Feyrahl, FA Ch 3.3
Wow... it's been awhile but thank you for your patience-- I now present Chapter 3.3 of Feyrahl for the FA story line!
My patrons on Patreon elected to have Kenzie claim a tent for herself, leaving her the freedom to get some alone time and overhear a conversation.
Since the readers on FA failed on three occasions to elect a direction for the story, there will no longer be an option for them to influence this story line, leaving things for my patrons until this chapter concludes. I hope everyone continues to enjoy the next few posts, as guided by my patrons!
Here's what the patrons will be voting on:
a) Kenzie wakes up in the morning and sits down next to Silas before demanding answers.
b) Kenzie wakes up in the morning and sits down next to Cecil before demanding answers.
c) Kenzie wakes up in the morning and sits down by herself before demanding answers of them both.
d) Kenzie wakes up in the morning and goes to sit down next to Silas to give him a kiss on the cheek so she can get a rise out of Cecil.
e) Kenzie wakes up in the morning and goes to sit down next to Cecil and give him a kiss on the cheek.
f) (PRUDENT) Kenzie will join her two fellow travelers and leave it up to them to decide on whether anything needs to be said.
As always, thanks for reading, and do feel free to comment-- you may not be able to decide what happens here, but that doesn't mean you can't state an opinion!
Feyrahl, FurAffinity Edition
Strengthening Bonds, Ch 3.3
Kenzie hadn't been camping in a long time and when she was last in a tent it was far different than the one in which she found herself. Back in her own world she'd had a synthetic tent with a synthetic sleeping bag and her clothes were a combination of natural and synthetic. In Feyrahl, in that tent, she was surrounded by hides, cotton, wool, leather, and oiled canvas. It was a strange moment for her, the scent of rain outside her tent coupled with lanolin and tannin.
The rain was actually very light, creating a soft white-noise surrounding her. It was noticeable, but hardly enough to drown out the various sounds around her, including the quiet discussion coming from the tent a few yards away. Kenzie had selected to have a tent to herself and made the two men share the second; they were certainly large enough to accommodate two so she didn't feel THAT bad about it. All-in-all, Kenzie realized that they could have objected more fervently but it was probably due to the gender disparity between men and women of the world that they didn't push very hard for a co-ed situation and, as a result, Kenzie got her tent to herself.
It wasn't that she was worried about spend time with either of them in a tent alone; she didn't get any red flags from Silas that he'd try anything and she felt that she knew Cecil well enough by that point that he was even less likely to attempt anything 'untoward'. Silas, for as well as she could determine, didn't think of her that way and, if Cecil did, he was more mindful of ruining her reputation by being associated with her in anyway aside from her bodyguard. Sometimes even that role seemed to make him semiconscious on her behalf and he gave her more space than she felt was necessary.
No, she reasoned, there was no way Cecil would have tried to take advantage of her; she giggled, thinking that he probably would have pressed up as far against the tent as possible so that he wouldn't risk brushing against her. In the end, as she laid in her tent, staring up at the canvas ceiling, she came to a singular conclusion: she liked them. She liked both of them, and she was honestly thankful for the time away from the castle and the chaos of court. It would be an enjoyable foray into the woodlands.
The fact that the three of them were out of the palace together was not a coincidence-- the connection that Silas and Cecil had prior to her involvement wasn't lost on her. There was something about the comfort the two seemed to have around one another while also being so obviously put-off by the presence of others that made her consider their relationship. The two, usually so reserved, were comfortable joking with one another, and jesting in ways she was used to seeing among college students who were good friends. Both came across as older than most of the men she knew from university, and yet they were relaxed and playful in a way that seemed almost juvenile... it honestly wasn't a bad thing.
Kenzie continued letting her mind jump from thought to thought, but it always came back to her two traveling companions. As the rain continued falling lightly it did little to hide the conversation Silas and Cecil were sharing, granted, it was more the Fox than the Ferret, and the outgoing encouragement in the Ranger's voice ultimately caught the Human woman's attention. She couldn't help herself, and started listening in. Even though the rain didn't hide the fact that they were speaking very well it did make it a little more difficult for her to understand exactly what was being said, but she did her best.
