"Branch!"

Waking up, I grabbed my sword as I quickly sat up to face whatever was wrong.

There had been no need to startle. I found the girl sitting next to me, with a look of pain. She had flinched at my startle, and it had likely hurt her head. I looked around, finding us alone. The sun was still rising, but it was high enough that both the chill in the air was gone and the sky was bright and blue.

I had expected when going to sleep to be woken up. We weren't far from the battlefield, and although the battle was over and they had allowed us to go freely without demanding anything there was no doubt in my mind that there would be opportunist all around for some time.

Slavers, bandits, and even fellow mercenaries hoping to make up for the losses they just incurred would be on the lookout for easy prey. And a small pair of, what looked to be injured, mercenaries was usually one of the first type of victims.

But there was nothing. No one. Even the weather seemed nice.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Why had she shouted to wake me…? There didn't seem to be anything wrong.

"You're bleeding again," she said worriedly as she pointed to my shoulder.

Oh.

I sighed at her, and myself, as I put the sword down and finished sitting up properly. The makeshift bedroll I'd been sleeping in was indeed a little soaked, not from sweat or morning dew but my blood. I must have rolled over a little too harshly and opened up some of the wounds on my back.

"I'll be fine…" I said, before the girl could start to fuss over me.

She gave me a look, one that told me she only saw and heard a male's bravado overriding his common sense, but I didn't pay much mind to it.

She was human. And like all humans they weren't capable of understanding.

Such wounds were not a problem for me. Not after being treated and cleaned out by those surgeons. In fact, I could already feel the itching of their healing. They had bled last night, sure, but by the morrow of next day such a thing would be impossible.

"Branch, you should at least let me clean them again…" the girl suggested as I went to stand up.

I was up now.

"I'll be fine. I'll clean up in a moment… how long have you been awake?" I asked as I glanced at the nearby campfire. It was burning, but not blazingly strong as it had been last night.

"An hour or so. I'm used to getting up earlier, I… was responsible for breakfast and stuff, so…" she began to mumble softly as she explained why she was an early riser.

Right.

She had recovered well enough to travel, though was having terrible headaches. But her brother did just die. It was actually rather telling on how strong she was, internally, at how well she was taking it… but every so often little comments like that slipped through her defenses.

"I'd tease you about the lack of breakfast then, but that'd be in poor taste," I said as I knelt down near the fire. I warmed my hand a bit, since they ached. During the battle my sword had broken, and I had been forced to fight with my fists. I knew I had many broken bones within them, since I could feel their aches and pains, but they were also inflamed and cut up a bit too.

It was one of the reasons she and her brother had fallen. I had targeted another soldier, as to take his sword for my own, and while I had been doing so they had fallen victim to another. Because I had stepped away.

Though there was no telling if it would have gone any different. Such was the way of war.

"Branch?"

I turned, finding the girl with a bundle of cloth. Wet cloth.

"I said I was fine," I said.

"It'll get infected if we don't keep them clean," she warned.

Well… she wasn't wrong. Not entirely. But I couldn't help but feel like she was being overly pushy with her compassion.

Either her attempt to keep me happy, so I'd not abandon her, or she was just feeling… emotional.

Or well…

I sighed and nodded. I sat, and took off my shirt to let her wipe off my wounds and pour water on them. I genuinely didn't need her to do so, but I figured it was easier to just let her do it and get it over with than continue arguing with her.

"How about you? How do you feel?" I asked as she wiped my back off.

"My head still hurts, but I feel fine everywhere else. Even the hole in my side doesn't hurt much," she said.

Right. She had been hit by an arrow too, amongst other things.

Arrows.

I scoffed at them. They hurt, and killed often. Though usually not from the impact itself. Most people who died from them did so hours, if not days, later. From festering wounds and infections. Especially since some people tainted their arrows intentionally. It wasn't uncommon for mercenaries to soak their arrows in manure or something the night before a battle.

"So… um…" the girl continued to wipe my back, even though it was likely time she finished. I turned a bit, to glance over my shoulder at her. She shifted a little at my look, and nodded. "Where we headed?" she then asked.

We…?

"I need to find another job, fast. I'll be hungry again soon if I don't," I said with a sigh.

The meal she and her brother had fed me the other day had been a nice one. They had caught a small boar like animal, and had been willing to share with me its delicacies.

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It was one of the reasons I had tried my best to keep them safe… and also why she was still alive.

It wasn't often people in this line of work were generous, especially to someone like me. It made me feel like I had a debt because of it, even though I knew my mother would say that debt had long since been paid.

"So… another band?" she asked, a little excitedly.

She knew I had noticed how she had included herself in her question, and had ignored it.

"If I can. That or even just guard duty or something, somewhere. I don't know of any upcoming battles anytime soon around here, so not sure yet. I guess we can…" I paused a moment, and felt stupid.

I was including her already!

Turning around, the girl stood up straighter. She and been kneeling a bit as to clean my back, but was now acting as if on attention because I was some boss about to bark orders. It was an odd thing to see since she was looking down at me.

"Your brother's dead," I said.

A pain expression flashed on her face as she smiled. "Yes."

"I'm not stupid. I know you two would not have been doing this if you had other options… but now you don't have a reliable partner. A man. It's best you think of other options. You got any family?" I asked.

She shook her head.

Great.

I sighed as I looked away from her, since she was making me feel like an ass.

