Moving on... gotta get this here finished! I don't want to move too fast though... what do you think?
Eragon awoke in the morning to Squeaky squeaking. Eliana was sitting in the doorway, intently observing the egg.
Eragon sat up as he saw Squeaky violently rocking back and forth, emitting the high pitched squeals that had earned the egg its name.
"I can't decide why he's rocking. I think it might have something to do with the temperature. But I don't know," Eliana said.
The egg paused in its furious vibrations for a moment after Eliana spoke, and then began rocking again, squeaks shattering their ears.
"We're only two days away from the elvish camp," Eragon said, trying to formulate a plan. "We definitely need more distance, because no matter how impossible to track we are, if they decide they want to travel the distance will dissipate and like as not, we'll be found."
"Isn't it better to be nearby though? In case something happens?"
"Think about it. We're outlaws now," Eragon began, before Eliana cut him off.
"We've disappeared for two days. That doesn't automatically give you the status of an outlaw."
"We've got an egg that looks like it will be hatching any moment now. Truth be told, I've been an outlaw since the night of the battle. You just found out yesterday. Just because you didn't know doesn't change the fact that I was, am. And now, because you're working with me, you too are an outlaw."
"Fair enough, but just because I know I'm an outlaw doesn't mean that they do," Eliana argued, standing and crossing her arms.
"If we can't take care of ourselves, then we have failed this mission. If we need outside help, then we did something wrong," Eragon took a deep breath. "Success relies on nobody knowing. If we're not totally self-sustainable, able to rely on only what we have the capacity to do, then there's no point. I should spike Squeaky this instant."
As soon as Eragon spoke, the egg was still. They both looked at it, and Eliana sighed and sat down again.
"Don't sit," Eragon chided, "We're leaving." And with that he stood, stuffed his items and the egg in his sack and exited. Eliana followed him after just a moment.
"And how far is far enough? Dragon territory? There isn't a no-mans-land, Eragon. We're either in danger of being found by elves, or by dragons, no matter where we are. Who would you rather discover you?"
"Us you mean."
Eliana paused as she climbed up after him.
"Us. Personally, I'd rather have elves find us, because they can't afford to kill us. They're recruiting younger and younger, older and older. There's hardly anyone left in our cities anymore. They're all on the front."
It was Eragon's turn to pause.
"The smaller towns will be abandoned," Bid'Daum whispered inside of his head. "Completely. Nobody left, just the houses. You can live in comfort, and the dragon can get used to civilized structures as well as the wild."
"What about the towns?" He asked Eliana, sitting on a branch and looking down at her. "If there's hardly anyone left in the cities, how many are there in the towns?" Eragon thought briefly of his own home, located in the capital. They couldn't go there. There were few enough elves in the cities, how much fewer elsewhere?
"Most of them were destroyed by dragon offensives. There might be one or two left in a civil condition. And those will have grown to a considerable size by now. The towns are hospital centers for soldiers too wounded to go into battle." Eliana scrutinized Eragon's face, and said, "Your best bet is not to go find an old abandoned shack. It's to stay on the run, not here or there, committing your bed to no place."
Eragon was surprised by the coldness of her words and looked up from his hands. Eliana was looking out to the clouds, expression unreadable. He hadn't seen her like this.
"Is that your philosophy?" he asked, wondering if that mightn't be the cause of tension between her and the Queen. "Commit to no home?"
"My home town was destroyed because the people were not willing to hear the warnings of the dragon forces. They did not want to leave their homes, and that stubbornness to stay put killed my friends. My father now has a permanent address in a hospital several leagues away, because he wouldn't flee while there was a chance to flee." Eliana reluctantly returned her gaze to Eragon. "My philosophy is to test circumstances and take logical actions based on the facts."
"So what sort of logic sent you sneaking after me?" He was watching her face closely.
Her expression quickly went from alarmed to smug. She molded a snowball and tossed it threateningly into the air.
"The kind of logic that can only be described as whimsical. Now," she said, polishing the projectile, "weren't we meant to be getting along?"
"We're getting along fine! Sure, in the fort it was a little tense, but that's understandable, no one wants to be called a criminal—" He was stopped by a snowball in the face.
"I meant on the move, Snowface," Eliana smirked, leaping onto a new tree.
Eragon had no response to that, and jumped after her, determined to be the one in charge of their direction.
Eliana had a good effect on Eragon. She kept Bid'Daum down, and she always seemed to say something if he ever reared his ugly head. Eragon simply didn't have enough time to allow Bid'Daum a moment of speech.
Talking only slowed them down slightly, and they made speed that astonished even the pessimistic side of Eragon. Every day put a surprising distance between them and civilization.
Eragon was getting better at keeping the relief of having company from showing. He showed the side of him that acted based on "this is our last chance, we can use it or lose it," but the rest of him was feeling less dramatic and confused and a lot more hopeful. When the pair became too out of breath for talking, he wondered just exactly how much hope he should be showing.
He considered his heart like a home, with a fence. Sometimes you opened the gate for your neighbors. Some neighbors you talk to over the fence, they only see the outside of your house, some neighbors you invite inside and they see the living room. Each neighbor sees a different part of your house. There are maybe a few people in the world that know the whole house, that know the real you. The rest only know a certain side, a certain room in the house, and he wasn't sure which rooms he was willing to show his partner in crime.
They traveled far, the traveled quickly and each day Squeaky surprised them with something new. Eliana began to discern different squeaks, though she had no clue what each one translated to.
Then one night as Eragon was about to fall asleep, a faint rumbling noise came from the egg and a crack appeared the length of the shell.