They took their combined opportunity to go off on their morning... necessaries.  One at a time, each wandered off over the hills in one direction or another, then came back to help guard the prisoner.  Though Shadow didn't say anything as Taerlyn went out, Evyn could see the look of elation on her face.  Never again would she need to be in charge of the necessaries.
        When they had all gone about their business but Roan, however, it was Shadow's turn to give Evyn a devious grin.  True, it was only fair at this point, but he hadn't even thought of it until she was looking at him.  Wordlessly, he led the prisoner off.  Shadow made a prison quality "beat the shit out of him" gesture as they walked by; as a warning or a joke, neither was quite certain.
        Sandy walked after them to be dead center in the distance between everyone, and Shadow felt secure that no immediate acts of defiance were going to take place... without a skull crushing.  Turning to Taerlyn, she asked, "So what did it?"
        The girl blinked, unaware of the question's meaning at first.  "Oh.  The clover."  She was rather certain of that, looking back on it.  It had certainly been what her mother used to smell like.  Although that scent had also inspired sorrow, it somehow snapped her out of whatever she'd been lost in before.  She wasn't about to question it too thoroughly at this point.
        The more-or-less stranger nodded.  "Well, nice to meet you."
        Taerlyn grinned, just glad to be talked to, and to be able to respond.  "And you too."  She looked outward, beyond Sandy's gaze.  "I guess you took care of my brother alright."
        Grinning back, she nodded.  "He needs work, that one."
        "Yes he does."  The sibling laughed.
        The two of them stared outward as Evyn was escorting the prisoner back with a blank look on his face.  Sandy waited until they passed her position, then started to bring up the rear.  As the elder sibling approached Shadow, he gave her a halfway serious look of disgust.
        "Are we ready to go?" their leader took it upon herself to ask.  She got no response from anyone, which was enough of an answer in itself.  Only Roan's eyes stared in her general direction.  The others' were attached to the horizon to which they were headed indefinitely.
        Evyn, not too exceptionally glad to have their calm ruined by the prisoner, was at least more than glad to have Shadow back with them.  But that boy she'd brought with her... he had the feeling that thing was going to cause more trouble than he was worth.
        "Want to ride?" he asked his sister, feeling almost awkward talking to her again.
        "I'll walk as long as I can."  She said thoughtfully.  "May as well start now."
        He nodded, and they all took that as a sign to start their journey again.  Shadow looked over to Roan as they began to walk, and was immediately hit with lines from Alice Cooper's "Poison".  She shivered lightly and pressed the thought away from her head, appalled by herself... but it wasn't the first time.  A sick little mind had been bred in her, and she rather liked it at times.  There were moments, though, when she surprised herself.  Whether it had to do with that old, familiar voice in her head or just something buried way back, normally out of her reach, she thought she'd probably be better off not knowing.
        It was a silent walk for a good few miles, even though Shadow was incredibly happy to be back with her friends.  My friends... that's a weird thought...  It seemed to be the simple presence of Roan that made the silence last, that kept the conversation and celebration away.  He delighted in it, in secretly knowing about it, and hoped to continue it for as long as he could.  Of course, the instant he was sure of himself, a silent, invisible trigger seemed to be hit in Shadow.
        "So..." she started quietly, "Are we having fun yet?"
        "Lots."  Evyn mumbled quietly.
        "It's not so bad."  Taerlyn tried to keep their spirits up.  She felt she had a responsibility to it, now that she could handle the situation.
        Only another few miles of almost complete silence responded to her overly perky cry for hope.  It seemed there was little more to say there, as the companions were unconsciously desperate to get out from the open and into some sort of forest again.  Or a town, a town would be better.
        The prospects of coming across a populated area got worse and worse as they went along, and all hope was abandoned when the afternoon sun started beating down on them.  It wasn't as bad as the heat before the rain had been, but it wasn't exactly all that pleasant, either.  They'd been spoiled, getting to ride horses as much as they had.  Sandy, though, was trying to suppress a horse laugh.  Not a mean one, but a... "serves you right" kind.
        Cresting another rather large hill (looking pretty much the same as all the others), a welcome sight at last met their eyes.  Downhill just enough to have hidden them from view were trees; sparse at first, then heading out into thick woods once again.  It was bound to be cooler in there, among the shade.  Not to mention a little less threatening, not being out in the open where anything could find you.  They almost had a little bounce in their step as they approached, and a general sense of joy overcame them as they crossed the tree line.
        Finally, gratefully, they entered forest again; the stark but not completely unpleasant smell of rotting apparent, small and frightening animals scurrying about but not to be seen up close.  It was a great blessing to be able to walk in the comfort of being surrounded by large, stable trees.  The shade was cool, the plants were thick and healthy, and they only had to walk a few minutes before they could look back and appear completely enclosed with trees.
        Though he didn't show it, refused to suggest such a thing, Roan was also unbelievably grateful.  Being closed in by natural structures, he felt less open to everything.  The group that surrounded and imprisoned him was something along the lines of what he liked to think of as a shield should anything truly bad happen.  He prayed both that his master would come and rescue him, and that he would never see that man again.  Staring at Shadow's back, he blissfully remembered being there when she was beaten and could barely stifle a satisfied grin.  How he longed to hold the whip this time...
        "I don't mean to interrupt our walk..." Taerlyn spoke up softly.  She waited until everyone's eyes were on her before she continued.  "But I am... mildly hungry.  And thirsty.  And tired."
        Shadow grinned.  Yes, she was certain she could get on well with that girl.  "I'm thirsty, myself."  She looked to Evyn.  "A little lunch in the woods?"
        He nodded... with a shrug.  It seemed like only a moment ago it had been morning, but when he paid attention to his stomach, it cried out for nourishment.  Not, of course, that they would get it from the food they had, nor anything along the lines of pleasant tasting.  Sandy stopped with the group in a soft carpet of ferns, perfect for a picnic.
        Roan felt a little uneasy with the activities.  It wasn't that he thought they were going to try to poison him.  By the look of things, they couldn't find poisoned sap if they sucked it out of the trees themselves, anyway.  He was worried about the food itself, perhaps.  He wasn't used to eating much, and certainly wasn't used to eating anything that he cared to taste again.
        "What about him?" Evyn asked a little bitterly, indicating the prisoner.
        Shadow looked at the prisoner for a moment before she turned back and responded.  "He can finish the green stuff."
        Roan did all he could not to visually react.  "The green stuff..."  Perhaps this would be more like eating at home than he'd at first anticipated.  How thoughtfully unpleasant of the cunt.
        Taerlyn's stomach fell just the slightest bit at that.  She may have eaten the food before, but in her state of mind she'd never tasted it.  "And what do we have to eat?" she asked tentatively.
        "You don't really want to know."  Their leader responded quietly.  "But nothing... too bad."  She looked to Evyn for some sort of confirmation.
        He gave none.  "It's not home cooking, Ter."  He grinned lightly.
        Sandy was only glad to shrug off the web of supplies and lay down.  She picked a nice place at the head of their "table", to listen and nibble bits of grass for herself.  She'd smelled their food, and really wasn't exactly interested.  As much as she enjoyed a picnic, her eyes were glued to that boy.  It was clear that he was not to be trusted.  And it was very clear that she did not like him one bit.
        The siblings chose to sit next to one another, leaving Shadow with the responsibility to look after the food needs of their prisoner.  Being handed the backpack, she dug through it thoughtfully.  "Well, we've got quite a bit of jerky..."
