OC Kiss: Almost (Tavi/Everin, Pillars of Eternity)
Tavi groaned and swore as the back of her hand met the table's weathered surface.
She shook it free of the warm grip around it and planted her elbow, forearm upright, in the table. "Again."
Everin laughed and drained the last of his beer. "Really, Tav? Most kith would cut their losses after three consecutive matches."
She waggled her fingers and stared into those warm, dancing brown eyes. "I thought one of the things you liked about me was my stubbornness."
He huffed a smaller laugh--"It's your dignity"--and slapped his palm to hers, elbow likewise braced on the table. The two glanced up at Fausta, who had been observing the whole exchange with a smirk.
"Oh, ac." She flipped her braid back over her shoulder and counted down in Vailian.
Tavi was raring to go, so it didn't catch her off-guard when Everin's hand wobbled down toward the tabletop under her initial pressure. It did surprise her that he seemed to have trouble rebounding. Maybe she was wearing him down with the persistent matches. She was vaguely aware of conversation from the rest of their group, of Fausta watching to call the winner. But her focus poured into the calloused warmth of Everin's hand against hers, the way pressure tapered off at his broken pinkie, not letting him and his damnable height advantage win again.
She put her whole arm and back into it, half-rising from her seat to get leverage. And Everin's hand started to waver, the match turning from his favor to hers.
He muttered an amused curse under his breath and the muscles in his arm tensed with strain. "Shit, Tavi..."
Tavi spared a brief glance to smirk at him before matching the increased vigor relentlessly until his knuckles met the table.
"Hah!" she crowed, then immediately narrowed her eyes. "You didn't let me fuckin' win, did you, Truscot?"
Everin laughed, making no effort to free himself from her victory. (it made something curl in her chest, that laugh. Pride? Heat?) "Now, why would I do that?"
"I dunno," Tavi retorted, already tempted to demand another rematch. "That face is just makin' me think you took fuckin pity-"
"You don't think you could win on your own merits, Illani?" he baited, eyes twinkling.
"Fuck you, I know I can." She yanked her hand free and leaned forward over the table. "You sayin' I wore you down, Ev?"
Everin leaned forward to match her, close enough she could smell the honeyed mead that had preceded his beer, close enough to get lost in the rich dark brown of his eyes. "It's been known to happen."
It sounded like a challenge.
Tavi swallowed hard. She didn't think he was talking about arm wrestling anymore.
She could kiss him from here. It would be easy, a wordless escalation of the dance he'd been letting her lead for years, despite making it perfectly clear where he wanted it to go. She darted a glance at his lips.
How long are you gonna leave him fucking hanging, Tavi?
Part of her wanted--ached--to close the gap, take that step, not caring if their friends were watching and would heckle until the Deadfire froze over, see if it was as amazing as it promised to be.
But too much of her was still seared by remembered flames, pain stinging her hands and heart. I can't.
I can't, I can't, I'm sorry.
I won't.
Shit. She needed out. Or...
Tavi pushed back, muttering something about keeping that in mind and quitting while she was ahead, pretending she didn't see the resigned hurt in his eyes.
Fucking coward, her thoughts mocked as she hastened from the room.
Have some Silversteel-era extremely pissed off Tavi
-----
“Tavi, calm down.”
“No! --hold still-- We fuckin’ trusted those bazzos an’ they didn’t follow through and everything--”
“Turned out fine,” Everin interrupted her even as he winced.
“Fine?!” She scowled and tugged the bandages she was wrapping around his arm a little tighter for emphasis. “What’s fine look like to you, Truscot?! B’cause Fausta and Eddyth nearly got roasted, we’re out a shit ton of money, and the only reason you’re not fuckin’ dead is Maren shot the fuckin’ bastard between the eyes before he could finish you off!”
One side of his mouth tipped in a wry smile and he shrugged with the shoulder she wasn’t busy bandaging. “We’re all alive. Didn’t lose any of our gear, and if Sev deconstructs that trap like he thinks he can, figures it out, that’ll be a blazin’ nice trick to have at our disposal.”
“And you were almost fuckin’ killed,” Tavi repeated in a growl, glaring at him as she worked. Damn him and all his pragmatic optimism shit. “Why does that seem to bother me more than it does you?!”
“I dunno, Tavi, why does it?” he shot back, holding her gaze as if in challenge.
She knew why. They both did. But her throat was thick with ash and remembered flames seared her mind and she couldn’t say it. Wouldn’t say it.
“I get pissed when kith I care about get hurt,” she retorted sharply instead, gaze dropping as she ripped another bandage with a vicious yank. “And you... you all are like family, an’ this happenin’ b’cause we trusted the wrong people is fucking galling.”
Everin was quiet aside from a sharp inhale as she finished with his arm, but she could almost hear him swallow his disappointment.
I can’t, Ev.
“It happens, Tavi,” he finally said. “There are shit people in the world. But you can’t let a few missteps spoil the whole dance.”
