Fate

Four

Tonius woke with a snarl, startling the poor woman pressing a wet rag to his forehead. She scurried to the other side of the tent, her hands held in front of her, trembling. His head was spinning, and he felt nauseous. He barely managed to roll over onto his side before vomiting. But he was no longer in pain, so that was something, at the very least. His eyes passed over the tent he was in. It was one of the smaller ones that he'd seen before, the canvas a sun faded red. Only he and the woman were in it. He was lying on a bedroll that wasn't his own, for this one was much newer and unused than his had been. From the waist down, he was covered in several layers of furs. A quick check confirmed that although he was still fully clothed, his boots, coat and belt had been removed and his shirt untucked.

Turning his attention back to the woman, a willowy thing who was really hardly more than a child, he fixed her with a steely gaze, which only served to make her freeze even more. Her fear gagged him. His eyes roamed over her blonde hair, which was pulled back into a loose bun. No chance could she be hiding a knife in there. It would have fallen out immediately. And her soft looking hands proved that she hadn't much experience in hand to hand combat, or the wielding of a weapon. She was of no immediate threat to him. He coughed a few times and she slowly handed him a clay bowl that had been resting next to her knees with quaking hands. One sniff identified it as water, which he tossed back in one gulp. It eased the scratching in his throat, but it wasn't enough to quench his thirst entirely.

"How long have we been here?" he rasped.

She scrunched up her face as she thought. "A...about two...two days." Her wavering voice set his teeth on edge.

"I'm not going to kill you or anything. Relax." It seemed to have the opposite effect though, sending her heart racing. "The woman I was with. Where is she?"

"I um...I don't know."

He narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean 'you don't know'?"

She flinched at his icy tone, no doubt thinking that he might just kill her after all. "I didn't...I didn't see which tent...which tent they—" Her mewling had quickly frayed his last nerve.

"Well, go find out!" he snapped, harsher than he'd meant, but it'd still had the desired effect. She jumped to her feet as though he had crawled from his bed and struck her, running out in a great hurry, the tent flaps fluttering in her wake. The moment she was gone, he wobbled to his feet, black spots dancing in front of his vision. His stomach clenched so badly, he was sure he would've vomited once again, had anything been in it.

It took multiple tries to remain upright, for there was nothing around for him to support himself on, and he was anything but steady, but after landing on his backside more than once, he recovered a moderate amount of his balance and was able to remain standing. Actually walking was a whole 'nother struggle on its own. And that was just to cross the tent to where his belongings were laying. Bending over to shove his feet back into his boots proved to be the most difficult task of all. His breathing was labored by the time he strapped his belt around his waist, checking that his dagger was appropriately fastened. He decided to just carry his coat, for he was already sweating just from getting dressed. Shirt only half tucked in, he pushed open the tent flap and stepped out into the light.

The sun was blinding, and he had to squint while his eyes adjusted. Which was taking longer than it normally would. Perhaps the poison was having some lasting effects after all. Still squinting, he left his tent behind, the flap swishing closed. Opening his mouth to catch Elyssa's scent, it took several minutes to find it, faint and buried deep under that of countless others, but there nonetheless. Taking small, wavering steps, he followed it. He had to stop frequently to reacquire it when someone happened to step in his path or it simply faded off. Most of the people in the camp ignored him as they went about their usual business, though a few glanced at him oddly as he shuffled past. He was sure that he was not making the most pleasant of faces. He'd been told on more than one occasion that his neutral expression wavered towards "slightly murderous", something Elyssa had enjoyed teasing him about on a regular basis.