Chapter 4
Two hours after escaping Daeson, Salem turned his horse off of the road and moved into the trees that flanked it. He smiled to himself as he gently maneuvered his horse through the forest. It had been a while since he had experienced such excitement.
Behind him, he could feel his new companion's head resting on his back. Looking over his shoulder, all he could see was the top of Ahri's head as she laid the side of her face between his shoulder blades. Salem had to suppress his laughter as one of the girl's ears twitched sporadically, occasionally brushing against the hair on the back of his head. She had been asleep for nearly an hour now. At first, he hadn't noticed. It was only until he had needed to reach back to steady her that he had realized she was unconscious. Her arms had remained around his waist, but they were slack as the girl slept. All nine of her tails were limp as well, cascading over the back of the horse in a waterfall of white fur. Salem had continued riding on in silence, not minding the lack of interaction at all. He was used to traveling alone, so he was no stranger to silence.
After trotting through the wood's for several minutes, Salem brought his horse to a stop as they entered a small clearing. Reaching forward, he patted his horse softly on its neck. "Looks like I remembered the spot, huh buddy?" Then he turned his head once more to look at Ahri. She seemed so content in her slumber, but there was no safe way to get her down from the horse while she was asleep. Sighing, he chuckled a bit. Hopefully the fox doesn't turn into a bear when awakened, he thought.
Ahri slowly regained consciousness as she felt her bed shaking back and forth. Opening one of her eyes, she realized that it wasn't her bed shaking; she wasn't even in a bed. Still groggy from waking up, it took her a moment to realize what was going on. Lifting her eyes, she saw a head full of shaggy brown hair. It was Salem, and he was shaking back and forth like a tree in the wind. Tightening her grip around his waist, Ahri buried her face in the man's back as he continued to move around.
"Mrrmmff," she grumbled.
Salem laughed as he continued to sway. "Sorry Ahri, it's time to wake up."
All the exhausted girl could manage was another "Mrrrmmmfffff!"
"Hey, there's only two ways we're gonna get you off of Cadence here. You can either fall off, or cooperate with me so I can get you down."
Sighing, Ahri lifted her head up so that she could speak clearly. "Why didn't we just keep going?"
"I'm only human. I need some rest just as much as you do and we still need to wrap your ankle." He swept his arm out to show her the clearing that they had stopped in. Illuminated by the bright moonlight, it was a small area, about 30 feet in diameter. "Cadence and I stopped to make camp in this exact spot last year. We're pretty far in the woods, so if anyone did manage to follow us all the way from Daeson, we should be pretty well hidden."
"One more hour?" pleaded the tired girl.
Salem shook his head. "Nope. Besides, you're already awake."
Ahri let her head fall back onto Salem's shoulder. "I hate you…" she grumbled.
"Well that didn't take long," laughed Salem. "Now come on already and sit up so I can get down."
With a sigh, the fox-girl obeyed, sitting up so that Salem could dismount from the horse. As Salem's feet hit the ground, the girl looked down at him while rubbing her eyes. "Who's this Cadence you keep talking about?" she asked. Obviously worn out, she was still so sleepy that she couldn't quite put two and two together yet.
Salem patted his horse's side. "You're sitting on him."
"Ah," said Ahri with a yawn. "Well met, Cadence. I suppose I have you to thank for the rescue as well." The horse simply twitched its ears in response to hearing its name, seemingly not caring for the thanks that it had received.
Twisting his upper body around to work out all kinks and cramps that had overcome him in the last hour, Salem stretched his arms out as he stood next to his horse. "Come on down now sleepyhead so I can put a wrap on that ankle before it swells up anymore."
With a drowsy grumble, Ahri complied, practically falling off of Cadence's back into Salem's outstretched arms. Obviously, she was not one who enjoyed being woken up.
Salem held her weight with ease, walking her over to a relatively clear spot on the ground. Supporting Ahri with one arm while she clung to him, he undid the clasp on his cloak and let it fall to the ground. Kicking it around so that it was spread out, he gently sat Ahri down on top of makeshift blanket. He then walked back over to his horse and began to rummage through one of its saddlebags. After only a few seconds, he found what he was looking for: some bandages. "Alrighty then," he said, tossing the roll of bandages from one hand to the other. "Let's see what we can do, shall we?" Sitting down cross-legged in front of his injured companion, he went to work, gingerly removing the girl's shoe first. He then softly pressed on the ankle, causing Ahri to squeak with surprise.
"Ow! A little warning would have been nice," she hissed through clenched teeth.
"Sorry," apologized the musician. "Just wanna' make sure that nothing is broken. It's already pretty swollen, but luckily I think it's just a sprain." Working quickly, he used the bandages to tightly wrap the girl's heel and ankle. He wound the bandages around the girl's injury several times before he seemed to be satisfied with his work. Looking up, he patted his companion on the shoulder and smiled warmly. "Hopefully that'll do. You won't really be able to put a full load on that leg for a while, but you can probably walk on it pretty soon as long as you're careful."
"Thanks Salem," she said, returning the smile. "Thanks for everything."
