~~~Part 1: The Dark One~~~
~~~Chapter 1~~~

It is night, and the stars are sharp pin pricks in the velvet sky.  As it always is in the mountains of the north, it is very cold.  Snowleopardess, a traveller, has set up camp far from any towns, her fire the only warmth to be found on this night other then her horse...

It had been night for a long time, and Lex had been walking anyway.  It would have been a better choice to camp before he'd hit the mountain ranges, but now that he was here there was no reason for him to sleep in the cold until he was atually tired.  He was, just now, begining to need sleep, and wished he had prepared better for the trip.  He had rushed his shopping trip in the last faraway town, and had warm clothes, but probably not enough.  Lex resolved himself to walk a bit further, and stepped around a snow-covered outcropping to suddenly see a small camp fire.  He paused, taking in the looks of the camp.
 A young woman sat by the fire, cornsilk hair plaited back out of her face and shining softly in the campfire's light.  Her eyes were closed, giving the appearance that she'd fallen asleep sitting by the fire, her elbows on her knees.  On her lap rested an odd looking sword,  its blade of a purplish metal with runes engraved upon it. The woman's stud was tied up just off to the side.
 Lex backed up against the outcropping, not liking how far the light of the campfire reached, and certainly not liking the rune-covered sword or the sense of power eminating from it.  He stood still for a few moments more, deciding what to do.
 Just then the girl opened her hard, ice-green eyes.  She appeared to have seen much more in her life already then she had wished to. Her gaze traced along the snow up to where he was standing against the outcropping, the rest of her making no motion to betray wether she had seen him or not. Her gaze then returned to her sword in her lap, and she sat up, begining to work on its edges.
 Lex decided that in this case it might be foolish to walk all the way around a camp site, not even sure if its inhabitor was truely a person he would wish to avoid.  He was wearing warm clothes and carrying only a small satchel hanging from his neck and around his arm, and this she saw in his tall, almost entirely full grown, lanky outline as he stepped somewhat into the light, his hands at his sides.  He didn't bother to introduce hismelf, but waited for her reaction, wether it was to be good or bad.
 She did not look up at this, though she took in his appearence with a small, mostlikely unobserved, glance. She kept working at honing her blade's edges as he stood there silently. Raising her sword, the purplish blade glinting sharply in the fire light, she blew along the edge of it before speaking, and as she spoke, her voice was soft and husky, yet somewhat harsh: "...what is it you want."
 His voice as he replied was that of a young man who's heart is old and cynical, and who was at the moment tired and somewhat frustrated, besides not very used to speaking unless he must.  "What kind of sword is that?"
 "It is a dangerous sword, that is all you need know..." She looked up at him with her bright green eyes overtop of the edge of the blade as she slowly lowered it down to her lap once more. "What brings you to my fire..?"
 "I didn't ask what I needed to know."
 "Indeed, sir. You asked what you did not need know."
 "And so have you." Lex clasped his hands calmly in front of him.
 Her eyes narrowed slightly towards him.  Men were bad enough... but those who would not answer a simple question as to why he would intrude upon her fire... "Perhaps, perhaps not.."
 The man smiled slightly.  "My name is Lex."
 She did not smile at all. Her face remained placid as she returned to working on her blade. "Well Lex, what ever brings you into my lair, one would hope is a good reason."
 "Well, you could almost say it is in my way," he said, not able to stop himself from smirking, "and I didnt feel like changing dirrection."
 "Well if it is in your way, why not simply pass through it so that it is no longer in your way."
 "That would probably burn me," he said, purposely refering to the fact that the fire was in between them, and purposefully ignoring the fact that he could walk around it and her.
 "If one passes swiftly enough through fire, it will not harm them." This she said matter of factly.
 Lex stepped up to the fire.  His hair was black with a purple tinge, cut short for a girl and not too long for a guy- that is, it didn't reach his shoulders.   His eyes were dark, and he turned them to the fire in front of him, then reached his hand near it.  "Judging by the heat... I would have to say I'm not quite that fast...."
 The cold green eyes looked up at him once more. This close, he could see there was a large tattoo upon the side of her face to his right. Further away it would have appeared to simply be the shadows from the fire. Her white blond hair, braided, reached down to the small of her back. "Then I would suggest you be careful.. as I am."
 "I am," he said, meaning he always was, or at least almost always.
 Here the reader might be obliged to know that Snowleopardess, the woman traveler, had recieved her name partly as a result of her quick  reflexes. At this point, though, one who knew her name could easily have taken her caution as the origin surrounding it. "Good," she near whispered, "one wouldn't want you to loose your head.. or burn your hand.."
 Lex's hand was still in the fire, so he drew it out.  He clasped his hands in front of him again, and there was no indication that he might have burnt himself.  "What kind of weapon is that?" he asked again, his voice a bit softer this time.
 "A good one.. one you can not handle," she said, obviously not meaning that she would not allow him to, but that she honestly knew that he could not wield it.
 "I just want to know what it is," he said truthfully.  He would have refused the sword if she had offered him to handle or touch it in anyway.  He didn't want it, he might even have been afriad of it.  But he was curious enoguh to ask, and either brave or indifferent enough to ask *her*.
 "It is a sword." She said rather simply.
 "But it's purple."
 "Simply because of the material it was made with."
 "But I wish to know.  If I only knew the things I needed, I would be the dullest person alive.  What harm can it be to tell me what it's made of?  There's no way I have of getting it, I don't want it anyway, and I assure you I've never heard of it before."
 "Answer me, are you a Northern Sworddancer?"
 "If I am somebody should have told me a long time ago."  he grinned.
 "If you were, you would have reason to know."
 "Then I guess I'm not."
 "Then you  truely have no need to know, now do you..." She still did not smile. Her intence gaze locked upon him steadily.
 He looked up in her dirrection, but light-spots from the fire lingered in his eyes, and he couldn't see her yet.  "And no reason for me not to know," he asserted, his smile barely remaining.  Of course there could be a good reason not to tell him, he thought, but more likely than not it didn't apply to him, he being a far-removed outsider who didnt plan to be actually involved with anything there, but was only passing through.
 "It is something solely the Ishtari know. You have no claim to their secrets..." Now Snow didn't have the best hostess manners, never truly wishing for company, but, it was cold, and she wouldn't be turning anyone away from the fire. "If you will not pass through. Sit, warm up..."
 Lex gratefully sat off to the side abit, so that he could see her instead of trying to look through the fire all the time.  He slid his satchel into his lap, placing his hands on top of it.  "Im just wondering what the heck is purple and can make a sword."
 "It is metal;" she makes her point by taping it agianst the rock she sits upon, it giving the normal ring that most metals would.
 "Do the runes make it purple, or is the color natural?" he asked hesitantly.  He had been careful to *not* ask about the runes before, but maybe a simple answer to this simple yes or no-ish question would satisfy his curiosity.
 "The runes have nothing to do with it's colouring."
 "So it's natural?" he asked, wishing she had just said it was.
 "One might say that."
 "Well is it purple before you make the sword or *not*?" he sighed.
 She nodded faintly, thinking though that he pries too much into afairs not meant for his knowledge.
 "Fine!" he threw up his hands slightly, in a controlled manner, then set them back in his lap.  "You could have just *said* that, really," he exclaimed softly, tired and amused at how much effort a simple answer had taken him. Lex then sat quietly, still with his satchel in his lap, and his hands on top of that.  He figures this a fairly nutral position, and closes his eyes.
 Snow looked at the man for a moment; she wondered just how long it would be that he would be hanging around. But at the moment, he appeared to be resting. She glanced up at the sky: it would be perhaps another two hours before she could move on, so she lowered her head once more, closing her eyes.  Her sword still upon her lap
 Lex started to fall asleep.  The warmth was totally doing him in.
 

Chapter 2

Two hours later, as she had predicted, she stood up, her sword singing back into its harness upon her back in one smooth movement.  She put what was left of the fire out and began packing up her small camp.  As she did so, Lex stood up, blinking sleepily.  He did not say anything, and did not wait to see which direction she would be going in, but headed in the direction he had been traveling last night.  Snow watched him leave her camp. His path would lead him along her own, though he was most likely not going all the way that she was. At least, she hoped he was not.
 Swinging up onto her stud's back, she kicked him into motion, then set off at a gentle walk to let him wake up a bit.
 The stranger noticed that she was following him, and stopped until she caught up.  Then he realised, what was he thinking?  She had a horse- *she* would be the one who had to wait for him if they travelled at the same pace...oh well, too late.  Already waited and all.
 Snow found it somewhat odd that Lex, completely unattatched to her, paused as he did.  Perhaps he was thinking where to go exactly. Oh well.. it was his life-- he could do what he wished. She just kept on her way, keeping the stud at his gentle walk.
 Once they were together, he walked beside the horse.
 Aggitated, Snow grumbled inaudibly to herself. It would appear she had a tag along.
 "Something wrong?" he challenged softly, believing that is was foolish for either of them to travel alone when they did not have to.  One could fall in the snow, or get frostbite, and to have no one there to help might be death.
 "Should there be?" She countered as the stud woke up a bit more and jumped around a little. She tightend the riens and the horse resumed his walk.
 "No," he asserted, again softly.  Having just slept was making him very quiet and placid, but if last night was any indication, it would not last for long.
 "Why did you wait there for me. You could have simply went on your way."
 "This is my way."
 "Let me rephrase.. you could have went on your way, alone."
 He nodded, not denying this.  "I also could have slept in the cold and died."  He crossed his arms in front, as if for warmth just from thinking about his statement; he was wearing perfectly warm clothes, the appropriate type.
 "And why didn't you?" She did not mean to be rude.. well, perhaps she did.  Though if someone were to travel with her they would have need to grow acustomed to this.  It was a defence for herself. If she didn't allow herself to grow close to anyone, they wouldn't end up hurting her.
 "Because your sword is purple," he said carefully, striving to sound like he meant it.
 The two green eyes turned to look at him for a long silent moment.  They showed clearly that she did not fully believe that reason. Then her gaze returned to the road.  She said nothing.
 "As opposed to red with my blood," he clarified, very good at keeping a straight face.
 "I would suggest you tread lightly, lest it indeed bite you.."
 This time, Lex said nothing, but walked as he had been, far enough away that he could not accidentally bump into her or her horse.
 "You seem to have a dislike of pain.."
 "As opposed to what?  Beign a masochist?" he pointed out sardonically.
 "My meaning, that you will have need of better shoes soon if you continue along this path."
 "Then I wish I had better shoes."
 "A wish will get you little in the North, or in the South for that matter..."
 "As I picked up," he said with a slight frown.
 "Where are you headed?"
 "That way;" he pointed ahead.  "As I get there I will figure it out."
 "South then. Towards the punja and it's many sands.."
 He shrugged, not knowing or fully understanding.
 "We are traveling south.. so your destination is south. The punja is what lies within the south."
 "I've never been to or heard of it before."
 "You've never heard of directions before? North, East, West, South..."
 "Not if your countries are named after them... I've never head of the punja."
 "You will learn it soon enough if you continue in this direction."
 "Obviously.  It does seem to be an important thing, like your sword- you won't explain it to me."
 "The punja is not easily explained other then what I have told you already."
 "And what of the sand?"
 "It is there.."
 Lex shrugged, and when there was no response from his temporary companion, the conversation placed its other foot in the grave.  As they traveled it began to grow warmer, the air promising a coming aridity. They traveled down the mountain's side,  following the foilage as it begain to change from fur trees into desidious ones and small flowered bushes.  Lex very much approved of this change, and smiled slightly, keeping his internal dialogue to himself with a passion: she seemed to do likewise.
 As night drew near they reached the bottom of the moutains that led into and were the northern plains.  Near sunset Snow stopped the stud, finding a place to put up camp.  Very tired by this point, Lex sat down at their camp, ready to go to sleep immediately- after all, he'd been walking the whole day.
 She glanced at him for a moment, then continued on building the fire and bedding the stud.  She then took out her sword, drawing a circle within the soft earth using the tip of her sword.  She starts to go through fighting exersizes, bringing her sword around in eligant loops as she worked out all of her muscles. She took herself through the steps and patterns so well known to her over the next two hours, a shine of sweat growing on her skin.  She hardly deemed to notice that as she did this, Lex let himself slump into a position much closer to lying down, and closed his eyes, dropping off to sleep.  Finishing, Snow harnessed her sword once more and dissapeared for a while to hunt up a rabit.  She came back a bit latter and cleaned up, then started to roast the rabit. The smell soon filling the camp.
 Lex slept very deeply.  Almost anyone could have snuck up and killed him if they wanted, especially someone with her skills.  He was probably starving, even in his sleep, but there was no way he was going to wake himself up to eat now.  Nothing had stopped him from falling asleep in the first place, and now nothing internal would bother to wake him up.  The smell of rabit cooking stirred him, but no amount of hunger could wake him.

