The Aching Road[Tock]

[Andresciel]

90th day of Summer, 512av
Early Morning

Andresciel awoke to a strange, but comforting pressure on his chest, as well as a burst of pain that caused him to hiss. His left hand, aching still from the breaking, came up to his chest, fingers touching his bandaged body. His right arm seemed like something was on it, which caused the Knight to open his eyes. The first thing he noticed, was the dark sky that was slowly growing lighter, with not a cloud in sight. The second, was the body of the lion that had caused his injuries, still laying where he and Tock had killed it, having bled out. He turned his eyes, wondering where his clothes where, and spotted the sleeping woman that laid curled into his side. His expression became softer as he watched her sleep, before turning his attention elsewhere.

The first thing he sought out, was a way to end his headache, which he found after he carefully slipped his arm free of Tock's head. He placed another of his eldurberry leaves on his tongue, gagging at the bitter taste, but chewing anyway. With the medicine beginning to work, he sent out a telepathic prod to Velenor, causing the little smoke ball to rise, and fly over to Andre's side. Quiet as he could be, Andre would pile tinder upon his firepit, calling to life a minor flame that would quickly spread in the pit itself. Watching the fire take in the dry tinder, he felt only a slight sense of satisfaction, from what used to be his favorite thing, Reimancy. Now, he grabbed a small canteen of soup from his backpack, his patrons secret recipe, and held it over the fire, by the strap of course. As it warmed, he began to sing, in soft tones, an ancient praise to Zulrav, God of Storms, forming the words of Nader-Canoch carefully.

Once the soup was heated, and he checked its taste, he moved to Tock, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Arise Tock." He stated, scooping up his pants. It wouldn't do for someone to come by and find a Knight naked, even if the reasons why were apparent. So on went his pants, covering him up as he awaited for Tock to awaken.

OOCThe Link in early morning is just the last thread

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Tock had awoken once, in the middle of the night. She had barely moved, not wanting to awaken the Knight. She had simply laid there, for a time, watching him sleep. He had looked so peaceful. So beautiful. It made her heart flutter. Whatever he had said about killing a man, she could tell he was a good person. He had described his act of murder as taking the law into his own hands. She didn't believe that could begin to compare to what she had done. He deserved better than her. But more than that, she was scared. Scared that this man she didn't even know had somehow managed to spark such strong feelings in her. Maybe it was because she was lonely. Vulnerable. Not in her right mind. But whatever it was, he had managed to make her feel a warmth in her chest, and she was frightened of it. She didn't know how to cope with it. If she gave him a chance, he'd just leave. The same way Satevis had left. The way they all left. Her fingers silently found her dagger. Slowly, being careful not to wake him, she raised it to his throat. It would be easy. It wasn't like she hadn't done the same thing just days ago. She'd just put the petching fool out of his misery. Spare him the madness and pain that would come from being with her. Spare herself from taking the risk, and putting her heart on the line. She could deal with the guilt of murder. But could she cope with the chance of love? In the end, she set the dagger aside. Maybe she'd kill him in the morning. But for now, she just snuggled up against him, and enjoyed his warmth as she drifted back to sleep... *** When she awoke again, it was morning. The man was cooking something. She opened her eyes and stared at his rather fine backside, trying to remember his name. Andrew? Alexander? No, Andresciel, but he wanted her to call him 'Andre'... Yeah, like THAT was going to happen... Her dagger was still nearby. His bare back exposed. But before she fully considered reaching for it, he moved. She closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep, until he shook her. She opened her eyes, pretending to wake, and looked up at him. Damn, 'e's got pretty eyes, she thought. She watched with a certain disappointment as he pulled on his pants. Down girl, she told herself. Later. She sat up without a word, pulling on her shirt and panties. She wished for a bath, both because if the blood and grime, but also the... ickiness between her legs after last night's activities. For now, though, food sounded like a good idea. Dispensing with pointless pleasantries, she took the canteen and sniffed it, then drank some of the soup. When she handed it back to him to share, she realized she had no other food, and didn't know if he had enough for both of them for the journey to Zeltiva. She nodded to one of the dead cats and asked, "Think 'ey's good ta eat?" Then her fingers gently probed the crudely applied bandages on his chest and arm, and said, "I's gonna 'as ta change 'ese, 'fore we go..." She looked up at him with a scowl, and shook her finger at him, adding, "An' yous keep yer fool arse on the ground 'til I says so! Ain't gonna 'as ya gettin' 'ese bleedin' again cause yer too damn prideful fer ta sit an' rest..." She pushed to her feet and started seeing to what needed to be done around the camp, fully ready to pin the daft fool to the ground if he got any ideas about helping her.

