Damiann47

No One Escapes The Guilds

During those two days of travel Rylee got used to having Kiori around again, if just a little, besides if he were going do anything he would've by then. That said obviously she was still uneasy in his presence, who know if and when he could change his mind, impossible it may seem the Assassin's Guild would reinstate him, that is assuming Kiori had even really abandoned his guild... no, that line of thinking made no sense, for the time being Rylee had to trust him at least on some basic level. The clothes that replaced her coat were fairly humble, since she wanted to blend in better she ended up picking up a plain white dress, common for poorer women. She did keep her coat, the material if not strong is warm, plus having a spare constable uniform on hand can be very useful later on. While a dress wasn't nearly as suitable for combat, Rylee was still wearing her underclothing, so in a situation they had to fight, which would come without a doubt, literally ripping off the restricting clothing was an option.

Later on during the third day out from Cederburg was the first time Kiori decided they should stop, made sense since they've put a good deal of ground between themselves and that cursed city. Rylee gave a curt nod when she took her place during their break, for minutes they sat silently, Kiori was thinking and he was thinking hard, that much was very clear. When he asked what they should do next Rylee rocked onto her back, now facing the sky above as she consider her friend's question.

"Well... if I were by myself, still alive of course, at this point I'd be heading towards some border village, way out there Guild control is weaker, not by much so we couldn't live there... but enough that it'll take an assassin a bit longer to find us, I would hope." Rylee rolled over onto her side, facing towards Kiori, "Plus there is significant anti-guild sentiment among the villagers, since they're not treated all that well as you could imagine. I'd bet that even just a handful of folk would be willing to harbor someone wanted by the guilds for a little while, and if not that than at least offer some much needed supplies."

Rylee sat back up, still starting at Kiori, "But... I see a big problem now... mostly you. You used to be an assassin, hell we'll be lynched before if anything... even if we were to lie about you, I know people wouldn't trust you. Kio, you seriously don't have a friendly aura about you, plus you'd probably have a hard time socializing even just small talk with strangers, and..." At this point it was becoming clear Rylee wasn't directly addressing him anymore, more like talking out loud, "You still carry yourself like an assassin, that will intimidate people more than anything else... what to do?"

No One Escapes The Guilds

I've had an idea for one but if you actually have one ready you should go. That said let's take a little longer before the first assassin.

No One Escapes The Guilds

Sounds good, a time skip would be great.

No One Escapes The Guilds

Alright we really need to push forward now, or something less then an assassin attack needs to happen. I'm grasping at straws when trying to think of what I should write next, think you can tell in the last post.

No One Escapes The Guilds

Rylee did not sleep at all, for the entire time she listened to whatever Kiori was doing, which to her best guess what him sharpening and cleaning those knifes he found earlier. Not once did she look over, partly out of consideration as not to worry him, but also she simply did not want to deal with any confrontations since she had little idea how he would react to her lack of apparent trust. Later that night it was time to pass the guard, Kiori approached her in order to wake her up, maybe this meant he believed she really was sleeping, or he shared her sentiments, mainly trying to avoid starting anything.

Kiori presented Rylee with the knifes he prepared earlier, explaining that they are hers to use. She nodded, "Thanks, can't argue with extra options, just in case isn't ever a bad idea right?" Rylee took hold of her new weapons, after which laid them on top of her coat to figure out where to put them later. Chances are the inside of the same coat would do where a few pouches were stitched in, while they were not meant to hold anything like knifes, their actual purpose was to store documents, she reasoned there should be enough room that the tiny blades should fit in quite snugly. "Also don't worry, I can handle a kitchen knife. A while back a friend... just a fellow constable taught me more than enough." Rylee pointed over to Kiroi's sleeping space, "With a little luck I'm thinking we won't have to deal with anyone tonight, seeing as your shift was quiet. I should be fine alone, go get your rest." She punctuated her statement with another smile, before taking her place.

To Rylee not much happened for the rest of the night, even her mind was mostly blank as she sat in one place seeing as she went through a lot of thinking already. Still she had to take care not to pass out, it was an especially troublesome issue since she hadn't gotten any real sleep. One night without sleep couldn't be that bad, at least that's what Rylee told herself.

No One Escapes The Guilds

"Good to know I wasn't alone, makes me wonder where he found that stuff anyway." Rylee laughed, still grinning, "Although you've never told me it came straight from your father, you little delinquent." This kind of interaction felt good, and a bit reassuring as this was another piece of evidence for Kiori not being too far gone. If he can still hold a conversation then there was enough humanity left that maybe she really didn't have to worry. It was a comforting thought, sooner rather than later they could be close again, all the same part of Rylee doubted that would happen, and if so it cannot be for a lone time.

Rylee eventually broke off in order to pick up her pace, it was starting to get late and if either of them were to get real rest, they couldn't take much longer. After a short while their sleeping area was ready, just as she said, Rylee's coat was laid out to function as a bed, it wasn't much but it kept a layer of protection between her and the floor. After they were done, Kiori excused himself saying that he wanted to visit the kitchen, paranoia welled up within her, what did he want from there? Did he wait until she finally lowered her guard enough to complete the contract, he had some sick pleasure, born from the Assassin's Guild, to give her false hope before delivering the final blow. With an anxious hand, Rylee clutched the hilt of her weapon in a dead grip. Just in case...

