A Ninja's Reveng(closed)

Sentinel gave a small nicker, tossing his head up into the air, his thick, wavy mane bouncing before he turned his head toward the pastures, ears pricked and nostrils flared. He didn't know what to do. His head swiveled back toward the young woman and a thick hoof stomped on the ground before he made his decision. The stallion circled around her for a moment before he dropped to the ground beside her, his body halfway curled around hers, sharing his warmth before he lifted his head and gave a shrill whinny. If anyone was out there, they were here!


Ronin's head came up from where he'd nearly drifted off to sleep because of the wound and he sat straight up, his wound causing him pain as he moved quickly. "Listen!" He demanded, his head turning each way as the faint whinny came again. Ronin shot a hand out toward the noise and gestured wildly in that direction. "There!"

Fergus turned the wagon and headed in the direction, Ronin was pointing at. He knew this area well and had no trouble finding a safe but quick path. Fergus was sure they were close now but they had to hurry. The wind was picking up and if they didn't find them quick then Fiona wouldn't make it long if she was injurer. "Fiona!" Fergus called out.

Fiona clung to the stallion. Wrapping her arms weakly around his neck as she held onto him. He was warm but not warm enough. She thought she could hear a voice in the distance but she was so cold and tired she thought that it was just her wishful thinking.

Sentinel had heard the voice, his ears twitching toward it while his head turned. He let off a shrill whinny, his sides moving with the action and there was a point when he opened his mouth to cry out.

"There!" Ronin shouted, pointing to the side of the wagon where he could see a black shape lying in the snow on the side of a river. To Ronin's delight, his horse didn't seem like he'd taken a bath in the cold water. But what he saw next made his blood run cold and a name dripped from his mouth quietly. "Fiona....Fiona!" He called, his voice shrill with fright.

Sentinel twisted his head around and gently nuzzled Fiona's cheek, trying to tell her to hold onto him, as he was about to rise from the snow in order to get her to his master.

Fiona's eyes snapped open when she heard Ronin and she turned to slowly crawl onto sentenial's back. She shivered violently as she wrapped her arms around the stallion's neck. Once she was on she gave a nod. "A-alright laddie. T-take me to them..." She said, her voice shaking.

Fergus's eyes went wide as he saw his best friend in the snow. He drove down to meet the stallion who now carried Fiona. Once they reached them he jumped out of the wagon and grabbed her off the horses back and moved her into the wagon with Ronin. before jumping back into the wagon and headed off back to the house.

Sentinel quickly followed after the wagon, tossing his head and kicking up his heels as he raced alongside it. Ronin's eyes went to his horse and he gave a nod. "Good boy," he said, wrapping a blanket around Fiona's shivering body before lowering himself next to her.

Fiona’s body shivered violently even with the blanket Ronin had wrapped around her. She could feel the heat coming off of his body. Reaching over she clung to him, pressing herself agents him for warmth. She looked up at him for a moment before smiling and burying her in his chest. She didn’t think she could have been happier than what she was now.

“I-I d-d-didn’t think I would s-see you again…” Fiona managed to say before she felt sleep taking over. She was afraid to close her eyes, afraid she would never see Ronin again as she fought to get closer to him. Her eyes slowly slid shut as the sweet relief on her face.

Fergus had stopped in front of the house a few moments after, Fiona had lost consciousness. He came to a stop right by the door. “Hurry,get her inside!” Fergus said as he jumped out of the wagon and to the back to help.

Ronin hadn't tried to pry her off him and instead held her as close to him as possible. When Fergus's voice demanded he get her inside, Ronin moved carefully, wincing at the pain in his side but managing to lift her into his arms as he slid from the wagon. "We need to get her clothes off before she freezes," he stated, heading for the door.

"Aye! Take her into the room your recovering in. Tis the only room we have open so you'll be sharing the bed for a bit." He said as she began to take care of the mare. "My sister will help ya an i'll been in soon." He said as Mary opened the door for Ronin. "Hurry laddie... Bring her in and help me with her cloths." Marry said as she closed the door once they were inside. She then ran to open the bedroom door and opened it for him before running in to find a blanket for Fiona and a dry night dress.

Fiona still cling to him tightly, shivering in his arms as he carried her. "R-ronin... You can put me down.. Your wounded... and shouldn't be doing this..." She told him, shivering violently

"Hush," Ronin rumbled, carrying her into the bedroom and sitting down on the bed itself, wincing at the protest in his side. "If we don't get you out of those clothes and warmed up, you'll die of hypothermia or shock, whichever comes first. And when she gets you into warm clothes, I want you to stay beside me until you warm up." It was his way of saying that he didn't care if they shared the same bed.

Mary moved over to them and placed the blanket down on the bed before going to work on getting Ava's cloths off. First her boots then her wet coat and tunic along with the weapons she had, had on her person at the time. Mary then slipped the night dress on before pulling the wet pants off of her. "Get her under the blanket and pull the extra blanket over yourselves as well.. I will go and get her some hot stew to help heat her up." And with that she was gone. Ava still clung to him shivering.

Ronin looked toward the door and then carefully pried Fiona off him for a moment. In that moment, he crossed the room and shut the door carefully before he returned to the bed and stripped himself down before he carefully managed to get her under the first blanket before climbing in himself and pulling the second one overtop of them. He bundled Fiona closer to his skin, careful of the wound that hadn't yet fully healed. He'd keep her warm. Ronin closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, resting his head on hers.

Fiona felt head close to her and wanted to be as close as she could to it. She didn't know if she was asleep or awake but she felt safe. Smiling she moved as close as she could to him, pressing herself up to him as she felt warmth once again. She hadn't remembered being put in bed and barely remembered being changed but when she opened her eyes she found herself wrapped in, Ronin's arms.

