It was still dark when Tien got out of bed that next morning. He dressed in heavy, navy-blue pants and a long-sleeved gray shirt and pulled his tunic over that. He fried up the last of the deer sausage he had and ate that for breakfast, drinking his black coffee, quietly envisioning his hunt for the day. The house suddenly seemed very empty and quiet, the only sound was the popping and crackling of the fire and the occasional scrape of his fork against the tin plate. He finished his breakfast and put the plate in the small washtub for later. He glanced out the window above his bed. A thick blanket of snow had fallen over the past few hours. The snow was still falling gently, but there was no wind and it fell straight down.

He grabbed his bow from its place near the wardrobe and held it between his knees to string it. He smiled at the smooth feel of the wood in his hands. There were few objects in the world that Tien was attached to, but that bow was one of them. Made of the wood from a Yew tree by his own hands, it had served him well for many years. He picked up his quiver of arrows and tied it to his belt, the dark leather heavy against his leg. He had just grabbed his black cloak and slung it over his shoulders when there was a soft knock at the door.

"What on earth?" Tien softly asked himself and went to the door.

It was Sabriena, wearing her peacoat and jeans, a fluffy pink band pulled over her ears against the cold and her dark blonde hair pulled back in a long braid.

Tien blinked in surprise. "What are you doing here? I told you we aren't training today."

"I know," she said, stepping into the house without invitation and ducking under his arm that held the door open. "I wanna go with you."

He shut the door and turned. It was only then that he noticed the highly polished white compound bow in her hands. It was strung with a hot pink cable and she had a commercially made black leather quiver slung across her back, revealing hot pink carbon arrows.

He stared at her in exasperation. "Where in the world did you get those?"

"What, this?" she asked, holding out the shocking white bow. "I've had this for a while."

He crossed the room to the table and picked up his hunting knife, running the blade along a sharpening stone. "You expect me to believe you're a hunter?"

"I never said that," she muttered. "But I am a good shot. Guns aren't the only weapon I'm trained in, you know."

"Hmm," he answered, keeping his back to her as he focused on the blade in his hands.

"Is it wrong that I wanted to go with you today?" she demanded.

"I don't know if you can handle it," he said simply. "It's awfully cold out there. And shooting an animal is completely different than shooting a stationary target."

She narrowed her eyes at his back. "I think I can handle it."

He turned to her and slid the knife into his belt, considering her for a moment. "All right, then. Let's see what you're made of."

They set off around the back of the cabin, heading up the slight incline into the trees. Tien glanced at her as she walked beside him. "You should've worn a better coat."

She sneered, "There's nothing wrong with this coat. It was expensive!"

"That doesn't mean it's a good coat," he countered. "You're going to freeze to death out here."

"Oh what do you care?" she snapped. "At least if I'm dead, I'm outta your hair." She paused and corrected herself. "Well, you know what I mean."

He shook his head and gave a soft snort of laughter. "Do you have to be so funny when you're being mean? I don't know whether to be mad or amused."

"You think I'm funny?" she asked in surprise, carefully picking her way through the low, dead brush.

"Sometimes," he answered truthfully.

"Hmm," she frowned and muttered quietly, "most people think I'm obnoxious."

"What was that?" he asked softly. "I didn't hear you."

She shook her head. "Nothing."

They continued on their way, Sabriena still making conversation as they went. "You know, you could just go to a supermarket and get your groceries like a normal person."

He shook his head. "I'm not eating that crap. Do you have any idea the things they put in all that commercially processed junk?"

"Oh, it can't be that bad," she scoffed.

"There's fire retardant in that soda you drink," he warned. "Not to mention the hormones and antibiotics they pump into those animals. GMO's. Steroids. No thank you."

"So, like, my insides are fireproof now?"

He squeezed his eyes shut painfully and shook his head. "You'd progress with your training a lot faster if you ate healthier." He shook his head again and muttered, "Thought I was gonna die after you brought me that fast food. I don't know how you eat that stuff."

"Because it's full of delicious awesomeness," she answered emphatically.

Tien sighed as they neared a barbed wire fence and he leapt lightly over it. Sabriena blinked at his agility. She didn't expect a man of his size to move so gracefully. He grabbed the middle wire and pulled up while stepping on the bottom wire. "C'mon, girl."

