Fyg's Dig (Ongoing)

[Shekru]

(( Immediately after departure from the Dead End thread. ))

The Dig was dark, even with the morning sun curling its way through the sky above. It smelled of leather, and with good reason. Fyg's sleeping quarters doubled as her workshop, and several skins were stretched over racks. The first triple-curtain was tugged aside to allow herself and Viktu in. The boy was in shock, and that much Fyg could guess simply by his stiff-legged walk and ragdoll countenance.

She ushered him in, a mental note given to Fygwesk, who had briefly opened one eye from behind another row of curtains. All caution had been taken to keep light out. After tugging the 'door' curtains back closed and patting them down to snuff light out totally, Fyg lit a single glow that cast enough warm light on the rest of the dig that Viktu would be able to see. After his eyes adjusted, anyway. Her table was turned into a work bench, wooden boxes with tools stored neatly. Fygwesk's couch beyond the other curtain pulled aside and the brown stuffed his nose out, offering a long, tired croon to his handler and her friend.

"C'mere." She said, nudging Viktu toward a comfortable chair. It was big, and heaped with several blankets to ward off any stiffness the wood might incur. Her bed was.. unused. For the most part. The pillows and blankets were gone from it, and what was left was her usual attire, lain out to dry.

"You hungry? Thirsty?" She asked, moving around the Dig to make it more comfortable.

[Akki]

Ooc|| I dig Fyg’s Dig

Now that Perina’s body wasn’t laying in front of him, Viktu simply wanted to forget the entire ordeal. He wanted to convince himself that somehow he had concocted the entire thing using his imagination. Deep down he knew that was a lie, but it made him feel better for the time being.

”Faranth Fyg, how can you see anything in here?” He complained, squinting in hopes of being able to see through the darkness. He could see a few darker blobs, informing him that there was some object there but other than that he couldn’t see much. Actually even though he had complained, it was slightly comforting. At that moment, he didn’t mind being surrounded by darkness. Fyg lit a candle which was probably for the best since in a few more steps, the man was about to ram his kneecap into a table. He took a step back and looked at Fygwesk as the creature crooned softly. “Sorry to wake you.”

He let himself be steered into the chair where he was practically swimming in blankets, an odd but nice feeling. “Why is your bed missing things?” He asked, taking note of the lack of pillows, before shaking his head. He was pretty sure if he ate anything right now and Perina’s body came into his mind, the food would just come back up.

[Shekru]

A few more preperations were made. Dirty clothes stuffed in innoccuous places, some of the animal-bits that didn't make the cut for her leatherworking were kicked out of view, and then she turned around to listen.

Fygwesk opened the other eye, the dim candle not seeming to bother the wher all that much. His tail whipped about a couple times, for all the world looking like it was wagging. Fygwesk may have grown up around canines, for all that he acted like one, at times. The big brown lifted himself off of his couch, revealing the pile of blankets and pillows hidden behind him near the wall. This, it would seem, was where Fyg slept instead.

A pot of something cold was brought over, and a glass filled halfway. "Drink this. It'll help. Don't worry, it's soft on the stomach." She explained, and then tugged over another chair. More of stool, really, as it had been perched near the workbench. "I don' sleep in it." She explained, and pointed to the blanket pile, even as Fygwesk drew closer to them from his couch. "I want you t'stay with me when you're not on duty." She said, then. Fygwesk rumbled his own little comment of agreement. "I don't think I need t'mention why right now, but.. I want you to c'nsider it. Ain' just for you I'm offerin'. Don' wanna see you hurt." She sid, and sipped of her own glass slowly. It tasted of mint and seaweed.

The big brown lifted his head and dropped it in Viktu's lap, but not all the way. His head was heavy, and Viktu's lap was not a suitable head rest. But the Wher crooned again, a gentle sound. Something was wrong, and he knew it. Even in his tired state, the bleedoff from his handler affected the Wher into action.

"'E says you should stroke 'is eye ridges. You'll feel better."

[Akki]

He accepted the glass, wrapping his fingers around it as he continued to glance around the Dig. It looked so…lived in. Which was nice actually. Viktu’s place looked quite empty other than his cot and a few clothes that could be seen every now and then. His room was just for sleeping in, he didn’t spend much time in there so didn’t keep many things.

