In The Beginning

It's the meet-cute

And her day had started off so peacefully, too. Waking at dawn to the warm summer sun, a bite of a scone and a hot cup of dandelion tea boiled over the smokeless fire she had built the night before. Then the routine of checking snares, bagging the lone hare, and before she had run into this current catastrophe, continuing the hunt of the small pack of gulch foxes along the Bysca Mountains. Foxes she had now lost thanks to this oaf getting caught in a Guerra tribe snare and her being around for when they were about to cut him down. Jynga cursed herself for her curiosity, for if she had just stayed ducked behind the boulder, they would never have spotted her.

Now here she was facing off against four angry, hungry, likely sexually frustrated Guerra hunters without her Bobcat, and her only ally hanging pathetically by his feet while blood pooled to his brain and he watched on, unable to do much to turn the situation to their advantage. Jynga quickly surveyed the situation: three directly in front of her, one to the back right about six feet behind. He had edged around quickly to block at least one escape route. To her left there was mostly forest and the beginning rocky steppes of the mountain. Downhill would have been the best route of escape, but of course luck wasn’t in the stars for that moment. The one behind her would be best as a first kill as he only had his long-knife and only one of the men in front of her had their bow armed and ready to fire. She preferred to get the one loose string to go first, taking her chance that the long-range bow would be clumsy in a short-range moment. Jynga threw one of the knives attached to her belt at the man behind her, then rolled to the left before the first arrow could pierce one of her lungs. Quick as she could, she threw herself behind the boulder that had been her earlier demise, risking a glance to ensure that the one hunter had truly been downed. Upon that assurance, she threw another knife at the archer, catching him in the gut as one of the hunters ran, leapt, and pulled her by her shoulder pad out from behind the safety of the rock.

The head-butt she attempted missed, but it got the hunter to release her, allowing her the precious moment to discharge her axe from its place at her hip and ready it for its first taste of blood. Still much outnumbered, not caring so much about the man hanging somewhere above them, Jynga knew she must eliminate the bowman next, for even gravely injured, he was still able to fire the arrow that next grazed her arm. She engaged one hunter briefly on her way to her target, her axe twice neatly denting a place on his rusting, mismatched armour. Guerra were great scavengers and often neglected creating goods for themselves, preferring to use that which was pillaged from their victims. If Jynga didn’t know how much she ought to be afraid of them, she might have laughed at their unseemly and haphazard looks, for they looked less like an organized unit of hunters and more like sad, first time bandits fumbling about in funny looking armour and face-paint. But Jynga knew that somebody had to die for that armour to be worn and what was used to paint their faces was far from berry juice and dirt.

After a satisfyingly red slice at the thigh of the hunter she had been battling, she reached the bowman in time to slice the bow he shot at her before it pierced her face and demolish his face with repeated swings from her axe. Jynga felt the weight of the other hunter as he landed on her back, attempting to make her fall on her front. She landed on her knee, thankfully in soft mud, with the stinking, heavy mass of the hunter above her, the second one now coming into view close in front of her. She took a deep breath, using her strength to throw the both of them into a thick tree before the second hunter could thrust his blade into her chest. The one behind her, though mildly stunned from the force of directly being crushed into the tree, began to choke her as best he could, which was enough to be unsatisfactorily annoying. She fended off the strikes of her hunter before her as best she could, but

he got a strike in on her defending forearm and her vision was starting to get blurry, and she was starting to feel quite weak.

Then the pressure from behind her was loosened by a growl and a crunch, and warm liquid splashed all over Jynga’s head and shoulders. Her Bobcat had returned in time to rip off the head of the hunter. The assailant to her front had only a moment to recognize what was to happen to him before Gazlal the Bobcat tore out his throat. Then Jynga collapsed the ground, breathing heavily from exertion and exhaustion.

Jynga was roused from the slumber that had quickly captured her by the yelling of a deep voice. Of course! the man captured by the snare was still hanging. Jynga patted Gaz on the snout as the large, nearly horse-sized cat cleaned the blood from its paws, and she found a very purple faced man yelling obscenities from where he hung. He stopped when he caught sight of her, changing his yelling from swears to accusations.

