Chapter Three.
The sun had crept lower in the sky, and it set the land in a beautiful golden glow. Shards of the sweet yellow light reached through the ever-moving canopy of leaves above them, tickling them in bright fingers of warmth. The lake glimmered, and the only sounds that could be heard was the odd nicker and snort of contentment from Argo, frogs and birds living in the reeds, and the voices of Joxer and Xena as they practice sparred in the soft dirt on the huge lake shore. She showed him the basic moves she promised to. He finally got the roll she tried to teach him, and now she was teaching him defensive thinking and moving. These were things that came natural to some, but most had to be trained into it. Xena had been concerned that it would take a long time for her to teach Joxer such a thing, but he picked up on the theory of it fairly quickly. Coordination was another matter entirely though. One could be taught why such a thing is done, and how it is done fairly easily, but the physical ability, that was something that tended to completely skip some people. Unfortunately, Joxer was one of them. They'd go through a drill, Joxer would fumble and Xena would make a strike. Quizzing him afterwards was always frustrating for both of them, because he knew what he should have done, he just didn't have the natural flow and grace that Xena had.
"I'll get it, though," he said, determinedly. "I will."
"I know you will," she said, patting him on the shoulder fondly. "It just takes a little extra work for some people, that's all."
Joxer nodded, a sullen but firm look on his face. Glancing up into the sky, Xena sheathed her sword.
"Well... it'll get dark in a couple of hours. We should probably try to get dinner together and get some rest." Looking down, she met Joxer's eyes with hers and smiled. "You did good today."
There was a shade of scepticism in his eyes, and no wonder. When did anyone ever tell him that he'd done well? After a moment of meeting Xena's unguarded, warm gaze, he smiled a little, putting his sword away too.
"Cool."
With a final slap to his shoulder, she walked over to Gabrielle. The little bard was engrossed with her scroll again, oblivious to all that was going on around her, her quill quivering as it sped across the thin beaten leather. Xena tilted her head, smiling affectionately at her companion.
"Our last adventure was *that* good, huh?"
Gabrielle glanced up, the quill frozen. She looked quickly to Joxer, then grew red in the face. "Uhm, yeah, something like that." She blew on the wet ink, keeping it faced towards herself, then smiled at them as she put the scroll away. "You're done?"
"Yeah, I was saying to Joxer we should--" Xena stopped, her eyes glinting as she looked suddenly alert.
"What is it?" asked Gabrielle.
Both Joxer and Gabrielle looked about the camp, wondering what could have caught Xena's attention, since the both of them heard nothing. She turned and strode towards the beaten path through the forest that lead to their clearing, pulling her sword out of its scabbard. Gabrielle was quick to her side, grabbing her staff and having it at the ready. Joxer also followed her, pulling out his own blade.
It didn't take long for the source of Xena's alarm to make itself known. A young fellow, barely eighteen, came scrabbling through the hole in the wall of forest beyond, mousy hair wild, hazel eyes gleaming with terror. His tan skin glistened from sweat and dust caked to his feet and knees.
"Oh, thank the Gods!" he bleated, and ran straight over to Xena, hunching over and clasping her arm. "Are you the Warrior Princess?"
She nodded. "What's wrong?"
"There's a madman attacking our village!" he cried. "He's destroying everything we own! He set fire to the town hall with bolts of fire from his hands!"
Gabrielle looked to Xena, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Do you think..."
"What did this guy look like?" Xena asked the frightened young man.
"Long dark curly hair, muscles. Black leather!" He shook. "He must be a God, but why would he attack our village? We're peaceful, we're all farmers!"
Xena scowled in the direction of the pathway beyond, shaking her head slowly. "I have a fair idea. Where do you live?"
"Minoeta," the boy said.
"Has he hurt anybody?"
The boy shook his head. "No. No one."
Glancing over her shoulder, Xena exchanged a look with Gabrielle and Joxer. Gabrielle gave her a lifted brow of surprise before Xena looked back at the young man.
"I'm coming," she said to him. She turned and walked towards Argo.
"Oh, oh thank you!" cried the young man, and without further ado, he turned and ran from the clearing.
