A Secluded Clearing in the Preserve, Several Hours Pre-Dawn Sunday Morning

[wrongkindofsith]

Cara	Unable to sleep, arms wrapped around her knees, Cara glared moodily into the flames of a small fire. Ever since she'd walked out on Richard, she'd been trying and failing to suppress the twisted knot of feelings in her gut. With Richard and Kahlan on the island, duty, as well as a hollow, unacknowledged sense of loneliness, dictated she should be by their sides, protecting them, but at the same time she couldn't stand the thought of being around either of them right now and wasn't even sure why. Frowning, she tossed another twig on the fire.
Richard	Tracking an errant Mord'Sith through the woods in the middle of the night was one of the many things had not been on Richard's to-do list for this weekend, but after Cara'd had an entire day to cool down and still hadn't returned, he and Kahlan hadn't had much of a choice in the matter. While he felt no small amount of pride that she'd obviously taken his lessons about covering your trail to heart, it hadn't made it any easier to find her. He tapped Kahlan on the shoulder and pointed towards the circle of firelight.
Kahlan	Kahlan nodded and mouthed 'stay here', before heading towards the clearing, doing her best to make enough noise not to startle Cara. "Hello, Cara."
Cara	"Kahlan." Cara didn't bother to look up from the fire, but her hand dropped off her agiel.
Kahlan	Kahlan could see what Richard had meant about Cara being, well, not Cara. She mightn't have wanted to be greeted with an agiel, but the Mord'Sith normally would at least have gotten to her feet at her approach. "Can I sit with you?" she asked, not wanting to chase Cara over the rest of the island if she decided to take off again.
Cara	"Suit yourself." She shrugged, still not looking at Kahlan. "Did Richard send you?"
Kahlan	Kahlan seated herself next to Cara, leaving enough space between them she wouldn't feel closed in. "No." Given Richard trying to talk with her hadn't worked, she'd decided to try, since Kahlan at least had some experience dealing with a younger sibling, though she suspected that neither Cara or Denee would appreciate the comparison,. "But he's worried about you, we both are."
Cara	"You needn't be," Cara's shoulders hunched that little bit more as she told the fire. "I said I was fine."
Kahlan	Sometimes, Kahlan really didn't need to be a Confessor, or to be able to read Mord'Sith to tell when Cara was lying. "So fine you'd rather hide in the woods than spend time with us?"
Cara	Cara didn't have an answer for that, so she just glared at the fire some more.
Kahlan	"You were happy the last time we saw you." It had been adorable to watch, not that Kahlan would tell Cara that, the mood she was in. "It wasn't that long ago."
Cara	"Maybe not for you." There was a definite edge of anger in her voice. "It's been a year here. Things happen."
Kahlan	One day Cara would be as blunt and forthright about her feelings as she was with everything else, on that day Kahlan would probably die of shock. "Cara, what happened?"
Cara	Cara flinched away from the obvious pity in Kahlan's voice. "It doesn't matter."
Kahlan	It was sympathy, not pity, Cara. "Of course it matters, if it's hurting you."
Cara	"Mord'Sith, used to pain." she mumbled, too tired to deal with this. Why wouldn't Kahlan just drop it?
Kahlan	Because it worried her to see Cara like this, as it was she wished she'd left her daggers behind with Richard, just in case. "What happened to Clark?" It mightn't have been the wisest thing she'd ever done, bringing up the plaid-covered Shadrin in the room, but she needed to push past Cara's stubbornness somehow.
Cara	Cara's reply was inaudible as she pushed to her feet and started walking away from the fire.
Kahlan	Kahlan wasn't going to let her get away that easily. Not after spending half the night looking for her. She stood to follow, reaching for her shoulder. "Cara."
Cara	The second she felt Kahlan's hand on her shoulder, without even thinking about it, Cara swung blindly. "I don't know!"
Kahlan	Kahlan wasn't expecting that. Either that. Luckily the blow was too wild to put her down, as being caught off-guard by Cara otherwise might have. She shook her head, holding up one hand to forestall Richard from trying to help. "What?
Cara	"Not if he's dead. Or alive. Just that he's gone and I'm never going to see him again." The words she didn't want to say spilled out raggedly, each sentence punctuated with more wild swings. She needed to make something hurt and Kahlan was right there. "Talking won't change that."
Kahlan	Neither would fighting, even if it was obvious the other woman needed some kind of release. That said, she wasn't in the mood to serve as Cara's personal punching bag. "You don't know you won't," she said gently, even as she aimed a much more focused punch of her own at Cara's gut.
Cara	Cara didn't even try to block, gasping for breath as the fist connected solidly. "You don't think I wanted to believe that?" She tackled Kahlan clumsily, shoving her shoulder against her chest, pulling at her hair. "He's gone. Like all the others."
Kahlan	Kahlan would have welcomed the outpouring of feelings, except, ow, the hair. By some miracle, her voice remained vaguely calm even as she stomped on Cara's instep. "Cara. Stop."
Cara	Even if she'd wanted to, Cara wasn't really capable of that right now. She hooked a leg behind Kahlan's knee and pulled, bearing them to the ground. "So I can hear another lecture about? How I should care like you two do?"
Kahlan	And that would be the back of Kahlan's head colliding with the ground. Cara was kind of trying her patience now. "We do care about you."
Cara	Straddling Kahlan's waist, Cara delivered a vicious backhand. "So much so you sent me away the second I wasn't useful any more!"
Kahlan	More like because terrified she'd get herself killed trying to prove she wasn't useless. Ears ringing from the slaps, Kahlan tightened her grip on her power so she wouldn't accidentally confess her and shot her hand up to grip Cara's throat. Hopefully it would stop her before she managed to do something she'd regret later.
Cara	It worked. Cara instantly went still as her training took over. She closed her eyes, waiting for confession. It couldn't hurt that much worse.
Kahlan	Once she was certain Cara wasn't going to start fighting again, Kahlan sat up as best she could with one hand free and a lap-full of Mord'Sith. Crying Mord'Sith if the warm dripping on her arm was any indication. She sensed rather than heard Richard finally entering the clearing. "Oh, Cara," she murmured when she got a good look at her face and realised what she was waiting for. Automatically she let go of Cara's neck and drew her into a hug.
Cara	This was too much for even a Mord'Sith's control. Clinging tightly to Kahlan, Cara broke down into great, ugly, wracking sobs that shook her body.
Kahlan	Murmuring soothing nonsense and rubbing Cara's back, Kahlan glanced across the clearing to see Richard building up the the fire, concern evident in his face. This was going to be fun all around come morning proper.

[OOC: NFI, okay for broadcast, OOC welcome.]