The storm had been kind enough to warn him well ahead of its arrival with a distant peel of thunder that made it through the trees of the forested hills he was traveling through. The hills probably helped, echoing the sound to him farther than it should have given the barriers between him and it. And that wasn't the last time those hills were helpful, either. He reached a tumbledown area as the breeze was beginning to pick up and began picking his way through only to be rewarded with a overhanging hollow in the side of one of those very same hills. It was tall, moderately deep, and very sheltered by nearby tumbledown rocks. The overhang reached out far enough that he had little doubt that he would be dry through the night shy of gale-force winds. He dismounted and led his horse in, unsaddling and brushing the animal down while it ate from the feed bag he'd attached to its bridle. He finished up just about the time a much closer rolling rumble of thunder announced the leading edge of the storm had arrived.

Kerr tied his horse off to an exposed root in the back of the sheltered hollow and began looking after his own disposition, quickly discovering that the space was far from new and he was far from the first person to occupy it. Upon closer inspection the ground was more of a packed earth, meaning somebody had put forth the effort to clean it up, dig it out, and then pack it all down to create a relatively flat surface for solid footing. With a few blown down leaves, fallen sticks, and other detritus swept aside he found what appeared to be a fire circle as well. With a smile he swept out into the woods beyond and began collecting wood. A fallen tree, about four inches in cross section and seasoned, followed by as many fallen branches as he could get before the first drops of rain began to plop down amidst the darkening sky. It was just past noon and it was starting to look like evening as he hauled a bundle of branches into the alcove he'd begun to set up in.

A hatchet came out of his pack and he began processing the wood into burnable fuel by creating piles for different purposes. Kindling, buildup and maintain shards, and full fuel pieces. Kindling was piled and a buildup piece was shaved with the blade of his hatchet to get a pile of starter going. The back of the hatchet's head scraped down a flint and he would have the sparks needed to get that going but he held off for the moment. Kerr moved to the edge of his shelter and looked up through a break in the forest canopy. Lightning behind the ever darkening clouds made it easy to see how fast they were moving, as he'd surmised the storm was traveling slowly and dumping a prodigious amount of water onto these lands due to the hills breaking up the wind pattern. It seemed as if all at once the rain began to pelt downward and he stepped back to survey his situation. The edge of the space had been built up by whomever had packed the dirt floor within. He would be dry through the night barring any leaks that might seep between the stones of the hill itself.

The next peel of thunder made his horse shift nervously and Kerr gave it's neck a good solid pat. "No fear, you great snorting lump of meat. Most of my horses survive these trips." He snorted lightly to himself and went back to start his fire. He'd expected to get further in this day when he'd set out, to have a little time at the end of the day to spot and obtain a bit of small game for dinner. He was going to eat trail rations tonight, the fire was for safety and perhaps a bit of warmth if the wind began to bite later in the evening. If he was lucky it'd burn the rain spray off too, keeping the space from growing humid, he thought as he watched the first tendrils of smoke reach for the ceiling and ride a seemingly natural groove between stones out of a corner of the sheltered area. Good fortune, so far. With nothing left to distract him, aside from slowly feeding more fuel into the burgeoning fire, he looked out at the sheets of rain and let his mind wander.

And wander it did, right back to the place it always did when the rain pelted and he was alone. Back to her. Back to their grand escape plan. Back to the realization that she'd betrayed him to save her own skin and, apparently incidentally, saved his skin as well. It'd been raining that day as well. Perfect for evading the dogs that would have surely been set on them had they ever gotten beyond the first sewer junction. They'd both been dressed for the road, her black tresses pulled up into a thick bun on the back of her head with her leather breaches showing off the curve of her legs. That's what he'd been thinking about when the other man had appeared out of the darkness to his left with flashing steel in hand. The fight had been short, as all fights between expert killers truly were. A viciously committed contest to control the weapon that lasted mere heartbeats. Kerr had been taller than his foe, got above him in the grapple, and drove his own blade down through the side of his neck.

