.:Nerys and Cassie part 1:.
Cassie leads Nerys along the corridor to one of the few empty rooms available. She slips a key out of a pocket in her apron and opens the door to let Nerys in.
"It's only small, but the larger rooms were taken earlier in the evening."
She suddenly looks shocked.
"I'm sorry, I forgot to ask if you wanted me to bring anything to drink or eat up, I'm sorry." She wipes her hands on her apron, "I'll go and get something."
She moves to go back downstairs.
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As Cassie starts panicking Nerys gives a light laugh, and before she can start to move places a light hand on the barmaids shoulder, gently pushing her into the room before entering herself and looking around.
"Sssh, this is fine. No drinks, no food, just us."
She takes the key from the lock and closes the door. She wanders round the room checking for anything untoward, then sits down on the bed, testing the springs much as a child would. She puts her bag out of the way, and throws her jacket on top of it, and carefully puts the door key on the small table by the bed.
"Relax." She stretches out. "Been a while since I had a bed to sleep in." She looks at Cassie with a raised eyebrow.
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Cassie stifles a nervous giggle as Nerys looks at her, feeling the other woman’s eyes running over her.
She wrings her hands, then reaches behind her back and undoes the ties to her apron, folding it and placing it next to Nerys things.
"What happens now?" she asks, fear and trepidation creeping into her voice.
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For a moment Nerys seems lost in her own thoughts, her hands playing with a ring on her right hand.
*Weeks since I slept in a bed, how long since I shared one with someone who wasn't Vak and out of bounds? Was I wrong, leading her here, or am I so lonely I'm getting desperate? *
She hears Cassie's voice, which breaks her train of thought, and she pulls off the ring and reaches over to put it in her bag.
She smiles, not the fake smile she's worn all evening but a genuine, if slightly tired smile. "Now? You stop fidgeting and sit down." She pulls her boots off and rubs her toes, "then we talk."
She moves so that she's sitting cross-legged on the bed and gestures for Cassie to do the same.
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Relaxing slightly, Cassie follows and sits on the edge of the bed, unlacing her boots before pulling them off.
She climbs onto the bed so that she can arrange her skirt so that she can sit comfortably.
"Right, what do we talk about? I mean, I know nothing about you, I don't even know your last name, you know nothing about me, and I'm talking rubbish right now aren't I?"
Her shoulders sag as she relaxes and closes her eyes briefly, trying to make sense of things in her head.
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Nerys sighs. She'd expected this, that she'd have to explain everything, but she'd hoped the other woman wouldn't be quite so nervous.
"Well, I guess I start from the top then don't I? My name is Nerys Briar, I'm from Calsmeer although I've seen the world in my life, I normally travel with another woman, Vak who is my oldest friend. I tend not to stay in one place for long, my family, who I am somewhat estranged from have made it clear that they can find me whether I want to be found or not." She runs her hand through her hair, "There isn't much more to me really, other than I make my money by selling what I can make, or by not getting myself killed. Your turn I guess."
She stretches out and waits for Cassie to respond.
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A brief look of panic flickers across Cassie’s face as Nerys mentions another woman, but swiftly pushes the thought aside for later. She undoes the tie that has held the hair from her face, letting it fall down over her shoulders, and tries to form a coherent sentence.
"It's just me and me mam at home now. My dad died a few months back and my brother lives in the next town over with his wife and family. I've worked here for a year now. I suppose that'd be me really."
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"Hm." Nerys stretches, rubbing her shoulder. "So you've never left the town?" She asks.
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Cassie shakes her head. "Never wanted to. I suppose I will sooner or later, when there's nothin' 'ere for me."
She lowers her eyes briefly, before looking back up. "Are your shoulders sore?" she asks in a voice close to a whisper.
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Nerys continues rubbing her shoulder, bruised from her heavy bag, and nods when Cassie asks if they hurt.
"I'm carrying around far too much in that bag. I sometimes wonder how I fit it all it!"
She stretches her neck from side to side, and then leans forward, stretching out her arms to the end of the bed. Cassie shifts out the way a little, and Nerys laughs. "Sorry, that bag and too many nights on the road."
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Cassie shakes her head, and mumbles something about "crazy travellers" before slipping off the bed. A look of bemusement spreads across Nerys' face, before Cassie stands next to her at the top of the bed and motions that she move further down.
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"What the?" she starts to protest, by Cassie places a hand in front of her face to silence her.
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"Just move down, and trust me."
Nerys complies, and waits for whatever is going to happen next happen. The bed creaks slightly as Cassie climbs back on, arranging her skirt so that she can kneel behind Nerys. She places her hands lightly on Nerys' shoulders, and pauses.
"Where abouts?" she asks.
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Nerys shrugs, "My shoulders, the top of my back." she pauses for a moment. "You don't have to."
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As Cassie starts kneading at the muscles, she thinks. "I know I don't have to, but you strike as the kind of person who hates talkin' face to face. Besides, you're stiff as a board."
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Nerys stifles a small snigger, to which Cassie rolls her eyes.
"I'm sorry, it's been a while since I've been close to anyone, enough to trust them. People have a tendency to die." Nerys' tone is somewhat sombre, and she lowers her head, her mind deep in memories.
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