Don't Forget

#41 Road Trip

     Ty's upset with himself that he slept through all the commotion last night. He's suppose to be training to get good at that kind of stuff. Although, with Red and the other assassins here, Ty feels that his role might not be as important anymore. Prince Adam probably doesn't have time to train him like Sky did.
That's why it surprised him when Mitch told Ty that he'd be riding at the front of their march formation. The entire camp, soldiers and civilians, are on the move.
     It's weird to be leaving after so long. The camp feels like a makeshift home at this point. With Adam back from the dead, a Zemrlt army on the way, and Dan's GoldenWings, it feels like the war is being revived. The Piscus will have no choice but to fight them head on.
All the troops are converging on Dainsbridge, the biggest city in GoldenEye if you don't count the capital. There's already a large portion of the enemy's army stationed there. Taking the city would give the rebels a new stronghold with valuable resources.
Most of the troops are on foot while the horses carry supplies. There's a perimeter of riders around the formation with lead lines for the other horses.
The General is mounted, of course, and at the head of the formation. Vikk is acting sort of like a substitute unit leader, bringing his orders down the line.
Ty was surprised when Adam had handed him a horse's reins and lead him into the formation. They're still in the front, but farther back from Lachlan.
Captain Mitch is riding with them to keep a better eye on his soldiers. Jerome is still glued to his side. His fur has grown back in a fuzzy fluff all over his body. Ty thinks it's hilarious, but the Hybrid might skin him if he said it out load.
       "Do you miss the assassin's guild? I'm gonna miss the camp, even though so many bad things happened there. It's been home for a while now", Ty glances over at Adam. He's been pretty quiet for the ride so far.
"...... I guess. I lived there for seven years, but it still feels like I lived somebody else's life", it's a little awkward for Adam to have such a normal conversation. He's still struggling with knowing what to say or do.
'Sky' and 'Prince Adam' were such different people. He's still trying to find that balance between.
"Oh.........", Ty cringes a bit at his own question. The street rat has issues of his own to worry about. Getting close to Sky helped some, but Ty's no good at connecting with people. Or comforting them. "Well, what about all the assassins? Do you think it's really ok for them to be hanging around like they are?".
"Not all the assassins from the guild came to join us. I grew up with those who did, and I don't think they'll try anything", Adam glances around, "But I'm just worried about Red. He's impossible to predict, and pretty impulsive".
      "I only talked to him once, but he kinda unnerves me. An Assassin King who's half insane? That is definitely not a good mix", Ty shivers.
"Yeah.........", Adam distractedly agrees. He's too focused on what's about to happen. If they do loose, Mitch's soldiers can't go back to their camp since its location was leaked. If the city is taken, Adam has to face all the people and the other four Captains in person. No to mention Jason's Zemrlt warrior cousin.
     "What are you two talking about?".
     Adam nearly falls off his horse, somehow not noticing the other rider closing in. Ian frowns at his apprentice. Someone's gotten rusty.
"Ian, right?", Ty smiles, trying to be nice. He knows how much time Adam spent with Ian. Having a Deader as a role model isn't something to brag about.
"Who're you again?", Ian raises an eyebrow. Ty shrivels a little.
"Ty's the one who I was training. He was at the guild a while ago", Adam glares at Ian, knowing that he's just being rude. The prince isn't the least bit afraid of the Deader.
       "Oh, that one. A soldier who wants to be an assassin. Those two are basically opposites on the subject of murder", Ian gives Ty a wicked smile.
      Even with Adam between them, Ty cringes away from Ian a little bit. He's someone who enjoys his bloody job. Ty would never have fun while stabbing someone in the back.
      It's because he's so on edge that Ty reacts in time when Ian makes a move. The assassin somehow springs off his horse, practically landing on Adam and climbing over him. Ty has his sword half way drawn when he grabs Ian's wrist. Nobody saw when the Deader pulled out a knife.
"Huh", Ian says, surprised, "I guess he did learn something. You must not be as shitty of a teacher as I thought you's be". He lets go of the knife, uncaring when it falls to the ground to be trampled by the troops.
"You gave me a fucking heart attack!", Ty cusses. He throws Ian's arm away and sheaths his sword, mumbling profanities. They're so bad that they'd curdle milk.
"Did you really have to do that?", Adam looks up at Ian who's somehow managed to stay balanced on the wrong horse.