[Andresciel]

Without argument he listened, dropping down to sit, as he watched her go about his campwork. He chuckled as he leaned back to the tree, glad to quit forcing the pained body to work. "Probably not. But then, who knows." He stated, shrugging with his right shoulder, wincing as the action caused pain. It was only slight but still. He watched her, enjoying the way her body moved, and though he knew nothing about last night, he felt a connection. So, taking her threat to max, he pushed himself up, and walked towards the closest Lion. "Meats probably gone bad. We might get lucky though." Andre had no petching clue about what he spoke, but he didn't wish her to risk being poisoned. "I got enough food to last us the journey, if that is your concern Tock. " He moved back where she had told him to sit, as he points at the bedroll "That has to be rolled up and tied to my pack. Then put on my right shoulder. My armor can just be thrown in it." He, like she probably would, knew he wouldn't be wearing the armor anytime soon, not with his injuries. Still, when she got up off the ground, he gave a whistle, staring at her backside "Oooh shake it girl." He called, trying to get a flush from the woman, without getting his head taken off. He saw the blood, and dirt on her, and focused a soft stream of res around her body. Within a second, water formed, washing away dirt and grime, causing Andre another headache, but still, she really did look beautiful clean. "Well. Now I guess you can call me a dirty stinking male." He sighed, sitting back to await his 'nurses' orders.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

"Ya ain't carryin' nothin'," she told him stubbornly when he mentioned strapping the pack to his shoulder. His armor plus everything else would be more than she could carry, but she could rig something to pull it all along the ground. Maybe even build something with wheels, if it wouldn't take more time than it was worth. It was just too bad that she didn't have all of her babies with her; working together, they could build a small wagon in no time. She packed everything up, shoving his things into his pack without much care for how it all went in there. She moved in a bit of a daze, still struggling with haunting images of a dead child in her arms. She felt sick to her stomach with the memory. She snapped out of it when he whistled at her and made the lewd comment. Her head snapped up and she glared at him murderously. She didn't care if he saw her in her panties; hell, he'd seen far more than that already. But she DID mind when he acted like a pig, making comments like that. Red in the face, she advanced on him, ready to smack him one and give him a piece of her mind. But she stopped with a yelp at the sudden cold water that appeared all around her. She stood there, stiff and still, fists clenched at her sides, dripping wet and shaking with cold and with rage. Even worse, she still felt slimy and sticky, since the quick rinse had only been enough to splash off some surface filth. She needed a good, long scrubbing with soap to get properly clean. Her face just reddened more when she saw the way he was looking at her. But not one to be deterred, she strode forward again and gave him a good hard smack upside his fool head. "Quit wit' the magic tricks!" she snapped. "Ain't what gonna impress me none, an' if'n ya overgive, ye'll only what make yerself worse, an' I ain't carryin' ya back fer the city if'n ya done pass out! Ya 'as any idea 'ow much blood ya done lost!?" She pushed him down and straddled his lap again, as much because she enjoyed the position as for the convenience of it for tending to him. She looked over the bandages, uncertain how to proceed. She hadn't even quite managed to do a thorough job last night, before he'd... 'distracted' her from the task. Memories of which made her blush deeply, as she wondered whether he'd be up for another go before they got on the road. Well, he was a man... of course he'd be up for another go... "'Old still," she whispered softly, fingers gently probing the bandages. She channeled Djed through her eyes, focusing hard. She concentrated it forward, channeling the energy into reading the man's aura, focused on the area around his chest and arm. She frowned, first noting the shimmering color of his aura, which was rather strong. She focused, trying to deduce how to use the aura reading to diagnose his wounds. After a long minute of concentration, she sensed a feeling of dampness, and bright red from behind one of the bandages. "Ya bloody tore 'is one back open," she whispered, pulling out some more bandages from the limited supply that was left, and gently working to replace the one she sensed the open wound behind.

[Andresciel]

His head rung with the slap, as he looks up at her, muttering "Twas only teasing." He sighed as he looks up at her. "And the water was only trying to help. I can't help that I can't control the tempature." He made sure to look her in the face, despite the fact that she was still pretty much naked. And when she straddled his lap, the first thing to pop up was from between his legs. At least until she touched his wound, causing him to wince. "Oi. I get it. You don't like the teasing, I'll stop. Just qu..." He heards her words as he nods, "As I seem to recall, you didn't do much to prevent it." And to stop her from smacking him again, or atleast without good reason, he pressed his lips to her own lightly. "Now if you wanna smack me, at least I got to kiss you before you did it." He smiles, a soft, shy little thing as he watched her begin to work on his chest. He had limited bandages, thinking he wouldn't need many and could have restocked in Zeltiva. But hey, thats what he got for thinking. Still, he brought out a cloth from his bag near him, and began to rub the grime off her back as she worked, moving slowly, so as not to disturb her work or his bandages. Once she was finished however, he brought the cloth around, and wiped some of the grime from her face, and then pulled her down into a kiss, tender, but deep.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

