|
Post by enchilada on May 18, 2019 16:20:46 GMT
Dhaunmyr smiled, and he shook his head. “No, no, I’m fine, Kara. I’m just... I’m really happy, you know? I’m so glad I get to be your friend. And, may I just say, you have awful taste.” He offered her a wink, of course he wasn’t so terrible, but only, maybe a little terrible.
It hadn’t exactly been the easiest process. Dhaunmyr could never quite tell if Kara meant that she liked something, or if she just wanted to agree with him, and Dhaunmyr had trouble not hinting at his opinion with most things, let alone his personal living conditions.
But, that wasn’t to say they hadn’t made it. And, the fact that they had managed to find somewhere had calmed Dhaunmyr a lot. He sort of felt like things were falling into place, for once, that he knew what he was doing, where he was going in life. Physically, he was going through the front door, the new one, with the first few things that were absolutely imperative to have inside. He was somewhat practiced at packing and unpacking at this point, especially since the majority of things were either supposed to stay in boxes or were entirely ornamental, and didn’t need much thinking about the placement of.
Mentally, he was going up. Things were working out. Things were new but in a way he could deal with. And he had people to deal with them with, or, at least, he had people to deal with them with separately. Kara and Dredka were not mixing, and he had half a mind never to let anyone know about anybody else. That was touchy and different and either very passionate or very tender or — angry.
“Kaaaaaaraaa.” Dhaunmyr started, dropping his first little pile of items just by the door. “Does this feel weird to you? I feel. Really weird.” He just shrugged.
|
|
|
Post by moralhazard on May 18, 2019 17:31:49 GMT
Kara had found the whole process of finding a house hard. Dhaunmyr kept asking her what she thought about things, and it was all so new. Kara wasn’t really sure what she wanted, and she ended up deciding that mostly she wanted Dhaunmyr to be happy with the place. The closer they got, the harder it had been to stay at the Bird’s Rest; Kara had ended up sleeping in the forest for a few nights, because she actually preferred it. So, really: any house was fine. But, somehow that didn’t work for Dhaunmyr; he kept asking her what she thought, and waiting while she struggled to answer. He usually looked very disappointed when she just shrugged, so Kara had really done her best, although she usually ended up repeating what he seemed to be saying but trying to change the words slightly. She didn’t think he was fooled. Kara had also, finally, figured out what to do with the rest of the gemstones; she had given them to Dhaunmyr with a muttered ‘for the house’ one day after training, and fled before he could ask any questions. Kara had her pack on her back, her glaive in her hand, and various weapons arranged on the back of it. She waited at the entrance, watching Dhaunmyr go inside. Hers. Theirs. It was a strange feeling. She frowned. Kara started when Dhaunmyr called her name, turning wide eyes on him. She took a deep breath and stepped through the door into the house. “Yes,” she admitted, slowly, looking around. She had seen it before – Dhaunmyr had made her look at all of them – but there was seeing and seeing. Kara felt excited and terrified, and mostly – happy. Kara set her bag down inside the door, propping her glaive and other weapons against the wall. She knew there were more of Dhaunmyr’s things to bring inside, but – she stepped forward, slowly, wanting to explore instead, to walk through the entire place once more. Soon she would know it like she knew her own scars; for now, it was still new and almost a mystery to her.
The door opened into a small hallway, which led into a larger sitting room. Kara remembered it as empty, remembered wondering how they would fill so much space, and now –
Kara came to an abrupt stop, blinking at the comfortable looking couches and tables. She closed her mouth, then turned slowly back to Dhaunmyr. “But – where – “ Kara glanced back over her shoulder, then frowned at Dhaunmyr, confused.
|
|
|
Post by enchilada on May 18, 2019 18:33:29 GMT
Dhaunmyr nodded, glad he wasn’t alone in his thoughts. If she said she wasn’t weirded out, he’d probably have played it down, but. He didn’t have to. Dhaunmyr smiled to himself a little more. This was all going to be fine.
And then he grinned when she looked back at him. He’d dashed out to grab something, but he was back and — arms full, he had that little glint in his eyes. Like an absolute idiot, he held up his hands and wiggled his fingers, a little way to just say magic, but, he’d forgotten the pile of books. And they did not hover.
His grin turned to a grimace as they hit the floor, but he didn’t stoop to grab them just yet. “Whoops. Well. What can I say, Kara? I eventually run out of minor miracles.” Dhaunmyr shrugged, finally grabbing the books. They were the oldest ones he had, a little dog eared, and yellowed, and certainly not in a language that couldn’t properly express the exact ‘whoops’ he meant, but, they were still fun to read, multiple times. He always found something different about them, such was the nature of lyrical, poetic language.
