Chương 24: Chapter 23: Queenslace and Kisses

Before I went properly back into town, I decided to get going on the food issue. I took a pit-stop inside the inn to grab my sack, though! I found the group of adventurers making tea in the kitchen, and still blearily in the process of waking up. It seems that Roxala's potion had worn off and was having lasting effects - she was awake, but seemingly barely. Torch was fine, but maybe he had skills or something that helped?

The Wizard and the Scout smiled at me and waved, and I returned both cheerfully with a twirl and a flourish as I bent to pick up my backpack. As I leaned on the counter, I opened it up.

"Somebody's in a good mood - did you two have a nice walk?" Fel asked me, turning in his spot to look my way. I nodded as he sipped his coffee, and beamed at the blue-robed sage.

"We did, and a nice chat. Is Roxala okay?" I asked, and the Wizard waved a hand with a sympathetic nod at their fearless leader.

"I'm afraid our Roxala isn't a morning person, and the potion she took to remain awake-" Knew it! I had no idea why, lucky guess?

"-has a lasting effect on some folk. Not everyone can use them comfortably. She will be well, soon enough, and sleep like a queen tonight." Fel said, and pat Roxala's shoulder gently. For her part, the shieldmaiden grunted and sipped the hot tea while I fished out my old tunic.

"I'm gonna get working on food. I think the soup has just about had it. For today, since we have rice and salt, I'll try to do something with them! Sound good?" and the three adventurers who hadn't expected to be able to find hot food in the middle of nowhere gave me a thumbs up. I thought about just taking the blouse out and going, but... then I found one of the books Gelidia had been reading last night and pulled it out! Felorikaan had indeed transcribed a book of Herblore - and that was the book's title.

It wasn't just words either, but sketches also. I saw the man who had made this, in my mind's eye, get up and lean on the counter beside me.

"Fel, this is amazing!" I said, thumbing my way through the illustrations and handwritten notes on different plants. I could read his copper-plate handwriting with ease, and smiled at the detail he put into each picture.

"I'm glad - I have a skill that allows me to easily copy a book called Transcription." he said, clearly proud, and I turned to hug him. He tensed a moment, before hugging me back with a chuckle that sounded natural from him. We parted the embrace, and he nodded at it, his pointy hood-hat wiggling a bit as he did.

"I hope it serves you well. By the way - did your name change?" he asked, and I smiled at him.

"It was Torch's idea" the man in question raised his mug of tea "I like the name." I said, and the wizard nodded with a smile at me.

"It's a better name for you than 'smith' or just 'Goldtail' - after all, you are more than one thing. A woman of many parts, and I agree with Torch - you are friend to this crew." he said, and a warm feeling filled my breast at that. Pleased, I carefully closed the book and tucked it away.

"Thank you - that means a lot to me." I said, and the Wizard pat my back. Gelidia smiled at the exchange, and we walked out together towards the daylight again.

"Back soon!" I called back to them. The shade and I walked together out of the inn and towards the woods as I shouldered my pack and held my old blouse in my hands. It was the work of moments to fashion it into a kind of basket, tying arm and neck holes shut tight so I could use it to just carry things.

"So" I asked as we walked into the woods, and Gelidia looked at me.

"You said that you subsumed your lordship core, right?" and Gelidia nodded.

"And that some of the business owners-""-and some of the townsfolk who overheard us, not to mention the captain and the guards" she interrupted, and I nodded"-that you Subsumed like I did. But for you, for the undead, what does that mean?" I asked, and paused over a flower. I produced the book of herblore, and tried looking the random flower up.

"Well, it means that we're stable for one thing, and once again in full possession of our faculties. The Dungeon can't drive us or control us, and we aren't just sadly going about our old routines as if nothing had happened." she began, and knelt beside me "We still take energy from ambient mana to... live I suppose, and the mana still reforms us if we should disperse so long as we're close to the town or some other source of mana. A dungeon so close is a ready source of mana for us to use to do just that."

she explained, and I nodded.

"That makes sense." I said, turning pages slowly after glancing up at her.

"Do you think more of the people of Lambstock will subsume?" I asked, and she nodded.

"I think so. Now that we know what it means to do so... there is some loss to it, you gotta understand, losing a core is a heel... but subsuming, as you've noticed, doesn't just destroy the core you lost, and some of the ghosts and skeletons who have done it say that their Undead cores got a lot of synergies from their subsumed ones." she said, and I paused, thumbing my place As I closed the book to look up at her.

