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Back to back the two stood, Hawks' wings flared out in a defensive mantling and Rumi was bent low, her body all but vibrating with the need to move. His sword glinted in the noon sun and her daggers whispered through the air as she parried an attack. "I'll go low if you go high." She didn't look over her shoulder as she spoke.
"One of us has to go get our dumb mages." He countered, his eyes never once leaving the enemy.
"Maybe they shouldn't have gotten caught in the first damn place."
"Well if they were any good at that, they wouldn't have kidnapped us, would they?"
"They took us hostage, I wouldn't say kidnapped--"
"Is now the time?"
Rumi's smile was sharp as she crouched lower, "I'll pummel these novices. You get our prince and princess."
Hawks' teeth ground together. He really wished today had been as smooth as the morning had teased. But, if things could be as peaceful as the morning had been, there would be no need for people like Hawks and Rumi.
----
"Up and at 'em you layabouts!"
Hawks' voice was chipper as he sent a light gust of air into the tents in front of him. He cackled as he was met with a fierce swear from one and a very aggravated growl from the other. His wings folded against his back after the powerful sweep they had performed. The fire behind him crackled and the birds around them in the trees sang and he felt good. They had once again outpaced their pursuers and his morning sweep had shown that there had been no scouts sent in even the hint of their direction.
The further north they kept pushing the better it seemed to go for them. Soon they would surely reach the end of the world.
And when they did--
Well, whatever goal it was that their mages were working towards could truly begin.
"Careful Hawks, just because Dabi is your lover doesn't mean he won't turn you into crisped fowl." Came a placid if amused voice from the fire behind.
"He's not the only one in danger. Don't think I didn't hear you whispering to encourage him." The sleep roughened voice that had sworn earlier came from the first tent. A tan arm pushed open the flap, the muscles flexed as though to highlight the threat. Sharp red eyes stared out from a curtain of white hair as teeth were bared in a snarl that would be fierce -- if it did not come from the lapine of their group.
The voice at the fire was unrepentant, "If you heard me whispering with those long ears of yours, you should have already been up and getting our tent packed up Rumi."
"I'm sorry, I thought putting up the tent and taking first watch had earned me a bit of a lay in." Rumi grumbled, pulling herself out to go drape herself over the woman tending the fire with her bare hands. She leaned heavily on the plump, pale woman, snatching a handful of mushrooms from her side before they could be thrown into the pan with the grease. "Should have known princess wouldn't let that stand."
"Don't talk with your mouth full." The grey eyes of the other woman were sharp. Sharper was the sound of the whack of the wooden spoon on Rumi's hand as she reached for more mushrooms. "And I thought we'd broken that habit of using that title?"
"Sorry Kakunofuyu." Rumi drew out the name in a long drawl. "Old habits die hard."
The fourth voice and the final companion of their party finally made himself heard instead of just being the sounds of discontent. "It's been six years. You're doing it on purpose you stupid merc." His rough voice matched the rough scars that covered the lower half of his face and most of his body. At least the parts that could be seen at the moment, as most of him was wrapped up in a light heat-wicking robe. Hawks was very familiar with the make, and not just because the man had been wearing it for the last five years. He had one much the same, but water-wicking for flight and travel. In fact, the man in front of him, Dabi, had bought it for him.
And had lightly singed his feathers when Hawks had joked that they were a matching set.
His electric blue eyes had pinned Hawks' down though as he stepped out of the tent. He gestured very rudely at him. "If you wake me up like that again, we're having you for dinner."
"And he always says that. You'd think he'd get more material after six years." Rumi muttered, earning a snorted laugh from Kaku. Rumi's smile was too bright for Hawks -- he wondered if she even realized how clearly she showed her delight when the ice witch laughed at her jokes.
Instead of speaking on that tangled mess, Hawks simply cocked his head to the side and grinned at Dabi. "You'd have to catch me first. And I still outstrip you by a good league when it comes to movement firespark." Another rude gesture came his way and Hawks chuckled. "Up, out. Get those tents folded up while we finish breakfast. Then we'll get moving. We should hit the Akiran border by mid-afternoon. From there we should have a straight shot south to the sea."
At his words both twins twitched to attention. By looks you'd never be able to tell, but the intensity of their stares really gave away the family connection. And the crooks of the noses. And the baseline hum of their magic. But it was Kao who spoke first, excitement making her suddenly cold breath mist in the hot air. "Really? The sea? The Orin Sea?"
"Unless you know of another sea to the south." Hawks grinned widely at her. But his eyes flicked quickly to Dabi's. His face was not nearly as expressive as his sister's, but Hawks hadn't spent six years staring at it, learning his every tell, only to miss the smallest changes. And those changes showed him that Dabi was beyond thrilled. He was even -- hopeful it seemed.
