Dragons and Danishes

[kleineklementine]

Tags to @Rhi-Rhi !



The rolling expanse of Adela and southern Serendipity spread out limitless below the dragon and her rider. The early autumn gave the countryside a warm, golden hue as the tops of the forest below began to change from green to bright yellows, oranges, and reds. The air was crisp, the sun warm, and the sky clear. Up here, with just the sun and wind and the rider and the dragon, it was the perfect autumn day.

The dragon Lyra soared through the clear air, wings open and gliding smoothly. Her rider, Ashra Blackspire, leaned back, enjoying the direct sunlight and fresh air and the absence of anyone else to bother him.

But red leaves and crisp air and golden wheat wasn't the only thing that autumn brought. Autumn was also brought an increase in raiders across the land. With goods being transported before the onset of winter, and harvests being brought in, and the land ripe, it was the ideal time for bandits and raiders. And that was what they were scanning the land below for now. For the moment, Ashra was trying to ignore this fact, but Lyra broke his peace with her eagle-eyed observation.

"Look. There," Lyra's voice directed Ashra's attention to a scene far below.

To Ashra the caravan of travelers may as well have been ants. Or smaller than ants. And the approaching group was indistinguishable from the first. But Lyra could see what he could not: The caravan of travelers was about to be routed and surrounded by an armed group of bandits on horseback. The caravan had with them only two guards, poorly armed, and ill equipped to deal with the seasoned band of criminals.

That's where they came in.

Ashra would have been happy to stay up here in the clouds. What were all those people thinking, traveling during bandit season, anyway?

"I think that's Serendipity," Ashra pointed out coolly. It was hard to tell from up here in the border lands, but it didn't matter as far as Lyra was concerned. She showed her disapproval of his attitude with a sudden roll through the air. "Okay, okay," Ashra agreed, clutching onto the dragon. "Let's go be heros.

They were, after all, tasked with protecting these people, however poor their travel planning was. So, taking a long loop around to not be exceedingly obvious, the dragon and rider glided down closer to the approaching groups.

Duty was duty. Whether you liked it or not.

[Rhindeer]

Maybe I can throw sweets at them and butter them up! Literally!

Those were Ife's hysterical thoughts as the first cries of "Raiders!" rang out.

And soon enough, she could see them from where she sat in a wagon atop covered crates of goods. She had a good view up there, so she was among the first to see them: a good dozen or so rough-looking men and women on horseback, armed to the teeth with swords and bows and cudgels and weapons she didn't even recognize. They were coming in from all directions, blocking any hope of escape, and Ife felt her heart hammer against her ribs like a trapped thing as the caravan came to a stop. What were they supposed to do? What did people do in situations like this?!

Her eyes darted to to their guards, and she saw that they didn't even bother lifting their weapons. On the contrary, they held their hands up, palms open. Even they knew there was nothing they could do. Resistance would just lead to a blood bath, so it was smarter to let the raiders take what they wanted and hope they'd leave their lives.

I hope they like tarts and biscuits! Ife thought, and rubbed her sweaty palms on her dress. Pastries were about all she had to offer aside from the clothes she'd packed. All that pillaging has got to leave a body hungry, right? Maybe they'll gorge themselves and be too fat to fight...

If only!

The raiders were close now, close enough she could see the details of their faces. They had their weapons drawn, swords at the ready and arrows strung and tracking their movements, daring them to resist. Which they weren't; aside from the guards, they were all merely merchants, a couple with families, and she could see the rest of her party (people she hardly even knew, as she'd just hitched a ride with them!) huddling nervously together.

A man Ife could only assume was the leader rode forward, but he didn't address them. He gave the group a once-over, taking them all in in a sweeping look, and then turned back to his group.

"Take what you can carry," he called out with a wave of his hand. "Women and children included. Kill the men."

What?!

With hair-raising cries, the raiders advanced, and Ife saw their guards spring into action--since surrender was no option, and it was fight or die. One of the raiders rushed to her wagon and dismounted his horse, his eyes on her. With a cry of surprise, Ife scrambled backwards--and fell off the crate and onto the wagon floor with a thud, landing on her back with her legs up against the crate and skirts splayed indecently.

