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An apocalyptic romance Alisa X Kira

Ethel nodded and grabbed a knife starting to chop the veggies that were there.
"That makes sense, and no worries, not often I have a stew with both meat and veggies anymore. Vegetables are pretty rare thanks to this forever winter, though it is easier to keep food for longer with this cold" She stated as she prepped the carrots and potatoes, peeling before dicing both.

"So what exactly are you and your umm, guild? doing out here, if you are trying to take down the big bad wizards of omen. What is out here that helps with that?" she asked.
 
"We cannot let our goals surpass what is right and just, slavers are in fact neither of the two. I just so happened to catch wind of them a few days ago and I have been tracking them back to their camp. I was going to sit quietly and wait for my companions and we would have attacked the camp and freed the slaves and given them shelter." she looked up, "Not that you knew, my only hope is that the girls find somewhere safe and do not freeze to death out there in this frigid dessert." she looked right at Ethel, "But if they die, at least they die free."
 
Ethel shrugged.
"I had assumed they would make their way back to their village, it was only about an hour or so walk, so like half that if not less if they hoof it. I happened to be in town when they grab them, they also grabbed me, you know, because I have a vagina and tits, you know how it is" She smiled seeing the water had boiled, and placed the veggies to be ready to go in the stew when needed.
"I don't, or at least I wasn't as looking to be just today, just wrong place and time, or right, I guess that depends on your point of view" She placed her hand to her chin as she thought of the perspective of it.
 
"Perhaps you got captured on purpose." Sonia said pointedly, "Then reached into a small bag by her feet, grabbed a handful of salt and put it into the water, go ahead put the vegetables in." she said, "Perhaps you knew what you were doing and intended to get captured." Sonia looked at her, "You intended to free them yourself, what would have happened if your magick failed you and did not teleport you to safety. Tell me, what kind of magick puts you in a tree and naked?"
 
She smiled at her and nodded, putting the veggies in without any of the water splashing out.
"Well aren't you clever, though it did not go the way I had planned exactly, I was actually hoping to find a way to take them all out more discretely as they slept or something, but my schedule was upped, as it often is. What I presume was their leader wanted to have his way with the youngest of them, but my mouth soon managed to get his attention. If I had taken out the group that had been sent to the village and they did not return the gang would likely blame the village, so I couldn't take them out there, leaving me with that plan." She explained with a smirk having put all the veggies in now.

There, that should be enough for a stew this size.
"So what do you think your friends will do when they go to meet you at that slaver camp and find nothing but fire and death? or I guess, ash snow and death, given the timeframe?" She asked, trying to avert from the conversation of her, "Magic" trick. She avoided talking about that if at all possible.
 
"They would have many questions, and I would never betray my companions, so I would pointedly direct them to you, at which point they would have many questions for you. They always get their answers. Not saying that they would harm you, but our cleric Tasha has very intricate ways of making people tell the truth, again, these are by no means threats, but more so a warning. I have been around long enough to know when someone is hiding something, I sense you are so you can be honest with me and if you have a good reason to be hiding said thing after you tell me about it I shall help you keep it a secret. My companions trust me without fail and if I tell them something they will believe it." she took a breath and leaned over smelling the water before gently placing the chunks of meat in and stirring it. She said back on her haunches and pulled her dagger from its sheath and an apple from her pouch, she cut off a piece of it and held it up, "Want some?" she asked.
 
She looked up at Sonia as she listened to her not threats that sounded suspiciously like threats. She simply smiled at her and listened until she was offered the apple slice. Her smile slowly changed into a slice as she stood up.
"Listen, kid, you say you and your little friends want to save the world? that's cute. And you say tell me your secret or I will get my teammates to tell me your secret. But I can trust you, you see the conflict there right? What if my secret is, I am a demon in human form, evil incarnate." She made a face and wiggled her fingers at her.
"Could I still trust you to keep it a secret from your friends, that meets all the criteria right? It is something worth keeping secret, and what if I had planned on eating all your souls as you slept. Again definitely a good reason to keep that a secret, will you still keep it from them? Keep it from your cleric with her zone of truth? Which so you are aware is very possible and simple to resist with enough willpower" she smiled walking around behind Sonia.
 
"If you were a demon I would have already slain you." Sonia said, un moved by the woman's words, "If you were a demon you wouldn't have gotten yourself captured for the explicit purpose to free those girls." It was at this point Sonia turned and looked right at Ethel, "You are not evil, I kill evil, and you are still breathing aren't you?" she stood, "As a warrior my word is my bond, whatever secret you hold is not evil, I sense it does burden you immensely, so please, for the sake of my curiosity and to ease your own burden. Tell me?"
 
She paused for a moment then a wide and wicked-looking grin came across her face.

