Kim nodded and made notes as he talked, “How about fifty coppers per ticket? Each piece of gear sells for silvers so that really brings the price down.”
“Works,” Alburet agreed. “I’ll leave it up to you. I’ll leave the gear in the room Erin was using.”
“That works. That way I can let people get a look at the gear,” Kim finished making notes. “Have fun dealing with the group.”
Alburet rolled his eyes, “Fun times.” He went into the back, trading nods with Vanessa in passing. When he got to the meeting room he took a seat and looked at Ironhand, “Okay, so tell me about the problem.”
“Bloodmoon,” Ironhand sighed. “She’s a Berserker in the guild. We’ve been out hunting the last two days and both days, her group would encroach on our area little by little. Today when we asked her to back off, she got up into our faces and said she would do whatever she wanted. I’m pretty sure she’ll do this to us again tomorrow, or start doing it to some other group.”
“Is her entire group going along with it, or are some of them holding back?”
Greenbeard frowned, “Now that you mention it, the Druid and Necromancer both seemed hesitant. I don’t remember the Druid’s name, but he’s a Lunari. I think DrBone was the ‘mancer’s name.”
“All right,” Alburet sighed as he got to his feet. “Ironhand, trade info with me.” He tapped Mindstones with Ironhand, “If she starts up with you again, send me a message. If you see her doing it to anyone else, let me know as well. I’ll talk to them tomorrow before my group heads out.”
The players got to their feet, thanking him before shuffling out. Alburet stayed in the meeting room considering his options for a minute before he walked back to the front. Kim was packing up her stuff for the day. “Out for the night?”
Kim smiled and nodded, “Yeah. Vanessa will hold it down for the next hour or so.”
“Okay. I’m off to eat and get my friends settled into our spare room, so you both have a good night.” Alburet gave them a parting wave as he left the building and went into the house.
“Honey, I’m home,” Alburet announced as he came in with a laugh. Stacia looked up, puzzled, and Alburet stopped laughing. “Sorry. A joke from the other world.”
“Most of ya jokes seem to be,” she shook her head. “The spare room be set up with two beds now. Dinner will be ready in a moment.”
“I’ll go get a quick rinse then,” Alburet followed his words, returning a few minutes later to find that Fluff and Karen had arrived. “Evening, ladies. If you want a quick rinse, the bathroom is open.”
“Sounds good,” Karen said, getting to her feet. “Come on, Fluff, we can wash each other’s backs.”
Fluff followed Karen without saying anything. Just as Stacia was putting the roast on the table, they came back to the front room. Alburet’s eyes tracked up and down each of them, out of reflex.
Fluff was wearing a cute sun dress with kittens printed on it that brought out the color of her eyes. Karen was in shorts and a halter top that showed off her body, only covering up the important bits.
Shaking his head Alburet took his spot at the table after seating the women. He sliced the roast, serving it out and adding the mashed potatoes to each plate before handing it off. The gravy container was passed around, each of them dousing the roast and taters liberally with the rich sauce.
“Everything okay with the move?” Alburet asked between bites.
Fluff nodded, “Yes. I didn’t have that much stuff.”
“Me either,” Karen added before taking another big bite of drippy taters. “So good...” she mumbled around the food.
Stacia grinned at her, “It be impolite to be speakin’ when ya mouth be full of drippy goodness. Ya should be swallowin’ first.”
Fluff blinked, her ears pinking slightly as she quickly took another bite. Alburet reached over and stroked her ear a few times, “You’re getting better, Fluff.”
She nodded, a contented smile spreading across her lips as she chewed, swallowing before replying. “Yes. Stacia is going to work with me tonight. Lilith has been impressed at how adept she is.”
Alburet pursed his lips as he took his hand back, “Hmm.”
“While they’re off locked in a room helping Fluff, why don’t we play together?” Karen said, staring at Alburet like he was a tasty morsel.
Shaking his head, Alburet sighed, “Not going to happen, Karen. We can play cards if you’d like.”
Karen pouted, “I miss the old days. Why the big change?”
Alburet sipped his wine while he thought about his answer. “Trying to hold to the morals my Dad instilled in me. One of the things I took to heart was that once you marry someone, you stop with anyone else.” He shrugged, “I don’t have anything left from my father but the things he tried to teach me.”
Karen frowned, but nodded, “So it’s not that you didn’t like us all being together. It’s more you want to do what your father taught you is right.” She put down her fork, “I understand. I had thought I’d found a kindred spirit who was willing to just have fun. Then you got married and that vanished.”
“What about me sister?” Stacia asked.
Karen looked away, “She was hooked up with a Summoner, last I heard. She still gives me massages, but all the extra stuff has fallen away there, too.” She got up, “Excuse me, please.” She walked out of the room, visibly upset.
Fluff watched her go with sadness, “She wants love.”
“Don’t we all,” Alburet sighed, “maybe I should go talk to her.”
“Nay, Asthore,” Stacia got to her feet. “I will be the one, ya eat ya food.” Stacia followed after Karen with a determined gait.
“I…” Fluff paused before taking a deep breath. “I want love, too, but I’m not worth the time. I was always told that I was nothing.” She shuddered, “Worthy of nothing but a beating…”
Alburet reached out to gently touch Fluff’s arm, “You are worth a lot, Fluff. I don’t know who told you that you’re not worth anything, but they were wrong. You’ve been my friend during the time we’ve known each other. We’ve had good times, laughed, hunted together and made even more friends.”
“You don’t,” she swallowed, then continued, “look at me like you do them.”
His mouth opened and closed a few times in astonishment before he was able to reply to her. “Not exactly true, Fluff. I have the same depth of feeling for you as I do for Karen. The difference is, that for you it’s about protecting you and wanting you to grow. With Karen, it was mostly about the physical interactions. That has shifted some since I got married, though.” He gave her a small smile, “I quoted Romeo at you, after all.”
Fluffball met his eyes, “Would you…” She paused, swallowing, “Kiss my cheek?” Her face went red and one hand twitched at her side, but she refused to drop her eyes.
Alburet felt his protective side surge forward, urging him to treat her like the fragile person she was. He turned to face her, leaning over to gently kiss her cheek. “You are my friend, Fluff, I will always show you that I care. Whether it be a hug, getting your ears rubbed, or a kiss on the cheek.”
She touched her cheek where he’d kissed her, looking at him with wide eyes. Fear and hope warred for control of her face. “Th…Thank you.” She bolted from the table, leaving Alburet alone in the room.
Alburet wondered if maybe he had done something wrong. She had said thank you, but then she’d run away. Maybe it was just that she’d finally found someone who’d shown her kindness without any ulterior motive. Still musing, he finished his meal then collected the plates to wash them.
Karen came back out to the main room as he finished up, finding a seat in the living room as he made coffee. “Al?”
“Yeah?” he called back as he put the kettle onto the stove.