The Wishing Tree

Yuki paused for a moment, thinking over whether to answer. "Yuki is a pseudonym." She finally answered simply. "I wouldn't dare use my real name. That'd just make it way too easy for the guard to find me and hang me." She glanced back at Sudarshan. "Well, now you know more about me, I guess I deserve to know a bit more about you, right? Besides the fact that you lost someone pretty important to ya if you're willing to trust some stranger on the off chance that the Wishing Tree is real." The night grew old as the moon started to fall from its peak, getting ready to let the sun take over in a few hours.

Pausing for a moment, Yuki chuckled. "Damn, you already know I used to be a palace worker, now work for the wishing tree, the reason I hide my face, and that my name is a pseudonym. I'm kind of bad at keeping important parts of my identity a secret, now am I?" She smiled ruefully at the naga though her mask hid it. She had opened up way too quickly to Sudarshan. She would just have to work on keeping vital things like that a secret. It was hard though when the man made it so easy to trust him, to feel safe near him. That had to change if she was going to continue her quest. Though, she wouldn't have long. She just had to make it through this trip.
 
Sudarshan nodded in understanding. Pseudonym or not, he thought Yuki a nice name; it certainly would fit the bill as the term he used to address her. He hesitated when she bounced the question back at him, however. He didn't have any vital secrets to keep the way Yuki did, but that didn't have anything to do with the fact that thinking about his lost person, let alone speaking of her, was not comfortable. "I suppose you do," he mumbled in response. Now preoccupied with his thoughts, he nearly missed her brief departure from the question to joke about her own secret-keeping. After a moment, though, he belatedly processed her comment. "Well, your secrets are safe with me, if that's any comfort," he said. "I've got a long history of client confidentiality." A weak smirk twitched across his face for a second before it was gone again. Yes, he supposed Yuki deserved to know more about him. Perhaps if he spoke mostly of mundane things, he could avoid the topic of his lost person.

"I was hatched in Argent Woods," he began. "Nearest town was Everfall. Mother took me into town a lot to mingle with other children, learn some culture, all that. Disappeared when I was five to find another mate." There wasn't much feeling in his voice, implying it was quite normal for nagas to live such a life cycle. "I stayed near town. I liked the library." His voice had softened slightly. He paused there for a moment, wondering when to stop talking. He normally didn't like being long-winded, but there wasn't much better to do to pass the time, so he continued. "Got my first taste of the mercenary business when I was...fifteen, I think. Cattle were disappearing, people thought it was increased wolf activity. Friend of mine's family gave me a bit of coin to keep a night watch. Turns out it was cattle rustlers. A couple of amateurs. I knocked them out, and Caleb—um, the friend—thought it was cool, so he and Douglas started hoofing it with me. Met two more over in Longshire, Elric and Delia. Started calling ourselves the Argent Party." Unbeknownst to him, a faint, wistful smile had appeared on his face. "Good times." He was silent for a second before his expression faltered. "I mean, all things considered. Fighting for a living isn't glamorous. But we did our best to fight for the right side. I made sure of that." His face and voice darkened at the last sentence. He lowered his head and receded into his thoughts. Killing was a fact of life for a mercenary, as was facing death on a weekly basis. He had known that. He had understood perfectly well how they danced with death. So why had he not been more prepared?
 
Yuki was quiet during Sudarshan's story, listening carefully to what he said. So he was a mercenary? Then the Argent Party as he called his group must have been close to him. He had smiled when talking about them, so she at least assumed they were close. It was interesting, learning more about the life of a mercenary. Many a time her uncle had told her of his days travelling around as a mercenary, how he had to live in fear for his next day. He had made sure to instill that same sense into her. The man never let her let her guard down, not even in sleep. Looking back at the naga, she felt a bit worried when his expression grew dark and somber. Something bad must have happened to the group. Did they end up on the wrong side? Why was he booking it alone? What went wrong that caused this seemingly close group to split up so Sudarshan was now travelling with her?

