This hurts me more than it hurts you. [M] [Aeyt!]

[Rhindeer]

Six. Plus two rabid dogs. In how much time? For Briar, it had felt like an eternity; agony and fear made everything feel longer. She cast a tired look toward the girl, and a pang went through her. Was that...the girl? The one they had...?

She swallowed past a lump in her throat. The girl was despondent, and looked barely fourteen, fifteen, maybe. Holy fuck...

Dirk drew her attention away from her, though, when he pulled out a pair of strange gloves that soon matched his hands, but she didn't have much time to be curious about them, because then the real fun began. The salt water stung as he cleaned her still-bleeding wounds, and dirt had ground into the cuts in her feet. Briar grit her teeth to bite back the pained sounds that wanted to escape her, eyes clenched shut, and beads of sweat collected on her skin. Thankfully, it didn't last long before he applied another strange substance to her wounds that left them blessedly numb, though the pressure of the needle and pulling of her skin was...unpleasant, to say the least.

By the time he finished, she was well and truly spent, the medicine and exertion leaving her utterly exhausted. She flopped backwards onto her bed and laid there limp, her robe still dirty though she hardly cared right then.

She felt like she could sleep forever.

And also eat a horse.

"It's not like I tried to break them," she grumbled, letting her eyes fall closed. "Maybe if you hadn't fucking stabbed me like fifty times I wouldn't have any fucking stitches to break."

Cracking open an eye, she looked again toward the girl. "What're you gonna do with her?"

[Aeytrious]

        Dirk sighed as he turned to look at Polly. The poor girl had been through so much. He wasn't sure what he could do for the girl. The town nearby would be a good place to start if the girl couldn't tell him where she was from.
        "I'll do whatever I can for her," Dirk said as he wiped away a last bit of blood and the numbing medicine. "At least I got justice for the crimes committed against her."
        Dirk took the bloody salt water to the edge of the camp and poured it over the boundary. He poured more in the bowl to rinse the towel and then dumped that as well. When he returned to Briar and stored away the tools he'd used, he pulled out another robe. He reached forward to untie Briar's dirty one. The one she was wearing was much nicer than the clean one, but it was covered in dirt and leaves.
        "We'll have to bathe again tomorrow morning after everything we've done tonight. I'll appreciate whatever help you can give with washing Polly."

[Rhindeer]

Briar let Dirk dress her, letting him move and adjust her like a doll, far too tired to assist him herself. Though, for a split second she jerked in alarm when she saw what looked like his bare hands, before she remembered the new gloves. They felt unnervingly (or perhaps intriguingly) like skin, too.

Slouching back down again when he was finished, she curled up into a ball on her side and carefully pulled the robe in tighter. And then she went rigid when he spoke of her helping clean the girl.

"Whoa, what?" she hissed, sitting back up so she could stare at him. "Ahaha, wow, uh, no. Like, there's a lot of things wrong with that idea, like, for one, girl's traumatized, you really think she wants some stranger touching her? Two, I can't touch her! Hell fucking no. You know what that'd be LIKE? I'd get to see and feel all that shit! No way! Yeah, yeah, you've got gloves but fuck, man. You put holes in my palms! This is a terrible idea. Like, do I LOOK like someone equipped to handle some girl's trauma? You're better to just dump her off at the nearest temple and let them deal!"

But she stole a look at Polly as she spoke, and for the briefest moment, there was a strange softness in her eyes.

[Aeytrious]

        "Briar, I wouldn't ask you to touch her after what you've told me about your power." Dirk reached out and took Briar's chin in his hand, turning her eyes away from Polly and toward his own.
        "I may not like your criminal behavior, but I'm not a monster." Dirk had seen the softness in Briar's eyes and he sought it now. At least he knew she had a conscience, or at the very least that she could feel sympathy.
        Briar's violet hair was falling into her bright blue eyes, the rings braided into them dangling to the sides. Dirk gently brushed it aside, for the first time looking closely into her eyes. Their faces had never been this close. Not with both of their eyes open.
        For a reason he couldn't explain, Dirk wanted to kiss her skinny lips. She was quite beautiful, and that ring in her lip felt like an invitation. If it weren't for the nature of her power he may have kissed her then. Why did he feel embarrassed about it, and why were his cheeks warming? Perhaps that was what a blush felt like. She could see his face, the color that was likely blooming there.
        Dirk broke his gaze, turning his face away from Briar. He didn't understand his own feelings. Rit had neglected emotional education. This feeling shy, was a first for him.
        "You could use the gloves to help her wash, or at the very least, you could talk to her. Help her remain calm while I wash her. I'm a man after all, and you're a woman. I may have just rescued her, but she's been through a lot."

