To say the road was tense might be an understatement. To Kirk it felt like snakes walked the road with them, silent and menacing, any word spoken their fangs striking. Quietly he watched everyone as they trudged on through the cold, especially those who seemed to stand apart. Perhaps especially Herian, whom he had snapped at during the confrontation with the child.

Slowly he angled himself in her direction, closing the distance in minute steps, not wanting himself to turn into the snake. He pulled a skin from his pack.

"Thirsty?" he asked as his opening salvo. Not his smoothest moment, but he wasn't sure where he stood with her.