Time stood still.
Well it would have, if they hadn't both got flustered after realising what they did and pulled away.
"I, err-"
"It's my fault-"
"No, no, It was…it's dark-"
"But still, I didn't-"
In complete darkness, both of them had stepped back a few paces and just stared at the ground in embarrassment and were unable to look at the other. All the while they flustered trying to take the blame for the accident.
By now, the pain from the headbutt finally crept in, the kiss having taken up so much of their attention, they hadn't noticed it. So along with the flustered speech from each of them, they also interspersed a few groans as they rubbed their heads.
The accidental kiss had only lasted a few seconds. It was so quick that they hardly got the time to feel anything from it. But what they did feel, both would agree, was lovely.
While still feeling the warmth on their face from the embarrassment, there was also a warmth deep in their hearts. They had truly enjoyed the feeling, and both really wanted to do it again. But neither thought it was possible.
There had been a few moments between the two before this, sure, but this was quite a big step. Also, it having occurred as an accident which they both blamed themselves for, made it all the more difficult to bring up anything further. They both feared that the other either didn't feel the same way or wasn't ready for something like that.
To an outsider, this whole situation would just look stupid, and they would probably just tell them to go for it already. It was obvious they both felt something for the other. But being the one right in the middle of it, it was sometimes easy to not see something that was right in front of your face.
After a while, the apologising stopped, and it grew quiet. Each of them just contemplated what had happened, going over and over it in their heads. Both to understand it and probably relive the short burst of warmth that they felt.
But while they could have continued to do this, the growl of annoyance from the barootra that was heading away from them, snapped them out of their stupors.
Looking around they could see that they were standing in utter darkness, and they really needed to find someplace to get some rest.
…
It didn't take long to find a place. The only key criteria they were looking for was to be outside of the barootra's territory, so where they were standing after the accident was good enough.
Tents out, they had a quick bite to eat, and Sylvia headed to bed. Neither spoke about what had happened and probably wouldn't until they were in a safer place and had time to deal with it.
Octavia took the first shift and stared off into the night, wondering what the next day would bring them.
Hopefully, they wouldn't run into the territory of another barootra. Or something worse.
…
Having switched over during the night, Octavia woke to the rising sun. Leaving the tent, she found Sylvia occupying herself with the pack of cards that Octavia had picked up as they left town. She herself had fiddled around with them, checking to see what they were like and trying to recall the games and rules that she knew from Earth. Leaving them out as she went to bed, Sylvia must have picked them up to find something to do.
"Figure out what they are for?" she asked Sylvia as she went to make some breakfast.
"No. Well, I get that they are a game of some sort. But I don't understand how a load of numbers on these 'cards' can be part of a fun game."
"Well, it depends on the game. The good thing about them is that they can be used for a variety of games. Some are fun, being used for gambling or to see if you can beat other people at them. Others are more to pass the time, maybe even help with your memory and stuff."
"Huh."
It was clear that she still had some reservations.
"On our next break, I'll show you some. We should probably head off soon and try to find that road."
While there had been a lot of excitement yesterday, in more ways than one, they had not lost track of where they were heading. For now, they only had a short while left to reach the road that was on the map. From there, they would follow it in the direction of the abandoned village, and would hopefully find a lively one along the way.
So, without further ado, they gobbled up some breakfast to start the day, packed up and then headed off.
…
'This is so boring.'
The forest. It was all the same.
That was the only thought running through Octavia's mind as they travelled through it.
It shouldn't be too long till they reached the road they had been heading to, but she was sure she would die of boredom before then.
That's not to say there was anything wrong with the company. She thoroughly enjoyed chatting with Sylvia as they travelled, learning more about her, and sharing stories with each other, all the while glossing over the events of yesterday.
But, there was only so much you could say to the same person before you had started repeating yourself. And by now, they had reached that point.
So, all they were doing now was just travelling through an almost endless forest, which really didn't change at all in terms of aesthetics as they travelled through it. Which in turn, led to the boredom that she faced. And she was sure Sylvia was feeling it too.
By one point, Octavia even hoped they would be attacked by something to liven things up.
She did however go back on that thought as soon as it came. Boredom was much better than the risk of death or being maimed.
Which, all in all, had not happened since they dealt with the barootra. As far as they could tell, they hadn't entered anothers territory. Although, as she thought about it, if it was hibernating like the other one, they probably wouldn't even know they were in it, until they made a large noise.
Anyhow, things were thankfully calm and so it should be smooth sailing from here on out.
…
"Finally."
A sigh of relief left Octavia's mouth as she gazed upon the majesty that was…the dirt road. Ok, there wasn't anything impressive about it, but it did mean they had been travelling in the right direction and would hopefully find civilisation.
Looking over the road, they could see plenty of carriage tracks and footprints, which meant it was well travelled. So, there was surely a village further down it.
Before just sprinting…slithering off to reach this village, they took a break.
And like Octavia had promised, decided to use it to show Sylvia all the fun that could be had with a pack of cards.
…
"So, I win right. Because I have all the number in a row for the same symbol."
*sigh* "Yes, but you really shouldn't say something like that in poker."
After a quick bite to eat, Octavia had got to work going through several games that she recalled from Earth.
To start things off, she decided to go with snap first. As a quick paced game that dealt with reaction times and had a fun element to it, she thought it would be great.
She decided to do it by matching numbers, regardless of the suit, and so after explaining the rules, they go started.
What shocked her however was how Sylvia managed to completely wipe the floor with her.
As the game progressed, she started to believe that she had x-ray vision or something. She managed to get a few wins, but more often that not, Sylvia's shot her hand out so fast over the cards that Octavia could hardly keep up with her.
So, after that resounding failure, for Octavia that is as Sylvia was absolutely beaming, she took her through memory. It lacked the interactivity between players that snap did, but still, playing with others or just yourself, it was a good game to help with …well your memory.
With all the cards spread out, and rules explained, they went ahead and started matching numbers.
Octavia did better here, which in turn put that whole x-ray vision theory to rest. The main thing, however, was the joy she saw on Sylvia's face when she matched up a pair.
In this world, there was not much in the way of entertainment. No TV, not video games, books were likely transcribed by hand and so were few and far between. All that left was going out to the tavern, doing some sort of handicraft, exploring, or finding enjoyment in your job.
For Sylvia, exploring was probably frowned upon being a noble and all. That was probably also the case for freely heading to a tavern. As a noble, her job was to be a noble, so unless you liked that sort of role, you probably wouldn't find much joy there.
All that left was handicraft.
And Octavia could not see Sylvia being someone who weaved baskets.
So, seeing how much fun she was having with simple games like snap and memory was lovely to see.
And so, Octavia cranked it up a notch and decided to introduce her to poker.
As a game that involved reading the other play and a lot of luck, they should be on similar playing fields.
Sylvia however, didn't really take to the game. The rules were quite complicated, they also needed more players to truly play it, and she was not really a fan of the luck aspect to it.
She did however do well on her first go, much to Octavia's chagrin. But, probably thankfully for Octavia, she decided it wasn't her thing, and went back to the first two games.
Octavia still had more games she could teach her, but they did need to get back on the road if they wanted to get some distance and reach the next village.
So, after prying the pack of cards away from Sylvia, which took quite a lot of effort and a lot of looking away from the puppy dog eyes she was showing, they headed off. She had to do this as they honestly distracted her so much, she didn't even want to leave and head to the village. It was amazing to see how much of a dangerous and alluring amenity they were to Sylvia.
Going forward, she would have to be careful when bring them out. That is, assuming that Sylvia doesn't steal them from her.