[Denise and Calieo]
It had been a short walk from one edge of town to another, the farms around it's borders scattered and a little more distant from the main roads. Not too far away a dwelling could be seen; a small, quite average farmhouse out among where the fences began. Hay and tar roofing along with wooden planks formed an angled roof. The walls were mainly logs and planks with a stone walled smaller building attached to the main house. Two additional smaller buildings and some farmland made up the entire farm. A few various animals were wandering around while the larger ones were tied to posts on the inside of pens. A younger woman could be seen caring for a horse as Denise and Calieo walked closer.
Denise chuckled and turned her gaze towards her companion. “Unless you plan on killing our host and eating her, or some of the animals under her care because you want to, there is no need. There should be enough meat already salted and enough vegetables for us to eat our fill. Unless you want to eat her in another way,” she said and laughed, especially since Calieo with her nativity probably had no idea what she meant, and that amused her even more.
Calieo had been glaring ahead as her companion spoke, sizing up the beasts that now were only a short distance away. Many of them looked lethargic, some laying in the grass while others grazed on it. With no immediate challenge presented her glare grew less intense, if there was already dead flesh prepared it was one less thing to waste energy on. Having receded into her own thoughts, Calieo's attention returned to Denise just as she made the oddest noise coupled with an amused grin.
“I’d also love to have a little of a chat with you after dinner, perhaps we could take a bath together.” Denise smiled brightly before waving and shouting at her friend on the farm. “Yooooo, Amelia! I’m back and I’ve brought a friend with me! Can we stay with you for the night?"
Calieo glanced towards where Denise had started waving, realizing there was in fact a human among the beasts scattered about. She didn't pay whoever it was too much mind, her thoughts lingering on the odd proposition Denise had made instead. The confusing combination of a few unknown terms made the sentence meaningless for the gilded warrior, and she cocked an eyebrow in her confusion.
The girl on the farm turned towards the newcomers with a startled expression before she recognised Denise and smiled warmly towards them. She started walking towards the pair before hugging Denise tightly. “It’s nice to see you again.” She said and smiled warmly before turning towards Calieo. “And who might this be?”
Having taken a step back when the girl had embraced her companion, the knight now stood a slight distance away. When addressed by the stranger her expression soured a little, and she took up a more commanding stance. “I am Calieo, embodiment of your day star. Praise me as you will, then provide me with sustenance as my companion has claimed you would do,” the knight sternly requested, the hint of a threat in her tone.
Amelia blinked when Calieo introduced herself and gave Denise a “is she sane?” look. Denise just smiled and shrugged her shoulders and gently patted Amelia on her shoulder. “She’s like that; don’t take any offence,” Denise said and started walking towards the house. She started humming a little tune that caused Amelia to blush deeply and she scurried after, waving to Calieo to follow. The knight’s resolve faltered slightly, a look of doubt flickering across her eyes as she was left behind. “Maybe the mountain people are smarter than I had believed,” she muttered, following after the two heathens with long and purposeful strides. When the knight reached the front door she looked back and noticed Denise's horse now standing idle directly beside the house, motionless as stone should be.
“Just give me a little time to get the food prepared. Perhaps the two of you should take a bath before the meal since you’ve been traveling for a while? It’s not much but I’ve got a small spring in the backyard.” Amelia asked in the doorway of the house. “If not, just feel like home in the house.”
The hallway was only a few feet wide, a little place to place shoes and traveling gear. The living room was also quite modest. A few pelts and furs decorated the floor and walls. Along with a couch and a few chairs and a small table that was set up around an open fireplace for warmth. The kitchen was similarly modest. Just a small larder and a firewood oven, a few cabinets and somewhere to wash dishes. The bedroom was just two closets and a double bed lined with furs and pillows.