"Alone," she added, looking to Joxer and Gabrielle. The former was putting on his armour and the latter was stuffing her things into a bag.
"No way, Xena," Gabrielle said, getting to her feet and stomping over to Xena. "This is Ares we're talking about here. We're not leaving you alone to-"
"I'm safer alone," said Xena. "This is obviously about me. He hasn't killed anyone, he just wants my attention."
"Why can't he just write you a letter like a normal person?" muttered Gabrielle sullenly.
"I don't know!" gasped Xena, shrugging. "Just stay here and keep out of trouble, will you?"
"What if he hurts you?" persisted Gabrielle. "Or tries to kill you?"
"He didn't before when he saw me," said Xena. "I doubt he will now. Call it a gut feeling." Pulling Argo forward by the reins, she jumped up onto the horse swiftly. "Stay here, I mean it. If you come after me, I'm sending you away again."
A frustrated sigh came from Gabrielle, and she threw up a hand and stamped the butt of her staff into the sand. She barely had time to open her mouth before Xena had urged Argo into a gallop and sped from the clearing, disappearing into the forest beyond. After a moment of incensed silence, she turned to Joxer, who was busy pulling off the few pieces of armour he managed to get on.
"Did she just leave us behind to go take on Ares? Please don't tell me she just left us here."
Joxer shrugged. "Okay, I won't."
With a blink, Gabrielle put her hands on her hips, grinding her teeth. "Joxer!"
He looked up. "What?!" She widened her eyes at him, and he shrugged again. "Hey, I'm just telling you what you want to hear, don't get mad at me."
"You're perfectly happy to let her go off and get mixed up with Ares?"
Joxer's patience seemed to finally wear thin, and he scrunched his nose.
"Look, Xena's a big girl, she can take care of herself. If she says she can deal with this on her own, then I trust her!"
"Well I *don't*!"
"Ya don't say!" Joxer shook his head, sitting down with their things. "You're always chasing after her--"
"The number of times I've saved her life through-"
"Yeah, yeah," he nodded. "No one was hurt in that village, Gabby. Did it ever occur to you that this situation has nothing to do with a fight?"
This silenced Gabrielle. She stared at Joxer a long moment, gripping her staff. A puzzled smile came to her lips. "Joxer, what are you trying to s--"
"Look, I'm a guy. I can spot a botched attempt to ask a girl out from a mile away."
She laughed. "Ares? Engaging Xena in something other than a fight?"
"Hey, I'm just telling it how I see it, ya know?"
Gabrielle laughed harder, throwing her head back. "Like Xena would ever give him the time of day! They're enemies!"
"Not so much lately, think about it," he said. "You know, with the scroll incident? He was all friendly with us then-"
"He was mortal. He'll do anything not to get his ass kicked when he's mortal."
Joxer's brows lifted. "Yeah but he's been pretty scarce lately. He hasn't caused any real trouble since before you and Xena had your big fight and had that vision-y thing."
"Illusia," Gabrielle said.
"Right!"
This wasn't comforting her in the slightest. "Listen, Joxer. I know Xena. She wouldn't ever take Ares seriously if he - you know... it just wouldn't happen."
"Sure, but it doesn't stop Ares from trying, does it?" Joxer gave her a pointed look before digging around in the bag with all the cooking implements. "So what do you wanna eat for dinner?"
Gabrielle looked away, towards the little path in the forest, a tight sigh leaving her.
~~*~~
Under normal circumstances, it would have been a beautiful little village. It had a lovely agora for all community meetings, a long thoroughfare lined with all the essentials of a village; a butcher, an inn with a tavern, a couple of supplies shops for things people needed like weaving loom parts, pots, leather tools and the like. There were also a couple of town houses for the people living in the village and not on the farms, who ran the community centre. On a normal day children played in the street, goats gambolled about as they were herded about by teenaged shepherds who were bored with the farms and felt like a long walk, chickens would pluck at the ground and walk about contentedly.
Not so on this day. Feathers were everywhere. Pots were smashed, doors off hinges, baskets thrown awry, their contents dashed on the ground. Fire roared through the thatched roofs of some of the simpler buildings, and anything that could be thrown about in a fit of rage, had been. Clothes, food, cutlery, metal objects, all were scattered and stepped upon, torn or bent to sundry. In the distance was the frightened scream of a villager. Other than this reminder of the native population, the village was empty and eerily quiet, except for the odd maddened roar of its attacker.
