Winners and Losers

"Character counts most when duty calls."

She had made her way over to Mythal when he’d slumped over and lost consciousness, though not very quickly. Serilda had little more energy than he, somehow staying awake out of sheer stubbornness. By the time the medical team arrived, she was already sitting next to Mythal with her head resting on her knees, fighting back the urge to pass out until everything was taken care of. Mythal rarely let himself fall to a state of complete vulnerability like this, and she didn’t intend on leaving him that way until she knew they were in a more secure place.

The healers got them settled physically and even gave them a lift to the spot they’d rented for the weekend. They were given their rewards along with a generous thank you note from a very happy client. The wolves were both more than happy to see their masters, and it took some effort on Serilda’s part to keep them from jumping all over Mythal so he could get some sleep. Xiuhcoatl was easier to handle in that regard, of course, because she listened to Serilda flawlessly -- but there really wasn’t much the woman could do about Gren.

Thankfully, he stayed passed out. Serilda managed enough energy to rinse off in the shower and change into her nightgown before crawling into bed beside him, both animals wiggling for space on the bed with the two humans as well.

For once, Mythal woke before she did. Serilda had passed out as soon as her head hit the pillow, and she didn’t so much as stir when Mythal rose and started his workout for the day. By the time she roused herself, he would likely already be done with his morning exercises. She groaned and slowly sat up in the bed with a sleepy expression, white hair mussed and kinked in places from sleeping on it. Xiuh and Gren were still passed out at the foot of the bed, the former tucked up against her legs.

“Morning…” she said sleepily to Mythal when she saw him. Carefully, she peeled back the blankets and scooted herself out of the bed where she could stand and stretch. Almost immediately a muscle in her calf seized, and she could feel her body pounding from the beating they’d taken. Serilda grimaced and took the pressure off the leg in question. “I don’t know about you, but I feel like I got run through a meat processor…”

Testing the leg a bit to make sure she could walk on it fine, Serilda moved over to the little kitchen nook in the corner and got the coffee pot running. While that was heating up, she moved over to where Mythal was and wrapped her arms loosely around his shoulders for a soft, tired hug, holding him for a minute. She sighed, clearly exhausted. “I might sleep for a week,” Serilda confessed.

"Character counts most when duty calls."

He returned her embrace, at least as much as he could from their positioning, before standing up and stretching. Mythal joked that they probably wouldn’t be able to extend this little get away that long, and she sighed dramatically. “Sad, but true. I’ll just have to dream about it.”

Mythal asked about their winnings and she blinked for a moment. “Oh right, you were already passed out by then.” Serilda moved over to the console table a few feet away where she’d discarded everything from the day before -- even she had been too exhausted the previous night to put everything away tidily. There was a small mess in that corner of the room where she’d deposited their gear, both their swords, and everything else.

Serilda snatched two of the three pouches that were resting there and brought them back to him. She handed him one of the pouches, which was filled with jewel. “Eighty thousand, I think,” she told him. “Each. These I haven’t looked at yet, but they were a bonus payment from the client.”

She opened the pouch and turned it over into her palm. Out dropped two pieces of jewelry. One was a simple ring, a band of silver with no remarkable engravings and plain of any gems or jewels. The second was a brooch with a ruby set in it. Serilda held them out between them so he could pick one of both of them up to examine them, if he wanted. “He said they were items imbued with magic, though he didn’t say what they were capable of. Or if he did I was too tired to remember what he said.”

The coffee pot beeped at her, so she offered him both items to inspect and went over to the kitchen. “We’ll probably just have to try using them to see what they do,” Serilda said as she pulled down a coffee mug and poured it full of the dark liquid. “Or see if there is someone we can pay to inspect them and tell us what they do.” She poured a bit of milk into the coffee and casually used her magic to stir it together.

As she walked back over, Serilda carefully stretched her neck from side to side trying to work out the kinks. “I know it’s not really your thing but… how would you feel about getting a massage today? A professional one? My muscles are killing me and I don’t use mine quite as strenuously as you do. I can only imagine how sore you are. We don’t have to, but it might do us both some good.” She took a gentle sip from her cup, leaning against the side of the couch.

