A gentle chill rolled down Lyla's spine, waking her from the fevered sleep she was in. She shivered once awake and saw she was huddled in her sleeping bag, inside her tent. Lyla dreaded leaving the casing around her. Even inside it, she was shivering like mad. But, she knew she would have to get out soon. She saw the sunlight pierce the thin tent cloth, telling her it was morning already.
Rolling over, Lyla grumbled, debating when to rush out of the sleeping bag for the fire.
"Leave that tent, and I'll throw you back in there myself." Lyla heard an almost growl from Steve as he spoke sharply. That in itself almost scared Lyla. Why was he suddenly so angry? What did she do? Was he feeling bad about crying last night? She didn't know! Gosh! Why do men have to be so confusing?!
"Hu? It's morning though." Lyla grumbled from inside her sleeping-bag.
"Yeah, and you are sick. We should be far enough ahead so we can take today off. Going directly through that town also helped us get slightly ahead of schedule, so we should be fine. But for now, you need to stay as still and warm as possible until you feel better." Steve explained, which helped Lyla get over the shock a bit better.
"But I need to save (Y/n)." Lyla groaned, shoving her face into her little pillow right after. She didn't want to be the reason the entire trip was delayed one bit, but she was also glad Steve hadn't just left her.
"You mean we? And don't worry. We should still get there on schedule as long as you get some rest, so fall back asleep as soon as you can." Steve said. Lyla laid down silently for another few minutes, rolling over every few seconds trying to go to sleep. Both the sun and cold were keeping her from falling back to sleep, however.
"Hhhhh. I can't. It's too cold." Lyla finally huffed. There was no answer from Steve, but she heard someone mess with the fire and move around some leaves outside the tent. Before she could ask what Steve was doing, he opened the tent up and grabbed her in her sleeping bag. He then gently carried her over to the fire where he set her down on a pile of leaves that acted as a mattress.
"There. That better?" He asked once Lyla's head poked out of the sleeping bag to see the fire close by. That helped a lot; the fire started heating up the bag she was in right away.
"Yeah. Thanks." Lyla sighed, starting to feel tired right away. Steve smiled a little more and walked off. Lyla, finally tired again, retreated into the sleeping bag, rolling over again so her back was to the warmth of the fire, and hid in there like it was a little burrow. Slowly, she fell asleep to the fresh smell of fallen leaves.
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Steve wandered around the forest, not going too far from camp, looking for something to do. He figured Lyla would fall asleep quicker with him gone, so he set his goals to hunting for some food. He already had enough bread, water, and vegetables to make some chicken dumpling soup. All he needed now was a chicken. He remembered a while back when his mom used to make soup for him whenever he got sick, so he hoped it would help Lyla out. That, and he hadn't had some nice warm soup in a while.
"Ugh! What the heck are you doing so far north? You know you aren't far from one of Herobrine's near-base portals, right?" A feminine voice questioned Steve. He quickly looked around but didn't see anyone.
"Come out! I know who you are. And I know how to kill you if I must!" Steve barked around the forest. Then, a dark figure landed, having jumped from one of the trees, and stood before Steve, only five or so feet away.
"Well, jeez, 'cous! I thought we were on different terms than that." The lady scoffed. Steve looked about her figure, carefully looking for any already drawn weapons. By the lady's outfit alone it was almost impossible to even tell she was that. On her was a dark cloak, covering every inch of her skin. Over her mouth was a black scarf and a hood covered everything about her face except her piercing green eyes. No doubt she had a well-stocked arsenal of throwing knives and blades of all other kinds under that cloak.
"You haven't exactly kept the best records." Steve growled, shuffling his feet under him. The lady kept her solid gaze on him, equally not sure whether she could trust him.
"I am honestly surprised you even figured it out, and at such a young age too.. Told anyone yet?. Because, well, I would hate to have to kill whoever you trusted with that info." She spoke smoothly in a way that was obviously a threat.
"No. Your secret is still safe with me. Just like it was a few years ago.." Steve lowered his head, hating that he could do nothing about the situation he had stuck himself into all those years ago.
"So, what are you doing so far north?" The lady asked, her voice shifting to a more chatty, casual tone.
"I should be asking you the same thing." Steve grunted.
"Oh, just coming back from killing an old traitor is all." She spoke about it so casually that it sickened Steve just listening.
"Listen, I don't really want to hear about your missions, okay?"
"Okay. Makes it easier for me then." The lady sounded like she was smiling under the scarf or bandanna. Steve sighed again and broke eye contact with her. He then just looked at the floor and shifted the dead leaves around with his foot, waiting for her to leave on her own. But, she didn't leave. Instead, she took a few steps closer. Steve's eyes widened when he saw her come closer through the corner of his eye and he swiftly turned his whole body towards her, eyes darting around her person for any visible weapons. "Wow. Trust issues.." The lady stepped back only one step, half chuckling.
