Part two of the christmas special. If Nibiru is coming then I think its leaving kind of late, but I'll try to get as much finished before the 21st as I can... just in case.
It’s a Baneful Life
~*~
Part Two
She… she’s so strong… Aerie gulped. The blue eyed elf thought she had been prepared for this battle, with her shield firmly attached to her arm and her golden hair spread out over her shoulders beneath a metal helm that seemed a couple of sizes too big for her. But even after blocking the first blow, her legs felt rubbery and her arms heavy. But she steeled herself. She had resolved to make a stand here, for herself and for her friends; there was no way she would let them down.
Her opponent leapt and twisted in the air, getting as much momentum as possible into the swing of her quarterstaff. This time, Aerie didn’t just block, or try to bat it away. Instead, remembering what Jaheira had taught her, she deflected the blow in such a way that the momentum continued to carry her opponent forward, exposed and off balance. It would have been the perfect moment for a counter attack… but that wasn’t the plan.
Tenya growled, the young teen’s face turning almost completely red. As soon as the black haired, black eyed little priestess had composed herself, she pounced again, swinging wildly as Aerie continued to deflect and dance around her. Although the avariel seemed to be losing a lot of ground, the teen’s frustration kept growing. “Stop running away!” She cried, “stand still and let me wallop you!”
Aerie, being the underdog in most fights she’d had, didn’t normally answer back since she was too busy concentrating on not getting killed. But, this time, she said with an innocent shrug and smile, “hm… m-mind if I don’t?” She thought the girl might be getting tired, at last. She was wrong.
“Don’t get cocky!” Tenya yelled and swung, surprising the elf yet again with the speed and power of the blow. It narrowly missed Aerie’s head, but the avariel had to back step quickly, losing her balance and falling on her back.
Stunned for a second, the elf opened her eyes and rolled out the way just in time to avoid the teen’s boot coming down on her belly. Tenya hissed, fixing the elf with an icy gaze as she continued to roll up to her feet. The priestess tilted her head, perhaps considering a new strategy… but then thought of something else.
“Why are you only defending?” She asked, suspicion growing with each syllable as, for the first time, she stood perfectly still in the middle of the training room. “Maybe… maybe you’re just here to provide a diversion…” the girl realised too late.
“Now! Get her!” A sack suddenly fell over Tenya’s head, just before a red haired young woman in dark leather tackled her to the ground. “Grab her legs!” Imoen cried, desperately trying to hold on the priestess.
Another young woman, with brown hair tied into a ponytail and an almost perfectly spherical face, jumped in to try and restrain the girl’s feet.
Tenya’s cries, although slightly muffled, were clear enough through the sack covering her entire torso. “Get this thing offa me! It itches!”
“Yeah, well,” Imoen sighed, “maybe if you didn’t bite so much it wouldn’t be necessary, now, would it?”
“I said get off me!” Still thrashing about, Tenya managed to get one of her feet free and kick out, catching the brown haired woman on the chin.
Gasping, Aerie hurried over, first to check that Skie was okay, then to help in subduing the priestess.
“It’s alright,” Skie told her, getting a hold of both feet again, “I’ve got it…”
“This is isn’t fair!” Tenya wailed, “It’s three against one!”
Imoen smirked, “see your maths is improving…”
“I’ll get you all for this! I… I-I’ll summon whole swarms of face eating jellyfish!”
“Sure, sure… alright?” The redhead nodded to Skie, who nodded back. “Let’s get her up, then…” between them, they heaved the girl up and as fast as they dared through, the priestess still thrashing and trying to break free.
“I’ll report you!” Tenya cried as she was removed, “this is child abuse!”
Aerie, still panting, collapsed against a wall. The diminutive blonde dropped her shield, and slowly removed her helmet, wiping a forearm across her weary brow.
“That was quite a raucous, wasn’t it?” Yet another woman, a bit taller than all of the others and with reddish-brown hair and finely stitched blue and gold clothing, materialised next to the elf. “Does that sort of thing happen often here?”
“E-every other tenday, at least,” Aerie admitted.
“Are you okay?”
“Y-yes… I will be, thank you, Nalia,” the elf sighed, “the… the funny thing is, she’s fine… o-once you get her in the bath, she calms right down.”
--
Tenya could faintly be heard splashing, and singing, and very happily playing with her ducks by Skie and Aerie in the shop downstairs.
