Watchful eye

Esus watched her, watching him. He began to preen, and between glances, the tired girl’s eyes fell closed. She was wearing Miryil’s armor, which was probably for warmth as much as protection, the nights were cool. He heard her murmur, a soft snatch of song on the wind and he felt it like electricity down his back. There was no one else here, this was the gods’ gift to him. A promise of love and joy.

He looked at the girl more carefully. She looked young in her sleep. Her skin was the same light nut brown as most of the low mountain folk, her hair was hidden under the hood she wore. Aside from the fact she wore Miryil’s armor, the girl looked helpless. A child lost in the woods. He had to remember the way it felt to hold the cloth, the fierceness, fury and fear, the pain she pushed herself through. Being mistaken for helpless was how she ended up in a Light Bringer’s armor.

He watched over her until just before dawn when she began to stir. She came out of the tree stiff and sore, pulling off the armor in the chill of morning. He was circling over head as she stowed it in a bag and slung it over her shoulder. She was dressed as a peasant boy. Esus had been paying so much attention to the girl, he almost didn’t see the big cat heading toward her.

There was a reason that most people risked the road instead of trying to sneak through the forest. That reason was the Sial. He screamed down a warning through the trees and she looked up startled but turned her back on the cat as she started to move along the river.

There was a small break in the trees near where she was walking, Esus dove down and landed on the ground. He knew some birds pretended to be wounded to draw predators from their young, and it was the only ploy he could think of that might work on such short notice. He began to make pitiful sounds, dragging his wing and the girl came to the edge of the clearing and looked at him with bafflement.

She caught the movement out of the corner of her eye. Esus watched as she threw the bag nearly hitting the Sial, which sprang out of the way. Someone had taught her to yell as loudly as she could, but whatever it was she intended to shout came out as a loud hoarse chanting of a song about rivers of blood and armies of the damned. She held a small knife in her hand and stood like she was ready to fight. Esus scream made both the girl and the Sial flinch. And Esus watched in horror as the girl suddenly charged the big cat.

He blinked. The cat fled. She picked up the bag and moved at a trot, toward him. She made a soothing noise with her tongue and her teeth, slowing as she got closer. Esus was surprised as she carefully ran her hands over his wing. Finding nothing wrong with it, she gave him a grin and made a tsking noise.

The girl stood and put the bag back on her shoulders and glanced around making certain the Sial hadn’t come back yet. Esus hopped after her awkwardly as she took a few steps and she laughed and grinned at him again. She crouched and looked at him curiously and Esus took that opportunity to hop onto the bag. The girl burst into a song of glorious battle and from the tone, he thought she was trying to curse. She did, however, manage to stand and started walking with him perched behind her shoulders on the bag.

When Ivhir met them an hour later he began to laugh. He pulled out Esus’ bag and held it out. “You can change if you’d like Esus. Unless you want her to carry you all the way back.”