Disclaimer: I don't own Neverwinter Nights 2 or the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. Those belong to Obsidian et al and Wizards of the Coast.
Sweetest in the Gale
Heads or Tails
Neeshka stormed behind the others, trying her hardest to keep from either repeatedly smacking her head against one of the way too many trees or from indulging the niggling and always-angry little voice that screamed for her to plant her dagger just below the back of the dwarf's bald head.
She'd tried playing nice. She'd tried being civil. But then the stupid runt had to go and accuse her of trying to lull him into some false sense of security. As if the loudmouth had anything she'd want to steal. Stupid dwarf, she thought as she glared at Khelgar's back. Like she told Lyss, one of these days his tongue was going to run right out of his mouth. And if it rolled out in Neverwinter, well, he'd be lucky if someone just stepped on it. A monk, hah.
"Neesh?"
The tiefling's head jerked up, and she couldn't help the reflexive surge of heat in her cheeks when she noticed that Elanee and Lyss were staring at her. Hells, hells, hells, had she said that out loud? "Nothing! Nothing at all, everything's fine…heh heh…"
Lyss's eyes narrowed a little, but the half-elf finally lifted a shoulder a little and said, "If you say so," before turning back to whatever the druidess wanted to talk to her about.
That was close. Last thing she wanted was for anyone to think she was nuts on top of being a tiefling; that was enough of a pain. The "rescue operation" at that bandit camp back near Fort Locke was a prime example. The jerk didn't even look at Neeshka when he was thanking Lyss and the dwarf.
But…it was nice that Lyss had thanked her. And, really, Lyss was the only reason Neeshka was even thinking about sticking the tip of a horn back in Neverwinter right now. No matter what the bard said, Neeshka owed her, and not just for helping her out with those creeps near the fort what seemed like weeks ago. The fact was that Neeshka owed her just for being so nice. Neeshka could usually put people's reactions to her in two categories: "Gyah! Tiefling! Kill it!" or "Ooh, tiefling! How can I use this?" Not the brand new third category ("Tiefling? So?") that seemed to be populated solely by Elanee and Lyss. Elanee could be written off there. The elf didn't look like she'd ever seen anything resembling civilization before they'd hit Highcliff, of course she wouldn't know about tieflings. But Lyss had flat-out admitted to being a bard and, as all bards pretty much had to be, a bit of a gossip. There was no way in any of the Hells that she didn't know why people didn't like tieflings.
"Neeshka, hurry up!"
"Bah. I still say we should just leave it behind."
"I heard that, dwarf!" Neeshka could think about the whys and hows of Lyss's "nice" later. Right now, she had a dwarf to pound.
Really, Lyssi thought as she stared out at the horizon, it was like trying to make a group of belligerent kids play "Follow the Leader" sometimes. Khelgar and Neeshka wouldn't stop picking at each other, Elanee sometimes joined one side or the other but usually stayed fairly well oblivious in general… It was going to give her a headache one of these days.
Khelgar ran past her, hell-bent for the side of the Double Eagle with a hand clapped over his mouth, and Lyssi let herself groan. "One of these days" was looking more like "today" all the time.
"Whatcha up to?"
Lyssi smiled slightly at the tiefling, the corner of her eye fixed on the cat-like swishing of Neeshka's tail. "Contemplating how best to fix a feed bag to serve as a vomit-catcher for a certain acquaintance of ours. I think Captain Flinn's getting tired of tripping over him all the time."
Neeshka snickered. "Good idea."
"What brings you over here, Neesh?"
"A tiefling can't just wander over to talk anymore?"
"I didn't mean it like that…"
"Fine, fine. I was just curious, y'know? You asked about me, but you never say anything about you, so…"
"Ah."
"So?"
"Neeshka, I don't even know where you want me to start."
The tiefling scrunched her face into an odd expression, folding herself into an exaggerated "thinking pose." "Ooh, I know. Who was that guy you were so chatty with back in Highcliff? The one in the inn. Is he the one who gave you that ring?"
"You're horrible, you know that?"
"Thank you! Now spill."
Lyssi groaned and thumped her head against the ship's side. "No, that wasn't Wyl. And it's not some sort of sordid affair, either!"
"I didn't say anything." Was it horrible that Lyssi could practically see the "innocent face" the tiefling was wearing without actually seeing it? "So?"
"So Tylan was my teacher when I was a kid, taught me almost everything I know. Except for the wilderness survival, that was all my father's doing."
"What's he like?"
"Who?"
"Your father, y'know?"
Lyssi opened and closed her mouth a few times, possible responses dying on her lips before she finally just shrugged. "Daeghun's…Daeghun is. You'd have to meet him to know what I mean, but I can't think of any way to actually describe him besides that."
"Some bard you are." There was a grin on Neeshka's face, though, which flattened Lyssi's proverbial hackles before they could even think about rising. "So what is he, human?"
"Wood elf. Speaking of, what's your opinion on Elanee?"
"…She's an elf? Little too 'nature-girl' for my taste, but I'm a city kinda girl, y'know? But she didn't run screaming when she saw me, so that's always good."
Both women winced at the sound of Khelgar's last meal jumping ship, punctuated by a spate of language that might've set nearby vegetation on fire had there been any nearby vegetation.
"Excuse me, Neesh," Lyssi said after a moment, heaving herself off of the side of the ship, "but I think I'm going to go find that feed bag now."