Her response confused him. Then again, he had always found himself confused around women. A cavalry charge, he told Cooper, was less terrifying than a woman at arm’s length. At least the cavalry killed you quick and you knew it was coming. He had expected her to panic that he had touched her at all, though that was a fear he had most of the time with a woman. Maria, in one of her rattling, bi-lingual diatribes, tore into him for it, castigating him for having no faith when it came to women, but could she really blame him? He shook his head to try and clear it, listening as she explained the training ground accident. “Aelfric’s got too much of an opinion of his own prowess, that’s the issue. Quick as a stoat, he is, and strong, but got brains on him that would make this table look like it was a bleeding philosopher. And I’m worried it isn’t youth and exuberance and simply is the fact that he’s got cheese for brains.” Galin chuckled to himself, trying to push back the moments of tension before she scoffed when he touched his scarred cheek.

“Aye, I’ll wager you have seen worse. You are training under Cooper, after all, and that man is uglier than sin and we all know it. Just, never be saying that to Maria, mind, because that woman’s a she-beast of the highest order. Kindest woman I’ve known, of course, until you mention her husband’s face looking like it was carved into a potato by a drunk child that had never seen another human before in his life. Woman nearly carved me to bits with a roasting spit. I ain’t scared of much,” he said, laughing and taking a drink of his wine, “but I am scared shitless of that woman.” He caught half her glance as he turned back to the wine and began to rack his brain, wondering what she could have meant with the look. It was a futile errand, he told himself, as he polished off most of the next cup of wine. She had not stormed off, at least, and that was about as good an outcome as he could expect. What in the hell had he even been thinking, saying that? Maker above, he was losing his mind, he thought, or something close enough to it.

It seemed that she had been enjoying her training, he thought, as she relayed the stories. It was a good sort of pride, pride in the fact that she was competing at the highest level with the best of the recruits and holding her own. That was the sort of quality, Galin thought, which would make her a hell of an addition to the company. Anyone could be happy and brag about their accomplishments but it seemed that Katja was taking pride in her failures as well, taking them as a badge of honor, learning from them, and becoming stronger. Galin smiled at the thought, wishing that more recruits would have that sort of attitude. She even pushed up her sleeve to show the bruises from one of her encounters and he smiled broadly at her without any reservation in the smile. He leaned closer to look at the bruising and then she lifted her tunic to show a bruise on her ribs.

Even when he willed himself not to react, Galin sucked in his breath a fraction of a second before relaxing. Her bruised looked to be the shape of the issued boot to new recruits and Galin traced the shape of it while she explained that it was payback from a recruit whose nose she had broken. “Damn, woman, you’ll break half my recruits if you keep this up,” he quipped, pulling back to his side of the table and unlaced the front of his tunic, revealing a puckered, star shaped scar. “Arrow… crossbow bolt, more like, I took three winters back protecting a caravan. Split the bastard’s head with a war hammer after, of course, but by the Maker, it hurt like I was dying.” He pulled the fabric to the other side and gestured to a long, thin scar from his left shoulder to the center of his chest. “Never, ever get drunk and decide that you’ll be a man’s champion and fight an Egjoran swordsman over a tavern whore. Not my whore, that is, I was protecting a gentleman over her honor or something of the sort. Either way, his lordship paid and the Egjoran bled like a stuck pig. Apparently, it isn’t gentlemanly to hack at a man with a sword til his breaks then kick him in the ballocks. Learn something new every day.” He made to unlace his breeches and then laughed. “And I think I’ll spare showing you the time one of our own archers shot into a melee and hit me square in the arse.”

Katja sat next to him while she was speaking about the plan of attack and Galin felt a flash of uncomfortable warmth which subsided into nothing. Rather than focusing on it, he listened intently to her idea, nodding along with her logic. The northern mountains bred some of the best sheep in Canelux, both for skins and wool, and with winter coming on harder soon, sheepskins would be a valuable trade commodity, and who better to bring it south than two non-descript Highlanders. She was right, of course, and he contemplated arguing with her a little before he incorporated the idea, but relented. “You’re right,” he said simply and smiled at her, a crooked sort of smile, but a genuine one. “I think skins would be a better choice to bring in and I know Cooper’s cousin’s got a herd that we could use for our supply. I’ll have him write the breech-clouted savage as soon as we’ve finished here.”

When she asked him to train, the crooked smile straightened into a grin. Commanding the company meant that more of his time was devoted to the sort of work that a clerk ought to do and not enough to the military side of things. He practiced, of course, but not as much as he would look and Galin had never once turned down a challenge. “Oh, that’s a wonderful idea. Grab your kit and meet me on the training ground.” He clapped her on the shoulder as he stood up, itching for a fight. “And remember what I said about the Egjoran,” he said with a wink and ducked out of the room, nearly sprinting to his chamber.

He pulled on his boiled leather cuirass over his head, struggling without a page’s help. Over it he pulled his haubergon, a short mail coat, and he belted his sword and dagger around his waist, more out of habit than practicality. Training with Katja would be something that she would find useful, so rather than a sword, he thought, he would use his war hammer. Hefting the weapon, he felt the terrible power in the lead weighted head, then slipped his left arm through the loops of his shield before he met her on the sanded yard.

“So, lass, are you ready,” he asked, lazily swinging the war hammer in front of him. “This, this is something a bit different than you’re used to. The war hammer, you see, it’s got a spike to jab you, a hook to yank down your shield, and of course the hammer to beat you senseless. You’ve said your training has come a long way… Let’s see how far!” Grinning, he took a testing step toward her, shield up and his hammer low at his side, seeming to be testing he reflexes. Without warning, the step became a charge and he jammed the hammer forward, under her shield, using the hook to yank the shield out of alignment. “See, that’s what I was talking about,” he said, laughing as he released the hook’s tension and stepped back. “Now that you know what a crafty bastard like me can do, show me how you’d kill me.” Galin set his feet, raised his shield, and grinned at Maria and Cooper in the gathering crowd. “Come now, all these lovely people have come here to see you cave in my insufferable, deformed face. Don’t deny these fine people their enjoyment!” Galin laughed and shifted his weight to his rear leg, ever so subtly, and awaited Katja’s attack.

Katja eyed Galin’s battle scars as he exposed them and recounted what had led to their creation, her eyes lingering on his skin perhaps a moment longer than necessary in each instance. She let out a chuckle at his quip about taking an arrow in the rear. “I’ll take your word for it,” she said through her laughter, before their conversation took on a more serious tone. Truth be told, she had been expecting Galin to disagree with her suggestion about hauling sheepskins instead of grain for feed, or at the very least to be a bit offended by the fact that a woman, let alone a mere thief that had been caught stealing from the keep, suggested she had a better idea for the raid than he. She was pleasantly surprised when he agreed with her, returning his grin. “I’ve at least got some good ideas rolling around up here,” she said, tapping a finger to her temple, clearly indicating that her initial attempt to steal from the company had not been the best idea. “Glad to be able to put one to use.”

