Redux: Lineage

I was woken up from sleep by the woofing sound Grael always made whenever he was woken up from sleep by something else. When it was a minor disturbance, such as a knock at a door or one of us being called, he responded in the way a lazy palace dog does by coughing out the most feeble woof he can muster. But if the disturbance is more violent, such as a window shattering or a door being forcefully opened, he tended to go full guard dog; leaping up onto his paws and immediately charging whatever made the noise, baying and snarling the entire way.

The Direwolf continued to make his hollow barking noise as I climbed out of bed, entirely unaware as to what time it was, before heading over to the door. I swung it open to see Ressa standing there with a smile on her face that soon dropped into a more awkward expression, her ears flattening against her head as she grinned sheepishly.

"Is... is this a bad time?" she asked, seeing Grael lying on the floor on his back with his tail wagging rapidly, still half asleep. "I can come back later, if you want?"

"Nah, I'm fine," I said with a shake of my head, rubbing my eyes and yawning. "If I don't get up now, it'll be three in the afternoon before I do. What can I help you with?"

"You'd say you and Zane are pretty close, right?" she asked, joining her hands behind her back and tapping the tip of her boot on the floor.

"He's saved my life, I've saved his, and he doesn't get mad at me when I call him a cunt," I listed. "So, yeah. I'd say we're pretty close."

"Right... does..." Ressa began, shifting awkwardly where she stood, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Does he have anyone... special in his life?"

"He does not," I answered. "The boy is single as the number one and doesn't have any on-and-off arrangements. If you'd like, I can give you a few pointers on what he likes in a girl?"

"O-Oh no!" she said, her eyes widening and ears sticking up in a shocked manner, cheeks burning red in a matter of seconds. "I'm just asking for a friend at work... she's really into him and-"

"Ressa," I said, cutting the catgirl off quickly and staring at her with a knowing expression. "Don't try to pull that on me."

Her eyes lowered to the floor once again, pursing her lips, and continuing to knead the wooden floor with her boot before sighing loudly.

"Alright... fine," she said. "You got me."

"Now," I chuckled. "What do you want to know about him?"

"What kind of girl does he like?" she asked. "Is he into more adventurous and controlling girls, or does he like them to be more clingy and dependant?"

"He's a man of middle ground," I answered. "He's not a fan of girls that try to morph their lovers into their own personal pet, nor is he a fan of girls that are so incapable of doing anything on their own that they can't put salt on their food without crying and begging for help. But if you're a girl that's confident enough to have her own opinions and able to get shit done on her own, but isn't completely against accepting help or asking for it, then you're in a sweet spot for him. Competent and capable."

"I can do that..." Ressa nodded. "Any advice you can offer on clothing styles? What catches his eye and what turns it away?"

"Zane's honestly not a clothing man, so long as you're wearing it," I shrugged. "He's never had a specific style or outfit on a woman that catches his eye and he's never been repulsed by a woman essentially wearing fabric tied to a string."

"I don't think I could do that last one," she said, scratching the back of her head. "I'm not that confident in my body."

"You should be," I said, giving her a look up and down. "You're a very beautiful woman."

"T-Thanks," she said with a nod.

"Back on topic," I said, waving the notion away. "Zane cares more about how you handle yourself as a person more than what you wear. While he's completely fine having a girlfriend who doesn't like to show a lot of skin and needs to feel comfortable and secure before taking things to the bedroom, he's not a fan of slutty women."

"Really?" Ressa asked. "Why?"

"Too easy to get and too easy to lose," I answered. "He, unlike myself, is a committed relationship man. He likes the idea of romance and dedication, and he feels its nearly impossible to have that with the kind of woman that starts drooling every time she walks into a room full of men and is willing to run off with any number of them as soon as they offer her something she doesn't have."

"Well... he doesn't have to worry about that with me," Ressa said with a smile and a confident nod. "Is there anything else I need to know to catch his eye?"

"Yeah, keep your hair down and straightened," I answered. "He's a real fan of long, luscious locks."

Ressa's eyes travelled back to the ponytail she had bundled behind her head, quickly taking it out of its bobble and shaking her head, allowing the jet-black locks to fall freely.

"Is that good?" she asked.

