Solo Out of His Depth

[Adoian]

63rd of Spring

The fields of flowers surrounding the teahouse were in full bloom, all of the flowers needed for the different herbal teas sprouting and ready to be plucked. The rose bushes were starting to ripen, the lotuses opening up as Syna’s light peaked above the Misty Peaks, and the white jasmine clusters’ sensually sweet aroma rode on the wind around Adoian as he inspected the bushes. It seemed that Atsuya had been out for harvesting recently; many of the berry bushes were barely sprouting fresh buds, aside from the few younger juniper plants that were not mature enough to produce berries yet. Between Ado and Atsuya, the plants were being harvested fairly regularly, and with Morwen’s absence, the flowers were maturing much faster than they should.

It had been like this for the past couple of years, so Ado was used to keeping an eye out for ripening sooner than he normally would. With the water crisis and the lack of rainfall throughout the season, many of the plants in the teahouse’s garden were wilting. The available water resources had to be prioritized as drinking water and for use with making tea. They had to cut back on watering plants once every ten days to conserve as much of their quickly dwindling resources as possible. Not that it helped much with business. So many in the city were ill and unable to work. The tea that was being made was for helping to alleviate symptoms and was not charged.

The Catholicon had offered as much of their batonal and belltor as they could, but those had run out quickly. Atsuya and Ado had volunteered once before to go out foraging for herbs in the wilds of Lhavit with some of the Shinya and the Hunter's Guild. Ado enjoyed the excursion, dangerous as it was. He learned more about the surrounding flora and fauna and have an experience outside of the city, even if it was marginally.

Ado finished gathering up what little ingredients he could find from the gardens and headed back into the shop where Guzo and Atsuya would be serving the batonal/belltor tea and some tea with connal for those just needing to sleep. Since the cause of the illness was discovered, the main room of the teahouse had been converted into a resting place for people that were ill but healthy enough not to be confined to the Catholicon. Many of the people there were in the last fits of the illness, just waiting for the headache and nausea to pass and for the hives to settle. Ado went through the garden door that led into the kitchen. Typically, the kitchen would be set up with jars of dried tea, flowers, herbs, and berries ready to be used for service. The oven would be lit and ready for drying, a mortar and pestle set up on the counter to crush black tea leaves, and used mugs ready to be washed.

Recently, the kitchen had changed too. In place of blueberries and jasmine, the jars held medicinal herbs, jile berries, salves, and leaves. The whole belltor was tied up and hung upside down from the ceiling. The nice wooden mortar and pestle that Ado loved to use for rolling tea leaves were stained almost black from crushing jile berries to make the salve. Guzo had set up a station on the back counter in which he ran experiments to determine the nature of the poison inflicting the city. On the counter was set an alembic and a distilling coil, both at different points of processing. A cupel sat in the oven, awaiting use. Ado vaguely recognized what Guzo was doing, but he didn’t understand the full process, so he left that work to the older man. Guzo hardly had the time to work on anything in the kitchen, though, with how much attention the sick needed.

Ado added the harvested flowers and berries to their appropriate jars in the closet, then went through the kitchen door to the main dining room. He was greeted by a room full, but not packed, of people sitting or standing or pacing, some sipping on tea, some just chatting, some sleeping on temporary bedrolls. There were far fewer people afflicted now than at the beginning, but it still weighed heavy on everybody’s minds. When will it end? When will the cause be found? Theories and rumors were beginning to spread. It’s a problem with the piping. Somebody is creating a potent philter strong enough to poison an entire city’s water supply; it’s actually an underground cult working in private to distract everybody while they carry out far more sinister plans. Ado agreed that somebody was definitely purposefully poisoning the water supply, but he had no guesses about who it could be or why.

Guzo stood behind the bar with his back turned to the room, pouring steaming water into more mugs. Atsuya kneeled across the room with a jar of salve in one hand, applying it to a young woman’s face. The woman was visibly relaxed as the itchiness was subdued for the moment. Ado remembered that feeling when he had first gotten sick. He was one of the unlucky few who became sick right initially and stayed sick for several days before the cause was discovered. Atsu tended to his hives several times throughout those days, and it was always a welcome relief. The jile berries helped to counteract the poison while the tea quelled nausea and headaches.

Ado walked over to Guzo, “Do you need some help with those?” He asked. Guzo looked up and gave him a quick smile. The man was exhausted, his eyes sunken in, and the skin around them a dark blue. He put his family, his citizens, and his work first before anything, and it was starting to take its toll.

