Private Tales The sweetest smiles hold the darkest secrets

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer
Raphael's grunts would have to pass as words of agreement as he began to shovel the sweet treat into his mouth. There was no refined way to the reserved puca now; sugar, it seemed, really was his weak spot. He barely seemed to hold himself back from picking the plate up and licking it, instead settling for running his finger along it to pick up any errant crumbs and sucking them off.

"As good as I remember," he sighed with contentment.
 
Samara watched Raphael eat with an abandon and joy she had not seen him possess before. She loved it. It was adorable and she did not want it to stop.

Once they had both thoroughly cleaned their bowls, she sat back with a goofy smile on her face.

"Would it be bad if I ordered another?" Samara asked.

She was only half joking. She was basically a bottomless pit and sweets were her weakness as well.
 
Raphael laughed and shook his head.

"Why not? The Erlking is paying," he shrugged and leaned back in his chair in a contented fashion. It was the one benefit of this being a mission both his Sire and his friend were in agreement on. Whilst Lorcan had his own funds, he felt much better about taking them from the Autumn King than he did his friend, especially when that money went into helping others.

Once Samara had ordered her next plate he ran a hand through his hair.

"I should probably warn you about my tribe..."
 
"Why not? The Erlking is paying."

Samara fell in love with Raphael in that moment. He did not judge her for wanting more or sneer or make some comment about putting on weight and it was beautiful. She just smiled like an idiot as she ordered another blueberry pie slice and she kept smiling until he spoke again.

"You have told me some of the shit but, yes, you should fill me in the rest of the way," her tone was back to being business even though she was still giddy like a child inside.

She couldn't wait to get more pie!
 
Raphael wondered where best to start. The little bits he had mentioned had been about how they had treated him primarily, not about the inner workings and the backward ways in which they had lived.

"The tribe is very... orthodox," he said slowly. Was that the right word? He wanted to put several rude words in there and say how he really felt but years had made him realise it took every type of culture in order to make the world and there was little he could do to change it. "The women are not allowed to fight, their main duties are to care for the household and raise children. The men work and fight. So when they see you they may... well they will treat you as they do their females. Oh they'll be polite," he said bitterly with a grimace. "But they might... ignore you."
 
Samara's giddiness soon leaked away and it was replaced with anger that came out of her in a low, feral growl. She hated the patriarchal bullshit that some of the fae were so fond of. She was thankful that her King did not subscribe to that belief because she would be a terrible housewife.

"But they might... ignore you."

"And I may stab them," she said without thinking. She already was not a fan of his tribe and now this just added to the bullshit. The huge, pile of bullshit.

Before she could speak again, her second order of pie arrived and she quickly dug into it. She chewed it with less happy enthusiasm and more murderous intent.

"Thank you for not being like them," Samara said between bites as a small smile crossed her lips. "I would hate to have to kill you," she took another bite and closed her eyes.

Pie good, Raphael's tribe bad.
 
Raphael's smile was small and it didn't quite reach his eyes. As much as he knew how well Samara fought, how high she had climbed in the Slaugh, his tribe were warriors tooth and bone. And they were walking right into their heartland. He wasn't sure how he was going to keep them from trying to kill each other except to hope that Samara could bite her tongue as much as possible.

"The Erlking is many things but being sexist is not one of them, thankfully," he murmured. "I know Lorcan is trying to help but..." he grimaced. "It seems like a lost cause to me, even half the women balk at the idea of being anything but a housewife."
 
"That is a life that some women love," Samara conceded. "I am just not one of them. It is their choice to become broodmares instead of warriors and there is nothing wrong with it...as long as it is their choice."

She took a few more bites of the pie before speaking again. This time a mischievous smile had curved her lips.

"Do I need to pretend to be your obedient wife, Raph?"

Samara was only partially joking. If he needed her to be good and quiet, she would do it. This mission was bigger than her and her pride. There were many lives at stake including one very close to Raphael's brothers heart.

She took another bite then pushed her bowl across the table to him to finish. She had only eaten about half. She could eat it all but this was a gesture that not many would ever get from her. Samara Khalid did not share her food.
 
Her question startled a laugh out of him that was loud enough to draw a few glances from other patrons of the inn.

"No," he assured her, still chuckling at the thought. The word obedient was not in the first ten he thought of when Samara's face came to mind. "They're used to other warriors coming through, women who aren't a part of the Tribe. If you were another puca I would be more concerned but... They consider most people who aren't from our Tribe to be lesser anyway before sex comes into it," he raised a brow at the offered dessert but he didn't say a word. No quip, no jibe, no joke. Instead he gave her a small curved lipped smile then pulled the plate close and finished the rest of it.
 
