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I had caught her, but her face was very close to mine. I could smell her, she smelled of sweat and smoke and something sweet. Perfume, perhaps. Whatever it was, it was alluring to me. I put her down, not looking at her as I went to my knapsack. I withdrew a canteen, half full of water and offered it to her.

I made a small noise at her question, almost sounding like a laugh. "Well, little lady, I don't exactly know what you were planning. I took you with me because I feared you would be captured too easily. But now I don't really know what to do with you. To be honest, I thought you would've left me by now. I mean, you don't even know my name." I gave a shrug and then a smile. "Or if I am a good guy or bad guy. For all you know, I might just sell you to a brothel and make a pretty penny off you, cherry girl."

I knew this would get her mad. Or at least tick her off a little.

Well she wasn't dumb at least. I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling a bit. "Or I may be extremely twisted, giving you a glimpse of hope before doing something horrible for you," I paused, looking at her now. She looked at me now giving me an icy look. I couldn't wipe the grin off my face.

"But I'm not…sick enough to rape you. What do you take me for?" I laughed. Sure, this woman was pretty, I had to admit, but I wasn't thinking of raping her. I laughed again.

"Besides, I have people searching for me too. I'm not exactly the greatest guy, but I don't think it'd be totally safe if you stick with me," I admitted. It was true, my face holding as much honesty as I could. I shook my head, gathering my things. It'd be best to leave now. I looked to her, wondering if she would really stick to me or not.

I kept my eye on her. If she wanted to stick to me, that was fine. I couldn't exactly stop her from following me around. "Well if you didn't know, you have crossed the country border. You're no longer in Baldur and are in the privilege of being the in the country of Lyrias, in the Wisteria Forests."

I held my bag at my shoulder now. "And since there are guards looking for you, there won't be a lot of sleeping involved tonight."

I gave a hefty sigh just thinking about a sleepless night. Perhaps this was not a good idea to go hunting today. I scratched my head. "I suggest we head out now, seeing as how we can't stay here."

So I decided to keep quiet after that. I hiked the strap of my bag higher up my shoulder and walked past her, gazing up at the night sky whenever there was an opening up at the sky. I let the stars quid me, so I knew I was headed in the right direction.
I didn't even know her name, nor did I bother to ask for it…as long as she was not interested in mine, I wouldn't ask. I supposed she was peculiar anyways. I wouldn't have called it lying, but she was a lot more slyer than she had let on. She certainly wasn't a dumb broad like a lot of the females I had met in my days. I whistled mindlessly, there being no pattern or tune to it.

I glanced back to her after awhile, rubbing my chin before going on. A minute after I did this, I opened my mouth to speak. "So dancers in Baldur dress like that normally? And you wonder why you've caught the prince's attention?"

"Isn't that a violation of foreign agreement? To force one country's citizen to submit to another country's will? But then again, a dancer may not hold quite the same class or importance as an official. And the prince of Baldur is a bit of an idiot."

I paused, scratching my head awkwardly. "Not like you aren't important…I don't know where you come from." I walked some more. "I didn't mean it like that, as an insult."

The forest was quiet. I had a bad feeling that there were no birds making noise. They had flown off before when the first sweep of that search party came through. Now the forest was too quiet without the chirp of birds, which had normally let me know if there was anything approaching us. We were moving in the dark, so to speak. So I had to listen hard for any extra noise, like the snap of a branch. But even then, that concerned me. That was far too late to do much to prepare for whatever was approaching.

I yawned. We've been walking for how many hours? The sun was beginning to rise, giving the sweet sky a sherbet appeal. I licked my lips hungrily before stopping. I was going crazy. My stomach growled and my legs were tired. My eyes were heavy too. I couldn't imagine what the female would be feeling. Probably worse.

"It's best we stop. It won't do us good to keep on considering our state." I was relieved. After I said this, I immediately threw my bag to the floor and sat. I breathed for a minute, to organize my thoughts before looking back at her. "I'll go hunt for something," I said, though quieter this time.

I got back up with a grunt, not wanting to get back up but moved to unhook my bow from the bag. I took out a quiver with a few arrows and looked at her to stay put before I trekked into the forest some. I trusted her with my belongings. After all, there wasn't anything important in there. Just hunting supplies and survival tools. I kept money in my boots, so there wasn't anything wealthy in there. I never liked to carry expensive things when I hunted in case I got into trouble.
I wafted in for twenty minutes before stopping, waiting by the trunk of the tree. I sat for fifteen minutes crouched like that, patiently biding my time until I heard movement. Something, anything to shoot at that I and that woman could eat. Finally I heard something small. I knew it was a rabbit from experience and shot into the brush. I didn't wait and went over to my kill. I had shot it through it's stomach. It was still alive, twitching with pain and fear. I felt a bit bad having to snap its neck. I waited another ten minutes for another poor animal to meet its end, but nothing came and I came back to the woman with a disappointed look with one rabbit in hand. We'd have to share their meal, it seemed.

I made a small apology for the smallness of my catch before I went to set up a small fire and then skin the rabbit. It was easy enough, considering that I've done this for myself many a times. "I hope you don't mind," I murmured, having gone quiet. I wouldn't know if a dainty-looking woman like herself would've minded eating such a thing. Once the rabbit was roasted, I ripped the meat apart with my hands before handing her one half. I ate the other half politely. Despite the way I seemed, I was rather mannerly the way I ate.

I had made a small face as I spied her in the corner of my eye. She looked…extremely fatigued. It would do her well to sleep. I myself was tired as well, however, I wouldn't let myself sleep. I had begun to question the nature of picking this woman up. Did I make a mistake in taking her with me? All because she was intriguing in some way?

I made a sigh, closing my eyes to give me the quick pleasure of doing so. But no, I could not sleep. Not when being chased. And not when he could thoroughly trust this woman. I ran a hand through my hair, a habit of mine. I loved having my hair played with. Even as a young lad. I sighed again before opening my eyes ago. She was out like a candle.
But for me, I snuffed out the fire. I went back into the forest, a few trees away from where partner lay, with my bow. But instead of hunting, I climbed a tree and waited. I listened for a sign to tell me of movement. There were certainly search parties out there, looking for the dancer. But he knew they weren't stupid and saw no signs of a fire or human life. I was frustrated, to say the least, but I wouldn't let my nerves get to me. I waited for the woman to wake up again to come down. We'll have to keep moving when she woke up.