Becoming Her Knight

Chapter Eleven

Finn didn't take them far. The sun was fully up, illuminating the forest around them in greens and golds. Besides, Finn's legs were killing her, so she wasn't keen to push herself much more.

She followed paths made by deer and foxes through the underbrush until she found a sharp overhang cut into the side of the hill leading down to the river that could provide them a little bit of protection. Finn suggested they bed down there for the day and Adi agreed, sitting heavily beside her against the rocky cliff side.

Despite their good haul, they didn't have a camp to set up. They had no tents and no bedrolls. They couldn't set a fire when they were still so close to the hunting lodge and possibly a human town. Still, the warmth of their newly acquired clothing and the comfort of a belly full of dried and salted food was a big improvement over how they had spent the last few days.

After stuffing themselves with some really superior deer jerky, they settled down together against the rocks. Adi leaned against Finn heavily, fitting herself against her side with an ease that had Finn freezing up despite herself. They had been clinging to each other for warmth during the days while they tried to sleep. Even with the sun warming the surroundings, it got cold in the shade of the trees once they stopped moving. Finn had thought that would stop now that they had some clothing to protect them from the chill in the air, but she certainly wasn't upset that Adi still wanted to sleep close by.

"We need to make a plan about what we're going to do," Adi mumbled, her face half pressed into Finn's shoulder.

Finn was briefly self-conscious about the smell of both her own body and her used tunic, but she shoved the thought away. Neither of them smelled great after living in the woods for days. But, that gave her an idea.

"We still need some things if we're going to go after the caravan. To do that, we'll need to blend in with the humans as much as possible," Finn said. "We can start with a bath, if you want? I stole some soap from the lodge. If we can find a hidden spot to bathe, we can clean off, and then one of us can try going into town for information. Maybe we can even find some supplies if we're lucky."

Adi pulled her boots off with a bit of grunting and swearing, and then wrinkled her nose at the smell. It had only been an hour, but her body smell had already gotten into the socks and boots. It was a really foul smell, but Finn was much too polite to let her face so much as twitch.

"A bath sounds amazing right now," Adi sighed. "But, I'm too comfortable to go any farther today. Do you think we can look for a spot tonight?" Adi tilted her head up at Finn. Her big dark eyes sparkled in the sunlight coming down in shafts through the trees.

"Uh," Finn mumbled, feeling all the blood rushing to her face and desperately trying to think of anything other than how sweet Adi looked pressed up beside her. "Of course!" Finn said, definitely too loudly, if Adi's raised eyebrow was any indication. Goodbye, sweet moment.

"I mean," Finn stumbled. "It's up to you. I can give advice, but I'll follow whatever you decide to do in the end."

Adi stared at Finn with her big eyes rounded in surprise and her thick eyebrows climbed up her forehead.

If Finn wasn't red before, she was absolutely red by then. That was way too much honesty. Was it honesty? Finn's heart was pounding in her chest in a rhythm that sounded like vulnerability and honesty.

Finn squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her hands roughly over her face. She tried to banish the sweet feelings that were swelling up behind her ribs with little success.

"I am a royal knight, loyal to the beautiful and terrifying Queen Titania, and I am definitely not falling ass over teakettle in love with a cute kobold girl!" Finn angrily told herself.