"No, no. I wasn't expecting you to grab it. It's okay," she assured him, patting his wild hair with amusement. She paused, her eyes fixated on the ground, and then brought her gaze back to his face. "Thank you for coming after me, by the way. Seriously."
He tilted his head, the corners of his mouth formed a smile. "It was no problem. I'm sure you would have done the same."
She shrugged, and rubbed the back of her neck, revealing dark, ugly bruises where the scouts had grabbed her on her arms. "It depends," she teased. "If I had been in the middle of a nap, I make no promises that I would come save you."
"Well, you've probably never heard a scream in the middle of sleep. You don't think, you just go." He sat back, looking at the bruises in silence.
She noticed, and quickly pulled her arms down. They sat in silence for a moment. "It looks worse than it is," she said eventually, not meeting his eyes. "They don't really hurt that much."
The bruises traveled up her arm where they had pulled at her with tight grips. "There's not really much you can do, unfortunately. Don't worry about it. It's not too bad." She paused, reflecting, and then shrugged. "To be honest, I'm just glad that they didn't break something. They weren't exactly..." She took a deep breath as she considered her words. "...happy when I tried to escape the first time."
Poppy frowned, rubbing her wrist where the rope had rubbed it raw. "Well," she started. "I was setting up this net thing in the stream when they saw me, and they chased after me. I didn't think it would be a good idea to run back to the camp right away, so I tried to loop back and lose them, but they got me. One of them grabbed my arms and covered my mouth, but I bit him and he let go. I actually got pretty far, and I was hiding behind these trees when they took me by surprise." Poppy swallowed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "That's when I screamed. I think they were worried that I was screaming for help or something, so one of them kicked me in the ribs, and I lost my breath. They kept kicking, which hurt like a bugger." She paused and then moved on. "I was pretty close to losing consciousness at that point, and I think they thought I was already knocked out, so they just kinda dragged me to their camp. They tied me up, and.. well.. you know the story from there."
"Yeah. Luckily we have a weapon now. I've used this kind of gun before." He checked to see if there was ammo. "So now we have defense."
She sighed, and lay back on the floor, her hands resting on her forehead. "Should we take turns for a watch tonight?" she asked cautiously, glancing outside. "I'd hate for them to find us while we were sleeping."
"That's a good idea. I can take the first shift if you'd like? I've overslept enough." He shifted, running his hand through his hair.
She chuckled, her eyes becoming more clear and focused. She dropped her hands to the floor around her head and looked over at him. "Nah, it's alright. I can do it," she said. "It'll be easier for me to stay awake for one long period of time than if I were to go to sleep and have to wake back up again. That okay with you?"
"Nope. I'm taking the first shift. Because I feel like it. That, and I'm worried that you will take blackmail pictures again."
She laughed, the action surprising her. "I can take blackmail photos just as easily during my shift," she chided, grinning over at him. "You're just delaying the inevitable."
"If I'm too tired to remember, then I'm too tired to keep watch," she pointed out, raising an eyebrow. She rolled on her side to face him, her expression teasing. "But, I mean, if you think it's worth it..."
