The dream always ended the same way, and left him waking in a heavy sweat. The monster that he hunted, the beast that killed his father, always left a linger fear in the pit of his stomach. That fear of many things: that he was insane, that perhaps the beast truly did not exist, that perhaps he would never find it, or that the beast was really hunting him, biding its time until the most opportune moment.
Yes, the dream always ended the same way. He was hot on the animal's heels, having tracked it for days and days on end. He was always close, but never enough to make the kill, as if the beast was toying with him, able to swerve from his steady aim, just when he had a chance. And when he thought he lost it, it turned on him, ready to kill. And he always awoke before it did. The dream didn't always come, but when it did, it always left him feeling a sense of both dread and relief.
He was shaking and sweating and he tore the fur covering his body from his form. Moonlight poured through the evening clouds just visible above the treeline from his perch in a cave inlet. Rook took a cloth and wiped the sweat from his brow and body peered out toward the wilderness, in whose heart he now sat.
The days of hunting had been long and he found little more than a rabbit earlier that morning to serve as his lunch and dinner, but the forest seemed scarce afterward. The night was not as lively with activity as he would have thought as well, and was partly thankful it wasn't. To know there was nothing out there that might be looking at him as prey was much needed relief to the dream he escaped from.
Rook's eyes scanned the treeline, the sky and counted the stars for a short time, trying to find anything that might take the images of the animal from his mind. He knew it wasn't something he could easily forget, but perhaps if he could push it away from his vision for a moment, perhaps he might get some much needed rest. The weeks had been long and he thought it best to return to the nearest town in the morning. Ketra was close by and would make a good market for the small number of skins he collected while on his excursion.
But just as he was about to lay down, Rook heard a crackling of breaking twigs and leaves that immediately alerted him to the presence of another. Rook was quick, and reached for his bow and tossed his quiver over his head. He nocked an arrow and quickly moved into the shadows, hearing the crunching grow louder and closer. He waited beside the inlet, having no time to clear what remained of his camp and laid waiting in the bushes, holding his bow at the ready, watching and waiting as the intruder came closer.
The sounds of snapping twigs and rustling leaves left a disturbance in their wake. The few creatures that did scurry about in the night fled from the sound of something large moving through the undergrowth. That was just the way of nature when you left human civilization behind. It was beautiful and violent, ordered but chaotic; a state of being in which everything was in a constant state of movement and change. You lived in the moment or died in the past.
What came upon the camp was almost as large as a pony, but was obviously no placid herbivore. Razor sharp talons scraped against stone as the regal head of a falcon bent down to sniff at the hastily abandoned site. Gorgeous white plumage faded into equally dazzling fur, with spots of endless abyss thrown across the snowy canvas in beautiful patterns. Many would recognize the odd mash of bird and cat as a gryphon, though it was debatable how many had seen one in the flesh.
Even as the gryphon examined Rook's belongings ahead, a silent shadow, quiet as a whispered breeze moved behind. This was Roxanne's home, every rock, every cave, every dip and depression, every hollow and stream was known to her within the Draconi forest. Not only did she already have an arrow notched, but her bow was drawn as she paused several feet behind her target. She gave a soft bird call and Dirk jerked his head up to look directly at Rook's hiding place, giving a soft hiss and spreading his wings.
"That could be the last arrow you ever draw. I wouldn't suggest it."
When he saw the bird, his breath was taken away and Rook's eyes widened at the sight of such creature. In all the years he had been hunting, never had he seen such a beast. It was so graceful, so elegant and yet the fierceness readily glinting in its eyes as it prowled along his empty camp. He could feel his bow ready in his eager hands, ready to take the shot. Better it than he, as far as he was concerned and he could tell by that beak, it could do some nasty damage if it had the chance to nab him.
He sucked in a soft air of breath and slowly pulled back the bow, ready to take the shot. His aim would be true, at this distance it was impossible for him to miss. But then he felt his heart leap into his throat when the creature turned its elegant head to look at him. And then the words came and Rook froze completely. He'd been cornered and he knew the woman, whoever she was, was close enough to administer the kill without so much as a breath.
He loosed the arrow, slowly bending the bow back into a relaxed position and held the arrow in the nock with his index finger. With his back to her, his hand carefully moved toward the hilt of the hunting knife on his leg, pulling it up in increments. "If you're going to shoot me, best get it done and over with. I have right to protect my camp. I'm just passing through," he said slowly, turning his head and waist slightly both to get a look at her and to conceal the drawing of the knife.
As soon as his bow was no longer in a threatening position Dirk's wings folded back into a relaxed state and he shook himself, feathers and fur ruffling then smoothing. A subtle gesture from the woman had the creature moving away from the man's things. No damage had been done to the camp, the only disturbance caused were the impressions of talons and paws. Dark eyes never left the hunter there was wariness and mistrust in the inhuman eyes, once clear of the camp he stood and watched.
The figure behind him was cast in shadow, her soft grey and green leathers blended into the nighttime forest flawlessly, obviously someone who knew the area well and who was accustomed to moving about unseen. A hooded cloak and loose scarf concealed much of her facial features from view, though intense eyes still gleamed in the moonlight. Her bow was clearly visible and finely made, as was the arrow pointing at his neck.
Roxanne spared a glance at the location, it was a decent campsite, perhaps he was what he said - just another hunter passing through - but could she really be sure of that? Eyes of ice and flint moved to study her quarry again, he'd turned to look towards her, and his subtle movements screamed of deceit. Soft clicking and chattering from the gryphon warned her of what her own eyes could not see. "I have a right to defend myself and my home. Were you really going to shoot something so magnificent? Hunter says you, poacher says I. And the knife is a stupid move, bold, but stupid."
Rook grew irritated at her words and that she saw such subtle movement, even in the dark, made his hand retreat the blade back into the sheathe. He turned to her at last and peered at his hunter hidden beneath her hood and cloak. "You've got the wrong idea," he growled. "I have the right to protect myself! Now put your bow down or I'll do just that! I'd hate for either of us to get hurt." It wasn't a threat, but perhaps it could serve well enough as a warning. Rook was more than prepared to move out of her shot.
He could vaguely make out the glint in her eyes, eyes that most certainly meant business. He doubted he could trust her to not loose that arrow. She could just as easily use her weapon to coax him into putting his down and kill an unarmed man and steal his gear. Rook faced her for a moment before suddenly using his legs to spring him into her.
In that same move, he brandished his knife and tried to pin her down with his weight.
Roxanne was at a distinct advantage of being on familiar ground and that she effectively had two sets of eyes to watch Rook with. One set that was far keener than any human eyes. She was at a stalemate, she didn't trust the man in front of her, and he wasn't likely to trust her either. It was a relief, and surprise, when he put the knife back instead of withdrawing it further.
A plan of action was still working its way through her mind when suddenly there was a burst of activity. It seemed that he wasn't going to simply stand there and let her figure out what to do. A soft curse was issued before she released her arrow and then immediately dropped her bow. One hand was raised to try to fend off a stab or slash from the knife while her knee was brought up to attempt to give him a solid blow to the groin.
Despite his quick reflexes, the hunter could not evade the arrow shot that the woman launched from her bow. It had narrowly missed any arteries or vital organs, and instead it dug deeply into the soft flesh of his thigh. Rook growled at her in both pain and frustration at the injury and wanted only to hold the knife to keep the odds in his favor.
Too bad it wasn't the only pain he would receive that instant. When her knee came up between his legs, he lost all sense for the longest ten seconds of his life. He felt as though his breath was kicked out of him and he rolled off to the side, holding his groin with one hand and nursing his leg with the other.
Everything had happened so quickly, Roxanne was slightly dazed, not entirely sure how she had ended up on the ground. Her reactions had been purely reflexive to danger, her blood was pumping furiously, causing a rush in her ears. She had completely forgotten that she wasn't alone with the stranger until she heard Dirk's piercing cry of rage as he rushed at the injured man.
Roxanne was quick to jump up and put herself between man and beast. Dirk slide to a stop in front of her, letting out a guttural growl of displeasure. "No, don't. He's hurt enough." She pushed the large beast back gently. Reluctantly the gryphon stepped back, dark eyes still glaring hatefully at Rook.
Rook felt his eyes grow wide with fear when the gryphon fully intended to charge at him and likely gore him through. His instinct was to scramble for his knife, but that was already dropped somewhere in the dark and instead Rook sat up and stared wide-eyed at the woman who just saved his life while simultaneously injuring him.
"Who are you!?" he growled, holding his injured leg and putting as much pressure as he could on the wound. "What do you want!? Gods...my fucking leg." He seethed and found enough strength to take the arrow in hand, snapping off the back of it, but having mo more courage to rip the rest of it out.
Roxanne turned blue-grey eyes back to Rook, her expression puzzled, as if not quite sure what to make of him, and certainly not sure what to do with him. What a bloody mess. She wasn't sure who to blame, the fool man or Dirk. If the damned bird-brained idiot would have just stayed away, none of this would have happened, then again, if the man hadn't been trying to shoot her baby she wouldn't have had to even speak to him.
"I'm a hunter," She said dryly to his inquiry, stepping carefully over and dropping down to her knees next to him just as he broke the arrow off. "What I want is for you to have not been here in the first place, but there's no use for wishful thinking, now is there? Did it go all the way through?"
She hesitated to actually reach out and touch him. She had the feeling that he wasn't going to relish the idea of her helping him after she had been the one to shoot him, even if it had been his own fault for trying to attack her.
He was sweating profusely when she made her inquiry and trying desperately to keep the snot dripping from his nose from streaming into his mouth. He wiped it off with his clean hand and peered at her with half a snarl, a mix of uncertain gratitude and impotent rage. Though she clearly had the advantage over him, the fight was all rung out of him for the moment.
And this wasn't the first time he seemed to get injured around strange women in the forest. If he wasn't in pain, he would have laughed at the thought.
"No, no," he answered in aragged breathe. "I don't think so. Or else I could pull it clean through the other side. It's in the muscle!" Despite her intention was clearly to help him even after she shot him, Rook still couldn't be sure he wanted to trust her that easily. "I wasn't gonna shoot him," he quickly tried to explain. "I just wanted to scare him away! I mean it."
She made a slight grimace when she saw how much he was sweating and the snot running from his nose. Reaching into a pouch at her belt she produced a soft linen handkerchief and offered it to him. The thought to simply leave him there to his own devices crossed her mind, but with his leg injured he might struggle to survive the night if a predator caught wind of him. Since she was the one that shot him, a small - tiny really - twinge of guilt gnawed at her.
His rushed explanation merely had her blue-grey eyes rolling. He hadn't looked as if he was only going to try scaring Dirk away. Still, he was obviously not familiar with gryphons, so she could hardly blame him for it. Although, come to think of it, shooting a wild gryphon might actually have been in his best interest, it wasn't as if Dirk wore a sign that said he was tame.
"You shouldn't have raised your bow at him at all, he wouldn't have hurt you, but you didn't know that, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt on that one. Think I can pull it out? If I can't it'll have to be cut out..."
He really wasn't in the mood - or condition - to argue over the matter of whether or not he clearly intended to kill that wild and strange creature. So he pushed it out of mind and seethed a little. He rejected the handkerchief and instead grabbed her shoulder in a powerful grip. "Just help me get to my camp," he grunted with effort.
Rook wouldn't give himself the relief of a scream before he grabbed on to a tree and hopped along. "Grab my bow and knife would ya? Don't worry. I have no more will to fight you," he reasoned until he was able to move back toward his blankets.
"You'll have to cut it out and make a fire if you can. Heat the blade of my knife and burn the wound. It'll help stop the bleeding," Rook explained and peered at her with narrow eyes. "What? You're a hunter aren't you. You ought to know that. Make the fire first. There's flint right there by the ashes."
She gave a soft growl as his hand gripped her shoulder roughly, but she put up with it - for now. Her fingers wrapped around him in a steely grip as she helped him up, then shrugged him off. Roxanne didn't like people to start with, had especially not liked this one, and he wasn't exactly improving her opinion of him.
"Just shut up and sit down wherever you're gonna do this, you big baby." She snapped before retrieving the bow and knife he had dropped. Again she thought of just leaving him there, he was bossy for someone that could use some help.
She deposited his weapons, none too gently, by the blankets he had for himself. Dirk had settled down a short distance away to watch with a gleam in his eye. Grabbing some kindling, she stuck up a fire easily enough. "You know, I've never dug an arrow out of something still alive before..."
Her irritation brushed off him like a water droplet off a leaf. He didn't know why she was so moody, but he was certain he had something to do with it. Pfft, what a wonderful turn of events. After all, she was the one who shot him! It couldn't be helped he supposed, he didn't much care for finding strangers in the forest. And all of them seemed to be insane or murderous.
He wondered which one she fell under. Most likely both. Anyway, the sooner this was done the better.
At her words he eyed her with some anxiety, but swallowed it away on a dry throat. "Is that so? So, you kill a lot of hunters in the woods then that only try to defend themselves?" he asked tentatively. He still held his leg and tried to spread the fabric of his trousers enough to make the cut nice and simple.
The flames licked the cold steel as it was held over them, cool eyes watching Rook with a mixture of irritation and amusement. Nervous was he? Good. He'd certainly made her nervous enough when he'd been aiming an arrow at Dirk.
"Oh no, you're the first person I've shot in a long time, but usually when I shoot something it dies. I don't shoot to injure after all, that would be cruel. Lucky or unlucky for you, I can't decide." Her tone was quiet serious.
She pulled the knife from the fire and walked over, holding the heated blade away from her body. "Let's get this over with. The sooner I get my arrowhead back, the sooner I can get on my way."
Rook glared at her for a while and nodded. He sat up and prepared himself for the worst. The blade was red hot, steaming metal when it made contact with his skin and Rook's face immediately turned red with pain and he nearly passed out by the time the arrowhead was cut out of his leg. Of course it wasn't over yet and he immediately reached for his shirt in the corner to stuff into his mouth when the knife cauterized the wound.
He was in tears and exhausted from it all, trying to catch his breath and not pass out.
No matter about her comment of never working on a living patient before, Roxanne cut the remaining part of the arrow from his leg as deftly as she could, and without causing anymore damage than necessary. Her nose crinkled slightly from the smell of singed flesh, and her fingers were covered in blood, but she finally put the knife down.
"A salve should definitely be put on this, to help fight infection. If you don't have any I'll have to get some, but that shouldn't be a problem." She took the handkerchief he had refused for his nose earlier and bound his leg securely.
He felt himself a little delirious from the pain and saw the woman's form in split double-vision. He groaned and touched his head as she knotted the kerchief around his leg, breathing heavily but at least aware that he was still alive. His leg throbbed, a dull pain and the smell of singed flesh stung his nostrils. Gods he hoped that was all that it was and he wasn't have a stroke. Not that he would know if he was.
"I-I don't have any..." he panted. "But...I will repay you if you retrieve some for me."
Roxanne patted the man's shoulder gently. She was actually starting to feel just a little sorry for him, he looked in pretty rough shape. Then again, she'd never been shot in the leg with an arrow before, so she could only imagine this was highly unpleasant.
"Don't worry about repaying, I did shoot you, so this one's on me. Just don't pass out yet." Standing she hurried over to Dirk, who had made himself comfy while watching the action. She prodded the animal with a finger, causing him to huff lazily. "Get to work, I don't feed you so you can lay around and look pretty."
Dirk rose back to his feet and shook himself before unfurling his wings. They created a soft thrum with each down stroke as he lifted himself from the ground and flew away.
As soon as the gryphon was gone Roxanne got out a water skin and another soft scrap of linen, wetting it she sat beside her patient and offered him a drink. "Here, a drink will help, and this cloth will feel cool on your head."
The water did bring him a great deal of relief from the fever that had taken to his head. His body was wracked with all sorts fo conflicting sensations, hot and cold, calm and trembling and he took a deep breathe to try and center himself. It helped only a little.
He peered up at the huntress with curious eyes, speculatively as if trying to decipher amidst his delirium. "What are you doing here? I mean besides shooting me. And that bird creature. What was that? I've never seen such a thing in my life. I wasn't in any position to compromise my life...but still I am sorry for taking aim at him."
"I live here. Well, not here, but in the forest. I enjoy a pretty wide range. And Dirk? He's a gryphon." She wondered if he had never at least heard stories about gryphons, they were pretty fanciful creatures, but so were dragons, and Adela was famous for those. "If you think he's something wait until you see a dragon."
Actually, hopefully they wouldn't see a dragon, things were temperamental, and the wild ones were downright dangerous. Even the ones tamed for riding were given a great deal of respect and people had the good sense to stay out of the beasts' way.
"Don't worry about it, you didn't hurt him, and he wasn't even mad at you until you attacked me. No idea if he'll forgive you for that one."
Rook's expression soured at her explanation. Not that he was in any position to complain or anything. The logic of the whole situation seemed fumbled and upside down since none of them could have known what the other was capable of. So he sucked it up and gave her a tight-lipped, trying smile.
"Well, I suppose I should be thankful your shot fumbled and only got my leg. I don't have patience to be mortally wounded. At least not by a person at any rate," Rook chuckled at his half-jest.
He examined the work on his wound which still throbbed painfully but at least was no longer bleeding profusely. "You did good work, even at another's instruction. And the company is a good enough distraction I suppose. You got a name? If not Wild Woman will suffice for now."
When his eyes caught the shape of the winged beast of hers flying closer, he gestured his head toward it. "Where did you get a beast like him? His kind just pop up anywhere?"
The only response he got to his comment about her 'fumbled' shot was a noncommittal hum. He had been lucky that she'd missed anything vital. By now she was pretty sure he wasn't a poacher, as she'd first thought he might be.
"Wild Woman, right. No, my name is Roxanne." She glanced up as she saw Dirk returning, he was still a shadow above the treetops, albeit a rapidly growing one.
"There are gryphons in Adela, they're not as common as dragons in the Thunderbacks, but if you know where they nest you can find them easily enough. Dirk has been with me for a long time now, I found him as a baby. Poachers either killed or stole the rest of his family."
The gryphon's landing was surprisingly quiet as his wings buffeted them with drafts of cool air a moment before folding. A leather bag was dangling by the strap from his beak.
"He's magnificent," Rook breathed, watching the creature land gracefully, gently without so much a rustle of leaves. It was plain to see he was taken with the creature and his fascination was broken when he saw Dirk carrying a bag, what Roxanne must have sent him off to retrieve in the first place.
"Seems he's an intelligent courier too," he commented and smirked. "I'm Rook, by the way. If you care to know."
Roxanne didn't comment, she knew that Dirk was a magnificent creature. Gryphons were some of the very finest beasts you could ever hope to see. Dragons were amazing, sure, but there was something about the smaller gryphon that was just better.
She was up and taking the bag from her "courier" almost as soon as he'd landed. As soon as the bag had left Dirk's mouth, the creature lowered his head to peer at Rook with a gleam in his dark eyes. With a gravelly voice, the creature spoke for the first time in front of Rook since stepping from the forest. "More intelligent than you."
The woman between them couldn't help but laugh softly.
Rook was undoubtedly surprised the beast could speak in something he understood. But his shock turned into amazement and he nodded graciously to the bird. "Yeah, more intelligent than me. Humans are awfully stupid creatures. And Inm certainly in no position to contest it," he agreed.
His eyes turned to Roxanne. "I'm assuming you have salve in that bag."
Dirk puffed up slightly, jutting his chest out a bit and holding his head haughtily. "Don't you forget it."
Roxanne rummaged through the bag while rolling her eyes. "Yeah, it's here, with some other stuff. Don't encourage feather-brains over there; he's got an ego the size of Adela as it is." The gryphon visibly deflated a little before huffing and lying down nearby to watch with an air of boredom.
She moved to sit beside Rook again, setting the bag down and pulling a vial of a shimmering silver liquid from it. As gently as she could she unwound the kerchief from the wound. "This is probably going to feel a little warm to the touch." With that she poured the mystery liquid over his leg.
Rook smirked a little and exchanged a look with the gryphon and quirked a brow at the bird. The creature only gave him a glare and seemed to roll his eyes even. Rook couldn't believe he was being summarily dismissed by a bird thing, but he supposed it could have done worse things to him.
So instead he took his gaze to what Roxanne was doing. He winced audibly when the pressure of the cloth was removed from his thigh. When the liquid touched his skin, he jumped a little and gave a sigh of relief when the warmth spread through him. "What-what is that stuff?" he breathed.
Roxanne smirked slightly as she put the sealed the vial and put it back in the bag, while rummaging around for something else. "Well that would really depend on if you believe the medicine lady in Ketra that I bought it from. It's always worked on my wounds. Ah, here we are. This is a tincture for fever and pain. No idea what's in it, but it works for me."
She handed him a small bottle of liquid that was not quite clear with a powerful scent. "Just a sip should be enough, and it tastes awful."
Her hands immediately moved back to his leg to bind the wound again now that it had been properly treated.
He supposed he would be a fool not to believe it, having experienced the results for himself. But anybody could bottle up some hodgepodge concoction and sell it as a healing supplement and it would work if one was convinced enough. Needless to say, he was sold. Of course as a hunter he had plenty of knowledge and experience himself finding flora to help alleviate and heal.
As foreign as these new substances were to him, Rook obliged the fellow huntress and took the other vial she handed him. Indeed the foul smell promised a foul taste he did the only thing he could think to do and plugged his nose before taking a small swig of it.
He nearly dropped the container as he dry heaved and coughed violently. "You really weren't kidding," he gagged and recorked it with mild strength, tossing it back to her. He coughed longer with enough force to fall over.
Roxanne was a hunter, but she didn't care much about healing. She knew what was safe to eat and what could be used to make poison, but when it came to healing her knowledge was lacking all around. She relied on the medicine woman in Ketra for what little medical supplies she needed. It had taken time to trust the old woman, but anymore Roxanne didn't question what was in the little vials and containers she was given.
She laughed slightly at his initial reaction to the medicine. She caught the bottle when he threw it back, but immediately dropped it, her hands flashing out to grab him, trying to keep him falling. "Hey, take it easy, take another drink of water to help with the taste."
"I can't even breathe!" Rook griped between coughs. When she caught him, he spat to the side trying to get the taste out of his mouth. "The canteen on the side!" he said, pointing to the container by the fire. When he had it in hand, he downed the last drops of water within and swished it around in his mouth spat it out, then took another swig and swallowed that one.
"That stuff is foul!" he griped. "I guess maybe you didn't want to kill me with your arrow, it was worth the effort to gag me to death." He had a few minor coughs follow and his shoulders jerked through it but he was otherwise okay.
She really wasn't sure what to do to help him, but at least she was able to keep him from completely falling over. When he mentioned the canteen she got it, though not without grumbling softly under her breath. The sounds of gravelly laughter could be heard rumbling from the gryphon laying nearby as he watched the spectacle.
"Are all men such babies about taking medicine?" Roxanne inquired, she pushed her hood back, rich dark and copper hair spilling out as drew her knees up and folded her arms across them, then used that to rest her chin to peer at him.
His eyes narrowed into a burning, savage glare that he pointed directly at the gryphon from his gravelly laughter. Oh, if only he had a rock nearby to chuck at the stupid creature. As odd a beast as he was, Rook wasn't all that sure he liked the creature, and he was doubly sure the bird thing didn't really like him. Not that it mattered he supposed. He frowned and nursed his own impotence and peered at Roxanne.
"Only when the woman giving the medicine shot them with an arrow," Rook growled. "Look, I'm just not used to all the attention. I don't come into the forest to have company. Quite the opposite really." His narrow eyes peered at her hair which gleamed copper in the moonlight, almost violet within darkness and he gave a small smirk, one that was hidden in shadow when he turned his head.
"Thanks, for the...help. I think I'll be okay. And I'll clear out of your forest soon enough. I'm heading to town, trade off what skins I have. Feel free to take a pelt as payment. There's a nice foxpelt out in my pack. Help yourself."
Roxanne arched a brow at her reluctant patient, but she had tended to her mistake so really, her conscience obligation had been met. It wasn't as if his company had been pleasant, from the moment she'd laid her eyes on him he had been nothing but trouble. That's just the way it was, humans were a troublesome bunch in general. She hadn't much reason to care for her own kind in a long time.
"Very well, I was going to make sure you survived the night and were capable of walking to Ketra, but I'll be happy to be on my way now. Since you're insisting, I won't feel bad if you die. As for the forest, it belongs to no one, except perhaps the king. Come and go as you wish, as long as you're not a threat to me or my gryphon, then I really don't care. And keep your pelt; I have a dozen like it at home waiting to be taken to market."
She slung the medicine bag over her shoulder as she got up, not even looking back; she walked over to Dirk, and patted his shoulder. The beast rose soundlessly and practically melted into the night as he stalked away. Roxanne looked back at him for a moment, expression stoic. "Good luck, Rook."
It was plain to see his words seemed to be little more than condescending, though he hadn't intended it to be that way. Seeing her hurry to leave, Rook found himself smiling and even laughed, though it was obvious his company would not be sorely missed. Not that he could blame her, he really was being a big baby.
But seeing as he really no longer needed her, he supposed was simply fastforwarding the inevitable as she began to take her leave. "Good bye, Wild Woman," he said to her. "And thank you." He gave her a nod and a genuine smile as she turned from him.
That's when his smile faded and a chill coursed through him to the bone. He frowned and he felt the vibration rumble through him. That noise, that howl. He would know it anywhere. It was bloodcurdling, even more than a wolf's howl. It sounded almost like a man in agony. With that Rook bolted from the ground, forgetting about his leg and lunging toward ynnking Roxanne back by the arm. His arm wen around her head almost in a headlock, and his hand came over her mouth. "Don't make a sound. You...you heard that! Didn't you?" he whispered to her though his eyes lingered on the treeline and he trembled once he heard the howl again.
Roxanne was really ready to walk away and wash her hands of the whole thing. Like most people, Rook ruffled her feathers, so to speak. Solitude had always been her best friend and easiest course - even having Dirk around got on her nerves from time to time. The complex emotions of humans were a pain to work through, that at least was subdued with her non-human companion, though he seemed to pick up a lot of annoying and human-like habits from somewhere.
Just as she was about to walk back into the forest to follow Dirk, a howl reverberated through the trees, she thought the sound made her very body vibrate strangely. Her eyes had narrowed and head tilted just slightly before she had been pulled back against Rook by the arm, a hand over her mouth.
Jerking her head to the side she twisted her head enough to glare at him over her shoulder. Her voice was a soft growl. "Of course I heard it. What is it?"
Rook's body was as still as stone save for the rabid drumming of his heart and the soft shuddering breath expelled from him. Moonlight hid them as it struck over the ridge and Rook dragged her back into the shadow of the inlet, releasing her, then quickly throwing dirt over the fire, before crawling back to her. "The Beast," he whispered to her.
"The foulest animal the world has even known..." he said, then peered over to the direction Dirk went. "I've seen it... There's no animal like it. It's horrifying... No other words can describe it. I've been hunting it for most of my life. But sometimes, I think it's hunting me." He swallowed hard on a dry throat and the fear and anguish and anxiety were present as his eyes glittered in the dark.
"If you value your life...you shouldn't venture out there. In fact...we shouldn't even stay here."
She really didn't like being manhandled, but once they were back in the shadows of the inlet he let her go. Ashen eyes watched him put out the fire, she sense his terror, and felt her own heart beating faster than normal. Not out of fear, that was absurd, she didn't even know what they were supposed to be afraid of.
Roxanne stared at Rook with a blank expression as he told her about "the beast" and frankly she didn't know if perhaps the fever had gone to his head. Still, to his credit, there was something out there, she had heard it herself, and it wasn't Dirk. "Well if we can't go and we can't stay, what's the plan genius? We have to do something."
"We can go...if we take the right path," Rook said in a low breath. He had nearly forgotten his let until its throbbing reminded him of its pain. Crouching low, he crawled around for his things in the dark until he had them successfully gathered. His blanket was rolled up and put away and canteen firmly tied to his back, after he redressed. His dagger, now cooled to the touch, was slid back into its sheath on his leg and he threw his quiver over his head.
The rustling in the trees and brush made it more than evident that something was moving closer to their position, though whether it was intentionally making itself known was another matter altogether. And Rook didn't want to stick around to find out. When he had his equipment gathered, he looked to Roxanne and motioned her to follow him.
And just as he stepped out of the inlet into the moonlight, the creature unleashed a terrifying growl, that nearly made Rook fall on his ass. It almost seemed to be laughing at him, drawing closer. If they were to move, now would be their only opportunity. "Let's go!" Rook whispered harshly to Roxanne, and limped as fast as he could to the trees beside the inlet.
Roxanne peeked tentatively out of the inlet to keep watch while Rook gathered his things. She still didn't really understand what was going on, or what she'd gotten herself into. If Dirk hadn't come up to this campsite she could have slipped quietly through the trees without ever having to deal with Rook and his "beast" and now she wasn't sure what to expect. People – nothing but trouble.
As soon as his things were gathered up she moved quickly behind him. The thought of simply ditching him to fend for himself did cross her mind. With his leg injury he would slow her down, and he'd said something about the thing possibly hunting him, which logic would dictate meant staying far away from him was a good idea. The second that growl issued, though, that thought was abandoned. If she left him he might get ripped to pieces.
"Do you know where we're going?" She hissed, grabbing his hand and trying to pull him along faster. Roxanne knew where she was going, but did he? Knowing where they were going could be the difference between life and death if this creature was as dangerous as he'd made it sound. "There's a soft downwards slope ahead, it's rocky, but there's a shallow creek at the bottom, we could turn east towards the river or west towards the mountains."
Rook couldn't say he very familiar with the Draconi forest. It was a long way from home in the Niahi where he was raised and grew up, but that didn't stop him from venturing forth. Yet when she grabbed his hand and snapped her question at him, he inwardly cursed at not thinking of such a thing ahead of time. "No," he answered, limping as quickly as he could behind her. But thankfully she did and he followed her lead as he heard the creature snapping branches and coming for them all that much faster.