A wave of relief cascaded over her as Galin accepted her challenge to sparring. She had dreaded spending the day in her quarters with naught to do, as it would have made her feel rather useless. After all, she had a cut on her face, not a broken limb, and it would do her good to spar with someone other than the same old recruits she had been fighting with day in and day out for the past month. After he had said his parting words, she drained the rest of her wine from its cup and set it back on the table, heading back into her own room.

She quickly changed into a clean tunic and pulled her armor back on. A shoddy shield leaned against a wall in the far corner of her bedchamber, which she grabbed along with the flanged mace she had been issued during training. She hadn’t used the shield much in training thus far, but she assume Galin was going to test her abilities so thought it best to come well equipped. She had just about stepped out the door when she realized that her hair still hung loose around her shoulders, and hurried back into her room. She hastily set her equipment down and found a strip of leather, tying her hair into a loose braid over one shoulder and fastening it with the leather before grabbing her equipment and hurrying back out to the training grounds.

“Ready as I’ll ever be, could say!” Katja responded, a grin spreading across her lips as she stepped into the sand. She eyed the hammer as Galin swung it in front of him, listening closely to every word he spoke about its properties. If there was one thing she had learned during her training with Cooper and the new recruits, it was that listening was just as important as physically practicing. She held her shield at the ready, defensively raising it and quickstepping backward she Galin stepped toward her. When he lunged forward, she attempted to dodge back further, but she had not expected the hammer’s hook to pull her shield from its position. “Damnit,” she cursed under her breath, nearly losing her footing. She straightened back up, returning her shield to its position, her gaze shifting quickly to the people who had taken up a standpoint to watch their practice.

Her grip tightened on the shaft of the mace, and she decided that it was time to give it a shot. With her shield arm out in front of her, she took a few steps forward til Galin, the mace still low at her side behind her body. Swiftly, she feigned a low swing before shifting the momentum of the weapon and arcing it towards Galin’s upper body - but he was too quick for her and the mace connected with his shield, the sound echoing through the training yard. Not allowing herself to feel defeated, she quickly spun around and swung for the other side, her mace smashing into the shield once more as his reflexes proved superior. She let out an adrenaline-fueled snarl of sorts, her eyes narrowed as determination coursed through her.

She took a few quick steps backwards, shield still at the ready, waiting for Galin to strike at any moment. Her thoughts shifted back to her training with Cooper, and without warning, she charged toward Galin, shield up to protect her upper body and head and to act as a battering ram, her mace held at the ready behind her to swing when she had made contact with him.

Galin stood his ground to receive her advance, adjusting his grip on his shield. His feet shifted in the sand, finding his balance, and he slowed his breathing, calming himself like he did before any fight. He was not the sort of soldier that liked to fight angry but instead, he went into battle calm, thinking, letting his head do the work and his limbs would follow. Katja was still raw, nearly untrained, and Galin did not think that now would be the time to show her that her advance was too hesitant by dancing past her and swatting her back with his hammer. He considered it, for sure, but wanted to see her at her most confident.

Her first strike made Galin smile behind his shield, something that Cooper had been teaching since Galin had made his way south to join the company. Aim low, strike high, and confuse the bastard, he would always say, and Galin was glad to see that nothing had truly changed. Her feint was a good one and he lowered his shield a fraction in case the blow was the real thing. As the mace passed harmlessly in front of his feet, Katja flicked her wrist to change the mace’s momentum and backswung viciously at his head. Galin, without even thinking, lifted his left arm and hammered the shield into the path of the blow, angling it toward the ground so the mace bounced harmlessly off the limewood boards.

Katja had over committed with her strike and it left her vulnerable. Galin stamped forward, his boot throwing up a small cloud of dusty from the sandy ground, and thrust hard enough with the point of his hammer to poke her in the chest where the swing had left an opening. “Recover faster,” he said with a grin. “Unless you’d killed me with that first one, you’d be dead, leaving your chest open like that for all the world to see.” He winked at her over the rim of his shield as he stepped back, lowering his voice so only she could hear him. “And what a waste of chest, if memory serves.”

She snarled as she swung again and Galin parried the strike, made in haste, with ease, stepping inside the arc of the swing and taking the strike on the boards of his shield. As they pulled apart, Galin considered another attack but let Katja take the initiative once more with a charge headlong at him. When he was nearly chest to chest with Katja, he dropped the head of his warhammer, hooking it behind her legs, then shoved against her. The hammer behind her knees threw her off balances and she fell heavily to the ground. Galin followed her down, releasing the hammer to free up his hands. While she took a second to get her bearings, Galin was on top of his, his knees pinning her arms to the ground as he straddled her. As she struggled a moment, he was surprised by her strength and shifted so he bent lower with his arm across her throat. “I warned you about the hook, didn’t I,” he said, though more softly than he expected he would, finding himself focused on her pale blue eyes.

Suddenly his throat felt dry and his pulse was hammering at his neck. Something was strange, he thought, and could not understand what, even as Cooper and Maria snickered to each other as they leaned against the railing of the enclosure. He struggled to his feet uncertainly and reached his hand out toward her to help her to hers. “Well fought,” he explained, his voice loud enough to be heard by the gathered men again, “but rash. You need to learn to use your head as well as your mace. But I can’t blame you, can I, when your teacher’s got nothing between his ears but sheep shite, eh Owen?” The crowd laughed good-naturedly and began to head back to their duties, the show being over.

“So, Katja, how do you think you did? I wouldn’t mind discussing it, your performance, that is, maybe over a meal? You still do eat, right, or has Cooper trained that out of you as well?”

It seemed that Galin had anticipated her charge, and there was naught Katja could do as the warhammer hooked her legs, sending her toppling backward in a rather violent manner, the wind knocking out of her as her back slammed to the dirt. Before she had even regained her breath, Galin’s knees were restraining her arms - a notion which caused her to thrash beneath him. She released the grip on her mace, struggling to loosen herself from his grip. The attempt proved futile as his arm came to rest across her throat, and after another moment’s struggle, she relaxed, her arms falling limp beneath his knees. “You did,” she answered, the volume of her voice matching his own.