“Poetic,” Tavi grunted, shoving his ripped and bloodstained shirt against his chest, careful of the bandages just below his ribs even in her irritated state.
“I try.” Everin pulled it on, mostly hiding the evidence he was injured.
“I’m still punchin’ those fuckers in the teeth if I ever see them again,” she felt obligated to point out.
Everin chuckled. “I would expect no less.” He pushed to his feet and squeezed her shoulder. “I know what trust means to you. Thanks for patching me up.”
Tavi nodded and reached up to lightly punch his shoulder just above the bandages. “Welcome.”
She watched him walk gingerly toward Maren, her heart finally slowing at the normalcy of the conversation, then dropped her gaze to her own bloodied knuckles. They were starting to ache now that she wasn’t worrying about someone else. Muttering curses under her breath, Tavi ripped a couple more bandages free and started wrapping her hand.
Definitely punching those fuckers if I ever see them again.
Part of why Tavi liked Everin so much is he actually beat her at arm wrestling and wasn’t a smug asshole about it. She’s pretty strong for an elf, and since she refuses to wear sleeves that’s not exactly secret. Most of the time when she arm wrestles men--especially folk men--either she beats them and they’re fucking poor losers about it(she’s been accused of “cheating somehow” so many times the word has practically lost its meaning for her), or they win and they’re insufferably braggy about it and she winds up punching them in the face/getting in trouble. So the first time she and Ev arm wrestle after she joins Silversteel and he wins but doesn’t gloat, he racks up a lot of Tavi Friendship Points. She did teasingly complain that his height gave him a leverage advantage sometimes (he’s 6′3″ to her 5′4″), which usually resulted in him kneeling next to the table so they were more level and offering her another shot. 9 times out of 10 he still won.
Traveling through the mountains was always a nightmare. Especially traveling with wagons. You needed a wide path, a route that hadn’t been buried under snow, rock, or mud, and enough people to clear the way if any of that changed. It was harder to camp, more exposed, slower going... the list was extensive.
The aspect of it Tavi hated most, however, was the cold. No matter what time of year, it was always cold in the mountains. Face-reddening, finger-numbing, relentlessly cold. There were currently two more days of it ahead of them, possibly more if the merchants they were escorting maintained this sluggish pace. She’d bet her cut from this job they would. Maren and Everin had both already tried to speed them up, to no avail.
Damn Readcerans and their patience, she grumbled to herself, kicking a snowdrift alongside the path.
“Are you safe company right now, or should I wait for the storm clouds over your head to dissipate?”
Tavi rolled her eyes at Everin’s joking query. “You’re safe, Truscot, I’m not fuckin’ pissed at you.” She glared at the backs of the Readceran wagons and tucked her hands in her armpits to try and warm them. “Who the fuck pays blazin’ extra for a shortcut and then moseys like they hope the fuckin’ Usher’ll catch ‘em?!”
Everin chuckled, breath frosting in the mountain air. “Merchants trying to avoid tolls, kith trying to avoid attention”--he shot her a meaningful look and she scowled--”or robbers, just to name a few. And anyway, even at a mosey, this’ll be faster than going around.”
“Still, they’re payin’ us by the day; you’d think that would be a good motivation to pick up the fuckin’ pace.”
He shrugged. “it’s their money, Tav. I don’t mind taking a little more of it.”
She laughed at that, the sound muffled by her scarf. “True-”
Up ahead, Maren and Fausta hollered for a halt in unison. “Rockslide; gotta clear the road.” and the caravan slowed to a stop in front of the rock pile blocking the road.
“Shit,” Tavi groaned. “That’s the fifth one in two fuckin’ days. It’s like the gods are tryin’ to tell us something--” She tripped over a rock and pitched sideways into Everin.
His arm shot out as she bounced off him, and he lightly held her biceps to steady her, his brown eyes dancing with mirth. “Maybe they want us to slow down and enjoyed the view.” He winked.
She appreciated the flutter in her gut for the warmth it brought, but not the feelings that came with it. “Or that this was a bad fuckin’ idea,” she snarked, looking toward the wagons rather than him.
“Could be,” Everin said softly as he let go. “Let’s go clear shit out of the road, hopefully for the last time...”
“Yeah, ‘cause we’ve had luck that good on this trip,” Tavi deadpanned as they headed for the wagon with the shovels while the rest of Silversteel surveyed the debris blocking the road. “Thanks for the save, by the way, Ev.”
“You’re welcome.” He grinned. “Didn’t wanna listen to you bitch about being wet for hours.”
She rolled her eyes and swatted his elbow. “Bazzo.”
“Fausta told me what that means, y’know.”
“It’s not a hard thing to guess from context, either.”
They reached the wagon and Tavi battled with the frozen bolt holding its door closed for a minute before shaking off her gloved to get a better grip. “Can’t feel my gods-damned fuckin’ fingers,” she growled.
The lock picked that moment to warm enough under her hands it yielded with a jerky screech, catching her little finger as it shot back.