She found him at the agora, pushing at a column. He was covered in dirt and dust, obviously not caring to keep himself immaculate through Godly powers. She walked to him slowly, not taking out her sword this time, merely putting her hands on her hips.
"Having fun?"
He looked up from his task, grunting. "Wait a minute."
With a final grit of his teeth, he pushed at the column, and it gave way, tilting over and smacking into the one next to it. Much to Ares' satisfaction, it smashed the next one, and it too tilted and smacked the next one after that. This domino effect went on for about six columns, until one column got stuck. Dust fell from the ceiling and Xena stepped back, eyeing the stability of the structure. Ares gnashed his teeth, tilting his head and eyeing the column. Dust continued to drift down, and Ares brought up his hands in fists.
"Come oooon...."
The column relented, crashing against the other and continuing the cascade until the whole acropolis collapsed with a great boom and crash.
He pointed at the ruins. "Now I'm having fun. That was cool."
Xena cocked a brow. "Isn't destroying innocent villages a little beneath a God of your age?"
Ares shook his head. "Not when I'm this mad." Without another word, he stormed past her, clenching and unclenching his fists.
"Ares... what's wrong with you?"
He waved a hand into the air. "What in Tartarus do you care?"
She felt a surge of anger at his petulance. "Well, for a starters, I don't like seeing people's homes destroyed just because you've had a bad day."
He whirled about, putting his hands on his narrow leather-clad hips. "Is that what's bothering you, Xena? Is that it? Well--" He nearly swore. Instead he lifted a hand and snapped his fingers. In the blink of an eye the village was restored. "Here you go! That better?" He walked about her, storming on.
She frowned and strode after him. "Not really." She was surprised at that answer, and didn't really like it. Ares musn't have either, because he stopped and looked over his shoulder at her.
"You really wanna know what's up? Hmm?"
Xena met his angry glare, steeling herself. She always needed to keep strong when she was around him. She gave him a steady nod.
"You're taking over my head. You're like a disease!" He shook his head. "Before you, all I ever needed to amuse myself was to make two big beefy armies beat the shit out of each other. I could bed any woman going and I'd be perfectly HAPPY. Not since you, no!" He shook his head. "Of course I try to keep doing my thing, except I run into you in the course of my existence and it ruins it! Ruins EVERYTHING!"
It was incredibly difficult for her to keep the cool disregard on her face. Confusion stormed through her in waves, confusion and indignation. The latter won, and she cocked a lip.
"Ares, I don't know what you're up to, but pretending to be soft on me isn't-"
His eyes widened, and he tipped his head back, laughing in a way that frightened her. It was just a little mad.
"Oh man, I wish it was pretending." He pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a violent, long breath in. It was a caricature of a calming, cleansing deep breath. He looked about, a little manic, and grit his teeth. "It's not you, it's not you," he added in a tone that was almost apologetic. "Not entirely."
"What is it?" asked Xena.
He looked at her, regarding her with a tense, thoughtful wince. "Are you sure you want to know?"
She didn't know why she did it, but she nodded. In the next moment she wasn't standing in the thoroughfare of a little village.
She was in the middle of a lair very familiar to her. Luxurious blood-red satin drapes hung from dark stone walls. On plinths, here and there, were red-figure vases illustrating tales of Ares' adventures of long ago, in an age Golden. By a wall was a table heavy with food, mortal by the looks of things for it lacked the dazzling perfection of godly food. Against another was a prickly array of different kinds of weapons; daggers, swords, spears, maces, clubs, spikes, battle-axes displayed neatly in an ebony rack. Near the food were two divans and between them was a little table, with an amphora of wine and two goblets set upon it. Taking stock of her surroundings, Xena felt strangely safe.
"Make yourself comfortable," Ares said, and she noticed that he wasn't dirty and tousled anymore. He was immaculate. He could see her distrust, and he sighed. "You're safe, all right? Sit."
With a little shrug to herself, Xena walked over to a divan, sinking down onto it, eyes on him.
