Shena smiled at her newfound friend. Some people considered themslves generous with a single tossed coin; anything more than that was rarer than diamond. "Did she live in the forest too?" Shena couldn't help but ask. "Did the fire displace her?" The sudden influx of people after the flames had definitely been noticed, by the guards most of all. In the months following the burn, it had not become unusual for there to be screams in the night when the roads had become empty enough for the guards - half of them newly hired and keen - to hunt for the Despicable.
In any case, they were almost at the Thistle. She could see the building - modest only by district standards - with the usual rabble gathered around the outside. She stopped outside, smiled warmly at Xenia, and held out a hand. "I'm sure we'll see each other again," she said. "If you want to track me down, you could probably just creep around the stables at dawn, Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. You'll find me."
There was a table waiting for her inside The Thistle Hotel. It was a daily ritual to visit in the evenings, right before the evening mail rounds. None of her friends there needed the rooms, but the establishment served sweet wine and good food, and their post office was right next to it.
The table had just been a gathering of couriers at first, but they always welcomed travelling merchants, resting sailors, or new citizens. Now, it was just a table filled with happy friends, a lot of which happened to also work in the post offices.
"How is everyone," she grinned, walking to her friends and letting Xenia melt away to the back of her mind.
"Helping me deal with my womanly woes," one of them, sighed, with a flourish of drama. Then she threw her head back and tossed down the contents of her glass.
"Grape juice is meant to be savoured, Lisette" Shena said, patting her mockingly on the shoulder.
"Not unfermented!" she insisted, slamming down the glass with a bang. "That stupid husband of mine vanished on me again," she replied, stroking her rounded stomach. "Aren't men supposed to pay more attention to you when you're carrying their kid, not less? No offense, Shena."
She waved it off. Her unmarried mother had been more than enough as a parent.
"Baltemont was supposed to be here with us early today," someone else at the table explained. "But you know him; he's probably forgotten again. If he's done with his shift he's probably in one of the brothels." He patted Lisette on the shoulder. "Don't worry so much, Lis; his heart is loyally yours. It's just that his little worm down there that needs some exercise, and, you didn't hear this from me, but," he lowered his voice, "He's scared of hurting the little one."
They all chuckled at this, and the blonde woman couldn't help but smile as well. "Hmph," she muttered, "You all know exactly how to make me feel better. Better husbands than him any day," she huffed. "I don't know why I bother with that sack."
They laughed again.
"Well, if you want, we'll all be right here staring daggers at him with you when you rat his head off," Shena said, settling into her seat comfortably.
"Or you could go get him," Lisette said. "Well, if he's in The Flowering Maiden. Do you think he might be? Do you think he's ever fucked your mother?"
With any other group of people, Shena might have felt the need to be defensive. In this group, all she did was bury her forehead in her palm, and say, "Thank you so much for giving me that image." She let the admonishing come from everyone else at the table.
"Lis! Rude!"
"We don't make fun of her mother here!"
"Now, now, remember everyone; as much as we like to poke fun at her mother, she makes three times as much as anyone here."
"Maybe we should stop talking about her mother."
"I second that!" Shena said with a wide smile. She turned to the person next to her. "Dalton, how was your day?"
Dalton was a boatless fisherman they knew well. He woke before sunrise to fish at the docks, then would pack up when it began to get noisy and go back home for a nap. Then he would stay at Thistle, either shooting darts, playing chess, or talking to various people. When merchants and the dockworkers and the fishermen came in, he went back to the docks and fished into the night. He was always there, though Shena didn't see him as frequently as the others due to her woodland adventures.
"It was insane today," he said. "You won't believe this: some girl stabbed a drunk in the hand - had the knife pinning his hand to the table and everything!"
The bartender was passing by their table as they said this, and he grabbed a chair and pulled up with them. "The Justice Knights were here," he growled. "You'd think they'd be better at bar-fights with that bravado and all. By the time they stood up people were already throwing beer mugs at each other. In any case; girl got away, but she wasn't normal. Didn't even order a drink; just walked in, sat down, and stabbed the guy. Something about a payment dispute - got out without a scratch too! Just vanished!" He lowered his voice. "An assassin; and a good one, probably."
"Yes, yes! What he said!" Dalton said, nodding. "I'm glad I didn't have the gut to join that brawl. What was it - two broken hands and a broken foot?"
"And four people banned," the bartender said. "Good customers, but if I didn't get rid of them I'd probably lose even more. I've told a guard about it; he said he'll try to get me at least one guy posted nearby. Nowhere near enough, if you ask me. You guys are going out for evening rounds soon, yeah?" he said, gesturing to Shena and a few others. "You be careful and stay in sight of the guards. Something smells fishy about this whole thing, and it ain't Dalton."