Uneasy Alliance (A Roleslaying with Roman story)

The Reunion

Warnings for this chapter: mild panic attack near the end
That's about it, enjoy!
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    The boys walked through the castle cautiously. They were met with no resistance, which only succeeded in putting Roman on-edge again. He could see it in Youngblood's face too. The past few days had been almost constant fuel for anxiety, making them feel like rescuing Noise was going to be some big, impossible feat. Yet here they were, sneaking through an empty palace acting as though it was packed to the brim.

Even though Roman was relieved that he wouldn't have to fight anyone, it still felt somewhat embarrassing. He had never been on an adventure of course, but he knew that saving people was never supposed to be that easy. He felt like he needed to avenge Noise in some way. Him and all of the people imprisoned with him...

He shuddered as his mind drifted back to the dungeon. He knew that what Youngblood had told him was true, that they would go back to save them all, but he still felt the weight of guilt settling on him and hindering his ability to celebrate their small victory. He looked over to Youngblood, silently begging him to help him take his mind off of it, but the elf was completely invested in his magic, trying to get Noise to wake up.

They managed to get out of the castle, across the courtyard, and back to the ground in complete silence, straining their ears for any hint of a threat. Roman drew his sword as they started to walk back towards the mountains. Youngblood suddenly stopped and his ears flicked slightly as he looked deeper into the forest. Roman looked over at him worriedly.

"What-"

"Shh! There's a camp..." Youngblood whispered, placing Noise down behind a large rock.
He drew his own sword and pulled his mask and hood up as he started to sneak towards the sounds he heard.

Roman drew his sword as well and cautiously followed him, glancing back at Noise occasionally to make sure he was okay. They peered at the camp through the foliage, staying quiet. There was an area of the forest completely filled with people. Most of the people there were from Neon, but a few guards were scattered around in the ranks. Roman groaned quietly and leaned against a tree.

"Looks like we'll have to go the other way.." he whispered. Youngblood nodded and sighed. The two backed away slowly, both keeping their eyes on the group.

They both jolted and froze up as a twig snapped below Roman's boot. The sound wasn't loud enough to be heard within the cacophony that was the gathering in the clearing, but the guard closest to them whipped around, suddenly alert.

Djembe locked eyes with Roman. Roman's heart sank. The two stared at each other for what felt like hours before Djembe quickly looked over his shoulder. He looked back at Roman and Youngblood and sighed, closing his eyes. He quickly gestured for them to go. The two looked back at him, starting to move back slowly, confused and still a bit worried about his motivations. He made the gesture again, more urgently this time, and jolted when Flow came up to him.

"Djembe? What are you doing?"

"Nothing!" he said, quickly turning to face Flow.

Flow crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him a bit.

"I-I uh... I saw a rabbit.. yeah. And you know, I didn't think it was safe with that huge snake.." Djembe trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. Flow glanced over his shoulder and saw the two boys through the brush. Her eyes widened and Roman and Youngblood froze up again. Flow thought for a bit, then turned and led Djembe back into the crowd, whispering something to him that the boys couldn't make out. Youngblood and Roman looked after them, then at each other, then turned and bolted back to where they knew Noise was. Youngblood picked Noise up quickly and continued running from the camp.