September 2022 Side Story: Finding a Hobby

A/N: This one was super fun! I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, and it changed a lot during editing, too. The side story tilts a little more ambiguously modern than what I would normally write in-setting, but I think the familiarity kinda adds to the coziness. Sadly, this isn't canon (but who knows, maybe someday!). Monthly story pdf coming tomorrow with the next chapter.

“I’m home!” I called into the house, ducking so my horns wouldn’t hit the doorframe. With the windows open, the late spring air blew the scent of chamomile in from the garden.

“I’m out back!” Seyari called, her voice drifting through the warm air of our new (to us) home. A rhythmic thunk-thunk echoed through our home from somewhere in the back garden.

I closed the door behind me and walked through, taking a peek at the quiet living room with its stuffed chairs and the kitchen I’d bought way too many things for (and that we’d yet to really organize). A planter box full of herbs sat on the sill, our names engraved onto it; it had been a wedding present from a dear friend. That day seemed so recent, but really it was months ago now. Most of us had gone our separate ways, but I knew we’d visit them or they’d visit us.

Seyari and I had only just moved in, and it still felt almost surreal to have a place like this—a nice home with a big garden just on the outskirts of Linthel. I set my work clothes on a chair and looked down at my clawed hands—things were even better since I didn’t have to hide anything.

I was still staring around in wonder when I stepped out into the back garden. Large trees rose up in the back above a tangle of flowers and bushes that the old owner had let grow from a garden into a veritable jungle. My newly-planted durian tree sat at the edge of what we’d managed to reclaim so far, and rows of vegetables and herbs were bursting up from where we’d planted scarcely a month ago.

“Did you wear that to work?” Seyari asked cheekily, taking another swing with a large hammer at the thick post she was driving into the ground. Her golden eyes glowed with warmth and the reflection off her silver hair was no trick of the light. She looked radiant, even in dirty overalls and one of my old shirts with extra arm holes.

I inspected myself, doing a twirl to fan out the lilac sundress I wore. The straw hat was kept in place by my horns fitting through the holes made for them, but the brim flopped in front of my eyes and I giggled. “No way—my work clothes are inside. I might not sweat much, but I’m not going to do any smithing in this.”

“Why not?” Seyari smiled.

“Hat’ll get in my eyes.” I pulled the brim up and smiled at her. “Plus, the dress might catch something, probably an errant spark.”

“Why not just use the dress Lilly enchanted for you?” Seyari set the hammer down and came over to give me a sweaty hug.

I hugged her back, tightly—dirt would wash out. “I might, but not on the first day, Sey. I’d get weirder looks than I already do.”

“I’d bet half of them are jealousy,” Seyari mumbled into my chest.

“Cute,” I replied, then looked at the dirt clearing with a post in the center. “What are you building out here?”

“Training range. Post’s for the dummy—and I don’t want to see you breaking it.” Seyari looked up at me with golden eyes, and smirked. “And did you just call me cute? Or did you call yourself cute?”

“Yes,” I replied, keeping my hold on her and twirling around, letting Seyari’s legs kick out into the air.

She gave a surprised squeal and mock punched my shoulder. “Put me down you big demon!”

I pecked her on the cheek. “Maybe I won’t.”

Seyari pouted and pushed but my grip was iron tight. “No fair.”

“Looks like you’re mine now!” I joked with a toothy smile.

“What do you want, Zarenna, Sovereign of Wrath?” Seyari asked back at me with a tone of mock horror, smiling wide enough that her eyes glowed even more intensely.

“You,” I replied simply, loosening the hug and bending down to kiss her.

Seyari met me halfway. After a minute, she conceded the dual of tongues. “That tongue of yours isn’t fair!”

“I don’t have to use it if you don’t want.” I smiled lewdly and let my forked tongue hang out past my chin.

Seyari blushed hard. “No! Uh, I mean, maybe just not always for kissing.”

I couldn’t help it; I burst out laughing at the sight of my wife acting so cute and flustered.

Seyari pouted, then smiled wickedly. She jumped on me with enough force to send me toppling over, hat barely hanging on by my horns. Unfortunately for her, I got my lower pair of arms under me and ended up on my elbows instead of the ground. She lunged and I pulled her into an embrace with my other to arms.

“You’re not fair!” she complained.