[Rhindeer]

Briar opened her mouth, about to snap something at him, but then he took her chin and brought her face to face with him. Her mouth was still open, but whatever she had been about to say hung frozen in the air as she met his eyes--and actually saw them, saw him, up close. The pale skin, gray eyes, and touseled blond hair one didn't see much in Adela, though she couldn't place his ethnicity.

She had already noticed he was handsome. She had already, embarrassingly, craved him and let him do things she'd never thought she'd allow of anyone. Clearly she hadn't been thinking. She blamed blood loss and...uh...medicine. Up close, though, it was even more painfully apparent, and he was looking at her oddly, in a way that made her belly flutter strangely--and her heart kicked it up a notch or two when his fingers brushed through her hair, sending chills racing down her spine. Confusingly, she found herself craving more, leaning into his touch before she realized what she was doing--and quickly stopped.

Considering she was his fucking slave.

She was way too fucking exhausted for this shit.

She jerked her face away, looking off to the side and putting some space between them again. What the hell. Had he been BLUSHING?

Unsettled, she hunched her shoulders and drew her knees into her chest, eager to get passed that weird moment.

"Haaah, yeah, keep her calm. I'm a great fucking candidate for calming and soothing and nurturing people. Shit, Dick, I don't know what the fuck to even say! There there, it's okay, everything's gonna be fine? Because shit's not okay and life's tough and what she went through--"

She cut off, gritting her teeth, and took a deep breath. "It's gonna be fucking hard for her."

[Aeytrious]

        "I know," Dirk agreed, "so we should be kind and do what we can for her. I'm not going to just dump her on a temple without trying to find her family."
        "When I bathe her tomorrow," Dirk continued, "you just being near, may be enough for her to feel safer. Another female present, will be good for the situation. I'll have to scrub her clothes and mend them as best as I can as well." He stood, moving back toward the cook fire, which had started to die. A few pokes with a stick and the addition of another log, and it rekindled quickly.
        "I'm guessing you're hungry again," he said to Briar, "as I said before, the medicine will do that to you. Who knows when the last time Polly ate." He went about preparing the last of the food he had in his pack. While what was in the pan simmered, he approached Polly with the flask of medicine.
        "This is medicine that will help your body heal quickly," Dirk told the despondent girl, "you should drink it, and I'll make you something to eat." Polly just looked at him, not responding, but watching.
        "Can you drink it on your own, or should I hold it for you?"
        Polly slowly opened her mouth, but remained laying still. Dirk gently lifted her head and poured the medicine in her mouth. She swallowed down a mouth full, then a second. Dirk let her resume her laying and stoppered the flask. Already Polly's face was gaining more color as Dirk went to finish cooking.
        As he brought Polly a plate of food, Dirk was surprised that she sat up, prepared to feed herself. As she dug in, he took another plate over to Briar.
        "That seems like decent progress at least, don't you think?"

[Rhindeer]

Briar was not looking forward to any of that tomorrow. Not only had bathing taken on an awkward significance for her, but to deal with Polly...

She cast another look at the girl, watching as Dirk tended to her, and felt that same deep pang. She was glad the girl had been rescued. Truly, she was, and she was glad those fuckers would never hurt another Polly again. But she really wasn't good with this crap. This was sensitive stuff. And she wasn't a sensitive person. She wasn't the right person to deal with this, and that made her...nervous? Uncomfortable? She'd say the wrong thing and then the girl would probably end up crying and she'd feel like a piece of garbage for it.

She knew her strengths! She knew her weaknesses! Emotional stuff was a weakness, and lying to make people feel better wasn't her forte!

Dirk, however, seemed surprisingly good at this. He was awkward as hell, but he was thoughtful, and he was doing a pretty good job of taking care of the girl. Which was completely at odds with her current impression of him since, you know, Dirk was a guy who for some reason kept freakin' surprise slave collars on his person. Yet he'd also kept her alive, and mowed down a bunch of guys and tended her wounds.

She looked over at him when he brought her a plate of food and indeed, though she was exhausted she was starving. She took a bite, pushing her dark thoughts from her head, and spoke as she chewed.

"Tough kid," she said. "She'd have to be, to survive that hell."

