#gotta do kid bedtime on Kraken nights

[squidsquadlove]

I left to do kid bedtime and it was 3-2. I came back and it's now 8-3?!?!?!?!?

[friendshipcampaign]

Knights and Pirates

A downtime fic between Amaranth and Kriv after the ritual

Amaranth stood at the mouth of the cave, flask of alcohol in hand. The Lily White Girls hadn't specified what it was, but it warmed her enough to stave off some of the chilly mountain air. In fact, Amaranth had noticed a considerable increase in temperature ever since Rose had reverted back to her true shape. Her gaze was pulled towards the direction of the castle, and the beam of light. During the day it was visible, but it wasn’t as eerily bright. Now it cut into the night sky, blazing like a tail of a comet. She shivered despite herself, not from cold.

Wanting to tear her gaze away from it, she glanced around the entrance of the cave. She spotted Kriv sitting a few yards off, cupping his own drink in his hands. Amaranth approached and silently sat down next to him.

Kriv kept still, keeping his eyes on the stars. "I didn't think the ritual would be like that."

Amaranth nodded in agreement. "I didn't know what to expect. It was..." She fell silent, unsure of what words to use to describe the resurrection. The whole thing was so overwhelming. Yet, Kriv was there. He knew. So she let her voice trail off, the unspoken shared experience between them. "Voski did good," was all she said. She glanced at Kriv. "You did good."

He smiled a little and looked down at his drink. "I'm just glad Voski woke up so quickly. That was probably the most terrifying moment of my life, and that's saying something."

"Heh." Amaranth was silent for a minute, sipping her third (fourth?) drink. Whatever was in it was loosening her tongue a bit, but the pleasant numbness was settling in. That sensation where her thoughts and feelings were dulled, and the dire circumstances that awaited tomorrow seemed a little more distant. "I've been wondering, Kriv... why did you choose the path of the Paladin? It seems... a strange choice for you."

"Really? Why?"

She shrugged. "You seem like an overall non-violent person. Uncertain and anxious. And you have to keep this Oath until you die, so it must be something you truly believe in. I’m curious what made you follow it."

"The amount of times I've wrestled people to the ground and hit things with a hammer suggests otherwise," he said, laughter slipping between his words. "I admit I'm not the best decision-maker, but I know what I believe in. I get to do what I already planned on doing, what I feel right doing, and in return Bahamut gives me magic." He paused to take a sip. "It's a better relationship to have with a god than, I dunno, a cleric. More direct, less praying to a god that doesn't talk otherwise, which is most gods.” Another sip. “Besides, knights were always my favorite characters in bedtime stories. Dragon knights, obviously, since human knights in stories were always kinda..." He wiggled his hand in a vague gesture.

Amaranth snorted in amusement at that. "My favorite characters in those stories were the pirates. So I guess we fall on opposite ends of the spectrum there."

"I dunno, my Aunt never really included pirates when she told stories. Didn't really like to discuss them in general. I can see why they might be your thing, though, Miss First Mate of the Kraken's Beak." Kriv lightly bumped Amaranth with his elbow.

Amaranth took a long swing of her drink, feeling the burn of the alcohol in her throat. "Your Aunt left out the best part of the stories, and look how you turned out! All noble, becoming a Paladin on the path of righteousness! If only you’d heard those pirate stories, you could've been awesome like me!" She laughed, and threw an arm over his shoulder, the booze starting to catch up to her. She should have really tried to pace herself more, considering the danger they were all still in.

"Ah yes, I would be so good at it, what with how small and quiet I am!" he replied, swinging an arm around Amaranth's shoulder and flopping backwards dramatically into the snow.

Amaranth flailed slightly as she was pulled backwards, letting out an "oof" as she crunched into the snow, still laughing along with Kriv. After their laughter died down, they lay silently on their backs staring up at the star-filled sky.

Amaranth almost instinctually began tracing the familiar constellations. From the corner of her eye, she could still see the pillar of light searing through dark. It seemed to stretch onwards with no end in sight. She turned away from it, continuing to study the starry patterns.

"The North Star," she said in a soft, almost reverent tone, pointing to where it shined in the dark. Her hand tracked downward until she found a cluster of stars, forming a complex constellation. "Tiamat and Bahamut."

“Ah, siblings," Kriv said. "Unfortunately, their fights didn't stop at a scuffle between kids." The corners of his mouth twitched. "But that's why knights exist, y'know? When the all-powerful fight and gods don’t listen, there's gotta be the ones who save people from the wreckage."

"You're good at that. Saving people, I mean." Amaranth said quietly. "I don't have faith in the gods, but if they're using you as a Paladin maybe there's some hope." Kriv let out a puff of air. A small spark briefly flashed between his teeth.

"Maybe. As long as people are within arm's reach. Luckily, my arms are pretty long, so we should be A-Okay."

"Yeah, I can see that," Amaranth said, pointedly looking at his arm which had pulled her into the snow. She tried to sit up, and felt wobbly, so she plopped back down. Sure, the snow was wet and kind of cold, but it was also pretty comfortable. "Maybe Ditto knows a spell that can stretch limbs really long or something? Is that how magic works?” Her mind felt hazy. “I'm... really tired. And maybe kind of uh, buzzed on this stuff..  I need to ask Tavra what kind of drink this is. Wonder if I can take some with me... but if the town is still standing, buying some rum would also be good...need to refill my flask..." She continued mumbling and rambling, but not saying much of anything.

Kriv listened to Amaranth's scrambled thoughts in silence. His eyelids were heavy, and he thought to himself that they should return to the relative warmth of the cave. Instead, Kriv started to hum that song. The one he recognized from the ritual, the one he, Erwyn, and Voski had played together in the fae wilds. It had been in the ritual for whatever reason, and it hadn't left him since.

Amaranth paused, listening as Kriv started humming. She had heard the song with the rest of the party, huddled in the shadows as Voski played (no, invoked? summoned?) the music to her. It had sparked a warmth in her heart, as though the notes connected them all together in a strange way. Amaranth smiled and closed her eyes, sinking further into the snow, not even noticing the cold of it. She absentmindedly began humming the song, timing it so her notes would harmonize with Kriv and become a musical round.

This made Kriv smile. Things are okay, he thought. The bright, looming pillar shooting through the sky couldn't blot out the stars from here. He led the song for a while longer, and he let himself breathe.