Adult-FanFiction.org : Games

Sandcastles and Fireworks	By : DarklingWillow & BronxWench Category: +M through R > Neverwinter Nights Views: 1524 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: We do not own Neverwinter Nights, nor the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
A waiter carried the drinks to Bronwen’s table for Willow, and she apologized to the elves and Bronwen for Kansas’ abrupt departure, as well as conveyed Yuji and Satoshi’s apologies to the elves. She explained that Kansas had not gotten jetlagged until the evening, and that, along with him mixing drinks during his fluttering about between other tables to introduce himself, had caused his stomach upset. Willow also assured both of the elves that her three pets would love to meet them both again, and encouraged the elves to see if the three men would not want to go exploring the city with them the next day.

Both Bronwen and the elves assured Willow in return that they absolutely understood about Kansas, and the elves were delighted by the prospect of meeting Yuji and Satoshi again the next day.

Willow returned to her own table to enjoy the rest of the meal and to continue her conversation with the young French feminist writer.

The evening finally drew to a close, and Bronwen said good night to the writers and their companions as they left. She sent her elves on ahead, since the two had wanted to bring Yuji and Satoshi some dessert to their room, and Willow shamelessly admired the view as the two elves walked away. Then she turned to Bronwen with a sweet smile.

“So, I have this strange feeling that Yuji may have accidentally said too much when he spoke to you earlier? I am sure that you remember the pictures I showed you, the last time we met, so you recognized them. All three of them, didn’t you?”

Bronwen nodded, her smile warm. “I did, but since you didn’t introduce them here as your husband and your housemates, I didn’t want to say anything. I’ll confess, I can see why you took both your gorgeous husband and your delicious Satoshi to your bed. The elves, of course, know nothing. I wouldn’t share that without permission.” She turned to make sure the elves were well out of sight. “My pair of lovelies are a couple, but not bound for life. They have decided this week is outside their vows, so to speak, and indeed, it’s not unheard of in their culture to take lovers in addition to each other, so you needn’t worry about whatever might happen. I haven’t seen Sand take an interest in anyone like he has in your Satoshi, and sweet Vale might even have been flirting a bit, I think, with Yuji.”

“Mmm, they make a gorgeous couple. I can so imagine the two of them together, you know,” Willow said with a purr. Then she smiled at the older woman and nodded. “We’ve had a tough year, the four of us. I don’t want to go into details, but we all desperately needed this vacation. And we decided that we’re going to pretend that we’re all free to do as we please this week. So, if the elves want to play with my pair of silly things, they are more than welcome. Because I can tell you, Yuji was flirting so hard, I am sure that we would have found them in the bathrooms right after dessert, if Kansas hadn’t cockblocked the poor guy so hard,” Willow said with a laugh and then nodded her head. “But the boys are free for the week. And I am fine with sharing them, because I know that Yuji always comes home to me at the end of the evening. If he doesn’t, I know I’ll find him in Satoshi’s bed. So, are you fine with it, if I nudge your elves in my silly buggers’ direction?”

“I’m perfectly fine with that,” Bronwen replied. “I do indulge myself and drag them off to my bed from time to time, but they aren’t my permanent lovers. That position is currently open, and I think I quite like it that way for the time being.” She laughed. “I’ve reached that age where I’m quite at ease with my own company, and set in my ways enough to be annoying to most of the pretty things I find appealing.” She paused, and then continued. “And your sweet Kansas? I would rather not have the elves overstep their bounds.”

“Oh, I hear you on that,” Willow agreed with Bronwen, but when Bronwen continued and mentioned Kansas, Willow’s look grew a little more serious. “Kansas isn’t mine, actually. I love him with all of my heart, but he is like a son, or a little brother to me. And he sees me more as a sister, or a mother figure. I think he’s completely gay, actually. But Satoshi agreed to come, so Kansas had to come too. I couldn’t leave one of them behind,” Willow said and gave Bronwen a sad smile. “But, I understand what you mean. Kansas is his own man now, since he’s of age, and if he wants to play with anyone here, he is free to, as long as Satoshi tells him he is. All I ask is that if there are any vampires in attendance, that they leave Kansas alone, and don’t indulge him, if he tries to pursue them. He promised he wouldn’t, but he has a thing for bleeding, so I am sure he’ll find a way to wriggle his way out of that promise. And maybe, just tell your elves that Kansas may say he is a tough little cookie, but he is far more fragile than he pretends to be.”

