Smoke filled Lumen's nostrils, as he woke to the sharp hissing sound of water being thrown on the remnants of the fire. At some point in the night he must have slumped to his side, he pushed himself up, commanding his weary body to life. His eyes drifted to the man standing in the middle of the muggy cave, watching the thin tendrils of smoke dissipate, with it taking the last flames from the night before.

Lumen blinked a few times, everything still intact, his belongings, all where he had left them. He felt relief, but also that he had been foolish to think the mercenary would steal his belongings. Lumens eyes darted upwards as he heard the commanding depth of the males voice

"We're leaving." He said matter-of-factly as he made way for the small entrance, his blade already confined to his waist. Lumen hurried to his feet, grabbing his bag and tossing his cloak on. He stumbled towards the entrance behind the man, following closely. Lumen's eyes squinted at the sudden brightness assaulting him. It was still early morning. He rubbed his eyes, behind them in a flash he saw the spray of red from yesterday, ferocious eyes, steel clanging.

The back of his mind weighed heavy thinking of the events from the afternoon prior. Lumen knew they were just bandits, but the unrelenting movement of the man he hired shook him to his core. He wondered, had the man even been injured at all? Even a scratch?

"Did.. Did you get hurt at all?" Lumen stumbled over his words, earning a quick glance back at him from intense eyes, not stopping his walking.

"What?" Lumen's face twisted in confusion when his escort responded, curt.

"Yesterday, when the bandits attacked, I noticed some hair had fallen to the ground.."

Lumen's gaze shifted to anywhere but the figure in front of him, gazing at the sea of forest surrounding them.

"One of them nicked my hair from behind, that's all" With that, silence fell among them again, the familiar scent of spice hung heavy in the air around Lumen.

They continued on foot for some time before Lumen's breath was suddenly stolen from his throat as a sharp pang took hold of his insides. His eyes squeezed shut and he lurched forward, turning his back to the man ahead of him he ran to the closest tree, bearing his weight on it. Lumen felt nausea rise in his throat as pain warped his insides as if to rearrange them. Cold shock spread over Lumen as he realized he was in the midst of an episode. He knew this might happen, and a twinge of shame spread through him, his slender fingers digging into the tree. He heard a few steps behind him before he shouted, unable to control the shaking in his voice.

"Stay back! I'm.. I'm sick, it's... fine." His eyes pricked with tears as he felt bile rise in his throat. Lumen coughed as nothing but stomach acid spilled to the ground. His body burned, his throat stung after vomiting nothing but acid. His fingers dug into the bark of the tree as he gasped for air, desperately trying to push past this oppressing pain. The male behind him didn't approach further, and Lumen was relieved for this.

His trembling fingers unclasped his bag as he dug inside, finding his bundle of medicine, pinpointing the glass jar he quickly uncorked it and dipped his finger inside, placing the bitter, herbal tasting powder under his tongue his eyes squeezing shut and his brow crinkling, sweat pooling in his palms he quickly sealed the bottle again, trying to breath slowly through his nose, feeling the powder dissolve.

It didn't take away all of the pain, but it did make it bearable. These herbs were expensive and Lumen hadn't the luxury of buying them often. But he was grateful he did this time. A few moments passed as Lumen gathered his thoughts. He stood up straight, his stomach strained, and his joints throbbing. He knew he didn't have time to take a break. He forced his feet forward, slowly.

The mercenaries expression didn't seem to change, but Lumen thought maybe there was a hint of confusion behind his eyes. Still, he couldn't tell what he was thinking, but somehow he was grateful when the male continued walking. Without questioning him, without a comment, he just kept going. Lumen's clammy palms squeezed the strap of his bag as he stumbled, weakly, following as he had been doing since they left. Their pace was slow, but eventually Lumen's body pain let up, save for a small spiral of nausea in his stomach; it was manageable. He realized he hadn't eaten all of yesterday, and today. He wondered if the man before him ate while he was asleep. He thought to ask, but decided not to pry.

Lumen always felt crushing intimidation from the mercenary, although he realized it may have not been on purpose, but rather a product of what he does for a living. He hadn't tried to harm Lumen in any capacity. Not yet, anyway. But it was impossible to tell what the man was thinking.