"Character counts most when duty calls."

She chuckled. “If there was a ceremony, I missed it, too. We were too busy getting healed up, and I more or less insisted on going straight home since you were out and I wasn’t sure how much longer I was going to stay awake.” He seemed satisfied with the amount of jewel they’d each earned, getting another small laugh out of her at his joke.

Mythal selected the ring, which didn’t really surprise her. He wasn’t much for flashy things, and the brooch was definitely a little more on the flashy side. Serilda really didn’t wear too much jewelry herself, but she could make the ruby work somewhere. She smiled at his compliment that she would look better with the brooch between the two of them anyway and tucked the item back in the pouch before going to get her coffee.

“We’ll make some time then to test them out and see what we find,” she said when he advised he didn’t know of anyone that would be capable of inspecting the jewelry for magical properties. The coffee mug was delightfully warm in her hand and the drink was already helping her be more alert after only a few sips.

He thought about her suggestion for a moment before agreeing with it, the idea of soothing his aches weighing greater in his mind at that moment than his dislike for others touching him. “Alright,” she said, knowing he wouldn’t have agreed if he truly did not want to do it. “I’ll call around and find a good place to set up an appointment.”

Thankfully, there were plenty of spa locations on the island. She found a place that offered a couple’s massage, knowing that Mythal would probably be more comfortable with the experience if she was at least in the same room as him. They had more than enough time to leisure through the morning, clean up, eat breakfast, and spend time with the wolves before it was time for them to go. Serilda suggested he bring his swim suit with him, letting him know it was the only thing they’d let him wear unless he was comfortable being naked.

The massage was everything she needed and more. They were lead into a decently sized room that was lightly scented with ocean smells and free from clutter. There were two tables in the center of the room with white sheets. They were left alone for a moment to get ready. She stripped naked entirely, as she had gotten more than enough massages in the past to be comfortable being nude in this setting, and placed her clothes in a cubby that was there for such purposes. Since Mythal had likely never had a professional massage before, Serilda was sure to show him the proper way to fold the sheet around himself before laying down.

After an hour of having their bodies kneaded literally from head to toe, Serilda was in a much better place. She felt loose and relaxed, and at least for a while between that and the lingering endorphins from the fighting yesterday her mind was pretty free of many of the ill thoughts that had been plaguing her for a while, now. As they got back to their little cottage, she said, “I feel so much better.”

Serilda moved over to the porch door and let the dogs out for them to go do their business. “We’ve got the rest of the day. Anything you’re interested in doing?” she asked Mythal.

"Character counts most when duty calls."

She had noticed his… predicament... at the spa, but said nothing. It had been a bit surprising to say the least because Serilda couldn’t think what may have set him into that kind of a state, particularly knowing that he didn’t like others touching him. The reaction had nothing to do with the masseuse, she knew that for certain, but it was still a bit shocking. What could have possibly driven him to that state?

Thankfully for Mythal, they were in a public place with only a couple minutes to put their clothes back on before people would come to collect them so she just left it alone. But the knowledge of it was still in her head as they traveled back to their rental space. He hadn’t been very physically affectionate toward her lately, and Serilda assumed it was due to stress. He’d had a lot happen lately, things that were sure to shake anyone off balance. She hadn’t tried to initiate anything with him because it didn’t really seem appropriate given everything, but now she was starting to wonder if maybe it would be a good way to relieve some stress. Among other things, of course.

As she let the hounds outside, leaving the door open enough for them to return when they were ready, he conceded that he was glad to have gone. Professional massages weren’t exactly something he wanted to make a regular occurance, but if he really needed the help he might be open to doing it again. “As long as you’re feeling better from it,” she told him with a soft smile. “I definitely needed it. Thank you for humoring me.”

There wasn’t really anything in particular that sounded of interest to him to do, which was about what she was expecting. He usually enjoyed himself whenever they went out and about, but Mythal wasn’t really much for being a tourist or engaging in a lot of social activities. He sat down on the couch and stated he didn’t have any ideas, leaving it open for her to make a suggestion. Serilda gave it a little thought and decided to be a little more bold than she usually was.

