Lori was disappointed that their embrace had ended. She lay wrapped in the woollen blanket for a while longer, watching the commander as he sat beside her and looked out at the falling snow.
“Today is going to be a long day,” he sighed, scowling at the snow-laden sky above them.
“Can't we just stay here?” Lori snuggled her face into the blanket.
“If only.” Lephas shot her a tight smile before heaving himself up onto his feet with a grunt. He snatched hissword from the ground and re-fastened it at his hips, then hastily pulled his gloves back on and retrieved the thick woollen scarf from his pack.
“Where are you going?” Lori asked, sitting up.
“I'm going to go check those rabbit snares. I'm hoping we may have caught another one that we can carry with us until tonight,” the demon replied, wrapping his scarf around his neck and tucking it away beneath his armour neatly.
“Shall I stay here?”
“You're welcome to come with me, but I won't be long. Why don't you start packing things up?”
“Alright, deal.” Lori nodded and, bracing herself for the cold, threw the blanket from her legs.
“I'll be right back.” He smiled at her briefly before turning his back and hiking off through the snow.
Lori sighed, forlorn as her handsome demon disappeared from view. The camp felt empty without him. She dug through the travel bag and, locating the fur snood, tugged it back over her head. The snow fall was heavy, but the bitter wind was absent. It wouldn't be quite as cold as it had been two days prior, but the drop in temperature without the sun was still palpable.
Lori started by rolling up the mattress. She made quick work of it and expertly strapped it to Lephas'sbag. Next, she folded the blanket up neatly so as not to take up too much room and shoved it inside. After taking a healthy swig from the freshly replenished water skin, she also attached that to the bag.
Though she didn't feel too nauseated, her mouth was dry and, now she was sat up, her head ached. A sure sign that she had partaken perhaps a little too much alcohol the night before.
It had been strong, but not wholly unpleasant once she had gotten used to it. Lori wondered if she could persuade Captain Sensible to drink a bit more heartily with her next time. The faerie grinned; she would like to see him with his guard down properly.
She retrieved the whisky bottle and, after ensuring the stopper was firmly in place, slid it carefully back into Lephas's pack.
Deciding to brave the snow, Lori piled her curls messily into a bun and flicked her hood up. She stabbed her hands back into her gloves and clambered out from beneath the lean-to.
They had very few possessions between them. The faerie picked up the metal pot she had boiled water in and, after tapping some snow out of it, returned that to the bag as well.
All that was left was to dissemble the lean-to. Sheknelt and attempted to tug one of the tent pegs from the ground. It wouldn't budge. Lori scowled at it and reached for it again, this time with both hands. She pulled as hard as she could. Still nothing.
Just as she was about to give up, her gloves slipped and lost their grip on the frozen metal. The princess fell backwards gracelessly into the snow with a heavy thump.
“Ouch!” she squealed, air knocked temporarily out of her lungs. She scrambled back to her feet. At least Lephas hadn't see that - she could almost hear his mocking already. Lori smiled to herself.
It was nice, the banter she and the demon had. Lori had never spoken as easily with anyone besides her sisters. She didn't feel like she had to pretend with him, not that there was much left of her that he hadn't seen.
Lori had yelled, laughed, criedandcome in front of him now. That was a pretty big deal for her.
The sound of snow crunching underfoot drew her attention. Lephas had returned, a bundle of brown fur in one hand and his homemade snares in the other.
“So, we got another one then?” Lori called to him, resting her hands on her hips.
He grinned triumphantly. “We did. I'm relieved, that'll make setting up a camp later tonight much easier.”
Though the sight of the lifeless creature was still unsettling to her, Lori fought with herself not to react. She was determined to 'toughen up' as Lephas had instructed.
The demon stood just in front of her. He deftly undid one of the snares, wrapping the wire tightly around the rabbit's back feet. Lori watched and masked the horrified expression on her face with cool indifference as he tied the other end of the wire tightly to his pack, leaving the rabbit dangling upside down. Lori bit her tongue and turned her attention back to the tent pegs.
“I can't get these free.”
“I'll get them now,” Lephas replied, striding over to join her. The demon knelt and grabbed the peg, as the princess had done before him. She waited, with a smug smile, for him to go flying backwards just as she had.
Disappointingly, the peg came free from the solid ground with a single tug, though the commander grunted in pain as he disturbed his injury. Lori wasn't sure whether to be irritated or impressed that he had managed to make that look so easy.
