Private Tales Roses and Rust

[Gannis]

Gannis

The shift in tone had him looking up from his food. He set down his spoon and mug of ale and listened.

It was an honest, heartfelt admission. A plea, but not a demand. Had he been a few more beers down he might have found it amusing and let that shoe. He was glad that he didn't. He turned in his chair to face Larka.

"I can promise you this: jobs we're gonna take means you're gonna become much better at this in the next couple of years. That, or dead.

"Don't ever worry about what the other venators do. Everyone is different, some cunt is always claiming they killed a leshy with their bare hands before breakfast."

Gannis picked his mug of ale back up.

"So...what would you do differently in that fuck up we just came from?"

 

[Larka]

Larka knew she needed experience. It was far more important to use one’s experience and wit than just pure strength. At the same time, Larka couldn’t help but feel if she had just been better, if she— the foster sighed. There was many things she would have done differently.

“Hindsight is twenty-twenty, but,” Larka looked up in thought, “I guess now I wouldn’t have trusted Florian so easily. Talk to the other villagers, understand all the other stuff that was going on. Talk to his father much earlier on. The other villagers were rude but I think they would have trusted me more than you…” her words trailed off here, realizing that subconsciously, even she realized how Gannis appeared to others. She cleared her throat, drank more of the ale, and continued on.

“I think we only struggled because we had no idea what was actually going on, it wasn’t a curse but a binding tradition that had gone on for so long we didn’t realize other possibilities until it was too late. I think we focused too much on Mirren even though… well, even if she was the one dealing with things more than the others.” Another sigh, guilt evident on her face.

“Probably wouldn’t have answered Florian’s question to get thrown out a window,” she added sheepishly. “I know that put you in a bad spot, too.”

Gannis

 

[Gannis]

"Hmm, yeah," he agreed. "I was looking for some insight from the girl. Instead we walked right into the worst of things and barely got out."

Gannis wasn't really looking for answers right now. If she was going to have such expectations for herself then she needed to be able to reflect on her own performance and make improvements. One day she would be out on her own making a living.

"And don't apologise for Florian. I should have seen that coming. Next backwater village we walk into we loudly announce that you are not a virgin and not a witch," he said, with no hint of decorum.

"That way I won't find them idiots trying to burn you at a stake or somethin'."

Gannis glanced towards the door, rebounding from commentary on innocence with the speed of a whip.

"Need to see if I can find someone let me do unsavoury things to 'em til my blood cools off," he laughed. "You don't write big long reports on me for Sister Aysel?" he asked suddenly.

 

[Larka]

Larka’s petite shoulders lifted up slightly, an attempt at nonchalance upon hearing Florian’s name. Her gold eyes however steeled at the mention of the man. Larka couldn’t say she had ever hated someone, but she wish she could have done more than toss a few scathing words his way.

“I could just break my own hymen.” Larka said, finishing up her plate and washing it all down with the rest of the ale. A flush of pink decorated her pale cheeks. “It’s not anything important to the conclave… I think.” Her dark brows furrowed together, her head cocking to the left like a bird, trying to remember anything from her teachings that suggested otherwise. Perhaps it would be something to ask Sister Aysel. Speaking of her…

“Sister Aysel would very much care about the unsavory things Brother Gannis likes to do on his time off a job,” Larka said, an impish smile appearing. Her tone was full of mischief and mirth, her golden eyes sparkling at the tease. “You know, it’s all she ever asks about. Never about my skills or the mission or if I’m dead yet.”

Gannis

 

[Gannis]

Even Gannis went red at her matter-of-fact approach to the topic. His blood still being hot meant he had to force down a suggestion to help with the problem.

It was all covered with a laugh over the sister.

"If she's asking if you're dead yet she's probably writing the wrong person," he added, waving a hand that still held his mug. One he drained completely in the next movement.

"And for heaven's sake girl, just have sex. It'll be shit the first time but we can't have children, we're resistant to disease."

He offered a broad shrug at the matter. At least she didn't need to be told not to put that in a report, he thought with a laugh.

 

[Larka]

Larka beamed at the compliment. That’s right, Larka was still alive, despite the odds. It was normal to feel some pride about that, right? Even with the jobs she had taken with Sister Aysel she had survived. Even when Sister Aysel made her go into that abandoned underground giant Anansi spider tunnel because she was the perfect size (and Sister Aysel was far too large.) thankfully, it was indeed abandoned.

