Fandom: Wayfarer IF
Pairing: Aeran x Risha
Characters: Aeran Kellis, Risha Sero (OC)
Rating: Gen
Words: 1359
And folks, my part of the art trade with @just-eyris-things - a fluffy fic featuring her aeda Wayfarer, Risha Sero! I had tons of fun writing this, mostly because the theme (language and words) is my element for sure, considering what I’m getting an education in. A bit of fluff never hurt anybody, right? :> Thank you for letting me borrow your borb, Eyris <3
If there’s anything Risha Sero can thank Risha Samaras for, it’s putting in the effort to learn Coveran. It’s a good language, he thinks. It was foreign to his ears when he was younger, though, a distant thing he thought he’d never get to hear beyond his grammar books and tutors. Now, the distance is crossed; now, he’s in the midst of Coveran, its very heart, surrounded by Tol Covere’s white cliffs and compound sounds of words his aeda hearing lets him detect.
Risha Sero laughs at Risha Samaras’ limited, small thoughts.
He and Aeran are making their way through a crowded market. It smells like sea air and bodies, but that drowns in the excitement that sits snugly in Risha’s belly. Coveran hits him from all angles, merchants shouting their wares, shoppers asking for prices, hushed conversations hoping to remain hidden in the general noisiness of the crowd. A metal comb is one crown. Two lovers are exchanging soft words in a secluded, small corner. And Risha understands it all. He could even crush the lovers’ retreat and say that they’re not as smart as they thought they were, pointing at his ears and crest as he laughs.
“What’s got you all smiling, Ri?” Aeran asks. He sounds pleased by it.
“I know Coveran,” Risha says, grinning even wider.
“Look at you, flaunting your education,” Aeran responds, laughing softly.
“You could’ve learned a few words yourself, Kellis,” Risha shakes his head. Aeran’s curls dance over his ear when he moves his head.
“I know a few words,” Aeran replies. “Smartass.”
Risha almost blows him a kiss, but decides against it. “I’m using my few thousand words to get us lodging while we look for work,” he says instead. Sun beats against his eyes. “That's the conversational level.”
“Watch out for the fine print, though,” Aeran says. “There’s always fine print with us wayfarers.”
Risha frowns and clicks his tongue. “Unfortunately, I am very much aware of that fact. I’m always careful of the fine print.” In a perfect world, he wouldn’t have to. He doesn’t say it, however. Aeran knows. He knows. Every single Wayfarer that’s ever existed knows. Not that there’s many of them to know these days, but that’s something he doesn’t want to address. Not in the momentous hour of understanding Coveran.
Aeran’s hand lands on his for a moment and squeezes. Risha feels his shoulders relax. When Aeran lets go with a gentle smile, he wishes he hadn’t. It’s rough and sweaty and strong and Risha’s liked Aeran’s hands for a while now.
***
The innkeeper is a small human whose eyebrows indicate perpetual displeasure. She’s cleaning glasses and plates when Risha and Aeran approach and only raises her eyes off her task when she hears them stop at the bar.
“What can I do for you?” she asks. Her voice is surprisingly pleasant; she speaks with a lilt Risha hasn’t heard before.
“We’re looking for rooms,” Risha says, in Coveran. He doesn’t sound like her, which annoys him a little, but he can arrange this fucking thing. Accents don’t matter.
She raises an eyebrow. “Two rooms? For the two of you?”
“Not two rooms, one room. We share.” Risha frowns and crosses his arms. While he’d love his own room, he isn’t sure their budget allows that.
“You’re lucky two of our guests left this morning,” the innkeeper replies. “Otherwise, we’d be full.”
“Good for them, lady, but we only need one. And since you obviously have free rooms, you’re going to get us one. We can pay.” Risha almost senses it, how she’s sorely tempted to sell them two rooms and drain them of their hard-earned crowns before they even find jobs here. He’s now thankful he isn’t showcasing his Wayfarer status. She’d insist on it if that was the case.
