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He woke up the next morning to find Adam tending to the fire, humming a tune, while Ox tore into a hunk of squirrel meat and Will slept curled up on his side, his back to them. To the side, the horses had been brought in last night, away from the rain, and were sleeping further in the cave. It had stopped raining but the dampness lingered, sinking into Caius' bones and causing his skin to rise with goosebumps.

"They sell a pint of brandy for half a Dagnate now," Adam was complaining to Ox. "It is ridiculous."

"And how much do you steal a day?" Caius asked, sitting up.

"Oh, good morning," Adam said without looking at him. "We steal a lot."

"Can buy much brandy," Ox replied.

"We give a lot of the money to poor commoners, though," Adam added, turning to Caius. "We steal too much to keep, so we like to stuff it in the faces of the rich. Some lords are too greedy to care for their people, so we do their work for them. They portray us as evil, but that's just because they don't like giving up what they have."

"You could use that money to bribe the lords into doing your bidding," Caius noted.

Adam snorted. "I have had my deal of nobility, thank you."

"And they have probably had a good deal of Adam and Ox, too," Caius mused. "Last I heard, bounty hunters are being offered two thousand Milates for your bodies, dead or alive."

"Three thousand, one hundred now," Adam corrected proudly. "While we were in the North, we took a whole cartload of weaponry meant for the war and redirected it to smugglers for money. That really irked Lord Galliov." He laughed. "Then, just to be fair, we also stole from Lord Rutea so he would not feel left out of the fun."

"I'm sure he was so jealous when you stole from Galliov."

"We are firm believers of equality," Adam said with mock severity. "So we take a lot of money from the rich to give to the poor. Evens it out, really. Although we steal from the poor as well, just to not discriminate. If we see something we like, we take it. Old, young, female, male... it doesn't matter." Before Caius could blink, a flash of gold sailed through the air as Adam flicked a golden Milate at him, and he caught it in mid-air. "Nice catch." He leaned back against a rock. "How's your business going, dear cassassin?"

"My clients pay well."

"And who is your next victim?" Adam asked.

"I am paid for secrecy as well as the job itself."

"How droll." Adam rolled his eyes, tossing a stick at the fire.

They sat in companionable silence for a while before Caius fixed his gaze on Will.

"He shot an arrow at someone trying to attack us," Adam said, following his eyes. "And I always repay a debt. What he did there... I can respect that." Adam lay an extra cloak over Will as he spoke. "We can't take him in, but we had to get him out of there and give him a safe space to recover. The girl he was with... he was devastated when the bounty hunter killed Luella."

"You are too soft for your own good."

"I'm afraid so," Adam replied.

"Have you heard anything about The Fish?"

A pause. "She has a cottage in a village. I have not heard from her in over a year, but I believe the bounty hunters have given up trying to catch her. She has been causing little trouble, anyway, last I heard."

"Until they look for their money pouches to find empty air."

Adam laughed warmly. "That is the way of dear Anastasia."

They both went quiet again, and Adam hummed to fill the silence. Outside, the rain had restarted, falling against the forest floor, but the steady beat evened out to become a soothing patter. Caius leaned back against the cave wall, listening to the rain and Adam's soft voice, and dozed off.

* * *

He blinked awake, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. Looking outside, it was already midday, and the skies were blue. The wind was unforgiving, however, as it blew through the cave to wrap itself around him in an icy embrace.

"You sleep much for cassassin," Ox grumbled, seeing that he was awake.

Caius sat up and stretched. He had slept for longer than he had anticipated, and it was comforting to realise he could still sleep without nightmares waking him. It was the first night of good rest he'd experienced for a while. "It's hard to sleep without someone to watch your back. I'm catching up on lost sleep."

"You aren't the only one who likes sleep. Snowball here woke up a few minutes before you did," Adam remarked, turning to Will, who was awake.

Will frowned and ran a hand through his pale hair. "Snowball?"