“And where by Grakthar’s wrinkled sac have you been for the last hour then? I thought the giant cat had killed you with the rest of them? Why haven’t you cut me down already you blasted witch?” Jynga coughed and rubbed her throat.

“I think I fell asleep.”

“What, you fell asleep? Well I’m sorry for disturbing your rest then. Not everyone in this forest is exactly in the situation to grab forty winks, you know. I’d strangle you if I could reach you.” And he struggled to reach his hanging hands down to her, missing Jynga by a generous two feet. Jynga rolled her eyes and sighed, whistling twice.

“Oh now you’re trying to get a bird song going. When exactly are you going to start being helpful?”

Jynga ignored his rambling, which stopped short and turned to exclamations of fear as Gaz trundled softly towards them. Jynga motioned for Gaz to stand almost directly under the man, which caused him to become all the more unsettled, gesticulating wildly from where he hung.

“Would you stop being such a flighty pitiful damsel and hold still, you’re going to make yourself faint up there and I’ve got no mind to deal with dead weight over live. Otherwise, I’ll turn you into dead weight myself and feel no more guilty for it than the hunters out around us. Got it?” By now, Jynga had perched herself on Gaz’s back as she stood to be up on her back paws. Jynga used Gaz’s body like a ladder to be able to grab onto the man’s body. She silenced his protests as she used him like she had Gaz, though now to get to the rope that tied him, and then to the branch above. She used the small, serrated back blade of her axe to shear the rope and in no time at all, the man fell onto Gaz’s back from where he panicked and scrambled to the foot of a tree, where he huddled, quivering. It had been a long time since Jynga had seen something so pathetic.

“Would you stop simpering and calm down? She’s not going to eat you and neither am I.” Jynga jumped from the branch and landed expertly, the height not being an issue as she was almost as adept as Gaz in her range of natural abilities. She remained away from the man, not wanting to startle him more.

“W-who are you?” he stammered, teeth chattering, skin white.

“What does it matter? I belong here and you clearly don’t. Who are you and why are you in this forest all by yourself?” Jynga could only perceive so little by his outer appearance. He was not a rough person as his hands had borne no callouses, though she had seen some dirt under his fingernails and

cuticles. His hair was short and looked recently washed, as did his clothes, which reminded her of temple-garb: a long sleeved, knee length tunic and leggings, with soft sole boots. Good thing he wore a belt, otherwise he would have looked even more amusing with his dress hanging ‘round his ears.

“I… I’m lost.” He said simply.

“Lost?” Jynga cocked an eyebrow, “and who lost you?” she was glad to see that he had relaxed somewhat, wasn’t so tight against himself.

“My party. We are going from El-Kamir to Brickenmoor. We made camp, briefly, and I found and followed a path of hypernium flowers. I’m sort of interested in flora you see, and well, I ended up sort of lost.” His thin face blistered in a pink blush of embarrassment.

Jynga released a heavy, disparaging sigh. She had rescued a scaredy gardening monk. Now what was she going to do with him? Jynga cleaned the coagulating blood off her axe as she asked,

“Going to Brickenmoor, you said?” the man nodded. “Suppose I could take you there, mind you don’t bother of my company?” the man shook his head. Jynga scratched her head between sections of the now loosening braid. She felt like she might regret this, “Get yourself up then and let’s go.” He gathered himself and walked up to Jynga who pulled a rope out of one of the bags attached to Gaz’s simple and crude saddle �" it being mostly a seat with footholds than anything usually found on a horse, and the leash being much of the same, made to go around the neck and its handles to aid steering, rather than control it. The man recoiled at the rope.

“What’s that for?”

