Sage sighed and leaned against her as she talked. He was grateful...she was willing to help him, he knew that. But that didn't change the unease of doing something to hurt Anya. It didn't even have to be physical...if he snapped at her, it could hurt worse than even if he hit her. He'd had experiences of both....and being told off by someone you had a strong connection with hurt. He knew that. But he really was worried he would seriously hurt the girl...hed been ready to harm himself, if he went back to that he could do it to her without thinking. He was sure his father knew something of what he was doing...Sage had been raised in a worse manner than his father, and had killed so many people already....if we went crazy he could very well hurt her. When she held him tighter, he just turned to her and practically buried his face in her neck, almost like a young child would do to his mother. "I know," he whispered. "But I still worry." He stayed like that for a while, closing his eyes, not willing to draw away from the kind of comfort she brought him. When she mentioned his birthday he shrugged. "Why don't you pick it? I don't care," he murmured. His birthday was the last thing on his mind...he really didn't care about what date it was. So far, all a birthday was was...well, something that basically said 'Congratulations, you survived another year of hell. Prepare yourself for another one, you're not getting any breaks kid'. And once he went back out there, it would be the same. Though, he knew he didn't exactly have really more than five years or so left in him if he stayed out there. And he was ok with that. Anya would be upset, yes, but she was the only one. Luther maybe, but it would be more of an 'he was a nice guy, its a shame he died so young' instead of actually missing him. He barely knew sage. And Anya had support...she'd get over his death in a timely manner.

Anya furrowed her brows slightly when he turned and lent into her, just letting him relax for a little while. Her hand slowly trailed up and down his back in a comforting manner. She didn't mind him using her as a nearly motherly figure... she knew about how much he'd been through, and even the toughest people needed someone to hold onto. And although she wasn't normally a very cuddly person, she could be for Sage. He was just about the only person she would willingly be like that for, and she really didn't mind it. Her breaths slowed down again, just holding him for a moment, "Don't worry about me," she whispered softly, "I have plenty of people doing that for you." She was trying to make a joke. A rather bad one, she could admit that, but a joke nonetheless. She didn't want him to worry about hurting her in any way while he was upset... that wasn't what he needed. Though, while she trusted Sage, she did find herself worrying too. She loved Sage, she did, but what if he actually went, well, crazy? She said that it'd be fine, but what if it wasn't? She knew exactly what he was capable of. Even if he didn't hurt her physically, what if he said something? and what would happen if she said something in return? She didn't know, but she was also trying not to think about it. Instead, she tried to focus on... well, anything else. "You seem like a march baby," she murmured quietly, looking thoughtful for a slight moment. The girl lent back against the bed, her nails still gently running up and down his back. "March the 18th?" She asked quietly, tilting her head up so that she was looking at the roof. "That can be Sage day," she noted with the softest chuckle. It would be nice for him to have a day just to himself, to do what he wanted for a change. "You can expect a little trinket or something from me every year... and I fully expect a thank you letter every time," she noted with a laugh. The last bit was mainly for her. Eventually, they'd stop being able to see each other, whether that'd be in the next few weeks or the next few months, it'd happen. When it did, she wanted some way to tell if he was alright or not... even if it was one letter a year.

Sage couldn't help but chuckle at Anyas attempt at a joke. "I know. But you're all I've got now so you can't get rid of me that easily." Ok, so maybe his jokes were just as bad as hers were. Or maybe they were both just brain dead. He did appreciate her though...she was trying to help. And he did trust her...but he'd had to deal with everything himself for so long it was just..odd to have someone to lean in. To share his worries with. Besides, if he did tell her about the nightmares, or flashbacks, or anything else...what would she think? How would she respond to him if he admitted he'd been broken for...years? Ever since he'd watched his mother be killed...maybe before that. He didn't love her...but she was still his mother. And seeing anyone killed in that manner...hearing their screams, seeing the desperate eyes as they tried to escape....no matter who it was it would stick with anyone. He'd gotten used to gory sights, but many of the worst things stuck in his head, going over and over in a vicious cycle, never giving him peace of mind. When she gave a date for his birthday he shrugged. "March 18th it is then, I suppose," he murmured. Then he smiled softly. "You spoil me too much." It was nice of her to try and make him happier...but he wasn't sure it would happen. She was nice...he felt calmer, safer even, with her. She was definitely comforting, especially when she did what she was doing now...small, light touches of a soothing manner. It always did help. And he would make a point to see her, or at the very least write to her as often as he could. And when the visits or letters stopped coming ...she'd know he was gone. For certain. There would be no wondering. It would give her a bit of a peace of mind.

