She gasped, inspecting his neck and brushing his hair back. "Oh Row.. I'm so, so sorry. I'm so sorry."
He muttered in his sleep before his eyes flew open and he looked up at her before flinching, backing away from her suddenly and groaning as his limbs complained.
She backed away as well, covering her mouth with both hands as tears fell down her face. "I'm s-sorry."
He looked at her distrustfully, his violet eyes wide as he created space between them, taking deep breaths to steady himself. "Just... just stay there, okay? Don't come any closer. Please."
She took a breath, opening her mouth to try and speak but closing it again as more tears came and would only be able to sob. "I.. I was under control. I didn't mean to do it. I didn't mean-" she cut herself off, using her hands to muffle another sob.
He still looked scared of her, an expression that was unfamiliar on his face. He studied her with furrowed brows, as if she would strike at any moment. "What are they going to do?" he asked after a moment, his voice quiet and rough.
"Nothing," she said quietly, trying to remember. "It was almost over.. The battle. We were winning.. I hurt my head and got to shore." She reached up, wincing as she touched it. She paused, looking up at him. "I saw everything."
The information seemed to make him even more nervous and he raised a hand as if to protect himself from an attack before he started rooting through his bag with his free hand.
"You say that," he said, his voice rough, "but you did." He tossed her a package of painkillers and his canteen of water as well as a roll of bandages.
She looked down at the items with hesitance, looking back up at him before turning away, wiping her eyes.
He stood up, taking a fallen branch and muttering under his breath. A glimmer crossed across the surface of the bark, and it stabilized. She would be able to see the effects of his sleepless nights; dark circles plagued his eyes and his skin was sickly pale. His hands had a constant tremor and he leaned on the branch heavily, still keeping a wide berth from her. "Do we need to warn anyone? Are they targeting anyone up here?"
She looked over at him. "It's.. It's just me." She paused before looking in the direction of the water. "You should go home. I.. The fight isn't done yet."
"Everyone," she said quietly, standing up. "Or mostly everyone." She sniffled. "Please go home and get some rest."
He ignored her pleas and turned to look at her with a glare. "So this Siren Woman is controlling anyone and making people fight to the death for her and you're content with that?"
He looked at her with disgust, his brows furrowing. “Wow. You know, Tezhki, I wouldn’t want to make someone I loved choose between their culture and me, but you’re literally killing people without any sense of whether it’s right or wrong.”
She whimpered. "I didn't have a choice. I didn't have a choice. I don't want.. to do it. I- I-" she faltered, looking at her hands.
His expression didn’t soften and his jaw tightened as he watched her warily. “Fine. Go serve your mother, then,” he said, pulling his cloak from off the forest floor and stepping away from her. “But your mother tried to get you to kill someone you claimed you loved. You have no idea if you’ve killed people far more precious to you than me. You’ve killed people with families and people with children, and your ridiculous mindless devotion says that it has to be this way. It’s not the person I fell in love with.” He pulled away and headed back into the forest.
