PreCursive

  Hours ter, the two of us rexed together uhe sheets of her futon, exhausted after our…exertions. Turns out, the same enhaamina that aided an Awakened in battle had bes in other ‘areas’ as well.

  That had been a fun and iing discovery to make those weeks ago.

  I accepted the pipe that Bel passed my way and took a long draw from it, letting the pipeweed fill my lungs. It exited as a drawn-out, slow exhale, with me already feeling the mildly rexing effects of the herb. In quiet moments spent rexing with her in the past, I was surprised to discover that she was an occasional smoker. Not like Grey, who had a tendenoke like a ey when he was stressed.

  She had a preference for the fiuff.

  Speaking of…

  I handed her back the pipe, and accepted the gss of what she called ‘rog’. Essentially, a higher-quality grog than what the rest of the crew drank. Funny enough, that actually stood for something, acc to her. A sort of in-joke among her crew.

  Ransacked O Gold.

  I’d had a bit of a ugh about that with her in the past.

  Once I’d taken a sip, I leaned back against the wall of the room and cradled the gss in my hand, letting my gaze drift over to Bel. Like me, she was naked from the waist up aing against the wall, and I allowed myself to enjoy the sight of her for a moment as she took a draw from the pipe as well.

  It had been…

  Well, a long, long time since I’d had anything like this. Sylvia and I…we hadn’t progressed to this point. Partly, I think, because her of us had been sure if it was even possible, for Humans and Sculpted. I had…always been curious, if Sculpted were…fully funal, in that way. But I had never asked, partly because Sylvia had been very self-scious about the possibility.

  And noossibility had passed, and I was likely never going to find out.

  I pushed those dark thoughts away and instead focused ba Bel. Said Captain noticed my stare and rolled her eyes tolerantly at me, but didn’t bother to cover herself back up. “What?” She asked slight amusement in her voice. “Ain’t like this is the first time ye’ve seen me like this.”

  I shrugged, unapologetic. “Yeah, but it’s nice,” I said with a smirk, causio snort. After a moment, I sobered up though and decided to broach the subject that had been on my mind for weeks now. “I’m…surprised you wao do this again, Bel. Last time you were holy pretty pissed off.”

  The smirk on Bel’s face faded, and she looked away from me. “Yeah, well,” She said roughly. “I was…more pissed at meself, holy. Don’t pretend all o’ that nned, now.”

  I houghtfully. She was right about that.

  The st time Bel was in port, the two of us had been io e along on an Oni Hunt. The others had been busy at the time, so we had accepted and traveled along with the same troop the rest of my panions had apanied. It had ended up being both a good adva opportunity and the right thing to do. It went surprisingly well, and when we had gotten back to Hinaga, the two of us had decided to celebrate privately.

  With plenty of booze.

  Lots and lots of booze.

  Things had devolved from there.

  The m, Bel woke me up with how much she was surprisingly freaking out about it. Thankfully, there hadn’t been any accusations about aaking advantage of anyone else, but she had been distressed all the same. I’d been so hung over at the time that I had barely been able to get a word out before Bell had beat feet for the port, and in record time, was disappearing over the horizon aboard her ship.

  At the time, I’d been w if I had destroyed one of my few, real friendships on Vereden with a drunken mistake. I hadn’t known what had caused Bel so much distress and hadn’t been able to ask her. I’d bee with only questions after her rapid retreat. I couldn’t evehe others why Bel was gone, leading to most of them just assuming we’d had a disagreement during the Hunt. I retty sure Liora had figured it out, though, if Bel hadn’t ft-out told her before she left.

  I’d caught the Gnoll woman giving me knowing looks a few times, over the st few weeks.

  Silence desded betweewo of us for a moment, before I broke it. “So.”

  Bel’s eyes flickered my way, and she nodded slightly. “So.”

  “So, what’s the problem?” I asked patiently. “Why did you disappear?”

  Bel sighed a her pipe bowl face down on a small pte o the futoinguishing it. “Couple reasons, I guess,” She said tiredly. “One, I ain’t lookin’ fer a retionship, Nate. I’ve got enough oe as it is. I don’t need a man weighin’ me down like an anchor on top o’ all that. No offense.”

  I shrugged one shoulder idly. “aken. I’m her. You know how my st retionship ended.”

  I really, really wasn’t.

  Bel smiled at me then, looking a bit relieved. “Good. But that ain’t all. I, uh. I felt like I took advantage of ye. Just a bit. Ye doly have an air of a,” She visibly groped for the right words momentarily. “Man with a girl in every port. And ye just had all that go down with Sylvia. Ye strike me as a bit…vulnerable, Nate.”

  I rolled my eyes then, sitting up straighter. I took a moment to empty my gss of its rog and ha back to Bel. I spoke up as she refilled the gss and took a sip herself. “I’m not that fragile, Bel,” I said with a small smile. “Everything that happened with the war…I won’t pretend it didn’t take a toll. But these months have been good to me. Good for all of us, I think.”

  Bel heaved a breath, nodding. “Yeah. With the fightin’ dyin’ down, I haven’t actually been doin’ too much raidin’ and pilgin’, ye know? The Bluebacks have pretty much taken over runnin’ the Royal Navy like they did before the war. tracts fer those of us on the wrong side of the w are runnin’ out. Way they see it, if’n ye didn’t choose a side by now, ye don’t get a share of the profits. What that means fer me, though, is that I’ve been steppin’ into that legit shippin’ tract Whitegull promised me. After I…left…”

  More like ran away, I didn’t say out loud.

