Chapter 18: Friends

A small break before the pass. Friends will be missed.

Chapter 18: Friends

 

             Five minutes turned into ten…followed by twenty…and thirty…to an hour…and there was still no sign of Fey waking from her slumber. Basil knew how long it had been for he counted each second out of worry. It was driving him mad…but each pass he made of his pacing, he’d glance over to see her all bundled up with fur blankets to keep her warm. Her wound was left exposed, wrapped with gauze to get some air and one of the rashein laid behind her nicely to act like a pillow as it slept. The other two mounts were tied to a tree nearby who were grazing after such an eventful start to their day. It wasn’t exactly how he thought it’d turn out…for they should had been close to the pass by now…but were still a bit away. He sighed and rubbed the sides of his face to keep himself calm. Seeing her just lying there...he felt as if he needed to do something…anything to take her pain away.

Luckily to avoid another bandit attempt, they found shelter off the plains and into some nearby forest. Just in time too…

Basil’s ears swiveled when he heard thunder overhead and heard a few raindrops pelting the leaves above.

As long as their campfire wasn’t put out and Fey stayed dry…he didn’t care. Feeling his feet growing tired from the pacing, Basil walked over to Fey to take a seat beside where she rested and removed his boots to rub at the soles of his feet.

“Not how you expected our day to begin either, huh?” He asked her sleeping form and frowned when she didn’t respond. Of course, she wouldn’t. What else was he expecting? “I didn’t even speak with you today…and look what happened.”

What if something dire happened…and…gods forbid…Fey was no longer with them? He had so much to say…so much to tell her…

He groaned and leaned his head back against the tree to look down at her wound. It was a good thing as well that those bandits were only after their goods. To them, they were just helpless travelers. They had no idea they had a mender with them or else the chase might have been more serious.

“Still nothing?”

Basil looked up to see Sid returning to their small camp with his hands behind his back. His clothes were soaked since he went off to go fishing. After their struggle, they could use a few bites of meat.

“Yeah…” The feline sighed and stood. “You catch anything?”

“I’ve come to realize that I must be part feline…or at least a distant relative was…” he smirked and showed his hands, both palms clutched five strings each that dangled with fish.

“Wow! You went all out,” Basil smiled and helped take some from him and started to spear them on sharp sticks he had prepared just in case Sid was successful. It got his mind off Fey anyway…

“When I am given a task, I excel at it,” he prided and took a seat by the fire to spear the fish in his hands before propping them up by the fire to slowly cook. Basil sat next to him to do the same as the rain started to pour, a few drops getting through the canopy to land on the ground around them. At least it wasn’t too much to send them into a panic.

Basil leaned back on his hands, his tail and feet near the fire to keep warm while Sid sat with his legs crossed…both keeping silent until Basil decided to break it.

“…hey Sid…can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“Well…a hypothetical question.”

“Oh gods, not these,” he chuckled and propped his elbow on his knee to rest his chin in. “Fine, fine…go ahead.”

“Alright…I know this friend who…really likes this one girl…but since they have been together, he’s forgotten a bit about the things he’s done in the past.”

“…like?”

“He has…visited brothels…a few times.”

“…so, he’s a womanizer?”

“I wouldn’t want to call him that…”

“But?”

Basil sighed and looked up toward the canopy. “If he knew what the future had in store for him…he wouldn’t had. I know that.”

“…okay…so what’s his issue?”

“With how his past was…should he…be open with her? I mean, have you ever been with a girl, Sid?”

“Nope.”

Basil’s eyes widened for he thought with how much Sid teased Fey, that he was just a big flirt who teased any woman.

“…are you not into females?” At the question, Sid tilted his head to the side with a look.

“If I could barely sleep next to your loud mouth what makes you think I enjoy a male’s company? I do like females…”

“Then…? Don’t tell me you’re after Fey,” Basil narrowed his eyes slightly but the hare chuckled and raised his head.