Willow gave Bronwen another small smile, and sighed a little. “It’s complicated. Like almost everything else about our little family,” she said, then gasped. “Oh, and please, let’s keep it between us, that Yuji is my husband? We wanted to be free and available this week, so we took our rings off, and we don’t want the married part to cloud anything else that might happen.”

Bronwen looked thoughtful. “I do understand complicated, my dear Willow. Nothing worth having is ever simple, or easy, is it? But I promise, your secrets are safe with me, and my elves are completely incapable of harming anyone. They would never do anything without full consent, and they hold very firmly to the belief that pleasure should be given as well as taken with a lover. They’ll treat Kansas gently, I promise you. I’ll make sure they know he needs that. I worry most about Sand, though. He’s impossible to refuse, when he smiles so sweetly. It’s gotten him into no end of trouble, which might well be the point of it, I think.”

“He’s much like Yuji in that regard, then,” Willow said with a laugh. She and Bronwen said their goodnights, and Willow rode down to the seventh floor to find her imps.

Vale woke from his reverie just after dawn, the comfortable weight of Sand in his arms. Bronwen was nowhere to be seen, but that was also familiar. The blond elf smiled into the silky black hair tickling his arm. They were such disparate creatures, all of them; Vale woke with the sun, while Sand lingered in bed as long as he could, and Bronwen rarely slumbered at all. Today was no different, it seemed, and Vale let himself relax, enjoying the warmth and comfort of his lover in his arms.

It was not a long-lived cuddle. The door to Bronwen’s suite opened, and Vale heard the soft vibration of room service cart wheels over the wool of the Persian carpet in the living room. He breathed in, savoring the mixture of aromas, and his inhalation woke a soft grumble from Sand.

“It is still night time, my love. Come and rest with me a while longer.” Sand’s voice was muffled against Vale’s golden skin, one alabaster thigh flung over Vale with careless possessiveness.

“There’s tea,” Vale murmured, nuzzling Sand sweetly. “And maybe even sweet rolls. We could have sweet rolls, with honey.”

“And I will lick the honey from your fingers, my love, but only if I can rest a bit longer.” Sand tried to coax Vale, but the blond elf was having none of it, untangling himself so he could sit up and stretch, lithe and gloriously naked. “Very well, but save me a roll?”

Vale stroked one pale shoulder, and found a robe, wrapping it around himself as he walked into the living room in time to see the waiter leave. “So, what did you have planned for us today?” he asked, as he helped himself to a cup of tea.

“I have panels, and workshops set up for the writers today, since that’s really supposed to be the point of this week,” Bronwen replied, sipping her coffee. “For the rest of you, I thought you might want to have a relatively unstructured day, to explore the city a bit. I can suggest a few things, if you’re feeling unadventurous.”

Vale grinned, selecting a small pastry. “I’m almost never unadventurous,” he replied. “And the city seems well worth exploring.”

Bronwen snorted. “You’ll find no city is unique, my dear Vale. They all have seamy undersides, and dramatically flashy enclaves. There’s not a great deal of music here, and the gardens, aside from a few large plots in far-flung areas, are less than impressive. I do like the museums, however, and you must find time to travel around the main island here. What is the name of that damned boat ride? The Circle something. The desk will have information if you ask.”

“Sand will like that. He loves to sail.”

“It’s not quite sailing, my sweet boy. But it’s pleasant enough. In the meantime, wake your pretty moon, and reacquaint yourself with the shower in the bedroom. You were enjoying it enough yesterday, when we arrived.” Bronwen stroked Vale’s arm. “Go find your friends from last night. Get out and wander about a little. Sand has some money, and there’s more on the chest in the bedroom, for your pockets. I know you like to have your own money.”

Vale looked mildly indignant. “I have my own money. It’s just not the same sort as is used here, and you told me I can’t hand out gold coins. Or even silver. Which seems silly, because they do have silver coins here, and copper ones, too.”

“But not in the manner you use at home.” Bronwen shook her head. “Don’t be stubborn, sweet elf. Go wake Sand.”

Vale wandered off toward the bedroom with a fresh cup of tea and a pastry for his fellow elf. As he opened the door, he called out softly. “Museums, my love. Bones, and antiquities. And I have tea.”

Yuji yawned and stretched until he felt a number of joints and ligaments groan and pop, and a soft voice giggled from the bathroom door.

“Morning, my love,” Willow said, and Yuji cracked one eye open to look at his wife.

