Topic: The Adventures of Kith, the Cat, and the Khatun
Subject: Little Kithran Pt. 3 of 5: The Adventures of Kithran and Tara
28th Day, Sempore, 437 E.R., Coria City, Coria
Kithran can feel the sun as it presses in through the window in Tara’s room. It warms her feet through the blankets first, then her legs, her stomach, and she is able to ignore it all until it finally finds her face. She scrunches her eyes closed tighter and rolls onto her stomach, throwing an arm out to find Tara. Her eyes flip open as she hits nothing and she sits up, looking around the modest room, “Tara?” She had left her? Without so much as a goodbye this time? She was just gone? But she always said goodbye. Was it because Kithran would get really sad when she had to say goodbye and she didn’t want to have to worry about a sad, weeping little girl again? Would she really be waiting for her in Calestra, or would she become restless as she always seemed to do and leave without her then as well? And then when would she see her again? Would she even be in Coria in the upcoming months? Did it even matter to her? “Tara?!”
She hears footsteps racing down the hall before the door swings open and the blonde, crimson-clad woman bursts through, "Yes? Sorry, I had to take care of some things before we left. What is it?" Tara walks over to sit next to her on the bed, "Are you okay, darling?"
The half-Syl narrows her face into a scowl and turns away.
Tara leans on her elbow, tilting her head to try to meet her eyes, "What is it? Come now, tell me.” She pokes the girl’s shoulder, “Did you have a bad dream?"
Kithran shakes her head, refusing to look at her.
The Maiden taps her lip as it curls up to the side, "Hmm, is it because . . . you missed me?"
The girl's mouth thins into a line and Tara chuckles, "Ah, so I am getting closer. Let's see, is it--oh no," she hops onto her knees in front of Kithran and takes her face into her hands, "Darling, did you think I left you?"
The anger melts from Kithran's facade now that she cannot hide from her and she nods, leaning forward to hug Tara and cover how close she is to letting her tears fall. Tara holds her tightly, "I would never leave you without warning like that, you must know that by now," she leans back and presses her forehead to the teary-eyed girl's forehead, "I am not her. I am not like her. I will always come back for my little Kithran, okay?"
Kithran nods again and Tara rests back on one of her arms, smiling sweetly again and patting the relieved little girl's messy little head, "Good, because I've actually done quite the opposite. I went to speak with your father this morning, and he has agreed to let you travel with us to Calestra. It is one of his next destinations after all, and he thinks for some gods forsaken reason that you listen to me better than him. So what do you think? Would you like to come along with me and give life as a Maiden a try?"
Kithran tackles the maiden and she laughs, giving the girl another squeeze, "I'm glad you approve, since I just dragged your belongings the entire way back here. You have so many dresses, child." She sits up and scoots toward the edge of the bed, "Oh, and speaking of ‘your belongings’, your father was quite upset when I pointed out all of the trinkets you had hidden around the stall."
Kithran shoots up and glares at her with her still-puffy eyes, "Why?! Those are mine!"
"I am positive they are not yours, but from one sticky-fingered peach to another," she holds up a hand and wriggles her fingers, "I swiped them all back for you." The odd mixture of frustration, gratitude, and admiration that flits across the young girl's face warms Tara's heart, "Perhaps I will give you some advice on how to refine your craft along the way as well. I am rather incredible at it."
"A little too good sometimes, Tara," Kithran grumbles back.
Tara’s eyebrows pop up questioningly, "Oh, not interested then?"
"I am!"
The blonde maiden grins, "I thought as much. Now, I'm going to change out of this dress and into my leathers, go on and get ready yourself, darling. We'll be leaving within the hour."
And with that, Kithran leaps off the bed, rushing to prepare for her next adventure with Tara.
* * *
Her wrist is caught before her fingers even reach the pocket, and Tara raises it up over her head. Several other Laughing Maidens crowd them and live up to their jovial titles, as they watch their resident thief toy with her ward, “Tsk tsk tsk, unlucky. You’re still giving yourself away, darling,” she drops the arm and leans over on her horse to look the girl in her eyes as they pass over the Indigo River, “You show me what you're aiming for each time with your eyes and your hesitation. Whenever I’ve taken anything from you, I’ve always looked you square in the eyes while I did it. Speaking of which,” she holds a sparkling dragonfly pin up between the two of them, “who did you manage to swipe this from?”
