Crime Doesn't Pay

[seren1]

Emori could see why the scout might be reluctant to tell her everything about herself, they were more or less strangers to each other and she knew what it was like to want to keep things to herself, especially when she was around people that she didn’t trust completely. Although, now she at least understood the frustration that came with having information kept from her, but whatever it was that Klara was keeping from her was personal and Emori could respect that she didn’t have a right to pressure her into telling her anything that she wasn’t comfortable discussing. The girl had saved her life, for whatever reason and Emori kind of owed her for that. “I have to follow you, I don’t really have a choice when the only alternative is to go wandering through unfamiliar territory alone, I’d probably walk right into some of your warriors and we both know how that would end” she told Klara when she spoke about having to keep some of the mystery about her and suggested that if she didn’t then she wouldn’t be following her at that moment.

Perhaps she’d been a bit quick to defend herself when she realised that Klara had not been accusing her of being at fault for her injuries. Emori was confused about the life that Klara seemed to lead, she spoke about how injuries weren’t uncommon for her and about how she was used to it. Emori knew that life was dangerous, but she’d become quite accustomed to avoiding those that might have the intention of hurting her and Otan, hearing that there were people even within the clans that had to worry about being severely harmed every day of their lives came as a surprise to her. She knew that there were always dangers, but she always assumed that those who were a part of a clan would lead more comfortable lives than she did. “I prefer to avoid people who are dangerous, seeking them out just seems to be asking for trouble” she voiced her opinion, not completely understanding what Klara did and how she came to be injured so often.

“You’re very lucky” Emori told Klara as the other girl spoke about how her injury wouldn’t prove fatal “it could have been a lot worse, but I don’t suppose I need to tell you that” if what she said was true about how often she was injured, then Emori thought that it was safe to assume that she’d had worse and knew how bad things could have been. “It’s better for you if no questions get asked, I’ll be long gone in a couple of hours and I won’t be coming back for a while” she muttered, rolling her eyes. If Klara was caught and punished for helping her to escape, then that was hardly her problem, she hadn’t forced the woman to do what she’d done. Emori definitely wasn’t worried about the scout giving away anything of her location because Klara had no idea where she was heading and it was unlikely that the warriors would risk their lives by following her into the dead zone if they managed to track her that far, once she was off their territory she was no longer their problem.

Once they reached the cave and Klara invited her inside, Emori was at first cautious but entered the cave with barely any hesitation. She’d rather face the cave than be left outside to deal with the warriors that were searching for them. “Sit, I’ll take a look at your shoulder” she said, gesturing for Klara to take a seat on the floor.

Klara

[Klara]

Klara didn't want to talk about her life to Emori, she was still a stranger. But apparently, the thief understood that and Klara was thankful for her not to insist. After all, everybody had some things they didn't want to talk about especially with strangers. Actually, the scout was pretty sure that Emori was keeping things from her too and she didn't mind it. If she wanted to say something, Klara would listen but she won't make her speak about something she didn't want to talk about. "I know, I was joking... Why are you that much on the defensive? I just want to help..." Klara didn't expected an answer to that question, it was just that the girl seemed to overeact everytime Klara said something. The scout was aware of what would have happened to Emori if she had left her in Trikru territory on her own. That was why she had done what she did.

Klara noticed how surprised the thief seemed to be when she spoke about getting hurt quite often. She assumed that the girl didn't know much about the scout life. She probably didn't know much about life in a clan neither. Klara didn't recognize any of the clans when she looked at Emori so she assumed she was a nomad. But honestly, Klara didn't really care about where she was from. "Well... As a scout, I need to get very close to dangerous people sometimes to get the informations I've been sent to get... But when I'm not on a mission I prefer to avoid dangerous people too." When she wasn't on mission, she spent time with the orphans, taking care of them but she also liked spending some time on her own in the woods. That was what she was doing when Emori attacked her.

Klara was aware that her injury could have been worse but it was what she had to handle for saving the thief and it didn't make her regreting what she did even if Emori was beginning to get on Klara's nerves. The scout could understand that the girl was on the defensive after what happened but she didn't like the fact that the girl was treating her of being selfish. "Listen, I know you don't trust me and I don't ask you to because honestly I don't trust you either. But one of the first things you'll learn about me is that I'm not the kind of person who only thinks about herself. I think others more or at least as important as myself." Klara could have just came back to TonDC to see a healer and she could have handled the questions about what happened. But she didn't, she decided to help the girl until the end knowing that if she didn't go after her to help her hiding, the thief's chances to get out of Trikru territory without walking into warriors weren't very high. So Emori didn't have the right to say that Klara did that because it was better for herself. She wasn't like that, she put others first.

