Mistborn #02 The Well of Ascension

sensed when she'd come to him in his rooms.
    He didn't know if he'd ever get the answers he wanted. Yet, he was coming to realize that he could love her even if he didn't completely understand her. He bent down and kissed the top of her head.
    She immediately tensed, eyes opening. She sat up, exposing a bare torso, then glanced around their small tent. It was dimly lit with the light of dawn. Finally, she shook her head, looking over at him. "You're a bad influence on me."
    "Oh?" he asked, smiling as he rested on one arm.
    Vin nodded, running a hand through her hair. "You're making me get used to sleeping at night," she said. "Plus, I don't sleep in my clothing anymore."
    "If you did, it would make things a little awkward."
    "Yes," she said, "but what if we get attacked during the night? I'd have to fight them naked."
    "I wouldn't mind watching that."
    She gave him a flat stare, then reached for a shirt.
    "You're having a bad influence on me, too, you know," he said as he watched her dress.
    She raised an eyebrow.
    "You're making me relax," he said. "And letting me stop worrying. I've been so tied up with things in the city lately that I'd forgotten what it was like to be an impolite recluse. Unfortunately, during our trip, I've had time to read not only one, but all three volumes of Troubeld's Arts of Scholarship ."
    Vin snorted, kneeling in the low tent as she pulled her belt tight; then she crawled over to him. "I don't know how you read while riding," she said.
    "Oh, it's quite easy—if you aren't afraid of horses."
    "I'm not afraid of them," Vin said. "They just don't like me. They know I can outrun them, and that makes them surly."
    "Oh, is that it?" Elend asked, smiling, pulling her over to straddle him.
    She nodded, then leaned down to kiss him. She ended it after a moment, however, moving to stand. She swatted his hand away as he tried to pull her back down.
    "After all the trouble I took to get dressed?" she asked. "Besides. I'm hungry."
    He sighed, reclining back as she scampered out of the tent, into the red morning sunlight. He lay for a moment, quietly remarking to himself on his fortune. He still wasn't sure how their relationship had worked out, or even why it made him so happy, but he was more than willing to enjoy the experience.
    Eventually, he looked over at his clothing. He had brought only one of his nice uniforms—along with the riding uniform—and he didn't want to wear either too often. He didn't have servants anymore to wash the ash out of his clothing; in fact, despite the tent's double flap, some ash had managed to work its way inside during the night. Now that they were out of the city, there were no workers to sweep the ash away, and it was getting everywhere.
    So, he dressed in an outfit far more simple: a pair of riding trousers, not unlike the pants that Vin often wore, with a buttoning gray shirt and a dark jacket. He'd never been forced to ride long distances before—carriages were generally preferred—but Vin and he were taking the trip relatively slowly. They had no real urgency. Straff's scouts hadn't followed them for long, and nobody was expecting them at their destination. They had time to ride leisurely, taking breaks, occasionally walking so that they wouldn't get too sore from riding.
    Outside, he found Vin stirring up the morning fire and Spook caring for the horses. The young man had done some extensive traveling, and he knew how to tend horses—something that Elend was embarrassed to have never learned.
    Elend joined Vin at the firepit. They sat for a few moments, Vin poking at the coals. She looked pensive.
    "What?" Elend asked.
    She glanced southward. "I. . ." Then she shook her head. "It's nothing. We're going to need more wood." She glanced to the side, toward where their axe lay beside the tent. The weapon flipped up into the air, shooting toward her blade-first. She stepped to the side, snatching the handle as it passed between her and Elend. Then she stalked over to a fallen tree. She took two swings at it, then easily kicked it down and broke it in two.
    "She has a way of making the rest of us feel a little redundant, doesn't she?" Spook asked, stepping up beside Elend.
    "At times," Elend said with a smile.
    Spook shook his head. "Whatever I see or hear, she can sense better—and she can fight whatever it is that she finds. Every time I come back to Luthadel, I just feel. . .useless."
    "Imagine being a regular person," Elend said. "At least you're an