Katja’s gaze locked with Galin’s, and she swallowed in a somewhat nervous manner before parting her lips to say something, but was cut short by Galin awkwardly getting up, offering her a hand. She remained motionless for but a second longer, gripping his offered hand with hers and pulling herself to her feet with a bit of a groan - she had hit the dirt rather hard, after all. She nodded at his words as he addressed her technique, shaking off the odd feeling that had befallen her only moments ago. “I don’t think I could have lifted a mace properly when I started my training, let alone get a hit in on someone’s shield who is well seasoned in battle,” she responded as the crowd’s laughter died down and they began to disperse. She brushed a bit of dirt out of her hair before turning and bending over to retrieve her mace.

“Could have done better, I suppose,” she continued, as Galin asked her about her thoughts on the performance. “I mean, it also could have gone much worse - I did manage to connect with your shield, and that’s not something I’ve done yet the few time’s Cooper has paired up with me during training,” she said, a grin on her face. It was clear that she was proud of herself, but she did not sound smug - it was obvious that she knew she had quite a ways to go before she would be ready for any sort of real battle.

She laughed rather loudly at Galin’s question about her eating. “If Cooper tried to train me out of a good meal, I’d have snuck out of one of the keep windows in the middle of the night weeks ago,” she said, giving him another solid grin. “And a good meal sounds quite nice… I wouldn’t mind dining in somewhat quiet for once, rather than with the rest of the recruits… they eat like a pack of wild bore,” she said offhandedly, though her face reddened slightly as she thought back to the first time Galin had seen her eat. “I mean, everyone has their moments… but by the Gods, it’s every day with those boys,” she said, chuckling slightly. “I’ll need to get this dirt washed out of my hair, thank you,” she said, narrowing her eyes slightly. “Hit the ground a bit hard,” she added.

“Give me a few hours. And please - actually wait a few hours,” she said, jabbing at him slightly for when he had walked in on her bathing when she had first arrived. “See you in a while,” she said, turning to walk back into the keep. When she had reached her room, she stripped off her armor as quickly as possible, going about the motions of heating up some bathwater. When she had finished, she stripped the rest of her clothing off and climbed into the basin, closing her eyes as relaxation washed over her.

She heard the door to her quarters open not long after she had gotten in, and without opening her eyes, she let out an exasperated sigh. “Now I think you’re trying to see me in the bath on purpose, Gal-” she began, twisting and looking up, her words cutting off as she saw Maria smirking in the doorway, a bundle of clothing slung over her arm. “Um, hello… Maria?” she said, her cheeks reddening slightly. “Can I ask what you’re doing here?”

Maria scoffed at her, entering the room the rest of the way and laying the clothing out on her bed. She proceeded to spend the next several minutes speaking rather rapidly in the native Adeluna tongue to Katja - who, fortunately, was quite fluent in the language. From her words, it was quite clear that she was rather upset with the amount of bruises on Katja’s naked body, and also rather unhappy with how she was cleaning herself. She had made her way over to the tub and had rapidly begun scrubbing Katja’s hair, pushing her hands out of the way. “You’ll never get the grime out with that gentle rubbing,” she chastised. When Katja was cleaned to her liking, she passed her a towel and the girl climbed out of the wash basin, toweling off.

“You’ll need proper clothes for dinner, I’ve laid a set out on your bed - better than that rubbish you lot wear day after day,” she trailed off, clearly still irked from the tirade she had gone after Galin on earlier that day. Katja opened her mouth to protest, but it seemed as though Maria had been expecting it as she held up a hand. “You’ll wear that, and brush your hair out nice.” Katja snapped her mouth shut and nodded, having been at the keep long enough to know better than to argue with Maria. She was rather confused as to why Maria was taking such an interest in her appearance.

When Cooper’s wife had left her, she finished toweling off and analyzed the clothing that Maria had laid out with her, slowly pulling it on. Before dressing, she retrieved the poultice that Galin had given her, smearing just a bit over the cut on her face, wincing only slightly at the stinging as she rubbed it on. She turned back to the clothing and proceeded to get dressed. When she had pulled everything on, she realized that it was a modified version of the company’s dress uniform - a dark green tunic, though it had been tailored for her exact shape. It hung in the right places, and the neck lacing had been cut down much lower than usual. The black leggings were fit tight to the musculature of her legs, and in lieu of the black belt that the men usually wore, she had been given a black corset, crafted from leather with silver eyelets and hooks. A pair of clean black boots had been laid out for her as well. She pulled them on and walked over to the mirror, checking her appearance. She was now convinced that Maria had been measuring her in her sleep - the clothing fit her perfectly. She sat down and brushed out her hair until it was mostly dry, falling around her shoulders in loose waves. She popped over to the mirror again, giving herself a once over - where she paused briefly, suddenly wondering why she was so concerned with her appearance. She was, after all, just going to discuss her training with Galin, who just a few hours ago had seen her lying in the dirt, near defeat.

She shook it off after a moment, and walked out of her room and into the area Galin still used as his office. It seemed that he had beaten her there, and she took the opportunity for another jab. “I see you’ve learned patience in the last month,” she said, giving him a rather smirking grin as she stepped around the table, now standing across from him. “Truly sorry if you were waiting too long,” she said. “I was… Maria paid me a visit to tell me to wash my hair better,” she summarized, tugging at a strand of hair. She knew Galin would understand that the visit didn’t entirely consist of her inability to bathe herself, as he knew Maria much better than she did. Pulling out the chair in front of her, she sat down and immediately shifted uncomfortably, the fishboning in the corset rubbing awkwardly against the bruise on her side. “Please tell me that whatever we’re going to be eating also involves a decent amount of ale or wine… my muscles have taken a beating in the last day or so.”

“Maker’s sake, Coop, what are you doing?”

Galin had taken his time preparing, knowing that he would be ready far faster than Katja. He had even scrubbed the mail haubergon and hung it so that the leather liner would dry trying to pass the time. He usually would have gone to the office and worked on some of the company’s invoices and the like, but he did not want to accidentally run into Katja and give her the wrong idea after the prior bathtub incident. So, while the kitchens were finishing a meal that Maria, with a bundle of clothing in her arm, bustled in to direct, over Galin’s protests, he sat sharpening his sword to take his mind off the strangeness of the afternoon’s training. Something had panicked him and he was a stranger to the feeling. It left him feeling uncomfortable and he decided to put it out of his mind and focus on the simple, relaxing habit of sharpening his blade. That was, until Cooper nearly kicked the door in, Galin’s formal clothes in tow.

“No fighting me, Galin, not on this. Maria’s said it’s a good idea and I am not going home to that woman without you in a proper set of clothes. She’ll have me bollocks if I fail, so I beg you, please, please don’t fight me. Just put on the kit, placate the woman, it will.”

