The girl nodded softly as she carefully wrapped the cloth around her hands, taking a slightly firmer grip on the broom. "Yeah, well, horses get daily food and water," She murmured, rolling her eyes slightly. "What'd you even do to wind yourself up in the dungeons?" She asked as she glanced him over. He had telltale scars and wounds all over, making him look almost as though he had been attacked by some animal. "Did you kill someone or something?" She asked sarcastically, letting out an inward chuckle before patting the broom on the floor. She had barely done anything and her wrists were already aching, so soon enough she found herself looking around for something else to do.

Sage shrugged. "Well then horses are valued more than my ranking," he muttered. He shrugged. "I've been in a couple times. Usually it stealing something." He glanced over at the girl, who was looking tired. He decided to give her some grace and not snap at her to keep working, like he usually would have done to another worker. "You know, if you just want to pick up the big chunks of glass and stuff on the floor and put it in something you can do that. Probably easier than sweeping." Then he shrugged. "People where I live kill eachother all the time. The gaurds don't really care if one of us dies, it's only if we kill a higher up we get into trouble." Then again, if they did practically anything to a higher up, even if it wasn't talking with respect, someone of his rank would be punished for it. That reminded him he needed to be careful around this girl, because as nice as she seemed, she could have him locked up or whipped just by pointing at him or mentioning him.

"I suppose they are." Anya said simply as she started wandering around, seeking out whatever people had left behind. It was pathetic that she had managed to do so little, though the girl seemed oblivious to her scanty doings. "And I mean, if you maybe if you held off on taking things then perhaps you'd stop being locked up." She said in a sarcastic manner. She eyed the boy with a slightly tilted head when he started speaking. It almost seemed as though murder was perfectly normal to him. It was unsettling. "What, so people here just go around killing each other? Doesn't sound great." She murmured inwardly. It was unheard of in the castle. Maids and guards always gossiped, though she never heard of any such happenings; he really wasn't kidding when he said the guards didn't care.

He snorted. "Maybe if people started giving us what we needed to survive I wouldn't have to steal things," he retorted sharply. Well, so much for watching his mouth around the girl. He had finished sweeping by then so he started cleaning tables off and wiping them down. "Maybe in whoever the king is now put some rules into place so people don't have to choose between crime and starving to death it wouldn't be so bad." He scowled and looked at the girl. "I have a father and younger sister to keep alive, and work here 24 hours a day for most of the week. And I still don't make enough to buy more than three full meals a week. That's not gonna cut it. People can't survive on one meal each a week." He picked up the bin full of dirty plates and cups and silverware with a grunt and headed for the kitchen, trying to just keep breathing normally. Well, as normal as he could. He slammed the bin down on the counter, fuming at whoever was in charge of the country's rules. Even the lower rank was still the kings people, and isn't it his job to protect his people? Well Sage only saw him protecting the upper classes.

The girl wrinkled her nose at his snarky retort, clenching her jaw as the boy walked about. Once again, she found herself perched on the side of a table, staring at the ground. "I'm sure the throne is doing what they can," She stated simply, "But it's not on them to control what the likes of you do." She huffed, wincing at the sound of the metal bins slamming against the floor. Did all the kingdoms people think the same? That the king was oblivious to all the going ons of his own kingdom? She had been raised with the queen and had only seen very little of the king, mostly in her younger years. The last time she had a full conversation with him was when she was around 14 - he took her on a little tour of the kingdom whilst he was running errands. Had things really fallen so apart? Anya hopped off the table as she followed him into the kitchen, leaning up against the wall to stay out of his way. "I'm truly sorry to hear about your family though. I take it your father doesn't work?"

Sage snorted. "The only thing my father does is drink and get crazy mad. I don't like him, and the feelings mutual, but he's the only reason my sister's still with us so I can't just let him starve to death out there." Sage started scrubbing dishes furiously, leaving out the fact that his fathers anger was more than just getting angry, it involved physically hurting him. After a moment he spoke up again. "If you want to get any sleep tonight I suggest you take an open room in the back." He tossed a broken glass into the trash and continued talking. "But I'm not working in the bedrooms tonight so if you want a bedside companion you'll have to settle for a pillow." He said that bitterly - he absolutely hated that part of the job, but it was money and money meant keeping his sister alive. And it's wasnt like he could just say no to the tavern owner. The only reason he even had a job was because the tavern owner could get away with barely paying him. But it was better than nothing.

Anya watched with intent as the boy channeled his fury into scrubbing dishes, clearly starting to work himself up. She of course knew she hadn't helped an awful lot, so she kept to herself until he finished talking. She nodded at the suggestion to go to stay in one of the rooms, though the later it got the more a chance there would be that she'd get caught outside the walls. She fiddled with her hands as she thought on it, eventually coming to the conclusion that she'd rather not walk back alone, and if she left early enough she'd make it back before anyone could send out a search party. "Yeah, maybe," She murmured, leaning her head back against a wall, "And not to worry, I don't think I could deal with your company for so long," she grumbled, rolling her eyes. "I don't think I caught your name?"

He grunted and then turned the water off now that the tub was full. He grabbed keys to a room and tossed them at her before walking back to the sink. "Room four." He picked up another plate and started scrubbing again. "I'm Sage," he finally muttered quietly. Normally he would have given a fake name, but something told him he could trust this girl. She may be a bit rude, but so was he, and she had left money and helped out even though she didn't really know what she was doing. "As long as you're out of here before noon tomorrow when the tavern owner comes you'll be fine." He finished washing the dishes and grabbed the bin to go gather another load of dishes, wishing that he had the time to sleep. And maybe eat something before another day of working.

She nodded and gave a shallow smile. "Sage," She repeated, looking at the keys in her hand, "Well, meeting you I suppose. I'm Anya." She noted as she glanced behind her, looking towards a thin set of stairs, of which without a doubt was leading to the rooms. "I'm gonna head off, thank you again." She noted shortly before turning off in the direction of the stairs. Every step she took made the floorboards scream out, forcing the girl to wince gingerly. She fiddled with the key in her hand as she walked, eventually turning off into a small hallway. The wooden doors were painted dark green, or they had at some point, though it seemed as though over the years they had been worn down and now they were settled with odd green/brown patches. She huffed as she walked, looking for a rusted metal 4 that had been loosely screwed on. She eventually found the room, unlocked it, slipped through the door, and locked it, more than happy to be in a semi-secure room. It was dark, damp, and she could hear people in other rooms shouting at each other. She eventually decided it was better than nothing, and soon found herself flopped back on the narrow bed, grateful for the rest.

Sage thought about the girl while he finished dishes. She was thanking him, which was weird by itself, but she had also helped him. Well, tried to. But it was the trying that counted. And as much as he tried, he couldn't hate her. He found himself wondering where she was from - she had obviously been sheltered if she didn't know what was going on in the streets. No one of higher ranks talked to him unless they needed someone to do their dirty work for them. But that's not what seemed to be happening with...what was her name...Anyway? He finished dishes and looked around. The shop was pretty much clean, all he had to do was wipe the tables down. It was already down, though. He might have half an hour to get a drink or something before the tavern owner arrived at this rate. His stomach growled and he put a hand over it with a slight wince. He had only gotten worse since last night and was now so dizzy he had to focus to walk in a straight line. He wiped sweaty hair out of his eyes and grit his teeth together. He couldn't handle a beating right now ..he needed to finish.