Private Tales Sliver of Time

[Baise]

On the social rungs of Arethil, Miriel was quite a few above him. She made magical weapons and could read and write. Writing was something only a handful of people could do, usually the very wealthy or those who had taken it up as a paid trade to support to ever growing merchant classes.

"There would be someone who could read it in Faarin," he replied. He wasn't entirely certain there would be, or of how quickly and reliably such a thing would make the journey to home but it seemed worth a try.

"Thank you," he said softly. "For all the things you have done for me."

He wrapped an arm around her waist and settled shoulder to shoulder. He caught sight of a boat he thought was worth approaching, but he wanted to let this moment stretch out for as long as he could. Their time to enjoy these was now going to be rapidly winding down. He would be on the road before he knew it.

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

With a pang, as he pulled her in close to his side, she realised just how much she was going to miss him. He was unlike anyone she had met for a long time. There were no complicated words she had to try and decipher or actions she didn't understand. He made her cry with laughter at the subtle dry humour he possessed and he made her skin hot with just a look. Yet he was just as fleeting as a butterfly.

She almost asked him to stay as they stood there like that but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Not only did she not want the possible rebuke, but she also didn't want to put him in that position if he was beginning to feel the same way as her. He had already mentioned a sister; she couldn't keep him from loved ones. A deep sigh left her and her shoulders slumped with her resignation to the fact that for a while her life would be without him.

The sun had almost sunk into the waves and the last fisherman had returned now and was busy hurling out their nets. She ran her fingers lightly across his back then hooked her thumb over the waistband of his breeches.

"So whose catch has caught your eye?"

 

[Baise]

"Down there," Valthar said, nodding his head. "Bigger merchant vessels aren't going to be interested in us coming for fish for dinner. Its also not a deep water boat so it hasn't been far."

He approached the question with his usual calm sensibility. Like a soft tide, almost motionless on the surface, thoughts of leaving this place swirling around just below. What was to stop him finding a place on one of those boats and earning his keep here? He had probably made a boat workers annual wage in that necromancer's cave. That wasn't why he stopped himself entertaining the Ide further.

"What are the names of your coins again?" he asked with a smile as he stepped forwards, looking back over his shoulder towards her.

---

The skin of the fish hissed where it was licked by the flames. Valthar had opened up a large white fish, boned and gutted it with a deft hand and now held it over the flames on a metal grill. Large flecks of salt started to melt across the white flesh as the heat bubbled through. Fresh herbs dried, curled and darkened across the fish. A pan of cooked potatoes had already been set aside.

"What do you normally eat in the jungles?" he called ove his shoulder.

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

Shopping for fish had been an experience in itself. Usually she waited for them to arrive at the market itself not go to the boats and talk to the men who had done the work of hauling them in. It was quite a ... satisfying thing to watch. To see him closer to the role he wanted in life. Something ease from the whole set of his body as he spoke with the other fishermen like he was just a little closer to home. But not close enough.

Miriel had left him to it when they had returned home to the forge and she had gone about setting up the horses for the evening once again and had brought one of the knife sets she was working on into the kitchen to finish them whilst she watched him cook. The smell made her mouth water and there was very little work going on her end by the time he asked his question; it was such a simple thing but having someone cook a real meal for her in her own kitchen was intoxicating.

"Vegetables, things we can bake and make - breads, cheeses, fruits. It is a big risk to go hunting so meat is quite a luxury over there," and every part of what they killed was used in someway. The skins for bedding, the bones for medicine or broth, the organs too could all be used in some way or other.

 

[Baise]

"I guess there are more things in the jungle that think of you as meat than the other way around," he replied over his shoulder.

He had built something of a mental picture of where she lived, even if it was difficult to draw everything that she described. He wouldn't describe himself as someone with a vast imagination and her world was so completely removed from his own.

His stomach rumbled. It was fair to say that his meals along the road so far had no always been prepared like this. A little in the way of herbs and salt made a big difference, as did some freshly churned butter for the potatoes.

"Cheeses?" he asked as he arranged two plates of food. "You keep herds in a jungle?"

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

Miriel wriggled in her seat in anticipation for the feed as the smells grew and her mouth began to water. It was very rarely she cooked fish herself and she was looking forward to trying this.

"Goats mainly, yes. They're hardy little things and at night we just bring them inside to ensure they survive," the worst of the monsters came out at night not that it was much better during the day but at least there were always people around in the daylight hours. She put both her elbows on the kitchen counter and rested her chin in her hands as she watched him.