For a moment she lay there, stunned.

But that position also gave her a good view of the sky.

If she hadn't fallen off that crate, she wouldn't have seen the dragon soaring above them, and for a moment she stared up at it with wide eyes, breathless.

A dragon...

They were near the border of Adela, but...could it be? Was it...was it really?

Was it way too much to hope for?

Then the raider's ugly face blocked her view, and rough hands grabbed her and hauled her up and over his shoulder, and though Ife struggled, it was more so she could try to find that dragon again as she silently prayed it had a rider.

[kleineklementine]

The situation below was escalating faster than the dragon or her rider had foreseen. And though Ashra could not hear the words of the bandit captain below over the torrent of wind around them, Lyra did. Take what you can carry... Women and children included!

"Slavers," she said Ashra flatly before turning into a faster dive towards the melee.

Ashra set his jaw and notched an arrow to the great bow he carried. Slavers. Ashra might not like people in general, and criminals less, but slavers were a class of scum all their own. The very notion of trading and selling human lives - despite its legality in both Adela and Serendipity - always sparked a smouldering anger in Ashra. And suddenly he wasn't complaining anymore that he and Lyra had no business in Serendipity.

Lyra broke out of her dive right above the tree tops with a crack! of wind. Two arrows flew from Ashra's bow. The first struck down a raider that was closing in on a mother standing protectively in front of her teenage son; too old to be considered a 'child.' The second sunk into the side of the man who had hoisted up Ife. The man choked, stumbled, then landed face-first in the dirt road, dead.

Dragon fire streaked through the air. It wasn't targeted at the raiders directly. It was too indiscriminate of a weapon for that when there were so many civilians around. But more than half the 'battle' when you fought with a dragon was putting on a show to intimidate your enemy. Truth be told, neither Ashra nor Lyra reveled in unnecessary death. And the greater their fear of the dragon, the less likely that death would be necessary.

The dragon dove again and Ashra leapt onto the ground as Lyra skidded to a landing, knocking over a handful of raiders as tore through the earth. Ashra was on his feet, halberd in hand, knocking down the nearest raider with its blunt end. A short fight ensued, but the raiders' confidence was rapidly flagging from the arrival of the dragon and her rider and they looked about to turn tail and run.

That was when their captain, seeing his men begin to flee, ran across the melee and grabbed a girl, no more than nine, by the hair and pulled her roughly against him. A blade at her throat. "Here now!" the man snarled loudly. "I'll kill 'er!"

Ashra spun, ready to lunge with the halberd, before he saw the girl. Then he froze. Lyra was quickly, and before the captain had the chance to act, she had two more of the raiders pinned beneath her claws.

Ashra's face was a cold fire. If looks could kill, as the saying went, the captain would be struck down right then. The girl was hardly older than his niece, and though she choked back a sob of fear, she didn't cry. Instead her eyes looked imploringly between the dragon and her rider. Ashra's body was tense, poised to throw the halberd into the man's chest, but frozen.

"Let the child go," he said firmly. "Or your men will die, and then you."

The man laughed an ugly laugh. "Oh-ho, will they? Y'think I care? Y'know how much those sister-fuckers are worth?" He spat. But he smiled a vile smile as he said, "But a nice young girl like this, about to bud into a sweet little maid, well..." He sniggered through a toothy grin. "Y'wouldn't dare t'touch me now, Dragon Rider."

Ashra's eyes hardened. He had the halberd ready to throw, though it was heavy weapon. "You won't get far with or without her, raider. A horse can't outrun a dragon, and I wager you can't outrun my throw. Let the girl go."

But the raider knew that he was backed into a corner. He wouldn't let the girl go that easily. And Ashra dared not throw the weapon while the girl was held as a shield, and with a knife to her throat. With his bow, he might be quick and accurate enough, but not with the halberd. But his bow was still slung across Lyra's saddle.

Now, it was a stand off.

[Rhindeer]

There was a wet thunk, and the man carrying Ife choked out a gasp, spasmed, and fell. Ife fell with him, tumbling to the ground and landing with him heavy atop her. With a cry of fear, she struggled beneath him and shoved hard at him, prepared for a struggle--but his head lolled from her jostling, and when she finally had the courage to look at him, she saw that his eyes were wide open and glassy, staring at nothing, and his mouth was trickling blood.

