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Merrows Illustrations: [1], [2]Setting Hub

Part 3: A New Life, and a New Bond

Arden chuckled to himself as he tossed the silver locket to the side. It sounded an unglamorous clang as it landed in a copper pot half full of similar trophies. He let out a victorious sigh and flopped backwards on his makeshift bed, then leaned his head forward and took in his surroundings with a satisfied grin.

This once disheveled room atop the forgotten guardpost was now, well, still quite disheveled, but so much more. Arden and Merrows had worked together to patch up the floor and support the structure. Mismatched blankets and pillows stolen over time were piled into gaudy but comfortable beds. Spare boards stood posted, like hat racks, each displaying odds and ends stolen from all over the city - not just the slums - waiting to be fenced for a pretty penny later. Pots and pans of sorted jewelry dotted the floor, and a rough wooden table at the east window held a full cask of ale, and jerky enough to last a few weeks.

Life was good. The past five years had been kind to them.

"Not bad for a day's work" Merrows commended, fluttering over the copper pot and examining the new loot. He listed over and landed on a pillow beside Arden.

"Yeah, and that's not all" Arden grinned, sitting up and pulling the bag at his side onto his lap. He reached in and produced a small wax-paper box. A sweet aroma filled the air, and Merrows' eyes widened slightly. His blue glow flickered with teal and violet wafts of anticipation.

Arden peeled back the lid of the paper box, revealing the mastercraft chocolate he had nicked from Mrs. Ettleton's storefront uptown. She was the best confectionist in the whole city, or so she called herself. And it was believable too, based on the bits Arden had been able to swipe here and there. And this piece, this piece was creme of the crop. A little prestidigitation had kept the piece perfectly chilled and intact, despite the hefty sprint home.

"That's, uh.. A really nice find.." Merrow spoke as if in a daze, his words dripping as slow as honey.

Arden looked from the chocolate to Merrows and back, examining the piece. A palm-sized dessert, ornately crafted to resemble a large strawberry, drizzled with a scarlet candied glaze, and undoubtedly filled with a marvelous truffle confection. He grinned, knowing that the sight and scents were tantalizing the sprite, but couldn't bring himself to keep up the torment.

"It's yours" he said plainly, reaching over to place the box on the pillow beside his partner. Merrows shone with intense yellow light for just a moment before biting a large chunk from the treat.

Arden looked him over. Merrows had changed quite a bit too. Just as their home had evolved into something comfortable, Merrows had adapted to his new life quite well. No longer did he bare that scrawny, undernourished frame. Rather, he was quite healthy. In Arden's charge, he had grown much experience, putting his muscles to the test in their daily escapades and exploits. Though, he had to admit, now that they were so well off, Merrows rarely got the exercise that had been necessary in the years past.

Lately, with the spells Arden had at his disposal thanks to Merrows' guidance, he was able to nick most of his marks without any assistance. At least without anything intensive. Merrows would hide in his hood and made for a great lookout, but when it came to the actual theft, the climbing or the run or the chase, it was Arden doing all the work while Merrows sat comfortably along for the ride.

In the recent months, Merrows had grown a bit lazy and pampered, and indeed was now sporting a small gut in his otherwise healthy frame. It didn't look bad on him, rather natural, if one hadn't seen how emaciated he had been before it all. Arden had to admit, he liked the change. It gave his partner a something of a more masculine appeal.

Merrows looked up at the shaman and caught him staring. "What?" Merrows asked bluntly, raising an eyebrow and wiping a smear of silky chocolate from his mouth.

"Nothin" Arden shook his head, trying to shed the train of thought that was looming too close for comfort. Merrows shrugged and continued his work on the prize dessert. Arden grinned and leaned back on the bed once again. He let out a relaxed sigh, and let himself sink into the soft, pilfered padding.

Merrows let out a low burp as he finished the chocolate. It was astounding the amounts of food the sprite could ingest, considering he was as small as he was. That piece there, for example, had no business fitting inside the little feyling, and yet, somehow he had comfortably inhaled its entirety. He gave his protruded stomach a satisfied pat and flopped back on his pillow-bed with the contented groan of a big stretch.

Arden peeked down at his pal, sprawled wide across the pillow, chocolate smears still decorating his hands and mouth, his belly rounded out like a juggling ball. He chuckled softly to himself.

"Really, what's the deal" Merrows groaned again, this time in agitation rather than satisfaction. The sprite arched his neck to the side to look at the shaman.

"It's nothin" Arden dismissed.

"It's not nothin" Merrows grumbled, his blue glow subtly shifting into the dim pink smoldering of embarrassment. "You're doin that thing again…"

"What thing?" Arden asked, putting on a scowl to hide his own surfacing blush.

"That stupid scoff you do" Merrows grumbled, sitting up and leaning over to pull a nearby sheet up over himself. Noticing his bit of a mess, he used its corner to wipe off his hands and face.

"Scoff?" Arden asked, giving a nonchalant glance to the side.