Kithran pat the pocket of her red dress on the far side of her body away from Tara, “How, Tara? How?” She snatches at the dragonfly pin while Tara laughs at her and her blonde mentor allows her to take it back.
“I told you, first be quick in your mind,” she puts her gleeful face in Kithran’s face so close and so quickly this time the half-Syl nearly slides off her horse as she jerks away, “then in your hands,” and Tara holds the pin up once more.
Kithran’s eyes drop to her hands, empty now save for the reins, and she groans, “How. Are. You. Doing this?!”
Tara holds the pin back out to her, “When all else fails, you need only be quicker than your opponent, Kithran, whether in your mind, your hands, or in your feet if you are caught.”
The girl grumpily pockets the baker’s stolen pin once more, “I am the fastest among my Corian friends of Fortune.”
“I have no doubt that you are,” she says, unabashedly proud, “but be that as it may, I have many more years of practice than all of you--an entire sixteen on you, in fact. But not to worry,” a wand seemed to appear in her hand from nowhere and she tapped Kithran on the shoulder with it, “we’ll find you a lot of practice among this gro--”
“Tara!” A curly-haired maiden on the other side of her mentor yelled, “Give me back my wand!”
Tara grinned at her ward before turning back to her friend and handing it over, “Apologies Esme, I was just--” Kithran could have sworn she saw Tara’s arm twitch just then, “--trying to make a point. I will stop taking your wand.”
Esme nodded at their thief and rode ahead to avoid any further harassment. Tara turned back to Kithran, now holding out an apple, “Hungry, darling? You were looking peckish and I just so happened to find this on a greedy, but frighteningly powerful sorceress just now.”
Kithran’s smile nearly split her face in two as she laughed at the sticky-fingered maiden and took the apple from her hand.
Tara beamed, watching the girl, grateful to have been able to spend as much time with her as possible before she left for Sendria. Her smile wavered a bit just thinking about it. Kithran was going to be so upset with her when she broke the news, and she was going to be away for such a long time.
As if she could read her thoughts, the half-Syl girl looked up at her with a mouthful of the sorceress’ apple, “Whadd’re you rooking at? Do you wan’ bite?”
The maiden shook her head, “Very generous, but I stole that for you.”
“Mkay,” she chewed a few more times and swallowed hard, “why are you staring at me?”
Tara shrugged, “I just love you and am happy you’re here.”
The girl’s eyes went wide for a moment before settling again, and she gave the maiden a small smile back, “I love you too, Tara,” she mumbled, “thank you for bringing me.”
“My pleasure, darling. Oh,” she holds up the glittering dragonfly pin for the third time, “are you just giving this to me or what?”
Kithran’s mouth dropped open as she reached into her empty pocket, “HOW?!”
* * *
“All that traveling, all your life with your father, and this is the first time you’ve slept simply under the stars?” Tara lay several feet from the fire so as to better see the constellations, one arm beneath her head, and the other outstretched for the girl buried in her shoulder.
Kithran shrugged, “It was always cozy and warm in the wagon.”
The maiden chuckled and Kithran looked indignantly up at her, "What are you laughing at?"
Tara silently picked out the stars she knew while she answered, "Is it not a warm and cozy night tonight, Kithran? It is summer. It is always warm and cozy here in the summer. And you do travel in the summer, yes?"
"Well, yeah," she mumbled, "but . . . ."
"But?"
"But . . . ."
"But you wanted to cuddle and your father prefers to sleep inside."
The upset half-Syl pushed herself up away from Tara in order to give her the full force of her glare. "That's not why!" Tara rolled her eyes dramatically, "It's not! I just prefer to sleep insi-"
The maiden poked the inside of the elbow Kithran was leaning on in such a way that it jerked backward and she fell forward.
Tara pulled her back down against her with little protest, "It's okay, my cuddly little Kithran," she teased, "I am a cuddler too."
"That's true." One of the more muscular maidens, Serena, called from a few feet away, "She once tossed my broadsword aside, nearly into the fire, to make room for herself. It was disrespectful."
Kithran looked up questioningly at Tara, who shrugged, "Serena makes me feel safe," she turned to the fierce maiden, "Look at yourself, Ser."
"I didn't say I didn't understand," she grinned, "or that I didn’t allow it to happen. It was just disrespectful."
"She holds me very tightly," Tara teases back. She can feel Kithran laughing quietly and gives her a squeeze, “See? Don’t ever feel shame in the things you enjoy or the things that you want, alright?”
