It took them another two and a half days of walking to reach the next town. Myles had frowned when he had seen the road sign reading 'Sunnyside.' They were supposed to have been on route to a place called Grass Lake, but that clearly wasn't where they had ended up.

  Most of the time, Devlin actually wasn't the worst travel companion despite all of his quirks. He was surprisingly observant. He looked at every bird, bug, and new plant with the same enthusiasm and excitement regardless of how long they had been walking along the same path. When they stopped for the night, he liked to lay back and just stare at the stars with a smile on his face and he never complained about taking his turn to keep watch. For all his ridiculousness and the way he made childish declarations about exploration and adventure, it was clear to Myles that he was one hundred percent genuine, and he had never met another person so enamored with the simple wonders of the world.

  None of those things changed the fact that he was a pain in the ass who didn't have more than two brain cells to rub together, or the fact that when he did eventually grow bored, his solution was to bother Myles.

  But despite everything, that small bit of respect that had blossomed in Myles the day that Devlin had put himself on the line for the truth of one stranger in Cape Landing, had started to grow. The words that came out of his mouth were usually infuriating, and arguing with him was like arguing with a rock, but Myles actually liked the way he always said what he was thinking.

  Looking around him at their new surroundings, Myles decided that Sunnyside was a pretty rural town. Not that it mattered. All he cared about was whether they had some real food. The area was hilly, and the trees seemed to keep themselves to the low areas of the valley. As they got closer to the town, the river on their right side meandered away from the road downhill, and on the left the wilderness made way into farm fields. The buildings they saw were primarily low wooden houses, set into the side of a grassy hill facing the sun. Cattle could be seen grazing in the distance. It was serene and beautiful.

  There weren't many people out an about, but Devlin waved at a few workers out in the fields. He and Myles had been walking at a leisurely pace until Devlin smelled something and perked up. "Something smells really good up there! Come on, Myles!" They picked up the pace, making double time towards the potential source of food. Surprisingly, they didn't make it very far before a sound that Myles didn't hear had Devlin stopping so quickly he almost plowed straight into him.

  "Watch it," Myles said sharply. But his brow furrowed as he took note of the deep frown etched on Devlin's face. Devlin's head turned to the right to look down the hill. With no warning, he turned on his heel and leapt over the wire fence the demarcated the edge of some farmer's property. "The hell are you doing?" Myles asked.

  "Something's wrong down there."

  Myles was hungry, and not quite sure why they were detouring, let alone trespassing. He might have considered banging his head against the wall had there been one nearby. Nevertheless, he let out a deep sigh, and followed begrudgingly. Only after they were at least a hundred meters from the road did he realize that he could have continued into town and met up with Devlin later. Or just finally gone his separate way here. But he was already moving in this direction and he told himself it would just be more of a hassle to explain to Devlin that he had followed him but was changing his mind now. Regardless, the thought that he was just following after him had his hackles rising.

  They walked through the field until a small farmhouse came into view. A meandering dirt path led away from it, presumably leading back to the town or the road they had just come from. Leave it to them to take the more difficult route straight through the field.

  Myles heard it then, as the shouts got clearer, carried towards them on the breeze. "You think I paid all that money for you to be useless! Stupid waste of space! I don't feed you for you to not do your job!" There was a crashing sound followed by a pained whimper. Something on Devlin's face turned deathly serious.

  They were still too far away to see, but they heard the sound of a few doors slamming. A cart took off and the cloud of dust that followed indicated that it was headed away from them. Devlin sped up. Myles was behind him and much more alert than he had been several minutes ago.

  Myles wasn't sure what he had been expecting to find, but what he saw was not on the list.

  "A dog?" He said aloud in surprise. For some reason, he had expected to find a person. Someone who needed help.

  It was a small dog. Myles could tell that it was supposed to be black and white, though the white was hard to see with the shape it was in right now. He was collapsed near the barn, dirty and bloodied. Even to Myles' untrained eyes, he was underfed and in rough shape. Devlin crouched low to the ground and approached with his palms up. When he got closer, the dog started to growl and snap, but his movement was limited by the,chain that staked him to the ground.

