I couldn't tell you how far we drove while my head was still in a fog, all I knew was that I wasn't there mentally. My thoughts kept running back and forth over what I had just done, and how easy it was in the moment. My brother had never talked about his time in combat, neither had my uncles or cousins who served. Any time I would ask one of them when we were drinking or just hanging out I always got the same answer. You can't understand unless you were there. I never understood what they were talking about then, now I feel like I did.

At some point we started taking side roads instead of the main highway through the kingdom. I think it was because Thea saw someone on the road up ahead of us, but im not sure if I’m being honest. I know the road got a lot rougher at one point, so I had to slow way down. We went from an average speed of around fifty to somewhere around twenty five or thirty. The next time I can actually say I noticed what was going on around me it was starting to get dark.

“Losing light.” I deadpanned to Thea.

“Are you back with us now?” She asks me turning slightly in her seat to look at me.

“Yeah.” I say with a long sigh. “I can't swear I’m a hundred percent but I'm here. Any idea where we can stop for the night or are you as lost as I am?”

“I can hear a river nearby, we should be able to find somewhere close with access to water for tonight.” Thea tells me staring back down the road. Less than a quarter mile later as we are starting around a curve in the road I see the river Thea was talking about.

The river itself isn't that big, maybe ten feet across and shallow enough that I can still see the bottom in the slow moving water. The ground beside it seems fairly flat with a road running beside it and a fork heading in and out the other side. Pulling the truck off to the side of the road beside the fork I look down noting that I still seem to have over half a tank of gas. Shutting off the truck I slide out grabbing my M1a before I move away from the door. Thea and Sarge pile out the other side, Sarge taking off to the nearby tree line to take care of business.

“Seems like a nice enough spot.” I say looking around the moderate sized clearing. “Looks like someone else uses it fairly often.” I say pointing to a ring of stones about twenty feet from the truck by the river.

“It's probably a hunters camp, or some traveling merchant.” Thea says walking down to the river. Bending over to run her hand in the water, I can't help but notice the shape of her ass in her robe. The dirty fabric pulling tight across her well toned backside leaving little to the imagination about what lay beneath.

“Yeah.” I say with a cough pulling my gaze away from the view. Moving to the bed of the truck and placing a foot on the wheel I swing up into the bed.

“The water is surprisingly warm for this time of year.” Thea says rubbing her wet hand along the back of her neck. “I might take a bath in a little bit, just wish I had something clean to put on after.” She says looking down at her robe.

“I might be able to help with that.” I say opening the toolbox on my truck. Thea walks over as I'm sorting through the mess currently residing inside.

“How's that?”

“My brother always gave me shit for prepping. This truck was my go to shit vehicle, if I ever had to run this was what I was taking. So I always keep a go bag inside here.” I say pulling out a canvas and leather backpack.

“Go bag?” She asks staring at the bag in my hands.

“Yeah its a bag that holds a few essentials in case you have to go quickly. Mostly some long lasting food, survival equipment, and a couple changes of clothes and socks.” I say opening the top. “It's not exactly stylish but it should let you change into something else so you can wash your robe too.” I say tossing her a dark green Carhartt shirt.

“This is great.” She says smiling up at me as she runs her fingers over the shirt in her hands. “The only thing that would make it better is if you had some soap too.” She says as she looks down at the shirt.

“It's not a feminine scent.” I say pulling a green bar from inside the bag and tossing it to the surprised elf. “Your welcome to it though. While your bathing though I'm going to take a look around, see if I can't find something for dinner or some firewood.” I say closing the toolbox as I hop out of the bed.

“If your doing that then I’ll bathe now.” Thea says with a nod turning back to the river and walking away. Turning towards the treeline I whistle causing Sarge to raise his head up and look at me.

“Seek Sarge seek.” I hollar walking towards the now excited dog. As much as he loves the range days Sarge loves to hunt more. I'm fairly sure it's running in the woods and fresh meat he likes. “If anything happens just yell, we’ll come running.” I yell back at Thea. looking back over my shoulder I see her wave an acknowledgment to me as she pulled her robe over her head. Before I pull my head back around to look where I’m going I get an amazing view of her naked backside.

