Kaityln ran, pulled along by Emil, with staggered and curious steps that crossed water as if it were dirt. She stumbled repeatedly, expecting puddles to behave like puddles, to splash and make way for her foot toward the ground below. Mana that was not hers flowered around her feet, and between it and her own, no obstacle seemed to pose a challenge.

Emil led her down the hill toward the nearby woods. The beginnings of fatigue began to catch up, but she did not, and could not stop. Kaitlyn willed herself forward, faster, and faster. Her mana surged around her feet and she moved with the speed of a windswept wildfire. Shortly it was her dragging Emil along, the pair moving across water, mud, and dirt as if they were paved strrets. 

They stopped for a moment once they reached the woods, out of sight of their pursuers, just as Kaitlyn remembered that the man she was leading by the hand was trying to kill her mere moments ago and questioned as they caught their breath.. "Mr Assasain...? Exactly what is... it that we're doing,...?"

"Livin'... I'd reckon."

"Exactly... Did you... not intend... to kill me?"

"Do you want... to be killed?"

"Heavens no!"

"Shhh, keep your voice down... We won't be able to outrun them all... We'll need to fight. We can discuss whatever this is later.... Try not to accidentally kill me in the meantime."

"What about an intentional kill?"

"If you wanted to, you'd have killed by now... Just use the fireballs as a distraction.... I'll handle the messy business. Whatever that power that you have is, don't let it go until we're out of danger."

"How am i to trust my assassin?"

"You're alive, ain'cha? They're coming." Emil began stealthily climbing a tree while Kaitlyn readied small fireballs at her fingertips.

The men began to trickle into the forest in twos and threes. Kaitlyn hurled flames, disabling and distracting many an opponent while Emil took advantage of the chaos and dropped from the trees, ending the existence or suffering of several.

Flourishes of flames and blades cut down or injured dozens, leaving only 2 able to escape at any speed that could be called running. Kaitlyn watched as their backs shrank into the distance as they stood aminst men crumpled on the forest floor, before she and Emil turned and ran in the opposite direction.

They ran for some distance, as far as they could manage, making twists and turns along the way. Before either knew it, fatigue had caught up with them as the glow from their eyes faded, and with it, their consciousnesses.

It was the dead of night when Emil woke. The top half of his face was wet as he picked himself up from the muddy forest floor.  He quickly checked to make sure he was not injured. It only took a few seconds to realize that it was mud that covered his forehead. Breathing a sigh of relief, he glanced at his surroundings and spotted Kaitlyn, lying with the side of her head in a shallow puddle of mud. His attempt to rush over and check on her failed splendidly as he fell forward into more mud. His entire body felt heavy, as if weighed down by stones.

With a heavy sigh, he called the names of the twin goddesses of water. Moments later, his left eye began to glow as one of them appeared to answer. He felt his fatigue lessen and willed himself up. His feet sloshed through mud and puddles as he couldn't spare the mana to walk across them. The water that clung to him beaded and fell as if frightened, leaving him and his clothing dry.

He made his way over to his target and checked her condition. Still breathing, no noticeable injuries. He'd gained a few cuts and bruises, nothing that time wouldn't heal, though the divinity flowing through him was licking at his wounds, causing them to close and making his bruises vanish. He wondered if he could extend the same effects to her before pausing at his own thoughts.

Emil chuckled to himself at the concern and amount of care he was giving the woman he was sent to kill. He rolled her over, out of the puddle, gently picked her up, and leaned her against a nearby tree. Divine favor or not, napping in a puddle of mud was not great for one's health. The next task was a fire, for which he started looking for dry wood, a rather tall order given how much it had rained recently. It took a fair amount of time to find wood dry enough to use, even after applying his mana to remove some of the extra moisture. It took longer still to start the fire, and there was the risk of them being found, but their health was his primary concern. He once again chucked as he noted his word choice.

Emil sighed, his breath ever so slightly visible under the moonlight peeking through the forest canopy. His next task was to move his target near the fire and see if there was anything he could do about her somewhat soaked condition. He removed his own cloak and placed it under her head. He then placed a fingertip on her forehead and applied mana, testing if he could dispel water on her as he did for himself. He felt an unnatural warmth which was not his own, and a surge of power flowed through him. It seemed the Goddess of Tranquil Waters greatly approved of his deed, and he watched in amazement as the water in her clothes and hair collected into large beads and floated above and away from her.

It was at this moment that Kaitlyn's eyes fluttered open, falling upon Emil and his finger poking her forehead. Her eyes shot open upon noticing someone she didn't immediately recognize so close. She pulled herself up and attempted to scoot backward before falling back to the forest floor after her hand collided with the cloak that was her pillow. She landed with a splat and glared up at Emil. "What in the dickens were you trying to do to me?!"

"I just removed that water... and there you go getting soaked again."

Kaitlyn continued attempting to bore holes into Emil with her stare, but allowed her gaze to wander. She saw the beaded water still floating in the air, and one of Emil's eyes glowing. She noted the distinct lack of moisture on the front half of her clothes, though since she'd fallen into a puddle, her back half was expectedly drenched. "So... you...?"

"I was tryin' to help. If you don't mind, I'd like to finish. No good is gonna to come of you staying soggy." Annoyance made itself evident on Emil's face as the beaded water fell to the ground.

Kaitlyn responded with a raised eyebrow, then shook her head, "OK, I need to make sure I understand this. You, Emil, who was sent to kill me, are helping me?"

"Yeah, Miss Kaitlyn."

"Drop the 'miss', and that's fine. Now for that part I don't understand: why are you helping me?"

"Is it wrong to try and make sure someone doesn't catch their death of cold?"

"No, that's perfectly acceptable, kind even, unless you were, I don't know... sent to kill them!"

Emil put his finger to his lips, "We can't be sure who's still around. Keep your voice down."

"Oh, apologies... wait a moment! You still haven't answered my question!"

"I'm pretty sure I did."

Kaitlyn sighed, "Let me make this easy to understand, Mr. Assassin: I want to know why you, who was sent to kill me, are helping me, even though it would greatly benefit you if I died. Me being sick would help you. You could've killed me earlier when we fought. You could've killed me while fighting our pursuers or allowed one of them to kill me. You could've killed me while I was apparently unconscious. You could've killed me before I even knew you were there! Now you're using your Saint's power to ensure my well-being. You do understand my confusion, right? Don't misunderstand, I am very grateful to be alive, but I fail to understand why I am still alive when you've had so many chances."

"Well, that would be because I don't exactly like my 'job'."

"Come again...?"

"I don't want to kill you."

Emil moved closer and put his finger back on Kaitlyn's forehead and water began to bead and disperse. Kaitlyn's eyes widened in shock. "There must be quite a story behind all this..."

"Yeah."

"Maybe it'll help both of us if you tell it."

Emil's focus broke and the water droplets fell to the ground again. "uhm... I 'spose?"