Catching At the Wind

Alessandro took longer than he would have really preferred to eat the spare bits of food that he had gathered from the kitchen. A decent hunk of meat was shoved between a bun (which was really just a slice of bread ripped apart) and he ate that happily, his attention focused on the lack of sauce on the sandwich. Why hadn't he bothered to grab gravy? Or dressing? Even some sort of salad dressing that really wouldn't have gone well with the sandwich would have been better than nothing and now his mouth was dry and he was growing grumpier by the moment because of it.

Looking up when he heard Eva call out to him, Ales' face scrunched at the suggestion. He had suggested they go swimming he knew but he was grumpy and he honestly wasn't feeling like it at the moment. He let out a sigh, exhaling slowly as he pushed to his feet. He made his way toward her, a smirk settling onto his features as a thought came to mind.

As he neared her, Ales raised an eyebrow before he lunged forward to slip his arms around her waist. He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Forgive me, tesoro," he muttered before he lifted her into the air and without any warning, tossed her into a deep part of the water. Ales was quick to inch closer to where she had disappeared, a wide grin cracked across his features now as he waited for her to resurface.

She had no idea what was coming for her when he came at her (she barely had enough time to register his smirk, honestly thinking he'd slap some water back at her) when suddenly he was holding her and asking forgiveness. She didn't process it quickly enough, and was suddenly sailing through the air, the word 'what' turning into a surprised shriek before she was dumped into the water, scrambling in it to get her surroundings and orientation. She flailed as she came to a stop and righted herself, resurfacing a few seconds later with a gasp for air, hair all over the place, covering her face and looking quite like a not-so-graceful siren who tried to emerge wonderfully but momentarily forgot how to swim and be fabulous.

Treading water, Eva reached up and pushed the hair off her face and blinked the water away, finding Ales not far away and taking another breath of disbelief. "Oh- you!" She started towards the beach, and once her feet hit ground, she used it to start walking, arms held above water and her eyes quite wide. "You! I-How- I'm gonna end you," she shook her head, grasping at her shirt as she waded to shallower water. "Look at this! I'm so wet! I'm drenched - How am I going to walk back?" She fussed still in sort of disbelief, hair and clothing plastered to her skin and her eyes wide, and overall looking like some drenched cat. Comical and hilarious, and she would have laughed if it were not her who was tossed like a sack into deeper waters. Not that she was angry - she was already plotting revenge. How to go about it? She couldn't steal a piece of clothing of his, surely, he wouldn't care. He'd flaunt it and then she'd be stuck staring at his lovely body and then in the end, she'd be the one in flusters anyway. She didn't think she'd have the strength to push him into the water as efficiently, and definitely not toss him. She tugged her pants and pulled them off, letting the tunic fall down to cover her her ass, and hung them on a branch before stalking back to Ales. "Watch yourself when you sleep," she huffed with a small pout, doing her best to keep the grin out.

Once Eva had resurfaced and he was confident that she was doing fine, Ales let his laughter erupt. It wasn't a quiet laugh either, it was the sort that was full bodied, that came from his gut. He settled a hand on his stomach and stayed like that until he had settled down into a snicker every few seconds instead. Alessandro headed toward Eva, shaking his head as he came to a halt in front of her. He reached to the back of his neck and began to tug his shirt free from his body. He held it out to her, the same stupidly confident smirk on his lips. "Here. That way you don't have to get your tunic wet," he explained as he shrugged. "I'll be fine without it."

Ales dropped to the ground beside her and pulled his legs up so that he could untie his boots. He kicked them off and set them in a neat fashion, just under where her shirt was hanging from the tree. He looked up to her, the smirk turned into a grin as he raised an eyebrow.

"What about that swim? Are you down for that?" Ales asked as he stood back up, reaching behind himself to brush the dirt from behind him. "Unless you're going to just be a cute little grump now, hm?"