Chapter 3

Once the rabit was finished cooking she walked over to him and reached down, shaking his shoulder. She wouldn't let him starve to death while asleep.  As she touched him, magic from some internal source of her own bridged the gap that his clothes created between her skin and his as if the gap simply is not there, like lightening jumping through the air to a lightening rod. Snow felt nothing that she takes note of, but Lex felt this magic as sharp, stinging pain.  This naturally woke him up, and he sat up right way, breaking the contact as quickly as possible.
 "Don't touch me," he snapped, then realising what she must have been trying to do, grumbles, "I didn't ask to be woken up." He stood up and took a step back, arms crossed, and eyes livid with surprise and very temporary hate welling up from a feeling of vague violation.
 Snow's icegreen eyes hardened and grew colder yet as he snapped at her. "Then you may die of starvation in your sleep, sir." She nearly hissed at him, then turnned away angrily, her sword giving a faint pulse of purple light as she did so.  She then stalks into the trees beyond her stud.  She did not go far past the camp, just a small ways out into the trees. There she removed her sword from it's harness once more, but this time she just stood, looking at it's blade reflecting the slowly fading light.
 "Better to die than to p*ss a lady off," he mumbled, adding, "Didn't know I was asleep..."  With this, he followed her, knowing where she was, especially now that he knew how her magic...felt.  He stood behind her, his arms still crossed.  Rather suddenly, she swung her sword around point down and drove it deep into the ground, a shockwave of bright light racing out from the sword and herself: Lex winced and stepped back.  She then sunk slowly to her knees, her forehead resting against the sword blade.
 Curious, and resolved to stay where he was even if she hurt him again, Lex sat down to match her height better.  "Hi?"
 She didn't answer him, her eyes closed for the moment and her lips mumering something in a whispered, strange tounge.
 He watched her, already pale and nervous, but deciding to be as calm as possible and just wait.  Almost as an after thought, he realised that he did not know her name.
 After a while she opened her eyes again. Standing up as if nothing had happend, she withdrew her sword from the ground and placed it back within her harness in one graceful movment. She glanced at him a moment, then turned, heading back towards the camp where she sat down near the fire and took herself a piece of the meat.
 He followed her, and sat next to her.
 She moved away from him slightly, then began eating her meat.
 "May I?"
 "Eat."
 Lex did eat.  The color did not return to his cheeks; she had scared him tarless twice.  "Next time throw a rock at me," he grumbled.
 "If you wish to feel pain, I can easily comply." Her words were rather clipped, with little breath being waisted in saying them.
 "As long as it's the pain of the rock.  Dont touch me- ever."
 "With pleasure."
 "Good.  Thankyou for the rabbit."  He dug in his satchel, which was always around his neck, and brought out a mostly full bottle.  He set it between them.  It was a sort of peace offering, and he wanted to see her reaction.
 She looked at the bottle, then at him, then back to her food.
 "If you want some..."
 "What is it."
 "It's d*mn good."
 "I said 'what' is it." Her eyes turned up to him. "Not 'how' is it"
 He smiled.  "Guess.  It a clear liquid and it's not poison."
 "It is not Aquivi, that being one of the few liquids to interest me."
 He shrugged.  "It would certainly be your oppinion...it's only an offer."
 "I tend to stay away from taking many things from people." She didn't add the, that she didn't know. For MOST people,  "It is not poison, and I am offering it to you.  I'd sip it first if you like."
 She shrugged faintly.
 "The only problem being that I don't have cups," he explained.
 "It's in a bottle is it not."
 "Some people worry about germs, but I guess they all die in this...this cold."
 "This is not cold."
 "I walked from a much warmer climate."
 "Then you will be happy to know it will grow warmer yet."
 He looked up, frowning.  "Desert warm?"
 She nodded faintly.
 "Aw..how'd I know you meant hot?" he gestured toward the bottle.  "I forget what it's called, it was in another tongue."
 She reached over, taking the bottle into her long, strong fingers. Bringing it beneath her nose she opend it, smelling it first.  It was, very simply, a strong alcoholic beverage.
 "Reminds me of our northern drink...only weaker.." She placed the bottle to her lips and took a small sip, then set it down between them once more.
 "Then I'd hate to take too much of your northern drink." He took a sip from it as well, then set it back down between them.  "Especially not knowing what it was."
 "If you continue South, you may not be given the opportunity to try it."
 "I might have had it," he shrugged.  "I did travel from the north..."
 "If you had it, you would know."
 "How would I know?"
 "You would know...," she said rather matter of factly.
 "Oh no, you might be right!" He lowered his head in an almost comical show of embarrasment.  "I walked into a bar and asked the bar tender what the locals were known for..."  He stopped there, feeling like a fool and guessing the rest of the story to be well enough implied.
 She looked over at him with an odd expression on her face then stood up, stretching her long legs.  Walking over to the stud she patted his neck, then pulled out a curry comb from her packs and started brushing him down.
 "Unless there's a reason I should stay up, or anything I can help with, I'm going to bed."  He put the bottle back into his stachel, wondering idly if that stuff had been what she was talking about... he would certainly be more careful odering in strange bars from now on....
 "You've eaten.. sleep.  Tomorow will be long."
 He nodded, and lay down where the horse would have to try hard to kick him.  "Night," he said, then drifted off to sleep.
 Snow finished up with the stud, cleaned up the left over food, then sat down by the fire to take care of her sword's edge once more.  She glanced at Lex now and then, as she glanced around to keep an eye out for preditors.  She remained there by the fire, much as she had been the night before.

Chapter 4

In the morning, she was stirring again before he'd woken up. She'd cleaned up camp and had the stud ready before looking at him once more.
 She smirked to herself picking up a small rock.. he DID say to hit him with a rock next time...  She chucked the rock at him, it making sharp contact with his shoulder as she pulled herself up onto the studs back.
 He rolled over with a yawn and sat up.  "D*mn big rock," he muttered, standing up, "morning."
 "Your breakfast is beside you. It is time to get moving... before they arrive."
 "Who is they?" he asked, picking up the breakfast she had left and walking to join her, "And how fast do we have to move?"
 "You do not wish to know who they are... We should move quickly...It would be best if you had a horse.."
 "I dont," he pointed out, "But at least I'm willing to wait on breakfast." He wrapped it up carefully and set it in his satchel for later.
 "As I said... it would be best, not what we have to work with. I'd offer you a ride..." she smirked. "But I made a pact not to touch you again." With that she kicked the stud into motion, bringing him to a trot.
 Lex ran after her, thinking, if it was necessary, I would accept a ride, b*tch.  Obviously it's not.
 She looked back at him, then way into the distance. "Can you move any faster?"
 "I could get on a horse."
 "You don't have a horse."
 "I could share one if its necery."  He said, pronoucing necessary like that.
 She grumbled to herself and pulled the stud into a sharp halt. "...Get on.."
 He reached up for her hand, one hand grabbing unto the saddle. She grabbed his hand tightly, half pulling him up as he climbed up himself. Adjusting the saddle a bit after that she grabs tight of the reins, she commanded, "Hold tight..."
 He didnt respond, using his concentration to keep himself from betraying that he was hurt as well as to hold on.
 She kicked the stud hard in the sides, making him rear back then launch off at a full gallop. She didn't look back: she knew where their persuers were and the task was simply to get away from them.
 He held unto her tightly, the simplest and the most painful way- with both his arms around her waist.  Assuming she didn't kill him for it, of course, in which case it would have been more painful than he anticipated.  It had been a long time since he had ridden a horse, but he had been a good rider and got back into the motions of it, even if his body couldn't get back into the toughness of it as fast.  Lex closed his eyes.  He did NOT want to think about what was happening.
 Snow lay low over the studs neck.. just past the small outcropping of rocks... to get by there.  She knew there'd be free sailing after. She hoped they'd make it but knew it was also the perfect place for an ambush...  Closer..closer they came. For a moment Snow thought they might make it. But then the moment passed as two riders darted out, causing the Stud to rear again, this time sending Snow to the ground in a heap as those persuing them circled round on their horses.
 Obviously, Lex fell off with her.  Prefering her to their pursuers, and wanting to know if she was ok, he shook her.
 Snow groaned, pushing up from the ground, looking up slowly to the group of men circling them.  She glared angrily at them as a bit of blood trickled down her forhead.
 Lex remained crouched next to her, convincing himself that he would not throw up, or ask any stupid questions.  He waited for someone to do something, not knowing if the two would fight back at this point or let themselves be captured- not knowing if Snow was in any condition to fight back.  He had bruises, but he could ignore them. He looked up to count the number of men on horseback that now surounded them: 5.
 Snow pushed up to her feet, drawing her sword from its harness. The steal song rang clear in the circle of men as she clasped her sword with both hands.  "Leave us alone... we're not slave material.."she spat towards their leader.
 Lex stood up and took out a knife, easily opening the butterfly-knife design thingy with one hand.  He had not been prepared to fight in anything but one-to-one ratios, and only in emergencies.  This seemed like an emergency: Lex was obviously not a fighter, and the weapon of choice for this area seemed to be swords.
 The men looked at Lex and snickered faintly, each of them drawing thier own swords. The leader spoke to Snow, "We will decide what you two are.  From what I see, there is only two of you, and well.. ," he looked around the circle. "Five of us... You may have a fancy sword girl, but the odds aren't in your favour. Why not just give up now?"
 Snow's eyes narrowed further, dangerously so. "Why not step off your horse and join me in the circle," she challenged him with a deadly tone in her voice. "Or are you too much of a cowered?"
 The lead man paled a little bit at Snow's words. "I am not a cowered girl," he told her angrily. "But neither am I stupid!" He motioned the other four men fowards, who obeidenly kicked their horses into motion to come bash the two of them over the head with the hilt of their swords.As the first two neared, Snow brought her sword up, it slipping past the man's defences easily and cutting deep into his side before she pulled it back.
 Lex jumped in front of the horse- horses don't like to step on living thigns, he remembered.  He also remembered that a horse, if it did step on him, could kill him.  Either way, the horse or the man would be startled, right?  He couldn't do much with his knife until he was at one of their levels, and so used the horse's spilt second hesitation to continue leaping to the other side.  Maybe he could vault unto the horse...
 Lex's diversion caused the horse and rider to come closer to Snow, which proved to be a fatal mistake for the both of them. Snow;s sword sung its way down through the man and into the horse's back, a manuver requiring strength to say the least.
 Lex was very glad that he hadn't had the chance to try to get on top of the horse...oh well, maybe the next one.  "Look out!"
 Snow ducked as the third man swung his sword at her head, bringing her sword up to block in a small shower of sparks as the forth came up behind Lex, prepared to bash him on the back of his head.  Lex ducked in a manner that deflected the blow to his side, knocking the wind out of him and leaving him on the ground, and also forcing the man to turn his horse around to try again.  The man cursed, circling back to try and get another shot at Lex.
 Mean time, Snow had knocked the third man from his horse and was more playing with him now more than fighting him. She blocked each of his blows, her sword weaving around in taunting little patterns. It was obvious by the man's face he knew he was dead.
 Lex stayed on the ground.  He didn't plan on moving until the man was closer again, at which point he would think of soemthing.  The man spured the horse fowards, set on bringing the flat of his blade alongside Lex's head.
 Over with Snow the steal song suddenly stopped as the sound of metal ripping through flesh is heard.
 Lex looked like he might not move, right up until the man was close enough; then he threw himself against the horse, grabbing unto the saddle- the flat of the blade that the man had meant to hit him with went wild to lex's right.  His attacker was startled by this and began to swing his sword down towards Lex's back while trying to rein in the horse. Snow had run back over by this time though and caught the man's sword with her own.  Lex hauled himself unto the saddle feet first: already off balence from Snow catching his sword, the man was pushed by Lex the rest of the way off. He fell to the ground head first with a sickening crunch of bone.  Snow then slowly looked back to the lead man, who by this time was panicking and beating his horse to make a hasty retreat.
 Lex tried to reach the reigns, got them, and tried to stop the horse.  The horse reared.   Lex cursed as he broguht it to a halt anyway.  "HA!" he panted, "another horse."
 Breathing somewhat heavily. Snow wiped her sword off on the grass, being sure to remove all specks of blood before reaching up behind her and placing it back into the harness.  "B*st*rds...,"she spit after the fleeing man as she caught the Stud, swinging back up onto his back.
 "Are we still running?" Lex asked in disbelief, "because this horse doesn't like me."
 "Yes and no. Grab the other horse if you wish.." The other horse was a grey mare, seemingly much better tempered. The  only other, other horse left was a strong looking black that lay dead on the ground. The last one left alive had run off long ago.
 "Sh*t, I can just ride with you...," he assured her, trying to get his horse next to the mare, who looked supiciously at him.
 "Was it not YOU who ordered me not to touch you? Why then should I allow you to touch ME?"
 "I'm speaking of necety here," he said, pronouncing necesity like that as his horse lurched forward and the mare backed away, startled.
 Snow rolled her eyes as she dismounted, and with the stud's reins in one hand, she walked over to the mare and grabbed ahold of her reins.  "Try dismounting, then mounting this one. She'll be easier to handle."
 He did, the horse he had just loosed immediately running away.
 She turned the reins over to Lex as she mounted the Stud agian. "We must reach the South tonight now.. or else he'll be back with a lot more men..."
 Lex nodded, reached for the mount, was rejected: the mount reached away, suddenly far less docile in his hands.
 Snow smirked faintly. "Seems like you'll have some breaking to do along the way..." She then spurred the stud into a lope.
 Frustrated, Lex roughly mounted the horse- the mare took off, and all Lex could really do was make sure they were heading the right the dirrection.
 About 40 minuts latter Snow let up on the Stud who was sweating by this time.  Keeping him at a fairly good pace she looked over at Lex.  She'd put the mare on a lead rope by this time, making it easier on him.
 He was riding as if asleep, but he was not asleep.  His head wass down and his eyes closed, and he glad that the mare behavored more on a lead.
 "You need to stop for a little?"
 "No," he said, not wanting to delay them and not wanting to have to try to get back on later
 "As you wish." She returned her gaze to ahead of them, guiding them along the path that was now slowly begining to turn from rock and mud into sand.
 "How long?"
 "We should reach the town by sunset."
 Lex opened his eyes, trying to get back his sense of time from the level of light outside.  He could not, and closed them again.  He wanted to throw up, he really did, but it could wait until sunset.  He was very quiet, thinking about how he didn't know he could pull himself up unto a moving horse as he had, and trying not to think about the parts of him that didnt feel well.
 "If you need to stop, we can you know..." She looked at him once more. He didn't look all that well.  Perhaps the fall off the Stud had jarred something the wrong way for him.
 "No.  This stupid mare wouldn't let me back on if her life depended on it," he sighed, using that as an excuse.  "So unless you need to stop, dont."
 "I won't." By this time the blood on her forhead had crusted over and she'd begun pealing off the warmer clothing and putting them into her packs as they went.  Her long, finely muscled legs were visible now, tanned hunny gold despite the fact he'd found her in the snow.
 "What about that cut?" he asked, remembering it without opening his eyes.  It had been the first thing he'd noticed when they'd fallen off the stud.  He was begining to sweat, and started to think about taking his warm clothes off as much as, by his views, modestly possible.
 "What cut?" She asked absently as she was changing her boots into sandles that laced up her legs. How she managed that without the stud trying something funny was beyond imagination.
 He opened his eyes and looked up at her.  "The one on your head."  Carefully, he started to take his shirt off.  There was no way he could take off his shoes or pants without having his horse go balistic.
 She reached up, touching her head and wincing slightly as she did so. "...healing.."
 "Hurts tho, huh?" he asked, getting his shirt off and any layers underneath it.  If he couldnt take off anything else then he wasn't going to be as modest as he'd like about what he could and couldn't take off.  There was a large, ugly bruise where the man had hit his side, but otherwise the feeling of immodesty was entirely in his mind.
 Snow glanced over at him. "How about you.. how's your side..?"
 "Purple."
 "Obviously... at least it's not red."
 "Hmph," he agreed, lowering his head and closing his eyes again.
 She crossed one leg over the stud's pomel and began working on her top layers. When she was done she was left in standard sword dancers garments: what looked like a leather bathing-suit, one might think, with a skirt like that of the roman soldiers.
 "Ha, see what kinda slave I make," he mumbled half to himself, not even watching her.
 "A tired one: you wouldn't go for much over 10 gill by the looks of you.."
 "Bruised ribs," he agreed.  "Very tired.  Horse hates me."
 "Breathing.. there's a thing to look for in a slave."
 "Hehe...breathing and thinking."  Lex leaned against the mare's neck, preoccupied and subdued by the pain.