“I’m going to tie your hands and you’re going to walk. I’ve still got intentions of doing the hunting that you spoiled, and it’s no good if you’re astride behind me on Gaz. Also, if anyone comes upon us, depending on the manner of the folk, you’re either my prisoner on account of being violent towards me on the road, or my bounty.” He didn’t offer his hands to her. “Well, are we doing this or not? I’ll just leave you here and-”

“No, no. Tie them, its fine.” He brought his hands towards her and she tied them roughly, tightly, ignoring his sounds of protest. Jynga sat herself on Gas, secured the rope holding the man around her waist, and started the three of them into the thick of the forest.

Jynga shared heavy silence with her psuedo prisoner, who was stumbling along rather amicably for someone roped to a giant bobcat. He made sounds of protest occasionally, and tripped several times, but generally he seemed to be keeping his toungue. Then finally,

"Please, can we stop? I'm thirsty, sore, hungry -"

"I understand, please stop. We'll stop." Jynga cut him off before he could continue. She reigned Gaz to a stop, but to the man's dismay did not untie him, though he offered her his wrists once she had slid from her seat.

"Oh, really? Not even when we've stopped and there is no one here?"

"Not even then." Her words were short, to the point. He made to protest again, but Jynga spoke first,

"Do you want to eat and drink and rest, or do you not? Because I did not need to stop."

The man gulped dryly, his tongue sticking to the floor of his mouth, "It's fine."

Gaz first retrieved a skin of lamb with cool water, helping him hold it so that it would not spill. He gulped it down, making small, automatic sounds of appreciation. When Jynga felt he'd had enough, she shared with him a bit of dried wolf meat and dried apple bits.

"We'll only stop for a shadows length, no more, understand?"

"Yes."

"Good." Jynga went back to her bag and the man dozed straight to sleep.

When the stranger woke up, it was to see Jynga leaning against Gaz, smoking a pipe with eyes half closed. He watched her draw in a slow, deliberate drag of the woody, thick smoke, and let it out again with much the same slow pleasure. Finally, the feeling of his digging gaze proved too annoying, and she threw him a glance,

"Something bothering you?"

Her voice threw him off, catching him off guard in embarrassment.

"Didn't mean to be rude."

"I didn't imply you had been." She took another pull from her smoke before kocking out the remaining ash and putting the neatly carved pipe away.

"You didn't have to stop on my account." He shifted so that he's be more upright, the rope leaving pink marks along his wrists - she could have used something a little kinder than the harsh straw twine.

"Not on your account. We've stopped for too long now anyways. I'm looking to catch up with those foxes that you made me lose, and you're still plaguing each of my attempts."

"Sorry." Jynga helped him get back up, which was difficult since his legs had grown numb.

"Sorry doesn't get my foxes back now does it?"

"What is your rudding problem?" The man barked at her, his curse unbefitting of his monkhood, even with his string of outbursts while hanging from the trap. She blustered through the first vowels of an answer before he continued,

"I understand that I may not be the best company for you; I am quite aware of my incapabilities in this situation, but since we have some strech of time to spend together, you could perhaps attemp to be hospitable, or at the very least exercise some silence." His face grew flush and his jaw tightened.

The silly monk had managed to embarass Jynga and she could not prevent the flush that came to her ever so slightly green tinted cheeks.

"I - I apologize." There was nothing else Jynga could think to say because she knew the man was right.

"Thank you." he replied, leaning against Gaz who only huffed in annoyance.

After a moment of silence, Jynga straightened herself out and declared,

"You know, I do not know your name and I don't believe you know mine."

"Adiopholus Kryskos, humbly in your servitude and prisonerdom. You may call me simply Adi" He presented a tied hand to her. Jynga couldn't help but grin,

"Jynga Kylette, happy to be your overloard."

"More like overlady, isn't it?"

"Hah, bout as far from a lady as you'll find." she made her way onto Gaz and started them walking again.

"Oh, I'm sure you'd do fine." said Adi, just loud enough so that Jynga might hear, but that it could have been meant to be kept to himself. Jynga did hear, and she scowled at the compliment.