He took a small sip of the drink, as if not sure if it really would be soft on the stomach. He waited for a few minutes and nothing happened so he took a longer drink. It was quite nice, a slightly odd taste at first but you got used to it quick. He stared at the lump of blankets and pillows and shook his head slightly, “I’ll never understand wherhandlers.” The bed surely would be more comfortable…right? He blinked, slightly startled by her sudden offer. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re too nice?” He mumbled. He’d probably accept her offer.

It was a well known fact in the kitchens that Perina was afraid of the dark. Viktu would often wake up only to see Perina grinning bashfully as she stood in his entryway before curling up on the cot also. For the longest time the cooks thought the pair were a couple, only to have Viktu laugh loudly at the thought. Perina was a sister to him! A little sister who was scared of the dark. Perina also laughed loudly when she found out, reminding everyone that Viktu wasn’t manly enough for her. He smiled lightly at the memory before letting his hands rub the whers eye ridges.

“You’re much nicer than a big, furry canine.” Viktu told the brown with a nod. In a matter of seconds there was a light pop as Fysque appeared. The gold wrapped her tail loosely around the mans neck and chirped softly, scolding him. She wanted to be told that she was nicer than a canine also.

[Shekru]

"Well, it's old habit, for one thing." Fyg laughed softly, and reached out to stroke Fygwesk's cheek with the backs of her fingers. "When 'e was smaller - daresay no bigger'n a pup when 'e hatched, he couldn' sleep in the stable on 'is own, so I stayed out there with 'im. Storms used t'bother him somethin' awful." What.. a wher in a stable? Hm. "Been that way since then."

The question in turn had her looking up with an expression that asked, simply, 'are you mad?'. "Can't say that I have, but if you think so, mebbe I'm doin' somethin' right. I'll make up th'bed for ya. Might find it's a lot more comft'ble than what yer used to. Mattress is stuffed with wherry down, Faranth knows why." She stood, and moved to said bed and threw her clothing off of it and onto the floor at the foot. The bed itself was in a little alcove with a curtain to hide it from the rest of the Dig, for privacy. "Might have t'bring your own pillow, though. Fygwesk's gone and slobbered on most've mine." The brown Wher rumbled in amused satisfaction, leaning into the man's hand. The appearance of Fysque made the brown wher's eyes open and he peered curiously at the small gold creature. A squawk high above sounded. There were niches in Fyg's walls and out of one of them Faust poked his head. Warble! The bronze wiggled himself before leaping off and fluttering to land on Fyg's head.

The woman blinked and looked upward. Wings were on either side of her face and the little bronze's claws had latched into her hair. She had a very lively hat. "Yer gonna get sick of seeing me, until this is all over." She said, then, looking at Viktu as she walked back around toward where he could see her, firelizard-hat and all. Taking a drink from the glass, she was stilled when Faust stuck his head in too. "Oye! Get your own, y'goof!" Looking abashed, the bronze curled his head around to look Fyg in the eye and the low buzzing of a flit-growl began. "Oh, fine, but no back washin'." She held the glass up and allowed the bronze to sample the herbal concoction she had.

[Akki]

Viktu was no wher expert, he could freely admit that, but the idea of a wher in a stable seemed odd to him. Was that how it normally worked? “I find it sort of funny that such a big thing could be scared of storms.” Viktu laughed softly, staring at the wher in front of me.

He looked away from the brown beast and shot Fyg a thankful smile. “Cooks don’t get nice beds because people don’t want us sleeping all day. They figure if we get bad beds then we’ll stay up and work more.” Okay, that was probably a lie but he thought it made sense. Plus it explained a lot of things about the cooks and why some of them were just so cranky. Him included on some days. He stared at the bed for a few moments, thoughts churning.

He was pretty sure that in the middle of the night he wouldn’t be in that bed. It looked so…roomy and he wasn’t sure if he really wanted to have a roomy feel that night. He had the feeling that he’d somehow find himself curled up with Fyg and Fygwesk on the ground. But he didn’t want to share that tidbit of information just in case it weirded Fyg out. At least in the morning he could claim he was sleepwalking or something. He grinned down at the wher as he rumbled, continuing to scratch the beast.

He nearly spat out his drink when Fyg came into view, a firelizard on her head like a hat. It just looked quite odd on her! He was glad he had met the woman though – it made dealing with Perina’s untimely death just a bit easier. Fysque cherped and warbled at the bronze as if she was scolding him for drinking Fyg’s drink. “Play nice.” Viktu reminded the gold who quieted down, nibbling on Viktu’s blonde hair.

