Chapter 10

"A wolf."

His body jerked at the word, making her sigh as she stripped out of her clothes. He may have seen things that shouldn't be real, who knows. Nora knew he'd never seen anything like what she was about to do.

"What I am…is a shifter," she said slowly. "Someone who can take the shape of any animal. I'm stronger than your average human. I heal much faster, which…you saw. You may have heard of walkers…which are bound to one animal. Or, the really scary tale from the natives, that wear the skin of an animal or thing they killed. I'm none of those. I'm not bound to a single animal. Though, I prefer a select few. So…don't shoot me."

Once she was completely naked, Nora changed. It wasn't painful, and it didn't take more than a few seconds. One moment she was human, and the next she wasn't. Her usual shift was a wolf. It was easy, and wolves lived around the areas she usually stayed. Wolves were strong, and quick. Shaking out her fur, she looked at Arthur's back for a moment. A low rumble from her had the man turning around.

His expression stayed locked, unreadable, but she could feel what he felt. He was shocked, and yet not at the same time. Like this was something he had been expecting. Walking over slowly, he knelt and ran his hand through her fur. Nora wagged her tail gently. Arthur smirked a little, and glanced up when Khan took a few steps forward.

"This is amazing," he rumbled. "Charles told me stories about things like this, but I never expected it to be real."

Wagging her tail at him, Nora pressed her nose into his chest. She let Arthur sit there till he was good and ready to move away. When he did, he offered his back again, so Nora changed back to human.

"Well," she teased. "That went better than I thought. Since I'm already out of my clothes, I want to go swimming."

"Really?"

"We're right next to that spring, and it flows enough that we won't have to worry about the creepy crawlies," she grinned, grabbing a blanket. "Water is nice and clear. You usually don't find places like this in the south. At least not this part of the south."

Wrapping the blanket around her, Nora focused again. Nothing but animals. No people, no threats. Looking over at Khan, she took in his position. It was second nature for him to be on guard. He was a stallion, it was what he did. Grinning at Arthur, Nora walked down the small hill and to the spring below after she had grabbed some soap. She heard him grumble about starting a fire. Once he was done, she heard him follow. It was dark enough now that she didn't have to worry too much, but she still slipped into the water while he wasn't looking.

"Come on, when was the last time you had a really good bath? In clean water?" she smiled, and he wrinkled his nose.

"A while I guess," he mused.

"And some fun," she teased, and he snorted.

"I been busy, recovering from a gunshot wound and all," he drawled, making her laugh.

"So dramatic," she sighed loudly, and dunked her head under.

When she came back up he was slipping into the water, taking advantage of her back being turned. The bottom of the spring was sandy, and rocky. It was nice. Part of her was expecting mud, so she was glad she'd been wrong.

"Christ it's cold," he hissed, sinking up to his chest in the water.

"Baby," she snorted, and he slanted a glare her way.

"I'll make you regret that," he warned casually, sinking down to his shoulders.

"Scary," she grinned, and watched him contemplate whether he wanted to drown her or not.

Laughing at the look on his face, Nora swam over to her soap and washed her hair. He did the same, and it felt nice to be really clean. Once she was finished, she floated to the middle of the pond. There was no moon tonight, but it was clear enough that she could see the stars through the trees. It was the one thing that was constant in an ever changing world. When Arthur was done, he sighed happily.

"You still thinking about drowning me?" she asked.

"Sorta," he replied, and smiled. "But it probably wouldn't work…you'd likely turn into a fish."

"Very likely," she agreed, and he laughed. "So…what is truly bothering you."

"You're…" he inhaled a huff, and shook his head.

"I won't tell anyone," Nora offered, making him tilt his head.

"You have no boundaries," he muttered, and Nora smirked.

"I've been taking care of you since when?" she asked shortly. "And I think we covered this when we first met. Plus, it's good to talk. Give you a chance to hear what you're thinking out loud."

"He didn't send anyone to look for me," he growled, and Nora felt that in her heart. "I've…I thought he'd be better than that. His rule was to never let one of us go without finding a way to help. John said he did nothing. Didn't send anyone, simply fumed and said he needed time to think. What's that say about him? What does that say to the gang when he won't even help me?"

"Sometimes…we think we know someone," she said softly. "Turns out, we only knew the person they wanted us to know."

