#sainted ways

[saintedscribbles]

💕

It is a long time before Genny settles on the thin gold band that wraps around her ankle, snug against her skin and warmed by her desert home. Her wife wears it’s twin around her wrist, on display for all to see, an object of pride and adoration.

Genny can’t afford to have jewelry so close to her hands, working as she does with the sick and wounded, but if she wears her pants a little shorter and sandals instead of slippers... well who can help but see the pale gold glinting in the desert sunlight.

[saintedscribbles]

Chance Encounters of the Desert Kind

(starter for @aimless--archer)

Genny leaned against a fence just on the edge of town, staring back out the way her caravan had traveled. Golden sunlight spilled across the glittering sands stretching as far as Genny could see, every grain a part of the mercenary kingdom she had pledged her services to. Somewhere across the miles, she knew her spouse was probably gazing back.

She blew a kiss out over the empty sands and turned back towards town. Despite being a small village, barely deserving of the name, it featured a infamously robust tavern with an equally infamous homebrew. Her boys had already gone ahead and she had heard rumors that another band of mercenaries was in town. 

Most would suspect this might mean trouble, but Genny doubted it. Her boys knew how to be well behaved and if not, well, she was there to sort things out. 

With a small smile just shy of a feral grin, she flicked her wrist thick, waist long braid over her shoulder and strode off for the tavern. The years had been kind to Genny and she looked younger than her 29 years, but that came in handy sometimes. While she was still small she no longer had the lanky foal legs of her youth, instead she was compact and wiry from many years spent patching up mercenaries in the desert. 

She shouldered the door of the tavern open and strode over to the bar. The barkeep saw her coming and sighed heavily before setting a full mug of ale on the counter. Genny winced, remembering that her last time in town she’d drunk the local bully under the table and nearly incited a riot. Her boys had enjoyed the retelling but her spouse certainly had not. She shot the barkeep a smile she hoped seemed apologetic before snatching her mug and settling against the counter to survey the room.

The usual crowd graced the mismatched chairs and tabletops: locals and a motley assortment of mercenaries. Her boys waved from the corner they had claimed before they went back to huddling over a map. Genny rolled her eyes good-naturedly and then froze as a familiar shock of blue hair caught her eye. Certainly other people had blue hair, and were archers and... no, that was certainly her friend. Who she hadn’t heard from in a while.

With a purposeful stride, she made her way to the table and flopped down into the empty seat next to the archer.

“Python! I haven’t seen you in years, how is our kingdom treating you these days?”

[saintedscribbles]

So I Heard You Like Moonshine

(for @arbhar-balach)

Genny is about half a mug deep into the depths of the local back-country tavern when she hears a familiar word. She tilts her head and listens, taking a sip of the watered down dirt water that tries to pass for ale. 

Honestly, the places her boys recommended she try whenever she left the kingdom. The poor dears had clearly never experienced real alcohol in their lives. Genny resolved to brew a new batch, maybe with strawberries, and bake some cookies when she got home. 

Young mercenaries needed feeding after all.

There it was again. Genny turned in the direction of the word and gazed out across the bustling tavern. Ah. A young man bragging about his moonshine and how it is the best. Genny grinned. A new challanger approaches.

Slamming back the rest of her watery ale with a grimace she made a beeline across the tavern, fishing a jar out of her ever-present bag. She set it on the table with a heavy thunk and flashed a smile at the young man. 

“I heard you like moonshine. Care for some friendly competition?”