“Yes, please bring these to the gentlemen sitting right over there,” He nodded with his head in their direction. Two older white-haired men and one man just starting to gray sat in a small circle in the middle of the room on some soft pillows. They spoke amongst each other, all three already had the dark jile salve covering their faces, but they seemed to have already gotten through the worst of the illness.

“Of course,” Ado said and put the three mugs on a tray. He stopped before walking away, “When is the last time you rested, Guzo?”

“Don’t worry about me, son. There are people to care for here. Let’s worry about them,” He responded absently, trying to wave Ado’s concern away. Ado wasn’t having it and stopped Guzo with a hand to his arm before the man could walk away.

“There will always be people to care for, and you are one of them,” Ado said to him. Guzo looked at him a moment, then looked down, breathing out heavily, “Lay down for the dawn rest. I will watch over our guests for a little while.” Guzo didn’t say anything for a moment, silently thinking. Finally, he looked back up and agreed.

“You’re right, I’ve grown very weary with all of this,” He gestured absently to the room, but Ado knew he meant the situation in general, “I think we all have.”

“Yes, we have. Nobody is having an easy time of it.” Ado said. Guzo went around the bar and sat on a stool for a moment, so Ado took the three mugs to the gentlemen. He set them on the ground between the men, and they all thanked him and bowed their heads slightly. Ado bowed back and smiled before returning to the bar.

“We are soon to run out of herbs again,” Guzo stated once Ado was standing in front of him, “I have already spoken with the Hunter's Guild. They are organizing a party with the Shinya and healers from the Catholicon to the Unforgiving tomorrow. You and Atsuya should join them.” He spoke slowly, his head resting in one hand, his eyes half-closed. Ado thought before answering. He had gone out only once before with the Hunter’s Guild, and they were fierce but friendly. They had strict rules about always staying close and within sight. Anything could happen in the Unforgiving, and they knew the areas that were safe for foraging and which areas to avoid. He and Atsuya had been able to find almost an entire basket’s worth of batonal and connal, less of belltor. It had lasted them all of twenty days, but it was almost gone again.

“We will go speak to them later today,” Ado assured Guzo, “Hopefully, with people getting better, it will last us longer this time.” Both Guzo and Atsuya had been afflicted by the illness earlier in the season, one right after the other when the source of the poison was still uncertain. Ado had helped them to recover, insisting they rest and stop trying to get work done. He understood their restlessness, he had the same issues, but it made sense to him why they became so frustrated by it.

Atsuya made her rounds, checking on guests and giving them jile berries to eat or salve to apply to those with hives. Tomorrow she and Ado would join the Hunter’s Guild, the Shinya, and a few healers from the Catholicon on a trip to the Unforgiving.

*wc: 1575

[Adoian]

“It is imperative that nobody wanders away from the group without the supervision of one of the hunters. That’s me, Orim, or Liard,” Long Stan stood at the foot of the massive stone fireplace in the middle of the main room of the Hunter’s Guild. The ‘headquarters’ of the Hunter’s Guild was just a reclaimed old tavern on Sartu Peak that provided a place for guild members to rest, practice, store weapons, and have meetings. Above the fireplace was displayed many heads from all sorts of different creatures. Some Ado recognized, others he had never seen before. No Okomo heads were adorning the wall with a plaque underneath saying whose kill it was. A few animals had vicious teeth and a penetrating gaze that had Ado praying to Caiyha that they wouldn’t encounter those creatures.

Stannis Sunwalker, more popularly known as Long Stan, was the founder of the Hunter’s Guild and the lead of the expedition Adoian and Atsuya had chosen to join. A tall man with an even more significant bearing, he intimidated Ado upon first meeting him. He sports hunting scars all over his face and body and tends to train his eyes on you for longer than necessary. Almost like he’s trying to gain some better understanding of precisely what kind of person you are.

The first time Ado heard the man speak or saw him smile, it quelled the unnerving impression. When he and Atsuya went out with the hunters once before, Ado gained respect for Long Stan unparalleled to most other men he had ever known.

He was dressed in his best outdoor gear and held a long spear with the butt resting against the ground. The two other guild members joining them were Orim, and Liard and they stood in front of the fireplace next to Long Stan. Orim is Long Stan’s lifetime friend and a full-blooded Inartan with a long red beard and red hair neatly tied back. Ado had heard him called Redbeard a few times by other guild members but didn’t believe that was a proper way to address the man as a stranger.

