@DragonSong Steel manacles gripped the wrists in front of him, a sturdy chain connecting the heavy bracelets. His ankles held the same fate, the linked metal ensuring a run would become a shuffle if Boreas tried anything funny. He wouldn't though, he was wiser than that. Attempting an escape now would be practically suicide with the four guards in the room and the many others posted around the small arena outside. No, he had been in chains for almost 5 years, he wasn't about to screw up an escape again from being antsy.
Boreas looked up from staring at the dirt covered floor, hunched over with his elbows resting on his knees. He was sitting in a holding area, where they kept the slaves and prisoners that were forced to enter these tournaments. Currently there were only a few others in the small room, sparsely dotting the benches along the walls, and every one of them were looking down. He didn't blame them, there was a solid chance many of them might die today. There was a solid chance he could die today. He shook the thoughts from his head and returned to staring at his feet. He wouldn't die because he couldn't yet, it was as simple as that.
I'll find you. He thought,
I'll get out of this and find you eventually. Not moments later a guard walked down the steps and entered the room. Boreas's heart quickened.
Is it time?"Frendal Greenwood!" he called out. A rather large man across the room stood abruptly. His eyes were hardened and continued to stare into the ground as he rolled his shoulders. "Time for a show," the guard smirked. Frendal waited patiently as two other guards walked over and unlocked his bindings. He stretched and bulged his muscles silently before moving to the doorway. Grabbing a scimitar from the nearby weapon rack, he walked up the steps and out of sight, the guard following him closely while keeping a hand on his sword's hilt. After a few moments Boreas heard a voice yelling, he made out the name Greenwood, then listened as the crowd erupted into cheers. Boreas closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall, letting the sounds of the battle outside drain from his mind. He needed to relax, and he needed to focus, because soon there would be a guard calling
his name...
"You sure you're up for this, lass?"
She smiled, eyes hard as gemstones. "Why not?" She slid the money across the table to the rather scruffy man who was eyeing her like she'd grown a second head. "That's a bet on me, three rounds."
The man gave a low whistle and shook his head. "I'll say this for ya, kid, you've got confidence."
She flipped her hair and winked. "Sure do. See ya after the fights." Jasper got to her feet and practically skipped away, glad she'd apparently presented significantly more confidence than she actually felt.
It was a few hours later when a rather faux-official looking man found her, told her the fights she'd entered herself in were starting, and escorted her to a large, rather intimidating arena.
He shoved her into a corner in one of the underground rooms, making her stumble and snap a few choice curses at him. "Stay here until you're called," was his only response.
"Boreas Warmhearth!" a voice called out. Boreas's eyes snapped open and he sat upright, locking eyes with the guard. "That you lad?" he asked. Boreas stood and held his shackled hands out in response. The guard eyed him for a moment before signalling for the others to let him loose. Once the metal was off him, Boreas took the time to stretch and roll his neck before proceeding. He walked over to the weapon rack by the door then picked out his staff from the clutter. Holding it at midpoint, he ran his hand along the smooth wood, looking at the slight red tint near one of the ends. "You gun take all day?" the guard huffed impatiently.
"Of course not," Boreas replied. Carrying his staff in one hand he walked past the guard and ascended the stairs. Reaching the top landing, he walked forward a few paces then stopped at the open doorway. His heart was pounding, though he did his best not to show it, squeezing the staff tighter in an attempt to distract his mind. He sucked in a deep breath as a man strode into the center of a dirt patch. The announcer looked around at the crowd, who sat on the benches surrounding the arena. They rested on a slope and ascended 7 rows before stopping; all sat elevated to the fighting grounds, which were completely enclosed by a 6 foot wall save two openings on either side. One of which Boreas stood before. The murmuring of the viewers grew silent at the announcer's presence.
"Our first contender will be Boreas Warmhearth! The staff fighter!" Boreas felt a shove on his back and he started walking out to the arena center. The cheers washed over him and the announcer's voice blended with them. It all sounded distant, his ears blocked out the noise. His mind raced and his heart pounded. Then he settled on one thought. Time to win.
"Jasper- ah. No surname." The guard looked around and Jaz popped to her feet with a grin that was entirely out of place for her situation. The man hmphed and jerked his head.
"Grab your weapon and let's go."
"No need." Her grin widened even as her stomach flipped nervously. "I've got this."
The guard laughed, harsh and grating, and shook his head. "It'll be fun to watch you die, girlie," he sneered as he grabbed her shoulder and shoved her toward the door that would lead her out into the arena.
Well. That did not bode well for her. She'd known the moment she saw this arena that this fight wasn't going to be what she was used to. But there was a chance of her actually dying? For entertainment?
The fuck was wrong with these people?
She barely had time to pull her thoughts away and focus on the present before she was coming out into the light, blinking and flicking her eyes around the arena. People were cheering, someone was shouting her name- he seemed to stumble over the fact that she had no last name- then she turned and saw what she assumed to be her opponent.
Wow. She was so screwed. Her hand flickered to the knife tucked into her boot.
Finished with his job, the announcer quickly got out of the way and disappeared through one of the entrances. Boreas's attention turned from his inner thoughts to the person in front of him. He eyed his opponent as he continued slowly walking towards the center. A girl? That's new... He did his best to size her up, but there wasn't much that really tipped him off as to what she was capable of, she seemed like an average girl to him. Doesn't look all that muscular, agile perhaps? Then he noticed she was without a weapon. This is going to be interesting. he thought, turning his staff through the air in circles with his right hand. He stopped at an appropriate distance from the girl taking a defensive stance, waiting for her to make the first move.
Jaz tilted her head as the boy- young man, she supposed- came to a stop in a defensive position. Did he expect her to attack first? Was she supposed to attack first? Were there rules for this sort of fight?
"Oh, fuck it," she said aloud, giving a mental shrug and circling to the right of her opponent. Her eyes scanned him with a hard glint, calculating, evaluating. "Don't talk much, do you?" she noted flippantly. "Strong, silent type. Bet that get you all kindsa tail, hm?"
She chuckled, snapping her foot out from her hip in an attempt to catch him by surprise and strike his side.
Boreas quickly grabbed the staff with his other hand and held it out vertically to block her attack. Her foot connected with the wood and bounced off. Boreas drew the right side of the stick to his ribs, pointing the opposite end directly at Jasper, ready to strike. "Don't waste your breath," he said, "you should concentrate."
She hadn't really expected that attack to land, but she'd admit to being impressed by his speed. In her experience, big guys weren't usually all that fast.
She tossed her hair and brought her hands up into a defensive position, one arm blocking her solar plexus and the other ready to protect her face. She found her balance and almost danced around him, hoping she could goad him into making a move.
"Who says I'm not concentrating," she laughed. "Some of us can multitask, y'know." She winked playfully, keeping that flippant facade in place.
Boreas narrowed his eyes and followed her with the staff as she circled him. He waited a moment. Then suddenly he was in motion. Quickly letting go with his left and bringing the staff over his head in a circle, he shifted his weight onto his right leg and swung the wood horizontally at Jasper, head level. Standing on his right foot, Boreas simultaneously cocked his left leg and leaned back slightly, ready to lash out with a kick after his staff made contact.
Her eyes went wide and she ducked under the staff, but she wasn't quick enough to avoid his kick. The blow sent her staggering back and she tried frantically to get her balance back, lashing out with a fist though she knew she was too far away for it to land.
"Not bad," she panted even as she retreated further. "You do this sort of thing often, kid?"
He had expected her to block, so when Jasper ducked Boreas was thrown off balance slightly from the follow through of his swing. By bringing the staff over his head again he was able to help counter the unbalance and make his foot connect, however the kick wasn't as powerful as he intended. Boreas stepped back and stumbled slightly, but was able to quickly regain his stance. "If you were concentrating, you would have blocked that," Boreas replied, his lip curving up for just a moment in a half smile. Not hesitating, he rushed forward and swung low with his staff in an attempt to put her on the ground.
Banter? Really, now? Despite herself, Jaz was impressed.
"Aw, damn," she chuckled. "Now I almost don't want to hit you." As the words left her mouth she darted forward and aimed an elbow jab at his midsection.
She tucked and rolled between his legs almost before the blow had properly landed, one hand flashing to grab the hilt of the knife in her boot. She didn't want to use it, but if it came down to him or her she would.
Boreas was surprised when she went between his legs. He had never seen that before. Agile like a cat, he thought. Quickly spinning around to face her, his eyes caught her hand's movement to her boot. So there's your weapon.. He assumed it was some sort of knife or dagger but decided to back off for a moment because of this new knowledge. She might have caught me off guard if she pulled it on me earlier. So why didn't she? He wondered.
Jaz quirked an eyebrow as he retreated slightly. "What, scared now?" It should have been a taunt, but there was a bit too much playfulness in her voice. Damnit, she needed to focus.
"Don't let little ol' me frighten you, big guy. C'mon, show me what you gladiators can do." She threw him another wink and made a show of relaxing her stance, hoping to bait him.
"Gladiator? Who do you think I am?" he asked. Boreas stepped forward and jabbed at Jasper with his staff using it's reach instead of moving in for a closer quartered fight.
She spun away from the blow gracefully, dagger now in hand. She raised the blade to eye level and arched her eyebrows. "You fight to the death for a living. Isn't that what you are?"
She dashed sideways, trying to draw him into chasing her.
Boreas narrowed his eyes and looked at her a little confused, wondering if she was serious. "It's not by choice..." he grumbled. She's just messing with me, trying to get in my head. It's time I ramp this up. I've only hit her once. He followed her movement to his left and took a few swings at her midsection with his staff, fluidly using the resulting momentum of each attack to send another directed toward the girl.
Well then. It was clear he'd been holding back. She yelped and jumped out of the way of the first two attacks, her mind clouded by the words, "It's not by choice."
She was so distracted she didn't dodge his last attack fast enough and the staff caught her solidly in the gut. She doubled over, the wind knocked out of her, and desperately threw herself far right in hopes to evade his next attack.
Emotions running high, heart racing, her magic crackled beneath the surface of her skin. A thrill of fear shot through her. No no no, not now, please, no.. She clamped down on the power, gritting her teeth.
Boreas felt the reverberation through his weapon when his third swing landed solidly. She jumped to the ground causing his fourth swing to go high, but now she had lost a great deal of mobility. He hated hitting people while they were down, but he wanted to end the fight, they always made him feel sick. hopefully she's not the kind of person to fight to her last breath. Bringing the staff around, he jumped to his left and swung downwards at her head, hoping to knock her out with a sharp blow.
She barley had time to react. Jaz rolled onto her back and her eyes widened as she saw the staff coming for her head. Desperate, she raised her blade in what she knew would be a useless effort to block or at least lessen the blow.
Sensing her fear and adrenaline, her magic reacted instinctively. She felt it coiling in her chest and a flash of panic swept across her face. "Stad! Rhoi'r goraui!" she shouted, trying to pull the power back, but it was too late.
Magic surged out of her in waves, a physical force to bowl her assailant off his feet and batter him to the ground. Luckily, though it was too late to stop the instinctive reaction, her invitation did manage to rein the magic in enough that it was only a surge of blue and green light, probably with the strength of a strong gale.
Boreas didn't know what hit him. One moment he had her and the next a gust of wind hit the young man like a rhino, sending him flying backwards. His breath was knocked from him when his body impacted the ground. Taking a few deep breaths, He sat up quickly and stared at the girl. No way. This is bad. He looked around the arena noticing the lack of background noise. The crowd went silent in shock, the guards were frozen in place, but only for a moment.
"HERITIC!" called a voice from the stands. Cries of insults and booing erupted from the crowd and the guards leaped into action, those posted above the wall jumping down into the pit. Boreas picked up his staff from where it landed next to him and rushed toward the girl. He reached Jasper and stood over her, tip of his staff pointing down at her face.
"You know magic." He said, more of a statement that a question. His eyes were wide but not in fear, closer to a look of surprise and awe.
Well.
Fuck.
So much for some easy coin. That was three parties hunting her now- apparently she just had a knack for this sort of thing.
Jaz's rambling thoughts were interrupted when she tried to spring up and found a staff blocking her path. She glowered up at Boreas and her lips pulled back in a snarl.
"Yes," she snapped. "You gonna hold me here for the guards, like a good little dog?" The knuckles gripping her dagger were white, and for the first time the panic whirling in her chest actually showed on her face.
He stared at her for a moment, thoughts racing through his head. Then his eyes became harder, and he locked eyes with Jasper's, her words barely registering to him. "Help me," he whispered. The guards slowed slightly, thinking Jasper was subdued for the time being.
When they reached him, Boreas whirled around and smacked one of the guards in the skull, knocking him out cold. He then spun around and did the same to another. He was able to take two down with his surprise attack, but now they were ready. Boreas turned to face off against a third guard while more closed in. The crowd gasped and began yelling angrily at the "evil outlaws" calling for "arrest and execution". Boreas was all in now, and he hoped his bet would pay out.
Jaz's eyes went round and she gaped at him. "Help..."
Then the fight was on. She jumped to her feet with a shout, but two guards were down before she could even really move.
"Hey, ya can't just take 'em all for yourself," she tossed at Boreas with a confident smile. Back on her feet, magic buzzing at her fingertips, she felt in control again. Powerful.
Her hand was shown now. She might as well play it.