[Aeytrious]

        Dirk nodded his agreement. Polly was surely tough to still be alive, but she had been broken. Hopefully she could be reformed into something new and whole.
        "I really hope she has the will to survive," Dirk said. "Trauma can haunt a person for the rest of their life. Influence all that they do." He filled the mug he'd given Briar earlier with a strong dwarves ale. It would make her feel great, and sleep well.
        "Keep an eye on her," Dirk said to Briar as he pulled up his hood and mask. "I'm going to do a quick search of the perimeter and obscure signs of our passing. He didn't wait for a response from Briar and ran out of the camp.
        Only a few minutes passed before Dirk returned. He walked to the only tree within the circle of the camp and climbed up it.
        "Feel free to get some sleep," he told Briar. "I mentioned earlier that I don't sleep, so I'll keep watch."

[Rhindeer]

As Dirk left to check the area, Briar stayed where she was and sipped her ale. Every now and then she cast a look at Polly, who had not moved. The girl ate slowly, but she still ate on her own, and she did not speak or raise her eyes.

So...what? Should she say something or...?

Before she had time to debate much longer, Dirk returned, and Briar shoved another bite of food into her mouth and downed the rest of her ale.

Tonight was definitely a "getting blackout drunk sounds fantastic!" night. Except all the ale was doing was making her feel warm and fuzzy and sleepy.

She'd take it.

Pushing her plate and mug aside, she let out a yawn and flopped back down onto her bed. She didn't even have the energy to be annoyed by his reminder of how challenging escape would be.

"You should give Polly some of that stuff," she said on another yawn, eyes drifting shut. "That's good shit."

And soon enough, she had fallen asleep, the medicine and ale working in tandem as a sedative that soon had her lightly snoring.

[Aeytrious]

        The rest of the night was uneventful. Briar seemed to be a pretty sound sleeper. Her gentle snoring an indication that her sleep was steady. Dirk listened to the night and watched Polly.
        The girl would start awake at the slightest sounds. She was likely not used to a steady nights sleep. Dirk didn't know how long she'd been the plaything of those villains. When she'd wake, Polly would check her surroundings, as if not believing it was real, before settling back to sleep. Every time, she would look up at Dirk, sitting in the tree as if to reassure herself that he still watched over her.
        At the first hint of light in the sky, Dirk slipped from the camp. It was his favorite time to hunt. He considered collaring Briar, but she was sleeping so soundly, he didn't dare risk waking her.
        The forest was teeming with wildlife, and had many edible plants. In two short hours Dirk was returning with enough food to feed them for weeks. He would have to salt, cure, smoke, or dry much of the meat, but he enjoyed the labor.
        When Briar awoke, it would be to find Polly already eating a large breakfast. One that consisted of bacon, eggs, assorted vegetables, and a rabbit haunch. Dirk was at work gutting and skinning a small deer. A meat rack near him already contained a sectioned boar. A turkey, and a rabbit hung not far away, and the smell of slow cooking mushrooms filled the air.

[Rhindeer]

Briar woke to the savory smells of cooked meat and roasting mushrooms and for a few minutes she just laid there, letting herself wake up. Then a thought struck her and she reached for her neck, feeling along her throat, and sighed in relief when she felt only bare skin.

Pushing herself up so she was sitting, she bit back her groans as her body ached. It wasn't as bad as she expected, though; with the damage she'd done to herself yesterday, she shouldn't even be able to sit--and it was likely that very first dose of medicine that had saved her as she'd crawled through the woods.

All things considered, she felt less like death and more like she'd just taken a good beating.

She rubbed gingerly at her eyes with the back of her wrist, careful of her stitched hands, and yawned. Polly was already awake and digging into her breakfast, putting away more food than Briar thought the small girl capable, and her face softened as she watched. It was good to see that she at least had an appetite--that she still had the will and strength and desire to live.

She swung a look toward Dirk. "Ah, so what's this? Breakfast in bed? Well, chop chop, Dicky, I'm wide awake and I don't see mine yet!"

[Aeytrious]

        Dirk didn't respond to Briar with words, but he did get her breakfast. He wiped the majority of the blood off his hands on the brown apron he was wearing, and rinsed the rest in a bowl.
        Hands clean, he grabbed the last two eggs, cracked them into the mushrooms, added a few other vegetables and whipped it all as it cooked. Dirk hadn't had time to make sausages yet, so he fried Briar some bacon and put the remaining rabbit haunch on the plate he served the rest of her food.
        "Here you go," Dirk handed the plate to Briar and poured a light wine into the empty mug that still sat near her.
        "Made with love," I hear that's one of the best spices for food, as is hunger. I'm sure you're ravenous."

[Rhindeer]

Ravenously hungry from the medicine and her body's healing, Briar hardly had time to even smell how delicious it was before she was shoveling food into her mouth. It was hot, and burned her mouth enough that she had to open her mouth and puff to try to cool it, but it hardly slowed her.

