Chapter Twelve

> You awaken sitting on the floor, propped up against the wall of the cavern
> It’s late in the morning, you slept in longer than you usually do
> You stand up, working through the tension in your back from your awkward position
> Gilda’s still unconscious on your bed, snoring slightly. It looks like she’s more asleep than knocked out by this point
> You don’t know much about first aid or treating concussions, but rest would do her some good. Probably best not to wake her
> You grab your bow and head outside, searching for breakfast
> You didn’t want to be gone long in case she woke up, no time to look for something good
> Squirrel it is then…joy
> Within the hour you’ve acquired a trio of the large brown rodents
> You sit near the fire at the mouth of the alcove, cleaning the squirrels with your knife and throwing the refuse into the nearby pond
> As you finish skewering the meat over the fire to roast, you hear Gilda begin to stir behind you
> She sits up slowly, groaning and clutching her head
> “What…what happened?” she asks, her eyes bleary
“One of the wolves knocked you out,” You explain, turning the meat over the fire, “I brought you back here.”
> A simple, “Oh” is her only reply. You both stay silent while the food sizzles over the flames
> After you judge the meat has been cooked enough, you remove the two skewers, handing one to Gilda as you sit down opposite her
> “So,” you begin, not particularly looking forward to beginning your meal, “How are you feeling?”
> “Fine” she answers, digging voraciously into her food, “Other than this damn headache, and a few scratches, I’m fine”
 “Good,” you reply, taking a few bites of the stringy tasteless meat, “Then you can go ahead and leave as soon as possible”
>“Nope, sorry. Can’t do that.” She says, casually tossing the now empty skewer over her shoulder
“What? Why?”
> “Because you saved my life.” She explains, rising to her feet and exploring your camp, “That means I owe you a life debt. My griffon honor demands I be in your service until my debt is cleared.”
> You choke on a mouthful of squirrel as you try to process what she just said. Life debt? No. No way. You are not dealing with this.
“Nope, not happening. I don’t want you here. I… absolve you, or whatever. No debt. Now get out.”
> “Sorry, doesn’t work that way.” she replies, a smug grin on her face as she grabs one of the apples you gathered the other day.
> God dammit, she’s enjoying this.
> “Besides,” she continues, polishing the apple against her chest, “You’ve got a pretty nice setup here, much better than the crappy old nest I have”
“So let me get this straight. Because I saved your life, you get to annoy me, sleep in my cave, and eat my food?”
> “Yeah, pretty much.” She answers, taking a large bite out of the apple, “Deal with it.”
> You sigh, burying your face in your palm. This shit is going to get old really fast.