Bad luck charm (closed, for Nouh-Bdee)

[Evayla]

A gurgling sound as the arrow hit with a *thwap*. One man down!

Rowen blinked and jumped back, taken by surprise even if this was exactly what she'd been hoping for. That was one heck of a shot!

Time for admiration later! Survive first!

"FUCK!" The beard bellowed and turned to Bin, bow quickly being readied! Clearly the man had been expecting troubles -not so odd as a troubleseeker himself- and would be able to fire a shot before Bin reached him.

*Pok!*

Beard blinked at the sharp pain on the back of his head.
A second of distraction after Rowen had loosened the sharp pebble from her sling.
Just a second for Bin to act first.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Bin stood to his feet just in time to see Rowen brain the man who’d shot him with a large rock. He smiled, despite the pain. His wound didn’t keep him from standing, or walking, but it did burn with every step.

Shit.

He might need to take a look at that. It might need to be stitched shut. Still, he was much better off than his opponent, largely thanks to Rowen’s quick pebble work.

Big Red? What?

“Uh, yeah, I’ll be okay.” He looked past her to the unconscious brigand. How soon would he wake up? “What’re we going to do with that asshole?”

He walked awkwardly, favoring his left leg, but he still made it to the unconscious man’s side quickly. He ignored any attempts by Rowen to help him, but as he looked down at the man he asked for her opinion.

“We could tie him up, but just leaving him here tied up could be a death sentence. We can’t take him with us, not that I’d want to anyway. Hmm… I don’t feel like letting him go, either.”

He wanted to move on, to basically forget about his confession and Rowen’s hug and all that business. Maybe this new crisis they’d just mostly gotten through would help her forget all about it and not even bring it up.

 

[Evayla]

Rowen eyed Bin suspiciously. He did not look 'okay'. Fine, he said he WOULD be okay, but still!

His question was a valid one. Even if she ached to just have a look at the damn wound and see if she could do anything, they had this idiot to deal with. "Ya not bleedin to death here, are ya?" She had to ask. "As fer this one...well...uh..."

The girl looked over to the very dead counterpart.
Dead.
As dead as that rabid dog.
But that had been a dog. This was a human being.
A human being who had tried to kill them or worse but...

She swallowed. Not gonna throw up not gonna throw up not gonna throw up.

A deep breath. Why was he asking her? What did she know of this stuff? Usually she just knocked people out and left em in the streets! But that was a city, where they would be found. Here? Not that much of a chance.

"Uhhh...." Her eyes moved to the dead guy again, that arrow protruding from his neck. Not gonna throw up.

This guy had tried to make it okay to kill Bin.
No matter if he'd wanted to take her for other activities, he wanted to kill *Bin*! Couldn't let that go, even if she wanted to turn her stomach right now and just focus on other things.

"I...uh....guess ya already answered that question." She bit her lip.
Tasted blood from her own bite.
Not gonna throw up!

She turned and threw up.
Unceremoniously.
Convincingly.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Bin shook his head. “No, I’m not bleeding to death.” His voice came out a little sharp, a little perturbed. He was sure he wasn’t bleeding to death, but he still might need stitches if he wanted to keep it that way.

Of course Rowen thought he was talking about the dead guy: he’d asked the question while passing him. It was Bin’s fault he was moving so slowly. He didn’t care what they did with the dead man. They could leave him for the beasts for all it mattered. Although, they should take his armor. It was nice. Not quite as nice as Bin’rahl’s, but they could sell it. He kept walking until he stood in front of the unconscious man.

“I meant this one.” The man was short, much shorter than his friend. Maybe Rowen could wear some of his armor? Would she be okay with that?

“These leathers might fit you. They’d protect you better than those traveling clothes.”

He thought about suggesting she take a crossbow, but she’d proven to be pretty good with that sling of hers, and the crossbows didn’t look like they were in prime condition. Probably not even worth selling with how far they’d have to carry them.

None of that answered the question of what to do with the living man himself.

 

[Evayla]

Rowen was a little too busy trying to get rid of the last of the bile from her mouth. Well, there went a perfectly good fishy meal. She grabbed her flask of water to rinse her mouth. Any snappy return from the man was missed. Nuances lost.

