JUSTIN: * Shane was hungry long before nightfall, but far too stubborn and proud to say anything about it. He refuses to show any weakness in front of a prisoner -- at least, as long as he can help it. And what he can't help is the ungodly sound of protest that escapes his stomach, loud enough to silence the chirp of nearby insects for a moment. He stops walking for a moment, cheeks flushing in embarrassment. "I... I think it would be prudent to stop for the evening. I don't want to have to carry you if you collapse from exhaustion."

JENNA: * At the sound of his voice, her irritation redoubles. "Good, because I'll leave you lying if you collapse from hunger." She looks around for a moment before starting toward a sound of running water, glad she didn't stray too far from the river. She unslings her gear as she goes, tossing it on the ground next to a tree and kneeling in a likely spot to build a fire. "Go find some wood or something," she says, attempting to get the patch of dirt relatively free of leaves.

JUSTIN: * Shane stops and gives a look of protest at being ordered, but before he can blurt anything out, he clamps his jaw. Better that he do it and get it done quick, so she can't try sneaking off on him. He disappears into the woods nearby, muttering to himself under his breath as he goes about collecting decent tinder and firewood.

JENNA: * Satisfied she has the area clear, Jo fishes through her pack for flint, as well as one or two tools of the hunt, which she pauses to inspect meticulously. It's been a while since she had to hunt like this, and she finds herself wishing she hadn't left the city in such a rush.

JUSTIN: * It doesn't take long for Shane to wander back into the makeshift "camp", his arms full of various sticks and bark. "This should be sufficient." He says, dropping the load in the middle of the clearing for the fire. After this, he stands about awkwardly, arms crossing and uncrossing over his chest, and trying to look normal.

JENNA: * Jo glances up at him once, setting her tools aside and trotting over to set the fire up, laying aside several branches for later. Once it's going, she leans back on her heels, eyeing Shane silently. "Keep the fire going. I'm going to find some food." She pushes to her feet, checking for her daggers and snagging the gear she'd set aside. "I won't be long."

JUSTIN: * At this, Shane twitches, hands moving as if to stop her, but faltering halfway through the motion. "Wait a minute! How do I know you aren't going to just leave me here and disappear? I have no reason to trust you."

JENNA: * She rolls her eyes, having fully expected this response. "Keep my gear hostage, if that'll make you feel better." She gestures lazily at what's left next to the tree. "Or, if you really want, I can not go hunting, and we can sit here all night and be hungry."

JUSTIN: * Shane fidgets in place, fingers clenching and unclenching as he struggles with the dilemma. "Oh, fine. Fine." He looks extremely unhappy with the situation, and throws her discarded gear a scrutinizing, and angry glance. "I guess you wouldn't want to part with all your stolen goods."

JENNA: * Jo shakes her head, half in disbelief, half in resignation. "Go through it if you want. There's nothing stolen in there." This isn't strictly true, but most of what she's carrying with her was stolen years ago, well past reasonable memory. Without another world, she sets off into the forest, silent as a cat, and before long has vanished into the dark.

JUSTIN: * Shane gives her a disapproving and hateful glare after she turns away from him, and once she's gone, he seats himself on the forest floor beside her gear. At first, he sees fit to take her up on the offer just out of spite, but after a casual look through he finds himself wholly uninterested and too depressed to care. He's not entirely sure why he suddenly feels so down. After all, this time tomorrow he'll have her locked up and ready to go. Blaming it on his hunger, he grabs a stick and pokes at the fire with a dour frown on his face.

JENNA: * It's almost two hours before Jocasta returns, a deliberate crunch of leaves indicating her arrival, and the forest has fallen into almost total darkness beyond the flickering circle of firelight. She walks over to the fire without so much as a greeting, and tosses a pair of fat, young rabbits into the dirt. Seating herself, she pulls loose a knife and promptly begins cleaning them.

JUSTIN: * Shane gives her a long, cold glare as she comes into the circle of light, and is mildly disappointed when she doesn't even look back. He fidgets in his spot for a moment while she works, finally becoming annoyed enough by the silence to break it himself. "What are those?"

JENNA: "Rabbits." She appears to be taking some satisfaction in the skinning of them, projecting her anger into something productive. "They should roast fairly well." She tosses the animal's pelt aside matter-of-factly. "I'd stew them, but it would be a waste."

JUSTIN: "Rabbits?" Shane peers around the corner of the fire at them, equally disgusted and intrigued. He shifts again, unwilling to move from his spot to get a closer look, but clearly not very comfortable, either. "What do they taste like?"

JENNA: "Chicken, by most accounts." She glances up, arching an eyebrow. "You've never had rabbit?" She turns back to her work before he answers, but her silence indicates she's waiting for a response.

