The Little Things

The inn they make it to is nearly rundown and old but well managed once they enter. it was easy to tell that not many people stay in this town for long with the rooms being on the first floor. the old leonin with tuffs of his main missing and large scars clawed across his face and shoulders, sat lazily at the main counter chewing on a toothpick and reading an article from another town until he spots the party enter. he seemed to instantly recognize one of them and stands to grab a few keys from behind him and set them on the counter before returning to his article without a word.

Sarale raises an eyebrow before looking at the others.

SARALE:

"uhm.. okay. So how much for the rooms?"

Tunda hands over his bounty hunters license and waves them to follow as the leonin takes the tag and replaces the keys with them.

Tunda:

"it's a hunters inn. guys like me and Aktlass stay free with our party. we gotta get food outside though."

VAJOR:(ear twitch)

"what's tha best place to eat? I'm starving."

Tunda steps to one of the halls leading behind the counter.

TUNDA:

"The food courts and market are on the other side of the inn. a shortcut if you will. you mind a bit of a walk?"

SARALE:(nod & stretch)

"sure, it beats getting back on the horse."

VAJOR:(ear twitch)

"Ah come on now dove, ya didn't like bein' up close an' personal with me? Tha' hurts my feelings."

Sarale raises a brow and cuts her eyes over at him.

SARALE:

"That wasn't up close and personal. Up close and personal was what we did at the temple."

Vajor's ears flatten and his face flushes.

VAJOR:

"I.. uhm."

SARALE:(chuckles)

"You thought you'd get me flustered and it backfired?"

VAJOR:

"We should go get tha food."

SARALE:

"Mhmm. That's what I thought."

Karma oohs as they cover their mouth to high their amusement at Sarale's sass. Sarale hooks her arm with Karma's.

SARALE:

"Come on, let's go eat before everything closes."

Tunda guides everyone to a set of twin doors at the end of the hall. the handles facing opposite ways of each other as if they were two different rooms. Tunda unlocks both doors to show one leading to a different hall and the other leading outside to a night market that was light by flying lanterns that lined the alley.

TUNDA:

"The right is our private suite and the left is the market. On the outside the market door will look run down. The way here is lit by those blue lanterns there. if you get lost look for those. if you hand me ya things, I can put em away while you guys look around and enjoy ya'selve. Stick by Aktlass and all he needs to do is show his hunters tag for free meals. If they ask you to do a small task, it's a hunters duty to fill it in exchange for the meal and stay. I think that should be... yeh. You guys'll be fine. Karma looks nothing like their poster anymore so if someone can pick them out they got some fucking eyes in their head... Sis, How do you feel about dying your hair for a bit?"

Sarale tilts her head and tugs at a strand of snowy white hair before grinning.

SARALE:

"sure. That sounds like it could be fun."

TUNDA:

"Do you mind I steal her for a while, Vajor?"

Vajor's tail twitches as he tries to regain his composure.

VAJOR:

"Why are ya askin' me? I'm not her dad."

SARALE:(smirks)

"what? You don't wanna be my daddy?"

Vajor chokes on his breath and turns fifty shades of pink.

VAJOR:

"take her. Please. I can't handle this right now."

SARALE: (laughs)

"you started it. I finished it."

Vajor's ears press flat.

VAJOR:

"Can we go eat please? While they color her hair."

Aktlass, Karma, and Tunda all start to snicker as they push Vajor out the door. Tunda hands Aktlass the keys to the room and a copy magically forms in his hand. He does the same for Karma and Vajor before they step out.

TUNDA:

"y'all have a bit o' fun, we'll see you in about an hour."

Vajor lets himself be pushed along while Sarale waves with a cheeky grin.

SARALE:

"So what color are we dying it?"

Tunda pulls a foggy pale blue bottle out of one of his bags and holds it in the light before walking to the other door.

TUNDA:

"I was actually just gonna give you small highlights to your hair. it's easy for others to spot you in a crowd of drow actually if you know how to look. and quite a bit of people can actually spot you here. with some highlights you'll be someone else completely. this will make your hair shimmer soft blues and lavender like it's a crystal snow instead of white powder. how's that sound? not a big change but every detail is essential."

