Faerie Faerie

13- Lucky, Lucky

13: Lucky Lucky

Wolfe had moved back to the camp, two rabbits in his maw. She would be awake by now, probably starving. Phinny did have a weird affinity for food. The passed few days, he noticed this. She would be hard, cold, angry, and quiet during the ride, but the moment she was off the horse and out of the armor, Phinny was just a normal girl. Like the time in the inn, like the time at his house. Food in front of her, everything was peace and doves.

He had heard singing, and saw a sort of light. When he pushed past the underbrush and brambles, he saw Phoenix. She had some sort of... thing, alive and writhing in the pit. It munched on the kindle and sucked up the ash. Moonlight and dying firelight brightened the details. It was an assortment of greens and blues, and scales outlined with black. It swayed to her song and opened it's mouth to receive a drink of her blood.

The thing in the pit drank gluttonously. It was something wicked and ugly, and Wolfe felt things coming from the little lump of flesh that were more threatening then the wolves back in his forest. It let out a sound, much like a babe's yawn and curled up. It's end gave birth to flames, lighting up the area nicely.

Wolfe tossed her the hares, not giving her the chance to turn whatever powers she had on him. And off he went again. A few hours before dawn, Wolfe was human and dressed. He nudge Phoenix with his boot.

"Hey." he said, "Wake up."

"Five more minutes." she sighed, tugging the cloak above her brow.

Wolfe took the toe of his boot, and kept nudging her until she was facedown on the dirt.

"....." Wolfe sighed and went to toss more dirt on the fire. Phoenix pushed herself off the ground, letting out a catlike yowl. "Good. You're up. We're going to get moving, so you should eat, dress aaaand.... Is that blood."

Phoenix's hair clumped to the side of her face and neck, glued there with dried streaks of blood. She tugged her cloak up to cover herself. "Stop staring at me, lecher."

"....It's like you're drunk." he snickered. Wolfe pointed off into the forest. "There's a river. Go wash up."

"What if I drown." she stood up, grabbing a satchel of clothes.

"You won't drown." Wolfe reached for a bag hanging from the trees, pulling out oats and fruit. "You're a big girl. Cover up; you're exposing yourself to the whole forest "

Phoenix yawned, walking down to the river. The first thing she did was test the water with a branch. It was not whipped out of her hand by some hidden under current.

"Good, he was right." she hung her bag and cloak on a branch, slipped off the linen bandages and dove in. The water had a slight current, but it was too weak to drag a person under and drown them. The crease the divided her chest in halves looked like an old war scar, even more so with the dried rabbit blood decorating her skin. She laughed and washed.

"Why are you laughing?" Wolfe called from somewhere on the shore.

"Why are you watching me?"

"Not watching," he said singsongly. "Just listening."

"I didn't drown." she called back in the same singsong tone.

Wolfe laughed at her response. Phoenix was hit on the head with a red apple.

"It's not polite to throw food!"

"It's not ladylike to eat a rabbit's face!" he called back. "....You could have saved me one!"

It floated and bobbed around her. She picked it up and ate, sitting neck deep in the water. "You could have stayed and ate them with me."

Wolfe did not answer. Phoenix finished the apple, core and all, then sat in the water. She pushed her hair away from her face and dove under the water.