She bent double and stepped through. "Whose land is this?"

"Mine," he answered, releasing the wire. "This fence has been here for ages."

They continued on over an open field, the snow still falling and a slight breeze picking up.

"I still say you should keep livestock," she said. "You could have a lot more food right at your fingertips."

Tien's nose twitched slightly. "It's a lot more work, too," he reminded her.

"You could at least keep chickens," she said. "We could have omelets for breakfast."

"You gonna take care of them for me?" he teased.

"Do I get fresh eggs?" she countered. "Oooo! And I can make fresh pasta. And pastries. See? You could get more variety in your diet. You might like it."

"Ah, we'll see when the weather gets better," he said hesitantly. They were nearing the tree line on the opposite side of the field.

"God, my feet are cold," she whined. "How much farther do we have to walk?"

"We're nearly there," he answered softly. "Hush now."

She pressed her lips together, tempted to speak even louder than normal just to irritate him, but decided against it. They were a long way out in the middle of nowhere and he was a big guy and he was armed, not that he needed it, though. Best to just do what he said, she decided.

It was a long walk to this side the forest. Tien normally would have flown there, but since Sabriena couldn't fly yet, they took it on foot, losing him more time than he cared to admit. The sun had broken over the horizon already and he normally liked to be in his spot before the sun came up. He finally stopped at the base of a huge tree and crouched down, leaning back against it, his bow held loosely in both hands, his arms propped on his knees.

"Now what?" Sabriena asked softly, standing next to him.

"Now we wait," he answered in a tone even quieter than hers.

She huffed and sat down beside him, crossing her legs in the snow. She dropped her bow in her lap and leaned back against the tree.

"You're going to freeze," he warned her quietly, eyeing the way she sat in the snow. "Get up on your feet."

"I can't sit like you," she said, standing up and brushing the snow off her jeans. She grabbed up her bow and pulled an arrow from the quiver on her back. "My legs would fall off."

"Shh," he hushed her.

She pressed her lips together in a firm line as she knocked her arrow on the string. 'Shoot 'im in the ass,' she thought to herself and suppressed the urge to giggle. She leaned her shoulder against the tree and stared down at Tien's back. Even in his crouched position, she was only a few inches taller than him. His ears had gone red from the cold. She flexed her own cold fingers, trying to knock some of the bite out of them. She had the sudden vision of leaning over him, breathing hotly against his cold ear to warm him and had to suppress the urge to laugh again. Oh, he would freak out if she teased him like that. Tien was most definitely not a flirt. She wiggled her lips around, trying to hide the smile that pulled at her mouth. It would be funny to see his reaction. But once again, the thought of pissing him off crossed her mind and she decided it wasn't worth it. Any of her other friends she could tease like that, especially Gohan since he was so easy to embarrass, but she couldn't even call herself friends with Tien yet, not really. He was her teacher and nothing more. And she was perfectly fine with that.

Tien crooked his finger at her over his shoulder and she followed his gaze, looking for what he was staring at. She saw it then, the large doe nosing at the roots of a tree. She looked back at Tien, and he cocked a skeptical eyebrow at her and smirked.

She took it as a challenge. Her arrow already knocked, she silently drew on the animal, holding back, calming her breathing. She was waiting… waiting for it to shift, to give her the best target… Her arms screamed in torment as she held her draw. She was still aching and sore from chopping wood the previous day. The doe turned her body broadside and, exhaling slowly, Sabriena loosed her arrow.

There was a dull thunk as the arrow hit its mark and the doe bolted. Sabriena lowered her bow and grinned haughtily. She glanced down at Tien who looked dumbfounded.

"You didn't think I'd hit it," she stated.

Tien squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and reopened them, blinking several times in the soft morning light. He was speechless as he got to his feet. "I'm… actually impressed," he admitted.

She grinned bigger, looking extremely proud of herself. She looked at the bow in his hand, which also held an arrow. He'd been prepared to take the shot himself when she missed.

"Let's go find it," he said, setting off through the sparse trees and she fell into step behind him.

"Can I talk again now?" she asked.

His eyes fluttered closed for a second. "Sure."

"It's too damn quiet out here," she muttered, then gasped, clapping her hands over her mouth.

Tien smirked over his shoulder. "Language."

