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@Rhi-Rhi ]
"What a fucking night."
Was that him that just said that? Decebal looked at his reflection in the pond, moonlight casting an iridescent glow over the misty waters. It wasn't that misty, thankfully, though the night remained chilly at best. At worst, the wind could pick up and howl – or rip a tree from its roots and send it sailing into him. That would be bad, yes.
The night was quiet, maybe quiet like in those children's tales where something bad was about to happen and the hero met their untimely – and often gruesome – end. Decebal kept facing the water, but his eyes were busy surveying the area. This was where those rumors seemed to center on.
Werewolves were always a nuisance. And while people leaned toward the tendency of over-exaggerating, there was indeed a basis for fear. Werewolves were dangerous, and could tear apart entire households in a manner of mere minutes. Small thatch houses were no defense against tearing claws, and savage hungers.
And this werewolf in particular was a savage one.
Decebal waited, looking for any movement in the treeline, but saw nothing. Nothing but a deer, drinking from that small pond before looking at him and meeting his gaze. He didn't move, and the deer remained still as well. For a long minute they stared, eye-to-eye until suddenly the deer jumped. A howl pierced the night, and primal fear widened its wild eyes. It tore off through the trees.
Decebal knew a cry like that. It wasn't just a wolf's howl. It was almost...human.
And he too bolted in that direction.
The dire wolf that was once Corryn howled in rage as she thrashed against the chains tethering her to a large, strong oak. Saliva frothed from her black lips as she snarled and spat and threw herself against her bindings again and again, scoring the earth deeply with her claws and rattling the chains, shaking the tree hard enough to send a rain of leaves fluttering down.
Corryn was no longer Corryn in that moment, not really. She was still in there, deep inside, but what was there was scared and confused and angry to be bound like this. The primitive, primal mind of this form couldn't understand that she was the one to bind herself here, for her own protection--and the protection of others. Right now, all she understood was that she was trapped, trapped, trapped, that any predator might come along for the kill.
And she hurt. Everything hurt so bad, her head throbbing, her eyes aching, her throat burning and muscles throbbing. The transformation was excruciating and left her sore and achy and addled and miserably hungry, and that only added to the panic and anger she felt. She hurt, and the chains were tight. She needed to get away from here. She needed to go. Now.
Panting heavily, she braced herself, aching muscles bunching up in preparation for another round of fierce struggling, and then with another howl of rage and agony she threw herself at the chains and thrashed wildly--
...And was very surprised when, with a clink, the chain snapped.
For a moment, the beast just stood there panting, chest heaving, in surprise. Then with a dog-like shake, she shook the chains free and ran for her freedom, tearing through the woods, taking herself as far from that awful place as she could. She reveled in the scents and sounds all around her, a sensory overload to her heightened sense of hearing and smell, and then--
A deer darted by, frantic and wild-eyed.
It was hers.
Corryn bounded after it on long, powerful legs and lunged, taking it down hard enough that she heard bones snap beneath her paws. She tore into it savagely, hot blood spilling into her mouth, and didn't wait to ensure it was dead before she began to feed.
Decebal ran off toward where the deer darted, knowing for sure, somehow the werewolf would track it. They always did. The sound of the howl was much closer than it seemed at first, especially since he was tailing the deer like he had been. But he paused abruptly, sniffing the air much like a dog would.
Had he gone off the wrong way? The deer was elsewhere now, and suddenly there was a savage snapping sound, and Decebal froze. Oh, this was a lot closer than he expected. He waited a while, his vision adjusting to the darkness better now that he wasn't staring directly at moonlight. Another sniff to the air.
"Blood."
And he ran through the trees to a small clearing, seeing this ugly creature begin to devour that same deer. And he then withdrew the whip from its clasp and lashed it out from behind the wolf, bladed ends ready to tear at that nasty hide.
She was so absorbed in feeding, in gulping down chunks of bloodied flesh, that she didn't even notice her attacked until his whip was tearing into the flesh of her back.
Corryn roared in agony, a sound that wasn't fully wolf, and whirled around to face her attacker while blood dripped from her fangs even as it soaked into her thick fur. But even as it dripped onto the soil, the deep wounds were already starting to knit back together.
Still hurt horribly, though.
And pain made her angry.
Being interrupted made her even angrier.
She snarled as her eyes locked onto the man, eyes narrowing to slits, and decided she'd had enough deer; it was time for a new kind of meat. Her muscles rippled beneath her fur as she stalked toward him, fearless of the whip as she knew only hunger--
And then she lunged for him, teeth snapping.
Decebal had seen dire wolves like these before. This one had an intelligent element to it. He could tell just by looking into those eyes. There was something about him that struck him in that moment, and he only narrowed his in turn. Of course this couldn't just be an easy hunt. Luckily he was prepared enough to see that lunge in time.
He threw his body off to the side, rolling and landing in a crouch. He swung the whip out, cracking it dangerously and turning on his heel, lashing it at the wolf's left side with as much strength as he could muster.
The wolf yelped again as the whip bit into her, rage and pain flashing in her eyes as it lanced her open, and she recoiled back with a snarl as her blood splattered onto the ground. The blow hit her hard enough to make her stumble and reel, and she staggered for a moment as the agony blinded her--right before her flesh began to knit.
She leaped back from him, hackles raised, and seemed to consider him with unusually intelligent eyes for one split moment.
This creature wasn't worth the effort. Too much pain for such a tiny reward, especially after she'd already had deer. And yet, the other side of her mind argued, he was also now an annoyance.
She wanted to stop him not because she wanted to eat him, but because now he'd just irritated her, like a persistent fly. You could shoo the fly away, or you could get the satisfaction of smashing it.
She wanted to smash him.
And so she charged him again, this time with new purpose, for she expected the whip--and wanted him to lash at her, already anticipating his next move.
He was prepared enough for her charge and responded in kind with a lunge of his own. But he kept the whip off to the side and instead pulled the sword off from his back. His father's blades were strong and blessed and would sear at any supernatural flesh it came into contact with.
He cried out, swinging the sword overhead, intending a quick kill with a slash to the neck.
[so lame, so sorry]
[Whaaat? Lame? Shhhhhh. You know I love all your posts. |: ]
Corryn had been expecting the whip.
She hadn't expected the sword.
But she came at him nonetheless, relentless, and when he swung the sword at her neck, she turned her head just in time--and caught it in her jaws.
It sliced through her mouth, tearing her mouth open wider like a glasgow smile, but her jaws clamped down powerfully and it went no further. Her eyes burned into his, blood gushing over the blade, and then the wolf seemed to smile a gruesome, gory smile before she began to shake her head viciously from side to side like the sword were a rag doll, flinging blood and meat as she tried to tear the blade from his grip.
[*ded*]
He certainly hadn't been expecting that!
Decebal couldn't hold on forever, even with the strength afforded by his blood. His fingers slipped on the blade and he was promptly sent him flying across the clearing into the carcass of the half-eaten deer. He slid along a bloody mudslide and slammed into a tree, landing at the roots.
He was dazed and half-lifted his head, peering up at the wolf with the sword in its maw. He glowered dizzily, but was quickly regaining his breath. "That's mine," he growled.
[*cackles!*]
Corryn held the sword in her mouth victoriously for a few moments, as though to gloat, but a sword was little use to a wolf and she soon dropped it to the ground. Blood flowed from her ruined mouth like a river as she panted, her tongue lolling from her mouth like a ruined mess of meat, and she was beyond pain now, her mind going to that blinded, euphoric place.
Of course, she also couldn't use her mouth at the moment or close it, but already the damage began to heal. She twitched as muscle and skin knit back together even as she stalked toward the monster, and she felt dizzy--but maybe it was from elation, from the thrill of it all, the challenge of finally facing something she couldn't immediately kill, something she had to work out like a puzzle.