“Pull yourself together Jim focus. Don't get distracted now.” I say to myself as Sarge and I slip into the treeline. Slipping between the trees on a faint game trail Sarge moves in almost complete silence. As I follow along behind he starts to pull ahead moving out in a gentle semicircle from me, nose to the ground.

“Got somethin boy?” I ask as his shoulders stiffen. Sarge looks back to me tail down unmoving. Yeah he has something, and judging by his tail its close by to. “Well go get it, circle it back to me.” I tell him waving my left hand forward.

He’s off like a shot tearing through the underbrush, running in between trees and around bushes. Looking down at my watch then up at the sky I realize we had been walking longer than I thought. We don't have much light left for hunting, the sun is already sinking fast and will soon be below the horizon. Hearing Sarge’s bark I start to move quickly reaching the crest of a small bank maybe four feet tall. There’s Sarge tearing through the brush, chasing after a deer?

“What the fuck?” I exclaim looking over the animal Sarge is chasing through the trees. It looks like a deer, if it crossbred with a bighorn sheep. Raising my rifle I look at it through the scope to get a better view. Yup still looks like some crossbred beast in the scope too. The face and size reminds me of a deer back home, the problem im having is the body covered in a heavy coat of thick curly wool? Then there's the horns on top that look exactly like the mounted set off a bighorn ram currently in my uncles man cave. Then to add insult to injury it opens its mouth revealing a double row of pointed dog like teeth.

The little voice in my head screams anything with teeth like that isn't a prey animal. Almost as if it heard the voice in my head it spins around to go after Sarge, who is almost on top of it. Before I can react its snapping its teeth at Sarge who dives to the side. Its after him in a heartbeat, the hunter becoming the hunted in some strange turn of events. Seeing that things teeth Sarge seems to have decided the best course of action is to run, diving through the brush.

“Break right!” I yell causing Sarge to immediately change direction, but not fast enough. The deer, ram, wolf thing bites down catching Sarge’s tail in its mouth. At Sarge’s yelp I pull the trigger, the .308 round hitting the creature broadside causing it to stumble and roll. Running forward I keep my rifle up on the creature who is currently thrashing around letting out an ungodly braying whine like a jackass. Sarge tucks himself in close to my leg eyeing the thing as it struggles to get to its feet.

Pulling the trigger again my second shot strikes home at the base of its skull. Normally I wouldn't take a shot like that, but I want to make sure that thing is dead. We wait a full minute after it stops moving to make sure its not getting up before getting closer. Kicking it with my foot confirms its dead just so much meat now. Setting my gun down against a tree I check over Sarge.

“Yeah it got you good boy.” I say looking at his tail. “We will get Thea to look after it when we get back ok.” I say rubbing his head. Sarge walks over to the deer thing sniffing it, before growling and walking off to lick his tail. “Don't worry boy I’ll handle the hard part.” I say pulling out the long fixed blade field knife from the back of my plate carrier. Working quickly I gut the animal, glad to see for all the differences it still field dresses like a regular deer. Using the heavy blade I separate the legs at the knee tossing the feet onto the pile of guts. Ringing my knife around the spine then twisting the blade in the vertebrae causes the head to pop free.

“Here Sarge you want to drag this.” I say tossing the head towards him. He sniffs the head with a growl before taking one of the big curved horns in his mouth. “Wait on me.” I tell him sliding the gutted carcase onto my shoulders. Grunting as I stand I fumble to pick up my rifle cursing as I nearly fall. “Thats it dumbass wear forty extra pounds while hunting. Well which way boy?”

Sarge gives me a look as if he's asking if I’m finally ready. Then grabs the horn in his mouth again and heading off the way we came. The trip back seems to take longer than the one in did. Not that carrying what feels like a hundred pounds of dead weight could have anything to do with that. Stepping out of the treeline im surprised to see Thea already has a fire going in the ring of stones. With a health pile of wood stacked up beside it and a pair of good sized rocks moved close to the fire for seats.