The girl shook her head slightly and gave a soft hum. "No, I don't think I spoil you quite enough," she purred lightly, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of his head. "You've only gotten the start of my generosity, Sage... there's definitely more to come." She teased lightly, though, she fully intended to spoil him further in the future... if she could give him the world, you could have bet she would have done it. In her eyes, he deserved everything... and she could give that to him. She could make living so much easier for him, and she had every intention to do so... he just had to let her. She stopped running her hands up his back and wrapped them around him with a gentle smile, kind of rocking him a little. They needed to go... really, they had to get up off the floor and get Sage out of here, but she was comfortable with him. She let out a soft breath before letting out a light groan. "Come on... we need to get going." She murmured, though, she just rested her head on his. When he left the castle, would he come back? to a place where he didn't belong, nor feel comfortable. Where he had to dress up and follow the rules of polite society, just to see her? She knew she meant a lot to him, but was it really enough for him to leave behind everything he stood for just to spend a few hours with her? Was she really that important? She didn't assume so... she didn't expect to be sneaking out anytime soon, not unless it was authorized. Mainly because of the time they had spent in a cell... it was surprising something like that hadn't happened earlier, with how careless she'd been while out there over the years... it was actually surprising she was still alive, considering how bad at defending herself she had been.

Sage chuckled and nodded, pulling away from the girl after a moment, to his slight regret. He wished they could stay there like that, but it was close to three thirty by now and they really had to go. He appreciated Anya spoiling him, he did, but he could help but feel like he didn't really deserve it. Really, she could give him practically anything, but what could he give her back? He couldn't even say she had him ...once he went back to the streets he'd have to sleep with other people...that might be what hurt the most. But whatever, he wasn't going to think about that now. He hauled himself to his feet with a sigh and held his hand out to Anya. "Come on, let's go see what's going on. I'm sure we've missed a lot so far today." He chuckled slightly and shook his head. He couldn't believe they'd slept in for so long . He'd expected to sleep in, but not until three. It was cold now that he'd moved away from Anya, but he was slowly getting used to it. Theyd go have fun some where else. Actually, hed probably go eat something....he couldn't deny he was getting hungry now that he'd moved around and woken up.

Anya nodded and took his hand before pulling herself up. "Yeah... kind of weird that they're training so soon after Christmas, you know. The guards normally have a lighter load for a few days," she shrugged lightly before wandering over to the door and peering out to make sure there wasn't anyone about. She beckoned him to follow her before slipping out and wandering down the halls. They'd be fine as long as no one saw Sage coming out of her room... it wasn't exactly an oddity to see them walking about together. Her pace was slightly labored for a few steps, a little achy from the night before, but that soon diminished. She looked thoughtful for a while before speaking up. "What'd you say we go get something to eat then we go find Luther and check out what's going on out in the courtyard?" She was of course curious as to what was going on, and it would be fun to watch the training anyway... a few of the guards were about their age, if not a little older, but they were normally rather fun to tease... mainly because they actually got angry and she could laugh about it. Though, she knew Sage had had a rough time with the guards. He hadn't said exactly how bad things had gone, but she knew he'd been locked up before... and there was no way all scars she had felt on his back were all from his father. So, if he'd rather stay away... that was all fine with her.

Sage followed her, looking side to side before slipping out of her room and walking next to her. He grunted and nodded. "if they're training when they should have a day off, something's up. I wanna know what that is." Then he grinned. "And I wanna see how they train these guys....they're not great at actual fighting. They're all bash and hack and follow a certain order of fighting moves." He chuckled and shrugged. "And food sounds great to me," he chirped. It seemed odd how quickly he could go from worrying about his sanity to joking around with Anya.

(It's short Im running again lol)

(You're alright lol)

Anya raised a curious brow to the boy. "Oh, really? So the people that I'm meant to be trusting my life with just aren't that good at fighting?" She asked with a small chortle. "And this is coming from but a tavern boy?" She teased softly, knowing how angry that would make the guards... but they'd never know. She padded down the halls and towards the kitchen. There'd surely be something down there... there always was. Though, it probably wouldn't be four o'clock breakfast... oh well, it wasn't like their 'breakfast' was particularly good the day before either. They'd probably manage to find something light though.

Sage chuckled. "yeah, well, this tavern boy had beaten at least five of your so call gaurds in a sword fight " he made a face, scrunching his nose up and spreading his hands out, palms up in a kind of shrug. "They're big and slow with a huge sword that makes it easy to get inside their defenses. By then the fight is over." He shrugged again and held the kitchen doors open. "All I'm saying is they could use some more training than practice the same old moves in place all day long with a few spares with the same person over and over again." The guards would be so mad if they heard him, but it was the truth. Anyone in the kitchen would hear him, too, but he didn't really care ...if training the guards better meant better protection for Anya, then he'd bad talk them all he pleased. Besides, they done plenty of bad things to him, so he could stand to insult them. After all, he'd been doing it to their faces for years, not that they remembered. Most of them, anyway. But if he could tell it to their faces, he could talk bad about them at other times as well. He held the kitchen doora open for Anya and looked around the room, his head held at a cocky angle like it usually was.

The girl gave a grin to him, poking his side as she walked past. "It's funny, you know. How the likes of you can fight off five trained guards." She murmured quietly as she scampered around the kitchen to find some food. She soon reappeared with a tray with two small plates with whatever was meant to be for lunch... it wasn't much, but she doubted they'd need much for the time being. She wandered back out with a light smile sitting on her face, "who knows, maybe you can go shout at them what to do later... if you don't mind getting your ass beaten, that is." she chuckled at the thought. She thought Sage was super talented, and she had from the very start, but the idea of him yelling at a bunch of dumbfounded guards was admittedly amusing.