Private Tales Read between the lines

[Talus]

Talus had sort of...forgotten about the mess that he had made. Lips thinned for a few seconds and he looked at the grimace on Zana's face. "Oh..."

Usually he took the time to clean up everything behind him before he even ate the food. but this time he had forgotten to do so. His fingers tightened for a brief second, and he took half a step back as if she were about to strike him.

"Yes..." He looked around at anything not Zana. "I sort of forgot after I finished cooking."

A hand rose and ruffled the back of his head in embarrassment.

 

[Zana]

Zana ran her hands up into her hair after she put the egg shell down and then she laughed. Grey had helpfully begun to clean some of the spilt egg and batter off the floor but she nudged him away from the side before he got anymore in his fur.

"It's okay," she made her way over to him with care and then kissed him. "You are very, very lucky I am the perfect woman," she winked then moved towards where she had stashed the cleaning supplies last time. Usually she used her gifts to clean but there was something rewarding about doing it with her own two hands and she worked quickly. It wasn't long before it looked less like a bombsite and more like a kitchen.

"Where's this apron then hm?" Zana prompted as she set out the bits she would need.

 

[Talus]

Talus, of course, helped.

Any mess he made he would clean up himself, but with Zana there...it felt easier than it usually did. A smile stayed on his face almost the whole time, and as they cleaned Talus couldn't help but keep a smile on his face the whole time.

"Ah." He said with a smile as he finished tossing some of the remaining egg shells into the garbage. "Right."

With a quick heel turn Talus wandered back towards the bedroom. A few moments later he came back with an Apron, upon it was the symbol of the Anirian Guard.

Below the famed shield it read 'Standing Guard and Cookin' Good'.

It was a silly thing, something he had seen at the market in Vel Anir. Clearly meant to be another novelty, but perhaps he was just fond of those.

 

[Zana]

A laugh bubbled out of her lips as she saw the logo and sign on the front of the apron. She took it and held it up in front of her to get a better look of it. When she lowered it she gave him a playful look and shook her head slowly.

"Are you... going to get me tacky Guard trinkets as a silent protest to my loyalty to Luana?" Zana raised a brow. She knew he wasn't happy that she stayed with the House and she knew he wanted her to leave in favour of the Guard and his unit so that they could be more free. But she wasn't ready. She wasn't sure if she would ever be ready.

She wouldn't resent him for wanting her to leave though.

Zana put the apron on and tied it about her waist with a bright smile.

 

[Talus]

"Is this silent?" He asked with a frown.

A smirk touched his face nonetheless though, and as she wrapped the apron around herself he quickly stepped up and slipped his arms around her. Lips pressed against hers in a claiming kiss, his eyes shutting as he dragged her close.

He pulled away for just a second. "Wait till I give you the thong..."

There was no thong, the Guard obviously too classy to ever sell anything of the sort. It wasn't they like they dwarves or anything.

But he liked reminding her. Even if he had worn the damn things more than she had.

 

[Zana]

Zana draped her arms about his neck and rocked onto the tips of her toes as he pulled her into a deep kiss and silenced her laughter. Not silent nor subtle at all but she would never complain about a gift from him. When he pulled back for just a second to taunt her she gasped and was about to give him a torrent of abuse before his lips silenced her. She mumbled her anger into that kiss but soon went limp in his arms and gave in.

When her lips grew sore she finally pulled back and dropped to the floor.

"Alright, alright. You're a distraction, come put those hands to good use and let me show you how to make pizza," Zana dragged him back towards the counter. "First we make the dough," she had already measured out the ingredients and slowly she took him through the making process. "So first we mix the flour and salt then the yeast and water," Zana was a patient teacher and she helped him every step of the way.

 

[Talus]

It helped to go step by step as it turned out. The recipe he had gone over for her breakfast had not actually explained much of anything. Zana was on the opposite side of the spectrum.

She explained everything carefully, slowly, always making sure that Talus understood once step before moving onto the next. He listened to her carefully, nodding his head in agreement and quietly moving as she spoke.

"Like this?" Talus asked as he spred the dough out over the paddle.

A few seconds ago he had added a strange sort of flour, semo-something, he wasn't quite sure what she had called it. Though he now knew what he owned a whole bag.

"And this was..." He frowned. "Cortosi?'

 

[Zana]

It was so fulfilling teaching him how to make pizzas from scratch. Laughter filled the kitchen every now and then and Zana had more than a few smudges of flour on her cheek, arm, and a hand print on her butt. Talus wasn't much better off. It all felt so normal and easy.

"Yes, just like that," Zana pressed a kiss to his cheek with a bright smile and then nodded when he asked where it had come from. "Yes, Cortosi. They have these amazing big brick ovens they cook them in but yours will do for now. We'll have to go get the real thing one day," she smiled up at him then dumped a pan in front of him.

