"Is this it?" Nymeria asked in a muffled voice as, after much difficulty, she finally burst out of a thicket of green bushes, which was so dense that it was almost impossible to breathe, and came out into an empty area about the size of a small home.
"Yes, this is the place I told you about," Jon replied with a small, relieved smile as he enjoyed the open space and breathed in the fresh air for a few moments before he finally put down his luggage, which, while much lighter now after having most of its heavy stuff moved into the carriage, was still very cumbersome to carry while climbing through the forest.
They were at the moment, standing on the very edge of a small cliff, with the forest-covered mountain just a few meters behind them, and in front of them opened the breathtaking view of a waterfall gently falling into a small stream that then went on to cut straight through the forest.
And above them lay an ocean of shining stars, sparkling and dimming in a strange rhythm, as if they were dancing merrily, with a bright full moon in the centre acting as if it were a conductor coordinating them.
This place, which looked as if it came straight out of a hiker's wet dream, was actually only a little more than thirty minutes away from their ambush location. But it only took them so little time because Jon had led them through a rough, untrodden path that cut straight through dense forest; it was such a meandering route that even the locals may not be able to find it.
"You really know how to choose these places, Jon Snow," Nymeria whispered with a hint of awe in her as she took in the sheer beauty and calmness of this place, which stood out even more under the soft light of the moon and the gentle sound of falling water.
"Of course, I do," Jon replied with pride in his tone, as he slowly began to take out their camping equipment from his luggage, "In fact, I don't think there is anyone out there better at finding beautiful places than me," he boasted, "I just seem to have a... natural knack for it."
"And there you go bragging again," Nymeria snorted with a roll of her eyes as she turned around with a smile on her face, but then she caught sight of something that made a strange gleam appear in her eyes, "Oh, no need to take out the other one," she said as nonchalantly as she could, "One should suffice for us,"
"Oh..." Jon looked up, confused, a little taken aback by that, as he had been thinking of her in his mind when he brought out the second tent.
After all, it would have been normal for a girl to feel uncomfortable sharing a single tent with another man who was not a member of her family, no matter how familiar they were.
It was fine back then, when Oberyn and Sarella were them, but it would have been very rude of him if he tried to force them into a single tent when they were out here all alone in the wilderness... but since she didn't mind, Jon did not think much about it either.
"If you say so," he replied with a shrug, as he put the smaller tent back into the luggage and then began to set up the other one a few meters from the cliff.
"I'll help you," Nymeria said as she began to assist with nailing the pegs while Jon busied himself with tying all the ropes.
A few minutes later, the tent was perfectly set up, with the front left open to let the wind in as the nights were not too cold here in the summer, and inside there was enough room for both of them to comfortably sleep with their legs fully stretched.
Since they had already eaten food before when they were all together, sleep was the only thing left for them to do now. And that was exactly what Jon's body desired, so without waiting another Jon shuffled into the shelter, and after placing a thin but fluffy cotton mattress on the floor, which he always carried with him, he began to lie down, but just as he as found a comfy position to sleep in, a voice called him from outside.
"Oh, Jon," Nymeria's voice came in, sounding strangely gentle at that moment, unlike her usual domineering tone, "Can you come out and help me apply this medicine to my wound?"
"Hu...sure," Jon sighed as he replied reluctantly, as he felt quite tired at the moment, not very much physically but mentally, especially after that strange experience he had gone through, and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. Still, he got up nonetheless as he knew that it was normal to accumulate small wounds after a fight like that, and that they could become dangerous if they were not taken care of properly.
"So where is the—" Jon began to ask as he crawled out of the tent, but his words disappeared halfway through, and his eyes almost bulged out of his socket when he took in the view in front of him.
Nymeria, at this moment, had not only taken off her leather armour, but also discarded her inner vest, leaving just a thin cotton shirt on her body, that barely reached her midriff, fully showcasing the beautiful figure that she had inherited from her Volantene mother, and it Jon only now realised, that how much had been... suppressed before.
"What?" Nymeria asked with a curious look in her big, expressive eyes, "Is there something on my face?" she asked with an innocent tilt of her head, as if she were a simple village maiden with no knowledge of worldly affairs, but the girl could not hide the small mischievous grin on her lips.
"Ahem," Jon cleared his throat as he awkwardly looked away from the teasing demoness in front of him, "Where is the wound?" he asked, trying to make his voice as serious as he could.
"Here, on my back," Nymeria replied lightly as she slowly turned sideways on the rock she was sitting on, and pulled down her shirt on her right shoulder to show him a finger-sized nick a few inches away from her slender neck.
But Jon's eyes involuntarily skipped the wound and went a little to the right, where the sudden tightening of the shirt had done the wonderful job of squishing those godly melons, so much so that Jon, even though he realised that he was acting unlike a gentleman, could not take his eyes away, no matter how hard he tried.
"In the bag," a gentle voice drifted out, as if from somewhere far away, and broke Jon out of his daze.
"Huh?" Jon asked as his eyes rose up a little to meet the girl watching him as if she was looking at a particularly amusing monkey, "What?" he asked dumbly, his mouth feeling as dry as the desert sand.
"The cream," Nymeria said slowly, as if she were speaking with someone not very bright, "It is in my bag, over there," she pointed her finger towards her luggage placed a few meters away.
"Oh, right!" he coughed and looked away awkwardly, as a hint of blush appeared on his face. Not wanting to shame himself further, Jon immediately hurried towards the bag, all while screaming inside his mind, 'Damn it! What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I behaving like a horny teenager who has never seen a woman before? Fuck! That was so mortifying!!'
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