Minutes later Kiroi returned, he returned with knifes. Rylee was about ready to pounce, that is before a rational voice called out, pointing to her that it made no sense for Kiroi to show himself openly like that, or to find weapons when he still kept his two swords. She dropped her sword, quietly, hoping not to draw attention to the fact she almost drew it again. The ex-assassin came up to her with the decision that he'll take the first shift, Rylee nodded she felt numb and it showed, not looking nearly as cheerful like earlier, with luck Kiroi wouldn't notice considering he had to be bad at telling human emotions due the Assassin's Guild conditioning... right?

Before going down to rest, Rylee spoke, "Try to relax even though you're playing guard, shouldn't let yourself get overstressed. Stress is an insidious killer, you know." She attempted to smile, yet this one didn't feel real. Rylee gave her goodnight and lied on her "bed" purposefully turned away from Kiroi, her sword held close in her arms, her head swarmed with conflicting ideas and emotions. On one hand she desperately wanted to trust him on an unconditional level like before, however on the other she absolutely couldn't deny the sheer fear and distrust she actually felt. Sleep was out of the question, in the end Rylee pretended to do so until it was time for her shift.

No One Escapes The Guilds

Oh hey I also been thinking we should establish more about what they were like as kids, I think we've been doing a good job so far by dropping little hints here and there, I say we should keep it up, just waited to point this out to you.

No One Escapes The Guilds

While Rylee was away there was a lot to think about now finally having some time alone, after all that's happened she simply couldn't get the opportunity to properly process everything. First though she had to focus on her actual task, while not specifically trained to treat injuries it was standard fair for a constable to be knowledgeable in the bare minimum. Once her sleeve was rolled up it became clear the gash wasn't too harsh, nothing too deep or long, without wasting anymore time she got to work. During this time though Rylee's mind drifted else where, really it was almost too real that just within the last hour she met an old friend, got into a fight with deadly intent, discovered his identity and then the same man pledged to stay by her side. Again it was too painfully obvious Kiori was morphed into someone else during his time with the Assassin's Guild, the boy she once knew was warm, friendly, and extremely talkative, not this solemn assassin just in the other room. Rylee didn't want to admit it, but she couldn't help not nearly feeling the same level of friendship towards him anymore, if anything she somewhat feared him...

With one last tug, Rylee tucked the end of the piece of bandaging underneath the last layer. Looking over her handiwork she was satisfied, the bleeding should stop properly within a day, especially due to some assistance from the herbs, of course her undershirt was still dyed red yet that didn't seem to matter to her. Coming back to Kiori she got straight back to menial labor, although after a minute or so she started to notice the silence between them, as kids this would've never happened least to say it was unsettling. After a wile longer Rylee considered an attempt at breaking the ice, until Kiori of all people took the initiative. He was clearly trying to be friendly, actually to spark a conversation, even if it was small talk Rylee couldn't suppress a wide grin.

Rylee stopped whatever she was doing to turn towards Kiori, "Funny seeing as we never drank, except for that one time when you swiped some ale, guh... why did you choose that for our first drink anyway? It did not go down smooth at all, hell I remember hacking up a storm..." Hopefully he remembered this, what would it say about their friendship if either of them didn't recall it, still she kept going, part of her assumed Kiori wouldn't be doing much talking himself. "Ah oh well all the same if you really want to know what I drink today, well... I don't drink actually, not on a constable's salary, but looking back ale couldn't have been all that bad, what say you Koi?"

No One Escapes The Guilds

I'm good with some time to continue breaking our two characters in for a little bit, however you want to do this at first I'll follow.

No One Escapes The Guilds

Kiroi wasn't wrong by a long shot, even she wouldn't put it pass the guilds to test their assassins like this if some observer had been watching them they probably could expect a fight very soon. At the same time though Rylee had to wonder why he broke his contact so openly if he already thought as much, either he got careless, which frankly was too unlikely, or he simply didn't care, in which case could be considered fairly reckless on his part. In the end it didn't matter they couldn't know the immediate repercussions until it happens, he was right about taking shifts, yet beyond that there wasn't any use worrying more. Rylee nodded her agreement without a word, half of her focus was devoted towards good old wood kicking anyway.

That is until Kiroi offered to wrap her wound, of course she was going to handle it herself but not until later, there was still some minor work to do besides losing a little blood wouldn't be the end, however seeing as he wanted to deal with it then she didn't object. Rylee patiently stood still waiting for Kiroi to fish for his supplies, looking at what he brought it wasn't anything fancy, just some bandaging and blood-clotting herbs. She was about to roll up her sleeve before noticing his hesitation, and actually for the first time since their reunion looking a bit unsure of himself. It didn't take long for Rylee to reach some conclusion, perhaps it wasn't quite the cause of his hesitation but she could hazard a guess, they weren't kids anymore so well, touching someone of the... other gender... now probably came with its own share of awkwardness.

Rylee shook her head, and smiled. "Suppose I'm not too sure on what's going in that head of yours, but... I also guess all this," she motioned towards her entire body, "Could be a bit awkward for you, it has been many years after all... I uh, I can handle this by myself if you prefer, wrapping some cloth isn't too complicated after all." Without waiting on a response Rylee grabbed the medical supplies straight out of Kiori's hands, then proceeded to another part of the tavern to work in peace. It would be another seven minutes before she returned to help Kiori finish clearing the rubble and then to set up for night.