<<Disclaimer: Foul language. Taken from log. Thanks to Pam, Kris, Scott, and Jax.>
DragonMyst Inn Early Evenng Rue sat in one of the comfy, cushy chairs over by the fireplace. His boots were propped up on the low table before him and he was methodically flipping cards from his hands to the table. The motion of his wrist was so fluid; the cards seemed to float out on their own to fan out in the air before dropping to the surface. He wore a wheat-coloured sweater and tan trousers. He hummed that song from his childhood absent-mindedly as he watched the colorful cards. Carine walked into the Inn still wearing her guard uniform although the coat was unbuttoned and her shirt was loosened. Through the doors she strolled heading to the bar she took a quick glance around on her way and stopped mid-stride to see Rue sitting there, "RUE!!!" She turned and hurriedly moved toward him, her arms outstretched for a hug. Rue grinned broadly and set the cards to the table as he stood up and embraced Carine, "Hey Car, how've you been?" He held her close before setting her away so he could take a good look at her. Months had passed since he�d seen her, and even longer since he had arrested her, the one he favoured as his younger sister, for stealing. "I've been great, and you?" she beamed with a great big smile at seeing the one she considered her brother. She gave him a pat on the belly, "You seem to be doing well." Rue glanced down at the pat and arched a brow, was he slouching? "Heh. No complaints worth yammering over. How're the Mystie guards treatin' ya?" He sank back into the chair and repropped his feet up. He wouldn't miss a moment of leisure, rare that it was these days. He cocked his head to the side, "Your shift just end?" Carine pulled out a chair sitting at the table with Rue, "Yeah just finished a bit ago, the guard has been great you'd be proud of me, oh great news. Lani is helping me contact my parents without getting me caught by the duke." Rue arched a brow, smiling. "Is that so? Sounds great Car. See...she's not such a hard ass after all is she?" He winked, wondering what she'd heard or not heard about him, Brin, and Lani. Rue was damn glad Lani had given Carine another shot in the guards. "I hope you come up to visit Brookshire before the road gets snowed in..." "Yeah I should see if I can get an extra day for a long weekend I ain't missed a shift yet." Carine gave Lilla a wave when she came out of the kitchen, and after a brief hello and a quick hug she ordered an ale. "So how's being a captain treating you?" Rue had already given Lilla a swinging hug earlier but he'd declined anything to eat just then, preferring to wait a bit. "Well, it's a challenge every day that's true. Finally getting some recruits in. It was getting pretty skim. Just a wide expanse of ground to cover and not a lot of men." "Yeah I should be getting out of the office soon I hope, and actually do some foot work, but it's been nice to learn the inside workings of the guard." She pulled off her coat and hung it on the back of her chair. "So what brings you down here?" Rue templed his fingers and looked across them to the only person he'd felt protective in a brotherly manner about. "Waitin' on Brin. Have you seen her lately? I know she changed divisions to the downtown office..." "Nope can't say as I have," her smile turned to a frown, "The last time I saw her was the night she ran out of her crying, and well you were here." Rue nodded, his own mouth drawing into a thin line, "Yeah. Well, hopefully that's all behind us now." Carine lifted her ale, �Here�s to better times for us all.� Rue nodded and smiled, having no drink of his own to raise. "Absolutely. You've come a long way Car. I'm so proud of you." Carine smiled and blushed. Leaning toward Rue she gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Thanks big brother." Rue winked, and then stood, "I've got to go check on Lar for a few. When I get back, want to play a hand of cards with me?" "Sure." She sat back and watched him as he headed out to the stables. A short time later, Rue took the porch stairs two at a time and swung open the door, eyes on Carine, "Alright Car, how �bout a friendly wager of two-see. You know how to play that?" He shook the chill from his shoulders, "Lil, I'll take that ale now. Car, you want another?" "Sure and as to the game well I ain't that great at it." She gave him a smile as he walked back to the table near the hearth. Rue sank back down into the plush armchair and took up the stack of cards he'd been tossing. Shuffling them quickly in his hands, he looked almost like a one-man gypsy show about to fool the crowd with a trick or two. His dark eyes glittered and he raised his brows as Lilla brought three ales. "You joining us Lil? Finally--oh, heh you know me well Lil..." He said in response to Lilla bringing him two. Rue quickly dealt the hand to Carine and himself. "Ladies first..." He bent to take a swallow of ale from the tankard, frosty foam coating his upper lip where a hint of a mustache was just beginning. Carine curled her lower lip to blow up at her bangs, "Geez could you deal me any worse a hand?" She gave him a sly smile. She went over the cards in her hand putting together pairs or by suit. Placing one card face down in front of her she discarded another to the middle of the table. Rue chewed thoughtfully on a fingernail as he studied his hand. Then laughing, he held out his hand, already having the winning combination. "I don't think that ever happened to me before!" "Oh my you little..............." she laughed at him, "Sure, sure you haven't." Rue looked at her, entirely innocent though Rue couldn�t look entirely innocent if he had a halo and wings, "Car, I swear it..." but he kept laughing at the disbelief of it all. "Heh. Two-see. Wanna play another round?" He gulped back some ale and smirked. �Um actually Rue, I should go upstairs and change for dinner�� Carine laughed and stood. The door was pushed open with a