"So I don't have to get my tunic wet!" she repeated, taking his shirt anyway but also his hand and putting it on her side for him to feel the drenched cloth. "I mean, sure, it's not wet. I wasn't thrown into a lake by some hooligan." She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and smirked, watching him sit down. Taking a few steps away, she faced the other direction and once sure that apart from him, there was nobody around, she switched tunics, and hung hers up to dry. If she came back to the den wearing his - people would start asking questions - and it would be annoying, but if he came back without one then that was okay. It would be on his shoulder and wet, and clearly they went for a swim.

Eva pushed her hair out of her face again, grasping a little form each side and tying it up at the back to keep the rest of her hair from falling into her face and sided up to him. She stood in front, and looked up. "Grump? I'm not grumpy. I'm mad, so mad." She grinned, running her gaze down to his lips and leaning in a little as if to kiss but at the last minute slipping out of his reach and dancing away to a little overhang by the lake, where she paused, peered down in to the water and with a small run up, jumped into the depths. She resurfaced a little way a way and looked around for Ales. Would he jump too? Or be a casual and enter the water like an old man?

"You're right, you weren't thrown into a lake by a hooligan," Alessandro paused, slowly turning around in a circle. His eyes narrowed a bit until he came to a stop facing her again. "I don't see one around so unless someone managed to get away without me noticing.." Ales trailed off as a smirk found its way to his lips. He cocked his head to the side as she leaned toward him and he would never admit it but he damn near got excited at the prospect of kissing her again. But before their lips connected, she was rushing toward the water and he was left to be rather disappointed.

Ales let out a sigh before he took a running jump toward the edge of the cliff and launched himself off of it. He resurfaced a moment later, that same smirk on his lips as he looked over to her. He began to swim in her direction, "Was that really the best idea, tesoro? Getting me all read for a kiss and then you just run away? Are you trying to tell me something about last night?" He teased, eyebrow cocked as he finally reached her. His arms reached out so he could set his hands on her hips, careful not to weigh her down.

"You don't want a repeat of last night?"

To her relief he had followed in, and she didn’t look so carefree. She treaded water as he swam over, smirking right back at him. “Oh?” She couldn’t help but place her arms on his shoulders, her feet finding some support beneath the water. She looked him straight in the eye and raised a brow, “Last night? It’s a shame I don’t remember what happened last night.” She faked a look of despair, but not for long, “You’ll have to remind me.”

---

Two weeks passed before there was any news of new missions that included Eva. For that whole time, she completed small tasks of deliveries, mapping houses, watching guards, and many other things. She continued to train hard to fight and defend herself, and her skills improved ever more so. Finally, there was a mission that was given to her, the rundown of which the master went through with her and drilled down the last bits. She wouldn’t be on the front attacking, but still – it was time to put her skills to the test.

There was a man who was to host a party this evening, a Templar, celebrating something vile probably. In any case, they had to come in, assassinate and leave. The attendees were random citizens invited by flyer from the city and some friends – they were not important, and they were not the targets. The man, any associates defending him, were to be killed. The three of them (Eva, Ales and another skilled assassin) had moved early, and now waited in the street of the house, waiting for the right moment.

“It’s quiet,” Eva noted, scanning the street. There was some chatter from the inside, but still – it was secluded to the house, suspicious as fuck.

("suspicious as fuck." thank you )

There was a feeling of unease that settled in the pit of Ales' stomach but he chose to push it away as they hid in the shadows, watching the target's home. There had been plenty of times before that he'd been uneasy and things didn't turn out well but he had managed to push through and get the mission completed. That was all that really mattered, wasn't it? So long as the mission was completed, Ales would consider himself a good assassin and at the end of the day, that was all that really mattered to him.

Ales could only nod in response to Eva's observation. He let out a barely audible sigh as he turned back to the other two assassins. He tilted his head to the side, seemingly having a silent conversation with their companion. They nodded at the same time and Ales' back straightened. He turned around and silently began to lead the way back toward the home of their target.

Slipping inside was easy enough. Almost too easy Ales thought. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind as he made his way through the halls as quickly and quiet as possible.