Gods above and below, Samara loved his laugh. It even caused a smile to form on her lips as others glanced over at their table. She felt as if they had been caught being too loud in a library.

His no caused an internal sigh of relief. She was obedient to one person and, as much as she liked Raphael, he was not that one person.

Raphael's acceptance of her gift made his words sting less. It was nice to know that they hated everyone outside of their tribe. Real winners there. She already hated them all.

"I will still try to keep my thoughts to myself while we are with them," Samara assured Raphael. It was a difficult thing to say but it was the truth.
 
"We won't be there long, Samara," Raphael said softly in what he hoped was an assuring way. "I don't want to spend anymore time than we need to somewhere that seeks to diminish lights like yours," and there were others. A few, not man, but a few women who wanted more from the tribe than what it currently offered them. Perhaps this trip would bring some of those to his attention and between him, Sid and Lorcan they could get them out. Endora would not bind them to outdated ideals.

Finishing up the desert he stretched with a contented sigh.

"But we do need to leave early so I think I will call it a night for now."
 
She felt a flush of heat rise in her cheeks when Raphael talked about her light. She was the epitome of darkness but somehow Raphael saw the kindness and the love that she had in her. It was not much but it was there. She was an oddity among the shucks.

As soon as he was done with the desert, she knew they would soon have to part company. She was not going to argue with Raphael though. She was exhausted and they did need to leave early.

"Yes, I agree," she said as she slowly stood from the table with a smile.
 
Raphael was quiet as he led them back down the tavern halls and to the rooms they had brought for the night. He bid her farewell with a soft kiss upon the forehead then slid into his room, the door falling shut with a quiet snick.

Come the morning the puca was ready however. Some of the tired bruising around his eyes had retreated but there was still a shadow in his eyes and a hardness to his jaw, though whether that was down to tiredness or where they would rest that night it was hard to tell. Gently he knocked on the door to Samara's room.

"Are you ready?" he called.
 
Samara smiled when Raphael kissed her forehead. It was so gentle and she felt like it was more intimate than their other kisses or touches. The shuck was sad to see that he really did intend to sleep alone though. She had promised herself to be so she had to be good. She had to respect his wishes even if it was hard.

It had not taken long for Samara to fall asleep thanks to their long day of travel. She slept surprisingly well too so when she opened her door to a grumpy-looking puca, she just smiled softly and touched his cheek.

"Yes, I am ready," she said before turning to grab her bag from the bed. "Are you alright, Raph?"
 
"As much as I can be," Raphael smiled tightly in what he hoped was a reassuring manner but it came across as more of a grimace. Seeming to sense the failure he let it drop and sighed instead, shuffling his wings. "I just want to get this next part... over with," it was funny how he would much prefer to quite literally be in the heart of enemy territory than he would in his own home with his own people.

Once Samara had collected her bag he lead them out of the inn still quiet with people sleeping away the early hours. He made sure to leave a few extra coins on his way out.

"Ready to run again?" he asked absently, his wings already spreading to take to the sky.
 
"Me too," she agreed with him. She was not looking forward to being around his tribe and she hated that they took the smile from her puca.

She didn't speak again as they exited the inn. It was a mixture of not having anything to say and worrying about what today was going to bring. She wanted to protect Raphael from his own people and she wasn't able to. It was a cruel torture.

"You know exactly what I like to hear, Raph," she said with a smile. It was only a moment or two later before she had changed into her giant black wolf-dog form. She tilted her head at him as if waiting for him to take the lead.
 
Without another word Raphael shot into the sky, circling once to make sure she could see him, before taking off towards the West.

Onwards they travelled at the same gruelling pace he had set before. Raphael might not have wanted to visit his home but his personal feelings did not get in the way of the mission. He found himself thankful they had stopped for a true nights rest at least for as the mountains finally drew near he found himself flagging. Before rising to the peaks where the puca of his tribe made his home, however, Raphael landed.

"I will have to carry you the rest," he explained.
 
Samara was in her thoughts for the majority of the run. Most of her thoughts revolved around her worry for Raphael. This was going to be difficult for him and she was going to have a difficult time not murdering anyone. Of course, Samara had found fallen for someone with a complicated past because that was who she was. She was someone who attached herself to people who (she thought) needed her help, support, or love. Raphael made her happy though so there was that, at least.