"How-how close is town?" Rook whispered harshly to her. "Wouldn't it be safer there?" Good gods, they wouldn't even have time to make it, actually if they didn't find some kind of high ground or place to hide. He had to make a decision, and going to town was currently not in the cards. "The river. Head towards the river!"
As they moved towards the downward slope, Rook grunted with effort as his leg throbbed savagely and vengefully as he hopped over the small rocks and loose soil that nearly made him slide downward.
She thought about calling him an idiot when he asked if they could make it to town, but didn't waste her breath. There was no way they could outrun whatever this thing was for that long. The closest little village was miles away, and miles more until Ketra. No, they didn't have that kind of time, especially not with Rook dragging like he was. It was kind of surprising he was doing this well considering how much pain he had to be in.
When he made up his mind to head for the river she led the way, mind trying to work out a plan. They couldn't outrun it forever, but could they make a stand? It would be ironic to end up with their backs to the river and no way out. The nearest fjord was miles from here, but maybe they could swim? The current was strong and swift, treading water would be difficult, and they were as likely to drown as to get pulled downstream fast enough to get away.
Roxanne felt herself pitch forward and let go of Rook's hand as she stumbled and ended up sliding the last couple feet down with a soft splash at the end. The creek was only a few inches deep here and no more than two feet at its deepest. Cursing, and not caring how loudly, she struggled back to her feet. "Ow, bloody hell, keep going. Dirk! Where are you when I need you? You bird-brained brat."
Despite the wound, Rook could keep up well enough on his own. When at last they made it to the creek, Rook nearly slipped on a stone, but kept his balance on the side of the slope. He made after Roxanne as he heard the beast splash down toward the creek several yards from them. But the darkness congealed here was too think to piece through with his eyes.
All he knew was that his heart beat even faster and it was his turn to reach for Roxanne's arm. He snatched her by the elbow, skirting around her and moving swiftly through the water, ignoring the massive throbbing in his leg. "Forget the bird!" he growled. "No time!"
He half-dragged her as he full bolted onward and made for the river.
It wasn't going well, was it? Roxanne growled in frustration as he pulled at her elbow, but she kept running. She could run fast and for a good distance, but they were losing ground, and fast. She still didn't even know what was after them. Rook seemed terrified, but what was so bad that it warranted this?
"We're on borrowed time anyway. It's gaining on us. What should we do? What can we do?" They had bows, arrows, and blades, everything they needed to kill something. It galled her to think she was running instead of fighting.
The sound of rushing water could be heard ahead of them, and it grew louder with each frantic step. They were probably only a few hundred feet from the water, but she didn't know if that was going to help, or if they would reach the water before they were caught.
Rook didn't know how to answer her question. In all the time he had hunted the beast, it had never been so close to him like this before. It frightened him to think that all this time, the creature had toyed with him, that he'd tracked it this far and for this long only to have it turn on him and kill him. But being as close to the river as they were, Rook was not going to waste a second to stop, not going to waste another moment that they might need to survive.
"Run," he said. That was all he could say. And just as they reached the river's edge, the trees becoming scarcer, the creature came into view. It was ghastly thing to behold, the mynorian as the men of his village called it, and Rook did not dare look back lest he be frozen in fear.
Roxanne ran until they reached the water's edge, where she skidded to a halt, jerking on Rook's arm to try to stop him from going in. The water was cold and deep and swift. What a choice, drown or be mauled. There hadn't really ever been a plan, and she could hear it. Part of her wanted to look back, call it morbid curiosity, another part really didn't want to know.
There was something else she could hear, though. Splintering wood as a tree near the water fell, crashing into the river. Her eyes spotted something brilliant and white. Dirk was pushing the tree with all his might, slowing shoving it into the water. "I hope that thing can't swim. Go, for the love of light, before the current pulls it completely in." She pushed Rook towards their new escape plan.
Rook turned his gaze to the sound of snapping wood and he gave a shuddered breath. It seemed a sigh of relief, at the prospect that the gryphon might be of some actual use after all, other than haughty glares and sarcastic commentary. Of course, Rook would be a fool to assume the creature was doing anything to save him, a complete stranger, and it was readily clear that the fallen tree that was taken to the water was meant for the huntress.
It was no matter, Rook didn't have to be told twice when she pushed him to it. So Rook dashed for the log and splashed through the first few feet of water before throwing himself onto it and wrapping his arms around the trunk of it. The water was icy and made him gasp for breath, as he held onto the tree for dear life, the current taking them away.
Roxanne was right behind him, splashing through the water before grabbing a limb and pulling herself onto the tree and as much out of the cold water as possible. The bitter coldness of the water had knocked the breath out of her momentarily, but she clung to the tree desperately.
Once the current had the tree and was tugging it downstream Dirk flew up and grabbed a branch, balancing the tree to keep it from rolling in the water and doing his best to push it towards the far bank.
When Rook saw Roxanne clutching onto the log, he instinctively shifted closer to her as he clung to the log with arm and an arm to her around her waist, holding her too him in case she lost her grip. He gasped for breath, his legs feeling like icicles were piercing him. With what strength he had, he kicked and tried to assist the grypohon with the task of pushing the trunk toward the opposing bank.
But as they struggled and drifted onward, the current grew increasingly stronger and soon became impossible to fight. Water rushed all around them and the tree turned and tumbled as they were pulled through the rapids.
Within moments of going into the water the color had drained from her skin, pale blue lips struggled with each jagged breath and her teeth chattered so hard she thought they must be shattering. Roxanne might have thought to push the arm around her waist away, but she didn't dare loosen the grip of even one of her hands.
The gryphon released his grip on the tree with a screech as it turned out of his control, not willing to be dragged into the water. Roxanne lost her grip as her head went under the choppy surface, her limbs flailed as she tried to breach the water to take a gasping breath.
Though Roxanne had lost her grip, thankfully, Rook had not lost his. But his hands were dangerously close to losing their grip. The arm around the huntress clung to her tightly just as his head dropped beneath the water. He tried to pull himself up, the rapids taking them and rolling them over.
He coughed and sputtered water from his mouth. He lost all sensation in the hand that tried to grip onto the tree and couldn't even feel the bark underneath it. In his other, he held onto Roxanne, but he could quickly feel the swell pulling him away and his hand slipping. He had to decide between the trunk and his companion and in that slipt second decision, he let go of the the tree and was pulled after her in the rushing waters. And soon she and him were plummeting down a waterfall.
If it wasn't for Rook's hold on her, Roxanne might have gone under and not come back up, but she struggled back to the surface, trying at first to get a hold back on the tree, but giving up when her hands refused to grasp the wood, instead trying to hold onto Rook. A few moments later they were both swept away from the tree.
In the dark disorientation quickly washed over Roxanne, not to mention the cold numbed her body and dulled her senses. She did feel them plunge harshly down, though she didn't know how far they fell. Had they reached the waterfall already? It seemed like they couldn't possibly have gone so far. Certainly they would have reached the far bank before that.
The air was knocked from her again as she hit the water for a second time as they reached the bottom of the falls. This time when she tried to gasp for breath she found herself sucking water instead, coughing and choking as she tried to struggle to stay afloat.
She was not the only one that floundered. Rook did not even have the voice to cry out as they fell and slammed into the water. Amidst the drop, Rook had lost his hold on her and when he splashed into the water with a violent slam. A sharp rock tore open his shin and Rook fought to reach the surface.
As he broke it, he twisted around, leg currently numb to the pain, looking for the huntress. "Roxanne!" But no reply. "Roxanne!" His eyes sought the darkness desperately untl he saw something struggling in the water. He swan for it, as well as he could in his injury and reached for her. He ducked low, holding his break beneath the surface and reached for her arm, pulling her up with him when he had her in hand.
The water were less violent after the falls and the current drifted them toward the nearest bank. Rook washed up with a cough and sputter and dragged Roxanne along with him.
There were a few moments of pure terror, when Roxanne wasn't sure she would figure out which way was up and which was down in time. She would have mentally cursed herself for ever getting involved with the strange man camping in the forest, or for jumping foolishly into the river, but her mind couldn't even form thoughts coherent enough for that. The only thing she could think of was air, which had eluded her.
Darkness had closed in on her when something grabbed hold of her. She didn't even know who or what had grabbed her, she thought something was dragging her. Was that solid ground? Her limbs were deadened, heavy, she couldn't move them. There had to be sky above her, but she couldn't see the stars, only black blurs and shadows. Sounds were muffled, strange, far away. It occurred to her suddenly that she was on the cusp of consciousness and unable to rouse herself.
Rook ignored his own injuries as he pulled Roxanne from the water. The water had been freezing and with the night air as cold as it was, ithe icy touch of death would not be far behind. He worked to undress her from her leathers, working quickly and setting her gear aside.
Rook laid hands on either side of her head and leaned down, pressing his mouth to hers and blowing what air remained in his lungs into hers and promptly started to press on her chest in five second intervals before pressing his mouth on her once more and blowing.
Dirk had landed on the shore as Rook was pulling Roxanne from the water. His feathers and fur were ruffled and he looked tired, but he was making soft crooning noises as he watched, appearing very disgruntled and concerned.
One moment there was nothing, and the next if felt like she'd been kicked in the gut. As Rook breathed into her mouth again Roxanne's body jerked violently. Sitting up she gasped for air before nearly falling over sideways, coughing up some water before collapsing back onto her back, staring up in a bit of a daze and panting for air that seemed to freeze and burn her lungs all at once.
"Ow."
When she sputtered, Rook sat back and gave a breath of relief to see that she was still alive. It was his turn to peel the tunic from his torso, shivering harshly. "Are...are you all right?" he breathed. His gear and blanket was practically useless, everything completely soaked with water. Moving over, he gathered her things after strapping her bow and quiver over his shoulder along with his own and knelt beside her.
"We have to get some place dry. Make a fire somehow," Rook panted, reaching for her hand to help her up or carry her if she could not stand. "Dirk, get her gear. Please!" Rook glanced at the bird for the statement was a command, not a question.
Roxanne blinked her eyes several times, clearing her vision and catching her breath. Was she all right? She almost laughed, but the sound choked in her throat. "Never better." She finally managed to say, though she felt far from fine. Aside from the violent shivers, something felt off. As he gathered up their things she realized what it was.
When he knelt beside her she sat up, looking down at herself. Getting out of wet clothes was logical, of course. Hypothermia was a real problem. Still, he had undressed her while she was unconscious? If she wasn't so cold she'd probably be furious.
"A fire." She murmured numbly. Yes, they would need a fire, and blankets would be helpful, preferably furs. Shaking herself she used him to help herself climb to her feet. If she was self-conscious about being naked, she didn't show it. "We're near the waterfall? We should head that way." She gestured a little further down river and into the woods. "We're not far, maybe a mile or two."
Far from what, she didn't say.
If she was modest, Rook did not think of it, nor did he have anything else on his mind in the midst of their crisis. At the mention of what distance they had to go, Rook blinked at Roxanne and the ahead. "In this cold..." he breathed, but he shut out any and all negative thoughts feeom his mind. "No, we can make it. Don't let go of my hand."
Even if she wanted to, Rook's grip held fast to her own and began walkin, rather limping, as quickly as he could toward the direction she indicated. "What's this way?" he breathed. "A camp or something?"
It was an awfully long way to walk, considering how cold they were, and she noticed that Rook's leg was bleeding again, another injury, she guessed. Her own shoulder ached and she thought a bruise was probably going to form, though what she had hit it on was hard to say. "Of course we're going to make it."
She squeezed his hand as he tried to drag her along. Dirk was behind them, having picked up what Rook hadn't carried himself. "A camp? Better than that, a cabin. You're hurt, if you don't think you can walk that far...maybe we could talk Dirk into carrying you." The animal behind them gave a soft growl letting them both know just what he thought of that idea.
Rook was shivering and every muscle in his body ached and was sore from it all. But when he looked beside them and caught the glare in Dirk's eyes and promptly shook his head. The wound was throbbing along his thigh and shin where the flesh was torn from the rock but he grit his teeth and strove forth, hobbling along and never once complaining from the pain.
The hunter was shaking by the time he saw the cabin in sight and clung to a tree by the time they were but a few steps from the door. He gathered what strength he had left and limped toward the door. "How do we know someone else isn't already inside?" Despite his question, however, he leaned on the thatch-work door and slowly shifted it open.
She must have been out of her mind when she suggested they walk all the way here. Her legs felt like they ended in stumps, every inch of flesh must have been covered in goosebumps. Roxanne as leaning softly against Rook, though she wasn't entirely sure who was keeping who up, maybe a little of both.
"This time of year this place is usually empty. He goes south, near the border, has a home and family down there. Only comes up during the summer to hunt." Roxanne peeked inside as the door opened, the hearth was cold and empty, and the place did look as if no one had been there in weeks. It was a small, simple cabin, but considering their circumstances it was as good as a damn palace as far as she was concerned.
Gently she pulled Rook inside, Dirk dumped their things by the door and left. Kicking the door closed she left her companion and began rummaging through drawers. There were furs folded neatly on a shelf over the bed, which was also draped in warm looking blankets. "There's kindling stacked there by the fireplace, should be flint on the mantle. There's a shelf over there with some candles and lamps. There might be oil in the lamps. I lost my medicine bag, but here's some linen we can use for bandages."
Her hands were shaking so badly it was hard to actually pick up the things she had found, but they would have heat soon. Roxanne didn't even notice that she was rambling. All she could think about was getting warm and taking a look at Rook's leg. Hopefully it wasn't too bad. She could try to get him to Ketra once they were warm and daylight. Then an actual healer could take a look at him.
Rook's eyes adjusted easily to the thick darkness and simply listened when she mentioned the cabin's former resident. "How do you know him?" Rook stammered, shivering as he searched around for the kindling and the flint and steel. "Who is he? Your father? An uncle?" His hands fidgeted with the wood and striking a spark was proving to be more difficult than it should have been. But after a few failed attempts the kindling took in the hearth and smoke began to rise and light filled the room.
Rook didn't realize how pale he'd turned, but he did notice how bad Roxanne looked and he made a noise that sounded something like a cross between a gasp and a croak. But it was only then that he remembered he was still in wet clothes and weakly reached for the buckles on his boots, managing to undo them just enough to slip them off his feet and moved toward his trousers.
Roxanne managed to pull out a few pieces of linen and close the drawer. She dropped them near the fireplace while Rook struggled to get the fire going. Climbing onto the bed she stood up to reach the fur blankets that were folded on the shelf, pulling them down and tossing them in the right direction as best she could. "No, just a hunter I've met and helped a few times. I have no family. None that I know or claim, anyway."
Getting out of the bed proved difficult, she stumbled and nearly fell, barely catching herself on the dresser. She made a sound of frustration. The huntress was not used to this at all. She felt weak, clumsy. Her limbs didn't want to move the way she wanted them to, and her thoughts were still sluggish.
"Hurry and get those off, you shouldn't have kept them on so long." Roxanne had been naked almost since leaving the water. She could thank him for that. Dragging the heavy furs over she threw one on the floor in front of the fireplace and collapsed onto it. Weary, aching, and chilled to the bone, she wondered if she would actually thaw out.
"I know that!" Rook muttered through chattering teeth. "But I didn't exactly have the luxury of worrying just about myself at the time." Rook leaned back ans managed to slip out of the trousers enough to wiggle out the rest of the way. He shivered as he crawled toward the furs that had fallen to the floor and laid one out before throwing one over his shoulders, bundling himself in a large bears skin.
But his body contineed to shudder all over and sitting was greatly uncomfortable. He shifted his leg and peered at the gash across his lower shin with great disdain. "As If I wasn't hurt enough..."
Roxanne almost shot a retort, after all, he didn't have to help her, save her, or feel obligated by her in any way. She bit the words off, though. They were both exhausted and freezing and hurt. No need to pick a fight now. Not to mention coming off as ungrateful wasn't something she wanted to do.
After Rook situated himself, she reached over with a sigh and grabbed the linens she'd gotten out for him. Crawling over to him Roxanne sat beside his leg, looking over the gash. With a grimace she pulled one linen free of the tangle and dropped the rest. "You have a knack for leg injuries."
Rook carefuly stretched out his leg when she crawled over to him. "Sorry," he breathed sharply as she unfurled those extra linens, moreso that she had to attend to him once again after all the unpleasantness of being chased by that damned creature. "I didn't try to get hurt on purpose just so you can take care of me again. You took a pretty bad spill at the water fall. I'll take a look at you when you're done," he murmured, wincing when she came into contact with the shin gash.
The cut was long and fortunately not very deep. Once it was cleaned and bound, Rook motioned her to turn around so that he could take a look at her himself. "Does it hurt anywhere?" he asked. He stuck his hands in her hair, feeling gently along her skull and then moved down to her neck, feeling along her spine.
As Roxanne worked on patching him up for the second time that night, she tried to be as gentle as her mostly numb fingers would allow. When she had first cut the arrow out, she really hadn't cared if she caused him pain. Now she honestly didn't want to hurt him anymore than she could help. A weak, tired smile was spared for him. Next to him Roxanne thought she had gotten by pretty lucky tonight when it was all said and done.
When the linen was secured over the gash she sighed softly and moved over to sit with her back to him, pulling her legs up and hugging them slightly. The fire was slowly warming the room and she knew that warming back up was going to be a long, uncomfortable process. Already her fingertips and toes prickled.
Her eyes closed as his hands moved through her hair, causing her scalp to tingle. "I think I either pulled or bruised my left shoulder, but I'm fine. Really." she murmured, letting her head sink forward to rest on her knees as she felt his hands moving down her neck. The jagged scars that criss-crossed her back would be quite obvious.
They were indeed and Rook curiously let a hand trace across one of them following the cris-crossed shape of the scars and grimacing as he did so. "Looks like you've been through a lot," he commented solemnly. "You've been out here in the forest all your life?"
The answer might have been a painfully obvious one from not only her body, but her lack of social skills, but Rook wasn't going to make a scene of it. Instead, he went back to inspecting her shoulder and he winced audibly to find that her shoulder felt out of place
"You're right. But I'm more surprised that you're not screaming right now. Just brace yourself," he commented before grabbing her shoulder with one hand and her upper arm wth the other and pushed until he heard a pop. "Better?"
Having a hand running over her scars didn't draw much reaction from Roxanne, they weren't something she was ashamed of or that most people even knew about. It was just part of her body, those scars. "No more than some." There were people that had lived worse lives than her, that still lived worse lives than she ever had. "Something like that."
Roxanne hadn't flinched during the inspection, though when he winced her eyes narrowed as she raised her head. "Why would I --" she began as he grabbed her arm and shoulder, but a moment later she couldn't even breath as pain exploded through her body. That only last a moment before she cut off a strangled scream by biting on her tongue and cheek. If seemed like an eternity before she felt her shoulder slide back into place, though it was probably only a few seconds.
She blinked away tears that had gathered at the corner of her eyes, slumping forward slightly with a shudder. Her mouth tasted of copper as she panted softly, her right arm reaching up to tentatively feel her relocated shoulder. "Was that some twisted form of payback? Maybe karma."
At that Rook gave an amused laugh and he smiled at the side of her face. "Payback? No. Besides, wasn't it I that started this whole thing? Me nearly shooting your friend. Well I guess both of us would have gotten hurt at some point. Something tells me you're not very accustomed to having someone else take care of your for once. But I didn't put parts back in different places did I? I think I did okay fixing you up. You your head seems a little lumpy."
Roxanne made a face as he laughed, turning her head to look over her shoulder at him. Pale eyes regarding him rather seriously. "You really didn't start it. Dirk did by messing with your stuff. I'm sorry about that, and about shooting you. You're not so bad, you did save my life. Uh, thanks for that."
Sure, her life wouldn't have been in danger if it wasn't for him and that thing - whatever it was - that had been stalking him. On the issue of having someone take care of her, well she just ignored it. "And what do you mean lumpy?"
"Your head's all bumpy!" Rook exclaimed. "I'll show you." His hands dug into her hair once more and combed through it, his fingers dancing over her lumpy head and brushed her hair out of her face. "You took a nasty fall. All you have to do to make the lumps go away is just relax into a head massage. See? The lumps are dissipating as I work."
Roxanne stared at Rook incredulously as he began moving his fingers through her hair, softly rubbing the "bumps" away, to which she wasn't truly convinced were there to begin with. It did feel good, though, so she closed her eyes and relaxed. "You know what I think? I think these lumps are just you making excuses to keep touching me."
There was no indication whatsoever of if she was joking or not.
"Yeah. You're right," Rook replied with a shrug. "So what? Being close together will allow us to warm up faster and keep hypothermia at bay. I don't know about you but I don't want to freeze to death. And..." Rook looked at Roxanne a little more clearly now in the firelight. "And despite a few unfortunate scrapes, it's not like I pose any real harm to you."
"How did you go from excuses to touch to whether or not you pose any harm to me, hm?" Roxanne laughed softly, now amused. "Oh but I agree, I don't want to freeze either, and body heat will speed up recovery, but you could have just said so. No need for lumps."
As if to prove her point she leaned back, shoulders resting against his chest, letting her head drop to his shoulder.
Rook chuckled and took the bear fur around them. It was enough to hold their warmth together and Rook was starting to feel a greater sensation in his hands and legs. He still trembled now and then but that could be expected from being in wet clothes out in the cold for as long as he was.
As she laid her head against him, he nudged his head against hers and laughed. "But you're head is a little lumpy."
Roxanne sighed softly as he wrapped the bear fur around them both. Snuggling against him a little further, they would make a little cocoon of warmth before too long, that was a pleasant enough thought. It was just too bad they didn't have any hot tea or broth to sip as well. Beggars couldn't be choosers, she guessed.
She crinkled her nose a bit when he knocked their heads together lightly. "How about I make your head a little lumpy and we'll match?"
"Then I suppose I'll have to shoot you with and arrow and bind your thigh if you really want to be even," Rook quipped back and laughed. He didn't quite know how, but his arms wrapped around her and he focused more on staying warm, breathing steadily and keeping the warm inside the bear pelt.
"Don't forget the knee to the groin, although I don't think it would have quite the same impact for me as it did you." Roxanne offered, oh so helpfully. His arms were around her now, when did that happen? Sighing softly she reached up and ran her fingers along his forearms lightly, firelight made her eyes gleam softly as she stared into the flames. "I really am sorry, you know. I never wanted to hurt you."
Rook gave a soft sigh and peered at her from the corner of his eye. It was easier to notice now that she was somewhat pretty. But Rook would not consider himself an expert on what pretty was and was not. But she was pleasing to look at, to say the least. He gave a musing hum in response to her words and even laughed a little. "It's all right," he replied. "It could have been worse. Much worse. But I'll take an arrow to the leg any day over a slit throat and gutted belly. You were only defending yourself."
It could have bee worse. At least Roxanne had only gotten him in the leg and not the throat, where she had actually been aiming when he'd lunged at her. "Well at least you've got an interesting story to tell girls when they admire the scars you probably earned tonight." she laughed softly as she teasingly said the next part. "You'll leave out the part where you got your butt kicked by a woman, I'm sure."
Rook tightened his arms around her a little more. "I would NOT!" he replied. "That's the best part of the story. It's not nearly as funny without it. I mean it would if I wanted to chase after girls like most young men. Not sayin' I don't like 'em, but I guess I just think with my head more than my manhood," he smirked. "But I'm sure you have plenty of men chasing after you, yourself. You probably have to pry them of with arrow shots to the leg!"
"Who said it was a funny story? Leave out that bit at the beginning and it is a courageous tale about rescuing a damsel and being a hero. You'd have the little lasses swooning and making doe eyes at you from dusk till dawn." Roxanne couldn't help but shake her head, it was true, pretty young things with a nice face and not a lick of sense seemed to eat that up and most the time it was nothing but lies and half-truths.
"Now for me, I will say you're the first one I've ever had to actually shoot. Hard to believe, I know, what with me living out in the middle of nowhere and my delightful personality." She tilted her head back a bit more, pressing closer, enjoying the shared warmth, and maybe just a little more than just that.
"Bah, who needs swooning lasses," Rook shrugged. "They croon all over you and want kisses until the night's end and blush when you tell a dirty joke. Who has time for that? I don't! I don't mind a cup of cold mead, a hot meal, and a warm bed to sleep in. I don't need someone to sleep in it beside me to be satisfied. Not it doesn't feel like a nice bonus from time to time."
He closed his eyes and relaxed his body against hers, feeling blood spread through his limbs where they'd been frozen stiff before. Thankfully, his shivering was starting to subside more now, but he wasn't about to let Roxanne out of his embrace. "You're personality is so delightful, I'm sure you fart out flowers instead of bad gas," he laughed. "You should shoot everyone you meet in the leg. It's a great conversation starter."
"Oh yes, having young women wanting to crawl into your bed sounds just awful." Roxanne agreed solemnly, though she chuckled a moment later. "So tell me, if you don't have patience for giggling girls, who is it that's sleeping in your bed on those 'bonus' nights? Maybe you're into older married women, you scoundrel."
The huntress took one of his hands in both of hers and let her fingers slowly start massaging and caressing his palm to his fingertips. It kept her hands busy and would probably help with circulation. "You think too highly of me, alas, I'm just a woman, I'm afraid I cannot magically pull flowers from any orifice."
"PFftt!" Rook made a rude sound and laughed. "I mean, I don't care for airheaded simpletons. Not to mention they hog the covers." Her touch surprised him as she massaged his hand, but he did not pull away and instead smiled as she did so. A different shiver coursed through him, but he ignored it and used his free hand to caress the skin of her forearm as her hands focused on his.
"I wouldn't mind so much if an older, married woman wanted to have a little fun," he laughed. "As long as her husband isn't twice my size and with a great axe to boot. Besides, I prefer my women without so many complications." He chuckled a little, peering at the side of her face. His hand had moved from her forearm and slid up toward her shoulder, rubbing her skin there to warm her. "What about you though? I'm sure you have a man waiting somewhere waiting for you to come home to him. A husband? A lover? Or is it just you and your gryphon?"
"Ah, not into dead weight, good for you. Never did understand why anyone would want someone whose sole redeeming quality was a pretty face. Might seem great at first, but it must get so boring." Roxanne had never had that problem, of course. It was hard to get bored of things that weren't there for very long.
"Complications can be exciting from time to time. If everything went according to plan the world would be a rather dull place. Perhaps keeping it simple in one's love life is for the best, though. Angry spouses are rather volatile." Her hands kept gently working over his, enjoying the feel of them against hers. He had nice hands, she mused as his other one rubbed its way up her arm. "Just Dirk and me. Soon probably just me again."
"How do you mean? Just you again? He's going to be taking a trip somewhere soon? I don't know much about gryphons but I guess he's part bird, so he'll soon fly south probably," Rook mused thoughtfully. His eyes flickered toward her hands as she worked thumsb into his palm. He had rough hands, from years of living in the wild, from stringing and unstringing his bow, from skinning and tanning leathers and here they were now being treated as if they were as delicate as glass.
His hand moved down along her arm, sliding past her elbow and down along her waist, then past her hip and up along her thigh, soon resting at the bend in her knee. "But I would have to agree...complications can be rather fun. With the right person." He gave a smirk, his hand idly rubbing her knee. "How do you feel? Hopefully warming up, eh."
Roxanne blinked, then laughed. "Gryphons don't fly south for the winter - that I know of, Dirk never has. It's just that he's nine years old, with the attitude of a teenager. He'll probably go find him a girl and make some little gryphons of his own soon. So it'll be just me, and that will be fine, like it always was fine before there was a Dirk."
If there weren't goosebumps prickling along her skin, there were as his hand moved down her body. It was the very fact that his hands were rough that she liked about them. They were strong and honest, hands that had a lot of character and personality to them. Hands that had done things. "If you keep it up I imagine we'll both get warmed up - maybe hot even."
"I'm sure you'll miss him, right? Nobody has a companion for that long and not feel like there's something miss," Rook went on. "I'm sure he'll come back." Rook turned his head into hers, feeling the coolness that remained on her skin and breathed into her. His face moved in toward her neck, brushing the hair on his face against her shoulder, scratching her a little.
"Better hot than cold," he mused, laughing a little. His hand grabbed hers that massaged his and took his turn to rub the knots and joints that had been built there. "Don't want to freeze to death..." Meanwhile his other hand had found it's course down her shin and sought to bring warmth there too.
"I'll survive." Roxanne didn't want to talk about Dirk, or about being alone. Instead she just wanted to focus on what was happening now. Her eyes closed lightly as she felt his breath on her skin, felt the soft scratch of his rough face on her shoulder. Roxanne twisted her body a bit, shifting so she was facing him slightly.
She gave a hint of a smile as Rook grabbed her hand and began massaging it as she had done for him. He'd find her hands were rough and calloused from a lifetime of hard work as well. "After everything we've already managed to limp through tonight freezing would be an awful way to go," she admitted. Roxanne twisted her body a bit, shifting so she was facing him a little, though she kept her body pressed against him.
Rook laughed a little. "I was the only one limping really," he chuckled and faced her a little better assshe twisted against him. "But yeah, that would be a pretty anticlimactic way to go. Good thing there's enough heat to share." His head dipped in toward her neck and planted his lips there against the side of her throat. Her hands were intesting to hold within his. Their roughness spoke of years of being outdoors. It was quite nice really, to find a girl's hands that had been put to use. He admired them and wanted to know the story they had to tell.
But his hands moved from her leg and arm and down toward her waist, ghosting up her sides, one hand along her belly and another around her back. His head moved, turning toward the opposite angle and kissed the other side of her throat.