"So you're saying all this…we're just seeing who he really is?" Arthur demanded, and Nora swam toward him so they could talk quieter.

"Maybe," she said slowly. "I don't know him well enough. I haven't been around him for the last 15 years. It's whatever your instincts tell you."

"You're such a good judge of character," he growled, and Nora glared at him.

"You're a dangerous man, Arthur Morgan," she said firmly. "But you know what you are. You also know that what you do is wrong. It's why you don't go out killing innocent folk. You've saved it for people who come after you or yours. You told me so. The honesty in that…I felt that. Dutch…I feel like he won't admit to who he really is. He enjoys the chaos. The bloodshed. He cares about the gang, but I think he's getting a little lost. Maybe it's more than that. I think you'll find out sooner or later."

"What makes you even want to be around someone like me?" he grunted, sinking further into the water.

"Because you're an honest man, who has the capacity to do good," she answered softly. "And you want to do better. You just don't know how, or what that would look like to the gang. So…I think you've settled for taking care of those in it. I've seen it. Dutch…he's making sure y'all see what he wants you to see. I understand your loyalty, and I'm not trying to get you to rethink that…but you might be the only one who sees what is going on. And you might be the only who can help him see it too…or…"

"Or we all die for something stupid," Arthur rumbled, and she nodded sadly. "I don't want you around that."

"I know," she sighed. "But I don't think I could leave even if I wanted to. Do you really think you could head back without me?"

"Yes," he muttered. "When the time came, yes."

Nora looked at Arthur for a long moment, taking in the seriousness of his expression. He'd likely threaten to shoot her himself if that was what it took. Frustration built inside her, blossoming from her stomach. It made her whole body tense, because there wasn't much she could do about that. Sure she could follow him back to camp even with the threat, but she was a grown woman. She wasn't good at following stupid orders, but Nora also wasn't going to follow him like a lost puppy. She was not lost. Frowning in anger, she looked over the pond.

"Fine," she said shortly, surprising him.

Turning around, she hauled herself out of the water and wrapped up in the blanket. He sat there for a moment, wrapping his head around the answer she'd just given. Nora knew there was no way she'd be able to safely get away. She'd likely be hunted down by Micah. Maybe Dutch would agree with Arthur and let her be. But Micah was not one to let that go.

"Fine?" he asked, his tone icy.

"You heard me," Nora snarled, marching back toward camp. "I'll stay until you feel like it's time for me to go, so you can head off and die."

She heard him scramble out of the water, and had Nora not been so angry, she probably would have laughed. Just as she got into camp, his hand wrapped around her arm, yanking her back. Nora gasped and spun around as he had intended, landing right against his bare chest. He'd dried off enough to yank his pants and weapons belt on. She barely had time to gather herself before he was in her face.

"How many times am I gonna have to repeat myself, woman?" Arthur demanded, his face inches from hers.

"Probably too many because it's likely I won't listen!" she shot back. "I don't leave people to die!"

"I've done my time!" he snarled. "I've lost enough in my life that I don't need to add you to it! I'm just some damn outlaw you happened across on the road. I'm not important!"

"Yes you are!" Nora cried suddenly, and couldn't stop the horror that flash across her expression.

She didn't think he'd heard those words in a long time, if ever. All the anger drained from his face in seconds, replaced by a shock Nora had never seen before. She was horrified that she'd spoken that aloud. Nora hadn't meant to, but hell he was important! She went to take a step away from Arthur, but his hand tightened on her arm. Arthur held her firmly in place, making Nora inhale a panicked breath. Lowering her head, she pursed her lips and tried to calm down. Arthur bowed his head over her, his body tense.

"If I can keep you safe…and I can keep others safe...that's all that matters," he murmured, his voice a rumble.

"Who's going to keep you safe?" Nora demanded quietly.

"Stubborn woman," Arthur chuckled, his voice soft.

He let go of her, and his fingers found her cheek moments later, pushing some loose hair away from her face. Nora stayed there for a moment, unable to help it. His hand was warm against her suddenly cold skin. Arthur took a small step back, so she risked a look at his expression. She only caught a glimpse of his eyes, because he pulled her forward again and his lips came crashing down on hers.

Thank you for the recent follows and favorites! I'm glad to see people are enjoying the story so far. Sorry it has been a minute since the last update.