  Devlin didn't seem bothered by the snarling and just sat down right there in the dirt. The dog kept its eyes trained on him even as he stopped moving closer.

  "My name's Devlin. What's your name?" His voice was as soft and gentle as Myles had heard it.

  The dog didn't budge.

  Devlin pulled an apple out of his pocket- probably one of the last ones he had- and split it into quarters with his hands. "Do you like apples? Sorry, I don't have anything else right now. But I'm hungry, so I bet you're hungry too." He stretched out a hand with his offering, just inside the dog's range. It still didn't move. Myles could see the imprint on the dog's side where the boot of the man who had left had connected. But there were other injuries too. There was blood matted into the fur around his ear where there was a notch taken out and other spots that Myles couldn't tell what the discoloration was from.

  Devlin reached to put two of the apple pieces on the ground closer to the dog and started snacking on a third himself.

  Devlin kept talking to him, trying to convince him to eat. Eventually, with narrowed eyes, Devlin scooted further away and turned his back to the dog, looking up at Myles as if to strike up a conversation.

  Myles didn't get it. He didn't mind animals. He hadn't grown up around any dogs, but they were fine enough. And he certainly didn't enjoy seeing them mistreated. But that didn't mean he had ever gone out of his way for them, especially when it had to do with a stranger in a place he had never been. He had a lot of questions that he wanted to ask Devlin. What was he thinking? How had he known that this dog was here? What exactly was he even planning to do with him? But ultimately, he didn't voice any of those.

  "Hey, Myles." Devlin said softly. "Don't look at him, okay."

  Myles raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms in front of him.

  "Do dogs even eat apples?"

  "Of course. We eat them."

  "Yeah, but we're- " not dogs. He let his eyes pan over the whole scene and decided not to finish that statement. Besides, as he had started to speak, the dog in question had taken a hesitant step forward and sniffed at the offering.

  Devlin sat there quietly, still looking the other way, as the dog snatched the apple slices and quickly backed away. He caught Myles looking and froze, growling, so he rolled his eyes and made a point of keeping his gaze on Devlin.

  There were other issues to consider here too. Regardless of whether the owner was a piece of garbage, this was someone else's property; someone else's dog. What exactly was Devlin planning to do here? The question felt wrong to ask in that moment.

  Devlin waited until the dog finally ate the apple slices, and then turned back to him. "Those are yummy, aren't they?" He smiled at him. The dog just backed up as far as he could until the chain pulled tight again, growling. "Don't worry. I just want to be friends. You can sit over there if you like." Devlin sprang up to his feet and walked over to the stake that kept the dog chained in his small area. It was thick and made of metal, anchored permanently into the ground. After a moment of inspection, Devlin attempted to pull it up out of the ground. After a short while passed ant that failed, he picked up the chain itself. The links were less than half an inch wide, but they were strong. He put each of his hands on it and pulled apart with all of his strength. The steel didn't budge. He glared at it as if it had personally affronted him before trying again.

  "Devlin, wait. That's not going to work." Myles said.

  Devlin ignored him, letting out a grunt and straining harder. "Don't worry," He said to the dog. "I'm gonna get you out of here." He kept pulling.

  "Stop." Myles swore. "Maybe there's something to cut it with." Myles took a few steps towards the barn.

  He paused when Devlin reached towards the belt under his shirt and pulled a knife out of a sheath from where it lay across his chest. Myles hadn't realized Devlin even had a knife and had never seen him use it before. Nevertheless, it wasn't going to make much of a difference.

  "You won't be able to cut through like that." He said gruffly. "There might be some cutters around. I'll look around."

  Devlin ignored him and an expression Myles hadn't seen before from him flashed on his face. Before Myles could get a read on it, he murmured something before making a loop in the chain with one hand and bracing the knife in the center of it to pull. He let out a sound from the back of his throat as he strained and the chain rattled. Myles shook his head at the way that he must have been dulling the blade. Then, to Myles' shock, the chain snapped.