"Is it ready yet?" she threw him a playful grin.

 

[Baise]

"Good job I wasn't cooking you some lamb," Valthar said. His reply came properly by him turning towards the table with both plates. He liked her house. It was much larger than his own down by the docks but it didn't feel empty and spacious. It felt lived in.

"Sorry its very simple," he said, sitting himself down and almost immediately drawing flakes of steaming fish away from the bone with a knife. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to temper expectations already.

"We can't farm all that much of anything. Spices and cheese are quite rare," he explained. He was trying to watch her whilst not obviously watching her

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

Miriel watched the food like a hawk as it approached and bit down on her bottom lip. She managed to keep at least some of her composure though his comment on its simplicity made her laugh and shake her head.

"I just told you that my diet mainly consisted of vegetables for my first century of existence and you complain this is too simple?" she raised a slender brow and then watched how he sliced open the fish. Her own hands hesitated. Fish was not something she ate very often and when she did it was usually small pieces that had already been taken off the bone. She attempted to copy him with far less skill.

She was only half listening to what he told her as she concentrated on running her blade through the fish just above the bone, pulling her bottom lip through her teeth in deep concentration. When she was sure she had done it correctly and picked out a few of the bones she hadn't been able to avoid, she gathered a tiny bit of everything onto her fork and put it in her mouth.

Her eyes shut as the flavours washed over her tongue and a low moan rumbled in the back of her throat.

"This is.... delicious," she was already hurriedly preparing her next forkful.

 

[Baise]

It was also apparently going to be gone from the table very quickly, he mused to himself. He still thought it was simple but if you didn't have access to fish he supposed it was full of flavour on its own. Regardless, her expression had him feeling quite pleased with himself.

"I got something to smoke for breakfast too," he told her. "When you visit, you will be fed up of fish fairly quickly."

He was quite pleased himself to have some properly cooked and prepared food. There was a lot of space between towns. The money from the necromancer at least meant he would have a meal, a warm bed and perhaps a beer when he crossed one.

"Given how far it is, you'll stay a while?" he asked. It was still a nebulous thing, this plan. A lot of ifs between them now and a reunion in Eratejva.

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

"Doubtful," Miriel said round a mouthful of food. She finished the meal off quickly and then leaned back in her chair with a contented sigh, picking up a roll of bread she had picked up from the bakers on the way back and nibbling on that. For such a slim woman she could put away a lot of food. She smeared one piece in butter as she considered his unspoken question about how long she planned to stay when she got there.

The truth was she didn't know.

"I wouldn't want to impose..." she said carefully. He was a lot more to the point that most humans she knew around here but she still trod carefully with how she approached the subject. "Usually when I travel I'm away for a good few months, maybe even a year..."

 

[Baise]

"I don't know what life will be like if you and I both make it there," he said. His tone was serious all of a sudden. Not grave, it was nothing but pragmatism.

"But I don't think I would feel you were imposing at all. It would be strange to travel all the way there to remain just a few days. And if..."

Valthar trailed off as the thought leapt to the front of his mind. He mulled it around for a weighted second or two.

"If you wished to explore more of the northern Isle then perhaps we could do that together.

"Yes," he added as he confirmed to himself the idea was a good one. "You should come to Faarin first if you come north and I will go with you if you wish to see the capital or more of the tundra. Well...perhaps not the tundra. Or too far from a rood and a fire."

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

The seriousness of his tone might have ruffled some people the wrong way - they shared a bed and it was clearly the hint of admitting she wanted to spend more than a few days with him - but Miriel appreciated the practical way in which he spoke. She needed to know what to plan for here if she was gone for such a long time and she would also need to think about supplies if she weren't staying with him. So as he spoke she sipped at her whisky that she had gotten up and fetched for the pair of them, and nodded.

"I have Kin over to the East of your lands I would probably visit but I may do that before coming to you," she pressed her lips into a thin line. The elves of the Tundra were not overly keen on the Nordenfiir and she wasn't entirely sure how they would react to Valthar turning up with her. "Unless you would like to see the Ice Cities?" he had said he wanted to return to his life of fishing but maybe by then he would be in the mood for another adventure.

 

[Baise]

Valthar's expression slowly shifted into a smile. The idea of another adventure - albeit smaller and safer - appealed to him.

