The pair drug Tya some ways away. It didn’t seem like long, but as she looked back, she realized she couldn’t see the entrance anymore. They’d definitely gone further into the town, and remained lingering behind buildings as they moved. They’d worked their way to the outer edge between the cliffs and the last of the homes.

Her hand was released as Sarobie spun to look behind them, then at Tya. She huffed out a hard breath and crossed her arms as Skye stepped to form a little circle of the three of them.

“Are you alright?” He asked. Much like it had with Melody, such concern confused Tya.

“Yes,” she answered with a small touch of hesitance that both of them dismissed.

“How did you get here?” Sarobie asked with a touch more urgency. “Did you get attacked too? Have you seen the posters?”

Tya had begun a response to the first question only to falter and grimace at the last. “I have,” she said. “And I did get ambushed as well, yes.” And she would likely have been killed if not for Lillia, Nisaki, Melody, and The Man, but she was not the least bit in the mood to appreciate them. So rather than answering the first, she replied with “where have the two of you been?”

They glanced needlessly at one another before Sarobie rolled her eyes. “Just hiding out around town, mostly,” she said. “Trying to avoid everyone trying to get rid of us while we try and understand what’s happening.” Her arms crossed, fingers tapping at the crook of her elbow with annoyance as she shifted her weight to focus on one leg more than the other. “I noticed I was being watched a few days ago, and that Skye was too. They kept following me around, then yesterday morning, the signs were up and they made a move on Skye’s place.”

He nodded in collaboration to the story. “Fortunately Sarobie had seen them and dealt with them so we could get out. We’ve been trying to find a way to Evoles, but we can’t get out of here without being noticed.”

“And even if we did,” Sarobie picked up. “The assholes are probably just going to kill us out in the plains and we’ll never be found.”

Tya pressed her lips together, huffing out a breath and then holding it in her core, to quell the energy that had built in anticipation for the battle she’d been stolen from.

If their destination was Evoles, she assumed that that was likely because of Lillia, in which case, they’d make that trek only to come up empty handed and likely in danger. She didn’t want to say it, but the thought of them being left for dead on the plains was no less infuriating than the one of them lying dead on the floor of Safílas Skye’s Apothecary. Not to mention, if she was to try and escape by accompanying them, she’d backtrack just to find out what she already knew, and clearly trying to kill Valya again would do nothing helpful.

...Though she did wonder if it was some kind of trick, and whether or not someone else in Valya’s company was taking the reins and saying she was still alive.

Regardless.

Tya gritted her teeth just a moment to ease her needless annoyance. “You needn’t go off to Evoles,” she told them. “Not if it’s Lillia you intended to go for. She, Melody, and Nisaki intend to voyage down to Choudae so they can attempt to intercept Veselin’s caravan on the way to Bayard.”

Both expressions faded in their urgency at that information.

“She’s here?” Skye asked through a sigh of relief.

“And alive,” Sarobie followed, her lips cocking up with just a hint of a smile.

“Yes,” Tya confirmed. “She had come for you. We searched for you upon our arrival as well as a little bit ago, but we couldn’t begin to find a lead.”

“Coming across you now was just pure luck,” Skye admitted with a small laugh as he brushed a hand through his own wavy brown-black locks.

Setting a hand against Skye’s arm, Sarobie shifted the train of thought away from that track, trying to focus on the other. “We may still be able to get rooms if we hurry before it leaves. It’ll be off soon, won’t it?”

“Right,” Skye nodded. “We should go.”

Though both of them seemed very much ready to do so, as they started, Tya didn’t budge. She stood, eyes narrowed as she bit anxiously at her lower lip.

The pair stalled, watching her as if waiting, but when they realized she was purposefully not moving, Skye asked “is something wrong?”

Yes, absolutely, but where should she start?

Nowhere, really. She shouldn’t start. Maybe she shouldn’t have even left to begin with, even if it proved to be for the better. It was just a name…

“I cannot tell,” she answered. “...I believe Nisaki already purchased spots for the two of you in the chance that we found you before we parted.”

