Scene 2: The Deal
Taok wakes slowly. It’s warm, wherever they are, familiar. Their hands clench and they recognise the feeling of their own thin sheets between their fists. That makes sense - they relax.
No. Something’s wrong. I’m lying down.
At that, Taok’s eyes shoot open and they twist around to see their back. Where’d the javelin go?
Taok’s room is small. There’s the bed, the storage box, the cobbled-together set of drawers, some candles. It’s by no means impressive. But it's theirs. And it’s safe. Or it was. How did I get here?
Taok swings their legs around and realises they feel a lot better. I must have been out longer than I thought. But, then again, I didn’t really think. Where’s the whip?! As the thought hits them, they struggle out of bed in a flurry of sheets, but somehow they don’t make a great deal of sound.
They steel themselves for the walk to the door as feeling, but predominantly blood, rushes back into their legs. They put a hand to the door they crafted with their own hands...by finding it from one of the abandoned Mehlan buildings, and it creaks open slowly.
...Revealing two very fit, charismatic-looking women seated far too comfortably on Taok’s two small-ish crates in the middle of Taok’s ‘main room’. At this point, it's basically an excessive hallway with three crates. They aren't much of a designer. Neither do they really get paid a whole lot. They try.
One of the figures is clearly the ginger woman who fought off all the goblins the...something before, but the other was new. She had thick, curly brown hair and brown eyes and was clearly quite short, even sitting down - at least in comparison to Taok. She smiles brightly and sincerely and looks about the same age as Taok. There's something...off, though. Something at the back of Taok's mind...The woman is also dark-skinned, as is common with the Mehlen people, and she wears a fabric headband with tiny pictures on it. Squinting, Taok can see depictions of all sorts of monsters, but at the forefront of them all stands a dragon.
That's it! This is Nihen Waterspear, the magical healer of the adventuring party that killed the dragon Eivrudi, the Jealous One. Who was now sitting on Taok’s crate. In the middle of absolutely nowhere. Was she with the rangers now? Oh...The woman that saved me is a ranger….Honestly, how could they have missed that before? Maybe blood loss…
“Glad to see you're up!” Nihen says, still beaming. She stands and guides a slightly starstruck Taok over to the crate she’d been sitting on before Taok entered.
“How are you doing? I’d make you some herbal tea but…” Nihen gestures around, “I don’t quite have the supplies.”
“I...sorry.” Taok flushes, shifting under the gaze of the silent, ginger ranger smirking across the table.
“Oh no, don’t worry, dear!” Taok swears Nihen is about their age. “Just habit.”
“Where’s my whip?” Taok sits up straight, recalling it for the second time in under three minutes.
Nihen’s smile freezes and she glances at the other woman, “His...whip?”
“Don’t look at me like that, I did my job! There was nothin’ else on him when I found him. But you were going on about a whip before weren’t you?” The unnamed ranger retorted, leaning further across the crate-table.
“Y-Yes! It’s why I was there - it’s important! Historically! Magically! Are - are you sure it wasn’t with me?!” Voice raising in panic, Taok rises from their seat.
“We have to go back and get it!” They conclude.
“Honey, you weren’t supposed to be out that far into the Mehlens in the first place.” Nihen speaks disapprovingly, trying to usher Taok back to their seat.
“No, you don’t understand what it is!” Taok cries, letting themselves be pushed to sit down.
“I don’t mind goin’ out to get it if you let me have it afterwards.” The ginger-haired woman says, singing the last few words and flipping their dagger nonchalantly into the air. They look as though they’re barely paying attention.
“I-” Taok looks between Nihen and the ranger, at a loss. “I-I suppose...Can I...examine it? When you have it?”
The ranger lights up, beaming, and turns to lean across the crate-table again. She holds her hand out, spitting in it, “Deal.”
Taok uncomfortably takes her hand and speaks, quieter now, “What’s your name?”
“You first.” The ranger leans back before realising they’re on a crate and there isn’t much of a back.
“T-Taok. Nhu-Taok.”
The woman frowns, “Taok or Nhu-Taok?”
Taok flushes, “Taok for short.”
“Weird fuckin’ name.” The ranger says, quirking an eyebrow before jumping out of her seat. “I’m Ris.”
Taok stands up after her. “Hello.”
Ris gives them a weird look. “Sure, c’mon.”
Nihen turns to pick up her things. “I’m going to go back to the station, then. Looks like you two’ve got this all sorted. Now, usually I’d recommend bed rest but I feel I’d have a hard time stopping you. Without using force, of course, I could totally take you…” Mumbling the last part, Nihen turns around.
The room is empty.
