"You know, the sun is barely up, so what the heck are you even doing here?" Miell yawned, his eyelids still heavy with sleep, and his eyes misty. Today again, Nyell had popped up on their ship at the crack of dawn, and the sailor on watch had no other choice but to climb down from the crow's nest to the hold to shake Miell's shoulders and snatch him away from Morpheus' embrace. Not too surprisingly, being woken up so early in the morning made the beastman slightly annoyed, and his tone of voice was sharper than usual. "Seriously, can you even tell me what's the point of coming down early when the market won't open for another two hours or so…?"
"As far as I know, there're plenty of other things to do while we wait," Nyell shrugged, not at all apologetic. "Like taking a stroll, or something."
"Dude," Miell deadpanned, his mouth twitching, "if you're avoiding Allen, just say so."
A deafening silence fell upon the ship, only broken by the gentle waves hitting the hull. Nyell pretended not to have heard Miell, not even flinching at the accusation. Even if his recent behavior made it crystal clear that he was on the run, he didn't want to admit it aloud. Yes, he had been fleeing early in the morning, hours before Allen woke, and went back home late at night, using playing bait as an excuse to leave the plaza long after the market had closed. No need to be a genius to figure out that he was running away at dawn and delaying his return after dust. It was plain obvious to Miell, and the first time he brought the subject up, Nyell hadn't even denied it, mumbling something about making a fool out of himself after the trial. These barely unintelligible words, of course, piqued Miell's curiosity, but no matter how much he probed, he never got a definitive answer. Nyell always brushed it off or suddenly forgot how to speak.
"If you're to use me as an excuse and wake me at the crack of dawn," Miell sighed, "the least you could do is tell me what happened."
"What are you complaining about?" Nyell rolled his eyes, jumping to his feet. Now that he had finally gotten the gist of how the copper, silver, and gold coins worked, he could tell Allen was being overly generous with Miell for his services. Granted, he was putting his safety on the line, but Miell didn't seem to mind it much. It appeared to be an everyday occurrence to him. "You're being paid graciously, so stop whining and keep me company."
"What am I? Your nanny?"
"What's a nanny?"
"You don't have nannies in your tribe…? Wait, that's a stupid question. That's a foreign concept even from where I come from. How should I explain it to you…"
When Nyell said they had plenty of things to do other than parading in the market, he wasn't lying. Miell had been acting as a teacher of some sort, tutoring Nyell about common knowledge from outside of the jungle. There were many strange words and concepts he knew nothing about. Miell helped fill in his lack of basic understanding.
Myrven was supposed to teach him about geography and the White Moon tribe's history, but they hadn't even crossed paths since the trial. Heck, Nyell barely caught a glimpse of him and Layla, even though he had a thousand questions for them. And these were questions he couldn't ask Miell.
It was no surprise, however. Myrven was busy taking care of the women and children Nyell had rescued while also planning the upcoming festival and completing other tasks given to him by Allen. Moreover, Myrven couldn't spend much time with Nyell because of his own agenda, as neither Layla nor Myrven accompanied him on his outing. The only person by his side when he strolled the town was Miell. Sometimes, another sailor joined them on their trip to buy something. But essentially, Nyell was alone with Miell for most of the day. They knew that their prey wouldn't dare come closer if Allen's aides tagged along. Myrven, as the tribal god's familiar spirit, and Layla, as an unknown but terrifying being, inspired both fear and awe in people. Their targets might be dumb, but they weren't that dumb. Picking a fight with one of these two would be akin to forfeiting their own lives, something they would most likely rather not do.
"Do you think the fishing will be good today?" Miell asked as they climbed down the rope ladder, leaving the ship after the beastman explained the concept of nanny and even nobility, as Nyell only had a vague idea of what a 'king' and a 'queen' were from past legends. The harbor was still deserted, but people were gradually waking up, and the town was slowly coming back to life. "It's surprising how bad our luck has been. To make matters worse, my captain won't keep the ship docked forever. We're leaving after the festivities."
As promised, Allen announced a three-day festival to celebrate his fated mate's arrival. It was scheduled for the next week, and the town was abuzz with excitement at the news. Most merchants decided to stay for the festivities, pushing their departure for a later date. They had noticed that, after the trial, the people of the White Moon land had splurged a little fortune on alcohol to celebrate the news. They had a hunch that the excitement from the festival would drive people to be even less mindful of their spending, which led the merchants to request stalls. No one wanted to miss the opportunity to advertise their products and make money. Or better yet, make connections.
