Fable - Ask May the Spirits guide your Journey

[Weylin Kyrel]

The dwarf just listened as the orcess began to panic over his accuracy of observation. The flames flickered seeming unsure if they wished to burst further into life or fade and die away. The hunter began to roll around a bit more as he tried to find a more comfortable position to lay down in with the injury to his back. White just lifted her head and laid it down to watch him in a half lazy, half bored kind of way till he stopped. Then she got up and laid next to him once again.

"No need fer thanks girl. Better it get used than go to waste." The dwarf said seeming bored already with the conversation. "Ye should stop hammerin' away at yer not husband. Either polish him off or find a new piece."

The dwarf sighed now standing over the pack looking down into it. "Ye don't get that one do ye? I'm sayin' either commit, fuck him, or tell him it ain't happenin'. Just let him down easy. Man drug ye from the canal with clearly cracked or broken ribs. Bruises make it clear as crystal."

The dwarf squatted as he examined Weylin up close and personal. White began to growl at the sudden with an attitude about her like she had with the troll. "Shut it ye bitch. Ye know nothin' gonna happen." The dwarf rubbed his beard a bit as he let out a hmmm sound. Then he stood up next to Zeri Rekani and pointed to the hunter. "How did it happen? Shaft cave in and he took stones right to the back?"

White stopped her growling with the dwarf now no longer next to her human. But she wasn't happy. Eyes stayed locked on the dwarf with a threat held in them the way she had been doing to Zeri before. The dog snuggled herself closer to her human and kept her ears pinned back like a warning. Weylin just laid there sleeping as his body attempted to repair the massive damage he had taken earlier that day.

 

[Zeri Rekani]

Practical. Dwarves. But wait, why would it he phrase it like that? Go to waste? Wouldn't he use the blackrock and kindling? Did he live here? Close by? Couldn't he use it? What was he doing here, anyway? Scavenging? Lost? Refuge?

Zeri narrowed her eyes quizzically and cocked her head. Stop hammering away? Polish him off or find a new piece? She wasn't...familiar with dwarven sayings and idioms. Maybe a few, but not really that much. Just what she gleaned from the dwarven sailors, travelers, traders, runesmiths, blacksmiths (hey, could have been blacksmith-speak too), and all the rest that came through Bhathairk and she had chanced upon in the Great Bazaar or outside a tavern or elsewhere.

Ye don't get that one do ye?

She shook her head. "No. I don't."

And then Zeri's head and shoulders recoiled back as if the dwarf had suddenly morphed into a giant, poisonous snake (or perhaps, more aptly, the angered troll far away up on the surface of the mountain). That was...! That was...! Crude! And rude! Crude and rude! What was it with dwarves?? Not one, not two, not three, but four, yes four, four separate occasions in which one of those dwarven sailors or travelers and likewise visitors to Bhathairk made some kind of snide or crude or demeaning comment or joke about her bosom. Those were the worst! One of them even called her a vampire, a daywalker to be specific, because of her incisors. Another asked if he could borrow one of her ears to slice a loaf of bread. Rude!

"We're just! Travelers!" Zeri exclaimed. She had sat up off her heels and almost toppled forward into the coalfire, but stopped herself and sat back down.

Despite her vehement objection, "the talk" from her Ma came back into her mind. The tribesorcs of Bhathairk were not like those of other lands: humans, elves, Komodi, even the rude dwarves. Maybe in some cases they were, but these were exceptions. And this was something that a lot of new tribeshumans, tribeselves, all those who had come to Bhathairk to live and adopt the ways of the tribesorcs, struggled with, so Ma said. Tribesorcs were open, polyamorous, in their youth. It was this polyamory that led to monogamy. Where those outside of Bhathairk and the orcish ways likely thought the males unfaithful and the females promiscuous, the tribesorcs as well found they who were outside Bhathairk to be without sense. How could one properly choose a partner with whom to bond with and to raise children with if one did not know them completely? Ma herself had multiple relations before she had chosen Pa. Had she committed too early, with the first man she had ever laid eyes on or who had laid eyes on her, or "saved" herself as was the custom in many parts of Arehil, she never would have met and decided on Pa.

And once she had chosen Pa and Pa had chosen her, they were locked into sacred marriage, a bond never to be broken, and thus allowed by custom to have children together. It was completely unthinkable and extremely taboo for it to be otherwise. Marriage was not taken lightly, and nor should it be. The tribesorcs of Bhathairk often thought it was the people of elsewhere, that they were the ones who lacked true commitment.

It was that word, wasn't it? Commit. That's what made her think of Ma and "the talk" again. All of what she had just recalled, but also the last and most important thing Ma had said to her.

Then she noticed the dwarf. Was gone. Hey, where--

She looked over one shoulder, then the other. Saw the dwarf by the human man then, squatting and looking him over. He did mention that the human had broken ribs. Did he have broken ribs? The bruises looked awful, it wouldn't be surprising. Also, how did he know that? Was he a medicine man? Did he feel the bones when Zeri wasn't looking?

The dog growled at the dwarf. Well, at least they had that in common: the human's dog not being particularly fond of either them.

The dwarf.

Gone.

Vanished.

Then right next to her. Zeri flinched again, not as hard as when he first appeared, but...hey, he had simply just done that, hadn't he? Appeared. Was he a mage? Wait, no, even Zeri knew the Laws of Magic. Could he...be...a...?

The dwarf asked her a question. She shelved her inquiry as to the dwarf's nature--whether he was truly a spirit or a ghost--and thought to answer it, for it also brought to mind a more pressing concern than simply getting a confirmation on something which seemed very likely.

"No. There was a cave in, yes, but it wasn't the stones," Zeri said. She moved on to the last big splotch of dampness in the wool blanket, and its closeness to the coalfire brought it to steam. "A troll had found us. Outside on the mountain's surface. I rolled my ankle a little and he was carrying me and my pack and trying to get away. We saw an outpost, he ran toward the door, but the troll hit him in the back before he could make it inside. My pack cushioned the blow, but not by much. I-It was a big troll, too. Then the cave in happened in the lower floor of the outpost, we fell into the canal and the Spirit of Water guided us here, to this cavern port."

She looked at the dwarf earnestly then. Asked, "Do you know if there's an apothecary around? Or someplace where I could find something, anything, that can help mend his wounds? Or ease the pain, at least? All I can do is get him warm so the cold's grasp doesn't kill him, but...I don't want him to suffer...or..."

She looked down and askew. A little guilt and sadness crept in.

"He...he risked his life. For my sake. I haven't even said thank you yet."

Not when he had the presence of mind to hear her words.

Weylin Kyrel

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

The dwarf seemed nearly uncaring about everything Zeri Rekani had to say to him. Her denial had gone noticed as well as the details of her tale. Then came the pleading for some kind of help. She wanted things from the town that she could find herself. It was born out of a sense of guilt rather than a sense of caring. The dwarf just shook his head.

Squatting over the fire with hands held out the dwarf said, "Denial. Guilt. Sad reasons to try and save a life girl. No need for them either. Ye don't know much of the Old Folk do ye?" The dwarf motioned across the charcoal fire as if he was about to tell a tale. He would just wait motionless until she joined him or made her protest. No matter her choice the moment it was made he went on.

"The Old Folk been in these mountains long as the mountains have been. Longer than orcs or dwarves. Well this era's ones. Ye see they look human but they aren't. They be children of the wilds. Wardens of the untouched places. Keepers of the old ways. They be strange. This one here," the dwarf idly pointed at Weylin as he slept, "he be one of them. Well partly. Think he may be half bred, same as ye are. There is lots of the wild in him but his is tamer and more calm. Probably why ye got saved by him."

The dwarf was next to Zeri and leaned in closer to her as if sharing some kind of secret. "Ye see them Old Folk have weird ways about them. They avoid cities and watch travelers. They trade with ye, but care little for what other races value. Gold, silver, gems. Things that dwarves and humans and elves love and spill blood over mean nothing to them. It almost upsets them just cause they be dug up. Well ye see another one of their quirks is they sometimes help out lost travelers. Ones who aren't tormentin' critters or burning' down the trees at least. Ye be respectin' the wilds and happen to be in danger or lost and they may just step in to help. May. They be fickle people and like to hide. Might as well be fae if ye ask me."