Dead.

It was the first dead body Ife had ever seen--at least, from violent death, not like the peaceful passing away of her grandfather--and she couldn't help it. That plus everything going on around her was too much! She let out a shriek and struggled out from under him, then scrambled to her feet--

And froze.

Chaos had unfolded all around her, fire arcing through the air, and Ife saw the dragon then--there, on the ground, larger than life and knocking several raiders to the ground as a tall man knocked more silly with his halberd. So the dragon did have a rider! Ife didn't dare to move as she watched, eyes huge and mouth open in awe, hands against her chest over her racing heart. It was amazing watching those two, dragon and warrior, but Ife darted nervous looks around herself, looking for an escape route, because she felt rather exposed out there in the thick of things, and with raiders still about! Raiders...who were running.

And who wouldn't when up against a dragon?

Definitely not Ife!

Gathering up her skirts, she turned and bolted, back to the wagon and hopefully out of the war-zone, and she had just reached it when she heard gasps and the familiar snarl of the raiders' captain. She crouched down beside the wagon and turned to look.

Her breath caught.

She knew that little girl. Not well, but she'd talked to her on the trip and had made her a special sweet a few days earlier when she'd cried herself awake from a nightmare, just a little something to give her happy dreams. Gods, she would need all the happy dreams she could get after this--if she came out of it okay. Ife's eyes locked onto the dragon-rider, then moved back to the captain and his hostage, both of them motionless, both at a stalemate.

The little girl's life hung in the balance. Anything could tip the scale toward life or death.

Around Ife, the other travelers were silent, save for the sobs of the girl's mother. No one dared to move, no one dared tempt that scale.

Shifting nervously where she crouched, Ife put a hand on the ground to help balance herself--and grimaced when instead of soft grass, her fingers squished into something soft and gooey. She looked down, and blinked in surprise. It was...

A pastry.

A cherry tart, she'd smashed her fingers right into some of that cherry topping. More pastries were strewn about on the ground, their crate broken not far from them, knocked out of the wagon or thrown out as the raiders searched the wagon for goods. Ife stared at the red on her fingers, at first finding it strangely absurd, all things considered, but then a thought struck her. Equally absurd, but maybe not?

The captain wasn't looking at her.

His back was turned to her at a three-quarter view, and his attention was fully on the dragon-rider.

Maybe...?

The young girl cried out as the captain dragged her backward a few steps, the knife still pressed to her throat as he began a slow retreat. The dragon-rider was there, halberd at the ready.

Maybe she could tip the scale in the right direction?

Grabbing the pastry, Ife acted before she could lose her nerve. She chucked the thing at the captain's head with all her might, and held her breath as it arced through the air--

And landed with a wet plop on the back of his head, where it stuck, cherry goo suctioning to his hair. The captain startled and made a stupid mistake.

He turned his head to look.

[kleineklementine]

Ashra saw what Ife was going to do a second before she acted, though at first he didn't believe it. What was the woman thinking? Surprising a cruel man with a blade to a girl's throat from behind could go either way: he might jump and slit the girl's throat! But Ashra had no time to stop her and - luckily for all of them - when the pastry went splat! on the back of his head, he turned, just loosening his grip on the girl. It didn't get Ashra much time, but in the moment that the raider looked away, he sprang forward, knocking the raider hard across the head with the halberd with one arm while grabbing the girl away from him with the other. He pushed her bodily behind him while the raider stumbled.

The raider captain hissed, looking viciously between Ashra and the woman at the pastry cart. And at the dragon. He was no idiot. Without a hostage, the raider had no chance and he knew it. So, with a vicious snarl, he turned and ran. Ashra watched him for one second before walking purposefully back to Lyra. He took the bow from the dragon's saddle and strung the bow. He sighted the raider as he ran, then let loose the arrow. It struck the man in his back, sent him stumbling forward. Then he was still.

