Hidden Saber (OC x Rainbow Six Siege)

Chapter 23 - The campfire

(POV) Saber

We made it out of the building without drawing much attention to ourselves. Our pace was slowing down every couple minutes, mainly because of my injury, but we made it far enough into the woods for the enemy to have a hard time following. The sun was starting to go down and the morale of our little group was dwindling. I could tell because the guy in the banana suit wasn't picking fights with anyone.

The group was at a walking pace right now, giving me the chance to check out our surroundings. The trees started spacing out from each other the farther we went, and rocks started jutting out from the ground. With the change in terrain, there might be a higher chance we could find a cave for the night. At least the scenery is beautiful. It reminds me of my clan's compound... before it was destroyed.

"There's a small clearing up ahead. We should find shelter on the other side. It could give us a territorial advantage in case we are still being followed" said Thatcher.

The old man hasn't left my side since we escaped and has regularly checked up on my wound. The annoying Frenchman kept intervening, saying my wound wasn't too deep, and it was nothing to worry about for now. It does nothing to stop the pain, but his words held some comfort in them. I guess the constant reminder that I am nowhere near death has kept me mentally sane. The sound of the forest could also be helping with that.

While crossing the clearing, I can't help the wave of envy that washes over me. All I want is to sit down, rest and get rid of this awful pain. Every step we take brings us closer to the other side, another forest-like area, but with very tall rocks piled up against each other. It would be a perfect place for some training, scattered trees and rock formations as tall as houses spaced out far enough from each other to allow trees to grow tall. It was a nice place.

"We can set up a small campfire on the other side of one of those rocks. Then, Lion can have a better look at the wounded. Blitz, can you get some materials to start a fire?" Ash asked.

"Sure thing"

Internally, I dreaded having Lion close to me, but the pain was slowly eating away at my patience. Choosing between two evils is usually hard, but in this case, I'll take several minutes of having my personal space invaded over dealing with this pain. Blitz split off from the group while the rest of us followed Ash to the rock formation she pointed out earlier. It was a stack of three boulders, two forming a corner of some sorts, giving us cover, while a third balanced on top of the other two, adding a makeshift ceiling.

"This should be fine for tonight. I'm going to see if I can radio base from here. Hibana, make sure no one starts a fight please"

"I'll try my best" Hibana answered the red head.

"I see your confidence in us is at an all-time high" Lion said sarcastically.

"If you didn't have a horrible track record of starting fights, maybe I would have more faith in you" Ash replied.

Glaz muffled a laugh and Lion looked like he wanted to start a debate with her. Personally, I found it comforting that someone was calling him out.

Ash walked away, her voice ringing out a couple of minutes later, spewing a bunch of nonsense I didn't understand. The Russian and I sat down and leaned on the boulders behind us. Lion started looking at Glaz's wound before mine, allowing me some time to myself before having to deal with him. Thatcher wasn't paying much attention to us, just staring out in the distance. Hibana was helping Lion with patching up the dude next to me.

That mission was a complete failure, if you ask me, but at least I didn't lose my sword. That's all I really care about.

Tree branches nearby cracked and everyone stopped moving. Everyone's attention was now directed toward our general left. Those that had weapons reached for them, dropping their medical equipment slowly. I, on the other hand, watched the trees, too tired to get up and defend our current position. If these guys were as good as they say they are, then I have no need to worry about this oncoming threat.

"I've got sticks and some branches. Hopefully we can get a fire started with this" came the voice of their German comrade. "Guys, you can lower your guns. I'm not the enemy here"

The silhouette of the German walked towards us from the shadows of the tree line, immediately dropping the current pressure I felt from the operators. Guns lowered and the medical instruments were picked up again.

"Sorry, forgot you were out here" Thatcher commented.

"You might want to get checked out for Alzheimer's then, old man"

I was curious to know what that was. He made it sound like a medical condition and with my general lack of proper education, I had no idea what it was. I don't want to ask either, fearing it might give away something about my past.

Blitz's comment had me confused, but it seemed to cheer up the older operator. The latter asked if he needed any help with the construction of the campfire. It took them a bit of trial and error before they found a stable way to stack the branches into a neat pyramid looking shape. The branches were lit up seconds later, giving us some warmth right before the sun disappeared. Ash came back with some bad news and it was my turn to get fixed up. In all honesty, Lion wasn't bad at patching me up. He wasn't too bothersome and had it wrapped before I knew it. I guess he was right all along. 'Tis but a scratch.

"So it's a no-go on radio and we have no idea where we are. How are we going to get out of this mess?" Glaz asked.

"We figure that out when we are all well rested. I'll take first watch, who wants second?" Ash replied.

"It will take me a while before falling asleep. I've got second and I'll wake up Hibana for third" answered Thatcher.

"I think that goes for everyone. Best way to fall asleep is to find a distraction" commented Blitz.

"Who wants to tell they're life story then?" asked Hibana.

I feel like that's directed towards me for some reason.