The dwarf waved over in Weylin's general direction. "But yer fuck friend over there is different. As I said he is less wild in his soul. It hasn't fully taken him the way it has for full blooded Old Folk. So he was followin' his people's tradition when he ran into ye. Probably knew about yer big troll before he even ran into ye. Coulda left ye there as bait so he could slink away. He may of been huntin' the thing. Old Folk hunt dangerous things if it is threatening the wilds. They even tell a tale of a lone hunter of theirs that killed a dragon. Interestin' tale. As yer bed warmer to tell ye some time."

The dwarf slapped his thighs, although no sound was made from the action. "But back to the topic. He was just followin' his people's traditions when he saved ye. Thanking him won't matter to him. So just stop bein' stubborn and mount him when his ribs heal up. Be more fun for the both of ye that way."

"As fer your question about healin' supplies. Yes there were but none of it remains. Spoiled ages ago and what isn't goo or dust likely kill ye instead. If ye be wantin' healin' stuff ye better off hunting down shrooms in the caves. I like ye though so I will warn ye little orcess: Don't go into the caves. Ye will die. Better ye just rest up and take the canal road back to where ye dropped in from. Likely be a surface fort there if me memory is right."

 

[Zeri Rekani]

Denial. Guilt. Sad reasons...

Zeri gasped as if struck, then exclaimed, "It's not wrong to show gratitude!"

She huffed. It was, as the saying went in Common, a knee-jerk reaction. The very first thing which had popped into her mind in response to the dwarf who most likely was a lingering spirit. But, immediately after she had huffed her little angry huff, the merit of the dwarf's words began to dawn on her; this, evident in her softening expression and downcast, searching eyes.

The denial part she did not understand, but the guilt? That she did feel--tangibly. Was she simply doing this out of some shallow compulsion? As if it were a transaction at the Great Bazaar, a simple bartering exchange, a balancing of the scale? Was it really as cold and removed as that? She didn't want it to be. It was true that she did not know him--didn't even know his name--but she wished him well. Of course she did. She felt bad about what happened and wished that there was something she could have done differently such that the human man wouldn't have suffered his injury at the hand of the troll; didn't this elevate her care above general and impersonal well-wishing?

Maybe that was the crux of it: what motivated her truly? That need spurred on by guilt to balance the scale, or genuine care and well-wishing for another living being?

Zeri glanced back at the unconscious human man, lying on the bedding of hide tent and cloak and canvas. Her inner brows lifted. What reason did he have to save her life? Or perhaps he had no reason at all, and simply did it. Doing the right thing never needed justification.

She looked back to the dwarf. Stayed seated before the coalfire and kept the blanket and its last vestiges of dampness held just shy of the flames. It would dry as she listened to the dwarf's tale.

The Old Folk. Children of the wilds, he had said. Like primeval natural Spirits in a way, but flesh and blood. And the human man was one of them? Half? Zeri listened with a keen and growing interest, her eyes open and lips slightly parted.

Wow. These Old Folk seemed even more in tune with the Spirits of Arethil than the orcish shamans from tribes who followed the old ways. They seemed one with the forests and the mountains and rivers, the plains and the grass, the trees and the animals. Were the Old Folk a kind of human? Like Blight orcs were to orcs? Not a great comparison, but it seemed to be so. The young man looked human enough, even if--as the dwarf said--he was half. The tale of a lone hunter? Zeri liked tales. Loved them, to be honest.

But yer fuck friend over there...

Zeri pursed her lips. Dwarves. But she kept her peace, and listened further.

Following tradition. Zeri immediately identified with that. Tradition and ancestral custom were her ways of life, of most tribesorcs in Bhathairk. Pa, from Falwood originally, even gave up his ways and his home to adopt those of the tribe and Bhathairk. And he didn't just do it for Ma, not as some sneaky ploy to win her affection. No, he had done it because it was a way of life that was fulfilling and meaningful. One he identified with more strongly than the one he had left in the Falwood. He joked sometimes that he had been "born on the wrong continent." But he knew he was meant to be in Bhathairk, and felt less that he had abandoned his place of birth and more that he had found his true home. And he would practice and honor the tradition and customs of the tribe until he joined the Spirits, and so would Zeri.

Following tradition. The tradition of the Old Folk. This was the human man's reason, but it was also the right thing to do. The dwarf was right, about thanking him; Zeri herself would have found it odd if someone thanked her for following her own traditions and customs. Even if it was just in her nature to be polite and gracious, it--

So just stop bein' stubborn and...

"I'm not s-stubborn!" She didn't consider the implications of her latest exclamation with regard to the rest of the dwarf's statement. She just burst out and said it.

Then pursed her lips so hard her cheeks puffed out. Dwarves! Even as a ghost! Rude, rude, rude! And crude!

At least he bothered to answer her question about the apothecary. Or the lack thereof, and the uselessness of what she would have sought inside. And the caves he mentioned...not so appealing. Well. If what the dwarf said was true, and the young human man was in fact only half human, then maybe he would be okay. The Old Folk could maybe come back from injuries sustained. Like a troll! Oh...not...not so great an analogy. But he might be alright, that was the point.

To the dwarf, she said: "I am. I will. Rest up."

She became cognizant of just how cold her legs had gotten, sitting on the stone floor of the little port's dock. The Spirits of Stone underneath her sapped her warmth as they would the sun's--again, their nature. Zeri checked the wool blanket all over, patting it down and searching for any lingering dampness, and she could find none. The blanket did retain a pleasant warmth from having been held before the fire. This, all throughout its fibers; it was going to feel wonderful to be under it.

And, if her legs were cold, the human man must have lost some of his warmth too. He still had his dog--

Which could be a problem. How would the dog react to this? She was already mildly aggressive toward Zeri. She wouldn't just accept the blanket being draped over the man (and, by extension, her, as she lay in his lap)...would she? Or would she move? Allow Zeri to cover the human man and then lay on top of the blanket? Zeri was, admittedly, a little nervous. Before she had the human man between her and the dog. It wouldn't be that way, lying down under the blanket.

Zeri turned from the dwarf then (would he just disappear? As suddenly as he had come?). She crawled back over to the impromptu insulated bedding, taking care not to drop or allow the blanket to touch the stone ground. Crawled onto the bedding. Sat on her heels by the human man's head.

Said to his dog, with a shiver of cold and a shiver of anxiety, "H-Hey. Nice dog, heh. I just...I just need to cover your master with this blanket." She patted the blanket for emphasis, as if talking to a person who could actually understand what she was saying.

"You don't mind, do you?"

Weylin Kyrel

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

The dwarf seemed to either ignore what the orcess had to say, did not hear any of it, or just did not care enough to show it. There was still a fire and the dwarf had hands to hold out towards it. The flickering continued and caused an energetic activity that the one squatting over it seemed to lack. The being might as well be made out of stone for all the movement and emotion he showed.

Things with Weylin and White were different however. Still stark naked, Zeri Rekani might notice some of the color had faded a bit from the hunter's skin. In particular his feet and hands had less color than before. The cold was finding ways to creep in. But he continued to sleep on oblivious to the waking world. He would either wake eventually or forever dream on.

White was still awake and not happy about the female approaching her human once again. He was like this right now because of her and the faithful good girl was having no more of it. A growl developed as the orcess got closer. The blanket made her even more suspicious of the female's intentions. Those things could be used for all kinds of bad things! No. None of this was good and she was not going to put up with any of it.

Well she wouldn't when she could get up. She was too tired still to do more than keeping close to her human. But she wouldn't be tricked by kind words and pleading. So she kept on growling while turning up the intensity to the next level: pinning her ears back. The orcess would know exactly how serious the situation was now even if she couldn't stop her in her current condition.