“Any luck?” She yells out as she stacks another branch on the pile turning back to face Sarge and I.

“Ask Sarge, and by ask, I mean any chance of some help on his tail.” I say as Sarge drops the severed head beside the pile of wood.

“This is a Thuvian Ram.” Thea says rolling the severed head over, fingers gently opening the mouth to look at the teeth. “They are very territorial, deadly carnivores, and highly aggressive when startled. You decided to hunt this thing out of all the animals in the forest.” She asks looking up to where I’ve sat the ram down and started to skin it next to the fire.

“Its what Sarge managed to jump first, but I dont think hes going to chase one again. As soon as it realized it was bigger than Sarge it decided to chase him instead.” I say rolling the ram to finish the last of the skinning. “Should have left the legs on, then I could have hung it in a tree.” I mutter as Thea starts to rub Sarge inspecting his tail.

“Your lucky you were so close to camp when you got bit.” She says to Sarge looking at the bite on his tail. “Thuvian Rams are venomous with a strong toxin that causes paralysis that spreads quickly. If you don't get treated quickly your lungs literally seize up and you suffocate while the Thuvian starts to eat you.” She says looking over to me while a soft white glow spreads from her hand to cover Sarge’s tail.

“What about the meat?” I ask blade paused from where I was about to start breaking down the body into usable sections of meat.

“The meat is perfectly safe. It's actually considered a delicacy to most people, due to how hard it is to hunt. The ram’s woolen coat will turn most arrows, making it a favorite of people preferring light armor.” Pausing she stares at Sarge eyes flipping between his face and his tail. “That's strange.” She mutters.

“What's strange?” I ask setting the two rear hams on the freshly skinned hide next to the tenderloins off its back already there. Looking up I see Thea’s face pulled into a mask of confusion.

“There’s no trace of the poison in his wound. This isn't right.” She says letting go of Sarge’s tail and pulling the ram’s head closer forcing its mouth open with a stick from the pile. “Its fangs are fully developed.” She says poking into its mouth. “The glands are depleted but they still are over half full, there's even blood on his fangs from biting Sarge.” Thea says voice showing how confused she is.

“What does that mean?” I ask her looking up from where I had finished sectioning the ram out. Lucky for me even though they call it a ram it breaks down like a whitetail deer, and i have broken down hundreds of those.

“It means Sarge was bitten by the ram, and injected with the venom, but he wasn't affected by it.” rubbing her hand over Sarge’s head she continues. “I've never heard of something like this before. I mean there are people and creatures that can resist its venom, but I have never heard of anything that's immune to it.”

“Well, there's no point worrying about it right now.” I say standing up and walking back to the treeline. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll have the meat on.” I yell over my shoulder as I keep walking. Moving through the darkening woods quickly I come back out carrying an armload of green branches freshly cut from the tree.

“What's that?” I ask Thea, nodding at a pile of bright green apple looking fruit sitting beside her. Sitting down on the stone across from her I start to divide the branches into neat piles. Stripping the bark off the thinnest of them leaving a pile of smooth branches the size of my pinky.

“These are tarin fruits, there's a bunch of their bushes growing next to the river. So I picked a few after I finished with my bath and washing my robe.” She says tossing one of the tarin fruits to me, catching it in my left hand I glance down at it before looking back to Thea as she continues to talk. “They are still a little under ripe for my taste, but they have a tart bite most people like.” She says picking up one for herself and taking a bite.

Watching Thea take a bite of the fruit I see a thin trickle of purple juice run down the corner of her mouth. Looking down at the fruit in my hand I rub my thumb over its smooth skin. It gives under my thumb a little bit, reminding me more of an orange orr a tangerine than an apple. Pulling it up to my face I gently sniff it, the smell of some kind of citrus fruit and what seems like cloves fills my nostrils. Figuring what the hell, I take a bite from the fruit, feeling the skin give surprisingly easily under my teeth. My mouth is filled with juice in that first bite, a flavor that is very citrusy, and a sort of a cross between an orange and pineapple.

