Stretching
slightly, Shay scratched the base of her head lightly. Three days on the road
and unlike with the King and his journeys there were no stops in nice comfy inns
or even a slightly leisurely pace. From soon after sunrise they would ride as
long and as hard as there mounts could manage. Groaning, she flopped back onto
her pallet, shifting to appease her mildly protesting muscles. "Dammit. I've
grown soft. Used to be this would be nothing, but now...ugh. I'm too used to
traveling and stopping for tea. And this DAMN headache isn't helping!"
"Did you take your tea?" Trowa asked softly as he lay on his own bedroll, gazing
up at the stars. He knew the journey was rough, but they had to hurry. Luxuries
were not an option in this situation.
Raising one arm, she roughly pointed in the direction of the fire. "It's brewing
and will be ready in time for me to drink it. How are you holding up? If I
remember correctly, you haven't been on a ride like this in a while. I've at
least had the King's round to go on."
"I'm fine, Shay. Despite what you think, I go on the patrols daily," Trowa
replied with a smirk, mentioning the patrols that went out through the
surrounding countryside to the city, which was a rough pass at best.
"Hmmph. Make me feel bad, then. Brat." Sighing, she pushed herself up and out of
her cozy bedroll and set about moving the mash off the fire so it could cool
before the lot of them settled down to dinner. "Well, one good thing is that the
food will always be decent. Isn't much you can do wrong to an oat mash."
"One would hope so, but you have a tendency to do the impossible," Trowa replied
lightly as he sat up on his bedroll, smirking at her.
Glaring at her traveling companion, Shay turned back to the food. "You do know
that it is not a good idea to insult the one who currently has their hands upon
what you are about to eat, especially if they have a sibling with knowledge in
the herbal arts..."
Trowa snickered softly as he took his helping. "Ah, but I have a plan. You
see...you need me to help with the search, since I know where everything is
occurring and have the special ingredients to speak to the Pegasi." He winked at
his friend before sipping at the mash.
"Why do I even bother?" Shaking her head, she sorted the food into their bowls,
making sure their hooved companions got the bigger servings. "Here. Eat and be
merry. Seen my cup anywhere?"
"In the fire," Trowa pointed out, grinning at her. She was so forgetful...
"My cup, not the kettle. I don't drink from the kettle." Grumbling about idiot
brothers, she began looking around near the fire for the missing cup.
"Yea, yea...next to your bedroll," Trowa said with a roll of his eyes before he
returned to eating. Stupid women for not keeping track of their stuff...
"Thank you. I can't wait to get rid of this thrice-damned double vision. It's
annoying. I knew I should have brewed enough to drink while I rode." Snatching
the wooden cup up, she cradled it in one hand while carefully pouring out a
serving of tea. "Want any? Won't do much of anything for you, but taste good."
"Thank you, but no. Water serves me fine," Trowa replied politely before
returning to his dinner.
"Very well. Here's your dish. Want to take care of the four-foots?" Not
bothering to wait for his answer, she settled back down into her blankets with
her cup of tea, drinking it steadily.
"I suppose not, since you leave me no other choice," Trowa muttered dryly as he
went to feed the horses.
"Well, I could go do it, but until this tea takes effect, I'd drive you to
distraction with my complaints. This is the nicer way." Winking, she cheerily
turned back to her drink. She'd used half of her original concoction and half of
the stuff Duo had passed on to her and Shalon after his last visit to the realm
between life and death. It felt rather odd to be gaining help from one who was
supposed to help insure your death. Didn't mean she was going to refuse, though.
She had better sense than that.
"Excuses, excuses," Trowa muttered, grinning at her as he fed the horses,
petting them soothingly as they ate their mash before he sat down to eat his
own.
"And good ones at that." Tucking into her own food, she nodded. "Next time I'll
add more fruit. It'll give it a better flavor. What do you and the four-foots
think, Tro?"
"I think they like it...and more flavor would do," Trowa replied as he ate
happily. He sat back after finishing and rinsed the bowl out before settling
back onto his bedroll.
Turning from her contemplation of the wear upon her wooden, Shay asked quietly,
"How do you think things are back home?"
"Hopefully better," Trowa said softly, his thoughts once more returning to
Joren. His eyes saddened and he sighed. He'd hoped to be with the other, but
with everything that had happened, he doubted their relationship would go beyond
mere friends.
"Hopefully. And hopefully we can find the new member before whatever happened to
Treize befalls them." Placing the now clean bowl back into her pack, she
returned to her tea. "Truthfully I doubt that we'll get through this whole
journey without coming upon whatever it is that has brought us such trouble.
