Robyn Sheva||The Crimson Lady's Story

Three Days. Three days and Robyn wasn't even allowed in his general direction. Her ire grew worse with each passing day, to the point where she threatened to break the jaw of a teenaged boy who thought himself man enough to approach her. Things that would have amused her didn't. Things that she wouldn't have otherwise cared for, pissed her right off.

Like Casey and the native girl that found them, Nidawi as she was called. She felt jealous that Casey got to have his connection with the girl that changed his life, while the man that changed hers was fighting for his life. Those two spent a lot of time together in those three days, Casey seeming to be happier with every passing moment while Robyn's storm brewed and twisted.

All of this was becoming too much to the point where Robyn had to remove herself from the village, not far but she found herself in the forest behind it. She wasn't completely alone thought, the hulking mass of muscle that was the wolf that had befriended her before, kept her company now. She never got its name from Timberwolf, so in secret, he was Grey Wind. It was the name that came to mind when she looked at the beast, he was calm, but she knew it was capable of a violent storm should the need arise.

He kept sentry as she practiced her knives. She was honing her aim, and quickness. Throwing them to in seven trees at different lengths. She'd just through her last blade, it sinking in to the heart of the furthest tree with a deep 'thunk' before she turned at the presence of Nidawi.

The girl waved to her and Robyn looked over at Grey Wind. He rose, standing beside her, not protectively but as if to say, they should go. Robyn didn't move.

"What?" She asked and the girl narrowed her eyes before smiling, waving again. Now, Robyn knew the girl was deaf, as it had turned out. She didn't hear the gunshot that struck Cole, she felt it, literally. The shot was vibrated in her chest and her curiosity got the better of her. That's was Casey told her, though Robyn barely had the patience to listen.
Nidawi could speak, it was just hard for her. She knew only a few words in English, and mostly spoke Cherokee with touches of Apache here and there.

Robyn only wanted to her two words in Apache, neither of which from her.

Nidwai pursed her lips, with a frown as if contemplating what to say. The girl was adorable, Robyn would have admitted if she was in a better mood. She had a childlike freshness about her as well as a curiousness, that if -again- Robyn was in a better mood she would recognize that that very thing may have saved Cole's life.

Nidawi frowned sadly, not having the words so she approached Robyn, something not even Casey or Jack had done, knowing her wrath, and took her hand, Robyn snatched back. "Don't." She hissed but Nidawi wouldn't have been able to hear the venom in that word.

The girl pleaded with her eyes and Grey Wind beside her, pressed his nose to the back of her leg, ushering her to follow. Robyn sighed and started walking.

She didn't know what she was about to see, but she stiffened when she saw the tepee that Cole had been in and a lump formed in her throat. Was she about to have to say goodbye? Was she seeing Cole's body before they buried it... Grey Wind nudged her on, making her realize she'd stopped walking. Nidwai gave her a small nod of reassurance before Robyn ducked inside.

Robyn's stomach lurched to see Cole laying there, paler then she'd ever seen, sweat dotting his brow, black hair spilling down like ink over his shoulders and clinging to hot skin, she couldn't even see the shaved part of his head.
His eyes opened and her heart leapt.

"I came back."

Robyn was frozen. She wanted to run to him, hug him, scream at him, hit him for taking a bullet for her pride but all she could do was look at him, lip quivering.

"You did." She said her voice no more than a peep. She took a step forward, then another, then another and before she knew it she was clear across the tepee, on her knees, wrapping herself around him. His skin was hot, too hot. She closed her eyes hard, squeezing the lids so the tears wouldn't come but they did. Not a loud cry of pain, but a silent weeping of anxiety, guilt and...relief.

"Don’t you ever scare me like that again," She said, her forehead buried into his shoulder, mindful of his wound. "Ever, Cole Black-Thorn, You know I don't handle grief well, you know that." She told him, her voice trailing off at the end. He knew that, he knew her and was the only person in the world that did, not only that, he accepted this, and her damned pride nearly taken him from her.