"Gwynt a thân, yn dod i mi! Yr Wyddgrug i fy ewyllys!" Fire leaped to life between her hands, flicking gold, orange, and blue green. She spread her hands and the flames jumped to do her bidding, lashing out in whiplike tendrils to attack the guards.
They were down in moments- not unconscious, not all of them, but down. "Come on!" She grabbed the young man's arm. "What's the fastest way out of here? Quick!"
Boreas dispatched the guard he was engaged with by dodging, sweeping his feet and bringing the staff down on his forehead. He spun around to find the majority of the guards down. Several were dead, to Boreas's dislike, but there was no time to complain as those far away were still able to fight, and they were closing in. "We need to climb out of here," Boreas said pulling her towards the wall and jumping up. He grabbed the top and hoisted himself over the edge into the stands. The crowd was already running after Jasper's burst of flame took out those guards. A straggling audience member launched himself at Boreas, who redirected the man into the arena. Crouching down, he held out his hand to Jasper so he could pull her up. "Come on!"
Jasper didn't think twice, leaping to grab his hand and scrambling over the wall to join him. "We have to. get out of here yesterday," she hissed, starting to run through the stands.
"You're from here, right? Where do we go?" she threw at her unexpected companion.
"I- I don't know where. Lets just concentrate on getting away first!" Boreas ran with her up the rows to the top of the arena. Running through the exit at the top, the pair found themselves on the streets, the arena actually being a pit in the ground rather than being built up above, save the outermost walls. A guard waiting at the doorway jumped out and swung at Boreas. He wasn't ready and the attack caught him by surprise. He raised his staff in a pity attempt to block the blade moving toward his head.
"Rhewi!" Jaz threw out her hand and ice leaped from her fingers, encasing the guard's weapon and arms. He shrieked as frostbite immediately set in and she grabbed Boreas to drag him into the nearest alley.
"You okay?" she asked even as she towed him along.
Boreas was pulled across the street by Jasper and they ducked into a shaded alley. "I'm fine," he turned to her, "thank you. We need to keep moving." They ran together down the alley way and turned into another street. Crossing it they ducked in between two other buildings. They continued to do this trying to evade their pursuers. All that could be heard from Boreas was his labored breathing as he ran along the streets. Reaching the end of one of the allies, Boreas slowed and peeked around the corner looking for guards. "Get back!" He whispered sharply, grabbing Jasper's stomach and pushing her against the wall next to him. The guards on the street hustled by the two, unaware of their presence in the shadows.
Just as she was about to quip at her companion that his lack of stealth was going to get them caught, Jaz was pushed back against the wall with a soft huffing sound. She froze, waiting for their pursuers to pass, then whispered, "Good eye, kid."
Alright, so he did have some practical use outside the arena. That was more than she'd hoped for, to be honest.
"Come on, this way. I've been staying at an inn where they don't ask too many questions, we can regroup there," she murmured, glancing around before slipping through the barely-there space between two building and gesturing for him to follow her deeper into the more seedy areas of town.
He let Jasper brush past him and looked behind them down the ally before following. "Who are you calling kid?" He asked somewhat demanding walking behind her, "You look like the one who's younger than me."
She snorted. "Maybe, but I'm also the one who pretty much saved your ass back there. Years in a life don't always mean years lived, ki- Boreas."
She glanced over her shoulder at him. "That's your name, right? Thought I heard them say it back there."
She stopped suddenly and waved for him to duck back into the shadows as a small group passed by the alley they were slinking down, laughing rather loudly. She wrinkled her nose as the alcohol reeking from them wafted their way.
"Yeah, it is," he said after being pulled into the alley, "Could you tell me yours again? I wasn't really paying attention at match start." He slipped out of the alleyway after the group of people passed. "By the way, we probably don't need to hide from drunks. I highly doubt the guards will have sketched up a picture of us just yet." he smirked
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Maybe you don't need to, but in my experience drunken men are often more trouble than they're worth. And that fight took a bit out of me, I'd rather not have to fend off these idiots."
She darted out to cross the street once the men had passed. "I'm Jaz. Jasper, but just call me Jaz. Ah, here." She bumped a nondescript little door open with her hip. "Back doors, my best friends."
Boreas followed Jasper through the doorway, the stench of stale beer assaulting his nose as he did so. He looked around the inn. It was on the smaller side, dimly lit with a few tables around the room, it had almost a cozy feel. The place was empty aside from two men siting and having a meal alongside a few mugs of ale. The innkeeper looked up when the two entered from behind the bar. "Hey, what are ya doin? Yer not supposed to be back here." he complained.
"Sorry sir, we thought this was the front door." Boreas and Jasper walked around to the proper side of the bar. "Do you have a room, or should we get one?" Boreas asked his companion.
"I've got a room, but we're not staying." She tipped her head politely to the bartender, then moved briskly to a set of stairs that led to the rooms above the small tavern.
"Alright, I'll grab my gear and we can get the fuck out of here. I plan on putting this town as far behind me as possible as quickly as possible."
"Wait, we can't leave. Not just yet." Boreas grabbed Jaz's arm turning her around. He knew the chance was slim to none, but if she was here in the same place as him... He couldn't pass up the opportunity. Who knows when he'd be able to return.
Jaz hissed at being grabbed and jerked her arm away, scowling. "Why the hell not?"
"Sorry," Boreas held up his hands apologetically, "look, I need to find someone. Its, well, its my sister. She was captured and forced into slavery with me, only she was sold separately..." Boreas hung his head. "I mean.. Its been years. And I- well I have no idea where to start. But.." He looked up at Jasper again, his eyes a little damper than before. "If she's here, and I know it's slim but if she is. I can't leave her. Gods know what her masters might have done to her..." Boreas ran his hand through his hair and looked away nervously.
Jaz blinked. "I-"
She looked away. Slaves. Well, that explained a few things. Her stomach roiled st the thought she huffed out a breath through her nose.
"Look, kid. Boreas. Think about this. What are the chances of her still being here? This town isn't all that big, you'd know if she was here." She raised a hand. "I'm not...I'm not saying we don't look. We just can't look here, we've got to keep moving."
It broke her heart to say it, knowing how much he must be hurting, but she shoved the feeling away. No time for that. "You've seen what I can do, yeah? Well, magic's got a lot of uses. I know a few tracking spells, I could probably find her with the right supplies." Not to mention blood, the strongest connection between two people- but she hesitated at the thought of such a spell, even with good intentions. Blood magic had a way of being seductive.
"I'll help you, alright? But we have to leave now."
Boreas opened his mouth but stayed silent, running his fingers through his hair again. After a couple moments he finally spoke. "alright..." he whispered almost inaudibly letting his hand drop from his head and hang at his side.
Trying to ignore how her heart ached at his expression, she nodded briskly and slipped into the room she'd been renting. "Right. C'mon, then, look alive. Help me throw these things together so we can get out of here quicker." She nodded to the several books and changes of clothes scatters over the bed, ducking to search under the bed for the sleeping roll and other camp supplies she'd acquired recently.
Boreas nodded silently, beginning by gathering the various books and stacking them on the floor. "So why are you here then?" Boreas asked in hopes of distracting himself from his thoughts, "What made you fight in the arena tonight? You're obviously not a slave, and you didn't seem too familiar with those types of matches considering you thought I was a gladiator."
Jaz huffed at the reminder of her ignorance. "Thought I could make some coin," she muttered, tossing a pack at him. "Put those in here. It's enchanted, halves the weight of whatever goes in it."
She ran her fingers through her hair and blew out a sharp breath. "I've been in organized fights before. No one bets on the skinny little girl, so I always get good odds if I bet on myself. Figured I could do the same thing here." She shrugged.
"Sorry to make you lose your coin," Boreas replied. He set the books nicely into the bag and started tossing her clothes in on top. "We.. may need to stop somewhere eventually," Boreas glanced at Jasper, "I don't exactly have anything that's mine. Other than what I'm wearing and my staff that is." Although I doubt we'll have the money for it
"It's fine." She finished packing her smaller bag and reached for the enchanted pack. "I'm not suggesting we hide in the woods forever, we just need to get out of this town. Anyone here who'll miss you? Enough to put up a reward or anything I mean."
He paused and when Jasper said that, letting her take the bag from him. "Why do you ask?" he inquired suspiciously. Boreas turned towards her and leaned on his staff, eyeing her a little. "Does it matter if I'm worth a reward?"
She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Lad, if I meant you harm I would've left you back at that arena. I just want to make I'm not going to have to worry about bounty hunters on my trail too."
She shouldered her packs and nodded to the door. "C'mon, and do try to be as inconspicuous as possible."
He eyed her for a moment longer before accepting her answer. "Ok, and as for a bounty, I really don't know. I don't think I'm worth that much but I was doing pretty well in the arena," he walked to the door and grabbed the heavier pack from Jasper, putting it over his shoulder. "I suppose it depends on how much Umber thought he could make off of me." The two walked out into the hall.
She thought about protesting that she could carry both packs, then decided against it. It wasn't really that important.
Shaking her head as she slipped down the stairs, she muttered, "That's what I was afraid of." A sigh and she rubbed at her temples again. "We need to put this town far behind us, understand? As quickly as possible."
Boreas responded with a half nod, leading the his companion to the front door. He cracked it open, peaking around outside for guards. "Looks clear," he said turning to Jasper, "follow me." He noticed the Innkeeper staring at the them with a quizzical look on his face. "Thanks sir!" He called with a wave before briskly walking out the door. The street was fairly empty and the sun was on its decent, casting elongated shadows on the street. Only a few hours of light left, I'm gonna have to make this quick, he thought, adjusting the strap on his shoulder before stepping onto the street.
Jaz only spared another quick nod for the innkeeper before hurrying after her new companion. She glanced up at the setting sun and sighed in relief.
"Good," she muttered, almost to herself. "We can travel faster by night, and it'll slow down anyone chasing us. C'mon."
She nodded to a turn up ahead. "Try not to seem like you're just beeline-ing it out of town. We can meander a bit, but keep your guard up."
Boreas lead the way, making sure to weave in a few twists and turns down the streets and taking the opportunity to cut through back allies when he had the chance. He knew the town layout on a basic level, but only from the few times he was moved between the arena and his household. He wasn't a labor servant to Umber like he was with his previous owners, he was a fighter, and this gave him no opportunity to explore the area like he would have if he got sent out on tasks. Rounding another corner, Boreas recognized the area he was in. Looking to his left he saw the edge of town that gave way to the farmland, melting into open plains and woods farther out. He stopped for a moment and looked down the road before abruptly swiveling right and picking up his pace towards the market district.
Jaz was content to follow, at least until he made a sharp turn leading them away from relative safety. "Ah- I know I said to meander a bit, but we can leave you know," she pointed out mildly.
Boreas continued on without slowing his pace. "Not yet," he responded, "This won't take long". Entering the market district, Boreas glanced around him. A few sellers were still around trying to barter off the last of their goods for the day, but most stalls were either empty or being closed up. Leading the way between the rows, Boreas saw a guard up ahead and quickly changed course, putting a stall between them as they passed. There were bound to be more guards in the market district, but he had already decided they couldn't leave without being positive Evelyn hadn't been here. Please tell me she's been here, please.
Jaz grumbled to herself as she followed him. "If this takes too long or we get spotted, I'm leaving your ass here," she informed him under her breath.
Turning a corner, he found what he was looking for. "Fair enough," Boreas gave Jasper a sideways glance as they approached a raised platform about 4 feet in the air. It was connected to the side of and old and rather ominous looking building, a look that Boreas supposed suited the place due to its function. He took a quick look around the surrounding area, seeing a guard across the square and another by one of the stalls down the lane. But luckily they weren't paying the pair any attention. Grabbing Jasper's hand, he slipped behind the platform and ducked down behind it, pulling her with him. "We need to break in but not be seen. Do you know any spells that can do that?" he asked Jaz genuinely.
"What?" she whisper-shrieked, eyes widening. "You can't be serious- the guards are already after us and you want to break and enter? What the hell is wrong with you!?"
"They have records Jasper!" Boreas whispered harshly "Records that might tell me if Evelyn was here and who she might have been sold to... If she was here, even for a few days, there would be records in case a dispute was brought up as to who owns her, to prove her slavery. There may be a lead," Boreas's eyes pleaded with her. "Please help me."
"You- I-"
She growled and clenched her eyes shut. "Gods damnit, I'm an idiot. Fine. Fine." She cupped her hands together and whispered into her cupped palms, then held her hands out to him and let them spread open to reveal a small, deep green seed pod.
"Put this is a keyhole and it'll open the door. It only works once though, so be smart. I'll keep watch."
He grabbed the pod from her and looked at it quizzically. "Alright.. Thanks," peeking to see if anyone was watching, Boreas dashed around to the back of the building and found the back door. I hope this works. He pushed the green seed into the keyhole and waited anxiously.
As soon as it was inside the keyhole, the seed sprouted, twisting and curving to push all the pieces of the lock into place.
The lock clicked open.
Cautiously pushing the door open, Boreas stuck his head inside and crept in. The room was dark, no doubt closed down for the day.
Good thing, this should be easy. Quickly moving across the room, he reached a group of drawers and started sifting through them. There were lots of papers. A lot more than he had expected. Squinting hard, he tried to make out what they said but the handwriting was messy, making the task near impossible.
Well shit... He ruffled through the drawers some more, pulling out whatever he deemed important and laying it out on the floor before him.
*clunk*
His head shot up, a noise had come from the nearby staircase that led to the basement. On closer inspection, he saw a very faint light coming from the open door. His heart pounded. How had he not seen that before?! Then he realized it was slowly growing.
