The Darkest of Truths

Chapter 7

We rode for as long as we could trying to keep our breaks to a minimum. Even still, by the time we had to stop and make camp for the night the two Bloodhound officers had already begun to get on my nerves.

"They're useless!" I quietly exclaimed to Viktor who just let out a muffled groan in response.

"They have absolutely no survival skills!"

I pinched my nose in frustration as I sat on the ground, my back against a tree.

"I'm so sorry," he mumbled as he stood against the same tree but pushing his forehead into the bark, as if it would fix the headache that he no doubt had as well. I couldn't see his face but I could tell by his tense demeanour that he was tired and frustrated.

"Absolutely none! They're no better than children. Actually no, I know children with more survival skills than they do!"

"I'm so sorry," he repeated, "if I had known I would've tried to get someone else, or have it just be us two."

We both turned and glared daggers at the two idiots who had now fallen asleep, curled up and clutching their stomachs.

Not only did they almost lead us in the wrong direction, had we not pointed out that they were heading north and not west but they had also managed to disturb a hornets nest. And by 'disturbed' I mean they found it and purposely hit it with their swords because it was on the ground and they wanted to see if it was empty.

It was not empty.

They then proceeded to get attacked by said hornets, which would've been well deserved had the hornets not also attacked myself and Viktor.

Then when we stopped to eat lunch, and tend to our stings. During this time, they had found a berry bush and decided to have a snack. By the time I had noticed and went to look they had already eaten a handful between each other. After further examination I quickly realised that the berries were poisonous and informed them of this. Not that they needed to be told though because they were already starting to feel the effects of the berries and became nauseous.

They should thank their precious Thoaos that I had managed to find all the ingredients needed for a remedy or that they hadn't eaten enough berries for it to be lethal. Even with my help, the berries had left them with very unsettled stomachs.

For people who were members of a renowned mercenary company, these people were dangerously unknowledgeable about what could kill them.

"If fate and their ignorance doesn't kill them, I will."

"I'll be right there with you."

I watched as Viktor crouched down to sit against the tree with me.

"These are the people you call comrades?" I sneered, staring at the sleeping figures.

Viktor looked at me and shrugged.

"Honestly?" he started, "I don't even know who they are. This is the longest I've spent time with either of them."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and did the maths in my head.

"How is that possible!? You've been with the Bloodhounds for almost a decade now!"

"And they've only been with us for 4 of those years," he countered, "besides, you give them too much credit. Bloodhound or not, I'm still just a lowly bred Dustlander with a piece of shit for a father and a sickly mother. That's not gonna change anytime soon."

This actually surprised me.

I had never considered that he was still treated like one of us even though he was now one of them.