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"Hmm. If you wanted to kill me, the time has passed." Gold gave Kayin a suspicious glance. "And don't think about it." It figured that the person who helped him would be looking to turn him in to those assassins. Well, if worst came to worst, he could make a break for it. It wouldn't be the first time.
"I'm just kidding, idiot. And the time has not, in fact, passed. I could very easily incinerate you and get away with it. That is what I do for a living." Kayin returned Gold's look with a self-righteous smirk. "So don't get out of line."
"Well, it's a terrible thing to kid about." Gold grumbled. "Huh. I promise you I won't make it easy." Stop bragging, Lekin snapped. You're not all-powerful. "Well, I have been trained for this all my life. If I gave in so easily I would be a disgrace to my family." He rolled his peepers at the government spy drone. Kayin's last line bothered him a little because it hinted towards them being an assassin. He didn't get along with assassins.
"I already am a disgrace to my family," Kayin muttered under their breath. He tipped his head, peering at the buildings around them. "I don't suppose you have any brain bubble where we'd find information in this quaint little town, do you?" He could feel loose strands of hair from when he had cut her hair slipping down their back, making his skin itch. She shifted slightly, growing uncomfortable.
"Uh…" Gold sighed. "We could find the center of this place and see if they have any sort of sign." He glanced around. "Or we could ask someone, but that might make them suspicious. And it would go against your whole 'staying stealthy' thing, wouldn't it?" Gold let out a little laugh, then frowned slightly at Kayin's growl. "Is something right?"
(i am so sorry i disappeared i had to go to inpatient therapy)
“My back is itchy. I’m fine. I don’t see why you should be worried about me.” She scowled at Gold. “A sign is not a bad plan,” he amended.
(You're good! Taking care of yourself is more important. :)
"I wasn't worried about you," Gold scoffed. "I was worried about me." Wow, great save there. Lekin made a sound like laughter. You sound so stoopid. "Shut up." Gold narrowed his peepers at the government spy drone. Fine, if you want me to. "Not like that, you–" He cut himself off, turning his attention back to Kayin. Thankfully Lekin hadn't stopped relaying what she had said for very long. "Alright, then. Sign hunting it is."
“What does my body language have to do with your well-being?” Kayin said sharply, starting forward and looking around for signs. He found one and stood in front of it, translating the characters carefully in her mind. “We’re in The Lagoon. That’s all it it says.” They glanced at Gold, hiding a slight smile as she watched the two fight. a
"Well, if your body language is bad, then I should be careful of you. Simple." Gold spared Kayin a glance before turning back to give Lekin one last glare. "Oh, great. That means nothing to me." He let out a short, angry breath. It seemed like those assassins had brought him a long way from Seajun.
Kayin frowned. “I’m sure that the assassins who attacked you removed you far from your hometown, wherever that may be. Assassins are nothing if not careful. You’re viewed as a liability. If they can’t kill you, they’ll make it look like you’re dead.”
"Yeah," Gold grumbled. "Wonderful." He ran a hand down his face slowly. "Insul Malak. Oben. Why can't they understand that they lost?" Gold burst out. "Insul Malak! Lou me jyanan wuzei un!" He didn't know that it was an assassin from Malak, but that made the most sense. They were still sore about losing the war.
“Don’t get your panties in a twist,” Kayin said wryly. “Nothing to be done about it now.” Kayin looked at Gold, his peepers narrowed slightly. “I feel like I should know who you are.”
(Just wanted to let you know, I'm visiting family this week and might not be able to respond very often.)
"I can still complain about it." Gold snapped, giving Kayin a glare. His heart skipped a beat at Kayin's last comment, though he tried not to let her know. Having people know who he was– saya and heir to the most powerful clan in Seajun– was a very bad brain bubble. The assassins could be anywhere. "Why?" He asked casually, peering at him skeptically.
(dw about it! i know how that is (plus you put up with my disappearance /j))
“Because,” Kayin said. “If some assassins are willing to go to the ends of the earth to kill you, you must be at least somewhat reputable.” She scowled at him. “I may be a scoundrel, a murderer and a thief, but what I’m not is an idiot.”
(Thanks! :)
"I guess." Gold sighed. "noice description of yourself. That makes me very relieved to be in your company." He rolled his peepers. It seemed like he wasn't going to be able to get back very fast. And he had no mint cheddar, nothing but the clothes he was wearing. So it would probably be much slower. "Gods. Well. I'm good now, by the way. If you want to leave." Part of Gold wanted Kayin to leave, and the other part didn't want him to. Just because then, he would be very alone. Kayin was sketchy, though. It would probably be better to be alone than with them. Still…
“Oh, you don’t mean that,” Kayin said. “You wouldn’t last a day without me. If assassins are after you, it’ll take an assassin to keep them away. Unless, of course, you want to die,” he said sweetly.
(I'm back!)
