Two and a Half Women

[Aura Thesin]

Aura finished her dinner, the small talk not exhilarating, but the silences comfortable enough in her opinion. She took a sip of her drink, catching Alaïs' eyes as they drooped.

"Oh, you poor thing. You must be tired. Let me see if I can find you a spare room. I'll tell Marie that it's for a friend of mine, and she'll be so overjoyed that I'm making friends she'll give you a bit of a discount." Her eyes sparkled as she smiled slightly, almost shyly. When Alaïs nodded, Aura stood, clearing the dishes, and quickly heading back to the kitchen.

A quick conversation after dropping the dirty dishes with the young boy they employed as a dishwasher revealed that Marie was, in fact, overjoyed that Aura was making friends. She offered one of the rooms for half the regular price, since it was the middle of the week and they would likely have a couple spare rooms anyways. Aura thanked her, took a cloth, a small glass of wine for herself, and another milk for Breda before hurrying back to the private room.

Alaïs was slumped in her chair, obviously struggling to keep her eyes open, while Breda sat with a contented expression on her face. Aura set the wine in front of her own spot, setting the cloth there as well, then placed the glass of milk in front of Breda.

She then knelt next to Alaïs, explaining the situation, and at the other girl's nod, helped her from her chair and led her upstairs. Once Alaïs was settled, Aura headed back downstairs to the private room where Breda still waited. She smiled as she entered, sitting back into her seat and taking a small sip of her wine. With a contented sigh, she turned to Breda.

"Marie indulges me a little. She often says that if she and Cook were to have had a daughter, she hopes it would have been like me." She blushed slightly. "They often help displaced young women."

With a shrug to brush away that line of thought, Aura looked up at her guest. "I hope you can stay for a while. I don't have many friends, and I'd like to get to know some of the locals, now that I've come to terms with not being able to return home."

[Breda Dreaughan]

Breda nodded her thanks when Aura brought her the glass of milk. Slowly emptying the contents of the glass, she listened as the barmaid explained the situation to the drowsy human girl. Fortunately it seemed that things were turning out the way the dwarf had hoped.

When Aura returned from upstairs, Breda was still sipping her milk, deep in thought. As the human entered the room, she greeted her with a warm smile, and as Aura spoke, she smiled even wider. Perhaps the dwarf's idea of Marn needed some adjusting after all.

"I'm not in a rush," she replied to the woman's question. "I haven't made many friends yet either, in this part of the town anyway."

She was silent for a beat, trying to formulate her thoughts into words. "I know what you mean. With them, I mean." She nodded her head towards the door. "I've been there. Not so long ago, I was helped by someone who gave me a job - a profession - and something almost like a family."

She leaned back in her chair, playing with her glass. "Most of the time I think that this is one sad city. But lately I've started to think that maybe there is still hope. With some people, at least."

[Aura Thesin]

Aura leaned forward, glass of wine perched gracefully in her left hand, setting the elbow of that arm gently on the table. Her right hand toyed with the frayed edge of the cloth she had brought in, and she debated giving the table a quick wipe after their meal. Instead, in an uncharacteristic show of rebellion, she pushed the cloth away, turning her attention to Breda.

She looked the dwarf over, noting the difference in her features. She usually tried not to say anything about the different physical features of humanoids, but she had finally found someone she could talk to.

"I ... I guess you're a, um, dwarf, hey?" she asked, flushing slightly. "I mean, where I come from, there's not much other than different types of humans, with different color skins. Tales of elves and dwarves and any number of other creatures and people I've seen recently were reserved only for fantasy."

Aura swirled her wine in the glass as she smiled at Breda, not really expecting a response from her. She continued talking, a subject change so abrupt it might leave people confused.

"Anyways, Marie is really good at helping anyone who has trouble. If you don't mind, what is your profession?"

[Breda Dreaughan]

Breda opened her mouth to say something in response to Aura's comment about other races, but as the girl instantly changed the subject, she closed her mouth again, slightly raising an eyebrow.

"I'm a smith's apprentice," she then replied to Aura's second question. "Guess that makes me a walking stereotype," she said, smiling.

"If you don't mind me asking, where do you come from? Born and raised on these streets, I find it hard to imagine a place without all kinds of folks running on the streets." She tilted her head back to reach the last drops from the bottom of the glass. "So, I'm guessing you're not exactly from the neighborhood."

[Aura Thesin]

Aura nodded in thought when Breda mentioned she was a smith's apprentice. Her lips quirked in a half smile at Breda's stereotype comment.

The smile faded as she took a few moments to make the decision whether to tell Breda the truth. She didn't like explaining the story; she wasn't even sure she knew what the whole story was. She decided to shrug the whole thing off with a shaded version of the truth.

Aura studied her wine glass intently for a few more moments, then began to speak. This was more than she had told anyone, and it was hard to tell anyone a story that sounded so fanciful. "As near as I can tell ... I'm not technically from this world. I went to sleep one night, woke up and went for a walk through my house. Next time I woke, I was in a strange, empty cottage, over near ... Shim? Yeah, I think it's Shim."

Aura peered up over her wine glass to gauge Breda's reaction, then lifted the wine to her lips for a small sip.

