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Just a Harmless Holiday

Started by pomelo, April 21, 2017, 10:31:23 AM

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pomelo

"Now it is," she agreed, unwittingly letting herself relax a little from her Obligatorily Grumpy State. "Now that I'm calm and disciplined." She even smiled ironically, just a tiny bit. "But you should have met me when I was younger; I had a terrible temper. I was a real firecracker. If you'd even look at me the wrong way, I might clock you. And you," she gave a huff. "You, I'd've smashed up ages ago. Luckily, for you, I've grown soft in my old age."

Her smile faltered, then disappeared, at his question, however. "Well," she answered, "it would depend on how you asked. If you asked me to walk away without a word at the end of a job, before reporting back or anything. Then no, I wouldn't have. As hard as it might be for you to understand, I care about the work I've built for myself. But, if you waited for me to go back to Arca and ask for time off..." She gave a shrug, a slightly awkward gesture when she was laying flush against him. "Maybe. Maybe with someone I'd want to go away with, anyway," she half-teased. Or was it a tease? Things like this were never clear with Zahi. "But since you're not that patient, we'll never know. And, since you weren't that patient, once we get to... wherever we're going, I'll find a ship back to Serendipity. See if I can't get back in time to salvage whatever sad little life, in your eyes I'm sure, I've cobbled together for myself there."

Lion

"I wouldn't ever ask you that," Quinlan said, grinning playfully. "I mean to drop everything and walk away from salvaging your life. I don't know what heat happened between you and your old gang, and you don't have to tell me. But I would never ask you to run away with me, to be reckless like me. Even if that's what that feels like now. But me...I don't have anything anchoring me, so I can pretty much do what I want. And I wanted to be here just like this. Laying on a hard cot...with something poking me awful bad back there, with you laying on me just like you are."

He chuckled, even snorted and pressed a stray hand to his forehead, looking at her. "You know you drool a little when you're out cold? It's hilarious," he snorted, laughing harder. "And kinda cute. I cleaned it off when it started to pool around your pillow. I didn't want you to drown yourself."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

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Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

pomelo

Zahi visibly rolled her eyes at Quinlan’s little quips about her ‘drooling.’ ”I should have left you to be eaten by the Great Salamander God or whatever it was those cooks up to,” she complained, shaking her head at him. ”My life’d be a lot easier.”

Maybe it wasn’t the right joke, and it made her grumpy countenance falter. Because it sparked a memory of how bad of shape he’d been in after that. After how she’d had to drag him back to Fluffy’s hut and watch over him for days, sure he would die. And caring about whether or not he died. Without thinking, she smoothed a hand across the side of his face, brushing her thumb against his forehead. She might not say it out loud, but the gesture was clearly one that said she was, on some level, glad that she hadn’t; that he was here, warm living flesh and blood, pressed beneath her.

It wasn’t a large gap to close, leaning down to kiss him, laying on top of him as she already was. Her lips grazed against his at first, hesitating for a moment, before kissing him properly.

Lion

Quinlan grew quiet when her face changed, just a little that it was perceptible enough even to him. His own expression relaxed, the amusement tempered with her touch as she brushed her hand against his face, thumb lingering against his forehead. He kept his trap shut; it wasn't the first time it would have gotten him in trouble in a moment like this.

The moment her lips made contact with his, he was on the brink of release. And the tension that had sparked between them gradually melted away when his mouth naturally fell in time with hers. Quinlan closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath and sealing her tightly against him in an embrace.

He still said nothing, just let his lips do the talking, nipping and pulling at her lips as he tongue sought hers in heated oscillation. It was broken only by a moment to breath and Quinlan  reached up again to push away the loose hair from her face. That poofy hair that he would know anywhere. Still no words, and he leaned in again to give her a kiss ripe to steal her breath away.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

pomelo

It took more than a kiss to steal Zahi's breath away, but she leaned into Quinlan's kiss. Sparked by her earlier comment, the kiss made her remember previous encounters like this, holed up in the little shepherd's hut. She put her hands on either side of his head, fingers lacing into his hair. She pulled it, just a little, as she pressed herself against him, deepening their kiss.