"Huh. Why is that?" I asked, honestly curious! Gelidia crossed her arms thoughtfully, and shook her head slowly.

"I don't really know, to be honest. I suppose these monster types were naturally occurring for us. If I had to guess, the Ghost and Skeleton cores have a lot in common with the Life-type cores. Most of the subsumed cores were things like 'Peasant' or 'Laborer' and similar." she said.

"I... guess that makes sense. Anyone can become a ghost or skeleton or zombie or something" I supposed aloud. Gelidia nodded.

"You'd normally need to be in a high magic field and to have died a sudden death to become undead." she explained.

"We all died very suddenly. The Poisonstones gave off a fog that killed anyone who breathed it very quickly." she said, as if it was simply a matter of historical fact rather than what had killed her and so, so many other people. I felt sad for her, and for the town I called home that had happened to. It was hard to be too upset though, when the person telling you this was standing there talking about it though.

"That makes sense. And a dungeon is highly magical?" I asked. Gelidia smiled.

"I keep forgetting you didn't come from my world. Yes - a dungeon is highly magical. It's one of the most magical things that can be - it's how the World disperses magic into our world in the first place, and filters it into a form living things can use. They appear at faults, where something significant happened." she said.

"Do they disappear?" I asked, as I opened my book again and turned some more pages, looking for the flower again. The book was pretty, and I bet it would be helpful if I could find something in it! I checked the front, then the back, and found... an index! And there were bookmarks made from ribbon, too! Oh Fel, you beautiful man! Turns out, there was a section on flowers and page numbers, too!

"Dungeons? No. They're fairly stable, and grow over time. The physical dimensions of the space they occupy have nearly nothing to do with their interior space either." she explained, and I blinked up at her, eyes wide.

"Whoah, really?" She smiled at me, nodding.

"What do you mean about the dungeon taking control of monsters?" I asked"Normally, a monster feeding off the dungeon's mana is under its control or doing its own thing while the dungeon's attention is elsewhere. They have a kind of... awareness, you see, not like you or I, but they seem to have unique themes, each one." she said.

"With two cores, stabilized as we are, the Dungeon cannot control us." she said, and I grunted!

"Good! That sounds terrible." I said, and just about kicked myself. Why didn't I inspect the flower to get its name, instead of looking for pictures like a ding-dong? I did so. Yellow Cottontail, Common Gelidia watched me flip through pages to find the alphabetically organized freakin' flower name.

"You just figured out that you could look it up by name, didn't you?" and I blushed"Yeaaaah..." I admitted and she giggled at me a little, patting me atop the head. Yellow Cottontail is a common flower in the western woodland regions and fields of Kalailas. Its medicinal properties are minor, but its nectar and petals can be used to make a tonic to remove indigestion. Neat! I'd have to remember that.

The Seeds of the Yellow Cottontail, found in the fall, come in abundance and can be eaten alone or in a mix with blue fallberries, also common in the region in the autumn, and meat from the nuts of the Kepp tree - I briefly looked it up, the Kepp tree was literally everywhere, its leaves were vaguely star shaped and it had dark green leaves. Pretty much every tree here in the woods near me was a Kepp tree! Oooooh, so there'd be nuts in the fall? Neat!

- to form a common dish called Kepnut Gumbo, a favorite of farmers bringing in the harvest looking for extra energy. The invigorating effects of the Kepp tree's nuts are well known. Weird! Why was it called gumbo? I turned to the Kepp tree and glanced at one. Kepp tree, Common The Kepp tree is a common tree on the continent of Kalailas. It grows very quickly, and is believed to be related to the Deson tree. I flipped to a bit in the book with its known effects.

The Kepp nut has well known invigorating effects and can be eaten directly or made into a kind of tea once crushed and roasted. The oily leaves can be chewed for this effect as well, but the bitter taste should be a hint - do not swallow it or any part of it. Indigestion will inevitably follow. Oh, neat! I left both flower and tree alone, and wandered out into the woods a bit, harvesting sage, fairy potatoes, and ramps as I went.

Ramps or 'Wild Leeks' - the book's entry on them - are an uncommon root vegetable in the Fallen Forest. They grow year round, and are prized for their pungent odor and flavoring. Every part of the Ramp plant can be eaten. They have medicinal properties and can be used to ease headaches and tension. Common folk believe, with some merit, that some Ramp in a dish not only imparts a pleasing flavor, but also helps you to live longer. They can be hard to find in the forest.

