Olivia was dragged from her peaceful slumber by a pair of unfamiliar voices.
Her first instinct was to sit up, but forced herself not to move. An unfamiliar smell filled the air, of stale, unwashed clothing. A grimy hand brushed her, and she suppressed a grimace. Robbers? Where was Hero? Still asleep?
As inconspicuously as she could manage, the blind girl edged her hand towards where Hero had been last time she checked, searching for warm skin. She found it- his wrist. His breathing was peaceful and his pulse was strong, so he was asleep, but she needed him up and alert. There's no way she could fight the intruders on her own.
Tightening her grip, Olivia dug her fingernails into her escort's arm. This was the only way she could think of to wake him up without alerting the strangers. At least, hopefully.
"What…" A mumble came from Hero, and immediately the intruders fell silent. "What are you-" He stopped short, tearing his arm away as he scrambled to his feet. "Who are you?"
"D-don't move!" The voice was young and male, accompanied by the scrape of a blade against its' sheath. "Get on the ground!"
"I don't think so."
"Samuel!" A second voice hissed, and Olivia immediately flipped over, scrambling upright, but a pair of rough hands grabbed her arms and dragged her back into a firm surface.
"Ugh." Was all she managed before the edge of a knife was pressed to her throat.
"Let go of her." Hero ordered, voice even lower than normal. "What do you want?"
"Your money." The first voice was back, quivering with barely-suppressed nervousness. These two were hardly professionals. "Get down on the ground." A soft shuffle of fabric on dirt as he obeyed. Olivia never doubted for a moment that he would keep her safe, but a rush of relief went through her regardless.
"Let me get my emeralds." The pressure of the knife on her throat decreased as Hero opened his knapsack, rummaging through for the jewels.
"Just toss us the bag." The second voice was much stronger, far more serious. Also male, but probably older.
"Let her go first."
"No, you give us the bag first." The elder shot back. Hero scoffed, but didn't protest further, and Olivia heard the bag thump to the ground beside her. The blade on her neck was removed, and a hand on her back shoved her back towards Hero. She immediately fell on her face.
"Now don't you two move." She heard shuffling as Hero dragged her upright, and she grabbed his shoulder for balance. Gently, he pried her hand away, and stepped forward. "I said-"
"You shouldn't have done that." Olivia took a step back at Hero's voice. It seemed to have dropped an octave, words forced out in a growl. She heard shuffling steps from her attackers, presumably backing away, as Hero approached them. A sharp gasp split the silence, and the younger one exclaimed,
"He's- that's-!"
"Get out. Go." The elder snapped, and Olivia felt pounding footsteps in the ground as the first one fled. She heard a thud a moment later, and a choked cry as a body hit the ground.
"Hero." She called out, warning. "Let's just get our stuff and go."
"We can't-" A grunt. "Let him leave. We can't let people see us."
"There's an incredibly low chance that Orion would find out about us from him." Carefully, she slid her foot forwards, making her way in his direction. "Let him go." Silence. She took another step, then reached out, touching his arm - only to immediately yank her hand away. His skin was scorching hot. "What are- you're burning up, what the heck?"
"Fine." Another thump, then the thief scrambled to his feet and ran.
"What was that?" Olivia pressed, reaching out to touch his skin again. He was far cooler now, but still… abnormally warm. "Hero?"
"I don't know." He yanked his arm away. "I guess it has something to do with the eyes? I've started fires before by mistake."
"And you didn't feel the need to tell me this until now?"
"I didn't think it would be important!"
"Well- okay." Pressing her palms to her face, the brunette let out a breath. Neither of them spoke for a moment, and she slowly regained her awareness of her surroundings. Crickets were chirping nearby, hidden among the grass and flowers that rustled softly in the wind. Heat was still radiating off of Hero's body, a few inches in front of her, but otherwise the night was cool.
"Should we go?" Hero asked after a moment, voice returned to its' normal state. "As long as we're awake. It's nearly dawn."
"Yeah. Might as well." Sinking to the ground, Olivia patted the ground until she found her knapsack - lying on its' side with the contents spilled into the grass. "Did they take anything?"
"They left their spoils here as they fled, no." Hero followed suit, collecting his own bag and heading to her side.
"Good." She tore off a hunk of bread before sticking the rest back in her pack, sticking it in her mouth as she got to her feet. "Lead the way." She said, muffled through the bread. Hero obliged, and they began to walk again, leading their campsite behind with no trace of ever having stopped.
Except for a single emerald, glittering in the grass where it had fallen.