When Celes rose and approached, Caius knee instinctively moved a bit to guard his torso, as if thinking for whatever reason that he had done something wrong and Celes were about to attack. He didn't think about it at all, it just moved when he sensed her approaching. Perhaps it was his lack of understanding of what had happened with her and her behaviour after the fact, that had driven him to subconsciously be on his guard? Either way, when she started walking past him, it seemed that he had no reason to fret. Allowing his sword to disappear, Caius put his tools away as he got to his feet. Dusting himself off, he motioned for Vordun to get up and get going, and the dragon got himself up as well and began to bumble behind Caius.

Caius quickly caught up to Celes and gingerly reached forward to grasp her hand in his, and place a hand on her back. He was gentle all the way through, doing his best not to alarm her as he moved her a bit to start walking in the right direction before letting her go and changing his own direction to accommodate where she was going. Caius had guessed she was still a bit out of sorts, and decided to quietly set her right. Though while most might not notice, if Celes were observant enough she might see his shoulders weren't as relaxed as they normally were around Celes in that moment, as if preparing for the possibility she might strike out in retaliation.

In truth though, Caius just didn't want to bring attention to what had happened to her. If Celes wanted to, she would herself. If she wanted to talk about it, she would. She'd scarcely had reason to not voice her complaints in the past. So Caius didn't push, though as he began to walk in the direction he guided her toward, he did need to take care of one practical measure.

"Are you sure you're ready?" He asked. "I don't mind resting a bit longer if you need it. It's going to take a little while on foot, and I'd rather not unnecessarily fatigue you if you're not ready for the trek yet."

It was his way of asking after her welfare, without directly drawing attention to the fact she'd nearly gotten herself killed.

---

Caius was guessing, honestly. But at the least, he recognized the area that they had been passing over before their little incident, and it was that way... Which meant that if they had been going the right way before the crash, then the opposite way of where the place they had just passed by... Was probably the way to go. As they went, Caius had begun looking over his map in hopes of making sure. He would have to mark this village on his map once they arrived. If it hadn't been reduced to ash by the time they got there, anyway. That was a very likely conclusion of what had happened, to be honest. He'd already seen a village nearly razed to the ground once recently. People just sucked like that.

Celes said she was fine, and he stared at her a moment. She seemed to make it clear that she didn't want to say much else, by the looks of her, and he wouldn't push her further on that matter. "Understood. But if you feel the need to rest, please tell me" He responded. "You're going to only be a danger to yourself if you aren't in a state to fight should it come to that. And I refuse to go anywhere if that means leaving you here."

He wouldn't leave her to try and find her way back in this condition, even if it would be the most practical thing to their mission for him to go alone if she couldn't. While the village was still a big question mark, to Caius, the least practical thing he could do was risk Celes. With or without his own personal feelings.

When it came to her next question, he let out a sigh and shrugged his shoulders.

"Considering the time I had mapped out for our travel... I'm going to say that with our new... Arrangements, we'll be there by the evening" He responded, trying his best not to put attention on the fact it was her fault and focused more on what was there and in front of them. He wanted to inquire further as to her welfare but he also knew he'd probably just annoy her further at this point. Some light grumbling rumbled under his breath for that one though.

-----

Eventually, as the sun began to set, a village finally came into view. Once they reached the outskirts, Caius whispered something to Vordun and the dragon immediately took off into the air on his own. He had told him to hunt, and to find shelter for himself. Caius knew that Vordun wouldn't go far, and if he were in danger, he could fire off one of the flares. Vordun would see it and Caius knew that the drake would come running.

The village was a small little hamlet, with a good 15 buildings at the most, and certainly not burned to the ground as Caius had suspected. All residing on a rising hill that stretched just about as far as Caius' eyes could see. People were milling about, doing laundry, building equipment, baking goods, seeming to be in a rush to finish things out before nightfall... Everything seemed quite normal. But Caius still didn't seem relaxed at all. Instead, he actually looked more concerned than he did before they came in. As they walked up the hill and took in the sights around them, Caius looked to Celes and spoke in a low voice.

