Katerin was content with her quiet life of studying the arcane, and wanted for nothing in her life. She had friends, family, and plenty to do.
But life has a way of changing people--a way of pushing them to do things far outside their comfort and ex...
He lay unconscious, his breathing shallow and weak, but calm. His wounds were mostly closed, now a collection of pink lines and thick, healthy scabs. A small amount of color returned to his face as he slept, though healing like that was taxing for both the caster and the patient, and he would not likely wake up for hours.
Katerin held Agrata's head in her arms, afraid to lift her hands and see them shaking. If it had been only her, this man would have died, and that reality hit her like a stone as she stared at his face. She was snapped from her ruminations as Fykes ripped a clean white linen cloth into pieces and handed one to her.
"Thank you," Lugaria said, watching Agrata sleep with a concerned expression.
Katerin moved into a sitting position and studied the man. He looked so familiar. Even as bloody and dirty as he was, he was still easily confident. "I know you," she said, her forehead creasing. "You're Graiden's guard dog."
He looked at her with a deadpan expression. "And you're the nitwit who threatened my boss."
"I didn't—"
He held up a hand to silence her and watched her flinch, a glare sparking in her eyes.
"I'm glad we found you," Fykes said, offering Lugaria a bottle made of dark glass.
"So why're you all running around the woods?" Lugaria asked, looking them over, his gaze stopping on Katerin. "I take it you didn't find your mother?"
"Not yet... but she's in the forest, somewhere," Katerin said, taking a moment to clean her hands and breathe.
"If she's alone in this forest, she's dead," he said, without any hesitation.
Arjiah looked as though she was going to slap him, and Fykes' expression tightened, lips forming a tight line.
"She's not alone... and she isn't dead," Katerin said, looking right at him, refusing to let him get the better of her fears.
"Running around this forest is a death wish." Lugaria held her gaze with his own. Almost threatening, it was so intense. He gestured around the tree.
"Maybe you aren't as good as you think you are," she told him and watched his eyebrows raise.
"We should camp here, tonight," Fykes said from the side, smiling at the two as they stared each other down. "He found a good place. Nothing can really get at us, it's quiet and sheltered."
"I agree," Arjiah said, placing a hand on Katerin's shoulder, seeing the weariness in her posture. "I'll take care of the warding spell tonight, dear."
Katerin only nodded quietly, sagging back against the tree and closing her eyes, while Fykes rummaged for food and chatted as if nothing in the world was awry. They ate in relative silence, and Agrata slept the whole time with everyone casting furtive glances his way.
The long sunset felt rather short in Katerin's tired haze, and she spent the majority of her evening biting her tongue and reading quietly.
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