Private Tales The Space Between

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer
Shuck slept in a bit later every day they stayed. It was strange and disorienting to wake up after Joseph had gone, but he was never far. In spite of the sheer amounts of food the men shoved at her after Joseph had informed the camp of her expected child, abstaining from fresh blood took its toll. Yaste's tea helped -- immensely -- and nobody seemed willing to berate her for sleeping until the sun was well and up.

She spent the first part of the second day in the kitchen again, but was sent to the stables to help with the horses for the latter half. She brushed the pretty half-unicorn mares and got a rudimentary lesson in a continuous braid that began at the forelock and ended at the withers.

That evening, they surprised her with a small party -- a "shower", they called it. She didn't know what to say to all of their gifts, and was promptly informed that they weren't intended to be repaid, were just... gifts. Shuck thanked them in what words she could, ate too much cake, and generally spent the evening between blushing and beaming proudly.

Heinrich's gift surprised her. The rapier wasn't like the other gifts, and she understood its purpose the moment her hand curled around the grip. She devoted her full attention to his instruction, her natural grace lending well to the weapon. There was, once more, a strange familiarity to it, and a look toward Trahaearn confirmed the strange feeling.

The third day she spent with Joseph, watching him work and very, very slowly learning to patch garments. It was the quietest of their days, and a peaceful close to their visit. Joseph was all but healed and Shuck was happy.

She hugged the men, delivering more than a few thwarting slaps to the back of straying hands but was in too in high of spirits to take them seriously. She hugged Heinrich tightly, and when he held her at arm's length she assured him that they would see him again on their way back -- and that she still remembered her promise. He passed her the bottle while Joseph was preoccupied, a knowing look causing her to avert her eyes in a rare show of shame. At least this time it was venison. She hid it in her things, tucked Joseph into his sled, and swung onto her gelding. With a wave over her shoulder, they departed once more from Heinrich's.

The going was easier as the landscape changed. Hilly woodlands were giving way to grasslands. Shuck did her best to ignore Trahaearn and Joseph's mounting tension, busying herself with camp chores and foraging, practicing her rapier with her warlock, and tending to her lover with a gentle hand.

Joseph had healed and had begun riding again, but she watched him like a hawk, unafraid to tell him when she thought he was pushing himself too hard and asking him to rest in the sled. She filled their evenings with talk, asking him random things about himself and his family. What were his favorite books? What was he like as a child? What were his other brothers' names?

Working with Trahaearn at the rapier was proving that, though she had lost her name, her body still remembered various reflexes. Shuck didn't know how many of her victories were feigned to help build her confidence, but by their third night she was pretty sure there was a moment of real fear in his eyes when she only narrowly avoided skewering him through an opening in his defenses. It was satisfying payback for the smattering of mild burns she had from touching his sword.

The fourth day was a challenge. They had steered well and clear from the hamlet where they had met the clurichaun, but she had felt restless as the road followed a creek the evening before, and she couldn't shake the strange sense that she knew where she was. When they came upon the rise that following morning, however, and she looked down at the little village by the creek, it all made sense. She wanted to see the place that had been her home and the only life she'd known for hundreds of years, but she ultimately steered them away. Asking Joseph the name of it was enough.

They reached Alliria that evening and opted for an inn on the outer fringes of the city. Shuck wasn't interested in attracting Saturninus' attention, and crossing the city with a full day to get beyond it sounded safer than passing through before settling in.

They let a couple of rooms above a tavern, Trahaearn slapping down the silver for the rooms, baths, and proper meals. Shuck gave him a cutting look when he was smug about flaunting his coin. Joseph had been riding a knife's edge with Trahaearn every day since their dance, and the warlock wasn't helping matters. She had done her best to ply their tempers, unwilling to choose a side; both were being unreasonable, in her opinion.

"I'm going to go take a bath," she said curtly. The bath was in its own room, and she hoisted her pack over her shoulder and pointed herself in that direction. Joseph was free to stay or go as he saw fit; she was mildly irritated with them both, and after days stuck between them she was rather eager to find a moment's peace with her growing bump, which had nearly doubled in size in the last week.

