Robbin

41. Fearless

When Terra woke, both Jake and Robbin were asleep. She wondered helplessly if Robbin had already given up, as if his safety wasn't a concern to him anymore. Or, maybe, since they were back in nomad territory, he felt they were safe now, but she doubted that. Maybe keeping watch for a possible demon or wolf or whatever else seemed silly compared to the probable reality that Parantium would be attacked in their absence.

Surely the wolves wouldn't have gotten there already, would they? They weren't like the dormensions, they couldn't run forever... Maybe she knew nothing at all.

She amended to keep a watch herself. As she stared at the Neon Lake, glowing red through the tree trunks and leaves, she realized that this whole situation was her fault.

That very first night in the clearing she had attracted the demons which caught the wolves' attention. She had led Robbin away from the battle which in turn led the wolves to believe he was dead and which brought his nomads to Parantium. She had convinced Robbin to travel with her and Jake to Winston, thus exacerbating the myth of her necklace in the eyes of the wolves. She was to blame. Or, maybe, the wolves would have attacked Parantium either way, a small voice in the back of her head reminded. That was certainly the easier thing to believe, maybe even the more likely one.

She stared dejectedly through the trees, the moon hanging full above her. She didn't think she had ever seen Jake and Robbin as peaceful as when they were sleeping. She wondered briefly if Robbin would resent her for letting him sleep in so long, shortening the time they had left to get to Parantium, but decided it was the lesser evil to him being too exhausted to run at all.

Inevitably, he woke eventually, shaking Jake agitatedly and insisting they start off at a run right away. They had left the Neon Lake far behind them within the hour and continued through the nomad forest, trees whipping past them in their speed. Jake forced them to stop and they ate, walking at a human pace for a few hours and then at Robbin's insistence, running for a few hours after that. They stopped again, walking, and then ran once again after they caught their breath. They continued this way long after the moon had once again set and Jake insisted they sleep for the night. This set Robbin off in a rage Terra had never witnessed before.

He shoved Jake away and yelled: "how do you expect me to do that, huh?! I can't sleep; I can't think! We need to be in Parantium, right now! Wasn't your goal to get me to realize my stupidity and plan for a damn wolf attack?! Well, I'm planning! I'm planning to defend a city that hasn't been attacked in years, even decades, because I was too stupid to maintain the nomad cave! The wolves saw a weak spot and their taking advantage of it. You win! I'm an idiot!"

Terra and Jake both stared at him sadly. He immediately apologized and admitted he would be no good to the city tired, and they set up a fire to sleep.

Terra pretended to sleep, ensuring Jake and Robbin actually did themselves, and then, once their breathing had gone deep and rhythmic, she decided to secretly take a watch for herself. The last thing they needed was to get attacked in their sleep right before arriving where they were needed. The responsibility she had put on herself weighed on her shoulders, and she wondered if that was how Robbin felt every day. She felt responsible for their safety, as if to make up for what her necklace had done to them. "You can't attack Parantium; there are people there: children." That's what Robbin had said to the wolves. There was a lot at stake, she felt, and she kept seeing his wronged face, the one that had looked up indignantly at that wolf, run through her head.

Robbin shook her awake where she had fallen asleep against a tree stump and she felt guilty for not maintaining her watch. His eyes said thank you, though his lips said nothing. He made Jake run with him until they were on the outskirts of the city. It was not quiet, as it had been last time. It was busy with people scurrying this way and that. Women locked their children inside and plain looking warriors went to and fro. It was a city preparing for a war. Hunt really had kept his promise to run ahead and warn them.