Galin threw his sword onto the bed and glared at Cooper with undisguised annoyance. “And why does it matter what I wear to have a meal in with one of the company, eh Cooper? Your wife’s never made me put on that when I’m eating with you lot,” he groused, but knew better than to put Cooper at odds with his fiery wife. He tugged off his tunic and replaced it with the dark green company one with ill-grace and took the trousers from Cooper. As he pulled them on, Cooper smirked a moment, and answered Galin’s question. “Well, sir, here’s the thing. If you were looking at me the way you were looking at Katja this morning, Maria wouldn’t be letting you around for supper anymore, if you get my meaning.” Galin glared at him with increased malevolence as he tied the points of his trousers and buckled the thick leather warbelt around his waist.

“I haven’t a fucking idea what you’re getting at, Cooper, and if you have something else to say, I’ll suggest you keep it to yourself before I ram the words down your bloody throat.” While Galin settled his sword and long fighting knife in their respective sheathes, Cooper poured them each wine from the pitcher on Galin’s sideboard.

“Have a drink and shut your gob, sir. No need to have you going to see Miss Kat with a black eye and I swear on the Maker’s shield, I’ll belt you if you don’t stop growling at me like a stray dog,” he said with a grin, meaning every word but without any malice. Galin, he had learned, had no sense when it came to women and Cooper swore he was going to have to bodily throw Galin at a woman for him to take the hint. Sighing through his nose in exasperation, he watched as Galin threw back the cup of wine without blinking and poured himself another. So he was nervous. Probably didn’t know what about, the idiot, but it was there. Galin only drank like that when he was nervous and the second cup took only seconds longer than the first to disappear. “You may want to go easy on that, sir, seeing as you have a long night ahead of you,” Cooper quipped and pulled the pitcher over to his side of the table.

“A long night… Oh I swear I’ll break you back to mucking out the stables, you smug bastard. Now I have on the silly damned outfit and the kitchens are making whatever it is your harridan of a wife’s told them to make, and I don’t think there’s a damned thing more I can do. So with your leave, you insufferable prick, I’ll go and make sure there’s room enough among the papers and books in there to have a meal with another bloody person.” Galin flung the clay cup at Cooper, who caught it deftly, and stalked out of the room, down the hall to his former quarters, followed by Cooper’s helpless laughter.

The kitchens would have the food ready within a quarter of an hour, Galin reckoned, so that was enough time to sit down, compose himself, and have a drink. Maria had already had the room cleaned, though Galin wondered where he would find his papers when this was all over. There were signs of Maria’s hand all over the apartment – a new tapestry over a drafty arrow slit, more comfortable chairs around the table, and his wine set replaced with a silver set from the company’s strongroom. Galin admired the work on the silver a moment, an engraved hunting scene that looked so real that the stag may have leapt off the cup, and wondered who had paid them with the set. It was hard to keep track, after so long.


Galin did not hear the door open and only turned when he heard Katja’s voice. He tried to speak, but for a moment, his words seemed trapped in his head and he closed his mouth sharply. Maria had done some job on the company uniform and it seemed to fit her as though it had been made for her, not taken from the company stores. He could not remember a time when she had worn her hair around her shoulders and it suited her, he thought, and yet he could not put a single one of those thoughts into words. Instead, he stammered a moment at her jibe and had the good grace to blush slightly. “I was not waiting long, though it was definitely something worth waiting for,” he managed to get out, and then poured them both wine and sat across from her.

“Oh, Maria sent Cooper after me, had me dress up in this ridiculous kit so I look like some Adelunan fop. No offense, of course Kat… Katja… miss, it’s just still foreign to me after these ten odd years.” Rather than stammer on, he passed her the wine and smiled. “To your health,” he toasted, then sank half the cup again to cover his nervousness. “And Cooper ain’t much better than his wife, mind. He just likes to play the henpecked husband for the sympathy.” Galin paused when he heard a knock on the door, and trays of food arrived, fresh bread, steaming roast beef, cheeses, vegetables, and two extra flagons of, if the one on his mantle was anything to judge by, some of the better in the company’s cellars.

As they began to work their way through the food, Galin taking care to be polite and serve her first with as much grace as he could muster, he found time to finish his thought. “When I came down here, I was nothing but a wee slip of a boy with a sword and a bad history. Cooper and I never saw eye to eye, him having been at the wars when I was my mother’s tit. But I was assigned to his section from the first day and he and I, we were like rams, butting at every turn.” He paused and sipped his wine. “I was no skirmisher, see. Most of the lads in the skirmishing troops are from the lowland valleys in the North and I am from the mountains, and when we ain’t fighting the orcs, we are fighting each other.

“So Coop, he resented Domnall, the old commander, putting me in charge of the light troops and reckoned it was his job and I could piss off. I, of course, thought that it was mine and decided that, since it was during a bit of a crisis, the first plague that hit, about nine years back, that I’d beat the balls off him and be done with it. My one problem, you see, is that Cooper, as you know, is the size of a bloody bear and twice as strong, so all we did was bruise and batter each other until Domnall, on a stretcher no less, comes out to yell at us for being a bunch of morons. That settled it, more or less, and we served together ever since.”

Galin paused, flushed, between nervousness and the wine. “And there I am, gabbing on again. They ain’t wrong when they say you can’t shut a Highlander up. I’m so sorry, please, tell me something about yourself? All I’ve been able to figure is that you’re a better thief than a fighter, you’re honest to your word, and you sure to clean up nice with your hair done down like that.” Galin nearly choked when he realized what he said and desperately tried to correct it. “Ain’t good in a battle, though, that’s the trouble, too much to grab onto,” he muttered, looking into his cup to avoid her gaze, and waited for her to say literally anything to break the awkward silence that followed.

Galin’s statement was enough to give Katja pause, though when she caught the blush in his cheeks she thought better of poking any further fun at him. She let out a bit of a laugh as he proceeded to inform her that she had not been the only one with an unexpected and frankly unwelcome visitor after their training session. She waved her hand in a dismissive motion as he seemed to stumble over what to address her as, reaching for the wine as he passed it to her. “Kat’s fine, or Katja - whatever you prefer, I don’t really care either way,” she said, proceeding to raise her glass in return to his toast, taking a rather long drink herself, savoring the taste. It was much better than anything she had tasted in quite some time, which spurred her to take another drink. “Cooper did alright - you almost look like a proper gentleman,” she added, taking in his appearance as the doors open and their meal arrived from the kitchens.

