Cho woke up and stared at the ceiling. The dark ceiling. The very dark ceiling. Why was she awake? She wondered, for a moment, if Marmalade the Second had gotten stuck in a cupboard again and was making a ruckus, but if she listened she could hear the little cooing rumble sounds the sleeping chicken was making in the closet. There. A scrape of metal on metal, a soft drumming sound. Oh, why couldn't she be a heavy sleeper? Especially in a place like this where every damn noise was unfamiliar. Cho rolled over, punched her pillow into shape, and buried her face in it. But, wait, no, there it was again, longer this time.
Cho got out of bed, stepping into her shoes, and heading for the window. Nope, not from that direction. She made her way to the stairs and headed down, activating the light symbols painted onto the walls as she went. She was already headed for the door when she saw the note, the symbol at the bottom, she activated it automatically, and smiled a little when she read the hidden note, and then the non-hidden note sunk in.
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Cho was not cold - nope. She was totally not shivering standing out here at the ass crack of dawn in her nightgown, and she also wasn't going in until she found him... or got trampled by a horse. Of course, being trampled meant she also wouldn't be going in. Just laying there... Wow. Morbid, anyone? Cho saw Kale before she saw Niko, and she hurried over, doing her best not to get in anyone's way. "Where are you going?" She knew, even as she asked, that he wouldn't tell her, and that did not help with the concern in her tone.
Kale yawned again, leaning against Atena's neck. She snorted and shook her head, dislodging him.
"Sorry, girl," he muttered, patting her absently. He couldn't really afford to annoy her - there were too few horses who wouldn't panic near fire.
And, hey, there was Cho, looking at him all expectantly, and...wait, yeah, he kind of remembered her saying something. He flicked his cheek with a fingernail, blinking as the sting helped him wake up a bit.
Cho pouted a little, bit her lip, and looked around again at the ranks of marching soldiers. "Don't make fun of me. If you can't tell me where you're going, then just say so." She hugged herself again, and this time it is definitely not because of the cold. "Did something bad happen?"
She looked around again. "Everyone's leaving. It's the middle of the night. You look... not good. What's going on?" She just... she needed to hear that things were going to be all right, and people told her that so rarely. Usually because things were very rarely all right.
"Oh, I'm fine. Just, you know, like you said. Middle of the night." He made a weird face, like he was trying to stretch his expression into awareness. "Don't worry, we'll be back," he told her casually.
Cho did not look entirely convinced. That being said, he was a soldier and more than capable of taking care of himself. That being said, she had been able to get the drop on him. Her worries did not seem to be going anywhere. She reached into one of the three cloth bags hanging from her arm and dug around until she brought out a dark brown cookie studded with tiny pieces of chocolate. "Eat this," she told him, holding it up as high as she could. "Lots of coffee in it." Cho had well and truly fucked up a couple of batches while trying to duplicate what Ianto was able to do so effortlessly. Drinking it was out of the question, but it tasted pretty damn good in a cookie.
Cho coughed and looked down and did not blush, no, not at all, because when people here said I love you they didn't actually mean anything close to that. Cho checked all three hastily thrown together bags, then held up the one with the greatest percentage of caffeinated cookies. "Brown ones are coffee, the ones with all the fruit are... kind of like energy bars, I guess? Oats, grains, fruit, nuts, not very sweet." The rest of it he'd all had before. It was stupid and weak and probably mildly insulting on some level, but Cho wanted to feel like she was helping.
"Be careful, don't do anything stupid, don't let anyone get you killed." Because clearly if they wouldn't tell her where they were going, it was someplace horribly dangerous that there was a good chance of not coming back from. Cho resisted the urge to try and pull him off the horse and make him stay.
Cho sighed and tried to laugh and nodded her head. Then, because she was already out here in her pajamas with the equivalent of packed lunches and making an ass of herself, she took a deep breath, and held up an oversized kitchen towel with two cords on two of the corners so she could tie it to cupboard handles. "Take this."
