Jack stabbed downward with everything he had. His victim evaded his strikes over and over, driving him into a rage. Until, at last, he finally drove the steel he wielded through its skin. His victim lay there bleeding out the red fluid of life from the puncture marks Jack's weapon had left. "Where did you even get cherry tomatoes on this planet? Especially in the middle of winter!"

Em'brel muffled her laughter behind a hand as Angela explained, her virtual face a stoic mask. "That's the last batch I had in stasis. I figured a fresh salad would be a nice reward for how far you've come! As a bonus, it also provides excellent practice to help you improve your fine motor control!"

Jack glared suspiciously at his unusually austere sister. "And I suppose it had nothing to do with how amusing it is to watch me try and eat said salad?"

Angela waved away his concerns in a haughty manner. "Of course not! We're both far more professional than that! Our only concern is your health and recovery!"

Angela's stone serious face didn't even budge as Em'brel audibly choked back another laugh while Jack started chasing another tomato around his plate. The girl's eyes were beginning to tear up from the effort of not laughing out loud.

Jack sighed in a way that clearly expressed his immense patience and long-suffering, but inside he was actually quite pleased. It was nice to see Em'brel allowing herself to have fun again, she'd wallowed in guilt long enough, and it was heartening to see the return of the clever and impish girl Jack knew so well.

Now, if only this stupid tomato would stop causing so much trouble! Once more, the persistent thing slipped out from under Jack's fork, making a line for the plate's edge before being caught by the raised edge and looping around a bit, settling a little closer to the center. Jack sighed and stabbed at it again.

-

S'haar was starting to get worried. The food supplies were adequate, but the wood they'd gathered was beginning to look a little thin. She figured they had a few more days, but the freeze didn't seem like it was going to end any time soon. It was probably about time for them to start considering plan b.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Lon'thul's shout from the other end of the room. "Chief me!" S'haar could tell from here that his red pieces on the board were considerably outnumbered by Tel'ron's black, but the young hunter was always so excited to get a piece to the board's end and get it 'chiefed.' S'haar suspected he might be missing the point of the game, but decided as long as everyone was having fun, it didn't matter. She'd long ago given up on telling him the actual phrase was 'king me,' after a while, she'd decided he was doing it on purpose just to get a reaction out of her.

Once again, her musings were interrupted, this time by Fea'en's more subtle declaration. "Check."

Looking at her own game board, she could see the older woman had taken advantage of her distraction to sandwich S'haar between a knight, rook, and now a bishop. S'haar had let herself get a little overconfident after taking the craft master's queen, and she was now paying the price.

However, she wasn't out of options yet. Moving her king to the side, she waited to see if Fea'en would notice her own knight's position before recommitting to the attack.

This time it was the older woman's turn to be distracted as she echoed S'haar's earlier thoughts. "This freeze looks to be a long one, and our wood supplies are a little low."

Fea'en was analyzing the board. S'haar was worried the other woman would notice the knight, so decided now was a great time to bring up her distraction...or rather, her plan. "I was just thinking that myself. In another day or two, it might be time to move you all to the caves."

S'haar couldn't tell if the distraction worked or not. Rather than move the bishop again as she'd hoped, Fea'en instead chose to move the rook to narrow the king's possible avenues of escape. S'haar brought her own rook up to threaten Fea'en's bishop in an attempt to encourage the woman to commit the piece to battle.

There was an unspoken question evident on Fea'en's face, and S'haar chose to come right out and address it rather than waiting for it to fully formulate. "It's not a perfect solution, but the dragon values your lives far more than her privacy. Besides, this was always our backup plan if the freeze was too much for this building to handle."

Once more, rather than move the bishop, Fea'en chose to move a different piece. This time she moved a knight up to protect her bishop, forcing S'haar to decide whether taking the bishop was worth losing her rook. As S'haar considered her options, the older woman spoke again. "So how do you propose to get us to the cave? Even with our coats, that journey is too far in these temperatures. We'd risk severe damage to ourselves and our livelihoods. Do you have more suits like yours?"

