Flake nodded over to the assassin as she responded, then continued eating. He noted that, after a few bites, his jaw was starting to get tired. [i]It’s amazing what a few days can do to a man. [/i] Upon working his brain a little, he could visit the last memories he had before falling unconscious due to the poison. All he could see was Oruin’s worried expression. [i]I guess it’s that poison which did all of this…[/i] He had already done enough exercise that day to know that his muscles were still numb. He was imprecise, weak, starved, and dehydrated. But one thing he knew for sure was that he was awake. He had already dealt with the loose red robes, getting a fire started, and dealing with the urge to eat and to do something. He felt that the urge to do something was still unsatisfied, but that his hunger [i]was[/i] satisfied. When Raine walked over to the basement, he analyzed her for a second and nodded. He couldn’t quite describe the expression she was giving off… [i]something between depression and lethargy, maybe.[/i] He was at least surprised to hear her say, “I’m going to sleep now…good night.” The pause was especially surprising, as if she didn’t know whether to say it or not. Despite his surprise, Flake didn’t take long to respond. He calmly declared, “I still have some energy left, so I’m going to do a bit more training.” With this said, he smirked. Watching her descend the ladder made him wonder how trustworthy she was as an ally. Once she was out of sight, he continued, “rest well, miss Raine,” and headed over to the door. Her name didn’t quite feel right as he said it – it was almost too formal. They had already skirmished twice now, and even the first time, she didn’t seem particularly keen on killing him. The more he thought about it, the less he thought of her as an assassin. [i]Perhaps she’s just that good,[/i] he thought, grinning widely as he closed the door behind him, [i]then again, if she was, she never wouldn’t have gotten poisoned along with a guy like me.[/i] As he walked over to the training area he had found previously, a small clearing with a bunch of bushes nearby, he paused and looked around. He wasn’t looking for something so much as a thought had caused him to doubt his sensory faculties for a moment. [i]How did she get poisoned? She ate at the same time as me, but she wasn’t reacting when I did…[/i] He frowned and brought himself to a ready stance with his polearm out. [i]She could’ve survived without food and water for three days if she knew it was poisoned,…[/i] Suddenly, a realization: [i]…which means she intentionally let herself get poisoned…[/i] He slammed the polearm of his weapon into the tree with a soft, angered grunt. He was furious. [i]I managed to waste the only favor I had![/i] He groaned. The more he swung the polearm around, the more he thought, and the more he hated his situation…up to a point. [i]But, that also means that she has no alternative. She would have to be insane to lie at this point.[/i] He had seen Raine do one or two things that weren’t quite logical, but he could list of more than enough evidence at a moment’s notice to prove that she was sane. At least this thought gave him a bit of security that their situation wasn’t all bad. [i]But now we’re going to have to deal with all three of them…[/i] …… Flake arrived back at the cottage at around 2000 hours and padlocked the door. He had made sure to check his surroundings to ensure that he wasn’t being tailed, and even got some tinder for the next morning. After drinking from the clean water in the basin, he mused that he’d have to get some more water from the river the next day. [i]That makes four things I’ll have to do: Scout, Hunt, Train and Gather. [/i] He took a few moments to clean off the polearm with the fancy red robe, then headed downstairs with the polearm in hand. He was sure to stay as quiet as possible without inconveniencing himself. If Raine was listening, she’d have already heard him enter, but he didn’t want to wake her up if she was already sleeping. He placed the polearm down next to the bedding that he had awoken on earlier that very day. [i]There’s a lot to do, now that I have to deal with living in a new home for a few days…[/i] he thought to himself, gritting as he laid down on the bedding. The bedding and his robe worked together to make it very comfortable to lie there, despite the floor beneath being stone. He only managed to stay awake for a few minutes before drifting off to sleep. ------- Flake awoke the next morning rather early, at around 6:20am, about a half hour before sunrise. He looked around after waking up and soon realized that the building he was in was not home. He gradually remembered the events of the previous day and stretched a little before quietly rising to his feet. He picked up his polearm and quietly went upstairs to start a small fire, feeling groggy and bruised. He was still recovering from his injuries and poison, but he at least didn’t feel as numb anymore. Once he was up the ladder, he walked over to the fireplace, found a straight twig and a flat log, and took a few minutes to start another fire. He was already used to starting fires by using this technique, since he did it at his own house when he wasn’t bounty hunting. But that didn’t make it any less hard on his hands. Once the fire was big enough to cook, smoke, or clean water with, he left it and wandered over to the remaining blocks of meat from the previous night. He ate a few, enough so that he wouldn’t feel hungry any more, but not enough to feel satisfied. As he was eating, he saw Raine rise from the basement and greeted her. “Morning.” It was a simple greeting. He didn’t feel like anything more was warranted. Once he licked his fingers clean and wiped off some of the grime with his robe, he walked over to the door and announced, “I’m going to go get some water from the river so that we can refill that basin. Do what you want with what’s left in there.” With that, he pulled off the robe, now dressed only in the loose-fitting pants and his belt, and walked out of the cottage with his polearm in tow. He looked around the exterior of the cottage for buckets and eventually found a pole with two of the large-sized buckets on it. He also found a bathing trough big enough for the cottage’s owner to use. The image of the clumsy hunk of steel diving into the large wooden bowl brought a smile to the bounty hunter’s face. But he doubted that either he or his companion would get any use out of it, so he left the trough where it rested and brought both his polearm and the bucket-carrying-pole over his shoulders. Flake then walked all the way over to the river. Once he got there, he dropped his gear, scouted around for a few minutes, dove into the river, and walked back out, feeling cleaner. He filled both of the large buckets with water and, with a grunt, managed to stand up with the pole on his back. It was hard to walk with both buckets, but he thought of it as a good strength and balance exercise. By the time he got back, he was already fairly exhausted, but there was enough water for a few days in each bucket, so he determined that the effort was worth it. He announced his presence right as he walked back in, his hair still moderately damp. He placed the polearm right next to the door and walked over to the water basin. He pulled it off of the wooden cupboard it was resting on and brought it outside. He then cleaned it out with a small amount of water from one of the buckets, filled it up, and brought it over to the fire. Once the metal grill was in place, he put the metal basin over the fire to that it’d boil. After this, he closed the door, put his robe back on, and took a few minutes to rest.