As they left the house, the ground started trembling beneath Ramielle's feet. If it weren't for Daniel who quickly pulled her out and away from the house, it would've collapsed on top of her.
"Ah! That was almost the end of me! Thank you for saving me again, Daniel," Ramielle said while grinning awkwardly at him. She noticed his cheeks fleetingly turn pink before he replied, "Yeah, whatever. I won't help you next time."
For an unknown reason, Ramielle thought that Daniel was telling a white lie, but she decided to smile and discard the thought.
They managed to get out of town without encountering any foes. Ramielle tried starting a number of conversations with Daniel, but he either kept it short or completely ignored her. After a while she thought it better to leave him be, since he seemed like an unsocial soul, who preferred to travel solitude and silence. He was doing her a favour by letting her travel with him and the least she could do was to let him to his thoughts.
Ramielle felt her lips becoming dry and they started to tear and bleed of the unbearable heat. She didn't want to bother Daniel for water, and decided to wait until he drank water himself, before asking.
Her shoulder started to also make its presence known after a while, and Ramielle wondered why in the name of all holy things she started to ache everywhere. She kept silent as she stumbled and nearly fell over an odd pebble.
She stole a gaze at Daniel. He seemed to have no trouble walking in the harsh conditions. He must have travelled a lot before, because the only indication that let Ramielle know that he was struggling in any way was the sweat on his brow.
It became dark, and an uneasiness lodged itself into her heart. She began to walk nearer to Daniel, fearing that something would jump out of the shadows at any moment. Daniel noticed that she was closer to him. He stopped and turned around to face her. He sighed and said, "Fine, Scaredy-Cat. We can set up camp here."
"Have I suddenly turned into a cat?!" She nervously felt her head for ears, but there wasn't any.
"It's just an expression. Calm down, you'll lure the monsters," Daniel seemed a slight bit irritated.
"I am sorry," Ramielle said apologetically.
Daniel took the pack off his back and sat on the ground. Ramielle sat down next to him and felt the relief of muscles relaxing. It was indeed a wonderful feeling.
Daniel started a fire and gave her some water in a cup, which she gratefully gulped down. They also ate strange soft fruit from a metal holder, which he said was called a 'tin can'.
They sat staring at the fire a moment, and Ramielle could feel her eyes feeling extremely heavy. She looked at Daniel. He had darkish circles under his eyes, an indication that he must be just as tired. He caught her gaze and held it for a moment. He took off his coat, rolled it up, and handed it to her, "Here. You can lie with your head on this. You look like you're going to pass out any moment. I'll take watch."
She took the coat, surprised at how gentle Daniel's voice was. Since she met him, he never used such a soft tone of voice. She smiled at him kindly, "Thank you. You shouldn't stay up too long - you look like you could use a lot of rest yourself."
He smiled softly, while throwing a stick into the fire, "Don't worry about me. Sleep."
Ramielle laid her head onto the rolled-up coat and noticed that it smelt like earth and metal. She liked it. It was comforting in a way, so much so that she fell into a sound slumber.
She was on fire. The flames were licking in all directions, it looked like it was spelling out a message to her, "Trouble is upon you. Wake up, sister angel."
In an instant Ramielle sat up, wide awake. It was still dark. She glanced at Daniel, who must have fallen asleep some time after her. She wanted to stare at his relaxed facial expression longer but noticed a pair of shining red eyes looking at her and then him. The creature leapt into the air, toward Daniel. Ramielle moved so quick she barely registered how she pulled out the dagger from her belt and drove in into the creature's chest. It screeched and fell lifeless to the ground.
Daniel awoke with a shock, pulling out his gun. He pointed it toward Ramielle and the creature at her feet. He lowered it, stunned. He stared at the bloody dagger in her hand and then he looked at her, as if he thought it impossible for her to have accomplished what she did. A sense of pride in herself rose in her.
But then his expression turned to one of rage and he stood up, grabbing Ramielle by the collar of her shirt, "Why didn't you wake me up?! How sure were you that you could kill that leech, huh? Earlier today you shrunk into yourself, barely able to kill a mere zombie!"
"I am sorry! I did not mean to offend you! It just happened so swiftly! I had a dream in which I was warned that we were in danger, and then I woke, seeing it leaping toward you! I still do not know how I disabled it so fast," Ramielle did not struggle against Daniel's grip, she knew somehow that he wouldn't hurt her.
His glare softened slightly, and then he let go of her, "It's actually my fault. I shouldn't have fallen asleep. So, I'm sorry."
She put her hand on his shoulder as gently as she could muster, "Please do not apologise. You were very tired. Do not put the blame on yourself, Daniel."
He flinched away from her touch, as if he was not used to being touched. The one corner of his mouth pulled upwards, "Well, I must admit it was kind of badass."
"'Bad...ass'?"
He chuckled, "It means it was sort of - uhm, what's the word - enticing?"
"You thought I was enticing?"
His cheeks turned bright pink, realizing what he'd said, "NO! Tha- that's not what I meant! I meant you looked like a professional!"
Ramielle giggled. He was such an oddball.
He smiled for a moment, until he changed grumpy again, as if he remembered that he wasn't supposed to be cheerful.
He is an oddball indeed. But he can be quite amusing, Ramielle thought as she lied down on her makeshift pillow.
'A makeshift pillow'? So that is what a rolled-up coat which you put under your head is called? Interesting.