“Magran’s fiery--” the end of the expletive was lost as she jammed the throbbing finger in her mouth.
Everin winced sympathetically and pulled off his gloves as well, reaching for her hands. “Let me see.” With a disgruntled huff, Tavi acquiesced, and his warm calloused hands closed around her frozen fingers. “Auroch’s shadow, Tavi, no wonder you can’t feel them,” he muttered, squeezing gently as he looked more closely at the injured knuckle. “Just pinched. No permanent damage.”
“Still hurts like it’s on Abydon’s fuckin’ forge...” she groused.
Rather than call her out for being a baby about an admittedly minor injury, Everin quirked a brow, pulled her hands up as he bent his head down, and kissed the blossoming bruise.
Tavi’s fingers curled reflexively and she flinched in surprise. “The fuck was that for?”
He shook his head and sighed even as his lips curled in a smile. “So it’ll get better faster, you ass.”
She tugged her hands free and rubbed the still-throbbing finger as she deadpanned, “Oh, d’you have magic we don’t know about? ‘Cause Maren would prob’ly find that useful.”
“Gods, Tavi, you are...” He sighed and shook his head again, both of them pulling back on their gloves.
“A pain in the ass?” she supplied with a grin.
“Among other, more charitable things, yes.” Everin swung open the wagon door and started rummaging for shovels. He found them, passed some to her, then gathered the rest him. “Time to clear things out.”
“Yeah,” Tavi muttered, flexing her fingers. The throbbing was already lessening. “Obstacles are the fucking worst.”
@pillarspromptsweekly #26 is another Roll for It. I did someone from your Watcher’s past, first impressions, and hesitation
Tavi woke up sore. Not that she’d really expected otherwise. Even if you left out the fact someone had tried to kill her the night before, her “bed” had been a couple of blankets and one spare pillow from Maren. Seeing how exhausted Tavi was, and hearing she hadn’t made previous arrangements, the dwarf had insisted her newest hire bunk with her. Tavi had been too tired to argue.
Now parts of her wished she had. Particularly her back, still sore from the magical missiles that had hit her and not at all helped by her sleeping arrangement. And then she forgot herself, stretched to alleviate various aches, and fire tore through her back and ribcage. “Fucking Hel!”
There was a low chuckle from Maren as she stuffed her feet into her boots. “Mornin’ to you, too, sunshine. I’ve done that enough times to sympathize.”
“Thanks, I think,” Tavi hissed, breathing through the pain. She pressed her elbow close to her side, as if it would make the cut across her ribs hurt less. “Motherfucking...”
Maren grinned, pulling her hair back in a loose ponytail. “I’ll let you get yourself together while I make sure the rest of my crew’s up. My second got us a job last night.”
“Local?” Tavi asked cautiously, not at all sure the people after her would have given up by now and not liking the idea of sticking around to find out.
“Nah,” Maren said. “Escort job for a nervous little merchant. Ev says he’s probably paranoid, but his coin’ll spend the same. C’mon, I want you up, clean, and dressed by the time I get back so I can make proper introductions.”
Tavi nodded, the pain starting to fade. “Yes, boss.”
“That’s the spirit.” Maren winked and headed out the door.
After it had clicked shut behind her, Tavi finally hobbled toward the washroom, her knee stiff from how long she’d been still, and ran her fingers through the bloody snarls of her hair. I am a long way from presentable...
Not that she really cared, but she felt like death too, and knew getting cleaned up would help with that. So she washed off the dried blood, did her best to get the snarls out of her hair, and made sure her bandages were neat and snug before rummaging in her pack for a clean shirt. There were only two left, something she’d have to fix, Tavi noted as she pulled out the dark red one.
No one’ll be able to tell if I start bleeding, she thought glibly. She fastened her sword belt over the too-big garment, searching for her boots as she rolled up the sleeves. She really should put on different trousers as well, but that would be too much work. The cut on her knee hadn’t bled that much.
That’s a decent first impression, Tavi decided, and was limping toward the door when it opened.
“Much better,” Maren said with an approving nod. She surveyed Tavi, gaze running over the weathered boots and travel-stained pants, up to the bandages sticking out from one sleeve of her oversized shirt and the sabres hanging at her hips. “Now you look like you belong in Silversteel. Come meet everybody.”
Tavi followed her out of the room, only hesitated slightly at the thought of several new people she’d have to trust. People to watch your back was literally one of Maren’s selling points last night, she reminded herself. You liked the sound of it then. Just go with it. They didn’t have to go far, just to one of the common rooms she’d noticed the night before. A small knot of kith--mostly humans, though there were a couple more dwarves--sat and stood around one of the tables studying a map.
“Alright, you lot, eyes on me,” Maren said briskly as she and Tavi approached. They all complied immediately. “Glad as I am t’ see you hard at work preparin’ for our excursion, I need t’ introduce ya to someone.” She nudged Tavi with her elbow, gently, in consideration of her injuries. “This is Tavi. Met her last night. She’s joined up.”
