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Wednesday Knights -6- Baby Games by Melanie E
🕑 Added 2023-03-08 23:28:46 +0000 UTCWednesday Knights
By Melanie E.
Chapter 6 -- Baby Games
"They have a what?!" Jonah asked, seeming on the verge of a fit.
"A baby store," Maria said calmly, trying -- and almost successfully -- to keep the evil glee from showing on her face. "Right next to the magic shop."
"Excellent!" I crowed, bouncing happily in my seat. "I want to go in and take a look around."
I watched the purple tone rising in Jonah's face, and, just for a moment, worried I was pushing things too far.
Only for a moment, though.
Jonah's smoke break had given me just enough time to chat with Maria, and with her permission, I had enacted a plan. Well, okay, not much of a plan, per se, but more an act of vengeance.
It had started even before the game began, with me mimicking more morning sickness as soon as we heard Jonah re-enter the building, and from that moment, I had stayed in character as much as possible, but with a twist. I'd done my best in the past to show Lunea handling her pregnancy, even show her being both apprehensive and excited for her coming child, but I'd never been terribly enthused about it myself. It was a good roleplay exercise, and a fun character arc, but nothing more.
Not so anymore.
I'm not normally a particularly vindictive person. I'd let a lot of bullying slide over the years, and even on my streams, I tended to let people go further with jokes than I should, so long as they were at my expense. Hell, I'd been letting them have their fun with the running joke that I was really a girl for years.
But this was different. It was anger at me, but it also wasn't. There was anger at my baby. Yeah, the baby wasn't real, but that still rubbed me the wrong way. Who blames a baby? Who *hates* a baby? Who pokes even a fake baby bump as hard as they can?
Someone who deserves twenty minutes of me roleplaying a shopping trip through fantasy OshKosh B'gosh, that's who.
"Ah! Look at this!" I squealed, pretending to hold up a small piece of clothing -- maybe a onesie or a gown -- for Sunny to check out. "Isn't that cute?"
"It sure is! Not as cute as this, though!" She held up her hands like there was a small box in them. "Baby's first battleaxe!"
I dropped my own fake prop and frowned. "My baby isn't going to be a barbarian, Sunny."
Sunny cocked her head and frowned. "Why not? Barbarians are great!"
"I mean, sure," I said, with all the false sincerity I could muster. "But she -- or he -- is going to be royalty. They need to be refined. Genteel."
"Potty trained," Dahlia added, convincingly faking sifting through a pile of goods of her own.
"Hey!" Sunny gave Dahlia a hurt glare, then turned it on me. "I'm totally refined and genteel and all that."
"Sunny, last time a barmaid brought you the wrong drink, you threatened to behead her."
"See? Exactly like royalty."
"That's...." I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "No, Sunny. No battleaxes."
"Ugh. Fine." She rolled her eyes. "Next thing you'll be telling me is you won't let them have the traditional feral wolf pup to grow up with."
"No!"
"Umm..."
"*NO,*" I re-iterated, giving Burg a pointed look. "No wolf pups. No battleaxes." I said, picking up the outfit I'd dropped and shaking it at them. "Cute and refined. Like me."
"So, a spoilt, obnoxious little snot," Sunny sneered, not looking at me.
"Point," Dahlia once again added, still not giving us so much as a glance.
"I'm not obnoxious," I pouted, then turned to Maria. "Am I obnoxious?"
"No comment," she said without missing a beat. "Is there anything, in particular, you're looking for while you're here?"
I thought for a moment. "Not really. It's still a few months before I'm due, and I don't want us to have to carry around a lot of things we don't need right now."
"Then what was the point of all this?" Jonah asked. leaning back with his eyes closed.
"Because it's fun?"
"It's SO much fun!"
"Laugh a minute."
"AGH!"
"I think this is as good a time as any for a break," Maria said, no longer even trying to hide her amused smile as she turned to the camera at the end of the table. "We'll be back in about twenty minutes folks. In the meantime, we've got some excellent fan art for you to check out, and a few sponsors who we're sure would love your consideration. See you back here then!"
I waited for the lighting change that would signal we were officially in break mode, then breathed a heavy sigh. "Ugh. Gotta pee, gotta pee."
"Again? Sure you aren't really pregnant?" Brian asked, grinning as I stood and groaned.
"Ha. It's the baby belly; it presses down on stuff."
"I'm sure it does," he said, patting my belly gently when I moved past him. Sydney saw and gave me a funny look that I ignored as I made my way as quickly as possible toward the restroom, worried I'd already waited too long. The only person in more of a hurry to get out of the room than me was Jonah, who was already out the door by the time I made it to the bathroom.
Brian wasn't wrong. I'd had to slip away from the table halfway through the two hours we'd already played and was carefully considering my fluid intake for the rest of the night, and what chaos this would spell for our live show if I wasn't careful.
Okay, so maybe there'd been a point to Carmen wanting a test run on everything.
