Kre and Syonette continued their walk to the Lodge in silence, with her still clinging to his arm as if trying to keep him anchored from being blown away by a fierce wind. The walk wasn’t a long one, only about two hundred paces or so, but they took their time, enjoying each other’s company. Each wondering if this was the last time they might get to do this.
“You know,” Kre chuckled, “everyone’s going to think that we were up to something, if they were to see us like this.”
“And you know,” Sy grinned in her mischievous way, “that Noj had better not hear those rumors or he’ll hunt you across Tehyn if he has to.”
“Noj and I are pretty evenly matched you know,” he replied with a slightly hurt look. “I’ll admit, he’s faster than me, more skilled, has had a lifetime of military discipline shoved into his head, and he’s spent the last year honing his fighting skills as a caravan guard.”
“For your sake, there better be a ‘but’ in there…” Sy laughed.
“Of course,” came the smug response. “But, I’m taller by about two or three fingers. Plus,” he added with a grin of his own, “I’ve killed a man. Maybe two. That makes me more dangerous by default.”
Sy was too stunned to even think about hitting her friend. She just stared at him with a look of utter disbelief and partial disgust. It wasn’t a look that Kre particularly enjoyed. If he had his choice, he’d take the serious stern look any day, even if it usually meant he was going to earn a bruise or two. “Too soon?” he asked weakly.
“No,” Sy said with a soft shake of her head. “I just didn’t expect that from you. You’ve changed. The last three days have done something to you.”
Kre held his arms out, palms up and wrists together. “Yeah, they’ve made me a criminal who’s going to work in a labor camp for the rest of my life.”
“No.” She gripped his hands and pushed them until they rested on his chest. “My family has traveled around Tehyn an awful lot, and in that time I’ve gotten to meet all sorts of people. Farmers, ranchers, sheep herders, soldiers, merchants, politicians, and even knights. I’d like to think I have an understanding of people, enough to have seen before what I’m seeing now in you.”
“Somehow I don’t think I’m qualified to be in the category of knights or even soldiers. I’m pretty sure they do background checks to make sure they don’t hire criminals.”
Sy tightened her grip on his hands and shoved hard into his chest. Kre winced in pain but held his ground for the most part, knowing that he’ll have two new bruises come tomorrow morning. “Listen to me well Kre.” Her eyes and her tone gave a clear indication that she was very serious and wouldn’t stand for anymore of Kre’s dark humor. “I’m not talking about you becoming more like a soldier or a knight. I’m talking about the attitude of having given up hope.”
Kre noticed a hint of another emotion riding on Sy’s words. He couldn’t quite place it though, especially since Syonette was generally very good at hiding her feelings. ‘Giving up hope?’ he thought. ‘What does she mean by that?’
“I mean,” she sighed, having seemingly read his mind, “I mean that I’ve seen it before where someone goes through some hard times. Either they lose a loved one, or they lose all their money and their job, or they get charged with a crime that they don’t believe they can fight. When someone goes through something like that, they start to lose hope. They start to look at themselves like they’re failures and they don’t deserve anything.
“Some people take that hopelessness and lose themselves in it, using anything to keep from feeling anything until they snuff out. Others will try to make light of their misfortunes and use deprecating humor to put on a show while all hope fades. Eventually, their outer facade can no longer maintain the charade and they end it.”