Zeri would find White growled and acted scary but wouldn't budge from her spot. Rather she couldn't and a bit of watching would make that very clear. The poor good girl was as done with the day as her naked, sleeping human. The orcess could do as she pleased and not get bite so long as she didn't put any part of her body directly in front of the dog's mouth.

 

[Zeri Rekani]

The cold air had leeched away some of the warmth Zeri and the coalfire had managed to set back into the human man. The Old Folk man? It sounded better to say human man. Easier. Something Zeri was more used to. She'd stick with that.

And, as Zeri expected, the dog was not appeased by her words nor her tone nor the blanket she had indicated. It was a poor attempt, but it was all she could do. The dog wasn't happy, but...but at least she hadn't lunged from her master's lap to take a bite out of her.

There really was nothing else that could be done.

Zeri would just have to forego getting under the blanket; oh, no, no, no, there was no way she'd do that with an angry dog underneath with her. Nothing between them. She wanted to--desperately wanted to. Bask in the comforting warmth under the heated blanket and share her body heat with the human man and have his--what little he had now--shared with her. Sitting the human up again and getting behind him and draping the blanket over top would either leave their feet and lower legs or their backs exposed. No good. Well, certainly not ideal.

Zeri resolved to just lay on the blanket, next to the human man. The blanket itself would make for a barrier between herself and the dog, maybe even calm her down if she couldn't directly see Zeri. It might become difficult for the dog to breathe under the blanket, but the side opposite Zeri would be left open.

So Zeri set about laying down the blanket.

She found shaky footing and stood and unfurled it in the air with a flap and let it descend down on the prone man and his dog. Covered the man up to his neck. She went around to the man's feet and tucked the ends of the blanket under his heels to better retain more warmth.

Then Zeri dropped back down to her hands and knees. Down on the side of the man she remembered that the dog's muzzle was not currently pointed toward--a tiny measure, but it made her feel safer nonetheless. She stretched out next to the man, her body--though on top of the blanket--still taking in some of the lingering warmth of the fire present in the wool. She smoothed out her loincloth, the article having gotten bunched up when she shifted to lie down. She clasped her hands together and laid her head down upon them as a makeshift pillow.

She lay facing him. Saw--and for the first time truly noticed--the features of his face. She blushed. Averted her eyes. Looked back. She fancied green skin and orcish features, but there were some men who weren't--humans and elves and some rarer kinds traveling through Bhathairk--that had left her girlish and smitten by simply looking at them. He had a foreign, exotic ruggedness that was apart from the green skin and orcish qualities she so fancied but nevertheless found...handsome.

Shyness immediately overtook her. Clouded away the cold that had tried to inch its way back in through her legs from having sat on the stone for so long. And compelled her to start stammering bashfully.

"H-Hey. So I...got us this blanket. N-N-Nice and warm. Like I said. Ha, ha...ha. I'll just lie here. Then. Don't worry, don't worry! I'm warm. Too. I'm warm. You were looking a-awfully pale. So...it'd be better if...you know...ha, ha...I'm going to lie here."

Weylin Kyrel

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

The hunter did not change his state of being. He slept soundly with a bit of moving now and then, but had seemed to finally find a comfortable spot. The warmth of the blanket that Zeri wrapped around him only made it even more comfortable for him. When he woke he would surely be better off and ready to face the day of pain that his broken ribs would provide.

White was not happy at all. The warm blanket was the best gift her and her human could have asked for right now. It was the closest feeling of being home before the attack by the orcess' people she had experienced since. And this bitch that was making mating faces at her human was the one to blame. She had revealed her plans in this act. The evil woman was not trying to kill her human but rather she was trying to take him away from her. It was unacceptable! She wouldn't put up with it!

But her human would be very upset at her for doing anything to the one he had suffered so much to save....

White got herself out from under the blanket after enough of the warmth had soaked in and brought her body back to life. She got up and walked over to Zeri. Then the big, fluffy dog laid down right on top of the orcess. Across torso and thighs and arms she laid. She put her head between her human's and the orcess' faces then promptly went to sleep. Dominance was gained and the pecking order was established.

The dwarf watched from the fire and simply shook his head. It was all silly to him.

"What is this? A play?" A second dwarf dressed all in gray but this time with solidly black hair asked.

"The girl was tryin' to get under the blanket with the boy but the dog ain't allowin' it." The first dwarf said.

"Ah. Who do ye think will get their way?"

"The dog."

"The dog?"

"Aye."

"Why?"

"Cause she has more will than the orc girl. Feel bad for the meek, horny thing."

"How 'bout the human?"

"Old Folk and he is injured. Broke ribs and exhausted. Troll."

"Did he kill it?"

"Don't know."

The two dwarves went silent after their loud enough for Zeri Rekani to hear conversation was over. They both just squatted over the fire with their hands held out as it flickered wildly and twisted and turned about like a great wind was about, yet one was not.

 

[Zeri Rekani]

"Uhhhhh-aaaaaa-hhhh!"

Zeri had been lying on her side, tempted by sleep from the dual forces of the warm, comfortable blanket at her side and to her front and the cold nipping at her back and opposite side, when something...unexpected happened. She saw it first, that rustling under the blanket. The human's dog then, emerging. Hence the uncertainty of the uhhhhh in the onset of her shriek. The dog then coming around and laying directly on top of her. Hence the shock of the aaaaaa-hhhh her uncertainty had morphed into.

And the dog was still a touch damp in places. These spots at least as damp as Zeri's hair (which, much to her chagrin, she would be hard pressed to fix and groom back into the manner she liked).

The dog's head bisected the space between the young human man's face and Zeri's own. And...the dog closed her eyes? Slept? Didn't bite Zeri's nose off? Or her ears?

Zeri lay there, stone still, far too afraid to move. Now, seeing that the dog could move around, she was inclined to get away, to put as much space as she could between herself and the animal. She could, she could face the cold! Go back to the forge and find more blackrock and that kindling and start a new fire somewhere safe. Somewhere she was positive she wouldn't have her nose or her ears bitten off.

But. She couldn't. As much as she wanted to, fear held her in place. What if she started moving and upset the dog and that caused the bite? Well that would be horrible. Just horrible.

And speaking of horrible.

Zeri couldn't see much of anything past the dog's (intimidating) muzzle. But she could hear him. The dwarf. That dwarf. And he was talking to someone else. Maybe another dwarf, another ghost.

She didn't move, save for her eyes searching in vain. But she hissed a whisper at them, wary of speaking too loudly and upsetting the dog, "You're still here? Don't you...don't you have something better to do?"

More will than...calling her meek...and making a leering fuss about--it wasn't their b-business!

Dwarves!

Weylin Kyrel

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

Weylin and White both just slept there where they were. The hunter had taken a beating and gone through more than anyone should have been asked to already. From snatching up the orcess and literally trying to outrun a troll with another person in his arms to getting struck square across the back to tumbling across stone to falling into an underground canal that later needed him to walk the orcess and his dog out of when they found a safe spot, his body was just done. And White was not having a great day either. First a troll then some green skinned hussy that wanted to run off and mate with her human. He was a big fool too so she might actually be able to trick him with her human like parts and strange hair. It was just awful.

But the two were now sleeping it away. It was not the most dangerous situation they had faced and so were calmer than their new companion.

The dwarves had been silent for some time but then Zeri Rekani began to say something. She would find them looking down at her. The peppered dwarf said in a hushed voice so as not to wake up the human and dog, "What did ye say girl? Ye wish to mount the boy and make confusin' babies?"

"Rather mean there don't ye think?"

"Hush. She is in denial. It is good for her."

"This is why lost one run off into the caves."

"No they run off because of yer ugly mug."

"Really now? I thought it was because of the shame of fuckin' yer mother."

"Mothers are off limits. Ye know that."

"I knew yer mother for three long nights."

"That's it. I'm kickin' yer ass."

The two dwarves would disappear. Everything became silent once more. No wind. No flicker in the flames. The space around them just seemed to sleep like the hunter and his dog.

