Karma, Part 5 - Bind

The days were too short.

Ruune didn't generally mind winter. She didn't mind the snow or the cold, especially when the temperature stayed comfortably below freezing. Cold and wet was more or less the worst combo there was, but once it got cold enough, it was easily manageable. She didn't mind that the trees were barren or that she had to buy more rations because she couldn't forage for food on the road.

But the light. There just wasn't enough hours in the day to get anywhere.

The dark surprised them, somehow. Despite both of them being familiar with how it was. But it did, and when the twilight settled on them they had to pause to consider their options. They were still further away from anywhere with a hearth and a bed than Ruune had wanted to be when the darkness settled.

"So we'll just sleep here, by the side of the road," Tikka said, as if that was obvious. Ruune stared at her companion for a moment, trying to decide if she was joking or not.

"No. Absolutely not."

Tikka raised an eyebrow at her. It was getting on her nerves. It had been a long day. She was tired and hungry.

"You don't seem like the type who isn't used to it."

Ruune snorted.

"Oh, I've slept under the sky plenty," she said, crossing her arms. "And I have the equipment for it too. I don't like it, obviously, there is that, but I am prepared. You, on the other hand..." She looked Tikka up and down, at her beat up leather armour and her loose cotton coat over it. "I'm pretty sure you don't have enough layers to make it through the night."

"So we'll share!"

Yeah, sure, okay, she thought and ignored the butterflies in her stomach.

"And," she continued as if Tikka hadn't said anything, "I need to rebind that shoulder. Unless you want to die of an infected wound. And for that, I need light, clean water, some clean bandages, and somewhere warm."

"Eh, I've had worse. It'll be fine until tomorrow evening."

She glared at Tikka. Why, of all people, was this the woman whose life was somehow her responsibility now? She had very intentionally gone years without having to take responsibility for anyone but herself. She liked it that way. Not necessarily to the point of keeping it that way forever, but she would have liked a choice before having someone else's entire existence thrust upon her.

"Look," Tikka said, sobering up slightly. "What other option do we have, really? We both know the next town is too far to make it there before dark."

Ruune kept on glaring, unwilling to say anything else.

"Excellent," Tikka declared after a moment of silence, "then it's decided." She headed off the road to find a more sheltered spot. "You're just hungry," she called over her shoulder. "You'll be fine once we get a fire going and some warm food into you."

The worst part was she was probably right.

***

Something woke Ruune up. She wasn't sure what it was, exactly, but her mind was buzzing with the sense of danger in the air. And she knew she wasn't imagining it, since Tikka was tense as well, her warm back pressed against hers.

They'd had to share Ruune's furs. It was the sensible thing to do for any travellers having to spend the night outdoors this time of the year, even without Tikka's lack of everything. That was all there was to it, Ruune had told herself, and almost believed it.

They hadn't bothered to put up a rain cover, since it hadn't seemed like rain, but now she was thinking they should have. Not that it would do much against anyone who really wanted them harm, but at least it would be a hindrance. As it was, they weren't hidden, though they weren't exactly exposed either. They were off the road enough that they probably wouldn't be noticed in the dark, but if someone did, they could come right in and attack them, or just snatch some of her stuff.

She'd be able to find them, of course. She had a couple of select items she had done a binding on.

There hadn't been a second sound, nothing that would tell her what exactly had woken her up, if it was a person or an animal or something else entirely. They both breathed steadily and laid very still, as if they were still asleep. Anyone looking from the outside would think they were.

A rustle. A quick inhale. It was human.

It was up to her, she knew. She would need to fight whoever it was. She hated it when she had to do that, but Tikka's arm was out of the question.

Maybe they're friendly, said a part of her. She almost snorted. Someone sneaking around like this in the middle of the night was not friendly.

She drew in a deep breath and assessed the situation.

Her bow was too far away. Reaching to grab it would be too big of a motion and take too long. But the arrows were closer. She would have to draw one out of the quiver, stab the person-- No. They were too far, and she didn't want to wait for them to get closer. She'd have to throw and boost it.

She really hated when she had to do that. It left her feeling weird and icky and drained, and she didn't like it. And she didn't want to attack a human in the first place.

There was another rustle, closer this time. Whoever it was was extremely stealthy. She braced herself and started to open her eyes.

A blur of motion, half a heartbeat before she could act, just as she got them open.

The moon was high and round in the sky and it cast a harsh, cold light over the forest. It glinted off Tikka's sword, sharp and dangerous and held steady in her left hand, and the intruder, understandably considering the blade at his neck, raised his trembling hands.

Ruune blinked, halfway to her feet.

"What do you want?" Tikka asked, an obvious threat in her voice. The intruder was starting to look panicked.

It had to hurt. Sure, it wasn't the bit arm she was using, but she had cuts on the left side too. The sword wasn't light either, even if it had been lighter than many other swords Ruune had held in her life, so it had to hurt.

She could almost feel the pain in her own side, but there was no sign of it on Tikka's face.

"Ah, I..." the man stammered. His face was pale in the moonlight. He looked like he was going to take a step back, but glanced down at the sword and seemed to decide moving would be a bad move.

"You were going to rob us," Tikka said. It wasn't a question; the answer was plain on the man's face. "Joke's on you, we don't have anything worth stealing. I'll give it to you though, you're one of the quieter thieves I've heard. I might be almost impressed, if you'd decided on some better pray."

Tikka was gently pushing the sword harder against his throat. A barely perceptible difference. A drop of blood slid down the sword, black in the darkness.

She was going to kill him.

"Hey."

She tensed, just slightly, but never took her eyes off the man, even while Ruune knew all her attention was on her.

"Let him go." Her voice was quiet. "It's not like he's going to come after us again."

Tikka considered the words for a moment, silent, stifling, before the sword slipped from the man's throat. He blinked, his mouth falling open.

"Scram," she hissed. He was out of sight in a flash.

Then she finally turned.

"Well," she said with a cheer that didn't quite fit the situation, "what would a night out on the road be if no one tried to rob you once or twice." She wiped her sword on her shirt and sheathed it, stretched, and huddled back under the covers.

Ruune stared at her, still standing. She... had been about to kill him. There was no sign of that now, no ounce of maliciousness or bloodlust in Tikka's countenance, but Ruune was so sure of it. She would have killed him.

But that didn't make sense! Yes, he had probably been a thief, but thievery didn't warrant the death penalty. And honestly, they didn't even know if he had been planning to rob them, even if that was most definitely what he had been planning. Still. Attempted thievery certainly warranted the death penalty even less than successful thievery.

She was tired. It was late, and dark, and she had not been sleeping properly, and now she was getting confused. Surely there was no way Tikka would have killed a man for something so small as sneaking up on them. It was... her mind playing tricks on her, or something. Yes, that was it.

"Come on then," Tikka's voice pulled her back to the present. One of her eyebrows was raised in question. She was holding up the covers for Ruune to climb in.

She shook her head to clear it, pushed the thoughts out of her mind. She couldn't think properly now anyway, she'd... consider it again once she got some sleep. Like that, she slipped back under the covers, Tikka's body solid and steady and warm against her back.

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The topic for tomorrow is Listen.

~matleena