Thornmaker shook his head, the morning light catching on the silver streaks in his braids. "I do not share my warchief's confidence in the vampire." He hesitated, then added in a lower voice, "And I worry that your judgment may be... compromised where he is concerned."
"You think I'm not seeing him clearly," Boarstaff stated.
"I think you're seeing something the rest of us can't," Thornmaker admitted. "And I don't know if that makes you unusually perceptive or unusually blind."
Rockbreaker cleared his throat, a sound like stones grinding together. "He did help us rescue the child," he pointed out. "Fought his own brother for us."
"For his own reasons," Thornmaker countered. "Vampires always have their own reasons. Remember that."
They walked in silence again, following the border where forest met cleared land. Birds called in the canopy above, ordinary life continuing despite the extraordinary changes happening in their community.
"I understand your concern," Boarstaff said finally. "But the council agreed he could stay. And I need to know what he's becoming."
"What if what he's becoming is more dangerous than what he was?" Thornmaker asked, the question carrying no challenge, just genuine worry.
Boarstaff had no answer for that. It was the question that haunted his own thoughts in quiet moments. The possibility that Sebastian's transformation might lead to something beyond all their understanding, beautiful, terrible or both.
"That's why I need to be the one to watch him," he said instead. "To see the changes as they happen." It wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't entirely a lie either. Someone did need to observe Sebastian's transformation closely. That the task stirred something both unsettling and exhilarating in Boarstaff's chest was a complication he kept to himself.
Thornmaker looked unconvinced but nodded respect for his warchief's decision. "And if you're wrong, if he does turn on you, then we will be there to protect you. As we always have."
Boarstaff accepted this compromise with a nod. They continued along the boundary, checking for signs of disturbance, maintaining the routine that had kept their people safe for generations. The conversation shifted to more immediate concerns… patrol rotations, training schedules for younger warriors, supplies needed from dwarven traders.
But even as Boarstaff discussed these practical matters, his thoughts circled back to Sebastian; the arrogance that melted away when they were alone, the way his eyes softened when they met Boarstaff's, what waited in the eastern caves. The man beneath the vampire, the person beneath the noble, the reality beneath the artifice.
He'd bring Sebastian's things later. Alone, despite Thornmaker's concerns. The decision felt less like a warchief's duty and more like something else entirely.
Some lines, once crossed, couldn't be uncrossed. Some connections defied every reason they shouldn't exist.
Some choices were worth whatever came after.
Chapter Six
The eastern cave looked stark and unwelcoming in the late afternoon light when Boarstaff approached, leather bundle tucked under one arm. He'd waited until border patrols had reported, so he could reasonably claim no other duties required his attention.
He still wasn't sure if he was being responsible or just a coward. As much as he wanted to see Sebastian, he didn’t want to deal with any fallout from the council. It would be so much easier if he wasn’t warchief but his people needed him.
"You going to stand out there all evening?" Sebastian's voice carried from the cave's shadowed interior.
Boarstaff paused. "Thought I was being quiet."
"You were," Sebastian appeared at the entrance, leaning against the stone frame with casual grace. "I just have exceptional hearing now. Another advantage my father didn't appreciate."
He'd changed since morning, though his options were clearly limited. The simple linen pants were the same, but he'd rinsed them out. His hair was damp, suggesting he'd bathed in the nearby creek that ran along the eastern border. Boarstaff knew the spot, a small pool formed where the water slowed, sheltered by overhanging trees. The water would be cold that time of year, but the pool was deep enough for bathing.
"I brought your things." Boarstaff held up the bundle.
Sebastian stepped aside in silent invitation, allowing Boarstaff to enter the cave. The interior was exactly what Boarstaff remembered, austere to the point of emptiness. A sleeping pallet of woven blankets was the only real furnishing. A small fire burned in a roughly made pit, casting shadows across bare stone walls. Nothing personal, nothing comfortable. Just a place to exist, not to live and get out of the weather.
"Not much to look at," Sebastian said, following Boarstaff's gaze. "I haven't exactly had time for decorating."
"How long have you been here now?" Boarstaff set the bundle on the stoney floor next to the bedding. "Three weeks?"
"Twenty-two days," Sebastian corrected with aristocratic precision. "Twenty-two days of mind-numbing boredom interrupted by the occasional suspicious warrior checking to make sure I haven't murdered anyone."
There was something in his tone… not quite resentment, but a sharp edge that reminded Boarstaff just how isolated Sebastian's existence had become. Neither vampire nor orc, caught between worlds that had no place for what he was becoming.
"Is that—" Sebastian began, his attention fixed on the bundle.
