Light forested clearing by the river

Sid finishes his tea and sets the bowl aside. Cat's isn't an uncommon way of doing business. He had lived the life of a ranger for a time himself. Things had changed eventually though and gold became a concern. Thinking on coin brought his hand to his purse, he was still flush from his bounty. He would add it to his growing hoard hidden away some place safe. With a belly full of tea and jerky he was feeling fairly relaxed. Tossing another log on the fire and then stretching out on the ground closing his eyes. He probably shouldn't sleep like this but he was exhausted. Getting up and setting his tent seemed like too much work right now.

"If that works for you, that works for you. You could put your skills to use though. I saw you shoot, once you started actually trying to hit you were as good, if not better than me. You could be a bounty hunter. Or if you are any good on that horse, which I assume you are if you are riding bare back, join the mounted archers. Do you just not want the coin? Or do you just not want to shoot people?"

Sid simply grunts at Cat's pronouncement of her superiority. He had his pride, but he knew he wasn't the best shot. He could hit a moving target at fifty yards and that was a good as he needed to be. There were too many other skills he needed to have to perfect archery. Her position on not taking human life though... He remembers the first time he had to kill a man. A woman screaming then silence, a bestial grunting laugh, hands covered in blood. He rolls over and shoves the memory aside. What she said make her seem gentle, which was at odds with how she tried to murder him in the rive.

"Well I'm not a fan of it myself. Still sometimes life forces you to make a choice. A choice between acting or letting people suffer. You lose something when you make that choice, no matter how it resolves. I hope you are never have to face that."

He falls into silence and tries to pretend he is asleep. She had drudged up bad memories, maybe not on purpose but they were there.

Sid doesn't do much better than Cat in the sleep department. It wasn't just bad memories keeping him up. It was the cold, the hard ground, and the repeated rousing to add fuel to the fire. An hour after the sun sets he gets sick of freezing his arse off and pitches his tent in the dark. Once it is pitched he sets up his bed roll which would be far more comfortable. Of course instead of taking it for himself he goes over to Cat. He tries to stir her to wakefulness and get her to go in the tent. If that fails he just carries her in and sets her on the bedroll. Specter joins them wedging himself between the two. With three bodies the tent would warm up nicely. What the hell was even happening in his life? Somehow he went from being pissed off at this woman, to her trying to kill him, to sharing a fire with her, to giving up his bed roll to her. Sighing in confused frustration Sid finally manages to drift off to sleep.

The morning sunlight hit the side of the tent and Sid slowly stirs awake. There is a blanket on him now, that was new. He supposed Cat had awakened in the middle of the night and shared it. Doing his best not to wake her, but likely failing given the cramped quarters, Sid exist the tent. He rinses out his mouth with river water and then with Specter heads out to find breakfast. Sid finds some fresh berries and nuts after careful searching. The wolf catches a couple of rabbits. Specter keeps one for himself and Sid skins, guts, and spites the other. After breakfast it would be time to break camp and then... He wasn't sure what he would do next. Probably find another job.

Food was offered to Catriona, it was only fair she shared her jerky last night. A leg of roasted rabbit and a handful of berries. Not the most filling meal ever had, but enough to start a day. Well Specter and Cat watched Sid broke down his camp. Rolling his bed roll up and packing his tent. A sharp whistle brought the courser back from it's grazing and he loaded up the saddle bags. Looks like it was almost time to get going. Placing his palms on his back he cracks his spine and lets out a terrific yawn. Then he clambers into the saddle right as Cat asked a question. What was he going to do now? The same thing he had been wondering last night. He didn't have a better answer for her than he had for himself.

"Probably find another bounty to chase. Make the world a better place and get paid for it. Seems like a good deal to me. How about yourself Catriona? Going to continue hunting, foraging, and exploring."

Sid blinked in surprise at Catriona. Had she just asked if she could travel with him? She had. It had been in a rather back handed way, but she had. For some reason he could feel a bit of a blush rise to his cheeks. He fought that down, though he did avoid looking at her. Instead focusing his attention on adjusting his reigns. Once his cheeks had resumed normal coloration and a suitable amount of time for thought had passed, he responded.

"If you want to tag along that's... that's fine. Though you do realize I am probably going to wind up shooting people again? It's a rather large job hazard and things will get dangerous. They don't put bounties on nice people and... Well I am sure you know all that. If you still want to come I won't stop you."

With that Sid would wait for Cat to respond and get on her horse. 

<Exit to the Northern River Outposts.>