Private Tales Read between the lines

[Talus]

So it wasn't House Luana.

Well, at least ostensibly. The Great Houses were all clever enough that they would happily send assassins after themselves in order to appear innocent. All part of the game of politics that they played.

"Thank you." He said with a smile.

In truth, he had never much worried about who was really behind the plot. He imagined most of the Great Houses wanted him dead, and it was only a matter of time before others started to come after him. Whoever had coordinated this one had just been the first.

Still, it was nice to be cared about, and if Zana could figure out who had been behind it the evidence could be used against them. Even if it would only bring a minor victory.

He smiled at her, continuing their meal in comfortable silence. For whatever reason, he didn't feel the need to speak, to talk. He liked just sitting there, relaxing.

Yet as they finished eating, Talus found himself dreading the time of his departure more and more.

 

[Zana]

Zana's lips answered his smile with one of their own before she turned her attention back to her food. She would need her energy for the rest of the day especially if Sloan was in a foul mood because she couldn't ride out on the hunt that day. She hoped, quietly, the woman didn't push them out anyway. The horses wouldn't appreciate it and the rain always put everyone in a slightly sour mood.

Grey returned at some point to beg for further scraps and Zana gave in after a few moments of the pup resting his head on her lap and whining, scraping the last of her plate into his bowl before taking it back to the side to shelf for washing up later, then she set about boiling the kettle and making herself a coffee. All of which she did in silence. Much like most Dreadlords she didn't feel the need to fill the silence with words and it was nice... caring for someone in this way.

Once he had finished his plate she replace it with a cup of tea wordlessly and a kiss to just below his jaw before moving back to the side once more to start on the washing up, humming softly as she did so.

 

[Talus]

Talus sat there quietly, watching her.

There was such pleasure in that moment that he knew he did not want to leave. The very idea of it pained him, the thought of stepping away hurting more than a knife to the gullet. His eyes trained on her, and as he took a sip of his tea he let out a sigh.

"I..." He began quietly before slowly standing up. "I think it's time to go."

The words hurt, but Talus knew that if he stayed longer he would never leave.

If she turned Zana would see a pained expression on his face, his muscles tight as he clearly braced for something he did not want to do.

 

[Zana]

Zana had been expecting it but she would be lying if she wasn't upset too when he finally uttered the words. For the last day she had felt like she had got to experience what until now she had only been able to watch from afar as she fought to protect that right for everyone else in Vel'Anir. She stopped what she was doing in her work and wiped her wet hands on a nearby towel and turned. The look on his face stopped her for a moment. Again, that shock that he felt the same.

"You're welcome anytime," she said the words almost shyly and then walked over to him to take his hands in hers. "This isn't a goodbye, just a until next time," this time she brought his hands up and kissed his knuckles lightly.

 

[Talus]

"I know." He said softly.

Talus didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay here and spend more time with her, eat more of her food. It was all too tempting. His fingers gently brushed over hers, and he took in a deep breath.

"My Cabin." He told her. "Whenever you can."

Sneaking away wasn't easy for either of them, but Talus knew that he wanted it. The idea that he would go long without another night like this was almost painful in a way. "Just send word and I'll be there."

He assured her.

 

[Zana]

It wouldn't be a hard piece of information to find, she doubted, and she nodded to his request.

"I'll be there whenever I can, same to you," though she knew in the city it would be much harder. Still, she wanted him to know that the offer was there. After a moments hesitation she stepped closer to him and let his hands go as her own gently slid round the back of his neck to tug him down into a kiss. It said all the things she couldn't find the words for because she just didn't know how. The new passion he had fostered in her, the determination, the new tentative emotions for this new connection and then the fear, the regret, the fact she would miss him.

 

[Talus]

His lips pressed against hers, and for a fleeting second Talus nearly said that he would stay. Yet after they parted together he knew that he couldn't do it.

They had things that they needed to do. Things that would save the city and the people in it. For a few seconds his hands lingered on her form, a breath filling his longs as he closed his eyes. "Okay."

The word was said, but he did not really know what he meant. His hands eventually slipped from her body, and he took a single step back.

"I'll see you soon." Talus said, and then suddenly his entire being seemed to shift into a translucent blue form. A ghostly wisp of himself stood in her kitchen, and then it slowly turned and walked through the wall as Talus grabbed his waiting armor and left.

