Arid Sea [Dark]

[Bee]

Ananta had not progressed a significant distance when she heard the tell-tale noises of conflict. Steel clashing with steel; shouting, cursing, pounding. She turned in the direction of the din. It was not far off.

One of the voices sounded curiously familiar. She quirked her head to the side. Her ear twitched a little. She soaked up the sound.

Dev it was. Being attacked by something. Again.

She wondered if getting jumped by thugs was just a normal daily occurrence for him. Something about that thought lit a tiny flame of amusement in the back of her mind that flickered merrily and tenuously for a moment and then died.

She summoned her sword, and went to help him a second time.

There were more of them than last time, less organized, dirtier. They were not of the same group. Common bandits, most likely. Ananta swung her sword in an arc, smacking three of them in the back of the head with the flat side of it in quick succession. They hit the dirt.

And, because she always liked to give people a chance to surrender before they were beaten mercilessly, she said, “Please drop your weapons and leave.”

[Dark]

Dev was dimly aware of someone else entering the fight, and took his opponent’s sudden distraction to his advantage, quickly dispatching him. Apparently not one of theirs, then; he looked.

He wasn’t sure exactly what he felt about running into Ananta again—it was an odd string of coincidences that had them meeting again--or what to think about her once again instigating herself into someone else’s fight, but (in this case) it was welcome: it wasn’t exactly a fair fight to begin with, and he was still feeling the ill effects of yesterday’s conflict.

He seemed to have the worst luck. If there were bandits within a hundred miles of his location, they would inevitably turn their attention to him; the same could be said about vagabonds, conmen, cultists, and a string of other groups and individuals who decided he would be better off in a ditch somewhere. He would never understand it; it wasn’t like he looked well-to-do, and what little valuables he had were of no monetary worth.

It was funny seeing their reaction to Ananta’s “request,” though.

[Bee]

They were not of a mind to give up and go away. Such scoundrels rarely were, even when confronted with a queen, even when confronted with something they knew was stronger. (Greed knew little logic. She had learned that the hard way.) Still, she always issued the question. It was only polite. And it was always gratifying to see someone smart enough to heed her words.

When they laughed derisively and continued on with their trouble-making, she continued with hers, and sliced a long line across the flank of one man, and up the stomach of another. They hit the dirt with a swell of dust and spurt of blood. She was dimly aware of a knife grazing her arm, and later she would be angry that anyone had managed to land a blow, but right now there were rather a lot of people to incapacitate.

She backed up a little closer to Dev. Back to back, they were better protected.

[Dark]

Dev sensed her intent, and while he didn’t particularly trust her in the large scheme of things, it was the better strategy when dealing with such a large group of attackers, and considering the odds he made the split-second decision to trust his back to her. It’s not as if it could lower his chances of survival any more than it already was.

It was awkward at first, adapting his style—which usually consisted of circular, spinning arcs with his blades—but he quickly acclimated, using a style more suited for close quarters (and not swinging behind his back, which he was certain Ananta would not appreciate).

The odds turned mildly in their favor; there were still a ridiculous number of bandits, but it was nearly impossible to break such a strong defense, and any of the vermin that ventured too close quickly joined their dead and dying friends. They worked—well—together.

“Nice of you to stop by,” he said in a momentarily lull, and was surprised to find he meant it.

[Bee]

“I was in the neighborhood,” Ananta replied, tone as flat as ever, but for a moment her face twitched pleasantly into something that threatened to be a smile. The threat passed a moment later, when their opponents again surged forward. She was fortunate that her weapon was large and could cover a significant amount of air space, though at the loss of a little maneuverability. She liked to keep her swordsmanship sharp, rather than relying on other magical abilities, but she had a feeling that if these stubborn louts kept it up, she might have to resort to it.

More hit the ground, by her own blade and Dev’s. More.

Finally, they seemed to see that the two of them would not be overwhelmed.

