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The dark-haired girl groaned slightly as she leaned over the neck of her horse. The animal was barely any better off than she was, certainly on its last legs from exhaustion and malnutrition. Together, they'd been crossing the plains for two weeks now, searching for a place to restock. To rumour, the plains of Sacae were crawling with vicious, warmongering nomads... but so far, they'd seen nothing.

Dusk fell, and the horse finally gave out. The girl stumbled a few steps away with the intent to make camp, but fell a moment later.

The cheerful voice made her wince. Opening her eyes a crack, she saw a cacophony of colours swirling over her head. When they didn't resolve themselves after a moment, she turned her head to the side and squinted her eyes at the girl who had spoken. Long, dark green hair tied up in a high ponytail, small bangs falling forward to hide her forehead and slightly longer bangs framing her ears. The hair was tied back with a colourful, woven band in red and yellow. The same pattern marked her collar and the hems of the half-sleeves that covered her biceps. Her strange, blue-green dress was slit up the sides – presumably for ease of movement – and belted across the middle with a red sash.

Grimacing, Rei decided that the colours must by the roof of a tent. The walls - where she could see them through the cross-hatching of a wooden frame – were made of the same cacophony of different pieces of cloth sewn together.

"You must be one of the vicious, warmongering horse-nomads of Sacae..." she groaned, and the girl blinked before chuckling. It was a full, throaty chuckle of the sort most women didn't allow themselves.

"Yes. I'm Lyn, of the Lorca tribe. The chieftain's daughter. You're my guest here." Lyn moved over towards the bed Rei was lying on and knelt beside it, a cup of broth in her hands. "Sit up, you need to eat something. I found you passed out not three miles from here." As Rei forced herself to sit up, she took the bowl from the Sacaean girl and closed her eyes against the heat rising from the bowl, breathing in the fumes for a moment before replying.

"I'm Rei... a traveller. Thank you for your hospitality... Is Petal... is my horse alright? She's sturdy, but I've been pushing her so hard to try and cross the plains..." She opened her eyes – as dark as her hair – and looked at Lyn hopefully.

"She's exhausted, but she'll recover. You'll be ready to move before she is, though. I don't recognise the breed, but she's not suited for travelling the plains. What on earth drove you to take a hoofed sister like that across the plains? I can tell she's better suited for warmer weather and mountains." Lyn was frowning, now. It was as though she cared as much for the horse as the rider, and blamed her for the creature's poor state. Rei supposed she was right – but she couldn't abandon the horse because of something silly like the plains. It was just a place.

"I couldn't just sell her. You called her 'hoofed sister'... I suppose I do think of her like that. She's been with me since I left home... I looked after her as best I could, but equinology isn't my strong suit." Rei finished her soup, then yawned sleepily.

"Even so... oh, I don't know. You looked after her better than you did yourself, so I can't fault you for trying... now, back to sleep. You nearly died of exposure." Rei tried to protest, but felt the wooden bowl being pulled from her gently resisting hands even as she felt herself spiralling back into a dreamless sleep.

The next time she awoke, Lyn was holding her mouth closed to stop her making any sound. Rei came instantly awake at the threat of violence in the air, eyes so brown they were almost black focussing on the Sacaean's face as she held a finger to her lips. Rei nodded, and the hand on her face was lifted. The younger girl leaned in close and spoke in a harsh whisper.

"Outside... bandits. There are three of them. I think I can take them if I'm smart... stay here and don't make any sound."

"No... I'll help. I... I'm not much of a fighter, but I can spot an advantage that a warrior might miss. That's... what I do." Rei replied, her voice wavering at first but becoming more certain as she brought her concentration to bear. As she woke up fully, she realised that it raised some questions that they were worrying about three bandits at all if they were in a tribal camp.

"You're a tactician? I suppose I could use your help... come on, then." Rei nodded, then stood and dressed quickly, pulling on the leather trousers and loose tunic the locals to the north of the plains wore. She'd bought the clothes as soon as she'd been able to – her own travelling robes, rugged as they had seemed at the start of her journey, were totally unsuited for long-term use. "I found these in your cloak... you sure you're not a fighter..?" Lyn was holding several hiltless knives – throwing knives – towards Rei, who nodded and took them after pulling her cloak on around her shoulders. The heavy garment was the one thing she'd saved from her original clothing, since it was ideal for holding the many items she might need to hand in the many pockets that lined the interior. She slipped the knives into sheaths sewn into the cotton lining of the waterproofed wool, then took another three from where they lay on a table. She also took the single hilted knife from beside her boots and strapped the wrist sheath onto her forearm. She hoped she wouldn't have to use the blade – she wasn't very accurate in melee range, and her arm muscles were built for throwing and pulling rather than lunging and parrying. Not that she planned to be fighting at all – that would be Lyn's job. Her preparations complete, Rei moved to the tent door just behind Lyn. The younger woman was about to pull the flap back to exit when it was snatched from her grasp by an axe tearing through the cloth and ripping the 'door' half off. Lyn fell back into Rei, knocking the other woman to the ground but rolled up again instantly. The prone seventeen-year-old stayed down as Lyn leaped forward over her, hand going to the hilt of the single-edged blade at her hip and ripping it from the scabbard, bringing the blade around and up to strike the bandit's wrist, severing the tendons and rendering the hand useless. The sword carried on up and round before coming down on the surprised man's head, splitting his face down the middle and shattering the top of his skull, driving shards of bone into his brain and killing him instantly.