He walked to the food, filling a shallow bowl with cherries, large grapes and some ripe nectarines. Turning, he placed it before Xena, then collapsed onto the divan across from hers, looking up at the ceiling. He wasn't pretending to be suave, controlled or fierce. There was stress on his handsome features, and genuine hurt. Even in this state, though, he didn't look anything less than perfect. His body curved in a way that would make a sculptor weep. It was difficult for Xena not to appreciate what she saw.
"You wanna tell me what this is all about?" she asked him.
With a quick sigh, he sat up. "I was cool, I was totally cool, until that bitch mentioned Dad."
"What bitch mentioned Zeus?"
Ares looked down to the food and wine and pushed it towards Xena. "Artemis."
"You're gonna have to go back a bit," said Xena, stroking her forehead tiredly. "Why did she mention your Dad?"
His jaw bulged as he clenched his teeth together. He seemed to struggle with himself, stroking his hands against themselves, clenching them against each other, his nostrils flaring. Closing his eyes, he muttered very quickly.
"She was mocking me."
Xena recognised the difficulty Ares must have had in admitting anything of the kind. "About?"
He opened his eyes and stared dead at her.
"...Oh."
"Yeah," he nodded. "She said I wasn't doing my job."
"Well that's not true," muttered Xena, taking a goblet and looking inside of it idly. "You've been a total pain in the butt lately - people won't stop beating the crap out of each other."
Ares straightened, pursing his lips tightly. "Do you mean that?"
Cocking a lip and widening her eyes, Xena shrugged. "Of course I do. What, you think I'd blow smoke up your ass just to make you feel better?"
He nodded, looking gratified despite himself. After a moment he went on. "She was trying to get me to..." He opened his mouth, closed his eyes, wrestled with a breath. Xena lifted a brow at this and he looked incredibly embarrassed. "... ask you to dinner. She wanted me to push things with you and I."
"There is no 'you and I', Ares."
He just frowned at her.
"Why did she do this? Supposedly because you're not doing your job as a War God?" Xena looked incredulous.
"Right," Ares nodded. "I guess she does sort of have a point."
Xena felt herself quickly getting out of her depth. This was a side of the Gods she rarely saw. She never saw Ares concerned about his mantle, or his place in the cosmos. This was a good thing, it made it easy to hate him. Without that part of him, he wasn't necessary, he wasn't vital or important. He was just an annoying, violent jerk who she had to deal with every now and again. She shrugged.
"What do you mean? We fight all the time."
Ares laughed. It was the sort of laugh one gave a little child who completely mispronounced a word, speaking it with sincerity and pride. Xena didn't like that one bit.
"Oh Xena..." He shook his head. A sigh took him, and it left her uncomfortable because he looked thoughtful, and wasn't used to seeing that. "I've lost my focus. Artemis got to me, but it wouldn't have been an issue if it wasn't true. I'm not sure what she's up to but she's... she's made a good point."
"She wants you to make more war, by the sounds of things," said Xena quietly.
"That's not all I do, you know," he said, looking to her with a sidewards glance. "And I don't know if that's what she wants me to do."
Xena had never seen Ares so troubled, and she didn't know quite how to handle it. Crazy as it was, she would have found a sign of cocky arrogance a relief right at that moment.
Ares sighed. "Are you going to have some wine or not?"
She shrugged a shoulder. "I don't know what's in it."
He looked to her deadpan, a playfulness in his expression. "Fermented grape juice."
She began to look suspicious but Ares sighed.
"Xena, you really think I'd poison or drug you? You know that's not my style." He got up and sat next to her, pouring her a wine and handing the goblet to her. "Drink."
She felt a little stupid for a moment, but then reminded herself that with Ares, she should be surprised about nothing. The repeating of her mantra 'Never trust him' was always in the back of her mind. Thanking him, she took the goblet, trying to ignore his proximity. The wine was good. Really, really good. She relaxed into the divan, making an effort to ignore her leg pressing against his. It made her skin burn.
"You know... you're pretty relaxed for a mortal who's just been told that they've gained the deepest affections of a God..."
The burning slipped into her bones, and she looked away, talking suddenly difficult. "That's because I don't believe you."