Lumen wondered if Biyo had even realized he had left. His lips tugged upwards in a smile as he thought of him.

Some time had passed, it must be later in the day by now. Suddenly the male before him grabbed a smaller blade on his waist. He quickly slashed a deep groove within the tree in front of him, before sheathing the dagger. He made an immediate turn west, Lumen scrambled for his map as he checked it. This would be leading them further out from Tas'gala. He quickly spoke, pushing past his hesitation

"Wait, where are we going? This is further from the city"

The man continued in his set direction, his low voice filling the woods around them

"We return this way tomorrow before dawn. There's a small village that merchants frequent, we rest there for the time being."

Lumen raised an eyebrow. The local expert hadn't shown him every single village, so he wasn't exactly surprised. He folded his map. Realizing the sun was not yet setting, he thought maybe it was too early to stop so soon.

"Isn't it too early?" Lumen stumbled forwards, catching up to the figure that guided him through these woods.

"If you're sick, you'll be weak. no sense in continuing."

Lumens brows knit together as his eyes shifted downwards. He felt a pang of guilt as he went to speak, not wanting his sickness to stall the trek.

"I'm fine, it's nothing new for me.. I don't want this to take longer than it has to" Lumen spoke. Determination filled his words. The Beast-Man ahead turned his head just slightly; Lumen could see one of his eyes boring into him, as cold as it always was.

"We stop, eat, and continue in the morning." It was something akin to a command, and Lumen felt powerless to argue. He was hungry.. He had brought some food. But if a village was close enough, there was no point in eating what he brought.

He followed silently, as usual. Before long, a worn dirt path came into view, and Lumen heard the quiet chatter of voices.

The village sprung on the horizon. It was modest, having numerous horse-pulled carriages waiting in stalls. Men unloading heavy looking wooden boxes, and brown sacks of grain, among other things. It was clear merchants often rest here. The male continued into the village. The guard seemingly approving of his arrival, he shot Lumen a glance, but it amounted to nothing, and he continued his way forward. His eyes darted around, he noticed a larger wooden building, few people wandering in and out of the doorway, he could hear the jingle as the door opened. The mercenary led him to the door, opening it, he was greeted by a man behind a counter, Lumen's eyes scanned the room curiously. It didn't exactly look different than his village.

"How can I help you today?" The man tending to them smiled at the mercenary; unfazed by his unrelenting presence. His eyes landed on Lumen, who had been simply a shadow behind the mercenary.

"A room perhaps, one bed or two?" The man asked with a tug of his lips upwards; Lumens face twisted to one of confusion. His eyes shifted around, avoiding contact with the stranger behind the desk. He heard the mercenary speak, unconcerned with the man's sly remark.

"One" Lumens heart sank as his head shot up. He went to open his mouth, but heard the ratting of coins as he watched the mercenary drop several silver coins on to the counter. The strangers eyes lit up and nodded.

"Of course of course"

He handed the mercenary a worn looking bronze key with a tag attached to it. With swift movement, the mercenary turned around, holding the key out to Lumen. He glanced at it, then to the man's intense eyes.

"Take it"

He said, sounding impatient; Lumen feeling foolish, quickly grabbed it, noting the number 8 scrawled on the tag. Lumens eyes followed the figure who headed toward the exit. Lumen quickly turned in confusion, speaking a little louder than normal.

"Hey! Where are you going? Why did you only get one room?" The man looked back at Lumen's bewildered expression, eyes spearing him in place.

"Don't need it"

With that, the male swiftly left the inn. Lumen stood there, staring at the key in his hand. His eyes glanced at the man behind the counter, who looked similarly confused.

"Oh my.." He heard the innkeeper mumble to himself; Lumen's embarrassment crept up his cheeks, his skin pricked and he felt as though he wanted to disappear as soon as possible. He gripped the key and swiftly continued to the hallway, reading the numbers; he found his. With a click as he turned the key in the hole, the door creaked open. Lumen glanced down the hallway, assuring himself the mercenary had truly left, as he stepped within the dim room. It was simple, a bed, a small lamp, and a table. That was all Lumen really needed. He sighed and sat his weight on the bed, slipping off the heavy bag that rest on his body. He stretched his arms.

"What a weird guy.."