"I should have killed him...This...You being here....It's my fault, I just should have killed him and been done with it." She gripped a little tighter but not too hard. "I'm sorry..." She said, and that was honestly the first time in years she spoke those words and meant them. She rarely did anything that she regretted, but this...she regretted this wholly.

"Don’t you ever scare me like that again, ever, Cole Black-Thorn, You know I don't handle grief well, you know that." He smiled weakly and, with great effort, raised his hand to pat her hair. "I should have killed him...This...You being here....It's my fault, I just should have killed him and been done with it. I'm sorry..."

He slowly moved his finger to her lips. "Shh [i]litu dloo[/b] shh, I'm alive, I'm here, and I'm in your arms. Thats all that matters love," he said his voice faint yet containing a strength that seemed to be the essence of his character. His hand slowly cupped her cheek, his thumb making a slow pass across it. "You called me back, I had a promise to keep, you... called me... back," he said, his voice slowing and his breath evening out as he finally slipped blissfully into real, healing slumber.

Minutes passed in silence as all those around watched, their heads bowed, all but one. Timberwolf was standing in the doorway of the tepee. "I believe the term is, I told you so," the old man said with a chuckle and a wide smile as he turned away from the tepee. He would wait a time before he told the others, let the two of them share their moment uninterrupted.

Robyn looked up as his hand rose, and by god that did that look hard for him, only for a finger to touch her lips, causing her eyes to flutter closed. "Shh, litu dloo, shh, I'm alive, I'm here, and I'm in your arms. That's all that matters, love." He told her and she squeezed her eyes tight. They sprang back open when realization dawned on her. He called her Love? What was she supposed to do with that?

His hand moved to her cheek, brushing against it as he'd done so often. "You called me back, I had a promise to keep, you...called me...back," He told her and Robyn leaned up in a panic. "Cole?" She peeped, grabbing his hand that hand gone limp on her cheek, only to realize after that he was only sleeping. She rested her head on his chest, she hadn't slept in three days, even time she tried she saw Cole bleeding out in her arms, and she'd shoot back up, with him speaking to her, that was enough to bring the exhaustion on.

"I believe the term is, I told you so," said an old voice, that called Robyn back to the room. It was only then that she noticed how many people where in the room with them. Robyn wasn't someone who embarrassed easily but she was then, shedding her mask, allowing these people to whom she did not know, she barely trusted- given that they did bring Cole back to her- to see her cry, hear her guilt. She didn't not like this at all.

She barely turned to Timberwolf, only her head, if she had the strength she would have flipped him off. He was right, of course, he told her she was Cole's life line, but he didn't have to be an ass about it. She probably wouldn't feel that way later...probably.

Once everyone else was gone and they were finally alone, Robyn allowed herself to curl up beside, careful not to disturb him, resting her head against his chest, his steady heartbeat grew stronger which each moment and lulled her gently to sleep, even though every stir he made, caused her eyes to open before she drifted back to sleep. .

Cole slept peacefully, dreamlessly, for the first time in days. He awoke the next morning feeling mentally clearer, yet physically he was still very very weak. And on top of that his mouth was as dry as a bone. Luckily the medicine woman was there with a bowl of rainwater and a cloth. She gently squeezed some water into his parched mouth and he drank it thankfully. "Thank you little mother," he said quietly in Cherokee, so as not to disturb Robyn.

Wait, Robyn? Slowly he moved his head to a position where he could see her curled up against him, her head on his chest. His eyes moved from her to the medicine woman with a raised eyebrow. "Shes been there since you awoke, dead man who lives," the old woman said dipping the cloth back in the water and holding it over his mouth again. He drank the drops greedily, realizing just how thirsty he was. He nodded his thanks at the old wise woman and she nodded back, returning to preparing some sort of salve.

With great effort he moved the arm that was pinned under Robyn. She stirred and her eyes fluttered briefly but closed as he rested the arm around her shoulders his fingers aimlessly playing with her hair as he drifted back into the gentle arms of slumber.

Meanwhile, outside the shamans tepee Jack was getting another dose of hunting lessons from Timberwolf. As the lessons continued it became more and more apparent that much, if not all, of what Cole knew he had learned from this old man. And as such more often than not he came back to the village covered in mud and muck.

