“Of course,” she laughs, just as the ground beneath our feet begins to tremble.
“What in the Old World!”
I can feel the vibrations through my boots.
“Just the boys at camp,” Alanna says casually.
I nod as if that makes any sense and turn back to the drink, “I don’t have much to offer, but I’d greatly appreciate if you let me share the toddy with you tonight.”
“The Plains making you nervous then?” she taunts.
“Something like that.”
Alanna walks around me with a curious glance. I stare back into her cool grey eyes and sharp features, watching as her blonde hair shines against the last rays of the sun. The Discerni frowns as we hold each other’s gaze, her eyes becoming questioning. I avert her gaze and walk farther towards the road, not needing to explain the real reason for my nervousness. Alanna huffs and crosses her arms across her chest, turning when I start on my own pants and crouch down.
“Let me share smoke with you and the big man tonight,” she says over her shoulder, “the three of us can pass around the toddy.”
I half laugh, wondering why she doesn’t just want to ask Cal on her own.
“The big man would not turn you down if you asked, Alanna.”
“Initiate tonight,” she replies after a pause, “and I’ll go to him in the future.”
“Deal,” I nod, “I can do that.”
I pull up my pants and move to stand next to her, the two of us heading back to camp.
“Where else in Pyre have you visited?”
“Just Red Falls,” she replies.
“What about the Old World in general? Have you been to Livyatan?”
“I have traveled the full of our lands and Red Falls. Nothing more.”
“Then you’ve traveled to Woodlands Court?” I inquire.
Alanna’s step falters, the small trip almost unnoticeable.
“I was born there,” she replies coolly.
I stare at the blonde Discerni from the corner of my eyes. She doesn’t look upset at the statement, just resolved, as if the fact is something she has to live with. I also notice that her answer doesn’t surprise me. I had already suspected that she had some lineage from Woodlands when I met her, recognizing the blonde hair and pale skin. Would she tell me more about the Court if I asked her to expand on Keane’s comments from that night under the Shadow Oak?
“You look like you want to ask more,” her eyes narrow on mine as we reach the top of the slope. I nod, about to ask, but the sight of the camp below us makes me suddenly stop in my tracks.
“Elder Father and Mother…”
The large fire has finally been built by Barnes, the same as the one in the Green Valley that graced the center of our camp, but what’s different tonight are the mounds of boulders surrounding everyone and everything, the massive stones creating a large protection circle around the full of our group. The boulders are so big that no horse can jump over them, and they sit so closely together that someone couldn’t just walk straight through. Instead, we’ll have to dip somewhere near the bottom and find a small crevice, that or climb over the top and scale down.
“Daniel,” Alanna smirks at the sight, continuing down the hill.
“It’s absolutely brilliant.”
We walk up to a large boulder and squeeze under one of its sides as the bright glow of the fire warms our faces. The rest of the group is working on their tents when we arrive, everyone draping the fabrics over the tops of the stones in the same fashion as they would over a tree limb. Each end of the tents are then weighed down by smaller rocks, the stones keeping them in place from the breeze that is billowing around us. Cal, Mana and Holis are currently using ropes to connect all three of their tents together, the cloth of one supporting the other with the boulders at their backs.
The human soldiers have opted to forgo their tents and instead lay their bedrolls closer to the fire, an idea that looks damn good and something I may just consider for tonight.
Alanna leaves me when she spots Barnes setting up his tent similar to Cal’s and the twins. She pulls out her own tent from her traveling packs and heads his way, no doubt looking to join his grouping with Claymore. To the left of Barnes are three larger tents that are standing on their own, all of them staked into the ground to keep them upright.