Liard shifted his weight from left to right as Long Stan spoke. A very handsome young man, half-Inartan with dark auburn hair and a short bow slung over his shoulder, Ado had never gotten the chance to meet him and was looking forward to seeing what his abilities were. Across his shoulder rested a small, black and grey calico cat, her tail carelessly flicking and her eyes half-closed.

“Everybody needs to keep their wits about them and stay as silent as possible while we travel. We will stay along the Amaranthine, straying only when necessary to avoid interactions with the wild fauna,” He gestured to the two other hunters in turn, “Orim and Liard will be in the lead, as they know the land better than any of us and can keep us out of harm’s way when possible.”

“If you feel the group should go a different direction to gather any herbs, let us know first, and we will accompany you,” Orim added, his deep voice resonating well within the stone walls. Long Stan nodded in agreement.

“Yes, of course, we are here to help you so you can help the city,” He spoke to the rest of the room, which included Ado and Atsuya, a couple of healers from the Catholicon and two Shinya riders.

“We have with us today two of the most highly-regarded and skilled Shinya Riders. First, Ken Tanka, an expert projectionist and Jian wielder,” He held a hand out toward a young man with dark brown hair and a robust build. He gave a slight nod to the room and turned back in his seat with his hands clasped in front of him. He hadn’t uttered a single word unless spoken to since arriving at the guild, even when the others were quietly chatting amongst themselves.

“Son of Alius Tanka, Shinya Ascendant,” Atsuya whispered to Ado. Ado already knew, of course, to whom Ken Tanka was related. Alius Tanka was a well-renowned name throughout Lhavit. It would be hard not to recognize the name.

“And Seth, whom we brought in due to his true aim and mastery of the short bow,” Seth sat next to Ken and had been cracking jokes and talking to Ken, with not a single laugh and barely a two-word response. Ado had been eyeing Seth occasionally throughout the chat. He was tall and quite lanky, generously tan, with a head of tightly coiled dark reddish-brown hair. He seemed a bit younger than Ado and was very handsome. Ado would need to find an excuse to strike up a conversation at some point in their journey.

The two Shinya weren’t dressed in their usual Shinya attire, instead wearing forest garb and boots. Ken in primarily black, Seth favoring a green tunic with brown pants. Ado didn’t miss that he and Seth were wearing green tunics, but Seth’s was a few shades darker.

Seth turned around and gave a short wave and a big smile to the others. Maybe Ado imagined it, but Seth seemed to linger a moment longer on Ado before turning around. Or maybe Ado just really wanted him to.

“From the Catholicon, Doctor Alessia Amaryllis is the person in charge of pulling this expedition together and will be in charge of directing our gatherers. She is a highly knowledgeable herbalist and one of the Catholicon’s best doctors. I expect her to be treated with the utmost respect from everybody,” He nodded toward her, bending slightly at the hips, and she nodded back, then turned to address the room.

“I truly appreciate all of the feedback we have received for this job. I know how risky venturing into the Unforgiving can be, and your being here will not be overlooked. We have become quite desperate for medicine, and our supplies are running miserably low. Your efforts these next couple of days will help the city recover.” She finished and smiled, taking her crimson gaze off of the group. Ado had never met a full symenestra woman, but he had met Alessia once before at the Catholicon when he had fallen sick in his childhood. He remembered her being straightforward but kind enough. He only said a few words to her.

“Of course, we are all here to provide aid where we can,” Long Stan cleared his throat and moved on, “Also from the Catholicon is Ni’vaea, talented healer and herbalist. She is here to take care of us should we suffer minor wounds on the trail.” The young girl sitting next to Alessia had a shock of bright, white, long hair and pale skin. When she looked back and smiled at the group, her bright yellow eyes surprised Ado a little bit. He wasn’t sure what kind of human she was, but he had never seen eyes quite that color.

“Lastly, in the back, we have the Yhavao siblings from the infamous Mhakula Teahouse,” Adoian and Atsuya sat at a table toward the back of the room. Everybody looked toward them.

“Atsuya is an affluent Dao sword wielder and unarmed combat trainer at Mhakula, as well as an expert gardener and herbalist. Her expertise with herbs will aid us greatly,” Atsuya nodded once, stoic and severe as ever.

“And Adoian, teamaker, and philterer at Mhakula, along with skill in martial arts. He will be a great help in herb collection and making salves and medicines,” Ado gave a tight-lipped smile and a slight wave. He knew he was way out of his depth here. Long Stan must have exaggerated a bit to make Ado seem like he belonged amongst this group of masters.

“Just Ado is fine,” Ado responded, and Long Stan nodded.

