Couldn't Be Happier

[cordy_estwynde]

Who: Cherry and Cordy
What: Waking Up
When: Early Monday
Where: Cordy's Place

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[cherry_reyer]

Cherry had dreamed too. Another nightmare about Erik, singing songs in her head. The truly frightful part of that, though, had been that the dream wasn't scary anymore. Cherry was getting used to her horrifying encounters with the vampire prince, almost looking forward to them. She supposed it was probably because she missed her old life more than she cared to admit. Erik was a part of that life, for better or for worse.

"Sounds wonderful," she murmured, closing her eyes.

She gratefully accepted the blanket, pulling it close. As a bird, she had a high tolerance for cold, but once she turned back, she was just as much an icicle as the next person. "Sunshine sounds nice right about now." Miranda sounded nice too.

[cordy_estwynde]

Cordelia burrowed up beside Cherry, nuzzling her cheek against her shoulder. She felt guilty. Cordy was normally an affectionate person, she loved cuddling, but now, when Cherry had been sick, Cordy been too caught up in her own sadness to give her hugs or kisses or whatever it was that Cherry had needed.

She still missed Mikney. In fact, she was still trying not to think about the fact that he'd died--but after crying with Cherry and Bret the other night, she felt some relief. She was, at least, able to think about Cherry's feelings now. She was able to show some more care.

"How's your head?" she asked, pressing another kiss against Cherry's shoulder. "Any better?"

[cherry_reyer]

Cherry smiled faintly. She enjoyed the cuddling, but she was too tired to do much else in return. Hoping to let Cordelia know that she enjoyed the cuddling, she reached out, lightly tangling her hand in Cordelia's curls. A small gesture, but a meaningful one. In the Crystal Realm, touching someone's hair had a wide variety of meanings, depending on race.

"Yeah," she answered. "Better. Still can't spot my head properly while doing pirouette à la seconde, but that's no great loss to the dance world."

Lightly, she touched her temple, rubbing it gently. "Stitches itch," she added after a moment.

[cordy_estwynde]

She leaned her head against Cherry's hand, enjoying the feel of the fingers playing with her hair. She realized now how long it had been since she'd had attention like this. It was a good feeling.

"How much longer do you have to have them in?" she asked absently, briefly closing her eyes. She'd be relieved when Cherry was back to normal--physically, at least. She wasn't sure what would happen if Cherry's memories came back. As far as she could tell, Cherry had forgotten everything about her and Bret, or about Cordy and Hood. Maybe that was for the best.

She turned to look at her friend, smiling slightly. "I know I haven't been showing it very well," she started, "But I've been so worried about you. I wasn't sure if--well, I was scared. I don't know what I--"

No, now wasn't the time to be vague. Honesty. Cherry valued that. "I love you," she said. "And I was scared that I might lose you."

[cherry_reyer]

This time, Cherry's smile was brighter. Briefly, she toyed around the idea of teasing, of giving Cordelia the same line that Cordelia had given her a dozen times over when the l-word came up. But that would be mean, and Cherry wasn't in the mood to be mean. She rarely was, which was probably part of what made her her. "I love you too," she said, squeezing Cordelia's curls between her fingers. "But you already knew that." A little teasing wasn't too bad. It was cute, even.

She shrugged slightly. "You got a lot on your mind. I can't expect to be the center of attention." Mikney was a big deal. But Cherry wasn't going to say it. She didn't want to depress Cordelia. Hopefully, Cordelia would return that favor and not bring up Sonic. That hurt was still a little too fresh. Cherry felt slightly lost without her blue friend. Lost wasn't the right word. Disconnected. She had no one to talk to at night.

"What are we going to do now?" she wondered quietly. "Now that Jhelbor is ours for the time being?"

[cordy_estwynde]

She smiled at Cherry's reply, leaning her head back against the pillow, settling down into the bed comfortably. "I don't know," was the best answer she could give to Cherry's question. "I'd like to reopen the tavern, I suppose, but I don't know how long you plan on staying here for."

She frowned. "I know you had said you wanted to go back to Birdsong--I don't know if you remember telling me that, though."

To be fair, Cherry had forgotten a lot of things since they'd had that conversation.

[cherry_reyer]

Cherry let out a breath between her teeth. "I'm not going anywhere," she said, forcing as much conviction into her voice as she could. Truth to tell, Cherry wanted nothing more than to simply pick a direction and go. But that wasn't an option. As much as she hated to use cat metaphors, there was no use crying over spilled milk.

"The tavern is good idea," she said. "A great source of income for the city. Plus it'll give people some jobs. I think it's a great plan." She paused, the next statement feeling especially hollow and wasted. "I'll help out, if I can." Not that Cherry could contribute much. She was a teacher. No need for those skills here. Not unless the tree babies started spawning. And that was a horrifying thought.

