This story is set after the events of Monstrous Ranch—while it's mainly focused on new characters, if you plan to read Monstrous Ranch and really hate spoilers, I would head there first!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"So, Ms. Limini..." Valina's arms were crossed as she reclined in her chair, her tone totally neutral, her expression as cool as mountain air. "... what exactly is it that you
do
, again?"
Valina had not, Senya noticed, taken so much as a sip from her tea since they'd sat down. The catgirl had instead been nibbling at biscuits the entire time, her feline eyes narrowed as she watched their surprise holiday guest.
Teatime was a very important custom for fey-mortal relations in this part of the Wild East, Senya had noticed. It was a time for fey and humans to put aside the usual mischief and focus on cordial conversation—or mundane flirtation. Hypnosis, or any form of mind control or drugging, was a major faux pas, even for the fey more prone to misbehaving. In the time of the Solstice, especially, it was a time for pine needle tea and sugary biscuits, for minty breath and merry voices.
Valina rarely insisted on the rite when the Crows came by the Verdant Ward, or when Senya's sister, Anya, visited. It was a formality she didn't seem to care much for, and though their cottage was bedecked in colorful wreaths of winter-blooming flowers, bright berry bunches, and evergreen plants, pervaded with the festive scents of the traditional maple candles Senya had had imported from southern Lacra, she hadn't been very interested in getting into the holiday spirit, either. Her dark hair hung unadorned with red bows or holly leaves, and indeed, the only decoration Senya had been able to convince her to tolerate had been a necklace of tinkling silver bells.
And Valina had a certain weakness for bells.
She had consented to decorate him, at least. In fact, she'd taken great delight in adorning his short dark hair with red ribbons and lace, looping pretty glass bells she'd made herself around his neck right beneath his spelled collar, tying little ribbon bows around each of his fingers and slipping a bright pink winter rose behind his ear. She had taken great delight, and shown it, and shared it very generously. Senya was festive enough for the both of them, and this was just about the only way she seemed willing to tolerate any holiday cheer whatsoever.
But she had been very insistent when this woman had shown up that it was only proper. That they had to be hospitable. That, on the eve of the Solstice and in the midst of the New Year, it was important to observe the traditions of the season of formalized kindness to travelers. It was only courteous.
Her expression, tone and manner were anything but. And behind her, slipping from beneath her forest green skirt, her tail was twitching with irritation.
"Oh... a li'l of this, a li'l of that." The newcomer waved a finger aimlessly. She gave a sharp twang and drawl to her words, and her shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes and pale—but well-tanned—skin marked her as being from the western portion of Lacra, like him. She wore a leather overcoat—one of those coats that could almost pass for a robe—and a wide-brimmed leather hat. "Primary-wise, though, I'm a merc until recently. Western Plains. Been doin' that for the last couple years, I reckon."
Senya, personally, wasn't sure why Valina had taken such a dislike to her. She'd been very civil on her arrival that afternoon, and seemed more lost than anything else.
"How interesting." Valina nodded slightly and nibbled her biscuit. Not drinking the tea was, as Senya understood it, a major sign of disrespect—an indication that she was eager for teatime to end. But they had only been dining for about five minutes.
Spoons clinked against cups. The catgirl nibbled, brushing back her black hair with one hand and idly scratching an ear. Valina was being extremely rude.
"Mercenary work is a risky work," Senya said, hoping to fill the silence. He smiled at Limini, fiddling with the pink primrose-studded bow atop his head. She herself wore no decorations, though it was harder to maintain them when on the road. "Are you a warrior?"
"Spitter, primary-wise." Limini grinned. "That's, ah, a mage, as y'all deal 'em."
"Oh, really. That's very interesting, Limini." Valina arched her eyebrows. "So a sorceress? A witch?"
"Wizard, to lay it clear." Limini took a sip of her tea, seemingly oblivious both to the meaning behind Valina's abstention and of the ceremony altogether. "Spent a bit between Towers, so I'm all licensed. Makes it easier to find work." She gave a wry half-smile. "I don't ride cart with no inborn nonsense. Never squared for me. I earned every spell."
"Mm."
"With that sort of thing, you either have it or you don't," Senya agreed uncertainly, knowing even less about magic than Valina. "So what brings you all the way to the Wild Continent?"
"Eh, a bit and a bit." Limini tapped her slightly crooked nose. She was very pretty, but had a roughness to her, a bite to those bright blue eyes—as mercenaries often did, of course. "Samplin' the sights. Sometimes you get tired of the same-old and you go lookin' for a bit of the
exotic
, y'know?"