Eva crept along behind him and the other, keeping her watch for behind them, and slipping in once both were inside and with one last final check. Nobody. Her main mission was watch their backs, and alert of anything attacking from behind. A pratical training to look out for not just herself but others also. The ease with which the two communicated without words was quite amazing, she had to admit. The halls along which they darted like shadows were empty. They could have walked them in plain sight and nobody would have seen.

The closer they drew to the sound of the party, the more Eva tried to reassure herself that everything was fine, everyone was just preoccupied with the feast. When they came close to it, it became apparent that they were on the floor above the main room, with the balconies of their floor hanging over the hall and the people celebrating and feasting and drinking beneath. There were few guards on the balcony, one stationed at each corner but many more down below. From where Eva could see, their target was conveniently sitting just a bit in front of a balcony area, making it easy to simply jump in on him and stab his head or something. Eva looked at the other attendees. They seemed to be simply citizens from various classes. Eva looked to Ales and the other assassin, wondering what their actions would be, any instruction on her behalf, and just as she did, the target stood up and raised his goblet, starting a toast.

Even if they ran into a bit of trouble, Alessandro was more than confident that the three of them could get themselves out of it. Between himself and their companion, he would have been a little uneasy with how populated the home they were stepping into was but with the knowledge that Eva had their back, he didn't, not for one second, consider that there was any real danger to be feared.

Ales hesitated in the shadows, his attention focused on the crowd down below. He was the senior member here, it was expected that he would make the leap and kill their target and so it would be done. Just like he had a hundred times before and would another hundred times after this. So long as nothing went wrong on any of the trips, and he didn't see an reason for them to yet, Ales was confident he would continue to be successful in his role as an assassin.

Glancing behind him, he motioned for Eva to take care of the guard to their right and for the other companion to go for the left. This would be easy, far too easy. It was a clear cut case. Make the jump, assassinate, say a silent prayer as he ran the feather through blood, and disappear into the crowd as madness ensued. His shoulders squared, Alex gave a final nod to the pair behind him before starting to run toward the edge of the balcony just as the man's speech began. He lunged over it, his blade coming out. Preparation was key.

(I figured I'd leave it for you to decide how bloody it gets)

The man, Vittore, had just finished the toast and raised his glass, and watched with eager greedy satisfaction as the people of his party drank up the delicious wine. He grinned, maniacally, and started to laugh when something suddenly landed on him. The goblet went flying and Vittore found himself on the ground staring up at a hooded figure and the blade hurtling towards his throat. Ah, yes. He squealed pathetically and threw his hands up, violently jerking his head to one side, and feeling the blade slice his throat, but not quite make his windpipe. The blood splattered everywhere. He wheezed.

“You!” He turned his head slightly, panting heavily, “I thought there would be more, yeah?” he heaved, glancing around behind the assassin on him, and spotting two figures had taken out his four guards. He grinned, “Ah more-just three? Ah yes, three is not two, not two…” he trailed off, coughing up blood. It was honestly, still amazing how he was still in consciousness, though already he felt his legs were numbed and he knew he did not have much time left. To hold out a little longer… “But you are late. He is pleased. He will have three fall, not one, good, good…. Good….” Vittore grinned again, his white teeth stained red. “Your ends are near.” And then he died.

-

The guard was taken out quickly, though kept alive (Eva left the job of killing if it was necessary to the other assassin, since she hadn’t been yet trained in the art of slicing a throat efficiently), and when she freed herself, she saw the man struggling under Ales, and muttering things, his mouth moving quickly and his eyes feverish. She paid it no mind, but turned her attention to look for any more guards to come – and found that the hall was a living mess. The people were pale, they were grabbing their throats. She wondered what was going on, and suddenly they all fell to the floor, kicking and writhing, and the silence was deafening. Eva rushed to one nearby and put a finger to his nose, then to this throat to check for breath and pulse in turn, but found none. Another woman proved the same. What on earth?