“I can be very fair!” I replied, wrapping her legs to mine with my tail. “Don’t I always—”

Seyari shut me up with another kiss. Determined not to lose, she used a blast of wind magic and sent us rolling into the dense part of the garden. The scent of flowers and freshly crushed leaves assaulted my nose, mixed with the tingling sensation of Seyari’s magic-infused lips as we barreled through undergrowth, pushed along by Seyari’s magic.

We ended the roll with her on top, in a small thicket with an old fountain-turned pond. Dappled sunlight barely made it through the dense canopy overhead and a ray caught Seyari’s hair as she pushed up off of me with a triumphant smile, breaking the kiss and leaving me slack jawed.

Reaching down, she poked me on the nose sharply. “I win this one, Renna.”

I concede, I thought cheekily. All that came out was a nod and a whimper.

“Now, Renna,” Seyari started with a wickedly sexy smile, “Don’t scream too loud, okay? I wouldn’t want to upset the neighbors.”

***

A month later, and the house (including what we both sincerely thought was the best garden in Linthel) was finally done. My blacksmithing work was going well, and Seyari kept up her training with the course she’d set up outside, but I’d noticed she seemed down recently.

Seyari had been adamantly against becoming a dedicated healer, and hadn’t really wanted the risk or schedule that a sellsword would have. As a result, while I worked a few days a week, she didn’t have much to do.

The two of us were preparing dinner—an Edathan stew with a Navanaean twist—when I brought up that exact question: “What do you want to do?”

“Huh?” Seyari looked over at me, peeler in one hand and a carrot in the other.

“A job, a hobby, or something, you know?” I sliced a peeled potato into five pieces with one clawed hand, then grabbed another from the pile.

“Why?” Seyari asked and resumed peeling the purple carrot.

“I can tell you’re feeling down lately, that’s why. I have my blacksmithing to keep busy, and both of us split housework; you keep up with training, but you help me with that, too. What do you want to do?”

I felt tiny spike of anger from Seyari—little more than frustration, but enough for me to pick up. “I’m fine.” She dug the peeler deeper into the carrot

I shook my head, slicing another potato. “Nope. No fooling the demon with empathic powers. And you know I’m not lying, too.”

Seyari sighed, and set the finished carrot down. “I am a little bored, I guess? But I know I shouldn’t be unhappy.”

“Why shouldn’t you be?”

She looked up at me, then gestured around the kitchen, from the fresh produce to the planter box we’d gotten as a wedding gift. “Because we have all this. We’ve made it: we’re safe and home.” She smiled wanly, eyes flickering. “And I have you.”

I smiled back and reached a hand over to take one of hers, resuming work with the others. “You do! But you should do something for yourself. Something totally selfish that you do because it brings you joy.”

Seyari furrowed her brow.

“Did you have any hobbies growing up?” I asked, worry creeping into my voice despite my best efforts. “I don’t want to bring up anything painful…”

Seyari looked down at the floor, then over to the planter. She stared at it for a long moment, so I quit working on dinner and just held her hand gently. She reached forward slowly and ran her hand along the names, as if feeling how real they were.

Eventually, she answered, turning to look at me as she spoke. “I liked to read; I think. I didn’t have a lot growing up, and Sister Greda was the only one who let me read stories when I was little. I read a lot more when I lived in Liseu.”

I nodded. Seyari had told me about her time between nearly dying and meeting me, so I knew about her life as a thief in Liseu before she joined Captain Torrez aboard the Lady of Liseu. “Do you have any books you’re reading right now?” I asked, knowing the answer.

Seyari shook her head. “No, I—”

“Then let’s go get some!” I beamed at her. “Right now!”

Seyari looked at the pot of water coming to a boil, and the half-assembled ingredients, then to the setting sun casting an orange glow outside. “Not now!” She reached up on her tiptoes to bop me on the head. “We’ll go first thing in the morning.”

“Sure!” I replied. “Since I don’t have work, let’s also get lunch while we’re out!”

Seyari reached up again, grabbed my head, and pointed it to the massive stew we were making.

“Hey, it’ll keep!” I protested through smooshed cheeks. “And I eat a lot, too!”

“Yeah, I know,” Seyari laughed lightly. “Come on, let’s finish dinner.”

***

We left for the library early in the morning after a quick breakfast. I wore a sundress again today; pale blue this time. Seyari surprised me by wearing a rather frilly white blouse over her barely-more-than-utilitarian trousers. Our place on the fringes of town wasn’t too far from one of Linthel’s two, but I wanted to get there early and was used to getting up early. Seyari, even an early riser seemed honestly happy to have a break from her growing habit of sleeping in.

