Magus Potentae

Narrel stayed silent for a moment, gauging her Magus one more time before commenting.

"I may be able to help with covering our tracks. It won't take up too much energy to coax the plants we crush to straighten back out. I can't make it look perfect; that would take too much time and effort, so a trained eye might still catch it," she shrugged, "but it's better than nothing."

The King paced in his chambers as the hapless soldier repeated his report for the third time. The man was shaking and sweating a bit, which annoyed the king. He would have one of the Undae servants clear it up later. He swished his wine around in his glass.

"They got lucky once. Fine," he interrupted the soldier, "it won't happen again." He turned around and stared straight into his eyes. "You will make sure it doesn't happen again. Take Ryrill with you - I don't want any mess ups this time."

"I can help with that too," Kalen added in eagerly. "Since plants are sort of what I do. I used up most of my Magus on that thing last night, but I should be able to do it without too much of a problem. I don't know how much it'll do, but it'll still be something to keep them off of us."

"I'll think of something," Taiju said, though he couldn't think of much at all. He could flood areas to make it harder for their horses to get through and to cover their scent, but then it would be obvious which direction they had gone. Water was, unfortunately, something of a more conspicuous element; creating a swamp in the middle of a forest would be slightly more than noticeable. He sighed, feeling slightly useless for the moment.

Kalen turned back a little to look at the path of crushed grass behind them. With a little help from his Magus, it started to straighten back out, looking perfectly healthy. For his own amusement, he let a few little flowers bloom as well, nothing out of place in the forest.

Narrel nodded her appreciation. Her form of fixing plants involved forcing minerals and nutrients back into them to simulate life. A Sylvestris would be able to make it look much more convincing. It had been ages since she had worked with a Sylvestris Magi. The king's preconceived notions that control of plants was useless had kept them confined mainly to the gardens and fields. She had nearly forgotten herself how convenient it was to have one on her side.

Cal glanced upward for a moment, communing with a red-tail that was flying overhead.
"It looks like those guards got around your chasm during the night," he said, muttering a curse. "Don't they ever sleep? They're about half a day away from the camp, but they'll be moving faster than us. We should be okay as long as they don't pick up our trail."

Ryrill stood on an upper balcony, a small smile playing on her tight lips. Her long blonde hair was fastened into a knot atop her head. She always made sure to keep her hair out of the way when she had to perform this particular trick. Unfortunatlly, her prey was several days ahead of her. Reports from Xee put the group number at four. She knew that the traitor Narrel was a Terrae. If Xee's reports were accurate, the others were an Undae, a Sylvestris, and a Bestiae. As much as she didn't like it, she would be outmatched if she went alone.

She closed her eyes, focusing. The air around her seemed to shimmer and move. To one watching, it would look like a mirage. When the air around her was so hot that even she could barely stand it, she began to lift into the air. She focused the heat behind her, propelling her forward. She zoomed ahead, leaving a trail of heat behind her, as she went to regroup with Xee's team.

"Great," Taiju said darkly. "They're catching up. That's just what we need after a major setback like this." He slouched a little in the saddle, frustrated, then immediately straightened again when slumping proved to agitate his ribs. As he thought about the pain, he unconsciously touched the jagged scar that ran across his face. He would be even more noticeable now--the opposite of what they needed.

"We'll just have to keep moving, then," Kalen said coolly. He gestured a little as he continued to fix the crushed plant life in their wake. "They're still not here yet."

"No, but they will be."

Kalen frowned a little bit. He was used to Taiju's more pessimist worldview, for the most part, but it didn't make it any easier to deal with in an already terse situation. Oh well--perhaps his mood would improve with time. Kalen shook some of his red-blond hair from his eyes and continued silently with his work.

Narrel steered her horse so it was mere inches from Taiju's. Since she had met Taiju he had never been cheery, but she had not seen him seem so. . . defeated. It didn't help that his ribs were obviously still bothering him. She desperately wanted to help, though she wasn't sure how she could. What she did know was that moral was low and that they couldn't afford to be feeling sorry for themselves.

"It'll be okay, Taiju," she said in a low voice. She began fishing through her bag as she talked to him. "Kalen is doing a great job of covering our tracks, so we should be able to avoid the guards, especially with Cal's animal scouts on our side. We can make this work, just like we have everything else."

She finally found the stone she was looking for: a large chunk of Rainbow Obsidian. She took it in one hand and placed her other on Taiju's leg. She pulsed a small amount of her Magus through it, amplifying it's natural strength. While it wouldn't heal the wound, Obsidian would help dull the pain.

