"I really mean it." Marin lightly ran their hand over Kit's hair, nodding. "You've been doing a really good job so far. I'm glad I got to be your first, too." The mage offered a soft smile to the young child in their arm and under their cloak, holding him close.
"I'll be able to brag I was the first to be helped by the famous fae guide Kitarine to all of my friends."
Kit smiled and flushed a bit, toying with a lock of his hair. "W-Well, I doubt I'll ever be famous or anything, but thanks anyway…" He rubbed his tears away again, seeming to be in slightly better spirits. "Everybody in my family has been a fae guide too, so it was only natural for me to follow in their footsteps, you know?"
"Yeah, I know." While their family wasn't magical, the other they had grown up with were, and those were who Marin considered their family. Of course, they would follow the elder mage wherever they were led, even to their death…
Marin didn't shake their head, but they did shake the thoughts away.
"And who says you won't be famous? Sure, not many people may make their way through this land, but by golly I know I'm never gonna forget you. I'm sure word will get around the more you help people, and when that day comes I'll be able to say I was your first. How cool is that?"
Kit flushed again and hid his red face in his small hands, although he couldn't hide his smile. He huddled up a bit closer to Marin. "W-Well, I'm glad you think so, at least… a lot of fae guides actually end up staying with the humans that they're guiding, even after they leave the fae realm. I-I mean, unless the human doesn't want them to, of course, and the fae can return home at any point if they decide to split ways, but…"
Marin felt a weak smile spread across their lips when he saw Kit's reactions to their words, chuckling softly.
"Oh, really?" The mage said, tilting his head some. "Well, I can see why, after spending so much time together, it's easy to get attached. And it's good the fae can come home, it'd be sad if they couldn't." Marin gave Kit a light side hug, nodding their head.
"It's not common for fae to come back soon, is it?"
"No, most fae are away from home for a really long time. Sometimes they don't go back home at all." Kit fidgeted a bit with his hands and huddled closer to Marin, nibbling on one of his knuckles nervously. "I'm still just a kid, though… I-I think I'd like to visit home sometimes, you know? I'd miss my parents and stuff…"
"Of course, Kit," Marin assured. "You are just a kid, and I could never ask you to leave your home and never come back. That's just cruel…" Marin bit their lip at that point, holding back their own memories.
"I could never ask any child to leave their parents for the service of someone else…" The mage was working on holding back their memories by now. No, no, this wasn't about them, this was about making Kit feel better.
Kit yawned a bit and huddled closer to Marin, the tip of his tail curling up. "Usually fae at least stay with their human until they leave the fae realm, which varies a lot. Some people stay here for years and years, and the fae stay with them during that time. It's kinda complicated sometimes…" He curled up tighter, looking very small beside Marin.
"Well, I plan on keeping things as simple as possible," Marin said, gently patting Kit's back. "I'm sure with a guide like you, we'll be able to get out of this land in plenty of time. They held kit a bit closer, seeing how small he looked.
"You'll be able to go back to your parents soon, I'm sure."
Kit smiled softly and nodded, content in the warmth of being held. He hadn't been held like this in a very long time. "Well, I hope so… I'm sure I'll miss you when you're gone." He rested his head back on Marin and hummed happily. "Where are you trying to go, anyway?"
"I'm sure I'll miss you too," Marin looked out at the rain was slowly coming to a stop, their cloak nice and warm with the two of them in it. They didn't know, of course, figuring there was used to it from someone.
"And not really anywhere in particular. I'm a wanderer, traveling the world to see what it has." And run away from the tyrant who'd sent their best friend to their death.
Kit nodded a bit. "Well, the fae realm does have a lot to offer. It's got all sorts of things that humans haven't seen before since we're pretty far away from human villages." He yawned again and huddled closer to Marin, trilling softly. He obviously liked the warmth. "Lots of creatures and magic and all sorts of other things to see."
"Well," Marin said, a snack him escaping their lips, "that sounds quite exciting. Will you show me some while we're traveling?" Marin looked out as the rain finally came to a stop, moving to stand. They held Kit in their arms still, letting him stay tucked under the cloak.
(Letting him stay fucked under his coat lmao sdhjk)
"Yeah, sure! I'll show you stuff when we come to it. A lot of it is dangerous, though, so be careful, okay?" He got to his feet with Marin and looked out of the cave. "And it'll be pretty slick since it just rained, so be careful not to slip." He stepped out of the cave and his foot slid off of the wet rock, making him yelp in fear. Thankfully, he managed to start floating before he actually fell.
(nO-)
(Lmao)
Marin's hands had shot out to catch Kit when the child slipped, letting out a sigh of relief when they saw the fae was fine.
"Yes, I'll be sure to," Marin said, grabbing their bag before stepping out as well. They were more careful where they went, seeing as they couldn't catch themselves like Kit.
Kit nodded a bit and took a second to gather himself again before he started leading Marin down the rocks, staying floating so he wouldn't fall again. He took Marin's hand to guide them along, knowing he probably couldn't actually catch them if they fell, but figuring he would try anyway.
Marin held lightly onto Kit's hand, falling silent as they walked. They kept their hood, Willow hiding inside incase it started to rain again. She looked at Kit, letting out a little trill to get his attention before waving hello.
Kit waved back at Willow with a soft smile, but mostly tried to keep his attention on helping Marin to not fall. He sighed softly in relief when they reached the bottom in one piece and started looking around. "Alright! Which direction are you hoping to go first?" He asked.
"Well, how does this way work?" Marin asked. They pointed in the exact direction they had entered the land from, like making a straight line. It was the furtherest they could get from the kingdom, after all, and even after all this time they still kept going, terrified the king was still looking for them.
"Sure! It's a pretty straight shot that way for a few miles, and then there's a town to the right and a thick forest to the left. The forest is gorgeous and has many wonderful things in it, like food and magic and such, but it has some dangerous animals too." He kept his hold on Marin's hand as he floated along.
(Do you have like, a pic of Marin? You describe them as lithe but also say they're like, 250 pounds, which is considerably overweight for someone their height aha)
(aak- sorry, I'm very bad with weight aha. And I don't have a picture yet, but just ignore the weight and go with the lithe part. Like, they got a bit of fat, but it's a healthy size for their height)
"That sounds good to me then," Marin said, nodding. They didn't pull their hand from Kit's, letting the child hold of as they started walking in the direction.
"I'm sure we'll be able to handle any dangerous creatures, with your knowledge of the land." They smiled slightly, Willow nodding her approval.
(Alright lol)
"Yeah, hopefully! I'm not allowed to carry weapons, so fighting them off would be pretty hard." He laughed softly and stopped floating so he could just walk along at Marin's side. "I've got a bit of magic, but it's not strong enough yet for me to be able up really use it offensively. Do you have any magic?" He asked curiously.
"Yes, I do," Marin said, nodding. "Would you like to see it?" They lifted their free hand, closing their gloved hand before opening it again. A flame danced there, beginning to move over Marin's hand as they moved it from side to side, turning it over as the flame moved over their knuckles.
"And I can make really big fire too, especially with my other cloak on."