        "That's good."  Taerlyn said hopefully.  "Right?"
        Evyn grinned and shook his head.  "I think it's really mule leather."
        "We're lucky if that's the worst possibility."  Shadow returned.  She was glad to have these strange little conversations again.  "But we do have cans that swish.  It's anyone's guess what's in them, but they do swish.  So far we've encountered pineapple and green beans."  She pulled two random cans out and juggled them with little finesse.  "Pick a can, any can, odds are... not great..."
        Taerlyn giggled.  "How about both?"
        Shadow shrugged.  "Both works."  She handed the cans to Evyn, the expert opener.
        He wasn't as glad to accept as he thought he might be.  The memory of the smell of the green beans was still in his head.  Regardless, he dug out his can opener and went for the first... and grunted.  "Beans.  Regular beans."
        None of them looked all that thrilled about the result.  But, it was still food, and Taerlyn herself would have eaten just about anything.  Being numb takes a lot out of people.
        Second can in his hand, he opened it and announced, with a hint of satisfaction, "Peaches."  They were a personal favorite of his.
        "And for dessert?" Shadow joked.
        "Mud."  He responded, trying to keep that sense of humor about him as he stared at the can of beans.  They didn't smell so bad, kind of sweet and sort of like bacon.  It was how they were going to eat it, though.  How would they get away with that?
        Shadow was obviously pondering the same question, staring at the can.  She looked at the forest floor in which they were situated and saw several sticks.  But eating one bean at a time was going to take a while.  As was going off to find just the right forked twigs or thin rocks.  Unfortunately, spoons didn't often grow naturally in the woods, either.  Shrugging, she picked up the can and simply dumped a little into her cupped hand.  "Bon appetite."
        "What?" Taerlyn asked.
        "It means, 'suck it down with a smile on your face'."  She grinned and made do with the current eating situation.  The siblings followed suit, though messily, and Sandy just tried to suppress a horse giggle.
        After a while of eating and still no movement from Roan, Shadow prodded rather wickedly, "So silent, prisoner?"
        "I'm allowed to talk?" he growled.
        "You may even be allowed to eat."  She suggested.
        He looked at the two open cans of food that he had never in his life encountered, and had to force himself to hold back.  It smelled a hell of a lot better than any of his meals.  Looked a million times better as well, regardless of being in cans.  But for his captors, he would try desperately to look like he wasn't enjoying it.  Forcing a slightly pained expression on his face, he slowly took the can of beans and tipped quite an amount in his hand.  He sniffed the stuff slowly, and mentally ordered himself not to salivate.  To the best of his knowledge, what was in his hand probably wasn't butcher waste.  Didn't look anything like entrails, anyway.  But the smell was curious...
        Lucky for him, no one seemed to think much of his reaction.  His captors just ate rather happily, a small handful at a time, letting birds, insects and the rest of nature be the soundtrack.  Evyn glanced at Shadow with a rather large grin, thinking of her music box having been... exploded.  She seemed to know exactly what he was thinking and glared back.
        Beans gone, Sandy still nibbling on her patch of grass, it was time to break into the peaches.  After everyone had wiped their hands on fern leaf napkins, that was.  That fruit in particular just happened to be one of Shadow's favorites, and she was eager to get on with it already.  Beans can only satisfy so much.  Taking a relatively long twig from the ground and attempting to wipe off anything caked onto it on her jeans, she lightly pierced one of the small peach halves and lifted it to see how many there were.  "What luck."  She commented.  "Five halves."  She was glad that Sandy might partake of their "feast", even if it was just a little preserved peach half.  What she did know of horses: they liked fruit.
        Evyn picked up on her line of thought and grabbed a twig for himself.  "We could deny the prisoner and have more for ourselves..." he suggested completely serious.
        Roan didn't even look up from the can.  He'd prepared himself to expect that, certainly, but now that he was just inches from the food, its glorious new scent wafting up to him... he wasn't sure what to do.  It wasn't panic, it wasn't desperation... but it was damn close to both.  Upper hand or not, how dare they take the stand his master had taken so many times before...
        Shadow subconsciously felt the agonizing desire.  "Well... he hasn't done anything to deserve starvation... yet."  Even she looked unsure of her decision.  It wasn't like her to be fair by any stretch of the imagination, but it wasn't in her nature to be blatantly unfair either.  Not that denying food to someone who tried to kill her was unfair.
        Evyn shrugged, a little surprised.  His mind called nothing into question, suspecting nothing of it, but Taerlyn had.  She'd always been a little empathic, able to see just slightly further into things than others.  She theorized that perhaps Shadow had another purpose for this prisoner than to help out.  Bait, maybe?  Oh, exciting...
        "Then everyone grab a stick and let's get to eating."  Shadow announced.  She politely gave the peach half she'd already picked up to Sandy, and waited until everyone but Roan had taken a turn before getting one for herself.
        The prisoner, of course, hesitated.  He forced himself to, so as not to look the least bit eager.  He certainly didn't want them to know how hungry he was, how wonderful that food seemed to him.  At last, under gazes and glares, he took the last half out of the can with his fingers, and ate it in two bites.  He held back the urge to savor it, to taste the sweetness as long as he possibly could, and merely swallowed.
        Evyn took out a water pouch and passed it around, careful to note how much Roan would take.  He was designated last to drink, and when the pouch was passed to him, he only swallowed one mouth full.  Evyn looked to Shadow, but she shrugged lightly in the same confusion.  If that's all he seemed to have wanted, they weren't going to argue with it.
        With that, it was off again through the woods in another slightly awkward phase of silence.  They simply didn't know what they could say to one another.  With Mr. Prisoner around, they certain didn't want him to get to know too much about them... but then, if they didn't talk, how the hell would they pass the time?  Taerlyn had already tripped several times trying to find something to focus on instead of the ground, and she insisted Sandy not carry her.  She may not have been numb all that terribly long, but it took a while to get used to being awake and aware again. 

        On they went with few words between them until well into the late afternoon.  Evyn's shoulder had really started to ache.  It was perfectly fine that morning (considering), but throughout the day it had begun to get worse and worse.  It wasn't until Bright Sun's descent that it had started pulsing with aches and pains, heat and cold, but suddenly it had started to get far worse as they kept walking.  Unsure of how long he could take it, he very lightly pulled Shadow aside.  "I don't know how much longer I can go on."  He told her quietly.
        "Shoulder bothering you?" she guessed softly.
        "Agony."  He answered with a light hiss.
        "Okay."  She agreed without any further need to ask.  "It'll be dark soon anyway."  She walked to Sandy's flank and whispered something in the horse's ear.
        Evyn felt a little guilty as Sandy slowed and started to crane her neck for a good spot for the night.  He didn't want them to have to stop on account of him, but he certainly wasn't able to walk much farther.  He'd never known a pain that bad before, and it had begun to take over his sense of hearing.  There wasn't a ringing in them, really, but there was something that drowned out sound with every pulse of pain.  He thought for a moment that he could hear pain, and it was then that he decided he'd best stop and rest before he went insane.
        Sandy had spotted a beautiful little clearing just a ways uphill, and looked at the wounded boy questioningly.  She was rather certain he wouldn't be able to make the incline without her help, so she politely laid and offered a lift.
        Evyn looked to Shadow as if to ask her permission.  She nodded and grinned slightly, "Your ride's waiting."