"Now we've got to make the sauce."

 

[Talus]

"Right." Tomatoes.

It seemed simple enough to him, and just as he had before Talus followed every step that Zana had offered him with a bright smile on his face.

In truth. It hardly mattered to him what they were doing. Both he and Zana could have been in the middle of working on a farm and Talus would not have cared the least bit. All that he wanted was to spend time with her. All that he wanted was to enjoy these little moment.

As he stirred the sauce his arm slowly wrapped around the small of her back, dragging her against his side. "I do charge for my cooking you know."

He whispered.

"I'm not quite as generous as you." Lips brushed against the top of her head.

 

[Zana]

Zana was grating the cheese in preparation for after the sauce was made when he wrapped his arm about her waist and tugged her close. She gave a small squeal and then dragged her equipment with her down the sideboard so she could continue grating whilst pressed up against his side. Her smile could have rivalled the sun in that moment. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and then smirk at his words.

"Oh yeah?" she tilted her face up towards him and then kissed the underside of his jaw. "I can offer an amazing full body massage... or... I did bring chocolate cake with me..." she raised her eyebrows with a sly smile.

 

[Talus]

"I'll take it all." Talus said with a smirk as he became the embodiment of greed.

His fingers slowly played over her hips, dancing for a brief second before dragging over her skin.

He had missed this. They had only truly been apart for four days, but even before then their days had been filled with exhaustion and masks. This was normal. This was them. This was how it was supposed to be even in the worst of circumstance.

Lips pressed down against the top of her head. "My rates are very steep."

Talus explained.

"So it might even cost you more." One hand splayed over the curve of her rear for just a brief second.

 

[Zana]

His hand fell over the floury hand print on her rear perfectly, leaving absolutely no doubt as to who had placed it there earlier. She finished with her cheese and then spun around so that her back was to the counter and she could face him. There was a look of fake shock and her hands pressed to her chest as if he had suddenly offended her.

"Mr Morrid I do believe you are insinuating something disgusting, despicable, and something that will entirely take your focus off of sauce," she walked her fingers up his chest slowly and then glanced down to the side where he was still studiously stirring his sauce.

 

[Talus]

Talus looked down at her like a Wolf might a lamb.

There was a hunger in his eyes, a reminiscence of her earlier admission. Lips quirked in a smirk as she spoke, his hand drawing her tight against himself as he continued to stir the sauce. "Madame, are you suggesting I can't multitask."

He shook his head.

"Such accusations." He let out a loud tsk. "It's almost like you're daring me."

She would feel a hard squeeze.

 

[Zana]

Zana's tights pressed together and she dipped slightly as the spike of lust shot through her. She groaned and bit her bottom lip then threw him a dark look.

"The sauce is very important," the last three words were done in a perfect Cortosi accent and she even did the hand gesture of an angry chef. "No distractions, only sauce, because your girlfriend is starving," Grey pressed against them both with a small whine. "As is our overgrown furry baby, aren't you Grey?" she cooed and ruffled the wolfs head.

His tongue lolled out and he barked, looking between the two.

 

[Talus]

"Then don't question me." There was a hard smack, on her behind, and then with a wide smirk he turned his attention back towards the sauce.

Pizza, as she'd called it was turning out to be quite a bit easier than he had actually expected it to me. A little bit of sauce, a little bit of bread dough, and then some cheese. Of course there was the basil too, but all of this seemed almost too easy.

How good could such a simple meal actually be?

For a brief moment he let his stirring hand drop, petting Grey before he grasped the wooden spoon once more and began to stir. "What's next?"

Talus asked as the sauce came together.

 

[Zana]

Zana squealed when he slapped her as she was bent over fussing at Grey. She stood up and threw him a sour look. If she had had her magic she would have been able to retaliate a lot easier than she could right now. There was a certain thrill to not being able to use magic. She was still a lethal soldier. It was with that training that she slipped underneath his arm and promptly returned his slap with one of her own, grabbing both cheeks with floury hands and giving it a quick squeeze before dancing away.

"Well we wait for the sauce to cool a little then put it on the dough, smother in cheese and anything else you want and then we put it in the oven until it's cooked," she explained as she set about getting Grey his food ready, even as he tried to get under her feet and trip her up. The wolf was growing so fast and with it his appetite. Soon Zana was going to have to insist he did his own hunting.

 

[Talus]

Talus jumped just a little as he felt his rear squeezed, fingers tightening for just a brief second before he turned his head and glared at her.

That was his trick.

The Audacity. "Seems like it will taste good."

Talus had long since established that he enjoyed tomato sauces. There was something about the sweet acidity that simply spoke to him. Of course his favorite meal was still what Zana had cooked for him the first night, but he figured anything with Tomato sauce had to be good.