light hand and Brin stepped into the inn. She looked better than their previous meetings. Rested, well-fed if a bit pale. She wore a loose gold and green sweater and her leather riding pants, a thin tunic beneath the wool sweater. Her dark red hair was long now and held back in a tight braid. Closing the door behind her, she glanced around the common room until her eyes settled on Rue. And Carine. "Heh, you're just running off �cause you think I'm cheating!" He called to Carine as she darted up the stairs and then saw Brin standing at the door. He set his tankard down and loosened the cards from his hands as he stood. The cards fell haphazardly across the table and the floor. Evin's words wouldn't stop running through his mind from last night. But he swallowed and grinned, "Brin!" He raised his hand in case she didn't see him over by the flickering glow of the hearth. She'd seen him�she'd have to be blind not to. She walked slowly over toward him and managed a weak smile. �Hi Rue,� she said quietly. Rue moved closer and slipped his arms around her, appropriate or not, wanted or not. "It's good to see you Brin. You're looking well." He said quietly against her hair just before he set her back away from him, "I was just thinking about getting some food. Please say you'll join me?" He looked down at her hopefully. Brin smiled faintly and nodded. �Yeah�haven't been eating well lately. A bit of shephard�s pie?� She hugged him back, briefly and sighed as he stepped back. "Your favorite...of course." Rue winked and rubbed her arm. "Here, take my extra ale Lil brought out..." He motioned to the table where the tankard stood amongst the cards. "You working too hard? You know you gotta eat--" His voice trailed off and he waved his hand as he sat back down into the armchair. "Bah, you don't need old bastardly Rue to be lecturing you...how's downtown working out for you?" Brin shook her head. �No ale rue, but thanks. I'll just take milk or water when Lilla gets around to us.� She took a seat in a chair across from him. �It's working out fairly good.� She smiles. �And here I thought I'd always be a country girl.� Rue arched his brows, nodding. No doubt Gerhard had something to do with that. "Glad to hear that Brin, but you'll always be a country girl to me." He winked and waved to Lilla who said she'd be right there. "Got any big cases going on?" Brin shook her head. �No�not really at the moment. But�I did ask you here for a specific reason.� She said, looking at him. She wondered if the child would look like him? Have his dark hair/his eyes, his good looks? She looked quickly away and toward the bar where Lilla was getting ready to head over to them. "Yeah, I imagined it had something to do with a case." He looked away from her and held up two fingers to Lilla, "Two shepherd's pies, mashed potatoes, and uh...milk?" He glanced back to Brin to verify even though the thought of that combination made his nose twitch a bit. Brin nodded. �Milk.� She said with a smile and waited �till Lilla took their orders and moved away before looking back at him. �No�it doesn't have anything to do with a case Rue.� She looked down at the table and picked up one of the cards there, turning it over. Rue leaned forward, his forearms braced across his thighs. "Is that the joker? No the Queen?" He grinned and watched her, perhaps noticing for the first time that she seemed a bit reserved. Evin had said she wasn't very reserved last night when he�d delivered the message. Rue watched. And waited. Andor Cole shivered slightly through the dark grey cloak that shrouded his body from the insetting chill, his head bowed down only letting the rough blond tendrils flow down from its hiding place. His fingers were coiling through the thick fabric of the cloak, and each step this young man took was slow and well measured. Brin looked at Rue and took a deep breath. �I'm not sure how to say this without blurting it out.� she said quietly. �And that's a harsh way to say it, but I was never the most eloquent speaker. She let the rest of her breath out and looked at him squarely. �I'm pregnant Rue.� She said in a quiet, quiet voice. Andor Cole moved toward the doors of the tavern, his fingers slipping up from the confines of his cloak to wrap around the handle of the door, he then stepped back ever so slightly as he opens the doors and peers inside. Andor Cole stepped within the inn but only a few steps that he does take onward, he then swiftly shifts and turns about to close the doors behind himself, his cloak blowing back with the winds but with one hand placed on the hood, he keeps his face from being totally exposed to the elements or other�s views. Andor Cole shifted his body gazing about from underneath the shroud of his heavy grey cloak, his steel blue eyes wandering about to see the two others within the room, he pondered for a moment but decided they were in a private matter, and he looked about for a possible destination. Andor Cole walked toward the hearth in the inn, his chosen destination , and then he bowed his body downward to kneel before the flames and gaze towards them, the light of the fires reflecting within his absent gaze. It seemed the billowing, distracting entrance of the newcomer coincided with Brin's words and Rue could barely hear her statement. His dark head cocked to the side and he looked at her quizzically. "Brin, what did you say? You're what?" He leaned closer, his back just to the hearth. Brin blinked, rather amazed that he hadn't heard it the first time. Gods�did she have the strength to say it again? She wasn't sure but he needed to know and she needed to tell him. �Rue.� She reached out and took his chin in her hand and made him look at her. �I�m pregnant.