She focused on the crunch of grass and sticks beneath her feet for a moment, trying to decide how to answer.
“Before my father’s injury… my grandmother was training me for it.” She sighed. “So I suppose it’s not that surprising even though it feels that way to me.”
He nodded.
“What about you?” she asked.
“Whataboutme?”
“If Karvek is—taken out… will you leave? I know you’ve wanted to before.”
He stared between the trees for a long breath. “I’ve been avoiding thinking about it, afraid to hope, I guess. But yeah. There is nothing tying me to the 18th. I don’t like who I’ve become to survive at the 18th, what I have to do. I think it would be hard to change that, even with Karvek gone. Unless I leave.”
“I can understand that.” She really did. But the thought of him leaving, no longer being a half day’s hike away…
She thought about that as they continued to hike through the afternoon. Imagined what things would be like. It was hard.
She was almost too absorbed in her thoughts to recognize the sensation of her senses prickling.
“Pyetar,” she whispered, so low the slight breeze almost stole the words away entirely.
She grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.
Too quiet, he mouthed at her.
She nodded, turning toward the woods. They ended up back to back, watching the forest carefully. Silently. They didn’t dare move.
A branch cracked further down the path as, surprisingly, only a single dakya stepped into view. Pyetar formed his sword just as Iryana formed her bow and arrow, nocking and drawing it half-way.
It was huge, larger than most dakii she saw. Two twisted, curling sets of horns grew out of its head, one horn missing a tip like it had been snapped off.
The beast was too far away for her range with a forged arrow, but when it ran for them, she could hopefully down it before it even got to Pyetar’s range.
The beast seemed to consider them, its ink-black eyes calculating. Unease swam through her. What was it going to do? Was this a diversion while another dakya crept behind them? She didn’t think so, but she turned slightly, peeking behind them.
Then the beast did the last thing she would have ever expected. It turned and walked away.
Iryana just watched the spot where it had stood, not moving. Not releasing her forgings. Pyetar was a statue beside her. They stood like that until she heard a bird fly overhead.
“What the fuck,” Pyetar cursed.
“It walked away,” she gasped. “Decided we were too much of a threat and walked away?”
They exchanged confused looks.
“Let’s keep moving,” she mumbled, forcing her legs to come unstuck.
“Yeah.”
The strangeness of the dakya walking away clung to their minds, stilling their tongues through the hike. Till they lay side-by-side on a small platform up in the trees at the edge of River Brigade territory.
The thinnest layer of moonlight streamed down on them through the gaps in the leaves. Iryana’s cloak was wrapped around her to fight the cool night air. They hadn’t bothered changing for sleep, both still wearing half-armor in case they had to leave quickly.
“I don’t know if it’s better or worse,” Iryana mumbled, arms crossed behind her head. “The dakii gaining some self-preservation.”
Pyetar sighed, shifting slightly on the platform so that it creaked and swayed slightly.
“It’s been fifteen years. I don’t know why they are suddenly changing.”
