"Hush... Did you hear that?"
Regina holds out her hand to stop the blonde in her tracks and they each pull in closer to the the rocks as they catch the definite sound of voices muttering in a low, conspiring tone. The owners of those hushed whispers seem to be getting closer, and the Sheriff cranes her neck as they appear to be travelling above them; stalking the crest of the cliff. Exchanging a nervous glance with the brunette, she swallows, and any amusement the Mayor might have found in the fact the younger woman still has the handkerchief that had held the apples tied around her head as she hunkers down low is lost in the shadow of her fear. She recalls the two of them discussing how their antagonists were 'just kids', but she knows brave words had simply been a front for each of them, as so far their time on the island has taught them that age means nothing when it comes to danger.
Finally, after what seems like forever, the voices fade as the boys up above move on, one of them muttering "sorry, Felix" before emitting a pained yelp.
"That was close."
Emma hisses, and the brunette nods, looking over to where they'd been lying just moments ago with a sense of dread.
"Do you think they're looking for us, or Matty?"
"I think us."
Regina muses uncomfortably. It had been hard to pick up on what the boys had been saying, but she'd heard the word either 'bitch' or 'witch', and the general tone of the comments had been one of malice and harm.
"Do you think Tink got to the camp okay?"
The blonde asks uncertainly and Regina pulls a face as she admits that she doesn't know. It is not lost on her how unlike their usual conspiring this little back and forth is; normally at least one of them will have a stubborn word or opinion on how they might succeed in whatever needs doing. It occurs to her that a part of that might once have been a need to beat the other, and it feels strange yet comforting to her to actually confide in someone for once that isn't Henry or her reflection.
"Shall we head on?"
Emma interrupts her thoughts, and she nods as she allows the younger woman to take the lead once again. The blonde moves slowly, but Regina doubts this has anything to do with pain in her side; the Sheriff creeping stealthily onwards with her eyes flickering repeatedly to the rocks above them. She does so in a way that strikes the brunette as well-practiced, and the Mayor muses on the titbits of information she's gathered over the last year of Emma's life before coming to town. As if on cue, the blonde casts a glance over her shoulder and murmurs unhappily
"I don't like the tables being turned like this; usually I do the hunting."
"You must have had to hide, too."
"Yeah, that's true. Though I still generally had the upper hand... I did the stalking. It's not fun being stalked."
She confides seriously, and Regina nods her agreement as she keeps close and follows the younger woman off of the path and down onto a sheltered outcrop of rock that runs beneath. There's a sharp drop below them as the landscape becomes treacherous- the cliff studded and pitted with deep gouges and sheer slices that whisper of darkness- and the brunette strives to keep her breathing steady as she watches several loose stones disappear into the void an inch or so from her feet as she hugs the cliff wall as best as she can; mimicking Emma.
"It's funny. I never realised I was afraid of heights before."
She laughs without much humour, and the younger woman looks back at her with a tight smile before training her attention back on the ever narrowing ledge.
"You're not. You can save yourself if need be, right? You're just afraid of falling off a cliff, which I'd say is a pretty sensible fear."
The Sheriff advises through gritted teeth, and the brunette swallows as she keeps the fact that she isn't too sure she'd have the wits right now to be certain she'd come off unharmed should she lose her footing to herself.
"I'd rather not put that to the test."
Is all she says, and the younger woman nods as she apologises softly for taking them away from the safety of the path.
"I didn't think it would be this steep. I just figured anywhere out of sight was the best option... I can see where the ledge goes back up to join the path a little way ahead, it's not far."
Regina thins her lips and hopes that Emma is right as she follows behind. She resists the urge to reach out and clutch onto the younger woman as she'd like to in order to keep her balance; the blonde moving cautiously, but seeming much steadier on her feet as she appears to have been spared the crippling grip of fear for her mortality.
"Thirty feet or so, if that."
The Sheriff assures, and the Mayor nods before gasping as loose shingles slip out from beneath her foot, and she finds herself grabbing onto the blonde after all.
"You okay?"
Emma asks, and the brunette sighs as she resents how unexpected her terror is; wanting to shake it away and deem it as unimportant as she imagines she will find it when no longer skirting death. She supposes the younger woman might be finding this all rather amusing- their fear previously shared about Pan's Lost Boys a far greater threat than their current predicament- but when the Sheriff speaks, she does so amiably, and without any note of teasing.
"Listen, I'm going to stop, okay?"
"It's fine, keep going, I'm fine."
Regina counters with her jaw clenched, but the younger woman stops anyway and glances back at her with a brief smile.
"Of course you're fine, I'll make sure of it."
"Miss Swan, now is not the time for being aggravating."
"Hey! Look, I wasn't stopping for you. I was stopping to check something."
The blonde whispers with a touch of irritation, and Regina watches- teeth gritted- as Emma bends down carefully and picks up a fist sized shard of rock and tosses it as far out over the edge as she can, where it eventually falls into some of the trees below.
"What are you doing?"
The Mayor hisses, and the younger woman sighs and explains quietly
"I wanted to see if there was any reaction to the sound or movement. We're almost back to the path, and I figured it might be nice if we climbed up without a bunch of kids waiting for us."