Sarale follows after him.

SARALE:

"That sounds really pretty actually. I probably should change out of my armor too. Even with a hair change someone will notice Mielikki's crest and put two and two together."

TUNDA:

"true. If nothing else, we could do like Naleth did and hide it in a bag of holding so we can go shop for new clothes. (sniffs shirt) For everyone. Eck..."

SARALE:

"That'll work. I have a pair of spare traveling clothes in my pack to wear till we find a clothing store."

Tunda pulls a shirt from his bag of holding only to find it riddled with holds and dirt.

TUNDA:

"You got a spear coat for me too?"

SARALE:

"Yeah, I think I have one that will fit."

Sarale pulls out a pale silver blue tunic and offers it to him.

TUNDA:

"Thank you, sister."

Tunda strips off his ruined top and tosses it in the garbage before heading to the washroom.

TUNDA:

"Imma shower first. Cleanse is a nice spell and all but nothing can really beat a good bath."

SARALE:

"Very true. I'll wash up after you're done. How long will the dye last and is there anything I need to be careful of?"

TUNDA:(teasingly)

"Keep it combed out so it doesn't get sticky. I'll help you maintain it and doll you up pretty for Vajor."

Tunda shuts the door behind him. Sarale chuckles as she pulls the fresh clothes from her bag and sets them out to change after her bath.

out in the world, Karma, Aktlass, Vajor, and Naleth travel the market for a while. Vajor finally got his blushing under control.

VAJOR:

"What has gotten into her?"

NALETH:

"If I had to guess, she's become a teenager now. so all the angst, all the talk back, and all the hormones equal all the teasing imaginable. good luck, furry boyfriend. you'll need it."

Vajor groans as his ears flatten.

VAJOR:

"Thanks… any advice? I don't suspect she'll be anything like my little sister was."

NALETH:

"Actually, I wish I did but I wasn't there for her during those years, regrettably. you're on your own with that."

KARMA: 

"Well at least she's getting better. she's not a kid anymore which probably means whatever effect she has is wearing off. she'll be back to normal soon."

AKTLASS: 

"With a lesss depressing mindset."

KARMA: 

"yeah! That too!"

NALETH: 

"She is indeed getting more lively and vibrant. So I'm sure it's not something to worry about really."

VAJOR:(ear twitches)

"I don't know if she'll be different from before right away. Changing the way ya think, especially about yerself will take years and she's been made to believe those lies for over a century. She didn't open up much before and I didn't press, but the one time she did before all this, she told me her biggest concern was disappointing all of us."

KARMA:

"Then we can just prove that isn't the case by retraining her mindset like I did with Tunda's."

AKTLASS:

"You change his way of thinking somehow? How bad was he?"

KARMA:

"He had a constant temper and wanted to be left alone so as to not drag anyone into his problems. He thought the mindset he had was his weakness and hid it until it blew him up over and over. so I made him blow up so much until he could finally let go of that agony and cry properly. I wanted to let him know that it was okay to let loose and let go of his pain. If nothing else, I was gonna be there when he wanted to cry."

VAJOR:

"I don't know if it'll be as simple as pressin' buttons until she cries, but helpin' her understand she doesn't have to be alone and we'll love her even if she makes a mistake is a good place to start. It's good to be independent, but not at the cost of her life… She seems to be big on praise as well."

KARMA: 

"...? Really?"

AKTLASS: 

"She and Tunda must have been twins in another life or something."

NALETH: 

"She does love praise actually. but her mindset forces her to refuse accepting such things wholeheartedly. praise is only a momentary bliss after all and I'm sure she understands that at an extreme level."

KARMA: 

"With that said, what do you have in mind to say that?"

Vajor clears his throat as he scratches the back of his neck.

VAJOR:

"I've just noticed… she's eager to please and when she's praised for doin' a good job her eyes light up. It's… honestly adorable. So praisin' her for doing a good job instead of being overly critical might be a way to help with tha' mindset. 'You did well, but next time remember you don't have to do it alone. We're here to split the burden.' Tha' kind of thin'. Most people are more prone to acceptin' constructive criticism if lead into it by positivity."