// Joseph Meier // Trahaearn //
 
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Joseph preened endlessly at the shower. It was a half-joking, ridiculous affair but he loved it anyway. He sat beside Shuck looking prouder than he had in months, years even. While she was no doubt the focus, and everyone offered congratulations and gifts, he was content to sit back and watch her enjoy her pregnancy. This was the easiest, happiest bit of it. Later when her back hurt and her temper frayed he would be there for her.
He was grateful Heinrich had gifted her the rapier. It was a slender, graceful weapon built on speed rather than physical power, and Shuck took to it like a fish to water. She wouldn’t have to count on Trahaearn as much with her own blade skills to hone.

The third day was spent in peace, talking and teaching her how to darn undershirts and leather armor. It was tiring work and required a lot of patience, but Hoseph was born to such tasks. He was grateful for the company besides, and was happy to talk about his family and upbringing. Despite his leg, he’d had a ferocious temper even as a child and had gained a reputation for not backing down from fights. He recalled several stories in which his brothers had to rescue him from an opponent threatening to pretzel him.

On the road was tougher. Joseph watched Trahaearn practice with Shuck, rejoicing in every little nick and cut she gave him, and bristling at every burn she received. They weren’t serious, only training wounds. Gods knew he’d accepted and gifted far worse wounds. It didn’t mean he had to like it. Reaching her old village was...difficult. He saw how much it hurt her, but since she clearly didn’t want to discuss it they gave it a wide berth.

It didn’t give him half as much pause as Alliria did. Saturninus would be furious. The undead didn’t forgive or forget easily, and Joseph had cost him a kings ransom in gold releasing Henry. Gods, the other man wasn’t around, was he? Joseph resolved to give Gilder a good kick across the street if he saw the sphynx. The cat wouldn’t recognize Trahaearn or Shuck, but he might as well have had a target on his forehead.

He chose to become female for their ride into Alliria, taking some of Shucks clothing and draping a cloak over his leg. They were in the outskirts but...it didn’t hurt to be careful.

Trahaearn had been steadily getting on his nerves for days now. The man’s cockiness, combined with the dance and his irritating usefulness teaching Shuck rapier, had led to a lot of nasty comments from Joseph. He rolled his eyes when Trahaearn plunked down money for their stay and watched Shuck go. “I’m going to keep watch. I don’t trust you to protect her.” Joseph growled at Trahaearn. “How can I expect her to stay safe when you couldn’t even protect Selmi?”
 
The shower was an unexpected thing, but it was endearing to see them both so happy. It was also pleasant to see so many people happy for others, and the gift Heinrich gave Mal was something he had to not laugh about. A rapier. Mal's go to when it came to sword play. He could remember getting stomped into the dirt numerous times when she had begun to teach him the ways of the blade.

The woman was skilled with nearly anything that had an edge, from a simple knife to far flung foreign blades that curved. Her true calling was with the Rapier though, as it complimented the woman's grace and beauty as though the weapon was designed for her.

Joseph took another bite at him about wasting daylight, and Trahearn only shook his head when they were leaving. The men he had spent time with called after him, making sure to welcome him back anytime. The small smile he offered to them was his only parting gift as they left. He didn't want to promise coming back here after being told by the camp leader to forget about this place after all.

Days of travel along with the two men of the party bickering, had made the trip miserable. The practice of swords was a sight, and in three nights times, Mal had come back into some of the skills she used to posses. Coming upon a village that seemed to bother both Mal and Joseph, and they gave the place a wide berth. Upon reaching Alliria, Joseph shifted into a women, donning Mal's clothing and passing through the place quickly.

Which had been a terrific shame since so many market stalls were open, but he wasn't about to argue since they seemed all too intent on pushing through. When they procured rooms, Joseph began his fit, and plucked a string he very well knew he shouldn't. He had been content to watch Mal go upstairs, her happiness being almost infectious and making him wish this would last for her against his better senses. His eyes shot over to Joseph, a heavy sigh coming before his words.

