Deserted Wanderlust Inn

Lower District of the Seeking, Fifth Ring.

One second, Tharia was fast asleep and dreamed about running a leaf smuggling operation with squirrels. A sudden slap to her face brought her right out of it. With the patience of someone used to an active sleeper, she first pushed Annabelle’s hand back to her side of the bed and freed herself from the entanglement of the silvery-hair menace.

Now wide awake, the young woman sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She quietly watched her friend. It was a divine miracle in itself how one woman could occupy two beds at once and still not have enough room for all her limbs. Not that Tharia was complaining. She just enjoyed the warmth and occasional soft touch of her friend. Minus the slaps, hair-strangulation and somehow never having enough blanket for the two of them. Alas, the sight of her sleepy friend was too cute to be mad for long.

Still, in a sleepy stupor, Tharia slipped out of the bed. The cold touch of the wooden floor underneath her feet brought her mind back into the present. It was night outside again. She felt drained, but with Annabelle still weakened, it was her call to run the show. The faded figure of the Holy Bethany floated just around the corner. Despite being an incorporeal spirit, even the barrier itself looked exhausted from being used for two weeks straight. Tharia quietly slipped out of the oversized nightgown and back into her day-cloths. She would need to scavenge for something else soon but food, necessities, and medicine had taken precedence so far.

Her fingers reached for the newest party member: A long axe she had looted on her first night out. It was an unwieldy thing she could only really lift with both hands. She gave it a quick examination for notches and fissures. The tool was still in good condition – certainly more useful than her empty pistol. She slipped into a simple overcoat and slung a leather bag over her shoulder.

“Tharia” the hoarse voice of Annabelle rang out. Tharia wasn’t quite in the mood to hear another delirious confession from someone in a sleepy stupor. She quickly slipped past the barrier before her friend could continue.

Halmengassli

Lower District of the Seeking, Fifth Ring.

Tharia hurried around the corner. A torrent of rain made it hard to see anything past an arm’s length, but she didn’t need to see to know it was chasing her. Her eyes caught sight of a scratch on the wall, her sign to jump now and lower her head at the same time. Something still clipped her short hair. The landing came with the usual assortment of ‘jolly’ pain, but Tharia was too hopped up on adrenaline to give a damn. She swirled around and brought up Mister Axe and waited.

The thing walloped around the corner with too much speed for its own good. It was a hybrid, but it had grown out of proportion into something else. With a wobbly neck the size of an arm, it could have been a funny sight. The teeth as long as a hand ruined that image, however.

“Muse”, it growled, “give back... Muse”

Tharia refocused her grip on the handle. The beast sniffed the air, its eyes were blinded but it still could tell where the human girl was. And there, it had found her scent! She grimaced but kept as still as she could. Her body was cold, the clothes were drenched to the bone and still more of the rain poured down on the city. The hybrid suddenly dashed forward. It saw the rope on the ground level but then got its head stuck in the razor wire just above. Sheer momentum pulled it forward where it came to stop just before Tharia. The human girl allowed herself a mad grin as she simply pointed the axe and then let the world’s pull do its job.

With traps, she didn’t need any finesse or talent. It was certainly something she’d need to look into at some point. She dislodged the long axe and then gave the hybrid two more hits, just to make sure it was dead. And another one, because the sound was funny to her ear and a fourth because she just thought of her sadistic brother. When she finally stopped, the alley looked rather gruesome, despite the rain’s best attempts to wash it all away. The girl rubbed the Sigil Ring and then knelt down next to the bloated body.

Most of the clothes had given way for the grossly expanded body but the pockets were still intact. She found a small cylinder in the jacket and took a sniff of it. Alcohol. This would do, if not for taste then for disinfection. Stowing the cylinder in her leather bag, she continued. No food here, nothing there and empty pockets as well. Tharia sighed and got back up on her legs. She quickly checked her back – it was habit born from feeling watched at all times. Here, it was pointless. The alley was safe with hundreds of traps making passage all but impossible unless you knew about them. She had found this place her second night out. Well, it wasn’t a deserted alley by any means.

No matter how many hybrids she lured into the traps, their corpses would be gone the next day over. Sometimes she saw something oddly shapeless move at the end of the alley but she and the thing had a silent agreement: Don’t go looking where it’s none of your business. She saluted the shadows and then went back out onto the street. The sound of breaking bones and gnashing teeth echoed from the alley.

Her path took her further away from the Inn every day. The city had once been picked clean months after it collapsed. This new happy riot of hybrids had started the day the Muse left. She passed decrepit looking humanoids to both sides of the street and ignored their muttering. They only ever knew one word anyways. The way their food reserves had depleted, she’d need to go to that place. A grim expression showed on her face.

It was something she had found on her third day. A bakery that was unlooted. Not too bad a find, safe for the guard-dog that was the size of two houses and had a mane of fire. She lifted her left hand up and stared at her fingers. The metal ring glinted in the moonlight. Tharia then made a fist and nodded to herself. Angry Firepuppy it was.

