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Cara stared at the Mother Confessor across the fire. She took brief note of how the shadows played across Kahlan’s face each time the flames flickered. As usual, Kahlan wore her Confessor’s mask, her facial expression subtly blank, betraying nothing to the untrained eye. The Mord Sith found herself wondering what emotions stirred just under the calm surface Kahlan portrayed. Cara clutched the agiel at her side, welcoming the familiar hiss of pain as she tightened her grip. Hoping and ultimately failing to distract herself from such thoughts.
What did she care for the Confessor anyway? She owed her nothing. Cara smirked as she caught herself in her own lie. Kahlan had in fact saved her life, and in turn, Cara had made sure they were even by saving Kahlan’s life. She reminded herself as if it mattered anymore. As if she was still planning on leaving. As if she could.
Cara sighed and dropped another log from the dwindling pile onto the fire, took a quick scan of the perimeter, then returned to her seat on her fur spread. Richard had gone off to collect more wood and Zedd’s rhythmic snoring sounded from the other side of their camp. It was only when a particularly loud snore jostled the wizard enough to cause him to turn over before his breathing evened out again that Cara realized she’d been staring. She quickly darted her eyes down to the ground, waited a few seconds, then back up only to find her gaze met with piercing blue ones. If not for her training, Cara might have blushed. Had Kahlan seen her? Why did she even care? Surely, she was growing soft traveling with these nitwits.
Cara took a deep breath then slowly and deliberately raised her eyes back to meet the Confessor’s. She was Mord Sith, she feared nothing and no one. Kahlan smiled at her across the dancing flames, and Cara’s heart pumped faster, completely disregarding its master's wishes. Cara was even more confused when she found herself returning a small smile of her own. Did her body care nothing for her reputation? To give herself some distance, Cara turned her head to the stars. They shone clear and bright, casting the valley below in a gentle glow.
To her left, at the edge of the brush, a light crunch sounded. In a flash, Cara was up, agiel in hand, ready to strike. Behind her, she heard a muffled laugh. Looking out into the dark, hearing nothing more, she sat back down and turned her attention back to where Kahlan now held her hand up to cover her mouth, for all the good it did in keeping her from giggling. Cara snapped her head back to face the Confessor as her eyes bore daggers down upon the giggles that still intermittently escaped from Kahlan’s lips. In response, Kahlan put real effort into stopping her giggling by biting her bottom lip, causing Cara’s breath to hitch, which she covered by clearing her throat.
Kahlan shrugged. “It was probably just a hare.”
Cara rolled her eyes. “Perhaps. Or maybe it was a baby gar.”
As if to test that particular theory, the trees took advantage of the moment to rustle, sending a few leaves helicoptering lazily to the ground. The weather was changing and the nights were becoming steadily colder. Seeing Kahlan shiver slightly, Cara tossed her blanket across the short distance between them.
Kahlan shook her head and tucked a few loose strands of long auburn hair behind her ear before wrapping the blanket around her shoulders. Cara scanned the darkness once again, just to be sure before allowing herself to relax slightly. “Are you satisfied?” Kahlan questioned.
“For now”, came Cara’s brief reply, her lips pulling into a small smirk.