Senya winced slightly, noticing Valina's tail bristling. Up until recently, the Verdant Ward had been in the care of a number of his relatives who had been very much interested in peddling the 'exotic'. And Limini's gaze had unmistakeably brushed over Valina's chest, pushed up slightly by Valina's red blouse. Valina was, unlike Senya, very clearly a native of the region. She did not consider herself 'exotic' in the slightest. "Well, it's... a very remarkable place. Continent. And it's nice to take a break now and then."
"Oh, you betcha." Limini grinned. She took another sip from her tea. "And y'all out here, with this, ah—neat li'l prison of yours. That's quite an undertakin' for a couple kids."
"We are both adults," Valina said primly, crunching on a particularly stale biscuit. "How old are you, then?"
"Well, I'd hope you're adults!" Limini guffawed, spilling a little tea on Senya's green sleeve. She grimaced and brushed away the drops with her hand. Senya heard Valina give a little growl at the familiarity, but Limini seemed totally oblivious—perhaps a little swept up in what she was talking about. "With these gals you got penned in here, that is—I've never in my life seen so much sugar in one cup.
"Me, I'm sittin' around thirty. Waitin' to die, really." She winked at Senya, who laughed slightly. "But I didn't mean offense. What I meant was, y'all got your hands full. Do you mainly just keep the little sorts? Slime girls, lust sprites..."
"No, it's a variety." Senya winced slightly. "We have a cupid, a few Thriae, a holstaur—"
"A holstaur!" Limini raised an eyebrow. "
Damn
, those are hard to come by. I used to work for one of those—ah, um,
carefully
, to lay it clear. Never partook, myself." She took a quick sip of her drink, and Senya couldn't tell if it was the hot tea or the topic that had her cheeks suddenly flushed. "That's one of the few minds the Brat Baroness ain't cracked in all these years. It was a wild time workin' for fey. I don't envy you having to deal with one of the udder sprites."
"We manage." Valina crunched her last biscuit.
"I'll say you do!" Limini grinned. "Y'all are a marked lot, and no mistake. Nothin' but respect."
She tipped her hat and finished her tea. Valina seemed to visibly relax, seeing that the ceremony was drawing at last to a close. "Listen, I really appreciate it." She grinned at Senya. "It gets kinda lonely out here on my lonesome. Nice to see some friendly faces. Especially... well, nothin' against the locals, but now and 'gain it's good to see another face that ain't yell—"
Valina's tail bristled like a scrubbing brush.
"
Yelling
. Yes." Senya cleared his throat loudly. "People can be very noisy, with all the wars. It's best not to speak of it."
"Ah. Yes." She tapped her nose knowingly. "My sorrows about all that. Cowgirl like me sometimes... forgets how to make polite talk. It's very kill-or-be out in the Plains. Not much room for learnin' what not to say when" She stood up and stretched, pushing her wide hips forward and spreading her arms in a great yawn. "Anyway, it's good to have a nice, civil chat now and 'gain."
"Yes." Valina nodded very slightly. "A pleasure to have you."
Senya shot Valina an uncomfortable look. He understood her discomfort with their guest—who was clearly very much out of her element around here—but Limini's visit had been very short, and his personal instincts always inclined towards politeness. "Indeed," he said, standing up as well with a friendly smile. "Best of luck on the road! Just remember to get out of the forest speedily. Lacratians aren't actually really...
supposed
to be here unless they have dispensation like me. You don't want to wear out your welcome."
"Yeah, I've gathered!" Limini snorted, then offered her hand. "I'm eager to put my ass to this place, don't you worry. But I do appreciate the warnin', and the tea."
Senya shook it, smiling weakly. She had a very firm grip. "I'm sure a Western Plains mercenary can take care of hersefl."
"Well." Limini smiled knowingly. "I was
really
more of a diplomat. Up until recently."
Senya felt a strange charge course through his hand. It wasn't like static—more like the feeling of reaching beneath a waterfall. The feeling swelled, and his breath caught, words dying silently on his tongue.
He blinked. Limini's eyes seemed very interesting to him all of a sudden—so, so much prettier than he'd realized. He admired them. Such a striking cobalt-blue. Piercing. Revealing. They caught his gaze endlessly, so bright and friendly, so full of tiny little pink flames.
She kept up that knowing smile as a strange warmth started to spread through Senya. Senya would have flinched, had he not been occupied by those eyes. The warmth was like a sunbeam, swelling inside him, easing his worries, relaxing his muscles as it rose through his shoulders. The warmth felt so very, very... very...
... good.
Happy.
Too late, Senya tried to resist, tried to fight off the pleasurable glow inside him as pink sparks danced in those eyes—those pretty, pretty eyes. His collar was tingling strangely, filling him up with buzzy confusion. It was supposed to protect him from outsiders' mind control, but to his dazed confusion, it was making him feel exactly as he'd felt when Valina had decided to decorate him earlier.