She walked over as if to join him on the couch, but instead of sitting beside him she carefully lowered herself onto his lap, facing him with her legs on either side of his hips. “Well,” Serilda said, slipping her arms around his neck and giving him a small smile. “We don’t necessarily have to go out or anything. We’ve earned some time to just sit and relax, and I can think of a couple of things we could do here…” Her voice was quiet and intimate as she made the suggestion, face close enough to his that by the time she finished talking her lips would have already met his for a lingering kiss.

"Character counts most when duty calls."

She didn’t think too much about the surprised look on his face when she sat down on his lap. Serilda hadn’t exactly been the most forward in this relationship thus far, physically, as she was still coming to her own in that regard and finding her footing with it. The last couple weeks had been rough for them emotionally given everything with Gren, and while yesterday had man handled them physically it had done much to release tension on both their parts. Between the fighting and getting stress out of their systems, and the massages to bring them back down again, Serilda thought that maybe it was an acceptable time for them to find some peace and comfort in one another, physically.

For a moment it seemed like he felt the same way, returning the kiss and letting it last on his lips. She could sense the desire coming from him, which made it all the more confusing when he suddenly placed his hands on her side, not to bring her closer but to gently pull her back. There was a slightly puzzled look on her face as he did so, an expression that quickly transformed into what could best be described as embarrassment or shame as she listen to him speak. Well, she’d gone and screwed that right up, hadn’t she? Serilda had misread the mood and in so doing ruined what little peace they had gained.

A bit ashamed of herself, she gave him a nod and a weak smile, but there would be no mistaking the emotions she was trying to mask. “It’s okay,” Serilda told him softly when he tried to apologize. “I understand, and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… impose.” She was having an equally hard time meeting his eyes, feeling deeply that there was more going on here than either of them were saying but not entirely sure what was going on or what to make of it just yet. Strong emotions of sorrow started to claw their way up her throat, and she did her best to push them back. “I know that you’ve been stressed from everything. I just… wish I knew how to comfort you.”

She felt like she was failing him in a way, but more than that the noblewoman had been feeling more than a little insecure since Gren had shown up, given that Mythal hadn’t so much as kissed her since all of this started. The last time he’d shown her any affection at all had been after Christmas and, given how powerful that moment had been, the lack of it now was a bit stunning. Serilda wasn’t so clueless as to not recognize that there was a distance there, but she was having trouble figuring out its source. Something about all this just wasn’t setting right, wasn’t making sense to her, but Serilda couldn’t put her finger on it.

He suggested a walk with the hounds, and she gave him another forced smile and a nod. “I’m sure they’d appreciate that,” she agreed, but it was clear that she hadn’t quite let go of whatever had just happened, nor was she quite ready to drop it right yet. Still sitting on his lap -- albeit leaned back a little -- she bit her lip a bit in the way she always seemed to do when she was trying to work up courage to ask or say something that she was afraid to.

Very quietly, her blue eyes still having difficulty meeting his, she meekly asked him, “Are you upset with me? About what happened?” Serilda wasn’t crying, but there was a shakiness to her soft tone that betrayed she was struggling to fight back the desire to do so. There was a sense of guilt about her that she hadn’t been able to shake since she had learned the truth of who she’d met, and the only conclusion she could draw was that he was distancing himself from her because he was associating her with the sudden return of his adoptive father. Realizing a bit how the question sounded, she added, “I’m not... trying to make this about me, because it’s not. It just feels like…”

Her voice trailed off as she tried to think of the words to describe what she was feeling, and came up short. Subconsciously she was recognizing that he was pushing her away for some reason, but Serilda hadn’t quite reached an active awareness of it just yet. All she knew was the beginning pangs of a familiar sense of pain and loneliness that she hadn’t felt in quite some time. The mage wanted nothing more than to put all her focus on him and do everything in her power to give him what he needed, and what he wanted, but a part of her just couldn’t shake away that there was something else going on here.