A Hasty Campaign

by RoastyMyToasties

The Warden and Nobushi meet during the Knight's campaign into the Samurai homeland. Been meaning to publish this baby for years, so sorry for old ship. It was started before gladiator came out. Romance and adult themes, but nothing explicit.

The home of the Samurai was... unwelcoming, to say the least. The campaign of the Knights was bogged down severely by the terrain, wagon wheels sinking into stinking mud and siege engines beyond the realm of any possibility. Even though their generals had planned around the environment, maneuvering troops in the small areas that could be safely traversed and bringing ample provisions to keep up morale, it was of little comfort to the troops that had to trudge through the humid hellhole. The solemn column of sweaty mean and nearly overworked horses lugging the tools of war along is only held together by will and a collective understanding of their mission.

"Brother Varion," a distant voice shouted. "We need assistance over here!"

Varion sighed, turning where he stood and gazing a ways down the long convoy to where he was being called. Already he could see the men gathering around the swiftly sinking cart, desperately trying to free it's back wheels from the sucking mud while keeping the horses carrying it calm. Varion quickly ordered four of the men around him to go help them release the provisions, then turned back around to continue walking down the road with the rest of the convoy. It was the fourth cart to get stuck that day, and he'd had enough of lifting the massively heavy wagons out of the road himself. Being a captain had benefits, he mused.

"Varion, it is not like you to stand idle when there's trouble! Has this infernal jungle finally gotten to you?"

Varion turned to look at the giant of a man jogging up to him. He was surprised these marshlands didn't collapse beneath his feet, his tracks dug deeper than anyone else's.

"Im tired, Dietrich, I've had to haul three carts out of this stinking mud already. Besides, I'll need my strength if we are to fend off another attack." Varion shifted uncomfortably, his hands fruitlessly grasping at his rear. "And if I'm being perfectly honest, I'm tired of this mud up my ass," he muttered.

Dietrich laughed heartily as he slowed to walk alongside the Warden, the flail at his hip jingling with every heavy footfall. "You could say that again. This place is some fresh hell, and the slanties make it all the worse."

Varion gave Dietrick a look for the slur, unseen because of his helmet.

"Well those 'slanties' have been making this campaign all the more difficult. Standard probing attacks while we travel, nothing special but a nuisance nonetheless. Casualties are at a minimum, but we are marching at about half the speed we could while unhindered, not even to mention those damnable wagons."

"Yeah these things're near useless. I hear the Samurai ones got real wide wheels so they don't sink into the mud like ours do," he said, splaying out his hands to deliver his point.

"Fascinating."

The two walked on for a minute in sweaty conversation until Dietrich excused himself to run back to his group, much to the pleasure of Varion. The idea to recruit criminals into the ranks of the army was a sound one in his eyes, but that didn't make the individuals any more tolerable. Dietrich wasn't one of the horrible ones, and he could be a great man to hang around if you fancy a light heart and a strong ale, but the Warden could easily see how he could get a sentence serious enough to 'volunteer' for conscription instead.

They marched on for another hour, thankfully without any more mishaps, until it was time for the group to make camp. The sun was beginning to dip below the trees, and walking in the dark in this environment was a death sentence even without the enemy's assistance. Varion knew they were always watching, and his eyes scanned the tree line knowing that they passed over at least a couple of enemy scouts. The Samurai were very well accustomed to their marshy homelands, and they were especially adept at moving along the unseeable paths that winded throughout the bogs. That's why their campaign had to focus on concrete targets that couldn't run away, otherwise the Samurai would simply outmaneuver them and attack their convoy until they were forced to retreat. They were a deceptive and cunning folk, but everybody knew they were sorely outnumbered. They relied on these kinds of tactics in order to survive, and that Varion had to respect, no matter how much of a nuisance it made them. Their home had given them nothing but pain and hinderance either, and they had still managed to become one of the strongest factions in the world in spite of it all. He had to respect their tenacity, but as Varion scratched the caked mud off of his armor for what must be the thirtieth time that day he only wished he could respect them from a far away, clean, mosquito free distance.

An hour passed until campfires were lit and tents were pitched, food was cooked and ale rations were drank. Usually their leaders would never allow them drink on campaign, but everybody except the watchmen was allowed a tankard. Many thought it was because of the horrible environment around them, and that may well be a good reason as to why, but Varion knew it was because the men needed to sleep. In the dark of night, when the fires went out and the sentries were posted, you could almost feel the eyes in the forest piercing your body. Everybody knew they were being watched, but what nobody knew was when the next attack would come. You could close your eyes and open them to your neck being sawed open by a Shinobi's blade in a night raid. It was hard to let yourself sleep when every snap of a twig in the forest could foreshadow your death. The ale helped with that.

Varion knew he wouldn't be needed for the watch tonight, so he made his way over to where his tent was stationed and entered, slowly taking off his armor piece by piece. He left his chainmail and gambison on him, however, as he would need some kind of protection should the enemy come in the night. And it wasn't as if the armor was uncomfortable anyway, the soft gambison acting as a woolen blanket and the bare metal of the chainmail really only touching his legs. He laid down on his bedroll and closed his eyes, his sore body feeling amazing with the rest after such a long day of marching. Sleep quickly took him, and soon the only sounds in the night were his heavy breathing and the croaking of the nighttime frogs.

"..."

"...aid..."

"ENEMY RAID!"

Varions eyes shot open, and his hand went for his longsword. Shooting up from where he slept and throwing on his gauntlets and boots, he bursted out of his tent and took stock of his surroundings. He heard yelling and the clash of metal to his left, and so quickly made to run over towards the commotion. But something made him slow down to a halt, something to do with the last enemy attack. His mind desperately churned, trying to throw off the fog of sleep and remember that very important thing that he told himself to remember for their next ambush. The last raid had come at night as well, and it had left parts of the camp burning in an inferno they only barely could control. They hadn't lost any men in the fire, but did lose a lot of tents as well as two carts of provisions.

The provisions. Idiot. They go for the food.

Varion quickly pivoted and ran in the opposite direction to the fighting, to the confusion of the men rushing towards it around him, and made a beeline to where he knew the carts were kept. He had thought about the last raid almost all day yesterday, and had come to the conclusion that the ineffectual attack had actually been a diversion to let others sneak in and set fires. It was time to see if he was right.

Varion arrived at the carts and readied his sword, eyes frantically scanning the darkness. It was now that he wished he'd picked up his helmet, but quickly dismissed going back. It was too late, and he could use the extra vision in this dark anyway.

A light caught his eye, flickering in the night, and he faced towards what he knew he would encounter. An enemy infiltrator, carrying a torch to set fire to their carts and tents. The light came closer and closer until it stopped at the edge of the clearing, and Varion guessed the enemy had seen him guarding the wagons. The light moved again, slowly, and now Varion saw steel reflect the torchlight.

As the figure drew closer, he saw more and more of them in the faint torchlight. They wore simple garb, not looking very protected, and a white mask with a straw hat. They carried in one hand what looked like a spear, but the tip was more like the business end of a sword than anything else. Varion readied himself for any attack, taking a few seconds to scan the area around him. You could never be too careful with the Samurai, and he would be surprised if the enemy came alone.

The figure bent over and placed the torch upright in the ground, obviously intending to come back to it once they had dealt with him. They took their spear in both hands and started to slowly approach Varion. The attacker drew closer and closer, then stopped once they entered striking distance. Varion stared into the dark holes of the mask, feeling the blood pumping harder in his veins in anticipation, pumping himself up for the fight to come.