“We haven’t even any money,” she said, calmly. This was a lie, in her own case, and she hadn’t the slightest idea about Dev’s, but whatever amount their funds came to, it wasn’t enough to make continuing this assault worth it. She was certain a couple of them wouldn’t live. Didn’t they care that their companions were dying?

[Dark]

Dev still had trouble understanding how the bandits could have ever come to the conclusion that he had any money to begin with, but he supposed the occupation attracted a certain type of fellow…greedy, not very bright, and even less so when faced with the possibility of loot.

Still, they seemed to be arriving at the consensus that, even if Ananta were lying, that whatever they did have was not worth the amount of trouble it would take to obtain it. If they had been a quicker bunch, they might have come to that particular conclusion sooner, instead of waiting until over half of them were sporting serious injuries, and a handful lay dieing.

“We’ll just be leaving, then, yeah?” Dev added, slowly moving backwards with the assumption Ananta would follow his slow retreat. He didn’t turn his back on them, keeping close to Ananta until they’d lost sight of the group around the bend. None of them made as if to follow.

[Bee]

Ananta kept an eye on them, as well, posture tense and ready to spring, as they backed away from the group of bandits. A couple of them moved to tending to the wounded, but not terribly many. She discovered she wasn’t enormously surprised. Hisstor they mostly were, but she had an extremely low opinion of thieves. They watched the retreat with glittering eyes, some with terror, some with barely restrained bloodlust. If they thought they stood a chance, Ananta didn’t doubt that they would leap at them again. If they turned their backs…

But neither of them did.

They kept moving even when they couldn’t see the bandits anymore, just to be certain they put enough distance between them to ward off a second surprise attack. It was a quiet trek. Finally, they slowed and came to a stop. Ananta unsummoned Strife. She eyed Dev.

“You’ve a talent for attracting unwanted attention.”

[Dark]

“It would seem so,” Dev muttered, letting his blades return to the nether. He had torn his stitches, and sustained a plethora of small cuts and bruises, but it could have been much worse. He slanted Ananta a glance, speculating on her timely arrival--maybe it was truly a coincidence, as unlikely as it seemed for being the third time, or maybe she really was following him (though for what reason he couldn’t ascertain)--but glad for the assistance all the same. As much as it pricked at his pride, he had been outnumbered and given enough time they would have worn him down; it had been very timely of her to step in when she had.

“Thanks for the help, by the by,” he said uncomfortably, reflecting on this time and the last. Maybe Ananta made a habit of saving people, but it was hard to believe she would help an essential stranger for nothing; the world didn’t work that way.

[Bee]

Ananta shifted a bit in what might have been a shrug. She almost felt that she ought to be the one thanking him—springing to the rescue satisfied her on a number of levels, especially now that she had no one regularly in need of protection. The thrill of the fight itself had been only a surface pleasure, however intense it was. The thought of being helpful went a very small way to filling the real void. The more he seemed to need assistance, the more freely she liked to give it, and the second fight felt a little more fulfilling than the first.

“You’re welcome,” she replied. She gave him a quick glance over. He had ripped his stitches, of course. “I’ll fix those,” she offered. Then she would tend to her own cut. It didn’t look awfully deep, but it would need cleaned. She could not abide infection.

[Dark]

They made camp roughly eight miles from where they had parted ways with the bandits, wanting to put sufficient distance between them and being far enough removed from the road that it was unlikely they’d stumble upon anyone else.

They spoke very little during the journey, and while Dev was curious about his companion, the silence suited him better; he didn’t speak easily, and Ananta seemed to be of the same ilk. The silence was, at least, rather companionable.

They finally settled down in a small hallow, easily overlooked by the wandering eye, and Dev made it his first priority to start a fire and put on a bit of water to boil the needle in. Then he wetted a rag and began to blot away what he could of the congealed blood that had matted his fur, concentrating primarily on his stomach wound.

The damn thing would scar, now.