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Shamir didn’t want to admit that Rhea got under her skin. As she walked away, towards the town, she noticed how loud she was walking.
Passing by a window, she saw her own reflection. Sulking, emotional, furious.
Fuck it. She kept walking. Usually, Rhea annoyed her or creeped her out, but she was always able to get a handle on her emotions before they got out of hand. Outward anger wasn’t her thing, but she found that she couldn’t help it in this case.
“Perhaps Catherine should partner up with someone more… capable? Someone closer to her equal.”
Shamir grit her teeth; the scene played over and over in her head. More capable was just Rhea’s way of trying to get rid of her. After all, what did it say about the Knights of Seiros that there was a nonbeliever on board?
Did Rhea know about her and Catherine? She supposed it was difficult not to notice. Or maybe Shamir had just been overthinking it? Of all emotions, it was easiest for her to lose her head about love. It wasn’t a common feeling for her to have; when she had it, it was something special.
And to be threatened off assignment from Catherine? For… what? Did they make Rhea uncomfortable? The thought was maddening - the two of them were the backbone of her damned army and everyone knew it! Shamir gripped her dagger’s hilt as hard as she could.
Of course, Rhea didn’t need a reason. One wrong glance at Fódlan’s beloved pope and Rhea could enact any punishment she wanted. It didn’t matter. Justice wasn’t exactly one of her strong suits.
Go to hell, Rhea!
Shamir reached the pond, still seething. Rhea didn’t like her, that much was evident - and it was fine! What did Shamir care what that creep thought?
But that creep held the future of her partnership with Catherine in the palm of her hands. And being Catherine’s partner meant that no one incompetent would be Catherine’s partner, and she could live. If Rhea hoisted Shamir from being Catherine’s partner, she would surely die. Did Rhea just want to see them suffer? Did she hate Shamir that much?
Shamir unsheathed her dagger. Sometimes, fish liked to jump upstream, and she had no desire to spend any more time than necessary at the monastery. No, tonight she needed to be far from civilization, under the stars. And it all started with procuring a few meals.
She stood at the edge of the water, thoughts furiously bouncing in her mind. And what about Catherine? Surely, Rhea wouldn’t place her most disgustingly loyal knight in harm’s way? Not on purpose. But what else could be the point of separating Catherine from Shamir?
She grit her teeth. Rhea was provoking her. And for what? Not believing? No, it couldn’t be that simple, or was Rhea that petty?
splOOSh
A fish leapt out of the water!
Channeling all of her fury into her dagger, she whipped it hard enough to not only pierce the fish, but sent it flying into a stone pillar.
It was then that Shamir felt two strong arms wrap around her. She didn’t sense anyone come up behind, but that gave her all the clues she needed.
“Catherine.”
“Nice shot, babe,” Catherine said, pride evident in her tone. She kissed Shamir on the cheek.
Shamir grumbled. Catherine kissed her again. Shamir grumbled again.
“Sheesh, you’re in a fun mood.”
“I’m fine.”
“Tell that to Sergeant Fish-Against-The-Wall over there,” Catherine said, pointing to the pillar where the fish still hung, pierced by the dagger.
Shamir cracked a smile. “What?”
“What?” Catherine grinned. Shamir could never stay in a foul mood for long. Not with Catherine by her side.
“You’re weird,” Shamir chided, but meant it as a joke. She turned around in Catherine’s arms and returned the embrace in full, happy to have somewhere loving and safe to bury her face into. She sighed, savoring the touch.
“Careful, the fish’re gonna get jealous. One might even tell us to get a room.”
Shamir huffed a small laugh, then paused. “Catherine, let’s spend the night on the mountainside.”
“Ah, I was wondering what made you want fish. I figured you were getting me a gift for being the sexiest girlfriend.”
Shamir’s lips quivered, but she successfully managed to suppress a laugh. “For that, you’d get a much different gift. On that note, hey Cass, let’s spend the night under the stars on the mountainside.”
Catherine bust out a hearty laugh. “I like the way you think, partner,” she said with a wink. “Mind telling me what’s up?”
Shamir froze. She forgot how good Catherine was with her intuition.
“Come on, as if that didn’t give it away. Out with it, lover.” Catherine held onto Shamir’s hands, smoothing out wrinkles on her gloves.
A sigh. “I might not be your partner for much longer.” Don’t sound bitter, don’t get emotional. Worse case scenario, their relationship is still intact…
...but with a higher chance for both of them to be grievously injured during combat. Fuck.
Catherine saw how upset this made Shamir and frowned. She went back to holding Shamir, kissing the top of her head. “What do you mean?”
Shamir’s answer was muffled as she was all too content to bury her face into Catherine’s bosom.
“Shamir.”
“Rhea mentioned separating us. Saying I wasn’t good enough to keep up with you.”
Catherine’s tone was sharp, “What?”
Usually with Rhea-related issues, Catherine took Rhea’s side. It was a bit of a source of jealousy for Shamir, as much as she tried to put a damper on it. So, she assumed Catherine’s harsh tone was for her, ala ‘how dare you slander my pope-wife.’
Instead, Shamir felt herself get squeezed tighter, and felt more kisses all over her face.
“I’m so sorry she said that, Shamir.”
Shamir pulled back just enough to look Catherine in the eye. “I don’t want either of us to have a handicap and have a chance of getting hurt. Or killed. Just because of… whatever it is Rhea perceives as a problem.” She looked up and was relieved to find Catherine’s expression mirror her own.
“That’s unlike her to have such a catastrophic idea. I’ll talk to her about this. In the meantime, don’t worry. I wouldn’t for a second entertain the order.”
“Really? You would betray your beloved Rhea?”
“If that’s what you call betrayal, then sure. I call it being assertive, but let’s talk more about our nightly excursion.”
Shamir smirked. “That begins with you getting in the water and retrieving that fish.”
“And hopefully ends with me carrying you bridal-style up the mountain.”
“Not so loud!” Shamir chastised, then started to laugh. “One day, I’ll make you carry me bridal-style all the way to Dagda. Better get your training in now.”
Of course, Catherine flexed about it. “What, you think I’m lacking?” And of course, she caught Shamir staring. “Hey, my eyes are up here.”
“Are you getting in the water or not? It’ll be dark soon.”
“On it, partner!”