[The Pig's Foot] Hangman

[Rafael Colebourne]

A shiver passed through his frame as Julia rested her head on his shoulder, though he was far from cold. The air seemed to smell even nicer now, the sun warmer, and the birds more plentiful. All too happy to trust her, Rafael meandered them through the streets, taking shortcuts here and there to avoid pesky, lurking types. “You know, I never thought I’d meet a do-gooder in this city, much less one my age.” He pulled her somewhat closer, finding comfort in her presence. “It makes me wonder what would’ve happened if you hadn’t come over…”

Taken over by a rush of numbing warmth, Rafael zoned out for a moment. He hadn’t expected her to be so trusting of him, nor had he expected to ever give in to someone so easily. Yet he was happy he had. It had been ages since he’d had a friend. And she lived in the Sunset Quarters too! It would take a small miracle to make his day any better.

“I’m not worried about my money, you keep forgetting I have you for protection. Besides, I usually don’t take more with me than I need. The rest is back at home.” Despite the trust he placed in her, he refrained from telling her where he’d hid his money.

The sun set the sky ablaze. Even the mud and rickety buildings of the Sunset Quarters looked glorious in the heavenly light, and the fierce blonde at his side even more so. “This is it,” he gestured towards a unhinged, beaten door. The establishment smelled of moist wood and rot. Two hastily covered windows flanked the door, the balcony lipping over the front door looked like it could fall down any moment. It wasn’t the nicest place to live, but the room he rented upstairs had a bed and a hearth and that was enough.

A beggar with hollow eyes sat on the front porch, rocking back and forth, mumbling indiscernibly. It made his heart ache, but the man was beyond help. One of the poor, not one of the needy, he reminded himself.

Letting his slightly trembling hand slide from Julia’s back, he turned to face her. “It was nice to meet you. I’m glad we talked, you’re a good listener.” Heart racing he tried to correct himself. It wasn’t exactly the most charming of compliments, but he struggled to find anything better to say.

Averting his gaze to the ground he gently continued, “I suppose I’ll have to meet you again sometime so I can –you know- join your crew?” A nervous laugh escaped him. The longer he stood before her, the more shaky his legs began to feel, as if they could melt any moment now and blend with the mud at his feet. Sucking in a deep breath he dared to meet her eyes again.

Her skin glowed like the sun, only gentler. There was hardly a foot between them and he could count her whimpers if he wanted to. He closed his eyes, and closed the space between them-

-His lips pressed against hers. They were moist like dew clinging to a leaf. A mere tick later, he pulled back, his eyes fluttering open again. Someone had dumped a block of ice in his stomach.

“So uh, where’s your home?” he asked sheepishly, struggling to contain a wide grin from plastering itself on his face.

[Julia Tristal]

She gave a content sigh as he held her close. They made it to Rafael's apartment building, it was shoddy workmanship, so was most of Sunberth. They walked passed a poor looking man that looked like he was in withdrawal of some drug or something.

She didn't pay any notice to the man, she was mostly focusing on the boy beside her, he wasn't man quite yet, but she did enjoy his presence. She was enjoying his company. She was happy to be here with him.

She couldn't even remember why she was sad in the first place. As they reached his apartment, she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed when he let go of her and walked inside.

“It was nice to meet you. I’m glad we talked, you’re a good listener. I suppose I’ll have to meet you again sometime so I can –you know- join your crew?”

"Thank you... You're a great talker, I mean speaker, even though I was the one that mostly spoke, but you did speak a little, well a lot, though I don't remember what we were talking about, and of course we're gonna meet again, I mean I would like to meet you again, I mean see you again, and I'm rambling now, aren't I? Well, I'm embarrassing myself and I should probably sto-" She was silenced by a sudden kiss to her lips.

Rafael's rough lips were sweet to the blond teen girl, she closed her eyes and felt absolute bliss as their lips connected, she felt warm inside, it must be the ale.

As their lips parted she felt a sort of wanting for him. Her face was bright red in a blush. She looked at him with starry eyes.

“So uh, where’s your home?”