You?"
"Agreed," Trowa replied softly, sadly. "And I don't know if we could stand up to
the power that had to be there to kill Treize."
"Of course we can. We have to." Shrugging, she laid her sword across her lap,
removing it from its sheath and checking the edges. "Do me a favor and don't
prophesize our doom. Take it that you're missing your intended from this mood?"
Glancing at him, she hid her grin. That was a question with an obvious answer.
Almost as obvious as the inevitable confrontation with whatever it was.
"I will ignore that little statement and shoot it back at you," Trowa replied
snootily as he placed his arms under his head.
Grinning, Shay winked at her companion. "Oh, there's no question that I'm
missing mine. He's an absolutely wonderful companion and great with a blade."
Shaking off the worry that snaked its way into her mind as she remembered how
still he had been on that stark hospital bed, she smiled smugly. *Now isn't the
time for such worries. We'll complete our mission and will be well. Some
teasing, now that's perfect.* Eyes narrowing as the smile widened, she added,
"Come to think of it, the sex isn't half bad either."
Spitting out
the tea he had been sipping, Trowa stared at her with wide eyes. "I didn't need
to know that!!" he spluttered out, turning red. It wasn't often that she got to
him.
Chuckling
merrily, Shay added to her mental count of the number of times she'd caught
Trowa off-guard. So far it was at eighteen, counting this one. He was damn hard
to surprise! "Of course you didn't, but I felt like sharing. Besides, I believe
this is a much more deed provoking train of thought. The sooner we accomplish
this, the sooner we can both get back to seducing our respected partners, no?"
Trowa blessed
their gods that he wasn't drinking when she said that. "What?! Se-seduce?! I'm
not seducing anyone! He's just my friend!" he spluttered out, blushing before
turning away sharply.
Running a
finger, along the edge of her blade to test its sharpness, Shay shook her head.
"For now he's just a friend. I guarantee you that one day it will be more
though. You're courting him. I know it, Shal knows it, even Duo knows it. You're
doing fine, though, going slow enough that he'll trust you above all else.
You're a good one, Trowa, and I believe you suit him. You know he needs not just
love, but respect and a reason to trust. He needs to be able to trust someone.
You can give him all of that. It is not a gift he will take lightly." Raising
her gaze from the blade in her lap, she smiled over at her long time friend who
still hid from her. "I'm proud to know you."
Smiling softly,
Trowa bowed his head slightly. "Thank you, my friend," he replied softly.
"You're welcome
and despite the rambling and repetition, I promise you that I believe it true."
Returning her gaze to her sword, Shay shifted slightly on the hard ground. "Now
get to sleep. First watch is mine. My blade is sharp and ready to deal with
anything that drifts our way."
"Very well.
Wake me in four hours," Trowa replied before lying down onto his bedroll. He
curled onto his side and fell asleep immediately.
Gazing on the
steadily rising chest of her companion, Shay nodded slightly. Despite the
joviality of this afternoon, she was not as sure as she'd like to be of the
outcome of this mission. Trowa was right in the idea that whatever had crossed
the border had to be strong, but hopefully whatever it was, they would be able
to survive long enough to discover its weakness. That would be the key to
defeating it. All mirth gone from her amber eyes, she reached into her pack and
brought out a kit that she rarely used, normally only once a year when she
traveled with Wufei. Every King had a personal assassin and she was his. It was
the best kept secret in the court. Not even the Advisors or Cluckers, as they'd
become known, knew about her. They believed that Wufei had abolished that
policy, considering it "Dishonorable". Removing the whetstone and oils from the
kit, she set about sharpening every blade she owned, making sure to coat each
one in one of the various poison laced oils. By the time it was Trowa's watch,
she would be done, her blades ready and sheathed in specially lined cases before
returned to their hiding places. Each blade would be ready to bring death to
anyone it touched. Hopefully it would be enough to ensure their survival.
*~~**~~*
Four hours
later, Trowa woke himself and sat up, stretching. He smirked over at Shay before
he went over to relieve himself. Finishing, he came back as he cleaned his hands
with special leaves and sat by her. "Off with you. Dawn...we move," he ordered
as he nudged her.
"I know, I
know. Sleep is your best friend on such missions of these. Do me a favor and
start my tea for me? I can keep it in my extra water bag and drink it throughout
the day if I need to. Will keep me from being as grumpy." That said, Shay pushed
herself off the ground and walked over to take Trowa's place in the makeshift
bed. There was no need for two since they were taking shifts guarding. Placing
her sword atop its sheath, she settled in to sleep. Tomorrow would be here soon.
