Disclaimer: These characters, settings, and just about everything else don't belong to me, but to the wonderful Tamora Pierce.
Author's note and warning: This is a series of drabbles centered around Kora and Aniki based on the prompts found in the community tammydrabbles over at LiveJournal. I'm warning you now that these will contain femmeslash. If you find this in some way offensive, turn back now; I will not tolerate homophobic flames and trust me when I say you do not want to see me get up in arms about gay rights. Otherwise, enjoy the fic!
Prompt: 1. The beginning
The tavern gained warmth from roaring fires in its kitchen and main room and from crowd of villagers inside, but it was still harsh winter in Scanra and each time the door opened, a whirl of snow snuck in on icy fingers. Kora had nestled herself into a corner on the fringes of the fire's heat with her cards splayed on the table before her. Even with her spot warmer than most, not one soul stayed by her table. She was the gixie with the grief-mad mother, brought up by the uncharitable town hedgewitch, and whose fortunes came eerily true, particularly the bad. If she had learned one thing about reading fortunes, it was that no one wanted the truth. The knowledge had come too late, and her only customers were travelers who stopped over for a night in this gods forsaken village.
When a bitter wind swept in, she glanced towards the door. In its frame stood a blonde young woman, looking to be only a scant few years younger than Kora's own eighteen. She was on her way to becoming tall and leanly muscled, but the sword hanging from her belt still looked awkwardly large. Most of the men smirked outwardly and many of the women tittered from behind their hands. She strode to the bar, stone faced while being heckled as she waited for her ale.
"Hey, sweet thing, put down that sword. You couldn't even lift it; mine's much more your size," a vile cove leered, winking at the blonde.
Kora felt the intense urge to spell him into dust, but the other girl got to him first, drawing her blade and touching its tip to the man's adam's apple quicker than he could breathe.
"I think I can handle my own well enough, thanks." She grabbed her tankard off the bar and turned away to settle herself in Kora's corner. Her blade was still drawn when she sat down and she laid it across her table, never moving her sword hand more than a few inches from the hilt.
"You've a good hand with a sword," Kora remarked.
The blonde flinched for a moment, as if expecting more hassling but her defensiveness melted when she absorbed the compliment.
"I've trained hard to get that way. Of course, testing my blade on backwards coves makes it more fun." She grinned widely.
Kora couldn't help but laugh. "You've come to the right place then. You won't find a more backward town than this. I'd like to bash some of their heads myself, but I'm stuck with spelling chaos on their homes."
"You're a mage?"
"A passible one, but I've never had a chance to truly study. I can do basic magic and charms, tell fortunes and a few other things, but I have only been able to study under the village hedgewitch."
The other girl looked down at the cards laid out on the table. "Would you read my fortune?"
"Sure, ah..." Kora trailed off waiting for the other girl to introduce herself.
"Aniki. Aniki Forfrysning." She started to fish her purse out of the pack she had dumped beside the table.
"I'm Kora Ingensra. And put your money away, seeing Fergdin taken down a peg is payment enough." She stuck out her hand and Aniki clasped it firmly.
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