It was a long time before she broke that kiss, pulling away just enough to look at Quinlan. They hadn't actually had much time to themselves over the course of the last weeks. She'd thought Quinlan was involved in a child trafficking ring of half of it, and Tallinn had been there as well. And she remembered something Quinlan had asked her during the brief time at the beginning of the adventure they had been alone. What she had done, after they'd left Adela. "I never asked you, Princess" she said, her voice low, "what did you do after we left Adela? After you left, I mean, stealing Fluffy with you." She smoothed her hands on either side of his face, giving a small, maybe ironic, half-smile. "I'm asking now because I'm turning tail back to Serendipity, once we're off this ship. Just to remind you."

Lion

After she broke the kiss, Quinlan savored the taste of her on his lips. He licked them and chewed on his bottom one to look at her through half-lidded eyes. He sniffed and observed her features in thoughtful quiet. Right, after Ketra, when he'd gone off to try and take jobs that would kill him and nothing worked. And had all sorts of misadventures.

Quinlan blinked and snorted. "I got myself into trouble," he murmured. "Nothing new there."  He grew quiet a little and adjusted himself more comfortably underneath her.

"I took a lot of odd jobs. One of them returning a slave to her master. I don't really know if she ever made it home or not before getting captured myself. Got away. Then I...found my way north to Connlaoth...  I know, crazy huh? Wanted mage wandering around in a country at war with itself."  He sighed and swallowed a little. He was purposefully vague and shrugged.  "I mean, after that, I wandered south into Serendipity. I'm not sure what happened to Fluffy. He got away. Ran off to go do what magical sheep dogs do. I got that job doing bodyguard work.

"I got tired of the inconsistency. I wanted something to give me some kind of ground. I honestly thought I would never see you again. I'm glad I was wrong," he said, looking up at her again and reaching up to bury his fingers into her hair. "You're not going anywhere," he said steadily. "You're going to enjoy our stay in Thanatos. Then when our trip is done, we'll go back to Serendipity together."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

pomelo

Zahi listened silently as Quinlan answered, her mis-matched eyes watching him carefully. She noted the way he sighed and swallowed at the mention of returning to Connlaoth. She knew just enough about his past to know that, whyever he had gone there, it was likely not something pleasant. But she didn't ask about it just then. She might later. She might not. Such questions only encouraged intimacy, after all.

But still. For all her grumpy airs, and for all her genuine anger with him for 'whisking her away' - nonconsensualy and with the help of drugs - she couldn't deny that there was something comfortable about being with him now. Like this. Probably too comfortable. She should really be giving him a harder time.

When Quinlan got to the last part about being 'tired of the inconsistency' of his lifestyle, Zahi's eyes widened slightly to give him an incredulous look. "I have a hard time believing that. I know your type. If you'd spent one, maybe two, weeks longer in that gig before I came along, you'd've gotten bored and wandered off to your next catastrophe. Once you'd fucked your way through the locals." She gave a little snort, and shook her head at him. Oh, she was going to enjoy their stay in Thanatos, was she? "That sounds like a challenge," she said with a small, wry smile. "What's a little gnat like you gonna do to me if I don't enjoy myself, heh?"

She definitely should be giving him a harder time.

Lion

Oh gods. Fucked his way through the locals? Was that what she honestly thought​ of him. He supposed he'd gave that impression pretty easily when they first met. And it wasn't entirely inaccurate but if he told her she was the only person he really wanted to fuck, she'd lose all respect for him. Not that there was much to begin with. And not even if that really was the truth.

Quinlan just snorted at her comment and he leaned his head up to briefly kiss her with parted lips. He gave a soft moan, letting his body curl around hers. Gods why did it feel so good to have her resting on him like this? They hadn't even rutted and he was soaking up the sensation of being close to her. He pulled away and licked his lips, eyes daring and he let his hand reached up to rub at the knot he'd made on her head with that cudgel.

"I might just have to bind you up and strap you to a wagon. We'll see the sights, go to the beach, have drinks with the locals. And if you break out, I'll pin you down. Kind of like how you're pinning me. You're going to have a good time. Even if I have to drag you back from Serendipity to do it." His tone was half serious. And his eyes stayed steady with hers. In them, they were entirely serious.

"You're not getting away from me. Not this time."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

pomelo

Somewhere between his words, the situation went from ‘probably too comfortable’ to ‘definitely too comfortable.’ And that made Zahi distinctly uncomfortable. Maybe it was the way he looked at her. The half-joking tone that only made him sound more earnest. But Zahi’s half-smirk faltered, a bit of a lump in her throat. For what felt like far too long of a moment, she simply returned his gaze and when she looked away, it was to where his hand brushed against the bump raised on her head.

