review replies:
Okuri-chan: "mommy and daddy" is funny to me bc Cafos is the oldest of the trio LOL. They're baby. Idk how old you are, but as a 22 year old Alexis(15), Stephen(16) and Cafos(17) are all baby to me.
Ascended Potato: AYYY a fellow potato :D Glad you're enjoying and ty so much for commenting! Counting the prologue and epilogue there are 32 chapters, so we're more than halfway through!
Cafos lifted Stephen's limp hand, then let go, frowning as it thudded back to the dirt.
"Huh. He's really out."
"He does this sometimes." Alexis told him, sitting on the grass with her knees hugged tight to her chest. "He… blacks out and won't wake up for a while."
"Oh." Cafos sat back on his knees, frowning. "...how long?" Alexis shrugged.
"Not too long. A few hours."
"Oh." Cafos could recall a few times that Stephen had stumbled dizzily away after a particularly difficult exercise (or sparring session with him) and disappeared into his tent to sleep. Lucius had told him that Stephen's powers took a great deal of his energy and required him to rest. And, yeah, he'd teleported a couple of times, but… not as many as Cafos had seen him perform in the past with no issue.
"Think he'll be alright?" He said at last, standing up to go sit next to Alexis. The redhead scooted away from him a bit.
"Yeah." She said. "Sure he'll be fine." Cafos was quiet for a moment, trying to study her without staring. She was soaking wet from her dip in the river, her new clothes plastered to her skin- he quickly looked away.
"Are you okay?" He asked quietly. Alexis didn't answer for a moment.
"Yeah." She answered at last. "M' just fine."
"You don't look fine."
"Yeah, well, because I look like an idiot, don't I?" She buried her face in her knees. "If I hadn't- hadn't thrown a fit for no reason, Stephen wouldn't be hurt." Her voice cracked on the last word, and Cafos winced. He was entirely unprepared to deal with a crying female.
"Well, your heart was in the right place." He tried. "We needed food, and you deemed yourself the most competent fisherman. Woman. Even if there was some… miscommunication." Alexis didn't seem cheered by this. "I know it's been a hard few days for you." Cafos pressed on. "Weeks, really." No thanks to him. "And tensions have been high. I can't blame you for being… volatile." Still nothing.
Cafos pursed his lips, then said, "Look, you're right, it was your fault. But moping won't change what you've done, you've already apologized, now all you can do is not do it again." Alexis frowned into her knees, not answering for a bit. Finally, she lifted her head to give him a small glare.
"That's… pretty wise for a meathead." She admitted. Cafos opened his mouth to protest. Closed it.
"Thanks." He said instead. Alexis smirked at him, then rested her chin on her arms again.
"We still need food." She murmured.
"We could try fishing again." Cafos mused. Though, he doubted he could catch a fish with his hands, Stephen was currently out, and Alexis had been swept away last time she'd tried. Maybe if they tied a rope to her, or something…
"Where's my bucket?" The redhead spoke up suddenly. Cafos blinked at her.
"Upstream where we left it, I suppose."
Alexis lurched upright. "'M gonna go get it."
"Wait." Cafos shot up as well. "By yourself?"
"Either that or we leave Stephen here alone." She pointed out. Cafos cast a glance at Stephen, passed out on his back on the riverbank.
"I'm sure he'll be fine." He said. "I can't imagine why anyone would be passing this way - as opposed to you, who will be going near the road." Alexis leveled him with a stare, but finally nodded.
"Alright." She turned away, beckoning her with him. "C'mon."
Cafos followed Alexis back towards where they had started at the bridge, trailing a few feet behind her as she picked her way through the undergrowth. He kept his wings tight against his back to avoid his feathers dragging through the damp brush- as tight as he dared, anyway, as his right wing throbbed whenever he moved it. The pain had lessened gradually since he was initially injured, but the limb was still far too tender to use.
It still baffled him that Stephen had saved him. He knew that Cafos had come to kill him- he'd tried twice already, for Notch's sake. But instead of leaving him to die, eliminating the threat to his life, Stephen had saved him. And he hadn't even regretted it when he'd learned that the man who'd tried to kill Cafos was his father.
Cafos shook his head, grimacing. He wasn't complaining, not by any means, even though he had practically been forced into joining them. If he had attacked Stephen again while he was already injured he would have been cut down easily, and if he'd tried to go back to the Sons he would have almost certainly been executed for his failure. And, if he'd gone off alone, he would've been found eventually, whether by the Sons or by Herobrine. Alexis had spoken the truth when she said they stood the greatest chance together.
And, his life may have been turned upside down, but… Cafos found that he didn't hate it as much as he'd expected to. Being saved from certain death by the very person he'd spent five years hating had drastically changed his outlook on life, and he found himself almost at a loss regarding what to do and how to feel. Having someone to lead him, even if that person was Stephen, helped.
"There!" Alexis exclaimed, and Cafos looked up to see her beaten, rusty bucket sitting on the shore. Alexis hurried to go collect it, looking inside and grinning at the sight of the one fish she'd caught.
"I'm sure your- Lord Giles could have given you a better bucket than that." Cafos said, ambling up to her.
"This one is special." Was her response. "It's the one I beat you over the head with."
"Fair enough." Cafos gestured for her to join him, and she grabbed the bucket's handle before heading back towards where they had left Stephen.
The brief exchange had reminded him of something, though, and after a minute of formulating his statement Cafos caught her attention. "Alexis."
"Mm?" The redhead glanced over her shoulder at him, and he was pleased to find that she already looked less distressed than she had a few minutes ago.
"I…" He averted his gaze, hoping he didn't upset her again. "…I wanted to say, I don't call you 'princess' because of your heritage." Alexis blinked at him, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"No?"
