Forever Green

~ 30 ~ The Chase

"I'd heard you were back!"

Theiden shook the raindrops from his hair and smiled at the cheerful sound of Evaly's voice echoing from the back of the tannery. She emerged from behind the drying racks of skins and approached the counter.

"News travels fast," he said.

"Well, the day's almost over, so it's had plenty of time to reach me. I thought you'd never visit!" Evaly leaned in. "Truthfully, I'm tempted to just close up shop a bit early right now—with this rain, we've hardly had any customers anyway." Her brown eyes glimmered at the idea, and Theiden's spirits lifted.

"How've you been?" he asked. He'd missed their lighthearted banter.

She laughed. "I should ask the same of you! However did you escape that terrifying witch? Is it true they eat children and paint themselves with their own blood? Do they shift into beasts at night?" She shuddered. "So monstrous."

Theiden frowned and shook his head. "I'm glad to be back, certainly, but they aren't all as bad as that. They're a bit misunderstood, actually."

Evaly let out a scoff. "This from the man whose wife was murdered by them."

The muscles in his jaw tensed. "I haven't forgotten. There are evil ones," he said, "but calling them all bad is like saying everyone living in this city is a saint. And we have plenty of thieves and murderers who carry out their deeds without a spot of magic."

Evaly frowned. "You mean witchcraft."

Theiden hesitated. "Ah—yes."

She studied him for a moment, then shook her head, as though unable to figure something out. "You've changed, Theiden Guster," she said. "You've lost your fight."

"No," he said, feeling a bit annoyed by her assumption. "I've only come to realize who my true adversaries are."

Evaly raised a skeptical brow. "Don't tell me the witch charmed you into taking her side. It almost sounds like you're defending her."

Theiden stepped back. "She tore me from my family and lied to me at every turn," he snapped. "I would never defend her. Only..."

"Only?"

"I don't think she quite deserves to be attacked, either," Theiden finished after careful thought. "She means well, and despite her divisive methods protected me. It would just be better if both sides leave each other alone."

Evaly didn't look as though she believed him. "You know, more people have been disappearing as of late," she began slowly. "Just last week, Jeseth Magrippe was found near one of his hunting traps, and, well...it wasn't pretty. The witch he'd run into had made short work of him." She shuddered. "You're not thinking of continuing to hunt out there in the forest after all you've been through, have you?"

Theiden frowned again. "I have to earn money somehow, Evaly. What other options do I have?"

She bit her lip, looking unsure.

Theiden resisted a sigh. Their conversation had gone downhill once Evaly touched on topics still sensitive to him, and he had lashed out as a result. It wasn't how he had planned their meeting to go at all, and he didn't want to end on a sour note.

"Besides," he continued, adopting a lighter tone to relieve some of the tension between them, "you've got to get your supplies from somewhere, haven't you?"

"Oh..." Evaly sighed and waved a hand. "I'd resort to skinning rats and calling them beaver furs if it meant that you'd be safe."

Theiden laughed at the mental image. "That would be a tough sell."