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"You have an ID?" Mycah asked, sounding properly surprised. It wasn't all an act: They hadn't realized that Winter had an ID. "That might work, then. I'll try and get us there as fast as possible, then. We don't want them to flag you too." Mycah nodded and pressed down harder on the gas pedal.
He nodded slightly. "I believe I do. I haven't had to use it in a while, but I should be able to get us in. I haven't been gone for that long." They used to send him out just to scare people in line. The Wraith, the demon, the monster. Soulless.
"Good." Mycah's lips lifted slightly. "How… exactly, do you have an ID?" They knew why, but they wanted to see if Winter would tell them himself. If he didn't, that was fine. If he did, at least they didn't have to pretend they didn't know anymore. They'd rather he told them, but they didn't expect it. Mycah was still a stranger to him. But they were partners in this. Maybe that would count for something.
Winter sighed softly. "I…work with them for things." A half truth, at best. "That's all." He said slowly. "If you want specifics…" He trailed off. "I don't know. I can tell you more, if that's what you want." He didn't look at Mycah.
"I'd like to know more, yes. But if it makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to." Mycah paused. "We can exchange information if you want." Maybe hearing what Winter did from his own mouth would make everything make more sense.
Winter shrugged. "Right. First thing you should know is this isn't my…real name. But I'd prefer this one, if it's all the same to you." My real one has too much blood. "Real name is Jameson Prinz." He kept his gaze fixed ahead, not looking at Mycah.
"Okay." Mycah nodded, their eyes narrowing slightly. It was all stuff they knew already. So far, at least. "I… don't think I've heard that name before. And if I did, I don't know what it means." They paused. "My full name is Mycah Harrow, if you didn't know already. I was one of the elite soldiers. The ones with those stupid tattoos."
He nodded. "Alright." He replied, taking in that information. He had guessed as much, but hadn't assumed. That was good information to know, though. "Right. I'm…also known as the Wraith. I have a demon inside of me, and I can't control it."
"A demon?" Mycah asked, their eyes narrowing even more. "And you can't control it." They nodded slowly, not looking at Winter. Mycah glanced in the rear-view mirror, then looked over at Winter. "Alright. When does it take over? Is there anything I can do to not have it come out?"
Winter nodded a little bit, then shook his head. "When it takes over, my eyes will turn white." he replied, sighing softly. "And…there isn't really anything you can do, no. Just…if my eyes turn white for more than a second, you need to run or hide or something. I…I don't want to hurt you, but if it takes over then I won't have any control over it."
"White eyes means to run. Okay, thank you." Mycah looked back at the road in front of them. There was another car coming towards them, which could be good news or bad news. They brushed some hair in front of their eyes just in case, but the car flew past them without stopping. "We should get there with enough time to get ready, maybe get some better clothes. If we can't though, we should be fine." Mycah wasn't happy with the amount of "should" in their sentences, but there wasn't anything they could do about it.
"That's a lot of shoulds." Winter replied. "But… alright. Let's hope this plan of yours works." He gave a faint laugh, shaking his head slightly. He just wanted someone to pay for everything that had been done to people like him and Mycah. And, well…then he would find a quiet place and die. Cut his own throat or blow his head off. Something. He needed to die. He was too dangerous to live, too dangerous.
"Yes, but…" Mycah trailed off with a shrug. "I hope so too. Would you happen to know anywhere to get the right clothes? I've only ever been in the city in the middle of a war." They admitted. To be honest, Mycah didn't know where a person could get the 'proper' clothes. They guessed people would be wearing fancy clothes like suits, but they weren't sure. If only they had thought about this a little more before, instead of just running towards Crin with nothing but magical tattoos and murderous intent.
Winter thought for a moment. "Maybe…it's been a while since I needed to dress up and play civilized." He replied slowly. "But I can try." He shrugged his shoulders.
"Okay." Mycah nodded. The next few hours of driving were mostly uneventful– the only exciting thing that happened was that other cars drove past them. The car crested a hill in the late afternoon and the capital city appeared, spread out in a shallow valley. Far past the shining buildings, Mycah could barely see the glittering of the sea. It was quite impressive, though Mycah could see some lingering damage from the war, especially on the outskirts. "Anything come to you?" Mycah asked, looking over at Winter.
Winter sat up, peering at the city. "Hm. I mean…" he trailed off, thinking. "I know a few different shops we can try out, though I don't have any money with me." he frowned slightly, eyes tracing over the buildings. He had seen these silhouettes before, so many times.
"I got away with a lot of money, so that shouldn't be a problem." Mycah smiled slightly. They had grabbed the money without thinking and had thought about using it as fuel for a fire or as a distraction. But now, it might actually help on their mission. Who would have known? "Just tell me where to go."
Winter nodded. "Alright." once they were inside the city, he guided Mycah through the streets, eyebrows pulled together in concentration. He had picked one of the less expensive shops, not wanting to completely drain all of Mycah's funds.
Mycah followed all of Winter's instructions, trying to keep as low of a profile as they could. It made them a bit nervous being in the city, but most people just ignored the car. They finally pulled to a stop a little ways away from the shop, not wanting to show exactly where they were going in case someone got suspicious.
Winter let out a breath. "Alright. This place should work fine for what we need." he said, glancing over at Mycah for a moment. "Let's go." he got out of the car, looking around and gauging to see if anyone seemed like a threat.
Mycah pulled the keys out of the ignition. then reached back and grabbed the backpack that had the money in it. They slipped out of the car and locked it, pocketing the keys before looking at Winter. "Lead the way?" It was more of a question than a statement, but they didn't want to walk into the wrong building. Mycah wasn't exactly in their element there, and they felt far more twitchy than usual.
Winter nodded. "Yeah." he replied. He headed into the building, eyes roving around, searching for a threat of any type. He looked around the shop, and crossed his arms. "What are we looking for, again?"
"Some clothes that don't look like trash," Mycah said, looking around the store. "Something that wouldn't immediately expose us as fakes at a really fancy party." They spotted some basic dress shirts and pants and such near them and nodded towards them. "What do you think?" Mycah had about zero experience in this department, but they knew that they both needed something different. There was no way they were getting let into the party looking like they did, even if Winter's ID worked.
Winter looked, and nodded. "Yeah. Those should work, so long as nobody looks too closely." he replied, following Mycah over. "I'd assume that you can get your own clothes, correct?" he glanced at Mycah, arching an eyebrow.
"Yes." Mycah nodded, feeling slightly insulted that Winter had asked. They walked over to the clothes and searched through them, finally finding some that might fit them. Trying them on would be nice, but Mycah didn't think that they had the time.