Entertain my jealousy

Archer had already figured that there wouldn't be more action of any form for the rest of the day, as it didn't seem like Adrian would be able to even think for much longer. Would he really be able to gain any energy to the next day? Doubtful. The guy had thought he would have more energy if he slept for a night, but now he was walking around with an enormous headache. What was to say it wouldn't be like that for a week? Of course Archer had no idea that it simply was because Adrian had tried to use magic too soon, and even if he was told so, he wouldn't have believed it. Thus he might have worried more than needed.

"I need to get going soon anyway, so I won't even notice when you pass out." He lied, as he wouldn't start working before the sun had gone down. Though he could probably start preparing a bit before that.

Once they got back, Archer left Adrian to eat alone for a little while so that he could fix a bigger room. Since they didn't know how long Adrian would stay, it was better to just get a room with two beds as he couldn't go on with not sleeping every night. After having gotten the new key he fast started to transfer the few things he had from one room to the other. After that he gave back his first key to the innkeeper before going back to Adrian.

After the guy had finished eating and gotten to bed, Archer decided to take a nap himself, as he hadn't been sleeping for a while, and some sleep might be necessary when he was supposed to work. When he woke up later he ate some dinner before he went out. His mission went incredibly fast and easy. His victim had few guards and they were incredibly bad at their job as he sneaked passed them without any problem. Or he might just have been that good. His ego was definitely fueled. It wasn't bloody at all, Archer had purposly tried not to get blood staines as he didn't want to alarm his companion. Instead he went for strangling. It did go much slower, but it worked.

He got back very early in the morning, and fell asleep with clothes on in an interesting position in the empty bed. Half his body were outside of the bed, including his head that hanged in a very uncomfortable position. Once he woke up the next day, he would definitely have some neck issues.
 
Even with the headache sending painful pulses through his head, Adrian was really starting to wonder about this nighttime job Archer had. His initial thought was that he must be some sort of male prostitute, but as he was currently living in an inn rather than having his own tiny domicile as they tended to do…he had a feeling it was just wrong anyway. Archer didn't really act like one, even in bed.

While Adrian was left alone to eat he faced a bit of a dilemma. The headache made him entirely uninterested in eating, but he definitely needed to to be able to regain his energy quickly. So he did this awkwardly alternating pattern where he stuffed down as much as he could stand before feeling like he was going to throw up, then eating very slowly until his stomach calmed and then repeating. It gave Archer plenty of time to move everything and finally Adrian could go to sleep without feeling bad that he was stealing Archer's bed.

As expected he easily slept another 16 hours. He still was feeling somewhat hollow when he woke up, but otherwise was feeling quite refreshed and the hollowness was a lot less than it had been the day before. The sight he woke up to would have sent a lesser man off his bed in a fit of laughter. As it was he stifled a chuckle and slipped around to the side of the bed Archer was hanging off of, reaching down to gently massage the back of his neck as he lifted the other teen back on the bed. Hopefully it would ease the pain of moving and some of the problems Archer would run into when he woke up. If the motion didn't do it.
 
As hands suddenly started to lift Archer, he acted on pure reflex. He through an arm up and grabbed the boy, then fast pushed him down on the bed while he got on top of him. First after he had drawn a dagger, (which he usually had tied to his leg), and put it towards Adrian's throat, he finally woke up enough to notice who it was. As he weren't used to sleep in the same room as other people, his body probably thought that someone was attacking him.

"Sorry." He said as he backed off and put down the dagger. "You scared the living hell out of me." Not so much for being woken up, as he just defended himself while still being half asleep, but more for the fact that he could have killed the boy without even noticing before it was over. Luckily he had been able to stop himself. But what would happen if he didn't the next time? Hopefully there wouldn't be a next time.
 
Adrian was caught almost entirely by surprise when Archer did not just wake up, but got rather violent in the process. Pinned under the other man he was a little pale, his eyes wide with shock and his heart beating like it might rattle right out of his chest. This wasn't the first time he had been at the other end of a blade but this was the first time he had been so unprepared for it. None of his usual protective spells had reacted, which let Adrian know while he hadn't thought about it he probably had to recast them all now. And he was definitely feeling a need to.