[Shekru]

"Don' let his size fool ya, he's a big baby." Fygwesk seemed to take umbrage at that, and lifted his head enough to blow out his cheeks at his handler. She lie! The wher protested directly to Viktu. The cook was close with his handler, and it appeared that that meant Viktu's mind was now Fygwesk's extended speaking-grounds. He leaned back into the scratching and huffed.

"Well, if it 'appens t'be -too- nice y'can always curl up on the floor with him'n'me." So much for being weirded out. Fyg's brain worked on different wave-lengths. The bronze atop her head eyed the gold curiously, head turned this way and that as he studied the bright female. After a few moments, he even went so far as to croon at her. 'Why hello there!'. Cad.

Fyg moved to a stool and dragged it near where the pair of males were sitting. Without asking permission or thought to his balance, the woman dragged Viktu sideways to lean against her. She was warm - the kind of warm that comes from sleep interrupted, and her arms wound around him, fingers stroking at his hair, which she freed from its cloth. "Y'tired?" She asked, then, and turned her chin down to kiss the top of his head.

[Akki]

He laughed at Fyg’s declaration before the sound was cut short. It was such an odd feeling, having another voice in your head. He felt as if he should feel almost violated but he really didn’t. To be honest, it was a rather comforting feeling. “I’ll believe you Fygwesk.” Viktu smiled at the brown. He could definitely claim that he was no longer scared of whers. Okay, he was no longer scared of Fygwesk at least. That had to count for something….right?

He shot Fyg a sheepish smile. “Is this where I admit that I was probably going to do that anyways?” He looked back down at the wher and felt like he owed Fyg an explanation for that. “Perina was scared of the dark, she was such a kid. So she’d often freak out and curl up into my bed. Normally stole the blankets too.” The smile on his face was soft, tinged with a guilt and sadness that would stay with him for a long time. Survivors guilt indeed. Fysque stared at the bronze, studying him as if trying to decide if he was worth her or attention or not. A small croon was sent back – he was worth her attention. For now.

He followed Fyg’s cue and let himself rest on the woman. “Plus you’re warmer than a bed.” He mumbled with a soft laugh. Beds could be so cold and took forever to warm up – this was much nicer. He nodded slightly at her question before grinning. “You know Fyg, keep this act up and I may have to turn my charm on.”

[Shekru]

At his admission, Fyg laughed softly, quieting to a gentle smile as he told a memory of Perina. Her eyes were sad, but understanding, and she remained quiet while he spoke. Fingers curled and stroked through his hair. Meanwhile, Faust, encouraged by the returning croon, stuck his neck out toward the gold from his perch and crooned again. Softly, sweetly. He was no threat, and his mental images promised comfort.

Fygwesk nudged Viktu's hand before gently lifting his chin and wandering back to his couch. It was strewn with furs, and the big brown resumed his comfortable position, curled in the middle of them behind the curtain. A deep rumbling sigh echoed out of the Wher as he settled. Ah, comfy. Eyes lidded halfway, and he remained awake. Watchful. His handler's mind was working overtime and the bleedoff would keep him awake for a while.

There's a bit of a blush that crept up into Fyg's cheeks at the 'warmer' comment, but she didn't comment. Instead, she blinked at the last sentence and tilted his head back with fingertips beneath his chin. Her eyes had grown softer, and her demeanor a bit more gentle. "Is that a threat or a promise?" She asked, before she leaned a little closer and went to kiss his lips.

[Akki]

Fysque watched Faust with curiosity now before hopping off of Viktu and landing nearby the bronze. She cocked her head, warbling quietly as she examined the fellow critter.

Viktu watched the two firelizards for a few minutes, slightly amused by their antics. His attention was stolen away though when Fygwesk nudged him a final time before going back to curl up. The cook still felt bad – the brown wher should be sleeping and he was keeping him up. He had to wonder what it was like to have a wher, or a dragon for that matter. They were nothing like firelizards which was all he knew – and he was still trying to adjust to that!

He didn’t notice the blush. If he had, he wouldn’t make a snarky comment but probably would have felt a small blush tinge the tip of his ears. He felt the fingers under his chin, which was raised slightly. Her question came and then a soft kiss. It lasted a few seconds before he separated from her with a whispered reply of “It’s a threat and a promise.” His left hand rested itself against the back of her neck as he leaned in again, kissing her once more. In a way he felt slightly guilty. What if this was just his way of forgetting everything that happened – a mere distraction? He was almost positive it wasn’t but he didn’t want Fyg to think so.

