Lane and Moth along with the group packed up their belongings early in the morning and made the rest of the journey to Esteban. It was a small town with dirt roads and a few houses, stores and a hotel. Moth looked around at his surroundings in amazement, marveling at the creations of humans. As the cart came to a stop, Hayden spoke up. "Are you two picking up some jobs while you are here?" He asked. "Just until spring comes and then we'll be finding somewhere to stay long term." Lane responded, still in his cold tone. "Maybe we'll run into each other a lot then. We are going to be staying in the area for a while as well." Lane rolled his eyes before standing up. "I hope not." Lane mumbled as he helped Moth down off the cart. They said a short, icy goodbye before heading towards the hotel, Lane opened the door, letting Moth pass him before stepping inside himself. It was quiet as it was about mid day, with a few patrons lounging around in the bar area with a single worker behind the bar who was looking bored.
Lane strode towards him, pulling out his coin purse, "We'd like a room, long term." The person looked up at him, disinterested. "Yeah sure thing. The weekly rate is 1 gold piece, are you good for that?" Lane nods, placing four gold pieces down on the table. "I'll pay for four weeks in advance." The worker glanced between Lane and Moth. "One room for the two of you?" Lane glared at him. "Money is tight." Lane stated in an annoyed tone. "It doesn't matter, does it?" The man behind the counter shrugged. "Not at all. It's the apocalypse, have fun with whoever you want." Moth seemed a little startled by his statement and reddened with embarrassment. "Here you go." The worker tosses a key to them. "End door on your left. Enjoy your stay." Lane caught the key with a nod. "Thank you." he stepped away from the bar moving over to the board hanging nearby. "Is this a request board?" Moth asks in a quiet tone. "Yeah, we'll need to take a few jobs to have enough money to stay here for the full time." He points to one of the posts in front of him. "This one should be easy enough." Moth narrowed his eyes as he read the post, tilting his head. "An escort job? What does that mean?" Lane tapped the poster while glancing around at others. "Usually it means they want someone to help them get from one place to another and make sure they get there and back safely. This one is from a merchant so they probably want to protect their products from bandits and walkers."
"Oh, that seems easy enough." Lane nods, "The jobs usually are easy as long as nothing goes wrong." He passes his bag to Moth, "I'm going to talk to the person who put out this request if you want to go and set up our room." Moth seemed a little hesitant to be left alone but he bravely nodded. "Alright then, I'll see you soon." Lane patted his head before heading out into the snow, leaving Moth alone. Before Moth headed to their room he glanced at another poster, one asking for a specific persons help, The Reaper. He stared at it for a moment before shrugging it off. He headed upstairs into the long hallway filled with rooms, glancing around curiously. Where was it? End door on the left I think? He fitted the key into the door, unlocking it before walking inside. It was a plain room with a small desk below a window and a simple double bed at the other end of the room, it reminded him of his old room. He sook off the dreary thoughts before placing their bags down on the table and locking the door. After ensuring he was safe he took off his cloak and shoes before flopping down on the bed, stretching his wings a little and inspecting them for any damage. They seemed fine apart from some slight dirt, when he'd get dirty like this before he'd get Cricket to help clean him down. I hope he is okay. Moth turned onto his side and curled in on himself, tearing up. So much has happened to me. I lived a relatively peaceful life for the 10 years of the apocalypse, hunting and gathering food for myself without needing to interact with humans. But ever since I met Lane my life has become more chaotic and dangerous but at least it isn't as boring or as lonely as it used to be. A knock came from the door and Moth sat up, pulling on his cloak and walking over. He opened the door to see Hayden smiling at him. "Uh, what are you doing here?" Moth mumbled. Hayden looked by him, staring into the room. "Is Lane here? I have a job preposition for him." Moth got a little uncomfortable with his glancing around so he blocked his view into the room. "No, he isn't but I don't think he'd be interested anyway." Hayden shrugged. "It'll have a huge payout, just ask him for me."
"What are you doing?" Lane asks, glaring at Hayden. "I came to offer you a jo-" Lane shoved him out of the way and stepped into the room. "I'm not interested, leave us alone." Hayden seemed shocked but laughed. "Come on man, we'll get a lot of money." Lane rolled his eyes. "I don't care, go away."
"Well, I hope you reconsider, it's a walker bounty, a category 2. We could really use your help. We'll even give you half of the money." Lane clicked his tongue and took a step forward, towering over him. "You should have thought of that before you left me behind." Hayden laughs, "You aren't actually mad about that are you?" Lane stares at him a moment before slamming the door in his face. "Are you alright?" Moth asks quietly.
Lane turns to Moth and sighs, wrapping his arms around him and hugging him tightly. Moth didn't say anything but started to comfort him by patting his back. "I'm okay. He's just really annoying." He mumbles while resting his head on Moth's shoulder. "Did you get that job you wanted?" Lane nodded into his shoulder. "We're meeting up with him tomorrow morning." His warm breath tickled Moth's neck sending a chill up his spine. Moth nods then turns his head away from him trying to hide his blushing face. I hope he can't hear my heartbeat, I think my heart is about to pound out of my chest.
He glanced down, his eyes meeting Lane's. He feels his heart quicken and his ears get red as the two stare at each other, a tension between them as their eyes lock. Moth turns away first, "Don't look at me like that." He mumbles, putting his hands on Lane's shoulders to try to push him away but the other person stays firmly in place, instead moving one hand down to his hip and resting it there, holding him close.
"What are you-" Moth's words are interrupted by a hand stroking his cheek, gently grazing it before it moves to his ear and trails down his neck sending another shiver up his spine and causing the areas he touched to heat up. The hand creeped up the back of his neck, running through his hair before trailing down the other side of his face as if exploring his features. "Lane, a-are you feeling okay?" Lane stared at him, completely entranced. "Never better." He mumbled, his hand moving towards his lips, tracing over them and parting them slightly. Moth's face got hotter and he was almost in a daze as his hand moved over him. His hand cupped his face as Lane slowly leaned into him, his eyes flicking between his eyes and lips as if asking him for permission. Moth stared at him, startled for a moment before he leaned in, his eyes closing as he moved. The two lean into each other, their lips locking in a soft, gentle kiss as Lane moves his other hand to sit around his waist, pulling him closer to him.