She snarled, lips curling back from bloody teeth, and licked her lips with her healed, pink tongue.
He had no sword, now. Just the whip.
And as she threw herself at him again with snapping jaws, she--
She slipped.
Her paws slipped in the blood and mud and with a yelp, she fell short.
Decebal pushed himself up to his feet, though his balance clearly staggered and he watched her, eye to eye. Yes, that intelligence was there. And it was more than animal. This wolf was a shifter of some sort, and he knew then it wouldn't be easy in tracking this creature again should he fail to kill it this time. He would run and get as far away from this area as possible.
Decebal eyed his sword that the animal dropped and then back to it, watching its mouth knit back together. He showed his own teeth and lunged forward just when the wolf did. Slipping off sideways, Decebal bounded over the deer carcass, letting the wolf barely regain its footing, as he went for his sword again.
He slid on his leg and swooped the sword back in hand, twirling the whip around and lashing it at the wolf's back. It would be momentary pain. Pain that he would swiftly end when he jumped for the beast, sword ready to stab.
The wolf was still getting her feet back under her when the whip bit into her back, and all those awful blades stripped the fur and flesh away.
Corryn yelped, high-pitched and dog-like, and spun around, deepening the wound as the blades pulled free--just in time to get another blade in her flank. But it was probably her quick turn that saved her from taking the blade in a more vulnerable area. And it hurt, pain tearing through her so she yelped and snarled again, and she thrashed and struggled violently, jaws snapping toward whatever flesh she could reach, before she tore free.
Her wound gaped and bled horrifically, and though it began to heal, there was no healing lost blood. She reeled, stumbling and falling before clawing herself back to her feet and staggering away from the man, her breathing more labored and dry. The dizziness was worse, coupled with exhaustion. And though she was half-mad with agony and rage, deep down inside she was still just a canine, and this battle was proving far more pain and trouble than it was worth.
She licked feebly at her closing wound, growled a deep, rumbling growl, and then spun around on her heel and ran, half-dragging her still-bleeding leg.
Decebal heard that cry and surprised himself, pausing, keeping his distance as he watched the animal before him tend and nurse its wound. It was definitely more human than he thought, and perhaps a youngling. There wasn't any impetuosity of youth that might lead to it's death, but a carefulness that said it was not quite ready to die yet.
He stayed that way as the wolf turned tail and ran for the trees. He flared his nostrils, his sympathy shortened and he sheathed the blade, wrapping the whip up as fast as he could before he bolted after the whimpering weakened animal.
However, he could not see its form between the trees, and he smelled the air, hoping he could stay on the scent.
The wolf left behind a trail of blood, but even that blood trail eventually ran dry when her wound finally healed.
And by the time it did heal, Corryn was thoroughly exhausted and sick with blood loss. She'd gotten a good head start, but after a while she slowed and had to take breaks before moving on, her ears up and alert for signs of that monster. She managed to keep one step ahead by some miracle, and some deep, instinctive part that was still Corryn knew she just had to keep moving until morning, just had to keep hidden until morning...
Finally, she curled up in an abandoned den she dug out weakly to make bigger, and passed out.
When she woke up, she was human again--and she felt like she'd been run over by a herd of horses.
Her body always ached the first day after a transformation, but this morning felt extra special. And it was extra special, because when she sat up, she was covered in blood--and she was not in chains!
Worse yet, her belly felt very full and heavy.
Are you kidding me.
And thus, the first thing she did was vomit quite thoroughly, and though it was disgusting, she was relieved when she found only animal fur in the mess. Still, she felt sick and gripped with terror that she'd broken free, because even if it was only some animal...what if a person had come by? What if she'd been closer to a town and gone there? Gods, she thought those chains were secure!
...Now where the hell am I?
Not near her tree or chains where she'd left, you know, only all of her supplies. And clothes! And sword! She didn't recognize this area, and she was a naked woman covered in blood. Not weird at all!
She supposed she could always make up some story about being mugged and beaten. Except for the part where she bore no injuries. Damn. Not suspicious at all. She looked like a serial killer.
But there was nothing else to be done. Whining wouldn't get her clean or back to her things. She had to try to retrace her steps, track "the wolf" back to that damned tree. And maybe wash off the blood first. It was unlikely she'd meet anyone this far out in the woods, but she liked not to take chances. If she was just a naked woman, not a naked woman covered in blood with no injuries, she could garner a lot more sympathy.
And so, grumbling, she rose to her feet, stretched her achy limbs, and trudged her way toward the sound of water. There was a shallow stream, but it would be enough to wash in, and so she sat by the edge and started scrubbing away at the dried, flaking blood while trying not to vomit again at the thought of what she'd done, and what she could have done.
Because even if it was just animal meat, she'd seen the results of her work, and it was not a nice way to go.
Decebal had lost it. Fuck! Of all things! And of all nights! A fucking dire wolf on the loose did not bode well. Even wounded and bleeding everywhere, the demon hunter knew well enough that trail wouldn't last forever. His skin tingled as he'd lingered on where the trail faded, but his senses faded there and the night was quiet.
"Fuck," he hissed again. He would have to resume his search in the morning. Perhaps even that night, if he could. It couldn't have gotten far. "When I find you, I'll turn you into a winter coat." He gave a small grin at that thought. He'd never been given the slip by a beast, yet he knew he had to entertain the possibility. Most creatures of perilous strength were certain they could not be bested, and were often surprised at facing another that could fight them.
This wolf had been smart enough to run away. To live another day, as the saying goes. But not if Decebal had anything to say about that.
He'd made camp that night, sleeping away from the small fire he'd made where a captured rabbit had once roasted. And the night faded without incident.
Decebal awoke with a start, when he heard the sounds of a raccoon rummaging through his things. "Hey!" The animal spooked and scurried away, but not without making off with a sack of peanuts that he had stored away in his bag. Well, at least it wasn't his compass.
He loaded up his things and wandered through the trees, finding that stream from the pond he'd seen the deer at earlier. Water, yes, that would be a good idea. Following the stream, Decebal pulled up his water skin and ducked down beside the water, filling it up, peering up only for a moment and spotting something odd in the bushes.
Was that a woman bathing?
Corryn had managed to get the blood washed from her skin and was in the process of rinsing it from her hair when the soft crunch of leaves and twigs made her jolt and sit upright. It was probably just a deer or rabbit, but--
...But it wasn't.
It was a man.
Of course.
With a gasp, she covered herself and scrambled to her feet and into the nearby bushes, which was probably not a wise decision as they scratched at her in all the worst places. Crouching down, she flashed him a tired, awkward smile, because what else could she do? This was a ridiculous, fucked up situation, she felt like crap, and she had no good excuses prepared because this wasn't supposed to happen! Guess now was the time to do her best helpless maiden act, sigh.
"Uh, hi there, good sir!" she called, and gave a one-handed wave while keeping her other arm firmly over her chest. "Boy. This is awkward. Um. Soooo. You don't happen to have a change of clothes, do ya? Like, just, conveniently on you. I kind of, er...don't have any. Long story! There may have been bandits. You know how it goes."
Man, did she suck at this, for a former noblewoman she really needed to work on her--whoa!
The heck was up with his arm?
Decebal stirred from where he was. Had he really been staring so long? He blinked at her and shook his head. "I...I'm sorry," he quickly sputtered out. Yes, he had been staring that long.
"I did not mean to watch you. I mean I wasn't watching you. But I was watching you only because you happened to be in my line of vision. I..." He stopped. "Apologies, miss." He bowed his head and looked at her, making sure to look at her face. "I believe I may have a blanket in my pack. Would that be suitable?"
