((This tale takes place immediately after the events in Thursday's profile, and quests that sadly are no longer on the forum. Not meant for children or those who may find love between two women disturbing. Oh yeah,violence too.))
“You don’t have to carry it all the time.” Daisy told her, nudging her in the ribs with a playful elbow. Thursday knew she didn’t, but she wanted to. For her, the pack draped over her shoulder was hardly noticeable, it’s weight nothing more than an afterthought to someone like her, but there was more to it than that. In the dirty brown thing were two objects of immense value to one who knew of them. The Obsidian Soul, an artificial means of reviving and sustaining those who are deceased, and the journal of a man known only as Dante, or to Thursday, Father. In this journal were things that she did not want Daisy to see or know ever. Like how she died and who was responsible.
Besides, things were perfect the way they were. Much like their island home, the two of them abandoned the refugees of Effaria quickly. They sped from Serenti and headed toward Radasanth, determined to make the journey across land. Thursday made the decision for them, as on their week-long trip toward Corone, she discovered that the sea was not her place, and spent most of her time at the rails, emptying her stomach of its contents on a daily basis. Even she, a being created to deal death and pain, was not perfect. She knew it now more than ever, as walking at her side, was a living, breathing weakness waiting to be exploited. Thursday knew better. She was trained and taught to know that emotional attachment to anything more than a sword or a horse was dangerous. Not just to her, but to the other party as well, and frankly, she didn’t care.
“I like carrying it. It makes me feel like I’m in control of you.” Thursday said with a grin. They both chuckled, knowing full well that nobody could control a woman as wildly spirited as Daisy. Thursday certainly was close though. She discovered this on their boat when, while having advances made upon her by those few soldiers that had survived the battle and sailed with them, Daisy snapped, breaking several limbs and severely injuring a few others with her bare hands. There was no King on that boat, and no law. As far as that specific ship went, Thursday was the ruler, and she decreed that Daisy could do whatever the hell she wanted as long as she didn’t get hurt. So she did, and others were hurt instead.
“Do you think they’ll be okay? The, uh, escapers I mean.”
“Refugees, Daisy. We call them refugees.” Thursday corrected, looking at her with a sly wink. She felt weird doing it, as if somehow it was a mocking gesture to wink at a woman with one eyelid. “And I really don’t care. We’re okay, right?”
Daisy didn’t say anything in reply. While she could match Thursday as far as it came in bloodlust, her empathy and heart were far more accepting and developed. Daisy was the first person Thursday met who she did feel merely sexual inclinations towards. With her brown haired companion, Thursday felt genuinely happy. It was a shock, of course, when she had spent most of her life in a fog of hatred that extended toward almost all living beings. A fog that, for the most part, had not exactly cleared away save for a small spot in which Daisy stood alone.
“Do you think that your brother is still coming for you?” Daisy asked, coughing as a horse sped past them on the path, kicking dust into the air in its wake. It really was an idyllic scene. A dirt road that, on occasion, would branch away, carving through the fields like a child’s drawing toward a farm or other unknown buildings. The sun was halfway down, making the world’s oranges and browns stand out more than ever. Together, Daisy and Thursday walked along toward the ever growing sight of trees. Appearing almost endless like the forests of Effaria, they were taller and bushier than those on their home island. Thursday had a feeling that a lot of things on Corone would be different.
“He probably is. So what? If I’m gonna be killed, I may as well be killed by a guy that well dressed.” she said, eliciting a nervous, somewhat forced laugh from her partner. Thursday stopped walking and stared steadily at her. “Hey, lighten up, will you? I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. Gods and Demons alike couldn’t take me away from the sight of your beautiful blue eye, okay?”
Daisy smiled a bashful smile, her cheeks turning a light hue of red. It reminded Thursday that she really was nothing more than a young woman. Though living her third life, she was hardly even in her twenties. Not only this, but her dependency, while endearing, was also worrying at the same time. If, for some reason she had to go, Daisy would be in a truly terrible state indeed. Thursday quelled the thought and kissed her on the lips, lingering there for a few moments. She let her smaller nose brush against Daisy’s somewhat larger one as she stepped back, grinning. Looking away was all Thursday could do to suppress the giddy chuckle that rose in her throat. It’d been happening a lot and was beginning to really bother her.
“Come on. This path has got to lead to a town. We’ll stop there, get a room, get some food, get naked and well, I am sure you can-”
“Um, about that…” Daisy interrupted, looking shyly at the ground. Thursday grimaced.
“It’s not that time, is it?” Thursday asked, not envying human females for their monthly ritual. Daisy scoffed and smiled, shaking her head as if she couldn’t believe she’d actually been asked what she had.
“No! Jeez! I haven’t gotten that since my um… first death.” she said, the both of them going silent suddenly. It was not a subject that either of them wanted to address.
“Well then what’s the problem?” Thursday asked, once again breaking the ice.
“We have no money.” Daisy replied simply, holding a limp looking pouch of leather in her hands.
“I guess we’ll need to find some then, won’t we?” Thursday hinted mischievously, as though she had a plan. She didn’t. She’d want to be sitting down somewhere and relaxed before trying to devise a plan. Thus, they continued onward, passing into the treeline without fuss. Filtered by the leaves, the entire clearing the path encompassed seemed to hold a green glow. Only certain beams of pure, unhindered orange managed to pass through small breaks in the foliage, highlighting them as they walked past
“It’s really beautiful here. This forest seems so… nice.”
“You mean you like these trees more than the ones that tried to kill us back home?” Thursday asked sarcastically. Daisy punched her on the arm in reply.