"Because you protect Mal so well, huh? Not like she has had to pull your ass out of the fire, right? Do you plan on letting her deal with all your problems?" Trahaearn replied sweetly, and added with a smile. "Don't let anything sneak up on you this time."
 
"Have any old psychotic friends laying around Alliria I should know about?" Joseph bristled. "I do protect her. I wouldn't leave her to rot for a few hundred years without a name....or let her dig her own pauper's grave. That's your style, not mine." He lifted his chin and looked Trahaearn up and down. "Too busy fucking around to look for her? Or did you just enjoy having your magic with no strings attached?"

He sneered at him. "And all this time Selmi was dead not a few days from here. Is Alliria the dumping ground for women you couldn't give half a damn about? Sure as fuck seems like it." He ran his fingers through his hair and glared at Trahaearn. He wanted to hit him, badly. "Where the fuck did you get off dancing with her? She does not want you. Your time has passed. You're a tick on our asses. She's going to throw you away like you did Selmi. If you think I can't protect her...we can step outside right fucking now and I will have you on your knees."
 
"Not around here, no. How about you? You have changed appearance and seem rather frightened of something here." Trahaearn replied in kind.

"And to clarify. Six days in Court have passed since she went missing. Two of which I spent in a haze, as having your memories tampered with doesn't bode well for anyone. Two hundred years passed for the mortal world in that time. So don't act high and mighty until you know all the details, it just makes you a bigger fool." Trahaearn rebuked the man for his mention of how much time had passed.

Then Joseph continued on about Selmi, and piling on the insults. Trahaearns breathe was coming in deeper and for longer times. Addressing his dumping ground comment wasn't even worth the breath.

"First off you little blighted mark upon the ass of a gnat fly. I danced with her as a friend, which apparently is a terribly difficult concept for you to understand. She enjoyed it, laughed, had fun. And just because your crippled little ass can't dance, doesn't mean she has to go without enjoying that." Trahaearn seethed.

"Secondly, do you feel so threatened by me that all you can think to do is hurl insults at me? That you are so insecure in yourself, that seeing someone be everything you aren't, means you have to act like a worked up buck and try to awkwardly strut to assert yourself? You claim to be some great protector and yet you did so well with your own wife and children. Quit projecting your insecurities on me while you take advantage of a fae with no name." He snorted.

Having been very well awake for most of their late night conversations, he couldn't ignore the words, and instead stored them away for later. It was an annoying thing sometimes, being a dog with all those lovely senses.
 
Mentioning his wife and child struck a nerve. Damn the fact they were in public. Joseph leapt at him. The transformation came so smoothly he almost didn't need to think about it. He struck Trahaearn as a full-blooded lion, nearly four hundred pounds of angry cat. He had been spying on them! Every conversation, every quiet thing he'd told Shuck, Trahaearn had been listening. What a goddamn fool he was not to take that into account! He was blind with rage, completely ignoring the fact they were in an inn, and one that might not take too kindly to a full-grown lion tackling guests in the lobby.

Joseph tried to sink his teeth into Trahaearn's shoulder. He was going to wrench off the man's fucking arm and see how he liked being without a limb for a change. He had completely lost his temper, and while he wasn't going to kill the only man who could lead them to Selmi's grave...he wanted to maul him. Somehow, doing it as an animal wasn't satisfying. When he shifted again, it was into Trahaearn. He punched for the other man's face with his own fist, furiously and wildly striking at him. This wasn't dignified fighting, or even bar room brawling. Joseph wasn't above kicking, biting, and spitting.

"You never..." he punched for Trahearn's face. "...talk about my fucking wife ever again!"
 
Trahaearn had not expected the man to shift into lion, and while he hadn't honestly given the man credit to starting a fight in public, the wide smile was present. The pommel of the sword came up under Joseph's lion jaw, pinning it up just enough to keep the teeth from shoulder. Trahaearn had never fought a lion, and with this revelation of how big they were, was likely to never seek one out. Then, he changed again, into him.