Ryrill caught a glimpse of smoke as she flew over the King's forest. She slowed down and landed in a clearing. One of the downfalls of her Magus was that it often caught things on fire. Well, maybe not a downfall. She really did enjoy setting things on fire. She walked nearly silently in the direction of the smoke. A rather loud voice dispelled her caution.

"Xee, report!" she barked, causing the whole camp to jump, "how is it that a group of four rouges happened to elude your entire Magi Patrol?"

Taiju rubbed his eyes tiredly under his glasses. He barely noticed as Narrel moved nearer, busy with his thoughts. There had to be something else they could do. He had thought they left the guards farther behind than merely half a day's worth of distance; the guards would easily catch up to their little group of rogues if they made the slightest mistake. Again the thought crossed his mind of leaving them entirely--he tried to dismiss it, but it lingered. After all, how much else could he possibly owe them? He could probably flee much faster on his own--

But, he realized, he didn't really want to. Even if he put aside the matter of his conscience, he found himself oddly attached to Narrel--Cal was alright too, but it didn't seem as much a tragedy to leave the smart-mouthed boy. And Kalen was an old friend, and he couldn't guarantee Kalen would leave with him.

He shook his head and glanced to Narrel as she, without warning, rested a hand on his leg. He started to ask what she was doing, but understood immediately as an odd warmth spread from her palm, through his body, and the pain of his half-mended ribs began to subside. He placed his hand over what was now a dull ache in his side, surprised and relieved at once. "Thanks," he said quietly,

-----

Several of the other members in the camp looked up. Visibly, their surprise turned to fear; many of them knew Ryrill and nobody wanted to give the disappointing news. They turned back, looking for Xee and expecting him to answer before anyone else had to.

Narrel smiled and sat up just a little bit taller, glad that she had been able to help some. She had gotten used to having a large store of Magus available and had never really had to rely on her stone bag. She hadn't been sure how well it would work. He seemed impressed though, and he no longer winced with each step the horse took. She took that as a good sign.

"You're welcome," she said softly, suddenly embarrassed. She quickly removed her hand from Taiju's leg, but she didn't move her horse away.

Cal watched the whole exchanged with a mixture of feelings. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he did not like seeing her hand on that leg. He shook his head, trying to dispel the negative thoughts that were suddenly clouding his mind. He may not have known Taiju for long, but he did consider him a friend. So why did he feel like sinking his fangs into the guy?

Xee stood up and gave his superior a flourishing bow.

"Lovely for you to grace us with your presence, My Lady. As for the rebels, ahem, they caught us off guard is all."

"Caught you off guard, you mean," another voice interrupted. "Xee ran off on his own, leaving us to baby-sit the soldiers."

The voice belonged to Mesha, a mean-spirited Divi Magi.