The tip of the spear glided higher in the air for a moment, then came down in a deadly arc aimed at Varion's shoulder. He batted the strike away with his sword and took a step away, before bringing the tip of his sword down and lunging to aim a strike at the attacker's neck. The spear came sailing around to block the hit, but just barely, the enemy shoving away the blade and quickly sending the butt of the spear towards Varion's leg. Varion jumped back to dodge the hit before it connected, now out of their range. Ineffective attack, he thought, meant to quickly dispatch an inferior foe. They'd underestimated, and almost lost their neck for it.

"Varion?! Varion where are you?!"

Both of their heads shot over to where the voice was coming from, Varion recognizing Dietrich's booming tone. The enemy suddenly turned around and started to run away, to which Varion gave chase immediately. If he could catch an enemy here, they might be able to get some information out of him. Besides, he thought, even if he couldn't take them alive he could skewer the bastard that meant to burn his breakfast.

—

This attack was over, Shino decided. She bolted towards the path she had came from, hoping to reach the woods before her pursuer could close the gap. She fumed at her failure. Most swordsmen of the Knights weren't a challenge for her, but this one had been able to bat away her attacks easily and costed her enough time that reinforcements showed up. His sword was also a lot larger than the rest of the rabble, almost being able to rival her spear in reach. She didn't realize he could reach her neck after losing so much ground. She turned to look over her shoulder and saw him in close pursuit, holding his sword by the blade near the hilt and sprinting to close the gap. He was also a bit faster than the rest of them, she mused.

She reached the woods and hoped to lose him in the underbrush, but the heavy footsteps behind her told Shino that he had not given up the chase. She couldn't look back now, she was too focused on following the faint path before her in the dark. Shino was surprised he could keep up with her in this environment, but guessed he was close enough to mimic where she put her feet. Still, he was obviously being slowed down by the brush and mud, to the point that she might lose him before she got back to their base.

Shino's eyes widened in realization. She was running straight towards their base, and showing the enemy a safe path to get there! Thinking quickly, she took a turn that if she remembered correctly led to an empty clearing instead. It was risky, but she couldn't show the enemy a valuable path through the wilderness. Much better to let him think it ended at a dead end. Although, she thought with a grimace, it meant she would have to kill him to get out.

After another minute of running, Shino saw the clearing in front of them. She quickly dashed out of the underbrush and turned around to face the forest's edge in time to see the knight burst out of the bushes. He looked around at where he was until his eyes landed on her, readying his blade and taking an aggressive stance. The both of them were breathing heavily after their chase, but the cool night air gave them some comfort where it found their skin.

Shino eyed the man in front of her. He was wearing relatively simple armor, a so called gambison and chain mail, but the steel plate gauntlets and boots told her that he was no rank-and-file. Probably asleep when the attack began and didn't have the time to get on his armor, she guessed. His head was relatively unprotected though, the hood of the chainmail the only thing shielding it. Apparently he didn't have time to put on the silly looking padded hat she knew they wore underneath. But Shino knew this wouldn't be easy, unprotected head or not.

She readied her spear and slowly walked forward towards the knight, who started walking towards her as well. The two started circling when they got close enough to trade blows, the both of them eyeing the others defense and looking for an opening neither of them would present. Shino sent forward an experimental jab, which he swatted easily without taking his eyes off her mask. She lunged forward twice, stabbing powerfully downwards at his less protected legs, but his sword met the attacks and redirected them as he stepped backwards away from her advances. His sword suddenly swung in an arc to attack her shoulder, and Shino leaned to the side and brought up her spear shaft to redirect the attack harmlessly over her head, remembering to open her hand as his blade scraped down the length of the spear. She quickly whipped the back of the spear into his side, but the attack did little but jolt him through the chainmail and thick padding. He did take a few steps back, but quickly came forward to rain down blows on her, blows she could hardly keep up with. From overhead to side to overhead to a stab that she thought might skewer her. She got a few retaliatory strikes in with the butt of he spear, but again they only bruised him

The two traded blows back and forth like this for a long while, neither getting the upper hand but both hitting the other with a few glancing attacks. She could feel the sting of shallow cuts on her hip and on her shoulder, but she was pretty sure he was going to be getting some ugly bruises on his chest if he lived long enough to see them. Their blows got heavier as time went on, and the breaks between attacks was growing every time they stepped back to breathe. Eventually it was getting hard for Shino to block his attacks without dropping her spear, her grip loosened by the constant rattling of heavy blows. But she knew he was getting along just the same, his hits losing the striking speed of before and instead going for heavy handed power. This fight was lasting a lot longer than either of them had anticipated.

Shino's attacks grew less and less frequent, instead focusing on blocking the knight's attacks in a way that wouldn't take her spear from her grasp. The knight let out a yell and launched a powerful overhead attack at her, and all she could do was hold her staff up and wait for the impact, angling her staff so the blow would hopefully glance off. But the knight saw this coming, and changed the angle of his attack to be head on with her spear. She took the full force of the blow, and her legs gave out beneath her. She fell to her back, hearing the tip of the knight's sword bite the ground between her legs. Looking up she saw him bent double, his eyes wide and breathing heavily. His eyes flicked from the ground to meet hers through the mask, and his face contorted in exertion as he lifted his blade again. Shino got up to her feet and took a couple steps back, waiting for his next attack with her spear angled up at him. He took a few steps forward, then quickly closed the gap and swung his sword brutishly at her spear to get it out if the way. Her weakened grip barely held on as it was smashed harmlessly to the side, but Shiro realized he hadn't stopped charging. His body rammed into hers and she was sent flying back, her spear leaving her grip and coming to rest a few feet from where she fell onto the dirt. She quickly grasped for the shaft of the spear, managing to drag it back to her to hold it up in front of her head just in time to stop the deathblow from splitting her skull in two. She brought her leg up and kicked him hard in the gut, making him stumble back a few feet and giving her time to stand back up. The two of them stood facing each other, the both of them trying to cover up how hard it really was to keep their weapons pointed at the other.

Suddenly the knight took a large step back, bringing his sword around and sinking the point into the soft dirt, placing both hands on the pommel and taking a moment to breathe. Slowly, Shino brought the tip of her spear up and rested the back end on the ground, taking a few steps back and leaning on it for support. The two of them stared at each other in this odd standoff, breathing heavily but ready in case the other tried to make a move.

"...Tough...Bastard..."

Shino was surprised to hear her language come from the mouth of this man, even though she barely recognized it as such through the thick accent and desperate breathing. She shrugged at the comment.

"...Call...even?" the knight said through labored breaths.

Shino cocked her head in curiosity. Was he trying to ask for mercy?

"We aren't taking prisoners."

She saw the knight's face screw up in a mix of concentration and confusion, then rolled her eyes.

"No."

The knight let out an exhausted laugh, bending down and looking at the ground as he took a few final deep breaths. His hand then gripped the hilt of his sword, bringing it up from the ground and returning to his battle stance. Shino followed suit, bringing the tip of her spear back to head level. She saw the knight give her a determined smile.

"We do it?"

Assuming he meant resuming the fight, Shino let her slow steps towards him answer for her. They went back to circling around each other, waiting for the other to strike first, when the call of a horn rang through the forest. They both looked up at the sound, Shino recognizing the direction as coming from where her attack was launched. They were calling for a regroup. She stopped where she stood, the knight stopping as well and gazing in the direction the sound came from.

"You?"

Shino hesitated, but nodded in confirmation. Surprisingly, the knight let out a bundle of exhausted laughter and lowered the tip of his sword.

"Go. Run home."

She cocked her head a little. The knight waved a hand in the air dismissively.

