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Date Posted: 00:40:14 03/08/02 Fri
Author: Tristan, Rowan, and Laurel
Subject: Peace and good times
In reply to: Ravin and Tia 's message, "A little get-together" on 18:44:56 03/07/02 Thu

Tristan wrinkled his nose at the taste of the liquid Marz was making him drink. Why was he stuffing this stuff down his mouth anyway? He gave him a reproachful look once he finished, absently yanking the blanket that was placed over him up to his chin.

“I’m not tired,” he protested sleepily, the comforting feel of Marz’s mouth brushing against his own shutting him up momentarily. Well, I’m not, he insisted mentally, watching as the room and two figures of his friend and lover fuzzed in and out of focus. He moaned rather dejectedly when the two of them finally turned and headed out the door.

“Don’t go,” he whispered, finally closing his eyes, though he wasn’t entirely aware of doing so. “You’ll only get into trouble…” He wasn’t allowed to finish the thought, as regular consciousness finally became lost to him, and he fell into a deep and healing sleep. His dreams were plagued with visions of Marz and Corum doing fun and exciting things without him, while he lay here like a dead log, unable to protect them should the inevitable occur.

~*~*~*~*~

Rowan was happy to be dragged around by Tia because…well, hell, did he really need an explanation for that? He wondered if it would be in bad taste for him to suggest they find a nice, cozy, solitary corner of the cavern for a few minutes, considering the recent severity of the situation. Course, the only one who’d been hurt really badly had been the dragon, which, he supposed, wasn’t much of a loss, all things considered… Cripes, that wasn’t exactly proper of him to think! Tristan contributed greatly to the successful outcome of the battle, even if he was a big, nasty dragon who’d gone mad near the end of it and had practically threatened to bite their heads off.

Stupid little twit, he mused, rolling his eyes. I swear I’d beat the shit out of him if it weren’t for those other kids always hanging around him and backing him up. Naturally, he realized he wasn’t at all violent, and would never really lift a finger to hurt a fellow companion, no matter how much they didn’t quite get along, unless he was at first provoked. And he had to admit, he’d known Tristan enough, both in this world and in the other one, to know that he rarely provoked anything so much as a rock. Our pretty little pussy cat, he thought, laughing softly, Glares and flexes his claws, but that’s about it!

He winked at both Isobel and Ravin when they stopped to chat with the pair, Rowan’s eyes hovering more naturally over Isobel’s curvaceous figure than anything else. He had his Tia with him, and Ravin was quite the handsome devil himself, but he couldn’t help being momentarily enthralled by Isobel—even if she no longer wore her skimpy outfit. (Cruel woman!) He was slightly concerned by her apparently weak condition, to give him credit, but since everything seemed to be under control, he didn’t suppose there was any cause for serious alarm.

He rolled his eyes when Tia began gushing on about Tristan. Only thing nice about that kid is his face, he thought, trying to appear bored while she went on and on about how great the dragon was, and how strong, and oh boy, golly gee, how exceptionally hot his fire was. “It’s fire, Tia,” he muttered, although no one seemed to hear him. “It’s supposed to be hot.”

His bad mood vanished when she nudged him with her elbow and commented on his silence. Before she could protest, he suddenly whirled her around and planted little butterfly kisses all over her adorable little face. “Because you…don’t know…how…to shut up!” he laughed in between kisses, making her giggle hysterically in return.

“All right, troops,” he said, finally breaking away from the smaller thief. “These are your new orders, direct from your captain’s own mouth.” He poked a thumb cheekily into his chest. "You are all to join me over there,” he kindly pointed to the hot springs in the near distance, “In them yonder bits of water. Clothing is optional, though greatly discouraged, as always.”

That said, he grabbed Tia by the hand and raced toward the other end of the cavern and the steaming lake. “You know the drill, little missy,” he quipped, tugging off his shirt as they came to a screeching halt at the water’s edge. “Last one in is a rotten egg!”

~*~*~*~*~

Once the battle was successfully over, Laurel moved to gather her arrows from the bodies of her dead foes before Saras and Jeremy could successfully burn them all. A few had unfortunately been caught in the dragon fire of their brave young Tristan, but it was not a great loss. Wood and feathers were naturally scarce here, however, so the business of fletching new ones would just have to wait.

When she’d found as many as she could, she unstrung the bow, breaking it down and strapping it behind her back as always. Her newly braided hair was an added bonus, and she happily praised herself for the excellent notion. The stuff stayed in one nice clump, never tangling itself up with her bow or lute case or pack. It was much cooler, as well. Also, she liked to think that it made her look like a real adventuress, but she kept that private little thought to herself.

After a while, she was drawn to study the purple fungi growing all over the walls of the cavern. She pinned it down as some breed of lichen, its glowing nature not an unusual attribute of underground types. Probing it with her senses, she was delighted to learn that not only was it conceivably edible, but it also had a good deal of healthy nutrients in it. Excitedly, she began pulling large chunks off and bringing them to the cook fires the Jann were building up. The genie folk had brought with them a decent array of spices, too, and with the proper seasoning, once the water began boiling, too, she determined that the lichen tasted like a sort of cabbage. A glowing sort of cabbage, but cabbage nonetheless.

She looked up when she felt someone’s eyes lingering upon her, a slight frown coming t her face when she again met the blue gaze of Argus. He quickly looked away, looking a bit ashamed of himself, and she could only guess would he had been wondering about.

But despite her vague annoyance of him, she felt rather sad that he should always seem to be alone, for of course he hadn’t had much of a change to become friendly with any of the others. I see Jade has succeeded in that particular endeavor, though, she thought mildly, glancing sideways as something erupted from the open door of one of the houses, causing Erlic to throw himself bodily on Jade. The two seemed quite cozy in that position, before eventually standing and entering the abode.

She shook her mind of the pair of them, returning her attention to Argus. Her crazy brother caught her eye as he dashed off toward the lake, dragging a laughing Tia behind him. That gave her a lovely idea.

Happily, she marched over toward Argus, taking his hand warmly in her own. “Perhaps you would like to join me and a few of the others for a swim in the lake,” she offered, hoping to draw him out of his shell. By now she’d accepted that his speech impediment was a result of his horrid accent and not his potentially slow brain. Of course, she hadn’t exactly heard any expoundings of incredible wit flowing forth from his mouth, either, but one couldn’t expect everything.

“That is a funny weapon you carry,” she commented absently, glancing down at his glowing mace. After a second or two, her eyebrows creased together, and she gently reached out to stroke it with one finger. “Strange…but it seems to be giving the impression that it’s almost…alive.” She shook her head and laughed. “Well? Do you fancy a swim, my fellow brave adventurer? Or am I to go about it alone?”

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