Chapter Text
Fjord felt out of place.
Well, he always has, being that he’s half human, half monster, but this was a different sort of out of place. Growing up, surrounded by humans who scorned him, his tusks, his skin, he tried his best to fit in, to appear as normal as possible. Yet now, in a peculiar turn of events, here he was in the City of Beasts, trying his hardest to not be a sore thumb of a human. Too grotesque to be human, but too frail to be an orc. Typical. He wasn’t alone, of course, the other members of their party were unusually colorful and most definitely not beasts, even while some were disguised with magic. So it was only inevitable they would draw some unwanted attention.
“We’ve got company.” Caduceus breathes out, just loud enough for the Nein to hear.
Fjord glances over his shoulder to the direction he’s looking at, only to see the Minotaur, who they were previously following, walking directly towards them. Fjord’s stomach churns at the idea of a possible confrontation. The being was obviously one of importance, being escorted by a number of guards, and, being that they are wildly out of place, this cannot be good. A feeling of dread washes over him; anywhere would be better than here at this moment.
He shoots a look at Caduceus, but unlike Fjord, a pleasant smile spreads across his lips. In his eyes there’s a genuine expression of warmth, directed to the mighty individual who approaches them. In some ways it calms the unease brewing within his chest, in others it evokes butterflies in his stomach, and somewhere in between begins a sharp panging sensation. Regardless, Fjord dons his usual mask, preparing for a either a hostile or pleasant encounter.
When the Minotaur is within range, Caduceus bends his lanky torso in the form of a deep bow, a sign of respect. Fjord follows slightly, nodding his head in acknowledgment. The approaching figure holds up a hand to the two Kryn soldiers accompanying him, signifying them to stop and wait a short distance away from the group. Up close, the already magnificent individual is somehow even more impressive up close. Pristine jet black fur, glistening in the light, onyx eyes filled with purpose and presence, chiseled features sharper than a blade, grand, strong horns. Beautiful silvered armor with intricately carved designs; now that they’re closer, it appears as if the engravings tell a story, little vignettes carved into the metal permanently entombing history into an object to be worn with pride. The deep, piercing eyes scan over their group, inspecting them one by one. For a moment, his gaze lingers on the still bowing firbolg at the front. His head tilted slightly.
“I must admit I have not seen you within the city before.” A deep, rich voice, smooth but dominating. It didn’t come off as a sign of aggression, but nonetheless intimidating by nature. Caduceus’ head rises at the voice, his mellow, warm expression still present. Fjord glances in his direction, but it seems as if the normally tall man felt abnormally small.
“This is our first time here.” He drawls, voice low, gentle and humble. A voice he’s never quite heard from him before. The edge of the Minotaur's lip tilts up, almost amused at the colorful firbolg.
"So color me curious. What is your business, and whom do you serve?”
Caduceus turns to the half orc beside him, pink eyes uncertain, almost questioning him what he should do. Fjord opens his mouth for a second before closing it and shooting back a slightly panicked look. A small smile, a smile of reassurance returns to his face as he turns back to the giant before them.
“Our business is, we're looking to collect some transport, maybe do a little trade while we're in town, and head on our way. As to our service, we are private contractors on what I will say, of the many missions that we've put forward, is one of our truer, more noble missions at this point.”
Caduceus spoke with a suave eloquence, weaving words together to form a lie of his own making; something that Fjord didn’t even know he was capable of executing. As per usual, where others stumbled, the cleric would pick up and take care of the fallen, even if it wasn’t something he was used to doing. The Minotaur raised an interested eyebrow in response.
"Contractors? What is your business?"
“Whatever we're being contracted for. At this point, just—”
"Sellswords?"
“Sometimes.” A lilt to the firbolg’s voice, almost playful.
“Smugglers,” Fjord chimes in, trying to aid Caduceus in his deception. Something in their voices made him uneasy with the conversation happening before his eyes. Perhaps it’s this city, or the intimidating presence of the one before them, but an uncomfortable tension hangs above them.
“Sometimes.” Caduceus repeats, still staring at the bull in front of him. A full smirk appears on his face, the black eyes creasing slightly at the edges.
"Tell me; From where do you hail?"
“Everywhere.” A lopsided smile returned on Caduceus’ end, full of mirth as he answered the inquiry. Something turns in Fjord, a strange, unfamiliar feeling.
“Nogvurot, for me, yeah.” He blurts out without thinking, the lie flowing easily through the twang of his accent. Why, he can’t say, but something just doesn’t sit right. The Minotaur shoots a side eye at the half orc, a look of annoyed confusion sent in his direction before returning a searching gaze in the direction of the taller man. He nods to the firbolg and shifts his weight to his other hoof, the light gleaming off of the polished silver of his chestplate. Caduceus’ gaze immediately shifts to the metal, letting out a sigh of admiration. Fjord feels a grimace begin to form before he swiftly schools his features. What on Exandria is troubling him?
“That is beautiful, by the way, I've never seen anything like it before.” The compliment almost seems to slip out unconsciously, spilling from his mind.