Are you just going to brush that off? Just like that? She pressed forward and kissed him again, this time a bit deeper, she wrapped her around him and pushed them inside his home. His sweet innocent lips were pressed on hers. "There... now we're even." She looked over to the door and closed it. "My home is here for tonight, but I'll show you tomorrow I think." She smiled and kissed his cheek. "You're pretty romantic, you know that?"

[Rafael Colebourne]

Digging through his mind to find something, anything to say, Rafael soon found himself unable to speak at all. If he had ever thought her vulnerable, she promptly disproved it as she pushed into him with passionate force. The world started to spin. His arms shot up as he returned her embrace. Surely, if he would let go he would tumble into a whirling void.

Her warmth, enhanced by the booze pumping through her veins mixed with his own. The door creaked as his back slammed into it, he sensed the change in temperature as he kept stumbling backwards, still maintaining the overwhelming embrace. Like a horse in full gallop her heartbeat pounded against his chest. When she broke the kiss he opened his eyes again.

It was dark inside. The entry hall was narrow, the stairs rickety, held together by century old nails. Only a few pillars in the bannister remained and leaning on it would prove much more dangerous than not using it at all. Even in the semi-dark he saw the warmth radiating from her cheeks. Yet she surprised him again as she pressed her sweet lips against his cheeks. It required the utmost effort to concentrate on what she said next.

Not in his wildest dreams had he imagined a girl would come to his house, kiss him, and invite herself over to stay the night. If he had any sense remaining, he would have stopped her. For all he knew she was merely tricking him, waiting for him to fall asleep, only to slit his throat and rid him of his belongings. But such thoughts did not even occur to him, he was far too preoccupied, far too enthralled by her smiles and honey-sweet words.

Romantic huh? he sniggered. His lips turned into a slanted smile, betraying mischief. “And you’re quite…passionate.” Breaking free, he moved further backward, one step up the stairs, teasing her to follow. With every step she came closer, he would jump back one, his smile widening until they’d made their way to his apartment.

He fished a key from his pocket, fought with the rusty lock for a bit and pushed the door open with his shoulder. “My kingdom,” he announced proudly. The room beyond was small, almost square. The floorboards creaked and groaned with every step. They rather looked like they’d been stripped from the outside of a decaying ship and haphazardly hammered into a floor.

His belongings were few. A straw bed in the far corner, two rickety stools and a table near the grime-smeared window, and a singular –wholly unfitting- closet guarding the wall opposite the door. The one thing he had plenty of were blankets, by courtesy of Edreina. After all, when Razkar the savage had cut off his pinkie, she had cared for him, nurtured him with soup, lodgings, and piles of blankets.

“It’s not much,” he said with a shrug, “but it’s home.”

The alcohol’s effect started to fade. Though the floor was uneven he made it across the room without stumbling over his feet. With the care usually reserved for fine silks, Rafael undid his scarf, folded it and put it on the table. Next, he moved to the window and pushed it open, allowing the now last rays of sunlight entrance.

“You know, that man downstairs, he used to live here, just one floor up,” he started as he moved about the room, quickly re-arranging heaps of blankets into neatly folded piles. “He was a good man, always smiling, always doing things. Then one day, he got lucky, won a big gamble. Half the town knew and that was exactly his problem. He stayed her for a while, then moved out to a…to a better place. It changed him you see, within half a year he’d spent all his mizas and came back here, with not a copper in his pockets.”

Now that his house was somewhat presentable, he sat down at the edge of his bed and kicked off his boots, patting the space next to him, inviting Julia to come sit there. “Heh,” he chuckled, “I don’t even know why I am telling you, it’s not even that interesting it’s just…” he bit his lip and looked thoughtful. “Sometimes I wonder if having more money is really a good thing. Then again, sometimes I wonder how I am going to get by. Oh well…”

The silence that followed was broken when his fingers tickled her side. He quickly followed up with a playful peck on the cheek to make up for it. “Sorry,” he grinned. “But you were asking for i- Oh shyke...”