Then again, it wasn’t like he was going to be the one to stop this.

[Shekru]

Faust offered her a polite croon before skittering off of his person's head and leading the gold to a ledge. It had been covered with a couple furs, having been set up by Fyg for the firelizard's comfort, and he wanted to share with this new, shiny female friend he seemed to be making. He scooted enough to give her the comfortable spots, and continued to croon. Welcoming, coaxing.

Fygwesk's eye watching them opened a bit more when his handler had grown bold, but then closed. He was tired, and there was little to be done at this point. His handler was her own person, and he was well aware she could take care of herself.

And she did. When the kiss not only connected -- but was returned! -- she signed softly, gently. The kind of sigh that signaled a held breath being let out. His words gave her cause to chuckle very quietly and a returned, "I'd 'oped so," before the kiss renewed. And with greater strength. She stood, bending at the waist so as not to break the tender touch, and slid her arms beneath Viktu, hauling the blonde cook up before carting him behind the curtain that hid her bed in its alcove.

~ Fade to black. ~

[Shekru]

-- NEW SCENE BELOW THIS LINE --


He'd been there for a few days and nights, and Fygwesk had learned to barely bat an eyelid at his coming and going. He smelled of Fyg, and a little of him, too, given the closeness of the Dig, and that made him part of his Handler's entourage. Which, by all things considered, meant he was family.

The brown pair entered from guard duty, early in the morning. Fyg looked tired, and Fygwesk eyed his couch like it was the best thing he'd seen in all his Turns. She slid from his shoulders and looked around. Some of Viktu's clothes were in the shelves, and that alone made the devil-woman smile. He'd gone and made her one of those wherry-headed love birds, and really, she didn't mind. She crept quietly to the curtain that cut off the bed from the rest of the dig and peered inside. "Vik?" She questioned to the dark, hoping to find the cook.

[Akki]

It was true, Viktu’s clothes and a few random knick knacks now were hiding around in the Dig. It was surprisingly easy to get accustomed to it, his eyes had adjusted to the darkness and he felt right at home now. At home with a Wherhandler and her brown wher – if only his parents could see him now! Ha!

He could hear the large wher lumber in and cracked an eye open from where he laid. Poor Fyg and Fygwesk, guard duty was taking a toll on them it seemed. He rarely saw the woman catching any winks for everyone was on the look out for this murderer. The entire Hold was in chaos it seemed as people were too afraid to venture out alone, stay up late or really do anything that had the slightest chance of posing a threat. When Fyg peeked inside the curtain, he moved slightly from the bed and wrapped his arms around her ankles.

“You look tired, but warm.” He mumbled sleepily, letting his head fall on her feet as he peered up at her. It was funny, his fellow cooks never thought Viktu would really fall for anyone. He loved cooking too much, the girl would have to compete with it. But there was no competition here – Fyg whipped his cooking habits into second place.

[Shekru]

The smile that touched her lips was light and joyful, but certainly tired. "Cold as all get out, out there. Took a blanket're two." She explained, when he mentioned 'warm'. With his head on her feet and his body beneath the covers, Fyg shed her jerkin and the thick cloak of fur from her shoulders, gentle stole her feet back to remove her boots and stripped down to the soft linens she wore underneath her usual get-up. With that accomplished, she crouched, rolled him over and into the protective niche of the sleeping alcove, and stole the warm spot he'd been occupying. A sigh of utter contentment and relief coursed through her only moments before arms wrapped around him and tugged him close. She was warm, and a little clammy. But her affection was tenfold. For whatever reason, the cook had her thoroughly smitten.

"No luck this morn." She grumbled then, disappointed and frustrated -- that evident in her voice, but her actions remained warm and tender toward him, lips brushing against the back of his neck while she had him tugged to her. "J'sleep well, a'least?"

[Akki]

He felt the two hands on his back before he found himself being moved. “Warmth stealer.” He sniffed, a grin hidden from Fyg as he settled back down. That was alright though, she could steal his warmth. Plus it didn’t take much to get him all comfortable again – already finding the new spot rather nice.

“I’m going to steal your body warmth at least.” He laughed slightly before opening his mouth for a big yawn. He had been up until the late hours, cooking up a storm in the kitchens. He wasn’t about to let some murderer ruin his hobby; even though they nearly did by killing off Perina. He liked to thing his friend would have kicked him in the bottom and yelled at him to get back into the kitchens though. However, Viktu still probably got more sleep than poor Fyg.