Not that sleeping in was a bad thing, but too much of any good thing…

I waved to the neighbors with two hands, and they waved back. They’d been (understandably) hesitant at first when we moved in, but things were pleasant lately. Much like with the city itself: whether I wanted to or not, both Seyari and myself were known quantities. Being over two meters tall, bright red, and sporting more limbs than a human had definitely made me stand out.

The city was large enough that, if I went out of my normal routes (such as today) someone was at least going to gawp or panic. Today, it was an out-of-town-looking merchant who froze when he saw me. Seyari and I waved back at him. After realizing no one else was panicking at my presence, he hesitantly waved back. I smiled (no teeth!) and Seyari and I continued on our way.

Aside from a couple other people I gave a fright to, the rest of the walk to the library was uneventful. The city proper was busy in the morning, quite unlike the sleepy neighborhood we lived in. It was refreshing in a way, but not something I’d choose to live amongst.

I’d expected an old building full of dusty tomes. Instead, the library was housed in a newer-looking building. The windows were tall and narrow, but let in plenty of light. As it was our first time there, we’d both be very limited in what books we could take out of the building, but reading inside was half the fun.

Unfortunately, the place was a little disorganized. The librarian told us they were understaffed, and I didn’t miss Seyari taking notice. Once we were told the general layout, and I was told to be careful with my claws, the two of us headed off into the stacks.

“What are you looking for?” I whispered.

“I’m not sure,” Seyari replied, golden eyes scanning along the spines.

“What kind of story do you want to read?” I offered.

Seyari’s eyes turned to me and she shrugged. We passed by a gap in the shelves and saw a plush, well-lit reading room with several well-loved, but comfy looking couches and chairs strewn about. A few people sat engrossed in books.

“Do you want to find a fantasy world to immerse yourself in, a romance, or maybe even read about all the different flowers we could grow in the garden?” I threw some ideas out there, trying to keep my voice low.

“Hmm,” Seyari replied, turning to walk toward the fiction section.

I followed. “Do you want to split up and meet in the central reading room?”

Seyari took a moment to reply. “Yeah, I think I need some time to think.”

“You think?” I replied cheekily.

Seyari suppressed a groan. “If we weren’t in a library I’d hit you.”

I stuck my tongue out at her.

To my surprise, she grabbed it and pulled it out of my mouth, pinching the tip. “I’ll get you back later, Renna.”

Before I could mumble a response, Seyari flicked my tongue back at me and walked quickly off between the shelves. I stood there for a moment, before I found my legs again and walked off toward the nonfiction section in search of a book on magical theory. And maybe another one on plants. That idea had been spontaneous, but now I was interested.

I was surprised by how big the library was. Shelf after shelf of books on a wide variety of topics. Unfortunately, their section on magical theory was small and thoroughly below what I knew, so I grabbed a thin book called Fire Magic for the Home and moved on to look for some books on gardening.

As a last idea, I stopped by the fiction section and looked through the fantasy books they had. I flipped through several, looking for one that wasn’t about a guy slaying a demon and saving the realm. Eventually, I landed on a cute-seeming romance between a half angel and a demon-blooded.

Probably the best I’ll get. I stacked it on top of the half dozen other books I had and walked back to the reading room.

I found Seyari curled up with a thick-looking book on one end of a couch. I plopped down next to her, and she looked up at me with a smile before going back to reading. I glanced at the title: The Hero of Snowland. I knew it! Seyari had made far too many comments about my reading history not to have at least some of the same interests.

With a knowing smile, I settled in to read my own books.

***

“…had no interesting uses for fire magic at all! Total waste of time,” I grumbled as we left. I’d taken the thicker of the gardening books with me, along with the romance book.

“Shocking,” Seyari replied absentmindedly. She’d only taken a single book with her—The Hero of Snowland.

“Did you have fun?” I glanced down at her as we walked.

“Hmm… oh, yeah,” she kept her eyes on the book. “Yeah, I did! Just thinking is all.”

“About what?”

“I’ll tell you later. Where do you want to go for late lunch?” Seyari looked up at me and smiled.

I shrugged. “Anywhere’s fine. Or do you want to eat at home?”

“Not really, let’s go someplace fun!” Seyari surprised me by perking up.

“Okay!” I nodded.

We ended up outdoors at a place we’d never tried before on the route home, and I had to sit sideways in the chair to fit my tail. What we hoped to be lunch had turned into a midafternoon dinner, but I didn’t mind. While we were waiting for our food, Seyari grew more animated.