 

[Zeri Rekani]

The dwarf--that dwarf in particular--appeared where Zeri could see them around the intrusion of the dog's muzzle. And it wasn't even hardly a moment later when he stuck his ample dwarven nose in someone else's business. Her business! Again!

Whispers, still. Angry little whispers. "Hey...you! You don't even...no one asked you anything! Thank you for telling me about the kindling and thank you for your tale about the Old Folk, but...hush!"

He wasn't a Spirit. Oh no. He was a ghost. And ghosts weren't Spirits. Spirits were noble. Ghosts were just the remnants of people. Maybe he was tied to this place, maybe he was tied to a much larger place of which this small cavern port town was only a part. Didn't matter! Ghost or no ghost, living or not living, he was...he was...

Rather mean...

Rather mean! Thank you! She liked this other voice already.

Hush. She is in...

"No, you hush!"

And the two ghosts had themselves a vulgar verbal spat followed by a...something. They disappeared, or so it seemed. That wind that heralded the ghost's first manifesting abated, and there was only the steady flow of the canal's waters and the crackling of the fire.

Zeri lay there, on top of the blanket and next to the human man, but with the human's dog likewise on top of her and the dog's muzzle starkly inbetween Zeri and the man.

She tried desperately to stay awake. To keep from falling asleep and letting her body temperature drop along with it. The blanket was warm, yes, and the dog was also warm, at least, but she didn't want to risk it. Didn't want to...didn't want to...

Zeri didn't even know that her eyes had shut.

* * * * *​

Time passed.

The coalfire had gone out.

Zeri's eyes were closed and her chest rose and fell with gentle, sleeping breaths.

And the waters of the canal in the little port town of the cavern continued to flow.

Weylin Kyrel

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

Time past steadily as the waters within the canal. But it did so in the way of the underground. No sun. No moon. No stars. Nothing was above that was not below to indicate a passing of time. It was all just the slow steady march of stone as it crept ever forward at a geological pace.

Weylin's eyes finally opened up slowly. He remembered weird dreams of a talking troll, of White, and of a curvy orcess that chirped like a bird. He also remembered a dream of two dwarves brawling in their tavern of stone as endless ale was consumed by shadows around them. One black and one peppered. The peppered one had won, although barely. The shadows cheered and beat hollow mugs across rotting tables. A victory had been won.

The hunter was still a little lost in his dreams so it took him a bit for his eyes and mind to focus. When it did he found himself staring at White's muzzle. Had she crawled on top of him to sleep again? He moved his arm and found it under a blanket. When did he buy or find one of those? The pressure of a sleeping mountain dog was not hindering him so it meant she was next to him. Minor victories it seems. He pushed her muzzle a bit and eventually the dog just got up and moved away. His back hurt because of the effort. The troll had hit him. That was right. He had forgotten. He wished he still did.

The sight that greeted the hunter following his companion's removal made him freeze. The chirping bird was sleeping right there! Was he still dreaming? She had mounted him in it and hugged him into her curves while chirping endlessly. Wait, when did she do her hair like that? Was this real or was this a dream? Which one was the reality and the other the illusion?

Weylin suddenly became aware that he was naked under the blanket. When had he removed his clothes? Why were his clothes removed? The orcess was only in her underthings next to him. Had she done it? Why did she strip him? Wait.... Wait, wait, wait. Did the orcess strip him and mount him in his sleep? Was that not a dream at all? Had she taken his virtue so deceitfully? That was what this was all about. She knew the troll was there and knew he would help her out and knew about the dwarf outpost and knew about how they would fall and knew about the canal and knew he would be too exhausted after to resist.... And all to claim his virtue....

It made absolutely no sense. The hunter knew his mind was a jumble right now after having slept for an unknown amount of time. The last he remembered was getting them all out of the canal and then crumbling to the floor shivering without end. His clothes were wet and with the cold they had to be removed. So that explained his lack of clothing and the blanket and bedding. But where did she find the heat for it all?

The scent of ash finally registered to his nose. A fire. The orcess had found a way to make a fire so they had heat. It seemed he had much to thank her for. He wished to get up but was uncertain as to how to proceed. White moving might have awakened her but it might not have. If he got up then she might be disturbed into waking.... Or she might not. He needed to get his clothes on as he was naked and changing while she was sleeping was the best option. But if she woke up while he was then she would see him naked. A sight she had certainly already seen while stripping his wet clothes off.... What was even right and wrong anymore here?

Throwing caution to the wind Weylin decided to just get up. It took a bit of effort but he did his best to do so gently as possible not to disturb the orcess. But the extra effort just made the pain getting up already cause in his back to get even worse. His dad had complained about how much back pain and injures effected everything you did and now Weylin understood why he said that. Because every little thing hurt his back even more. As he got up he made sure to tuck the blanket over the orcess so any bit of cold she was feeling could get warmed up by the warmth still clutching the blanket.

Zeri Rekani

 

[Zeri Rekani]

Zeri slept. Despite all of her earlier struggles against it, rest had come and claimed her deeply.

* * * * *​

There was a Warrior in her dream. His face she could not see--shrouded in shadow or blurred by fog or above the reach of her eyes. He was not merely a Warrior, but one of legend. She heard a vague song whose words she could hear but not make out. In that way of dreams the Warrior melted and shifted from one battle to the next, there in the mountains, there in the forest, there upon the open grassland, day or night, sun or stars. He slayed a myriad of ferocious beasts. He brought great feasts back to the tribe. He fought against the foes who desired the tribe's lands. He was the brave one, the one who went into the unknown and brought back new discoveries and triumphs for his people.

And Zeri was beneath his notice. Each time he would return to the tribe and be hailed as a hero, Zeri tried to catch his attention. He did not give it. In the strange scale of the dream Zeri was but a tree and the Warrior a snow-covered mountain--he towered over her. It was all she wanted that a Warrior such as he acknowledge her, see her, become aware of her existence and her name and in so doing allow her to bask that briefly in the glow of his legend and his glory.

She could not have this.

* * * * *​

Zeri did not wake when White moved nor when Weylin moved. She did not wake. Not yet.

She groaned slightly when Weylin got up. The lids of her eyes tightening just so. Her arms and her legs squirmed a touch.

Then she softly moaned, as if relieved, when he laid the blanket over her. And she settled. And exhale of air from her nose.

And she was still. Comfortable. Warm.

Weylin Kyrel

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

The orcess did not wake. It was a relief to Weylin when this happened. Certainly she no doubt had seen him fully when she had stripped him but he was not awake for it so it was as if he still had a bit of mystery left to him. Thankfully he could continue to pretend he had it instead of a second viewing while he was awake scattered his pride along with his delusion.

Moving across cold stone, although not that cold thanks to how long the fire had been going, the human found his clothes near it along with the orcess'. Thankfully she had the good sense to leave them in a place to dry. He got himself back into his dry if cold clothing with a sigh of relief. It was like he had a suit of armor on, not that he had ever experienced such before. Then he got his other belongings back into their places. His hatchet and skinning knife in his belt along with his many pouches. His quiver and bow were back into their places at his hip and popped the sinew string off so it was now staff rather than bow. The string was wound up and put into its pouch with the other spare bow parts. And finally his dad's longsword.

The human wrapped his fingers around the hilt and drew it out slowly. The swish of metal against soft leather sounded. It was undamaged somehow. The blow had not broken it. A heavy sigh of relief escaped his lips. All felt right again. He held it in his hands and examined it. It would need to be left out of the sheathe. Water had soaked through and gotten trapped within it. That was not good for the metal of the blade. He had no oil for it however nor a good grindstone to polish it back to normal.

"Good lookin' sword ye got there. Know how to use it?" A voice said from behind Weylin.

The hunter jumped and swung instinctively as he turned. It was wide and wild of an attack. His dad would be disappointed in him. But instead of striking anything it just went through thin air. No not thin air. It went through a female dwarf with hair the color of burning coals. It had just past right through her. She was a spirit, perhaps a ghost. The panic he had felt faded slowly with this knowledge. If she meant him harm there was nothing he could do to stop her.

