"He wanted to make sure it was okay with me if he went ahead and kept hooking up with sword babes."
"Oh." Doll looked completely crushed. So crushed, in fact, that Briana laughed.
"Honestly, it's fine, Doll. He's gonna do his thing, whatever that may be."
Doll squinted at her. "Are you really okay with that? Don't youwanthim to be your dream guy? Most of us spend our whole lives hoping fate will strike."
Briana glanced toward Laurie, who was threading his way through the crowds, a lifted platter of drinks swaying above his head. His shirt had full, loose sleeves and was snug against his body thanks to a well-fitted doublet, and his hair, braided in a sort of elfin up-do, swung partially free. He was absolutely gorgeous, and that was without considering the fact that he was wearing tights that clung to his strong thighs and boots that followed the line of his calves. She could afford not to consider that, mostly because she could only see his upper body and head."I've had two years to get used to the idea, so, yeah, I'm honestly fine with it. If he turns a new leaf, then, like, I wouldn't kick him out of bed for eating cookies, but I don't want somebody to rearrange their entire personality just for me, you know?"
"I guess that's fair. Although wouldn't the fact that heisyour fated mate suggest he's got hidden depths? Like, fate wouldn't mess with you like that, right?"
"That would be a nice surprise, but I'm not holding my breath. Now, for God's sake, can we talk about something other than Laurie Torben? I've had to think about him way more in the past day than I ever have before, so I'd like tonot, for a while. Did you get that portfolio review you were hoping for, or have you not heard back yet?"
"Fair," Dahlia said with a smile, then exploded the smile into puffed cheeks and a heavy exhalation. "I haven't heard back. If I don't by the end of the week, I'm probably screwed."
"No way. You're crazy talented."
"There are a lot of crazy talented sequential artists out there," Doll said wryly. "Way more than there are jobs available. Especially drawing for the Big Two. Especially as a woman of color. Especially?—"
"Your web comic got nominated for three different awards last year, right?" Briana interrupted. She knew it had, but Doll tended to downplay her achievements.
"Well, yeah, but that's such a small audience, and it's not like I'm making a living from it."
"I'm not making a living from smithing, either," Briana pointed out. "I'm also not getting nominated for awards for my artistic endeavors in metalsmithing! So you're doing really well, and I've seen your work, Doll. If one of the big comics companies doesn't hire you, they're idiots. Which." She sighed dramatically. "Which I concede is a real possibility."
Dahlia laughed. "Yeah. But honestly, the nominations and the portfolio review help, I mean, this review is already juried, I had to get through two elimination rounds to getthisfar…"
"And the fact that you did means you're doing exceptional work," Briana said firmly, and with her eyes suddenly stinging with tears. "You're really good, Doll. You'll make it. I have faith."
"I wish faith and talent were all it took, but it turns out luck is a massive factor. But thank you." Doll smiled, her own eyes looking a bit shiny. "And in the meantime I'll keep working in graphic design."
"Just like I'll keep welding. Day jobs to make the dream work."
"Speaking of which." Dahlia groaned. "The only problem with Faire is working for six weeks straight, since the day job doesn't goaway. You're lucky doing, like, contract work."
"Yeah." It wasn't exactly contract work, but Briana did move from gig to gig and was able to choose when tonotwork, even weeks at a time if and when necessary. Most of the fabricator companies she worked with were used to her not working summers by now, and she made up for it by being available through the holidays most years. It annoyed her family, but while she loved them dearly, returning to the dynamic of being the Oldest Sister and therefore In Charge wasnota holiday for Bree, so she tried to avoid it. "On the other hand, you're not missing much by not being in the fairgrounds during the week."
"Except this year I'll be missing Laurie Torben trying to win your favor." Dahlia fluttered her eyelashes and Briana laughed.
"Honestly, if Damien had one more smith I'd just camp in the mountains Monday through Thursday and only come in for the weekends myself, but Icancome in during the week and nobody else but him can, sooo…"
"You're a good sport," Doll said fondly. "Are you staying up on Inaccessible Ridge again?"
The ridge didn't actuallyhavea name, not technically speaking, but Dahlia had been calling it that for years, and Bree laughed again. "Yeah. The views are amazing. You should come up with me sometime."
Doll dropped her voice. "Snow leopards are incredible climbers, but even I can’t go up vertical rock faces, Bree. And unlikesomepeople, I cannot lift my entire body weight from a two-finger grip on a centimeter-deep groove."
"But if you'd come to the gym with the climbing wall with me…" Bree wheedled.
"Then I would fall off the climbing wall and prove my point."
"No, you'd get practice and become terrifyingly strong!" Briana had been trying to get Dahlia to join her for years without any more success than she was having right now, but she enjoyed the futility of it all. A small group of people sat down at the table next to them, and the wash of air that rolled over her was somehow hotter than the still air had seemed. "Also it's cooler up on the mountains, oh my god. I'm dying."
"Thatmay be the argument that convinces me, in the end. They're saying it's supposed to rain all week, and I know that's bad for the faire but god, anything to break the heat." Dahlia's eyebrows drew down. "So if it does rain, be careful up there on the rockface, okay? I know you don't really fall, but…"
"I will be." It sounded almost ridiculous, saying she didn't really fall, but mountain goats kind of didn't. They knocked each other off mountains sometimes, or avalanches did, but left to their own devices, for animals that climbed virtually sheer rock faces, they basically didn't fall. Briana glanced toward the mountains, then drained the rest of her lemonade. She always drank what felt like her body weight in liquids every day at the faire, and sweated most if it out again. "I'm going to head out early, I think. I'm not on the forge for the last hour and I'd like to get up onto the mountains before it's dark."
"Okay. If I don't see you again until I come to work on Friday, enjoy your camping and text me if anything interesting happens with Laurie."