“Ado, then,” He looked back at the whole team, “Well, let’s get our gear together and move out!”

*wc: 1,316

[Adoian]

The mismatched group of hunters, fighters, doctors, and gardeners trudged their way through the dense foliage of the Unforgiving. They kept the Amaranthine River to their left and the darkness of the forest to their right. It was midday, and Syna’s light shone bright right above them, but barely a ray of sunlight touched Ado’s skin with how thick the canopy overhead was. Everybody walked single-file with Long Stan in the front and Orim making up the rear.

It seemed Ado was the only one of them making any noise, which he found unsettling considering how much of the dead vegetation littered the forest floor. The rest of the team was as graceful and stealthy as Alheas lions. Atsuya’s frequent glowers over her shoulder to him every time he crunched a branch underfoot only confirmed this fact.

The air was much moister between the trees here than out in the open grasslands of the mountain, and Ado had a hard time not swatting at the bugs trying to bite at his arms. He should have worn something with longer sleeves as everybody else had. He cursed himself for not sucking up his pride and asking Atsuya to help him prepare better.

Creatures watched them pass by from the underbrush, mostly staying silent while a crow cawed at them from above. Adoian watched something small occasionally dart through a bush, rustling the leaves and causing the hunters to stop and scan the area before deciding it was safe to continue.

Ado tried to name all of the plants he could recognize mentally. There were the obvious ones he had seen around Lhavit; Mountain rose, Nokkochi trees, and Taka moss which grew on just about anything. And then there were a few that weren’t as common around the city. The Ipdo shrub, flat green leaves with black spots, he recognized because Guzo liked to chew the leaves to curb his appetite. The Jasao flower, an incredibly invasive weed that had overtaken much of the undergrowth close to the river. It was pretty with its tiny blue flowers, but he knew Lhavit gardeners took extra care to ensure it stayed out of the city.

As they passed a rather peculiar-looking flower, Doctor Alessia warned everybody to keep their distance. She called it Kuhari, and its gorgeous blue, white, and purple hues were deceptive to its true poisonous nature. One spine alone was enough to kill you in all of 6 bells without proper medical attention.

He ticked off the names of herbs he recognized, mainly those he didn’t need to collect for this trip. Brinetooth, flametoe, tolm, hommos, aletrid. He bent to pull up a vyfox plant and put it in his basket. It could be helpful perhaps sometime in the future.

Doctor Alessia had the group diverge a few times from the trail when she spotted the herbs they were looking for. She had them gathering batonal, lidgefar, connal, jile berries and bark, rhinedale, and belltor. She described each herb and its medicinal uses as Ado pulled them and stuffed them into his basket.

Ado was familiar with batonal. They used it at Mhakula during the worst of the sickness to help with nausea. And jile berries were good for making a soothing salve against hives. Belltor and connal were used to treat headaches and help one get to sleep.

Rhinedale and lidgefar were new to him. Alessia explained how rhinedale ash was perfect for making a soothing paste, similar to jile salve. Lidgefar flowers and seeds were better dried and used for treating wounds.

The group set up camp next to the river for the dusk rest. Ado ate some of the fruit and cheese he had packed, then rolled out his sleeping mat. He was asleep within minutes. Atsuya woke him a couple of bells later, and everybody packed up and moved on.

*WC: 641

[Adoian]

Ado could never quite get over the beauty of the flora in the areas around Lhavit. He often became mesmerized in the city by the colorful flowers, plants, and trees. Even some of the wildlife on the different peaks held all rainbow colors in their fur, scales, and feathers.

As dusk fell, the bioluminescence of the forest around started to become more apparent. A soft glow emanated from the bushes and even a few of the trees. It wasn’t all greenery here. Many of the plants had pink, blue, purple, or white leaves and flowers. Ado watched as a glowing blue beetle lazily flew past them and landed on the bark of a large oak tree.

He was so entranced that he stepped directly into a pool of mud. It squelched as his boot was swallowed, and he sank up to mid-calf. He cried out and flailed his arms to catch his balance but fell backward against the wet ground. One hand slipped as he went to stop his fall, and he came down hard on his side. A quick gasp of air left his lungs as the wind got knocked out of him, and he lay for a moment trying to regain his breath.

Atsuya was over him in all of two ticks, a disapproving frown carved into her face.

“Could you make more noise, please? I don’t think the whole forest heard you,” She whispered harshly. Ado returned her glare but said nothing as he pushed himself to sit up. The rest of the assembly had stopped moving and were watching both of them. He felt immediately embarrassed, and his body became hot as blood rushed into his ears and face. That was one way to get a team of master hunters to lose faith in you.

