[b]Ettamri, Siwon, & Katya[/b][hr]

If the fiend knight wasn’t having much luck finding dry driftwood, then she too wasn’t finding much. There was some branches and slightly larger branches, but most of the larger pieces weren’t at all that dry. That was no matter. Even if the larger pieces weren’t at all that dry, it was easy enough to deal with that. 

She arranged what she found into that small semi circle, making a sort of a cone where the driest wood were in the middle and the wettest were outside. Others were piled up near it. An easy enough idea, where the dry wood burns and dries the wetter wood slowly, which then serves as fuel for the fire, to slowly grow bigger. 

Fortunately, none of these were soaking wet. Even if they didn’t dry all the way through, what was left could be used as fuel for the next fire.
Dusting herself off, Ettamri called out to Siwon. [color=c4df9b]“Hey, fiend knight, lend me your torch for a moment.” [/color]

Siwon looked at the bone in his hand worryingly, before looking back upstream. Weren’t there others from his party that were supposed to scout in that direction? Siwon thought about it for a bit as he made his way back to Ettamri. He held the bone at its cleanest part, holding it between his fingers to avoid getting blood on his cool gloves he was wearing. The smell of entrails is hard to wash out, and it’s too cold for the Fiend Knight to even consider taking that risk at this time…
Making it back to camp, Siwon dropped the bone a few feet in front of Ettamri before pulling out one of the many torches he purchased back at town. It was too cold for Siwon to discard his own lit torch after all. Lighting the second torch with the flames of the first, he handed it to the knightess.

[color=7ea7d8]“Who did we send upstream again? I found this going down the river, along with a couple other bloodier bones, too. Either they’re sharing with us their leftovers or there’s something nasty waiting for them up there.”[/color] Siwon spoke plainly, without a hint of concern in his voice. Of course, he was very concerned, but he couldn’t show that to Ettamri. If he looked too worried about the group, she might just send him up there to investigate, after all…

[color=c4df9b]"Must be wolves about then."[/color] Ettamri took the torch, and shoved it into the pit. It made a small but cozy fire, drying the wood outside slowly even as it ate the drier ones for fuel. [color=c4df9b]"Oi, turnip, there might be wolves about.”[/color] She called out to the priest trying her best to get a fish. [color=c4df9b]”Careful you don't get snatched up. Fire’s here if you manage to get any fish.”[/color]

She sat down on one of larger stones around it.

[color=c4df9b]“Phew. Just drop what you find near there, fiend knight. Don’t worry about the scouts. They shouldn’t be dumb enough to fight anything they can’t reasonably kill. Ah, speaking of which, which family are you from?”[/color]

[color=7ea7d8]“Family?”[/color] Siwon tilted his head to the side in bewilderment. [color=7ea7d8]“To become a Fiend Knight is to forsake all worldly bindings such as family and friends. It is a solemn path that one dedicates themselves to!”[/color]

Of course such ‘dedications’ that Siwon had proclaimed were extreme hyperbole meant to make him sound cool and unique, but the Fiend Knight still thought of the question, and if he has ever even had a family to begin with. Setting the bits of gathered wood and branches to the arrangement of piles Ettamri had set up.

[color=7ea7d8]“What’s the pattern here? Based on smell? Darkest to lightest?”[/color]

[color=c4df9b]“Driest inside, wettest outside.”[/color] She shoved in a relatively dry piece of wood into the set up. She was silent for a moment as she pondered what the fiend knight said.

[color=c4df9b]“No family and obligation, huh?”[/color]

It was an odd thought for her, especially considering she was here because of her family in the first place. Could someone really just abandon their families, their obligations, their own birthright just like that? 

[color=c4df9b]“Ah… I can’t even imagine that.”[/color] Ettamri sat back on the rock, the boulder shifting slightly under her weight. [color=c4df9b]“My family is… after all…”[/color]

Almost as if by a sudden flip of a switch, she sat up suddenly, and poked the fire. It was burning well, the heat drying out the outside wood even as it ate the drier parts for fuel. 

[color=c4df9b]“Ah, my kingdom for some tea.”[/color] She lamented to herself. Ettamri had an idea to warm up her alcohol for drinking, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to share her drink with anyone just yet.

While Ettamri and Siwon were chatting it up, Katya was mastering the rock. Slowly, her movements became more refined, more swift, the small priest developing her own technique as she whipped the stones out like a human sling. Retrospectively, it would have been better if she just made an actual sling herself, but that was irrelevant to her. She was getting GOOD at this. Indeed…

[i]Splish-splish-splish-splish-splesh-splash-splosh![/i]

[color=6ecff6]“YES!”[/color] Katya cried out, jumping up twice and looking at the others. [color=6ecff6]“I did it! Look, look, didja see that, Siwang? Fufufu, seven bounces off the river, bet you can’t do that, smelly skinny guy!”[/color]

Scratching her head over the turnip's behaviour, Ettamri shrugged and simply poked the fire, having had no expectation the small girl will really catch a fish. Pretty good throwing arm though. Perhaps if she had something to throw she could really help in combat. Not that Ettamri had any idea what to throw. 

Keeping her hand on her sword, she simply sat with her back to the fire, looking out for any dangers, but mostly on Katya. Who knows if the turnip got it into her head to dive into the deeper parts of the river or something.