Female Warm Hospitality (F)

[Blah!?]

Given, well, everything, I decided to start taking writing commissions on my tumblr page. This is my very first one, and I figured I should post it here too for the sake of it. Hopefully it'll be a fun read!

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Snow fell silently across the road to King’s Watch. Only a handful of travelers made the journey each day, and their tracks were always covered by the time the next arrived. As what remained of the sun’s light began to fade, a lone elf ranger made the journey up the mountainside, the day’s final adventurer.

 

Tamara had seen the snow before, though she couldn’t remember the last time she could simply stop to admire it. It lightly dusted her brown hair, and the sensation was quite pleasant until it began to melt and trickle down the back of her neck. The ranger shivered and pulled up her dark hood, though she still managed to smile as she peered out from underneath. A frozen bush caught her attention from the side of the road, the layers of ice on its branches giving the appearance of crystal. Tamara stopped to examine it, resisting the urge to reach out and touch it so as not to disturb the natural beauty.

 

“Hhh-!”

 

Before she even felt the tickle in her nose, Tamara’s breath hitched. Her eyelids fluttered lazily as she briefly lost control of herself, and she regained her senses with an outstretched finger hovering somewhere below her nose. The urge to sneeze suddenly gone, the elf shook her head and lightly waved her hand at her face. After a quiet sniff, she pulled herself away from the bush and trudged on, hoping to reach the town above before nightfall.

 

“Hh-hih!”

 

Only a moment later, a tickle filled Tamara’s nose once more. She unconsciously stopped in her tracks, wrapping her arms around herself under her cloak as a cold wind blew right through her. Slowly she raised one hand up toward her face, and then she rushed to cover her nose as a sneeze fully took hold.

 

“Hih! Tshhiiew!”

 

Cupping one gloved hand under her nostrils, Tamara bobbed forward with a soft, deceptively strong sneeze. She sniffed as her eyes fluttered open, and she lightly slid a finger across the underside of her nose.

 

“Oh, my…” Tamara mumbled to herself, finally realizing that she’d stopped walking. She resumed her climb, though her pace was somewhat slower than before. By the time the town’s lights came into view, Tamara was helplessly shivering and sniffling under her cloak. Fortunately, knowing she was so close to her destination gave her just enough energy to press on, and she already felt a bit warmer when she arrived in the town square.

 

Despite her increasingly desperate need for shelter, Tamara couldn’t help but take a moment to bask in the town’s charming atmosphere. She might have found it rather cozy if she wasn’t so cold. An ornate fountain filled with hot, steaming water was the centerpiece of the square, overlooked by a tall clocktower, warm light radiating from behind its face. Tamara remained blissfully unaware of the time even as she stared up at the clock, and she only realized she’d started to dally when another cold wind passed through the town.

 

“Hih! Hhh… Hashiew!”

 

Tightly hugging herself to brace against the chill, Tamara bobbed forward with a sneeze. She sniffed reflexively, filling her nostrils with enough freezing air that she very nearly sneezed again. Holding a cloaked hand under her nose, she managed to stop herself and weakly force her eyes open, searching for the first inn she could find.

 

The Gray Flower tavern. Tamara could barely read the sign in the dark, cloudy night, but the warmly lit windows called to her. She stumbled through the door to find a pleasantly quiet bar and dining room. Two fires crackled on either side of the room, one at the far end and another closer to the counter. A few travelers sat alone at different tables. They looked up at the sound of the door opening, and they quickly returned to their meals and drinks. Finally starting to warm up, Tamara approached the barkeep.

 

“Good evening,” said the young human woman, resting her hands on the countertop with a smile. Tamara nodded, though even as she came to a stop, she forgot to lower her hood.

 

“You you as well. I’d like a room for the night, please.”

 

“That’ll be three silver pieces for the room. Would you like anything to eat or drink?”

 

“No, thank you,” Tamara replied, reaching for her coin purse. “Just the room will be fine.” She laid three freezing pieces of silver on the counter, and the tavern keeper placed a key beside them in turn. It was room temperature at best, but it felt downright warm in Tamara’s cold fingers.

 

“Up the stairs behind you,” Tamara’s host instructed, pointing over her shoulder. “Second room on your right.”