Atsuya offered a hand to him, but Ado knocked it away, preferring to pull his boot out of the mud himself. It was slow going, and with each passing tick, he felt the anxiety in him deepen. Atsuya stood back and crossed her arms as she watched him. The others had looked away, falling into silent conversation while keeping an eye on the surroundings.

With a final pull, his boot popped out of the mud, and the pool bubbled as it filled back in. He was filthy now and only wished this trip was over already. He wasn’t excited or energized anymore and knew they didn’t need him there. But he couldn’t go back alone, and they hadn’t collected nearly enough herbs yet.

“Go on. I’ll catch up,” Ado insisted to Atsuya and Orim, who had been behind him when he fell. He carefully picked his way to the riverbank to wash off his mud-coated boot as they walked a little ways away. They stopped with the rest of the group, going over some minor details and the plans for nightfall.

Ado crouched as close to the river as he could without going in. It wasn’t that wide across in this section, and with the absence of winter, it ran slower than usual, so even if he did fall in, it wouldn’t be perilous.

He took off the boat and dipped it in the running water, using his hand to scrub the mud off of it. He grumbled under his breath to himself, primarily incoherent cursing about the intelligence level of dirt compared to his own.

A slight rustle sounded from the brush across the river, and Ado looked up to it in response. He didn’t see anything at first, looking at the ground to find a small critter dashing around. As his eyes moved up, they landed on a terrifying sight, and his body froze.

*WC: 615

[Adoian]

Two yellow eyes stared back at him, easily five feet off the ground, attached to a large, tan, feline head with a slight orange tint. The cat didn’t make a noise, but Ado’s throat gave a high-pitched, involuntary whine. His heart raced, and he tried to think, to move, to call out, but his body wouldn’t respond. He was panicking. What was he supposed to do? He’d never faced any real threats in the city.

His thoughts landed on the small dagger Long Stan had offered him, sheathed in its pouch at his side. He had never used any weapon before, not even the dao sword that was tradition for the Yhavao family to learn. But he forced his body to react, and with the hand not holding his boot, he pulled the dagger from its sheath, very ungracefully, and wielded it in front of him.

He had no idea how to hold the weapon, but some semblance of protection came from it when it was between him and the threat in front of him.

The cat gave a low growl and crouched quickly. Ado’s eyes widened, and he came halfway out of his crouch before the feline leaped through the air and made contact with Ado’s shoulders, knocking him into the gravel.

The dagger and boot were immediately knocked out of his hands, and Ado felt his breath leave his lungs once again as his back painfully dug into the ground beneath him. The cat was far more giant than he realized, easily twice as heavy, or more, than himself. Even emaciated as it was, skin hanging off of it and ribs visible.

Ado held off the first bite directed toward his neck with his left hand, his martial arts instincts kicking in as he punched the enormous cat in its snout. It was enough to deter it briefly but not enough to hurt it. The claws against his shoulders dug in, and Ado cried again, the weight threatening to crush him. He instinctually sent a prayer to Caiyha for his family’s good health and safety. It was his typical prayer to her, but it felt more powerful this time, more substantial, and he couldn’t think of anything else to do in the moment.

The cat went in for another attack, saliva dripping from its giant canines onto Ado’s face, but something jostled the cat, and it growled loudly, looking over to where the rest of the group had gathered. The pressure lifted off Ado ever so lightly, and he took the opportunity to punch the cat again, trying to make contact with anything he could reach. He hit the side of its neck, which seemed to be completely ineffectual, but it reeled as another arrow made impact with its ribs.

It stumbled off of Ado, giving enough time for him to awkwardly scramble backward away from it on his one hand and legs, like a three-legged crab. This gave him enough of a vantage point to see the beast.

He didn’t recognize it, but it looked like an insanely overgrown housecat, bigger than any of the people there and standing almost as tall as Ado at its shoulders. Its canines were longer than his fingers and its paws bigger than his hands.

The cats’ attention was no longer on Ado anymore, two arrows protruding from its side from the hunters’ bows with him. It seemed hardly fazed but was already in a weakened state before it had even attacked Ado.

Orim, Liard, and Seth all had their bows ready, arrows notched, Long Stan poised with his spear over his shoulder, and Atsuya with her dao sword wielded. Alessia and Ni’vaea had moved back out of harm’s way, and everything came to a standstill.