He placed them on the first table, with a little force. “You know what I’m excited about most? Cooking.”
|
|
|
Post by moralhazard on May 18, 2019 18:41:12 GMT
“… Cooking?” Kara looked wide-eyed at Dhaunmyr. “… you?” She asked, hesitantly. Kara could cook in the sense that she could roast fish over a fire, or shove potatoes into the coals and end up with something that wasn’t largely burnt. In a kitchen? Well, she could make porridge, and at least she was strong enough to scrub the pan clean afterwards. It made sense somehow that Dhaunmyr could, once Kara was over the initial surprise, but Kara just hadn’t expected it. There was a small dining room off to the right of the living room, between it and the kitchen. Kara stepped inside; this time it wasn’t such a surprise to see a table and chairs, very handsome. She peeked her head into the kitchen, noticing that it, too, looked much more complete than before. With a quick frown at Dhaunmyr, Kara made her way back through the living room. There was a bedroom on the ground floor, then stairs up and two rooms and a bathroom on the floor above. It was the bedrooms that Kara checked now, wondering if Dhaunmyr had even – he wouldn’t have, would he? Kara went first to the bedroom that they had agreed would be hers, at the top of the stairs, and, unsure why she felt so nervous, opened the door.
There was – furniture. Kara stood, slightly stunned again, staring at it. There was a bed, a desk, a wardrobe, drawers, even a set of shelves. Slowly, slowly, Kara stepped inside, reaching to set one small hand on the bed, pressing at the matress. It felt firm and comfortable; more firm than Dhaunmyr liked. Kara found herself trembling.
She ran her hands over the wood of the bedframe, the wood of the desk as well, and stepped to the shelves. They were all old and worn, none of them new or matching, but they fit. Kara couldn’t explain it, but the room hung together in a way that felt – it felt like Dhaunmyr. She stepped back again to the doorway, taking it all in, hardly able to believe what she was seeing.
“Dhaunmyr,” he was behind her. Kara’s voice cracked. “Y-you – you didn’t need to –” she trailed off, and took a deep breath, centering herself. "Thank you." Kara said, turning to look at him.
|
|
|
Post by enchilada on May 18, 2019 19:00:24 GMT
Dhaunmyr found himself flicking through the book on the top, it was touching and sweet. All to close to the reality that Dhaunmyr wished he could at least pretend he had for more than a few weeks.
But that was just one time, one place. And the city was big.
“Oh.” He looked up, and nodded. “I mean, what do you think men are any good for? Politics?” He laughed, and shook his head. “Of course.” Dhaunmyr loved cooking. It gave him his own space, back then, it meant his own little time for control, he could do things on his own terms. He hadn’t really cooked since then, but he imagined it would feel as safe and calming. Nobody interrupted Dhaunmyr while he was in the kitchen, that was dangerous. Fire was a bigger deal when there was literally nowhere for the smoke to go.
He followed her, a little excited to see her reaction, also just slightly concerned she would have preferred something more uniform than what he had purchased to fix up her room.
“You’re — you’re welcome! Of course! Of course.” Dhaunmyr didn’t ask, but he left his arms open, so she could just take the hug if she wanted.
He wasn’t entirely sure if she was... alright? He’d only done what he’d done for the rest of the house, but, he figured it was a new experience, and a weird one, and everything was a bit up in the air, so he didn’t blame her.
“I wasn’t going to buy a whole house worth of furniture and leave you out, silly.”
|
|
|
Post by moralhazard on May 18, 2019 19:05:37 GMT
Dhaunmyr opened his arms. Kara looked down at him, really looked; she seemed to very much be taking her time and thinking about it. Just – just as it started to feel very awkward for him to be standing there, Kara stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. She didn’t squeeze – she didn’t want to hurt him – but it was a proper hug, and there was much less tension in her than he might have expected.
“Can I see – yours?” Kara cleared her throat and pulled away. There must have been some dust in the air, because she was blinking rapidly. With Dhaunmyr’s permission, she would step down the hall to see his room as well, curiously.
One she was done exploring, Kara made her way back downstairs. She fetched up her pack and her glaive, dropping them in her room – her room! – and going back to help Dhaunmyr with his things. He certainly had a lot of things, but Kara didn’t mind helping. She felt with him like she had with Hana, with her brothers; there was no point in keeping score anymore, in thinking of things owed. It would take her a lifetime to repay him, and, she hoped, he felt the same towards her.
“I like eating,” Kara said, helpfully and unprompted, as she carried some more books into the house.
|
|
|
Post by enchilada on May 18, 2019 20:53:22 GMT
Dhaunmyr squeezed her just a little, but he was probably more likely to hurt himself than her in doing so. He relaxed completely, even though he was already fairly chilled out. He’d made... sure of that, earlier. At least, the innkeeper couldn’t complain to him about the smell of his cigarettes anymore.