"Yea...leathers might fit...good plan..." She nodded, trying to hold down a second bout of nausea. The girl had done such a good job doing the tough thing and now she just blew it! That sucked!

As for the live one..."Guess you answered THAT too..." Rowen grimaced. "Can't take him with. Can't leave him here. He'll either die anyway or kill the next one comin along..."

Talking about killing.
Wow, how far she'd gone.
Still he was right.
Again.

"This is fucked up." She mumbled. Just because THAT idiot tried to kill them or do worse, they were forced into decisions the girl at least did not want to make!

"Fine, ya don't wanna say it? I'll say it: I'm readin between the lines an in fact he's dead already. Am I right or am I wrong?"

But then, talking about killing or actually committing murder were two things...self defense? Fine, but just like this? In cold blood?
Shit.
Serious business. She wished he'd give her SOME kind of wise words or guidance here!

"FECK, why couldn't he just fall in the fight!"

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Bin nodded. She was right, of course. It was distasteful, but Bin had done it before, mostly because any of these bandits who made it back to a city would surely spin tales of the fearsome demon who’d attacked them and robbed them, and then he’d have a whole lot more people out looking for him specifically. That was why he wasn’t welcome in the south of the continent anymore. It’s not like anyone would believe him over a human.

Bin started stripping off his armor, revealing the man’s underclothes.

“I can do it,” he muttered to Rowen. No sense in making her do the distasteful deed, not when he had already darkened his soul with similar work. “You can take a walk, if you don’t want to see…”

 

[Evayla]

Rowen swallowed again. There was definite gratitude in her face after his offer. She nodded. "No. Not gonna walk. That ain't fair. Askin ya to do it. Won't ignore it. Might uh...turn around." She flushed, feeling stupidly weak. "But I'll try not to."

She looked to help with stripping the dead man. No use leaving good stuff if she could use it. How much her mindset was changing in so short a time! The difference between playing survival in the city and actual survival out here.

The difference between childish fights and real life.

The girl could only imagine all the hardships Bin had been through. And now this. Because he was traveling with a girl.
In a land where female equaled possessions to be won over or bought and sold.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Bin didn’t know what to say. However Rowen wanted to react to this grisly business was valid, of course. Bin just wanted to be done with it.

Afterward, he took the gear stripped from the men and loaded it up on their horse. Then, he looked back at the meal Rowen had put so much work into. Suddenly, he didn’t feel like eating it.

He looked at her, a grim, unpleasant look on his face. “Want to, uh, ride back down to the trail?”

 

[Evayla]

Rowen did not speak. She averted her eyes, perhaps...a little...maybe...sorta...but she stayed. It would have been hypocritical otherwise. The meal was all but forgotten.
A shame.
But...a very human -and demi-human- reaction to the situation at hand.

"The trail....to the next city." She blinked, shook the cobwebs out of her head and nodded. "Yeah, prolly fer the best. More people. Less chance of rogues who get away with shit."

A trail might mean more so-called civilized travelers, that still did not mean they'd be nice to Bin. Rowen set her jaw. If anyone was going to make life difficult for him, they'd have another one coming!

"But I'd hate to see ya bleed out before we reach anywhere." She pointed to the still untreated wound. Since he had not fallen over by now, it was probably not as bad as it looked. But it STILL looked bad enough to need something!

"Need a hand bindin somethin?"

Practical.
The best way to go after all the mess.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

“No,” Bin said brusquely, and climbed onto the horse gingerly. It hurt, but in his opinion he hid it well. He held out his hand for Rowen. “Come on, then.”

Once she was on the horse, he coaxed the creature back toward the road. He leaned against Rowen’s back, more to support his pained body than to enjoy her softness and curves this time. He was even less talkative than normal, although he was pretty sure he was getting away with it.

He wished he had stopped and check the wound, to make sure it wasn’t still bleeding, but he was worried Rowen would insist on dressing it, and that was a level of intimacy he wasn’t sure he could handle.

What had she been saying? Bin was having trouble listening. Best reply, though, even if it’s wrong.

“Yes, lovely weather…”

 

[Evayla]

Rowen looked at him suspiciously. Yet...he was intent on going. She could not blame him. The girl climbed up, using his support and guided the horse back to the trail. She'd already been accused of being a busybody. The girl had to trust the red man to know what he needed.

