Eva held up a hand. "Don't drag me into this."
It was enough that she'd probably have to play mediator for the next few hours. No way did she want to be any more involved.
"Too late," Ollie said.
Eva's response was forestalled as a Trateri rode up to them.
"We'll be stopping for a short while. Might as well get comfortable and stretch your legs while you can."
Jason groaned with relief, already dismounting.
Eva sent the Trateri a grateful nod. "Thanks for letting us know."
She made to dismount when she noticed the Trateri hadn't moved.
The woman cleared her throat. "Your friends are a little way ahead."
Eva frowned, not missing the hesitation before the word friends. There were only two she could think of that would cause that sort of reaction.
Jason paused in the act of stretching as Eva settled back onto Caia. "Where are you going?"
"To see myfriends."
"Wait for me," Jason called, grabbing for his horse's reins.
Ollie smirked at him. "Not going to ride after her?"
Jason scowled and hurried after Eva on foot. She shook her head with a grin, putting the two out of her mind.
She didn't have far to ride before she found the reason for the woman's hesitation. Eva slowed Caia, wanting to observe the tableau in front of her before she made her presence known.
Brisa frowned down at a set of cards held in front of her chest. Warin was in front of her, a few Trateri Eva didn't recognize next to him.
Judging by their clothes they were a mix of Lion and Rain.
Sebastian peered over Brisa's shoulder with an intent, focused expression.
In the middle of the group was the pile of the shiny pebbles Brisa had managed to take from Warin this morning.
Eva started to understand why the woman had warned her. She shook her head, not knowing whether she should be impressed Warin found a way to negotiate his pebbles back or worried.
Sebastian studied the cards, absentmindedly working his mouth.
"Are you going to play or not?" Warin grumbled. "You're taking too long."
"We are thinking," Brisa snapped.
She and Sebastian went back to staring at their cards as Jason arrived next to Eva, panting lightly. "What did I miss?"
Eva nodded at the group. "See for yourself."
Jason squinted with a frown. "They're playing cards?"
"That's how it appears," Eva answered.
It seemed Brisa wasn't willing to wait for Roscoe to teach her and had found someone else to learn from.
Eva would feel better about that if she didn't know how the Trateri viewed their games. They considered newcomers fresh meat and were known to muddy the rules in their favor.
