A troublesome night

As the sun went down, all three destitute ladies sat around a small fire pit, where Takoff was struggling to rub a pair of twigs together and having very little luck creating sparks. Thurkla and Morgala, on the other hand, were having no such bad luck creating their own kinds of sparks, as they held each other tightly for warmth. Their thighs rubbed together as they wrapped their arms around one another, enjoying the touch of each other's skin. As bad as things were for them, there was a deep comfort that only two people who had been through what they'd been through could share. As they gently kissed, Morgala briefly thought that this was all she'd ever need.

Such thoughts were far from Takoff's mind, as she threw aside her sticks in rage. "This is hopeless!" She yelled, startling the two lovers out of their trance. "These sticks are pathetic, how am I supposed to make a fire with this?!"

Thurkla and Morgala looked at the nude dwarf, a mixture of fear and pity on their faces. Neither wanted to approach a situation as fiery as that, and more so they didn't want to exit their relatively warm embrace. Still, the night wasn't exactly getting warmer, and being naked, they could only escape the cold so much without a fire. Thurkla stood up, straightening her back and quelling her shyness, and walked over to the fire pit, where Takoff was sitting with her arms wrapped around her knees. Kneeling down, Thurkla grabbed a pair of rocks and stacked some of the smaller twigs in a pyramid shape. Finally, she pulled out her rag, looking pensively at her last possession for a moment, before placing it on top of the sticks.

Takoof looked at the orc, confused. "What are you..." She didn't get a chance to finish, as Thurkla scraped the rocks together, sending off a few sparks to the rag. She leaned in close to the fire pit and, before Takoff could stop her, blew on the embers, setting them alight. She the fire picked up, the orc girl watched as her last worldly possession went up in flames. She held back her sniffles, but couldn't help but let a few tears fall down her cheeks.

Takoff just stared back at the orc, in awe of her (in retrospect not very significant) sacrifice. "Why did you do that?"

Thurkla smiled back at the bounty hunter, her cheeks flushed. "It was just a rag. A fire will do more to keep us warm that it could."

"But... that was the last thing from your house. Now you have nothing."

Thurkla just looked back at Morgala, who was looking back with tears streaming down her face. "That's not entirely true. I have something worth far more than that dumb old rag." Morgala's hands flew to her lips at her lover's declaration, the corners of her lips turning up in joy.

Takoff looked between the couple, finding herself unable to mock them for once. Being in their predicament and seeing them treat her with respect and support was unexpected to say the least. The bounty hunter had never met people with such priorities, especially not people with the limited resources as they seemed to have. It almost felt like... jealousy.

Morgala and Thurkle, locked in a romantic embrace, held their feet up to the fire, realizing for the first time how cold they'd been for the past several days without shoes. They'd become so used to the constant **** of their bare bodies that a bit of warmth felt like heaven. They sighed, letting the fire breathe new life into their exhausted bodies. Takoff watched their blissful joy, realizing just how much these dorks had likely suffered before she found them. If a shoddy campfire in the middle of nowhere was enough to make them this happy, she couldn't imagine what torment they'd suffered. Well, she could probably imagine some of it, up to the 'losing all of their mortal possessions' part.

"We should rest." Takoff said to the lovebirds. "We've got a long journey ahead of us without the wagon, so we'll need to be up bright and early in order to make good time." Both ladies nodded, lying down in the grass, Morgala taking the position of the big spoon and wrapping her arms around Thurkla's waist. She wasn't a very effective big spoon, given the many centimeters her girlfriend had on her, but Thurkla didn't seem to mind, nuzzling up against her for warmth. Takoff just rolled her eyes, doffing her hat and putting it under her arm. Keeping a tight grip on her last item of clothing, the dwarf laid down on the soft grass, forcing her eyes to close after her long exhausting day.

Of course, sleep didn't come so easily. Despite the fire, the night was still a cold one, and Takoff's paranoia about predators coming from any direction didn't make it any easier to bear. An hour of shivering, tossing and turning later, and Takoff was no closer to getting to sleep. She let out an audible sigh, putting her hat over her face in impudent angst. I'll just go on watch. We'll need someone to keep the fire going, I suppose.

"Psst. Hey, Takoff."

She glanced over at her companions, who were looking back at her expectantly. "What?"

"You seem cold." Morgala ventured.

"Yeah, well, I'm out in the forest and I don't have any clothes on, so I think that comes with the territory."

"Why don't you come closer. We should, you know, share body heat. So we don't freeze, and all."

Takoff looked between the eager nudists, concern growing on her face. "I don't think that's necessary."

"Oh, come on. You've been tossing and turning all night, and it's clear your freezing. Besides, if you get frostbite, who will be able to protect us?"

They made a compelling case, though the compliment certainly helped (not that it meant much to be the most competent of this group). Still, Takoff wasn't sure about getting so... intimate with these two. "Are... are you sure it's alright?"

Thurkla scooched over and patted the ground in front of her, urging her to come closer. "We insist. It's the least we can do."

Takoff considered for a moment, realizing the only obvious choice to be the right one.