Private Tales Read between the lines

[Talus]

What a strange question to ask someone you didn't know. "We are."

A part of him still wasn't quite used to regular people talking to him like...well like he was one of them. It wasn't something he minded, but he could never in a thousand years imagine someone addressing him in such a way back in Vel Anir. He might have been errant, but he was still a Dreadlord. That titled meant something.

Not having that fear surrounding him was both odd, and entirely exilerating. Glancing at Zana for a moment as the motion of her legs beneath the table cause him to stiffen for just a brief second. A smirk touched his lips as he looked up towards the waiter.

"We'll take the platter." He considered for a moment. "And your finest wine."

If they were going to splurge, then they might as well do it right.

The waiter dipped his head and took both of their menus, bowing shortly before he stepped away and Talus looked back at Zana. He chuckled. "It's weird. Being normal."

 

[Zana]

"I like it," Zana reached across the table and took his hands in hers. Their fingers twined together and she smiled at the simple but utterly thrilling pleasure of being able to do so out in the open. Nobody cast them a second look, nobody spared a minutes thought for them. They were just two lovers, two of many, dotted around the restaurant enjoying a holiday. Zana didn't need the respect of being a Dreadlord, not when it came with such heavy amounts of fear.

"It's nice not to have people not want to touch you, or cross the street to get away from you," she ran her thumbs over the inside of his wrists as she turned his palms over. For a moment she was quiet as she traced the lines that jagged across his palm and then she brought them to her lips to kiss. The barest and faintest of touches. "Apparently, my mother used to tell peoples futures by the lines on their hands," Zana announced suddenly. It had been a fact she had learnt from a file not her mother herself, but she had always wondered if her mother had had at least a little of her daughters gift.

 

[Talus]

The lack of fear, he supposed, was the best thing about it all. Not having to see people flinch when you moved, not having to see someone stare at you like you were a walking plague. There was something about that which struck him harder than anything else.

Yet it was still strange.

A lifetime spent being treated one way made being treated another rather strange. Still, as Zana took his hand in her own Talus found his thoughts dragged back towards the moment. A smile touched his face as she spoke of reading palms. "Like mother like daughter it seems."

He said with a smile.

"So." Talus said as he unfurled his hand a bit. "What's in my future then?"

 

[Zana]

Zana stared at him for a moment with an odd look on her face. Her lips were caught somewhere between a smile and there was an odd light in her eyes. Like she had suddenly caught sight of something wonderful and couldn't quite believe it was real. After a moment she shook her head slightly and looked down at his palm, smoothing her hand over his palm. Of course she could tell him his future for real. It was there, she could feel it. The threads of his future and all the different ways it could go. But... but that felt like looking at the end of her own story and she didn't want to do that. Not unless she had to.

Palm reading had interested her as soon as she had discovered her mother had practised it. It had been easy enough to get a few books on the subject, though being Anirian they came with scathing comments for the practise. Nobody, it proclaimed, could read the future.

Her smile was a touch sad as she ran her finger over the long line down his palm.

"Your life will be filled with trials," then her fingers danced over another curve. "But long, and the happiness will outweigh the bad in the end. You will have your health and," she squinted, trying to remember. "Six children," Zana began to laugh. "You are destined for daughters who love you," she kissed the palm of his hand.

 

[Talus]

Talus let out a whistle. "Six?"

In truth...he didn't at all mind that idea. He had never thought about it, had never thought about more than just one, but...a family that big was a blessing he could dream of every day and be happy with. A small breath filled him.

"My wife is going to be very tired." He said as his fingers slowly curled against her cheek. "But our family will be happy."

Two daughters. Four Sons.

A part of him was unsure if Zana was telling the truth or simply jesting with him, but Talus knew that he had already seen one of his children. Pride swelled in his chest, and he couldn't help the wide smirk that touched his lips.

 

[Zana]

"Very tired but very happy," Zana leaned in to the warmth of his hand as he cupped her cheek. Her eyes closed for a moment and she just luxuriated in the feeling, in the moment of him and her being themselves. Of dreaming like any other couple would dream. The number didn't bother her one bit; given what she knew of him and her own feelings of wanting a big family it wouldn't surprise her if they did end up having that number of children.

When she opened her eyes she caught the smirk and found her cheeks heating a little, her own smile beginning to spread across her face.

