We had stayed out later than most, eating and drinking everything our eyes convinced us we still had room for in our stomachs. Fortunately, we did not need to buy any more food for The Boys, not because their hunger had been completely sated, but rather because people of all sorts would toss them snacks. Word had quickly spread concerning the results of the cheese eating contest and its champions, and a veritable flock of children followed after The Boys to see what more would be eaten if offered. More than a handful of youths had begged parents at one food stand or another for tasty morsels to be thrown to their hero, and ample numbers succeeded in securing such sacrifices from begrudging parents. More than a few drinks had been purchased for us as well, which Chooka had taken with enthusiasm.
“Good morning, Sunshine!” I shouted with cheerful and exaggerated enthusiasm as I pulled apart the curtains at the bedroom window to invite in the sun’s rays, which obliged in earnest.
A muffled moan came from the bed, followed by a pillow flung in my general direction. A tired and hungover Chooka grumbled and muttered curses as she pulled blankets over her head to ward her from the offending sunlight.
I retrieved the pillow and used it to smack her on the backside. “Up and at ‘em! Time to seize the day and make the most of it.” I made sure to be extra chipper in exactly the way that would annoy anyone suffering from a night of excessive indulgence in adult beverages.
Chooka pulled the blanket tighter, cocooning herself inside her final bastion against the coming day. Seizing the advantage presented, I scooped her up and carried her now flailing and entangled form downstairs and to the kitchen, depositing her on a nearby upholstered chair. Now properly jostled awake, she yawned and stretched as she let slip the blanket, which fell to the floor.
“What time is it?” she asked groggily as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
“It is the crack of noon. How do you feel?” I asked as I started a fire in the stove and set about cooking up some grub.
“By the gods, that late already?” She winced as she clutched one hand to her head. “My head is pounding, got anything for that?” she asked as she huddled on the chair.
“I can make you some tea for that. You need to stay hydrated to help cure the ailment brought on from your bender last night. How much do you even remember?”
“The last thing I remember was the cheese thief that slipped on something. The one who got dogpiled by a horde of kids,” she said as she accepted a glass of water I offered her.
“Oh, so that happened like an hour before we headed home. I had to carry you most of the way here. That is better than I expected, for as much as you drank.”
“Please stop me next time if I go that far. I don’t normally go so hard, but festivals bring that side of me to the forefront.”
“Okay,” I said as I made my way to the front door, “but don’t get mad at me when I do.”
I popped out to the flower garden in front of the house. In the pond down the slight hill that the house sat upon, I spied three snoozie boys poking their heads out of the water as they slumbered blissfully. At least that was a pleasing sight, unlike the garden. Aside from being in a sorry shape on part of the previous owner’s terrible attempts at homemaking, some of the plants therein were at least of medicinal use, if not of good taste for aesthetics. I plucked the ones I needed for the tea and headed back inside. Surprisingly, Chooka had not opted for a song and dance routine at my glorious return, but rather, she had remained in exactly the same position I had witnessed before stepping outside.
“Some good hoggerdog tea should do the trick. Their roots can do wonders for a hangover,” I said to Chooka, not bothering to check if she even listened.
I used a mortar and pestle to grind up the roots, bringing them to a boil in a small pot of shallow water before setting it aside to cool while I tended to the rest of breakfast. Bacon, eggs, toast, and some mixed vegetables slathered in a thick and savory gravy were on the menu this morning. The tea roots, now cooled, became the next target of my culinary skills as I started cooking the eggs. I scraped off an oily substance that had partially congealed at the top of the tea once the eggs started sizzling away in a small veneer of bacon grease.
“This here is the bad part of the roots that makes them bitter,” I said as I turned to Chooka while showing her my handiwork. “You don’t want to drink that stuff.” I took the rest and put it in a larger pot with more water, bringing it to boil once again around the time the eggs finished. I strained the tea into a teapot by virtue of a fine cheesecloth. The residual powder had no further use, so I dumped that in a refuse bin.
With the meal nearly finished, I set the table and placed the teapot upon it. I made a second trip for our breakfast plates, and upon my return, I had found an eagerly awaiting Chooka on her chair at the table.
“Here you go,” I said to her as I put a plate before her.
Chooka clapped twice and paused for but a moment with her head slightly downturned before she took utensils to hand and set about devouring the meal, all the while employing questionable table manners. She crammed food into her waiting mouth as fast as her hands could prepare it, eating half of what was on her plate before drinking down an entire glass of tea in one go.