Down the path they traveled, Thursday noticing that thin grooves lined it, signifying that they were not somewhere under-traveled or obscure, but on their way somewhere familiar to most people from the larger cities nearby. Perhaps it was a trade route or a logging town or even merely a resting point for weary travelers. They’d find out soon enough.
“Wow! Look at that house!” Daisy exclaimed, a sudden break in the trees revealing a branching path that ended at a massive, beautiful forest home. It was several floors high and had a few somewhat casually dressed men dwelling outside of it, smoke rising in plumes from one’s upturned head.
“Hey!” Thursday yelled, trying to get their attention. It worked, and a man stood up from the steps of the house’s front door, walking slowly toward them. The closer he grew, the more Thursday made out that he seemed to be wearing a robe of some-kind, tied at the waist loosely. Unlike that which a King would wear, it was gray and was in fact his entire outfit. It was feminine, and yet somehow not. He stopped around five feet from the women, his half-open eyes regarding them with a dazed curiosity.
“Hello. Is there a problem here?”
“No problem. I was just wondering if you could tell us what the next town is called and how far it is from here.” Thursday replied, shrugging simply. The man took a deep puff from a long, simple pipe he held in his left hand and did not utter a word, letting the smoke sit inside of him for a moment before finally exhaling it out with a sigh.
“Haven. Not far at all. Follow the path. You’ll see houses, and that means you’re close. Cross the bridge, walk, and you’ll be there. Pass through, cross another bridge, and you’ve left the town. Simple, yes?”
Thursday wasn’t sure if he was merely telling her how to leave, or threatening her somehow. His tone was hard to discern and his face was stone cold, holding no emotion besides, the faint glaze over his eyes.
“Sorry to bother you!” Daisy interjected, waving a hand at him simply. The man nodded, and started shuffling back toward the house. Thursday looked at Daisy and rolled her eyes. It was all she needed to do for her to get her impression across. Daisy snickered and they continued on. Much as he said, they passed a few smaller houses, some of which seemed abandoned or currently empty, others bearing curious child eyes watching them from the window, or in one instance, an old man outside enjoying the crisp air of a cool evening settling in. Thursday could see why it was called Haven.
“This place is really nice.” Daisy said softly, as if there was something else in her words Thursday needed to dig to find. She didn’t try. It wasn’t long until the sound of rushing water could be heard, and a wide bridge, appearing almost brand-new in its condition, was before them. It curved over a small stream that parted the forest gently. Allowing life-giving water to flow freely for the animals and plants. Fish of brilliant red and orange hues could be seen fighting over food and dashing back and forth playfully in the water, and Daisy quickly went down the side of the bridge, kneeling at the edge to dip her fingers in the clear stream.
“It’s so cold.” she said, looking back at Thursday, who had stayed near the bridge, leaning upon the handrail with her arms folded beneath her cloak. “Come over here with me, T.”
“No way. I’ll be too tempted to push you in. Then you’ll be cold.” Thursday replied, chuckling to herself. Daisy sighed and stood up, walking past Thursday to get onto the bridge first.
“What do you think of this place?” Daisy asked her, staring at the water from the bridge as Thursday came up from the rear. Her eyes were fixed on Daisy’s. The leather pants Gildareon had created for may as well have painted on, and Thursday liked it a lot.
“Considering we haven’t even reached the town, I can’t really say.” she said, and Daisy stared back at her, her single eye narrowed sharply. “Okay, it’s nice.”
Thursday bridged the distance between them and ruffled Daisy’s shaggy hair like one would have a dog.
“It is nice, okay? I just…” her sentence died off as her gray eyes spotted two men at the other end of the bridge, staring at them with hardened expressions on their bearded faces. “You need something, fellas?”
Daisy followed Thursday’s gaze and gasped as the two men below both drew old, blood encrusted swords.
“Give us your gold and you’ll be free to pass.” the man on the right said, twirling his sword around in a showy display. Thursday uttered a low growl and put her hand to Daisy’s stomach, pushing her gently behind her.
“Apparently some things are the same no matter where you go.” Thursday hissed, her mere tone making Daisy angry as well.
“Give us your gold!” The left brigand exclaimed, spittle flying from his mouth.
“Looks like you chose a bad day to come out and play.” Thursday spoke in reply. “Not only do we not have any money, but now I have to murder the both of you.”
She uttered the magical words. The thief on the left charged forward, his sword raised high over his head. Thursday’s right hand transformed into its black claw, and she thrust her cloak over her shoulders to reveal her arms. The man swiftly approached and Thursday dashed at him, slashing across his chest, stomach, and throat quicker than he was able to assimilate the fact that she had even attacked. Bloody mist shot from each slash as she made them, and the man collapsed to the bridge, dead before his head even thumped onto the wood.
“Do you still want my gold now!? Huh!?” she screamed at the remaining bandit. She knelt down and grabbed the dead man’s ankle, dragging the corpse behind her as she started toward his remaining comrade.
“Well?! Come get it! Come take my gold!”
The man did. Thursday was impressed at his bravery, foolish as it was. When he got near, she swung the corpse upward like it was a weapon itself. Skull struck skull and the other man collapsed like a ragdoll, the side of his head smashed inward. His limbs twitched violently and Thursday’s upper lip curled.
“Let’s put these bastards in the woods. I’m sure there’s a hungry wolf out there.”
Daisy sighed and approached the twitching man with a look of utter disgust on her face. Wild though she may have been, she was no expert in corpses or death. Her lone eye met Thursday’s and touched by her wariness, Thursday dropped the dead man’s leg.
“Fine. I’ll take the twitcher.” she said. “The things I do for you. Jeez.”
She didn’t know why, but she had the feeling that the two lives she’d taken would eventually mean more than most easily dealt deaths. She had no idea how right her feeling was.
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