Not good not good not good, his mind raced. He had to think fast.
***
Boreas rounded the corner at a dead sprint bee-lining to Jasper, a couple papers flying out from the bag on his shoulder and leaving a fluttering trail in his wake. "RUN RUN RUN!" He yelled at her as a burly man appeared him around the bend.
"GUARDS! GUARDS!" the man bellowed running after Boreas as fast as he could.
Well shit.
"I fucking told you!" Jaz yelled as she turned and took off. "Gods damnit, if we get caught in throwing you to the wolves!"
She remembered the path back to the edge of town and took it at a dead sprint, hardly even aware if Boreas was still with her or not.
Boreas realized he was losing papers when he checked behind him for their pursuer. "Fuck!" He slung the bag in front of him while running and snapped the last two buttons closed. Throwing it back over his shoulder, he glanced back to find 3 guards charging after the runaways. Jaz was a little ways in front of him, he needed to catch up. Boreas pumped his legs faster and faster, digging deep inside him for the strength. His staff whooshed through the air back and forth in his right hand as he slowly gained ground on the girl in front of him. "Magic! Use your magic!" he yelled once he got within a few steps. Another look backwards showed 4 guards now, the burly man from the slaver house stood in the middle of the road, hands on his knees breathing hard. Someone's out of shape. Boreas smirked at the thought
She growled. "Oh sure, let me clean up your fucking mess!"
Magic required concentration. Running in a panic made reaching for her spells harder, her power becoming more predictable. She tried desperately to think of an appropriate invocation- but once again her magic acted in self preservation before she could consciously cast it.
Power exploded out of her, gold and free light that lashed out at their pursuers' legs and feet. It felt...sharp, but she didn't wait to see what the untamed power had done. "Come on, RUN!"
Boreas saw golden light begin shooting out from the girl before him. He felt something strange tickle his left side, and then a jolt of pain exploded from his ribs. He dove to the right, avoiding more light as it shot past him towards the pursuing guards. Teeth clenched, he pushed himself up off the stones and began to follow Jasper again, then he saw the aftermath of what she had done. A woman bystander screamed. His legs faltered and slowed to a jogging pace, while Boreas stared wide eyed at the carnage behind him.
All four guards were on the ground, cries ringing from their lungs as the men clutched at their wounds. The guards' legs were shredded, coated in crimson red liquid that was just beginning to pool onto the cobblestone. One man was missing is legs entirely, both severed at the knees, blood squirting out from the stumps. Another held his shin and stared at the detached foot a few meters away. Red was starting to soak through their uniforms from various gashes in the guard's chests and arms. One of the four was still, unmoving, and Boreas quickly realized he was missing a piece of his skull.
Turning around and trying to shove the horror from his thoughts, Boreas pushed forward out of town. He gazed at Jasper with an expression of shock. She didn't turn to look back once. His stomach churned as his brain tried to process what his eyes had seen. Magic... That wasn't the kind of magic he was familiar with. Not the kind his sister Evelyn used to show him when they played outside as children. Not the kind his dad used to tell him stories about as he fell asleep. Then he thought of Evelyn. Could she? ..no. She would never do that.
His ribs flared up again, and Boreas held his staff with his left while his right hand pressed down on the wound in his side. He couldn't keep the pace he was before and slowly fell back from Jasper as the two traveled into the surrounding country. And she still wasn't looking back.
Jaz just kept running. Her face was determined, jaw set and mouth a thin line. She didn't stop, she didn't look back, only barely slowing once they reached the fields outside the town, then a little more once they reached the trees.
Finally she stopped, leaning against a tree trunk and panting as she tried to get her breath back. Her eyes were tight closed, gloved fists clenched and shaking at her sides.
She couldn't think about what had just happened. She'd heard the screams, smelled the blood, but she couldn't think about it. Her magic had never reacted that way before, never been so violent. And she hadn't been able to stop it! Her control felt like it was slipping more and more every day.
Ildis was right. She was dangerous.
Eyes still closed, she bit out, "Boreas. You hurt?"
Boreas was too far back to hear her question. He stumbled toward the treeline, teeth clenched in pain. Blood had been soaking into his clothing turning the fabric a deep red that ran all the way down his side. He kept pushing forward, even as he became light headed. He couldn't stop now. No doubt the pair would be killed on site if they were caught after that.
Boreas saw Jasper stop at the tree line a good 100 yards ahead. The trees would offer him cover, he had to get there too. Lurching forward, the borders of his vision started to grow inwards, the blackness blocking out more and more of his sight. He had lost a lot of blood. Not now. Comeon! he urged himself forward, determined, although he knew in truth he wouldn't get much farther.
"Boreas?" She opened her eyes and looked around. Her gaze lit on him and she cursed under her breath, darting toward him to put her shoulder under his arm and urge him into the trees.
"Damnit," she muttered, knowing the blood now soaking trough his clothes onto her was her fault. "Damnit damnit damnit!"
Boreas's knees gave out as soon as Jasper grabbed hold of him. She took on some of his weight as he fumbled to get on his own two feet again. Once he did, he pushed Jasper off with his staff hand. Boreas limped forward without saying a word to her, using the wooden pole as a walking stick to support his weight. He got a few steps into the treeline, breathing hard as he did so, before his vision flickered entirely black. He fell onto his hand and knees letting out a pained grunt. Shit.
"Hey. Hey!" Jaz knelt beside him. "You've got to let me look at your side, alright? I can't bandage it if I can't see it." She tugged at his shirt, attempting to raise it enough so she could see the wound.
He wanted to argue, and he wanted to move forward and find Evelyn, but the truth was he just didn't have the strength. "Bring me-.. to a tree" he gasped, attempting to crawl to the edge of the dirt path while keeping his right hand pressed firmly against the injury, fingers slick with blood.
"Stop talking," she snapped. She propped him up against a tree and lifted his shirt up to his chest, sucking in a sharp breath wen she saw the wound.
"I'm sorry." The words were barely a breath, she almost didn't realize she'd said them aloud. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-" She swallowed and closed her eyes, then gripped his hand and pulled it away to replace it with her own.
Brow furrowed in concentration, she murmured, "Mende, stich gyda'i gilydd, rhowch eich poen i mi."
The slashed skin became to stitch together and she gasped as pain flared in her side. She gritted her teeth; sympathetic magic was the only method of healing she knew, but it transferred the pain of a wound to the caster as it healed.
Boreas felt his skin crawl and the pain slowly melt away from the wound. He gritted his teeth, "Why did you do that?" He turned his head away from Jasper and continued. "What the hell is wrong with you huh? I meant stop them not butcher them... Why didn't you just think up a wall, or teleport us away, or send us back in time so we didn't get caught?" He rambled with a strained voice. The innocent inquires showing how little he knew about the subject. "They were just doing their jobs Jasper. You didn't have to do that to them." He muttered, voice faint and weary.
Jaz gritted her teeth. "I didn't mean-"
She snapped her mouth shut and jerked away from him. "Magic isn't that simple, kid," she growled. "Mine isn't, anyway. I'm not a master, I'm just... I panicked, and my magic reacted. I didn't choose the spell."
She tossed a flask of water from her pack at him none too gently. "You're welcome for saving your life, by the way," she hissed, and turned around to stalk off into the trees.
Once she was a safe distance away, she gave a fierce, pained shout and drove her fist into the trunk of the nearest tree. Her magic rippled and crackled along her skin, but she clamped down on it and forced it back to her core where it could boil in relative safety. Knuckles split and bloody, side aching, she slid to her knees and slumped forward, eyes closed.
The flask of water smacked into his chest and slid down to his lap. Boreas didn't react, he was angry and he was weak from blood loss. The latter of which showed clearly on his pale face. His mind drifted back to the state of the guards. He was mad, and he was horrified, but hadn't he seen worse? Watching the head of a hatchet bury itself into his father's skull. Witnessing countless slaves get whipped and beaten. Raped. They didn't deserve that. His father didn't deserve that. The guards didn't deserve that. They were only doing their job, like he told her.
He pushed the terrible thoughts away and sat there. Then his mind drifted to Jasper. Magic isn't that simple, kid. Her voice echoed through his thoughts, I didn't choose the spell. Magic wasn't that simple... Wasn't it? He thought back to when Evelyn used to show him her tricks. The way she could make fire bounce around her hand, or bring the garden's withering flowers back to blossom. She sure made it seem easy, made it look simple. Mine isn't, anyway. he replayed Jasper's words.
Frustrated, Boreas grabbed the water tin and spun the cap off, gulping down the little that remained before tossing the thing aside. The guards didn't deserve it. he thought ...But this is different than before. His father died by an ax aimed for his head. The slaves suffered from hands that intentionally abused them. Jasper didn't mean for her magic to lash out like that. It was obvious now. The fact that Boreas was hit by the spell proved it further. She wouldn't have sliced me on purpose. She wasn't in control.
"Fuck." Boreas said out loud. He reached for his staff and pulled himself off the ground. Stooping down to pick up the water flask, he followed the mage's path into the trees. It was time to explain himself, and more importantly apologize. Leaning heavily on the wooden pole, the former slave made his way through the brush until he found a figure slumped over on her knees.
She heard him coming but didn't move, head bowed low and hands shaking. She curled her fingers into tight fists and tried to focus on breathing. Eventually, she lifted her head and got to her feet.
"You shouldn't move too much," she said briskly, as though nothing had happened. "Come on, let's walk a ways and find a place to make camp. I'll take this." She took her pack from him and started walking, unable to look at him.
"Wait, Jasper-" she grabbed the pack from him. "Hey, hold on a second. Please." He started following her warily. He was still a little weak from the injury, but Boreas was quickly recovering. The fact that he was no longer losing blood and that the pain was hardly noticeable now greatly helped in this. "Will you at least let me apologize?"
"You don't need to." She paused, looked around, and nodded. "Here's as good a place as any." She dropped her packs and moved around the small glade, gathering the driest branches she could find.
"I'll make a fire. Just sit down and try not to strain yourself," she muttered.
Boreas took a seat, waiting for Jasper to finish gathering branches. When she was done he spoke, "I know I don't have to but I'm going to. I need you to hear me out, and I want to explain myself."
Jaz sighed and collapsed into a cross-legged position. "Fine. Go ahead." She waved her hand at him airily, tone bland and casual, but she still couldn't seem to meet his eyes.
"I'm sorry. I was angry back there and I kinda snapped at you. I shouldn't of. I normally have good control over my emotions." He shook his head. "From what I've seen since I was sold, and from what I've done in the arena... I've killed people Jasper, and it makes me never want to cause harm again. I know it will be unavoidable at times, but senseless violence.. I won't do it." Boreas turned his gaze from Jasper to the trees.
"What happened back there, I thought you did it on purpose. I didn't know you couldn't control it and, honestly, I didn't even know magic was capable of.. that..." He sat in silence for a moment staring at the grass. "Actually," he continued, "I guess I really don't know much about magic at all. The only experience I had with it was what Evelyn used to show me." he smiled thinking back. "She used to tease me with it all the time. Once she made water hover over my head and threatened to douse me if I didn't listen to her. I cleaned her entire room..." He let out a chuckle, then a sad sigh.
"The point I'm trying to say is, I didn't have enough information to blame you back there. I shouldn't have and I'm sorry. It wasn't your fault." Boreas trailed off and then returned his gaze to Jasper.
Slowly, Jasper drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She glanced at his face once or twice, but with a flick of her wrist and a murmured word she started up a fire that seemed to captivate her gaze.
She scoffed under her breath. "It was my fault though. This is what happens when you don't learn to control your power, Boreas. It was my responsibility to learn how to do that, and I failed. I could've-"
She could have stayed, let Ildis teach her. She'd been doing so well. It felt like every day since she'd left her control slipped a little more while her power grew in strength.
But if she'd done that, after what she'd seen- she would have been just as guilty. But was it worth it? She'd killed people, hurt people- how many was she really saving by trying to stop her old master?
Her eyes fixed on the dancing flames, embers reflected in the green. "Your sister probably wanted you to know the good that could be done with magic," she murmured. "But we- people like me and her- we have a responsibility to ourselves, to make sure we learn control so we don't- so we don't hurt people."
She stood abruptly. "You should get some rest. I'll keep watch, we can keep moving in a few hours."
"You don't have to do that," he replied looking up at her, "Let me take watch."
She shook her head. "You're still hurt. You may feel better, but I'm not a great healer, I could only do so much. You need to let your body take the time to heal."
Boreas sighed, "Fine." he said, unable to argue with her logic. The color of his shirt would prove any of his arguments invalid anyway. He set his staff to the side and laid down on the ground, curling up slightly to expose his body to more warmth from the fire. "What is it that makes your magic.. burst like that?" He murmured.
Jaz was quiet for a few moments. "Panic," she murmured eventually. "Fear, rage, even joy." Although that had only happened once. "Powerful emotion disrupts my control. If I try to cast when I'm not centered...things can go wrong. Invocation can help a lot with that."
She decided not to mention that the disaster they'd just left behind hadn't been quite as simple as emotion overriding control- her power had almost cast itself unbidden, against her conscious will. It was hardly the first time it had happened, but she thought she'd been getting better at heading off such mishaps, especially after studying with Ildis.
Evidently she'd been wrong.