I never seemed to have trouble finding them, but I figured I had a cheat code there - my sense of smell was pretty strong! If I thought about it, I could smell several plants in close proximity near me even now! I got a few of them, and dropped the stinky things in my improvised basket. Fairy potatoes were another easy one. This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Fairy potatoes are a common root vegetable on Kalailas.

They don't have known medicinal properties, but they are a frequent feature in forage dishes the continent over. They are the smaller ancestors of the common Earthgem potato that is a staple of city life the world over. Lots of those too! They were just the best part of the stew so far. But a friend from my world that I sorely missed was the humble Carrot. I looked through my book and found that, lo and behold, there were some!

It didn't take me long to locate the plant - it had pretty little white flowers, and I'd seen so many of them! When I pulled some up, they had thick, knobbly roots that had lots of little protrusions, a far cry from the bright orange rods of the carrots I'd seen before! Even so, breaking one open, they were woody and strange but... that's a carrot alright!

I tried munching at one a bit, and Gelidia made a face at me, but I could see why almost immediately It was hard to eat - the woody texture of it was tough and chewy, a far cry from the deliciously crunchy carrots where I was from. Awww... Queenslace is a common flower with a great many medicinal uses, including as an antiseptic. Parts of the plant - and the book detailed which parts can be used to create a contraceptive, and to ease menstrual cramps - I read on, and focused on a bit below that bit.

I felt sure I'd be looking for these someday for the medical bits, periods were no fun at all, but for now, I Was thinking about lunch! The Queenslace can be eaten, but younger roots are favored as older roots gain a tough, stringy texture. Every part of the Queenslace can be eaten: seeds can be used as a spice with a flavor like dill and mint. The Leaves can be used as a seasoning, like dill or fennel, and the flower stalk is a crisp, crunchy edible vegetable. I gathered some!

This was going to be part of my cooking from now on! Best part - it was heckin' everywhere! I could see the pretty white flowers all over! Even so, another entry grabbed my eye. Queenslace is not to be mistaken for the Bitterqueen plant, which has a scent like unwashed feet or mouse urine. The flowers are similar in size and shape, but the stem of the Bitterqueen plant lacks hairs on the stem and has purple spots upon it, growing much taller than Queenslace.

Contact with the sap of the Bitterqueen plant can cause blisters, and if ingested, will cause you to vomit, will cause seizures, and if untreated and with severe enough exposure, will eventually stop you from breathing, resulting in death. Yikes! Good to know! I double checked the root I'd munched, and no - it was just queenslace. I figured I'd know for sure if that wasn't the case by now, but better safe than twitching and wheezing on the ground. Could I be poisoned? Best not find out.

"Those are pretty, and they smell pretty nice - sort of sweet." Gelidia remarked, and I nodded!

"Just like you!" I said, and tucked a flower into her hair. She blinked at me, blushing as I did so, and I gently brushed my lips to hers while I was close before scampering off into the underbrush, leaving her to squeak and follow me.

"H-hey!" she called, and I grinned back at her, perched on a fallen log like the feral creature I was. My body moved so easily, I just couldn't get over how... good I felt! In my world, I'd rarely gotten a good meal, and there were things in the water that meant we had to boil them. The air was hard to breathe, and I just never could seem to ever get clean. Here... the water, the air, the food, it was a paradise! I felt amazing, and my Wolf inside me resonated strongly with the sentiment. PLAY Heck yeah!

I held my basket of goodies, the book I'd been reading from laying closed on top of the pile inside, and used my higher vantage to look around some more. The shade looked up at me with a grin.

"What do you see up there, girl?" she asked, as if I was a hound. I looked down at her and barked at her a bit, making her roll her eyes with a grin.

"Why do you do that?" I laughed.

"Treat me like I'm a dog or something?" I said without rancor.

"Well, you act like a dog in human shape." she said.

"I just wanna pat your head and rub your belly, you weird little creature." she said. I smiled at that.

"Besides. Between a wolf and a human lies the Hound, and you're the prettiest hound ever~" she teased, and I blushed just a little at her. I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it a little.

"I DO like a good belly rub..." I said, cupping my chin in one hand. She barked a laugh at that!