"You do it everytime I eat one of those snacks you bring me…" Merrows pulled the cover up to his face, peeking out from the top to narrow his eyes on Arden. "Are you picking on me" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Nah, why would I" Arden rolled his eyes a little, then bit his lip slightly. He hadn't meant to let the sarcasm drip so thickly.

"You're not pickin on my weight, are you" Merrows glared from behind his sheet insinuatingly. His smoldering pink light gave a brief red flare, and before Arden could respond Merrows was already shouting at him. "You know I'm not really this big!" he growled. "It's just cus I just ate is all! You know that. And you're the one that gave me such a big stupid chocolate. You coulda nicked a littler one! You can't just-"

"Woah! Woah, woah woah" Arden interrupted. "Just, just cool it a bit. I thought you liked chocolate."

"That's not the point" Merrows snarled. "You do that stupid laugh every time I eat."

"Nuh-uh" Arden protested. "I-"

Merrows dropped the sheet to shake an angry finger at the shaman. "You know you do" he scolded. "It's not like-" he paused, flushing pink once more as he pulled the sheet back up in front of him. "... It's not like I don't appreciate the stupid treats. But.. I mean… I don't have to haul loot like I used to, and you don't have me distracting the guards anymore, and-"

Merrows paused. He looked Arden in the eyes, and noticed Arden staring at the sheet that was hiding his current girth. Merrows let out another irritated growl.

"Stop staring at me" he whined angrily. "I know its stackin on. I'm puttin on pudge and it's your fault, so you can't pick on me for it. It's your stupid fault!" he huffed adamantly.

Arden exhaled slowly while biting his lower lip. He closed his eyes and his face winced a little as he tried to think of what to possibly say. The sprite wasn't wrong, and… Well…

"Yeah…" Arden shrugged, expressing a calm, unconcerned composure. "But, don't you like being able to relax a bit more? We're pretty well off man. I mean, we're not fighting for scraps anymore. I thought you appreciated being able to loosen up, slack off. I thought you appreciated me snatchin you a treat here and there."

"Yeah, so?" the sprite retorted. Merrows' pink light was glimmering like angry embers in his agitated humiliations. "It doesn't mean you can pick on me if you're letting me slack off anyways. If you're just gonna pick on me for it, I don't want the easy street! I'll start helpin out more again."

"No!" Arden inadvertently blurted louder and quicker than he meant to. "I mean, no, it's, it's fine, you can-"

Merrows raised a skeptical eyebrow to Arden. "What's with you… ?" he grumbled, unable to get a read on his shaman.

"I… Well…" Arden shook his head but couldn't keep the blush at bay. He reached out and scooped Merrows out from behind his hiding sheet.

"Hey!" the sprite protested, squirming to no avail as Arden brought him over. He sat in Arden's hand, doing his best to cover his large tummy with his arms as Arden brought him up close.

"Merrows" Arden started.

The sprite calmed some, noticing the odd hesitation in the shaman. Flares of auroric hues of curiosity flickered through his pink aura.

"I didn't mean to make you feel bad or nothin" Arden said innocuously. "I actually, uh, really like the extra padding you got."

Now it was Merrows who rolled his eyes. His lights flickered from their pink flush to irritated gleams of crimson.

"No, I actually mean it" Arden protested.

"Why in the deep abyss would you 'like the extra padding' I've got" Merrows narrowed his eyes again.

"Well… I… I think… " Arden knew exactly what was in his head, but his tongue struggled with the words. It wasn't exactly an easy thing to admit to his partner in crime, but over the years, he'd grown a definite fondness toward the fey. A subtle but strong attraction. But, he was already mid-dive, and there was no sense in backing out now. He bit his lip for a moment once again, and then he committed to the statement.

"I think it makes you look real attractive…"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Hahahahaha!" Merrows erupted into laughter, his aura blazing into radiant sheens of gold and glistening shimmers of orange. "Hahahahahaha!" he chortled, his whole body bouncing with his uncontrolled hysterics.

Arden got quiet, not knowing quite how to respond, and when no words came to him, he simply looked down to the side.

When Merrows' laughter finally simmered down, he let out a few last chuckles as he gawked at his shaman. He fell quiet seeing his shaman's face. "Nu-uh, no, you're for real?" he bawked, eyes wide with curiosity.

Arden gave the sprite a sheepish look and shrugged and nodded with a soft "Mhmm" of acknowledgement.

"Oh" Merrows looked down and frowned in thought. His shining aura dimming into a soft violet shade of contemplation. "I mean, I guess that explains a lot" he reasoned to himself before glancing back up to the shaman. "Well, then, you're not picking on me, are ya."

Arden chuckled and shook his head.

"You're just weird" Merrows laughed harshly, bringing an ashamed fluster of deeper red to Arden's blush. "But…" Merrows continued quickly, fluttering with some effort before landing his weight on Arden's chest and staggering to keep his balance. "But, if you like it, ehh…. I don't mind you letting me be lazy" he grinned.