Fighting her heartbeat down, Rei scrambled to her feet and nudged the man slightly, checking for reaction. There was none. He wasn't particularly impressive, ragged tunic hiding decent but not ridiculous muscles. His face hadn't been much to speak of before it had been split, and to be honest the smell was an improvement.

"I don't think the others saw the tent yet... we're hidden behind some rocks. This one must have wandered off. Come on, lets go." The swordswoman led the way out of the tent and to the edge of the rocky outcropping that hid them from view. Rei looked out and saw the bandits. All three were armed with axes - clumsy weapons, but well-suited for dealing with the pikes that most town militia were armed with since the blades could splinter a pike haft easily, rendering the reach weapons useless. On an open plain, the bandits had the advantage of numbers, however, and Lyn didn't seem to be the sort who practiced group-tactics.

"I don't know if I can take them all on, but... lets move in and attack." the Sacaean whispered, but Rei shook her head.

"No. Better to stay here. I'll go out and get their attention - you wait here, ready to take them out as they come round the corner. That was a very nicely done Iai strike, by the way." Rei glanced at Lyn, then noted her blank look. "When you struck with the blade from the scabbard... in my homeland, we call that 'Iaijutsu'. The sheath technique."

"Ah." Was the response. It was clear that while Lyn took her sword work seriously, she hadn't been taught in a style, as was the custom in Rei's homeland but rather a series of techniques that simply worked. "I don't like you putting yourself in danger though... you're still my guest."

"I'll be fine. I can do this - trust me." Rei smiled, then went over the rocks in a flurry of forest-green cloak. Moving around, she waited until she was at the edge of the outcropping before revealing herself with a startled shout, looking as though she'd just come around the rocks. Immediately, all three bandits looked up. The one she took for a leader snarled something unintelligible at the other two, who started jogging towards the rocks with leering grins on their faces. Rei backed away slowly until they were barely ten feet away then turned and ran back around the rocks. Taking one of her throwing knives in hand and concealing the metal tang in her hand, she backed into a corner as the two bandits came around, fixing a frightened look onto her face and raising the knife as though she didn't really know what to do with it.

"S.. stay back. What do you want with me?" She stammered at them, and the one on the left let his leer grow as he spoke.

"Just a little fun, girly. Put the knife down and we won't hurt you - too much." The other laughed, then, but it was cut off with a strangled gasp as Lyn's sword fell from above, cutting into his shoulder and down across his collarbone, slicing through his thick neck as the Sacaean swordswoman landed in a slight crouch behind him. As the second bandit turned to look, Rei flicked her wrist, sending the thin-bladed knife into the side of his sinewy neck. The blade didn't seem to bother him much, though, as he lunged towards the swordmistress with a roar that was sure to bring the leader running. His axe buried itself in the ground as she sidestepped, bringing one booted foot up and round with the motion to slam into his left ear, above and opposite where the knife was buried. Completing the circle, she brought the blade around, up and over until it bit into the back of his neck in a two-handed strike that severed his spine and half removed his head. The shocked look on the heavyset bandit's face as he fell forward defied words.

Just then, the fourth bandit appeared around the rocks, scowling. He was larger than the other two, his longish hair held back from his eyes by a sweatband across his brow.

"Grr... You killed my men. They weren't much to speak of, but still they were MINE! I don't know what sorcery you two little girls used, but now you face Batta, called the beast by those who whisper his name, frightened in the dark."

"I do believe that there has been a misunderstanding here." Rei spoke softly, stepping forward slightly and putting up her harmless look. "We don't want any trouble... please, just leave us be."

"Maybe that way, you won't have to get hurt." Lyn stepped up beside the shorter woman, bloody sword held loosely in her gloved left hand. The gloves were like her boots - strong leather, fingerless and designed for protection against wear rather than the weather. They were rather like her voice - tough and not worth messing with.

