Private Tales Something Amiss

[Lia]

For a few seconds she paused. Lia didn't want to insult Kaska or demean her in any way. She had come to like the girl, considering her a friend now. She wanted to help if she could, but she also did not want her to think that she was just trying to get rid if her or something of that sort.

"My father always said that in Alliria nobles are not born, they're made." She spoke quietly now, though continued on.

"If you wanted to..." Lia looked at Kaska. "You could join my sister."

For a second she paused then quickly went on. "I'm not trying to get rid of you, or stop you from going on this mission. I mean for after."

"If I asked them my parents would be happy to take you in." She explained calmly. "And my mother and sister would be over the moons in teaching you...whatever it is they do."

Lia wasnt quite sure what it was really, but it was a skill just as wielding a sword was.

The while point if bringing this up was that Kaska had a choice. She wanted to present her friend with options, options that she had apparently never even had before.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska's mouth fell open. Her brows pinched in. She gaped at Lia for what grew to be an almost uncomfortable amount of time, trying to process the unprocessable.

A choice?

"W-Why?"

Why... Why? Why- why. She kept thinking of questions that all started with why, but the words after them never managed to follow, another why taking their place.

After a moment of pure flabbergast, she managed to settle on the question that popped up the most. "Why would you do that for me? You hate me." Or so Kaska had convinced herself.

 

[Lia]

Lia looked surprised. "I don't hate you."

It seemed odd that she would think that after all they'd been through over the last few weeks. Then again given their myriad of arguments she could sort of see why.

"I think you have a propensity for foolishness, but I certainly don't hate you. " She was truthful, as always. "A lot of your...passion doesn't come from a place of hate but...well lack or choice."

She'd come to see that. "In a strange way we've become close...friends you could say. At least from my perspective. I want to give you that choice."

Plus her mother would probably be delighted at having another daughter to train.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska's lip actually woobled, the woman overwhelmed by a swath of emotions.

"I-"

"Wha-"

"You're really hard to hate sometimes, you know that?" She snuffed, rubbing at her face and looking away.

She swallowed hard, needing more time than could ever be supplied in this room to process the change that had just occurred between them. She made herself harden, the vulnerability closing off.

"If we don't hurry now the priest might be too drunk and then you'll have to postpone the whole mission just to make sure I get to tick that off my 'things I must do before I die' list, and I don't know how you're going to explain that to the majors but." She snapped her cloak in place, spinning and pushing for the door.

"We have things to do."

 

[Lia]

It was about what she had expected, in truth she had thought Kaska would actually lash out in some way to this suggestion.

She was happy enough that the girl hadn't descended into throwing another fit, and would apparently at least thing about the proposition. Whether or not she would take it was entirely up to her. The fact that she had a choice at all was what mattered. What that choice would be less so. "Right."

Lia said as she stood and threw on the coat she had mentioned earlier, placing her hair up and sliding one of the long needle like pins through it.

"Hopefully his divine will be useful here." She murmured. "If he serves Bathalel or Vascind it might be worse for us."

Those were two dark gods, their followers known for embracing death and the eternal Abyss.

If the man in the village below was a follower of theirs...well then the Lich was probably closer than they thought.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska paused, a sense of pressure filling her chest at that. "Let us hope," she breathed, pushing out the door and making for the stables.

It was a brisk ride to the village to the west, Kaska pushing her horse hard, a sense of panic seizing her. This needed to work. She needed a proper weapon if she was to face him again, this wasn't debatable.

She looked ready to beat the nearest priest into conversion of a proper religion by the time she dismounted outside the village tavern. Warm laughter and light poured through the open windows, inviting even on a night like this. Kaska wasn't feeling up for it though, entering that tavern with a sense of drive about her that clashed sorely with her informal attire.

 

[Lia]

Out of habit Lia watched everyone in the Inn as though they were about to get up and stab her.

It wasnt like anyone had ever done that of course, or even really been close to it, but paranoia was something the Rangers beat into you. Her lips thinned as she observed everyone inside, gaze flickering over the different tables as she inspected those around her. For a second she remained in the entryway and leaned closer to Kaska. "Find your priest."

Lia said quietly.

There wasn't anyone in the common room that screamed "man of the cloth" to her, in fact many of those inside just seemed like drunken louts who have had too much free time. She frowned, the wooden floor creaking loudly beneath her as she wandered further inside.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska nodded and slipped off, forcing herself to relax as she approached the bar and ordered a drink.

Soon she'd be seen talking the man up, exchanging antidotes and laughs as she held her drink to her without delving much into it. Within a mere fifteen minutes she made quick work of it, the barkeep leaning forward to point out a man in a corner to her, drinking heavily on his own.

Kaska gave LIa a flickering meaningful before turning back to the barkeep to keep the conversation flowing, wary of leaving any discernible hints over their main interest in coming here.

 

[Lia]

Lia wasn't entirely sure why Kaska gave her the look.