“Morning?” he said with a huff and pulled the sheets up to cover his head. “It’s still yesterday, get the fuck out of here.”

“It is not still yesterday. The sun is up, and the house is a-stirring,” Willow answered with a funny voice and a laugh as she pulled the sheets off Yuji. “Get up, you log, and let’s have breakfast. I ordered it to be brought up. How was Kansas, after you got him down? You were asleep when I got in, so I didn’t want to wake you.”

“He threw up a couple of more times, but then he kept down the rice gruel and some tea, so I guess he’s going to be alright today. Maybe a bit tired, but alright,” Yuji answered as he sat up, stretching his arms above his head to try and make his back pop. “Was Satoshi awake when you came down last night? I think I fell asleep before he did.”

“He was. He was helping Kansas when I came in, so I didn’t talk to him.” Willow crawled up on the bed to kiss Yuji, her smile bright, and her wet hair a bundle of wild curls around her face. “Get up, log, and take a shower, and I’ll see if Satoshi and Kansas feel like getting up.”

“You always play favorites with them, you know,” Yuji said and stole one more kiss, then rolled out of the bed on the other side, and headed for the bathroom, but Willow went out to the living room where Satoshi and Kansas were curled up together on the smaller guest bed.

Satoshi was fast asleep still, his arms tight around the slender youth, but Kansas lay still with his eyes open, watching Willow as she came out into the living room and went to the door to let the breakfast cart in.

“Morning, my sweet love,” Willow said quietly as she passed the bed, and Kansas shot her a little smile, but said nothing. When she returned, a waiter pushing the breakfast cart into the room, then leaving as silently as he had entered, Kansas lifted his head a little and looked up at Willow.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, shrinking back down against Satoshi when Willow came over to kneel down beside the bed.

“Don’t be sorry, sweetheart. You did nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing,” she said, her hand gentle as she stroked his hair. “You didn’t take a nap when we arrived, and the jet lag hit you quite hard. And you know very well that you ate too much, and drank too fast. It was just excitement, and nothing else, alright? Absolutely no reason to be sorry, or ashamed, or anything of the sort.” Willow pressed a kiss to Kansas’ forehead, smiling when she noticed that Satoshi had opened his eyes too. “But, now the big question is, are you feeling well enough to get up and have some breakfast? I ordered your favorites, and we’ll have to hope that their tamagoyaki is as good as Satoshi’s.”

“Nobody can make it as good as Satoshi,” Kansas said with a small giggle, and turned to look at Satoshi.

“Nobody can,” Satoshi agreed and squeezed the little imp, and gave him a little kiss. “Morning, Sweets. Now, let’s get up and have some breakfast, and then we can take a shower together, alright?”

“Can we then go do something fun?” Kansas asked and Willow ruffled his hair as she stood up again and answered with a laugh.

“You three can go do all kinds of fun stuff. Me, I’ll be writing and workshopping, and having fun with all the other writers.”

Yuji lingered over his wife’s lips as she tried to step into her shoes, giggling as he refused to let go of her waist. “You look glorious, you know that,” Yuji purred and leaned in to kiss her again, squeezing Willow a little to make her breasts squish against his chest.

“You’re only saying that so you can look at my boobs,” Willow protested with a laugh, finally getting her other shoe on. “Satoshi, Kansas, are you coming, or are you still getting ready?”

“We’re coming,” Satoshi shouted from the bathroom, but that was followed by giggles and the sound of spray bottles.

“That means another fifteen minutes,” Yuji said and squeezed Willow again, giggling when she gasped.

“Stop ogling my boobs, you perv,” she cried out, and slapped his shoulder, but then she laughed and pulled him down for another kiss. “Are you alright? You looked a little pale at breakfast.”

“I’m fine. I was probably just a bit hungover, but I’m fine now. And you never used to complain about me ogling your boobs,” Yuji said, leaning in to nibble her neck. “Except maybe when you had a baby attached to it.”

“Seriously, you would be the only man on Earth to get boob envy at a baby,” Willow said with a sigh, and eased out of Yuji’s embrace.

“I would not. Satoshi got jealous of Ryuu too,” Yuji protested with a laugh, then sighed and waved at the door. “Go. I don’t want you to be late. I’ll herd the silly ones, and we’ll find something to do. I’ll find something fun for the two of them to do today, and then we can do stuff that I want to do later in the week. Probably that weird spiral art museum, and what’s it called? The dinosaur museum?”