Silas' tone was playful and chiding, but still more encouraging than anything else. "I do not see why you should be so hesitant... well... any more than you usually are, Cee."
Cecil's response was grouchy, and even quieter, making it harder for Kenzie to make out more than a few words. "You.... than anyone else that... connecting. Besides, I... to have to... the stares and whispers."
The Fox's voice was a little more firm and a little louder. "It almost sounds as though you are looking for excuses."
The Ferret's voice likewise got louder, and held a tone of frustration to it. "Easy to say, Sie... you spend your time hiding out in the wilderness."
The Ranger's voice pulled back on the chiding, a much greater sense of calm empathy to it. "By choice, I will admit, my friend. You do take the harder road and do not take it for granted... but you take so much on your shoulders I fear you have trouble learning when and how to let go and accept the rare burden of something GOOD."
The guard let out a squeaking laugh, then a pause that Kenzie could imagine accompanying a huge blush. He spoke up a moment later. "Leave it to you to consider something good in the same manner as a burden, Sie."
Silas laughed-- it was a loud sound, but quickly cut off with the exhale of someone who'd had something impact their abdomen. His follow-up statement was much quieter. "Purely for your own benefit, Cee... I am ashamed at how blind to how well the two of you get along."
Cecil's response was a little louder than before, filled with a small amount of accusation. "No better than she does with you."
Kenzie wasn't normally so conceited as to think that every last discussion was about her, but, based on what she knew about both of them, she was finding it hard to find another suitable candidate for the conversation. For a moment she was caught by indecision between continuing to listen in and purposefully trying to block it out. In the end, curiosity won over and she strained her ears to listen further.
She missed Silas' follow up statement, but not the Ferret's response. "It doesn't matter if I like her, Silas... I'm no good for her. She has it hard enough being here from a different world AND being a Human. How much worse would it be if she were involved in THAT way with a Blackguard?"
The woman's cheeks flushed; she definitely hadn't been reading into things. Kenzie had spent so long trying to convince herself that she was just being self-absorbed and imagining that the gentle, kind, easily-embarrassed Ferret was interested in any way. It was his job to protect her and part of that was being mindful and considerate and anticipatory of her needs; that was the sign of a good man and she was just juxtaposing those two things... or so she had thought. Straight from the Ferret's muzzle, she heard that he WAS interested.
After the warm fuzzy feeling of being desired, the realization brought up a number disparate thoughts in her mind and not all of them were quite so pleasant. He was interested in her? He was interested in her! HE was interested in HER! He WAS interested in her. He was INTERESTED in her! She had to stop the broken record, and it immediately skipped to a different track she wasn't sure she liked much more. Was SHE interested in HIM? That question rolled around in her head for quite some time, especially because there was a lasting silence from the other tent.
The quiet was broken by Cecil himself. "You would't understand, Sie... you are not connected to others in that way."
Kenzie couldn't remember the last time she'd ever heard Silas sound insulted, but his tone held the faintest hint of just that. "Well... just do not take too long, my friend, or else you may risk having her snatched out from beneath your grasp... and there is no guarantee it will not be by some Fox who is not connected to others 'in that way'."
No voices spoke up after that, at least, not ones outside her head-- her own little chorus of thoughts screaming at her that either Silas took such offense to what Cecil had said that he was maliciously threatening to steal Kenzie from him (not that she was a prize to be won), or else the Ranger was actually admitting that he WAS interested? Before that night, Kenzie hadn't even considered the possibility of one of the Feyrahlians being interested in her, let alone two.
Then again, she had to remind herself, Silas wasn't actually offering a confession in the same way as Cecil... he was probably just trying to push his friend into action. If that was the case then, how WOULD she respond to the Ferret confessing his feelings for her.
Left alone with her thoughts, Kenzie took a long time to drift off to sleep, not entirely sure how the following morning would go. Either way, she knew that she would have to consider what to say... or do... or both.