She had just torn into the rabbit haunch when Dirk's words made her choke.

Made with love? Did he just--?!

She coughed, grabbed for the wine, and washed down her bite with a strong gulp of the stuff, wheezed a little after, and took another swallow. "Holy fuck, did you really just say that? Pffffhahaha, oh my gods, I can't tell if you're serious or just really good at ironic deadpan humor and this is all just one giant joke on me. Well played if it is! I can't fucking tell!"

[Aeytrious]

        Dirk tossed a thin little book next to Briar. It was well worn, the pages yellowed and curling. It was old. Almost as old as Dirk, though the style of print was fairly recent. His single memento from living in Zantaric, the book was about a happy family. Rit had allowed Dirk to keep it.
        "The mother in the story always says that the food is made with love," Dirk explained. "The father comments that if it weren't for hunger, the best spice, his wives cooking wouldn't be any good. Was I incorrect in my usage?"

[Rhindeer]

Briar blinked down at that book, reached to grab it, and froze with her bare hand hovering inches above it. The book looked old. Really old. And it was one of Dirk's books.

Shooting him a squinty-eyed look, she rolled her hands up in the sleeves of the robe and picked it up that way instead, holding it up and letting the pages spill open. With her other hand, also balled up in the sleeves, she flipped through the pages, pausing and reading one page at random.

Then she looked back at Dirk. "This is a children's book," she said with a snort, lips twisted in amusement and eyebrow arched. She tossed it back onto her bed. "Written for children."

[Aeytrious]

        "I don't understand the significance of that," Dirk said, "I've had it since I was a child."

[Rhindeer]

Briar rolled her eyes. Of course he didn't pick up that she was making fun of him.

"It's childish, is all," she said with a shrug. "Pfffft. Made with love. So did you like kiss all the eggs and whisper sweet nothings in the little rabbit's ears?"

[Aeytrious]

        Now Dirk knew Briar was mocking him. He just didn't understand why what she said was supposed to be insulting. It made no sense. Why would anyone kiss the eggs or whisper to a dead rabbit? He'd never understand humor.
        "Can you explain why your insults are funny," Dirk asked sincerely, "I'm really struggling with humor. People tell jokes all the time and I never understand."

[Rhindeer]

Well, that was one way to suck the wind right out of her sails.

Briar's grin faded, her eyes going wide in disbelief for a second, before her brow furrowed in annoyance--and then confusion. She opened her mouth and held up a finger, paused, blinked, and twisted her lips in thought. Uh. Explain why it was funny...?

Erm.

Uh.

...Huh.

Finally, she sank her face into her hand, wincing as that pressed against her wound. "It's funny 'cause...just...fuck. It just is! 'Cause you know, love? People in love kiss and shit? And the food was made with love so you like--oh, fuck it, NEVER FUCKING MIND, it's just funny, alright? I was making fun of you and it was hilarious. I can't explain it! That kills it and makes it decidedly not funny which defeats the whole freakin' purpose. You don't analyze jokes, that's like the bloody golden rule of being funny. Gods!"

[Aeytrious]

        Briar's confusion and frustration were plenty humorous to Dirk. She couldn't see the grin on his face, as he'd returned to working on the young buck he'd been skinning.
        Dirk wasn't wearing his armor. In fact, he wore only the thin cotton garments he normally wore under the armor. They were thin, and translucent where they clung to the sweat on his body. His cloak was hanging from the tree Briar slept beneath, while his boots and foot wraps were close enough to the fire to be warmed. He did wear his bracers though, and the speed they lent his hands was invaluable. All the meat was quickly sectioned, and Dirk moved to preparing the pelt for treatment.
        It didn't take Dirk long to scrape the pelt and salt it, as he had with the boar and rabbit pelts. Every other part of the animals was kept and treated as well. Bones, teeth, sinew, hooves, it all would find a use. There was no reason to waste what could be utilized in some way. The nearly endless carrying capacity of the haversack made it easy to store, so quantity was not an issue either.
        Rit had not only trained Dirk to fight, but to be self sustaining. In a few short weeks, he'd have leather enough to make a few garments, or something else he could use. In the mean time they would have plenty to eat and he could make tools as well.
        "More."
        Dirk turned his head to look at Polly. The girl had spoken. It was so faint, he wasn't sure what she'd said, but she held up her plate. He was surprised. Only a day after being freed and she ate and spoke. Briar was right, this girl was tough.
        "You want more," Dirk asked as he cleaned his hands again. A barely visible nod was the only confirmation she gave, and all he needed. There were no more eggs, but Dirk had just cut the loin into steaks, so he started to cook a smaller one.