        With an echoing nod, he very gently positioned himself on the steed's back, holding tight with his good hand.  Roan watched mischievously, almost ready to shove him off as the horse lifted.  Of course, looking from side to side, he was still a little outnumbered.  But, it was enough of an amusing thought to get him to follow along without protest.
        It turned out to be a bit of a difficult hill for all of them.  The incline wasn't terribly steep until the very top, but the rocks were only loosely held by the soil.  As delicate as Sandy was, Evyn's shoulder still ached and jarred as she found her footing.  Shadow found herself waiting for Roan to slip and fall to the bottom, but of course it never happened.  He was very careful, enough to have rivaled her certainly.  Taerlyn occasionally required Shadow's helping hand, but she was still light and young, able to almost bounce off of the rocks before they fell.
        Reaching the top, the group (save Roan) couldn't resist echoed "Ooooh"s and "Aaahh"s.  The clearing, large enough for a group of twenty at least, turned out to be slightly bowl shaped with a field of young trees stretching away from it before becoming regular old forest again.  All around the edges under the deepening day's end shadows grew exquisite wild flowers of blues, purples, deep blood reds, fire oranges and glistening emerald that somehow bordered between green and silver.  Strangely enough it reminded Shadow of Eden, the trees that surrounded the clearing having overgrown and collapsed in on themselves to the point where they looked like a cross between weeping willows and climbing ivy.  To add to the dazzling effect, some of the trees were nightblooming badgers, and as the day began to cool, their black and white flower buds had just begun to open enough to see their colors.
        "Wow."  Shadow managed.  Nothing on earth had looked that... perfect. Little Eden... she named the place in her mind.  Stumbling forward, she wondered what other beauty this world possessed.  She certainly hoped to live to see more of it.
        Taerlyn immediately started to skip around happily, wandering from flower to flower trying to classify them.  She loved flowers, and was quite good at botany.  Her mother had a large book of plants, and even as a little girl she was nearly able to memorize the whole thing.
        Evyn's aches disappeared into that moment of wonder, into the sweet scent of the flowers.  It was the most beautiful place he'd ever seen, and right then he could have abandoned the entire quest, Shadow and all, and simply live the rest of his life right there, forgetting all else.  With a mild jolt of Sandy laying on the ground, however, the pain came back to him fresh and just as potently.  He lightly pet the horse's head with a grunt, knowing she meant no harm to him.  Biting his tongue, he slipped off of her and went about finding a nice place to sit.  Or fall unconscious.  Whatever came first, he was okay with.
        Roan was not impressed.  It was a departure from the things he'd seen for most of his life, but he could not enjoy the sight.  Beauty before pain.  Beauty was death, after all.  He only stood there, watching the others take their places, and decided he'd simply sit right where he stood.  On the top of the incline, looking down; looking for his master's guards to find him.
        Shadow walked to the younger sibling, busily mumbling to herself about the wonders of all of the flowers.  Shadow's eyes seemed to glitter with the colors of some of the blossoms.  She could not take her attention off of one in particular, with the markings, shape and size of a tiger lilly.  But instead of the usual colors, it was sapphire blue and royal purple with subtle red highlights along the spots.  She longed to have a garden of such flowers.  Unusual in itself, seeing as how she had no desire to garden.
        Taerlyn saw her gaze into the flower and quietly suggested, "Royal lilly."
        Taking a moment to let the words register from her amazement, she looked at the beginning botanist.  "Do you have tiger lilies here?"
        She shook her head.  "Not that I know of.  What do they look like?"
        "Exactly like this..." Shadow gently touched the petals as though they would crumble at her fingertips.  "Only orange and black."
        Taerlyn shook her head again.  "But it sounds so pretty."
        "They are."  The otherworlder assured.  "But not this pretty."
        Somehow the word "pretty" from Shadow's lips just didn't sound right.  But, Taerlyn kept it to herself.  After all, she didn't know the strange looking girl well enough yet.  She had a good idea that she wouldn't mind the joke, but just in case...  Instead, she began to point and name flowers one after the other with no effort at all.  Glancing over now and again, Shadow looked genuinely interested, so she kept going.
        Evyn--laying on his back in the middle of a bunch of nightblooming badger branches that made sort of a tent over him--was actually starting to feel better.  He listened to his sister's names with his eyes closed, just enjoying the soft grass beneath him and the cool shade above, bidding the pain to completely lift away.  He stretched slowly, gently so as not to aggravate his shoulder too much, and his hand came across a very smooth rod of wood.  He almost shrieked at first, the feeling completely surprisingly him, but as he pulled his hand back, the rod came with him.  He lifted it above him lightly in his good hand, and inspected it.  It was a dark wood, not exceptionally straight but relatively long.  A walking stick, it looked to be.  It was caked with dirt on the underside, but appeared to be in very good shape.  Glancing out from the thick tree branches, he concentrated his sight on Roan, sitting, staring outward.
        His relatively wicked thoughts (well, for him) were interrupted with the rustle of leaves to the other side.  It was Shadow, crouching, looking inside.  "And you thought you could hide that easily."  She grinned lightly.
        He was glad for her company.  "Did you escape Ter?"
        "She can't remember one of them.  She said to come back later."  She chuckled very softly, trying hard not to break into a much louder laugh.
        He found he had to suppress a loud fit of laughter, himself.  Without needing to move much, he indicated his newfound treasure.  "It's not some animal bone, is it?" he half joked.
        She crawled inside the branches to take a closer look without bothering to glance Roan's direction; he was watching with a horrible wickedness on his face, taking in all of the information for possible later use.  She looked the walking stick over to make sure it had wood grain, then nodded.  "Only wood."
        "Useful, you think?" he inquired, mostly to himself, squeezing it as hard as he could with his good hand to make sure it wouldn't simply crumble in his grip.
        "Threatening if nothing else."  She couldn't help but grin widely.
        He laughed as quietly as he could manage, glad she seemed to still know his thoughts.  "That is something."
        "And how's the shoulder?" she asked, staring straight at Roan who was quite obviously trying not to look as though he were watching her with the same intensity.
        "Better than it was."  Evyn admitted.  Though not by all that much, it certainly wasn't as horrific as it had been.  He was still very unused to pain in general.
        "Vorish freesia!" they heard shouted triumphantly behind them.  "It's Vorish freesia!"
        "Good, Ter."  He called almost sarcastically.
        Shadow had to clear her throat to stop herself from laughing.  She certainly didn't want to appear "rude" or anything.
        Grinning, he poked her gently in the shoulder with his new walking stick.  "Shouldn't you be tying the prisoner up for the night?"
        "Nah."  She dismissed, perfectly aware of Roan's eyes still on her, his senses still focussed in her direction.  "We beat him and starve him first."
        "Ah."  Evyn responded seriously.  But he felt a little twinge of something when she looked out to Roan, staring back viciously, and retained eye contact for several seconds.
        Somewhat surprising Evyn at first, she reached into the side back of her jeans to pull out one of the knives she'd packed ages and another world ago.  The sheath itself was black leather, decorated only in the center with a simple celtic knot circle.  Gently, she pulled the dark wood handle and slid the blade halfway out.  It was a hunting knife, a one-sided blade, that looked brand new.  "What do you think of it?" she asked seriously, quietly.
        He blinked and looked right at the shining sharp edge.  "I think... it looks dangerous..."
        She smiled just the least little bit.  "I think, with him around, we should start carrying our knives a little closer to our bodies."
        Swallowing, he nodded almost nonexistently.  "And that's yours?"