She was not sure how long they had been running when Raphael landed. She shifted back to her bipedal form and listened to words. He was lucky that she did not mind being in his arms or flying.

"Very well, I am ready when you are," she smiled at him sweetly.
 
Raphael took a breath before scooping her up and taking flight. A million thoughts ran through his mind but they all seemed to go quiet as they drew closer to the summit. There, nestled within the peak as though someone had punched their way into the side of the mountain, lay a town. It was nothing grand, nothing the bards would sing songs about, but then the occupants were enough to write a thousand songs about.

Dragon wings appeared in the sky to either side of Raphael then vanished into the clouds.

"Scouts," he murmured. "They've been watching us a while," which meant they had had time to clear up practises the Erlking frowned upon so Raphael didn't report back.

Circling once he finally inclined his wings and landed in the middle of the town where two tall older male pucas waited.

"Welcome back, Raphael."

"Father," Raphael replied dryly, setting Samara down on the ground.
 
"Lovely," Samara commented on the appearance of the scouts. She couldn't blame them though because she would not want to be on the receiving end of the Erlking's ire. She had never been on that end but she had heard stories and none of them were painted lovely pictures of the encounter.

The one puca looked identical to Raphael and before he had even acknowledged the man as father there was a curl crossing her lips. She wasn't sure why but she thought family would mean in the tribal terms, not his actual blood. She had no clue what his past was with his father and she didn't need to in order for her to not like the man.

Raphael set her down and she immediately started to assess the area around them for enemies. She couldn't help the training that was ingrained into her.
 
"And to what do we owe this... visit," the other male couldn't keep the sneer from his voice. Raphael glanced across to him with a cold look.

"We need a distraction to cover our entry into Summer," from within his coat pocket he pulled a letter with the black seal of the Autumn king pressed into the back. The one who Raphael had named as father took it and broke the seal with barely a glance to confirm whose it was. There was a few moment of silence as they read and then a hardening of their expressions.

"Very well. It will take a few hours to prepare and you must be... tired after your journey."

"Would you like your old room back?" the other puca laughed but his father's face did not change.

"Jarg, take them to the guest huts. We should treat our Erlking's guests cordially, as are his wishes."
 
The other male couldn't keep the sneer from her voice and Samara couldn't keep the low growl that was building within her. They had been here less than a minute and she already wanted to rip out the male's throat. She did not like him in the slightest.

Her silver eyes watched Raphael's father read the missive before closing it again. The way he said tired raised the hairs on the back of her neck. There was not even an ounce of care there. Her mother and herself had a strained relationship but this was pure hatred. Disgusting, she thought with a snarl.

When Jarg spoke, she almost lost her composure. Almost. Luckily for him (and them, she supposed), Raphael's father had spoken again.
 
A muscle feathered in Raphael's jaw as he tried to keep his temper under check. It was always a hard thing with the man in front of him. If he had come forward sooner, his mother wouldn't have spent the last years of her life in a cellar being shamed for having him. If he could, he would have ripped his fathers heart out with his bare hands. Gently taking Samara by the elbow he turned her to follow in Jargs footsteps.

"Welcome to my home," he murmured in her ear, the words dripping with sarcasm. It was a far cry from Endora and the happiness the place emitted.

It didn't take long to cross the backwater village to a cluster of wooden huts.

"My liege," Jarg sneered and sketched a bow before walking off, laughing at his own joke. Raphael stared at the hut for a moment then glanced to his friend.

"Would you like to see more of the place?"
 
As soon as Raphael touched her elbow to lead her away from his father, she felt herself relax slightly. Slightly. She still wanted to kill the two men but she was reminded at that moment that Raphael wanted to more and he could keep calm.

She couldn't help the soft huff of amusement that escaped her when he welcomed her to his home. This was not his home. This used to be his home. "This is not your home," she whispered back to her puca.

"Would you like to see more of the place?"

"I would like to murder some people but, I suppose, seeing more of the place would be a better option..."
 
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Raphael laughed beneath his breath but it held no humour in it. He was too anxious to rest though he knew he should and had planned to wander even without her company, though he would be the first to admit he was happy not to be wandering this place alone.

"Every time Lorcan comes here he says the same," he said sympathetically and turned her down one of the quieter side streets.

"There isn't much here, a little market and houses. The main focus is the training arena and a place called the barracks where young males live until they take a wife. But there's a spot I used to like to visit when I lived here."
 
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