We Have a Predicament

[lorki]

"Ain't 'xactly paradise 'ere, tha's fer sure. Ne'er said I wanted t'stay either..."

Sleet stopped her march across the grounds, she turned her back against a tree and let herself lean on it, just barely using enough energy to keep herself on her feet. She watched him, noting the change in his expression and movement.

"Still... leavin' ain't smart, considerin'. An' yew know d**n well that comin' from me, tha's sayin' alot."

"Hmm," she exhaled heavily, "right, I'd almost forgotten who I was talkin' with." Her sarcasm had no dedication to it, the attempt to ignore the issue fell flat. She wiped a paw across her face, shaking her head slightly, everything about this little adventure had managed to turn around and destroy her ideas. She'd trusted Tirael enough to come here, dragged Redin into the unfortunate situation of being an inhabitant of this abbey and now was so dead set on getting away from the hell hole she'd created she needed Redin to drag her back to being reasonable. The worst part was the knowledge that Redin was right, in fact it wasn't as if he'd been wrong about any of it. Tirael's fair weather friendship had meant nothing. There was nothing there other than Sleets self-destructive desire; a desire that, it would seem, could never be fulfilled.

"I..." she paused, looking up from the ground to focus on her companion again, "I'm sorry. I know... I know what you're sayin', Redin, bu' I shouldn't 'ave dragged you into this anyhow. Y'know... I hoped you wouldn't be able t'figure out where I'd gone." She smirked a bit, yet another wishful idea. She ought to know better by now. She sighed again, her head lolled back and thudded against the tree, "how long d'you want... think we ought to stay?"

[Maxodis]

"I... I'm sorry. I know... I know what you're sayin', Redin, bu' I shouldn't 'ave dragged you into this anyhow. Y'know... I hoped you wouldn't be able t'figure out where I'd gone."

At this, the weasel stuck out his tongue, a mirthful grin tugging at the sides of his maw around the starkly pink organ. He did this on an impulse, taken by suddenly playful humor upon hearing Sleet's surprisingly honest apology. He stuck out his tongue without hesitation or regard to the ridiculousness of a menacing, muscular, battle-scarred specimen such as himself preforming such a childish gesture, for while Redin could never claim to have ever deeply considered what it is to have or be a friend to another, some concepts run deeper than cognitive thought. Friends should be easily forgiven.

"How long d'you want... think we ought to stay?"

Redin merely shrugged, his tongue retuning to its rightful place as he strode over the the tree she had taken cover under(Absentmindedly slipping his bandaged arm back into the linen sling as he did so). He slumped down to the grass at the base of the tree at her side, instantly regretting it as his migraine once more slammed against his skull. With more ginger care and a hardly noticeable wince, he reclined his back to the tree's rough trunk, closing his eyes.

"Jes' as long as we need to, an' not a bloody moment longer." That wasn't a good enough answer, and he knew it. But there were other things to be said before he elaborated. His head tilted to the side slightly, a soft jingle coming from his face-chains. "We got 'lot o' things t'catch up on. There's some things y'don't know. Shit, there's plenty 'o things tha' 'appened tha' I ain't been told of."

[lorki]

A genuine grin passed over Sleet's face. The quick fleeting happiness came without any real reason other than Redin's ridiculous gesture. She responded to him in much the same way he had to her, subconscious understanding that, at least within their own odd friendship, there were no problems. She felt oddly reassured while Redin took a seat beside her, she waited a moment before letting her legs relax and sliding down to settle on the ground as well.

"Jes' as long as we need to, an' not a bloody moment longer."

One of Sleet's ears tilted back, coinciding perfectly with the arching or her brow. That was a terrible answer. If it were up to her right that second was just as long as they needed to stay around here. She opened her mouth to object, but just as she did Redin spoke again.

"We got 'lot o' things t'catch up on. There's some things y'don't know. Shit, there's plenty 'o things tha' 'appened tha' I ain't been told of."