Soon enough, the beaming smile faded into a frown.

“Well if it’s going to be shit the first time then I’d rather just do it myself.” There was a pause and then Larka turned red, looking away sheepishly. “I’d probably hurt them, too.” She added, rather ashamed by the notion. “Sometimes when I smell blood, I mean, it’s only happened a few times, but, I can’t help but to bite.” The frown deepened and she sighed. “Sister Aysel caught me taking a bite out of a goblin when I had shifted quite a bit. She punished me justly, of course, and I’d like to say I’ve learned my lesson but… well, sometimes my mouth still waters. I think I’ll grow out of it, though. Hopefully.”

And then with a peculiar, inquisitive look to Gannis, Larka meekly asked, “do you ever get so hungry that you feel like you can’t even eat?”

Gannis

 

[Gannis]

That mental image was doing battle with his responsibilities as a mentor. Gannis could feel his own pulse quicken. The urge to change always came with a hunger, but it wasn't restricted to just food.

"Sisters Aysel's lessons probably hold some weight one way," he said. "Discipline is important. Just like routine."

He glanced around them to see if anyone was listening.

"When the moon grows close I can always feel it." Gannis thumped his chest, just below his heart. "Hunger, but not just the kind that could be filled with food. I want to run with the pack. I want to chase. I want to sink my teeth in and kill."

He let those words settle for a moment as he held up his mug for another ale. He caught sight of one of the girls heading to fetch a jug and put it back down. The moment also let him carry out some controlled breathing to sooth his heated blood.

"If it's that much of a worry I'll sort you out," he said. Mostly for a reaction, but underestimating how seriously she took his words. "I bite back," he added with a wolfish grin.

"Or easier we just tell everyone you're not that and you're not a witch and we're not what we are and we should avoid the pitchforks and fires."

 

[Larka]

Discipline. That was idea, the biggest one, that Sister Aysel had pounded into Larka’s head. Be good now to reap the rewards later. The second idea Sister Aysel had focused on was repentance. She believed they went hand in hand. And whenever Larka had admitted to these strange feelings going on inside her, as if being a young woman designed to kill monsters wasn’t hard enough, Sister Aysel had lectured and punished. Justly, of course. Nothing cruel or inhumane.

Just enough to make Larka feel shame and guilt.

And that hunger, the one that Gannis knew as well— the full moon was always the worst for her, too!— made Larka feel no guilt. Her lips parted slightly for a moment as she ran her tongue over her teeth, focusing on the incisors. Yes, sinking her teeth in and killing was, as much as Larka knew, euphoric. Everything felt good, everything felt right, body and mind and heart finally united.

“You…” Larka met Gannis’ gaze, and for how bluntly she had talked about her virginity, there was nothing sensual about it. It was a cold, hard fact. But Gannis was a hot, some-what soft body and that meant— “a test to see my virtue; I almost messed up.” Larka said, forcing herself to keep her eyes level with Gannis, her lip turning into a smile. The red in her cheeks, the gentle tremble of her fingers and a slight suppressed shiver snaking down her spine were enemies to the unbothered facade. “I may look young but even I know that every man prefers a woman with more meat on her.”

A young woman came by, ready to refill Gannis’ cup. Larka didn’t speak, suddenly feeling quite shy. She did bring her gaze away from her mentor, looking over at the woman. She was soft, softer than Larka could ever be. Without a doubt softer than any venari woman could be.

Gannis

 

[Gannis]

She was a pretty severing girl and her plain dress had a perfectly revealing decolletage. Her face didn't twist in revulsion when she saw Gannis' roaming gaze, but she turned away quite sharply with a hmmph.

Some local girls found an outsider, even one as ugly as him, quite interesting. Not the case today.

"Wasn't a test," Gannis replied with a shrug. "Men and women have varied tastes, but that's not the point," he said, wagging a finger in her direction.

"I don't take the piss when teaching," he said. Gannis thought back to approaching the village and how he had made her describe where the village was, despite it being in front of them.

"Not about important stuff," he corrected.

Discipline is good, but I'm gonna tell ya what's flat out wrong about her teachings. It's like...walking near a cliff. You gotta walk near the edge of that line sometimes. Need to learn what it feels like as the wind almost blows you over the edge. Learn how to walk back from the danger."

He fixed Larka with a look to make sure she knew he meant this, on account of remembering that he had messed with her before and that he would do so again.

"You don't learn what the edge feels like, one day's you'll get pulled right over without even knowing you're there.