“You’ll get them Fyg. No one can outrun you for long.” He said with a small grin, nuzzling his back right up against her. He nodded up and down for a brief second, “Yup. Cooking wore me out so I was asleep soon as I lay down. I’m guessing you didn’t get much sleep though?”

[Shekru]

"Don' much have the luxury of sleepin' at night, y'know." She laughed gently, and curled against him in both a protective and loving manner. Despite her rough exterior and lein toward being rather fierce, Fyg had her gentle moments, and most of them seemed to be reserved for times like this. Fygwesk had settled atop the mountain of furs lining his couch and was already snoring. He had little trouble sleeping instantly, whereas his handler was usually up a while before sleep came.

Using her legs, Fyg wound the blankets closer to the both of them, bottling the warmth and nearly making a cacoon to close them in. "Hope y'don' have any plans of headin' off for th'next while." She said, then, chuckling as she tightened the embrace around him briefly in a hug. "Missed you." The two words were spoken softly, as though shy. Shy, despite what they had become.

"Found somethin' interestin' while I was out, at least." A hand reached back and dug into a pocket that was on the floor. The hand returned and held a rock in front of Viktu's face. It was small, but glassy - possibly volcanic, given the sheen and toughness. "Caught Fygwesk's eye. Swear, sometimes he's more like a bird than a Wher."

[Akki]

Viktu wanted to help out with the murder. He wanted to help the Hold, help the people within the Hold but more importantly help Fyg and Fygwesk. They rarely slept much and it seemed unfair to him. But there really wasn’t much he could do; he was just a cook after all. The best he could manage would be just making up warm klah every morning. “You should let me go on guard instead of you one day.” He said with a slight smile. It would be denied no doubt, he would stand no chance against a knife wielding murderer.

He took the edges of the blankets and tucked them underneath their bodies. A cocoon was the perfect description for what they had just made. Absolutely no cold air would be seeping in, they would be toasty warm. “I took the late shift again tonight so I have the entire day to lay her.” He replied, turning over so he could look at Fyg instead of having her stare at his back. He lifted his head slightly and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, “Missed you too.” Who knew he would fall for an older woman?

He looked over the rock, staring at it with interest. “Can’t blame Fygwesk, I’d be distracted by it too.” He laughed, watching as the light bounced off of it. “Rough but pretty to look at. Just like you.” He grinned before yawning once more, the smile still on his lips.

[Shekru]

His mention of going on guard duty put a rather disagreeable look on Fyg's face. Where for him her features were soft and calm, they briefly turned into the assertive huntress', and she stated, "Denied." The tone in her voice was such that it seemed arguing with her would be futile, if not incredibly unwise.

When he mentioned the late shift, however, Fyg's features switched from RARR to outright -pleased-. As he turned around, Fyg drew him closer and kissed his forehead in an uncharactaristically tender display. "'M glad. Don' much like th'idea of comin' home only t'fall asleep while you go work. Been a while since I regretted not livin' in daylight. Hate that y'have to adjust for me.."

Where some women would find the idea of being 'rough but pretty' somewhat insulting, Fyg took it as it was meant, and smiled again. "Vik.." She began, setting the rock aside and reaching beneath his chin to lift it. She wanted to see his eyes. She looked nervous, and even chewed at her lip a bit. "I, uh.. S'somethin' I need to tell you."

[Akki]

A long grin was on his lips as Fyg rejected his idea, which he had expected. He didn’t have a large wher by his side to protect him on guard duty – he only had Fysque. And the gold firelizard really wouldn’t do much damage to a person with a knife. “It’s the thought that counts though, right?” He asked, cuddling up to her a bit more.

He pulled back from her a bit though at her admission. “I want to adjust for you.” He replied with a slight frown. He liked Fyg, which was obvious since he was curled up with her at that very moment, and had no problem with changing his lifestyle so he could simply see her more often. His frown disappeared as a smirk played on his lips instead, “Plus the day shift? One of the lady cooks is a complete maniac. She burns everything, I can’t handle being in the same kitchen as her.” He hated seeing his kitchen in ruins, with smoke everywhere and charred pieces of meat.

It was like a mental death for him.

His chin was lifted and he lightly touched his forehead against hers. “Did Fygwesk eat my favorite shirt?” He whispered. He was curious as to what Fyg wanted to tell him. Was she sick of him in her Dig and wanted him to go back to his own room?