The camp was silent, except for the occasional pop of the low-burning fire. Gus had been as quiet as he could, gathering his things together. There wasn't much. Blanket in a bundle. Loose scrap and brass, haphazard in a bag. Clothes on his back. The shield. He'd have to figure out a better way to carry that, down the line.
Slowly, quietly, he stood. People you care about are difficult to leave behind. This wouldn't hurt. Hurt wasn't something Ol' Gus was familiar with, anymore. The oft-broken right arm, the old stomach wound, the new bits...none of 'em hurt. Certainly not his heart. Thanks, Big Fungus. What a pal.
He felt her behind him, before he heard her. "So. You're leaving."
"Figure that one out on your own?" he asked sarcastically.
"Wasn't hard. You were sitting on the opposite side of the fire, lookin' antsy as everything. You barely ate. Hell, you barely spoke." The priestess folded her arms. "You were waiting for the right time, all night."
"You gonna stop me?"
"You want me to?"
He frowned. "I'm leaving, Little Light. It's time."
"You comin' back?"
"Remains to be seen," he said, finally taking the first step. Then another. Didn't hurt at all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Her steps fell in time with his, as he left the camp behind. Fuming, he ignored her for as long as he could. Hours. Long enough that the fire, or even the two old beaters the Lucky 7s rolled around in, could no longer be seen."I could die out here, you know."
"Could do," she said.
"I could leave you, too, some time when you're sleeping."
"Could do," she said.
He stopped, and growled through clenched teeth. "I could wrap my hands 'round your little neck, strangle the life out of you."
"Could do," she said, still walking. "But, you won't."
This time, he fell into step behind her, the rhythm of their footfalls the only sound. "Why are you here?" he asked, finally.
It was several minutes before she replied. "You're walkin' around in the dark, Gus. Someone's gotta light the way back. Roscoe won't do it, not right now. Soarin can't, bless 'em. So, it's gotta be me."
"I've been walkin' out here long enough, I can see just fine. Besides," he grunted, "sun'll come up, soon enough."
She spun, and punched him full in the chest. "In here, dummy! Your heart is blind and stupid, and you can't see where you're going!" She grabbed his beard tails, both of them, and pulled his face close to hers. "You can walk away from the Light, Gus Thomasson, but the Light will not walk away from you."
He narrowed his eyes for a moment, and then he sighed with his whole body. "Six or eight more hours, and we can be back in that last little town. Stop there, get some rest and food. Figure out where we're going next."
Satisfied, she let go, turned, and resumed walking. Quietly, he followed.
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