Chapter 4) Diverge

We had our first battle as part of the army and it was an… interesting experience. More effort is put on integrating we desert folk into the army, especially as the rest of us arrive. It was more than expected, bringing the final count to a full eighty-seven. Plus the supplies. I half-thought Mikhail would cry when he saw all we brought; I know I saw some of the healers weep for joy at having numbing herbs for the first time in literally years. It's weird.

All of this is weird. I want to go home. But I can't. Ishmael tasked me with making sure things worked. So, that's what I was going to do.

I felt like I needed to take twenty-thousand baths in scalding hot water. That black goopy stuff that I'd been coated with after stabbing that 'cyclops' in the head was way worse than I thought. Now, granted, the mages were still investigating and all, but analysis through light, dark, and the anima magics seemed to suggest that the black goop was liquified, rotten human remains. Which now led them to speculate that all demons, not just the 'revenants' and skeletons, were made from corpses. Because nothing says 'demonic' and 'creepy' than… that.

It also suggested that the Demon King actively crafted these demons, which would explain why there were so many of the revenants and skeletons, and not as many of the other ones. And since that required a lot of magical power, there would be an 'anchor' for that power, a 'core'. Which, if disrupted, would destabilize the magic holding things together, resulting in a rapid degeneration. Or so the reports said. All I really got from it was that I'd gotten that demon's equivalent of a brain or heart. And that the Demon King apparently liked sculpting things from dead bodies. Because of course he would.

"That is just so gross…" I whispered, flipping through while I stroked a sleeping Myrrh's hair. Myrrh mumbled something in her sleep and curled up more in my lap. "You agree too, Myrrh? I thought you might." I smiled softly at her and tried to stretch my legs without dislodging her or, worse, waking her up. She whimpered in protest and buried herself closer to me, so I resigned myself for just spending a very long time with cramped legs and aching knees.

Myrrh had been clinger than before, likely because she now truly realized the danger. I couldn't blame her for it, and it wasn't as if having her with me made my 'job' any harder. I mostly just worked as the 'social' liaison or whatever the term was between the desert people and everyone else. Kas was more of the 'military' person, and the leader-leader. Meaning he actually had paperwork, which was hilarious, but often resulted in-

"Eve, darlingest sister of my heart…" Kas stepped into my tent with a stack of papers tucked under his arm. "Help?" he asked weakly. He looked exhausted, like he'd been up early trying to deal with these things. "Please?"

"You look like you need a nap," I teased, smiling reassuringly at him. I held out my hand for the papers, and used the other one to point to my bed. "Take one. I'm just reading through the mages' notes again."

"You are the best…" He made sure that I had the papers and then flopped down onto my blankets and pillows, groaning. "I've been up since before dawn. This is way more paperwork than Ishmael deals with."

"To be fair, Ishmael deals with a smaller group, and I'm sure things will calm once we're all settled in." I set the papers down and scooped up Myrrh before tucking her in next to Kas. She immediately cuddled into him. "Here. I'll have to separate them out, and I don't want to wake her."

"Like I'm going to complain." He yawned and closed his eyes, already dozing. "Thanks, Eve. I mean it."

"We're all out of our depth, Kas, and you know how I like the support and observe role." I pulled an extra blanket over him and kissed his cheek. "You take a good nap. If there's an emergency, I'll wake you."

"Love you too, Eve…" And then he was out like a candle, curled around Myrrh protectively while both slept.

I giggled at both of them, and kissed both of their cheeks again before sitting down to separate out the papers. First by urgency and then by type. A lot of it dealt with supplies, fighting strength… things that I was somewhat used to seeing. Ishmael had to keep up with these things as well. But they were so… distant. They were no fun little notes or observations from the reporters. There were no words of encouragement and respect. No little child's drawing drawn to lift the mood. No doodles in the margins from where the reporter got distracted. It was just page after page after page of words. Boring, dry words. No wonder everyone in the camp was grumpy. Boring words and awful smells. It was a miracle they didn't riot.

"Evelyn?" There was a 'knock' on the tent flap. It took me a moment to recognize the voice as Urien's. "Is Kasimir in there?" he asked, not opening the flap. So, I stood up and pushed it aside so that I could talk to him face-to-face. He looked as tired as Kas did. Did none of them ever sleep? "There was something we needed his input on, but he's not in his tent."

"Will mine due?" I asked him, stepping to the side so that he could look in. His expression immediately softened when he saw Kas and Myrrh fast asleep. By this point, Myrrh had tucked herself into Kas's chest. It reminded me of when Lianne would nap with Oliver… "I'd rather not wake him unless I have to."