Whatever Roxanne was going to say was stolen from her lips as her breath hitched softly, feeling the kiss against her throat. It sent a soft tremor through her, blue-grey eyes fluttering closed almost involuntarily as her head tilted back slightly, offering Rook her slender neck more fully.
The way his hands moved over her body sent shivers up and down her spine. It felt like ages since someone had touched her like this. His lips moved to kiss the other side of her throat and her hands moved across his chest, one stopped to lightly squeeze his shoulder, the other moved up, lightly caressing his neck before tracing fingers along his jaw, against the grain of the hair on his face.
"If I didn't know better I would say you were trying to seduce me," she murmured in a throaty whisper.
[And suddenly he's Mr. Robinson!]
Rook felt her tremors and gave a sly smirk because of them. "Trying?" he chuckled. "I'm trying no such thing. I assure you my intentions are nothing short of honorable. My-" He paused to laugh again. "Well, I guess you've seen through my ploy. But, well, is it working?" His hands had taken to exploring the rest of her, his hands like a mild sand paper that coursed up her back and down againt, touching lightly the center of her spine.
Rook grew brave again and pressed his lips more boldly against her neck, this time leaving a trail of kisses that drew down toward her shoulder. His own heart was beating rapidly, wildly, unreasonably fast.
[I don't get it. If it's about the hair on his face, I read his profile and it says he sometimes doesn't get to shave, and you said his face scratched her shoulder so I just assumed there was at least a bit of stubble for her to touch. ^^;]
Roxanne laughed softly with him. He couldn't even get the words out with a straight face, oh my. She gave a soft hum as his hands moved up and down her back, sending more tingles and shivers through her spine, before answering. "Oh yes, it is definitely working," she said with slight smirk.
Her hand moved from his cheek to run her fingers through his hair. It was a rich shade of red, she'd never thought of herself as being fond of red hair on men, but he wasn't hard to look at at all. Rook could probably feel her pulse racing against his lips as he trailed them across her skin.
[LOL! It's a reference to a '60's film called The Graduate, where a very famous scene has an older woman named Mrs. Robinson attempt to seduce a younger man, Ben, and he says: "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me." Except Rook is a man, so that's why I wrote MR. Robinson instead. xD]
"Good, then hopefully I won't seem like such a fool," Rook laughed again. "Though I don't know how much that can be helped." Oh, he did feel her pulse and soon his own heart was drumming desperately in his ears. Rook found his lips moving back up her neck and chin and lingering close to her mouth. The moment of truth was upon them. A kiss to the skin was one thing, but for his lips to meet hers...
Rook only hesitated a moment longer before leaning in and taking her lips into his own. His arms instinctively wrapped around her, pulling her up against his chest, tensing and relaxing all at the same time.
[Ooooooooh, never seen it. Still is an older woman(technically she IS older than him) and younger man! 8D]
"You talk too much." Roxanne teased gently. A soft purr escaped her as his lips traveled back up, slowly making their way to her chin. As Rook hesitated she found herself holding her breath, there was a tension between them, but then his lips were against hers and she melted into his arms as they wrapped around her. Another soft squeeze was given to his shoulder, while the fingers of her other hand lightly trailed down the back of his neck.
[Lol, yes she is older than him xD That's another reason why the reference would be fitting. I haven't seen it either though, I just know of that scene.]
Rook's breath was stolen from him as he kissed her, and he tilted his head to deepen the kiss, parting his lips slightly and trying to coax her lips to part as well. When he needed breath, he pulled slightly away, turning his head the other way, "What's wrong with talking? We're getting to know each other better aren't we?" He gave a grin before going in once more. His arms held her to him like a vice, feeling the soft, yet distinct muscle of her back, a body hard-won in the wilderness. A stray hand found the bear skin and pulled it tighter over them, cocooning them together.
Rook would find Roxanne very susceptible to his coaxing, her lips parting eagerly as she poured herself into the kiss. When he pulled away from the kiss, her pale eyes gazed into his green ones momentarily, hers were guarded eyes, and she didn't answer. Perhaps because he was kissing her again, leaving her breathless.
Her breasts were squashed against his chest, but she didn't mind. She liked the way his body felt as he held her so tightly against him, and her hands mimicked his as they trailed down his back. Pulling her lips back she grinned a little. "You know, there is a bed right over there..."
"You're suggesting we seek better comfort on your companion's bed?" Rook grinned at her but he gave her a shrug instead. "I think I prefer the fireside. It's much warmer over here don't you think? And can be just as comfortable." He loosened his grip on her and threw the bear pelt onto the ground, spreading it out and crawling over it, pulling more furs from the nearest pile and layering it until it provided as much comfort as the bed.
He crawled on it at last and invited Roxanne to lay beside him. "I mean...we can still use the bed if you want too... But I'm much to comfortable to give this up."
"Well it's not as if the owner is using it." Roxanne grinned, "But you're right, the fire is warm and kind of romantic, eh?" She was reluctant to let him out of her grasp, but sat back and watched his form admiringly as he made a bed of furs for them to lay on.
As Rook lay down and gesture her over his words gave her a bit of a mischievous grin. Crawling up beside him and laying down, she let one of her hands lightly run from his lower abdomen up to his chest. "Well maybe we'll use the bed later." She teased
Rook eyed her up and down, her body pleasing, her eyes cold and icy on their surface but eyes he wanted to know of what lay underneath. He gave her a grin and when she was beside him he leaned down beside her and nodded. "I'm sure we'll find some use for it." And without further warning, pressed his lips to hers, kissing her hotly and wrapping an arm around her waist, leaning over her and encapsulating her with his body.
As Rook kissed her and covered her body with his, Roxanne decided that she really didn't care if they ever put the bed to use, as long as she got to have him. He could have taken her on the cold hard ground outside, didn't matter, as long as he was hers, if just for the night. She returned his kiss, eager, wanting. Her hands moved along his sides, up his back, rubbing his shoulders gently.
She stole his breath away, made his heart pound like a battle drum in his chest. Rook's hands found her sides, palms gripping at the heated flesh just underneath her breasts, cupping them as he moved over her. He wanted her, even after the clear disdain she held for him when they first met. But the matter was over and done with and Rook wasn't a man of grudges.
A moan escaped him, as he laide himsle over her, kissing her all over, from her lips to her neck and chest and back up again until her lips were sore and his teeth dug into her bottom lips. Tonight he would be hers, if it was just for the company, for the solace, for the pleasure of it.
[Fade to black or go through with it, whatever you want to do, I'm good with!]
[Fade to black this time, then.]
"Mm, you were right. By the fire is definitely better than the bed." Any trace of chill left in Roxanne was erased by a warm glow by the time she lay sated, limbs entwined with those of Rook, her head resting comfortably against his chest. Breathing heavily, she could still feel her heart beating furiously against her breast, not yet calmed from the very pleasurable exertions.
Suddenly a soft laugh bubbled forth and she buried her face against his chest, clinging to him slightly.
Rook stared up at the ceiling with a smile spread across his face, panting slightly in the soft afterglow of their passion and he laughed despite not yet catching his breath. "I told you," he replied, his right and ghosting up her back. "And are you sure your friend won't mind we shacked up here? Using his supplies, soiling his pelts?"
Roxanne sat up a little, looking down at him with a grin, the fingers of one hand gliding softly across his chest. "I wouldn't call him a friend, and I really don't care if he minds or not. If it would make you feel better I'll put everything back where it goes before we leave. He won't be back for almost a year. If he comes back at all."
Rook quirked a brow at her and offered a shrug. "I don't care. I was just wondering is all. I'd hate to find someone used my own house and didn't even leave a Thank You note with some coin left behind. Not that I have any gold to make a difference," he smiled. His arms moved toward her again and he grabbed her suddenly, wrapping around her and pulling her down with him on the furs, rolling around a little.
He sat up after letting her go and gave her a small smirk. "Where did you come from? Were you always wandering the wilds?" he found himself asking.
"Yes, well in this case it would be deserved." There might have been just a hint of bitterness behind those words, but Roxanne kept most of the venom out of the statement.
She gave a soft squeak of surprise when he grabbed her and rolled, but was soon laughing softly. Her pale eyes looked up at the ceiling as she lay on her back, not looking at him as he sat looking down at her. "Yup, was raised by wolves," she joked, but then grew more serious. "Does it matter?"
Rook gave another shrug and an awkward laugh. Though he did not expect a proper answer, for she did not give off the impression that any sort of answers came easily from her, he thought it was innocent enough in his asking. Her tone took him aback and he tried to chuckle it off.
"No, not really. But I was just curious," he added. "This may very well be our first and only meeting so I guess it's of little consequence. But it would be nice to know."
Roxanne sighed and folded her hands behind her head. She gathered her thoughts for a moment before saying anything. When she did begin to speak, her eyes were unfocused, gaze distant as if seeing something from the past. "I'm from a small town outside Ketra. I didn't move into the forest until I was fifteen. I mean, my brothers and I would play in the woods outside of town, but we didn't go very far in. Well my brothers went as far as they wanted, but I wasn't supposed to go farther than the creek. They were several years older than me. So no, I wasn't always a 'wild' woman as you called me earlier."
His lips curled into a kind smile and Rook curled his legs up to his chest. "That's a shame. I kind've admire the thought of you as a wild woman," he said. "Makes you more mysterious." His expression was in jest and his tone even moreso, but he leaned in beside her, genuinely interested, turning to lay on his belly with his arms underneath his chin and his eyes surveying her distant expression.
"What was it like having brothers?" he pressed. "I bet they got you in all sorts of trouble."
"Admire the wild woman then, that girl died a long time ago." Roxanne mused, recalling her past for his amusement. At least it didn't mean anything. Come morning he would be gone and she wouldn't have to worry about it again. "It was a pain having three older brothers, the closest one to me was still eight years older. Lots of pulled hair, stolen or broken toys, and annoying pranks. I tell you, though, nobody else messed with me. It was the other way around really, I always got them in trouble. I was the youngest and the only girl, so yeah."
"So you wanted your freedom from the household cage was it?" Rook asked. He was smiling at her, entranced by her story and he looked toward the fire then back to her. "You mist have been a handful. But I bet you were fun to be around. I didn't have any siblings growing up. It was just me and my da. He wasn't really my father, but he raised me you see. So he was the only father I knew. Taught me everything I know about the hunt. Which apparently wasn't enough. He forgot to tell me about women with bows hiding in the brush."
"Freedom from something." Roxanne agreed, allowing him to think what he wished. It was likely more pleasant than the truth. It always was. "I was my father's daughter." Was all she said about being a handful or being fun. Though she hadn't asked, he told her about himself, and despite herself she found a smile to spare for him. "Well don't fault him for that, being attacked by wild women with bows is fairly rare, from what I understand."
Rook breathed a soft sigh and offered a sweet smile. "I don't blame him for anything. He was a good man, and he taught me much. If I can be anything of the man he was I think I'd be in good shape. He was a hunter, all the way to the end," he went on, but his voice had gone distance, as did his eyes. He looked past her, grew somber and his smile faded. The horror of Torsten's cries, watching the man be opened up by that beast flashed before his eyes and Rook visibly flinched, his head abruptly jerking up and he peered at the windows, the door, and all around them, feeling suddenly as if he were in a cage.
Roxanne found herself a little envious. What he had described about the man that raised him sounded nice. She had a few good memories for early life, but after her father's death there had been little to truly think back on with any sense of fond remembrance. Though she'd been fairly relaxed, as she noticed the change in Rook's demeanor she sat up and reached a hand out to lightly touch his arm. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"
Her touch made him visibly jump but he quickly recognized it was her and he relaxed. He rubbed his face and covered his mouth with his hand. "N-nothing," he said and shook his head. "I just...I thought I heard something outside. But it was just the wind dancing through the trees," he whispered, still listening, his ears straining to catch a stray sound. Yet he still seemed bothered as he forced himself to relax back onto the furs and peered back at her. "I'm sorry. Sometimes I get a little jumpy. It's nothing though, I'm sure."
What he meant to say though, was 'I hope.'
That a simple touch made him jump had Roxanne raising her brows. Rook had seemed so solid through everything they had been through that evening and now he chose to jump at shadows and the wind? She moved her hand up to cup the side of his face gently, leaning in and placing a soft kiss on his lips before speaking, her tone an attempt at soothing. "It's okay. We've been through a lot tonight, try to relax and get some rest."
He was also taken aback by the attempt at the softness of her demeanor and he blinked at her for a second before nodding. "You're right. I can't allow myself to become startled by some lone trees and branches." Rook smiled softly, eyes searching hers and he leaned forward to return the kiss. A sigh left him and he relaxed into the furs, after pulling another one over them. "I guess we should try to sleep now. It's the least I could desire." And with that he closed his eyes.
Roxanne hadn't exactly shown a sympathetic or warm disposition through the night, true, but she was still human. It also wasn't as if Rook was a complete stranger, they were a bit beyond that! So yes, the huntress found herself wanting to comfort the hunter. She returned his smile, eyes - perhaps looking a bit warmer than before - gazing into his before he kissed her. When he settled down she fitted herself against his side, one hand resting on his chest and her head against his shoulder.
[I feel like this post is lame, but I dunno what else to do/say.]
[Don't even worry about it! We have to move it along anyway! (:]
Rook could feel the sunlight pouring in through the windows and the fire had died out hours ago. But the warmth of his companion was enough to keep himself comfortable. He hadn't slept peacefully though, and had tossed and turned fitfully with dreams of that beast he hunted. It only came in the small hours of morning when the cabin grew warm with sunlight and he opened his eyes to peer around him.
"Roxanne?" he whispered, sitting up, back cracking from the movement.
Roxanne slept relatively well, the only thing the disturbed her sleep was the tossing and turning of her companion, and even that had not really bothered her too much. Their bed of furs was warm and comfortable, and laying next to him had been pleasant save his fitful movements. She was sprawled out on her stomach, arms folded under her head when Rook woke and sat up.
Hearing name whispered the huntress cracks open her eyes slightly with a soft groan. Her left shoulder was a bit sore, but all considered she felt pretty good. "Rook?" She mumbled in response, not so much a confirmation as an inquiry.
Rook opened his eyes and blinked at her. He had only wondered if she had gone from him, but finding her at his side made him smile and he laid back down. "Oh, nothing, just...speakin' to speak," he grumbled and rolled over beside her, putting an arm around her back and running a hand down along her spine before settling down. He closed his eyes and thought of going back to sleep when he heard a sudden clearing of a throat and turned his head to find Dirk standing before him with daggers in his eyes, and he stood face to face.
"Good morning, gryphon," he said, blinking at him with wide eyes.
Roxanne gave a content sigh as he laid back down, enjoying how warm he felt against her skin. Waking up like this was kind of nice, too bad it happened so infrequently.She would have drifted back to sleep, but her eyes shot open as she heard the clearing of the throat and her hand instinctively reached for the hunting knife that would have been at her side normally.
Realizing it was just Dirk, though, she rolled her eyes with a groan and flopped back down on the furs. "You stupid feather head, don't do that." she growled with annoyance. How had the damn thing gotten into the cabin? Should invest in some locks, the owner of this place.
Dirk eyed Rook with malice. It was bad enough that this human had attacked his mother, put her in danger, undressed her, but now this too? "The gryphon has a name," he growled at Rook, talons scraping the wood beneath them slightly as he shifted, raising his head and trying to look even larger and more intimidating.
[Lol, well, I was under the impression Dirk was there the whole time. I don't remember where he went if he left the cabin. But it's no matter!]
It wasn't like Rook made a habit of sleeping with strange women in an empty cabin in the middle of the forest, but he had forgotten what it was like to share a bed with another. And now he had a new reason why such a thing was not a common thing on his list of things to do. He stared at Dirk in the face and gave a nervous smile. "Dirk. Good morning, Dirk," he said, allowing the beast to correct him.
"Sorry, I forget you can speak," he added quickly and poked the creature's beak to back away a few inches. "How does it look outside? Any creatures in the immediate area? I guess we ought to get traveling to Ketra if at all possible. The sooner the better. But first some breakfast." He turned to Roxanne. "You said your acquaintance wouldn't mind if we used his supplies." And with that he got up and moved toward the racks of hanging rabbit and pheasant and pulled both animals from the hooks, taking a nearby dagger and gutting them to prepare to cleaning, seasoning, and cooking.
[It's all good, he would have come back to check on Roxanne anyway if she never came home. He dropped their stuff by the door and left. It was in one of my posts. 8D]
Roxanne only half paid attention to Dirk and Rook at first, honestly, males were so silly. The gryphon acted jealous of all the crazy things. Then again, he always did on those rare occasions when her attention was drawn away by a man. Such a baby.
The beast growled as Rook touched him, looking very much as if he wouldn't mind snapping that finger off, but instead he backed up a few steps and sat down, stealing a glance at the woman on the furs. He watched the man head over to gut little animals for food before replying. "It's the forest, there are always creatures, even when you don't see them. The way to the road should be safe, and yes, the sooner you go to Ketra, the better."
The huntress gave a soft laugh as she got up finally and headed to their pile of belongings to start pulling on clothes. "Dirk, be nice. You heard Rook, he's going to Ketra, so you won't have to put up with him much longer. Or at all, go home and wait for me, if you want. Or tag along, but you're going to be a little ball of sunshine if you stay because it is too early and too absurd for you boys to be bickering."
Rook rolled his eyes at Dirk's irritated response. "Trust me, I want to get to Ketra as much as you want me to be there. Three months in the wilderness is enough for anybody. Even me." He gestured the knife toward his chest and the continued cutting the meat and salting it. He laughed and smiled as Roxanne berated the gryphony for his words.
"No it's all right. We're friends aren't we Dirk? There's bickering going on at all. Here have a bite." He took a piece of the salted meat and tossed it to the beast hoping he'd eat it. A peace offering of sorts.
"Get that hearth going would ya? I think I prepare a mean rabbit haunch and pheasant breast," he said, turning to place the meat on a spare pan. And as he turned, seeing her dress, he only then realized he was still very much naked. "I guess I should get some clothes on." And after placing the pan before the fire, limped across toward his clothes to do so.
Dirk just glowered, watching Rook suspiciously the entire time, as if convinced that the man was suddenly going to change his mind about leaving. Though when the piece of meat was thrown at him he did sniff it a moment before snatching it up in his beak.
Roxanne rolled her eyes as she pulled her shirt over her head. The gryphon hadn't liked Rook from the beginning, but he never liked any men that she showed interest in. He seemed to like Rook less than most, though, which was almost amusing. His comment about three months in the wilderness being enough for anyone was what really had her grinning. "If you think three months is bad, try fourteen years with brief and infrequent trips into towns."
Managing to pull her snug breeches up, she tucked her shirt in and laced them up. Pale eyes watched him with a bit of amusement as he mentioned getting clothes on. "Well I don't know, the view isn't so bad. Breakfast I don't have to cook and a show, it sounds good to me."
Rook gave her a laugh as he threw his trousers on. "I know you've lived in the wilderness far longer than I, but so have I in an on and off sense. Sometimes I crave human interaction so I venture to small towns and villages. Sometimes I need the silence and solace of the forest. I miss my birds after all and I should venture to the Niahi woods when I have the opportunity. But I can adjust easily to either setting, really. I don't mind the trees." Rook cut his eyes back to Roxanne and eyed her for a moment, trying to find something in her face that might say they would meet again, but he didn't know. He gave her a soft smile and returned to the fire, remaining shirtless and only in his boots and trousers.
He paid careful attention to the food, turniing it over as it sizzled. "So Dirk, how do you like your pheasant. Well-done? Medium-rare?" He smiled at the gryphon that seemed to hold nothing but disdain for him and would give him first servings. "We should hunt together sometime, Roxanne, see what beasts we can bring down together where a single hunter...or huntress might be slaughtered."
"Well not everyone can be quite the wild woman I am. Then again, maybe I'm just a grumpy hermit or maybe a recluse - I lost my appetite for human interaction a long time ago. The only times I seek other people is to trade goods, and finding the occasional man, of course. Running into you kind of threw me off, but it was a hell of a spontaneous night." Roxanne noted the name of Niahi, and pulled on her jerkin, lacing it up. At least she knew where he was from now, seemed fair since he knew where to find her - sorta.
She had just sat down and was pulling on her boots when he mentioned that they should hunt together sometime. She completely froze, mid-motion. Her pause lasted less than ten seconds, and she pointedly didn't look at him, instead focusing on putting her boots on. "Yeah, maybe." Roxanne's voice was...doubtful. Standing quickly she turned to the door and began leaving. "I'm going to go fetch us some water, I'll be right back."
The gryphon's feathers ruffled, his fur standing on end as he glared at Rook. Obviously the beast did not wish to see the hunter again once rid of him. As soon as the door closed behind the huntress he hissed angrily at Rook. "Stupid human, why did you have to go and say that?"
While the pause may have only been ten seconds, it was enough time to Rook to notice her elongated silence. He turned his head a little, looking over his shoulder when at last she gave her hesitant, seeming nonchalant answer and finished putting her boots on. "Uh, okay," he replied, watching her leave. He jumped a little when Dirk turned and shot angry words at him.
Rook shrugged and gave him a vexed expression. His mouth twisted into a frown. "What do you mean?" he asked. "What's the big deal?" Meanwhile the pheasant was burning a little and the rabbit haunches needed to be turned over. He mindlessly turned the food out and over, sliding it onto plates and didn't bother to look at the gryphon as he did so. "All I said was for us to hunt together. Now, I know it's obvious you hate my damn guts, but I mean, is a hunt really so bad?"
"You know nothing." The gryphon growled. Honestly, between being so squishy and being so stupid, he didn't know how humans as a species survived. "It isn't about the hunt. When is it ever so simple with you creatures? This entire accident was just that - an accident. A mistake. You were never in the plans, you just fumbled your way into it. Roxanne doesn't know you, and she doesn't want to know you. You'll go to Ketra and in a week you'll have been forgotten, and don't pretend that you're not going to do the same thing."
It was far and away the most the gryphon had said since meeting Rook, and it was dripping with contempt. Sneering, or as well as a beaked mouth could sneer, his eyes dilated as he looked at Rook with a malicious glee. "She didn't tell you who's cabin this really is, did she?"
[Hoomans! Why you so squishy and stoopid! XD]
Rook met the gryphon's eyes and shrugged, the matter obvious to him. "I know," he said. "I know. It's not like I expected us to become friends or lovers or something. Just a hunt between two hunters that's all. I know how these things work. Just get to your point anyway. Who does this cabin belong to?"
[Dirk is so biased. xD]
The gryphon looked split between delight and rage. Dirk loved it when he was proven right about something. It was all the more reason to drive a wedge between Roxanne and this pesky hunter. She was too good for him anyway. Not that any man was good enough for his mother, but that was besides the point.
"This isn't even close to the first time she's spent a night in this particular cabin. Did she tell you about the hunter, the one that travels south all during the cold weather?" The gryphon chuckled, the sound a rumble. "What a deceiver that one. I told her not to get involved. I tried to remind her that people are no good, but alas, she does not listen to Dirk." The implication that men were no good was there, but unsaid.
"Now when he comes up he does not try to see her anymore, though." Dirk chuckled again. "They hunted too, but it is never just about hunting. Is it?"
Rook leaned back against the table the hot food resided on and crossed his arms before his chest. He made a frown at Dirk, though it was not an expression of hurt, or even of mild irritation. He simply stared eye to eye to the gryphon and gave a sigh as if wishing he would just get to the point.
"She told me vaguely of him. That he was an acquaintance. What he was to her, I suppose didn't concern me so I didn't press the issue. I suppose you're going to say he used her? Or tried to esstablish something between them," Rook grumbled. "And I don't know what you thought it was, but I guess hunting is just hunting to me, and I meant exactly that. There's nothing wrong with hunting with others. Sometimes it helps to have someone watching your back."
"Used her?" Dirk scoffed. "She is not one to let others use her. Although..." The gryphon hesitated, eyes glancing at the door, head tilting to listen, making certain that the person in question was not close enough to hear. "This one, the deceiver, did use her, and she did not wish to see it until the damage had already been done. You are dangerous, and I will protect her. I do not expect you to understand." The beast was frustrated, he couldn't really put his thoughts into words properly.
Just then the sound of metal clattering to wood, the spilling of water sprang up. Roxanne was standing in the partially open doorway, she had dropped a metal pail that had been full of cold water from the creek. Her face was a mask of cold fury, eyes frosty as winter snow. Dirk scrambled to his feet, "Mother! I can explain..."
Shaking her head she turned wordlessly from the door and stormed off. How dare that stupid fool speak of her private business. Rook didn't need to know about it. He didn't need to know anything at all. So they had shacked up for a night, that didn't mean the damn feather-brained knucklehead needed to fill him in on every detail of her life!
It certainly didn't seem like he understood, but Rook did all too well. He had never been used himself in that sense of the word, but he could imagine the kind of hurt it might have put on someone like Roxanne. He could understand her stand-offish demeanor a little more now. He didn't expect their relations the night before to turn into something personal. But he didn't intend for it to seem as if he had used her as well.
He was about to reply to the beast when the subject of their discussion came in at last. And had heard all she needed to hear. Rook exchanged glances with Dirk for a second after Roxanne bolted, and it didn't take long for Rook to go after her, limping as he was.
"It wasn't his fault," Rook called after her. "I just asked him and he went on. I shouldn't have said anything at all. I'm sorry."
Roxanne was walking blindly, not really seeing what was in front of her or under her feet. Normally she would have been alert for even tiny, insignificant details. Now all she could see was flashes of memories she would sooner have forgotten altogether.
It took a moment, but she realized that Rook was following her, limping along with his injuries. She rounded on him, eyes flashing angrily. "Why are you sorry? It was him that just couldn't keep his big beak shut. I shouldn't have brought you here, of all places. So maybe it is my fault. Or perhaps I should have let that thing eat you last night. Then there would be no worries at all, eh?"
She was so mad she couldn't even see straight. "You know, it wouldn't have been so bad, if he had just brought up that we were in an ex-lover's cabin, but to go and tell you about how I was made a fool of was going too far. And he has the nerve to think that I need him to protect me!"
The ground beneath her feet was slowly sifting, falling through the spaces between the flimsy pieces of wood covering the carefully concealed pit.
Rook stood at keast three feet from her but if she had been the sun, she could have turned him to ash solely with the heat of her gaze. "I asked him. I shouldn't have but I did. And he was just answering. It wasn't your fault either."
"He didn't mean any harm by it. He-"
Rook hadn't seen the wooden boards peeking up from underneath the grass until it was just about too late. "Roxanne! Watch out!" There was a weakened creaking and then finally a snap when the boards suddenly gave out from under her. Rook lunged for her reached for her hand hopefully before she fell through.
Roxanne hated feeling this way. She felt betrayed. If she hadn't showed up when she did what other information was Dirk planning on divulging to a near stranger? Just thinking about it made her stomach clinch and twist up in knots. How could he talk about something so deeply personal and that had caused her so much pain and grief?
His attempt to excuse what had been said by the beast only fueled her anger further. What, where they buddies all of a sudden? Why should he care if she was angry at Dirk? Why should he care about anything concerning her at all?
As the ground beneath her began to creak and groan, Roxanne's face paled as she looked down, frozen in fear as she realized that she had walked right onto a pit trap. It must have been a new one made after the last time she had come around here. She had only enough time to whisper the words "Oh god." before the world fell out from beneath her with a resounding crack.
Rook had reached for her, but her fingers slipped right through his as she plummeted down. She hated the sensation of falling, though it wasn't a long fall, about ten feet. The sensation of landing was even worse. The bottom of the pit was littered with rocks, some sharp and jagged, others just bone crushingly hard to impact upon. Oddly, she didn't once make a sound from the moment of her whispered prayer.
Rook's belly landing knocked the wind out of him and he landed hard on the ground, staring at Roxanne in the darkness below. "Are you all right?" he asked, though it was plain to see that wasn't. All the words she had said, the venomous looks she had given him. Nothing could make him leave her there though common sense said to do so.
Rook immedietly got up and turned toward the cabin, limping as fast as he could back toward it. He burst through the door and ignored Dirk's presence, quickly rummaging around looking for anything that might be used as a rope. Luckily he managed to find one, an old partly rotted one that he quickly slung it over his neck and ran back toward the pit.
"Roxanne! I'm here! Just a minute!" he called back when he made it to the pit and slung the rope around the nearest tree, throwing it around the trunk and knotting it as best he could. He didn't know what damage she sustained, or if she could even climb up on her own. When it was secure, he shuffled down toward the pit and carefully shimmied down the rope until he was near her. "Climb on my back," he said.
[I am soooooo sorry for the monster post, and for the pit trap. xD]
Silence was the only response to Rook's question as he lay on the ground looking down in the pit. Roxanne was laying limp on her side, face turned towards the ground, a little smattering of bright crimson was splashed across the rocks and ground. That was how he left her.
At first there wasn't any pain at all, her body and mind still in shock, but when her eyes opened to the dim solitude of the pit her mind reeled in agony as realization came over her. It hurt so badly, she couldn't even solidify what exactly hurt, but the pain was overwhelming, bright lights dancing in her field of vision, threatening to send her spiraling back into unconsciousness to escape it.
Panic swept over her, she didn't know what to do and she was alone. How long had it been since she fell? Had Rook abandoned her there? She couldn't blame him if he had, she hadn't exactly been warm and welcoming. Should she try to move? Should she stay still? Had she broken anything? With a fall like that, she knew it would be a miracle if she hadn't. What a sick, twisted trap. No animal deserved to die like this, alone and in pain.
It didn't take long for her to hear someone calling to her. Had Dirk found her? No - that was Rook's voice. So he hadn't left her there after all. There was another strange mixture of sounds, though. It took another moment for her to realize that it was coming from her. A mixture of uncontrollable sobs and whimpers were shaking her entire body as he climbed down for her.
