"It's okay, Miss Tabby," Amelia spoke up. Anxiety wrinkled her brow and she looked up at Valgaav who was still walking beside Tabby.
Rubbing her eyes Tabby nodded and resorted to picking up her speed. Valgaav matched her strides, hoping his presence was welcome. Through all of this Lina Inverse was silent. Keeping her steady pace she contemplated on the story. Did Tabby know who Valgaav had been fighting? She very much doubted it. In Lina's mind there was only one who could have rendered the half Ryuzoku in such a state, but she wasn't about to speak his name.
Night descended upon the land like an indigo blanket sewn with silver. A full, pale moon glowed high in the sky, providing only a small bit of light for the travelers who had resolved to go on until they were beyond tired. Of course, that could have just been Zelgadis, for he did not tire as quickly as the others and if they didn't follow him they'd be lost. It seemed eerily silent on the path and they'd seen only a handful of other travelers on the road. Luckily enough no one from Atlas had come after them, but they were a long way from Atlas now. Tabby's feet dragged heavily. She was beginning to feel sleepy and just a bit hungry. The former was stronger now than the latter, though.
"Perhaps we should get some sleep now," Gourry commented, his hand poised over the Sword of Light's hilt. He, Zelgadis, and Valgaav were on guard for anything suspicious despite the fact that the other three could have defended themselves fairly in a confrontation. "I mean, it really is dark now."
Zelgadis snorted. "I hadn't noticed," he muttered dryly, but even he too had to admit he was getting fatigued from walking so much. The only one of them that looked like he could've gone on for much longer was Valgaav. However he was hanging close with Tabby, who'd not spoken much since her bout of storytelling. He'd not said much to her either, but he'd been keeping a close watch on her.
This protectiveness that Valgaav showed to Tabby caught Lina's attention very starkly. She still had a hard time believing that this villainous creature could ever feel anything remotely close to kinship, even for someone who'd nearly saved his life. However, it didn't make her suspicious, it just confused her senses. Quite clearly he cared as much for Tabby as he showed he did. The sincerity was there in his eyes, in the way he looked after her without even having to speak. "Tabby, may I ask you something?" she said, gently touching her cousin's swinging arm.
Somewhat startled out of her silence, Tabby looked up at her, but then nodded. "What is it, Lina?"
"How come you didn't tell me last time we saw one another that you were friends with Valgaav?"
"Well, because when I even spoke his name that one time, you launched into how much you hated him. You even cursed him a few times."
Valgaav raised one pale green eyebrow.
"Heh, well, after what had happened, Tabby..." But Lina didn't try to explain. Tabby knew what had happened last time the paths of Lina Inverse and Valgaav had crossed.
"I know, Lina. I know. But that's why I didn't tell you. It wasn't really necessary anyhow." Tabby feigned a smile then said, "Hey, are you gonna listen to Gourry, Zel?"
Only, Zelgadis had already listened to the blond swordsman. He stretched his arms above his head, letting the loose sleeves on his beige shirt fall around the gray, pebbly skin of his arms. From side to side he looked quickly. "I suppose we can camp just off the road here, and continue sometime tomorrow morning." He turned around to face everyone. "Is that okay?"
The general consensus was that it was okay and everyone, save Valgaav, began to unpack something to sleep on. Tossing a few fly away strands of hair behind his ears he simply watched them work. By the time everyone was finished, the small clearing Zelgadis had been referring to earlier had been turned into a regular campsite. Even a small fire was going amongst the circle of everyone's bedding. Quietly Valgaav wondered where he was going to sleep. That was when Tabby gently reached out and touched his nose. "Are you just going to stand there all night?"
Replying teasingly, he said, "Maybe." Truth be told, he didn't know what he was going to do.
"You don't have anything to sleep on, do you?"
"No."
The young sorceress's lips pursed as she thought of a solution and finally said, "Then you can use the blanket I normally sleep under."
"You don't have to do that, Tabby."
"But you need it and I want to." Her tone was that of finality and Valgaav saw he had little choice but to accept it.
"All right, Tabby, I will."
Bacon. Was that bacon frying? Tabby's nose sniffed hungrily at the air as she slowly drifted out of sleep. A warm, morning breeze pushed the scent of frying meat towards her nose. She breathed in deeply. There weren't many sounds around her, save that of the regular forest creatures and a deep snoring somewhere off to her right. Slowly, Tabby pulled herself up on the blanket she'd slept on. There, at the small fire in the circle of the travelers, Zelgadis sat holding a small pan over it. Bacon grease popped and sizzled from inside. When he noticed Tabby staring at him, he gave her a little tilt of his head in acknowledgement. She smiled back, but her attention was mostly focused on the pan in his hands. "That smells so good."
He chuckled, pulling the pan off the fire. "You can have some if you want, Tabby. It's finished now." With the tips of his fingers, he pulled the bacon carefully from the pan. Then he handed a couple slices to Tabby who managed to savor them slowly even though her stomach wanted to gobble them up greedily. "Mmmm."
"Glad you like it." He took a look around, "Everyone else is still asleep, except for Valgaav. He woke up a little after me and claimed he was going to find a stream. If he hasn't decided to wander off I suspect he'll be back soon."
Tabby took all this in and nodded. "He'll be back. I've the feeling he's going to hang around this time." A small smile graced her lips as she too looked around. The snoring she'd heard earlier was coming form a lumpy blanket that seemed to be growing blond hair. Gourry.
Zelgadis's eyes scanned the sky, for what Tabby wasn't sure. Then he said, "When Val returns we'll awaken the others, if they're not already awake. Then we set out again."
"Already?"
"It's to save time, Tabby. The faster we travel, the less time it takes us to get there. And if my old maps serve me correctly, there's a little village east of here that we can rent horses in if we need to."
"Guess you're right, Zel," Tabby nodded. She breathed in deeply and gazed at the sleeping members of her party and smiled. For once it was actually nice to have someone to travel with.