When Robyn finally woke, she found herself wrapped in Cole's arms, his fingers tangled in her hair, limp from sleep. She blinked away her sleepiness, before she sat up slowly, her hair spilling over her shoulder, his fingers looking like his was combing through it as it felt limply to the bedroll as she looked down at him. His face was peaceful and while she wanted him to wake up, she wanted to talk to him, kiss him...more than that, something that told her he'd be alright. That she didn't have to worry anymore.

She leaned over, pressed a kiss to his forehead softly, her lips lingering against his skin. His temperature was lower, a good sign.

She stood up slowly, stretching, her muscles popping and cracking from the way she slept. She took a last look at him before walking out of the tepee, and was greeted by the sun, she held a hand over her eyes, adjusting to the light. She noticed Jack, walking back with Timberwolf, his arms held out as he waddled through the village and into his tepee, it wasn't until after he disappeared inside that she realized he was covered in mud...again.

"Why do you and Cole both enjoy tormenting Jack by covering him in mud, muck and whatever else you can find?" She said, clearly in a better mood then she was before.

Timberwolf raised a slow eyebrow at her, a slight smile playing at the edge of his lips. "Its the way I taught Cole, its the way I assume he taught Jack. Why change it." The wolf made a beeline to Robyn, pushing its massive head into her hand, essentially saying "PET ME." Timberwolf smiled and waved her over to a nearby tepee, specifically the fire in front of it.

He sat on a thick log by the fire and took off his hat, running a gnarled hand through his hair. Taking the small clutch of rabbits he started to skin them, a small crowd of very young children gathering around him as he did so. He spoke to them in Cherokee and Apache, seeming to repeat what he said each time he switched languages. The village was a mixed bag of dispossessed peoples of different tribes of the area. He seemed to be teaching them the parts of the rabbit and how to clean it properly. When he was finished each of the children got a half a rabbit to take back to their families. The smile he wore never left his face.

As he was cleaning the hides he turned his attention back to Robyn, the wolf having resumed its habit of sitting next to her with its head on her lap. "He really seems to be taken with you miss, Robyn is it? One of your friends mentioned the name," he said with a small nod at the tepee that Jack and Casey were living in. "The village is warming to them, especially with Nidawi vouching for you all. The elders have agreed to allow you to stay as long as it takes Cole to return to strength. Which, knowing him for as long as I have, shouldn't take all that long," he said with a chuckle as he thought about the past.

"Its the way I taught Cole, its the way I assume he taught Jack. Why change it." He said just as Grey Wind came at her, pressing his head into her hand. "Oh, Hello you." She gave a soft smile, kneeling down to her new friend, scratching him behind his ears in the way he seemed to really enjoy. She stood again, following Timberwolf to the fire. She wasn't as cold as she was before but it still felt nice.

She took a seat, Grey Wind resting on her lap again, her hand brushing his fur still, all the while Timberwolf took to teaching a group of children in different languages how to skin and kill a rabbit. She noted that there seemed to be a motley crew within the village, much like her gang. Souls brought together by the darkness of the world.

"He really seems to be taken with you, Miss...Robyn, is it? One of your friends mentioned the name." He said and her mind when to Cole, and how she made him guess her name, and he did so successfully. She then realized he was talking about Grey Wind, not Cole. She merely nodded as he toss a nod toward the tepee that Jack disappeared into. "The village is warming to them, especially with Nidawi vouching for you all. The elders have agreed to allow you to stay as long as it takes Cole to return to strength. Which, knowing him for as long as I have, shouldn't take all that long," He told her and she nodded, before looking at him, narrowing her eyes.

"How long was that?" She asked. "He told me much of a life before you, and a little after, but not much, he did speak of you fondly, what he did say." She said softly. She was curious, she wanted to know more about Cole, from a different stand point. It would be like seeing herself through Blackjack's eyes. She always wondered what he saw.

Timberwolf looked off into the distance as he ran a hand through his hair gathering the memories. "Well, I've known him since before he could remember. I was a friend of his mother, Etka White-feather, after she had been traded to Thomas senior and they settled in the town. You could say I watched the boy grow up." He finished cleaning the hides and laid a rabbit haunch over the fire.