What a gentleman. He'd totally been ogling her. Not that Corryn could blame him, she supposed; she'd been ogling him, too, or more specifically his arm, so really, it was only fair. And anyway, she was pretty damned cut.
Oh, and yeah, she supposed she did have big tits, too. Sigh.
He sputtered out excuses, and she waved a hand dismissively, like a princess might dismiss a prattling servant. "Please, calm yourself. There's no need to apologize," she said. "It's okay. I'm not offended. I'd watch me, too." She cracked a small smile at that, hoping to lighten the mood with a bad joke, and reached down briefly to brush a tick off her hip. Dammit. These bushes had been a bad choice.
"I'll also happily divest you of your blanket, if you'd be so kind. That sounds positively lovely--and it's certainly better than what I have! Which is...what you see. Which isn't an invitation to stare, mind you," she quickly added. For even though she'd forgiven his former ogling, that didn't mean she was going to invite more!
He shook his head and quickly retrieved the item he had suggested giving her. Decebal huffed a little, hating his own distraction. He still had a werewolf to hunt after all, and the very smell of it told him it was still in this area. Turning, but keeping is gaze on her face instead of anywhere else, he handed her the blanket and gestured for her to get out of the brush.
Didn't she know they were full of ticks?
Despite the bandit story, Decebal had a hard time, she'd been driven this far from any main or side road because of a couple of bandits. But then again he'd seen stranger things in darker times. So he cut right to the chase. "Have you seen a hound running around? Large, big teeth, and about as big as a boulder?"
With the blanket wrapped tightly around her, clear up to her chin as her hair dripped water onto her now covered shoulders, Corryn moved from the bushes and peeked down beneath the blanket briefly to make sure nothing else was crawling on her. Tick free, she readjusted the blanket to pull it closer. She'd been so distracted by the surprise of discovery, she hadn't realized how cold she was until the tension eased.
Thank gods she'd encountered a gentleman, at least. Maybe he'd be so kind as to escort her to the nearest village, help her get properly clothed, and then she could just sneak back to the woods to retrieve her things at the nearest opportunity! Flawless plan, indeed! With a gracious smile, she opened her mouth to thank him for his help (and blanket!) but he spoke first.
And her blood went cold.
...Oh dear.
He...he had seen her? Unless he was talking about some other hound, but she highly doubted that! He had seen her, and he was looking for her. Before she could help it, she glanced to the weapons he carried--the whip clasped to him, the sword. Erk. This complicated matters.
"A hound?" she repeated, and tilted her head curiously. "No, I'm sorry, I haven't. Have you lost your dog?"
She asked as if she hadn't heard him right. But he could tell there wasn't anything wrong with her ears, well, none that he could immediately see. He frowned and straightened, watching her carefully. "No. Not my hound. A wolf. A werewolf. It as in this area last night and couldn't have gone far after bleeding like stuck pig," he said. "Have you seen or heard anything like that?"
Ulp...shit.
"A werewolf?" Corryn repeated, eyes going wide and hand fluttering to her mouth. "Here?"
And she looked around the area, eyes darting over the trees and bushes, and edged closer to him as though for protection. "Oh, jeez, no. I haven't seen anything like that. I'd remember that! Though...uh...I did hear a pretty awful racket last night."
She pulled the blanket up to her nose, shivering as though from the memory. "I thought it was just wolves. Normal wolves."
Awful racket huh? Curious that an awful racket wouldn't pique someone's curiosity that was lingering all the way out here in the woods. Then again anyone travelling between roads probably wasn't going to go looking for trouble that was none of their business. Decebal sighed and observed her further.
She looked a little like hell, maybe it was just her hair.
"No. No. It was quite a large one too." Decebal let the topic drop, since it was clear she was shaken from it. Thought that might just be because she was largely naked in the middle of the woods. "Where were you going?" he asked instead. "When you were attacked."
...Where was she going? Oh dammit. It would be helpful to figure out where she was supposed to be going if she had any idea of where she was!
But then, she figured maybe she could play that fact up? She had been attacked by awful bandits, right?
Her mind raced to remember the name of the town she'd last visited, some miles back--because she didn't know the names of any other local towns! "I was trying to get to Windfell," she said with a frown and a dejected look. "Then...then the bandits came. They took everything. Can you believe that? What on earth would those men need with a woman's clothes?" She pressed a hand to her forehead as though trying to soothe away a bad memory. "Thank the gods above they at least left me with my life and my virtue!"
Okay, maybe that was hamming it up a bit, but fuck if she knew how to play the damsel. All she had to go on were the acts some noble ladies put on because some men...apparently found that attractive or something? She didn't know. "Perhaps the...dog...scared them off. The howling did seem to bother them."
"Howling would cause most creatures to run from such a ruckus. Bandits rarely have the mettle to contend with wolves like the one I was tracking," he said gently, observing delicately. Decebal still found it odd that she would be out here in the middle of all roads with nothing at all to show for it. "Let me see if I havr a spare set of clothes."
Rummaging through his things, he found an old worn pair and handed them over. "We can head to Windfell if you'd like. Get some food. What are you called, woman with leaves in her hair?"
"Oh dear. Do I really?" Corryn said with a sheepish laugh, and reached to her hair to start plucking leaves and burrs from the strands. "I must look a fright. In any case, my name's Rin."
Uncreative, but she figured she should keep it simple (so as not to get too tangled in a web of lies!) while not giving her real name. Too risky, depending on how far the news had traveled, and he might put two and two together. The guy wasn't stupid; he was asking all the right questions and she wasn't sure how much he believed.
She wasn't sure how well she'd believe her, either! Her story sounded shamefully weak to her own ears.
Taking up the clothes, she ducked behind the bushes again to dress. "And what may I call you, savior mine?" And really, she was dying to know what the hell was with his arm but...you know...that just seemed rude.
He knew she was staring at his arm, but it was generally not a top brought up in general conversation. And explaining was like trying to individually pluck leg hairs - generally not comfortable. "You can call me Decebal," he said gently, though still not smiling.
Saving her? What did he save her from? Ticks probably. Those were pretty nasty. "Best not to let more ticks fall on you. Those things are bloodthirsty and a pain to get rid of," he said and then he smiled, snickering and turning back toward his pack, wringing out the blanket he'd given her, shaking out those burrs. And the whiff of dog wafted up in the air.
"Where are you from Rin?" he found himself asking, eyes observing the blanket.
As if on cue, the sound of flesh smacking flesh could be heard as Corryn smashed a tick that decided to crawl across her leg. "Oh, I'm just from around here. From Adela, you know," she said, and threw the shirt on over her head before wriggling into the breeches. They were huge on her, far too long and much too bulky, for Decebal was far taller and broader. She was practically swimming in them! "Gods, this must be a nest or something! If ticks have nests? Ew..."
She reemerged from the bushes, still swatting at her arms and legs and making a face as she did, because it felt like bugs were crawling all over her still! Though it was likely just the residual heebie-jeebies. She spun in a slow circle, looking over her shoulder to try to see down her back.
"Anyway, I was born and raised in a little town up north, Lakeshire. You heard of it? It's fairly tiny, likely it's not even on most maps. Ah, there aren't any on me, are there?" she asked, and turned her back to Decebal as she ruffled her hair to be sure there were no bugs hanging out there, either.
"Lakeshire? I've never been. It sounds nice however." In fact, it sounded too nice. Decebal hadn't been blessed with an idyllic life. Or perhaps it was the blessing that he had not. He didn't know if he could ever stay long enough anywhere to make it home. There was no home for the likes of him.
"What're you doing all the way down here?" he asked. He reached his hands up and furled them through her hair, folding her ear down and plucking off a tick that had latched on at the edge of her scalp. "They like to hide in the nooks and crannies."
