2 | Stone Roads

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Awakening to silence was a blessing. With no threat at the heels, it was easy to greet the daylight with a slow, deep breath, and even enjoy the soft breeze for some time. The chase took quite a toll, but the light of daybreak had its way of healing the wounds of the night.

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"Do you know how long it took for me to find you?" A low voice cut through the serenity of the moment, prompting the grounded man to shoot up from his rested position, though shooting pains from a collection of injuries kept him from rising beyond a single propped elbow. Any further attempts at movement only resulted in a pathetic groan, especially as he attempted to swivel to see the speaker. As she spoke again, however, the familiarity halted his frantic motions. "No, no — don't let me stop you from enjoying your dirt nap, Gidren. You seemed to really be enjoying yourself."

"Appreciated. I was." Rolling off of his elbow and back to the ground, Gidren allowed himself to lay flat once again, his relaxed breaths returning, now that he knew the sudden voice was a friendly one. "If I asked for five more minutes, would you hold it against me?"

"I'll hold this knife to your neck if you keep running off in the middle of the night like that, Gids." The sentence was punctuated with spit on the ground, and Gidren could hear footsteps approaching as his friend closed the distance between them. She crouched at his side, eyeing his injuries with a critical eye before letting out an exasperated whisper, "Gods, this one fucked you up more than usual, didn't it?"

Hearing those words, Gidren took in a sharp breath. The action was paired with an instant regret, as he realized she was exactly right. Sudden movements were a poor choice in that moment, and he simply had to accept that. He wasn't ready to open his eyes yet, however. He didn't need to open them to know he was being evaluated, perhaps even scrutinized — silently and not — for his misadventures. All that mattered for him in that moment was the sun on his skin and the solace of not being alone with his aches.

"What's your verdict, Brynna? Healthy as ever?" He'd have laughed, if he didn't fear for the structural integrity of his ribs.

"The picture of health, you are." She allowed herself the laugh he stifled for himself. "Healthy enough to walk back to camp and have a meal. Let's go."

It took a tremendous amount of prodding and careful lifting, but it was just as she'd said: he was fit to walk, even if he wouldn't enjoy any part of it.

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Stones crunched beneath their feet as they walked the unkept, ancient roads of the Northlands. They were uncomfortable enough for travel, even for the healthy and able, littered with shattered fragments of stone and debris, with unpredictable dips and gaps to navigate — but few chose these paths to walk, and thus Gidren limped his way to camp at Brynna's side through hostile terrain.

"I meant it, by the way." Brynna spoke without turning to look at Gidren, her eyes sticking to the unstable ground as they walked.

"Meant what?" Gidren did the same, making every attempt to keep his strain to a minimum.

"What I said, about you running off. That wasn't the first time, and I'm getting this feeling it's not the last." Her tone was measured, a mix of focusing on her steps and figuring out her approach to the topic at hand. "At the rate things are going, though, I feel like that threat of my blade at your throat is sliding down the list of the greatest threats to your wellbeing. Very quickly, I might add."

"We both know you wouldn't actually commit to that. So, it wasn't too high on my list to begin with."

"I will kill you." Though the jokes still flew as always, the underlying concern behind Brynna's statement lingered, keeping the interaction tense, even with the sprinkling of levity. "I need to know what's going on with you, Gids."

Truth dripped from her words; the nights were getting harsher, and more dangerous by the day, but Gidren could not even begin to explain himself. Brynna took the moment to flash him a direct glance, perhaps attempting to read his expression as she prodded for an explanation, or simply seeking to see if he'd meet her gaze. He didn't.

The pair continued walking together, in relative silence, as Gidren searched for the words he needed to respond plainly to her statements. He wasn't intent on lying to her,, or even attempting to hide the truth, but there was no simple way to talk about this. Words would not make themselves known, only flashes of light and sound cycling through his mind as he tried to piece together for himself what was happening. He didn't even make an attempt to filter the contents of his mind into spoken word. It didn't seem like he would get very far attempting to unravel those threads in his current state.

Steadily, they drew closer to their hideaway, which now entered their line of sight. It wasn't a particularly well-hidden camp, but it was remote enough that few would stumble upon it, by chance or otherwise. Much like the roads they walked to get there, and the stony outcrop they abandoned the path to cross, no one really chooses to come out here for a stroll, and there's no real business to be had out in these hills.

It wasn't until they entered their camp again, that Gidren found his ability to speak, even if the result was anticlimactic.

"I wouldn't know where to begin."

"Food's a good start."