Boreas turned his head when he heard that and sat up slightly. "You know, I could try and help you with that. Being ordered around for 5 years, with the consequences, well I've pretty much learned how to handle my emotions," he stated, "You saved my life when you healed me, I owe you and anyways, it might keep things like that from happening again. Which is only a good thing."
"I'll...think about it." She huffed and folded her arms. "Just get some sleep, Boreas. I'll wake you when we have to move."
"Sure," he said laying back down and folding his arms into a makeshift pillow. He passed out rather quickly, more exhausted than he had originally thought. The ground was lumpy, but he had slept in worse. The crackling fire kept him warm throughout the night and Boreas couldn't complain. The two had had a long day.
Exhausted as she was, Jaz couldn't sleep. She just watched the fire, keeping her attention as focused as she could on their surroundings.
Eventually, when she finally started to nod off, she forced herself to her feet and doused the fire with a wave of her hand and a few murmured words. "Boreas." She knelt and shook his shoulder. "C'mon, we should get moving."
Boreas woke groggily. He sat up and twisted, sending pops up and down his spine. Looking around he noticed it was still dark, "What time is it?" he asked, turning to his companion next to him.
"Late." She glanced up through the branches. "The dark is good for us, we can travel without being noticed."
"Good idea." The two started walking, Boreas was feeling better now after a good few hours rest. He was still low on blood though and knew he shouldn't strain himself. They started walking through the woods, Boreas following Jasper's lead. When he noticed Jasper was carrying two packs again he broke the silence. "Hey let me take that bag," he gestured, "the one with the papers in it."
Jaz sighed and allowed him to take it. It was the lighter of the two. "Fine. But if you pass out, I'm leaving you," she threatened, though even she wasn't convinced by the slight growl in her voice.
He grabbed the pack and opened its flap. Papers were so jam packed in it that Boreas wondered how there could have been any that fell out. It certainly didn't look like there was any more room. He grabbed the first sheet and held it up, squinting at the scripture before huffing and stuffing it back in the bag. "It's too dark yet," he replied, his eyes lit up, but then they fell again. "I suppose using your magic to make a light would give our position away," he sighed.
"It would." She glanced back at him and chewed at her bottom lip. "Just...a couple more hours, okay?"
"Yeah." he grumbled, swinging the the bag over his shoulder. "Do you know where we're headed? Because I have no clue."
Jasper shook her head slowly. "You want to look for your sister, yes? I could perform a tracking spell, but we'd need some time, somewhere we know we're safe."
"We could find an inn at a nearby town," Boreas suggested, "Provided, of course, we don't stay too long, anywhere nearby is likely to get wanted posters within a few days. Would that be enough time for your spell or whatever?"
She nodded. "I really only need an hour or so, it's just...taxing. I'd like to know we're somewhere relatively safe, I won't be interrupted or have to flee right after casting."
Boreas nodded, walking down the path with Jasper. "An inn should do fine then, it will take them a while to get our faces sketched out. To get enough copies to spread around, maybe a full day? And then they have to move them to the nearby towns... But that wouldn't take too long on horseback," Boreas thought out loud. "I don't know the surrounding area at all, but if you know of a town we can get to soon, an inn should suit us. I can go over the papers while you set up the spell. What do you think?"
She nodded. "I know the area a bit. There's a small town maybe half a day's walk from here, we should be able to make it."
"Good, lead the way," he motioned with a smile. The two travelers walked on for a few hours in the darkness, pushing their way through the prickly brush and tripping over hidden roots. Boreas knew the pair needed to keep a low profile, but he wished they could at least find a road to travel on. He was still weary from blood loss, the injury having happened only about 7 or so hours ago. He needed a day to recuperate before he'd get back to full strength, something the inn should definitely help with. His stomach growled. A good meal would be nice too, he thought.
After a while longer of walking, the first signs of the waking sun began to give the night sky a morning glow. If town was about half a days walk, Boreas imagined it would be about noon by the time they arrived. They still had a ways left to go, but the extra light was of comfort.
Getting tired of the silence, Boreas spoke up, "So you wanna tell me a little about yourself?" He asked, "Are you from around here? I bet it was hard growing up in a country like this, being a mage and all," he said, "I would have left this place in your shoes, honestly. Do you have family here or something?"
Jaz snorted. She wasn't looking at him, attention focused on finding her way through the trees. "Hardly. I'm from Serendipity." At least, that had been her home more than the back streets of Ketra, regardless of the fact that it had only been a few years of her life.
"I'm here because I have to be." She didn't seem willing to give any more information than that, mouth set and eyes hard.
"Wait you're not from here?" he asked bemused. What the hell? he wondered, Why would a mage move to Connlaoth of all places? It was an interesting question, but Jasper's tone gave him the hint not to press further. "Well, that's a little unexpected but whatever," he said. "Well have you been to this town we're heading towards or do you just know of it?" he inquired trying to keep the conversation going.
"I own a map," she replied dryly. "All I know about this area is what's on that scrap of parchment." She nodded to the bag he was carrying. "It's in there, if you want to try to plan a better route."
He looked over his shoulder at the bag. "Well shit." With the sheer number of papers he crammed into that thing, finding the map was going to be really fucking annoying. And it was probably on the bottom too. He pulled the pack in front of him again and began displacing wads of paper tying to find the right one. "This might take a little bit," he said annoyed.
"Oh gods." Jaz laughed and put her hand on his shoulder. "We can wait until we get to town," she chuckled. "It's really not far- we'll plan our next move there."
He shut the pack and cast it back over his shoulder. "Sounds like a plan," he said smiling and shaking his head. Looking through the treeline to the horizon, he watched as the light grew in brightness ever so slowly. "We should pick up the pace a little. We should have time before anyone comes knocking in search of us, but I don't want to be cutting our stay too close."
"Ye-es." She drew the word out and gave him a dry look. "But I don't want you passing out from blood loss either. We can find a middle ground."
"I can handle it, lets go." Boreas said moving ahead of Jasper. The two pushed through the woods at a steady pace, weaving through the trees and plant life while trying to maintain their general direction. When the sun peaked over the horizon, Boreas pulled the pack in front of him so he could go through the stolen records. Taking them out one by one and skimming thorough them, Boreas started crumpling them up and tossing them to the side.
Jaz stopped. "You do realize you're quite literally making a trail?" she noted, tone mild but expression exasperated.
Boreas turned back to her and stopped. He looked around and shrugged. "I mean... what else am I supposed to do with them?" he asked, "You really think anyone will find them in the middle of the woods?"
"Why don't you just wait? You can go through them while I do the spell," she pointed out, exasperated. "If someone happens to find them they'll lead right to us?" Grumbling, she bent to start picking up the discarded papers.
He stared down into the bag. "You're right, its just- I've waited five years..." he sighed, "But yeah, it makes more sense to wait a little longer." He held out the open pack so she could put the papers back.
"Exactly." She started stuffing papers back in. "Five years. What's another day?"
As impatient as he was to look through the info he had stolen, Boreas closed the pack and ignored it. The two continued on towards the town, keeping a decent pace, until finally the trees began to thin and smoke pillars could be seen over the hills. Boreas stopped and looked up at the sun, the glowing ball not quite at it's peek but getting close. He sighed in relief. As much as he didn't want to admit it, the hike had worn him out and he was feeling a little light headed. "Welp. Here- we are" he breathed heavily and his stomach grumbled in complaint. He leaned heavily on the staff and looked over at Jasper, "You ready?" he asked
"Course I am." She eyed him with a bit of concern. "You sure you can make it?"
"Yeah," he replied, "I'm good to go." He stood up straighter as a way of showing Jasper he could continue.
Jasper nodded slowly, but she kept a wary eye on him as she led them cautiously into the town, body tense as she switched to high alert, ready to run at any moment.
Boreas caught a glace of a signpost as they walked, taking note of the town's name, Lilyn. Finding the inn amongst the homes wasn't difficult considering it was the biggest building in the area. He also saw that there was a small shop nearby. It probably wouldn't offer anything special but could provide a place for them to stock up on their way out.
By the time the two reached the tavern Boreas had become noticeably paler, his skin clammy. He pushed open the door, leaning on the handle, and stepped inside. The inn was a welcoming sight. A small bar was set up in front of the doorway and six long tables were placed along the walls; the floor was stone and one foot high walls rose up in the middle of the room, forming a sort of trough on the ground. Filled with wood, a small fire burned along its length and radiated warmth.
Without a word, Jasper ushered her companion through the tavern up the stairs that led to the rooms.
"Hey, you can't just-" the man behind the bar started to snap at her, but she tossed a handful of coins at him and he shut up.
"Here." She pushed Boreas through a door and sat him firmly on a bed. "Let me look at you, alright? Shirt off."
Boreas was breathing rather heavily as they moved to the room. He was very light headed now and fell into a sitting position when Jasper sat him down on the bed. He put his arms behind him to keep from falling backwards further. He took a labored sigh, "I just- need to recover... I'm fine really." But in truth he was exhausted and was just beginning to realize it now that they weren't continuously pushing onward.
He leaned forward and pulled the shirt off of himself, letting it fall to the floor. Boreas was built rather well, years of hard work in the sun left him with a chiseled cut and a warm tan. He was more lean than he was muscular. He wasn't buff like some of the men he had seen in the arena, but Boreas was definitely fit and in great shape; his muscle mass allowed him to pack a punch without weighing him down , allowing him to be quick and agile in a fight.
Boreas leaned back again, returning to his previous propped up position. "The wound is healed, I guess I just lost a lot of blood," he told her, looking at the large red stain on his shirt.
"Yeah, I can see that." With a muttered spell and a flick of her wrist she burned the shirt almost instantaneously. They couldn't risk someone else getting a hold of his blood.
"Here." She knelt in front of him, brow furrowed, and shifted his legs to the sides so she could lean in between them and pass her hand over the scar that was what remained of the wound. Her eyes closed and she tried to sync their breathing, their heartbeats.
It took him a moment after she said 'here' to realize what she had done to his shirt. "Wai- Hey!" Jasper knelt down before him, "Why'd you do that for?" he sighed exasperated
"Because blood magic is dangerous and powerful," she replied vaguely. "Now shush. If I can sympathize with you, I might be able to fix you up a bit without it taking too much out of either of us."
"Alright," he responded, relaxing and watching Jasper do her work. "But you owe me a shirt." He injected quickly before going quiet for good.
"Yeah, yeah." Her hands skimmed over his torso before she settled the left over his scar again and moved the right to rest over his heart.
"Relax and breathe," she ordered softly. "This might feel...strange, but I need you to relax, okay? Can you do that?"
He nodded looking at her. His heart beat a little faster than normal, but he wasn't sure if that was caused from his low blood pressure or not. Her gloved hands felt rather warm against his skin as they traced over him, one settling on his chest with the other just above his waist. Boreas took a deep breath
Jasper closed her eyes again and tilted her head slightly. Her hands glowed with a faint golden light and she murmured, "Pa poen yn ei, gadewch iddo fynd heibio i mi y gallwn rannu'r baich."
She gasped slightly as she felt her strength ebbing as his would increase. She tore her hands away and staggered back a few steps, trying to catch her breath.
The feeling was... weird. He saw her hands begin to glow and a warmth spread through his body. It wasn't a warmth like a fire would give, it was more of a feeling, and for some odd reason it felt alive, it felt like life. Was I feeling Jasper? Boreas wondered. The golden light danced among the room, falling on Jasper's face and lighting it up like an angel's. He stared at her as his strength gradually returned to him; his foggy mind disappeared, turning it clearer and making him feel less drowsy. Then Jasper was seemingly pushed off of him.
"What's wrong?! he jumped off the bed and quickly moved forward, ready to catch her if she fell backwards.
Jasper raised her hand quickly, silently telling him to keep back. "Fine, I'm fine," she muttered. "That's just... Wow. I didn't realize how...draining that would be."
She took a few breaths and gradually managed to straighten up. "H-how you feeling?"
"Me? Well I'm fine, you just healed me," he said, "Are you sure you're ok?" He put a hand on her shoulder and looked at the mage closely. "Don't lie to me"
"I'm alright, really." She brushed his hand away. "And you're not healed completely, you should still take it easy. I just sort of...split the hurt between us so it wouldn't be so bad."
"Yeah, sure- wait. Split the hurt?" he asked concerned, "Are your telling me you feel drained because you gave me some of your life?" Boreas let his hand fall but stood where he was in front of Jasper.
"Not...exactly." She shrugged. "You lost a lot of blood. I just...lost some of mine so you could get a little back. It's called sympathetic healing."
Another shrug and she turned away. "You could probably look through those papers, or start to. I need to prep myself for this spell."
Sympathetic healing, he hadn't heard of that before but, then again, he was realizing he knew little about the art of magic. Boreas sighed and turned around, looking for the bag. "Thank you for healing me again." He moved his attention to the pile of ash on the floor. "I'm not all that mad about the shirt actually, it was pretty well worn, but we'll have to stop by the shop so I can get another." Boreas walked over to the corner of the room where they had discarded their packs. "Why did it need to be burnt though? I mean it was dirty sure, probably made me look like I dead, but it was just a shirt." He sat down on the floor and opened up the pack, pulling out the first few papers.
"It was a shirt with your blood on it," she corrected. "If the wrong person had gotten their hands on it- well, it wouldn't have been pretty, alright?"
