Chapter 19:
Alira smelled it before any other clue came to her. It was only when she saw the clouds that a short invective burst free, and she nearly fell for the tenth time that day.
"What is it?" Caramon asked, not moving to help her up. He still had a bruise from the last time he tried to help her.Mischief gave it to him. He turned to see what she had seen. The same invective, with a bit more force behind it, came loose from his mouth.
Raistlin had the control not to curse, but he was definitely not happy. The clouds behind them were nearly black. Thick, heavy, dark clouds that sizzled and boomed with white-blue lightning and earth-shaking thunder.
A storm was coming.
A bad storm.
"What should we do, Raist?" Caramon looked to his younger brother, as usual, for the answer. But Alira was the one to reply.
"I saw a place we can stay.its quite a ways back.we'd be riding into the storm. But I think that it'd be better if we rode in and got shelter than tried to race it to the nearest place. I'm not that familiar with this area, and an abandoned cabin looks nicer than a dank cave in my opinion." She said, already hobbling back the way they came. Caramon, who always hating having to regress rather than progress on journeys, groaned and followed, clanking gently in his armor. Raistlin and Mischief followed.
Oddly, Mischief had seemed nicer to Raistlin than Caramon. He was more likely to suffer Raistlin's presence than Caramon's, and made it clear that he would not suffer either's touch. The strange little fox, though, remained with Alira at all times, even when she left to bathe.
But now, he trotted contently around the feet of the humans, until Alira scooped him up. When she got nervous, or suspicious of something bad, she tended to gravitate towards him.
The cabin was nothing special. It was a one-room affair with a fireplace too damp for fire, a creaky bed that was more of a moldy pallet and moth-eaten blanket, and a motley collection of chairs bundled in the corner. But, as they soon found, the roof was in superb shape. No leaks made the whole thing worth it. The three had blankets with them, of course, so the cold wasn't so bad. But the fireplace was worthless, so they had to go with a cold meal. By the time night finally began to approach (which was hard to discern, as the sky had promptly turned black as pitch when the rain began), it slowly got colder and colder inside the little wooden room.
"Well.at least it's not stone!" Alira said cheerfully. She had gotten more cheerful, despite her bad leg, these few hours. Caramon laughed, and Raistlin proceeded to look dour, as usual. Mischief offered extra warmth to Alira's sore leg.
The rain sounded horrible. There was only one small window, but it was difficult to watch the rain falling, so they had no idea what it actually looked like. From the sound of the poundings, it was pouring in great sheets. The thunder was worse. It literally shook the cabin with such ferocity, that Alira could have sworn that it had actually caused the cabin to jump a few times.
And so Caramon decided to pass the time telling stories. Just random little things that came to mind. Pretty soon, Raistlin pitched in at odd moments, correcting or adding bits that his brother missed. Alira soon added her own short tales. It was very dark inside, and they could barely see each other. Fed up, and fairly certain that in this rain, the fire could not possibly get out of hand, Alira lighted a few old candles she found under the moth-eaten blanket. She didn't bother to wonder how they had gotten there, as she wasn't in the mood for thinking.
In the dim light, she could see the metallic glow of Raistlin's skin, and the burning of his eyes. Caramon's armor glistened, and Mischief's eyes twinkled with his name.
With this sort of atmosphere, frightening tales tend to spin. Some story about ghosts and knights and mages, as usual, was spouting forth from Caramon's mind and mouth. Alira didn't pay much attention anymore, rather entranced by Raistlin. He seemed lost in thought, staring at the walls. Alira examined him.
Finally, Caramon's tale came to an end, and the three decided it was time to at least lie down for a while. Alira took the corner furthest from the door, Raistlin tried to make himself comfortable at the opposite corner, and Caramon slept in front of the fireplace.which rather amused Alira. It seemed, at times, that Caramon was almost like Raistlin's dog.and now that he slept before the fireplace, as dogs are wont to do on cold nights, it just seemed ironic.
Alira had nearly drifted off into sleep when Caramon came to her. Mischief had already fallen asleep, and was snoring extremely lightly in that adorable way that only a small and very furry animal can pull off.
"Alira!" he whispered. Alira could feel impended awkwardness, and it definitely wasn't the storm.
"Yes?" she replied, sitting up.