”Yeah, your tactics for this trip sound just about as subtle as your methods of charming women and whisking them away,” she joked lamely. It fell flat, and she left it there for a moment before pushing herself (less forcefully this time) up off Quinlan and rising to her feet.

”Alright, bossy, we can go above deck and see the majestic ocean or whatever,” she said, as though Quinlan had been nagging her to leave the little cabin. Stretching, she added ”I’m sure I’ll be awestruck. You didn’t think to bring clothes for me, did you? When you knocked me out and smashed me over the head for this spontaneous little adventure?”

Lion

Quinlan let her get up off him, although he hated the feeling of the cold that lingered with her body removed. Quinlan didn't always like cuddling, but he could make exceptions as far as Zahi was concerned. Even if she hadn't been all that fond of it from the beginning.

When she got up, his eyes lingered on her form, admiring the faint movement of muscle under skin. The little scars there, knicks made by passing adventure, jobs, gone wrong, by meeting bastards like him, added character and he wanted to push her down into the bed and press his fingers against them, dig knuckles and palms in until she was thoroughly unmotivated to do anything but melt away.

Later though. For now, a walk sounded good. Maybe food if she could handle it.  Quinlan got up from the bed and stretched​, pulling his shirt up from the waist of his pants in that motion.

He looked at her and moved toward the bag he'd tucked away under the bed, pulling out his own clothing that was cleaner than hers. They would fit probably. "Here, these will do unless you want to wear yours. They're in the bag too but could probably use a good washing. Mine are clean. Here"

He handed them off to her and stood behind her against​ the wall, watching her get dressed.

"You'll like it. And if you don't, I know I'll hear about it later," he laughed and stuck his tongue out at her. "The dolphins follow you all the way to Thanatos. That's what the crew says anyway."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

pomelo

Zahi frowned at his proffered clothing. "You know," she complained, taking the clothing from him, "if they see me dressed up in your clothing, they'll think we're lovers or something."

She threw him a look over her shoulder, but she got dressed nonetheless. As much as Zahi might like to tease him for being a scrawny gnat, the shirt and trousers were obviously too large for her, giving her a rather disheveled look. She would probably be right in her assessment. Of course, the assumption would, in a way, also be correct.

But at Quinlan's last comment, Zahi shot him a fierce look. And, despite herself, her cheeks colored. Just slightly. What did she care about some stupid dolphins? She didn't. And she resented deeply that he'd even suggest that she might.

Secretly, though, she wondered if it were true.

Maybe she could feed Quinlan to one of them.

Lion

Quinlan opened the door for his little grumpy butterfly and followed her through, leading the way above deck. The ocean at large was calm, even as the easterly wind pulled them along and over the water swiftly. Quinlan didn't bother with shoes, and although the deck was warm, it was cool enough with the wind blowing around them. His hair whipped backwards, and so did Zahi's and he stayed close to her, resisting the urge to put his arm around her.

Although an angling in the ship toward the starboard side had him catch her lest she topple off her feet. He released her arm shortly and smiled. "You ever been on the ocean before, Zahi?" he murmured softly. The day was clear, no storm clouds in sight. It wasn't always this beautiful, but he would relish every moment that it was.

"I've been on lots of boats. Can't say I liked most of them, but this one is very nicely built, cuts through the water like glass through paper."  Quinlan stepped carefully over to the side of the ship where their windo overlooked the water to see if they could catch a glimpse of those dolphins still.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

pomelo

Zahi shook his arm off when he caught her, giving him a glare that said loud and clear, I do not need you to catch me! But it didn't last long. As much as she might normally try to stifle it, Zahi looked curiously around the deck and over the sea. Having spent her entire life in cities and slums and ruins, there was something both foreign and invigorating about the fresh air and sunshine and open, endless blue of the ocean. She wouldn't tell Quinlan that, of course. But if he was observant enough, he'd be able to see it easily.

Her eyes roved over the endless blue of the ocean, but returned sharply to Quinlan when he bragged about how 'he's been on so many ships, and she's been on none.' She frowned at him. "Yeah, yeah. The cultured Connlaothian. Been everywhere, seen everything, fucked everyone," she said with a roll of her eyes. "And knows about ships. We're all very impressed, I'm sure."

