The Lout's Pet Squirrel (og alcale)

Part 9

"Hyung's... pet?"

The clear hesitance in the question was a little surprising. While nearly everyone was apprehensive around Cale Henituse and his infamous tendency to throw drunken tantrums, very few held that same apprehension to the squirrel he carried around.

Alver was alone today and he was making a spirited effort to avoid being detected by the servants, or more specifically one servant, as he explored the Henituse estate.

He'd only ducked into the study because he'd thought it was empty. Even his sensitive squirrel ears hadn't been able to detect a sound from the middle Henituse child. It wasn't that Bassen Henituse was doing nothing either.

The teen had apparently mastered the art of doing paperwork quietly and quickly without taking a single break. The swiftness of his quill on parchment was so consistent that it became nearly impossible to notice among the other background noises that make up a world.

Looking at him, Alver was reminded uncomfortably of himself. Locked tidily away in an office, determined and silent as he worked diligently to attain worth.

It was a painful sight.

Alver climbed up onto Bassen's desk without really meaning to and looked down at the work he was doing. Appropriate efforts for an heir to put in at his age but it was still... upsetting somehow and he couldn't figure out why.

Bassen finally seemed to catch himself staring and fumbled clumsily with his desk, trying to not make any noises that would startle the animal but unlike his earlier deft movements, he failed pathetically.

Alver waited patiently though. He could admit to a tiny bit of curiosity over the Henituse family, despite all of his complicated feelings toward them, and this was his first opportunity to really observe Bassen Henituse outside of mealtimes where the poor boy looked too nervous to make a peep.

That was another concern of his. Just how had Cale scared his younger brother so badly? Of course, Cale's normal behavior was alarming to scare most people, but was there something more?

He just didn't know enough about Cale to know the intricacies of all his relationships.

Perhaps I'm looking for his faults. A funny thing to do, considering Cale Henituse seemed to be made up of nothing but faults.

Bassen completed his search and offered up some snacks from his drawer for the squirrels perusal.

Nuts.

What a suiting snack to give a squirrel.

It made Alver uncomfortable all over again as he accepted a walnut and gnawed at it absently, allowing Bassen to pick him up gently.

Alver had also kept nuts in his drawer. They were a good source of easy energy, didn't disrupt his paperwork, and didn't go bad quickly. He often ate them on days he forgot to eat anything at all. The thought seemed fine for him, but he again found it strangely upsetting to imagine Bassen reflecting that behavior.

Belatedly, Alver noticed just how many little similarities he had with Bassen Henituse.

In many ways, they were both the 'unwanted child by birth'. Through no fault of his own other than bloodline, they would have to work to be accepted by those around them and even if they worked tirelessly day and night, there was always the possibility that they would still be rejected.

Did he fear that Bassen's future would reflect Alver's recent past?

Then again, Bassen's faults at birth weren't as stigmatized as Alver's so it was unlikely. Beside that, the Count was a generous and loving man who was unlikely to abandon any of his children.

Did Bassen know that though?

Working alone and meekly in his study?

Quick mental math provided Alver with the information that Bassen was around eight or nine when he'd been officially welcomed into the Henituse family. Bassen had spent roughly half of his life under different circumstances. What were those circumstances? Although it was common knowledge that Violan Henituse had been a merchant from a fallen noble family, there was never much else discussed.

No one ever mentioned Bassen's birth father.

Which was strange, now that Alver thought about it, he knew noble gossip well enough to know that such a clear opening would normally have been exploited as a fatal flaw. The speculation over what sort of 'nasty' blood flowed through the apparent heir would have high society cackling for years.

Alver knew from personal experience.

Yet, when it came to nasty rumors about the Henituse family, neither Bassen or Lilly were ever mentioned. Even Violan, a fallen noble with an unclear past, was never scrutinized.

Cale Henituse was the only name on anyone's lips. Even when the opportunity arose, Cale's antics were simply too extravagant to ignore. Too fresh. Too recent. Too unbelievable.

Alver's stomach dropped as a tiny suspicion began to seed in the very pit of his stomach.

"Are you okay?" Bassen's voice was soft and gentle, he offered the squirrel another nut that Alver accepted lifelessly. "I can bring you back to hyung." He offered, clearly a kind boy with a good heart. A hard working child who feared he didn't belong.

Was the mystery of Cale Henituse that simple?

Alver tried to shake away his thoughts and chittered softly to assuage Bassen's concerns. There was no need to worry the boy.

Bassen smiled at him and it made him look a lot younger. The bags under his eyes from long nights working tirelessly became a bit less gloomy and Alver spotted an asymmetrical dimple on the boy's face.

Bassen was a sweet child.

Alver curled up in the palm of Bassen's hand as he thought about what word associations he had with sweet.

Weak. Naive. Incompetent. Foolish. Feeble. Fragile. Ill-fated.

Alver had seen too many sweet people consumed by the cruelty of nobility. Alver's worst mistakes had been due to sweetness. An immaturity that he had been quick to dismantle and discard.

One couldn't achieve greatness through kindness alone. Not in a world like this. Perhaps not in any world.

Bassen shyly gave Alver a scritch behind the ear, a lot less skillfully than his elder brother, and his smile became all the warmer being able to hold a tiny animal. It was a bit embarrassing but Alver could endure it if it made the boy happy.

"...thank you for checking up on me." Bassen scratched him again and Alver was sure that Bassen knew that the squirrel hadn't come to 'check in' or anything of the like.

But perhaps that was Bassen's secret wish. Alone in his quiet study and working hard. A child working so hard to be recognized and to earn his place.

Perhaps he just wanted someone to check up on him.

Alver knew the feeling.