“Nah…Fey is cute and all…but even if she stayed with me, I’d treat her like family, not as a spouse.”

“…then why do you tease her?”

“Fun mostly. She’s easy to rile and seeing such a small feline getting all huffy at a hare is a story I’ll die with. Secondly…it gets her mind off things.”

“…off things?”

Sid stretched his arms out and fell back onto the grass, listening to the fire pop.

“You have to remind yourself…Fey may be your friend…but in this great wide world…she may be alone. You can travel all around in the snow fields…searching for her home…but if it’s not out there…she could be the last mender…and with people hounding her day and night, how do you think she feels? She can’t even walk into a city alone without some sort of protection.”

“…at least you were different,” he noted.

“I’m logical, that’s why. Fey may be a feral who has amazing gifts…but she’s no goddess. If the gods have plans for me…then so be it. Who am I to change that?”

Basil looked down at the fire at his words…but also remembered what his brother told him.

‘FEY IS DYING!’

“So, I tease her…that way she starts thinking of ways to murder me in my sleep…and not on the fact that she may be on a fruitless adventure.”

“…a bit morbid,” Basil smiled but sighed heavily. “…so…what do you think my friend should do?” He asked, getting back on topic of why they even brought this up.

“I think your friend should be honest with her. We all have sinned in our past…nothing can be changed…if they are constantly fearing…or thinking…then they will never move forward…they need to tell this girl everything. If she doesn’t return the feelings, then at least they tried and won’t have to fear what may have been.”

For sometimes acting like a complete fool, Sid sure did know how to give advice.

“…thanks, Sid. I’ll let him know.”

The hare chuckled behind him and sat up to poke at the fish to see how well they were getting done.

“Just tell her, you idiot.”

“Of course, you’d figure out,” Basil blushed lightly and leaned his head against his hands.

“Because I’m smarter than I look. You think I’m just some dumb hare but nah. My head isn’t filled with just air,” he teased. “So…only your past is stopping you?”

Basil shook his head and glanced over at Fey to see that she hadn’t moved an inch.

“…my…brother is back.”

“So?”

“I told you once, remember? Back when we were kids…she’d always look at my brother…she’d see only him. I guess…at the start, I treated her more like a sister and my brother was just a boy…not a relation.”

“It matters not. You’re afraid she’s starting to feel like that now?”

“…a bit.”

“Again, all you can do is talk to her…maybe even talk to your brother. He’s your kin…he’ll understand.”

Basil sighed and slowly stood to dust some grass off his pants.

“Easier said than done.”

“You’ll never know until you speak,” Sid replied and looked up at him. “Go and talk with him…I’m going to change Fey’s bandage. If she wakes up, I should be the one who takes most of the hits.”

Both ferals shared a small laugh as Basil stepped around the fire just as Sid stood to crack his back but the feline stopped to look back at him.

“Hey, Sid?”

“Hm?” The hare looked back at him.

“…why haven’t you fallen in love yet?”

At the question, Sid seemed to blink his eyes in confusion before placing a hand on his hip with a sad grin.

“I could have…many times…and I’ll admit…even with little Fey over there…but I steel my heart.”

“…why?”

“…I don’t want anyone mourning over me when I’m gone. If I die…I want to be alone…” He answered and gave him his back to head over to the rashein to retrieve some new bandages while Basil left the camp in search of his brother while thinking over Sid’s words.

 

 

What came over him…? In his mind, he knew very well…but he didn’t think it’d be so…terrible to experience. To think…not even ten minutes before that…she was peacefully against him…and wanting so much from him. She couldn’t see what he saw…and he didn’t want her to. All she saw…was a happy future…with all of them…just like as kids…but was pulling wool over her eyes. If she truly knew…she would condemn him to the worst possible place imaginable…and possibly even kill him. Her heart would break…shatter into pieces…

Saei exhaled deeply as he rested on a fallen log near a small pond where he watched small guppies swimming about in the shallows. His reflection stared back at him, hating himself more by the second.

