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13
When Harley returned to her little shack of a home, Nox was nowhere in sight. She heaved a sigh of relief and stripped off her uniform now that their training for the day was done. The sun had long since set, and Dustin was bound to arrive at any minute. Even the guard that normally was posted outside by her door was gone. It was likely Nox's doing to help cover her absence.
She put on a long sleeved white button-up shirt along with a pair of black leggings to go with her leather boots. As she was going through her wardrobe, rummaging among all of her clothing she hardly ever wore, she stumbled across something crimson and silky. She paused, staring down at the old cloak that had somehow survived through the years after all it had been through. It had been all that she had left of her home. She wore it the night she watched as her village burned down. The very night she swore to get revenge on those that took her family and home away from her. It was also the same night that she wandered off into the forest, not knowing where else to go. A venture that resulted in her making a deal with the devil.
She shook the memories away and closed the drawer, leaving the cloak behind as she went for the black one that hung on her coat rack. Moments later, there was a gentle knock on her door. She opened it to see Dustin standing outside in a cloak of his own. Slowly, he raised his head to look at her. His eyes scanned her up and down, as if judging whether her attire was appropriate or not. Then he asked, "Are you ready?" Harley gave a confident nod and stepped outside beside him, closing the door behind her. "Here's to hoping your merchant can help us out," she sighed. There were no horses in sight for them to ride into town. Which was fine. They didn't need any. The town wasn't that far away from them after all, just within walking distance.
Together they made their way through the shadows so that they wouldn't be seen sneaking out. Harley followed Dustin's lead as he guided her away from the barracks and towards the town. Lanterns kept the streets lit up through the night, while very few people were still awake and roaming around. Most of them were drunkards, much to Harley's disgust. She was never much of a drinker.
"Where is this bar you love so much?" she asked out of curiosity, just to fill the silence between them. "It's an underground bar," Dustin replied. "You know, the kind where all kinds of shady people gather and do shady things. I think it still hasn't been discovered by the soldiers yet, otherwise it would already be out of business." So that was why they needed to hide their identities. So they wouldn't be caught in such an unlawful place. "Whatever drew you to such a bar? Are you secretly a criminal or something?" Harley mocked, and Dustin chuckled. "No, they just have the best ale in town. And it's the one place I can go without feeling...restricted. I can just hangout and do whatever I want without being judged for it." Harley blinked and raised a brow at him. He was always so passionate about their training like she was. She always thought he lived and breathed it. Yet, it came as a surprise to her that he had a life beyond that. She couldn't help but to wonder just what kind of life Dustin lived.