� Andor Cole folded his hands one within the other, his head tilting downwards and the long tendrils of his blond hair now masking his eyes, he took in a few deep breaths and then outstretched his hands toward the flames to warm them, both of his hands were covered in two weathered black leather gloves, the quality of those garments may assume that at one time they were expensive purchases, but with time and the work of the elements they are in ruins of their former state. Good thing her hand was on his chin, otherwise he'd have glanced to the man kneeling near the fire. Rue's dark brow lifted and then dipped low into a frown, his throat constricting, his jaw tightening. "Oh hell's hounds..." He reached for her hand and gripped it tightly, "I'll kill him!" He searched her face, "Unless that's not what you want....oh gods Brin..." Rue felt every emotion in that moment. Anger twisted inside him. If he'd never have....if, if, if. "It'll be alright Brin. Have you told him?" He looked at her carefully, concern blanketing his eyes. Andor Cole opened his parched lips and repeated something he has a hundred times over to himself, his absent eyes looking up once again towards the flames of the hearth. �I had a dream, which was not all a dream. The bright sun was extinguish'd, and the stars, Did wander darkling in the eternal space, rayless, and pathless, and the icy earth. Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air.� Brin blinked and just stared at Rue, her hand dropping from his chin, looking a bit confused. �Rue�what are you talking about? You're going to beat yourself up?� She asked, that confusion evident in her expression as she settled her hand on the table. Andor Cole tilted his head to the side, a hint of a jagged scar is seen on his otherwise flawless cream colored skin, but his face mostly cast into darkness from the incoming shadows of the fire illuminating off of his cloak �s hood. �Morn came and went and came, and brought no day, And men forgot their passions in the dread, Of this their desolation; and all hearts were chill'd into a selfish prayer for light: And they did live by watchfires.� Andor Cole shifted back to sit upright his back moving into more of a proper posture, but his hands and arms hanging on his lap like two lifeless limbs �The palaces of crowned kings--the huts, The habitations of all things which dwell, Were burnt for beacons; cities were consum'd, And men were gather'd round their blazing homes To look once more into each other's face;� Rue was in a state of agitation and he nearly growled. "Are you going to try to protect that sod!? Is that what you want? By the demon's elbows, you can't do that Brin. Gerhard deserves to know." Deserves to be pounded into a pulp. Brin just stared at him a moment then lifted a hand to rub at her forehead. �Rue .. what gave you the impression that I was sleeping with Gerhard?� She asked in confusion. Andor Cole closed his darkened heavy set eyes, that show the signs of a man that has lacked sleep for such a long time, his breathing labored between his unheard words �Happy were those who dwelt within the eye, Of the volcanos, and their mountain-torch: A fearful hope was all the world contain'd; Forests were set on fire--but hour by hour, They fell and faded--and the crackling trunks.� Rue stood and looked down at her from the even higher distance. He sighed, his hands spread out before him, "Brin, I know you've been living with him. Evin told me enough last night to know more than I ever want to know..." He felt so restless, so anxious. He sat back down and looked at her intently. "What the hell are you going to do? If you don't tell him, he can't take care of you....are you hoping he'd propose marriage before he'd find out?" Andor Cole let a sigh slip forth form his mouth, his body slouching down as the energy seemed to be leaving him �Extinguish'd with a crash--and all was black. The brows of men by the despairing light wore an unearthly aspect, as by fits. The flashes fell upon them; some lay down and hid their eyes and wept; and some did rest.� Brin brought her hands to her face, covering them and then running them through her hair as she looked at him, frustration evident. �Rue. Listen carefully to me. I've never slept with Gerhard. He sleeps on the couch. -YOU- are the father of this baby. Do you understand?� She looked straight at him, her gaze never wavering. Andor Cole tilted his head up, the sounds of the cloth brushing against his cheeks, closing his eyes trying not to overhear this private conversation happening so close to him, and wondering if he should move to get out of the way of its possible outcome. �Their chins upon their clenched hands, and smil'd; And others hurried to and fro, and fed their funeral piles with fuel, and look'd up with mad disquietude on the dull sky, The pall of a past world; and then again. With curses cast them down upon the dust, And gnash'd their teeth and howl'd: the wild birds shriek'd and, terrified, did flutter on the ground, and flap their useless wings; the wildest brutes.� And then it started to dawn upon him. She'd come to HIM. Oh gods...she wanted him to help her with Gerhard's baby! And then she spoke and Rue just stared at her open mouthed. She had forgotten. His eyes were sad as they met hers. "Brin, you know I can't sire children...why are you trying to cover up the truth? It's ok, I'm not going to judge you..." Andor Cole recoiled and let his hands flow back into the confines of his cloak, an emptiness still hanging within his eyes, �a loss and great pain Came tame and tremulous; and vipers crawl'd, and twin'd themselves among the multitude, Hissing, but stingless--they were slain for food. And War, which for a moment was no more, did glut himself again: a meal was bought.� Brin stood and looked a tad angry. �You know Rue�this is hard enough without you being a total blockhead about it. That curse from your childhood doesn't mean a damn thing. I haven't slept with a single soul since we broke up. You do the math.� She said and stalked over toward the bar. Her emotions were running high right then. -- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives & Other DMI Lists: http://www.dragonmyst.f2s.com/lists.php3
