That Damn Role Player

(( This continuing story is written in collaboration with Garilos. You can find it on his blog here. ))

Megaly woke slowly to the rising noise of traffic through the cobbled Stormwind street outside the window of the small apartment. She could see the soft glow of false dawn just starting through the gaps in the curtain. She stretched and started to go over in her mind the work of the day. Next to her she felt Garilos begin to stir as well. She smiled contently and gave him a light kiss before sitting up in the small bed.

She had been reluctant to spend the night with him. He wanted more than she could offer him. Or so he said. She had to admit, though, that it was a pleasant night indeed. Despite what she let him and others believe about her, she hadn’t taken anyone to her bed in many months. Fear and heart soreness discouraged her from letting others get close to her. Even for a single night. However she also had to admit that she had wanted him. Badly. Despite the fact that he was getting far too attached to her already.

She rose and began to gather up her scattered clothing tossing the occasional piece of his to him with a smile. “Much as I’d like to sleep in,” she said, “I gotta job here in Stormwind escorting tha’ prissy little aristo I tol’ ya about.”

With a nod, he replied, “Aye, I’m gonna look for work down at the docks.”

She watched him casually as he dressed. He was strong but not as bulky as some men she’d spent time with. She liked them that way. A few scars on various parts of his body spoke of the life he’d led and the harshness of the world they lived in. She had a few of her own. Maybe they could spend an evening exploring each other’s scars. Even the eyepatch gave him a sort of dangerous, rakish look she found extremely attractive. She turned away, resisting the urge to go wrap herself around him. She didn’t have time for early morning fun. She had a job to do and needed to get to the bath house and get cleaned up before she reported for duty.

She shoved her saddlebags and alchemy pack into a corner. She wouldn’t need them today. She tucked a small pouch with a few coins in her pocket and picked up her armor, slinging it heavily over her shoulder. She studied him for a moment more and gave him a half smile. “I’ll be back here tonigh’ if ya wanna join me.”

She heard him loose a sigh and look at her with a smile. As he rose, he grabbed his pack and flung it over his shoulder. “I’ll be working down at docks today. Not sure when I’ll be done, probably at sundown. I’ll come looking for you.”

Garilos tried his best to ignore the approaching morning. Morning meant waking up and calling an end to the pleasant evening he’d had. For the first time in a long time, he had needed no booze to put him to sleep. As it was, he had slept soundly and without the unpleasant dreams that often troubled his sleep.

As he dozed, he felt Megaly lean over and kiss him. When Megaly rose from the bed, he realized there was no further point in laying around any more. Stifling a yawn, he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

“Much as I’d like to sleep in,” Megaly said, “I gotta job here in Stormwind escorting tha’ prissy little aristo I tol’ ya about.”

With a nod, he replied, “Aye, I’m gonna look for work down at the docks.”

As he slowly put on his clothing, he reflected on the previous night. Realizing he might have been overly persistent, he wondered if she had slept with him just to shut him up. As he watched her dress, he hoped he had not messed up his chances with her. Pulling his boots on, he wondered if he should apologize for last night.

The sound of Megaly’s voice pulled him into the present. “I’ll be back here tonigh’ if ya wanna join me,” she said.

With a sigh of relief, he relaxed a bit. Giving Megaly a smile, he said, “I’d like that.” As he rose, he grabbed his pack and flung it over his shoulder. “I’ll be working down at docks today. Not sure when I’ll be done, probably at sundown. I’ll come looking for you.”

Meg left the apartment and made her way to the bath house. As she entered the steam filled building she dropped her armor off with the attendant and made her way to the women’s section of the building. Finding an unoccupied tub filled with warm water in the back, she stripped down and immersed herself in the soothing water. This was the only thing she didn’t like about staying in the apartment. She missed the private bathing room off her room at the manor. But even two years later she still found it difficult to stay in the room she had shared for a time with Alistair.

She dunked her head under the water and came up wiping her dripping hair out of her face. She reached for the rough bar of soap and began to scrub vigorously trying to wash away memories more than odor. She never thought anyone could hurt her as bad as he had. She never wanted that to happen again.

She frowned thinking about her night with Garilos. She knew he wanted too much. She couldn’t understand why she had agreed to spend the night with him. Even more so, she couldn’t understand why she had offered to spend another night with him.

A nagging voice deep inside forced her to admit that she wanted more than just a single night with him. She enjoyed the feeling of his hands caressing her. Enjoyed his roguish looks and rough personality. Though she did wish he had hair. She would really like to run her fingers into it while—

She dunked her head again to rinse the soap and rose sputtering. She really needed to focus on what needed done today and not fantasize about Gar. She sighed as she stepped out of the tub and snatched up a towel. What was she to do though? She’d made it a rule not to get attached and not let anyone get attached to her. Eventually they got tired of her and tossed her aside. Now not only was she letting Garilos come back again, but she had invited him.

She roughly dried her hair and frowned in thought, her mind turning the whole thing over and over again. She wanted to see him again. Wanted to spend more time in his arms. She was certain it was simple lust that drove her. What else could it be?

She paused, a thought occurring to her. What would be wrong with just keeping him for a lover? If she didn’t get attached to him emotionally then there would be no problem when he was done with her. She could enjoy him for a few days or weeks until he got tired of her then they would move on their own ways with no issues.