Shit. What WAS "Rin" doing all the way down here? Corryn's eyes widened for a moment when she realized she had no cover story, for she hadn't planned that far ahead or expected him to ask, but then she figured...well...if she was already going the damsel route...
She shifted her eyes away from his and cast them toward the ground. "I, ah..." She scratched at the place the tick had been and checked her fingers for blood. "Erm...that's...well...complicated."
She let out a huff and folded her arms beneath her breasts. "I ran away," she finally said, voice low, almost a whisper. "From a marriage I didn't want."
It was odd how slow she was with her answer, as if he had to pry the words from her. But perhaps it was merely from the shame of admission that they came so slowly. Maybe she feared he might return her back to the life that she fled. Decebal frowned.
"I can only imagine how complicated that might be. Home that doesn't feel that way anymore, isn't much of one. Better the road than a stifling existence." He gestured back toward the trees. "Better spend of the morning gaining some ground yes?"
"Exactly!" Corryn said, eyes lighting up at his agreement--and the enthusiasm was quite genuine, for she was more than relieved that he was buying it. "You understand! I just needed to get away. Find myself. Make my own choices. I didn't want my childhood home to become my lifelong prison. Maybe that makes me a bad daughter, but..."
She gave a little sniff and turned toward the road. "Perhaps it also makes them bad parents, no? For trying to force me into such an arrangement." Ouch. As soon as she said it, her heart actually ached, for even though she was acting, it hurt even to pretend her parents--even pretend ones--were bad people. They weren't.
But she was a bad child.
She'd...
Gods.
She swallowed and took a deep breath to calm herself. Nope. Not going there. It was better not to think, fresh though it still was.
"Enough about me!" she said with a wave of her hand. "That's all dreadfully boring, I'm sure. You meet one girl with a sob story like that and you've met them all. What about you, my brave tick slayer? What brings you here, aside from strange howling dogs?"
Decebal didn't even want to think about bad parents right in this moment. If anything he was certain her folks were a hundred times better than ...well, he wasn't going to mention any names.
"Are you all right?" he asked instead, turning to look at her from over his shoulder. "Do you have a fever because you seem...ill...in the head."
Corryn turned to shoot a look at him, eyebrows both raised. "Are you calling me crazy?"
Whoops. Was her acting really that bad?
"Not at all," he said gently. "I'm merely wondering if perhaps stress is....causing you to speak madly. I've seen it happen before." He smirked just a bit and shook his head.
"Perhaps you've hit your head. That must be it."
"...Oh. Haha! Yes, perhaps that is so!" Corryn said, and raised a hand to her head as though checking for lumps. "Perhaps it's the stress. Being attacked is rather stressful, you know! And to be left alone and naked in the woods, defenseless and without food--gods!"
She looked at Decebal again and inched a little closer, as though for protection. "Can you blame a girl for being a tad out of sorts?"
"Also that. That weird thing you're doing now. What is that? Is that what wenches call flirting?" He didn't really buy that of all the things she was trying to sell him. Especially since no one did that sort of thing with him. Not with the way his arm looked and all.
He rose a brow at her. "You are very strange you know that? I suppose that's what happens to all women that wander the woods naked somehow. But don't take it in a bad way. It's a compliment. This is the most conversation I've had in months."
Was she flirting? Is that what she was doing? Huh! Well, Corryn supposed she might as well run with it! Apparently "Rin" was a flirty lady with the menfolk! Flirty and weird. No use falling out of character now!
"Am I flirting? Oh, dear. My apologies! I'm afraid I didn't get out much, back home," she said with a wave of her hand that sent her rolled-up sleeve unfurling and flapping. It was far longer than her own arms. She shoved it back up and started to roll it again. "I also haven't eaten in quite some time, so I maaay be getting a tad delirious. Or perhaps that's from the mushrooms I nibbled on back a ways. Those were a bad decision. Just trust me on that."
"Well, you can stop. It's weird," he said, a little flatly. "But I'll trust you on bad decision making. Can't say I've made many good ones myself."
He pulled his bag over his shoulder, rummaging through it as they walked along, and pulled out a loaf of bread. He offered her half, and munched on the other. "Can't have you dying on me now. Not yet anyway."
"Not yet?" Corryn repeated with an incredulous laugh as she accepted the bread--and then sidestepped to put a little distance between them. He had asked her to stop the weird flirty thing, after all, and she was more than happy to accommodate!
She stuffed a bite of bread into her mouth, not realizing until it was between her teeth just how famished she was. But she had vomited up whatever furry creature she'd slaughtered the night before, and everything she'd eaten before that, so...
"What an ominous statement! Should I be worried?" she asked around a full mouth.
[I think you mean 'famished'? Just wondering since ravishing would be her thinking she was hot stuff. xD]
"That wouldn't really be up to me would it?" he replied, peering down at her, grinning just a bit. "That is of course you're actually some monster in disguise, then that'd be another tale altogether." He laughed in a joking manner. After all, it was entirely possible.
[...LOLOLOL. So that thing I said about already being on some pain meds um...yessss. >__> XDDDD]
Corryn choked on her bread.
Pounding on her chest, she wheezed and coughed and had to stop until she got it under control, until she could gather up enough spit to swallow down the rest. When she could speak again, her voice cam out a weak, croaking laugh. "Pardon!" she said, and coughed again, giving her chest another few pounds.
"Crumbs."
Decebal stared at her a moment before taking a hand and swatting it at her back.
"Better?" It was the demon hand and he stared at his own palm for a long moment, quickly retracting it.
"Ah, yes, thank you kindly! Much bet--"
...Oh.
Corryn looked at Decebal, then at that strange, warped hand of his as he stared at it, and soon she was staring at it, too. At least until he drew it away. She blinked, looked back up at Decebal, then politely turned her head away and brought a fist to her mouth so she could give a dainty cough.
It was the huge, bony, scaly, clawed elephant in the room (or rather, woods) so it felt kind of weird to just pretend not to have noticed and not to speak of it and not to ask about it when, clearly, he had to know she'd noticed and he had to know that she was wondering about it! Not that she had much room to judge or anything, since she became hairy and drooly once a month, but...
"So..."
[It's okay, Corryn. Every girl has that problem.]
"I know, I know. My arm," he said and gestured to it. "It's not like you can't see it."
[Secretly, women are all werewolves in disguise. >8D Muahahahaaaa!]
Corryn felt her cheeks heat. Right. Well. It wasn't like she had been subtle about that! At least the ice was broken now, thank gods!
"Ah! Apologies!" she said, and gave a sheepish smile. "I was trying not to be rude since I know you know I know about it. It stands out, after all! Rather difficult to miss! Not to worry, I'm not judging you, and I won't ask about it!"
A pause. "Unless, of course, you want to talk about it."
"It's okay. You're right. It's there, and kind of difficult not to notice."
He shrugged. "It's my blood. I guess you could call it demon's blood. Transformed my arm." He did look at her then, looking stern. "But that's the only part of me that's demon."
There was a fine line between curiosity and rudeness and Corryn certainly didn't want to breach that with the guy who'd let her borrow his clothes!
And who had a demonic arm.
She glanced at his arm again, then back up to his eyes. "How did that...?"
"Long story," he said gently. Sure they had a long way to walk, but it wasn't something he was comfortable sharing with another he'd only met for approximately an hour. "We should get under way. It's a long walk from here. It's times like these I wish I had a horse."
"Why don't you have a horse?" Corryn asked, one eyebrow arching as she looked at him--properly at him, and not at his arm. "You're an awfully long way from any towns. The going must be terribly slow."
"Well, correction. I have a mount. She's just not with me right now. I've come a long way on foot because well, I can cover ground more thoroughly and not worry about the life of my horse in the process. But being on foot isn't so bad. Unless you're a wimp."
