"You alright, lad?" A prodding at his shoulder caused Cafos to flinch, and he groaned as his head throbbed dully with pain. Abruptly, he remembered his fight with Stephen and lurched up, blinking his eyes open. The stars were still out, but the glow in the east told him that night was quickly coming to an end. How long had he been out?
"Cafos, isn't it?" The voice came again, and he turned to find the innkeeper from before, Hugo, kneeling next to him. "What happened?" Cafos rubbed at his head, looking down as he tried to remember, and he promptly spied his sword laying on the ground. Stephen… he'd taken his sword, caught him off guard, and struck him over the head. And… hadn't killed him? Whether from pity or foolishness, Cafos was glad to have a second chance. The runt would not get away a second time.
"He got lucky." Cafos grabbed his sword and stood, pressing his hand against the wall of the inn as his head spun. Nether, this wasn't going to be fun to fly with. "Which way did he go?"
"I don't know." Hugo shrugged. "I didn't stick around for long. I did, however, hear a bit of your conversation. Who's 'Lucius'?" Cafos' gaze snapped around to him. He really didn't have time for this.
"It's unimportant."
"You told me he committed treason." Hugo went on. "This 'Stephen' fellow. But when you had him pinned down behind my inn, you told him you were 'bringing him home', and if he resisted you were to kill him. So who are you, Cafos?"
Cafos' blue eyes narrowed dangerously. "You question Notch's commands?"
"I have no proof that you are, in fact, from Notch." Hugo folded his arms. "Only that you showed up, flaunted your power, then beat up my employee in an alleyway. And lost, I might add." A small smirk appeared on his face.
Cafos gritted his teeth. "If you're sheltering him…"
"You'll what?" Hugo cut him off. "I've done nothing wrong. And I have no proof that he has, either." Cafos saw red, and he forced himself to look away from the man's smug face, staring at the road beyond. No, this place was far too public, if he laid a hand on his man there would be a dozen witnesses to condemn him.
As he glared at the road, his sharp eyes picked out a set of footsteps in the layers of dust. One foot dragged slightly, as if its owner had a limp.
"You have been very helpful." He gritted out, then turned and walked past him, once again stalking his prey.
Stephen was rudely awoken by a bucket of cold water being dumped on his head.
"Stevie!" Alexis exclaimed as he lurched upright, coughing and rubbing at his face. "Never do that again!"
"Do-" He coughed. "What?" He shivered, then hunched over himself as the aches from the previous night hit him.
"You wouldn't wake up!" Alexis threw her hands up in the air. "I was shouting and screaming at you and you didn't even flinch!" Stephen frowned, rubbing at his face.
"I didn't hear a thing. I must've been exhausted."
"I guess!" Alexis plunked down beside him, leaving him to blink blearily around at his surroundings. It was midmorning, the sky clear and blue outside the rocky alcove they had taken shelter in. The pair had come across the same river that wound past the other side of the town, and followed it up to a cliff side where they were able to spend the night. They had water now, but no source of food. Maybe they could follow the river to another settlement.
"Where'd you get the bucket?" Stephen asked at last. Alexis glanced over at the vessel, banged-up and rusty.
"On the riverbank." She said. "Guess someone dropped it in."
"Guess so." Stephen stretched, and immediately regretted it as his whole body protested. "Notch."
"Hurts?" Alexis's voice was sympathetic. "You don't look too good."
"Shoulda seen the other guy." Stephen pulled up his shirt, and frowned at the myriad of bruises he found on his torso.
"How did you beat him?" Alexis asked, leaning back against the rock.
"Hit him over the head with his sword." Stephen replied as he prodded at the worst bruise. "The pommel, anyway. Knocked him out cold."
"And you didn't kill him?" Alexis's question gave him pause, and he looked up at her.
"No," he said. "It wouldn't be right."
"Righ- this again?" Alexis's voice was incredulous. "Stephen, he tried to kill you! Kill both of us!"
"That doesn't make it right for me to kill him!"
"Not even in self-defense?" Alexis scowled. "Right strange upbringing you had. Killing is wrong in every circumstance except for when a harmless teenager exists within a mile of your camp."
"I obviously didn't condone your execution." Stephen told her tiredly. "And in an active battle, maybe. But to kill my opponent once he's knocked out is not only immoral, but cowardly as well." Alexis's scowl faded, but she huffed.
"Would he afford you the same courtesy?"
"Probably not."
"So-"
"So my character shouldn't be defined by that of my enemies." Stephen interrupted. "The people I grew up with may be corrupt, but that doesn't mean I have to be." Alexis stared at him for a few, long moments.
"You're such a gentleman." She said at last. "In an annoying way." Stephen snorted,
"Thank you?"
"You're welcome. Now come on, up." Alexis stood, and Stephen obediently dragged himself upright. "We need to get something to eat."
"Right." Stephen winced as his joints cracked painfully. "Have any suggestions?" Alexis thumbed over her shoulder.
"Well, there's a river over there." She said, "And in my experience, rivers often have fish in them."
"Well, there's fish alright," Stephen reported, gazing into the clear water. "I'm just not sure how we're intended to get at them."
"That is the issue of the thing, isn't it?" Alexis muttered. The two of them were on their hands and knees on the riverbank, watching as small, shimmering fish made their way past. Occasionally a bigger one would appear, but without a net or line of any kind, Stephen didn't know how they were supposed to get them onto land so they could eat them. He could feel the first signs of hunger pangs, and knew they didn't have much time before they were desperately hungry, so they might as well start now.