"You are so white." Adam snorted. "But, little snowball, before you start whining, I stole a horse for you while you were asleep. The traveller didn't complain much, especially when Ox grabbed him by the throat."

"I... you didn't have to..."

Adam held up a hand. "Please don't. We don't like to be known as good people or anything like that, and it is very offensive to say so. Just leave it at thank you."

"Thank you." Will smiled.

"You're welcome," Adam said, returning the smile.

"I will see you again?" Will offered as he stood to leave, his bow and quiver slung over his shoulder.

"No. It is very unlikely, and I certainly hope to never see you again," Adam responded.

"I'm honoured," Will replied, and Adam laughed.

"Goodbye, Will Darkwood."

Will glanced over at Caius, who had stood and was leaning casually against the damp cave walls, his hood covering the whole of his face except for some skin and thin lips tracing into the hints of a wry smile.

"Bye-bye Darkwood," Ox grinned when Will turned his attention to him, his bulky build crushing against Will in a tight embrace. Will half-flinched, probably worried that Ox was going to accidentally kill him, but Ox pulled away, leaving him gasping for breath.

"Don't die. Dying... not fun," Ox advised.

Adam's hazel eyes glinted. "Ox has some good advice. Take care of yourself, kid. We tied the horse to a tree just outside."

"Now get out," Ox added.

Will turned to Caius. "Thank you, as well."

Caius nodded. They had spent most of last night trading information about the fortifications of Ardensford, where Will had worked for the past few months, for information about the secret passages and advanced layout of Northstone, which Caius had studied after Lucian had captured Vittorio. Unfortunately, Vittorio had been hung, drawn, and quartered before Caius could have launched an escape mission, but Will had soaked up the information.

"Don't thank me. It's insulting."

"Until... we meet again?"

"You will only see me again if I will it."

"And if I'm dead?"

"Then you'd be dead and unable to care anymore. Now, go."

"Thank you," Will said. "All of you."

"Go away," Ox snorted.

Caius watched Will smile weakly before leaving, then stood and followed him out silently. Outside, Will knelt and rubbed mud into his white hair, concealing its colour. The sun had appeared in the sky, sending down weak rays to offer some respite from the cool autumn wind. He began to climb onto the horse that they had stolen for him, aware that Ox and Adam had retreated into the cave, so was surprised when Caius touched his shoulder. He jumped back, cursing, and almost fell over.

"Why are you so silent?" Will spluttered at Caius.

He smiled. "Practice. I just wanted to wish you luck."

"I... thank you. You too."

Caius offered him a dagger, and Will stared at it.

"For you," Caius explained.

Will blinked. "Why?"

"Because I was once a lost, wandering soul, too. I hope you find a purpose."

"Did... did you ever know a man named Giulio?" Will asked him. "I heard he was a Mainland Miscreant too."

Caius stiffened. "What do you know of Giulio?"

"I knew him in person. He was kind to me."

Caius pursed his lips into a sneer. "Then you should ask him the questions."

"Oh."

Caius shrugged. "Doesn't matter. For now, this is farewell."

Will nodded, pushing his heels into the stirrups. "Farewell."

Caius responded by raising his hand in a small salute as Will rode away, his bow close to his back.

Going with the horse he had, Caius had estimated that it would take up to seven days to get to Northstone.

A boy like that would make it in six.

He walked back inside the cave and gave Adam some of his bread supply before bidding them farewell. He had to leave, too; someone like him did not like lingering.

"You interrogated the poor boy about Ardensford," Adam mused. "Don't tell me you are thinking of freeing Erik."

Caius smiled knowingly. "Listen out for havoc and run for it. You will find us there."

"Of course. Farewell, Lark." Adam held out a hand, and Caius clasped it.

"Until the morrow, then." Caius nodded to Ox, who nodded back.

"'Til the morrow," Ox agreed; a promise to keep living until they met again. Caius turned and strode out, bringing his stolen horse out the cave with him.

He had a job to do.

Fun fact: Caius used to be called Cassius and Alejandro

Love you all,

Shelly x