Inescapable

Chapter Six

{Hang in there. Things are starting to get interesting, right? I promise that, by next Thursday, there will be more action and ham sandwiches. That's the last promise I'll make about this, but I will keep it.}

~-~

Varian got to his feet immediately. He didn't know who this could possibly be, let alone their intentions, but still... Years on the run had taught him to always be on his guard, aware of his surroundings. Apparently, he forgot easily.

He looked at the sky- it was a blue-black mix, sprinkled with stars. How long had he been asleep?

That doesn't matter right now, he scolded himself, what matters is this 'visitor' of ours. Protecting yourself. And Cass. Not that she needs protection, but still... And surviving. Yeah, surviving would be nice...

"Where?" he whispered.

"Owl senses a human presence just outside of the Lagoon," Cass replied, "I highly doubt they can breach our borders, but..."

She stopped, looking at Varian. "What?"

He blinked, confused. "Huh?"

"What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You know I love it when you talk like that. Guard, strategy, so on... It's cute."

"You wanna survive, kid? Don't say that anything about me is 'cute.' You got that?"

Varian gave an impish grin before playfully bowing. "As you wish... Milady."

She scowled at him but said nothing.

"Hey, um, Cassie, I've got a stupid question," Varian said, "do you... Do you happen to have any extra weapons on you?"

"Of course I do," she replied, looking slightly irritated, "why?"

"Could you maybe loan me one? I can hold my own, I swear."

Cass considered this. "How do I know that I can trust you with a weapon?"

She brought a point: Varian could potentially be dangerous. Especially with a weapon. He could hardly be trusted with something he was good with; why should it be any different for something he likely hadn't used before?

But she did trust him. She didn't know whether or not this was going to come back to haunt her, but... She had to trust her gut instinct, and her gut instinct was to trust Varian.

"How about this: if you loan me the weapon, I promise I'll return it and only use it when you tell me to."

Cass still looked a little hesitant. She was silent long enough for Varian to piece together her thoughts.