"Ever caught a fish with your hands before?" He turned to Alexis.
"No. Have you?"
"Nope." He shook his head. "We had nets, and occasionally spearfished when the situation called for it."
"Too bad." Alexis sighed, then straightened up, wading into the water. Stephen watched, slightly nervously. The river was shallow and slow, but Alexis was small, and he prepared himself to go after her should she be washed away. "Okay," The redhead took a stance in the middle of the river, gazing down into the water. "Maybe if I hold still enough they'll forget I'm here."
"Stop talking then." Stephen called out to her. Alexis shot him a dirty look, then resumed her focus on the water. Stephen fell quiet as she gazed into the river, bent over, unmoving.
Finally, her hand shot into the water, and she straightened up triumphantly as she held up a wriggling fish.
"You got one!" Stephen exclaimed, shooting to his feet. Alexis grinned, splashing back out of the water with her prize and dumping it in the rusted bucket.
"You try," she urged him. Stephen frowned, glancing out at the water.
"I think I'm too sore to move quickly."
"I think you just don't want to get wet." Alexis gave him a little shove, and he sighed, hiking up his trousers and wading out into the center of the river.
The sun reflecting off of the water was mesmerizing as he gazed down at the riverbed, idly noting each tiny fish that swam by. He let his fingertips drift down to just above the water, letting the fish grow used to his presence as they swam past. It wasn't hard for him to hold still. Not only was he trained to remain motionless for long periods of time, but not moving allowed his aching body to rest.
Only his eyes moved as he tracked a salmon swimming close, then he thrust his hand into the water and yanked it out.
"Ha!" He exclaimed, only to immediately regret his celebration as he realized how big the fish really was. The frightened salmon immediately began to flop and twist, and in his struggle to keep his grip he was knocked off balance and fell onto his back with a splash!
The fish was long gone when he pushed himself upright, coughing and sputtering, and he shot a glare at Alexis as peals of merry laughter split the air.
"S-sorry." She managed through her giggles as he splashed towards the shore, thoroughly soaked. "You just look so- so unprofessional." Stephen snorted as he stomped up on shore, stripping off his wet shirt and trying (unsuccessfully) to wipe off his face.
"So I've looked professional for the past two weeks you've known me?"
"More or less." She snickered. Stephen tossed his shirt onto a rock, advancing towards her, and she scrambled upright. "What are you-"
"I just wanna see if it's as funny as you made it look." Lunging forward, Stephen scooped her up and dragged her with him back into the river, ignoring her struggles and shrieks as he dumped her into the water.
Stephen stood over her, hands on his hips and a wide grin on his face as she surfaced to scowl at him.
"That wasn't funny."
"Yes it was."
Alexis lunged at Stephen and threw her arms around his legs, tackling him into the water again. He dragged himself up, gasping for air, and immediately shoved her onto her side again. It was fortunate, he thought briefly as she tackled him onto his back, that they both knew how to swim.
The afternoon passed lazily, and eventually they ceased their battle in favor of trying to catch more fish. Alexis caught four more, and Stephen managed to catch two without soaking himself again. Their bucket full of fish in hand, they retreated back to the cliffside, which was shaded by trees and offered decent protection from anyone flying overhead.
As neither of them wanted to eat raw fish, Stephen took the risk of building a small fire inside their alcove. The smoke was dispersed fairly well by the rocks and trees, and, Stephen rationalized, Cafos was a good enough tracker that he would probably find them anyway, it would do them no good to starve first. Once they had a good bed of coals, they packed the small fish into them and let them cook.
"How're you feeling?" Alexis asked as Stephen prodded the fish into place with a stick. He sat up straight, looking at her.
"Sore, but alright."
"Your back…" she nodded to him. "…'s covered in bruises."
Stephen gave a small nod. "I believe you." Between being thrown off the stairs into a pile of crates and being slammed back into the wall, his head and spine had taken the brunt of the damage from being attacked the previous night. So far he hadn't noticed signs of any serious damage, but… Cafos truly fought to kill.
"We'll have to leave tonight." He said. "Once it gets dark."
"Mm." Alexis nodded. "Where to?"
"Follow the river. Maybe we can find another place to sleep along it."
"Sounds good." Alexis stretched, then leaned back against the stone wall. "I'm going to try and sleep until the fish are done."
"Alright."
Stephen gazed into the embers, mulling over their plans. Cafos was - hopefully - injured too, but that didn't mean he would give up on the hunt anytime soon. If he broke his wings, Stephen thought bitterly, Cafos would walk if it meant being able to kill him. Whatever it was that Cafos hated about him, it had driven him to a point of obsession, an irresistible taste for his blood satisfied by any means necessary. And Alexis was caught in the middle of it.
Stephen chanced a look at his sleeping friend. He could leave. Draw Cafos' attention and lead him far from here, let them duke it out between themselves and leave Alexis to the life she had enjoyed before she had the misfortune to run into him. More than likely, he would die, but Alexis would be safe… maybe.
Stephen shook his head, smirking a bit. He could practically hear Alexis scolding him, calling him a self-sacrificial moron, or perhaps something a bit more crude. He couldn't leave. He needed her just as much as she needed him.
He poked at one of the fish with his stick, turning it over and finding the scales charred black.
"Hey, Alexis." He reached over to nudge her on the arm. "Fish are ready."