Dealing with the aftermath - Part 2

Marching through the night, the crescent moon continues to rise above the horizon, casting a brighter glow among the stars and signifying the early hours of the night. In the time since we left the remnants of the bandit campsite, nearly two hours have passed.

The full weight of my exhaustion gnaws at me as I struggle to keep marching, my mind is a flurry of memories from the events that have occurred, and filled with scenarios of what I could have done differently. 

As my prisoners and I continue on our way towards Alameria, I can't help but notice how well adapted they are to moving through the night, especially the Foxell woman. She walks gracefully through the night, never missing a step, even on the most unsteady of surfaces.

Her male counterpart manages to navigate the landscapes almost as well as she does, aside from an occasional stumble now and then, but I believe that to be because he is trying to follow her walking pattern as much as he can. 

A shiver courses through my body as the cool air from earlier has grown even colder now, and we are all feeling it. Taking in our current surroundings, I'm reminded of a cave I've occasionally used in the past.

"Alright you two..." The man and woman stop in their tracks to listen to me. "How about we take a break. There's a cave we can take shelter and rest in just over there." I point in the general direction of where I believe the cave to be, while the pair appears relieved at my suggestion.

After several minutes of walking, we reach the cave entrance. The pair gathers a collection of twigs and branches from the nearby trees for a fire, while I check the interior of the cave and clear out any possible squatters.

Using a long broken branch as a guiding stick, I perform a quick scan of the cave's depths, making noise to attract attention and listening for anything that might react or respond. Fortunately, to my relief, nothing noteworthy happens or is found.

Returning to the mouth of the cave, my would-be prisoners have managed to start a fire and are huddled close to it, trying to warm themselves up against the cold night air. As I rest against a smooth rock formation near the fire, the man and woman shift their positions to be sitting with the fire between them and myself.

"We'll rest here for a while, then make our way to Alameria again." The pair nod to me in response before sifting through the bags they filled from their former campsite. I take hold of Kiru's hilt and unhitch her from my back, resting her blade on my lap with her damaged side illuminated by the fire's light, I stare at the cracks that now adorn the sword's blade.

It has been hours since I last heard Kiru's voice, and my concern only grows as I run my hand over the cracks. The crackling of the fire catches my attention. gazing a little higher, I observe the pair staring at me in wonder.

"What?" The pair shares a glance at each other before looking back to me.

"That is a legendary weapon, right? And you said you're a wielder?" The man is almost excited and eager for me to answer his questions, to which I raise an eyebrow, accompanied by a questioning gaze. "It's just that we've never encountered someone like you before."

"Yes, I am a wielder, and this is Kiru," I reply curtly, my tone reflecting my disinterest in prolonging the conversation with the pair longer than necessary.

"That damage looks pretty bad. Will you need another one?" His question provokes an angry scowl from me.

"She isn't something I can just throw away and replace. Kiru may be a sword, but she's a sentient being, as alive as you and I." My tone startles him and his partner, causing them to recoil as I lose control of myself for a moment. Realising I've lost my composure, I take in a deep breath and try to relax.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think you would feel so strongly about that." His expression and tone appears sincere. However, I can't forgive what he said or implied.

"Maybe if you were lucky enough to find a legendary weapon of your own, you'd understand. Hell, if Kiru could talk right now, you'd see what I mean."

"So why can't it talk? Is there something wrong with it?" The Foxell woman speaks up this time, though her tone is disrespectful to the point where it's making me angry again.

"What do you think!?" I angle Kiru towards them to show the damage from the shot she was used to block, and the resulting damage as a means of emphasizing my point. "I haven't heard her speak ever since she blocked that first shot."

"So, you speak to it... Her, on a regular basis?" The man appears genuinely curious and eager to learn more, while the woman couldn't be less interested.

"How do you think it is that I casually wandered into your ambush? I was preoccupied with a conversation I was having with Kiru." Recalling the events prior to Kiru's scream only serves to sadden and irritate me more, considering her continuing silence.

There is a mix of emotions in the next few minutes, followed by a lasting silence disturbed only by the occasional crackling of the fire. Despite the uncomfortable ground, I manage to relax against the smooth rock at my back, and before I realise it, I fall asleep with my sword in my lap.

My consciousness is stirred by the sound of nearby voices. My heavy eyelids struggle to open as I feel an urge to fall back asleep. However, the voices capture more of my attention, driving me to wake up. Groggily looking towards the cave entrance, I see what appears to be a hushed argument going on between the pair who have stayed nearby despite my falling asleep.

"Why are we arguing about this? He's fast asleep. If we go now, we can be long gone before he wakes up." I close my eyes and feign being asleep so that I can continue to listen in on their conversation.

"And where would we go? Just how far do you think we can get?" The man argues against his Foxell companion. Listening as best I can, my drowsiness wears off as I continue to eavesdrop.

"With my eyes, I can guide us through the night faster than he can hope to navigate. Even if he did chase after us, there's no way he can track us down in the dark the way I could." 'She makes a good point there. If they tried escaping before waking me up just now, they might have gotten away.'

"And then what? Run and hide in Tokruto, live as beggars, thieves, or gutter rats? If not that, what? Go further North, into the frost regions, beyond them? Barter passage to another continent? Do you really want to spend the rest of your life running?" 

'I can't argue with his logic. Living on the run may sound a bit exciting, but it wouldn't be a fulfilling life, and it would be very dangerous, not to mention difficult.' Now fully awake, I carefully and quietly get up, taking a quick observation of Kiru's cracks in the faded light of the dying fire before hitching the blade to my back and stealthily approaching the pair.

"Life on the run is better than a life in chains," her voice has gone quieter now; she even appears more frail than ever. "Can't we just go... We can try and figure it out later?" The man is silent for a moment; he then takes in a deep breath, ready to give her an answer. However, I don't give him the chance.

"You could have run, if you hadn't woken me up." They both jump in surprise upon hearing my voice, not to mention how close I got to them without their realising.

"How long have you been there? How much did you hear?" He asks me with an embarrassed tone I've never heard from him before, while the fox woman stares at the ground, shifting and twisting her body from side to side.

"Long enough. If you're going to argue with each other, you should do it further away and be quieter when you speak." The fox woman's head appears to droop further in what I believe to be embarrassment, while her male accomplice scratches his head.

"Look, you two seem like good people who got caught in bad circumstances and a bad crowd. If you can curb your baser instincts and give up on trying to run... I'll, put in a good word for you with the guild, and maybe... see about getting you a lighter sentence. Provided you can show that you can change your ways."

They gaze at me with what I assume may be hope in their eyes. The Foxell woman still appears skeptical but disinterested in arguing further.

"How about we start over..." I offer my hand to them,  leaving my arm outstretched, waiting for one of them to take it. They share a side-ward glance between each other before the man takes my hand with his own. "My name is Takashi, Legendary Weapon Wielder."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Sataro. Sataro Kellis." Breaking the handshake with Sataro, I reach my hand out towards the Foxell woman, who recoils at my offer. Afterwards, Sataro and I stare at her together, followed by a head gesture from him towards my direction. 

She finally relents and takes my hand for a second, letting go after a single shake. She then turns away from me and crosses her arms. Looking to her counterpart, he uses the same head gesture but with a greater inflection, prompting a groaning sigh from her.

"The name's Kitsura. Just Kitsura." She glances at me as she speaks before sharing eye contact with Sataro. To me, it almost looks like she's awaiting approval. Sataro gives her a nod, and we all share a glance between each other. At this point, I'm feeling a little hopeful for these two, and I hope they feel the same.