“Guys,” she called uncertainly, “These people are-” Something caught her ear. A little noise, a little whimper. She followed it, pushing a woman off a young child, who was struggling and suffocating in her skirts. She freed him and picked him up, and instinctively knelt to place him on her lap, to gently rock him and cuddle him, hold him close and do everything in her power to not let him cry. It worked to an extent, the boy still too young to process what had happened, to understand that his mother had died, his little grubby hands reaching for her hood. When the other assassin showed up, and neared her, she flinched in a way that placed the baby further away from him and her in between them, unintentionally shooting him a rather cold look. He blinked and turned to Ales, “A set up. That’s what I think. We need to get out of here.”

[EDIT: I changed Ales to guys because stupid me forgot this was a mission, and Eva wouldn't do such a dumb mistake to compromise their identities ]

(Jesus, oops)

Alarm trickled down Alessandro's spine, chilling him right down to the core as it went. It was in the way that Vittore had begun to laugh, the way he spoke of he, of him. Ales' blade had gone too deep, injured the man too badly to be able to drag out the interrogation. Left with a hand clutching the dead man's robes, Ales growled as he shoved the man to the ground. He raised slowly, after dipping a feather into the man's blood. Tradition kept them alive, it was what made everything work so well. They needed to have a respect for the world, for the living beings inside of it, if they, as a whole, wanted to continue to survive in such an insane world.

Kicking the man's arm out of the way, Alessandro stepped forward before he finally lifted his gaze from the ground before him. The sight that he was meant with unnerved him. Some people were clutching at their throats while others had already collapsed - those had already turned unnatural colours. Deep enough that Ales didn't even need to bother asking if they were still alive.

Alessandro closed the distance between himself and the other two assassins, only to freeze in his steps when he noticed the child that Eva was holding to her side. His brows pulled together as he tilted his head to the side, watching her for a moment. He gave his head a slight shake, his gaze shooting to meet the other assassin. "Let's."

Moving out of the house had proved just as easy as getting inside had. Ales suspected something had gone awry with the Templars' plan but he didn't have the time to stop and ask why. The why didn't matter for now.

Once they were far enough away, Ales whirled around quite suddenly and fixed Eva with a hard glare. "The child cannot accompany us to the compound. The master would never allow it and neither will I. Let the boy go - perhaps in time, if he's still around in a few years, he will be recruited. Until then..." he trailed off, a frown forming on his lips.

Following them out was rather easy, and rather suspicious that nobody came to stop them. Eva fixed the baby in such a way that she could climb without it interfering, and she could run if she had to without it swinging side to side like crazy. Eva had numerously glanced back expecting to see a gang of guards hot on their trails but there was nothing. Nothing all the way up to the rooftops and to a stop some safe distance away from the horrid massacre. There she slowed and stopped, quickly enough so that she didn't run into Ales. The look on his face surprised her. She felt her brows furrow as he spoke, and knew full well the reasoning behind it.

"He's just a baby, he can't even speak," she replied, and stepped back, tensing for what she hoped was not another fight between them. Everything had been going so smoothly until now, it seemed. "If he can't come, then I won't go." She hoped her voice was firm enough, "I will not leave a child alone, not of his age, in the streets. He can't even walk by himself. He's barely a year old." She felt the baby squirm and looked down at her feet. "Allow me to find his relatives to leave him with. I will not return until I am done." She glanced to the side to see the other assassin raise a brow.

"Will you stay on the streets? You'll get caught," he pointed out. Eva nodded, acknowledging the obvious. "I have a friend at the brothel. She will let me stay." Eva took another small step back, further underlying her little argument that she would not leave the baby. She looked to Ales, hoping he would accept her offer. She saw no reason why he would deny it, but that was from her own optimistic view.

Alessandro's eyebrows raised in surprise as he watched Eva step away from them. She seemed adamant and even as their companion tried to reason, it only seemed to set her resolve in stone even further. His frown deepened as he tilted his head to the side, eyeing the companion. No words had to be spoken - they were both questioning what should be done. It wasn't as if the situation was common with the Brotherhood, it wasn't as if they had a handbook that they could turn to page 394 and see what they should do in the event of finding an orphaned baby before it was too late.

