We start walking, my legs protesting slightly from disuse. The path toward the gathering area feels longer than it should, every step requiring conscious effort. Not from physical pain—Falla's treatments have handled most of that—but from themental weight of moving toward a crowd of orcs instead of away from them.
My breathing wants to go shallow. I force it to stay even, counting inhales and exhales like Falla taught me during one of his visits.
Four counts in. Hold. Four counts out.
The noise of the gathering reaches us before the visual—low rumbling voices, occasional laughter, the sound of weapons being checked and adjusted. My stomach clenches reflexively but I push through it, focusing on Falla's solid presence beside me.
He doesn't hover or offer reassurances or treat me like glass about to break. Just maintains his steady pace, a fixed point I can orient myself around.
The crowd comes into view, and I catalog the familiar faces before my anxiety can spiral. Kai stands near the edge, his massive frame impossible to miss even among other orcs. Ursik lounges against a tree nearby, already in full performative mode as he regales someone with what sounds like an exaggerated hunting story.
Saela waves when she spots me, her smile bright but careful. She's learned not to make a big production out of my appearances. I appreciate that more than she probably knows.
"Look who decided to grace us with her presence." Ursik's voice booms across the space as we approach. "Thought Falla scared you off yesterday, Little Bird."
The nickname should grate—he started using it weeks ago and hasn't stopped despite my lack of response—but somehow it doesn't. Coming from Ursik, it sounds affectionate rather than condescending.
"Takes more than Falla's face to scare me off." The words come out steadier than I feel.
Ursik barks a laugh while Falla shoots me a look that might be amusement if his face did those kinds of expressions.
"Careful," Kai rumbles from his position. "Falla's competitive when people doubt him."
"I'm not competitive." Falla's tone stays flat. "I'm just better than both of you at everything."
"Confident words from someone who lost the last three sparring matches." Ursik grins, all tusks and swagger.
"You mean the matches where I was healing your stupid injuries from the matches before that?" Falla's eyebrow lifts fractionally. "Hard to spar when you're busy keeping idiots alive."
The banter flows easily between them, and I find myself relaxing incrementally as I listen. This is normal. Familiar. Three friends giving each other grief in that particular way males do when they're comfortable with each other.
Saela appears at my elbow, her presence warm and grounding. "How are you feeling?"
"Ask me after." I keep my voice low, not wanting to draw attention.
She nods, understanding flickering across her features. Her hand brushes mine briefly—contact without pressure—before she moves back toward Kai.
Drogath's voice cuts through the gathering noise, announcing the start of Day 2. Something about serpent tracking and partner bonds and prosperity through shared challenge. I try to focus on the words but they slide past, my attention catching instead on the carved wooden tokens being distributed to each pair.
The tokens are small, shaped like coiled serpents with detailed scales and open mouths. Harmless pieces of wood, but my fingers curl involuntarily as Falla accepts ours.
"These represent the serpents we're hunting," he explains quietly, holding it where I can see without forcing me to take it. "They're hidden throughout the forest. We find them, bring them back, prove we can work together."
"Like a scavenger hunt."
"Essentially."
The tension in my shoulders eases slightly. A scavenger hunt I can handle. It's just walking through the woods, looking for carved wood. Nothing threatening about that.
The other pairs start moving toward the forest edge, energy shifting from gathered stillness to purposeful movement. Falla glances at me, question clear in his eyes.
I nod. We can do this.
The forest canopy closes overhead as we move past the settlement boundary, dappled sunlight filtering through the branches. Most of the pairs have spread out already, following different paths to search their designated areas.
Falla keeps our pace moderate, not rushing. His eyes scan the surrounding trees with practiced efficiency, looking for the hidden tokens while simultaneously monitoring me from his peripheral vision.
I focus on my breathing, on the solid ground beneath my feet, on the normal sounds of forest during early spring. Birds calling. Wind through branches. The distant rush of the creek to the east.