"Honestly, I'm starting to believe that we make bad baits," Nyell clicked his tongue. "Up until now, those who approached us were mostly ordinary citizens, or greedy merchants who wanted me to give Allen a good word about them. Some were annoying, but no one did anything that crossed the line. I didn't think they were this cautious, given how blunt they are about their little shenanigans. Yesterday, I heard some nasty rumors about the tidal wave on the day Allen and I entered the tribe. I guess that if he hadn't handled it properly, the hearsay wouldn't be so quiet and would have spread across the town."
"Well, you being the hero of the day also helped. Your exploits are overshadowing any nasty rumors they've been trying to spread. The sailors you saved hadn't been shy about showering you in praise."
"Still! They laid out a foundation with their little lies. Not the strongest one, granted, but it's still there. I bet that if another disaster erupts during the festival, people won't be able to ignore the rumors this time, however absurd they are. They'll get amplified to an unreasonable degree, and Allen will have to handle one hell of a backlash."
"Wait. You think there will be another tidal wave?"
"Definitely," Nyell grimaced in disgust. "That's the best time to strike and tarnish Allen's reputation. A rumor about how the gods don't approve of me or whatever will probably circle afterward. How could a savage from the jungle be worthy of the Lord of the White Moon land? That kind of bullshit, y'know?"
Or at least, that was what Allen had been saying. According to him, if he were in their shoes, he wouldn't pass on the opportunity. The trial of the Fated Mates went without a hiccup, and that was odd in itself. It led him to believe that the wave couldn't be summoned willy-nilly. Some conditions had to be met first. It wasn't surprising, considering the scale of the wave. If Gods had engineered it, they wouldn't need to wait in between. But mortals had their limits.
"This is so frustrating! I hope we can get something to show off first before that happens," Nyell sighed, his eyes wandering to a food stall that was about to open. "Hunting is fun, but it's only rewarding when you catch your prey."
"Maybe there's something we could try," Miell smiled, his eyes curving into crescent moons. "Although I fear Allen will scold me senseless if we do it. He can get quite sensitive when it comes to your safety, after all."
"Who cares? Alright, alright, you do. I'll convince him not to dock your pay. So, what's your idea?"
"I don't know if you've noticed," Miell started, gesturing for the vendor to prepare two smoked fishes for them from afar, "but I've got a tail put on me. Whenever you leave, there's still someone watching me from the shadows. Their gaze is quite intense, and even now, I feel watched."
"Hm, yeah, I've noticed," Nyell nodded, speaking in a low voice. Even if they were a few meters away from the stall, he didn't want the vendor to overhear them. "I've also got people on my tail, though they always stop following me when I get too far up the mountain. I don't know if it's because they can keep up with the climb or are afraid I'll notice them once we pass the last row of houses. I'm even purposely using back alleys, and they don't even use that opportunity to try to sneak up on me. Perhaps they've only been tasked with watching us and reporting our every move… Tsk, how annoying."
"That might be the case, yes," Miell grimaced, his irises elongating into slits as he let his instinct surge. A predatory light glinted in the depths of his eyes. "I think we should speed up the process. That game of mouse is getting annoyingly long, and I have to leave in a few days. We might as well travel to an isolated area today and separate once there. They might not go after you, but I have a hunch they would definitely not miss the chance to go after me, and I've got the perfect place for that in mind."
"I thought it was my safety that we were supposed to jeopardize, not yours."
"So, you're in?"
To Miell's question, Nyell responded with a sinister smile. He still didn't know much about the beastman, for they had only known each other for a few days, but he trusted him to take care of himself. He wasn't a frail damsel in need of protection, and they should make the best out of the target he had painted on his back at the trial. Because Miell was never alone, as he was either with Nyell or his crew, he could not be approached without someone noticing. Their prey were cautious, and Nyell had the title of warrior, albeit from a second-rate tribe. Still, it could have been enough to put them off from acting rashly. Maybe he shouldn't have shown off so much on his first day, hm… Well, it was too late for regrets, anyway.
On the bright side, Miell was probably not seen as a danger. He was but a mere sailor with cat ears and a tail. To overconfident werewolves, he was most likely nothing more than a kitten in their eyes. That said, if they could not bait them when they were together, then they had to do so while they were separated. It might be another fruitless endeavor, as it might also not be. The only way to know was to try.