"He's getting big now." Talus commented as he watched the Wolf climb between Zana's legs in a comedic attempt to reach his bowl.

 

[Zana]

Zana ended up having to hop on one leg and try to unstraddle the wolf as he nosed his way between her legs in order to get to his bowl. She gave a sharp curse but the wolf paid no mind to it and started scoffing down his bowl of food. Her eyebrows pulled down into a frown when he made his comment and she put her hands on her hips to watch Grey.

"Yeah... so I went and saw some of these new places whilst you were away. There's actually one not far from here Ashur's offered me - he thought the forests might be better for Grey and less disturbing for the horses. Only Zandor seems to be fine with him," she wandered back over to where he was cooking and wrapped her arms around his waist. Her lips brushed across his back.

"Closer to the city than this one but not a whole half a day ride... it's like a midway point. I said I would take it...."

 

[Talus]

Talus reached back with his free hand, gently resting it against her thigh. "That sounds nice."

It would be nice having her closer, and thoughts of spending more nights with her quickly flashed through his mind. A small smile touched his lips. They would have to be careful still, but...it would be easier to reach her.

His hand gently rubbed her leg as he took a deep breath.

"I know Luana Houses suck. All look terribly generic and boring, so you can hire my new construction company to make it nicer." A small smirk touched his lip. "Morrid Contracting and Design."

Fingers played over her thigh. "We charge a very modest rate."

 

[Zana]

"Talus..." Zana sighed and tightened her arms about his waist as he made another dig at Luana. There was a slight edge to her tone but at the same time her leg ran up the side of his to the shirt she was wearing rose up and exposed more thigh for him to stroke. Her teeth grazed his back. "It's actually a very sweet little house," little perhaps wasn't the right way to describe it. Luana never did small or subtle. "But I do find myself in need of a moving team, specifically the unpacking bit. I don't suppose your business extends to that?"

She rested her cheek against his muscled back and closed her eyes. Maybe the next time she moved it would be in fully with him in their little cottage that they had dreamed up. She floated the idea down their bond.

 

[Talus]

He considered for a moment, hearing the tightness in her tone that was there for just a second. A frown flickered across his lips, and he decided not to say more things like that.

At least not for this week. "Hmm."

Talus made it seem like he had to actually consider the words. Fingers played slowly over her thigh, tapping for a few seconds.

"Suppose It does." He sighed. "But we'll have to charge extra."

Head shook. "The Economy is in shambles, you understand."

Not true of course, Vel Anir was thriving more than it had in three hundred years.

 

[Zana]

He would probably feel the way her cheeks creased, hinting that she was smiling.

"I can... cook you your favourite in my new lovely kitchen?" because nothing got past Ashur and hints of her love of cooking at reached him. The kitchen was the entire focus of the lower level of the house. It was a social place, one for parties and gatherings. She had already made a few odd comments to the more... human Luana Dreadlords about potentially having a house warming. Perhaps she could start bridging the gap and finding some new allies.

"Or I could show you this new red lacy thing I brought at the market..." she murmured as she slowly kissed her way across his shoulder blade. Suddenly she stepped back and came to stand beside him. "Alright, I think that sauce is ready to go on your dough."

 

[Talus]

"Both." Talus declared with a smirk, deciding it was best to take as much advantage as he possibly could.

Of course, they would have to talk a little about making sure the places wasn't being watched, but...well he trusted Zana as much as he trusted himself. They would take the correct precautions, always. His fingers played over her thigh one last time as she slipped into place besides him.

"Yeah?" He said as he took the pan off the stove top and placed it onto a burner that was still cool. "Do we just...squish it down or?"

It didn't seem right to just use his fingers.

 

[Zana]

Zana chuckled and then took out a spoon.

"I've always used a spoon - you take a bit like this," she scooped some up and then dolloped it on the based. "Then I take the back of the spoon like this and just spread it around.... like this, see?" she glanced up at him after demonstrating then passed the utensil to him and motioned for him to try it. Whilst he was busy doing that she grabbed the cheese she had grated and put that along with some sliced salami and mushrooms in front of him.

"Then we put the cheese on and add whatever toppings you like. I like mine with salami and mushrooms... so I'm going to do my half like that but what would you like to try?"

 

[Talus]

He considered for a few moments, wondering what would actually taste good as a mix of flavors. "Suppose pasta is out of the question."

A smirk touched his lips for just a brief moment, indicating that he was of course joking. Instead he glanced towards some of the plans that Zana had brought over on one of her visits. They were simple herbs, Basil and the like.

"I think just those." He said with a gesture. "Would taste nice?"

It was really the first 'flavor' decision that he had made.

Even with his breakfast he had simply followed instructions, and every time before that Talus had simply eaten what Zana had put in front of him. It had all proven to be delicious.