Speaking of Carmen, she was waiting for me when I stepped back out into the main studio.
"So? How is the bodysuit holding up?" She asked me, clasping her hands nervously.
"Good, I guess," I told her honestly. "I thought it'd make me sweaty, but it's not been as bad as I expected."
She nodded. "Bien. It should breathe well. I tried to make it so that you could wear it for long periods without it becoming too uncomfortable."
"The wire at the top digs a bit, though," I told her, checking around to make sure nobody else was watching to reach up and adjust said wire a bit.
"Hah! Yes, well, some sacrifices for beauty. And it helps your breasts look much better."
"I don't have..." I stopped myself. "It's all just padding and trickery."
"When isn't it?" Carmen asked me in a conspiratorial tone.
"True?" I ventured, which seemed to be the right answer since it got me a hug.
"Oh, you make a beautiful mama. Maybe..." she began, then caught herself and shook her head. "I'm sorry. Go back to your game, and we will talk after."
I smiled at her, then made my way back toward the table, checking in with a couple of our techs on the way to make sure everything was going well. With their assurances, I settled back into my seat and grinned at Maria.
"So, think he's had enough?" I asked her.
Maria twisted up her face in thought for a moment, then nodded. "Probably. It's all fun and games to wind him up, but we don't want him actually doing anything to hurt the game."
"Or Leigh," Brian added, resting a hand on my shoulder.
"That too," Maria agreed. "So, when he comes back, let's move on with the story. It's gonna be tight, but I can get us to where we need to be for what I've got planned at the con."
"Sounds good to me," I said, only a little disappointed. I'd been having fun with the sillier elements of the roleplay, but ultimately our goal was to tell a story, and I was ready to play my part.
Carmen let us know she was going to grab something to eat, and as she was heading out the door, Jonah came in. The smoke break seemed to have done him some good, with his color closer to normal, and he didn't even glare at me as he passed by my seat on the way around to his.
"All right, everyone back in their spots? Prepare to go live again in five... four... three...."
-==-
"So you will take the request then?"
I looked around at my fellow party members nervously.
What the duke was asking of us would be a huge challenge. On the other hand, it would also assure his alliance in the war I feared would break out on my quest to overthrow my uncle, and every ally we could make was a blessing.
I looked to Sunny, who gave me a vigorous thumbs up. She was always down for a challenge if it meant showing off her combat skills.
Adrian, in his shining armor, gave me a small nod and an even smaller smile. As a Paladin it was his duty to follow the word of law, and he likely would have insisted we follow the request regardless simply due to his oath to serve, but I knew that when it came down to it he was looking forward to the coming challenge just as much as Sunny.
John was too busy eying the silver decorations around the room to notice me, which was fine. I still didn't trust his intents, but he had helped us out of pinches in the past, and I was sure the gold offered was enough to buy his loyalty to a point.
Dahlia gave me one of her patented unreadable smiles, the same ones I had seen so often growing up whenever there was a big decision to be made and she was trusting me to make the right call. There was nothing I dreaded more than the day her trust in me might prove unfounded.
Lastly, Burg. He had trimmed his beard and hair for the meeting with the duke, and I couldn't help but muse that he would make a fine lord, should we survive our quest and defeat my uncle.
I took one last nervous breath, then turned back to the duke.
"Milord, we accept your request."
The duke smiled down at me, relief clear on his face. "I do thank thee, lady. This trade route is vital to my city's survival. Whether through war or through wiles, I care not, but seeing the fire giants gone will relieve me of a great deal of stress."
With our work decided, we headed back out, the Duke's messenger who had tracked us down in town showing us the way.
"Are there any other preparations we need to make before we set out?" I asked my companions.
"None I can think of."
"Nah, the sooner we get there, the sooner I get to bash some giant skulls in."
"I believe we have everything we need. Do we want to rest here overnight and head out tomorrow?" Adrian asked, looking to the darkening skies above us.
Out of character, I gave Maria a significant look, and she simply shrugged.
"I think that would be wise, too. All agreed?"
At the chorus of ayes, we made our way to the inn we had located earlier in the day.
The innkeeper was more than happy to have us, and after the exchange of what felt like a silly amount of gold we made our way to our rooms: Adrian and John, Sunny and Dahlia, and lastly... me and Burg.
"Are you sure?" He asked me, amused at my choice of roommates.
I blushed. "I... we are with child. Are we not?"
"We are," he agreed.
"Well, then it's to be expected."
"It is," he said, with that same amused smile.
The rooms were simple, but comfortable. Nothing to match the luxury of my life before exile from the palace, but far from the worst accommodations I had experienced in my time adventuring. I was about to get ready for bed, when Burg's hand caught my elbow.
"Yes?" I asked, looking up into his eyes, deep and sapphire blue.
"I have a gift."
"For me?"