Chapter 5

Snow lead them to a small inn, and if Lex was attentive, all the men here in the South kept staring at Snow.  She wore over her swordancer's garb a white bernous, perhaps to hide her figure, perhaps just to keep the sun off her shoulders.  "Dismount.. we'll stay the night here."
 He dismounted, holding unto the saddle to keep him standing.
 She swung easily off the Stud, her muscles rippling smoothly beneath the bernous.  "Hang onto the wall, I'll put the horses away."
 He sighed and leaned against the wall instead of the horse.
 She lead the horses back to the stables, coming back a few minuts later with her packs of stuff.  "Now, can you walk, or will you need help," she almost smirked, for NONE of the men she'd ever known would admit to needing help.
 He didn't like the challenge in her voice, and was near to believing it wouldn't hurt to touch her after daydreaming all day and still being out of it.  "Sure, sure, go ahead...," he said, reminding himself that she seemed to hate the 'pact' they had made anyway; he hoped this would settle her down about it.
 This surprised her faintly, though much didn't show. Slinging her pacs over one shoulder she offered him her free arm for support.  Luckily it was the side he wasn't bruised on, so he took the arm, leaning on it moderately.  "Is this an inn?" he realised, then thought, maybe I'm just tired.
 "This is an inn. We'll find food and shelter here."  She then lead Lex into the inn.  It was dim and smoky inside, the smell of the weed people smoked here thick on the air to the point of making normal people gag.  The moment the two of them walked into the inn, it grew silent inside, all eyes turning towards them to stare. Even the barmaids stopped to look.  Lex waved casually, a small movement that not many people would notice.  The drugs didnt bother him...much.
 Her nose wrinkled at the smell, it was the one thing she didn't like about Southern inns and taverns. Though the aquivy just about made up for it. She sent a glare around at all those staring at her and they slowly went back about their own business.  She lead Lex to an empty table and a chair.  "Sit down, I'll get us some food and a room.  If you want your own, you'll have to pay for it. I don't have enough for two."
 "Thats ok," he said, not wanting to be robbed or anything, as could easily be the result of sleeping in a room by himself.  He could split the cost with her, assuming the currency here was anything like what he had carried from far, far North and traded some along the way.  "Whatever you get wil be fine."
 She left him at the table then, walking gracfully over to the barkeep.  After exchanging a few words there, she returned.  Many of the eyes around the room followed Snow's movements. She sat down across from him then, quite happy with the distance between them, as was he.
 Leaning his elbows on the table top was enough to keep him up, luckily; "Hope I didn't miss anything important."
 "Just the stench of the barkeep."
 "Heh, I meant before we got here," he said with a small shrug.
 One of the barmaids came over with a tray of thick stew and some bread for them along with two tankards of Aquivy, a muddyish looking drink that was milder then the Norther stuff Snow was used to. The barmaid looked at Lex like she was going to try for a little more out of them, but Snow waved her away. "That will do, go lay some other man." Snow then dug into her stew using bits of bread as a spoon.
 Lex smiled, "Thanks.  I enjoy it when other people are blunt for me," he said, not sure how much he was joking
 "Don't mention it... I simply didn't want you messing around in my room."
 "Ick."  He paused, then added for emphasis, "I would never."
 "Good. Now eat before your stomach eats you." She continued eating her stew and bread with a swig of her aquivy every now and then.
 "Eh...my stomach's already planning for a revolt," he admitted.
 She glanced up at him, then finished what was left of her meal.  "Do you wish to attempt to make it to the room on your own, or shall you require help once more?"
 "I think I'd throw up," he answered truthfully, non-sensically to her but not to himself as he stood up on his own.  "It can't be that far."
 Snow stood up, leaving a few coins on the table, then turned towards the back. She lead the way to their room, up a small flight of stairs and into a small dark room.
 He followed her, having trouble but going on his own anyway.  When they got to the room he sat down immediately.  "Well it sure has been a day.  Let's try not to have another one like it," he asked her in a light, preoccupied tone.
 "Days will come as they wish to," she stated matter of factly while setting her stuff down in a corner. She then grabbed a bucket and left the room.
 He didn't have any idea what she was doing, but took this oppurtunity to change the rest of the way into his lighter clothes, then lay down.  He debated: he had painkillers with him, and he was in a considerable amount of pain, as well as not sure if he could fall asleep feeling this way... but the painkillers could possibly keep him up, making him forget he was tired AND making him loopy, like all strong ones have the possibility of doing.
 She came back moments later with a hot bucket full of water, emptied it into a large barrel of a tub, and went back out.  She repeated this a number of times then finaly set the bucked beside the tub."You can bathe first.."
 "Huh?  No thanks, Im fine," he assured her.
 "Last bath for days. take it or leave it."
 "Hmph," he considered, "all this sand...fine," he sighed, "but first I'm taking something for this pain, darn it all."
 "Did those men get you 'that' bad?"
 "The horse was worse," he assured her, avoiding the question.  "You're the one with the fancy sword, heck, you're the one who can USE a sword..."
 "Well if your only complaint is about a horse, I doubt your pain is great enough to need pain killers.  Stretch out, take a bath. It will help."
 He just...looked at her.  The 'mild' pain had kept him out of it all afternoon, and added a nice hazy look to his eyes.  "I'm very pain tolerant.  I'll take it so I can sleep."  He rumaged in his satchel for the small, unopened bottle of pills, then looked at her once more to see if she would object again.
 Snow shruged faintly. "Take your pills if you wish. You'll just end up groggy in the morning and unstable if there is any need to move in the night."
 "I'm like that anyway, so unless you really think we'll be needing to move..."  He sighed, setting the bottle down and staring at her.  She was probably right.  He was probably right.  And he didn't want to take a bath in front of her.
 She looked hard at him for a moment. "I can leave if I make you uncomfortable."
 "That would be mean of me."  He tried to tell himself it was not that important, but remained gripped in indecision.
 "I'll go check on the horses. Take a bath, or leave it." She turned from the room, heading out the door.  Lex did take a bath while she was gone, but left the bottle of pills unopened.  There were things she didnt know about him, of course, but there might be more things he didnt know about the city, and he could not stand that thought.  Lex was wet and redressed when she returned.
 Snow, returning, glanced at him as she began to peel her clothing off. She honestly didn't care what he saw of her, so long as he didn't touch. Making sure her sword was near the wash tub she climbed in, sinking into the warm water with a small sigh.
 Lex turned away, not as if she was a thing wrong to see, but as if it was wrong for him to see her.  He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, disturbed that the idea of her there was part of what kept him awake and distracted.
 After her bath she climbed out and dried off, then wrapping her towel around her she washed her clothes and hung them up to dry. When finished with that, she sat on the edge of her sleeping mat and began plaiting her hair into its braid once more.
 He could hear her moving and simply froze in response.  Don't turn around, he told himself, slightly paranoid because he came from a moderate to extremely modest society.
 She looked over at him while she worked on her hair.  He wasn't actually all that bad to look at... She would give him that... Though the idea of that crossing her mind was almost obsurd. With a faint sigh she stretched out on her mat, her sword beside her, and one arm under her head.
 Is she still undressed? he thought, panicking slightly.  He squeased his eyes shut tightly.
 She pulled the blanket up over herself, tossing the towel over to the washtub. The blanket tucked up under her arms and her arms out of the blanket she settles down, her muscles slowly relaxing- each and every one.  "It's safe..," she said near a whisper. "I'm covered."
 He relaxed rather visibly, and turned around as if to prove - to both of them - that he could.
 She looked at him for a silent moment across the room, her green eyes seeming somewhat softer in the dim light."You don't look well. Go to sleep."
 "Bah.  Now you notice.  You look perfectly healthy."  He closed his eyes and tried to relax; he could not completely.
 She smirked faintly. "Don't let the horse and bad guys get to you too much now, or you won't live past traveling with me."
 "It's not that," he muttered to himself.
 "Then what is it?" she challenged, her sharp hearing picking up his mumble.
 He was fully awake, but did not answer, biting his lip instead.
 "Mmmhmm," she said to herself knowingly and turned over onto her other side, her back towards him.  He wasn't going to answer her, and if he did, it wouldn't be an honest answer... that's just how it was with men..
 "Sorry," he sighed, not even trying to lie to her.
 Her bare shoulders shrugged faintly, giving the impression of not caring. "Now go to sleep.."
 "Yeah, sure whatever;" he fell asleep.