"Are you saying I'm a wimp?" Corryn asked, and lifted her chin with a haughty huff. "Because I'll have you know, good sir, that I am far from--ow!"
She let out a sudden yelp and gave a small hop, before she stopped with a hand braced against a tree so she could check the bottom of her foot. Wincing, she poked gingerly at a sticker that had dug its way into the soft spot right in the middle of her arch, where the skin was all soft and tender.
"Gods! I've half a mind to believe this forest is out to get me. Decebal, dear? Can you give me a hand here?" And then she raised her eyes to his demonic arm. "...The good hand, specifically."
Decebal quirked a brow and actually smirked down at her. The comment on his arm elicited a snicker. He knelt down and grabbed her foot with his good hand and used the other to pluck the sticker from her foot and flicked it off into the trees. "I wish I had a spare pair of boots. Apologies."
"To be fair, it wasn't exactly like you were expecting to find a naked woman in the woods." Corryn rubbed at the sole of her foot, then arched an eyebrow and gave him a look.
"Or did you?"
"I wish I could say yes. But I'm not a creep, I promise," he said, shaking his head. "And I'm sure all the bandits in this area go around stealing women's clothes. Or maybe there are just pleasant surprises all over the place."
Corryn barked a laugh at that, realizing all the more just how stupid her excuse for being her sounded. Clothes bandits. Gods. She really needed to come up with a better cover story next time--gods forbid there was a next time.
"Hmph. Pleasant surprises for you. You're not the one that has to walk on the hard, prickly ground. Truly, I'm still convinced this forest has it out for me. Speaking of which, you do know where we're going, don't you?"
She stepped closer to him. "And...you are equipped to handle that howling beast, correct? Should it decide to appear?"
Decebal rolled his eyes. "Would you like to climb onto my back and hitch a ride? I mean, I'd be more than happy to oblige if you're going to gripe all this way. And yes, I know where I'm going. I've gotten out here, I'm sure I can get back."
He just pulled a piece of the forest out of her foot and here she was doubting? He was almost regretting finding her in the first place. All in good amusement, of course. Decebal shook his head.
"I'd be more worried about the bears. But I think I'm capable of handling anything that comes my way," he said casually, though eyed her from the corner of his gaze. "Are you?"
"I am...willing to rise to meet any occasion, should the need arise. I think I can handle not necessarily anything, but certainly a lot, considering what I've been through! Bears and beasts, however? Ah...I daresay I'm less capable of handling that..." Corryn said, and feigned a worried look around the woods. She pulled the cloak tighter around her body and gave a little shiver.
Which was the truth, really, at the moment! She didn't have her weapons or armor, but even fully armed she wouldn't go out to wrestle a bear! She did have some experience with handling beasts, though!
Ha...
She looked back to Decebal and forced a laugh, reaching out to pat his shoulder. "But I don't have to worry about any of that with you here to protect me, of course! Now, about that ride..." And she smiled up at him, making her eyes big and innocent as she fluttered her lashes for added effect.
Something about Corryn was off putting, didn't seem genuine. It didn't feel as if it would bring any harm - none that he could readily sense. As one could with some people right off the bat, the kind you just knew were trouble. First instincts were usually the correct ones, in such cases.
But for now he was content to give Corryn the benefit of the doubt. Just for now.
He eyed on her again and smirked. "You're serious? Do I look like a horse to you?"
"If I say yes, will it get me a ride?" Corryn asked, still giving him her best puppy-dog eyes.
Decebal couldn't believe what he was hearing. She was serious. What did she think this was? It wasn't a pleasure trek! This was a deep, dark, and angry forest. And...she didn't have shoes. Having one less problem to worry about was ideal in comparison to a sore back.
Not that he didn't think he could carry her. She couldn't be that heavy right? Unless she ate a horse or something.
He sighed, loudly and obnoxiously, and turned with his back to her. "Get on. Quickly before I change my mind."
He was serious?!
And here Corryn had just been pulling his leg.
Her eyebrows rose as he told her to get on, having expected basically every possible outcome but this one, but you know what?
If she was going to play the damsel, she may as well. Looked like there were some benefits to this gig! Such as laziness. Gods...but what could she say?
She did miss having servants.
Pausing only to adjust her cloak, pushing it between her legs so it would keep her decent when she wrapped her legs around him, she shrugged, thought why not, and grabbed his shoulders before she hopped up and wrapped her legs around his waist, expecting he would catch and hold her. "Thank you, good sir!"
Decebal hoisted her up, holding her by the thighs, and testing her weight. A little heavy, but nothing he couldn't handle. Sort of."Do you eat horses?" he asked. "Just curious." It would explain why she was...not as light as a feather.
...Yes.
The answer to that was yes.
Because she had, in fact, eaten a horse once that she could remember. While changed, of course. That was not a good day.
With a snort, Corryn wrapped her arms around Decebal's neck and wiggled a little to get more comfortable. She gave an affronted gasp. "Do I look like some backwater savage?" she asked, and lifted her chin. "No. I eat a civilized diet, thank you very much! And speaking of diets, I'm starving. You don't happen to have any snacks on you, do you?"
She had, after all, vomited up everything she'd eaten!
Decebal snorted. Yeah, a real civilized lady, somehow wandered in the middle of the forest with no clothes, and was robbed by bandits.
He shook his head, refusing to make the comment and instead gestured to the bag on his shoulder. "Just dig in there. Can't carry you and serve you at the same time. Help yourself to whatever you find."
There'd be bread and dried meats in there, nothing special. Except for the potions and maybe a silver blade or two.
"Don't mind if I do!" Corryn cheerfully said, as she reached with one hand for his bag and deftly opened it. Already she could smell salty dried meat and the heartier smell of bread, her nose a little extra sensitive ever since...the accident.
She slipped a hand in and dug around, shifting items out of the way until she brushed against paper wrapped food--
And something else.
Something smooth and sharp.
Something smooth and sharp that burned when she touched it, hurting even though she hadn't nicked herself.
Corryn yelped and jerked her hand out, twisting it around so she could stare at her palm, where a red mark was scorched into her flesh.
Decebal glanced behind him. "What!?" he said, voice tinged with alarm. "What happened!?"
Decebal's voice brought her back, brought her back from the surprise of being burned and the sinking realization that he'd come prepared for a werewolf, that he had silver.
He knew. He knew he was facing a werewolf, which meant...surely he knew the wolf was a person by now?
Heart skipping a beat, she yanked her hand to her chest to hide it. "Oh! Ah! Nothing!" she said, too fast. Shit! "I just wasn't expecting the knives. I almost nicked myself!" And she chanced a glance down at her hand, which was already beginning to heal. Fuck.
Heal faster, dammit!
"Oh, is it bad? Do you need me to take a look?" he inquired.
"No!" Corryn snapped as she jerked her hand flat her chest again. She winced at her own vehemence. "Ah, no. No, no need to worry! It's so minor you can hardly see it." Another quick glance, and she saw it had shrank to a thin red line.
"I was just being dramatic. You know how us women are."
"Well, okay," he said. Talk about awkward. And here he thought they were getting along so well. "Just avoid the knives will ya. I don't have any spare bandages." He snickered. "Help yourself to the bread. It's the big round thing in the bag. The one not sharp and pointy."
Erk. He still expected her to go digging through the bag! Corryn frowned at her hand, which was healed over now, but she wasn't worried about cutting herself. All it took was merely touching the silver. Just a brush against her skin was like tapping a finger against hot iron.
After a moment's hesitation, she let out a sheepish, girlish laugh and nudged the bag his way. "How about you get it for me?" she asked. Of course he'd need a free hand to do that. "I'll hold on really tight!"