"I ain't gonna hit you with a stick any time you look 'ungry. But I will kill you if you lose control completely. One day you'll be working on your own, yeah?"

"Also..." he held up a finger and completely drained his mug. "You're a very pretty young woman and if you don't have some fun between contracts you'll start to lose your mind."

 

[Larka]

Where was a pen and paper when you needed one? However, Larka wouldn’t forget Gannis’ words of wisdom. She repeated them over and over in her head, wanting to sear them in her mind for forever. If she could have branded them on the soft, mushy flesh of her brain she would have. Experience the edge but don’t fall off. Completely different from Sister Aysel.

For a moment, the foster felt blessed that she had been given two mentors that were so different from one another, two mentors that had imparted their wisdom and philosophy onto her.

“I was the first to change back in my group,” Larka said, “I won’t lose control. At least not completely. I’ll always turn back, it’s my duty to serve the conclave and I will serve them on my own.” Her gaze wandered around for a moment as she collected her thoughts. “You won’t have to worry about killing me. I promise.” She firmly added.

With a elbow on the table, Larka leaned forward to rest her cheek on her hand, regarding Gannis. Her neck was elongated and exposed, insistent yet submissive. A dark brow raised at him calling her pretty.

“But you may have to worry about me trying to sneak a bite. For funsies.” Larka grinned then, her eyes flashing devilishly at her tease. “Since I’m pretty and have small teeth, it should be fine, right?” She let her words hang in the air between them, secretly counting the seconds in her head. “I actually like reading. That’s fun. Or being outside to watch the sun rise. And hearing birdsong.” She smiled faintly, thinking of her favorite things. “And I like how Kitty’s undercoat feels when it’s winter and petting his belly. Those things will keep me sane. I guess for you… ale would be one of those things.”

Gannis

 

[Gannis]

“You won’t have to worry about killing me. I promise.”

"For all I have to say about training you all get back at the conclave, they don't let you out of there unless they think you're ready for the next part of training," he said.

Being ready to have mentor didn't mean it was risk free. There was only so much preparation that could be done. Gannis made a silent vow to do better by her, she should not have been placed in quite as much danger during the last contract. That was on him.

“But you may have to worry about me trying to sneak a bite. For funsies.” Larka grinned then, her eyes flashing devilishly at her tease. “Since I’m pretty and have small teeth, it should be fine, right?”

If she was hoping for a reaction, Gannis coughing some of his ale back into his mug would probably suffice.

"Yeah, ale," he said once he had his breath back. "Food I didn't have to catch, getting laid and ale. Occasionally a bit of fighting to let off steam," he said.

"All excesses you have to self moderate," he laughed. "No one minded a little bit of biting," he added with a wink, "but you do have to mind your claws. Another fine line to walk."

"Not too many books to find out in these parts," he reflected. "But I'm glad you have things to turn to that aren't just our rules," Gannis said in earnest.

 

[Larka]

Larka giggled as Gannis sputtered into his mug. She had to admit that it was fun to be able to get Gannis like this. For these brief moments he was far less fearsome, even with his scars.

“I like hunting,” Larka said and held up her hands, “small hands are great for making traps.” One of the skills that Larka did get complimented on by Sister Aysel. In truth, Larka did nearly all the hunting and gathering, whether it was fish, beaver, raccoon, vole, rabbit, squirrel, or bird. The bigger animals were often taken care of by Sister Aysel, but Larka had watched her intently.

She was sure she could do the same thing. Especially if she had claws. She looked at her own hands, flexing her fingers. Yeah, claws would be nice.

“A lot of places don’t have books,” Larka said, shrugging. She had learned that being taught how to read and write were a luxury that many places in Arethil didn’t have. She suspected back in Gallica that Florian was the only literate person there— and for such a small town, that was strange. She doubted in this little town that there was anyone more read than her and Gannis. “Tongue twisters can replace books, sometimes. Kids like me plenty and will tell me any that they know of.” She didn’t think too hard on why the kids tended to flock to her.

She hummed to herself for a moment, thinking. She hadn’t really seen many children on the streets when coming here.

“Do you fight… regular people?” She asked suddenly.

Gannis

 

[Gannis]

"Good you can hunt," he said plainly. "Sometimes there is a long way to travel between contracts. Though sometimes, not very far at all."

Infestations of the more common beasts in spring could do serious harm to entire regions, but they were good for business.

