Paths of Green and Gold

The girl turned out to be a surprisingly good companion. To Thorn's relief, she quickly realized that he was not interested in small talk or their relatives' recent news. She cut the talk to the bare minimum and walked by his side in silence. He was aware of her furtive glances, masked by long black bangs hiding her amber eyes from the burning sun, but he didn't react to them in any way. She was just another assignment; he had to escort her to her destination, and then he could take care of things most important to him.  So much has happened in the last few weeks, there was too little time to draw conclusions or consider gains and losses. His cousin’s initial silence allowed him to think about all the recent events – about his sister, who was now traveling with someone else, about a new path shown to him by a different Woman, but most importantly – about the said Woman, and the way she disappeared leaving only a letter. There were a few things that still bothered him. He knew that he would meet Her again, but he was not sure under what conditions, and what role he would play. He just hoped She was safe.   As they kept walking north, towns and villages, dotting their way since they left the port, were replaced by vast meadows and forests, and he noticed Selena was walking more briskly now. She was much more at ease surrounded by nature than human settlements. He could relate to that, even after almost 15 years of living among the humans. She became more chatty, telling him about the forest creatures, about hunting, which she was curiously knowledgeable about, and about other secrets of the wilderness. At some point, he started enjoying her stories – maybe her vitality brushed off on him? Or maybe they reminded him of the time he took care of her when she was still a little child? Whatever it was, in the second week of their time together, he was already able to exchange more than a few off-hand remarks with her.   Despite the scorching heat that was becoming more and more bothersome with each passing day, he was enjoying the journey. He needed a change of scenery, and even more, of company. He needed to rest, take a step back, and think what he was going to do after Selena was safely in Thoris. No – he already decided. Sometimes, though, it felt like he was just chasing after a ghost, a very beautiful and incredibly talented one. He sighed and instinctively placed his left – uninjured – hand on his chest, where the letter was safely hidden in his leather vest’s inner pocket.  [...However, if you wanted to, you could surely find me...] There was nothing he wanted more, and he hoped Thoris would be a good place to start. But first, they had to get there... He was getting impatient. Most of the time it would be impossible to tell, as he was used to hiding his emotions. However, it irritated him that Selena refused to travel in any other way but on foot. Though their slow journey did give him a chance to settle his thoughts and enjoy the beauty of nature. He didn’t remember the last time he could do that, as there were always too many things he was expected to do – things that didn’t even matter to him in the first place. [...May your paths always be green and golden...] Now, in the middle of summer, the forest was lush with greenery and shimmering under the golden touch of the sun. The densely growing trees offered quite a lot of shade, but the heat was still unbearable, and the warrior was grateful he didn't have to wear armor anymore. The  two-handed sword on his back, together with the leather backpack holding his few possessions was enough to make him sweat and he couldn't wait to have a proper bath. He really appreciated the sudden decision to cut his long brown hair just before setting off on this journey. Now reaching only down to his neck, it was just long enough to cover his pointy ears, and that was all he needed. He hoped without the ears being visible his sharp features and deep green eyes could pass as human. The undone strings of his thin linen shirt revealed dark lines of tattoos on his chest. The simple vest and pants made of soft dark brown leather were of good quality but already a little worn. The high leather boots even darker in colour were sturdy and comfortable, but not a good match for the current weather, either. As they got deeper into the woods, he had to pull his mind back to his surroundings. The first problem was that Selena refused to just walk by his side. She would climb trees, run ahead to "check the road" or wander off fascinated by a rare bird hidden in the leaves. Her curiosity and complete lack of discipline were really tiresome. It got even worse when she snuck out of their camp at night yet again. She spent a long time trying to convince him there was no danger she couldn't handle anywhere near. All she achieved, though, was that they spent the following day walking in complete silence without even looking at each other.  The second problem were the tracks. For some time now they kept finding traces of human presence in the forest, but they didn't spot any village or even a hunter's hut, which meant it was most probably bandits, whose arrogance grew with every step they took away from the heart of the Empire.  Thorn wasn't worried they would come across that bunch – he was almost sure they would. A lone traveler accompanied by a chattering teenage girl would surely stand out as an easy target. Would he be able to convince Selena to stay put in case of a face-off? Especially that his right hand still remained immobile. He was carefully hiding the bandage under the wide sleeve of his shirt so that nobody would consider them an even easier target. If he was alone, he would be happy to cross blades with someone – anyone, but the life of his charge was on the line. Would she be able to control her curious nature and constant marveling at the world around her if they were attacked?