"Yes, well. It won't happen again," Xee quickly added as Ryrill's eyes narrowed.
~~~~
After properly punishing Xee for his impertinence, Ryrill briefly assessed the camp. Everything seemed to be in proper order, amazingly, and she gave a curt nod of approval.
"We move out in one hour," she announced loudly. Her order was met with a crisp "Yes Sir!" from everyone but Xee, who could only moan.

((The red was blinding me, so I changed it. ))

Taiju awkwardly looked off, wondering why Narrel didn't move away. Did she expect something else? He didn't have anything else to say, so there wasn't much else that could be done there. He eventually returned his gaze to the road, trying to look as interested as he could in their path.

Kalen, meanwhile, was smiling as he watched this. It wasn't exactly rare to see Taiju get along with others, but it did cost the young man some effort to do. It was even more satisfying when it could lead to something else. He held back an amused laugh, particularly when he saw an annoyed expression on Cal's face, and resumed his focus on the grass.

-----

Jerin, a rather quiet Lunae magi, watched the scene from where she sat by one of the fires. As everyone in the camp began readying themselves for their departure, she stood and halfheartedly kicked some dirt over the flames before someone else took over the job. Although she seemed enthusiastic for the hunt (it didn't seem like Ryrill would approve of anything less), she wanted nothing more to turn around and return to the castle. Wasn't there something more productive they could be doing? So the prince ran off with a couple of rogues. Oh well. As she gathered her things, she tied her wavy dark-brown hair into a ponytail--though, given how useless she was in the daytime, there wasn't much reason to keep her hair out of the way.

Narrel rode in awkward silence for a few moments. She checked briefly on their path, nodding with satisfaction at the work Kalen was doing. She decided to stop working on the plants, since Kalen was doing the majority of the work anyway, and focused solely on righting any stones and soil that they disturbed.

"So," she began suddenly, "Kalen mentioned that you drew? And I remember, back in the palace," she paused. Though they had only been on the run for a few days, her time at the palace seemed like an eternity ago. "You had a sketchbook in your bag, right? I'd love to see what you can do, sometime."

"Magi, line up!" Ryrill barked.

Her order was met with an immediate response and before long a line had formed in front of her. She paced along the ranks, checking bracelets so that she knew what she was dealing with. She had a Lunae and Soli, which was standard in a patrol like this. Always good to have the advantage during any time of the day. The Divi that had spoken earlier appeared to have a fraternal twin that shared her Magi, and then there was Xee, who had been properly submissive since her arrival. They weren't the troops she would have chosen if she had her choice, but they were all competent Magi.

"Mesha! Ahsem!" the two Divi stepped foward.

"Sir!"

"I want you two patrolling the skies. I'm aware that they trees are dense, but keep a sharp look out. Xee, I want you sending out scouts to see if we can find where our prey is at right now. Jerin and Rey, you will be in the rear with the guards as back-up muscle. I don't want any surprises. Let's move out!"

((Feel free to take over characters if you so desire, I realize that I'm introducing a lot.))

((Heh, alright. I'll work on it. :3 ))

"Um, yeah, a little," Taiju replied with slight surprise. Rarely did anyone hold any interest in what his hobbies were. "I don't draw particularly often, even less in the past few days, given everything that's been happening . . . Perhaps later." As he thought about it, he found himself somewhat missing his drawing work. He didn't consider it anything spectacular, and it was an activity that he usually preferred to keep to himself, but it had been awhile . . .

-----

Jerin nodded to Ryrill before moving to take up the back of the group. She was, in a way, relieved to be stationed here. Boring as it was, it meant she wasn't expected to be involved in as nearly as much of the action as the others. Not, she noted dryly, that she had a choice--her powers wouldn't be of much use until the night, and even then, they weren't as useful as they could be for combat.

She looked among the rest of the group with a faint feeling of disappointment. They were all so excited to work for the king, to catch the renegade son and those who had helped him, but why? What would it change? The king would be happy for a few days and then everything would be the same again. It seemed pointless, but there was nothing she could do except follow orders.

Narrel nodded her head.

"There hasn't been much time for anything, recently," she agreed. Life had been so much simpler before. She may not have agreed with the King's policy, but at least it had been tolerable. She shook her head. There was no time for 'what ifs' right now. There was no point in hypotheticals. He had changed the laws and things had gotten worse. All they could do now was continue to run until they could find something better.

The twin Divi circled the forest in tightening circles, looking for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. Ashem suddenly dropped a bit lower, landing silently in a tree. Mesha followed, a bit confused, until she saw a small group of riders several yards ahead.

"Good eye, brother," she whispered. "There are more of them than I was expecting. Aren't we chasing a group of four?"

Ashem shrugged. "They feel like Magi," he responded, "at least most of them. We definitly need to report this to Incindeae Ryrill either way."

((Ugh, sorry for the delay. Had a really hard time coming up with any sort of coherent response. x__x ))

