"This war never ended, did it? Not for us." // O/O // Closed

Winter was quiet, letting out a soft breath as he continued to carve. The piece of wood began to look like a celtic knot, twined and twisted into itself. He was silent as he worked, focused on the task at hand.

Mycah woke up for good as the slightest hints of dawn were appearing in the sky. They sat up and stretched as much as they could in the cramped backseat of the car. "Did anything happen?" Mycah asked, pulling the hair tie out of their hair and running a hand through it.

Winter looked up. "No." he replied simply. He had slept for about two hours at one point, but nothing had happened. He had also finished the carving. A Celtic knot sat in his hand, formed of a pale wood, the edges smoothed and slim, free of splinters.

"Good." Mycah turned to look in the back. There has to be some sort of rations or something back there. After a few minutes of searching, they found a box of bars. Not the ideal breakfast, but it would have to do. They gracefully climbed into the driver's seat, catching a glimpse of the carving as they did. "That's pretty."

Winter shrugged slightly. "Thanks." he replied. He leaned forward to set it on the dash, putting his knife away. The constant carving had dulled it, and he would need to sharpen it at a later time.

Mycah dipped their head slightly at Winter, then unwrapped the bar they grabbed and took a bite. They'd temporarily forgotten about what they had read about Winter, but it was coming back to them. And they still couldn't believe it all.

Winter let out a slow breath. "So. Where are we heading to now?" he asked, looking over at Mycah. "Same route as yesterday?" he tipped his head slightly, those blue eyes studying Mycah.

"Yeah." Mycah nodded, clicking the seatbelt into place and turning the key. They glanced at Winter, their eyes meeting his for a few seconds. He couldn't have a demon in him. Mycah looked ahead, checking for cars before pulling out into the road.

Winter nodded slightly. After a moment, he buckled up as the car began to move. He sat cross-legged, though, which generally wasn't a very safe idea to do in a car. Either he didn't care, or he didn't know. Given previous behavior, the first option was more likely.

The road ahead was clear, as was behind them, which allowed for a lot of thinking time. Crin would most likely be in one of the government buildings, trying to get the country in order. All they had to do was get a good vantage point and she was done for. But… Which building and when? "Winter, there should be a radio on this thing. Could you turn it on and listen for any news on Crin? Maybe about her whereabouts or her plans or something?" Mycah asked, looking over at Winter.

Winter nodded. He searched around, found the radio, and turned it on. "There." he said simply. He crossed his arms, leaning his head on the glass pane of the window to watch the countryside go by. He let out a soft breath.

The radio was mostly full of chatter about cleaning up or doing something or other. Mycah listened intently, though, for any code words or secret meanings. They checked the rear-view mirror frequently, and glanced at Winter every once in a while.

Winter was silent, watching the scenery. He wondered if he should warn Mycah about the demon. About how if Winter's eyes turned white, then Mycah needed to run. Run or he would be killed.

After about an hour of useless talking on the radio, Mycah finally heard something that might help them. "Did you hear that?" Mycah looked over at Winter, their face lit up a little more than usual. "Crin's organizing a party for high-ranking military-types. To celebrate her 'victory.'" They wrinkled their nose. "We might be able to sneak in." Mycah frowned, wondering if Crin had revoked or flagged their rank. Could they use it to get in? "This might require stealing someone's ID, though. I don't know if mine will work."

"Ugh." Winter sighed softly. "I…might be able to get us in. It hasn't been long enough for them to flag my ID." They might be waiting for me to report back. He shrugged, not looking at Mycah.

"You have an ID?" Mycah asked, sounding properly surprised. It wasn't all an act: They hadn't realized that Winter had an ID. "That might work, then. I'll try and get us there as fast as possible, then. We don't want them to flag you too." Mycah nodded and pressed down harder on the gas pedal.

He nodded slightly. "I believe I do. I haven't had to use it in a while, but I should be able to get us in. I haven't been gone for that long." They used to send him out just to scare people in line. The Wraith, the demon, the monster. Soulless.

"Good." Mycah's lips lifted slightly. "How… exactly, do you have an ID?" They knew why, but they wanted to see if Winter would tell them himself. If he didn't, that was fine. If he did, at least they didn't have to pretend they didn't know anymore. They'd rather he told them, but they didn't expect it. Mycah was still a stranger to him. But they were partners in this. Maybe that would count for something.

Winter sighed softly. "I…work with them for things." A half truth, at best. "That's all." He said slowly. "If you want specifics…" He trailed off. "I don't know. I can tell you more, if that's what you want." He didn't look at Mycah.

"I'd like to know more, yes. But if it makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to." Mycah paused. "We can exchange information if you want." Maybe hearing what Winter did from his own mouth would make everything make more sense.

Winter shrugged. "Right. First thing you should know is this isn't my…real name. But I'd prefer this one, if it's all the same to you." My real one has too much blood. "Real name is Jameson Prinz." He kept his gaze fixed ahead, not looking at Mycah.

"Okay." Mycah nodded, their eyes narrowing slightly. It was all stuff they knew already. So far, at least. "I… don't think I've heard that name before. And if I did, I don't know what it means." They paused. "My full name is Mycah Harrow, if you didn't know already. I was one of the elite soldiers. The ones with those stupid tattoos."

He nodded. "Alright." He replied, taking in that information. He had guessed as much, but hadn't assumed. That was good information to know, though. "Right. I'm…also known as the Wraith. I have a demon inside of me, and I can't control it."

"A demon?" Mycah asked, their eyes narrowing even more. "And you can't control it." They nodded slowly, not looking at Winter. Mycah glanced in the rear-view mirror, then looked over at Winter. "Alright. When does it take over? Is there anything I can do to not have it come out?"

Winter nodded a little bit, then shook his head. "When it takes over, my eyes will turn white." he replied, sighing softly. "And…there isn't really anything you can do, no. Just…if my eyes turn white for more than a second, you need to run or hide or something. I…I don't want to hurt you, but if it takes over then I won't have any control over it."

"White eyes means to run. Okay, thank you." Mycah looked back at the road in front of them. There was another car coming towards them, which could be good news or bad news. They brushed some hair in front of their eyes just in case, but the car flew past them without stopping. "We should get there with enough time to get ready, maybe get some better clothes. If we can't though, we should be fine." Mycah wasn't happy with the amount of "should" in their sentences, but there wasn't anything they could do about it.

"That's a lot of shoulds." Winter replied. "But… alright. Let's hope this plan of yours works." He gave a faint laugh, shaking his head slightly. He just wanted someone to pay for everything that had been done to people like him and Mycah. And, well…then he would find a quiet place and die. Cut his own throat or blow his head off. Something. He needed to die. He was too dangerous to live, too dangerous.

"Yes, but…" Mycah trailed off with a shrug. "I hope so too. Would you happen to know anywhere to get the right clothes? I've only ever been in the city in the middle of a war." They admitted. To be honest, Mycah didn't know where a person could get the 'proper' clothes. They guessed people would be wearing fancy clothes like suits, but they weren't sure. If only they had thought about this a little more before, instead of just running towards Crin with nothing but magical tattoos and murderous intent.

Winter thought for a moment. "Maybe…it's been a while since I needed to dress up and play civilized." He replied slowly. "But I can try." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay." Mycah nodded. The next few hours of driving were mostly uneventful– the only exciting thing that happened was that other cars drove past them. The car crested a hill in the late afternoon and the capital city appeared, spread out in a shallow valley. Far past the shining buildings, Mycah could barely see the glittering of the sea. It was quite impressive, though Mycah could see some lingering damage from the war, especially on the outskirts. "Anything come to you?" Mycah asked, looking over at Winter.