"Bit rude of ye there. Not nice to try and penetrate a gal before givin' her yer name." The female dwarf said as a hand went to her hip.

Weylin brought his sword back to him and held it so it was out of the way as he gave her a short bow. The action caused a great deal of pain along with a delay in the pain his swing had caused him. He winced yet ignored it. Simply in as polite a tone as was possible for the wild hunter of the Spine he said, "Sorry. I'm Weylin. You?"

The dwarf woman shifted her weight and with it which hip she had a hand on. "Not important right now honeybee. Yer hurt aren't ye? What ye gonna do about it? How did it happen? Throw yer back out fuckin' the girl?" The dwarf woman pointed to the sleeping Zeri Rekani.

Weylin shook his head. "It is. An elder troll. No. Don't think we did. Not sure yet."

The femle dwarf laughed at his response. "Don't know? Been there meself honeybee. Ye should go to the caves. Shrooms there that can heal yer wounds. Blue topped with green underside. They faintly glow pale blue. Like to grow under big bright red shrooms that glow even brighter red. Don't touch them though. Those red ones will kill ye."

Weylin gave her another slight bow, wincing yet again, and said, "Thank you."

"Yer welcome honeybee. Gal can't let a handsome young man like yerself ruin himself. That job is for a pretty thing like myself to do in bed."

=================

Zeri would find the black and peppered dwarves had found their way into her dreams. They would bicker and argue with each other. The peppered one was convinced she wanted to mount the human while the black one figured her body type on an orc meant she was more into females. The topic of her hair style, slender and petite build, and fact she was clearly a half breed all came into their arguments with each other. She might also note the two of them looked beat up although the peppered one a little less so.

 

[Zeri Rekani]

The comfort of the exterior, the warm blanket over her that she had gone without, did not last long. For on the interior, invading her very dreams, were the sights and sounds of two familiar ghosts. A melding together of her dream marching along and the discordant intrusion of the two dwarves she had experienced the company of in the waking world. The crass, rude company of.

Zeri tossed. Turned. Gently at first. Hardly noticeable, as Weylin conversed with yet another dwarven ghost, one Zeri had not heard nor seen.

Her lips pursed together in her sleep. Eyelids tightening once more. A frustrated groan rumbling in her throat.

More tossing. More turning.

Quiet, half-formed words escaped her mouth.

Then, in argument against what one of the dwarves in her dream had said, Zeri's body jerked and she sat up half way with her palms splayed out on the bedding and cried out in growling irritation, "I am not!"

She blinked. Surveyed her surroundings. No mountains, no forest, no grasslands. No sun or stars for that matter. No legendary Warrior. It was the little dwarven port town, and the canal's waters were still flowing, and she was still in the cave and--Oh no! Had she fallen asleep! She had fallen asleep! B-But she was okay. Warm, actually. Hey, the blanket. She was under it. Where was the dog?? Not...here. Somewhere.

Where was the human man? Oh there. He was out of the blanket! Oh, he had his clothes on. He was okay, that meant he was okay, he had the strength to get up and do it on his own so...so that was good. Good.

Zeri rubbed at her eyes briefly. Said to him, "I'm sorry. Did I wake you? I didn't mean to. H-How are you feeling? Better? You were...well, you weren't looking so good earlier. Pale. Really pale. I'm..." She drew in a breath of resolve, and offered with a smile, "I'm glad you're doing okay!"

Weylin Kyrel

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

Weylin had just ignored what the female ghost had said to him. Instead he focused on getting the fire going again. Which turned out to be pointless. They lacked more charcoal and more kindling to get it going again. A disappointment. But this meant the orcess had found some of the stuff to begin with and that meant there might be more to find. Should he go in search of it or let her lead him to where she had found what she brought? Surely that was not all of the charcoal that would be left behind in this abandoned port.

Then the chirping bird returned to the waking world. She jolted out from under the blanket in a bit of a panic. Perhaps a nightmare? She noticed him and began to chirp at him. For a moment it even sounded like chirping, but then it turned into actual words. Seemed she was worried about him. Such a good girl.

The female dwarf was next to Zeri Rekani before Weylin even had a chance to react to the chirping. She just seemed to be looking her up and down with a critical eye as she said, "So did ye have a pleasant tussle with honeybee over there last night? Or do ye not remember either?"

The peppered dwarf and black dwarf both were suddenly back around the orcess as well.

"As much as I suggested she do she didn't."

"Rather borin' night."

"Well honeybee seems ye got yer answer."

Both of the male dwarves made a disgusted face at the female dwarf.

"Yer still usin' that name for the young men ye find pretty?"

"Seems so. Why does she even call them that?"

"Because they get their sweet nectar all over me."

The two dwarves seemed ready to vomit and disappeared once again.

The female dwarf sighed then looked to Zeri. "Males. They just can't handle a gal bein' honest about her needs and desires. Ye must get what I mean squirrely."

Weylin watched the scene not sure what to think. Dwarves were odd but this was even odder than their usual behavior. Might be partly because they were ghosts and had nothing to lose anymore. Could have also just been that time had eroded away their sense of modesty like wind and water did to stone. He didn't know and didn't want to find out. The important task right now was finding more charcoal and kindling so they could buffer their warmth and make torches.

"Going for charcoal." Weylin said then whistled. White, who had found herself laying on top of Zeri's clothing, looked up at her human. He pointed at the orcess and said, "Protect." Then he left off with his dad's longsword in one hand and his bow turned into a walking staff in the other towards the abandoned port town.

 

[Zeri Rekani]

Zeri had only just woke from her sleep, only just escaped the dwarves that plagued her in the waking world pestering her there as well, only to now see and hear a third dwarf. Oh. A different one. A female. Well thank the Spirits, those male dwarves--What??

"No! I didn't have any tussle! Pleasant or unpleasant!"

And Zeri continued to add her replies, which went unheeded, to the dwarves.

As much as I suggested she do she didn't.

"No one asked you!"

Rather borin' night.

"I thought you were on my side!"

Well honeybee seems ye got yer answer.

Zeri blinked. "Huh? What answer?"

Yer still usin' that name for the young men ye find pretty?

"Handsome. You mean handsome. D-Dummy!"

Seems so. Why does she even call them that?

Curious, then. "Why do you call them that?"

Because they get their sweet nectar all over me.

Zeri didn't get it. Didn't get it. Didn't get it...then she got it. Her bottom lip curled down and her left eye twitched. Sure, tribesorcs weren't as prude as, say, city humans, but tribesorcs still maintained a noble decency. Being crass wasn't respected, nor should it be.

Males. They just can't handle a gal bein' honest about her needs and desires. Ye must get what I mean squirrely.

"You could, you know...temper...your honesty. Really, you could. Temper it," Zeri said. And she added so quickly that she hadn't the chance to stop herself, and immediately regretted saying it as soon as she did: "And don't call me squirrelly."

Nevertheless, the human man was--hey, hey! Where was he going? Charcoal? Oh yes. Blackrock was important. Keep warm. Cook a meal. B-B-But he was going to leave her with the dog? The dwarves were bad enough on their own, but at least they (so far as she surmised) couldn't take a bite out of her, being ghosts and all. He said for the dog to protect, but...but would she listen? When he was gone?

"O-Okay," Zeri said to him. And she added as pleasantly as she could: "Hurry back!" Trying not to sound worried or anxious.

She offered a half-hearted smile to the dog; that same worry and anxiety she tried to keep from her tone pulling the smile back down.

Well. Best...best to get dressed then. Heh.

Zeri shifted off of the bedding and stood--finding it much easier to do so--and went to her dried winter clothes by the exhausted coalfire. She sat down and first grabbed her underwear, taking a modest look around to see if the human man was indeed gone, and then shimmied them back up her legs and under her loincloth. Got her pants and did the same, rocking to one side and then the other to get them up over her rear. She fastened the belt snugly. Procured her parka and pulled it on, pushing her arms out through the long sleeves. She grabbed her boots and slipped into them. Her gloves she put into a pocket of her parka--she didn't want to put them on yet.