A thankful smile crossed Katja’s face as Galin served her meal. “Thank you,” she said, taking in the sheer amount of food that sat before them. While she had been eating rather well since she had joined the company, the meals she had on a daily basis were nothing compared to what sat in front of her. She quietly ate and drank as Galin offered a bit of information on his past, nodding here and there out of interest and acknowledgement. She let out a laugh towards the end of his tale as he described the fighting between he and Cooper, chuckling at the mental image it stirred in her brain.

Katja had refilled her cup twice during the story, and was halfway through the second fill when Galin concluded and apologized for rambling on, complimenting her in the process. She chuckled again, subconsciously toying with her hair and pushing it over her shoulder on one side as he spoke of it. “That’s why it’s braided during training,” she said, smirking at him. “So unless you’re planning on taking me down here in the office like you did on the field, I think I’ll be just fine right now,” she said. She held the smirk while she spoke, though her words came out in a bit of a sputter as she was unsure how to react to his compliment, as he clearly had not intended on making it.

“I’m actually afraid I don’t have a lot to tell you about myself,” she said, leaning back in her chair a bit. She held her cup of wine in her hand, pushing her plate forward slightly as she had eaten enough to be pleasantly full at the moment. “I’ve been in Adeluna as long as I can remember… which isn’t much longer than a year,” she said, glancing up at him with a bit of a frown crossing her face. “Bit over a year ago, an older couple found me unconscious outside the city walls,” she said, her brow furrowing slightly as she began the explanation. “Looked as though I’d taken a nasty spill from a horse - had nothing but the clothes on my back and a pack with a few belongings in it. Couldn’t remember spit but my given name, not even a family name,” she added, and paused to take a drink from her cup.

“That couple… they were good people,” she said, smiling a bit. “They took me in, clothed me, fed me, all in exchange for some work on their farm. About three weeks in, bandits hit the farm. I slipped away unnoticed, but that couple… found them in the barn with their throats slit,” she said, her face focused in an attempt to remain stoic. “Took what I could and head into the city, hoping maybe someone would recognize me… but that’s when I realized that I was rather good at remaining unseen - hence the drop into thieving, you see?” she said, and finished off the cup, leaning forward and setting it down on the table. She forced a grin and directed her gaze back to Galin. “It wasn’t too bad of a life, if you don’t mind half-starving to death most of the time,” she said. “But, that’s about it. Brings us right to the night you could have had me killed but didn’t - which thanks for that, by the way,” she added with a hint of a wink.

Not much longer after the reveal of Katja’s history, or lack thereof, the doors to the office opened and one of the women from the kitchens came in to clear their meal. She carried with her a smaller tray holding a decanter and two glasses, which she set down, explaining that she had been told they wanted a decanter of whiskey for after dinner. The meal was cleared with only the wine and whiskey being left. After the woman left, Katja looked at Galin with a raised eyebrow. “Whiskey?” she asked, shifting her glance from him to the decanter. “Didn’t you already let me make enough of a fool of myself on the training grounds? I guess if I wake up with a black eye, I’ll know it came from tripping and falling into my bedside table and not Cormac busting my face up this time” she quipped, though she moved to pull the tray towards her, and proceeded to pour a decent helping of the whiskey into each of the glasses, sliding one across the table to Galin before taking the other glass for herself, raising it up towards him before taking a gulp.

She swallowed the whiskey and let out a bit of a cough, setting the glass on the table. “That’s… that’s a bit more potent than any whiskey I’ve had,” she said, blinking a few times. After the initial burn wore off, she took another drink, letting it rest on her tongue for just a moment. “Good, though. Very good,” she added.

“I wasn’t planning on it, but if you haven’t learned your lesson from the training ground, I think, even after this wine, I can still pin you again without breaking a sweat.” He grinned at her and half made to get out of his chair to grapple, but settled for pouring her another glass of wine and topping off his own. “But I think we can leave that until we train again. Maybe tomorrow, if you’re interested? I do need to keep my skills up and Maker knows that will all this clerical tedium,” he said, gesturing to the stacks of parchment that cluttered the shelves around them, “I barely have time to see the training ground, let alone work up a good sweat.”

When Katja mentioned that there was nothing much for her to tell about her own past, Galin was intrigued and concerned, leaning forward in his chair and hanging on to every word. It was not unheard of, he concluded, as she told more of the story, to lose memories after a blow to the head. He could even remember one of the men who had left the company had been the same after an Egjoran mace brained him in a border dispute. “Happens, from what I’ve seen,” he replied softly. “One of the lads that served here a few years back had it happen to him. Mace scrambled his pate and he couldn’t remember a thing from the last… ten odd years. His wife wasn’t the happiest when he couldn’t tell her from a hole in the wall, but it came back in time. So never you worry. Shame to hear about the folk that took you in though.”

He grimaced and took another drink of the wine. “Adeluna’s got this reputation as the safe, happy kingdom, but the buggers can’t keep the highway safe. Every few months, the Crown sends us a barrel of silver and we head out to burn the bastards out, but it don’t do much good to them that’s already dead. They ought to be more active, clearing the roads, checking the old farms left after the plague, all that, but they’d rather throw coin and foreigners at the problem rather than do it right the first time. Useless buggers, the lot of them,” he growled. “And of course I didn’t kill you. You didn’t actually steal a damned thing and it would be a shame to deprive the world of a pretty girl just because she’s a shite thief. If you’d gotten away, though…” He winked at her, the wine loosening his tongue a fraction and letting him relax. “But of course, you’re welcome. It’s nice having you around the keep, a change of pace from the ragged tinkers I call soldiers here.”

He laughed out loud when she mentioned the whiskey Maria had clearly decided was the appropriate way to end their evening and then swallowed the rest of his wine, feeling flushed and a touch giddy. “Many’s the man in this company that’s had a night the ended with him losing a fight to cobblestones, so if you do, you’ll be in fine company. Though, as I see it, you haven’t too long a trip back to your bed,” he joked, “so I trust you’ll be able to hold your own.”

When she coughed, Galin struggled to contain his laughter a moment, then did his best to hide his mirth by drinking some of the whiskey himself. “Made up north, of course, and just a few miles from where I was born. I still know the family that runs the place and they don’t subscribe to the popular notion that I am a bag of boiled goat arseholes, so they send a barrel down when they can, a little taste of home.” He sipped at the whiskey and finally smiled openly at Katja, the alcohol lowering his defenses enough to show he was genuinely enjoying her company. “You know, I haven’t done this in… damn, I can’t even remember. It must be years now, though I bet Coops would know, that interloping, meddling bugger.”

