{M} Seekers of Village Vengeance. {Oddysen & ScottishGal}

[Oddysen]

As it turns out, starting a wildfire isn't as easy as they make it out to be. The fire was still going strong, but the trunk of the tree it was next to showed no signs of ever catching fire. Alick seemed to be safe for now though. Only one of the spiders had tried to climb up to him so far, and it had been easy enough to knock it back down with his axe, he'd even given the spider a small cut in the process. But he suspected the spiders could wait beneath the tree longer than he could wait in it. Not to mention that if they climbed the tree when he was asleep, assuming falling asleep wouldn't make him fall down on his own, he'd be unable to stop them, and he'd be dead.

Alick watched as Fia gathered some moss before sneaking towards him and the spiders, an effort Alick asisted by doing his best to draw and keep the attention of the spiders. Fia was visibly shivering from the cold, and as she got closer, he saw that her lips and turned a disconcerting shade of purple. He hoped they'd be able to get her warm soon, though, soon as he thought that, he realised it was the least of their worries right now. Fia seemed to have a plan though, placing the moss as close to the fire as she could get it, before climbing up a tree. She'd been lucky, and the spiders hadn't noticed her before she was well up the tree, but soon the spiders where keeping a disturbing number of keen eyes on both of them. All they could do for now was wait, and hope Fia's plan worked, whatever it was.

[Scottie]

Only when she rested upon a solid branch did she feel safe. She rested her back against the trunk and sighed deeply. It felt like hundreds of small ants were crawling over her skin. Pin pricks under her skin were the only thing keeping her awake. A new hiss from below got her attention and she stuck her tongue out at the spider in defiance. The fire was slowly spreading and the spider reared up, placing it's forelegs on the trunk. It hissed again and Fia swore she could see something drip from it's open maw. She sent up a silent prayer to the gods above that the spider wouldn't climb up to get her. Just when she thought it had decided on venturing up to get her, the fire reached the moss. It took a moment and then it spread quickly to the pile she had created. The fire linked to the moss around the tree that Alick sat on and billowing smog formed around the roots of the tree. Fia grinned widely as the spider below her moved backwards. Hissing at the new enemy of the smoke.

The spider beneath Alick did not move backwards. Instead, it attempted to climb up away from the smoke...towards the young man clutching to the tree trunk. With a flick of her hand towards the water, a small crowd of water pellets rose up from the surface. The spider shook the trunk as it gripped the wood and tried to climb the tree. The pellets spun faster and faster. She concentrated and they morphed into a larger ball of water. About the size of a snowball. She pushed herself up to resting on her knees and in one graceful movement flicked her hand from the water to the tree that Alick sat on. The water whizzed through the air and smashed into the side of the spider, throwing it's balance off and removing it from the tree. It's grip had faltered and it fell the short distance to the ground and landed on it's back. Fia watched carefully as the spider spun itself and pushed itself to it's feet. The two creatures hissed louder and louder at the growing blanket of smoke. Fia hoped that they left before the ground would get too hard to make out.

Both creatures snapped their attention towards the opposite direction from the lake and hissed to each other again. Fia followed their gaze and saw nothing, just a few pieces of light trickling through the tree tops. The only thing she knew was it was one of the ways back to the town. The spiders slowly picked there way through the roots, keeping their attention on Fia and Alick and hissing louder as they progressively got further away. It was only when Fia had to lean away from the tree to see them, did the spiders turn away. Their attention now on something far off. The smoke and the water causing them more trouble than they had wished for. They kept their eyes on the trees before them and forgot the human prey...at least for now. Fia thumped her head back against the trunk and let her legs hang over the sides of the branch. Her fingers felt stiff and her skin felt like it was made of ice, but at least the spiders had drifted away from them. At least she felt a little safer...for now.

[Oddysen]

As the smoke billowed and the spiders fled, Alick breathed a deep sigh of relief, taking several moments just to appreciate having survived. However, as the spiders disappeared from sight, Alick remembered how pale and cold Fia had looked, and, come to think of it, how cold he himself was, his dripping wet clothes still sapping the heat from him. He pulled his tunic over his mouth before swiftly jumping down from his perch, into the smoke below. The smoke lay thick, but most of it seemed to stick to the ground, and though the rest made his eyes water a bit, it didn't cause him more problems than that. watching his step as best as he could through the blanket of smoke, he made his was over to Fia's tree. "Fia" he half whispered, as if afraid the spiders would hear him and return. "We have to get out of here, I can start another fire when we're clear of the smoke, but for now, we gotta go."

[Scottie]

Smoke danced up the trunk of the tree towards her. She could see it swirl around and swore for a moment, that she saw someone move through the smoke. She frowned and was about to air her concerns about not being alone when another figure drifted through the smoke. She scowled at the figure until she recognised the dress, the hair, the face. She violently shook her head, for the cold was playing tricks on her mind. She swung her legs over the branch to one side and heard someone whisper her name. She scowled at this trick but another half whisper and she noticed the man by the trunk. Oh yes, Alick. She nodded so he could see her and started her journey down the tree. Small thorns bit at her legs, scratching blood on her pale skin.

