When they went home and told his parents the good news, Arnfasta almost burst into tears. Roxas ended up hugged again, this time by a happy mother.

"I know you're strong and a good fighter but I'm so glad Axel will be going with you." She whispered and Roxas nodded. She was a mother so of course she wanted him to be as safe as possible.

"It's okay nana. It will all be fine." He said soothingly, hoping she would overlook the fact that he'd had his ritual of passage without her. Arnfasta smiled as she released him then looked at Axel.

"And thank you so much Axel. The clan of Iswulf will remember this always." Axel blushed and shook his head. "Now, both of you eat breakfast." There was a platter of fried eggs and bacon on the table. Arnfasta suddenly frowned as Roxas and Axel took a seat. "Axel, do you have your gear prepared?"

"Um, no. My parents…" Axel shrugged helplessly and her frown deepened.

"I will get the saddlebags ready for you." She immediately left the room to tend to that. Roxas and Axel ate in silence for a while, enjoying the meal. Axel looked down at his hand, examining the copper marking with wonder.

"Isn't it amazing Roxas?" He said as he tilted his hand a little, admiring the way the copper sparkled in the light of the lamps. "I wonder what it means?" Roxas swallowed a bit of bacon and was about to open his mouth and say that it meant they were best friends when something stopped him.

What does it mean? The gods surely knew how he felt about Axel, the deep secrets of his heart. They were the gods after all! Does it mean you… feel the same? Axel had never given the least hint of that in all the years they'd been friends. But then, Roxas hadn't given him any hint of that, had he? Of course not! He hadn't wanted to ruin their friendship the way Vali had ruined his with Einarr. But if the gods say we're supposed to be together then… maybe… Roxas was right on the verge of saying something when the door opened. He hastily bit back the words as his father walked in.

"Axel, I've heard you're going with Roxas?" Dagstyrr said and Roxas had to smile. News traveled through the Cleft quicker than oil through a goose. Axel nodded, his mouth full. "Good." His father couldn't hide his relief and Roxas frowned. Why did everyone seem to think he was helpless? Dagstyrr caught the look on his face and laughed, a harsh, choppy sound. "I'm not disparaging your skill, lad. But Gegnir mentioned to me that mercenaries almost always travel in pairs. It's dangerous to be alone in this world."

"Oh." Roxas hadn't quite looked at it that way and bit his lip. His father was right. It was a lot easier for a thief to knock you over the head and take everything you owned when you were alone. "I see what you mean." He had to admit. Axel laughed, holding up his hand.

"That's probably why the gods said I should go!" Axel said cheerfully and Roxas had to hide a sigh. That was probably it. The gods had blessed them so they could watch over each other and be friends forever. Not… something else.

"Have you said goodbye to your family yet?" Dagstyrr asked as he took a seat and Axel stopped eating for a moment, looking at his plate of food. He shook his head and his hair ruffled slightly, sliding over the still livid bruise on his cheek.

"No. Djalfi is handling it." Axel's tone was terse and Roxas' father gave him a hard look before nodding slowly. Roxas swallowed, understanding what wasn't being said. Someone in his family had given him that bruise, probably his father but maybe his mother or his brother. But however much they would want to punish him they could not gainsay the priest.

When it finally came time to leave the Cleft, Axel and Roxas were ready. They mounted their horses and as the King's men watched, they left the stone walls and began the long ride down the valley. Roxas glanced back as they rode and spotted his mother on the top of the wall, waving at him. Smiling sadly, he waved back.

He hoped he would see his family again someday.

"I hate this horse." Axel groused as they rode south through the valley, heading towards the place where it opened up onto the plains. In many ways, heading into the lands of the corn people was much easier than going north through the mountains to Sandarr's fief, or west to the forests of the Glisterheim proper. Roxas knew from his talks with Gegnir that there was only a modest fort at the base of the valley, intended to warn the plainspeople if the Glisterheim mounted an attack through the valley. That had only happened once in anyone's memory, the counter raid that had brought him to the Cleft. The fort had done the corn people no good at all. But then, a raid wasn't an army and they'd been able to slip past it easily enough.

"You should be grateful he's still here. He was almost put down at the start of winter." Roxas said absently as he enjoyed the fresh spring day. It was strange. Despite leaving everything he knew and the likelihood that he'd never see his parents again, he was glad to be going. He'd never allowed himself to dwell on it before… he loved the Cleft, after all… but the rest of the world was out there. They could go anywhere now. Why stop with the corn people? They could go even further south, see the priestesses Axel had gotten his weapons from. They could go even farther, see people they had never even heard of in tales or songs.

