Living History

Rhenyan

When I awake, it's to the scent of meat being cooked and the dim hum of magic being used. A few moments pass before I remember what's happened. Rhenyan, and Auroya... what do they want with me?

"Food is ready," Rhenyan's quiet voice says. I don't move, but I do peek. Was he talking to me? Does he know I'm awake?

A beat later, he sets a plate on the counter hiding the stove. I close my eyes - mostly - and see him look directly at me. Okay, so it's probably for me.

I sit up slowly, then stand. My body feels stiff, but all the soreness of the awful cot naps is gone. My toes flex without pain. It's... Been to long since I've had that feeling.

The food on the plate smells familiar but looks odd.

"What's this?"

"Sausage and eggs. We'll have bread at the next stop."

My excitement at the idea of bread is stopped dead. "Next stop?"

He nods without looking at me. He's gone back to cooking. "We won't stay here, of course. We have many places we can hide and run to and from. The next stop will have more food. This one is for emergencies."

"So you guys do this often."

He smirks. "We do."

Despite my want to keep these two at a distance, I am starving, and the food smells delicious. I sit down in one of the stools and take a bite of the - sausage? It's warm and chewy and has a distinct smoky flavor.

"Have you ever been caught?"

"No. Clearly, if we're still at it. The council doesn't take these matters lightly, you know."

"Why?" I ask between bites. I can already feel warmth spreading through my body from the food.

"Different reasons." He replies vaguely. Then he glances over at me and must be satisfied by my expression. He chuckles. "It's complicated. But that's not the important thing here, is it?"

It's one of the important things here. 

"What is, then?"

He points at me with his greasy cooking tool. "The fact that you're out, alive, and conscious."

I try not to ponder his choice of words.

"So, where to now? And don't say the new safe house. You know what I mean."

He chuckles again. "Well, firstly we're taking you back to Eeri. After that we need to meet somebody for further instructions."

Eeri? Further instructions? It's like the more he gives me answers, the more I'm left confused.

"Wait. What do you mean, we need to go back to Eeri? Aren't we..."

He shakes his head slowly. "The council doesn't like heavily populated areas. Civilizations tend to follow power, so some towns and small cities are a given, but they would never use a planet like Eeri."

My body suddenly feels cold again. I'm on another planet??

"It'll be okay, Xena." He says quickly, reaching a hand out to cover mine. I jerk back instinctively, but his grip is stronger than my reactions. I feel bad the moment it happens, but I hadn't even noticed it happening until it was done. His expressions falls a bit but he doesn't let go.

"It's okay, Xena." He says again. I can feel his energy trying to calm mine, but I don't think that's a possibility right now.

"Where are we?"