They spent the rest of the night at the little tinkling waterfall, bashfully washing each other and their new clothes in the water. In the wake of their tender moment, they were both a bit tongue-tied. Though some of that could be owed to the intensity with which they were focusing on washing each other's bodies.

It was Finn's idea initially. She offered to help wash Adi's back and then just kept going to the rest of her when Adi didn't protest.

Finn still couldn't get over how soft Adi's skin was. With the addition of water and soap, it slid across her palms like silk and shone like it as well. She even got her wish of finally handling Adi's ample chest. Her breasts were impressively big and mouth watering in their softness. Finn felt her soul leave her body a little bit when she finally pressed her own hands over them, pressing them up until they overflowed her hands. As an added bonus, she finally got to see Adi's dark skin flush across her cheeks and nose.

When Finn finally could make no plausible excuse to keep rubbing soap over Adi's skin, Adi was quick to take her own turn with the soap. Adi washed Finn with a similar dedication to pressing her deft fingers over every inch of her skin, despite Finn's assurances that she could wash herself fine.

Adi's strong hands running over her own skin had been tantalizing, but it was hard for her to relax into the feeling. Her head was still reeling with questions and worries over what turn their relationship had taken. The secret she was keeping from Adi remained a distant klaxon in her mind that stopped her from fully relaxing into her touch.

Adi's touch was firm and thorough, building an unwilling heat in Finn's head. Her eyes were intent on Finn's body, running soapy hands over her muscular thighs, her flat stomach, and paying maybe too much attention to cleaning her chest. Finn was beet red through the whole cleaning, but it never went any further than inappropriately lingering touches.

After they had declared each other sufficiently cleaned, they pulled out all the clothing they had nicked from the hunters. They gave the clothing such a thorough washing that it was amazing that the old fabric didn't disintegrate under their punishing hands. Adi especially beat the clothing against the rocks with powerful slaps that belied the strong muscles lying beneath her softer shape.

They got more comfortable with each other during the washing, their words coming easier, even if they were limited to the task at hand. Exchanged questions about this stain or that loose thread made up the majority of their grumbled conversation.

Finally, the clothes were washed and hung up on low tree branches to dry. Finn and Adi huddled together well away from the chilly water on a low rock and shared some dried fruit. The awkwardness returned, but at least they were sitting pressed against each other, knee to shoulder. Both of them were shivering slightly, but it was getting closer to dawn and the promise of the sun was slowly warming the surrounding forest.

Finn pulled the backpack closer to her and rummaged around until she found the wax and the soft piece of cloth that went with it. She sat the old dried out bow across her lap and unscrewed the cap on the wax.

Adi watched curiously. "It looks pretty old. You think you can repair it?" she asked.

"I think so," Finn said, eyeing how well the wax was sinking into the wood. So far, it seemed to be taking it pretty well. "It may take a day or two for it to soften up enough that it's safe to use. But, once it is, I can start hunting."

Frowning down at the bow and fidgeting with her fingers, Adi asked, "But you think there's a human town nearby. Once we get there, do you think we'll need the bow?"

Finn looked over at her with raised eyebrows. Adi looked worried, her thick dark brows laying over serious eyes. It took a moment to realize that Adi was worried Finn would have to use the bow on humans, if she were attacked.

"Oh! No, I won't need the bow there. But, I'll still need to start hunting. I mean, humans aren't going to feed us or give us any supplies. They use currency for everything," Finn explained, mentally berating herself for not explaining it to Adi before.

"Currency?" Adi said slowly, trying out the word. She looked severely doubtful. "Did you mean currently?"

"No, I mean like. Uh, it's hard to explain," Finn groaned, scratching at her head in frustration.

She was used to traveling through human territory when necessary. But, most fae never left the land around their homes, so Adi would have no reason to understand how humans lived.

In fae lands, the laws of hospitality applied to all travelers. If a fae traveler showed up on your doorstep, you were required to provide them with whatever they needed. If not, you ran the risk that your poor traveler was really a god or a powerful lord in disguise, who would quickly seek their revenge on a poor host.

But, humans didn't have anything like that. Their gods and lords and ladies always made it very clear to everyone exactly how important they were at all times. And, their kings kept them all under his control by making them use the gold coins that only he and his government could create in order to trade. Without the coin of the realm, no humans would be serving Finn food or giving her supplies to help her on her way.

"Okay, so. You know how. Let's say you have a chicken," Finn fumbled, trying to think of an easy way to explain all this to Adi.

"Uh huh," Adi replied, still sounding extremely doubtful.

"And, your neighbor has a goat," Finn added, making it up as she went along.

"Uh huh," Adi agreed blandly.

"So, normally, you would trade your eggs for goat milk, right?" Finn asked.

Nodding, Adi agreed, though her face made it clear she had no idea where Finn was going with this.

"But, if you were a human, that would be against the law," Finn said.

At that, Adi looked furious. "Against the law? That's awful! How can they-"

Before Adi could get going on what seemed to be a really magnificent rant, Finn waved her hands frantically.

"No, no, not like specifically this example. Probably the king doesn't care about eggs and goat's milk. But, yeah, technically you can't do that. Because all trading has to be done by coin, right?"

Adi's nose was wrinkled in disgust, but Finn decided that probably just meant she was starting to understand what she was saying.

"Why must you use coin for simple trades?" Adi asked incredulously.

"Because, all trade is taxed," Finn answered bluntly. She had thought that was obvious.

But, it was becoming clear from Adi's face that her low opinion of humans was only getting lower.

"I'm saying all this just to explain how I won't be able to get us any food or equipment in the human settlement. I'll need coin to get any of that, and right now I don't have any," Finn said with a shrug.

"You'll have to barter for any assistance," Adi concluded with a scowl.

"Pretty much," Finn agreed.

"Awful," Adi spat. "No wonder humans are so miserable when their lords work so hard to grind them under their heel."

Finn wanted to smile, but felt it was probably inappropriate with the current subject of conversation. It was kind of sweet that Adi was able to empathize with humans even while they held her people hostage. Finn felt rather sure that her mouth did something strange as she struggled to keep the fond smile off her face.

Adi crossed her arms under her ample chest, and Finn had to look away quickly. She went back to waxing the bow and tried valiantly not to remember how warm and heavy Adi's breasts had felt in her soapy hands.

"Could you trade what you're able to hunt? Surely humans have some use for meat and fur. Could you trade what we don't need for information and supplies and the like?" Adi asked after a moment.

"Oh," Finn said, turning to look at Adi. Adi raised her eyebrows at her. Finn felt especially slow at that moment. "I hadn't thought of that," she admitted bashfully. "But, that's a good idea. I could pose as a lost hunter."

"Do you think that would work?" Adi asked, looking hopeful.

Finn looked down at the bow thoughtfully. She would look like a piss poor hunter with her ill-fitting clothes and ancient looking bow. And hiding her hair and ears and tattoos would be a pain in the ass and make her look suspicious. But she might be able to manage it if they picked their night well.

"Maybe," Finn allowed. "I think it's our best bet for now, anyway."

Adi smiled triumphantly, and Finn's heart squeezed in her chest.

Finn really hoped her heart wasn't in for as big of a beating as she thought it was. But, she wasn't going to bet on it.