"I think you can answer this, yes." Urien's attention went to the ground, where the papers were. "Those are…?"

"Nothing for you to worry about." I stepped back in front of him, smiling. "So, what did you need?"

"Ah, yes!" He produced a paper from his pocket, and unfolded it so that I could look. "See, it has to do with transport and storage of the food items you brought, and the hawks…"

Talking with Urien didn't take all that long, and when we finished, I decided that Kas needed the whole day off and took over the things that I could. After all, since I was just the one who kept people calm, I actually got decent amounts of sleep. And, thankfully, most of his jobs today were things that I could handle, so he could just rest and play with Myrrh while I worked. It was only fair.

"Ah, before I forget, I wanted to ask about something," Grado noted. He was walking me to where… someone was. Names were blurring together, and I definitely needed to make a list or something. Or snatch Damion and drag him along. He remembered every name. "It's about this lance in your convoy."

"You're going to have to be way more specific," I replied dryly, ducking under someone swinging a box to the side. They yelped an apology, but I waved it off and kept on walking. Grado walked fast just as I did, which meant even a second's pause meant having to jog to catch up. "Because there are so many lances. So many."

"It's this magical one that your mages say you brought in?"

"Something that I brought…" I took a moment to remember that spear I'd won from the flying demon. So much happened afterwards. "Oh, that one. What about it."

"Well, while I was working with Valni on inventory, my friend Tobias came over to bother me, as usual." Grado grinned, and I smiled slightly. I hadn't met this Tobias yet, but I'd heard rumors that he and Grado were as close as siblings. "And he saw the lance and wanted to try it out. But your people refused."

"They did?" I frowned, wondering why, before I realized the answer and facepalmed. "Oh. Oh, that's just a…" Word… word… fuck it. It wasn't important. "Basically, I found it and submitted it for examination via the mages. Meaning that until I see the report, it's not allowed to be used. It's a safety thing." I sighed, waving my hands to 'push' my frustration away. I couldn't believe I'd forgotten. "They'd do the exact same thing if any of you submitted something. I'll go take care of it after meeting with whoever, and work on a compromise for future things."

"Maybe just simply have one of the lieutenant-generals review it?" Grado laughed, but I saw the relief in his eyes. He'd been worried that something had gone wrong. Like Tobias had asked wrong, or if my people distrusted theirs that much. "Seems like that will be easier than hunting down a person, especially since the battles…" Whatever cheer he had died, and he winced. "Hey… what did you all do when the person died?"

"At the risk of sounding sheltered and bratty, until recently, that actually wasn't a concern. It's only been in the past few years that the demons got anywhere close to Zada."

"Really?"

"Yeah…" I sighed, and reached back to undo and redo my bun. "The corpse things often dried up in the desert. Skeletons are bone, which wild animals would ambush and chew up for the marrow. The giant eyeball things… are giant eyeballs under either scorching sun or freezing conditions. The horse-man things? Stuck in the sands. The list goes on. What makes the desert hard for humans to live also makes it hard for demons to make it through. And, unlike humans, they don't have the intelligence to attempt adaptation."

"Which is how your people managed to escape so much of the war. The demons just couldn't reach, so it provided a barrier."

"Until recently." I caught sight of Sierra talking shyly with Latona, and winked at her to make her smile. But I kept my focus on Grado. "That one-eyed one… cyclops, you call them?" Weird as hell name, but whatever. "That was our first bad battle. I won't say we didn't have deaths before or anything, but…" I shuddered, remembering that battle. "Even though it was bogged down by the sands, it was so large and strong that it still…" There had been a lot of funerals after that. Too many. "We eventually tricked it into a sand dune and collapsed it, trapping it long enough to bombard it with magic."

"How do you collapse a sand dune?"

"Do you even know what a sand dune is?"

"Sure." He looked away at my skeptical look. "I read! Once."

"The answer is that you dig." And then scramble like mad or hope that your allies helped you when if it collapsed on you. "Well, normally. In that case, we lured it to where a rotting tree was covered by the sand, and then had its weight collapse it." Or it might've been a rotting wooden house. I couldn't remember. "You can find all sorts of strange things in the desert. Treasures as well."

"Treasures?"

"It did used to be a vast kingdom, and empire. Afternoon patrols also double as salvage teams seeing what the shifting sands have revealed." Most desert warriors switched between the morning and afternoon patrols. "You can find dried up husks of corpses, scrolls, tomes, weapons, gems, gold, staves…"

"You're pulling my leg."

