Danae's nose wrinkled as a breeze danced past. What is that smell? That damn elf better not have left the fire unattended or I'll feed him to the fish, bit by bit!. She ground her teeth as she drew nearer, dragging Bria, bit by bit to the clearing.
Danae pushed her way through a bush and dragged Bria into the camp where Shiv was hunched over the fire, mixing something in a pot disturbing the tendrils of steam rising from within. After carefully lowering the travois to the ground, Danae helped Bria to her feet and began to walk her to the fire, where Shiv had scrounged up a chair from the ship.
"S-Shiv? Is that you? I saw that wave hit and everything went black." Bria's voice wavered and she began to cough.
Shiv spun around, his eyes widened as he took in the sight of Bria's skin slick with sweat and the blue eyes dulled with sickness and pain.
"Bria? King's Crown! Over here." Shiv pointed to a cot half hidden by the fire before jumping the fallen tree and began going through the gear salvaged from the Pike. "A bowl?"
"Lean to, box behind the stool elf. Spoons should be next to the bowls." Danae led the shivering woman to the cot set up in her absence. "I'll get a blanket." She knelt and touched Bria's forehead with the back of a grimy hand. "Ukko's beard, she's burning up!" Danae stood up, meeting Shiv's gaze, concern mirrored in his slender face.
"This should help." The elf held up the steaming bowl. "Soak those?" He pointed at a small pile of cloth. "Colder the better," a long pause. "Please?"
Danae stood there moth slightly agape. An elf saying please? I didn't even know that was in their vocabulary. Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded and made her way around the fire to where the pile of cloth was stacked on a crate.
"Thanks." Shiv bent down, cradled Bria's head in one arm and began to slowly feed her the broth he had stirred up, speaking softly to her; his words lost in the crackle and pop of the fire.
Danae looked down at her dirt covered arms, grabbed her pack along with the bandages. I should probably clean myself up a bit while I'm soaking those strips of cloth. She thought, nose wrinkled. I smell as bad as a three-day old carcass.
Hanging he satchel on a branch, she called out over her shoulder. "There's some raspberries in my satchel along with the cup she was using. It'll have a pink ribbon on it. It needs to get washed, or at least rinsed out and used only by her." She waved while striding towards the shore and the wreck of the Pike, stopping only to pick up an empty wooden box as she went.
Danae hesitated a moment at the beach. Should I strip down or jump in with my clothes? She wondered as the waves gently washed the rocky shore. Not like the elf will come, he's busy with Bria. Never seen an elf actually care for a human before. Ah, what the hell.
Dropping her satchel on the rocks, Danae disrobed and stepped into the water, goosebumps erupting on her skin as she waded deeper into the clear cold water, ignoring the seagulls floating overhead.
"Well, b-better get this over with!" Danae chattered to the hulk as she dunked her head under water swimming out past the beached ship.
Danae broke through the water, scaring a nearby pelican and began to scrub off the worst of the dirt as she removed the grimy bandage from her side, inspecting the scab. Healing nicely, she thought, ricing out the bandage the best she could. Teeth chattering, she waded ashore and dried herself off with a makeshift towel before pulling out a clean set of clothes from her pack.
Lips blue from her swim in the lake, Danae dressed quickly nearly falling on her face while pulling on a fresh pair of pants. Good thing the elf didn't see that, she chuckled to herself. I'd never hear the end of it. Better soak the bandages and then I'll wash these clothes later.
She waded out ankle deep into the lake and began to soak the bandages, placing them in the box until they were completely soaked. By Kuu's silvery hair this water is cold! That fire is going to feel really good!
Danae waded out of the lake, dried off her feet before pulling on fresh socks and pulling on her boots. Grabbing the pack and box, she made her way back to camp, walking quickly to get her chilled blood warm again.
The breeze shifted as Danae returned from shore, bringing with it the smell of broth and Danae's mouth began to water, causing her to quicken her pace and nearly stumble on a loose rock.
