The assassin tried to move towards Mycah, but her leg was severely wounded. Mycah had blown a hole straight through it, though they had unfortunately missed the bone.
"Help me with this one!" The woman yelled, shooting a glance over her shoulder. But everyone else was dead, except for one. And Winter had it covered.
"You're dead." Mycah raised their arm towards the woman, a small but wicked smile on their lips. The assassin glared at Mycah and, in a last-ditch effort, threw her knife at them. Her aim wasn't that good, though, and the knife sailed past their face. A bolt flew from their fingers and the woman collapsed, the hole in her head slowly leaking blood.
Winter was grinning as he fought the last, his white hair whipping around his head and his daggers flashing in the sun. He grunted as the other assassin's blade made contact with his arm, biting into the flesh and leaving behind a bleeding wound. He fought harder after that, those daggers a blur in the sun.
Mycah stepped away from the body and glanced around the impromptu battlefield. Winter had left quite a path of destruction in his wake. Good thing he was (probably) on Mycah's side. Deciding not to get in Winter's way, Mycah leaned against a tree and watched him fight. Now that the assassins were gone, they could go back and… what, kill the leader of the Alumi, Crin? Well, that was what they wanted to do, but it was probably a very unrealistic goal.
He killed the last assassin, stepping back with his lips pulled back in a snarl. He cleaned off the blades on the assassin's clothing, spinning them between his fingers before putting them away. His expression returned to normal, and he shook his head quickly, letting out a breath as he looked over at Mycah.
"That was quite a show." Mycah glanced down at their hands, one of which was stained with a fair amount of blood. They sighed and leaned down to wipe it on the assassin. "I'm glad you're on my side." Mycah looked up at Winter, their eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
Winter gave a faint grin, scratching at his chin. "Mhm." he replied simply. "My apologies if I scared you." he shrugged his shoulders a little bit, running his fingers through his hair.
"I'd like to see that happen," Mycah muttered, half to themself. "No, you didn't." They gave him what they hoped was a reassuring look and took a few steps towards him. "I'm thinking of going back to civilization and do something about the Alumi, now that you killed all their assassins."
He gave a faint grin at that. "Mm. Alright. Would you like some company, then? Or would you prefer that we part our ways here?" he looked at Mycah curiously, arching a pale eyebrow.
"Well." Mycah paused. They usually preferred not to have company, but having Winter on their side would be very useful indeed. He could take care of all the people who wanted to fight them, and they could stay back and pick off everyone else. "If you wouldn't mind coming, I'd enjoy the company."
Winter nodded. "Of course." he replied, stepping over to Mycah. "That'll be fine, then." he looked around the area, eyes flickering over the assassin's bodies before returning to Mycah again.
"Wonderful." Mycah gave Winter a small smile and started retracing their steps towards their first camp. They'd stop at the lake to wash off their hands before going on. Winter probably needed it too.
Winter flashed a smile back. "Uh huh." he replied. His hands were sticky with drying blood, and he knew he looked like something out of a nightmare. He always did now.
Mycah led the way back to the lake as quickly as they could. They were itching to get back. To see if everyone was still alive, or if they were the only one left. Again. Mycah knelt at the edge of the lake and dipped their hands into the water, scrubbing the last of the blood off their hands.
Winter scrubbed off his hands as well, squinting at the water. If he could get his hands on some money, then he'd be able to buy some new clothes. That would be great. He needed them, and he knew that. He straightened up, letting out a soft sigh.
"We should be back around dusk if we move quickly," Mycah said, standing up and drying their hands off on their pants. It appeared that Winter was ready to go, so they started walking. The flat ground quickly turned into a gentle slope as they walked up and out of the valley. Mycah's stomach rumbled softly, reminding them that they hadn't eaten any food since the night before.
Winter stuck near Mycah, eyes darting around to keep watch for any more assassins. "Right." he heard the rumble, and frowned. "Are you hungry?" he asked, raising his eyebrows over at them. "I can hunt for something, if you like." He shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't hungry much anymore; the demon's energy fed into his body and kept him from needing to, usually. Or sleeping. Which was good, as he too often woke up screaming whenever he did sleep.
"Thank you, but that won't be needed." Mycah swung the backpack to the front and opened it. After rummaging through it, they pulled out a bag of nuts and dried fruit. It wasn't much, but it could sustain them until they got to the village. Then they could steal something else to eat. "Do you want some?" They asked, opening the bag. Mycah wasn't exactly happy to share, but it was the nice thing to do.
Winter nodded, then shook his head. "No thank you. I don't need it." he replied calmly, running his fingers through his hair and letting out a breath.
"Okay." Mycah frowned slightly at Winter's wording. It made it sound like he just didn't need food in general, but that was crazy, wasn't it? They ate a little bit, then put the bag back into their backpack. The forest was still quiet as they walked. Nothing jumped out, and the only movement that Mycah saw was from small animals. It looked like those assassins really had been the only ones. Crin was getting cocky, wasn't she? She'd made Mycah the best, but expected them to lie down and die? Not happening.
Winter took a deep breath, letting it out again slowly. He didn't see anything or anyone else, so he figured he was probably fine. Hopefully. Maybe. Hopefully. He touched the hilts of his daggers, just to be reassured that they were there.
"What did the Alumi do to get on your bad side?" Mycah asked, glancing over at Winter. It was rare to find someone who was against them these days. They had done terrible things– putting experimental magic in people, having child soldiers, committing terrible atrocities in the name of winning– but most people ignored that. They only focused on the part where Crin stopped the plague. "Or are you just looking for someone to fight?"
Winter blinked slowly. "I…" He trailed off, taking in a slow breath. "They…caused the death of someone I loved." He finally said slowly. Sure, Lila's death had been four years ago, and…and maybe her death wasn't quite the Alumi's fault, but if it weren't for them, and what they had put inside of him…his hands clenched at his sides. If it weren't for the demon they had pushed into his body, she would be alive.
"Hmm… That seems like them." Mycah nodded slowly. "They are murderers. Most of all, that monster Crin." They grimaced at the name, eyes going hard with hate. They couldn't wait to use the curse she'd so graciously bestowed upon them against her. It would be fitting for her 'prefect' soldier to turn against her. Especially after she thought she'd gotten rid of them. They couldn't wait to see the look in her eyes when she realized where her death would come from.
(so…I was thinking about something, but I wanted to run it by you first. What if Winter was like…experimented on by the Alumi, and that's why he has the demon? Maybe also one of his aliases (Prinz) is a well-known assassin/mercenary that also goes by the Wraith? Could be interesting. Would you be alright with this?)
Winter nodded slightly, shaking away the memories of Lila's smiling face. The ring on her finger when she agreed to marry him. Waking up with her blood soaking into his hands, his face, his clothes. Realizing what he had done. He took a deep breath and shoved away the memories again, locking them tightly in a box.
(Oh, yeah, that sounds interesting! And I wouldn't put it past the Alumi to experiment on people (I mean, that's basically what they did with Mycah, just not with a demon), so that works! Go ahead!)
Mycah looked over at Winter for a few seconds, then glanced up ahead. Whatever was going on with him wasn't their problem. As long as he was against the Alumi (and it sounded like he was), it was all good. A bird chirped from somewhere up in the trees, bringing a memory to the top of Mycah's head. One of the many stealth missions they got sent on. It had been raining, and most of the soldiers were complaining, but Mycah hadn't minded. They had been with Allx and Pan… who might be dead right now. They grimaced slightly and reminded themself that those two were probably dead. It was better to think of them as dead. Otherwise, the hope would eat them up.
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