As though after all this time, he was finally able to believe he'd be free.
He had never seen the mages work faster to bring down their tents or scarf down their food and it was just after the sun rose that they set out on the road. That was a much earlier start than they usually got. Hawks had grown overtly fond of the fire-gifted Dabi, but the man was a late riser. And his companion in arms Rumi didn't move her cotton-tailed ass until everyone else in the camp was ready to go. She'd been that way since she joined the Brazen Blades and she hadn't seen a reason to change for two trumped up runaways. Especially not when one of those runaways was too easy-going on her, always indulging her late morning cuddles.
Though, perhaps Hawks' shouldn't begrudge Kaku that. After all, her and Dabi had grown up in a household quite devoid of physical affection. It didn't take a great deal of insight to know that. Not with the way the rest of the royal family acted around each other -- never touching, always hovering just out of reach.
Not that the royal family had anything to do with their two travelling mages.
If Dabi could read thoughts, Hawks would be a dead man. But he couldn't, so all was safe. And all was going well as they travelled quickly down the open road, headed towards the sweeping cliffs that marked the last passage before they reached the rolling dunes that connected shale rock to sea.
It was also the second most dangerous part of their journey to the sea. The high cliffs on either side of the pass were filled with crags and places to hide. But with his sharp eyes Hawks was confident that he would see any gleam of sun on armor above them. And Rumi was incredibly talented at spying any shifting movement even out of the corner of her eye. All they needed to do was move without pause and they'd make it through safely.
"Dabi, look at these!"
Of course, the mages made everything ten times more difficult. You could tell them time and time again how time was of an essence and they'd still drag their feet if they saw something that piqued their interest.
"Are these runes carved into the rock? Nothing too special about that." Dabi replied drolly, but he had already meandered over to Kaku's side. Their heads pressed together as they looked at the inscriptions. Dark dyed black and bright dyed red, a mix of vibrancy and shade. Rumi sighed, wrapping an arm around Kaku's waist, but she couldn't pull the mage away without hurting her or risking a frozen arm.
"It's more than just carved into the rock. Look, it goes across multiple layers. It's written into the walls of the cliff, who knows how deep the runes go." Her eyes danced. "I've always wanted to see a location like this. God-signed."
"And there are plenty more in the world to be seen. Let's get a move on." Rumi said firmly, her lips pressed against Kaku's ear. Her eyes flicked up, her ears twitching slightly. Hawks followed her gaze and grit his teeth. Yeah -- they were being watched. Whether by bandits, locals, or a hired team wasn't clear, but they definitely had attention. "C'mon." Rumi was more firm, tugging Kaku away from the wall.
Just in time for a hand to reach out of the runes on the wall.
Or rather from a nook hidden in the shadows.
Kaku was pulled out of the reach of the hand, but Dabi was grabbed swiftly by the collar of his robes. He was grabbed and pulled against the wall of stone as the sound of rocks shifting above gave warning that something or someone was descending on the. Hawks ducked, drawing his sword and moving to avoid being cornered up against the wall himself. Rumi shoved Kaku away from her, whirling so that she was back to back with Hawks.
"Run!" Rumi commanded the ice mage. But the woman was as stubborn as her lover and a crack filled the air as ice solidified out of the humid air around them. The ice wrapped around the wrist of the man who had grabbed her twin, but he didn't hesitate to snap the ice and then slam Dabi's head against the stone. The man's eyes glazed over at the hit and a spark of fire left his mouth in defiance.
Which was not what they needed. Hawks wasn't a naturalist but even he'd heard that you didn't want to have open flames around these cliffs. It was why travelers always tried to push through during the day and never remain overnight.
He swore as another man grabbed Kaku and dragged her around to press her against the earth, pinning her as he tied her wrists tight. Rumi snarled, drawing her daggers and aiming to throw one at the bandit in question until he drew Kaku up in front of himself as a shield. "I'll go high if you go low."
"One of us has to go get our dumb mages." He countered, his eyes never once leaving the enemy.
"Maybe they shouldn't have gotten caught in the first damn place."
"Well if they were any good at that, they wouldn't have kidnapped us, would they?"
"They took us hostage, I wouldn't say kidnapped--"
"Is now the time?"
Rumi's smile was sharp as she crouched lower, "I'll pummel these novices. You get our prince and princess."
