“In the first place, I don’t understand why we’re here.” Erebus didn’t bother to hide his distaste as he lifted the sheet off the rickety bed and sniffed it. The unmistakable odor of humans flooded his nose and he dropped it instantly. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Fate stared at him as she sat next to the bed across from him. “Your only problem is the fact that you can smell humans? Not that it’s drab and cheap?”

He shrugged. “I don’t particularly like or dislike splendor.” Erebus considered his words. “The ones like Frize, though, would hitch a fit over this inn.”

“Eh... You’re surprisingly laid back,” Fate murmured. She rested her head against the wall, her gaze even and steadily focused on Erebus.

Erebus rose a brow. “What makes you say that?”

“Ignoring the fact that you killed someone today,” Fate started slowly. “There’s a lot of rumors about you: you’re arrogant, selfish, idiotic, brutish, heartless--validity to that one, and rash.” She shrugged. “I thought that I would hate you. But I can’t say that you’re unlikeable. I think that we can be friends.” Fate had seen him in contrast to Azure, someone who she would constantly butt heads with. Erebus, in her opinion, was far more tolerable.

Erebus’ face fell. “That doesn’t make me happy. I don’t like you at all, you know? You’re naïve and annoying. I don’t care about you in general either... It’s troublesome for me if you think that we can become friends.”

She didn’t know what else to do but laugh awkwardly. “And you don’t mince words either.” Fate picked at the strayed string on her blanket. “You know what I think?”

He humored her, “What?”

“That you’re not completely heartless. That you don’t just kill senselessly--you may not care about me, but you care about something. And it’s this: our world. You’d sacrifice anything for it, wouldn’t you? Even yourself.”

Erebus’ jaw tightened and his eyes hardened. “My sole purpose is to protect this world.”

“But it’s more than that for you,” Fate urged. “I can tell. You act like you don’t care but you do!” She stood up, her eyes glowing. “And you have love for its inhabitants, too!”

“Shut up,” Erebus gritted out. “I don’t feel like listening to your preaching.”

The child thought (foolishly so) that he loved the ones that lived on Eirlok? He tolerated their existences. They kept balance in the world, but if a few hundred of them died, it mattered nothing to him. She didn’t believe that--she didn’t want to. And what she chose to believe in didn’t matter to him in the slightest.

Fate, under the assumption she had got to him, sat down, satisfied. She was (allegedly) working on breaking down his walls. She suppressed a smile. What she had seen in the tavern was a front! No one could have such an empty heart.

Erebus sighed once more when he beheld her smug expression. He decided to go for a topic change.“Is it all right for you to be away from the stone for too long?” Erebus questioned her, wanting a change of topic. He was also mildly curious, he didn’t know that much about the Guardians.

“It’s fine,” Fate touched her heart gently, “I’m linked to it. If need be, I can appear instantly.” She lowered her tunic to expose her chest, a jewel that hadn’t been there previously was embedded between her breast. “When I get a certain distance away from the stone, this appears. It’s a part of the stone that is fused with my body, if anything happens to the stone that I can’t prevent, I can cultivate this one.”

Erebus nodded in understanding. “Is there any particular reason for that to happen? For it to expose itself, that is.”

She pursed her lips. “Mmm, I’m not sure myself. It’s not like I was given a rulebook or anything, I just knew what it was for.”

He stared at the gem, his eyes narrowing. It gave off a strange impression, frankly. Whatever it was, Erebus didn’t trust it. He contemplated tearing it out of Fate’s chest but decided against it; he wasn’t one hundred percent sure that Guardian’s could be replaced. He settled on observing it for now.

“It’s making me uncomfortable when you stare at me so intensely,” Fate said, drawing back Erebus’ attention to her face. “Could you at least blink?”

“Ah, I just thought that it was interesting.” He didn’t bother apologizing to her. “I’m tired, so I’m going to go to sleep.”

Fate scratched her head and looked out the window, there was still daylight outside. “You do that, I’m going to go out in town.”

“I don’t care,” Erebus told her, lying down on the reeking bed. “Don’t wake me up when you come back.”

And she didn’t.