While there seemed to be a bit of relief toward that, both faces remained concentrated on her for a second. Skye remained waiting for her while Sarobie checked their current surroundings once more.

“Whatever it is,” she said, reaching out to wrap her fingers around Tya’s wrist. “Let's discuss it when we get there. I don’t know how much time we’ve got ‘till it leaves, and I don’t want to miss it.”

A small grunt escaped the elemental as her grimace deepened. While she wanted to withdraw from the grasp, she didn’t. In truth, she couldn’t find it in herself to truly want to leave. Fear was only driving her to do so, and that kept swaying between true and doubtful.

Skye set a hand on her shoulder as Sarobie started to lead them. Though he may not have known the truth for her fear, he had detected it on her features, leaving him to gently squeeze her before his hand dropped to rest against her shoulder-blade in what he hoped to be consolation. “Have you never been on a boat before?” He asked, his voice soft to keep from calling attention to them as they moved.

“I have not,” she answered. He patted her shoulder.

“It's not so bad,” he said. “I know that we didn’t exactly part on the best of terms last time we saw each other, but I won’t be cruel to you.”

She paused a step then slowed as she placed it. “...You won’t?”

“No,” he shrugged as a sigh left him. “It… was kind of hurtful to hear you try and sacrifice us to escape, but I try not to hold grudges.”

“I think that’s kind of a valid thing to hold a grudge about,” Sarobie muttered.

Whether or not Skye agreed, he didn’t say, but Tya admittedly did. She would have been offended had she been in their position.

“Well,” he said. “I’ve got a few mixtures that’ll help you from getting sea sick, if you need them. I know it isn’t far from here over to Choudae, but I can still whip something up for you if you start to feel nauseous or dizzy.”

“I already feel dizzy,” she grumbled, earning a small chuckle from him.

“I think that is likely because of nerves, isn’t it? Unless something else is wrong?”

She replied with only a shake of her head at that, and while they then fell to silence, he rubbed her shoulder a little as a means of comfort toward her distress before dropping his hand to his side again.

Said ailment only worsened the nearer they got to the dock.

Sarobie knew Cotéfaise much better than any of the others had seemed to, meaning they ducked through most of the pathways without being seen, and descended a thinner, lesser used stairway to the docks. While it was well lit, and, at this time of night, no longer devoid of guards, the walk was busy with men stumbling back to their ships after a night at the tavern. The few guards that were scattered along the way seemed more concerned about keeping people from drowning or brawling than arresting anyone. They were alert still with the day’s sightings of the treasonous crew, but they weren’t stationed in groups which made them even easier to pass by.

They reached their intended destination with surprising ease. As they moved down to the end of their designated extension, Tya noticed that there were now guardsmen stationed at the main stairway as well as the Portmaster’s office. Was that normal, or had it occurred to them that they could make an attempt to get away via ship? She wasn’t sure, but she thought herself lucky that Nisaki had evidently not put any real names on the manifest when he paid for their places. If they’d been searching, they likely would have looked those over in hopes of seeing them.

She found herself pulling against Sarobie as they neared. The woman’s grasp had lightened to a simpler hold, more inclined to be sure that she wasn’t leaving anyone behind rather than to truly hold her against her will. She slipped free with ease which brought the eyes back on her.

“It's not as awful as it seems,” Skye said again. “I promise.”

All of her previous annoyance had faded out to uncover the truer emotion beneath; the fear. Her hands clasped one over the other, both set on her stomach as she stared wide-eyed at the ship. A crewman had begun down to greet them, halting at the end as he waited for them to near. It was clear on his face that he understood what was happening, and it was likely not the first time he’d seen it.

“It is,” she replied. “For numerous reasons.”

Skye stepped back to her, an arm extended in her direction as an offer she didn’t understand. Rather than stick around in hopes of comforting, Sarobie turned to address the waiting man.

Tya hadn’t withdrawn, and because of that, Skye rested his arm across the back of her shoulders, using the softest force to urge her forward a step. “What reasons?”

“I will die. From the water or from one of you.”

“None of us will kill you,” he countered immediately with sincere ease.

“You do not know that.”