[cordy_estwynde]

Well, Cherry wasn't a fantastic liar. Apparently she'd be as miserable in Jhelbor now as she had been before. But Cordelia couldn't think of a thing she could do to help that. Cherry wanted to wander, but as far as Cordy could tell, wandering around Rowan had only made her unhappier.

"Of course I could use your help," she said kindly. "That place was a lot of work. Extra hands would be wonderful." And it had been a lot of work, though the work had been satisfying. Part of her was suddenly giddy at the thought of starting the tavern again--though she wondered how long it would be until it was destroyed again.

[cherry_reyer]

"Fortunately, I have fantastic hands," Cherry said, wiggling her fingers at Cordelia's face playfully. "But then again, you already knew that."

Stretching, she tucked her hands behind her head, careful to avoid the raw part of her skin where the stitches were itching like crazy. She lifted one leg up to a right angle, pointing her toes so perfectly that it flexed all of the muscles in her calf. Not bad. She still had it. Whatever 'it' was.

"Maybe I could get a job working for your brewmaster. Cris? Right? The freaky man-child?"

[cordy_estwynde]

Cordelia laughed. "Be nice, Cher. He's not a freaky man child. He's just..different. Like the Kokiri."

Who, admittedly, were a little freaky. But Cris wasn't quite that small. Or perky.

"Anyway, you could always ask him if he needs the help." She gave Cherry a wicked smile. "It's probably best if I'm not your boss. Who knows what sort of things I could command you to do?"

[cherry_reyer]

She smiled faintly. Truth be told, she did agree with Cordelia. It would not be healthy for either of them if Cordelia was her boss, but at the same time, Cherry felt guilty for those feelings. She owed herself to Cordelia, a thought that was strange and confusing to begin with. Cherry's palm was in her teeth in a matter of seconds and she tried to shake away such thoughts. She really had to stop being so introspective. It only got her in trouble

[cordy_estwynde]

"Seldom if ever," she teased, but gave Cherry's hand a light squeeze in reassurance. "And yes, it probably would be good for Jhelbor. And you know me. I'm grouchy if I don't have a reliable source of income. I need pretty things to be happy."

Not entirely a lie. Maybe money didn't buy happiness, but it sure didn't hurt matters.

Gently, she pulled Cherry's hand away from her mouth. "Anyway, I'll contact them soon. Cassandra's still around if Cris is. And I could probably get Cho to come back, at least temporarily. I know you don't like her, but she really is very good in the kitchen."

[cherry_reyer]

Cherry shrugged absently. "Cho's all right," she murmured. With Sonic gone and people dying right and left, she couldn't really afford to be picky about her friends. True, she had Cho had little in common and would probably never be friends in Hyrule. But this wasn't Hyrule.

"We have a whole new collection of people now. You can probably get some more hired help, if you need it." She paused. "Truth be told, I can't even keep track of all the new people. No clue about the funny redhead. And the guy who looks like Barney is pretty much a big, old question mark."

Let out a yawn, Cherry stared up at the ceiling. "Just think, you could have the next Diamond Tavern, the next Dancing Knight. Just don't go Boar's Head." She got a little sentimental, thinking of all the taverns from Hyrule. She and Cordelia had met in one. Life always seemed to happen in the corner of a tavern.

[cordy_estwynde]

Cordy lightly rubbed her thumb against Cherry's hip, smiling wryly. "I don't think I'd want the next Diamond Tavern. Not after the stories that you've told. Didn't that place get raided by pirates?"

Growing up, stories from Risa had sounded like something from a fairy tale to her. Adventure, danger, passion--these things had been so far removed from her that she had begun to associate Risa with mythology.

Things had changed, especially since coming to Rowan. Now it seemed like her whole life was taken from a fairy tale..though she wasn't certain, yet, about the happily ever after.

[cherry_reyer]

"Berserkers," Cherry said with a slight nod. Poor Mapes, the serving boy, had nearly lost several body parts in the attack. And she was struck with an odd nostalgia, thinking about that incident. She hadn't lent much thought to Mapes or the Diamond Tavern in some time. Truth to tell, she hadn't thought of either since long before they came to Rowan. She had always thought there would be more time to go back.

"Yeah," she agreed quietly. "Probably not a good idea to have the next Diamond Tavern."

[cordy_estwynde]

"I don't know if Rowan has pirates," Cordy mused. "I'll have to ask--"

And then, she paused, suddenly very aware the fact that she had no one to ask. She turned her face away, not wanting Cherry to see her face fall. Pointless, really. Cordy knew which name she had been about to say. Cherry knew which name she had been about to say. But she wasn't eager to bring that topic up again, not after the other night.

"Maybe they have air pirates," she said, careful to keep her voice even. "THere are ships that fly here, after all."