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"No. I'm just trying to stay away from the assassins. And once they're all dead, I'll go after the Alumi." Mycah glanced back at Winter. "If you need me to point the way out, I can do that. If you want to join me… You can do that too." They shrugged and stepped over a log. Mycah had to admit, it would be nice to have a partner.
Winter thought for a long moment. "May as well join you. Gives me an excuse to destroy shit." he gave another off-kilter grin. It was becoming rather obvious that there was something…wrong…with Winter. Maybe nothing too terrible, but he definitely wasn't quite…right.
"Very well." Mycah nodded. They didn't fully trust Winter– they never fully trusted anyone– but he was all they had. He'd gotten points for attacking the assassin. But that might have just been because he wanted to "destroy shit". There was definitely something wrong with him, but at the moment, Mycah didn't care. "I think there's a small lake up ahead. You can wash the blood off of everywhere."
Winter looked down at himself, and nodded slightly. "Right. Thanks." he replied, walking with Mycah. He ran a hand through his pale hair, letting out a slow breath. "Thanks for your help earlier, by the way." he added, looking over at Mycah.
"Of course." Mycah gave Winter a quick nod. The look on their face was almost a smile as they pulled back their hair into a low ponytail. After about half an hour of walking, they pushed a branch out of the way and stepped to the edge of a valley. At the bottom, Mycah could see a lake. "There." They pointed at the lake, now glittering in the early morning sun.
Winter let out a sigh of relief when he saw the lake. "Oh, thank the gods." he replied with a faint laugh, speeding up a little bit. "I want to clean up." he wanted to wash off the dried blood that still coated his body.
"I guessed as much." Mycah started into the valley, glancing behind them every once in a while to make sure no one else was following them. They suspected that once the other assassins found the body, it wouldn't be long before they came after Mycah– and Winter.
As soon as Winter reached the lake, he started pulling his weapons out of his clothing, not wanting them to rust. He set the daggers down, along with a jagged knife and four twin throwing knives, setting them carefully to the side. Then he took off his boots, and waded into the water.
Mycah walked to a large rock at the edge of the lake and perched on it. Their clothes were just starting to get dry, and they had no intention of getting them wet all over again. They watched as Winter set aside all his weapons, then looked across the lake. It was quite beautiful at the moment, and peacefully quiet save for Winter splashing in the water. If they could forget all that had happened to them and all that was going to happen, Mycah might have been happy.
Winter walked out deep enough that he was up to his neck in the water, and started to scrub at his body and clothing. He was a little leery of stripping down right now, especially in front of Mycah, plus he didn't have a spare set with him, so this would have to do.
Mycah watched Winter for a little, then decided he was boring and glanced over their shoulder again. There was still no one there, which was good. It would be very awkward if the assassins came when Winter was neck-deep in water. Mycah listened closely, but it was still quiet.
Winter kept scrubbing at his clothes, the blood blooming out of them, into the water. He felt his breathing becoming harsher as the reality of everything that was going on sank into him, and he submerged into the water, letting the water enter his mouth, though not his lungs, trying to calm down.
Mycah glanced back at Winter, the blood in the water strangely mesmerizing. Then Winter disappeared under the water. It didn't bother Mycah too much since it was probably just Winter getting the blood off of his face. They turned back to the forest behind them. With the sun rising, it was getting easier to see beyond the trees. Mycah still didn't see anyone. With luck, they would both be long gone before the assassins arrived.
Winter stayed under until his lungs were screaming, and then surfaced again with a gasp, sucking in air into his oxygen-deprived body. His blue eyes were careful, and he scrubbed at the blood again, trying to get out any remnants. He knew his clothes were probably irreparably stained.
Mycah glanced back at the water, their eyes narrowed when Winter still didn't surface. Was he trying to drown? When he finally burst to the surface, Mycah sighed and shook their head. They didn't know what Winter was doing, but at least he wasn't dying. "Are you almost ready?"
Winter nodded slightly. "Yeah." he replied. He came out of the water, tugging at his clothes and grimacing. Yeah, they were clean now, but they were also sopping wet. He stomped around a little bit, trying to shake off some of the water.
"Good." Mycah nodded and hopped off the rock. "I haven't seen any more signs of the assassins." They looked around the valley, wondering where to go next. Should they keep going, or try and sneak up on the assassins as they searched for them. Mycah glanced at Winter and resisted the urge to smile. He looked slightly ridiculous in his dripping wet clothes.
Winter sighed softly, still tugging at the clothes. He didn't want them to hug his body, either, which wet clothes had a tendency to do. He kept stomping and shaking himself, almost doglike, as he tried to get them to dry a little more. "Alright." he replied.
Mycah looked back towards the woods to hide a small smile that had appeared on their lips. "What would you rather do? Have them hunt us, or hunt them?" They turned back to Winter, their orange eyes sparkling a bit more than usual.
Winter blinked at the question. "Considering I go squelch with every step right now…I don't think the second one is going to work out real well." he laughed faintly.
"Hmm… good point." Mycah nodded. "We keep going, then. Hopefully, you'll dry out by the time they catch up to us." They started walking around the lake, still heading away from their first camp. Mycah knew that they could go all the way to the ocean before they had to turn around and actually fight.
Winter nodded, and walked with Mycah. Sure enough, he went squelch with each step. He had put his boots on and gathered up his weapons, putting them away. He ran a hand through his wet hair.
Mycah grimaced at the sounds Winter's clothes made. "Your clothes might dry out faster if you wring them out first." They looked over at him. They guessed Winter didn't want to strip in front of a complete stranger, but still…
Winter stopped, and sighed. "Well yes, but I'd have to take them off, and…" He trailed off, shaking his head slightly. "Don't get me wrong, but…I'd rather not strip in front of a stranger." He shook his head again.
"I won't look," Mycah offered, stopping as well. "It can't be comfortable to be in those soaking clothes." They knew that from experience. And all of this squelching was really getting on their nerves.