A gasp was released from the crowd. It seemed no one expected the dragon rider to strike a retreating figure. But Ashra had no compassion for slavers. And a man who would take a little girl hostage and snigger about her 'worth' would only go on to enslave others. Once the shock was over, an old man from the caravan ran forward to Ashra, grabbing his hand and thanking him heartily for their rescue.

"You need to hire proper guards," Ashra barked at the man, his expression unsmiling and disdainful. "What did you expect with only two during the raider season?" The man backed away, looking a little stricken.

"Where are you traveling to?" It was Lyra asking now, her voice kind and gentle as always.

"Ravensway," the old man answered. He looked a bit reassured by the dragon's courtesy.

Ashra ignored the ensuing conversation between Lyra and the caravan members. He was looking darkly at Ife, but when the girl ran up to him, Ashra picked her up in his arms, placing the halberd aside. "I saw you, brave little dragon," he told her, his tone suddenly stern but gentle, "not a single tear. That was very good. You keep up that kind of bravery, you'll be a right warrior one day." Children, though he hated to admit it, were Ashra's weakness. Chidlren weren't awful yet. Give her ten years, and Ashra knew the girl would be just as terrible as the rest of them. For now, though, she was still alright.

But then something Lyra said caught his attention.

"We can escort you the rest of the way," Lyra was telling the grateful caravan members. "It shouldn't take more than a week, and we would be happy to stay with you until you've arrived safely at your journey's end."

Ashra's hazel eyes widened at Lyra's offer, but he held back his grumpy response. He knew this wasn't an argument he would win with Lyra. And he knew, deep down, that he shouldn't want to win it. He put the girl down, giving Lyra a dark look. "Alright," he agreed. Then he turned to one of the guards - Ashra wasn't interested in dealing with the people directly. But he spoke loud enough for all to hear. "Go ahead with the group with Lyra. The raiders may return and we should get some miles behind us and this place before nightfall. I'll stay back here and clean up. But I'll catch up with you at your camp."

The guards nodded and everyone started mobilizing. But Ashra needed a word with that reckless pastry girl. "You," he barked at her, pointing with the halberd. "You stay behind and help me here."

[Rhindeer]

Ife had no concept of how badly that could have gone.

All she knew was that it hadn't gone badly--except for the raider's captain, who was now dead.

With a sigh of relief, Ife crumpled, her back against the wagon as she leaned bonelessly against it, all the stress draining out of her because it was over, and no one had died. No one her side, at least, and that was what mattered! As for the dead raiders...

She tried not to look at them, and tried not to think of it. Either way, this had been way more excitement than she had signed up for!

When she had finally collected herself, she pushed herself to her feet and went to join  the gathering crowd, curious as to what was being said--and even more curious to get a better look at their rescuers, both human and dragon alike! She'd never seen a dragon this close before--and this one talked! As for her rider...well...

Once Ife had gotten her fill of eying the dragon, she took to studying the human, and found her pulse quickening. Holding the child he'd saved, they painted a rather sweet picture--and, she had to admit, he was pretty damned gorgeous himself. Tall, dark, and strong--and the fact that he'd just rescued them all certainly gave him extra attractiveness points! Good with children, too? More points for him!

Realizing what she was thinking, and that what she should be doing is paying attention to their conversation, Ife blushed (which was dumb, because it wasn't like anyone could read her thoughts!) and listened in, just in time to hear they'd be escorting them. Traveling with them. Spending time with them, and sleeping with them. Bathing in the same rivers, even, maybe?

Cue more blushing, like some silly maid. Ugh! She needed to rein in her flights of fancy. Like, you know.

Maybe talk to him first??

As the others dispersed, Ife hung back, working up the courage to say something. Like thank him! And she had just worked up her nerve and was ready to gush at the man, tell him how amazing he'd been--he and his dragon--like some mythic heroes straight out of legend! But before she could open her mouth, he barked a command, and Ife faltered, caught somewhere between excitement at being alone with him, and intimidation. He was commanding her to stay with him! To help! Her, specifically! Only he was ordering her like a dog, without any warmth, and was pointing with that deadly weapon of his.

