Cassian awoke for the second time to the faint light of an overcast day and the quiet sound of rain beating against his home. It was a soothing sound, pleasant enough that he almost wanted to let it lull him back to sleep. He closed his eyes for a moment, wanting to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere. 

The rain’s steady rhythm echoed in his ears. Cassian basked in the comfort of his bed as it cradled his battered body. The warmth in the air did nothing to help him find the willpower to get out of bed. He sighed, relishing in the pleasant scent of a freshly cooked meal hanging in the air. 

Cassian’s eyes shot open. 

There shouldn’t be any sort of cooking happening in his home. Not when he was asleep and lived alone in the middle of the forest. 

He can’t possibly still be here, he thought with disbelief. 

Finally, Cassian slipped out from under the covers and onto his feet. He moved quietly towards the door. Just as he reached for the handle, the door opened and he was met with the second-to last person he wanted to see at the moment. 

They stared at each other, both surprised. Idly, Cassian noticed the man was taller than he’d expected—yet another detail that had gone unnoticed the previous night. 

“What are you doing here?” he asked, the question slipping out all on its own.

The thief blinked as he shook himself out of his stupor. All of a sudden, he seemed uncertain. Definitely a lot less menacing as well. 

“I, er, thought you might be hungry.” He held up a bowl, filled with some sort of soup. Steam rose from it, filling the room with an inviting aroma. 

“Is it poisoned?” Cassian asked. 

“No!” was the scandalized response. 

“A missed opportunity. I would have still eaten it.” He took the bowl, as if to prove his point. When he looked up, the thief was looking at him with a mixture of irritation and something that was likely confusion. It was difficult to tell. “So then, what are you still doing here, thief?” 

Cassian walked back to his bed, figuring he could at least feign sleep at whatever point he became too frustrated to keep dealing with the thief. He climbed on, settling comfortably before taking a spoonful of soup and trying it. Surprisingly, it was rather tasty. He was almost disappointed he would have to lie if he wanted to make any disparaging remarks about the thief’s cooking.

“Will you stop calling me that? I have a name.” 

Cassian hoped his expression communicated how little he cared. “And that would be?” he asked after a moment, realizing it would be easier to have something else to call the man. 

“Elias,” the thief said. 

“Right. Well then, thief, why are you still in my home?” Cassian basked in the spark of irritation in Elias’ eyes. There was clear restraint in Elias’ expression as he answered. 

“Just wanted to make sure you were still alive.” Elias paused, looking at Cassian with a curious expression. “For all your complaining and rudeness, you’re oddly calm about everything,” he said after a minute. 

Cassian swallowed another spoonful of soup, still a bit bitter about it being so good. He stared back at Elias, dark eyes unblinking. He’d been told he had an intimidating stare. Cassian meant to take full advantage of that at the moment. 

“There’s no point in making a fuss,” Cassian said after a moment, idly stirring his meal. “Ethelred will come for me. Or at least, one of his puppets will.” 

That drew a frown and a furrowed brow from Elias. He looked like he was trying to make sense of a particularly confusing puzzle. Cassian let him stew in his thoughts for a while. 

“Isn’t that something you should be worried about?” 

Had things been different—had Cassian managed to keep the staff—he probably would have left in search for a new place to hide. But there truly was no point. Not when time was running out along with his strength. 

“I told you, the staff was the only thing keeping me alive. With it now scattered, it’s only a matter of time before I die. Ethelred knows this.” He would take his time in making his way to Cassian. After all, Ethelred needed to gather the pieces of the staff if he wanted to drain what life was left in Cassian. “There’s no use in running. But you don’t seem surprised to hear Ethelred is alive.”

“I know enough about necromancers to know they’re not so easy to kill. Besides, I saw what was under that cloak and mask.” 

His expression darkened, most likely at the memory of whatever poor soul Ethelred had used as a puppet. Cassian had never seen Ethelred use such magic before the betrayal that had driven him away. Still, he’d seen the aftereffects from the work of others. It wasn’t a pleasant thing to witness. 

“And yet you didn’t know not to trust a necromancer,” Cassian said. “Did you really think Ethelred would give you what you seek? Who you seek?” 

Elias bristled, his bitterness at being tricked mixing with the rage he likely felt towards Ethelred. It was an interesting thing to watch. The thief was more expressive than most people Cassian had run into. 

“I still mean to get what I’m owed,” Elias said, tone dark and gaze distant. In that instant, Cassian knew it was not him the thief was seeing, but their common enemy. He almost felt bad for crushing the man’s resolve. 

“And how do you mean to do that?” he asked, genuinely curious in spite of being almost certain Elias had nothing resembling a plan. “You don’t know where Ethelred might have gone or what he’s up to. Even if you were to find him, how would you go about getting what you’re after?” 

“Well, you said he’s bound to come for you,” Elias said after a moment of thought. Cassian leveled him with an unimpressed look. 

“If you plan to loiter around here then I just might consider leaving.” He was more likely to curse the man until he willingly left, but either way, it was clear Cassian would not continue to be so welcoming. “Besides, you’d be waiting for a while. Ethelred likely plans to gather the pieces of the staff first.” 

“I thought you’d destroyed it,” Elias said, equal parts confused and surprised. 

“The staff can’t be destroyed. The best I could do was make it harder for Ethelred to get his decrepit hands on it.” Cassian thought it was a real shame. He’d used as much power as he could spare and all he’d managed to do was mildly inconvenience Ethelred. Truly pitiful. 

He scraped up the last of his soup, disappointed both that it was gone and that he’d enjoyed it enough to finish it. When he looked up at Elias, he found a thoughtful look on the thief’s face. Cassian had the feeling that particular look wouldn’t bode well for him.

“Shouldn’t you want to find the pieces before him then? You said it was the only thing keeping you alive. Won’t you be fine if you get it back?” 

Cassian could just about see the cogs working in whatever mess it was that the thief called a mind. There was a sharpness in his eyes as he stared at Cassian, a calculating sort of look that made a shiver run up Cassian’s spine. He could just tell what the man was plotting and he didn’t like it. Not one bit.

“Don’t even think about it,” he said, eyes narrowed. 

“I haven’t said anything!” 

“You don’t have to say anything. I can tell what you’re thinking from that conniving look on your already shifty-looking face.” 

Elias had the gall to look offended. 

“Why must you be so rude?” 

“You stole from me,” Cassian thought it ridiculous that he constantly had to remind Elias.

“I said I was sorry!”

“You did not!”

“Well, I made you soup!” 

Cassian wished he hadn’t eaten said soup so he could hurl it at Elias’ face, bowl and all. He took a calming breath. It did little to help. 

“I’m not leaving this place,” he said after a moment of tense silence during which they both tried to calm down. “If you want to chase after Ethelred, feel free, but don’t expect to drag me along. Just know that this’ll likely end with you dead.” 

Elias didn’t look away from Cassian in spite of his harsh words. He still took a moment to compose whatever answer he would give. Cassian didn’t expect it to make any difference. The thief’s green gaze bore into Cassian, searching for something he likely wouldn’t find. At last, he stood. Cassian noted the disappointment coloring his expression. 

“Fine, stay here and wait for death then.” He opened the door, pausing for a moment to look back at Cassian. “If you change your mind, I’ll be in town until tomorrow morning.” 

“I won’t,” Cassian said, certain in that alone. 

Elias said nothing more, walking out the door. His footsteps grew more distant until, with the sound of a door opening and closing, they were gone. 

Once again, Cassian found himself alone in his home in the middle of the woods with nothing to do but wait for his death.