"And you never will. Handmade."
“Gorgeous,” Caduceus breathes out.
Caduceus has always loved finely crafted pieces, sure. He’s definitely overthinking this; the Minotaur happens to have armor with superb craftsmanship and he appreciates the work. Nothing more.
“Near-umavi ascension?”
“Hm?” Fjord blinks and looks down at Nott who now stands between him and Caduceus. What did he miss?
"You're definitely not from around here, are you?" The black furred individual huffed at the smaller woman.
“Very much not.” Gaze shifting back to Caduceus, softening, holding some sort of emotion; amusement? Knowing? This was all so frustrating.
"Well. Sellswords, if you're looking for work, there is work here in these lands in a time of war.” He then tells them of a place to get work; something about the Aurora Hold and a woman named Zethriss (Zethir? Zethin?) Olios. Fjord was too focused on the tension building up in the back of his throat.
“That is very generous of you!” A broad smile this time from Caduceus. Fjord quickly cuts him off, looking for something to talk about other than the Minotaur's generosity.
“I'm sorry,” an apology that would be insincere if he weren’t as good at deception, “Forgive our impertinence, we didn't ask for your name.”
The Minotaur narrows his eyes and tilts his chin up, shooting him a look of incredulous irritation, as if the very question was an insult to him personally.
"I have had many names through many lives, but the one I take now is Sunbreaker Olomon." He says it with pride and there’s a slight part of Fjord that thinks that is a cool ass name. Only a sliver; the rest is clouded by his disdain for their current interaction. He looks back, specifically at Caduceus, a courteous expression replacing his less pleasant one.
“And what would your name be?”
“Oh, Caduceus. Caduceus Clay.”
“Caduceus Clay.” the Sunbreaker grins, savoring the way it seems to feel.
“Captain Tusktooth,” Fjord coughs to bring his attention back to him. Courtesy be damned, he needs to get off their cleric’s back. A grimace graces his features.
“Captain… Tusktooth?”
“Nott the Brave!” Nott chimes in, shooting him a toothy smile, “And, if I may ask, is there a Mrs. Sunbreaker, or...?”
Well, at least Nott was helping in her own way. The Sunbreaker raised his brows, very much amused at the tiny goblin before him.
"Heh, no, Nott the Brave.” An awkward moment of pause washes over them before he clears his throat, telling the whole group, “ Well, don't make any messes," and turns around before pausing to look over his shoulder to Caduceus.
“Perhaps we will meet again.” shooting a wink, he walks off, joining the two Kryn guards waiting for him a couple paces away.
“Pleasure. I like it here.” Caduceus straightens up from his previously slouched position, staring off in the direction of the Sunbreaker, Nott and Jester freaked out as he did.
“Did you see the way? I think he winked at you. I think I saw—”
“I couldn’t tell!”
“I thought he winked at me, but that's fine.” Fjord hears the firbolg mumbles to himself. Fjord turns his head fully to Caduceus, who’s still watching the Minotaur go. His ears twitched downward a little, something of disappointment, and, although at first hard to see, under the fur of his cheek a light dusting of pink flowering on his skin, complimenting the pink of his hair. Fjord clears his throat, that bubble of discomfort clearing from his system.
“We should- we should probably get going, right Ducey?” Caduceus perks up as he turns his attention to Fjord.
“Yeah, let's head into the, uh,”
“Livery,”
“Livery and see if there's a conversation.” he grins halfheartedly before shaking his head and meandering over to the hut they were approaching before their encounter. He waits a moment then follows from the back of the group.
A hand hits his back with a little too much force. Fjord jumps before immediately swinging his head to see a shocking shade of red, quickly reminding himself that this was none other than a disguised Beauregard.
“Hey dude, you good? You seem kinda off.”
“Hm? I guess I’m just, I dunno, that guy was real—”
“Hot?”
“What? No—”
“Intense?”
“Well, yeah but—”
“Totally flirting with Caduceus?”
Fjord stops, mouth agape, blood draining from his face, leaving him a pallid shade of green. Beau stops beside him, arms crossed, a single eyebrow raised.
“Did you actually not look at the way they were looking at each other? That he got super pissed at you for interrupting? Wait why did you interrupt? Shit, are you jealous of Caduceus?”
“No, Gods no! He was just acting real…” Invasive? Strange? “... Focused. On Caduceus. Yeah; I guess I just got a lil’ overprotective is all, with all that attention on one of our own.”
Beau shoots him a look.
“Uh huh. Sure. Not jealous at all.” she rolls her eyes. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
She pushes on ahead, leaving him behind with his thoughts. He lets out a quiet sigh. Perhaps he was just acting too overprotective towards their group. Perhaps he just wasn’t used to Caduceus being the center of attention. Or perhaps, and more probably, the irritation all lived in his head. The people, the city, everything was definitely making him uneasy. As soon as they find a way to get Nott’s husband out of imprisonment, they’ll never have to step foot in this country ever again. And they’ll never have to see Mr. Sunbreaker ever again too; a comforting thought.
...Wait, did Nott flirt with the Minotaur?