A few blinks made him miss the first few punches, and while the man could certainly put a hurt on someone considering the strength behind those punches, Trahaearn wasn't about to be beaten into the floorboards. Magic surged through him as the fourth punch connected, the crackle of elemental power passing through the cheek of Trahaearn into Joseph's knuckle as a surge of raw and unforgiving lightning swept into Joseph's body. It was enough to make the make jump, and let loose of him.

Trahaearn bucked hard beneath Joseph in that moment, upsetting the man's balance and throwing him over to one side. Trahaearn rolled and sent the sword away with a toss as he stood, as he wouldn't need it for this. Wiping his face from the blood that was readily flowing from open cuts. He chuckled, preparing to enjoy this fight to the fullest. It wasn't often he got to fight in the front room of a tavern.

"Come and shut me up then, you widowed little fuck." Trahaearn cackled, stepping away from the front desk, his back to a door. "She was likely knackered in the head to marry you huh?"
 
The lightning he really hadn't suspected. He was jarred, electricity running up his arm and producing a strange loose, tingling sensation. It was eerily similar to the warning tingles he felt just before his leg began to cramp up. He staggered upright just as Trahaearn got up, his teeth bared and a mad light in his eyes. He roared in anger, charging Trahaearn as himself. Halfway through the charge, his front half bulged grotesquely and he fell forward as if top heavy. A gigantic black bull struck Trahaearn straight in the chest and carried him through the door and outside to the yard. Joseph was doing his best to pull Trahaearn underneath him and trample him under his hooves, but bulls were gifted with immense strength and an astoundingly bad blind spot between their eyes.

He bellowed, tossing his head and trying to disengage Trahaearn from his horns and throw him. He needed the space for a charge. He already felt pain building behind his eyes. Changing from one form directly to another was dangerous. He was shifting too fast, and too often. But Trahaearn taunting him had made Joseph mad with anger.
 
He charged himself, which was a strange sight, but then it changed. Drastically changed. Horns and black fur greeted his eyes, and the transforming was starting to become annoying. He didn't bother using more magic, since his own strength was more than enough to deal with a man.

Joseph started to buck and bellow, one arm locked around a horn as his legs tried to curl under the massive neck.

"If you can't fight me without magic, you really aren't much a man are you?" Trahaearn hollered, his free hand balled into a fist and trying to find an eye as he beat the side of the bulls face.
 
Joseph swung wildly, wheeling on his hooves. He could feel Trahaearn's elbow locked around his horn, shifting his weight over one shoulder. He stumbled, his opposite shoulder obliterating the wooden doorway of a stable. He must have carried them across the yard. He was going to fall over, and he felt the pain spreading through his skull. He couldn't hold it. He released the magic, turning back into his true form. "Oh I can fight you without magic, you son of a bitch!" Joseph snarled, clawing for Trahaearn's eyes. He carried them into a hay pile.

His fingers were clawing to try and puncture Trahaearn's eyes, his teeth gritted. "You don't fucking know anything about her you stupid parasite bastard!" he spat furiously. "You don't know any fucking thing about me either! You're a useless fucking thug is what you are!" He curled his hand into a fist and aimed for Trahaearn's face.
 
The hit the stable, and it rocked Trahaearn's world for a moment. Shit they had gone far. Then that form fell away and he was left with Joseph squalling at him. Hands went for his eyes, his own hands keeping them from his face. The little devil fought like a fae.

"Your wife? Or Mal?" Trahaearn toyed with him. "I served Mal loyally for four thousand years. You serviced her for a month, and you think you're better than me? You have no idea who she is, or what she has done." The fist connected, but it didn't wipe away the smile. His lip was fully bloodied and a laugh came as his fist aimed for Josephs head.
 
Joseph might have been small, but he grew up fighting men Trahaearn's size. "What's it say for you that I've slept with her for a month and I've satisfied her more than you have in four thousand years?" he snarled in Trahaearn's face, snorting blood into his eyes to try and blind him. It was a dirty form of fighting, but one he was well-accustomed to. He saw Trahaearn trying to protect his eyes with his hands, and lunged for them. He caught one of Trahaearn's fingers in his mouth and bit down. Hard. He was fighting like a demon, and it would take more than a few blows to the head to subdue him. He let go of Trah's hand, not sure if the blood in his mouth was his own or Trahaearn's.