"Oh, I don't trash towns in frustration for just anyone, Xena..."
"A normal person would buy me flowers," she said dryly, avoiding his eyes.
"Somehow I don't think that'd help the situation."
"No, but it'd be a nice surprise." She couldn't help but glance to him, eyes glittering playfully.
What was she doing? Was it the slow smoulder in his voice, or the way he looked at her, as if he'd unveiled something behind his eyes? He gave a sigh, tilting his head at her.
"What could I possibly do to convince you?"
She wasn't sure if he was being rhetorical or not. Her body melted to the divan and she pursed her lips.
"You could give me a break for once... if it's not some warlord, there's some king hankering for a war..." She drifted off as she saw Ares' eyes twinkle. "What?"
Snapping his fingers, he pointed at her. "You're brilliant. That's it."
"Huh?"
"I'll have some time off."
"Time off?" Her nose wrinkled as she looked incredulous. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'll step out of my mantle," he said, getting to his feet and rolling his shoulders confidently. "It'll be a break for both of us. Me, a mortal human, kicking back... You can spend the day with me."
"Hah... are you crazy?!" hissed Xena, jumping to her feet and stepping to him. "Don't you remember what happened the last time you were mortal?"
"Now, that wasn't planned," he said, wagging a finger. "And it was weeks on end. No... a day or so won't be a problem."
"But anything could happen to you! What if you're killed?!"
"Hades will have my back," he said with a touch of arrogance. "Without me, his days would be incredibly dull."
She curled a lip in disgust for a moment, but the gravity of the situation came back to her. This was complete and total madness. What was he thinking? Could she even tell? Perhaps it was a trick, some way to get her to slip into his charms? She edged close to him, narrowing her eyes.
"I don't know what you're trying to pull here, Ares, but I'm not fallin' for it."
Impatience seemed to crack Ares' composure, as he waved an arm and growled.
"Damn it to Tartarus, Xena, will you just shut up and accept the freakin' gesture?!"
What could she say? She blinked, mouth working silently for a moment. Somehow she'd not noticed how close she was standing to him, but now, now she was most certainly aware. She could smell that exotic, musky scent that only the Gods exuded, and his energy came off him in heady waves.
"But you hated being mortal," she said. "I remember distinctly that you couldn't stand it..."
"Sure, but wouldn't it be worth it?" He tipped his head. "I know what I'm getting myself into here, Xena. I'm choosing it for you."
At that moment, her lungs couldn't draw breath, all she could do was fight to keep hold of her self control. Logical thoughts, Xena... keep your head... How was it he knew what to say to her?
She narrowed her eyes, trying to ignore the lack of distance between them. "Are you sure you should do something like this while Artemis is on your tail?"
"Ahhh, she wouldn't do anything heavy. Ruin a couple of my temples, maybe." He tipped his head with a shrug of a shoulder. "We Gods have rules about that sort of thing. Besides, I'm putting my Godhood somewhere new this time." Winking at her, he withdrew his sword.
"All right," she said. "I'll agree to this on one condition..."
He lifted a brow in askance.
"You apologise to Gabrielle... get her a present or something."
He snorted. "For what?"
She pressed her mouth into a thin line. "You were making fun of her poem about Joxer."
Ares frowned. "How did you know it was about-"
She eyed him dangerously. "Ares..."
Rolling his eyes, Ares nodded. "All right, all right." Pointing to her, he waved a hand. In her arms appeared a lute, a plugged amphora and a little parcel of something wrapped in silk. She bent under the sudden weight, juggling till she had them all.
Without another word, he walked over to a large altar on the other side of the room. It was bedecked with skulls, black and red candles, and a large relief plaque on the wall of black and silver, a giant replica of the amulet that he wore about his neck. Stretching out his hand, a satin pillow appeared below it on the altar.
"That'll do," he said.
She followed him, holding tight the things in her arms. Her stomach jumped inside her as he brought forward the blade. He couldn't be doing it, he really couldn't.
"Are you sure about this?" she murmured, stepping forward.
"Trust me," he replied, a reassuring curl to his lips.