The weight of the man behind her became more apparent throughout their journey. Where before it had felt pleasant, now it almost felt as if he needed her support instead of the other way around.

"Ya know, I think...ya...we might want a li'l rest up ahead at that cluster of trees." The hothead pointed out the trees up ahead. If he was too stubborn, she'd find a way to work around it.

That answer though... Lovely weather? Shit. He's in trouble.

Bin might not be talkative, he'd never *not* listened to her. In fact, no one had ever listened so well to her before in her life!

Resolutely she steered the horse towards the trees. Once there she patted the leg next to hers. "Alright, we're dismountin." Rowen slid off the horse carefully, hoping not to upset his balance. Still no extra explanation why she was stopping here. He didn't like being out of it? Fine, she'd ignore it and help him anyway.

"Come on, off the horse. Time fer a drink an stuff."

Especially stuff. She gritted her teeth seeing the blood that had seeped into his clothes. Stupid stubborn SHITHEAD! She thought to herself for lack of a better alliteration.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

How long had they been riding? Was it time to camp for the night already? Bin felt a bit lightheaded, but when Rowen climbed off the horse, he followed after her.

“I...unh...suppose we can stop for a bit.”

He climbed down from the horse, but the ground was much further away than he’d expected. IT was fine, though. The grass was soft. The sun felt nice. That gash on his lower torso, just above his hip, hurt. It felt like it was burning, but it always had, even since that bandit had shot him an eternity ago, so he wasn’t worried.

It was sweet of Rowen to give him a hug, though. A hug that made her grunt in exertion and made the grass slide under him until a tree moved in front of the sun. Bin hummed in appreciation. Her hands felt nice on his body. He missed the sun, it was warm, and Bin felt a little chilly.

“Goodnight. Sleep tight.”

Bin didn’t need a tent or a blanket. It felt so cozy under the tree. He could almost fall asleep right then…

Until he felt Rowen’s fingers touch his bare skin. Then, his eyes snapped open wide, and he regained enough consciousness to notice his erection growing. Wait, were his pants completely off? Or was he just getting numb? He couldn’t tell…

 

[Evayla]

Bin was totally out of it. Rowen could not curse herself enough for allowing him to pretend he was alright. Was it because of the shock of dead guys that she suddenly stopped thinking straight?

Either way, this was her chance to make up for her oversight. The girl did all she could to help him down the horse safely...and failed. He was way bigger and heavier than she could handle. Rowen barely managed to break his fall before he hit the grass and obviously did not intend on moving anymore.

"Oof! Yea, go sleep. Nite. Friggin idiot..." Grumbles in a worried voice as she tried her very best not to screw up his pants or shirt completely in trying to expose the wound. She grimaced. Yep. Icky.

The hyper girl set to work, braid firmly thrown over her shoulder she started cleansing the wound, then ripped apart one of her own shirts. No way she was going to bind him with something that had been in a questionable place like those rogues they took stuff from! She'd make do with one shirt or wear the looted ones herself. NOT on a wound, nope!

Looking around Rowen found some moss under the trees. Now that would be good to soak up the blood! Cleaning it of earth as well as she could, the girl applied it and bound the wound.
Tricky stuff with the heavy man lying on his back. Rolling him back and forth would have to do until she had it all secure.

Sweating like there was no tomorrow after the hard work the girl felt his temperature. Heck if she knew what a normal temperature should be for the half-man!

She noticed his open eyes just as she was trying to get his pants back up to secure the bindings even more. "Uhhhh this is not what it looks like..." Now why was she flushing again?

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Bin had winced in pain as his wound was poked, prodded, and pressed, but that was over now. The most immediate sensation he felt now, as he did his best to look at one of the four spiralling pairs of Rowen’s eyes that he saw in front of him, was the waistband of his pants that kept getting shoved against the stiff wall of his erect cock. He didn’t know why it was erect, or even how it could be, with all the blood he’d lost. But, knowing every motion and contact he felt was from Rowen made the bright red organ stand all the prouder.

“Nnnhh,” he grunted, still processing everything that was happening. She tried again to pull up his pants, but there was just no way his waistband was going to slip past the rock-hard organ.

