Mellia — Bulls Earth
????, Earth Season, Season/Death Week
Context
1626 Earth Season/Death Week/Clayday/late afternoon, not long after Xenofos’ duel, in Venlar’s guest room. [[[s02:session-7|Session 7]]]
Events
Mellia arrives at Venlar’s door, still bloody. She knocks.
“Enter,” he calls. No thrall comes to open the door for her.
Mellia enters the room. “Venlar? May I have a hug? Maybe I should get this robe off first.”
Venlar is alone in his room. He looks like he has been pacing up and down, and is just in the middle of turning to the door, unsure whether he should get it, when Mellia enters. He walks to her to fold her into his arms, blood or not, and hold her there. “Oh, love…” he murmurs. “What happened? Is…” He trails off, maybe answering his own question.
“Stupidity,” Mellia answers. “The duel was stupid enough, but then the Storm Bulls decided to join in. One of them has gone to join Storm Bull. It would have been two if I hadn’t been there.”
Venlar just stays where he is, protective. “I don’t know any stories about healing Chalana Arroy,” he says. “Or about being a husband to her. What can I do?”
Mellia snuggles close, probably ruining Venlar’s outfit. “Just hold me and listen? I don’t know whether to scream or cry.”
“Of course,” he murmurs. “I am sorry you are plagued so.”
“Xenofos is fine,” Mellia says. “He took a nasty cut to the right leg, which I healed before he lost too much blood.”
There is a little sigh, but Venlar says nothing, and lets Mellia talk if she wants to.
“One person dead, one almost dead, one nasty cut and for what? Xenofos will only say it was a disagreement on manners.”
Venlar kisses the top of Mellia’s head. “It’s hard.”
Mellia smiles at Venlar, then quietly begins to cry. “I hate losing patients.”
He does not try to hush her, or tell her it will be alright. He just holds her, his expression pained. “Your heart hurts more because it holds so many,” he says finally.
Mellia stops crying, looks up at Venlar and gives him a watery smile.
He leans down far enough to kiss her on the cheek. “You could not be so good a healer if you did not care so,” he tells her. “So dedicated.”
“You’re flattering me,” Mellia murmurs. “Flattery will get you everywhere.”
“I swear it is not flattery, it’s true,” he replies. “I love your heart and spirit as much as your lips and your legs – I met the heart before my lips ever met yours.”
Mellia blushes. “I love you, Venlar. Do you know if you’re scheduled for anything tonight?”
“It has been hinted I should stay out of the way. Father tells me that the dusk service at the Temple is a good idea. There will be Thiserans in the house, so it is appropriate that I am not.” He rests his cheek on her forehead, briefly, but it is too long a stretch for such a tall man, so he withdraws with another planted kiss.
“I don’t want to come between you and Orlanth,” Mellia says. “That sounds like I need to appear somewhere around here. Curses.”
“I suppose it counts as being pursued after having stolen you,” he says, perking up. “Practically a religious necessity?”
Mellia perks up and actually giggles. “I suppose.”
His smile blooms. “I still need to take you home and have you teach me all the secrets of fertility,” he muses, although he makes no attempt to move towards the bed.
“You’ll have to earn them,” Mellia says with a wink and a grin.
“I could steal you the slippers of Darkness?” he suggests. “But what if you took them and hid from me?”
“Hmm,” Mellia says, smiling. “I don’t know that myth. Maybe you’d better not steal the Slippers of Darkness. We’re already being pursued by one Zorak Zoran warrior.”
“In Sartar, slippers would be a thing I gave you for your wedding, because of it. And you’d give me earth, and my brothers would tear up the growing things, and I’d come back and complain that the earth was useless, so you would take it back, and then it would grow again, and I would rage, and you would be very sensible and obviously have thought out your words well in advance, for they would be very convincing, and you would point out it was my rain that made the earth fertile. And then usually there is some rather boisterous dancing with a sword and a sheath.” Venlar looks content at the thought.
“It sounds like fun,” Mellia says. “Esrolian marriage ceremonies are more formal. They also sometimes get tailored to the happy couple. Perhaps you should go slipper shopping.”
“What design do you like best?” He asks. “Soft soles, so you cannot be heard slipping away?”
“Oooh,” replies Mellia. “Mostly, I go for washable materials. I never know when I’m going to need to heal someone.”
“Dark felt?” he suggests. “Something to wear when you are not called, but easy to slip out of, and into shoes? Are you allowed to wear wool if it is not white?”
“I believe so,” Mellia answers. “Those sound like a good idea.”
There is a tiny sigh. “Of course, sometimes the slippers are the size to fit Orlanth. Depending on the telling, the Earth Queen may wish him to keep them. Those are told as sandals, though. If she keeps the gift, it’s always slippers. I’d like to put them on you.” He steps back a tiny bit to look Mellia over. “Let us get that robe off you?” he suggests. There is no eagerness for her in how he says it, only concern.
Mellia nods happily and gets out of her bloodied robe. “Now where can I put this?” She looks for something wooden, or a bare patch of floor.
Venlar gestures to his own chair’s dedicated table. “On there. It’s had worse.” It is not furniture that matches the house. When he travels, he brings things that will stand up to a clumsy man’s worst moments.
Mellia nods and puts the robe on the table. “Thank you. “Think we have time for a nap?”
Venlar, who was just opening a chest to pull out something light for Mellia to wear, puts it back and closes the lid carefully. “It is at least half an hour before I have to set off,” he tells her. “So a short nap.”
Mellia nods. “That sounds good. If I’m not here when you get back, I’ll either be in the baths or at some party here.”
Venlar manages to pull off his own robe and shirt without tearing them. He tries to be casual about it.
Mellia will hop into Venlar’s bed and curl up beside him.
Venlar is going to be all protective and lovely, of course, and make sure all the covers are just right for her.
Zzzzzz
