Rowan had been far quicker to warm to Caed than Arlo had expected. She was terrified when she first woke the next morning to find the hunter that had captured her the first time leaned against the tree sharpening a knife. However, after Arlo had explained things to her, she actually warmed to him quickly after that and seemed to almost prefer being by his side over Arlo’s.

“Why do you have so many weapons?” she asked almost fluttering about Caed as he tried to press onward.

“I need them.” He said looking ahead of her.

“What do you need them for?” Rowan asked reaching her hand out to touch the bow.

“I make enemies easily. It’s kill or be killed.” Caed glanced back to Arlo for some sort of reprieve from the constant question of the small child.

“Can you fly to the top of the trees and back?”

“Yes.”

“How fast can you fly up there and back? Can you fly me up there?” Rowan asked.

“Stop asking questions.” Caed snapped at the child.

She was quiet for a few moments, but Arlo could see her mind working out more questions for their newest edition. “Why are your wings broken?”

“They’re not broken.” Caed sighed.

“But they’re torn and crinkled.” Rowan lifted her small fingers up to touch the edge of Caed’s sun-bleached wing. They twitched at the touch.

“They’re not broken, they’re just well-used. We don’t all have the luxury of only using our wings for show.” Caed glanced back to Arlo.

Arlo just smiled back, clearly not giving the rise that Caed had been hoping for because he rolled his eyes and looked forward.

“Yours aren’t as pretty.” Rowan ran her fingers down the end of Caed’s wing.

“But they’re more useful.” Caed retorted. Arlo could feel his eyes wander back towards him again. Arlo met his green gaze, it felt different, being in Caedmon’s presence again after all of these years apart. He could feel the space between them more now than he had in all of these centuries. However it also felt exactly like how it used to feel, but now they were on a real adventure, instead of one of the many adventures they would spend years planning only to never see it come to light. Arlo had never really questioned why faeries couldn’t venture outside of the realm. They had been told all their life that it was dangerous. That human were viscous and ruthless monsters and that they were always only one wrong move away from being at war with the elves or the orc realms. But now in the sunshine of the summer heat, Arlo couldn’t help but wonder if everything they had been taught of life beyond the realms were all lies.

Arlo looked on, Rowan was now climbing up on a fallen log, balancing with inhuman like abilities, but she still reached out for Caed’s grasp as he held his hand out to steady her. She danced across the log before leaping off in Caed’s general direction. He caught her begrudgingly and dropped her back to the ground. She hadn’t stopped talking the entire time, asking Caed question upon question, telling him about her home and her family and her favorite books to read. It made Arlo nostalgic for the years he and Caed spent wandering the realm from corner to corner all while Arlo prattled on and on about some new knowledge he had obtained from the ancient scrolls and tomes he would spend days reading without rest.

As the evening rolled around and turned into night Rowan finally fell asleep, her head resting against Caedmon’s arm. Caed glared over at Arlo as if he had done this on purpose.

“Don’t look at me.” Arlo whispered. “She likes you.”

“I captured her and brought her to the realm to be killed and then continued hunting her and trying to kill her after that, why exactly does she like me?” Caed responded.

“Maybe she can see that you’re good.” Arlo said.

“Don’t try that with me. Don’t try making me feel attached to this little creature. I still could care less what happens to her.” Caed responded crossing his arms and closing his eyes.

“You may be able to fool even yourself with that gruff exterior, Caedmon, but you do not fool me.” Arlo said.

Caed was silent for a long moment before looking towards him. Arlo wondered if it was coming. He knew that Caed deserved an answer to the question he was sure had been in his mind for the better part of five centuries.

“What are we going to do when they send out another hunter for us?”

This was not the question Arlo had been expecting. He hadn’t even thought of that as a possibility. “Would they do that?”

“Yes.” Caed looked down at the small fire in front of them. “If I’m gone longer than they prospect me to be gone, they’ll likely send another hunter out to give me assistance.”

“How long do you think we have until that happens?” Arlo asked.

Caed was silent for a long moment. “Hard to say,” he finally responded. “Probably not more than a fortnight.”

Arlo was angry that he had never thought they would send out more hunters if Caed didn’t check in or finish his task. “So then what?”

“Why are you asking me?” Caed said. “This is your insane idea. This is your quest.”

“But if they send out another hunter and find out you’re helping me...” Arlo trailed off.

“Just another thing I can see you did not think through.” Caed let out a long sigh. “Do you see the position you’ve put me in? I’m going to have to kill another hunter, at least once. I am already breaking so many oaths just helping you and going against the high council, but we’re never supposed to kill each other.”

“I’m sorry, Caed.” Arlo whispered.

“No you’re not. All that matters to you is that you get this girl to safety, right? All that matters is that you achieve your goal... whoever falls in your wake be damned.”

Arlo wanted to argue this, he wanted desperately to say that none of that was true, but he knew that they were no longer just talking about the quest they were on right now, and he didn’t know how to argue or respond to that.