Upon entering the camp, General Zayn and Iris got odd looks from all of the other soldiers. Iris knew within a moment that they would be confused by Kayde's presence. The first to speak up was Ra.
"Whoa. Why is he here?" he paused for a moment, "Damn, what happened to the lad?"
"He got into it with those wolves. He killed them all..." the general said, "He did it for us. Which means he will be traveling with us until he gets to where he's going. I figured we might as well put his sword arm to good use..."
"He took out all of the wolves?" Shen asked, blinking back his surprise.
General Zayn simply nodding in response, giving Kayde a sideways glance. Iris felt the pride light in her eyes at her mentor, knowing that it was far more than she could've ever done. Not to mention that he took out all of the wolves without help. Given, they did a significant amount of damage to him as well... but still.
"Wow," the archer replied, "Impressive."
"It is," said Dregar from behind Shen, "And you say he uses a sword?"
"Yes, I do," came Kayde's calm voice, "As you are, I imagine?" he asked Dregar, eyeing the soldier up and down.
"I am."
That was all that was said. Shortly after, Iris, Kayde, and General Zayn dismounted their horses. Iris's feet were the quietest as they impacted the ground, even though she was the only one of the three wearing armor. Given, Kayde came in close second. Iris watched as his black robe swished around his ankles.
After landing, Kayde went and shook hands with all of the men there, and also Iris. When he stood in front her, she watched as a smile flashed across his features. General Zayn noticed this and gave him a curious gaze as Kayde held his hand out to shake Iris's. It was a quick handshake, and shortly after, he turned to the general.
"A rogue?" he surveyed Iris, and then looked back to General Zayn. "You keep interesting company. I can't remember the last time I saw one."
His lie was a smooth one, so smooth that if Iris hadn't been the source of the falsehood, she might've believed it herself. At the mention of her, she gave him a courteous nod, and grazed her daggers with her hands. General Zayn gave him a nod as well, and then spoke soon after. "I try and keep those of all sorts with me. I like to stay well prepared for any situation," he told Kayde, and then went over to his spot at the camp and began rummaging through one of the packs that he had brought with him.
It took a minute or two, but he finally pulled out a set of robes. They weren't anything like the ones Kayde was wearing at the current moment, as Zayn's were a crème color and a little bit shorter as well.
Kayde grabbed them and quickly inspected them.
"Thank you, again," he said and quirked his lips into a grateful half-smile.
"You're welcome. It is the least I can do," Zayn told him and then used his hand to gesture at Kayde, as if he were trying to tell him to go ahead and go change. At the motion, Kayde disappeared behind a couple of nearby trees, and Iris could hear shuffling as he was changing.
Most of the men began settling into their bedrolls, all except for the general and Iris.
"Ingred?" Zayn called out to her.
"Yes?" Iris immediately turned to face him, "What do you need, sir?"
She expected him to give her something to do, like do a perimeter check or something of the sort, but he did not. Instead, he used his hand to motion for her to come over to him. Confused, she stood up and walked until she stood before him. Quickly, Zayn glanced over to the spot where Kayde was still changing.
"Should we watch him overnight to make sure he remains stable? Perhaps in intervals," he asked, "He seems alright, but still... some of his injuries looked pretty bad. What do you think?"
Iris was surprised that he was coming to her for advice, as he was the general. Nevertheless, she did not act shocked. Instead, she took a minute to think. She wanted to say yes, because after all, she could not risk his life. He was not only her mentor, but her friend as well. Yet, she also knew that he would probably disapprove of being looked after.
"I don't know, general. Should we ask him?"
"Eh, he seems to be of a prideful sort." The general made an accurate claim, "Even if he knew he needed it... I doubt he would ask for help. So, what do you think? I know the both of us seem to stay up late anyways. Well, I can only assume you do because I've seen you outside late at night on more than one occasion."
This made Iris remember the night he had found her practicing that first time with Kayde. She remembered that to be the first real foray into her new weapons. "I suppose I could stay up with him for a while," she told him.
The general nodded. "Wake me up when you're ready to switch watch."
"As you wish," was all Iris said. "For now, you should get some rest while you can."
Zayn gave her a small bow of his head and climbed into his bedroll, closing his eyes right as he laid down.
It only took a few minutes for Kayde to come walking back, now dressed in white.
Iris would've made a smart remark at him, as she had never seen him donned in anything other than his opaque robes, but she knew that all of the men from her scouting group might not be asleep just yet. She knew that it would be strange if she treated him like a comrade already. To the best of their knowledge, she had only just met him.
"Are you feeling any better, Kayde?" she asked quietly, as to not disturb the men in her scouting group.
A bemused smile crossed his features for a few seconds before he composed himself.
"I see the other men have already went to bed," he looked around, "I didn't think I had taken that long changing and getting my bearings together."
"Ah," Iris said, "With all the traveling we've done today, I'm surprised that they weren't in bed faster. We are all very tired."
This made Kayde look Iris up and down, and the flash her a quizzical look. She awaited his words, ones that she knew were coming. She guessed what they were before he even said them.
"Why aren't you in bed, mister... what should I call you?" he feigned bewilderment.
"Ingred. Ingred Gwenneth. I'm not in bed because I am to stay up with you, to ensure that you remain healthy. Well, healthy enough. Is there anything you need?" she asked.
