Cool, pleasant breezes were playing with Mariku's hair, lifting it from his eyes, then shoving it back down. It was tempting to lie here quite a while longer, let sleeping leaves and whispering wood nymphs tempt him into leisure.
Yet he had the boy to deposit at the capital. Time wouldn't wait on them.
"Break's over," Mariku said, slowly exhaling as he sat up. "You good, prince?" He spoke the word with all manners of sarcasm, lips curling up slightly at the edges as he said it. "Don't want you too banged up when we get there; it's only day one, after all."
"It's been more than a few minutes," Ryou said. He braced himself against the ground, managing to hoist himself back onto his feet. "Shall we be off, then? What's a few extra minutes of rest?"
Travelling with the boy wasn't so bad, actually. Late Summer sighed placidly throughout the day, washing its heat away with singing wind. Each hour of movement was marked by the sun's own journey and a short period of rest.
Ryoupunzel didn't hold up well, breathing ragged, even as they were static after each hour. He was unnerving Mariku with all of broken respirations and panting.
The sky was just barely getting tinted orange when Mariku stopped, looking back at Ryou, who was lagging behind. "Look, if you're done for the day, just say so. Are you done?"
"It's not dark yet." Ryou shook his head, expression pinched. "Besides, we'll be to town soon, right? It's about another hour, isn't it? I'll be okay."
"Sure." Mariku let out a sigh, shrugging. Kid collapsed, then they'd just spend the night where he hit the ground. "You happen to bring any food with you?"
"Um, no. Didn't you?"
"I've got food for me. Wasn't expecting to be draggin' you about with me."
"I expected a proper escort back home, but not everything can be perfect." Ryou's voice was dry, his steps all shaking. Any second now, he'd give out.
"Haven't the money to get you food in town, either, so don't look at me like that."
"Mariku? I-I think we're not going to get into town until tomorrow," Ryou said in a rush, hand fumbling out to grasp Mariku's shoulder.
The boy's grip wasn't a womanish touch, but rather a firm clutch of a desperate man. It surprised Mariku. He stopped, glancing over his shoulder. "Sit," he said, nodding lightly. The thinning woods weren't great for night-time coverage, but things had certainly been worse for Mariku.
Obediently, Ryou sat. His eyes were shut, breaths coming in and out with a noticeable shake to them. "I feel sick," he said, teeth gripping his lower lip.
Mariku huffed, crouching. "I bet. Just lay on your back till you don't feel like vomiting anymore. Got it?"
"Got it." Ryou laid down, fists clenching in the leaf-strewn grass. "Just, be still?"
"Uh-huh." Mariku stood, taking a step backward. "I'll be back. You stay here, kid."
While the prince rested amongst the leaves, Mariku was free to check out the trees, scouting the ones which already had inhabitants, the ones too frail to be of any use and the rest—potential candidates.
He didn't expect Ryou to be able to climb up a tree, honestly, but with enough pushing and persuasion he'd be able to get his charge up there.
Once he'd picked one out, Mariku pulled out his knife, making a small X on one of the branches before heading back to Ryou.
The boy was still laying there, eyelids pulled down over his brown eyes, chest rising and falling in a regular pattern. Mariku nudged his side with the toe of his shoe. "Hey. Up. Let's go; I've found a place to sleep."
Ryou's eyes opened, before he sat up, looking at Mariku. "I'm hungry," he said.
"Oh well. I've nothing for you, so get used to it."
"But I need food, or at least water. Do you—"
"I just told you I don't have anything for you."
With a short puff of air, Ryou pushed himself to his feet. "Where're we sleeping? Was town not that far?"
"Tree." Mariku set off at a quick pace, back to his tree. Ryou tagged along behind him, breathing still heavy. "When we get to town, we won't be staying long, anyway."
"Why?" The word burst out from behind Mariku, especially loudly, considering the state the prince was in.
"You wanna' see your family, right? We shouldn't delay for too long; the royals'll be waiting for you."
"I suppose so. But—"
"I'm escorting you. Get used to way I do things, or else you aren't going to last long travelling with me." Mariku turned, looking the teen up and down. He couldn't be too heavy with that height and build.
"This is no way to treat royalty, though," Ryou said, crossing his arms.
Mariku rolled his eyes. "Right, yea. No one else offered to get you out of that tower, though, did they? You're either with me or you're on your own. Now get in the tree."
"I don't know how." Ryou approached the tree, helplessly patting the trunk.
"Then watch me," Mariku said. He planted one foot on a lower branch, boosting himself high enough to grab the upper branches. Hanging onto these, he pushed up, feet moving to stand on even higher branches. He continued this process, until he eventually sat in a densely-leaved portion of the tree, about two and a half metres up.
Ryou's face was upturned, twisted into a musing look of curiosity.
"You saw that fine?"Mariku called, settling against the trunk.
"Yea, I'll be up soon," was the confident reply, followed by grunting, panting and lots of unsteadily rustling leaves.
A full six minutes later, Ryou stuck his face into Mariku's, grinning widely. "I'm up," he said, swinging around to sit on a branch not far from the other's."That wasn't so bad. How're we supposed to sleep like this?"
"Close your eyes, hold still and hope you don't fall off in the night."
"Oh. I see. Goodnight, Mariku."
Mariku didn't reply, one ankle kicked over the other, watching the sky. The sun was setting, sighing out orange hues over red and violet, settling into the horizon for the night. All of the wind had left them, leaving the crickets their silent canvas.
The singing bugs struck their orchestra, sending Mariku and his younger charge off to dreams and nightmares, swirling shades of past and future the colours to fill these sleeping thoughts.