Nihen sighs.
Taok wakes slowly. It’s warm, wherever they are, familiar. Their hands clench and they recognise the feeling of their own thin sheets between their fists. That makes sense - they relax.
No. Something’s wrong. I’m lying down.
At that, Taok’s eyes shoot open and they twist around to see their back. Where’d the javelin go?
Taok’s room is small. There’s the bed, the storage box, the cobbled-together set of drawers, some candles. It’s by no means impressive. But it's theirs. And it’s safe. Or it was. How did I get here?
Taok swings their legs around and realises they feel a lot better. I must have been out longer than I thought. But, then again, I didn’t really think. Where’s the whip?! As the thought hits them, they struggle out of bed in a flurry of sheets, but somehow they don’t make a great deal of sound.
They steel themselves for the walk to the door as feeling, but predominantly blood, rushes back into their legs. They put a hand to the door they crafted with their own hands...by finding it from one of the abandoned Mehlan buildings, and it creaks open slowly.
...Revealing two very fit, charismatic-looking women seated far too comfortably on Taok’s two small-ish crates in the middle of Taok’s ‘main room’. At this point, it's basically an excessive hallway with three crates. They aren't much of a designer. Neither do they really get paid a whole lot. They try.
One of the figures is clearly the ginger woman who fought off all the goblins the...something before, but the other was new. She had thick, curly brown hair and brown eyes and was clearly quite short, even sitting down - at least in comparison to Taok. She smiles brightly and sincerely and looks about the same age as Taok. There's something...off, though. Something at the back of Taok's mind...The woman is also dark-skinned, as is common with the Mehlen people, and she wears a fabric headband with tiny pictures on it. Squinting, Taok can see depictions of all sorts of monsters, but at the forefront of them all stands a dragon.
That's it! This is Nihen Waterspear, the magical healer of the adventuring party that killed the dragon Eivrudi, the Jealous One. Who was now sitting on Taok’s crate. In the middle of absolutely nowhere. Was she with the rangers now? Oh...The woman that saved me is a ranger….Honestly, how could they have missed that before? Maybe blood loss…
“Glad to see you're up!” Nihen says, still beaming. She stands and guides a slightly starstruck Taok over to the crate she’d been sitting on before Taok entered.
“How are you doing? I’d make you some herbal tea but…” Nihen gestures around, “I don’t quite have the supplies.”
“I...sorry.” Taok flushes, shifting under the gaze of the silent, ginger ranger smirking across the table.
“Oh no, don’t worry, dear!” Taok swears Nihen is about their age. “Just habit.”
“Where’s my whip?” Taok sits up straight, recalling it for the second time in under three minutes.
Nihen’s smile freezes and she glances at the other woman, “His...whip?”
“Don’t look at me like that, I did my job! There was nothin’ else on him when I found him. But you were going on about a whip before weren’t you?” The unnamed ranger retorted, leaning further across the crate-table.
“Y-Yes! It’s why I was there - it’s important! Historically! Magically! Are - are you sure it wasn’t with me?!” Voice raising in panic, Taok rises from their seat.
“We have to go back and get it!” They conclude.
“Honey, you weren’t supposed to be out that far into the Mehlens in the first place.” Nihen speaks disapprovingly, trying to usher Taok back to their seat.
“No, you don’t understand what it is!” Taok cries, letting themselves be pushed to sit down.
“I don’t mind goin’ out to get it if you let me have it afterwards.” The ginger-haired woman says, singing the last few words and flipping their dagger nonchalantly into the air. They look as though they’re barely paying attention.
“I-” Taok looks between Nihen and the ranger, at a loss. “I-I suppose...Can I...examine it? When you have it?”
The ranger lights up, beaming, and turns to lean across the crate-table again. She holds her hand out, spitting in it, “Deal.”
Taok uncomfortably takes her hand and speaks, quieter now, “What’s your name?”
“You first.” The ranger leans back before realising they’re on a crate and there isn’t much of a back.
“T-Taok. Nhu-Taok.”
The woman frowns, “Taok or Nhu-Taok?”
Taok flushes, “Taok for short.”
“Weird fuckin’ name.” The ranger says, quirking an eyebrow before jumping out of her seat. “I’m Ris.”
Taok stands up after her. “Hello.”
Ris gives them a weird look. “Sure, c’mon.”
Nihen turns to pick up her things. “I’m going to go back to the station, then. Looks like you two’ve got this all sorted. Now, usually I’d recommend bed rest but I feel I’d have a hard time stopping you. Without using force, of course, I could totally take you…” Mumbling the last part, Nihen turns around.
The room is empty.
Nihen sighs.