She closed her mouth, realizing that it had hung half open the entire time he'd been speaking. Well, he had managed to ignore her question, but he'd also brought up another conversation the two of them had to have. Classic, that Redin would sway her away from the question he couldn't answer. Unfortunate, the fact that it nearly always worked. He'd managed to peak her curiosity, "well, aren't you a cute jolly mystery," She said dryly, turning her head to look at him. "Wha' did I miss out on?"

[Maxodis]

"Well, aren't you a cute jolly mystery,"

Redin chuckled softly as his free paw rose to rub his temples again, the deep rumbling sound emanating from his chest carrying an almost rueful tone. Shame he had a migraine coming on just now, the weasel had the feeling that sharing information would be much easier to do with a good amount of ale.

"Wha' did I miss out on?"

"Heh." His fingers rubbed hard against his brow, easing the oncoming dull throbbing noticeably. "Th' 'ome 'as been found. Ain't safe there no more."

The 'Home' was given its name loosely, after the two wandering havoc-inducing creatures who had found it discovered after several lengthy and often violent arguments that they could not mutually decide on a suitable name for it. It is not a home in any conventional sense, it bears next to no traits of such a building nor does anybeast live there. It is in fact a small clearing beside an even smaller cave, walled in on all sides by sheer rock. Its only entrance and exit is a long narrow crack within one of the walls in the cave, easily covered and hidden by a natural stone slab. The crack leads to a wider and comparatively infinite cave structure deep beneath a mountain. The story behind its discovery is long and complicated, and best summarized with the words 'Lost, fighting, irritation, sarcasm, mulishness, luck', in no particular order. Whats important is that for years this location was a safe haven for the two to recover from their inevitable injuries. None other had ever found it before.

"They were 'ssassins," He murmured softly, an eye lazily sliding open to glance at her from beneath his paw. "sent fer me. An' yew, th' buggers 'ad both our descriptions in embarassin' detail. 'ow they found me is beyond me, ain't no one shoulda been able t'find tha' crack. 'Ell, we shouldn't 'ave found it. Find it they did, an' now we ain't got anywhere else t'go. Didn't give me too much trouble, I was more or less 'ealed. Gave me this though," He shrugged his shoulder, the linen sling shifting with a soft rasp. His paw dropping from his face, his amber eye watched her as his voice dropped meaningfully. "That... was 'bout two months ago. Ain't 'ealed none since, ain't got no worse, and somethin' tells me nothin's gonna change 'till I fix my other problem."

With a soft sigh, he thumped his head back against the trunk, disregarding his migraine altogether. Feeling slightly worn, his eyes closed again. "Yer turn."

[lorki]

"Th' 'ome 'as been found. Ain't safe there no more."

Sleets face fell again. Their rocky shelter had been her favorite of many small hiding spots she knew of. At least she understood now why Redin was so keen on staying around here, none of her other regular hide outs had the same capabilities and security as the Home. She was surprised to learn that he hadn't just been being melodramatic about having no where to go.

"They were 'ssassins," Sleet bristled, her fur rose at the back of her neck, part fear and part anger, sparking a vivid im,age of the beast that had attacked her. "sent fer me. An' yew, th' buggers 'ad both our descriptions in embarassin' detail. 'ow they found me is beyond me, ain't no one shoulda been able t'find tha' crack. 'Ell, we shouldn't 'ave found it. Find it they did, an' now we ain't got anywhere else t'go. Didn't give me too much trouble, I was more or less 'ealed. Gave me this though," Sleet leaned in to look closer at Redin's arm. She clenched her fangs, the beginnings of a snarl appeared on her face.

"Well, damn'em all to 'ell," she growled quietly, sitting back up straight. She took a quick glance around, suddenly feeling quite unsafe.

"That... was 'bout two months ago. Ain't 'ealed none since, ain't got no worse, and somethin' tells me nothin's gonna change 'till I fix my other problem."

