Author's Preface
Year 765 Hippocampus Rush
Because of his piercing gaze, she didn't dare to ask this time. This is the second time he had become reliant on her skills, and she felt strangely giddy about it. This town is a complex grid of alleyways, circles, and junctures. In a panic, a normal person will run themselves into a dead end. The whole map of this town-after weeks of sneaking through it-is drawn up in her mental scape. She'll get him to the harbor in no time.
If only he could climb everywhere like I do. Her bare feet slap on the beaten dirt, charging straight out towards the front wooden gate. Keeping a short distance from the pirate captain. Then out of the gate they went. She can hear the goons calling out to one another.
"THEY GETTIN' AWAY!? GO AFTER 'EM!"
The chase ensues. With a head start like this, they might be able to keep their pace. Just as long as neither of them get any slower. She will pick any path that will confuse their pursuers, sometimes picking the alleyways that had fences that she can hike over without a single sweat. Connor may be much taller, but he is weighed down by the muscles that feed his strength. He will scale these fences and muscle most of it. She counts the extra half breaths it will take him to get over these fences, purposely slowing down for him. This captain is still had impressive endurance for him to keep going.
"I can catch up. Just GO!"
Yeah, right. "You are heavier than me, just keep up this pace and we will be-"
BANG! BANG! BANG !
These crazy goons are shooting at whoever!? Rhea grits her teeth, a part of her wants to turn around and face the stupid assholes.
Connor bumps her bicep with a fist, getting her to snap out of out. "Enough DAWDDLING! GO!"
Rhea forces herself to keep running towards the direction of the harbor. People scatter and scream just from the mere sounds of gunshots. They either ran inside, barring their windows and doors, or they hid behind clutter.
She chose to cut to the right; Connor is close behind her. This way is a set of stairs that zig and zag. This is still the best way, but she can make it better. Instead of going down them like a normal person, her eyes train on some perfectly good crates lining up high on the rooftops. She beelines to those instead, easily bounding up the crates and scaling to reach the rooftop. Now she is on a flat rooftop surface and checking the next building to jump on. From here she can see the sails of the ships. Connor might not be as fast as her, but he is stronger, stepping onto each crate and pulling himself up on the roof. He had this annoyed look on his face, twisting to critique her but his expression changes at the sight of the sails.
"We are…getting closer." Connor mutters, hinting at his doubt.
"Told you. Keep going." Rhea race over this rooftop and leap over a gap to the next one. She didn't need to roll, picking the easier options so that the captain can follow. They aren't exactly out of the woods of the chase yet. Her left ear can hear the distant shooting and yelling.
Connor scoffs at her retort, fighting down whatever his normal mortal reaction will be. He bounds over the gap with ease; she is content that he can at least catch up to her this way too. They move like this till Connor grabs her by the shoulders and push her down with him. His arm rope around her shoulders and the other hand grips her closest arm away in case she retaliates. The way they knelt had them touching their legs and this close she can smell the sea with hints of spices off him. His arms flex strongly over her, any of her strength is minuscule compared to what she felt underneath that sleeved arm, let alone the clothed thigh that touches her bare one. All just tight muscles wrapping around the bone. Holy Manuk!?
The huntress wants to scratch his eyes out for allowing this physical closeness. Her heart pounds in her ears with a mixture of confusion and rage that births from the confusion. Thankfully, his eyes survive another day when she can clearly hear the loyalist gang trudging along the pathway below them.
"I could've sworn they were here!? Arrgh keep lookin'."
They charge down some distance, enough for her to bravely vocalize her gratitude. "Thank you."
"Hmph." His simple answer said a lot if not for the scowl that etches his features. Judging her and reprimanding her just with that, his whole aura is intense and intimidating. It might've worked if she hadn't been so embarrassed by the close contact and thinking the wrong things.
"Uh-huh. Can you let go?" Rhea budges her arm that is being held in his vice grip. An extraordinarily strong grip, one that explains the way he knocked the blades out of people's grip earlier. Connor did exactly that, not at all embarrassed. He crawls over the edge of the rooftop, peeking.
"Never thought a gang would hate a person this much."
She thought she imagined his ridicule, looking all around her before her eyes land on him. It really was him!
Rhea crawls over too; she retorts back in a hush tone, a pout forming on her face. "I may have stolen their goods. But you killed their leader..."
"Hmph" There he goes again with his simple one sound answer. Though simple, his face isn’t as annoyed as earlier.
Maybe he does have a heart. Rhea opens her mouth again to argue with the simple answer, only for him to cut her off.
"That..." Connor pins his attention on someone walking in the distance. She follows his gaze to confirm it. She isn't given the time to investigate further. Without a word, Connor finds his way down the building by hopping onto an awning, then a parked cart. He bounds towards the figure that they are staring at earlier. Leaving Rhea behind with an agape jaw.
"Wa-Wait!? Mister?"She is stupid to follow him, internally screaming at her every motion to scale down this building. She mentally chastises herself at every one of her own steps to keep up behind him, stupid to track his broad shoulders. Cuss herself beneath her breath when they do reach this individual. Connor skids to a stop which nearly had Rhea crash into him.
This male stranger they follow turn to look at them. Brown eyes are as wide as dinner plates, blinking slowly at them. Light brown hair swept back by a bandana and a braided lock on his left temple with a white orb gem tying it together. He is built scraggly, carrying two swords on his hips and a shotgun on his back. He had grown out a short patch of hair along his thin cheeks and chin. He must've been around closing in on his thirtieth birth moon but even then, Rhea is over guessing. His thinness might be giving him more age. Most of what he wears is patched up with more fabric, with the same amount of effort to fix his boots. A tan trouser top is adorned with orange patches on the elbow joint of the sleeves, dark blue sleeveless blazer and shorts that hung loose to his knees by a simple rope.
"Ca-capt?" The man squints at Connor, then at Rhea.
"Jerold..." Connor's face isn't so twisted with a scowl, is he relieved? Who is this man?