The stimulation of her repeated attempts was making the problem worse, not better, and Bin reached over to try to move it out of the way, not realizing that what he grasped was actually Rowen’s other hand. He wasn’t even sure what he did with it. Did he move it? Squeeze it? Pull it somewhere? With what little precious blood was in his body concentrating in the offending dick, all he could do was let go and let his hand fall back against his torso.

“Looks like pants?” he said, not that it would make any sense.

 

[Evayla]

Alright, that wasn't working. Rowen growled and grumbled but the pants were not budging. Bin wasn't HELPING! Not his fault, of course, cause he was pretty much out of it, but still! She felt completely in her right in blaming him anyway!

Suddenly he grabbed her hand. She almost squeaked and lost her balance, her other hand unceremoniously landing in his crotch where ...she found the very real reason for the wayward pants.

Rockhard
Solid
Throbbing

Stupefied she kept her hand on his cock, not daring to move for a moment. Somehow Rowen had not expected it to feel so *warm*.

Curiosity.
intrigued.
Embarrassed.
Wondering how it would feel to...

Rowen blinked. WHY THINK THAT!
Why still hold....that!

His words broke her paralysis. "Pants? No yea, right, um...." Quickly she removed her hand.

So warm. Yeah, she felt flushed alright. Very, very flushed. This was not the time, nor the situation to even be thinking of something like that!

Quickly she covered the poor man's body with her cloak. He needed to stay warm. After securing the horse near enough grass Rowen sighed and looked back at Bin.

She flushed again.
The strong man.
The hunter.
The survivor.
Down with a nasty wound and all she could think of was that throbbing, thick.... STOP THINKING, GEEZ!

Grumbling at herself the girl curled up against him.
To keep him warm.
Of course.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Bin had been wrong. His cock had been hard before, but it hadn’t been hard. Not really. Not until Rowen’s hand landed on his turgid shaft. Then he got really hard.

He locked eyes were her, the lust he felt not really penetrating into his expression, leaving a dumb look of mild confusion. He wasn’t really processing that fact that her warm hand was still resting on his dick, a finger or two resting on his soft, red balls.

All the extra blood leaving his brain made him swoon, but he kept them open just long enough to see her throw her cloak over him. The sight of that obscene tent in her cloak made him let out a soft chuckle as his eyes closed.

He remained conscious long enough to feel Rowen drape herself against his body. Her warmth was so comforting, he turned his head toward her, trying to get just a bit more warmth. The relief of it made him start to shiver, but it didn’t last long as he absorbed what warmth the small woman could give. As soon as he was comfortable, he quickly fell asleep.

 

[Evayla]

Bin might not be able to giggle, she was. It was funny, where they were unable to erect a tent, his erection made a tent!

Yes, haha. Funny. Sleep. Friggin netherbats...like ya never saw a guy before.

In fact, she didn't. Not like this. Not like him.
Details.

When he turned his head for a moment the girl was afraid he'd turn his entire body, which would cause more very awkward problems, but...he didn't. With quite some relief she noticed his breathing evening out as the man fell asleep.

She spent most of her time checking his breathing, checking the dressing. Rowen was no expert. She simply did what she knew, used what she had. If he sparked a fever now, it would be on her.

Yet even then, at some point, she too fell asleep, exhausted by the day's events and the worries for that strange, red man next to her.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Bin’s sleep was deep, leaving him out cold for the rest of the day and night, but at some point in the middle of the night he’d moved enough for the cloak that covered his lower body to slide off of him. In his sleep, he began to shiver, clutching and pulling at the only warmth he felt, which happened to be Rowen’s sleeping form. He drowsily tugged her toward him and turned his body, pressing his front against as much of her as he could.

As his shivers subsided, he drifted deeper into sleep, unaware of their contact or of anything else. Of course, that mysterious body part that had caused so much trouble the day before was soft at the time he pressed against her, but it likely wouldn’t be come morning.

 

[Evayla]

Every move was noted.
Every change in his temperature logged.
The girl did not expect to be dragged into his embrace for warmth, but...whatever worked, right? He should not get a fever or they were truly lost. And so Rowen let herself be dragged in, no matter what she felt between them.