"Ukko's beard!" Danae nudged the offending rock out of the way with her foot. She looked up to see Shiv's eyes on her, finger to lips.
Danae nodded an apology holding up the dripping box as she did so. Shiv pointed to the ground near Bria who lay in the cot, coughing quietly. At least some of the color has come back Danae thought, setting the box of bandages down near the sleeping figure.
Holding out her hands over the warmth of the fire, Danae motioned the elf over.
"How is she?" Danae asked.
"Better." He looked at Danae's wet hair brows raised. "Fall in?"
Danae smiled. "Took a quick bath, I was beginning to smell like a rock troll." Running her fingers through her moist hair, Danae's stomach rumbled. "You hungry?"
Shiv shook his head. "Ate already. Saved some." He pointed at a pot sitting near the fire.
"Thanks elf. The cuts healin'?" she asked, taking a bowl and spoon from him. "That smells good."
"Better, a bit itchy." Shiv scratched his arm. "Careful, it's hot."
Danae took a closer look at the elf. "That's not supposed to happen." Tapping her spoon against the bowl for a moment, she continued. "Let me eat and I'll take a look. In the meantime, you might want to run down to the lake and bathe." Danae pointed with her spoon. You can take the bandages off and rinse them out. I'll boil them when I get a chance."
Shiv grimaced. "Hate cold water."
"Me too, elf, me too. I'll stoke up the fire for ya."
The elf waved as he disappeared into the woods to the sound of a woodpecker hammering away at a nearby tree. Danae scooped up some of the soup the elf had saved, chunks of beef bobbed as the steam rose from her bowl, filling her nostrils with its scent. Smells good, who knew elves could cook? She thought, sitting down near the fire, blowing on the soup to cool it down a bit.
"He has a name you know." Danae looked over to see Bria staring at her. "You're being disrespectful."
Danae took a bite before replying. The soup was surprisingly good. "The elf?"
"Shiv, his name is Shiv." Bria struggled up on one elbow.
She's really sticking up for him? Danae mused while chewing a hunk of meat. "Force of habit I guess." Danae reached for her canteen before continuing. "My history with 'em hasn't been all that great, it's my way of pricking their egos a bit."
"He's not like them Danae. H-" Bria began to cough, reaching for her cup, shakily drinking some water.
Danae held up a hand. "I get the idea. Lay down for Kuu's sake." Danae finished off her soup, stifling a burp. "Ya need to rest." Danae's eyes brightened. "Tea! I'm an idiot. Why didn't I think of it before?"
Ignoring Bria's smile, Danae pulled out the teapot and dug through her satchel looking closely at her collection of herbs, picking out a few before plucking off a low hanging flower from a blue birch tree. Humming a half forgetting song, she dumped everything into the teapot and set it on some coals before filling it with water.
"Mom's secret recipe Bria. Works wonders for a cough, and it'll help ya sleep." Danae strode over to Bria and checked her forehead.
"You're still burning up. Lie back." Danae grabbed a pair of dripping compresses and put one on her forehead, the second on her neck. "We need to cool ya down a bit."
Bria's eyes widened as Danae draped the cold clothes around her neck like a cotton necklace. "Oh, that feels nice."
"For some reason people cool down faster when it's on the neck. The halflings explained it to my mom, but I was busy helping my dad string a bow and missed that part." Danae shrugged, "Long as it works, right?"
Danae stood and checked on the tea, before cleaning her dish and taking a drink of water from her nearly empty canteen. Damn, she thought, I should have refilled this earlier. Guess I'll wait for the elf to return.
A low whistle interrupted her thoughts. Grabbing a piece of cloth, she removed the tea pot and emptied out Bria's cup, before refilling it with tea.
"Drink this, it'll quiet your cough." Danae stood over Bria, steaming cup in hand.
"Secret recipe, right?" Bria struggled to a sitting position, holding the compress on her forehead with one hand.