"Fight other time. Lot of fight. Go. Both very tired, bad fight."

He again brought the tip of his sword down to the dirt, sticking it in and holding his hands up in mock surrender, as if she'd leave if he let her have the soft win. Shino brought the tip of her spear down, weighing her options. She wasn't sure that she could actually beat this knight if she stayed, and her attack group would be relocating soon, so if she got left behind it would be a long trek back to the main headquarters. Deciding that it wasn't really a choice, she spun her spear around to behind her back and turned to go back down the path they came from. She turned back and gave the knight a small nod in acknowledgment of their cease fire, and in return he have her an exaggerated bow with a nice flourish, as if he'd just finished a play. She hummed in amusement and left.

—

Varion was happy when he saw the woman turn to head out of the little clearing their duel had taken place in. He had noticed he was fighting a woman when he had first knocked her to the ground, hearing a distinctly womanly grunt and feeling a distinctly womanly figure when he impacted her, but he thought little of it. Many women were in the Wardens as well, and years of beating and getting beat by the other sex ironed out any prejudices he may have held before. He watched as she disappeared into the woods, not a look back as she made her way to some secret base or something. Varion picked up his sword and followed her into the woods, and he could actually catch glimpses of her through the trees in front of him for a little ways before she disappeared entirely. Trying to remember where the path back to camp had been, he slowly trudged his way through the undergrowth until he finally stepped out into the site they'd made camp at. The sun was peeking through the trees on the other side of the forest, and some people were milling about throughout the camp sticking their heads into tents and shouting at people to wake back up. Apparently their attack had been close to dawn. He walked past the carts he had defended last night and to where his tent was, entering and dropping back down onto his bedroll in exhaustion.

"Varion?"

He looked up to see Dietrich's head peeking through the flap of his tent, looking down at him where he laid.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing, it's just you've been missing since the attack last night. Some people thought you got dragged off and were knee deep in shit in some slantie dungeon."

"Quite the opposite, I was chasing one down but they got away. Now would you please leave so I can get some sleep?"

"Uhm, the whole camp's getting up now though. General says we've gotta be at some ron-day-voo point by sundown."

Varion groaned, but sat back up and reached for his armor. Dietrich left him to get ready, and Varion took the opportunity to slip a hand down his gambison to prod gently at his chest. As he suspected, a lot of it was tender and obviously bruising. He looked ruefully at his breastplate he'd left behind in his rush, then got back to slapping the rest of his armor on.

Exiting his tent and going over to the tent next to him to help the men packing it up, he asked them how the attack went. They said that it might as well not have happened, as only a few men had any injuries to speak of. They'd also only managed to kill a single enemy in the attack, the rest of them fighting carefully and not letting themselves be put in danger until eventually they retreated to the sound of a horn. The Warden nodded, this would only make sense if their true target was the wagons. No use in throwing away good men when all they need to do to make noise.

He bid the men farewell after they were done, walking towards where the generals would be at the center of the convoy. He needed to tell them what these attacks really were.

—

"You let them get away?!"

Shino knelt on the ground in front of her commander, whom she had just told everything.

"You misunderstand. It was me that got away, I could not have defeated him alone."

"Still, now they must know what our attacks truly are. We will not be able to use those same tactics again."

"If I may commander, I believe they already knew. The soldier was waiting for me at the provision wagons farthest from where the attacks were launched. Either it was incredibly lucky, or we had already been found out."

Her commander scratched his beard in thought.

"But those attacks were our only chance to slow their advance. We can maybe get off one more successful attack if we send out several feints first, but we cannot continue to hurt them the way we have been doing. I'll need to relay this to our general with the main force."

"I will deliver the message, if you wish me to."

"No, I need you here. I'll send a pair of men to go back with a message. You are going to be on scouting duty once you've rested up."

"Yes sir."

Making her way out of the command tent, Shino took a look around her at the rest of the modest camp. It was a small circle of tents with a central fire, only large enough to hold about twenty men. Making her way back to her tent and closing the flap behind her, she took off her white mask and some of her clothes, laying in her bedroll and cooling off from the busy day. She thought of the knight she had faced in the woods, still impressed at how competent he was and how he had managed to grind their duel to a standstill. She'd always thought of the Knights as unskilled warriors relying on numbers to win battles, but this one almost had her beat. Shino smoldered at the thought, but if she was being honest she wouldn't have won in a fair battle. The way he fought and the armor on his hands and feet told her he was used to fighting in full plate. The way he let some attacks through that winded him through padded mail but wouldn't make him blink in a breastplate told her all she needed to know. But the way he'd acted is what brought questions to her mind. They were an invading army, but he had laughed off the rest of the fight with her and let her go in peace. Maybe he wasn't confident in his ability to beat her, but that didn't warrant a smile for someone you were trying to kill moments before. He didn't take it nearly seriously enough, she thought. He acted as if they were sparring, just taking a break like he had and letting her go. Her fingers traced the bandaged cut on her hip. It was no sparring match, and if they met again she'd give him worse than bruises. Thoughts of revenge were on her mind as she drifted off to sleep, and she dreamed no dreams from exhaustion.

—

The column was marching up the path as the sun hung high in the air, bringing back the heat and humidity the Knights in their heavy armor dreaded. Varion was walking while looking down at a tome in his hand, his helmet hanging from a strap on his back and his eyes scanning the page.

"Whatcha reading there, Varion?"

The warden turned to see Dietrich jogging up to meet him.

"It's the Japanese translation book for general speech."

"Why'd you care to pick that one up? It's been gathering dust in a wagon for Lord knows how long."

"Is it so odd that I wish to understand the language of our enemy while in their territory?"

"Well no, but that book won't do you much good when it comes to speakin' to anyone but a kid."

"Wardens are taught all of the major languages before we become full members of the order. I just haven't had to use Japanese for many years now, so I'm just trying to jog my memory of some of the vocabulary and grammar."

"Oh, well I'd never heard of that. Well good luck sir scribe, I'm gonna go talk to someone who isn't gonna bore my head off."

"Yes, farewell."

Diedrich walked off to the back of the column, grumbling under his breath, and Varion went back to scanning the words on the pages in front of him. The book was organized more for military use and prisoner interrogations, which was helpful as it skipped out on a bunch of unnecessary things like specific fruit names and special tenses. He said sentences in Latin and then again in Japanese under his breath, willing his tongue to remember how it felt to form their odd words. He had plenty of time to focus on it, as it would be a day of nothing but hard marching for them otherwise.

The day passed with nothing but sweat and dust, marching dawn til dusk until they reached the point their commander had described. It was a huge clearing in the marshes, the rare sight of open clear ground seeming like a slice of heaven for the troops marching through the muck. Orders were given to set up an extended camp, bringing out the more semi-permanent command tents and unpacking almost all the wagons and leaving the horses tethered in a corner of the clearing. Varion was told he would be taking first watch tonight, and he decided against bringing the book with him. Besides, he was pretty sure that ten straight hours of practice had gotten him back to competency, able to hold small conversations with himself in Japanese with ease. He silently thanked his old fart of a Japanese teacher before he started to walk around the camp for a little while, talking with some people he knew and grabbing a bite to eat from the mess tent, then walked to where he would be spending that night's watch. He found a nice tree stump on a hill that overlooked the camp and sat himself down on it, laying his sword in his lap and sighing as he got ready for another uneventful night of watch duty.