"I don't know why you're grinning, that house is going to have to be huuuge."

 

[Talus]

Talus smirked at her. "Not going to be a problem when I have sons to help me build."

That thought brought him more joy than he could ever have really expressed. Zana would feel mirth and glee drive through the bond, not purposefully, but simply spreading out from Talus at the thought that he would have such a gift one day.

"Though." Talus said with a smile. "My daughters are going to have to put in some work too."

He was an equal opportunist after all. "I expect them all to help."

Thumb slowly stroked across her cheek.

"Either me or their mother." He didn't care who did what, as long as they helped.

 

[Zana]

"If our daughters are anything like me they will be putting in the most work," Zana sniffed and leaned back in her chair attempting to keep the smile from her face. It was hard when she could feel how excited he was about it and just was the waiter arrived with their wine a vision rocked through her. She was still holding one of his hands and it tightened about his as she stiffened, eyes glazing over. Much like she did when in company in Vel'Anir she was trying to turn her face slightly away so the waiter didn't see the milky haze that clouded her eyes, managing a polite smile and nod before appearing to gaze out at the lake.

Talus stood shirtless in the garden. The mountains around them still had the barest patches of snow on their sides and his breath fogged in the air but he was working up a sweat working. The little girl who was the spitting image of her father aside from her green eyes was tottering around with a tinier toolkit, attempting to help her father with the building.

She was sat on the porch watching as he taught her, her hand resting over her swollen belly and a mug in her hands to keep herself warm. She smiled as her babe turned and squirmed and for a moment, everything was peaceful.

The vision ended and she sucked in a breath, cheeks seared a slight red from the sudden spike in her temperature. Her eyes flickered up to Talus and she smiled, wondering if he had seen it too.

"Yes, our daughters will definitely help."

 

[Talus]

Concern immediately flickered over Talus' features.

The vision she often had were largely unpleasant, and more than once he had seen her suffer through them. Yet when all that he felt through the bond was peace and joy, Talus visibly relaxed. His fingers tightened slightly, and through the bond he caught small glimpses of what she saw.

A smile touched his lips as he witnessed Zana sitting on the porch, a cup in her hand. Talus watched her, and then felt as his love snapped back into reality and squeezed his hand unconsciously. He could see the slight tinge of red to her cheeks.

For the moment, words escaped him.

All Talus did was hold her hand, gently running his thumb over the back of her palm and taking in a small breath. The waiter walked away, and Talus finally spoke. "I can't wait to meet them."

 

[Zana]

Zana half stood and leaned across the table, her hand coming up to cup his cheek and draw him into a slow, loving kiss. The whispers of the vision were still with her and she ached for a time where it would be peaceful like it was in that vision.

She tried to ignore the fact vision her thought that moment was rare.

"Me too," her smile was genuine and she sat back down on the chair to turn her attention to the wine. The last time they had drunk together had been messy but dwarfs had been involved in that so she hoped a bottle of wine shared between them would be fine. At least... she hoped she wouldn't need to be carried down the side of the mountain.

She poured them both a glass of wine and held it up.

"To our second ever holiday."

 

[Talus]

"To us." Talus countered softly as the glasses clinked together. Wine was still hardly his drink of choice, but he sipped it all the same before placing it back onto the table and taking a glance out over the lava lake.

Briefly he wondered who could ever have managed to same a place like this, who could have built all of this on the side of a volcano. It was said the fire-giants had done it, and he supposed that made sense given there name.

Yet the fact still seemed all too wondrous to him.

Almost as if in interruption of his thought the Waiter came out with two others behind him. One carried an odd sort of metallic tray, setting it up besides Zana and Talus' table and lightinig a small fire within the depths of a makeshift grill.

The flame flared up, and then a platter of meats, vegetables, and a dozen assorted other things were placed on the table.

Within just a few seconds the waiter launched into an explanation of how to properly cook each thing, and then bid them a fantastic meal.

 

[Zana]

Zana could barely contain her excitement as the Waiter explained what they had to do. She rested her chin in her hands and looked up from him, to the grill, to the food whilst barely containing her wriggling impatience to get on with it. But listen she did because she wanted to be able to do this at home if it proved good. So she sat like a teachers pet and nodded, asked questions, and then when he left wasted no time in beginning the process of cooking their meal.