Why him? Why plant something in his heart…and then give him such a weight?

Of course, he was only making it worse. She might as well be the coldest water in a heated desert…and each time he took a sip, he only desired more. He should have never taken that first sip…but he had and there was no denying it.

Before he could think more on the matter, his long ears twitched when he heard a twig crackling under a foot. He sighed and looked up at the dripping leaves.

“…what do you want?” He asked almost tiredly.

Basil timidly exited from between the trees, his ears folded back since the last time he tried to talk with his brother it only led to a fight.

“…can…we talk?” He asked and expected the worst. A few seconds ticked by without a word…and it seemed as if time stopped if it wasn’t for the dead giveaway of the rain growing softer. Slowly, Saei moved to the right side of his log, making the left side free and Basil was a bit hesitant.

If his brother really didn’t want him near, he’d probably tell him. Taking the offer, Basil came over to sit beside him and watched the guppies play. He also saw his brother’s reflection…and his eyes…looked worn.

“…you…feeling okay?” Basil asked. He watched his brother’s eyes close with a small shake of his head. “Oh…well, Sid caught some fish…maybe you’re just hungry and need to sleep…”

“…is Fey the same?” Saei asked, opening his eyes again but only staring at the water.

“…yeah…the arrow didn’t hit anything major…like her lungs or stomach. It merely grazed her rib. She just needs to rest.”

For a few moments, the brothers sat together and listened to the rain while Basil thought this would be the end of their conversation…

“…how is your arm?” Saei asked, glancing over at Basil’s reflection which surprised the younger brother.

“It stings…but we wrapped it up.”

“If you’re going to use your arm as a guard for an attack…especially against metal…you might want to wear armor.”

Basil felt his heart slow down a bit from his earlier worry. Did…his brother…just tease him? Not wanting to spoil the mood by calling him out on it, Basil smiled.

“Meh…I never was the one to wear heavy armor.”

“No…every time father tried to have you wear it, you’d throw a fit and wouldn’t move from that spot until you could take it off.”

“Oh, don’t remind me. He’d punish me and wouldn’t let me eat dinner when that happened.”

“But you’d just beg for me to save you some of my food.”

“…did you really have to stuff rolls into your pants pockets?”

“How else was I going to hide them? I’m not a rodent.”

The comment and memory made Basil chuckle softly and Saei allowed a small smile to surface.

“We changed…so much,” the feline noted.

“We have…”

“Remember that one time I nearly burnt down the kitchen?” Basil watched as Saei’s eyes lit up and he looked annoyed.

“Yes…sadly. You nearly got me involved.”

“I couldn’t help it!”

“You had to stick your nose in where it didn’t belong.”

“I just wanted to see what they were cooking for dinner.”

“Which resulted in your nose being filled with pepper…and when you sneezed…”

“I know, I know…I couldn’t keep my fire under control that well when that happened.”

“That poor cook…” Saei added with his smile growing a tiny bit more obvious but he looked through his reflection to the bottom of the pond with a sigh.

“…something wrong, Saei?” Basil asked worriedly.

“…just matters I have to deal with.”

“I can help…or listen.”

“Sadly, I must keep them to myself until this journey is over.”

At least he wasn’t being hostile like last time. Basil had to thank the gods for that. With a frown, he dipped his clawed foot into the waters to make it ripple.

“…not to bring it up…but…what you said…back at Treaish…that had to do with Fey…”

“What of it?”

“…do you…possibly know how…long she has?” He tried to word his question correctly, not wanting to be too blunt.

“I wish I knew,” Saei answered and slowly stood, his long tail dragging behind him as he stepped around the log. Basil frowned and stood as well.

“…you leaving?”

“Just…time to think.”

He had no idea what his brother was going through but after protecting him again…and having a nice conversation, Basil walked over to touch his brother’s arm which gained his attention.