He left Julia dangling in confusion for a few ticks. "My job. I was supposed to work today, I only meant to take a small break...I guess I am fired now," he sighed both in despair and relief. He was far too euphoric to be too bothered by it however. That would come later. "Hmm," he feigned deep consideration, "maybe I should try selling you for...a hundred mizas? No? Two hundred then?" Laughing he let his back fall down onto the bed. The world could burn and he'd still be happy.

[Julia Tristal]

“And you’re quite…passionate.”

"I try to be~" She gave a little wink and followed her new boy friend, not boyfriend as a relationship but as a friend that is a boy. It was still quite early for them to be in a relationship, and to be quite honest, she's afraid of commitment.

She followed right behind him, watching his backside. She gave a tiny slap aimed at his bum. "Hehe, I can be flirty too, lover boy." She winked and kissed his cheek. He then opened a door into his room. There wasn't much in here, just a bunch of blankets, but she preferred the warmth of the blankets than the cold of the Sunberth housing.

She sat down on the small stool and crossed her legs. "Well, it may not be much, but it's still cleaner than my room." She smiled and looked at the sweet boy she found herself with. Despite the dirt and grime of Sunberth, his messy hair seemed to just add to his charm rather than take away from it.

“You know, that man downstairs, he used to live here, just one floor up, He was a good man, always smiling, always doing things. Then one day, he got lucky, won a big gamble. Half the town knew and that was exactly his problem. He stayed her for a while, then moved out to a…to a better place. It changed him you see, within half a year he’d spent all his mizas and came back here, with not a copper in his pockets.”

Julia listened intently, knowing that there was lesson to be learned here. She leaned down and rested her chin on her arm. She didn't have a smile on her face, but a thoughtful frown. It was always a shame to see a good man fall from grace.

“Heh, I don’t even know why I am telling you, it’s not even that interesting it’s just… Sometimes I wonder if having more money is really a good thing. Then again, sometimes I wonder how I am going to get by. Oh well…”

"More money is always good, but never ever forgot who you are when you get them." She said with a strange wisdom in her words. "Money changes people, but sometimes, Money can help the sick, or give food to the hungry or change for the better. It all depends on how you use it."

“Sorry, But you were asking for i- Oh shyke...”

"Hmmm, what's the matter? Hun bun?" She paused and slowly registered what she just said. "Never let me call you hun bun ever again, it was just too weird."

"My job. I was supposed to work today, I only meant to take a small break...I guess I am fired now, Hmm, maybe I should try selling you for...a hundred mizas? No? Two hundred then?"

She smiled and waved her hands to dismiss the thought. "Psssh! I'm worth at least five thousand gold Mizas." She said and stood up, hugging the boy close. "And you... are worth twice that much." The blush on her face was still there and the smell of alcohol was still on her lips, she was still drunk and a bit tired now. She yawned cutely and pressed her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes.

[Rafael Colebourne]

Rafael was determined to beat Julia at their teasing game. Oh, her playful slap on his behind hadn’t gone unnoticed, but he saw little need to give her satisfaction of surprise. No, his revenge would be much sweeter. Within the span of mere chimes, she’d kissed his cheek like a woodpecker. Truly, either the booze hadn’t quite lost its effect on her yet, or she was as madly in love as he was.

Or he thought he was. Many times he’d heard about the supposed butterflies fluttering around in lover’s bellies. It didn’t really feel like that though. More as if someone was tickling his insides. Whenever he looked at Julia, everything inside him jumped a little, as if in surprise. Was that love? Or was love calling each other hun bun?

Sniggering he dismissed her silly comment. “Alright, next time you call me that I get to call you…” he looked pensive for a moment, “…Jolly Julie.” There, that ought to make her keep her promises. In truth, he didn’t think hun bun was as bad of a name she made it out to be.

He was hardly given the time to shrug as she pulled him into a hug. She leaned heavily into him and for a fraction of a tick he worried they’d topple and collapse to the floor in a pile of limbs. Fortunately, he remained standing. “Well,” he hooked his arms under her thighs and lifted her up, “you have the weight of five thousand mizas at the very least.”

