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The tent he’d found her in was filled with incense. He kept having to sniff against the onslaught of faintly shimmering smoke, and she smirked every time he blinked the colorful stuff out of his eyes.
It was always like this, though, with her.
He knew just enough magic to make him dangerous. Enough to add strength to his arms and keep himself alive. It was a supplement to the arsenal of his skillset. Her, though? Magic made her lethal. Magic made her a weapon.
"How long have you been tracking them?"
It was the first time she’d spoken since they’d traded their greeting barbs, since he’d handed over the map. She was still looking over where it was spread between them.
"The Brotherhood took the job two months ago. I took it last week."
"Hmm," long fingers trailed across the depiction of the Cintran border. "You were correct about there being magic involved. They're hiding themselves as they move. And they're not staying in one place for very long."
"Can you track them?"
“Can I- Of course I can track them.”
“Hmm.”
“Of course I’d prefer to not have to work miracles for free, did you bring me anything at all to work with?”
His face stayed carefully calm only due to years of exchanges like this. It used to rile them both up, the way the other communicated, but now he digs into his bag and feels only affectionate amusement for her impatience.
He handed over the torn cloak, ruddy with blood, and raised an eyebrow when she practically preened.
“This will do nicely. So you do listen when I tell you what spell components I need.”
“I know what I’m doing, Yen.”
She was already walking away, but at that she let her head fall back and laughed. “I never said that.”
“Hmm.” He watched as she walked towards a tent flap, component in hand and sharp smile aimed over her shoulder.
“This is going to take a while. Come back in an hour and I’ll have a tracker on your runner. In exchange you can tell me about what has that lovesick look on your face, since it obviously isn’t me.”
With that she disappeared.