She snarled at him as he turned to face her and she shoved her bow against his chest for him to hold it. Her shoulders screamed in protest as she quickly did the twenty pushups, her hands burning in the freezing snow. She shoved herself to her feet again and snatched her bow back. "I hatechu."

"Not real fond of you either," he teased back.

"So where'd you get that?" she asked, bumping the back of her hand against his bow.

"I made it," he answered.

"Oh really?" she asked, looking at it. "Wow. That's pretty cool. What's it made of?"

"Yew," he answered.

"Traditional," she mumbled. "Nice. What's the draw weight?"

"About a hundred and eighty pounds," he answered, finding the spot where the deer had stood when Sabriena shot it.

Her eyes looked like they could pop out of her skull. "Are you kidding me?! That's ridiculous!"

"What do you mean?" he laughed, following the trail the deer had left behind. Bright red drops of blood spattered the pristine snow. "I know I could pull more than that easily, but there's only so much the wood can take."

"More? The hel… heck… are you hunting? Jesus!" she cried.

"What's the weight on yours?" he countered.

"Fifty," she answered.

"You could pull more than that," he said, frowning and looking ahead at the trail.

"Not if you keep making me chop wood," she grumbled.

"Actually, that would probably help," Tien said. "The more you use those muscles, the stronger and faster they're going to become."

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered.

"So I've got a question for you," Tien said, his eyes still on the ground, keeping track of the path the deer had run. "How does a city kid like you end up being so fascinated with weapons?"

"Nnnnn," she hesitated. "Well, my dad's always had guns. And he used to do archery. So, I guess it sort'a rubbed off." It was partly true. Her dad did love weaponry and was an avid collector. But she hadn't picked up on the actual usage of weapons until her time at the warehouse where Yorgi insisted that everyone be at least proficient with one type of firearm. At seventeen years old, she found a passion the first time she squeezed that trigger. It made her feel powerful and in control of something for a change, which was a feeling she hadn't had in a very long time. It was only her skill, her persistence, her patience, and her will that could control how accurate she could be. And when she felt that she'd mastered one, she moved on to the next and the next, eventually delving into archery as another challenge. It was a totally new experience and she found her passion renewed. The other women in Anarchy 99 were decent with a firearm, only one other used a bow, but Sabriena was by far the best female shooter all around. She'd never intended to go hunting, although she'd toyed with the idea before, and preferred target shooting. But that explanation would have to include why Yorgi insisted that they all knew their way around a gun, and that was something Sabriena didn't particularly feel like sharing with Tien.

Tien suddenly hurried his pace and she had to nearly run to keep up with his long stride. The deer had circled around and was lying on its side in the field they had crossed earlier. Tien approached it cautiously, studying it to see if it was still moving or not. He dropped to his knees by its head and pulled the knife from his belt to poke it right in its opened, lifeless eye.

"Ewww! Tien!" Sabriena scolded.

"I had to make sure it's dead," he answered gruffly. He looked over his shoulder at her. "You gonna dress it?"

Her eyes went wide. "I don't know how to do that!"

He chuckled at her. "I know. Now c'mere. I'll teach you."

The sun was high over head by the time they reached the edge of the trees at the other side of the field. Sabriena could barely feel her feet, they were so numb with cold.

"I'll show you how to butcher it, too," Tien offered.

"I already know how to do that," she bragged, reveling in the surprised look on his face again.

"And just how do you know how to do that?"

"Well, it's kind'a a weird story," she said, screwing up her face, wrinkling her nose and squeezing one eye shut.

"I'm listening," Tien said as he continued to drag their quarry through the trees, the deer sliding easily over the fresh snow, his bow slung over his back.

"Okay, so me and Jenny went to Fear Fest one night," she started.

"What's that?"

"A haunted house that they put on every fall. You know, like people dressed up in costumes to scare you?"

He frowned. "Why would you want to be scared on purpose?"

"Cause it's fun. Anyway, that's not the point. So, me and Jenny went with Blake and Bryson – Lindsey's brothers – to Fear Fest one night. And on our way home, we hit this huge buck on the highway."

"Were you guys okay?"

She shrugged. "We weren't hurt, but it scared the crap outta us. So there we are, on the side of the road with this dead deer and our car totally smashed. And we knew we had to call the sheriff's department, but we were freaking out because we didn't want Bryson to get in trouble."