The unlikely duo fell silent once more, until the shadows had grown long and Adi spoke,

“You are not completely human, are you?” the question was asked softly and without accusation. Jynga kept the bristling of her shoulders at bay, the question never having gotten more comfortable to face.

“No, I’m not,” she replied, and barrelled right in to the explanation to get it over with, “Father was an orc, mother a human. For once I was not beget out of violence, war, or desperation, but love. My mother lived in Gellis, and he in For-Esiden, which as you probably know are fairly close bordering towns. The fell in love, married, and raised me until I was just into womanhood. Then my father got conscripted, and he died in the battle at Cinderforge. My mother was never the same, eventually cloistering herself. I do not see her very often anymore. There, is that enough of an explanation for you? Be done with it now.” Jynga did not approve with how much she had let herself reveal. Adi was just as surprised.

“Quite a tale. Would you like to hear some of mine? It would only be fair that we’re trading.”

“I like a good trade.” She smirked to herself.

Adi gave his story, voice catching every once in a while as the ground shifted and he’d stumble slightly, “Much like you I lived in quite a good home. My mother gave attention to all five of her sons, troublesome and aggravating as we were, and my father worked hard as a financier to many businesses and statesmen. We lived in Darris, quite a bit bigger than your Gellis, and I saw much of life before I grew very old. Of course, to your standards I’m probably quite a dullard, and a sheltered one at that. A crooked politician was our downfall, and instead of going to university like it had been planned, I ended up in what was the only better option, the temple, where I received whatever the best studies the could offer, and not anything for me to complain about, for certain.”

“Certainly, I’m sure. And how did you end up in my forest?” Jynga asked.

“You’re forest?”

“Yes, mine.”

“I don’t see your name written anywhere.” Adi made to peer, scrutinizing the trees.

“More mine than yours. Answer the question.”

“I said before, my convoy took to the main road and I wandered off. Why, do you not trust me?”

“I trust no one, not even myself at times.”

“Quite a harsh judgement.”

“And you’d know all about judgement, wouldn’t you, monk?

Adi grinned widely, “Why, Jynga, are you not the religious sort?”

“Humph, none of your business who I talk to before bed, now is it?”

“Was just asking.”

“I grow tired of your questions, *impetuous* robe that you are!” Jynga bade Gaz to speed up, forcing Adi to concentrate closely on his footsteps and successfully pushing all unspoken questions from his tongue back to his head. Falling once more into silence, the pair travelled until night had sunk into the forest, and even with Jynga’s enhanced nocturnal vision, the inky blackness swallowed them up.

Adi asked to be untied as they slept, but Jynga would not hear of it - if someone were to come upon them in the night, how would it look to have her prisoner untied? Adi accepted his fate more gracefully than Jynga had come to expect, and she took it as a sign that he was becoming used to the way she handled things. She offered him food and water again, before relegating herself to her favourite nook behind Gaz's shoulder. Sleep came to her quickly and without concern for her safety and she, for

once, forgoed her usual routine of setting traps and creating a perimeter. Who knew how tiresome it was to have a companion?

An insistent, blunt nudging to her calf woke Jynga from a dream she was having about dancing goats. Summoned from such oddity, and so abruptly, Jynga was loopy and aggressive. She fumbled for her knife, swinging blindly at the air before her.

"It's just me, Jynga, calm down!" said Adi, his voice magnified in the quiet night. Jynga struggled to shake the fog of sleep from her head. She sat up,

“What’s wrong?” Since the night was clear, she could tell the position of the moon and it had not moved very far down the sky since she had fallen asleep. Relaxing her body somewhat, she lowered her blade hand, but held on to it still.

“I heard voices,” said Adi, whispering softer than before, “I couldn’t tell from where, but I swear I heard them.”

“A monk shouldn’t swear.” Jynga teased.

“What are we going to do?”

“You will do nothing, I will have a look around. Stay put and shut up.”

It was very hard for Adi to keep the retort that came to him in his throat, but he did for the sake of security. Jynga picked up her bow and quiver and slowly paced a perimeter around their little camp.