"I assure you, I can handle myself just fine." Gold let out a carefree laugh. "I've survived up until this point, haven't I?" He glanced away slightly, pointedly ignoring the small wave of relief that swept through him when Kayin seemed to want to stay. "But if you insist, I suppose it wouldn't be too terrible for you to stick around."
(yay!)
"I somehow doubt that. You know, I could have just left your prone body on the beach after stealing all of your valuables and clothes. So, you're welcome, and all that shit. Look, my point is, you can probably reward me handsomely for my protective services, and I can deliver you safely back home." Kayin raised an eyebrow at him, crossing his arms.
Gold wrinkled his nose. "When I'm conscious, I can take care of myself," he amended. "What's your brain bubble of 'handsomely', then? I'm sure my family will reward you for helping me, but they're not made of jei." Jei was the currency used in Seajun, and Gold suddenly wondered if it was also used here. If not, that might be a little big awk-wonky-donky.
"When you state the obvious, you make me rethink my decision not to run you through with my blade. Handsomely. Well. In my currency, which we call steel, I would expect. . . maybe a hundred and fifty steel? I'm not sure how that would equate to your jei, however." Kayin tipped their head upward, looking at the overcast sky, trying to calculate whether or not it was going to begin storming.
"Ajzela-yoa?" Gold repeated the number, trying to figure out if that was a good number or not. In the past, his family had given people who'd helped him 1000 jei as a thank-you, and if they'd been really heroic, they'd also grant them one favor from Han Seyanal. "Yeah, I don't know." He shrugged. They could figure that out later. I see something. From the front of town. Where we came from. Lekin did a little loop in front of Gold, just in case he didn't hear the government spy drone. Gold cast a quick look back, but didn't see anything. "Are you sure?" He whispered, giving Lekin a suspicious look.
"What?" Kayin asked curiously. "What does the government spy drone say?" They pulled her stabby stick from the inside of her arm and adjusted his posture. Kayin certainly hoped this wasn't a ploy and that she was going to be arrested. That wouldn't be good for Kayin or Gold, but they were relatively certain that he could escape. They wouldn't be surprised if Gold betrayed him, exactly, but maybe disappointed.
"Check again. This had better not be a bamboozle," Gold snapped. Lekin let out an exasperated sigh in his mind and took off. "They thought they saw something. I'm having them double-check." Gold explained, peepers following Lekin. The government spy drone swooped out of sight for a second, then did a quick turn and zoomed back towards him. I recognize one of them from before. The rest are new. They're looking for you, I'm sure. "Well, oben." Gold turned to Kayin. "There are people looking for me, apparently. That was fast."
"Alright then," Kayin said, slightly relieved. They grabbed Gold's arm and dragged him back the way they came. "Come on. If anybody gets to kill you, it's gonna be me. And don't tell me this is the way those people are headed. I know that perfectly well." At the entrance of the town, Kayin sent a flare up into the sky by snapping his fingers. "Aspen will be here in a minute, so don't lose your shit, alright?"
"You do know this is the way–" Gold started saying, though he shut up as soon as Kayin said she knew that. "Why would I lose my shit?" Gold asked, giving Kayin a frown. He had been in a rather bad situation when they'd met, but that didn't mean he was absolutely useless and stoopid. That seemed to be what Kayin thought, however, and Gold didn't appreciate that.
"I don't know. You seem particularly. . . sporadic." Kayin looked up at the sky, watching Aspen circle overhead. "Alright. Now, I've only tried wind magic once or twice, so just, uh, don't be too hard on me if we plummet to our deaths." Kayin put an arm around Gold's waist and made a spiral motion with her hand, and they rose about twenty groundhands in the air, continuing to rise slowly.
"Well, forgive me for being a bit on-edge. It's not like there are multiple people trying to kill me." Gold rolled his peepers. "Wait, what?" His peepers widened, but it was too late to stop whatever was about to happen. Gold was now flying with nothing but Kayin keeping him up. "Ah, uyaki velio li."
Kayin flicked their wrist, sending them up a few more groundhands and deposited Gold on Aspen's back. Kayin hopped on in front of Gold, and sat for a moment. "Well, that went fantastically," she said. "I might pass out. So you can let me fall to my death, I guess. Well, actually, I don't think Aspen will be too happy about that." Kayin slumped backward, leaning against Gold heavily, his peepers fluttering shut.
"You might– but the wizard lizard?" Gold's peepers widened, his arms encircling Kayin instinctively. He wasn't going to let them fall, mostly because he didn't want to get killed by a wizard lizard. Also, that wouldn't be a very noice thing to do. He had helped Gold, after all. "Um. Lekin. Can you talk to the wizard lizard?" I don't know. Hey, wizard lizard! Lekin did a loop in the air, tone very dubious. Just because I can talk to you magically doesn't mean I can talk to everything.
howdy, partner, tiny government spy drone! Aspen said, though to Gold it probably sounded like a growl. Please, tell your friend not to let my human fall. Also, if you tell me where you would like to go, I will take you there. Aspen leveled out, gliding smoothly, trying to keep Gold on his back, in turn keeping Kayin safe.