That would probably earn him a slap or another kiss, but he didn’t mind. She would have to be real thick in the head to miss the joking pitch in his voice, or his cheeky smile. Carrying her like a father would carry an infant, he made his way to the window and pulled the curtains close. It wasn’t entirely night yet, but Julia’s yawn had made his eyelids feel heavy like stones.

His arms were beginning to strain by the time he made it back to his bed, but he refused to show it. Carefully, as if he were tending to a sickly child, he put her down on the bed and helped her undo her boots. The rest of the process he left to her. When she was down to her undergarments, her clothes and possessions were folded into a neat pile at the feet of the bed before he wrapped a blanket around her and lay a pillow under her head. “Sleep well,” he said gently as he pushed her forehead down and graced it with a kiss as gentle as a breeze. Soon she would sail upon an ocean of dreams.

Unashamed, he undid his own boots, pulled down his trousers and unbuttoned his shirt. Grabbing a different blanket, he joined her on the makeshift mattress, his back resting against hers. Soon, he too, succumbed to dreaming.

The following morning brought a harsh, pale light. Chirping birds were among the quietest sounds as Sunberth awoke. Buzz from the street below –drunks, businessmen, traders- came through the window. Running, shouting and scents of freshly baked bread followed suite. Julia would find Rafael still soundly asleep next to her. The blanket covering him had been kicked into a mess over the course of the night, but now he looked peaceful, his chest rising and falling steadily.

[Julia Tristal]

She had fallen asleep on Rafael and was being carried by the boy to his bed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and yawned again. As she was brought down to the bed, she felt her clothes were being taken off, but she was too tired and sleepy to react, though she did feel a small kiss on her forehead which made her smile.

She turned to the side, and was falling into deep sleep soon. She mumbled something, which sounded like 'I love you' was drowned out by the slur in her voice and the sleepiness she was feeling.

The next morning was a haze. The sunlight managed to awaken the blond girl from her slumber. She yawned herself awake and stretched her limbs. She felt a weight on side and she turned around, seeing the boy she met the day before, in his undergarments. She blushed, but she was also quite angry right now.

She looked down her body and noticed she was almost naked herself. She blushed even brighter, but her red face was also the product of sudden rage. She saw her clothes folded in a neat pile, with her dagger and coin purse resting on top. She grabbed her dagger and sat on top of Rafael's chest, and sent her blade out from it's hidden location. She pressed the dagger on his neck, not enough to cut but just enough to intimidate.

"W-What happened last night!?" She asked, and looked at him with wet eyes. "If I find out that you took advantage of me while I was drunk, I will slit your throat." She said, though her voice betrayed the fact that she was not going to do it, she was scared, but she was unwilling to take her friend's life, or at least, what she thought her was her friend.

[Rafael Colebourne]

His eyes shot wide open. Cold steel tickled his adam’s apple. A shiver shot through his limbs. Above him hovered Julia’s face, her features contorted into fury. “W-what?” he mumbled. Half his mind still lingered in the realm of dreams, and it took him several ticks to realize the blonde had elected to sit on top of him with the threat of cutting his throat. “No wait,” lines wrinkled his forehead as he tried to think.

The Pig’s foot. The blonde. Julia. She had come home with him and then- then he had kissed her. He cringed. What had possessed him to take this dangerous, armed girl into his house? Let alone have her sleep in his bed? His view of the ceiling was largely obscured by blonde locks falling past Julia’s red-hot face. Yet he stared at the blank ceiling anyway, hoping it would impart some wisdom on him.

He had heard her words the first time, but it was only now that he fully understood what she was implying. “No, never…I,” he bit his lips, “I was drunk, we were drunk. I didn’t use you, I swear, I only...I only helped out, out of those clothes I mean but not...” he tried to sit upright, but the razor-sharp edge of her dagger prevented him.

His left hand shot up to grab her wrist. “Do you think I mistook you for some common whore? Why would I fold your clothes and leave your dagger if I meant to use you? I am not that stupid.” Another sigh escaped him, slowly turning into a sly smile. “You really are passionate, but this is a bit much you know? Can I get up now, hun bun?”

[Julia Tristal]

She looked at him a few ticks more, the steel still hovering above Rafael's neck. Every tick felt as if an eternity was flashing by. She pressed it closer for a few centimeters, then pulled back and holstered her dagger.