To the southwest, where the trees let up somewhat to allow a stream passage, Jynga picked to voices. They were soft, surely, but a higher octave escaped ever so often amidst the hushed tones, enough to ping across the tree-scape. The fire was smokeless, but the ember and flame could be seen flickering, and the smell of cooking meat floated under Jynga’s nose. She did not have to creep too close to see or hear them.

A small group of mercenaries had settled themselves against the stream. She could tell by what they wore and how they carried themselves �" like men who have known military action but have slackened from its rigidity �" much like she had. It was odd for them to be together in a group like that and the only explanation she could come up with was that they were hired as a team. Jynga made careful note of where they were and would make sure to give them a wide berth the next day.

“What happened, did you kill anyone? Was it more of those… the �" well, you know.” Adi hounded her in a hoarse whisper, clearly agitated.

“No, not them. Just other wanderer’s passing through, much like us.”

“I highly doubt they’re anything like us. Did they have a handsome monk in their possession?”

“Neither handsome, nor a monk, and you’re only one of the two yourself.”

“You hurt me."

“No, but I will hurt you if you don’t go back to sleep right now.”

Adi made a show of falling limp against Gaz’s thigh and snoring, but within moment his breath evened out and he did in fact start snoring ever so lightly. Jynga took a deep sigh as she nestled back into Gaz.

What in Hedja’s name had she gotten herself into?

Morning broke hot and humid with Jynga being the one to wake Adi. Right away he asked for food.

“Listen, you may be used to getting three square and cake for dessert at your little sanctuary, but out here you only eat when you get food. What I have in my pack will only last so long, and it’s planned for one person. Because of you I set no traps overnight, thus we’ve nothing to eat until I either catch something or you magic something from the Ether.”

“Just a small bite and a small drink? I won’t ask again all day.”

Adi had made himself look so pitiful that Jynga broke quickly, reaching for her pack and water skin with less resistance than she would like to admit. She took inventory once they had finished: two sheets of jerky, a lump of bread, and perhaps two handfuls of dried fig �" not very much that would last very long, not with a second traveller anyways. Jynga made up her mind,

“You will stay with Gaz while I hunt ahead. She’s smarter than you assume and knows the general direction of travel. If you run in to trouble she is the best thing next to myself to have at your side.”

“I don’t know how I feel about being left alone out here.” Adi’s voiced was laced with anxiety, and his face whitened in the start of a panic.

“Calm your nerves man! Such a spotty-livered sack I’ve never seen. We will do as I say, otherwise Gaz will start to get hungry too, and then she will eat you,” she knelt in front of him and placed a hand firmly in his shoulder, looked him in the eye, and said, “Do you understand?”

Adi gulped and blinked repeatedly, but the colour seeped back to his face, “yes,” he replied quietly.

“Gaz will protect you with her life because she does so for mine,” Jynga stood, “You have nothing to fear, I will return shortly and fill your holy belly.” She disappeared quickly into the trees and Adi lost sight of her in ten blinks. Gaz started her steady, even pace, and he had no choice but to follow along.

The rope chafed horribly, the sun bit at his scalp through the tree tops, and the humidity made his robes stick. All he wanted was a large meal, cool bath, scented soaps, and a night’s sleep on a heavily cushioned bed. Was that so much to ask?

To make things worse, any noise apart from birdsong made him jump out of his skin. The run-in with those barbarians had not helped his fear of the thick, unfamiliar forest, a fear that only those damned flowers had been able to quell. He cursed himself for the scholarly mind that had made curiosity win over cowardice.

The giant beast trundling beside him was another source of anxiety, and having never seen a real Beast made him all the more nervous. Beasts were something of the true wild and Adi would have loved to know how a little girl like Jynga could have gotten her hands on the Bobcat. He supposed referring to her as “little” was untrue and would probably make her attack him, but she had a small stature, regardless of her muscled build, and for all he knew she might be in his mid-thirties like he was.