“Mmmm.” I groan taking another bite of the tarin. “This is amazing!” I exclaim momentarily forgetting the work I had been doing to cook the ram.

“I told you most people enjoy them.” Thea says with a grin, her tongue sneaking out of her mouth to lick up a spot of juice on the corner of her mouth. “So what are you doing with those branches?” Thea asks finishing her fruit and tossing the core into the river.

“Im planning on building a rack to smoke some of this meat so we don't lose the biggest part of it. Before that though I’m planning on using the racks to cook what we can eat for dinner.” Looking at Thea carefully I ask. “Do you eat meat? I never asked just kinda assumed.”

“Yes I eat almost anything, but thank you for asking.” She replies with a smile. Once again I’m struck by her smile, averting my eyes I look down. That turned out to be a bad idea, with the cool evening air around us I could clearly see Theas nipples poking through my shirt. With a silent curse I tear my eyes away and focus on the fruit in my hand, realizing I have somehow eaten the whole thing without realizing.

“Well back to work.” I say tossing the core in to the river like Thea had before. Walking to the truck and digging through the bags from earlier I come out with one of the spools of paracord. Sitting back on the rock by the fire I began to lash several of the branches together forming a square frame roughly three feet by four feet. Using the thinner branches I build four levels by securing them on the inside of the frame to form a shelf to rest the thinnest branches on. Laying the longest of the freshly stripped branches on about an inch apart. I start to weave the rest in and out on each level, basically building a rack on each of the shelves quickly and efficiently.

“Where did you learn to do that?” Thea asks me as I put the final level on the quickly assembled rack.

“From different family members growing up mostly. My dad liked to take us kids camping, we spent most of our weekends in the woods. Add in hunting trips with uncles and cousins, survival courses with friends, it all adds up.” I say leaning over to spread the logs on the fire around. “What I wouldn't give for a frying pan right now.” I mutter to myself as I prep the fire for the rack.

While we wait for the fire burn down so it doesn't just destroy the rack when we set it over the flames. I work my way quickly through the sections of meat, cutting most of them into this strips. Leaving the tenderloins whole and one of the hams still on the bone. I set back looking between the fire and the pile of meat resting on the thick hide.

“Yeah I think its low enough now.” I say standing and walking around to the far side of the rack. “You want to grab the other side and we can set this over?” Thea stands up wiping her hands along the edge of my shirt walking around to grab the other side of the rack. Between the two of us we get the rack positioned half over the fire, with a low bed of coals burning under the lowest rack. Squatting down beside the rack I start layering the strips of meat onto the racks, leaving plenty of space between the strips for heat and smoke to rise.

Placing the whole ham on the top rack I ended up having to secure it to either side of the rack to keep it from collapsing the weave of branches. The tenderloins get laid on the bottom rack closest to the heat so they can be done faster. Wiping my hands on the ground I stand back up, stretching my arms above my head with a groan.

“Where did you put the soap from earlier?” I ask Thea ripping the velcro and pulling my plate carrier off. “Damn that feels good to be out of.” I said feeling the cool air chill my sweat soaked shirt. Looking down at Thea’s sitting form I catch her staring at me mouth slightly open. Well at least I’m not the only one thats got caught looking now, I think with a smirk.

“What?” Asks Thea shaking her head.

“The soap, I want to wash up before we eat. So I was wondering where you left it.”

“Down by the river, there's a large flat rock right by the first tarin bush I left the soap on the rock and my robe hanging on the bush.” She says pointing to the right side of the clearing by the river.

“Thanks. Sarge stay here.” I say setting the plate carrier against the rock and leaning my M1a against it. “Keep an eye on those tenderloins if you don't mind. I should be back before they need flipped or are done, but you never know.” I say walking down to the river.

“Yeah I can do that.” Thea says as I walk away sliding over to the rock I had left my gear by.