Chapter 6

Come morning, Snow was up and back within her clothing, her sword in its harness upon her back.  She had rolled up her bed mat, packed her things, and was sitting with her back against a wall, watching Lex sleep.
 Lex did not sleep for much longer; it was not a very deep sleep at all to begin with, and had in fact begun not too long ago, so the sound of her moving around brought him back to reality.  He sat up slowly, feeling rather unrested.  His hair had dried all messed up from sleeping on the floor, but it was no matter to him.  He yawned and looked over at Snow.  It had taken him a while to admit to himself that he was awake, and that he was not going to get any more sleep, before he had actually sat up.
 "Now... are you hungry this morning, or shall I simply order breakfast for one?" She was slighlty more pleasent than last night.  No doubt it had something to do with having her bath, and who knew how long it would take for the small smile on her lips to vanish once more behind the icy green eyes.
 Lex rubbed his eyes, not directly ansering her question but declaring- in what was begining to seem his naturally soft voice- that he "should eat, thankyou."  He then asked, "How much did the room cost?"
 "Enough,"she told him; it was clear by the tone of her voice that it was the most explicit answer he would get out of her about the cost of the room.  She stood then. "I'll go get some breakfast."
 With that, she opened the door and walked out for a few moments, hearing him yawning earnestly again when she left; and when she returned he was sitting crosslegged with his back slumped comfortably against the wall, arms draped so that his wrists rested on his knees, and he staring at a point on the floor far in front.  Most of the lines of pain and cynicisim that usually affected his face were relaxed as he collected himself, both thinking on the days before and assessing his physical condition.
 Snow brought back with her some bread and cheese for them, along with two tankards of fresh, and still warm one might add, milk. She set is beside him on the floor, then returned to where she had been once he had finaly sat up. Sliding her back against the wall she slowly lowered herself to the ground, and, placing her food before her, she began to eat.
 "What-- do they keep cows in the bathrooms?" he asked, smiling kindly and wiping the milk off his upper lip.  "Thanks."
 "They keep one out in the stalls.. only the early riseres get any of the milk." She smiled a tiny bit bigger, before her lips returned to their previous, small smile. It wasn't often a man gave her thanks.. unless it was because she spared his life.. which didn't happen all that often, in fact... never..."You're welcome..."
 He tilted his head, "Early....how early?"
 "The sun has just begun to rise." She nodded her head towards the small pittiful window to make her point.
 "Eh?  Oh! So it is... very perceptive of you hehheh.  Sleep well?" he asked, eating.
 "One would suppose...,"she answered mildly as she broke off a piece of cheese to eat with a bit of bread.  "How far do you plan on traveling in the South?"
 "Far," he answered her vaguely, giving her the impression that he did have a specific definition, but it was not known to him yet.
 "As far as the mountains on the other side of the Punja?"
 "Uh..," he shook his head, seeming confused.  He did not know any of the landmarks, and only had a sense of how far.  "How far are you going?"
 "I am headed for the mountains, I have business there..." She grew somewhat more solomn at the faint mention of why she was traveling this way, for she obviously was not one of the south; those who were, were short and dark, and she was tall and light.
 "Hmmmm..." he closed his eyes, introspecting.  "How far is it...?"
 "Far..." Snow nearly smirked as her answer echoed his.
 "How far?" he asked patiently.  "How far are they?"
 "Across the Punja.  It may take three weeks, possibly more. Depending on the Punja itself."
 "Mh... I think I might be going...at least that far," he told her uncertainly, scowling slightly.
 "Why," she challenged softly. "Crossing the Punja is a dangerous thing; few do so without reason."
 "I dont know." He shrugged, "But I've been through a lot of dangerous things before...the difference being that now I don't know what it is."
 "How would you protect yourself against a Sandtiger, or the tribes who live within the punja... your knife will do you little good with them." She had almost added, how would he protect himself against a Snowleopardess, but as he did not know her calling yet, she would not give that small clue away, as they were no where near the snow anylonger.
 "I don't know, I don't know anything about them..." He bit his lip; of course he realised this was not a good thing, to be so unprepared, but he obviously didn't feel they had a choice- his resolve was the same as the times she had pointed out that they needed something, and his reply had been only that they did not have it.
 Snow sighed faintly, then drank the last of her milk. She ran the back of her hand across her lips to remove what tried to stay behind and then set her tankard down with a solid clunk.  "I will do what I can to protect you while travling I suppose, but you will have need of some kind of defence of your own.."
 "Any suggestions?" he asked.  He began to say, "anything that--" but stopped, shaking his head.
 "Anything that.. what..?" she prompted.
 "Anything that I can *do,*" he finished, deviating slightly from what he had first meant to say.  "Look at this," he urged, then lifted his shirt enough for her to see that the bruise on his side had turned black.
 She looked at his bruise, a dark look crossing over her face and residing there. "You can heal... is what you can do.. We can possibly rest here until you have healed up more. It will give us time to buy some needed things, and possibly make some needed monies..."
 "In the town?" he asked, making a face.  "*Here*???  My ultimate problem is lack of skill."  The last part he added was almost completely unconnected to the first two questions, but important none-the-less.  He could wake up quickly, and if startled into quick action, have his waker  facing a knife.  That's what the knife was good for, as well as being decent for throwing- but it wasn't a throwing knife.  The only other self defense he had was to stay away from people.  Resting in a town, and at an inn like this, was NOT a way to avoid people.
 "Yes, in the town, here." She pulled her sword from its harness and began to hone the edges once more, treating it gently, like a close friend.  "I have skills that will bring us some monies; I'm sure I can find something simple for you to do while healing."
 "I can take care of animals- even horses.  I can be a bartender.  I was refering to fighting skills."
 "I doubt we'll be around long enough for looking after animals or bartending to do much good. I'll make the money.. you can collect it..."  She brought her blade up looking along the blade for a moment.
 "Huh?  What are you talking about?" he asked her bluntly.
 Snow gave him an impish smile as she placed the tip of her blade to the ground, one knee up and her elbow resting upon it, her hand faintly touching the hilt to keep the sword steady.  "I'll dance, you deal with the bets."
 "Uh oh, that doesn't sound safe," he commented, giving her a suspiscious look that suggested both that he might enjoy it for that reason and that it sounded ridiculous to him.
 She smiled innocently at him, challenging him with her eyes. "What... You're not up to it...?"
 "Im not sure I fully understand the implications of this job- my part of it."
 "I'll find the dances.. all you'd have to do is play booky, so to speak. Collect what the men end up owing us."
ketlinnarris: "How do I know what we're owed?"
 "They'll tell you."
 "Uhhhhh...I can certainly try...this is going to involve a lot of crowding and meeting new people isnt it?"
 "One would assume so. You don't have to get to know the people though.. just take their money."
 Lex frowned in a way that said she'd missed a point.  He then looked away because he had not actually expected her to get the point, and he did not want to explain it to her.  He reached for the pain medication and opened it.  "I suppose I'm keeping a ledger for you, then?  All I need is something to keep it in," he said confidently.  "I can read and write fine, I just don't have the tools to do it with...," he paused, "and please, don't bother objecting this time," he requested, refering to the medication in his hand, "I'll be fine.  I'm going to find the bathroom."  He stood up to do so.
 She watched him leave the room, but kept herself from calling out, the, in her mind, obvious: there were no bathrooms, only chamber pots in the corner of each room. Standing up, she sheathed her sword and donned her white bernous.  After a quick stretch she left the room for when he found the 'bathroom,' and went off in search of a dance.
 Lez saw her as he returned, havign accomplished the simple privacy he'd wanted.
 She glanced at him as he joined her, her mind working on ways to try and up the odds they would be given.  "Would you be up to 'setting up' a dance? I'd tell you who to talk to.."
 "Uh, sure, whatever.  Never done this before." he shrugged.  "I still need a ledger."
 "They use the ground around here. We'll get higher odds if they think I'm your slave.  It's good odds me being a woman.. but better should they think I'm a slave..."
 "Ok," he shrugged, grinning.
 "Just don't you dare try to sell me, or you'll regret it..." She gave him a warning glance. She had a thing about being a slaveL: anyone who would try to make her one wouldn't live to tell about it if she had any say in it.  "First... we get one of the horses... you should ride to make this look proper.."
 "Proper?  Ut Oh...Maybe we shouldnt," he joked.
 "Would you rather I ride and *you* fight?" She asked somewhat sardonically.
 "Not at all.  But I'm not a proper man," he insisted happily.
 "Well people here won't know that... now will they.." She looked over to him with a bit of a dangerous glint in her eyes.  There was no need for him to be so happy about this.
 "Good! Let's try then!"
 Snow lead him back to the stable, bringing out the stud and saddling him up, then placing her packs onto him except for the sword and her bernous.  She then looked over to Lex with a mischivious grin: not a good thing.  "Would you care to take the reins, *master*?"
 Lex looked around the barn.  "Watch this."  He then proceeded to go to every horse and reach out to touch it- everyone of them reacted badly, a few even rearing unhappily.
 She still had that smile. Pulling the stud around she offers him the reigns. "You ride, or I pull him along on lead rope."  Now, the stud was not just any horse; he was, in fact, a very ornery horse. Few ever rode him and lived to tell about it without bumps or bruises in the least.  Even Snow had been thrown many times.
 Lex bit his lip, and reached out for the horses muzzle to pet it.  The horse had let him on once before without complaint- but that had been with Snow on too.  He had met one horse before that liked him.  One.  And he liked horses, but would this one like him? Or would it, too, sense an evil about him?
 The stud drew his lips back menacingly and snapped his teeth at Lex's hand.  Snow pulled slightly on the reins so that he wouldn't actually catch flesh; she had expected this reaction, as the horse treated everyone this way.
 "Mean horse!"  Lex snapped back, but only with his voice.  He smiled and circled the stud.  "Bet you don't want me riding you, huh?  Well I dont want to touch your flithly hide either."  Lex placed a hand on the horses flank.  The Stud made a very deliberate point to step over towards Lex, aiming for his feet, his ears flat back against his head.  "Ha!  Bad horse.  Missed."  Lex grinned almost affectionately.  "Guess snow'll have to lead you for me, then."
 Snow smirked at the stud and gave him a warning look as she took the reins fairly tight into hand. "Well... mount up, *master*"
 "No really, that's ok.  I'll leave him in your capable hands."
 "I'll lead, but you still have to ride."
 "Shucks."  Lex shrugged goodnaturedly and stepped back up to the stud, grabbed unto the saddle, then pulled himself over.  The Stud made a move to try and throw Lex off, but a Snow's fist to his muscle soon made him give up that idea for now.  He settled down with an aggrivated huff, his ears still pinned back against his head.
 "Thanks."  Let grabbed unto the main tightly, not wanting to be thrown.  "Now how do I go about being all master-like?"
 "Simple. You ride like a jack-*ss, do all the talking, and boast about how good your 'female' slave is and how she can beat anyone you put her up against."
 "But I dont want to talk about you like that," he said in truthful innocence.  "But if I have to...I guess I can..."
 Snow looked up at him with a bit of a scowl; what in hoolies was wrong with him... "Most of it's true so what difference does it make.. and what happened to you, sombody spice your milk this morning?"