Ife froze, her mouth snapping shut. Her hands went to her skirts, where she kneaded them absently. "Who? Me?" she said, stupidly, because there was no one else near her. But then, not to be deflated, she perked back up again. Maybe he didn't mean to be so rude! He was a warrior, after all! All rough around the edges! And in any case, he'd singled her out for a reason, right?

He probably wanted to thank her for her help! She had helped, after all!

She smiled, and started toward him. "Oh, of course! Certainly! I'll help with anything you need, mister--" She paused and gave him a questioning look.

[kleineklementine]

Ashra didn't wait to see if Ife had listened to him or not. As soon as he'd barked the order at her, he turned to deal with the raiders Lyra had coraled; those that had been knocked a bit too hard on the head or weren't quick enough to run away with the others. Ashra and the dragon made the men completely disarm and hand over their horses. Horses, Ashra knew, were what really made or unmade a raider. Likely the beasts had been stolen anyway. The horses pawed nervously at the ground in the presence of the dragon. But they were not eager to return to their cruel former masters. Once they were disarmed and harmless - at least for now - Ashra sent them packing. In the future, hopefully, they would at least fall back to petty crimes. Ashra had no faith that they'd become upstanding citizens, but as much as he disliked them, he wouldn't kill them now in cold blood.

They were just stupid oafs. Let the hard walk through the wilderness without their steeds deter them from crime for awhile.

When the girl ran up to him again, to look at the dragon, Lyra even offered to let the girl ride her as they went along, and Ashra helped the girl up onto the dragon's saddle. After all, she wouldn't be flying. Once the horses and the arms taken from the raiders were handed over to the raggedy group's guards and Lyra began to shepherd the shaken people on their way, speaking kindly and reassuring them, Ashra finally turned to Ife.

Stupid woman.

Ashra looked her over once, unabashedly. Her look confirmed everything he might have guessed about a foolish Serenian woman who would throw a pastry at a raider. Prim, fussy looking, and useless. He snorted, then without worrying about whether or not the others could hear him, laid into her.

"What did you think you were doing?" he snarled at her. "Do you know how easily that pastry toss could have ended with the girl dead? What if he jumped and that blade had sliced straight through her throat? Do you have a... a danish that could have brought her back to life? What were you thinking? He knew he couldn't get far with her. He was just hoping we'd take his bait. A little longer, and we'd have had her back safely."

[Rhindeer]

He wasn't even listening to her!

Just like that, Ife was dismissed, left standing there like a fool as the man headed off to deal with other things. She let out a sigh, wilting. "Okay, I'll just...start cleaning up then, I guess!"

With a grimace, because that reminded her that her hand was covered in sticky cherry goo, she turned back to the wagon to survey the damage. A good deal of her pastries were salvageable; they'd spilled out all over the ground, food for whatever lucky animals came through here after they were gone. Some, though, were still in  the crate, undamaged if they'd gotten a little more smooshed together. All in all, she estimated she'd lost more than half of her goods.

At least no one had lost their lives.

She paused to fetch her water skin, and used it to wash the cherry goo off her hand. Then she fixed the lid back onto the crate, and turned to wait for the dragon-rider, because the crate was a little too heavy for her to lift and besides, that was what men were for!

She turned around just in time to see him heading back, and  she was just registering his critical once-over when he opened his mouth.

And thoroughly dressed her down.

Ife stared up at him with wide eyes and felt heat rush to her cheeks and down her neck. She hadn't been scolded since she was a child--much less in front of everyone like this! And she hadn't done well with it then, and didn't do well with it now. Some people snapped back when told off, or bore it stoically, but Ife had never been able to do that. Instead, she withered beneath his words and wished she could just sink into the ground, because it was a little extra scary when it was coming from a large, intimidating man! A man she had moments ago been internally swooning over. Not anymore!

She gripped at her skirts and stared down at the ground, mortified--and even more so because she hadn't thought of what could happen if that went wrong! She'd just acted, not considering the man's blade could have slipped, and a fresh horror rose up in her as the what if played out in her head.

She could have killed the girl.

"I-I...I just thought..." Her voice trembled. "It...it didn't look good, and...I thought...I thought I could help you?"

Gods, that sounded so lame now!

