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This story comes after:Meat of the Matter (LJ)
Bare Bones (LJ) [Beta]
Skeleton Key (LJ) [donor perk]
and Ambush {Donor Perk}: Girey had foiled an attempt to attack Rin and kidnap himself, at the sacrifice of the first escape plan he’s had that might actually work.
Chapter X: Offensive
Leaving the scene of battle is neither fleeing nor cowardly; it is simply gaining a better footing for the next attack
They rode for about an hour, until the moons were high and fat in the sky and the air was chill, and then Rin led them off to the side of the road, into a small cove half-roofed by rock. They were clearly not the first to camp here; the area had a fire pit, a stone basin collecting the runoff of a small rivulet, and a platform built up of rocks and sodded over, keeping the tent out of the lowest areas if the rain came.
“I hope you’re in no hurry to get to Lannamer.” Rin’s smile, in the pale moonlight, looked grim. Girey didn’t blame her; he was feeling irritated, grim, and tired himself.
“None at all.” Anything but, and she knew that. She had to know that, after what she’d overheard.
“Good.” She tossed him her goat’s reins as she dismounted. “Get them settled while I pitch the camp, would you?”
She hadn’t chained him to the saddle, presumably because they’d been running. He could flee now, easily. If he took her goat with him, she’d never be able to catch up.
He hesitated, holding both sets of reins. “What are you planning?”
She met his gaze evenly. “I’m planning on ambushing them, and explaining to them exactly why one doesn’t try to attack me in the middle of the night. I don’t like being threatened and snuck up upon.”
He paused, for one heartbeat and then another. “I don’t, either,” he admitted quietly. He led the goats to a convenient tie-off, and began stripping their tack.
In the bustle of getting camp set up, she paused, studying him. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.” If she didn’t, he wouldn’t have to think about why he’d done it.
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Moar?
There will be moar, of course. I’m reinventing the book as we go
Greedy kelkyag wants to read the whole thing now! (I’m sure I have some patience around here somewhere … <goes trundling around digging through things> …)
What kelkyag said. Also a typo, I think: “into a small cove half-roofed by rock” – ‘cove’=’cave’?
No, I wanted a cove. Technically, I wanted the word for a side-valley, but wikipedia said it might be a cove.
Okay.
I’m up for a better word, though 😀
I am enjoying the book getting re-imaged. And I do like the excitement that these scenes add. Also, poot Girey. Just when it looks like he might really be able to take off… a conscience! It’s good for him, I think.
“Get this ready to e-publish” is one of my goals for the year. I wouldn’t really call it re-imagined so much as actually editing/rewriting it into a coherent story.