"You're so... weird," he sighed. But he wiggled and the bag came swinging his way. Thankfully he caught it and after a few grumbles and seconds of rifling through it, he produced a piece of bread. "Here." And held it over his shoulder. "One thing is fir sure, I really should get a set of sheathes for those daggers. I almost sliced my fingers off."
[Attack of the tiny posts]
Corryn's look was dry--though Decebal couldn't see it, since she was staring over his shoulder.
"Why don't you have them sheathed?" she asked as she took the bread in one hand. She took a large bite and spoke as she chewed. "Seems awfully dangerous. Aren't you afraid of them like...jabbing through the bag and stabbing you?"
"Frankly...I kept them in that piece of bread. Probably why it's so stale."
Decebal laughed and shook his head. "Don't break your teeth on it."
Corryn froze mid-chew, her eyes going comically wide. He...he kept the silver blades in the bread? Oh damn. Could she...could she have a bad reaction that way? From the silver rubbing all over the bread? Was she about to burn out her own throat and intestines?
It was a ridiculous thought--it wasn't like silver shed--and yet she was just paranoid enough about that not to want to risk it. Turning to the side, she spat her mouthful of bread into the bushes.
"Eugh, no kidding! This stuff is downright inedible!"
Decebal heard the spitting and stopped abruptly. He glanced at her from over his shoulder and let go of her, shaking her off a little. "Wait, a minute. Now you're just being picky," he said, laughing. "You're such a wimp. You can't handle a bit of stale bread?" He chuckled and took the bread and tore it with some ease.
It was still quite hard and crumbled a bit to the ground. He exposed the soft bread inside, clean as a whistle and took half for himself, biting into it. "See, it's fine," he murmured, mid-chew. "You really don't want it?"
"Not if your dirty knives were sheathed in it!" Corryn said as, with a sigh of reluctance, she lowered her feet down to solid ground.
"I mean, did you even wash them first?"
Decebal rolled his eyes and made a face. "Fine, Prissy Pants," he huffed and tossed the other piece of bread into the bag, shuffling around for something more substantial. He pulled out a piece of jerky. "Will this do?"
"For your information, I do clean my knives. And make sure they're always sharp."
Prissy pants?!
...Well, she supposed that yes, actually...she kind of was. But she was used to a certain standard of quality! Not her fault!
The jerky didn't look very quality to her eyes, nor smell it to her nose, but the part of her that housed the wolf didn't care; the wolf side wasn't particular about where its meat came from. Her stomach rumbled, and she stuck her tongue out at Decebal, childishly, and snatched it up. She didn't hesitate to tear off a piece with her teeth.
"Oh, yes, I figured out the sharp part all on my own," Corryn said as she swallowed down a bite. "You really ought get some good sheaths for them, though. Proper sheaths, not just stale bread. It'll keep them better."
"Maybe I keep the knives in there to keep stray fingers from stealing my bread," he said with no small ounce of snark. But he couldn't stop the grin on his face and finished his piece of bread.
"Oh, that's hardly necessary! The staleness is deterrent enough! How did you manage to eat that? It'll be like rocks in your belly--hardly digestible!" Corryn said as she tore off another piece of jerky and chewed.
"I eat rocks for breakfast all the time. Highly nutritious. You ought to try it sometime," he said, smirking.
"I'll bet they hurt coming back out..." Corryn said, wrinkling her nose in distaste.
"Is that why you've got no decent food in there? Just tasteless meat and hard bread? Honestly. When we get back to town, that's the first thing we're going to do, is get a decent meal!" Then, a pause, and she glanced down at herself with a small blush.
"After I get proper clothes, of course."
Decebal looked her over. Yes, proper clothes indeed. Though ill-fitting, it wasn't a bad look for her. She could do with having her hair combed however. He probably could as well. Decebal just laughed aloud at that thought, perhaps at a most inopportune moment, snorting when he sobered.
"Agreed," he said, with a nod. "Proper clothes and a meal. I assume you have money to pay for these things yes?"
....
Oh.
Yeah. About that.
Once again, Corryn flashed Decebal her sweetest smile, complete with eyelash fluttering and clasped hands. "I don't, but...you do?" Smile, smile!
Decebal stared at her with a frown and brow real low. He crossed his arms over his chest. "You have nothing? Well, I should have known. You were naked when I freakin' found you." He threw his arms up as if he were flipping tables. "Goodness. Looks like I'll have to prostitute myself again."
He wasn't serious of course, but he wanted Corryn to feel bad enough for her lack of foresight. Then again, he did have money, and it wasn't that much trouble to pay for both of them.
Corryn's smile dissolved into horror and she let out a sputtering, choking noise.
"Again?!"
Decebal put his hands to his head, burying his face and giving a great heaving sob. "Gods, it wasn't my proudest moment," he sighed. "But I had no choice. Oh, he made me do really slippery things. Geeze."
"Uh...whoa...um, okay, wow..." Corryn started to extend a hand as though to pat his shoulder, grimaced, and let her hand hover instead in a sort of air pat. He may have seen her nude, but she wasn't sure their relationship was close enough to offer hugs.
"That's, er...well...we all do what we gotta do to survive, so..." She cringed. "Don't do it again, alright? We can just beg instead. Or hunt! I can look really pitiful and pretty and I'm sure someone will want to help! Works all the time!"
...oh.
Whoops?
And despite just meeting, it was Decebal that threw himself onto her and hugged her, shuddering as if in tears. "It's..." hic "okay," he said. "Thanks for letting me hug you. I-I need this." And just buried his face against her shoulder.
"Whoa there!" Corryn yelped, surprised by his sudden hug--and the fact that his clawed hand was on her, touching her. Despite herself, she mentally recoiled at the thought, and realized how hypocritical a reaction it was as soon as she felt it. She turned into a monster monthly!
Still, this was awkward! To say the least!
"Uh, ah...there, there?" Corryn said, and pat his back lightly. Awkward, awkward! She'd never really met anyone that actually sold their body, even though she'd heard of it, of course, and she was utterly floored by being smacked in the face with it now. What did you say to someone who did that out of desperation? And he sounded so defeated! A man who already clearly had his share of problems...gods. Despite fleeing her estate four years ago, it was times like these that had her feeling like a naive, sheltered noblewoman once more.
Guilt made her stomach twist, and she pulled back a little, biting her lip. "Listen, I'm...I'm really sorry. I don't mean to put you in a difficult position, especially not for my sake! I wouldn't...I couldn't ask you to do something like that for me. We'll figure it out, okay?"
Decebal sniffled and pulled away, his face completely sober save for a smirk and he crossed his arms over his chest. "Nah, I'm just kidding," he said, tilting her head.
"I've never sold my body. And in fact even though you're making me pay for everything, I thought you deserved that little trick," he said with a shrug.
"You...you never...ah! You jerk!" Corryn exclaimed, and punched him in the shoulder. "That's just mean! You were seriously making me panic there, thinking you'd--argh!"
With a sniff she pulled away and folded her arms, pulling his cloak tighter. "It's not like I tried to lose all my things and get jumped by awful people, you know!" she said, a bright blush coloring her cheeks for falling so hard for his trick. Jeez!
Decebal actually smarted and grabbed his arm. Damn she had a good arm, she hit damn good! He frowned a little, but it quickly faded as he smirked and noticed her being flustered at being had. "Damn girl," he said and gave his arm a few more rubs before patting her shoulder.
"Relax, we'll think of something. Can't have you walking around naked all day," he said with a chuckle.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Corryn scoffed, and stuck her tongue out at him. Gods, she hoped no one would steal her things in the meantime! She'd really need to sneak back to her camp as soon as she could.
She paused to pick another sticker from her foot, and heaved a great, exaggerated sigh. "Now, if you're done being mean, are we there yet?"