The love of his life had slipped the stiletto dagger into his back so immediately upon his victory that he was sure both he and the man he'd just killed had the same look on their faces as they fell in unison to the floor. Kerr had fetched up against the wall looking at his new attacker in shock, the woman he loved and thought loved him, while his defeated foe fell into the water that flowed down the center of the aqueduct they'd been using to get out of the city. Chainmail, Kerr had thought in that moment, the body would just sink to the bottom and stay put. She'd looked at him with resignation. "What must be done," she'd said resolutely in response to the question that had been written plain on his face. And then she'd been gone. He'd awoken in a room above a tavern, bandaged and being told he'd survived one of the most dangerous foes known to the Judicars. So clever a spider was she they'd even been convinced he was the traitor in their midst. Turned by her charms.

That was, until they'd found him bleeding out with a stab wound in his back and a dead member of the order in the water nearby. They'd found the evidence they needed to know that Kerr had been betrayed to her by this other Judicar in the office Kerr and she had snuck out of, a scrap of a letter surviving at the back of the fire place. The pieces fit differently for Kerr because he knew things the other Judicars didn't but the end point had been the same. She'd taken the option that ensured she'd live and it wouldn't cost her a thing except having to stab a Judicar in the back. Apparently, it hadn't mattered which one. He'd spent months after that destroying the small part of her network that he'd known about... and hating the fact that he still loved her. He'd never be able to trust her again. He was loving a person that had never existed. The thunder shook him from his memories by making the horse whinny nervously. He tossed some more wood on the fire and gave the horse a look. "You ever fall in love, horse? No... probably not."

He looked out into the pouring rain once again and sighed. "I wouldn't recommend it but, if you do, I recommend keeping your armor on."

He began stripping his armor off and the horse snorted. "No ladies here, save the one in my imagination. You know, to this day I can still draw you a perfect image of her. A bit of coal and some parchment and you'd believe you could identify her anywhere." He continued stripping down, piece by piece, until he was in his linen pants and shirt. Kerr found a spot to sit down, slightly reclined against the mound of dirt that divided the shelter from the outside world to prevent water from flowing inward in spite of the overhang. He took to rubbing his bare feet to ease the ache of days of travel out of them. Hot water and a pretty girl with long fingers would do better for them but that was still more than a day away on the trail. "I'll just have to make due with telling you about her, though. Hair, dark as midnight and eyes to match. Pouting lips that could pull a frown and a smirk with equal allure. Her tell was in her eyes, though. They'd light up when something interested her, that's why she preferred to handle business on the move or in shadowy rooms."

He distracted himself for a few moments to put some more of the smaller sticks on the fire. Those would form the coals that would keep the heat up all night, make it easier to start the fire back up again come morning and fry a little something for breakfast before setting out. That would be even more important if it was still raining when that time came. Keep his energy up through the miserable journey ahead. He had a bit of molasses in his kit, he'd add that to the horse's morning oats for the same effect. The horse sighed as it settled in as well. "No, actually. Never did see her again. I spent months tearing apart her network... or, at least the part of it I had become aware of. None of the people we captured knew where she was if they even knew properly who they were employed by. Said they hadn't seen her since before the day she stabbed me, hadn't received word, and so on." The horse shook its head, probably shewing away a fly but Kerr continued to interpret the input the way he wished. "Oh, they were definitely telling the truth. The Judicars don't work on the honor system. The questions were asked hard and belief in their answers was earned harder."

He pulled his kit over to himself and took out his canteen, twisting the stopper out and sloshing it around a bit. Warm as the weather, he imagined. "I wish it would snow. It's not going to, not this far south and certainly not this time of year but still. I miss the snows, hunkering down for the season in some out of the way village or where ever our jobs had taken us before the first snow hit. Bedding down with some lass with stars in her eyes or a stern looking widow woman... or both if the village was big enough to keep the two clear of one another. Of course, I haven't lived that way since I met her..." he trailed off having once again let his mind wander back to dark hair and eyes. "The moment I saw her, the moment I laid eyes on Morticia Vangerdhast, lasted an eternity. Everything stopped except her, my lungs... my heart... everything. I couldn't even turn my head to follow her path, just let my eyes water and ride along until they could turn no further. And then... well, then if felt like I'd had a heartattack as the damned thing started beating again."

