Chapter Text
He slowly stepped out of the rubble, wincing at the sunlight that reached him through the trees. His fingers gripping his injured arm, as his vision adjusted to the dim lighting.
I’m…Alive....How? He winced as he felt a low throbbing in his head. Did my Captain…? His hazel eyes widened and he clenched his teeth shaking his head. Get it together Nivans, I remember; I pushed the Captain out of the ruin just as it was collapsing.
He could still hear his Captain calling his name; see the look of despair his expression became before everything had gone dark.
“Wake up Puppy; you’ll catch a cold sleeping there.”
Piers opened his eyes, slowly as he was pulled from the memory. He felt the stiff branch under his chest and with a shifting of his position moved to sit upright. He glanced down with hazel eyes to where his bow had fallen at the base of the tree partially hidden by freshly fallen snow, and the cloaked figure that stood nearby it; piercing blue eyes staring back at him.
“Are you ever going to stop calling me that?”
“No.” He could almost see the smirk on the pale man’s face from his position. Bastard, he shook the thought away and jumped down from the branch.
He shivered slightly, tightening his scarf around his neck. It would teach him to forget his cloak, and he leaned down to retrieve his bow as he felt a warm weight press down on his shoulders and surround him.
It caused him to pause and turn to stare at the red haired male. “Aren’t you cold?” There was a shrug of his shoulders.
“I’ll survive without it, you’re the one shivering.” Sometimes he forgot he was more resistant to the elements unlike Piers. “We should head back, it’s getting late.”
“Did you find another job?”
“Are you worried about me Puppy?” Piers clicked his tongue in response.
“Why would I be worried about you?” Jake shook his head in response and chuckled.
“So why were you sleeping that tree?” They started walking down the snowy path back toward where they had been staying. It was just a small cabin they had rented from an old farmer that was kind enough to offer it to them.
“I had been tracking a deer while you were looking for work. I followed it all the way out here, and I climbed the tree to get a better shot at it.” He paused in his explanation, adjusting the heavy cloak that had been draped over his shoulders earlier. “I must have dozed off while I was up there.”
They walked in relative silence after that, Piers’ gaze far away. How long has it been since that day?