 He met her scowl with neither a smile nor a frown, but simply a healthy brightness in his eyes.  "No, I just don't feel any pain," he reminded her gleefully, as if pain were a daily bondage for him.  "And of course you can beat any of them... but you're not my slave, you're my equal if not my better."  He shrugged, "But whatever, it's just an act. So let's go buy a ledger and go wherever we're going to do whatever we're doing."
 Snow simply looked at him for a moment with her seemingly normal, almost dower look returning to her face after the short time it had been gone. "They keep track of things in the sands here," she said, begining to lead the stud towards the street, who made sure Lex was going to be in for a very bumpy ride. "Our first stop.. a tavern..."
 Lex held unto the maine tightly; "Yes, but I want to keep track of 'em too."
 "As you wish...'master'." Snow would have to get used to calling him that if this sharade were to work properly. Few would actually hear the way she said the word.  "Though the shops will not open for another hour yet.. perhaps we can find a dance before hand..."
 "Sure sure, sounds good," he said, determined to get along with her and enjoy the day.  Even with all these... people.  But oh well: he felt good.
 Snow lead the stud in silence for a moment, the desert town showing signs of begining to wake up as the sun lazily crept up over the horizon.  Stoping infront of a grungy looking inn, she held the stud a little tighter as she looked at Lex, waiting for him to dismount.  He took the hint and dismounted, but was at a loss as to what to do next, so she tied the stud up outside, not overly worried anyone would attempt to steal him, let alone succeed at it. She then nodded her head minuetly towards the tavern's door.
 Lex glanced at her uncertainly, then walked into the inn, she following close behind, her head down slightly though her eyes challenging anyone who would look at her condencendingly.  There weren't many people in the tavern at the moment, but the few who were there were already into their cups.  "Act like you're a big shot," she whispered to him. "Don't let them sence fear or uncertainty..."
 Lex was prepared to do this but was not sure what to say.  He shrugged, and leaned against a wall, for the moment minding his own business.  Maybe someone else would come up to him- that would be easier. But Snow had an idea, a sure way to get some business. "Walk past that table over there.." she whispered once more, faintly motioning to a table with a rather burly looking male sitting, a sword strapped almost heretically to his waist. "I'll do the rest..."
 He stood up and walked past the table, looking like he was heading for the one right behind it; Snow trailed along behind him, 'accidentally' knocking the man's aquivy all over him. The man lunged upwards to his feet, grabbing hold of Snow's arm hard enough to make it start to redden and glared down at her.  "Clumsy slave! You should be skinned for that!"
 Lex turned around to watch the confrontation.  He smirked, and said confidentally, "I would let you teach her a lesson yourself but you'd be the one learning."
 The man's gaze turned from Snow over to Lex, his anger more then apparently drunken as he tottered a little bit on his feet.  "You would be well to teach her a lesson youself boy! What kind of a man are you anyway, letting a female run around who's as clumsy as this? I demand satisfaction!"
 "Get it yourself.  I'm not your servant."
 The man moved to strike Lex across the cheek, but before he had managed to so much as raise his hand, he was flat on his back with Snow's blade to his neck."Lesson one..." Snow growled at him. "Don't touch my 'master.'"  The man looked up at her pathetically, squirming around on the ground under her blade. "Shall I cut his throat for this act against you 'master'?"
 Lex wanted to panic right then.  He did not want anybody killed for him, but he wanted to keep up the act; he did not know if this was included in the act: his pause seemed cool and laid back, but he was really looking for Snow to answer him somehow if she could.  If she did not, he would say no.
 She looked up at him, clearly awaiting his answer.  She could not give him much of an answer at the moment, as now all the eyes within the tavern were on the three of them.  If he were observant, he would note that the look she got when killing was not there, just a simple dislike for the man's smell.
 "He's too drunk to take seriously.  Let him go.  If he tries it agian, then go ahead and kill him."
 "Yes, *master*...." She stood straight again, sheathing her sword behind her back in that one smooth movement she always executed. She glared down at the man, "My 'master' had doubed you unworthy... be glad he's done so..."  She then left the man, walking behind Lex once more to whisper near his ear. "Now we sit... eat and or drink something..."
 Lex sat down nearby and ordered some food for them both, but not drinks.  He did not want to gamble on what the combination of alcohol and the medication (unprescribed by the way) that he'd taken would be.  He refrained from speaking to anyone but held himself upright while waiting for the food.  The man picked himself back up and left the tavern while Snow and Lex both sat in the booth waiting.  Snow showed no concern over this.  Things were playing out exactly as she'd planned.
 Lex was not sure about the plan, but stayed confident. The waitor person brought their food, and over the disguies of the food Snow was able to whisper to Lex again. "He'll contact us once we leave...  probably ambush us once we're outside to challenge you to a dance..."  Lex nodded, waiting for her to explain more.  *He* wasn't going to 'dance' with anyone if he could help it.  "All you have to do is slime your way out of it. Tell him I'll champion you. If he wins, I'm dead. Problem solved. If we win.. well.. he won't believe that we'll win so he won't listen what ever you tell him."
 Again, he said nothing.  He did not have any confidence that he could do well in such a confrontation, but he had no choice.
 "...Ever sold anything before..?"
 "Nope."
 "Well you'll get a crash course here then. You'll need to make him think like he can easily beat me, not too hard to begin with... he being the typical southern male. Though leave some doubt in your mind... makes them think you might want to get rid of me... that, or you really might think I can beat him... It will be taken out of your hands once he decides to dance..."
 Lex began to eat.  "Oki doki."
 Snow cracked her knuckles as she thought for a moment.  "Though... if things don't go as planned, I suggest you high tail and run..."
 "I will if I can take you with me.  If not, I'm probably already surrounded," he laughed much too happily.
 "You will if I clear a space for you. Otherwise you're dead..."
 "But, what about you?"
 She shrugged, somewhat uncaring. "I'll live."
 "Oh, ok.  I'm sure it'll be fine," he told her with rare optimism.
 "And you'd better keep acting like that, what ever happens."
 "Like what?"
 "Like you think it's all gonna turn out in your favour."
 "But... I do think that.  You're a good fighter!" ^_^
 "Shhh..." Snow shushed Lex; he was getting a little too excited there. "Just cuse I'm a good fighter doesn't mean hoolies..  Even a mountain can be brought down."
 He raised an eyebrow, but calmed down.  "What's hoolies anyway?  And you know what?  While we're at it, what's your name?"
 "Hoolies... it's where some go when they die... I was given the name, Snowleopardess..."
 He blinked.  "You mean heaven?  Can I just call you Snow?"
 "No.. I don't mean heaven..." She folded her arms on the table.  "Call me what you wish.."
 "Snow's a pretty name."
 "It is the name I have earned..."
 "Really?  How?"
 "Hard work... a personality... and I grew up amoung them."
 "Them?  Do you mean the mountain cats?"
 "One would assume so"
 "Aw, they're beautiful... you'll have to tell me about it later, I guess."  Lex finished his food.  "Ready to go get shish-ka-bobbed?"
 Snow stretched her fingers a little with a small yawn, feigning boredom and an unsuspecting mind. "..Let's go.."
 "Oki doki," Lex said pleasantly, then got up and walked towards the door.
 Snow got up, following after him with an almost careless looking gait. She calculated they'd get out the door and to the stud before the men appeared.
 Lex walked towards the stud, his hands meeting idly behind his back.  He fought the urge to whistle or sing.  As they rounded the corner to where the stud was, ten men jumped out at them, all of them with their own swords.  Lex and Snow found that they, and the stud, were surounded very quickly. The man Snow had threatend to kill was their leader, and slightly less drunk looking now.
 "Well, you look a tad more awake.  Is there something you wanted?"
 "Yeah," the man replied gruffly. "I want that satisfaction.. I challenge you to a dance pretty boy.."
 "No one dances with me without trying out a servant first." Lex gestured towards Snow.  "This one seems ready.  If you can't even get through her then..."
 The man looked at snow angrily, his honour now at stake.  "I can get through her, boy.. and then I'll come for you, too."
 "Sure sure," Lex said optimistically, exactly as he had in the bar to Snow.  "But first dance with her.  What would you like to stake, besides your honor?"
 He looked at all the other men, somewhat stunned for a moment.  Then the other men started to pipe up, 'make bets, make it a real dance.'
 Lex smiled.  "Well?"
 The man blustered a bit then blurted out. "I'll stake a month's supplies I'd win!"
 Lex shrugged.  "If that's all you'd risk, ok."
 Snow kicked a small stone at him, fortunate that the men did not see that.  For a month's supplies in the desert was worth much more then anywhere else.  Besides.. they'd be getting money off the bets, and she didn't want them to risk this sherade too much.  The man glared at Lex, thinking things over in his mind. after all.. she was just a girl...
 Lex paused.  He had not meant to be pushy about it, he had just been commenting.  "Go ahead and dance, then," he encouraged the man.
 The man grumbled a bit, "Alright... we'll meet in the circle in an hour.. Don't you dare leave town or we'll hunt you down.." he warned gruffly.  He wasn't completely sure that what had just happend was what he had wanted to happen. He then turned and he and his gang dissapeared again.
 Lex resumed walking to the horse, this time humming a bit.
 Snow almost gave a sigh of relief. "Well.. step one, done.. Now, you wanted a ledger..?"
 "Naw, thats ok, you said it wasn't necessary.  But I do want something to write in- I just ran out of paper."
 Snow dug into the saddle bags pulling out a small bit of parchment. She looked at it for a short moment, then handed it over to Lex.  He took it from her because he was curious, and didn't care when their hands touched.  It seemed to be about a foot by just under a foot, and folded up neatly, of course.  "What is this exactly?"
 "...It's just a bit of parchment," she told him quietly. And so it did indeed seem to be. Just some parchment he could write on with no visible, or feelable differences from anything else.
 "Are you sure?  This...I..." Lex stopped trying to talk, puzzled.  It wasn not what he'd had in mind; he'd had a small book in mind, like a journal.  Did normal people carry parchment around with them? But if he wanted normal, Snow was the last person in the lands to look at.
 "If it does not suit your desires, we can attempt to find you something else.."
 "I'll use this too," he assured her, "Let's go find a booklet journal thingy!"
 "As you wish..." She untied the stud, making sure she had a good hold of his reins. "Mount up, 'master'"
 Lex eyed the horse dubiously and then mounted.  He hoped this whole master thing would be over soon.  "I'm sure we can find something."
 Snow clicked softly to the stud and pulled him into motion again. She led them down the streets to where shops were starting to open up; one seemed like it would be more productive then the other, as there were bits of paper and writing utencils all over the place.
 "Hey I bet that's it," Lex commented.  Even he knew he was being a little loopy, but he was having fun.
 "Gee.. I wonder what gave you *that* idea...," she mumbled to herself. She halted the stud infront of the market booth, so that Lex could dismount and buy what it was he was looking for.
 Lex dismounted and immediately found what he was looking for, then paid for it.  It was a small, unlined notebook type of thing, and he placed it into his satchel next to another, more worn one.  He eyed the horse suspisciously.  "He looks like he's gonna eat me," he whispered to Snow, faking extreme concern.
 "And he'll do it, if you're not carful," she retorted back. No sign of joking around at all apparent about her.
 Lex nodded.  "Now what?" he asked her.  There was a hint of real concern in his voice, but it had nothing to do with the horse.  He was concerned about Snow, or rather, how Snow was acting towards him.  He would hate to annoy her and not know it- annoying her was probablyy ok, but not on accident.