“…I don’t know what’s going on…and I don’t need to know…but...despite us bickering, you’re still my big brother…and I’ll be here for you. Take time to think…and come back to eat with us. Fey should be up and I’m sure she’ll want to see you. Sound good?”

Both brothers stared into the other’s eyes, remaining still and quiet. For the first time since they had been separated those years ago, they both felt a rekindling.

“…I will consider it,” Saei told him and slowly turned to head deeper into the forest to seek some time for himself. Basil frowned for he wished to maybe…talk with him, especially about Fey but this was a small step for them. It was better than bickering, that’s for sure.

Not wanting to dwell on it, Basil started on his way back to camp. The rain had started to pick up again, causing some of the leaves to break away and float down near him as he entered the site to see not much had changed. The fish were still roasting nicely, probably almost done while Sid laid by the fire, clearly taking a nap, or at least letting his eyes rest. Basil looked past him to see Fey…moving a bit. His ears folded back worriedly when she tried to stretch her legs out but winced when she pulled on the stitches.

The noise seemed to rouse Sid as well who yawned and sat up to rub his eyes.

“I think she’s waking up,” Basil told him as he stepped closer to her.

“She was only shot…so I didn’t think it’d be long,” he replied and watched from his sitting spot at what would play out. Basil sat by her with high hopes that she would be feeling better…and sure enough, her eyes twitched slightly before her beautiful white eyes opened with a soft whimper of soreness.

“Hey you…” Basil whispered with a tender smile. Fey blinked away the sleep to look up at him.

“Basil…?” Her voice was still a bit groggy but it wasn’t pained.

“And me!” Sid called from his spot near the fire. The feline could see the confusion on her face as she slowly pushed herself to sit up but he placed an arm around her to give her a hand.

“Easy…you’re still healing,” he told her, laying his hand over her gauze so that she wouldn’t pull on it too much. Fey winced and accidentally laid her hand over his at wanting to feel where the pain was coming from.

“What happened?” She asked timidly, removing her hand and looked down at herself to see the warm blankets covering her.

“You don’t remember?” Sid asked as he stood to approach them.

“…not really. I remember us being chased,” she answered with a frown.

“Well…you took care of two of them, little miss,” the hare smirked and her eyes widened a bit in surprise.

“What?”

“You heard right. Whatever you did was amazing. You had two riders after you that I couldn’t deal with since I had my own but what does Fey do? She unleashes her energy at them.”

Was it…just like last time…when the twins attacked her? She really couldn’t remember. It was all fuzzy.

“Did I?” She looked up to Basil who seemed lost just as much as she was.

“I was helping Saei…so I didn’t get to see…but if Sid said you did…then it must have happened.”

“After the one though, you were shot with an arrow,” Sid continued and pointed toward her side.

 “Luckily, it wasn’t serious but I think the pain and using your energy kind of wore you out.”

Fey turned her eyes down onto the wound after Basil removed his hand so that she could see…and she frowned. She was once again…saved…having to be rescued…and only slowing them down. She rested her hand back on it.

“Where are we now?”

“Just a bit east of our trail. Still roughly two hours from the pass.”

She caused them that much time? They probably could had been there by now. Biting her lower lip, Fey brought her legs under her to try and stand but both ferals looked on worriedly. Basil was the one who stopped her with his strong arm around her.

“Whoa, you still need to heal,” he ordered.

“I’m n-not going to waste more of our time. I can ride.”

“Not like that. You’ll bust it open,” Sid said, arms folding over his chest. “We can rest a bit. Take another hour and then we’ll see if you can. For now, take it easy. We have fish cooking and I found a nice stream earlier if you need to wash up in. A bit cold but it’ll do.”

With a frown still on her face, Fey sighed and allowed Basil to help her sit back down. She peeled off the blanket and would much rather be sitting on it but when she did, she paled to see that her gown was a bit higher than she thought it would be. Why did she not see that earlier?

“W-w-w-what did you do?!” She yelled and grabbed the blanket again to shield herself to fix her dress.