Tharia placed the empty bucket at the end of a plank. Water immediately started to collect in it and the plank started to tilt, so she quietly emptied the bucket, pushed the plank back a bit until it felt stable enough to hold, yet unstable enough for her purposes. Tharia then carefully climbed down the wooden scaffolding and back onto street level. To her left rested the monstrous dog. Whenever she looked at the thing, she discovered something new and utterly wrong about it. There were six legs. A mane of fire. Smaller heads growing out the side. A burning fur. Two tails. Grotesque flesh growths and a tiny nameplate just below its snout that said Fido. Tharia then suddenly slipped out of the overcoat and placed it on the ground. The sudden cold hit her like a carriage straight on, but this was part of her plan.

She then darted full force for the nearby alley and took the long way around until she came back to the small plaza and the bakery from the other side. Fido still sniffed the air. Monsters should not be this damn big. Tharia leaned her shivering body against the cold wall behind her, so she was out of sight and prayed the wind wouldn’t turn again. It didn’t. Yet slow and agonizing seconds turned to minutes. Had her silly plan failed?

She heard a sudden loud clang and rejoiced. With her head carefully peeking around the corner, she saw the scaffolding collapse once the bucket had gained enough water. It was mostly loud - but loud was her wish. The monstrous beast got up on its legs. It had a highly irregular walking pattern, despite the six legs, several of them seemed to limp. Tharia could certainly feel empathy for that. She waited until the burning dog had reached the scaffolding and then darted straight for the Bakery.

The beast suddenly growled and an intense flash of heat washed over her back. Faster, worthless legs, run faster. She reached the large door and slipped inside. There was no time to select the goods, she just grabbed what she could and put it in her leather bags. She even found a sausage and put it in for Annabelle. All that had taken seconds, yet her heart fluttered.

Back out the door, she saw the oversized guard-dog tear into her overcoat. Losing one piece of garment that stunk like skunk from too much hybrid blood, was a fair price to pay for a bag of food. She quickly made her way back into the alley and then headed home. Whatever home was.

Deserted Wanderlust Inn

Lower District of the Seeking, Fifth Ring.

She quietly stepped back into the barrier. By now, there was not a single dry spot on her left. She heard the sound of breathing and imagined Annabelle once again taking up the entire double-bed. A quick grin showed on her face. Tharia then placed down her leather bag and quickly sorted her loot. There was the cylinder of alcohol, various lumps of slightly stale bread and a sausage. She sorted the food, placed the stalest bread and the sausage aside, then stored the rest so it wouldn’t get staler that fast.

Tharia then stripped out of her clothes. It felt good to get rid of the wet fabric, even though the cold air on her skin made her shiver. For but a moment, she simply enjoyed the feeling of freedom it gave her to be in the nude until she realized that Annabelle might wake any second now. Feeling like a silly little girl, she quickly started to dry herself with a towel.

“Hello Fairy”, came the voice of Annabelle and Tharia suddenly wanted to disappear into the floor. She took a deep breath and then continued drying herself as if she hadn’t heard Annabelle. Once she was done, she wrapped another towel around her nude frame and picked up the sausage and the piece of bread. She made a show out of walking over towards the bed, even though it hurt to do so. Right, one more for feeling silly. Annabelle sat upright, sleepy, weary and weak.

“Found something for you”, Tharia said and threw Annabelle the sausage. Her friend caught it out of the air and nodded.

“Thank you”

“Aye. Move over. I’m exhausted”, Tharia said and slumped down right next to Annabelle, “It’s high time we get back on the road. It’s getting ugly out there, won’t be long until someone sees our room glow in the dark. How are you feeling?”

“Still a bit weak but look”, Annabelle said and raised her hand while wriggling each of the fingers, “The feeling is back and I can move them again”

Tharia showed a pained smile and tried to hide it by eating her bread. It was a miracle that her friend was alive and feeling well. It hadn’t taken just a few days but weeks and every day, Tharia had worked herself to complete exhaustion. It was a steady rhythm of waking up, procuring new resources, then get back into bed and heal until she fell fast asleep right there. Speaking of which, she took another bite and then crawled behind Annabelle. Once there, she placed a leg to either side of her friend and then leaned close.

For a bit, she simply siphoned off the warmth. There was nothing sexual about the gesture but it was an intimate moment. She then pushed herself back up again and finally reached her mind towards her tiny spark. With a simple command, all feeling vanished from her lower half. Tharia placed her hands on Annabelle’s back and enjoyed the touch of the body underneath the thin nightgown her friend was wearing. There was nothing sexual about it. Well, maybe a little bit, going by how warm she started to feel. She shook her head clear and started to pour healing energy through her hands. Her wounded companion let out a groan as waves of healing washed over her. Like this, they remained quiet until Annabelle broke the silence.

“You’ve become a quiet girl”

Tharia raised her eyebrows and moved her hands in gentle circles to distribute the energy. It was half massage and half healing, both important parts in getting Annabelle back on her feet.

“Hm, is that so, Annie? Well, give me a compliment then”

“What would that do?”

