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༓࿇༓
Yrsa did not see Sihtric for the remainder of the night or for the celebrations, not until the next morning when he stepped over her half-asleep form, accidentally kicking her in the process. She grumbled, watching him leave the fortress in the dawn light with an annoyed glare.
Nursing a hangover, the girl stood up and carefully followed Sihtric out of the fort, heading down towards the river a little way behind the man. He did not hear her approach, lost in thought, his hand around the talisman on his neck and Yrsa called his name cautiously first. She knew that sneaking up on a warrior might end up with a sword in your neck, and Yrsa did not want to risk that chance.
"Sihtric?" He jumped, eyes wide like a startled deer as he turned to look at her. "Morning."
"Yrsa," She smiled, pressing her lips to his cheek carefully. "What are you doing here?"
"You woke me up so now, I'm bathing. I am starting to smell," She laughed at her own joke, before motioning for the man to turn around as she unlaced her armor, boots and dress underneath, leaving it on the shore line with her undergarments, even though Sihtric had seen her naked multiple times before. "Are you going to join me?"
There was a pause from behind her, before armor thudded to the ground and someone stepped into the water. Warm arms wrapped around Yrsa's waist, as she turned in the cold to look up at Sihtric, their chests pressed together. His mismatched eyes were soft but distant still, and Yrsa formed a plan quickly in her mind.
"How much mud do I have in my hair?" A smile played on her lips as she tried to draw Sihtric's thoughts away from what had happened recently. "Be honest with me."
He sent her a small smile in return, before beginning to point places out as Yrsa groaned and began to run cold water though her auburn curls, shivering as goose bumps appeared on her skin. Sihtric chuckled, washing quickly and groaning in pain as he stretched out sore muscles from fighting the day before.
"Come here. I'll un-braid your hair for you," Yrsa called, as Sihtric bent in front of the girl, allowing her to start to undo the plaits and twists in his hair. "Are you alright?"
"I'm..."
"Truthfully answer that question," Yrsa cut him off, undoing yet another one of his braids, before cupping water and bringing it onto his head so that she could de-tangle his dark curls and clear out the dirt, grime and blood. He stumbled over his words. "You know that is all I want from you."
