Post by Lisenet on Jun 26, 2013 23:17:37 GMT -5
”We might as well look for some walnuts while we’re about then,” she mused. ”A great woodsman like you, you’ll probably find most of them.”
Tellen laughed when Crim staunchly would not leave her sight after she tossed together a modest campfire. ”Not afraid of the dark, are you, Muffin-Slayer?” She stacked a few more branches on top of those that had already caught. ”Look what happened last time I left you for ten minutes.”
Tellen scoffed. ”Last time you left me for ten minutes you were asleep and I bought some rather vicious looking cheese buns. Here, have one.” She dug in her pack and tossed a smaller, thin-clothed drawstring bag at him. ”Don’t get hurt filling up,” she said as she dug to the bottom and pulled out a bruised apple for herself. After polishing it off, chucking the core in the fire, and following it with a squashed roll she said decidedly, ”I’m going fishing tomorrow, whether you’re on nanny duty or not. And just because other men wear crossbows doesn’t mean they know how to use them, or that I don’t. I was holding my own quite well when you showed up.” She didn’t feel like adding that she was well aware she would have been in a slightly more battered shape if he hadn’t, though she was confident she still would have managed well enough.
Tellen drew her knees up, thinking as she watched the flames curl and compress and stretch. Crim sat beside her. ”I am rather afraid of this ball….” ”Clever man,” she murmured. Balls were horrifying events that should be avoided at all costs. She listened to his concerns quietly, nudging a small stone closer and closer to the base of the fire to see when it would start to warm. Mulling over his questions, she responded, ”As far as title goes, you only need to remember it long enough to get through the introduction. Most of the people I know who will want to speak with you will go to a first-name basis after that. My title is only ‘Lady’—we’re of the minor nobility—so you seem to have handled that on your own so far. My first name is actually Tellenani, though, so you wouldn’t be wrong in throwing that out every now and again.”
She sat back, wondering if she ought to pull out her knife and wood block, and fiddled with a loose string in her skirt. ”Why do you think the knowledge of the curse would be so problematic? I can only think of the general stigma against magic. Your history only needs to be dulled a little bit, and expanded in a place or two. If you don’t mind, I think the most believable story is that you’re nobility of similar rank to ours, it doesn’t have to be exact, but you were raised in another country. That will explain any—no offense—oddities that they may notice with how you act. You certainly don’t speak like a commoner though, and for all their open-mindedness my family would not be pleased to believe I married one.” Although honestly, Crim’s status in the world of men was questionable. She didn’t know how much elves bothered with social hierarchies, so it may come down to the birth of his mother to decide. Either way it didn’t matter. ”You’re of age to have a profession though, so find something you like to do and are good at and tell people it’s your occupation. I don’t think hunting counts,” she added with a small smile, now looking up at the moon, silvery glow just visible through the low-hanging, wet clouds.
They both thought in silence for several long minutes, before Crim abruptly said, ”Want to teach me to dance?”
Tellen laughed. ”No!” She sighed. ”But I’m going to anyway, at some point. We’ve got a good two weeks to get that sorted though.” She flopped onto her back, hands folded over her belly, and gazed relatively peaceably up at the stars. A morning person she may be, but some mornings and some nights were so similar she enjoyed them equally. And she was beginning to consider their curse in a much more manageable light: as a temporary inconvenience, not a lifelong ensnarement.
Tellen laughed when Crim staunchly would not leave her sight after she tossed together a modest campfire. ”Not afraid of the dark, are you, Muffin-Slayer?” She stacked a few more branches on top of those that had already caught. ”Look what happened last time I left you for ten minutes.”
Tellen scoffed. ”Last time you left me for ten minutes you were asleep and I bought some rather vicious looking cheese buns. Here, have one.” She dug in her pack and tossed a smaller, thin-clothed drawstring bag at him. ”Don’t get hurt filling up,” she said as she dug to the bottom and pulled out a bruised apple for herself. After polishing it off, chucking the core in the fire, and following it with a squashed roll she said decidedly, ”I’m going fishing tomorrow, whether you’re on nanny duty or not. And just because other men wear crossbows doesn’t mean they know how to use them, or that I don’t. I was holding my own quite well when you showed up.” She didn’t feel like adding that she was well aware she would have been in a slightly more battered shape if he hadn’t, though she was confident she still would have managed well enough.
Tellen drew her knees up, thinking as she watched the flames curl and compress and stretch. Crim sat beside her. ”I am rather afraid of this ball….” ”Clever man,” she murmured. Balls were horrifying events that should be avoided at all costs. She listened to his concerns quietly, nudging a small stone closer and closer to the base of the fire to see when it would start to warm. Mulling over his questions, she responded, ”As far as title goes, you only need to remember it long enough to get through the introduction. Most of the people I know who will want to speak with you will go to a first-name basis after that. My title is only ‘Lady’—we’re of the minor nobility—so you seem to have handled that on your own so far. My first name is actually Tellenani, though, so you wouldn’t be wrong in throwing that out every now and again.”
She sat back, wondering if she ought to pull out her knife and wood block, and fiddled with a loose string in her skirt. ”Why do you think the knowledge of the curse would be so problematic? I can only think of the general stigma against magic. Your history only needs to be dulled a little bit, and expanded in a place or two. If you don’t mind, I think the most believable story is that you’re nobility of similar rank to ours, it doesn’t have to be exact, but you were raised in another country. That will explain any—no offense—oddities that they may notice with how you act. You certainly don’t speak like a commoner though, and for all their open-mindedness my family would not be pleased to believe I married one.” Although honestly, Crim’s status in the world of men was questionable. She didn’t know how much elves bothered with social hierarchies, so it may come down to the birth of his mother to decide. Either way it didn’t matter. ”You’re of age to have a profession though, so find something you like to do and are good at and tell people it’s your occupation. I don’t think hunting counts,” she added with a small smile, now looking up at the moon, silvery glow just visible through the low-hanging, wet clouds.
They both thought in silence for several long minutes, before Crim abruptly said, ”Want to teach me to dance?”
Tellen laughed. ”No!” She sighed. ”But I’m going to anyway, at some point. We’ve got a good two weeks to get that sorted though.” She flopped onto her back, hands folded over her belly, and gazed relatively peaceably up at the stars. A morning person she may be, but some mornings and some nights were so similar she enjoyed them equally. And she was beginning to consider their curse in a much more manageable light: as a temporary inconvenience, not a lifelong ensnarement.
