Sage grinned sheepishly. "Yeah. Sorry," he chuckled. "I just kinda ran," he admitted with a grin. He was aware of the fact that she kept her hand entwined with his longer than usual, and he felt his heart skip a beat. He was almost sad when she let go, and cursed himself internally. He couldn't do this, so what was he thinking? He could never have someone, especially Anya. She had her own life, her own castle....someone she was going to marry. The last thought sent a pang through his chest, and he was surprised to feel that it hurt. Just as much as if he had been punched, just more...raw, if that was a way to describe it. He focused on counting the trees they passed as they walked through the woods, not wanting to let his feelings come out. They would only mess with his head, make things...what? Why was he afraid of it? He didn't know, and he didn't know why those feelings were coming out when he knew he was afraid. And he knew they could never fully come to life. There was a reason he had felt more gotten any love before, and it would have to be the same until he died. Which, was at least not all together too far away.

(Just a heads up! Going to be away again for about five days, then am competing for a few days. After that, I'm going off to champs and then school, so might not be overly active!)

Anya chuckled slightly, finding a small stone to kick about as they walked. "Glad you did. I probably wouldn't be here if you hadn't stepped in." She shrugged, gently bumping his shoulder before glancing back to the lake they had just come from for a moment. So much for swimming. The men's blood had started making its way through the sand and leaked into the clear river, dying it a moonless red. It was a gruesome sight... it made Anya pity whatever unfortunate soul stumbled across it while they were gone. She looked back to the path ahead of her, keeping her eyes on the stone as she tried to run through what had just happened. They were attacked, Sage jumped in for her, and now what? They were walking in a tender silence. She didn't mind, it gave her time to think things through... it wasn't like feelings like this just appeared, was it? Sage, he was just a tavern boy... yet, he was one of the only people she got excited to see every day, that she was genuinely comfortable with. He didn't care about the difference in ranks or status and was one of the few people who she could talk to as an equal. Every time she saw him smile or laugh, she felt all warm and fuzzy, like she was being wrapped in a hug. It had been like that for a while... so why was it only now she was noticing it?

(alright, no problem! Have fun XD)

Sage shrugged and glanced over at Anya, thinking. He wasn't really sure how to respond to that, so he simply said, "well, you're the one person who's treated me like something more than I am. I guess I owe you." It was the only thing he could think of to say...what was he going to say otherwise? Well I wouldn't want you to die because I think I love you? That was one way to drive her away. He sighed softly and looked at the river, making a face. This would be a pain to clean up. And any animals who drank it would probably get sick and die, which only spread disease. Oops. Well, he could deal with that later. He wished he could lighten the mood a little, but couldn't figure out how. He wasn't exactly a naturally positive person....it was quite the opposite in fact. He thought for aoment before turning down a small path. There was a smaller pond down in the forest a bit they could sit down at. It was much smaller than the lake, but it was just as peaceful. They were just surrounded by trees. He had taken care of the men following them so it would be completely safe for them to chill there for a bit. And if he was being honest, he needed a night to just lay around a relax...work had been busy and hard, and he still got an ache in his side and lungs if he worked too hard. He got breathless easier too, after the infection...his lungs had been weakened and they weren't up to the level they were before yet. He wondered if they would ever be.

Eventually, Anya lost her little stone to her the bushes, which rendered her out of things to do. She was worried that if she stayed quiet any longer things would become awkward... for her, at least. She was managing to keep her thoughts and feelings at bay for now and was worried that if she did say anything she would struggle to do so. Anya bit her tongue until they had gotten closer to the little pond, where she found a nice little spot under a tree. Of course, Sage had taken care of the guys, but she still had an image of being snuck up on as she had before in her head, so having the tree right behind her was a comfort of sorts. The girl tilted her head back slightly before letting out a soft breath. She was exhausted... not physically, but more emotionally. She had been terrified earlier, and after, she had been so confused. The girl took a curious glance to be a boy, her head slightly tilted. She wondered how he was feeling... he had fought off four men, granted, only one of them actually seemed like a challenge, but still. He must have been tired from that too. She wanted to say something, to bring the mood up, but her thoughts ran dry of what to do or say.

