[color=#b97703]“That’s good,”[/color] Cas replied as he stuffed another forkful of fruit into his mouth. He wanted to help Iris pack up their supplies, since he felt bad that she was doing all the work for both of them, but he needed to finish his breakfast first. He couldn’t be blamed for the fact that he was slow to wake up in the mornings. Since there was no coffee around to kickstart his day, he was hoping that the sugary meal would give him the energy he needed to get out of bed. [color=#b97703][i]At least there isn’t a whole lot to do before we leave,[/i][/color] he thought as he watched her put the few belongings they had into the backpack. He would have felt a lot worse if they’d had two suitcases full of things that needed to be put up before they hit the road.

He was also glad that she seemed to have fully recovered from the brief illness that had taken her down yesterday. [color=#b97703]“That’s good too,”[/color] he said again, tossing his empty can into the wastebasket and twisting at the waist to swing his legs over the side of the bed. He was still tired, but he knew that lying around would only make it harder for him to wake up, so he needed to push through the bleariness. So, he got up and ambled over to the desk chair, where he’d left his jacket the night before. As he slid it over his arms, he wondered again about where they were going to go now that he was having second thoughts about going home. It sounded like they were close enough to the capital that they could make it there within a day if he said he wanted to return, but… He glanced at Iris. He was enjoying traveling with her so much that he didn’t feel the need to rush back into the arms of people who couldn’t care less if he never came back at all.

When she went over their options, he considered what he wanted to do while he put on his shoes. [color=#b97703]“We can take the roadway,”[/color] he decided with a shrug. [color=#b97703]“I don’t know anything about this part of the kingdom other than what I’ve seen on paper, so I trust that you know what you’re doing.”[/color] Even if he didn’t trust her, it wasn’t like he had a choice. He used to think he knew Aspiria better than almost everyone else who lived there, but now that he’d seen what life was like outside the capital for himself, he didn’t know what the truth was anymore. On the contrary, she had grown up in Tongsen and visited the other districts before, so he assumed she knew the area better than he ever could. If she thought the roadway was their best option, then they would take the roadway.

[color=#b97703]“Who knows? Maybe they’ll stop coming after us now that it looks like my dad doesn’t care if I come home,”[/color] he added. Although his words were nonchalant, he was unable to keep a hint of anger from entering his voice as he addressed the thoughts that had been weighing on his mind. [color=#b97703]“They have nothing to gain from catching me again, so we might not even have to worry about it anymore.”[/color] Righting his posture, he pulled his hood over his head and stepped over to the door. [color=#b97703]“Are you ready to go?”[/color]