of course
I’d spent days on that questionnaire, thoroughly laying out Jaylie’s story with deliberation and care. This might be my first D&D game, but it’s not my first time building a character. Sometimes I would go back into my cringey middle school sketchbooks to look at all my original characters and the backstories I’d built for them. RIP Desdemona Rose Evelyn Cullen, shy and misunderstood vampire queen.
so
i write fanfiction sometimes. i also used to roleplay on legends of lore. it was a little similar to dnd, but different
how do you mean?
it might be easier just to show you, but
instead of speaking for our characters like we do in dnd, you just write it out. so it’d be like, i type
“Loren blows Jaylie a kiss”
and you’d type
“Jaylie rolls her eyes”
and then you write a scene together and it just goes on from there
My brows knit in a knot on my forehead. I’m confused but curious.
so you sexted in legends of lore?
Noah’s miles away, but for a moment I can almost hear his smile-groan and picture the way he’s pressing the heels of his palms to his eyes.
very funny, Sadie
just let me show you
if you hate it, we’ll stop. or i’ll just bore you to sleep. win-win either way
sure, okay. let’s try it
Noah sends a winking emoji along with a link to an online server. I shove my pillows into a nest behind my back and settle my laptop on my thighs.
i’ll start. you’ll see what i mean!
Loren sits on a moss-covered log, facing away from the campfire that had long since been put out. Hedoesn’t need the light, of course—as an elf, he’s always been able to peer far into the dark, though in a forest as dense as this one it’s difficult to see farther than ten paces ahead. He drew the short straw this evening, so it’s his job to take the first watch as his companions rest. It’s dull work and he’s not very good at it, prone to distraction. Even now he flips through one of his songbooks and hums quietly under his breath.
Jaylie can’t fall asleep. Ever since they left Belandar, she can’t get used to the feeling of roots and rocks pressing into her back as she tries to rest. She longs for her feather bed. She’s not cut out for adventuring, not like this. So she stares at what little she can see of the sky through the canopy of leaves above her and eventually gives up on sleep. She stands with a sigh.
Loren’s long ears perk up at the sound of approaching footsteps, though as soon as he sees that it’s just Jaylie, he relaxes. No threats there. “Still can’t sleep, can you?”
“It’s not getting any easier,” Jaylie complains. “It’s embarrassing.”
Loren smiles sympathetically. “I remember my first trip on the road. It was hell. I can help you rest more easily, if you want. I know a few tricks.”
Jaylie narrows her eyes suspiciously.
Loren rolls his eyes. “Trust me.” He gestures for her to come closer. “Come here, sit down. We don’t want to wake the others.” Loren leads Jaylie to a dry patch of clover in front of the log. He tucks awayhis songbook and draws out a carved wooden comb, holding it out for her to see. “May I?”
Jaylie’s brows rise in surprise before she smiles. “I suppose you can, if you really want to. It’s a rat’s nest in there, though.”
“I’ll make quick work of it.” Loren sits behind her, gently placing his hands on her shoulders and guiding her until she faces forward. He gathers her hair, fingers brushing along her collarbones and the sides of her neck as he lays her curls to fall in waves down her back. He takes a small section in his palm and begins at the ends, working slowly through the tangles.
Jaylie laces her fingers in her lap and allows herself to relax under his capable hands. “How are you finding all this traveling? No offense, bard, but you seem as much of a city girl as me,” she says dryly. “I thought you’d wilt like a flower the second a bed and a drink weren’t within an arm’s reach.”