Currently, the shop was closed, as Skie, who Imoen had entrusted with running the business side of things, had decided to do some remodelling, as well as expand the range of products. Previously it had just been a bookshop, but Skie said that there probably wasn’t much call for a bookshop in a city where the majority of people couldn’t read; that was the kind of business acumen she had absorbed from her family in Baldur’s Gate, who had long been a merchant family before getting involved in politics… before the whole Eldoth thing happened and she got booted out.
The windows were foggy. Aerie wiped a cloth across one of the panes, and tried to peer outside. Even with her eagle-like vision, it was impossible to see very far through all the falling snow. There only two people outside, a couple, hunched and huddled together as they crunched through the thick white carpet on their way home. It can’t have snowed in Amn for many, many years. The last time Aerie had seen snow was back home, in the mountains. She and her friends would have snowball fights. She was always able to scoop up quite a lot, then take off and soar through the air on one of her bombing runs… The elf suddenly jumped.
“Aerie!” Skie yelled in her ear. “Stop thinking!”
“Um,” the elf looked at the brunette, perplexed, “e-excuse me?”
“Imoen warned me not to let you start thinking. She said whenever you do, you get all anxious and depressed about everything.”
“But… I-I wasn’t. I was smiling… I… I-I was remembering a time when… w-when I was happy…” she hung her head.
“Forget about it. Look; the reason I asked you here us because… well, I think you need to work on your sales patter a bit.”
“I do?”
“You remember last time you were working? A customer came in, and you… you immediately hid behind the counter. And when he rang the bell you said there was no-one in.”
“I panicked… I-I’m sorry…”
“Well, you shouldn’t panic like that, Aerie,” Skie lifted the blonde’s chin and continued to help build her confidence, “There’s no reason for you to be nervous around strangers. I mean, you’re smart, you’re pretty… you’re just as good as anyone else out there. Plus, it’s not good for business, is it?”
“It’s just… I-I only used to come down here, because… we never had any customers before. I-it was relaxing; I could just sit down and read all the books on my own,” the elf finished with a wistful sigh.
“Well I’m determined to make this business a success,” Skie said, emphasising it by punching her own palm, “I mean, it may just be one tiny shop now, but… we can expand. Open others… maybe even some franchises. Heh, yeah… my family may have disavowed me, but someday, I will go back… oh, yes, I will go back. And then I’ll show those treacherous leeches what a hostile takeover really is…”
“Um… Skie?” Aerie blinked. “You… you’re scaring me…”
“Oh… sorry,” the brunette shook her ponytail. “Anyway; Imoen thinks it’ll be good for you to learn how to deal with the general public.”
“I-I suppose,” the elf sighed resignedly, “W-where is Imoen, anyway?”
“She said she had to arrange something; she’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Imoen… h-had to arrange something?” Aerie repeated, slowly. “A-am I the only person to whom that sounds a little bit… ominous?”
“If it’s another one of her pranks I expect we’ll all find out about it soon enough. Shall we get on?”
“I-I suppose…”
“Good. So, you’ve looked over all the new products and the notes I gave you?”
“Yes, but… look, I-I really don’t feel comfortable about, well… lying to people…”
“You’re right; don’t lie. Never lie when you’re selling; you’ll just get caught.”
“But… some of the things it says in these pamphlets…”
“Are all true. There’s not a single lie anywhere.”
“Really?” Aerie looked highly doubtful.
“No; you see, you’ve just got to learn to approach the truth from a more obtuse angle,” Skie explained, but Aerie still seemed doubtful.
“R-right… I… don’t really know what that means.”
“Well, take this anti-aging cream here. We say, ‘it’s proven to show results in one hundred per cent of women’.”
“Y-yes… although, half of them did turn into lizards…”
“Which is a result. So we’re not lying; we just leave that bit out. You see?”
“I… I suppose,” the elf’s doubt had not in fact lessened to any degree. “I suppose, t-technically in an experiment, if nothing happens, then it’s a result…”
“Like with the incense that’s supposed to keep yetis away. Or,” Skie leaned over a shelf stacked with bottles, “oh! How about this one; it’s a lotion that fights baldness.”
“So… i-it fights,” Aerie pondered, “i-in the same way that a rabbit might fight a bear. W-we’re not saying anything about its chances of actually winning?”
“You see! You are getting the hang of this!”