“There was no way to get to the wound except for raising your gown…or cutting it off…so I did the more sensible choice,” Sid shrugged and readied his ears for what was to come.

“Y-y-y-you did this!?” Her ears were tight against her hair with her cheeks growing dark red but Sid merely pointed at Basil who paled at suddenly being pulled into the mix.

“It was the only way to dress your wound,” Basil frowned and felt like his life was on the line as Fey glared at him. He released her with his claws held up defensively.

“You saw nothing! Right?” She looked back to Sid who smiled innocently and tapped his chin.

“I’ll say this much, kitten. We each deserve a proper slap from you.”

Her face flared in embarrassment as she finally managed to straighten her gown properly and slowly stood to her feet before Basil could even lend her a hand again.

“I’m g-g-going to go change. I’ll deal with you both shortly and if either of you decide to follow me, I’ll make sure you look more human than feral,” she threatened with a huff and reached into the bag with clothing to pull out a new gown before storming off into the woods.

Basil sighed heavily and stood to look over at Sid accusingly.

“Now how am I supposed to tell her?”

“Willingly take the beating.”

 

 

The nerve of them! Even though she knew it was just to help remove the arrow and to dress the wound…it was still the thought that…while she was out of it…one of them had to touch her gown and saw her in her undergarment. She groaned shyly, rubbing her cheeks to try and return to normal.

“…idiots…all of them…” she whispered and found her feet stopping when she was away from the camp to feel that she had privacy. Looking back to make sure neither of them followed, she stepped behind a large rock to carefully slip out of her gown. It was ruined, sadly. Blood tainted where the arrow had entered and it was torn a bit. She felt bad…for Saei just bought these for her. Her tail swayed behind her in thought…

‘Saei wasn’t at the camp…’

Looking down at the wound now that no clothes were in the way, she frowned to see it had gauze over it and she could feel the stitches. They saved her…and made sure to patch her up…

“…I can’t let that happen again…” She told herself and slid into her new gown. Her body was covered once more and it looked like she had never been attacked. “…did I really attack someone again?”

Looking down at her claws, she couldn’t believe it. All she knew…was mending. Of course, in the book she read menders could fight…and it was proved when the twins no longer followed them…

Now this…?

Fey walked around the rock to sit on a small stump and held up her hands before her.

“…maybe…I just have to concentrate,” she whispered and closed her eyes.

There was a lot of energy within her…she could feel it…swirling around like a massive pool that could burst forth at any time…but she was never trained on how to attack. It was just…spontaneous. Clenching her eyes harder, she tried to conjure the holy energy toward her hands…but it stayed put where it was.

The mender opened her eyes with a sigh and allowed her hands to fall onto her lap. A drop of rain fell onto her ear, drawing her attention upward to see the clouds taking over the sky to block her out from the sun.

“…what am I doing wrong…?” There was no answer…just as she had suspected. For now, maybe she just needed to study that book…

It was all she had at the moment…since she wasn’t sure when…or if she’d run into another mender. A small weight rested on her heart as she pushed herself off the stump and turned around to head back to camp but was confused to see Basil there…waiting for her. His red eyes glowed brightly and his ears flicked whenever a lone drop would fall onto them.

“…I doubt you came to follow me,” she told him, not seeing him as the stalking type.

“I didn’t…” he responded. “…I came to get my beating…so that I may talk with you.”

“Beating?” She thought for a moment before her face flushed again with a groan at her predicament. Fey looked away timidly and stepped forward. “…I won’t hurt you fellows…just…don’t bring it up again.”

“So, you will talk with me?”

“Of course, is something wrong?” She asked and stepped up to him. He smiled softly and raised his claws to brush aside a strand of her hair that had fallen into her face.

“No, just wanting to see you.” At his words, a faint blush came over her cheeks as she kept her eyes turned away.

“I was heading b-back, you know?” The mender felt nervous being left alone with the thief and tried to move past him but he gently took hold of her hand before she could. Fey looked back up at him curiously.