"You must....be a sorry fuck...if she forgets you so easily after four thousand years." he panted in Trahaearn's face. "A few weeks panting after my dick and she's completely forgotten you." He lunged again, this time his teeth flashing for Trahaearn's nose or lips. Something he knew he could tear off.
 
"Ah, but this isn't a new game little man. She has done this before, and always come back." Trahaearn shot back. The blood in his eyes made him blink and his finger was suddenly on fire with pain. Muscles tensed and Joseph spat the finger back out to spit a few more words.

"She forgot about me for now, but like dancing and the sword, what else would her body remember given the chance?" Trahaearn spat. When Joseph lunged with an open mouth, finger up the knuckle were shoved clear down the mans throat and his thumb clamped into the mans jawbone.

He would attempt to pull Joseph's head forward and pound on it with his free hand.
 
Joseph bit down on the offered finger. If he was attempting to make him gag, Joseph simply didn't have the reflex anymore. He squeezed his eyes shut, wrenching his head back and forth in an honest attempt to rip off Trahaearn's finger. His teeth were finding that spot between knuckle and finger joint, where he'd been taught how to separate fingers. He straddled Trahaearn's body to solidify his position on top of him, his fingers scratching wildly for Trahaearn's eyes with both of his opponent's hands occupied. His body was humming with rage and the thrill of the fight. His legs locked firmly around Trahaearn's hips and his fingernails in the other man's cheeks.

He growled ferociously. Trahaearn packed a serious punch. If he didn't win this soon, he'd he losing consciousness himself from all the blows to the head. He pressed his body to Trahaearn's, an old trick to minimize the space the other had to punch. Teeth were effective at close range but he'd have to swing an arm out and around to hit him effectively. Right now he was just trying to get the other man to let go of his chin.
 
He felt something in his pinky finger break, but pushed through it. Fingers had tried to pry at is his eyes, but he kept his face moving constantly. Pulling Joseph's face close to his, he headbutted the man and used his now free hand to crack a shot into the bad leg. And continued to do so.
 
Hitting Joseph's bad leg took the wind out of him. Trahaearn was punching steel, but he still felt the impact of the blows rattling the metal cage and causing his leg to lose support. He snarled in pain and got off of Trahaearn to clutch his leg, laying on his back. He growled. He was exhausted. He laid on his back for a moment, nursing his leg and glaring at Trahaearn. "Fuck you." he spat blood into the hay and lay on his back. He would get up and pummel him. He just needed a moment.
 
The hand punched steel and would sing pain for a few days, but it was well worth it. Joseph rolled off, and as he did, that pinky felt a pain like he had never experienced before. Which was a truly rare thing. He rolled with Joseph, his knee trapping an arm as the broken left pinky finger came into view.

It dangled awkwardly towards the floor, blood freely running while a sliver of skin held it there just past the middle joint. In a quick motion, Trahaearn ripped the bit dangling bit free and tossed it behind him.

"You are just the newest toy, and when Malice's name is returned, you will be cast aside." Trahaearn spat back, his bloodied left hand cocked back and socked him in the jaw, "Like every other human toy before you." Another punch came in. The adrenaline was starting to wear off, and the pain was beginning to replace it. "As they all have been." He prepared for another punch, his arm wound again, his breathing heavy.
 
She went up to the bath, setting her pack down and brushing her hair while two maids hastily put the hot water into the tub of standing cool water. The moment they left, she undressed and sank into the beautifully warm water with a groan. She was oblivious to the commotion downstairs, letting the heat of the water soak away days of tension and irritation. Shuck didn't quite understand why they felt the need to push one another so hard; Joseph had no need to be jealous, and Trahaearn already had an unshakeable bond between them. They were both tied to her inexplicably, and if they wanted to fight about it then --

The walls shook and there was a crash from below. Suck jumped, water splashing onto the floor and she gripped the rim of the tub. She sat for a moment in surprise, wondering what sort of chaos must have been unraveling in the tavern below to make the whole inn shudder like that. Yelling could be heard from the rooms below, and she hummed to herself in distaste as she leaned back and closed her eyes once more. Humans.

