Shaking.
I groaned and blinked, blearily looking up at Rey.
I was tired.
And sore.
And hungry again.
Under his eyes were dark too as he withdrew his hand.
“Come on Kat.
We need to hunt some more.
And eat again, so we’re ready for tonight.” Right.
I sighed and pushed up, grabbing the edge of my bedroll to roll it up.
We packed up the tent, and he started another small fire, cautiously looking at the smoke to make sure it vanished before it reached the treetops.
I grabbed the hunting knife.
It was getting late, the sun turning the air golden as it sank towards the horizon.
Soon, it would be too dark to hunt.
I had to go now.
I slank out of camp on my own this time, leaving Rey to forage.
Rustling.
I snapped my head towards a squirrel, running about between a bush and a tree.
Just like last time… I snuck carefully through the foliage, my wand prepared.
A mana bolt flashed out!
My aim was true as it struck the squirrel, and it spasmed I rushed forward, forcing myself to raise the dagger and bring it down, hard.
The dagger was buried into its head.
The red blood poured from it down my hand and onto the ground.
I… I killed it.
I blinked at it, feeling tired and numb.
Still… I sent a small prayer for it.
And thanked it for its sacrifice would feed us.
Then I went back to camp, passing by Rey, as he finished up foraging.
I stood by the fire and held it up, unsure.
My turn to try and butcher it.
I stared at it blankly.
First step is to… gut it right?
I sat down and laid the squirrel out.
I started from its neck, and slid the knife along its belly.
It’s organs spilled out.
I swallowed, actual thankful my stomach was so empty, and reached in, to get the rest of the guts out.
Next was the skin, but that was a lot trickier.
I wasn’t sure how to separate it from the flesh at first, making a messy cut along the edge of the belly.
But once I got it started, it became a lot easier, peeling it back off of the meat and bones.
It was all in one piece at least.
I tugged it off and stared at it a moment before setting it aside.
That just left the actual meat.
I began carving into it, laying the strips on the pan like last time.
“You’re a lot better at this than me.” Huh?
I turned to see Rey was back, and he pulled the roots and berries out of his bag.
The roots went into the pan., and he even added a few of the sweet blackberries.
“I’ll cook.” He even found some herbs this time.
He sprinkled them over the meat, and the smell that floated off was ten times better than what I made last time.
Once it was all finished, we ate again.
Now the meat was so much sweeter thanks to the berries.
The roots too, were tender.
I looked up at Rey, surprised.
“You’re good at cooking?” He shrugged.
“I-I mean, I’m okay… you can stick to butchering and I’ll stick to cooking.” Agreed.
We finished up quickly and drank up our waterskins.
We put out the fire and packed everything up.
I hung the squirrel skin off my bag.
And we started off again, the sun beginning to set.
When we reached the edge of the road, we decided to try and hunt again, that way we wouldn’t have to worry about it when we stopped again.
Another squirrel was rustling around, so I caught and cleaned it while the last vestiges of light vanished.
I hung it off my bag with the other squirrel skin and looked up and down the road.
We were alone.
We stepped out and started heading north again.
As we walked, I looked up at the half-moon with a sigh.
Maybe one day, we’ll be able to stop running.
Count Solace would give up, and think we were dead.
Or maybe we could do what Rey suggested and go to another country.
But not today.
It took a little longer than a week to get to the next town.
According to the map, it was called Denton, and it was much smaller than Duval.
Just a few farming E-rank dungeons and an F-rank meadow dungeon.
It was still better than Clifton.
At least a few dozen chimneys with smoke curling up from them were tucked away behind its wooden walls.
I had to squint to see it, but we were getting close.
There was a river we were supposed to cross… I had gotten a little better at skinning small game and now had a small collection of pelts hanging off my bag.
It… really didn’t smell great.
But then, neither of us smelled that great either.
It’s been nearly a month since we washed our clothes and took a bath.
So, when we reached the bridge, the town just down the road, I stopped.
Rey kept walking for a few steps before he realized I wasn’t walking with him.
He turned back with a quizzical look.
“What are you doing?
We’re almost there.” I gave him a tired, bleary look.
“It’s night.
The gates will be closed anyway.” He paused and sighed.
“Yeah, we’ll have to wait till morning to get in.
But why are you looking at the river?” “Because I really want a bath.
We need to wash our clothes too.” I looked down over the edge of the stone bridge, into the clean and clear water.
The three-quarters moon gave us plenty of light to see by.
“Ugh, a bath!?
No!” He recoiled at just the mention.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“You stink worse than the pelts.” He crinkled his nose and turned away.
“Ugh.
Fine.
If you really can’t stand my smell…” It was getting unbearable.
I finished crossing the bridge and saw how close we were.
The river snaked up, and the walls were built over it, the closed gate within sight.