"Why was that an issue?" Tien asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He had a warrant out for his arrest," Sabriena answered truthfully. "He's a bit of a trouble maker. Nothing major, just didn't go to court for traffic tickets."

"Okay."

"So we called Lindsey's other brother, Patrick. Patrick runs over in his girlfriend's car to pick Bryson up. We call the sheriff's department, they come out, help us clean up the glass and the car parts and whatnot, then leave. So we climb back in this jacked up car, driving, like, forty miles an hour in a seventy zone. I mean, grandmas on scooters are passing us at this point." She stopped to suppress her laughter.

Tien was chuckling, looking at her as they continued to walk. "That's embarrassing."

"Right?" she gasped. "So we're put-puttin' along, and we see Patrick and Bryson going back the other way." She jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "And so Blake calls them, like, 'what the crap are you doing?!' And Patrick says that's fresh deer meat and he's not leaving it behind." She fixed her green eyes on Tien's for emphasis. "They were going to get the deer. They were picking up roadkill, Tien!"

He laughed loudly at that. "Man, and I thought I was bad about not wasting anything."

Sabriena was still laughing. "So we get back to Lindsey's house and the guys, those jerks beat us there actually since we couldn't drive very fast in that jacked up car, and they've got it strung up in the garage with a meat grinder and all sorts of processing tools laid out. And I tried to get away, but they made me stay. They made me help chop it up."

"And you actually did it?" he asked in surprise, amusement still in his voice.

She nodded and shivered against the cold. "They bribed me."

"With what?!"

She pressed her lips together and stared straight ahead, her eyes narrowed. "Deer jerky."

"From the road kill deer," Tien deadpanned.

Sabriena's eyes went wide and she froze in her tracks as if the light bulb above her head had just gone off. "I ate road kill," she whispered in a terrified voice.

Tien had to stop walking, he was laughing so hard. He leaned over, his hands pressed to his knees, gasping for air.

"That's not funny, Tien!" she screeched. "It just clicked! I ate fucking road kill!"

"L-Language!" he laughed.

"Oh my god," she growled and dropped to the ground again, the snow burning her hands even worse.

By the time she got back to her feet, Tien had finally managed to stop laughing, but his face was still covered in amusement. He grabbed the deer again and forged ahead, fighting the smile on his lips.

"What?" she grumbled.

"The city girl at road kill," he laughed, rubbing at his eyes with his free hand. He just couldn't believe it. Of course the meat was fine, it wasn't any different than if the deer had been shot like the one they had just harvested, but it was the connotation of "road kill" that made it just so damn funny.

"I actually enjoyed eating that thing," Sabriena admitted. "It ruined our night." She looked up at him again. "You like jerky?"

"Yeah," he chuckled. "I love it."

She raised her eyebrows tantalizingly. "Send some of that deer home with me and I'll bring you some jerky in a couple days. I have a secret recipe."

"Secret recipe, huh?" he asked. "All right, I'll bite. I'll send a couple pounds home with you tonight."

"But you gotta share with me," she said. "And I'll have to sneak it out of Capsule Corp. If Jenny finds it, it's gone." She stumbled and grabbed onto a tree for support.

"You okay?" he asked concernedly.

"My feet are frozen," she whined. "I can hardly feel them."

"We're nearly home," he said. "We'll get you inside and warm you up."

She shoved away from the tree and they hurried their steps through the woods. Just when Sabriena thought she couldn't go anymore, the trees gave way to the big rough yard, revealing the barren garden patch and the back of the cabin. "Oh sweet Jesus," she panted in relief and lengthened her stride even more. She marched up the steps and threw open the door and collapsed to a cross-legged position on the floor in front of the tiny fire. She shivered violently, pulling her peacoat tighter around her, leaning towards the fire.

Tien followed shortly, the deer abandoned outside, and he was carrying an armful of kindling. He frowned at her on the floor, her shoulders shaking. "I knew you were going to get too cold."

She shrugged, her teeth chattering. "Can't feel my toes."

"You serious?" he asked, setting the firewood on the hearth and looking at her soaked sneakers.

She nodded. The only thing her feet felt was shooting cold pain.