        "Actually..." she admitted with a tone that caused his heart to speed up, "I was thinking of giving this one to him."
        He used his walking stick to sit up and look at her a little closer.  Maybe it was to assure himself he wasn't dreaming.  Or drugged.  Or dead.  He wanted to protest, to seriously call a halt to these incredibly devastatingly stupid ideas, but his mouth moved a little faster than his mind, as if darting to change the subject before he made an absolute stunned fool of himself.  "Where's yours?"
        She did not pretend to be surprised by his response.  She'd expected much more of a change of subject, actually, but she gladly accepted this one.  From her right side, a mirror of where her katana hung on her left, she pulled a very fancy black leather sheath from her belt loop.  The sheath itself was curved, as though the knife inside were a cross between a dagger and a scythe, and was decorated with all kinds of fancy leather working knots and patterns.  She lightly unsnapped the strap that held the black leather-bound handle and pulled the blade all the way out.  It was somewhat like a double bladed sickle, only with half the curve and a little less length.  She glanced up to Evyn's face for a response.
        He had almost not seen the blade at all.  That aching question still parched his mind.  He stood up in fact, not really noticing that he'd done so until he saw Shadow "all the way down there", still sitting and looking up at him with a distant worry.  "Why would you give him something like that?" he asked finally, very quietly.
        "If he wants to live comfortably, he'll help us out a little."  She answered without eye contact.  She seemed very much certain of her answer, of herself and her ability.
        "You think he will?" he raised an eyebrow.
        She laughed softly.  "Not really.  But it'll be amusing either way."  A dangerous air shifted around her, and Evyn noticed it right away.  "Besides, four against one is pretty good."
        He stared at her until she met his eyes.  "You're sure?"  It wasn't that he didn't believe in her, but...
        "It's pretty easy to take it away if he decides to turn."  She suggested with mock innocence.
        He swallowed and continued to look into her eyes.  Something about Roan's presence had brought much more of her dangerous side to the surface.  He trusted her, he certainly didn't doubt her or her abilities, but... but something about Roan had forced a bit of angry, vicious energy out that just didn't disappear no matter what was happening.  He worried for her, although he wasn't certain why.  He certainly didn't know why he had no worry for his sister or himself, but only for Shadow.  With the glimmer of a smile, he realized that perhaps this girl had sort of become his other sister.
        She noticed that little smile and looked at him questioningly.  He only grinned back at her, shrugged and walked off into the clearing of flowers with Taerlyn, leaving Shadow in the shade to ponder by herself.  She had no idea, nor indication, of what had just occurred.  But, instead of trying to maintain the conversation and follow him, she was distracted by that wicked pair of eyes still glaring at her.  Now's as good a time as any... she thought blandly, sheathing her knife and putting it back by her side.  She glanced once more at the knife she was going to present to the prisoner as though assuring herself once again it wasn't such a terrible idea, and walked to the boy.
        Roan received her in his usual way.  Not politely, but not terribly rudely; just hatefully.  She merely sat down beside him and held out the sheathed knife in the palm of her hand casually.
        Stifling the surprise he was feeling, the prisoner simply glared down at the offer for a number of seconds.  "Is that for me?"
        "Knock yourself out."  She responded, lightly tossing the knife up and catching the blade between her fingertips.  "And I mean that."
        He took it without so much as questioning, turning it in his hand slowly.  He glared at her, tore into her with his eyes as he unsheathed it and felt the sharpness, admired the shape, then pressed it back into place.  "You trust me with this?" he growled softly.
        "Of course not."  She answered flatly.
        He blinked and stared at her for a long time, trying to understand the response.  He found that he didn't understand a damn thing about her yet, but that was kind of exciting.  A game to be played after all, nothing but the hunt.  He wondered what kind of a kill he would wind up making her, and the cold gleam in his eyes increased enough to make her slightly uncomfortable.  Unknown to him at that time, she was as familiar to the hunt as he, just a little less practiced.
        A long silence followed as Shadow just sat on the ground, gazing from the prisoner to her companions wandering about.  Evyn followed Taerlyn with a grin on his face, listening to her name everything and tell him to stop his grinning.  Sandy wandered behind the trees, enjoying the view and finding things to nibble.
        Roan watched them as well, out of the corner of his eye as he appeared to be staring at the odd girl's shoes.  They were very strange to him, of a material he had never encountered before.  At last he broke the silence, ready for a game, pulling the knife from the sheath again.  "Ever hear the legend of the Pin Princess?" he growled with a spiteful semi-smile, running his finger slowly along the edge of his new weapon.  Very sharp... very good.
        "No."  She barely managed a tone above a whisper, a discrete but powerful shiver mangling her spine for a split second.  Instinctively her hand reached for her sword, but only got so far as tapping the hilt before it was forcibly withdrawn with all of the control her mind could manage.  Something about what he had said, or maybe just the way he had said it, bothered her greatly for reasons she couldn't begin to fathom.
        His snarl increased as he subconsciously caught on to her reaction.  "It's as old as time, I suppose."  He squinted up at the barely waking stars in the darkest portion of the sky, noticing the uneasy stirrings of the others in the group well away from them, having felt a wave of tension and stopped what they were doing, watching intently.  "It's a good tale to remember."  He accented the last word by sheathing the dagger.
        "So tell it."  Shadow said sternly, trying to sound uninterested.  The fact remained that she was incredibly interested, unwilling to let the subject rest until she figured out why she had reacted to the words he'd used.  Seeing the peering look on his face woke her fully to the fact that nothing was completely hidden from him.
        "Alright."  He bellowed almost joyfully, mockingly shifting to sitting on his knees.  "Legend holds it that once, centuries beyond imagination and ever so long ago, the world was constantly under the Great Cycle."  He looked directly into Shadow's eyes, his malicious gaze digging into her like the whip she'd long attributed with his being.  "Do you know what that is?"
        She shook her head slowly, glaring directly into his reflective black eyes.  "I don't think I've heard of it."
        Roan nodded, slowly putting his arms out and shifting his weight to both them and his knees to look like an animal about to pounce, the vicious smile turning into a story teller face.  "The Great Cycle is a legend in itself.  It was said that every few centuries, the general peace of the world would be broken by a great evil, and so a hero was born, reincarnated, to return the peace.  With this hero was born a lady of purity, a princess in her own right, to aid his journey.  Together they were Light against the Darkness."
        "Ah.  Old legend in all worlds, I'd imagine."  She remarked quietly.
        He pretended not to hear the sincerity in the comment.  "During the last known of these Great Cycles, the princess was said to have been captured by the force of evil... but this time, the hero was somehow unable to perform his task and suffered great horrors at the hands of the Darkness...  In order to keep the Great Cycle from happening again, the dark one trapped the princess and her horse in their mortal shells, piercing every last flake of skin on their bodies with fine needles.  Shards of some other forgotten, unspoken tool of ancients."
        Another shiver raged through Shadow's body at the telling, one that she was completely unable to hide.  She closed her eyes and swallowed to regain control, then looked back at the prisoner evenly as though nothing at all had happened.
        "It gets to you, no?" he growled, shifting ever so slightly closer to her so that most of his weight was now on his outstretched arms.
        "What else do you know about the Pin Princess?" she asked harshly.  The sound of her voice made Evyn take a few steps closer, his hand out behind him to warn Taerlyn to stay where she was.  Sandy had slowly walked behind her, watching just as closely, just as ready.
