Side-Story – Renn – Renn's Side-Quest – Prologue – Early Renn Gets the Vim

The world that had been comfortably quiet was starting to get noisy.

In my half awake state, through the thick covers, I heard the birds first. They chirped to each other, greeting the morning sunrise. Dogs barked. Doors and windows were opened or shuttered, and the smell of hundreds of fireplaces and stoves being lit filled the air. The smell of countless different types of foods and drinks being made for the morning made me hungry. Almost hungry enough to fully pull myself out of sleep.

But I remained under the covers. It was warm. Comfy. I was hugging a very large, and very soft, pillow. One that didn't stink at all, even though it had yesterday when I had laid down to sleep. Vim's ability to eliminate odors and smells around him was useful in times like this.

He wasn't here at the moment. My tail was continuously swaying back and forth nearby under the covers, where he'd been a little bit ago. His section of the bed was now cold, telling me he'd been gone for at least an hour or so now.

I knew the reason I'd not been able to fall back into proper, deeper, sleep was his absence. I wasn't fully awake… and not really thinking about much, but his lack of presence was a forefront of my focus. I kept hoping my tail would twitch, and then suddenly feel him again. His warmth. His presence. Yet it didn't.

"Vim…" I mumbled his name into the pillow that lacked a smell, since I had buried my face into it. I was trying to drown out the noisy surroundings by pushing my ears as deep into the fluffy pillow as possible. It of course didn't work, but I still tried anyway.

A loud shout from outside made my ear twitch as I slowly opened my left eye. I saw only bright white, thanks to the sunlight forcing itself under my thick blankets. It blinded me and made me bury my face even deeper into the pillow and covers.

I didn't want to wake up yet.

My body felt heavy. Sluggish. I had gone to sleep late last night, and could tell by the feeling of heaviness and exhaustion that I still needed a few more hours of sleep.

Usually I'd sleep just fine, even if the world around me got noisy. But that was when Vim was here.

"Jerk," I mumbled as my heavy eyes fought me. They felt too heavy to open, but the noisy world outside made me want to get up and see what was going on. I heard shouting. Was this inn near a market or something? It sounded like a bunch of people were barking orders, as if preparing to open a store or something.

Why was such a fancy inn near such a noisy place? Weren't we in the noble's district? Usually such places were quiet and…

My annoyed mind calmed down a little, and I felt myself start to drift back into sleep. I felt a tiny smirk tug at my face, since it was amusing that my annoyed anger was what had finally gotten me to slip back into sleep.

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Then I was awoken by a gentle shake of a shoulder.

Taking a deep breath, I turned a little and leered at Vim.

"We have a job to do, Renn. You can either stay here while I go do it, or come with me," he said with a smile. I could tell by the look on his face that he was enjoying whatever sights he saw.

I was naked, but I could feel the blanket was covering most of me. That meant what he found amusing was my face. My expression.

Squeezing the pillow, I groaned into it as I woke up. Yawning into the fluffy thing, I wondered how long I had slept for. The world outside was still noisy, noisier than ever, but the noise was of midday. It sounded… quieter somehow, since it was meant to be noisy at this time.

"What job?" I asked as I slowly sat up, rubbing my eyes.

"A family nearby has requested my presence. We're to escort someone. It'll only take a couple days, they're not going far, and in fact not far from here. So you can stay here and rest if you'd like… but I'd recommend against it," Vim said as he watched me wake up.

"Why?" I mumbled as I fought a yawn, and lost.

While I yawned he grinned at me. "We're going to take a daughter to another location, so she can see if she can marry into their family. We're to escort a bride-to-be," he said.

I was awake all of a sudden. "Really? Who!"

"You've not met them. They're the types to not really request my presence often. Her name is Sivra. Here," Vim said as he handed me a large cup.

Happily taking the drink, I was a little disappointed to find milk inside and not my berry stuff. But it was fine, I drank it anyway after rolling to the edge of the bed.

"If they're that close… are they noticeably non-human then? That they can't even travel a few days safely?" I asked as I licked my lips. The milk had been cold, and had hit just the spot. Maybe even better than my smoothie would have.

"No. The family she's going to has obvious traits, being hairier than usual, but Sivra and her family look mostly human. They're just timid people. And… well…" Vim paused a moment as he frowned, and I noticed that something was wrong.

"What is it?" I asked.

"They're not the… nicest of people. They're not just the types to only want me to come when needed, they're also the types that I'm okay with them being so, honestly," he said gently.

Ah…

"Rude are they?" I asked.

"In a way. It's up to you Renn. You do look a little tired still," he said as he studied me.

I liked the way his eyes lingered on certain parts of my body. Parts that should not have told him how tired I was. "Like I'd turn down the opportunity to be involved in something like this," I said.

He nodded. "I figured."

"How'd you know they needed you?" I asked.

"I visited where they fish. They fish a nearby river as a family; it's nearer than their home. One of the lads told me. They plan to bring her to where I met them this sundown," he said.

"Oh…? Is it far? Should I hurry?" I asked.

"Just a few hours at your pace."

Okay!

Hurriedly getting up, I went to prepare to leave. I was hungry, and still a little tired, but I hadn't lied.

I'd never miss the opportunity to meet new members, especially when said members wanted help with romance!

Happily getting ready, I hummed a happy tune as I wondered what this lucky couple would be like. Hopefully they were cute.

It was time we had such simple, happy, moments. It's been awhile, after all.

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