“Di verus?” frowned a lanky, dark skinned woman, pulling a single long, thick braid over her shoulder. “When? You didn’t meet anyone while you were with us, Maren. And you turned in early. So unless you found her skulking in your bedroom, I’m unclear as to where you could’ve met someone to recruit.”
“Ain’t that important where, Fausta,” Maren shot back. “All that matters is that I think she’ll be a good fit. Any more details you can learn when she feels like sharin’ ‘em.”
“Looks a bit more beat up than your regular hires,” commented one of the dwarves, raking hair out of his eyes.
“That’s how I know she’s a good fit, Ben,” Maren retorted, preempting Tavi’s own reply. “She can handle herself in a fight. Prob’ly better ‘n most of you bastards,” she teased. “Tavi, this is Eddyth, Yelena, Benio, Severi, and Fausta” --she pointed in turn as she reeled off the names, and Tavi had just enough time to match them with faces-- “and apparently my second is-”
“Right here, Maren,” a warm voice chuckled behind Tavi.
The nearness of it made her spine prickle. Hylea’s feathered tits, how did he get so fuckin’ close?! Spinning around to size up the late arrival did nothing to answer her question.
The human standing in the doorway--in addition to being unnaturally tall--did not look the stealthy type. He was wearing a chain shirt, for fuck’s sake. And big, sturdy leather boots that should have made more than enough noise for Tavi to hear him coming. But she hadn’t. And from the faint smirk on his face, he knew that was bothering her.
“Shit, Ev, what took you so long?” Maren said lightly, crossing her arms in what seemed half-hearted (at best) censure.
“I was finalizing things with our new employer,” he replied smoothly. “The route he wants to take, any other important details he felt we should know.” He tilted his head toward Tavi. “This one of the new bodies?”
“I’m Tavi,” she spoke up before Maren could. It had been one thing to let the woman handle things with the group, but this bastard had somehow snuck up on her and could tell that bothered her, both of which were impressive individually. Seeing them both in the same person was approaching a blazing miracle. “And yes, you could call me the new girl.”
He smiled. It was a nice smile, warm as his voice had sounded, and genuine(far as she could tell). “Everin. You could call me Maren’s right hand man.” He ran an appraising eye over Tavi. She caught the eyebrow twitch when he saw the bandages visible in her ensemble, the appreciative nod when he glanced at her sabres. “What’s your story?”
“Don’t have one,” she fired back, gingerly crossing her arms. Not that you need to know. “I’m tough to kill and I need money, so I’m gonna work with you all for a bit. That’s all.”
“Hopefully we won’t have to test that first claim for a while,” Everin chuckled. “This escort job is through one of the safer parts of the country, but you never know when some desperate brigand will try something.”
“That’s what got y- us this job?” she probed. “Some fuckin’ rich merchant worryin’ he’ll be the unlucky sod who gets attacked?”
“You do have a head for this business,” he said with an approving nod. “I like this one, Mare.”
“I’m so glad you approve,” Maren deadpanned. “When does our esteemed merchant want to leave?”
“’Nother hour,” Everin replied, rolling his shoulders. “Why, you want to go try and find that last replacement before we leave?”
“Nah, nothing like that.” Maren shook her head. “He specify where he wants to meet?”
“North gate.”
“Alright, then. You heard the man, Silversteel. You have an hour to get your shit together and meet up at the north gate so we can get this merchant where he wants to go.”
xXx
It didn’t take Tavi anywhere close to an hour to be ready, even including a detour by the tailor for a few extra shirts. That ran her awfully close to broke, but traveling with a group she wouldn’t be able to get away with wearing the same shirt for a week straight. Besides, she didn’t want the first impression she left on a tight knit and seemingly competent adventuring company to trend toward “unprepared ragamuffin”.
All told, her errand and collecting her things from Maren’s room only took half the allotted hour. Tavi headed for the north gate anyway. She didn’t have anywhere better to be, especially now that her coin purse held two silver lusces and not a blazing copper more. She figured she could be the first one there, maybe keep half an eye out for her attackers from the previous night, see if she saw them leaving.
She was wrong, at least on the first count, which pretty much trashed her chances of doing the rest. Everin was already there. He’s the second in command, it doesn’t count, Tavi groused when part of her laughed. “You here to make sure everyone behaves themselves when they show up?” she snarked.
He laughed. “Partly. Ben and Lena are both prone to wandering when they get bored, so I’m going to make sure once they get here they stay here. And you?”
“I’m just early,” Tavi deflected, mildly irritated by how much she had to tilt her head back to look him in the eye. Gods, was he a fucking aumaua in a past life or something? “I was only passin’ through this place; got nothin’ keeping me here. No loose ends to tie up or anything.”
“Mmm.” Everin fiddled with the buckles on his leather bracers. “If you don’t mind my asking, since you don’t want to share your story yet, mind telling me where Maren found you, exactly?”