"No, unfortunately not," Taiju said before falling silent. Things had been relatively peaceful, at least, before the events of the last couple of days. He rarely spent in time in the city, so he normally didn't worry as much about being captured and faced boredom more than anything else. Now, it was strange to realize that he didn't have time to waste. In fact, every second was precious and needed to escape, and he found himself missing the time he had to do what he wanted.

He shook his head. Now wasn't the time to worry about such trivial things.

-----

Jerin couldn't help feeling tense as they walked. The twins had already gone off, and she hoped they didn't find much. She didn't want to deal with any conflicts. She wished she hadn't been assigned to this group.

Out of boredom and curiosity, she decided to see how far she could stretch her Magus. In the daytime, doing anything with her powers would be extraordinary, but she had to see. She closed her eyes and tried to sense the emotions of the person walking next to her, but she couldn't even get it that far and gave up, waiting instead for the twins' return.

((No problem. Especially after it took me almost a year to respond. lol))

Narrel rode in silence for a moment, unsure what to say next. She had never had much chance to think freely like this. Most of her time with the kingdom had been spent on a tight schedule. She had never really practiced the art of conversation. She turned her attention instead to the ground, where she was most comfortable. She felt for tremors, makings sure that nothing larger than a fox was following them. Her attention broke however, as Cal spoke up.

"I think they've found the group of rebels," he informed them. "At the very least, a couple of their scouts have spotted them."

Ashem flew back towards his patrol group, leaving Mehsa behind to trail the group they had found. He landed near Ryrill, giving her a smart salute before reporting.

Ryrill cursed to herself. The presence of another rouge group complicated things. The King had been insistent that they capture the group his son was in, but the chance of an even larger group of rouges. . . collaring them would be a large feather in her cap. Her brows knitted together as she thought out her options.

((I'm going to stop waiting so long, I swear. ;__; ))

"Great," Taiju sighed. "I had hoped they would get away, at the very least, after everything that happened yesterday . . . We might as well have led the soldiers into the camp itself."

Kalen looked saddened for a moment, but he straightened up on his horse and put on a brave face. "They'll figure it out, if they really have been caught," he said. "This is hardly the first time for most of them. They aren't afraid to do what they have to to get away. Besides, I'm sure they outnumber all those soldiers, anyway."

Taiju had his doubts, but he kept them silent.

-----

Jerin looked to one of the Magi walking beside her, trying to gauge his reaction to the news. He didn't seem to care either way.

"Perhaps we should focus on the group with the king's son?" she dared to suggest. "The rebel group would be a good catch, but the king seems more concerned about the former prince, considering his orders . . ."

Narrel instinctively looked over her shoulder, wishing that she could help. She felt like their presence had created enough problems just by arriving. That was before they had had a monster track them to the camp. Now on top of everything it seemed like they had led the king's cronies to them. She forced herself to look forward. Kalen was right; many of them would have been on the run for years. There was a time when she wouldn't have felt so bad for them. After all, they were rouges disobeying the absolute law of the king. Now though. . . the king had turned from an eccentric ruler to a tyrannical dictator. Disobeying no longer meant exile - it now meant imprisonment. She wouldn't be surprised if he began holding executions.

She couldn't help but wonder why. He had been an almost kind man in his youth. He had always been a strange man, true, but never cruel. She wasn't sure when it was that he had changed, but it had been subtle. He had began demoting the Magi, had developed the wrist monitors, had implemented the Registration Law. . . each change had seemed small and natural to the surfs, but the end result had been devastating to the Magi. Perhaps what hurt the most was that she had simply watched it happen.

Cal growled low in his throat, gripping his reigns until his knuckles turned white. He hated running. He almost wished that someone would find them so that he could. . . a sharp pain ran through his body, reminding him of his current limitations. He mentally calmed himself.

"Kalen is right. I'm sure they'll be fine. Even if we wanted to turn and aid them, we are in no condition to fight."

Ryrill glanced backward, wondering who was brave, or stupid, enough to speak without permission. The culprit was a quiet Lunae. She couldn't even remember her name. She was preparing to reprimand her when Xee spoke up.

"The girl's right, Incindeae Ryrill. The king's orders were clear."

Ryrill raised an eyebrow, perturbed. The man was just recovering from his last error. That had always been Xee's main problem though: his mouth.

"Indeed," she responded. "Continue searching for the prince."

"Unfortunately," Taiju agreed sullenly. "Any sort of fight would be suicide at this point." He unconsciously rubbed his aching ribs again. He hoped the rebel group would be okay; he felt bad enough for inadvertently causing the incident of the previous night. Anything else would probably be too much.

Kalen paused for a few minutes in his work, letting a few feet of trampled grass remain so that he could take a rest. "Like I said, they should be fine," he said. "Besides, the soldiers seem pretty intent on finding us. They might not even go after the others, even if they were found. Though that really doesn't say anything good about our situation, I guess . . ."