“Take him to the Met, instead. The Guggenheim is all modern art, and you know how he laughs at that. Bronwen told me that you can ask for prearranged packages for the museums at the front desk.” Willow said, picking up her bag from the floor and kissing Yuji one last time. “Try to find your friends from last night and thank them for the desserts that they brought you two, alright? And ask them to go with you, even. That’s the polite thing to do. I love you, and I’ll see you three at dinner. Bye, you silly things.”

“We’re coming!” Satoshi yelled out from the bathroom, but Yuji was not sure Willow heard him as the door closed behind her.

“You two better get moving, or I’m going to Hard Rock café by myself,” Yuji yelled out, and that set things in motion in the bathroom, Kansas squeaking hard as he stole the hair straightener right out of Satoshi’s hands judging by the sound of it.

“We can’t just lurk in the halls, can we?” Vale asked, tugging a little at his shirt. “We could use that thing on the desk and ask someone to let us speak to their room. Bronwen does it when she wants something, and they come running. It’s a little intimidating, actually.”

“It is not really intimidating, as much as it is their answer to magic. Like the lights, my love.”

Vale blinked. The light switches in the rooms had gotten a serious workout at Vale’s hands, the elf mystified by how the lights went on and off without a cantrip, until he tugged the cords from the walls and then nothing worked. The sparks when he tried to put the cords back into the wall were fairly impressive as well, but he had managed not to blow anything up, or burn the hotel down, although Bronwen had asked him to stop playing with the cords after that.

“Glow globes make so much more sense. They don’t hum, either.” Vale reached for his jacket. “Did you do the transmutation for our ears yet?”

Sand shook his head. “We will use glamours. I do not know if our magic can be sensed here but a glamour should be fine. And to answer your earlier question, it is simpler to go down the flight of stairs, and find their room again. We can knock at the door like civilised elves, and speak to them about perhaps visiting some places in the city together. They are accustomed to the ways of this place, or at least of this Plane, and they know we are not, so they can guide us and keep us from making fools of ourselves.” He gathered his long hair into a loose tail at the nape of his neck. “Come, my sun. Let us go and explore.”

“I always want to ask for reinforcements when you say that,” Vale murmured, but he followed Sand to the stairs at the end of the hall. They walked down the one flight of stairs, and followed the signs to room 708. Sand knocked on the door, and waited for a response from within.

“We’re coming,” Kansas shouted with a hoot, and galloped in a tiny circle right in front of the door, in the small space they had designated as the genkan of their room, unable to abandon the habit of leaving their outdoor shoes by the front door.

“We’d be coming a lot faster if you hadn’t stolen the damned straightener,” Satoshi growled and laced up his sneakers, Yuji sniggering above him.

“You got everything, imps?” Yuji asked and Kansas grabbed the strap of his shoulder bag and shook it, one hand on the doorknob.

“I’ve got everything,” he announced and then pulled on the door to open it, just as there came a polite knock on the door. Kansas obviously did not hear it in his excitement, and let out a horrified yelp when he literally jumped right into Sand’s chest.

Yuji burst out laughing but Satoshi gasped in horror. “Tatsuya, what did you do?!” he cried out as both elf and imp stumbled, and Kansas squealed as he tripped over his heavy, thick-soled boots.

Sand caught Kansas, offering a dazzling smile. “Good morning. I do like enthusiasm this early in the day.” He seemed oblivious to the incredulous look from Vale, who was standing just behind his right shoulder. “We came to see if you had any plans for the day. We were thinking of perhaps venturing to a museum or two. Bronwen tells us there are some wonderful museums here.” He held up brochures Bronwen had gotten from the front desk for her elves. “This one has art, and statues, and mummies. It has weapons, and armor, and even furniture, and clothing of all sorts worn in the past. It seems very interesting.”

Vale was peeking over Sand’s shoulder at Kansas’ boots, his eyes wide. “How do you walk in those?” he blurted out, and then blushed the most wonderful shade of pink. “I’m sorry. They just look so heavy, and they don’t look very flexible at all. I don’t think you could run well in those.”

Kansas sprang back to jump into Satoshi’s embrace, the pierced man wrapping one arm around Kansas’ back protectively. Only then did the youngster turn to face Vale and he answered with bravado. “I can walk just fine in these. Usually I put one foot in front of the other and just go from there.”