~~*~~
The sparkling temperate day had mellowed into a gilded afternoon. Everything the late sun shone upon looked as if it were coated in gold, and the lake glittered, whispering sweetly as it lapped against the shore. Despite all the beauty about them, the pair at the camp were tense. Gabrielle had the bag of cooking things and was digging through it, a little wrinkle of annoyance in her brow. Joxer was beyond the pelts and the little fire they had going, muttering to himself and lifting his arms up, one after the other, practicing his defensive moves.
"Joxer," said Gabrielle. "Have you seen the cooking knife? I swear it was in here..." He didn't hear her. He was ducking against an invisible opponent. "Joxer!"
The lanky man blinked, and lowering his arms, he looked at her.
"Oh, uhm... no. Sorry."
"If it's in one of the saddle bags, I'll kill Xena." She sighed, folding her arms. Xena had been gone far too long. Hours now. If Ares had done anything to her, anything at all...
"So what are we going to be eating?" asked Joxer, trudging over to the camp and sitting on the pelt next to Gabrielle. "Rabbit? Deer, if we can find one?"
"Fish," said Gabrielle, as if it should be obvious. "I can't put it off any longer. I was hoping Xena would be back and we could do it together."
"Well, I have a hook and line in my things," said Joxer, scratching his neck.
"I've got a better way," said Gabrielle, and standing, she pulled at the laces of her little green top. "You better go looking for some more kindling and branches."
His eyes went wide as he realised what kind of fishing she meant. A blush in his cheeks, he shot to his feet, pointing a thumb over his shoulder, towards the woods.
"Yeah, I'm going to go - do that."
Without another word, he hurried into the woods, doing his best to think about anything other than Gabrielle stripping down to her birthday suit and leaping into the cold lake. It was a very difficult task. He wondered if it should have been a task of Hercules. Beating up on a scary boar or cleaning out a stable... sure, it'd be hard work. Not thinking of the diminutive strawberry-blonde bard peeling off her already tiny outfit and then getting all wet and goose-pimply? Impossible. There would be pretty little drops of water on that lightly tanned skin... She would be like a mermaid.
"Damn it," he mumbled to himself, bending and grabbing some wood. "Think of something *else*!"
He heard a splash from beyond, and his heart beat faster. Torture. Sweet, delicious torture. Pressing his lips together, he strode on noisily into the wood, grabbing sticks and branches as he went. Anything not to think about Gabrielle like that. He didn't want to be walking back in an embarrassing condition. He muttered as he went, anything to keep his mind empty.
"Alpha, beta, gamma, delta..."
Somehow his mind drifted back to the talk they had in Halyphos, outside the tavern. He'd think of it now and again, hold onto it just like he held on to every other moment where she wasn't hitting him or talking to him like he was thick. Yes, she cared about him. Somewhere, under the bad temper and impatient glances laid sympathy and affection. It wasn't much, and he knew it wasn't what he wanted, but it was better than nothing. He'd be happy with all she could give.
"Joxer, you're pathetic," he sighed, "A complete loser."
Yet... there was something her eyes as they had joked about after that serious moment. The way he so easily brought a smile to her face (which made his heart soar higher than Daedalus ever could), the way they were so relaxed with each other, but amongst the familiarity was a spark of something, a tender, unexplored place that made him dizzy to think of.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been wandering around, grabbing sticks and branches. It wasn't until the sky grew darker and the pile of wood in his arms past his chin that he realised he might have been gone a while. He turned, stretching his neck to see over the armful of kindling, and stomped back towards camp.
~~*~~
Wrapped up tightly in a woolly blanket, Gabrielle hid from the slight chill that was creeping into the air. Now and then she'd swear under her breath. She asked him to go for a little walk, to give her time to get into the water, grab the fish, and get out. He'd been gone nearly an hour and a half. The silly, ridiculous man. With a sigh, she gazed at the tree canopies that reached above her from the wood, at the pretty pink shade the sky was turning.
Why was she so rough on him? She asked herself that sometimes. Usually she'd dismiss the question to make herself feel better. He was a hopeless dork, he asked for it. That excuse always made everything okay but today it wasn't working. Every time she settled on that answer, a flicker of memory would play in her mind. His eyes, dark, warm, brown, looking right into her and making her feel naked, even though it was he who was bearing his soul to her in that gaze.