"Whack a few of the knots out with conditioner and a brush, and you'll be sorted," I nodded. "If you want to get it soft but lose the shiny look, you wanna wash it with Kender's Nail extract and brush it with a comb laced in the juice in Grind Leaf. Kender's Nail gets your hair nice and soft, but the juice makes the hair dry out slightly and make it very thick and bouncy."

"I... I didn't expect you to be a herbalist," Ressa said with a cocked eyebrow.

"I'm not," I shrugged. "It's just what one of my old flames made me wash and brush her hair with when she was in the bath."

"So you're sure it'll work, then?" she asked.

"It'll make your hair look delicious," I nodded.

"No... I mean will it get his attention?" she asked.

"Who's attention?" Annerose asked as she walked over to the two of us from the inn's stairs.

"Zane's," I answered as she leaned against the wall.

"Ah, she's been smitten then?" Annerose asked with a smile.

"Kind of," Ressa nodded.

"Definitely," I corrected.

"You picked a good choice," Annerose nodded before glancing at me. "Much better than this twat."

"Thanks, friend," I sighed.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked.

"It's not him, it's you," Annerose said. "You have things about you that turn Richter off. Things like class, dignity, and self-respect."

"That... that's considered a turn off for you?" Ressa asked, giving me a sideways look.

"No, she's just being an asshole," I said, growling angrily at Annerose.

"Richter here likes his women like he likes his arrows," Annerose said, slapping me on the bare shoulder. "Fast and loose. If they aren't, then he wants nothing to do with them."

"That's not true," I interjected.

"Of course it is," she said, turning back to Ressa. "I'd stay away from him. He's a bad influence."

"He seems fine," Ressa said.

"You don't know him like I know him," she said, giving Ressa a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. "Just get nice and close with Zane, and stay away from his kind. They're no good."

"Right..." Ressa said.

"Remember Kender's Nail and Grind Leaf," I said to Ressa. "Make sure you're hair's still wet when you brush it, or else it'll frazzle."

"Right, thanks, Richter," Ressa said, walking off with a rather confused-looking expression on her face.

I turned back to Annerose and gave her the dead-eye, her eyes and smirk radiating smugness over the entire inn as she stood there.

"Are you here for any other reason than to defame me?" I asked.

"Just doing my part to keep girls safe from your sex dungeon," she shrugged.

"Keep that up and you'll end up in there," I said, turning back to walk into my room and having Annerose follow me.

"Righto," she laughed. "But I did come here for another reason."

"Which was?" I asked.

"Lot's going to take a look in Heimili's cave," Annerose went on. "She's versed in dark magic and all that shite from Luna's teachings, but she was never taught about actual Demonology. You were."

"And so she wants me to give her a hand?"

"Yup," Annerose nodded, leaning against the wall again. "She wants you to meet her at the Grey Hound Inn by the North Gate of the city. Says you and her'll go up to the mountains and get a basic idea of what Heimili was doing, just so we can clue Luna in when she gets back."

"Just me and her, eh?" I asked. "Awesome. Always wanted to spend some alone time with a sexy Snow Elf."

"You do know she's literally addicted to Luna, right?" Annerose asked with a cocked eyebrow. "I'll be surprised if she even registers you as a sexual entity once she starts thinking about her dark mistress."

"A rather devious name, no?"

"Probably. But I can't look at a woman like Luna and not imagine she's the most dominant, overpowering bitch in existence when it comes to bedroom stuff," Annerose answered.

"You enjoy thinking about bedroom stuff with Luna?" I asked, turning around on her with a smirk.

"S-Shut up," Annerose snapped, going slightly red at the jab. "That wasn't what I meant by that!"

"That's pretty hot," I chuckled.

"She's your aunt, you freak," Annerose growled.

"Doesn't mean I can't team up with her on you, does it?" I asked. "Make it a family activity for the afternoon."

"You're disgusting!" Annerose snapped, her cheeks red and boiling at his point, shaking her head to get some of her raven-coloured fringe fall over her face and hide it from view. "Just go and find Lot!"

With that, she stormed out of the room and left Grael and I on our own, the Direwolf letting out another one of his hollow barks as Annerose slammed the door behind her.

"Shut up, you," I said, giving the Direwolf a gentle prod with my toe.

He let out a long, slow growling noise that soon turned into a snore as he fell back asleep.