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Crow’s gloves were sticky with pine sap as he watched the glow of the sleepy campfire in the clearing across the lake. He pulled his cloak tighter to keep out the slight chill in the damp air.
Glint peeked out from his hood.
“It’s been two hours. Should we do another perimeter sweep?” the cheerful ghost whispered.
“That’s the plan.”
“You go left, I go right?”
“Sounds good.” Crow began to descend from the tree as Glint flew off into the darkness. A few minutes later the hunter was on the ground picking pine needles off of himself only to have them stick to the sap on his fingers.
He sighed. Pine trees. Always sticky.
The surrounding woods buzzed with crickets and a loon called out its haunting wail soulfully across the lake.
Crow rubbed his hands together to try to remove some of the sap-soaked needles and then froze as the cold metal circle of a gun muzzle pressed into the base of his skull.
He raised his hands slowly.
A few feet in front of him, a pale green orb appeared.
“What you doing out here, hunter?” the Drifter’s voice asked quietly behind his right ear.
The rest of Eris Morn stepped out of the shadows.
“Protecting you,” Crow answered dryly.
“Really?” The Drifter twisted the gun muzzle slightly. “Seems to me like the only one out here needing protection from somethin’, is you.”
“Hmmm…” Eris smirked. She was different from any other time Crow had seen her, but still unmistakably Eris Morn. He realized this was the first time he had ever seen Eris not wearing her armour and also the first time he had ever seen her hair. It was short, unevenly cut, and fell overtop of the cloth she still wore over her three glowing eyes.
“See anything interesting up there in your tree?” There was an edge to the Drifter’s voice.
“Captain and six dregs over that ridge about five hours ago.” Crow nodded to the left.
“Impressive,” Eris moved closer, completely silent. She didn’t even crunch the pine needles. “I didn’t hear a thing.” The soulfire in her hand lit her face from below, making the black tears from her eyes seem even more unnatural and menacing than usual.
“It’s not my usual method, but I know how to use a knife, and Ikora said to ensure you were not disturbed.”
The gun left his head. Crow let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and began to lower his hands.
“Out here in the middle of nowhere and still bein’ spied on,” the Drifter muttered behind him.
“I’m not spying on anyone. My orders were to keep you both safe. That’s all.”
“Fuckin’ Ikora and her fuckin’ spies.” Drifter grumbled, holstering his weapon. “I knew something like this was gonna happen if we told her.”
Eris smiled. “Do you like hot chocolate, Crow? The Drifter makes the best hot chocolate. I thought I hated it, but what he makes is very, very good.”
“I…yes, I do like it, but I’m good, really. You’re on vacation. I’m just here to make sure you actually get time off.”
Eris looked behind Crow and tilted her head.
Crow heard a sigh from behind him.
“Fine,” the Drifter grumbled, “But I ain’t making it the same way as I did for you, Three-Eyes. Most people like sugar.”
“We also have sausages.” Eris leaned toward Crow conspiratorially, “...on sticks.” Eris rocked up on her tiptoes as she said the last word. She seemed almost… gleeful.
Despite feeling like he’d just narrowly avoided having his head blown off, Crow couldn’t help but smile.
***
“It actually is the best hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted. You weren't kidding.”
“Yup,” Drifter said, profoundly annoyed, sitting on the ground with his arm around Eris on the other side of the fire while she roasted another sausage. She stared at the sausage intently while holding it in the flames and turning it until it blistered it on all sides.
“The rum helps.” Drifter added.
The juices from the sausage on Eris’ stick hissed and spit as they landed in the coals below.
“Hey sparky,” Drifter looked over at Glint, “what's the math on sound out here. How far ‘till you couldn't hear a person yelling for help? Ya know, in case we need to murder someone.”
“Um…” Glint spun his shell slowly for a moment as he hung in the air near Crow. “Probably about 5 miles.”
“Good.” Drifter locked eyes with Crow. “Your new perimeter patrol is seven.”
Crow nodded.
“Miles?” Glint asked.
“Yeah.” The Drifter had a snake-like expression on his face as he stared at Crow. Calculating. Cold. “You'll still hear gunfire at that range. You'll know if we need ya. And if you're doing your job, we won't need anything.”
“Crow,” Eris said softly, holding out the blackened sausage.
He smiled and pulled it off her stick. The hole from the stick spewed grease on to the fire between them and the flames flared up, licking and flowing along the wood like water.
“Thank you.” He raised the sausage like a toast to her and blew on it a bit before taking a bite. “Mmm! This is really good too.”
“We bought them in the market this morning.” Eris told him as she pulled out another and impaled it on to her stick with vicious glee.
The fire popped, sending embers spiraling up into the sky.
“This is all very kind of you both but we should probably go,” Glint said, looking nervously at Drifter’s irritated face. “We weren’t supposed to visit.”
“No, ya weren’t,” the Drifter stared pointedly at the ghost.
“Um yeah, right.” Crow cleared his throat. “I'll be on my way then.” He stood up.
“Come back tomorrow at sunset for dinner.” Eris said quietly but clearly.
“What?” The Drifter turned to look at her, incredulous.
Crow looked at Drifter, then Eris, then back to Drifter, uncertain. “Ummm…”
“He's such a good cook.”
“Seriously, Moondust?”
“It is my vacation, is it not?” She looked out into the woods, seemingly at nothing, tilting her head. Daring him to disagree with her. Smiling.
Drifter sighed again
“If I'm feeding him he's earning his keep.” He looked up at Crow over the flames. “Bring us some fish or some rabbits or somethin’.”
“I can do that.”
“And until sunset,” the Drifter leaned forward and pointed at him, “it’s seven miles, you Awoken sneak. Any closer and I’ll assume it ain’t you and I will blow yer head clean off.”
Crow nodded. “Seven miles.”
Glint materialized Crow's sparrow beside him and then slipped into the hunter’s hood as he pulled it up over his head.
“Have a good night, you two,” Crow said warmly as he got on the vehicle.
The Drifter grunted.
Eris gave him the sweetest smile, her lips glistening with sausage grease, as he drove away.
***
“Crow,” Glint asked from beside his ear as they skimmed across the surface of the lake. “Why seven miles?”
Crow pushed the sparrow as fast as it would go, only slowing down as they encountered more trees on the opposite shore.
“What is it they don't want us to hear?”
“You really are innocent sometimes, Glint.”
“Innocent? I’m not… oh. Oh.”