It was day 4 of their journey, and so far, they'd been lucky. Nobody spotted Kaitlyn's golden eyes. Nobody tried to rob them, and they still had a day's worth of food.
They'd stretched our ill-gotten goods by also collecting food when they could, though Kaitlyn would make a fuss as soon as Emil even so much as looked at a prudya. She'd even gone so far as to try to burn one of the bushes as he got closer to it.
The sun was starting to set and it was time to make camp for the night. It was then that she asked what he figured was a natural question, with unnatural timing as they pulled off of, and away from, the road.
"Mr Assassin, if not the underworld, where might our destination be?"
"We're headed for... hold on." Emil turned to look at her, not bothering to hide his curiosity and confusion. "We've been traveling together for 6 days, 4 of which have been rather uneventful and without immediate danger." She looked at Emil, exasperated for reasons he couldn't figure out.
"Yes, and? You haven't answered my question."
"...and you just thought to ask now? You didn't give ideas, haven't griped about it, nothin'. You just went along for the ride and now you want to know where you're goin'? That's the first thing people usually want to know."
"I'm sorry. I was busy trying not to get killed by you and everyone else!"
He sighed heavily as he kept a firm grasp on the rope as he led the donkey. "I'd like to point out that you're still here, on the donkey that I'm leading, that you paid for."
Slack-jawed silence followed as Emil tied the donkey to a tree before he continued.
"If you must know, I'm planning to go to Azidon."
"That's... not exactly close."
"That's what I keep getting told." Indeed, Emil was told several times, by several people, that Azidon was anything but close. It was finally starting to sink in.
"Why not take a sky ship?"
"If I had enough money to do that, I wouldn't be in this mess in the first place." Skyships were a newer means of travel for nobility and merchants. It was not something a commoner, let alone a 'gutter child' would use. Emil wondered if they'd even let him board if we could manage to gather the funds.
"Hmm, I suppose you're right." Kaitlyn dismounted and began looking for twigs, sticks, and leaves. They'd established a rhythm, each doing things to contribute to their survival. Cooking, hunting, foraging, keeping watch, and any other necessary tasks.
Emil gathered food while Kaitlyn started the fire, not that it took long with her elemental affinities. Before long, and just before the sun set, the pair had food roasting on an open fire. It was then that Kaitlyn asked a simple question that disrupted his generally calm demeanor, "Don't you find the circumstances of you... employment... to be... suspicious?"
He leaned back in surprise, not bothering to hide his reaction, not that doing so would get him anywhere, and he had nothing to hide. "I'd be lying if I said everything felt like sunshine and rainbows. I didn't trust the man as far as I could throw him, but given the circumstances, what choice did I have? Do his bidding, save my father, and keep stable... or... the other options. I love my father and I'll do anything I can for him. I knew money would be an issue if he went missing. It was a choice between life and death."
"Oh..." came Kajtlyn's reply, somehow managing to sound both full of pity and apologetic with a single syllable.
The expression she made was one he didn't particularly like, and it tugged uncomfortably at his heartstrings. He cleared his throat and continued, aiming to change the subject slightly. "I aim to find my father, see how the treatment is going, how much it costs, and things of the like. I want to know, from the month of those caring for him, how much things cost, and how well they are going."
He glanced over at Kaitlyn, who had her head tilted back with her canteen in the air. A rather theatrical drink of water, given the circumstances. She lowered the bottle and her face. "Something stronger than water would be wonderful right now."
Emil felt another smirk creeping across his face. He reached into an inner pocket of his cloak and pulled out a flask and took a quick sip before putting the lid back on. "Heads up." He lobbed it over once he was sure he had her attention.
She hastily caught it, inspected it, and glared at him, "And what am I to do with this?"
"Didn't you just say 'something stronger than water would be wonderful'?" He showed a provocative grin, "I just hope it isn't too strong."
Kaitlyn glared at him and took the bait, hastily unscrewing the cap and took a gulp that was far larger than one should for a drink they hadn't identified… and the results showed immediately. Coughing, spitting out half of the contents, watery eyes, and pure rage as she'd failed whatever challenge she'd issued herself.
Emil laughed heartily and sprinkled salt on her self-wounded pride, "I drank from that right before I gave it to you."
Her mouth fell agape in disbelief for a moment, until the anger returned. She summoned flames to her hands and enveloped herself in flame before collapsing in writhing agony.
Fire magic and alcohol were a famously bad combination His face flushed with concern, he bolted to her, all the while internally calling to the twin goddesses of water for help.
His left eye went aglow as he closed the distance and mana surged around him. He'd moved without much thought, and before his incomplete thoughts could catch up to his current actions, he'd made contact with her.
Kaitlyn's mana, fueled initially by rage and embarrassment, swirled and waned. Emil's mana collided with it, forcing its way through the aura of flames. He pulled her into his arms, and seeing her flames lessening, continued trying to cover them both in his mana, which had partially taken the form of water.
Moments passed, and the anguished expressions, the convulsions of pain, and the clutching of her stomach, subsided. Second by second, relief showed more and more on Kaitlyn's face as a flaming belch escaped her mouth.
Emil leaned back in surprise as the regurgitated fireball flew straight for his face, dissipating against his mana. He breathed a sigh of relief, not only because the fireball never made it to him, but also because Kaitlyn's breathing had returned to normal, and she no longer looked like living was pure misery.
By the time he'd realized it, her breathing had become soft and rhythmic. until, between the day's exhaustion, and the reaction of fire and alcohol, she fell into a deep slumber.
Emil sighed with profound relief. Yet again, it would've been better to simply sit back and hope for the worst, but unsurprisingly, the more time he spent with her, the less he wanted to do what he was sent to do. Their survival, her survival, was now a foregon conclusion. In these 6 short days, he'd spent nearly every waking moment with her, their bond forged in the fires of now being mutually hunted, unwilling accomplices in crimes uncommitted or unwillingly so.
He set about preparing an even simpler dinner than usual. He didn't want much food, and she wouldn't nag him to eat properly since he was doing most of the walking. She likely wouldn't want anything heavy, assuming she woke up for dinner at all. He ate some dried meat, a bit of fruit, and water and gazed at the fire. He glanced over at her and sighed again. This girl's very existence was trouble for anyone near her, but he couldn't bring himself to leave her alone. He felt this situation to be dangerous in more ways than one. Bad for his health, his mental state, and apparently, as of a few moments ago, potentially his heart.
He froze at the thought, not because he had a premonition of romantic interest, but because of a certain woman back home whom he knew well. "I'll cross that stream when I get to it" he muttered.
Potential poly?
Maybe, or possibly a murderous cupcake at some point. Undecided, but there's already enough history there that she'll be included in some way