She then started to fuss with her hair. Using the only workable implements she had--her bare hands, of course--to try and fix and at least part her hair the way she liked it.

Weylin Kyrel

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

The hunter left as quickly as he could and nearly missed the orcess telling him to hurry back. He simply gave her an idle wave to acknowledge she had been heard. How could she not have been? The little bird liked to chirp. So off he went into the same depths of the abandoned places and past the same melancholy sights she herself had seen before.

============================

White had gotten off of the orcess' clothes after her human had informed her she needed to protecting. It was the worst thing she had ever been asked to do. She would rather bark at dragons again than be asked to protect the female that had tried to mate and steal her human away from her the night(?) before. But the dog had seen the attempts failed and now would just have to show her how much better she truly was than the green skinned one. She would know again who the dominate one was.

The female dwarf had seemed a bit sad when the hunter left and had even waved him goodbye with much vigor. A promise of a pretty sight upon his return was even made. It was hard to say exactly what she meant by that. The orcess however was about to find out.

As Zeri Rekani fussed with her hair the dwarf was beside her now. "Ye should stop fightin' yer own hair squirrely. Not becomin' of a lady, especially one as pretty as ye are."

A soundless clap was made. "Oh I know! Why don't ye let me in and I can fix it for ye nice and pretty? Get honeybee to look at ye with lust in his eyes and pounce ye like a mountain cat."

White pinned her ears back and walked over. She began to paw at the dwarf and didn't stop despite how it just past right through the ghost. This got a scowl from the female dwarf and shortly she snapped. "Stop that ye mangy bitch!"

The dog growled at the dwarf and just began to paw at her even faster.

============================

Weylin was shocked by the number of corpses around the town. None of them had flesh left, only bone and beard remained. All their armor and weapons of metal were covered in rusted spots and holes from age. Moisture clung about the air thanks to the canal, although it was not humid, leading to the metal rot. Different symbols were about. A total of three different groups were here. In the usual mix of lines to forms geometric shapes was what looked to be a boat under a mountain, an axe inside of a mushroom, and a shaft with the head of a pickaxe on both ends of it nearly forming a circle with a larger actual circle around it. There numbers for each group were roughly equal, but it was hard to tell if they had fought each other or together. The only obvious thing was that they had fought.

The hunter began to ignore it after awhile knowing scavenging here would not be likely. Dwarves made great metal things that could survive longer and last longer than the metal things of other races. But too much time had past in this wet for a dwarven town place. He was no stranger to these ruins so knew it to be true. But this was his first time this deep below. He was use to their outposts on the surface not their towns below. He just hoped that knowledge would help him here.

Soon enough he came across the same cart that the orcess had found originally. He knew it was the same one because the bags of charcoal had been disturbed recently. It was surprising how well the wood of the cart and cloth of the bags was still holding up compared to the metal of the place. Perhaps it had something to do with the way caves worked and the presence of water? He wasn't sure and didn't care. What was important was that he grab what he could. So he slowly bent down and began to grab what he could from the cart to get the fire going when he was back.

 

[Zeri Rekani]

Zeri let out an irritated huff. Glanced briefly at the female dwarf ghost and then generally upward.

"I'm not fighting my own hair, I'm grooming it."

She kept attending to it. The single braid was fine, of course, but she tried to fix what else she could with just her fingers alone; which was to sa,y mostly the part over right eye and sweeping the bulk of it generally to the left. She inherited her Pa's hair, with its elven features of natural volume and lift; the color of course coming straight from Ma. Had she been like her elder sister, inheriting more than just the color of Ma's hair, it would have been more orcish in quality, tough and heavy and straight.

And dwarf offered to fix her hair nice and pretty if she were to be "let in." Zeri didn't quite follow what she meant by that, but she certainly didn't like the sound of it. They weren't hostile or aggressive, these ghosts--thank the Spirits for that--but they were wily. Zeri didn't know how long they had actually been ghosts or what being a ghost did to one's mind after such a time, but they were all peculiar in there own ways. Zeri didn't think any of the three would actually harm her, but she didn't trust them. Oh no.

"I can fix it myself. The way I want it." And she glanced quickly in the direction the human man had gone and hissed a whisper at the ghost, "And I don't need your help with that! Not--not my hair, the other. Thing. You said. And it's none of your business what I'm doing or not doing in that regard a-anyway!"

The dog--surprisingly on Zeri's side for once, if only incidentally perhaps--growled at and attempted to paw the ghost. Which, in contrast to the dog's allegiance in the moment, wasn't surprising. The ghost couldn't be touched, couldn't interact with the physical world.

Zeri flashed a grin to the dog. Then said to the ghost, "I don't know. Maybe the dog will stop if you go share company with your other ghost friends. Elsewhere."

Zeri--not so content to leave her hair imperfect but resigned to do so anyway--went to her pack then. Most of the dampness had gone, evaporated away by its proximity to the now extinguished coalfire.

She looked into her pack. Pulled out the two undamaged waterskins. Searched further for her remaining rations. She had a few rabbits, ready to be stripped and prepared and cooked. Did humans like rabbit meat? Did Old Folk? She didn't know.

Weylin Kyrel

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

The charcoal cart still had about two bags worth of charcoal left that was usable along with the tiny pouch of quick kindling, that silvery substance so quick and intense to light. Weyling got them gathered up and tied so that he could just throw them over a shoulder for easy carry. The tiny pouch went into one of his belt pouches. With that done he got back to his feet with a bit of effort. Time to head back to their little camp.

As the hunter began to walk back something caught his eye. The faint light of the glowing crystals reflected off of something within one of the dwarf homes. He stopped and tried to take a look at it, but could not make out what was truly there. So with his curiosity elevated he tried the door and found it unlocked. Then he crouched down a bit to walk inside.

What Weylin found was a house with all of its nicknacks still in one piece. All the vases and plates and bowls were dusty but perfectly fine. A small silver hand mirror was also what had caught his interest from outside. It was placed on a mount so someone could look into it without using their hands. The way the orcess had chirped about made him think she might like it. He picked it and its little stand (which could fold up for ease of travel) up and placed them in his bag. It got him curious what else he might find of interest in this long abandoned place.

==============================

The dwarf and the dog seemed to just ignore Zeri Rekani as she spoke and went about her day. The pair just continued to slap at each other without impact being possible and the dwarf woman calling the dog every name imaginable in both common and dwarven. All the while the dog just had her ears pinned back and did not stop her pawing.

When Zeri finally produced rabbits from her bag, or really just opened it up enough their scent could escape, White stopped what she was doing with the ghost and looked over at the orcess. She took a few sniffs of the air then began to pad over. She knew what was in there but the slightly unfamiliar nature about their scents had her both curious and wary.

The female ghost just made a few huffs then vanished. It was unclear if she would return or not.

White sat down out of arm's length from Zeri and just stared at her. She seemed to be waiting for something although what that something was was a mystery. All the orcess knew was the dog was now closer and looking at her expectedly.

==============================

It had been perhaps half an hour since Weylin left that he returned with the sacks over his shoulder. He also was carrying a small wooden box in one hand while he had a sack in the other hand. As he approached the camp he smiled to White and made some strange almost animal like sounds, although they did not sound like they came from the same one. The dog finally left her spot staring at Zeri and padded over to her human happily.

The dog was given a back of the hand pet as the hunter went straight for the orcess. As he approached her he held out the small wooden box. "Here." Inside of it was some ivory combs and brushes. None of it was as fancy as the ones she had lost to the troll attack but they were all unbroken and still in good condition.

The charcoal bags were deposited near the fire next as was the sack he had in his hand. That hand sack was rather small. It was not used to hold grain or charcoal so did not need a lot of space. When it touched the floor it gave off a weird mix between metal and stone touching stone. The hunter got to work getting the new coals together then pulled out the quick kindling. He sprinkled a bit of it over the coals then put the rest away. His flint and steel came out and he struck a couple of times just aiming more generally and less at one particular spot. Sparks flew and the quick kindling went up as soon as one touched them. Before long the fire was going again and they just had to wait for the coals to get fully stable.