When Caramon was assured that she was awake, and now that she was in a more appropriate position, he leaned forward and kissed her.
Her eyes widened, and she, naturally, resisted. By now, things were extremely uncomfortable. By Caramon's current position, which he had shifted to while she was.pre-occupied.she now knew what he was doing. She tried to scuttle backwards, underneath him, but only managed a strange wiggle. What was he thinking? With her bad leg.and without asking or at least hinting to her first.
"STOP!" she yell-whispered hoarsely. He pulled up, confusion etched on his features.
"What?"
"This!" she tried not to be loud. If Raistlin saw this.
"Perhaps, my brother, you should wait to conduct your.activities.in a more private place and manner?" a chilled voice crept from the shadows, carried by the nonexistent wind.
Alira burned with a blush that wasn't entirely visible in the dark. She had a feeling Caramon was blushing too. Raistlin stood next to them.
"I was completely unaware of this!" Alira called firstly, overly loud.
"I-I-I though she'd." Caramon started, but he could feel Alira's gaze.and it definitely wasn't one of fond acceptance.
"I'm sure." Raistlin said coldly. Alira, rather uncomfortable with Caramon above her in that position, decided to remove him in the only way a small woman can remove a very large and much more powerful man.
With a thump and a grunt of acute pain, Caramon rolled off, clutching his private area and curling up. The storm still raged outside.
The next day it still rained, and they did not want to risk walking out.especially Caramon, since it was a known fact that metal attracts lightning.
A strange sense of awkward truths untold was practically imbued in the wood of the cabin by now, and Mischief seemed puzzled. It was a known fact that the fox tended to sleep like a stone.not waking until Alira woke him.and even then sometimes he stayed asleep.
With nothing better to do, the mages studied. Caramon took Raistlin into a corner and explained everything, putting special emphasis on the words "nothing" and "happened".and the words "between" and "us". Alira didn't bother saying anything. She constantly raged to herself that she didn't care what Raistlin thought anyway.Caramon was attractive, and she could do whatever she wanted anyway! There was absolutely no reason to feel ashamed or to try and clear anything with Raistlin.
So why did she feel as though there was?
Alira smelled it before any other clue came to her. It was only when she saw the clouds that a short invective burst free, and she nearly fell for the tenth time that day.
"What is it?" Caramon asked, not moving to help her up. He still had a bruise from the last time he tried to help her.Mischief gave it to him. He turned to see what she had seen. The same invective, with a bit more force behind it, came loose from his mouth.
Raistlin had the control not to curse, but he was definitely not happy. The clouds behind them were nearly black. Thick, heavy, dark clouds that sizzled and boomed with white-blue lightning and earth-shaking thunder.
A storm was coming.
A bad storm.
"What should we do, Raist?" Caramon looked to his younger brother, as usual, for the answer. But Alira was the one to reply.
"I saw a place we can stay.its quite a ways back.we'd be riding into the storm. But I think that it'd be better if we rode in and got shelter than tried to race it to the nearest place. I'm not that familiar with this area, and an abandoned cabin looks nicer than a dank cave in my opinion." She said, already hobbling back the way they came. Caramon, who always hating having to regress rather than progress on journeys, groaned and followed, clanking gently in his armor. Raistlin and Mischief followed.
Oddly, Mischief had seemed nicer to Raistlin than Caramon. He was more likely to suffer Raistlin's presence than Caramon's, and made it clear that he would not suffer either's touch. The strange little fox, though, remained with Alira at all times, even when she left to bathe.
But now, he trotted contently around the feet of the humans, until Alira scooped him up. When she got nervous, or suspicious of something bad, she tended to gravitate towards him.
The cabin was nothing special. It was a one-room affair with a fireplace too damp for fire, a creaky bed that was more of a moldy pallet and moth-eaten blanket, and a motley collection of chairs bundled in the corner. But, as they soon found, the roof was in superb shape. No leaks made the whole thing worth it. The three had blankets with them, of course, so the cold wasn't so bad. But the fireplace was worthless, so they had to go with a cold meal. By the time night finally began to approach (which was hard to discern, as the sky had promptly turned black as pitch when the rain began), it slowly got colder and colder inside the little wooden room.