Sighing, he turned to face their companion fully. "Leave. Return to the compound and report to the master that the mission has completed. Say that something came up that we have to take care of but that it is not a concern to the Brotherhood. Nothing more, nothing less," he instructed lowly. When the man opened his mouth to speak, Ales held a hand up to silence him. "No arguments. My mind has been made up. Go on."

Watching the man disappear over the rooftops, Ales turned back to Eva slowly. "Do not make me regret this, tesoro."

["page 394" friend, of all the numbers]

Eva watched in silence as the scene unfolded. "Regret? I did not beseech you to come," she quietly pointed out and carefully tugged at the little knots to make sure they were secure. She would not make it far by the rooftops with a child on her. They would have to walk. Without waiting, she climbed down into the alley and started to briskly walk towards the brothel she had mentioned, holding the baby close to her as she crossed streets and squares. In the cover of the night, it was quite easy to slip in and out and back in to the shadows. She did not speak until they finally stopped outside the brothel's door and knocked, and only then she turned to Ales, eyeing him for a moment. "You are welcome to leave. I cannot promise you this will be quick."

The door opened a little and a woman peeked out, casting a confused glance at Eva and then a more flirty smile to Ales. Eva put her foot in the door in case the other tried to close it. "I'm here to see Signora."

The woman at the door looked at the foot then the baby, and frowned, "We do not-"
Eva leaned in, "And a man is willing to pay well for a good night. I do not think you like your customers waiting." She nodded in Ales' direction. The girl hesitated, but opened the door further to let them in. Eva walked in boldly, ignoring the many looks of surprise from the girls that had been sitting in the main room. She saw five instantly flock to Ales to help him with his clothes and offer him drinks and putting their hands all over him, and used the distraction as a chance to slip past the girls (and did not look back, for she knew if she looked back, she would be quite jealous).

She did not get far when a girl rushed to her, throwing her arms around her in an embrace before the girl, Maria, pulled back and eyed Eva's clothing. "Eva! I did not think-" she trailed off to glance back at Ales, "Is he with you? Or can he be taken care of?"
Eva made the mistake of looking over and seeing some girl's hand travelling to his cheek. She pursed her lips. "Up to him." She turned away quickly, ready to follow her friend to Signora's room. Since when!

(may have secretly, or not-so-secretly, done that on purpose )

"No. But I am not leaving you on your own to deal with this," Alessandro answered simply, shrugging a shoulder. He hadn't needed to think twice about it. He knew that it was going to be a rocky situation upon returning to the compound and he wasn't going to leave her high and dry with the master on their tails. It wasn't fair to her, not when she had no idea what she had likely just gotten herself into. He thought it would have been a lot worse if the child had actually been brought back but there was no real way of knowing for sure. If this went the way that he had hoped it would, the master wouldn't even be aware of what had happened in regards to finding the child.

Alessandro was quiet the rest of the way to the brothel, mulling over his thoughts. He had no clue what was about to go down - all he really knew was that he didn't want anything to do with going inside. But it seemed that Eva had other plans because she walked right up inside and talked to the woman at the door about how he was willing to pay an exceptional amount for the evening. No, no he wasn't. Nowhere near close. Ales wanted nothing to do with sleeping with any of the girls inside, why would he?

Did they not understand he wasn't interested in any of this? He hadn't so much as returned one of their smiles and yet, they continued to explore his body. In any other circumstance, he would have likely enjoyed the attention of five beautiful women but he was still working. Until the job was completely done and over with, he wanted no distractions whatsoever.

Letting out a huff, Ales reached a hand up and pushed the hand away from his cheek. He kept a firm grasp on the wrist and stepped away from them, facing them with a hardened glare. "I am not interested, ladies. I appreciate all of your... efforts, I do, but I am good." Without another word, Ales turned and began to head in the direction that he had noticed Eva disappear in.

