Midnight Sun

He didn't meet her gaze.

Saifu remained where he was for a long time, staring at the slowly-dying fire and working out the knots on his boots, remaining awake long after he supposed Artem to be asleep. When the temperature began to drop, he found a place to nestle his herbs and put his shirt back on. Whether it helped any, he didn't know. Hiding his hands in his sleeve, he poked at the embers in hope of keeping the small blaze going. It was cold and growing colder; the boy's shivering grew more incessant, though he didn't dare seek warmth beside Artem, knowing full well she wasn't in the best of moods. Cold was something he had handled before anyway... wasn't it?
 
Artem rested her eyes but didn't sleep, she could hear the boy shiver, she could sense it. She had assumed he would climb for warmth with her, but given their quarrel a moment ago she doubted it. She sat up again and stood to gather the blankets. Walking over to him she sat beside him and draped the blanket over both of their shoulders. "I've told you once already you'll be no use to me dead. It gets freezing at night, I don't know what you've had to deal with but these blankets are meant to share."
 
"Thank you," He mumbled, still not making eye contact but gratefully pulling the warmth of the blanket tighter around his shoulders. "I'm sorry I'm such a bother to you. This wasn't why I came down here. I wasn't even supposed to be here. Yet here I am."
 
Artem rubbed er temples before smacking him behind the head as light as possible. "Yes. you have been quite the trouble. BUT. Never apologize for it, it was my damned father that did this to me not you. I chose to take over patrols, and I chose to take you to my home. I don't know why you're in our country, I don't know how you got here. And I surely don't know how to get you back. But the place we are going has answers and if even a little bit of you wants to live to see your home you'll toughen up and stop allowing yourself to die!" Artem growled and looked at him angrily. She would toughen him up by the end of this adventure.
 
The boy looked back, hints of fear in his eyes. Her proximity was dangerous to him.
"And what if I don't?" He asked her back. "Or what if I never see home again? It's not like I would miss it."
 
Artem grabbed him by his collar, "Why would you even bother on this journey?! I said I would take you home and I will!" She let his collar go, "Men of all sorts are useless and stupid." She huffed before taking the blanket off her shoulders and going to the other side of the fire. She didn't need the blanket so much as it was comforting. She laid herself on the ground and turned her back to him, he seemed hopeless.
 
Saifu fell back as she tossed him away; he could feel his heart racing again. The boy pulled the blanket around him further, making a hood large enough to hide his face within. Completely petrified once more, he didn't move; didn't speak, only shivered despite the warm covering and dying firelight.
Night noises slowly began to come back, cicadas sounding far off in the distance and the gentle rustling of foliage in the soft breeze. He tried to pull himself together by listening to the crickets chirping and mice skittering through the leaves, but these sounds were unfamiliar and only served to spook him more. Had the odd thought of Artem's words prior not been echoing against the hollow interior of his mind, he would have felt far more insecure amongst his strange surroundings.

Just know, you are safe.
 
Artem didn't sleep again only rested, her tail made the slightest of movements every so often. She peeked over at the boy every now and then and kept a close ear on everything around them. She didn't seek to reconcile or talking to him again. It was obvious he held no value t his own life, and she had no way of proving him otherwise. When the morning came she sat upbraiding her white hair into a single braid and pulling on her boots. She dug around in the bags until she pulled out various vegetables for him and som meat for herself.
 
His nose twitched. There was something on it. Something cold... and wet....

The boy sneezed as he inhaled a drop of dew that had decided to rest on his nose. When he did, all the wet on the outside of the blanket was dislodged, making the fabric damp as it soaked up the water.

Saifu blinked lazily, getting the grasp for where he was again. Rubbing his eyes and yawning, he pulled the blanket further around his skinny self in hopes of retaining the warmth and avoiding the chilly morning air. He observed Artem's movements with a blank expression, holding little remembrance of last night's discussion.
 
Artem walked over to him and placed the bowl of veggies in front of him before walking back to her spot across the fire that was now out. She sat herself with her back turned to him, if he wanted to act like a child o be it. She wouldn't force her help on anyone, the weak-minded were bound to die and the more she tried to help the more it seemed to bite her in the ass.
 