"He was always was an impetuous youth, strong and hard headed. I remember one day he got home with a bloodied lip and a black eye. Some white kid had called him a 'fucking injun bastard'. While technically accurate, still hurtful. So Cole kicked the kids ass six ways to Sunday." He chuckled as he remembered that conversation with Etka. She had scolded and gotten after him outwardly but she had secretly been proud of him.

He took the cooked meat off the fire and handed her a chunk of it. A small child, no more than three or four came walking slowly up clutching a stuffed toy of some sort. She was dead quiet, her large brown eyes flitting about with a scared curiosity as she came closer to the smell of the cooking meat. Timberwolf tore off a generous hunk from his piece of the rabbit and held it out to her. She slowly walked up and snatched it out of his hand, never dropping her toy, and started munching it hungrily. Timberwolf leaned over and tousled her hair and said something in Apache to her, pointing off towards a small group of children and a couple older women tending to them. He watched her as she made her way to the group, silently finishing her piece of rabbit by the time she got there. There was a slightly forlorn smile on Timberwolfs face, as if the little girl reminded him of one of his own perhaps.

"He was always strong. But I was run out of the town when he was eleven or so," he said somewhat abruptly continuing the conversation. "The next time I saw him he was going through heavy withdrawal from alcohol addiction and trying to recover from the saber in his side and the numerous bullet wounds he'd taken. I dried him out and taught him much of what he knows." He took a thoughtful bite of what was left of his rabbit, throwing the rest to Grey Wind. "I wonder if that bullet in his knee ever healed."

"Not properly, but it hasn't affected him so far." She said, though her look was far off. Cole no different then she had been, broken, angry, ready to burn the world down. Lucky for him, Timberwolf was a more positive influence then Blackjack had been. He gave her a way to channel her anger, with sex, alcohol and violence. Timberwolf gave him a way to deal with his rage, a way to focus and control it. She wondered who she would have been if she'd found someone like Timberwolf. She thought she liked who she was, but now she wasn't so sure.

It was at that moment that another small child came up, this time more curious then the last, a young boy, with a missing tooth. He looked at her as if she was a puzzle he couldn't quite piece together.

"Hello." She said. Not knowing any Apache, or any native languages, though she knew a fair amount, French, French-Creole (her native tongue) and Spanish. Though she did know a few Gaelic curses.

The boy looked at her and smiled, and she graced him one herself, gesturing to the food he seemed to be originally after. The boy watched her with a pleasant look as Timberwolf helped him with the rabbit, and she realized then what the look was. She had herself a little admirer. She chuckled to herself, still petting Grey Wind until the boy ran off.

"He's lucky to have had you...." She said, looking back at Timberwolf, "better than what I had, I--" She paused but then continued. Why not? Most people knew that story anyway, that was her legend. "I was in a similar place before, someone found me, helped me became what I am today....He wasn't a great man, and there's a whole lot less room in Hell because of what he taught me, but it was better than what I had before." She said and looked at him. "Cole...he showed me things, your magic but of course he doesn't call it magic, I'm Haitian everything's magic to me, but he showed it to me. I assume you should it to him, so I guess, i should be thanking you?" She said and smirked. "What he showed me help me, and made whatever we are...what we are." She said, looking back at the tepee where Cole was, hopefully he was still resting. If he bothered to move, she'd tie him down herself.

Timberwolf gave Robyn a warm smile and wiped his fingers off on his pants, returning to the rabbit pelts to soften them. "Well, you're right I did teach him the ways of our people. Though its really from himself that any "power" lies. No amount of teaching could prepare a man to be a guide." He was taking a flat stone to the back of the hide, stretching out the hide to make it more supple.

"But I'm glad to hear he's found the way to guide and help others." He sighed and paused in his work to rub his hands. "I'm getting old," he said with a humorless chuckle. "There used to be a time where I could have ran with the best of them. But I guess father time catches up to each of us sooner or later and sends us back to mother earth." He smiled and shook his head, "listen to me, complaining like a forgotten old man." He looked Robyn in the eyes. "Though I don't know what the two of you 'are'," the air quotes implied, "but I would imagine its something quite close to each others hearts, wouldn't you?" His wise old eyes said what was unsaid, what they both knew the feeling to be deep down inside. The feeling that both Cole and Robyn were too scared to admit to.