"Good riddance. I wish that filly were old enough for riding." Axel said, oblivious to his thoughts. Roxas shook his head with a smile as his mind came back to the present. Axel's horse had been spared because one of the mares had been showing signs of a terrible condition. It wasn't very common in the horses they bred, but it did crop up occasionally. They didn't have a name for it but it caused the pasterns and fetlocks to drop and put the horse in great pain. The elders had made the decision that despite being older than Roxas, Axel's gelding had more useful years left than the young mare. "Why can't he move a bit faster?" Axel complained as his gelding jogged along at his usual pace. It was actually a very smooth ride, but if Axel tried to get him to go faster for more than a brief spurt the gelding would make him pay. Roxas had ridden the horse a few times and had been amazed that a horse built to move smoothly could give such a rough ride when he was irritated.

"Don't worry about it Axel. It's not like we're in a hurry. I can pull up my mare if you fall behind." Roxas said soothingly and the redhead gave him a glower for a moment before laughing.

"I probably will! I want your mare." Axel admired his horse for a moment, making Roxas blush. His family had gotten the mare for him only two years ago and she was just ten, old enough to be reliable but still in the prime of her life. "She's a fine one. What's her name again?"

"Fleabite." Axel grinned and Roxas knew he'd only asked because he liked hearing it. "It's not her fault her coat is speckled." The mare was grey, but her coat was liberally sprinkled with red spots. It was a fairly common color among the Cleft's horses but it usually wasn't this extensive. "What's yours called again?"

"Wolf food if he doesn't start moving." Axel tried to signal his horse to go faster and the gelding did speed up… for a few paces, before lapsing back into his usual jog. "Stupid horse." Roxas laughed although he did wonder how far they would get before sundown.

As it turned out, any worries were unfounded. Axel's horse was slow but steady and they easily made it out of the valley before nightfall. They even reached a place Gegnir had mentioned to them, a spot where a stream met the road. There was a bridge over it and an inn on the other side. Although that made Roxas feel vaguely nervous.

"How does an inn survive out here? On the farmers?" He sounded as dubious as he felt. The inn seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Axel looked slightly puzzled then glanced at the river.

"Oh! What do you bet this river goes all the way into Glavareen? I bet it survives on the river trade." Axel said brightly and Roxas nodded, reassured. That would mean the inn's custom was extremely seasonal though. There probably wouldn't be hot food available unless whoever was running the inn had made some for himself and the staff. There would be beds though and probably some bread and cheese. "Ho the inn!" Axel called as they swung down off their horses. Roxas frowned, looking for a stable. There wasn't one but there was a small paddock clearly meant to house horses overnight. It even had a walk in shelter. A quick examination satisfied him and he began unsaddling the horses. He could hear Axel dickering with the innkeeper and that was fine. Axel was decent at bargaining, he'd get them the best price he could. Roxas was checking the horses hooves with Axel came over. He looked up as the redhead tapped him on the shoulder and was surprised to see him frowning.

"I don't know if we want to stop here Roxy." Roxas blinked at that and shot him a curious look. That was very odd. Were the prices too high? Axel quickly elaborated. "The innkeeper isn't charging too much but he insists we have to leave our weapons with him."

"What!" Roxas straightened, letting go of the gelding's hoof and stepping away. Everything seemed to be fine with him and the mare. "That's absurd! Or is that some kind of plainspeople custom?" It didn't seem likely to him. Gegnir hadn't mentioned anything of the sort and he certainly would have, no Glisterheim would be comfortable in a strange land without their weapons handy. Axel grimaced.

"He says it's because they've had too many incidents with strangers." Roxas viewed that with extreme skepticism. The people of Glavareen were not known for being rowdy guests and the only Glisterheim this place was likely to see were ones from the Cleft. They rarely left home and when they did, they were not really known for rowdiness either. Maybe the Glisterheim from the deep forests would be ruder and quicker to take insult, but they wouldn't travel this path. "I don't know. It's up to you."

"Um." Roxas considered it, glancing at Axel and then at the horses. They were already eating the lush grass of the paddock. It really was a very good place for them, well fenced in with a decent shelter. "I… think we should. We can use the rest and if this really is the custom we'll have to get used to it." Axel nodded slowly. From his expression he was as dubious as Roxas felt.

"Alright. Let me get the saddlebags." Axel quickly sorted through them and Roxas caught a glimpse of bronze before he stuffed something into a bag, detaching it from the saddle. Carrying that bag under one arm, he lifted the saddle onto his shoulder with the other. Roxas could only envy him his strength. "Come on snail! Food's waiting." Axel said with a grin and Roxas blushed, grabbing his saddle and carrying it to the inn.

"Do they have any food made? And how much do we owe them?" He was carrying most of the money. Axel shrugged.