"...No?" I frowned, confused, but then remembered it was an idiom or whatever. "No, you can ask any of us. The sword Kas favors is one such find." I shrugged, deciding it didn't matter if he believed me or not. "Whatever. Point I was trying to make is that until the cyclops thing showed up, we didn't have trouble. And then came those weird flying ones."

"Flying ones?" Grado stopped cold, and turned to face me. A soldier almost ran into him, but Grado didn't even apologize to them, just focused on me. "What flying ones?"

"It's the one I got the lance from?" I frowned, wondering what was wrong. "Leather looking wings, like a wyvern's or a bat's. Fights with a lance. Hit and run tactics, but skin that crumples like paper." With each descriptor, Grado grew more and more confused, and I grew more and more worried. "Um… they have horns? Greyish skin?"

"I… I don't know what you're talking about." Grado's voice shook slightly, and cold dread pooled in my gut. "I'll ask Mikhail. Might just be me."

"Of course…" But I couldn't shake this ill feeling. I needed to send Ishmael a message as soon as possible. "Ah, but meeting!"

"Yes, right, this way."

We walked in awkward silence the entire time, and I had to pretend that nothing was wrong the entire day. But I couldn't shake the feeling that… that the Demon King was targeting the desert. And if that was the case… if that was the case, I...

Gods, you could hate and hurt me all you want, but stay away from my family, damn it!

After looking over the report, I officially 'cleared' that spear for use. I didn't take it, though. Though the mages found nothing wrong, it just made me uneasy. Probably just because it had been trying to kill me. But there was no point in wielding a weapon that unnerved me, so I sent it to Tobias with a little note explaining what had happened. And it was probably a good thing I had dealt with that quickly because that very night, the hawks shrieked alarms, sounding off for an ambush. But there was something different this time compared to the last battle. The camp was far, far more frantic.

"What's going on?" I whispered, looking around. I didn't leave my tent, of course. Myrrh was still asleep. "Kas…?" I looked over to his tent, but he wasn't there. He must've gone looking for someone. "Okay… what's…?"

"Don't know why people expect you desert folk to know what's going on." Valni, thankfully, rushed over, tripping a bit. "There's thousands of revenants," she explained softly, with dull and tired eyes. Her smile was broken and bitter. "We're leaving. We can't fight that many. Not in a place like this."

"So…?"

"Pack up. Get your horse. Leave behind what isn't essential." She shrugged. "If we stay, we're dead. So, we retreat. The line gets pushed back again. I'd stay to help, but all fliers have to be in the air."

She rushed off, and I stared after her in shock, not quite comprehending what she meant. Just… just abandoning a place? I mean… I could sort of understand… except not? I supposed it was because I got to stay in one place for so long in Zada. But the soldiers here were far, far used to this, it seemed. So used to it that they didn't think to explain it anymore.

So, I just… I just did what Valni said. I woke up Myrrh, got her dressed, packed up all of our things… luckily, I hadn't really gained anything since arriving, so I had no trouble, but I did worry about the convoys and whatnot. At least, I did until I got out and saw Kas shouting orders. He'd probably been dragged out to deal with that, so I made sure that Kas's stuff was all packed for him. When he swung by, he kissed me on the cheek and Myrrh on the head before snatching his things and running off to do whatever else he had to do. I stood there awkwardly, clinging to sleepy Myrrh's hand, before I decided that I needed to get to Styx. And Myrrh needed to be safer. And, luckily, the perfect person was right by Styx, already ready to go.

"Raphaela, here," I murmured, not even bothering with a greeting. I just lifted Myrrh up and set her on Raphaela's horse. "If it comes to a fight, I'll have to be much closer than you," I commented to frowning Raphaela. Then I ignored her to take Myrrh's hand and squeeze it reassuringly. "Raphaela is safer. She can fight from afar. With luck, I'll be able to ride next to you, okay?"

"O-okay…" Myrrh whimpered, sleepiness disappearing for fear. She leaned down and I got on the very tips of my toes to hug her. "Be careful…"

"Of course. As I told you, death will have a fight if it wants to claim me." I stepped back and looked to Raphaela. "I'm going to do a last run after getting my packs on Styx. I'll check your area too."

"Love you too, Evelyn," Raphaela whispered. She leaned down and kissed my head. "See you soon." And she rode off. Myrrh twisted in the saddle to keep me in sight as long as possible, and I made sure to keep up the reassuring smile until she was out of sight.

