LOTS - CARA/KAHLAN

Rocks

stopstartstall

Title: Rocks

Author: stopstartstall

Pairing: Cara/Kahlan

Rating: G

Summary: Cara is collecting rocks, Kahlan wants to know why.

Spoilers: 2x19 Extinction

Words: ~1000

Disclaimer: Shameless fluff inspired by one sentence in ‘Faith of the Fallen’ and transferred to the TV-verse. I was supposed to be writing more Cara/Dahlia but this happened instead :D

Rocks

stopstartstall

Kahlan never ceased to be amazed by all the things Cara did when she thought no one was watching. She’d seen the Mord’Sith covertly leave crumbs of bread for birds and squirrels when she thought no one was paying attention, and she’d half woken one cold night to find Cara tucking a just vacated still-warm blanket carefully around her before pacing off into the dark to stand watch. Now the Mord’Sith seemed to be collecting pebbles and rocks. Pebbles and rocks, Kahlan realised one day, that were suspiciously pretty.

The first time, Cara was coming back from filling their waterskins at a nearby stream, and as she walked she was throwing a smooth pebble up and catching it in time with each step. Kahlan just stared at her, puzzled, until Cara explained that she was thinking of making herself a sling and needed pebbles for ammunition. Kahlan accepted the answer readily enough but she took note of the way Cara glanced around quickly before stuffing the rock deeply into the bottom of her pack. It wasn’t unusual for the Mord’Sith to be secretive but Kahlan thought this was strange even for her.

After that it seemed as though Cara was always stooping to pick up pebbles, examining them and then either putting them in her pack with the others or throwing them away. Whenever they encountered a stream of some kind Cara always volunteered to fetch their water. Sometimes she was gone for hours at a time and when she came back her pack seemed to be riding lower on her back. Richard and Zedd remained clueless, of course, but Kahlan noticed each and every time.

One night when Zedd was away and Richard had gone hunting, Kahlan sat by the fire and watched as Cara paced around their camp keeping watch. She saw Cara pick up a rock and then discard it quickly and her curiosity got the better of her.

“Why are you collecting rocks?”

The Mord’Sith stiffened, met her eyes and then looked away quickly. “I’m not.”

Kahlan smiled into the darkness, “Yes you are. I’ve seen you.”

Cara paced for a few moments and then stammered, “I’ve told you they’re weapons. Ammunition. For my sling.”

Kahlan’s smile widened, “Ah the famous sling.” She could feel Cara bristle in the darkness. Kahlan let her before playing her trump card, “You haven’t got a sling.”

“I’m going to make one!” Cara growled, frustration evident in her voice. Richard returned from his hunt with a rabbit slung over his shoulder just then and Cara stormed past him, further into the darkness saying she would go and catch her own dinner since he obviously wasn’t capable of trapping enough food for the three of them.

Richard blinked in surprise, “What’s wrong with her?”

“Oh nothing. Just, you know, Cara.”

Kahlan knew better than to bring the subject up again. As far as Kahlan could tell, Cara had stopped collecting pebbles now but her pack was still heavy with them, and she couldn’t help but wonder what Cara was planning. The next time they came across a town Cara said she’d catch up with them later and disappeared into a crowd. Kahlan watched her go uneasily and wondered about the rocks.

That night Cara swaggered into their camp on the outskirts of town with a smirk on her face and her pack riding noticeably higher. Richard had stayed in town to gather supplies and Zedd was already sound asleep and snoring gently. Kahlan looked up from the fire she’d been tending when Cara approached.

The Mord’Sith met her eyes. “You asked me why I was collecting rocks.” She dropped her pack to her feet and reached carefully into a pouch fastened to her belt and pulled out a jar like the ones that Night Wisps were kept in. It gleamed a bright blue in the darkness and Kahlan squinted at it, unsure of what she was seeing.

“You were collecting rocks for a Night Wisp?” Kahlan couldn’t make sense of it.

Cara shook her head and moved closer to the Confessor. “The rocks are the Night Wisp. Look.” She knelt down and held the little container up and Kahlan saw for the first time that the light shimmered as Cara tipped the jar and the glimmering pebbles inside it moved against each other. “They’re spelled.”

Kahlan stared at the effect, “Oh Cara, it’s beautiful.”

Cara looked away and down so her hair fell over her face, but Kahlan didn’t need to see to know she was smiling, “It’s for you.” She pressed it into Kahlan’s hand. “So you can remember how you saved the last Night Wisp.”

Kahlan tried to meet Cara’s eyes but the Mord’Sith still looked away, “You saved the Night Wisps, Cara.”

Cara looked up quickly, and Kahlan thought for a moment she saw tears in her green eyes. “With your help,” she said simply. She looked away again as Kahlan stared at the little jar in her hand, “And besides, I already remember.”

“Oh Cara,” she said again, “Thank you.” It wasn’t hard to keep the sincerity out of her voice. She tipped the tiny jar and watched as the pebbles shifted and the light moved. She wondered how many of Cara’s rocks were in the jar and then realised something else, “Why did you need so many rocks?” Kahlan shifted the jar in her hand. “Your pack was weighed down with them but this is only tiny.”

“The spell shrunk them,” Cara explained as though puzzled by the question, “How else would they all fit in and shimmer like that?” She stood up, “Now get some rest. I’ll stand the first watch.”

Kahlan closed her hand tightly around the jar and lay down on her bedroll as the Mord'Sith watched. Satisfied, Cara stalked over to the other side of the camp and leaned against a rock. When she heard Kahlan’s breathing even out and was sure she was asleep, she reached into the pouch at her belt again and pulled out another Night Wisp jar, the twin to the one she had given Kahlan.

She pulled her gloves off, stroked one bare finger down the side of the glass and smiled to herself in the darkness, “I remember,” she whispered softly.

~ ~ ~