Lavender & Ice

7. Introductions

Ashima's entire body protested as she forced herself to take step after step.

Last night she had fallen asleep at the table after eating two small pieces of meat jerky and drinking a glass of water. When she woke, the lavender man showed her a cot a few feet away from his own bed, near the dresser. He must have brought it in while she was sleeping. He showed her where to use the bathroom, which was basically a bucket that pulled out of a small chest like box, and then returned to his desk to continue reading.

She thought perhaps they had come to some kind of common ground where he wouldn't be grumbling at her all of the time, showing her how much of an inconvenience she was to him.

She was wrong.

This morning he woke her up at the crack of dawn and insisted she get dressed and follow him outside. Barely stepping outside long enough for her to use the toilet bucket, before stepping in to beckon her out the door. He took off walking at a pace she struggled to keep up with, seeming determined. Her face took no time to hurt from the cold. When she saw he was heading away from camp she had to stop him and point to her face.

He had stared at her in confusion and tried to turn to continue walking but she grabbed his arm tightly and dug in her heels until he stopped to look at her again. She pointed at her face and made her whole body shiver theatrically, hoping he'd understand. She covered her face with her gloved hands and tried to shield it from the cold, before peaking a glance at him.

He stared for a moment before letting out a breath and nodding, changing direction to head back into camp. He stopped at what she could only assume was some kind of supply tent. He grabbed a cloth and paid the shop attendant before handing it to her. He stood and waited as she put the cloth on in a way to resemble her balaclava and then returned her hood to her head.

Then they were off again at his brisk pace, heading out into the wilderness. She knew she was still recovering from her run in with the mountainside and the lake, but even in prime shape she knew she'd never be able to keep up with this seven foot tall man's pace. She had tried to slow down or take breaks periodically but he pushed her on. At some point it did occur to her that he was going to kill her or abandon her out here, but then why would he buy her the cloth for her face?

"That's it." She stopped, panting, placing her hands on her knees in a partial squat. "That's it, I am taking a break." She stood up and crossed her arms over her head, allowing for more efficient air intake. "Go on if you must, but I'm taking a few minutes." She drew in a long breath before exhaling it slowly, trying to regulate her breathing.

The man motioned to continue but she shook her head, determined. "No." She sat on the ground with her legs straight out and her back against a tree. He seemed frustrated but she was surprised when he nodded and took the steps back toward her and kneeling. She raised a brow in question but then watched as he pulled the pack off of his shoulder and pulled out two pieces of jerky and a sealed jar of water for her.

She took them and nodded her appreciation. "Thank you."

He simply stood and walked to a tree ten feet away from her, resting his back against it as well. He pulled out a map and began studying it.

As she drank her water and chewed on the meat she watched him. "Are you trying to find something?" He glanced at her before looking back down at the map, then up at their surroundings moments later. They were within eyesight of the lake, on the edge of a forest. But she could see mountains in the distance ahead of them if they kept going in this direction. She could also hear running water, as if a river were ahead.

"I'm pretty good with maps, you know." She sighed as she watched him ignore her. "One of my specialties is navigation. Although now I kinda wish I had specialized in linguistics." She chuckled.