Private Tales There Will Come A Reckoning

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Was Drast imagining things? Had she looked hopeful? Expectant? Did she want him to kiss her? Or maybe he was just hoping. Either way, the moment passed pleasantly with one of her radiant smiles as if to assure him he hadn't goofed.

"Oh yeah, the tent. We totally should do that now." He would say as he popped up to his feet, but not before enjoying her movements for a bit. Many hands make light work and the two of them worked great when it came to tag-teaming the tent.

Something that Kristen would learn, was unless he fell asleep pinned on his back, Drast would roll in his sleep. These nights with Kristen were the most peaceful he had ever had, as if her presence scared away the terrors of the night, the hate of memory. One such time that the whipping wind and rains awoke her, she would find the source of the snuggness to be that of Drast's arm draped over her.

Whatever distance that had been established, had been vandalized by the young Initiate at least once during the night. She would find him surprisingly warm, his face nestled less than peacefully into her shoulder. The second time she awoke, she would find him close, yet facing away, his legs flailed out in reckless abandon.

When Drast awoke, his frontside was cool and he realized he had launched his blanket backwards. He would reach back for it only for his hand to graze along Kristen's hip and he froze. Then he felt her breath upon his neck and he had to shift to suddenly get a bit more comfortable. His hand rested on her hip for a few moments before he yawned and took her hand, pulling it over him. Sleepy Drast couldn't find the blanket, so she would have to do. It was morning, but now, he was comfortable.

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"Just a few more minutes," Kristen said.

She had a vague awareness, one addled by sleep-haze but one just conscious enough, of the hand which had found her hip and the deliberate draping of her arm. Mother might have wanted her to demand a respectful distance (really, Mother would have demanded separate tents, but in lieu of that, distance).

But this was fine. Innocent and fine.

And comfortable.

Tar'Shan wasn't going anywhere.

A few more minutes would not hurt.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Those minutes would sift into another few hours as the tent slowly began to heat with the day, so much so that Drast was now too hot. That hand he had pulled over him, had become the enemy, and instead of just sliding it off of him, he would groan as he tried to crawl free to no avail.

"Too... hot.." he mused, muffled into the ground. Then he remembered the quest and slowly his brain started to cycle through waking up. This had been how Drast found himself late everywhere.

He would find it easier to rotate so that he was now facing Kristen and poked her gently on the nose. "Kris.." he stifled a yawn. "Kris.. I think its close to midday." A yawn. "We should.. we should probably get going, yeah?" Sleepy him didn't have time to concern itself with their closeness. That's just how it was.

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"...midday," she repeated in a dreamy voice, again only just being recalled from sleep and into the waking world. Her limbs felt heavy, saddled not with tiredness but instead with too much rest. Slowly she came to realize what Drastus had said and what she had repeated, and what he'd gone on further to say.

Then her eyes shot open.

"Midday!? Oh, snickerdoodle! We've let the day slip away from us!"

They weren't late, per se. Not precisely so. But still Kristen's punctuality came hounding after her, barking and nipping at her consciousness and tallying up all of the wasted hours for her to see. They should have been in Tar'shan by now!

She sat up and dutifully began to don all of her armor. She could attend to this, Drastus could take down the tent, and then they could get going posthaste! Yes, they'd lost a matter of hours, but even making up a few scarce minutes would make her feel better about the whole thing.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

"Snickerdoodle!" Drast shouted, also jumping up to his feet. His magick swirled to life around his hands as his hazels scanned for any sign of Forsaken and their tricky tunnel tactics!

He realized she meant something totally different and doubled over in laughter. It was fleeting, because they were on the clock!

So while she donned her armor, Drast hopped all around the tent, removing his clothes, changing his clothes, even tugging on his boots one at a time while he bounced around. Try as he might, he wasn't always obscured in those moments of flitting nudity, but he sure tried his hardest.

He would then pour some water from his flask into two bowls for a quick cleaning and set one down in front of her. "Here Kris." There was a proper way to do it, Drast just didn't pay attention to what it was. So, he dumped his hands into the bowl, wiped them on his fresh greaves and then dumped the rest of the bowl over his face and shook it dry. He at least had the decency to not get Kristen wet.

Finishing before her, he set to taking down the tent. "Alright the morning got away from us, but we're still getting there precisely when we mean to."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

In the flurry of donning her armor, there were a few stray glimpses, mostly in the corners of her eyes, which caught Drastus in a very "Punishment Game" state of undress. Twinned splotches of color blossomed in her cheeks, and she made an increasingly conscious effort to battle her curiosity and not look.

Here Kris.

"What? Oh! But of course, this shall have to do." In lieu of a proper bath, in lieu of even the perfunctory bathing mandated by the Academy, this would have to do. Travel, even short travel, was rough, and inns like the one in Pinewood Lake were not always available. Oh but the absolute worst was trekking across the desert with Edric. What an awful mess she had become in such conditions!