Approaching the water it doesn’t take me long to find the tarin bush Thea was talking about. I mean the robe hanging off it with a large flat stone with a green bar of soap resting on it was a pretty good clue. Reaching down my hands make quick work of the bottom strap of my holster and undo the belt pulling it free from my body. Pulling the Sig free from its holster I lay it on the rock next to the soap laying the belt and holster on the bank.

Slipping out of the rest of my gear I hear a loud wolf whistle from behind me. Cheeks flushing I slip into the river cursing at the temperature but making sure my waist is submerged before turning around. Looking back at the fire I see Thea and sarge both watching me as I splash the cool water over my chest and face. Quickly scrubbing with the bar of green soap and washing the suds away I exit the river using my overshirt and white t-shirt to dry off before pulling on my pants. After that my boots follow, along with my belt, holster, and finally the Sig back into its holster.

Grabbing my now wet shirts and Thea’s robe I walk over to the truck spreading them out over the edge of the bed. While the bush worked to dry most of her robe off now with it getting dark the moisture from the river wouldn't let it finish. At least here the heat from the fire should dry the two garments as long as we keep the fire going through the night.

“I thought you said the water was warm?” I ask Thea as i walk back over to the fire, taking the empty seat farthest from the rack.

“I said it was warm for this time of year. It's still early spring, I mean the rains just quit last month.” Thea says with a smile. “Why didn't you enjoy your bath?”

“Oh I enjoyed it, just worried I might have caused some permanent shrinkage with that water.” I say with a small laugh. Fuck fuck fuck yeah I just made that fucking joke didnt I. Surprisingly Thea blinks for a moment then breaks out in her own laugh.

“Thank you for that. I needed a laugh, I can't remember the last time I had something to laugh at.” She says wiping a tear from the edge of her eye. “I turned the tenderloins a minute ago, I also squeezed some of the tarin juice on it. They should be done soon but we still have a little time.” She said poking the meat with a knife I realized she pulled off my plate carrier.

“Well while you finish cooking them I’m going to head back over to the truck. I’m pretty sure I have some plates and cutlery from the last time my brother and I went camping.” I say heading back to the truck again. One of these days I’ll learn to get everything in one trip and not have to keep going back and forth between my gear and where I’m at. Digging into the bottom of the jobsite box my hand wraps around a fine mesh bag.

“Gotcha.” I mutter dragging the bag up from the bottom of the box. Inside the fine weave of the mesh I can see four metal dinner plates reflecting the dim light from the campfire. Giving the bottom of the bag a squeeze I feel the camping utensils moving around in the bag. About to turn around I glance down into the box again seeing something stuck in the corner I had forgotten about.

“Score!” I exclaim pulling out the small orange gym bag from where it had been hiding under the plate’s bag. Opening the top I’m greeted by a mass of thick woven wool thats color is too dark to make out in the dim light. Its an amish handmade blanket Sarge and I had found at the local county fair last year. Sarge had loved the smell in the stall, and I loved the prices on all the local amish’s handmade goods. I remember I ended up buying the blanket, and a wooden rocking chair for the front porch.

“Find what you were looking for?” Asks Thea as I sit back down by the fire dropping a couple bottles of water down beside me.

“Yeah, I thought they were still in there. Just goes to show procrastinating unloading things sometimes helps in the long run.” I say with a chuckle pulling three of the plates out of the bag. Waving them around to get rid of any loose dirt I spin them in my hands to make sure they are as clean as can be expected. Setting them on the ground by the fire I dig around in the bag coming out with two of the forks I wipe them on one of the cleaner parts of my pants.

“I’m pretty sure they are done now.” Thea says poking the tenderloins again before looking up at me.

“Want to switch places and I’ll divy it up. Or do you want to do it?” I ask raising an eyebrow.

“I’ll let you do it, I don't want to mess up your rack by being too rough with it.” Thea says standing and switching seats with me.

The tenderloins are actually kind of thin for the size the ram had been. That being said, each of them was a little longer than my forearm so there is plenty of meat on them. Pulling my pocket knife from my right pocket where its clipped I flip it open. Carefully moving the closest to the edge I start slicing it. Using one of the forks to hold it steady as I carve several slices and put them on the closest plate. Handing the first plate to Thea I fill the other two with slices of meat before leaning back.