His blood, what was so special about his blood? Boreas wasn't sure but he trusted that Jasper knew what she was talking about. He sat there for a moment thinking, then looked up as if he had remembered something. His eyes settled on Jasper right side. There was red on her too, from when she tried to carry him before he pushed her away. Why did I do that, Boreas mentally scolded himself. "Uh.. My blood, well- I got blood on your shirt back on the road," he pointed out. "Sorry about that by the way."
"Yes. I know." She plucked at the fabric and sighed. "Don't apologize. I'll just get rid of this one too." She stripped the shirt off over her head and burnt it in another flash of gold and green fire.
Left in a breast band and her breeches, she shivered slightly and dug in her pack for her traveling cloak so she had something to cover herself. "Alright, c'mere." She held her hand out to Boreas, drawing the dagger from her boot with the other.
Boreas focused his attention on the papers in front of him once Jasper stripped off her shirt. He couldn't keep from taking a few quick glances at the young woman while she dug around in her bag, however. When the mage pulled a cloak from the pack, his eyes shot back down to the papers he was holding.
"Alright, c'mere," Jasper said. Boreas looked up and stood, taking a step towards her. When he saw she was holding the knife, he slowed down a little, weary at its purpose. "What's that for?" he asked, although he could probably guess from the name blood magic.
Jasper rolled her eyes. "If I was going to kill you, I would've done it already." She smirked. "Don't tell me you're afraid of a little cut. Come here," she repeated, twitching two fingers at him.
He walked over to her. "Well no, I didn't think you were going to kill me..." He was unsure why the knife made him wary, by now he should know that he could trust Jasper not to harm him. She'd healed him twice and he had given her the perfect opportunity while he slept. "I'm just.. curious," he stated.
"Careful of that," Jasper muttered. "Curiosity can get you killed." She took his hand, surprisingly gently, and pricked his finger with the blade.
"Alright." She knelt, pulling him with her. "Now just let me guide your hand, okay?" She hovered both their hands over a piece of parchment she'd fished out of her bag with her other hand.
Boreas followed her to the floor, curling in all his fingers but his index to make it easier for Jasper to write. At least that's what he assumed she was going to do. He glanced at her and nodded.
She nodded in turn and guided his hand to trace a pentagram, drawing several symbols at each point of the star.
"Gwaed yn arwain at waed," she murmured, pushing his hand away and laying her own on either side of the parchment. Gold and green light gathered around her body and started to pulse gently in time with her heartbeat.
He scooted back from Jasper to give her room to work. He marveled at what looked like hundreds of tiny orbs of light forming tendrils in the air. They pulsed at a steady pace, and it took Boreas a moment to realize his heart was beating in the same rhythm as the lights. The green and gold they cast lit up the room with an eerie, fluctuating glow, and Boreas wondered what it might look like if someone were to notice it from the room's window. No one will see anything, he hoped. Leaning back on his hands again, Boreas watched Jasper as she worked.
Blood leads to blood. The spell wasn't very complicated, but depending on a number of factors it could take a lot out of the caster.
Maybe she should have waited until she had rested a bit.
Well, it was too late to go back now. Magic swirled around her in tendrils of light, emanating from the pentagram, then suddenly pulsed once, whiting out the room in a brief flash of intensity. Jaz collapsed back as the light faded, panting harshly.
That...wasn't supposed to happen. The spell was completed, it had done its job, but it was far too...flashy.
Boreas shielded his eyes when he was momentarily blinded by the white flash. He blinked several times as he waited for the black in his vision to disappear; after awhile it slowly faded to red and began to wane. He looked to Japser who was now breathing hard on the floor. Boreas scooted forward again and knelt over her. "Well uh.. are you ok? Was that it? Did it work?" he asked, not really sure as to what he just saw. It seemed all she managed to do was create lights, but he could never tell.
Jasper nodded. "It- it worked." Her voice was rough and cracked and she coughed, clearing her throat. "I need- just give me a minute, gotta...get my breath back," she panted, sitting back on her heels and closing her eyes as she breathed.
Boreas gazed at her, captivated, as she regained her composure. There was so much more to this girl than he had originally seen. He thought back to the arena, that girl he had first laid eyes on. He had thought she was average, just a cocky, flirty opponent in his eyes, an obstacle for him to surmount so he could return to that cramped shack he called home. And what for? So he could move onto the next battle he wanted no part of?
Boreas sighed. Once she had used magic, his view of her definitely changed, but he still didn't understand her. He lumped Jaz into the same category he put all mages in, but she wasn't just some generic, mystical spell caster. This was something he was coming to realize more and more with the time he spent with her, and he felt there was still things to uncover. She definitely wasn't average, she wasn't generic, she was... magical. And it was this thought that he gazed at her with, leaning back to sit on his heels same as she.
Jasper was still here too. She could have easily left him in the dust after he helped her escape from the guards. Honestly, he had caused her more trouble than he had gotten her out of. And yet she was still helping him find his sister. A girl Jasper had never met, and for what reasons he couldn't really guess.
Boreas sat there awhile, wondering these things before he finally broke the silence. "Why are you helping me?" he asked with a quiet and curious tone.
It took a few moments for Jasper to get her breath back, eyes still closed and heart rate just a bit too fast.
She blinked and stared at Boreas when he spoke. "Why...?" She cleared her throat and shrugged, looking away. "Do you need to know? I owe you, I'm helping you out. End of story."
Of course that wasn't entirely true. If she'd been smart, she would have just left him behind. She could already tell he was going to be trouble.
But she just didn't have it in her. The kid couldn't be any older than she was- and gods knew she certainly felt too young to be dealing with all of this- how could she just leave him to be picked up by slavers again, or worse?
"I'd like to know," he prodded staring at her. Just then his stomach growled loudly, reminding Boreas he hadn't eaten in almost 24 hours. "So uhh.. How about you tell me over dinner?" he smirked, "I'm sure you must be hungry as well."
Jaz chuckled. "I could eat," she admitted. She glanced between the two of them, then said with a smirk, "Maybe we should put some shirts on though? Here, take this."
She tossed her cloak at him and twisted to hunt through her bag. She could feel the vague pull of the blood tracking spell as it started to settle properly in her body. "I have a spare shirt somewhere, but I don't think it's fit you, just use the cloak."
"Thanks," he smiled, catching the cloak and putting it on. Boreas stood and walked over to the door, grabbing the pack of papers. He leaned against the wall and waited for Jasper to get fully dressed before opening the door.
Shrugging on her shirt, Haz gave him a quick nod as she moved through the door. "Don't suppose you have any coin on you," she mused aloud.
"Well, not exactly," he said sheepishly, "I was hoping you did and I could pay you back later." They walked down the stairs into the main part of the tavern. The place was a little more lively than they found it, but there was still an open table in the corner that the pair could sit at without getting disturbed. "How about over there?" Boreas nodded to the table.
She snorted. "I figured." Gesture to the table with an open palm, she said dryly, "Lead the way."
Boreas walked across the room and took a seat in the corner, back to the wall. Jasper followed and sat opposite him. He put the pack on the table and opened it, letting the stolen papers spill out onto the table, and began going through them. The barmaid approached the new customers right away. "What could I get for you two now?" she asked sweetly. Boreas turned his head to Jasper. "What do you think?" he asked, she was paying after all.
Jaz slid a few coins across the table. "Whatever this will buy that's hot," she said with a quick nod for the server.
"If you just want anything that's hot, I'd suggest our Smoked fresh trout fillets!" the woman beamed, "They get caught from the nearby river! Does that sound good?" Boreas nodded and the waitress took the coins then left. He turned his attention to the documents and skimmed through them one by one, looking for any mention of Evelyn's name and pilling them to the side when he didn't find anything.
"So," Boreas spoke and looked up, "I've realized I don't know much about you.. You wanna fill me in a little on that?" He smiled. "I'm really grateful for all you've done for me, really. But... I don't know, why are you?"
Jasper waved the girl off and sat with her head propped up on one hand, eyes sliding to half mast. She was so so tired. The last few days had really taken a lot out of her, and the steady pull of the track in spell was slowly sapping ever more of her strength.
"Hm?" She looked up. "Oh, uh- there isn't much to tell, really. I couldn't just leave you behind could I?"
"Hm, fair enough," he said glancing up at her, "I suppose I'm not the kind to just leave someone behind either. So.. this, uh," Boreas took a quick look around the room before continuing. "This spell. What happens now? I mean you said it worked but what does that mean? Do you know where she is?"
Ha shot him a quick look, lowering her voice. "Not exactly," she murmured. "I know what direction we should go, and I'll know when we're getting close."
"Alright, that's good enough, gives us somewhere to start." he sighed, "I guess I don't even really need these. They could give us more info on who has her and where she's been but, I mean that's assuming she is even mentioned in these papers." He put the parchment he was holding onto the pile, none too gently. Why was I so stubborn to steal these documents. What happened to those guards was just as much my fault as it was hers. And it was probably for nothing anyways.
The barmaid returned to the table carrying two steaming plates, setting them in front of the travelers. The large cut of trout was glistening from an unknown glaze that was lathered on, and some sort of crushed green herb lay sprinkled on top. It lay on a rice pilaf and was adorned with grilled lemon slices on the side. The sweet smell that wafted up from the dish made Boreas's stomach complain audibly again. He was so wrapped up in the food that he barely caught the voice of their waitress.
"I'm sorry, could you say that again please?" Boreas asked the woman.
"Of course," she smiled, "I was just wondering if you two wanted anything to drink with that?"
Boreas turned to Jasper again, "Whatever she thinks is fine with me," he said, sliding his fork into the fish's flaky meat.
Gods this looks delicious!!
Jasper's stomach sat up and barked like a dog. She licked her lips and shot the serving girl a winning smile, turning on the charm.
"You're an angel, love," she said happily. "And I'll take a whiskey, if you've got anything good."
The woman chuckled and nodded as she turned to go. Jasped dug into her meal. Good food was as much a way to recharge her magic as a long night's rest.
The alcohol was just because she'd had a long fucking day.
Boreas dug in, almost halfway finished by the time the barmaid brought back the whiskey, two glasses in hand. She set them down and gave Boreas another smile, "Second one is on the house."
Boreas was a little surprised by this. "Oh, uh, thanks!" he said as the lady walked away.
Jasper took a quick swig of her drink the second she could get her hands on it. The whiskey burned her throat and she hissed, then took another swallow.
"Gods, I needed that," she muttered, starting in on the fish again.
The food was some of the best Boreas ever had. Whether the reason was his 24 hour fast, the fact that he'd been fed what tasted like dog food for five years, or a combination of both, his mouth was in heaven. He finished the dish quickly, scraping up absolutely everything on the plate and then sitting back satisfied. "Gods that was delicious." Boreas looked up to find that Jasper still had a ways left to go with her food. "Oh," he smirked, "guess I beat you to it." He moved the plate to the side so it was easier for their waitress to retrieve it, then returned to shuffling through the papers, already halfway through the stack.
"You don't have to do that you know," Jaz noted. "The spell's atill warmimg up, but it'll find her."
"Yeah, I realize this won't help anymore in finding Evelyn. But maybe it will give more information than just a general direction," Boreas said hopefully. Although he knew deep down it didn't really matter. He was simply clinging onto the shred of hope that those guards didn't suffer for nothing. Praying to find just one scrap of evidence to justify his brash action. He knew full well however that even if he did find something, it still wouldn't really have been worth it, considering he had Jasper. But still he clung onto the thread of hope that might clear his conscience, looking through the stolen papers and cutting a small strand each time one of the documents turned out to be worthless. And that thread was growing pretty thin.
"So what do we do next? Wait for the spell to warm up sure, but after that we just walk in a direction until we find her?" He placed yet another paper in the discard pile. "Is it that simple?"
"Well...I suppose that's the short version, yes." She shrugged. "Depending on how far away she is I may have to perform the spell again- and we're still gonna be hunted, we can't just let our guard down."
"That's true," Boreas nodded and reached for his glass, taking a drink of his whiskey. He immediately coughed and gagged back into the cup, eyes wide, and quickly choked down what was left in his mouth. "That burns!" He said surprised, setting the glass a little farther from him than it was before. "What do you mean you needed this?!" He looked at Jasper like she was a little crazy.
Jasper laughed. She couldn't help it. "Oh- oh gods!" Chuckling, she shook her head and said incredulously, "Don't tell me you've never had a real drink before?"
"I was 12 when I was taken, and it's not like anyone gave me this. Although I'm a little surprised considering how awful it is." He grimaced and looked at the cup, "I just figured it tasted better is all, the adults seem to love it.."
Jasper giggled again. "You don't drink it for taste, lad, you drink it for what it does to you." She took another swig of her drink, smirking.
"What it does to you huh?" He knew what she was talking about, having seen quite a few drunk people before, and he knew it made them act, well stupid and strange. He was always curious why the drink did that to them and what it felt like. Boreas picked up the glass again, and prepared himself for the awful burning sensation. He put it to his lips and quickly took a large gulp, setting the glass back down and swallowing it as fast as he could. He began coughing again and his eyes watered. It felt like hot lava was flowing down his throat and into his stomach. He could feel it sitting there, boiling his insides. "You know, I'm not so sure it's worth it.." he said with a hand on his chest.
"Oh gods damnit-" Before she could stop him he'd downed his drink. She pulled the glass away with a roll of her eyes. "If I'd known you were this much of a lightweight I would've started you off with something easier."
"Easier? I'm not a wimp." he said defiantly, "It tastes awful and I don't understand it, but I'm not crying over it or anything." Boreas rubbed his watery eyes. He returned to the papers laid out before him, trying to ignore the fire burning in his chest.