She stood up and grabbed her clothes. She looked at her coin purse first, and counted her money, it looked like it was all still there. She then threw on her clothes, facing away from Rafael, giving a great view of her back while she dressed.

After finishing putting on her clothes she threw back her hair and let it fall down to her back. "Right... Ummm... Sorry." She muttered and walked to one of the chairs and sat down. "Uhhh... So... We kissed? I don't remember much about it." She ran her fingers on her lips and sighed. "Shame, must have been good." She said and went over towards the door.

"I'll be waiting downstairs, again... ummm Raffy, uhhh Sorry. This is really embarrassing though." She said and opened the door, and ran down the stairs, not even bothering to look at him. She pressed her back against the wall and felt her heart beat fast. She put both of her palms onto her face and screamed in frustration, though her hands muffled the scream.

Of all the dumb, idiotic things you've ever done Julia, this is the worst! She berated herself mentally.An actual person around your age and you put a knife to his throat!? Ughh! I am the worst!

[Rafael Colebourne]

For a tick, panic gulfed through his veins. She could kill him if she wanted to. Then she pulled back. A sigh of relief escaped his lips. Like a true Sunberthian, Julia checked her purse before she checked her clothes. Funny how she hadn’t checked before putting a knife to his throat. Perhaps she was still a bit drunk. Ruffling his hair, Rafael propped himself upright against the wall and pulled his blanket up to his chin.

Spring’s kiss was warm, but in comparison to the comfortable warmth of a good night’s sleep, it was like stepping into a frigid winter. He Julia shamelessly as she slid into her clothes. There wasn’t much else to look at in the room anyway, and she was by far the most interesting thing in it.

“No need to be sorry. I can’t blame you for being on your guard.” Out of habit, he scratched the nape of his neck. She truly was something. Pressing cold steel to his throat one moment, then musing over their kisses the next. Girls, he sighed inwardly as she left the room.
He’d certainly affected her, that much was clear. Confused her most likely. She had said sorry, yet liked the kiss, yet felt embarrassed? Tossing his blankets aside, Rafael dressed up too, but not before he had washed. Julia could wait for a moment.

Hair rendered even darker by moist, Rafael wrapped his mother’s red scarf around his neck, locked the door behind him and met Julia downstairs. She seemed distressed. Upset.

Thinking it better to keep some distance, he simply plonked down at the bottom step. “Julia…” he began softly. “What’s wrong?”

He paused for a few ticks, searching his mind to find any reason why she was so upset. No answer came.

“I am sorry if I rushed you into things. I shouldn’t have kissed you, I know. I was just happy to be with you. Will you forgive me?”

[Julia Tristal]

She heard the door open and waited for Rafael to come down to meet her. She heard Rafael ask why she was upset, to be honest, she doesn't know why she's like this. So what if she placed a dagger on his throat and threatened to kill him? Everyone in Sunberth had done that at least once before.

“I am sorry if I rushed you into things. I shouldn’t have kissed you, I know. I was just happy to be with you. Will you forgive me?”

She looked at him and sighed. It wasn't his fault, it was hers but she couldn't stop him from apologizing. She was scared of him, not because they were together in his house, or that he's intimidating, but she was scared of falling for him. She was scared to love him.

"Uhh... No, No, I mean... No it's not your fault, and I do forgive you, but can we keep our relationship professional or uhh... casual? Just friends, nothing more." Her words stung her as much as a dozen needles through her chest, she did not like what she was saying but it was for the best, it's better to make their situation clear before things get out of hand.

"Anyway, I should be the one apologizing. I mean, you've done nothing wrong against me and only been nice and... well, I've been a jerk, you've let me stay inside your home, a complete stranger I might add, and slept with me... I didn't mean it like that! I just meant that we were in the same bed together, we didn't do anything and I'm sure you wouldn't have done anything anyway, and I'm rambling again, aren't I?" She said in a flurry of words, she spoke fast, and just managed to shut herself up.

"Uhhh... I should probably get going now, my parents might be getting worried..." She said and walked towards the door.