Calieo took a moment to observe the insides of the dwelling, clearly unimpressed by all that she saw. Her attention was drawn to the pelts in the living room and prompted investigation, ignoring Amelia’s words in favour of the possibility of food. Stomping over top a white and black animal skin spread across the floor, she approached the far wall across from the couch and reached up to the shaggy brown pelt hanging in place. Carelessly she yanked it from the wall, ripping out the nails that kept it up there so she could better observe the pelt. “This skin has no meat, what purpose does it serve?” the knight scowled, looking over the rough and prickly fur in her hands unhappily.
Amelia gasped and Denise quickly covered her mouth and shook her head and ushered her into the kitchen. Denise walked over to Calieo and smiled. “It’s ornamental my dear. That and in the worst case you can use them for warmth. It’s also a lot easier to clean the furs than the floor or walls.” She gently tried to guide Calieo to place the fur on a chair. The knight instead handed off the fur to Denise, turning away from her to examine the rest of the living room even as she continued talking. “I know that the place that you’re from isn’t like the...outside world…. From my guess you’re..special. Perhaps you’re a goddess or an avatar like you claim to be, perhaps you’re a loony. Either way, you don’t know how the world works. For example with the fur just now. In situations where you don’t know what it is or it’s purpose, don’t just grab it or bash it’s head in,” Denise said and chuckled.
“I will do as I see fit,” Calieo boasted proudly, examining the empty fireplace now. “And I find your lack of faith quite disturbing.” That was all she intended to say, not wanting to provoke her guide into any sort of debate. Now bored with the fireplace she spun on her heel and began examining the furniture, it's wooden frame cradling a pair of large cushions that looked to be stuffed with something. Tentatively Calieo reached down and pushed against the cushion, nodding slightly to indicate her approval before sitting down. The ball of her flail hung off the edge of the couch as Calieo shifted in her seat, knocking lightly against the wooden frame with the fire inside considerably close to the edges of its confines.
Denise stared at the contained fire. It was a very unusual weapon to say the least. Flails she had seen aplenty, but not one that contained fire. She tilted her head before grinning slightly. She gently waved her hand and the flames danced with it. She did however make dang sure that the fire was kept away from anything flammable. It would really suck to have their stay interrupted by the house burning down.
She felt the fire. It truly was like a caged sun. The molten core inside remained mostly undisturbed by her proddings. The soft wisps of flames that spanned it though danced to her fingers. It was exhilarating. So much power contained within such a small space. Denise started to ponder on how she could replicate the object, but she was unsure if she was able to. “Soo…..that weapon of yours….how did you come by it?”
Calieo shot a glare towards Denise, her attention having been torn away from the view of a nearby window. The knight looked offended at first, but any anger she felt either fizzled or was hidden as her features softened. “I made it, just as I made this shield, this armour, and this body,” Calieo explained matter-of-factly, gesturing to each part of herself respectively, “The Cherinok have depictions of me; many of them different but I am always female, and in at least one of my hands I hold a small star. I used this information best I could to craft a vessel suitable for exploring your world, and gave myself weapons and armour as your warriors carry about. Everything else about my appearance is simply a stylistic choice- I prefer the depictions of myself featuring gold in particular so I placed a layer over stronger materials, some other sort of ore.” At this point Calieo had begun boasting, obviously proud of all she claimed to have done and had begun admiring her armour in it’s entirety.
A moment later Amelia called from the kitchen, announcing that food had been lain out which brought Calieo out of her ramblings and in a heartbeat she was already moving out of the living room. Dinner consisted of a few fresh veggies and some dried meats together on a platter, Calieo choosing to gorge herself on the dried animal flesh before quickly excusing herself from the table. Denise and Amelia caught up over the remainder of their meals, Calieo wandering from room to room and occasionally outside like a bored child whilst they talked.
Later in the evening after cleaning up from dinner, Denise and Amelia found Calieo splayed out on the cowskin rug in the living room. Any attempts to wake or move her seemed futile and she looked comfortable enough, Denise pouting over how her companion hadn’t stayed up. Amelia didn’t seem as concerned about this, instead dragging her friend away towards the bedroom with an impish grin.