-----

Jerin bit back a relieved sigh. She sometimes forgot just how volatile Ryrill's temper could be. It was probably luck that kept Jerin from facing any punishment. At least they would continue on course. There were probably fewer people in the prince's group. They would be easier to deal with--and maybe there would be more rebels who could get away before they were killed.

"Just keep doing your job and we won't have anything to worry about," Cal growled, still obviously irritated at something. His tone made Narrel frown. They were in a tight spot, true, but turning on each other was hardly productive. She considered saying something, but now didn't seem the time to be starting confrontations. She made a mental note to talk to him later. She had a feeling that there was something other than his leg that was bothering him.

"Does anyone know exactly how far Eastborough is?" she pipped up instead, changing the subject. "I mean, should we be planning for hours or days?"

Cal blinked, caught off guard by the question. He had suggested the place, but his only real knowlege of it was seeing it on a map during his tutoring sessions. He simply shrugged and said as much, hoping that someone else would have some more practical knowledge.

Ashem nodded and flew back to where his sister was waiting. Silently, he hoped that they would be able to find the group soon. His Magus was already running low from levitating for so long. He didn't want to be forced to tell Ryrill that he could no longer preform his duties.

Back at the ground party, Xee maneuvered his horse to the back of the formation so that he could talk to Jerin. He had seen her around the palace before, but she never seemed to be around much during the day. Not that that was surprising; many Lunae were almost nocturnal. Still, he always felt that it was better to know the team he was working with.
"How long have you been with the Kingdom?" he asked quietly.

Kalen glanced back at Cal, frowning at the back of his head. Yes, they were in a bad situation, but that didn't mean he had to be rude about it. Slightly disheartened, Kalen turned back in his saddle and resumed his work, fixing the grass to appear that nobody had traveled through while carefully gauging his remaining Magus. He wondered what made Cal so moody. He would ask, but doubted that the estranged prince would be particularly honest with someone he barely knew.

"I want to say it's about a week of travel," Taiju answered. "It's hard to be sure. I've never traveled that far. Given where we are now, it's probably more like several days. Either way, if we want to get anywhere, we're in for a decent ride." He bit back a groan. He didn't want to ride for that long--though he supposed it was better than walking the entire distance.

-----

Jerin looked up, surprised that anyone of the party was bothering to talk to her. She thought for a moment on how to best answer his question.

"Almost a year, I think," she replied slowly, thinking back to the day she had been recruited. It certainly wasn't the happiest day of her life, though she had had little option. "Nine months, maybe? It hasn't been so long . . ."

Narrel nodded slowly. She had hoped that it would be a shorter trip; she wasn't very comfortable traveling. She had hardly ever even been out of the palace before her sudden leap of faith with Cal and Taiju. She supposed she should get used to it, though. There wouldn't be much rest for them, not until the King gave up on them. As persistent as he had been though, she was concerned that it would take a long time for him to call off the search.

"We need to be thinking about doing some hunting soon, in that case," she said musingly. "We'll run out of supplies before we reach the town."

Xee smiled.
"You'll get used to her. She's tough, but she's a good leader. You won't have to worry about much if she's your commander. As long as you don't mess up, that is."
He squirmed in his saddle, still sore from his own recent mishap.
"How'd you get caught?"

"Shouldn't be too difficult. Rabbits are pretty easy to come by in most places," Taiju remarked. He looked around the forested area, wondering how difficult it might be to hunt something down. He very rarely caught food; his diet usually consisted of anything that could fit in his bag and hold without spoiling for long periods of time. It wasn't particularly healthy, but he never lived far from town and never needed to get anything else.

"Cal can probably help with that," Kalen remarked, looking to the former prince. "Right? If you're up to it, I mean. You could probably sense something nearby if anything comes close enough to get."

-----

Jerin smiled, but there was no humor behind it. "My parents got scared," she said. "I didn't really get caught so much as they turned me in. I'd known about my Magus for about a year before that and they tried to keep it secret, but I guess it got to be too much for them to deal with, so they found the guards to turn me in."

Narrel nodded. She had no experience with hunting herself, but Cal had gone on several hunting trips with his father before his secret was revealed. She turned slightly in her saddle to look at Cal. He seemed to be concentrating on something. Had he even heard Kalen's question? She was about to repeat it when Cal looked up.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. It shouldn't be too hard to catch something. I don't have a bow or anything with me though. Might be easier to catch some fish or something. We haven't strayed too far from the river."

Narrel frowned. Cal had seemed distracted recently, but he didn't seem eager to share why. She would have to remember to talk to him the next time they stopped. They really needed everyone to be as focused as possible right now. They couldn't afford any mistakes.