The beast eyed the whole group, seeming to weigh its options. When Long Stan took a quick step forward, it flinched back. That was enough for it to decide it was outnumbered. It growled once, baring its teeth, then turned and dashed back into the forest the way it had come. The arrows snapped against a tree, breaking off, but the cat didn’t stop. After a chime, they could not hear it running any longer, and they all rushed toward Ado.

*WC: 719

[Adoian]

Ado lay back as Ni’vaea’s hands hovered over his wounds. Long Stan and Atsuya had picked him up and carried him to a safer area back up the river, then removed his shirt to get a closer look at the damage done.

Alessia went out with Liard and Ken to find some more healing herbs while the rest stayed to keep watch. Atsuya fretted over him, asking Ni’vaea how bad it was and ensuring she was doing everything she could. Finally, Long Stan told her to keep watch. She was too distracting to Ni’vaea for her to focus correctly.

Ni’vaea explained that her abilities could only help very little. She could clean and sanitize the wounds and close most of the more shallow ones on his back. But the claw marks in his shoulder would need time to heal on their own.

“You are fortunate. The kougara could have ripped you apart in moments had it been stronger.” She had a strange accent, which Ado couldn’t quite place, which only deepened his curiosity about her. The pain was ebbing ever so slightly, but the bruises across his upper body throbbed insistently.

“It must have been desperate. Kougara don’t usually attack such a large group. With how starved it was, I doubt there’s been much to eat around here.” Long Stan explained, his arms across his chest as he looked out at the forest. So they were called kougara. Ado felt like he recognized the name, but he’d never seen one before, “It’s probably been watching us since we left the city.”

“This is why we don’t let anybody stray off alone. Even a little bit,” Orim sounded angry but refused to make eye contact with Ado. Was he mad at Ado? Or at himself? Ado was frustrated with himself. He had made himself look a fool first, then put the whole team in danger. There was no way the Hunter’s Guild would entrust him to come to the Unforgiving ever again.

He made a vow then to learn to use a weapon, any weapon. How was he to expect to leave Lhavit and travel if he couldn’t even protect himself? He had a dagger and wasn’t even able to hold on to it when it came right down to it. Then it occurred to him that he didn’t know where that knife went.

“Did anybody get my knife? And my boot? I left them down there….” He gestured to where the kougara attacked him, about half a mile down the river.

“You mean my knife,” Long Stan responded, and pulled the dagger out of his weapon belt, “And yes, your boot is right there,” He pointed to the ground a few feet away, where his still mud-covered boot lay. Ado gave him a brief smile.
“Thanks,” He said and lay back down so Ni’vaea could finish working. Seth sat a distance away on a small rock outcropping, with Atsuya nearby. The two of them chatted, Seth laughing now and then, and Ado felt a pang of jealousy hit him.

Alessia, Liard, and Ken soon came back through the forest with a basket of fresh greens that Ado recognized as Vyfox. Alessia sat and pulled a small wooden mortar and pestle from her bag, immediately going to work crushing the herb.

“Vyfox, it works as an antiseptic, so you don’t develop an infection, and will help to keep the wounds sealed as we make our way back to the city,” Alessia explained. Ado nodded and let her apply the green mush to the deeper cuts on the backs of his shoulders. He couldn’t help but feel useless now. He had shortened their trip, and now they had to trek back to the city in the dark, with nothing but a few torches to lead the way. But the fear and adrenaline of the encounter had left him completely exhausted, and he wanted nothing more than his bed in his home.

Atsuya walked back over to them, Seth following closely. With Ado wrapped up and his boot back on, they all headed back the way they came, staying much closer now so they could see the path in the torchlight.

“You can’t tell Guzo about this,” Ado said quietly to Atsuya. She snorted.

“You’re going to stop me?” She mocked. Ado looked at her seriously.

“Please, Atsu. He worries enough as it is, don’t add this to the list,” Ado practically begged her. She just shook her head.

“How are you going to hide this? Your chest is purple.” She asked. He glanced down at the rapidly darkening bruises.

“I can cover it enough until it fades. Please, just let me be the one to tell him, okay?”

“Fine, but you must promise you will tell him.”

“I promise,” Ado told her, but he wasn’t sure he planned on ever letting Guzo know. Even for how distant and cold Atsuya seemed toward Ado sometimes, he had seen the way she looked before and after he was attacked. He knew that look because he had seen it back when he had contracted the illness from the poisoned water. He knew that she couldn’t bear to lose him as much as he couldn’t lose her.

*WC: 871