"Only six coppers each, including supper and breakfast." That was very cheap and Roxas guessed they were right, the inn was seasonal and this was the off time. The innkeeper smiled at them as they walked in then suddenly frowned as he spotted Roxas.

"My pardon. I thought you were both Glisterheim?" He said with some confusion and Roxas sighed to himself as he found a hook to hang up the saddle. Axel laughed, following suit.

"We are! My friend here is an albino dwarf." Axel said with a completely straight face. Roxas shoved him, exasperated. "He's feisty too – ow!" Axel rubbed his head where Roxas had smacked him as the blonde turned to the innkeeper.

"I was adopted by the Glisterheim as a baby. The price is six coppers each?" He didn't really have a lot of interest in speaking with innkeepers, and this one looked more unpleasant than most, overweight and greasy.

"Oh, yes, of course." The innkeeper said and Roxas fished out a silver and two coppers. The innkeeper smiled again, managing to look like a hungry wolf as he took the money. "Thank you. Now your weapons lads?" Roxas grimaced but carefully took off his two blades. Axel followed suit, unslinging his wheels from his back.

"Nothing better happen to these or you're paying for them." Roxas warned and the innkeeper's smile widened as he stored them behind the bar. They also put most of the saddlebags there, but Roxas wasn't concerned with those. They had nothing but food and trail supplies.

"Nothing will happen to your precious weapons, I swear it by Hetanya." Roxas was somewhat satisfied with that. The innkeeper started to lead them up the stairs then paused with a frown as he saw Axel carrying his saddlebag. "What are you doing with that lad?"

"It has holy writings." Axel said blandly and Roxas had to firmly repress the urge to turn and stare. What in hell was Axel talking about? The redhead couldn't read! "I need to study them and I assume the room has a candle?" To anyone with any knowledge of the Glisterheim that would have been a rather transparent lie, but the innkeeper was a corn person and used to more literacy. His frown faded and he nodded.

"The rooms have candles." He showed them to their room and Roxas noticed it had no windows. But that was probably easier in the winter. The plains could get cold and windows were always a weak point in the insulation. "Would you like to eat in your rooms?" Roxas considered it a moment then nodded. The innkeeper was probably offering so he wouldn't have to stay in the taproom and watch them eat.

"If you could, we would appreciate that." Roxas said and the innkeeper smiled again before leaving the room. Axel set his saddlebag at the end of the bed and Roxas frowned. "What is in that?"

"Not now." Axel glanced at the door and touched his ear. Roxas' frown deepened a moment before he nodded. He could guess though. There was some kind of weapon in the bags. It made him wish he'd thought of it, although they did both have their boot dirks. "This is pretty nice." Axel said as he tested the bed. It was clean enough although it was a bit dusty. Roxas thought this room hadn't been used in a while.

"It doesn't look too infested. It'll have to do." Roxas knew the rest of the Glisterheim considered it a bit eccentric, but the Glisterheim of the Cleft had always tried to keep the fleas and lice under control. The herb women made plenty of remedies for them and Roxas had brought some along. They were far from perfect though and he didn't want to use them up too quickly. It was quite likely the corn people were more like the Glisterheim from Sandarr's fief and considered a lack of fleas to be a sign of imminent death. "It looks like we're sharing it." There was only one bed in the room. Roxas had to swallow as Axel grinned. The redhead looked so attractive, his eyes sparkling with life.

"Looks like! I'll try not to roll over and squash you." Roxas snorted and shoved him. Trust Axel to make a joke out of it! "I know, I know, you're a tough little nut – ah!" Axel slid smoothly to his feet as the door opened. Roxas stared at the huge man standing in the hallway.

For a corn person, he was tall. Not nearly as tall as Axel but far broader, he was barrel chested and powerful looking. Wicked scars slid up one cheek and Roxas noticed queasily that he was missing an ear. Sandy blonde hair tried to cover the mutilation but it wasn't doing a very good job. He was carrying two trays of food and Axel took them with a murmured word of thanks. The stranger grunted back before leaving the room.

"This inn has some really weird people working here." Roxas said quietly when he was sure the man was gone. He'd looked more like a bandit or a really disreputable mercenary than a hireling at an inn. Axel shrugged.

"Maybe they're related or something." Axel tried the food and grimaced. "This is nasty!" Roxas blinked and looked down at his tray, then winced. The food was lumpy bread, made by someone who clearly didn't know what they were doing. A thin layer of greasy cheese had been melted over it with what looked like sauerkraut. Roxas tried a bite and found the gummy bread repellent. Swallowing hard, he tried to eat a bit more. They had paid for it after all. "I can't stand this. I brought some trail bread, want some?"

