Disclaimer: I don't own Redwall, Legend of Zelda however…

A/N: OK, I really was going to post this two days ago, but then I bought Twilight Princess…so I've been in Zelda land instead.

Chapter 5

So the four companions headed out of Baeown, beginning the next step of their perilous journey. They had obtained all useful supplies that the destroyed town had left and figured they could last until Mossflower.

As they trudged through the bitter snow it became obvious that Farah and Rowan were falling for each other, though neither beast was prepared to admit it. They never left never left each others side and were often seen together, talking and laughing. On occasion Kinliv attempted to join in on these conversations but, although they did not openly exclude her, she tended to feel awkward and left out, not at all like few times she managed to have a conversation with Rowan alone. These, though few and far between, were wonderful moments for he was interesting to talk to and did not make her feel uncomfortable in the least. Even a one-on-one conversation with Farah could be nice, when they could ignore the slight stiffness between them. Her life in Baeown had been fascinating and her concepts and ideas of the world around them amazed Kinliv.

Unfortunately, conversations with either of them were becoming less frequent or even possible, and so, Kinliv spent her time conversing with Keem. Discussions with him could be somewhat dull as he was rapidly becoming obsessed with Radin and often spoke of fighting strategies and battle tactics. Normally this wouldn't have bothered Kinliv as war was a topic that intrigued her, but recently, to her horror, she had found herself wanting to talk about areas that formerly disgusted her such as emotions or, even worse, Rowan.

Then, one very odd night about a week after they had left the ruins of Baeown, Farah approached her. She had been sitting atop a snow-swept hill thinking about Rowan as was now her custom when on sentry duty nowadays. Engulfed in her own thoughts, she didn't notice the other squirrel sneaking up on her until she felt a tap on her shoulder. She drew her rapier in one quick movement, holding it at the ready, then noticed who the creature was, "Oh, Farah, it is just thou."

Farah nodded and smiled in that damnable way that made Rowan all but swoon and replied, "Yes, it's me. Look, Kinliv, we need to talk."

"Talk then."

The squirrelmaid sighed and sat in the snow beside the scowling Kinliv, "I'll get to the point then," her companion nodded and she continued, "Do you like Rowan?"

Kinliv's eyes briefly widened in shock, but she quickly regained her composure, "Well, yes, after all, he is a friend of mine."

Farah rolled those hazel eyes of hers and said, "You know what I mean," when confused eyes stared back she clarified, "Do you like him as more than a friend?"

For better or worse the darkness covered her blush and she responded levelly, "No, no more than a friend," she then added hastily, "Why? Dost thou?"

"Yep!" the smaller squirrel replied happily, "And I'm going to tell him tomorrow. I just had to make sure; I didn't want to hurt you if you did. Well, now that that problem is out of the way, I guess I'll turn in. Night!"

Long after the muffled footsteps had faded, Kinliv leaned back into the snow, tears streaming down her face for the first time in her life. She knew he loved Farah. She knew Farah would be good for him. She knew they would be happy. She knew they deserved each other. And knowing this did not help in the least.

It was though the sky reflected her heart, thought Kinliv as they trudged through yet another freezing day. The clouds above were of the deepest grey, almost black, the wind swirling them into grotesque shapes and patterns. Farah hadn't told him yet, but one could tell it was coming; they were talking more intimately and there was an odd gleam in her eyes. Beside her Keem was rambling on about some war plan or another. She kept her face expressionless, though she now understood what it must be like to be a convict, waiting for the headman's axe to fall. Wanting the inevitable to be over with, yet wanting the moment to last forever. It was though a great pressure was building, strong enough to crush, yet brittle enough to snap. Then it hit.

As she watched, Farah's eyes grew determined and she took a deep breath. Though Kinliv could not hear her words, she could deduce what was happening. For a moment Rowan stared at her blankly, eyes wide, Kinliv held her breath, waiting, hoping, praying. Please. But then his face split into a huge grin and he exclaimed something and they embraced happily.

Suddenly, Kinliv couldn't take it anymore. Her paw plunged down to where her rapier swung loosely at her side and she clutched the blade as if it was her last lifeline. Her paw squeezed tighter and tighter on the cold steel and she reveled in the pain. Her skin parted and blood streamed down the blade. Her nerves were on fire, but she did not care, she loved it, it released her. Then, as soon as it began, it stopped. She opened her eyes, not realizing she had closed them, and came to her senses. Relief flooded through her, no one had noticed the small pool of blood behind her. Keem was still rambling and Farah and Rowan had broken apart, still looking at each other lovingly. It hurt.

The rest of the day passed in a flood of emotions for each creature. Planning for one, joy and love for two, and pain for the last. By nightfall they had reached the border of Mossflower woods, having entered the county around noon. Keem had finally got a grip of what was going on and congratulated the two young creatures. Kinliv did not speak, not trusting herself to say anything. That night they decided to sleep beneath a beech tree, leaving the task of finding the Guosim for the morrow. Farah and Keem had already fallen asleep, leaving Rowan and Kinliv alone by the fire.

"Quite the day, huh?" said Rowan in a content voice.

Kinliv merely nodded.

"What's wrong, you've been quite all day?"

"Nothing."

"That's good. I thought you might be mad because of, you know, me and Farah."

