Boost of Energy

JP with Omni, Lucian, Zeeke, and Lorem

Tarmen was impressed with how the threat of death spurred the soldiers. Their personal tents were torn down and several stakes had already been pulled up when he joined them.

He split them into two groups. One would carry a few stakes to the mine, while the rest would be used around the forge. Their chances still looked grim, but they could possibly put up an effort. Looking to where the miners had left, he did have a tinge of guilt towards alienating them. Their numbers would have been useful.
Gritting his teeth at the possible arrow in his knee, he had to focus on preparations before he worried about that.

———

Voah found Litany. The poor dappled grey mare seemed on edge, but at least she was in healthy condition as she had been taken care of while Voah was away.

"Sorry, girl. Tonight is going to be a hard one." she said softly to the horse.

First she tore down the tents she and hunter shared, then led her horse to the area where they would set up their defenses and scoped the scene to determine ways to make it hard for the incoming enemy mounts. Voah herself quickly tore down her prayer tent and used everything she could, including the cairns, to make a barrier and pit trap along one side of the paths. She hoped the soldiers would be willing to do the same with their own supplies and materials.

Being unarmored was not going to be good with so many enemies. She would stay mounted unless there were too many archers, in which case, she would have to abandon the horse for a more fortified position and make strikes from behind defensive positions.

———

Nicolaus was driving his wagon over to the forge area. Gonyaul was in the back helping keep Wim stationary. Originally, Gonyaul was driving it; however, Nicolaus quickly determined it would be better the other way around. As they passed by the forge and set up where indicated, Gonyaul was released by Nicolaus to go do other things.

Wim grumbled from the back of Nicolaus' wagon. The only thing worse than feeling useless was being useless. With his new stitches in place and bandages wrapped tightly enough to keep him from wanting to move, he laid and waited for the inevitable. Looking around the wagon, Wim called to Nicholas, "Do you have any alcohol in here?" A flaming bottle of alcohol would scare the horses and might throw some of the riders.

"Fosia you have any sway, make this be a good idea! Hoi, you got to get me home," he said. It was a prayer of a form. A desperate one.

———

Gonyaul found Voah near the forge and brought her a full waterskin to drink from. “Anything I do help?”

She thanked him in Vauxian sign as she took a big drink from the waterskin and let out a gasp of air. Then as Gonyaul spoke, the thought came to her again of how she had asked him to pray. Their hope seemed to be beyond prayers at this point as their decisions had cost them the support of the miners. She caressed his cheek and gave him a quick peck.

"I have gathered from this point that you are a pacifist, but the hard truth is that... people are going to die tonight. That could mean us. I know that you helped take down that beast but... tonight I must ask you... are you willing to kill to protect us? And I don't mean DIE for us. You will only do yourself and us a disservice by using yourself as a human shield."

She didn't wait for a response, trying to turn her serious words into some form of optimism for him.

"If you are not hiding some inner warrior and your answer is no, I understand. But then I want you somewhere safe. After all, I intend to interrogate you when this is over..." Voah gave Gonyaul a playfully evil smile.

The truth was that she didn't like the odds.

Gonyaul couldn’t help but smile softly when she signed thank you in his native language. Those small gestures, that Voah had taken upon herself to learn, made him feel special and connected. Her kiss on the cheek gave him another boost of energy, refreshing him more than the water had.

He listened intently when she spoke to him and blushed when she gave him that playful look. He wasn’t entirely sure what the word pacifist meant; however, he pieced it together in the context of the other sentences. He took both her hands with his own and laced their fingers lovingly together. He then brought her right hand up to his heart and placed it upon his chest.

Looking her in the eyes with adoration he replied, “Take my heart, I give to you.” He realized because of the discrepancy between their combat abilities that voah would be in more peril then him more frequently. “When fight over you bring back to me?” He was trying to convey his intention of both of them surviving the oncoming threats. He pulled her in closer slowly and rested his forehead softly to her’s.

Vauxians were not pacifist. They just believed in exercising every creative solution for peace before it came to crossing that line. Gonyaul had never needed to go that far in his entire life. He needed to reassure her though so she could do what was necessary without worrying as much about him.

He whispered, “For you, anything.”

This was an unexpected turn of events. From Gonyual she knew his words were much more than flattery and she couldn’t help herself from becoming flushed with fresh adoration at his willing devotion.

As they touched foreheads together, her heart swooned, the air they shared between them felt blessed.

If there was more of that in her future, Voah might kill every last one of these mountain raiders single handedly.

Her sparkling eyes flitted between each of his as he spoke and when he finished, she kissed him hard, for it might be the last one she would ever get.

Eyes closed, Voah sighed softly, biting her lip and trying to catch her breath before finally returning her attention to the harsh reality around them.