Reaching for the pack strapped to Gaz, Adi tried to look for the skin of water. The fearsome low growl that Gaz gurgled stopped him short, but not before he caught a glimpse of the many small bottles in the bag, and some shiny metals that Adi guessed were coins or jewelry. The conundrum of his companion deepened. He had so many questions about her.

What was she doing in the thick forest, so far from the trail, not seeming to have a map, and Hejat knows what her destination was? She had the skills of a warrior, tracker, and with those bottles,

maybe even a shaman? Why hadn’t she killed him, for clearly she could at any moment? These thoughts and many more curled their way through Adi’s head during the desolate walk.

It was only once he felt like he could barely swallow that Gaz pulled him towards a creek. She leaned down to take deep, long sips, keeping a sidelong stare at him while he did the same, her eye perhaps larger than a chicken’s egg. The water seeped into the canyons of his throat, making it almost possible for him to bear more of the journey. Gaz did not keep them still for long, and it seemed like much later in the day with the sun waning to the west that Jynga finally found her way back to them.

She appeared quickly and quietly. In a blink she was next to Gaz, leaving Adi to wonder how she had come upon them so suddenly. She must be magic, some work of Nefaros. No, perhaps just swifter than he could ever imagine himself to be, bumbling oaf that he was. Adi nearly wet himself with joy when he saw that Jynga had not one but three gulch foxes in the sack slung over her shoulder, already skinned and gutted, ready to be roasted over a fire. She also had a bag filled with berries of various shapes and colours, as well as a rather rare type of mushroom that was considered a delicacy in most parts �" had she found a whole vein of them?

“Jynga! My darling, you are my favourite little rascal, have I ever told you that? Look at all this, a feast more than anything. How clever you are. Now, those mushrooms you found… where they with a whole patch, or did you find them isolated. Can we go back to them, tomorrow perhaps?” Jynga had started to collect twigs for firewood, not nearly enough in his opinion.

“Do not refer to me as a rascal, or anything else other than my name. I now realize why I enjoyed my day so much, because you were not around to annoy me.”

“Yes, yes, I won’t call you anything but effervescent Jynga, now, about the mushrooms?” His high-strung personality made him want to buzz out of his skin �" a whole vein of eberion mushrooms would not only have much monetary worth, but what a thing to study!

“Adi, mushrooms are not a priority right now and they were much out of our route tomorrow. I’m not going to be the one leading you around the forest like some guide.”

“But-”

“Adi, do you want me to prepare the food, or would you like to go to sleep hungry tonight?”

Adi felt the excitement drain away with the gurgle of his empty stomach, “No, I’d like to eat, please.” He added, hoping his politeness might atone for his attitude. It was impossible to get around her staunch assertiveness.

“If I give you a knife, you’re not going to kill yourself out of despair are you?”

Adi shook his head.

“You can cut up those glorious mushrooms of yours and wrap them in these leaves. I need quite a bit of twigs, so I’ll be awhile longer. I know exactly how many I brought and I don’t want a bite eaten without me, understood?”

Adi nodded, ravenous at the promise of food and wondering how he would be able to stop himself as he accepted the mushroom and the knife. Jynga left him the pile of large, sturdy leaves that he guess would be placed close to the embers of the fire. They would taste mighty fine after a short time cooking.

Left alone once more, Adi took to reciting psalms from the book of Fillion to keep his mind distracted from his stomach. He sang the songs low, under his breath, taking comfort in the stories of bravery and strength that often comforted him.

The book of Fillion took place in the time of Hejat when he was forced to face dangerous trials in order to prove his worth to his followers, many of which had begun to lose faith in the growing wake of religious uncertainty. Hejat was still a young god at this time, years before ascending to Heaven to lead his people in spirit, and Fillion was follower who had spent most of his life in the faith. But, with the rise of new religious orders and the word of other gods spreading, he was one of many who was questioning the word and order of Hejat.

