As Kyle watched the two scouts run off into the distance, all that he could think about was how lucky he was that his letters had been intercepted by Kitt. If things had gone differently his family would have been preparing for a life filled with shame.
"You can worship me later, kid" Kitt replied to his unspoken thoughts. "Right now it is of the upmost importance that we make it back to King Horace and let him know what is going on. We can't allow the Winter Rose to fall into the hands of the Adders, even if we have to give up our lives to prevent it."
"Fine, let's go meet the King" he said in the most non-chaunt way he knew possible. Internally however, he was freaking out. He had nearly died moments ago fighting a bunch of bandits and now he was on his way to meet the King of Cervine. How does one process that? Seriously, give a man a moment!
"What? Do I need to spell it out to you? Get your sorry butt in gear, soldier! We have a kingdom to save!" Kitt demanded
"Okay! Geeze, I'm going, I'm going!"
Not wanting to show how rattled he was, Kyle stowed his thoughts deep within his mind and followed the scout's orders to the teeth. With his sword quickly sheathed and his precious bag where it belonged on his back, Kyle as ready to head out on the trek south.
"Took you long enough" Kitt said with a disgruntled sigh and the accompanying eye roll. "Whatever, we don't have time for this right now. We need to be halfway to the capital by sunset."
Kyle looked at his companion in shock. The capital was a hundred and fifty leagues away from where they were. There was no way that they were going to be anywhere near half way done with the journey in a single night!
"Oh, don't give me any crap, I'm not an idiot" Kitt said. " It's called generalizing. Stop being so literal!"
"I didn't say anything!" he protested. The pair hadn't even left yet and he was still getting nagged like he was the reason that everything around them was falling apart. It wasn't like he was slowing them down or anything!
Heading up the ridge to gain some distance from his annoyed compatriot, Kyle couldn't help but release a small sigh of his own.
When he had left home he had intended to reach the Academy in time to start with the fall semester's batch of new recruits. Yet, despite his best efforts, it was looking like he might have to put his ambitions on hold for a while.
First, it was the theft of his bag which had cost him a precious week, now he was headed in the absolute wrong direction. At this rate, he would be lucky to reach Northwatch Keep by spring!
Heading south along the King's Road, the journey seemed to be rather boring as there weren't any other travelers on the road or anything interesting to look at. Finally, after what felt like forever, Kyle let out a sigh.
"I can't stand the silence! At least groan a little, you are starting to make me think you aren't human. We've been running for like an hour. Aren't you tired in the least bit?"
Kitt stared at him. "Oh, are you tired? Want to take a break?" By the way the scout reacted, it was clear that he hadn't even noticed that the activity was supposed to be draining.
Personally, Kyle was gasping for breath. While he had been training for years to build up the endurance to be a knight, even professional soldiers couldn't keep up such a pace indefinitely. Yet, as much as he tried to perceive any change in Kitt's demeanor, it simply wasn't there.
"Huh, I guess it has been an hour" the inhuman scout replied. His tone did not match the seriousness of the topic at hand though. It was as if he were talking about how the sky was blue, or commenting on what he ate for breakfast.
"What is wrong with you?" Kyle demanded. "People can't run for this long and not feel anything!"
"I was just lost in thought" Kitt replied with a guilty look. Suddenly, his face changed as he was hit with a realization.
"You're wound is still bothering you, isn't it? That's why you're so slow. Ugh, I should have just sent you with the others and headed to the capital myself."'
"It's not my wound! It is just fine, thank you very much!"
"Oh, then why are you so slow? Even when I was your age I could do at least this much without slowing down."
"You're not human, are you?" Kyle sighed in frustration. If this went on much longer, he was not confident that he wouldn't try and strangle his companion. Surely Kitt must be joking. Who could run full tilt in armor for an hour and not be winded?
"Sense you are so concerned with my health, we can take it a bit slower. It's going to be dark soon and there isn't much of a reason to try and run in the dark. Knowing you, you'd probably smash right into a tree."