Jasper rolled her eyes. "I never said you were a wimp. Alcohol is an...acquired taste."
"Hmh," he grunted not looking up. Boreas continued looking through the papers, one by one, until he started to feel... weird. Dizzy was the best way Boreas could describe it. When he looked up at Jasper and felt his vision blurr, it was a little harder to focus on her face. "Am I drunk?" He asked coherently. The effects of the liquor were just starting to take effect, and Boreas realized he actually enjoyed the warm buzzing in his head. He looked around the room curiously.
She giggled- it wasn't a sound she made often, but she couldn't help it. "I think you're getting there." With a sigh she got to her feet and touched his shoulder lightly. "Come on, m'lad. We should get you back up to a bed before things go south."
If this was really his first time drinking, she didn't want him attempting to stumble up the stairs when he was well and truly sloshed. Better to nip that in the bud.
"Alright alright," he said, getting up and leaning on the table for support. Boreas gathered the papers and shoved the stack he had gone through into the pack, holding the lingering few he had yet to read in his hand. He looked around a little disoriented, turning his head quicker than normal because he liked the feeling it gave him. "Ya know, I kinda like this," he said in a care free tone. He followed Jasper as she led him to the room.
She laughed and guided him to the bed. "Yeah, that'll last a while. Then you'll wake up with one mother of a hangover and decide you actually hate it."
She huffed out a breath as she tried to get him fully into the bed and wound up sort of sprawled over him, still chuckling at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. Through her giggles, she muttered, "I'm gonna head back downstairs and get you some water, alright?"
Boreas shook his head in an exaggerated fashion. "I dun need wader," he said grabbing Jasper's wrist and putting his other hand on her waist to keep her there. He was realizing it was getting harder to form words but he didn't care. Boreas gave a quick heavy sigh, "Yer a good person fer helpin me. I like you Jaz." He looked up at Jasper, her short hair hung all around her face as she looked down at him and her green eyes seemed to sparkle. She giggled again, Boreas hadn't heard her laugh before now but he liked the sound.
Jaz's giggled redoubled and she shook her head. "Gods, I am so giving you shit for this in the morning," she informed him with a wry smile. She tugged her wrist gently, trying to pull away.
"C'mon, lad. Lemme get up and get that water- trust me, you'll thank me for it in the morning."
"I jus said I dun need wader," he responded with a slight slur. Boreas lay there gazing up at Jasper, his grip loosened enough to allow her to pull away easily if she wanted. "stay ere." He told her, eyes half closed.
She sighed and rolled her eyes. She'd dealt with enough drunks to knownit was usually easier to just humor them.
"Fine." She rolled so she was sitting on the bed beside him. "I'll stay. But you should get some rest, alright?" Once he was asleep she'd go and get that water. He'd be kicking himself if they couldn't move in the morning because he was hungover.
Boreas relaxed and laid back while keeping his one hand on Jasper's, his head was beginning to spin a little. He soon started slipping into a mesmerized state, overwhelmed by the intense buzzing and disorentation caused by the alcohol. After a few minutes he seemed to snap back to reality. "Hey Jass," he fumbled with his words, "You did you- Did you knew, that. Well yer actually kinda a little pretty." He said. His face turned a shade darker red, although that fact was masked by his already flushed face because of Boreas's drunkenness. He found he really didn't care what he said, even though he knew it might not be something he'd be comfortable talking about normally.
A pretty little blush dusted her cheeks and she cleared her throat. Gods, what was that about? She was never bashful about these sorts of things- maybe it was because she'd never really met someone as earnest as Boreas, even when he was sober. She knew he wasn't saying it just to get her into bed.
"I did know that, actually," she replied flippantly, trying to play it off. "And you are drunk, my friend. Get some sleep."
She reached out as though to smooth her hand over his forehead, then snatched her hand back quickly as glared at it as though it was some kind of poisonous serpent.
It took Boreas a moment to register what she had said. "Oh," he responded, "Beaut-ful, teasy type. Bets dat getscha all kinds tail, huh?" A smile crept across Boreas's face, his slurred words trying to quote Jasper from the arena.
"Oh my gods." She laughed and shook her head. "Wow, I think you're going to need that water like, yesterday."
Jasper moved to get off the bed, patting his arm. "Don't move, m'lad, I'll be right back, okay?"
"hmmph," Boreas let out a mumble as the mage pulled away from him. "fineDon't take too mucha time." He watched her as she walked away until Jasper left his sight.
She rolled her eyes yet again and made her way down to the main room of the inn. Some careful flirting with the bartender earned her a pitcher of water and a glass, and she quickly returned to the room.
She poked her head in cautiously, not wanting to disturb him if he'd actually fallen asleep, and crept quietly into the room, water in hand.
Boreas had his eyes closed, his head spinning as he lay there on the bed. He was too wrapped up in what was happening to him for his ears to pick up Jasper walking in. He wanted it to stop now. The alcohol was beginning to give the young man a terrible case of the spins, due to his quick consumption of the drink. His head buzzed rapidly and was almost overwhelming him. Boreas squeezed his eyes tighter and gave an audible grunt, turning onto his side towards the wall.
"Hey there." Jasper moved forward and sat at the edge of the bed. She touched his shoulder lightly. "Come on, lad. Sit up and drink some of this, then you can rest, alright?"
Boreas was a little startled by her sudden appearance at first, but he sat up and took the water from her. He drank it quickly, hoping it would help him sooner, and set the glass on the nightstand by the bed. "Do yeu miss yer famaly?" He asked her abruptly.
Pouring another glass for him, Jasper fumbled with the pitcher and almost dropped it. "I- what? No. no, of course not."
She frowned and shoved the glass back into his hands.
"Why not?" he asked, "I miss mine famaly..." He paused in melancholy, "What appened ta make yew not miss em?"
Her shoulders tensed and she set her jaw, no looking at them. "I don't have a family," she replied bluntly.
Huffing out a breath, she ran a hand through her hair and muttered, "Get some sleep, lad."
"Jasper cant ya just let me in? When I asked yew about this yew always lockup," He put a hand on her shoulder. He didn't want to push her before because he knew it might be a sensitive subject, but the alcohol in his system made him care about that less. "Its not no good ta hold this stuff inside ya. I jus wanna help but I cant if yew dunt talk to meh.. What appened with yer family, and why yew in Connlaoth as a mage? Yer smart theres gotta be sum reason."
"No."
Jasper's voice was a snarl, her eyes flickering like a hunted animal's. She jerked away from his touch, standing sharply from the bed.
"There's nothing to talk about, Boreas. Get some sleep." She put her back to him, poured another glass of water, then crossed the room and left, slamming the door behind her.
Boreas sat there dumbfounded at her reaction. Whatever, he thought and laid back down on the bed. He just wanted to help, and he wanted to know more about this girl, but perhaps it was too soon. Damn alcohol. Why'd I even ask that. He knew better but he hadn't cared and thought pushing would help. Apparently he was wrong. Boreas wondered if he should get up to talk to her but decided against it, he had talked enough already. Closing his eyes, he tried to get some rest while giving Jasper room to think.
She returned to the room a few hours before dawn, looking a little disbelieved and probably tipsy herself. Though she tried to keep quiet, Jasper wasn't nearly as graceful as she bumbled about the room and eventually fell into the other side of the bed, jerking the blanket up to her chin.
He was pulled from his light sleep when Jasper fell onto the bed. His head hurt, and he squinted even with the absence of light in the room. Rolling over, Boreas looked at Jasper. "You ok?" He asked her cautiously.
"I'm great." She smiled and turned onto her side to face him, then frowned. "Hangover starting?" she questioned with a dramatic little pout. Her hands moved up to rub at his temples lightly.
Boreas was confused by her seemingly cheery reaction. Last he had seen her the girl had stormed out of the room in fury, and now she was... happy. "Umm... yeah," he replied as she kneaded his temples. It was actually helping a little, which was nice. "So, we should probably get out of here in the next few hours before it gets too light out. Get some sleep," he told her, "And thanks, that actually helped a bit."
"Mmm..." She pouted again. "Maybe I don't want to sleep. We've got a bit of time, let's just have a little fun."
Rather than explain what she meant, she leaned in and kissed him. Her hands slipped to his neck, kneading gently at his nape in a well-practiced sort of way.
Her sudden kiss surprised Boreas and he turned his head. "Jasper, are you drunk?" he asked but already knew the answer, smelling the alcohol on her. "You're not yourself," he said but didn't pull away from her hands.
Jasper frowned at him. "So?" She kissed him again, sliding her hand down his back, nails scratching gently. "C'mon, where's the harm?"
Boreas's heart beat faster as he let her kiss him. Where was the harm? He looked into Jasper's emerald eyes, they were beautiful, and felt her hands along his back. His logic told him this was wrong but his heart was telling him to go for it. Wasn't this what I wanted last night? I was drunk. But I still wanted it... His brain battled itself with contradiction but eventually he gave into his feelings and wrapped his arms around the girl lying next to him. His hands trembled slightly from nervousness. "True," he whispered, brushing the soft hair from her face, and he leaned in for another kiss.
She felt him shaking slightly and moved her kisses along his jaw to his throat.
"Don't tell me you've never done this before," she chuckled, pressing a little closer and curling her fingers lightly in the fabric of his shirt.
He let out a breath, "Well... not really," he said bashfully. "But there's a first time for everything right?" He closed his arms around Jasper tighter, drawing her in, and rolled so she was on top of him. He gaze up into her eyes unblinkingly.
"Oh."
She hadn't actually expected that answer.
"Well...shit." She sighed and pushed herself a little up off his chest, running her fingers through her hair. "Well, I ain't about to be the one to corrupt ya or nothin'," she muttered, her voice taking on the distinctive rough edge of someone lowborn as the drink worked through her system.
Another sigh and she leaned in to kiss him again, a little softer this time. "We still got a couple'a hours. Grab a few more winks," she muttered, and seemed ready to settle in on top of him to sleep.
Boreas returned the kiss, then leaned his head back onto the pillow as Jasper lay hers on his chest. If she was content with that then he supposed he was fine too, besides, he was kind of at a loss of what to say from Jasper's somewhat erratic behavior. He lay there with the girl on top of him running things over in his head. He wondered how much she had to drink while she was gone and if he should have followed her, but there was nothing he could do about that now. Boreas looked down at Jasper and brushed some of the hair from her face. It's not like he would be able to go to sleep after what had just happened, but he also didn't want to move as he enjoyed the feeling of holding her. He let out a soft sigh and settled with staying up and keeping watch as she slept, just in case something were to happen.
A scant few hours later, Jasper started to swim back to consciousness with a headache and a fuzzy tongue. She groaned and lifted a hand to scrub at her eyes- then froze.
She was laying on someone. What..? Her eyes flicked down, saw Boreas, and widened. Her jaw dropped and she hung frozen for a moment, then squeaked and threw herself off him.
"What the- how the hell- when did-?!" She patted herself down and suddenly relaxed as she realized she was still clothed. Alright, so nothing too bad had happened. She groaned and clutched her head, clenching her eyes shut.
Boreas had unexpectedly started to nod off when Jasper jumped off of him. His eyes shot open and he sat up scanning the room for imminent danger. "What's wrong?" he asked her when he realized there was no one in the room.
"What the hell happened last night?" Jasper ground out. She was angry with herself, not him, but the irritation was plain in her tone all the same.
"Uh, well. You came back last night and started kissing me and-" Boreas looked over at her funny, "How come you don't remember?" He sat up off of the bed and fastened the jacket back on him so his chest wasn't showing. Ugh, I forgot to take this off when I was drunk, he thought. "And what'd you do while you were gone? It was pretty late."
She groaned and clutched at her head. "Of course I did," she muttered, rubbing her temples. "That's- that's just fucking perfect." Glowering up at him sourly, she added, "If you're lucky, you'll never get drunk enough to black out portions of an evening. Unfortunately, I wasn't lucky."
He looked away from her poisonous gaze, She doesn't remember anything? he had dealt with several drunks before but he hadn't heard of this happening. "Oh," he said, "Well, I'm sorry about last night." he walked over to the small window and took a peak out. Luckily there were no guards amassing in front of the inn. "I think we should get going, grab breakfast to go and I'd like to get a shirt so you can have your jacket back." He turned back to Jasper and let out a breath, "Are you Ok?" he said a little concerned.
She nodded, but the jerking motion made her groan. "Headache," she grunted. She waved him away, then gestured to the door. "Go on, I'll be after you in a minute. Need a hangover cure."
"Alright." He walked past her and out of the door. His hangover wasn't bad, a slight headache was all. He rubbed his temples and walked down the stairs, then went over to the bar. "Glass of water please," he said to the inn keeper, "and what do you have for the road, food wise?"
The grey bearded man rubbed his beard in thought, "Got some salted jerky that'll keep fer months. Fish. We got lotsa fish. Dried crackers too. How long you gunna be on the road?" he asked.
"Not sure actually," Boreas sighed, "Looking for someone. So however long it takes to find them."
"Hmph. Yer gonna want the salted jerky then, maybe some crackers. How much ya want?" He turned to the bar maid who stopped by the counter, "Get this man a glass o water please." She nodded and walked off.
"I don't know, give me a weeks worth," he guessed. He figured it should feed the two of them for about four or five days if they made it last.
"Ight, that's gonna be about 12 silver pieces."
