Damn.
How long had she been walking now? She had lost track after 19 miles. The pain from the yoke digging into her shoulders was blaringly obvious now. What did this even do? What purpose did it serve to have her carry this thing for miles on end? She had nothing to do with them once she got to where her master directed her to go. She would just have to carry them back. She cursed silently.
That old bastard.
Sweat trickled down her forehead and dripped onto the ground. She was out of breath by this point and decided to take a break. The old man would never know. Then again he did catch her when he found out she had skipped out on the last three miles of her 30 mile run the other month. But he never would have found out if that stupid mage hadn't ratted her out. Eh, he would never know if she took a fifteen minute break or so.
She walked over to a tree and set down the yoke and the buckets of water. Her shoulders felt like someone had lifted a giant burden from them...literally. She sighed happily, rubbing both her shoulders and the sweat from her forehead. She hated these endurance training courses, but she agreed to them since they were the only way she could continue to get lessons from her master. Though at this point, she could survive better than most men she knew. But that wouldn't stop her. She would continue her training until her master had nothing left to teach her, which, he said, was never going to happen. She groaned slightly, her breathing still heavy.
She hobbled over to the tree, leaning against it for the moment, allowing it to support all her weight. Maybe she could shut her eyes for a few minutes. He wouldn't know. She shut her eyes, smiling slyly. "Old bastard," she mumbled sleepily, trying to let herself to rest. She slowly slid down the tree until she was sitting underneath it. A few minutes later she was asleep, snoring lightly. It wasn't a heavy sleep, but it was good enough. She would be rested and ready to finish the rest of her walk.
A half hour or so later, she was awoken suddenly. There were loud noises nearby. They sounded like...lash whip? She sat up slowly, groaning as she did so. She rubbed her sore shoulders again, clearly upset that she was awoken. She blinked a few times, trying to get her eyes to focus. But then she heard several more whip cracking. "What the hell?" She heaved herself off the ground, looking in the direction of where the noise was coming from. Who was making so much noise, and why? Eh, it was really none of her business. She would eventually pass where the noise was coming from considering her path lead in the direction of the whip noises.
She hobbled over to the yoke, and got ready to pick it back onto her shoulders when she heard and explosion. She jumped and spun around, looking for where it could possibly come from. She saw smoke a little while off. "What the.." She saw something fly out from where the smoke came from. It was probably some mage having to much fun and getting carried away. Damn mages. She figured whoever they were, with an explosion that big, they could probably use some help. She decided to ditch the yoke and just continue up the road to see what was going on. She could always come back for it later.
It didn't take long for the house...or at least the remains of what may have been a house, to come into view. Her eyes widened. Dang mage must have been having a little too much fun. She didn't understand why they always decided to experiment with their magic like that. Why not use it for something useful like fire dancing or baking...not blowing up houses. She shook her head, continuing to walk in the direction of the house. The place was completely destroyed by the looks of it. What a shame.
Then she saw a figure walking away from the house. He must have been the cause of this whole mess. In fact she was pretty positive, considering the state his shoes and skin were in. He looked like he had decided to take a bath in flames, though his skirt seemed untouched, of which she was thankful. She couldn't help but let out a sharp laugh at the poor guy's appearance. She figured she'd ask him if he needed help. Maybe he could point her to a good place to spend the night.
As she got closer, she could see more details, or at least two large details in particular; his purple skin and his bright orange hair. She stopped walking, tilting her head to look at him. Uhh...yea ok, she was a bit...weirded out. But that wouldn't stop her from helping him if it was needed. "Hey...did you not like that house or something? Because making it disappear or something is a lot...quieter than making it explode." She didn't get mages interest in fire, but it always seemed like no matter where she turned, they were making things blow up. Oh well...she wasn't going to worry about unhealthy fetishes. She just wanted to help him and get on her way. No need to make the Old Bastard suspicious of her again.