Her feet made contact with the ground and the smoke assaulted her face. Her eyes started to burn and she coughed loudly as it snuck up her nose. She pressed a hand over her mouth and grabbed the front of the man beside hers tunic and dragged him closer to the water. Fia coughed again, her whole body shaking as the smoke had truly settled into her lungs and continued to pick her way along the water’s edge. When the smoke seemed to grow thinner, she removed her hand from her mouth and messily wiped away her tears. She sniffled gently and continued to stumble away from the smoke. It was only when they reached the exact opposite of the burning trees that she allowed herself to fall to the ground. Scrambling backwards to rest her back against a tree, she finally slowed down. Her body seemed to realise this and started to shake as although she felt fine, she was freezing inside. “U…U.Um…A..Anot…Another f.ffire woul be nice.” She said with a weak smile to her new partner as her teeth started to chatter.

[Oddysen]

Alick followed Fia as she led them along the lake. He considered picking her up and carrying her, especially when she had a nasty coughing fit, but he suspected she'd take it poorly, and decided to not risk it. When they reached the other side of the lake, Fia seemed satisfied, and, the fatigue and cold clearly getting to her, she slumped down next to a tree. Before she even asked, Alick had started building a small fire just outside the treeline, sitting down on the side of it farthest from the lake, and using his magic to set fire to it once it was large enough.

Once the fire was going, he turned towards his back to the fire. "We both need to get out of these wet clothes. I won't look, I promise, but we'll freeze to death at this rate." Alick said, starting to take of his dripping wet shirt as he continued "You go sit on the lake side of the fire, I'll sit here with my back turned, so you can focus on not freezing to death." As Alick gradually stripped naked, he did his best to lay his clothes out next to the fire to dry, without looking over at Fia. Which was a challenge, both logistically and as far as willpower went.

When he was done, and the urgency of it all faded, Alick was glad he had his back turned to Fia, not only for the obvious reasons, but because he could feel a deep blush spread across his face as he realised he was, for the first time in his life, naked next to what was a presumably similarly naked lady.

Trying to find something else to occupy his mind, he turned his thoughts to the rest that had happened that day, but instantly regretted it, as images of imagined horror befell his family, and he had to choke back a scream as he imagined his lovely nephews eaten alive, their screams almost audible. Shaking, he wiped his tears from his eyes. Trying once again to distract himself from he thoughts, he opted for conversation. "Is the fire..." He tried, his trembling voice breaking before he could finish. Quickly steeling himself, he started over again, "Is the fire helping?" he managed, some semblance of confidence back in his voice.

[Scottie]

She dragged her gaze lazily over her companion, pleased that a fire was started. Heat drifted to her and she felt her eyes droop. She wanted more than anything to sleep but she knew that if she did... she may never awake. She dragged her fingers through her hair when he spoke, raising an eyebrow at his suggestion. But she did as he asked, wringing the water from her hair as she moved towards the waters edge. She wriggled the sleeves of her dress up before starting on the laces holding her shredded dress together. The first layer came off and she laid it down over the rocks. It was now a sorry excuse for a dress. Her under dress was a thin cotton white dress, that came off. She was too busy concentrating on making sure the material was laid out correctly to realise that she was now starkers beside a strange man. She took a small step back and felt pink grace her cheeks.

Fia quickly dropped to her bum, pulling her legs close to her chest as she let the fire warm her skin. She was inspecting a new bruise when he spoke. Stumbling at first which only made her smirk. "Yes. The fire is helping." She reached her fingers out to the fire. Wriggling them as the fire licked her skin. "It is a truly beautiful power." She commented as the fire started to curl her hair. "My da would have loved to know someone who could start a fire at a moments notice. He...will...would..." Her words trailed off and a scowl crossed her features. What tense should she use? Her father could still be alive. Her entire family could. They could be hiding out somewhere...thinking that she was dead. Her hands dropped away from the fire, her eyes moving to the embers of the fire that lay at her feet. Her right hand moved instinctively to her throat, it was a habit really. Clutching her necklace to calm herself down or as a note of familiarity. But her fingers merely brushed against her skin.

She snapped her gaze back to the water, the clasp on the locket was faulty at best. If she had snagged something....like she did when she struggled to get her skirt off. Pebbles tumbled as she moved. "I've lost something" Fia said. She felt lost without that necklace. "I...I think I dropped it in the water..." Her words trailed off as more pebbles tumbled as she turned herself around to stare out to the water. The fire heating her back as she tried to pick out where the locket could be. Her eyes sought out her under skirt in seconds, it was a pale blue colour. Part of it was held down in the water but a ruffle stood up against the water. She pushed her hair back so it tricked down her back in a waterfall of fire. Once she was warm enough, she would go get it. It had to be there, but she would search the entire lake if she had to.

