The sun was yet again making its slow descent behind the horizon, another day of adventuring coming to a close. The group had been traveling now for what seemed like forever, even though it had only been a few short months. Tensions were high at the moment, however, as yet again, their attempt at proclaiming the item they had been questing for, had failed.
They all sat around the small campfire, eating their simple rations in silence. Cale, feeling uncomfortable when his comrades were in this sort of mood, fidgeted with where he sat, pushing the food on his plate around. Many times he tried to strike up the nerve to ease the tension, losing his voice the moment he was about to speak, falling back to fidgeting aimlessly. Sooba, his faithful panther companion, glanced nervously around the small group, tail twitching with uneasiness.
Richard was sitting on the other side of the campfire, an expression of boredom written on his features. He seemed to be unworried with the apprehension, as he casually scrutinized his fingers, looking up every now and then to raise an eyebrow at who ever was looking in his general direction.
Next to Richard, sat Benny; the priestess sat glowering, obviously still fuming over their failure of the day. She would forcefully stab a piece of food, shoving it into her mouth as she chewed with contempt. If anyone had the nerve to look at her, she would narrow her eyes, daring someone to say something.
Krunch seemed to be the least effected by the mishap. As he slowly picked at his plate of food, he wrote in his journal, not seeming to notice everyone else's tense behavior. The silence went on for what seemed like ages; nothing but the sound of the campfire, eating utensils hitting plates, and the occasional scratching of Krunch's pencil to paper.
Crackle, snap. Clink. Scribble scribble. Clink. Scribble. Snap crackle. Clink, clink. Scribble. Pop, snap crackle.
And so on, each minuscule noise grating on their nerves. Finally, the tension snapped.
"I've had it with all of you!" Benny yelled as she sprung up from her seat suddenly, forgetting about her plate as it fell with a clank to the ground. Her companions stopped what they had been doing, each glancing at her with mixed expressions. She scowling at each in turn, her breath short with anger.
"Every time we come close to achieving our goal, one of you has to go and screw things up!" she continued when it was clear she wasn't getting a reply.
Cale stood cautiously, thinking fervently of something to sooth the priestess over.
"Priestess, I -" he began, but was cut short.
"You, elf, are one of the biggest problems!" Benny accused, pointing her finger harshly at the blonde elf. "You're always too concerned with 'what's good' and 'what's right' that you fail to see the bigger picture, getting in the way of the rest of us! You always blunder around, messing something up for us!"
By this time, Krunch had set aside his journal, standing to calm his adoptive daughter.
"Benny, I think you're overreacting. What happened today, none of us are responsib-"
"And you!" She interrupted, whirling around to face the scholar. "You call yourself wise, you lead us around, using your scrolls to guide us… I'm beginning to think you don't know what you're doing!"
At this, Krunch bristled. He had been doing his best to try to get them to their goal all the sooner, relying on the scrolls he had acquired over the months. So far, they'd seemingly gotten no closer to that said goal than when they had started their quest.
"If you think it's so easy, then you can lead us there!" He fumed, crossing his arms over his massive chest.
"Maybe I will!" She screamed back at him, her body tense with anger.
"Fine!" Krunch bellowed.
"Fine!" throwing her arms exasperatedly into the air, she turned on her heel and stormed off, Krunch doing the same in the other direction, leaving behind an amused Richard and a bewildered Cale'Anon. Coming to his senses, Cale let out a defeated sigh, letting his shoulders slump.
"Why must we fight amongst ourselves?" He asked to no one. Richard, noticing the elf's increasingly forlorn mood, spoke up.
"Women… must be her time of the –"
"Not now Richard, I'm not in the mood for your jesting." Cale replied, taking up his unoccupied seat. Richard, not used to being cut off like that, stood speechless for a moment. Realizing he was still being ignored, he stood and took up the seat next to Cale.
"If you ask me, we were overdue for some drama." The warlock stated, placing a hand on the elf's shoulder.
"I suppose so," Cale responded downheartedly. He reached out absently and gently patted Sooba on the head, causing the big cat to purr, or close to it.
Silence once again reigned over the small camp site, nothing but the crackling of the fire disturbing it. Another sigh escaped Cale's lips as he hunched over, resting his head in his free hand. Richard, unsure of what to do, began to twiddle his thumbs, glancing over at the elf every now and then.
"I must be silly," Cale said, finally breaking the silence. "I had thought that we were above petty differences and bickering."
"I'd have to agree with your first statement." The warlock replied. With that, Cale shot a disproving glance at him, to which Richard simply lifted a brow. "So she overreacted," Richard went on, ignoring Cale's glare. "It's not as though her accusations weren't at least the slightest bit true."
Cale continued to scowl at the warlock for a moment longer before letting out another defeated sigh.
"I suppose you're right, Richard." Cale dropped his gaze, instead resigned to look at the ground. Annoyed at his companion's lack of defensiveness, Richard prepared to leave the site himself.
"Please do not leave, Richard. I'd like to think that at least some of us are still on good terms." Glancing back, Richard saw Cale's helpless and sad expression. Letting out a sigh of his own, the warlock turned around and sat back down.
"Thank you, friend," Cale smiled up at Richard, placing a hand on the warlock's shoulder. Richard looked down at the hand on his shoulder, then over to its owner. About to retort, Richard stopped himself once he glanced into the hunter's eyes. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Richard felt butterflies begin to flutter, his heart rate picking up; both lost themselves in the depths of the others eyes.
For long moments they remained this way, a rush of feelings they had long hidden from themselves finally forcing itself to the forefront of their thoughts. They had been traveling for so long together, slowly building a friendship, and feelings for one another. Fearing rejection, they had denied these feelings, knowing it would never work.
As they stared longingly into each other's eyes, they inched closer, neither of them realizing their near proximities. Richard had lifted his hand and placed it upon Cale's, relishing in the contact. Their faces were now mere inches away from each others, their surroundings non-existent in this moment. They had waited for ages for this very moment, and now that it was there they were going to savor it. Closer still they inched, until they could feel the other's breath gently caressing their skin. They closed their eyes as their lips inched closer, the moment they had been fantasizing about finally coming true.
"RAAWRRGGH!" Suddenly, a battle cry sounded in the distance. Both men were brought back to the present, looking about bewildered. Glancing at each other once more, Cale gave Richard an apologetic look, unsheathing his swords as he stood.
Richard remained seated for a moment, the most recent development registering in his head. With a swell of rage, the warlock stood, fire appearing in the palm of his hand.
Someone was going to pay dearly.
FIN