They were in silence for quite sometime as they walked at a gentle pace. The woman kept a slow pace and hardly breathed as Aldo observed her. She was pretty, but just pretty. Her eyes were dark and Aldo almost hated looking at them. But she was so quiet Aldo had to speak up just out of curiosity.

"What's your name?"

"My name doesn't matter." She spoke softly without looking at him.

"Sure it does. Listen sister, we're in what one would call a very sticky situation and it'd go by a little more smoothly if we knew each other's names—"

"Mara."

"...Very humbled to meet you, Miss Mara." She smiled slightly and shivered. Aldo saw this from the corner of his eye and unbuttoned his coat and pulled it off.

"What are you doing?" She jumped and stopped when he draped it around her shoulders.

"I'm bein' a gentleman. They got any a those back where you come from?"

Mara stood in silence for a moment before nodding, "Yes, but they're all pansy wallowing sodomites or just seeking for a pot to plant their seeds if you know what I mean." Aldo chuckled loudly as he switched Donny's bat from one shoulder to another. He found it amusing that this girl actually let a bit of the air into the moment as they both staggered back through the forest.

"How did you escape?" Aldo asked bluntly.

Mara sighed, hugging the coat tighter around her shoulders. "It wasn't easy, but it wasn't as difficult as you might think."

Aldo nodded, "And your family?"

"All dead," she replied quickly. Aldo closed his eyes and quickly regretted butting into her personal life, but he figured that'd he'd find out eventually and it was better to find out sooner than being unable to trust one another. "How'd you get that scar on your neck?"

Aldo smirked, "Back in Tennessee before I joined the army I was a moonshiner. I don't know if you know what moonshin' is but it can get to be a purty nasty bidness." She nodded, gesturing to him that she understood what it was. "I made some rookie mistakes, ended up making a bad name for myself with a few out-a-state sellers and found myself with a rope around my neck an' a rickety stool 'neath my feet."

"My god..." Mara breathed out, realizing the brutality of it all. Aldo smirked at her though, reassuring her or even just himself that it was in the past and he was over it. He led her then around a large clump of trees and started to speak.

"Should be just around this—" He stopped when he realized there were suddenly six shotguns aimed at them. "Guns down fellas...Someone go give this back to Donny." He tossed the bat to Hirschberg and led Mara through the line of pissed off soldiers. Omar stepped up to Aldo, eying the woman.

"Sir, I wouldn't bring her back over to the fire, Donny and Hugo are still pretty pissed off, especially Donny." Aldo stopped and looked down at Mara.

"I'm pretty sure she can handle them. Did a good number on me a little while ago." He said pointing to the bruising on his temple. Omar nodded, uncertainty and confusion filling him when he noticed the Lieutenant's coat was around her shoulders. But he didn't question it and walked back over to warn the others that Aldo was back. "Just stay quiet, if you stay quiet they'll be intimidated by ye, more than they already are. An—"

"I know how to act around these type of men." She said, but she then put a hand on his arm, "Aldo? Do you think you could not mention..."

Aldo narrowed his eyes for a moment before nodding, "It'll be difficult to convince them without that bit of information, but we'll sure try." He then led her toward his men around a small fire.

"What the fuck is she doin' here?" Donny called out standing up and heading towards them, Aldo stood in front of her and held his hand out.

"Now hold your horses, Donowitz. Sit down now, and let me explain." He turned towards Mara, "I think it might be best if you were to stay back a little, just so they ain't too riled up at your presence. I'll have someone come get ya when I'm finished." She rolled her eyes and turned around. Aldo watched her has she walked back for a little ways and sat against a tree.

"Now, ya'll are probably wondrin what the hell's goin' on..." A few of the men nodded and verbally agreed. Aldo the explained the conversation he and Mara had had. Donny and Hugo were reluctant to listen but when Aldo told Donny to go and fetch Mara down the way he was even more reluctant. But he did it any way after Aldo had explained to him and only him that this girl had escaped concentration camp. How Aldo believed her was beyond Donny. Based on Aldo's confidence though he let himself understand then, but still wasn't ready to straight up forgive her for nearly breaking his nose and grazing his leg with a pistol bullet. And Donny just didn't like the sound of having this girl with the Basterds, even if it was for a short period of time.

He found Mara sitting against a tree trunk looking at the ground with a dazed look in her eye. A dark shadow was cast across her features but Donny could still see the deep sockets beneath her eyes and her cheek bones, features that bespoke the starvation and neglect her body had most likely faced.

"Aldo wants you back at the camp sight." Donny said quickly, making Mara jump and she looked at him with a frightened looked in her eye. But only frightened for a slight second before she scowled and walked past him. He followed not far behind her. She scared easy for such a tough gal, he thought.

Aldo sat down with Mara at the fire and spoke to her about his conditions and she told him of hers. All Aldo really wanted to do was help this girl do whatever she wanted, but he wanted to know more details. She said she'd tell him later, a promise actually and Aldo accepted that. Mara was also to help the Basterds with their hunts, she had to be useful or else there was no reason to keep her around.

After their talk Aldo told her she could share his tent and she followed him slowly in, leaving Donny at first watch.

Please let me know what you think!