“Ah! That’s the good stuff,” she yelled out as she slammed down her glass. “I am glad I chose you to be my main squeeze.” Chooka took a moment to offer me a hearty smile before diving back in to finish the rest of her meal.
I myself had been taking my time to savor the flavor, using my spoon for its proper purpose rather than as a shovel. I swallowed my food and wiped my mouth before replying. “Were there other contenders of note?” I asked with genuine curiosity.
Chooka washed down the rest of her food with another glass of tea before responding. “Well, I have several other lovers. None of them are worth much more to me than keeping me company on lonely nights, so I guess none of them were ever really in the running,’ she answered casually. She paused for a moment after finishing speaking, before suddenly tensing up, as if the full implications of her words had completed the process of percolating in her brain.
“Oh,” I remarked with the same degree of concern as one may have when talking about the rainfall patterns from five centuries ago. “I am well aware of your Blessing, and I have heard tales of your promiscuity, so it stands to reason that you would.” I paused for a moment for effect as I looked directly at her, our eyes locked on one another. “I know we haven’t really talked about it, but I don’t expect or demand you to change your lifestyle just for me,” I stated calmly. Chooka studied me closely, her attention fixated on my every word, concern etched at the corners of her features. “As long as they don’t sap your desire and availability for me, I don’t have any problems with it. I know I can be away for days at a time during a job, so I would think those would be the best times for you to indulge such desires when you do so with others.”
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A smile replaced her concern as she sighed in relief, the tension melting away as she relaxed her shoulders. “I am sorry we did not talk about this sooner,” she said sheepishly. “I am glad that you are not hurt by my nature and my desires for companionship. For the record, I am completely fine with you having other people that you bed.” She paused for a while, and since I detected that concluded the conversation, I resumed eating. “Perhaps you could share the good ones with me in our bed sometime,” Chooka said playfully as she took her glass of tea and sipped slowly at it while averting her gaze from mine.
I choked on my food a little bit, and I downed half a glass of tea myself to clear my throat. Once I regained my composure, I responded properly. “That would be quite the development indeed. I can’t say that I go out of my way to look for bedfellows, but if I find a good woman who fancies me and wants to explore what the two of us can do together with her, I will extend the invitation.”
Chooka smiled warmly with a hint of victorious finality to her grin as she extended her hand. “Deal!” she exclaimed as she waited for me.
I took her hand in mine and shook on it. “Deal,” I agreed.
Chooka, her form yet unbridled by the constraints of fabric or garments, rose from the table and headed for the back door, most likely to visit the privy out back. I finished my meal in solitude. She returned in short order.
“By the gods, I thought my bladder would burst,” Chooka shouted in announcement of her return. “My Blessing only gets me so far in staving off such inconveniences of nature, but a full night’s drinking taxes even my limits. I will go prepare a bath,” she said as she made her way to the stairs. “Perhaps you could join me when you finish,” she prompted coyly as she turned to ascend the stairs. “And leave the dishes, I will take care of them afterwards.
I took her up on the offer. We lingered in the tub for more than just soaking in its relaxing waters, taking our due diligence in breaking in that particular spot of the house with our favorite pastime.
“What are we going to do today?” asked Chooka as she dressed herself afterwards.
“I am of mind to go buy seed and fertilizer for the garden. Whoever lived here before us didn’t know a weed from a rock,” I said as I pulled on my boots. “I am certainly open to other ideas if you want to do something else together instead, and indeed, we could go to market together.”
“I don’t know much about gardening, but I think that would be a good thing for us to do together. Just let me do the dishes first and then you can show me the ropes.” She paused after putting on a vest before turning to me. “Wait, won’t everything be closed today?”
“You aren’t wrong, but I know some people who would be more than willing to help me out,” I replied as I finished getting dressed. “While you do the dishes, I will inspect the garden again to tally up what we need.”
“You got it!” shouted Chooka as she snapped a smart salute before breaking out in a smile.