He wanted her to what? At first she squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head, not wanting to move. If she didn't move, though, she would never get out of this god-forsaken hole. Mustering her will, she forced herself to slowly command first her legs, then her arms to move. When she put weight on her left arm though, the pain that lanced from fingertips to shoulder told her that her left wrist was definitely broken. Blood dripped from her chin, she could feel a sticky wetness in her hair above her left temple.
Still making those strange, unfamiliar sounds, she managed to wrap her arms awkwardly around Rook.
[Don't even! It's wonderful. I like being surprised in posts. Wel, mostly. Don't even worry about it. (:]
Rook saw the damage that had been done and gave only a soft gasp. He had seen things in worse shape, but at least she didn't seem to be bleeding out. He was gentle with her and coaxed her arms around his neck, careful with the broken form of her wrist. And with that, and one leg to climb up, Rook struggled to lift both of them up and out of the pit.
The rope groaned underneath them and splintered at their combined weight but held strong enough for them to climb out. He rolled off to the side, minding his leg and kneel beside her. "It's okay. It'll be all right," he said, as if she never spoke harshly to him. He knelt down and cradled her in his arms, mindful of both their wounds as he stalked back to the cabin.
Roxanne felt helpless as he labored to drag them out of the hellish hole. Why had she been so stupid? The experienced huntress had let her emotions get the best of her and the anger had blinded her to what she should have seen. As the rope splintered she gave a soft cry of terror, clinging to him tighter as best she could manage with her pained wrist.
Somehow they made it out, and she felt an overwhelming sense of relief. When she had first opened her eyes in that place, all alone, she had been so afraid - perhaps irrationally so - that she was going to die. Rook's voice was soothing, and as he cradled her in his arms, her head resting against his chest, Roxanne's cries slowly began to subside, though the pain was still intense, the fear was ebbing, giving a small measure of relief to her hurts.
When they arrived at the cabin Dirk jumped up, looking, well, shaken. The tufts of his ears were laid back and as he saw the blood on his mother he let out a soft keening sound of distress, scrambling back and out of the way.
Rook shoved all that he had on the floor out of the way as he laid her on the soft bed of furs that remained by the hearth. He was gentle with her as he carefully laid a rolled towel underneath her head and parted her hair where her head was bleeding. "There now," he soothed. "You're safe now. No need to fret anymore."
"That's a nasty break, but no worries, I'm going to fix you right up." Rook took the spare linens he could find and turned to Dirk who stood back. "Retrieve some ater from the creek would you? And fast!"
Roxanne was still a bit dazed by everything that had happened in the last few minutes, or was it hours? She didn't even know. It took effort to calm down, but as he laid her on the furs she began to choke down her cries, though a few tears of pain still managed to slip out and her body trembled softly. "It's never safe," she managed to whisper, lips quivering with the effort not to cry from the throbbing in her wrist, the sharp pains in her head were almost as bad. Between those she barely noticed the dull ache in her side.
Dirk was quick to act, lifting the dropped pail from earlier in his beak and rushing out. Surprisingly he didn't even give Rook a hateful look while he did it.
She didn't even notice him leave, instead she was looking up at Rook, expression pained and eyes heavily dilated. "Why are you helping me?" The words were blurted out, there was no bite to them, just genuine confusion. "You have no reason to, especially after how I've acted."
Rook almost barked out a laugh at her words and he shook his head as if denying their existence altogether. "Well, you're right. If I were an old irritable mongoose, I might. But life is too short to be spiteful for the rest of it. Besides you helped me and you didn't have to. You could have let me die, but you didn't."
Rook shrugged and knelt beside her wrist. He made a noise through his teeth and shook his head. "We'll take care of that right quick," he replied. "But it's not going to be pretty okay? I'm going to have to set the bones. Oh. Wait a moment."
Rook stood and moved toward the shelf to the right and found a bottle of liquor. He popped off the stopper and smelled it. It was an old bottle of bourbon all right and maybe not the best smelling one in a situation like this but it was better than nothing.
"Here," he said, kneeling beside her again. "Drink this. It might help to numb the pain and clear your wound. Go on, take a swig. Maybe two just to be sure."
Roxanne just blinked up at Rook, almost uncomprehending. After her father had died her entire life had seemed to be about nothing but holding grudges. Since escaping from that nightmare she had avoided people as much as possible, had refused to have relationships with them of any kind, be it friend, love, or family. The one time she had tried to let that icy wall come down she had been so deeply hurt that she had never wanted to even care about another human being at all ever again.
When he spoke of setting the bones in her wrist her face contorted slightly. This was going to be very, very unpleasant. Even worse than when he had popped her dislocated shoulder back into place. She watched him fetch a bottle of liquor, and felt a small wash of relief. Well a little alcohol to numb the pain was just dandy with her. Too bad that was all there seemed to be, she could have used an entire bottle or three.
Raising her head and using her good arm, she manged to take a few drinks, though she made a face. "His tastes haven't improved over the past couple years." Taking a few deep breaths and letting her head fall back to the cushion he'd made for her, she tried to steel herself for what was coming. "Can I have something to bite down on, please..."
He laughed at her complaint. "I'm sorry it's so foul, but most bourbon is I guess. Here I have a little whiskey in my flask. Lemme get it." Rook scrambled for his things and with that found his hunting knife and took that too.
"Okay. Bite down on the hande, but first have a little more will ya? It smells better than tha other junk!" Rook smirked and offered her the flask. "You know this is the first time I've been trying to get a girl drunk and not looking for some action to follow soon after. I guess the only screaming you'll be doing are ones of pain. And not the good kind either." He tried to lighten the mood with a little humor but it was the least he could do.
Everything was about to get real unpleasant real fast.
Roxanne would have protested him getting his own whiskey, honestly, it didn't need to be pleasant, just needed to work. He was too quick for her though, or maybe her head was just working too slow.
She managed a weak, unsteady laugh as she took the offered flask, taking a quick mouthful she swallowed and pushed it back at him. "Yeah, you're doing this kind of backwards, eh? Drunk then action, but you kinda got it out of order." Taking the knife she jammed the handle between her teeth, a little sweat was already beading on her forehead. "Ready," she mumbled around the handle.
Rook was hesitant at first, but knew it was best not to delay it further, so he knelt carefully beside her and gripped her hand when she put the knife handle in her mouth. When she stated she was ready, he didn't wait a second longer and tugged on her hand, pulling just enough to set the bones back into place, or so he hoped.
The first try, unfortunately did not set the bones as planned and needed one last good tug. Rook gripped her hand firmly, readjusting his hold, and set the other on her forearm. After a breath of preparation, he pulled her hand, a little farther this time, and grit his teeth to ensure he got it right this final time.
"I'm sorry," he murmured, looking at her distress, but seeing that at least her wrist was ready to be wiped clean and wrapped.
Roxanne just wanted to get it over with. It needed done and either way she was going to be in pain, but at least if he set the bones now it could heal properly and not cause her problems later on. At least that was the idea.
When the first tug came, it took every ounce of willpower she had not to jerk her arm away from the pain. She managed not to scream, well, not really scream, though the sound was muffled by her clinched teeth, probably leaving indents on the handle of his knife. Rook readjusted his grip and her eyes widened as she realized he was going to have to do it again.
When Roxanne blinked her eyes she found that she was blinking away tears, and it was done. Her head was swimming a bit, almost fainting. Fumbling a bit, her good hand was trembling again, she spit the knife out of her mouth, panting slightly. "What're you - talking about?" she had to take a jagged breath before trying to continue, "Didn't feel a thing."
Dirk was at the door, carefully trying not to spill the water that splashed around inside the pail he held in his beak.
Rook couldn't help the small smile he gave her at her sesne of humor even after he had set her broken bones. His head turned toward the door when he saw Dirk and he climbed to his feet. "Thank you Dirk!" he said gratefully and grabbed the bucket from his mouth, moving it toward the fireplace and taking a bundle of spare linensaand gently wiping away the blood from the torn skin.
"You should be very proud of your mother, Dirk. She does very well under pressure," Rook smiled. He cleaned the wound and even used a bit of the whiskey from his flask to make sure before taking two pieces of wood and sandwiching her wrist between them to make sure it stayed straight, then bound them together.
"You know as a boy," he began. "I once broke my arm falling out of a tree, and I think I cried much worse than you. My da thought it humorous that I cried so much that he had troubled holding in his laughter as he set my arm. He still laughed in later years, but he told me there were worse things in the world than a broken arm. But both in bad shape, at least you got two good legs and I've got too good arms. Together we almost make a whole person," Rook chuckled as he finished her bindings and knotted it off.
Biting comments, scathing remarks, and the cold indifference or outright hostility - every one of them were just defense mechanisms. Right now, humor was her shield to the pain. It didn't block it out, of course, but it did help some. Laughter was better than tears.
Relaxed back on the furs, taking the jolts of pain as they came with gritted teeth, she did what she had always done. She endured with steely determination to show as little weakness as possible. Dirk had crawled forward as close as he dared, laid on his belly to watch everything that Rook did. He didn't answer, though, simply looked away, with an expression of guilt.
Pale eyes had closed, trying to ignore her hurts, but when he began speaking of breaking his arm they opened to watch him as he worked and spoke. She smiled as he finished. "Almost." she agreed, then forced herself to sit up, cradling her left arm against her chest with a grimace.
"I wouldn't have laughed at you. In fact, I kind of envy you for it."
"Why would you envy me? I thought most men weren't supposed to cry. My father never thought it a weakness, but he said if I could, and I really had to, to cry in familiar company. It makes the tears less embarrassing," Rook smiled at Roxanne. He didn't forget the bump on her head and parted her hair slightly to wipe away the blood that was dripping a little. "Careful, don't get up too fast. That was quite a nasty fall and we don't need you collapsing again because your head is a little dizzy.
Rook moved to the food he had left on the table and brought it to her on the floor. "Maybe you should eat something. But I can understand if breaking your wrist wouldn't exactly make you hungry." Then his eyes cut to Dirk. "Um, Roxanne, maybe you should...say something to your friend."
Roxanne thought it was kind of obvious, but then again, they had totally different experiences and realities of life. So as he cleaned the small gash on her head, she tried to find words that would make sense. "You had someone there for you. You could afford to cry. I haven't had anyone to rely on since I was fifteen - no - make that eleven. I haven't had that luxury for as long as I can remember. There's no time to stop and be hurt or sick, or weak." She shrugged weakly, not feeling that she had adequately expressed what it was that she felt.
Rook was right about one thing, her appetite was really non-existent just then. How could she think about food when her wrist still throbbed against her chest? At least it wasn't limp and useless at an unnatural angle now. When he mentioned her companion, Roxanne turned her head to look at him, the beast kept his head down and turned away.
"It wasn't your fault Dirk - it was mine. I wasn't paying attention and I should have known better. I'm okay, I promise." The gryphon crawled closer on his belly - truly a comical sight - until he could lay his head next to her. Roxanne patted the snowy feathers on his head with her good hand, causing the beast to purr.
His smile could only grow at the sight of watching the gryphon crawl on his belly like a puppy trying to get the attention of his long beloved master. It was touching, particularly for a woman like Roxanne. Her words brought a new light, even if she didn't properly express what it was she wanted to, he understood every syllable of them. It was hard to imagine that she could be alone for so long and then again it wasn't.
But the bonds she had made...were made to last and it showed in the affection Dirk showed for his 'mother'.
Rook found himself unable to say anything and instead he smiled and stood, moving toward his gear, throwing on his tunic and his quiver and bow. "When you're ready, we should get moving to Ketra. They have more adequate healers there."
Roxanne sat there for a few moments, lightly stroking the ivory feathers, enjoying the feeling of them against the fingers of her uninjured hand. The beast purred happily, they didn't have to say another word to each other. They just knew and understood that there was no lingering discontent between them.
Looking up as Rook got his things together she nodded and struggled to her feet, the motions a little awkward as she tried not to jostle her broken limb. There was also a brief moment of vertigo, causing her to sway slightly, but Dirk had stood with her and she leaned lightly against him for support.
"You should wrap the meat and take it with us. No sense in letting it go to waste, and you'll probably get hungry. It isn't exactly a short walk. Ready or not, we'll go now. The daylight is wasting and you'll be wanting to be on your way. Three months in the wilderness, I think you said, is long enough to be away from home."
Rook did as she instructed and gathered the meat in a leather wrapping he had. She was right no sense in letting it go to waste and there hadn't been any time to eat on their way toward the city. Not that Rook was in any hurry to get there. "Well," he murmured as he put out the fire and walked beside her with a small smile. "I don't mind waiting a few more days...or...weeks out from town. Ketra's not going anywhere. And sooner or later I'll just be right back in the wilderness again."
He gave her a sheepish grin and walked beside her, limping as he went. "I mean...I...I'm enjoying your company and it seems it's good to have someone to get you out of bad scrapes. I hope your old flame doesn't have anymore pits to fall into."
Roxanne had gathered her things up as best she could, what little she hadn't put on before the incident with the pit. Her quiver was empty, the arrows had been lost in the river, and her bowstring had been ruined by the frigid water. Luckily all three of her knives were still tucked securely in their sheaths. Wrapping everything in her cloak she gave the bundle to Dirk, who dutifully carried it for her.
"Good thing, because we're probably gonna be snailing it along, banged up as we are. It'll probably take a couple days just to get there. If we make good time." She eyed him skeptically. "With your leg we may have to stop and rest a bit every so often."
Since the Draconi Forest was her home, she went ahead and more or less took the led as far as steering them in the right direction, towards the road. She made a face as he mentioned her "old flame". "He wasn't a flame, he was a viper in the grass. And considering that I shot you, we took a little swim in the river, and I fell into a damn hole in the ground, I figured you'd be a bit eager to be rid of us."
"You would think that right?" he laughed, limping just a little behind her. His leg was proving to be a little difficult to travel on, but he had made due with worse before. He remembered falling out of the tree and breaking his ankle, only to nearly be gored by a very angry stag. Things were a lot more complicated back then.
"Well, even so. I enjoy your company, as strange as you are. And...I would hope you wouldn't find me so revolting as well. But I know how these things work. I know we'll get to Ketra and go our separate ways. I'm not that much of a fool," he replied. He still smiled at her and gave another shrug. "I guess I'm saying, I wouldn't be so opposed to bumping into you again maybe some day, even after all this. If it happens. And hopefully you won't shoot me in my other leg."
Well they certainly had experienced a bit of misfortune since meeting. Logically a person might be eager to distance themselves from someone that seemed to bring ill-luck with them. Then again, it hadn't all been bad. They had certainly found some enjoyment cuddling beneath those furs. Roxanne couldn't help but laugh softly with him.
Glancing at him from the corner of her eye as he went on, she couldn't stop her lips from twitching slightly in a smirk. "You know, at first I thought you were highly inconvenient, but I wouldn't say I ever saw you as revolting." She thought about reaching Ketra and parting with her unusual twice savoir. "Well if you do happen to come this way again, I promise not to shoot you next time, and I won't say that I would be against having you in the area on occasion."
Rook's smile only widened at not being shot down so quickly. He then took a chance to glance at Dirk and his grin took a sinister turn. "I'm sure Dirk would love that! We could make a small event of it! I'll make you a charm or an earring or something just for gryphons to ensure the menning of our friendship. Isn't that Dirk?" He was laying it on exceptionally think for the bird-brain considering his dislike for the hunter.
Dirk twisted his head to look back at Rook, giving the hunter a rather flat look. The gryphon had listened to them talk, of course, but he hadn't really worried about further talk of ever seeing Rook again. Even if they said it, he doubted the human would actually return. Making a soft series of clicks with his beak, the animal just looked away, shaking his head.
Roxanne laughed softly at them both. "So nice to see you boys getting along. Admit it, you won't be coming back to see me. You'll be catching up with your feather-brained buddy there." The beast gave a huff at that idea.
Rook rolled his eyes but he couldn't help the laughter that rolled out of him. Playing along he nodded nnd gave afurtive glance to the gryphon. "Well, I didn't want to be rude about it," he replied. "After all, it's not every day that I come across a highly intelligent, very handsome, brave and protective creature such as Dirk. It's honor to just be in his presence." It was obvious he was sucking up, but just how much the gryphon would take remained to be seen. He could see the bridge linking him from apathy to disdain and then some.
Rook leaned in toward Roxanne and spoke close enough so that hopefully only she could hear. "Is he always this brooding? Or is it just around me?"
The gryphon wasn't fond of laughter at his expense, and the praise was met with indigence. Roxanne couldn't help but laugh at him, which wasn't really helping. He was being such a baby about the whole thing. It wasn't as if Rook was moving in next door or something. Now that would maybe earn him a bit of sympathy from the huntress. It sucked living near people that you couldn't stand. For instance, the occupant of the cabin they had stayed in.
She rolled her eyes and smiled slightly at the softly spoken question, though she whispered her response back. "Around other people in general, it's not just you. When it's just the two of us I can't hardly get him to shut up. Consider this a vacation for my ears."
There no end to Rook's amusement as he glanced at the sulking gryphon and smirked at him. But he reached into the leather pouch and pulled out a rabbit haunch and offered it to the gryphon as a peace offering and to hopefully lighten his view of the well-meaning hunter. Rook then took a piece of the pheasant breast and bit it and licked his fingers at the taste. It had been too long since he had a decent meal, even if it wasn't hot anymore.
"What could a gryphon possibly talk your ear off about? Sure he's intelligent but I mean other than to speak ill of me, I can't think of anything he'd conversate about. But I guess that just goes to show my meager intellect, compared to his."
If anything, you'd think saving Roxanne's life twice would have been enough to warm the stubborn beast up to Rook. Dirk turned his nose up at the food, scoffing at the offering. The woman just shook her head, muttering about the animal being 'hopeless'.
"Oh, we don't have intelligent conversations, and he doesn't have a lot to talk about. It's the same four or five complaints over and over again without end," she raised the pitch of her voice into something whiny, "I'm hungry, I'm bored, I'm tired, what kind of mother are you? Why are you ignoring me?" Laughing she stopped.
"I do not sound like that." Dirk whined. Roxanne just laughed harder.
"How would you know?" Rook said, turning his eyes toward the gryphon. "Have you listened to yourself?" He took the meat that the creature had scorned and took his own teeth to it, snapping off a bite and intentionally unleashing a moan loud enough to exaggerate the taste of the meat. It was quite good, but he just wanted to rub in what the moody bird-brain was missing out on.
"Here, Roxanne, have a bite. It's quite delicious. And I hadn't eaten all day since the previous night. Dirk don't want any, and if he don't want any, he won't get any. Isn't it delicious!?" Rook winked at her to play along, even if she didn't want to eat anything.
"How does someone not listen to themself?" The gryphon asked perplexed. Dirk's eyes dilated as the hunter took a bite of the meat, making funny noises and teasing him with how good it supposedly tasted. White and black feathers ruffled as he stuck his head up haughtily and ignored them both. Humans.
Roxanne smiled when Rook offered her some of the rabbit. She hadn't eaten since the previous day either, and though she hadn't felt like food earlier, her appetite was slowly returning and she was starving. She couldn't help but laugh at how thick he was laying it on, though. The two of them were worse than children.
Grinning she reached up with her good hand to gently grab his hand, stopping them both as she made a show of taking a bite of the meat. Of course stopping them had made Dirk turn to look and see why. She gave a hum of pleasure as she chewed the piece she'd taken off. "You're a pretty good cook...for a man. Oh, you have a little grease, let me..." Standing up on her tip toes she licked Rook's chin playfully, knowing it would goad the beast watching them.
Dirk hadn't stopped walking, and now was staring at them angrily, but since he wasn't watching where he was going he gave a loud squawk of surprise as he walked right into a tree. The huntress dropped back down on the balls of her feet and snickered.
Food took flight, projected from Rook's mouth as he watched the gryphon abruptly walk into a tree when his eyes were glued to his. He laughed out loud and then wiped off the area of saliva left behind by Roxanne's chin-lick. He snickered and shook his head at the foolish bird-brain.
"See where a a cold shoulder gets you," he said. "Has you running straight into trees. Oh, don't make that face Dirk! I was just joking! I don't mean to ruffle your feathers...well okay maybe I did a little." He grinned at Roxanne. "Does he get so worked up over everything?"
Roxanne smirked as Rook wiped his chin where she'd licked him. The huntress had known that doing that would definitely get an amusing reaction from her feathered friend. She chuckled herself, but ended up making a face. Her left shoulder was beginning to ache from where she cradled her wrist against her chest.
Dirk's tail was twitching in agitation and the creature was obviously sulking. "He's very...excitable." The woman said, amused but grimacing. "He does get pretty bad around men, but even so, this is pretty wound up, even for him."
"Well I hope he'll get over it soon enough. I mean no harm by it," Rook smiled at the bird but was so obviously getting the cold shoulder he shrugged it off. And then he observed Roxanne. "You know maybe I should have made you a sling as well. Here. I won't needing this really. It was a gift from a friend. But things don't always work out like you plan," Rook looking at his belt and round a small compartment with a rolled cloth in it. He pulled out a rather thin but functional scarf and offered it to her, knotting it and putting it around her neck and carefullt cradly her elbow in the crook of it.
"Better?"
"Hopefully. He's even more stubborn that I am, though. Silly bird." Roxanne watched Rook pull a scarf from his belt and knot it into a sling. She should have thought of that before they left, but as he put it around her she looked at it slightly uncomfortably. "Better, but I can't accept this. You said a friend gave it to you? I'll find a scrap of linen somewhere else."
Awkwardly she tried to take it off, not knowing why he would give her something that had been a gift to him.
"No!" Rook immediately protested. "It's fine really. Like you said...sometimes you just can't trust some people... It was either going to be used in a fire or a bandage of some kind, so I might as well give it to you! Besides it's mine to give. If you're going to discard it at least do it when I'm long gone!" Rook smirked at her and touched her hand to halt her from taking it off. "It looks better on you than it ever did on me!"
Rook's words didn't have an immediate effect on Roxanne's attempt to pull the sling off, but when his hand touched hers she gave up the struggle. "As if I look all that great right now," the huntress joked, but then made a little face. "I need a bath, and so do you." She poked him in the chest with a smirk. "Maybe we'll camp next to a creek tonight, so we don't go into Ketra all smelly and dusty."
Rook stuck his tongue out at her. "You just want an excuse to see me naked again," he commented with a sly grin and turned to lead the way through the trees. The dawn was waning to day now, afternoon light piercing intensely through the trees and washing Rook with a refreshing warmth. He hadn't felt this food in a long time and all the fear from the night before, the dread, the terror, it all seemed so far away. At night that was a different story, but for now he would enjoy the day.
[Feel free to skip forward a little or do whatever you want to do!]
"I didn't know I needed an excuse for that." Roxanne said with an equally sly smirk. It wasn't as if she hadn't seen - and touched - every inch of him anyway. Letting him take the lead, knowing they would eventually come to the road, the huntress walked beside him, always making sure to check her speed to accommodate for his limp as the day slowly passed by them. It wasn't until the shadows were growing long and the sky fading to a dusky red that they finally stumbled upon the road that lead to Ketra.
"I don't think we're going to get there today, there's only an hour or two of daylight left." Roxanne didn't want to admit it, but she was pretty tired. The sling was helping a lot, but her arm still ached and her head throbbed painfully. There were soft trails of smoke visible above the trees in the direction of Ketra. "There's a town we might get to before dark or just after..."
Rook walked along slowly with his limp, and just as the day was beginning to wane, he could feel his muscles cramping, locking up, and getting just about ready to drop him. With all the stress of the morning, plucking Roxanne from the hole, carrying her as he stalked back to the cabin of an ex-lover - not to mention the stress of knowing that was who the cabin belonged to in the first place - was taking its toll on the hunter. His bandages needed to be changed, or at least cleaned out and what Rook had forgotten to take were clean linens from the cabin.
Not that he necessarily cared what the owner would come back to, finding his house rummaged through, with cloth thrown about, his furs smelly, and his bourbon gone.
When Roxanne spoke to him, Rook turned to her and paused to take a rest. "I hope we can make it there before dark," he said, panting a little, walking a little stiffer on his leg. "You never know what you're going to find in the dark." His eyes turned troubled as they sought hers in the fading daylight, the eyes of an animal hunted, or a predator on his mark, but Rook never knew just where he stood between the two.
Rook staggered toward Roxanne and put an arm around her shoulders, "I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to need some support if we're going to make it. My leg is really starting to kill me."
Roxanne wasn't oblivious to Rook's suffering, she had been watching him subtly all through the day, knowing that he could not go on forever. She was actually rather impressed that he'd made it this far, at least without complaining up a storm. It was an effort to swallow her own complaints - his were worse. At the rate they were going they really didn't have a great chance of making it either before dark or before the hunter's leg gave out on him.
Ash-blue eyes met Rook's troubled eyes, hers were calm and steady and not at all cold. Roxanne knew what it was he feared in the night, and though she couldn't share his terror of this creature that had pursued them, she did not grudge him for it either. As he staggered to her and put an arm around her shoulders, she put her good arm around his waist, a look of grim determination and even anger sparking within her eyes.
"Dirk, come here now." The animal had followed all day, sulking either beside them or slightly behind, and showed none of their exhaustion. Of course, the beast was perfectly healthy, where they were battered and broken. Hearing the tone in the huntress' voice the gryphon slinked forward warily. "For nine years I have fed you, housed you, and protected you. If you won't swallow your stubborn pride now to help me I'm going to beat your fool head."
Dirk didn't seem to know whether to look chastised or resentful. Looking between the two of them he finally huffed and laid down beside her. "For you...mother."
Roxanne gave a satisfied nod before turning that no-nonsene gaze to Rook. "Now you don't argue like an idiot. We're not going to make it to that town if you're on your own legs. Either ride the damn bird or make camp, but getting into town will be safer and we can get fresh supplies."
Rook was more surprised than Dirk would have been at the prospect that Roxanne would offer her companion to him as a momentary mount. He stared at her in silence for the longest time and then at Dirk, who didn't look any happier than he had to. In fact, Rook had to hold back a laugh at the expression on his face. Cutting his eyes back to the huntress he gave her a small smile and weakly limped toward the gryphon.
"I was wondering when you were going to let me ride this thing! WHOA!" Rook did laugh as he threw his leg over the other side of the gryphon, holding on with both hands when he stood at last. "Listen, I'll make it up to you when we get to town, Dirk. I'll cook you a great big steak! And you won't even have to share! I'm not nearly as pleased as this as Roxanne is, but we won't make it if I carry on the way I have been. Now...MUSH!'
It was just a matter of doing the logical thing. Roxanne wanted to get to town and Rook was slowing them all down with his injured leg. Neither of them really wanted to be stuck out in the dark without shelter or fresh bandages, so forcing Dirk to carry the hunter was the best option. The gryphon didn't look happy about it, but as long as he did it, she didn't care if he was happy or not. It wouldn't kill him to help them.
Dirk glared at Rook from the moment Roxanne had made her intentions clear to the moment the hunter threw a leg over him. Grumbling in displeasure he stood and snorted when the man laughed. When he was told to mush the beast had to resist the temptation to throw the man off. "Mother isn't pleased, she's just doing what needs to be done. I would just leave you, but for whatever reason she thinks you should live."
Roxanne rolled her eyes when Rook told Dirk to mush, but she was already walking down the road towards their goal. "You're both slow as molasses, hurry up."
"I think Dirk walking slow is just him implying that I am too heavy and need to lose some weight. I, on the other hand, am as fit as a race horse, except that I can't run like one. Now mush dammit!" Rook dug his heels into Dirk's ribs and made the gryphon jerk and nearly knock him off. But they caught up nontheless and Rook was smirking at Roxanne as they soon rode by her and Rook was having quite the hard time not giggling like a manic child.
[Ugh, so short! D:]
The gryphon didn't like having Rook dig his heels into his sides at all. If the hunter wanted to go fast, then so be it. Dirk surged forward, passing Roxanne and running at a gallop along the road, albeit with a somewhat awkward gait. It was obvious that the beast wasn't accustomed to running or moving quickly on the ground. Still, it only took seconds for him to leave the huntress far behind. He didn't even think about the fact that there was no way that Roxanne was going to keep up with them.
In fact, he'd already traveled a good mile before he came to such a realization. Dirk slowed down, side heaving softly from the effort of running - and with a human on his back no less! Trotting softly to a stop he swiveled his head back, looking for the woman. "Should we wait or should I go back?"
[Argh, yeah. Short pooooooosts. Oh well.]
Rook held on for dear life. Thank goodness his arms weren't broken or else he'd have gone flying off long ago. The mile was a quick and short one and one that had his palms sweating well underneath them by the time Dirk slowed to a halt. "You idiot! We left her behind!" Rook growled. He looked down at Dirk and gave a sigh, looking behind them.
But as he eyed the growing darkness, his frown only deepened. "Dirk...we have to go back. Quickly," he breathed and dug his heels into the gryphon's sides.
Dirk gave a soft growl as he fixated Rook with an eye, pupil narrowed to a slit. Roxanne could call him names all she wanted, but this hunter was starting to cross his last nerve. The beast hadn't wanted to carry him in the first place. When Rook put his heels to his side again it was the last straw for the gryphon.
Bucking and turning in a quick circle, he attempted to throw Rook off his back, not caring if the human was injured in the process. "I've had it with you! Stupid human acting like something matters when it doesn't!"
Rook held on again with an iron grip though his legs flung up and he landed hard on his groin. Not focusing on the initial discomfort, Rook looked over Dirk's shoulder and made a face at the animal. "I'm serious, Dirk! You don't know what I know! We must make haste, please! Just listen to me this once, you fool. Do this for Roxanne!"