Tavi hesitated briefly, perched on a low wall nearby to cover that fact and get weight off her leg, and decided it couldn’t hurt to share that much. “Her washroom.”
“I fucking knew it!” the interjection came from Fausta as she sauntered up. She shot Tavi a friendly grin. “Don’t worry, Maren collects strays and loose cannons and lone wolves like Aedyran nobles collect rare art.”
“Reassuring,” Tavi said dryly, scratching at the bandages around her arm.
“And why, precisely, were you in her washroom?” Everin prompted, steering her back to her storry.
“Oh, fuck, right.” She swung her leg back and forth to stretch her knee as she deliberated how much detail to include. “Narrowly escaped a scrap gone south and needed somewhere to patch myself up. Healer was closed, so I picked a room I thought was empty at the adventurers’ hall t’ use instead. Was empty when I started, but turned out to be Maren’s, so she found me when she got back. She helped me stitch up various injuries, decided I look like adventurer material, and offered me the job.”
Fausta chuckled. “Sounds a lot like Sev’s story, aimica, only I think he was making do with an alley...”
Huh.” Tavi ran one hand through her hair. The movement tugged various healing injuries and she winced as she looked over at Everin. “How sure are you that we won’t hafta fight anythig on this trip? Normally I’m all fuckin’ for a good brawl, but I’m not at my best right now.”
“Pretty damn,” he assured her. “There’s always an outside chance, of course; that’s what keeps us in business. We prefer the adventuring side of things, but when those jobs are scarce, there’s always someone willing to pay good money to make sure they don’t fall prey to that outside chance. And don’t worry, if you’re not at your best, I’m sure Maren’ll give you a role that doesn’t push you too hard this time out. Especially if she helped you patch up and knows how bad it is.”
Tavi nodded thoughtfully. “Sounds like a good woman to work for.”
“She is,” Everin and Fausta said in unison.
The rest of their wait for the others was spent double checking weapons and exchanging small talk with each member of the company as they arrived. Maren was last, walking next to a pale, spindly human and his heavily loaded cart. She took a visual headcount to confirm everyone was there, and they set off. As Everin had predicted, she assigned Tavi to guard the cart, which meant she didn’t even have to walk on her bad leg. Tavi caught Everin’s eye as she got settled and he winked at her. She grinned and winked back. This job was looking like a very good decision.
xXx
Also as predicted, the journey went smoothly. For the most. The merchant--Tavi never did bother to learn his name--was a jittery thing, but not in an overly obnoxious way. Silversteel proved to be a good company, both professionally and in terms of letting her warm to them at her own pace. She appreciated that. It had been awhile since she traveled with a group, company was an almost alien feeling. An easy job like this was perfect for adjusting.
And then, their fourth day on the road, things stopped being easy. The bandits who attacked were sloppy and seemed inexperienced, but made up for it by having twice the men Silversteel did. A fact Tavi found especially irritating given she was still healing from the last fight she’d been in. Healing or no, she didn’t hesitate to launch herself into the sprint necessary to cover the distance between her and the closest of the fuckwits ganging up on Everin. He was handling himself fine with three, but she pretty sure the fourth would tip things against him.
Pushing off her good leg for the last step, Tavi flung herself elbow-first into her target. She smirked as ribs cracked and the man wheezed out a curse. Her knee was already throbbing as she rolled off him. For as hard as she’d hit him, he recovered blazing fast, flailing a wild punch at Tavi’s head. She dodged that easily enough, but her knee gave out when she tried to stand. Oh, fuck, was all she could think as she dropped back to her knees, the jarring impact sending another spike of pain through her bad leg.
Even cringing in pain from his own injuries, the bandit recognized an opening when he saw one. He pulled back his sword arm for a swing as Tavi teetered and plopped backward onto her ass-
-But never followed through. Everin made sure of that, slamming the pommel of his estoc into the man’s temple. The bandit fell limp, making him easy enough to finish off.
“Thanks for the save,” Tavi panted through gritted teeth, fighting down waves of nausea and pain from her knee.
“Feel like I’m the one who should be saying that,” Everin said wryly, offering her a hand up. “I was so focused on the first three I didn’t even register the fourth. He could’ve fucked me up good.”
“It’s part of the job, right?” she deflected as she took his hand. He was strong enough she was able to get to her feet only putting weight on the good leg. “Thank y-” She almost went back down as her bad knee gave out. “Fuck!”
Everin grabbed her arm and helped her hobble to a nearby boulder. “Here, let’s see.”
Tavi bit her lip, nails digging into her palms to stay quiet as she let him pull off her boot and roll up the leg of her trousers until they could see. “Well, that’s not fuckin’ good.”
Everin just nodded as he started unwinding the bandages, spots of fresh blood having already seeped through. He paused briefly each time she flinched before resuming the process.
Tavi wished she could say she was surprised when the bandages came of and revealed she’d completely torn that wound open again. “Damn, that one was almost healed, too.”
