"I made hurt," Rymar said before looking at me and changing to Vestrian again. "Tell him to give them a very good description, and tell them he chased me, but I ran to the Wyvern and Phoenix. He needs to use those terms, because running away from the monsters they've made us won't make them think he's a coward."
So I explained all of that to Tobias.
Tobias nodded. "I can do that, but it does ruin my story of intending to get revenge by killing those two."
"You stopped because I had a gun," I said, making it up on the spot. "You had to dodge before I shot. We gave chase, you were outnumbered, and your orders are to retreat, right? So close, but you just couldn't kill us this time."
"But tell him to say he killed a dog with his bare hands," Rymar suggested in Vestrian. "Red, white spots."
My head whipped around, confusion on my face. "What?"
"Well, I'm sure there was one out there tonight," Rymar said. "It's a common color pattern. Makes it easier to believe, and if half the Moles saw one, they'll all be sure they saw the one he killed."
So I explained that in English.
"I can do that," Tobias said. "But tell me one thing?" He looked between the pair of us. "Did the whistle work?"
"Perfectly," I assured him. "That's actually how we knew to come. The dogs showed us, and they followed the sound. They also lay down a lot."
And he smiled. "I told my squad it helps me think." He shrugged.
But I caught that. "Yoursquad?"
"I got promoted into Sylis's spot," he admitted. "The hard part is getting away from my team. I sent them the other way, then ran."
"Yeah," I muttered, pausing to listen and hearing nothing. "And our time is up. Tell Callah I miss her?"
"Always," he said. "Next time, write her a letter. She keeps hoping for one." Then he stood. "I have to get back."
But Rymar offered his hand. "Happy to see you, Tobias. No die?"
"No dyingtoday," Tobias corrected, clasping his palm. "I'd say the same for you, Dragon, but I think you're the ones winning."
"Not 'Dragon," Rymar told him, and a smile curled the corners of his mouth. "Rose."
"And," I told Tobias, "he does have thorns."
I'd just seen him prove it, and a few Moles wouldn't make it back now because this man was more than just pretty colors. So much more.
Sixty-Six
Tobias
Thankfully, I wasn't the last man to make it back to the rally point. I also wasn't the least injured this time. Gideon was. There were plenty of men who didn't have any wounds, but most of them were at least filthy from hitting the ground or blood splatter, like Elijah.
Gideon wasn't.
I saw him standing with his arms crossed, his gun hanging loose around his chest, and his dark uniform perfectly clean. He was scribbling something on a little notebook - which immediately made me paranoid. He couldn't know what I was doing, could he? But just as I started thinking up excuses to explain everything, another pair of men stumbled into the clearing we'd made our meeting point.
"No kills?" he snapped.
The boys - no, they were men now - shook their heads. The braver tried to explain, "We heard the call to retreat. We ran, but they chased, so we had to get away. You said not to lead them back here!"
"And I said we needed to worry more about killing them than meat!" Gideon growled, spinning to look at me next. "And what about you,squad leader?"
"Five kills," I said, making up the number on the spot. "One was a dog."
Gideon's head snapped up. "A what?"