"Well.at least it's not stone!" Alira said cheerfully. She had gotten more cheerful, despite her bad leg, these few hours. Caramon laughed, and Raistlin proceeded to look dour, as usual. Mischief offered extra warmth to Alira's sore leg.
The rain sounded horrible. There was only one small window, but it was difficult to watch the rain falling, so they had no idea what it actually looked like. From the sound of the poundings, it was pouring in great sheets. The thunder was worse. It literally shook the cabin with such ferocity, that Alira could have sworn that it had actually caused the cabin to jump a few times.
And so Caramon decided to pass the time telling stories. Just random little things that came to mind. Pretty soon, Raistlin pitched in at odd moments, correcting or adding bits that his brother missed. Alira soon added her own short tales. It was very dark inside, and they could barely see each other. Fed up, and fairly certain that in this rain, the fire could not possibly get out of hand, Alira lighted a few old candles she found under the moth-eaten blanket. She didn't bother to wonder how they had gotten there, as she wasn't in the mood for thinking.
In the dim light, she could see the metallic glow of Raistlin's skin, and the burning of his eyes. Caramon's armor glistened, and Mischief's eyes twinkled with his name.
With this sort of atmosphere, frightening tales tend to spin. Some story about ghosts and knights and mages, as usual, was spouting forth from Caramon's mind and mouth. Alira didn't pay much attention anymore, rather entranced by Raistlin. He seemed lost in thought, staring at the walls. Alira examined him.
Finally, Caramon's tale came to an end, and the three decided it was time to at least lie down for a while. Alira took the corner furthest from the door, Raistlin tried to make himself comfortable at the opposite corner, and Caramon slept in front of the fireplace.which rather amused Alira. It seemed, at times, that Caramon was almost like Raistlin's dog.and now that he slept before the fireplace, as dogs are wont to do on cold nights, it just seemed ironic.
Alira had nearly drifted off into sleep when Caramon came to her. Mischief had already fallen asleep, and was snoring extremely lightly in that adorable way that only a small and very furry animal can pull off.
"Alira!" he whispered. Alira could feel impended awkwardness, and it definitely wasn't the storm.
"Yes?" she replied, sitting up.
When Caramon was assured that she was awake, and now that she was in a more appropriate position, he leaned forward and kissed her.
Her eyes widened, and she, naturally, resisted. By now, things were extremely uncomfortable. By Caramon's current position, which he had shifted to while she was.pre-occupied.she now knew what he was doing. She tried to scuttle backwards, underneath him, but only managed a strange wiggle. What was he thinking? With her bad leg.and without asking or at least hinting to her first.
"STOP!" she yell-whispered hoarsely. He pulled up, confusion etched on his features.
"What?"
"This!" she tried not to be loud. If Raistlin saw this.
"Perhaps, my brother, you should wait to conduct your.activities.in a more private place and manner?" a chilled voice crept from the shadows, carried by the nonexistent wind.
Alira burned with a blush that wasn't entirely visible in the dark. She had a feeling Caramon was blushing too. Raistlin stood next to them.
"I was completely unaware of this!" Alira called firstly, overly loud.
"I-I-I though she'd." Caramon started, but he could feel Alira's gaze.and it definitely wasn't one of fond acceptance.
"I'm sure." Raistlin said coldly. Alira, rather uncomfortable with Caramon above her in that position, decided to remove him in the only way a small woman can remove a very large and much more powerful man.
With a thump and a grunt of acute pain, Caramon rolled off, clutching his private area and curling up. The storm still raged outside.
The next day it still rained, and they did not want to risk walking out.especially Caramon, since it was a known fact that metal attracts lightning.
A strange sense of awkward truths untold was practically imbued in the wood of the cabin by now, and Mischief seemed puzzled. It was a known fact that the fox tended to sleep like a stone.not waking until Alira woke him.and even then sometimes he stayed asleep.
With nothing better to do, the mages studied. Caramon took Raistlin into a corner and explained everything, putting special emphasis on the words "nothing" and "happened".and the words "between" and "us". Alira didn't bother saying anything. She constantly raged to herself that she didn't care what Raistlin thought anyway.Caramon was attractive, and she could do whatever she wanted anyway! There was absolutely no reason to feel ashamed or to try and clear anything with Raistlin.
So why did she feel as though there was?