[]

Just as she ducked into the room, she heard his words, and she stifled a laugh. She did not why she found it funny, but it was amusing, and took quite the effort to not show. In the room, she faced a more middle-aged looking woman and pulled out a necklace from within her robes. "Signora," she inclined her head, and passed the necklace forth, "I am sorry to bother you at such late hours of the night, but I'm in desperate need of assistance. Do you know this necklace, or to whom it belonged? You have a many visitors, if it is an heirloom, surely a man would have come here." She explained she had found a child of some murdered parents and sought to return the babe to its nearest kin, but left out the part of the assassination and murder party. The Signora took the amulet and sat down to examine it. Eva quietly stood by Maria at one side of the room, gently rocking the baby.

"Eva," Maria quietly whispered when she thought Ales wasn't paying attention, shooting a quick nervous glance at the other assassin, and covering her mouth with her hand so he would not lip-read, "I thought you said the ones in white robes were-"
"Hooligans, yes." Eva quickly interrupted before her friend got carried away, matching her tone, and smiled tightly at her friend, giving her shoulder a small squeeze and a look that barely touched on a glance of warning, "Yes I did. I still think they are. Every last one of them." She shrugged and turned away, and Maria seemed to get the message and did not ask more.

It was luck that was on Eva's side though, for Signora looked up from her desk and spoke. "I do not know this heirloom, but I know this design." She turned the necklace over and pointed to the little engraving on the side, "J.C. He is a jeweler who made this on custom order. His shop is by the plaza. Hard to miss. Green banners in his window. You will be wise to visit him." She pointedly glanced at the clock, "Tomorrow." And hesitantly added, "You may guest in the room upstairs for the night. It will be far away, you will not disturb anyone." But the words were aimed at the baby, and Eva nodded. She nodded for Ales to come, falling in step behind Maria until they were left alone in the dark room. She shifted her feet and wandered to the bed.

"I'm sorry about the thing at the door. I had to get us in." She mumbled and looked over her shoulder at him with a tiny smirk, "I mean, they're all pretty ladies, no? It'll keep you entertained while I run around." Anything but to avoid him asking questions. Distract best she can.

It seemed that his words had not been enough to dissuade the ladies from following after Alessandro as he tried to make his way over to Eva. His progress was slowed by the women but he persisted, opting to continue moving instead of turning them down again. He wasn't meaning to offend or upset any of them so he hoped once he reached Eva, they would realize that he was focused more on the woman and the child than any of the promised rewards they had offered him. It wasn't as if they all weren't gorgeous but he simply did not care - there was someone else who still had him wrapped around her finger (even if he was nowhere near ready to admit such a thing).

Clearing his throat, Ales paused in his footsteps as he caught the tail end of Eva's conversation with Maria. He stopped, watching with narrowed eyes as Eva spoke to Signora. His head tilted to the side and he was more than relieved when Eva seemed to finish up, finally being allowed to slink off to join her without anyone following after him.

Relief sunk into Ales' body as they were left alone. He looked down to his feet, shifting around for a moment as he tried to decide whether it was worth taking his shoes off. In the end, he decided against it should they have to leave quickly. He looked up as Eva began to speak and gave her a little smirk as he raised an eyebrow. "Someone else has already caught my attention," he answered with a shrug of his shoulders. Whether Eva caught onto who or not was entirely up to her.

Alessandro sank onto the edge of the bed before shuffling up to the headboard so that he could lean against it. He was still very much so on edge and doubted he would be able to sleep any time soon. "When you were speaking to your... er, friend. You said you still think every last one of them is. Who is them and what do you mean by that?" He asked, a light tone to his voice despite the sneaking suspicion curling through his nerves. There were only so many logical answers to his question.

Eva couldn't help but lightly wrinkle her nose in amusement. "Is probably cheaper too." She had a strong hint on whom he was talking about, and it satisfied her for the time being. The courtesans outside were forgotten and she too lay down on the bed, curling up a little around the baby and gently toying with the few little hairs that it had. The baby fell asleep soon enough.