With her armor mostly on, the most she could do was refresh her face and her hair. So like Drastus, she leaned her head back and poured the water over her face and through her hair and scrubbed as best she could with the palms of her hands and her fingers.

Soon enough, her armor was donned, her hair was back in its ponytail, and she was unhitching her horse from the nearby tree.

Alright the morning got away from us, but we're still getting there precisely when we mean to.

"I should hope so," Kristen said, this time all but throwing herself atop her mount without awaiting for the gentlemanly assistance she adored. "Yes, mayhap our timing will be unintentionally fortuitous, and we will arrive to good fortune."

She'd send a quick prayer up to Aionus for it to be so.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Kavaros Tal'deneshaar]

"Drastus?"

Kristen Pirian

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

They were earning and burning and soon both had their Kaliti showers, their armor and armor adjacent on, and the camp broken down. "We're wizards, Kris, we're never late. Besides, if Aionus is guiding us, aren't we taking as long as he wants us too?" To him, it sounded like a load of bull, but hopefully he was onto something.

He shot her a reassuring grin before he tried to lift himself up and into his saddle. The hop, the swing never came. A voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

Drastus?

It was a voice he hadn't heard in years, yet it was one he would never forget. He hadn't even heard the source approach, nor even sensed it.

A man in a mixture of leather and chain armor bearing faded gold eyes would emerge from behind the tree that Kristen's horse was tied to. After speaking, he would brush a leather glove along the broad neck of her courser, quelling any surprise at his sudden appearance.

Drast would just smile bigger. "Kavaros?" He would drop his horses reins and stepped around it to embrace the older looking man. "Kristen! This is my other older brother."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen, worked up as she was, flinched in the saddle of her horse. Her attention shot over to the man who was all of sudden terribly close, and for a moment that wild concern was allowed to fester.

But then Drastus spoke the man's name, Kavaros. And as she did as a double take between the two, noticing then as her panic had been belayed the similarities between them, Drastus introduced this man Kavaros as his brother, and everything fell into place as a wave of both relief and recognition washed over her.

"Oh! Kavaros! But of course! You've made mention of him only a small matter of days ago!"

Kristen dismounted then. He deserved a most proper welcome and greeting!

"Kavaros Tal'deneshaar, I am Kristen Pirian," she said, dipping into a deep curtsy, her hands lifting the hem of an invisible skirt, "and I am pleased to make your acquaintance!"

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Kavaros Tal'deneshaar]

Seeing the sudden shock he gave Kristen he offered an apologetic smile and even offered a hand for her to take as she dismounted. It was the least he could do. Once she was down and began to introduce herself, he bowed his head. "Ah, the Darling Daughter. It is good to put a fac-" he would stop himself with a glance to Drast. "-e with the name. You know how we all hear about you Pirians." He would laugh. Nailed it. "He just mentioned me? Interesting. Didn't think he talked about the horde of siblings."

"Sorry for the intrusion, we saw the fire from below and with the rains passing and came to make sure nobody was hurt. What brings you two to the Jades?"

Kristen Pirian

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Drast's eyes would go wide as his brother started to speak and those hazels glanced at Kristen hoping she missed what he was saying. Color flitted to his cheeks in embarrassment and he glared daggers at his older brother.

"Oh, well thats not necessary. Haha." A nervous laugh. "So how is everyone?"

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen followed Kavaros's glance to Drastus. How peculiar, what was said and how their laughs were mismatched. Mayhap there was no shy amount of 'brotherly love' going on between them? Kristen's older brother Pedrig had no brothers of his own, just her and Amelia as sisters, but she'd heard enough stories from uncles and cousins about the headbutting that often went on between brothers.

She maintained her smile, kept her hands clasped before her at the waist, and addressed Kavaros's question. "As coincidence would have it, we were en route from Vel Numera to Tar'shan, whereupon we would seek the aid of a translator for an important matter."

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Kavaros Tal'deneshaar]

Kavaros would glance at Kristen and nod. "Then it is most fortunate we have found each other. Its been awhile since my brother has been home. May I ask what language you need translated? I may know the best way to send you." He would offer her.

He then turned to gaze at his brother, gods it had been a long time. The Academy had almost made it like they lost a third member of their family in a span of a few years, save the letters that Valdr was able to get to Drast.

"Well, Valdr is home and betrothed.. I'm me, Kailani has been going steady with Torvald, so you know father would have approved. Arabella is training under Taldorak to be a weapons master.. and.. your twin, Isabella is a teacher, if you can believe it. Well, an assistant."

He would make his way over to his younger brother and pull him into a tight hug. "We've missed you. Truly, little brother." He grinned over at Kristen. "Even if you do stink."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Drast would let Kristen handle the business portion of the exchange, he was more focused on his siblings. It had been awhile. If there was a hint of sadness or jealousy that they had all gotten to live rather normal lives. Something he would never be able to do.