"No trouble? Sweetheart... I'm trouble incarnate. Now, get your friend to put the sword down and you won't have to watch me kill her before I take my toll."

"I can't do that... I'm very sorry." Rei looked down with a sigh, sounding very apologetic. "Please, Lyn... don't let him corner you."

With that, Rei stepped back and Lyn grinned, reversing her grip so that the sword was held underhand. Stepping forward with her right foot, she placed her right hand on the hilt of her sword and focussed her gaze on Batta. In return, the bandit growled low and charged forward, his massive axe held low and horizontal to the ground in one hand. As he neared his opponent, he brought the huge weapon up and around in a vicious swing that would surely bisect the young woman... except that the moment before he struck, she tensed and vanished, re-appearing behind him with a tight, grim smile. She darted forward, striking him as she passed, then blurred across to strike again from another position, striking again before the blood from the first strike had fallen, then relocating again for a third strike that cut across his throat before the bewildered bandit could even blink. Even so grievously wounded, bleeding out from his throat, each breath gurgling through the impromptu tracheotomy as his eyes narrowed in rage. Raising the axe, he struck again; his blade ringing off Lyn's as she raised it two-handed in a block. Even so, the force of the parry forced her to one knee as she strained against the massive strength of her foe. The blade of the axe drove down closer, and the sword's blade started to wobbly as Lyn's arms tired under the massive strain she was forced to put them under. Suddenly, the pressure was relieved as Batta stumbled back with a roar of pain, his hand going up to his face - and where a hiltless knife was buried in his eye. Most of the blade still showed - the blade hadn't been able to break through the skull to hit the brain, and was a little too wide to slip up the channel used by the ocular nerve, but it left an opening and blinded the man well enough for Lyn to force herself upright and forward with a yell, blade striking upwards for the heart.

As the blade pierced his vital pump, Rei let go the breath she'd been holding. Finally, the bandit Batta died as Lyn pulled her killing iron free from the wound with a grunt of effort. As she cleaned the blade on a cloth, Rei retrieved her knives from where they still rested in the corpses, cleaning them on the bandits' clothes and secreting them in their sheaths once more. She was careful not to touch the dead flesh - such a thing was frowned upon at home - so it took a little more effort than it might have.

"Are you alright?" She asked, turning to her companion. Lyn was standing over the leader's corpse, scabbarded blade in her hand and staring down at it.

"It's easier than I'd thought it would be..." The swordswoman murmured quietly. "Even though he took so long to die... I thought it would be harder."

"These were your first kills?" Rei responded, slightly surprised. "I would have thought that you would be experienced already, considering the tales of the Sacaean raiders."

"Most of them aren't true. We're a peaceful people mostly... we fight to protect the plains and our people, but we don't go out... attacking people randomly. We aren't bandits." The last was said harshly, as though Lyn had been called such before and suffered for it.

"I didn't mean... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…" Rei stammered, trying to undo her hurtful words. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have judged you by the stories of frightened peasants."

"No. You shouldn't." Came the short reply. "Lets deal with these. We can't leave them for the vultures. Then you can help me fix the flap on my yurt." There was a patch of forest not far off, so they moved the bodies closer to it. Rei struggled under the weight, but forced herself to manage anyway. If Lyn could do it, so could she. By the time night had fallen, the four bandits were piled together with wood and kindling. As the sun dipped over the horizon, Lyn lit the pyre and muttered what sounded like a prayer before turning away. Seeing Rei's slightly surprised look, she scowled again.

"We respect our enemies as well. We aren't savages." She snapped, and the older girl nodded.

"It is more than we do for ours. If we cannot find where our enemies came from, they are usually left on the field for the crows. A warrior might honour his opponent with a salute, or by taking his sword, but past that..." She shook her head. "No, you have my respect in this. You are perhaps a more honourable people than my own, though ours is a culture hemmed in perception of it." Rei offered a smile, and after a moment, the Sacaean relented her scowl.

"We should head back and get some sleep. I... need to do some thinking." Lyn took one last look at the pyre and moved back to the tent. Rei noted that it was alone among its nest in the rocks. Still, she resolved to say nothing. It might simply be part of Lorca culture to set your tent apart from others of the tribe during times of low danger. Such would explain why they had been forced to deal with the bandits on their own as well.

'If she decides to tell me, she shall do so. Otherwise, 'tis not my business.' she told herself as she followed the younger woman into the tent.

"You can have the quilts again. Where there are some bandits, there may be more, so I'll be sleeping outside with the horses. Besides - it is a nice night. I would suggest you sleep outside also, but you are recovering still. Goodnight." With that, Lyn gathered a pair of blankets and left the tent.