Rose Valley Shenanigans

Rest Stop

The fire crackled softly, chasing away the inky blackness from the clearing. It hungrily ate the wood Eric fed it, roaring higher.

Eric sighed, sitting down against Lonely Soul. He was shivering. Not so strange, the Belgian weather wasn't easy in winter. The ground was wet, he was wet, Lonely was wet, everything was wet. At least the rain had stopped a few hours ago, before they made camp.

Turning to his friend he smiled slightly. "Come on, let me take that off of ya," he began to undo the straps that kept the saddle on Lonely, carefully lowering it to the ground. "Are you okay?" the reaper asked, trailing a hand along the black and white fur.

The horse lowered his head, nuzzling his friend. He was okay, just tired. He laid down, taking a deep breath.

Eric hissed at the nuzzle, pain shooting up his arm. "Oh, what now?" he groaned, flopping down as well to take off his coat. "He got me? When?" the wound on his shoulder stared at him, gaping red and yellow. "Did you see that, Lonely?"

The beast snorted softly, closing his eyes. He was tired after another day of chasing demons.

The hunter sighed. "Feel ya," he reached to the bags for his medkit. "Guess it's another scar, huh, bud?" Holding the needle and thread nearly to his nose, he managed to thread it, beginning to stitch the wound closed when it was clean. He bandaged it, making a nice little bow before sighing and closing his eyes as well, leaning into the warmth of the fire. This was nice.

492 demons now, he reflected. Nearly halfway... With the deserter's help it had only taken him four years. And he was getting faster every time... soon now he would be done. Then what?

Lonely's warning whinney gave him just enough time to pull back from the fire and against his horse. The fit ambushed him like a lioness Everything went orange, yellow and red. His mind froze. He couldn't feel his body, couldn't think, could only see the oscillating patterns burned onto his eyes.

A soft nose on his cheek was the first sensation he felt again. "Lonely," Eric croaked. He reached out, finding soft fur to bury his hands in. "Lonely." Every muscle was sore, and he couldn't see. A fit? How long had he been out for? He could feel Lonely gently pressing on his stomach and chest, calming him down.

It took him some time to recover enough to open his eyes. "Thanks for the heads up," Eric told Lonely, sitting up slowly. He had knocked over some things, and hurt his arms and ribs in the fit, but it wasn't too bad. Knowing he could have fallen in the fire, was it not for Lonely, it was a relief.

Eric fed another branch to the fire, laying back against his companion. A sense of warmth and love flowed from the horse to him, causing him to smile. "I love you too," Eric told his friend, scratching him on the nose. When he looked up, he saw the sky had lightened. "The clouds have gone," he smiled, smelling the air. "No rain tonight, I hope."

When he looked again, the moon and stars had come out, blessing them with their light. "See that, Lonely?" he asked, eyes focused just enough to see the white-ish blur in the sky. "It's a clear night." 

And with the moonshine came rest, for once.