"Look, I know that we are in a rush to get back to Winchester to see the King" he said. "Is it really a good idea to stop when it gets dark? We could always light a torch and walk"
Kitt shook his head. "Can't afford to wear ourselves out. It's a long trek back and with how important this message is for King Horace to hear, it is vital that we keep ourselves able to continue."
Given how the tone of the conversation had changed, Kyle realized that although the scout didn't show it, he must also be feeling some fatigue. Otherwise he wouldn't have offered to stop.
By the time that night fell, Kyle was beyond exhausted. If he had thought his pain was bad earlier, it was excruciating now. It felt like he had a million tiny, little needles stabbing into him from all directions from his feet to the top of his neck and shoulders.
On the other hand, Kitt, didn't look any worse for wear at all. This simple fact infuriated Kyle to no end. If he was suffering, he wanted the scout to show at the very least a little bit of discomfort! It wasn't like he was wishing for his silent traveling companion to be in agony or anything, he just was starting to seriously question whether or not Kitt was human at all!
Even though the silent scout had finally offered a break, Kyle couldn't help but feel like it was more out of a polite gesture to save his feelings than anything else. With no way to confirm his suspicions without straight up asking the scout, Kyle was forced to simply take him at his word.
With the return of his bag, Kyle was finally able to relax for what seemed like an eternity. With his bedroll prepared, he was ready to turn in for the night, when he noticed that Kitt was not preparing his own bedding. Instead, the scout was readying his weapons.
"What is it?" he asked the silent scout with a whisper. "Do you sense something is up?"
"No, go to bed" Kitt shook his head. "I'm just going to keep watch for a while to make sure we weren't followed."
"Well, if you're sure..." he said with a hint of reluctance. As tired as he was, Kyle couldn't help but feel like he needed to at least offer to share the watch with Kitt. After all, he was going to be an apprentice knight. He would need to be able to carry his weight while on campaign in the future.
Almost as if he sensed what Kyle was thinking, Kitt shook his head. "Don't even think about it. If you are going to stand a chance of keeping up with me tomorrow, you need all the rest that you can get."
"But-"
"No buts! I said rest, and that is an order, soldier! Today I took things easy on you considering how you nearly died. Tomorrow our journey begins in earnest. If I let you stay up late tonight, You'll be cursing my name and every divine god you can think of by midmorning."
Unable to think of a convincing comeback, Kyle simply retreated to his bedroll to sleep off his fury. He was on his way to the Northwatch Keep Academy! He was hardly some child to be simply told to go to his room! How dare Kitt treat him as such.
Yet, as much as he wanted to stay up and argue the point with the silent scout, he no more than sat down in his bedding and he was out like a light.
The next thing that he knew, Kyle was shaken awake. There was barely a hint of daylight creaking above the horizon. Softly in the distance the sounds of the forest slowing coming alive around them sung the morning tune of the start to a new day.
"Come on, you somehow managed to sleep past first light. We're already behind schedule" Kitt said with an annoyed sigh.
"Well, excuse me," Kyle replied, equally annoyed. Was there nothing he could do to please this man?
"Whatever, we need to get moving immediately" his traveling compatriot said with a renewed urgency that caused Kyle some pause.
The scout had seemed so reassured yesterday. Something must have changed over the night. This new expression of worry was disconcerting to say the least.
"What's wrong?" he asked with the subtly of a bull in a pottery shop.
"We don't have time for chit chat. Grab your gear and follow me. We need to be gone right now."
Startled, Kyle could hardly just sit there and do nothing. Within seconds the remnants of his sleep-deprived state was vanquished and he was ready to get going.
"Took you long enough. What, were you still sleep?" Kitt asked.
Kyle held his tongue. Instead of responding, he headed back towards the road.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"What do you mean? I'm heading back to the road. We have to get to the capital, remember?" Kyle said.
"And you thought it was a good idea to take the slowest path known to man or elf? We're in a rush if you don't remember."
"Of course I'm headed for the road, it's the only way to get to Winchester from here!"
Kitt rolled his eyes "Just follow me."