  Devlin looked down in satisfaction before hiding his dagger back away. Then he turned to the dog. "You can come with us if you want. But it's up to you what to do now." The dog took a few hesitant steps away, testing his newfound freedom. The other half of the chain was still hanging from his neck, but he didn't seem to care. When he didn't meet resistance, he took off running away. Right before they lost sight of him, the dog stopped, looking back at Devlin and meeting his eyes. And then he was gone.

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  Devlin turned away from the farmhouse and started walking on as if nothing had happened. "Man, now I'm really hungry. Think this road'll lead us to some good food?"

  Myles let out a sigh and then fell into step next to him. "How the hell should I know?" He let out a deep breath. "You gonna start releasing all the local farm animals?" Myles hadn't been upset at what they had done, but he didn't understand what he was thinking.

  Devlin just shrugged and smiled, but there was a look in his eyes that Myles couldn't quite place. "He asked me to."

  Myles didn't know what to say to that, but he was learning to expect those kinds of answers. The two kept walking and Devlin continued to talk more animatedly about what kind of food they might find in the town.

  Eventually, following the driveway leading away from the farmhouse led them to the town of Sunnyside. It wasn't as big as Cape Landing, but it was certainly larger than Myles had been expecting.

  All of the buildings were constructed straight into the hillside. It made for a unique set up for a town with all the doors and large windows facing the same direction and pointing out from the face of the hill towards the sun. There were a few roads that zigzagged up the hill, and flat paths in between that ran perpendicular to the slope. Several others branched away from the town through the grass and towards the fields.

  "Myles, this place is so cool!" The smell of good cooking they had to noticed back on the road was stronger here. They followed it to a large restaurant front. Smoke was rising from a chimney hidden in the grass up above and the door was wide open in welcome. Devlin didn't wait for him and ran for the door. Myles rolled his eyes, but continued unhurriedly.

  A man sweeping dust off the wooden porch at the front of the building. H looked up at Myles as he approached.

  "Welcome to Gus'. You're just in time for lunch." Myles nodded at him respectfully. "This your first time in Sunnyside?"

  "That obvious?"

  "Small town like this? Everyone knows who the visitors are."

  "We're just passing through."

  "Well don't hesitate to ask if you've got any questions about how to get around. Though you found the right place to eat, so maybe you'll do fine on your own."

  Myles nodded his thanks.

  "Is there a job board in this town? We wouldn't mind some work before we get back on the road."

  The man looked him up and down with an assessing gaze.

  "You don't look much like a mercenary." Myles raised an eyebrow at him. "You can try at the bar. One of the farmers in town might be willing to pay you for a couple day's labor in the fields though if you ask around."

  Myles thanked him and made his way inside.

  He had obviously heard voices coming from the open door, but he was still surprised to see the number of people who were inside. More than a dozen tables were full, mostly with people who looked like they were on break from work.

  "Myles! Over here!"

  Devlin was sitting in the back at the bar, feet kicked up to save the seat next to him.

  He sighed and made his way over. He seemed to sigh a lot these days.

  He barely managed to sit down before plates were being put in front of the two of them. "Enjoy!" A middle aged woman with her hair tied back smiled at them before she kept moving on to the next patrons.

  Devlin grinned at him. "I ordered for both of us."

  Myles looked at the plate in front of him. The sandwich was open faced, and he could see melted cheese and an egg on top.

  "Guess what!" Devlin started talking before he swallowed, already digging in to his own lunch. "They call these sunny sandwiches. Get it? The eggs are sunny side up, because we're in Sunnyside!"

  "They didn't have anything else?" Myles said, but he reached for his own food all the same. It was delicious. And it was gone too soon.