He had never read for personal reasons, only for business. Gannis had often wondered if he lacked some fundamental imagination to enjoy literature.

"And I don't go looking for fights," he said. Looking to her suddenly-not-so-innocent expression he decided not to walk quite so far out on the edge of honesty.

"Eh, maybe I do a little. Good for blowing off steam. I won't go picking a fight whilst you're around," he said.

He would finish one that someone else started, of course. That did not need to be spelled out.

 

[Larka]

“When we travel I’ll do the hunting if you do all the sewing,” Larka said with a playful smile, hardly meaning what she said. She would do what was required of her and it was smart to learn how to be good at everything, or at least proficient enough so that she wouldn’t have to ask for help later.

Her smile widened, eyes turning up in mirthful crescent moons as she suppressed a laugh.

“Why? Worried you’ll start losing in front of me?” Larka leaned forward, lowering her voice into a conspiratorial whisper. “Don’t tell anyone, but I’d jump in to help you out, if only to make sure you don’t get anything worse than a broken nose.”

Gannis

 

[Gannis]

"You could always jump in earlier," Gannis laughed. "This nose has probably been broken enough!"

"Not that I trust you to join in without biting," he deliberately muttered quietly.

Gannis sat back in his chair, grinning. The bar didn't look lively enough for anyone to cause trouble if they wanted to tonight.

His attention returned to Larka. She had seemed overly serious at first and eager to please. Quoting the sister as they went had made Gannis feel he was going to regret this charge.

His opinion had changed. She was brave and determined and more importantly he might actually get her to crack a joke and enjoy herself just a little between contracts.

 

[Larka]

“Oh? Am I not allowed to bite now? I wonder why…. I hope it’s not jealousy.” Larka tossed back, challenge clear in her eyes, still leaning forward towards Gannis. “So no claws, no teeth. You’re no fun.” She continued on with her teasing, her legs felt jittery and she kicked her legs back and forth in tune to if she were a wolf wagging it’s tail.

“As long as you tell me ‘no’ I’ll listen to you, majority of the time.” In truth, on jobs and as long as he were her mentor, Larka wouldn’t hesitate to follow his orders. He was experienced, he would know how to handle things better than she would, especially with strange monsters that needed to be killed.

Gannis

 

[Gannis]

"I think if I said 'No don't eat that plate of food' we'd get to see some willful disobedience!" he laughed.

Gannis leaned forwards with a grin that was all teeth. He wiped beer from his lips with the back of his sleeve. The flow of conversation had swung away from him teasing to Larka expressing herself, but he still couldn't help what came next.

"And I didn't say no claws and no teeth. Just the right amount. Biting someone during a bar fight is frowned upon. Sinking your teeth into a lover could break a moment of passion but..."

Gannis leaned forwards and used the back of his hand to move aside strands of red hair. He ran his fingertip from just below the shell of her ear to the collar of her tunic before she could stop him.

"But drag your teeth across that line, or run your claws down your lover's back almost hard enough to draw blood...just as they reach the height of ecstasy to draw it out a little longer..."

He sat back with a lopsided smirk. No one was going to call ugly Gannis, bothered of mid-priced whores, the cassanova of his age. But he knew how to use tooth and claw in whatever situation he found himself in.

 

[Larka]

Larka laughed with Gannis, because he was right, telling her no when she was hungry? Never a good thing, even one Sister Aysel had made sure to stay away from. Larka had another sly remark to make, and she would have until Gannis leaned over, moving her hair to touch her ear.

Larka felt the translucent hairs on the back of her neck and arms raise up, sucking in a sharp breath as his finger went down towards her neck.

She swallowed, if only to keep her mouth closed— but her gold eyes told it all. A heat, one different than all the others, bloomed for the first time within the deepest pit of her stomach. A heat that spread to her chest, causing her heart to race, causing her legs to go lax. For just a second.

Larka’s gaze was steady. She knew what she was doing, hyper-fixating on him much like how a wild dog did when it saw a squirrel. But this was something else. Her eyes bore into his, and she could feel a zap of tension. From her? It had to be from her. She crossed one leg over the other, but leaned forward as he leaned back.

How close was she to the edge of curiosity?

A test, one to see if she would fall over, just as he had mentioned mere minutes ago, Larka was certain of this. Whether it was devotion to proving herself or something else, Larka decided she could tiptoe further. After all, she had small feet, another step or two wouldn’t matter too much.