        Roan flashed a snarling smile again, then shifted back to his knees, crouched with his hands on the ground right in front of them.  "That is really about all I know.  And that alone was from listening to bits and pieces of what others said."  He paused, looking out at nothing in particular, then looked back to her eyes.  "There are three unspoken words that may go with the tale..." with a grating tone, he added, "...but there are reasons I shan't tell an unlearned tramp like you."
        His grin remained fierce even as she leapt and landed on him, having knocked him roughly against the ground.  Immediately upon contact with the earth, he'd flung his legs forward and knocked her off, watching her land and skid through old, piled branches at the edge of their Little Eden.  She crouched there for only a moment on all fours, teeth bared and a purring growl coming from somewhere in her throat that she wasn't even aware existed.  She looked like a raging giant cat gone entirely mad, and lunged for him again.  This time he grasped her throat and threw himself over and on top of her just a little too powerfully to stay atop the hill--both slowly tilting and then rolling over and over down the steep incline.
        Evyn stood there, staring blankly for several long seconds, barely able to believe what he'd just witnessed.  Even when he was shaken out of his daze by an equally surprised Taerlyn, he had no idea what to go about doing next.  He would have rolled on the ground laughing like a madman had he not been so completely surprised; not so much by Shadow's reaction, but at how she dealt with Roan's reaction to her.
        He finally shook his head of the many thoughts running through it and looked at his little sister, who, by her large smile, seemed just as amused by the whole thing as he was.  "I think we'd better go see."  She said, worry in her voice but laughter in her eyes.  Sandy neighed quietly, staying behind if only to giggle out of range of the others.
        Evyn nodded, allowing himself a wide smile, and both darted (and skidded) carefully down the hill.  After all, it was far easier to go down than it was to climb back up, so they made it in plenty of time to find both fighters still locked in a vicious wrestle.  Roan's hands were still tight around Shadow's neck, but she appeared to have the upper hand: one knee in his crotch and both hands digging deeply into where his shoulders met his neck on both sides.  Both were snarling at one another, neither quite ready to make their move yet.
        "Howdy."  She growled politely as the elder sibling walked up to the mass of destructive intent, not taking her eyes off of Roan.
        Evyn shook his head, trying his hardest to suppress laughter, and thrust his walking stick in between them.  Not exceptionally worried about the consequences he'd face later, he began to pry them away from one another, ignoring the building pain in his shoulder and attempting to use the other arm as much as possible.  It took a good five tries with that damn shoulder to separate them, a grunt coming from both as they landed side by side on the ground.  Before they could so much as look at one another, Evyn thrust the stick back into the ground between them and tried to look defiant.
        "No."  Taerlyn said harshly, as though they were a pair of bad puppies.  She then broke into wild giggles, all three pairs of eyes staring at her.
        Roan turned his head and caught Shadow's eye.  "Bitch."  He growled.
        "Fragrant jack-ass."  She responded without missing a beat, sitting up and getting off the ground.
        He blinked.  He'd never been called a smelly donkey before.  A great many odd and interesting things, but it was the first time he'd been called anything so... childish.  He had absolutely no retort and completely nothing to base a response upon.  He just lay there, staring up at nothing.
        Complete silence washed over the four of them.  Just simple, complete, silence.  It was the oddest, most uncomfortable silence Evyn thought he'd ever witnessed, let alone been a part of.  He looked at Taerlyn, who gazed back just as curiously, and waited for something to happen.  Why he expected something to happen, whatever it may be, he didn't know.  But it felt... everything felt a little... lopsided.
        "Let's go get ready for a nice long nap, huh?" Shadow interrupted at last.  She'd felt that odd wave just as strongly, but had no idea what it had been.  A disruption of sorts.  A complete interruption of everything they were, of everything they'd been together... or not.  It could have been gas, really.  Who the hell knew what that food was doing to them?
        Feeling a weight off of him, Evyn nodded.  "Do you two need to be separated?"
        "Probably."  Shadow responded close to humorlessly.  She looked down at Roan, who was still a little dazed by what she'd called him, and ordered, "Come on, prisoner.  Time to beat you."
        The instant the black holes of his eyes focussed on her face, she felt a physical thrust of hatred.  When all she did was grin back with the same hatred, he decided upon getting up and following.  Thinking to himself, he supposed perhaps that lapse, that change, may have been his master.  He'd never felt something like that while serving him, no, but Roan was made well aware that his master's powers were great beyond his comprehension.
        Shadow was first to ascend back up the incline, lending Ter a hand when she needed it.  Even though Evyn could have really used a hand himself, as his shoulder had begun to ache yet again, he decided to bring up the rear instead.  He had to make certain that Roan was well aware of the walking stick in his hand, having proved its value and strength already.  The prisoner looked less than worried, but at least the sign seemed clear enough.
        Back at camp, the sky was darkening into a lovely cobalt blue, glitters and gleams of stars just beginning to twinkle.  Sandy was there on the edge, nipping the grass, trying a flower here and there.  It was her chance to try new things in her diet, after all.
        Evyn stood at the center of their little paradise, rubbing his shoulder lightly, and pondered aloud, "Do we need a fire tonight?"  It was warm, quite nicely so.  Of course, there was always the possibility of it turning cold.
        "Might want a pile of sticks, at least.  Just in case."  Shadow cautioned lightly, just staring once again at those alien but beautiful flowers.  She half expected the beauty to be gone when they came back, having disappeared like in a dream.  While the surrealness of the place had long since passed in her mind, there was still a note of... disbelief.  Not from her, but from the things that had been pounded into her head from the world she'd abandoned.  Earth's version of reality was fucking boring.
        Evyn nodded agreement, and glanced at Taerlyn.  The two of them went about collecting a small pile of twigs, himself believing that at least he could do that much with his arm.  Shadow took that opportunity to begin rummaging through the web of supplies, getting out the blankets.
        Roan watched everything with intent eyes, but what he saw was far away.  He was still thinking sharply of that silence, that disruption.  He was beginning to seriously wonder if it really had been his master.  Maybe not in person, but something sent to find his servant.  Maybe even something sent to kill him, he could never be certain.  His thoughts were interrupted when he saw the hilts of the three swords Shadow had stolen not so long ago.  "Trophies..." he mumbled, mostly to himself.
        She glanced at him, an acknowledging look as though he deserved to be agreed with, and continued the unpacking.  Her own mind was a mild flood of thoughts as well.  At the center was that silence, that unnaturalness of it that passed so quickly yet came on so strong.  But over that was simply, Does he deserve a bed?  We have the blankets, but... does he deserve it?  Could I get away with hiding a knife in one?  Are there red ants here?
        She wasn't immediately aware of the grin on her face, but Roan recognized it immediately.  The game, afoot as it always was--and he had some insane desire to vocalize it.  "You would like to see me dead, wouldn't you."  It wasn't a question in the least.
        "I can only suspect no more so than you'd like to see the same for me."  Shadow answered honestly, barely looking up from unrolling the blankets.  Four beds.  There would be four beds.  Roan's would be further away from the four directional arrangement than the others, but close to her.  If she had to watch, she'd watch.  If she had to kill him, well, no big deal.
        He sensed that for certain.  But before he could make another slow attempt at irritating her, the siblings came back from the woods.  Shadow glanced up, seeing Taerlyn with a worried look on her face glancing toward her brother, Evyn having carried a rather small armful of branches due to an increasingly searing shoulder.  Shadow hadn't needed to ask, she saw that look of distaste for pain on his face.
