"Gods above, the Sun there is a machine, and it's not even real. Yet I'm still sweating everywhere!" I complain, free of the local farmer and her damn accent and way of speaking. Lunch time. Off time. No more idle working for a bit of rent money time.
Remember, Hrurim, remember...
It's all for Heiya, all for her while her head is elsewhere and everywhere that's dark. All for her. I work at this damn farm so we at least have a barn to retreat to at night. Meanwhile, that damn bug is no doubt up to nothing in that polished palace up there on the mini-mountain!
Grumbling away, I find my usual, shaded spot. A cut down tree with a conveniently chair-shaped gap in it. I brandish my loaned smoking pipe and roll out the bag of filling. The surprisingly wet plant matter going right into the bowl at the end.
My fingers pinch a thin stick out the grass and my lighter does as it is named. The gentle fire meets the ends of the leaf, igniting surprisingly well despite everything. The little flame spreads throughout the bowl, burning and shrivelling up the plant as the clay warms up. I lean into my chair, content to enjoy the moments of quiet and no labour.
Aching muscles call to me, easing up as they too get the message. I'm not bending about because I'm picking up baskets of fruit, it's because I'm sat down. My feet don't really want to get the message and are in modest pain, regardless. Flattened by hard work, they're just not used to.
"Bugger me..." I swear, growing impatient about the state of my smoking pipe. I know what to do, the villagers gave me the explanation and the how-to, but, still. Nothing will beat the quick efficiency of a cigarette and a cigar if it's the time for one. Lighter up, end burning, smoke away. These damn things I've got to wait for, especially with how the local smoking delicacy is this greasy slick leaf they intentionally don't dry.
The moment finally comes and the mouthpiece touches my lips, the slightly cracked things sealing up. I heave in, letting my lungs swell and my nostrils roar all the smoke they can. A delightful flavour fills out my mouth, minty and oddly meaty for what it is. My usual habits go aside and I at least try to partake in the local customs now that I've got something in me.
"Let me think..." I go out loud, practicing a few fishlike pops with my lips. The pipe comes back to where it needs to go, and I pop away. Bringing in a few huffs and letting the smoke fill out my mouth. Somehow, I manage to take in a very slight breath and it just pops out, the burning sensation in my mouth going away with it.
I smack my lips, staring quite confusedly at the results of my work and how malleable the smoke was. My mouth doesn't take much time to get back to normal, the burn done and gone. I try one more time, but it's hardly a comfortable familiarity. I spit the smoke out, shake my head, and get to it as I always do.
Fluffing up my lungs with thick smoke, choking them up... And blowing it all right out in as literal a take on 'blowing off steam' as I can!
My lips smack, "Now, where are you, Heiya?"
I survey the open field, a recently cleared thing that offers a clear look into the big forest next to the village. It's such an odd forest to look at, so orderly and blatantly man-made. Yet, overgrown and messy, like any actual forest of the natural world. It's a surprise the place hasn't been over-hunted. I can catch sight of a few things even now.
Not Heiya, though. Shame, she said she was going to be on a hunt today and I'd like to imagine I'm a good enough spotter. Haven't survived this long in the criminal world and in firefights by not having good eyes. Though, luck certainly plays its part. All the small things about a fight and what plays out... It really does just take one lucky bullet in your head and heart.
"I guess that's what bother Heiya the most, hm? Ivahstar went down in something so... Avoidable, really." I say, glad I'm nowhere near the grieving daughter, as she would never forgive me, hearing such words. Said it or not, I know the implications that can come of my words. This idea I'm accusing her of something. That I'm saying it's her fault or the-
A bang rings from the forest, calling out to the people of the village as it always does. I smile slightly, happy at the signs she's somewhere in the forest. The smoking pipe goes wide away, lingering in the air. My eyes squint, looking for that slight haze in the clear, sunny gaps of the trees.
Something, anything... Nothing.
"Bah." I go, putting the pipe back to my lips and biting down on the bit. It droops down, losing my hand's support, and I move to take my boots off. I toss them far, leaving myself to have free feet to wiggle and shine.
My attention returns to the forest, not noticing much else about it other than awfully close rustling. I turn towards it, my personal weapon on standby, just in case. The forests are clean of predators, the villagers say. But I'm not taking chances.
"Ah, I know that look." I gently let out, smiling ever so slightly as she comes into view. Clearly having not been that far from me to begin with. A small bundle of dead, decapitated animals on a tightrope. A grim sight, but what else is she supposed to do with her weapon? It's not a simple blade she's firing. It's a whole ball of shattering stone, lead and even proper metal at times.
"The challenges they give me are too easy." she huffs, surprisingly good in the mood for what she's been feeling thus far.
