I looked at the snake bracelet, that had used to be a snake armlet, and had also decided to be a tattoo, and truth be told I was a bit lost. I sat there, big arms crossed and one eyebrow raised inquisitively. 

"So...that doesn't happen often, right?" I asked her. 

"Not even once before, no." She said, though I could tell as she said it, she was questioning on whether it [i]had[/i] ever occurred before without her knowledge or notice. At least she did not seem concerned, and that had to be good enough for me. While I knew some of my fair share of lore, magic was an enigma to my experiences. Then I had a thought, and I felt like she wouldn't like it, but I had to voice it anyway. "Do you think since you're up now, you can take watch and I can get a bit of sleep?" 

She hid it well, but I could see the loathing in her eyes. Not at me, but at the fairness of the question, which I still felt somewhat guilty about even if I shouldn't. "Sure," she said. "It'll give me some time to see what exactly is going on with this snake talisman thingy anyway." 

"Thanks," I told her, and settled in on my bit of cloth I had lain for a nap until sunrise. I felt Emmaline was a hero, even more experienced fighting monsters and trekking across untamed wilderness than I was. But at the time I guessed my homeland didn't suit her. She seemed off-put being out here now, after our first stay in civilization. I knew we couldn't reliably stay at the outpost when the rain and typhoons showed up. We would run out of money and food and likely lodging. That waystation was not meant to be used year-round. Even the innkeeper closed The Maw for two months out of the year, and often times boarded the place and left before the rains hit. Not to mention the reptilian beasts of the river grew more bold as the waters rose. 

She would much prefer Darkwater, I knew for a fact. Good food, drink, music, and even art and culture. I was looking forward to going back, for sure. The last time I was there was a decade ago with my dad. I wondered if things were the same. As I drifted off to sleep, I decided I would see about getting Emmaline something notable when we got there. If we were together, I wanted to treat my girl. Just seemed natural to me. My world went dark as I wondered what it would be... 

[i]3 days later...[/i] 

We had made good time. My arm got a good workout with having to hack through foliage and ferns, and Emmaline made sure to widen the path at my flanks as we moved. At one point, we found a clearing where a herd of reptilian behemoth's dwelled. They had three horns on their vast, shield-like heads. They were built like dwarven steam tanks, and one even looked our way. But none chased us off as we hugged the treeline and passed the impressively peaceful beasts. 

Twice we had to traverse past waterways. The first time was a relatively clear stream Emmaline and I waded through, naught but fish and small mussels as company. We filled our canteens and restocked our supplies with a bit of fishing on my end. Well, I thought it was fishing. Emmaline was endlessly entertained when I stripped myself of my shirt and speared a few for dinner, watching me in a way that made me mess up in my attempt once or twice. 

The other instance we had to cross was the problematic one. As we had hiked around a small cliff, climbing up an incline using a rope I had to fastened to a tree at the top of the slope with a well aimed swing, we found a river with what appeared to be large, darkly colored floating logs. I knew better as soon as I saw them, but my companion hadn't the experience I had in this area of the world. 

Emmaline looked like she was ready to go across to just get it over with. "Well, at least we can use one of those logs as something to float across. Maybe there's a woodman's camp nearby? With beds and drinks..." but just as her foot touched the water I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back. 

"Hey! What are yo-" 

"Those aren't logs, babe." I said simply. 

She wriggled for a moment, insisting I was crazy under her breath, but her eyes fell on the large objects in the water, and she gaped when one of the 'fallen trees' opened its eyes and then sunk into the water on its own accord. 

"Oh..." she breathed, feeling a bit guilty for her lack of trust. She smiled remorsefully and turned around to a kiss on my lips. "Thanks. Glad to have a boyfriend with good eyes." 

Her approval made me smile. "We're almost there. Across this river we just have two more days of walking and we'll be on clean sheets and I'll take you out to dinner at a nice place." I promised. She stepped back and I grabbed my rope and hook, double checking to make sure it was fastened and its integrity wasn't compromised before I started eyeballing the potential trees I could fling it at to use as a swing across the river. 

"Once I find a spot, you go first. Just hold on tight and then toss it back." I told her, the hook already twirling over my head.