Granted, Yuki was glad to have the company. She held her tongue, keeping her questions abated for the time being. He had already shared more than she had asked. Stopping, Yuki looked up at the fading moonlight. "Wait here for a moment." She walked over to a nearby tree, a tall one from what she could see, and started to climb. Branches and leaves scraped past her mask, but she kept going. The climb took a while, but reaching the top was quite worth it. Poking her head above all of the trees, she tried to see as far as she could to get her bearings. If they kept going north they would miss a vital turn. So, they would start heading north west, closer toward where the uglier creatures and more anarchy driven peoples resided. Slipping down the branches, she jumped back down to the ground. Standing up, she stretched before changing her course. "Alright, we need to head northwest. I'd keep a better grip on your sword if I were you. Our next stop is Belburn." The very name felt like a curse on the young woman's tongue. The whole town hated the king and his family with a passion unrivaled by any other. It was a living crime den for any and all rejects and riffraff. Yuki kept on walking, praying to the heavens above that their trip toward and through the town was swift and painless.
 
Yuki's voice broke the silence and brought Sudarshan's focus back to the world around him. He halted as ordered and watched Yuki ascend a nearby tree. Better to keep his eyes trained on her than slip back into that whirlpool of sorrow, he reasoned, so that was exactly what he did. He watched, and he waited. When the woman returned, a hand strayed to his sword's hilt at her warning, and when she followed it up with the name drop of a town Sudarshan knew much better than he liked to admit, his face hardened. "Point well taken," he said, a low growl in his voice. It had been Doug's idea to start making trips to Belburn in search of more frequent employment, and Caleb had leapt at the opportunity, much to Sudarshan's disapproval. Sudarshan had never been in his business for the money. But then again, Sudarshan tended not to feel a need for many of "civilized" life's luxuries that all the rest of his friends had longed for, so he had relented for their sake. At least both Delia and Elric had been vocally reluctant, even apologetic at times; that made him feel slightly better.

Regardless of his history with the town, Sudarshan fell into step (so to speak) behind Yuki, but he did not do so without question. "Do we need something in town?" he asked. "Or is it just right on the path of the shortest way to wherever we're going?" He paused, suddenly thinking. "Or...is this another one of those places you're going to give false leads?"
 
"It's simply the quickest way, though I will be giving some false leads." Yuki rolled her shoulders as she continued her way toward the town. "I don't like going there if I can help it." She ran a hand through her hair. The town hated her as much as she hated it. Before the whole Wishing Tree business, she had visited quite a few times with her uncle. To say they weren't welcome was a huge understatement. They were practically thrown out of the town as soon as they saw the royal emblem on their clothes. The whole town worked on one rule, there is no rules. Her uncle had tried to explain that concept to her, but Yuki never quite understood how someone could live in total anarchy like that.

The peace and quiet was interrupted too soon as a man quickly tried to grab Yuki from the side. The woman swiftly dodged before spinning on her heel to kick the man in the head. A sickening crack resounded in the quiet space as the man fell to the ground, his head bleeding. More men, elves like the first one, charged at the duo, more heading towards Sudarshan as he was perceived the bigger threat. Yuki nearly ripped out a kunai, blocking the sharp dagger that had been aimed at her arm. "Keep the girl alive!" Someone was shouting over the chaos. "The boss wants her alive!" Yuki ducked, sweeping a leg underneath her second attacker, rolling forward when a man tried to get a swing in on her back. She pinned the elf on the ground through his shoulder, eliciting a scream as the man writhed and thrashed. She pulled out a second kunai and got ready to leap at her third attacker, only to have to leap out of the way. The man barreled toward Yuki, intent on grabbing her. Yuki dashed into his legs, gaining enough force to knock the man down. She quickly used this to her advantage, digging her knees into the man's back and grabbing his hair. She slammed his head into the ground hard enough to knock him out. Panting, the woman moved back to the man she had pinned.

Yuki was shaking slightly as she grabbed the kunai and settled herself harshly on her prey. "Why are you after me?" She asked, voice cold and sharp. The man beneath her flinched away, panting. Raising an eyebrow, Yuki twisted the blade. "I asked you. Why are you after me?!" The man screamed, a high pitched squeal filling the air.

"We want the tree! We want the tree!" The captured man begged, tears trailing down his cheeks. "Just let us go and we won't bother you! Please!" Yuki glared at the man. She didn't say anything as she harshly pulled the kunai out of the man's shoulder. Sobs and agonizing screams filled the air as Yuki roughly lifted herself off of the man. The earth seemed to shiver beneath the silver haired woman as she looked to her companion to see if he needed help. In reality she was shivering like a cat left out in rain.
 
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