It was a few hours after Reyson had performed the Galdr of Rebirth on Renning. Though she had felt as if she could fall asleep to Reyson's song, Tanith was now battling insomnia, turning over in her cot every few seconds. Finally, she left her tent and headed towards the campfire for some peace. As she approached the dwindling flame, she spotted the silhouette of a man already occupying a space around the fire. As she drew closer, she realized he was Volke, the assassin Bastian had hired earlier. Volke had heard her coming, but only looked up when she was a few yards away. She was a woman who, despite her ferocious reputation, was slightly built. She was dressed in a white robe with a black cloak tightly hugging her. Her short black hair gave her a tomboyish appearance that, Volke could speculate, only added to her reputation. He was barely able to spot a white bandana that lay hidden underneath her hair. Her bare feet treaded lightly over the mat of thorns and thistles that covered the forest floor. Though in good shape, she lacked the more womanly qualities of her Pegasus knight allies, leaving Volke with some sympathy for Makalov, who had once drunkenly addressed her as "sir". She carried a slim but beautifully ornate sword sheathed in a silver and gold inlay scabbard. Tanith lay the sword on her lap as she sat a few feet from Volke, who was still wrapped in his battle garments.
"Can't sleep?" he asked.
"Yeah," Tanith stopped, but decided it was best to give an explanation. "I'm just worried about Sanaki. The last time I left her side…"
Tanith let Volke fill in the rest. They sat in silence for a few minutes, during which Tanith began to regret having come. She was just about to leave when Volke spoke again.
"Well, she's a decent fighter isn't she? And she's got Sigrun with her."
"I still just feel uncomfortable leaving Her Majesty's side."
"I guess you're just doing your job well," Volke said after a long pause. He pulled his shemagh down, revealing his nose and mouth, which lay in stoic meditation on his face. "You think you're going to stay in the Holy Guard after all this?" he continued.
"Of course. I don't know what else I would want to do."
"Yeah, I guess a little bit of the same here."
Tanith caught a quick glance at his face, trying to pry some emotion from his still face. Failing to find it, she fell backwards and gazed at the stars with her head supported by her interlocked hands.
"What about when you get older? What would you want to do then?" she asked.
"I hadn't really thought about, but I don't think I'm going to make it to that old. What about you? You can't be in the Holy Guard forever."
"Well, afterwards we get a good size pension and retirement pay, and we can continue to live on base for free."
Volke lay down facing her. Tanith briefly glanced in his direction and spotted a brief glimpse of a half-smile.
"That must be nice," he said "So you must be pretty much set for life."
"Yeah, it's a good deal."
Tanith lay for a moment next to Volke. In only a few minutes she felt more comfortable around him than around most people in the army. Suddenly, she thought of an idea.
"You know, I'm sure Sanaki would hire you as a spy. Once you're too old, you would get slightly less than what the Holy Guard gets, but it's still a good deal, and the pay's probably better than what you're getting now."
"Yeah, well, thanks. I'll think about."
Knowing she had failed to persuade Volke to work for Sanaki, Tanith got up, said, "I think it's about time I get some sleep," turned around, and promptly tripped over a branch and fell flat on her face. Volke couldn't help but burst into laughter as Tanith scrambled to get back on her feet.
"Hey," she said, "you don't tell anyone about this."
"Well jeez, looks like miss frosty's losing her cool here."
"Yeah and you're supposed to be some sort of stone cold killer? Give me a break."
Volke thought for a second, and came up with a deal.
"How about this," he said with a sly grin, "I don't tell anybody about your little accident, and you don't tell anybody about me laughing, okay?"
"One condition," she said, smiling, "when we're alone, I can see you laugh and you can see me screw up, but it only stays between us."
"Sounds good," Volke chuckled, "You know what Tanith, I might actually go work for Sanaki if I get to hang out with you. You're pretty cool, you know that?"
"Of course I known that," Tanith spoke over her shoulder as she retreated to her tent.