Back into the Mountains

Expedition

Fenneck and Erikur make out and rest before Fenneck leaves again.

Fenneck opened his eyes and looked over to see Erikur meditating peacefully in his arms. Fenneck was spooning him under the heap of pretty lavender furs and throw blankets, trying to keep warm as the air grew colder and colder with the winter settling in around Flottenheim. Fenneck gently kissed Erikur's neck, reluctant to leave their cozy nest together to go back into the cold, lonely mountains. Erikur squirmed happily and pushed himself back against Fenneck's chest, prompting Fenneck to hold him tightly and nuzzle back down into the covers with him. "Don't go," Erikur quietly begged him, interlacing their fingers together, reluctant to let him leave. Fenneck sighed happily. "I have to," he said sadly, kissing Erikur again. "You want us to have a chance to pull this off right?" he asked Erikur who took a very heavy, dramatic sigh of defeat and turned in Fenneck's arms to face him.   Fenneck waved a hand above them and created his magical bobbles of icy blue light which sent a happy smile over Erikur's face. Erikur waved his hand and made four of his own lights in his signature lavender, lighting the room in a beautiful purply-blue hue. "I love that you use magic now," Erikur told him wistfully. "It's so wonderful, isn't it?" he asked Fenneck. "Yeah," he agreed.   "Why is it illegal?" he asked Erikur. "It would be so helpful to help people survive and have better, happier lives," he said in confusion. Erikur rolled his pretty green eyes that were reflecting the little bubbles of light in them. "So our tiny-dicked emperor doesn't wet his widdle pants when a stronger sorcerer threatens his superiority," he said in a mocking voice.   Fenneck giggled and leaned in, gently kissing Erikur's soft, warm lips. They started kissing each other and Fenneck let himself relax into it and enjoy Erikur's closeness as he thought about how dangerous the day's adventure might actually be. Erikur was gentle and didn't do anything Fenneck didn't do first as they both tested the boundaries of their physical relationship with each other.   They kept things innocent, mostly kissing each other's lips and caressing each other's chests until they heard a knock at the door. Erikur reluctantly pulled away and gave Fenneck a sweet, loving smile before hopping out of his bed in his skimpy silky purple tunic that was casually sliding off his shoulders and the pair of bright green braise he wore to sleep in that were tailored extremely short so his long dainty legs and thighs were out in the open.   He opened the door to reveal Vyndius who was fully dressed and packed, clearly excited to get going on their adventure. The poor halfling's head came up to where he was just taller than Erikur's legs and he had a great view of just how much Erikur had been enjoying his alone time with Fenneck. He cleared his throat awkwardly trying to ignore Erikur's large bulge that was staring him down in his tight shorts.   "Well, Fenneck's a lucky man indeed," he said, raising his brow in surprise. Erikur smiled and stood there awkwardly for a moment, trying to figure out how to respond as Fenneck sat up and scooted out of the warm bed. Luckily, Tykva took the opportunity to dart through the open door and leap up into Fenneck lap. The cat meowed up at Fenneck until he started petting the needy creature.   "Hey Tykky!" he said as he started scratching the cat's neck, causing it to purr with happiness. Erikur stepped away from Vyndius and walked over to scratch his cat. "Give us a few minutes while Fenneck get's dressed," Erikur told Vyndius. "Good idea!" the halfling said thankfully, before reaching in and grabbing the door to close it.   Fenneck and Erikur started giggling and Erikur walked over to Fenneck and sat down next to him, blushing. Fenneck leaned against him, letting him know that it was okay. Erikur shook his head and started petting the cat who was trying to decide whose lap to settle in.   "Well," he said. "I guess you should get dressed, huh?" he asked Fenneck. Fenneck gave him a half-smile. "I suppose so," he said. "We could make Vyndius wait a little longer though," he said, leaning in to kiss Erikur, causing the cat to leap off the bed in annoyance as Fenneck pushed Erikur into the bed and started kissing him again.   "If I didn't know any better," Erikur breathed between their kisses. "I'd think you were worried about facing the frost giants." He raised a serious brow at Fenneck. Fenneck caressed Erikur's pretty face. "I'm just nervous about leaving again," he admitted as his long white hair fell down into Erikur's face. Erikur caressed it away and nodded. "It's a good idea though, you should get going so you and Vyndius don't get stuck in the dark," he said reluctantly.   Tykva started clawing and meowing at the door. "You wanted in here, stupid," Erikur said, rolling his eyes as he climbed out of the bed and cracked the door for the cat to run out into the living room. Fenneck forced himself to get up and started changing into his new winter gear Erikur had snagged him from the shop. Erikur put on some less revealing clothes and brushed out his sandy blonde hair.   "Let me braid your hair!" Erikur begged as Fenneck finished securing his new hide armor. He pulled Fenneck back onto the bed so he could brush out his hair. There was another knock on the door but this time Erikur just called out, "Come in!" Catherine opened the door and walked in, closing the door behind her.   "Are you sure you'll be fine with just the two of you?" she asked Fenneck. "I can go too-" "No, you will not be going anywhere," Erikur cut her off, shaking his head at her as if it wasn't up for debate. "Erik! I'm fine! You don't need to protect me!" she argued. Erikur shook his head firmly as he started braiding Fenneck's hair.   "We are going to visit our parents today," he told her. "Absolutely not," she said firmly. Erikur gave her an annoyed look. "They think you died, Catherine! I'm just supposed to lie to them?!" he asked her. "We've been lying to them our whole lives, Erik!" she argued. "If you tell them you have to tell them about magic and the revolution and we can't risk that. You know they're loyalists to the throne!"   "I know but I feel bad! You're their daughter!" he exclaimed. She shrugged. "Wait till after we take the palace, Erik. We can't risk anything before hand!" she told him. Erikur sighed heavily. "Come on, Catherine," he begged her. "My relation with them has gotten so bad over the years! They didn't even speak to me for three whole years after I told them you'd died," he said.   "That's probably their problem, Erik. They've treated you like crap since you got out of the house," she said. "And before," Fenneck added. Erikur sighed in defeat. "Fine," he reluctantly conceded. "You're still staying here though in case something happens," he told her. "Come on!" she argued. "It's not fair that they get to actually do something to help the cause!" she argued. He shook his head at her.   "I need you here," he told her. "Baegla wants to come over anyway and chat with you about what exactly happened to you and Vyndius and to practice some spells with us. Vyndius and Fenneck will be fine," he told her and he tied off Fenneck's braid with a pretty green ribbon.   "We'll be okay," Fenneck said, trying to assure her. "I've made the trek tons of times and it will be even easier with a powerful sorcerer like Vyndius at my side," he promised her. "Fine," she conceded. "Just... make sure he stays out of trouble," she said. Fenneck smiled at her affection for their little friend.   He stood up and walked over to her and took her hands in his own. "I swear to keep him safe. I promise," he said before gently kissing her on the cheek. Erikur stood up and grabbed a purple throw blanket and rolled it up for Fenneck to take. "I just want you to stay warm," he assured him with an overprotective smile. Fenneck smiled and put the blanket into his very full backpack and equipped the rest of his gear as Catherine and Erikur made their way into the living room.   When Fenneck was ready, he joined them and watched Catherine, who was on her knees kissing Gwynsickle bye, sweetly hug Vyndius to send him off. "I can teleport you to the tree to get you out of Flottenheim," Erikur told them. "That will be great," Fenneck said. "That's about half a day of travel we can avoid," he commented. Erikur nodded and took Fenneck's hand in his own as Vyndius came up and held his other hand while clutching Gwynsickle's flipper. "I'll be right back, Catherine," Erikur told her before they popped out of their living room and were suddenly in the cute little tree.   "Oh good," Erikur said, looking around the tree. "I can grab some fruit while I'm here. Catherine's been cooking it all," he commented. Vyndius giggled. "She's a good cook though! Something halfling's admire in a woman!" he said. Erikur pursed his lips. "Word of advice, don't ever say that to Catherine," he said. Fenneck chuckled. "Oh come on," Fenneck said. "I would have loved to see her reaction!"   Erikur ignored him and pulled Fenneck into a very passionate embrace, not caring about Vyndius' prying eyes. "Be careful, Fen," he told him with a worried look in his eyes. "Please come back," he begged. Fenneck squeezed Erikur's hands. "It won't be long," he promised Erikur before pulling him for another long kiss.   After a few wonderful moments, Fenneck reluctantly pulled away and sighed longingly at Erikur. "Goodbye, Erik," he said. "Five days," he promised. Erikur nodded. "Be safe," he told them. Fenneck led Vyndius out of the tree and out into the cold, snowy forest that was in the middle of getting a fresh coat of fluffy powder. "This way," Fenneck told the halfling, determined to make it to his home in the mountains before sunset.   After about an hour of trekking through the falling snow they made it to the edge of the forest and Fenneck led Vyndius through the mountain pass and up into the cold mountains. "You two are pretty cute together," Vyndius commented. "Catherine said you two have been best friends your entire lives." Fenneck nodded.   "We met one day when my mom took me down to the butchers shop. I was maybe eight or nine at the time and while we were down there I saw Erikur playing with a tiny baby rabbit on the corner of his parents farm. He was really friendly and he let me pet the little rabbit and we started playing together," Fenneck told him, smiling at the memory that had often reoccurred through his meditations.   "My mom met his mom and they set up a play date for us and we were soon hanging out all the time. He would often come up to hang out at my house and spend the night. We played dragonchess and other games, my parents would read us stories about elvish lore and culture, and we would play pretend, often hunting down dragons which my dad would play along as and chase us through the house."   Fenneck felt tears start to sting his eyes as he remembered his happy days growing up with his wonderful parents and Erikur. "We've been best friends ever since." "What about Alexei?" Vyndius asked. "We met Alexei when we were a bit older, when I turned eighteen actually," Fenneck explained. "It was the day after my birthday and Erikur and I went to the bar for the first time. His father ran the bar at that point and was rather abusive and drunk most of the time so Alexei would come and hangout with Erikur and I at my house to escape him. About twenty-five years ago his dad died from alcohol poisoning," Fenneck said as he helped Vyndius climb a particularly high ledge.   "That's why Alexei is the bartender now?" Vyndius asked. "Yeah," Fenneck said as he joined him on the ledge. "He likes it though. He calls himself an alchemist," he joked. Vyndius chuckled. "He does know how to make a good drink," he mused. "So when did you and Erikur... well, become a thing?" he asked.    "Well..." Fenneck sighed, trying to decide how to answer such a complex question. "We first had sex when we were in our early twenties. It was mostly just casual though. We couldn't really have a real relationship because we're both men but we were together quite frequently."   "We're both a little... confused about our feelings at the moment," he admitted. "I'm still not ready to move on from Evelyn and he's been upset and lonely. I do love him," he assured Vyndius. "I'm just not quite sure in what way." Vyndius nodded understandingly.   "I've never really had time for romance myself. I've been fairly lonely until I got here in Flottenheim and met your mother and all the other revolutionists," Vyndius said. "Why... why did you show up in Flottenheim?" Fenneck asked him. Vyndius chuckled at him.   "Well, I was a miner in Gornoslav," he explained. "I had made a name for myself for being able to sneak around and get into hard to reach places in the mines. The KAV showed up at my house one morning and took Gwynsickle and myself straight to the Krasnoye Fortress to meet Staladin in the flesh. Creepy bastard," Vyndius said, shivering from the memory of him.   "He told me that there were rumors of a family of high elves in the mountain of Flottenheim that were planning treasonous activities and he needed a halflings help to find them," Vyndius explained. "Then I met Faina and I decided joining them was the far superior option to turning them in."   Fenneck shook his head in disbelief. "I guess I owe you my life then," he said, thinking about how easily this halfling could have turned his entire family over to Staladin ten years ago and chose not too. "I suppose I was just prolonging the inevitable," he said darkly. Fenneck sighed and continued up toward his old home.   After a few hours, as the sky was starting to grow dark, Fenneck saw his cave on the ridge. It was dark and Fenneck climbed up the ledge toward the cave opening, drawing his swords as he cautiously approached the dark cave entrance. When he could finally see inside her heard a loud gekker echo throughout the cave walls and Porosha trotted out and gekkered excitedly as he sniffed Fenneck's legs.   "Hey, Poro!" Fenneck said, leaning down to pet his old friend. He saw another fox walk out of the cave, the same female his little friend had ran off with the last time he saw him. "Hi there," he called over to the other fox. "Is this your girlfriend?" he asked Poro who gekkered excitedly. Gwynsickle squawked at Porosha who ran up and started sniffing the penguin excitedly.   The girl hesitantly walked up to Fenneck and sniffed his hand before gekkering to him. Fenneck scratched her head. "Guess the cave is safe," he said, standing up and walking into his old home. He waved hand, creating his magical blue light that illuminated the cave, revealing it to be exactly how Fenneck had left it.   He walked over to the firepit and got to work, building a fire with the remainder of logs he'd left. Vyndius settled down and laid out his bed and Fenneck pulled out Erikur's lavender blanket and curled up in his bed of furs and was soon joined by Porosha and his little friend who curled up into each other, looking like a Yin and Yang symbol as they each rested their heads on the other's pelts. Fenneck smiled at them and pulled out the little notebook and pencil Erikur had given him and he sketched out the two foxes as Vyndius fell asleep.   "You two are cute," Fenneck told the sleeping foxes. "Aren't they?" Evelyn said, walking into the cave, wearing a beautiful flowy white dress as she clutched a bundle to her chest that was wrapped in a mint green bundle with lacy embroidery around the edges. "They remind me of us," Fenneck told her lovingly.   She smiled and caressed her long blond hair from her face as she sat down a few feet away from Fenneck, rocking their child. "I miss you," he told her. She sighed. "I know. I'm gone though," she told him. Fenneck sighed sadly and pulled Erikur's lavender blanket around his shoulders as a brisk breeze made it's way into the cave.   "Why do you feel guilty?" she asked him. "You were with Erikur long before you met me," she pointed out with a pitying frown. Fenneck shrugged and looked up at her longingly. "It's just... different. I'm not ready to let you go," he told her. She smiled sweetly a him. "I loved you so much, Fenneck. You treated me so wonderfully."   Fenneck sighed as he felt tears start to build up in him. "What is he like?" he asked her, motioning to the baby. She shook her head at him though. "He's a baby, Fenneck," she told him, quite unhelpfully. "I met a baby," he told her. "A wood elf named Kapelya," he told her. "She's precious..." he looked at his son, trying to glimpse his face.   Evelyn gave him a confused look and stood up, shielding the child protectively from Fenneck's eyes. "I should go, Fenneck," she told him, clutching the bundle to her chest and giving Fenneck a stern glance. "No," he begged her. "Please, I'll stop asking questions," he promised her. She ignored him and walked back toward the entrance of the cave and seemed to dissipate into the white snow. He sighed and clutched the purple blanket around his shoulders, thankful for the comforting smell of Erikur's perfume on it as he let himself meditate.