"R-ronin?" Fiona asked with a weak horse voice as she began to sit up. She was groggy but didn't want to sleep anymore. "How long have I been sleeping?..." She muttered to herself as she rubbed her eyes.

(hoarse, not horse lol a horse is an animal. hoarse is when you can barely talk)

Ronin himself had fallen asleep at some point and blinked open his own eyes for a moment before stretching out his legs. "All day," he answered, sounding sleepy and a yawn distorted the next few words. "Fergus and I had to find you and Sentinel because neither of you had come back with the rest of the horses. Found you half frozen next to a river." Ronin shook his head after the yawn completed and snuggled back down into the warmth of the blankets for a moment. "When we got you back, Mary got you out of your wet clothes and I...well...I've been keeping you warm so you wouldn't go into hypothermia." If he was honest, he would have up and said that he'd stripped himself down to his undergarments so that his natural body heat could escape to her own body to warm her up.

Fiona was still cold but sat up and rubbed her head. She remembered falling into the river and Sentinel helping her out with his reins but after that it was blurry. She kept falling in and out of consciousness after that. She shivered and got back under the blankets and back up next to him. Turning to look at him she smiled. "Thank you for coming after me. I thought I wasn't going to make it." She told him when she realized he was shirtless. She had to wonder if his shirt was the only thing he had taken off. She blushed a bit at the thought before she spoke again. “I-is there any of that stew left? Hot food sounds wonderful right now..” She said as she slowly began to warm up again. She looked at the room’s fire place and glanced over to Ronin. “D-do you think you can relight that?”

Mary came in a moment later with a smile. “There you are lassie, awake I see. I’ll go on an get this this fire goin, Ronin ya need ta rest as well with tha wound on your side.” Mary said as she knelt down and lit the fire before standing back up. Turning to face them she smiled again. “Is there anything you two want to eat? Hot food could be just what you need lassie. We do have some stew left but Fergus had ta go hunting this morning. I’m afraid we are almost out of meat.”

Ava smiled at her old friend and nodded. “Stew sounds amazing. I’ll take some.” She said before looking at Ronin. “What about you?”

At the mention of food, Ronin seemed to grimace. "Something small for me," he said softly. "I'm honestly not feeling all that well." It might have been because he'd moved too much or simply because the poison from the blade that had wounded him was reacting to his immune system. He couldn't say for certain, only that he didn't feel like eating a big portion of food. "And water would be lovely."

Aye, I be back in just a moment." Marry said as she moved out of the room to find Malcolm, her husband standing there. They shared a loving embrace for a moment before Mary went to get there food. Malcolm glanced in for a moment before going back outside to finished chores.

Fiona smiled and waved back before sighing. "Thank you for coming to get me..." She said before turning her head to cough. "I wish you wouldn't have though... You shouldn't have left this bed because your wounded.." She said, giving him a worried look.

"I'm fine," Ronin insisted. "Fergus wouldn't have found you without me."

Fiona still felt guilty and sighed as she looked down into her lap. She felt as if it was her fault that he was feeling ill. She knew it was her fault. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Mary who brought Fiona a bowl of hot stew and a small bowl for Ronin along with some bread for them to share. "Just yell if ya need anything else." She told them before leaving the room again. Fiona took small bites and pushed her food around lightly with her spoon in between bites as she continued loose herself in her own thoughts.

Ronin shifted so that he was sitting up and took a drink of the stew he'd been handed. "Mary says that my wound's healing nicely," he said slowly, taking another drink. He wanted to reassure her that nothing that had happened to him was her fault. If anything, it was his fault for not sensing the ambush right away.

Fiona glanced over and smiled. "I'm glad your wound is getting better... I've been worried..." She told him with a sigh. "I think this was a mistake... Me coming with you... wanting to be like my father" She said in a quiet voice before taking a bite. "I'm sorry for wasting your time..."

"Now wait just a minute," Ronin snapped quite suddenly, his voice hard and stern. "You're an Assassin. You were sworn in by one of the bureaus. You can't quit. Assassins are not quitters. If something goes wrong, we work around it. We keep pressing forward. Your father would want you to keep pressing forward, to follow in his footsteps. He would want the best for you and if the best is to be an Assassin and make something of yourself, then sobeit." A grin then spread across his features and his voice softened. "And I will do whatever it takes to make you the most feared Assassin."

Ava jumped at the change in tone. She was surprised by his reaction and really couldn't think of anything to say, she was stunned. She thought about what he had told her and she knew deep down that he was right but she still wasn't sure if she could do it but if she quit she would never anything more than a weak coward. "Your right... If I quit my father would roll over in his grave... Thank you."

Ronin's grin widened some and he gently touched her shoulder with a gentle hand. "Don't thank me just yet," he purred in that smooth, soft voice of his. "I haven't even trained you fully yet."

A smile crept across her face as she looked at him. “I look forward to finishing my training and becoming a full fledged assassin.” Fiona grinned at him as she placed her hand over his and sighed. She glanced over to the window and quietly watched as the snow fell from the sky as she lost herself in her own thoughts. She was silent for a long time before she turned towards him again. “Ronin, once my training is complete and I become an assassin...” She paused, picking out her words carefully. She wanted to tell him how she felt about him but wasn't quite brave enough. “When I become an assassin I wish to rebuild my family's home and use it as a place for travailing assassin's who need rest. I would like your help with that.” She told him instead as she gave him a weak half smile.

Ronin felt vaguely disappointed that she hadn't said something else. He hid it well with a smile of his own. "Consider it done," he said softly. "And of course Sentinel can haul anything. He's a powerhouse." He himself wanted to tell Fiona how he felt about her and how he'd been scared when he'd seen her half frozen to death by the river. But nothing came to mind for him to say, so he remained silent.