My belly was full.
Leaning back in my seat, I breathed out a happy sigh of relief as I licked my lips clean of what little honey had been still on them.
"Feel better?" Vim asked as he happily watched enjoy myself.
I nodded. "Yes, actually."
So odd. After that whole incident, and especially after watching Casper die and her body just… turn to dust and disappear, I had thought I would not be able to eat or drink a thing for so ti. Yet here I was, only a few hours later now recovering from a hearty al with pure joy.
Maybe Vim was onto sothing. Maybe the best way to relax and calm one's unsettled mind was to eat and drink rrily?
Blinking lazily, I wondered if I could convince Vim to carry back to the Cathedral and to bed. I now felt like I wanted to take a nap.
"By the way… I don't get to sleep in the mansio this ti," I said, since I wasn't sure if he knew or not.
"I figured. Too many visitors at once… honestly it's a good thing," he said.
I nodded. It was. I'd never been here before when so many mbers were here at one ti… it was too bad these recent events had ruined such a thing. I was right now a bit happy and blissful, since I had just enjoyed a wonderful dinner with the man I loved, but the truth of the matter was life right now was hectic.
Sitting up a bit straighter, I licked my front teeth as I glanced around the table. Not for anything else to eat, but just… to examine the damage I'd done.
A large platter of a picked clean hog sat between Vim and I. And that wasn't all we'd eaten. Several other plates were scattered around the platter, of varying breadstuffs and greeneries. So still remained, but most of it was just scraps.
I did though still have a nearly full pitcher of my berry drink left, one that I felt was worth bursting my stomach over as I went to pour so of it into my glass.
"Is it possible to… tear open your stomach? From eating too much?" I asked.
"Yes. A stomach can rapture from eating too much, but it's harder than you think. Your body will naturally try to fix it before it happens, by forcing you to throw up," Vim said.
Hm… "Don't think I've ever eaten so much that I've had that problem," I said, though right now I did feel a tad bloated.
He chuckled at . "You say that as if it's a bad thing."
"It is…!" I said with a tiny smile as I took a drink.
Sighing in relief as I licked my lips again, I wondered for a mont if it was possible to grow these berries up north. "Can I grow these, Vim? At ho?"
"Actually yes. Though you'd have to be mindful of them, I can help you with that."
"Good," I said with a happy nod. That ant I could have it all the ti! "Hopefully in winter too…?" I asked. I knew many things didn't grow well in the cold.
"No… but we can prepare and store them properly for it, within reason."
Whew…
For a happy mont I just enjoyed my drink, and the knowledge that I'd be able to grow and make this deliciousness myself in the future. It was sothing I'd wanted to talk to him about for so ti, but life had just been… hectic…
"Do… they eat? Too?" I asked softly as I thought of Casper and her final monts.
Maybe I should have let her eat sothing first… I'm sure Vim would have at least allowed that…
"They do. But are more like than not, they don't need much and only eat because they want to," Vim said, understanding my aning.
We were sitting alone in the corner of the Walking Pig, with mostly empty tables around us, but we weren't completely alone. Not only were workers walking around, half the restaurant was now occupied. It seed they only opened during dinner, and had about in the middle of our al opened their doors to the public but were still not fully open.
I wasn't sure how much Vim had given the worker to let us in early, since I had been busy talking to the waitress girl, but I knew he had definitely given them sothing extra as to let us in early. And knowing Vim it had not been a small sum. He just didn't care enough about money to be frugal.
During our al we had not talked much at all about the gods, or anything that had happened. We had talked a bit about it all on the way here, but really only about him promising to go into detail later.
Right now, as he had said earlier, it seed he just… wanted to calm down. To relax.
Hopefully he was. He seed fine, all things considered… he was even smirking and flirting with as he usually would. As if Renka and Casper had never happened, almost.
Should I… not bring them up? My question just now had been about them, but… a bit less serious I think.
I wanted to ask more, but what if he still wanted to relax? What if my doing so ruined this mont?
What did a good wife do in these monts? Should I help him relax and calm down, or should I be the little push he needs to do the right thing?