Hours had passed, and Varion had scratched off every single speck of dirt on his sword that he could see in the darkness. He had doubted they would go for another attack this soon, and decided that he would volunteer for another watch tomorrow. Much more likely to be needed then, and he would rather be in his full plate the next time a skirmish broke out. While he was wondering if he could actually manage to sleep in his full plate armor, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he heard some faint movement behind him. Right before he was about to whip around sword at the ready, Varion felt the tip of a blade press into the chainmail at his neck.

"You move and die." the voice said, applying pressure to his chainmail in case he didn't understand their point.

"I understand your tongue better than that, samurai."

"Oh do you now? Then how about you toss your sword over there by that tree and come with me."

"You're the boss."

Varion kept his sword hand high in the air and slowly grabbed his sword by the blade with his left, making it clear he wasn't going to use it on his attacker. He lightly tossed it to the side and slowly stood up, the tip of the attacker's blade now resting on the small of his back wedged in a gap in his plate. By the way it was situated and the distance of the voice he was speaking to, he was at spear point. He sighed.

"You know, after all this time you'd think people would learn."

"Shut up! Come with me."

"No."

Varion whipped around and grabbed the shaft of the spear, which was thrust forward forcibly at the same time. The spear harmlessly glanced off of him, and Varion used that momentum to tug the spear harshly towards him and watched as his attacker stumbled forward, off balance and trying to stay on their feet. Varion's gauntlet shot forward and wrapped around the attacker's neck in a practiced maneuver, and he swiped the attacker's leg out from under them to bring them to their knees. He saw the attacker's hand shoot for a knife on their back, and in return he gave them a hard left hook to the head with a steel clad fist. Their neck jolted with the painful impact, whipping around and earning a cry of pain. He grabbed for the knife on their back and tossed it harmlessly into the bushes. Varion shoved their body back with his choking hand, throwing them to the ground and using his weight to crush them to the ground.

"Now, why don't you tell me why you're here?"

Now that he could actually see his attacker clearly, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh, is that you?"

Shino's fingers clawed at the knight's vice grip, refusing to respond.

"Well I didn't think I'd be seeing you so soon, if at all actually. Now," he said, tightening his grip on her neck until he heard her gasping for air, "why don't you be a good little girl and tell me what you're doing here."

"S-Scouting, I'm just a scout!" she choked out. She didn't know what the hell he was talking about but her life was more important than trying to put together why he said he knew her.

"Scouting? Enlighten me. Since when is it a scout's job to engage the enemy? Sound more like a vanguard to me, bitch." he said, leaning further into her to get across his point.

"I-I thought I could take you and make you t-tell us where you are headed, so please please let go!" Shino managed to say, her voice getting more and more desperate as she began to see black spots in her vision.

Varion loosened his grip slightly and heard the woman take desperate gulps of air, trying to fill her lungs.

"Well that's a great plan, because now there's nothing stopping me from doing just that to you instead. Care to meet my friends back at camp? My superiors would love to meet you."

Varion felt the fight leave her, her hands no longer scrambling against the cold metal of his armor. She said something he didn't know but was obviously some sort of curse.

"Really? Usually we have to drag people kicking and screaming, at least you samurai know when to give up."

Varion received no response, and he considered the woman on her knees in front of him. A thought came to his mind.

"You know, my friends back at camp don't have to hear about all this."

His hand let go of her throat, and he stood up straight in front of her. Shino looked up at the knight, the fear in her eyes unseen by the towering man. Her gaze dropped to the ground, and she felt the sting of tears in her eyes as her hands balled into fists. Was he implying what she thought he was? Gods, it may be her only choice to get out of here alive. But bile rose in her throat when she thought of it.

"You disgusting-"

She was interrupted by her spear dropping back onto the ground in front of her. Confused, Shino's head shot up and looked at the knight, who had reclaimed his sword from where he tossed it and now had it nonchalantly resting on his shoulder. She looked back down at the weapon, not daring to move lest she lose her head.

"I want a rematch."

Shino blinked in surprise.

"...What?"

"A rematch. From yesterday. I believe our duel was interrupted?"

Yesterday? Wait, then this knight was...

"Are you the knight who chased me out of your camp yesterday night?"

"Oh, did you not realize? Sorry, I should have made that clearer. Not like you can see my face anymore." He flicked the side of his helmet twice.

"And... and you want to have a rematch. Instead of taking me back as a prisoner. Why?"

The knight scratched the top of his helmet in mock thought.

"Well, how can I put this. One could say I don't have the strongest allegiance to the campaign I'm accompanying here."

"Accompanying?"

"Well, yes. I'm not actually under the direct command of the generals here. See, I'm a Warden. An order dedicated to the protection of the weak and the defense of the defenseless. Invasions are not exactly our thing. But I was sent along with them by our grandmaster in order to take notes of the land, any fortifications we came across, the accuracy of our maps, and the general manpower of your people. All for the dusty records the scribes pour over. A lower level Warden like me is sent out on missions like these every five years or so. Especially if there, say, happened to be a massive invasion that might make a big change in your population or possibly wipe a fortified position off the map."

"You mean to say that you came here not to slaughter our people and plunder the land for all it's worth, but to take notes?"

Varion chuckled at the summary.

"More or less."

"But still, why would you not turn me over to them? This would be seen as traitorous by your commanders, no matter what order you hail from."

Varion went silent, gazing back at the camp where he could still hear the guffawing of drunkards up past their curfew.

"Honest? I don't want to see you down there."

"What? Why?"

"You're a woman."

Shino scoffed.

"Oh, of course. You Knights and your insistence that women are weaker than men, I could handle myself just as well as any man could down there so save your breath. This is a war."

Varion gazed down at the woman kneeling in front of her, and he shifted uncomfortably where he stood.

"A third of the men in that camp are violent criminals who traded their life's sentences to fight on the front lines. They were imprisoned for any crime you could put a name to, theft, treason, rape. And I am to carry a tied up woman from the enemy's forces to be interrogated and executed in front of those men and their superiors who might see you as a much needed morale booster? I don't think you would survive the night, and I'm not certain you would wish to. Some of these men I could happily cut down myself, if they wore not our banner. The acts they've committed go against everything a Warden has taken an oath to uphold. I cannot do that to you as a Warden and as protector of the people, and that outranks any affiliation I have with this campaign. No, I'm not taking you prisoner."

Shino stared down at the camp, where she could just make out a fight breaking out around a campfire. A guardsmen in armor came to break it up, but two men tackled him to the ground and beat his nose bloody before they ran away laughing into another part of the camp, leaving the man struggling to stand back up. Her stomach twisted as she imagined spending the night restrained in the camp.

"So that's why," Varion said, giving the spear a kick towards the woman, "I wanted a rematch. We were tired from sprinting through the underbrush last time, and I was in half armor as well. Not the fairest fight."

Shino stared down at her weapon in front of her, then let out a nervous laugh.

"You Knights are truly something else. Won't kill a defenseless woman, but give her a weapon and let her stand on two feet and you're happy enough to cut her down."

Varion let out a hearty laugh, and extended a hand towards Shino to help her up.

"Honor is an odd thing, is it not? Sometimes it perplexes me, but when you've seen enough slaughter its tenants have a tendency to ring truer."

Shino stared at the extended hand, hesitantly grabbing it and being dragged to her feet. Varion bent over and handed her the spear, which she took in both hands. They stood and stared at each other until the knight spoke up again.

"Might I ask your name?"

"Shino."

"Shino, how novel. My name is Varion."

Varion extended his hand to shake hers. Shiro shook her head in bewilderment before accepting the gesture. He was talking to her as if they were about spar, not have a fight to the death. Truly these 'Wardens' had an interesting perception of honor.

"You sure are acting differently from when you were choking the soul out of me."

