A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop. 

Upon completing her bath and washing her other undergarments, (f/n) grabbed half of her outfit. Tarhuinn kept his promise and faced the other way the entire time. If it had been Will, he would've probably peeked within a moment's notice.

She slipped into her lower undergarment along with her pair of pants. (F/n) rolled up the pants to her upper thighs so that the salve could still be applied on her legs. Personally, she wanted to apply the ointment herself, but she had already agreed to allow him to apply it. Frankly, she didn't want him to explode on her and state that she was breaking another promise.

There were bruises, though, along all of her back and parts of her midsection. She could cover herself with her undershirt, but it would easily get in the way of application. It wouldn't be to the point where the balm would suddenly become ineffective, but it posed another problem. Tarhuinn had told her that he wouldn't look at her. By adding a hindrance to the conditions, it would display that she still didn't entirely trust his word.

After what had happened at the pixie home, she wished to show no more signs of distrust. It wouldn't exactly be easy given how his emotions seemed to overtake him from time to time, but she had to make an attempt at it. He deserved at least that much, especially since he trusted her enough to take her on this so far dangerous journey.

Keeping her back faced to him, she covered her chest with her arms. Quietly and reluctantly, she voiced, "Okay, I'm ready." When he came over, he started with her back and rubbed the soothing gel into her skin. Thankfully, she was already shivering somewhat from the cold. Otherwise, the shiver from his hand upon her bare back would've been rather noticeable.

Occasionally, she would wince a little. He apparently noticed as his touch became gentler even though he was being already quite careful with her. This didn't help the warmth that stuck to her cheeks. The heat in her cheeks did aid with the surrounding cold, but her attention was becoming more and more focused on his hands moving delicately across her skin. They worked as though they were carving a fragile creation; one wrong move and it would deliver ruin.

Her body tensed, however, when his hands trailed from her back to her midsection. She pressed her arms more against her chest as the heat in her cheeks intensified. He didn't make her face him. Instead, he glided his fingers over that area of skin, giving it the same treatment as her back. The sensitivity there did cause her to let out a soft giggle every now and then, which didn't go unnoticed.

Tarhuinn didn't exploit such vulnerability, but she had a feeling that he might in the future. The way that he would pause and laugh quietly pointed to that possibility. Despite her slightly ticklish nature, she found herself leaning back against him. His actions were soothing, and his laugh sounded like pleasant rain drops on a warm summer's day. Her body practically desired to collapse against his.

His hands left her midsection, much to her displeasure and relief at the same time. Had he continued, she might have transformed into a puddle, yet she wouldn't have entirely minded. He moved around her before he grabbed her undershirt and returned to her. Grabbing her arms, he promised that he wouldn't look, and she gave him her trust once more.

Lifting them upwards, he slid the shirt onto her form and pulled it down. He motioned for her to sit down on one of the larger rocks so that he could tend to her arms and legs. Once seated, he went to work again. The bruises on those areas were fewer and smaller. It took him less time to treat them, but he spent equal amount of care on them. Her whole body felt relaxed by the end of it despite the bruises that were still upon her skin.

Throwing on her shirt and tying her cloak, she hopped down from the rock and looked out towards the mountains. They would have to take the stream to the right of the cabin before they headed upwards. Her eyes followed its trail before it disappeared into the pines. The slope of the mountain, though, led quite a ways up. She compared it to the approximate distance from the cabin to the door from the third complex. No doubt, it was longer or at least steeper.

Climbing uphill was going to be a pain, especially in the cold, so she was rather thankful for the blankets and cloaks that she had brought outside. She looked back to Tarhuinn, who handed her his pack and new cloak. "I don't want to burden you with these, but I'll have to meet you at the head of the stream."

"No, it's alright. Besides, it's the least that I can do after you tended to those marks." She lifted the additional pack onto her right shoulder and hugged the cloak. It was rather soft, and it only tempted her more to stand closer to Tarhuinn on their way up the mountain.

A small smile touched his lips. "I couldn't leave those untended to." His smile upturned into smirk. "Besides, you looked to be enjoying yourself." Heat filling her cheeks, she spun on her heel and started to head off.

"Just be careful," she remarked in a curt tone. She kept her back to him, but he responded the same before a splash sounded. His tone was more amused and caring, though. (F/n) bore part of the blame since she had made how she had felt about the situation rather obvious. Honestly, he probably understood very well the effect that his actions were having on her.

Cuddling into the comfortable cloak, she started to make her way back towards the stream after she had placed on her boots. It meant setting down the cloak for a bit, but she had hurried in covering her feet. With them on, she headed out towards the stream.

It didn't take too long, but the snow was getting thicker. Her boots were becoming worn from all the rough use as well. They kept her feet warm still to some degree, but the cold managed to seep in a little bit. She would have to bear with it for now. When they returned home if things went well, she could get new ones. That seemed like a long way off, however.

Easily, her mind could think of every obstacle that could or would be ahead of them. The thoughts swirled around in her head, and she had to remind herself that she had already succeeded over an excruciating task. If she could handle Will, she could deal with the five authors unless they all turned out to be cannibalistic mages as well. Then, there would be a major issue.

Splashes of water were heard behind her. Tarhuinn soon stood beside her, and she handed him the cloak. He was reluctant to take it, but she insisted on him doing so. After he had it tied around his neck, it draped down to his calves. The water would only occasionally splash up against it. Hopefully, it would stay that way since it would serve as one of their blankets.

As the day pressed on, nothing of interest had occurred. There had been a few pixies seen here and there. Some small animal would run by but be too quick for them to notice what it was. It had been worrying, though, since it could've been something that wished to harm them. Fortunately, no hostile encounters sprung up from those times.

Stopping for the night, they both set down their packs and went about clearing away some of the snow. Her hands grew cold only after a few swipes, but she continued to help Tarhuinn. Despite her body's protest, she reminded it that it would have suitable blankets over it soon enough. Her eyes caught sight of something pale moving a little ways off. It seemed like it was coming towards them. Even though she had kept a close eye on it, it went behind a tree and never came back out into the open. She wondered if the being had climbed the pine.

Noting her stare at the particular pine, he rested a hand on her left shoulder and squeezed gently. "It was a haasna. You have nothing to fear, (f/n). If anything, it might ask us for some hair. Other than that, it'll leave us alone." He lowered his hand before he cleared away more snow. "We'll need to be extra careful on our watches, though. Even if we have some time before Tergii, Bimaa and their mage come down this way, they may decide to head back early."

Having his reassurance about that creature, she aided him with the snow again. "I know. Our best chance at finding this supposed extension of life is to find their home without their knowledge of us doing so. It sounds like we might have to swim across a lake or travel underwater. Hopefully, we don't have to do either." A nod of agreement was received from him.

Finally, they both had the snow pushed away. A bed of twigs and pine needles lay underneath. The blankets and their cloaks would provide enough cushioning that the needles probably wouldn't be felt. If they didn't, they would have to deal with the nuisance.

Laying down the pieces, they rested upon the blankets while the cloak was draped over both of them. (F/n) took first watch since she wasn't entirely tired yet. As Tarhuinn hugged her close, she was glad for the heat. To keep tiredness away for longer, she grabbed some dried fish and ate a small dinner. She nibbled on the food slowly while she tuned her ears to the sounds around them.

There was the flow of the stream, and some movement back where that haasna had been. She managed to glance back and spotted the creature going in the direction of the cabin. Thankfully, neither of their hair would be requested that night. Her guard remained on, however, in case something dangerous came into their vicinity. They didn't need to be attacked.