 

[Zeri Rekani]

The female dwarf ghost was gone. That was good.

But the dog had approached her now. That was...not good? Zeri wasn't sure, and was in a queer way surprised that she wasn't sure. Because the dog--despite her expectations to the contrary--came close and most certainly didn't bite her, sure, but still looked at her.

"Hey," Zeri said, a little unnerved. "N-Nice...dog...your master should be coming back soon, heh heh. Heh. Haaaaaah, what, um...what do you w-want there?"

Zeri was sitting by her pack still, and flicked her eyes back to it. The rabbits she had brought to the top. Oh, well, maybe--maybe one of those would keep her preoccupied. Long enough for the human man to return, and preferably before the dog decided to no longer abide her presence and take a nip at her. Zeri tried to smile. Picked up one of the slain rabbits. Flung it at the dog as if the rabbit--in the seconds before she had let go of it--caught fire spontaneously and singed her hand.

Eventually, the human man did so return. Over his shoulder he had a familiar sack full of blackrock--charcoal, as the young human called it. A sack...and a box? Huh. Did he find something useful? Something for his bruises, maybe?

"Hey. I'm...glad you made it back," Zeri said. Then, after absentmindedly brushing back her braid and the braid dangling back into place with a gentle rocking back-and-forth motion, she said, "You...you still haven't told me your name. That's okay! That's okay, though, i-if you don't want to. I get it. I do."

He came toward her.

Here.

"Oh. For me?" She took the box. "What's in it?" She asked, even as she was opening it.

And she gasped. A smile, slowly spreading across her face, eyes dancing excitedly from the box and to the human man and down to the box again. She set the box in her lap and took out one of the ivory combs and held it between both palms and lifted it up as her smile opened into a grin and she turned it this way and that to admire it. This, again, with one of the brushes.

"Where did you find this!" She could barely contain her glee as the human man set up the coals for another fire. "This is amazing! You saw that mine were broken, right? You saw. You saw that. I really don't know what to say other than"--she clutched the handle of the brush in both hands and beamed with an undeniable effervescence--"thank youuuu~! Thank you so much! I-I can't tell you how much this means to me, I just..."

She let her sentence trail off as, in the manner of someone who simply couldn't wait any longer, went to work brushing her hair and teasing out its volume again. After she brushed, next would be the combs after she parted her hair again, combing out this layer, resetting the part, combing out that layer, this lock here and that lock there, until her hair was done the way she liked it.

She was still brushing when the human man got the fire going again.

And she asked him, "Say, are you hungry? Have you tried rabbit meat before? I don't know if humans and Old Folk like it, b-but I do. It's really lean. I, um...I had some spices and seasonings in my pack. They should be fine? They were cork-sealed. Unless the troll shattered the ceramic. I didn't. I didn't look. Yet."

Her mention of the Old Folk came out so casually that she didn't even notice that she had said it.

Weylin Kyrel

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

The fire was going and the orcess had the energy of a giant wrestling a mammoth to the ground. How did one so small talk and move around so much? It made him wonder just how much stamina the orcess must have to be able to keep up all of the little things she did without end. He had some confidence in his own stamina but it made him wonder if he could keep up with even half of what she did.

When the thanks had been given to Weylin though he had responded with a slight smile and a nod. It was not often he heard those words. And it got his mind thinking. There was something he was forgetting to do. The fire was going. The hair tools were given. The sack of- Oh that was right. He had nearly forgot about her other gifts.

While Zeri Rekani began to speak about rabbits and spices and he just guessed was cooking, Weylin began to rummage around his pack. He pulled out the small silver hand mirror and its mobile stand then went over to her again. As he approached he held them out for her to take. "Sorry. Forgot these."

He would wait for her to take them then give her a nod and slight smile again. She was asking some questions and since she had saved his life he felt she had earned some answers. The hunter say down next to her, his back was killing him, and looked at her. "Weylin. I'm Weylin. Yes I eat rabbits. They are all over the mountain." He took a look at what she had with her. "Only bigger here." Then he looked at her chest for a moment as something had crossed his mind but he couldn't place it yet. What was that thought he had while saying that could be kind of rude? Oh.... She was small chested. Surely she wouldn't notice the irony of that too.

Weylin just looked up to her eyes and smiled a bit. It was nice to have some company again that was not overly aggressive or extremely quiet. Then he realized she had said Old Folk earlier. Did she know of the people? Maybe. The orcs of the Spine were aware of them, although he couldn't say how aware. It was possible others knew of them too. Oh well. It was not important now. What was important was food and recovering.

The human held out a hand. Rabbits were simple to prepare and he had more experience than he cared to admit. They were not considered boastful prey, unlike deer and elk and minks. He would do his part for his meal although he didn't say why his hand was out. He just had put it out there. Maybe she thought he was inviting her to dance or was going to do that hand kiss of far more civilized places. No one knew when his hand was held out without context of words to back it up.

White had ignored the rabbit tossed to her. She wanted the treats of the good organs not the whole thing. And she liked them cooked better than raw anyways. So the rabbit would just lay on the ground near her as she waited patiently for her due reward for having to baby sit the deceitful, flat human taker.

 

[Zeri Rekani]

Zeri eyed the human man curiously as he began to rummage around in his own pack then. Did he find something else in the dwarven port? She thought at first that it could have been food of some kind, but quickly dispelled the notion: the horrible memory of those dwarves, their skeletal remains, intruded back in to remind her that this was highly unlikely. Nothing perishable would have lasted this long. What did happen here? Maybe though...maybe it was best not to know.

And her eyes went wide with excitement and joy once when he produced the mirror. He was thinking about her while out there. Even though they had only just met, what they had gone through and what they had survived together made it seem as if time flowed at a different pace. Like the Spirits of Water in a river's undercurrent, moving fast while the surface looked placid by comparison.

She set the brush down in the box with the combs and took the mirror gently from his grasp, looking at her smiling reflection for a moment before also accepting the stand and setting it down beside her pack. "Thank you! I know I've been saying that a lot, but I...well, I really appreciate you and the things you've done for me."

Zeri's shoulders slunk closer to her chest in shyness and her cheeks were awash in red when the human man--Weylin--sat down beside her. She had her hands pressed down on the box in her lap and her arms rigid and straight and it took her a couple of tries to look over at him. Back at him.

Only bigger here.

Zeri followed the track of his eyes with her own, then immediately flicked her gaze back up and level, as if caught by her Ma or Pa looking at something she was explicitly told not to look at. He was talking about the mountain rabbits, right? Of course he was talking about the rabbits, of course, she was just being--as Ma liked to put it--"easily ruffled." She was wearing her parka. She had been wearing her parka ever since they met, the entire time Weylin had been conscious--No! He was awake before she was awake! (Oh no, not again!) He saw, he definitely saw, the leather of her halter top didn't have the padding and thickness of her parka. She found his face handsome and the lean muscle of his arms and legs appealing, but what if he was like the tall, strong orcish males of Bhathairk and found her, her um, her bosom off-putting? Lacking? She wasn't like her elder sister, who inherited Ma's ampleness. It was...erm, it was...oh nooo~wah!

Change the subject. Maybe. He was talking about the mountain rabbits, right? Change it anyway!

"You know, when you f-first came upon me there, I thought you were a b-bandit. Ha, ha. Ha," Zeri said. She swallowed and absentmindedly fidgeted with her fingers the handle of mirror she still held down by the box in her lap. Weylin had held out his hand but she hadn't even noticed yet. Continued to talk with a slight, quivering stammer, "A bandit or a k-kidnapper. But I'm glad you're neither! Glad, really glad. Ha, ha, ha. You know, that would've been terrible. I wasn't expecting to meet a-anyone out here in the Spine, but I'm..."