"I'm going nuts," she muttered, scratching behind her ear.
A crash of footsteps came from the woods, and grabbing her staff, she jumped to her feet.
"Who goes?"
"Me! It's just me!"
Out of the brush and bushes staggered Joxer, his quarry of firewood past his face. It was a miracle he didn't trip and fall over.
"Joxer!" she gasped, trying not to laugh. "...Why?!"
He dropped the wood by the tree they were sleeping under with a clatter, and Gabrielle saw his cheeks were red. "Uhh... you know. Didn't want to walk back, see you all nude."
"Okay..." She tilted her head, then chuckled, shaking it. "That's very thoughtful of you."
Kneeling by the wood, she began to pick out some good, dry pieces. Joxer sat on his pelt next to hers, leaning over and looking at the fish she had laid out in front of the fire.
"Wow... you did good."
"That lake is jumping," she said. "You just got to know where to look."
"I guess Xena taught you that?" he asked.
"Sure, she's taught me a lot of things."
He nodded, then looked back to the fire. It was strange, watching him by the fire as she stoked it. There was something about him today that left her feeling uncomfortable. Perhaps it was that out of his armour, she was noticing that he wasn't that unattractive. As he rubbed his hands before the fire, and held them out, she saw the ripple of biceps, and a blush came to her cheeks. The air was thick, hot. Perhaps she put too much wood on the fire?
This was stupid! Ridiculous! Grabbing the fish, she laid them out on a flattened bunch of olive leaves.
"I need to scale and gut these suckers..." She went to the cooking bag and dug about inside. "Damn it! The knife..."
He hadn't heard her. He was still rubbing his hands idly, looking up into the sky.
"Joxer, have you got a dagger?"
"Uhh, no," Joxer said. "I lost mine throwing it at someone."
"Great," she said, rolling her eyes. This was normal, this was good. He was annoying her. "Give me your sword."
A little incredulous frown flickered on his face, and the corner of his mouth lifted. "No."
With a blink, she looked to him. "Did you say no?"
"I said no," he said, nodding, half-smiling. "It's been in the family for years... I don't want fish guts stuck to it."
"I'll clean it!" said Gabrielle, turning and walking over to him. "I need to prepare the fish!"
"I'm sure we've got something else," he said, looking over to their bags. "Like a fork or a spike or something..." He got up, trudging over to their things. Kneeling in front of them, he dug about. "The knife has to be here somewhere..."
"Co-o-ome on Joxer," she said, toeing her way over to him, smiling with as much charm as she could muster. "Let me use your sword."
He laughed. "No! No way... you'll ruin the finish."
She shot a sigh of frustration through her nostrils, looking over to where his sword was. Taking a breath, she made a decision. In a moment she dashed to his armour and sword, grabbing the weapon in its precious scabbard and running to the other side of the camp.
"Gab!" he yelped, jumping to his feet.
"Unless you like your fish scaly and gutty, this is the only choice!" she cried, eyes gleaming.
He came after her, and she ducked the other way around the fire.
"That's it!" he growled, playfully. "Gimme it!"
"No!"
Darting to the right, the bard ran towards the fish. He shot forward, and by some miracle, he actually caught her. They tumbled, legs akimbo, and he managed to get his fingers around the scabbard. She wriggled on top of him, pulling at the scabbard doggedly.
"Joxer!"
"Not--happen--ing!"
"Grrr!"
Glancing from their tangled hands, Joxer looked to her face. There was a handsome blush in her cheeks, her eyes locked on the sword. Her damp hair brushed his face, and he could make out the smell of sandalwood. His heart thumped heavily in his chest... she was so close, she felt so very good on top of him. He felt limp and inflamed all at once, and panic gripped him at what this meant.
"Erm... take it."
"What?"
"Take it!" he said again, almost bleating. "Here!" He shoved it in her hands, but she didn't move.
Her green eyes searched his, a little bemused dent in her brow. They travelled down, and a blush darkened her cheeks. She gave a little smile and pushed herself up off of him.
"Thanks, Joxer."
He shook his head, rolling away. "It's okay."
A very long dip in the lake was well in order.
~~*~~