Making a Wager

Writers: Miriah, Yvonne
Date Posted: 4th April 2016

Characters: Taril, Humari
Description: Taril and Humari make a wager
Location: Sunstone Seahold
Date: month 4, day 11 of Turn 8
Notes: Mentioned: Bortem, Xeladrie

Humari

The fight was lined up - now all he had to to was find a few other
willing fighters to make an evening's entertainment of it, clean out
one of the bays in his warehouse, find some kegs of ale to sell, and
get someone to build a ring so that the competitors wouldn't fall into
the crowd. All easy enough. This wasn't Taril's first time organizing
a fight.

He made it back to the apartment he shared with Humari a bit later
than usual, but his spirits were high as he swung open the door.
"Humari? I'm home."

Humari didn't rise from the couch, but she did look over her shoulder
as Taril came into the door. "I'll be just a minute. Tumaril is
eating." The thriving little boy was greedily feeding, one hand waving
in the air happily. "Dinner is almost done."

"There's no rush." His stomach growled. He paused to sit and kick off
his boot, replacing it with the soft-soled shoe he wore inside to keep
the floors clean. Sunstone Seahold could be a muddy place. Grabbing
his crutch, Taril rose and went to join his wife on the couch. "How
was Tumaril for you today?"

Humari heard the soft growl and gave a rueful smile. Her own stomach
echoed his own, albeit more quietly. "He's rolling over on his own
now. And..." She tickled the child's cheek with a soft fingertip. He
pulled away and gave a milky toothless smile. "See? He's smiling
and..oh!" She jerked a little as he voraciously latched back on. "And
apparently still very hungry."

"Good. Let him be hungry. It means he's growing." Taril glanced at
Humari for permission before copying the way she'd brushed her fingers
against Tumaril's soft cheek. Their baby was looking more like a baby
should compared to the tiny, thin thing he'd been when he was first
born. After their first frightening month as a family, it made him
glad to see. "I feel badly... I will be late coming home for the next
sevenday or so."

The small child did the same release, milky grin and then voracious
latch on, making Humari laugh softly. Then she frowned and tilted her
head at him. "Is something the matter?"

"Just the opposite. Opportunity's in the wind. The Sea Mark is coming
into port." Taril grinned like a feline with a fish as he leaned back
into the couch. "I'm not sure if you knew, but I sometimes organize
fights on the docks. The Sea Mark's got a sailor on her that puts on a
flaming good show. I run the betting and in two sevendays we'll be
richer than we were before with minimal work on my part."

He looked very pleased with himself, but she had never witnessed such
a fight, though she had heard of them. She wasn't stupid, she had
begun to realize that Taril was not just a simple merchant, but she'd
not thought about those fights. "I didn't know you did that." Tumaril
was slowly falling to sleep and when he drifted off, she pulled him
off of her breast and transferred him to her shoulder to light pat. He
looked at him. "Can I come?"

"Ah--" The image of Humari being groped and pushed by the dirty
sailors and dockhands who frequented that sort of event flashed
through his mind. "Well... no. It's not a good place for a woman."
Seeing her look, Taril tried to come up with something else. "But...
I'll tell you all about it. And I don't usually bet on these sorts of
things myself, but we could set up a wager. Just the two of us?"

It wasn't the first time that she'd been told she couldn't go near the
docks. She hadn't been allowed much since she'd began to develop and
she'd expected his negative. At his suggestion, however, her brows
rose even as the baby burped. "I don't know much about betting, but
it's something maybe you should teach me, especially if its something
you do often."

"Don't worry, I rarely gamble. It's the quickest way to end up poor,
and I'm not going to do that to you or Red Tide Rocks." The merchant's
smile was a bit smug; he was well acquainted with how gambling could
ruin a life. "But I do sometimes organize betting... for the gamblers,
betting with a bookie means that you have the opportunity to more than
double your winnings and you have a third party to do the accounting.
It keeps things honest." He shrugged. "Contests and bets are going to
happen anyway. Fights are going to happen anyway. It's cheap
entertainment. I might as well turn it to my advantage."

Like Bortem, she thought. He was not looking well recently. She
considered it and mused. "I don't know much about betting, but what
would you want to bet on? I don't know who the fighters are." She gave
a bit of a smile. "That gives you a bit of an advantage, don't you
think?"

"Well... how about I describe the main two fighters, and you tell me
who _you_ think will win?" That seemed fair-- and he'd be honest to
Humari.

"What are the...stakes. That's the word isn't it? Stakes?" She rose
and lay the baby back down in his cradle after quickly checking his
bottom. Tumaril gave a soft sigh and she smiled down at the child
before turning back to her husband. "What do I get if I win?"

"What would you like?" As soon as he'd asked it, the question felt
very vulnerable. Taril couldn't remember asking his wife that before.

Her brows rose and she had to think about that for a moment. She had
everything she needed, really. She chewed her lower lip in thought
before a slow, smile began. She turned that smile to Taril. "I would
like to leave the Hold. Just for the night, you and me. Like a
vacation. " Honestly, she felt like she really needed a break. "Some
place nice. "

He looked at Humari in surprise. A vacation... it wasn't something
that he'd thought of, but the moment she said it, it sounded _right_.
He traveled for business sometimes, to meet other merchants, Stewards
and Holders in order to broker a better deal, but he couldn't remember
the last time he went somewhere for the sake of seeing a new horizon.
"A vacation. All right, I'll wager that."

"And what if you win? What do you want?" She tilted her head at him,
curious as to what his answer might be. Anything he'd ever asked of
her she'd done; she'd been too well trained to do otherwise. She had
no idea what else she could give him.

"Hmm." His mind went to wicked places. "Maybe... a night without
Tumaril. We could find someone trustworthy..." he trailed off,
wondering who that might be. None of Humari's family were trustworthy.

"I could find someone." Humari seemed certain. "Several of Xeladrie's
waiting maids have children and love Tumaril. I would just have to
ask."

"It's been a while since it's just been the two of us." No
interruptions, and if they were lucky, a solid night's sleep for them
both. It sounded as good as a vacation.

She tapped her chin with a finger. "Isn't yours and mine the same
thing?" Her brow arched.

"Does it matter?"

A lower lip thrust out for a moment. "It's not a risk or anything. I
thought betting had to be risky." She seemed to think about it, then
an odd mischievous glint shone in her eye. "If you win...I'll wear
that emerald nightgown."

"If you win, you wear that nightgown and I get to do what I want with
you." He grinned. "That is... if that's not too risky for you."

Her brows rose. "If _I_ win? Or if _you_ win?" She suddenly smiled and
shook her finger at him. "No tricks, Taril. If you win, you get to do
what you want." Her grin became cheeky.

"Me? I'd never try trick my wife," he said with all the sincerity of a
feline with a stolen fish in its claws.

Both of her brows rose at that and with a little more confidence in
her voice, she lifted her chin and smiled widely. "You just want to
see me in the nightgown again."

"Of course I do." He reached out to brush a finger against her cheek,
the gentle touch conveying something much hotter. "What man wouldn't?
And lucky for me, I'm the only man that will."

Humari flushed and glanced at Tumaril, still sleeping. "You
know...he's taking a nap..."

"Think he'll sleep if you put him in his crib?" The baby had _better_ sleep...

"He's fine in his cradle. I'll hear him if he wakes up." She looked up
at him through her lashes, then slowly turned to walk towards their
bedroom. She paused and looked over her shoulder at him. "Coming?"

For a man with only one leg, Taril could move quickly when he needed to.

Last updated on the April 29th 2016

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