[Story] Payday
The young rangerlings that reside at the Pyreanor boarding house receive their Farstrider stipends for on the first of every month. Those who served on the front receive a bonus, an upgrade in paygrade, a sort of trainee + rank. After the rangerlings collected their gold, they went to the Pyreanor and Zan paid them for however many hours they worked since the 15th.
Maren, Wynthar, Tidanel, Hanathia, and Nelanth sat around a table in the game room and counted their earnings, set aside their spending money and their debt paying money. They were slowly paying down their debt to Quel'thalas for their upbringing, except Nelanth who was paying back Keylorian for paying back his debt.
Nelanth frowned at a thought. Keylorian said he didn't have to pay it back if he didn't want to, that it was part of his adoption and that he could if he did want to. Nelanth did want to, he felt undeserving of Keylorian's kindness, his one ear capable of standing up properly wilted into a droop, prompted by his guilt.
Then Nelanth looked at the other four, the ones who were unadopted, who had no family outside each other and possibly the residents of the Pyreanor. His own reaching out gave him an advantage over them. It separated them. It made him different. He was a have while they were have-nots. His guilt increased. How could he do this to his friends? To abandon the plight they all shared. He didn't ask for help for his debt, it just happened.
Nelanth's ear perked. He had an idea and shuffled with the debt paying gold. He divided it up into five parts. He stuck his spending money in his coinpurse and one of the smaller five piles in another baggy for Keylorian, and then slid one pile of coins to each of the other four.
Wynthar glance at the gold Nelanth slid to him, the freckled ginger elf raised a brow, "Nel. You need this for yourself."
Nelanth shook his head, "When Mister Keylorian adopted me he paid my debit. I want to pay him back but he said I don't have to. He never said I had to pay him back as fast as I would have to with the state. I can take longer and help you be free of your debts sooner. It's the least I can do. If you want, you can always pay me back later, but you don't need to. It's a gift, because you're my friends."
Wynthar eyed Nelanth, "I don't know what to say."
Maren, the cold and calculating rangerling who went grey at an early age from trauma grumpily addressed Wynthar, "You say thank you." He then looked to Nelanth, "Thank you."