        Regardless of that, at the time, she had something far more important to discuss.  "Don't go anywhere."  She joked toward Roan.  Really, she didn't quite care if he wandered off.  But somehow she knew that even if he did, which was unlikely, he wouldn't go far.  And he wouldn't be too hard to find.  She almost enjoyed the invisible tether she had on him, whatever it may be.
        Careful to be certain Roan saw her sword at her side as a warning, she got up and walked to the siblings.  Before either had the chance to do anything more than drop their loads of wood, she said quietly and seriously, "I've just got one small matter to discuss.  But it's important."
        Evyn almost forgot about the pain of his shoulder with her tone of voice.  It sounded as though either she was going to die, or the world was going to end.
        Or both... Shadow thought dully to herself, silently leading them into the trees until she felt them out of earshot of the prisoner.  Even though she couldn't see him from there, she had faith Sandy would keep up.  She turned to a halt and began right away.  "You guys have every chance to get out to safety now."  She said seriously.  "But if you stay.... that's gotta be it.  Final decision, no going back on it.  It's either all of us, life or death, or I'll take him myself.  Either way, I have to know now."
        Evyn looked back at her, at her calm seriousness, then turned to Taerlyn.  The two of them just gazed at one another for what seemed like hours, each going over roughly the same horrible possibilities of the future in their minds.
        Quietly, Shadow announced, "I'll let you two talk." Without an okay, she walked back through the trees to the creature sitting in the center of Little Eden, waiting for his next game.
        "What do you think?" Evyn whispered to his sister.
        She seemed to think it over as she looked back at him.  "What else do we have to do?"
        He blinked.  "Not the response I was looking for..."
        "Do you want me to say we should leave?" she asked curiously.
        "No."  He stated honestly.  "Just... anything besides the fact we have nothing else to do."
        "Okay."  She agreed thoughtfully.  "She could use our help, I think.  I have no idea where we're going, but I kind of like going... that way."
        "You?  Really?" he grinned softly.
        She gave him that little-sister-knows-what-she-wants look.  "And I'd feel terrible about leaving...  Although I know it's not about that at all."
        "Me too..." he admitted.  "I kind of like doing... something...  It is very dangerous, though.  This isn't a game."
        "I kind of think it is, in a sense..." she trailed off.
        He looked at her very blankly.  "Ter?"
        "Oh, I'm alright."  She assured.  "I just... I don't know.  Just a feeling.  She knows what she's doing... but she doesn't know that she knows what she's doing."
        "I guess I can agree with that."  He commented.
        "So we agree?  We stay?" she asked hopefully.
        He nodded.  "Sounds good to me."
        She looked at the ground in silence for just a moment.  "And I've grown to like her, besides."
        He grinned.  "Yeah, I think we all have."  He tilted his head, sending a bolt of pain through his shoulder.  "Well... almost all."
        Taerlyn nodded.  "Shall we present our decision?"
        Evyn nodded back and walked with her back to Little Eden, to where Shadow was obviously using her well learned skills to annoy their prisoner.  He cleared his throat, and their great and fearless leader looked up at him.
        "We stay no matter what."  He announced simply, a somewhat dashing smile barely visible on his face.  He didn't care that Roan knew what they were discussing.  He'd hoped, in fact, that it would keep him from doing anything stupid.
        "Oh good.  I wasn't going to let you leave anyway."  Shadow grinned.
        He believed it.  He could picture her tying them to Sandy and bringing them with her.  In fact, he was quite certain that is exactly how it would have happened.  He started to laugh just a little at the thought, having even Shadow look at him questioningly.  He gently waved a hand to dismiss.
        "Shoulder still being a bastard?" she asked, genuinely curious.
        He groaned just slightly at that, the tides having changed to force him to focus back on the pain. "It's not... pleasant."
        "How are you with a sword now?" she continued.
        He blinked and turned a bit pale.  He didn't think about that part of the wound.  He hated the thought of not being able to use a sword and help out.  Powers knew that they had barely survived with both of them fighting, and that demon boy couldn't be trusted to give a damn, let alone...
        His reaction made it obvious.  But still, Shadow grinned with good humor.  "Well, how lovely for all of us."
        He grasped for a solution somewhere, lightly rubbing his shoulder.  "Maybe you can just rewrap this thing..." he suggested, gritting his teeth with the burning, grinding feeling of the fabric rubbing against the wound.  Maybe that had been the reason, it needed to be tighter with some new binding.  "Just a little tighter, so it won't rub the rest of the skin off..."
        "Poor Evyn."  She grinned lightly, hoping to break his pain for just a minute.  After all, she pretty much knew how it felt.  "Maybe if I hit you somewhere else, that would distract you."
        He glared at her jokingly, just glad to have her destroy the vicious monotony of agonizing heat rushing through his limb.  "That's probably not such a bad idea..."
        Roan's fierce grin caused just a slight lapse in Evyn's own good humor.  Well, what he had left since the pain.  No words were exchanged, but a lot was expressed.  Evyn had better watch himself.
        "We might need a fire just for the light..." Taerlyn suggested softly to break the slightly venomous feeling.  It was the only thing she could think to grasp for.
        "Well, I'm alright with this light."  Shadow answered honestly.  She'd always been able to see quite well in the dark.  With the stars as bright as they were in this place, she knew she'd have no trouble.
        Taerlyn shrugged an okay and went over to arrange the firewood anyway, just in case.  She was having more and more faith in this girl.  She was still a little wary of her, but she could see why her brother looked at her affectionately.
        Roan could almost feel himself drool.  He was certain there would be pain, maybe a shriek or two.  That delighted him greatly, even if it was just that blonde boy instead of the bitch herself.  It was something to make them uncomfortable... maybe even to catch them off guard.  What a thrill...
        Evyn sure as hell did not look forward to the event.  He knew for certain it would hurt just to get the bandage off, let alone a new one with that acidic medicine.  Regardless of his lack of knowledge about larger wounds, he was pretty sure that was the best thing they could do for now.  With his good arm, he rummaged through his satchel and got the medicine and the last two and a half strips of cloth.  He then merely sat on the ground near the outer region of their camp, near the incline so no trees would block the starlight, and braced himself.
        Shadow felt a wave of... discomfort form around her.  He meant to take his shirt off for her to "repair" him.  Somehow the thought was laughable and terrifying at the same time, even though she knew it should have been neither.  She swallowed and hid all of that however, as though a million guys had taken their shirts off for her to "fix" them.  She still desperately wanted to laugh, but she simply swallowed it down as she sat behind him, taking the medicine and fabric.
        Roan was certainly going to get a front row view of the pain, walking around them to sit at Evyn's right front side, just a few feet away.  Just enough so that the boy could not strike out at him or knock him over the side, really.  A perfect view for pain.  And another perk, making him very uncomfortable.  Ah, the more legs he could knock from under them... but Shadow's eyes pierced him for just a moment, long enough to act as a warning.  Perhaps it wasn't a useful one, but it was still a warning.
        "Take it off, boy."  Shadow ordered suddenly.
        At first, Evyn was absolutely shocked.  Then he began to chuckle, just a little.  It was enough to set him at ease... for the time being.  He took a deep breath and crossed his arms, reaching for the bottom sides of his shirt to pull them over his head.  Upon lifting his arms a little over midway, he absolutely could not stifle his shriek.  And he thought the day before had been bad, the day after was by far worse.  The shoulder was stiff and starting to heal, and he felt as though he had just torn it wide open again.  Indeed it began to bleed a bit, and the sound of his pain filled cry with the smell of blood sudden and combined made Shadow shudder quite violently.  She was hoping so badly that no one had seen, but she knew eyes were on her.