“Are there other ways… or… things?” Larka asked, her voice low to keep her from stammering too much; tilting her head to the side once again. “I mean, when you say it prolongs… it, I don’t understand how something hurting makes it better? Isn’t the first time supposed to be shit because it hurts?” She didn’t dare utter the three words that popped in her head, an insistent ‘show me how’ that usually came after her question when discussing skills. No, that wasn’t needed, not now, not when she could use her imagination— and perhaps that was for the best.

Gannis

 

[Gannis]

He was being cruel and he knew it. Gannis had her full and complete attention. Fully aware that he shouldn't have been toying with the naive girl, he continued anyway. Having just decided that he enjoyed her company, he risked losing it.

Gannis wasn't known for making the best choices for his own happiness.

"The first time is shit, but it doesn't mean it can't be incredible the rest of the time. You ever have a truly exquisite meal and take your time so the pleasure of eating it isn't over too soon?" he asked. Gannis leaned forwards just a little, matching her posture.

He glanced down at her lips. A moment of awareness let him know that he was walking that edge to indulge his own hunger now. A pang of need thumped through his core.

"I don't suppose you have...but think of a sweet dessert with a line of bitter fruit. The sweetness is complemented by a bitter note. That's like adding a little shock of pain...to your pleasure."

 

[Larka]

Larka blinked, trying to think back to a time when she hadn’t inhaled her food. Maybe when she was younger and could still taste? But not because it was so delicious she wanted to savor it for as long as possible. His second analogy also didn’t make much sense to her either, having lost her sense of taste. However, it made a bit more sense to her, while not something she could relate to, it was something she could understand the concept of.

“I think I understand,” Larka said slowly, her gaze never having left Gannis’. In tune with her next set of words, Larka slowly pushed her hair back behind her should, exposing as much of her neck as she could. “So, show me again where you’re supposed to place your teeth. I wasn’t paying attention earlier.” There was a coy smile on her face, but her eyes revealed the hunger. To keep herself calm, Larka squeezed her inner thighs tightly against one another, trying to keep that heat from spreading elsewhere. That sort of pressure unintentionally seemed to reignite the smoldering flame, her face flushing for a moment.

One step more. One step more and then she would return. She would need to.

Gannis

 

[Gannis]

She wasn't really going to challenge him and escalate was she?

Gannis' eyes went a little wide as she did. Perhaps she really had needed to stern oversight from Sister Aysel. No one had written anything to that effect.

He needed to keep a lid on this, to keep the mood to merely playful banter. She needed to know how the world worked; she would be thrown out into the worst it had to offer within a few years.

His mouth went dry as he looked down at the expanse of translucent skin. Shifting back and forth had its problems. The animal within still rattled against the cage. It wasn't a seperate part of him, but it was the personification of primal need and it had to be sated one way or another.

Fuck

Gannis glanced down at the inside of his mug and for a few rapid heartbeats it looked as if he was about to back down and change the subject.

He grinned as he lifted the mug and drained it. Gannis stood up. He rounded the table and offered a hand, palm up.

"Let's not draw any weird looks," he explained, glancing towards the door that led out of the back of the Inn. When he looked back at her, he was looking at her neck and not her eyes.

 

[Larka]

Larka’s coy smile curled up into a rather smug smirk. There was always something exciting about a small victory such as this. It didn’t mean she didn’t respect Gannis, on the contrary, she did, but didn’t every young woman begin to experience a certain power that they held? Larka hardly knew she was exploring this facet, her essence of femininity that couldn’t be tamed.

So it was an alluring prospect to see if she could make her mentor yield. To avert his gaze and sit back, change the subject.

That seemed to be happening, until Gannis stood up, coming around to her side of the table. Her heartbeat quickened within her small chest and this time not just from anticipation. For a moment, a twinge of fear in the back of her head— was she in trouble? She was about to shrink away and apologize, until his hand was offered to her.

Weird looks? Larka looked around, as if just realizing they were in a large room with other people. That’s right, there were others. She hadn’t realized, or rather, hyperfocusing on Gannis had caused her to block everyone out.

A few seconds passed and then slowly Larka lifted up her hand, taking hold of Gannis’ much larger and much rougher hand. Her stomach dropped, and Larka swallowed once more. Uncrossing her legs, she got up from the bench, and then nodded her head once to Gannis.

Gannis

 

[Gannis]

The air was still outside the door, but the night still carried a chill. Goosebumps spread across exposed skin, but he wouldn't be deterred. The fire within couldn't be extinguished by anything as mundane as night air.