"What kind of challenges? How to decapitate some hoppers and scurriers?" I ask, following it up with another question as I eye the mess that she's not doing a good job of keeping off her hip.
"No, no, no- How many I can catch with my musket. They don't have guns here. This is the only one they've really seen. They kept going on about how it's too noisy, scares the animals off. So, I made a bet with them about me being able to get a fair bit, even with the noise." she explains, waffling and toning down throughout her speech, as her mind seems to be elsewhere.
"You alright, Heiya?" I ask, just to make sure.
"And, yeah, here I am... Thirteen? Fifteen critters later? Each ready for a good skinning and cooking." she says, completely ignoring my question with all the telltale signs. Stuttery breath, a sudden intake of air. Even her chest is visibly tighter at its core.
"That's a fair amount, when did you start?" I ask and she goes into her head, hopefully staying well away from what pesters her.
"Not too long ago? I've not been particularly paying much attention. Just going through the motions, killing what I can. Carefully planning my shots, reloading. You know, the motions." she explains, almost breaking off into a mumble without much focus.
"As long as you have fun." I say, smiling at her as I put the pipe back to my lips. She watches me go through the motions as she just put it. Breathing in, breathing out.
"Should I take up smoking?" she asks out of nowhere and the smoke catches in my throat. I catch the pipe, throwing it up and juggling it about with embers going about. I'm coughing away, tearing apart my throat while also knocking off the heated, orange ash. My stained knuckle rubs away on my front and I pat around for my waterskin. The lid pops up and I flood my mouth out with it.
"N-No... No-" I answer, still hacking and coughing, unable to decide which to settle on. My fist barrages against my chest, knocking the last of the feeling out. Reel in a mighty spit and throw it across the grass, leaving a bubbly white patch a body and a half away.
Heiya lets out a gentle giggle, finally.
"No." I repeat, just so she's aware, and she nods away. Idly putting one of her sharp nails into the clearest patch of dirt on the grass. She scratches away at it, drawing something that's hidden in her shadow and the wave of the grass blades.
"You always say how it makes you calm down..." she goes, her head clearly nowhere where it wants to be.
"It's a pricey habit, Heiya. Always best to find habits that don't empty the bank." I explain, though it's not like I pay much of the time, anyway. Gods above, I still remember my younger days of crime quite well. Being in gangs of damn tobacco hijackers. Breaking into small shops and raiding the cabinet, blowing tyres and the like. Even getting a job just to learn the routine of when deliveries happen just so we can snatch them up one day and vanish.
Paid in money and a slight bit of the pickings myself!
She shrugs, undeterred, "You always get so calmer."
A sigh escapes me, "It's a barely lingering thing, Heiya. It doesn't clear my head. Just dulls the edge a bit. Why do you think I go through so many? All so I can keep it away."
"M-Maybe I need that..." she goes.
"No! Heiya." I firmly state, though it's not like I have much of a choice in that regard. She's been old enough to make these choices for a while.
She looks one way, and then another. Her head a mess as always. Maybe... Maybe she does need that means to take the edge off. Something other than a wonderland resort she can't stay in. I just don't know what to say, what to suggest and what to do...
Anything she normally does to cool off is now just the norm. If she needed time on her own, she would go and do that. She would do it and come back. But, that's the thing, she was coming back to something, and it certainly wasn't me.
Though, I'm certainly glad it's not me she's coming back for... I'm not the kind of person she needs at her side every step of the way. It's unfortunate to admit, and I won't ever say it. Not when I know she's a day's travel near me. She needs to be at least a week away for anything like that to come out into the open.
"Look... Heiya... It's up to you, really. But, if you do get interested in it enough. Hold on for the moment. What they have here is not what is sold in the towns in the tunnels. Hwardgon have never been a pipey people." I explain, sighing out my next huff of smoke and she nods away, knowing full well.
"Yeah, from what I've seen of your shopping habits. They all like to have fancy coloured cans and tins holding the stuff in them." she recalls and I smile a bit, hoping she catches on to it.
"Exactly!" I go, biting down on the bit to give a quick, light clap.
"Mmm..." she lets out, clearly thinking on it, and, frankly, I'd rather she think about that then anything else that could leave her upset and miserable.
"But, yeah, try not to copy me here. Find another pass time. Maybe develop a sweet tooth or something. Maybe pick up barbecuing, even?" I point out, knowing it's better for her to at least stuff her face with treats.
"Mm, I was thinking of that, actually. Having the inn down the road cook something I've hunted. The hunter's lodge says that's something they offer." she points out and I nod along.
"Give me a reminder, then, we'll pick out our dinner, then!" I explain, huffing a quick smile as all sorts of black-scarred, well-cooked things come to mind.