Jale got her tasks done fairly quickly, and joined them at the table as they were working their way through second plates of food. She waved at the innkeeper while unravelling her scarf and shrugged out of her jacket. As soon as her food arrived, she ate it as quickly as possible, updating them between mouthfuls.

"The kyloe are settled. I traded off all of the furs and bought us some more vegetables, potatoes, corn, some dried berries, dried meat. Do you two want anything to drink?"

"Yes." Tanden replied, without consulting Soren.

Jale swallowed her mouthful of food and called over to the innkeeper again. Then she cut another bite off of her meat. "Do you have your map?"

Tanden had to rummage through his jacket for it, but once he found it, he lay it out on the table. Jale gestured with the back of her fork. "I asked around. The Emperor has already moved to Tier." She tapped a spot in the north, among the mountains. "I don't think it's worth your time to go there, honestly. It'll take us months, and we won't make it before the worst of the snow. Tier essentially shuts down in the winter."

She paused as a beautiful barmaid arrived to hand them three mugs of something clear. Jale picked hers up and drank. "So—"

"Wait, what is this?" Tanden interrupted.

"Irdka. It's made of potatoes," she replied dismissively. "So I think we should head for Tigo's capital, here." She poked the map again. "Depending on the weather we might be able to push through to Tiya, but I heard an interesting rumour about Esler Tigo—the capital. Apparently, a prophet of Tier has been found and she's travelling, spreading Tier's good will before winter truly begins."

"And she'll be in Esler Tigo when we get there?"

"So they say," Jale said. "And if we end up staying there through the winter, the Emperor will leave Tier for his palace in Till."

Tanden nodded slowly, his eyes roaming the map. "I was hoping to go to Tiya, but I won't force it if you think it will be too risky. Meeting this prophet would be wonderful, though."

"Good. So there's our plan. Have you tried the irdka?"

"Oh." Tanden had actually already forgotten about the drink, lost in their plans. Now he picked up his mug and took a sip. The alcohol was strong. He felt it burn all the way down his throat. But he liked it. "This is pretty good."

Jale laughed. "It's all right. Nothing beats Morcean kalay. I once bought a whole crate here to sell, and I have been Morie Caro's favourite visitor ever since."

Tanden laughed with her. "I can believe that." Then he stopped laughing, and really looked at her. Like all Tallenese, she had tanned skin darker than his, thin, slightly slanted eyes, and dark hair. He could see the ends of her hair, poking out haphazardly from under her knitted hat. She was actually quite striking, when she was relaxed and happy. "You're from Till, right?"

She nodded. "I was born in Till, but I've travelled over all of Tallen Tiya. That's what it means to be a ranger. Till is a wonderful province," she added. "But it isn't as Tallenese as the others. It's been changed by years of interacting with other countries, especially Morcea. There are probably as many Morceans as Tallenese living in the port. When you get into Tigo, or further, you see the real Tallenese people and culture."

"That's why we wanted to travel inland," Soren spoke up from across the table. "Port cities are always... tainted, for lack of a better word."

Jale nodded. "Till is, for sure. Not to say I don't love the constant bustle and the people coming and going. But I also love Morie Caro, and all of the other villages like it. I love the forests, and the cities. I'm really impressed by your dedication to seeing more of the empire. Now, if you'll excuse me..." She got up and walked over to the bar.

Tanden watched her for a moment, then turned back to the table. "Soren."

"I wondered how long this would take," Soren said, casually leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed.

"Well, I can ask her, can't I?" Tanden asked.

Soren's gaze went over Tanden's shoulder, towards Jale. "She'll say no."

"You don't know that. It wouldn't hurt to ask."

"Ask, then." Soren rested his forearms on the table and leaned forward. "And when she says no, I get to take charge tonight."

Tanden was more than a little intrigued by the bargain. "Fine."

Soren smirked and picked up his mug. Tanden did the same, and they sat in silence until Jale had returned to the table with a new mug. Tanden waited until she had sat down and seemed settled before speaking.

"So, Jale. Soren and I were talking," he said. "And we were wondering if you had any interest in joining us tonight."

She looked at him over the top of her mug. "Are you propositioning me?"