The other girl was the one with the arrows that needed blessing and her own approach to the Priest would likely be less than ideal. Still, she caught the meaning and with a slight frown she ducked away from the bar and headed towards the man that had been pointed out.

He sat at a table with two other men. A deck of cards was split between them and small coppers were being traded in piles. She watched for half a second and then sat herself down.

Eyebrows were raised, but before anyone could voice an objection Lia fished three silver Allirian Crowns from her pocket and let them rattle o to the table.

There, that should get the proper amount of attention.

 

[Kaska]

A few minutes later, Kaska walked over, her arms full of drinks and buzzed grin plastered to her face. "Already cracked into a game, I see," she greeted Lia. She clunked down the drinks, enough for the table as they slooshed and threatened to soggy the cards.

"A treat. One last hoorah before we go out with a bang." She didn't exactly know what her plan was here. Perhaps to simply befriend them and make a casual request he simply bless them for good luck? It all came down to talking. And the men seemed more than fine with the prospect of a prettied up girl with an armful of beers.

"Eh?" Said one, accepting the drink. "What brings two ranger girls out here?" Kaska kicked LIa's shin.

Play along.

 

[Lia]

Lia didn't like these kinds of places, she preferred the sorts of places she'd grown up with. Perhaps that made her stuck up, or maybe even a little classist, but she could admit it to herself. The common room of an inn paled in comparison to a stately manor.

She much preferred drinking wine in the latter. ”Ranger life gets hard.”

The Sergeant intoned.

”And not in the fun way.” The Innuendo was as bold as an Anirian farm girl. It was perhaps proof for Kaska that Lia wasn't entirely without humor, though given it was the first thing if the like that she had ever said it would probably also come with a slight bit of shock.

But maybe that was the point.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska sputtered, near chocking on her drink as shock did indeed catch her. She coughed once and busted into what she felt was an appropriate uproar with the men.

It was likely utterly improper to Lia. Lia got a rough pat on the back by another man, friendly in nature as he included both girls into another round of cards.

So they were in.

The hour passed, Kaska focusing more on befriending the crew than getting anywhere with it just yet. And even though they were in this rough, lowely tavern, Lia would see a small bit of her home shining through here. Particularly in the way Kaska had donned her persona and emphatically riled the men into opening up with her.

She wouldn't fair half bad at a court. Mind you, once she learned to walk in heels.

She even managed to switch out Lia's tanker with her near empty one, trying her best to grant the woman some reprieve. Kaska could seem to handle the amount of alcohol she was putting into her, but she was no doubt putting trust in Lia to help her, should she accidentally find she consumed too much again. She was worried about that.


It wasn't until the table was good and liquored, the room warm and full of heavy talking and rough laughter, that Kaska opened up the topic. "So what the hell is a Priest doing all the way out here in this desolate ass of a land?" she slapped down her hand, losing horrifically to the cards the Priest had in hand.

 

[Lia]

Lia was as stoned face as ever, though slight brushes of color had been swept across her cheeks from the amount of alcohol that she had consumed. It wasnt enough to get her drunk, no shed been careful about that, but it was enough to let her head swim slightly even as she simply sat there.

Her skin prickled just the tiniest bit, and she could feel heat in her ears as the Priest gave answer to Kaska.

“Some of us like to travel!”​

The man laughed uproariously as if he'd told some kind of joke, but nobody else at the table laughed even a little. Lia quirked an eyebrow, somewhat confused by the man's words...or rather why he thought they would be funny. Her lips thinned and she picked up the deck of cards.

It was her turn to deal.

As she shuffled the priest cleared his throat, glancing at the people around the table accusingly before he looked up from his drink and finished what he'd been saying.

“We go round and preach to all the villages without a church, try to grow the flock that way.”​

 

[Kaska]

"Ahh." Kaska nodded as if that made perfect sense. She pulled her cards in to her, picking through them as if absorbed by them. "What kinda church does something like that? Vascind?" she asked with a light chuckle, glancing up him him with a playful twinkle to her eyes.

The priest burst out in another wave of laughter. "Bloody hell, no. That's dark, lass. No. Hulira." He placed down a card, looking meerily up at her. "Church of Saint Rease."

Kaska near wilted in relief, the name a very popular one in the churches of Alliria. "Oh," she chirped pleasantly. "I use to go there as a child. Say, it's been a while since I last had a blessing. Could you give me one?" She scrambled for her pack, pulling out the quiver.

"This will be all I have to protect my back out here on the field. If Saint Rease will have me, maybe this'll do good to keep me coming back safe."

 

[Lia]

This was going to be easier than Lia had thought.

"A blessing? Oh sweet child. Still believing the gods care about your wars."

Or maybe not.

A frown touched Lia's lips for just a brief second, a breath filling her lungs. She was not religious in the least, far...far from it in fact, but the divines did have power. Whether or not that power would help against a Lich she didn't really know, but she certainly hoped. "She has always been devout. In fact her oath to the Rangers was made on her 15th name day. She swore to serve for as long as the gods wished it."

Lia lied through her teeth.

The priest seemed to stare at Kaska for a moment, then shook his head and slowly sighed.

