This thread is for players of AericSteele's Dungeons & Dragons 5e game to engage developing interpersonal relationships between their characters outside of the main quest.
Corren wakes to see his landlady, Miss Gisela, nudging him with her foot. "If you lost your key, you'll owe me the cost of a new one." Corren smiles sheepishly and gets up, collecting his blanket and bedroll.
"No ma'am. A friend was a bit worse for drink last night and I offered to let her sleep it off in my room. I didn't want to wake you." He suddenly begins blushing at what that sounds like and quickly adds, "I'll cook breakfast for the boarding house to compensate you for any trouble." Gisela's face softens and she grudgingly says, "Done. In the future ask me, though."
Corren nods. "Um, can you go in and see if she is interested in breakfast or not? I don't want to disturb her unnecessarily." The landlady agrees and as Corren heads for the kitchen, she knocks softly on the door.
Corren enters the kitchen and immediately begins preparing porridge, bacon, and some fruit for the boarding house. Gisela has anywhere from three to six boarders at any given time, and breakfast is included. But she does not provide dinner, as most of them dine out anyway, and the older woman prefers to retire early.
Breakfast is almost ready when Gisela comes in and gets plates, cups, napkins, spoons and forks for the dining room. She says, "Your friend says she will gladly join us for breakfast." She sniffs slightly and adds, "She seems a delightful girl. Far too nice for the likes of you." Corren grins and nods in agreement.
"I know. But I like to set my aim high." Gisela, who deep down harbors a motherly affection for the young rogue, cackles softly and replies, "Good luck, lad. You'll need it." After one final pause, she mutters, "Defenders of Clear Creek indeed. Don't let it go to your head." Corren simply chuckles and helps bring the kettle of porridge and plates of food to the dining room. Gisela points at her smaller table. "I'll let you and Miss Zinna use that for a tiny bit of privacy. This morning I'll dine with the rest of the riff raff." Corren is properly grateful. He is pouring large mugs of water for himself and his guest when Zinna enters the dining room. He smiles and immediately blushes again.
"Good morning. I trust you slept well." He is suddenly aware he is still wearing the clothes he wore the day before, during the battle with the creature, and then slept in.
Zinna wakes up and looks up confused. Where was she? She didn't recognize this room. Zinna frantically tried to remember what exactly happened last night. She remembered drinking very heavily. While trying to sit up she moaned in pain. Her head was throbbing. She laid back while she thought. After thinking for a little bit she remembered that Corren offered to let her sleep in his room. She looked around and didn't see him. Had they slept together last night? Her cheeks flushed. While pondering this there was a knock at the door and she hears a woman's voice. She calls out faintly " come in". A strange lady comes into the room and introduces herself as Gisela. She inquires about if Zinna is eating breakfast. The woman seems to be appraising Zinna as they chat for a moment. Having been satisfied that Zinna will join them for breakfast she makes her way out of the room. Zinna slowly rolls out of bed suppressing a groan. She stands up and feels of her hair. Pulling at it methodically she tries to remove any tangles from her hair. She runs her fingers through her auburn hair and it feels to her satisfaction. Smiling she looks around his room curiously for a moment. He seemed to keep it fairly clean and non cluttered.
She walks to the door getting more steady. Opening the door she spies Corren seated at a smaller table. She flushes red again wondering if something happened last night that she can't remember. Zinna walks over and sits down by Corren stifling a wince as she is seated. " Good morning Corren. " She notices him turning a little red and she blushes again wondering. " Thank you for allowing me to sleep in your room last night. You are a true friend. I hope I wasn't too much of a burden on you last night. " She wants to know if something happened last night but is too embarrassed to mention it. " Noticing the food she takes in the smell. "Mmm. This smells so good. Is this your cooking Corren?"
Edited: Kyrroeth on 23rd Oct, 2016 - 11:04am
Corren offers a genuine smile and beams as he says, "It is indeed. To thank Miss Gisela for allowing you to stay in my room, I offered to cook breakfast for the house this morning. I hope you're hungry." As he passes her some porridge and a plate of food he begins to look a little hesitant. He does not want to sound as if he is resentful. "I actually slept pretty well, knowing you were safe and sound. But I do want to apologize. I really should have cleaned myself up first thing this morning. I probably even smell less than pleasant. Hopefully the food will distract you from my state."
Zinna smiles and takes the plate and porridge. She samples each of the different foods. Looking at Corren she grins. " you are a fantastic cook. This is just wonderful. You are a much better cook than I am. Thanks for this food. I wish you would have woken me up to help you. It's only fair since you cooked this for my sake. ". She looks away for a moment. ". It was very kind of you to let me sleep in your room while you slept in the hall and then cooked breakfast on top of that for it. " She gazes back at Corren. " You look fine Corren. I am in the same situation as you. I never went home or changed either. ". She tried to smooth her hair out as she talked.
Corren blushes at the compliments. "Thank you. You're much too kind." He pauses then adds, "I really enjoy cooking. But not enough to make a living at it." He sits back and eats a few bites himself. Washing it down with water he says, "I thought about coming in to wake you, but to be honest, I wasn't sure how you were going to react. Last night I asked you back here, which was much more forward than I usually am. And you came along, and I was worried it was because you had too much to drink, and I figured it would be awkward, and I didn't want either of us too embarrassed… and now it's awkward and I'm talking too much again, aren't I? I get nervous when I am trying to impress someone." He watches her for a reaction as well as listens to her response.
Zinna watches him intently as she listens. She blushes brighter and brighter. She looks away in embarrassment for a moment. Looking at Corren again she says " I.... I remember accepting your invitation to sleep in your room. I'm a little vague about what ... Happened afterwards. I did have a lot to drink last night. More than I should have. That had no affect on my accepting your invitation Corren. Did… Anything… Happen last night? I don't remember all the details of last night." She looks away again to hide her face.
Corren is now blushing a deep crimson and says, "No, nothing, of THAT nature, happened after we got here. I, um, it did cross my mind to press the issue, but that's not my style. So, I insisted on sleeping in the hall. But I'm thrilled the drink did not influence your decision to come here. Now I just need to ask you when you're clear-headed." Once again he realizes what that sounds like. "I mean, so we can both know what we're doing. If we want to do anything, that is. We don't have to. Here I go again… Anyway, if you have no other plans, would you have dinner with me tonight?" He is no longer worried about looking like a fool.