"How can you be so sure I am not evil? Not a demon, sure it may have looked like I freed those women, but perhaps that was an illusion? or perhaps I simply wanted them for myself?" She suggested approaching her and getting inches from her face.
"perhaps the only reason you are still breathing is that I need a few more souls tonight, and you and your clan would be perfect. That I used my demonic power to explode those slavers and then appear beside you from that tree." She stated her hand moving up and grabbing Sonia's throat.
 
Sonia remained unmoved, nor did she go for her weapon, "You cannot scare me." she said firmly, "Squeeze if you must but know this, shall you end my life, yours shall be ended as well. My companions will chase you to the end of this world and the dimensions beyond, there will be nowhere you can hide." Sonia then smiled, "Now enough of this charade, you are not evil, and you are also undeniably not human." she bit her lip, "You are also the most attractive woman I have ever laid my eyes on."
 
She lifted her head with a smirk.
"Oh girl, flattery will get you everywhere" she started to squeeze her neck lightly, just enough to temporarily cut her oxygen off before releasing her hand so she could gasp for air.
"For the record, I am like 70% sure I am human, probably... but how about this, you expect me to trust you with my secret, why don't we flip that, and trust me that my secret won't be an issue to you or your friends, or I can be on my way now if you would prefer. With my payment for doing your job of course" She took her seat again and crossed her legs.
 
Sonia huffed, "Fair enough, you may stay, but I still need some sort of justification as to why you are staying and what good you are to us, your magick will be sensed quite immediately when you come within contact of our Cleric, however she will not know the nature of it, she simply wears a veil so she can detect it, identification is not her specialty, so as long as you have some sort of logical explanation for your magick, then it will pass, as I stated though, you must let me talk to my companions, any matter of convincing must be done by me, shall you try to convince them yourselves, you shall be subject to my Cleric getting the truth from you. I want to help, but you must give me something to work with."
 
She sat up straight and held her hand out toward her.
β€œGive me your dagger and I can show you a quick solution to all of your concerns. Except for me the explaining thing, that you will just have to trust me to keep my mouth shut. Or perhaps tie me up, that might actually be safer knowing me, I am something of... What did they call it? Wild card?”

She explained holding one hand out for the dagger still.
β€œOh and put your other hand here” she stated putting her other hand out. She paused for a moment.
β€œWait, or you can just cut your hand, that’s why I needed the dagger, I was going to cut your hand..” she explained.
 
"If this is some sort of trick." Sonia said as she slit her hand open with a grunt, then held her palm outward, "Go on then show me what you are going to show me."
 
She smiled.
"Haha, now I can use my evil blood magic!" She declared before bonking Sonia on the forehead.
"Relax, you already said you know I am not evil" she stated seeming to cast some sort of magic, healing her wound.
"Boom, useful and cover for my magic aura or whatever your cleric will see." She told her.
 
"Fair enough." Sonia said as she turned back to stir the stew, "Druid then?" Sonia asked, only leaning towards druid because of the woman literally emerging from a tree and being naked. "The only reason I say druid is because if you say Cleric, then you must be prepared to declare fealty to your god in front of everyone. You do not strike me as a woman who worships anything, so we shall call you a druid. Can you do anything else that a druid can do?" Sonia asked, now trying to cement a story to make more sense to her companions when they arrived.
 
She thought for a moment.
"Yeah, I guess druid is about right, or at least close enough." She nodded at the classification.
"And no, just the healing magic I am afraid, I cannot change to animals or make plants grow or anything like that." She paused.
"Now that I think about it, maybe Druid will set up some unrealistic expectations of me?" She asked rubbing the back of her head.

"Oh and yeah I don't worship anyone or anything, and I'll keep my opinions on that to myself and away from your cleric." She stated.
 
"So then what? An anomaly?" Sonia asked, "Sorry to be so prying, I just need to know what to tell my companions to keep this secret of yours. It sure would help if I knew what it was, maybe I could frame it differently, how crazy can it be?" she asked, stirring the soup, taking a spoonful of the broth, blowing on it and taking a sip, "Not quite." she said, she reached into the bag she had pulled the salt from and pulled out some smaller bags, she tossed in a few herbs and some more salt and stirred the soup, "Look, Ethel, please try to understand, you are the most attractive woman I have ever laid eyes on. I have a few secrets myself, let me try to barter my way to getting yours? How many secrets is worth yours?" she asked. She would tell the woman a dozen secrets if she had to just to know more about her.
 