Kerr chuckled, the noise overlapping falling rain and crackling fire. It felt nice, having that space to himself. It felt bad to let his mind go to a time of blissful ignorance. He wished he had a woman with him, one to either fall to his charms or tell him he was trash. Either way would be fine as it would give him something else to consider. "She was going by a different name, then. She was betrothed to some slovenly lord or another, or at least pretending to be. I was a good reader of people at the time, I could see the scam in her eyes even if I couldn't put together what exactly the point was yet. She was so smart, so worldly, so far beyond me... but I saw that spark of interest in her eyes and I kindled it for all I was worth. Fool that I was, I swear to this day I got her to love me just a little in return. Her last night there, before triggering whatever plan she was on about, she spent with me friend horse. She chose me. Not for her plan, not for some cover, not boredom nor spite." Kerr stopped himself and took a deep breath. "Or so I told myself for many years."

"Ran into a Judicar in the wee hours of the morning, as I snuck from her room via a third story window. Down to the courtyard and out the back gate through an alley. And right into a man who moved faster and quieter than any creature I'd ever faced. One moment I was alone and the next he was in the morning mists with me... well, I'd tell you the rest but then I'd have to kill you. The short version is I became a Judicar because they believed I could be used against her. I became a Judicar because I believed it was the shortest line between where I was and where she would be. That along that path I would learn the things that would make me worthy of her. I sometimes wonder if I got stabbed because I failed... or because I succeeded." The horse just stared at him silently... or, rather, everything but him as it's forehead was directed straight at him. "Fine, I get it. I wouldn't want to sit here and listen to this story come out of anyone else either... though I'd pretend I was to be friendly. You should try it sometime, might keep you from getting sold to someone like me in the future."

so i made friends with all my demons

[attr="class","stroke"]SUNJATA

let them sink their teeth in

Crack!

Everything went white, and Sunjata forgot how to breathe. The rain swept down, and water flooded the forest, but even that didn’t sweep away the sharp scent of smoldering wood. She tried to listen for where Dawn had gone, but her ears were ringing like the long peel of a bell — she felt his hoof-falls in the dirt more than heard him. Her tingling limbs operated of their own accord to push her up to sit, the spots in her vision clearing enough to she the smoldering remains of the tree that had been split in two not twenty paces from where she’d hunkered down. Lightning, she realized.

“Holy shit,” she breathed.

Blinking away the last of the spots, she hauled herself up to squint at the damage. The winds howled until her tent was stretched taut by its teathers, threatening to blow away. Scraps of the old pine were strewn around the clearing, and to her dismay, her tent had been torn by debris. But her horse. The stallion was nowhere in sight.

“Dawn!” She called into the dark, but the rain drummed down so loud that it drowned her out. As Sunjata set to gathering her things out of the leaking tent, she called for him again. She could see nothing, hear nothing. She called again, and added a sharp whistle. There was nothing but another clap and roll of thunder with the flash of white in the sky. Her heart started thudding harder. Not Dawn. Not Dawn. He was all she had.

From the dark between trees opposite of the one smoldering, a drenched gray horse plodded into the open. Sunny laughed, and she greeted Dawn with a heavy pat on his neck and as much of a hug as she could manage with her pack in her hands. “Let’s go find better shelter,” she whispered.

It took what felt like forever to tie everything down on her horse and cover it with the remains of the tent, but they were quick to be on the move again. Deep hood drawn up over her head, she led him on foot toward the hillsides, where she spotted the glimmer of a campfire through the rain. As they started to near, she unclasped her sword-hilt from its sheath, leaving it easy to access. There was no telling if this would be a friendly encounter or a deadly one, and she had every intention of making it to the next city with all her belongings—and her hide.