"Renka was soone my mother considered a friend," Vim then said.
My tail went stiff beneath my pant leg as I gulped, and did so as I held my cup to my mouth. He had likely just thought I had taken a drink, and hadn't been shocked.
"Um… I see," I said softly.
He sighed as he nodded. "Thus her having one of her old bells."
I shifted but didn't reach into my pocket as to pull it out. It was in my left pocket.
"Is she uh… not a friend? I an, I know none of them are your friends… but…" I went ahead and asked, since he had been the one to bring it up. Had he sohow noticed my thoughts earlier? Hopefully he couldn't read my mind as Casper could, he had been staring into my eyes earlier…
Though maybe he didn't need to. Many people over the years have made it very clear that my thoughts were always very visible on my face. Readable by all.
"She'd been my mother's friend. Not mine."
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I gulped again upon hearing his tone. It had been very flat.
Vim leaned forward a bit and reached out. He grabbed a piece of bread from his plate, one that almost looked as empty as the others for once, but he didn't eat it. Instead he just picked it up and looked at it. "Renka is not just one of the most powerful of them, she also made quite a few powerful monarchs too. Tor's ancestor, for one," he said.
Nodding slowly, I gently shifted around my cup as to make the berry slush in it swirl in the cup. "Do you… plan to um…"
"I'd like to go search for them… but…" Vim started to say, but paused as one of the waiters walked nearby. They wiped down one of the nearby tables, then left.
"This… crater? Do you know where it is?" I asked. What word had Casper used…? "atoer?" I said it aloud, and knew I'd said it wrong the mont I had.
"teor crater, yes. It's a place where I'd fought one of their more powerful mbers. He dropped a teorite on ," he said.
A what…? "So…?"
He shook his head. "I've been there before. Not too long ago even. If Renka, as I now believe she has, really has figured out how to keep her and others hidden from then even if I went there I'd not be able to find them. Not without first being noticed and they escaping before I could do so at least. They'd just go sowhere else…" he then went quiet as he frowned and then tossed the piece of bread back onto his plate.
"Hm?"
"Havoc had ntioned that they couldn't move… that once he took to them they'd not be able to escape …"
"Oh…?" I sat up a bit as I watched him really contemplate such a thing.
He nodded slowly as he continued to ponder it. "But I an… the fact they could and should be able to escape is still a fact. Plus, now with Renka involved and Casper's comnts, I don't think I can take Havoc's words at face value. He could have just been desperate…"
I see… It was almost too bad I hadn't been there to et Havoc. I wonder what had been said between them…?
"If it's… of any value, Vim… Renka never did anything to ," I said gently.
He blinked as he glanced at .
"She… could have hurt Vim. All this ti," I said with a tiny shrug.
"I know. But her lack of doing so is not because she's kind or rciful. It's because they want sothing. Sothing from… ? You?" he slowly shook his head. "Honestly I'm not entirely sure, but the end result is the sa. I can't imagine what it is, not really, but I can't imagine they'd be acting like this otherwise."
Right… "Are… are they all bad, Vim? Really?" I asked.
He nodded.
"But…" I was about to say what about his parents, but stopped myself.
Was I really sure they were gods…?
I had felt almost as if Casper and Renka, and their comnts about them, had confird it… but honestly, did it?
No one has outright said they were yet, right? I an… they had to have been, but…
"Um… Vim…"
About to ask the question, I had to go quiet as soone walked over. I sat up a bit straighter as a larger man smirked at us and gestured at the table. "Mind if we clear the damage?" he asked.
"Sure," I said with a smile.
He nodded and then looked back, and shouted at one of the other workers. A middle aged woman hurried over and the two went to quickly clearing away the empty and mostly empty plates from our table.
Once they stepped away, having left only a few plates and the platter with the remains of the hog, I gestured lightly at the table between us. "Don't they usually wait till we leave?" I asked.
"They're giving us special service thanks to how much I tipped," Vim said simply.
Oh. Right. Made sense.
Vim then sighed as he leaned back in his chair, causing it to creak loudly. He didn't seem to break it though.
