Hakon starts slightly at his words, she remembered something else- complete darkness, cheerful banter, arms and legs tangled as she cups the face of whoever that shadow is, pressing her forehead against his and listening to those words 'I am a man of my word'.

" Wait- Aven."

Aven stopped in his tracks, turning to face Hakon. As disgusted as he was with himself, he forced himself to smile, as he at least wanted the last image Hakon had of him to be of him smiling. He wondered if she'd thought of something else he could do to repay her, a prospect he would jump to pursue. As of yet, he'd done nothing to help her, and it tore at his insides like a rusty dagger.

"What is it, Hakon? Is there something else I can do?" A small shred of him fervently wished her to tell him to stay, an unwarranted and nonsensical desire. She couldn't possibly forgive him, that would be absurd, wouldn't it?

"…" She pauses for a moment, resting her chin upon her knees- her eyes fixed upon the far wall where all but one of the candles had burned out while they slept.

" If you still want to travel with me, meet me at the farthest point South of this city, there are crossroads there. Have everything you need and we can head out together-" she glances at him from the corner of her eye,"- does that sound fair?"

Aven's smile breaks for a moment, and his mouth gapes slightly in shock. Hakon was actually still interested in traveling with him. Why? He was a dark mage, not to mention a pervert now. He wasn't positive how that situation even came to be, but he could infer that his body was used to such activity, meaning that he must have been some kind of sex fiend in his previous life. I truly am revolting.

Nevertheless, that small part of him jumped for joy, that same part of him that caused him to trust her so easily. It urged him to respond, to accept her generous offer. His smile returned in a heartbeat, this time genuine, brighter. "I'll meet you there, then! The crossroads it is!" He waves a temporary farewell, and closes the door behind him, not aware of the trial of finding the crossroads which awaited him, as he had no sense of direction to speak of. In fact, as he exited the inn into the night, he began walking north by accident.

Hakon sighed faintly as the door closed, moving to collect her sword and shield as she searches her purse that was tucked beneath her belt- briefly shocked by the amount of coin she found there. How was she so… Wealthy? Shaking her head, she decided to leave that question aside, she had enough questions to ask and not enough answers by far.

Carefully sliding off the bed, she spread the silver along the floor- beginning to count it. An hour passed until she was relatively satisfied. Enough to buy armor, a new shield, food, maybe some other provisions… Wonderful. She cracked a smile. Despite having been woken up in such a terrible manner, she found herself rather happy. Gathering up her wealth, she headed downstairs, paid for the room and moved through the city heading South. The sun beginning to wheel higher in the sky and slowly dip.


She trudged along the long road just outside the city, her metal boots and vambraces hissed against her skin, leaving soft red marks as the remainder in her armor clanked steadily in the backpack she sported just over the enchanted shield and same broadsword she kept close at her side. She chewed carefully upon a small strip of jerky, dried fish tasted oddly… Good, not great but good. As she neared the crossroads, she tilts an eyebrow. No one was there… Odd

Nine hours. For nine hours, Aven roamed that God forsaken city, searching for the south exit that led to the crossroads. He was so hopelessly lost at one point that he sat down on the top of the tallest building he could find, to try and spot his quarry, of course he'd slipped and fallen, barely managing to survive by shadow melding into the stone wall beside him as he fell. After that mishap, he'd made a mental note to remain partially melded while on tall structures, a wise decision indeed. 

After a brief wait, Hakon would spot Aven trudging haplessly toward her from the city. His eyes drooped in annoyance from the drawn out battle with his arch nemesis: a sense of direction. Patience was a virtue, but he'd lost that particular blessing halfway through, not to mention he'd been ambushed by that idiotic zealot from the previous day. The foolish man tried to attack Aven at night, a near suicide mission for almost any creature. The fight, if it could've been classified as such, lasted two seconds before his attacker was munching cobblestone, knocked unconscious by a shadow tendril to the neck. Aven hoped that would teach him to mind his boundaries, but he doubted that would be the case. 

Aven meandered over, his robe looking like new, and wearing black leather gloves and boots, his short silver hair combed cleanly up and slightly to the left. When he caught sight of Hakon, however, his eyes widened. She was in plate armor, a look that very much became her, and once again, Aven's mind was drawn to that figure in his memories. They looked so similar in build, but he could not remember her face, so he thought it a large coincidence. He would have remembered her by her face, would he not have? "You look superb in your new armor, Hakon. Did you procure all of that this morning?"

The figure that hobbled over to her, she at first mistook for a beggar- closer inspection, she smiles weakly. It was him - some part of her hoped he would show while another argued that if he did, she would drive her sword straight through his skull… Alas… Lowering her gaze, the young woman ran a hand through her hair, smiling weakly," I did- it seemed only fitting I get something that will fit my lifestyle." She answers somewhat awkwardly, it was odd, she didn't think herself the mercenary type but how else was one to survive in this world especially when their only skills were that within combat?

Tilting her head, she gazes at him, now that he was clean, she could see he was relatively attractive… Though that still wasn't enough reason to simply forgive him off the bat for the morning's indiscretions. Turning her back upon him, she looks right, left, then forward," Which way shall we go?"

Aven didn't miss a single beat in answering Hakon's question. Such was his way when dealing with directions, decisions that had no logical bearing. "Straight, onward to whatever awaits us!" He grins as he brings the hood of his robe up to shield him from the peaking sun. He truly was extatic for the future, to explore the world without inhibitions, to seek and find its knowledge and secrets. It was romantic, how he looked at it, and he'd enjoy every second.

She smiled faintly, looking away as she adjusts the helm over her eyes, nodding shortly," Then away we go," she hums quietly, beginning to place one foot before the other as she starts away, her eyes fixed upon the forest ahead.

Hours of walking later and the pair would find themselves in the center of a forest, thick trees crowding away what light they could as the pair continued down the road. The rhythmic clink of shield against sword, boots against ground and armor against armor within her backpack seeming to create an odd song to their journey. Hakon hadn't spoke a word, staring forward- simply trying to sort her thoughts into neat little piles- leaving the little songbird alone as she attempted to make sense of herself. Not everything added up.

Aven absently hummed various tunes as they went, his voice a soft and smooth baritone, carrying farther than it should have. It sounded as though his shadow was amplifying the sound, or… humming with him? No, that wouldn't make sense. He kept an even pace, taking slow, long strides to the rhythm of the song he was performing at the time, as well as unconsciously matching the speed of each time to the rythmic pattern of Hakon's footsteps. Above all else, he was enjoying the presence of a companion, and the relative tranquility of the forest, looking as though he didn't have a care in the world.

That was not so, however. In his mind, he was flitting through pages and pages of research, reaclamating himself to their contents. If one were to looker his eyes, they would notice that he was not at all paying attention to where he was going, his vision zoned into the distance as he strode along. It was possible that starting a conversation would break him out of the trance, but until then, he would most likely continue humming and walking to the beat of the armor.