Chapter 21 - Getting the Girl

Sitting amongst her terriths, Maltetious heavily sighed. One of her pets came up and began to lick her face, making her giggle as she forced the animal’s snout away from her own.

“Yes yes I know I need to cheer up. I’m just a little jealous that’s all.”

She continued looking into the images that had sprang to life from a pool of water in front of her. Watching Michael and Taen try to comfort Chris, she rested her head on her knees and wrapped her arms around her legs. She began rocking back and forth, muttering to herself as she did. “I wonder what it’s like to have TRUE friends. Other than you of course!”

She began giggling as the territh started licking her legs. “That tickles you silly brute!”

Looking down at the pool again, she shifted her focus to Taen. “He is quite a handsome man, for a mortal anyways. Don’t you think so? I wonder what he thinks of me. He doesn’t seem to respond much when I try to show him affection, but when I get mad and punish him he doesn’t respond to that either. It’s as if he’s emotionally numb. But he’s so smart! And he’s kind too!”

Turning to the territh who just stared at her a few inches away, she asked her pet a question: “What do you think, hmmm?! Oh I do wish you could talk, or that you were more intelligent. Or both. I wonder if he thinks I’m crazy too. Everyone seems to say it, so they must think it. Maybe I am crazy? Would a crazy person know if they’re crazy? Is what I did to them wrong?”

She lay back against the animal and blinked a couple times to clear her thoughts. The large orange moon looked as if it were a fire raging in protest against the night sky, but even she didn’t know exactly where this realm was located within the grand aspect of existence. She kind of just… resided here, and always had since she’d been born.

Placing a gentle hand on the territh beside her, she planted a loving kiss on the creature’s scaly neck. “Well it’s almost time for you to go you silly animal! Better get ready, you’re going to have some fun soon!”

***

A large well had been dug in the center of the village, and it stood about ten feet across. The Earthborn had sat down with their backs against its stone walls, Chris and Michael taking turns puffing on the pipe. Taen held Fluffy the rabbit and just relaxed as they sat in silence.

None of them said anything. They were just enjoying the night breeze as torch-light flickered out onto the nearby buildings, casting shadows that danced to the beat of a music unheard. It was getting warmer, winter was coming to an end and spring was on its way. A child about ten years of age ran past them with a toy clutched to his chest laughing as his little brother ran after him trying to get the toy back. Smiling, Taen remembered how he used to play with his brothers as a kid. They would often dig up ant piles, taking many of the ants as well as the larva and putting them in bug catchers. There they were able to watch the ants create networks of tunnels through the glass, watched them store the larva and food, it fascinated him then just as much as it did now. Looking down at a nearby ant pile, he was tempted to do something like that again. Though unfortunately he had no bug catcher.

The silence continued for another ten minutes before Taen spoke, “We should call him MR. Fluffy, instead of just Fluffy.”

“Agreed.” Chris nodded his head as Michael inhaled smoke slowly from the pipe.

“You look really high.”

“I am really high.”

“Chris, why do you smoke so much?”

Stopping and looking over at Taen, Chris shrugged mischievously. “I guess it just makes me feel good, feel happy. That’s all there really is to it.”

“I see.”

Then there was a moment of silence, and the three friends sat there together while enjoying the serenity of the fresh outdoors. The mountain peaks were still rather pretty even at night, and the numerous stars above gave them all pause to think about how much light pollution back on Earth truly ruined the beauty of nature.

“May I join you?” came a timid voice from behind the three. Turning to their left, they all saw Erin clasping her hands together anxiously awaiting their reply.

“You wana meet Mr. Fluffy?” asked Taen, holding the rabbit up.

Her anxiety immediately fell away. Smiling she took the rabbit, and as it clawed its way up her tunic to sniff her face - she started to giggle. Sitting down in front of them with Mr. Fluffy, she hesitantly looked to Chris. “Can we talk?”

“And that’s our cue to leave, come - peasant!” Taen announced: getting up and kicking Michael hard in the side.

Michael let out a yelp and scowled. “That was completely unnecessary!”

But in the end, and after another light kick from Taen, he did grudgingly get up and followed his friend back towards the trading post.

Erin was watching Chris who sat there motionless only a few feet from her. The pipe sat smoking beside him on the ground, and nervously he began to light it again. Minutes passed and nothing was said. Erin played a little bit with Mr. Fluffy and then looked up again. “Mr. Fluffy huh? Is this one of the rabbits from Connie’s place?”