"Most of them, Renn, are and were like Casper. People who committed terrible atrocities. There's a reason half the religions in the world are ones that worship what you'd consider evil gods… like the Epoch faith. It's because the gods their based on were evil themselves," Vim said gently, as if speaking about the weather.
I took a tiny sip of my smoothie as to gulp.
"Do you… believe anything she said? They said?" I asked after a mont.
He nodded. "I do, within reason. Renka definitely has a goal… what it could be…?" he shrugged. "But I'm not so blinded by hate that I can't admit she's likely being serious. Her showing herself to you as she has, trying to form a relationship or whatever, is proof of it."
"You think that was what she was doing?" I asked.
"I think so. She was either confirming sothing, or seeing how close she could get to you without realizing it."
So I was what…? So kind of test subject…? "She… never really said anything, though? Didn't ask or say anything too serious…" I said. I'd already told him on the way here, since we had taken a long route and had ti, that Renka hadn't really said anything important in my perspective before now. She had seed odd to , enough to make worry about her, but not in the way he had understood. At least, not outright.
He nodded. "She was likely just searching for sothing more internal. Probably just wanted to make sure our relationship was real," he said.
"Is it?" I asked with a tiny smile.
He scoffed at . "Any doubt of my love for you Renn was obliterated the mont they got involved."
"I still like to hear you say so," I said with a smile.
Vim gave a small smile in return as he nodded. "I bet you do."
If my ears had been visible and not under my hat they would have fluttered violently. Instead they just twitched a little.
He could have said it… Why does he tease even during these monts?
"All that being said… I believe them, but that doesn't an I trust them," Vim said.
I nodded at that. So he was done having our tiny mont of flirting was he? "Do they hate you as much as you hate them, Vim?" I asked. It had seed to that Casper might not have hated Vim, but at the sa ti had seen him as sothing of an inevitability. Like… how I would see death, maybe.
"Most do… I'd think, at least… but even if they didn't I can't imagine them, any of them, trusting . In any form or shape. Just as I don't trust them. So it's… odd, is all," Vim said.
Hm… "Do you think she's nearby?"
He nodded. "Now that we have proof they've been watching for all this ti, yes. She might even be watching and listening right now," he said.
Oh…? I glanced around, half expecting her to just… suddenly be here.
She wasn't though.
"If she shows up in front of you without nearby, or if you suddenly find yourself sowhere else without reason or explanation, just remain calm until I show up. Do what you do best, keep her talking until I can get to you," Vim then said.
I smirked at that. "Is that permission to beco friends with…?"
"Not a chance," Vim interrupted , rather abruptly, before I could finish my sentence.
My lips twitched a little as I nodded, a bit bothered by how seriously and quickly he had put an end to that idea.
Vim sighed as he then leaned forward again and nodded. "Just… be on guard, Renn. They want sothing from us. And they'll resort to insane levels of violence and cruelty to get it, especially once they realize they can't get it any other way," he warned.
Insane levels…? That was terrifying since I doubted I could imagine Vim's idea of extre violence or cruelty even if I tried to.
Vim and Casper had spoken of… experinting. On people…?
Maybe sothing like what that god had done to those at The Summit? The one that Vim had slain and they had been so thankful for they had made that mural into that cliff and joined the Society because of?
Had they all done such things…? Why? Just because they could…?
Hadn't they made us? All of us? If so then...
I gulped, and was about to ask another question. One that I likely didn't really want to know the answer to… but before I could Vim slowly stood.
"Let's go, Renn. It's starting to get busy," he said.
I slowly nodded as I glanced around, and found that he was telling the truth. More people were being seated at the tables nearby which had been empty this whole ti. Likely why they had been cleaning and wiping them down earlier.
This was now no longer a place we could comfortably have a quiet conversation. Or a private one.
"Do we get to continue this or…?" I asked as I stood, and then quickly went to drink as much of my drink as possible.
As I, basically chugged, the last of my drink Vim smiled gently and nodded. "Later. I think I should go talk to the Chronicler first before bad rumors start to spread. Already have enough of them as it is."
Hmph.
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