Emil's suggestion to leave was a good one, but Kaitlyn couldn't understand why or how they would need a horse. She gave him a puzzled look. He returned a "you're not going to like this, but I'll enjoy it" type of smirk.
"Why is it that I like that expression even less than the one you showed while trying to end my existence?"
"Well see... we have food, we just need to get it, and ourselves, out of here."
A short while later, Kaitlyn found herself with a cloak full of food, centered around her stomach, and riding a donkey. She thought back over the last while trying to figure out exactly how she got here.
She remembered Emil's smirk, his suggestion, her nearly giving away their hiding spot in a mixture of rage and embarrassment, and finally tuning out or ignoring most of the actions that followed. She had a few questions as she sat atop the donkey being led by Emil as they made their way away from the city. The First and most immediate of which was, "How in the 7 hells did you get me to agree to this?!"
"It worked, didn't it?"
She could feel the blood flowing, changing the color of her face crimson for at least the third time that day, "It did... but... your pregnant wife?! Really?! What demon possessed you to come up with something so horrendously outlandish?!" The word 'embarrassed' hardly scratched the surface of the absolute shame she'd experienced.
"The demon that said we needed food and have no money." His reply was honest, without a hint of comedy or sarcasm. "We needed the food, and it was the last of our money. Plus we had to get away."
Kaitlyn paused for a moment as she mulled over his words. Something about them simply seemed... off. They remained silent for a few moments while Emil led them along. Then it dawned on her. "You say 'we' this and 'we' that as if we're some package crammed together in a box. Were you not sent to kill me?"
"I'll answer that once you explain why you spent nearly all of your coin replacing my clothes."
"I asked first, and while we're at it, why am I playing the role of your pregnant wife?!" Her face was still tinted the hues of rage and shame. "Why am I not dead, assasin? I don't appreciate being toyed with. If you're going to..."
She froze, her body, breath, tongue, her very thoughts. Everything stopped as she gazed upon the man glaring at her, both his eyes aglow with aqua blue hues. He'd paused, one hand on the hilt of a dagger, the other hand firmly holding the rope of the donkey. He glanced around, ensuring that nobody was within earshot.
"You're alive cuz this whole job smells like horse shit. Cuz I didn't wanna do it in the first place, and cuz within seconds of meeting you, I could tell I was lied to. You're alive because you're a better person than I was told you were, but you're making me wanna cut my losses. You're making scenes and causing trouble just by being around. Just keep your head down, your mouth shut, and 'we' might just live to see tomorrow."
Kaitlyn couldn't speak, could hardly move, keeping the food stuffed in her cloak still with minimal movements as she lowered her head.
She heard Emil let loose a sigh, "We should be far enough away from town. You can move the food to a saddle pack." His voice was gentler now, with a hint of remorse, and the glow in his eyes faded.
She watched as he scanned their surroundings, making sure no other travelers were close, before guiding the donkey to the side of the road and helping Kaitlyn down. There, they silently moved the food that Kaitlyn lowered from her cloak into a bag and secured it to the back of the saddle.
He offered a hand to help her back up and she found herself staring in surprise. His voice, back to its usual tone, rang in her ears, "Look, miss Kate, I don't wanna be mean, but you gotta mind yourself if either of us wanna make it through this alive." She took the hand he offered and climbed back on the donkey.
She looked down at him from atop the donkey with a downcast expression and answered with a mutter, "It wad my fault your clothes were ruined. And even still, you protected me. I couldn't have stood idly after that."
She heard a faint chuckle from Emil, "That right there, is exactly why you're still alive."
"You're not trash. That's why I aint killed ya."
Lol pretty much