Danae grinned. "Best kind there is. Tell ya what, we make it out of here, I'll share it with you. It might help during one of your trips across the lake." Setting down the pot, Danae sat down. "Kuu knows it gets cold enough inland with the trees to screen ya during a gale."
"Mmm hm." Bria replied, sipping her tea with a grimace. "Bitter."
"Nothing to sweeten it with. Honey works best." Danae shrugged and stretched out her legs. I didn't see any beehives so we gotta make do." She turned and looked at the fire, poking it with a stick, sending sparks dancing on the breeze, glancing at the wood pile as she did so.
"For Kuu's sake, really?" Danae stabbed the fire again nearly breaking the stick.
"What happened?" Bria looked over; face wreathed in steam.
"We're low on firewood." Danae thrust herself out of her chair, tossing the stick on the ground. "I should've checked earlier."
Grumbling, she began to search the area for twigs, branches and fallen trees she could later turn into firewood and brought them back, putting some near the fire and the rest under a pine tree.
Well, it's a start she thought, rubbing her neck. But twigs and small branches won't last long. I need to find a tree I can use for firewood. Danae grabbed the axe and turned to Bria, who was finishing her tea.
"I need to find some real wood, I'll be back. If the el- Shiv returns, let 'im know where I went."
Bria nodded and set her cup on the dirt laying back on her cot. Danae looked over, set down the axe and replaced the now warm compresses with fresh ones. "Rest easy." She whispered and Bria's eyes began to close.
Danae chuckled as she picked up the axe and her satchel. "Works every time. Maybe I'll give some to the elf and get some peace and quiet."
She paused, biting her lip looking towards the shore and inland before heading towards the beach, where she remembered seeing a downed birch tree that looked fairly dry. At least she's sleeping, glad dad made me do something other than learn how to make hunting bows and build fires.
It took her some time to find the downed tree. Snapping off a twig, Danae smiled. Nice and dry and those branches will make decent logs. Maybe the elf will help me carry some of this back when I'm done. Danae stripped off her cloak and long shirt, leaving on a thin cotton top.
"Thank Kuu most of the flies are dead," she murmured to a nearby blue jay, hefting the axe couple of times before taking her first swing.
Danae stripped off the smaller branches first, setting them aside to break down into kindling later. She then lost herself in the rhythmic thunk, thunk, thunk of splitting wood. The shining axe head rising and falling, sending wood chips flying like grouse flushed from a bush.
"Need help?" Shiv's voice called out just as Danae had split a log with a satisfying crack.
"As my pop used to say, that wood isn't going to move itself." She turned to see a grin flash across the elf's face.
"He did?" The elf ran his fingers through damp hair, holding some grungy clothes in the other.
Danae sat on the stump of the fallen tree, leaning the axe against the remains of the trunk, and stretched out her arms. "He had a sayin' for pretty much everything, the weather, craftin' bows, mom, even you."
Shiv's eyes widened, his mouth opened and shut.
Danae laughed. "Not you personally, elves. He had a few for customers, they had more respect for his... our bows than for us."
"What did he say?" Shiv's hand flew to his mouth.
Danae paused for a moment, biting her lip before replying. "He used to say that their coin spends as good as any." She grinned at the elf. "But he might have upped his prices just a bit when selling to elves."
Shiv studied her intently, blue eyes searching her face, the hint of a grin tugging at his angular face. "Don't blame him."
"Tell you what. Drop off those clothes then come back. I'll get everything organized; Bria should be sleeping so don't go lumbering about the camp like a drunken orc okay?
Shiv nodded and disappeared into the woods, leaving Danae to shake her head, chucking as she began to stack the wood into piles, making a note to sharpen her axe. "Two things you need to keep sharp Danae, your mind and your tools." Danae repeated, her voice floated across the meadow and vanished on the breeze.
It took the two of them several trips to haul everything back to camp. After organizing everything to her satisfaction, Danae make her way back to the shore, canteens in tow and filled them up, returning to the sight of Shiv replacing the compresses on the sleeping Bria.