Leonine drank one cup of tea quickly and poured a second to linger over, enjoying the warmth seeping into his frozen fingers. Nearby, Edger still slept, snoring faintly, occasionally muttering or whimpering in his sleep, hands twitching as though he was reaching for something. Or someone.
"What do you make of all this?" Everard asked, nodding to Edger.
"No idea, to be honest. They're not exactly what comes to mind when you picture assassins. Hopefully once we find Cole and the others, we'll get some answers." He yawned. "At least it's not another lindworm."
Odilia shuddered. "I still can't believe you had to face one of those things."
Leonine snorted. "If I hadn't been a dumbass, we might have been able to get away without waking it up. It's a wonder Cimar didn't kill me when it was all over."
"Still can't believe he can turn into a dragon," Everard said, finishing his tea and pouring a second cup, refilling both of theirs before setting it back over the fire. "Only ever heard of that; never thought I'd know someone who could do it." He laughed. "Maybe now that he'll talk to us again, I can see it someday."
"I'm sure he'd be happy to shift for you," Leonine replied. Cimar had always been protective of his dragon form, not wanting to be judged on it or harassed about it, but he'd always been immensely proud too.
The same way Leonine was immensely proud of his magic, for all the trouble and fearful looks it so often brought him. He yawned and set his cup aside, scrubbing at his face to try and wake himself up a bit more.
"Get some rest, Lee," Odilia said. "The gruel won't be ready for a while yet, and you need all the rest you can get with those wounds still healing."
Leonine started to protest, but at their dual glares, lifted his hands in defeat. "Fine. All right. I know when to do as I'm told. Wake me if you sense anything is wrong, I don't care how trivial."
"We will. Promise," Everard replied. "Rest."
Pulling his cloak up around him as a blanket, Leonine stretched out on his bed, enjoying the scent of fresh pine beneath him and the cooking gruel and rabbit around him. Better still was the soft murmuring of his lovers conversing. His lovers. He'd thought he'd lost them forever, but they were his again, hopefully forever, or as close to forever as the goddess permitted.
He groaned as someone shook him gently by the shoulders. "No, a few more minutes."
Odilia's soft, fond chuckle washed over him. "Food's ready, Lee, and then you can go right back to sleep. Come on."
Leonine slowly sat up, shoving his hair from his face and getting his cloak out of the way. Movement caught the corner of his eyes, and he groaned again. "Don't tell me the fucking snow is back."
Everard laughed. "It's like you haven't lived here for years, Lee. Of course it's snowing again. We're lucky it waited this long."
"Why can't assassins work in spring or summer," Leonine muttered, jabbing at the fire before adding more wood to it. Odilia offered a steaming bowl that made his stomach growl, and he gladly took it, barely waiting for each bite to be cool enough to eat.
To his right, Edger said, "Believe me, I would have loved to wait until spring, but the man who hired us insisted it be done at the frost fair."
Leonine cast him a look as he swallowed another bite of food. "So you are one of the killers."
"It was Cole what fired the arrows, strictly speaking, but yeah, I was part of the kill team. Five of us in total, with more assistance in cities along the way."
"Who paid you?" Leonine asked. "Why did you take the job? Doesn't really seem your style."
Edger scoffed derisively. "I seriously doubt some pretty boy knight would ever understand."
"I wasn't born a pretty boy knight, you know." Leonine never really talked about his past, not even to Everard and Odilia. Cimar knew his history, of course, but that was it, really. "My parents didn't want another mouth to feed. My foster family decided I was too much work. So did the orphanage and all the other families I tried. I joined the military when I was eight. Sir Cimar found me a few years later. If not for him, I'd probably be dead or worse by now. So try me."
"Lee…" Odilia frowned and fell silent as Everard covered one of her hands with his own.
Edger stared at him intently for a long moment, then gave the barest nod and sipped his tea. "Fine. The short answer is that we wanted out. Gets old being a criminal, you know? Stealing, kidnapping, the occasional murder… eats away at you, and you're always on the run and shit. This job promises enough money we can quit. Buy a house or farm or something, be normal people. That's why. Kill a king that everyone hates and get the life of respectable citizens? Who the fuck wouldn't agree to that? Except this fucking weather screwed us harder than a tax collector seeking bribes." He sighed and drained the last of his tea.
"Tell me about it," Leonine replied. "I hate winter. So they are definitely headed for a ship?"
"The Fair Morning. Leaves in six days. Can't tell you where it's going, we were never told, and it didn't really matter to us. Away was all that mattered."
Leonine sighed, his orders, his training, and so much more spinning through his head. "For now, let's concentrate on catching up to the rest of your team. Once I have them all, I'll figure out the next step. Now, how about another round for everyone? Tomorrow is going to be a long day."
Odilia served the gruel, and Leonine poured more tea, and they ate the last of the meal in silence, punctuated by whistling wind and the occasional yawn. Everard hauled everything away to clean, and Leonine made sure the fire would last the night.
"Do we need to set a watch?" Odilia asked as Everard returned. "I can take first turn."
"That won't be necessary." Leonine rose and went to the mouth of the cave. Calling up his magic, he willed the snow up and up, until it covered most of the mouth of the cave. With a last surge of power, he turned it into ice, ensuring no one else would be able to get inside without making a great deal of noise. "There. All set. Should keep out the worst of the wind too."
"You really are amazing, Lee," Odilia said, and dragged him into an absolutely marvelous kiss. When she let him go, Everard took his turn, and Leonine was more than a little frustrated that their current company kept him from doing all that he very much wished he could, regardless of how reckless acting on such an impulse would be.
Across the fire, against the back of the cave, Edger was already fast asleep, back to snoring softly.
"What are you going to do, Lee?" Everard asked, voice soft.
Leonine shrugged and spread his hands. "I don't know yet. I really do want to focus on just capturing the rest of the team. After that, I'll sort this mess out. I don't want to make decisions before I have all the pieces. This certainly isn't what I was expecting, though."
Odilia smiled and kissed him again before going to her own bed. "I have every faith you'll make the right decision, whatever it is. We're here for you no matter what."
"I know. Thank you. I'm glad you changed your mind," Leonine replied.
"So are we," Everard said.