"You assassins, or thieves, any roof-runners really." She didn't hesitate in replying, casting a glance at him passively. "You're all hooligans. You all scare my chickens." She propped herself up on her elbow and looked at him. "Before you killed fat-face, one of your guys was hanging around the house. Nothing escaped my chickens' attention." Eva smiled and lay down again, putting an arm behind her head and the other on her tummy and she closed her eyes. "Ran at night over the roof too, bothered everyone. Hooligans. Were. Still are."

Was she concerned that he had overheard? Yes, but she dared not show it. Her answer was not a lie, not really. Everything she said, she meant, there was simply the omission of a few details. And omission was not a lie, in her understanding. Maria would be wise to keep her mouth shut. Thankfully, she did not know much. She did not know of Eva's origins, of her family, only that she was always wary about the people in white robes, the assassins. As any reasonable person would. Eva had no fear of the girl being interrogated. The girl knew nothing. There were only two people that knew. Herself, and the Master of the Brotherhood. And no doubt he had assigned her to Ales on purpose, for in case of ill fate, the Master had faith Ales would not fail him and kill if need be.

If.

"We can talk later, the baby and I need to sleep. Goodnight." She pulled a pillow closer to her and made herself comfortable. He did not need to know, nor anybody else really. It would stain his name and that, out of respect, she could not do.

"Do I need to remind you that you have joined our ranks? You're a roof runner, an assassin, a thief if the job calls for it. So to judge them is to judge yourself," Alessandro answered back with a shrug of his shoulders. He was more than a little irritated by the way that Eva was judging his people - her people. They were both cut from the same cloth now. Sure, they had each taken their own paths in the beginning but now that they each wore the white robes that stood out in a crowd, they had woven together. There was no going back, not really.

Alessandro's eyes only narrowed as Eva spoke, deciding that it would likely be best for him to leave the room. As much as he wanted nothing to do with the girls outside, he almost felt as if he was intruding on the woman and child. This wasn't his sort of outing, he had no real clue what was expected of him so he decided to shut the door quietly behind himself.

---

The morning rolled around and Ales was all too eager to barge into the room. He had spent the better part of his night walking through the halls, restless. He felt as if there was something that he was supposed to realise but it just wasn't quite connecting the way that it was supposed to. Crossing his arms as he stepped into the room, Ales shoved the door shut with the tip of his boot.

"Eva," the name came out sounding far more forceful than he had meant for it to. "It's late enough. What is the plan for today?" He tested as he moved toward the bed. "We can't stay out for the entire day. That just spells trouble."

Eva buried her face into the pillow and only once he left did she dare to let herself vent, mocking his tone a little into a quiet muffled grumble, the sort a child would do when angry at a parent but not wanting to be punished for back-chatting. That was enough to satisfy her pout and she soon fell asleep. That was close. She only woke up once when the baby started to shuffle around and put it back to sleep, wrapping it up tighter in the blanket so it wouldn't run away during the night.

Come morning and Ales barged into her room, startling Eva from her sleep. Upon seeing that it was just him, she relaxed and stretched, putting an arm over her eyes to shield the sun away. "But I slept in. It felt nice." She wanted to lie here a little more, but clearly the baby wasn't having it. It started to cry and made Eva sit up to tend to it, gathering the child into her arms and gently rocking him. She shot Ales a stern look, "Look what you've done." Taking the child's hand, she brought it up to the baby's mouth and put the thumb to busy the child with sucking on its own thumb rather than crying. The baby soon ceased, and Eva stood, walking to Ales and stopping in front of him, "Hold him, will you?" She extended her arms a little, offering Ales to take the child. "I need to get dressed." Or rather, in order. She had taken off the outer layers of her robes, and her hair was a mess from the night, loose strands sticking out here and there. It looked more like she was a in tussle rather than just awoken from sleep. "We go find this Jeweler, and then find the relatives of this baby. He'll hopefully direct us to them. We drop the baby off in the yard, knock on the door so they're aware and go home. Sound fair?" She looked up.