“... Yeah, it is. I traded a flute and some wooden horses for it.”

Holding the rabbit out to Chris, he shook his head. “You can put him down, he won’t run very far.”

Setting Mr. Fluffy down it scampered a few feet away and started grooming itself. Erin got up, walked over to where Chris sat against the stone wall of the well, and sat down. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she took his arm and put it around her shoulders. She then leaned against him and exhaled slowly, causing Chris to get even more nervous as his face reddened.

“You saw him kiss me didn’t you?”

“No...” admitted Chris with a skip in his heartbeat. “But I guessed at it. Though it’s not any of my business what you do Erin.”

She frowned. “I didn’t want to do that you know. I wasn’t expecting it when it happened.”

Uncomfortable with Erin staring at him like that, Chris looked away and gulped. “It’s fine.”

She timidly began to move in closer, rubbing up against him. “You were ok with it? Because I wasn’t.”

Looking back down at her, Chris nearly stuttered as the anxiety grew. “I-I mean, I didn’t like it if that’s what you’re asking. But I wasn’t about to stop it, I don’t have any right.”

Looking to Mr. Fluffy, Erin chuckled wryly and lowered her eyelids. “You know, Verick and I have been good friends since I was four years old. He’s liked me all the while since then, and he’s not a bad person. But I don’t feel that way about him, and when I told him so... he took it really hard.”

Chris brightened with a poorly hidden grin. “I would have taken it pretty hard too.”

Bringing a huge smile to Erin’s face, she blushed and looked up into his eyes again. “I know we don’t know each other very well Chris, and I know that pledging a life debt was a bit extreme. But over the past days, I’ve come to really like you. I’m glad you’re the one who took the stone that night.”

She forced all her willpower into being brave. Pulling Chris forcefully by his shirt, Erin brought his face down and kissed him gently as Mr. Fluffy made his way hopping over to where they sat.

“STOP IT! STOP IT NOW!” screamed Michael from down the road in high pitched glee, “YOU’RE GOING TO TRAUMATIZE POOR MR. FLUFFY!”

Not more than a moment later, Taen could be seen tackling Michael and dragging him back into the trading post by his arms as he flailed about laughing like an obnoxious maniac.

As the door slammed shut behind Taen, Chris looked down to see a very embarrassed Erin.

“Don’t mind him,” Chris said, “He’s always like that. You’ll get used to it.”

She laughed and hugged Chris tightly, burying her petite frame against his body.

“So I take it you’ll be traveling with us from now on then?” He asked hopefully. She merely nodded her head against him with a small hum of acknowledgement, and he felt a surge of warmth light his insides. “That makes me very happy to hear it.”

***

Not more than half an hour later, Chris walked through the door of the trading post with Erin asleep in his arms. Mr. Fluffy was perched on top of her and when they got inside the rabbit was sat down onto the floor after the door had shut behind them. Connie, Gaften, Taen and Michael all sat expectantly looking up at Chris from their stools around the table.

“She fell asleep,” Chris said looking down and smiling at her. “Where should I put her?”

Connie motioned Chris to follow him to the back. Coming to a room, she motioned inside to a vacant bed. “You two can sleep here. Your other friends will have to sleep on the floor though, this is the only spare bed we have right now. Our other one was sold.”

“Oh! OHH! He gets the girl AND the bed?! Life is so unfair sometimes,” said Michael with a swig of his drink as he leaned back against a dresser. He bobbed his head to the side. “Want some cider Chris? Tastes pretty good.”

“Sounds amazing,” replied Chris with a smile as Taen handed him a mug.

Connie sat down next to Chris and Gaften with a blank expression. “Gaften and Verick told me what happened.”

There was an awkwards silence after her words. Not knowing what to say, Chris just sat there with his mug looking down at the table. He hadn't done anything wrong, so why did he feel like the bad guy?

Connie tapped on the table with her plump fingers to make a rhythm, disappointment obvious upon her appearance. “Verick told me what you said, about how Erin should choose and that you gave her permission to marry him if she wanted to do so. I thank you for that.”

Getting up, she took the sugared nuts down to pass around the table. “She ended up saying no, as you probably know by now. He took it pretty hard, but he wanted me to apologize for him. He ended up staying the night at a friend’s house across the village and doesn’t want to be here for now, so he told me to tell you that he’s sorry."