"Oh that? Just intimidation, I apologize if I went a little too far with it. Although I must say it isn't hard to get carried away when you had a spear aimed at your neck. So, Shino, do you know a good location to hold this duel? You samurai seem to know this place like the back of your hand."

"Well, there is an open area to our right, a wider trail with even ground."

"Yes, that'll do perfectly. Lead the way then."

Shino gave the Warden one last look, then started off towards the open area she spoke about. It crossed her mind to lead him into an ambush back at the home base, but unlike the last time he walked only a single step behind her, his sword ready to cut her down if she tried to make any move. This felt surreal to Shino, the knight speaking to her as if they were friends but his intent to slaughter her if she misstepped obvious. This Varion was an odd character, but she guessed she was lucky for at least this courtesy. It beat already being dead, or an encounter with a more unsavory, baser man.

They walked for a few minutes until they arrived at their destination, an open dirt road with not a soul in sight. She took a few steps into the area then turned to stare at the knight as he took in his surroundings.

"Huh, you actually led me here. I was half expecting you to try and lead me back to your camp or into another scout patrol. You have my thanks."

"Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Stop saying thanks and pretending to be nice, you're going to try and kill me. Fucking act like it, it pisses me off."

Varion cocked his head in curiosity.

"Then how would you have me treat you? Do you wish me to drag you through the forest with your hands bound, or perhaps have just pummeled you to death in the dirt back there? Maybe you expected me to kick you to the ground a few times on the way, to make you learn your place? Do tell."

His callous response incensed Shiro.

"We are enemies! Nations at war! You are here to slaughter and conquer our people! Yet you treat me as if we are going to play cards while you prepare to fucking kill me!"

Varion shook his head at her response. "I am not your enemy."

Shino scoffed in contempt.

"Our nations our enemies, our armies are enemies, but are we enemies? You and me, right here and right now, nothing else but the two of us in this forest path. Do you hate me? Because I do not hate you. So far the worst you've done is attempt to burn our food while under orders to do so, and I stopped you because that's very much my food as well. Being a Warden means I can take a loose stance when it comes to war, and I'm free to 'desert' at any time, although it is heavily frowned upon. I'm not here by my own volition, but neither am I here under oath. So while my enemy on this campaign might be your nation, your people, that does not mean I have to hate you."

"But I do not understand. We are still at war, you cannot afford to be acting this way! You may be able to take a 'loose stance' as you say, but colluding with the enemy is too loose for any one man."

"Collusion with the enemy? Did you not say yourself that I intend to leave you here bleeding in the dirt? I hardly call that collusion."

Shino was silent, angrily trying to come up with a response.

"Being at war means I must try and defeat you, yes, but I see no reason to treat you any less a person because of it. We Knights go through civil disputes all the time, and prisoners are always treated with respect because they are just as much our people as they were before. Many times the enemy is under oath to fight, and for that we cannot hate them. We don't blame the soldiers, but the lords they swore fealty to. It's easy to show kindness to someone who shares your face, your beliefs, your banner. But as soon as we step outside of our borders, suddenly the people around us are no more precious than livestock. It sickens me."

"You can preach of humanity all you want, but the ends are still the same! Whether you treat me as human or as livestock changes not the fact that you intend to slaughter me either way. The dead care not for niceties."

"I see no reason the living should care how they feel when they die, only how they feel while they live. Yes, a dead man is a dead man, but we all become corpses eventually no matter the cause. The only difference we can make is if we send their spirits to heaven with respect or with hatred in our hearts."

"Tell that to the mounds of corpses your vile campaigns leave in their wake, to the families left fatherless and starving because of your wanton murder. Tell the widows how respectfully you cut down their husbands!"

"So you wish us to rape and pillage then? Treat you as animals to satisfy your point? Sure, if you're going to kill a woman anyway why not rip off her clothes and have your way with her body before you slit her throat? If you mean to kill them anyway then theres nothing stopping you from raping her. If anything it's the best way to kill them, everybody is having a good time except for her, but she's going to die anyway so who cares? Tear her body apart and leave it for the carrion birds to feast upon. And if you truly believe you won't survive our duel, you'd have no objections to be treated the same, correct? After all, the dead care not for niceties."

Shino bit her tongue to bite back her response, trying to think of something to say.

"Listen Shino, there are no easy answers to these questions. If there was a perfect option then everybody would take it, there would be no need for debate. You can only try and find the answer you feel is right, and stick by it if you think it has merit. For me, war will always be a fact. There will always be a nation slaughtering the people of another, and no amount of effort can ever stop that. Not in our world. But I choose not to ignore the humanity of my enemies for the ease of my job, however convenient it would be to think your people animals and nothing more. Maybe it's just a way to convince myself that I'm somehow better than the killers I see around me, but it's the path I chose as a man and as a Warden."

Shino considered his words for a moment, feeling the edge of her anger begin to dull. What he said had a ring of truth to it, and he didn't have the tone or the demeanor of a man trying to manipulate her. She couldn't help but respect what he was saying, but she'd seen too many burning corpses to give in so easily.

"Well that doesn't mean I have to respect your slaughter any more than the next man's."

"And neither do I expect you to. We are enemies, a nice solution doesn't exist for us. All I can do is try to sleep at night. Maybe it's cowardice, hiding behind a creed to try and cover up my actions, but it's all I have left to me."

Shiro remained silent, and Varion crossed his arms as he waited for some response.

"So, are we clear?"

Shiro surprised Varion by letting out an unexpected laugh.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, it's just you marched me through the woods for a fight to the death and ended up preaching to me about your odd sense of honor. You must be fun at parties."

"I guess that is odd, isn't it?" Varion chuckled.

"You sure are an interesting one, Warden, most knights I encounter are scum I wouldn't think twice of scraping off my boot. But you're different, you stand out from that meager crowd. Have you any more tricks up those steel sleeves of yours?"

"It depends, what kind tricks are you speaking of?"

"How about some tinder or striking steel to start a fire?"

Varion cocked his head in curiosity.

"A fire?"

"Do you wish to duel in this complete darkness? I thought you wished for a fair fight, and that hardly seems fair to me. The moon isn't as bright as our last encounter."

"Well, it just so happens I do have something like that. Any well respecting knight on campaign always carries a flint and steel with him, but I'm afraid I don't have any kind of kindling and the wood around here is always too waterlogged to gather good tinder."

"That won't be a problem. Come over here, I'll show you."

Shino walked over to a tree nearby and showed Varion a type of moss that grew on the underbellies of tree branches, hanging off leaves and vines like pieces of torn fabric. She used the butt of her spear to gather some from a high branch, then showed Varion how they clumped it together to form a nice fire starter along with the inner bark of the tree she cut off and a small amount of the sap that leaked out of a joint in its branches.

"Fascinating," Varion remarked. "I'll have to tell that to scribe Constantine back at the order, he's always interested in this kind of knowledge."

"Your scribes in your knightly order care about how we start a fire over here?" Shino asked incredulously.

"Well yes actually, only about a third of our great library has anything to do with martial topics. It's more like a record of the world, we try and get anything we can about distant cultures and traditions because factions like the Norse tend not to write things down. So we take it upon ourselves to make records for our descendants."

Shino hummed in thought. She'd never heard about anything like that, but then again their only meetings with the knights tended to be held on the business end of a blade. She wondered what else there was to know that was missing from their knowledge.