S'haar thought the older woman needed another distraction and brought her queen around to threaten Fea'en's king. "Check. No, we've only got the one, but we have a sled and lots of insulating materials. It would be easy enough to bundle one person up at a time, pack them in with heating packets, and have the person in the suit drag them to the cave. That way, there's no risk of frostbite."

Fea'en positioned her own rook between S'haar's queen and her king so that if S'haar took the rook, the king would take her queen, and if she did nothing, the rook would take her queen. Trying to hide her scowl, S'haar positioned her queen to threaten Fea'en's king from a corner space instead. "Check. There's just one issue. The dragon and Jack have many secrets, and they aren't ready to reveal all of them to the world just yet. So we'll need you all to swear an oath of secrecy."

As predicted, Fea'en moved her rook to protect her king again, but at least it wasn't threatening S'haar's queen anymore, and more importantly, it was now tied up so S'haar could begin to make her own escape. The older woman spoke as S'haar decided how to best make her escape. "That shouldn't be an issue. We won't swear fealty or anything like that, and our oaths will be conditional on none of these secrets being a threat to our people or village, but our lives are certainly worth keeping a few secrets for."

S'haar positioned her king so that she should be able to break out of the trap next turn. "Alright, we'll hold an oath ceremony tomorrow. The day after, we'll start moving you all to the cave."

Fea'en nodded before moving a pawn two squares forward. "Checkmate."

S'haar blinked. She'd completely forgotten the pawn. It hadn't moved the entire game, and in trying to keep track of all the other 'important' pieces, it had ceased to be a factor in her mind.

In her ear, Angela was tutting S'haar's oversight. "Never underestimate the importance of a pawn!" S'haar grimaced in response, wanting to respond but not wanting to look like she was talking to herself. Not that the workers hadn't seen her 'speak to herself' before, but they still weren't used to it either.

S'haar looked up at the uncharacteristically cheerful Fea'en grinning back at her. "That was a good game. Got time for another?"

S'haar sighed before resetting the board. "All we have is time."

-

Later that night, when S'haar made it back to the ship, she was astounded to see Jack walking! Albeit with some aid. He was strapped into a wheeled contraption that helped him balance while his hands were tightly gripped onto handles set at waist height. Em'brel was shadowing his every move with her hands hovering just out of touching distance as he awkwardly shuffled forward. Upon seeing S'haar, Jack lost his focus and started to slip before Em'brel quickly grabbed hold to steady him. "You're doing good! You almost made it across the whole room this time!"

Jack's face was beaded with sweat, though S'haar was happy to see a grin on his face, even if it was tinged with a bit of embarrassment. "Yeah, well, I'll be a lot happier once I can get around without a walker again. I'm both way too old and way too young to be needing one for long!"

S'haar cocked her head to the side. "Not that I want to get in the way of all the progress you've been making, but do you think you'll be up for a trip outside tomorrow?"

There was more than one pair of eyes filled with confusion suddenly directed at S'haar, so she explained. "The workers are running out of fuel, so I think we'll need to move them in here with us. Before we do that, I want them to swear an oath of secrecy. Since this is your home, you're the one they'll need to pledge their oath to."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Jack looked a little confused but eventually relented. "Huh, I guess that makes sense." He then tilted his head to the side. "Angela, any chance we can get a basic wheelchair ready to go by then?"

Angela appeared nearby with a chart in hand. "We've got plenty of raw materials with which to make one, but you won't be using it long enough to be worth investing any bells or whistles into it, so it'll be pretty bare-bones."

S'haar's face expressed the confusion that was voiced by Em'brel. "What's a whistle, and why does your wheeled-chair need a bell?"

-

This section of the cave was still relatively warm, and a coat was enough for Em'brel, but she couldn't go any further with S'haar and Jack.