“Basil?”

“…I think I take life for granted,” he whispered and gently guided her back to him which only confused her more.

“W-what are you talking about?”

“…so many things could had gone wrong…maybe I wouldn’t had heard about you…or gotten you out from under that horrible caretaker…or what if I wasn’t strong enough to protect you…what if the King managed to snatch you away from me?”

“N-none of that happened though,” she replied, feeling more heat rising in her chest.

“I know…I count myself lucky to be with you again after all these years…and to see you in a different light. You were just a bundle of white fluff back then…” His sentence trailed off as he brought the hand he held up to his lips, making her stiffen nervously when he placed a small kiss on the back of it. “I’ve done stupid things in the past…a lot…but it makes me feel lucky just to have small moments like these.”

 His ruby eyes looked down at her, still in possession of her hand before he slowly released it.

“…I want to always be near you…to protect you…”

“B-Basil, I don’t…I’m not s-sure…” She really couldn’t find the right words to say. Earlier, she was so close to smacking the both of them…but now…here was Basil…acting all sweet with her…to the point where her heart felt confused.

“I’ll tell you more along the way. It doesn’t all have to be now,” he smiled and moved around her with a sway of his tail. “Come on, let’s stuff our faces!”

Fey touched her chest for a split second without him watching, taking in deep breaths before turning to follow him with her mind all in a mess.

As they reached camp, the mender looked up to see Sid removing the fish from the fire so that they wouldn’t overcook and blew out the fires that had erupted on them.

“They smell so good!” He licked his lips but noticed them approaching and decided not to gorge himself. “Ready to slap me?” He asked, handing a stick to Fey who just huffed and took a slow seat next to the fire.

“I’ll hold off until you least expect it,” she told him and sunk her small fangs into the scales of the fish, the meat inside cooked perfectly. Sid lightly laughed and handed two to Basil who took a seat next to Fey to start munching on his.

It was clear something was going on between the two…

The air felt a bit different…but Sid paid it no mind as he sat down as well to begin eating his. Only a minute passed by in silence until they heard rustling nearby. Fey was the first one to look up, only to feel a bit timid to see Saei returning. She hadn’t seen him since he left her with the rashein…and now after Basil…it felt…awkward.

“You hungry?” Sid asked him when he drew closer, holding out a few sticks to him. The dragon nodded and took a seat across the fire to dig his fangs into the spine of one of this fish.

It was hard…getting her mind to be clear.

Across from her sat Saei…the same feral who secretly held a special place to her. In a way, Saei was mysterious…

He was almost forbidden…but she couldn’t deny the fact that her heart felt lighter when she looked over at him…or when he’d talk to her, not to mention when his light touches came into contact with her, she’d nearly forget to breathe. She wasn’t sure…how deep this feeling was…but all she knew was she wanted to help Saei with whatever he was dealing with internally and to always have him near.

Sadly though, whenever she felt so close to him that it was in dangerous territory…he’d pull away to a place she couldn’t reach…and it hurt.

On the other hand, Basil was coming to her…with sweet words…gentle touches…anything to make a regular girl swoon…but…she never really put Basil under the light Saei had. She never took time to think of him that way…

Basil was once the little boy who rough housed with her and made her laugh at his silly antics…but…did she really forget that was he still technically a prince? It didn’t matter if his family was all gone…or his home. He still had their blood running through his veins…and he wasn’t that little boy anymore. He was strong, agile…and made her tense a bit. She also couldn’t forget how Saei told her that he used to visit brothels…

Did he just drink…or…do worse…? She frowned, thinking he was being sweet with her…and to other women. Basil was her friend…so he wouldn’t be toying with her like that…but…she didn’t know…

“Anyone home?” A hand waved before her face to gather her attention and she blushed to see that she had spaced out with Sid trying to rouse her. “You alive?”

“Y-yeah, was just thinking.”

