Trïeste
The Grey Crown, The Grasping Isle
[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/554030201789743105/1028654515798409237/Grasping_Isle_Final_V1.0.png]Map made by Mark Evegaars, writer of this story
“I am a poet by trade, Trïeste." Ayuen said with a deep sigh and a tone of resignation. "Since I was born, I’ve been bathed in fantastical stories and heroic poems. I just thought… that I would maybe meet my knight in shining armour. I know it’s naïve. But now, I find my heart stirring at the glimpses of gold beneath the grime and leather armour-covered form of a gruff rugged mercenary.”
Going by the solemn look on her face, Ayuen was taking this way too seriously. This was just a bit of harmless banter, right? Talking about boys and such. Holding up both hands in a soothing gesture, Trïeste decided to back off a bit.
“Hey, hey, it’s not that bad,” She said, scratching herself behind the ear. She now herself looking at the forest’s edge. “You can do far worse! And I mean, I’m gettin’ along quite well with Sneak. Not in a romantic way, but more in a niece-uncle kinda way.”
“Sneak?!” Exclaimed Tira, the guide leaning forward a bit. She seemed fully invested in this conversation again. “Why in the blazes would you get friendly with him? Granted, he seems to take care of himself more now Rove orders him to, but I’ve seen hyenas less demented than him!”
A pang of indignation made itself known in Trïeste’s chest. “He’s not all that bad, y’know? Yes, he can be loony at times.” She grimaced as both Ayuen and Tira raised an eyebrow.
“Fine, most times. But it’s never all that bad. It’s as if he just functions differently than us, but ultimately thinks the same. And that memory of his is amazing. Way too bonkers good to be natural.”
“That we can certainly agree on,” Ayuen said, nodding somewhat enthusiastically. The Pyrn’s eyes began to sparkle as she seemingly got infected by her and Tira’s spirited vibed. Trïeste saw her casting another cautious glance at the woods. “It is acceptable for us to gossip in such a manner?”
Trïeste scoffed at the remark. “What do you think Sneak and Rove are doin’ out there? Probably gossipin’ about us just as hard. Probably Sneak is tryin’ to impart his ‘wisdom’ to Rove. Comparing us to birds in a bathtub or somesuch. I think we’ve got it better here with the three of us.”
A soft giggle left Ayuen, the woman’s body relaxing a bit, with her wings visibly loosening up and folding out a bit more.
“Haha. I am personally of the opinion we could’ve done worse with the men. Sneak has quite the sweet personality under that veneer of randomness and Rove is more adorable than he’s letting on a lot of the time. Even if he needs some... prodding at times.”
Trïeste grinned. Rove did need quite some prodding to lay his inner layers bare. Oh, she was a bit jealous of Ayuen and her chance to get on with a good man. She wouldn’t mind snagging a man too, somewhere. If she ever got the chance to date, that was. Trïeste didn’t think she would regarding her current circumstances. But perhaps if the stars were right, it would be something to keep in mind.
“You’re very lucky, Ayuen,” Trïeste said. “You got him to join you without being paid for it. I think that even after we’re done, you’ll be able to convince him.” She averted her eyes from her companions as guilt rose its ugly head in the back of her mind. ‘After we’re done’. Oh, Arals damn her. This whole journey and situation was just one big mess.
Ayuen frowned at her comment, shaking her head.
“Maybe. I’m not convinced. Look, I am at the point that I can concede the fact that I like him. But making a move... Just doesn’t feel right.”
A sudden pang of longing and pain shot through Trïeste’s heart as she barely managed to conjure a smile on her face.
“Can’t disagree more. This would be THE time to make a move. Calm down your and his nerves.” She decided that switching up the subject would probably be the best for her sanity. Turning to their guide, she leaned back and stretched her arms.
“So Tira, what about your love life? I saw you peekin’ at Rove too.”
Tira sniggered and waved Trïeste's question away. “Oh, it’s nothing romantic or deep from my end. As far as I’m concerned, Rove is a nice enough man with a pretty face and an even prettier body. As I said, I wouldn’t mind spending the night with him, but if he’s already taken…” The guide winked to Ayuen, who turned a shade redder than she’d already been. “… I can lay off and find myself another man to woo down the line.”
Ayuen’s cheeks were getting close to the colour of her hair now. A bit more, and her colours would all blend in nicely. Now that should be a sight. Tira and Trïeste looked at each other, then looked at Ayuen at the same time. Snorts abounded, the both of them trying to hold in their laughter, but soon enough their laughter echoed through the mountains.
When the laughter died away and Ayuen’s angry and embarrassed glares didn’t send both Trïeste and Tira into another giggling fit, they wiped away their tears and quickly apologized. The atmosphere between the three of them had shifted into a more relaxed vibe. Trïeste decided that even though she didn’t agree with Tira’s stance on ‘wooing men’, she liked the woman a good bit nonetheless. She was still wondering about one thing.
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“So Tira, question. Why are you so loose when it comes to men? I mean, that Ayuen is more of a restrained maiden with hidden desires, I don’t find surprisin’. All that poet stuff goin’ on and all. But you sound like you’re not even considerin’ a relationship. Care to tell the story?”