  I’d like my too remain attached to my mouth, thanks.

  “I took a trip down thattaways and checked in with ‘em,” She tinued, before smirking. “I ain’t bee go, but I’m free ta act how I please fer now. Which brought me back up here. I…didn’t want nothin’ ta fester.”

  I reached across the sheets c s and grabbed her hand before meeting her eyes. “There’s nothing wrong here, Bel,” I said, trying to project fidence. “I was mostly just fused while you were gone. I have nothing wrong with us tinuing the way we have been.”

  Partly a lie.

  I’d beey anxious our friendship was over too. But I didn’t o say that.

  “Alrigh’ then,” Bel breathed. “Gd we got tha’ settled. his is just a bit o’ fuween friends, yeah?” At my uanding nod, she tinued. “Ain’t no reason ta briions into it. And it ain’t anyone else's business but ours. So…let’s say we keep it goin’ that way, eh?” With those words, Bel set her drink down on the low table o our futon, and turo me with a raised eyebrow. I had to stifle a ugh when she shook her shoulders almost hauntingly at me, but sat up from my reing position anyway.

  I could take a hint when it was almost literally shoved in my face.

  I may not have actual Stamina anymore, but real stamina sure came back quickly for me these days.

  …………………………………….

  Bel and I didn’t e back down from her room until nightfall. By that time, the rest of our panions had returned from their own business for the day and joined us for dihose of my friends who hadn’t seen Bel yet were surprised to see her. Surprised, but happy.

  Well, but for the curious ghat bounced between her and I. But we were sittio each other at the table with no obvious disfort, so I think the assumption was we had made up.

  And we certainly had.

  There were two standout examples from the others, though. Liora just gave the two of us a knowing look but didn’t say anything. Renauld, meanwhile, waggled his eyebrows at us and then tapped his nose, when I shot him a curious look of my own.

  Ah.

  That’s right.

  Gnolls in general…they teo have a stronger sense of smell than us Humies. And with Perception thrown into the mix...

  Bel shot him a blistering look, though, atled down.

  We hadn’t talked about it during or after our…activities, but it turned out Liora had already informed Bel about the expedition to Goryuen.

  “Yeah, I’m happy ta e along,” She said, accepting a ptter of my local favorite.

  Good old-fashioned chi on a stick.

  “Problem bein’,” Bel tinued, loadie. “Is I ’t take ye lot there. Not cause I don’t want ta. But because only Imperial ships are allowed in those waters, even if ya got a permit.”

  I finished chewing my own mouthful, swallowed, and spoke up. “So, we’ll have to charter a different ship then? Sad, I was looking forward to the trip there on the Reef.”

  Bel rolled her eyes at my teasing tone, but nodded. “Yeah, shouldn’t be a problem. ‘Sides, it’ll be good fer the boys. They hang out here and enjoy some shore leave while I’m out trompin’ through the jungle.”

  Azarus looked up from his own meal long enough to shoot Bel an almost despairing look. “This pce is a jungle?” He groaned aloud. “Gods damnit, I hate jungles.”

  Venix took a sip from the cup of tea he held iween the palms of his uppermost arms, while his lower finished p a cup for Liora. “It is not that bad,” He said mildly, nodding back to Liora as she dipped her head in thanks for the cup. After a moment though, he tilted his head in thought. "Aside from the monsters, perhaps," He amended.

  Renauld ughed, leaning ba his palms. “Yeah, but aren’t you from Indiqua?” He said with a smirk. “You know, the p absolutely covered in deadly juhat makes anything on Vereden look like a joke? You might have a bit of a skewed perception there, man.”

  “I’m not a man,” Venix replied immediately without blinking.

  I noticed he didn’t deny the words, though.

  Guess I was going to be ‘trompin’ through the jungle’ soon, like Bel said.

  Suits me.

  My skills would blend in here, I feel.

  ………………………………………

  Now that Bell had returned, we didn’t really o stick around much longer. She had all the supplies she would need for her own ba the Thorny Reef. Meanwhile, the rest of us were more than ready to set out foryuen, and ultimately the metallic door that rested in the shadow of Mt. Gorenzan.

  And Tatsugan.

  In fact, I’d say that some of us were getting a bit antsy to go. I’d been practig more with Azarus and Venix in the m, as I teo do when they were in town. The both of them had an eagero their strikes and blows that showed through to those in tuh their own.

  You just…kind of picked up on this, with practice.

  There was no point wasting time and putting it off. With Bel’s help, the two of us went down to the office of the Hinagan port authority and tried to iate for an authorized ship that would take our party to the isle. They had been initially quite skeptical about our request but settled down when I showed the permit allowing passage. I’d been a bit surprised at the near reverehat the bureaucrat had shown that permit, in fact.

  That was until he told me that the stamp on the bill came directly from the office of the Emperor himself.

  I…hadn’t realized that the i in this matter ran quite that high. Masahiro really did have friends in the highest pces.

  Within the day, the six people of our party had assembled on the ship that had been chartered for our use, paid for out of my own pocket. Apparently, the Captain of this ship, a mert vessel he Kaminari Maru, had ht jumped at the bark on a mission authorized by the Emperor himself. He’d been dht weling to us as we boarded his ship. Acc to him, the jouro the isle would take us about four days, depending on how favorable the winds were.

  Only an hour after stepping foot on the Kawamaran-styled mert galleon, the sails embzoned with stylized storm clouds unfurled a underway.

  Goryuen awaited.