To Walk

Resting and Healing

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We left Damon as he was sitting in camp, going over vengeful thoughts again. We return to him now, in the next step of his and his followers' journey.

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Damon Rivers' POV

RECAP

          I lay against a wide oak, its spreading branches waving in the night breeze, dancing and hovering over our crackling fire. My back ached, but I would be fully recovered in at least a month. Of course, like any born warrior, I hated the time it would take to heal, but I wasn't about to complain. After all, thanks to Gad, I'd be healed much faster than had I tried to bandage myself.

          Glancing towards Lydia, I smiled tiredly. She was fast asleep, head in a very worried-looking Mason's lap. She would be the weakest link in our chain of vengeance-seeking people, but with hard work and determination, she could very well soon be a very formidable fighter. I sighed and looked away. I hated to see a young one's life so devastatingly turned upside-down. She should have been happy, should have been able to enjoy her family until she grew old.

          Thanks to HIM, all of our lives had been ruined. It was the one thing we bonded over. That, and our thirst for revenge.

          A twinge from my shoulder caused me to flinch. I turned back to the fire, staring into its fierce, flickering brightness. It was what kept us alive at night, and yet also what HE so often used to bring us swiftly to our painful deaths.

          But the ones who had survived HIS attacks, a few of them marked with HIS fire, had sworn to make HIM curse the day Lord Notch created HIM.

          I clenched my hands tightly into fists.

         Yes, HE would pay.

Damon Rivers' POV

~Several days later~

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          "No, see, you hold it like this. Too low down the hilt and your sword will fly out of your hand at impact. Now, observe both my hands and foot movements and try to copy them."

          I smiled as I watched Mason give Lydia her first official lesson in sword-fighting. He had been a knight in a town before HE had ruined the boy's life. I chuckled as Lydia stumbled a bit and caused Mason to have to jump out of a falling sword's way. The blond boy ran a hand over his face, closing his blue eyes, "Ah, you know what Lydia, maybe the sword isn't your weapon. It's probably a bit too heavy for you to handle for right now, seeing that you are still wounded."

          Lydia looked disappointed but handed Mason's sword back to him and made her way over to me, gingerly lowering herself to sit beside me. Her bandages were still present, but she seemed to be healing rather well. Her dark hair waved gently in the breeze that danced through the tree we sat under and flattened the grass of the hilly meadow before us. Trees stretched out in every direction for miles, unbroken by smoke or houses. To the west lay a small chain of mountains, shrouded in clouds and far away.

          We had traveled nearly nonstop, as far as we could, from any known towns, to heal and train Lydia. It was a tradition of sorts, for when we took on new recruits. It was also strategic. Staying away from towns lessened our chances of being attacked by robbers or HIM. It also allowed our newest members a chance to grow accustomed to our living style and learn, unhindered by travel. Plus, since Jasher, Lydia and I still had to heal, it was smarter to stay away from people who could possibly target and attack us in this weakened state.