He chuckled. "Not exactly," he said, before pulling a small cloth bag from behind his back. "But you should be the one to open it."
"Hmm." I took the bag curiously and undid the soft gold tassel holding it closed. I reached in and withdrew a soft, furry lump. I gave it a close look and laughed.
"You may deny my child many things, but you will not deny them a wolf companion," Burg said, reaching out to toy with one of the small, stuffed figure's floppy ears.
"I suppose not," I said, looking up again just in time for the kiss that I had fully expected would come.
"Are you two really gonna kiss this time?"
"Wha?" I jumped a bit, startled by Sydney's voice pulling me out of the game-space, only to realize just how close me and Brian really were. "Ah, no."
"Damnit!"
"Hey!"
Brian, too, seemed to be shaking a haze out of his head as he sat back in his chair, leaning away from me.
"Welp, on that very sweet note, I think we'll call it here, folks!" Maria said, smiling more broadly than I had seen her do at the end of any session in a while.
"Remember, everyone, that next week the Wednesday Knights won't be going live on Wednesday. That doesn't mean we don't have some great content for you, though! The tech crew are going to run a special one-shot for you guys that evening, and of course, you'll be able to catch us live both Saturday and Sunday when we livestream our live audience sessions at LSGC! And be sure to tune in Friday for the live chat recap of tonight's game. Our costume designer Carmen will be there as a special guest!"
The closing music began, and the lights began to fade, and I found myself idly fiddling with the very real plushie that was sitting in my arms as we sat through the fade out on the stream. It looked back at me with its big, shining eyes, the same color as Burg's.
The same color as Brian's.
As the lights came up, I once again found myself looking at Brian, who was Looking at me.
"I was wondering what was in that bag," I said, feeling oddly shy.
Brian chuckled, folding the little gift bag in his hands. "I texted Carmen to see if she'd mind picking it up. I remembered seeing them a while back, and after the session at the baby store, I thought it'd be fun. Canon-wise, Burg picked it up when he snuck off to get a trim."
It was certainly a cute thing, and I was finding it embarrassingly hard not to hug the toy as I held it.
Jeezus, maybe I am a girl.
"This isn't a wolf, though," I pointed out, wanting to distract myself as much as anything else. "It's a husky."
"Close enough for roleplay, right?"
"Yeah."
"Hey, you two, wanna get a move on so we can close up?" Maria asked me, her gaze moving between me and Brian with a look that I really didn't want to try and figure out right then.
"Ah, yeah," I said, starting to stand up only to realize... "Oh crap! Where's Carmen?"
"She's riding back to my place with me. She's waiting over there," Maria said, pointing to the corner of the room, where sure enough, Carmen was waiting, seemingly trying to stay out of the way of the crew as they packed things up.
I made my way over to her, and once again got a warm hug. "Mija, it's always so fun to watch you and Maria play your games." She looked down at the stuffie still in my arms and gave me an enigmatic smile. "It was a sweet gesture, was it not?"
"Yeah."
She looked over my shoulder, and following her line of sight, I saw Brian collecting our things.
"He's a good man."
"Yeah," I said again, in a softer tone.
"A-anyway," I said, shaking my head and turning back to her. "If you'll hold this, I'll go change." I offered her the stuffed pup, but she didn't take it.
"Nah ah!" Carmen shook her finger at me. "You said you'd wear them as long as I needed you to."
Oh shit.
Seeing my expression, she nodded. "I know it's going to be tough, but if you can, I would like for you to wear the bodysuit for at least the next couple of days. I need to know for certain it will not be a problem at the convention, and this will be a good test for it."
"Couple of days?!"
Carmen waved her hands to calm me down. "Now, now. I will be here again Friday for the... commentary thing? Come by then, and we can sort you out. Until then, I would appreciate you only taking it off to shower."
"And sleep," I added, only to get another long look. "No?"
"I can't make you do this," Carmen said, then shrugged.
"I--"
"Hey, ready to go?" Brian asked, walking up behind me, our things gathered in his arms. "I was thinking subs on the way home, sound good?"
"Ah, sure?" I said, glancing between him and Carmen, and seeing their two smiling faces, both asking me similar questions.
I let out a sigh and hugged my stuffed pup.
It seemed for the moment I'd be eating for two.
-==-
Comments
Guerilla Grue
He seems like the type, don't he? We'll have to see....
Joseph
Brava! Totally engaging story. I just hope Jonah doesn’t ruin everything…
Guerilla Grue
Ain't gonna be me! :D I suppose if you wanted to read 'em more frequently you could re-read the older chapters as I toss them up on BCTS too? Just conk yerself on the head with a ball peen hammer first, and it'll be just like the first time!
Michelle Kurtz
Someone needs to fix that
Erin Halfelven at BigCloset
B-but Wednesday only comes once a week.
Michelle Kurtz
This story always leaves me frustrated that I have to wait until next week for the next chapter. It really is fun