"Alright, what do you want?" Steve huffed.
"I just want to know what you are doing out here... plus, I am pretty hungry." She chuckled a tiny bit once more. Steve looked at her for a few solid minutes before sighing, giving in.
"Hhhhh, fine. I was going to make chicken dumplings anyways. I just need the chicken. You can get that if you want. I'll get the rest started up so it can get cooking faster." Steve sighed pretty much the entire thing. Well, a large amount of his monotone voice in there too.
"Alright! That, I can do. And, where are you planning on cooking it?" She asked.
"I already have a fire going not too far away from here.. You can find it." Steve told the lady, turning and walking back to camp. The lady watched for a moment before turning fully around and jumping back into one of the trees.
About half an hour later the cloaked lady arrived at the small two-tent camp where Steve was sitting down plopping things into the pot hanging above the fire.
"Got the chicken." She smiled under the bandanna.
"Oh and would you care to pull the hood down too? It is still odd seeing you wear that thing all the time." Steve asked.
"Hmf. Like soldiers, assassins have their uniforms too." The lady sounded displeased with the request, but obliged anyways, pulling down her hood with her free hand not holding the chicken, revealing light orange hair that fell down gently onto her shoulders. She also pulled down the scarf and Steve smiled subtly at the recognizable face of his older cousin. His cousin handed Steve the chicken carcass and he prepared it before plopping it too into the pot. After that, it was just a few stirs every now and then that was needed. Until it was done, there was nothing the two could do but sit and chat.
"...So who's your sick girlfriend?" Steve's older cousin smirked, eyeing all the hints to a second person who was most likely female around camp. Steve blushed and cleared his throat immediately.
"Actually, she is not in any way my girlfriend. She just insisted on helping me on my mission, but, she got sick somehow." Steve explained.
"Heh, then why haven't you just left her already? It's what you did with all the others who followed you... I am honestly still curious as to how we live entirely different but also so similar lives, it really is weird.."
"Well, she has turned out pretty helpful so far.. and stubborn. If I didn't stop for her she would probably end up tracking me down anyways... And, you and me have such different lives that are probably so similar yet different for moral reasons." Steve answered both questions, the two starting up a double conversation.
"Hu, she must be pretty determined... Also, morality doesn't really say much. Like, you go around, still doing things on your own little missions, just like me; except you are one of the most popular people in the world, whereas in contrast hardly anyone even knows I exist. And we still technically live the same lives too!" The cousin chuckled. Steve only glared at her from his seat to hers.
"Don't even try to compare our lives that way. We both know why we are so different. I for one don't want to have to think about keeping myself under a morality check every time I talk to you, got it?" Steve spoke sternly. His cousin half smirked. So, one fourth a smile?
"Oh, so my words do make you think? Heh, and for a moment I thought you knew who you were-"
"Don't. make me force you to leave. Either leave, or stop, talking." Steve threatened with his new ice-cold stare and voice sure to scare off children. His cousin didn't flinch at the look, but she did silence herself. The entire forest seemed silent the next few minutes to another half hour. When the soup was finally done, there were no words exchanged as Steve poured his cousin and himself a bowl. They then both ate in silence. Only little blows from them cooling down their soup came out their mouths. Finally, Steve's cousin was done. Silently, she stood and put the bowl down beside her. She turned to leave, finally speaking over her shoulder as she walked away.
"It was nice getting to see you again; thanks for the dumplings. And don't forget to tell your half-brother 'hi,' for me." Then, she was gone, jumping around in the trees until she eventually vanished. Steve groaned. He never liked how she always seemed to be able to read a situation almost perfectly. That must have been what made her such a good assassin. That, and she was insanely good with just about any weapon.
"Mmm.." Lyla stirred in her sleeping-bag, just waking up. Steve smiled at the sound and got up to pour a bowl of some dumplings for her too. By the time he was done, Lyla was sitting up in her sleeping bag, her hair all over the place. "..Soup?" She asked once Steve handed her a bowl and spoon.
"Chicken dumplings. It's still a little hot." Steve said, smiling.
"Oh. Thanks." Lyla yawned, almost pouring the substance on herself before the yawn ended and all was fine. Steve just smiled at her and sat back down to finish his bowl. The rest of the day was pretty chill. Nothing but relaxing and sleeping. It was actually pretty nice for Steve to have a day off. He too was able to rest up and relax. Tomorrow, however, would be an entirely different story.