Jensen had stood vigil over the camp all night, deciding to let Erissa sleep as he scooped his body at the base of a tree, drawing his knees in. Osher had kept close to the woman, keeping her warm when the fire had died out. The immortal dozed off a few times in the night, sleeping for small spurts as he waited for the darkness to turn to a grey fog. When the illumination in the dank backdrop made it so he could see a bit into the Red Forest, he stood up and stretched, his back aching from the prone position he used. Osher’s head perked up, looking to Jensen and the immortal gave the dog a soft nod.
“Fairy,” Jensen muttered softly with a mischievous grin. “Time to get up.” His foot kicked Erissa’s boots, jarring them apart. She moaned, loudly in protest as her eyes softly fluttered open. He thumbed the forest behind him and she nodded, slowly getting up. Jensen turned to the dog and his lips parted even wider than before. “I think you need a bath, smelly bush humper.” Jensen teased.
“I admit, I could probably use one after that figh-“ Her words were cut short as Jensen let out a command to the dog.
“Osher, lick!” The dog turned to Erissa, panted once, and his sloppy velvety tongue went up the side of her face over her nose and between her eyes as his paws prodded her hips. The more she resisted the more the dog continued to nuzzle forwards, eyes full of love as his tongue kept licking her. Several red leaves filled the air like dancing birds as she kicked to be free from the doggy prison, twigs snapping as she shouted.
“Ack! No, bad dog!” Erissa whimpered as she tried to roll away. Jensen just laughed as he waited a few more licks, his payback for the other morning. With the immortal's shrill, whistle the dog barked in her ear once and jumped to Jensen, who bent to scratch the dog. The elf merely shook her bed, grumbling to herself as she stood, pulling her cloak on, first wiping her face and standing ready. The elf attempted to use the bit of leather from her armor to wipe herself, but it had failed miserably, causing her to whimper. Jensen stepped forwards, snatching a leaf from the air as it fell. He lifted it up to her face and pushed it onto her cheek, cleaning her up as she flinched away and took it from him, grumbling.
“We shouldn’t stay much longer in this area,” Jensen said, serious again. “No breakfast today, we’ll fast until about noon… whenever the hell that is,” he added as an aside comment, looking up towards the tree boughs that covered the warmth of the sun. Erissa made ready to protest, her stomach growling, but Jensen gave the woman a dead pan look to quiet any thoughts of fighting him on the subject. She nodded, gathering her things, and within moments the two left the camp and headed deeper into the fog. His stomach rumbled loudly, but he ignored it as he gave a sideways glance behind the campsite, looking into the trees for but a fleeting moment.
“You look rather tired, did you sleep well?” Erissa asked in a barely audible whisper, her hand lifting to his shoulder in apology. Jensen shrugged to her indifferently as he watched Osher sniff ahead a few feet, pushing her gesture aside gently.
“I’ve done worse overnights in the Knights of Apocalypse, so it's no big deal. They require a soldier to spend a mandatory seventy-two hour period of time at any time they deem fit as part of training. In addition to that training is physical exercises, training lessons in combat, and then mental problem solving. They throw it at you all at once sometimes, all to test your endurance and break your spirit.”
“That sounds a bit excessive,” Erissa admitted, shuddering as she thought of such a feat. “Did such things really improve a warrior?” Jensen listened once again to the forest, hearing nothing out of the ordinary. Before Erissa had a moment to notice, he decided to keep her mind elsewhere.
“As a matter of fact,” Jensen said, slightly distracted. Osher turned his head, eyes looking around as he panted, tail wagging. He looked to the dog before he shook his head and moved on without acknowledging the pause. “As a matter of fact, yes it did. To a degree. Some students burnt out and fried. Some others however really became true monsters. You see, when the flesh is weak and the spirit is all but spent is when the true potential is built within a man. I believe that fully in my heart. You cannot reach the next level if you do not know where your limits are."
“Still, to force yourself awake for that long must eventually exhaust the body. The mind alone will begin to suffer as well. All that strain is not healthy.” The two stopped at a dead end, eyes peering for a way around the sudden thick bushes that blocked them, briars and the like that would shred them if they tried to push through. Jensen poked Erissa in the shoulder and pointed to a tree branch they could climb.