"If you're done being a wimp, yes, almost." Decebal laughed and pressed onward through the trees. He didn't count the minutes it took when a village finally came into view. A quaint one that was as idyllic as a painting, even as some cows farted as Corryn passed them.
"This is the place?" Corryn finally said, exasperation in her voice. "Gods, it smells awful! How can they stand this? How can you stand this?"
Wrinkling her nose, she pinched it with her fingers and waved her other hand through the air as though that would help their situation any. Cow shit. It smelled like cow shit and cow sweat and dirt. She scowled at the cows they passed as they watched them lazily from over the fence, chewing their cud and blinking their big, pretty doe eyes at them.
And despite the stink, her mind began to wander as they walked, her stomach letting out a great, rumbling growl as her eyes wandered over their hind quarters. They were nice and fat and clearly well cared for--and she found herself mentally separating them into cuts of juicy red meat. She licked her lips and swallowed, thinking it wouldn't take much at all to fell a cow, lazy beasts that they were--
Of course, that was when one of them, its back to the fence, lifted its tail and took a ginormous dump, the pieces plunking to the ground and rolling in front of her feet.
"WAH!" she yelped, her fantasy destroyed, and launched herself into Decebal's arms.
Her distaste expressed so clearly, the cows, it seemed, were content to show just what they thought of her. It was clear for Decebal anyhow. One cow gave another fart and when the one beside it went number 2, there Corryn was suddenly jumping inthe air. And almost in his arms. Well, mostly landing on Decebal's back and shoulder and forcing him to fall to his knees in apile of manure.
"Gah! Shit!" Literally. He fetched her from his side and instead threw her over his shoulder and held her firmly by the back of her knees. "Now mmy pants are dirty! Dammit, Corryn!"
"It's called being a gentleman," Corryn said as she wiggled in place, trying to adjust herself so his shoulder didn't jab into her gut so much. "You know it's commonplace in some circles for a man to throw his coat over a puddle so a lady might cross. This is kind of like that, only with..."
She cast a look at the manure pile he'd landed in and fought back a gag, plugging her nose once more. "...Doodie. Besides, that thing almost got me! On my bare feet! You can hardly blame me."
"Gah, and those were my good boots too," he said with a mumbling scoff. But there wasn't anything they could do about it until they reached a tavern. When the road cleared up, he scraped his boots off as best he could and set Corryn down. They were far enough away from cows to be safe. Safe enough. He gave her a scowl.
And then it relaxed into a loud booming laugh. "You jumped at cow shit! Oh Ansgar's balls, that's good!" And howled again.
Corryn may have woken up that day covered in blood and offal, but somehow she'd come out of this cleaner than her "rescuer". Who now smelled like cow shit. She felt a little bad for him as she watched him scrape his boots, but also thought that--maybe!--this was just the gods' way of paying him back for that little trick of his!
He wasn't very scowly for long, though. He was right back to making fun of her!
"It was gross!" she said, putting her hands on her hips. "And it was a lot of poop! Right in front of me! I didn't know that it wouldn't start spraying it or not!"
[I just remembered that Corryn is wearing clothes 8D]
He grinned and poked her cheek. "Okay Stinky. Sorry. And sorry I didn't uh, catch you. Or whatever." He sobered his chuckling and moved on through the village. Yes, the whole place didn't smell like flowers and hearthfire smoke, but for now it would do to find some proper supplies and get cleaned up.
He didn't blame her he supposed. She seemed really uppity, and probably was used to getting her way. Maybe he wasn't so different himself, he'd been a knight's son after all. He opened the back door to the only tavern that resided in the village, a squat building with little more than three rooms to let. He'd gotten the one closest to the exit.
"You can get freshened up in here, all right? Don't be so uptight. A hot bath will do you some good. I'm going to talk to the owners for some water real quick."
[PFFFFFFFT FUDGE YOU'RE RIGHT. xDD *headdesk* I blame this fever! |: ]
At least the inside of the tavern smelled like booze and smoke. It muffled the smell a little--even if it didn't erase it completely. Corryn tried not to think of how it now just smelled like manure-flavored ale.
Gag.
Despite all his teasing and poking, though, Corryn brightened up significantly when he mentioned a bath. Yes! A real one that wasn't cold, algae-filled stream water! And better yet, she wasn't paying.
Well...she'd find a way to pay him back, she decided. She had money, after all; a significant amount, at that! Which made her worry all the more about her supplies. She'd hidden them, true, but what if? Ugh. Out of sight, out of mind, she supposed. No sense fretting about what she couldn't control, and right now, what she could control was limited to her own cleanliness. One step at a time...
She'd find a way to slip off once night came.
With a nod his way, she plucked lightly at her over-sized shirt and sniffed at it. "Hmph. I'm not stinky, you're stinky," she said. "But I won't object to the first bath! You should probably wash, too. You're going to chase everyone out, and then there'll be no one around to serve our dinner!"
The baths were in the rear of the building. With fresh water paid for and one boiling, Decebal helped her fill the small wooden tub up. It wasn't anything fancy. But in a place like this he was sure they were lucky to find a place that offered bathing at all. He eyed her a moment from the corner of his eye before going back to the room and pulling the boiling pot out of the hearth.
"All right, everything you need is all here," he said. "You just be sure to get behind the ears. Looks like you've got dog hair behind them or something." He laughed in jest, pouring the water into the tub and handing off the soap and brush.
"You need anything just holler. The window is just right there. I'll leave you to it."
Oh gods, hot water. It had been ages since she had had a proper bath.
Once Decebal was clear of the room and the door secured shut, Corryn wasted no time in throwing off her clothes--well, HIS clothes--and mixing hot water with cooler water until she got just the right temperature. Then she slipped into the bath with a happy sigh, and though it was just a simple wooden tub in a filthy inn, right then it felt like a luxury fit for a princess.
She did, however, make sure to check behind her ears when she washed, just in case. And when she found nothing but her own hair, a little knot of tension coiled in her belly.
Did he suspect?
Gnawing her lip, not knowing if she was being paranoid or not, she took a deep breath and relaxed deep into the tub. She soaked until the water was lukewarm and had soothed the aches in her muscles caused from Changing, and then she hurried through her ablutions and scrubbed until her skin was clean and hair was shiny and free of any leftover blood flakes.
She stepped from the bath and wrapped herself in a towel, and it was only then that she remembered her only clothes were the ones Decebal had provided. She wrinkled her nose at them. They weren't filthy, but they were ill-fitting. And they had soaked up her sweat from tromping through the woods, and were covered in dust. Some habits died hard, and she'd never quite been able to shake her vanity.
She stepped to the window and peered out. "Decebal? You there still?"
Decebal wandered near to the window where he'd been quietly watching the young lady Corryn. He wasn't a pervert. Or so he thought. There was nothing voyeuristic about keeping an eye on a stranger he'd met in the middle of the woods. He was a wary man and he had every right to be, right? Right! So what the hell was he getting so worked up about?
But when she called his name, he started and moved away from the slit in the window. Decebal leaned back and only then moved into view as if he'd just got there. "Yes? What do you need, friend?" he asked delicately, clearing his throat.
Corryn startled at his prompt response. Wow, had he really waited there the whole time? She had imagined he would get bored standing sentry at some point! But once her surprise faded, she smiled, reminded of the servants her family had kept, ever attentive, always in earshot.
She could get used to this.
"New clothes if you please!" she said, peering back at him, standing on tip-toe. "Yours suited for the time, but I need something that fits." She cast a look at the crumpled clothes on the ground. "And that's clean."
"Clean clothes? You couldn't just wash the ones I gave you?" he asked. But he supposed she couldn't just keep spilling out of them all the time. He shrugged. "All right, stay pruny, I'll see what I can do about scrounging up some."