“Ho there friend!” she called over the rain when she stepped near enough to see the tempting fire in the driest spot for miles. She offered a bright smile as she tried to make out the face of the man through the storm. “Could I wait out this storm with you? My camp’s been roasted.”

got used to the feeling of letting it go

so give me something to believe in

or throw me in the deep end

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"No, no, no," Kerr confidently corrected his horse, who had literally said nothing about the matter. "You don't add the caramel drizzle on the top until after the apple pie has been out of the oven for about half a bell. Otherwise it will burn up in the heat, instead of being perfectly gooey..." He turned his head as a crack of lightning hit damned close. He'd not been looking so it's streak was gone and in the terrible downpour he couldn't see any trees toppling over. For the wind, nor could he hear such a thing. But he was sure that was what had happened. "I wonder if there's a blond-haired foundling waiting for his half-Orc adopted father somewhere out there," he chuckled to the horse but it was just standing with a shiver in it's back corner of the shallow cave. Kerr gave a sigh, but at least the creature was barn broke enough to know not to run out into the weather it so feared.

He reclined back a bit further and tossed a long burning log on the fire. He was keeping it relatively low, as he needed neither heat nor light, but high enough to keep the residual humidity down and the animal life at bay. That included bugs, bears, and any other unintelligent creature that might think to use his claimed space as a shelter in this scenario. Down-side was being easy to spot in the darkened day, as light had a nasty habit of traveling much farther in the dark than most people realized. When there was a call from the rain driven shadows of the forest outside his shelter he gave a sigh, more resigned than surprised but his sword-belt was close to hand so he just shrugged and sat up to look over the little berm of earth out into the wind-whipped rain beyond. "My fires always offers the peace of the camp to any and all that will abide by it! Come in from the night, as it is surely fit for neither man nor beast." The voice had said "I" and Kerr could deal with any one person in the world. Might cost him a run through terrible weather to save his skin but he was confident he could make that run.

He waited, an expression of calm curiosity on his features, to see whom made their appearance.

so i made friends with all my demons

[attr="class","stroke"]SUNJATA

let them sink their teeth in

"My fires always offers the peace of the camp to any and all that will abide by it,” called back a strong voice. “Come in from the night, as it is surely fit for neither man nor beast."

Sunjata expelled a heavy breath, and with a nod to Dawn, she led him into the light and cover of the outcropping. The absence of the rain drumming down on her cloak was a welcomed shock, and her horse shared the sentiment, shaking out his coat with a hefty snort. He just far enough away not to insult the man with the spray.

“You have my appreciation, sir,” she said as she replaced the reins back over his neck. From beneath her hood, a grin flashed at the man and pat Dawn’s neck with a wet slap. “Dawn’s too, he tends to just—” She tilted her head, and she stepped forward to peer closer at the man. “By all the stars, I can’t have just run into Kerr Blackwood in the countryside of Brelan.”

The man’s name was a prominent one, and a handsome face like his was hard to forget. It was fortunate it was his she fell upon in her home country—it was all too easy to run into the wrong sort out here, a risk she took every time she crossed borders into home.

Sunjata pulled back her hood and loosened her wet hair from her head, then bent at the waist with a flourished bow. “Sunjata Fiamierra, if you don’t recall,” she introduced, and then turned to Dawn. Though her fingers were wet and slippery, she worked at unbuckling her gear, now that she was reasonably certain she wasn’t about to be seen as a violent opportunity.

got used to the feeling of letting it go

so give me something to believe in

or throw me in the deep end

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"It's the proper thing to do. I've had to take advantage of it on occasion myself." Same as her, he figured, only when the alternative was intolerable. Riding into a stranger's camp was as dangerous as allowing a stranger into yours. But it kept people from intruding when it wasn't necessary so it really was for the best. He continued to lounge where he sat while she worked with her animal, his only change drawing up his knees and setting his feet flat on the ground when her sentence suddenly stopped. The tendons in those feet flexed as she took a step closer but otherwise he seemed content to sit right where he was while she reacted. "To be fair, in the countryside is the best place to meet me. Less distractions. I love my fans but the autographs really make it difficult to get a decent meal in me while it's still hot." He smiled winsomely. "But I fear you have me at a disadvantage."

