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Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Yeah, they were a little fucked. Hearing the whispers of the nearby tavern attendees set Throne's nerves off. She had learned to be slick and fast, typically always on edge. She was trained to be aware of her surroundings, but the fact that she caught a practical whisper amongst the sea of noise in the tavern was partially a stroke of luck.
"Doesn't that look like the guy who escaped Frigit Isle?" A man leaned into his partner, subtly directing his attention to Osvald who had fallen asleep at a table. The entire group couldn't scrape up the funds to get a room at the inn the other night. The exhaustion was evidently settling in now.
"Can't be. The man burned to death on the escape ship, I hear."
"Well that man looks like him, does it not?" The man loosened his lips a bit more. Throne pretended to bury her attention in a book to keep eavesdropping. "Is that a chain around his neck? Does that not strike you as odd? Oh, if only I could find that picture of the man."
Hell if Throne wasn't trained in handling the matter, but it was the middle of the day. Plotting an ambush in broad daylight wasn't the greatest plan. It certainly wasn't impossible, but the circumstance was much less than ideal for Throne. There was a high chance these people wouldn't do anything. They had little reason to. There was no reward put out for her companion's arrest.
Throne really didn't want to get blood on her hands. Not for a reason as wasteful as this. As much as she wished to ignore the situation, Osvald was her companion.
They hardly exchanged words with one another, but that was still the case. Throne had grown a respect for the man she had found collapsed in the snow. She knew firsthand the world was filled to the brim with liars. Somehow, though, she just felt Osvald wasn't one of them. Even after he revealed that he was imprisoned in the most high-security Solistian prison for allegedly burning his wife and daughter to death.
She knew damn well he was capable of that, but she knew he wouldn't even more. Thieves instinct was her excuse.
"Throne!" Throne was spooked out of her spell of concentration at the sound of a light-voiced girl. "We're back!"
Throne looked up to see Agnea running at her. Agnea threw her arms around Throne, locking her in a hug. It was certainly taking some getting used to, and she felt a bit frustrated to have attention drawn to her, but Agnea's lighthearted giggle was enough to make up for it.
"Agnea," Throne whispered, wrapping her arms around Agnea back. By the smile on the girl's face, she could already tell the answer to her own question before she asked. "I take it you and Partitio got some cash."
"Heheh, yup!" Agnea let go of Throne and gave her a sweet smile. She grabbed a hold of the end of her dress. "Just did a little practice in the middle of town, and some lady gave me a nice old coin..."
"An' that baby sold for a thousand leaves!" Partitio shouted as he arrived at the tavern. Osvald jolted awake at the sound of his yell. Throne held back a chuckle. "Thankee kindly Agnea! Two of us make a great team!"
"We really did, Partitio!" Agnea offered him a smile. "Of course you do too, Throne," she winked.
Throne was thankful Agnea never once critiqued her methods. She didn't even have a word to spare witnessing Osvald mug a guy. She did make an effort to not be near the crime but Throne was thankful it didn't scare her off. She really didn't know what she'd do without Agnea.
Agnea leaned in and planted a kiss on Throne's cheek. She could feel her face surging red at the gesture, but Agnea didn't do any more than giggle.
"Mister Osvald!" Agnea shouted, energetically bounding to the table Osvald had drifted off. "We've got enough money for a room! Oh, and some man gave me this weird stone while I was out, it looked like something you'd know about..."
Throne noticed the two men at the bar exchange a look. Damn, she had forgotten how loud her travelling partners could be. One of them stood up, and Throne could immediately sense hostility. She reached for her dagger with haste.
...But they didn't approach Osvald. The two of them instead went for the exit.
Throne sighed. It'd be better to flee this town and grab an Inn somewhere else at this point. Agnea had mentioned wanting to travel to Clockbank. It wasn't the cleanest of towns, but somehow, Throne felt eager to show her girlfriend around the city of the East.
"Osvald," Throne walked up to their table, a hand on her hip. "You've been recognized."
"Not the end of the world," Osvald grunted, pushing up his glasses slightly to examine the fiery stone Agnea had handled him. "It's a fire soulstone. A strong one. I'd say medium."
"It can very well be the end of the world," Throne huffed. "We don't need to stay in this town, anyway. Clockbank isn't far from here," she made eye contact with Agnea, who still didn't shed her smile.
"All this walkin' is tiring me out," Paritio complained. "Really think we can't slip into an Inn right here?"
"Not without risking our necks," Throne sighed.
"Just think about all the business opportunities there'll be in Clockbank, Partitio!" Agnea said, clinging to Throne's arm. "If we get the walk done now we'll have the whole day to spend there!"
Osvald had already gotten a nap. He stood up without a word of argument, ready to go. Partitio let out another sigh. "Damn, guess I'm outnumbered here." Throne noticed the dark marks under his eyes, but Partitio threw his hat on without a question. "Alright, let's make it to Clockbank before evenin' strikes!"
The four of them started to make their way out of there. Throne just started to slink behind. "Are you alright?" Agnea turned and asked.
"...Yes." Throne said.
"You're tired, aren't you?" Agnea grabbed Throne's chin. The sudden touch was still unexpected. It seemed to startle her awake.
"A bit."
"Well if you need a break on the way there, I'll take care of any monsters for you!" Agnea balled up her fist. "I'll make sure you won't have to raise a weapon until we get there, Throne!"
"That's very reassuring, Agnea," Throne yawned into her hand. "I just want to get this over with..."
"Good," Agnea smiled. "Now you better tell me if you get tired, okay?"
Agnea let go of Throne's chin so she could instead grab a hold of her shoulders. She leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Throne's lips. Throne sloppily returned it, wrapping an arm around Agnea's back, almost completely missing her face when she reached up to caress her cheek.
"Throne?" Agnea pulled away from Throne, concern widened her eyes. "Are you sure you're- Are you okay?"
Throne couldn't make out an intelligible answer before conking right out on top of her.