And, because that wasn't particularly helpful unless she told him why she was giving him a towel. "On... the wall, I knew you were there because of my shadow. The fire made more light, my shadow got darker, and I knew something was wrong. Just--" She shook the towel again and stared at his adam's apple. "Take this and tie it to your other arm or something, and hold the fire behind until you're ready to throw it so no one can see the light."
Cho nodded again, and she still didn't feel a whole lot better about any of this, but there didn't seem to be any way around it. She really, really, really hated this stupid fucking war. "You have to come back," she said, finally looking at his face. Then, because that was way more serious than he'd been, which probably meant it was way more serious than she should be, she forced a smile onto her face, though it didn't reach her eyes. "I haven't finished your jar of nothing yet, and I promised. Don't make a liar out of me."
Kale sat up a little straighter when she mentioned that, his smile broadening.
"You did promise, didn't you? Yeah, I've spent years on that project, no way I'm gonna miss out on that."
He ran a hand through his hair.
"Look. Uh. I'm seriously not as awake as I look and I kind of hate goodbyes anyway, so. You'll work on my jar and I'll not die and meet you back here whenever. Deal?"
"Whenever," Cho repeated, trying not to sound crestfallen. Did he not know when he was coming back, or could he not tell her? She didn't like either option. She nodded, then stuck out her hand for a shake. "Deal."
Cho got out of bed, stepping into her shoes, and heading for the window. Nope, not from that direction. She made her way to the stairs and headed down, activating the light symbols painted onto the walls as she went. She was already headed for the door when she saw the note, the symbol at the bottom, she activated it automatically, and smiled a little when she read the hidden note, and then the non-hidden note sunk in.
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Cho was not cold - nope. She was totally not shivering standing out here at the ass crack of dawn in her nightgown, and she also wasn't going in until she found him... or got trampled by a horse. Of course, being trampled meant she also wouldn't be going in. Just laying there... Wow. Morbid, anyone? Cho saw Kale before she saw Niko, and she hurried over, doing her best not to get in anyone's way. "Where are you going?" She knew, even as she asked, that he wouldn't tell her, and that did not help with the concern in her tone.
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"Sorry, girl," he muttered, patting her absently. He couldn't really afford to annoy her - there were too few horses who wouldn't panic near fire.
And, hey, there was Cho, looking at him all expectantly, and...wait, yeah, he kind of remembered her saying something. He flicked his cheek with a fingernail, blinking as the sting helped him wake up a bit.
"Uh, I'm sorry, what was the question?"
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"Wha - I didn't - where - well, uh, no I probably shouldn't tell you that. What bad thing specifically? No - don't tell me, I don't want to know."
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"Oh, I'm fine. Just, you know, like you said. Middle of the night." He made a weird face, like he was trying to stretch his expression into awareness. "Don't worry, we'll be back," he told her casually.
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Coffee. In a cookie. With chocolate.
He gulped the bite down.
"I love you."
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"Be careful, don't do anything stupid, don't let anyone get you killed." Because clearly if they wouldn't tell her where they were going, it was someplace horribly dangerous that there was a good chance of not coming back from. Cho resisted the urge to try and pull him off the horse and make him stay.
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"You are so wonderful," Kale gushed. "I would dismount and hug you, but I'm totally not sure I'm coordinated enough to get back on again."
He blinked, his face becoming a little more serious.
"I'll be careful," he agreed. "Hey, I'll hug you when I get back, okay?"
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And, because that wasn't particularly helpful unless she told him why she was giving him a towel. "On... the wall, I knew you were there because of my shadow. The fire made more light, my shadow got darker, and I knew something was wrong. Just--" She shook the towel again and stared at his adam's apple. "Take this and tie it to your other arm or something, and hold the fire behind until you're ready to throw it so no one can see the light."
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That was really a good idea.
He took the towel and tucked it into his saddlebags.
"Thank you," he murmured. "Seriously. Um. Yeah. For everything."
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"You did promise, didn't you? Yeah, I've spent years on that project, no way I'm gonna miss out on that."
He ran a hand through his hair.
"Look. Uh. I'm seriously not as awake as I look and I kind of hate goodbyes anyway, so. You'll work on my jar and I'll not die and meet you back here whenever. Deal?"
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"Great. See you!"
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