MagiStream

"Up here," Max called in response, getting up from the bed and going to stand at the top of the stairs. It was dark, with the dust blocking out the moonlight that would have normally lit up the place a bit more. She took a wary glance around, getting a somewhat bad feeling.

"Well, it's just bedrooms and bathrooms," she sighed. "Nothing special. All empty and dusty, like the rest of the house." She realized she was hungry, and wondered what they could eat. She also wished she had her sword, but she didn't want to risk going back in the palace if the guards were still there.

She walked down the stairs, turning to face Lji. "So did you get a chance to look around down here?" She asked, feeling slightly tired as well.

Lji watched as she came to the top of the stairs, and he nodded slightly. "Yes, I've checked the place," he confirmed. "There isn't much of anything." He turned to look at the windows, watching as any leftover light completely diminished. "We should get some rest," he said, turning to look at her. He had completely forgotten about food since he didn't feel hungry.

Lji walked up to meet her, the stairs creaking under his weight. He didn't dare hold onto the railing, as it looked old and flimsy. Dust covered every surface he could see, and the darkness didn't help him feel any better about this place.

"So which ones are the bedrooms?" he asked, squinting as he looked around. His eyes slowly adjusted to the dark, and the faint outlines of doors and walls seemed more intimidating and unknown to him through the dim. He wanted to rest for the night, then leave for his home in the morning. If they weren't careful, and if they didn't hurry, a war would start at any given time. Besides, he didn't want to stay in this old, creepy thing for much longer.

[[I'm sorry, I have to go for a bit. I'll be back in a little while.]]

(Awww, okay! See you later!)

"The first through the fourth on the left are bedrooms, as well as the sixth. The fifth is a bathroom. On the right the bedrooms are the first and the third through the fifth. The second and sixth are the bathrooms. The room at the very end is a bedroom."

She sighed, randomly choosing a bedroom to stay in. "I guess I'll see you in the morning?" she asked tiredly, opening the door. Once she had entered, she closed it, noting the dust that fell onto the floor. When she sat on the bed, she sneezed from all the dust that puffed out of it. Sighing, she carefully laid on it, sneezing again.

She felt nervous, and she wondered how she would be able to get to sleep.

[[Hello.~ ]]

Lji nodded to her, choosing a bedroom relatively close to hers. It took a good tug to get the door open, and a few tiny puffs of dust came from its wooden frame. The room was completely barren, except for a small bed right in the center of it. The prince raised his eyebrow, but decided that he needed somewhere to sleep anyway. He made his way over to he bed, slapping its covers to get off as much dust as possible.

After he'd "dusted" the bed enough, Lji collapsed onto it, closing his eyes and attempting to sleep. It was so dark in the house, and despite the fact that it was nearly empty, the room felt stuffy. He gave off a long sigh as he tossed and turned for a little, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in.

Finally, he could feel sleep overcoming him.

(TIMESKIP)

(HI! )

Max woke up, wondering where she was for a second. Then she remembered the events that had occurred the previous day. Getting off the bed, she dusted herself off, before going and cracking the door open. She wondered if Lji was awake yet.

Walking out into the hallway, she resisted a sneeze. She walked to the first floor, taking a look around for herself. She wondered why the one room was just empty, but paid it no mind. She was feeling hungry, but she didn't think there would be anything good to eat in the kitchen.

Lji slept for a long time after Max had woken up. It was rare that he actually had to wake up early. It was only after he rolled onto his side and accidentally fell out of his bed that his eyelids fluttered open, and he groaned to himself about the rude awakening. "Ridiculous small bed," he huffed. "The ones at the castle are much larger, and I actually have room to move around properly." He shook his head and forced himself to stand, still feeling groggy and bleary-eyed.

His door hung just slightly ajar, and he pulled it open slowly. It creaked loudly, sending echoes through the room and down the hall. After there was an opening in the door just large enough for Lji to slip out, he found his way down the stairs and into the front room. As he blinked away the sleep in his eyes, he could feel his stomach grumbling, and he rolled his eyes to himself. Food. Great! Where were they supposed to get any? He supposed they could find "wild food" such as deer or edible plants, but... he gagged at the thought. He was used to waking up to a rich breakfast of succulent muffins and biscuits, delicious, moist meat, and the sweetest jams. "Wild plants" sounded like the food of a commoner-- or perhaps even homeless wanderer-- and the thought disgusted him.

"Max?" he asked, looking around for her. Finding her in a different room, he attempted look more "presentable" by straightening his posture and trying to hide how tired he was. The morning rays of light forced their way stubbornly through the old, grimy windows, and Lji knew it was high time to leave.

"So you're finally up," was all Max said. He looked tired, but they needed to get going. "So anyway, are you ready to go?" she asked, crossing her arms. She was, and she was used to going for a while without food so that wasn't much of a problem.

She headed towards the door, ready to leave. The house made her nervous, and she was looking forward to moving on. She cautiously opened it, peeking out the crack and looking through the streets. Just as it was the previous day. Empty. A few bird and insect calls. That was it.

She was looking forward to leaving the Jikennt kingdom entirely.

Lji stared at her for a moment, as if trying to process the information. "Oh... leaving. Of course I'm ready! I hated this place the moment I heard its name for the first time." He followed her towards the door, tossing it open and walking out quickly. He simply wanted to be rid of this miserable place, and he couldn't wait to get home.

Home. Hold it a moment. Obviously Max would have nowhere to go-- even if his mother didn't know that it was her who had been stealing the gold, the men from Jikennt knew where she lived. Wouldn't they hurt her? After all, they'd trapped her in the dungeons, and she'd escaped. They'd be furious.

He turned to face her for a moment, unsure how to say it. Of course she already knew what her situation would be when they returned, but... He raked his fingers nervously through his hair. "Well... what exactly are you going to do when you return to Yttla?"

Honestly, although she was eager to leave, she wasn't exactly happy to be returning to Ytlla. "I don't know, probably buy a new dagger and leave again," she replied with what she hoped was a casual shrug. Then she remembered something. "But to do that... I'd need money. To get money, I'd have to sell some belongings and some kills. But I don't have belongings anymore, they were all stolen, and I don't have anything to kill or snare animals with," she muttered quietly to herself.

Well, wasn't this just great. She sighed with frustration. "Maybe not even that. Maybe I'll just leave and do... Something," she said, louder that time. She headed the direction she thought Ytlla was, knowing that the two kingdoms were fairly close. "I'll figure it out when i get to that point, I guess."

Lji gave a single nod as he turned to leave, heading in the direction of Yttla. He paused for a moment, as if thinking of something. "According to my geography lessons," he murmured quietly to himself, "we are about... here..." He closed his eyes and pointed to a spot in the air. "We need to move... here." He traced his finger down the imaginary map, moving it for a short length before opening his eyes again. "Oh... oh, no."

A realization had just dawned on him. Of course. It all made sense now. "There is a large mountain between the two kingdoms Yttla and Jikennt. Do you know it? Wolf's Mount." He bit his lip in frustration as the weight of his realization sank in. "It is tall, and wide. It takes at least two days to pass the mountain on foot. We had been knocked out for longer than we thought. My head hurt more than it should have when I awoke. After all, we were simply hit on the head-- it wouldn't have hurt that badly. No, we were drugged, and we've been here at least three or four days."

If he was correct, then he was in big trouble when he returned. If they were lucky crossing the mountain, they'd return in two or so days. If something happened to hinder their journey, they'd return to Yttla in about a week. "To you, it may not make any difference, but my mother will be infuriated. A war may already be brewing as we speak!" He bit his lip and began to pace back and forth.