Young Writers Society

Jerica snorted.

What, exactly, was half a soldier supposed to even mean? But, then, it wasn't a horrible descriptor of her. Half soldier, half assassin. Or, maybe she was all soldier and all assassin. It sure felt like she was trying to balance two entire lives all at once, stacked on top of one another.

She once again considered just ignoring her. But, at least, uncomfortable conversation gave her something to listen to instead of just the growls of the wolves decimating the only semblance of food she'd hoped for. "That's also complicated."

Evaline scoffed, rolling her head to the side since it was too rough for the back of her head.

"Is there any part of you that isn't complicated?" she asked, voice tired.

"No." She didn't hesitate that time. There wasn't any part of Jerica's life that was simple. She hadn't had a simple childhood or adolescence, and the older she got, the more it seemed like everything she'd ever been told in her entire life was a lie. Which made things complicated.

Evaline sighed through her nose.

"Fantastic," she said in a monotone voice, staring ahead.

Well, she didn't concern her anyways. She was at least partly a soldier, so she knew how to fight. That should have made Evaline uneasy, but in this case, she felt more safe.

Jerica let out a silent breath of relief that Eve didn't seem to be interested in prodding more. Jerica certainly wouldn't have left it at that, and she wasn't sure how she could answer Eve without explaining everything. And she wasn't going to explain everything. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Evaline asked back curtly after her sudden topic change.

"What are you, back on Earth?" Jerica twisted so that she could lean against the tree, resting the spear across her lap, relaxing ever so slightly now that she was convinced the wolves couldn't follow her. "You don't seem like the soldier type."

Evaline brushed off her pant leg, sending some dirt and grass down to the ground as she thought about Jerica's questions. She sure wasn't going to reveal anything more than she did.

"I was a soldier," she said. "Once. Not very long."

She wanted to answer vaguely? She could answer vaguely too.

"So, what are you?" Jerica asked again. She didn't doubt that Eve hadn't lasted long as a soldier. No chance would a single one of Jerica's men get by with no more upper body strength than Eve seemed to have.

She knew Jerica was asking her what her occupation was, but it took all of Evaline's willpower to not resort to sarcasm.

Human. What else do I look like?

She sighed. "Are you asking me what I do in my spare time?" she asked. "Because that's complicated."

Well, she'd been asking about her career. But free time worked too.

"Looks like we've got time..." she commented, looking down at the wolves yet again.

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing when you mentioned you were a soldier," Evaline said dryly.

She wanted to exchange information? Fine. She could exchange information. But she wasn't going to do it for free.

Jerica sighed, tipping her head back against the trunk of the tree. "We gonna play like this?"

Evaline almost shrugged, but stopped herself since it wasn't like Jerica could see her anyways.

"I'll answer your question if you answer mine," she said. "It's a simple exchange of information. Don't overthink it."

Jerica inhaled deeply, then sighed loudly. What would it hurt? Maybe it would make Eve stop being so stubborn and listen to her more. Not that that seemed likely. It was beginning to seem like Eve was incapable of not being infuriating. But, knowing who she was traveling with seemed worth it. "I'm an assassin. You?"