“It… it still feels dishonest, somehow… a-and some of this, like that yeti thing… t-that could result in people really getting hurt, if they start putting their trust in something that’s really unproven…”
“But there are such good margins on that!” Skie pleaded, but Aerie was putting her foot down on this point, metaphorically anyway. “Oh, all right,” the human woman relented, “look; when Imoen gets back, we’ll go through everything, and if you think it could really hurt someone, then we won’t sell it. Okay?”
“Okay. Good.”
“Heh… you know, I guess that’s why Imoen likes you so much.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean… I suppose, if you were to look at our little group as being a single entity, then you’re clearly the conscience. The other parts are… less clear, and overall it’s probably not a very good analogy, but your role in it, I think, is one thing we can be certain of.”
“I…” it took Aerie a moment to fully deconstruct all that. “Imoen is a good person,” she said at last, “she doesn’t need me for that.”
“Sure; she is a good person… basically. But, so much has been happening to her recently that I think she does need someone close to her to help keep her on the right path. So I’m just saying, I’m glad she found you.”
Aerie was about to answer, when the shop door opened, ringing the little bell Jan Jansen had recently installed, which to everyone’s surprise, seemed to work exactly like the gnome said it would.
“Heya!” Imoen beamed as soon as she entered, her skin pale except for very red cheeks. She spoke as she unwrapped her scarf and removed her heavy cloak, hanging it on a hook in the corner. “You talking ‘bout me? What have I told y’all about doing that behind my back?”
“You talk about people behind their backs all the time,” Skie reminded her.
Imoen didn’t seem to understand what point she was making. “Well, that’s different,” she shrugged, “I’m me. Now, what’ve you been saying? If it was about me causing all this bad weather ‘cos I made fun of Auril, then it’s all a lie.”
“Yeah… no. We were just…”
“So, I painted a moustache on one little statue? But I mean, who expects a goddess to throw a hissy fit over something so trivial? You’d… think they’d be above that, really…”
“No… we were just talking about the shop. About the incense that keeps yetis away…”
“Really? That could be handy in this weather... how’s it work?”
Aerie shook her head. “It doesn’t…”
Imoen arched an eyebrow. “You sure?”
“Of course I’m sure. A-and, does it matter? There aren’t any yetis around here anyway…”
“So, it does work then! I’ll take a dozen!”
“Oh… you’re just winding me up,” Aerie huffed, “y-you’re… such a child…”
“And this coming from someone who won’t go to sleep ‘til I bring her a glass of warm milk every night…”
Skie was intrigued. “Really?”
“Uh-huh. Sometimes she makes me read her a story as well.”
Aerie stamped her foot, clenching her tiny fists. “Those are lies!”
Imoen laughed. “Awww… but, look! Your cheeks have turned bright red… so cute,” she grinned, pinching the cheeks in question.
The elf mumbled, “s-stop… stop that…”
“Look at your little chubby face!” The redhead said, like she was talking a baby.
“Y-you know I don’t like it…”
“Who’s a pretty girl? Is it you, girl?”
“Right… t-that’s it!” Aerie thrust her arms up between Imoen’s, and out, breaking the grip. Before the redhead could resume the torture, the elf had tackled her and they were rolling on the floor.
“Hey… Hey! You two,” Skie tried desperately to make herself heard over all the yelping and giggling, “please, can you be…” too late. One of the pyramids she’d spent hours arranging came tumbling down in seconds. “… Careful,” she sighed. “How can I be expected to run a business when this keeps happening?”
After a few moments, Imoen was sat up in front of the counter, her arms around Aerie who she’d sat up just in front of her. “Give?” She asked.
The elf raised an arm… but instead of trying to break the redhead’s hold, she pointed out the window. “L-look…” she croaked.
“Oh, no… I’m not falling for that again…”
“No… o-on the pier… a woman…”
Skie stepped over them, to the window. “She’s right,” the brunette confirmed, “there is someone there.”
“So?” Imoen asked.
“Well… she’s naked. Almost.”
Now, of course, none of them were usually interested in seeing other naked women. But, considering what the weather was like out there, this one did pique their curiosity. So Imoen let Aerie go, and all three of them had their noses against the glass, staring. The woman in question had fair skin, and long pink… really pink hair. She seemed to be wearing just a white loincloth and bra. Strange that she didn’t seem to be shivering as she stood right on the edge of the pier, gazing into the water.