JUSTIN: * Shane wonders if he should feel embarrassed by the fact, since it is apparently odd enough for her to ask. "Well, no. I've never tried it..." He edges the slightest bit closer, the sight of the freshly skinned rodents somehow captivating. "I... I've seen it sold in the market, though. But..." He shudders involuntarily, and he's not sure why. He tries to hide it by quickly fixing his shirt.

JENNA: * With the animals skinned and gutted, Jo turns her attention to a pair of sticks she brought back with her, sharpening them in preparation for roasting their meal. "They won't taste great like this," she feels compelled to say. "But it's all there is, at the moment."

JUSTIN: * Shane settles back into his position against the tree, picking at the sparse grass on either side of him. "Well, a man's got to eat, good or no... A-and woman, of course." He is silently annoyed, unable to decide whether or not to be polite to the woman. But it just comes so naturally, it's hard to stop.

JENNA: * Jo grunts noncommittally, stringing the rabbits up on one of the sticks and laying them across the fire. "They're not bad stewed," she says after a moment, watching the soon-to-be food and periodically turning it. If she notices his change in tone, it's only in the sense that she feels less irritated when he speaks.

JUSTIN: * Shane draws his coat around him, and settles his arms over his chest as he watches the fire, and the meat cooking in it. The snap and pop of the rabbits roasting is all that accompanies the night sounds in the forest, at least for a while. Eventually Shane decides he should speak again, before she thinks he's too tired to keep up conversation. "Where did you learn to hunt? I don't think I've ever met a woman who knows how to hunt."

JENNA: * The look that darts across the fire is somewhere close to incredulity once again. "The women in your city must be useless," Jo mutters, then she pauses, deciding that was probably unfair all around. "It's not really that unusual. If you're alone, you have to take care of yourself. Though I had a few instructors along the way."

JUSTIN: * Shane looks mildly insulted, even though he isn't technically counted among the women of his city -- and even though he doesn't have much reason to like most of them anyway. "I think I would prefer to buy my food at the market."

JENNA: * Jo shrugs. "Most people would." It's not that she has anything against markets -- after all, she's stolen food from them before. But she considers it a point of pride not to mention this, instead turning the rabbits again with a faint sigh.

JUSTIN: * At this point, Shane really can't be bothered to care what she thinks. He doesn't feel like continuing to talk. He really shouldn't be having casual conversation with a criminal, anyway. The only reason he'll even eat the food she's preparing is because he needs the nourishment. He scuffs the dirt with his boot and slouches, looking discontent.

JENNA: * Jo seems content to let the silence linger until the rabbits are finished cooking, whereupon she lifts them off the fire and snaps the stick between the two, standing to take one over to Shane. "It's still hot," she warns him, offering the meal. "And if you get thirsty, the river's that way." She jerks her chin in its general direction.

JUSTIN: * Shane blinks, accepting his meal on a stick and giving it a wary look. "Thank you." He sniffs at it, and while it isn't the best scent, it doesn't disgust him. Good start, at least. "River water, indeed. I don't want to get sick, you know." He looks somewhat sulky as he takes a careful nibble at the hot meat.

JENNA: * She shoots him an annoyed look, walking back to the fire. "Well, it's all you're getting out here." Sitting down, she blows on the rabbit for a moment, then takes a chunk out of it almost vengefully. "If you want to die of thirst, that's not my watch."

JUSTIN: "I'd have brought a water skin, but this trip was short notice." He sniffs indignantly, looking away from her and picking at his meat politely. Or just languidly. "I'd sooner die of thirst than some strange disease, anyway."

JENNA: "I've drunk river water and oasis water most of my life. It's a sight cleaner than what's in your sewers." She takes another, angry bite and resolves to stop rising to his bait. She only wishes he would stop talking.

JUSTIN: "That is why we don't drink sewer water, m'lady." Shane sends her a harsh look, wondering if she's ever had truly pure water in her life. "For your information, our drinking water goes through a long purification process. But I suppose you wouldn't understand it if I tried to explain it to you." Thinking he has set her straight, he turns back to his meal and tries to look dignified as he eats the rodent.

JENNA: "The water that comes off the mountain is the best I've tasted," she says after a moment. "Purify all you want. That water's straight from the gods." She continues eating, feeling somewhat pleased at how the meat turned out. Not too tough, not too dry.

JUSTIN: "So are all the germs that are in it." He mutters, deciding finally that it's pointless to argue about it and busying himself with finishing his meager meal. He tosses the stick into the fire when he's done, settling himself against the tree and looking relatively uncomfortable.