"No." He shook his head. "It's because you're… slight, and pretty, and strong willed." He glanced back at her face, trying to gauge her reaction. "You're never afraid to make your opinion heard." Alexis regarded him quietly for a few moments, before she finally nodded.
"I guess that's alright."
"Good." Cafos felt himself relax a bit. "Let's get back to Stephen before he wakes up and finds us gone."
"Right."
"I have seen the boy you're referring to." Giles couldn't resist drawing back the curtains a bit, peering outside. It was highly unlikely that anyone would be listening through the window on the fourth floor, but he knew his paranoia would continue to grate on him until he indulged it. "He was here two days ago."
"Do tell?" The valkyrie said. The winged messenger was tall, taller than Giles, with short blond hair and a set of wings nearly as large as he was. Giles had no doubt that he was a competent fighter. "What did he want?"
"He wanted to know where an Aether portal was." Giles turned from the window to regard his guest again. "As did his companions."
"Companions?" Lucius echoed. "I was aware of one. Are there more, now?"
"There were two." Giles said carefully. "A valkyrie with an injured wing, and my daughter." He could hear Lucius inhale sharply from across the room.
"The brat is your daughter?" He asked in astonishment, though his demeanor changed on a dime when Giles leveled a glare at him. "I- I'm afraid I don't understand." The valkyrie stammered. "If she was- is your daughter, what was she doing in the woods where we were camped?"
"We were separated when she was young." Giles told him. A stab of guilt hit him at the half-lie, but he obstinately refused to admit his sin to a warrior of the Aether. "She grew up alone."
"And she did not stay with you?"
"She did not want to."
"I… see." Lucius lifted a brow, but didn't press further. "And you said a valkyrie accompanied them?" Giles nodded.
"Yes, that is why I was so quick to assist them. I assumed they were on some noble mission."
"Far from it, I'm afraid. What did he look like?"
"He had light hair, like yours, and fair skin."
"Was he young?"
"Yes."
Lucius sighed. "Then I know of whom you speak. It is greatly distressing to hear that he has gone rogue." He shook his head. "Where did they go?"
"I sent them to Melbourne, to speak to the Lady Eydis." Giles told him. "They claimed to have encountered the valkyrie-slayer, and wished to find a portal so that they may report what they have learned to Notch. I do not know where to find one, but Eydis recently traveled to the Aether, and thus would be more help than I."
"I see. Thank you." Lucius nodded, turning toward the door. "You have been most helpful."
"Valkyrie." In an instant, Giles stood between him and the door, blocking his path. "I do not know what kind of business this is, but I will not have my daughter punished for it." He spoke as Lucius staggered a step back. "If you should catch these renegades, I would have her delivered to me."
Lucius opened his mouth, but Giles went on before he could speak. "Because if any harm comes to her, I will find out." His voice lowered to a deadly cadence. "And I will find you."
Lucius stared at him for a moment, then lowered himself into a bow. "Yes, my lord, it shall be done."
"You could at least give it a shot."
"I- I have wings! I look like a fish's natural predator, they won't even get near me!"
"I think you just don't want to get your feathers wet."
"I don't, not for no reason!"
"Is that why you didn't go after me?"
"Wh- no! I simply didn't want Stephen to have to rescue me too!"
"You can't swim?"
"I can swim!"
This argument was the first thing that Stephen heard as he faded gradually back into consciousness, wincing as an ache settled into his back. It wasn't as bad as earlier, though, he recognized blearily. His nap seemed to have done him good.
The young man peeled back his eyelids, blue eyes focusing only for a moment on the gray clouds above him before a raindrop landed in his eye and had him flinching, blinking. Still raining. He couldn't have been sleeping for long, then.
"Well, we need to eat something." Alexis was saying, and Stephen tilted his head slightly to see her standing before Cafos with her hands on her hips. "And if I go back in the river I think Stevie will have a heart attack."
"What?" Stephen croaked from the ground. Both of them immediately spun to look at him, and Alexis broke into a grin.
"Hey!" She hurried to his side, kneeling down as he pushed himself up. "How are you feeling?"
"Alright." He winced as a pang shot up his spine, then shook his head until it cleared. "Better. You okay?" He looked down to meet her eyes and she nodded readily.
"Yeah." She nodded over her shoulder. "Trying to convince Cafos to catch us some fish."
"I can't." Cafos cut in. "Not without the proper equipment."
"You have a sword, don't you?" Stephen shot him a grin, eager to take advantage of this opportunity to bully him. "So you're telling me you can take down the son of Herobrine, but not a fish?"
"Keep this up and I will take you down." Cafos threatened.
"Nooo, Cafos, don't do that." Alexis protested. "We need him to catch us some fish."
"Alright, I will." Stephen pushed himself upright, staggering a bit as he got to his feet. "It'll be hard to cook them in the rain, though."
"Yeah." Alexis scrunched up her face. "I… guess if all else fails we could eat them raw."
"But that's unappetizing." Stephen said. "And could make us sick."
"I'll try to find a dry spot," Cafos said, turning toward the woods. "You two get us some dinner."
Fortunately for the trio, the rain stopped within the next hour, the clouds rolling away to reveal the golden rays of the afternoon sun. Stephen and Alexis spent the better part of a couple hours in the river, in the shallowest part they could find, with Stephen downstream of his friend so that he could catch her if she happened to be swept away. While they fished, Cafos collected all of the firewood he could find, and lit a small fire with which to cook their bounty when they returned with over a dozen fish.
For the first time since they had left Blackhaven, the three of them were able to eat until they were full. Even after their earlier scare, they were able to relax and talk and laugh among themselves. The three of them stayed up talking long after dark, about their lives, their journey, and the path ahead, before Stephen finally agreed to take the first watch and the other two went to sleep.