"Really? Yeah, dad would be chanting about the joining of the houses." Drast laughed. "Good for Kai, and Valdr. Maybe he'll calm down some once he's married."

He would curse as he was pulled into a tight hug and looked to Kristen for help. "Well, now I know that's a lie. You didn't miss me or you would have come to become one!" He laughed. He knew of Kav's secret, he suspected Kai of having magick too and maybe even his twin. But, he said nothing before breaking off the hug.

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen stayed quiet, allowing for Kavaros and Drastus to speak with one another, for it had most certainly been a great deal of time and here at last was their reunion. However much brotherly love their relationship entailed, Kristen did enjoy it immensely when two family members could put aside minor misgivings and squabbles and rejoice, be thankful for another, and to love and allow themselves to be loved.

Three things stuck out:

Their hug. Oh, it was so sweet to see! Drastus looked like he wanted to be anywhere but in his brother's embrace, but Kristen was scarce help. She merely watched with clasped hands tucked beneath her chin, bobbing up and down on the tips of her toes.

Kavaros making a tease at Drastus, which Kristen couldn't help but look offended at (sure, it was mostly in good-natured humor for her, mostly) and she exclaimed through a smile, "He does not!"

And the mention of Isabella. Kristen looked to Drastus then, the perk of her eyebrows and wow'ed expression saying it all: You have a twin? You have a twin!

Once the hug was parted, Kristen spoke.

"If I may intrude to answer your question, Kavaros, we are seeking someone knowledgeable of the Orcish language. We've a strange message, procured from a most unusual source, and whatever danger it might pose to Vel Numera is for us to discover."

Drastus Tal'deneshaar Kavaros Tal'deneshaar

 

[Kavaros Tal'deneshaar]

When he taunted his brother, the most unexpected thing happened. Kristen stood up for him. There was something more to the smile that he just couldn't quite put a finger on. But, he just responded with a smile. "You're right... you both do." He taunted with a laugh. "We didn't see a campfire, i followed by scent."

As they parted the hug, she once more piped up, but with the information that was requested of him. The face prior to that also didn't go unnoticed. "Orcish? That will be in either Tar'shan.. Lusty Roulette given the time you get there or.. the Caer."

He would roll his shoulders. "I take it Drast only talks about Valdr or mentions having siblings. Never any real details." He asked with a smirk, the very smirk she had seen on Drasts face so many times before. The eyes, the facial expressions, the family had some strong genes.

Kristen Pirian

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Drast didn't even need to defend himself, Kristen did it. But then Kav dragged her into the slander. "Hey now, we bathed with lavender."

Kav made a face. A thoughtful face, that would convey more hidden dialogue between the brothers.

When Kav listed the options, Drast cursed. "No.. no. No. No. I cannot take her into the Lusty Roulette! Thats like a million times be-worse then anywhere else! We would definitely get sidetracked."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

You're right... you both do.

The face Kristen made before doubled in intensity and reappeared again. This time, however, it was accompanied by an incredulous, breathless laugh and a glance to Drastus (one that practically screamed, Can you believe the audacity of your own brother?). Drastus took to the defense this time, but Kristen feared that Kavaros was far from teasing his last! Mayhap she needed to consult with a fellow Initiate to learn a few good teases, jests, and barbs of her own sometime.

Then, of course, came the specific mention of a very specific place.

Kristen's expression became one of tight-lipped puzzlement for a moment.

And to Drastus she said, "Should I ask...what, upon the green fields of Arethil, the 'Lusty Roulette' happens to be?"

Drastus Tal'deneshaar Kavaros Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Kavaros would take the chance to just exhibit a shit eating grin as he gestured to Drast, to let him inform the young Lady Pirian. Arms crossed, facial expression just betraying an eagerness as to see how his younger brother tried to spin it.

"Well, Kris, you see..." Drast began as he looked between the two of them. "The Lusty Roulette is an establishment that caters to the needs, desires, and wants of all patrons. They cultivate the skills of young men and women and allow them to express themselves in a purely artistic fashion. They also offer games of chance, musical shows, and other forms of entertainment."

Nailed. It. He gave his brother a look that said fuck you.

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen considered Drastus's answer, mulling it over in her mind for a moment.

And said, "Yet it is called the 'Lusty' Roulette."

She glanced to Kavaros. Then held up her hands in a resigned manner, with closed eyes and pursed lips.

"'Tis no matter. We shall attend to our necessary business and be done with it. I shan't let the setting of a house of ill repute stay our course."

And a bracing look to Drastus. A little bashful, a little guilty. "Please, um...should you meet with my mother Josephine, please refrain from telling her of this."

Oh, would the admonishment be endless!