"What would you like to try first or should I just sling a little bit of everything on?" She began turning the meat and vegetables over to cook them evenly on both sides.

 

[Talus]

Talus gave her a flat stare. "How, after all this time and all these meals is that even a question, my love."

The Dreadlord said the words will a complete deadpan, giving her only the briefest smiles as he began to help her toss pretty much everything they had gotten onto the grill. Almost immediately the smell of cooking meats and vegetables permeated the air.

It was like an instantaneous snap of hunger that ran through Talus.

His stomach growled and he looked at Zana like a pained puppy dog. It seemed that the heat from the spa had sapped nearly all the energy from him. Fingers tightened slightly as he felt his stomach growling slowly beneath the table. He looked down, then at the cooking meats.

"This is suffering." He muttered quietly.

 

[Zana]

A peel of laughter rang out at his words and after a seconds hesitation she added more food to the grill.

"Well I will endeavour to never let you get to such a torturous level of hunger again."

If their children had half of Talus' appetite she was going to spend most of her days cooking for an army at this rate. She thought of the kitchen in their manor in Karak and got a small amount of giddy excitement at the prospect of being able to cook that kind of amount for people. With her gifts as well she would be able to be her own small cooking team. It was an exciting prospect for her.

Despite his complaints of how long it was taking it wasn't too long before the first bits of meat and vegetables were cooked and she piled his plate high, giving herself a noticeably smaller portion. Not that it was because there wasn't enough food but rather that she had a smaller appetite than him.

She left a few of the other meats to keep grilling.

"Let's see what it's like..." she took her first bite.

 

[Talus]

Talus dug in just about the same time that Zana started to speak.

He'd always had a voracious appetite, though most of the time it had only been due to the taste of her cooking. There was something about her meals that sent him over the edge into absolute monstrousness. The Hot Spring was the only thing that made him come close to it.

Perhaps it had been the hours spent in the water, or perhaps it was just the fact that all he'd eaten that day was the breakfast they'd quickly shared.

As soon as Zana began to pile the food onto his plate Talus began to eat, waiting only for the second that it took for her to have her first bite as well. As soon as the food touched his tongue Talus practically beamed, earning a few stares from those around them.

"Fnot qsuite as good as wren you cooks." He spoke through the food in his mouth, being of course entirely unaware of just how uncouth such a thing was.

 

[Zana]

To those around them it would have probably looked as though Zana had just been told she was the most beautiful woman in the world, the way she melted at his words. For her it was better than any other compliment he could have possibly given her.

Content to focus on the food Zana returned her attention to enjoying the tastes of this strange BBQ. It was like looking over a campfire and yet... not. The flavours were different from the smokey wood lingering taste you got from a wooden fire. This was stronger but it only added to how good it tasted. She didn't seem to be bothered at all by her partners sloppier manner of eating as she carefully picked her way through her own plate, barely even halfway through her own meal before Talus had cleared his larger plate.

"I like it," Zana pronounced, eyes bright as she loaded his plate up again. "I need to know how they made this marinade though, the chicken is amazing."

 

[Talus]

As he watched Zana load his plate full of food once more Talus found himself wondering not for the first time how he had managed to land the perfect woman. The amount of care she showed for him, the way she treated him, just looking at her he felt like he was going to melt.

"I'm sure we could ask." He said as he swallowed the last bit of his food and smiled.

If she'd asked him to find out he would have interrogated the Chef in a dark room until he learned whatever secret she wanted to know. Zana would never ask such a thing...he was pretty sure, but he would do it all the same.

With his fingers Talus plucked up one of the small green things on the plate, popping it into his mouth and chewing for just a second.

The taste was earthy, almost like a mushroom but with a hint of spice.

"There's a kick to these." He said with a smile. "Like that meal you made for me at the townhouse."

Talus said as he picked another one up and offered it to her.

 

[Zana]

Zana wriggled in her seat before leaning forward to take the chilli from between his fingers with her teeth. There was something sensual about being fed by him that simply thrilled her and she let her lips brushed over his fingers before leaning back to focus on the food. For a moment she just chewed, savouring the taste, before her face broke out into a bright smile. They must have been similar to the red chilli's she had tasted in the Empire and put into her curry.