"Well, you're right I did teach him the ways of our people. Though its really from himself that any 'power' lies. No amount of teaching could prepare a man to be a guide." He said and Robyn looked down t Grey Wind. Cole didn't remember everything, no matter how he tried. He did managed to recall a few things. Perhaps what he remembered was actually a miracle.
"But I'm glad to hear he's found the way to guide and help others." He said and she looked up, a soft smile touching her lips for a moment. "I'm getting old, " He said suddenly. Robyn arched a dark brow. "Huh?"
"There used to be a time where I could have ran with the best of them. But I guess father time catches up to each of us sooner or later and sends us back to mother earth." He said and shook his head with a smile. Robyn was stunningly lost, but she let him ramble on as he pleased. "Listen to me, complaining like a forgotten old man." He said before looking her in the eyes. It made her sudden wildly uncomfortable. "Though I don't know what the two of you 'are'" He said. "but I would imagine its something quite close to each others hearts, wouldn't you?" Robyn looked away.


"Aye, more than I was prepare for." She said and sighed. She wasn't prepared for this conversation either, with Cole or anyone else. She felt cold suddenly despite the flames and the blanket that was Grey Wind. She tugged her coat to, and noticed she hadn't been able to change, or had the mind to realize it in three days. Ew.

"I need to change," She said, and stood, Grey Wind letting her up but seeming to still want to keep her company.

"And hey, Don't worry about being old or running with the best. At this rate, you'll outlive me." She said, and started walking toward the body of water. "Would you let me know when Cole wakes." She said, not asked, though it wasn't her intention to be rude nor was she even aware of it but it was her usual reaction when difficulties came up. It gave her small subconscious sense of control,when she sorely lacked it. Like where Cole was concerned.

She spotted Nidawi sitting with Casey and they both looked up at her. Her jealously had abated...a little. She'd only barely seen Cole and he was barely conscious when she saw him. "Hey," Casey said and Robyn looked at Nidawi who smiled. "Clothes.." She said, gesturing to herself, tugging on her coat. "I need clean clothes." She said and Nidawi narrowed her eyes a moment and then nodded. "She reads-"
"I'm aware." Robyn said cutting Casey off before walking away toward the nearest water, and remove her coat, and the feather from it. Tears pressured her eyes and she didn't know why. Relief maybe? Or something else. He going to make it, He said so, He kept his promise so why did she feel so....confused. All of this was confusing as all hell and it made her head hurt.

She closed her eyes and the imaged of him, looking up at her, attempting to smile, blood seeping through his teeth, made her stomach lurch. He was closer to her heart than she wanted him to be, and she knew now, she couldn't even attempt to push him away like she'd done with Casey all those years ago.

This was dangerous, she knew, the reason she'd push Casey away then wasn't because she didn't feel the same way, she did, but that she felt something bad would happen if she let herself, it was the same with Cole, it already started and she hadn't even accepted what it was she was feeling. Eventually, her feelings for Casey slid into an easy friendship, but Cole... She gazed at the feather. She couldn't push him away, but it was becoming too close, and she knew what would happen to him if she let go. She couldn't let go of Cole, even if she tried.

Timberwolf merely nodded at her when she left. He sighed and waved Grey Wind after her. "If only you knew, and if only you would accept what you feel," he mused in Shoshone, his mother tongue. His ruminations were interrupted by the pack of children coming back for a story from Uncle Wolf. Any trace of any earlier misgivings or sadness was gone as he put on a warm smile for the children.

Nidawi, patting Casey on the leg hinting for him to stay there, got up and quickly found some clothes that looked as if they would fit Robyn. They may be a little big but she was erring on the side of caution. With a small shrug she took them back to the river.

