[with Thomas]

[no_thief]

[A day or two after this.]

There are five of the liveried guardsmen in the inn now, and two in the stables.

Kaya hid the night in a storeroom bin that used to hold apples, and is now peering through a crack in the wall into the common room and trying to find a way past them.

Comments

[vagrant_malkin]

Fish is exactly what Thomas is thinking, and some undisclosed, soggy amount of time later, he has a few fish speared on a stick and roasting over a small fire.

[no_thief]

When Kaya wakes it's all at once, from asleep to fully alert in the space of a blink, sitting up and drawing a shaky breath.

And staring at him.

[vagrant_malkin]

He remains calm as she jerks awake, offering a soft smile as she looks at him.

"Hey there," he says, then extends a skewered fish to her. "Hungry?"

[no_thief]

She nods silently.

And after a beat, reaches out hesitantly for the fish.

[vagrant_malkin]

"Careful, it's hot. Take the stick."

[no_thief]

She nods, jerkily, and takes it by the stick.

And retreats immediately out of arm's reach, before starting to wolf down the fish despite its heat.

[vagrant_malkin]

He watches some, but keeps his eye on the other fish roasting over the fire. The girl was like a skittish animal, and staring is likely to startle her even more, he thinks.

"Did you sleep okay?"

[no_thief]

Another nod, in between bites. Her fingers and her thin cheeks are smeared with fish grease.

After a moment: "You carried me?"

[vagrant_malkin]

"I offered to, didn't I? You fell asleep pretty quickly."

[no_thief]

She flushes. "Din't mean to."

[vagrant_malkin]

"If I minded, I would have said so, or dunked you in the creek and refused to carry you further. S'fine."

[no_thief]

She's silent, chewing up a scrap of fish skin.




"How come you came to get me away from them?"

[vagrant_malkin]

"Why wouldn't I? Besides, us roguish types need to stick together."

[no_thief]

That gets him another narrow-eyed look, before she drops her gaze to the forest floor and continues munching fish.

[vagrant_malkin]

He frowns puzzledly.

"What is it?"

[no_thief]

"Nothing," she mutters.



"... thank you for the fish. and for saving me."

[vagrant_malkin]

"You're welcome," he says softly in turn. "Did you get enough to eat?"

They're probably going to be traveling more when the sun comes up again, and she'll need her strength.

[no_thief]

"Yeah." She blinks up at him. "Did you?"

[vagrant_malkin]

Idly, he tosses the bones of his fish into the fire, poking at it with his stick.

"Sure did. About ready for sleep here, soon if we're going to keep moving all day tomorrow."

[no_thief]

She looks away as he tosses the bones into the fire, blinking hard.

In that same low mumble: "Yeah. We should sleep."

[vagrant_malkin]

"You going to be able to?" he teases gently. "You just had a pretty decent nap."

[no_thief]

She shrugs. "So if I can't sleep, I'll stand watch."

[vagrant_malkin]

He gives a nod, putting a bit more wood on the fire before going to go settle down.

"Wake me if there's problems."

[no_thief]

"Okay," she says, very low.







Some hours later, the moon rises in a dark sky and illuminates the clearing.

She's nowhere to be seen.

[vagrant_malkin]

The sun's just barely begun to even think about rising, when a bird wings it's way into the clearing. Chirping urgently, the avian makes to wake him, telling him in a way that only he's able to understand, that Kaya is in trouble.

When a glance around the camp fails to produce her, he's on his feet and moving quickly, still shrugging on his coat as the bird leads him to where he needs to be.