They gathered some dry firewood they found high off of the marshy ground and made a small pile in the middle of the path, and Varion got to work lighting the little bundle of moss and bark. It caught wonderfully fast, and soon he was piling on more wood until there was a sizable fire in front of them. When there was enough on there to last them a good while, Varion brushed off his hands and sat on the ground with a grunt. Shino stared at him before moving to sit perpendicular to him at the fire. She absentmindedly rubbed her sore neck, knowing she would probably be getting bruises later.

"Whoops, that me? Sorry I guess, but you did threaten to skewer me so it's only fair."

"Well yes, but I didn't know it was you. You didn't have to choke me half to death and scare the soul out of me."

"Would that have made a difference?"

"Would what have made a difference?"

"Knowing it was me."

Shino looked at him, then gazed back into the fire. She took a moment to think before she responded.

"I don't know. I don't really think so, I'm not sure I would have done anything differently then. But after that you spared my life, and didn't even turn me in to the camp only for the fact that I would be hurt badly and attacked, and that kind of kindness is rarely heard of between our nations anymore. But then again you did save me just to fight me to the death again immediately after, so I just really don't know."

"Hm. Well nice to know you don't hate me."

"I guess not," Shino laughed.

"Well I've told you all about the Wardens, care to tell me anything about who you are?"

"I would think not," she said playfully.

"What! The audacity! I thought we had an agreement of trust!"

"Did we? I don't recall making such a deal."

"I thought it was signed when I handed you your spear."

"Hmm. Fair enough. Well, I don't have anything so special as an order to call my own. I'm just a local defender of the villages too far from the Imperial city to get aid from the army. A kind of militia, of sorts."

"You aren't protected by the Imperial army out here?"

"Not unless an army of knights or a horde of vikings comes knocking at our doorstep. Do you know how hard it is to move a fully equipped army through the marshes?"

Varion stared at her in his full war-plate.

"Right. Well imagine having to march like this to every bandit scuffle or small scale peasant rebellion that springs up at least twice a month. It's impossible. And we don't have the numbers to spread out our army, if a large force came it would take three times as long to muster if they were scattered throughout the bogs. So villages usually rely on small militias, normal people who know how to use weapons and are capable enough to defend themselves."

"Ah, so you're saying you're just a country peasant with a sharp stick?"

"Hey!"

"I only jest," Varion laughed, "Our last fight was far too close for me to be doubting your skill."

"Was it? I specifically remember being thrown to the ground at least twice, and I only ever managed to give you a few bruises," Shino said with a hint of sadness.

"I must be getting better at bluffing then, because I was on my last legs when that horn blew! I wasn't sure how much longer I could have lasted."

"Well I wasn't faring any better. It was all I could do to hold my spear straight, your strikes rattled me to the point it was all I could do to stop my hands from shaking."

"Why thank you, you're too kind. Your swift strikes left me more winded than I've ever remembered being in a battle." Varion lifted his hand up in a cheer with no cup, toasting her skill.

"But you weren't even in your full armor, landing a few lucky hits hardly counts as skill when half of your defense is missing!"

"Ah, but you attacked at night while I slept. Was it not your own cunning that stopped me from being in full plate? I see not why you should discount yourself for your own careful planning."

"...You do have a strange idea of honor, Warden."

"Maybe I do, but that doesn't change the fact that our last fight ended in a draw." He slapped the earth to make his point. "There are no true excuses, not in war. Everything's war in a war, sleeping and eating and walking. It's all still war. Just parts of a battle on a larger scale, that's what my teacher always said."

They returned to watching the fire, Varion absentmindedly poking the coals with a stick as Shiro leaned back on her hands. After a while, Varion broke the stick in half before tossing it into the fire and looking back over at Shiro. The time grew heavier on them, they were supposed to stand up and fight, but neither had gotten up first. So they sat there, waiting on the other to start.

"So, uhh, how is it like to live out here? In these damn marshes," he said, gazing around.

"Thanks for the compliment," she laughed, "It's not so different to live in as anywhere else I would guess, at least that's how it feels. Being born and raised here gets you used to the humidity and the wet, so it doesn't really bother us as much as I'd imagine it bothers you. We're all used to it at this point, and it helps if our enemies are uncomfortable whenever they try and invade us. Messes with morale, distracts them in fights, all that. Not to mention the mud, we were making bets back at camp on how many times you would have to halt the column to dislodge carts from the muck."

"Four." They chuckled at that, and Varion remembered something he'd heard about the carts.

"Hey, I've heard you guys use carts with extra wide wheels to stop them sinking in the mud. Has that got any truth to it?"

Shiro wagged her finger at the Warden, shaking her head.

"Do you truly think I would give away such crucial information as the width of our cart wheels? That would basically be forfeiting the war! No amount of wooing will be able to extract that information from me!"

"Oh, so I'm wooing you now? Thank you for telling me, I wasn't aware."

"Don't think I don't see through your cheap tricks, Varion," she laughed, "You're just trying to get me in a good mood so I'll tell you all of our secrets!"

Varion chuckled at that, then went silent as he stared at the coals in the fire. He rubbed the mail on the back of his neck to scratch the skin underneath, then picked at the dirt that had gotten on the fingertips on his gauntlets.

"...Is it working?"

"Is what working?"

"Are you, well, in a good mood?"

"Oh so you are trying to woo me then," Shiro teased.

"Nevermind."

"I'm just kidding, though that is a weird question to ask. And I guess my answer would be just as weird if I said yes. Yes I am."

Varion hummed in amusement, still looking at his hands and rubbing away long gone dirt. Shiro stared into the fire, trying to make sense of everything that was happening. They had went from fighting, to going somewhere else to fight to the death, and now they were chatting around the fire like old friends? It'd be easier if it wasn't so dark and they didn't have to start a fire. Why'd they even start a fire? Maybe she just suggested it to pad out the time she had left to live? She would be a bit less more confused if she wasn't enjoying the conversation, but Varion was a nice man to talk to. She'd hardly ever been able to simply hang out with people, her status as a Nobushi brought her from village to village so she never really settled down anywhere. In a weird way, she knew this knight better than she knew many of her countrymen. She was thinking about what he was saying earlier, about how he chooses to recognize the humanity of his enemy first and foremost, and remembered similar echoes from the scriptures her father used to read to her at her bedside.

"Are you religious, Varion?"

Varion looked over at the unexpected question, seeing Shiro was hugging her knees waiting for a response. Her white mask hid any emotion.

"Of course. Our order is devoted to the service of our good Lord in heaven above all else. You?"

"I've never had the time or the faith, and my parents died too early for me to ever care about worship. But I've never dismissed the idea entirely, and I can't say I've never given a quick prayer to whatever Gods will listen before going into battle."

"That's understandable. But watch out, start casting heathen spells or summoning bog spirits and I might just have to covert you by force."

"And how do you plan to do that, Sir Varion?" she laughed. "I can be very stubborn."

"I'll beat it into you if I must resort to it!" Varion joked, slapping his hands on his knee threateningly. "They used to bend me over their knees in primary school if I questioned their teachings!"

"So your plan is to spank me until I accept your god? That's a unique form of conversion, if anything."

Varion laughed at the thought. "...So why do you ask?"

"I don't know... just what you were saying earlier reminded me of the few bits of our people's religion I understand. About regarding people as fellow humans first, and all else after that."

"Hm. Well, that's not so far from what our people believe. Love your neighbor as you would love yourself, if I must grossly oversimplify. Be the good samaritan that helps others in need, no matter who they might be."

"Oh, so is that why your armies are here? If we'd known you only wished to show us your neighborly love, we would have never opposed you marching into our lands."

Varion stared at her in silence, then turned his head to gaze into the fire. He fell silent so long that Shino thought she wasn't going to get a response from the man.

