Shady

"Yes sir." She dipped her head. "Thank you, sir. His name is Kaelan." She glanced back at the soldier behind them. "The one who stood up." Like a fool.

"...Sorry!" Tasia froze in terror, staring at her with wide eyes, not sure how to put it back down. Why couldn't she touch it?

"Mm," he grunted, but made a mental note to try to avoid it in the future.

"Um..." She hesitated, blushing. "One of the soldiers is rather important to me, sir. I'd just like to say goodbye -- I promise I'll be quick."

"What's this?" Tasia grabbed the sphere.

Aeron briefly considered letting the branch snap back to whack them, but didn't. "Mm." He followed along behind them. "These are coarse parts. Best go back to the city if ...

Talia's heart lurched when he said 'execute' even though he was saying it in terms of not doing it. Kaelan . "M-may I... see them off, sir?" she asked timidly. ...

"Frown at me all you like." Aeron held a branch out of the way for them. "If you're gonna travel, you need to learn to listen to the locals. We ...

"Still cute." Tasia cracked open Marcella's box and peered inside.

"She's...here?" Talia glanced around despite herself; she didn't understand.

"Best not try anything on your own," Aeron chided. "Unless you're off on a suicide mission or something. Swear to god." He shook his head. "Reckless."

"You can't see slime in pictures."

"Talia, sir." She was still blushing.

"You can try it." Aeron shrugged. "Probably not, though."

"You've never seen a frog in your life," she scoffed.