forum Angsty Roleplay Because I Want Another One - OXO - (Romance)

Started May 12, 2021 by @cryptic-glitch

tune

“What was the necklace about?” Kayin asked. “And don’t say nothing. You owe me one. And besides, I said I wasn’t going to kill you. I don’t go back on my word.”

"Noth–" Gold started, closing his mouth when Kayin continued. "Ha, very well. It's a magic amulet, believe it or not. Not many people have one like this, so I'm hiding it for the time being. Just to be on the safe side. I don't want more people out to kill me than there already are." He sighed, placing one hand over it. It was amazing that he got blessed by the gods, and he was very honored, but it also put a huge target on his back sometimes.

“Interesting,” Kayin said, and meant it. “What does it do?” Aspen growled. “I am not being nosy,” she responded rudely. “It was a perfectly warranted question.”

Gold pressed his lips together, debating whether he should tell the truth or make some random thing up. Honesty over lies, Lekin reminded him. He shot an annoyed look at the bird, then glanced back at Kayin. "It can remove someone's senses for a time." It had been quite handy to him a number of times, though not recently.

Kayin didn’t say anything for a moment then, in a flat tone, “Where do you want me to take you?” He was hoping to have an advantage over this man, purely for safety purposes, but it seemed that was out the window.

"Um…" Gold peeked at Lekin, hoping they would know where they were, and how to get back to his home. "I…" Don't look at me. I was just following you. "I don't know. Maybe the nearest town? To be totally honest, I have no idea where I am." Gold let out a light laugh, hoping Keyin wouldn't take him to some really sketchy place now that she knew he was lost.

“If you say so,” they said and nudged Aspen with her toe. Aspen made a sound weirdly like a meow, but got up and unfurled his wings. “Let’s go. No time to waste,” Kayin said and swung himself up onto Aspen’s back. He then offered a hand to Gold. “Unless you can do it yourself, of course.”

Gold accepted Kayin's outstretched hand, clambering onto the dragon's back in an uncharacteristically clumsy way. His entire body still hurt, though, so he had a good reason. That didn't mean he had to like it. "Should I hold onto something?" He asked, this being his first time he'd done this sort of thing. He'd been riding on a horse before, but never a thing that flew in the air.

"I mean, yes, unless you'd prefer to plummet to your death. Suit yourself," they said wryly. Aspen snorted. "Alright, Asp, go on."
Aspen leaped into the air, moving relatively fast both upward and forward. Kayin leaned forward a little, twisting to look at Gold. "You doing alright? I don't particularly want to be responsible for your death, since you told me you didn't want to be stabbed."

Gold sighed and gingerly wrapped his arms around Kayin's waist. The second the dragon took off, Gold resisted the urge to yelp and held on tighter. He wasn't exactly a fan of falling to his death, and though he wasn't a fan of this current action, he preferred being alive. That didn't mean he had to be happy about it, though. "I'm fine," Gold grumbled, glancing around for Lekin. On your left. The bird was managing to keep up with the dragon, which made sense considering they were a gift from a god. Gold made a face at them. It only seemed appropriate.

"Easy, tiger. I'd like to keep my internal organs intact," Kayin said, pulling on one of Gold's arms. "If you relax, it's not going to be as bad." She had to speak loudly because of the wind whipping his hair into a bird's nest.

Gold reluctantly loosened his grip, still very much feeling like he was about to fly off the back of the dragon. Hikama, this was the worst. "How much farther are we going?" He asked, glancing down at the ground below them. Hopefully, it wasn't that much farther. He didn't know how much more of this he could take.

"Hm. Ten more minutes. Unless you want to go faster?" Kayin offered. "Based on how tense you are right now, I don't think that's the best idea." Kayin tapped Aspen's neck and the dragon began a steady decline toward the earth.