"There are those who twist the scriptures to fit their own needs. Men like that are one of the many reasons my order came to be. We put them down, we set things straight, we stop people from getting hurt. Make things how they're meant to be. But we can't do everything, and things like this still happened in the name of God." Varion looked at his armor-clad hands. "It's a damn shame."

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't mean-"

"It's fine."

The two of them fell back into silence, only the crackling of burning twigs echoing in their clearing. Time passed, and Shino began to feel less and less warmth from the fire. The fuel spent itself, curling and blackening before turning to ash, reducing to a small flame surrounded by burning coals and charred branches. Varion's hands didn't move to the pile of firewood next to him, the steel-clad man unmoving as he stared into the dwindling fire. Shiro looked over at him, watching him stare into the flame, the shadows on his armor deepening as light lost to the dark. He moved his arm, and Shino's eyes darted over to where he grasped for his sword. Varion pulled the blade out of the scabbard and held it with both hands, pointing the tip towards the sky. He watched the reflections of the flames dance on it's edge, turning it slightly side to side to make them move along the blade. He idly leaned it forward and backward, moving it over the flame as if he meant to slice it in half with an executioner's strike. He brought the sword back and laid it across his lap, inspecting the blade for imperfections he knew he would never find. Shino watched as he rubbed the pommel with his leather-clad thumb, unable to stop herself from pulling her spear closer to where she sat.

"Varion?" Shiro whispered.

The Warden's hands went still, and his head turned to where she sat in the dirt. His eyes were lost in the shadows of his armor, his humanity hiding in the crevasses of steel. Shiro dragged her knees closer to her, hugging her legs to her chest. Her breathing picked up, energy beginning to build throughout her body. The mood shifted fast, and now she could only see the armor of the enemy in front of her. She begged him silently to move, to show her that he was real again and that she hadn't been dreaming of gallant knights. Just an inch, just enough so the fire could shine on his eyes again, so she could see their color. What color were they? She'd seen them, over and over, but hadn't thought to remember. What color? Blue? Green? God fucking dammit what color were his eyes?

Varion's thoughts were dark. It was about time to stop fooling around, they both knew why they were here. All this nicety only served to sour their fight, there's a reason you don't name a cow. His eyes scanned her body, tracing her outline and taking stock of her body. Definitely capable, even under those thick clothes he could see her trained form. Her hand was on her spear, she must have gotten the hint. He thought to their last fight, to how she had relied on cheap quick blows to bruise him, annoying bitch fighting like that. How it was obvious he was the better fighter, how he'd rained blows down on her spear until she crashed down before him, how he could feel her desperate grip break with the final blow, how their fight had paused with his sword dunk in the earth, how they had locked eyes for a second and hers were a deep chestnut - how terrified they'd been.

"Is it time then?"

Varion blinked. Her face was in the light, and though her mask covered it there was no mistaking the fear in her eyes, in her voice. He looked into them, imagining his sword piercing her breast. He'd seen it enough to be able to visualize the life draining from her eyes, lolling into unconscious torpor. It made him gag

Shiro was thankful for the mask that covered her face. It made the stare more tolerable. His head slowly turned back to the fire and he hunched forward, staring back down at the sword in his lap. He was silent, and Shiro looked away from him and down at the spear at her side. If she was being honest with herself, she could hardly imagine fighting him to the death now. She knew that it wouldn't even be a match, just an execution with extra steps. She remembered how their last duel had gone, her only strikes being lucky hits that wouldn't make him flinch in his full armor. She remembered how his sword had crushed the strength from her arms and thrown her to the ground, how it had taken everything just to keep the point of her spear pointed towards him. She remembered the look in his eyes as he lifted his sword off the ground to end her life, how she had felt looking up at the blade moments before it came down to crush her skull in two. But as unachievable as winning seemed, Shino didn't care to think about what victory meant either. She shuddered at the thought of her spear piercing his neck, his gargled gasps for air slowly quieting until she unsheathed the point from his flesh. She was still a fighter, he had the advantage but she could still do it. She knew she was prepared to defend herself, but didn't like to think of ending this man's life.

"I..."

Shiro's eyes shot back to the Warden, who's head was turned up to gaze at the night sky.

"I don't think I can."

Shiro looked back at the fire, his confession of not wanting to end her life seeming of little comfort.

"Then what are we doing here?"

"I don't know anymore. I don't know. I just don't want to kill you." Varion let go of his sword, and it hit the dirt with a thud. His hand palmed his forehead as he leaned forward. "Fuck."

Shino gazed at him. This never should've happened. "I..." she said looking at the fire, "I feel the same."

Varion chuckled ruefully, his head moving to look back down at the dirt in front of him.

"If Dietrich could see me now..." he mused.

They sat in silence, nothing but the quieting crackle of the fire greeting their ears. Varion leaned to his left and grabbed a bundle of sticks, tossing them onto the flame and watching as they again began to rise higher.

"So what are we going to do?" Varion asked, turning to lean on his hand and face the masked woman. "Say goodbye and just pretend this never happened, hope we don't see each other's corpses on the battlefield?"

"Maybe. What else can we do?"

The Warden thought through the options they had. He didn't know if he could just go back, act like he'd never met this woman and go right along and rejoin the army intent on burning her homeland. He didn't want to see her broken corpse burning in a pile on the side of the road. But he also couldn't just abandon this campaign and go back to the order. It wouldn't change anything except the fact that he would know he was a coward. He exhaled in exasperation, trying to come up with some kind of answer. He even considered taking her prisoner just to keep her safe, but the thought of the thugs in the regular army made him uneasy at the thought of putting her in irons.

"Shino, what do you want to do?"

"I don't know what we can do."

"No, what would you want to do. If you could do anything right now, what would it be."

Silence answered him, snd he knew she was trying to come up with an answer. No matter what it was, it would be a start.

"Well..."

"Yeah?"

"If I could do anything right now... If I could do anything right now then I think I'd choose to spend just a little more time with you. Know your enemy, all that."

Varion chuckled at her answer.

"I'm flattered. Well I'm right here, so that's not a hard wish to grant."

Varion gazed at Shino curiously, her mask hiding what she felt. He looked back at the fire, taking the sword from his lap and using the tip to flick some of the surrounding sticks into the heart of the fire. He heard Shino start to move, and Varion looked back over to see her scooting herself closer to where he sat. Shino moved until she had closed the gap between them, her head coming to rest on his shoulder plate and her hand resting in his lap.

"...Is it?" Varion heard her ask.

"Shino, what are you doing?"

"Trying to get my wish granted. Besides, it's cold out here and you nearly let our fire burn out."

"I didn't think you meant this."

Shino leaned back away from him, sitting straight and looking into his eyes.

"Do you want me to leave then?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Then what?"

"It's just... well we came here to try and fight and now you want to, what, cuddle for warmth?"

"I don't care if we're supposed to be fighting, didn't we just agree we weren't going to anyway? That we couldn't? I can't go back to pretending none of this happened, I just can't. I just want to do what I want to do right now, is that so bad?"

"No, but are you sure that's what you want? Doesn't this hurt, being so close to the people who are attacking your homes? Your families?"

"Hurt? All I want is to be closer to you right now, nothing else. I don't care about the fighting, or our history, or whatever. Just you and me, right here, nothing else but the two of us in this forest path, right? I thought you said we weren't enemies, that it was just circumstances that made us fight. Not how we felt, not what we wanted, it's just what we were expected to do. Well, this is how I feel. This is what I want. I'm tired, I'm around a fire that's getting cozier by the second, and I'm next to a man who's company I enjoy. Does anything else matter?"