Karma and Aktlass look at Vajor for a while and Karma pinches the bridge of their nose with a sigh.

KARMA:(mutters)

"That's a completely different matter but..."

AKTLASS: 

"I think that's fine. so long as we keep it subtle, it won't overburden her into doing more for it."

KARMA: 

"y-yeah. that works I think."

NALETH: 

"Why keep it subtle?"

KARMA: 

"'Subtle and sweet is always a small treat.' I taught that to Tunda a while back. He's told me once before that too much praise makes him uncomfortable, so keeping it small may help instead of calling her out like we've done before."

NALETH: 

"Ah."

VAJOR:

"Exactly, makin' her the center of attention will only make her more anxious. She already knows she's being watched and feels like she has to walk on eggshells because of it. It makes her feel paranoid she'll do something wrong and get scolded again. With that in mind too much praise will be counterproductive even if it's coming from a place of love, she'll go one of two ways. Become addicted to it and do more and more dangerous things to seek it out or completely withdraw from everyone."

KARMA: 

"She'd most likely end up the latter. we best be careful for everyone's sake if we don't want her to be scared of our love for her."

AKTLASS: 

"nm."

NALETH: 

"Shall we give them gifts? something to show some appreciation to them when we meet back with them."

AKTLASS: 

"That'll have the adverse effect for her."

KARMA: 

"didn't I just say NOT to scare her with love?"

VAJOR:

"She'd be more suspicious if we gave her somethin' randomly. We'd have to make it an' everybody thin. What about clothes.. we all need new clothes anyways. These are uh..

Vajor pokes his finger through a hole in his sleeve.

VAJOR:

"gettin' a bit tattered."

KARMA:

"n-now that you mention it..."

Aktlass looks around and spots a tailor shop with a man in frills standing at the door looking nervous.

AKTLASS:

"that seems to be the only one opened."

Vajor tilts his head.

VAJOR:

"Let's go then. We can eat later."

AKTLASS: 

"What happened to food?"

VAJOR:

"Like I said later. We're already here, might as well get the clothes first then we can grab food."

KARMA:

"yeh. We can grab a snack on the way there anyway."

Karma points to a stall next to the frilly person.

VAJOR:

"sounds like a plan."

AKTLASS: 

"fine..."

NALETH: 

"oh I thought i was the only disappointed one."

VAJOR:

"We're still gonna eat, just grab some new clothes along the way. That way they don't close before we get a chance."

The party heads to the tailor shop and catches the nervous man's attention. He instantly jumps out of his skin frightful of their approach.

FRILLY MAN:

"GAAH!!! Wait! wait! It's not that time already, is it!!? I-I still have time to get profit!! you can't shut me down just yet!!"

KARMA: 

"whoa!! Whoa, easy little man! we just came here for new clothes."

NALETH: 

"we just returned from our travels and you seemed to be the only one opened at this hour."

VAJOR:

"Are ya in some kind of trouble, friend?"

FRILLY MAN: 

"you... you're not... from the guild then?"

AKTLASS:

"... no. we came for supplies and rest. not problems."

The frilly man suddenly lights up and quickly opens the doors to his shop. 

FRILLY MAN:

"c-come! please come in! have a look around! you can browse for anything here!"

Vajor raises a brow and looks over at Aktlass and Karma with a shrug. Aktlass quickly enters and Karma and Naleth rush after him.

KARMA: 

"Hey, wait for me!"

Vajor chuckles and follows after.

Back in the room, Tunda waited for Sarale to be done in her shower. as he waited, he started to set up the vanity table with the dye, brush, combs, and hair ties. She exits the washroom with a towel in her hands and drying her hair lightly.

SARALE:

"I didn't know if it needed to be completely dry. So I'm just getting the excess out."

Tunda looks at her as she approaches him. his eyes shimmering in the bright light of the chandelier.

TUNDA:

"keep it a bit damp so the dye can dry with it properly."

Tunda pulls the stool out for her to sit. She sits and drapes the towel over her shoulders with a chuckle.

SARALE:

"I've never dyed my hair before, this is gonna be fun."