She shifted when she felt the expected, and truthfully, desired reaction between her legs, biting her lip as she tried to ignore it long enough to mend him. "Ain't said what I ain't like teasin'," she whispered, pouring some water over his chest and wiping the wound clean, before applying the clean bandage. "Jus' ain't like no lewd pigs makin' comments 'bout my arse. Ya wanna says sommat nice fer a girl, ya should learn ta does it sweet-like..." She wasn't sure why she was bothering to give him advice on wooing her. She should have just told him to shut up and leave her alone. She was about to curse at him just to balance it out, when he interrupted her with a kiss. A girl could git used ta 'at... she thought, gently running her tongue across her lip after he pulled away. The gentle rubbing was rather nice too, and made her seriously consider taking her shirt back off. With the bandages replaced once more, she traced her fingers across the exposed flesh of his chest, closing her eyes for a moment as he began cleaning her face. She felt dirty, and ugly, and... And then he was kissing her again. She returned the kiss for a moment, then pulled back, pressing her hands against his chest to keep him from moving. "Ya can't go movin' 'round again," she whispered. "Ye'll rip 'em open again..." If she let him do what they both clearly wanted to do, he'd end up losing more blood when he ripped the wounds back open once more. She couldn't have that. Though, it occurred to her, there were other things that could be done. Things she wasn't entirely sure on the mechanics of, but which she had heard enough jokes and lewd stories about to have a pretty good idea how it went. Her fingers strayed down towards his pants, her eyes locking on his...

[Andresciel]

Andre watched her as she accepted both kisses as he tilts his head. "So I should tell you that your backside is as beautiful as the moon?" He asked, just a simple thing before she whispered to him to stop his movements "And why not? I was going to was..." He was cut off by the hand straying down towards his pants, not to mention the look in those brown eyes that met his own. He didnt say a word as his pants were opened, and he was once more sliding out of them. He didn't comment on how randy she was, or that he was in pain, he just tilted her head back and kissed her, "Only fair that if you get me naked, you get the same way Tock." With that, he was trying her shirt back off, his right hand moving clumsily until he simply gave up, and grumbled a bit. Still, he went back silent to watch her, her eyes as he tilts his head. She was being so caring, so considerate of him compared to when they had first met.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

She blushed at his more poetic compliment, returning his kiss once more. "'At's a kinda thing a girl likes ta 'ear..." she whispered, eying him lustfully. It was strange. It seemed like, slowly, they were feeling each other out. Finding some sort of equilibrium. Though she still thought he was a dang daft fool. She obediently (such a rare term to use to describe her) pulled her shirt back off, and raised his uninjured hand to her breasts. She leaned in and kissed him deeply, working her hand between his legs for awhile, though the movement was clumsy and inexperienced. After a few minutes, she broke the kiss, stuck a firm finger in his face, and ordered him, "Now keep still!" With that she shifted so that she could lower her head, and attempt the thing she'd heard so many men brag about in bars or on the work site.

[Andresciel]

He smiles as she blushed, his lips pressing along her own as he thought the same thoughts as she. It was like they were coming to a balance, evening out with each other as a couple would do. Still, as she took her shirt off, he could only blush, his hand squeezing the soft flash, until the finger came in his face. He nodded his assent that he would keep still, and watched as she went lower. However, he had to force himself not to jump at the warmth that suddenly found him, shivering beneath it as his right hand found her hair. "Woah." He breathed, as she did what she was doing. She may have never done it before, but she had found the perfect rhythm, drawing Andre quickly to a climax, that would undoubtably spill into her mouth. "Ya know if you keep..mm that up, I won't be able to hold it back."

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

When it was done, Tock turned and spat the disgusting taste onto the ground, wincing in disgust. How did girls do THAT on a regular basis? Though Andre did seem rather... content with what she had done, which gave her a certain satisfaction. She grabbed the waterskin to rinse her mouth out, considering asking him for some reciprocation, but she found herself satisfied with this much for now. She stood and started to dress again, telling him, "Now don't go git no ideas. Shouldn't even what been givin' ya no good time, what wit' 'ow bad 'urt ya is..." She pulled her pants on, wondering what had come over her. This wasn't like her at all. She shook her head and sighed, knowing she just wasn't thinking straight these past couple of days. Once she was dressed, she finished making the preparations to leave camp. First she dug out a spare shirt from Andre's pack, and used it to fashion a crude sling for him. Once she had his arm suspended in it, she went and found two long, sturdy branches, using her hatchet to hack off any extra pieces hanging off. Then she tied both straps of Andre's heavily filled pack to the branches, one on either side. It wasn't much, but it would allow her to carry his pack and his armor more easily. She lifted the branches, leaving their back ends on the ground, the pack suspended off the ground between them. She could drag it like this, with a bit of difficulty as the butt ends of the branches dragged across the ground, but it would be good enough to get them back to the city. She could have fashioned a couple of wheels, but they weren't far enough from the city for it to be worth the time that would take. "Les'go," she told her lover, a determined set to her chin. She had her own pack, filled with her tools, strapped to her back. Grippy was on her hip and Handy on her shoulder. And she'd drag his things along with her, leaving him to do nothing but walk.