“The waters ice cold,” Skie whispered.
Aerie looked to the others. “You… y-you don’t think she’s thinking about…?” She didn’t need to finish; it was what they were all thinking. What other explanation could there be?
“Lets… go and ask her,” Imoen suggested. They all hurried outside, grabbing their respective cloaks as they went, still tying them as they ran along the planks and exposing themselves to the grey skies and bitter wind. The redhead slowed, not wanting to get so close as to make the young woman, well, jumpy.
“Heya,” she greeted.
“Sod off,” the woman answered.
“Sorry… didn’t mean to be a bother. I just thought it would be a nice day for a walk on the pier. You too, huh?”
“No.”
“Right, right… you, do seem a little bit underdressed for it, if you don’t mind me saying…”
“It doesn’t matter,” the pink-haired woman shook and bowed her head toward the deep, dark waves. “Nothing matters.”
“Oh, no… no, that ain’t true. Lots of things matter. Like… like you. You matter, dontcha? Every person matters.”
“I’m not a person.”
“Now, don’t believe that. Life can be cruel, sometimes, but nothing that’s happened makes you any less of a person…”
“You really don’t understand…”
“Well, why don’t you tell us about it? It helps, sometimes, just to get things off your chest, y’know?”
“I tried. I really tried my best, but… I don’t know. I just don’t understand love and… the other stuff…”
“Oh… that old chestnut. Well, y’know, it’s true what they say. There are plenty more fish in the sea,” Imoen said, then thought about what was happening. “O-or not, actually… maybe best to stay out of the sea…”
“Fish are no good. Their brains just aren’t evolved enough.”
“Er… r-right,” Imoen glanced back to the others, mouthing ‘what’? They just shrugged.
“I mean, you’d think it would be easy, wouldn’t you? Seducing men.”
“Um, I… I guess…”
“The first one thought I’d come to audition for some show; he just told me I was cute then gave me a card. The second one was too old, really; he had a heart attack the moment my breast touched his face. The third one… I think I might have come on too strong and scared him off, or something…”
“Y-yeah,” Imoen was, well, finding this all a bit hard to follow. “That’s… unlucky… I guess…”
“You wanna talk about unlucky? There I was, walking along, when suddenly two fella’s came and grabbed me from behind, dragging me into an alley… well, of course, I thought my prayers had been answered, but do you know what happened?”
“Er… what?”
“Some stupid, tin-headed paladin came and chased them away! How unlucky was that?”
“I’m… not sure what to say to that. Which is rare for me…”
“I mean, what is wrong with this world? Are there no more indecent men left?”
“Not sure what to say to that either…”
“There… there was one other. But, when the time came, I just… I couldn’t go through with it. All that… mucky stuff,” she finally shivered, “besides, he’d been so nice to me that it… it didn’t feel right. Not right at all… but, what it means is, I’m finished. Might as well just pack it all in and… embrace oblivion.”
Imoen blinked, still completely lost. “Well, I still don’t really understand at all what’s been going on, but… c’mon. It’s other people who sacrifice virgins; you don’t have to do it yourself,” she said, reaching out a hand. “Just… step back a bit, okay?”
“What? What are you talking about? I wasn’t going to…” she turned around, fast, and hit Imoen’s arm. It was a light blow, but she was obviously surprised the redhead had managed to creep so close… and she lost her balance, shortly before a splash.
The redhead gritted her teeth. “Great… just… just hold on!” She yelled, pulling off her boots.
“No… I-Imoen, you can’t!” Aerie hurried forward. “The water’s freezing…”
“We can’t just leave her, can we? You two just get ready to pull me out…” she dived in before there could be any more protests. “O-o-h y-e-ah… that… t-t-that is c-c-cold,” she noted as backstroked, and tried to look around for the pink haired woman… she was finding it very hard to control her muscles… in fact, she already seemed to have lost her legs altogether. Then she heard some splashing coming toward her.
“You stupid mortal… what’d you go and do that for?” The pink haired woman swam up and put an arm around her.
“I-I-I’m… s-s-saving… you…”
“Sure; you’re a hero. Just try not to hyperventilate on me, okay?” A wooden ring splashed down and floated nearby, a rope tied to it with Skie and Aerie on the other end ready to pull them in.
Edited by Coutelier, 16 December 2012 - 02:20 PM.
