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 Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2021 11:58 am
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Tirzah hadn't had much to gather up at her home. Some tools, some seeds, a couple assorted belongings, all tucked into a small knapsack. After the lush luxury of the resort they had just left, she had been somewhat embarrassed for her new friends to see her humble dwelling. She'd introduced Rhoea and Menahem to her mother and grandfathers (who regarded the pair with a glint in their eyes), then after a short meal together she gave her goodbyes and the trio was off again.
During the long journey to the Great Tree, Tirzah became very fond of both Rhoea and Menahem, and quickly understood why they were such fast friends. She also came to appreciate the differences in their personalities. While Rho was charming and bold, Mena was more reserved, though no less sweet. They both radiated warmth and kindness, and Tirzah felt lucky indeed to have run into them.
She was awed by the sheer size of the Tree when it came into view in the distance. They were still a long way's walk from arriving, but it dominated the skyline as they traveled. Tirzah felt butterflies in her stomach, which she couldn't tell whether they were from excitement or nervousness.
--
"And you're sure it's alright if I stay with you?" she was asking Rhoea for about the third time as they passed through the gate at last, nodding at the gate guards with a nervous smile.
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Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2021 1:06 pm
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The further away from the resort (and, by extension, his mysterious masked lover) Menahem got, it seemed the clearer his head became.
Oof.
While the previous night's experience had finally brought him around to the idea of "getting tail" as Rho called it (and it had been excellent), the memory of an intimate night with his friend came back. The details were fuzzy, as there had been a lot of very high-quality alcohol involved, but it was unmistakable: they'd slept ******** while this was something that Menahem had very much wanted to do, there remained lots of lingering questions. What did this mean for their relationship? It pained Menahem to think that one night might ruin everything for them. And what did Rho think? Was he only into him because he had a female body at the time? (Menahem also had to give Rho that one--it had been a unique and enjoyable experience as well.) They definitely needed to have a conversation, and soon.
But not with Tirzah around. Mena wasn't blind to how taken Rho seemed with her, and she with him. They made a sweet couple. Tirzah was practical and no-nonsense, which seemed to pair well with Rho's extreme nonsense. And Menahem was happy to make this trip about her. It wasn't every day you got to show someone the Great Tree for the first time. He was also happy to show off his cooking skills when they broke for meals; it seems he wasn't limited to a fancy kitchen when it came to preparing delicious food, and he took Rho and Tirzah's compliments with a broad smile.
--
Menahem fist-bumped one of the gate guards, an acquaintance of his through Gaspar, as they went through. Getting out had been the hard part; coming home was easy.
Daisicle Will probably combine them as one post from here on. |
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Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 3:19 pm
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Out of the three, Rhoea may have been the only one exuding an aura of pure chill while internally being anything but chill - actually, he was feeling some sort of way about everything that had transpired over the time he and Menahem had spent at the resort. Yeah, he'd gotten what he'd came for, that being tail. Daemon tail. But he'd also gotten faun tail, and his best friend's at that. The worst part was that neither of them had consumed quite enough alcohol to be able to pretend it was something they had conveniently forgotten upon waking up the next morning. The reality was that it was likely something Rhoea would never be able to forget.
For one thing... well... quite frankly it had been amazing. <********>. Even now he could feel his pulse rising if his mind wandered over there. Was it just because Mena made an attractive female? Was it cause a male would certainly know just the right way to please another in a way a female never could? And why had he gotten so annoyed when he couldn't find Mena in the chaos of the avalanche, only to find out he'd been off with some other guy in the meantime?
It was so ******** confusing... So Rho decided he wasn't going to think about it any further. With any luck, they would just let it become something they pretended had never happened!
Instead, he was focusing most of his effort of buttering up their newfound friend Tirzah. Turned out she was a really cool gal, and they seemed to share a certain kind of chemistry he hadn't really experienced with another girl to date (well other than maybe his best bro-turned-brah). He wasn't sure what exactly was up, but they were just vibing remarkably well for a pair that just met. He could dig it. And her family seemed quite nice, though he had to admit there had been something a bit... how to put it... it was like they were sizing him up as they arrived to grab her things. Not to mention that one of her grandfathers was a daemon - he honestly would have never guessed. Sure, she didn't have branchlers, but neither did his Uncle Haldir. Weird, but also kind of hot?
--
Rhoea offered the gate guard a wave as he followed after Menahem. Given he worked in the nearby fields, he was pretty friendly with most of those that worked the late morning or early evening shifts. "Y'know, I think it'd be hella rude if I changed my mind at this point. Don't you even worry about it - stay as long as you'd like babe." He offered a smile, a charming one at that if he said so himself, as they continued on in. "If anything, when ya get bored of me, I'll show you to the Takis or one of his apprentices so you can get an alcove of your own."
