[color=#b97703]“I can handle carrying a backpack,”[/color] Cas assured Iris when she told him to let her know if it was too much. His arm was wounded, but that didn’t inhibit him from wearing the bag until they could find a better place to rest for the night. Even the bruise on his stomach only ached a little when he lifted the pack onto his shoulders, so he knew he wouldn’t have any trouble with it while they walked. He was undoubtedly better off than she was when she was nursing the aftereffects of a fever. Despite her implied offer to take it back from him if he couldn’t carry it, he was sure he wouldn’t say anything even if did become more difficult for some reason later on.

When she said that the districts became nicer as they traveled further toward the capital, he nodded in with familiarity. That was something that lined up with what he’d learned in his studies. Although the districts were much worse off than he’d ever realized, he knew that wealth was concentrated in the capital and trickled outward to the edges of the country. As such, it wasn’t surprising to him that they would see an increase in quality of life as they kept walking. He wondered how much better off the next district would be though. Were the outermost districts the only ones that were in a poor state, or would they never see a hint of luxury until they reached the border that surrounded the gem of Aspiria? At one point in his life, he would have thought he knew the answer to that question, but now it felt like nothing could surprise him. He just hoped they wouldn’t come across any more dead bodies on the way.

Keeping his gaze fixed on the ground so he wouldn’t trip on any roots or branches, he listened as Iris explained how her amnesia was affecting her. She was right that it was weird that she didn’t actually know where she was going, but he trusted her. She’d gotten them this far, after all. As long as she got them to another shelter in one piece, he didn’t care how she did it. [color=#b97703]“If it’s working, I can’t complain,”[/color] he said, glancing at her with a smile before he dropped his gaze to the foliage beneath his feet again. [color=#b97703]“I don’t really care where we go either. I was just curious if you had a specific place in mind or not.”[/color]

A couple days ago, he’d been hopeful about staying at hotels on their way back to the capital, but he’d since accepted that the chances of booking even one room somewhere were slim to none. Despite common belief, he wasn’t such a city boy that he couldn’t handle getting his hands dirty once in a while. He may have preferred being comfortable over slumming it in bomb shelters and abandoned apartments, but he would do what he had to in order to survive in the war zone. It really wasn’t as bad as he’d thought it would be, especially since he had Iris by his side. Being with her made it easier to bear the unpleasant parts of running from the rebellion.

So, when he picked up on the sadness in her voice, he was quick to offer her some comforting words. [color=#b97703]“I’m sure everything will come back to you with time,”[/color] he promised her confidently, giving her hand a firm squeeze as they stopped by the road. [color=#b97703]“Remember what Dr. Emett said? It could take a while, but you’ll get your memories back. Now that we’re back in the part of the country where you’re from, they might come back even faster too. I know it’s frustrating right now, but try to focus on the fact that your memories aren’t gone for good. They’re just… locked up. Once the lock is opened, it’ll be like you never lost them in the first place.”[/color]