"Suppose it won't hurt."

 

[Kaska]

Kaska perked, nearly knocking over the man besides hers drink in her attempt to hand it over.

"Gods, girl, chill it won't stopper death." He took the quiver with slight reluctance, putting it to the side. "Let a man finish his hand," he implored.

And that was how, thirty minutes later, Kaska and Lia ended up stumbling out of a village bar half drunk together.

Kaska ran off the porch with a burst of speed. "Yeeeeees," she cooed, twirling in a circle with her bag clutched to her chest. She laughed giddily, turning to Lia in glee. "Wedidiiiiit."

 

[Lia]

Lia smiled, though she was not quite the bursting sunflower Kaska was.

She was happy that they had found a priest, happy that the man had been able to do the blessing, but for some reason a seed of doubt lay within her mind. The man hadn't exactly been...priestly. That bothered her for some reason, more than she could really explain. He hadn't even really seemed all that holy, more like an alcoholic.

Still she didn't want to spoiled Kaska's mood. "We did."

She agreed.

"Now..." A hiccup cut her words in half. "We just have to get back with no one asking any questions. "

Tough prospect considering their state.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska shrugged it off, careless. "Nothing to question, just twoooo friends driiiiinking. We only got one last day before departure. it's gonna be a long one," she stated, not as forlorn as she woulda been once upon a time.

She slipped on her pack, rolling back on her heels in a slow attempt to keep her balance, and turned back on Lia with another full grin. "I didn't know you could play cards."

Take off cards and insert 'drink' and 'hang out with the guys', and that's what Kaska was truly thinking.

 

[Lia]

Lia glanced over at Kaska. "Nobles play cards more often than dice."

The Ranger explained with a shrug. Though she'd always been devoted to her goal of leading the Rangers it wasnt like she'd never actually had fun. Lia felt the same urges that every person did. She wanted to have fun, and sometimes she wanted to get drunk. There was nothing wrong with it.

At least in her estimation.

"I used to play all the time with some of the other Merchant's children." Lia continued. "The stakes were different, but still."

She shrugged.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska snorted, going to Lia and tossing her arm over the woman's shoulder, walking with her in that same manner Lia had once rejected the second night at the inn.

She leaned on her in a friendly manner, attempting to walk with her slowly to the stables. "What then?" She mused. "Whole estates? Slaves? Oooo, ships?"

 

[Lia]

Lia glanced at her. "Clothes."

With that the Ranger suddenly increased her pace twice over, slipping out from Kaska as the girl tried to lean on her.

The move was of course entirely deliberate.

She didn't want Kaska to fall I to the mud, but she wanted her to be as off balance as possible. Why?

Because it was funny.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska gasped, flailing out to catch herself from falling flat. "Oi!" She protested, laughing after a moment of questionable flailing.

"Was that a joke?" She asked, flabbergasted as she looked to Lia. "Are you making jokes now, is this a thing?" She placed her hands on her hips, acting horribly slighted. But truly, she was amused.

 

[Lia]

Lia reached the stable in just a few steps, they had already been close, and the doors sat open. A line of horses were stabled on either side of the barn and she spotted her and Kaska's mounts all the way at the end of the row.

"Come on." She motioned to the girl, ignoring her question.

It was an amusing sight, Kaska slightly flabbergasted. Lia imagined that the girl, as well as most other Rangers, thought that she was an emotionless joyless automaton. Admittedly she had never shown much emotion, and in fact had tried to make herself as stoic as possible.

Suddenly revealing a part of herself that none of them had ever heard of was likely somewhat of a shock.

"Saddle your house...horse." Another hiccup. "We need sleep before tomorrow."

 

[Kaska]

Kaska stared at her for a moment longer before speeding up to catch up. She hitched, blinking hard and shaking out her head as she reached for her horses saddle.

"I think I drank too much," she murmured, her tongue thick. "You're making jokes." She got herself up, her foot only getting stuck once. Thankfully, their beasts were well trained and didn't need the firm hand of a master to behave well.

"I like it." She commented, kicking off. The wind on her face felt wonderful. She spent the ride relying on her steed to lead them true, her eyes closed and enjoying the thrill. They pulled into the courtyard, slowing to a still. Kaska hiccup and looked down at the ground before her.

"IthinkImstuck."

 

[Lia]

Lia didn't say anything.

She didn't feel the need to tell Kaska it wasnt a joke. She could keep that little bit of knowledge for herself. Most of the ride was spent in silence, or with a small bit of banter thrown between the two women. It was all in good fun of course, no barb in any of the jokes that were thrown between the two of them.

"Oh?" She mused, sliding off her own horse with a lithe grace.

In that moment she could have passed for a Princess, though her clothes were hardly suited for the role. She took a few steps over towards Kaska's horse, grasping the beats bridle to ensure that it didn't dance anywhere.

"Shall I fetch one of the men to get you down?" She teased. "Ranger Thiereth is quite muscular."

He was one of those that Lia trained against with the sword.