“Dig in boy.” I tell sarge setting one of the loaded plates down in front of him. Looking at Thea I see she’s already tucking into her plate of meat, cutting the slices with the knife she had taken from my gear. Turning back to my own plate I begin to work through my own portion of the meat. Eating quickly surprised at how hungry I am. For the next few minutes the only sounds are that of forks and knives hitting the plates, Sarge noisily chewing his plateful, and the fire crackling.

Finishing my plate I set it down next to the fire, wiping off my knife and clipping it back in my pocket. Easing a few more branches onto the fire where it was nearly running out I look up at the sky. Im struck for a moment at the sight of two moons rising over the horizon, if I needed any more proof I wasn't on earth there it is. Easing off the stone I stretch my legs out looking up at the stars letting myself relax. Feeling the tension in my shoulders start to ease as we sit in comfortable silence around the low glow from the campfire. As I sit there my mind starts to drift to my family, mainly my brother who I was supposed to meet this evening after he got off work.

“Are you alright?” Thea asks me, breaking me out of my mind after a while.

“Yeah, why do you ask?” I say looking down at Thea sitting across from me.

“Your crying.” She says staring at my face. Reaching one hand up I wipe away a trail of tears from my right eye. Looking down at the moisture on my hand I’m stunned for a moment at the sight of it. I haven't cried since my parents funeral almost three years ago. I was always taught to push those feelings down, never let someone see you cry. Don't show that kind of weakness to people because they can use it against you later.

“I’m fine, just thinking about some things.” I say quickly blinking the rest of my tears away before they can fall. Sarge walks over laying down with his head on my lap, looking up at me as I start to scratch his ears.

“Things like what?” Thea asks in a soft voice. Part of me knows she's trying to help me, but the voice in my head tells me not to say anything to her. Pushing it down I let out a long breath, deciding to share with her instead of bottling it away like I usually do.

“I was supposed to meet my brother when he got off work today. We had made plans to grill tonight, and drink a few beers while we relaxed. He hadn't said anything, but I was pretty sure he was going to bring his wife and two boys over. Sitting here looking up I just realized I’m never going to see him again, or any of my other family. It’s just hitting me hard that I’m never going to get to see any of them again.” I say taking in a ragged breath.

“What is your brother like?” Thea asks sliding off her own seat causing my shirt to ride up her thighs as she moves over to sit next to me on the ground.

“He’s an ass most of the time.” I say as she wiggles in closer to me, pulling my arm around her shoulders. “He was always there when you needed him though. He joined the Marines right out of highschool, said he wanted to do something with his life. To make a difference and know he was doing some good in the world. The Marines are a branch of my country’s military, and to hear them talk, they are the best.” I chuckle lightly looking down into Sarge’s brown eyes.

“When he got out he married his high school sweetheart, and they moved back to her hometown. He got on at a chemical plant that year, a few years later he got me on there. Even though he’s my younger brother he's always looked out for me. I remember one time when we were kids, we decided to ride one of our grandparents horses in the field. None of them were broke to ride, so of course we thought it would be a good idea to hop on.”

“I ended up getting bucked off in a matter of seconds. I mean of course right. Buck, my grandpas stud, he didn't like that we had decided to try him. I ended up underneath him with him still dancing around. I got my first broken rib there, first concussion too from him kicking me. Mark ran right at Buck, made him focus on him instead and got him to chase him away. Buck would have killed me if Mark hadn’t did what he did. He ended up with a horse bite from hell, it actually broke the skin and left a bruise that lasted almost a month.”

“After that he half drug half carried me out of the pasture, I can’t remember much about it to this day. I weighed forty pounds more than he did then, somehow he pulled me over a hundred yards to get me out of the pasture. Then ran to get dad the whole time bleeding from his leg and limping. That's just the kind of person he is though, he’s always thinking of other people before himself.”