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Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2021 9:03 am
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An alcove of her own...Tirzah liked the sound of that. Though ostensibly she was only here for a visit, somehow, the moment she'd actually seen the Tree, she knew in her heart that this was her true home. She hadn't said as much to Mother or to her grandfathers, but she suspected that they'd known this was "goodbye for now" as well.
As they came into the Tree proper, Tirzah stopped short, her breath catching in her chest. She reached for Rhoea to steady herself. The immenseness of the interior was staggering, and the beauty and grandeur of everything made her head spin. She felt dizzy and lightheaded, but in sort of a good way?
"I'm ok, I'm ok," she said reassuringly, still looking around and above. "I just....wow...."
Ah, great. Mena kept forgetting that Rho had so graciously offered for Tirzah to stay wth him. Which was fine, really, and a sweet gesture. But now when was he going to have time to talk to Rho alone? The two of them had practically been attached at the hip since they'd met.
A rare twinge of jealousy panged at Menahem. He'd chuckled through dozens of Rho's stories of conquest without feeling even the barest hint of jealousy. And now? What was different about her? Or what was different about them?
Tirzah's reaction to the Tree came as a distraction from his own thoughts. He set down his things hurriedly to help steady her, and couldn't help but smile when it became clear she was alright, just bowled over by the Tree. "It's really something, huh?" he agreed, looking up and around himself.
He cleared his throat and started picking up his things again. "Listen, I've got work this afternoon and I'd really like to wash up before then. No one likes a smelly cook," he quipped with a chuckle. "So I'm going to leave you two and head up to my place. I'm sure Rho'll give you the grand tour, Tirzah."
Then, to Rho, he added, "Hey, bro, catch you at the pub after work, usual time?" He offered his fist for a fistbump. Come alone, he added mentally.
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2021 3:46 pm
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Rhoea wasn't one to miss an opportunity to put on the moves for a cutie, so of course he casually wrapped his arm around Tirzah as she swayed in awe of hew new surroundings. It wasn't something he'd really noticed before, given it was his homeland and all, but it was a little moment like this that really brought him out of the normal and forced him to appreciate it for the grandeur that it really was. And considering her roots, this had to be quite something. He looked over at Mena with soft creases around his eyes as he smiled and echoed back, "Yeah, it's hella something alright."
His nose wrinkled at the joke before he instantly quipped in response, "Yeah man, sometimes you come back from your shift stinking so bad it's embarrassing to hang with ya."
Course he was referring moreso to the smell of onions or garlic than sweat.
Rhoea then turned his attention back to Tirzah with a mischievous glint in his eye after he returned the fistbump. "Don't worry bro, I'll be sure to give her the grand tour alright - might even go ahead and get her settled in if there's time before dinner. We'll tell you all about it later in the evening."
The 'come alone' had be quickly, and decidedly, ignored.
He could be heard asking Tirzah, "So babe, you ever try beer before...?" as Mena walked on off.
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Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2021 8:36 am
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"Catch you later then," said Menahem to both of them, but maybe mostly Rho, before heading off in the direction of his own alcove. He couldn't help but roll his eyes when he heard, still just barely in earshot, Rho ask Tirzah about beer. Ugh. Menahem was about to become a permanent third wheel.
"Thank you, I'm okay. Thank you," said Tirzah as she got herself upright again. She was a little embarrassed to have practically swooned. She ran a hand through her hair to get it away from her face and readjusted her pack.
She giggled at the two males' banter. She enjoyed how easy and casual their friendship was. "Bye, Menahem!" she called after him as he left.
"Hm? Beer? No, I can't say that I have," answered Tirzah to Rho's next question, shaking her head. "But truthfully I'd also like to freshen up before we do anything else. Would that be alright?" She realized she was being uncharacteristically passive, but she felt overwhelmed by these new surroundings, and so accepted that she needed to lean on Rho a little, literally and figuratively.
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:21 am
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Tirzah blushed slightly at the suggestion that they go to his sister. "Oh, we don't have to bother her," she protested. "Honestly I'm used to washing in a stream, so I'm sure whatever you have is fine." She wasn't sure she was ready to like, meet his family? She wasn't even sure what their relationship was. And Rhoea obviously had stuff to work out with Menahem. She made a few more protesting noises, but Rho had insisted, something about how it was even more important to go borrow some soaps from his sister, whose name, Tirzah learned, was Alborada.
Before she knew it, they were knocking on what she presumed was Alborada's door.
Alborada had been lounging and reading--today was her day off from her work as a weaver--when she heard a knock. She put down her scroll and went to her door. Her brother, and an unfamiliar girl, stood before her, and her eyebrows went immediately up. "Hey Rho," she said, a question hanging in her voice.