Within the growing dark, the forest had grown silent. Even the night birds seemed to have gone away. There was something following Roxanne in the shadows, between trees, between bushes and brush and it was close enough to hear her breath as she trudged along. With the sun fading fast, it was only a matter of time before it would strike.
The beast that hunted Rook, now found new prey.
Dirk didn't understand why Rook was so worried, not just because he was pretty sure that the hunter didn't have a reason to care, but also because Roxanne wandered around alone, broad daylight or darkest of night all the time. It wasn't like she was a bumbling child that couldn't take care of herself. There was something else though. The gryphon stopped his spinning and took off running again, back the way they had came.
Roxanne could sense the disturbance, the unnatural emptiness. There were no sounds from birds or even insects. It made her skin crawl. She didn't have her bow, and even if she did, with a broken wrist she couldn't use it. Likewise, her knives would be less effective too. She felt helpless and vulnerable and that was something she didn't like at all. Damn Dirk and his stupid feather-brained stubbornnes. How far had they gone ahead of her?
The time to strike was near and the beast lingered behind the trees. The creature was of gargantuan size, at least that of a bear, with the mug of a wolf and claws that could tear a man in half like butter. It passed under threads of moonlight, where it could vaguely be seen if Roxanne had looked behind her. It was closer than it was before, and devastatingly fast for a creature of its size.
It saw her within its line of sight. From the ground came a suddenly rush, a pounding of heavy animal feet as the beast lunged through the air, claws at the ready and only a growl would be uttered once the beast had made its final kill. But from the darkness came the whistling of an arrow, whizzing past the huntress' head as it found itself embedded in the chest of the creature.
There was a grunt and the giant animal landed hard on the ground for the arrow had startled it, though not made a killing blow, leaving it stuck in the thickened hide. And out from the shadow into a larger beam of moonlight, came Rook on Dirk's back with is bow in one hand and his hand stuck in the feathers of the gryphon.
"Roxanne! Hurry! Get on!" Rook found himself shouting, not thinking for the moment that the both of them would be too heavy for the gryphon to carry. But it was the only think he could think of in that moment.
Roxanne had loosened the hunting knife in its sheath at her waist. She'd known something was stalking her. Though she wasn't aware exactly what it was. It could have been a feline, or perhaps a wolf, a bear...the possibilities were extensive. The huntress didn't really think about the thing that had chased her and Rook through the woods the previous night. A normal predator wouldn't pursue a human that doggedly.
The sound of heavy animal footfalls caused her to turn her head, drawing the knife in her good hand, but then the arrow zipped past her head, dropping the beast momentarily. Dirk jerked to a stop next to her and she jumped up behind Rook. She'd finally gotten a good look at what it was the hunter was so afraid of and finally understood why he'd insisted on running.
"Go, Dirk, go." She wrapped her good arm around Rook and held on tight as the gryphon turned and ran back towards the town. The extra weight slowed him down, and he struggled, but he ran for all he was worth.
Behind them, they were followed by an ungodly howl. The Beast tore through the trees after them, having ripped the arrow from its chest. For all accounts and purposes, the massive animal was fast and threw all its weight into every leap forward. But the gyphon had the advantage of distance all ready between them and within the veil of moonlight, it's form could be seen.
The Mynorian, as it had been called in legend, was great and powerful and was the twice the size of a grizzly bear. Sure, it was easy to exaggerate details when you were running for your life, but Rook would never lie about such a thing, not when he knew what it was capable of. As they tore through the trees, easily weaving between them where the beast was too large to pass through.
The howl had seemed almost human in its fury and the beast thrust forward.
"Dirk. HURRY!" Rook said as his hands gripped his headfeathers. The town was in sight and getting closer as they passed over a hill.
Dirk would have huffed, or made some remark, if he had the breath to do so. What did the human think he was doing? The gryphon weaved through the trees as fast as his limbs would take him. Flight would have been a great help, but there was no way he could get into the air with both Rook and Roxanne on his back, maybe not even with only one of them.
They labored up the hill, then surged down the other side. Roxanne was clinging to Rook with her usable arm, her head twisted to look behind them. Would getting into town make the creature back off? Dirk dashed past the first outlying house, so she guessed they were about to find out.
Rook's heart was ready to leap out of his chest. They were so close to town and when they passed the first of houses, Rook looked back with anticipation and suddenly found no beast behind them. He gave a cry of relief and pulled Dirk to stop.
He didn't know why or how but nearing civilization seemed to keep the creature at bay. "It's gone..." Rook breathed. "For now..." And slumped off the gryphon.
Pulled to a stop sounded far more graceful that what really happened. The gryphon skidded to a stop near the town square, stumbling and nearly falling. As soon as both humans were off, Dirk collapsed on the ground, trembling.
Roxanne was shaking almost as much as the gryphon. "That thing is...Why did it stop chasing us? Why did it start chasing us?" They had crossed a river to get away from that thing. Why reason could it possibly have to pursue them so far?
Rook's eyes were wide, bloodshot, tired, ragged and he was nursing his leg that he had fallen on and didn't realize. "To finish the job," he murmured aloud, though had silently hoped that only he could hear it. He frowned and shook his head vigorously. "I don't know why, but it never lingers too close to town, and when it does, it's never for long," he breathed.
"That is what I hunt. And it hunts me in turn. Legends called it the Mynorian, a sleeping beast that awoke every number of years to reap a harvest and then return into its pit. My father died trying to hunt it...and I just think I might follow soon after him." Rook carefully pushed himself up to his feet, grunting and wincing with great effort as he moved toward Roxanne.
"I don't know everything about it, but I know more than most... And I'm sorry for putting you in danger. It was never my intention..."
Roxanne was exhausted and stood on unsteady legs as Rook spoke of the Mynorian. Never before had the huntress heard of something quite like it. She took the information in wordlessly, turning everything he said over in her weary mind. Things were getting fuzzy, like a fog was settling into her brain. Shaking her head helped clear it, but only a little and only for a second.
As Rook moved toward her she stepped forward to wrap her good arm around his waist again, offering him physical support once again. "What's done is done." Was her only response to his apology for putting her in danger. It wasn't like he'd known that it was going to happen.
Turning her head to Dirk, who was still laying on the ground, she gave him quick instructions to go home, and to be careful. Having the gryphon around humans was always dangerous. It only took one idiot with a bow. Turning her attention back to Rook she started walking at a slow hobble.
"I wasn't exactly expecting all this, so I don't have money for the inn, but I know where to go that's better."
Rook was still shaking from the incident. The pain in his leg was sharper than ever when he put weight on it. He couldn't help looking back into the dark, to see if it was watching them, following them, his heart pounding still with the fear of the chase. For the moment they were safe and as they hobbled along, Rook peered to the side of Roxanne's face.
Though she seemed to brush it off, he wondered if she too was afraid. He would never know from her cool exterior. But he was too exhausted to ask, and perhaps it was better not to know. "Where are we going then?" he asked, trying not too put too much strain on his leg, but trying not to lean on her too much either.
Roxanne had a steely resolve to be admired from the outside, but inside she was probably about as exhausted and afraid as Rook was. He had saved her again. The universe seemed to be conspiring to kill her the past couple days. Well in twenty-nine long, hard years it hadn't managed to do it, and it wasn't doing it now. In truth she was more worried about the hunter she was holding to.
"We're going to go visit a friend," She glanced at him and offered a weary smile, "a real one this time. So be on your best behavior." They hobbled past a row of small two-story cabins, they all looked much the same, some had oil lamps on inside, some only had the soft glow of the fireplace. They hobbled up the steps of one that had lamps lit up and a porch swing.
Not wanting to let go of Rook until he was safely seated, and with only one good arm she settled for giving the door a couple soft kicks as way of knocking. There was the sound of a little shuffling and a couple minutes later an old, woman with a long silver braid pulled over her shoulder pulled open the door and gaped at them for a moment before shaking herself slightly. "By the stars! Get in here children, you poor dears look awful."
"Gee thanks, Grams. You're looking lovely as ever."
The woman was still straight-backed, standing tall and proud, with the creases of time heavy on her face, but she had obviously been quite beautiful in her youth, and her brown eyes and smile were warm and almost laughing silently. "Don't you know it. Now hurry up, before that poor boy collapses."
Roxanne hobbled inside, pulling Rook with her, the old woman got a large, stuffed chair ready and the huntress helped him to it, trying to ease him down, though she was almost ready to fall down herself. "Grams" hurried off, bustling about in the kitchen before returning a moment later with a tea kettle, which she hung over the fire, and a large wooden box tucked under one arm. "I wasn't expecting company this evening, so sorry the house is a mess. " She smiled at Rook. "And such prestigious company as little Roxi is always a surprise! Of course she doesn't usually bring along handsome young fellows. Just call me Grams, honey, everyone does."
Roxanne snorted and fell into another stuffed chair. "They call you Grams because half the kids in town are your grandchildren or great-grandchildren."
"Nothing wrong with that!" Grams laughed as she settled down on the floor next to Rook and opened her box, which was obviously a medicine kit. She grinned at Rook. "I've known little Roxi since she was a wee baby, I was her momma's midwife, delivered her and those three rowdy boys before her!"
A real friend? He thought Roxanne said she didn't have any of those. Except for Dirk, but he was a gryphon, and she acknowledged that soon he would go of on his own, so did that even really count? Rook was about to find out as Roxanne led them to a door that she recognized but he did not. The village was quaint in itself and some of the houses were closely knit together, while others not so much. The house they came before was decent and homely looking.
The old woman that greeted them came as much a surprise to Rook, most of all with the familiarity Roxanne afforded her. It all was so shocking to him, he had no words to say. In fact, he felt he was in the way more than anything – not that he could exactly leave on his own. All he did was give a kind smile and looked over the older woman as they exchanged words.
As they eased him into the chair, Rook seethed and turned over on his good hip, looking at his thigh. The clean linens they had dressed on it were bleeding through, as it look like the wound opened up again. "Gods, that things is never going to heal," he growled and sat up, untying the knot to get a better look at the wound.
As the old woman took out her medicine kit, Rook tried to sit more comfortably, holding the bloody bandage in his hand and offering an awkward smile. "Grams. That's nice. I'm Rook. Like the bird. It must be nice to live with all your progeny so near," he said, wincing a little as the old lady took a look at his leg. She took out some cloths and water, which really stunk of whiskey, and poured it over the cloth, then wiped his leg. "Are ALLLL!" he jumped at the contact, but Grams only smiled and laughed. "I mean, is...erm...Roxi" He snorted a little, "your grand-daughter?"
Calling Grams a friend was really just the easiest way for Roxanne to describe the relationship she had with the old woman. It was far too complicated to try to explain, she didn't have the time or energy for going into, but thankfully for her Grams was quite the talkative one and would take care of all that, while hopefully not saying too much at the same time.
When he asked if Roxanne was Grams granddaughter, both women replied immediately with a resounding 'no'. Though the old woman laughed a moment later. "That didn't stop me from switching her as a youngin when she tried to flitch sweets! I watched her as a baby all the time, such a precious little thing, too bad she learned to walk and talk." Grams grinned. "Girl has been giving me trouble ever since!"
Roxanne rolled her eyes. "I have done my best not to trouble you at all for a long time, old lady."
"Aye, that's true enough, ever since your sweet momma..." Grams shook herself a little. "Well anyhow, you're here now dearie. I always worry about you out there all by yourself, and for good reason it seems!" She tried to jest at the poor condition they were both in.
"Giving you trouble? Tell me about it! She shot me in the leg with an arrow! Well, we've been over it all ready, I guess, but you'll figure it out one way or another. It was all a strange circumstance really," he said, frowning. "I guess there were worse ways we could have met. Like she could have shot me in the behind. Then I'd have to undress."
He laughed, despite his pain as Grams finally fixed his leg again and rubbed a salve on it that dissipated the pain. He smirked at Roxanne and then back to the old woman. "What kind of trouble did she used to give you other than knicking sweets?"
[I'm sorry Grams just kept prattling on and on!]
"Did she now? I'm honestly not surprised." Grams chuckled, as if finding out Roxanne had shot him was normal as hearing that the weather looked like rain. "Roxi dear, work on your aim! That really would have been something, and a sure treat for me. I don't have the young lads pulling down their trousers for me like I used to."
Roxanne snickered slightly at that, but made a face as Rook asked what other kind of trouble she got into as a child. Grams grinned as she worked, more than happy to chatter away. "Oh my goodness, I could go on all night about the trouble Roxi has gotten into through the years - she never did stop getting into trouble! I remember the time Macky Stauner threw mud in her pigtails, she put welts on that boy's hide like you wouldn't believe! Fighting did always seem to be her biggest problem, a very headstrong one, that one, you'll want to be careful with her." Grams gave him a grin and wink.
The huntress scowled, but said nothing as the old woman kept talking. "Of course that was when she was wee little, by the time she was eight all the little boys didn't want to fight anymore. Do you remember Roland Yeets, Roxi dear? That boy was sweet on you when you were little, he became such a sweet young man, it's such a shame that you never did give him a chance. I had always hoped I'd get to deliver your little ones too one day, just like for your momma - ."
While the old woman had prattled on, Roxanne had grown quiet and still, and suddenly Grams stopped talking, glancing over at the woman sitting in the chair. The huntress looked...exhausted, and her eyes had closed, face a soft mask of pain. Grams put a hand to her mouth lightly and blinked, realizing what she'd said while just talking on and on. "Oh Roxi dear, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean -" She cut off as the younger woman stood.
Roxanne got up and didn't look at either of them, her voice was quiet and just tired. "I think I'll go to bed now. I know my way to the guest room." Without another word she left, the sound of her boots echoing on the stairs as she disappeared.
"Well that went well..." Grams mumbled sadly.
[Nonsense! I love Grams!]
Rook listened to the story of her childhood - anecdotes really - with growing interest. It was a helpful distraction from the pain and fear that had rang through them both only moments earlier. For the brief moment, it seemed the creature that hounded him for so long didn't even exist. He felt almost at home, listening to one of the many stories Torsten used to tell when he was a boy. If Rook didn't know any better, he would have been ready to cry.
Thankfully he blinked the heat from his tears away and just smiled softly at the details, until things began to turn south. When Roxanne no longer found herself in pleasant company and took her leave, Rook's smile faded and he frowned deeply at the old woman. He remembered Dirk speaking out of turn, saying more than he should have - even a the behest of the hunter - and her reaction the same way.
"I reckon you hit a soft spot," Rook said, stating the obvious. "Who was Roland Yeets? An old lover? I'm quite sure its none of my business, but I suppose I can't help but ask. She doesn't like people talking about her. She doesn't like people knowing about her either. I guess I can't blame her. I don't have many friends myself. But she must get lonely sometimes, I guess, walking away all the time."
"Roland Yeets? He's a good boy, well, man, he actually married one of my granddaughters, they have a couple little ones of their own now, but it has nothing to do with Roland." Grams patted Rook's good leg and stood up, stretching her back a little as she walked over to the fireplace, using a holder to get the tea kettle and fill two mugs on the mantle with steaming tea. "Roxi has become a very private person, but she's got her reasons, and I imagine she is extremely lonely, even if she won't admit it."
She brought one over and set it on the table next to Rook's chair before settling in the chair Roxanne had vacated, turning it slightly so she could face the young man while they talked. "There's so much to tell about her, but hard to know where to begin. She was a good girl, despite her knack for trouble, I loved her as much as one of my own, blazes, everybody loved her. The Davenports were a well established family in this town years ago. Her father did so much for this little place. He was a soldier, though, and when Roxi was nine, he was killed."
Grams shook her head sadly. "Roxi's momma was shattered when she lost Richard. The boys were all grown, but they tried to help their mother, for a while. Then Loren fell in with a real piece of work, the kind of guy that Roxi's real dad would have crossed the street to avoid, I'm sure you know the type. I think she thought a new husband would fix things, but you can't just put a bandaid - and such a filthy one at that - on a broken heart. The boys were grown, so they just left to get away from that trash, but they left Roxi behind.
"Loren took sick and died not long after marrying that man, and he took Roxi with him to Ketra, I would have taken her in myself if I had known what he had been doing to her." The old woman paused to wipe tears from her eyes. "He sold her in Ketra, to pay off some gambling debts. I didn't see her again until she was fifteen, when she ran away. She showed up on my doorstep and wasn't the same girl that had left. I don't think she's ever forgiven any of us - nobody protected her, and so many of us should have."
Grams stopped speaking, taking a long drink of her tea, she looked older than she had when she'd opened the door.
Rook nodded in understanding, his frown having set in deeper than before. It was a heart rending story and for one more cynical than the hunter, they might see it as it's only purpose. But Rook had a heart and he knew what it was like to be left all alone, losing someone you loved, even if it wasn't quite the same way as Roxanne. "I inagine it would be hard to recover from something like that," he found himself saying. "I lost my father just a few short years ago. It still pains me to think about it.
"I guess I might sound like I'm feeling sorry for her. Maybe I am, but it's not really my intention. I just...sympathize. Which is just as well that that's the last thing she wants. But I wonder...just how long can you shut the world out, before it comes screaming after you?"
Grams didn't say anything at first, for the first time since the pair of unexpected guests had arrived, she wasn't quite sure what to say. "Well you're sure right about her not liking to be felt sorry for. She always was a stubborn child, and as proud as her daddy. Roxi has lost more and endured more in her life than I care to think about. It's hard just to watch someone you love and helped raise go through so much, and then to sit back and do so little as she refuses to let you help her."
She shook her head. "When she first showed back up I was the one that sent her out into those woods - to someone I trusted. He taught her how to live out there, and for a while I thought that was best. As a runaway slave she was in a lot of danger, you understand, but I always thought when things calmed back down...Well, I guess I thought a lot of wrong things, but I think she got lost out in those woods and never really found her way back, if you get what I'm saying."
"A slave... Gods, I can't even imagine," Rook said, falling silent at last. The fire crackled between them for a time and he looked into the flames. No wonder she had reacted so hotly when Dirk had spilled the truth. It wasn't his to know. If ever he would have known, Roxanne had the right to say it in her own time. Rook sipped his tea graciously and nodded to Grams.
"Maybe she'll find her way back someday," he said with a hopeful smile and raised his cup to the notion. He downed the rest of the tea before struggling to stand on his own. He managed well enough and gestured to the old woman. "It was lovely to speak with you, Grams and lovely to meet you. But I think it's a good hour to retire. I hope I'm not imposing, I am after a stranger in your home. But I am quite exhausted from the pain and the journey."
Rook didn't know just how quickly it came to be, but he'd grown fond of Grams in that short conversation and thought endearing how much she cared about not only others, but Roxanne as well. She seemed to need it.
Grams smiled and stood, keeping a careful eye on Rook as he got up, making sure he looked alright, and nodding slightly when he managed on his own. "You're not imposing, sugar. They don't call me Grams for nothing, you know. I'm afraid that I've only the one guest room, up the stairs the only door on the right, sweetie. Roxi's up there already, the pair of you can decide the sleeping arrangements." She gave him a wink, before making shooing motions. "There'll be eggs, bacon, and biscuits for breakfast in the morning. Won't let you children run off hungry. No go get some rest."
The guest room had a fire crackling in the fireplace and oil lamps dimly casting the room in warm shadows. There was a large four poster bed, covered in downy quilts. Roxanne was sitting quietly in a wooden rocking chair, staring into the flames of the hearth with only half-opened eyes that weren't really seeing anything at all. She wouldn't even glance at the door when it was opened.
Rook managed to get up the stairs with minor difficulty. Once he found the guest room, he hobbled in, peeking into the doorway and looking in shyly as Roxanne sat in her chair. He didn't say anything at first and just. peered at her from the corner of his eye until he stood at the foot of the bed. "Grams gave me some cookies she had made, I ate mine coming upstairs, but I save four for you," he said, smiling.
It was a smile that seemed most inopportune and he cleared his throat as he set the place beside Roxanne and moved toward the bed, grabbing a pillow and one of the coverlets and setting them down along the floor.
There was a lot on Roxanne's mind. Coming to see Grams had shaken her, if she could have avoided it, she would have, but Rook had needed help and she hadn't known where else to turn. The hunter's presence was all but ignored as he moved about. Even the announcement of cookies didn't cause her to stir, her eyes only closing softly as he cleared his throat. How much had he been told? What did he think of what he had heard?
It wasn't until he began making a bed on the floor that she turned her head to peer at him curiously, as if only just now realizing he was even there. "What are you doing? You're not sleeping on the floor, Rook. Get into bed, please." She sighed and turned her eyes back to the fire. "It's a big bed, we can share, or I can sleep where I am. I would almost rather not sleep in it, or be in this room, or in this house, or in this god-forsaken town, but here we are..."
To be actually spoken too, or regarded at all for that matter made Rook smile and he turned to her with a shrug. "You get into bed. You act like you're not an invalid! That wrist of yours needs looking at." He stood and gestured for her to get into bed. "Go on now, git. I'm not going to put up with your mule-head, so there's no use in fighting it. Get into bed and let me have a look at your wrist."
Rook sat on the side of it and gestured for Roxanne to sit beside him and he held out his hand for him to look at it.
Roxanne really wasn't sure if he was going to argue with her about who would and wouldn't be sleeping on the bed, but she definitely didn't expect what he did say. For a moment she could only gape at him. Who did he think he was talking to her like that? After staring at him for a moment as he patted the bed next to him she started laughing softly.
"You have been spending too much time with Grams, and you just met the old bird." After everything she hadn't really thought about herself or that she needed to be cared for as well. All she'd thought about was Rook. Standing, and moving a bit stiffly she walked over and sat down next to him, easing her arm out of the sling she offered him her broken wrist, teeth gritting slightly as she remembered that she was in pain. Funny thing to forget.
"And you act like you're nothing nobody should care about," Rook commented. "But that's not true. We were both hurt and far be it from me and hog all the attention. Besides, better me than Grams or she'll talk your ear off all night, yeah? I'm just teasing. She's a nice lady. I see why you like her so much...and I see why she likes you."
Rook had a way of using talking as a means of discraction as he gently undressed her wound and readjusted the splint to make it better, then carefully rewrapped the wound. He was gentle as ever, tying the knot snugly but as if she were a piece of fine crystal and gently held her smaller hand in the palm of his larger one and observed her palm, tracing his fingers over it.
"We can share the bed, it's no problem, but I won't have you ordering me around like I'm some lost little pup and simply ignoring the fact that you're hurt as well. Is that acceptable to you?" he asked, giving her a warm smile.
The old woman had always cared about her. Grams might not have been her biological grandmother, but she might as well have been. She'd loved her a long time ago, as a child. Anymore Roxanne found it hard to really decide how she felt about anyone she had ever known." She talks too much." She muttered grumpily. How much had Rook been told? More than he should have.
As he gently tended her injury, a soft hiss of pain escaped or a sharp inhalation of breath were given on occasion as he worked. Still, she endured it without any other form of complaint. The tips of her fingers twitched slightly as his fingers traced over her palm. Roxanne found the gesture soothing.
"I didn't or-," she stopped abruptly, sighing and frowning softly before rephrasing what she had been going to say, "I'm sorry if I come off as bossy. And I know I'm hurt, I just don't like being fussed over or treated like an invalid, as you so graciously put it." She made a slight face at him, but hadn't tried to pull her hand away from him.
Rook couldn't help but laugh at her child-like sour attitude. "I'm sorry I ask too many questions, Roxanne," he said. "It's not like I have any right to get to know you, nor do you have any obligation to tell me. I heard enough but didn't press any much more after you left. I'm not going to ask you about it. But if you want to even the score, you're free to ask me anything you want?" he offered innocently.
The laugh earned him a glare, although it was a mild one and didn't last as she shook her head listening to him. "It isn't your fault, and it's not like you don't have the right either. Why you seem to want to know about me, I don't get, but I've been told I don't get most people." Grams certainly seemed to think she was wrong a lot.
Roxanne honestly wasn't sure what to make of his offer, but she thought about it a moment before speaking. "Have you ever been in love?" It probably seemed like an odd question coming from her, but she had her reasons.
The question did take him off guard, but Rook took his time mulling the answer over and he soon nodded. "Yeah, I was once. I was young, well, younger than I am now. She was a farmer's daughter, from village where my father and I would go and sell pelts and meat. I was sweet on her for a while. I thought she was the most beautiful thing in the world. She gave me that scarf once, said it was to keep me warm in winter..." Rook gave a distant smirk. "But she didn't tell me that she was already engaged. Ah, well, it is what it is. If I'd've married her, I never would have gotten out of that village. I try to look on the bright side of things when I can."
Roxanne had initially asked the question as a way not only to get to know him, but as a way to get a bit of entertainment if he said yes. After all, Rook had made her tell him about her brothers. Of course then he actually told her, she'd listened with some interest until he said that the girl had neglected to tell him that she was engaged to another man. Knots immediately formed in her stomach as she was reminded of another lover who had kept a secret like that.
"Sorry, didn't realize..." At least he could look on the "bright" side of that experience. "Guess that is one way to think about it. On the other hand, if you'd married a quiet girl like her you would never have gotten shot by me." Her good hand had clinched into a fist and she pressed it against her leg to stop it from shaking. "I loved someone once. You saw his cabin," She chuckled darkly, "we made a mess of his furs. He was married and didn't tell me. I bet you anything Grams didn't tell you that story. It started in that cabin, and ended on this bed." She muttered bitterly.
Rook laughed despite her grim expression and frustration. "If I'd a-married a girl like that I would have shot myself in the leg. I understood then why my da live all alone in the woods. He had the freedom to come and go as he pleased without anyone to have to answer too," Rook smirked.
"I'm sorry to hear that though. But...I neglected to tell you the funny part. Her fiance found us fooling around in a haypile once and when he pulled me out, I was in half a jerkin and dropped trousers when he proceeded to beat the ever living crap out of me. I came back a week later and threw rocks at her window, but she threatened to sic him on me again. Well, the fellow was twice my size and had a full six inches of extra reach to his advantage. Remember when I said I wouldn't fool around with a married woman - especially if she had a husband twice my size? Well, that's why. I ran off crying, trying to hold my pants up most of the way."
Roxanne gave him a blank stare at the comment about living alone in the woods, the freedom, and not having anyone to answer to. And here they all were admonishing her for the way she lived. It was the exact same thing he had just said! Well, maybe not entirely, but close enough.
She listened to his story, not sure Rook was trying to make her laugh or if this was some attempt to cheer her up, or just him wanting to share the story. To be fair, it was a hell of a story. Roxanne didn't know whether to laugh or not. "Now that would have been something to see...I guess you learned your lesson though, eh? I sure as hell learned mine. Can't say that his wife caught us and whipped my ass though."
Rook's smile turned solemn. He had held her hand all that time and had held it gently in his palm. His thumb had pressed at the center and he nodded as he did so. "Yeah, I did. I tell ya when you get caught with your pants down, literally," he smirked, "It's a hard shame to swallow. But I can laugh at it now. I'm older, I'm wiser. I learned from it...and moved on." He smiled and patted her hand.
"How did you find out?" he asked, his expression softening. "That he was married."
Roxanne did manage a soft 'heh' of a laugh at his mention of being caught with his pants down. Her eyes were watching her broken hand, resting in his as Rook pressed his thumb against her palm. She was kind of surprised he was still holding her hand, and maybe a little that she was still letting him, but it had been a crazy kind of day.
"That's a difficult question to answer." She said softly, her blue eyes shimmered slightly at the memory, admittedly one of her more painful memories. "William Demphrey, he bought that cabin to spend the summers hunting game, he said. I think it was far more about hunting women. I was foolish enough to fall for his charms, but he was handsome and charming.
"The first summer was," She made a face, "wonderful. I feel ashamed just admitting it. I missed him through the rest of the months." Roxanne shook her head, amazed by her own stupidity. "As soon as he came back for the next summer, we picked the affair right back up. It was mid-way through the season when I...got sick." She said the last words quietly. "Grams and I fought over that. At first I wanted her to give me tea to get rid of...it. She convinced me to go through with it - and to tell Bill."
She had to stop, she was trembling and she blinked away tears, not wanting them to fall. The huntress had been making progress with Bill - and he had destroyed it all.
Rook grew quiet as she spoke, not wanting to interrupt, lest she stope completely. He held her hand between both of his, warmly and sympatherically, though it was really an unconscious reaction. But when at last she stopp, Rook reached a hand up and touched her shoulder. "It's okay. You don't have to continue. I'm pretty sure I can imagine the rest of it," he said, giving her a soft smile.
Letting go of her hand, he smiled wider and said. "Good thing I'm not Bill, or I'd think twice about asking to share a bed with you, I might now wake up with all my manly parts still attached to me," he tried to jest, or make light of the matter.
Roxanne wasn't so sure he really could imagine the rest, but she nodded her head, relieved that she didn't have to say more right now. Aside from Grams and Dirk, she hadn't ever really spoken of it to anyone before. Talking about it was difficult, but almost liberating in a sense. Bottling it up for years, internalizing every moment of pain and shame hadn't done well for her, but she hadn't been able to let go either.
"No, you're definitely not Bill." She agreed, lifting her good arm to wipe the tears from the corner of her eyes. "For starters, you're a lot better in bed. I can almost feel sorry for his wife if that's all she's got to look forward to." Okay, it was a petty insult, but it did make her feel a little better.
Rook laughed and blushed a little. "Well thank you for that reassurance, I was starting to wonder a bit." He rolled his eyes playfully and pat her shoulder. "You know this isn't the first time I've gotten a leg injury with a strange woman in the wilderness. The first time I fell out of a tree and broke my ankle, this time I got shot with an arrow. I hope this doesn't start to become a regular thing," he smirked.
"Maybe not all of us have good luck with lovers, but at least you don't have a sore leg for it," he smirked and gestured to her wrist. "It looks good, despite the chase. It'll heal up nicely, that I can guarantee."
[I hope you don't feel like you have to post so much. I love your posts, but I don't want you to feel obligated.]
