The next morning I got up and stretched. Sleeping on the floor wasn’t nearly as bad as in the rooms that I had carved out, and my sleeping fur gave me bonuses anyway. What I had forgotten about was that Kasidy was here. I always started my days, even hiking, with some of my physical training.

So I headed down to the small clearing that the thicket made in the center. It was large enough that I would be able to work through my forms and do my exercises. So I got my morning going while Kasidy slept. I spent the next hour or so working on my skills that would help keep my stamina from draining out.

When I finished, I headed back up to the tree house. I had already felt Blink moving about as she went fishing in the river. When I got to the room, Kasidy was still asleep. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. The girl, no, the woman, wouldn’t shut up last night and now is still sleeping with the sun fully shining on her face.

I packed up and went over and shook her arm. “Unn. What? Where?”

Then she rolled back over, pulling her blankets up onto her head. I shook my head. I wasn’t used to dealing with someone who didn’t just get up. I got up and got going directly, and so did Blink. Well, Blink could be a problem from time to time but not like this.

I raised my voice. “Kasidy! Get up!”

Kasidy bolted right up and looked around. Her eyes were open, but she still looked like she was trying to process things. When she saw me, she snatched her blankets up around her. Then like a glaze dropped from her mind, she slowly relaxed.

She mumbled something to me.

So I asked. “What was that? I didn’t quite hear.”

She rubbed her face through the blanket. “Give me a moment I am getting up.”

I nodded and then started to pack up. I planned on eating some meat and nuts as I walked, figured it would save time. When I got two sections of the biltong cut off and my gear packed, I turned around to see that Kasidy was still in the hammock. She had kicked her legs over, but she was just sitting there spaced out.

I sighed. “Kasidy we need to get moving we are burning daylight.”

She nodded and hopped out of the hammock and then grabbed her stuff and just pushed it all into her bag. The bag was a huge lumpy mess that just didn’t look like it would be easy to carry. Then she turned around and brushed her hands down her dress.

Then she asked. “Anything to drink?”

I pointed to her mug that was still on the table next to her bowl and spoon. “Water.”

She pulled her eyebrows together and nodded. “Any tea?”

I shook my head. “Nope but we have water and if that’s not enough there is the river. Do you need to go for a swim to wake up?”

She shook her head and walked over to her mug, and slowly drank it. This version of Kasidy was so different than the one that I had dealt with before. She was quiet and not at all bitting with her replies. It was like her brain took time to wake up. I was hoping it would be a few hours.

I said. “Don’t forget to pack your mug and other stuff from the table. I cut you some of the biltong and there are some nuts you can crack while we walk too.”

With that, I headed down to wait in the sunlight. After about 10 minutes, I headed back up to see that Kasidy and drawn her chair over to the window and was looking out it at the river. She had one foot on the chair and her knee next to her head. Her arm was wrapped around her leg, holding her breakfast while slowly eating.

I shook my head. “Kasidy truly we need to go. Grab your gear and lets get moving. There’s no reason for you to just be sitting there.”

She smiled over at me. “Oh you mean we need to go now? Let me just grab my bag!”

I did a quick scan around the room. “Make sure to grab your dishes and your breakfast. We need to be going.”

I went down the stairs again and sat on the bottom one. Blink came over in stealth and laid her head on my lap, and pushed happy thoughts to me. I sighed and scratched her head.

I whispered. “You’re a good girl you know that?”

Blink rubbed her head into my hands more. I smiled and kept petting her while thinking. I hoped that this wasn’t going to be a daily thing where Kasidy couldn’t get moving, but her actions tended to make me think it was. Lannah was always on point for the few days she was around. Then again, we were being attacked by goblins, so perhaps that was why she seemed to do everything quickly.

About the time I was going to head back up, Kasidy came down the steps. Her bag still didn’t look packed very well. However, she seemed to be ready. So I stood up and started to head to the exit of the thicket.

I paused, smiled, and turned around to Kasidy. “One thing we should go over. You and I are bait for Blink.”

Kasidy’s eyes got big. “What?”

“Yup, yesterday you didn’t even know she was around and that is how we tend to travel. She will be in stealth the whole time and when we get attacked she tilts the fight to our favor kind of quickly. She tends to take the magic users or the ranged attackers out if we are being attacked like that. Our job it to take the hits.”

Kasidy gulped. “I can’t take many hits. I’m not a combat class.”

I laughed and held up my standard. “This will create a magical barrier that should let us last most fights. It has only failed on a couple of fights.”

“How do we know that Blink’s around if we can’t see her?”

I smiled a little. “Remember she’s my bonded companion so I can generally feel where she is. Just know that she is around doing her part. When we get attacked however, your job is to not run. If you do I won’t be able to protect you.”

Kasidy nodded slowly. “How close do I have to be?”

“Just walk beside me and we will be fine. If it kicks on you will be able to see the dome and know the edge.”

I felt that Blink had already left the thicket, so I headed out behind her. “Kasidy, do you have any ranged attacks?”

“No like I said I’m not a combat class.”

“Doesn’t mean you don’t have something that will work.”

Kasidy took a moment as we walked. “I could try the go home but I don’t know how that would work on a dark one. Also I could try the song of calm. It won’t do any damage but might make a group stop attacking.”

I nodded. “Do you know how to use a bow or throw a knife?”

“NO! How many times do I have to tell you that I am not a combat class. I don’t have those type of skill.”

I held up my hand, trying to calm her. “Look, I am just trying to ask questions to know what you might be able to do when we have to fight. I thought you might have a non-class skill that was more combat-oriented.”

She slumped her shoulders a little. “I have a low level knife skill and bar room fighting.”

“Bar room fighting?”

She let out a little giggle. “Yup, I worked a tavern long enough that I was near enough fights to learn how to.”

“Okay you have to tell me how it is different that fist fighting.”

She gave me a real smile. “Well it uses everything in a bar room. But unlike many other skills it doesn’t do a direct transfer outside its area. So in a bar I can throw a bottle across the room using that skill. Out here not a chance I would hit. I could break a chair over someone but it would at worst bruise then and knock them out. It’s a weird skill that lets me knock people out or not get hurt while fighting in a bar. It is also area effect so other people’s skills don’t work normal either.”

“So wait. In a bar the fights don’t actually do long term damage?”

She smiled a bit. “If someone with bar fighting is around no. Which is why so many tavern owners and bar tenders get the skill. It means that while stuff might get smashed up people can come back the next day.”

“What if the fight spills out onto the street.”

She sighed. “When that happens its not a bar fight anymore.”

I nodded and pointed up river. We started our hike following the river. While it was mostly north, I found after a couple of hours that it was taking us more on a northwest course. Which meant that we would need to cross it and then move away from the river.

I thought at Blink. “Keep an eye out for a way to cross the river.”

I felt back across the bond. “Okays”

We pressed on for about two more hours. Kasidy had taken to roaming around me looking at things. She was back to being fully awake and talking non-stop about everything. When my standard flared to life with Kasidy on the outside.

* * *