When she was, I got my packs on the saddle and led her through the camp back to where we'd been camped, just to see if anything important had been left, or if there was anything small enough to be tucked in. It was hard to find because someone had apparently noticed Myrrh and I had left and completely taken down the tent to move it… somewhere. In the end, I just sort of wandered, making sure no one had been lost in the mess. And while I wandered, I heard screams. I saw a young boy, maybe twelve, screaming and crying about his mother while an older soldier carried him off. It took me a moment to realize that I knew this boy. It was the boy Kas and I saw be ripped away from his mother. At least, I thought it was. And those screams reminded me of the town…

"There you are!" Urien appeared next to me, armored and armed. No horse, but he seemed to be running around doing last checks himself. "Got a bit worried when I saw Myrrh and not you," he commented, gesturing for me to follow him. I almost did, but I instead looked back to the screaming-crying boy. "Evelyn?"

"Has the town been warned?" I asked softly, not looking at him. When there was no answer, though, I repeated the words. "Has the town been warned?"

"There's no time." Urien's words were grim, and I looked at him in disbelief. "It'll be overrun by the time we get there. That's how fast they're moving."

"So, send a few…" I trailed off as Urien shook his head. "You're just going to leave them? You're just going to leave them to die?"

"If we don't leave now, all of us are dying!" Urien glared, eyes flashing with quiet fury. I bristled automatically, my own rage boiling over in an instance. "There's no time!"

"If you're not even going to try and save one gods-damned child, then what the hell are you fighting for?!" Distantly, logically, I knew what he was actually trying to say. There wasn't any time, so you had to sacrifice the few for the many. This wasn't a situation where they could give orders in good faith to go after the town. But at the same time, my heart and spirit shrieked that this wasn't right. It went against everything I knew and loved to simply leave someone, just because it was dangerous. To not take the risk, take the gamble, just because I could be hurt...

Ishmael had taken the risk when he saved Kas and me. Ishmael had taken the risk with every refugee he welcomed into Zada with open arms. And I knew what he'd do, if he was here right now. Therefore, there was only one thing I could do.

With one last glare, I swung up into Styx's saddle and turned her around to gallop to the town. Urien, and maybe a few others, shouted my name, but I ignored them. I ducked under overhanging branches and bent low over Styx's neck. She responded by galloping her absolute fastest, a dangerous speed given the terrain, but with it, we might get there in time. Maybe. I would at least say that I tried, damn it.

Thundering hooves caught my ear, and I glanced to the side to see Kas and Pallas keeping pace easily. He grinned at me, and I grinned back, because he knew why I had galloped off. I knew why he had caught up. We had to try. If there was a chance, no matter how small it was, then we had to try. Because we had been saved. We couldn't not save others.

At a gallop, it was a quick journey to the town or maybe that was the surge of energy and focus battles always brought. Regardless, we were in the town, and I could understand why Urien had said there was no time. It was already under attack. Corpses walking about, some of them wearing civilian clothes. The dead rising where they had died to kill more… though they were trampled under hooves just as well as anyone else, so Kas and I kept up the gallop, splitting up when we caught screams in two different directions. Before long, I saw a woman protectively wrapped around a little girl, while a dead woman's body slowly rose up, fingers twisting into razor sharp claws…

I sat back in the saddle and brought my lance up and around, trusting Styx to charge right for the corpse… revenant. Which, of course, she did, so I swung my lance in a large, downward arc to catch it in the sternum-collarbone area and send it up in the air. I got lucky in that I sent it straight into a building, so I didn't have to worry too much about crushing the skull or anything. The building handled it for me.

"So, I apologize for whatever trauma I just inflicted on you two," I said, dismounting. The woman and the little girl stared at me like I was a hallucination. I realized after a moment that I knew the woman. It was the mother. "Hello again, ma'am. I had a hood last time, but-"

"No, I recognize your voice," she whispered. And she smiled right at me, uncaring of my hair and eyes. "How did…? Ah, my son? How is he?"

"Last I saw, trying to fight some soldier to get back here, but they have him. He's safe." I crouched down and ruffled the little girl's hair to reassure her. The little girl smiled tentatively at me. "Okay. We're going to try and get you two out of here. I don't know where or how, but…" There had to be something. And I would find it.

"Awesome, you found a couple." Kas trotted over, with two teenagers, both girls, following behind him. A little boy and a little girl were riding on Pallas. "These two told me that there weren't a lot of people, so this might actually be all of them," he explained. I tried to not wince because it was so small, but… "Most people had evacuated south when the army stationed near. So, let's find a path."