"Oh."
The brunette raises a brow in surprise, before moving reluctantly onwards as Emma beckons her to follow.
"And I meant it, by the way."
"Meant what?"
"I'll look out for you. You know I will."
"... Yes. I know."
Regina agrees pensively as she thinks again on how Emma might actually have an advantage when it comes to their current need for stealth as she'd spent a good number of years before arriving in Storybrooke- and ruining everything!- honing the skill.
"When you did hide... Were you ever found? Did things ever go wrong, or did you keep your cover?"
The Mayor asks quietly, and the younger woman pauses before reaching out and beginning the ascent up the rockface with a grunt of discomfort and her hand going to her side. Once halfway up, that same hand comes down and beckons invitingly. The brunette readies herself and makes to follow the Sheriff's request, before frowning when Emma sighs above her.
"Here."
The blonde says with a pointed glance down to her outstretched hand, and Regina studies pale fingers thoughtfully before taking them firmly in her own and allowing the younger woman to help her up. By the time they crawl out onto a wider stretch of rock that joins the path, she's panting, but she takes some solace in the fact that Emma is doing the same. Moving into the shadows, she agrees with the younger woman's suggestion that they rest for a moment gladly; her knees still feeling a little shaky despite the cloak of her terror having lifted as soon as they'd moved from the edge of the cliff.
"Once."
Emma says eventually, plucking up her top and checking the dressing to the wound beneath.
"Once?"
Regina frowns.
"One time things got a bit hairy when I was working bail. I was staking out and working my trap like any other time, but I got cocky. What I did for a living... It's a good way to make some enemies. When you're working the same area too often, you have to start paying attention to who you've crossed. All those people, a lot of them have friends and family, and it's a bad idea to assume you're the only one that's figured out what's going on. I was laying low, but not low enough, and got complacent with my locations. Luring someone somewhere where they can't get away too easily is something I did more often, but I was stupid and didn't do my research. The bar I chose was owned by the brother of a guy I put back into the system on a thirty-seven year to life charge... If the perp can't get out easy, the same rule generally applies all round. I'm lucky that was the only near scrape I got into, as some misfortunes are unavoidable, but that day it was my own fault. I knew the place, I knew who frequented it, I knew it had potential ties to previous jobs as it was a scummy place, but I was tired, and didn't want the hassle of changing plans... After that, I remembered to be careful."
"The guy- the brother- he tried to get you back for what you did?"
"Yeah. Him and a couple of his friends, or whatever they were. Associates more likely... Not important; an asshole's an asshole."
"Did you get hurt?"
"No, but that was more down to luck than anything else. I got scared, though, and maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. I think that's what we need to remember about being here with these kids running about... They're hunting us. They're kids, but they're hunting us... That's pretty fucking scary."
"It is."
The brunette agrees solemnly, and she exchanges a look with the blonde as the latter glances up at her wearily.
"Some of the kids we saw before were Henry's age."
Emma muses uncomfortably, and the Mayor nods.
"Yes... But I'm still unsure about Pan. I'm unsure just what he is."
"Evil. He's evil."
"That I suppose we can say for sure."
"The rest of them, though. It's like they're brainwashed by him... Kids don't go out hunting for people. This isn't Lord of the Flies."
"They do if they've been fed a lie about what harm those people might mean to bring to them."
"I guess... It is a lie though, right? We're not gonna hurt them if we can help it?"
"Of course not."
Regina frowns, a little taken aback and offended by the question, and the younger woman shakes her head as she explains swiftly
"I didn't mean for it to sound like that. I just... Usually when we fight things, they're bigger than us. This is all kind of messed up."
"... This is bigger than us, Emma. Our son has been kidnapped, our lives have been threatened, and Pan attempted to set something in motion with you that was utterly despicable. We are going to fight... We need to fight. But we save that for Pan. Until then, stealth has gotten us this far, let's just hope we can rely on it for a while longer... I'd say we should be in luck if that's to be our plan. You're an expert."
"Weren't you always telling me how obvious and unstealthy I was? That you could 'see through' all of the things you told yourself I was up to?"
"That does sound like me."
The brunette agrees with a small smile, and the younger woman chuckles quietly before asking
"Shall we get going?"
"Let's."
"... And incidentally, you're fairly sneaky yourself."
"Yes?"
Regina frowns, and Emma laughs at the definite note of irritation in her voice.
"Relax. We just established that it's a good thing."
"Well, yes... But I was unaware you still thought of me that way."
"I don't... I figured you out ages ago."
The blonde smirks as she falls into step beside the Mayor, and the latter studies her shrewdly as she walks close beside her, sticking to the shadows as she keeps her voice low.
"There you go getting cocky again... That could get dangerous."
"True... But from you, I kind of relish the threat."
"Be careful, dear."
"That's no fun, I-"
"-No. I mean, be careful... You're not staying in the shadows."
"Oh, I-"
"-Who's down there?"
A voice interrupts them sharply, and the brunette grabs a hold of the younger woman's hand and pulls her roughly into the darkness; backing them both against the rocks.
Up above, loose stones tumble down as footsteps break through the foliage.
"It's no use hiding down there!"