Freedom. So simple a word with so much power, and suddenly and somehow so foreign to Torak. Freedom. When had it last been his and his alone to explore? Childhood… well, he had been a child, following his father's instructions and in his footsteps. Following that had been everything else, responsibility infinitely beyond what a boy could handle.

And here he was, finally mature with more wisdom than men twice his age, alone with hardly a responsibility.

Freedom.

There was Renn, of course. But she was not so much a responsibility as a partner—and very well that was what she should be and he could ask nothing more for her than that. Freedom definitely included her.

Torak had never noticed how beautiful the woods were. Nature had its darkness, but there was a quality difference between the serious caution of the woods and the sensation of something truly evil. And it was his now to explore. The beauty, the power, the tranquility, the adventure.

Except…

"You're going the wrong way!"

Torak stopped his silent journey and sighed deeply. "What do you mean?"

Renn sighed and pointed in another direction. "You said you wanted water. Water is that way."

He stared at where she pointed and grudgingly admitted she was right. He tried not to blush. "I thought…"

"Yeah," she said with a nod as she headed in the direction of the river. "You thought. Big mistake."

He followed her. "I've been on my own before, you know. I grew up without a clan."

"I know you've been on your own. Which is precisely why you shouldn't be left on your own."

"That's not fair." Even though he knew it was useless protesting Renn.

"You should have thought of that before I joined you out here."

He shrugged it off. She was right about that. He should have never let her come with him. Apparently it was too late now. "We still need to head east."

"West," she said quickly. "After we get water, we head west."

"But…"

She shook her head. "I get to pick the direction once in awhile."

So far it seemed she always picked the direction. But Torak just shook his head and smiled to himself.

So much for freedom.