“Sounds good,” Koji agreed. “I don’t see signs of any others, but those might have been scouts. It’ll be wise to get some distance.”
Florian nodded, glancing away from the beach to the land further on. The earth here was coarse, dark sand, but the ground became rocky just a few yards further. It looked like there might have been grasses or bushes there long ago, but any plant life had long since burned away and only rocks remained, ranging from small smooth pebbles to larger, porous chunks of rock.
“Let’s go,” Florian sighed, adjusting his backpack, and they fell back into formation, with Kade in the lead.
They trudged through the sand and onto the rocky terrain. The stones became larger the further they walked, slowing them considerably; but after what felt like ten or fifteen minutes, the rocks finally gave way to hard-packed, dry ground once again, much to Florian’s relief. There were a few larger igneous rocks scattered around, but none large enough to build the shelter against, so they went a little further both to find a more suitable location and to ensure no lion-dogs were waiting nearby.
Once they set up the shelter and got inside, Florian dropped the shroud and immediately sagged with relief and exhaustion. He could feel Kade watching him with concern as he collapsed in a heap.
“I’m alright,” he said, smiling weakly up at Kade. “Just tired. Taking a break was the right call. Thanks.”
Kade’s expression softened. “I’ll stay up. Take as long as you need.”
Florian nodded. He thought about laying down and trying to nap—Koji was already setting up his sleeping bag on the far end of the tent—but if something happened, he would need to set the shroud quickly. Truly sleeping wasn’t a great idea, but he could sit and close his eyes and relax for a little while. He propped up his backpack so he could sit with his back against it, stretched out his legs, and covered his face with a clean shirt he’d rummaged out to get some semblance of darkness.
Even with his eyes closed, he felt acutely aware of Kade pacing around their cramped shelter, pausing near each corner. He could imagine the wolf shifter listening intently for any signs of the lion-dogs outside, or any other Blighted creatures that might be nearby, his eyes narrowed as he focused. He smiled at the thought, glad his face was covered.
After that, his mind drifted, and he wasn’t sure how long he sat there quietly trying to rest. Despite his intention to stay awake, Florian thought he must have fallen asleep for an hour or two until he heard Koji rustling in his sleeping bag.
“Feeling better?” he heard Kade ask softly.
“Much better, yes,” Koji replied, still sounding sleepy.
Florian pulled the shirt off his face, blinking in the dim light. “Good,” he said, the other two looking at him. “I’m ready whenever you guys are.”
Kade chuckled, shaking his head. “No rush.”
Koji gave him a chagrined smile. “Yeah, maybe a little longer?”
They didn’t start packing up until about half an hour later—it was hard to tell, as always—and when Florian set the shroud again, his inner well of magic felt tired but not nearly as strained as it had been. Even Kade seemed more refreshed, despite keeping watch the whole time. They settled into their usual marching order and set back out.
Florian wasn’t sure if it was good luck or not, but the rest of the day passed uneventfully. There were no further signs of the lion-dogs in the air or on the ground, and they made good time on the smooth, hard-packed dirt. But every so often, he had a strong sense of being watched. He couldn’t stop himself from looking over his shoulder and in all directions, and after the third or fourth time, he asked Kade, who said he felt it too.
Koji shared no such qualms, but he was keeping himself busy checking and re-checking the map as they walked, paying little attention to anything else. Maybe they were just paranoid, Florian thought, and he tried not to dwell on it.
His thoughts made it difficult to relax when they set up camp for the night, but nothing happened in the first hour that they were in the shelter. If anything were watching them or following them, it had no desire to get to them, which somehow assuaged him.
Drained from the fighting and holding the shroud, once he did lie down, he slept almost instantly and did not wake until Kade roused him. The wolf shifter, on the other hand, looked rather haggard—and Florian noticed quickly that his sword was drawn, making him sit bolt upright as adrenaline brought him to full alertness in an instant.
“What happened?” he blurted as Kade stepped away from him. The other man shook his head.
“I heard one of those lion-dogs prowling around a few hours ago,” he said. “And I had a hard time falling back to sleep.”
“Why didn’t you wake me?” Florian asked, irritated. All this time, they could have been in danger, and Kade didn’t think to alert them?
“It wasn’t attacking. It was just scouting,” he replied, kneeling again to wake Koji. “C’mon. Time to get up.”
“Everything okay?” Koji mumbled, sounding uncertain, as he too sat up and rubbed his eyes.
“One of the lion-dogs came in the night to sniff us out,” Florian interjected, making Kade sigh.
“Basically, yes,” he said. “But it was just one. It didn’t attack. We just need to be on the alert when we start breaking down the shelter, in case it’s still around.”
Florian frowned, but Koji seemed to consider Kade’s words, then nodded, barely phased.
They dressed and ate, then Florian set the shroud so they could break down the tent, weapons at the ready.
There was indeed a lion-dog outside once they took the walls down—it had been laying about fifty feet from them, but stood up when they caught sight of it, weapons drawn. It stared at them for a long, tense moment, then took to the air in one massive leap and flew away.