Kithran was about to agree when Esme’s voice resonated from the other side of the thief, “Unless it’s taking other people’s wands and apples, Tara.”
The thieving maiden shouted back at her, “The child was starving, Esme. What did you want me to do?”
The sorceress sat up, looking pointedly at Kithran, “You were not starving, were you?”
The half-Syl girl looked up at her sadly, her eyes bright and mirthful in the moonlight, “Dreadfully, Esme, thank you for sharing with me.”
Many of the other maidens around them chuckled at her response and Esme scoffed, rolling her eyes nearly as hard as Tara had, and laying back down.
Several moments passed in silence, save for the crackling of the campfire they lay around, and the light rustling of grass beneath the feet of those keeping watch.
Kithran’s eyes grew heavy as they stared up at Tara’s face, listening to the soft, rhythmic beating of her heart while the maiden herself stared up into the sky. Lit by the movement of the fire, she watched the contented smile at the corner of the maiden’s mouth, and was happy Tara seemed happy she was there.
1st Day, Olemra, 437 E.R., Elanfalee
Kithran and the Laughing Maidens rode into Elanfalee by midday, and made their way first to Shinara’s temple. The young half-Syl was well acquainted with this city, a beautiful, delicate blend of Sylvari and human life and buildings-roots larger than the homes and neighborhoods they wrapped themselves around, buildings that seemed to emerge from stone and tree. It felt ancient and new all at once, and Kithran was excited to play around in it once again.
She could spot the curious young Lovers as their group traveled through the city. They leapt from tree to building, ran along the vast rooted veins, and disappeared into the brush. Kithran grew more and more excited with each step. They were going to go wild when she told them her story about falling through the roof.
She turned to Tara, still grinning at the thought, when she met the woman’s weary brown eyes, “What?”
Tara sighed and motioned her to the side of their company, then grabbed the reins out of the girl’s hands and Kithran’s face fell.
“Go on then.” Tara nodded to her friends.
“Really?!”
“Do not break anything. And if you do, do not get caught. Understood?”
Kithran grinned and nodded enthusiastically.
“Good, darling. Remember, mind first, then hands. And get to the temple before sundown.”
Kithran was still nodding as she slid off her horse.
In awe, Tara watched as she instantly leapt up the side of a house and disappeared up into the trees beyond, all while only slightly destroying her green dress. The maiden was considerably impressed, and also realized why Randel purchased so many dresses for his reckless daughter.
The day passed too quickly, and not quite wildly enough, but by the time she entered the temple, she was both relieved and surprised that Tara was not there to greet her.
“My word,” their young blonde healer, Serah, gasped as Kithran enter the hall, “Tara warned that you might be in some kind of, of state but . . . what happened to you? You are sopping wet.”
Kithran stopped and water from every inch of her began to pool at her feet. She wiped the soggy hair out of her eyes, “Tara isn’t here?”
Serah motioned her to follow, “No, she will be out for the night, but she usually stumbles back in later in the evening.” Serah shook her head, and Kithran wondered at the disapproving air she let off, but the healer continued, “Now go on, Kithran, tell me what happened.”
Her lips tightened and she looked up at the healer, “Will you promise not to tell Tara?”
“Yes, of course.” Serah found a blanket to wrap around the girl and continued to her room.
“I jumped into a well.”
Serah stopped, “You did what?”
“I jumped into a well.”
The young cleric hesitated, trying to imagine what the girl meant, “You were, leaning too far over and someone accidentally pu--”
“No, I jumped in.”
Serah sighed and continued on their way, “Okay then. Tara did warn me, and I’ve known my fair share of young Lovers. But why?”
Kithran shrugged, “It looked like fun.”
“Was it?”
“It was okay.”
Serah shook her head, but a smile grew on her soft features, “Sounds like Fortune’s Favor did not decide to fall on you tonight.”
Kithran grinned back and shrugged, “Fortune favors who it favors, Serah,” and the maiden laughed with her in reply.
2nd Day, Olemra, 437 E.R., en route to Settlestone
Tara looked terrible as they made their way out of Elanfalee the next morning. Kithran wasn’t sure what time she had come back the night before, but she had woken up to the maiden half-dressed and breathing her awful breath right on her face. Now the woman was nearly falling asleep on her horse.