  Myles pulled out a couple of the last of the gold coins they had and set them on the bar. Devlin had handed them over without a second thought 'needing more space for apples'. Devlin didn't seem at all concerned by the state of their current funds, and Myles wasn't sure he had become the responsible one. Just the week before, this whole mess had started when he was walking around without a coin on him. Not that that was the best example.

  When the bartender finally had a minute in between running orders, Myles asked about work in town.

  The woman frowned at him and Devlin. "I'm sorry, but this really isn't the best time for travelers in Sunnyside. Usually, there would be folks looking for extra hands out in the fields, but the harvest hasn't been great this year."

  "We are just passing through town, but could really use anything you've got."

  She listened and seemed to genuinely feel for them. "If you'd like, I can ask around and see if anyone would be willing to pay for just a few days of labor. There's a bulletin board if you head towards the west entrance to town off the main road. Sometimes people will post work wanted signs up there, but I haven't seen much lately other than news and some army postings. I don't know that you'll have much luck. We don't really get too many travelers this time of year."

  Myles sighed. He was hoping for a quick way to make some cash, but beggars couldn't be choosers. He turned to Devlin with an eyebrow raised to ask his thoughts, just to find him looking at something else. Turning, all that he saw was a hint of blonde hair and the back of a cloak as a girl walked out the door. He shrugged and turned back to Devlin.

  "Well, what do you think? Should we try to pick up a few days of work here before we hit the road again? Stock up on supplies while we're at it?"

  Devlin grinned. "Sounds fun!"

  The barkeep nodded at them. "If you stop back in tonight before the end of the day, I'll let you know what I find. Is there anything else I can get for you?"

  Myles was the one who spoke up. "Do you get much news from Cape Landing here?" He asked.

  She looked at him with some confusion. "Is that where you're going?"

  Devlin cut in. "We're heading to the Brink. Actually, maybe you can help us. Do you know how to get there?"

  "The brink? You mean the border? You're trying to go to the north?"

  "Yep." Devlin grinned at her.

  "Well, I've never been there, but I know that it's north of here. I don't know how to get there though other than that."

  "So we just have to head north? Great!"

  The waitress was polite as she left the conversation, but she had other customers to serve.

  They had finished their food, and Devlin was itching to get moving again.

  "Come on, Myles. Let's go!" And then there was a hand dragging him out of the restaurant.

  Myles let it happen, but he did question him. "We should have asked more questions in there." Devlin released his arm, but he didn't stop moving. "Where are you trying to go?"

  Devlin looked confused that he didn't already know. "To find that bulletin board she was talking about."

  "Then you're going completely the wrong way. She said that it was on the west side of town."

  "No way. I always know where I'm going."

  Myles gave him a side eye. "Yeah, right!"

  After two hours in which they explored most of the town but failed to find the job board, Myles and Devlin discovered that neither of them was particularly adept at navigation.

  "I told you that it was the other way!"

  "We went the other way and it wasn't there!"

  "Well maybe it's there now!"

  "Bulletin boards don't get up and move."

  "That's what you said about the trees, and look who was right about that!"

  Myles felt a migraine coming on. Devlin was grinning.

  "Okay. New plan. Let's go find somewhere to set up camp and then we can check back in with..."

  Myles stopped when he realized Devlin wasn't listening at all. He looked to see what had caught his eye, and saw a pair of homely looking ponies attached to a small cart.

  "Myles, do you know what we need?"

  Unfortunately, Myles was starting to get to know Devlin and had an idea of where his mind was headed.

  "Horses!" Devlin continued without missing a beat. "We've got a sword, now we need a horse. Then we'll be the real deal."

  "Devlin, we're broke, and I don't know anything about horses."

  "Don't worry. That's okay. I know enough for the both of us." The words were spoken with utter confidence. Myles was a bit surprised, but maybe he shouldn't have been. Devlin seemed to have a random assortment of skills, and a penchant for befriending animals. He guessed he could picture Devlin growing up around horses. Not that Myles really knew what that entailed. He certainly hadn't spent any time with them.