        As Roan saw her reaction, he let go a light sigh of complete satisfaction.  Between Evyn's scream and that wonderfully pained shiver through his captor, it was enough to fondly remind him of home.  Taerlyn, having just walked over and sat next to him, glared at his reaction then looked back at Shadow if only to make certain she would be able to proceed.  She'd never seen the girl react like that before.  Though she wasn't really surprised, part of her wondered if anything in particular had triggered it.  Strange how someone who had killed so much would be bothered by something so comparatively small...
        Shadow was paralyzed for just a few seconds after that shudder.  At last she swallowed and tried very hard to proceed.  "Bet that felt good, huh?" she asked jokingly, but her voice showed signs of agonizing memories that Evyn could hear clearly.
        And yet, he was unable to ask her about anything at that moment.  The pain was still singing, rampaging throughout his entire upper body, and he was unable to fully remove his shirt.  He tried twice to lower his arms just a bit and finish slipping the sleeves off, but just couldn't bring himself to do it.  "Uh... a little help..?" he muttered with his teeth clenched.
        She took a hold of the shirt and stood on her knees, pulling it off.  With his arms still airborne, something she normally would have laughed at for no particular reason, she sat down and started carefully untying the two straps holding the dried medicine compress.  Somehow an expert in being able to unknot things since early childhood, the knots Evyn had tied were undone in a snap.  She sat back and waited for him to lower his arms, but it was clear he'd keep them straight up all day if he could.  "Reaching for something?" she tried to joke softly.
        "Liquor, maybe..." he tried to joke back, the pain lightly easing.  Of course, that was just before his arms began to ache with tiredness.  He groaned softly, not wanting to move at all.
        "They're going to have to come down some time."  She suggested softly.  "Just take it very slowly."
        Easy for you to say, he almost let himself slip out.  He then immediately remembered the tears in the fabric on the back of her shirt and was thankful that he hadn't said anything.  He may not have known the complete story of what had occurred, but he guessed it was probably relatively painful.  It had been welcome advice, though.  With a couple of gasps, he gently allowed his arms to relax, feeling little dribbles of blood flowing down his back.
        "And now comes the fun part!" she tried to coax him into relaxing.
        He nearly told her to stop right there, he wasn't ready, he needed... something else.  Whatever, he could have thought of it.  But those eyes staring at him... Roan's devious look, having fallen naturally upon his face.  He looked back hatefully, but it did nothing but appease the prisoner.  He would not be weak with that thing around; that boy with a knife, now.  But he still had to close his eyes and cough down a shriek as Shadow began to pull the dried, medicine encrusted fabric off and out of the wound.
        "Slow or fast?" she asked tensely.  Strangely enough, she did not want to hurt him.  It was understandable of course, they having become friends and all.
        "Fast."  Evyn creaked, his voice having reached another octave at the end of the word.
        Even she hadn't wanted him to answer that way, but she did as she was instructed.  She grabbed a hold of the lifted parts and simply, swiftly, ripped.
        Roan chuckled darkly at Evyn's air shattering yip.  It was everything he'd hoped, and just a little bit more.
        Both Shadow and Taerlyn had their stomachs knot up just a bit at that sound.  Shadow, completely unused to being a nurse and furthermore never having taken care of anyone in her life, pressed the palm of her hand to the wound as though that were the thing she was taught to do.  Why, she wasn't certain just then, but she thought later maybe it was an inborn instinct to stop the blood flow.  "Water, Ter."  She said quietly.
        The girl immediately flew from the prisoner's side to get a water pouch and returned just as quickly to hand it to Shadow, then back to her seat.  Part of her was absolutely disgusted, bothered by the sight.  But there was an undeniable part that really wanted to see what was going to happen.  Not only that, but to learn how to take care of a wound.  She'd helped her brother rather blindly before, and hoped to be able to learn something.
        Evyn had his eyes closed tight, his head down as his teeth clenched.  He barely heard the words through the bursts of pain that he was certainly not used to, but he knew what was next.  It needed to be washed, just a little.  And that was more than likely going to hurt.  More.  Again.
        Shadow took a breath and decided sooner rather than later would probably get the job done and over with.  She lightly removed her hand and opened the water sack.  She didn't bother to ask if Evyn was ready; he appeared half in and half out of existence, anyway.  He knew what was coming.  She held the water pouch lightly between her knees as she used her knife to cut the half strip of fabric roughly in half again.  She pressed the fabric just an inch under the wound and poured a bit of water into the bleeding cut.
        Evyn moaned softly, shuddering.  It was not pleasant, not pleasant at all.  The water burned almost as much as the medicine, and it felt so strange running over and into him at the same time.  Still, he focussed in that darkness over his eyes and laid his trust elsewhere.
        Shadow very softly dabbed the wound with the moist cloth, trying her best to use as little pressure as possible.  Finishing that procedure, she glanced only once at Roan's tainted eyes and had a glimmer of an idea.  Softly pressing her palm against the wound again, she tried to let the blue fire run through her hand and into him.  But the instant the blue fire arced through her and touched his skin, she felt as though a high electric shock had been directed into her.  It stung with intense energy, and a buzz surrounded her ears though no one else could hear it.  Roan laughed wickedly as he watched, and Taerlyn looked on wide eyed, not knowing what else to expect.
        "What."  Shadow growled lightly without looking the prisoner's direction; not a question but a demand.
        Roan grinned widely.  "You can barely heal yourself.  You're not experienced enough to heal regular life forms."
        "Heal yourself?" Evyn questioned through clenched teeth, having heard something which he just couldn't ignore.  He hadn't felt the blue fire or anything unusual.  Save the burning, singing pain, that is.
        "Regular life forms?" Taerlyn added to the questioning.
        "I find it hard to believe you and I are connected in any way."  Shadow said dully, glancing at Roan with hard eyes.  "One of the neat tricks Mr. Prisoner showed me... was healing myself."  She paused, looking at Evyn's wound.  "I guess I can't help you any, though."
        Again Evyn thought of the slashes through the back of Shadow's shirt, and clenched just a bit harder.  If she could heal herself, who knew how badly she'd been hurt to begin with.  But his thoughts weren't quite coherent as another wave of pain washed over his mind.
        She didn't stop to explain or demonstrate.  She simply folded the dry quarter strip of fabric enough to just cover the wound, then doused it in medicine as she imagined it was done the first time by her observation.  Taking a deep breath herself, she lightly pressed it over Evyn's still slightly bleeding wound.
        While the separation of skin and fabric had been godawful, joining them again wasn't as bad as it was the first time.  The medicine still burned viciously, feeling like acid really, but something about her touch right then just seemed to take much of the pain away.  It seemed that even though she couldn't heal him, maybe the blue fire found ways of leaking into his skin.  Or, well, something.
        "How goes?" she inquired softly.
        He gasped with another sudden, sharp sting from the medicine before he answered.  "Great."
        His tone was so dull that she couldn't help but grin just a little.  She was ignoring those black eyes trying to pierce her flesh from a few feet away, and made quick eye contact with Taerlyn.
        Taking that as a cue, Ter came over to her.  "Just hold it here."  Shadow indicated, placing the center areas of the other two strips in just the right places and indicating where to press.