"I would like that a lot I think."

His plate was almost clean, but for the skin. Normally that would be fed to the dogs back at home.

"I've been looking forward to my old life. But now...I think sometimes I will want to get away from it too. Not everything new and different is bad."

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

"You might even feel at home, they are equally mistrusting of outsiders," Miri gave him a playful crooked smile before she stood and cleared the plates away from the table, setting them into the sink she would later fill with water from the well outside. She returned to pick up the bottle of whisky and glass then tilted her head towards the living area and the comfier armchairs and sofa.

"Do you want the fire on again?" it had been a warm day but at night the temperature would drop as was the way in spring. The days went from jumpers to thin shirts within hours. When they were settled she returned her thoughts back to what he had said.

"There is no shame in wanting to walk a different path now you've experienced more of the world. And there's no shame if you do not."

 

[Baise]

"You can put the fire on. I'm not convinced you've quite dried out yet," Valthar mused, the corner of his mouth quirking upwards. No regrets for dunking her under as a svalen. His arms arched as well as every point on his skin she had administered a warning slap of a sword. Seemed fair.

"I would rather have not have been sent so far from home through hell," he replied firmly, "but I would not have found this place or you and my life would have been...smaller...for that."

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

Miri picked at her still see through shirt and gave him a dark look. The procession through the streets had not been pleasant in her current state but she had found the funny side in it. She soon had the fire going though she did not build it too high out of courtesy for his inclination towards the cold. She sat back down on the couch beside him and took a sip of her whisky.

She wasn't sure whether it was the drink of his words that made her stomach flutter so oddly.

"I'm glad I met you too," she gave him a crooked smile as she put a hand on his thigh. "It has been a long time since I have felt so comfortable with someone."

 

[Baise]

A sad smile formed at her words. It came in advance of what he felt he had to say next. There was no point avoiding the truth. Her words cut to the core, providing a reflection of what he felt himself. That meant a lot.

"I will miss you when I leave," he said quietly. The fire crackled softly as the wood tried to refuse the fire, before taking light.

"Is there anywhere you'd like me to see around Alliria tomorrow? Give my shoulders a rest before more training?" he asked. He didn't really care about the rest and it was obvious. His mind merely switched to thinking that they should enjoy the time as best they could before it came to an end.

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

"I... will miss you too," she sighed and set the empty glass down on the side to shift herself a little closer to him so she might play her fingers through his hair.

"I don't think that you will enjoy the city too much," her eyes narrowed a little and she bit her bottom lip. "But there is somewhere just beyond the city I think you will like. We can make a day of it," she had spoken to some of the fishermen whilst Valthar had been haggling over the price of fish and had managed to piece together a little bit of a surprise for him.

"Valthar I won't ask you to stay but if you wanted to... or if you return home and find it is no longer a home... you would be welcome here," indefinitely. She didn't say it out loud but the point was there. Her hand rested briefly on his cheek and her thumb slowly stroked across his skin.

 

[Baise]

"Don't ask me to stay," he agreed quietly. He turned his head into her hand, closing his eyes and relishing the simple touch. Reaching up, he gently laid his hand over hers.

"I would probably say yes," he whispered, before drawing in a deep breath through his nose. He inhaled her scent, steel, horse and leather.

He blinked his eyes open, latching onto her gaze from the first moment. His thumb continued a slow cadence, back and forth across her hand.

"We will see what becomes of us when I make it home."

He smiled into her hand, chest briefly rising and falling in something that didn't make a laugh.

"We should make sure we don't miss each other crossing back. Have you and I both find the home of the other empty."

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

Her heart twisted.

One of the most selfless things she had ever had to do was keep her mouth shut in that moment. She hadn't realised how much she had wanted it until he had given her his answer and then begged her not to ask for it. It tore at her. As his came over hers and eclipsed it she forced a smile and tried to hide the depths of her agony.

"I will leave here on our Winter Solstice - so your Summer Solstice. I will fly with Thorlion to the Blightlands then get a ship from there. Give me a month and a day and if you see no sign of me on the horizon you can come here," she leaned forward and kissed his lips tenderly. "If it still fails and somehow you end up here Thorlion will fly you back," her lips twitched playfully.

 

[Baise]

It wasn't fair. Seeing her shape a smile on face as she did a sword from Iron. Seeing her hold the question in check when she knew what it would do. He could have answered without the question, but he knew the chance of a letter getting to faarin was slim. He had to see his home again.

