Leigh trained her gunshot stare onto Kaitar. Don't bullshit me. How bad is it?

Kaitar bit back the retort that it was she, not he, who had called for the halt to rest. Bad. And gonna get worse.

Leigh looked away and kicked at the sand with a dusty boot. Shit.

Leigh. Listen...

She didn't look at him, though Kaitar saw anger written over her face as clearly as if she had yelled her frustration aloud. Perhaps she was pissed that, in admitting to the severity of his injury, he had failed somehow. That it had been his fault in the first place. Weren't men supposed to just shut up and tough it out, even if their leg felt like it was being chewed on by s'rats? Probably. Her reaction might not be reasonable or fair, but hell, people staring their own Death in the face were rarely reasonable. Kaitar wondered if Leigh had it in her head to shoot at him with more than an empty pistol. She had the rifle, after all.

Hey. Listen, his voice was sharp with irritation now. Leigh finally turned to look at him, the anger on her face replaced with reluctant solemnity. Good. He wanted her to be thinking hard on what he was going to say. The tracks we're following... I don't think they're more than a half a day ahead of us. Probably reach them by dusk if you don't slow down. Just keep going like you are right now and pay attention to the mule prints. Shit, it's not like it's a hard trail to follow, they weren't trying to hide their path.

Leigh's eyes narrowed and Kaitar knew she understood what he was saying. You giving up? she asked. There was fear there, just under the cold accusation in her words. Kaitar didn't know, in all honesty, if he really was giving up or just being realistic about the situation. He closed his eyes and shrugged.

I'm just letting you know.

The hell is that supposed to mean?

Kaitar felt irritation prick him again. What the hell did she think it meant? She wasn't stupid. She knew what it meant. He opened his eyes again to meet Leigh's gaze. This leg is making me sick. That means blood poisoning. That means fever, and that means my brains are going to start frying here pretty soon in this heat. I might not even make it to tonight. I don't know. I'm just saying... the Squatters will be easy to find, if you pay attention and don't let your mind wander. They're leaving a track a blind drunk could follow.

Leigh's lips, cracked and dry, pulled back from her teeth as her bloodshot eyes drilled into him. Both hands clenched into fists, ripping at the sand as her fingers pulled closed. For a moment, Kaitar thought she was going to lose it on him. He saw her shoulders tensed and shake with ...anger? ...terror? ...sadness? All of the above, he decided. He felt more calm that she, perhaps because he was older. Or perhaps because he had some inkling from the beginning...

...fuck, it was more than an inkling, don't bother to sugar coat that turd...

...that he might not be returning from this trek out. Neiro wanted him dead. Had practically said so when he gave the ultimatum. Maybe he was just too tired to get so worked up, or maybe it was the fever burning in him which made him feel so lethargic, but Kaitar only waited with detached curiosity to see if Leigh would blow.