"Well, yes. You could call it that."

Jale looked at him a little longer, then burst out laughing. Tanden shot Soren a glance. He was leaning back in his chair again, holding his mug, and he shrugged. Jale was laughing so hard she nearly spilled her irdka, and had to put it down before clutching her stomach.

When she finally slowed down, Tanden risked talking again. "Why is that so funny?"

"You're handsome enough," she paused for another chuckle, and swatted him playfully in the chest. "But you're missing something here." Very obviously, she let her eyes trail down his body. "And I don't like what you've got down there."

It took a second for that to click, and when it did, Tanden turned on Soren. "How did you know?"

Soren nodded in the direction of the bar. "I was watching her kiss the barmaid when you brought this up."

"You tricked me."

"I withheld information," Soren corrected, taking a sip of irdka.

Jale was still laughing. "You're not used to being rejected, are you?"

"What?" Tanden shook his head, and tried to sound indignant. "No, it's not that... no. But, I'm not hurt. I'm not a woman, so a rejection makes sense. Nobody who likes men would reject me."

"You're a cocky bastard, Captain," Soren said.

"And you love me for it, mate," Tanden replied. But his initial surprise had passed and he really wasn't offended by Jale's rejection. "My apologies, Jale. I misread some signals. I hope I didn't insult you."

"Do I sound insulted?"

"No." Tanden chuckled, allowing himself to see the humour in the whole thing. "You sound entertained."

"I am," Jale agreed. "But you can still make it up to me by paying for my dinner."

Tanden sighed good naturedly. "I think I can manage that."

Soren cleared his throat. "And our bargain."

"I know, mate. Still, I maintain that you tricked me."

Soren shrugged silently, but he looked very proud of himself. Tanden wasn't really annoyed anyway, Soren was getting better at surprising him.

Jale had already finished her irdka, and she stood up. "I'll see you in the morning. Enjoy your night. We're just down that hallway." She paused to put a key on the table. "This is for your room. We have rooms next to each other by the way, so try to keep it down. I don't want to have to break down your door because it sounds like you're being murdered." She laughed as she walked across the room.

Tanden groaned. "I forgot that we talked about that in front of her. Did we say anything else horribly embarrassing?"

"Dunno. Maybe."

"Dunno, maybe?" Tanden repeated. "Helpful." He looked over to see that Jale was holding hands with the pretty barmaid, who was staring at her with a look of absolute adoration as Jale led her towards the rooms. "You used to look at me like that."

"Don't be so dramatic," Soren said.

"I can't help it. I like her."

"Of course you do," Soren said. "She's you. If you were a woman and without the inherited wealth."

Tanden frowned. "She's not me."

"Aye, she is. She loves exploring, for one. She didn't tell us she could speak Teltish for days, just so she could eavesdrop, which I know you do. She's taking the barmaid to bed. She's you. That's why you like her so much. I like her, too," he admitted. "But like always, I'm better at controlling myself."

He could see the logic there, but instead of admitting it he just sighed again, playing it up to sound heartbroken. "Take me to bed."

Soren leaned across the table to pick up the key. "You're not in charge, Captain."

There was enough moonlight coming through the window that Soren didn't bother lighting the candles. He just grabbed Tanden the second the door was locked, and held him against the wall beside the door. He knew Tanden liked pinning him against the wall, because it was a way to flaunt his power. He also knew that Tanden loved it when Soren did the same. So Soren held him in place by holding both of his wrists, and kissed him.

Tanden tried to get his hands free, but that was part of the game, too. He liked that Soren was stronger than him. After a moment of that, he started to talk between kisses. "Give me my hands so I can take off your jacket."

"No," Soren said, but he let go of Tanden's hands anyway. "Don't move." He said it with enough authority that he knew Tanden would listen, for the sake of the game. He started undoing the buttons on Tanden's jacket, starting with the one at his neck. As soon as Tanden's throat was bare, Soren leaned in to kiss it, while his fingers kept working the buttons.

Tanden lifted his head to give Soren better access, and leaned back against the wall. He dropped one hand to Soren's head.

"I said don't move." Soren pushed the arm back against the wall before continuing with the buttons.