"I think the feeling is mutual." Adrian muttered weakly, sitting up and rubbing at his neck while the racing of his head subsided. Once it calmed down he took a deep breath and pushed himself off the bed, still keeping a slightly wary eye on Archer. "But tilted slightly towards my end." He was half joking, as he had been the one nearly slit open. "Remind me not to help you out the next time you decide to fall asleep the wrong direction."
 
Archer half smile at the joke, quite irritated at himself for not remembering his deadly reflexes. It probably would have been better to just get two rooms as that could save a life. On the other hand, he wouldn't be able to afford that in the long run, not if he were staying in the same place for a long time as there weren't an infinite number of assassin jobs in one city.

"Next time you should probably just wake me." He told Adrian. "Try to do it without touching me thought, once you get an arm length close to me I will no longer take responsibility for my actions." As he moved his neck to the side he could feel how it cracked, and hear it quite loudly too. "Damn it." He mumbled as he massaged his neck with one hand. Lucky him he didn't need to work that night, because his head would probably stay in the same position for the rest of the day. "It was a nice thought you had, but it seems like it's too late for my neck." Archer laughed slightly, though it was hard to make a genuine smile when the whole body was completely stiff.
 
"Next time I'll just throw something at you." Adrian was still a bit rattled and thus a bit grumpy, though he immediately regretted it as soon as he spoke. "Ah, my apologies, I am still a bit unsettled." He ran a hand over his face and sighed softly. "Perhaps you should take a shower and try to loosen up those muscles. I'll go ahead and have breakfast prepared." By the time Archer was out of the shower he should be back to his usual self and then he would be ready to enjoy blowing Archer's mind.
 
"You apologize for the oddest things." Archer told him. Apologizing for wanting to throw something at him after he had been about to take the guy's life? Wow, he must have some screws loose, or had a very strict mother. Either way, that was not something he himself would ever have apologized for. Words was just that, words. They could not harm. If you didn't mean what you said, then you would never act on them and then it didn't matter. Though, he wouldn't object if Adrian wanted to throw things at him to wake him up, he would just take revenge in one way or another some other day.

"I'll be down in ten minutes." He then said as he moved towards the shower. But as his shoulder made a cracking sound when he lifted his arm to open the door, he changed his mind. "Let's say twenty." A longer shower definitely felt necessary.

The warm water made a wonderful job of easing the stiffness in his body. Once he were done it was only his neck that still felt uneasy, but he could move it a little bit at least. After getting dressed he walked down to eat, certain that Adrian was waiting patiently or impatiently for him. Heck, the guy might even have eaten already because of Archer being so slow. Those twenty minutes had been somewhat closer to thirty five.
 
Adrian shrugged off the comment. He couldn't help that he was a prince and certain things were expected of him. Even here where no one but Archer was watching it was far too deeply ingrained to ignore. "Take however long as you need." He called as he headed downstairs to order some breakfast.

He didn't bother waiting for Archer, he was hungry and he was sure the other teen wouldn't mind. And if Archer did mind he didn't particularly care. By the time Archer came down the stairs he was calm and back to his usual self. "How did your shower go?" Archer was certainly moving a lot better than he had been. "Even if you're still a bit stiff the walk to the machine should help loosen anything remaining up for the most part." Now that he had eaten he was feeling rather impatient. The only thing between the machine being safe and Archer's mind being blown was the time it would take for them to get there. The waiting was quickly becoming painful.
 
"It's much better now, though I think I burned away my upper skin layer." Archer laughed as he sat down. It had definitely been hotter than usual, and his skin had complained a lot. But he didn't care, because his muscles felt so relaxed thanks to that. At least most of them. He started to eat but had not missed the small hints that Adrian had unconsciously given him. "You seem slightly impatient. Finally gonna show me your incredible magic tricks?" He asked as he fast had put the puzzle together.