"Uh…" It was a waste of coins but Roxas finally decided he didn't trust this food. Better a few coppers lost than a bout of diarrhea. Or more likely, constipation. "Yes please." Fortunately the beer was good and Roxas picked off some of the sauerkraut to put on the trail bread. It was a satisfying meal and they left the trays on the table. "There's no bar." Roxas frowned as he looked at the door. There were hooks to put a bar but no actual bar and he wished he'd asked the innkeeper for one. Gegnir had mentioned it was a good deterrent to thieves. Axel shrugged.

"Put a chair under the doorknob. We'll hear anyone trying to get in." He suggested and Roxas smiled, quickly doing that. It was perfect. There was no way anyone could get in without waking them both. Axel peeled off his clothes, yawning as he put on a nightshift. Roxas followed suit and soon they were curled up together in the bed. Sleep claimed him before he could think much about the fact that he was sharing a bed with his best friend.

Clink. Thump. Roxas started awake at the loud sounds in the darkness. He immediately felt Axel beside him, stiff and wary.

"Light the candle." He whispered and Roxas nodded, sliding out of the bed. He could hear Axel shuffling through his saddlebag but ignored it in favor of the flint and steel on the table. Soon the candle was lit and shedding sparse light. Roxas looked around with a frown. The chair was still under the doorknob, completely undisturbed. That wasn't the sound they had heard. What had it been? Roxas ignored Axel and went to the door, examining it. Something about this… moving the chair aside he tried the doorknob. It moved but the door wouldn't budge.

"By Ravana! They've barred us in." Roxas suddenly realized, with horrible clarity, why this room had no windows. It had nothing to do with the cold in the winter. Axel looked puzzled as he quickly pulled his clothes and armor back on.

"What? What good would that do them?" Axel asked and Roxas winced. The answer was obvious but so terrible that he wasn't surprised it hadn't occurred to the redhead.

"Axel, there's no window and they took our weapons. All we have are dirks. By the time we could pry that door open we'd be dying of thirst." Axel looked horrified at the idea and Roxas continued, feeling sick. "Sure, it will be a little messy to cleanup but very easy for them." Then Roxas suddenly wondered. That man who had brought them food hadn't looked like someone who would work at an inn. How did they know the innkeeper really owned this place? It was very isolated and this was the off season. Axel laughed and Roxas stared at him.

"Good thing I sneaked this in then, eh?" Axel said gaily and Roxas laughed with him as he saw the flash of a bronze hand axe. It had just barely fit into his saddlebag and while their dirks would take forever getting through the thick wood planking, that was what the axe was made for. "Let me get started!" The axe dug into the heavy boards and with Axel's strength behind it, Roxas could tell it was going to make short work of them. He quickly changed back into his clothes and pulled on his yeti horn armor.

"I'm stealing your dirk." He told Axel, kneeling down by the redhead and yanking out the fine knife. Axel grunted an acknowledgement and Roxas suddenly frowned. The redhead was making a lot of noise and he was nearly through the door. If the innkeeper had any sense, he would –

"AXEL!" Roxas tackled the redhead just as a crossbow bolt whizzed through the great rent in the door. Axel roared in rage and bolted back to his feet, kicking the door hard. It split in the middle and he was through, his axe clashing against the ugly man's sword as the innkeeper tried to reload his crossbow.

But even at the best of times it took quite a while to reload a crossbow. This was not the best of times and Roxas was not going to give the innkeeper a chance at another shot. Axel's dirk flew straight and true, sinking deeply into the man's throat. The innkeeper went down, choking on blood and Roxas swiftly attacked the other man from the side with his own dagger. He was a good fighter but between the two of them he was overmatched. Roxas kicked him in the knee and Axel feinted before sinking the axe into his gut. The man grunted before sliding down and Roxas neatly slit his throat. Panting, the redhead paused to survey the carnage.

"I hate to tell you this, Roxas, but your birth people's hospitality sucks." He observed and Roxas laughed before bending down to search the innkeeper. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Don't you remember your lessons? Always loot the bodies." Axel blinked at the echo of Gegnir's words and laughed, cleaning off his axe before he joined the blonde in searching the second man. "Let's drag this carrion outside then get some sleep."

"Sounds good to me." If the innkeeper and his lackey hadn't been worried about anyone catching them, Roxas was pretty sure they'd be fine. Although it might behoove them to move on soon. Someone might blame them for what the innkeeper had been up to. Axel grunted as he hefted up the innkeeper by his armpits and Roxas helped by grabbing his feet. Together they dragged the corpse outside and dumped it in the back.

They would have to think about what to do in the morning.