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Two mornings later they came across a small obsticle. A shallow river crossed the
road and it appeared the nearest bridge was a day’s ride down and in horrible repair.
Riding up to it they checked to see how deep it was.
“I don’t think it’ll be a problem to just cross here,”Kat said and D nodded, leading
his horse in. Leading her own in they quickly crossed the river and a few hours later
found themselves outside the village.
They rode up quietly and as they entered the town it sat before them in silence. A
few voices were heard talking by the one house to the right and most of the horses were in
slightly dilapidated shape but still inhabited.
D looked around for a nearby shop, inn or tavern and to the right where the voices
came from saw a sign for the taven and inn and beside it the general store. Riding over to
them Kat spotted the owners of the voices. Two tired old men sat outside the tavern in
chairs, reminiscing til they spotted D and Katrina. They gave them an odd look then
continued their talk quietly.
D dismounted tying his horse to a post as Kat did the same.
“How long are we staying here for?” She asked.
D shrugged and replied,”Only the night I suppose.”
She looked at him,”Ok. In that case I’m only getting one room. If that’s ok with
you.”
D nodded and said,”We can purchase supplies tomorrow.”
“Ok,”she said with a shrug,”Whenever...”
Going to her horse she grabbed a small pouch with money in it.
“I’ll go get us a room.”
Nodding D replied,”I’ll be inside.”
They both walked into the tavern/inn and a hush went over the room as they
entered. Each appeared menacing with their swords, and paler than average skin. Kat
went up to the bartender and innkeeper reserved a room for them. It turned out to be the
last room they had and it was on the second floor with only one bed. After paying she
walked to D who had taken up a seat at a table in the back of the tavern. The semi
crowded tavern eventually resumed it’s normal din of chatter as she spoke to D.
“So..”she said as she sat down.
D glanced up briefly to a barmaid then back to her and she retuned his gaze. She
pushed the small pouch towards him that held the remainder of the money she’d brought
in with her.
“Here,”she said,”My treat.. get whatever you want to eat.”
As the barmaid brought back two bowls of a sort of stew and two glasses of ale D
slid a pair of bright silver coins across the table, never touching her bag.
“You know,”she said looking at him,”I was going to pay for that..”
She grinned and D took a bite of the stew, giving her a sidelong glance. She took
a bite of the stew and chewed and swallowed it.
“At some point I’m going to do somthing nice for you,”she said,”Something that
I’ll make sure you can’t refuse.”
She smiled at him and he took another bite saying,”This seems like a quiet town,
we should be leaving quickly.”
After taking another bite she nodded and said,”I guess you’re right.”
As they ate a man burst in and strode to the bar arrogantly. D ignored the man and
as he continued eating the man sat at the bar ordering an ale. Gulping it down in almost
one swig he surveyed the room, his eyes finally resting on D and Kat sitting in the back.
D was silent and with a smirk the men strode over to the table as they continued
eating, ignoring him as he stood there arms crossed. He towered over them as they
merely sat there.
Without looking up at the man, his face still hidden under his hat D simply
asked,”Yes?”
Kat looked at D, not really acknowledging the man there til she looked up at him
out of the corner of her eye.
With a grin he said in a confident, intimidating tone,”You two are new here. I’ve
never seen you before. By your weapons I guess you’re fighters of sorts. If you’re here
to cause trouble we have enough as it is and you can just keep on traveling. Same if you
think you’re here to try and stop any problems we might have. I protect this town. You
aren’t needed.”
D was silent as towards the end of his introductory speech the man’s voice was
accompanied by a sneer as he looked down at them.
The man’s smirk turned to a frown.
“You did hear me correct? Or are you mute?”He asked then turned to Kat with a
leer,”Well girl, is your friend a mute or did he hear me?”
“...Did you want something?” D asked simply after a pause and the man chuckled,
turning back to D.
“You heard me. Now how long to you plan on staying here?”
“LUCIEN,”the bartender interjected,”Leave the paying customers alone. Geeze..
just because he took out a wolf and a couple monsters he thinks he’s the town protector.”
Lucien turned to glare at the bartender then looked at D again giving him a sour
look.
Quietly he said in a nasty tone,”You just better not cause any trouble here... Yeah..
I know there’s something wierd about you two... Pale quiet freaks...”
The man gave a loud hmph and grumbled as he slowly walked away, sitting at a
table nearby and ordering another ale and some food for himself. D smirked under his hat
as he took another bite of the stew, ignoring the man.
“Well,”Kat said quietly,”That was interesting...”
The symbiot quietly agreed with a muffled ‘uh-huh.’
D shook his head and finished his stew, glancing up at the man once he was seated
and not looking at them anymore. As Kat finished her stew she looked at D with a smile.
They finished eating as the sun set and the tavern got a bit busier, and some
rustling emerged from behind a curtain drawn across what appeared to be a small stage for
entertainment.
“Should we turn in or do you want to sit here a little longer?”She asked and as she
did a couple dancing girls came out and began dancing. The man who had confronted D
and Kat began hooting and hollering as he slammed his fist off the table. He shouted
obscene things about the girls and that he and they should get together later as D stood.
“We should go.”
She glanced to the man, giving him a sour disapproving look as she stood and
grabbed her small pouch of money.
“Yeah,”she agreed as she took the room key from the pouch, tying it up again
after she was finished.
They went upstairs and she unlocked the door, stepping inside, D following her.
The room was cozy, not elegantly furnished and the bed seemed big enough for two
people but not overly large. Beside it was a window surrounded by blossoming vines and
it looked down over a small garden or yard.
D sat down in a chair by the fireplace to remove his boots as Kat sat the key on the
dresser by the bed. She unstrapped her sword and propped it up against the wall, her cape
and gauntlets coming off almost immediately after and going on a chair by the dresser. As
she sat on the bed she removed her own boots, leaning back and relaxing in the coziness
of the bed.
Kat let out a contented sigh as she turned her head to look at D as she lay there,
saying,”This is much cozier than the ground.”
D nodded and looked at her for a moment then back to the fire. Kat moved over,
sitting up slightly as she motioned for him to come sit next to her.
“Come sit over here,”she said,”It’s comfier than a wooden chair.”
As she said it the symbiot spoke up,”At least take this blasted glove off.. If you
two can be comfy why can’t I..”
In response D sat down on the floor momentarily, putting his left hand down n a
hot stone near the fire.
“Ahhh,”the symbiot cried out,”Enough enough!”
Standing D walked over to the bed and Kat grinned at him, which turned to a smile
as he came closer. As he removed his hat and cloak he placed them on the bedpost.
“Sit down,”she said as she patted the bed next to her, her voice quiet.
D sat and lay back a bit as she grinned at him.
“See.. isn't this much nicer than the ground?”
As she said it she lay back beside him, turning on her side to face him. D smiled
slightly, glancing at her.
“Much better,”he said simply.
She grinned and stifled to hide a yawn behind her hand to hide just how sleepy she
really was. D pulled the blanket up over them a bit.
“We should get some sleep you know,”he said.
“Yeah,”she agreed as she moved closer, curling up against him and he placed an
arm around her, pulling her close. D laid his head against her own as he closed her eyes
and as she closed hers she gave a contented sigh.
“Good night D,”she whispered as she began to fall asleep,”I love you....”
“I....love you too....”
He replied quietly as they both slipped into the peaceful oblivion of sleep in each
other’s arms.