"They're staring at us" He remarked quietly. "Sizing us up. It's very likely they consider us a threat. I don't like this."

He would motion toward the top of the hill. "The lad gave me the address of his family... We had best check in, just in case something has happened to make them be on edge like this."

Had something attacked? Had the lad's family been killed? Possible answers swam through his mind, but Caius knew the only way to find out for sure, was if they checked to see if his family was home. If they weren't, they would have to ask around.

---

Of course he was worried. But he knew there was nothing that he could do right now, not unless she called for rest or otherwise made it clear she needed it. Once they got to the village though, his disposition had changed. Celes was right though, that it was likely they just weren't used to strangers. "I understand. Yet when I consider the client's story, and the shape of the village, I can't help but be just a little wary" He spoke softly, watching as Celes moved toward a tanning woman and asked for directions. When Celes asked for the lad's name, he nodded his head. "We're looking for the family of a boy named Thomas" He responded. The woman tilted her head a bit, not seeming to know off-hand who he was referring to. "His relatives are an elderly couple living toward the top of the hill, he told me. We're just here to deliver something" He explained calmly, and the woman brightened as she seemed to suddenly recall.

"Ah! You're talking about Iger and Margaret!" She exclaimed. "Of course. Their house is the thirdmost to the last one on the hill, on the right side."

Caius managed a smile and nodded his head graciously. "Thank you" He spoke, before he and Celes were on their way. At the least, it sounded like they were alive. That was good. Perhaps this would be an easy job after all? Taking point once they reached the door, Caius would reach over and knock. He glanced up at the house a moment, noting that the wall looked as though it had been recently patched up. Perhaps bandits had attacked not long ago? That would certainly match up with Celes' hypothesis on why they had seemed so wary of them before. Before long, an elderly woman would answer the door, and Caius could see the shape of an elderly man in the background. The woman stared at them a moment with a perplexed eye, and Caius could tell by her expression that she was a bit caught off guard by their appearance, even noting that she stepped back a little when she first saw them. Caius let out an exhale as he did his best to give a friendly tone. It wouldn't do to scare them, after all.

“Hi. We're friends of your son, from Provo. He was worried about you and as we were going to be passing by, we offered to check on you lot to set him at ease.”

The woman stared at them a moment, and Caius wondered if perhaps she was having difficulty with something before she would then smile warmly. “Oh! That’s so kind of him! Well you can let him know everything’s fine here! Thank you!”

“Of course" Caius responded calmly. "Have you read his letters? He stopped receiving anything back some time ago, which is probably why he was worried after your welfare."

“Letters? Oh, yes! We’re still receiving them! We lost our pen and haven’t been able to find it! Oh, I feel just awful! Tell our son we’ll get back to writing back to him soon!” She quirked brightly, and Caius nodded his head curtly.

“Right. I’m sure Jerry would like that. He seems like a good kid. Works really hard out in the big city, I don’t envy him. You must be so proud" He spoke, his smile brightening. The woman's smile brightened further in return. “Of course we are! Jerry’s made us so proud, we couldn’t be any happier with the man he is becoming!”

Caius laughed a bit. “I can see that. We’ll tell him, no problem. He'll be relieved to hear that. Anyway, we had best get on our way. Send... Jerry, our regards, if you happen to write him anytime soon."

The woman laughed and bade them farewell as Caius turned, and the door shut behind them. But after they walked out of earshot of the house, Caius' warm and bright expression immediately faded into a frown.

"We're going to the inn, if that's alright" Caius remarked toward Celes. His expression had turned grim and all-business almost abruptly. He didn't want to make a decision on what he thought of all this yet, but...

"I could just be overly cautious, but... I want to ask about that couple before we leave, see if anything's happened recently. I think you know why."