“Did you look at the fiction section at all?” she asked.

“A bit.” I used one of my lower arms to grab the romance book out of the pile.

“I saw that one!” Seyari replied. “I thought about picking it up.”

“Why didn’t you?”

She smirked. “Because full demons are better than demon-blooded.”

I giggled. “Don’t you think that’s a bit biased?”

“Yeah, I do. I wonder where that bias comes from. Besides—” She leaned in so the other diners wouldn’t hear. “There are certain… advantages to a full demon.”

I blushed scarlet. “Y-you’re just trying to fluster me.”

“And?” Seyari raised a perfectly-trimmed eyebrow.

“It’s working,” I admitted sheepishly. Before we could continue, our food arrived. We ate in silence for a bit before I asked my question again. “So, why didn’t you take that book, for real?”

“Because I’d compare the characters to you and me too much, I guess. There’s not some deep reason.”

“Fair enough,” I conceded, “so what about the book you did take? You seemed to be really into it.”

“Yeah, kinda. It’s well written, but the villains are demons and I just can’t help but wonder if there should be more to them—especially the greater demon leading them. I picked it up because the start hinted at that kind of depth, but so far there’s been no development on it.”

“Were you worried I was going to be offended or something? I saw a lot of books like that too. Besides, sad as it is, there’s a good reason for demons to be the villains.”

Seyari shook her heard. “No, that’s not it. What I mean is that they don’t really have a motive. They’re just evil. Even the crazy demons we’ve fought all had motives.”

“Maybe that book’s an outlier?”

“Maybe.” Seyari stared down at her food.

“Want to read it together tonight?” I offered. “We can cuddle up on the couch.”

Seyari’s lips quirked upwards into a smile. “I think I’d like that.”

“Me too!”

Seyari kicked me under the table. “Yeah, I’d hope so. Finish your food before it gets cold.”

Defiantly, I stared at Seyari while using magic to reheat my meal back to steaming hot. A rogue gust of wind blew my next bite onto my dress.

***

That evening, after we got the stain out of my dress (thank you combined magic), the two of us sat on the plush couch in comfy evening clothes. I laid out on it and pulled Seyari to me with my lower arms while she read to both of us.

I could see Seyari’s issue with the book. It was certainly well-written, but the greater demons were too shallow to be believed. At least they had more forms than just red and with horns. I played up rooting for them, even though I couldn’t find a reason to really do so.

“I don’t think the author knows any demons,” I said after we finished a major fight scene.

Seyari leaned up and pecked me on the chin, then said in an overly sarcastic tone of voice, “really? That’s so surprising.”

I kissed her back. “Did you at least have fun today?”

She snuggled into me. “I did. You know, you’re surprisingly soft.”

“Aww, thanks. I don’t mind being soft.”

“Can you ever just take a compliment normally?” Seyari shivered lightly.

“Nope.” I smiled with teeth. “It’s part of my charm.” I wrapped my tail over both of us and warmed up just a little bit.

“Fuck you for being right,” she said with a contented sigh, closing the book. “I think I’ll go back to that library tomorrow.”

“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Seyari replied, “they said they’re short-staffed. I think working there could be fun.”

“Really?” I shifted deeper into the couch, and took the book with an upper hand to set on the end table.

Seyari relaxed into me. “Yeah, really. Is it that surprising?”

I thought for a moment. Perhaps a moment too long, because Seyari elbowed me. “Ow—”

She laughed softly. “I know that didn’t hurt you.”

“Emotional damage,” I replied cheekily. “But as I was about to say, I think it makes sense, and moreover I think it’d be a wonderful job.”

“I hope so, too. And if I don’t like it, I can find something else. Besides, I think I want to write a story. One with more accurate demons.” Seyari ran a finger along one of my arms, tracing the claw at end of my thumb.

“Oh, you going to write about me.”

Seyari reached back and bopped me on the horn. “No. I’m going to write a demonic villain with more depth, and maybe even have a demon who is morally gray. I can’t just go straight into writing an unrealistically goody-two-shoes demon: people would complain.”

“You totally could anyway!”

“You just want me to write about you,” Seyari accused.

“Kinda, yeah,” I admitted.

“Nope!” Seyari smiled wickedly. “When I’m the author, I can write whatever I want.”

I shivered involuntarily. Part of me was scared, and part of me really wanted to see what Seyari would write. The rest of me was just happy she’d found something to work toward.