“Well, I’d like it and it would make me nervous. I mostly talk when I’m nervous”, Tharia said with a smile on her lips. It’s not like she wasn’t aware of it herself. Her incessant stream of words could drive people into fits of pure anger, which usually just made her habit even worse. But lately, she had grown silent. Something inside of her had simply broken.

“You look beautiful”, Annabelle said with her signature flat tone. Tharia couldn’t help but burst into loud laughter.

“What?!” Annabelle barked. An ever so tiny bit of anger showed on her face, mostly visible by a slight frown and hectic eye movement. Tharia patted both her hands on Annabelle’s shoulders in an attempt to disarm that ire.

“Relax, Annie. For starters, I know of mirrors. Tell me something to believe in. Furthermore, your tone is just too funny“

Annabelle suddenly turned around. Tharia found herself at the center of attention as the grey eyes fixed her own. A weird mood took hold in her, she felt her muscles tense as her subconscious guessed what was about to happen. Annabelle suddenly put both hands on Tharia's neck and pulled the smaller girl close. Tharia saw her friend close her eyes and the next second, she was drawn into a gentle kiss. At that moment an entire horde of cheeky butterflies exploded in her stomach. It took her a while to notice the two hands on her shoulders slowly inching downwards. It sent a jolt to her belly and made her shudder.

Annabelle broke the kiss for a second, cold air touched Tharia’s lips before they were once again locked with her friend. This really felt rather nice and that was part of the problem. With a sudden groan, Tharia pushed the hands aside and then broke the kiss.

“Annabelle, I’m sorry. I don’t know when and how you started to feel this way about me. But - I’m a mess, Annie. This needs time to grow properly before I lose myself again”

Annabelle turned around. Even someone unfamiliar with her sparse emotions could tell she felt rejected. With her lips ever so slightly quivering, the silver-haired girl spoke.

“I know that. It’s just that, I had hoped but perhaps eventually and...”

And here she was tripping over words again. Tharia gave her a gentle nudge but Annabelle freed herself from the touch.

“Allow me two questions and I want you to be brutally honest. Did you love me?”, the sulking girl asked.

Tharia pulled her hands back and wrapped them around her slim chest. Bad memories boiled over. What she had felt up and until that day was intense longing the likes of which she had never found again. But come that day, love wasn’t the right word for it.

“Yes”, Tharia finally replied, “I did”

“And when I left?”

The honest answer would hurt both of them but she couldn’t bring herself to lie at this point either. Tharia took a deep breath, nervousness took over the part of her brain responsible for talking.

“From the bottom of my heart. It was hatred. I still hate you, you know? But I also want to love you. It’s both of these things. When we met, you, well, that. But you stuck around and we survived together. As one. Yet I see your looks and they frighten me. At times, it’s like you still want me dead and then suddenly, with hunger in your eyes, it’s like you’re looking for a different type of death”

Silence fell upon them. It was a quiet, that was broken by the silent sobbing of Annabelle. Tharia felt awful for what she had said. Yet, these words had to be spoken. Pushing them aside would work for a gloriously lustful week or two, perhaps a month and then the lovey-dovey clouds would make for the mess underneath.

She quietly moved closer to Annabelle with an awkward sideways crawl and found her friend pull away again.

“Tsk!”

Tharia slung her arms around Annabelle and pulled herself close. Once there, she prevented further escape by locking her arms into Annabelle’s. Tharia then rested her chin on Annabelle’s shoulder. She leaned closer until her body touched the back of the crying girl.

“Stop running away and listen until the end, you numbskull. Listen to me", Tharia said and nudged the nape of Annabelle’s neck with her nose.

“Don’t be so impatient. Let’s build this together. I’m not rejecting you, okay? Yes, I feel for you. Not the mad rush of true first love but it’s a good feeling and one I want to build upon. It was a good kiss too, bypassed all my defenses. Now relax, heal up. I’ve got something for you once you’re better and...”, Tharia just didn’t stop until many minutes later. Annabelle had fallen to silence and Tharia resumed the healing. Quiet minutes turned to hours and really, those were pleasant memories too. Just being close to her was a good thing indeed. Somewhere along the way, Annabelle had fallen asleep again. She carefully nudged her friend back onto the bed and continued working her magic for many hours yet to come.

Only then did she allow herself to fall back down onto the bed. All strength had left her. Every moment came with a weary ache to it. Still, she reached under the bed and grabbed her nightgown. A small pouch fell out of it.

She put the pouch aside, unwrapped the towel and then slipped into the Nightgown. Small luxuries went a long way to deal with her own exhaustion. Tomorrow she would give the gem to Annabelle. Tonight, she would sleep. But before that... she reached down and pushed Annabelle back onto her side of the bed. Then she reached for the blanket and pulled it to her side. Just as Tharia finally came to rest in the bed, a flat palm slapped down on her shoulder.

“Gods be cursed”, she murmured and huddled herself into her tiny corner of the bed.

End: Raindrops | Coming up: Last Knight of the Rose