#1 - Strangers - Introductions and Arrivals
When Swaine and Esther first met, they had been anything but friends. This sort of thing has a tendency to happen when the first time you ever see someone is when you see them brazenly steal a giant cauldron from a peddler.
She thought he was an arrogant man-child.
He thought she was a precocious goody two-shoes.
Even when she realized he was heartbroken, there was little pity for him because of his brusque personality and sharp words. When she found out that he had a nightmare inhabiting him, it was Oliver who took the lead in banishing it; their motivations less about saving the man, and more about saving the world.
When Swaine eventually conceded to travelling with them, Esther was pleased to have another travel companion, although she couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable with his previous career choices. As the Great Sage's daughter, she was more used to consorting with the respectable Mamooni people who frequented her father's babana stall than a scoundrel thief who hadn't washed in several months and didn't have two guilders to rub together.
Travelling by boat with Swaine was pleasant enough. He mostly kept to himself, talking to the ship's captain and crew, discussing what Esther could only assume to be important details about their travelling. Occasionally he would exchange words with Oliver, but to Esther he said few words. He would be polite enough, but showed no inclination to spend any time with her. While initially Esther was dismayed by his curt responses, she knew that he was much older than she was and probably was uninterested in anything to do with her.
When they arrived at Hamelin, their relationship was better. Fighting together and rescuing littlies had gone a long way to improving their friendship. They had faced Shadar once and been fired out of a cannon into a fairy's stomach. Esther still regarded Swaine with suspicion, but she was beginning to thaw. As Swaine disappeared into the bowels of Hamelin city, leaving her and Oliver to wander the streets alone, Esther was hurt but suspected something was amiss. Seeing him again and realizing that he kept such secrets intrigued her – they knew little about his past and he was in no hurry to share it.
Swaine wasn't pleased with the idea of travelling with two teenagers, but he knew that it was the most advantageous course of action. They needed to see the Great Sage, and he? Well, he was heading that way himself, although for slightly different reasons. He knew he owed them a favour, and besides, it would be good to have some company for once. Even if it came in the form of teenagers. Even if they were liable to be hormonal and moody at a moment's notice. At least one of them was pretty, although Swaine shuddered at the thought of saying it to her face.
Over the conversations with the captain, it had been determined that the trip to Hamelin would most likely take three to four weeks, with another several days walking to get inside the city walls. A month playing nursemaid and then freedom. After all, it would only be a trip to Hamelin, right? And while in the beginning he knew he had laughed at their grand plans to save the world, his cynical outlook had allowed some hope for them to break through. One month of my life to help these kids possibly save the world? Seems a fair trade to me.
But looking after two teenage troublemakers did have its perks. There was no worrying about food, and the company meant he was much less likely to get harassed by anyone who thought he might be easy pickings. And the extra familiars were always useful. And it was good to change life up once in a while, although the novelty of the many near death experiences was starting to wear a little thin for Swaine. Maybe once this trip to Hamelin was over he would go and have a picnic.
Somewhere there were no monsters.
Or teenagers.
No, there was no friendship. Maybe what they had was camaraderie; maybe it could be more readily called a business arrangement, but most definitely not friendship. And Swaine liked it that way.