  He didn't even bother to say anything more as Devlin approached the pair. He was done pretending he could stop him from doing something once he had set his mind to it, and he couldn't help but wonder why he had ever bothered to try in the first place.

  But maybe that thought was premature, because he hadn't prepared himself for what was about to happen.

  Devlin marched himself in front of the ponies and put his hands on his hips. He looked up at them with his signature grin. They were about the same height he was, so it looked like they could see eye to eye.

  "Hi, I'm Devlin. It's nice to meet you."

  Myles watched as the ponies looked at him with an expression he could have sworn was suspicion.

  "Let's be friends. How would you guys like to join my crew?"

  One of the ponies chuffed at him. The other twitched, and glared with eyes that didn't so much as take their eyes off of him to blink. Myles wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that Devlin was asking two random farm animals to join his crew just as readily as he had asked him. Not that it was his problem since he definitely wasn't a part of it.

  Things went down hill from there in a way that even Myles had not seen coming.

  Devlin reached up to pet one of the ponies, and the animal snarled a warning. Devlin, of course, ignored it completely, and reached straight for the fluffy ears. A flash of teeth and hooves later, Devlin was flying back several feet and hitting the ground. Then he was getting up with a determined look. Myles felt the urge to cover his eyes or look anywhere else as the boy took on a boxing stance, fists raised in front of his face, he also couldn't move his gaze away.

  "Oh, you want to go? I almost forgot. I challenge you both to a fight. And when I win, then you'll have to come adventuring with me and be my trusty steeds."

  When the second round ended with Devlin back in the dirt again, Myles gave up on his embarrassment and decided that this whole thing was riotously funny. Perhaps this was his gift for having put up with him for the past week. He felt himself shake with laughter at Devlin's expense. Devlin, who was now brushing the dirt off of his pants as he stood back up yet again, turned back to Myles.

  "Don't you laugh at me!" Myles laughed harder.

  "I thought you said you knew what you were doing around horses."

  "I do, obviously." Quieter, he continued. "But I forgot how tough they are..." He turned. "But listen up you two. I'm tougher! You hear me!"

  That just set Myles off again.

  Devlin had complained about being laughed at, but there was a smile on his face when he glanced at the way Myles was losing it. Devlin went in for another grab at one of the ponies like he was looking to wrestle, and that's when Myles heard someone's voice.

  "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"

  Myles decided that was their cue. He grabbed Devlin by the back of his collar and hurried to drag them away. The gentleman called after them as they ran, but he didn't give chase. Myles was glad, because he was still trying to catch his breath from laughing so hard.

  Myles finally let Devlin go when they were well out of sight. He collapsed down to sit in the grass and made himself comfortable. They were on the hill, so it was a bit like leaning back in a chair when he set his elbows behind him.

  "I totally could have won that!" Devlin was still saying.

  "Is it going to be like this all the time?"

  Devlin just grinned at him. "Would you rather it be boring?"

  Later on, they managed to find their way back to the restaurant. Myles was pretty sure the only reason that they managed it was because Devlin was feeling hungry again. Paying for their meal really did clear them out this time, but the bartender, Daph, had given them information on a farmer who would hire them for a few days work. She briefly introduced them to the older gentleman, and he told them that he would have them doing some of the heavier work around the farm like replacing fence posts. They were to meet him first thing in the morning. In an effort not to get lost, they found a place nearby to camp out on the grassy hill.

  Myles wondered whether he should be disappointed at the lack of money for a room at the inn, but the weather was nice, and he hadn't ever minded sleeping outdoors. He wondered if it had even crossed Devlin's mind. He doubted it.

  Myles relaxed and tried to sleep. Devlin would be up for a few more hours to keep watch and stare at the stars. He would take over later on.

  They were just outside of the town, so Myles wasn't very concerned for safety anyway. A few hours after dark, the howls of wild animals could be heard faintly in the distance. He didn't recognize the the sounds, but they never seemed to come close to where they were. Myles relaxed, and let them lull him to rest.