[Breda Dreaughan]

Breda sat very still and very quiet while Aura was staring at her wineglass. It was clear that whatever the other woman had in mind wasn't easy to express, and Breda was practically holding her breath, waiting. And when Aura finally spoke, the dwarf's grey eyes widened.

"I... am not sure I comprehend," she said, when Aura finished. "You... transferred from one place to another? While you were sleeping?" The dwarf was silent for a moment, processing what she had heard, and remembering if anything she had ever heard before would match Aura's tale.

"So... what makes you think this is a different world? And not just, you know, another town or something. Another continent, even?" Not much more plausible, the dwarf had to admit to herself. But from another world?

[Aura Thesin]

Aura took another sip of her wine, thinking over the question.

"Well, I was awake, following ... a friend." She blushed slightly, cheeks turning pink, thinking of her lover at the monastery, but continued on. "She led me through the monastery, and when I went through the wine cellar door, I felt a tingle over my skin ... and the next thing I knew I was standing in front of a cottage."

Aura paused, taking another sip. She smiled slightly at Breda. "I know this isn't just another continent, mostly because I have never heard of elves or dwarves or trolls, other than in fantasy stories. And magic... all of the magic where I'm from is mostly sleight of hand, drawing the eye to one thing while something else happens to create the illusion of magic. I'd never heard of anyone being able to call lightning down or create fire from nothing."

She stared at a point somewhere over Breda's shoulder as she remembered her family, her training at the monastery, then shook the memories off. "So I'm pretty certain that this is a different world ... or something."

Aura had never told anyone this much, not even Marie, and she waited for Breda's reaction. She wasn't sure what to expect, but certainly disbelief, even scorn.

[Breda Dreaughan]

Breda shivered. It felt as if the room had suddenly gotten darker. Inside, the little parasite punched her in the ribs. It wasn't big enough to hurt, yet, but she shifted by reflex.

This is why you don't open up to strangers. You never know what they'll turn out to be.

"Um... a monastery, you said?" She said, grasping for a thought, any thought. "You think it might have been... some kind of a ritual?"

She had never seen magic, never seen a dwarf or an elf. She must have been just as frightened herself. But by gods, where does she come from? What is she? It's like she's appeared from the dawn of time, before the discovery of the astral plane.

[Aura Thesin]

Aura shrugged. "They didn't do much in the way of rituals. Mostly they taught ways of peace, and when peace wasn't an option, how to protect yourself. I was one of the best students in training, to the point where I could beat most of my teachers at least once out of three matches."

Aura smiled, remember those simpler times. She brought her wine glass up to her lips, sipping lightly of the wine. The smile slipped slightly, and she shrugged offhandedly. "All of this happened a several weeks ago. I'm starting to get used to it all."

Her eyes showed differently, but the haunted look, one of pain from losing family, friends, and nearly everything she knew, quickly passed from her eyes. She turned a smile on Breda as if nothing had passed through her thoughts.

"What about you? Have you lived in or around Marn for long?"

[Breda Dreaughan]

The comment about Aura being able to beat up her teachers didn't exactly help Breda relax, but at least the other woman didn't appear to be planning to sprout horns just yet. And the dwarf did see, or perhaps sense, the brief change in Aura's face. Whatever she is, wherever she's from, it must have been horrible to go through that.

"I was born here," she responded to the human's question, shrugging. "Born and raised. In what they call the Historic District. Never been further than to Shim."

Her eyes shifted involuntarily away from Aura's face. The other woman had been incredibly open with her, but there were things Breda wasn't ready to share herself. So she shrugged again and smiled faintly. "I've been working here and there in the city, sometimes waitering too. My life has really been quite boring, at least compared to yours."

[Aura Thesin]

Aura listened, smiling. She tried to take a drink of her wine only to discover she must have finished it with her previous drink. She inspected how she felt, discovering that she was mildly inebriated. It was a rare day that Aura drank, let alone anything more than a single glass of wine, and today was not one of those days.

She nodded to Breda as she stood, lifting the wine glass by it's stem easily, leaning forward to point at the empty glass of milk in front of the dwarf. "Are you done with this?" she asked, then scooped the glass gracefully with her free hand at Breda's confirming nod.

Aura felt really good about possibly making a friend of this dwarven woman, and didn't want the evening to end. On the other hand, she felt the need to be out in the fresh air, to both clear her head and stretch her legs from a long day of waiting on tables.

"Would you care to join me for a short evening walk? I think I'd like a bit of fresh air." She smiled again at Breda, realizing then that she tended to smile a lot after drinking a glass of wine. Instead of the smile slipping, it instead widened, threatening to turn into a girlish giggle, before she managed to get it under control.

And so she stood there, milk glass in one hand, wine glass in the other, smiling down at her impromptu dinner guest, and awaited a response from the dwarven woman.

[Breda Dreaughan]

The reality of the grinning, joyful and perhaps slightly tipsy woman was somewhat contradictory to the image of a dangerous and mysterious being from Out There that had been shaping in Breda's mind.

I wish I had a glass of wine. Perhaps this would make more sense. Well, I guess I'll have to make do with fresh air.