 

[Zana]

The heat of the sun was a marked difference to the stormy weather that had been the background to their last meeting. It beat down on her as her horse walked through the forest, tail swishing to knock the annoying flies that attempted to land on his flank. Even Zana was having a hard time with it and had stripped down to the basics of her tan riding breeches and a sleeveless white shirt that she had undone. Even still there was a sheen of sweat across her light brown skin which had deepened several shades from her time in Ragash. It seemed she had brought home with her the hot weather.

Everything had kicked off since she had met Talus.

She had had to tell Ashur about the vision regarding the Empire and it seemed to have only spurned on his determination to kick off some of his schemes to unravel the politics there. She hadn't quite expected for him to send her into the city of snakes itself but it had been an interesting week of pretending to broker a trade deal on behalf of Luana with a merchant in Ragash. Of course it had been a rouse to find out information but it had been nearly a month away from Vel'Anir she hadn't been planning on. A month before she had been able to broker the idea of working with the Guards.

An idea which had gone down surprisingly well. Far better than she had actually expected.

Before she had left she had managed to send on a message to Talus about her being out of town, though it had been cryptic and not contained much information in case it had fallen into the wrong hands. Her next message had been a date. She had hoped he would figure out that meant she was planning on visiting then.

It hadn't been hard to find the location of his cabin and so she had saddled up her horse and left. Grey shot out of a bush and her horse snorted in irritation but the growing wolf cared not and skulked ahead into another part of the undergrowth following some scent or other. She shook her head with a small smile and then she noticed the cabin.

 

[Talus]

The cabin was predictably a small thing, even compared to some of the more ordinary houses in Vel Anir.

It was a thing built entirely of large wooden logs, placed right in the middle of a thick forest with only a little bit of land cleared around it. A garden was situated out front, though the plot was almost entirely empty save for some wild flours that had begun to grow on their own.

It's size meant that there were likely only three or four rooms in the entire building. The porch was placed on the front of the building, and upon it sat Talus in what appeared to be a large bench swinging from the roof.

A sword was leaning against the corner post, and Talus appeared to glance at it as he first saw Zana riding towards him. His fingers tightened, and then a flash of blue covered his eyes. It disappeared as quickly as it had come, and slowly he stood from the bench.

His sword was left leaning against the corner, and he slowly moved to the front steps of the porch as she approached. "Ah, a Luana Dreadlord all the way out here. How interesting."

Talus began.

"How may I be of service?" The question was laced with amusement and sarcasm.

 

[Zana]

Zana laughed under her breath at his greeting and even whilst her horse was still moving she slid from her saddle with only a small wince. She ached from her sparring session earlier that morning with Sloan. Her mentor had been insistent the two spent at least some time together before she left again. Her parting gift had been a series of nasty bruises along her ribs. She ran a hand through her loose braid and then lifted the reins of her horse up and over his head, leading him closer.

"A drink would be a good start," her eyes roamed over his cabin with open curiosity. It was ... exactly what she had pictured for him actually. Grey let out a howl only a moment later before hurtling towards Talus and jumping up at him in excitement. "And I think someone wants you to play ball for a few hours," she laughed and led her horse round to what looked like an appropriate spot before she set about unsaddling her mount.

"Is there somewhere I can leave these?" she motioned with her chin to the saddle and reins she now held in her arms.

 

[Talus]

Talus squatted down and pet Grey on the head, smiling at the hound for a few seconds, before looking up at Zana. "The railing over there."

He motioned for the other side of the porch.

There was of course no stable on the ground of his cabin, but she could leave her things under the cover of the deck. Unlike in Vel Anir proper, there were no thieves around here for miles. Anyone coming here either wanted to meet Talus...or kill him.

"Or you can bring them inside if you want." He would leave that up to her. "My home is yours while you're here."

Talus said with a smile.

 

[Zana]

They weren't her most expensive set of gear so she decided to stow them under the decking, crouching down and fiddling with them until she was certain they wouldn't get wet if it did suddenly decide to rain. She was conscious there might not be much space inside and didn't want to take up room with equipment if she could help it. Grey's eyes half closed as he sat and accepted the fuss that was being lavished on him, his tail thumping on the ground. She ran a hand down her horses flank and said something softly in a different language it seemed to recognise before she finally made her way over to the man who had filled every spare second of her thoughts, her saddle bags slung over her shoulder.

Zana dropped it on the floor and tugged him up into a kiss, a sigh escaping her lips. It felt like she was coming home.

"Hi," she murmured after they broke apart, a smile playing across her lips.

 

[Talus]

He smiled broadly as their lips parted. "Hello there."