She pulled back her hood after considering him for some time and revealed a striking woman thereby. The name meant something, though it didn't immediately leap to the front of his mind. Not a personal acquaintance of his, not someone on the current wanted posters. He idly pressed a finger to his temple, accessed the mental structure he maintained to organize his thoughts and boom, the answer came to him like a crack of lightning. "Ah, The Messenger. I don't think we've been formally introduced and haven't crossed paths since I winked at you in the front parlor of Lady Deepmire's manor on my way out... are those the remains of a tent you're using as a tarp?"

so i made friends with all my demons

[attr="class","stroke"]SUNJATA

let them sink their teeth in

Her fingers slipped on a wet tether, and she cursed under her breath. Maybe she tied the knots too well.

“Ah, The Messenger.” She smirked with some measure of pride. “ I don't think we've been formally introduced and haven't crossed paths since I winked at you in the front parlor of Lady Deepmire's manor on my way out…”

She hummed a laugh as she finally got one knot untied—she remembered. “Ever the charmer.”

“... are those the remains of a tent you're using as a tarp?"

She struggled with the next wet knot too. Dawn stomped his foot with a swish of his tail, impatient to be untacked and brushed down. “Yes,” she answered. “I had the misfortune and luck of narrowly avoiding a lightning strike. It hit a neighboring tree. It was torn apart by a falling branch.” Her hand slipped from a knot again, and she cursed again.

"I would burn these ropes if I didn't need them," she grumbled, and redoubled her efforts to untether her belongings. They were so wet, they probably wouldn't even burn. As she worked, she looked over her shoulder again at the man lounging by the fire. It looked warm and inviting. "What brings you this way?"

got used to the feeling of letting it go

so give me something to believe in

or throw me in the deep end

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"I have no doubt I will one day be killed because someone took offense to me, I see no reason to encourage that day's arrival by actually giving offense. Better to wink than to scoff, especially at a pretty lady." He waxed philosophical, though he applied very poetic license to the whole thing. He wiggled his toes for emphasis throughout. "Charm is as charm does."

Kerr watched, seemingly idle, while she worked at the knots she'd tied to secure her things to the sodden equine that she'd brought in with her. He made the appropriate "ah" sound of understanding when she explained that she'd had a near miss with a lightning struck tree. "I know the feeling," he rejoined though he didn't add any details as to how. He didn't remember the details, he just knew he'd been standing next to a burned out lightning struck tree with the old Half-Orc that would become his father had found him. "Your hands are wet." He said it simply as he stood with distinct agility.

He strode over casually and pointed at her wrinkled fingertips. "Go, hold them near the fire. I can break the knots. I did a little time as a sailor, there's a dumb trick to it." He let her step away and then took one of the knots in his hand, squeezing it in his fist and then flexing his knuckles alternately while 'rolling' the knot about in his fist. "It causes the different portions of the knot to contract and expand at different times until they... there we go. Slip." He was able to pick a portion of the knot apart and then the rest of it unraveled with relative ease. "Happens to rigging knots all the time on the big ships during nasty weather."

"Me? Occupational hazard, I'm afraid. If you're any good at the job the work dries up as people begin to realize you're around. Or it gets awfully dangerous as you start to get successful. Or you charm the wrong woman and a bunch of angry fellas come out of the woodwork as if she didn't make the decision of her own free will. Hilarious, but still best to move on to the next venue. Promotes longevity." He gave a shrug as he started working on the next knot. "I'd ask the same... but you're The Messenger. So, a message is somewhat self-evident."

so i made friends with all my demons

[attr="class","stroke"]SUNJATA

let them sink their teeth in

"I have no doubt I will one day be killed because someone took offense to me, I see no reason to encourage that day's arrival by actually giving offense,” Kerr responded. “Better to wink than to scoff, especially at a pretty lady. Charm is as charm does."

It was silly that it made her cheeks warm to be called pretty. Compliments remained hard to take, hard to understand. She knew she was beautiful, but she was not exactly worthy of praise — except for her reliability as a messenger.

Kerr made a sound of understanding. “I know the feeling.” Sunjata quirked a brow at him, but didn’t press. He had no obligation to sate her curiosity. She looked back at the knot she struggled with, and it seemed that the moment she touched the rope, Kerr stepped in. “Your hands are wet.”

“Thank you for your keen observation,” she said, tone lighthearted with a smile.

Her hands dropped as he rose to his feet, and casually approached. "Go, hold them near the fire. I can break the knots,” he instructed. “I did a little time as a sailor, there's a dumb trick to it."