Shit. Boreas had forgotten about the money. "Uh shoot. I left my coin pouch upstairs. I'll be right back." He turned and rush back up the stairs to the room. Grabbing the handle he opened the door a crack. "You decent?" he asked.
Jasper had managed to drag herself to her pack and start shoving supplies inside. She grunted a vague affirmative to Boreas.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Come in."
He fully opened the door. "I'm trying to buy us some food for the road, do you mind if I borrowed your coin purse?" He asked. He looked at the stolen papers sitting in the room. "And uh, I looked through almost all of those. She's nowhere in there." He pointed to the documents. "Not like I should have expected her to be or anything but... yeah just get rid of them I guess." He felt as if it was such a waste getting ahold of those, but at least he had Jasper to show him the way now.
"Sure." She waved her hand in the vague direction of her pack. "Purse is in there. I'll..be down in a second, alright?"
Boreas nodded. "Thanks," he grunted, taking the purse and quickly moving back downstairs. "How much again?" He asked the inn keeper.
"12 silvers," the man replied and Boreas fished them out of the pouch. Handing in the money, the inn keeper went to work getting his items. Boreas took a seat at the bar and waited as he did so, beginning to wonder what Jasper was doing upstairs. She was almost done packing when he came up and the way she spoke was like she was avoiding telling him something.
Jasper cleared them out of the room with casual efficiency, something she was quite used to doing. She made her way down the stairs and located Boreas at the bar, grabbing a seat for herself beside him.
"Here." She handed him one of the packs, wincing as her head still throbbed in protest of any real movement.
He took it from her and set it on the ground beside him. He noticed her wince and concluded she had a bad headache like he did before. The bar maid returned with the glass of water and set it on the counter. "Here you go," she smiled at him.
"Thanks, can you actually get one more for us? I'd appreciate it," Boreas asked her.
"Of course, be right back." She walked away and Boreas pushed the water over towards Jasper. "Drink up, you need it more than I do, I can tell."
She grunted and took the glass. "Thanks."
She downed it quickly, eyes still half shut against the light in the place.
The inn keeper set the food in front of them and the barmaid returned with the water. It was soothing as it flowed into his mouth. Finishing up the water and grabbing the food, he stuffed it into his pack and got up from the stool. "We should go, we've been here too long already," he said before walking out the inn door.
"Yeah." Jasper pulled herself together as much as she could and jumped up to follow him. "C'mon then."
On their way down the road and out of town, they stopped by the small shop he had mentioned earlier. He noticed the man glancing at them periodically, which was odd, but he disregarded his actions. Boreas picked out the cheapest shirt they had, and walked out of the shop wearing it, handing Jasper back her jacket he'd been borrowing since yesterday. "Thanks again," he said looking down the road, "So which way are we headed then? You're my compass now."
The jacket was very welcome, after walking around in nothing but her thin undershirt. Jasper kept walking as she pulled it on. "Northeast," she replied, after a quick internal check. She pointed. "That way."
Boreas gave a nod, and started walking down the road. "Okay, so I'm just curious, this a feeling, how will you know when we're close? Or how long we have to go? We have about 4 days of rations, 5 if we make it last and-" Boreas stopping cold in his tracks. He stared forward at a town message board they'd approached as they walked. Specifically at two pieces of parchment nailed onto it.
Wanted, they read, for the murder of 6 and for the use of magic. Armed and extremely dangerous mages. Do NOT confront without the proper authorities. In big bold letters at the bottom of their respective sheets, Boreas Warmhearth and Jasper were written. His went on to describe how the man was an escaped slave, put in chains from criminal actions. Jasper's told little of her history as it was not known to anyone, only the basic details that she might be traveling with Boreas. Accompanied with these lines were two well drawn mugs of the culprits. And Boreas might have well been standing in front of a mirror looking at himself and Jasper.
Crap! That man had recognized us, THAT'S why he had been looking at them strangely. The innkeeper and the barmaid didn't seem to though, but they could have simply not seen the posters yet this morning. He quickly turned back towards the shop they had left. The owner had exited the building and was hurriedly walking down the road away from them. And Boreas could tell he was headed to a few guards that were chatting outside.
"Shit! We have to get out of here." Boreas took a hold of Jasper's upper arm and led the girl to the left between two houses and out of the guards line of sight.
"Well, fuck me." Jasper was terrified, but outwardly she just seemed mildly annoyed. She nodded, ducking her head as she urged Boreas deeper into the shadows.
"We need to get out of this town yesterday."
"For sure," Boreas replied. "Follow your magic's direction out of this town, I'm right behind you."
Jasper nodded and peered out around the corner. When the coast was clear, she darted out of cover, keeping close to the building that lined the street so they could duck into an alley if they needed to get out of sight quickly.
Boreas ran with Jasper, checking behind him he saw the man had just reached the guards. The street was too open, it's straight path in perfect view of the guards. Boreas pulled Jasper off of the street. "The guards will see us," he spoke, "lets take a detour around the back and get out of this town." Boreas gripped his staff tightly, he didn't want another confrontation so soon, but that was out of his control and he had to be ready. Moving behind the houses he heard shouts, guards calling to a few others down the road. The alarm had officially been sounded, and they were running out of time.
There wasn't time to waffle about descisions. "Alright, fine." Jasper's eyes flickered around wildly and she nudged his shoulder. "Lead the way then, I'll cover our tracks with a spell as best I can," she muttered.
Boreas crept along the back of the houses, peeking around corners before moving across the gaps. A few soldiers had begun to spread out along the streets searching for the pair. A few started knocking on doors, thinking they might have ducked into a building. That would have been suicide. Boreas thought. He had heard of enough runaway attempts to know that if you stopped you got caught. Hiding out in a town where you were being hunted never ended well. Neither did staying in one place too long. It seems they had done that this time around.
"Anything?" a guard yelled from a little ways away.
"Nothin yet!" A loud voice replied.
Boreas skidded to a halt and slammed his body against the nearest wall, holding out his hand to signal Jasper to do the same. That voice had sounded like it was just around the corner, and the guard was likely about to check behind the buildings. He readied his staff, the man would see them right away if he walked around the corner.
Jasper ducked into an alcove and held up her hand, mouthing, Don't move.
She closed her eyes, then whispered, "Clogyn o'r golwg, deaden sain, nid llif ac ni ellir eu gweld."
A gold and green shimmer rose up around them, veiling them from outward sight as long as they remained still. She tried to catch Boreas' eye, making a "stay there" gesture with her hand.
Boreas pressed himself as far into the wall as was possible and froze, keeping his eyes on Jasper. She had told him to stay put, and he trusted her, although he wasn't sure what the magic would do.
The guard walked briskly around the corner just after Jasper's spell had settled in. Boreas's eyes shot over towards the guard and his hand tighten on his staff. He was ready to spring forward and take the man by surprise when... the man looked passed them. They were standing quite literally right next to the guard. Boreas could reach out and touch him, but the guard acted as if they weren't there. He can't see us. How can he not see us?! his mind panicked.
Boreas watched out of the corner of his wide eyes as the guard turned to look where they would be headed, then turned back again. He took off at a quick pace down the path they had just come. Boreas's gaze flicked back to Jasper as the man moved further and further from them. He wasn't sure if he should move just yet, and didn't want to speak in case there was someone else near. Once the guard was a good distance away, he tried to give a motion with just his eyes they they should move, but waited for Jasper's signal.
Slowly, Jasper allowed herself to relax as she watched the guard move away. She caught Boreas' eye and nodded once.
She gradually peeled herself off the wall and moved back down the alley, jerking her head to indicate for him to follow her.
Boreas kept close behind Jasper as they crept around, keeping an eye on their tail. "I'm guessing we're not still invisible if you're being so cautious then?" he whispered, ducking to move under a window so as to not be seen.
"The spell stops working if we move," she replied over her shoulder. They were getting closer to the edge of town. "Come on, if we can get back into the trees it'll be easier to lose a tail."
He gave a nod and, creeping after her, continued to watch their backs. He was surprised how far they were getting as the two moved out of town. He had expected another fight, but was glad it didn't seem like it would end in one. As far as the guards of this town knew, they were ghosts. And that would make it hard for anyone to track them if nobody saw the direction they left in. Hopefully we'll eventually get far enough away to lose our wanted status, he thought. But he knew that would be highly unlikely to happen anytime soon.
Jasper hardly breathed until they were closing in on the cover of the trees. She jerked her head at Boreas and muttered, "Keep close."
She could do trees. A good portion of her first few months in Connloath had been spent ducking in and out of wooded areas in an effort to keep herself hidden. She'd learned quickly how to navigate forests.
Only once they reached the edge of the foliage did he relax his muscles. He followed Jasper as she wove between the large trees. Their thick trunks reach high into the clouds. It appeared as if they had gotten away unnoticed, although Boreas couldn't be 100 percent sure a bystander didn't see them darting across the open grass. But that didn't matter right now to him. Whether they gained pursuers or not, he was on his way to Evelyn. Finally. And was so grateful to have Jasper to show him the way. The documents had turned up to be a dead end. And he would have likely had a dead end as well without Jasper saving the day... was it 3 times now? He needed to step up his game.
As they pushed into the forest, the leaves grew thicker and the trunks wider. Roots sticking out of the ground were beginning to look more and more like fallen branches, and eventually only dim light was able to break the the leafy canopy. Streaks of the suns rays cast themselves down in beams onto the forest floor. It was a little creepy, knowing it was day while the lighting around them looked more like dusk. But it was also beautiful. The light shimmered through the air putting small spotlights on the ground that swayed with the trees in the wind. Boreas could hear the rustling of squirrels and other forest creatures in the branches above. Their chatter and blending with the rustling leaves. Songbirds rang out in pleasing melodies while other avian creatures fluttered overhead.
Boreas gave a whistle, "This place is... amazing." he said, staring up in awe at the nature above him. Unfortunately he kept his head raised one second too long. His foot caught on a jutting root and it sent to the ground with an *oof*
Jasper jumped slightly at the sudden noise and whirled around, ready to fight. She stared at Boreas for a moment in silence, one eyebrow creeping toward her hairline.
"Graceful," she commented wryly, reaching out a hand to help him up. "You alright, lad?"
Boreas waved her hand away and picked himself up off the ground. "Fine. Totally fine," he said embarrassed. Brushing the dirt off him he took another quick look around. "This place is beautiful though."
She shrugged, glancing around. "Pretty enough, I guess. Come on, we don't have time for sightseeing."
She set off into the trees again, glancing back once or twice to make sure Boreas was following her. The hum of magic in her chest was a subtly persistent tug, urging her to change her course every few steps, but she resisted. She wanted to get them deeper into the trees before she really started tracking his sister.
Surprisingly, the forest actually got thicker than it already was. It seemed as if the two travelers were descending into darker parts now, both literally and figuratively. Light grew dimmer as they trekked around the trees, streaks of sunlight becoming less common and nature's chatter falling into the distance. It was getting quiet and Boreas had to focus his concentration on his footing, to avoid tripping on any more obstacles.
"Alright." When she felt they were deep enough into the trees Jasper let out a small huff and paused. "We could maybe take a rest here, just for a few minutes." She needed to get her bearings, figure out exactly where the spell was leading her.
Boreas took a glance behind them. They had made it a good distance into the forest, and there hadn't been any sign of pursuers. "Sounds good," he said, and began moving toward a large tree with what looked like a flat patch of ground beneath it. "Do you think we should light a fire?" he turned and asked her. He didn't know how long she planned on staying, but it was rather dark and Boreas was having trouble seeing into the distance. Meanwhile, Jasper had become more of a silhouette before him. He could tell it was her from her figure, but smaller details were hard to make out.
She shook her head. "Too risky, and with luck we'll move on and find a proper place to camp soon. Now hush, I need to concentrate."
She closed her eyes to focus on the feeling of the tracking spell. It was faint, and pinpointing the direction took more effort than she would have liked.
Alright, Boreas could wait he supposed. He took a seat on an exposed root, and began to examine what he could around him, which wasn't much. A brisk breeze swept through the forest, and Boreas couldn't help but shiver slightly. He leaned forward onto his elbows and stared at the forest floor as his pupils adjusted. Something quickly caught his eye, and he squinted to just barely make out a patch of mushrooms. They were glowing ever so slightly around their edges, and he reached out to poke the fungi with his staff.
*Shoomp!* The fungus shot into the dirt instantly at it's touch and caused Boreas to jump. "What the?!" His head snapped up to look over at Jasper. The question as to whether she saw it or not was on the tip of his tongue, but then he realized she had her eyes closed. He turned back to the dark patch of dirt the fungus had suddenly buried themselves in and inspected it. What the hell was that?
Jasper jerked slightly and her eyes flew open at his exclamation.
"What part of hush was too difficult for you to grasp?" she demanded, exasperated, as she looked to Boreas- and saw him bent over the ground, evidently examining something intently.
"What the hell?" she sighed, rubbing at her temples.
"I- uh- I don't know. Sorry." A quizzical look sat on his face as he looked in a wider range around him, although the dim light would make it very hard to for Jasper to discern his expression. "You can keep concentrating." His eyes caught another very faint glow several yards away and rose from his seat to go investigate. He had never seen a plant that could move like that and wondered what it might be.
She rolled her eyes and got to her feet to follow him. "What on earth do you think you're doing?" With her luck, he'd seen some animal or something and gotten sidetracked. The last thing she needed was to open her eyes again and find he'd wandered off.
