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Shun didn't get a whole lot of rest either, considering it was a bit hard to sleep in such harsh conditions. Not to mention that he was also trying to be alert in case some of Suto's men came straggling out towards them. He didn't really want to have to deal with them, no matter what his intentions were exactly. But hopefully he'll be able to get some actual rest once they reached the town.

Once dawn came about, he was up, getting ready to get back onto the road.

Its just a jump to the left... and then a step to the riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight~

Time passed on and it was nearly night once again. The scenery still didn't change much during the entire trip. Though after awhile buildings could be seen on the darkening horizon. A welcoming sight as it meant they would soon have a warm place to stay for the night.

The place wasn't too big, but it had an inn and a small stable, as well as a few small shops and whatnot. Once he had his horse set up for the night, he went on inside the inn... where he found himself with somewhat of a dilemma. It'd be cheaper on his part to have a single room. But he wasn't entirely keen on sharing it. At the same time, while he was pretty sure she couldn't really go anywhere, he wasn't so sure if he should really leave her alone. This wasn't a problem when he was on his way here since he mostly camped out to avoid being questioned on why he had an unconscious and tied up girl with him.

But first he wanted to know something. Maybe it'll help him figure out what to do. So turning around, he glanced towards Poke.

"Do you have enough to get your own room?"

"Then get your own."

For now, he figured it wouldn't matter so much to keep a close eye on her. They were still very much in the middle of the arctic, and he doubted she was desperate enough to steal his horse and attempt to find her way back to her friends. At least not now.

"Get ready to leave at dawn," was all he had to say for now.

Shun went ahead and got a room for himself, then went on towards the dining area to grab something to eat, leaving Poke for the time being.

The next morning, Shun was outside, having already eaten and checked out of the inn. It was nice to have been able to sleep in the warmth, especially since the next few days they would be camping out again until they reached the next town. He wasn't certain of his target's exact location, but they would have to be southwest in any case.

Before long, they were on the road again. A day or so passing by without incident, unless you would count having to deal with the frigid weather something. It went by silently for the most part, seeing how Shun didn't have much to say most of the time.

But one afternoon, he actually had a question for Poke. And as he asked, he glanced behind at her momentarily.

"What exactly would you be willing to do to ensure the safety of your friends?"

"I wasn't implying that."

Looking straight ahead again, he tried to think of a number of situations that may come about later on. It was mainly out of curiosity that he decided to bring up this topic.

"But there's a decent chance it may come down to a fight to the death. You don't really seem like the type who would really be willing to take a life. It may even come down to having to choose which friends to save and which to let go."

"I'm not so sure about that. A dead body can give quite a bit of information as well as a live one. Even so there's always possibilities of outside forces that'll threaten their lives."

Shrugging, Shun fell back into silence. It would be another day or so before they reacher warmer territories. And it will be then that he'd have to keep a closer eye on Poke. To some extent, he hoped she would try and get away from him. It was pointless to try and ask her to lead him to her friends, but there were other ways to find out in any case.

And it was just then that his eyes caught some movement in the snow.The next thing he knew was that a rock came whizzing straight across his face, narrowly missing him. A quick look to the side and he saw a man with a sling. Two others appeared from his opposite side, effectively flanking the duo. And a fourth showed up some distance ahead of them.They too were armed with slings, as well as knives. With all the white they wore, it was no surprise that they weren't easily noticed before they made their move.

"Give us all your supplies and money, and we'll let ye pass!" the one from in front shouted.

((If there are no small groups of people living in the arctic, I'll edit this. XD; ))

Shun narrowed his eyes as the four slowly moved towards them. When Poke said she was going to give them her stuff, he just shot her a glare. She may have been willing to give in to the bandits, but he sure as wasn't. He supposed he could just try blazing away on horseback but that would most likely only cause a barrage of rocks to be slung towards them.

"What about ye?" called out the one in front as one of the guys to the side started to move towards their back. As he approached Poke, he kept his knife drawn. The bandit figured once he got her supplies, he'll just slit her throat open, or maybe drag her back to camp alive for some other things..

Shun didn't answer the leading bandit. This caused the guy to start moving forward, irritated from being ignored.

"Hey! I said, what ab-gaaack!"

His words were cut short as the assassin brought out a small blade and threw it straight into his throat. As the man fell to the ground, the two on both sides readied their slings, twirling it over their heads before launching them at Shun.

"Oh, yer friend there just made a big mistake missy. He'll be killed for sure now.. but we can spare him if you agree to come wit us," said the one closest to Poke with a grin.

The one bandit didn't expect the quick retaliation, leaving him open to both of Poke's strikes. The first one stunned him, and the second simply knocked him flat on his back, leaving him dazed on the ground. It took him a moment or two, but he slowly started to get back to his feet, lunging out for one of Poke's legs in the process.

Still on the back of his horse, Shun couldn't do a whole lot to dodge the two rocks. He managed to duck one, but the second hit him square in the arm. Hissing from the sudden pain he quickly dismounted. The black stallion shifted nervously from all the violence but he wasn't ready to bolt just yet.

Rubbing his arm, Shun crouched down, glaring at one of the bandits as he rubbed the spot the rock hit. His leather armor provided no protection in that particular spot, leaving the area sore and most likely leaving a welt. For a moment he glanced over at Poke, who seemed to be doing just fine on her own. Then, he rushed the nearest standing bandit, grabbing one of his daggers in the process.

Seeing a second comrad go down, but thankfully not killed yet, the remaining bandit readied another rock and flung it straight for Poke's head. Maybe if he was lucky, a direct hit wouldn't kill her and simply knock her out.

The fallen bandit flopped to the ground, missing Poke's legs. So then he started to push himself to his feet to pursue the girl with his knife. Coming up from behind, he made an attempt to stab the girl in the backside.

The second bandit was a bit disappointed to see that he only managed to graze the girl with his rock. He was about to grab his knife but ended up being a bit too slow, taking both hits. After receiving the blows, he staggered backwards but managed to stay on his feet. He had his hands on his face and he was doubled over somewhat, so it was going to take a few moments for him to recover.

The final one saw Shun rushing him, and prepared to stab him with his blade once the guy was close enough. However, Shun was able to dodge the strike. And before the bandit knew it, he had a dagger embedded in his belly.

Shun pushed the man away, watching him fall to the ground before flicking away a few beads of blood that trickled down his weapon. Turning to see the remaining two, he saw Poke fending them off, and she still didn't seem to be having much trouble. Still, he figured he may as well finish this so he started to make his way towards them.