“I do,” he replied. “I’m not going to hurt you. Melody isn’t going to hurt you. Sarobie isn’t going to.”

While she may have believed they were good enough people to try and forget her attempt to leave them for dead, a short glance back to see The Man emerging from the ship’s depths left her metaphorical insides sinking low.

Flaring anxiety brought forth all of the worries that had driven her away to begin with, renewing each desire to run. And now alongside that anxiety was the thought that the two of them would revoke any assurance of her safety when they saw who it was she had brought with her.

How was it that she could feel so many things toward that? Fear that he was lying to her yet guilt that she had tried to leave him. Hate for the possibility of him bringing her harm and a defensive need to protect him from the poor opinions that may upset him.

“Tya,” his voice came from the edge of the ship, bringing forth the attention of both Sarobie and Skye, as well as that of the crewmate that had come to speak to them. “I was worried when you didn’t return earlier.”

She stared up at him. With so much contradiction swirling in her mind, she could not think of a response to give him, not now. He may not have known precisely what her problem was, but he could detect with ease that there certainly was one. Regardless, he stepped aside and said “these are our final two. I can retrieve our leader, if you need him.”

The crewmate waved a hand to imply such was unnecessary, then he motioned them forward.

With The Man’s appearance from the ship’s depths, Sarobie had set a hand on one of her blades. The only thing that had kept her from pulling it was the fact that he had vouched for them, as well as the implications from his words that he was meant to be with them. She gave a glance back to the two of them, confusion and a touch of hostility lacing her features, but as the crewmate motioned for them to follow after dismissing The Man’s offer, she left. Her hand did not move from her weapon, and Skye’s gaze did not leave him as he separated from Tya.

“That way,” he wasn’t a fool. He knew they were staring at him, expecting hostility, but he gave none. Instead he motioned a hand out toward their cabin. While the crewmate had initially intended to return to whatever it was his duty entailed, he glanced back to see that Tya had not followed. “I will get her,” The Man assured, and their brunette guide responded with a nod before signalling for Sarobie and Skye to follow him since The Man would have his hands busy for the time being.

He watched them start off before circling to descend back onto the dock and focus his attention on Tya.

Before he could even step foot on the level ground, she had taken steps back, slowing him with confusion. He did not need to ask, because she was prompt in blurting out the accusation “you lied to me.”

He arched a brow. “I have not lied to you about anything that I can recall.”

“How am I to know that that is not also a lie?”

“You aren’t,” he answered. “But rather than assuming everything I say is one, why don’t you start by telling me what my first lie apparently is?”

A swirl of contradictory emotion kept her quiet for a moment. Paranoia hadn’t left her, but it seemed to stall as the lightness of his reaction- the fact that he did not opt to immediately get defensive, rather, to understand.

It didn’t sound comforting. On the surface, anyway. The fact that he had said she could never know if he was lying. His willingness to admit that though, seemed like it could, in some way, mean she could trust him.

“You said you did not have a name,” she answered finally, her voice low and unsure as she did.

“Well I assumed it went without saying that I did have one at some point, but I just do not remember it.” He stated with a blandness that contrasted him but still somehow remained far more emphasized than a normal person’s speech.

“Then how is it people know to call you by it?”

“I was not informed that anyone had been calling me by it.” He let out a long sigh, waving one of his hands in vague dismissal to the current course of the conversation. “Tya,” he said once more. “Would you like to explain this to me in a way that I can actually understand the issue, so I can remedy it, or would you like to be angry at me?”

She wanted to go home and pout like a real adult.

“I was approached,” she stated like that would at all clarify anything. When it mysteriously did absolutely nothing to fix the problem, she rolled her eyes and continued. “By a man while we retrieved the horses? He asked me why I was allowing ‘Altaí’ to live.”

Her explanation fully revealed, she let her expectant gaze stay trained on The Man only for her to spot the way his jaw clenched at the sound of the ‘name’. His gaze hardened, his usual cruelty burning a touch more fervently only for a second before he reined himself in again and tried to soothe his suddenly tensed body.

“That is not a name,” he tried, strain heavy in his voice as he spoke through gritted teeth.

