Ser Coffee

Secrets

"I'm here." Hal told her as she started to come round. He had to admit that she looked attractive enough. He had imagined how he might have felt about her had they met under different circumstances. He hadn't slept well, only dozing off for less than 5 minutes every now and then. Whipping some more sweat of her brow. Hal told her where he imagined they had been taken. His voice drifting in and out almost as much as hers.

"Who are you, really?" Hal finally managed to ask. Thinking it unlikely to get an answer in return.

Secrets

Grudgingly Hal took the antidote and administered it to Kat. He took off his shirt and soaked it in water nearby. Ripping one of his sleeves he used it as a bandage for the wound. The rest he used to cool Kat's fever with. The only reason why Hal cradled Kat against him was because it was the most comfortable position to nurse her in, not that she would be conscious enough to notice anyway.

Secrets

Hal was smart enough to know the situation had turned hopeless. Trying to negotiate him into letting Kat go would only give his troops more time to close in and seal any route of escape. He couldn’t simply let the girl die either, it was against his character, that and what Aaron had said about her being the reason that he was wanted alive. He didn’t give himself completely over to despair however. Already he was thinking about possible scenarios in which he could escape together with Kat and get some answers out of her.

“Alright, I’ll come with you.” Hal spoke softly, not being able to completely keep the anger from his voice though. He got himself out of the tub, his hands raised, his head still held up high.

Secrets

The moment they locked eyes Hal jumped forward with dagger in hand. The soldier barely had the time to loosen his saber from his scabbard, but by then the other man was already on top of him. A flurry blows followed where both combatants took equal share of hits before breaking apart and circling each other, looking for a weak point in the other's defense. During the initial assault Hal had lost his dagger and now the soldier was pointing his own at Hal's throat.

Deciding not to give his opponent the upper hand Hal launched again, feinting left before striking out from the right, knocking the blade aside. The fight moved back and forth, first the soldier lost some ground and then Hal was pushed backwards again. Eventually they bumped against the tub, the soldier used his weight and moment to throw Hal off of him, but his grip was too firm. The soldier toppled into the tub first with Hal on top of him.

When the slashing finally ended the tub was half empty and the soldier's face was contorted in an eternal howl of fear and agony. His eyes had already lost their shine and there was blood at the corners of his mouth, the evidence that he had bitten his own tong.

Panting hard Hal looked to where Kat was hiding, he looked like a half drowned dog. "We better move quicker than planned. I don't think he was alone around here."

Secrets

Looking around Hal pointed out a hiding place for the girl, by now she had made enough noise to wake a sleeping giant. He gave her some time to conceal herself while he checked the tub for any markings of missed clothing and what not. When he was satisfied with how things looked he snuck towards the barn door and unlocked it from the inside. With a bit of luck the soldier would simply think that the tub was a water reservoir for the horses, if not, Hal would have to improvise. Taking up his own concealed position near the door the waiting game started.

Secrets

Hal was thankful for the food, it had been a while since he had been able to enjoy something that came close to a normal meal. Most of his days he would've eaten wild berries or stale bread, sometimes he would get leftovers when passing through a town or village. It wasn't until he thought about it until he remembered how hungry he actually was.

Half way through his plate he heard a sound coming from just from outside the barn. It hadn't startled him, but he went into his customary guard position. For a moment Hal had all but forgotten about the girl. He looked down from his vantage point to see her in the tub at the ground floor. He didn't have time to let his mind wander too much on her though, there was potential danger outside. Looking through one of the cracks Hal could see a soldier wandering around the farmstead. The royal heraldry clearly visible.

Making as little sound as he could manage on the groining stairs he made his way down to ground level. Hal approached the tub where Kat was still scrubbing and with a quick motion he made sure to pin her and cover her mouth. "There's a soldier outside." He quickly whispered, and then repeated slower before letting her go again in a gentle fashion. Hoping she wouldn't make too much of a ruckus.

Secrets

Hal had been scanning the tree lines as much as the field, there really wasn't much out there to use as concealment. When Kat asked him for thoughts on the matter he simply shrugged. "Best wait for nightfall and crawl I guess." There really wasn't another plan. The ground would be soggy from the rainfall, if they were lucky they could use it to mask their tracks as well.

.After a night of crawling through dirt and mud they finally reached the farm. Hal had to pull Kat out of the sucking mud twice and she in turn had to pull him out a couple of more times. Looking back on the girl, her face and clothes covered in as much mud as he was, He gestured for her to go up to the house first. Seeing as he wouldn't know at all who was friendly and who not.

Secrets

Did she really call him an idiot? Well, it shouldn't surprise him. Hal gave a grunt of his own when she moved him, not because of any pain, but because it somehow felt uncomfortably comfortable. He fell into silence at her viper speech about how the princess would have been ruined by the court had she still lived, but Hal kept his own opinions to himself, he had been there after all. Part of his job had been to educate her as well as keep her out of harm's way. Falling into his usual bar room silence he listened to the wind and the rain for a while, his thoughts imprisoned in his skull.

The next thing Kat spoke off made his heart jump however. It made Hal hopeful that his ordeal to find this place had not been completely for naught. "You mean to say this wasn't a chance encounter after all?" How stupid that sounded when spoken out loud. After that he spend some more time churning on his thoughts about how things had ended this badly, not just for him, but everyone else who had been killed or scattered as well. They had been such a tight group of 'heroes', although even now the sound of it sounded bitter.

The rain had stopped a little while back and Hal was done with the silence for now. It was time to get up and move on again. He gently nudged the girl a couple of times to wake her up. "We move." He said as he got up and out of the shelter. Staying as low as he could.

On A Steel Horse I Ride

ManOwar.

It just came to mind.

Anyhow, welcome, what catches your fancy?

The Sprawl

Making a character seems to take a bit longer than i had forseen.

I'll have my sheet up before the end of the week.