Fanfare

Wildness

Pierce winds his fingers through hers, then pulls her through the thick crowd around the fire. "What's going on?" Trenna asks, going on her toes to ask him as he leads her through. He is particularly good at her game, his liquid grace letting him move quickly, though people seem to move out of the way for him as well, as if they want him to win more than he wants it himself. He plays the game much better than she does.

"Almost everyone in this city has a little magic. These people are no exception." He leans close to speak to her as they walk, a quick and efficient clip that gives her no trouble keeping up with but makes it hard to speak at the same time. Trenna opens her mouth to ask another question, tugging on his hand, and Pierce turns to face her, as close to exasperated as he gets. But the expression is quickly replaced by something else as he glances over her shoulder; a feral, wicked smile slowly covers his features. He looks back at her as if he had never looked away, would never dream of it.

Pierce steps close to her so they're centimetres away. His fingers lightly ring her wrists, possessive, firm. He drops his face to her shoulder, and his lips whisper along the skin at her neck. She shivers, wondering what is happening, when he'll step away. She only just catches his words, they're so soft. "Someone's following us."

She freezes, her whole body tense. "What do we do?"

"Relax; they'll see. Come on." He pulls away just as abruptly as he came, and pulls her away with him. Her heart beats fast in her chest. There are people with magic in the market, people who aren't with the rebels. They bewitch with their music, their magic, use it for bad things, for wrong purposes. And something, someone, doesn't seem to like them. Someone is following them.

She looks around, catches the quick, sharp pain of Pierce's nails in her hand as he wills her to go faster, to hurry up. She fixes a bland look on her face as they go, trying not to look scared out of her mind. And she sees where Pierce is leading her.

Her feet stop walking, and he spins under the pretence of running a hand along her cheek, a fleeting, feather-light touch. "It's nothing. We're just hiding til he leaves," he tells her.

She searches his face for truth. She wants to be home. She wishes she'd run from them the first night. But then they would have come for her. And it's hard to say that she doesn't like being alive; this is preferable to what would have happened at the hand of the rebels to keep their cause safe, hidden. Alive is always better, she thinks.

She steps aside and walks forwards, to the man in front of the tent. With her free hand, she searches her pocket. Pierce gives the man something small and glinting, halting her search. The man grins, his eyes roving over her. She feels sick. He holds the tarp open for her while saying something vile to Pierce, who smiles tightly in response, looking as if he's in pain, before stepping inside and closing the tarp behind him.

It is a small space, barely enough room to stand. The music from outside is muted, and she feels as if she was drowning and has now lifted her head out of the water and is able to breathe. Dizzy, she sits down. Pierce lets go of her hand and crouches in front of her. She looks at him; his jaw is clenched and he is taking deep, forced breaths. "Are you alright?" she asks. She clutches at her head with her hands to attempt to ease the dizziness.

He laughs, a soft, bitter, rough bark that is comforting in its familiarity. He runs a hand through his hair and shakes his head, his jaw relaxing though the rest of him is tense, alert. His eyes are bright and his hand is clasped around the handle of a thin, jagged blade that glints sharply in the darkness. She doesn't remember him taking it out, but it is there. His fingers tighten around the grip. He shakes his head again. She asks a different question. "Why are we here?"

He answers this with a quick glance over his shoulder at the tarp. "Someone was following us. If they thought we were rebels, they definitely don't now."