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:51 am
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"Oh gosh, your day off," Tirzah blurted. "I don't want to be a bother," she said, blushing. Dammit, she just wanted to splash some water on her face and hooves and he was turning it into a whole thing.
Alba cast a glance over Tirzah. Not Rho's usual type, for sure. Her experience had been that he went for wispy waifs, not solid girls like this. Her muscles rivaled his own. Huh. Maybe Rho went and made a friend.
Annnnnd Alba realized she knew way too many details about her brother's love life.
She leaned on her doorframe, folding her arms over her chest. "You can borrow some of my stuff, but you can't use my bathroom," she said to Tirzah. She then backed up a step and opened the door wider to permit the girl. She put a finger on Rhoea's chest to pause him after Tirzah was out of earshot. "Don't make this weird, and you owe me one."
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:59 am
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"Naaaaaah," he omitted the babe he was about to add, "Don't worry, you're not being a bother. Alba's the kind to look out for a faun in need. She just acts like it's a pain in her a**." Leave it to siblings to needle each other even while asking for favors - some things just never changed.
As Alba went on the verbally-offensive, Rho conceded with an uncharacteristically sheepish expression. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Thanks sis. You really got me out of a hella tight pinch - it'd have been a shame to let her be anything but her prettiest out there when meeting all these sticks-in-the-mud for the first time, but, like, I don't have feminine soaps or anything for that." He scratched his cheek and averted his eyes before shrugging. "I'll just chill out here 'til y'all finish up with whatever. Maybe knock out a set of squats or something, I dunno."
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2021 4:07 pm
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"Thanks," said Tirzah sheepishly as she squeaked past Alborada and into her alcove. It was beautiful inside, and she found herself fantasizing about how she would furnish and decorate her own alcove. "Your home is lovely," she said.
"Whatever," Alba was saying to Rho as she shut the door in his face. However, Tirzah's compliment drew a genuine smile from her. She'd worked very hard to create a pleasing space. "Thank you," she said, looking around herself, hands on her hips.
"So, where are you from? Rho said you were new here."
"Oh," said Tirzah with a bit of a nervous laugh. "This is my first time here in the Tree," she admitted. "I have sort of an odd family situation, but I'm actually thinking of staying here. It's so beautiful. And comfortable."
Alba suspected there was more that Tirzah wasn't saying, but she didn't press, mostly because she truly didn't care. "Well, I hope you like it here," she said. "I'll lend you some of my bath stuff. If you want some of your own you can visit the communal baths down below." Alba disappeared for a moment and came back with an oval bar of light pink-colored soap and a triangle-shaped, mint-colored bar of soap that was smaller. "Okay," she said, handing them to Tirzah. "The pink one is for your body, and the green one is for your hair." Then, she held up a finger and went back to the bathroom for a towel, which she draped over Tirzah's forearm. "You're not gonna want to use his towels, trust me." She wrinkled her nose.
"Thank you," Tirzah said again. "I really do appreciate it, and sorry for bothering you." To be fair to her, it wasn't her idea. She gave a little wave and exited Alborada's alcove.
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Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2021 6:05 pm
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The faun crossed his arms and nodded stoically as he agreed with Tirzah's assessment. "Yeah, she really is... something, ain't she?" And at that, he figured they'd better go before the fauny in question determined they'd overstayed their welcome. Small talk about general things to keep an eye on, gestures towards key areas and the like, continued as they made their way to his alcove. All things said, it wasn't too terribly far away.
"...and over that way leads up to the branches, where we got some farms. Not all the farms, and not the ones I tend - bein' that high up's not for me. Nuh-uh."
Heights were decidedly not for him. That's why he didn't have wings.
As they reached his place, he swung open the door with a dramatic flourish and grinned, beckoning her in. "Welcome, welcome to my humble abode... But like, it's been a couple of weeks, so don't mind the dust and humidity and s**t?" He was gonna have to clean later.
When she walked in, she'd see a rather sparsely-furnished place, little more than the bare necessities for living. He didn't even keep chairs, choosing instead to just sit directly on the floor at a small coffee table in front of a modest loveseat. It was also a smaller place, as expected for a bachelor, without a distinct kitchen area or any real walls dividing the open floorplan. There were two rooms inside - one for the bathroom and one for the bedroom. Laughing a bit awkwardly as he followed in after her and closed the door, he began talking as he walked across and over to open a window. "I'd uh... like... gotten a few more things if I'd known I was gonna have someone staying longer than a night..." that was typically how long he expected anyone to sleep over. Awkward. He looked over and gestured with a hand to the smaller side-room. "Want me to show you how to hook up the shower? It's hella different than what Venus' place got."
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