(Co-Written with Kris)
As the sounds and din of revolution filled the small encampment, the days still passed, which meant fish was still needed particularly before their return to Evershoal. Yet on this occasion, Mari accompanied Grummen to the riverbank. The half elf plunked herself besides him, quieter than normal as she was in thought.
She struggled to imagine a council of all things letting things get this bad, foul influences or not. She couldn't imagine the exile of so many, forcing them to work or to flee. To remove children, the elderly and the disabled from their homes. Mari hadn't said anything before but the night they had fled Bosaadak had been particularly harrowing. She hadn't slept the rest of the night, quietly reliving her first flight into the dark while putting on a brave face for everyone else.
It's not the same anymore she tried to assure herself before looking at Grummen as he reeled in his first catch. At that moment Grummen was thinking to himself how nice it was that things were more normal. A forest village of people who treated him like a relatively normal person, a river with good fishing, and monstrous creatures to prove himself against. Just like evershoal.
She was so grateful to have Grummen around, her closest friend since she left home. Mari glanced at the warrior and for the first time her heart sank a bit. "Grummen, have you ever wanted to be known…understood?"
He grunted noncommittal in a way that might have meant “how do you mean?” But also might have been from hoisting a net full of fish.
"I guess, I'm thinking that we've known each other for almost 5 years and we've never really talked. Well…I talk, but not about important things, I guess" Mari said, hugging her knees to her chest as she watched the water. "And I know talking in common is really hard for you, and I haven't had the time to learn your languages and it must b-" Her voice paused as she realized her babbling
"I shouldn't speak for you, how do you feel? Is it…lonely?" Mari asked quietly
”No” he said, plopping the future contents of Usil’s haversack on the shore, this time he had managed a few eels.
A slight smile finally came upon her lips as she watched him place more fish in the bag. "I'm really glad to hear that " Mari said "and I'm really glad to have you around, I don't know if I'd be able to keep up if you weren't around". She finally straightened her knees and looked back to the water, before the surrounding area. It was just them, the river, the fish and any number of plants and wildlife around them.
"Hey Grummen…I…can I…?" Mari trailed for once at a loss for words. She turned to him. "You know how I said, I lost my family in a fire…that's, that's not the whole story. I don't know if I'm ready to tell the whole story…but can I tell you a little bit of the truth?"
Grummen grunted positively with a bit of a shrug.
"So I tell everyone that my family died in a fire…but that's not really true. My family was attacked, they set my home on fire , probably to cause more confusion, to keep my mother off guard. She was very strong, and could be very powerful. I…I saw my Father die while I was trying to run away " Her eyes began to water, before she rubbed them vigorously while taking a breath "and I ran, and I ran until you found me in the woods".
She finally lowered her hands, her violet eyes still watering and red rimmed but steadied herself. "And I've been hiding ever since. Grimm is something I made up, it's not really my name" Mari let out a sigh "I'm sorry for not telling you this much before, but…I can't be honest, not yet. Especially…"
She let out another sigh, and while still weighed down she managed to smile. "My brother lives, Uri is alive. He doesn't know about me, but I have to be careful about how I look for him. He might be pretending to be someone else too and I don't want him to get hurt" Mari paused for a moment taking a breath, realizing she was really rambling now. "So that's some of the stuff I haven't told you…are you mad?"
Grummen took on the same expression he had when deciding which street food to eat first, it was often mistaken for thoughtful. “No.”
Mari tilted her head slightly, bewildered. Very little phased, Grummen, she knew that. "Okay…how do you feel?" Mari said, still a bit nervous. Grummen was her friend still, and while she didn't quite understand him, his thoughts were still important.
Grummen looked down at the river and back at Mari. “Wet” he said definitively and then looked thoughtful for a minute, “hungry.” He looked at the elf expectantly.
Mari let out a small sigh of defeat before flopping back to gaze at the canopy above her. "That's the most I've ever told anyone ,you know? " Mari questioned although whether it was for Grummen or her was unclear " Does it…not matter to you?". The question was softer in tone, a worried query rather than an accusation. The anxiety was hanging over her like a pendulum.
Grummen thought for a moment, and almost nonchalantly spiked a set of fish on a stick, lighting a small fire in front of the elf. It was getting dark, rather like the night they met. He plopped a large, fish covered hand on her shoulder and roared the fish over the fire. “Still Mari, still friend”