JENNA: * Jo finishes hers with relish, also tossing it into the fire, then stands, ambling over to retrieve her belongings. "I suggest you move a little closer to the fire. It discourages local wildlife." She then goes back to her place, tossing her pack on the ground and settling against it.

JUSTIN: * Shane snorts, looking for all the world like he thinks he can handle himself. But he still does as she suggests, if somewhat inconspicuously. "If you say so."

JENNA: * Jo doesn't respond to this, instead rolling over so that her back faces the fire and gazing silently into the woods. She keeps one hand close to her daggers, but it isn't long before she drifts into a light sleep.

JUSTIN: * Shane has been napping on and off outside for the entire day, so he can't complain too much as he settles into the dirt and grass for yet another time. For a long while he watches the dark, listening to the sound of the forest nightlife, and trying not to worry about what he'll do if he wakes up and she's not there.

JENNA: * For her part, Jo sleeps through the night, stirring only once when something moves outside the circle of firelight. Nevertheless, she's up well before dawn, scattering the ashes from the fire and heading to the river to fill her canteen. She doesn't bother waking Shane, figuring to do that when she's ready to leave and offer to take him back to the city.

JUSTIN: * Shane is relatively trained to wake with the sun, but being as weary as his is -- much more so than he's been in a long time -- he doesn't wake at all. Blissfully asleep, and only comfortable now that he's too unconscious to be aware of where he is.

JENNA: * When she returns from the river, Jo finally makes her way over to him and nudges him firmly with her foot. "Wake up." She glances toward the sky. "Time to get moving."

JUSTIN: * Shane wakes up with a snort, flailing for a moment at the unexpected nudge. He sits upright, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and looking vacantly ahead. "Wha." A more thorough examination reveals he's in a forest. He turns toward the sound of the voice he heard, and the sight of woman wakes him up the rest of the way. "Oh. Didn't run off, I see. Don't think that'll make me go soft on you."

JENNA: * She chooses to ignore this last, instead running her hand wearily through her hair and glancing skyward again. "I can show you the way back to the city, but I'm moving on." She scoops up her pack, slinging it over one shoulder. "Lot of ground to cover."

JUSTIN: "I can find my way back on my own, thank you." Shane promptly pushes himself to his feet, dusting off his uniform and fixing his saber. "After I've talked to the authorities in... where did you say you were going?"

JENNA: "I didn't." She kicks a little more dirt over the fire's remains and turns to start walking. "I'm going back to my guild." She pauses, then glances back at him. "Morroc." Hoping the sheer distance involved will discourage him, she continues on.

JUSTIN: * Shane remains paused for a moment as he tries to picture that distance, somewhere as far as that not having occurred to him. He's undeterred, however, as he starts following after her. As far as he's concerned, she's never going to get nearly that far. "You don't have the kind of supplies you'd need for that sort of trip. You have to stop somewhere along the way."

JENNA: "I can live off the land, for the most part," she replies agreeably. "The only stop I planned was in Prontera." She doesn't seem much bothered by giving out the information, as if she's fairly certain he won't follow her that far -- or can't stop her.

JUSTIN: "Well, live off the land if you want, I will at least be picking up a pot to properly boil some water." Shane sorts through the maps he's memorized in his head, trying to remember where Prontera is in relation to Juno. While he's fairly good at memorizing things, he hasn't had much reason to pay attention to these sorts, never traveling. "But if you'd rather drink your 'river water of the gods', you're entitled to it."

JENNA: * She rolls her eyes, not bothering with his last statement. "It's a ways off, so you're likely to be thirsty before then." She sticks her hands behind her head, ambling now and wondering why he won't just go away.

JUSTIN: * Shane wiggles his shoulders, trying to work out the kinks he's got from sleeping on the ground. "I'll make do." He tries to sound sure of himself, though the thought is far from appealing. "I won't need it after we stop in Prontera, anyway."

JENNA: * She shrugs, rippling away a twitch of irritation at his use of the word 'we'. "Suit yourself," she growls irritably, quickening her pace as dawn slowly spreads across the sky. "Suit yourself."

JUSTIN: * Shane sighs heavily, folding his arms over his chest defiantly. "If I was suiting myself, you'd be giving yourself up into custody right now. But since you don't want to cooperate, I have to go through all this trouble."

JENNA: "You could always go away," Jo suggests mildly, gaze still fixed on the path ahead. "Because I'm not surrendering, and I really don't care what you think you can do about it." Weariness flickers momentarily across her face. The walk back to Morroc is going to be incredibly slow with him along.

JUSTIN: "Where I come from, we don't let criminals go free." Shane glares at the back of her head, imagining her lovely hair catching on fire. "I suppose Morroc must be a wonderful place to live for a person like you if that's their sense of justice."

