Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 513: Perhaps... Perhaps Not ()

"How far is this stream exactly?" Kaz asked Neveah for the third time after only a few minutes of walking.

Neveah rolled her eyes in exasperation, glancing over her shoulder at him.

"You can always choose to find your way back to the city in that state, be my guest." Neveah offered in a blank tone.

"Can you never be gentle with your words? Who’s fault is it that I am in this condition in the first place?" Kaz reminded Neveah.

"It is common sense to follow orders that are given for your own good, Kaz. The lockdown on the city has not been completely lifted... obviously, you did not comply right from the start." Neveah guessed.

Kaz was a well known outlaw, at least known to Neveah and the city guard who had faced his rebellious nature more times than they would have liked to.

"I have this thing about being told what to do...it is called apathy." Kaz replied easily, not at all remorseful about his actions.

"And so you came out here to pick flowers?" Neveah asked, shaking her head.

"Flowers? With a bow and a quiver of arrows?" Kaz replied in a questioning tone.

Neveah passed a look over at him, she only now paid attention to the bow and quiver he carried along with him.

"You hunt?" Neveah asked with a raised brow.

"You make it sound like that is very unlikely." Kaz muttered.

"No, no... I just, well... I just believed you were.." Neveah trailed off again, unsure how best to word what she had in mind.

"A riffraff by profession." Kaz completed her words for her.

Neveah blinked, but nodded slowly. Though she had hoped not to word it in such a manner, that was exactly what she had in mind.

"I never realised you had an actual livelihood." Neveah rephrased but then cringed when she realized that did not sound any better.

"Right." Kaz murmured with a roll of his eyes.

"I apologise if that sounded a bit too... judgemental." Neveah apologized just in case.

"You are not sorry, lieutenant." Kaz pointed out.

"I am not ." Neveah admitted, chuckling quietly when Kaz grumbled beneath his breath in annoyance.

"But I do mean this, it has been quite a delight not to find you in any of my cells this past month. You are a decent man every other day, I do not understand why you always get into one predicament or the other with the city guard." Neveah said with a shake of her head.

"Even decent men have their short comings." Kaz grumbled.

Neveah hummed in agreement, but she said nothing more. They had finally arrived at the stream Neveah had spoken of and she gestured for Kaz to go ahead.

Kaz walked past Neveah up to the banks, placing down his bow and quiver. He crouched down and began washing his hands, after which he splashed some water on his face.

Kaz then stood upright and took off his mud stained cloak, tossing it to the side.

Some mud had gotten on his grey tunic and he also began taking it off but paused halfway.

"You do not plan on looking away?" Kaz asked Neveah.

Neveah furrowed her brows in confusion and it took her a moment to realize Kaz was indicating that he was about to get undressed.

Neveah had barely even noticed his actions, she was lost in her own thoughts.

"Oh, right." Neveah nodded.

Kaz stared incredulously at Neveah who barely had any reaction to his words.

She shrugged casually and turned around , walking over to the tree line a short distance away from the stream.

Neveah leaned against a tree, her arms crossed over her chest as she waited, rolling her eyes when Kaz began humming a tune.

However, Neveah could not help but think the tune sounded awfully familiar to her, though she could not place where exactly she had heard it before.

"Is that folk song common around these parts? I am pretty certain I have heard it somewhere before." Neveah said.

"You do not speak to a man who is taking a bath, lieutenant... unless you plan on accepting his invite to join." Kaz advised.

Neveah scoffed audibly, shaking her head at Kaz’s familiar antics.

If there was one thing Kaz had not failed to do since Neveah had first met him, it was to make passes at Neveah with every chance he got.

But he had a playful nature and he was never persistent, so Neveah just found it quite amusing.

"For the hundredth time Kaz, I am not interested in you." Neveah reminded.

"Or perhaps you just do not realize it yet." Kaz suggested.

"I am pretty sure I realize it, Kaz." Neveah replied in a deadpan tone.

"Do you not find human men attractive?" Kaz asked curiously.

Neveah did not respond, she was not certain there was anything she would say that Kaz would not ask further questions about.

"Why is that? Humans may not be as powerful as dragons, but how do you know they are not to your liking before giving a try?" Kaz quizzed.

"If everything was meant to be given a trial Kaz, I would have tried reconciling whatever grudges you have against my subordinates." Neveah replied.

Kaz said nothing more and carried on with whatever he was doing in silence, until he broke the silence again.

"It is not." Kaz said.

"What?" Neveah asked in confusion.

"The folk song, it is not a common one in these parts. If you have heard it...it is unlikely to have been in these parts." Kaz said.

Neveah frowned slightly, tilting her head to the side. Try as she might, she could not recall where she had heard it from and so she shook it off.

"I must have mistaken it for something else then." Neveah murmured.

Her eyes went closed as she just took in the serene atmosphere of the forest.

"Perhaps... perhaps not." Neveah thought she heard Kaz murmur, but the voice had been so quiet, she could hardly be sure.