The Blood Alchemist; Chapter 6

I watch as my mother walks away, the guards following her closely. I'm not sure why I feel so confused. I think back on her words. Take care of your new friend, but don't forget to also make sure you come back. What an odd thing to say. I mean, I do have a tendency to get into trouble, but this shouldn't be that much trouble. Unless Olivia's mother was completely wrong about the Blood Alchemist.

Turning, I find Olivia glaring at Clyde. "Do you want a hand?" He asks her, as I approach.

Olivia reaches up, firmly gripping the saddle before pulling herself up to place one foot in the stirrup. I can now see why Clyde was doubtful. The height difference between Olivia and her horse is enough to be slightly problematic. She lets herself fall down enough for the ball of her free foot to reach the ground. Pushing off with her foot, she pulls herself up again, managing to get enough clearance to swing herself up into the saddle.

From her new perch, she glares down at him. "No."

"Are you going to want a hand getting down?" Clyde asks.

"If I can get up, I can get down."

"Really?" Clyde sounds doubtful. "Care to demonstrate?"

Still glaring at Clyde, Olivia rises in the saddle, swinging her leg back over. It lands on the ground, but her other foot isn't as keen to follow; it's caught in the stirrup. That wouldn't have been an issue if she was still holding the saddle as she had been when she mounted but seeing as she's not, it causes her to lose her balance.

I easily catch her. "What an astounding demonstration," I can't help the amusement tinting my voice.

"Shut up," she growls at me as she struggles to get her foot free of the stirrup.

I laugh as Clyde sighs, moving to help her get her foot free. "I would suggest you wait until one of us have dismounted before trying to dismount in the future until you can figure out how to do it without getting stuck."

"Though the entertainment would be appreciated," I comment as she pushes off me to her feet.

"I will leave you behind," she warns as she prepares to remount her horse.

I walk over to mine, easily mounting it. I guide it gently closer to Olivia, glancing down at the map she's holding. She carefully studies it, tapping the red dot. I trace my eyes over the space between Lautus and Azymus and the city the red dot sits on. I recognize the name of some of the cities near to us, but the further out they get, the less I know.

Reaching out, I tap Verlon. "We should go through Verlon."

"No," Clyde puts in, "That's a bad idea."

"No," I counter, "It's a good idea. In Verlon, no one will care who we are. We can pass through unnoticed and get everything we need."

"It's a city of thieves," the disdain is clear in his voice. "We should go through Fortol."

"And if we're spotted, we'll have to jump through all their hoops of formality."

"We stick to the outskirts. I can go in and get supplies while you two stay outside the city."

"I defiantly didn't expect you to be the one to suggest we split up, but that doesn't change the fact that splitting up is just about as good as an idea as going through Verlon. We might as well go through Verlon and stick together."

Clyde stares at me. "You honestly think going through a town of thieves together is the same as splitting up in a town known for being by the book."

"Since the goal is to move fast and not be seen, no. Not when you put it that way. It's a better idea. There will be too many questions if we go through Fortol, even if we split up and you go in alone."

"Alright," Olivia pipes up, adjusting her compass and map to find an alignment. "I'll make the final call. I say we go through Fortol."

I start, shocked by her decision. "What?"

"Yes, we need to move quickly and avoid attention, but if we pick up more Hollows, I'd rather not be in a town of people who don't care one way or the other what happens. Even if we do split up, we have a better chance of escaping if we're not in the city."

"Are you suggesting we leave Clyde?"

"She makes a valid point. If it does come to that, then you leave me. You hear me Bash? No hero antics."

I now stare at Clyde. The look he gives me tells me that this point is not up for discussion. "Fine."

Clyde narrows his eyes. He knows I don't mean it. He doesn't get the chance to object though.

"Let's get moving," Olivia says, snapping the reins of her horse.

Clyde gives me one last warning glance before deftly following her lead.

xXxXx

The fire isn't large, but it's big enough to light the small camp space. I sit with Clyde on one side, as he studies the map Olivia let him have. Olivia sits across from us, her sketchbook on her lap. Her hand moves across the page. I stand, stretching my arms above my head. Clyde merely glances up at me before looking back at the map. Olivia doesn't even glance up. I move across the space, settling down next to her. At that, she does look over at me, carefully placing a hand over her work.

"I'm fairly certain Clyde's claimed first watch, but you're more than welcome to argue with him for it," I comment casually. "Also, unless you want Clyde to have a permanent copy of that map, you should go take it back."

Olivia snorts. "He can have both; that map is pretty useless anyway unless you want to go further than we have to."

I glance over at Clyde, chuckling. "I should have figured." I look down at the sketchbook on her lap, curiosity finally winning out. "What are you drawing?"

Olivia's eyes flicker down. "Ah, um, nothing that interesting."

"Were you drawing me?"

Olivia scrunches up her face. "As if." After a slight pause, she moves her hand, angling the sketchbook towards me. "I guess I miss home a little."

It's a rather rough sketch, but the details are more or less clear. A fire sits on one side, logs for sitting positioned around it. An interesting background stretches out behind it. The ground looks like the desert sands to the east of Lautus. It seems to go on all the way to the horizon, but there's a definite change in the texture. It seems to have more of a flow in the background. The moon overhead is also reflecting off it. On either side, two high outcrops of rocky land stretch inward towards each other as if in an attempt to cut off a section of the strange land.

"That's a strange desert."

Olivia laughs. "It's not a desert. It's a cove- the firepit cove to be exact."

"A cove?"

Olivia gives me a look. A second later her face softens. "You've never seen the ocean," her voice is soft.

"That's that giant body of water that's said to stretch past the horizon, right? The one that's at the west end of the land?"

"Yeah," she says smiling. "Water as far as the eye can see, but you can't drink it."

"What?"

"It's saltwater. Not only does it taste bad, but it will also only make you more thirsty. I do not recommend it."

Something tells me I might regret asking, but I do anyway, "So, firepit cove. Is that your home?"

"Huh?" She looks down at the drawing. "No. It's in the neutral territory nearby. Not many people know about it. Rory and I go there all the time." She trails off as she finishes. There's a sadness in the air with the silence.

"Who's Rory?" I ask.

"He's my friend- my best friend." There's no mistaking the sorrow in her voice.

"The same friend you're worried about."

It's not really a question, but she nods anyway. She stares down at the drawing, eyes distant and full of pain.

On instinct, I wrap an arm around her, pulling her close. "He's going to be fine."

Surprisingly, she doesn't pull away. "I really hope you're right."

"Well, if the Blood Alchemist can't help you, we'll figure something else out. . . On the off-chance there isn't anything we can do, you can have Clyde."

"No," Clyde says matter of factly from across the fire, without so much as glancing up.

I can hear her soft laughter as she shakes against my side. I find myself smiling, glad that I was able to make her laugh.