He shrugged and moved out into the village proper, avoiding any large windows. He'd had enough of any proper views for a while. He saw a line of some laundry hanging out to dry and when the marm turned her back to reach into the basket, he pried a pair of trousers from them, and a longshirt.
It looked a little smaller than what he'd given Corryn and hopefully it would do.
Hmph! Well, she COULD have washed them, but then they would be wet, was what she wanted to tell Decebal. But he was already off and away like a good servant, and so Corryn waited in her towel and tapped her foot as she did.
When he returned, she cracked the door open and peeked outside. "Any luck?"
"Yeah, here. They might be out on loan...so avoid that last house at the end of the dirt path," Decebal sighed and shuffled past her to gather the clothes she had haplessly thrown onto the floor. He kept his back turned but didn't make any motions to vacate the room any time soon.
"I'm not lookin' at ya. But I've gotta wash these clothes. Not like I can just pluck them off clothes lines. I uh, not that that's how i got your clothes," he muttered and cleared his throat, getting to the scrubbing.
Corryn gaped at him.
Not just because he'd let himself right on in, but also...on loan? Clothes line?! She covered her mouth with a small gasp, her other hand holding the bundle.
"These are stolen?" she said, wide-eyed, before she shoved the clothes back at him with a shake of her head. "Oh no, no no! I can't wear stolen clothes! That would make me a criminal!" And then she paused, and her eyes narrowed at him. "And you, too! You're not a criminal, are you? No, no, you're not! Take thes back where you found them with a solemn apology and get me clothes the good and proper and legal way!"
"They are clothes. They are here. And they'll make you un-naked. Now I went out of my way to find you something clean. Now are you going to wear them or are you going to continue to whine, Miss Swamp Thing?" Decebal asked. He wasn't really in the mood for discussion and gently placed the clothes down on the bed. Because really! Hadn't he done enough for her already?
Corryn gaped at him a while longer, but finally she let out an exasperated sigh and snatched the clothes up.
"Very well. But if someone comes looking for them and recognizes them on me, I'm claiming ignorance and telling them you gave them to me. Which is the truth! Oh, this is a fine way to start the day here, with thievery."
She started to lower her towel, then frowned. "Keep your eyes averted, now. I'm changing." And she quickly scrambled into them.
"I promise I have no intention of staring," he was sure to say as he turned around and allowed her time to change. Inwardly he sighed, maybe she had a point. Stealing clothes wasn't probably his better ideas, and he knew he would have never stooped so low if he had real money to bargain with. He ought to leave something in exchange for the trouble. It wasn't like most people could just pull clothing from the leaves themselves.
"Are you finished?" he asked, looking back briefly only to catch the brief sight of side-boob. "Sorry!"
"I am most certainly NOT finished! Don't you think I would tell you if I were?!" Corryn barked back with a scandalized gasp, trying to play the part of the posh, offended girl. It wasn't a difficult act to play; years ago, she had been the modest, easily shocked, prudish sort. The hard life that had followed that life had cured her of that, though, and it was fairly difficult to hold onto any sense of modesty when you had a habit of waking up naked in the woods, sometimes covered in blood. Nothing cured one of shame faster than the shame of trudging awkwardly to a village in naught but one's skin, begging for scraps of clothes.
She got over herself fast. She had bigger things to worry about than showing a little skin.
Decebal didn't have to know that, though.
"I knew you'd be a peeper," she grumbled as she threw on her shirt. "Men, I swear! There, I'm done, you can look now. Not that it matters anymore!"
"Believe you me, I'm not looking at you for any particular reason. You're just in my peripherals," he said, blowing raspberries at her. "You hungry? You want a meal? Food's waiting back in the tavern. And you can leave your poopy smelling clothes on a clothesline or something. Maybe someone else will steal them."
"Now get out. You're not the only one that needs a bath."
"I'll remind you that those poopy smelling clothes were YOUR poopy smelling clothes," Corryn said, and blew a wet raspberry right back at him.
And just to be a brat (and because playing the part of the bratty rich girl was actually pretty entertaining, close to home as it was) she tossed said poopy smelling clothes at his feet and breezed on by, out into the tavern so she could catch a bite to eat.
Hey, as long as he was paying...
She seemed to over estimate how much money Decebal carried. He growled just a bit, watching her walk away down the hall. It was going to be and adventure all right. He just hoped he didn't have to kill her before the end of it.
He didn't waste any time undressing carefully and cleaning himself up in the bath until his head was soaked through and through.
I'll pay him back later, Corryn told herself as she ordered the best meal the tavern had to offer, and a glass of wine. It wasn't great wine. It was pretty shitty, as far as wine went, but it was the best the tavern had so she would make do, she supposed. In any case, she was famished; shifting always made her ravenous, even after eating...whatever it was she'd eaten as a wolf...and she found she could pack in a ridiculous amount of food given the opportunity.
Right now was an opportunity.
It was a meal that likely could have fed both she and Decebal, stew and bread and lots of meat, but she tucked into it with the gusto of one eating their last meal. "Put it on my friend's tab!" she'd told a tavern maid--and after all, he had told her to go out and get food, so she was only doing what he'd told her to.
And she would pay him back. She would! Once she got back to her things! So it was okay, really, because he would get back anything he'd spent on her, and she'd make sure to throw in a little extra because he was so helpful! So it was alright, it was justified, and she could indulge a little.
Maybe even see if they had any sweet honey cakes to add on for dessert. She could really go for dessert.
Decebal took his time in the bath until he got most of the grime from him and his hair. He washed the clothes too seeing as how Corryn was such a slob. Really, no wonder the girl was wandering in the woods. She probably didn't even know how to keep herself fed.
Once he was finished, since it took little time out of his clearly busy schedule, the demon hunter looked out at the cows from the window, where the mess had 'ruined' her day. The animals were a little uneasy and huddled together. They chewed their cud with a certain unease and he frowned a little.
Animals were either hit or miss with him. Cats generally did not favor his presence, but dogs sometimes would. His horse was an exception, having gotten used to him. And cows, well, he hadn't thought about it before, having never spent any significant amount of time with them.
But he supposed it wouldn't be that unusual for them to be nervous. If it was him they were nervous about.
Shrugging it off, he curled up in the bed, rolling himself in the warm blanket and drifted off to sleep. Might as well get the rest he could while he could. This woman a little more troublesome than he at first thought.
Fine wine tastes on a stale ale budget. That's what Corryn had.
Corryn indulged well into the night--and far more than she had intended. The wine was stronger than she'd anticipated, and decent enough, and one drink had lead to another and poorer judgment and more cravings for sweets. A bard had arrived during the busiest hours and started up some bawdy drinking songs, and Corryn, quite tipsy at that point, had gotten swept up into it all and joined in once she learned the words, both arms around the shoulders of some great new friends she had met that evening, two rather rough-looking men who were probably criminals of some sort, judging by their scars and tattoos and many weapons and their group of equally unsavory men, but who were sweet as pie to her. Probably because she'd bought them drinks.
And kept the rounds coming.
And coming.
"You sure you can afford this?" a barmaid asked her skeptically when she ordered another round.
"Sure! It's not my money!" Corryn laughed, and somewhere in the back of her head she thought that was a rather jackass thing to say, but her drunk-brain waved the thought away. "Just do it!"
The merry-making went well into the night, and it was only when it all caught up to her in the form of nausea that lead to puking into a tankard that some rationality caught up to her and told her it was time to call it a night.
A tired-looking barmaid pointed her room out to her, the one Decebal had paid for, and Corryn stumbled inside. Decebal was there already, sound asleep, but Corryn hardly cared as she flopped into bed beside him and quickly passed out.