1. Gruki

    Private A Little Something to Take the Edge Off

    'Is now a bad time to remind you of the fact you could have been the one to choose the venue?' Gruki smiled sweetly, a teasing lilt to her voice. Perhaps Saskia's fears were well-founded. Perhaps not. The she-ork had yet to meet a knight or squire that didn't like to share the latest gossip over...
  2. Gruki

    Private A Little Something to Take the Edge Off

    Gruki was glad Saskia could not see her face. 'Oh, I don't know about that,' she blushed, happy to hold and be held. For as long as it took for Saskia to reach the shore. Longer. 'If I can help, I will. With your shadows... and your choice of dress.' A friendly dig, or a quiet reminder. Gruki...
  3. Gruki

    Private A Little Something to Take the Edge Off

    'Sounds to me like you're being pulled in two different directions. Light or dark, good or bad.' An endless battle. A lifelong struggle. No wonder Saskia felt like she was being worn thin. To be haunted by shadows day and night, with no hope of reprieve... 'Like trying to fight the tide,' Gruki...
  4. Gruki

    Open Big City Dreams

    Gearing up for what was left of the day, Gruki couldn't help but snort at her brother's suggestion. 'Oh, nononono!' Sitting down to lace her boots, the big she-ork shook her head, red tresses swaying as she smiled. Or sneered. 'Nuh-uh! Nope! Last time we went to see a show, Roki ended up with...
  5. Gruki

    Private A Little Something to Take the Edge Off

    Gruki shook her head. 'Not this time, Albert,' she said, pushing her chair back and making to stand. 'If Sassy wants pancakes, Sassy gets pancakes. And a hug, 'cause she looks like she needs one.' Didn't need to speak that part out loud to make it true. Saskia wore her hurt openly, try as she...
  6. Gruki

    Private A Little Something to Take the Edge Off

    Gruki found herself laughing at Albert's jest. 'Yes!' She agreed readily. 'Yellow always did suit you, our delicate little sunflower! And if you get too hot sunbathing, we can dunk you in the brook.' The children of Astenvale loved splashing about in the shallows on a warm day, and Gruki could...
  7. Gruki

    Private A Little Something to Take the Edge Off

    'Not cruel, no,' Gruki agreed quietly, 'but you are fickle. You flit from one person to the next, pulling hearts from sleeves.' Friederike. Reed. Who was next? When would Saskia learn to trust herself and those she took a shine to? It was one thing to regret one's choices. But refusing to take...
  8. Gruki

    Private A Little Something to Take the Edge Off

    The more Gruki listened to Saskia talk, the more she wished she'd never asked. 'It's good,' she replied, flaky scales parting beneath the press of her knife. Least the silverfin won't leave me with a bad taste in my mouth, she mused, taking a bite, golden eyes downturned, so she didn't have to...
  9. Gruki

    Private A Little Something to Take the Edge Off

    Gruki understood Saskia's concerns. Sympathised, in her own way. 'Course he knows,' she explained, 'the guy works in a tavern, for crying out loud. Booze ain't the only thing getting spilled in here. Gossip, too.' And he and Reed were friends. That had to count for something, right...
  10. Gruki

    Private A Little Something to Take the Edge Off

    Pulling a face, Gruki shrugged, unsure of the answer or where it lay. 'He wasn't at his stall when we passed back through,' she pointed out, fingers drumming thoughtfully against the tankard of ale caught between her murder mitts. 'Wouldn't surprise me if he stopped by the Bern on the way home...
  11. Gruki

    Private A Little Something to Take the Edge Off

    'Some of you could have sat outside. There're tables now, you know? Next to the stream.' Hand on hip, Albert beckoned to Gruki, hunched low, as if to whisper in her ear. 'Helps the walking wineskins around here to sober up 'fore heading home,' he smirked, voice loud enough for the dusker to hear...
  12. Gruki

    Private A Little Something to Take the Edge Off

    'Of course! What kind of establishment do you take this for?' Albert replied, sounding genuinely offended. If not for the smirk curling his lips, Gruki might have fallen for it. 'Chicken or beef, I see, I see.' Jotting down Saskia's request on an imaginary slate, Albert turned his gaze upon...
  13. Gruki

    Private A Little Something to Take the Edge Off

    'Slow me down? Nonsense. You said yourself, you could outlast most of the others,' argued Gruki, handwaving Saskia's excuses, cause that's what they were. 'Not like we'd be racing each other. And if I did outpace you, so what? I'd wait.' She could run on the spot, keep her muscles warm and loose...
  14. Gruki

    Private A Little Something to Take the Edge Off

    'Always so competitive!' Gruki laughed, unable to keep her grin in check. 'And yet whenever I invite you to come running with me, you're always busy.' Up at the crack of dawn. Full ruck. Gruki was sure Saskia had her reasons, though, some company would have been nice. Maybe she simply wasn't...
  15. Gruki

    Private A Little Something to Take the Edge Off

    'Grumble away!' Being friends with someone meant taking the good with the bad. Nobody was perfect, and Saskia certainly had her flaws. But then the same could be said of anyone, really. Gruki included. 'You worry too much.' Smiling down at her friend, the she-ork continued, saying; 'I've a...
  16. Gruki

    Private A Little Something to Take the Edge Off

    'Aye, I do.' Saskia had always been quick on her feet. So quick, in fact, that they sometimes outpaced her. Into trouble, and out of it. Smiling as she watched her friend hurry away, Gruki glanced left and right before following suit. Folk made way at her passing. Some even acknowledged her with...
  17. Gruki

    Private A Little Something to Take the Edge Off

    Gruki thought on it a moment, then shook her head. 'I don't think so, considering how embarrassed he was last time they held up half the town,' the she-ork smiled, recalling how red in the face poor ole Arnold had gotten when the bailiff's men had told him of the disturbance. How such lumbering...
  18. Gruki

    Private A Little Something to Take the Edge Off

    It was a hard thing, fighting the urge to laugh. 'Okay, okay!' Gruki's shoulders shook as she held her laughter at bay. 'We'll still go to the Bern, I promise.' Perhaps it would give them a chance to commiserate Saskia's shameful defeat. 'Honestly, the lengths you- I mean, we go to for fudge.'...
  19. Gruki

    Private A Little Something to Take the Edge Off

    Gruki shrugged a what can you do? 'Play games, win prizes.' Reed wasn't much to look at. But then he wasn't hard to look at neither. 'He has a kind heart... and good taste,' the she-ork reassured her friend, throwing an arm around her shoulders as they walked. Squeezed. 'It's just a date...
  20. Gruki

    Private A Little Something to Take the Edge Off

    'Huh? What thing?' Blinking, Gruki watched the scene unfold, just as shocked as Saskia was to see Reed taking the lead for a change. But then you reap what you sow, mused the she-ork, sensing an opportunity to tease the Dusk Knight further. 'I don't think we do have any training, syr, nor any...
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