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Kavaros Tal'deneshaar]

"Yeah, Drast. Its a brothel, you don't have to pretty it up for her." He laughed. "Welcome to Tar'shan, where the mayor owns the whore house." He would rub his face a bit.

"Well, I need to carry on with my duties.. and so should you two." He would give Drastus another hug, this one far more normal looking then the first. "Love you little brother, you be safe."

He then turned to Kristen and he would take her hand and kiss the top of it. "Lady Pirian. Look out for him, yeah?" He would grin and shoot her a wink, before stepping into the foliage and disappearing.

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Drast scratched his jaw. "Well yeah, kinda a brothel, but like Mayor Dusty was a bard and his wife was a city watch captain.. And like. Its all legal, a lot of it is classy." He didn't know why he was getting embarrassed or offended, a little bit of both.

"But yes, we will not get sidetracked. Because we have a job and duties, to do. Mhm. Yes, that is right." He would drive the point further home with a solid nod of affirmation.

Drast kinda laughed at her request. "Oh! Uh yeah, I would never tell your mom about that.. I haven't even met her and I think she'll hate me for slouching. Last thing I want is her to hate me for taking you to a brothel." He hoped not. For all the things he wished for him and Kristen, he severely hoped her mother would like him.

And just like that, his reunion with his older brother was over. He didn't realize how much he had missed him, how much he had just missed. And so when the hug came, he would finally give a real hug. "Yeah, you too, Kav." He would stand there after the hug broke and watched his brother go and disappear.

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

The Academy, harsh as it was, was nevertheless providing Kristen with necessary ordeals and adversities to overcome. All of it was a far cry from the noble life she'd left behind. But like Drastus and his offers of help in mounting and dismounting her steed, when Kavaros took her hand and kissed the top of it she smiled and the flush of her cheeks was one of pure excitement. Some things she would never tire of, and neither would the Academy wring their enjoyment from her.

"I shall," she said in parting to Kavaros, dipping in a farewell curtsy before he disappeared like a silent ranger back into the sparse foliage of the Jades' flat peaks.

And then she turned to Drastus.

"Well, I suppose it would be rather unbecoming of me to judge this Mayor Dusty and his entrepreneurial ventures before I have at least met him."

Kristen started towards her horse. Then smirked and said also, "Though Mother absolutely would judge anyone for slouching."

What could she say? Mother was quite particular about etiquette and decorum, oppressively so at times. But her heart was in a good place, and Kristen knew that she meant only to shape her children into respectable lords and ladies.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Drast watched the exchange between Kristen and he could have sworn from the brush he had seen two thumbs up. He could have just been imagining that, however.

Any such notions of response were squashed by the sudden acknowledgement of Kristen. "Why yes, indeed it would be most unbecoming. And as a Pirian, that just will not do, my lady." He teased with a grin.

This time, he would walk with her to her horse and at her words, he would immediately start toying with his posture, trying to stand as straight as possible. "She won't judge me for looking Kaliti, will she?" He asked after some thought. Though they had never been fond of the Empire, things along the Cortisi Coast were getting spicy, and sometimes that caused hysteria.

As they reached her saddle, he would help her up without waiting to ask. He even took the time to ensure her boots were snug within the stirrups. "Alright.. We're ready to continue on, m'lady." He would say with one of those winks as he looked up at her.

Her settled, he climbed up into his saddle. "Alright, let's go." He would dig his heels into the side of his courser to get it moving.

*****

The Fork
​

After some hours of riding east, the sun would rise high above them, yet thankfully the trail beside the river offered some overcast. Between the shade and the cool breeze along the water, they would find a pleasant leg of the trip. "Let me know when you want to break for water or food. We have about another hour until the fork, from there we will follow the southern arm of it. We can either stop in Paravel between the forks or... continue on. It's another six to eight hours to Tar'shan depending on how fast we ride."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

She won't judge me for looking Kaliti, will she?

"Heavens, no," she said, not concerned in the slightest. "Only if you had pointed ears."

Though she'd said it mostly in jest, still it was true of Josephine, of Kristen, of Vel Anir at large. The Revolution had come but old foes remained. Old animosities. The first time Kristen had even seen an elf was in Ostia Anir during the Canal mission, and while the campaign had done much to clarify the elven people to her, fighting against the Fellowship had also inevitably done some damage.

Off they rode.

* * * * *

THE FORK​

Kristen considered the options laid out, but, in truth, she really didn't need to. Her consideration was less so a process of deciding and more so a process of discovering that, yes, she already knew her answer.

"We ought to keep going, to make up for lost time and push on to Tar'shan."

Ah...nothing was quite so satisfying as getting back on track after some delay had caused tardiness. It soothed her punctual nerves.

"Granted, this will guarantee our arrival to be very late of hour, yes. But our hard day's worth of journeying will be rewarded with Tar'shan's hospitality."

Drastus Tal'deneshaar