“It’s not meant to be healthy. How should I explain this so your little elven brain can understand,” Jensen mused loudly as he lowered himself to let Erissa step in his hands. She gave him a dark look, but placed her boot in his hands and let him lift her. She flawlessly gripped the branch and used his shoulder for the briefest of seconds to make it up. She turned, her swift reflexes catching his bag he tossed to her immediately, almost knocking her off-balance; he whistled for Osher to come, grinning while she glared at him. The dog looked around for a moment then ran to him. “Take care of Osher, I can climb this easily.”
Erissa lowered her fellow traveler's bag and looked to Osher, her eyes focusing intently as she used her telekinetic abilities to make the dog float up towards the branch. He barked in protest, before settling on the bark and sitting, whimpering to be so high. Jensen reached the elevated part of the tree with ease, and they took a small break.
“I’ll hold Osher, you cross then float him down. Good thing we didn’t try to push through the brush,” Jensen pointed to the middle of the thicket. There were several thorns the size of daggers, and one plant that looked big enough to eat Osher in one bite.
"A soul blossom!" Erissa cried. "Unless I am wrong, they produce a venom that attacks not the body, but the soul itself, sucking it away from the person!" Jenson snickered.
"Then I don't have to worry," he said. Erissa sighed and was clearly shaken, but turned as she steeled her nerves and moved onwards on her knees and hands, crawling across for stability. “Hey!” Jensen called to her; Erissa stopped and looked behind to see Jensen smiling. “Don’t fall; I am enjoying the view too much.” He teased.
“…incorrigible…” She muttered under her breath as she finished the trek and landed, once again using her powers to bring Osher to her. Jensen followed behind the dog, keeping his hand on the pup’s head to keep it calm as it still shifted nervously. When the dog landed it barked twice, turned to Jensen, and wagged its tail to see him land next to the dog.
They continued in silence for a few minutes, Jensen once again stopping as he listened to all around him. This time Erissa joined him, but when she heard nothing she gave him a concerned look. The immortal popped his eye open and shook his head.
“Just being cautious, nothing to worry about. See Osher?” Jensen pointed to the dog’s tail. “He’s happy, so no danger.” Erissa recalled the imparted wisdom he gave her yesterday and the look of relief on her face made Jensen relax again as they walked onwards. “Hmm, so you know how you have to rip your muscles in order to let them grow?” The woman gave him a confused look, and Jensen just smiled as he waited for her brain to catch up. With a sudden look of understanding she nodded quickly.
“Yes, yes, I understand,” She said quickly. “And yes, I grasp that concept. But I still maintain to perform at those levels for three days straight is not helping anyone. There is ripping your muscles, and then there is tearing them.” Jensen shrugged.
“In the Knights of Apocalypse there isn’t much of a difference. You either grow, or you destroy yourself attempting to keep up. Not really a debatable topic, it’s just the way it is in that order.”
"The strong survive," Erissa mused. "Says something about you, I suppose."
Jensen stopped again, his grin lowering as he chuckled softly to himself. Erissa turned to him, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. She watched him, studying the way his eyes seemed to try and move to the back of his skull and look behind him. The way his fingers slowly flexed one at a time and popping did nothing to comfort her as she narrowed her gaze on him. She could see the hair on the back of his neck softly rise and she became confused again. Jensen still let out a small giggle, before looking back to Erissa.
“You…” She said softly, but she had no clue what to say. Jensen just shrugged pulling out one of his longer daggers, a steel weapon of masterwork quality that was nearly the length of Erissa’s forearm. He tossed it to her and grinned, turning around this time; his laughter bubbled forth, unable to be contained. There was a long moment of silence save the immortal’s mirth, but soon Osher began to growl.
She never needed to hear the answer. The fact he was laughing was a clear indication of the situation. Something in the Red Forest was coming after them. She had no clue how long he knew, but she had guessed he had known all along and was why he made them skip breakfast. She held the grip of the leather tightly; it creaked in her hand as she stood ready.