Salem stood and walked back over to Cadence, placing the bandages back into the saddlebag. "Don't thank me just yet," he said. "We still have a way's to go until we get to the Institute of War. Once we get there, then you can thank me." He walked back over with a pack slung over his shoulder and a bed roll tucked under his arm. Sitting down, he spread out the bedroll next to him. "Here, switch with me," he said, gesturing at the sleeping bag.
Ahri shook her head. "I'll be fine. I've got these to curl up with," she said as she waved her tails around.
"That may be so, but I'm not gonna let a lady sleep on a cloak while I'm around. Now switch with me before I drag you onto it."
Ahri laughed softly. "Fine, fine." Crawling on her hands and knees, Ahri moved over and laid down on the bedroll while Salem settled onto his cloak. "Can I go back to sleep now?"
Salem nodded at her. "Go right ahead. Sorry for waking you, your highness."
The young man couldn't help but smile as he watched the girl blanket herself with all nine of her tails. While she was obviously an oddity among the other humans that walked the earth, she looked even more mystical bathed in the summer night's moonlight.
I sure know how to pick my companions, huh? thought Salem. Still, she's leagues better than the crew I used to run with. He continued to watch the girl until he was sure that she was sound asleep, watching the rise and fall of her body slow as her breathing grew soft. Then, he laid down on his back and stared up at the stars, using his own arm as a pillow. Looks like I'm back on the road again. It's been a while since I've had to fend for someone else. He felt his heart grow a bit heavy as a painful memory invaded his mind. Hopefully I can do a better job than the last time.
He looked over at the girl next to him swathed in pale fur. "No worries," he whispered softly. "We'll get there Ahri, I promise." Then, he closed his eyes and let his mind float free among the world of dreams.
The following morning, Ahri was awoken by a rustling sound. Flipping over, she saw Salem shaking out his cloak.
"Good morning," he said with a grin. "Sleep well?"
Ahri stretched her arms out and rolled around on the ground, loosening up muscles that had grown tight while sleeping. "Well enough," she said as she sat up.
"That's good," said the man as he walked over to his horse and packed his cloak into a saddlebag. "I'll be right back. There's a stream a little further in the woods, so I'm going to take Cadence to get a drink. We can hit the road when I get back."
Ahri stood up gingerly, testing her wrapped ankle lightly. When she was sure that she could stand, she shook her tails, sending leaves and any other debris that had been caught in them flying. "That sounds good to me."
As the girl watched Salem lead Cadence by his reins into the trees, she suddenly realized how ridiculously hungry she was. She hadn't eaten since the previous morning, and even then she hadn't had very much. At the time, her stomach had been too unsettled by the thought of having to kill Salem. While she was glad that it hadn't come to that, she was still hungry. She had bought food on the night of their escape, but had left it at the inn in her haste to escape. "Salem, wait." she called out.
Salem stopped and turned, cocking an eyebrow curiously. "What's up?"
"Do we have any food? I'm pretty famished after all that running around."
"Ah," said Salem with a laugh. "I'm sure you are. There's some nuts and jerky in my pack here," he stated. He walked over and slipped it off of his shoulder, offering it to the girl. "Go ahead and dig through there while I head to the stream."
The girl thanked him with a smile and took the bag from her companion. Sitting down, she began rummaging through the pack in search for a snack; her rumbling stomach reminding her to search with haste. The pack was absolutely stuffed with clothing and supplies. When Ahri finally did find something, she was dismayed to see that it was only a bag of jerky that only contained a few pieces of meat. Beggars can't be choosers she conceded. Opening the bag, she popped one of the pieces of dried meat into her mouth. Looking around as she chewed, the fact that she was starting her life anew seemed to finally hit her. She smiled, growing happier with every passing moment. It felt like an unbearable weight had been lifted from her shoulder. She sat for several minutes, simply admiring her surroundings as she ate.
Unfortunately for the girl, her joy hit a bump when she reached into the bag and found that she had eaten all of its contents. A little dismayed, she turned back to Salem's pack and began shifting through its contents once again. Reaching into the pack, her arm was nearly buried up to her elbow in supplies as she searched for something to fill her stomach. At first, all she could feel was fabric. Clawing her way around the tightly packed clothes, she reached the bottom of the pack. She hesitated when her hand touched something hard. Feeling around, she could tell that whatever it was, it wasn't food. Still, her curious nature got the better of her and she decided to explore the strange object a little bit more through her sense of touch.
Without any warning, an earth-shaking boom erupted from the inside the pack. Ahri felt something whizz by her head, making a lock of her hair move. She drew her hand out of the pack almost as if something had bitten her and scurried away from the bag like it was a plague-ridden animal. Her heart pounded as her ears rang; all she could hear was the ringing and her own quickened pulse. The noise had been so loud that she thought she might have been deafened for a moment. Fortunately, the ringing in the girls ears subsided after a couple of moments. Already frightened from what had just happened, she nearly got up and ran when she heard rustling coming from the bushes across the clearing. To her relief, she saw that it was Salem, who came crashing through the brush like a madman. Cadence followed closely behind him.