Varion fell silent again.

"Or was all that talk just for show ?"

The Warden's arm moved, grabbing Shino by her waist and scooting her butt across the ground to plant her next to him. After a moment she relaxed, making herself comfortable as she could against him.

"I mean what I say. I just... I didn't know. You could call this a test of faith."

"Didn't?" Shino asked mischievously, snuggling into him teasingly. "Don't tell me you gave into temptation." Varion chuckled as he moved his arm to rest on her shoulder, pulling her into him slightly.

"Wasn't that obvious?"

Varion brought his other hand over and started to pull off his gauntlets, tossing them to the side afterwards and returning his hand to her shoulder.

"Sorry about the armor, it isn't really made for this."

Shino hummed in agreement, tapping her nails against the metal shoulder she laid her head on. Varion moved to take off his helmet, placing it at his side and taking down the chainmail hood and coif. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, looking down at Shino with a smile.

"Want me to take it off?" he said with a wink.

"Oh please do," she replied jokingly.

"Dangerous."

She leaned back to allow him to stand, and he began the process of stripping off the many layers of armor he wore. Belts and buckles, clasps and straps, all coming undone as he slid more and more steel plate off of his body, placing them all neatly a ways away from where they sat. Finally he was left in his chainmail and gambison, and he pulled the chainmail up and over his head before undoing the straps that held on his padding and shrugging it off to the side. He was left in the clothes he wore under his armor, a plain white cloth shirt and soft leather pants. Varion turned back around to look at Shino with a smirk on his face.

"Enjoy the show?"

"Not often you get to see just how you knights keep that armor on your body. Maybe that could come in handy..."

"Do you want our duel to be back on?"

"I kid," she said as she began to shrug off the large overcoat she wore. Her outfit was a lot less complex than his, as she really only just wore a couple layers of normal clothes. She kept on her baggy pants but took off her vestment, leaving her in a simple white undershirt. It was a cold night, but the fire and her company made her hot enough. She secretly really enjoyed the show.

Varion sat back down and Shino followed, leaning on his now incredibly more comfortable body. His hand returned to her shoulder, and they sat together watching the flames dance in front of them. Varion couldn't remember the last time he felt so at peace. It wasn't long before the Warden spoke.

"You know, this is just nice."

"Insightful."

"I know, but it really is. You never get to relax on campaign, it's always just marching and fighting with nothing but sweaty men to keep you company. I don't know how some of these guys can enjoy it the way they do, I've always dreaded it."

"Is that a reason why you aren't a part of the regular army then?"

"No, I didn't find out I didn't like campaigns until I had to go on one."

"I wouldn't think it's that hard to guess what a campaign is like."

"Well, yes, but old soldiers always talk about how much they miss being out on the war path, telling wild stories and all. Maybe I just get the dull ones, but I've only ever wished for a campaign to be over."

"Well I wouldn't know. I just kill the odd highwayman."

Varion hummed in acknowledgement, the two falling back into silence. After a minute of watching the fire together, Shino yawned quietly behind her mask.

"Tired?"

"Just a little."

"So am I. I'm supposed to be on watch right now, but between you and me I always nod off for a bit on the quiet nights."

Shiro sat up and looked back at him.

"Wait, you're supposed to be on watch right now! What if someone finds out?"

"Well yes, but it ends at midnight and that's in about an hour. We've got time."

"Oh. So... you're leaving soon then?"

"I have no choice."

"...Okay," she said dejectedly.

Varion pulled her back into him, squeezing her shoulder reassuringly.

"Listen, I can't make any promises but I think I'm going to try and sneak out of camp tonight."

"Really!?"

"Like I said, no promises, but I should be able to. All I need to do is go back once it's time to change the guard, then come back here after the coast is clear."

"Okay, but what about in the morning when they come to wake you up and find an empty tent?"

Varion waved the question off dismissively.

"Nobody cares, they'd just think I'm already up. And we aren't moving out for a while, we set up an extended camp so they're not going to leave me behind or anything."

"Alright!" Shino chirped, her happiness shining through the mask.

Varion chuckled at her enthusiasm. "But for now, we've got an hour to spend. What do you want to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are we just going to sit here for an hour?" Varion asked.

"...And what else would you want to do with me?" Shino asked, pressing her side into him.

"Well I'd rather lay down, for a start. I don't like sitting like this, it's killer on my back."

Shino nodded in agreement, and the two let themselves fall backwards onto the soft earth of the path. They made themselves as comfortable as they could, Varion laying flat on his back and Shino on her side next to him, resting her head on her hand. She couldn't get comfortable, so she decided to take a little risk and lay her head on Varion's shoulder instead, draping her arm over his chest. As she had hoped he didn't resist, just slightly adjusted his body to get comfortable. She regarded him for a moment, eyes secretly tracing his body, a smile playing on her lips. War was lonely.

"You know Varion, you're an odd man."

"What do you mean by that?" Varion said as he looked over at her.

"Well, most men I encounter are far more... tasteless. Especially fighting men."

"You're going to have to be more specific," Varion laughed. "I know a lot of fighting men."

Shino hummed in amusement.

"How can I put this..."

Shino lifted her mask, looking into his eyes as she tossed it lightly behind her. "You're completely alone with a woman, out in the woods cuddling next to a fire," Shino purred as she moved against him, hooking her leg across his lap and tracing a finger across his chest. "Saying you'll steal away from camp to spend the rest of the night with her," she teased as she pulled herself up until her lips brushed against his ear, her voice dropping to a whisper. "And you can't think of any way to spend an hour together."

She felt him stiffen as she rubbed against him, taking pride in the fact that she had him in the palm of her hand. Men were too easy, and campaigns were stressful.

Varion turned his head to look into her eyes. He was reeling from her advances, but eventually the shock gave way to something else. Something deeper. A grin found its way onto his lips as he decided he would not be so easily defeated. He'd not been thinking pure thoughts, but he was used to resisting temptation. But she'd crossed the line ahead of him, so he'd see if she was all talk or not.

Varion grabbed the hand Shino had draped over his chest and rolled his body onto hers, flipping her onto her back, bringing her arms up and pinning her hands down above her head. His leg moved between her thighs, roughly shoving one of her legs to the side and opening her up to him. He moved his body into hers, her chest pressing against his as he lowered himself onto her. His face hung above hers, and he relished the shock present in her eyes.

"Well I'd hate to disappoint you," he purred with mock concern.

Varion expected a reaction from Shino, was waiting for her to struggle out of his grip or to shout at him to get off. He was ready for her to try and reverse the situation again, or even for her to try and attack him. He was honestly braced for her knee to come up between his legs and whack his nethers. What he wasn't ready for was nothing. His words hung heavy in the air as they stared into each other's eyes, feeling the other's hot breath on their lips. He felt every part of her, from her thighs against his legs to her hands intertwined with his, from the heartbeat he felt to her breasts pressed against his chest. As the surprise faded from Shino's eyes, it wasn't replaced with anger or laughter, fear or annoyance. All he saw was anticipation.

Silence hung heavy in the air as they stared, before the Warden's lips came down to meet hers. They kissed gently as Varion let go of her hands, leaning on one arm as the other trailed its way down across her body. Her arms wrapped around him, pulling his body into hers. Their lips pulled apart slowly, and the two reopened their eyes to look at the other again. Varion couldn't get over just how soft her lips were, and Shino didn't mind the sight of the muscled arms framing her vision.

"An hour right?" Varion asked jokingly.

"As if you'll last," teased Shino.

They took each other in the night.

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