“Sure.” Dhaunmyr lead down to his room, which was more or less the same, apart from his lockbox, which was carefully tucked underneath his bed, and, someone had found the time to hang a few dangling pretty shinies off of the ceiling, and all his pillows were piled up on his bed. He’d also brought some of his routine back, desk in the way of the bed so he could roll over and right up to it, instead of getting up to work.
He had more ideas for decorating, loads more, but it was acceptable for now. The most important thing was loads of rugs and blankets and basically no more open white space. He’d enjoyed the breezy, wide feel of a plain-ish room. Now he wanted to just make it... cosy.
Following her down, Dhaunmyr rushed several trips, just dumping stuff on the floor, the bed, wherever, but by that point, there was not so much of a path anymore. He’d figure it out when he wanted to go to bed.
Dhaunmyr wondered if Kara was aware that his clutter would only spread throughout the house. Maybe he should have lead with that in the first place. Or, maybe, she wouldn’t care. He hoped she wouldn’t care. It wasn’t that he wasn’t neat! Everything had a place, it just so happened that it turned out his gloves belonged on the arm of the couch and his coat worked out looking alright on the back of a chair somewhere else.
“I know, my dear. Looks like we have a good arrangement then, hm?” Dhaunmyr chuckled a little, hands in his pockets, now they were free from covering. He didn’t want to see the scars, but, in honesty, his hands were a little itchy, and the gloves hadn’t helped that fact. “Oh — how does your room look, now? I uh. Wanted to make it just slightly more exciting, if I’m allowed to give you something.”
|
|
|
Post by moralhazard on May 18, 2019 22:26:16 GMT
Kara admired Dhaunmyr’s room. It wasn’t – how she’d have wanted to live, but it felt even more like him than hers did. She liked that about Dhaunmyr; he had a way of claiming things. Perhaps he’d claimed her too; Kara wasn’t sure she minded, if that was the case.
Kara set another armful of books down and stacked them neatly on one of the tables; she ignored any sort of classification scheme, even on color or size, but the edges were as nicely lined up as if she’d used a ruler to measure them.
Kara looked up at Dhaunmyr when he asked her how her room looked, brow knitting. What did that question mean? A moment later, her face untensed. He wanted to give her – a gift? Another gift? Kara frowned. Hadn’t she just promised herself there would be no more keeping score between them? Tight hands clenched and unclenched, and she smoothed them against her tunic.
“I – all right,” Kara said, slowly. “Thank you,” she stood, waiting, not exactly sure what to expect.
|
|
|
Post by enchilada on May 18, 2019 23:07:58 GMT
Dhaunmyr disappeared to his room for a moment. There was a pretty long moment of the definite sound of things being pushed around, and tossed, and shoved, and then everything was quiet for a second, and then he was back, with his hands behind him.
Then, they were out in front of him. Dhaunmyr held a little book out to Kara. This one, she could definitely read. With minimal trauma. It was blue, brand new, and quite beautifully made, for a book.
“I realised that I say a lot of words, and a lot of them could be... heavily condensed... so, if you find yourself with but a few moments at any stage, perhaps you could give a few words in Elvish a go?” He smiled, just subtly, although, if you asked him, it would be extremely obvious. His mouth was too wide.
He did have an ulterior motive to giving her the book. If she learned a little Elvish, it would be easier when he... shared his secret plan with her. Dhaunmyr had already decided that Kara would agree to come with him, if he asked. Why wouldn’t she, right? And he’d decided he wasn’t letting her do anything big without him, either. No more worrying about orc runs or adventures or whatever it was that she did. Dhaunmyr would be with her, and so help him, he’d protect her.
“If nothing else, the spine looks nice, it would look good on a shelf, somewhere. I won’t get offended if you don’t use it, I really didn’t realise what it was when I picked it up at first, I just... the colour was pretty.” He hoped that wouldn’t make her feel obligated to do anything. Languages were hard.
|
|
|
Post by moralhazard on May 18, 2019 23:13:28 GMT
Kara waited, still and patient; she was in the exact same position when Dhaunmyr returned, as if she honestly hadn’t moved a muscle.
Kara looked down at a… book? A blue book? She frowned, and looked back up at Dhaunmyr. He explained, and her expression smoothed out, slowly. Kara looked down.
“My partner in the Stone Shields was a half-elf,” Kara said, slowly, taking the book from Dhaunmyr. It wasn’t hard to think about Hana anymore. She had killed Gulken, just outside of Waterdeep. It wouldn’t bring the half-elf back, nothing could do that, but her murderer wouldn’t hurt anyone else, and Kara could – and did – feel good for having learned he was nothing but a sniveling coward. She thought Hana would be proud of her.
