Cain didn't ask. He wanted to—oh, how he wanted to. But, he kept his mouth shut.

He'd stepped back in the room to an irate DG storming out, and Conall in more pain than when Cain had hit him. (If that was possible). Glitch had Raw by the shoulders and was hauling the now snarling pacifist towards the door. Cain watched the scene in front of him, horribly confused. But when he saw the rage in DG's eyes, that confusion gave way to wrath. Cain stepped forward to finish what DG had started, but she grabbed his hand on her way out the door and tugged Cain along behind her.

"We're leaving here Tin Man. Now."

He looked over his shoulder to Az, hoping for a clue, but she had the same rage in her eyes that DG had in hers and chose to not be forthcoming. Conall came bursting out of the room they had just left, shouting, "I'm sorry Highness!"

Cain skidded to a stop, forcing DG to turn and look at him. He almost asked her right then. Asked what had her what had everyone so angry so fast. He saw her better then. What he had seen before as only rage was more than that. There was grief in DG's eyes, with tinges of pain and embarrassment laced through. Cain felt like she was having a hard time looking at him because of whatever Conall had said.

Cain raised his free hand to DG's cheek and brushed away the tear that had slipped from her eye when Cain stopped her from walking away. She was scared now. She was scared that Cain was going to be mad at her for smacking around his cousin, scared that he was going to be disappointed in her.

"'I won't hurt them. I won't betray them.' Those were your words, Con. And like I always do, I believed you."

"I lost my temper Wy. I didn't lie!"

Cain stepped away from DG and strode to Conall with a lightness that DG hadn't seen before. "I'll love you like a brother 'til the day I die, Con. But you are a manipulative son of a bitch, and I love you so much I'll let you do it to me, but not to her. Never to her."

"Wy. I didn't mean to."

"You never mean to Con. But you were bred to do whatever you had to do to protect the Northern Guild. I respect that, and I can only imagine what would have happened to these people if you weren't leading them through the War. But I just realized something. I don't have to follow you anymore."

Conall stepped forward, trying to put his hand on Cain's shoulder and do something that would quell the spread of panic in Conall's own eyes, but Cain knocked his hand away. "I never was a Gili, not really. But you needed me around, and so around I stayed. And now there's no war, no threat to your life, and the debt I've been telling myself I had to pay for decades, is now paid. We go our separate ways. You don't hunt me down for being a traitor, and I don't beat you for making her cry."

Cain clapped him on the shoulder and just walked away. Conall tried to grab Cain's shoulder and force him back around, but Cain just shrugged it off once again.

He walked back to DG, whose expression of pain was rapidly dissolving to pleasure. Cain wrapped his arm around her shoulder and tugged DG snug against his side. DG put her arm around his waist and did her best not to blush.

DG wasn't entirely sure if Cain was comforting her, or trying to increase the look of abject panic on Conall's face. It was as though he was wondering whether or not Cain's body had been taken over by some foreign personality. It was unheard of for Cain to blow off anything resembling duty, but then, as though he could feel her doubt, Cain squeezed her a little bit tighter.

He casually leaned over and whispered in her ear, "I would do anything for my family Deeg, but part of being family is that they're willing to do anything for you too. It's been a very long while since Conall was willing to fight in return. And it took me a new family to see that." He pecked a kiss to her temple before he pushed open the door to the village outside.

Yeah, there was nothing at all to be done about the blush now. And at this moment, with Wyatt Cain's arm wrapped around her, Conall could kiss her ass.

Standing outside the door was the man from before, the one with the comforting smile that had been resigned at the sight of them without Conall. "So, I take it you're leaving?"

"No reason to stay, Finn. And plenty of reasons to go."

"Personally, I don't believe the rest of us should be punished because Conall is an ass." Cain snorted in amusement, but kept walking towards where their horses were being fed. "And yes, I am allowed to say such a thing, because it's true. I'm actually surprised it took you this long to notice. Though, considering what a trusting boy you are I suppose I shouldn't be that surprised."

Glitch snorted at the thought of a trusting Cain, and Finn turned to retort, "You suppose that joining your little band in the first place wasn't an act of trust, headcase?"

"It wasn't trust. He just didn't want us to get eaten by Papay."

Finn looked over at Cain like he was a complete nincompoop. However, there was nothing but love to this look. Conall had looked as though he demanded more from Cain, but Finn just wanted him to be happy, no matter how stupid he was.

"You know Wyatt, at some point you're going to actually have to verbalize that you like these people. I know you're a man of action, but there is something to be said for words. Like, I don't know, actually saying hello to you favorite family member when he sees you for the first time in about a decade rather than just taking the hug like it's some form of torture."

Cain just rolled his eyes and kept walking. "Oh come on, Wyatt! You used to be more fun."

Glitch snorted again, "Now that one, I definitely don't believe. How could he possibly be any more fun than he is now?"

Finn released a deep chortle at Glitch, and tossed his arm around him as he replied, "I do quite like this fellow! Come now, Wyatt. Of all the ridiculous things that Con could say to make you finally disown him, you don't have to go running off. Not at suppertime, at least. Your horses need to rest and so do your people Wyatt. I mean it! Just look at the size of this fellow here with the sense of humor. I could snap him like a twig. And look at dear Princess Azkadelia, she has no meat on her bones! Would you lead them off when they should be eating supper?"

The whole group giggled at that one, and Finn seized his chance to keep prodding while he had the group on his side. "Just think about it: dinner, dancing, and all those people who knew Wyatt in those awkward years before he had a gun. How could you run off now?"

"No, Finn. We'll be heading on our way. We've got places to be and not a lot of time to get there."

Finn just sighed. "Well, I suppose it's a good thing I had your packs stuffed with more travel friendly food and one of the Fae who's gifted with animals strengthen your horses for the ride." He said it as though the words were some great burden, but there was a lilt of laughter to it as well.

Cain didn't flinch at the announcement and just kept striding towards the horses. "Oh come now Wyatt! You could at least appear a little surprised that got everything ready because I knew you and Conall were going to start yelling at one another and have another falling out."

"We didn't"

"But you're leaving with that twinkle in your eye that you only get when you've smacked him around."

"He didn't smack him around, Finn. I did."

Finn stopped dead in his tracks, dragging Glitch to a stop with him and nearly choking him. "Highness, you hit him?"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure I broke his nose."

Finn stared at the back of DG for a moment, looking her tiny frame up and down. Then he just laughed. And laughed. There was something infectious about his laughter, such joy in the sound that he managed to banish whatever anger they had been holding on to.

"You broke his nose? Oh, Highness, I wish I had been there to see it. Though, I'm surprised that you got Wyatt out of the room before he added a few more broken bones to Con's list."

"Wasn't worth it, Finn."

"All the times you've beaten each other, and this is the time it wasn't worth it? Why?"

"I'm done with him Finn. He's not worth beating because as far as I'm concerned he's not my brother anymore."

There was a crack in the air, as though the sky was being ripped open. Cain pulled DG to the ground and threw himself on top of her to protect her. There was a blinding white light, and though Cain had his gun out and the Fae were all reaching for weapons, it would do them no good when they couldn't see what they were shooting at.

It took a moment for their eyes to adjust, but when they did, Cain's eye fell on a teenage boy with white hair jutting out at all angles and bow strapped to his back. The boy grinned like it was all some grand game and took a knee before Cain. "Hello, My Lord."

"My… who are you? How did you get here?"

The boy's grin grew and he said, "I am Conquest, Milord. And I am here because you released me."