Hours later Cole opened his eyes once more, the room coming into blurry focus. He moved his arm and found himself disappointed that Robyn wasn't still there. He reprimanded himself, how could he expect her to just stay by his side all day, he had surely been out for a long time. The fading light fading through the top of the tepee confirmed the fact. He weakly tried sitting up but was stopped by a voice. "Quit it, or I'll have... no, he's with Robyn... well I'll sit on you myself then."

Cole smiled, he recognized that voice. "You'd have to try real hard, even in my state old man," he said with a chuckle that only hurt a little.

Timberwolf smiled and crouched down next to Cole, taking the small bowl of water from the medicine woman. He wrung some out into Coles mouth as he spoke. "I'm glad to see you've returned to the land of the living."

Cole drank the water, weakly bringing a hand across his face once he was done. "I had a promise to keep," he said simply, avoiding Timberwolfs eyes for the first time.

Timberwolf sighed, set the bowl down, and rubbed his temples. "Of for christs sake will you both just admit it to each other already and quit giving yourselves ulcers," he said before standing and walking out of the tepee, leaving Cole to think about what the old man had said.

Timberwolf was right of course. He was always right and Cole knew that. Cole sighed as he stared upwards, seeing something that was not there. "Damnit old man, I love her alright," he whispered. He did, perhaps a brush with death was what made him realize it fully. He wasn't sure why he was feeling this way for her, but he did, and could deny it no longer. The only real reservation he had left was that he didn't know what Robyn was truly feeling for him. He knew she felt something, or else she wouldn't have reacted the way she had when he got shot, or when he woke up. Uncertainty was gnawing at his gut almost worse than the dull pain of his gutshot wound.

Timberwolf made his presence known to her by the river long before he got there by letting out a wolf call. Grey Wind who had been lounging by the shore, his watchful eyes and ears twitching at every sound, sat up and let loose one of his own. He sat there tongue lolling out to the side as he waited for Timberwolf to appear at the edge of the trees. He had the brim of his hat pulled low over his eyes, covering them so he could see no higher than the ground. "He's awake miss," he said sitting on the edge of a nearby log. Grey Wind trotted up to him and Timberwolf pet the large wolf as he waited.

Robyn soaked in the stream and couldn't believe how grimy she had been until she got in. She was covered in Cole's blood, it had long since dried, but she was too shell shocked to notice. It was even in her hair, a oddly shade of brownish red flow down the stream, as she scrubbed herself clean. Grey Wind kept sentry, giving her privacy, even though Nidawi came by with clothes in her size. Oddly enough, she felt a little closer to Cole, dressed in this native style, it was a lovely dress, little short, showing off her scarred body, a myriad of bullet wounds, and knife cuts, it was a little tight in some areas, with her being a little fuller then the native girls but it kept her modest.

She had been cleaning her own clothes, her corset was missing a few knives now, and her right sleeve was missing, since she used it for Cole's tourniquet, and the blood that came from it, had been much worse then her hair. She didn't know where to put the feather, the dress didn't allow for much concealment so she braided it into her hair, for safe keeping, Meaning to take it out once her clothes were dry. Suddenly, she heard two wolf howls, One from afar and another from Grey Wind. She looked up to see Timberwolf walking up, his hat dipped low to give her privacy. If only he knew what type of woman she was. If she wasn't so melancholy, she would have spoke on it.

"He's awake, Miss," He told her as Grey Wind moved to him. Robyn moved from the river, not saying a word. Making a barefooted beeline toward the village and Cole's tepee.

She stepped inside and smile softly, keenly aware of how she was dressed. She was quite used to dressing in all manner of attire if she wanted to hide in a crowd, but for some reason, she felt a little bashful under his gaze. She moved to him, kneeling at his bedroll's side and looked at him. "You should wear your hair down more often, it looks good on you." She said, searching for something to say other then how she was currently feeling, which was astonishingly confused.

She walked into the room and simply took his breath away. Or maybe it was the pain. Either way he was holding his breath as he looked at her. "You should wear your hair down more often, it looks good on you."