Klara got in the cave first letting to Emori all the time she needed to follow her. "Make yourself comfortable" Klara said when she noticed that the girl finally came in. As Emori told her to sit so she could take a look at her wound, Klara gave her a smile and said "Okay. Thank you for doing that." before sitting down.

seren1

[seren1]

"You'd be a little defensive too if you were in my position" Emori argued, Klara had saved her life and she probably could act a little more appreciative because of that, but it was hard for her to put her trust in somebody that was a stranger to her, even if she didn't appear to be hostile. "You're not the first person who's claimed that they wanted to help me, their views on what help meant differed from mine" she explained, it didn't matter if somebody offered her their help, what mattered was if they were being truthful or just trying to earn her trust so that they could take her by surprise and put her out of her misery. It was difficult to judge what people's true intentions were, so she opted not to trust them, she'd rather act distrustfully than put her trust in somebody who only meant to murder her.

Emori listened with interest as Klara explained what her job as a scout involved. Emori thought that it sounded like a very risky job, she definitely didn't think it sounded appealing. Survival was the most important thing to her, ensuring her own survival as well as Otan's and it sounded as though a scouts job wasn't to worry too much about self preservation. "You must be good at your job considering you're still alive" she said, she couldn't pretend as if she understood how clans worked considering that she'd never been part of one but from what she'd learnt so far, scouts didn't seem to have it much better than she did whilst they were out on the 'missions' Klara spoke of.

When Klara snapped at her, Emori was a little surprised, especially as it had taken so long for her patience to finally wear thin after how ungratefully she'd been acting since Klara had saved her. The scout was definitely a very different person than she was, whilst Klara claimed to be completely unselfish and spoke about thinking about other people more than she thought about herself, Emori couldn't say the same about herself. She only thought about herself and her brother, she couldn't say that she cared much about the survival of anyone else, she didn't owe them anything. "All I'm saying is that if no questions are asked, it won't really benefit me because I won't be here for much longer anyway and I doubt your warriors will track me where I'm going" she clarified, aware that she'd angered the woman and wanting to ensure that the situation remained calm.

Emori crouched down in front of Klara when the other woman sat down and took the time to tear a strip of cloth from the bottom of her shirt. She knew that she'd need something to bind the wound with after she'd taken the arrow out to stop the flow of blood until Klara got back to her village and could be seen by a real healer. "This is probably going to hurt a lot, try not to make too much noise, okay?" she informed her, trying to prepare her for the pain that would come with extracting the arrow from her shoulder.

Klara

[Klara]

"Maybe. We can't know how we would react in a situation until we live this situation..." Klara admitted, Emori wasn't totally wrong, maybe Klara would react just like she did if the roles were reversed. Plus, if people had already use the fact that she gave them her trust, it was understandable that Emori didn't want this to happen again so she had a point. "Well... Then tell me what I can do to prove you that I really just want to help" Klara didn't like the tension between them, she just wanted to help and why not befriend with the thief but for that Emori had to believe that Klara didn't mean to harm her. But she knew it was hard to trust others especially when they weren't of the same clan. However, she also knew that sometimes you don't have the choice and trusting someone you don't know can be your only chance.

Seeing how carefully she was listening at her while she was explaining her job, Klara understood that Emori wasn't familiar with the clans and the job you can have when you're part of one. But she didn't want to make the girl withdraw into herself because she asked her questions that she didn't want to answer to. So, she just kept this in mind in case they began to speak later. And as Emori said that she had to be good at her job, Klara answered "In this job it's not only your skills that count, luck is also a huge factor..." Survival wasn't something easy even when you had skills but Klara had a feeling like she didn't need to tell this to Emori, because if her instinct was right, surviving was probably the life of the thief. And Klara was well placed to know that.

Realizing that her reaction was maybe a little excessive, Klara took a deep breath to relax a little, Emori had really uspet her saying that but it wasn't a good reason to yell at her like that. Once she calmed down, Klara said "You know, you should maybe consider staying for a bit longer than what you think if you want to be almost sure to get out of Trikru territory safe... Warriors are going to look for you for a while..." It wouldn't be safe for Emori to try to run away from Trikru territory until the warriors stop looking for her so she would have to stay there for a little while. But Klara will be here to help her until the time to go.