I turned the other way, heading into the forest, and Rey reluctantly trailed after me.
I followed along the river until a bend presented a nice easy slope into the water, plenty of room to set up camp.
And this way I could be sure no one would see us from the road.
The first thing I did was set up the tent, in preparation.
Then I got out my clothes.
No soap.
I wouldn’t be able to get all the dirt and bloodstains out of them.
But it was better than nothing.
Rey followed my lead, getting his clothes out, and dunking them in the cool river water.
We scrubbed at them, turning the water brown as all the dirt and sweat was washed away.
Once I had them cleaned the best I could, I carefully laid them out on some rocks on the bank.
They’ll dry in a few hours… Rey used a different method, tossing them over some nearby branches.
Now all that was left… “Do you want to go first, or should I go first?” The sky was beginning to lighten, so I could see Rey making a face.
“You go first.
I’ll wait in the tent until you’re done.” He made a beeline for the tent and tied the front flap up tight.
Now I had privacy.
I tugged off my boots and socks, setting them aside.
Then I pulled up my dress, shivering a little at the morning air.
Then dunked my dress in, grabbing the socks too.
I scrubbed it up good and laid it with the others before slowly easing into the water myself.
It was still cool, but given it was the middle of summer, it wasn’t too cold to bathe.
I took a deep breathe before going all the way under, wetting my hair.
I came back up, and began scrubbing my skin, shivering.
It was still cold.
I wanted to hurry up and get into the warm tent.
But I still made sure to get it all off, before climbing up onto the bank.
I pulled my bedroll out of my bag, and quickly toweled myself off.
I wrapped the blanket around me and called out to Rey.
“Okay, I’m finished!” He untied the entrance and poked his head out.
“Okay… no peeping!
I know I’m super handsome, but we can’t get married until we’re sixteen anyway.” I rolled my eyes, picking up my bedroll and bag.
I shuffled into the tent and booted him out.
“It’s offset by your stench!
And if you want to marry me, you better have a ring ready!” I tied up the tent as I heard him grumble all the way to the bank.
Finally, warm in here.
I settled my bedroll and laid down.
I activated my mana, pushing it towards my skin, imbuing it with warm thoughts.
Soon both me and my blanket were dry.
It took about fifteen minutes, but I heard Rey shuffle into the tent too.
I looked up to see he was using his blanket as a towel too.
“Ugh, it’s so cold!” He dramatically threw himself onto his bedroll.
“There.
I’m clean.
Are you satisfied?” “No.
We don’t have any soap.
We’ll have to buy some in town.
And we need to bathe more often.
Once a week!” He groaned.
“Once a week!?
That’s way too much!
Isn’t once a month fine?” I snorted.
“No.
With how much you sweat, we’re doing it once a week.” He huffed.
“Fine.
Stupid girly…” He turned away from me, pulling his blanket over his head.
Fine.
He can complain all he wants, but we’re staying clean from now on.
I got comfortable and rested too.
We woke up around noon, and our clothes were completely dry.
And they certainly smelled cleaner.
So, we all packed up, and headed towards town, following the river until we found the road again.
But when the walls and gate came into view, I froze.
Horses.
Big heavy horses, with armor.
People on them in armor too.
The blazing sun on their capes made us both withdraw into the bushes, hidden.
“Count Solace’s knights…” Rey hissed, looking at them with hatred.
But the knights didn’t linger for long.
After chatting with the gate guards, they turned, and continued following the road north, the horses thundering along.
We shared a glance.
What now?
Rey looked at the village with distrust.
“We can’t stay.
We’ll keep moving.
Head for the capital.” But… “We need supplies.
Actual rations!” “No.
The knights probably asked about us.
If we roll up right after they come, they’ll detain us and send a message to them!
We move on.
Head northwest.
To the capital.” “What about the pelts?
They need sold.
If I keep them on my bag, they’re just going to rot!” “Kat!
We are not risking both our lives to make a few silvers!
We are leaving.
Come on.” He turned sticking to the forest until we were past the town.
Ugh!
I cast a forlorn glance back at the town.
Before shouldering my bag and following in Rey’s footsteps.
But a pair of hands reached out and grabbed our shoulders, stopping us dead in our tracks.
I jolted, looking back and seeing a strong hunter.
She was big, and had a long bow on her back, arrows sticking out of a quiver.
She was dressed in skins, her hair tied back with leather cord.
“Hold it you two.
You’re coming with me.” “Kat, run!” Rey reached for his sword, but the lady just rolled her eyes.
She gave Rey a quick chop to the neck, and I gasped as he slumped.
“Rey!” I reached for him, but the lady caught him first, hoisting him over her shoulder.
“You too little girl.” I raised my wand, but her hand was too fast, heading for my neck.
And it all went black in an instant.