At some point she noticed Bin's breathing even out. She heaved a careful sigh in relief, right before she dropped into a deep sleep.

Come first light the girl was awake again. She found herself almost completely surrounded by Bin's mass, arms and legs everywhere. She blinked, almost not daring to move. Now how was she going to get out of this mess? Rowen needed to check his wound! Check his temperature! But right now she was caught in his sleepy embrace!

Caaaaaarefully she tried to weasel out from under his grasp.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Bin slept deeply, much more deeply than he was used to sleeping out in the wilds. He wasn’t conscious at all of Rowen’s careful efforts to extricate herself from his cuddle, but his arms still reached out and pulled her back in, desperate for her warmth. With the cloak gone, his naked pelvis pressed against her, which was especially embarrassing a few hours later when he started waking up.

As soon as he noticed his rather extreme morning wood, he froze, muscles tensing. He couldn’t even think about how his wound felt, he just needed to try to avoid Rowen noticing his erection pressing against her body. After a few deep breaths, he let go of her and rolled as nonchalantly as he could manage, onto his back.

He knew he should say something, but he was just frozen while he blinked the sleep out of his eyes.

 

[Evayla]

"Oomph!" She tried to keep the sound down as she was pulled back in again. There was an odd contradiction in wanting to escape and rather enjoying the feel of those arms around her.

That hardening cock between them, though, after some hours...

Rowen swallowed. It was hard to the touch. Hard to ignore. And it was pressing against her crotch! Uncomfortable and weirdly nicely itchy at the same time. Right that moment he rolled off her, moving unto his back.

A sigh of relief.
It was relief, right?
Sure it was relief!

"Mornin. " She tried lightly. Nothing happened after all! "How's ya feelin?"

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Bin heard Rowen say “Mornin” and he took the opportunity to pretend that she had just woken him up, because he definitely hadn’t been awake and realizing that his cock was pressed against her. No, he had been totally out until that moment.

Okay, just pretend that you haven’t had your naked body pressed against her, and definitely don’t mention how arousing that thought is, even now…

“Unh. Good morning, Rowen. I…” The adrenaline that came with the embarrassment hadn’t worn off yet, but Bin was still in pain. At least that arrow hadn’t stuck in his side, but the graze was still deeper than he’d thought. He must’ve lost quite a bit of blood. “...I’m sorry...that you had to care for me like that. I was…irresponsible...”

Of course, it had slipped Bin’s mind that his cock was still both out in the cool morning air, pointing directly at the woman next to him, and rock-hard, both from arousal and the nature of his male body in the morning…

 

[Evayla]

Yes! He was awake! Now she could go back to normal!
Were it not for the extremely visible peak in his otherwise horizontal surface.

She flushed, trying to take her eyes away from there. Rowen felt that strange itching again, a tingling not unlike taking a sudden warm bath. She took a deep breath. "Ey, no worries. Had it been me, I woulda been equally stupid an stubborn...errrrr not that I'm callin ya stupid!"

Except that she just had.

"I just meant...ya know...wantin to move on...an..uh...hatin to be on the weak side an sh...stuff...uh... NOT that I'm callin ya weak!"

Great start of the day.
Just great.
Her eyes went to his manhood again.

STOP LOOKING!

With a deep flush she moved her eyes to his face again.
He actually looked really nice now that he was not scolding her.
Alright, this wasn't helping.

She got up, tossing the cloak over him to save him some embarrassment.
Tent.
Did not help either.

ARGH!

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Bin froze when the cloak landed on his crotch. He hadn’t realized he was erect, not even when Rowen’ eyes, (obviously in hindsight) had flicked down between his legs. If his cheeks hadn’t already been red, they would be now.

“Rowen, I…!

Bin’s hands went to his dick to try and somehow hide the massive tent in Rowen’s cloak, but they failed. He stood up, but that just made the cloak drape away from everything except his hard cock.

He groaned in frustration and the sensation his hands were unhelpfully giving him.

He turned around and waited. It took several minutes for his erection to go down, and for him to carefully pull up his pants without aggravating the impressive field dressing Rowen had put together patching up the wound in his side.

“I’m sorry,” he said as he turned around.