Role Play

A short story by Diva Darling

This story contains: her and her, queer, fantasy, contemporary romance, friends to lovers, firsts, cunnilingus 

The muffled sound inside the tavern privy stall was a sob. Aridoris is sure of it. One long, pointed ear twitches toward the noise. “Hey.” She knocks gently on the door. “Someone in there? Are you okay?”

A long silence, then, “Fine.”

“That’s good. Hey, could you open the door? Just to let me see for myself?”

More silence, and then the stall door creaks open. A grayish-green sliver of face and a golden eye, reddened and swollen, fills the narrow space. Aridoris has to look up to meet its gaze.

***

Aish put down Aridoris’s character sheet and looked at Phaedra, who was crying for real, across the kitchen table. It wasn’t totally unusual for players in a tabletop roleplaying game to be moved to tears during a scene, but it was weird for a first-time player to be reduced to tears in the establishing scene of a brand-new campaign. Lex, the dungeon master, was still narrating it, but Aish interrupted. “Hang on. Are you—Do you need to stop playing?”

Phaedra looked lost and forlorn amid the glossy piles of books, scattered dice, and crumpled bags of Doritos and kettle corn that covered the table. She wiped her eyes and sipped a hard cider. Siobhan, the third player, looked down and focused on adding a couple of numbers on their character sheet.

Lex peered over the dungeon master’s screen, set up at the far end of the table to hide her dice rolls from the players. “It’s fine. Phae and I talked about this.”

“I’d like to hear it from her.” Aish folded her arms. “New player crying before you even screw us on loot? Come on.”

No one laughed.

Phaedra mustered a tiny smile. “No, it’s okay. I’m fine.”

Aish fiddled with the drawstring on the purple Crown Royal bag that held her dice, unconvinced. 

***

“See? Fine.” The half-orc starts to close the door.

Aridoris sticks her foot in it, smiling in what she hopes is a friendly way. Folks like humans and elves often mistake a tiefling’s smile for the baring of teeth. “Want to talk about it? I’m a good listener.”

The half-orc hesitates, then pulls the stall door open. “I guess.”

Both of them jump as the privy’s main door bangs open. 

“Dor! Hurry up, I’m thirsty!” A dwarf strides in, their arm around a halfling tavern wench’s waist.

“Not a good time, Ursli.” Aridoris weights each word with meaning.

“Too bad. I gotta piss.” The dwarf tips their head back to take in the half-orc, scratching the braids of their coppery beard. “You look like shit.”

“Ursli!”

“What? I didn’t say it was a bad thing.” They kiss the halfling’s cheek, copping a feel. The halfling giggles. “Wait for me at the table, sweet.” Ursli sticks their hand out, over their head. “Who are ye, friend? Anything a couple of wandering adventurers could help with? For a little coin?”

“URSLI!”

“WHAT?”

“I’m Grizur.” The half-orc’s voice is surprisingly soft and gentle as she reaches down to shake Ursli’s hand. “And–no. I don’t think there’s anything I could pay you to do that would help.” Her eyes well up again. “Not unless you know how to make my lover return.”

“I dunno,” Ursli says, “paladin’s swords can be real convincing. Really drive the point home.” They elbow Aridoris. “See what I did there?”

Aridoris sighs.

***

Aish pushed the tissue box across the table to Phaedra, bulldozing a pile of dice. “Seriously, we don’t have to play tonight, okay?” She tried to make it sound more sympathetic than annoyed.

“Relax, Aish, you’re making it worse,” said Siobhan, from their usual spot at the foot of the table, where they were nearest to the beers in Lex and Phaedra’s campus apartment fridge. They turned to Phaedra. “Trust me, for Ursli, this is so much better than the usual adventure setup. No offense, Lex.” They blew Lex a kiss. She made a face and held up the DM screen as if to block it, though Aish could see her grin behind it.

Phaedra blew her nose. “I’m sorry, everyone. Maybe I shouldn’t have said I’d play.” Her face crumpled again, and she choked on a sob.

“It’s all good,” Lex assured her. “The whole point of getting you into this campaign was to help you get over that cheating dirtbag. Art as catharsis, as Aristotle would say.”

“Oh my god, save it for your moral-whateverism final, and let’s get questing!” Siobhan dragged their hands down their cheeks, groaning like a Muppet. Lex grinned.

Aish studied Phaedra, who looked fragile and small, so different from her brawny half-orc character. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had a real breakup going on.”

“Yeah. Sorry we had to hang out for the first time while I’m a hot mess.”

“You’re in good messy company,” Aish said. To say the least, she thought. She jerked her thumb at Siobhan. “Let me tell you about this disaster enby right here.”

“Hey!” Siobhan protested. 

“I just don’t want to be the dumb newbie who messes up the game,” said Phaedra, attempting a smile through her tears. Weak though it was, its wattage was bright.

Aish’s pulse fluttered suddenly, like a moth in that light.

“Well, I don’t want you to feel like you have to hide out in your bedroom alone with big breakup feels,” said Lex. 

“It’s okay, we were all new to tabletop once.” Aish realized Phaedra was staring back at her. She looked away and started building a dicehenge.

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