He let his breath out with a "wow." He tried to sit up but decided against it as Grey Wind came padding in, looking at him with a sitting gleam in his eye. "You... I..." Great, one little bullet wound and near death experience and you lose your ability to talk to a beautiful woman. For fucks sake Cole snap out of it, say something. "You don't look so bad yourself." Great, real smooth dumbass. Cole shook away his inner monologue and noticed the feather in her hair. His feather. "That looks good on you, fabulous actually," he said meaning the feather as well as the native dress.

He reached out with a weak hand and rested his fingers on top of hers. That easy smile of his splitting his face in all its glory, even as pale as he'd gotten. He wanted to say what he was feeling, scream it, shout it to the world. Proclaim it right there laying on a bedroll unable to move or feel most of his lower half, as disconcerting as that thought was. But he didn't partially because he didn't know what to say, and partially because she had essentially stunned him with her beauty. Not to mention the uncertainty gnawing at what was left of his guts.

"You don't look so bad yourself." He said and she managed a smirk, however small and bashful. She looked down at her knees and her hand on them, focusing on anything but him. "That looks good on you, fabulous actually," He said and she looked up at him, and noticed his eyes had fallen on the feather. The feather that was still in her hair. She didn't meant to leave it there. Had she walked into the village like that? That was an unsettling thought.

His hand reached out, resting on hers, causing her to look up a him finally. There was that smile she'd been aching to see, as pale as he had gotten, his color was returning and that smile was no longer tainted with blood. One look in his chocolate eyes, and tears prang forth. She covered her mouth with a hand and turn her head, hiding her face behind her dark hair. She'd almost lost him. "Sorry." She said, shaking her head, annoyed with herself for being so weak. He needed strength, not this. She blinked away the tears, blowing air from her nose like a bull about to charge to steel herself. She took a few breathes and the tears while not gone, stopped falling.

"'Ho-" She cleared her throat." How are you feeling?" She asked him, her eyes begging him not to respond to that crying fit, as the medicine woman returned presumably to check his bandages, because she knew the moment those arms came around her, she would be a tearful mess. "They say the worst of it's over, or I think that's what they said." She said with a slight confused frown that faded just as quickly as it had arrived. "I can speak four languages, none of which are native." She said, however her eyes said. "I only know two words, I'd like to hear you say them."

"Better, I'm feeling better," there was a slight, almost imperceptible pause,"now."

"I can speak four languages, none of which are native."

He noticed the look in her eyes. "Well litu dloo I know about 7 none of which are not-native except english" His hand gripped hers as hard as he could. "Perhaps I could teach you while I'm getting over this bee sting," he said with a chuckle. He had been about to cup her cheek when she'd been about to cry but the medicine woman had walked back in, obviously making Robyn somewhat uncomfortable.

The medicine woman meanwhile was in fact checking his bandages. Finding everything satisfactory she added a bit of cooling salve and left the tepee. Coles eyes followed her as she left and once she was gone they met Robyns. Reaching up he cupped her cheek with his hand, his thumb brushing away the tears that had fallen. "Theres nothing to be sorry for litu dlo. Nothing at all," he said softly, that easy smile glinting in eyes that told her everything. If he could have leaned up to kiss her, he would have.

"Well, litu dloo, I know about 7 none of which are not-native except english" He said, his fingers gripping her hand, more firmly. "Perhaps I could teach you while I'm getting over this bee sting," He said and Robyn felt herself flinch. She was quiet, unable to shake the vision that flashed in her mind. That was her fault. Her damn pride. If she'd just killed the son of a bitch when she had the chance. She wanted to be seen, noticed by the world, and that nearly cost her the one person who truly saw her.

His hand came up then, clearly reading her thoughts, cupping her cheek, forcing the tears back. "There's nothing to be sorry for, Litu dloo. Nothing at all," His eyes finding hers, and she saw it in his eyes so she leaned in, pressing her lips to his. Softly at first, but soon, her guilt and grief and relief pressed her forward into a deep much more passionate kiss. Her hands came around to either side of his face, tears bleeding from her eyes. She pulled away before, only to breathe. pressing her forehead against his. "I was...I...You have to out live." She said, knowing it was a strange statement. "You have to because....I-I can't...." she couldn't continue, fearful of the words that threatened to come next.