 "Now," she replied rather calmly, a mischivious glint begining to creep into her icy eyes. "We gather at the circle.."
 Relieved that she might enjoy this 'dance,' Lex mounted so that they could promptly gather 'in character.'
 Snow clicked to the stud once more and they headed off for the circle near the edge of town, the stud making doubly sure to hit every grove and rock along the way; Lex held on well.  He seemed to have a fair amount of riding under his belt, but nethertheless, certain parts of him would be painfully sore the next morning.
 The circle here was a more permanent one then the ones Snow had drawn in the ground along the way. They had marked off a circle with heavy stones: apparently 'dancing' was quite the common past-time around here.  Already there was a croud gathering. Word that the man was going to fight agains a 'female' had spread like wildefire and they were gathering to have sport at watching him make a fool of the pretentious girl and her master.  Snow kept her head lowered as they came upon the people. She would wait until Lex dismounted to tie the stud off  to the side.
 Lex dismounted cleanly, and whispered to her as he did, "Good luck."
 "Won't need it," she smirked to him quietly. "The man clearly has no skills..."
 He smiled nervously.  He already had confidence in her, and was just trying to be nice.  He was nervous more for the fact that so many people were staring at them.
 "They'll come to you to place their bets.. I'll be off to the side warming up if you need me.." She tied the stud near, but not too near Lex, then moved in nearer the circle where she removed her bernous, leaving herself in just the sword-dancer's garb. Needless to say, all the men gawked. In the south, a man rarely saw more then an ankle, and here there were legs and shoulders visible as well.
 Lex almost blushed; he came from a simularly modest society, but he had travelled through many that were less so.  He opened the booklet he had just bought and brought out a pen, taking down the bets people placed, and making sure that he knew exactly how each name was pronounced, so that later when he read over his strange mix of elven dialects with even ancient versus current phrases and words, he would understand the names.
 Snow began stretching, the muscles and tendons rolling smoothly beneath her golden hide as she worked them completely loose. She almost smiled as she did so: the gawks were humerous, but she loved the physical activity. Stretching always calmed her down, making her more alert to what ever was going on.
 She had finished her stretches by the time the man arrived, then she leaned against the horse post, plaiting her braid once more.  He too stopped a moment to gawk at her.
 Lex did not even let himself look, and hardly noticed when the man arrived.  He concentrated fully on writing legibly and otherwise clearly.  He ignored the very few strange looks he got from people watching him write in his strange hand: most people were intent on watching the fight, as was Lex.  The croud quieted down as the man stepped to the edge of the circle. Snow did likewise, a challenging glint in her eyes as she drew her sword from its harness and removed the harness, leaving it just to the side.  They both walked to the middle of the circle, laying their swords within the center, then return to the edge, opposite one another.
 "Call it," the man told Lex gruffly, meaning for him to tell them when to go.
 Lex finished his notes, and closed his booklet.  He frowned slightly, preparing himself to watch this 'dance.'  "Go."
 As soon as he said go, both Snow and the man took off at full speed for the center of the circle. Snow reached her sword a split second before the man and whirled away as he swept his sword upwards where she had been seconds before.Snow smirked at him as she circled around near the edge. She was familiar with the circle, knowing exactly where all its sides were, knowing exactly where her oponent was.  To Snow, this wasn't a true dance, this was simply a southern dance.
 They met once more in the center, their blades clanging together rather midly compared to when snow had fought the slave-traders in the north.  Lex could not help worrying, and even though he wondered if he should be watching her when he seemed to have a choice and she was not all that clothed, he could not look away from the fight because she was in it and well, because she was not that clothed.  The tension only showed in how tightly he held the notebook.
 The two circled round for a bit, and to anyone who knew Snow in the slightest, it was apparent that she was mearly toying with him a little before taking her victory.  She pressed the man backwards, nearer the line, then suddenly lashed out, sending the man's sword flying from his hand: he tumbled backwards over the edge of the circle.  Snow smirked at him and triumphant, turned, and gathered her harness and bernous, putting both back on as the croud watched in awed silence.
 Lex watched her still, happy that it had been so easy.  He waited for her to be ready to go, or to tell him what to do if they were not leaving, or by golly- for something that he could safely react to to happen!
 The croud, slowly melting from the shock that a 'female' won, began to come to Lex, handing him what they owed them for they all had bet to the favour of the man, and lost miserably.  Snow simply stood near the stud trying to keep the smirk from her face while Lex collected what they owed calmly, not actually caring much for the material things.  He was waiting until they could leave and be back at the inn- alone- away from all these people.  No pressure of course!  This was fun, really, he reminded himself, but it was still unusual.
 After every one had left, there was only the man Snow had fought left owing, though he'd dissapeared with the rest of the crowed, his sword encluded.
 Lex reluctantly got on top of the stud Snow unhitched and brought over to him.  "We're still owed," he informed her in case she had not noticed.
 "I honestly don't care if that one pays or not... but he'll need a little more time anyways.. he has need of gathering supplies, rather then handing over monies."
 "Yeah, I don't care either.  I just thought ya'd like to know.  Good job... you fought so well- I could never do that.  I've...for goodness sakes I've never even heard of this game.  I could tell you ones devised to test magic levels... to decide arguments... to decide wars... but I've never seen anything like this before."
 "This is no game, Lex...This is a living for many. It tests magic levels, it decides arguments, it decides wars! Hoollies! It even decides life and death!" she exclaimed, though by no means loud enough for others but him to hear.  She clicked to the stud and set off somewhat testily back to their inn.
 "I call them all games," Lex tried to explain.  "It's not an insult... it just means it's not...I don't know...uncivilized?"
 "Uncivilized..," Snow grumbled to herself as she lead them back to the inn, then clamped her mouth shut.
 "Right.  So...it's not uncivilized.  What else am I supposed to say?" He stopped talking, aquiring a more solemn attitude.  He had not meant to make her mad, or to insult her at all.  He had meant to compliment her- true, he had not known the full extent to which this dancing was used, but he had only meant that she was good at it anyway.
 Snow didn't answer. She was born of both South and North, a combination that made her seldomly predictable, or stable.  Once back at the inn she stopped the stud at the front door and waited silently for Lex to dismount once more.  He did, then followed her as she put the horse in the stables.  "Have you ever tested your magic before?" he asked carefully.
 "I know my skill with my sword," she answered plainly.
 "But have you ever been tested?"
 "Others know of my skill as well."
 "That's not what I asked," he pressed patiently, then touched her shoulder to get her attention.
 She looked at him rather sharply, brushing his hand away from her shoulder. She'd been very happy with the no-touching deal.
 "That's not what I asked," he said, ignoring the temporary confusion over her brushing him off.  Part of his mind searched for why he did not usually touch people, and why they had made the pact in the first place, while the rest of him concentrated on his question.
 "My skills have been tested." she left it simply like that. Why was he so adament now over knowing about majiks within the circle.
 He smiled.  "So you *do* know- that's great!  It must be...interesting to be as powerful as you are."  He glanced at the horse nearest him, who was backing away as much as possible.
 She looked at him oddly, one eyebrow raised above the other. "I know how to weild my sword; you've seen as much."
 "But the sword is dormant without you," he said, half to himself, half guessing anyway while watching the horse.
 "What mater is it to you if my sword sleeps?"
 "It isn't; I'm just pointing out that you undervalued yourself."
 "Perhaps there is a purpose to doing so," she retorted a little cooly.
 He reached out for the horse, and commented absently mindedly, "Ah, well, it was lost on me.  I can tell you're a six, no reason to talk like you aren't."
 "What do you mean... a six..." She looked at him completely confused over this.
 Lex paled slightly, then pretended to put his full attention on the horse, who hated him absolutely.  "Nevermind.  I'm just babbling... heh... stupid painkillers anyway."
 Snow's icy green gaze bore intensly into Lex as she folded her arms over her chest. "That doesn't answer my question...." She could see the tension in his shoulders even through his shirt.
 "Theres no answer to give."
 Snow let her arms drop to her sides and turned, heading back towards the inn.  She wouldn't force an answer out of him even though she knew there was one.  Lex sighed in relief and followed.  His almost-entirely missed night of sleep was catching up to him, and his head felt funny.
 Snow padded up the stairs and into their room, sinking down the wall after removing her harness and bernous once more.  Lex sat down across the opposite wall, folding his arms over his knees, which he pulled up near his chest for this very purpose.  "Can we leave town now?" he asked, seeming to forget one of the reasons they might stay would be for his health.
 "You haven't recovered yet."
 "It's useless to wait here."
 "It's useless to wander into the punja unready."
 "Unless there's somewhere a lot farther from the center of town to rest, this is as ready as I'll be."
 "This is the edge of town. any further out and we enter the punja."
 "I'm not going to be able to argue with you, am I?"
 "Many have tried."
 Lex yawned involuntarily, then asked, "Why don't you want me to touch you?"
 "...I just don't.." she responded, averting her gaze from him and hoping that would end it right then and there.
 "I thought our pact insulted you," he pressed, trying to remember, again, why he had made the pact.  He wanted to know both answers, and his attention was divided between them.
 "Your response to my waking you up insulted me."
 "Im sorry;" a genuine apology.  "I'd explain but I can't quite remember..."
 "Quite simple really.. I shook you gently to wake you so that you wouldn't starve, you snapped at me pushing me away telling me never to touch you again."
 "I can't remember...*why,*" he told her, trying to communicate his strange loss of words and ideas.
 "It doesn't matter why, does it?"
 "Yes it does.  I didn't just do it to be rude-- I didn't do it because of anything against you."  That, at least, he could express clearly, and truthfully.
 "They why did you do so, if it matters so much to you."
 "I can't remember.  It will come to me later...it's something that... that I take for granted.  It's always there..but it's not right now...ehhhhh....." he shrugged.  "Ask me again later."
 "...you should rest..." she mumbled faintly. "Let your drugs wear off...."
 He smiled in an agreeable manner.  "At least they work- oh, but you haven't told me why yourself."
 "I have my reasons..." She pulled her knees up near her chest, wraping her finely muscled arms around them tightly.
 "What are they?" he asked with pure, unadulterated curiosity.
 "Do you *truly* wish to know...?"
 Lex nodded: Snow sighed.  Few had been told of her past before, and none lived to tell others. Should she really trust this one now..? "My family was all taken when I was very young.. somehow they missed me, somehow I escaped becoming a slave then..  I had to fend for myself.. I ended up making freinds with a snow leopard who took me as his own..." She began, her eyes focused harshly upon her knees. "When I was 12 the men came again... they killed the leopard and captured me to be a slave.. though not before they'd had their 'fun' with me... It is because of those men, that I do not like being touched.. It is because of those men, I am who you see before you.. And it is because of those men.. that I distrust all upon first contact..."