The guide let out a long deep sigh. “Not much to tell, really. Just had a few unfortunate encounters with men and long term relationships. See, I’ve been living in Tinkersong for a good six years now since I was eighteen summers old. And Tinkersong isn’t the most bustling of towns or cities. And that’s putting it lightly.” Tira took a good swig of water. “Not to brag, but I am not the ugliest thing to look at, and I wasn’t back then. Wasn’t long before the few bachelors at Tinkersong took notice. At first, all was good. I felt confident, relishing all the attention they gave me. Then, things got weird. Older men and women tried their hand as well, and some of them even tried to bribe me. I don’t truly swing that way, so I declined. Don’t get me wrong, I was flattered, but it wasn’t my cup of tea. The first couple of months, things were still manageable. The guards helped out when needed, seeing my plight. Bless their souls. But eventually, some suitors got crafty and tried to do things under the table and out of the guard’s sight. All came to a head when they tried to kidnap me when I was sleeping at my parent’s place. My father just managed to scare the intruders away with an old rifle he’d brought from Handport.
After that, I opted to stay outside of town and out of sight, taking up the mantle of a guide. Been guiding ever since, only getting into Tinkersong while with friends. And that’s my life story in a nutshell. Nothing too special, except as a cautionary tale as to why some people just cannot be trusted. I want to be the judge to see if any lovers are good for me to be with longer or not, not the other way around. Since then, I’ve been mostly on my own, with a few exceptions here and there.”
Trïeste blinked at her, somewhat taken aback. Didn’t expect that kind of story. Maybe the woman was just lonely and hungry for a good partner. Ayuen tilted her head too as the poet answered.
“At least you’ve got your friends. Rove mentioned something about you being in a group as well when you... tried him in the inn. Who were they, if I might ask?”
“Those girls? Some old friends, some clients, all women that are just interested in my lifestyle. As I said, I do visit the town from time to time. Visiting the few friends I still have left does satisfy my hunger for social interaction, together with finding decent men I would like to hang around with for a night.”
“What about your parents?” Trïeste asked, putting a worrying tone into her voice. It took some effort to not think of her parents, and she visibly shivered at the endeavour. “Don’t you have to visit them, too?”
“My parents threw me out when I was twelve. I am the third daughter of a wealthy merchant in Makar. I wasn’t the son he wanted, so he threw me out in a drunken rage, tied me up and put me on a ship towards Handport. Paid for the whole trip upfront. Been stuck out here on the Grasping Isle ever since.”
Tira scoffed when Ayuen put a hand over her mouth in shock, the Pyrn’s eyes widening and wings quivering. “Oh please, Ayuen. Good old daddy did me a favour. Would’ve had quite a miserable life if I had stayed. Dull dresses and arranged marriages, bleh. Life’s much better here.”
Well, that’s one way of looking at life, Trïeste supposed. Not the choice she would’ve made. But if the Vysari guide was happy spending her days like this, who was she to judge?
“Heh, so you’re on your own in the woods with a few trips to town to restock and have some fun? Just ferryin’ people around and saving up some money? Sounds like a pretty chill life to me too, I’ll admit.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty much what I do all day. Anyway, where are the guys? They’re taking too long and I want something else to stare at.”
Ayuen stood up, looking at the forest’s edge.
“Excellent question. I will look if I can find where they are at. If you two would excuse me…”
Trïeste gave Ayuen a wide grin as she shuffled away towards the forest’s edge. “Be safe out there! Don’t let the wild Roves bite you, hehe.”
And the next moment Ayuen disappeared into the undergrowth, letting her alone with Tira. The two women looked at each other, both grinning foolishly at one another.
“Well, there she goes, the fair innocent maiden called Ayuen,” Tira remarked, stretching out her arms and shifting her body around to loosen her muscles a bit. The guide was quite the looker, Trïeste saw. Supple body, well-proportioned hips and shapely breasts that were not overly big or too small. Trïeste glanced down at her own body to compare. Her hips were more narrow than Tira’s, but her buxom was slightly bigger, so she had that going for her. Sniggering a bit to herself, she sat down on the ground and shuffled closer to the fire.
“Yep, very innocent indeed. Just a fair warnin’ though, I’m probably on the same level of naivety as far as men, sex, and love go.”
“Ah, you’ll learn soon enough. You’ve got the interest and teasing parts down, right?” Sticking a piece of honied bread on a stick, Tira held a snack over the campfire to heat it. She’d taken out a jar of the golden syrupy goodness and put it beside her. “The sex part will come in time. Just don’t make the same mistake I did, alright?”
“I’ll keep it in mind. Will make sure I’m not goin’ down the same slippery slope you did.”
“Good! Now, enough talk. More bread and honey!”
Tira nodded to the jar of honey beside her, standing next to a small loaf of bread. A pile of sharpened sticks lay beside the campfire. Rove’s handiwork.
Trïeste thought about it for a moment, before quickly ripping off a piece of bread and sticking it into the honey. Tira sniggered and did the same, taking another piece to devour. As her sweet snack heated up above the fire, her thoughts wandered again. Her eyes wandered towards her handy storage box.
It was almost time to do that damned orb again. Didn’t like it one bit, but what choice did she have? Exactly none. Better not to think about her job too much. Didn’t want to go completely bonkers halfway through the journey.
The image of Sneak crouching next to her with that curious expression flashed before her mind’s eye, accompanied by a feeling of longing and sadness. Her companions soothed her mind. The talking, the comradery. They made her laugh and made her have some fun.
Coming to a decision, Trïeste nodded. She would go and find a way to get what she wanted. If luck was with her, she might just be able to get what she wished for without too much pain. She just hoped that fate didn’t throw a spanner in the works.
[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/876104022833127448/1080129838712619149/Eye3.png]Art by Fantastical, Fantastical Art Licence