Once Klara had sat down, she watched Emori crouching down next to her and tearing her shirt to have a piece of cloth to stop the bleeding. Then, when the thief told her that she needed to try not to make too much noice, Klara gave her a little smile before nodding at her "Don't worry for me, just do it." Klara knew that it was going to be painful but she was ready for that.

seren1

[seren1]

“If you’re smart you’ll be wary of strangers” Emori warned the other woman, she knew that not everybody could be trusted and a lot of nomads would think nothing of killing her and taking the clothes from her back. Emori didn’t really know Klara well but she could see that the scout had a kind heart, she wouldn’t have helped her if she didn’t but that could also get her killed if she wasn’t more cautious of strangers, especially those that appeared to be hostile. When Klara asked her about what would make her trust her, Emori didn’t know how to answer her, it was difficult to earn her trust because she’d spent her whole life having to be wary of people and all that time she knew that people would willingly try to kill her and her brother just because they were a little different than they were, it wasn’t an easy burden to carry. “Time…” she eventually muttered “I think only time will completely assure me that you can be trusted” and she knew that they didn’t have long together, because she would leave as soon as she was able and Emori doubted they’d meet again, she didn’t keep friends.

Emori was definitely intrigued by the life scouts like Klara seemed to live “do you often leave things up to luck?” she asked Klara. She didn’t like how that sounded, it sounded like a risky way to do things. Emori didn’t like to leave things up to luck, she liked to keep the risk to herself and Otan at a minimum and she was sure that she’d often fail in doing this if she left it down to luck. She didn’t have the best luck in life, she didn’t want to rely on her lousy luck when she could assess the risk level and make decisions based on that. That way she ensured her safety and she got to live. “That sounds dangerous” she added, not convinced that it was a healthy way to live.

“I can’t stay here for long!” Emori snapped, shooting down Klara’s suggestion in a tone that was perhaps harsher than necessary. “It’s not just me that I have to worry about, I need to get back to my brother” Emori knew that Otan could look after himself, he was more than capable but it didn’t stop her from worrying. What if he was ambushed by a group of nomads in the deadzone, he could fight but she doubted his chances if he was outnumbered and if they discovered what he was then they’d want him dead. The scenario was unlikely but it could happen and it didn’t stop her from worrying for him whenever they were away from each other for longer than planned. “It’s dangerous to be out there alone, you should understand that” she told Klara, hoping that it would be possible for her to leave soon and that she wouldn’t be trapped there for a long while.

Emori smirked as Klara told her not to worry about her and to just do it, she didn’t know if Klara was prepared for the pain of having an arrow ripped from her flesh but she’d soon find out how much it hurt. The nomad took hold of the shaft of the arrow, taking a good firm grip on it so that she could do it in one fluid movement and not prolong Klara’s pain. “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you” she chuckled slightly before bracing herself against the other woman’s shoulder and giving a short, sharp tug, ripping the arrow free from Klara’s shoulder.

Klara

[Klara]

"How can you know for sure that I'm not wary of strangers?" Klara asked as a reply as Emori told her she should be wary of strangers. She really thought what she just said, how could this girl she just met be sure that she wasn't careful when she met strangers? It was such a lie, maybe she wasn't as wary as the other grounders could be but she was and she knew it could seem weird to the others but that was just why she was her and not any other grounder. Her instinct was one of the main things that made her along with being an orphan and never knowing her father who died during a war. And deep down, she knew she shouldn't always trust it but it never really disappointed her or put her in too much danger and she wanted to believe that some people were worth taking the risk, that there was still hope. She knew she sounded crazy but that was why when Emori told her that only time could make her trust her, Klara nodded to show her that she understood "Okay... but just know I don't want to harm you.".

It was kinda amusing to see how intrigued the thief seemed to be. "Well, I just mean that luck is an important factor but it's not the only one" Klara answered as Emori spoke about leaving things to luck. Klara might be crazy but she wasn't suicidal and she was well aware that luck didn't make everything but sometimes it helped a lot especially when your job was as risky as hers. Plus, luck was something she had lacked during her whole childhood so she wasn't silly enough to believe that as she had lacked of it back then, life would be nice enough to give her more luck now. "My job stays dangerous leaving things to luck or not anyway. There are too many unknowns."

"Okay, I won't try to prevent you from going out there if that's what you want but it would totally mean that you're ready to leave things to luck..." Klara said softly hands up to insist on the fact that she won't do anything to force her to stay even if she thought it was wiser. When Emori evoked her brother, Klara's big sibling instinct immediately came to the surface, she understood how the thief was feeling even if the orphans weren't really her siblings. "I understand that you're worry about your brother but you won't be able to help him if you get caught..." Klara began to reply but before she could finish, Emori told her how dangerous it was to be on your own outside and Klara added "Of course I know that. That's actually why I was going to offer to help you find him once night will have fallen, when the warriors will be less numerous... because if it's dangerous for him to be alone, it's also dangerous for you...". Klara really was ready to help.

"I'll let you say I told you so..." Klara said chuckling. She just had time to clench her teeth when Emori removed the arrow from her shoulder and despite her attempt to contain any sound, a small groan left her mouth at the pain. Klara could now feel her blood running down her back but quickly Emori wrapped her shoulder in the piece of cloth she had torn from her shirt and tightened it so it would stop tye bleeding.

seren1