It's Always Monsters

My hand across my mouth to cover my amused smile I watch Cassie pad gingerly down the stairs into the common room of the inn. Her careful steps and smirking winces were a testament to the devastation our Lady wrought upon her private parts. Cassie couldn’t miss us looking at her, Colly and I had chosen the table directly at the base of the stairs so that I could keep an eye out for the others, and rolls her eyes at our immature titters as she steps up to join us. Playing into it she slowly sinks into the chair beside me with a grimace

“Sore?” I quip.

“In the best possible way.” Cassie grins with a satisfaction that would last through the day and beyond. “By Cupid I’ve never been fu…” Her eyes dart to the server passing by the table and she quickly reconsiders her words. “I mean, I’ve never slept so well in all my life.”

With a chuckle I pour her a goblet of the weak breakfast wine from the pitcher I’d ordered. “Me neither.” My eyes flit toward the stairs, my smile dimming. “Can’t say that for Rosa I’m afraid.”

Cassie, who was spooning herself out a serving of the honeyed puls that sat in a serving bowl in the center of the table, pauses mid-scoop to look back toward the stairs. A gray glob of the thick porridge plops off the spoon to splatter onto the table between Cassie’s bowl and the serving one.

“Hey, don’t wathte the grub.” Collywaddle wastes no time in swiping up the splodge of puls with her fingers as it was a particularly delectable one with a cube of bacon within it. She sucks it off her fingers then returns to her own bowl, happily smacking away.

Dolling out a couple spoonfuls Cassie begins to eat. “Was she…unsatisfied?”

“Of course not.” I say, giving her an assuring grip to her shoulder.

Cassie swallows then slowly stirs her spoon through the puls. “Nightmares?”

“Mmm.” I nod as we share a concerned look. “Monsters.”

“It’s always monsters.” She whispers. “All her worries and fears come through as monsters.”

“Considering what happened to her parents…” I let the grim meaning hang unspoken, then continue. “It was a dragon this time.”

“A dragon?” Cassie says, her left brow rising. “That’s a new one. Has she ever seen one?”

“No. Not that I know of, though I think hydras are related somehow.”

“Did the ship have a draconic figurehead? Maybe it’s her anxiety about the journey?”

“Or maybe it’s just a dream.” I say, though I didn’t discount what Cassie was thinking. “No. The figurehead was of a black sheep, a sacrifice symbol to Tempestas according to Nikias. We saw no dragon images on the ship. Besides, she wouldn’t have seen them even if there were.”

Cassie smacks her own forehead. “Of course.” Returning to he breakfast she asks. “Any word from the good captain?”

“He sent a man around. They say the augur is predicting a shift in the winds by mid-day.” I say. “Catalus is being loaded. We’ll be heading down there in an hour or so. I wanted to give Rosa as much time to rest as possible. If there’s anything else you need from town…”

“Mm.” Cassie shakes her head then nods to Colly. “We pretty much covered everything yesterday. Danae?”

I shrug. “She’s a mystery to Rosa, how am I to know? She’s supposed to stay close. I suppose we better wake Rosa soon to make sure.”

“It’ll be fine.” She says, then pauses. Snarfing down the rest of her porridge then washing it down with the wine she then wipes her lips and says. “I’ll go lay with the Lady until it’s time.”

I grin. “Don’t start anything you can’t finish.”

***

An hour later Rosa had joined us and sat nibbling on a small platter of fruit and nuts I had ordered special for her. She appeared rested, her age-defying features seemingly impervious something as minor as a bad night’s sleep, but in her eyes I saw the fatigue and the shadow of the dream that still haunted her. It must have been a particularly bad one. Laying my hand on her thigh I give it a squeeze, which brings a smile out of her as she lays her head on my arm.

“I’m okay, baby.” She pats my hand. “Now drink your wine.”

Colly laughs at my twisting features as I stare down into the herbal flecks floating in my drink. “Was the wormwood really necessary?”

“You’ve never been on the sea, my love. I have. Sea-sickness is no joke.”

“Ugh.” I grunt as I force down more of the bitter beverage. “It can’t be any worse than this!”

“I’ll have yourth, Thir. I love it!”

“Then you can be on bucket duty once we’re on board.” Rosa says.

“Bucket…? On thecond thought, drink up, Mathter!”

“GLRGH!” I heave as Colly stand on her chair to help tip my cup higher.

***

We thank the innkeeper and we were on our way. After a quick trip to a couple of shrines to give thanks for everything the gods had done for us thus far and to pray they continue shining their good graces upon us we go to meet up with Danae near the river where we had first entered town. Except for Rosa, whose normally uplifting energy was muted due to her poor rest, our mood was crackling with the anticipation of our voyage to come. Both Cassie and I had never been on anything more than a rowboat over freshwater lakes, and Colly not even that, so the opportunity set off on a proper sailing ship upon the great blue Mare Nostrum was undeniably exciting, if a bit frightening. For Cassie in particular the prospect of experiencing something new and pressing forward on our adventure had her spirit soaring, and that vibrant spirit of adventure was absolutely infectious. After Cassie being dicked down out of her mind and me still with my head in the clouds from the unexpected session of proper bondage the pair of us weren’t just in a good mood, we were downright giddy.

As we approached the bridge at the edge of town were laughing along to a rather silly story Colly was telling us when from out of the reeds comes an orange flash. Danae, her paws putting up dust behind her, darts straight for Rosa’s feet where she circles around her Mistress’ calves, her ear laid flat. The girl we’d seen being flirted with the day before was leaning out her window and laughs at the fleet-footed fox.

“Somebody missed their master.” She quips as she watches Danae’s fluffy tail curl around Rosa’s leg to grip it. “I never knew foxes could be pets.”

Rosa, who normally would have engaged with the woman, was entirely focused on Danae. She kneels down and pets her ‘sister’s’ head, only to have her wrist snatched in a firm but careful bite as Danae tries to physically pull Rosa back into Grumentum. Rosa says softly. “What’s wrong, little sister? What’s got you so frightened?”

At that same moment Cassie leans into me to confirm something I had just noticed myself, thanks to the clue of Danae’s behavior. “Quin. The gulls. They’ve gone quiet.”

All the excitement from just a moment ago evaporates as we are reminded that we weren’t leaving these shores on a pleasure cruise, we were being chased from them.

“Damn!” I hiss under my breath. Doing my best to remain calm and casual in front of the young woman and other townsfolk I say. “Come along now, we must be off.”

Grabbing Colly I pull her alongside me while Rosa scoops up Danae in her arms as Cassie puts her arm around her to be her eyes. Walking as swiftly as we could without arousing suspicion the group of us march straight back along the long street that hugged the coast toward the docks at the far end of town. Along the way we hear a few others noting the peculiar break in the normally ubiquitous squawk of sea birds.

“I thought we’d lost it.” Whispers Cassie, glancing behind her as if the shadow hound might come charging up on us any second.

“So did I!” I say. “We’ll be on the water soon. It can’t follow out there.” I look out over the glimmering blue sea. “Surely.”