Instead, she was obsessively checking the straps holding Jack to his chair and his chair to the sled in turn. "Jack's made a lot of progress, but you'll still have to keep a close eye on him. Sometimes he still gets dizzy and loses his balance."

Angela cut in as well. "Even though he's eating and drinking, it's probably best to avoid anything other than some water until he's back home to avoid any complications!"

Jack waved the two women off in an annoyed manner. "We'll be fine, moms! We're just going to the workers' billet and back, not on some cross country venture. S'haar's made the trip a half dozen times in as many days! What's more, Angela, you'll be coming along for the ride, so if there are any 'complications,' you'll be the first to know!"

Angela didn't have much to say, but Em'brel still looked worried. "It's just that..."

Jack cut her off with a smile and a hand gesture. "Listen, you've been taking care of me day and night for nearly a week. Go watch a movie, take a bath, or whatever catches your fancy. All work and no play isn't good for anyone! We'll probably be back around lunchtime."

Jack sat back, and his grin widened. "Besides, look at me! I'm as fit as a horse on the way to a glue factory!"

S'haar and Em'brel both looked confused. Angela was standing with her arms crossed and a rather 'put out' expression on her face. "I was half tempted not to let the translator pick up that last part. That was a terrible joke!"

Em'brel still had her head cocked to the side. "I know what a horse is from watching movies, but what is a glue factory, and what does one have to do with anything?"

Jack's laughter wasn't any help, and Angela simply shook her head and sighed. "Don't encourage him. You're happier not knowing!"

S'haar walked over to the smaller argu'n and gave her a hug before speaking. "Listen, I'll keep a close eye on Jack. He'll be my number one priority the whole time we're gone. Jack's right though, you deserve a break. If you're anxious, you can check-in anytime with the headset. That's the whole reason we have them remember?"

Em'brel reached up to her headset as if she'd forgotten all about it, then nodded. "Alright, but if anything goes wrong, you let me know immediately!"

Jack interjected. "Listen, if all of you are done fawning over me like some nursemaids who found a helpless kitten, we'd better get going. The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll be back!"

Realizing there wasn't anything else to say, Em'brel merely nodded and watched as S'haar helped Jack double-check that he had everything he needed in his satchel, then started dragging the sled through the cave. After a few moments, the younger argu'n turned and went back inside.

-

As the two made their way through the cave, S'haar brought a hand to the headset. "Angela, could I ask you to give us a little privacy? Just until we reach the billet."

Angela's voice came through to both Jack and S'haar. "I suppose you two deserve a little privacy. If anything goes wrong, just say my name twice in a row, and I'll be right there. Angela out."

S'haar pulled the sled in silence a moment before looking over her shoulder. "How're you holding up?"

Jack put a big smile on his face as he replied. "I'm doing great! Angela says my recovery is actually ahead of schedule. In another week, I should be walking under my own power, albeit I'll probably need a cane for a while after that."

S'haar was silent for a few more moments before speaking up again. "That's not what I meant. How are YOU doing?"

Jack's smile slipped a little and took on a more languid appearance that was reflected in his voice. "Honestly? I'm tired. The process of fighting my way out of the coma felt like an epic journey all on its own. Then, after I woke up, I had expected to need some rehabilitation, but this" Jack waved his arms around himself, " was more than I was ready for. The constant pity in everyone's eyes weighs on me all day long. When I exercise, all I really want to do is lie down and rest, but the more I push myself now, the more complete my recovery will be, so that's just not an option. Then, when I have to rest to recover for the next session, all I can do is stress because I'm not currently working on getting better."

Jack's sigh wavered a bit as his emotions bubbled to the surface. "I don't think I've ever been so physically, mentally, or spiritually exhausted in all my life. I keep wondering when I'll finally collapse under it all, but somehow I have to find just a bit more energy, so I push a little further... Sorry if that got a little heavy..."