The man ran over and crouched down next to Ahri, who was still on the ground with fear in her eyes.
"What the hell was that?!" he asked, his tone full of concern.
"I don't know! I was just digging in your bag for food, I swear!" responded the girl. She was still shaken, but seeing Salem seemed to calm her down a bit. "I just felt something hard, and the it was like there was an explosion."
Salem looked at the girl blankly for a second before an expression of pain came across his face. "Aw shit. Ahri, I'm sorry. This is all my fault."
"What?" asked the confused girl. "How is this your fault?"
"I should have told you what was in there before letting you dig around in it," he said, pointing to his bag. He got up and walked over to the pack, bending over to pick it up. Turning the pack upside down, he dumped the majority of its contents out onto the ground. Then he flipped it right-side up and reached into it carefully. Slowly, he pulled out the culprit of the heart-stopping explosion.
It was a large revolver, its dark gray barrel still emitting wispy tendrils of gun smoke. Salem handled the gun with care, pointing it at the ground as he checked the cylinder.
Ahri's eyes widened when she saw the gun. She had only seen a few firearms before but was well aware of their lethality. Perhaps the man she had once thought of as harmless wasn't quite who she thought he was.
"Damn," he cursed. "One round's been let off." He pulled the spent shell out and flicked it into the brush. Clicking the revolver's cylinder back into place, he tucked the pistol into his belt. "Ahri, please let me apologize. I should have told you that there was a gun in my pack. Are you okay?"
Ahri nodded, her heart rate finally slowing down. "I think so. I wasn't hit by anything."
Salem let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness." He then noticed that Ahri eyes were still trained on the revolver now tucked under his belt. "I understand if you're scared, and I'm terribly sorry that this all happened."
The fox-girl quickly shook her head. "No, I forgive you; I can tell that it was an honest mistake. I just can't help but wonder…why...?" She cut herself off mid-sentence as if she was unsure how to finish her question without being too intrusive.
Salem seemed to understand what it was that the girl was trying to ask and finished the question for her. "Why do I, a simple musician, own a tool of death such as this?"
All Ahri did was nod.
"When you travel as much as I do, you never know what to expect. There's not much to worry about here in Ionia, but it's a whole different story once you hit the mainland. Some people aren't quite as nice to strangers as you were to me." He patted the pistol at his waist. "This gun is nothing more than a leftover tool from my old merc days."
Ahri's ears instantly perked up. "Merc? You were a mercenary?"
Salem nodded. "I'm not proud of it, I assure you. It's a life that I would prefer to put behind me, just like you're trying to do now."
The gears in Ahri's mind began to turn as everything suddenly became a little bit clearer. "So that's what you meant when you said you could relate to me?"
"Yeah. In fact, that's largely why I decided to help you," responded the man. "I had to fight to survive just like you. A few years ago, I would have pulled the trigger on damn near anyone just to make a living." He reached down and helped Ahri to her feet, dusting off the back of her cloak. "Luckily for me, a rather significant event helped me turn my back on that lifestyle. Still, I've had a bit of a bad taste in my mouth ever since."
"And…you're hoping that helping me will alleviate some of that pain?" guessed the girl.
"Bingo," replied Salem with a grin. "Don't let that fool you though. I fully intend to help you in any way I can. I wasn't lying when I said it was in my nature to help. I'm not just doing this for me."
Ahri nodded her head. The fact that she was traveling with a former killer didn't really faze her. After all, they were both in the same boat. The girl was a little bit surprised by her own trustfulness, but if anyone was going to understand just how she felt, it was probably the man standing before her. "I believe you."
"That's good," said Salem, breathing a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry you had to find out the way you did." He crouched down and began putting his clothes and other supplies back into his backpack. He paused and turned back towards Ahri, handing her a small bag full of nuts and dried fruit. "Here,"
"Oh, thank you," said Ahri as she took the bag from his hand. "I had forgotten just how hungry I was." Opening the bag, she plucked out a handful of nuts and threw them into her mouth.
Salem stood and took her by the arm. "I think it's time for us to get going. Come on, I'll help you up onto Cadence." Supporting the still-injured girl as she walked, the musician then helped her make her way onto the horse's back. "I hope you're ready for a long trip. The Placidium is still a couple days out."
The fox-girl only nodded, her tails drifting around as she continued munching on her food. Salem sighed as he clambered up in front of her, grabbing Cadence's reins. "Some of that food is for me too, you know. Try not to eat all of it." He was pleasantly surprised when his passenger extended her arm forward, offering him some dried fruit. He took the food from the girl's hand and popped it into his mouth, crunching down on the snack. "Thanks for that," he called over his shoulder. Behind him, his companion smiled warmly.
No, thought Ahri as she continued to eat. Thank you.
Authors note: Hey all, not much to say this time. This chapter came together pretty quickly because I pretty much knew exactly what I wanted from it from the start. As always, please don't be afraid to leave a review, whatever your opinion may be. Also, if you see an error please PM me and let me know where it is so I can fix it. Thanks for reading! TLM