What would my father say here…? My mother would tell me to not get involved, but he'd not shut up about my responsibilities and…

"I can cook and sew. I can get a job working in such things, but all the cities around here have huge fees to become a resident of. We were planning on making enough to buy rights to live in one of the river towns around here," she then said.

Right… a common story amongst mercenaries. But for once I believed it, and not just because the boar she had cooked the other day had been tasty.

"How much is it? To buy resident rights?" I asked. I'd never looked into it, since I didn't ever need such a thing. Not just because I had no plans to become some common worker in some common town, but because I had the Society. They would get me a resident's permit anytime I asked.

"Near the coast we talked to the noble's attendant. It was fifteen," she said.

Fifteen…? "Fifteen what?"

She startled. "Penk."

Gods! That was more than I'd make in a dozen battles!

I felt my body relax a little, to the point I nearly fell backward. I had to catch myself before I did so.

Fifteen penk… by my wings, what a sum!

No wonder people never moved from where they were born! I always wondered why humans never moved around, if anything just to live somewhere different every so often! This was why! It was too bloody expensive!

"Some are cheaper. Kevin, one of my brother's friends, told us of a smaller town to the west where it's only six. But you have to pay half a penk a year in extra taxes for four years afterward," she said, speaking quickly as she did.

I shook my head at that. That was still a fortune. That was more than most households made in a whole year, wasn't it? I could have sworn my father told me that an average household made a couple penk a year…

How'd towns grow then…? There had to be something else at play…

Also, did that mean the Society paid that fee anytime one of our members requested it…? So many of our kind moved around a lot, either traveling on purpose or having to move elsewhere every so often just to stay safe. Since people, humans, noticed their un-aging faces or their traits or something…

Feeling a strange new respect for the Society, I wondered how much wealth it held to be able to do such a thing. Even my own siblings have used that service several times, I'd helped a few of them move alongside mother and Vim just recently.

Actually…

Reaching up, I scratched the side of my head. I felt a bit of dried blood in my hair, though odds are it was from one of the few head-wounds I had gotten and not from rolling around in my sleep and the blood from my back.

Those horsemen. That had ridden through the lines of our offense the other day.

They had undoubtedly been non-humans. Surely. A few of them had been swinging around poles of iron and metal that most humans couldn't even lift with all their might, let alone with one hand and while riding horseback.

Had I actually been fighting fellow Society members…? Hopefully not. Last thing I needed was for Vim to be the one to wake me up with a startle, as she had just done. How would I be able to look into my mother's eyes if I did that? Upset Vim and the Society in such a way…? Gods it would be embarrassing as hell, my siblings would never stop squawking about it and…

"Um…"

I stopped thinking for a moment, remembering the human girl was still here. Right.

"Sorry. I had been lost in thought. You done with my wounds?" I asked, gesturing to the towel she held. It wasn't as badly stained as I had thought it would have been after wiping my bloody back off.

"Yeah… they actually look very good. Even that bad one on your shoulder already looks like its healing over," she said with a smile, as if glad to let me know.

Feeling bad again, I wondered if I should ask if she wanted me to check hers. She could check and see the one on her side and stuff, but not the one on her head. Should I at least look at it…?

"Yeah… well…" I coughed, and decided against it. For now. She looked fine. I didn't see any blood, and her pupils didn't look off or strange. She didn't even look pale or hungry, which was odd. Didn't humans usually feel the cold real bad during such mornings? I was fine, but she shouldn't be. It wasn't like she was wearing much, just a couple thin layers. Maybe it was just because she was used to it.

By the sounds of it her and her brother have been mercenaries for some time. Maybe even longer than me. Odds are she was more accustomed to living like this than I was, strangely enough.

She gave me an odd smile, one that made me want to look away, but I held her gaze. To confront her, and my strange sense of responsibility concerning her.

"What's your name anyway?" I asked.

Her smile flinched, and she frowned at me. "You don't remember…?"

I shook my head.

She sighed, but her smile didn't fade too much because of it. "Kathrine. My brother called me Slip though," she said.

"Slip…?"

"I slip a lot. Like while walking," she said.

Huh… hadn't noticed. Maybe it was something she had done while younger. A few of my siblings had been clumsy like that too, Sap had been lucky enough to inherit our parent's wings yet she wasn't able to control them properly. Too weak. They were always bumping into things, and getting stuck on doors and stuff thanks to it. My other siblings used to tease her about it, making fun of her name as they did. Since the humans used the term sap derogatorily around these parts.

"Is your name really Branch? Like a tree branch?" she asked as I stood.

"Yes. Technically it's Branches," I said.

"Huh…"

I ignored her look as I glanced around, to make sure we were still alone. We weren't far from a river, and were in a rather wooded area, but there was a road not far from here. It was close enough that if we spoke too loudly, such as if we shouted, we'd be heard by those traversing it.

"For now, if you're okay with it, let's stick together. I owe your brother that much at least. But I'll be trying to join another band, so be prepared for that," I said as I decided to just let her join me. For now at least.

At least until I got over this stupid feeling of responsibility for her.

"Right…! Thank you, Branches. Really," she squeezed the towel tightly as she nodded at me, happy to hear it.

"Let's get on the road then, before we attract trouble. You seem to know this area well, any suggestions?" I asked as I went to put out the fire.

"If we head north a bit, following the bigger river nearby, we'll reach Ruvindale. There's a guild there for mercenaries we can use to find one to join," she suggested.

In Ruvindale…?

I nodded, deciding that was a good idea. The Sleepy Artist was there too. I could use the opportunity to check on it, and write a letter home.

"Let's go then," I said.

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