Tara had pleaded at one point with Serah to call on Shinara for some sort of blessing that would make her feel better, but Serah told her she had warned her and refused. Kithran could not understand the cleric's reaction at all, she felt bad just looking at her. She had even approached her at one point to tell her about the well and maybe coax a smile out of her, but she had only gotten to, “Yesterday I jumped into-” before Tara held up a palm without looking at her and begged her, “Please, I can’t right now, Kithran.”
It wasn’t until midday, after she had drank all of her water, the majority if Kithran's, and kept down a chunk of nut bread Esme begrudgingly parted with, that color began to return to her cheeks, and Kithran was able to tell her about the well.
Tara was not pleased about the well, but she was glad Kithran hadn't broken anything.
Kithran decidedly did not tell her about any of the things she had broken.
* * *
Tara's eyes flitted open and she gently rustled the young girl draped across her chest, pressing a hand over her mouth as she started to protest. She slowly rolled over, so that the fire was at her back, taking the girl with her and keeping her from the flame, “Sorry darling, things are going to be a bit overwhelming for you for just a moment.”
The hand slowly came off her mouth as the half-Syl’s eyes caught movement in the flames, “Look at me Kithran,” she began softly, and waited for the girl’s flighty eyes to meet hers, “they are going to take me away from you. When they do, I want you to go and hide in the bushes right behind you, okay? Once you’re in there, move to a different location so they won’t know where to look for you. Try to be very quiet.”
Terror and understanding washed over Kithran’s face and Tara can feel her breathing quicken. She kissed the girl’s forehead and grinned, “There is no place for fear among Shinara’s flock. And besides, this is the fun part, darling.” The light dimmed behind Tara as a figure approached, “Get ready.”
“Well, look what we ‘ave over ‘ere,” he bent over and Kithran could see just how massive he is, accentuated by the meaty hand he reached out with for Tara, “'ope yer a lively one!” He wrapped his hand around her entire arm and yanked her up to her feet. As he did, Kithran did as she was told and scrambled to her own bare feet, diving into the thick brush that surrounded their campsite.
“Aye," the man called out, "and there’s a live one over there!”
Kithran looked briefly back toward the camp as she moved away from the spot she dove into, just as Tara had instructed her to do. She caught glimpses of the man, twice the maiden’s size, struggling to subdue her. At one point she thought she saw the woman scramble onto his back, repeatedly jabbing her palm into the back of his neck, but Kithran continued through the brush.
There were no other maidens to be seen and her fear rose as the realization. Had they taken them all? What happened to them? Were Kithran and Tara the only two left? Now there were just five other large, dirtied men with weapons searching around the campfire
When she looked back to check onTara again, the lithe woman was just leaping off of the body, now fallen facedown to the ground. She looked like a shadow as she looked around, and then disappeared, running off to melt into the dark surrounding the camp.
Suddenly a burst of fire erupted on the face of one of the men in the clearing and he screamed at the pain. Kithran, like the men, was unable to see where the blast came from, though they all searched fervently.
In the next moment the campsite is drenched in a bright light and all of those within its perimeter shout first in their blindness, then in pain. When her sight returns, Kithran can see several more maidens with various weapons drawn now bathed in firelight and blood, grinning over the fallen raiders.
She was about to pull herself out of the bushes when some rustling behind her caused her to freeze. Two hands grabbed her ankles, pulling her back from the clearing, “I knew I saw a small one tryna to flee.” He straddled her and began clumsily trying to pull her gown up.
“Tara!” Kithran screamed before the man slapped her across the face and went back to fumbling with the front of his pants. She tried to move, tried to break free, kick, punch, anything, but with one meaty hand he pressed her down at her chest and she was unable to move away from it.
She couldn't look away as he loomed over her, his pants nearly down as he repositioned himself, and his hand began to grope at her.
Then a palm appeared at the side of his neck, and Tara’s voice, colder than she’s ever heard it, hit her ears, “Close your eyes, Kithran,” but she didn’t, and she watched as the butt of the thief’s palm jerked forward. A blade slipped out of her sleeve and into the man’s jugular, before retracting again.