His hands settled on her hips, his thumbs brushing beneath her tunic and over her skin. He had missed her, the scent of her, the sound of her voice. It only struck him now how much.

"Long time no see." Talus offered with a smile. He wanted to ask her a dozen questions. How she had been, what had happened since they were apart, but most strangely...if she had missed him as well. "Would you like to see my humble home?"

He asked with a smile, glancing back at the cabin for just a few seconds.

 

[Zana]

The feel of his hands against her bare skin had her eyes half closing as she savoured the moment.

"Too long," she confirmed with a crooked smile and at his question she turned her attention towards the cabin. Would she like to see the mysterious cabin filled with his woodwork? "Why else did I come all the way out here if it wasn't for the table?" she gave him a confused look before bending to pick up her discarded bags and throw them over her shoulder again then slid her hand down his arm to take his hand in hers.

"Lead the way."

 

[Talus]

Talus smirked. "Oh right the table."

He tsk'd.

"Bet I'm not even worth your time compared to that." His fingers squeezed hers, and he turned around to lead her inside. Unsurprisingly, the front door was a simple thing, carved oak with some small leaflets by the handle.

Talus pulled the latch, swinging the door open and revealing an interior that was about as underwhelming as could be.

They stepped into what was very obviously something of a living room. There was a sofa in one corner besides a book shelf, a large rug that covered most of the floor, and then two other entryways. One held a closed door, and the other lead to the open kitchen.

"It's really not much." He said shyly as he lead her inside.

 

[Zana]

Grey was the first to voice his approval as he barged between their legs and dived straight onto the sofa. He let out a soft huff and looked back at the pair with an innocent stare as he settled down.

Zana took more time to take it all in. Her eyes noted the tiny little details here and there when it came to carvings, the small homey touches such as the rug which a normal Dreadlord wouldn't have picked out in a million years, the books on the shelf. She took it all in as he guided her on towards the kitchen. Here her lips lifted a little as her eyes landed on the table.

"But it is very you and so I love it," she reluctantly let go of his hand to wander around the room, her fingers trailing over this carving or that, clearly appreciating every little detail. "I wasn't entirely sure if my messages were getting to you," she turned back to him and rested slightly against the table.

 

[Talus]

The table held a crest, just as he had said. It was the shield of the Anirian Guard, save in the very center of it was carved the intricately detailed features of a strange dog like creature with massive wings. It stood proudly before the shield, letting out a roar.

"They've all reached me." Talus said softly as he crossed the kitchen to meet her. "I tried to respond a few times but..."

His head shook. "I'm being watched in the city now."

He was not entirely sure who it was, but he'd noticed it a while back. Eyes on him wherever he went in the city.

"I'd thought about using a Guardsmen but by then I'd gotten your last message." As he came to stand in front of her he reached out, unable to stop himself from touching her.

 

[Zana]

Though her body faced him her face was turned down to the crest on the table, her fingers running over the figure at the front of the shield curiously. She looked up however when he mentioned he was being watched and her brows pulled down into a frown, a hint of anger flickering across her gaze. She had been extremely careful and so hoped it was nothing to do with her. Her messages had been sent through people she herself worked with, contacts Luana could only get to via her. They were perhaps not the types of people one wanted to deal with but sometimes orphans and street rats were the people who saw the most and she had made an effort over her years to make those types of contacts.

It seemed they had paid off.

As his hand touched her she let her anger slide and sighed. Pushing herself back so she sat properly on the table Zana then pulled him closer until her legs straddled his.

"It was a very sudden trip West, or I would have come sooner. Aside from the apparent stalker, has everything else been well?"

 

[Talus]

"It's alright, I know it's not your choice." The west was becoming a bigger problem these days. He'd had to deal with it in his own capacity over the last weeks.

As she pulled him closer Talus slipped his hands onto her hips. Fingers sprawled gently as his thumbs stroked slowly over her skin.

"No one has tried to kill me." He said with a smile. "That's an upside from the usual."

Surprisingly, most of his missions over the last month had been about gathering information and looking into things around Vel Anir itself. That and training more of the Guard to fight in the martial way Dreadlords did. "And I managed to finish another Chair so we could both sit down."

He smirked at her.

 

[Zana]

"It was useful though," she mused, her lips twisting as she thought over the things she had learnt for a brief moment before his touch brought her back to the here and now. Despite his jovial tone about not being attacked Zana couldn't help another frown at the very thought of it. She knew he wasn't an easy person to kill but there was an unexplained feeling in her gut at the thought of it. Like a slow burning fire.

