The ring (Pedat, Arkadee)

Pedat can feel the heat surrounding him inside the burning hut, can hear the wild screams of the villagers, can feel the throbbing pain of the inflicted wound on his chest…Suddenly the ex-warrior sets bolt upright in the Gatehouse cot with a strangled cry (he has been using the Gatehouse as a home and shop since he started carpentry) of terror, sweat dripping off of him and horribly hot even though he had kicked the covers off and was clad in nothing more than a cut off pair of loose cotton pants. His blue eyes are wild as they look about the room, the dream still lingering vividly; clutching a paw to his wounded chest…He carefully moves the paw away and looks at…A scar. He sighs feebly and falls back as he realizes it was all a nightmare of the past.

Arkadee yawns as she slowly, softly opens the door to the gatehouse in search of a certain squirrel. She was up most of the night tending an ill Dibbun...who will fortunately be recovering completely. She blinks a little, squinting into the dim room, the sun just barely coming up over the horizon. The sounds from upstairs grab her attention, and she moves quickly to the loft, popping her head up as quickly as she dares. "Pedat?" she questions, worry evident in her voice.

"Yeah." The reply is quiet, almost weak, and more of a statement than question. Pedat's chest is still heaving from the fear in the dream as he closes his eyes from staring at the beams above him.

Arkadee carefully climbs the rest of the stairs, moving into the loft. "Are you okay?" she asks, recognizing possibly symptoms of a panic attack. The squirrelmaid edges closer, moving next to the cot, but keeping her distance for the moment.

Pedat rolls his head on the pillow so he is looking at her and opens his eyes with another soft sigh, voice still quiet as he tries to calm his quivering nerves and muscles. "Yeah, just a..." He trails off and looks back to the ceiling. "I'm ok." He finishes.

Arkadee offers a wan smile as he looks at her, frowning as he looks away again. Two steps bring her to the side of the cot, another small movement, and she sits on the edge. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want," she says softly, paws reaching for one of his to pull onto her lap hold gently. Her own eyes wander over the loft. Having never been up there, it's a new sight for her.

"Just a dream again....'Bout Rynn, the baby, the raid, the slave ship...All of it. A nightmare." He sits up slowly, the arm belonging to the paw she is holding giving her a half-hug as he sits on the edge of the bed beside her. "I guess Ryker set it all off in my mind again."

Arkadee gives soft nod, moving to hug him fully as he sits up. "He was there, too?" she asks softly.

The ex-warrior nods. "Aye, he is my younger brother. I lowered Rynn and the baby into a dry well to hide them then Ryker and I, along with the rest of the men fought. But it was 4 to 1; I was impaled by a wildcat and thrown into a burning hut to die. I managed to get out safely but just in time to watch Ryker get knocked out and carried off with several others. Everyone else aside from Rynn and the baby was dead, I hauled them up..." He shrugged again. "We stayed there for several days, what else could we do? After three days she showed signs of sickness. Two weeks later she died, it was the fever. I couldn't do anything for her the whole time and we stayed in a partially burnt shed until she passed."

Arkadee stays silent through the explanation, not wanting to interrupt, being the good listener that she is. She doesn't really have anything to say when he's finished, except for nod a little. She's never known such hardships...she doesn't know how to react really...except to give a sympathetic ear. "I'm sorry.." she finally says, sitting back a bit, eyes wandering over the loft again. "It must be so hard for you to keep remembering it in dreams…"

Pedat finally snaps out of it, almost physically jerking as he does. He leans his head down and gives her a quick kiss on the cheek before standing and slipping a shirt on over his whip-scarred back. "It has gotten better since I met you." He admits with a smile in her direction, "Wanna go down? I want to see what I can find to eat or drink…"

Arkadee clears her throat a little. "Yes, you should get something to eat." She stands as well, heading for the stairs, just expecting him to follow.

He chuckles and follows her down the steps. "Always the nurse..." He mutters with a smile, going over to a table and slicing off a piece of pie, slickly sliding something into his pocket at the same time. He offers her a piece while cutting another. "Want some?"

Arkadee chuckles. "And what is that supposed to mean?" she teases softly. She moves over to the fire, stoking it and throwing another few pieces of wood on it. "Hm? Oh, no thanks. I had something earlier. We'll have to get you something more nutritious later."