JENNA: "I think Morroc will be interesting for you," she says flatly. She's almost convinced he's bluffing, as his efforts at apprehending her have been counter-productive at best. Nevertheless, it's abundantly clear he dislikes her. She finds it hard to believe the gods assigned him to her specifically to ruin her life.

JUSTIN: "I'm not sure I like interesting. The last couple days have been 'interesting', and so far I am not impressed." He sniffs, shoving his hands into the pockets of his coat and wishing they were on a main road. At least then he might be able to hail a passing wagon or patrolman for assistance.

JENNA: * This appears to be the general idea, as Jo steadfastly avoids the roads through the entire day, stopping only once to take a drink from her canteen. She glances silently at Shane before extending it to him, fairly certain he won't take it.

JUSTIN: * Not one to disappoint, Shane waves it away before tucking his arms across his chest. He's certainly thirsty, but he'll wait until he's about to pass out before he lets that bacteria-ridden stuff touch his lips. "How many days is it 'till we reach Prontera?"

JENNA: "Couple weeks, at this pace." Jo smiles lazily, taking another sip and making sure to relish it as it goes down. "It was slower on the caravan."

JUSTIN: * Shane grimaces, peering out into the surrounding forest for a moment, uncomfortable again. "If I'd known I was going to have to make such a long trip just to arrest you, I'd have gone back and acquired a peco."

JENNA: * Jo snorts. "I'm not worth the effort." She then sighs, folding her arms, and pushes away from where she's seated. "Besides, pecos smell." She starts walking, annoyed at the ache starting between her shoulders. She's fairly certain it's from stress.

JUSTIN: "So will you after a week in this forest." Shane sniffs, but all he smells is pine. At least he hasn't started to reek yet. He'd hate to find out what bathing in a river is like. "At least Pecos would get us where we're going faster."

JENNA: "I'm used to it," Jo responds easily, neglecting to mention that she also enjoys a good, hot bath when she can get it. "The birds are expensive and hard to steal, anyway." She skips a few paces ahead, waiting for his reaction.

JUSTIN: "I don't have to pay to use them for official errands." Shane boasts. He blinks as she skips ahead, and fumbles for a moment to disentangle his arms from each other and hurry to keep up again. "As you can see, a legitimate job has its advantages."

JENNA: "Only if I had your particular 'legitimate' job." She keeps up the pace, though her skipping ceases. "My work has its own advantages. I don't mind walking." She sighs inwardly, mentally mapping her route home for the sixth time in the last half-hour. "Either way, my lifestyle isn't your concern."

JUSTIN: "I'm a guard, your lifestyle is my concern. It's my entire job, in fact." Shane shoots her a stabbing gaze again, wishing she could actually see some of the dirty looks he's been giving her. "And any 'advantages' that you might have aren't worth breaking the law for."

JENNA: * Jo doesn't answer at first, weary of the entire conversation. Then she sighs, moving one hand to rub her nose before shifting it back behind her head. "You're just nosier than an old woman, as far as I can tell."

JUSTIN: "And you're as bitchy as one." Shane's hand snaps up to his mouth, a second too late to stop his tongue from voicing what his mind was thinking. "I-I'm sorry, miss. I shouldn't use such coarse language."

JENNA: * Jo turns sharply, surprised, then bursts out laughing at his delayed response. "I'd rather you say what you mean," she says coolly, once she's stopped. "Pretending to be polite to a 'filthy criminal' is just insulting." She smiles almost cheerily as she turns back to the road.

JUSTIN: * While Shane doesn't entirely disagree about that -- and certainly not about the part where she admits to being a filthy criminal -- he still doesn't think it excuses unnecessarily dirty language. He is fairly certain she doesn't give a damn, however, and he turns his embarrassed face to the ground as he walks. "Well, one can be honest without using ill-mannered talk."

JENNA: * She resists the impulse to laugh again, deciding it would probably set him off on one of his rants. "If you say so," she says, once she's mastered the impulse. "It obviously bothers you more than it bothers me."

JUSTIN: * Shane fidgets uncomfortably, unable to raise his eyes again at this point. "Well, better me than nobody." His arms tighten over his chest, as if trying to protect himself from his own embarrassment, and he falters a step or two back.

JENNA: * Jo shrugs, having no good response to that, and continues walking in silence, musing wearily on the strange things people get worked up over. This in turn takes her back to her own worries, and her brow furrows uneasily, thinking of the message she has to deliver to her guild when she returns. She's almost glad for the delays her companion is providing.

JUSTIN: * Shane is, for his sake, happy for the lack of response, and decides to use the silence to try settling his mind. Filtering out all the stupid worries he has, he concentrates on what he's going to do when they reach Prontera -- even though that is still a week away. This thought makes him start worrying all over again.