Fate

Three

They went to bed earlier than usual that night, within an hour of each other, both claiming exhaustion. Elyssa promised that she would have other work options for Bear come morning when he inquired. He seemed satisfied enough with the answer and bade her goodnight, turning his attention back to the fire. Once Tonius had joined her inside the privacy of their tent, they packed their meager possessions, rolling bed mats, stuffing dried meats and nuts that Tonius had managed to swipe, when Ring wasn't looking, into the knapsack. Nightfall was still a few hours away, but they sat in silence together, waiting for everyone to fall asleep so they could make their escape undiscovered. Elyssa nodded off after a while, leaning into his side, tangled hair tickling his face. Long after he thought she'd fallen asleep, her hand searched for his blindly in the waning light and he grasped onto her scarred fingers, both giving and taking comfort.

It was two hours after the moon reached its full height that the last person, Ring, finally went to bed, walking the entire perimeter of camp before entering his tent. The two of them waited in the dark for just a while longer, to ensure that Ring had definitely fallen asleep and that no one was going to abruptly wake, before making their move. Tonius went first, poking his head out and forcing his eyes to peer as far as they could into the shadows, while also listening hard to pick out the breathing of the others. They were all deep and even, reassuring signs that everyone was well and truly asleep. Waving Elyssa out after him, he took her hand once again and led her straight out of camp, not looking back.

The sun was well in the sky by the time they stopped walking for a quick break. Regardless of the yet still lingering frost, the air was thick and warm that day, like the thaw was attempting hard to gain control from the cold, giving it everything it had. The fact they had travelled a relatively long way South already did nothing to help the near sweltering temperatures. They had long left the snow behind.

Sweat beaded on their foreheads and trickled down their backs, their tongues parched. Tonius pulled out his waterflask and inspected its contents. There was hardly enough for a single mouthful.

"Here," he said, passing it to Elyssa, "you have the rest."

"But what about you?" she asked, taking the offered flask from him. "What will you drink?"

"I'm sure we'll come across a river soon."

Though she clearly did not share his optimism, her thirst won out as she downed the last of the water. "We better find that river of yours soon."

"We will. Don't worry." He sure hoped so, at least.

They resumed their trek through the trees, being mindful to stay away from the beaten paths. It was nearly a full hour later before they finally heard the familiar babble of water coursing over rocks. Sharing an excited look, they took off for the source of the sound, not caring about the ruckus they made as they crashed through the forest.

The river itself wasn't all that impressive, more of a stream than anything, seeming like it went no further than Tonius' knees. But at this point, neither of them cared. It could have been a damn puddle. It was water. Tonius splashed into the creek, pausing for scarcely a second to remove his boots and toss them to the side along with his coat. His feverish skin was cooled straightaway and he took large mouthfuls of the water to ease his dried throat. Elyssa was more hesitant to join him, taking the time to remove her cloak and hang it off of a tree branch, slipping off the thin slippers he'd
forced her to wear. Her bare feet slipped on silt as she slowly waded out to him, shivering at the frigid temperature.

"How can you be so unaffected? This water is absolutely freezing!"

He shrugged. "I can hardly feel it, to be honest." He watched his fingers cutting through the current absently. "I think we should camp here for the night. On the bank. It's as good a place as any."