When Things Are Set Right

Plans

A week after the fever left, Grim pointed Aeryn in the direction of his old campsite, for additional supplies.

She smelled the camp before she saw it. The carnage was terrible, confirming what he told her about his attackers. Unguarded, the wild animals tore the site apart. Flies buzzed over the remains of what the scavengers left behind. Two rats tumbled out of a breastplate, snarling over the rotting bits left inside. Clubs, swords, bows, and personal belongings were scattered everywhere. She found tattered swaths of blue Imperial uniform, but not the body it belonged to.

Aeryn didn't think it would be healthy to spend more than a few minutes picking through the debris. She managed to find some proper clothes and boots for Grim, dishes, a tinder box, and a heavy canvas pack. No gloves. Among the wreckage, she found two sheaves of arrows, including the expensive mechanical variety made by Kazmuk.

All this helped hold them over as Grim recovered. Food in Ravenwood was plentiful. Between her hunting skills and her trap, Aeryn had no trouble catching what they needed in meat. She found time to brain-tan a few skins, leaving the furs on, in hopes of storing up the materials required to make more clothing for herself.

Grim abided by the terms she set. She quickly discovered he disliked idleness, so at times Aeryn was forced to order him to take it easy, lest he reinjure himself. She never caught him leering at her. The concept of regular washing was probably the biggest adjustment for him.

By now, he was healthy, and Aeryn was running out of time in Ravenwood. Samuel and Tarra's baby was due soon, which meant she was expected back in town to take up her place at the family business. A pang twisted inside Aeryn at the thought of a new baby in the family.

It was easy to avoid thinking about it, until the day the bear wandered into their campsite with the foolish notion that standing on its hind legs to challenge Grim for his supper was a wise idea.

"I can't believe you beat the bear to death with a stick," Aeryn said as she got to work skinning it. "In three blows. Didn't think that was possible."

"I'm used to a pickaxe on stone. A bear's skull is a little more yielding," Grim said from the stump where he sat beside her.

Aeryn grimaced.

"That is why they call me Stonebreaker," he said.

She stopped her work to look him in the face, incredulous. "Stonebreaker isn't your real name? Two months, and I'm learning this now?"

"You thought my real name was Stonebreaker?" he asked, as though the idea were both ridiculous and amusing.

"Oh right. I guess, because I didn't see you break any stones, I should've known." She threw her filthy hands in the air. "Of course I thought your name was Stonebreaker! Let me guess. Your birth name isn't really Grim either."

"It's what they called me at the mine." He shrugged. "I told you, I don't remember anything before I was taken, including my real name."

Aeryn blinked slowly once, then returned her attention to skinning the beast. "Will it bother you if I continue to call you Grim?"

"What else would you call me?"

"I don't know. Bearkiller?"

"Bearkiller Stonebreaker? Really?"

Aeryn's mouth twitched into a smile. She liked his humor. "You'd get used to it."

He snorted and shook his head.

Aeryn wrinkled her nose at the pungent aroma of the bear's flesh. "I can tell you right now, this bear's eaten a lot of fish. He's going to taste terrible. Practically inedible."