Sage sat down with his back to a tree as well, but for him it was just habit. If he was attacked, his attacker would have to come from a spot he could clearly see them. But that wasn't an issue now. "No one will have followed us. Those guys were the only ones," he muttered, soley to ease any worries Anya might have had. He leaned forward and put his pointer finger in the water, letting it trail in the small currents that swirled around within the pond. Then he looked over at Anya again and a mischievous grin crossed his face. He put his whole hand in the water and then playfully flicked a bit in the direction of the girl. He could tell they both couldn't think of something to say, so he could start something fun. It was something, at least, and even if they were just running around laughing, it was better than sitting awkwardly. Besides, he couldn't help himself ...they were close, probably too close but he didn't care, so they could stand to have a bit of fun.

Anya raised a brow at his little grin, tilting her head curiously at what he was planning. She let out a quiet tweet when he flicked water her way, a little caught off guard. Although, a small did smile cross her face as she stirred from her little rest break. While she couldn't afford to go back soaked, it would be nice just to mess around for a little while, especially after the pace of that night. The girl leaned to the side and dipped her hand in the water, sending a small wave back at Sage with a playful chuckle. It was nice that he made any sort of effort to do something... or else they would most likely just be awkwardly sitting in silence.

Sage let out a tiny squeak and scrambled out of the way of the wave Anya sent back at him, though he was a bit slow since he tried to move backwards even though he was crouching in a more forward position, so he did get splashed a little bit. He was glad Anya had taken the gesture and played too, otherwise things would have most likely been even more awkward. He took a step backwards, holding his hands behind his back, almost in a 'i bet you can't catch me and do it again' type of playful gesture. He would probably wear himself out doing it, but it would still be totally worth it. Besides, it would do Anya some good to run around and forget what had happened earlier. Loosen up a little bit.

The girl wrinkled her nose playfully at Sage, debating whether or not to accept his little invitation to ran after him. She was a little confused at first, never really having anyone initiate any sort of play. Even when they had been locked up in the tavern with Sage and Lizzie, their games had bewildered her a little. But that was what happened when you grew up without anyone to mess about with, she supposed. The girl gave a small smirk before standing up again. She looked as though she was figuring out how to do this whole tag thing for a moment before falling on her front leg slightly in a small jog like she was getting ready to chase him about a little. Her smile slowly turned into a grin as they ran about. She discovered that she was quite quick... well, quick for a girl who had been locked up her whole life, at least. Not quite as quick as Sage though, but quick enough to get relatively close to him a few times. The girl let out a quiet laugh as he just slipped out of her grip, trying her best to catch up again. "I'm gonna get you, Sage!" She squeaked playfully, pausing for just a moment to put her hair up and out of her face.

Sage was glad she had decided to run about with him...it was more fun than he had thought. He always enjoyed playing with Lizzie but she was, well, to put it quite frankly, small and slow. He didn't want to be mean, but she was still young, and as such she was easy to catch and he had to make sure to let her get him eventually. With Anya, though, it wasn't like that. She was the same age, and almost the same height as he was, which meant she was fast enough to eventually catch him herself. Especially since he was slowing down after about ten minutes of sprinting around. Thanks lungs. He popped his head out from where he had his behind a tree and smirked cheekily over at her. "Are you sure about that," he giggled, a light shining in his eyes and a wide grin upon his face. His face was kind of hurting from smiling so much, which seemed interesting to him. Was he really frowning that often? Oh, well. He was having fun now, that was all that mattered.

Anya nodded, her grin going strong. "Mhm!" She tittered childishly, too busy figuring out how she'd grab the boy to push out a whole sentence. She was out of breath, nearly panting, but she didn't want to stop. It just showed how little exercise she really got, even though she tracked through the castle every day at least twice to entertain herself. She was enjoying herself for once, though. And really? She didn't want it to end... if it did, then she might not get the chance to run around like an unhinged child again. The girl squinted her eyes at him for a moment, catching her breath before pacing over towards the tree with an excited giggle. She paused on the other side, making a face at him before pouncing at him, only to miss when the boy ran off. She let out a chuckle before going after him again. It seemed like he had slowed down a little. Whether that was for her or because he was tiring too, she didn't know, but it meant that she could get a little closer. Anya bit her lip lightly as she edged closer, using one hand to gently grab his shirt from behind, and the other to wrap around his waist so that he couldn't get away so easily again. She grinned again, even wider if that was possible. "Gotcha!" She yelped in victory, resting her head lightly on the boy's shoulder. "I said I would get you, didn't I?" She mocked just into his ear before letting him go and taking a step or so back.