The Tragedy of Yinx - 10. River Ambush

Laneer

I hear talking outside of my tent.

I guess everyone is starting to wake up. I should too.

I open my eyes and see that I thankfully have not somehow held onto Yinx. He is still sleeping with his back to me. He is under his sleeping bag finally. He even has his old cloak laying on top of it.

He must have gotten too cold.

Quietly, I try to sneak out of the tent. I think I smell food being made.

Beatrix and Nelga are talking next to the fire. They have two giant fish on sticks being cooked over the fire.

They look up at me and smile.

“No thanks to you boys, Nelga and I went spear fishing!” Beatrix grins. “You’re welcome for breakfast.”

Nelga smirks and keeps her eyes on the fire. I just sit across from them and warm my hands. My undershirt isn’t exactly helping with this cold morning.

“I can’t wait to get to that desert.” I sigh and rub my hands together to warm myself.

Beatrix laughs. “Good luck at night then. It gets pretty cold from what I’ve heard.”

“Where did you learn that? Yinx?”

“Nope. This may surprise you, but I actually read quite a lot!”

I raise an eyebrow. “The great Beatrix chooses to read on purpose? I never would have guessed.”

She rolls her eyes. “What else am I supposed to do when you are busy chasing after white-haired lovers?”

I blush and glance at Nelga. She just gives a knowing smile.

“Am I that obvious?” I ask.

Beatrix snickers. “You’re joking right? You literally came to me saying he was like a husband to you.”

I panic at the rise in her voice.

“Shut up! He could hear you! I don’t mean that. I mean...is it obvious that I like him? Do I act as stupid as I think I’m acting?”

Beatrix just gives me a look that says ‘what do you think?’

I groan and cover my face.

“Don’t worry, Laneer. If anything, I am pretty sure he is into you as well.” Beatrix says.

I peek between my fingers. “You really think so?”

She gives another look that makes me feel stupid.

“Are you kidding me? He constantly flirts with you, Laneer! Did you miss the joke yesterday? I know you both didn’t actually makeout in the woods, but he pushed it even further. Clearly there is something there. Don’t tell me you are dumb enough not to notice.”

I’m tempted to tell her what Yinx told me, about how he does...things...to get his way. I could not ever do that though. He told me that in private and I am pretty sure he only meant for me to hear it.

“I don’t know, Beatrix. I feel like his flirts are just the way he is. I doubt he actually likes me.” I say. Surely, that is a good enough way of being close to the truth.

“That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t like you.” She says. “Obviously out of everyone here, he trusts you the most, that has to mean something. Now, shut up, and try to woo him.”

She points her fish on a stick at me like a sword.

“Woo him?” I laugh. “I can’t do that. I can’t even flirt! You know this already.”

Nelga chuckles and tries to hide her smile.

Beatrix sighs and glances at her. “It’s true. He’s a lost cause. He’s lucky he’s handsome, otherwise he’d probably die alone.”

I gasp at that. “Rude! I have feelings too, you know?”

She rolls her eyes. “Actually unfortunately for you, Yinx happens to be blind. Your looks won’t help you now. Just be your usual weird self. I’m sure you’ll manage something. If he likes you for you, which would be a miracle, then congrats. You’ll finally get what you always wanted.”

I look at her confused. “A boyfriend?”

“No! You’ll finally get laid!” She groans. “It’s like you’ve learned nothing since we’ve met!”

I roll my eyes. “That is what you want. You know I want more than that.”

“Ah yes,” Beatrix sighs, “A husband.”

“Boyfriend!”

Nelga laughs and almost drops her fish into the fire. I end up laughing with her.

~~
~~

Today we have seemed to reach where the sky is no longer cloudy and threatening to snow. There are still a lot of dead trees and such, but it’s nice to see something new for a change.

We reached a small town but we are not going to stop for a break. It is far too early in the day to do so. This is only the second day into the trip so stopping now would be a huge waste of time.

The twins bought some more food for everyone. I also bought a blanket for Yinx. We will obviously be camping out again throughout this trip, so I don’t want him to be cold again.

As soon as we are ready, we set on the road again.

There was a group of merchants who were wondering if they could tag along with us. One look at Yinx made me decline. I am not sure what his issue is but I do not want him being uncomfortable.

This is his trek afterall. Technically, whatever he wants, it will be done. I doubt he would be willing to give orders however. He seems much too nice to want to do that. Not to mention, we are all friends here. I doubt he would even want to boss us around.

Yinx seems a bit standoffish today. I want to ask him if it is about the Automatons or not, but I do not want him to think I am spying on him. He already thought I was sent after him before. I would rather not make that mistake again. However, maybe I should let him know what I saw. I would have to be careful not to scare him, but I want him to trust me.

