Realizing that she was being difficult on purpose and not having the energy to do more than stay upright in his saddle, Kre gave up. It appeared that they would have a good amount of time together on the road and there was little sense in aggravating her so soon on their trip with endless questions.
Still, it rankled him that there was something missing from her responses about being captured by the Rangers. From what he could tell so far, she was far more capable than she let on. Certainly capable enough to avoid capture in the first place or, at the least, to escape when she wanted to.
Kre turned in his saddle to peek back behind them and thought that he could make out the tiny orange speck in the distance where the pyre was burning furiously. That was another thing that bothered him. He had felt so adamant about not desecrating Terync’s body with fire but when that calmness washed over him, he just felt that it was the right thing to do. He wondered if maybe she did drug him, not with sleeping herbs like the others, but maybe something that made him more docile and subservient. He didn’t know of anything like that, but he supposed it could be possible.
He vowed then not to eat or drink anything he did not prepare himself or that he had not already seen Kitalia consume beforehand. She seemed to know her way around drugs and possibly poisons, so until he knew more about her intentions, it was probably best if he treaded safely around her.
They rode in silence for a while, with only the soft footfalls of the horses’ hooves as they trotted through the grasslands. Finally, Kitalia pulled her horse in front of Kre’s, stopping both in their tracks, turned in her saddle, and jabbed a finger at the bleary-eyed teenage boy.
“Listen here,” she hissed angrily, “you cannot simply ride alongside me in silence. I expect conversation and attention. This is a long ride we are undertaking, and it will only be miserable for the both of us if you fail to keep up your end of the obligation to be sociable.”
Kre was so startled by her sudden verbal assault that had trouble processing her words. Unfortunately, as tired and as stressed as he was at everything that was going on, his mouth failed to connect with his brain about exactly what his response should be. Thus, it was without thought that he quickly spat back, “Look here elf girl, it’s late, I’m tired, I just buried someone close to me… wait, no, sorry… I didn’t bury him, I burned him at your insistence. I’m apparently on the run from the law and following a stranger to heaven-knows-where, again, at your insistence. So, excuse me if I don’t feel like being just a tad bit sociable.”
She regarded him with a cold gaze, reminiscent of the ones she gave to the Rangers when they weren’t looking at her, which should have been a warning to Kre. Now that his brain had finally caught up, it demanded silence from his lips and his body complied.