It was while she was rolling her eyes that Zahi noticed the crewmen on board. And from their only slightly-disguised leers, it was clear Zahi had been right in her guess. She looked at Quinlan with slightly raised eyebrows. 'I told you so.'

Lion

Normally he wouldn't have minded her rather clear assertion of his promiscuous habits. He wasn't ashamed of them.  Sure he'd had some fun encounters in the past, but that was in the past, and here he was now with Zahi. Right where he wanted to be. So he bristled - if just slightly - at her words and he exhaled sharply.

Quinlan wasn't going to linger on it. Quinlan looked at her with a side-long glance, observing her features, watching her eyes and when he saw the brief change in her expression, he grinned, and quickly hid it.  She couldn't hide everything under that grumpy poker-face.

"I don't know everything. I do know that the grub can be shite if you don't get into the galley early," he chuckled, turning to her and observing her face, he quirked a brow.  Riiight, they were being observed and all he had in response to that was a shrug.

"Why do you care so much what they think we are? We are, what we are. Whatever it is that we are.  Come on, Zahi, if you can stomach a trading ship meal, then truly you have the favor of gods on your side."

His hand teasingly poked at her ribs on the inside of his jacket that she still wore. He stepped in and slipped that arm around her waist, even at her resistance, and pulled her into a hug. It was nice, and felt right just for that brief moment.  He let her shove him away, because she always did, and nodded his head to the galley.  "I hear they're serving octopus. Must have been a good catch today."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

pomelo

For once, she didn't shove him away. But she didn't actually return his hug, either. Because... why was he hugging her? Okay, sure, they'd had sex a few times and fooled around a bit. But that was something different. At least, in Zahi's mind. A hug was... so unnecessary.

"Um. What are you doing?" she asked, body awkwardly limp in Quinlan's arms in her refuse to reciprocate. The question wasn't even particularly barbed. "Look, I don't think octopus is going to go down well for you, Princess. You're clearly drunk."


[[short post!]]

Lion

She might have been limp against him, but that didn't stop him from giving her that needless embrace anyway. They were a day away from Thanatos. And unless she drowned him, or took the whole crew hostage there was no way she was getting back by swimming.

"I just like being close to you is all," he chuckled. The look he gave her might come as familiar, along with all the other smarmy smirks he was capable of. "I'll only drink if you drink. But gods know, that's a disaster waiting to happen. You couldn't hold down a couple of shots of rum anyway." His voice was an obvious dare, and he took her hand to take her down to the galley.

Wood creaked and ropes shifted with the movement of the ship. Once in the kitchens and moving past the bolted tables, and chairs, Quinlan found an empty bench unoccupied by crew and directed her to sit, bring two bowls of steaming hot soup. "Have you ever been to Thanatos before?" he asked, moving conversation along rather than focusing on how awkward she was.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

pomelo

Ha ha ha, she can't handle her drink, because of one time with moonshine. Hilarious. Though in truth, Zahi didn't have any plans to drink. This situation was too weird - and getting weirder; was he holding her hand? - and she wanted to keep her wits about her. Because even without alcohol, Zahi had no clue how to act in this situation. That was not a sensation she particularly enjoyed. And the more Quinlan did cute little things like take her hand or give her a completely unnecessary hug, the more suspicious she got.

Grudgingly, unhappy to just blindly comply but without too many other reasonable options, Zahi sat where she was bid, but she settled into her more comfortable demeanor with Quinlan: vaguely grumpy.

Luckily - or was it? - she didn't have to answer Quinlan's question about whether or not she'd been to Thanatos. She was pretty sure that he only kept asking these questions to point out that he was making all these new experiences for her. What a guy. Because before she got the chance, the salty old first mate of the ship staggered over to them, setting his own bowl of soup sloppily down on the table.

"Ha! See yer sleepin' beauty there finally woke up," the older man said to Quinlan, grinning ear-to-ear. "Hope yeh don't mind if I join yeh! Not offen we got fresh blood on the ship! How'd yeh all like the journey so far, huh? Gettin' yer sea legs?"

Zahi said nothing. Just looked, a bit frostily, between the old man and Quinlan.

Lion

Fuuuuck.  Of course they had to be interrupted. Of course.

Oh, what difference did it make? It wasn't like Quinlan wouldn't have Zahi all to himself in the cabin. It wasn't like he'd have her chained to his side once they reached Suna. Once they were far enough away from everyone else, Quinlan could enjoy her. There was still the risk of having her cudgel him over the head in turn, maybe throw him unconscious into a river. 