Saifu reached a hand out into the cold and drew the bowl back with him. He munched on his leafy greens in silence. She still seemed to be mad at him. Should he be mad at her? Hurt by this? All he could think to do was remain silent and hope he avoided the brunt of her inevitable wrath.
The boy's stiff fingers found their way into an empty bowl. He looked down at it, finding he had eaten all it used to contain. Feeling better about the morning, he folded the blanket (which was interesting, considering it was at least twice as big as he was, but he managed) and set the bags in order again.
He hadn't been able to remove his boots last night, so they were still on his feet. It looked strange, such large shoes on such a frailly-built boy. He shouldn't have been able to walk while wearing them if his weight was any indicator at all to his strength.
 
Artem finished her own food before turning back to him. She pulled her hood over her head and snatched the bowl and blanket from him stuffing it in the bags. Seeing that he had his shoes she just simply turned and started walking further in the direction they had been going. As they walked she didn't speak, there was nothing left to be said. She knew at first she had been a little brute but once she had tried to help the boy he only threw her help back at her. Artem decided there was no need to bother with the boy she would just finish the mission and that would be that.
 
He followed in silence, agreeing that there was nothing to say. Saifu wanted this to be over with. There was nothing worse than tagging along with....

"What if I did run off?" He asked suddenly. "You could go home if you didn't find me, couldn't you? We wouldn't be stuck here like this."

The boy feared her possible reaction, but if it meant she would be happy without his burden, he was willing to risk mentioning it.
 
Artem kept her back to him still walking but with a frown, "You think it's that easy don't you. This is a test for me. Maybe you didn't realize, but my father didn't give me a choice. If you run off I either chase you or I am stuck to find my own home. Have you not noticed my father only has sons. To what use am I if not a proper lady? He can't marry me off the way I am, and they will never recognize me as a warrior." Artem stood and turned t face him, she didn't look angry. She only looked helpless, "If I go back with nothing to gain from this, and trust my father is expecting the elves to grace him with a gift, I would rather die."
 
"You seem right scary enough to be a warrior, if you care for my measly opinion." Saifu brushed his boney fingers through the hair on the back of his head and scratched at his scalp. "Never would've thought you a princess if you hadn't had said something when you introduced yourself." He watched her for a moment, eyes flicking across her face in observation. "Not that it's my place to say anything at all."
 
Artem sighed and turned her back to him again, "You are right, it is not your place." Sighing she stopped again and turned to him, her ears were low, "But, thank you. " Artem managed to grace him with a small smile before turning back to him, she continued walking mulling over his words and what her fate might become. A boy with no will to live telling her she was worth something seemed ridiculous.
 
"No problem," Saifu mumbled back. He didn't know if it had helped, but at least he hadn't made her mad. That was something, wasn't it?

Snap! Crash!

The boy rubbed his head and pulled himself up off the ground. Somehow he still managed to trip over the strangest of objects; it almost seemed as though he did it on purpose. In this case, however, it wasn't something natural he had stumbled upon. It was something small, shiny, and lodged firmly in the dirt. Saifu recognized the object immediately and stopped following Artem in order to dig it out.
 
Artem's ears twitched as he fell, she turned herself quickly hand on her sword until she saw him on the ground digging something up. "What are you doing?" Frowning she walked over to him and crouched down looking at where he was digging up the earth. "What did you find?" She tilted her head and stood back up the crouching suddenly making her feel to close to him. Sighing he leaned against a tree waiting for him to finish.
 
He held it up for her to see while he removed the dirt from its delicate features with his thumb nail. For once, he had a smile on his face.
"I thought it was lost, but it seems to have made it after all." A vial only slightly bigger than his palm and covered in dirt was what had him so excited. It didn't seem like much to the person who had no idea what it held, but to the one who did, it was priceless. The boy treasured this item with his life, despite the irony of how little that ended up being.
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((A wild reference image appears!))​
 
Artem stared at him in confusion for quite the moment, "And that is?" Artem just stared confused before pushing herself off the branch with her foot. "Are you done digging up whatever that is? Ready to continue?" She held out her hand to help him up again.
 
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