"Really? You didn't strike me as the insecure type in need of reassurance, you seemed awfully confident last night." The fact that she'd made Rook blush did help Roxanne's mood a little more. This - whatever this was - helped. The playful banter, or his comforting touches, she wasn't sure, but it helped. It struck her that she'd been rather unfair to him this entire time. Here he was accepting her without judgment, and she'd done nothing but judge him since she first laid eyes on him.
"Well I did promise not to shoot you next time," she smirked. "So there's that, at least." Rotten luck with lovers seemed to be awfully common for hunters. "Thank you for saving me...again. I forgot to thank you earlier, what with the running for our lives and all."
[Nonsense! I'm posting because I want to. And because I'm on a roll. I'm at work anyway so posts will be slower than usual.]
Rook stuck his tongue out at her. "I am not insecure! But every man secretly wants to know if he's better than the last person his partner slept with. Every man loves an ego boost. And if they say they don't they're liars" he laughed genuinely and threw himself back on the bed. "But you can never tell a man he was too good, because then he would never try to improve, or at least be more adventurous than the last time. One rut a man can fall into, is making love the same way for the rest of his life, and then it seems like he just stopped trying." Rook laughed it off and blinked at her.
"You're welcome," he murmured. "But I would have done it anyway. Too many people die in this world, mostly for all the wrong reasons. At least I'll have the pleasure of you owing me one for the rest of our acquaintanceship. Oh don't look at me like that. I was only joking. Laugh a little. You're real pretty when you smile, you'know."
[Geez, that took forever. Post didn't want to write, I tell ya.]
"Oh well in that case I should tell you I've had better, right?" Roxanne smirked, watching him fall back on the bed. "You know, so you'll keep trying harder." Carefully she slid down on the bed next to him, shifting around until she found a semi-comfortable position for her wrist and so she could still gaze at him while they talked.
The huntress gave a soft snort. "Only when I smile? Gee thanks. You're kinda handsome when you don't say dumb things." She did laugh, though.
Rook gave a snort. "I never said only when you smile," he hissed and turned on his more comfortable side. "I just said you look especially pretty when you do. As for saying dumb things...pfft, well, that's the story of my life. I'm a hunter, Roxanne, not a poet. Though...I do have a soft spot in my heart for well-formed wordings, I say."
He laid on his back, opposite her, and used a pillow to prop himself up to get a better look at her. "You're pretty quite often really. Even with branches in your hair and bugs on your face. But I know the real reason why you shot me in the leg. It's okay, you don't have to be ashamed. Admiit it, you were blinded by my handsomeness."
"Oh yes, it was definitely because of your handsomeness, I just couldn't bear the idea of killing you, so I gimped you instead so you couldn't get away." Roxanne rolled her eyes at that idea, but grinned anyway. "I think I like you better as a hunter, anyway. I'm sure poets are nice with their fancy words and all, but a hunter is just more reliable in a pinch. Saving me, for instance."
[I'm sorry for the shortness.]
Rook loved this. This simple talk - away from the matters of the heart. The banter and the teasing. It made him feel lighter, better. "That's why I saved you, really," he said, looking at her with sultry half-lidded eyes. "Because I'm not a poet. And I knew that if I saved you instead, it makes a much better case for making you swoon in my arms."
"Swoon?" Roxanne questioned with a smirk. "I thought we already discussed at length about your opinion of swooning girls with nuts for brains." Ash-blue eyes glinted in the firelight as she regarded Rook somewhat pensively, weighing and measuring something in her mind, before her lips curled in a slight smirk. "Are you trying to seduce me again? Two nights in a row?"
Rook blinked at her tiredly. "Except you don't have nuts for brains. Unless you're trying to make me aware of something you didn't before." He laughed and layed a hand on her leg. "And me? Seduce you? Not at all. I'm just trying to make friendly conversation. And if it just happens to result in a kiss, maybe two, then all the better for it. I did like the feel of your lips." Tiredness was getting the better of him, even as they exchanged quips and he didn't know how much longer he could keep them open.
"Depends on who you ask." Roxanne grinned, there were plenty of people that thought she was stupid for living the way she did, or who thought she wasn't stupid - just crazy. Her eyes flashed playfully as he rested one of his hands on her leg, but she could see how tired he was. It was almost a shame. Pulling herself up she leaned over him and kissed him softly for a few moments before dragging herself wearily off the bed.
"I'm not sure you could stay awake long enough to seduce me tonight anyway." She grinned before wiggling out of her boots, no-hand style, considering her handicap. Her good hand was busy unfastening her stiff jerkin, before dumping it unceremoniously on the floor with her boots, and her belt with the heavy knife followed a couple moments later. "I'd make myself comfortable now, before you pass out, if I were you..."
"Oh your guess is probably right. I'd hate to be humiliated in failing to finish what we start," he murmured, feeling his eyes drifting close, even before he could take off his boots and clothes and belt, falling fastly asleep.
[Hope taking off his boots was alright. Grams would switch him with a spoon for sleeping with his dirty boots in the bed. lol]
So much for that! Roxanne grinned as Rook passed out right before her eyes. She could almost feel sorry for him, it had been a really long, exhausting day. Even she had to admit she was ready to just crawl into bed and pass out. Of course it was never so simple. Sighing she wiggled out of her breeches, leaving just her loose linen shirt to cover her, barely longer than her hips.
Come morning the huntress was snuggled under the warm blankets and against Rook's side, he'd wake to find that his boots had been carefully peeled off and set neatly by the bed and he'd been tucked in, though everything else had been left alone.
[Lol! I would too! Only I'm allowed to dirty my bed with my shoes!]
Rook opened his eyes to soft sunlight and didn't want to get up from the comfort he'd been in. That was the problem with being in civiclization for any extended period of time, you began to get complacent. All ready, Rook remembered just how much he missed sleeping in a real bed. But when he knew it was time to get up, he sat up and rubbed his sore neck. Noticing he was left barefooted, he wiggled his toes and found his boots on the floor. He peered across from him and smiled at Roxanne's sleeping form. "Good morning, sunshine."
Roxanne had been sleeping so peacefully, there was a soft bed and a warm body. What more could you ask for? Of course there was also a dull throbbing in her wrist, but that was almost something she could ignore. The sound of Rook's voice, however, was not something her brain could just shut out. She'd felt him sit up, sort of, but had ignored it and kept dozing, but now her eyes fluttered open as she peeked up at him with a soft groan, then nuzzled her face back down in the pillow.
"Five more minutes..." She mumbled, only half joking.
He smirked at her, observing her reluctance and just as she buried her face into her pillow again, he took his and lightly slammed it onto her face. "Okay sleeping beauty!" he laughed and stuffed his feet into his boots. "But Grams is making bacon and eggs! Another morning where you don't have to cook!"
Roxanne grumbled when she was smacked in the face with a pillow, what did Rook have against sleep? How could you be so cheery that early? Lifting her head and looking around the room she sighed and tossed the blankets off, revealing that she was dressed in naught but her shirt. "You forgot to mention biscuits - and gravy. I bet I can get a bath..." She yawned, stretching a bit.
He couldn't help it. No man that appreciated beauty in any way could help it. He watched her stretch from the corner of his eye, though he tried not to make it so obvious. "Well, I'm sure we both could use a good scubbing," he said. He didn't know what all the smiles were for, but he supposed it was better than looking grim. After all, it wasn't like Rook knew just when he was going to have the comfort of a bed again and a hot meal in his belly. He wasn't going to squander any such moment before it was gone.
"Gracy and biscuits. Just what I need to make myself fatter. A man can't ask for much more. But I remember what happened the last time I was an invalid. I gained too much weight than I would have liked. I've since lost it, you know. I mean look at this! This is how it ought to look most of the time!" he exclaimed, lifting his tunic up and flexing his stomach muscles, slapping a hand across them too, in a mild effort to impress.
"I'll scrub your back if you scrub mine?" The huntress teased. Rook couldn't hide the fact that his eyes had strayed over her body as she stretched. It wasn't as if he hadn't seen her completely bare and given her a good ride, why he'd try to hide his appreciation of her form now seemed almost silly.
Roxanne smirked as Rook lifted his tunic to show off to her, oh yes, she was quite impressed. She's already seen, touched, tasted, and enjoyed all that rather fine body of his. Standing she sauntered over with a grin, reaching a hand out to lightly run up his stomach. "Oh yes, I agree, this is definitely how I would prefer them."
Smirking she gave him a playful little pinch. "But I think one morning of feasting after how little we ate yesterday won't hurt you too much. Besides, if you don't eat it Grams will guilt you into eating even more. She could sell boats to an Essyri."
Her hand was a little cool to the touch, but Rook just smirked at her, ignoring his shivers and dropped his shirt as he strode over to the door. "I won't hide my appetite. I might even get thirds," he replied. "But I think Grams might appreciate it if you put on your trousers. She might get a different idea about us. Not that I mind at all."
He waited idly by the door for a moment longer, observing her wrist. "How does it feel?" he asked, gesturing to it.
Roxanne rolled her eyes, but walked over to her pile of belongings and began dressing, albeit awkwardly with one good hand and one that was almost useless. "I brought you here, Grams already thinks we're having some torrid affair."
She managed to get her trousers on, though didn't bother trying to tuck in her shirt. "My wrist is fine, shoo, Grams is probably already imagining what we've been doing lazing about up here." She could dress herself without his commentary or his help.
Downstairs in the kitchen the table would be set with serving plates piled with biscuits, bacon, and scrambled eyes, there was a gravy bowl and salt and pepper dishes, as well as a pot of coffee, cream, sugar, honey, jam...Grams was humming pleasantly as she set places for the three of them, rather pleased with having company to fuss over.
Rook had already stepped through the otherside and tipped his head back far enough to look at her slyly. "And no doubt telling everyone she knows!" he beamed and closed the door behind him. The steps were a chore, bot nothing he couldn't handle and he was eager to try just about everything she made.
"Good morning Grams," Rook greeted at the steps and hobbled his way toward the table. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
Grams looked up and smiled brightly as Rook hobbled towards the table. "Well aren't you a sweetie pie, don't you worry about lifting a finger, honey, you're a guest, have a seat and help yourself. I was starting to wonder if you two were ever going to come down." The old woman was grinning from ear to ear as she bustled about, wiping up some spilled flour before sitting down and pouring herself some coffee. "Did you two sleep well? Everything was comfortable enough?"
Rook just smirked as he helped himself to a plate of eggs and sausages and bacon - plenty of that. "Oh we slept as well as bundled rabbits," he said, not shying away from laying it on extra thick. "How was your rest, Grams? I hope we didn't keep you awake. We spent half the night talking and we finally fell asleep to a bunch of giggles. I tell you, Grams, I had almost forgotten what it was like to talk to another human being, I stayed so long out in the woods."
"I slept as well as I could expect, I honestly didn't hear a peep from your room all night. In my old age I don't sleep as much as I used to, been up for a while, so I made a huge breakfast - actually I do every morning. Usually a grandchild or four make sure none of it goes to waste." She said merrily. "You hunters are a funny bunch, always out in the woods, alone, I don't know how you and Roxi stand it. I would be so lonely without all my babies around."
They'd be able to hear Roxanne's boots as they came down the stairs and into the kitchen. She hadn't manged to tuck in her shirt, get her belt back on, or fasten her vest, but the huntress didn't seem to care as she plopped down at the remaining set place and grabbed a couple biscuits to drop on her plate. "Morning Grams, after breakfast can we drag out the washtub and borrow some soap and towels? I don't know about him, but I feel sticky and want clean."
Rook quirked a brow at her last comment and he snickered. "As a man, I suppose I can just handle the stink better than she can," he quipped and licked his fingers from the bacon grease. He took a biscuit or two for himself and bit them, watching the old woman from his other eye. "So Grams just how many grandchildren do you have in this village? How many children did you bear?"
"Oh posh, you should both get cleaned up. Smelly men with scruff all over their faces don't win over the ladies." Grams admonished Rook while Roxanne smirked, tearing up her biscuits before pouring gravy over them. "Well I had sixteen children, honey, couldn't tell you how many grandchildren or great grandchildren that has turned into! More than this old lady can count, but I love them all."
"She forgets which ones are hers and which aren't, hence Grams is Grams to everyone." Roxanne added oh so helpfully, but she was grinning as she took a bite of gravy-smothered biscuit.
"Don't you pay no mind to her, sugar, she exaggerates. I know which ones are mine and which aren't, but they're all so darn cute I can't help but love them all. My blood or not, can't resist a baby. I was born to mother people, it's always what I've been best at." Grams laughed.
"I like my scruff," he smirked and scratched his beard. "But yeah, a bath would do us both some good,. As would a change of clothes."
As odd as it was, it was actually quite endearing to think about Grams, surrounded by all of her progeny and then some. Rook felt an unusual warmth spread in him that made a sweet smile touch his lips. "I never had a mother," he said softly. "I was raised but by my da. He was a hunter too. Torsten never married. Something told me he had a sweet heart in the village we lived near, but they never married because her father didn't like him. Rumor went about saying that the little boy she had looked an awful lot like him, but he never spoke of it. I think my da always wanted a family. I think that's why he raised me. So you're right about one thing, blood or not, family's family."
Rook was quiet for a small moment and went about eating his breakfast and drinking his coffee black but with one droplet of sugar. It helped the memories go down.
"If you don't have a change of clothes with you I'll ask one of my grandsons if he can spare a set," Grams eyed Rook up and down a moment before nodding, "I think Logan is about your size."
Both women fell silent and still as Rook talked, Grams had a warm, motherly smile on her face as he spoke about family. Roxanne just looked down at her plate, pushing the food about with her fork as he finished. She had three brothers who were alive and out there somewhere, but whom she hadn't spoken to since she was eleven years old.
"Well at least you've gotten that figured out, unlike some stubborn mules." Grams added making a not-at-all subtle gesture towards Roxanne, who ignored her and resumed eating her soggy breakfast.
At the offer of fresh clothes, Rook nodded and swallowed his last bite. "I would be most grateful," he said. He looked to Roxanne and pat her shoulder from across the table. "Grams, you should take a look at her hand when you get the chance. She had a nasty fall yesterday and I set it as best I could."
Roxanne glared up at him when Rook patted her and told Grams to look at her wrist. The old woman just laughed. "Don't you worry about her, she's not so big that old Grams can't still switch her for being unruly, I'll have a look in a bit." She stood up from the table with a smile. "First things first, though, let me run on over to see about some clothes for you, honey."
As soon as Grams was out the door the huntress gave Rook a light nudge with her foot under the table. "Don't volunteer me for more of her smothering. I get more than I can take from her as it is."
He scowled a little. "What's the big deal? I wager the old woman probably doesn't see you very often. Just let her coddle you. You're lucky you have someone who cares so much," Rook hissed. "Besides, she's harmless. Maybe you should appreciate her instead of complaining."
"You don't get it. She's going to come back here with clothes for you, and then she's going to want to stick me in a dress, and she's going to see Logan who is only one of her very few unmarried grandsons, who just so happens to be 'about your size'."
Roxanne snorted, that was awfully convenient. "There's a reason she doesn't see me too often, she's been trying to get her claws into me for years, give her two days and she'll have me married to Logan and nagging me about more great-grandchildren she doesn't need. Gods, give her two days and she'll find you one of her granddaughters to marry! She collects family members like some old ladies collect cats."
"You know you snore when you sleep," Rook commented idly, as if blatanly ignoring everything she just said. "And you need to clean your nose. You've got snot hanging out." He laughed a little and bit into a biscuit before scraping food off his plate and stacking the dirt ones to be washed in the basin. "Besides, just tell her you're already involved. She might back off."
"I do not!" Roxanne pouted, watching him put his dirty dishes into the wash basin. "First you tell me to appreciate her, and now you're telling me to lie to her. Not that she'd believe me." The huntress made a face. "She knows me too well."
"It''s not like you're telling her to go to hell," Rook said, shrugging his shoulders. "You don't have to lie to her, you can just build a little on the truth. Say uh...you could say that we're an item. I don't mind. Like you said, she already thinks we're having an affair."
"One fluke does not an affair make." Roxanne pointed out. "Though she doesn't know that, I guess." Picking up her empty plate she put it on top of the small pile of dirty dishes in the basin before patting him on the shoulder. "Come on lover boy, we can get the wash tub down and ready while we're waiting on her to bring you clothes."
"You just want to bring me along so I can do all the heavy lifting, Miss Gimp-Wrist," he snapped and finished midwash before hobbling after her toward the wash basin. "All right, where is this glorious washbasin? Is there a water pump somewhere to fill it up?"
Roxanne actually recoiled slightly when he snapped at her. Now what had she done or said wrong? Fuck people were hard. Rook was even harder than some others! Sometimes they seemed to almost get along, then there were these moments. "Just forget it, I'll do it myself. I don't need your help, gimp wrist or not."
Rook softened immediately. "No, wait, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry, I'll help you," he press. "Please I want to help." He smiled tryingly. "I was only kidding, c'mon. You're no more a gimp than I."
A soft growl of frustration actually came out of the huntress. "Make up your mind. We wake up and I think things are fine, then I spend all breakfast pissing you off. Which is it?" It was her, Roxanne knew the problem was hers. She was doing something wrong. "What did I say wrong just now? Was it the lover boy? I was just teasing you." Was it calling the other night a fluke? That hadn't seemed all the inaccurate to her.
Rook frowned and shook his head. "No, nothing is wrong. At least, nothing I wasn't made aware of. I thought we were going to get the washbasin. Look...did I say something the wrong way? I didn't mean to snap at you. I was just trying to make a joke, y'know, the banter we were doing. I guess, I came off too strongly. I didn't mean it. I'm sorry, Roxanne." He tried again to smile, though it was shyer now, tentative, as if he were walking on thin ice.
Roxanne had to close her eyes and take a couple deep breaths to calm herself, just because of the sheer frustration. Rook was walking on thin ice, but not because of anything he was doing. The huntress had done this to herself through years and years of self-inflicted isolation. "It doesn't matter. I'm just...not good at this." She waved her hand between them. "This being around someone, the banter, the back and forth, the...everything." She sighed.
Rook's smile only widened and he took a step closer to her. "That's okay. You know, I guess me not being around people much when I was a lad, made me want to be around people a little more as a man. I mean...I value my peace and solace, but I guess I fall easily into conversation when the mood gets me. You don't have to be good at it. We don't have to say anything. C'mon let's go get that basin, flies are starting to swarm around me," he laughed and put an arm around her shoulder, hopping toward the door and dragging her along.
Not saying anything sounded like a pretty solid plan at this point. Every time Roxanne opened her mouth she seemed to put her foot in it somehow. When he put an arm around her shoulder her instinctive reaction was to put her arm around his waist. She managed a smile, feeling some of the tension drain out of her as she let herself be pulled along. "I grew up surrounded by people, seems unfair you're so good at this and I'm just awful."
Of course she pulled him towards the back of the house, the tub was on a hook on the wall in a back room and a hand pump in the corner opposite the fireplace. "We'll have to start a fire and boil some water if you don't like washing in cold water."
"Whoever said life was fair. If it was, my da would still be with me," Rook said with a sad smile. "Let's just get this grim off us, all right." He helped her bring down the washbasin. It looked like it would be a snug fit, even for him and he set it down onto the ground. "You start the fire. I'll collect the water," he suggested, and began working the pump. There were pails along the side of it, beside a closet and he filled them one at a time so that the one could be boiled and the other could be cool.
"I know you don't like washing in cold water," he smirked, handing her a pail. "Just looking at you. Maybe you can handle it cold if you must, but if you have the chance, you'll take it warm."
Starting a fire was a very simple task, or so you would think. Of course it was so much easier when both your hands worked properly. Roxanne fumbled with the task for a few moments before finally getting the kindling to catch properly. She looked over at him and arched a brow when he told her matter-of-factly that she didn't like washing in cold water. "Who doesn't prefer warm to cold when they can manage it? I'll take a hot bath over rinsing off in a cold creek any day - not that I don't end up in the creek most of the time."
Her cabin wasn't so well-equipped as Grams nice house. The hand pump, for instance, as not something she had. Roxanne had to fetch water from the creek. She took the pail and hung it carefully over the flames to heat. "How do you prefer yours? Ice cold?" She smirked.
Rook looked at her knowingly. "As hot as I can get it," he said, winking at her. "Of course, being out in the wilderness doesn't afford us many chances for that. But you know that. So...er, turns. Ladies first I imagine?"
"That a boy." Roxanne smirked, though a moment later she was eyeing the tub calculatingly. "Yes, turns, pity the tub isn't larger..." Flint and blue eyes flashed playfully. "Such a gentleman to offer the lady first dibs."
Rook's smile turned wry and he leaned in, stepping closer to Roxanne, kissing the side of her lips, just beside her cheek. "No problem," he said, returning the banter. "I may be a hunter, but I wasn't raised in a barn." And exited the room to give her some privacy.
Roxanne made a noncommittal sound when Rook kissed her, then watched him leave before rolling her eyes and starting to undress, muttering about men being completely beyond comprehension. Then again, it was probably her again.
Grams was fixing cushions in the living room, and she flashed Rook a huge smile before pointing to a pile of clothes folded neatly in a chair. "Logan was very accommodating, got you some clean trousers and a shirt that should suit you well enough, honey. I stopped by Nancy's place too and picked up somethings for Roxi as well. I won't have you dears leaving hungry or dirty. Don't worry about returning those clothes either, they won't miss them much."
Rook returned to the main room when Grams came in, bearing the gift of fresh clothing. "Oh good! I think Roxanne will like that. And yes, they likely won't want them back once we're through," Rook laughed and took Logan's clothes. They were common clothes, clean trousers and a jerkin. "I'll take Nancy's to Roxanne too. She's bathing now. Oh don't worry, I've already seen her naked." He winked at Grams and went to the back of the house once more, carefully knocking on the side and covering his eyes with one hand and setting the clothes on the side.
"Courtesy of Grams, your highness!" he chuckled, watching her for a brief second longer.
Grams chuckled at Rook's comment about having seen Roxi naked, "I'm sure you have, honey."
Roxanne blinked and looked up at the sound of the knock. She'd barely added hot water to the tub. He'd been gone for only a minute, she laughed at his covered eyes. "Little late for modesty isn't it? You've already seen it. In fact, I seem to recall you taking my clothes last time, instead of bringing them."
Rook looked across to Roxanne, taking his hand away. "Maybe you wou wouldn't mind giving me another peek," he gave a smug grin and winked at her again. "After all, I am giving you clothes instead of taking them away."
"Mmmm...maybe, but why should I?" Roxanne asked coyly. "I'd have given you more than a peek last night - or this morning, but alas, you didn't seem all that interested. Then again, maybe I was being too subtle." Last night they had both been exhausted and she had been more than a little finicky, but that was entirely besides the point. Her vest and boots had been discarded already, but now undid her trousers and let them slide to the floor before stepping out of them.
Rook's smile turned sour and he pouted at her teasing. "Oh you are a cruel woman and WOULD tease me," he said, smirked as he watched her drop her trousers. "But still, I'm a gentleman and the picture of your ass shall be burned into my mind while I give you your well-deserved privacy. It's as lovely as ever by the way."
"You make it so easy to tease, though..." Roxanne grinned and put her hands on her hips, covered only by the loose shirt that barely covered her hips. "I do have a lovely ass, thank you for noticing, now go if you're going, Sir Gentleman, or were you wanting some more images burned into your mind? I don't only have a great ass you know." Her grin turned into a teasing smirk as she lifted her hands and began loosening the laces of her shirt.
Speak of a devil and he shall appear. Just as Rook was about to leave, the shirt dropped to the ground and his eyes grew wide. He was speechless for the longest time, but soon his lips curled into a coy smile. "And just how long did you plan on keeping those hidden?" he teased. "Because lemme tell you, it wouldn't have been for long."
The expression on Rook's face was priceless, and Roxanne couldn't help the slightly wicked grin at his reaction. "Hidden? Why I'm sure I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about."
"Oh you don't do you?" he replied softly, smirking. He stepped in, sauntering toward her. "You don't have to play coy with me. Like you said, I've seen just about everything." He smirked wider and leaned in to kiss her.
Roxanne's eyes glittered as he sauntered over, watching him with more than a little amusement, and perhaps some lust as well. "Mm, your point?" She murmured as he leaned in for a kiss, and reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck loosely, her lips seeking his in an almost tentative kiss.
"Oh I had a point? I must have forgotten it. Rook smiled just seconds before sealing his lips to hers. He kissed her softly at first before deepening it with a tilt of his head. His arm reached up, feeling along hers and where her injured wrist was. "We better be careful, I wouldn't want to disrupt the progess of your injury."
At first Roxanne had worried that maybe he was just going to give her a teasing taste and then run off again, actually she still worried he might. She let out a soft sound of annoyance when he just had to bring up her wrist. "Yes, yes...we can be careful and still enjoy ourselves. My wrist is fine, I'm not made of glass." She kissed him again, teeth giving a soft grazing to his bottom lip as she pressed her body against him.
"Yeah, yeah, Miss Fragility," he murmured, smiling before kissing her once more. "Maybe we can find out if the tub really has room enough for two." He laughed a little before tossing her down into the water of the tub, leaning over her, his own clothes wet from the splash. But it didn't matter. His hands reached down and peeled back the leather of his tunic and he dropped his belt, throwing it off to the side, leaving him in his bare back and body.
Roxanne gasped in surprise when he tossed her into the tub, water splashing on them both, and the floor. Grinning, she wasn't able to contain a soft laugh of delight. His belt and tunic were discarded and the huntress used her good hand to lightly trace the muscles of his chest and stomach admiringly. "I don't know, I think it'll be a rather," she chuckled softly, "tight fit."
Rook dunked his head into the water, kissing her fiercely. He laughed and went about removing his trousers, careful of his leg wound. "Bah well, we both need a cleaning anyway. We'll save water sharing and the water would be just right anyway," He turned over in the tub and sat down, coaxing her to lay against him, much in the way they had, keeping warm in the furs and he took the brush beside the tub and slathered it with the slippery bar of soap before scrubbing at her back. "Ick! I can already see you shedding layers as it is!"
Roxanne smirked into the kiss, but pouted when it ended. A soft sigh was given before wiggling around to accommodate Rook as he settled into the tub, and resting comfortably against him. Maybe she had misjudged the ability for them both to bathe in the small basin. Her eyes closed as he began scrubbing her back, and she let out another sigh. "Well if you weren't trying to scrub the scars off my back." She teased, "Besides, you'll shed more, bet you."
Rook grinned and brushed gentler on her back. It really was a tight fit for the two of them, so much so that his legs were sticking out of the tub. "Oh I wouldn't dream of that," he murmured. "Scars are the sexiest thing a woman could have on her. At least I think so. Didn't I tell you I like rough n tumble gals? Especially ones named Roxanne."
"You really must think yourself quite the charmer." Roxanne grinned, "I bet you say things like that to all the women that shoot you." She ran a hand along his leg - the one that wasn't hurt- and smirked at how they were crammed together in the tub.
"I am, I am! I might not be a poet, but all I have to do is flash a smile, flex my body a little, and show them my bow," he giggled and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him and leaning in to kiss her neck. He didn't mind a little fooling around, and it even made it a little more exciting in such a confined space. But more so, he just wanted to share the company of a woman he was quickly becoming fond off. Even in her social disability, Rook enjoyed her smiles, her teasing, her banter. They felt easy, without either of them having to put on airs or try harder than they had to.
Roxanne grinned, rolling her eyes a bit at Rook's verbal posturing. "Oh yes, but for me it took a romantic stroll through the forest, followed by an invigorating dip in the river, not to mention the sultry seduction by fireside. Damn, I must be hard to get. You are good." She hummed softly as he pulled her against him, enjoying the feel of his arms around her, and the kiss sent pleasant shivers down her spine. Maybe she had been going about this all wrong before. It wouldn't be surprising at all if she had been misjudging the hunter - she always did.
"The hardest. I had to get shot in the leg to get you," he laughed, kissing up along her neck again. His lips were warm and hungry for hers. He had long since stopped brushing her back and dropped the brush against the side of the tub. Rook smiled against her skin, dragging them up along her jaw and turning his head over her shoulder to seal her lips to his.
Roxanne felt the breath catching in her throat as he kissed along her neck. Her head twisted, their lips coming together, hers were soft, warm, and eager as she poured herself into the kiss with a soft sigh of pleasure. Thoughts of bathing had been driven from her mind, entirely focused on the way his lips moved against hers. She moved her non-bandaged hand to gently cover one of his.
His arms were like vices around her. "You're a terribly good kisser," he giggled against her lips. "I guess I taught you a thing or two." And slipped further into the waters.
She couldn't have budged from his grasp if she wanted to, his arms were holding her so snugly, it was a good thing Roxanne didn't want to go anywhere. "I was already a good kisser," she smirked, squirming a little in his arms.
Rook loosened his hold on her just enough to allow her plenty of movement. His hands were busy exploring the muscles of her back anyway and a little freedom never hurt anyone anyway. "How do you know?" he murmured, turning his head the other way and exploring the other side of her neck. "How do you know you're a good kisser unless you're kissing a mirror or something?"
Roxanne slid closer, settling against his chest comfortably, letting her fingers bury themselves in his hair as her neck tilted to give him free access. "Believe it or not, you're not the first man to tell me that I'm a good kisser." She breathed softly, although she really didn't want to think about any of the men from her past. "I'm sure I'm not the first woman to tell you you're not so bad at this yourself." She murmured against his skin.
He chuckled against her skin. "All right, I'll accept that answer. Just open up a little more there," he muttered, kissing up along her throat and just down below her ear. He grinned against her skin, for she smelled of the forest and river and faintly of soap.
