Some time later, after the Mistwalkers have begun to down their beers and wine along with their tiny dinners consisting of their dwindling provisions, they've shed their armor and equipment and begun to huddle around a lively fire that's lit inside the fire pit opposite the collection of tables in front of the bar counter. Their attitudes have become more loosened and merry now that their senses have been slightly dulled by the alcoholic beverages.

“I'm telling you,” Royd speaks, already in the middle of a discussion, “my wife just doesn't understand the importance of a little bit of pink in the meat. I keep telling her it adds a natural flavor and moistness to the meat, but she just doesn't want it!” He throws his hands up in an exaggerated shrug.

“Is she afraid of blood?” Zyra asks innocently before taking another meager sip of her mead.

“She is, actually.” Royd concedes. “But I don't know how that stops her from just keeping the meat a little bit rare. Every time she's the one cooking, we're practically served leather for dinner. Other than that, she's a fantastic cook. She bakes an amazing blueberry pie.”

“Man, a nice pie sounds fuckin' delicious right now.” Kellar comments, closing his eyes to fantasize of the dessert. “Meat, too. I'm so damn tired to eatin' these fruits, and they're not even fresh off the tree, either.” He gripes before taking a hesitant bite of an apple.

“How about you, Veros?” The brawny man asks. “You have a woman back in Evatica? You've never mentioned one before.”

The veteran narrows his eyes, hesitant to comment. “Somewhat.” He says, reflecting on his relationship status. “My relationship with her is a little bit... tumultuous.”

“Well, that sounds intriguing.” Kellar remarks while stroking the whiskers on his chin. “Care to give some details? What's shaky about it?”

“I...” Veros hows a tiny hint of nervousness – a rare sight. “She and I have conflicting viewpoints on how to continue our relationship.”

“What, are you afraid of tying the knot or something?”

“No, I'm...” The veteran sighs, realizing he's going to need to be more blunt about the point of contention in his relationship if he's to have a transparent conversation about it with his comrades. “We've been together for some time now – almost six years, in fact. I'm fine with marriage. I have no issues taking vows and sticking with them. The problem is...” He stares at the fire for a pause, but it seems as though his blank gaze goes through it entirely. “She wants children, but I don't. For reasons you can probably guess.”

“Something to do with the loss of your brothers, I imagine?” Royd, the only father in the group, asks for clarification.

“Mostly, yes. But the Kudura war in general has left me with a desire to simply... refuse the notion of continuing my bloodline.”

“Why's that, friend?”

“Even though I still find fulfillment in helping others, I can't help but feel only the deepest cynicism about the world and the people living in it. I've seen too many horrific things done by humans to wish to bring more into this world. Does that seem like... paranoia or something to you?” Veros asks, his eyes begging for some sort of validation of his worries, or at least the tiniest bit of understanding.

“Well, I don't think your fears are... nonsensical, necessarily.” Royd straightens his back and start to caress his beard pensively. “I understand that your terrible experiences in the war must have painted a very dark, dreary picture of your fellow man. And it's true that you can never know how such things will affect your children once they're born.”

“You two are parents, or are going to be.” Veros comments, referring to both Royd and Kellar. “Tell me: what motivated you to have children?”

Royd and Kellar, the father and soon-to-be-father, respectively, turn and glance at each other with uncertain expressions. They both take a moment to ponder their response, wanting to pick their words carefully, because they wouldn't want to scare Veros away from the idea further, but also don't want to try and pressure him into it.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Well,” the bald rogue answers first, “judgin' by my own experiences with other people, I probably should be on board with the same ship of thought you have. But, I guess the big thing that's kept me open to the idea of havin' kids is the fact that I just wanna give myself the opportunity to give a child the life I didn't have for myself. As I mentioned before, the reason I'm here to begin with was to try and find loot to sell in order for my wife and I can keep our house in the nice part of the city. If I couldn't keep that house, I wouldn't want to have a child. And this isn't limited to just my kids, per se. Chelsea and I are willing to adopt, too; we've discussed it – getting kids off the streets in the slums.”