 

Tamara bowed her head gratefully, but before she could turn away, a sharp tickle in her nose brought her to a halt. Her eyes slowly closed, and after a moment she was only aware of the gradual rise and fall of her chest, growing more labored by the second.

 

“Hhih… Hih’tschh! Tshhiew!”

 

Just managing to turn her head away from the counter, Tamara sneezed twice. A wave of cold washed over her as she straightened up, making her shiver briefly.

 

“Bless you,” offered the innkeeper with a smile. Tamara smiled back somewhat timidly, gently running a finger across the underside of her nose.

 

“Thank you. Goodnight.”

 

With that, Tamara retreated up the stairs and quickly found her way to her room. Unfortunately being on the second floor and lacking a fireplace, the room was a bit chillier than the tavern below. Still, it was a marked improvement over the outdoors, and Tamara couldn’t find much else to complain about. The night had only just begun, but she was cold and tired enough that she could think of nothing beyond the comfort of sleep. She set her bag down on the room’s sole table, rifling through it until she found her nightgown. Then, she made her way to the bed and changed as quickly as she could.

 

While she knew her nightgown would eventually help her warm up in bed, Tamara shivered against the cloth, still cold from spending all day in her pack. She helplessly brought a hand up to her face and rubbed her fingers back and forth under her nose, a tickle growing in her nostrils despite her efforts.

 

“Hih! Hhaah… Ashiew! Tschhh! Haa… Aaah… Ah-Tshhieew!”

 

A trio of sneezes rocked Tamara’s body, nearly causing her to stumble back onto the bed. The rush momentarily allowed her to forget about the cold, though she quickly began to sniff and rub her nose as she recovered. Holding two fingers under her nostrils, Tamara sighed and lumbered over to her cloak, which she’d draped over a chair beside the table. She produced a crumpled but usable tissue from the inside pocket, and she took a moment to thoroughly blow her nose. Fortunately she managed to drive the tickle out of her nostrils for the time being, but she could tell it would be back before long. After gently wiping the tissue under her nose, Tamara quickly climbed into bed.

 

Tamara slept soundly, but the next morning, the last thing she wanted to do was get out of bed. The mattress was comfortable, and the covers were so warm. Tamara moaned softly, smiling as she snuggled herself into the blankets. Then, her nose began to scrunch up, seemingly all of its own accord. Frowning to herself, Tamara reached a hand out from under the covers and firmly rubbed her flaring nostrils. Still the tickle persisted, and it wasn’t long before…

 

“Ha-Haa-Haaa-! Ha’tshieew!”

 

A sneeze lifted Tamara’s head off of her pillow, and as she recovered, she suddenly felt very cold. The previously warm blankets were the only things keeping her from freezing, and her nose was blocked and ticklish. She forced herself to stay in bed for as long as she could, but eventually a firm “Ashiiew!” forced her to get up and find a tissue. There were only a few left in her cloak, so after thoroughly blowing her nose, Tamara got dressed and headed downstairs in search of comfort.

 

“Good morning! Can I get you-”

 

The same innkeeper from the night before greeted Tamara, but she suddenly stopped when she noticed the traveler’s long, pointed ears. The human woman seemed a bit nervous, but Tamara was too busy blowing her nose to notice.

 

“Good morning,” Tamara replied, gently wiping her nose.

 

“D-did you sleep well?”

 

Tamara nodded weakly.

 

“Yes. Though I seem to have caught a cold…”

 

The innkeeper gasped, holding a hand over her mouth.

 

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry!” she stammered, running out from behind the counter. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

 

Tamara softly blew her nose again.

 

“I’d like some tea, please,” she answered, sounding almost shy. “And… Do you have any more tissues?”

 

“Of course! O-one moment, please!”

 

Tamara took a seat at the bar, nearly oblivious to the innkeeper scrambling about. Her stuffy nose tickled too much for her to think about anything else. She blew softly into her final tissue, trying to make it last as long as possible, but an unexpected “T’shhiew!” saturated it more than she would have liked. Fortunately, after another bout of nose blowing, Tamara looked up to find a steaming cup of tea sitting on the counter before her.