Tunda snickers at her and grabs the comb and starts parting it and tying each part in buns as he starts pouring droplets of the dye into her hair little by little, layer after layer. Sarale watches him work in the mirror as she starts to hum to herself. The tune is haunting and melodic as the plant in the corner of the room begins to bloom with little white petals. Tunda remains focused on her hair as he listens to her hum. His touch is gentle and graceful as he makes his way to the top of her head and the blooming plant catches the corner of his vision.

TUNDA:(snickers)

"ya keep that up ya gonna put somebody to sleep with all that humming. you already woke the plants."

Sarale gives him a sheepish smile in the mirror.

SARALE:

"Oops. sorry. I'm just happy. I almost forgot what it felt like."

TUNDA:

"What what felt like?"

SARALE:

"Happiness."

TUNDA:

"... happiness, huh?"

Tunda's face seemed hollow and thoughtful. He didn't seem to comprehend why she would say that to him.

TUNDA:

"Does this make you happy?"

SARALE:

"It does, getting to spend time with my brother while doing something fun and new. It makes me feel happy. Seeing you get excited also makes me happy."

TUNDA:

"hah! what? I can think of a million other things to be happy about that don't even compare to this."

Sarale huffs a laugh as her eyes lose some of their shimmer.

SARALE:

"Baby steps, brother. I'm just happy to be alive right now and to get to spend that life with you and everyone else."

Tunda stops his hands realizing that he made the happiness she felt dim down.

TUNDA:

"... we all feel the same. don't let my discomfort make you feel any less happy about what goes on around you... I'm just like you after all."

Tunda's eyes relax and he looks at her through the mirror to meet her gaze. She smiles at him softly.

SARALE:

"I see you."

Tunda's eyes wide with shock as he stares back at her, seeing the care in her expression. He doesn't react to her words as he looks back at her hair and returns to dyeing it. Sarale's expression falls before she puts on a smile that her mother would be proud of and studies the contents of the vanity. the dye bottles that sat in front of her were soft in color, the brush that he put down next to them was intricately carved from what looked like birch wood with a gold trim wrapped around the neck of the handle. he picks the brush up again and goes through her hair with gentler hands than before as he peeks into the mirror again and sees her smile. His expression now filled with pain.

TUNDA:(mutter)

"... I wish I could smile that way to hide. Not everyday you see a smile that beautiful."

Sarale's eyes widen and her smile falters a bit.

SARALE:

"yeah, 'fake it till you make it', right?"

Tunda looks at her through the mirror again and gives her a pained smile. 

TUNDA:

"Ain't that what the world decided we should learn? to hide behind a veil, nothing we don't see as real will actually hurt right?"

Tunda's smile fades as he finishes her hair and grabs her shoulders gently. He leans by her head and moves her hair over her other shoulder. 

TUNDA:

"But that vail can't hide us forever... And our friends are trying their best to help us remember that, right? like we try for them as well, sis?"

Tunda's eyes still showed sadness as he spoke to her through the mirror and forced a smile again after noticing his work on her hair.

SARALE:

"Yeah.. you're right. Promise me something, if you can."

TUNDA:

"...If I can…"

SARALE:

"Promise you'll always be honest with me, even if it hurts, and I'll do the same for you."

Tunda stops smiling and shuts his eyes.

TUNDA:

"... I've gone years with no love from either of my parents. my travels were all meant to be for another. my body is used for pleasure... my mind waisted into nearly nothing. all because my ear is clipped. because I was born to be a pet for others... I lived my life as someone's favorite toy to play with until they told me I'm boring or broken... or worse, I've lost my meaning. There were times when I wanted nothing but the attention Patrice gave me, because that's the only time I was given the one thing I craved, despite my fears and scars, I wanted her to be there, because, her words, her presence... was all I had. The only reason I felt that way was because I had no faith in Karma after they 'freed' me from the colosseum. when I heard Karma's head was getting hunted. all I could think was I had to save them. I can't let them be chased like I was. I never wanted to see them hurt. because Karma's the only one to call me brother... Karma is my hero. I'd do anything to stay with them... even begging them to imprison me to them. I don't have to worry about losing their faith in me again because they can't get rid of me that easily now. I'd sell my soul to anyone that wants it if I can stay..."