S'haar shook her head. When she spoke, her voice was blessedly free of pity or judgment. "No, that is what I was asking for. I was getting the feeling that you were putting up a bit of a cheerful face in front of the other two as we were setting off, but you need to know, It's ok not to be perfect all the time. For what it's worth, given...everything...I think you're doing better than anyone had any right to expect of you. If it finally gets to be too much and you need to take a break, that's fine too."

Jack was silent for a moment before replying. His voice came out tired, but it was also had a touch of relief. "Well, thanks. I mean it. But for now, I have a little more energy...so I plan to keep pushing myself as long as I'm able. There will be time to rest later. Maybe I'll take a month or two off when all this is said and done!"

S'haar nodded. They were nearing the part of the cave where it was cold enough that she had to put her mask on. Before doing so, she stopped and turned around, walking closer until she stood towering over Jack. "Well, that's fine. For the record, I don't pity you. If anything, I think I've come to respect you a little more. So keep up the hard work..."

S'haar leaned in a little closer, speaking softly into Jack's ear. "and maybe one day, you'll get to enjoy the meat of your hunt!" With that, S'haar gave Jack a playful nibble along his jawline before pulling her mask in place and securing the fasteners. Jack suddenly felt warm in a way that had nothing to do with the freezing cave's ambient temperature.

-

When they arrived at the billet, it took S'haar a moment to clear a spot to unstrap Jack's chair and quickly wheel him inside so they'd waste as little heat as possible. Once inside, S'haar began the familiar ritual of removing the bulky suit. As she did so, it quickly became apparent that all eyes were focused on Jack.

The looks in the eyes ranged from worry to pity, and Jack started to worry about how awkward this was going to be when Lon'thul spoke up loudly from his seat. "Wow! S'haar told us you were in rough shape, Jack, but you look like hell!"

Everyone was staring at Lon'thul with expressions ranging from horror to rage, and S'haar was opening her mouth to unload a furious tirade unlike any she'd ever given before when Jack beat her to the punch, forcing her to translate instead. "Wow, Lon'thul! Kicking a cripple while he's down is the epitome of lame! I won't stand for it in my own camp... Then again, I'm not standing for much these days..." Jack had a grin that strangely mirrored Lon'thul's as he spoke.

Everyone looked back and forth with blank expressions, utterly lost at how to respond in the face of Lon'thul's inappropriate statement, followed by Jack's equally problematic puns. The silence only lasted a moment before it was broken by Lon'thoul's barking laughter. He walked right up to Jack and slapped the man on the back, utterly oblivious to the death glare S'haar was drilling into the hunter's back. "And here S'haar had us all worried that you might not be the Jack we've all gotten to know up till now, but you seem alright to me! If you can make a joke like that, you're gonna be fine in no time!"

Lon'thul handed Jack a mug of a drink that S'haar quickly whisked away before requesting some water instead. As the hunter sat back at the fire, he indicated a clear spot next to himself. S'haar wheeled Jack over while Lon'thul continued speaking in the overly cheerful manner of his. "You're here so we can perform a big official oath ceremony. But first, you gotta tell me more about this god of death you spoke with! Did you really tell her off? Come on man, details, I need details!"

Jack grinned mischievously and started moving his arms around to emphasize his words as he spoke. "So for the record, I don't know if this was real, or just some fever dream brought on by a near-death experience, but to begin with, I found myself in the middle of nowhere. I'm not saying I was lost in the wilderness or anything. This was the most literal 'nowhere' you've ever heard of, there was no ground, but I wasn't falling, floating, or flying. There was no light, but I could see clearly through the gloom. I'd been stuck there for longer than any sane man should have been when this voice comes out of nowhere and just says, 'Hello.'"

S'haar sat back and relaxed while translating Jack's incredible tale. Everyone present was captivated by every word, and their eyes were filled with nothing but wonder as the story unfolded. Maybe it was just her imagination, but she thought that Jack seemed to be sitting a little taller, and his arms seemed to have just a bit more strength in them than they had back in the cave.

She had to admit it was one hell of a story.