"My arms are tired."

"Not that tired," Soren said. "But here, take this off." He pushed the jacket off of Tanden's shoulders, and Tanden lowered his arms to let it fall to the floor. Soren tangled his fingers in the bottom of Tanden's tunic to pull it up and over his head, and Tanden shrugged that off as well. Then Soren gently lay a hand on Tanden's chest to keep him in place.

It really didn't matter how often he saw Tanden's body, every time he felt equally lucky. Soren trailed his other hand across the temporary tattoo, and then slowly down, feeling every muscle of Tanden's stomach, until his fingers rested on Tanden's belt. "I called you a cocky bastard. But nobody who likes men would reject you."

Tanden's grin glowed in the moonlight. "I told you, you love me for it."

Soren moved closer to kiss him again, but this time he didn't tell Tanden off when Tanden wrapped his arms around his neck. They kept at it for some time, until Tanden nudged Soren back a step.

"I'm freezing, mate."

Soren laughed. "Sorry." He caught Tanden's hands, and drew them to the buttons on his jacket. "Here."

Tanden immediately worked on undoing them, and soon Soren's jacket and tunic lay in a heap on the floor next to Tanden's. Tanden's attention, as always, was drawn to the tattoos swirling down Soren's arms. His eyes locked onto them like he hadn't seem them in years, and it almost felt like that was true. Soren wasn't used to wearing long sleeves. On the Wanderlust, even on chillier days, he often had his sleeves rolled up to expose his forearms.

Soren took Tanden's hand and led him over to the bed. He let Soren push him onto the bed. Let him, because even when Soren took control Tanden had the final say. Soren could feel it even now, Tanden choosing to listen. He still wasn't sure if Tanden really knew he was doing it.

He straddled Tanden, pinned his arms down on either side of his head, and kissed him again. It didn't take long for Tanden's patience to run thin, and he turned his head away from Soren.

"All right, mate. Don't keep me in suspense any longer. How are we doing this? Are you fucking me, or am I fucking you?"

"I'm doing it," Soren said firmly.

Soren understood the look of surprise that crossed Tanden's face. Even when he took charge, it was usually still, as Tanden had so eloquently put it, Tanden fucking Soren. They engaged the other way rarely, because Tanden didn't really enjoy it. It was something he did for Soren. And Soren, for the most part, was happy either way. But tonight he had won a bet, and he was ready to insist they do it the way he wanted to. As long as Tanden said he could.

Tanden seemed to be turning the idea around in his head. He had to be in the right mood for it. "Well..." he finally said, after what felt like an agonizingly long wait. "Go ahead."

Soren hid his own surprise with another kiss. He drifted one hand down to work on the lacing on Tanden's pants, which gave Tanden a free hand to wrap around Soren's shoulders. It wasn't easy to finish undressing while kissing, but they managed.

Then Soren paused as he realized something, and he sat up. He could tell from the smirk on Tanden's face that he had come to the same conclusion.

"You don't have the oil," Tanden guessed.

Soren frowned. "I don't even know where it's packed."

Tanden laughed. "Relax. It's in my jacket." He waved over at it with his free hand. "You didn't really think I would walk into a tavern without bringing the oil, did you? The last time I did that was the night we met."

Soren didn't raise to the bait. "Don't move," he instructed before climbing off of Tanden and the bed. He had to rummage through the pile of Tanden's jacket for a moment before finding the small bottle of oil tucked into one of the inner pockets. "Do you always carry this with you?"

"Oh, no." Tanden had moved, just to roll onto his side to watch Soren. "I dug it out this morning, when Jale said we would be reaching the town. It was frozen. I had to warm it up in my jacket all day."

"Huh." Soren returned to the bed and sat down. The oil freezing hadn't even occurred to him, but he was glad Tanden had thought of it. He pulled out the cork.

Then Tanden sat up and put his hand over the top of the bottle. "I'll do it."

Soren glanced at him. "What?"

"I'll do it," Tanden said with a smile, giving the bottle a gentle tug. "I'll put it on you."

Soren let the bottle go. Maybe Tanden was in the mood for this, after all.