Post by crypted on May 22, 2023 1:36:24 GMT
Ruby felt like she should've been uncomfortable. Both in the situation at hand, and the walk that had brought them here. It'd been her fault, the fault of her wandering mind, that had brought the brigands to the camp, not the fire. She'd let herself relax at Ipomea's song, and that could have been a dangerous mistake. She listened to his apology now. The situation was in the past. She was choosing to leave her life in his hands, and that was that.
"We should see what's left in the camp when we get back before we decide to travel with her," she answered his unspoken question. He was right, the cover would be good. A traveling musician and fortune-teller and their hired guard raised fewer eyebrows than just the fortune-teller and guard.
And then, without shame, he began to undress. As he began, Ruby expected to have that same deep-seated horror she had under his touch, even the gentle well-meaning touch of her protector. She did not stare at him, but as he went about it as if she wasn't there, she did not feel revulsion at all. She didn't feel attraction, either. She felt... nothing. Her dark eyes caught the dozens of little scars left behind by a lifetime of mercenary work, of course. And the pair of rings - the necklace of a widow - those certainly did not escape her notice. But she did not focus on them, any more than she focused on his unprotected body. She did not ask questions, and she had better things to do herself.
While he enjoyed the water, she took the fine-tooth comb and ran it between the feathers that had been caught in the spray of blood. The process betrayed a great deal of experience. She'd had to undergo it just two nights before to remove the ogre's blood from her plumage without causing damage from her feathers. The work was quick, and then came her clothes, which also took little time. She then took up the coat from Drake's pile, her sewing kit, and made herself useful on a log nearby. There were tasks that hands cannot forget, even after years without practice. Nimble fingers made quick work of the holes.
Her mind began to wander again, not to Skies and Stars but to the path ahead. What next? Where next? She had faith that Drake wouldn't lead her astray - but should Mea not rob them blind she still had questions for the Elvish bard. It had crossed her mind before Drake mentioned it that they may travel together for a while, but Ruby would not travel with anyone she did not have to trust. She meant what she said: her decision to join Drake was something of a test. It could mean they'd have to go on foot, of course, if the horses were gone. But there were worse fates.
She almost didn't notice Drake's emergence from the river as she finished her work. She glanced up as he addressed her, her all-seeing eyes not moving to any one feature of his body as she acknowledged his words. She just smiled again, and nodded. "It's the least I can do," was the simple answer.
And when she was done, and could set the coat aside with its new scars that matched its owner's, she turned her eyes once more skyward. Not as a dreamer, this time, but she retrieved one of her maps from her bag, the one she'd worked on earlier in the evening before Mea's interruption. There was purpose to her examination now, purpose that showed in the precise recordings on the page in places along the horizon she hadn't seen earlier. There was time enough as she waited for him to finish.
"We should see what's left in the camp when we get back before we decide to travel with her," she answered his unspoken question. He was right, the cover would be good. A traveling musician and fortune-teller and their hired guard raised fewer eyebrows than just the fortune-teller and guard.
And then, without shame, he began to undress. As he began, Ruby expected to have that same deep-seated horror she had under his touch, even the gentle well-meaning touch of her protector. She did not stare at him, but as he went about it as if she wasn't there, she did not feel revulsion at all. She didn't feel attraction, either. She felt... nothing. Her dark eyes caught the dozens of little scars left behind by a lifetime of mercenary work, of course. And the pair of rings - the necklace of a widow - those certainly did not escape her notice. But she did not focus on them, any more than she focused on his unprotected body. She did not ask questions, and she had better things to do herself.
While he enjoyed the water, she took the fine-tooth comb and ran it between the feathers that had been caught in the spray of blood. The process betrayed a great deal of experience. She'd had to undergo it just two nights before to remove the ogre's blood from her plumage without causing damage from her feathers. The work was quick, and then came her clothes, which also took little time. She then took up the coat from Drake's pile, her sewing kit, and made herself useful on a log nearby. There were tasks that hands cannot forget, even after years without practice. Nimble fingers made quick work of the holes.
Her mind began to wander again, not to Skies and Stars but to the path ahead. What next? Where next? She had faith that Drake wouldn't lead her astray - but should Mea not rob them blind she still had questions for the Elvish bard. It had crossed her mind before Drake mentioned it that they may travel together for a while, but Ruby would not travel with anyone she did not have to trust. She meant what she said: her decision to join Drake was something of a test. It could mean they'd have to go on foot, of course, if the horses were gone. But there were worse fates.
She almost didn't notice Drake's emergence from the river as she finished her work. She glanced up as he addressed her, her all-seeing eyes not moving to any one feature of his body as she acknowledged his words. She just smiled again, and nodded. "It's the least I can do," was the simple answer.
And when she was done, and could set the coat aside with its new scars that matched its owner's, she turned her eyes once more skyward. Not as a dreamer, this time, but she retrieved one of her maps from her bag, the one she'd worked on earlier in the evening before Mea's interruption. There was purpose to her examination now, purpose that showed in the precise recordings on the page in places along the horizon she hadn't seen earlier. There was time enough as she waited for him to finish.