"It wasn't that long ago when I was breaking into your room at night and doing the same thing", Ian smiles then, breaking out of his cold exterior. Adam's eyes widen and he immediately tries to slide off the horse. Ian grabs him underneath his arms and falls to the ground with him. Ty pulls his horse to a stop, confused and alarmed.
Ian lands on top of Adam, knocking the air out of his lungs. He still punches Ian in the face. He would of broke the Deader's nose if he actually hit hard enough. Laughing now, Ian flips off Adam and gets an arm around his neck. The two wrestle in the dirt with more then a few onlookers. They look like rabid dogs to anyone else.
      Adam kicks at Ian's knee, and the Deader pushes him away before pouncing again. Both of them hold up pretty well in a mock fight while being seven years apart. The older throws his own punch, hitting the ground when Adam lunges away. The prince throws Ian off with his feet and jumps up. Ian leaps to his feet as well and pulls Adam into a headlock, licking his finger and giving him a wet Willy. Adam squirms in protest as the brawl dissolves.
     "I swear that you're gonna polish my floors in the castle, idiot", Adam snaps, twisting away.
     "So now you wanna be King? I've waited seven years for that confession", Ian stretches out his arms and looks around for his horse. His pepper mood is dying out. The Deader is always like that when he's in a good mood. Or drunk. There's been a few too many great-hall-destroying parties in the old guild house.
"Geez, I'm glad not to be living under the same roof as you two", Ty rolls his eyes, leading their two horses back over, "Incase you haven't noticed, there's an entire army moving around us". Another horse comes around on Ty's other side, brought over by the commotion.
       "What's going on, Adam!? I saw you fall off", Jason eyes up Ian with suspicion, dressed fully in his tight fitting armor. He would never be able to keep up on foot.
      "Don't expect any magical healing for being stupid", Quinten huffs. He's leaning against Jason's back on the same horse. He'd probably never say something like that without magic exhaustion.
     "Oh wow, he really is still messed up. Some people were talking about a crazy hybrid running all over camp", Ian chuckles.
      "You know w-what else is funny? Your face!", Quinten sticks out his tongue and turns away.
      "It's not his fault. Yesterday was hyper mode. Today is-", Jason's interrupted.
     "A pain in the ass?", Ian quips.
     "No arguing. Quinten will be better by tonight, and maybe tomorrow there won't be another mood swing", Adam still doesn't trust the squid completely, but he gives Jason a small smile. The two haven't  had as much time to catch up as Adam would have liked.
      "Whatever you say, your highness", Ian sarcastically replies. Adam just rolls his eyes and ignore it. Ian is like a child. He'll get worse if he knows how bad it bugs you.
Before much else can be said, Jerome appears from out of the crowd. He's on foot rather then riding. A shining battle axe is strapped to the hybrid's back. Mitch reins his horse in behind Ty's.
A wave of nostalgia hits Ty like a punch to the face. All the six people around suddenly seem so familiar. The street rat is a hundred percent sure that he's never marched to battle with an assassin, a prince, two hybrids, a Zemrlt, and an overbearing Captain. His mind still insists that there's one other person missing. Weird.
"We're stopping two miles from the town tonight, and the other Captains are suppose to meet us just outside of the plateau. Each one of them's going to want to talk with you, Adam", Mitch immediately gets to the point.
     "I feel like you and Lachlan are feeding me to the wolves", Adam hunches his shoulders. The thought terrifies him, but he can't fix anything without getting involved. The time for hiding is over.
      "Hey, back straight", Jerome growls, "It's bad for the horse's back if you slouch".
      "Says the one who refuses to learn how to ride a horse", Mitch snickers.
     "My feet are better on the ground. I can keep up just fine without hooves", Jerome wrinkles his nose. It's shameful to him to have another living thing do his own work. Baccas don't ride horses, but Jerome's gotten used to the humans doing it.
     "I think riding is more fun than walking. There used to be entire competitions for horse racing", Jason chatters. Him and Adam once snuck into some competitive stables, being mistaken for youth entries. The King grounded Adam for an entire moth when he somehow lit the water troughs on fire.
     The seven of them talk while the army moves slowly toward the upcoming battle.  All of them have such different backgrounds, but they've still ended up in the same place. Fate has big plans for the hopeful.