Other problem. Sleet almost smiled at the way he'd said it, it was clever in a morbid displeasing sort of way. Still, her brow raised and she watch him with a look of reserved concern. There was no doubt in her mind that her problems had not ended with Tirael.

"Yer turn."

Sleet clicked her tongue, "Well... on a good note, I took care o' my target, not that I've got anythin' t'show for it," she muttered bitterly, recalling the abbey beasts were holding every single on of her possessions, well, besides the ones that had been left at the Home and certainly those weren't getting back to her. Not to mention she doubted she'd be getting three vials of Adder poison back from them.

"I was attacked, too. Dunno who, didn't recognize 'im. A hare, no Patrol idiot though. Perhaps one o' yer assassins. An' y'know, he only got me once," her paw moved to lightly touch her upper arm, the wound still ached in dull pain. "So.. y'must know, what with the sickness and the couple'a days sleep, 'is blade was poisoned and some 'ell of a toxin it must'a been." She paused, mentally berating herself, she should have searched him, taken the sword, found out something. "I was closer to 'ere than I was t'the 'ome, so I came for Tirael," she said the otters name with some resistance, Redin probably thought her an idiot for trusting anything to the woodlanders.

"But," she continued, "I'm glad you came. How is it tha' I manage to make more enemies 'ere than you do?" She chuckled, leaning her head back again and closing her eyes for a moment. "So... we've got a lot t'take care of."

[Maxodis]

"Well... on a good note, I took care o' my target, not that I've got anythin' t'show for it. I was attacked, too. Dunno who, didn't recognize 'im. A hare, no Patrol idiot though. Perhaps one o' yer assassins. An' y'know, he only got me once. So... y'must know, what with the sickness and the couple'a days sleep, 'is blade was poisoned and some 'ell of a toxin it must'a been. I was closer to 'ere than I was t'the 'ome, so I came for Tirael,"

The weasel grunted softly, his only other visible reaction consisting of a faint twitch of an ear. He'd figured that his attackers and whoever had got Sleet were linked, as much as he'd wished they weren't. That such creatures could have found and ambushed him in a place as well-hidden as The Home and then go on to successfully poison Sleet were creatures to meant serious business. Professional assassins, bounty hunters perhaps, the likes of which they had occasionally faced before but under better conditions and never without a severe amount of risk. Chances were that the pair's safety within the confines of the sandstone abbey were only marginally better than anywhere else, were their assailants that determined.

Then again, of the respectable number of skilled creatures that had surprised him before dawn that morning months ago, the weasel hadn't left a single creature standing. Perhaps they would be hesitant to pull such a stunt again.

"But, I'm glad you came. How is it tha' I manage to make more enemies 'ere than you do?"

The sides of his maw stretched back into a grin as a dry, mirthless laugh rose from his chest. That was a rhetorical question, the answer being rather simple. Redin made a point of not leaving his enemies in any position to come extract vengeance upon him or anyone else.

"So... we've got a lot t'take care of."

"Aye..." He murmured in agreement, the hints of a soft sigh trailing off the last of his breath. So long as he remained still, the oncoming migraine stayed at a comfortable dull thrum. The late-morning sunlight stole across his oddly calm features, imbuing him with warmth. Still, the tranquility was frustrating, for several reasons. The ferret spoke truer than she knew, they indeed have much to try to attend to, and had no time for basking in the sun. At the same time, he knew that such feelings of peace were never meant for him. The shadow of insanity lurking within his mind could not be driven out by even the brightest ray of sunlight, and his recent instability was more than enough of a reminder of the vigilance he had to maintain in order to continue to function as he needed.

A thought occurred to him abruptly, and his brow tensed slightly as the significance of it fully hit him. "Oy." His eyes slid open as he leaned forward, ignoring the renewed pounding as he turned to look at her. "Wot 'appened 'ere? Last I checked, this place was stuffed t'the brim wit' them N'Tashi idjits an' these 'friendly, peaceful, green-clad' types were in exile.... somewhere. I ferget, wasn't 'mportant anyway."