“For me,” Royd begins his own answer, “I thought it was simply the next step in our relationship. Keep in mind, I was still an adolescent when my daughter was born, so this may come off as naive or idealistic, but Fia and I were – and still are – so terribly in love, we thought having a child would be a physical symbol of those feelings – our feelings, for each other. We didn't think about the world, because the world wasn't part of our relationship, if that makes sense.”

“I think I understand what you mean.” Veros readily accepts both answers with a melancholic nod. “It's true that if I had to raise a child, I'd want to give them a life that was better than mine, and it's true that our relationship is simply between the two of us, and not the entire world. But...” He shakes his head lightly. “That tiny bit of uncertainty makes me deeply uncomfortable.”

“For what it's worth, your fears aren't unfounded.” Royd says in a reassuring, unwavering tone. “Take it from me; as a father, I wish almost every damn day that I had the ability to see the future. It would've saved me a lot of headache while raising little Rebecka.”

“I'm not gonna pretend I don't have worries of my own.” Kellar adds. “But my fears aren't as important as my desire to give my kid a better life than I had.” He announces with such confidence, you wouldn't think he had spent the majority of this journey complaining and wanting to turn around.

“I appreciate your answers, both of you. It'll give me a lot to think about.” Veros says with a small, grateful smile.

Kellar waves his hand, as if to insist it was a simple courtesy not worthy of thanks. “No problem. Now, back onto our original topic...” The ex-mercenary looks over to Erik and decides to bring to conversation over to the usually quiet archer. “So, noble,” he calls out, “how about you? You have someone waitin' for you at home, keepin' your bed warm in anticipation of your return?”

Erik takes a deep, contemplative inhale. “Not necessarily.” He says as he lets his breath out. “As I've mentioned before, I usually keep to myself. I don't have many opportunities to talk to other people. Even at my archery competitions, I tend to mind my own business.”

“Seriously?” Kellar narrows his eyes and reels back a bit, disappointed by such an answer. “You're of noble birth. Surely, your parents much throw parties or balls or whatever that you're obligated to attend. Haven't you seen anyone there?”

“Well, a couple years ago, I did meet someone at one of those parties.” Erik recalls, but keeps the details vague.

Kellar leans forward, showing interest. “Oh? What was she like?”

The archer heaves a small sigh. “He was the son of one of my father's landlord friends.”

“Oh.” The rogue lifts his brow, surprised. “I didn't strike you as the type who preferred the company of men, but I can appreciate surprises.”

“No, no...” Erik shakes his head. “I do like women, too. He was just the one who approached me first. We had a short relationship, and eventually we went our separate ways.”

Kellar lifts his arms, expecting more than what was said. “What, that's it? How'd you split up?”

“He was four years older than me, and was getting pressured by his parents to start a family.” The noble admits bluntly, but with a subtle expression of regret washing over his face. “He actually had a fiancee while we were together.”

“Well, that's messy.” The rogue comments, feeling sympathetic. “Did she ever find out?”

“No, she didn't.” Erik answers honestly. “It was a complicated situation, so I can't say I miss it much. But I did like him. He's still together with his now-wife, and they seem happy. So, in a way, things worked out for everyone.”

“Are you sure?” Royd suddenly joins in on the discussion. “You seem a little disappointed.” He astutely guesses.

“A drawback to being as quiet as I am,” the noble responds, “is that sometimes you develop the bad habit of waiting for things to happen to you, instead of making things happen.” He guiltily admits to one of his greatest faults, or at least what he perceives to be one. “I don't really take the initiative when I'm interested in someone, and I end up letting my chances pass me by. Honestly, I can see why my father feels as though I lack ambition because of this attitude of mine. It's why I never really argued with him over it.”

“Well, if we manage to quell the mist and make it back home, you'll be a new man.” Royd tries to give some reassurance.

Erik nods somberly. “I hope so.”