This was going to hurt. His heart would be between two places all the way home. Pulled in both directions. He hoped it would not break. Given the decision again, he would have still walked into her blacksmith.

"I do not fly," he said firmly, trying to lighten the mood just a little.

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

"If you want me to get in a boat you can get on the horse," her eyebrow rose and she gave him a look that dared him to argue. Then slowly she let her hand fall from his face, though she kept her fingers entwined with his as she stood and gently tugged at him to get him onto his feet also. "Come, we'll have to leave early tomorrow," she wanted to give him this gift before he left her and she would rather pass out on the bed than the floor again.

* * *
​

Miri hadn't been lying about the early morning but she woke him with a kiss and the smell of bacon so she thought herself much kinder than she would have been with someone else. She had already packed their supplies for the day and so once he was ready they left on foot, despite Thorlion following them all the way to the end of the fence line.

It was a good hike but not an exerting one to where Miri wanted to go. It had involved a walk through Alliria herself and she had pointed out bits and pieces she thought might interest him along the way. That early in the morning it was at least quiet and so he did not have to suffer the buzz of people that usually made moving through the streets a trial rather than a pleasure. She kept the sea to their right as they walked further until they seemed to start climbing upwards until they finally crested the hill and came to the point of the harbour they had seen in the distant from their position on the beach yesterday. Before them stretched nothing but the Allirian Straight.

Miri tugged out a blindfold practically brimming with excitement.

"Ready for your surprise?" she held the scrap of material out in a silent question as to whether he would be ok with her doing so.

 

[Baise]

If he would have answered yes the night before, being woken with bacon wasn't going to make any changes to how easily that word would have slipped from his lips. When he had woken in the night with her warmth across his rising and falling chest, he had been struck by how easy it would have been. When the whole world tried to weigh him down, she made him feel as light as air.

As they walked Valthar found he quite enjoyed exploring the city at this hour. Most of the manure had been cleaned from the streets and it was almost peaceful. He wondered if there was a monument that would have interested him, but they went well beyond the city limits. Up high where the breeze was enough to give even him a chill.

"I'm ready," he told her. Her excitement was infectious. He wore a rare broad grin as he stepped forwards and closed his eyes.

 

[Míriel Fëanorna]

As he stepped forward she rocked onto the balls of her feet and then tied the blindfold securely around his eyes. Only when she was sure he couldn't see did she take his hands and walk back towards the cliff. Before he had shut his eyes he wouldn't have been able to see the rocky steps that led back down. She took him down slowly, commenting on when to step and where to place his feet until he got a rhythm. Like that they continued until he would feel his feet hit sand again. The wind was gone now they were back into the cove and it felt pleasantly warm in the rising sun.

"Ok... this way now," she led him along the sands again with the same patience and then stopped him at a random point. The elf moved deftly behind him and undid the knot, holding the fabric in place just a moment longer. "Surprise," she whispered and let the fabric drop.

They were in a private cove, the cliff face curled around on itself and beneath the waves far in the distance rose a reef. It meant that the water in this private space was a different shade and calmer to the seas beyond. Laid out on the sand was a blanket and a basket, a bottle of wine could be seen poking out. But the real surprise was the fishing boat that lay moored in the shallows complete with nets and equipment.

"The guys at the docks have let me borrow it for the day. I know it's not yours but I thought... maybe... we could... do a little fishing here..." Miri turned unusually shy, babbling to fill the silence.

 

[Baise]

After she had placed the blindfold, the light and bubbly feeling of being led blind was quickly balanced by the trepidation of being led down some steps. It was hard when blind to get a sense of how steep or narrow it was, but it gave him an uncomfortable sense of vertigo.

He was glad of the reprieve of level ground. Valthar couldn't tell if he was on mud or sand, but he could recognise the sound of water. Without the vertigo it was rather exciting. It made his stomach do little turns as he walked.

Valthar stood in absolute silence as the blindfold came down. He blinked a few times and let everything come into focus. He turned his head towards her and then looked back to the boat. His silence and his stoic expression gave nothing away. It was almost cruel, but it was merely sinking in.

"You did..." Valthar took a step forwards and stopped. He opened and closed his mouth as he struggled for words.

"Even with how I feel for you Miriel, I don't think I would ever come up with something so thoughtful. I can't remember a time..."

He was rather obviously lost for words.