That entire day as they travelled, it became clear that Decian wasn’t the only one who was less than excited to see the sunshine. Isgellian was especially grumpy, and he took most of it out on the nocten, snapping at him every chance he got. By the time they stopped for a rest around noon, Decian had gotten sick of it. He replied to the elf’s mean comments with his own, damned be his level head. The travels became more and more tense as the day went by.

Decian ate his ration slowly, sitting under the shade of a tree. Isgellian came over, led by Yelgameesh. “May I have some food?” He asked, barely looking at the nocten.

Decian swallowed his bite and raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you going to ask nicely?”

Isgellian scowled. “May I please have some food?”

Decian nodded. “Yes, of course.” He rifled through his bag to find something to give Isgellian, finding an apple he’d picked the other day, and broke off half his bread. He didn’t notice the strings of purple magic attached to the elf until he reached over to give the elf the food, but by then it was too late.

Just as Isgellian reached to take the food, Yelgameesh clamped something around the elf’s wrist, and then Decian’s. “Wh-?!” Decian gasped, and looked to her, “What is this?” He asked, angry. A few twigs woven together clamped around of each of Decian and Isgellian’s wrists. Ridley stood a few paces away, holding a simple puppet linked to the elf by purple strings of magic.

“Ya two need ta get along. I won’t take ‘em off until ya learn ta be nice ta each other.” She said seriously.

“You will take them off now.” Decian glared at her as the elf was released from Ridley’s spell. He immediately pulled away from Decian but didn’t get far.

“No. Oh, an’ I got Ridley ta put a lil spell on ‘em~” Yelgameesh hummed.

Decian looked to the restraints and noticed a faint orange glow. “Of course he did…” Decian muttered grumpily.

“Free us from these, Yelgameesh.” Isgellian growled. “I will make your life a living—”

“Ye’ll do nothin’, because I can make this much worse, trust me.” Yelgameesh said, seriously, “I’m sick o’ ya both fightin’. Either ya stop, or ya stay cuffed together for tha rest of tha mission. ‘Cause, oh, yeah, we’re on a mission. It’ll go better if we all get along!”

Before either man could reply, Yelgameesh stormed off. Isgellian groaned and sat down next to Decian. “I hate this. I hate her.” He grumbled.

“She does have a point,” Decian frowned, “It wouldn’t hurt to be nicer to each other…”

Isgellian looked to him with narrowed eyes. “I have said it before, and I will say it again. I do not like you, and I never will.”

“Yes, I understand,” Decian scowled, “But maybe if you act otherwise, she’ll take the cuffs off.”

“If I act otherwise? You are just as bitter to me!”

“I’m merely returning the attitude I receive.” Decian’s voice remained calm.

“Oh, shut up.” Isgellian huffed and shifted so he was facing away from Decian.

This is going to be a long day… The soldier thought, scowling.

That grimace didn’t leave his face for a long, long while.

Just as Yelgameesh had expected, their fighting only got worse after that, as they had no choice but to walk next to each other. Every little thing set them off, and they often found themselves going one way, when the other tried to go in the opposite direction. That always lead to them arguing. Decian overheard Yelgameesh muttering to Ridley a few times about how Isgellian and Decian were incapable of working together. He’d thrown his hopes of keeping a level head aside the second time he asked Isgellian to just pretend they can get along, and the elf only responded by muttering insults.

By nightfall, it hadn’t gotten any better.

Especially not when Decian’s back itched and ached. But I just took them out the other night… Decian thought miserably. He looked over to the elf he was chained to, then to their bound hands, and sighed. He just wished that Isgellian would put their differences aside, at least long enough to convince Yelgameesh to uncuff them. He wished they weren’t on the edge of the prairies, either. Maybe then, he could risk flying. He wouldn’t have gone high, just… Flown.

“What?” Isgellian frowned at Decian. Decian groaned and looked over to him.

“Am I not allowed to breathe?” He asked, completely exasperated.

“That was a sigh!” Isgellian’s eyes narrowed. They were bright green, a stark contrast to his reddish hair… If he didn’t have such a foul personality, he would be attractive. Decian thought, glaring right back at the elf. But as soon as the thought passed through his mind, he shook it away. No pretty face could salvage the elf from his personality.

“Get over yourself. Not every sigh is an insult to you, or even has anything to do with you.” Decian stared forward again, across the fire at Yelgameesh.

“I know that.” Isgellian huffed but didn’t say much else.

That night, Decian and Isgellian discovered that sleeping on their sides with their bound arms hanging back was incredibly uncomfortable. Decian wanted to toss and turn, wanted to sleep on his other side, his front… Suddenly any other position became much more desirable…

When they woke up, Isgellian turned to Decian and said, “We need to get these things off.” With a scowl. “We need to work together.”