He immediately became shamefaced, and hung his head a little. He gave her a little shake of the head before gazing into her eyes.
"I apologize for the trouble I have caused you, then" he said, and she could tell that he actually meant it, "I hardly meant to be a burden to you or your men."
"Oh, don't worry," Iris gave him a smile, "If it weren't for your help, we might not be here at the present moment. If it weren't for your efforts, I might not be here," she whispered the last part so quietly that Kayde was the only one who could understand what she was saying, and only because he could read her lips.
He gave her a respectful nod, and looked around to confirm that no one had heard the last bit. The next smile he gave her was a sincere one.
"Thank you, Kayde."
This sentence spoke for not only the wolves, but everything else he had done for her. She may have already thanked him for it all, but as far as she was concerned, she could not thank him enough. He seemed to read into what she meant, and gave her a quick squeeze on he shoulder. At that point, she wondered why he'd done so much.
Looking around, she noted that most of the men looked fast asleep. She was surprised that they were already slumbering as they were. She couldn't fall asleep that fast if her life depended on it.
Even so, she moved off a good ways to sit on a log and waited what seemed like a very long time to speak again.
"You're awful quiet, Ingred," Kayde interrupted the lengthy silence as he walked up and took a seat beside her. This made her look over at him.
"Why did you do it?" she whispered.
"Do what?" he asked her.
"What you did," the response was vague, but it was enough to make him understand.
He took a great sigh and also a few minutes to think about her question. As he was deliberating her words, she took a peek at the men, who now appeared to be more asleep than they had the last time she had inspected them. In fact, she heard a few snores. Ra's was the loudest, but she heard a light one coming from Shen's sleeping figure.
"Well," he finally said, "As a Remorda Guardian, it is my duty to protect human life, no matter how big or small. When I was contacted with your actions, I felt a strong obligation to help you. After all, I did know you before this war, Iris. Even though I did not know you very well... I still knew the life I might be saving. And that was enough for me to want to go. And knowing you now? Well, now it's enough for me to stay. You're certainly interesting."
The word -her name- had made her eyes go wide, and check to make sure no one had heard him, even though he had whispered it.
"I still don't right know what that means," Iris admitted.
"In short, it means that I've had years of grueling training so that I might fight for any worthy cause. It means I will spend my whole life adhering to the mark on my arm," he told her.
"You have a mark?"
After she said that, he pulled up one of the robe's sleeves to reveal a black tattoo inked into the underside of his bicep. She couldn't decide what the ridged, but somehow graceful lines of the insignia reminded her of, but she noted that its design looked to be very noble looking. After a moment, she asked him what it meant.
"It means 'In life and death'."
"In life and death what?" she questioned.
"It's hard to explain what it means exactly, but I always perceived it to mean that whether I'm alive or I'm dead, I will do my best to be noble. I will do my best to protect the ones that need my protection and bring about the bane of those who are evil. I will do my best to preserve good in its greatest form," he said, and then added, "What you are doing right now... is something so self-sacrificial and loyal that I find myself wondering if you should be wearing this symbol as well."
"I'm only trying to save my father. I am no true soldier, Kayde."
"Ah, but you are. Do you not see yourself clearly? You are a wonderful combatant. But that is not all. As I just told you, you are doing something truly for the greater good. You are trying to save your father's life."
"At the beginning of all this, you didn't seem so sure of me..." she pointed out, remembering one of their earlier conversations.
"I wasn't sure back then who you'd be. You are making me rethink my skepticism. That is something not a lot of people can do."
"Well, good then," she had no idea what else to say, "Either way, are you ready to go to bed? You of all people need to sleep so you'll heal."
He took a good look around, and then observed the position of the moon before answering her. "That might be wise," he chuckled. "After all, it is getting pretty late. I'll go grab my bedroll from my horse."
He stood from his spot, and walked over to Dhangru. As he was digging through his pack, Iris watched as he wrinkled his nose in disgust. He was no doubt noticing the disorganization she had caused when she was looking for his bandages. She watched him, and he shot her an accusing glance. She returned it with one of her own, looking slightly indignant. With a small laugh that she could not hear, he turned back to his pack. It didn't take long for him to find his bedroll.
Upon finding it, he walked over to her.
"Time for sleep," he said, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Rest well, Mr. Ingred."
"Yes, Goodnight, Kayde. If you happen to need any help, we will all be close. I and General Rothstead will be keeping an eye on you. Try and get some good rest as well. I'm not sure how much we will be traveling tomorrow, so I can't say for sure how much you'll need it. Either way..." she cut off there.
He unraveled his bedroll as she settled into hers beside him.
As he was drifting off, she watched him intently. Iris couldn't help but think on a multitude of things: what tomorrow would bring, what Kayde had told her earlier about being a guardian, and the fight with the wolves. This all took precedence in her mind. Although, her mind did wander to her father every few minutes. She did her best to stop thinking about him.
She knew that he would definitely be thinking about her, and she wished that there were a way for her to contact him and tell her that she was doing fine. However, Iris knew that it was not a possibility, at least not right now.
Kayde was asleep after a small while, a small smile hinting at his lips. Oh, he was lucky.
"Stay well, Kayde," she whispered into the night.