The evening went pleasantly and quickly, and many new friendships were forged with the young valkyrie. The three ladies collectively downed enough pints to sink an elephant, Resolve had to cover up an embarrassing amount of dismay when Olive drank her under the table with help from her mythical constitution, and after a couple hours of swapping stories about Olive's grandmother and life out in the world, Rose shuffled them up to her quarters for what was likely the rowdiest sleepover of their lives.
Resolve woke with an ache in her brain that raged in protest as her eyes fluttered open to the white-hot sun that shone through Rose's window onto the floor where she'd curled up on a pile of finely embroidered throw blankets. "Uuuugh." Then, as if someone was psychic, the sharp light was blocked out. She blinked, wondering if Rose had drawn the curtain, but instead found her pupils focusing on a fuzzy silhouette of someone standing over her. No, it wasn't blurry… it was hair. Lots and lots of curly blue tresses, some of which had fallen to tickle her face as Olive leaned down and intruded her personal space.
"Good mornin', sunshine!" Olive grinned, but Resolve couldn't see it as the bright sun behind her frizz darkened out her features. "Golly, humans sleep a lot. The only other person I know who sleeps that much is my great-great-gran, and she's dead." The chirpy girl was so bright and bushy tailed, it was as if she never even went to bed.
With an unladylike groan Resolve peeled herself off the floor, her muscles throbbing. Floral designs were pressed dark and pink into her skin from the blanket threading and she rubbed her strangely textured, sorry limbs. "What time is it?"
It was that moment Rose chose to rise, as well. She handled her hangover with practiced grace, lifting herself from her luxurious bed with a gratuitously arched back and petite, feminine sigh. Resolve noted that she was damn good at her job. "Let's see," Rose muttered, reaching for an intricately ornamented copper pocket watch that was undoubtedly a gift from Alerar. Then her prettily sleepy expression flashed into one of panic. "It's past noon! Oh, dear me! You girls have got to scoot, I've got a preferred client in twenty minutes!" Her curvy little figure stumbled out of bed in her silky negligee, tripping over Resolve's makeshift nest, and she skipped off to wash up.
Olive watched intently. "I ain't never seen so many bobbles and whatsits and lace all in one place. What did ya say Miss Rosie did for work, again?"
Resolve replied matter-of-factly. "She's a hooker."
The word rolled off Olive's tongue like it was foreign. "Hooker. Like a lumberjack?"
"Oh honey, it means I sleep with men," Rose piped up from her wash basin. "Well, mostly men."
Resolve rolled her eyes and staggered to her feet, realized she was in her skivvies, then attempted to locate the rest of her clothes. They were draped artfully in random places about the apartment, along with some of Rose's most ridiculous costumes. Apparently they'd played dress up last night.
"Humans sure do sleep a lot," Olive reiterated to herself in impressed-sounding wonder as she watched the others get ready, her fingers twirling in the white lace shawl Rose had given her the night before. The needlework was done in the illusion of swans intermingling and flying, and Rose had decided that it was simply made for their similarly bewinged friend.
At this point Rose was distracted as she sifted through her wardrobe and Resolve finished fastening her belt over her sari, the purple fabric wrinkled but not entirely unpresentable. She couldn't find her leggings, and decided she couldn't be bothered. At least not until she'd had some breakfast. Kicking on her shoes, she looked to Olive. "Hungry?"
As if chiming in on its own, a squelching moan erupted from the valkyrie's midsection. "Yes'm," she grinned, hopping out the door and down the stairs behind her companion.
The two partook of a hearty breakfast courtesy of Charlie, who was bouncer by night, pastry chef by morning. To Olive's amazement his clumsy-looking fingers crafted delicate berry-filled, sugar-laced sweet rolls, and both girls had their fill as he blushed under the valkyrie's oddly-worded praise. "What kinda fruits're these? We ain't got them where I come from. Last time I ate berries was the other day, some dark blue things growin' down in a gully. Kinda tasted like rottin' garbage. You is no rotten chef, though, I tell ya what."
Resolve looked up from her brunch pint. "Dark blue? Did they have dark, three-pronged leaves, about this big?" Her hand made a lazy attempt to approximate their size, and the valkyrie nodded. "Those are poisonous. They kill humans, you know."
Olive shrugged. "Good thing I ain't no human, then." Now she understood why they needed to sleep so much, being such weakly creatures and all.