She smiled and shook her head, pulling her clothes back on and finger combing her wet hair. It was so simple. She felt a fool for not realizing it sooner. She knew he would tire of her eventually but if she only took from him physical enjoyment there would be nothing to hurt when he left.

She tossed her towel in a basket and strolled toward the door with a lightened heart. She handed a few silver to the attendant and collected her armor, strolling with a smile from the bath house to where she would meet her aristo. Such a simple and carefree solution. One that would work out for both of them quite well.

–

After saying goodbye to Megaly for the day, Garilos made his way to the Blue Recluse in search of breakfast. Stepping into the dark interior of the tavern, he blinked for a few minutes as his eyes adjusted.

“Gar! By the Light! I’ve never seen you in here this early.”

“Mornin’ Joachim.”

“What brings you out this early, Gar?”

With a chuckle, Garilos sat down on a barstool next to the bar. “Breakfast. What do you have to eat?”

“I got some of that mutton stew of Connors you like so much.”

“That sounds good. If you got any fresh bread, I’ll take a hunk and a pint of ale.”

When Joachim walked away into the kitchen, Garilos took a quick look around the tavern. Seeing no one he recognized, his thoughts returned to the night before. The question of whether he had been too insistent kept playing through his mind. He was happy he had slept with her but he worried nothing would come of it and he again would be looking for another partner.

“Here you go Gar.”

Startled out of his thoughts by Joachim, Garilos gave a quick smile to the tavernkeeper. “Thanks! I have not felt this good this early in long time.”

“Heh! I don’t ever recall seeing you in here before noon.”

“Well, I guess a good night’s rest will do that to me.”

Chuckling, Joachim replied, “I noticed you were not here last night to close down the place. I thought nothing of it, figurin’ you were away at sea or something but now you got me wonderin’.”

“Oh, it ain’t nothin’. Just had something better going on than drinkin’ ’til I pass out.”

With a laugh, Joachim replied, “Alright. You gotta tell me about this woman sometime.” Turning away, Joachim walked down to the other end of the bar to wait on another customer, leaving Garilos alone in his thoughts.

As Garilos ate his breakfast, he thought about his plans for the day. With all the activity on the docks arising from the Alliance’s not so secret movement of troops to Northrend, he knew he could find plenty of work today loading ships with cargo. “I should look for a permanent job on the docks if I’m gonna be chasing Meg. She won’t want a loafer in her life,” Garilos thought to himself. Suddenly remembering the way she had said she’d see him tonight, his heart quickened with excitement. “Maybe I didn’t blow it last night.”

Feeling energized, Garilos quickly drank the rest of the ale before placing several coins on the bar. Nodding goodbye to Joachim, he got up from the bar and said, “It was good to see you Joachim. I’ll catch you around some time.”

“Alrighty, Gar. Take it easy.”

Garilos made his way quickly to the docks. The sun had been up barely an hour and already the docks were bustling with activity. Looking around, Garilos saw the dockmaster yelling at someone near a large frigate. Making his way quickly to the dockmaster, Garilos noticed there were more ships in the harbor than usual. “Heh! Plenty of work today!”

Walking up to the dockmaster, Garilos said “Hey, you got any work?”

Turning to see who was talking to him, the dockmaster smiled when he recognized Garilos. “For a hard worker like you, I’ve got plenty of work. If only half these lazy lowlifes worked half as hard as you, Gar, I’d clear these docks in no time. Okay then, standard pay and terms. Report to crew chief Hazeldon on the northernmost dock. He’s got a large cargo ship needing to be loaded. Tell ‘im I want you in charge of a crew. I need someone who knows what he’s doing. Now get out of here!”

“Right O!”

The rest of the day was a blur for Garilos. As soon as he completed the loading of a ship, he was sent to another. He hardly noticed the sun rising to its peak and then slowly settling towards the horizon. Suddenly realizing it was close to sundown, Garilos panicked when he thought he might have forgotten an important engagement.

“Oh! I told Meg I’d be done at sundown,” Garilos thought to himself.

Scanning the docks, he looked about for the crew chief. Upon seeing him standing next to the dockmaster, Garilos yelled to his crew, “Okay, finish up with that pallet. I’m done for the day. Report to the crew chief when you are done.”

Walking towards the crew chief and the dockmaster, Garilos decided now would be the time to ask for permanent work. “If I’m going to settle down, I’ll need a steady source of income,” he thought to himself.

Upon seeing Garilos approach him, the dockmaster yelled, “Gar! You done for the day?”

“Yes, I am. I’d work longer but I’m meeting someone in a little while.”

“Alright. Here’s your receipt. Take it to the bursor over there to get your pay.”

“Thanks. Oh, by the way, do you have any permanent positions on the docks? I’m looking for steadier work.”

With a loud guffaw, the crew chief responded, “We were just discussing offering you a job. You want to be a crew chief? I’d love to have you on the docks.”

With a surprised look on his face, Garilos blurted, “Yes! What about the pay?”

“It would be about double what you make now, Gar,” was the response for the dockmaster. “I’ll talk to the bursor tonight about it. Report to the bursor tomorrow mornin’.”

Nodding, Garilos could hardly believe his good fortune. “I can’t wait to tell Megaly,” he thought to himself.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 3rd, 2008 at 4:55 pm and is filed under Collaborations, IC: Megaly, In Character.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.