Before he could explain what he meant, the door swung open and a dusty, exhausted messenger nearly collapsed onto the table. Galin pushed his whiskey into the man’s hands and took a sealed letter from him. He recognized the seal as one from the Highlands, belonging to a lord that had always sent men to Galin’s company rather than see them hang for petty crimes in the north. His hands were shaking as he pulled the seal from the parchment and began to scan the letter, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on the message within. He muttered words as he read them, his eyes slowly lighting up as he came to the end of the message. “Orcs… Alfric’s besieged… oh that bastard… tribes rising together… six weeks, maybe eight… send help…” Galin shook the messenger’s hand as he gulped the whiskey and grinned like a madman. “So there’s war in the North, boyo, and we’ve been invited to the dance!” Clapping the man on the back, he pushed the letter across the table to Katja. “The man who’s made sure I’ve been living here these ten odd years is in trouble in the North, Kat, and my last friend up in the Highlands is calling on me to help. Orcs have Alfric’s keep surrounded and the word is, he won’t last the winter. So we will be dealing with the cheating bastard count later. It’s time to head home!”

Without thinking, he leaned down, took her face in both his hands, and kisses her soundly on the lips, then let go and grinned even wider. “Damn, but you’re a fine looking woman,” he said with obvious admiration, and winked at her as he grabbed her by the hands and pulled her to her feet. “Maker alive, this is grand news. A proper fight, and there’s a job for you too, of course. But I’ve got to get planning,” he said, delight suffusing his voice. He spun her around as though they were dancing, then held her still and kissed her again in his excitement. His face colored a moment as he looked at her, in front of him, as he pulled away, but he kept smiling. “It’s a grand day, so it is,” he said and grinned so widely that the harshness he so commonly exhibited melted away in boyish excitement. “Now, Kat, I’ve got to tell Cooper and get this whole thing started. Thank you for a lovely evening and I look forward to doing it again, if you’ll have me!” And then, with a wink and hug, he nearly sprinted out of the room, shouting for Cooper to get on his useless feet.

The soldier, fortified with whiskey, looked stunned at Katja. “Galin’s gone mental, he has. Ain’t seen him like that since… Maker’s bollocks, since before the plague took Herself and he got stuck fighting these piss ant local squabbles. Looks like the old bugger just needs a proper fight, and…” He trailed off and winked at Katja. “Well, goodnight, miss,” he concluded and took his leave, leaving the company’s newest recruit alone in the center of a maelstrom of excitement and hurried preparations as the company readied itself for war.

Katja opened her mouth in an appalled manner as Galin poked fun at her thieving abilities, though she couldn’t help but let the corners of her mouth turn up into a smile accompanied with a soft laugh. “I’m a rather good thief, thank you very much! Perhaps I’ve stolen from you while I’ve been here and you don’t even know it! Perhaps getting caught was my plan all along,” she said, giving him a wink, clearly in jest. As he continued on, it pleased her to hear that her presence had been a positive in his eyes and not a negative. “They’re not so bad,” she said, attempting to keep a straight face, though she broke into a chuckle moments later. “Who am I kidding? Ragged is a good description of those boys,” she added.

“It’s not funny!” she said as she could see that Galin was amused at her reaction to the first drink of whiskey she took. “I’m used to the shit - sorry - rubbish that you get in the taverns here in Adeluna,” she explained, catching herself unnecessarily as she cursed. She took another sip of the harsh liquid, trying her hardest not to make a face as she focused on Galin while he offered another tidbit about his history. She had just parted her lips to ask him to indulge her a bit further on what exactly Cooper was meddling with, when her attention was drawn to the messenger that had entered.

Her eyes fell on Galin as he concentrated on the message that had been delivered to him, and for a brief moment she found herself studying the features of his face a bit more than she had done before. When he shoved the letter across the table towards her, she pulled it close, reading it quickly. Most of the information meant nothing to her at first glance, but Galin seemed awfully happy about whatever it was, and that was enough where she grinned awkwardly at him

She was about to ask what that meant for the impending raid she had been training for, when Galin leaned down and planted a kiss directly on her lips. The haze of alcohol delayed her reaction, which was only to freeze as this took place, letting out a sort of laugh as he pulled away from her and complimented her appearance. She was unable to speak before he pulled her up from her chair, expanding on the information he had received somewhat but not really explaining anything. She laughed again as he twirled her unexpectedly, though the laugh was silenced by Galin stopping the spin and his lips meeting hers once again - another unexpected kiss. This time, however, she offered a reaction, her eyelids flutterings somewhat and her lips forming to match his. She blinked at him with a bit of confusion as he pulled back, catching the color in his cheeks and matching it with that of her own. If Galin was embarrassed by his actions, nothing but the color in his cheeks showed it, as Katja witnessed a complete transformation of his demeanor. “Soon, I hope,” she said in response, laughing awkwardly as he hugged her, and she stood in place, watching him dart out of the room.

Katja shook her head slightly at the events that had just taken place, before the messenger addressed her. She whipped her head around to look at him, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of red at his comments. She remained silent, trying to decipher what he was saying to her, but all she caught was the suggestive tone of his comment. “Oh, piss off!” she yelled after him as he left the room, clearly flustered.

After a few moments of complete silence, Katja walked back over to the table, where she proceeded to pour some of the remaining whiskey into a glass, downing it in two gulps with a bit of a cough following. She put both hands flat on the tabletop and leaned forward against it slightly, letting out a rather exasperated sounding breath of air. “What the hell just happened?” she wondered aloud, the room answering her with nothing but silence.

She took a beat, running over the previous events in her head. He had clearly just kissed her out of excitement - that had to have been it. After all, there was nothing more than that - though, there was the way he had looked at her when he had pinned her during training that afternoon. She hadn’t been able to figure out what it was, but something had been off about it. It had been nothing but a quick brush of lips, and that didn’t mean a damn thing. They had both drank their fair share, and he had received exciting news. That was clearly it. But… if that was the case, why had he kissed her a second time? That time hadn’t been so brief, and there had been a bit more… passion to that one? And she had definitely made an attempt to return that one…

She abruptly straightened up and pulled her hands from the table, resigning herself to the fact that that had all happened thanks to the liquor they had consumed, though she was having a tough time believing herself. With that, she walked into her room and undressed, pulling on a longer tunic for sleeping before climbing into her bed and drifting rather quickly off to sleep.

Morning came far too soon, and Katja slowly opened her eyes, cursing the pounding in her head - which was, most likely, attributed to the mixture of wine and whiskey she had the night before. She stared at the ceiling, blinking as she replayed the previous night in her head. After several moments, she had told herself there was no point in worrying. What had happened had happened, and it didn’t matter why. After all - it wasn’t as though she was remotely upset by the actions - in fact, she found herself smirking somewhat as she admitted to herself that it was somewhat enjoyable, and her mind wandered for a moment as she contemplated what kissing him a bit more would be like, were it not in the presence of a messenger… But she quickly shook herself out of that thought string, and climbed out of bed.