 Lex soaked this in with a quietness that was intended to be relieving.
 "If you'll excuse me..." She stood up, avoiding eye contact. "The horses will be hungry...." Snow turned and quickly left the room, for once leaving her sword behind her.
 Lex paused.  Shoot, now he remembered- and the pain killer was wearing off.  She'd left her sword behind: he hoped the medication was working well enough still to let him pick up the weapon.  He reached for it, planning to bring it to her and honestly wanting to know what its power was anyway.
 As soon as his hand was near the sword every hair on his body prickled as if with painful electricity, and he knew that should he clasp his hand around it the hilt would sear into his flesh with a cold so intence it was as hot as the sun.  Should he take it by the harness, he debated, he would still feel the prickle, but perhaps be saved the burning.
 Thouroughly warned, he carefully picked it up by the harness and rushed after her.  It hurt, but he did not plan to be holding it for long.  Lex reflected momentarily that the sword seemed perhaps less powerful than Snow was, if it came to a pressing matter between them.
 Snow was in the stall with the stud, her forhead resting against his forlock, her eyes closed for she refused to let herself cry.  Foot-steps came right up behind her, and set the sword down next to her.  She opend her eyes looking, down to see his feet and legs behind her, then closed them once more, though she did raise her head from the stud's.
 "You were so upset," Lex began in the least intruisive voice he could come up with, "that you left your sword.  By the way, it doesn't like me either."
 "My sword," she replied huskily, obviously near tears though trying to hide it, "doesn't like anyone.. I told you once.. you could not wield it..."
 "I brought it to you."
 She reached down, picking it up in its harness and strapping the harness on more from habit then anything else.  She remained facing the horse.
 He cleared his throat, and when he spoke again it was in careful monotone.  "I would hug you if it would help, but I can't."
 "It would not help..." She half looked at him.
 "Im sorry.  I wish it could."
 "As a repeat of an earlier question... why can't you."
 "I can't tell you...," he responded, still in monotone: he knew how much of a creep he must look like at this point.
 "Then tell the horses," she suggested, trying to keep the harshness from her voice as she brushed past him, completely avoiding any contact with him and making her way back to the room.
 Lex followed her.  "I can try all you want," he cried after her, panicking slightly.  He wanted her to believe him- he was telling the truth.  Upon entering the room she slammed the door immediately behind her, stalking over to the pittiful window and glaring out of it.  He paused, but opened the door after her anway, then shut it softly behind him.  He stood against the door.  "I can try, I can prove it to you."
 "You can die just as surly as you can try," she spoke somewhat haltingly.  She hated her emotions, always raging wars within her; and with emotions, there was no circle to bring peace.
 "I literally can't tell you.. I..er..I--" he made several starts, but each time stopped as if he either drew a blank or was prevented.  "You're a mage, figure it out," he snapped crossly, then winced.  "I cant tell you.  You probably can't figure it out anyway..."
 "Mage...?" She slowly turned, looking at him.
 He had his arms crossed, and was rather pale from his attempts.  "Yeah.....?"
 "I am not a mage, nor will I ever be,.. sir.  I am a sword dancer, a nameless being who wanders. That is all I am.. and that is all I ever shall be."
 "You feel like a mage to me," he retorted crossly.
mootascara: "Feel! How would you know what I feel like?! How in hoolies would you know?" Her fists clenched and unclenched at her sides.
 "You're taking it the wrong way on purpose!"
 "Am I...," she challened, suddenly very quiet. "Am I really...I was content... on my own traveling south... then you showed up... calling me mage now when I am not."
 "You might call it something else," he admitted.  "And you're the one who touched me- of course I know you're a mage- it's not unusual for people to sense these things," Lex growled, frustrated that he couldn't say waht he wanted and not getting much quieter for it.  He was still blocking the door, half unconsciously, half because he wished this to be solved.
 Snow would have surely bolted back outside bat this point if he had not been in the way. She opened her mouth to say something, shut it, opend it again, then shut it with a snap as she turned back to the window.
 "At least where I come from it's not unusual- you should go there sometime, so you're not just relying on *my* oppion."  The inflection he placed on 'my' more than implied that she thought he was a creep, or maybe that he thought so too.
 "I do not wish to be a mage as you call me.. but then, I do not truly wish to be alive either...," she folded her arms tightly over her chest. Her sword still upon her back.
 "Why?  You're *lucky*-- you're *free*."
 "Am I..." She looked back at him a moment. "One wonders how free one is.."
 "Who do you mean?"
 She looked back out the window in silence.
 "Me or you?"
 There was still no response from her. She closed her eyes tightly to keep the tears locked within, her lips firmly shut to keep from screaming. Her arms were solidly folded so that she wouldn't grasp her sword, doing damage to herself, Lex, or the rest of the town. Why did she feel this way, she wondered bitterly, why must she actually speak of any of it.
 "I'm very sorry about what happend to you," he said, meaning it, "But at least it's in the past."
 Was it truly in the past? She sometimes thought so, but not always. She slowly released her arms and moved over to her sleeping mat. She lay down upon it, her back to him at the door.
 Lex waited a few moments, then asked.  "Are you ok?"
 "No..." came her blunt, yet fully honest reply.
 "Anything I can do to help?" he asked, scared of the answer to this one.
 "As to your own confession.. no."
 "What do you need?"
 "Need...."  What she felt she needed was numbness. She needed to drown her own pain, in her own way, kill it some way or another for another time. "...Some aquivy.."
 He left quietly, and came back with a lot for the both of them.
 She had sat back up by the time he had come back with her sword beside her and her back slumped against the wall  A full cup was set down in front of her, with one in Lex's hands as well.  Lex then sat across from her.  Snow took the cup into her hands; it was obvious once she had the mug in her hands that they were trembling: the liquid quaked slightly."Thank you..." She mumbled just before she raised the aquivi to her lips.
 He raised his cup to his lips, planning to copy her actions.
 She gulped down half her cup before lowering it into her lap again, her eyes fixed within the muddy liquid as she ran her tounge over her lips to clear them of stray droplets.  He drank half his cup as well, then set it in his lap.
 ".. You do not have to drink with me... you know..."
 "Of course.  I'm going to."
 "Why.."
 "I'm not foreign to the act," he replied carefully.
 "That is not what I asked.." She took another gulp or two of her aquivi.
 He followed her example.  "It's the least I can do."
 "It is not the 'least' you can do..." she stated in an empty, mater of fact way.
 "It's the most I can do," he corrected hismelf.  "That I know to do," he added
 She sighed, draining the rest of her cup. "...aquivi is weak compared to the northern drink..."
 He drained his.  "I used to drink a lot."
 "Used to...?"
 "I guess I'm about to again." He shrugged, not understand quite what she was asking.
 "Used to implies that you have... or had..? stopped..." She still just stared into her cup, now empty.
 "Well, there aren't any bars around the mountains- which I- we- crossed."  He filled her glass and his.
 "Thank you.." she mumbled once again. "I do not usually drink much... though sometimes I do..." She raised her cup to her lips once again, taking another swig.
 He started to copy hers, then finished his drink.  "Oops," he mumbled to himself.  "It's the same for me I guess.  I drink heavily sometimes, but not all the time.  I guess not that often.  That stuff's a bit strong." Lex was careful not to refill his drink, planning not to until she did.
 "You don't have to wait for me..," she said softly, almost emotionlessly as she drank some more. "Go ahead and refill your cup..."
 He watched her, worried. "That's alright... it's a little stronger than I'm used to... I'll wait."  He watched to see when she emptied her cup, so that he could fill it.
 She drained the rest of her cup, followed by a small burp; he crawled over to where she was, sat down beside her, then filled their cups and held hers out for her.
 She took her cup back, mumbling another thankyou as she stared into the muddy drink once again.  Why did she get drunk like this; why did it always have to end up hurting enough that she wanted to do this.
 "How ya feeling now?"
 ".. a little better;" she sniffled faintly and rubbed the back of her hand under her nose, then drank a bit more of the aquivy.
 He drank about as much as she did.  "Anything else I can do?"
 "..I don't think so," she slured slightly.
 "I c'n test how drunk you are," he offered, amused at the idea.
 "And how would you do that..." she asked looking over to him.
 "Well jus' do what I tell ya to," he assured her.  "I promise it's nothin' tricky."
 She shrugged and said, "Okay...," curious as to what he'd have to do to test this.
 "Stand up."
 She stood up, leaving her cup on the floor.
 "Now look up at the celing."
 She looked up at the ceiling, teetoring a little bit, but not much. Either she began with exceptional balance, or she wasn't all that drunk yet.
 "Now look at the floor."
 She looked down at the floor and has to place a foot forwards to keep from tumbling over.
 "K.  Means you need 'nother drink."
 She sat back down picking her cup up once again. "..I could have tol' you that without a test..." she insisted, draining the rest of her cup.
 He drained his too.  "You're too good at balancing... it's much more fun if you fall over," he explained, not able to keep the slurr out of his voice.
 "I don' drink for fun..." she mumbled, adding something about she hadn't done anything just for fun for a long long time.
 "Neither do I.  But I keep drinking for fun."
 She holds her cup out for yet another refill.
 "How many is that?"
 "One less then I want to drink at the moment..."
 Lex did not pour until he heard the clink that told him for sure he was not going to completely miss her cup.   He had to do the same for his.  Snow took her drink back, careful not to spill it as she brought it to her lips for a sip.
 "Are you still gonna cry?" he asked rather innocently.
 "I don' feel like crying now..." She slumped back against the wall, feeling all warm and fuzzy.
  "Good, me niether," he agreed, already slumped against the wall, and forgetting that he had not been about to cry in the first place.  He kept his eyes on her.
 She let her legs slide out flat against the ground, her feet half pointed towards either corner of the opposite wall. She took another gulp of her drink, wiping away a bit that had threatend to run all down her face onto her chest.
 "Uh-oh.  That looks like nuff for you.  Bed time," Lex announced.
 "I'm fine..."she slured.
 "We're both dunk..we should stop."
 "..I'm only almost numb... not completely.."
 He moved closer to her, facing her.  "You still feel bad?" he asked, concerned.
 "I always feel bad... cept when I don' think of nuthen... or when I dance..." she answered truthfully, the alchohol making her less apt and able to hide things.
 Lex frowned.  "Thats not good... you should do something that makes you feel better," he suggested, sorting through ideas in his head, but knowing none of them were good.
 "I can' dance when I'm drunk..."
 "Naw- I don't wan't you gettin hurt," he told her before thinking about it.
 "..why would if i get hurt matter to you.." she asked looking at him somewhat groggily.
 He reached out clumsily and took her cup from her, then set it on the opposite side from him.  "You're falling asleep..." he pointed out, totally not answering the question.  "You can't even talk straight," he added after some thought, barely able to make his words go in the right order himself.
 She reached over him to retrive her cup, brushing against him lightly as she did so only to end up blacking out and slumping against him.
 Lex hugged her to keep her from falling, then lowered her to the ground.  He stretched himself out next to her, knowing it had only been some strange miracle- some twist of fate- that he'd outlasted her.  Or maybe he'd forgotten to copy her on the last cup.  Whatever it was, he was too drunk to do much else but lay there next to her until he, too, passed out.