---

“It’s not just that” Caius admitted in a low voice. Sure he was a little paranoid but even Caius needed something to go on. “I didn’t actually think of testing them at first. Sure we’re scary looking armed strangers who they probably wanted to go away fast, but by the impression I got, these people were the kid’s primary caretakers, closest thing to his parents, before he left for Provo. And yet, despite clear little correspondence lately… Not even a “How is he doing?” Or “Is he staying out of trouble?” When I spun that story about us being associates of his. Something just doesn’t feel right about it. I know I’m not the most experienced in how family members are supposed to care about each other… But I got the impression they didn’t care much at all. But that’s just me. It could be I’m jumping to conclusions but… I would feel better if we at least investigated a little. If you can bear with me.”

Caius knew his conscience wouldn’t let up if he let it go here. Sure they could go home now, and collect their pay. But he just couldn’t let this go when it seemed so sketchy to him. He just couldn't let this lie.

Celes took point as their inn ended up being an old house rented out to visitors. The price made him raise a brow, but his explanation that they were looking to renovate made sense, at least. And the place could use some repairs, he supposed. It was a nice place, not the largest, but it did have all the essentials. Including a little kitchen with two cooks that he could see from a little window, where the old man had disappeared into. When Celes asked if they should stay here or chance the forest, he could tell she was just as suspicious on the matter as he was.

"I don't know. The forest might not be too much of an issue for us, considering what we've been through before" Caius responded, but couldn't speak further as a woman would interrupt. It seemed they had been overheard, despite their attempts to keep quiet.

"Absolutely not" The young woman chirped, and Caius noticed her features reminded him of the old man. Of course, she herself looked no younger than himself and Celes. Her warm face, gentle tone and humble little freckles might have set him at ease if he wasn't already tightly wound. "The forest is teeming with dangerous monsters at night, darling. It would be reckless to camp out there."

Caius shook his head. "We can handle ourselves. It's never been a problem for us" He remarked. "You certainly look the part" The woman cooed slowly, shooting the blonde male a quirky, suave little smile. "But I insist" She stated as she moved forward and tugged at Caius' arm a bit. "I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I let you go out there and possibly get killed. Besides, you just got here! We'd love if you stayed a little while, we don't see many visitors and would love to hear the going ons outside of town, and get to know outsiders like you a little better. Especially if a visitor is..." She trailed off, staring directly at Caius with a peculiar little look in her eye, seeming to actually forget Celes was present. Something that Caius didn't seem to actually notice the context of, and even if he had, he had been distracted looking around the place when his attention had caught on something.

"If the price is the issue, I'll talk to the old man. It's no problem, he's just trying to be a frugal old fart. But I'm sure he can make an exception for you" The woman remarked, and Caius looked back to her, before looking to Celes. But what the woman couldn't see and what Celes -could- see, was that Caius' expression had turned cold as ice. While the woman's... Quirks, had completely gone over Caius' head, he had taken note of how insistent she was they stay. But something else had stopped him dead, and when Caius looked to Celes, he looked as though he had just seen a ghost.

"Window" Caius mouthed to Celes, making little hand motions that he tried to make sure that the woman couldn't see, to direct her toward the window into the kitchen. If Celes took the hint and looked, then she might see what Caius had taken notice of. The faces of the two cooks.

They had reminded him of something, somewhere... It felt like it was such a long time ago now, but when Caius looked at those faces... He could hear that voice from that day, clear as anything. A day that he would never forget for as long as he lived.

"You've got a lot of nerve crossing us, mercenary. My money back, now, if you would, and we won't have to make this anymore messy than it has to be, you feel me?"

And with that, his expression turned warm and cordial once more as he turned back to the woman, though moved a bit out of her grip and subtly moving more toward Celes.

"You know what? You're right. It's too risky chancing the forest. Don't worry about the price, we're happy to help if your old man needs it" Caius chirped warmly, giving the brightest smile he could. "It's the least we can do for your hospitality."

He looked around then for the old man. Was the tea and the room ready?

---