“Sev or Maren can patch you up,” Everin assured her, glancing toward where the rest of the company was regrouping. “They’re better at it than I am. You have a preference?”
“Maren, I guess? Since I know her a little better?” Tavi said with a sigh.
“Sure,” he nodded, then whistled sharply. “Maren!”
“I coulda done that,” Tavi snorted as Maren made a one second gesture.
“I’m sure you could’ve, but I owe ya,” Everin winked, grinning.
“Nah, I think we’re about even on lives saved count,” she retorted with a smirk, wincing as she tried to straighten the injured leg. “Godsdammit. Some first impression, huh? Get myself hurt to the point of crippled an’ need fuckin’ saving very first fight after joinin’ up.”
“You risked reopening an existing injury in order to watch my back,” Everin contradicted, pulling out a rag to begin cleaning his estoc. “Pretty damn good first impression in my book, new girl.”
“Mm, I like your book. It’s blazin’ charitable,” Tavi chuckled, sighing in relief when Maren started in their direction. “But hopefully this won’t become a regular occurrence.”
“Which part?” he laughed.
“Needing to reinjure myself to watch your ass,” she said. “Don’t mind the second part, it’s the first I wanna avoid.”
“Understandable,” Everin nodded. By now Maren had reached them, and she shooed him off to get everyone ready to move on while she took care of Tavi. He acquiesced with a smile and another wink at Tavi before trudging back toward the wagon.
Tavi grinned as she watched him go. Damn good first impression indeed.
For @pillarspromptsweekly #5. While I eagerly await another chance to write Emiri, Tavi is the only one of my (fleshed out) Watchers with an ex, so she gets this week by default. :P
Tavi made it three hours before she started squirming. Note to self, she thought wryly, buy more cushions for this fuckin’ chair. Just because Caed Nua’s throne was well-made didn’t mean it was a comfortable seat for hours on end. You’re just grouchy Aloth’s gone. The thought was as unwelcome as it was true, and Tavi scowled before she caught herself.
“Everything alright, m’lady?” the elven farmer before her asked.
“Just not used to sitting still so long,” Tavi assured her. “Continue.”
“Oh, that was all of it, m’lady. We just wanted t’ thank you for the soldiers you sent to bolster our militia. We haven’t had near as much trouble with bandits.”
“So that all wasn’t lead up to askin’ for a favor?” Tavi raised an eyebrow. Makes you the first today...
“No, m’lady.” The farmer shook her head. “We just wanted to thank you. A couple of th’ ladies who’re good at weavin’ made you this.” She unwrapped the bundle she’d carried under her arm to reveal a dark green cloak, trimmed in deep red and russet orange.
“Thank you,” Tavi smiled. “It looks like a fine gift. I’m sure it’ll do a grand job keepin’ me warm. You can leave it with one of the guards by the door when you leave.” That was one of the things she hated most; everything she was gifted had to be checked before she could use it or wear it or eat it. But there had been a couple attempts--one that came close enough to succeeding Aloth wouldn’t let her out of his sight for a whole week afterwards--so this was a necessary precaution.
The elven farmer seemed to understand, though. “Of course, m’lady.” She bowed and started back toward the doorway. “Thank you again for everything you’ve done for us.”
“Who’s next?” Tavi asked, somewhat absently, as her attention was mostly on attempting to rub the knots out of her lower back.
“The captain of an adventuring company from Old Vailia, Watcher,” the Steward replied.
“They’re a long way from home,” Tavi muttered. “Did they give a name for their company?”
“Silversteel, I believe,” the Steward said, and Tavi’s stomach promptly tied itself in no fewer than four knots.
“Silversteel?” she whispered, suddenly and desperately missing Aloth. If part of her past she’d thought long behind her was about to saunter back into her life, she wanted the most important part of her future with her. For back-up. But Aloth had left to hunt the Leaden Key, no amount of wishing would bring him back, and it might be nice to see Maren again, anyway.
So with a deep, steeling breath, Tavi nodded. “Show them in.”
To her deep and complete surprise, however, the individual the guards let it was not a grizzled blonde dwarven woman. It was instead a tall, well-muscled human man, his dark hair cropped close, a patch Tavi didn’t remember covering his right eye.
For a few protracted seconds, the only words her brain could form were Oh. Shit. before she mentally scrambled back into her role as Watcher of Caed Nua. “You’re the captain of Silversteel, then?”
“Aye, my lady.” Gods, she couldn’t tell if he was smirking ever so slightly or if it was the scar--that she didn’t remember, either--tugging up one side of his mouth. He place one fist over his heart and bowed. “Everin Truscot at your service.”
“And what brings you to Caed Nua all the way from Old Vailia?” Tavi asked.
Everin shrugged and crossed his arms. “Your fame has spread even to my country, and we figured a lady of your reputation would like as not have work for a company like ours.”
Tavi smiled thinly. “Adventurers? I do my own adventuring, Captain Everin.”