“He’s an amazing father to his kids, he is always trying to do his best by them. I know his wife and him fight sometimes, but you can tell just by seeing them that they love each other. There is no doubt to anyone that they are meant to be together, and that they love their kids more than anything. They bought a house shortly before the first kid was born, God it was such a wreck back then. We spent the better part of two months remodeling it for them.

“His wife swore if he didnt have it done by the time she had their first son she was divorcing him. I was actually finishing the painting while she was at the hospital in labor. She was sure the house was a write off when he bought it, but when they brought little Davie home she cried. She said that she could finally see what he saw in the house when he first looked at it. Now they are raising both their sons there, Davie is three, and James is turning one next month. They named James after me, because they said odds were I’d never have any of my own. So I needed a little hellion to share my name and cause all the trouble like I used to as a kid.”

Leaning my head back as I finish talking I listen to the world around me. The river is almost quiet, the sound of the ripples reaching the shore barely reaching our spot by the fire Off in the distance crickets are chirping in the dark, giving a sense of normalcy to the night. Looking down at Thea tucked into my arm I see her face is scrunched up in thought. I know some of the words I said probably won't make sense to her, but she seems to understand most of it.

“I’m sorry.” The says so quietly I almost didn’t hear her.

“For what?” I ask leaning my head down to hear her better my nose almost brushing against her hair. Her scent fills my nose as I draw closer to her, the gentle scent of soap with a hint of vanilla and cinnamon underneath it. I realize the vanilla and cinnamon is coming from her, her natural scent coming through from under the soap. Drawing me in closer wanting to smell it stronger closer to her skin. Ripping myself away I take a deep breath to steady myself before looking back down at her.

“I'm sorry you got caught up in all of this. I'm sorry that I’m not sorry that you are here. If you hadn't been drug here I would still be Magnus’s slave, and as much as I hate that you were pulled here. I'm so glad that you are, and im sorry for feeling like that.” Thea says looking up into my eyes before laying her head on my chest.

“Let’s talk about something else.” I say clearing my throat. “Before I end up crying for real, because no one wants to see that.” I say trying to laugh and failing miserably

“Maybe we should just get ready for bed then, it is getting late.” Thea says stretching her feet out towards the fire.

“Well before we do that, lets get that collar off of you.” I say reaching out behind me with my free hand for the knife on my plate carrier.

“How?” Asks Thea turning to look at me.

“It’s just a leather collar.” I say pulling my plate carrier around to my hip. “I’m pretty sure I can cut it off and not nick you.” I say still fumbling with the hilt of my knife.

“It’s not just leather.” She says pulling my head around to look at her. “It is a magical construction, with a mana stone for a lock.” She says pulling on the stone in the center of the collar. “If you try to take it off without the proper tools it unleashes the full force of its magical energy back into me. It doesn't hold a lot of energy, but it's more than enough to take my head off completely. Thank you for the thought, but it needs to stay on for now.” She says before biting her lower lip and looking down.

“What are you thinking?” I ask because it seems like she is wanting to say something else to me.

“I want you to have something.” She says her voice getting quiet again. “I'm not sure how you will react though. So I need you to promise to listen to everything I have to say first ok.” She says looking up at me. I nod slowly, resolving myself to let her say everything she needs to say without interrupting. Drawing in a deep breath she begins to speak again.

“When a slave’s master dies, the slave becomes the legal property of their next of kin. Ownership is maintained through a keystone usually kept on the person of their owner. At the time of the masters death the stone is wiped clean, and anyone can become the owner through it. There are no free demi humans in Dolus, any one who is found here without a collar can be collared and claimed by any citizen. As long as they are a human and can afford a collar for them. When you killed Magnus I grabbed my keystone from his body.” She says reaching into the shirt pocket to pull out a small stone about the size of the first joint on my thumb hanging on a piece of leather cord.

“The stone on my collar turned a lighter shade of gray when Magnus died. If someone sees me with my collar like this they can demand the keystone from me, and the collar will force me to give it to them. I want you to take it, I’ll supply the magic to activate it for you, but it will make it to where I am your slave.” She says her voice getting quieter as she nears the end of her explanation.

