Blue Blood

And You Are?

"Uh, I walked! Duh!" I yell.

She shouts and lunges at me. I dodge and parry just in time.

"Is that the way it's gonna be, huh dipshit? It won't matter after I kill you myself!"

She attacks again as I block.

"Dude, why are you attacking me!? I'm just trying to get back to my-uh I mean, a friend!"

"I don't care!" She snarls.

She goes to spear my head but instead I dodge, grab her arm and force her to her knees. She growls and struggles to free herself. Every twist she makes threatens to pop her own arm out of socket.

"Rgah! Why don't you just kill me already!? Enough with this playing around and get it over with, you bastard!"

"What? I'm not going to kill you, just calm down and let's talk."

"Talk!? You don't even know me. I could be an assassin, a spy, I could be trying to kidnap you!"

"Well maybe you are, but a friend of mine taught me that looks can be deceiving and another taught me that beauty can be found even in the darkest of caves. So let's calm down, take a few breaths, and talk about it, okay?"

She huffs and groans, shaking with anger. After a few minutes, she stops shaking and her shoulders relax.

" . . . Are you ready to talk?"

She growls and reluctantly nods her head.

Very slowly and cautiously, I release her arm and take a few steps back. She immediately grabs her sword and holds it defensively.

"Um, okay! How about I go first? Hello, my name is Rody, I'm from out of town and on a mission to save my friend . . . N-nows your turn, you're supposed to-"

"I know what to do, asshole! I'm not an idiot like you!" She snaps. "Ugh . . . I'm . . . I'm Cassy. I . . . Live? In these? Woods? I come here everyday and pick up whatever's left of the poor suckers that enter this cave."

"Oh, that's pretty smart I guess. But what makes you come here and not have a job or travel or whatever? Why here specifically?"

She scowls and looks at her feet. She starts picking up rocks and twirling them in her fingers. Her eyes are everywhere but my own.

"My . . . My dad."

"Huh?"

"My!- . . . My dad. He . . . Huff, he went into the cave and . . . Ya know . . . But that was awhile ago. Now I'm on my own and have to provide for myself."

My stomach drops a little, "Gods, I'm sorry. Uh, I'm sure he was a good man-"

"Don't patronize me, you ass! Geez . . . Where even is your friend anyways?"

"Uh . . . In Masdon's military holding."

She almost laughs, "pft, what!? How the hell did that happen? Must have been pretty stupid to be caught by those dumb dumbs."

"Hey! Don't you ever talk about him like that again! You have no idea what has been going on or what we've been through!"

She stiffens and goes silent. Her eyes dip to my hand on the hilt of my sword and she swallows hard.

I notice what I did and quickly pull my hand away, "So-sorry . . . We've-we've been through a lot and it's come at some sacrifices . . . I shouldn't have lashed out at you, I'm sorry."

". . . Apology accepted . . . Now what?"

"Huh?"

"Well, right now we're just a couple of idiots sitting in the woods."

"Oh. Well, I mean, if you want to come with me, that would-"

"W-wait-wait, you want me to come with you? After I tried to kill you? Like, dead ass."

"Well if you would have let me finish my sentence, yeah. But if you're happy looting corpses and drinking at smelly bars all day then-"

"Fuck you!" She scoffs.

I shrug and start to walk away, untying Edima as I go.

"W-wait! I didn't say no! . . . You're-you're gonna need someone who knows Masdon if you want to get to military holding . . . You keep me fed and alive: I'll get you there."

I look back over my shoulder at her and smile, "Alright then! Let's get a move on! I have to get this little thingy back to Val and we'll be on our way."

She hurries to walk beside me, still with a grumpy face, but her cheeks are a little pink.

"Pink suits you, I think."

"Get fucked, pretty boy."

"Aw, you think I'm pretty?"

"Shut up."

After a short while, we make it back to the bar. I open the door, waiting for her to enter.

"Uh, aren't you going to come in?"

She crosses her arms and looks away, "Nah, I'll just wait out here. Just hurry up already, will ya?"

I enter and after some chatting with my favorite purple lady and giving her the copper spider, she decides to give me another free night with a look of almost fear on her face. I thank her and exit to discus our shoty morning plan with Casey. She scoffs, of course, but decides to go with it.

After making sure Casey is settled in her own room, I enter mine and yawn loudly. All this fighting and walking today has been tiring. I jump into bed, my heart thundering and my stomach jumping for some reason. I end up tossing and turning all night, a tough knot twisting and turning in my stomach. Red fabric swirling and twirling throughout every dream. I've forgotten something important and now . . . Something bad is coming, I can feel it. There's only one question:

Is it about Magnus, or us?