“Oh, we do far more than just adventuring, my lady Watcher.” Now he was smirking. “Bodyguards, backing up an overworked militia, bounty hunting, we have an extensive skill set.”
“Well, in that case, I’ll need a couple days to think about your offer.” Part of her couldn’t believe she’d even conceded that much. “You can lodge here, Captain, if you wish.”
“Thank you, my lady.” Fist to chest, he bowed again. “I believe I’ll take you up on that.”
The ringing silence as he left was stark contrast to the cacophony inside her head.
>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<
Tavi made it another hour listening to petitions and praise before she had to end for the day. Between various sore spots and knowledge Everin was here, she couldn’t concentrate. Everin was here, she was going to have to confront one of her biggest mistakes--and few regrets--because he was staying in her keep.
I need some air. It was all she could do to walk to the door--no point in alarming her staff by bolting. The clear blue sky that greeted her was somewhat calming as was the comforting swish of grass under her boots. And then she spotted him.
Everin was sitting on a boulder near the wall, a familiar small leather-bound book balanced on one knee as he sketched across its pages with charcoal.
“I’d think you’d be on a new sketchbook by now,” she commented as she approached. Might as well get this over with...
“Went through a rough patch a few years back,” Everin replied, not looking at her as he flipped the book closed and returned it to a pouch on his belt. “Didn’t feel much like drawing.”
Tavi winced. I deserved that. “What happened to Maren?”
He snorted a sardonic laugh as he stood and crossed his arms. “Hello Ev, it’s been awhile Ev, how’ve you been since I broke your heart, Ev... so many options and you ask about Maren? Still running scared from your emotions, huh, Tav?”
“Oh, stuff it,” Tavi growled, guilt prickling up her spine.You wanna go hostile, I’ll go hostile. “We can unpack the shit between us later. Maren was the closest thing I had to a friend for five years and I wanna know what the fuck happened to her!”
“She retired,” Everin said coolly. “Lost half an arm in the same fight I lost my eye-” he tapped the scar that ran from his forehead back to the corner of his jaw- “took it as a sign she was s’pposed to get out of the adventuring business, cashed her share and went to live with her sisters. Prob’ly just as well; dunno how well she would’ve managed that crossbow of hers with one hand.”
“Please, it’s Maren.” Tavi rolled her eyes. “If she’d wanted to make it work, she’d’ve made it fuckin’ work. She wanted to retire. Which made you captain. So who’s your second?”
“Yelena,” Everin said. “She’s been with the group the longest, knows how to play diplomat, can handle herself in a fight.”
“Yeah, Lena’s a good choice,” Tavi nodded, memory of the sturdy redhead flashing through her mind. “And I’m sure you’re doin’ great as captain, Ev. you always did have a good head for leadership.”
“What’re you getting at, Tavi?” Everin crossed his arms.
Still reads me like a fuckin’ book, she groused to herself. “Why are you here, Everin? Did all the adventuring jobs in Old Vailia and the Republics dry up? ‘Cause I vaguely remember there being more work than we knew what to do with when I left.”
“A good captain looks out for his men,” Everin replied, voice even, but something flickered in his good eye. “We’ve heard about you all the way in Old Vailia, Tavi. For your reputation to spread that far-”
“You figured I was fuckin’ loaded and could pay better money than anyone in Old Vailia would?” she finished for him.
“Well... yes.” He shrugged. “Part of being a leader means looking out for my people. You learn that lesson yet, Tavi? Looking out for other people?”
“Don’t give me that bullshit, Ev,” she growled. “It’s fuckin’ petty. You know damn well I did plenty of lookin’ out and watchin’ your back when I was with Silversteel. I get that I hurt you, but don’t you fuckin’ dare lie about me.” She glared at him, still hating how much she had to look up to do it. “You tryin’ to guilt me into givin’ you work? ‘Cause you of all people know that doesn’t fuckin’ work on me.”
“No.” Everin sighed, ran a hand over his hair. He seemed to wilt a little. “I didn’t come here to fight with you, or try and guilt you into something. I am hoping you’ll give us a job, but because you know Silversteel’s a damn good company, not because you feel like you owe me anything.”
“Well, I do owe you one thing,” Tavi conceded, raking her fingers through her hair. “I’m sorry I broke your heart, Ev. I’ve always been-”
“-Shit with words,” he finished for her, slight smile tugging his lips. “I remember.”
Tavi laughed and nodded. “And worse with emotions. I’m not makin’ excuses; I did the wrong thing, you got hurt, and I’m sorry.”
Everin was quiet for a long moment before nodding. “I appreciate that, and I accept. Doesn’t make the past hurt any less, of course. But it might help for the future.”
“How so?” Tavi asked cautiously, narrowing her eyes as that knot formed again in her stomach.
Everin shrugged, leaning against the wall of the keep and absently picking at a hangnail. “Well, if you hire Silversteel, maybe, eventually, we can see where things go with us...”