[kleineklementine]

Ashra listened, eyes hard on Ife, at her explanation. If you could call it that! It was all Ashra could do to keep from rolling his eyes. At least he had that courtesy. Just. The expression that was on his face wasn't too much better. His hazel eyes gazed at her with a scrutiny that revealed no sympathy. These Serenian women. She was wilting like a flower without water. She couldn't even make eye contact with him! Any of Ashra's sisters would have thrown his judgement flying back at him, bold and fierce. None of this maidenly sniveling. Ashra Blackspire had far too many sisters - and far too plucky sisters! - to buy into any of this poor, fragile woman nonsense exuding from this Serenian woman.

The rest of the caravan moved on slowly, glancing back at Ife and the dragon rider. Whispers passed between them. But at the dragon's encouragement and encouragement from the hired guards, they moved slowly on.

When they were properly moving, Ashra finally gave a huff in response to Ife's muttering.

"Well, the instinct to act is worth something," he said grudgingly, but it didn't sound like praise coming from him. "But if you can't use that head on your shoulders, you'll do less harm doing nothing. You try something like that again in the future, and the blood will be on your hands if it goes wrong."

Ashra's eyes stayed on her for a moment longer, then he turned to the mess left around them. All together there were four dead raiders. Three nearby: the two Ashra had hit with the arrows and one whose skull cracked at a blow from Lyra's tail. The fourth, of course, was the captain several meters away.

"You can deal with these three," Ashra told her simply, looking at the bodies and not at her. "Take off anything of value from them. Your group can use it. And retrieve the arrows if you can. Then pile'em up if you're strong enough to move them. I'll retrieve the captain and we'll build a pyre."

Ashra didn't wait to hear Ife's response. He simply stalked off in the direction of the fallen captain.

[Rhindeer]

He wanted her to WHAT?

If Ife had been wilting under his criticism, that had her snapping her head back up to look at him like he'd lost his mind.

He wanted her to...to touch the bodies?! Drag them around? Loot them? Retrieve the arrows as in...the arrows that were in them? Her face paled at the thought as she looked, hesitantly, toward where the bodies lay--and felt her stomach reject the idea! It wasn't even a request he'd given her, like, "Please help me take care of this." It was a demand! And what a demand, at that. What was wrong with him?! No! Not happening! There was a reason she was a baker and not a butcher, and it wasn't all because her skills lay in kitchen magic!

But before she could turn to the man and tell him she was in no uncertain terms touching any bodies, he strode off to deal with the captain.

So Ife remained where she was. She hopped up onto the crate to sit, and folded her arms beneath her breasts, because no. He would be looting the bodies and retrieving the arrows and building the pyre. She would play no part in that!

[kleineklementine]

Ashra returned shortly there after, buckled a little under the weight of the dead man slung over his shoulder. The dragon rider was taller than the raider had been, but had considerably less bulk. So when he returned and slung the man down on the ground, his breath was heavy with the effort.

Then he looked around. At the scene that was... exactly how he left it. The three other raiders hadn't moved. Well, he hadn't really expected this woman to move them. But they hadn't been touched at all. Arrows still protruded from the two, and all still wore their weapons. Valuable weapons that would help fend off another attack against the rag-tag caravan if one were to come.

His hazel eyes found Ife. Sitting prim and proper on her crate, arms folded.

Clearly she valued her own safety - not to mention the others' - less than getting her hands dirty. Ashra just stared at her for a moment. Then he asked slowly, almost as if she were slow, "Were you unable to remove the arrows? Or their weapons? You might not be strong enough to move the men, but surely you can do that."

[Rhindeer]

"I can't do that," Ife said, as firmly as she could manage. The man had intimidated her, and still did! But this was a subject she would not budge on! Even then, she was avoiding looking at the dead captain, laying on the ground within her view.

"I can't touch...bodies," she continued, hugging herself a little tighter and shuddering. "I'm not sure why you'd keep me back to handle that! Why not one of the men? A guard? I'm not touching them."

[kleineklementine]

Was she serious? She couldn't touch the bodies? Why did he keep her back? Why didn't he keep back one of the men? She was unbelievable!

"I kept you back," he answered harshly, repeating her emphasis, "so I could make sure you never tried a dumb stunt like that again. Otherwise you probably would have walked away thinking you were some sort of hero."