"Well, I guess you were wrong." Replied Kinliv stiffly, fighting back tears and stunned that she was so distraught that she had accidentally dropped her usual "thou". She left quickly, leaving behind a stunned and hurt squirrel.

Farah awoke sometime during the night. At once joy sprouted inside her, for who wouldn't want to love and be loved in return? She was going to roll over and return to her pleasant dreams, when she noticed something. It was that odd squirrel, Kinliv, odd yes, but she still liked her and, despite what she had said, still worried that her and Rowan's relationship was hurting the Northland squirrel. She watched as Kinliv made a fist, eyes shut in a grimace, her paw constricting even tighter. Suddenly, her paw sprang open and Farah gasped at the sight of blood dripping down it. Kinliv's cold grey eyes darted to the source of the noise, but by that time Farah was feigning sleep.

She watched through squinted eyes as Kinliv's blood dripped onto the ground, muffled by the carpet of frozen dead leaves. The bleeding creature's eyes shown with unshed tears, but she did not cry, instead she clenched the bleeding limb once again, a feeling of relief passing over her face as she pumped her own blood out. Farah looked on, horror, confusion and pity mingled together in her heart.

Quickly, she dried off her eyes, but ignored the crimson fluid matting her fur. She stood up abruptly and strode over to where the squirrel was faking slumber. Panic shot through Farah, had the other squirrel seen her watching? She then realized that it was simply time for her sentry duty. Kinliv shook her softly, and she stood, staring at the other squirrel long and hard. Then, without thinking, Farah put her arms around the depressed creature and drew her close. The other squirrel stiffened, but made no move to draw away. For one brief moment their eyes met, silver and gold, and in that second complete understanding passed through the two, and then Farah dropped her arms and the moment was lost. She walked over to where Kinliv had formerly been positioned and did not look back. She rarely ever did.

The others were awakened by Keem early the next morning. It seemed he had been scouting ahead and had come across the stream that would take them to the Guosim. So, still bleary-eyed, they broke camp and continued their march. For Kinliv, this day was not much better than the last. It seemed to have finally hit the two other squirrels that they were a couple and proceeded to hold paws during the journey. Kinliv averted her eyes and made a forced conversation with Keem.

"Do you think we will reach the Guosim today?" she asked, not really caring about the response.

"Hard to say really, they are almost always moving, ye see."

Kinliv nodded absently, trying to catch Rowan's eye. When she managed, she was shocked to see hurt and betrayal in his glare. Instantly, last nights conversation, if it could be called that, returned to her and she flinched as she remembered her rudeness. She vowed silently to speak with him later then turned back to her companion with a sudden question, "Hast thou ever been in love?"

"I don't believe so, why?"

Really, she thought, he could be so oblivious sometimes, "No reason really, it is just something I have been wondering about, what with Rowan and Farah and all." She waved a paw airily in their direction and it pained her to mention the subject so lightly.

"Ah, yes, cute aren't they?" He said distractedly and plunged into a lecture about fighting creatures that wield claymores. Kinliv sighed, how in the name of hellgates, did she get dragged into this?

Rowan had never been so happy in all his existence. He had worked on a farm his whole life and had never cared about anything except sewing, growing, harvesting, and plowing. He had never dreamed of falling in love, and yet here he was, chatting compassionately with this wonderful creature. Only one thing bothered him, Kinliv. They were usually great friends and he didn't understand why she had been so cold to him. A sudden thought came to him, a thought he hoped and prayed was not the case, but he quickly dismissed it and returned to his conversation.

"Have you ever met the Guosim?" Farah asked, her splendid hazel eyes shining.

"Yes, they visited us from time to time back on the farm."

"What are they like?" his comrade asked, her curiosity in other cultures shining through.

"Well, they're quite personable, though they do have a fondness for arguing, but not hard core arguing, just a friendly type of bickering. They live by the rivers, so they eat quite a bit of fish and I've heard they make excellent beer, though Zjon never let me have any."

Farah laughed that delightful laugh of hers, it was like the sunrise made into sound, "They certainly sound like fun."

"Oh yes they are." Rowan sighed, how in the name of heaven had he been this lucky?

Later that morning, Kinliv managed to pull Rowan away from Farah. She abruptly plunged into an apology, voice dull and eyes downcast as though her heart really wasn't into it, "I am sorry for the way I spoke to thou last night." She began, "I was tired and stressed. Canst thou forgive me?"

Rowan grinned, "Of course. It happens to the best of us." And with that he trotted back over to Farah leaving an even more hopeless Kinliv in his wake.

Around noon sounds of merriment could be heard from a little ways up the stream. "Looks like we've found the bonny creatures!" said Keem happily. They walked beside the thawing stream, and the noise grew louder and to Keem's excitement, a bit more raucous. Maybe these creatures would partake in the war.

As he walked he became lost in his thoughts. Ever since he had met these creatures his life had gotten rather strange, sure they were nice and all and he wouldn't trade them for anything, but he really wasn't the romantic type and abruptly he was surrounded by romance. Even Kinliv had asked about it, though he couldn't see why, after all he had been joking that one night. She seemed perfectly happy with the other's relationship. His mind drifted back to Radin as it usually did, it seemed to be permanently stuck there of late. He sighed, mind focused on the present, not wondering or hoping, only doing.

More A/N: Ah, hormones, fun stuff. I'll try to post the next chapter on time ::sweatdrop::. Thanks for the reviews!