Past lives
This is only the first part. There's more that I'm working on.
“You, officially, are the most insane traveling companion.” Gabriel groused as he huddled further under his cloak, trying to hide under the overhanging lip of their wagon. Dar, all of 21, grinned maniacally even as he shook the heavy raindrops out of his eyes.
“You say that now, and yet you never leave.” He pointed out, settling comfortably on the roof.
“Your ability to find treasure anywhere has it’s merits.”
“You’re still looking for her, aren’t you?”
“So what?”
“Have you thought about giving up?”{
“Have you thought about traveling alone? Anyway, I hope your luck will one day rub off on me. In the meantime, where is the nearest inn?”
“It won’t be for another hour at least. And my luck is not my own, it’s the luck of my blood.”
“Your blood, your guardian, I don’t care. I want hot food and a bed.”
“It’s a sad day when a full grown soldier can’t handle a little rain while a young scamp revels in it.”
“You, are older than me.”
That remark got Dar to swing down from the roof and land next to Gabriel.
“And what makes you say that?”
“I may have seen many things in my thirty years, but you have seen far more.”
“Be that as it may, I’m not older than you.”
“And yet any bar or inn that we come to along the coast of Britannia knows you and will offer you a bed.”
Darian flicked a hand idly away. “Nothing more than gossip and good music. Anybody can apprieciate that, and when the guest brings better business, of course innkeepers are going to enjoy my company.”
Gabriel decided to leave it at that. They rode in silence for about fifteen minue=tes before a thought that had been nagging Gabriel came forth.
“Do you ever think about quitting this and settling down?”
Darian startled in his seat. “Wha? What brought this on?”
“Don’t you ever get tired of this? The rain, the bad food, the villages, filed with people who have never seen anyone outside their own village, the cheap beer, the cold, the lonliness?”
The younger man sat back for a few minutes, deep in thought. Then he turned back to his companion. “No.”
“No? Why?”
“Darian heaved a sigh. “I left my family when I was eight. I traveled to the birthplace of my mother only to find that she had roaming blood. That was what had pushed me her out of her comfortable foster village and into the unknown of the distant lands. She wandered and still does to some extent, even though she is a mother and a wife. I have nothing to tie me down, nor do I want to. I love this weather, I love the gossip, I love playing the same songs to a different audience every fortnight. This is a freedom I could never give up.”
They rode in silence for a while longer.
:You’ll find her.”
“Will I?”
“You will. She’s out there somewhere and she’s waiting for you. Give it time, you’ll find her.”
“And then where will you be?”
“On the road again. While pleasant company you may be, Gabriel, I’ve traveled alone for many years. It’s not that much of a hardship.”
‘I wouldn’t feel comfortable abandoning you like that.”
This caused Darian to quirk a smile. “I’ll find someone else. Though I have learned from you, that soldiers make the best travel-partners. When you settle down, sace a bed for me, that’s all I ask.”
“And that I shall do.”
They reached the inn some time later.
“You, officially, are the most insane traveling companion.” Gabriel groused as he huddled further under his cloak, trying to hide under the overhanging lip of their wagon. Dar, all of 21, grinned maniacally even as he shook the heavy raindrops out of his eyes.
“You say that now, and yet you never leave.” He pointed out, settling comfortably on the roof.
“Your ability to find treasure anywhere has it’s merits.”
“You’re still looking for her, aren’t you?”
“So what?”
“Have you thought about giving up?”{
“Have you thought about traveling alone? Anyway, I hope your luck will one day rub off on me. In the meantime, where is the nearest inn?”
“It won’t be for another hour at least. And my luck is not my own, it’s the luck of my blood.”
“Your blood, your guardian, I don’t care. I want hot food and a bed.”
“It’s a sad day when a full grown soldier can’t handle a little rain while a young scamp revels in it.”
“You, are older than me.”
That remark got Dar to swing down from the roof and land next to Gabriel.
“And what makes you say that?”
“I may have seen many things in my thirty years, but you have seen far more.”
“Be that as it may, I’m not older than you.”
“And yet any bar or inn that we come to along the coast of Britannia knows you and will offer you a bed.”
Darian flicked a hand idly away. “Nothing more than gossip and good music. Anybody can apprieciate that, and when the guest brings better business, of course innkeepers are going to enjoy my company.”
Gabriel decided to leave it at that. They rode in silence for about fifteen minue=tes before a thought that had been nagging Gabriel came forth.
“Do you ever think about quitting this and settling down?”
Darian startled in his seat. “Wha? What brought this on?”
“Don’t you ever get tired of this? The rain, the bad food, the villages, filed with people who have never seen anyone outside their own village, the cheap beer, the cold, the lonliness?”
The younger man sat back for a few minutes, deep in thought. Then he turned back to his companion. “No.”
“No? Why?”
“Darian heaved a sigh. “I left my family when I was eight. I traveled to the birthplace of my mother only to find that she had roaming blood. That was what had pushed me her out of her comfortable foster village and into the unknown of the distant lands. She wandered and still does to some extent, even though she is a mother and a wife. I have nothing to tie me down, nor do I want to. I love this weather, I love the gossip, I love playing the same songs to a different audience every fortnight. This is a freedom I could never give up.”
They rode in silence for a while longer.
:You’ll find her.”
“Will I?”
“You will. She’s out there somewhere and she’s waiting for you. Give it time, you’ll find her.”
“And then where will you be?”
“On the road again. While pleasant company you may be, Gabriel, I’ve traveled alone for many years. It’s not that much of a hardship.”
‘I wouldn’t feel comfortable abandoning you like that.”
This caused Darian to quirk a smile. “I’ll find someone else. Though I have learned from you, that soldiers make the best travel-partners. When you settle down, sace a bed for me, that’s all I ask.”
“And that I shall do.”
They reached the inn some time later.