The man cried out and Tara’s palm jerked again, and again, and blood began to drip down onto Kithran’s gown. He swung weakly at the maiden but she easily jumped away, then lunged back at him with all of her strength, throwing him onto his back. She pulled Kithran's gown back down and then stepped over her, making her way to the man rolling on his back, and grasping at his neck. The young girl followed her movements, watching as she knealt above his head, her face twisted so far into a sneer that she seemed hardly recognizable. With one hand on the side of his face to keep him steady while he begged her for his life, she angled her other palm at the front of his neck, and looked back at Kithran, demanding behind her clenched teeth, “I told you to close your eyes.” This time she followed the order because she didn’t want to see anymore, though she did hear the blade release nine more times before Tara moved back to her.
“Alright darling, come along.”
Kithran opened her eyes and it was Tara again, normal Tara, and she clutched at her, pulling herself up with the maiden’s help. She wrapped her arms around Tara while she helped guide her out of the brush.
“Tara, I’m so sorry, I did what you told me to but, but--”
Tara squeezed her around her shoulders as they made their way to where the rest were gathered near the fire, “No need to be sorry, Kithran, none of what happened was your fault in any way. These were bad men. That was a bad man. They are at fault, not you.” She stopped when they were by the others and put both hands on the girl’s shoulders, “If anything, I am sorry that this is what your second night sleeping beneath the stars was like. I promise they are not all this way. You are not hurt are you?”
“A few scratches from the bushes.”
The corner of her lip twitched and she nearly rolled her eyes, “I mean from that man. He didn’t hurt you, did he? I came as fast as I could when I heard you, heard you . . ." her breath seems to quicken briefly, but she shakes it off, "He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“He slapped me really hard when I screamed, but that’s all.” Tara’s face began to twist in that way again but she shook her head once more and took a deep breath.
“If only I were a necromancer, so that I could raise him and kill him again.” She looked over at their healer, “Serah, please look Kithran over and make sure she’s okay, I have to take a walk.”
Serah turned to their thief, “A walk, Tara? Do you need company?”
She shook her head, “I won’t be too long, just have to clean up before this one mauls me again,” she gives the healer a little smile and pats her ward on her disheveled head, “Don’t talk about me when I’m gone,” and she walks off into the shadows.
Kithran looked to Serah when she couldn’t spy Tara anymore, “What is she doing?”
The young cleric shrugged, “It is difficult to say. She was scared when she couldn't find you after we took care of these lovely bandits. I was with her when you called out and I've never seen the color drain from one's face so quickly." Her eyes wander for a moment at the memory before settling again on Kithran, “Sometimes after things as brutal as this, we need some time to assess what's happened or could have happened. Fear isn’t a credence we of Shinara’s flock give much weight to, you see, so when it does hit us as hard as it can sometimes, it can take some time to, I suppose, get through it.”
She assesses the girl then, ensuring she has no wounds that would warrant the use of any of Shinara’s favor, “Life is made only of chance, and we are either granted Fortune’s Favor or we are not, as you so beautifully put it. All we can do is control our actions and reactions, so why worry? However, her case is a little different in regard to what happened with you back there in the bushes, as she did . . . .” Serah cut herself off, pausing in thought before continuing, “Has Tara told you anything of her past? Before she joined Shinara’s temple and the Laughing Maidens?”
Kithran shook her head.
“Ah, then perhaps when you two have a moment you should ask.”
“Do you think she’ll want to tell me about it?”
“Perhaps," she shrugged "there’s only one way to find out.” She put a hand on Kithran’s shoulder, “However, she loves you a great deal, ‘daaaarling’,” she teases in Tara’s voice, “I am sure you will find little hesitation from her if you ask her for her story.”
“I suppose,” Kithran grumbled, and the healer turned back to the few who had suffered some minor injury.
While the Maidens had nary a scratch on them, their attackers had been utterly demolished. They disposed of the bodies and spent some time moving and adjusting their campsite so as to keep away from the rot. Kithran wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but as her eyes grew heavy staring at the fire, she heard the light footsteps of her mentor approach and lay down behind her.
Tara had only just laid her arm over the half-Syl’s shoulders before Kithran rolled over and tackled her to her back as they had been sleeping before the attack, and she could feel the woman’s laugh as she rested her head once more on her chest. Instead of the leathers Tara was accustomed to sleeping in on the road, the Maiden had changed into her nightgown, which was much more comfortable to sleep on in Kithran’s opinion, and she smelled clean, as though she had just jumped out of the river.
"Thank you, Tara."
"Of course, my darling," Tara wrapped her arms tightly around Kithran once more, and fell asleep listening to her soft, safe breaths.