“Hanariel Telnarryl,” Kara exhaled, saying her friend’s name firmly and clearly. “Hana. She taught me a few words,” Kara turned the book over in her hand, studying it, then looking up at Dhaunmyr. She nodded. “I’ll learn.”
|
|
|
Post by enchilada on May 18, 2019 23:38:13 GMT
“Great!” He smiled, bigger, he wasn’t sure how to come at what Kara had said, so, Dhaunmyr said nothing at all about Hanariel. If she wanted to go into detail, she’d choose to, on her own terms. “If you need any help, obviously just let me know. Although. My Elvish won’t be a thing like how you’ll have pronounced it. What’s that like in Common... um. You know, the people who talk all like this” Dhaunmyr made a fair attempt to copy the absolute asshole he’d fake dated. God she was barely real. “And half the words they use aren’t even like... Common, or any language at all, and they’ve got their own made up phrases and — yeah. It’s not just an accent, it’s sort of generations of being the weird cousin at the Elven dialect family reunion. That said, I think I’m completely accentless, now. Faerveren was a godsend, I swear.”
Dhaunmyr sighed. “Not as much as you though, angelllll.”
Then, he sauntered off to the kitchen, picking up a sack he’d dropped down in front of the door a while before. “You don’t dislike any food, right? Like, at all? If you do, too bad, I have one meal ready to prepare.” Although he hadn’t bothered to unpack anything in his room, he was fairly confident he had everything in the kitchen, mostly because he’d had it taken in and unpacked the night before. He didn’t have the men come in unsupervised, all the furniture was placed exactly like he wanted it, but he did have a lot of time while he was waiting, and in that time, he’d washed up plates and pots and everything, stacked cupboards and filled drawers.
“Are you busy? I bet you can chop fruit.”
|
|
|
Post by moralhazard on May 18, 2019 23:49:02 GMT
Kara wasn’t sure she understood what Dhaunmyr meant, other than that he had an accent? Or maybe he meant Hana had had an accent. Or he had previously had an accent, but now, after Faerveren, he didn’t. Honestly, she didn’t really try very hard to figure Dhaunmyr out; it was usually more of less impossible.
Kara made a faint sort of snorting laugh when Dhaunmyr called her angel. She followed Dhaunmyr into the kitchen, still holding onto the book with nearly as much intensity as she’d gripped the opal ring he’d once given her. She shook her head when Dhaunmyr asked if she disliked any food. Disliked food? Kara had never been a picky eater, even as a girl; even if she hadn’t actually been starving in years, she would still be glad to eat anything in front of her. Even things other people said smelled bad didn’t bother her.
Kara paused, mentally. The healer – Gigi – she had said the… bruise on Kara’s brain, that it might… was that why… smells didn’t bother her, like they did other people? It was an uncomfortable thought.
Kara went back out into the living room, set the book down very carefully, and followed Dhaunmyr back into the kitchen. “I can,” Kara hesitated. “Why are we chopping it?” She stood, ready for instruction.
|
|
|
Post by enchilada on May 19, 2019 0:17:56 GMT
“Because I dislike this orange especially and want to make it suffer — to cook it, obviously.” Dhaunmyr rolled his eyes. What kind of question was that? “Also because I dislike this man specifically,” he gestured to himself, “And I’m going to make him suffer the absolute most. I should have picked something I could actually look at. No, no, I’m doing it.”
Dhaunmyr pulled out a package in brown paper from the sack, which he handled quickly, gingerly, and threw onto the side, like a hot coal. Then, he took a deep breath, and just let it go. Then, an orange. He handed it to Kara. Then another one. He set a chopping board down, and motioned to it. “Zest half of one, then cut them both into halves. I need the juice. And the zest. But not that much zest. Just half. So a quarter of what I gave you. I’m bad at instructions.”
He shook his head, expecting Kara to find the knives fairly easily. If she couldn’t, well, she’d figure it out eventually, right? She’d need to, really, so, it didn’t matter. She could also... ask. Which would make sense. Asking people to do things really threw him off, huh?
Personally, Dhaunmyr got started on chopping up some garlic. So... she’d seen the knife drawer. Genius. All the sharps were in one place, mostly so Dhaunmyr could remember not to cut, slice, or grate up his hand, also, if someone came into the house, he had a strong chance of at least being able to attack them with a potato peeler.
“You can touch the um...” he pointed to the package with his knife “...when we get there.”
|
|
|
Post by moralhazard on May 19, 2019 0:21:14 GMT
“… Zest?” Kara asked, looking at Dhaunmyr, standing there holding two oranges.
|
|
|
Post by enchilada on May 19, 2019 0:31:52 GMT
“The... outside. Let me — let me show you.” He dropped the knife, and he took out the grater, on the finest side, he rubbed the orange up and down. “Don’t get the white bits.” He turned it around a bit, showing Kara the exposed pith. “Can you do that? “
Why did Dhaunmyr assume people ever understood everything? He wasn’t even really that posh or anything at all. He was just a normal... drow really were just... cultured.
|
|