Feeling lost and afraid, Fillion sought out Hejat and begged Hejat to allow him to follow him on his quests to provide a true record of the deeds to his people. Even though he thought it might cause rejection, Fillion confessed that he had doubt in his faith and said that he was not worthy of the great task for which he begged. Hejat saw the sadness and fear that plagued Fillion, and was pleased to allow the conflicted man to be his companion.

Being a man that confessed cowardice, and too often a lack in vigour for the faith, Fillion was a saint that spoke to the reservations that sometimes weighed heavily in Adi’s heart. Being in the predicament that he was in now, the faith that Fillion found was what Adi needed to evoke.

“Beautiful stories.”

Adi broke the line of the song when Jynga spoke. He looked up and saw that she was standing not too far from him. Her face, usually taut and fearsome, was now smoothed out in an expression of peace and curiosity. She was actually smiling.

“You are not a follower.” Adi couldn’t think of anything to say that wasn’t offensive in nature. Jynga shook her head and chuckled,

“Of Hejat? No, but if I was pressed to confess a faith, it would be of Hedja.”

In a breath, Jynga had tangled Adi’s impression of her more than ever.

“Hedja is simply a corruption of Hejat.” Again, he spoke words of argument because he couldn’t think of any other method. He was surprised again when Jynga did not pick up the line of aggressive debate he had expected. She did, however, pick up the mushroom stuffed leaves before starting her smokeless fire. The flame picked up quickly under the roasting stand that Jynga had speedily put together, three for all three foxes.

“Yes, many say that about Hedja, but I do not think so.”

“Hedja was created by people who did not want to accept Hejat and his principles, and instead created their own tales in order to appeal to whatever desires could not be sated by Hejat. Not to mention they made her a woman.”

“And you have a problem with a women god?” She stopped her movements and looked heavily into Adi’s eyes, making him all the more uncomfortable.

“No, of course not, but the god is not a woman. It is Hejat and only him.” Now there was another problem between them. Was she going to start doing naked dances and sacrificing animals under his nose now? Every time Adi thought he might be able to relax around his saviour and captor, she said or did something to bring back the unease.

“Spoken like a true believer, ignorance and all. Listen, Adi, I’m not going to sit here and debate religion with you all night. I am too hungry and too tired for such frippery. All you need to understand is that I have what I need to live a good, somewhat honest life, and I can sleep at night without my many sins eating away at my soul. If Hejat is what you need to do that, then I respect that, and you should do the same for me. There are plenty of people fighting because of religion elsewhere, let’s not bring the

war here. Are you able to live with that?” Jynga had been busy turning the meat during her little speech, but she focused back on Adi at her last words. All the arguments for conversion that had been taught in the temple wanted to run out of his mouth, more out of habit than out of purpose. But Jynga was right �" the war of the faiths was being fought amply elsewhere, no need to bring it to their spot in the forest.

“You are right, I concede and will not evangelise with you again.” Adi said. Jynga nodded curtly,

“Good.”

“Is the food done yet?”

Jynga sighed, “No!”

“Will it be done soon?”

“In a while.”

“But I’m hungry now.”

“If you don’t shut up I’m going to eat you myself.” Jynga snapped at Adi, who smirked and leaned back in to Gaz’s soft fur, lazily watching Jynga as she cooked their dinner. Clearly, he had won the argument.

While the fox meat roasted, Jynga had set up snares around their camp, and the booby traps that had been left out the previous night. By the time she got back the meat had been cooked to perfection, and mushrooms were the perfect soft, gummy texture, and Adi was about to rip his own head off from impatience. His eyes were wide as a full moon while Jynga pulled the succulent meat from its bone, added it to a freshly opened mushroom leaf, and sprinkled some of her personal store of salt and pepper on the whole dinner. She handed him the bundle and he reached for it with shaking arms.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“No, I mean… Thank you for what you did. You saved me. Likely, I am alive only because of you. I owe you my life; however it can be of use.”

Jynga was glad for the dark because an embarrassed blush made her face splotchy. She hated embarrassment, and indebtedness, and solemnity did not suit Adi like jocularity.