2nd Day, Olemra, 437 E.R., Settlestone
Settlestone is a cozy town, much like Kithran’s home in Stone’s Hollow. It isn’t vast or grand, like Calestra or Coria City, and it isn’t an exotic playground like Elanfalee. It is quieter, save for their local gathering spaces. A town full of folk working to get by, and drinking to get through the week. It was the perfect place for the cadre of Laughing Maidens to relax after their disruptive night.
As Settlestone could not boast of a temple or gambling hall dedicated to Shinara, the maidens rented whatever rooms they could all cram into at the inn and went about their day stocking up on what they could for the last leg of their trip, ultimately ending up back in the full inn, partaking in the local drink.
Kithran had only been to Settlestone a handful of times. There wasn’t a lot of business for her father in this town, so normally they would only stop off during the colder, wetter months, when the roads were particularly treacherous to traverse.
Regardless, once they had settled into their room, Tara changed into a dark blue dress to match Kithran’s and did both of their hair before strolling about the town. The maiden looked striking, of course, with her perfect blonde hair and lightly tanned skin against the rich blue of her gown, and her bright smile. Kithran walked beside her as her smaller, shadowy counterpart, pointing out areas she had rallied the local children to climb or jump, or do some other unnecessarily risky act, and Tara was torn between disapproving of the Lover-like behavior, and pride that the girl was so good at recruiting others into Shinara’s flock.
They returned to the inn as the sun fell beneath the horizon, and found the place to be incredibly more full and lively than when they had left hours before. Tara wrapped her arm around Kithran’s shoulders to keep her close as she shoved her way through the rowdy crowd and found a table for the two to join.
“What is happening?” Kithran asked the delighted maiden, but it was for naught, as Tara had stood up on her chair to signal one of the serving girls.
She hopped down and leaned over to Kithran as she sat back in her seat, almost giddy to the girl’s eyes, “What would you like, darling?”
“Should we go upstairs?”
“Well we will, later. Or you can now if you’d like, but I do love a celebration.”
“What are they celebrating?”
Tara’s grin widened and she put a hand on Kithran’s shoulder, “Us, the Maidens. Large groups of lovely women shambling into small towns always creates quite a stir.” She glanced their poor server finally pushing her way through to them, “Come now, what would you like?”
“Do you mean for food, oooor . . . ?”
The maiden raised her eyebrows, “Oh, suddenly feeling up for the celebration are we?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never had anything like, mead or wine or anything before.”
Tara straightened her back, “You broke into the Cinderfell warehouse twice and claimed none of that overpriced drivel for yourself?” She shook her head, “I knew I had my work cut out for me, but this? How do you even call yourself a sticky-fingered peach?”
Kithran narrowed her eyes at her and grumbled, “I don’t call myself a st--”
“‘ello, ‘ow are ye? Apologies fer the wait, bit busy here t’night.” She shrugged.
Tara turned her bright smile to the woman, “Not to worry! We’ll both have a bowl of the stew, with a slice of bread and I’ll--” she glanced at the girl, “my daughter and I will both have wine, please.”
“Right,” the server seemed to eye Tara for a moment, but the maiden never wavered, and eventually moved on to begin their order. She return in just a few minutes, setting the cups full of red liquid in front of them before disappearing back into the horde.
Kithran smelled the wine. She had always thought it smelled strange, though not terrible. Just unlike anything she had ever tried before. She began to lift it to her lips, but Tara pulled her arm back down, “A few things before we begin: First, do not tell your father about this. Second, do not drink too quickly,” based on the darkening shade of her mouth, it was clear the maiden had already had her first swig, “And third, it’ll likely make you feel funny. Enjoy it if you can, but if you cannot, let me know.” She held out her mug for Kithran to tap, “To you, my darling,” and she took another large drink.
Their stew came by the time Kithran was halfway done with her drink, and Tara had been right, she did feel funny, but stew had never sounded so good in her life. The two in their matching outfits devoured their food and Tara slammed down her second mug of wine, then went to search for the server to bring her another.
She plopped back down in the chair beside Kithran, her cheeks lightly rosey, but then Kithran’s were feeling a bit warm herself.
At more than one point men would try to sit near them, or would tap on Tara’s shoulder to talk with her, and she may give them a moment, but ultimately she would wave them away and return to whatever it was she and Kithran were finding so silly in that moment.