Her slender neck happily obliged his request, tilting to let his lips have their way with her throat, a soft moan escaping. Rook was making Roxanne quiver with pleasure and need and wanting. At first she'd been impatient with all the small, tender gestures the hunter gave her - the gentle care he tended to her with the night before, the banter, the taunting - but the more he caressed and kissed, the more she found herself not only enjoying it, but wanting more of it.
Rook paid careful to attention to what spots were more intense than others, as he kissed up her jaw and back towards her mouth. Her breath, her moans, drove him crazy and he kissed her fervently, passionately, deeply, wanting nothing more than to please her as she so rightfully deserved. Of course, making love in the tub proved to be easier said than done, but Rook managed nonetheless, and soon he lay sprawled in the water, breathing hard and smiling up at the ceiling. "You're right the tub wasn't big enough for us," he panted. "I think we put a few more dents into it than before."
Rook stole her breath away with every passionate kiss, every soft caress of his fingers brought tremors and moans. They had chosen a very tight place in which to attempt to make love, but her hunter did not disappoint. Roxanne had practically melted against him in the water, feeling wildly satisfied as she lay panting softly against him, good arm lazily laid across his stomach and chest. She giggled breathlessly at his words, yes, it had been a very snug fit, but they had managed. "Grams should invest in a larger tub, I know we're not the first to think of this." She practically purred.
Rook laughed, "Probably not. But eh, it's pretty fun. And a bigger tub would certainly mean more leg room." He leaned in to kiss her lips and smiled down at her face. "I guess we should get to that cleaning now. Oh...but the soap is all the way over there! Musta slid away in your antics. Good gods. " Rook used the brush to carefully to pull the soap over to him and gripped it tightly until it slipped into the water. "I didn't stress your wrist too bad, did I?" he said.
Roxanne grinned against the kiss, looking up at him with a playful gleam to her normally cold eyes. "Very fun, and what do you mean my antics?" She stuck her tongue out at him, but he was right about getting clean. The water was cooling and they hadn't really succeeded in getting cleaner at all, perhaps dirtier...
He asked about her wrist, before she might have been annoyed at his concern, but she was much too content for irritation. With a smile she shook her head and leaned up to give him a soft kiss on his cheek. "No, you were wonderful."
"Oh good. I'd hate to think I caused you injury in what was supposed to be a moment of fun." He laughed softly, taking the brush and running it along her front. "How about I propose a deal. You wash me and I wash you, eh? How does that sound?"
"Oh please, if anything I'd be worried about your leg." Hopefully she hadn't caused him more trouble with it, she'd caused Rook more than enough grief in their short time together. Her eyes lit up as he ran the brush across her skin and offered his proposal of washing each other. "I thought that was all part of the plan of getting you into this tub with me in the first place?"
"I thought you just wanted another sample of my manliness, my hairy chest, and muscular body," he jested and flexed his muscles playfully, sucking in the full stomach of his after eating that breakfast. "Lift your leg, your feet are looking particularly slimy." He sat up and awkwardly reached forward to scrub the bubbly brush across her feet and legs, not trying too hard to tickle her.
"Well that too." Roxanne grinned as she lifted her leg, though as he scrubbed it was hard not to twitch a bit as the actions did tickle a little, causing her to giggle, which made her put a hand over her mouth, lips twitching as she suppressed the sound. Roxanne Davenport did not giggle like a silly girl. Certainly not over a man, even if he was tickling her.
"What is this?" he muttered, observing her attempt to suppress her giggles. "Are you? Are you GIGGLING?" And he scrubbed her foot more frantically.
"What?" she gasped, eyes widening. "No!" Too late, she wiggled and squirmed, giggling as he wielded the scrub brush as a weapon against her. Biting her bottom lip didn't help stop her giggling, and she glared at him playfully. "Stop! Stop! Anything but that!"
"Yeah right. Now that I found your mortal weakness, do you think I'm not going to exploit it!?" Rook scrubbed her foot viciously - well, he wasn't trying to take her skin off - and soon brought the brush to scrub in the sensitive spots of her neck and her under arms.
Roxanne growled through her giggles, eyes flashing in indignation at this vicious assault to her person. Still, she was grinning as she reached for the brush, trying to wrestle it away from him. "That's it, I think you've lost your scrubbing privileges! My turn."
"Fine!" he smirked and threw his arms out to the back. "Do your worst! I can take it!"
Roxanne smirked and lathered the brush as best she could, every time she turned around there was something else that her broken wrist got in the way of her doing normally. "This seems highly unfair, you've got both your hands and you're probably not ticklish either just to spite me." She gave a fake pout before gently scrubbing his chest. "At least you're nice to look at." She smirked up at him.
Rook smiled at her gentle strokes. "I'm starting to think you're not happy unless you have something to complain about," he snickered and sat up more to give her a better angle with which to clean him, moving his legs a little. "And you shouldn't give yourself such a hard time. Tee hee! See!? I'm ticklish!"
"Roxanne the complainer, yup, that's me." she offered with a grin. Did she complain a lot? Probably. The part about giving herself a hard time made her make a face at him. "The world seems to like giving me a hard time, might as well go with it, right?" She grinned and gave him a little pinch on the arm. "And you're just saying you're ticklish because you think that's what I want to hear."
Rook's smile softened. "No, no you don't have to go with it at all," he answered. "You think the world has any bright torch light for me? Not at all. But I'd like to think I can find good things when I can. If anyone should give you a hard time, it shouldn't be you." He winced a little, when the brush ran along a sensitive spot on his neck and he tried to hold back a giggle, to little avail.
"These good things must be working, because you are pretty cheery for someone that is being stalked by a pretty intimidating beast. So what kind of good things do you find?" A gleam entered Roxanne's blue-grey eyes as Rook tried and failed to hold back a giggle. "Ah, perhaps you do have a weak spot." She purred the words before lightly sliding the brush back across what seemed to be a ticklish spot on his neck.
"Hey! Quit..." He sputtered again and snickered, laughing loudly. "I was gonna say. I found good drinks, friendly people to share them with, and good nights to have. It doesn't take a lot to make me happy, I guess."
His sputtering and laughter were met with a smirk, but Roxanne moved the brush away from his neck and got more soap before scrubbing along his hips and legs, taking special care around his wounds. "I don't know, sounds like stuff that would make most people pretty happy. Good drinks and good company, what more could you really ask for?" She shrugged her shoulders, sounded pretty nice to her. Shame she found so few people she actually liked being around.
"I ike the quiet too, I think few people appreciate that. Even fewer you could enjoy it with. Y'know...when I asked if you ever wanted to hunt together sometimes, I meant it. If ever we met up again, I think we might have a good time. Would it be such a bad thing?"
"No, it wouldn't be a bad thing." Roxanne agreed quietly. In the short time she'd known Rook, she had to admit that despite all the trouble they'd gone through she'd enjoyed his company. Of course that wasn't going to last for all that much longer, so she just resolved to try to enjoy him while she could. "Anytime you're in Adela you've an open invitation to stay with me - if you wanted. Just don't expect me to drop everything to entertain you."
Rook slowly smiled. "I'd like that. But of course I wouldn't want to impose. I don't think you'd be lingering near that ol' hunter's cabin would you? Or would you likely be hanging around Grams?" He kissed her cheek, lingering softly before sitting back.
"No, not there." Roxanne hadn't ever intended to go back to that place, but when you needed somewhere to go in an emergency you weathered the storm wherever you could. Hopefully she'd never need it again. "It wouldn't be imposing if I invited you, now would it? Just come here to Grams, she'll at least know where to find me." She closed her eyes, smiling faintly at the lingered kiss to her cheek. "You're going to be the death of me, you know that?" She teased him. "Here I was happy to stay away from everyone and now here I am inviting you to stay whenever you're in the area and saying I'll let Grams keep tabs on me."
"From what I hear, Grams keeps tabs on you anyway. I didn't tell her we were an item yet, whether it's true or not," Rook smirked at Roxanne and took the brush to finish what he had started, washing her back. When they were mostly done bathing, Rook stood from the water, shaking his cherry curls out and looked around. "There aren't any clean towels or doeS Grams like to airdry or something?"
Roxanne narrowed her eyes at Rook. What had he heard that would make him think that? Maybe she needed to have a talk with Grams. Though she gave a soft snort as he started washing her back again. She wasn't honestly sure what they were. Not lovers - not really. Friends? She supposed that one could be possible if he was planning on coming around from time to time.
They finished bathing and he stood up looking for towels. "There should be some over in that cabinet, I think." She waved her hand at a where she was talking about before standing and stepping out. "I hope Grams didn't get me skirts..." She muttered glancing at the pile of clean clothes that Rook had brought in.
Rook was content with being friends. It was true he did not have many friends, for they were hard to hold and maintain. An occasional run in was all right, but eventually they drifted apart. He hoped that wouldn't end the same way with Roxanne. He found the towels in the cabinet and looked over his shoulder. "Oh, I think she might've. I guess Grams just thinks you look pretty in a dress."
Roxanne rummaged through the clothes and made a soft sound of annoyance. "Grams is always trying to push me into things she thinks are good or right. Like trying to get me to wear dresses and skirts..." She pulled out a a long shift, with full green skirts, a soft, loose cream blouse, and a green bodice. "She's out of her mind. How would you even hunt in this? I can't go traipsing about in the woods dressed in this."
"Oh you'd look nice!" Rook couldn't help the playful jab as he took Logan's clothes and slipped into them. "And if you're desperate, you can always cut the dress down the middle and sew them into pant legs!'
Roxanne rolled her eyes, oh yes, that's just what she was worried about, looking nice. "Do I seem the domestic type? I don't know how to sew." Well that's wasn't completely true, when she was really little Grams had tried to teach her, but she had never gotten very good at it, and that was years ago. Sighing in resignation she began slipping on the tedious layers. At least it was a rather simple dress. Smoothing down the skirts, it wasn't a perfect fit, but it was pretty close. "Rook, would you come tighten my laces, please?" She couldn't do it with only one hand, and they were on the back of the bodice too. Why did women wear clothes they needed help getting in and out of?
"Well, as a hunter you ought to know how to stitch at least. It's the same idea really," Rook muttered as he helped her into the dress. He stood behind her and helped bind the laces across her back and tightened them until she looked at least remotely uncomfortable. "Ahh look at you!" he said, stepping back and beaming. "You know, you really do look good! At least yours fit you. These pants are a little tight if you ask me."
Roxanne was uncomfortable the moment she'd seen the dress, let alone when he tightened it up, she ran a hand down the front of the bodice, making sure everything was smoothed and properly placed. If she had to wear the dress, she at least wanted it to look right. Turning to eye Rook she laughed slightly as he mentioned the pants being too tight. "Lay off Grams cooking or it'll be worse, but hey, them being tight just means you get to show off your nice ass, right?" She grinned as she went to rummage for a brush in the cabinet. Pulling one out she started running it through her thick, dark coppery hair. "When did you want to leave, anyway?"
Rook frowned, fixing his shirt collar and pushing his wet hair out of his face. "I-I don't know. Perhaps later on today, tonight. Though I don't know how soon you want to be rid of me," he asked and gave her a playful smile. "But soon, is as sufficient an answer as I can manage."
Roxanne kept running the brush through her hair, untangling the knots carefully while she considered his response, trying to decide how she felt about it. She finished brushing, and stepped over, offering Rook the brush for his own mess of wet hair. "Well I'm not going to run you off, you've kind of grown on me a little, I could stand to have you around for a bit. Did you want to leave from here alone, or did you want company as far as Ketra?"
Rook's smile was small but genuine, taking the brush in hand and combing his hair back. "I'd like company to Ketra. That would be nice. But what about Dirk? He likely won't be happy know in you decided to prolong our journey together."
Roxanne smiled and patted Rook softly on the arm before stepping around him and heading for the door. "I make my own decisions, and I've decided to go to Ketra with you, Dirk's approval is not required." She paused at the door and looked back with a grin. "Besides, he's going to really hate that I've invited you to come stay with us when you're around."
Rook's face turned red from trying to hold in his laughter, but the amusement was evident in his face. His eyes danced and he nodded to her, offering her his arm, to limp back out into the main room. "Well, all's well that ends well. I think me and Dirk will be fast friends before this is all over. He likes me, I just know it deep down."
Roxanne did laugh as she took Rook's offered arm, eyes flashing with amusement. "Oh yes, I think you're right. Totally adores you. Just playing hard to get." She walked out into the main room with him, but almost tripped up when Grams looked up at them from some knitting with a knowing smile.
"I miss being so young." The old woman chuckled as she worked at the deep emerald scarf she was barely a quarter finished with. "Were you planning on staying for lunch, dearies? Nancy is making a lovely lamb roast, and she invited us all. There will be honey rolls and some sweet potatoes."
Roxanne shook her head and glanced at Rook. "I don't know if we're staying, I guess that's up to him."
"I would love to stay for lunch, but I'm afraid I really should walk off the breakfast first before I stuff myself yet again," Rook said with a triumphant smile. He patted Roxanne's hand. "Roxannee was just going to show me around this lovely little village, show me all the prime views, taverns, beer, and any historical sites to be had."
Roxanne arched a brow at Rook in a fairly skeptical expression. "She was, was she?" It was a small village, she honestly wasn't sure what he expected to see, but if she really thought about it there might be a couple things worth taking a peek at. "If you insist, I guess I can play the part of tour guide for a little while."
Rook blushed and forced a smile, hoping she would have caught on that such a notion would get them out of the house, and furthermore away from Grams' nosy self. "Oh yes, you said so after bathing? It would do us some good, don't you think? To get some fresh air and take in the sights. After you, milady," he smirked and tried to usher her out.
Roxanne gave Rook a funny look, before realizing he was just trying to get out of the house. "Oh right, fresh air. Come along then." Seizing his arm she didn't need to be ushered as she waved at Grams before pulling him out the front door. When it shut behind them, she glanced over at him and let go of his arm. "So what do you really want?"
"Well, I was half serious. I would like to be shown around, and in the meantime we can just enjoy the quiet. Or bump into Dirk, who I see is busy rummaging down the street in any ol' barrel he can find." He chuckled and pointed to the gryphon just up ahead with his head buried in an apple barrel and stems piled around him.
Roxanne blinked, then looked in the direction Rook pointed, face setting in a scowl. "I told him to go home. That feather-headed pain in the ass." Sighing she walked down the front steps and looked around, trying to decide what to do. If he really did want to be given the grand tour, she had to figure out what was worth looking at - and they'd probably disagree on what was and wasn't interesting.
"Well, I guess I could show you the house I grew up in? This is kind of a small place, so there's really just homes and the inn. Oh, there's a blacksmith, don't know if you'd be interested in the forge or not. There's a general store too, and a little off there's the mill by the creek." Maybe there was a little more to the village than she'd originally given it credit for.
"I'd be interested in anything you have to show me. My father was a hunter, he could talk for hours about the different kind of leaves he found in the forest, from needles to those big hand shaped ones. So if you're worried about boring me, don't. I'll be interested trust me." Rook gave her a genuine smile and gestured to the blacksmith. "Let's go see what he's forging today."
"To the forge it is, then. I wonder if it is still Mr. Lohar, it's been ages since I really came here and bothered to look at anything or talk to anyone except Grams." Roxanne had severed her ties to this village and these people a long time ago - all except Grams, who was someone she just hadn't had it in her to ignore, even when she had been hurt the most and withdrawn from everyone else, including her own brothers.
The forge wasn't large, but it was littered with tools and finished works. Mostly horse shoes, a few bits of armor, some various knives, and a couple mended pots and pans. Right then the blacksmith was hammering away at another horse shoe. Though when they approached he stopped to look up at them with a smile. A large, older man with a friendly and open face. "Well if it isn't Miss Davenport. Ol' Grams said you were in town, and I saw that beast of yours running about. Mrs. Tenants is going to smack him with a broom if he doesn't get out of her apples."
Roxanne laughed. "No worse than he deserves. I'm surprised you recognized me, I barely recognize you - you've gotten so old."
Mr. Lohar laughed heartily. "I think you'd be surprised how many of us recognize you, and you can't hardly come into town without us knowing, that animal follows you everywhere, see him and we know you're not far off! Though I will say you hurt me, Miss Davenport, you've been using another blacksmith for your metal needs. Probably one of them fancy ones in Ketra, eh?" He said it with a smile, though.
Lohar had the wizened look about him, or would if it face wasn't blackened with smoke and soot. He was a friendly looking man and Rook was happy to meet him as he extended a hand out to him. "I'm Rook. Nice to meet you Mr. Lohar," he said.
Lohar shook his hand hesitantly for a moment but gave him a smile regardless. "And meet ya too Mr. Rook. You one of Roxanne's friends?"
"You could say something like that," Rook said. "If she shoots all her friends in the legs." No...no, he wouldn't let that go. Not when it was such a great conversation starter.
Lohar's shaggy brows shot up at Rook's statement about shooting friends in the leg, and instinctively he glanced down at the hunter's legs. "I knew she was feisty, but that's a new one on me."
Roxanne just shook her head, expression on of mild exasperation. "It was an accident...sort of. You attacked me, you creep." She nudged him with a scowl. Was she never going to hear the end of that one?
The old blacksmith just laughed. "A spitfire for sure. Everyone always said she was her daddy's girl, but I think she might have a bit more of her momma in her than we thought. Did you know that when Richard came courting little Miss Loren she smacked him with a shovel? That was an accident too." The grin that Lohar had on his face didn't really seem like he thought it was much of an accident.
"Smacked him with a shovel?" he said with wide eyes, peering at Roxanne from the corner of his eye. He couldn't help it, and he didn't really know why, but a smirk played at the side of his mouth. "What did this Richard do that was so horrible? Or did you already know what kind of cad he was and wanted to show the rest of the world too?" And before she could answer, Rook put his hands up defensively, playing at cowering an oncoming blow.
[They were talking about Roxanne's parents. xD]
Roxanne glared at Rook. "My father was not a cad, and if he didn't want mother to break his nose then he shouldn't have been sneaking up on her while she was shoveling snow. Like I said - an accident. Besides, they got married less than four months later, so he couldn't have been that upset by it."
Lohar shook his head with a grin. "Yeah, and your brother Samuel was born less than six months after that." Unmarried girls having children wasn't nearly so bad as it was in a place like Connlaoth or Essyrn, but it was still not looked upon favorably. Certainly not in such a small village where everyone was into everyone else's business. "Take from that what you will." With a chuckle he picked up his hammer.
[Loool! Whoops! 8D]
"Oh well, I didn't know, for that I'm sorry. I thought you were simply taking justice into your own hands. But now I see hitting men you're later to become friendly with is a running theme in your family. That's a good thing to keep in mind," he smirked at Roxanne, then looked to Lohar. "From that I can safely assume anyone with the same stock as the huntress here can more than handle themselves around unruly men if they had to." Rook turned to Roxanne and gave her a wink and grin. "And it seems your parents couldn't keep their hands off each other after that..."
Running theme? Roxanne hardly thought so! So what if her mother had hit her father in the face with a shovel on accident? Or that she had shot Rook in the leg and put a knee in his groin? It didn't mean anything except maybe that men were pretty dumb around women. "So? My parents were young and in love, and they actually wanted to get married, they didn't just do it because of Sam. Sam just...speed up the process."
Lohar had been grinning at them, and just shook his head. "You're a funny pair, Grams said so. Now I've got work to do, and it is gonna be loud around here. Roxanne, why don't you take your friend over to say hello at the store."
Rook couldn't help himself, he was still grinning when they said their goodbyes and nice-to-meet-yous and left Lohar to his work. "He's a nice old man. I shoulda had him temper my hunting knife," Rook mused. "But for now, to the store. Do all people in this village have funny memories to share about your parents."
"You still can, he wouldn't mind, but later." Roxanne hooked her good arm around Rook as she lead him down the main street. "Probably. Everyone knew everyone else. If they were alive they'd have stories to tell about everyone else too. I probably do have some too, but I haven't actually lived here in a long, long time."
"I can see the reason you'd want to get away," Rook said, looking at the small children that played in the garden of another villager and then suddenly took notice of Dirk then gryphon and promptly began chasing after him trying to grab his tail. Rook laughed out loud and watched the play with glistening eyes.
Roxanne didn't comment. She hadn't wanted to get away once, but things had happened to her that had changed her. Now what had once been home was nothing but half-remembered stories, and people she could name, but didn't really know. Dirk was playing with some children, and the huntress stopped to watch, a small smile creeping on her face. "Now there's a sight. He always has liked children."
"Then why didn't he like me? I'm almost child-like. I mean, I'm nice and I'd like to pull his tail too! And maybe stomp on it a little for added effect," Rook only smirked and chuckled. "Well, the truth is I really do like Dirk. Even if he doesn't like me. It's his loss really."
Roxanne smirked, she wasn't going to argue with him about being child-like. So far she'd seen him do some pretty childish things. Not that she'd done much better, but that wasn't the point. "Mm. He might warm up to you. I think he's still trying to decide if you're dangerous to us or not." She shrugged her shoulders. "He liked Bill at first, but that was a mistake, so I think he's been overcompensating since."
"That's all right. I know it may not seem it with how I talk so much 'n all, but really...I kinda like to keep to myself. I guess when we're in a life or death situation, I'm much quicker to be friendly. We gotta trust each other if we want to survive. Stressful situations tend to do that. Even Dirk couldn't fight me then. But I guess if you weren't around, he would've left me to die. For that, you deserve than my thanks."
"Don't thank me. You've saved me more times than I've saved you." Roxanne smirked and shook her head, leading Rook down the street. "So you're saying that you only like me because we almost died? Got it." She was only half teasing him.
It was Rook's turn to be a momentary loss of words. He choked on what words wanted to spring up and he shook his head vigorously. "N-no! Not at all" he stammered, flustered. "I just mean that beggars can't be choosers. And I very well wasn't going to leave you behind. And I'm glad you came to the same conclusion!" He smiled awkwardly and stuck his tongue out at her at how stumbling she'd made him.
Roxanne was grinning from ear to ear as Rook got all flustered, quickly stammering out some really amusing things. "Beggars can't be choosers, that's definitely better." She couldn't help but snicker slightly, smirking at his stuck out tongue. Maybe she was giving him too hard of a time. He certainly hadn't been in her plans, but now she couldn't say it had been a horrible thing meeting him. "You really know how to make the ladies swoon, I'm telling you, I was completely taken with you, didn't stand a chance."
"Oh flooey!" He grumbled and felt himself blush again. "You do this to every man you meet I'm sure. Play the damsel then destroy him with your beauty and your wit." He laughed this time, genuinely and suddenly leaned in to kiss her cheek, though it was a quick action and he swiftly withdrew. "I can't wait to meet everyone in town, so I can hear all of your embarrassing childhood stories. Gods know I've already told you plenty of mine!"
A soft laugh escaped her, the poor man was going to turn as red as his hair if she didn't let up on him. At least he was laughing, and she threw him a rather rewarding smile as he kissed her cheek. This teasing banter was getting easier, at least she thought so. "All of my embarrassing childhood stories? You seem to think there are a lot of them. You'll be sorely disappointed, I was a perfect little angel." Nope, she couldn't even say it with a straight face, she was fighting laughter as she dashed up the steps to the little store. They only had one because of how close to Ketra they were, but it was nice.
"Oh-ho-ho-ho. I know for a fact you are! I suppose all angels have shovel-beatings and arrow shootings in their family history and present actions," he quipped. "You must have forgotten your halo back at Grams'." But his smirk could only widen.
"All right, now show me around this store. I'll be sure to put your angelic little status right to the test." Rook let go of her hand and marched right into the shop, throwing both doors open and putting his hands on his waist. "All right, now who in here can tell me the dirtiest secret they have to offer concerning Roxanne?!"
Though he bellowed bravely, the tiny old woman on the other side of the counter just stared at him blankly and didn't respond.
Roxanne followed him into the store, smirking as he called out asking for her dirtiest secrets. Although there might have been a tiny flush of embarrassment splashed across her cheeks, but she took it in stride. The little old woman at the counter just stared at them, not sure what to make of it. The huntress shrugged her shoulders at her and grinned.
"Rook, this is Mrs. Walton. She's run this store since I was a kid." The very old Mrs. Walton just blinked at them, peering at Roxanne curiously, as if not sure what was going on. It was kind of a strange way to come into a store. There was only one other customer, a young dark-haired woman who was staring at them. Spotting her Roxanne smiled. "Hello Nancy, thanks for the dress."
The woman blinked at her before smiling. "You're welcome. Grams insisted on a dress, sorry. Did he really just ask someone to tell him a dirty secret on you?" The girl giggled, she was about the same general size as Roxanne, but it was obvious she was barely a grown woman.
It was Rook's turn to flush red again and he gave an awkward laugh at the introductions. "Lovely to meet you, Mrs. Walton," he murmured and gave her a pleasant nod and extended his hand to her. At the mention of the other woman, Rook had to take a moment and stand back, comparing the two similar figures between the two women.
Certainly Roxanne was older than she was, for though she was pretty she had the lines and tan of a life hard lived in the Wilderness. Nancy was younger, much more delicate in appearance and a beauty indeed. Rook didn't know it, but he found himself smiling and stepped forward. "Rook," he said and gently shook her hand as well.
"I guess I'm a little embarrassed after announcing that kind of thing. But you see we were having a discussion on just who had the more embarrassing childhood stories to tell," he said with a small grin. "I was collecting evidence! To prove hers was the most embarrassing."
Mrs. Walton barely shook Rook's hand, mumbling a rather generic greeting, then going back to what she'd been doing before they had burst into her store - writing in a ledger.
Nancy was much more enthusiastic, shaking Rook's hand with a shy smile and giggling as she listened to his reasoning for asking after dirty secrets. "Collecting evidence seems a good reason. I'm afraid I don't know any dirty secrets about Roxanne, though. At least, I don't think I really do. Ask Grams, Grams knows everyone's dirty laundry. Oh, did you get the invitation to lunch? It'll be a while yet, but I'm making a lot. Grams wanted me to invite Logan, but I told her no. Old woman thinks I don't know what she's up to, but she doesn't fool me."
Roxanne chuckled, though she shot Rook a curious look. "We got the invitation, but I don't know if we'll be coming."
"We plan on leaving for Ketra as soon as we can. I'm afraid the journey here has been less than generous to us," Rook said with a crooked grin. "For now, Roxanne is showing me around town."
[Big post. Got carried away! xD]
Nancy's smile faltered a little and she nodded. "Grams said you two showed up on her doorstep looking like you'd been through the wringer. It's a shame, but why don't you swing by my house before you leave, I'll pack you a little something to eat on the road." Her smile picked up. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot, Roxanne, when you come through town next, do you have any red fox furs? I'd really love to line a coat I'm making for James in red fur. I've been saving up for it."
Roxanne grinned. "Don't worry about it, I'll bring you some and call it even for the clothes. I'll have to come back soon anyway, I didn't bring money and I don't accept charity, so I'll have to repay Grams for all the hospitality."
Nancy snorted. "As if that woman will accept money from you. She doesn't pay for anything herself you know, she's got so much family everything she could ever want is given to her. Her grandsons and great-grandsons keep that house in top-notch shape. And breakfast is the only meal she cooks. Eats lunch and supper with a different house near everyday." Nancy was smiling fondly by the time she finished talking.
Roxanne's expression had fallen into something a little more subdued. "Yeah, I know. So James is it?" She smirked, changing the subject suddenly, causing the young woman to turn crimson. "I should have known. Good kid. I remember him catching a frog in the creek and dropping it down your dress. You'd have though you were being killed. Grams switched him good for that."
"Oh don't remind me of that!" Nancy said turning a darker shade of red. "He was always pulling my pigtails, or putting mud in my shoes while I was wading in the creek barefoot. I didn't think he'd ever grow-up." Then she smiled a little more shyly. "But he did."
The women seemed to have forgotten Rook completely for a minute there as they reminisced, and suddenly Nancy had wrapped herself firmly around Roxanne in a hug. "You should visit us more. We miss having a Davenport around. Your brothers all left and you were taken away. The old house stands empty, and it isn't right."
Roxanne had stiffened at the embrace, but she patted the younger woman on the back awkwardly. "The old house belongs to Samuel, by rights. He was the oldest."
"He isn't coming back for it, none of them are. They left us too, you know. Your daddy would turn in his grave to see his sons abandon this town, and you. That old house belongs to you, wouldn't a single person in town question it. It's been empty so long, but there'd be a line of volunteers to set it to rights. James would re-thatch the roof, Logan would repair any damage to the foundation or to the boards." Nancy said earnestly, pulling back from the hug but holding onto Roxanne gently just the same. "It isn't right you living out there all alone. What if something happened? There's no one to help."
The huntress seemed to suddenly remember Rook and gave him a rather imploring look, as if asking to be rescued from the young woman.
He didn't mind being momentarily forgotten. Not when there was such an interesting and enthralling conversation to be had before him. In fact, Rook couldn't keep himself from grinning just when she was turning the conversation to something clearly uncomfortable for Roxanne. It seemed whenever the topic turned into something geared toward something personal, she was quick to change the subject.
But that didn't deter him. Rook peered down at Roxanne and beamed. His hand reached out and clasped hers, holding hers palm to palm before squeezing it. "I'm sure Roxanne will show me her old stomping ground soon enough. She's yet to finish the rest of the grand tour. And to meet the rest of her old friends. It was nice to meet you Nancy. Perhaps we'll meet again sometime in the future," he said smoothly. "Care to get on with it?"
Roxanne relaxed slightly as Rook slipped her hand into his with a squeeze. Nancy's warm smiles for Rook had vanished into a bit of an accusing scowl. "You shouldn't encourage her." She grumbled before giving Roxanne a frustrated frown and stalking off to finish shopping.