“Tatsuya,” Satoshi gasped, and added something more in Japanese, blushing as he bowed to the elves.

Yuji stepped out of the room and made sure the door locked behind them, then bowed to the elves, his English a little bit more halting than it had been the night before. “Morning, Vale-san, Sand-san, it’s wonderful to see you both so early. We were actually just on our way out. I think the plan is to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Natural History Museum. Right, Satoshi?”

Satoshi blushed again and nodded his head hard, waffling for a second before he remembered his English again. “Yes, that’s what we were talking about, and I looked up how to get there. We can take two subways, to get to the Metropolitan Museum, and then we can maybe walk from there, to the Natural History Museum, and we were thinking about having lunch at one of the museums,” he said, pulling out a notebook and a small tablet computer, starting it up to show the elves the itinerary that he had written up for himself and his two lovers. “We just need to get some money exchanged for smaller bills, so we can pay for everything. And Yuji says we can get tour packages from the front desk.”

“You want to come with us?” Yuji asked, smiling his brightest at Vale, and tucked his thumbs into the pockets of his jeans, then tugged on the pockets just a fraction to make the front of his jeans tighten over his crotch.
Vale grinned. “We’d love to come with you. Bronwen said we could ask at the desk and her car would take us places. I’m not entirely sure what a car is, but she gave us this to talk to the person in the car.” He held up a slim smartphone, looking completely baffled. “She said I can press on the car pictograph, and the person will talk to me through this little thing. Can I do that?”

Yuji grinned a little as he took the phone from Vale’s hands, and pressed the button to wake the thing up, then pressed the icon he hoped was the one that Vale was talking about. “This is a cell phone. It’s the same as the phone in your room, that you use to call the front desk and room service, but this one works on satellites, not landlines,” he said, turning the phone to show Vale the screen. “Here, I called him for you. Did Bronwen-san tell you that you could use the car to go all around the city? Satoshi, it would be so much better, wouldn’t it?” Yuji turned to look at Satoshi and the pierced man nodded his head, bowing a fraction to the two elves again.

“It would be cheaper, safer and we’d be less likely to get lost,” he admitted, and then bowed yet again. “If you wouldn’t mind letting us come with you?”

“Of course you should come with us in the car,” Vale said, his face lighting up. “You can show me more about how this works. It’s fascinating. I can talk to all sorts of people on this, and not just the person in the car? Oh, I wish these worked on our world.” He blinked at the smartphone when a voice came out of it.

“This is Finn, Miss Bronwen’s driver. Is this Mr. Anorongil?” The voice was male, the tone polite.

Vale brought the smartphone closer. “Yes, this is Vale Anorongil. We’d like to see some of the sights, I think. There are, wait, five of us.”

“Very good, Mr. Anorongil,” Finn replied. “I will wait for you outside the main lobby. Look for a Bentley. It will seat you all comfortably.” Finn ended the call, and Vale blinked at Yuji.

“I have no idea what he’s talking about, so I hope you can recognize this car. I mean, I know a car is a metal carriage that moves around. I was looking at them from the roof last night. But that’s about it for knowledge.” Vale put the smartphone in his pocket carefully. “And I’m sure he was listening to us all, and wondering if he was being asked to drive insane people around. I don’t know if Bronwen mentioned the elf part.”

Yuji grinned at the blond elf and nodded his head, waving a hand to indicate that they should get moving down to the lobby. “If I don’t recognize it, then Satoshi will. He’s the car crazy one of us. Oh, and before I forget, thank you, again, for bringing the dessert by our room last night. Kansas was really sorry that he ruined the night for us, but I had a great time with you. And the ice cream was beyond delicious.”

Vale laughed. “Oh, he didn’t ruin anything, poor Kansas. He was sick, from all the travel. I’m glad you enjoyed the ice cream, and I’m sorry Kansas didn’t get to enjoy the whole night, but we can make up for it today, I hope. Do you have any ideas of where you want to go?” He looked at Yuji with bright interest, not even aware of the slight sway in his walk.

Yuji made the softest of hums of appreciation as the elf began to walk down the hallway, Yuji hesitating just long enough to catch a glimpse of the elf’s delectable ass. “Oh, I decided to let the pair of them decide, so we’re going to the Metropolitan Art Museum, and the Natural History Museum. Art for the little one, and then dinosaurs and dusty things for the pierced one. I’m just hoping I’ll get fed something nice, and maybe I can see some old instruments. I’ve heard that there are some at the Metropolitan Museum,” Yuji said with a smile as he fell in step beside Vale, and headed towards the elevators.