It did, however, serve to remind Kithran of what Serah had suggested the night before. She took another sip of her wine, of which she may have had only a third left, and turned to the droopy-eyed maiden, whose hair was no longer as perfectly placed as before, “How did you come to this life, Tara? Have you always wanted to be a Laughing Maiden?”
Tara’s smile slipped a little and she set her cup down, regarding Kithran for a moment, deciding how best to answer her ward through the slight haze of the drink. Her grin suddenly returned and she leaned forward, “Kithran, I am . . . very beautiful, am I not?”
Kithran nearly spit out her drink, swallowing hard before laughing back in Tara’s face.
The maiden joined her, “No need to laugh so hard!" She shoved her shoulder, "But since you’re obviously blind, I will let you know that yes, I am very beautiful.” Her smile remained as she waited for the girl to regain her composure before continuing on, “At least, I have always been told I was beautiful, all my life, and unfortunately, some of the worst sort seemed to have believed so as well, in the worst way, when I was far too young to be thought of as such.”
The half-Syl’s grin suddenly faded as she listened and through the fog of her own mind began to realize what her mentor was telling her.
“I grew up in an orphanage in Sendria until I was about six. The orphanage became much too full and the owners ended up selling me and several others to some very bad men who . . . lent me to other bad men. I am sure I do not need to go into the details.” Kithran was glad she did not, as anger and sadness swelled inside her for her mentor, replacing the mirth of just a moment ago.
Tara took another swig of her drink and continued, “Somehow, ten years passed, I was sixteen and at the very end of my rope, so to speak. I saw only two ways out of that life I had lived: either continue on in this way, or try to escape and likely die. Staying was no longer an option, so one night, when I was with a, a client I suppose, I decided I would fight back. And I did. But this man was much larger than me, much stronger, I stood no chance.
Luckily, a group of Lovers of Fortune just so happened to be in the area for who knows what reason that night.” She side-eyed Kithran at the mention of her Lovers and sighed at the pride evident on the girl’s face, “They heard me fighting, screaming, heard me likely about to die. They arrived just in time and disposed of the man beating this sixteen year old, this child, and they whisked me away to a temple of Shinara. My life was changed then forever. I joined the Lovers--” she held up a hand to stop Kithran before she got all haughty about it, “for a little while.They taught me some things, helped me solidify others. For the record, I have been sticky-fingered since my days in the orphanage, which should come as no surprise. It was the charm that came later,” she winks at the red-faced girl, who laughs at her again.
“Oh, I hope I’m not interrupting anything, ladies” another stranger pulls up a chair and sits close to Tara.
She looks this one up and down, and Kithran was not sure what sort of test she was silently putting these men through, but apparently this one passed. He took up the rest of the maiden’s time, but by the time Kithran had finally finished her first cup, she was ready to go.
She tugged at the back of Tara’s dress, and the maiden set down yet another mug of wine, interrupting the man to turn to the girl, who was half-out of her seat, and seemed half-asleep.
“Oh, darling,” Tara muttered, she put a hand on Kithran’s shoulder before leaning over to the man and whispering in his ear. He whispered back into hers before smiling and taking his leave. Tara slowly stood up then and half-lead, half-carried Kithran by her shoulders up the stairs to their room. She let the girl’s hair down and changed her into her nightgown before laying her down, pointing out the cup of water on the floor beneath her, and a bucket if she felt ill.
“Waaait,” the girl muttered into her pillow as the maiden made to leave, “I want you to stay.”
Tara’s head spun slightly as she crouched before the drunk girl and she ran her fingers through her thick black hair, “I will be back.”
“When?” Her closed eyes scrunched and Tara hoped she wasn’t spinning.
“Soon.”
Her dark eyes opened slightly, but then closed again quickly before she could glare, “You always say that.”
“I always mean it, darling.” She kissed her forehead and stood up to leave, taking another moment for the room to right itself.
“But you never do.”
I never do . . . soon? Tara smiled, “I shall endeavor to be as quick as possible tonight.” The girl mumbled something incoherent and Tara took her moment to leave.
* * *
“Tara, what is happening?!”
“Wh-wha?” Tara awoke to the sound of retching. She blinked and tried to find her head and stomach, but both seemed to be wildly out of place as she pushed herself up from the wooden floor.
“Why are you on the floo--” Kithran spewed once more into the bucket, and before Tara could tell her that she had no idea why she was on the floor, her head and stomach flipped and she joined Kithran over their bucket.