“Why do you want me to take it?” I ask lifting her chin up to make her look in my eyes.

“Because you wanted to get the collar off me. I know when we can you will let me free, and not just keep me as a slave.” She says thumb rubbing the smooth stone in her hand. I lean my head back, exhaling loudly as I think about what she just told me.

“I’m not ok with the idea of you being a slave, mine or anyones. In my world slavery used to be a big part of daily life for a lot of people. It’s considered a shameful part of my country’s history, and is still a sore subject.” Looking back down at her I see her frown. “That being said, I understand where you are coming from on this. I don't want you to be forced to become someone else's slave because I was too hard headed to help. So I will do like you asked, but I want one thing made clear right from the start.”

“What?”

“As soon as we can, we get the collar off your neck. If at any point you decide you don't want to travel with me your free to go, I don't want to force you into anything.” I say looking into her eyes. Once again I’m struck by how beautiful she is as I stare into her bright green eyes, after a moment she nods.

“Then how do we do this?” I ask quickly looking down at the keystone in her hands to give me something else to look at besides her eyes.

“Take the keystone and hold it to the mana stone on the collar.” She says holding it out to me. I gently take the stone pressing it to the stone on her collar as she tilts her head to give me better access. Her right hand comes up cupping mine, fingers tracing over the stones lightly. The stone in my hand starts to gently vibrate for a moment before becoming still again.

“Its done.” Says Thea dropping her hand from mine.

“Are you sure?” I ask pulling the keystone up to my face not noticing a difference in it.

“If you don't believe me you could always tell me to do something to see if I obey you.” She says raising an eyebrow and grinning.

“Like if I told you to stick out your tongue?” I say grinning down at her. With no hesitation Thea sticks out her tongue wagging it up at me causing me to chuckle.

“What if I told you to let me see whats under my shirt?” I say cracking an even bigger grin.

“I would have to strip it off right now. You won't do that though, your to good of a man to act like that. I haven't known you long but I'm sure of that.” She says with a grin of her own. “If you really want to see though all you need to do is ask. I mean I got a pretty good look at you earlier.” Seeing my shocked face she laughs before continuing. “Elf eyes are a lot sharper than human eyes. You were showing off a lot while in the river earlier.”

“Fuck.” I say looking back up at the sky. I had just been planning on teasing her a little and somehow I ended up being the one being teased. One thing is for certian though I need to back off for a little bit, or im libel to really fuck this up. For all her teasing I’m pretty sure she is just teasing me to get a reaction out of me.

“On that note time for bed.” I exclaim loudly moving my arm off her shoulder and standing up, stowing the keystone in my pocket. After draping the hide from the ram over the frame of still drying meat I add a few more branches to the fire, hoping it will last till dawn. Opening the orange gym bag I pull out the thick wool blanket spreading it out beside the fire. It's just a little bigger than a queen size so there is plenty of room in it for the two of us, even if that does mean we are sleeping close. Laying the plate carrier down at one end I pull off my boots and gun belt laying them beside it. Then I ease down into the center of the blanket before looking at Thea who has stood up from where she had been sitting.

“You going to lay down?” I ask Thea as I lean my head against my armor, patting the ground beside me. She seems to think about it for a second before laying down beside me. Folding the blanket over the two of us I move around a little getting comfortable. The steel plates in my armor are not the most comfortable, but I’ve slept on worse. Sarge walks over falling down beside me with a huff laying his head on my hip.

“Goodnight Jim.” Says Thea wrapping one of her arms around my hip as she lays her head on my chest.

“Goodnight Thea.” I whisper as her scent fills my nose again. Yeah this was a real dumb idea. I think as she falls asleep, leaving me lying awake listening to her gentle breathing. Just fall asleep Jim, try not to think about how good she smells, or what’s squishing into your side right now. I tell myself as I look up at the stars above our campsite. Beside me Sarge lets out three quick huffs, as if he knows what I’m thinking and is laughing at me. Eventually I fall asleep the smell of vanilla and cinnamon filling my nose.