"Knew it!" she said, and grinning. She leaned in, brushing my hair from my face, and said.

"We should brush you out again, and redo your braids. Maybe check on that soap and get you cleaned up. You are filthy, Emily." she said softly, face inches from mine. I nuzzled her a bit, bumping my nose to hers and then nudging along her jawline.

"Also." She wrapped her cool arms around me in a hug, and I returned it.

"We still need to talk about last evening, Emily." she said softly, and with her soft body against mine, I relaxed. I nodded quietly - a lot had happened last evening, before the moon took me. I didn't wanna open it up again, but... yeah. We had a lot to talk about together, I figured.

"Doesn't have to be now..." she said, pulling back so she could cup my cheeks and stare into my eyes"... but I'm worried about you. It's... plain to me that something's bothering you." she said, staring into my eyes. I assented, and she smiled at me, kissing my forehead.

"My sweet, sweet Hound." she said softly, voice barely above a whisper as I drank in her wintery spectral scent. Never in all my life had I ever even dreamed that I could fall for a girl... but the truth of it was in my heart. I cared about her. I didn't want to... rush into things though. I didn't want to push her, nor did I want to alienate her. If you'd asked me a year ago, I'd have said I wasn't into girls, but Gelidia... I'd do anything for Gelidia. Even kiss her!

"I was just thinking about... where I came from." I said at last, and she looked into my eyes.

"It was... bad, Gelidia. This-" and I encompassed everything with a look - the fallen forest, the town, her, me, my curse, all of it "-is paradise, compared to where I'd come from." I said softly, and she blinked at that.

"Let me... get this right, okay?" she asked, and I nodded.

"You live in a ruined inn in a haunted town... have to forage for food, you painfully transform into a monster every night, you're haunted by a ghost-""-a kind, sweet, beautiful ghost!" I interrupted, and she smiled, blushing at me, and allowed"-I'll grant you that, but... all of this... is a paradise?" she asked, and I nodded instantly in complete agreement. It was. It really was.

"Emily... where did you come from that... THIS is so much better?" she asked.

"In Milwaukee, the city I'm from... my nation collapsed. All of our leadership was killed, and the government destroyed itself. We were a big nation, and it went to pieces after that." I said. I didn't feel a particular emotion about this.

"States fractured, and started fighting... and we had enemies besides, enemies who took advantage of us losing it, who had attacked us in the first place. They started... attacking anything like an industrial center, bombing us with these weapons called Nuclear bombs." I said.

"See... there's this metal our world discovered that is unstable to begin with... and I don't know how, but if you damage it a certain way... it creates an explosion that can level cities in one explosion, poisoning the land and water for... thousands of years after, make the place... uninhabitable after that." I said, and her eyes widened.

"They started... using those bombs to take out anything in my nation that was like a major city or industrial thing. They didn't want our resources... they wanted us dead. And I just remember, like..." I looked out at the forest.

"... getting sick, because the bombs, the effect they have spreads outward for... miles and miles and miles." I said. How could I explain atomic fallout to somebody? How could I describe a charred green sky to someone?

"and losing people near me, watching people getting desperate and scared, and wondering... is my town gonna be next?" Gelidia listened, horrified, holding my hand. She'd died - she'd suffered her town's death, and yet... she could feel for me just the same. Maybe that was why? She got it. She understood what that was like.

"... well, I guess it was on the list, because... I remember a flash... and that was it. Then... nothing." I said, and we sat in silence for a moment as I stared out at the forest. Then, looked at her.

"... Now, I'm here." I said. I still had that... flat, factual tone, despite a slight tremble in my voice I could feel and hear. The fact of it... sounded so unreal to my ears even now.

"I can't say I'm... too sad about that because... I was pretty sick at the end. We all were. The sickness... you start to lose your hair, and... your insides hurt. You throw up, and blood comes with as you start to fall apart from the inside. None of us were healthy. My parents... they died quickly, but younger people, like me... well we were sort of holding on, but... that wasn't life." I said, and hung my head. I could remember hurting, hurting all over, and just trying to go on.

Boiling water, eating what I could, and trying to keep it down. Then, I looked up.

"So yeah. This is so much better." I said, and it was like snapping Gelidia out of a waking nightmare. She cupped my cheek, and I nuzzled into her hand, eyes shutting against her touch.

