[Bronze Woods] Worms (Sam)

[Aedai]

He nodded his head, "Yes there is a lake nearby, from here it might take awhile and fumbling in the darkness I'm not sure I'd recommend that". He sat down near the fire and placed the flint and steel back in the pouch. He grabbed the small bag at the other side of his waste that held his food. He unwrapped it to reveal bread and a slice of cheese.

He grabbed the bread and held it up in the light, "Would you like some"?

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"Sure," he said, getting his cooking gear and foodstuffs out of his saddlebags.

He settled down in front of Aedai's fire and began cooking up some stew, setting bits of jerky to soften in water, flavored with the mushrooms and pinches of things he kept in small quantities.

"Perhaps the cheese first? We can eat the bread with this stew once it's ready."

[Aedai]

He grabbed the slice of cheese and handed it over to Sam leaving the bread on the small unwrapped cloth. He grabbed his waterskin from where he had the pouch and lifted it high in the air.

"We can share this as well since it seems lke your using yours to make the stew."

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"All right," Sam said, smiling. He wasn't used to being the older one much, even if it was only by a year. "I figure we can share what we have while we're sharing the journey, so don't feel bad about eating my food. Just don't steal any of Horse's. He's not as forgiving as I am."

He grinned and broke the cheese into relatively equal portions, handing half of it back to Aedai.

[Aedai]

Taking his half he returned the smile with a laugh, "Don't worry I won't take any of his food". It was nice having this small adventure as grim as it was going to turn out in the end. Laughing and smiling was something Aedai enjoyed, company was something he enjoyed.

"How is the food coming along?" He asked.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam smiled at the shared hilarity, then stirred the pan a bit.

"It'll take a little while for the jerky to soften up, but it won't be too long until it's hot. So if you don't mind it being extra chewy, you don't have to wait too much longer..."

[Aedai]

He hoped the nice smell of the food didn't attract any wild attention. His stomach growled silently as the smell creeped up his nostrils, filling it with the aroma.

"No I'll wait till its done", he said pausing for a moment before he continued, "If you'd like I can tell you why I brought the shovel along...there is no point in keeping it from you since we will be there soon."

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam's eyebrows rose curiously as he glanced over at Aedai, but the lad seemed uncomfortable, so he turned his attention back to the crude stew he was cooking. With a gut-level flash of intuition, he sensed a familiar sort of pain and waited for Aedai to formulate that into whatever words he had for it.

"All right," he said quietly by way of encouragement. "I'm listening."

[Aedai]

He shifted a little where he sat, and looked towards the ground. "The shovel is for a eh," he paused a little as he started to feel hot close to the campfire. He was tempted to let his emotions best him but he held them back and continued. "Its to bury my dead fathers corpse that is wrapped up in the cottage". He didn't know whether it seemed proper or not to have buried him before leaving to Syrilas. His mother thought safer to move first, leaving the corpse at least wrapped.

He wiped his face with his hands then kept them there, "That is what I have to do or else, according to my mother anyways, he won't rest peacefully". In the silence that followed, he could hear the cackling of the fire.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam found he was staring at Aedai, then slowly focused on the fire for a moment, two... several. This was not at all what he had expected, and yet somehow he wasn't surprised. Perhaps survivors recognized each other on some level. There were hundreds of things he might have said, questions he might have asked; all might have been apropos of the situation, and perhaps it was wrong for Aedai to spring this on him out of nowhere, but he couldn't get angry.

He took a deep breath and then let it all out, not wanting to drag his own history into this. But finally he reached out and put a hand on Aedai's shoulder, and he not much of one for too much physical contact.

"I understand," he said. And he did.