He snorted, giving her a hard look, then set about taking care of the slain raiders himself. Part of Ashra knew that it was better to just ignore her. Not to pick a fight about it. After all, his surly, argumentative demeanor was why he was out here ranging instead of in some lofty position with the other dragon riders. Not that he'd rather be with them anyway. Bunch of twats. But Ashra couldn't help himself. Between pulling out an arrow and removing one of the dead men's weapons, he threw a look back over at Ife.

"Perhaps you can tell me, though," he asked, "why you are so 'incapable' of doing any of these tasks? And what magical powers you think the guards - or 'one of the men,'" he scoffed at that, "have that you are sadly lacking. Or is it just more important to you to keep your hands and dress clean than help your caravan, or take care of the bodies of the dead. Raiders or not. I suppose a 'lady' like you would just leave them for the vultures and wild dogs?"

[Rhindeer]

"No, I'd leave them to people more suited to working with the dead," Ife said with a frown, and it made sense in her head! "Like you, and the guards. People who have a stomach for it. I'm just a baker! I didn't come on this trip to...to...to loot corpses! I don't think it's so unreasonable for me to not want to get...blood on me or deal with slain men. I'm a baker!"

She repeated that for emphasis, throwing her hands up. "I can't even kill chickens for supper! I can't...I don't do well with blood. I've never seen anyone die before! I'd hoped I never would!"

Her voice rose a little toward the end, unexpectedly, because she'd done a pretty good job of keeping it together, she thought, while the adrenaline was pumping. But now that the battle had wound down, and now that she had a moment to actually process it and talk about it, it was starting to hit her. All at once.

They'd been attacked by raiders, she'd almost been kidnapped, a girl had almost died, and there were dead bodies laying all around.

She clapped a hand over her mouth, sucking in a breath. "Oh. I think I might be ill."

[kleineklementine]

"'People more suited to working with the dead?'" Ashra repeated with a barking laugh as he hefted the dead raider on top of his captain. "And what makes one person - me, for example, or the guards - more suited to working with the dead? Are you trying to say it's beneath you, m'lady?"

Ashra managed to stop short of asking just where she thought the chicken meat on her plate came from if she was so torn up by the idea of killing one, but he managed to bite the comment back. Instead he focused on dealing with the last of the bodies. He only looked up just in time to see her pallor start to change to something distinctly sickly. He straightened up and looked at her with a frown. It was, perhaps, a slightly softer look than his expression had been.

Inwardly, he sighed. Stupid soft thing.

"Go ahead 'round the cart, if you need to," he offered. His tone was likewise softer. Just. And maybe a bit grudgingly so. "You wouldn't be the first. Death's not a pretty sight."

[Rhindeer]

Ife didn't need to be told twice! She scrambled down from the crate and hurried around the cart, and she only just made it there before she emptied her stomach in a most unladylike fashion. People had died! That one man had died right in front of her. And though she hated him, because he was a raider and he'd been carting her off, she still remembered how his eyes looked when the life left them.

Another round of heaving, and soon Ife had nothing left to give. She squatted there for a few moments, panting and waiting for the nausea to dissipate, and stayed there even after it had, because unpleasant circumstances or not, it gave her a break from that terror of a man. Honestly, she couldn't believe him! Expecting her to cart around dead people! Did she look like a soldier?!

With her modest traveling dress, she thought not!

Wiping off her mouth when she'd recovered enough to stand, she took some deep breaths and headed, a little shakily, back over to her crate and leaned heavily against it. "I told you you should've kept one of the men instead," she muttered.

[kleineklementine]

Ashra puffed out a long, exasperated exhale as Ife sprinted to the other side of the cart. He supposed, he thought as he listened to the sound of her heaving, that he ought to ease up on her a bit. As curmudgeonly as he was, the dragon rider wasn't made entirely of stone. The woman had had a scare; a big one. He couldn't really fault her for not having any experience with things like this. Even if people really ought to have a better understanding of how life worked and what kept them safe and what death was. But he could basically hear Lyra's voice in his head telling him again and again about how he didn't always have to be such a grump to everyone. He grumbled under his breath about his uppity dragon as he piled the bodies together for the fire.