Without further need to speak, the two mercenaries burst into action. With a sweep of his wings and a careful push from his legs, Hawks was off the ground. He didn't gain much height, but it was enough to draw eyes upwards. This allowed Rumi to dart forward, daggers sweeping along legs, catching between joints in armor. Because of course these 'bandits' were in armor. Good armor. Armor that had clearly come from a rich backer. Hawks' eyes narrowed. He was really getting tired of all this hired help chasing them down. Once they were on the sea--
But that was future thoughts. Now he had to focus. He hovered for a moment, picking out the man who held Dabi and Kaku. He folded his wings in, steeping in a dive with his sword held ready. The pull of the earth was stronger than the man's armor and his sword cleanly dove straight into his chest. "You'd think after going after us so many times they'd prepare them better." He muttered, putting his foot on the man and drawing his sword out swiftly.
"They probably would, if we left survivors." Rumi replied, downing another with a swift kick upwards and then a dagger through his helm's slit. "They probably still don't even realize that they've got help."
That was because they were clever and always had Dabi burn the bodies past knowing how they died. It was a precautionary measure that had always done them well. Though it never stopped the people coming after them.
Hawks turned to the two trussed up mages on the ground. "You going to be able to get out of those bonds or--"
A guttural sound ended his sentence followed by a sharp wheeze. He glanced down to see the point of a sword sticking out just below his ribs. He turned to look over his shoulder, golden eyes glinting with fury and pain. He should have made sure the man was truly dead. Instead, bleeding out but with his sword being used as a lever to hold himself upright, the man Hawks had pierced stood. He grinned, his own teeth bloody. "Never thought I'd have the honor of killing the Winged Death myself." He hissed.
"Well don't go crowing your achievements in the afterlife just yet." Hawks bit out. But he couldn't move. If he pulled the sword out he knew the pressure release would cause the blood to flow faster and--
"Dabi don't!"
Kaku's voice was shrill but it came too late. Dabi had seen Hawks get stabbed and fury shown in his eyes. He had hauled himself upwards, his pupils uneven as he snarled at the wounded bandit. He jerked himself forward, attempting to ram himself into the broader man. Stronger as he was, he was also wounded, so the man toppled backwards, barely saving himself from the lash of fire that came spilling from Dabi's mouth as he spat curse after curse at the man.
And the flames dove passed the collapsing body to slam into the cliff. Right where the runes remained etched.
Kaku's screech was drowned out by the boom of an explosion as magic ricocheted off the walls. Hawks closed his eyes as blue flames reached out, hot air knocking him back and sending him ass over tea-kettle. He couldn't see, blinded by the light. He went rolling across the ground and the world spun as he lay on his back, staring up at the white void that was all he could see for the moment.
He might just pass out from the pain in his stomach.
But he wasn't sure it was safe enough to do that yet. He pushed himself up slowly, reaching around. He patted the ground, wondering if he would find an arm or a leg or a living person. But there was no one -- and nothing -- close enough to him to grab. He blinked a couple of times and still couldn't see. "Rumi-- Dabi-- Kaku?" There was no response. His teeth bared in a snarl. "Rumi! Report! Fuyumi? Tou--!" He was silenced as a too-hot hand slapped over his mouth.
"Stop using that name!" Dabi hissed. And his other hand was on Hawks' stomach and --
"Fuck no don't just cauterize me shut I need tending to it's torn inside and--"
"And I can fucking heal better than Kaku. So fucking sit tight and shut. Up!" Dabi snarled at him.
Gritting his teeth, Hawks' hands curled around the sword that had fallen on the ground beside him. His vision was clearing and as he looked around -- he could see the cliffs on fire. Violent blue licked at the soft blue of the sky and the white clouds. "Fuck." He hissed. "They'll be talking about this for years. Your father will know for sure we came this way."
"Then good thing we're on our way out of here." Dabi replied. "It's gonna--" He didn't finish his warning as the pain of the magic knitting him back together made Hawks' world go white again. "There. Rumi, Kaku?"
"Over here!"
Hawks felt relief rush through him at Rumi's voice. He stood with his arm resting around Dabi's shoulders. The man's touch was tender despite everything as they stood and Hawks couldn't resist leaning into him. Had only that morning seen them woken together in shared sheets? He should have known -- no easy morning led to an easy day. Together the two men made their way to Kaku and Rumi. Rumi was shoving a body into the blue flames, her skin soaked in sweat from the heat. But Kaku was staring off into the distance, her face full of wonder. She reached out, snagging her twin's arm. "Look Tou-- The sea." She whispered, heedless of what name she used. "I never thought I'd see it." Her voice trembled and she squeezed his hand in such an intimate way that Hawks had to look away.
There were some things he would never understand about these two, but moments like this were worth every risked stab wound and flambéed hide.
Rumi wrapped her arm around Kaku's waist and swung her up into a standing position. Together the four of them looked out towards the glistening green of the sea, towards the horizon, towards the promise of true freedom. "Well, let's go meet it's shores then. We could probably get a boat before nightfall." Rumi said softly, kissing her temple.
Supporting each other, their group of four left the storming flames behind them, burning all evidence of their passing.