“What is a subway?” Sand asked. “And do you understand how the money works here? We have some, but I have no idea how to use it. It is just pieces of paper. We are told we cannot use gold coins like we do at home.”

“You have gold?” Kansas cried out in astonishment, and Satoshi looked startled when a rumble seemed to emanate from Kansas’ whole body. “We should totally use gold money.”

“We can’t,” Satoshi said and blushed as he turned back to Sand. “The money in most countries in our world is made of paper, and we also have small metal coins. I’m not the best at the conversion rate, but I can sort of figure it out. Yuji’s a bit better at math, so we can help you, probably.”

Sand reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pouch, removing a gold coin weighing roughly an ounce, engraved with words in an elegant script. “This is what we use. There are silver and copper coins as well, smaller currency.” He rummaged and found a smaller silver coin as well. “I do not have any copper,” he said as he handed the coins to Kansas. Then he reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and removed a leather billfold. “Bronwen told me these pieces of paper would be acceptable in most places.” He opened the billfold to display a good bit of cash.

Kansas gasped and nearly jumped back into Sand’s arms as he accepted the gold coin, hooting happily. “It’s real gold?” he asked, then bit the coin hard enough to make Satoshi cry out in shock. “It’s real gold!” Kansas cried out and looked at the dark-haired elf with delighted awe, small teeth marks obvious on the face of the gold coin. “I want to have gold coins.”

“You can’t,” Satoshi said with a soft tone, reaching out to pull the coins free of Kansas’ hands and hand them back to the moon elf. “Thank you, for showing him these. But we should go, if the driver has answered the phone. We can’t leave him waiting for too long.”

Kansas gave a cry of protest, when Satoshi pulled the coins free of his hands, but the youngster stepped back and watched the gold coin as Satoshi held it out for Sand to take again, with a sad pout on his face and his eyes full of longing. He blinked his eyes slowly, and when he opened them again, there were tiny tears pearling in his long lashes, and the blue of his right eye was just a little more vivid against the grey of his left eye.

Sand shook his head a bit when Satoshi offered him the coins. “No, please, they are nothing. Please let Kansas keep them if he wishes. I have plenty more coin, and I cannot use it here. Think of them as a keepsake, to remember our meeting.”

“No,” Satoshi stuttered and sighed a little. “Sand-san, you don’t understand. Gold is really valuable here. We could sell this coin by the weight and it would probably be worth a great deal of money. So, really, we can’t take it.”

“I want it,” Kansas growled, deep in his throat, his eyes widening just a little bit, his pale skin seeming to almost gleam for half a breath. “I’m a dragon,” he keened, and was again reduced to the little youngster. “All dragons should have gold for their nests, you know.”

Satoshi shook his head and sighed again, trying to push the coin back at Sand. “I’m sorry, it’s too much. It’s too expensive, really. Gold is very valuable here, and I don’t know if we’d be able to bring it back to Japan with us. It’s a question of the monetary value of the gold in our world. Please, Sand-san, don’t think I don’t appreciate the gift, it’s just that it’s so expensive, in terms of money in our world. This is a treasure, really.” Satoshi held out the coins again, ignoring Kansas, the little imp looking stormy and heartbroken at the same time.

Sand looked disappointed. “It is just a coin, Satoshi-san. Whether gold has more value here than in my world should not matter. It is a simple thing for me to offer a coin or two to Kansas, and the value to me is in the pleasure he would get from accepting it. But if you wish me to take them back, I will not argue with you.” He smiled at Kansas. “And you are correct. No dragon should be without a proper hoard. Have you met any dragons?”

“Yes, I have,” Kansas answered with enthusiasm, bouncing a little on the balls of his feet. “I met a big old red one.”

“There are no dragons in our world,” Satoshi interrupted and sighed a little, looking at the coins in his hand. He hefted the heavy coin in his palm, then with another sigh he reached out and grabbed Sand’s wrist and placed the coins in the elf’s palm. Satoshi gasped loudly when his shoulder twitched as a shock of electricity shot up his arm.

Kansas grinned at Sand from behind Satoshi, the look suggesting that he had seen the way the very air between Sand and Satoshi had suddenly lit up as if they had been hit by lightning. Or rather, had been the source of the lightning themselves.
- 8
- 9
- 10
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Sandcastles and Fireworks