"Shame we left without Nike or Kratos," I murmured. They'd find us soon enough, though. They always did, no matter how far we were. "Whatever. We'll have a hard enough time with just this group, so we'll get moving." I did want to look more, but you couldn't save everyone. But you had to save those you could. "Okay, let's get this little one on Styx and-"

A revenant suddenly burst out of a nearby house, shattering the door. Before any of us could react, though, it was decapitated, and I had to blink a few times to confirm I wasn't hallucinating Urien being there on his horse. And a quick look showed it wasn't just him. Grado thundered up on his own horse not long afterwards, followed by Latona, who quickly dismounted to check over our little group of survivors, making sure none had hidden injuries.

"I think it's telling that when we said that you two went to the town, absolutely no one among the desert people was surprised," Grado noted dryly, looking right at Kas and me. We just shrugged. "And what do you know? There's people alive. That's rare."

"Sometimes, you just have to take the gamble," Kas replied, completely unrepentant. He rested a hand on Latona, and made sure to smile at her in thanks. "Anyway, most of the town left already, so this is probably it. We need a way out, though."

"Valni should… there she is." Grado waved, and I saw Valni arc down from the skies, landing her pegasus on the roof of the building behind us. "Is there a path?"

"If we're quick, then yeah," she replied breathlessly. She was panting heavily, as was her pegasus. They'd rushed. They'd rushed here. "I think between all of us, we can make it? Maybe? And I can confirm that all living beings are right here."

"We're going to give it our best damn effort," I replied, helping the little girl up onto Styx. With this many horses, all of us could ride… "Hey, Valni, can you take any?"

"One teen, or two littles. Easy."

"Get down here, then."

It didn't take us long to get all the civilians on mounts, and with Valni's help, we made it out of the city with relative ease, with only a few fights. We broke through in a very different direction than the camp, but it soon became quite clear why Valni had chosen to lead us this way. Not only were the enemies sparse, but it led to a little gorge, with a rickety bridge joining the two sides. Sadly, a bit too rickety. It held up for Latona and Grado, but when Urien rode across, it splintered and fell apart. Probably had been long rotting due to disuse. Not many traveled these days, and it probably hadn't even been made for horses in the first place.

"Well, this is fun," I sighed, glancing at Kas. He shrugged, looking ready to laugh. The gorge wasn't large, thankfully. "Hey, Valni? Can you get the kids?"

"I can find another path," Valni commented, swooping near to get them. Kas and I had one each, both of the little girls, so it was easy to get them settled. They knew they needed to cooperate too. "So, don't do anything…"

"Relax. This'll just be easier if they were safe." Kas and I turned Pallas and Styx around, and I thought I heard protests. It was surprising how they hadn't guessed what we'd do. Really surprising. "One… two…"

On a silent 'three', both Styx and Pallas charged forward, with Kas and me bent low. They easily cleared the jump, galloping forward to bleed off momentum. Then they slowed to a stop and Kas and I looked at the others, both of us continuing to be amused. While petting our horses because they were simply the best.

"You seriously didn't consider us jumping?" Kas asked dryly. The others had the good-humor to be sheepish. "Whatever. Valni, we'll take the girls back. Let's get out of here before they decide to send out flying demons."

We did it. I was tempted to be smug, but I knew how lucky we got. So, instead, I was just happy. We did it.

We rode until we were all too tired to ride anymore, which was sometime after the sun rose. It was a bit difficult to gauge its height, both due to exhaustion and because we had quickly escaped into a forest to better hide from any potential pursuers. It wasn't easy on the horses, or Valni's pegasus, but safety was more important than 'ease' at the moment. Still, it was a relief to find a set of caves devoid of all animals. It meant that we could rest. The survivors all passed out immediately, drained from their near-death-experience and our flight from their fallen home. And though we were tempted to join them, there were things to do. Valni left to see if she could gauge where the army was, and the rest of us hashed out a watch list and made a fire to keep warm.

"Hey, at the risk of sounding ungrateful, but what are you all doing here?" Kas asked softly. Now that we were safe, everything was catching up. We all ached and were exhausted, so we lounged around the fire, eager for the warmth and enjoying the rest. "I mean…"

"Going to be honest in that I just followed Urien," Grado answered with a shrug. Urien focused on tucking a blanket around the three sleeping children and didn't comment. "Latona followed me, I think."

"You and Urien both," she confirmed, feeding another stick to the fire. It 'popped' and crackled, content with the additional 'meal'. "Why wouldn't I follow you two? You're my first friends."