She could hear activity in the office, and lazily pushed the door of her bedroom open and stepped out. Galin was sitting at table, his back to her door. For a brief moment, she contemplated walking back into her room and shutting the door, but her feet had a different idea. She padded across the floor until she was standing next to him, little distance left between them. “Morning,” she said quietly, before yawning. She stretched her arms over her head as though she were still waking, and proceeded to lean down against the table so she was nearly at eye level with him, looking at the information strewn out on the table. “Planning for the change in plans?” she asked, in reference to the news he had received last night. “I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to work into this big battle,” she said, her voice still masked with a bit of sleep. “I’m not exactly battle ready,” she added, turning to look at him. “Um. Did I miss something last night?” she asked, catching a bit of bruising beneath his eye. Without thinking, she reached with one hand and gingerly ran her fingers across the darkened skin, curious as to how he had obtained a black eye since they had parted ways the evening before.

Cooper heard Galin’s bellowing from the quarters he and Maria shared along with their daughter and he groaned to himself. His wife rolled over and looked at him wife a mixture of tiredness and annoyance. “If he wakes Luth up, I’ll find him passed out drunk one night and geld him like a lark, and you tell him that from me,” she hissed through clenched teeth as she pulled their daughter closer and shooed him out of bed to stop Galin’s incessant noise. Cooper, hissing in displeasure as his bare feet touched the cold stone floor, opened the door to his chambers and padded out to intercept his commander before his wife took a gelding knife to one or both of them. He saw Galin down the hall and motioned for him to come to the kitchens where Cooper, in front of the embers of the cooking fire, sat heavily on a stool and poured himself some wine, gesturing for Galin to do the same. Galin, the letter from the north clutched in his hand, sat opposite him and barely paused to drink the cup of wine that Cooper poured him.

“I know you heard, you slippery bastard, I know you heard it all! Alfric besieged, orc tribes united in the heartlands, and the Highlands are calling for aid, and from me of all people! The buggers realized we are the best there is to offer and are begging for us to come north and wipe their arses for them!” Cooper looked at him like he had three heads and Galin took a sip of the wine before continuing. “Let me review. Alfric’s got Orcs up his ass, got his keep surrounded and won’t last til spring. So Alpin sent this letter,” he continued, brandishing the parchment, “asking for our help. We will be paid, of course, but things are so tight that thirty men, he said, might turn the tide. Imagine the look on Alfric’s face when he sees my pink, Highland arse delivering him from the Orcs. He’ll shit himself and die on the spot and I’ll wager good money on that.”

Cooper looked at Galin with a mixture of exasperation and confusion. “That can wait, you foolish man. What about Miss Kat?”

Galin sputtered into his cup, cursed Cooper roundly and with a great deal of linguistic creativity, and then downed the rest of the cup. “So I may have kissed her. I’ll tell her in the morning it was a terrible mistake and be done with it. Now back to…”

Cooper knocked the cup out of his hands and glared at his best friend of the last ten years. “What in the nine hells do you mean, tell her it was a mistake. You practically took the clothes off her with your eyes on the training ground this morning and now you’re kissing her? What in the hell do you think it is, some sort of change in the seasons that’s got you this way, you bleeding idiot?”

Galin snarled as he turned on his friend, clenching his fists at his side as he stood. “What the shite are you talking about, you lowland muck savage?! I’m a married man and you know that, no matter what Kat is making me think. I took my vows to one woman and with that one woman I plan to remain. The rest was just whiskey and excitement.”

Cooper stared at Galin a moment and then burst out into full fledged laughter, clutching his sides in merriment as he stood as well. “So you’re married now, are you? Maker’s blood, man, she’s not holding you to that, not now that she’s, well… You know?”

“She’s what? Dead? So that should be enough for me to break my oath?” Galin growled and swung an inebriated punch at Cooper, who ducked out of the way easily and snapped a jab into Galin’s face. Galin staggered, stunned, and sank back into his seat. He touched his left eye and could already feel it swelling after the punch. “I’ll break you back to the ranks, you bastard, and don’t think I won’t.”

Cooper stood over him, his hulking presence imposing in the half light of the dying fire. “You’ll do nothing of the sort,” he growled back at Galin. “She wouldn’t want you to live in misery like a bleeding hermit, never finding happiness again. And don’t lie to me, because I’ll know after this long. I ain’t seen you smile at anyone like that since the plague and you’ve found someone that makes it happen without trying. Stop looking for an excuse you hide yourself, sir, and be a fucking man.” Cooper dragged Galin to his feet and looked him dead in the eye. “She’s a rare one, sir, and she makes you smile the likes of which I ain’t seen since my son was born. Stop ignoring that to be faithful to a woman’d want you to be happy. Embrace it as her last gift and start with someone that’s got you being a fucking man again. Sir.” He held Galin a moment, at arms’ length, and smiled as he saw the light of recognition start in his eyes. Something he had said stuck and maybe, just maybe, Galin would not actively make himself miserable as he had every day since the plague took his wife and their adopted son. Maybe, Cooper thought, he would allow himself to be free of the past, just for the day.


Galin woke in the morning with a pounding in his head and a tenderness near his left eye. He could remember the exact moment that Cooper hit him like a blacksmith’s hammer but he only half-remember the conversation. Certain phrases stuck out, however, and he knew that he could not hide from what happened the night before with Katja. Cooper was right, even if he would not admit it, and he did not think that he was supposed to die alone after his wife and son were taken in the plague. And Katja had made him smile more than he could remember smiling since his wife’s passing, so he was loathe to do anything that would jeopardize that. Instead, he went to the kitchens and filled a tray with fresh fruit from the fort’s small garden, small loaves of freshly baked bread, and a jar of honey. As he was about to leave the kitchens, he noticed the food being prepared for Cooper and Maria, who, rumor had it, were expecting another child, and, in honor of his growing black eye, Galin stole the bacon off their trencher and headed to his offices as he chewed it with malicious glee.

While he was going over the last grain requisitions to prepare to supply the company on the march, settled back at the table where he had been the night before, he was oblivious to Katja’s presence until the door to her quarters squeaked behind her. He looked up and gave her a beaming smile, waiting as she padded across the floor to the table. “Good morning yourself, lovely,” he said softly as she leaned down on the table next to him. Before she could expect an answer to her questions, he leaned over and kissed her slowly, an arm around her waist, as if to say that, in the cold, sober light of morning, he made the same choice as he had the night before. He lingered in the kiss, not wanting to break away, but he knew he had to. Instead, he put an arm around her waist and pulled her a little closer so she could see the map of the Highlands.