Chapter 7

Snow slept in the dreamless sleep of her drunken state, sleeping much longer then she usually did as morning rolled around the next day. She wouldn't start to stirr again until well after the sun was up.  Lex slept a long, long time too, but being next to her was hurting him and that forced him into semi-consciousness.  He was too sick, from the hangover and everything else, to move, or even throw up.  He tried to go back to sleep, but could not.  All he could do is try not to think too hard and make his head hurt more.
 Eventually Snow stirred, groaning in pain from her head as she rolled slightly away from Lex onto her back, floor marks pressed into her face.  Lex stayed on his side.  They were still really, really close.
 She slowly opend her eyes, looking with an intence frown up at the cieling, then in a husky, sleep drenched whisper cursed at the tiny window and the light it let in.
 "Morning to you too," Lex greeted her thickly, keeping his voice from shaking only with a great effort.
 "Not so loud..." she grumbled faintly, laying one arm over her eyes.
 "Sorry," he whispered.  "Sorry."
 She slowly looked over at him, letting her arm rest down on her stomach.  "...You don't look so hot..."
 "You neither," he reminded her, even though he was worse.  Having a tolerance for pain only covered the phycological process of healing, not the physical, and he was not any better dealing with physical sickness than he had been years ago.
 "Some how... I don't think.. the aquivi makes you look.. like that.."
 "I don't know, I can't see myself," he pointed out in a distracted manner.
 She slowly sat up, hoping to keep her stomach in one place. After a moment she realized that they had slept side by side.. "..you don't think ..we..... do you..?"
 "Huh?" he asked, apparently needing an obvious, flat out question.  "We do what?"
 She looked over at him, very near to looking like an angry cat, though more just because of her head then anything else.  "..Had sex..."
 "You really think we would have had the sense to put our clothes back on?" he asked, obviously thinking it was out of the question.  The tone of his voice suggested that their attitudes towards it would make it impossible in the first place.
 She rested her elbows on her knees, her head hanging from her shoulders. "true...."
 "Plus I wouldn't," he confirmed.  "And do you want to know the other thing?"
 "...what's the other thing...."
 "Would've been too drunk- impotent. Eheh."  Lex rolled over on his back, "Holy-" he exclaimed as the world moved far more then necessary.
 Snow groaned; she felt like her stomach wanted to show itself on the floor. "Hoolies...." she swore clentching her teeth.
 "Let's go back to sleep," Lex suggested.  "Even if it shocks the life out of me."
 "I doubt I can sleep with this racket going on in my stomach...."
 "Me neither.  Now what?" he asked, suddenly conscious that they were alone in the room together: was this right?  Did it matter?  He wasn't in the villiage where he'd grown up, and he wasn't planning on moving for the world.
 "We wait.. I suppose..." She really didn't want to think with her head hurting all this much, but she knew she wasn't going much anywhere until her head cleared up a bit.
 "Ok.  You keep insisting I need to rest anyway.  This'll be my rest- then we leave," he claimed, hoping she'd simply agree.
 "I'll agree or.. disagree.. with that.. later...." Right now she was working much too hard on keeping her stomach down then thinking.
 "I've been through worse," he growled.  "Do you need to throw up?  Feel free to...just not on us."
 "..I'd rather not....but.." Snow was suddenly all speed as she raced to the chamberpot in the corner, emptying her stomacks contents into it rather painfully.
 "My turn," he whispers, but does not move.  He can not tell if she iss finished, anyway.  "You ok?"
 She sits down by the chamber pot, slouched against the wall as she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand.  "...Nothing unusual here...."
 "Not what I asked."
 "Best you're getting.."
 "Hehehe... ok."  He closed his eyes.  "Pathetic..."
 "Who... you ... or me..."
 "Me," he said, chosing the safest answer.  He had meant them both.
 "..you probably would have been right say, me..."
 "I let you drink.. Im just as guilty.... I drank as much as you did, too... I think... I can't remember...  Hey, you know what?  Let's do that again some time, only take it more slowly, and drink water afterwards... then we won't have to go through this part too." Lex smiled, wondering how Snow would take this.  He meant what he'd said, especially since it had alarmed him that she had drank to drown her emotions, instead of to have fun.  He had done both before, but the second one more than the first.
 "Eating before might help too..."  She rested her elbows on her knees again, letting her head hang from her shoulders, void of energy.
 "But I guess it's just not enough self-punishment otherwise."
 "The stud would have a hay day with the both of us.. if we were riding today.."
 "I can't ride yet," Lex mumbled, adding to hismelf that he could barely get up.
 "Like I said.... *if.*"
 "Tomorrow then.  Why do you keep that horse?"
 "We get along... and it's not like anyone  could steal him if they wanted to..."
 "Hehe...you get along?" Lex snorted unbelievingly.
 "To an extent... he sets me right if I get too high and mighty, and vice-versa.
 "That's cool.  Who else do you get along with?"
 "You... " Snow said before she realised it had not merely been a thought to herself, but voiced for him to hear as well. "...to some extent..."
 "Well, you haven't killed me yet," he agreed, actively helping her cover up her 'mistake.'  He had been *hoping* she would say that, but he had also known it would make her uncomfortable; it was not part of the tough act after all.
 "Something that could be remidied at any time..." she grumbled gruffly, rolling her shoulders a little.
 "Please don't," he requested, then added to be truthful and to put the focus on him, "I like you too much.  Have your horse kill me."
 "Nah..." she mumbled relaxing a bit. "..who'd I get mad at then..."
 "Yourself...which must suck...so don't kill me... I'm an easy person to get mad at..."
 She slowly raised her head to look at him, already starting to look a bit better as her stomach was settling.  "I still say you don't look all that good..."
 "Yeah, I suck," he said, not quite paying his full attention.
 "...aquivi just doesn't cover it too well does it.." she commented somewhat absently, to see if he would slip up into telling more about what was bothering him.
 "Never sleep next to a mage," he mumbled, then said more clearly- to her this time- "And I haven't thrown up yet."
 She motioned faintly towards the pot. "..and I'm not a mage..."
 "Your *name* will be mage if you don't quit saying that...ha, like I'm going to get up..."
 "You call me that.. and I won't respond to it..." she weakly slid the pot within arms' length of him.
 "Sure you will, you'll hit me."  He sat up slowly, leaned over, and started to gag.
 "Perhaps..." she rested her head back against the wall, closing her eyes. Still feeling all trembly from expelling her stomach.
 He threw up stomach fluid, then stood up, crossed his arms.  It crossed his mind that he was very relieved she had not mentioned taking him to a doctor yet: many people would insist upon this while hardly knowing him, and she was the type that, once she got it in her head, there was no stoping her.
 She slowly opend her eyes, looking up at him. "...why *not* sleep next to a mage....?"
 He smiled, and replied with wit and no truth- "You could zap me in my sleep."
 Her eyes narrowed slightly; "Some how I don't believe that to be your reason..."
 "Are you sleepy?" he guessed, knowing she had been drained all night.  "I'll get you warm milk or something if you want it."
 "Stop avoiding the question... please..." wow! she said please!
 "I have a deep seated predjudice against them," he said flatly, not bothering to say why.  "And there must be something I can get you."
 "..and you call me one.. when I am not..." she pressed, ignoring his trying to change the subject.
 "You are."  Lex gritted his teeth; they had been through this already.  He could not tell her.  It was easier to be around her preciesly because she did not know she was a mage, and therefore rarely used her powers, yet he hated to be argued with.  He inwardly kicked himself for being such a wimp about this- for complaining, even if just to hismelf, that he'd touched her a few times, and was a bit sick from it.  He'd been through worse.
 "I'm not," she insisted.
 "I would feel better if you weren't.  I would let you touch me- it wouldn't matter if we touched at all."
 "...you have the wrong girl to want to touch you...."  She was silent for a moment, then decided she really did not like how he looked: he needed something done. "..we should find a doctor...."
 He shrugged, ignoring her last comment out of a sort of desperation.  "I'm talking about the everyday, normal stuff, like helping me unto the horse or just handing eachother food...running through crowds..."
 She stood up and took a moment to get her balance and let her head stop spinning, then went and got her bernous.  "You coming...or should I bring it here..."
 "Where are you going?  You should rest off your hangover..."
 "Told you already... doctor. You really don't look well..." She grabbed hold of her sword, just slinging the harness over one shoulder.
 "I won't be here when you get back."  He closed his eyes to shut the emotion out of his voice and features, his hands whitening with how hard he gripped his arms.
 "Oh. you're comeing with... good..  then come on." She held the door open for him.
 He shook his head, then had to regain his balance and composure.  "No."
 "I can just keep you here... you know..  I want you better.. so we can move on...," Snow said, not catching that they both spoke of 'we' and never thought of turning 'we' into two again.
 "I'll get better once we start moving on...."
 She gave him one of those looks, the ones that say 'you better give me one DARN good reason not to go get the doctor or else.'
 "I swear... you can't make me!" he paniked.
 Snow smiled innocently, though the smile was rather short lived.  She unsheathed her sword and shut the door behind her,  jamming the blade under the door so that it could not open. She knew full well he'd never make it out of the window, and there was no way anyone was opening that door now except for herself.
 "No!" he screamed after her, running up to the door and falling against it.  "Don't!!! SNOW!!!"
 "Why..."
 "It won't last long either... sorry... that excuse won't hold with me..." With that her feet could be heard shuffling away.
 Lex groaned and slid to his feet, then sensing the sword and absolutely HATING it, backed up to the opposite wall.  He clasped his knees to his chest tightly, watching the door.  Unfortunately for Lex, he was too tired to stay awake in such a position.
 Snow returned a while later with the doctor, retriving her sword from under the door whil hoping the doctor did not think it TOO odd.  She then opened the door and walked inside to find Lex huddled against the wall, asleep.  The room reeked from their throwing up, and this, added to Lex's pale complexion, did not seem able to put their circumstances in good light.  Snow let the doctor in and closed the door behind them. She then got the pot and emptied it quickly, coming back then and putting her sword away.
 The doctor examined Lex from a distance, then asked, "Can you tell me what you do know is wrong with him?"
 "He doesn't look good... he's been that way for 3 days.. other then that... hang over..." Snow sat down by the door, her back to the wall.
 "I mean, what are his symptoms?  Does he, uh, know I'm coming?"
 "...he knows..."
 The doctor approached Lex, kneeling in front of him; Snow began to warn him, but the doctor was too fast.  "Sir?" he askedand reached out to shake Lex's shoulder.
 Lex reacted before the doctor even touched him, jumping to his feet with wild eyes.  "Leave me alone!!!"
 "Sir, you might be a little disoriented," the doctor told Lex kindly, giving Snow a quizical, 'what the heck?' look.
 She half smirked.  "...he doesn't like to be touched..."
 "Get the heck away from me--"
 "Sir, I'm only here to--" the doctorsaid as he reached out his hand palm upward.
 Lex's response: "I'll-- I'll bite you!"
 Snow raised one eyebrow, half amused by that comment.
 The poor doctor drew back his hand, baffled.  "I'm just going to see to your health...sir..."
 "Then you'd best leave," Lex growled, trying to inch away sideways along the wall, away from them both.
 The doctor sighed. having enough of the conversation.  "I can knock you out if you'd prefer."
 "Dont touch me!"
 "What scares you of doctors, Lex....?" Snow asked
 "I'm not scared!"  Lex huffed, crossing his arms.
 "Good," the doctor said, "Then this shouldn't take long.  Would you please lie down?"
 "You're not listening to me!  Go away!"
 The doctor glanced at Snow as if getting permission to man-handle Lex.
 Snow shrugged: "It's your fingers"
 The man reached out  and grabbed Lex roughly by the arm, bringing him to the ground and on his back in a smooth, calculated movement.  Lex gaspped in pain, his face losing what little color it had contained.  Snow frowned slightly as she watched this, wondering if the doctor touching him had something to do with his reaction, or if it was just the swift movment with the hangover.
 The doctor let go, and backed up a step, frowning.  "What's wrong with him...?"
 Lex groaned, closing his eyes.
 "That's what I wanted you to tell *me*..."
 "Then there's nothing you haven't told me...?" the doctor frowned.  "He's... he's like a...a lightning rod.."
 She frowned, completely confused. "A wha..?!"
 "He's not normal.  Touching him drained me."
 "Well of course he's not normal..." Snow growled. "I haven't killed him yet..  what does this all mean though?"
 "It would be helpful if he cooperated."
 Lex growled under his breath at this comment, keeping his eyes closed.
 "Talk to him...not to me..."
 The doctor closed his eyes, trying to see how much he could sense without touching Lex.  "How long have you known him?"
 "Three days.  No, wait.... four..."  Snow looked at the doctor; "What makes you think it's important?"
 "What makes you think he is human?"
 "What makes you think he's not?"
 "He doesn't feel human, mage, elven, animal..."
 "So... because he's nothing you know, that makes him unimportant?" she challenged, her hackles obviously starting to raise.
 "Just...nothing I know... I don't know... he could be an image of a human, a projection of one."
 Lex had no comment.
 "Then you can do nothing for him..."
 "I'm sorry.  It only seems to hurt him- how can I heal him with magic, which hurts him?  I can't..."
 "D*mn right you cant, so **** off."
 Snow glared at Lex then looked back at the doctor as she stood up. "Thank you for your time.. I'll ask that you leave now, though...."
 The man bowed slightly.  "I'm sorry I couldn't help.  I suggest  you let him rest naturally, unless this seems...progressive and not reactive.  Goodbye."
 Lex let out a breath once the doctor was gone; Snow shut the door behind the doctor, then went to her sleeping mat, sinking down onto it with her back to the wall.
 "I t- I told you.."
 "You told me nothing. Hoollies Lex, you might have told me you were allergic to doctors!"
 Lex couldn't help gigling; it was just the way she said it. "Allergic...sure... woulda never thought of that, though...hehee.."
 "Even if you'd told me...I wouldn't have believed you..." Snow rested her head against the wall, closing her eyes against the faint light.
 Lex continued to laugh nervously, nervous because he barely had control over the giggling.
 She opened her eyes and looked at him. "...giggles.....???"
 "Ehehe...and nothing's funny...except...alergic... he's taking a loooong time going away, you know."
 "He's still out there...?"
 "He's at the front door."
 "Perhaps someone else needs his services....."
 "I'm sure he's just having a friendly conversation..friendly guy," Lex continued in a near-uncontrolable laugh.
 "...You cold...?"
 "Yeah..."
 She stood up, and picking up her blanket and bringing it over to Lex, she dropped it beside him, then got his blanket and brought it to him as well.  Afterwards, she returned to where she had been before, on the opposite side of the room, not wishing to make poor Lex feel worse.
 "Go ahead, ask again..."
 "Why..." not why ask.. but why does he react so..
 "Yes that one," he said, calming down.  "Dont worry about it..."  He then added a bit harshly, "I'll *never* tell you."
 "Why will you never tell."
 "You can't know.  I don't want to.  I wouldn't even if I had the chance."  By what he has said to her before, these last two are an outright lie, but his voice does not say that now.
 Snow moved back over to him, chrouching down on the balls of her feet infront of him.  Her nose at most a foot away from his. "Care to repeat that... with the same tone..?"
 "I won't tell," he said simply, beating back every emotion he would otherrwise feel:  he was no longer suffering from the giggles.
 "You *can't* tell. You haven't the strength," she said simply, somewhat challengingly. "Now go to sleep, or I'll find other ways to make you rest..."
 He breathed a sigh of relief.  "Thankyou... so kind of you... goodnight... y'oughta rest too."
 Snow stood, leaving him with both of the bed rolls, and curled up into a small ball in a corner.
 "I'm not THIS cold," he pointed out.  "One of these is yours..."
 "Keep them." she said simply, flatly.
 "But..." he yawned involuntarily, sighed, and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.  Truth be told, he planned to tell her later, when he could.
 She sighed, resting her head against the wall in the corner, her back more towards the room then anything else.  She wouldn't be sleeping. She doubted she would be able to sleep again for at least a full day, which turned out to be about how long Lex slept anway.

Chapter 8

Once he finally started to wake up, he stretched like a cat that had been napping, then yawned less gracefully, mumbling incoherently to himself.  Snow had remained within her corner except to eat at one point and bring him food about an hour before he bagan to wake up.  She was back in her corner and asleep by the time he'd begun to stirr.
 Lex smelled the food and rubbed his eyes sleepily, then started to eat after looking around the room.  He thought, I feel like I've slept...for*ever*...an enternity... it must be a miracle I've gotten up... And I'm hungry.  Lex smiled to himself to see Snow sleeping, and for being able to watch her sleep as he ate.
 She slept for perhaps 2 or 3 hours, then began to stirr, slowly opening her eyes to look around the room with her head perched upon one arm.
 "Hey cutie," Lex greeted with a mischivious grin: he was obviously feeling much better
 Snow gave him an odd look as she pushed herself up into a sitting position and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. A small yawn escaped her lips which she covered with her hand, then folded her hands within her lap."Feeling better I see...."
 "You look worse," he commented suspisciouly.  "But if you're not, let's get going!"
 "So anxious to leave are you..." she mumbled, taking out her braid and smoothing her hair before begining to plait it again.
 "You can't comphrehend how much better I am.  How are you feeling?"
 "Around normal...."  She stood up after finishing he