A tense journey forward

The next morning, Gray awoke to find that Sha'Kir was already up and packing their things. He got up and started to help, but could feel anxiety coming off her in waves. Something was seriously bothering her. He knew from experience that when she was like this, the best thing to do was give her space until she was ready to talk. Last time he had tried forcing her to talk she had almost ripped his head off. Literally. Orcs were not fans of being push around when they are angry.

So he quietly left the tent and left her to her work. Hanna was already up as well and humming happily to herself as she finished rolling up her tent. She looked over her shoulder when she heard him walking towards her and a deep blush spread across her face.

"M-morning Gray"

"Good morning Hanna. I trust you slept well?"

"Y-yes. I slept very well. Um..... Your wife...."

"She knows. She was watching actually."

"Oh," Hanna said, and he felt worry spreading out of her.

"Its ok Hanna. She and I have a very open sex life. I think she's a little jealous we didn't invite her to join, but with how down you were, I think we needed to do things your way."

"Oh. So if your sex life is open.... Does that mean we can do it again? If you don't want to its ok," She said, looking away from him.

Yes we can Hanna. Just next time, lets invite Sha'Kir to join in."

"I've never been with a woman though. Or a man until yesterday."

"Trust me girl, once Sha'Kir shows you what she can do with her tongue, you wont hesitate to let her into your bed every chance you get."

Again Hanna turned bright crimson but just nodded. Before more could be said, Jester's tent flap opened and the man stepped out. He was pale and looked like he hadn't slept well. He looked back and forth between Gray and Hanna before giving a slight chuckle.

"Good morning Hanna. You have a certain.... Womanly glow about you this morning."

The girl turned away and quickly busied herself by trying to repack all her stuff. Jester let out another chuckle and began working on his own tent. An hour later the group was packed up and ready to go. Once on the road, Jester began to get some color in his cheeks and Hanna resumed her cheerful humming. Gray was walking next to Sha'Kir but she didn't speak. She kept glancing his way and he could feel a mixture of emotions coming off her. Love, mixed with worry. Faith, mixed with regret. Something was off with her and he couldn't quite place what it was. She had watched him fuck other women before, so he didn't think that was quite the root of the problem. So again, he decided to give her time and space.

The rest of the trip was pretty tense. Every night, Sha'Kir would go to bed early and the only once did she and Gray make love. Hanna was smart enough to keep her distance from Gray, realizing that something was bothering his wife. Jester also worried Gray because every morning he looked pale and sickly. The days passed uneventfully, but the group was hardly bonding. Gray felt like Sha'Kir was distancing herself from him, Hanna was worried about being around him with Sha'Kir like this, and he kept worrying that Jester would keel over during the night. By the time they reached the edge of Gilhart forest, Gray was starting to worry about their chances with this mission. Jester took a look at their surroundings and spoke to the group.

"We must have gotten a little off the path. The logging camp is on the other side of the forest. My suggestion is that Gray enters the forest with a partner while the other two remain here as a base camp. If need be we can also have the base team do some scouting for the loggers. Hiske knows who you are Gray. I transferred a memory I had of you to her so I don't have to be there if you wish to take someone else."

The others agreed and Gray thought about who to take with him. Jester knew Hiske, but with how he was acting lately, Gray wasn't sure he would be ok in a fight if they met up with some kind of enemy. Sha'Kir was his favorite choice to go in, but she still seemed so distant to him. Hanna would stand out and possibly draw Hiske's attention, but if they got stuck in a thick part of the forest, he might have to leave her behind.