I feel a bit bad about last night. As usual, I could be overthinking things, but I seriously feel like I messed something up between us. I thought I was being friendly and saying the right things, but that only seemed to have pushed him away.

Yinx might be one of those people that prefer to have things said outright. None of that small talk before an argument.

While the twins and Beatrix talk, I move up to speak with Yinx.

He has a walking stick in his hand. He has also taken off his parka and put it in his bag. I noticed that it did not make his bag look fuller. That kind of creeped me out. I have a feeling there is magic at play there and I do not want to investigate it.

Yinx does not glance in my direction as we walk. He is not mad at me, is he?

“Hi.” I say. I feel awkward now. I am just going to make this even more awkward aren’t I?

“Hello.” He says. No emotion in his voice.

“Is...everything alright?”

Yinx glances at me for a second before nodding. “Everything is fine. Why do you ask?”

I purse my lips and stare at him, trying to find anything that will say he is lying. He is hiding his emotions rather well today.

“I was just curious. You seem...a bit on your own today. I hope I did not offend you last night.”

Yinx finally smiles. “You did not offend me with your nice words, Laneer. It just made me think about a lot of things. Stuff I do not normally think about.”

I can’t help but give a sigh of relief. “Oh thank gods. I thought I messed up and gave you a reason to be mad at me.”

He laughs. “Why would I be mad at you? You have done nothing wrong.”

I shrug. “I don’t know. You just seem different. I thought that perhaps I did something wrong.”

He shakes his head. “No, I just have a lot on my mind. I have not been home in ages. It will be interesting. Everything just feels...out of my control.”

“Out of your control? I always assumed you would just go with the flow.”

“No.” He laughs. “I always try to keep things under control. I like having things my way.”

That sounds like something my father would say. ‘Having things my way.’ Now I can’t help but feel that this is another test.

“Are you testing me again?” I ask.

Yinx laughs. “Why would you think that?”

“Well, you tested me last night to see if I would betray your trust and just use you like the other fools in the world. Why wouldn’t you try again?”

I guess I sounded a bit too hurt because Yinx frowns and looks at me.

“I am sorry if I hurt your feelings.” He rests his hand on my arm. “I did not think that would affect you in such a way.”

“Hey, don’t feel so bad about it.” I say and let him hook his arm into mine. “I get it. You have been through a lot, I just hope you do not ever see me as some idiot that wants to have his ways with you without your permission. I would never do that to you. I know we only met a few days ago, but you are already important to me, Yinx. I would never want to hurt you like that.”

Yinx is silent but he has a soft smile on his face. Did I say the right thing this time? I feel like I just repeated what I had said before in all honesty.

“Thank you, Laneer.” He whispers and squeezes my arm.

I smile and we keep walking.

~~
~~

Lunch time comes and we try to find a nice spot for a break. We do not want to attract any travelers near us while we are eating.

We stopped by a hill that overlooks a small river and Yinx went down to wash himself off with a bar of soap. I did not even think to bring one honestly. I will have to buy one at the next town we meet.

I watch him wash his face and arms while fumbling with a necklace around my neck.

About halfway through watching him did I realize I was playing with the necklace I had gotten for him.

I am an idiot. I even decided to wear the necklace to try and remind me that this was for him!

I slip the necklace off and walk down to the river with Yinx.

Whatever soap he uses, it smells like honey. Is that where the honey scent comes from? No of course not. I remember his breath smelling of honey as well. Yinx would not eat soap. That is ridiculous.

“Would you like to wash yourself as well?” He asks and holds the soap out to me.

“No it’s fine.” I say. “It is yours. I would not want to taint your soap.”

He laughs. “Taint my soap? That sounds insane. Here, wash yourself. You are a smelly dog at the moment.”

I roll my eyes and chuckle at the lame joke before taking the bar of soap.

I crouch by the water and cup the water in my hand to wash any dirt from my face. The water is quite cold but it doesn’t really bother me.

When my face is wet, I rub the soap all over. I feel like I am drowning in honey in all honesty. It is way too sweet for me. At least Yinx has that extra spice smell to him.

“Laneer?” Yinx says behind me.

“Yes?” I glance back at him. He is sitting on a rock.

“When are you going to hunt? The last time you let your wolf out was days ago.” He crosses his arms. “It isn’t hurting you, right?”

I smile. I am glad he cares about that in all honesty. I am not used to others caring for the wolf.

“He has not been pushing to get out so I have not been worried about it. Maybe I should just let him out tonight? Beatrix said she wanted to be there at my next hunt, but I would rather just have you with me.”

Yinx blushes and smiles. “I would like that, but I think Beatrix would be mad at you for letting her miss out.”

I just shrug before washing the soap off of my arms and face. “I can handle her. You are more trustworthy.” He looks a bit shocked by that.

I sit next to him on the rock and rest the soap between us.

“Yinx,” I start, “How are you so fine with being around my wolf? Nobody else is like that. You offered a meal to me as if it was nothing.”