“You owe me nothing and I don’t think your life would offer me anything of use considering your utter incompetence. Now eat your dinner before you starve to death.”

Smirking, Adi more than happily dug into his meal. Jynga followed suit, the simple but satisfying flavours were almost divine. Jynga ate as slowly as she could to keep her stomach from cramping, but Adi threw caution to the wind and devoured his meal. He fell against Gaz, who was chewing on her own helping of fox, his eyes heavy and stomach popping. Once Jynga had finished, she reached for the berries and offered them to Adi, who took them happily. These he did consume more slowly, enjoying the sweet tartness of the fruit. Jynga wished she had some whipped cream to top them, perhaps a light cake to spread everything over, but for now the bare fruit had to be enough.

"Jynga?"

"Yes?"

"How much longer 'till Brickenmoore?" his tongue was thick from sleep.

"Day after tomorrow she should be in our sights." she replied, putting one more bundle of twigs on the fire to keep it burning as they fell asleep. She took her usual place against Gaz.

"And then what?"

"What do you mean?"

"You'll leave me?"

The soft sadness in his low voice was, for some reason, heartbreaking to Jynga. It hurt all the more since she had kept her heart in its broken pieces for so long that now it was like a broken skull being ground by a heavy boot heel.

"I suppose so. You'll have to find your entourage. They may be there already, depending on their luck on the road. I'm sure they'll have missed you."

"No one misses me."

Jynga was at a loss for how to answer the depressing statement, but was saved by Adi finally dropping off to sleep. The sadness he had emanated in those few moments sat uneasily within Jynga - such vulnerability was something she was not used to, from herself or anyone else. Why was this man of god so sad? Shouldn't his faith soothe all his unease?

Jynga screwed up her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and pushed all the thoughts out of her head. If she didn’t get a good night’s rest, then hunting tomorrow would be impossible.

Light rain was pitter-pattering off leaves when Jynga and Adi woke up soon after dawn. Jynga handed Adi some berries and cold meat before setting off to check her snares and traps. She had gotten lucky with two rabbits, and something had caught in the teeth of one of her traps - something human as the strands of cloth suggested. She tightened her jaw, disliking the thought of someone else being so close to them in the forest, someone who knew that there were traps in place. What if they thought it was Guerra and alerted the Guard to perform a flush of the forest? Jynga examined the pieces - long and thin, somewhat frayed, but not too rough, and beige in colour. Not very telling, they could not have been more average pieces of string. She destroyed all evidence of her other traps and hurried back to Adi and Gaz. She gave one of the rabbits to Gaz right away and put the other in pack - cleaning it would have to wait.

"We're going to move quickly today - no loafing and no hunting." Jynga informed Adi, quickly lifting herself up onto Gaz.

"Why?"

"Why, why? Always the incessant questions." Jynga grumbled, mood now soured.

"Well, why?"

"Someone stepped in to one of my traps and so knows that someone else is out here. I do not like when people know I'm here. We need to move quickly and quietly today. Does that answer suffice? Be quiet and move quickly."

Jynga headed them off into the forest, senses heightened to maximum efficiency. Ever birdcall was noted, every squirrel garnered a suspicious glance. As Adi had an increasingly difficult time keeping up with his balance impaired, Jynga heaved him up by his robes to lay in front of her and across Gaz's shoulders. Red-faced and uncomfortable, at least he didn't complain more than once - he couldn't argue that this was easier in their haste.

It was just after noon that the pair fell into trouble. Gaz had just created a rocky hill when a deep, authoritative voice called,

“Halt! I say halt in the name of God and the King.”

Jynga barely had time to ready her bow in the hand that was hidden behind Gaz’s frame. A troop of men and horses stood in ready formation, forming a half-moon to the front and side of Jynga, Adi, and Gaz. From the crests on the horses and shield, Jynga knew they were some arm of the Royal Army. What the poko where they doing in the middle of the forest?

“My man will shoot without haste or discretion.” The man said, a young man, looked to Jynga like he was barely out of basic training. What was he doing leading a whole troop, however small it was?