They continued on their journey in silence, neither wanting to talk about what had happened, or didn't happen, earlier that morning.
Cecil's thoughts were turned inward, thinking of what would have happened had Raiden not shown up at that exact moment. Her skin still tingled thinking of the gentle way Scorpion had caressed her arm. The part that confused her the most was that she wanted him to continue. Since when was she attracted to Scorpion? Surely it hadn't happened right under her nose. She sighed, knowing it did happen right under her nose. The worst part was knowing that this man, whom she had met only a couple of months ago, was incapable of returning her feelings, as trite and innocent as they were.
Cecil didn't know much about Scorpion, but from what she had gathered these past months, he was not as unfeeling as he let on. She knew underneath he was a good man. Too bad for her he just happened to also be a jerk.
Scorpion, walking beside Cecil, was in complete and utter turmoil. He couldn't stop replaying that moment over and over in his head. Like a reoccurring dream, she haunted his thoughts. Would he have been able to stop himself if Lord Raiden hadn't shown up at their campsite? The Shirai Ryu warrior couldn't answer the question. He honestly didn't know what had come over him.
Since their encounter with General Hamoto, Scorpion knew his need to protect Cecil was far more powerful than he liked. But his scarred heart deterred him from thoughts of actually caring for the girl. He couldn't deny it now. How could he, when he so easily let himself reach out to her, touch her as he had not done to any person for many years.
Well he wouldn't let it happen again. Not with so much at stake. He was charged with protecting her, after all. And once she was delivered to Liu Kang he was going to leave. The great Warrior of the Shirai Ryu cared about someone other than himself. So much, in fact that he was willing to walk out of her life once this was all over. It would be better that way.
Cecil suddenly stopped "Did you hear that?"
Scorpion stopped as well. He had. "Get behind me" he commanded sternly. She wasted no time in doing what he said.
He drew both swords from his back and held them in a loose 'X' in front of him. And waited.
They didn't wait long however. They heard approaching footsteps and quiet laughter approaching them from the east.
Scorpion tensed "Stay where you are" he said in the direction of the sound. "Approach me slowly, hands raised" His tone left no room for refusal.
Seconds later four men came into view, hands raised just slightly above their heads.
Scorpion sheathed his weapons "They are just ruffians. Lets go" He told Cecil, who was busy staring at the men. They seemed ordinary enough. All four of them could have been brothers, for they all had short, messy, brown hair. They didn't look like ruffians. Her thoughts were confirmed when the tallest one spoke.
"Were not ruffians. We are travelers. Traders in fact" He said, lowering his hands slowly. The others followed suite. "Are you in need of anything?"
Scorpion was about to walk off, clearly not interested in conversing. But Cecil had other plans.
"Clothes?" she said quietly "Do you have any women's clothing?"
The tall man seemed to notice her for the first time. Probably because he was so intent on not getting cut in half by the tall, scary looking Ninja with white eyes. He looked her up and down approvingly, an action that was not lot on Scorpion, who growled lowly under his breath.
"We have all kinds of things. Let me look in my bag and see what I can find" He removed said pack from his shoulder and knelt down to rummage through it. The others did the same. "My name is Ethen"
"Cecil" she said
"These are my cousins" He pointed to each in turn "Sydney, Clauss, and Rooney"
She didn't answer, and was having a hard time not looking at Scorpion. Clearly he disapproved of her too-friendly actions. But she was in need of warmer clothes and desperate for human interaction. It had been weeks since she had seen another person besides Scorpion and Raiden.
"Aha! Here we are.." Ethen exclaimed, pulling out a light blue satin dress that was as wrinkled as an old map "This would look lovely on a beautiful woman such as yourself"
Cecil fought the urge to roll her eyes. "I don't wear dresses" She stated flatly "Do you have anything a little more practical?"
Ethen smiled "We were just about to set up camp. Would you like to join us? We can talk about trade right here and in the morning you will be on your way again" Clauss shifted nervously behind him.
Cecil turned to Scorpion for an answer. He had his back to her but he clearly knew what she wanted "Do what you want. I'm your bodyguard not your babysitter" He said bitterly and walked off to go lean against a tree.
Cecil fought hard against the emotions rising in her throat. She coughed lightly and looked down, clearly trying to hide her pain.
Ethen approached then "Harsh" he said "Come on, Rooney has the best stuff in his bag. I'm sure we can find you some decent traveling clothes. Speaking of which, where are you headed?"
Cecil seemed to compose herself "North"
"North? There is nothing there but snow, mountains and more snow. You two on a lovers escaped or something?" Ethen, approached Rooney and took his bag.
"Definitely not" She laughed lightly
"Would you guys mind setting up the tent while I trade with Miss Cecil?" He asked his cousins, winking at her. He rummaged through Rooney's bag, pulling out a pair of tight lather pants, a maroon tunic and a black vest.
Cecil's face lit up "Perfect!" she said "It's exactly what I need"
"Good. Let's finish setting up camp and we can talk about what you have to offer"
Much to Cecil's embarrassment, Scorpion didn't help her set up camp. He usually set up the tent while she built a fire, cooked and set out their sleeping rolls.
To Ethen and the others, she probably looked like some pathetic housemaiden. Doing all the work while the men sat around and waited to be served on. The thought made her angry. She was well on her way to becoming a warrior, and in one spurning action, Scorpion had managed to make her feel worthless all over again. In anger she threw the tent down and kicked it into a ball. To hell with him if he thought she was just gonna sit around and let him be an asshole! It wasn't too cold tonight, if they built the fire up, maybe it would keep her warm enough.
Scorpion sat, leaning against a tree, just outside the circle of warmth the fire provided. He didn't want to be anywhere near Cecil at the moment. He was just convincing himself not to let himself get too close to her when she so idiotically invited four strangers to join them for the night. The thought infuriated him. How could she be so stupid? Didn't she know that some of Shao Kahn's men could transform themselves to look like anything they wanted? Scorpion's thoughts halted. Of course she didn't know that. Because no one had told her. In fact, she was almost completely in the dark about this whole situation which in such a large part, concerned her. When he thought about it, she was actually taking this all very well; Her new life, training via dreamscape with Liu Kang, and traveling with a stranger to a secret hideout in the mountains to learn how to fight like a warrior.
How could he blame her for being so naive?
He stood then, ready to return to her side after coming to the conclusion that she really was just an innocent town girl. But when he entered their camp he found that everyone was already asleep. How long had he sat out there thinking? He wanted to be here to see what in the world she had to trade Ethen for a set of traveling clothes. He would never find out now.
He found Cecil sleeping close to the fire, wrapped in a heaping pile of blankets.
Why hadn't she set up the tent? Oh wait, he usually did that part didn't he?
Scorpion sighed, too tired to think much longer about Cecil and the strange effect she had on him lately. It seemed she was all he thought about lately and he didn't like it one bit.
He sat himself against a tree a few feet from her sleeping form. Across the fire he could see the four traders asleep in much the same manner as Cecil. One of them was snoring loudly.