He had both sensed and noticed some words that told him the boy was impatient to get to the machine. But they had already mapped out the machine, so why did they need to get to it before even having studied their papers? Since he had talked so much about magic, and said that he just needed to regain his powers, it was safe to assume the guy believed he now had his powers and probably wanted to do something incredible in front of Archer. Of course he believed that it was no more than a simple trick. But it would be fun to see Adrian try at least.
 
"You just keep laughing." Adrian said with the serenity bread from complete confidence in what he was saying. "It will just make it all the sweeter when you are picking your jaw up off the ground." The more he and Archer talked about it the less he found himself able to contain his impatience and by the time Archer was done eating he was practically bouncing in his seat. "Come onnnnn let's go!" The first part sounded very much like any excited teenager while the second was decided bossy and more like his usual prince self. At this point he was prepared to bodily drag Archer if that was what was required.
 
Archer couldn't help but laugh at Adrian's very sudden personality mood swing, which only forced him to sit down for twenty seconds longer before he could calm himself down enough to actually stand up. "Alright your highness, I'm quite curious myself on those tricks of yours. I'll surely disprove them fast so that you can be amazed by my amazing intellect." Usually he wasn't one to brag about his brain, but in this case he was certain that there was nothing Adrian could show him that he couldn't disapprove.

He walked faster than usual, just to make sure Adrian didn't complain about them being too slow. With his excitement he would probably prefer running the whole way, but Archer would definitely disagree with that. Once there he said. "Ready to show me your little trick? My jaw is prepared to let go if my brain can't handle it."
 
Adrian didn't even bother responding to Archer's claim of intellect. Mostly because regardless of how smart he may be there was no disproving real magic. He would be interested to see Archer try though. "Yes, I am prepared to savor your shock and confusion." Adrian purposely waited a few moments, just to make Archer think he may in some realm actually be right. Then with a wave of his hand, the machine shimmered and disappeared as if it were never there.

Adrian was glad he managed to make it look easy because he could distinctly feel the drain on his energy reserves from casting the spell and it was a bit disconcerting to be so weak. He had done what was needed though and now Archer could burn his brain trying to 'figure out the trick'.
 
The few moments Adrian took doing nothing only fueled Archer's theory that it was some kind of trick. There was nothing that man could do which Archer wouldn't be able to figure out. But then the machine disappeared. Right in front of his eyes. It was completely gone.

It took a moment for him to react, disbelief colored his face before he pulled himself together. It was a trick, it must be a trick. He thought for a moment before walking up to where the thing used to stand, not even realizing that it might still be there. Luckily his hand hit it before his head, which did give him a slight shock and he stepped back. "What the.." He didn't want to fuel Adrian's ego, but it was hard to keep his mouth shut at that moment. A hand slowly moved forward until it touched the machine. It was there. He could feel it. But why couldn't he see it.

After minutes of walking around it, trying to figure out the trick with all his might, he just had to give up. At least for that very moment.

"How did you do this?" Of course he wanted to know what kind of trick he had used to make it disappear but still be there. He still didn't think it was by done by real magic.
 
Adrian kept his grin just short of shit-eating, just so Archer didn't get too annoyed at his smugness and try to kill him. The moment was pretty much everything he had been hoping for, aside from the fact that Archer didn't actually crash into the machine. "Well, in magical terms. I told the outside of the machine to change to blend in with the scenery." He strolled up to lean against the machine, which must look very disconcerting indeed. "This is what I tried to do yesterday but didn't quite have enough strength yet for. It's a poor replacement for moving the machine but it takes a lot less power and should hopefully keep it safe in the meantime."
 
For the first time in his life, Archer felt truly stupid. Because he couldn't understand what was going on no matter how hard he tried. There must be a logical explanation for it. On the other hand, the machine had popped out from the clear blue sky, and that in itself didn't make much sense to begin with.