[Oddysen]

He'd heard tales of people becoming irrational and, for lack of a better word, dumb, when they were very cold, and when Alick heard pebbles rustling, and Fia spoke of having lost something in the water, he, without thinking snapped his head towards her, "You're not thinking of going in after it?" he half shouted. As his eyes fell on her bare back, and he saw she was not showing any signs of making her way towards the water, his eyes involuntarily drawn to other things, he suddenly realised his folly. Turning back away from, hoping, praying, that he'd turned back around quickly enough not to be noticed, she had been looking at the water quite intently, as a blush deeper than he'd ever felt spread across his face. Probably looking more like a beetroot than a man, he tried his best to get his emotions under control, failing miserably. After a few breaths, and what he felt was at least a semblance of control over his emotions, he tried to speak again, his voice probably broadcasting his embarrassment. "Th, thanks. For, for the compliment i mean, on my magic. I could help you look for the thing you lost.... Once we're warm again of course." God I'm making a mess of this. Yep, his voice was DEFINITELY broadcasting his embarrassment.

[Scottie]

Her knees rested against her chest again, her chin nestled on her knees as she watched the sun dance over the water. She heard his frantic voice behind her and almost rolled her eyes. For a moment, he sounded like her father. 'You aren't going in the water now?' 'Don't even think about it Fia' 'Do not go after him. Stay here' She shook her head gently, her hair brushing against her back. "Not yet." She said gently back to him, not allowing her stubbornness and temper get the better of her. She didn't need to push away perhaps the last person she had left from her village. The blue of her skirt bobbed against the water and she sighed. She truly adored the water but right now it was painful to even look at. So she turned back, pebbles tumbling down into the water as she shuffled herself forward to the fire. The ends of her hair were starting to curl but she allowed it to cover her shoulders like a blanket. Resuming her position of her knees at her chest as she stared into the fire instead.

She dragged her eyes up to the man across from her as he spoke. She was not fazed by a bare back...and with the fire in between them that was all she could see. Her brothers wandered the house half naked and her father worked on the boat without shirt. It was normal for her. His words stumbled and she tilted her head as she watched him. "I think I know where it is. And I can get it myself...it's quite alright." She said hoping the smile she had would tell him that her words were not an insult. "I'll go in when my clothes are dry then I'll dry off again. No need to have my dress soaked again." She said sweetly. She had swam many an hour in the lake without a stitch on her body. She loved swimming and her mother always chastised her when she returned home with wrinkled or damp clothes. So to stop another lecture, she would strip and sink under the water. She hid her clothes well, the few times some others came to the lake... she merely hid under the water until they left. Her eyes flicked from the fire to him again, "You can always come closer to the fire if you'd like?" She said softly, keeping her voice at that perfect level so that she would not attract any other "guests". "I wont peak. I promise." The smirk clear on her voice, raising her hands to pull her hair over her eyes.

[Oddysen]

When Fia suggested he could move closer to the fire, he noticed that he was still quite cold, and moving closer would probably be more comfortable, though he could feel the heat on his back quite strongly already. His blush had just started to receded when Fia teased him, and the blush deepened with renewed vigour. At least he still had his voice under control again though, as he added a slight teasing tone to his voice, trying to get at least slightly even "I take it you don't mind if I turn around then?" He hesitated only a moment, before getting up and turning around. Both glad and disappointed Fia had covered herself up with her legs and had hid her closed eyes behind her hair. His eyes turned to the ground, and he spent a few seconds using his foot to make sure there weren't any sharp rocks and evening out a small patch to sit on. He sat down, propping one leg up to "block the view". The heat stung his face slightly, but cold as he was, it was very pleasant to feel the heat, and the sting felt utterly irrelevant. Look over at Fia, he spoke again, the blush on his face now almost completely under control. "There, all done, you can open your eyes again." Then, adding a clear joking tone to his voice "Unless my prefect pecs are too much for you of course.".

[Scottie]

Fia swore she could see a faint pink cover his skin. She smirked and dragging her hair further across her face to clearly highlight that she couldn't see. She kept her legs shut tight and close to her chest. She nodded and then realised he couldn't see her. "Go for it." She aired her approval but he was already moving. She didn't really think he would. She let out a small yelp and moved her hands to over her eyes. Firmly shutting him out as he moved to sit. Dark red christened her cheeks and she didn't drop her hands until he said he was done. She heard his joke and slowly lowered her hands from her face, moving them to tug her legs closer to her chest. "Oh however can I look away." She winked and then giggled loudly. The red of her blush was still prominent on her pale skin, interlinking with the freckles that splattered over her nose and cheeks.

She couldn't bring herself to look directly at him, so her chin returned to her knees and her eyes returned to the fire. The smaller locks of hair around her face had curled and she puffed one away from her eyes. Fia knew it would take a little while longer for her dress to dry and she pouted as she wanted her locket back. It was already bashed and dying...the rust from the water would not help it. She didn't want to lose it. Deciding in that moment that she needed to think of something else, she flicked her gaze up to him. With a small smile, she spoke over the fire to her new companion. "What were you doing in the forest today? Do you work near by or do you work in the forest?" She shuffled gently in her position, trying her hardest to keep herself covered. Her mother would kill her....will kill her if she knew she was sitting like this with a strange man. She raised her right hand and tugged from of her hair back, it was sticking to the back of her neck as it dried.