“Wow, it’s almost as if I spent the entire day yesterday saying that.” Decian frowned at the way the elf’s voice had soured when suggesting they work together.

“Yeah, okay, well… You were… You were right.” He sounded… Defeated. “My arm hurts, alright? I just… Do not want to have to spend another night like that.”

“Yes, I agree.” Decian nodded.

“How do you suggest we do this? If we just suddenly act like we’re perfectly fine, she’ll be suspicious of us…” The elf frowned, glancing over at Yelgameesh, who was still sleeping.

“Well, we could just… try talking? We know nothing about each other. Perhaps if we tried getting to know each other—”

“No. I never said I wanted to be friends, I just want to get out of this… cursed contraption.” Isgellian’s nose crinkled in disgust. Decian just went quiet for a moment, thinking of how close his knives were, and how easy it would be to grab one and simply… He forced himself to take deep breaths.

“Perhaps if we tried getting to know each other, you might stop seeing me as my race, but instead as a person, and stop being such a racist prick. And maybe you’d prove to me that you’re not just a racist prick, but a decent person, too. I’m pretty sure you could be, deep down, I mean, you’ve been nice to the others since the lake.” Decian finished his thought, staring hard at the elf.

Prince Isgellian said nothing else while they got ready to leave. Nor did he say anything as they began to walk. He just slowly began to look more and more irritated.

It was a few hours later, after spending the morning half-listening to Ridley and Avaeon chatting, that Isgellian's step began to slow. Decian hadn't even noticed until he felt the pull on the makeshift cuffs. He looked back, ready to tell him to keep up, when he saw the look on the elf's face.

Prince Isgellian was staring straight ahead, but from the way his eyes were glossed over, it was clear that his mind had brought him miles away. His eyebrows had pressed together in all his fuming, but now they tilted up, and his scowl had softened into the slightest frown. He looked… Vulnerable.

“Isgellian?” Decian asked softly, concerned for the elf's sudden change.

“I’m doing it again…” The prince mumbled, barely loud enough for Decian to hear.

“Doing what again?” Decian furrowed his brows, confused.

Isgellian looked to him, and seemed to blink back into the real world. “I--” He started to say, but had to take a deep breath. “I'm sorry…”

Decian's eyebrows shot up to his forehead. He honestly had given up on hearing those words from the elf. “For?” He asked.

“For the way I've treated you… You're right, we… We know nothing about each other… I… I shouldn't have been so cruel…” Isgellian spoke softly, looking down at his feet.

Decian was quiet for a while. “You seem sincere. But… I can’t forgive you until you prove your words.”

Isgellian nodded. “Yes, that's… That's fair.” He sighed and picked up his pace again. They walked in silence for a few moments after that, until Decian glanced over.

“Why the sudden change of heart?” He asked.

Isgellian just looked away. “I… Don't want to talk about it.” He said. The silence returned for a while, but it was the elf’s turn to break it. “I like plants. And medicine. I've studied them a lot…”

Decian looked over and raised an eyebrow. “O... kay? Why are you telling me this?”

Isgellian scowled. “You're the one who said you wanted to get to know each other.”

“Oh… Right.” Decian nodded. “Well, that's interesting. I noticed you always knew the answer when Ridley asked you about random plants… It’s impressive.”

A small, brief smile flashed across the prince’s lips, before it disappeared into his resting expression. “Thank you… Now, I think this is when you're supposed to tell me something about yourself.”

Decian glanced over toward him again. He desperately wanted to know what had prompted the prince’s change of heart… What made him so suddenly… decent. He also wanted to teach him something about his race, not just himself… He resolved to do that later. “I know how to sew. My parents were tailors.”

“Oh? Why didn't you become one?” Isgellian asked. He tilted his head ever so slightly when he did.

“It's a long story.” Decian forced a tight smile and shrugged. “But regardless, I'm a soldier now.”

“Do you enjoy it? Being a soldier?”

Decian nodded. “I enjoy… Knowing that I can keep people safe. The job is hard, and the training, well… You can see my scars,” He held his arm out, displaying them, “But I'm good at it. It's an important job, and it's my duty now.”

Isgellian nodded slowly. “You make a difference in peoples’ lives. That's good…”

The two kept talking for a while, about whatever came to their minds. Surface things, like hobbies, and anecdotes about their close friends. Prince Isgellian still seemed a bit hesitant, but slowly, he began to warm up to Decian. He even smiled, ever so softly, toward the end. It was peaceful.

The peace lasted two hours.

It ended when Decian collapsed.