The knot tightened. “You still...?”
He met her gaze steadily. “Why do you think it hurt so badly? My feelings didn’t go away just because you couldn’t handle them.”
Her throat closed up. That was a fair point. And even three years from when she’d last seen him, she knew the man well enough to tell he was being more open with her than he was with most people. Which made her feel like shit for what she had to say. “I.. I can’t, Ev.”
He straightened, stiffly, expression closing off. “Course not. Why did I ever think you would change?”
“It’s not like that!” Tavi snapped defensively. “I-I already have someone.”
“Sure,” Everin muttered, muscle in his jaw twitching. “That makes sense, with what I know about you.”
“People change,” she retorted. “And it’s not like I went lookin’ to replace you. I was just tryin’ to survive, fate threw us together, he helped me with the savin’ the world shit, and... things just happened. I wasn’t fuckin’ expectin’ to fall in l-” Tavi stopped herself. No sense rubbing salt in old wounds.
But it was too late. “You?” Everin scoffed, gaze turning stormy. “The woman who took three fucking years to admit to me that maybe, just maybe, what we had went beyond friendship, somehow fell in love with someone in less than one?! I’m supposed to believe that?”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass whether you believe me or not,” Tavi shot back, genuinely getting angry now. “It’s the truth. Like I said, people change! Maybe I was tryin’ to avoid the mistakes I made with you!”
“Well, then,” Everin said coolly, posture still stiff. “I’d love to meet the lucky man, if he’s here.”
Tavi raised her chin, hearing the challenge in the words. “You just missed him, actually. He left a couple of days ago to deal with... something personal.”
“Convenient.”
“Everin, if you imply I’m lying one more gods-damned time-”
“Not what I meant,” he cut her off.
“Then what did you mean?” Tavi crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
“I meant convenient he has something to do that takes precedence over staying to help you.”
“He’s helped me plenty,” she informed him. “And what he’s doin’ is important. Shit, I’d rather be out with him than here. You can say whatever you damn well please about me--gods know I deserve it--but you leave Aloth out of this. He’s a good man, who’s already been through more shit than anyone should have to deal with in a lifetime, and I don’t want you trash talking him ‘cause you’re pissed at me.”
Everin was quiet for several long, awkward seconds they both spent not looking each other in the eye. “...I’m sorry, Tavi. I thought I had a better handle on this. Apparently old wounds run deep and hadn’t healed as much as I thought they had. I really cared about you, and you walked away, and I guess that lingers. But I shouldn’t have implied you were lying. Or disparaged your current beau.” He held out a hand to shake. “For that I am sorry.”
“Apology accepted,” Tavi said, noting the scars that criscrossed his hand as she shook it. She didn’t remember those, either. What did you do to yourself after I left, Ev?
“So, Aloth, huh?” Everin said after a brief pause. “Sounds like a prissy Aedyran noble.”
Tavi snorted a laugh and started walking, tugging Everin’s arm so he would walked with her. “Swap noble for wizard and you’re not wrong.”
Everin threw his head back and laughed. “Tavi Illani fell in love with an Aedyran. Much as it would’ve hurt to watch, I almost wish I could have seen that play out. It’s... so the opposite of you.”
“He wasn’t that prissy,” Tavi protested, then cleared her throat. “For long. Just... we both did some growing over the course of our adventures, and the Aloth who left a couple days ago was not the same Aloth I met in Gilded Vale. And the Tavi who watched him go was not the same Tavi who first met him.”
“Well, I’m... happy for you. Still wish it had worked with you and me, but I’m happy you’re happy.” He kicked a pebble, watched it bounce and tumble.
“And I’ll keep buggin’ Hylea until you get to be happy like this,” Tavi replied, snapping off a tall blade of grass and absently tying it in knots. “You deserve to be happy.”
“Thanks.”
There was still a measure of underlying tension when they went their separate ways, but the rawness of it had begun to fade.
>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<
When Everin left a couple days later, he carried a folded parchment contracting Silversteel to aid a village in Yenwood that had an ogre problem. With her companions scattered to the corners of the map and the weight of leadership pressing on her shoulders, Tavi’s couldn’t deal with it herself. And Silversteel had always enjoyed a challenge.
Despite her busy schedule, Tavi took a few minutes to watch Everin leave. As the morning mist swallowed him up, it felt like closure. An uneasy question mark from her past written over with a definitive ending, the spectre of her biggest past regret finally laid to rest.
Time to focus on the future, Tavi thought with a smile as the last traces of Everin’s silhouette disappeared from view, And much as she wished that future involved traveling with a certain wizard, so far it only looked to include settling in as the Watcher of Caed Nua.
She started down the steps, running a hand along the cool stone as she went. I can work with that.
I have made the critical error of thinking about this as a Tavi song, specifically a Tavi/Everin song, bc that was very much her mindset while she was with Silversteel and why they didn’t work and ohno I’m sad about my Watcher’s could-have-been if she wasn’t a coward