"So, there's us two. I've seen Valni fly over towns before, so I think she was just did that as normal. Urien…" He looked pointedly at Urien, who just as pointedly ignored him. "He's keeping silent. Maybe you'll have more luck."

"Meh, I suppose it doesn't matter, since it would've been a lot harder without you guys," Kas dismissed with a shrug. I had to admit to being super curious, though. "So, my guess is that we'll try to meet up with the main army?"

"Try being the operative word there," Valni sighed, walking back inside. She looked around for a place to sit, but noticing how tired she was, I silently waved her over and made her lay down with her head in my lap. "Okay, this is suuuuper comfy, and I think I'm going to steal your legs at some point." She paused and frowned. "Wait, that sounded weird."

"Please don't cut off Eve's legs. She will turn around and whack you with them."

"You make me sound so violent," I whined, sulking at him. Kas just grinned. "Regardless, Valni, you have to compete with Myrrh for my lap, but you are more than welcome to rest here if you need it." Valni smiled sleepily at that. "So, I do think we need some water and-"

Twin red-tail hawk calls cut me off, and Kas and I automatically raised our arms. The others frowned at us in confusion, but then Kratos and Nike flew in to land on them with practiced ease. Nike promptly jumped up to my shoulder to fluff her feathers right in my face before keening and rubbing her head against my cheek. I knew Kratos was doing a similar thing with Kas. Bia and Zelus flew in not long afterwards, and Zelus dropped a piece of paper in my hand before flying to my unoccupied shoulder to 'peck'-preen my hair. I'd worried him, so I let him get away with it and instead focused on the note, reading it quickly. 'This better reach you two idiots. You two are the worst. At least get me next time, damn it! -Love, Raphaela'.

"Does anyone have paper or pen?" I asked, passing the note to Kas. He took one look at it and burst into laughter. When Urien sat down next to him, he handed it over, because it wasn't a secret or anything. "We can all sign it and send it back so that they know we're alive."

"If the hawks made it here, then they have to be close, right?" Latona asked, even as she pulled paper and pen out of her pack. Valni sat up to sign her name at the bottom, and handed it to me for the actual 'note' part. "Or… wait, how fast do they travel?"

"Raphaela probably sent the message out while still in the camp, or when they first stopped. We can gauge based on how long it takes to get a reply." I quickly wrote down that we were fine, and had saved survivors, and passed it over to Kas for him to add his own words. He almost didn't, but I looked at him sternly until he did. "Anyway, what I was saying before our loving and amazing hawks arrived… Nike, I need to talk!" Nike fluffed out her feathers more and continued making things difficult. Zelus, meanwhile, was slowly pulling out my bun. "Okay, I get it! You're mad!"

"Do… do you need help?"

"They're just getting revenge." But I did manage to cup Nike's head and tuck her under my chin instead. "You'll see that Kratos and Bia are giving Kas similar treatment." They waited until he passed the note over to Urien, of course, but he had two hawks all over his face at the moment. "Anyway, water. I'd like to get some water for everyone."

"Oh, yes, that's a good idea. After some rest, we can forage as well." Latona jumped when Kas suddenly yelped and fell over. "Uh…"

"Ignore it. It's fine. And if you want to laugh, do so quietly. People are sleeping."

Valni and Grado did actually laugh, with both muffling the sound quickly. Latona was too busy fretting, especially when I 'accidentally' urged Nike and Zelus over to Kas so that I could grab everyone's waterskins and escape. Urien joined me, probably because it was dangerous to go alone and the others were occupied. Still, it was a bit awkward, since I'd yelled at him and then he'd come to help me. It made me all the more curious, especially since he must've left soon after me to arrive when he had. And when we finally found a stream and filled up the skins, I couldn't keep my curiosity in check anymore.

"Why did you follow us?" I asked softly, making sure to look at him. I tucked the filled waterskins under my arms to not drop them. "If it's embarrassing or something, you don't have to answer, but…"

"It's that argument," he answered easily, meeting my gaze without hesitation. I still wasn't used to outsiders doing that. "You asked what I was fighting for? The answer is because I don't know another life." Urien smiled sadly at me. "I have lived in this army for most of my life. Abandoning camps, seeing the dead pile up, watching illnesses ravage soldiers, listening to the wailing of the pained… I'm used to all of it. That's why my father's death doesn't bother me. By the time I was five, I had seen hundreds die. I saw many of them reanimate and have to be killed again."