She eyed him with caution, taking another step back in preparation for his rage to flow in much the same way her own happened to; for his magic to break free from its usual restraints to rid himself of the annoyance. But he did nothing of the sort.

He pried his own fingers open, hands waving toward the ground as he tried to ease himself. “It is not a name, it is a place. A position. The title for a pet.”

While his attempts to console himself did little to truly help, confusion momentarily clouded her attempts to study him as she tried to consider how that made sense.

To her knowledge, people were not pets.

Pets: A cared for creature kept for no other purpose rather than amusement or adoration.

Brow furrowed, her head tilted to the side. “I… do not understand.”

“Good,” he replied far too quickly. “You do not need to, and I do not want to discuss it further.”

With her eyes back on him, she found herself noting not only his rigid stance, but that his hands shook. A gentle tremor much like the one consistent in her own, but she had not noticed it before now, nor had she ever noticed that he seemed to breathe heavier than a normal person.

These were… Symptoms.

Her back straightened as the realization washed over her that these were small signs of panic.

“...We will not discuss it further if you do not want to.” She assured as every ounce of her previous hesitance fled her own stature. The paranoia still lingered in the back of her mind, but now its place had been promptly consumed by the concern of his stability.

He said nothing more, issued only a stiff nod, then took a step as if he intended to turn and board the ship again. A wary glance was cast upward before he made that attempt, then as he started across the gangplank, he paused halfway to look back toward her. “Are you coming?”

She let her eyes pull from him to set on the water that steadily swayed the ship. No. She wasn’t. At least, she didn’t want to be.

Concerned or not for him, she couldn’t stifle her own reluctance. Both hands moved to rest once more over her stomach, the one on top picking at the hem of the lowers’ sleeve. In her momentary distraction, she did not hear him draw in a deep, calming breath, then start to descend again so he may walk across the dock. He stood before her, blocking her locked gaze and thus forcing her to look up at him.

“I am sorry,” she said, interrupting whatever words he had intended to say. “...I cannot…” What could she not? A lot. She couldn’t even manage to see where the beginning of her failure in this situation was, but it was surely trickling down into every other aspect. Her ignorance was fueling her complete lack of control. A sound choked in her throat as she fished for the sentiment she wanted to share. “I do not know what a lie looks like. It is all the truth without evidence, and I don’t know how to…” finish that statement, among other things.

Socialize.

Exist among people.

Was this what it felt like to be overwhelmed?

“...I am sorry. How do I make myself trust someone?”

Her babbling had ended in that finite question, and The Man answered by shaking his head. It was all he could think to do, and it did little to ease her. To be honest, though, she had no idea what the answer might have been, and she realized she couldn’t fault him for it if he didn’t know either.

He slid a hand across her upper back, using it to pull her into his side as well as urge her forward a step. She took it reluctantly, peering up to the dangerous platform, then back down to the dangerous pit that lay beneath it. It looked like an endless abyss, thus causing her to curl into his side, trust or not.

His voice was no less on edge, but he spoke his reassurance regardless of his own distress: “I will not let you fall into it, if that is what you’re afraid of.”

As her mind contemplated the statement, her hands separated, one setting on his back and the other, his abdomen. What was she to look for in a tone that might suggest a lie? All she knew was that his protection felt genuine, and as uncertain as she was to trust that instinct, she could do nothing more than accept it. There were no other options, right? None that she could think of. Or perhaps she just wasn’t trying.

And on top of that, she figured he would be less inclined to betray her if she reciprocated. Right? It certainly wasn’t because she kind of just wanted to reciprocate.

She could feel the way he trembled with the grasp he had around her shoulders, and as a poor means of offering some solace, she leaned herself into him a little more. Her arms wrapped further around his waist, and she stalled there for a moment, chewing at the inside of her lower lip as she thought. “I…” She started, pausing only for a moment as she considered her admission and whether or not she should hold it back. “...will not let you fall into whatever it is you fear either. So long as you tell me, from what endless abyss I must keep you from the edge of.”

...That didn’t make any sense outside of her own head, did it?