She made a grunt of annoyance as she worked some of the oil underneath one of the buckles that was just a little tricky to get her fingers under. It was too much effort to fish out a tool and it suited her mood to have something simple, mundane to grumble about. So she worked at it, her tongue caught between her teeth, her brow furrowed in effort. She was deep enough into the annoying, satisfying work when movement registered. Her employer leaving camp. Off to make water no doubt. She didn’t really think about it, but just pushed the oil soaked rag just a little deeper under the buckle, finally growing satisfied with her efforts. 

She looked up and noted absently the direction her employer had gone. Into the forest. Why hadn’t he walked along the creek to find a spot for privacy? Case in point why hadn’t he just walked around the tent to piss? She’d made certain it was clear of fire-vine and told him as much. Or had she? Crap. She stood, figuring she’d better stop him before he got himself unlaced, neither of them would want that bit of awkwardness between them. She turned, ready to follow after him, just able to make out the bit of dark in the trees that was moving and occasionally catching bits of firelight on ink stained cloth.

“Sir,” she called, giving him warning she was coming. “You don’t need to go so…” 

She trailed off, eyes widening at what she saw beyond him. Moving bits of malevolent green light that seemed to bob and writhe behind the cover of trees a few yards ahead of Alexi. She wasn’t certain but the lights seemed tethered to something, each other perhaps, just beyond her sight. She narrowed her eyes, tilting her head, trying to see what it was she was seeing. Was there something darker past the trees where her employer was heading, some dark mass that could be something? Was there a pattern to the bobbing and weaving? She felt like there might be and tried to catch the pattern as if it would help her identify what it was she was seeing. She took a step towards it, curiosity rising. Then she froze and blinked. 

What the fuck?

Glowing green lights in the empty woods with her employer silently drifting towards them and she was wondering what it was she was seeing? Really?
 
Shame was like a cold bucket of water on her curiosity, dousing it and in its place was a shame-fueled resolve. 
 
“Sir. Sir you need to stop right now!” her words cracked through the night. They should have cut through the night-sounds of animals and insects but they didn’t, because there hadn’t been any. How long had they been silent? Some watch-dog she was. 

“Sir!” she shouted again, stooping to pull her sword up from the pile beside where she’d been sitting. Keeping it sheathed she began to run towards her employer, eyes darting from him to the lights, each time she looked at him, it got just a little harder.