Chris was surprised, and his eyes were torn from the table beneath him to curiously watch the woman fiddle with her dress. “It’s not a problem, and when you see him next - please tell him I said thanks.”

“Does Verick usually sleep here?” asked Taen.

Gaften shook his head. “Sometimes, but he travels a lot. We used to have a room for him upstairs, but now it’s a storage room and he usually sleeps in the back when he’s here.”

“I thought he worked here with you two?”

“He does, but he brings supplies in between the trading posts in various villages more often than working here at the counter. Or at least he was before the bandits showed up this time around.”

Taen scratched his head and raisd an eyebrow in the dim light of the small wooden house. “So the bandits first showed up three years ago and left. Then they came back once a year since then, right? How many villages have been raided? Why haven’t the locals defended themselves?”

Connie’s facial expression changed to one of anger. “The lords of this land have been ignoring us and sending their armies, along with our sons, to fight in their civil war instead of protecting us. Last year a number of the villages came together and formed a coalition to face the bandits, but many of them were older men or ones too young to fight. They all died. No major resistance since then has been formed, and we just hope that the lords come to protect us in the meantime.”

Michael interjected, “Why don’t you just leave?”

“And go where?” asked Connie sharply, throwing her hands up to either side. “Our entire livelihoods are here, our farms are here, our families are here. If we go to the cities, we will be homeless and treated like garbage and as beggars. We don’t have many options left to us. The most we can do is hope that the slavers leave and don’t come back, or hope that help will come to rescue us. I truly hope that it has already arrived, after the things I have seen today.”

Gaften coughed into a closed fist and nodded briskly. “Yeah I must admit I was downright terrified when the mad numen showed up at our home. Never seen a numen before. She isn’t supposed to like Agnude or his followers much. It vexes me that she would help us now, but I’m not complaining.”

“Wasn’t it a sight though?! What a beauty!” Conny exclaimed. “I have never seen such a beautiful woman before!”

Michael outwardly sneered and then spat to the side in disgust. He folded his arms, and scowled at both of them. “Maybe on the outside, but she’s a monster on the inside.”

Connie examined his expression curiuosly, and then began to laugh. “She didn’t seem to like you nearly as much as these other two, I could tell that much! And she did seem very odd… but I wouldn’t say she seemed insane like all the stories say.”

“She would light us on fire, throw us off cliffs to our deaths and have us eaten alive along with various other things that amused her over the years!” replied Michael with a deepening scowl. “Then she’d bring us back to life to do it all over again. Thankfully, she doesn’t have the power needed to continually resurrect us here like she did in her realm. Otherwise I’m sure we’d be tortured terribly here as well.”

Connie suddenly looked horrified, the light of nearby candles flickering across their bodies and the sudden onset of silence made it seem awfully eerie.

“That could be both a good and a bad thing, depending on the situation.” stated Chris. “It means we need to be more careful here, if we die it could be permanent.”

Gaften chortled and slapped his belly with a grin. “I’ve never thought of death as anything but permanent! You three must lead very interesting lives.”

The wind outside began to pick up, and the shutters of one of the windows began to blow open just as Connie ran over to latch it shut.

Chris raised a finger in question. “By the way Gaften, earlier you had said you hadn’t seen Earthborn in over a decade. So... you have seen them before though?”

Gaften nodded. “Oh yes. Just two, they were part of a wizard guild that passed through one of the cities to the northwest about twelve years ago. I got to talk to them for some time, nice fellas. They’re probably fighting in the civil war right now if I had to guess. I’ve heard rumors of a larger number of Earthborn appearing in waves for the past couple of months. It may become more common to meet them now.”

From further down and up the hallway, they heard light footsteps. The door to the back room creaked open as Erin sleepily walked in. Looking around she spotted Chris, and yawning she came over and with both hands lightly tugged on his arm without saying anything. She just gave him a meaningful stare, and continued to persistently tug.

“Guess I’ve gotta go.” Chris side with a wide but apologetic smile to the others. “I’ll see y’all later.”

Leading Chris by the hand they walked through the door as the others waved and said goodnight. Erin got into bed and waited for Chris to do the same. Throwing the blanket over both of them she nestled up against him, throwing a leg over his and drawing him closer. After a short while and a couple adjustments, they had both fallen asleep.