Or at least, not immediately. It was still too early for her to rest for the night, so she found herself sitting on the bed with nothing to do. She had checked on the condition of the man’s that Erebus had killed family. It didn’t take too long since they weren’t exactly pleased to see her either.

Fate sat with her legs crisscrossed and rested her head on her hand as her elbow balanced on her thigh. The dozing man across from her was certainly an enigma. He claimed not to care but he was quick to anger if pressed. He was in denial, she surmised. Fate wasn’t sure why exactly, but she knew that he most certainly was.

When she had first met him, in all honesty, she had been painfully nervous. She wasn’t worried about the other two: the man in a perpetual state of drowsiness or the headstrong shorty. But Erebus... his one-eyed gaze was unnerving and the hidden eye made her queasy.

It was maddening.

But there was magnetizing about him at the same time. He was unlike the others. He... he knew. What exactly did he know? Fate wasn’t sure, but she could see it in those empty eyes. No one could have such dead eyes without that knowledge.

Fate stood up, morbid curiosity propelling her to him. He was in a deep slumber, yet he still didn’t look peaceful like most did when they were sleeping. Something still wrought at him, even in his dreams.

“What is it?” she questioned the sleeping man. “What is it that troubles you?”

It would be okay if she took a peek, right? Just a little one. She just wanted to know what was bothering him and it wasn’t outside of her abilities to do so. She reached out a hand, her fingers brushing against the fabric of the eyepatch he wore.

His hand shot out, grabbing Fate’s wrist and locking it in his grip. Erebus’ eye opened, it was both apathetic yet furious. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing... I--”

He threw her arm away with enough force that moved her entire body. “Didn’t I tell you not to wake me?” Erebus sat up, glaring at Fate harshly.

“I just thought that you looked sad,” she told him. “The entire you were sleeping, you didn’t look relaxed at all. If anything, you looked even more bothered.”

“You watched me sleep?” Was the only question he had. “My, my, my. How scandalous and... disturbing.”

It was Fate’s turn to glower at him. He was trying to divert her attention but she wasn’t about to fall for that.“Don’t change the subject.”

“I’m not, I’m just bringing up a more important point.” He looked out the window. “Eh? It isn’t morning yet...” His eye turned to her, his nose scrunching. “Tch, I have to spend more time with you.”

Fate snorted. “If it’s so difficult, just leave,” she snapped.

“Okay,” Erebus agreed, standing up instantly and making his way out of the room.

Fate blinked in realization, she hadn’t meant it seriously. “Wait, wait!” She cried out, grabbing his hand.

Erebus turned to her, his eye looking distastefully at her hand on his. “What?”

“Stay.”

“No. I don’t owe you anything, and you said that I can leave.”

Fate cleared her throat, trying to think of something quickly. “How about this! I’ll owe you if you stay.”

“Owe me what?” Erebus asked slowly, a smile hinting at the corners of his mouth.

“Anything,” Fate answered simply.

Erebus didn’t even need to consider it.“Deal.”

“Deal.”

Erebus withheld his laughter--her naivety wasn’t annoying, it was just hilarious. “Let’s have fun, Fate.”

She furrowed her brows in confusion but nodded slightly in response.

“Now, let go of me,” Erebus commanded.

“Sorry,” she muttered, letting go of his hand. “And that goes for waking you up, too.”

He ignored her, laying back down on his uncomfortable bed. “Just... just be quiet.”

Fate awkwardly scratched at her arm but didn’t comply to Erebus’ words. “Did you know that there’s going to be a festival tomorrow?”

Erebus didn’t respond. Instead, he worked on tuning her out--he was tired of speaking to her and listening to her voice already.

“It’s to pray for a good harvest, they have one every year.” Fate sighed. “We’re staying for it and we’re going to participate in it.”

“Why?” Erebus groaned, holding his hands over his ears.

Fate perked up upon hearing his voice. “I’ll teach you your first lesson at the festival!”

Erebus scoffed. Her? Teach him? Was she still stuck on that? Honestly, this child was far too much trouble than she was actually worth. “And what is that?”

“You’ll find out,” she drawled, smirking at him.

“Is that so? Well, I’ll look forward to it," Erebus lied.