        The girl nodded, kneeled, and did so.  She heard her brother mumble just a bit under his breath as she pressed and hoped she wasn't holding it too hard against him.  Then again, knowing her brother, he'd probably have said something. A few somethings.
        Shadow went around the front and began to tie one strip around his chest.  "Let me know when you stop breathing."  She joked, pulling the fabric taunt and starting to make a knot.
        Roan wanted to laugh at the scene.  He wanted so badly to laugh that he actually had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop thinking of it.  Here it was, a picture of the "heroes" who were heading to a place they didn't even know, from lands so far away from where they were going that they may well never have heard of the place; one injured, one having recovered from some kind of comatose state (so it seemed to him), and one absolutely crazy.  But this, this was not what made him want to laugh.  He saw it clearly enough, having had the practice.  The girl, Shadow, was completely oblivious to it, as was the sister; the blonde boy's breath was faster, his eyes closed tighter for a reason.  The closeness, the breath on his exposed chest, the girl kneeling in front of him and knotting fabric... he wasn't sure how long he could suppress his laughter.  The more he looked on, the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to release... but of course he could not.  Not around these people.  He did, however, let himself chuckle just a bit.
        Evyn's eyes flew open in self-conscious worry as he heard it.  The luck of the universe had shifted, however, and Shadow was done with the knots that very instant.  She shot Roan a shushing look before lifting to gather their things on the ground.
        Still oblivious... the prisoner thought with a malicious inward grin, showing only hard eyes on the surface.  Perhaps he would have more fun simply watching than he would joining in.
        "Better?" Shadow questioned, giving Taerlyn a helping hand to stand with.
        Evyn swallowed again, slowly, before he answered.  "I can't say it wasn't fun."  He joked, reaching for his shirt.  He began to put it on, then stopped cold just as he was about to lift it over his head.
        Shadow couldn't help but flash him a cocky grin at that.  "Problem?" she teased.
        He felt a little more... normal, then.  Like things were progressing, or at least rather getting back to normal.  His shoulder was still tight, burning with the medicine, but it did feel a bit better with the straps set tightly in place.  "Uh... yes."
        Lightly, she bent down a bit and took hold of the bottom of his shirt, then pulled it over his head and shoulders.  "Nice to be needed."  She couldn't help but laugh.
        He grinned and got up under his own power, lightly rolling his shoulder.  Not so bad, really.  "Can we go to bed, now?"  After that incident, he was certainly ready to sleep.  For a good, long time.
        "Sounds like a plan."  She agreed, feeling a bit tired from that strange blue fire occurrence just a few moments ago.
        Taerlyn stared at her for a moment, as if reading her mind.  "You'll tell us about it in the morning, won't you?" she asked, concern in her voice.
        Shadow was a little surprised at the question, but she knew immediately that she shouldn't be.  Taerlyn was indeed very perceptive.  She nodded agreement and walked to her bed.
        Evyn hoped to heaven that she hadn't been too perceptive and followed into the dipped center of their camp.  He noticed immediately the four beds, and looked at Shadow questioningly.  Certainly she couldn't be serious about...
        But she shrugged back.  Not an explanation, just a shrug.  There wasn't even a grin to go along with it.  Whether or not she herself knew why she'd made a bed for the prisoner, not even she could say.
        Roan, easily sensing what they were staring at one another about, followed behind rather closely.  Even if just a little more uncomfortable, that was something to add to his amusement.  That pain, and the rest of course, had been so invigorating the he couldn't help but wonder what was next.
        Sandy, watching from the trees as she looked for something else to eat that didn't have a bitter aftertaste, began to wander on over.  It was clearly time for sleep, and she could certainly use it after the day she'd had.  Her joints could use it too, after all of that running and climbing.  She turned to see if the brown horses were behind her... and realized with a tired thud in her chest that there were no brown horses anymore.
        Evyn packed the medicine away and took a small drink of water, offering some to Taerlyn.  "Should we eat?" he asked no one in particular.
        Shadow looked up from taking her shoes off and inspecting her socks distastefully.  "Personally, I'll pass."
        He stared at her feet, longing for his question of what her toes looked like to be answered.  "Not feeling well?"
        "Not a bit hungry."  She admitted, hoping she wasn't getting sick or something.  Of course, it may have to do with the gross socks.  They weren't grotesquely sweaty or anything, but they weren't exactly springtime fresh.  If only to unconsciously satisfy Evyn's curiosity, she pulled them from her feet.
        He watched eagerly, somehow extremely glad to see her feet were like his.  As much as some inner child inside of him would have loved it if she'd had alien feet, he felt strangely at ease with the actual result.  Holding the water pouch up, he saw her shake her head to that, too.  He then stared at Roan, wondering about his feet.
        The boy only stared down at the bed made for him, as though waiting for it to move.  It was close to her, not close enough to reach out and smack him but definitely close enough to get sliced with a sword.  Obviously, he was convinced that she'd planned it that way.
        Taerlyn nodded.  "I can't say I'm that hungry either."
        Neither was Evyn, after that incident.  "Well, there's always breakfast."
        "And what a lovely one it will be."  Shadow grinned, staring up at the sky.  It was a warm night, and a very nice one.  Especially here, in Little Eden.  Such a... perfect place to be sleeping under the stars.  She finally looked to her bed and began checking the blankets for sharp objects and poisoned pins.
        Evyn grinned at her effort and removed his own boots and socks.  His feet could do with a bit of airing out, too.
        Finding no immediate danger, Shadow looked up to see Roan's eyes gleaming hatefully at her.  Responding to his unspoken thoughts, she stated in perfect monotone, "I spared your life, be grateful."
        A terribly vicious look on his face, he took a deep breath and yelled overdramatically, "Ah, for the gracious saving glory of a short eared girl named Shadow and her happy traveling hoard, off to who knows whe--"
        "Go to bed."  She growled.
        "I get a bed?" he asked, mocking amazement.
        "Not if you don't lay the hell down right now."  She answered sternly but civilly.  She truly astounded Evyn and Taerlyn with this supposed "civility", but they had ideas that perhaps it was only temporary.
        Roan growled his mangled, wicked grin and only gladly followed orders.  He hadn't slept in a bed in years, and he was quick to take advantage.  It may have been on the ground, but it was still a bed.  He didn't bother removing a bit of clothing, just sat and slipped between the blankets.
        Shadow followed by rolling under the top blanket, noticing Sandy lazily walking toward them.  "It's a whole family affair tonight."  She remarked with no particular meaning.
        The prisoner grunted, again hardly able to sustain from laughter.  Evyn glared at him quickly, but made no show of it.  Taerlyn broke the silence, too tired to be paying attention to the situation.  "Then goodnight, everyone."  She paused.  "Almost everyone."
        Shadow grinned, Sandy laying just a few feet from her on the side opposite Roan.  "Goodnight you crazy siblings, you."
        "And what about me?" the prisoner tried to sound as sincere as he could.
        "You'll be lucky to make it to morning."  Shadow snapped quickly.  Even to her that was a little unexpected, but it did get him to shut up.  She gave the siblings a comical thumbs-up and laid down.
        Evyn and Taerlyn looked at one another with light smiles, and laid down themselves.  They had faith in her, indeed.  Now that Taerlyn had "experienced" her a bit more, she was actually really beginning to like her.  She was sort of like a third sibling... one that turned out just a touch... darker...  She fell asleep to that thought with a smile on her face.