"I think I've had something similar, I used them in our curry the other night, but I've never seen them put on a dish just to eat like this," she looked down at her own platter and found one amongst the meat. She twirled it about her fingers curiously then ate it in one go followed by some meat. She made a small noise of pleasure and wriggled again in her seat. "This is one of the best meals I've ever had."

 

[Talus]

"It's good." Talus agreed with a broad smile as he slowly sat himself back down in his chair.

He watched her with a bright beaming smile as she wriggled in her seat. He practically melted in his chair just watching her eat, the joy she derived from it. His lips almost started to hurt from the grin that he wore on his face.

"I want our kids to experience things like this." He commented with a smile as he took a small piece of meat that had twirled around itself and snapped it up in his mouth. "This food, this place."

He smiled up at her. "I want them to grow up knowing the world."

Not just seeing it after they'd already grown.

 

[Zana]

"They will," there was that slightly icy tone to her voice that Zana got still when she was being serious. Remnant of her Dreadlord lifestyle for the last 20 years or so of her life. When there was something she wanted or something that needed to happen there was no question it would, simply a matter of how many people she would have to kill to get it. When she glanced up the determination lingered there too for a brief moment and then it was gone.

Her smile dimpled her cheeks.

"Remember the vision of you hiking up the mountain?" with a blonde babe strapped to his back. Their children would know the world and not cages like their parents had.

 

[Talus]

Talus continued his smile even as some of the ice entered her tone. The determination she spoke with flowed through the bond like a river of bricks, casting aside anything that might have been in the way and securing the future they both wanted.

It was one of the things he most loved about her.

When Zana set her mind to something it was an assurance that it would happen. Talus couldn't help but appreciate that. "I do."

The young Dreadlord said as he reached out across the table and gently offered his hand to her. The vision was planted in his mind still, along with the others that he had seen of what he was now sure would be the first child.

"I wonder if that mountain was near our home." He mused.

 

[Zana]

Zana took his outstretched hand and twined her fingers slowly with his. She watched the movement quietly for a moment and marvelled at the intimacy of something so simple. It made her heart feel both light and yet ache at the same time; she wished more than anything she could do this all the time. Slowly she brought his hand to her lips and grazed her lips across his knuckles before resting her cheek against their joined hands.

"Maybe. Perhaps it was an afternoon family stroll," she had heard people say such things in the city before. It had seemed a curious thing to just go out for a walk with your family but now that she had seen the future, their future, with their children she wanted it more than anything. "I wonder when we'll find it." Not knowing when things were going to happen had always been a frustrating thing for Zana but now... now she was glad there was at least some mystery.

 

[Talus]

His thumb softly strokes against her cheek, smiling at the thoughts she offered.

"I don't know." Talus said truthfully, simply enjoying the thought of what the future might hold for the both of them. "But I know we will."

He could not tell the future like her, but the confidence in his voice almost made it appear as though he could. Talus was so sure of their destiny, so sure that they would have that home with their children that he would have bet his entire life on it.

In a way of course, he was, but that thought didn't really come to him.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to say something else the Waiter from earlier came back up towards them. He was holding a smaller menu this time, a smile touching his face as he looked towards the two lovers and asked the question everyone wanted to hear.

"Desert?"​

 

[Zana]

Zana's eyes lit up, her hand releasing Talus' to seize upon the dessert menu and scour it with a far greater intensity than when she had been looking at the main menu. He probably didn't need the bond to know that she was looking for the smores straight away, though she did at least give the others their due consideration. The waiter gave Talus a sympathetic but understanding look then left the pair to it after topping up their wine.

Zana picked up the glass and sipped at the golden liquor as she finally raised her eyes over the top of the menu.

"What are you thinking of trying?"

 

[Talus]

Talus felt his hand drop onto the table with a quiet thud as he was unceremoniously tossed to the side in favor of chocolatey delight.

Even then the younger Dreadlord couldn't quite help the wide grin that broke out on his face. Fingers drew back over the table top and he shook his head as he grabbed the desert menu that he had been offered and started reading.

It was a slow process, as it always was, but by the time Zana asked him he thought he had an answer. "Red Velvet Lava Cake."

He said with a frown.

"It looks good." Talus had no idea what it was, but he rather liked the sound of it.