“One room for two big men,” she says with a laugh. “How about a little more space?” She clicks her tongue and frowns, trying to say something but it’s a little beyond reach. Risha watches and waits, digging his nails into his arm. “You know, the—” The word she tells him is not one he’s ever heard. She’s obviously not from Tol Covere itself; it should’ve been obvious to him that the Coveran Republic, like any other country, has dialects. He just pleasantly flew over that fact with his non-existent wings, thinking he was the master of all things Coveran.
Apparently fucking not. He can hear the giggle that Aeran thinks is oh so hidden.
“We’ll take it,” Risha says, trying his hardest to keep his voice even. Far be it from him to admit he’d made a miscalculation, even if he feels it burning him up from the inside.
The innkeeper grins. “Great!” she says, and stands up. She then calls for a boy with pointed ears to lead them upstairs. Risha wants to throttle him. He looks like the innkeeper far too much for his liking right now.
Fortunately for him, the boy is quick to leave after he shows them their room. Aeran watches behind him for a moment and shakes his head. “Your scowl must’ve scared him off, Ri,” he says with a humorous note in his voice.
“Shut up, Kellis. And don’t you dare laugh.”
“Am I laughing? No. I just find the situation mildly amusing.” Aeran pauses. “She swindled you, Ri. We’re gonna work extra hard now to earn the rent.”
“Then we work as hard as we fucking have to, Aeran!” Risha says, icily. Annoyance courses through his bloodstream and erupts on his fist; his knuckles connect sharply with the nearest wall. He almost regrets it, because when he turns to face Aeran again, he looks at him, startled. “I’m sorry,” Risha says quietly.
Once that initial bout of anger has passed, though, Risha can now look at what he’d gotten by mistake.
The room is bigger than usual. About half a room bigger than the usual ones they stay in. It still has one bed, but they’re not man-shaped sardines at least. He wants to make it into the situation’s one saving grace, but he’s not sure if he can do it yet. He drops his gear on the ground with a sharp thud, marching towards one of the two wooden chairs.
How much would they have had to pay if the innkeeper knew they were Wayfarers?
He thinks about the word she’d said, something he can’t even hope to pronounce right. Maybe wherever she’s from it means this, a room and a half, and maybe it’s common there. But she should’ve clarified. She should’ve explained.
But no. Risha fell for her trap and now they’re here, paying more than they need to.
“Hey, Ri,” Aeran suddenly says, placing a hand on Risha’s shoulder. When did he get there? “Mistakes happen, alright? As you said, we just work hard and pay it off. We’re good at our jobs. Don’t beat yourself over it.”
Risha exhales. Aeran’s hand is warm and firm and he feels him dig his fingers into Risha’s shoulder comfortingly. “It’s not about that, Aeran,” he says roughly. “You know what this is about.”
“Then you learn whichever word confuses you and don’t get swindled like this again,” Aeran replies, strangely gentle. Risha clings to that gentleness like a tether; whenever Aeran’s voice drops, just a little, he wants to hold onto it and never let go. To his injured pride, it’s a soothing balm.
But what if he spoke like that elsewhere? What if he spoke like that in bed, in the morning, what if a kiss accompanied it, what if? Risha’s mind swirls the longer Aeran’s hand stays on his shoulder, pressing comfortingly.
“You’re… You’re right,” Risha says at last. “I’ll just learn.”
Aeran huffs softly. “Precisely. Now since we have a big room, we can finally dine with a table and chairs like everyone else. One good thing about this.” He lets go of Risha and Risha wishes he wouldn’t have. That grip left an invisible burn mark he can’t shake off.
At least they can eat like everyone else now, even if it’s just for a little while.
Trahearne and Airell, sharing a moment of peace and dance
Risha and "His Hottness" Cassander (@ladamebrunette) (I love Cass so much I'm going to cry-), sharing a pocky because I randomly remembered pocky trend from years ago and I had to- wait the pocky-it's almost gone!! 😳
