One Word Prompts

Overgrown - Aaryn and Daud

"Why are we out here?" Aaryn asked, chopping through the brush ahead of him with his machete.

"Come on," Daud said. He was a couple steps ahead of his oldest friend, also hacking through the undergrowth with his sword. "Don't be like that, Aaryn."

Aaryn grumbled something under his breath.

"You said you'd help me," Daud reminded him.

"Maybe, but I never promised I wouldn't complain."

Daud sighed. "I suppose that has always been your job."

"Hey! When did you get such a sharp tongue?"

"Usually Rihan or Rose say it before I can, that's all."

It was Aaryn's turn to sigh. "Why didn't you invite the rest of them, anyways?"

"I couldn't invite royalty or nobility to look for my nephew and his friends!"

Aaryn raised an eyebrow. That wasn't like Daud to pay attention to hierarchy. The two of them belonged to an adventurer's party, the Wandering Vagabonds. There were six of them total, and the majority were nobility or royalty. Most of them ignored the social hierarchy, but Daud in particular generally forgot it was there at all.

"Rose would've scolded me," Daud continued.

Ah, that was it then. Yes, Rose was the only one who ever brought it up. And yes, she probably would have objected to bringing the prince and princess with them. "But Rose and Kerrie could have come with us."

"You think I could invite Kerrie without Rihan noticing?" Daud asked.

Aaryn sighed again. That was probably true. While they were in the capital, Kerrie left Rihan's side as little as possible. Or was it the other way around? Did Kerrie hang around Rihan to avoid the bullying of the other nobility? Or did Rihan stick around her to prevent it? Or did he do it to annoy his eldest sister? Regardless, if one wanted to find Keres, finding Rihan was rarely a miss use of time.

"And Rose?" Aaryn asked.

"She left two days ago for her family's home, remember?"

"Oh, right." Rose had been called home by her father, which all the Vagabonds knew actually meant it was her mother who wanted her. Aaryn was quite happy he hadn't been asked to ride along on that trip. Not that Rose would have dreamed of dragging her friends into her own troubles.

Perhaps he should have offered to go with her, he wouldn't be tromping through the forests outside the capital if he had. Then again, facing the Baroness of Delores might actually be worse. At least out here, he could fight back if something tried to eat him, unlike Rose's house, where if that monster of a woman tried anything all he could do was stand and take it.

"You're complaining, but you're actually glad to be out of the city, aren't you?" Daud asked.

Aaryn grunted noncommittally. The city he didn't actually mind. It was his choice of bed that he was less of a fan of. Stay in the palace as Rihan and Kat's guest and smile through the poisoned lies of everyone who lived there the rest of the year or return to the temple and put up with the preaching of hypocrites all trying to convert him. Perhaps Daud was on to something, maybe they could stay the night out here and he wouldn't have to put up with either.

"And we probably won't be out here too much longer. My nephew can't be too much further," Daud added, completely missing Aaryn's feelings. "I'm sure we'll find them before dark."

"Your sister-in-law would probably appreciate that," Aaryn agreed. There was no point in explaining the feeling in the pit of his stomach to Daud. For all the similarities in their origins, no two members of the Vagabonds were more dissimilar than the two of them to Aaryn's eyes.