wonderboy ↠ fitz vacker

3 | We Make A "Cosmic" Team

Fitz and Dex bowed, and shook the hand of a very good-looking man with a luscious chestnut colored beard. He stepped aside to talk to Fitz's dad alone. 

 Ah, yes, the shiny capes, the sparkly, spotless surfaces of a gigantic house... yes, this is the environment he was comfortable in. He knew politics, he knew how to talk in a place like this. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing, but this is where he was raised.

 Dex, on the other hand, looked like he had just tasted lemon for the first time. His face, twisted in a fake smile, transmitted a "I don't belong here, get me out!!" energy.

 Fitz couldn't blame him, no one liked the nobility. They were snotty, and pretentious, and so fake sometimes. Fitz didn't know why his family was so obsessed with being nobility, but it saddened him even more to think that he wanted to be in the nobility. He craved their approval so badly, that when his dad mentioned that they were going to visit an old friend who was very powerful, Fitz couldn't help but be curious to see where things went. 

"Out of all these fancy windows, which one do you think is the fittest to jump off?" Dex whispered to Fitz. He tried not to laugh too hard, his dad was speaking to the owner of said windows just a few feet away.

Fitz shook his head laughing, "focus, Dex. We need to find out information about Cosmo Trentworth while we're here. After we find out everything we need to know... the big center window looks like the best one to jump off." 

"How are we supposed to do that?"

"Well..." Fitz thought for a second. What was the plan exactly? Come here and talk to some guy who might or might not know Cosmo? And even if he did know him, why would he tell us if his friend was against the rulers?

"Boys, we're going to go chat with some tea. Care to join us?" Alden said, and Dex and Fitz followed where they were going. 

They arrived at a room with golden walls, and comfy brown couches. There was a glass coffee table in the center, and a gnome lady was preparing tea in the back of a counter. Fitz wasn't sure why they needed a counter, nevertheless, he sat down with Dex on a couch that he was pretty sure they had back at home. 

"I'm so sorry," said the man with the beard, "I forgot your names."

"I'm Fitz."

"And I'm Dex."

"It's nice to formally meet you both. My name is Durlan Perven." He flashed a cocky, but friendly smile.

Durlan Perven... Fitz had heard that name whispered by their parents over the years. He knew his dad had worked with him before, but Fitz had never met him. They were more politic friends than real friends. Fitz knew Sir Durlan was very good friends with Councillor Terik. He wondered if he was a real friend or if he also was a fake friend. 

"It's nice to meet you too," said Dex."How do you know Alden?" 

"Oh," he looked up and smiled, as if reminiscing of the good times. "Well, we've had some history. I've known him since we were just kids. But we've gotten to work together over the years, and eventually we kind of fell out of touch."

Alden laughed, "that's one way to put it."

"Well, then, how would you put it?" 

The lady entered the room with the tea, and Sir Durlan served some on his cup and took a sip, waiting for Fitz's dad to answer. 

"Thank you," Alden said to the lady, and she only smiled and bowed. Then, he turned to Sir Durlan again. 

"I would say you pursued people who I didn't want to mess with." Alden grabbed his cup of tea.