VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, [6], 7, 8, 9, 10 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 13:59:21 01/21/02 Mon
Author: Laurel Goldleaf
Subject: What's in a name?
In reply to: Marz and crew 's message, "It's 2AM and we must be leaving....." on 15:27:56 01/19/02 Sat

“It’s common practice to know as much about the people I travel with as possible.”

Laurel was about to tell Erlic that he wasn’t going to get away with such a simple explanation. He had a tendency to be vague at times, and whenever he chose to use such an overt manner of speaking, she usually decided he must be trying to hide something. Though why the infernal man should seek to keep any secrets from her she could not possibly understand. After all, he had initiated her into his own guild, a clear and certain indication that trusted her completely.

But when he went on to explain the true reason why he wished to speak with Rowan, she was actually rather shocked. What, no more sly twists of the tongue, no hidden meanings, no mysteriously open ended statements? Why, he really had been improving!

She felt a momentary feeling of unease when she learned that the two men had been discussing the shado ways, but the feeling fled once he assured her that Rowan hadn’t wanted to speak much of it. He did, however, admit that her brother hadn’t wanted to “go into great detail,” which, unless she stood corrected, must indeed indicate that he had gone into some detail. Presumably, he now knew that Rowan had once been employed as a professional killer. True, his organization was governmentally based, as well as having been founded on strong religious beliefs and principles, but there was no need to mince words. The shado were assassins.

And yet he did not seem alarmed by this admission. Of course, Erlic scarcely ever showed an emotional reaction to anything, but surely the sudden knowledge that one of your companions had the skill, as well as the lack of conscience, to kill in cold blood, had to have set him on edge. But perhaps it truly had, and he had had the time to deal with the matter, but had now learned to see past it and work around it. He was clever like that, at least she thought so. In any case, she knew he would continue to accept Rowan simply on her behalf, if nothing else. In view of that reflection, she decided that he was not very clever at all, at least not on some points.

When he brought up the cat, she smiled. “Are you going to keep it with you?” he persisted, “or will you let it go its own way?”

“Neither, I should think,” she said, raising one brow archly. “I would never force any creature to bare my company if it were against his nature. Naturally, however, I am happy to put up with those who would in turn put up with me.”

She let him ponder the double meaning to her answer, and grew silent, taking another bite of the roasted snake. It wasn’t a bad tasting dinner, but probably wasn’t the sort of thing she ought to indulge in on a regular basis. Her figure certainly wouldn’t stand for it, that was for sure!

She was about to ask him how he was liking his own snaky meal when a sudden commotion interrupted her train of thought. As if in response to Ravin’s rather amusing request, the campfire roared suddenly to life, as if a firemage had leaned in to toss something into it. Laurel brought her hands up to her chest and gasped as a huge, flaming shape shot out from Saras the genie and slammed hard into Ravin, knocking the man onto his back. Immediately, Isobel was crouched over him, but seconds later he was sitting up again, although he looked a bit dazed. When he revealed triumphantly that he could now write, Laurel smiled somewhat shakily.

“Well, isn’t that lucky,” she murmured, pulling her cloak more tightly about her and staring at the genie. She had no idea the creature was so powerful, nor that it possessed such immense fire magic. She had never been particularly partial to those who could, for fire was no friend to a druid. It burned her plants and destroyed the homes of her fellow creatures. It was part of the natural order of things, but it was still at best unpredictable. Oddly, enough, she had always managed to get on uncommonly well with the few dragons she had met, but that was perhaps because they exhibited such a tightly wound control about their own powers.

A small meowing sound made her glance over her shoulder, and she smiled again to see the cat padding quickly toward her. It was apparently quite unperturbed about the fire display, and looked extraordinarily pleased with itself. When it came up to her, it finally stopped and sat down, meowing again. A small, golden ring dropped from its mouth, rolling slightly on the earth toward her before falling on its side.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, “What’s this? Is it for me?” She picked up the ring, which was rather an ugly little thing, even after it had a good polish, and slipped it onto her still slightly shaking fingers. “Why, thank you! Aren’t you a lovely little creature, then, bringing me gifts.”

She picked the cat up and hugged it gently, before drawing back and slowly stroking the fur on its back. The animal purred like crazy, the black tip of its wildly furry tail twitching ever so slightly.

“It seems she will be staying with me,” she said to Erlic, the happy smile still on her face. “I think that means she will have to have a name, for I’ll allow no friend of mine to wander about without one. I know—since you professed such an interest in her, Erlic, then I shall give you the honor of thinking up a name for her!”

The cat continued to purr loudly, staring up at Erlic with its silent, golden eyes as if daring him to do as she asked.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

Forum timezone: GMT-6
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.