Tunda opens his eyes again and looks at Sarale. he was eerily calm.

TUNDA:

"... I hope that you can be someone I can do the same for soon... whether you like my way of saying this or not, you are precious to me too. just let me get to know you more... the you that I saw in that dream. not the demon that haunts you."

Sarale's eyes mist up and she smiles.

SARALE:

"I appreciate your honesty. I hope one day you can trust me the way you do Karma, but until then, let's have fun. Let's give every person that tries and tries to drag us down the middle finger. Take back the control of OUR lives. They have no power over us anymore. We may always wear the scars as reminders, but they don't define us. The future is ours to shape as we see fit. Let's burn their worlds to the ground."

Tunda smiles from ear to ear as his eyes light up with wicked thoughts.

TUNDA:

"With the family?"

SARALE:(giggles)

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Tunda wraps his arms around Sarale and gives her a big hug.

TUNDA:

"Glad to hear it. lets give you those final touches and give Vajor a nosebleed."

Tunda laughs as he lets go and quickly gets back to working on her hair again. another half hour later and Sarale's hair was dressed up into a side braid that hung over her shoulder like a fluffy fox tail.

TUNDA:

"How's that for gorgeous?"

Sarale's eyes sparkle as she bounces in her seat.

SARALE:

"I don't think my hair has ever been this pretty before, thank you!" 

She turns and opens her arms for a hug. Tunda picks her up off her feet and holds her tight with a gentle rock.

TUNDA:

"you're absolutely welcome, sis."

SARALE:

"They're gonna flip their shit when they see us. We look like twins!! This is awesome!"

TUNDA:

"yah, I noticed. Give me a minute to cover up and we can walk out looking like the perfect pair of assholes."

Sarale grins happily as she digs through her pack and pulls out a few potted pigments.

SARALE:

"hee-hee okie! If you need my help just let me know."

TUNDA:

"I got it. but just turn around and busy your hands for about five minutes. I'll be done soon."

SARALE:

"Yuppers."

She turns and starts opening the pots and adding pigments around her eyes and lining them for a sassy smokey eye with a sharp black wing. Her lips painted a dark blue gray to match Tunda's lip tone. He puts away the hair supplies and pulls out a small container of masking cream the same color of his skin and sits at the vanity to put on his face. Once he is done, he wipes his mouth clean of the black stains and takes a breath. 

TUNDA:(sighs)

"…The stain is the biggest pain to get rid of."

Tunda stands and looks at Sarale.

TUNDA:

"alright. I'm done."

She turns and smiles at him. 

SARALE:

"same. Looking sharp bro. You could use charcoal mixed with a binding agent and avoid the stains though. Only decent thing my mother taught me."

Tunda glares at her for a moment and then steps to her side and pokes her cheek.

TUNDA:

"Uh-huh. This stain is an actual stain, though. one that goliaths use to paint their skin. I have to use a magic balm to clean it off. Come on, let's get going."

SARALE:

"Ah ok. That makes more sense."

She hops up and her eyes glimmer with excitement.

SARALE:

"Now we get to go play dress up. That'll be fun. Oh! We should get matching outfits!!"

TUNDA:

"yes! you read my mind!"

Sarale bounces in her toes and grabs Tunda's hand,

SARALE:

"Eeee!!! Let's go!!"

Tunda stops and thinks for a long moment then starts semi-singing an introduction until he matches the way Sarale spoke to some degree.

TUNDA:

"... Hm... I need to work on my imitations more..."

Sarale shifts her accent to one she grew up hearing.

SARALE:

"or I could match yours. It's closer to the one I grew up hearing."

TUNDA:

"...a'ight!"

Tunda goes to open the door.

TUNDA:

"That makes sense with Naleth bein' wit us."

SARALE:

"He's not gonna know what to think. None of them are."

Tunda bursts into a fit of laughter as he wraps an arm around Sarale's shoulder and walks out with her, shutting the door behind them.

SARALE:

"I can't wait to see their faces. Their gonna lose their fuckin minds."

TUNDA:

"Hell I don' lost mine already."

Tunda and Sarale make their way through the market to find the others.