Several maidens had pounded on the door that they were ready to leave, but it was Serah who finally barged in on the two horrific figures. Both huddled over a disgusting bucket, one in a nightgown, crying because she had no idea what was happening to her body, and the other a nightmare. Tara hadn’t taken her hair out the night before, so swaths of it stuck out at every angle, she still sort of wore her blue dress from the night before, though parts were torn, sullied, and she was half-falling out of it.
Serah shook her head, “How could you do this, Tara? And to your sweet, little ‘darling' as well?” She crouched before Kithran, placing a hand on her shoulder and muttering the words of a simple restoration incantation. The girl suddenly stopped emptying her guts into the bucket, and color instantly returned to her cheeks.
She leaped at Serah and hugged her as one dying of thirst in the desert may embrace a passerby offering water. “Oh gods, thank you Serah, that was the worst thing I have ever felt in my entire life. Is that what wine does to you?” Tara continued heaving in the background, “I will never drink again, never.”
Serah scoffed, “And where have I heard that before?”
Tara weakly waved her away between heaves, “Fix me or let me die, please do not taunt me as well.”
“We have just been through this, Tara.”
Kithran grabbed the kneeling maiden by her collar, “What are you doing? Why won’t you fix her?”
She sighed, “I will this once for you, Kithran, and because we need to leave and you two are sorely delaying us, but I can’t be kept around simply to keep this one from drowning in her own bile.” She pressed her hand to the sickly maiden’s shoulder, muttering the same incantation before Tara once again comes back to herself.
Her eyes are bright as she copies Kithran and leaps onto the other maiden, effectively tackling her to the ground, “You are the greatest cleric there ever was, Serah!”
“Get off of me,” she shoved at both of them, “You may have your minds and bodies back, but you still stink. We have no time for you to bathe now, but the first river we come across, you two are jumping in. Now get moving, we have to go.”
* * *
It is one more day before the tiered, imposing skyline of Calestra begins to rise out of the horizon. Kithran and Tara spend the day reminiscing on their trip, laughing once more at Esme’s apple, reviewing the new thieving skills Tara had drilled her on day after day, and commenting on how short their trip seemed. They spent the night pointing out the stars and constellations they knew. Tara knew them all, but she enjoyed listening to the girl do her best to list them off.
Tara considered telling her of her trip to Sendria after their time in Calestra. Kithran would not be able to accompany her on the trip, and she would be gone for so long--perhaps up to a year this time. She decided to wait and instead spoke of all the wine she was going to drink once she got to Calestra, prompting Kithran to accuse her of being more reckless than the Lovers for that reason alone. Kithran only sometimes threw up while off on an adventure with the Lovers. Tara was messed up every time she went out drinking.
That reasoning caused the maiden to laugh so hard and so suddenly that Serena yelled at her to shut up from across the campsite. This caused Kithran to join in the laughter until the group started throwing things at them to get them to stop.
Their stomachs still rumbled with a little laughter, but the two fell into silence, Tara staring up at the sky, Kithran resting her head on the maiden’s stomach, looking up at the contented smile on the other’s face until both fell asleep.
* * *
Excitement and melancholy both rush through the half-Syl girl as they approach The Gate of Marches. Kithran loved Calestra, it was truly her favorite city. Not only could she find anything she wanted at more, but the largest sect of Lovers of Fortune in all of Antaron resided here, and there was always so much to do with them.
At the same time, it also meant their journey was over. Her father would return in a few days, so she still had some time with Tara before she’d go--
“Ah, I better hide the wine stoppers.” The familiar voice shook her out of her musings and she turned to the red-haired Sylvari boy who seemed to have materialized beside her. He bent forward to look past her, “Hi Tara.”
The maiden leaned forward and waved, “Hello Castien.”
He leaned back into place and cast his gaze on the half-Syl, a band in similar Cinderfell vestiges following behind them, “Welcome back to Calestra, Kithran, I hope you don’t feel the urge to take anymore wine while you’re here.” He grinned at her.
She grinned back, “Thank you Castien, I hope I don’t either.”
Posted on 2019-11-07 at 11:18:14.
Edited on 2019-11-10 at 23:36:40 by breebles
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What game do you own the 
Return to Charadun - Q&A
The Morphing Game
Return to Charadun - Recr
@ five fingered discount haha I have been meaning to look up what all Kith could snatch while in there.