A soft laugh eased the tightness in her chest as he spoke about the chair.

"I'm glad to hear some of us have had a relaxing last few weeks," her gaze shifted to the chair but she made no move to get off the table. "So, what is this meant to be? It looks like Grey with wings," she tapped the crest.

 

[Talus]

He chuckled. "That just happens to be a very serendipitous coincidence."

The Dreadlord said as he glanced down at the dog, smiling at him before he looked back at Zana.

"I was on a mission in the Spine." He remembered that place well. The cold ground, the biting winds, the towering mountains that had seemed to rise into the very clouds. It had been a bastion of nature. "The person who was helping me and I discovered a creature very much like that."

He smiled. "We'd never seen anything like it, and it ended up saving our lives more than once."

Afterward he had sent the creature off with Finn, knowing that bringing it back here would only lead to it being harmed in one battle or another.

Talus let a hand fall from Zana and gently collapse over hers, guiding both of their fingers over the crest. "It seemed...fitting."

 

[Zana]

Zana listened, captivated by the story. She tried to imagine seeing such a creature in the flesh and as their fingers grazed over it she wondered briefly at the feeling to go exploring on her own one day. Missions brought you across many new and interesting people and things but she thought she might like to one day do her own travelling without the pressures of work getting in the way.

"This is beautifully done," like most Dreadlords she didn't give praise lightly but it really was a wonder. Her gaze lingered on it a while longer before she turned back to him.

"So, Ashur is assigning me to the Guard in the next few weeks as a..." she tried to remember the exact words he had used. "An Olive Branch, between Luana and the Anirian Guard, he wants us to have a closer bond. I believe he's sent letters to your Generals."

 

[Talus]

"Thank you." Talus said with a genuine smile. She was one of the first people who had ever been here, the only other exception being the assassins who had tried to kill him. The complement meant more to him than she could have known.

His hand remained over hers as she explained what her new position would be. A scoff erupting when she spoke of a letter.

"I'm sure they'll love those." Letters from Luana were generally speaking not a good thing among the Guard. "But they'll read them."

His frown slipped away. "I've told them of you, partially of course. They've been expecting this so they'll go along."

If only because he had asked for it. Trust on their part was thin, but he had given his word and that had been enough.

"They also see it as another sort of opportunity." He told her in warning. "One to loosen Virak's leverage."

It was well known that House Virak had always held significant sway with the Guard itself. A large chunk of conscripts in the Guard ended up working for Virak after their service was done, and it was well known that their influence extended far.

 

[Zana]

She wrestled with a smile as he scoffed over the idea of letters being sent. Of course she knew his opinion on the matter of the Houses but there was still an attachment there for her. Luana were all she had known since she had entered the Academy and all she had known since.

"It's how they do things, Talus and of all the things happening amongst the Houses, I don't think our fight needs to be with letters," her voice was soft and patient, hoping to aid the hint of anger she felt rising in him. The hand that still rested on his hip gently massaged at his skin. "I can understand that with Virak. Ashur also spoke of asking Pirian to make the same offer. His ... ideas were quite interesting. For the future of the Guard and the Dreadlords," she bit down on her bottom lip. It wasn't that Zana didn't want to tell him, it was more she was unsure if he wanted to hear them. She decided he would ask her if he wanted to know.

"What exactly... have you told them about this? Me?" she didn't want to walk in blindly to a situation. It put her on edge.

 

[Talus]

Talus did want to hear, but she was right in that he could not help the bit of contempt that he felt rising within him.

A breath filled his lungs as he listened, the touch she gave him helping him to stay calm as she explained what was happening. The thought of Houses playing with the Guard made him sick, but he nodded his head and tried to remain calm. "The Guard will decide it's own future."

He knew that Zana didn't think any different, but it was something he felt he had to say.

When she asked her next question he suddenly snapped back into the moment. He reached up, touching her cheek gently in a soft caress.

"I told them that another Dreadlord offered me help." The conversation had been a difficult one. "I told them you were sworn to Luana and that you wanted to help."

He had kept her name a secret, her abilities, almost everything. The Generals had fought with him for hours, but eventually Blackforge of all people had broken up the argument and simply said that Talus' agent deserved to remain secret until she wished not to.

It had been a startling moment, but the hulking giant of a man had convinced the other Four Generals rather quickly. "And I told them I trust you with my life."

Something he had sworn to again and again.