With stomachs full of treats and a fresh outlook on the new day, the girls stepped out onto the street. It was much busier in the afternoon than late at night, wagons rattling up and down the stone-laden way, pedestrians abound. A few people stared at Olive's bright hair, but in a place like Radasanth, full of world travelers and traders, she wasn't too out of place. "Where are you going next on this journey of yours?" Resolve asked.
It took a moment for Olive to answer as she pondered. "Ya think y'could point me in the general di-rection'a where I can find some fierce, stout-hearted warriors?"
Resolve shook her head. "Hmm…" She wasn't sure what to think of the valkyrie's aimless obsession with finding a hero, but heck, who was she to criticize her culture and dreams? "Actually, I got wind of a job a few towns over, and on the way is the guy who trained me when I was younger. He might be able to point you in the right direction."
"Thank ya!" Olive hugged her with glee, and shortly thereafter they were off on their trek.
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Resolve was pleased to find the walk went quickly with talkative Olive as company. Their conversation covered many things: legends of heroes, boys, men, and traveling games such as "Say Weird Things Loudly As People Pass By" and "Spot the Ugliest Sheep". Resolve also taught Olive a couple songs with inappropriate lyrics she obviously didn't understand, and fun was had by all.
"It's been a while, but I think his estate is down this road," Resolve speculated as they passed a dirt path that led into some nearby forest. Olive wasn't about to question the other girls' directions, as she obviously knew the area much better than a foreigner would.
After about half a mile the woods became denser, the path narrowing into a precarious strip of rocky dirt overgrown with tree roots and brush. It didn't take long for Resolve to second-guess her initial instinct, and she hesitated when a large bird flew violently overhead and scattered some small branches and leaves into their hair. "Maybe I was wrong. Perhaps we should turn back."
Olive was inclined to agree, but her attention was caught as a breeze shifted the flora around them and offered a glimpse of a clearing not far off. "Look!"
The girls stepped out into an emerald oasis. Grass grew wild but not too tall, rabbits rustling through as they hopped out of sight. A clear-running brook cut the glen in half, and under the elegant wisps of an ancient willow tree was an equally ancient stone monument. Resolve approached, hoping to read the engravings, but found the calligraphy illegible. Embarrassed by her poor reading skills, she redirected Olive's attention across the clearing where a doe and faun grazed.
Olive was overwhelmed with this blissful little corner of the forest and watched the deer with a wide grin, then stumbled over a stone. She fell forward against Resolve, who in turn dominoed into the monument. As she hit the cold stone she felt something pulse through her, and as she wondered what it was, Olive interrupted with an apologetic "Oops."
"What was that?" Resolve asked, looking to the valkyrie.
"Sometimes it just happens by accident," Olive sighed in frustration. "Sorry, but at least it ain't never hurt no one. It ain't no different than what I did to ya last night. Ya might just feel a bit weird for a while. This one time I did it to a seagull, and I swear, it––"
Her words were cut off by the sharp whistle of an arrow, which flew into the glen and speared a rabbit near their feet. Olive cried out in surprise, Resolve in rage. "Watch it!" The dark-haired girl hollered in the vicinity the arrow originated.
It was at this point that Resolve and Olive realized the monument had disappeared and they looked at each other with a questioning glance before someone stepped out of the forest to greet them.
"I am truly sorry!"
The sincere voice came from a young man, just slightly taller than both of the girls, dressed in fine cobalt blue clothing of a long-retired fashion. It suited him, though, and he stood in confident concern before them. On his left arm was a long leather glove, and just after he spoke he whistled, calling the largest falcon Resolve had ever seen to swoop down from the treetops and grab the dead rabbit, which it delivered to his free hand before perching with its deadly talons on his opposite leather-clad forearm.
It was almost amusing, how much pet resembled master… or was it the other way around? The man's hair was medium length and multi-toned, sandy brown highlights over a deep umber like the feathers of his avian companion. His nose was slightly pointed, eyes large and observant, and though his features were hawk-like, they were not altogether unhandsome. They both looked upon the girls with emerald eyes, expectant. Olive was likely oblivious, but Resolve noted particular interest in the valkyrie's wings. That was excusable; after all, she hadn't seen one of Olive's kind before, and imagined that sort of thing was even stranger to an isolated fellow like this.
"It will be dark soon and you are quite far from the nearest inn. May I offer you a meal and a warm place to stay for the night as an apology for my careless behavior? My estate is not far, and we do enjoy impromptu guests."
If they agreed, he'd lead them on a short walk through the woods.