Boreas knelt down when he reached the small patch of mushrooms, looking at them closely. They were definitely the same kind as before, dim blue edges giving off very faint light. "Do you know what these are?" he said in response to Jasper's question. They looked magical, but that was surprising considering they were in the middle of Connlaoth. Magic was supposed to be erased from this land wasn't it? Leaning forward slightly, he prepared to grasp the plant with his hand before it could suck itself into the ground.
"No- well don't touch it!" She grabbed for his wrist, rolling her eyes. "Gods, do you ever think things through? What if that's poisonous or something?"
She tilted her head curiously at the spot where the fungus had disappeared. "Odd. I'm not much for magical botany, but that's definitely not mundane."
*Shoomp!* The fungus sucked itself into the ground when his fingers grazed the plant, his wrist getting wrenched away before he could grasp the stem. "ugh!" he complained, "I would have had it." he sighed and looked around them once again. He didn't know why he hadn't realized the plant could have been poisonous, he usually thought those things through. But the mushrooms were curious, they were living in a place almost devoid of magic, its very substance outlawed, and yet there was a plant that seemed magical almost right in it's center.
"I don't know," he said, "Don't you think it's odd that there is a magical species living in the middle of Connlaoth?" He stood up, there were no others in the immediate area, no faint glowing his eyes could discern among the darkness. "But you're right, I'm sorry." he apologized, "I probably shouldn't have just tried to grab it without thinking it through."
"Not so odd." Her lips twitched up on one side. "Magic is a part of life. It's in the earth, the water, the air. No matter what these nut jobs say, no matter who they outlaw, they can't change the nature of our world."
He nodded and looked over at her. "You're very right. Didn't know you could be so sage-like." He gave a quick grin even though he knew Jasper probably couldn't see it. "Well are you ready to get out of this darkness?"
"Sage-like." She snorted and rolled her eyes. "I'm just being honest. You're not a native, right? You should be able to see past their bigotry."
She sighed and rolled her shoulders back. "We can keep moving if you're ready. Northeast, that way." she pointed.
"Sure," he replied, "lead the way." As they walked, Boreas involuntarily scratched his fingers with his thumb. In the very area where the fungus had touched his skin. But he didn't realize it and his hand was back to its relaxed position before it could be noticed. The two continued on through the thick forest.
Jasper really wasn't sure where they were going, she just knew the general direction the tracking spell was pulling her in. She kept quiet, not really one for idle conversation.
As the two walked onward, the tree's began to thin again. It seemed they were on their way out of the forest. Boreas swung his staff around idly, bored with the silence, and listened to its low swooshing sounds. He was already very skilled with using the tool, but practice never hurt. As they walked, one of his swings brought the staff down onto a rock. A small crack of wood sounded as the stone's corner chipped a piece off of the smooth wood.
"Shoot." he said, inspecting the damage. There were a few other nicks along the wood from his various skirmishes, it wasn't perfect, but he hated damaging the staff unnecessarily. As he rubbed his hand along the exterior, an idea came to mind.
"Hey Jasper," he asked, "Do you know any reinforcement spells? I was just thinking, it might be nice if an unlucky sword strike didn't split this thing in two."
"Gods!" Jasper jumped and whirled at the sound, glowering at him. "Demons above and below, do you have a grudge against being quiet?" she grumbled, rubbing at the back of her neck.
When his question registered, she tilted her head in thought. "I...might know something. A potion though, not a spell. I'd need the proper ingredients."
"Sorry." he replied, "And yeah, I suppose that will work. As long as it keeps the thing from breaking. The stronger the better... But it's not a big rush." He scratched the back of his head and mumbled, "Sorry..."
She growled and rolled her eyes; great- he looked like a kicked puppy and now she felt guilty. "Don't apologize, just quit scaring me like that," she grumbled, starting off again.
"Well, what are the ingredients, and where could we possibly find them?" Boreas inquired.
"Most of them are pretty common, we could probably find them anywhere that sells camping or healing supplies. Others..." She shrugged. "Some of it's not native to Connlaoth. And one is obviously magical, not sure how we could get a hold of that."
"Well," he said, "We just saw that there is still magic in Connlaoth, however sparse it may be. Hopefully it won't be as hard to find as you think." He paused for a moment gazing at his staff as they walked. "I'm not sure if I will have heard of them before, but do you know the names of the ingredients? Just so I can keep my eyes out."
"Well...wormwood. Mandrake, wolfsbane, holly, powdered moonstone..." She trailed off, frowning. "I have it written down somewhere. I can look next time we make camp."
Hmm, Boreas hadn't heard of most of those, let alone where to find them. I wonder if alchemy is illegal around here... They may have to be careful with brewing the potion.
That also reminded Boreas, they needed to look out for a place to camp. He looked up at the sun making its decent across the sky. It seemed as if they spent longer than they thought in that dark forest. As they walked, he absent mindedly scratched his palm again.
Jasper paused every so often as they trekked through the trees, getting her bearings ans reassessing where exactly the spell was pulling her before continuing on.
She kept quiet, perfectly content to travel in silence. She'd been on her own so long that she was actually more comfortable with quiet than with conversation.
It was dark now. The glowing globe had faded from view faster than Boreas had realized as they walked silently forward. The trees were sparse compared to what the pair had just traversed, and he figured they were begining to reach the edge of the forest.
"We should make camp soon," he spoke to Jasper. His voice was somewhat hoarse from the long silence and Boreas grunted to clear his throat. "I don't know about you but my feet are damned sore."
Jasper paused.
"Yeah, alright. Why don't you start a fire or something, I'll see if I can scrounge up something to eat," she muttered, looking back into the trees.
"Uhh, sure thing" he replied. Boreas wasn't sure if he'd be able to, he'd had to light fires as a servant but he'd always had flint to do so. His dad had taught him how when he was younger, Boreas recalled, but that was a long time ago, nearly 6 years. He hadn't been one to pay much attention to survival tatics at that age. Who would have guessed I'd be needing all of it... he thought.
Boreas began looking around the immediate area for dry sticks and logs. I'll need some tender too, he noted to himself. Turning back to Jasper before she got too far away, he called out to her. "Be careful, and shout if you need anything," he said. The last thing they needed was to get separated in the coming darkness, and there was always a chance someone was in pursuit.
"Yeah, yeah," Jasper waved him off and moved a little deeper into the trees.
She wasn't much of a hunter- her skills were more toward pickpocketing than tracking- but magical traps she could manage. She moved about, setting a snare every dozen yards or so.
*rubrubrubrubrub*
Boreas gritted his teeth as he ground the stick back and forth against the think branch. He was about to give up when the faintest hint of smoke rose from the log. YES! He had created fire! But the moment he stopped to look at the smoke it was gone.
He swore under his breath before starting again, placing the stick into the shallow notch that had formed. This was harder than he had thought. He hoped Jasper's hunting was going well, all this work was going to make him quite hungry. Clinching his jaw, Boreas put pressure onto the stick again and moved it back and forth. The sound of rubbing was the only thing to be heard as he attempted to make a lasting ember.
Jasper returned to their little camp, panting and a little pale.
She smirked. "How's the fire going?"
"It's... Going.." he said between breaths as he vigorously rubbed the wood. There was quite a bit of smoke starting to form, but Boreas was worried it would go out again. That would mark the third time. "How's hunting?" He asked glancing up. Boreas didn't see her lugging any game with her. "And can you grab that pile of tinder for me? I need to dump the hot ash on it fast."
She smirked. "It's going." She bent to hand him the tinder. "I set some traps, hopefully we'll have something soon.
Boreas smirked at her remark and set the tender next to the branch. He quickly dumped the smoldering coals into the dried grass and brush then picked up the tender bundle and lightly blew into it. Slowly, the smoke became thicker and thicker until it started billowing out in small streams.
"I think we've got something here," he smiled. Boreas turned to a pile of sticks and twigs to the right of him. He waved the timber in the air. After a couple of seconds, flames became visible and the timber lit up brightly. He hurriedly stuffed the piece under the wood pile. "Let's hope that catches." He paused then turned to Jasper, "You know what I just remembered? We have food from the inn," he stated, "I suppose we should eat the fresh stuff first though.. if you can catch anything," he joked lightly.
She snorted and waved toward the woods. "If you think you can do any better with that big stick, you're welcome to try," she snipped back.
"Hmm," he grunted. Boreas knew she was right about that one, but he didn't want to admit it. He idly blew into the small fire. The flames slowly grew as they caught and crackled on the wood, lighting the surrounding area. Boreas watched them flick and dance through the air and warmed his hands with the growing heat.
[Ahh...Jasper didn't go anywhere...]
The mage leaned back on her palms, eyes closed and head falling back as she tried to just breathe for a moment.
"So..." Boreas said, turning his gaze to the girl. "How long have you been out here? On your own, I mean." He tilted his sore neck until he felt and heard his bones pop, doing the same in the opposite direction. "You seem... I don't know. Experienced I guess," he half smiled at Jasper.
"Out here? Connlaoth?" She shrugged. "About a year, I think. Time sort of starts to blur together if you don't use anything to mark it- oh."
She paused, blinking, eyes a little distant. She'd turned seventeen last week- or somewhere thereabouts, she'd never actually known her birthday so she just picked one for herself.
Boreas furrowed his brow at her sudden realization. "What?" he asked. He turned his head to where she was looking, thinking she had seen something, but there was only empty darkness. "Whats wrong?" he said facing her again.
"Nothing." She shook her head quickly. "It's...nothing. Just- thinking. Scoot over will you? The breeze is blowing the smoke over here."
She shuffled around the fire to sit huddled on his side, arms wrapped loosely around her middle.
"Oh, yeah." he responds, moving over to give her space outside of the smoke. Boreas sighed and warmed his hands with the flames. He knew there was something troubling her and wanted to help, but he wasn't sure if he should prod. The last few times it only succeeded in pushing Jasper away and pissing her off. Finally, he decided on something in the middle. "You know, if you ever want to talk about what's troubling you I'm all ears. It's hard being out on your own without any family, that much I know, and you said it had been about a year? I can't even imagine... But you don't have to let me in if you don't want. The offer is just there."
Jasper glared, opening her mouth to snap a response.
Then she paused. She closed her eyes and took a breath.
He was just trying to help.
"I...appreciate that," she said slowly, stiffly. "But I'm fine. Really. I don't need to talk." Her eyes fixed on the fire again, shifting closer to its warmth.
Boreas nodded, attention returning to the campfire. He leaned back, putting his hands behind himself to support his weight. His eyes watched the fire, a cascade of yellow and orange, darting and flicking through the air. It was fluid, alive almost, beautiful. His ears listened to the forest around them. It was quiet for the most part, save the chirping of crickets and occasional croak of a frog. An owl hooted and it's wings beat above them. It was peaceful, the sounds were soothing, it was beautiful. And his arm felt a small brush of movement. Jasper was close enough to him that her shifting had caused a small nudge. She was a nice girl, unless she was angry, but even then he enjoyed her company. She friendly, mysterious, bea-. Boreas cut himself off there. He couldn't think like that. She was pretty no doubt, and she had spent that one night lying on top of him, but no. It was weird... Right?
He sighed and pushed the thoughts away. "Do you want to eat?" he asked, "We have food in the bag, and who knows how long it will take for something to get caught." He reached around her and grabbed the appropriate bag. "And besides, I'm starving," he smiled.
Jasper forced herself not to flinch and dredged up a small smile. "I'm...not all that hungry, actually. You go ahead. I'll check the traps in a little while, alright?"
"Alright," he shrugged. He unclasped the bag and pulled out a few strips of dried meat. "Suit yourself." He bit in and began filling his stomach with the salted jerky. It was good, especially after all the hiking they did. Plus, they had only eaten one meal the day before. Boreas was more famished than he realized as he dug into the meat. And he was surprised Jasper didn't feel the same way. "You sure you're feeling alright?" He asked, "like physically? I'm surprised you aren't hungry."
She shrugged. "I'm used to going a long time without food. I don't get hungry often." She picked up a stick and jabbed at the fire, causing a popping flurry of sparks.
Well, that was one aspect where they differed. Boreas ate a lot, his high metabolism and age was to blame for that. He shrugged at her, "Whatever, more for me right?" he joked.
She chuckled and shook her head. "No, of course. Have at it."
She paused a moment, then got to her feet. "I'll go check the traps. Ah...be good, okay?"
"Sure thing," he rolled his eyes as Jasper stood. "What do you think I'm going to do? Run off?"
She shrugged. "Not like you'd get far on your own, but it could happen." She moved off into the trees, quiet as a shadow.
When she returned, she was holding two hares. "You know how to skin these?" she muttered, tossing them down by the fire.
"yeah kinda," he nodded. His father had taught him the basics of hunting when he was younger. Before- well... "I'll do my best." He took the rabbits from Jasper and looked them over. Part of him felt a little bad. But it was survival. And an animal wasn't a person. "Do you have a knife by chance?" he asked. Boreas had nothing sharp with him.
Jasper snorted. "Of course." She pulled a thin blade from her boot and flipped it in her hand so she could hold it out to him hilt first.
"Thanks" he replied, taking the knife from her. Holding the first rabbit upside down, he cut it's throat and let the blood drain out of the body onto the ground nearby. Then he began skinning the animal, using the knife to make a cut along it's fur before pulling the skin off of the animal.
Jasper wives and glanced away. She normally didn't have much of an issue with preparing meat, but that didn't mean she enjoyed watching it.