Ethel took a breath and grabbed some of the herbs she had smelling the soup and adding some into the soup as well.
"Listen, Kid, you are cute alright? downright adorable. And I admit, you are quite sexy yourself. But we just met earlier today, we met less than 24 hours ago and you suddenly want to swap our deepest secrets with one another?" She took a spoon and had a sip, adding a little more herbs in again.
"Have some patience, and if your group doesn't accept my secrets then it's simple, I will be on my way. I am willing to help, but if you aren't willing to trust me, why should I trust you? hmm? Plus you offer your secrets in exchange, I'll let you know something, I don't care, alright? Because why would I care about any secrets you have? How do they in this moment affect me? If suddenly you told me you were wanted for stripping naked drunk in a church while some high priest was there. Why would that matter to me" She paused and stood up, she pinched the brow of her nose.

"I don't mean to sound cold, but think of it this way, if you feel like I need to know something about you, tell me, if I feel the same, I will tell you okay? Outside of that, perhaps we test trust by letting each other tell us what they want, when they want, hmm?" she offered as she held a hand out.
 
"I'm a half elf." She blurted out, "Most people hate me, honestly, anyone outside of my companions despises me, I have had so many attempts on my life, by humans of course, the elves took me in and raised me, they taught me their ways and that's why I don't move like a human. Don't fight like one either." she said honestly, "I am a walking identity crisis." she pushed back her hair over her ears showing the slight point, "Every thing about me to all other humans is a sin, and ungodly and I should die in accordance with their laws, no one race should lay with another as my father did my mother. My father was dragged from his house and murdered when they found out he laid with an elf, but the elves protected me, they saw something in me, that I wasn't like the other humans, and my mother raised me, never knew my father. My mother taught me to be a machine of both peace and war, the left and right hand, the right takes while the left gives, never kill with your left, my other always said, your left hand is reserved for your shield, and the giving of life, if you are violent with both hands, you are violent and incapable of peace." She took a deep breath, "Mother also said no one can say they are at peace unless they are capable of great harm, those who say they are at peace who are not capable of great harm are not at peace, they are passive. What do you think of that Ethel?"
 
She smiled.
"Oh yeah, I assumed that half-elf thing long ago, is that a secret? You need to do a better job of hiding those ears if that is the case. Oh and you clearly move like an elf, but you know, your common is quite good and you aren't quite as hmmm, what is the word, elegant? no that's not right.... anyway you aren't something I can't put into words at the moment as most elves either. So half-elf" She explained.
"As for me, I don't care, elf, half-elf, human, or, goblin whatever. You don't try and kill me, I won't try and kill you, unless you like sell and trade slaves, or kill other people... or get in my way. Or piss me off too much... Point is! I won't kill someone because of their race. Or races?" She shrugged.

"Oh and as for that peace thing, spot on, I am very much not at peace, there is one more aspect, the only ones at peace are buried six feet under. Ture peace anyway" She claimed arms crossed.
 
"I disagree. Moments before your explosion I had just finished putting a mans own sword through his chest, moments before that I was at peace before I saw the slavers bringing in a fresh batch of girls. You can be at peace in times of great turmoil." Sonia sat down in the lotus position, "Come, sit next to me, the stew has a few more moments before it will be ready and I would like to teach you something." She pulled out a pouch of herbs from her belt and took two leaves. "This is an herb that elves use for clarity, it also helps you sleep, you chew it, close your eyes, and you will find the most wonderful calm washing over you." Sonia said as she put one of the leaves in her mouth while holding out the other for Ethel.
 
Ethel listened to Sonia and nodded before sitting beside her, letting her get all of what she wanted to say out before she would reply.
"Oh yes, momentary peace, how silly of me, yes there can be moments of peace found, of course, I thought you meant the myth of lasting peace. That is what most people I find are after. And I know of these herbs, I have spent time with elves that have shown me these before. Thank you" she took the leaf and started to chew it.
"What is your mother's name by the way?" She asked.
 
"Arwen Moonblade." Sonia said, "I really don't know if she is alive or not I have not been back to my tribe in ten or so years, I am actually seventy years old, by human standards that is old but of course I am sure you are well aware by elvish years that is quite young. I think sometimes I am more elf than human but for that I am also grateful. If I were seventy as just a human I would be old and feeble and useless." She pulled out her axe and spun it a few times, "I think." She tossed it into the air and caught it by the hilt, "If it ever comes to that, I would end my own life."
 
Ethel placed a hand to her chin and thought for a moment.
"Arwen, Moonblade, Arwan Moonblade... Oh yes, long white hair? and kind voice? I think I may have met her before. And I am not sure how much she might agree with your old lady suicide plan, being old isn't that terrible, depending on the situation, of course, sometimes it can be terrible" She stated tapping her chin.
"So I am curious, once your team gets here what is your plan? what are you going to tell them to keep them from grilling but also trust me enough to work alongside me?" She asked her hand moving to her hip.
 
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