Tien carefully pulled her shoes off and set them near the fire, then hooked her socks with his fingers and peeled them away to look at her feet. "You're lucky you don't have frostbite." Even with as cold as his hands were, her feet felt freezing when he touched them. He rubbed at the sole of her foot, trying to stimulate some circulation.

Sabriena shivered violently again.

Tien stood and pulled his bow off his back, laying it on the table, then turned to the fire to stoke it and add more wood to it. The flames jumped up, bathing both of them in its sudden warmth. He stood once more and stared down at her as she sneezed and stared miserably at the fire. The adrenaline rush from the hunt had worn off and now she was tired and cold.

"Have you eaten yet today?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I wasn't hungry when I got up."

He sighed and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "Sabriena, you can't do that. You have to eat to have energy."

"Wasn't hungry," she replied flatly.

This was bad. She wasn't fighting back or being snippy like she usually did when he scolded her. That useless coat of hers wasn't helping any, either. He pulled the black bearskin cloak from his shoulders and draped it over her back. She grabbed at it, pulling it tighter around her shoulders.

"You sit there," he told her. "I'll take care of the deer."

She looked up at him, tilting her head far back to see him staring down at her from behind. "But you need your cloak. You'll freeze!"

He shook his head. "No, I'll be fine. You warm up. If you need anything, just holler at me. I'll be right outside."

She nodded and looked back at the fire. "Thanks, Tien," she murmured, snuggling into the warm cloak. He gave her a soft smile and headed outside, closing the heavy door lightly behind him.

The fire felt good, but that cloak felt amazing. It was heavy and warm from Tien's body heat and big enough to wrap around her a couple times if she wanted. The weight of it felt good on her shoulders as she pulled it around her, nuzzling her chin into the soft black fur. It smelled good, too. Like leather and fresh turned earth, campfire smoke, split wood, and a musk that could only be the scent of his skin. Oh good lord, she could get drunk on that smell. She sat there, listening to the crackling of the fire, staring at the bright flames, breathing that scent deeply through her nose. Her toes were peeked out from under the cloak, bathing in the warmth of the fire, stinging as they began to thaw.

Tien returned several minutes later to check on her. "You doing okay?"

She nodded. "Better."

"Here," he said, sitting down beside the fire and reaching for her foot, "let me see."

She set her foot in his lap and he rubbed at it again. "Can you feel it now?" he asked, his strong fingers pressing roughly into the sole of her foot, his thumb squeezing down the top from her ankle to her toes.

She nodded once more, closing her eyes. "It stings, though."

"You have to wear boots when it's this cold out, Sabriena," he said, looking down. "You have to take care of your feet. You're useless without them out here."

"Trust me," she laughed bitterly. "Lesson learned."

He frowned again as he stared down at her foot in his rough hands. "More pink?" he asked, looking at her perfectly painted toes. They were hot pink, just like her arrows, with a black starburst design on the sides.

"It's pretty," she mumbled.

"You like the weirdest stuff," he grumbled, reaching for her other foot, rubbing both of her feet now. "What's the point in that? It doesn't serve a purpose."

"It makes me feel better about myself, okay?" she snapped. "And it looks pretty. Leave me alone." She yanked her feet from his lap and tucked them back under the cloak, staring harshly at the fire.

"Yup, you're feeling better," he stated harshly and got to his feet again. He crossed the cabin to the shelves on the wall and grabbed some supplies and marched back outside, letting the door slam behind him.

She huffed and buried her chin in the cloak again.

It was a long time before he returned, carrying with him a large cast iron Dutch oven that he hooked inside the fireplace.

"What's that?" she asked.

"I thought I'd make us some stew," he answered, any trace of irritation with her from before now gone. "It'll warm you up."

She nodded and lay on her side, curling up in the big cloak, the loose wisps of her hair that had fallen free of her braid trailing across the floor.

Tien sat down on the floor again, cross-legged, and smiled at her. "I'm proud of you today, girl. You did a good job."

A soft smile pulled at her lips as she blinked her tired eyes slowly. "Thanks."

"You go ahead and rest," he said, reaching over to stir the pot with a large wooden spoon. "I'll wake ya up when it's time to eat."

He was wasting his breath. He looked over at her again when she didn't answer. Her rhythmic breathing and relaxed expression told him she was already sound asleep.