Her eyes, as if physically pulled down by her shyness, drifted from Weylin's and to the box and mirror in her lap. A demure smile spread with a slow reveal across her features and her cheeks once again erupted with color, hot red invading the light green.

"...I'm glad to have met you..."

A pause. Further fidgeting of her fingers around the mirror's handle.

"...Weylin...ha, ha...ha...ha..."

Weylin Kyrel

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

The orcess continued to speak while Weylin waited patiently for her to hand him a rabbit to skin and prep for her. She thought him a bandit or kidnapper it seemed. Why would she think that? He had no armor on and only had his bow ready. Likely he would have looked like the worst bandit alive. As far as kidnapper goes, he sort of was. He did snatch her up and away from the troll. So in a way he did kind of kidnapper her as the troll practically had her in its hands. Maybe he was a bandit though. He did take those things from the dwarf homes. They did not belong to him and he was sort of stealing from the dead. Course the spirits of the dead walked the halls and seemed content with people taking things. It was an odd line of thought that he might actually have been doing something wrong here.

Then she said she was glad to have met him, said his name, and just sort of sat there fidgeting. Was she okay? The orcess never handed over a rabbit and wasn't able to look at him. Was something wrong with her body and it was making her look at herself instinctively? She had turned a little red now that he paid a bit more attention. Red skin, feeling weak and too tired to keep her eyes up, and the cold followed by so much time in the river.... Oh no. No, no, no. This was bad. This was very bad.

Weylin frowned as he got himself up to his feet as quickly as his own injury would allow. He went over to Zeri Rekani and placed both of his ungloved for once hands on either side of her face. After lifting her face up so their eyes could meet he said in a serious and worried voice, "I'm here for you. No need to try so hard." His face reflected his seriousness in his statement.

The hunter just knew the orcess had caught the fever and they were not on the surface where he could forge some plants to cure her. He needed to devise a plan. Should they risk travel and her fever getting worse? Or should they stay here and try to wait it out even though it might get worse? Neither of those options appealed to him. There had to be something.... The cave. The female dwarf had mentioned healing mushrooms there and how to identify them. He could get some for her and cure her illness. Yes. That was now the plan.

White did not like how close her human was with the female. The temptress was doing something to him. Was it those lumps on her chest? He had looked at them earlier. And the gifts he had given her. None of this was looking good. Was he courting her? No. No his human wasn't interested in mating. It was not breeding season yet.... But humans were different than dogs and the female was different than her human. Perhaps she had done something to him and now he was attempting to get her to mate with him because it was her plan for him to. That tricky whore! White was going to put an end to this!

The hunter's face showed the thoughts running through his mind then ended with a slight smile as he stared right at Zeri. It was clear he had made some kind of decision. But no sooner had that happened then White suddenly forced herself between the two and forced her head between their faces. She flailed around between them and caused the human to drop his hands away from the orcess' face. Then the dog gave her a smug look of victory.

 

[Zeri Rekani]

Zeri didn't know what would come of it. She had changed the subject quickly enough, but she sort of confessed some things that weren't exactly endearing. After Weylin followed the traditions of the Old Folk and helped her out in her travels--helping her escape the troll that was coming to savage her and pulling her out of the canal and onto the stone dock of the little dwarven port town--to say that she thought him to be a bandit or a kidnapper seemed...well, like a slap in the face. Ungrateful. Rude--like those dwarven ghosts.

But she was grateful! And she did think that, at first! She was just being honest.

Point was, it wasn't really the best topic she could have brought up, but it was the one that came to the forefront of mind first and it just spilled right off of her tongue and out of her mouth. She started talking and she couldn't stop. Like usual. Hopefully...hopefully he didn't think less of her. That would be awful. She...well, she...she really...

Wasn't expecting that.

The touch. Of his hands (his hands!) to her face. Her cheeks. Warm and dispelling of the minor cold of the cavern air which had settled in and stubbornly refused to be banished even after all her blushing. He lifted her face (oh gosh, oh spirits, oh gosh, oh spirits) and looked at her as she helplessly and with swooning anticipation looked back at him. Her eyes were wide open, lips parted in breathless anxiety, and her heart thudded almost painfully hard in her chest.

I'm here for you. No need to try so hard.

Her mind was blank. Her thundering heart had primacy, and it controlled her tongue.

"O-O-O-Oh...Oh...Okay. Okay, okay." Her cheeks were on fire, as was--to her pleasant surprise--another place. "I won't. Try so hard. I'll do that. The not trying hard. That's what I'll do. Okay. That's--phew. That's, ah. That's a warm fire."

Look at him. Look at him! He was thinking about something, he was, what was he thinking about, he said he was here for me and he was here for me and found me those nice things and he saved my life and his tone when he said it when he said it, oh gosh, when he said it I could feel it yes I could feel it and I don't know why he said not to try so hard I don't know what I'm not trying so hard to do, wait, oh oh did he know--he knew--he saw them of course he saw them but he saw them and he didn't care and he was telling me not to try so hard to cover them up and to not be ashamed of them oh but I just wish I was like a real woman like a real tribesorc woman why did my sister have to be the lucky one and his face, oh gosh, his face when he said it, AND OH SPIRITS, he smiled at me and he cares and what is he going to do next I can't, oh gosh, my heart, I want to know--

The dog. Muzzle. Between them. And his hands dropped from her face and her heart gradually slowed and the warmth of her cheeks and between her legs dwindled from a wildfire flaring to a mild simmering.

And coherent thoughts in her mind were possible again.

She was nervous, clearly, about the dog's proximity, but she trusted that Weylin wouldn't allow for anything to happen. So, after a moment, her eyes flicked up from the intrusion of the dog's muzzle and to the human man.

"So, um...were you hungry?"

She smiled. Uncertain and shy, once again.

Weylin Kyrel

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

The hunter was annoyed by the behavior of White. She had barged in so rudely just because she was jealous. The dog had gotten like that every since they fled their burning home. Any time he showed a woman a little bit of attention she would get between them. Most of the time he didn't care but this time was too much. The orcess was sick! She had the fever and needed help not to have a dog nearly push her over.

Weylin gave White a hard look, which caused the dog to slink down and then move off out of the way. She was in trouble but did not know why. She was just protecting him from this evil greenskinned monster. While she was too slender and lacking in the appropriate thickness to be one of the ones who had burned their home and attacked them she was still of their kind. Her human was too nice and this just showed how others would take advantage of it. So this time she didn't care. Nope. He could get himself mated and deal with how clingy and controlling and mean and awful and horrible and miserable she would be all on his own. He had to learn some time and it was time for a bit of tough love for her human.

With White out of the way, Weylin looked to Zeri Rekani again. He smiled to her slightly and placed his hands over her own hands. "Yes. I'll cook for you." Then without really giving her a chance to respond he took some of the rabbits and went to do the fire. He began to remove the skin, which he did with a speed only those with intense practice could, and then got them gutted. While he might be mad at his companion she still had earned her reward for the stuff with the troll and watching the orcess for him. So he saved her the organs she liked best. Then he made sure to put the waste parts onto the bloody side of the skin to toss away from the camp later. He did it to the three rabbits he had taken. Then he pulled out some wild herbs from a pouch and began to rub them into the meat.

There was no dirt on the paved stone floor of the dwarven port, so Weylin had to improvise. He got the rabbits set up on one of his arrows like a skewer then got them propped up over the fire using some stones he had found. It was clearly debris from whatever had seen the town end up the way it was. But he didn't want to think about it. He just got them stacked up and got the rabbits cooking over the fire.

It was time now to clean and get fresh water. Weylin knew from experience how fresh the canal water was so it seemed like a good place to restock. He got his waterskins then moved over to Zeri. He smiled slightly as he approached her so that she knew he was here to help and care for her while she was ill. "Waterskins. Going for water." And then he waited for her to provide what she had brought with her and survived their whole mess from before.

The hunter had gotten so focused on his new task of caring for the orcess that he had forgotten about the pain of his own cracked ribs. A small blessing.