He smirks and looks forward at the water. “I am from the Serendian desert. I have been around plenty of people who have made pacts with demons. You being a werewolf just feels like home.”

I am both shocked and happy with his answer. I did not expect there to actually be demon worshipers in the desert. I just assumed those were made up stories to scare the kids. He said I feel like home. That...that just made my chest feel all warm and fuzzy.

Wait...he said he did not want to go home.

“Is that a bad thing?” I ask. I would hate to be something he does not want to see.

Yinx shakes his head. “No not at all. I had a few friends who were little werewolves. I called them puppies all the time.” He smiles at the memory.

“Is it considered normal over there?” I ask.

“From what I remember, the ones who took the contract were looked down on. The children and other family members who were to suffer from the actions of their ancestor, were not treated any different than anyone else. We knew they were pulled into it against their will, so why would we treat them just as bad?”

I nod along. I guess that is not so bad. My grandfather had made the pact with a demon. His way of gaining power. He did not care if it would affect my father. He was selfish. I guess if there are a lot of people who took the pact, the demons must have been very convincing. I wonder why they always turned us into werewolves.

I pull the necklace from my pocket. This time I remember.

“Hey Yinx?” I say. “I got you something.”

He looks at me with a raised eyebrow.

“It is a necklace. I saw it in the markets back in Avelin. It made me think of you so I bought it.” I smile and hold it out.

Yinx reaches out and I place it onto his hand. He runs his fingers over the details and the diamond. He does not look at the pendant however. He stares off in front of him.

I know it is probably pretty stupid to get a blind person a necklace. I just assumed that maybe Yinx could see it. He has that fancy vision after all. I am starting to feel like this may have been a mistake. He looks troubled by the necklace.

“I’m sorry.” I say. “I probably shouldn’t have gotten that. You are blind after all.”

Yinx laughs and shakes his head. “No I love it, a lot actually. Thank you!” He reaches out and gives me a tight warm hug.

I smile and hug him back. He’s unbelievably warm. I just want to bury my face into his neck and breathe in his scent.

Yinx pulls back and runs his fingers over the necklace again. “I’ve never been given anything like this before.” He smiles up at me. “I love it!”

I grin before blushing. “I’m glad you do.”

We just sit on the rock and enjoy the sounds around us. Yinx leans against my arm and continues to use his finger to inspect the necklace. It is nice and peaceful. Well, it was until we hear shouting coming from the top of the hill.

We both turn to the sound and immediately run to see what is happening.

~~
~~

An ambush!

A group of about six bandits are attacking Beatrix and the twins.

The twins are protecting themselves from any arrows that fly with their shields. Beatrix has a battleaxe and is hiding behind the twins for cover.

Three bandits are walking closer to attack.

I glance at Yinx and see he has his chained scythes with him already. I can already guess he brought those out of thin air by magic.

I pull out my sword and shield and charge in.

Raising my sword, I swing down on the shoulder of one of the approaching attackers.

He screams and falls to the ground.

Arrows immediately begin shooting in my direction and so I raise my shield for cover.

I look for Yinx but he is no longer behind me. I look up and see him running straight for the archers. He is holding the chain in a way that allows one of the scythes to hang free. As soon as he is close enough he swings the chain and the scythes flies out and cuts the hand off of one of the archers.

Yinx keeps running and swinging. It almost looks as if he is dancing. He spins around letting the scythes fly around him and cut into anything that is too close.

What am I doing? I am just standing here!

I run up after him and bash my shield into the side of one of the bandit’s heads. He looks up at me in a daze before meeting my blade into his chest.

Yinx holds the chain over his head and spins while moving forward. The scythes swing far out and slice the heads off of two archers.

Well, that is all the archers gone.

One bandit remains and he looks at us in horror. He turns to make a run for it but a spear flies past me and enters his back. He falls to the ground dead.

I look back and see Nalgon with a grin on his face. Nelga gives him a high five.

Beatrix raises an eyebrow and looks up at Yinx. “He fights in a rather interesting way, especially for a blind hunter. Do be careful, Laneer.”

What does that even mean? I look up at Yinx and see he is wiping the blood off his scythes on a dead bandit’s armor.

I personally found that amazing. I love seeing how people fight. Most people are ferocious and scary. Yinx’s style looks more smooth and graceful.

If I could, I would have liked to have watched it again.

As soon as everyone has calmed down, we get moving again. We dumped the bodies deeper into the woods for the animals and then made our way to the next city.

It was not that far honestly. I am a bit surprised that the bandits would attack so close to the city.
For some reason, it just occurred to me that we will be close to the magic forest soon. We might even make it there in two days!

I sure hope we won’t be camping in there.

What if we get attacked by the mysterious creatures that live there? Oh gods. I do not know if I am ready.