“Well, first, yes, there is a change in plans, but also yes, you missed something. Cooper rang my head like a bell, for reasons that don’t bear repeating, but that’s the eye.” He squeezed her around the waist a moment and smiled at her. “Has anyone ever told you that you look adorable in the mornings,” he asked and planted a kiss on her cheek. He knew that Cooper had been right and instead of maintaining his distance, he decided that he would just accept the reality of his situation and make the most of it. He looked down at her, lost again in her blue eyes, then kissed her once more, as softly and purposefully as he had moments before. “And now to something a bit more serious…”

“First, the plan. The Orcs are besieging a fortress in the North, the home of the man that made me make my life in the south, and I am being called to relieve him and end the siege. I have already sent a rider for the rest seafarer I know and we will be sailing within the week. If all goes well, we arrive in Dunholm and march under the cover of darkness to Carrick,” he said, stabbing the map with his finger. “While we create a distraction and draw off the enemy, you’ll enter the fortress from the postern gate and tell that what we intend to do to break the siege. When they are aware, shoot a fire arrow into our lines and we will begin the attack,” he said, pointing to the direction of the proposed assault.

“And secondly, I wanted to be clear with you, now that we are both a touch more sober than I was last evening… It wasn’t the whiskey or the wine, if that’s what you’re wondering. A very wise man,” he said, touching his swollen eye, “reminded me that I ought to live in the moment so that is what I am trying to do. Kat… I really enjoyed last night, our conversation, the unexpected ending to the night, all of it. But… I want you to know it wasn’t a mistake. It’s… good. You are good and you are making me happy. I hope that wasn’t too forward, of course. I am just not about to let something slip through my fingers, especially something this good, and something that has already gotten me a swift punch in the face. Basically,” he said with a grin before leaning in for another kiss, “whatever this is, wherever it goes, and no matter what happens, I have a feeling it will be better doing it next to you.”

Galin caught her by surprise as he leaned in and kissed her, though she reflexively closed her eyes and returned the kiss, though she was still rather internally unsure of what was happening. Instead of pushing away from him and asking him what was happening, she chose to let it happen, leaning into his arm as he wrapped it about her waist. When he pulled away from the kiss, she let out a small laugh as he pulled her closer to him. She was still hesitant, though less so with the behavior he was exhibiting.

Katja began to speak to ask him what that was all about, but he beat her to the punch, offering an explanation for the black eye first. She raised an eyebrow as he explained Cooper was the culprit. “You two have a knack for getting into fistfights or something?” she asked, giving him a sleepy grin as he tightened his grip on her waist. As he proceeded to compliment her appearance, she reached up and ran a hand through her hair, her face reddening slightly as it finally donned on her that she was clothed in naught but a loose tunic with frazzled, messy hair from sleeping. “Can’t say as though anyone has,” she answered, her gaze locking with his own. This time, she was prepared as he kissed her once more, though still confused as to where the sudden affection had risen from.

When they parted, she focused her attention on the map as he explained what would be taking place once they traveled to the Highlands. Part of her was rather excited - she hadn’t been outside of Adeluna, as far as she could remember, anyway, so the prospect of seeing another part of the world was something to look forward to; however, she found herself rather nervous that she was going to be given such a seemingly important task. “That seems like something awfully important for someone who has yet to see any sort of real battle,” she said, trepidation audible in her voice as she spoke. “But, you’re the one who’s got experience in these matters, and I suppose you wouldn’t entrust me with something you didn’t think I was capable of,” she added, smiling at him. “Question is, what the bloody hell am I supposed to do during the attack? End up flat on my back in the dirt with someone swinging a war hammer at my head?” she quipped, calling back to their training session and her inability to best him.

Before she could ask anything else on the topic, Galin seemed to switch gears, addressing the elephant in the room. She could not help but to smile again as he explained his actions from the previous evening, including a hint as to why Cooper had blackened one of his eyes. As he kissed her once more, she found herself not only returning the kiss, but leaning into him a bit as well. When he broke away and finished speaking, she looked at him with her head tilted slightly to one side. Before speaking, she pulled out the chair beside him and turned it to face him, sitting down close enough so her bare knees rested against the side of his leg.

“Before I went to my room last night, I sat out here trying to make sense of everything that had happened. It was all a flurry, and everything was so hazy from the whiskey, and the wine… I didn’t know what to think,” she began. “I had a very nice time with you yesterday - training included,” she added, smiling at him. She dropped a hand to rest on his leg as she continued speaking. “I don’t know what I feel about you - I mean, I literally have nothing to compare it to,” she said with a laugh. “If I’ve ever had any sort of… companionship of any kind in the past, I sure as hell don’t remember it.” She fell silent for a moment, thinking best on how to continue.

“What I do know, Galin, is that I’ve certainly enjoyed the times that I’ve gotten to spend with you. Not a lot that I can remember has made me genuinely smile, and you’ve managed to do it a myriad of times. I feel… good when I’m with you, and from my understanding, that’s something that doesn’t come easily,” she explained. “It was funny, yesterday, when you asked if I wanted to eat with you? I was so confused as to why Maria thought I needed to get so cleaned up, and it was even more confusing when you said that Cooper did the same with you - but maybe they were seeing something we weren’t?” she asked. “Regardless of the reasons behind it, I think you’re right. I think this is, or could be something, and it’s worth seeing what that something is…” She trailed off then, and surprisingly this time it was she who leaned toward Galin and kissed him, one hand finding the side of his face as she did so. She lingered much longer than intended, and when she pulled back she had a rather large smile plastered across her face. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?” she asked, a hint of a smirk hidden in her smile.

She turned her attention to the platter of fruit on the table, picking a rather large strawberry off of it. Oddly, she spread a bit of honey on the berry before taking a contemplative bite of it, chewing rather slowly. After swallowing the bite, she turned her attention back towards him. “All this aside, I’m going to need to ramp up my training, aren’t I?” she asked with a bit of a sigh. “Starting with learning how to shoot a damned bow in the right direction,” she added with a laugh. “Cooper’s yet to put a bow in my hands, probably a smart move on his end.” She took another bite of the berry before her face lit up slightly. “You know, I’m going to need my toolkit back. Dermot was nice enough to liberate me of it when your men caught me that first night… and I don’t think he ever gave it back.” The black leather pouch she had carried with her had contained several tools that would make breaking in when they arrived to the Highlands much easier. “I’ll have to pay that bastard a visit, I expect,” she said, though she immediately perked back up and turned her attention back to Galin.

“So what’s the next step?” she asked, and it was clear that her question addressed both the mission in the Highlands, and whatever it was between the two of them.