"That's…"

"But when you screamed that, it just…" He trailed off, trying to piece together his thoughts. "It made me realize… or remember… that there are people who fight for a purpose. Who fight for a cause. Who fight for people. The life that is my normal isn't your normal. I don't question having to abandon everything, including people. I've done it more times than I will ever be able to count. You, however, find the concept so abhorrent that the suggestion causes you to bristle up like a hissing cat." He laughed softly and shrugged. "So, I guess I just wanted to see? I think that's the best way to describe it. I wanted to see what you would do, and if you really could save them."

"...We wouldn't have gotten all of them without your help." I made sure to smile my warmest smile, even if my heart ached. He had told me that he'd lived with the army since he was little, but it never occured to me how he'd know no life but a constantly losing war. "I might have only gotten one. Which, honestly, would've been enough for me, but it's nice to get more out."

"It was dangerous. Why did you try?"

"Because there was a chance. I needed to see how good of a chance it was."

"You…" He laughed again, shaking his head. "You are so weird."

"You all are the weird ones, in my opinion."

"I suppose that makes sense." He stiffened suddenly and whirled to look at some nearby shrubbery. Which was rustling. "Please just be a squirrel or something."

"What's a…?" The memory came back after a moment. "Ah, never mind. Probably is, but here." I handed him the waterskins I'd been holding. "Let's see…" And, probably stupidly, I crept over and pushed away some of the leaves. "He-"

"Found you!" And freaking Myrrh popped out of the bushes with a bright grin. I could only stare in shock. "I found you!" she repeated gleefully, rushing over to hug me. "Yay!"

"Myrrh, how the hell did you…?" I breathed, kneeling down to look at her. "I told you to stay with Raphaela."

"You did, but when we stopped running, Raphaela said I could go wherever I wanted." She grinned and I facepalmed. I knew that Raphaela had meant 'within the camp', but… "So, here I am!"

"Here you are." I sighed and almost began scolding, but then I realized something. Urien hadn't said anything, and when I looked back, he was staring wide-eyed at Myrrh. No, at her wing, because her cloak was caught in the thorns and had been pulled half-off, so one of her wings was on full display. I quickly covered it, but since I knew it was too late to make up an excuse, I focused on picking leaves out of Myrrh's hair and clothes, not sure what… or how…

"Myrrh…?" Urien finally began slowly. I tensed up, wondering just what I'd have to do. I would keep her safe, of course, but… "This is an odd question, but are you a demon?"

"I'm a dragon!" Myrrh corrected with a pout. She almost unfurled her wings, but I kept the cloak down to bind them. "Dragon!"

"And dragons are not a type of demon?"

"Dragons are dragons. Demons are demons." She shrugged and tugged on my sleeve. Automatically, I picked her up and she wrapped her arms around my neck tightly. "Demons are bad things. They hurt us too. They killed…" Myrrh teared up and some tears slipped down her face. "My mama and papa… they…"

"Ah, easy, easy…!" Urien used his sleeve to wipe the tears away. "I'm sorry. I'm just confused. That's all. But I suppose it's not that much different than the desert people, right? Or… well… uh..." He floundered a bit for words, and I did have to smile at the awkwardness. "Whatever. You've always had wings?"

"Well, when I was born, I didn't. They were under my skin and burst out later when they grew too big." She frowned, and I tried to not think of how painful that had to have been. "Oh, but there were there, so maybe that's a 'yes'?"

"You've had them the whole time you've been with us."

"Yep!" She grinned. "Evelyn helps me keep them clean! It's hard."

"I… I see…" Urien looked half-ready to faint, but he focused on me. "So… uh… that's why she takes baths alone?"

"Yes," I replied, clutching her protectively. He seemed to be taking things relatively well, but I still had to be wary. "Her parents had them too. Myrrh said that the demons had kidnapped her, which was why she and her parents were in the desert. And, you know, since she has more intelligence than a rock…"

"Well, there's humans and demons. Bunches of animals. Be a bit stupid to not think there are other species. I mean; I still think Kasimir is pulling my leg with those 'hippo' stories. But, you know, there's squirrels and hawks and..." Urien sighed and, finally, ruffled Myrrh's hair. "Never mind. Rambling. Secret still. Latona might be a good person to tell. What if she gets injured?"

"Er… that's a good point." I did worry about telling others, but if Myrrh got badly hurt, then I would need a healer's help. "Perhaps in a few days."

"Sounds good." Urien grinned. "Now to see everyone's reactions to her being here."

"Oh joy." I shifted her better on my hip and held out a hand for the waterskins, but Urien shook his head. "She's not that heavy."

"I'm sure she'll feel better if you hugged her while you carried her, though." His grin softened to a warm smile. "I know I did, whenever I was separated from my father."