 

“Oh, thank you very much,” she said, lowering her crumpled tissue and picking up the tea. The innkeeper watched with bated breath as her guest brought the cup up to her face. However, instead of taking a sip, for the moment Tamara simply held the teacup under her nose, allowing the steam to rise into her nostrils. The pleasant aroma eventually managed to reach her senses after a few seconds, and Tamara smiled contentedly until a sudden sneezing fit very nearly made her spill her drink.

 

“Haah… Hashiew! Ah-Ahh… T’schh! Ha’tshhh! HA’tsch!”

 

Tamara’s eyes fluttered open weakly, and she quickly caught sight of the innkeeper backing herself into the corner behind the counter. Smiling bashfully, Tamara briefly averted her gaze in embarrassment.

 

“Excuse me,” she mumbled, bringing her tissue back up to her nose. The innkeeper finally seemed to relax. She’d never actually met an elf before, or at least not so directly. This guest of hers hardly resembled the stories and rumors at all. Letting out a quiet sigh, she opened a cabinet behind the counter and produced a fresh box of tissues.

 

“Here you are, miss,” she said, setting the box down in front of her customer. The elf’s face lit up as she plucked a new, clean tissue from the box.

 

“Thank you so much,” Tamara said, gleefully blowing her nose. Afterward, she finally managed to take a sip of her tea. The soothing warmth was nearly enough to make her forget all about her tickly nose.

 

“This is wonderful, thank you again,” she continued, quickly bringing her tissue back up to her nostrils to sniffle into. The innkeeper nodded and smiled.

 

“You’re welcome. My name’s Robyn, by the way. What’s yours?”

 

“I’m Taah… Haah-! Ha’tshiiew! Ugh… I’m Tamara.”

 

“Bless you.”

 

“Thanks. This wouldn’t happen to be a hot spring town, would it?”

 

Robyn smiled eagerly, clasping her hands together. Tamara sipped her tea and blew her nose again as the innkeeper stepped out from behind the counter and beckoned her to a door at the back of the room.

 

“It’s not exactly a hot spring, but we do have something that I think will help you feel a lot better.”

 

Tamara smiled appreciatively and stood up, though she only took a few steps before doubling back for the tissue box.

 

“Do you mind if I bring this with me? I think I’ll need it for a while,” she asked, smiling awkwardly in embarrassment. Robyn chuckled and nodded.

 

“Of course, keep it. Now please, follow me.”

 

Robyn led Tamara through the door and into a small hallway. Tamara could see the sky through the next door’s window, and she braced herself for a blast of cold air when Robyn opened it. To her surprise, however, she still felt quite warm even as she approached. After stepping outside, she was actually even warmer than she’d been up in her room. Robyn moved aside and gestured toward a cozy communal foot bath, and Tamara’s jaw dropped. Steam rose from the surface of the water, swirling upward until it reached a wooden and glass roof that protected the bath from the elements.

 

“Take as long as you like,” said Robyn, stepping back through the door. “I’ll have a towel ready for you.”

 

Tamara could barely squeak out a “thank you” before quickly skipping over to the foot bath and taking off her boots. The water was hot enough to make her recoil at first, but it wasn’t long before she eased into it, happily wiggling her toes under the surface.

 

Smiling up at the sky, Tamara sighed peacefully. After a minute or two, she even managed to forget all about her cold. Or at least she did, until…

 

“Ah… Haah… Ha’TSHIEW!”

 

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Thanks for reading, everyone! As always feedback and constructive criticism are more than welcome, and I hope I'll have something new to share soon.

[Usagi]

This is cute and hot! Happy to see more from you Blah!

[Likesn]

Such a sweet little story. There's definitely room for more, if you decide to add it 😊

BTW - what's your tumblr page? Looks like it's worth checking it out.

[Blah!?]

Thanks, I'm glad you liked the story! I've done a couple trade stories a looong time ago, but this was my first commission. To be honest I wasn't really sure how the whole experience would go, and I'm glad it turned out alright.

I don't think I'm allowed to link to my tumblr page directly in a post, but I've added the url to my profile.

[NoV]

Really like the atmosphere you build with this fic, especially when she takes shelter from the rising cold in the warmth of the tavern. Of course, the sneezing provides added delight