"Oh. No, this is a perfectly fine speed." Gold shook his head slightly, instantly regretting that motion. "Agh, hikama." Don't move around so much, feiy. You still haven't recovered, Lekin chided, swooping closer for a second. You're going to fall off, and then you're done for. "Yes, thank you for that, Lekin." Gold grumbled, giving the raven an angry side-eye. "That was very helpful."

Kayin raised his eyebrows. "Suit yourself. Going faster would be more fun, but I doubt that after almost drowning you're much interested in that." Aspen leveled out, flying over the tops of the tallest trees. A flock of birds settled into a V-shape next to the dragon's left wing and Aspen looked at them with mild curiosity.

Gold scoffed lightly, turning his attention to the view. It really was pretty, though he much preferred it when he was on the ground. Ah, he missed his home already, and it hadn't even been that long. At least there he didn't have to swoop through the air at dangerous speeds. Gold let out a soft sigh and, sensing a rather exasperated look from Lekin, shot the raven another angry look. He loved them to death, but sometimes they could be a little too judgy for his tastes.

Kayin signaled for Aspen to land, and the dragon angled downward, landing gently on the grass. Kayin slid off, checked that all of their knives were in place, then offered Gold their hand, a slight smile on their lips.

Gold accepted Kayin's hand, feeling much better now that his feet were on solid ground. "So. Where did you take me?" He asked, looking around cautiously. What, do you think they took you somewhere to kill you? Lekin made a sound that might have been laughter. "Why don't you shut up before I change your name to Leja, huh?" Gold turned on the bird, giving them a warning look as they landed in the grass near him.

"I don't travel with a map," Kayin said rudely, pulling his hood up over her head. "You asked for the nearest town and I brought you here. Now stay close. I don't know if these people are hospitable." She pulled his favorite knife from its sheath and pushed up his sleeves, revealing another sheathed knife on her opposite forearm.

"That seems like a rather unwise thing to do, but ilah, I guess." Gold sighed in a rather annoyed fashion. He let out an even bigger sigh when Kayin said that it might be dangerous there because of course, it was. If only he had his sword… he wouldn't be so nervous then. He'd lost it in the fight against the assassins, however, and had no idea where it was now. "You have a lot of knives," he noticed, letting out a little laugh as he did.

“Yes. I have seventeen of them. My smallest is three inches and this is my longest one. A foot long.” She held up the one she had taken out. With her other hand, she pulled his hair up and away from her face, then held the knife between their teeth and tied a snippet of cord around the short ponytail. With this completed, she told Aspen to stay and keep watch, then started toward the village without so much as a backward glance toward Gold.

"Seventeen… wow." Gold raised his eyebrows. He didn't know why she needed that many knives, but to each their own. It was fine as long as he didn't turn all of those knives on Gold. Then, they would have a problem. Caught in the midst of his musings, Gold didn't notice Kayin leaving until they'd gotten a good distance away. "Oben." Gold muttered, jogging until he'd caught up with her. "Are you trying to lose me?"

“It isn’t my fault you weren’t paying attention. And twelve of my knives are for throwing. So I have lots in case I miss my target. Which is rare. But, you know, expect the unexpected and all that. Try not to show your face,” she said, reaching out and pushing Gold’s head down. “If you’re seen traveling with me, the target on your back will expand exponentially.”

Gold, not coming up with any sort of retort, only growled slightly at him. "I suppose that's a good idea." He exclaimed slightly when Kayin pushed his head down, swatting at her hand. "What? Oh, great. I didn't think it could get any bigger, but apparently, I was wrong. Thanks for that." He glared at Kayin, undoing the braid his hair was in and brushing it out. Gold pulled it back into a ponytail, leaving some to hang in his face. It probably didn't do much, but whatever. He was barely on the edge of caring at this point.

"Look, I do what I need to do to survive. You're in no place to question that," Kayin said sternly. As they approached the town, Kayin pulled the golden pin off of his shirt and dropped it in their shoe, offering no explanation for this action. She rolled her shoulders and began picking their way down the hill that led to the main road.