Guild of Thieves

Chapter Five

I waited impatiently in the tree. I looked up to the skies. It was around noon. Why wasn't he here yet? So far it had been an uneventful day. It's been about a week since the incident in the training room. Remin later came to me and explained that I needed to learn patience. I should've waited to train, instead of training after receiving such a wound.

He had noticed me slipping away every day at noon. He demanded to know where I was going, but I refused. That only earned me another whipping. I winced. It had been worth it though. In return I made him promise he wouldn't send anyone after me.

Every day I would venture farther and farther into the woods with Korren. Every day we would run and swim in the creek, and every day he would kiss my forehead before leaving. It was like his trademark. Sometimes it was a quick peck, other times it was longer with his hands on my hips. It made me mad whenever it was just the forehead. I felt guilty for thinking it, but I wanted more. Even if it meant he only kiss my cheek.

"Hey Squirrel," a friendly voice called.

"Hey Kor," I replied.

I climbed down from the tree, stepping off when I reached the ground. If I jumped it would only make me wince. Korren was the one person I wanted to never see me in pain. I could stand Shadik, Senke, Remin, even Wilken seeing me in agony, but I would never let Korren know. He walked up and put his arm around my waist like usual.

"What do you want to do today? We could swim, we could climb, or we could just walk," he offered.

"How about we just talk? I know the perfect place," I suggested.

He nodded and followed me down the path. I leapt over the stream and picked my way through the brush. I led him off of the path, deeper into the woods. I walked for what seemed like forever, but then I found it. I had first spotted it whenever I hid from him in the woods.

It was a gigantic tree, so wide that I could carve out the inside and live comfortably. The branches were thick and strong, perfect for climbing. I let go of Korren's hand and began to climb up the tree. He called me Squirrel because of my climbing skills, not to mention I looked like a squirrel when I came back down.

I easily leapt and swung from branch to branch. I stopped and rested on a thick branch a ways up. I looked down and sniggered as Korren struggled to climb up. He wasn't as fast as me, but he had the strength and grip for it. It took him a couple minutes, but he finally managed to get to my branch. I was sitting with my back to the trunk.

He sucked in a deep breath and steadied himself on the branch. He laughed and scooted closer to me. I smiled and blew a lock of hair from my face.

"Okay, this spot is pretty amazing. Great choice," he complimented.

"Yeah, this is where I was hiding from you," I snickered.

"That explains a lot. Hey, do you want to play a game?" he asked.

"What about your stories?" I whined.

"I'll have to think of some later. I'm starting to run out of good ones," he admitted.

"Alright, I'll play this game with you. How do you play?" I asked.

"Great! One of us starts by saying 'One day...' and then says something. The other one finishes the story for them," he instructed.

I nodded. Sounded fair enough. I waited as he thought of a story.

"One day, an old man walked down the road," he began.

"I'm bored," I interrupted.

"I barely started," he chuckled.

"So? I made the wrong choice. Can we talk about something else?" I asked.