The Wolf of the Wilds

The Eavesdropper

All she knew was pain. Groaning, she covered her face with her arm, blocking out the pesky light rays that seemed determined to drive nails into her eyeballs. For the longest time, she remained still, wallowing in self-inflicted agony. Why did she agree to drink with Herra? How many hangovers did she need before she would learn her lesson?

Running her hand across her pillow, it collided with something warm and large. She cracked open an eye long enough to see a shock of short, blonde hair beside her. Concentrating, she could make out his breathing among the room's quiet.

Shuffling closer, Helena touched his chest and pushed lightly. "Wake up," she said. "Adrian, wake up." When he didn't react, she reached up and prodded his cheek, taking note of the sandpapery texture of his chin. He desperately needed to shave.

Adrian let out a low groan, batting away her hand with no care for precision. "Gerrof," he grumbled, rolling over and pulling the blanket over his head.

He wouldn't get away that easily. Pushing herself into a sitting position took more effort than Helena would like to admit, but once upright, she leant over him. Tugging the fabric out of way of his face, her lips grazed his ear. "Wake up and suffer with me," she whispered, snaking her arm around his chest and nudging into his back.

Adrian growled under his breath, but he didn't attempt to remove her from his person. "I'm suffering," he mumbled, "happy now?"

"Not really. I think we may have gone a bit overboard last night. My head feels as if I've been thoroughly beaten with a sledge hammer." She kept her voice quiet, barely above a whisper.

Shifting under the sheets, Adrian turned back towards her and peeked up at her with a pained squint. "You're telling me," he replied. His face took on an expression of confusion. "Why are you naked?"

Helena glanced down at her bare chest and raised an eyebrow. "Mostly naked, actually. Anyway, you were the one that took off my shirt. Don't you remember?"

His mouth formed an O shape. "Oh yes, I did, didn't I?" He took a moment to peer beneath their blanket. "It looks like you only managed to get my jacket, shirt and....one sock?"

Relaxing back down beside him, she used his body to block out the sun's glow. "I probably got distracted somewhere between us stumbling home and snogging you senseless."

"It was very fun to be fair," Adrian reasoned.

"It was. Shame I feel like living death, otherwise I would request on encore. All I want to do today, is sleep and contemplate where my life went so wrong," she said, scrunching up her face.

Adrian rubbed her bare shoulder, before turning his attention to her hair and twirling it between his fingers. "I'm in agreement, alas Oskar has arranged for a meeting this afternoon. We should probably go."

"By the moon, I fucking hate that man," she bit out. "I thought Ed had some annoying habits, but Oskar redefines the meaning of the word!"

"Hmm." Adrian nodded along to her rant, humming under his breath. "I'm not a massive fan of him either."

Helena stretched out and glanced up at him. "Afterwards, I'm going to go assassin hunting. Disposing of a few of our enemies will put me in a better mood."

"May I join you?"

Helena pursed her lips and drummed her fingers against his skin. "Adrian. Most of the time, I think you're a positive influence on me, but it's in moments like these that I wonder if I'm just corrupting you instead," she murmured, raising an eyebrow slightly.