Cairo

Chapter 29: Place of Goodbyes

When Cane woke up the next morning, his whole body hurt from constantly tossing and turning all night. He groaned as he pulled his body off the mattress and made his way to the bathroom. In the mirror he raked his fingers over his stubble, but since his head was already pulsing with a headache, he ignored it and continued on with his routine.

It wasn't until he started his trek to the small kitchen area did he notice that Cairo was up. He looked as bad as Cane did with heavy bags under his eyes. When they passed each other, both groaned a greeting. Aerie was already in the kitchen, a cup of steaming coffee in her hand. Cane gratefully took the coffee from her and made his way to the table where a groggy Cairo joined moments later.

"What kept you up all night?" Cane asked, taking a large sip of his coffee.

"Nightmares." Cairo blinked a few times, trying to keep his eyes open as he stared at the coffee in front of him like he didn't know what to do with it. "Or, I don't know, variations of old memories. It always happens the first few days I come here. Something about this place reminds me of the past. I can never figure out what it is and by this point I don't really care. To top it off, I was out late anyway."

Cane raised his eyebrow, sniffing once as the steamy smoke started to make his nose run. He caught a wiff of something that made him scrunch up his nose. "I thought you came here to train and you go out and get drunk?"

Cairo shrugged. "I thought it was fruit juice. They slipped it right past me because I was enjoying those potatoes so much. Now Keegan's going to go off on me like it wasn't his fault and he wasn't just laughing his ass off last night like an old, perverted man. He has that kind of obnoxious laugh where he tilts his head back and just barrels his stinky breath at you, ya know?"

"So what am I going to do while you train?"

"I don't know. Whatever you want: Keep Aerie company, explore the town, talk to Keegan. I can't babysit you, so whatever trouble you get in, you're stuck in. But since you have AMS, I'd keep still as much as you can."

"Right. I'll keep that in mind."

The rest of breakfast was silent, something Cane was slowly getting used to. He liked to imagine a woodcutter hacking away at a block, slowly driving a rift between the wood until it was two separate pieces in the end. And just like the wood, with every hack with his axe, it hurt as it resonated through the wood. Unlike the wood, he wondered if the pain would ever leave him.

.

There wasn't much of a break after breakfast. They hurried to change their clothes and shower before making their way out to one of the training grounds loitered around the city. The sun was just rising above the mountain peak. It dyed the dirt a rusted orange color that crunched under their feet. Cows in the pastures each looked up from their grazing to moo a greeting as they passed. It was like the morning air had slowed time until the wind bit at their cheeks, sending a small shiver up their spines. Even the wooden fence around the training area creaked when beaten by a gust of wind. But it was tranquil and the air felt clean and heavenly when Cane inhaled it, like it seeped through all his body from the roots of his hair to the tips of his toes.

Keegan was leaning against the stable, his eyes closed with breaths so even it didn't look like he was breathing. Cairo yelled for him and he only opened one eye, waving one of his hands before closing his eye again like he was just woken up for a moment before drifting back up to sleep. But his muscles were much too tense for that to fool anyone.

Cane walked next to him, sitting on the pile of hay he found close by. There were insects singing in his ears and as the day grew longer, the rising sun tingled his skin. Before he knew it, he was opening his eyes to an auburn hued sky. Keegan was sitting next to him with a pipe in his mouth, slowly blowing out huffs of smoke. His eyes were focused in front of him to where Cairo was boxing with a practice dummy. Sweat dripped down his body as he gasped for air. Cane looked at the scars and burns littered across his body and his stomach flipped.