"So you used ... magic... to make it disappear.." It was definitely hard to say words he didn't completely believe. There must be a rational explanation for everything. But as of now he had no explanation, nor arguments. He had lost this round.

"I guess you won't let me get away from the bet I so foolishly made?" He asked as he looked at the grass on the other side of the machine, which he shouldn't be able to see at all. "Don't take it the wrong way, I still don't believe you're using magic. But as I don't even have a theory of how you did this it's most certainly my loss." He confessed. He weren't going to let Adrian believe that he had made up his mind of him being a magic user, but he would still acknowledge his own loss.
 
"Ah no you still don't believe me, so it's hardly 'victory' on my part either." He pushed away from the machine and grinned. "Besides, I do believe the bet was about me moving the machine, and you have as yet to see me make it float casually into the forest…" He strolled up to Archer and put an arm around his shoulders, smiling with complete fake sympathy. "So until then you can enjoy your freedom for a bit longer."

He tilted his head and seemed to think for a moment. "Speaking of, now that this has been taken care of I have nothing else to do out here. Shall we head back to town and find something to entertain ourselves for the day?" Since he had made the decision that he wanted to experience the past a bit first and the machine was now somewhat hidden, he felt no particular urge to rush figuring out the mystery.
 
Archer sighed and shook his head. "Here I unknowingly gave you a free card and you didn't take it. You're too honest for your own good." He laughed. Any other person would have taken the chance when they got it, but not this person. Archer would definitely have done something incredibly indecent if he had been in Adrian's position. And one, or ten, parts of it definitely involved a bed.

"What kind of entertainment are we talking about exactly?" Archer asked, as his definition usually had something to do with blood or sex, or blood and sex. But as he didn't know Adrian enough yet, his view on entertainment might go beyond lust. Sure Archer did have other interests to, but when someone else brought up entertainment, the bed was always the first thing to come to his mind. At least when it came to men.
 
Adrian shrugged playfully. He supposed he was a bit honest for a noble, let alone royalty. He was lucky in his position as prince but not the heir; he was not so much in the lime light and had a lot more freedom. "Well, I am going to win the bet either way so taking some time to anticipate my victory won't hurt." He could already tell where Archer's mind had gone. He had to admit he definitely had had some ideas there as well but he wanted to have some time to think so some of it might not actually be in the bedroom.

Speaking of, Adrian couldn't help but shoot Archer a sly glance, knowing where his mind apparently was still firmly rooted. "Well, that's certainly a possibility. Or you could show me what's around town." This younger Adrian was not quite as confident in bed so he didn't immediately jump to that sort of thing. He had mostly developed in that area with an amour that he had yet to meet.
 
"Some people just don't know how to have fun." Archer commented while pouting. But they had all the time in the world, or at least some days, so there was no hurry. He could probably get the lost kitten into bed more times. If not, then there was a brothel close by the inn.

"What do you want to see? In the rural area there are shady black markets, shady black markets disguised as nice honest stores, and shady black markets pretending they're the biggest snob stores in the world. In the inner parts of the city on the other hand we have snobbish stores, snobbish stores pretending to care, snobbish stores showing that they don't care, and one of the best brothels in the country." He gave Adrian a teasing smirk.

He was definitely simplifying the city a lot, especially since he didn't even mention any inns, restaurants, theaters, etc. Though in his opinion, those were also either snobbish or shady, usually he simply went with the more shady parts, both because of prize and he could always expect to be stabbed in the back, thus being able to stab first. Just a normal day.
 
Adrian rolled his eyes with a playful grin. "Poor puppy, there's always later." He couldn't help but tease a bit when Archer was now the one acting a bit childish. Of course the childish feeling was completely lost as he continued talking about area's Adrian's mother would faint to hear he had even been somewhat near. He honestly was a bit nervous about going into them himself. Also he noticed a distinct lack of any of the things he thought someone would normally mention when describing entertainment. "If your idea of entertainment involves shopping at various questionable stores I really have to question your sanity." He murmured with a bit of bemusement.
 
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