The nervous energy did not dissipate as they were brought to shore up river from Cotton Wood Cove. With what could easily be mistaken for the excitement of battle, Maximus flexed and unflexed her fingers from around the hilt of her weapon as she hid behind a boulder waiting for a sign to move forward. As she had for as long as she could remember, she focused on her desire to be a free woman, allowing her nervousness to transform into anger, into something that could be utilized, something to make her greater than what she truly is. She thought of every laceration ever inflicted for the sake of hiding her. Every beating she endured to show she was strong enough. Every experience she had to miss out on and would continue to miss out on because the person who could experience them would not be allowed to live. The signal was given and she moved forward with such speed and stealth, the enemy never had a chance.

The NCR had been ill prepared and was quickly dwindling in numbers as Vulpes lead the assault. Maximus left a trail of bodies in her wake as she moved throughout the camp. The other legionnaires had fanned out in their own directions, but she had moved further ahead than the formation had called for. The sound of shots being fired rang out all around her, fires engulfing dilapidated cabins by the water provided a constant low roar, but none could be heard over the sound of her own heartbeat and heavy breathing. She caught a glimpse of a soldier limping behind one of the burning cabins and made a beeline for him. As she came around the corner, the butt of a rifle was swung at her. She dodge the shot to her head causing it to come down on her arm, instead. Her machete was knocked away as she hunched over, following through with the blow to minimize damage. A kick was delivered to her stomach bringing her to the ground. She rolled, dodging another kick, realizing that she wasn't being fired at. He had ran out of ammunition. She stood, grounding herself for free handed combat, the soldier squaring up as best as he could to her. The sound of a ripper fired up behind her and she half turned to keep the soldier in her line of sight as she found another behind her ready to tear her apart. The man with the ripper advanced, forcing her to drop to dodge. She rolled to the side as the butt of the rifle was brought back down on her, narrowly missing her. She scrambled to her feet as a heavy thunk sounded to her side. As she turned, to dodge the ripper again, she caught the sight of the first soldier skewered to the side of the burning cabin by a machete. She dropped again, this time to kick out the legs of the soldier wielding the ripper. He fell, but swung the ripper around erratically, grazing her boots and luckily little else. She stood and grabbed for the machete holding the now dead soldier in place but dropped it from how hot the metal had grown, her gloves the only thing stopping her hand from being seared. She looked up to see Vulpes pick up her fallen blade and run for the soldier who was now attempting to stand-whose eyes were fixed on her weaponless form. She had to trust Vulpes. She threw herself back down to the ground as she saw him arch the machete and landed on the hot hilt of the other. The skin of her upper arm burned, but it was of little consequence. Moments later, the body of another dead soldier fell beside her, the ripper still activated in his dead hand. She rolled over and stood as Vulpes retrieved the ripper, turning it off. As soon as she gained her bearings, she ripped her machete out of the dead mans back, making eye contact with Vulpes as he silently looked her over for injuries. Before anything could be said, Maximus ran back into battle.

Once the adrenaline of victory had worn down, Maximus found herself no longer able to ignore the pain of her burn. As the legionnaires combed through the bodies to crucify any survivors, she made her way down to the river and hung over the dock, allowing her arm to be submerged up to her shoulder. The relief wasn't instantaneous, but the cool water soothed it more than she could hope for. Burns were not an injury she had grown accustom to. After several minutes, the rhythm of steps coming down the dock could be felt. She didn't need to look up to know it was Vulpes; nobody else ever put so much care into being light footed.

"Surely it would do you better to submerge yourself entirely, at this point. You're covered in blood." he spoke. She didn't look up, she didn't want to have to turn and be forced to lift her arm out of the water.

"That would involve me disrobing." she mumbled back.

"You're no longer in enemy territory, there is no risk. We have officially extended past the river." she could hear the smile in his voice.

"As much as I know you want to compare scars, I will never take my clothes off in front of anyone. It's grotesque."

"I know you still have to bandage yourself from time to time." his voice dropped, pity and curiosity laced through it. "Are you still affected?" She clenched her eyes shut, preparing herself with half-truths before lifting her arm out of the water and turning to look at him. He was now sitting in front of her waiting patiently for a response. The light of the still burning cabins illuminated him softly.

"How do you know?" she asked, concern overcoming her features.

"Your tunics sometimes get ripped during training. I can feel them when we grapple. You keep a stock of them in your tent." he stated factually. She steeled herself.

"The flesh is damaged. Though scars have built up, occasionally the skin still tears when I exert myself. I used to fear it would debilitate me, but I've resolved to work through the pain and use it as a reminder of my short comings. I had hoped it would go unnoticed as it would make others think less of me." she said, not a single word untrue just missing the most vital detail.

"Mine bleed, too." he said. His intense gaze channeling every bit of empathy he wished to convey.

"I know." she said above a whisper. His expression faltered and genuine panic followed by confusion flashed over his face for a rare moment. "I take walks on nights that I can't sleep. I've seen you cleaning and soothing your wounds in the river when you think no one is around."

"I suppose with going unnoticed by even me, you do belong among the frumentarii." he said turning his head to look inland. "Do you plan on hiding your new wound?" he asked casually.

"It's just a burn. I'm sure it'll be a slight discoloration by the time it heals."

"Are you sure about that?" he asked, turning to her with a wolfish grin. Her face twisted in confusion before she turned to look down at her arm.

"Son of a bitch!" by the light of the fire, she could make out shape of a fox head, positioned perfectly upon her arm from the hilt of Vulpes machete. "What god have I angered?" she hollered. A genuine laugh escaped Vulpes mouth as he held the offending weapon out to her.

"I told you I would have you bear my mark. I also told you that you would have this once I gained my weapon of choice." she took the blade and caught a glimpse of the ripper at Vulpes side. She tried and failed to hide the smile that broke out across her face.

"I suppose I will be covering it up after all." Vulpes glanced back at the horizon. "What do you keep looking for? Even with the fires attracting attention, Searchlight won't be able to respond for several hours."

"Just give it a moment." he said leaning back on his hands. Her gaze followed his, resting on the horizon waiting for whatever was to come. An easy silence replaced the anticipation as together they watched a small mushroom cloud bloom before the muted sound of an explosion followed. A second, brighter one erupted moments later with a green tint. As the plumes burned out, Vulpes watched with smiling eyes and a chest swollen with pride as Maximus watched him.

"I think it's your best work, yet." she said, her thumb absentmindedly grazing over the fox on the hilt of her new machete.

"Just wait for what I have in store for Nipton." he said smiling back at her.