A/N\Disclaimer-I didn't update for so long because I was in court for forgetting my disclaimers. Really, 'tis the truth! Ok no it's not. But I don't own Circle. I own Yalib's character! …Like I'd want to.

"Gyongxe?" Briar asked. "Aren't they at war with Yanjing?"

"Yes, they are," Rosethorn replied. "However, it is the home of the main Living Circle Temple, the mother of Winding Circle you could say."

"Well, it's better than having no destination," Briar said.

"Or staying with my family," Evvy said to him.

Briar grinned. "We were there for one day, one day! And they kicked us out. Good job Evvy."

Evvy bowed dramatically from camelback. "I try," she said with a mock grin. A war though? This was… nerve wracking. She guessed from Briar's unusual peppiness that the idea of willingly going into a country that was at war was not sitting well with him.

"It's not like we're Gyongxian," Rosethorn assured them. "We'll all be fine."

"Gyongxe?" an unfamiliar voice to the left whispered.

Evvy started. "Did you hear that?" she asked Rosethorn. The woman shook her head. She turned to Briar, who gave her a perplexed look. She frowned, and jumped off her camel. The girl crept to the bushes and pulled them apart to reveal the person sitting behind them.

The boy was maybe two years older than Evvy. He wore a ragged uniform of the Imperial Army, torn and stained. He looked familiar… "Yalib?" Evvy asked, recognizing the village elder's second son.

The young man straightened and peered into her face. "Evvumeimei?" he asked. "I thought you had gone to Chammur. That is what your family said. In any case, you should not go to Gyongxe. It is very dangerous. The war is progressing very swiftly. It is not a fit place for anyone to be."

Evvy frowned. "Come to think of it, I thought you'd joined the Imperial Army trainee section just before I left."

"I did," Yalib said. "But I deserted. Gyongxe is a nightmare Evvumeimei. The country is full of looters, there is no vegetation left, the natives are starving, and the emperor himself resides in a new for there so that he can oversee the torture, murder, and enslavement of the innocents. You must stay away from it."

Evvy blinked. "But I'm Yanjingi. So I'll be fine, right?" she asked the pompous young man.

"No, you might be fine, but your companions will not," Yalib explained. He glanced around uneasily. "I am not safe in the open. The penalty for deserting is death." He spoke as stiffly and primly as before, but Evvy could hear the note of apprehension in his voice. "Come to my hiding place with me if you wish, to continue this discussion."

Rosethorn nodded to Evvy. "Okay," she agreed. "Where is your hiding place?"

"It is a cave, beyond the fields. I share it with Luvo," Yalib answered, beginning to walk.

"Luvo?" queried Briar. "Who's Luvo?"

"The better question is what is Luvo," Yalib answered properly. "And that, I cannot tell you per se. Luvo is a strange creature. He is aware and intelligent, and he can be rather hostile. I am not sure what he is." (A/N-any takers on what Luvo is so I can incorporate it into the fic? Let me know now so I can change it.) Yalib stopped speaking, for they had reached a small, nondescript cave. He pushed apart the reeds that blocked the entrance, and was followed in by Evvy, Rosethorn, and Briar.