Sunjata hesitated, but then nodded her thanks as she left for the fire. She stood where she could watch him with sharp eyes as his broad hand gripped the knot. The messenger tilted her head a little as he squeezed and massaged the knot. "It causes the different portions of the knot to contract and expand at different times until they... there we go. Slip." The knot came undone, and she grinned. "Happens to rigging knots all the time on the big ships during nasty weather."

Sunjata pulled off her cloak, heavy with rain and laid it out to dry before she returned to warming her hands. “I’ve been on very few ships,” she remarked, and wondered how many other things Kerr had done in life—she’d become far more worldly since leaving this country for a nomadic life, but not as worldly as she’d like.

"Me?” he said in reply to her question. “Occupational hazard, I'm afraid. If you're any good at the job the work dries up as people begin to realize you're around. Or it gets awfully dangerous as you start to get successful. Or you charm the wrong woman and a bunch of angry fellas come out of the woodwork as if she didn't make the decision of her own free will. Hilarious, but still best to move on to the next venue. Promotes longevity." Her lips twisted into a wry smile as he shrugged and moved on to another knot. "I'd ask the same... but you're The Messenger. So, a message is somewhat self-evident."

”The Messenger,” she repeated as she rubbed her hands together over the fire. “I’ve got to say, this sort of notoriety is promoting the dangerous expansion of my ego. Careful, Blackwood, or you’ll have a rival charmer on your hands.” Kidding, of course. Absolutely kidding. It was good for business, and business is all she needed.

Hands warmed, she started to run them through her tangled locks of dripping hair, wind-whipped into knots that were just about as stubborn as the ones Kerr worked on. She watched him coax them into loosening, and Dawn did too. Her horse had twisted his head around to gently nuzzle at the man’s arm, curious ears perked forward.

“Thank him, Dawn, you’ll get a comfortable rest with his help.” The horse continued his inspection, craning his neck to sniff at the stranger. Sunjata watched a silent moment longer before she approached the pair herself, standing on the side opposite of Kerr to gather loose rope and take the tent off when all knots were undone. “As it turns out, I am not in Brelan for a message. I’ve taken a detour to check into a horse trainer. I’ve just got to find him.” And hope this one is my brother.

got used to the feeling of letting it go

so give me something to believe in

or throw me in the deep end

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Kerr properly kept his attention on the ropes while she blushed, though he could track such things out of the corner of his eye. More habit than respecting her privacy but it worked either way. He always wondered what about a set of words made any given person react in any given way but they weren't anywhere close to getting that deeply philosophical with one another at this juncture so he kept his curiosity to himself presently.

Same as she seemed to keep her curiosity to herself about his commiseration regarding near misses with lightning. "I was a foundling discovered under a lightning struck tree as a toddler," he helpfully added to her quirked eyebrow. "I remember being stunned, and focusing on a big ugly face that belonged to the Half-Orc that would become my father." He finished another knot off as he shrugged at her reveal of having been on few ships. "It can be quite useful for getting certain places in a timely fashion but it's as dangerous as the day is long. An absolutely ludicrous list of things that can go wrong on any given day, any of which can spell the end of you with no hope for recourse aside from sheer dumb luck... I hate relying on luck. As fit and as capable as I am even I can only tread water for so long." And all of that was to say nothing of the beasties that tended to follow a ship around.

He turned a dazzling smile on her when she threatened him with rival charm. "Oh no, how awful that would be for me," he said cheerfully to put the lie to his words. He largely ignored the horse except to occasionally glance at it to make sure it wasn't going for a nip at him. Beyond their utility and the occasional one-sided conversation animals had never really interested him. "You're welcome, Dawn." Answered for the rider's benefit rather than the animal's. "I'd introduce you to your fellow equine but I fear it's not seen fit to tell me its name." He gave 'Dawn' a little headbump as a greeting and continued on until he had enough knots done that his guest was able to start pulling things off the other side. "Oh, yes. Finding the right expert for the job has taken me off the beaten path more than once as well. Only one person on the entire continent I would let replace my blades for example and he's hard for even me to find."