"...Thank you."

Myrrh actually dozed off while we hiked back to the cave, sleeping now that she felt safe. When we arrived, Kas, with his hair all messed up, was waiting for us. He took one look at Myrrh, rolled his eyes, and deadpanned, "we are never leaving her with other people again. They clearly can't keep an eye on her at all." He sighed and headed back in. "I guess we'll write and tell them that she's with us too. Make room for one more, guys."

This was going to be an interesting few days… weeks… however long it took. Very interesting.

Family

Evelyn; Eve

19 years old

Weapons: Lance

Known among the desert folk for never leaving people behind and being the first to leap into danger if she thinks someone needs help. It worries those around her, including Ishmael, but she does at least try to keep smart about it.

Is utterly flabbergasted at how attached Myrrh is to her and Kas, and desperately hopes that she's strong enough to keep her safe. Especially since they have an entire group of noncombatants to take care of now

Kasimir; Kas

21 years old

Weapons: Sword

Well known for being willing to gamble even on a one-percent chance, especially if lives are at stake. Ishmael has actually had talks with him about it, in the hopes of making sure Kas didn't just throw his life away.

Didn't want to write the note because he knew Raphaela would sigh over it, but does agree with Evelyn that he owed it to her for worrying her. He's just really tired of being sought after when he's already made it clear where he stands.

Raphaela

20 years old

Weapon: Dark Magic

Almost yelled at the other soldiers for not keeping a better eye on Kasimir and Evelyn but remembered in time that they didn't know about Kasimir and Evelyn's tendency to rush into danger when they thought people were in danger. So, instead, she just grumbled to herself for not making sure she stayed close

Panicked when Myrrh disappeared, and was relieved when the notes came both about them all being okay and that Myrrh was with them. She thinks that Myrrh just flew off, since that's not something most people account for.

Myrrh

4(?) years old

Found Evelyn and Kasimir by following their hearts' 'songs', flying away when the army made their first stop after abandoning the camp. She's still confused about what she did wrong, but does understand that it made Evelyn and Kasimir worry, so she tries to make them feel better

At first was confused as to why Evelyn was worried about Urien finding out, because Urien's 'song' is kind and gentle like theirs, but then remembered that humans can't hear those songs. Now she's just confused about how humans know who is a nice person and who isn't.

Army

Urien, Lieutenant-General

20 years old

Weapons: Sword, Lance

Has known nothing but war and battle, particularly losing battles. His home village was actually far to the north, near the mountains, but he doesn't remember anything about it. 'Home' was haphazard camps with crumpled tents.

Really startled by Myrrh's wings, and wonders what the hell dragons are. Sadly, Myrrh's answer is simply 'dragons are dragons', so he knows that he'll be wondering for a while now.

Valni, Lieutenant-General

18 years old

Weapons: Lance

Despite the official orders, she always flies over nearby towns in the hopes of finding someone alive that she can help. Unfortunately, until this time, that never happened. She was surprised to see the others, since she was the only one who did this, but grateful. Seeing lives saved gives her a bit of hope.

Bit surprised that Evelyn let her rest in her lap, since that's normally a really intimate thing, but based on how Kas reacted, she's fairly certain it's just a normal thing among the desert folk. Which she isn't complaining about because Evelyn is comfy.

Grado, Lieutenant-General

22 years old

Weapons: Axe

Followed Urien because he considers Urien one of his greatest friends, right up there with Tobias. The two have known each other since Grado joined, and had to work frequently together due to Grado's diplomacy and Urien essentially being Mikhail's right hand.

Bit surprised Urien left, since Urien normally follows orders no matter what, but he doesn't say anything. He's actually glad that Urien bent the rules a bit, because he's long been worried about his friend's mental health.

Latona, Healer

20 years old

Weapons: Staff

When she first joined, most didn't want anything to do with her because of her reputation. Urien was the first one in the army to smile and welcome her, while Grado always laughed off her supposed reputation, even suggesting that maybe she lived because the gods loved her so. She finds it ridiculous, but finds comfort in the thought and their company

Grado was the one who taught her how to ride, and though she primarily works in the infirmary like most healers, the ability to ride does give her a versatility that the other healers lack, since she can reach wounded quickly and keep up with the cavalry if needed.

Author's notes: And look, someone else is in the know about Myrrh not being human. There's nothing in lore mentioning that manakete wings burst out of their back as they age or whatever. I made that up. Same for how the monsters were made. The mention of hidden treasure is a nod to how many desert maps in the Fire Emblem series have secret items.

Next Chapter - Shelter