Fionna carefully climbed off of Finn, keeping her eyes on him as he stood. He didn't bother brushing off the dirt, rather ignored it and continued to gaze at Fionna, his eyes searching her face intensely. Fionna felt a bit self conscious under his stare. She remembered she was in pretty bare clothes, and hugged the cloak tightly around herself, but could not suppress the chill that racked her cold body. She began to look around, trying to remember which spring her clothes were in.
She felt something heavy around her shoulders, and she flew around. Finn was almost touching her as he draped his own cloak around her small frame. She took a step back defensively. He looked at her in surprise.
"It's ok, I just thought you looked cold." He said in a voice that annoyed Fionna. It was as if he thought she was a wild animal that needed taming.
"I can take care of myself." She said roughly, throwing the cloak back to him. He caught it easily.
"I'm not saying you can't, but you're shaking." He pointed out. Fionna just stood there stubbornly.
"Well then stay here, and don't. move." She said sternly, turning her back to him as she walked over to one of the steaming pools. She grabbed her sword that was still stuck in the ground as she walked and looked over her shoulder. He was still there, following her orders. She didn't like turning her back to him still. Human or not, he could still be an enemy.
She found her clothes where she had left them, and began putting them on quickly. She secured all the armor and weapons carefully and felt herself stop shaking. She wondered if she had really been shaking from the cold, or if it had been the idea of someone else out there who knew how she felt. Someone who knew what it felt like to be alone in the world. She allowed herself to stand in the steam for a moment, her hair now almost dry and twirling all around her. She took a deep breath before exiting the steam.
Finn was sitting where she had left him, watching her as she walked over to him. She saw a thick golden sword slung on his back, and eyed it suspiciously.
"Why didn't you use that?" She asked, pointing at the weapon. He looked around at his back, then back at her.
"I didn't want to hurt you." He said simply. Fionna's face blushed with agitation.
"Hurt-hurt me?" She said in a high voice. "I almost killed you!" She yelled.
"Hey! If I wanted to you would be dead right now!" He shouted back, annoyed.
"Oh yeah? You'd be dead before you even stood up!" She shouted back, this time actually drawing her long sword.
"You didn't even scratch me!" he yelled, pulling his own thick sword out.
"I wasn't trying to kill you!" she said loudly, advancing on him, her sword pointed accusingly at his chest like a long finger.
"Well neither was I!" He yelled stupidly. He seemed to notice it wasn't a very good retort. Fionna took advantage and swung her sword at his, and before he could react his golden sword was flying away from him.
"Ha! Looks like you're not as good as you think!" she jeered at him, smiling triumphantly. He blushed in embarrassment and anger, and dived for his sword. Fionna allowed him to get it. He held it in both hands, defiantly.
"Bring it on." He said quietly.
"You don't stand a chance." Fionna said, laughing at him. He blushed further, grinding his teeth.
"You wanna bet?" He said, extending his sword out at her.
"Don't bet anything you can't give." She said to his further annoyance.
"I bet I'll beat you, and when I do, you have to come with me." He said loudly, challenging her.
"Well when I win, you will be my prisoner, and answer all my questions. And you can never follow me again, ever." She said sternly.
"Fine." He said in a begrudging voice.
The two stood still for a moment, their weapons held firmly by the other, their eyes locked. Then they charged at one another.
Finn was larger, and while fast, not as quick as Fionna, who was much lighter but still not too much shorter than him. As he raised his sword, she made a fake swing at him, and he reacted by swinging his own. As the motion carried, she ducked and flew between his legs, his body unable to respond from the momentum of the heavy swinging sword. She twisted around behind him just as he was turning, and she jumped high above his reach. She had the advantage of being much lighter and strong, she soared in the air easily. She lifted her sword high above her head, ready as she began to fall down towards him. But he was ready, and their words clashed in the air.
She landed hard on the ground, and felt her ankle twist, but she ignored it. Pain was nothing compared to defeat. And she would die before she lost so easily. Their swords remained clashing against each other, but Finn had the upper hand in strength, and his sword was pushing down on Fionna's. She felt her feet sliding, and knew she would have to win this fight with agility. She rolled out of the way just as the sword slashed through the air, actually cutting a small lock of her hair. But she was in the air again, leaping at him like a squirrel. She had him in a head lock, and covered his eyes with her arms. He wasn't stupid enough to try and hit his own back with the sword, so instead Finn fell flat on his back, pinning Fionna under his weight.
She grunted as the air left her lungs, feeling the weight crush her. She wiggled and almost managed to get out before he spun around, using his arms to keep her down, exactly the same way she had been keeping him down less than an hour ago.
She looked up furiously at him, breathing hard. He was smiling joyfully back down.
"That was awesome!" He said through panted breaths. "But I still won." He added smugly. Fionna growled and kicked his stomach with her knees, sending him backwards. He tried to hold her down again but she was out of his reach already. She sprinted in the direction of the rocks.
"Hey! Where are you going?" He asked, sprinting behind her, trying to keep up. Fionna didn't answer, she just flew across the ground. She took a tremendous leap forward and flipped over a large boulder, and began to skid down the rocky mountain side.
"Wait!" She heard Finn yell after her as he struggled with the larger rocks. Fionna ignored him as she skidded down the rocks, flying with her arms and cape behind her. It was a long decent, but she was gaining distance between herself and Finn. Of course she wasn't intending on leaving him, despite his possible threat he was still human. She wasn't about to forget that.
She was nearing the edge of the steeper part of the mountain, and trees were forming around her. She sprinted further into the now wooded area, easily dodging the rocks and branches. She found herself far enough away from Finn to hide now, and leaping into a tree, began to climb nimbly until she was high above, shielded by the leaves.
She waited for only a few seconds before Finn came rushing past, having no idea he had just past her. She took a moment to watch him run. He was definitely fast, and could probably outrun her over time, and he was definitely strong. He was not bulky, but rather a muscular young man only a bit bigger than Gumball, who was tall at his age. She wondered how old Finn was.
"Wait! Please!" She head him yell in the distance. He was actually very fast. She began to jump from treetop to treetop, maneuvering the branches with ease and grace. She swung from branch to branch, until she could see Finn again. He was still running, but slower, looking around. Maybe he had realized she wasn't in front of him anymore.
Fionna stayed very still as she watched him slow to a walk, and then he stopped. To her great surprise he turned around, and stared directly at her.
Fionna raised her eyebrows questioningly, as if challenging him to move. He remained still.
"I figured you wouldn't run away completely." He said, taking a step forward. Fionna grasped a branch steadily, ready to jump if needed.
"I guess you're more skillful than you look." She said mockingly. His face reddened.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, in almost a hurt voice.
"Oh, nothing…." She responded, keeping him distracted as she began inching her way closer to the edge of the branch.
"Well we can't all be skinny little squirrels, some of us actually have to have real muscle." He said in an equally mocking voice, still with a hint of hurt in it.
"HEY! First of all, I am not some skinny little animal, I'm just ten times better than you at climbing. And second, I am just as strong as you!" She said, forgetting her plan to jump on him, and choosing to defend herself from the tree. She was lying about the last part, since he was clearly stronger than her, but in her defense not by that much.
"Oh I'm SO sorry," He said sarcastically, "You're actually not skinny at all." He said with a small smile playing on his lips. Fionna's face burned angrily.
"Oh you have just stepped into a whole world of pain." She hissed. And without a moment's hesitation, she dived at him like a cat, her hands outstretched like claws.