Uneasy Alliance (A Roleslaying with Roman story)

The Discovery

"NO!"
   
Youngblood snapped out of his meditation with a start, blue flames flaring up around his body. His heartbeat was erratic and he had to take deep, hitched breaths to calm himself down. His shout had awoken Roman, who sat up just as quickly, holding his unsheathed sword above his head and looking slightly delirious. "Whazgoinon?! Wherezadanger?!"
   
He looked around wildly before seeming to realize that they were perfectly safe and, breathing out a sigh of relief, looked over at Youngblood as he put his sword back in its sheath. "Are you okay, Youngblood? You really startled m-"
   
Roman froze as he looked at Youngblood's face and saw the pure panic in his eyes behind a glistening layer of tears that he seemed determined to not let spill over. Roman's gaze softened immediately and walked over to sit beside Youngblood. "H-hey, it's alright. It was just a bad dream..."
   
"No. No, it wasn't," Youngblood muttered, wiping at his eyes and refusing to meet Roman's gaze. "It was a vision."
   
A thought crossed Roman's mind and he shuddered. "W-was it... was it Noise..? I-is he... he's okay, right?"
   
Youngblood lowered his head and took a deep, shuddering breath. "He's alive... I-I think..."
   
That didn't make Roman feel much better. "He's hurt, isn't he?"
   
"Look, I don't want to talk about it, okay? Just... just go get ready for the day. I can see the sun coming up." Youngblood stood and walked out of the room without grabbing his things.
   
Roman looked after him worriedly. He thought for a moment about going after him, but instead started to ruffle through his satchel. He took out a few of the coins that they had won the night before they left Neon. It was only over a full day ago, but it felt like a year to Roman. He sighed and took a moment to just feel the weight of the coins in his hand and rest. He stood slowly and made his way out of the room. He walked down to the lobby alone. The room was almost empty, aside from a few tables enjoying a small breakfast. He walked up to Cassidy, who was standing behind the counter polishing a glass, and put the coins on the counter in front of her. "For the room. We might end up going back out soon, so I wanted to pay now just in case."
   
Cassidy took the coins and smiled at him. "Thank you, you're so sweet. I hope you find what you're looking for."
   
Roman smiled back and pulled on the strap of his satchel. "Me too."
   
Youngblood walked in a few minutes later with his bag, looking older and more tired than Roman had ever seen him. "Come on, Roman." He put the small silver key on the table by the coins. "Thanks for letting us stay, but we really need to be going now."
   
Cassidy nodded and took the key back. "I understand. Good luck."
   
Roman stood and the boys walked out together. The city was dim and cool, but bright rays of sunlight shone through the leaves in the canopy above it. The fact that it was late autumn also didn't help the temperature, and Roman shivered as he rubbed his hands over his forearms. The thought of winter frightened him a bit. In Reston, the winter was a time of peace when everything slowed down, but only just enough to still be comfortable. They always had more than enough resources to get through the season, but Roman had read about winter in stories. He always became worried by the thought of running out of food or heat and being stuck out in the wilderness in the cold, until his father would reassure him that they would never have to go through that.
   
Now, Roman had the sneaking suspicion that he might have to go through that. As the air got colder, Roman became more and more worried about how he and Youngblood would survive the season. He had voiced this concern to Youngblood a few times, but the elf didn't seem to share his worry. This actually comforted Roman slightly. He figured that if Youngblood had been able to get through the past winter in the forest with no troubles, then he would be able to as well. He went through this thought process once again as the two walked down the mud path towards the center of the town. They had heard in passing that there was a library in the middle of the city, and Roman wanted to check it out to see if they could find anything.
   
True to what they had heard, when they entered the town square they found a large oak library towering over the other buildings. Roman felt a fluttering sensation in his chest and started to fidget with the strap of his satchel again. He turned and found Youngblood looking at him.
"Excited?"