"Thank you." The huntress mumbled, tugging lightly on his hand to try to pull him towards the door. "Let's go before she tries to grab me again." They had been chased through the forest by that monster that followed Rook, nearly drowned and froze, but that hadn't frightened Roxanne. Getting caught by Nancy, now that was scary.
"I'm starting to see why a lot of people here seem to get on your nerves. I mean I get if you don't want people to spew all your dirty secrets, or get too personal too quickly. It's not a problem. Why don't we just stick around town and avoid anyone else that might give you trouble eh? But I have to admit, I kinda like coming to your rescue, if only for a little bit," Rook smirked at her.
Roxanne seemed pensive as she pulled him from the store, not even annoyed by his comment about 'rescuing' her or the smirk on his face. Instead she just made an idle observation. "Maybe you just have a strong protective instinct." She looked up and down the street, trying to decide where to go. "You know, when I was a child it didn't bother me. Everyone here is so tightly knit together I think it really did hurt them when my family shattered. If my brothers were here they'd be just as irritating to them, I'm almost sure or it. Maybe that's one of the reasons they moved on and stay away." It was a thought that had never really occurred to her before.
Rook tilted his head thoughtfully. "And what made it shatter, if you don't mind me asking?" he murmured.
Roxanne eyed Rook with a scowl before grumbling at him. "I'm sure Grams told you all about it last night. Old woman can't keep her mouth shut."
"No, I don't believe she did. But I wouldn't ask her anyway. I'm asking you. It's all right though, you don't have to tell me," Rook offered, hoping to give them even ground. "Sometimes I wonder how things would have been different if my da was still alive. I wonder if I still would have been stuck near that stinking village. Probably not, thank goodness he kept me from marrying that stupid girl...even if she already did have a fiance."
Roxanne didn't answer immediately. Instead she mulled over everything she'd said to Rook, and everything he'd said to her, pretty much sifting through every conversation or scrap of dialog she could remember them having. A little was hazy, but considering everything they'd been through, that didn't surprise her. "I think you're too wild for a girl like her or life in a little village, honestly. Do you think you could truly be happy sitting in one place the rest of your life?"
She didn't know if she could. Once she'd thought that was the only way to live, but life had thrown some things at her that had forced her to reconsider and change her views on some awfully critical things - like living near people. Glancing at him she sighed. "If my family was a house, my father would have been the foundation. When he died, the rest of the house fell apart. My brothers scattered across Adela, I don't know where, but I don't think they're near each other." She shrugged, not sure she wanted to go into great detail about the chain reaction her father's death had started.
Rook smiled a little, though part of it was hald sad. "That's sad to hear," he murmured, his eyes thoughtful. "But perhaps it's for the best. Y'know, sometimes you just part from people I guess. I never go back to that village, and I never really think about that girl again. I guess sometimes you just move on."
Yes, sometimes you did move on. Roxanne felt trapped and stuck. "It is what it is. Sometimes I think I don't care what happened to my brothers or where they went, and sometimes I wish I at least knew if they were alive. My brothers are so much older than me, I've probably got nieces and nephews I don't even know about."
Rook smiled at her evaluation, nodding in no contest of it. He supposed the brunt of it couldn't be truer in the long run of things. He supposed his attachment to the idea of family was solely because he didn't have one himself. He was more alone than Roxanne was, she at least had people who liked to see her again, though he himself had no one. He knew, of course, that sometimes time just gets away from us all. People grow up, move along, not always looking to the past.
At that notion, he knew he likely wouldn't see Roxanne again after Ketra, at least not for a very long time, however long that was. He'd grown comfortable around her, perhaps a little more so than he might have normally allowed. But in the face of what hunted him, perhaps he craved that companionship, and he was more than just a little somber at the thought of letting it go at last.
He squeezed her hand lightly and was quiet, smiling off toward the sunlight for a bit, thinking quietly to himself.
"So how soon do you want to depart to Ketra?" he asked, in a change of subject.
Roxanne didn't notice the quiet mood that Rook had fallen into as he lost himself in his own thoughts. Instead she simply led him down the street, thinking quietly to herself as she lightly held his hand in hers. Such a simple gesture, holding hands, one that had felt completely strange to her only a couple days ago. Now it felt almost natural and went unnoticed.
He brought her attention back to him when he squeezed her hand and brought up Ketra. The huntress scowled softly and let her eyes look around for Dirk, he seemed to be laying in the shade next to a house, there were children playing around him but she could feel his eyes watching her and Rook.
"I don't know. Whenever you're ready to go, I guess. Eager to be rid of me?" She managed to make that question sound teasing, but she really was curious as to the answer. Who knew if and when she'd ever see him again after they parted in the capitol. It wouldn't be the end of the world if she never saw him again, but that idea did make her feel curiously unhappy.
But Rook would never have a chance to answer that question when cries were suddenly raised in the air. His hair suddenly stood on the back of his neck as he realized the screams, or at least thought he did when the alarm was raised. For the briefest moment he felt the cold fist of fear slamming into his gut if the beast had somehow made it's way into the village and he could only imagine the kind of chaos that would then ensue.
But when he heard the sudden cry of voices that were not among those that resided in this village. "KILL 'EM ALL! AN' SAVE THE GOOD LOOKIN' LASSES FOR ME!" the voice rang out and Rook's eyes shot even wider. Men came even out of the edge of the wood from where they stood and two of them ran right for Rook and Roxanne, weapons drawn.
And somewhere behind them, someone cried out, in aching futility. "BANDIT RAIIID!"
Roxanne looked around at the sudden commotion, confusion crossing her features for a moment before her eyes widened as she realized what was going on. What a time for her to be in skirts, without her bow, and nursing a broken wrist. Blue-grey eyes turned to ice as bandits began charging through the town.
Village men were pouring out of houses, armed with bows and a few even sporting swords. Nobody here was going down without a fight. That made her think of her father and she felt a tinge of pride that these were her people, where she had come from.
Two of them were coming right for her and Rook. Her mind raced to think of what to do, but she wasn't in a condition to really be tangling with riff-raff like this. She hated feeling helpless or useless. A whirlwind of feathers and fur crashed into the two men charging her, Dirk slashing and shrieking at the men, his talons leaving rivets of blood in their wake.
Grabbing Rook's hand she tugged him back towards Grams' house. "Let's go. We have to check on Grams, and I need my bow!"
The sudden commotion also caught Rook off guard, perhaps he more than she. Who knew that bandits were residing so close to the vicinity! Men screamed in pain and rage, sometimes at the same time, just as blades came crashing together and blood spilled onto the ground. The two charging toward him made him nearly jump into action before Dirk lunged in their defense. He cut his only only for a moment to the savagery the griffon inflicted before running off with Roxanne.
There was smoke in the air and Rook could see the thatched roofs of several cottages abruptly ablaze. Fire dance against the sky and clouded the air in funnels of blackness. Rook limped as fast as he could behind Roxanne as they sped back to Gram's house. The roof was already roaring in fire as Rook slammed his shoulder into the front door and fell down with it.
Roxanne was right behind him, nearly stumbling over him as he fell into the house with the broken door. Smoke was already filling the cabin from the blazing roof causing her to cough as she called out for Grams. There was no answer, which either boded very well or very bad.
Her bow had been left upstairs and there was no way that she was going to be able to go after it. With no other immediate option available she turned to Rook, reaching for him. "She's gone or dead, but we have to go."
To emphasize her point, some of the upper beams of the structure splintered and cracked as they were consumed by the flames. Grams' house was done for, the whole place might fall within minutes.
"You run, go! I'll catch up with you! Get out of here and to safety. Now don't give me that look like I'm trying to play the hero. There's no time for talk, now get going!" With a shove, Rook snatched onto Roxanne's arm and pushed her away. He could see Dirk running toward them behind her. He didn't have to call out to the winged creature, he just seemed to know, and forward he leapt, trying to push Roxanne along.
And before she could stop him, Rook out his shirt over his mouth and nose and ran through the burning door. The smoke was impossible to see through, blanketing the air so thick, Rook had trouble navigating the cabin. He pushed on through, bounding over flames and ran for the stairs. Kindling fell from the ceiling, nearly crushing him, but a quick roll made him get through and he snatched into the stray equipment that was strewn across the floor.
From without a loud groan could be heard and the wood screamed just as it snapped, making the ceiling fall in on itself.
[If there are typos, you'll just have to live with them]
"Are you crazy? Come with me!" A bit of gear wasn't worth it, in Roxanne's mind. They could get new gear, you only had one shot at being alive. Between his shove and Dirk coming up to push her along, she didn't have much choice but to leave Rook, although she let out a string of curses as she was herded along by the gryphon that would have made a sailor blush.
Roxanne made a break for the woods, no matter how much it angered her to simply run away like some coward. A bandit tried to grab at her, but a quick taste of Dirk's talons had him retreating. She'd just cleared the treeline when the roof collapsed, causing her to jerk around with a gasp.
"Help him!" Was all she could scream at Dirk. The beast pushed her to keep running before turning back and taking to the air, flying back towards Gram's house with a screech.
By the time Dirk would return to the burning house, Rook emerged from the fire, just before the entire building took to flames, holding the body of Grams in his arms, and their gear strapped over his shoulder. He was otherwise unharmed, save for being covered head to toe in soot. He frowned at the gryphon.
"C'mon! We've got to get out of here. Leave her!"
Rook disobeyed however, and pushed through the trees with the small limp body in his arms. Dirk cursed inwardly and led them back to Roxanne, and Rook appeared withdrawn, and silent when he came through the trees.
The look of relief on Roxanne's face as Dirk and Rook came through the trees faded rapidly, her pale eyes quickly fixating on the limp figure in the hunter's arms. Her expression became cold and hard rapidly, but there had been a flicker of pain before that.
"Is she...?" She couldn't bring herself to say it, as if not saying it would make it not true. No matter how much she claimed indifference, this woman had been a part of her life since she was born. How was she supposed to feel right now?
"We should give her a proper burial," he said with a nod. He saw Roxanne's expression, but felt no need to comment on it. It was not his place after all. But he felt it was the least he could do for the old woman who had let them stay in her home. He was gentle with her and moved the old woman deeper into the forest, moving silently like those legends of old, the kind that spirited away all children in the night.
Night had fallen when at last Rook stopped and placed the body on soft soil, and began to dig with his hands.
Roxanne gave a tight nod in response, not trusting her voice. She followed Rook numbly, not sure how long they had walked, or how far from town they now were, only realizing that it was now dark out. Even Dirk had been quiet and subdued during their trek.
The huntress dropped to her knees next to Rook and began digging wordlessly. Grams had annoyed her countless times, but she was struggling to imagine that the old woman was really dead. That warm, motherly greeting would never happen again, no more smiles, laughter, or teasing barbs.
Roxanne dug furiously, throwing herself into the action, trying to forget the reason for doing it. No more Grams, not ever. How many others were dead? Nancy? James? Logan? She didn't even realize there were tears running down her cheeks.
Digging by hand was not a recommended method, but it was all that was available to them in that moment. To feel the earth beneath his fingertips, the feel it digging into his fingernails, reminded him of when his father died, but at least with Grand, there was more left to bury.
And when the grave was deep enough, he placed her small body into it.
Her unbroken hand was stiff and cold by the time the hole was large enough for Rook to set Gram down in it. All she could do was stare at the lifeless body of the kindly old woman that had always opened her home to Roxanne without question. All she could feel was regret. A lot of it.
"She seemed too alive to just...die." She said softly, "I never thought I would bury her." Grams deserved to live far more than Roxanne did. The old woman had been so loved and had give out so much love and care to those around her. Who would have missed Roxanne? Grams, maybe, but she doubted anyone else would have.
Rook didn't know if he could say anything to console her. Her mind was her own and so was her grief. But he could see the regret that lay in her eyes and all he could think to do was crawl toward her and embrace her.
She hadn't deserved so much kindness from the old woman. Roxanne hadn't appreciated it, hadn't even wanted it. That she'd needed it didn't matter. Just like now she didn't deserve Rook's sympathy or comfort. The huntress didn't deserve it, but she buried her face against his chest and wept softly anyway. It felt wrong to cling to him, but she needed to.
Rook didn't know if it was his place to comfort her. But he couldn't leave her alone. Dirk, too, looked downcast, as the skies them grew wet with gentle rain. Rook leaned his body over hers, in an effort to shield her from the rain. And he kissed at her eyes, reaching a hand to wipe them away. But soon it was hard to tell which were from her eyes, and which were from the sky.
"Let's get out of the rain," he said gently and moved to pluck her from the ground.
Roxanne struggled to her feet numbly, refusing to be supported, carried, or coddled. Although she didn't seem entirely present in the situation. For instance, though she nodded her agreement to get out of the rain, the huntress didn't seem to really notice it, save for the slight shiver that began as the cold droplets soaked her borrowed dress.
"How's your leg?" She managed to ask, her eyes focused on some unknown point in the distance so as not to have to look at the grave or Rook.
"My leg will be all right," Rook said, hoping to reassure her. He led them onward through the trees, and he knew Dirk was not far behind. He had not forgotten about the gryphon, and he was thankful for his companionship. He'd have to remind himself later to do something nice for him. There was a small cave that lingered close by, an outlet carved out by the side of a small hill where the land fell downward, and the sound of water could be heard close by.
"My leg has a few aches in it," he said, just as a form of distracting conversation. "Just a few kinks in it of an old hunter. Gettin' older with every step."
Roxanne nodded numbly, it was impossible to really say if she was reassured or not as she followed Rook deeper into the forest, almost seeming to be mentally checked out. Dirk followed, head held low and obviously more than a little subdued, not only by the death of Grams, but the rain as well. Roxanne thought it was rather fitting weather, somber and grey, like her mood.
She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts by the time they reached the small cave that the sound of Rook's voice actually made her jump slightly. Her blue-grey eyes turned to him, they were no longer filled with tears, but they certainly lacked the steely vigor they had held a couple days ago.
"Getting you warm and dry will help, and resting." Her wrist was throbbing painfully, but she didn't complain, until that moment she had almost forgotten that she was injured.
To see that lifeless look in her made Rook's stomach grow cold. They were strangers not that long ago. And perhaps that was it, strangers clinging to each other for survival. Rook couldn't be so sure it was something so moot. They had survived much together, true, yet she was his companion. At least for the time being, and there he would remain until their paths diverged.
He helped start a small fire, though his hands were wet and had trouble remaining steady. Debris that managed to stay dry within the cave burned slowly and lowly as a small flame took. No words came still, and he wasn't sure if undressing her would be of any help. She seemed so empty now, and he was at a loss.
"Roxanne," he whispered, waving a hand before her. "Roxanne, you'll freeze."
Roxanne was still working through a daze, her body on autopilot as they started a small fire. The rain had soaked everything and ensured that they would not manage a larger flame. That might be for the best anyway. They needed to not attract attention to themselves right now, who knew if those bandits were still out there. How far had they even moved? She honestly didn't know.
Dirk had taken up a protective position at the front of their small hiding place, or as protective as laying there could be perceived to be. The young gryphon was surprisingly subdued, she rarely saw him like this. He couldn't even be bothered to barb at Rook. That was almost worrisome to her, as much as she could be worried given her current emotional turmoil.
It was Rook's voice, a soft whisper, and his hand moving back and forth in front of her face that caused Roxanne to blink back to reality. They were both soaked from the rain, and she was shivering, but hadn't even realized it until now. Would be nice to be back in that cabin with the furs and hearth, like the night they met - just two days ago. That seemed a long time ago somehow. Funny how one's sense of time could be so warped.
"I'm sorry. We should have left for Ketra first thing this morning." Her voice was quiet and she kept her eyes lowered to the fire. Rook could be gone, on his way, and about his life if they had only left right away. She wouldn't have had to see her old home ransacked and the people she had known so well so long ago killed and taken. She could only somewhat amend one of those issues. "We'll leave first thing in the morning, get you to Ketra, like we planned."
He knew that it was inevitable that they would be parted. Rook had no emotional or blood connection to this girl. They had been travelers passing through the night, and this was where their journey together had taken them. He mulled such thoughts over in silence, his hands working to pry her wet clothing off. His eyes were somber however, and when he was finished, he sat, bare, beside her.
"If I go to Ketra," he murmured, peering at her over his shoulder. "What will you do? Where will you go?" He was curious, but mostly he asked out of fear. That she might turn her apathy into anger and go after the men that attacked her village...that killed the people she knew.
There was no argument as Rook began peeling the soaked fabrics from her body, though her movements were stiff with cold as Roxanne helped him undress her. She was quiet for a few moments as they sat naked beside one another, contemplating the question.
"If you go to Ketra? Where else would you go? You have no reason to stay here, and that thing is still out there somewhere hunting you." For a short while she had almost forgotten that beast that had chased them into the river and then into town.
He noticed she did not answer the question. Perhaps she wouldn't yet. They had no obligation to each other, for how bonded could two people be over the course of two days. Struggling by circumstance, bruised and beaten by chance..
"It its," he said pointedly. "But much has happened in the aftermath of such plans. I'm not saying I ought to stay with you...but...I'd be lying if I said I didn't care." He frowned a bit. "And you didn't answer my question. What will you do?"
Roxanne's eyes narrowed softly. Once Rook was gone she didn't see why he should concern himself with what went on in her life or where she went. Because he cared? Heh. That hardly seemed logical. When you were supposed to leave the point was not to let yourself care.
"I suppose I will go home. What else would I do?" Her eyes had gone back to watching the fire and not looking at him. The town was gone, the people dead or taken. There was nothing there for her. Not that there was much for her in her cabin either. She could try to find survivors, but her wrist was broken. Even if she found the bandits how could she help anyone?
Rook couldn't say he knew what he was after. She was right, there was nothing for him here. For the time being however, he would make the most of it.
He offered his hand to her, noticing her wrist a little out of sorts. "Let me take a look at that, yes?"
Roxanne was sure she knew what she was after. Peace. Everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong since Rook had shown up. It wouldn't be fair to blame him for any of it, but it was still tempting to. She could delude herself into thinking that everything would go back to normal if Rook would just go away and take his damned cursed beast with him.
Of course nothing would ever be "normal" - it never had to begin with. She just didn't want to think about it.
She extended her arm, laying her wrapped wrist in his hand. The bindings had come a bit loose during their mad dash from the burning village, and just moving it had caused her to flinch slightly, but Roxanne bit her lip and refused to cry about how helpless she felt.
Rook tended to her arm, carefully fixing the bandages and readjusting the splints. Her silence was all he needed to confirm his thoughts. "I'll go," he said quietly. "Come morning, I'll leave you and Dirk." He looked at her for a moment. "I can get to Ketra on my own. It's all right."
He offered a smile. But it was half-hearted.
Of course he would go. Roxanne scowled as he tended to her wrist. "Your leg is still hurt, what if that thing comes back for you?"
He couldn't outrun it in his condition. She wasn't sure Rook could outrun it in perfect shape, but he definitely couldn't with a bum leg. Why she should care if he got caught, mauled, and eaten was another story. "There are healers in Ketra that I should see about my wrist. There is no point in separating if we're going to the same place."
She was so keen to be away from him, he figured why prolong it? Were they really headed in the same direction or was it just an excuse to keep from having to say goodbye so soon?
"And if we get pursued on our way to Ketra, we'll both be eaten, yes?" he said, flicking his eyes back up to hers. He tightened the last bandage.
"Dirk helped us escape the beast twice." Well Dirk had been helping her, but had also helped Rook by sheer proximity. "I didn't know you were quite that eager to be rid of us, but fine. We'll find our own way."
She pulled her hand back, not caring if she messed up his work slightly as she turned her back on him and laid down, curling up as much as she could. It was easy to pretend she didn't care, hell, Roxanne had spent most of her life learning to "not care" - sometimes it worked...sometimes it didn't.
At that Rook frowned. "You so eager to be rid of me," he said softly, watching her turn in what appeared to be apathy. He sighed and shook his head, looking across to Dirk. "Is she always like this?"
[Tiny post D:]
The gryphon shifted his gaze to Roxanne for a moment before tilting his head to look back at Rook, his feathers ruffling momentarily as he huffed softly. "Yes. Around humans."
"I see," he said with a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. He would give Roxanne her space for now. She needed it after what she went through, but he wouldn't leave just yet, not until he figured she'd be all right. "How do you deal with it?" he asked the griffon, curious.
"I don't. Usually no humans." Dirk glanced at the scarred back of his 'mother', "Nothing good happens with humans."
His mother obviously being the exception in his perspective. If his mother didn't even like her own kind, then he had no reason to want to be around humans either. Although he did like playing with the children. Too bad children grew up.
"I guess you're right about that," Rook said thoughtfully. He didn't think about it when he did it, but a hand reached out and pet the soft feathers on Dirk's head. He gave a small shrug and tended to a fire to allow their clothes to dry. "You should go to her," he said to the griffon. "Or comfort her in a way that I probably can't. She'll need a familiar presence. Something I didn't have when I lost everything."
Dirk's feathers ruffled slightly when Rook reached out to pet him, but the gryphon merely huffed lightly, before making a purring chirp in response to the hunter's suggestion. Since he didn't want to see Roxanne upset, trying to comfort her was a good idea. Even if he didn't like admitting Rook had any good ideas.
"I will keep her warm." Shaking out his feathers and fur a little, Dirk made his way over to lay down and curl himself around his still rather unresponsive mother.
Rook came back after what seemed to be a whole hour of tending the fire and drying clothes, but when he returned to Roxanne's side, he held a small white flower in his hand and sat beside her. He didn't know what it was supposed to represent. He just thought it was better than watching her sink into a catatonic state.
So when he could, he slowly slipped it between her fingers and closed them around the base of the picked white flower.
There was a war between trying to think of everything and wanting to think about nothing going on in Roxanne's head. She wasn't used to not thinking things through and forming a plan of action. Coming up with a plan of action after the events of earlier seemed far too difficult.
Rook was leaving in the morning. Should she try to go to Ketra with him to seek healing for her wrist or should she go home and forget the healers, try to forget Grams, and Nancy, and everyone else?
Dirk barely looked up when Rook gave her the flower. Despite the small fire and having the gryphon next to her, she was cold and her fingers were numb as he wrapped them around the stem. Flowers were such a pointless gift, she never had understood why men gave them to women. They were plucked and already dead, slowly wilting over time to reflect it.
Maybe she was just a plucked flower - seemingly fine at first, but slowly decaying.
If so, it was her own fault. She'd chosen to carry on like this, shutting out and ignoring every friend she might have had through the years of struggle. Terrible things had happened to her that were not her fault, but how she dealt with them was definitely on her.
"Rook, can I ask you something very personal?" Her voice was quiet and subdued, but it was at least there.
Maybe the plucked flower was meaningless, but Rook thought the gesture would have some semblance of meaning. That even if they didn't last forever, there was still some beauty to be found in this world. And that it should be appreciated before it was gone forever.
Rook moved closer to her, examining her and the flower. "Yeah? You can ask me anything," he said.
"You know what it's like to lose everything." Not a question, more an affirmation. She knew that beast pursuing him had killed the man who raised him, he'd told her about it.
Roxanne felt like every time she turned around she had lost everything again.
"How do you make life mean something again? Is revenge on that beast all that keeps you going? What if you managed to kill it? What would you do then?" What would she do now? Avenging Grams might carry her for a short while, but once she did that, well, there was no more point to anything.
A perfectly justified question, and one he had thought about before. It wasn't like him to dwell on things, considering there was so much more he held with him every day. His father was dead, and he was trying to kill the beast that slew him. It was an honest question that deserved an honest answer.
"I guess, I just try and take one day at a time," he admitted. "I didn't count on meeting you. But I'm glad I did. I probably would have just kept on hunting as I always did. I don't know anything else. If I ever do kill that beast, I'll go on living. Maybe even with you....if you'll have me." He smiled at her, although he wasn't sure she would see it.
One day at a time. That was all anyone could ever really take life, wasn't it? Well, even one day seemed insurmountable at the moment. Roxanne wasn't sure she had it in her to start over again with trying to put everything back into something resembling livable.
"With me? Why would you want to do that?" Had they just lived the same two days? Nobody should want to be around someone like her. Hell, at this point she was pretty sure she was just plain cursed. It seemed as reasonable an explanation as any. "Everybody close to me dies, I think you'd be a lot safer getting as far away from me as you can as quickly as you can."
"I'm still very much alive, thank you very much," Rook said a little defensively. But still he chuckled and tilted his head at her. He scooted in closer and he shrugged. "I dunno. I just like you. I think we make a great team. And if we part ways, then'll we'll be just back to where we started from. Only me a little less because I'll miss you. You're my friend. At least I hope I can call you that."
Rook poked lightly at the flower he gave to her and admired it's beauty. "I'm only offering. If you would rather be alone with Dirk, I'll understand. I'm not trying to force anything on you."
"I never do know where I'm starting from." It wouldn't be the same for her. Sure, she hid herself deep in the woods, but she'd known that Grams was still out there. There was always the option to go see her, when she needed her.
Now Grams was gone.
Forever.
Roxanne fought the tears that wanted to well up in her eyes and grabbed his hand, holding it fiercely for a few moments. "Let me go with you. I can't stay here anymore. I can't watch anymore people die here."
Rook was from some other great forest area, wasn't he? Maybe there would be better luck for her there. These trees were cursed to her. "I can help you find and kill this beast of yours."
His hand in hers, Rook met her gaze and set his jaw firmly. "Roxanne," he said softly, and he gave her a soft smile. He didn't know exactly how he bounced back from watching his father be mauled to death, not the exact directions for doing so. There weren't any.
All they could ever do was move forward.
"We'll go. Together. I'll stay with you as long as it takes. And...I'd be honored to have such a skilled hunter on my side," he replied and leaned his head in to kiss her cheek. "I'm your friend, Roxanne. I'm here whenever you need me okay? We'll leave in the morning, yes?"
Her friend, there whenever she needed him. It was a strange notion, to her. Grams would have been there whenever she needed her, but she'd practically raised Roxanne. Rook had known her for two or three days.
Maybe she didn't understand how he could like her or want anything to do with someone like her, but right now, she'd take it.
"Right...in the morning." Roxanne nodded her head and wiped at her eyes. Dirk was warm next to her, and obviously sleeping quite soundly by this point. She buried the fingers of her other hand in his feathers. "Thank you, Rook."
But now Grams was gone. And even after only knowing her a few days, Rook wasn't just going to up and leave. What kind of person would he be if he did that? He had alone much of his life, and knew that sometimes the feeling could be grating, radiating on you until you felt it's seeping emptiness.
It wasn't pity. It was understanding. She was his friend...his lover? He didn't know what definition existed between them, but they were companions never the less.
"No problem," Rook whispered to her as she pet Dirk. "Here. It's kind of chilly out." He turned around and took his shirt and draped it over her shoulders to stave off the cold.
Roxanne wouldn't have known how to define their relationship either. For now, Rook was there, and that's all that really mattered.
She sighed as the shirt was draped around her. The fire had dried and warmed the fabric, and she scooted closer to Rook, leaning into him for comfort and warmth. Dirk was warmer, but she wanted him instead. "You should try to rest if we're leaving in the morning. It's not too far, but your leg will feel better."
Rook followed her advice, curling into her for warmth even though the floor was hard and uncomfortable. He looked at his wrapped leg. Frowning, he knew it should probably get looked at again, but for now it wasn't bothering him any.
"Roxanne.... Is it weird that...I like you?" he asked gently, laying a hand gently on her hip. "You seemed really distraught be it before? Is it me?"
The hand on her hip only had Roxanne leaning into him more, head laying on his shoulder as they huddled there in their temporary shelter. "It's not you."
She closed her eyes and sighed, brow furrowing as she tried to figure out just what to say. Asking if she could go with him had been hard in ways, but if he was taking her that far...well he deserved a little more openness than she'd displayed so far.
"I try so hard to make myself unlikable. I don't want people to like me." It was true, and her voice was quiet. "It's lonely sometimes, but I've always figured it was better that way. Every time I've turned around it feels like people have done nothing but either let me down or died on me. The last time I let anyone in he hurt me so badly. So yeah, I might have freaked out a little at the idea that you wanted anything to do with me."
"Oh, well that's perfectly understandable. And I wouldn't want to impose on your or make you feel like you were obligated somehow to let me into your walls, your world even after what we've been through. I just like you... I dunno what it is about you. You're....reliable, strong. Formidable," he said softly and shifted closer to her. He was close enough to simply purse his lips and have them touch her forehead.
"I have no expectations. I don't want anything from you. Just you. That's all," he admitted, smiling tiredly.
"That's good, because I don't have anything left to give but myself." And she hardly felt like she even had that to give. Everything felt wrung out of her. Even the things he claimed to like. What strength did she even have left? Roxanne sighed softly and clung lightly to him, face pressed against his warm skin.
"You should sleep if you can. Dirk will wake us if anything comes close." They both needed to recover from the day. It'd taken a toll, both physical and emotional, on her.
Rook hadn't thought of the monster he hunted in all the time he'd spent with Roxanne. If anything he considered it a good thing, but in the back of his mind as they laid in that mini-cave inlet. Rook curled up into her and let himself nuzzle in against her warmth. He took her advice and soon fell asleep, although the inkling thought in the back of his mind that they were not alone gradually set in.
Sometime a few hours later, he did awaken and jerked his head a little as he looked up and about, seeing nothing in the brush, only Dirk beside them.
"Hear anything?" he asked, nodding to the griffon.
Roxanne cuddled herself against Rook and easily fell asleep, tangled up in his warmth. There were only brief disruptions to her sleep, a few moments of soft whimpering, but soothing purrs came from Dirk and he curled up against her other side so that she was sandwiched between him and the interloping hunter. She didn't seem to have any further problems sleeping.
"I hear food." Dirk grumbled softly, popping open one eye to regard Rook stonily. "You should go get breakfast."