Larka had yet to realise that she was playing with fire. She thought he could be the perfect mentor, always put his duty above himself.

He had abandoned her hand for the door, but he reached back to take her sleeve as he turned down into the shadows along the back of the inn. He was glad for the darkness, not for the discretion, but because it meant the moons were not high and full.

Without offering explanation, he turned Larka towards the wall. The plaster between the dark wooden beams had been painted white, but it was a deeply textured finish. She would have nothing but those cracks and coarse hills to study as his warm breath fell across the skin she had so boldly turned to him.

"It is not jus' the where," he said. A hand reached around her. He stood close to her, uncomfortably so. "It's when. Sweet and bitter," he reminded her. A warm palm braced against her waist and sailed higher. It wasn't his finger that showed her where he had meant, his teeth came down and dragged over delicate skin.

"See?"

He knew that he could be in trouble for this. Gannis had known that about a thousand mistakes he had made. It was testament to stubborn refusal to die - as well as learn - that had kept him going for so long.

By rights, the mistakes he made should have overtaken him by now.

 

[Larka]

Larka wasn’t sure what was going to happen when she followed after Gannis. Her mind was racing yet blank all at the same time, her breath seeming to hitch in her throat with every step she took. She was still when he turned her around, her small hands turning into fists to keep her from turning her head back to look at Gannis.

She felt his hand on her waist, felt him lean over to—

Larka whimpered, a soft sound that couldn’t escape through her lips, flinching yet enjoying the sharpness of teeth along her soft skin. And it was that enjoyment, the thought of thinking if his hand had reached lower instead of higher that snapped Larka back to reality. She felt all of a sudden as if she had one foot on the ground, the other hanging off to a deep and dark and dangerous abyss— ready to plunge her into the dark depths unknown. She was so close to going over. How foolish she had been.

“I need to use the bathroom!” Larka announced breathlessly, without thinking she ducked down and under Gannis’ arm and dashed off into the night. Her cheeks were bright red and not from her sprint. With her arms pumping back and forth, she sought nothing more to get rid of this heat within her.

---

“I don’t think it can get any hotter,” Larka said, mostly to Kitty who was whining. In truth, she felt sorry for her partner, unable to get rid of his thick undercoat. Normally, she would have been riding on her dog— yes, it was often frowned upon but at the same time, she did fit and Kitty never seemed to have minded. He was like the size of a Haflinger, how could she not ride him?

But because of the heat she refrained from it, and whether rightly or wrongly, she made sure to keep her canine companion relatively free from anything that could make him overheat. Meaning she was wearing her winter coat over her tunic that Gannis had fixed for her. Which was a good thing considering that she was sure she’d be overheating if she still had to wear those oversized flaps of fabric.

Her dark hair was in a long braid, although some of the baby hairs around her forehead were plastered to her brow due to the beads of sweat. She sniffed, wiping her dry nose with the back of her hand before licking over her bottom lip.

There were no clouds in the sky above them, no trees to shade them from the sun’s rays. Their boots crunched along dry dirt and gravel and browned weeds. Larka wished they would get to the next town already. Even if there were things amiss there, much like Gallica. Hopefully the river it was situated by offered a reprieve from this heat. It had to, apparently this town always seemed to come out with a decent harvest no matter how hot the summers were.

Kitty huffed before sneezing and Larka nodded her head.

“Yeah, the air’s dry.” She then looked over at Gannis. Her face was freshly burned and red from the sun, but during the night her body seemed keen on healing it. Regardless, the tops of her cheeks and across her nose bridge there seemed to be a tinge of pink she couldn’t quite get rid of. “Have you been to Amol-Kalit? I’ve never been this close to it.”

Gannis

 

[Gannis]

"This is about as close as I've got. As close as I intend to get," Gannis grunted.

He wasn't a man made for hot climates either. Gannis had heard of the worst parts of Amol-kalit, where the desert stretched for weeks in any direction.

He couldn't imagine anyone living there, let alone finding work.

"War isn't good for business," he said, "at least not the kind of war these people fight. Endless. No one worries about a curse when three Kings claim to own your town."

He glanced down at Larka and then into the distance. There had been a day or two where he hadn't been so bold about making eye contact. A day when he had felt pretty wretched about himself.

Still, what was done was done.

"Would have taken us another day if we'd stayed close to the river and kept to the shade. Maybe on the way back."