We each tended to our chores, and before long, we set off together. We let The Boys continue to sleep, seeing no need to have them tag along. We made our way to various back alleys in town, calling upon various miccen merchants whom I had become acquainted with these past few weeks. We went through the whole song and dance routine of customs and courtesies, meeting the little ones that were growing up like beanstalks, talking shop about gardening, haggling through the “I’ll give you the family discount”, “Oh, you don’t have to”, and “I insist”, as is the custom. Chooka paid attention to everything I purchased and how I interacted with the locals, not that she was devoid of her own social grace, but rather, she was curious in how I went about such things. Apparently, I had satisfied her standards, and by two hours later, the pair of us merrily made our way back home.
It was when we opened the front gate that we knew something was amiss. The pond remained absent its new resident, and a quick survey of the grounds revealed no sign of our hydra.
“Boys, where are you!” shouted Chooka as she ran towards the pond. I looked around for any sign of them or their passing, but the walls to the property showed no signs of demolition. I activated a Skill to locate The Boys, giving me knowledge of their direction from me and their heading, but not their distance.
“This way!” I shouted to Chooka, who promptly ran hither.
We retraced our journey from where we started, for the path of The Boys suggested that they had followed us. Having returned from a different direction, we missed them completely. The two of us ran along at a good clip, not fast enough to cause panic or concern in onlookers, but enough to certainly not elicit casual conversation from any passerby.
Following their trail had proved rather simple. My Skill soon proved unneeded, for a clear line in the dirt on the street indicated the passing of a tail dragged along by a wandering hydra. About five blocks away, we found The Boys, with Aristotle having a trash bin stuck on his head. I whistled to them, and the trio turned and waddled in our direction as fast as their little legs could carry them.
“There you are,” cooed Chooka as she pried the trash bin off Aristotle’s head. “Did you miss us?” she continued with more than a hint of baby talk. She proceeded to pet them as they licked at her affectionately.
“Plato, look at me,” I demanded sternly as I stood there with hands on my hips. Plato lowered his head down to just above the ground and looked up at me submissively. “Don’t wander off on your own, and keep your brothers in line. Got me?” I asked as I stared down at him.
Plato let out a cooing sound that I took for acquiescence, and, satisfied with his renewed devotion to obedience, I pet him on the head too. “Good boy, now let’s go home.”
As we arrived at the gates to home, I stopped our little convoy. “Alright, Boys, show me how you got out in the first place.”
Plato snapped his jaws lightly at the others, apparently getting them to cooperate with him for my command. The Boys waddled up close to the gate, about half a body length away. The trio lowered their heads snout-first onto the ground, and leaning forward, they raised their tail end up into the air. Swaying forwards and backwards, they rocked their body closer and closer to the fence, and with one final swing, they extended their necks fully and pole-vaulted up and over the gate, landing gracefully on the other side.
“Well I’ll be damned!” I exclaimed to Chooka. “Impressive and clever little buggers, aren’t they?
Chooka let out a whistle that elucidated that she found the feat impressive. “We will need to keep an eye on them. I think that is the first time we have left them alone.” She opened the gate and rushed in to hug The Boys. “The poor guys got lonely, didn’t you Boys?” They gave a few licks and a cheerful song in response to her inquiry.
I joined in on the petting and made a mental note that I would need to build a better wall. The wall stood almost to my own height, meant more to offer privacy than to provide serious security against trespass.
With that mystery solved, I showed Chooka the finer points of managing the garden. We weeded and cleaned it, keeping some plants while tossing out others. I showed Chooka how to safely transplant specimens, and together, we rearranged the keepers while planting seeds for new flowers. Another two hours passed before we had the garden in acceptable order.
“Alright, that’s that.” I said to Chooka as I dusted off my hands. “I need to go and make repairs and clean up after my escapades last night. I should be back by sundown, and then we can go to the festival together. Does that sound good to you?”
“Sounds like a plan,” replied Chooka. “I will clean up here and tend to other weeds around the property. We’ll have things spic and span in no time,” she exclaimed sharply as she flexed a bicep and clasped her other hand to it.
“Coolio. I will wash up a bit and then I’m off.”
The repairs were made to the guildhall without any event of note occurring. My skills as a handyman and carpenter had improved greatly thanks to the tutelage provided by my miccen friends, even if I did not have Skills backing them up. I had purchased the needed supplies earlier in the day, so I had no need to make more trips. The place soon became spruced up with no signs of a struggle having ever occurred. I returned home at sundown as promised, and Chooka and I cleaned up for the second time that day. With The Boys eagerly following along, we made our way to the second night of the festival.