AU: A different kind of witch-hunting

[Sophie Tillman]

With Rhea's permission obtained, Sophie moved from her seat to kneel in front of the fire. She extended both hands this time, unlike the one she'd used back at the shop, for the simple reason that more hands created a larger fire. As she was concentrating on its heat and dancing purple light, she caught the drow's comment and flinched. Sophie's first instinct was to withdraw her hands, in case the comment meant Rhea had no idea how drow and human magic reacted to each other. Just as pressing was the concern of how drows reacted to human insult, though, so Sophie kept her hands firmly in place.

"I, hm, assume you have other talents," she replied diplomatically. In front of her the flame swelled from apple to pumpkin, its heat thankfully spreading with it. As they huddled around its warmth, Sophie decided to risk a change of subject. "Should we make a plan for tomorrow morning now, or would you rather rest first?"

[Rhea Hartman]

Rhea watched Sophie work with her jaw propped on her fist. The kid was pretty good, she had to admit. Drow magic was difficult to work with, she'd been told. Over and over again by Oleana, when they were traveling and the woman would heckle her about spellcasting.

"I do," Rhea replied diplomatically, her wounded ego soothed slightly. She pulled an oiled blanket out of her pack and draped it around her shoulders as she settled more comfortably in front of the fire. Around them, rain continued to hiss against the heavy branches of the pine tree.

"It'll take us three days to get to the city," she said. "I know somewhere we can stay tomorrow night and pick up any supplies we need." She tucked the blanket more securely around her shoulders. "Being out in the sun at noon gives me a headache. Usually I get up before dawn and make a couple miles, then nap in the middle of the day. We'll start again in the afternoon and go until after night fall. So we sleep in two shifts, noon and midnight." She conceded graciously to Sophie. "Will that work for you?"

[Sophie Tillman]

Sophie's lips pressed into a flat line as she considered Rhea's plan. Being delayed for a few hours during midday sounded inconvenient at best, especially when Olenna had been missing this long already. She almost certainly had something in her pack that could help with headaches - in humans, at least. Sophie knew as much about drow medicine as she did about drow magic. And as gracious as Rhea wanted to sound, Sophie suspected the right answer was to simply accept.

"Yes, all right." Maybe she could use that midday break to... organize her supplies, or study their map of Thallas, or something. Maybe even sleep, if she could make herself. With that in mind she rose from the fire into a half-stoop, the back of her head brushing light against the oiled cloth above them, to retrieve a bedroll from her pack.

"If we're getting up before dawn, we better not stay up much longer. Unless you're planning to take turns keeping watch?" Sophie asked.

[Rhea Hartman]

"Nope," Rhea said, stretching her arms overhead. They pushed up at the canvas and shook free waterfalls of water off the edges of the tent. She yawned and pulled free her own bed roll. "No one'd come after us, we don't have anything worth taking."

She shifted around to the other side of the fire. "Here, this side's more damp, you take the dry side." Lids finally closed on her shining purple eyes, and she murmured something in Drow under her breath. Then aloud, "Night." And moved no more.

She must have been gracious, because the first tinge of light had begun to appear when the drow roused Sophie. The woman was criminally chipper. "Wakey wakey eggs and bakey!" she chirped, rubbing her hands together. "Just kidding, we'll eat some bread on the road. But it stopped raining, at least."

[Sophie Tillman]

Sophie opened her mouth to argue, then thought better of it. Plenty of the materials in her pack were what she considered valuable, but much of it could be replaced once they reached Thallas. A typical roving thief likely wouldn't know what they had if they did take it... But more than that, Sophie didn't expect to get far arguing with the Drow. If they were getting up that early she would rather sleep than try.

"Good night."

Rhea's entirely too cheerful demeanor cut through a rather dull dream Sophie was having about weighing scales that wouldn't stop changing color. The witch sat up, rubbing her eyes blearily while her brain caught up to her ears.

"Bread, right. That sounds f - f - fine," Sophie answered, trying and failing to stifle a yawn as she stretched. She got to her feet and rolled her sleeping mat up, squinting a little in the low light. She briefly considered looking through her pack for an herb or two that might wake her up - not magic, just medicine - but decided she didn't want to dig through so much so early. After securing her bedroll to her pack, she reached to untie one corner of the oiled cloth that had kept them, well, drier than they would have been.

"Has the road been pretty quiet?" From this distance foot travelers could pass them easily, but Rhea might have noticed carts or horses.

[Rhea Hartman]

"One cart," Rhea answered, stretching her arms overhead. They fell back to her sides in a heavy swing and she clapped her hands together. "I can help you with your things. The sooner we get moving the better the roads will be." A chuckle. "Hope you still brought your good boots, though."

The road was a mess. Even though it had stopped raining, their path was so swollen with water that it hardly mattered. Rhea didn't seem to care, though she was attentive for Sophie and her donkey's sake. And true to her word, a few hours before noon she led them both off the side of the road to rest. She went straight to sleep, though not before laying out enough oilcloth on the ground for Sophie to use as well if she chose.

The next two days were dogged with rain, mud, and getting to know a stranger in close quarters. The drow was businesslike but warm, and she treated Sophie kindly. The sword at her hip went untouched. She was sarcastic when provoked, but otherwise showed no sign of her race's fearsome temperament.

That did not keep the reputation from following her. Rhea kept her hood down while they traveled during the day, and said nothing to parties that they passed. Of her drowish physiology, Sophie could gather that she could see in the dark, did not like bright light, and could sleep equally well at midnight and noon. Whether all drow could haul a fallen tree out of a road single handedly, or if it was just her size and strength remained to be seen.

Finally, after three nights of camping in muck, they reached a town. A town that had an inn. Rhea had originally planned to pass through in favor of another night on the road, but had for the first time relented. "We can give it a try," she said dispassionately.