He kissed her with as much passion as he could physically muster. Which considering his condition was quite a bit. He raised a hand to her cheek, his thumb brushing away her tears. "I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you," he said with a certainty in voice that would be hard to deny.

He leaned in and kissed her again. It was gentle and tender, loving. His lips parting form hers, he gently kissed her forehead then pressed his against hers. "I made a promise remember?" He brushed her tears away once more, gently pulling her into a one armed embrace. "shil nzhoo, litu dloo." He'd finally said it out loud. In Apache, but that counted, it was the language closest to his heart.

"I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you," He said and she looked at him, still breathless from the kiss as his hands softly brushed her tears away, it didn't stop them.

He leaned in this time, his kiss was soft, loving and comforting, she melted into it, wanting to wrap herself around him but didn't, mindful of his wounds. He broke the kiss, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "I made a promise remember?" He said, his forehead against hers. She closed her eyes, tears falling only for him to brush them away. Yes, he promised, but she wasn't afraid that he would break his promise, she was afraid of what it would mean, not for her, but for him.

He pulled her into an embrace, one arm due to his injuries. "Shil nzhoo, litu dloo," He said, and she looked at him. His eyes translating for her.

Robyn looked at him, eyes wide, her chest twisted, she couldn't breathe, she felt dizzy, she felt like she going to die. She didn't want it to stop but it had too. She felt that before and it always ended the moment she let those words leave her lips. She pulled from him, and felt colder for it. "I'm sorry....I'm sorry, Cole, I can't say those words." She said, shaking her head. "Those are dangerous words..." She breathed before stumbling back. This was for his own good but it was breaking her heart. Her eyes told him she felt the same way, but she couldn't bring herself to say them. They'll kill him, they already tried. "I'm sorry...." She cried, getting to her feet, "I'm so sorry." She said and darted out of the tepee, Grey Wind to whom she hadn't even noticed, stiffened.


With that, Robyn ran, until she couldn't anymore, out of the village, past the river, even past the trappers hut, leaving everyone behind her. She knew Cole couldn't come after her, even if he wanted to and she knew he would but she had to get as far away from him as she possibly could. The worse was over now, he would be safe. Eventually, she stopped running, and was walking. Her tears long since dried, and now she was nothing, empty, and numb. Just like she'd been all those years ago. She didn't slit his throat, no, she only cut out his heart, breaking her own in the process.

"Should have seen that coming, should have kept my fucking mouth fuck, son of a..." he brought his fist down on the hard ground with enough force he heard a pop in his pinkie. "Great, now this on top of," he looked down at his stomach, "the rest of this nuisance. Fucking..." He felt his eyes welling for the first time since his mother had died. "Oh for fucks..." This was it, he was well and truly shattered. He could only imagine how she was feeling. There was that gnawing again. Grey wind looked from Cole to where Robyn had gone, to Cole, then back to the doorway. "Go ahead, you too, get, GET" he ended up screaming at the unfortunate wolf who left, tail between its legs.

He finally understood how his father felt as he looked over at the .45. He wasn't going to, but he understood. For the first time in almost ten years, Cole wept.

Timberwolf had seen the aftermath and a scared Grey Wind take off after Robyn. He sighed, he could only guess at what had happened. He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair debating whether or not to follow her and figure out what had happened, though he could guess. At the very least he needed to make sure she didn't do anything stupid. Though he could probably say the same for Cole. Fuck this got complicated quickly. He went over to Jack who was sitting just outside his tepee. "Jack, keep an eye on Coles tepee for a while, I'm going out into the woods for a while." Jack raised an eyebrow but did as he was told.

Timberwolf tracked her down and followed her at a safe distance. He knew this would not be the time to say anything until she had either stopped, or seemed more receptive to the relative unknown that he was. Luckily for him Grey Wind seemed to have a similar idea. The large wolf ran in front of her and stopped dead in front of her and wouldn't let her move farther, but he also wasn't pushing her back. He seemed to be looking for an explanation as to why his new friend was sad, she had run far away, and Cole had yelled at him. The confused wolf sat in front of her and looked up at her with a cocked head.