The next morning, Lucius went to work. He was fond of his profession, and the isolation he felt when he closed the door on the world helped to keep the communal tension at bay.
Repeating his moments from last night, he walked along the border, he steps slow and halting. A haunting, unearthly noise came from the woods, and, once again, he stopped. He reluctantly lifted his head to meet the gaze of the creature who had emitted such a noise. It paused and looked at him, baring its teeth while emitting another strange noise. Slowly, slowly he turned around, his steps fluid and quick as he walked to the smithy. He realized, suddenly, that he was shaking.
When he reached the smithy, he found Ivy waiting impatiently outside the door. Seeming to recognize his footsteps, or simply jumping to the conclusion that it MUST be Lucius as it was his business, she turned around.
"Lucius Hunt, where HAVE you been? I was worried." A sharp note was in her voice.
He let out a deep, shaking breath, pleased for once to have someone to talk to.
"I..." he began, but Ivy quickly cut him off. "Never mind, Lucius Hunt. I am here only to inform you that my father has requested your presence at a meeting."
He stared blankly into her equally blank face. "There is to be another meeting?"
She nodded slowly. "Yes, Lucius Hunt, another one."
She lowered her voice, even though no one was around. "Those-We-Don't-Speak-Of have been making threatening advances. The last time we had an attack, he said all the livestock was killed and someone was seriously injured. Papa doesn't want that to happen again."
He took a deep breath and looked down at the ground before he spoke. "I have seen one of them. Perhaps two; I cannot be sure. They are growing confident and coming closer to the borders than they have in recent years. Be cautious. Do not linger at any location if you are unchaperoned, and stay away from the Resting Rock."
Once again, he looked at her face, suppressing a smile as he watched her struggling with the urge to resist his help. She finally gave a small nod and walked away, the wind caressing and tangling her hair as she disappeared between two houses.
With a sigh, he turned away from his smithy and headed to Resting Rock, determined to be there when she inevitably showed up.