Pedat nods, taking a bite he leans back against the newly-built table. "So you like the table?" He asks with a grin, ignoring her first question.

Arkadee's brows rise, glancing over. "Looks nice," she comments. "Did you build it?" Her head tilts a little, moving closer for a better view.

He waves his free paw to the two chairs as well. "Yeah, those too." He finishes off the pie and dusts his paws together. "So, what kind of mood are you in?" He questions her, not smiling but a mischievous gleam in his blue eyes.

Arkadee pulls one of the chairs out and sit in it, shifting position, freezing, shifting position...testing it out. Her ears flick over to him. "What do you mean?" she asks, eyes flicking over to him.

A grin begins to creep across the male squirrels muzzle as he risks a quick glance at her but he quickly tries to smother it. "What kind of mood are you in? Good, bad, fair, sad, mad? You know'.

Arkadee shrugs a little. "Good, I suppose." She's looking curious now.

Pedat almost skips over, giving her another quick kiss on the forehead. "How good?" He teases playfully as he steps back, toward the steps to the loft.

Arkadee hmms, grinning. "Well, I am rather tired, so that downs the level of good...but...I dunno..." Her head tilts again, peering at him. "What do you have up your sleeve?"

He finally smiles and darts up the steps, calling down: "Hold on, lemme slip my other clothes on." A moment later he came back in his usual clothes, still grinning like a drunk rabbit. "Wanna go for a short walk? I want some fresh air." Wow. He is a horrible actor, like heck he does.

Arkadee waits patiently in that chair. "Ya know," she says as he returns. "This is a comfortable chair." She eyes him suspiciously as he grins like that. "Sure, I guess." Up she gets, headed to follow after him.

(Time passes and they are now on the dirt road)

Pedat stops, his cloak hanging loose about his shoulders as he glances over at her. "You warm enough?" He asks, still grinning softly.

Arkadee nods. The walking kept her warm. "Yep, I'm fine." She bites her lower lip. "Are you?"

He nods his answer. "You ready or you want to wait more?" He teases her, turning to face her.

Arkadee hums, ears flicking over to him, her muzzle following. "Ready for what?" she asks. "You sure are a beast of mysteries."

The smile is totally gone from his face as he kneels in the snow and reaches into his pocket, pulling out a beautifully crafted ring; it is made of stained black walnut wood with tiny carvings around the edges but in the center there has been placed a slim band of pure gold. His blue eyes dart from the ring held in his outstretched paw to her face, where it pauses as he (tries) to speak. “W-will you…” He trails off, and glances embarrassed at the ground before looking back up to her then finished in a steady tone. “Will you marry me?” There. He said it.

Arkadee takes a step back as he kneels, her own smile fading a little. "Pedat...what are you doing?" she whispers, staring down at him. The question is popped. Her eyes widen. "Umm..." She bites her lip, eyes fixed on that ring in his paw. Her mouth opens. Nothing comes out for a moment. Tiny squeal. She falls to her knees, paws gently clasping around the outstretched paw, peering intently at the ring. Her eyes flick up. "Yes. I will."

What does he do now? Oh, yeah...Smile. He sighs in relief and breaks out into a smile so large and white it almost dulls the snow they are kneeled in. "I thought you were going to say no for a second." He whispered, still smiling. Finally his other paw came up and held hers as he slipped the ring on, big and rough as he seemed, he was surprisingly gentle. After he does it, still holding her paw with one of his own, he reaches up and strokes her cheek with his free paw, just smiling, not knowing what else to do.

Arkadee grins. "Thank you for asking," she says. Yeah... "It's beautiful." The right paw moves over to gently touch the ring. She doesn't even know what to say either, so she just leans close and presses her lips softly to his.

Pedat’s arms circle the squirrelmaid and pull her in closer as she kisses him and he kisses her back. When finally he pulls back there is another small grin on his face. "Thank you for saying yes." He murmurs quietly, leaning in and kissing her again before standing and holding down his paws to help Ark up.

Arkadee grabs his paws to lift herself, smiling. She drops his paws and wraps her arms around him, embracing him tightly.

He staggered back slightly as she did this and then returned the embrace, resting his cheek against the top of her curly red hair affectionately. “I love you, Ark.” He whispered quietly, eyes closed as he let the peace wash over him…