A very sudden and very deep dread overtook her. No. Surely not. She hadn't been gone five minutes! But Shuck jumped out of the water, hastily yanking her dress over her head and nearly ripping the seams as she shoved her wet body into it. Without bothering to shut the door behind her, she gripped the stair rail and hurried down to the lobby and hesitated. There was a spray of blood on the floorboards near Trahaearn's sheathed sword and a crowd of people was pressing into a doorway toward the stables behind.

None of those people were either of her humans. She heard familiar voices in the yard.

Panicked, she shoved her way between those gawking. She could hear Trahaearn and, as she squeezed through the crowd and out the doorway, she steadied in time to see the warlock on top of Joseph, his fist connecting with his jaw before cocking back for what looked to be another on top of several.

"Trahaearn!" she barked, her voice echoing in the narrow yard. Her eyes blazed red and she was too angry and shocked to even move for a moment. "Get the fuck off of him right now."

// Joseph Meier // Trahaearn //
 
Joseph put up his forearms to try and block some of the punches, letting Trahaearn wail on his bony arms instead. No. He couldn't lose this fight. Not in front of her. He tried one more attempt. A thick snake launched up at Trahaearn and wound around his throat. He began to squeeze, tucking his head into his coils to try and protect his most vulnerable part. He was going to do everything possible to put Trahaearn out, here and now. Maybe not kill him, because Shuck would never allow it, but he could stand to see him unconscious.

"That is enough!" the innkeeper had finally had it. He was brandishing a crossbow at all three of them, mustache quivering in rage. "Look at what you fae have done to my place! Look at the state of it! Ma'am, you'd best get away from those two men. You two can stay in the barn but in the morning I want you gone! And that fouled hay better be pitched out or I'll put a hole through your heads! Look at the barn door!"

Joseph sheepishly unwound from Trahaearn's throat and slithered to the ground, standing as a man and looking at the destruction. There was blood all over the courtyard from his wheeling around. The doorjam to the barn was crushed in, and they'd fouled a good day and a half's worth of hay with blood and spittle.
 
When the forearms came up, he didn't stop. Not until he heard Mal speak and turned, unable to clearly see her through the blood in his eyes. Then Joseph transformed into a snake, a hissing word escaped as the man tried to strangle him.

"Coward." Trahaearn gripped the snake and thought about zapping him once more. He wouldn't stoop to Joseph's level though, and instead just outlasted the man.

The innkeeper came in brandishing a crossbow, in a proper fit about how they had wrecked the place. When Joseph untangled himself, he took a slow and measured breath, examining his left hand and grimacing at the amount of blood that trailed down his arm. His head swayed a little as he stood, trying to see what had become of the place, blinking a few times.

He felt tired, dizzy, a little confused even and not particularly caring that blood ran from his hand.
 
Shuck had immediately assumed the worst about what she was seeing, but when Trahaearn hesitated and turned, Joseph shifted and coiled around his neck. She had been about to yell once more, but a man's voice bellowed from across the yard. Turning, she saw the innkeeper pointing a crossbow at them, and her skin prickled. He suggested she stand back, telling the men that they could sleep in the barn and clean up their mess before they left in the morning.

She agreed, but she wasn't about to be told what to do.

Wordlessly striding over to the pair in a few steps, she grabbed Joseph by the jaw and turned his face up to look at, disregarding how much it likely hurt him. Alarm shot through her at the sight of his battered face. Then, turning to look at Trahaearn, she grabbed his hand and yanked it up to look at where his little finger was severed and bleeding. His own face was scratched and bruised. They both looked like shit, and had each clearly dealt as viciously as they'd received.

Her body was shaking, and her eyes could have burned holes through stone as she looked between them.

"I don't know what this was about," she said slowly, struggling to even speak. "But when I see you in the morning, it had best be sorted out properly. No more fighting. Do you understand me?"

She let go of both of them, taking a step back and drawing a deep, shaky breath. There wasn't anything else she dared say to them in anger.