"... Emily, that's awful. Is that why you were crying?" she asked, I shook my head. I... did not want to cry again. I didn't want to talk about Alex with anyone - least of all, Gelidia. Not... not now.

"I lost someone, I can't..." I swallowed. I wasn't going to cry.

"... talk about it." I said, and she seemed to accept that. I needed a change of subject. Badly.

"Let's-" my voice cracked a little "-cmon, let's go back. I should get cooking." I said, and she arrested my move to get up with a hug. It was my turn to tense up, but... it was Gelidia. She was my friend. I relaxed into her, and buried my face against her in a position that was becoming familiar against her neck as she pet my head and held me.

"... I understand now, my sweet hound. It makes sense to me how you ended up here, now." she said. She looked into my eyes.

"Like to like. We have... much in common, my friend, that is plain to me." she said, and I nodded.

"This is my home now." I said, and set my bag on the ground to hold her around the hips, slipping my arms around her. I felt... almost possessive of this woman I'd met days ago, and... it was just so strange to me. She didn't object at all - she just stared into my eyes, her own blank white within white gaze staring into mine.

"It is. You... belong. You're welcome here, Emily... here, and... with me." she murmured.

"Which... brings us to another topic." she said, and kissed my lips again. She was soft, and sweet as ever, and I felt my body flash with warmth at her kiss, felt my heart race in my breast a bit. The kiss lasted spare moments, and I licked my lips. She tasted so sweet, so cool... I could get used to that taste.

"The kiss last night, how you... held me." she said softly.

"... Did you like it?" she asked, as if the answer wasn't painfully obvious. I smiled at her.

"You did, gotcha... do you... what do you think about it?" she asked, and I analyzed the question.

"I mean, what is this to you?" she asked. WORDS my wolf said disdainfully. WHY WORDS WHEN TASTE IS BETTER? I figured Gelidia was a nerd. A classy, pretty, sophisticated nerd, but a nerd nonetheless. Felorikaan clearly was, so probably mages were nerds, and nerds... are an awkward bunch. More than that, they were cute! I wasn't one - not in truth - but Alex had been, and a lot of my friends were. She wanted to know... in no uncertain terms.

She had no social barometer, just carefully cultivated social skills and class, I figured.

"... I like you." I said.

"... I like you alot. I'm glad you approached me at the fountain." I said softly, gaze locked with hers.

"... Every day with you is a blessing, and every night the same." I said, and meant it.

"You make... everything sweeter. I've never felt this way about another woman before." I confessed. Gelidia was clearly delighted by my answer.

"I've... had a fling or two with... um, servants, in secret. My chambermaid and I were close once... until my parents found out and sent her away... and..." she blushed, stammering into silence at my intent, pointed look, as if she'd just realized talking about exes with someone she wanted to kiss wasn't wise. I grinned, watching her reach that conclusion - she was so adorably awkward, and my eyes danced with mischief she caught.

"A-anyhow, I've kissed lots of girls before and-" and I grinned a bit more, showing teeth a bit. She hid her face in her hands with a squeek! And I nuzzled her hands aside to get her lips again in a smooch.

"S-sorry, I'm just flustered!" she said and I rumbled, an inhuman noise, a pleased chuckle escaping with the noise as my Wolf enjoyed the noises she made, thought the girl was as cute as I did. We loved teasing her!

"I can see that~" I purred, and she squeeked again. I nibbled her neck, and she let out a soft gasp and another squeek! Delectable! Then, I let her recover a bit before saying "... I like you alot, Gelidia... I want to hold your hand, and see where things go." I said, and she looked again into my eyes.

"No rush... no pressure. I'm not going anywhere either, my Lady" I said, and that rumble woven into my words.

"... So are we, um-!" she searched for a word, and I pressed my lips to hers again. She made a soft noise and melted into me, our lips parting and tongues dancing together in gentle passion for a few moments, then broke.

"That's what we are. We'll work it out together." I purred huskily, and she blushed happily at me, licking her lips.

"You taste like dog breath and queenslace." she said, and I giggled.

"Well you taste like cold water and how a clean cellar smells." I replied, and she joined my giggle as we just held each other in the morning light.

"You have the edge, for sure." I admitted, and she chuckled, throwing her chin imperiously with a 'hah!' which only prompted me to nibble her neck again as she made a soft, pleased noise. Whatever we were, we held hands on the way back with a basket full of vegetables held between us.