“We were asking you if you felt well enough to travel again,” Basil said, finishing his fish and tossing the bones into the fire.

“I…I think I’ll be fine. I’d rather get to the pass before night. I’ve slowed us down enough.”

“You’ve done no such thing,” Saei replied with his eyes closed, easily snapping the bones of his meal in half to swallow them before standing fully. “Decide who you will ride with,” he looked down at her for a moment but left to go prepare their mounts for the last push to the pass.

‘…who…to ride with?’ She thought and it only made her stomach churn with the events that had been going on.

Basil stood to stretch his arms above his head.

“You haven’t ridden with me yet,” he suggested, his hand on his hip but Sid huffed and pushed the logs to die away the flames.

“Don’t give him the satisfaction.”

Fey could tell a small bicker fight would break out but smiled while dusting off her gown.

“How about I ride by myself and you two ride together?” Both males looked to her oddly before Sid walked over to her to plop his large hand on her head.

“You’re adorable. Ride with him…that’s precious,” he teased and helped his grioek up while Saei mounted his rashein but narrowed his eyes at the hare’s teasing ways.

“I meant it!” Fey huffed. “I might just walk to the pass.”

“We’d be taking hours if that was the case,” Basil pulled his rashein around to climb onto the saddle. Now all of them were waiting for her and being put on the spot only made her more nervous. She sighed and decided to make it into a game just to add a bit of fun into the journey to die down her embarrassment.

“Fine…whoever can guess the color I favor the most…will be my riding partner,” she clasped her hands behind her back as Sid leaned forward excitedly.

“Orange!”

“Nope.”

“…is it a main color or something silly like tree bark brown?”

“It’s a main color.”

“Red,” Basil guessed but Fey couldn’t help the small giggle that escaped at how easily they took this competitively.

“Not that either.”

“Yellow?”

“Green?”

“It’s blue,” Saei broke their guesses with his eyes closed and pulled his mount to the side to wait for Fey.

“Wait, is he right?” Sid asked and saw Fey nod with her cheeks tinting a bit. “Aww, that was going to be my next guess. Am I stuck chatting with the cat again?”

“What’s wrong with me!?”

“Nothing…you’re just a bit boring to hold a conversation with.”

Fey ignored them and walked over to Saei’s rashein who grunted at her approach, remembering her from last time. The dragon moved back a bit for her as she carefully hauled herself up. Like last time, Saei helped steady her.

“Do not anger your wound…” he whispered and helped pull the ends of her gown down a bit to hide her legs.

“I didn’t,” she replied and exhaled timidly, looking at their campsite in a farewell. “To the pass?” She asked and smiled up at him. Saei tilted his head at her but allowed her to see a small smile as he grabbed the reins.

“To the pass,” he kicked the sides of the rashein to direct it out of the forest and back onto the open plains with Sid and Basil close by. The sun had escaped from behind the clouds, driving the storm away from their destination.

“Let’s try and not be caught by bandits this time,” the hare took up a place to Saei’s right to create a conversation while Basil took up the left side.

“Do we even look rich?”

“No, we look like we only have twenty gold on us. Half is coming with me…so you all are left with ten.”

“What?! You stingy rabbit!” Basil hollered and Fey just smiled while she felt Saei exhale against her in annoyance.

“Hare!”

“Bunny!”

Fey looked over to Basil with a sweet smile. “You know…you two make great friends.”

“Friends?!” They exclaimed but she only smiled wider.

“Friends argue…and you guys do it a lot…so you have to admit you’re going to miss each other.”

Sid and Basil exchanged glances but huffed and looked away from the other, making her giggle happily. It was going to be something she would miss terribly…traveling together…as friends. Her white eyes looked forward, watching where they were going and in the far distance, she could see the large mountain range that separated the southern portion of the continent from the north. Beyond that…her home was waiting for her…somewhere. She could only hope it was out there, hidden behind the snow…beyond the ice…and would welcome her back.