have you read it yourself?”

There was something to be said for doing things the easy way, and how Hayden strove to do anything but. Sure the ladder might have been a slightly easier way to get up, but going about it the easy way made it less of an adventure. It wasn’t as if he was going to actually hurt the books on his way up, he was incredibly careful in placing his hands and feet. Handing the book down, Hayden scanned the titles for others he knew. “I...yeah. I used to be into poetry a lot when I was a kid. Preferred the ones from Summervale though, the imagery of the cliffs and mountains was always beautiful”

“If you can actually manage that then they should erect statues in your honor,” he joked with an amused shake of his head, “but thank you– it’s nice to know someone appreciates the bile that comes out of my mouth; and for what it’s worth I appreciate your attitude as well. It’s actually a bit refreshing to know someone that looks as polished and cut from marble like the rest actually has their own personality still.” That was, in some way, shape, or form Aaryn’s way of admitting he found Hayden attractive– though he wasn’t behaving the way he normally would around someone he’s interested in; just look at how quickly he lasted around Samir. Yes, he found Windborn handsome but he could also tell he had much more to him than just that; and as cynical as it was to think, that wasn’t something Aaryn was used too.

“Well if that’s what it takes, I’ve been trying to get them to give me a statue in Griffinview for years” Hayden laughs. The Windborn opened his mouth to start to respond when his eyebrow rose at the last comment. Aaryn thought he was handsome? It wasn’t a comment he was used to getting often, but then again he hadn’t actually spent a lot of time around people who might want to flirt with him. Still he grinned a little bit, “I think everyone else might disagree with you about the polished part, my brother likes to tease me about being rough around the edges. But you certainly suit that as well you know, you’re very handsome and I obviously still appreciate your personality.” 

There’s a sizable amount of things that annoy Warren about the Palace of Lions. The smell, foremost. It’s as if the whole place has been drenched in every flower known to man. It’s beginning to make his nose itch. Everywhere he turns, his nose is assaulted by rose and lavender and raven knows what. It has put him in a particularly foul mood. That, along with the lavish everything grates on his last nerve. Yeah, he knows how precarious his station as eldest son of Bjornson is. And yet, he’s still beyond annoyed he must play dress up – forgoing his armor and casual wear – for this stiff costume his father dares call a suit. Warren grimaces into his goblet, thankful that he doesn’t have to keep up airs bye drinking that horse piss the Sabyrharts like to call alcohol. They’d been considerate enough to supply his homelands specialty: mead. However, spilling dark red wine on his suit would allow for the perfect excuse to leave. 

At least this evening was making out to be slightly more entertaining than the others. He was still wearing clothing that was deemed acceptable, which Hayden declared to be unacceptable by the standards that it was impossible to move quickly in. However he’d still managed to get at least one knife in his boot and another hidden carefully in his sleeve. The small talk was still effectively driving him mad, though he pushed another faked smile across his face as another woman inquired after his family, and what Griffinview was like. While Hayden loved talking about home, the way these people asked it clearly said they didn’t care about Summervale, they were just chatting for the sake of it, or as a precursor to jumping in with their own loud opinions. The wine was helping, and also the lovely intention he had for the half left in his goblet was keeping him entertained. 

“My brother the gang banger, ladies and gentleman,” he jested with a light chuckle. “I can’t imagine why you haven’t found any prospects yet.” His little brother had a point, he could talk and brag all he wanted, but it wouldn’t amount to anything if he couldn’t back it up with actual skill. “Fair enough. We’ll play a game after supper tonight. How about that?” Still, leave it to Hayden to call him out for his wordsmithing and flashy smiles. If there was anyone in this world who could see past James’ distracting smirks and rhetoric, it was his brother, as much as he hated it. “You make it sound like I’m some spoiled toddler in a tiara, Hay. Give me a little credit. I’m not that bad, am I? Be honest?” There was a flash of self-doubt in his eyes. Perhaps he should tone down that polish and confidence he’d acquired at Summervale, and practice a little more humility like his brother? The lords at Westeredge weren’t much like the lords at Summervale, things played differently there. “Oh? What did you think of them? Have you met any lords yet that you’ve gotten along with? Anyone you’re interested in?” He realized that a match for his brother, whther it was marriage or fraternal, was just as important as a match for James himself. His parents had charged him with the responsiblity of making sure all of his siblings were successful in court.

“Oh please, gang bangers just wield around weapons with no skill. I, on the other hand, wield mine with deadly accuracy” Hayden grinned “And it’s not my fault that people can’t appreciate that in a husband.” Well, it would probably help if he didn’t spend most of his time on that actually. But while he was playing along with this agenda to get him married, it didn’t mean he was going to change himself to do it. “Sounds perfect for me, a Windborn battle of wits after dinner” To be honest, Hayden was excited, he hadn’t spent a lot of time with James since they’d gotten here. The little flash of doubt that slid across James’ face had him regretting teasing just a little bit. Sighing, Hayden reached out to affectionately push James’ shoulder before reaching up to ruffle his hair. “No, you’re not that bad. In fact you’re infuriatingly perfect, I’m sure everyone in court is completely enamored with you.” Hayden laughed, “Are you trying to set me up James? I swear, between you and Ashley, I’m going to spend all my time talking about boys. But I liked the Winterveins, Garret is charming, and Calden is a very good swordsman. I’ve met a couple of the Seawynds, Aaryn seems to have similar opinions of court that I do” Hayden smirked a little. “What about you big brother? Anyone interesting you?”