Shuck turned, seething all the way back to the inn. The people in the door parted for her, and she made for the stairs but the sight of their things still sitting in the foyer made her indescribably angry. She marched over to the bags, picked them up, and stormed back to the door. Once more, the crowd parted for her, but she only walked halfway through the yard before chucking their bags at them.

"I am very disappointed," she said sharply, finally understanding the tone she'd heard several women saying those same words generation after generation. With nothing more to say, Shuck went back inside and stomped up the stairs. She intended to enjoy her bath, enjoy her food, and enjoy her bed, if only out of spite.

// Joseph Meier // Trahaearn //
 
Joseph winced and made a small noise of pain when she grabbed his chin. That...probably brought home exactly how many blows to the head he'd endured over the past half hour. He rubbed at his head, glaring at Trahaearn. Gods he hoped that pinky finger was permanent. Serve as a reminder not to fuck with him. He spat blood onto the floor and looked up just in time to see his bag flung bodily at himself. He caught it, wincing. She was very angry. Well and truly angry.

Disappointed, he knew, was the worst. Angry, hitting, that was all fixable. Disappointed was far worse. He sighed and shut the barn door on the staring people, heading over to the tack area. He spread out a few saddle blankets on the ground and added horse blankets to it. It would be cozy. Not as good as having Shuck in his arms in a real bed, but soft enough. He glared at Trahaearn. "Five more minutes and your head would have popped off like a tick." he snapped, settling down and rubbing his jaw. "Arrogant prick."
 
The hand did not stop bleeding, and when she lifted it he winced. Everything had started to hurt. The world was slowly fading out, until Mal spat at both of them. The words were plenty clear. This had probably been well in need of happening, granted with less bloodshed.

And more fingers.

"Couldn't do it without magic though could you? Shithead." Trahaearn chuckled. He held his hand up and stared at the missing digit. A small dismissing sound before the air filled with the smell of burning flesh. Blood stopped flowing, and a solid hissing breath escaped his nose.

"Can fix this later, no sense wasting magick now." Trahaearn sighed to himself, staring at the marred lump. He grabbed his bag and sword, rifling through it and retrieving his flask. Fae whiskey. Something to take his mind off of all, of this.
 
"You couldn't do it without a cheap shot to the leg, so come at me." Joseph snapped back, looking at him cauterise the missing digit. "Oh look. Drink. That will solve things." he sneered, and sighed. "I'm here to stay, Trahaearn. I'm not leaving. I'm not getting thrown away. She's carrying my child, and I have a duty to raise that child. I'm not fucking leaving, and you can't drive me away. So get used to me, because I'm staying. And despite how much you give me shit....I can match you any fucking day of the week, with or without magic. Before that cheap shot to the leg you were losing fingers and would have lost an eye....and you outweigh me by a good hundred pounds."

Joseph smirked. In his view, he'd come out better. Trahaearn was missing a finger. He was bruised and bloodied, but ultimately he felt he'd proved his point. "If all her enemies in court are like you, I'll have them cleaned out by week's end." He checked his brace to make sure the stitches hadn't popped. They would be coming out soon, but the last thing he needed was the wound to be torn open. "What the fuck made you into such a stuck up, miserable bastard anyway?"
 
"Cheap shot says the man who went right to gouging, you little shit. Can't win in a proper fight, so instead you do it like a rat." He chuckled. "And yeah actually, drinking tends to solve problems."

"That arrogance will change when we get there." Trahaearn said solemnly, remembering that he too had been far to confident in his abilities. The flask made an audible swish at Joseph's question. "You know, since you asked. I'll indulge you. I was a sniveling little shit shoveling boy with no idea what a woman was, before she answered my call."

"Mal raised me up, groomed me, taught me the ways of court, taught me how to use a sword. How to kill people. And when her part of the bargain was up, she plucked me out of my home." A small sip interrupting his words. "And even though you hate everything about me. You are so damned eager to bring back the woman that made me." If you think I am bad, I am nothing placed next to Malice Trahaearn thought to himself.
 
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