Worth it!

Quinlan glanced at the old seafarer, the heavy set man plopping his bowl down beside them. And just slid his largeness into the bench. The wood obviously creaked beneath the weight of them all. At least he was in good spirits.

"We're getting there," Quinlan answered. He grinned, and the old seafarer looked about and pulled a flattened flask out from the back of his britches, setting the metal container on the table and opening it up, and pouring a shot of it into the soup, taking a sip of it, and pulling out a collapsible shotglass from his jacket pocket, slamming it on the table.

"Put some hair on your chest, sharkbait," he said, mentioning to Quinlan and tossed him a shot of some amber fluid. Quinlan watched it, then him, for a long second before accepting the drink, and coughing when it went down. Oh...just one was going to be enough for him.

The old sailor refilled the shot and gave it to Zahi. "And it'll make ye, more lovelier than ye are." He winked at her and took a spoonful of the octopus stew in his mouth. "Names, Hurk. Been on the ocean all me life. Nice to see a young couple bonding. Though, not all of 'em carry the other, passed out on the shoulder into a rented cabin. Ye must've been out cold." He nodded to Zahi, eating soup again.

Quinlan tried to eat, finding the octopus a bit chewier than he wanted.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

pomelo

Zahi cringed when she saw the old sea dog pour a shot of god-knows-what into his soup. And she essentially stayed in “cringe-mode” as the man blathered on and offered the dingy flask first to Quinlan, then to her.

”Eh, no thanks,” Zahi responded, her nose not quite unwrinkling. ”Let’s say I’m lovely enough how I am.”

Despite the cold words from the woman, the first mate guffawed. ”That yeh are, lass! Now you two love bir-”

But he didn’t have a chance to finish before Zahi cut in bluntly, ”We’re not. We’re just acquaintances. ‘Sharkbait’ here drugged me, gave me a knock on the head, and carted me off onto your ship without so much as asking.”

For a moment, the man looked confused and a little concerned. But decided that Zahi’s deadpan delivery meant it was clearly a joke, and let out an even louder guffawing laugh. ”Ha! Nice try, missy, but anyone with eyes’d tell the two of yeh’re besotted. Ha! Wit and beauty, hold ont’this un, eh, sharkbait?”

Zahi visibly rolled her eyes, finally steeling herself to chew on some of the octopus. Wit and beauty indeed.

The man laughed awhile longer, then turned back to Quinlan. ”Where’re the two of yeh from, then, eh? I can hear neither one of yeh’s Serenian and well,” he grinned as though he were making a clever observation, ”not likely from the same brood, are yeh?”

Lion

Ugh, more stupid nicknames. Quinlan wasn't going to give their new friend any satisfaction in calling him names. Although it would seem he wouldn't have much other choice. Sharkbait. Ah, well. He'd been called much much worse by worse people than this old sailor. Quinlan just grinned and shrugged, sampling the chewy octopus.

Oh...not his favorite dish. Thankfully whatever was in that flask numbed his tongue to any real flavor, and he was able to take another bite without gagging. Quinlan forced a smile, and when he flicked eyes to Zahi, it turned genuine, namely because he was enjoying watching her squirm.

"Wit and beauty! Damn straight, Hurk. I like this guy," Quinlan said and forced the rest of that bowl of sea food down. Better now than later when he didn't have to taste it. With a slurp he swallowed the rest of it, wiping his mouth on his sleeve and sighed loudly. "We're from Serendipity. We live there, but weren't born there. We met on a fluke actually. You see i was lugging a dead body around," he murmured with a shrug.

At that, Hurk laughed so hard he almost choked on his food. Quinlan reached up to smack him hard on his back and finally the wheezing laughter finished and he sobered a little. "Ye did, didja?" he was red in the face, trying to catch his breath. "Was it a friend of hers?"

"A mutual acquaintance. We then went on a pretty amazing trip. Took out a whole cult of evil doers. We were stalked by birds owned by some arrogant wizard - because they're always arrogant. And we were saved by a magical sheep dog," Quinlan answered.  And Hurk laughed again. He was in tears this time and clearly wasn't taking any of this at face value.  "Easy there, Hurk. I don't need you passing out!"

He finally caught his breath and glanced between the two. "Ye two sound like yer made fer each other," he panted.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

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