With a nod,
Trowa did such, taking care to thoroughly ground the bark and other herbs that
were needed for the special tea. He remembered the one time that they hadn't and
had never forgiven himself for how sick Shay had been. But, they had been
learning then and it was a quick learn.
By the time it
came for him getting her up, he'd finished the brewing and pouring. He smirked
as he reached over and tickled her foot.
Growling, Shay
kicked at the blunt thing that was poking her foot. "Stop that and give me my
tea, Tro." Grumbling as she pushed the covers off her, she glared at her
companion. She may be a rather energetic person during the day, but
mornings…mornings were evil in her opinion. They didn't deserve a good thought,
at least until she'd had some tea, whether it was the average or special brand.
"I despise mornings."
"I know you do.
Drink," Trowa replied with a chuckle as he handed her a mug of the steaming
drink. He chuckled again as he sat back down and finished his breakfast.
Scowling
slightly, Shay blew lightly over the warm cup, making sure it was at least
somewhat cooled off before downing half the cup in one go. Morning was not the
time for delicate sips that allowed one to savor the flavor of the tea, well, at
least not on the first cup. The second cup could be savored, but the first one
should be drunk quickly so it can start working its magic. Downing the rest of
her cup, she sat for a moment, blinking as she realized, yes getting up had to
be accomplished. Sighing, she pushed the blankets off and turned to Trowa.
"What's for breakfast?"
"I was able to
find some rabbit to go with our berries and figwheat bread," Trowa said as he
gestured to the pierced meat.
"Mmmm, good.
Meat is always a plus." Fighting the rest of the way out of the covers, Shay
stood up and slowly walked over to the fire, reclaiming her seat from the night
before as she fixed herself another cup of tea. "So, after today how long do you
think it'll be before we encounter problems? The winning guesser gets a prize
that I'll figure out later."
Tilting his
head thoughtfully, Trowa frowned. "Well...I'm betting a week, since we are
making good time and will be near the spot soon," he replied, then glanced at
her. "You?"
"Ehh, six days.
It certainly won't be longer than that or a week. We'll see who wins." Downing
the last of her tea, she stood up and walked over to their supplies. "I'll look
after the hoovies while you finish up breakfast"
"Blah, blah,"
Trowa commented before finishing up his food. He rolled his eyes at her and
ordered, "You eat and I'll take care of the horses."
"And your
reasoning for this is? I can take just as good a care of them as you can." Not
bothering to look at her companion, Shay idly picked the plate that bore portion
of the morning meal and studied it for a moment before beginning to eat while
she waited for his reply. Early morning banter, while annoying in her opinion
was tradition. It was always fun to see who could insult whom best, without
going too far, that is.
"Aye, but
listening to your whining later on how hungry you are is not on my need to have
list," Trowa replied blandly as he saddled up the horses.
"Nor is having
you hold it over my head that I am not doing my share of the work." Chuckling
softly, Shay continued eating her meal. "Besides, who said anything about
skipping breakfast? That is just something I don't do, unless of course it’s
nothing but eggs. If it's all I have I'll stomach it, but otherwise, I'm afraid
that such an event shall not happen without a great deal of goading."
"You talk too
much. Why can't you be like Larak?" Trowa asked with a grin as he fed them some
grain mixed with apple slices, and then put the bridles onto their steeds.
"So I can be a
scatter-brained, but brilliant Healer? No thanks. And he does talk. It runs in
the family. Since I'm the head of the family I talk a bit more. It's my right."
A smirk pulled at the corner of her lips as she looked over her shoulder at
Trowa.
"Sure...that's
what you say," Trowa commented with a snort as he came back over.
Grinning, Shay
finished the last of her meal and set about taking down the camp. "You ready to
head out?"
"Aye...let's
mount up and go," Trowa replied as he brought their horses over and cleaned up
the last bit. He stomped out the fire and tossed Shay her weapons and cloak.
"As you
command, O Great Leader!" Laughing, Shay settled her sword against her side and
walked over to Shetan, easily swinging into the saddle without the aid of her
stirrups. She would never admit to the amount of practice that move had taken,
not to mention the bruises. Saluting Trowa, she grinned, pleased. He was so much
fun to tease.
Smirking at
Shay, Trowa shook his head, and then flipped into his saddle. He had his own
practiced tricks that he'd worked on as well. Setting the pace, Trowa winked
over his shoulder at Shay as they headed for their destination.
*Show off...*
Muttering to herself, she kneed her baby boy, sending him after Trowa and his
mount. A new day, a long ride, and a bunch of unknown waited around the corner.
TBC