"Yeah, sure," she replied out loud. Of course she could have said no and walked out, but somehow this peculiar waitress interested her, regardless of the scary implications. Also, humans sometimes reacted unpredictably to alcohol, and Breda knew she would have felt bad if something had happened to the woman.

So she got stiffly to her feet and smiled at Aura. "Got someplace specific in mind?"

[Aura Thesin]

Aura practically beamed at Breda, performing a graceful pivot once the matter of a walk was settled. She move towards the door, holding it open for the smaller woman.

"I usually just wander around, no particular destination in mind. I've been through most of the city, visiting some of the few people I know ... or knew." Aura's smile slipped a little as she closed the door to the private dining room behind herself and Breda, then turning to follow the dwarf towards the now much louder common area. She raised her voice to be heard over the shout of patrons calling greetings to each other and the staff, ordering food, and just general merrymaking after having a few drinks. "The only places I go with any regularity are the Justice Hall and the little shack I first stayed in outside Shim."

Aura smiled at Breda as she slipped past, telling her she would just be a moment and leaving her to watch the crowd. The young woman moved gracefully to the bar, handing the glasses to Marie, who smiled and winked at Aura before turning a friendly smile Breda's way as well. As Aura was turning back Breda, a large, burly man came out from the kitchen door, placing his hands on his hips and frowning at Aura.

Aura's first reaction was to stand taller when faced with this bear of a man, despite what she knew of his generally kind nature. Her back straightened, and she turned to face him, though her balance was on the balls of her feet to give her maximum mobility, as she had been taught by the monks at the monastery.

Cook continued to frown at Aura, and Aura matched his glare with a level look of her own. He spoke, quietly, as was normally his way, and his voice carried just far enough for Aura and Marie to hear. "I'm sorry what I said earlier, girl. Twas upset, n I dinna mean nothin' by it." He took a step forward suddenly appearing awkward, and placed a large arm around Aura's shoulders, pulling her close in a sort of half hug.

Aura's own arms went around his huge waist, giving him a little squeeze and murmuring, "I know. Cook. Thanks for putting up with me."

They separated, and Cook gave Aura a light, playful smack on the back of the head. "Put up wi' ya indeed," he said, somewhat louder, and with a chuckle. "Now git outta my sight, girl. I got cookin' ta do." He moved back into the kitchen, voice already raised as he shouted at someone for not getting food cooked fast enough.

Aura grinned at Marie, holding back tears by sheer force of will, before she turned and headed back to her new friend. She winked and beckoned Breda to follow, slipping gracefully through the crowd to the front door and stepping out into the fresh early evening air.

[Breda Dreaughan]

Breda wasn't a graceful creature by nature, and these days she was growing clumsier by the day, so there might have been a hint of envy as she watched Aura move through the crowd. She held her head high and tried to follow the human as smoothly as possible.

As Aura went behind the bar, the dwarf leaned against the wall and lazily observed the people crowding in the dining room. Humans, mostly, with some elves and the occasional dwarf. Not that much different a crowd than the one Breda was used to seeing in her own inn. At this time of the evening the room was filling up, and Breda found herself making guesses about which table would be most likely to start arguing after a few beers.

She couldn't see very well at the bar from where she was standing, and she tried to not pay attention to what Aura was saying to her coworkers, to her family. Instead, she let her mind wander, returning to the earlier discussion.

The shack in Shim, huh? I wonder what there would be to see, a portal to another world... Damn it, Breda. Do you have to be so bloody curious?

When Aura returned, Breda straightened up and followed. She felt almost dreamy, perfectly aware that the events of the evening were sweeping her with them.

[Aura Thesin]

Aura bounced out into the fresh evening air, taking a long, deep breath. The sun was just vanishing in spectacular fashion behind the horizon, causing the undersides of the fluffy white clouds to burn with varying pink, red, and orange hues.

People walked by, not as many as could be found during the day, but many on their way home after a long day's work, or coming to one of the various taverns and inns that could be found in the area. Despite it's many shortcomings, Marn was always busy, teeming with visitors as one of the major stops on the Northern Trade Route.

Aura paused long enough to allow Breda to catch up, then set a pace she hoped the shorter, pregnant woman would be able to keep up with. As they walked, they talked, trading minor stories of their lives. It was companionable chatter, nothing too revealing nor too mundane, and it was comfortable for Aura. She felt happy, as if life were returning to normal around her. Or as normal as it could, under the circumstances.

They passed an alley as they walked down a less traveled street. The sounds of a scuffle could be heard, and the firelit streetlamp allowed shadowy movement to be seen in the alley. Aura stopped, fully exposed to anyone looking out from the alley as she peered in. She took a step forward, meaning to go in to help, then looked back at Breda. She had seen what looked like two or three people hitting and kicking a prone form. The prone form was curled around the sensitive areas, but the others weren't stopping.

She was torn. She didn't want to leave her friend, but one of the mandates of the monastery she had been a part of demanded that any monk should help any person in need. She tried to follow the dictates of the monastery in this new life of hers, and she was now faced with the dilemma before her.

"I... Can we help?" she asked plaintively of Breda.