Big Handsome Boi

Big handsome boi

(via)

"When's the last time you slept?"

Janai was worried. A diplomatic meeting with the human kingdoms had taken longer than expected and she had finally arrived back in the sunfire capital after 5 days of travelling. The expected greeting by her wife did not come and she was now brushing away everyone who wanted to speak to her. She needed to see Amaya.

When she entered their bedchambers she saw the woman in question hanging over a documents on her desk. Amaya didn`t notice her entering despite the desk facing the door. She finally noticed the elf when she got closer and Janai was shocked. Amaya look like death.

"Maya! When was the last time you slept??"

"Reports. Needed finishing. People needed help"

"Damn your stubbornness." She embraced Amaya. Holding her tight.

It wasnt the first time this happend. They tend to keep each other in cheek so that neither of them overworks themselves. Janai had suspected what was going on. Feared it even when the meeting took longer.

When she wanted to pull away she noticed that Amaya had gone limb. She was fast asleep in her arms. Essentialy being held up be her wife at this point.

Janai sighed and lifted her up, sitting her down on the edge of the bed before slowling lowering her down on the pillow. She extinguished the candles and joined her wife on the bed. Hugging her tightly.

Is this part important to the plot?

No, but it is important to me.

Sobbing/Crying/Tears

The General, Amaya, was back. She came back. Janai couldn't believe it. The little king had promised to send help when he got back to Katolis, and Janai did believe the boy would try. She also believed his nation would be in turmoil, and he would have to spend months sorting things out before attempting to send aid. Imagine her people's surprise to find Katolian soldiers escorting wagons of supplies so soon after they left; imagine her surprise to find General Amaya at the head.

And it was awkward between them. Before they left, Janai was sure they'd never see each other again; she had to lead her people, the general had to care for her nephews. Their paths were different, but she couldn't let the human leave without letting her know how she felt.

With the language barrier, Janai had to calling for the linguist, Kazi. She'd asked for a simple phrase 'I'll miss you', short, sweet, ambiguous enough not to start any rumors. Kazi had showed her another word without prompting 'beautiful'...maybe 'I'll miss you' was more obvious than she thought.

Neithertheless, she pressed on, getting the general alone and carefully signing the phrase. The look of surprise softened and the phrase was repeated to her. Janai still remembered her heart pounding as she closed the distance and leaned in for a kiss. A kiss she'd half expected the woman to refuse. She hadn't, they kissed, long, sweet and sad. Janai had watched the general mount up, pulling a giggling king up by his shirt to ride with her, and begin the long track home. She was heartbroken, but...a sliver of her was relieved, an infatuation for a human was a complication she didn't need. When Amaya returned, she did the formal greeting, and fell into her duties, the cheerful, teasing woman she'd grown fond of disappeared; replaced by a sour soldier. She felt like she should clear things up between them, let the general know she didn't expect anything. They could work together as comrades and not worry about feelings. She honestly felt incredibly a little foolish for thinking she was anything more than a novelty to the human. It was fine, though, if she were a cheep thrill for the woman, it made it easier to get over her.

The general liked to leave the camp after her duties were finished. Hiding it seemed. Well, that was easily solved. Janai grabbed a journal, a gift from Prince Callum, and went to find her. She heard sobbing before she saw anyone, she dismounted and cautiously closed the distance to the noise, now looking for whoever was so downhearted; General Amaya could wait.

She stopped suddenly, a knife laid at her throat, then it retreated just as quickly. It was General Amaya, caught off guard and assuming an ambush. Janai got a good look at her in the fading sunset light. Tears streaked down her face, the sobbing woman was General Amaya? The woman turned her face, and wiped away the tears on her sleeve.

"What's wrong?" She asked, the single sign was lost on her so she gave Amaya the journal and coal pen,

"Nothing." she wrote

"Do not lie."

"Okay, a lot, but you wouldn't understand."

"I wouldn't?" she was almost offended, had she not lost her home, her sister, her entire future to lead her displaced people; she had more right to sob than anyone in the world at the moment. She told Amaya as much,

"At least your remaining family wants you around."

"And yours doesn't? I don't understand, they seemed to adore you."

"And I was still ordered away. Again!!!" A good portion of the page went on to explain that after Amaya's sister-queen died in battle with the Dragon King, Amaya was sent away to guard the Breach against retaliation by her brother-in-law, where she spent years separated from her family when she should have been there to help raise her nephews. She'd been sent away. Now, after the death of King Harrow, when she should be with her family now more than ever, she'd been sent even further away to Xadia. Looking at it with all the information, it was easy to see why she felt like her family didn't want her.

"I can order you away, you know." She offered, she owed this woman so much after all. The general shook her head sadly,

"I tried to talk Ezran out of sending me away. He wouldn't hear it. The damn glowtoad snitched on us, now the boys think we're in love."

"Oh...oh, I'm sorry. I never meant for this to happen."

"It's not your fault. And I know they're trying to help, but" words were scribbled out, it looked like something horrible you said about a loved one before remembering that you did, in fact, love them, "I wish they would listen."

"I could write to them?"

"You really think they would listen to you?"

"Not if they're anything like their aunt." She reasoned, making the woman laugh. At least it was a step in the right direction.

Super powers have started to appear in the general population. However, unlike comics, there are no secondary powers to make one immune to the actual physics of one’s power. This has led to some interesting case studies.

Fourth Day of Gift-Giving

Four Flour Fails

... four times that baking did not end well

They are both amateur bakers ending up in a baking competition and all the baking disasters they endure binds them together.

Their baking attempt ended up in a flour fight and with a small innocent puppy who now looked like a ghost dog.

Decorating cookies was supposed to be some easy fun. But baking the cookies made a mess and decorating them was a lot harder than they had thought.

The customer is definitely not always right and a customer in a small bakery won’t except that. The baker and owner feels much better after leaving the kitchen to dump a bucket of flour over them.

24 Days of Gift-Giving