Aramora

Chapter 16: Calm Waters

Beautiful artwork made by Randompeephere<3

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Naomi and Nisha drop into their seats in the lively tavern, having chosen to sit more so separated from the commotion in a table for two on the second floor, which is more relaxed than the first with a wooden balcony overlooking the party with tables set along the rail.

The tavern is larger than the others Naomi had been to, laid out with two floors. The main floor is where the commotion takes place, with merry people dancing and drinking, laughing, and having a good time. Save for the occasional fistfight.

Nisha lifts her flagon of rum to her lips and takes a swig before setting it down on the table in front of her as Naomi takes a big bite of her apple pie she bought from the cook. The tavern is much warmer than outside, so Naomi takes off her hide coat and drapes it over the back of her chair, leaning forward with her elbows on the table.

Nisha sits with one leg propped up on her chair and the other below the table. She sighs as she takes another drink, then eyes Naomi now that she can see parts of her skin along her neck and arms. She sees the pink gashes that run along her collarbone and shoulder, as well as her bicep.

"What the hell happened? You look like you lost a sword fight with a grizzly," the Tus'Felnis raises a brow.

She knows it was simply a metaphor, but at this point, she wouldn't be surprised if a bear charged at her wielding a broadsword.

Naomi glances down at the healing scars and chuckles awkwardly. "Yeah... something like that," she sighs. "I was attacked by a werewolf in Balmoral."

"What? What were you doing around werewolves?"

Naomi shrugs and takes another bite of pie. "We needed to get a werewolf pelt to trade for the Schism Fragment. And I may have unintentionally ended up as the bait. But hey, at least it worked," she says and looks down at the lower half of the tavern, seeing the patrons break out into another merry dance with the upbeat music the bard is playing.

Nisha chuckles absently and leans back, wrapping her nimble fingers around the handle of her flagon. "Damn lucky you got out alive. How'd you survive that? Not many people are known to walk away from a werewolf attack." Her ears twitch curiously.

Naomi looks down and scratches the back of her neck, fiddling with her fork and poking at her meal, watching the red filling spill out and drip to the bottom of the dish.

"Lavern saved me," she says and looks at her again.

The Tus'Felnis lifts her mug and takes another drink. She sets it back down and wipes her arm across her lips, chuckling and squinting her eyes at the other girl.

"Really? Of all people, the last one I expected to care about someone else was the Cle, but I guess I'm not one to judge someone based on their walk of life so long as their intentions aren't malicious. Do you know why he did it though?" she asks.

Naomi huffs and rolls her eyes. "Probably because he hasn't stopped hitting on me since we left Ecrin," she grumbles. Nisha laughs.

"Oh man, that's great. I mean... he seems like an okay guy, I think? If he saved you then he's all right in my book. What about you? Are those feelings mutual?" She makes sly eyes at her.

Now it's Naomi's turn to laugh. "Nope. Not gonna happen. He's not my type."

"Is that so? Got high standards, do ya?"

Naomi shakes her head. "Not really. Well, I don't think so anyway. Back in Eutria, the only romantic feelings I ever had were strictly for fictional characters. As for real people, I never thought about it much before coming here," she says and takes a bite of pie, using her thumb to wipe off a bit of filling that got on the corner of her mouth.