But it wasn't that Ashra didn't sympathize, on some level, with Ife and the rest of the people in the caravan. Ashra just didn't know how to show it. And it was so hard, when everyone was always so annoying all the time!

All the same, Ashra grudgingly resolved to be kinder to the woman. After all, she'd shown some pluck throwing that pastry - even if it was absolutely the wrong thing to do - surely that was worth something.

His resolution was tested almost immediately when Ife returned and sulked again that he should have 'brought one of the men.' His eyes flashed, but he bit back his response. He wished Greer were here to deal with her instead. His fiery little sister would lay into the Serenians backwards ideas in a much more dogged and determined way than Ashra's surliness could muster.

"Come on," he said in a tone so forced and awkward in its even marginal niceness, "you can help me collect firewood."

[Rhindeer]

Ife looked up, and relief spread visibly across her face, relaxing some of the tension in her features and making her perk a bit. Oh! Fire wood! Now that was something she could do, collecting sticks and things and not handling bodies.

"Yes! Of course! I can do that!" she said, latching onto any excuse to get away from the carnage--and to escape the man's disapproval. She didn't like how stupid and useless he made her feel, and though she would rather be back with the rest of the caravan and away from him, maybe she could win a little...respect or something, at least? He had saved all their lives, and for that she was eternally grateful! All the same, she couldn't believe she'd practically swooned over him earlier.

But she also didn't want to be on bad terms with him, especially if he was going to be traveling with them for a while.

Pushing off from the crate, she hurried over to Ashra, straightening her skirts out as she went. "I suppose we'll need, er, a lot...?" She grimaced, not wanting to think of what the tinder was for.

[kleineklementine]

"Yes," was all the answer Ife got to her question.

Ashra led Ife off the path and into the forest in silence. He knew, as they collected firewood, that he should keep his mouth shut. Clearly interacting with this woman would be easier if neither of them said anything! Though, truth be told, that was usually how Ashra liked his interactions with other people. Almost no one ever seemed to have anything worthwhile to say anyway.

But Ife's words and attitude continued to grate on him as they tread through the forest gathering wood. 'You should have brought a man.' 'I'm not "suited" for that kind of work.' All her, in Ashra's mind, backwards and sexist comments kept playing back in his mind and from time to time he threw her, seemingly unprompted, a surly glare.

Finally, Ashra couldn't keep it in anymore.

"You know, you're only doing yourself a disservice with that attitude of yours," he told her, trying and mostly failing to keep the acid judgement from his tone. "It's just lazy to limit what you can do - or what you think you can do - because you're a woman. You limit yourself, plus all the people dumb and prejudiced enough to believe you. What about that girl back there? You want her to think she needs a man to do things for her?"

If Ashra questioned whether or not it was his place to tell this strange woman who to best serve her gender, he didn't show it!

[Rhindeer]

Ife had collected a good armful of dry tinder, and had just finished stacking it in a pile near the corpses, ready to head out to scavenge for more, when Ashra spoke up.

Gods. And she'd been quite enjoying the silence, and instantly missed it. The man was just so damned negative! Was he trying to upset her? And after experiencing such a frightening trauma? Normally, she didn't think of herself as having a temper, but her nerves were frayed and he was just...he hadn't stopped picking at her since the first words he'd said to her!

With a frustrated huff, Ife tossed her last stick down onto the pile with more force than necessary, causing a domino effect that made the entire pile tumble over. Whirling on Ashra, skirts flaring, she glowered at him.

"What attitude?" she snapped, and instantly regretted it. Just because he was being nasty didn't mean she had to be! That was just rude--especially when she was trying to prove she didn't have an attitude. She took a deep breath.

"I don't have an attitude about anything. And I'm not lazy. I work hard. I just know the men here are stronger than me, because they're guardsmen! They're used to dealing with fighting and things, and I'm not! But no, instead of asking them for help, you keep the baker back and then get all surly and mean and nasty when she can't do all the things a guardsman can because she's never even seen fighting before! It's almost like you did it just so you could yell at me and make me feel stupid!"