"Ah," Xee responded, a bit lost for words. He had heard of families turning in their own, but he wasn't sure how true that had been. He was very close with his own mother. He could hardly imagine that kind of betrayal.

"Me? I came in on my own. Lookin' for a little adventure, you know? And the pay was good. Or at least, it used to be." He scratched the back of his head thoughtfully. "Bit too late to get out of it now, I suppose."

Kalen was briefly confused by Cal's pause, but he smiled afterward. "Well, alright. That makes the job a lot easier than just wandering around and hoping we stumble into something." He took another break in his work, needing a rest and figuring that by now they had covered enough distances that nobody would notice a random patch of slightly trampled grass.

Taiju regarded Cal with a look that was something between curiosity and irritation. He didn't care so much why the boy was quiet and it wasn't his business, but they were going to have a difficult time getting things done if he was constantly daydreaming. They didn't have time for it. The situation was tense and Cal was apparently letting his mind wander.

---

"I kinda thought it might be at first, too, but . . ." Jerin trailed off with a little shrug of her shoulders. She had been hopeful when she was impressed into service. Maybe they were only going to hunt bad rogues, or it would be exciting. It wasn't, really, and she had been quick to realize it.

Cal nodded slowly. "We should stop soon for our midday meal. We should have bread and cheese still. We can camp by the river tonight and catch some more food." Cal paused for a moment before continuing. "I think I'll scout ahead a bit," he said suddenly, hopping up so that his feet were balanced on the saddle before jumping to the ground. He tied his horse's reigns to the back of Narrel's saddle to keep it from wandering off. He then jumped up into the trees, using his wolf pack's agility to speed ahead of the group.

Narrel watched him leave silently. She wasn't sure that it was a good idea for them to split up right now, but she could hardly hold him back if he was determined to go. Perhaps this would give him the time he needed to get past whatever it was that was bothering him. While he was gone though, she planned to take advantage of his absence.
"I still think that we should have a more long-term plan," she confided in Taiju, trusting Kalen to listen in if he wanted to. "Eastborough is well and good, but we can't stay there forever. From what I've heard of its residents, they'll be quick to turn us in as soon as the news reaches them."

Xee scratched his head awkwardly. "Well anyway, we might as well focus on what we have now, right? We've still got it better then all those rouges who refuse to join us." He looked up as the twins returned from their scouting. The two looked absolutely exhausted, which was no surprise since they had spent almost half the day burning up their Magus. "Looks like we've got a new report."

Ahsem landed first, staggering a bit as he did so. Mesha landed in front of him, slightly more gracefully, and gave a smart salute to Ryrill. Xee couldn't make out their report, but apparently it wasn't good. Ryrill turned from them with a snarl, focusing on Jerin and himself.
"We need new scouts," she barked. "Since you two have buddied up so well, you're up."

Taiju nodded his agreement. He glanced up into the trees, silently cursing Cal for running off. If they were split up, it only made it that much easier for somebody to get caught.

"There are places where the guards don't really go," Kalen said thoughtfully. He shifted in his saddle, growing tired of riding and looking forward to the stop that Cal had suggested. "Winterfell's one, though it's so cold that we might kill ourselves just going that far north, or maybe Rizen . . ."

Taiju shook his head. "I don't want to go to Rizen."

"Well, we don't have a lot of options, really."

Taiju scowled.

-----

Jerin looked up with a sudden start to Ryrill's orders. Her stomach sank. Scouting wasn't too bad, but what if they did find something? Her Magus was completely useless until it got dark.

She swallowed her protests and gave only a curt nod. She glanced to Xee, wondering what his reaction might be to their new assignment.

Cal ran ahead, jumping from branch to branch. Despite his size he was able to move almost silently through the canopy. The farther he got from the group, the better he began to feel. He almost wasn't sure why he had been upset in the first place. He was still a bit irritated with Taiju's familiarity with Narrel, but that was only a slight annoyance. It didn't even begin to account for the rage he had begun to feel back there. His attention was grabbed as one of his bonded wolves sent him a massage. Apparently the King's goons had traveled a bit closer then he would have liked. They didn't seem to be aware of his friends yet, but they would need to alter their course slightly to keep from bumping into the people they were trying to avoid. He turned around, not wanting to go back quite yet, but feeling like he had no choice.

Narrel sighed quietly. "I still feel like we're going the wrong way with this. I don't plan on hiding for the rest of my life." She took out a small piece of twine from her pack and tied up her hair, the midday heat was beginning to get to her. "There has to be something else we can do."

"Yes ma'am," Xee responded, giving Ryrill a deep bow before turning away. "It'll be good to get away from this boring lot anyway, right, Sweet?" he whispered to Jarin with a conspiratorial wink. He turned his horse to the side, splitting off from the group.

"Now, I don't know how much scouting experience you have. You know what all to look for, right?"